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Chapter Text

"... He called me a dick."

Lucifer paused, his gaze freezing on his hands, both fists clenched around a handful of white feathers. Michael watched his brother tentatively, eyebrows pinching together slowly as he watched a myriad of emotions cross his face - Confusion, disbelief, amusement and then more confusion, and for a second, Michael was wondering if the delayed reaction of their Father's presence in the penthouse had finally hit him, too. Then Lucifer was moving again, casual as ever.

"Well, I'd say it was rather accurate…" Lucifer finally drawled, and his head twitched toward Chloe when the Detective snorted and started snickering. His younger brother grinned faintly to himself at the sound, and Michael couldn't help the way his lips tugged up at the corners, tilting his head faintly to the side as he watched him.

"So now you start agreeing with Dad," Michael finally teased, watching Lucifer's grin fade into a small smirk as his brother's brown eyes flickered back to him. "Several millennia later." It still amused him, actually, how easily Lucifer had forgiven God after everything. He had been so angry at him - Michael would know. He knew what anger felt like firsthand, and he felt it even more intensely from Lucifer.

The strange thing, however, was that at the moment Michael didn't feel anything from his brother. He didn't feel anything from anyone else at all. The emotions were his own - And it was a… strange feeling indeed, because the archangel - former archangel - had really only ever been focused on the emotions of everyone else. Because it was kind of a hard thing to tune out.

This, though. This felt nice. It felt like he'd been underwater his entire life, suffocating, and had only now experienced what breathing in fresh air felt like.

"I'm simply saying that the man wasn't wrong." Lucifer's voice dragged Michael from his thoughts, the former archangel jerking his head toward his brother for a second before relaxing again. "You are a dick. Were. Probably were - we'll see."

Michael blinked once, then again, then he had to remember exactly what it is they had been talking about. "Oh," he snorted, shaking his head. "Definitely were. My, uh-" He narrowed his eyes, staring at his brother silently for a moment, before speaking much more slowly, "... dickishness… is behind me."

"Dickishness." Lucifer lifted his head and turned toward Amenadiel, who was currently assisting them in scooping the angel feathers into trash bags. "Amenadiel-"

"No, Luci, it's not a word."

"I think Michael's intelligence disappeared along with his wings." And then Lucifer turned and fixed Michael with a stupid, smug smirk and winked before turning back to what he'd been doing.

The former archangel narrowed his amber eyes at his brother, then looked toward Amenadiel, who hadn't even looked up. He then turned his gaze to the bag of feathers he was currently holding, and his expression changed considerably as a simple, fleeting thought crossed his mind. A stupid thought, but boy was he tempted. Very tempted.

Surprisingly, though, he wasn't angry. Lucifer usually pissed him off - everything about him. The snarky comments, the snide looks… and the thing that startled him right then was that he wasn't angry in the slightest.

Michael frowned and spared another glance toward his brother…

… Who looked very tense. His movements had gone stiff, and the knuckles on the hand clutching the bag that he was using had gone white. He had a pinched, grim look of apprehension on his face, jaw set and brown eyes flickering as he stared down, completely avoiding anyone else's gaze. Especially Michael's.

Which wasn't a stupid reaction, considering that about a week ago, Michael would have… Probably beat the shit out of him for that comment. He'd done a lot worse for a lot less, hadn't he?

It made sense that Lucifer would be scared of him. Wary, at least.

Michael faltered, staring at his younger brother. Lucifer still wasn't looking up, he was still tense. He was talking now, though, saying something to Chloe that Michael didn't bother trying to catch. His thoughts were far away, now, grasping at something almost out of his reach. For the first time in his entire life, Michael wished he could feel the anger. The combined anger of anyone and everyone around him, suffocating, pulling him back under…

Because as horrible as it was, terrifying as it was, feeling angry was ten times better than feeling whatever this was. It felt like something cold was twisting in his stomach, slowly rising up to his chest, stabbing at every part of him inside. The cold feeling went up and down, not quite sticking to one place, and moving just slow enough to bring a worse, painful, sick feeling to his chest. That, combined with the cold, made him want to throw up.

Of course it wouldn't be fixed just like that. Michael had done some pretty irreversible things. But his own brother was scared to be himself around him - And Michael had done that. Michael had done that to his brother - His baby brother.

And why the fuck had he just now started caring? Not that he was complaining, really - Thinking about it for a second, Michael stopped longing for the anger. No, he deserved the guilt. Every ripping, tearing, shredding second of it. It had to be nothing compared to whatever feelings Lucifer was holding for him - The most dominant one, Michael was sure, was fear.

The former archangel screwed his eyes shut and lifted his free hand to his head, rubbing his eyes silently and biting his tongue to hold back a groan. Wonderful, now how the hell was he supposed to fix this? Lucifer was clearly willing to at least try and forgive him - Granted, they hadn't really spoken about any of what had happened. Lucifer seemed content not to, and Michael was genuinely dreading the conversation, himself.

Lucifer seemed content now, but Michael had to wonder if it was because he was still in shock. He had, after all, just reconciled with God. He'd probably had enough for one day after that, and Michael owed it to him not to make him more uncomfortable than he already seemed.

Michael owed that to him at the least. The very least.

He was relieved to see that Lucifer was beginning to relax, a smile back on his face as he spoke to Chloe. The former archangel sighed and bit his lip, nodding faintly in approval and glancing at Chloe curiously before turning back to the task at hand. Lucifer's gaze flickered toward him for a quick second when he started moving, but he didn't seem on edge anymore, so Michael kept his gaze down.

When he looked up again, Lucifer had relaxed completely and was now snickering at something Chloe had said to him, brown eyes wide and sparkling with amusement. Michael bit back a sigh of relief and looked down again. Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as he'd originally thought. If anyone could help his brother through all of this, it was Chloe. Of course it was Chloe.

… But it wasn't just her, either. Michael definitely had a part to play. For now, however, keeping his distance - for the most part - seemed like a good option. He wanted Lucifer to feel comfortable again, but he doubted that his brother would be able to if Michael was always there. Sticking around, in his business like he had been the first few days.

But he had to be there sometimes, too, to show Lucifer that he wasn't gonna snap if his brother made some stupid, snarky comment or flashed him that mocking little smile. He felt comfortable enough to do those things at all, didn't he? That meant something - That had to mean something. His brother wasn't broken yet. If he was, he wouldn't risk pissing Michael off at all - Lucifer obviously dared to, he just braced himself for the consequences a little too late.

Not consequences, Michael thought bitterly, still staring down. He grabbed another handful of feathers, rubbing his thumb over one of them before stuffing the handful into the bag. Wrath. All of that anger, I took it all out on him, didn't I?

"This is absolutely ridiculous. Amenadiel's wasn't this messy."

"... It was, the first time. I believe Father was trying to make a point with this, anyway."

Michael shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts to listen to his siblings. He did look up for a second and turn his head to look at Ella, just to check and make sure she was alright. She was - She was smiling now, side by side with Chloe once more, and Chloe had apparently abandoned her conversation with Lucifer and was listening to whatever she was saying - Something about the former archangels.

Michael bit back a chuckle and looked back toward Lucifer and Amenadiel - The former of which had stopped working and set his bag down, and was now over at the bar seemingly seeing what he could recover from the broken glass. Amenadiel was still working, somewhat distractedly now as he spoke to Lucifer.

"That point being…" Lucifer paused, and grinned, managing to pull a somehow untouched bottle of some kind of liquid - Michael would assume was alcohol - out of the wreckage. "Wonderful. Anyway, that point being He wants His sons to get out of the house and get love lives."

Amenadiel spared him a slightly mockingly exasperated look. "There was more to it than that."

Lucifer shrugged, and was now turning to look for something else - Probably something to pour the alcohol into. "It's still odd to me that He's attempting to play matchmaker, I won't lie. But I suppose I can't hate the man for it." He paused, looking up, and spun to face Amenadiel. "How much did you know about this plan of His?"

Michael raised an eyebrow, eyes flickering to Amenadiel, and he almost snorted at the expression on his face. "I didn't know anything, Luci."

Lucifer squinted at him, clearly disbelieving, and Michael watched Amenadiel throw his hands up in exasperation. He then watched a grin flash across Lucifer's face - Childish and taunting - And for a moment it was just like they were younger. Amenadiel had always been the one Lucifer was closest to. Well, Amenadiel, Gabriel, and Azrael. The four were practically inseparable.

Michael expected it to hurt, the realization that Lucifer was so much more comfortable with Amenadiel than he was with him, but it didn't. Instead, he felt relieved - At least Lucifer could feel comfortable enough to be himself around Amenadiel. At least one of his siblings hadn't failed him completely.

"Fine," Lucifer finally spoke up, waving Amenadiel away. "I suppose that was for the better anyway. You were always horrible at keeping secrets."

"That's not true," Amenadiel protested, narrowing his eyes. "I have secrets. I have several secrets."

"Oh?" Lucifer's grin only widened. Michael watched him silently, genuinely curious. He couldn't remember ever seeing that look on his face, so devilishly mocking, so taunting but playful at the same time. He was clearly teasing Amenadiel, and judging by the look on Amenadiel's face, his oldest brother was completely aware of it. "What secrets, then, hm?"

Amenadiel thought the question over for a second, and then - Michael thought he'd been surprised before - he smirked right back at Lucifer, offering a one-shouldered shrug, and replied smoothly, "if I told you, they wouldn't be secrets."

Okay, wow. Lucifer teasing Amenadiel - This, Michael understood. Amenadiel teasing back? The former archangel was actually pretty shocked. He couldn't even remember ever seeing Amenadiel smile the way he was now, not ever. It was amazing how much he was noticing, now. Not blinded by the emotions anymore, raging off of everyone else. Not overwhelmed. It was calm. It felt so calm.

He really had missed a lot. The second his powers had faded, everything became so much more clear.

Michael looked down for a second, and smiled to himself. Honestly, he'd been absolutely horrified by the idea of being mortal. Powerless. He'd been angry, hurt and terrified all in one - Not that he ever would have admitted any of this, not that he would have gone against his Father's wishes. Not that he could have done anything about it. But the emotions had been there, so clear and painful, but they had evaporated one by one. He couldn't be more glad to have had his powers stripped. No longer distracted by the emotions of everyone else, no longer feeling their emotions himself, he could focus on his own.

It was amazing, actually, how little anger was left. Anger had been the emotion he'd focused on for so long - The more predominant emotion in Heaven, actually. Among his siblings, there had been so much terror, so much rage. And all of it - Every last bit of it - Had gone straight to Michael. He'd been so focused on it before that he hadn't stopped to realize how little of it had actually been his own.

It felt… Refreshing. Not being angry all the time. Michael bit down on his tongue to keep himself from laughing out loud, amber eyes widening with relief as he stared down. No, he wasn't going to miss his powers. Not one bit.

"What's got you so smiley, angel boy?"

Michael blinked and looked up, distracted, then allowed a grin to flash across his face. Well, not that he could have fought it, anyway. But he didn't try. Instead, he dropped the bag of feathers to pull Ella into a hug, and she reacted easily enough by wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his chest.

Michael closed his eyes, pressing his face into her hair and taking a deep breath. The past few hours had been absolutely terrifying. Michael hadn't realized how important Ella was to him until he was faced with the thought, the possibility of actually losing her. It was a horrifying thing - And it still scared the crap out of him, even now. And she was right there, in his arms, safe as ever.

Michael sighed and pulled his head back a little, but he kept his arms around her. Ella didn't move to pull back, either, simply turned her head so that her chin was against his chest, looking up at him, and the former archangel gave a weary smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too," Ella replied gleefully, a grin tugging at her lips, and Michael let out a slightly breathless chuckle. "For the record, though, I, like, totally could have fought him. If there had actually been danger. All he did was lock me in a hotel room and to be fair I could have gotten out."

Michael studied her curiously for a moment before speaking, honestly a little confused. "So then why didn't you?"

Ella's lips pressed into a firm line and she stayed absolutely silent for at least a minute or so, probably debating on whether or not to answer that. Then, clearing her throat, she casually turned her head to the side to look around the room. "Spongebob was on…?"

Michael frowned. He stayed silent, arms still wrapped around her, then pulled away and lifted one hand to rub the back of his neck. "Am I going to regret asking what Spongebob is?"

The stare Ella gave him was enough of a confirmation. Michael immediately changed the subject. "I, uh- Anyway-" He cleared his throat. "I still don't understand why I wasn't able to track you. I could sense Pierce easily enough, but you… you were off the radar…" He trailed off, frowning.

"Archangel warding," Lucifer piped up, sounding almost bored - Like he'd figured this out already. Michael blinked, turning his head to glance over at him. "Pierce told me he'd learned some new magic tricks. I wasn't aware he could screw with angels," he commented, then shook his head. "Anyways, that's most likely the case, so-"

And then he blinked, and abruptly stopped talking. Then his jaws snapped open, eyes screwing shut as he yawned and fell back against the bar, using one hand to balance himself against the counter. And, unfortunately, he ended up dropping the bottle.

Amenadiel caught it - Michael was impressed.

"Bollocks," Lucifer mumbled when he recovered, pressing the heel of his free hand into one of his eyes and keeping the other shut tightly.

"When's the last time you slept, Luci?" Amenadiel scolded, setting the bottle down on the counter and staring at his brother. Michael frowned, eyebrows knitting together as he watched Lucifer, who stayed silent for a while before eventually shaking his head and blinking his eyes open.

"About a three days ago, I'd say," Lucifer commented idly, stifling another yawn. "I've gone longer. I suppose it's finally catching up to me now, because I'm…"

"Mortal." Amenadiel facepalmed. "Lucifer-"

"Amenadiel," Lucifer interrupted, holding a hand up, palm facing toward his brother. "Spare me the lecture, I beg you. I don't plan on pulling anymore all-nighters."

"Why have you been?" Amenadiel demanded, grabbing Lucifer's wrist firmly but gently and pulling his hand down. Lucifer frowned, trying to twist away, but eventually gave up.

"That… Is a matter of unimportance." Lucifer looked extremely uncomfortable.

Amenadiel stared at him.

And Lucifer gave in after a few seconds, looking like a scolded child. "... I've been having some very unpleasant dreams," he said carefully, then rushed to speak when Amenadiel opened his mouth. "No reason not to sleep, I know! And I will. I have to, now that I've been…" A look of pure annoyance crossed his face. "Mortalized."

"You should have been sleeping anyway," Amenadiel grumbled, then let go of Lucifer's wrist and grabbed his shoulder instead, turning and steering him to where his room was.

"Why," Lucifer groaned, but he allowed Amenadiel to push him along - more or less. He didn't really move along with him, and Amenadiel was practically dragging him at that point. "Why are you like this?"

"Why are you?" Amenadiel retorted, plucking him on the back of his head, to which Lucifer responded by elbowing him in the shoulder. Michael watched the two go curiously, amber eyes flickering wordlessly as he gazed after them. Then, sighing, he turned back to the feathers still scattered along the floor, as well as the piles of glass shards - Which ranged considerably in size. Michael gazed at a few particularly large shards, an odd expression on his face.

He tried to remember what it felt like with them stuck in his back, slicing evenly through the skin, a few long shards in particular sticking out all the way through him, from his back to his stomach. He tried to remember what if felt like and he came up completely blank.

Which was probably a good thing, so, thanks, Dad.

Michael narrowed his eyes faintly, staring for a moment before moving past Ella, clasping a hand over her shoulder as he passed. He crouched down, scooping up a few more handfuls of the feathers and stuffing them into the bag. He stopped, however, when he felt someone staring at him, and albeit reluctantly, he turned his head and looked up to meet Chloe's stare.

Well. Glare, was more accurate. Michael blinked, lowering the bag slightly before letting it go altogether and standing up. "Is there a problem, Ms. Decker?" He asked steadily, shoulders twitching slightly as he fought to keep his posture relaxed, trying not to seem intimidated under the cold stare.

"Yeah. You." Chloe walked forward, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin slightly, fixing him with a sharp glare. Michael blinked, easing back a little without really moving back. His expression turned slightly weary when she didn't stop, not until she was directly in front of him. "You may be an archangel, and I guess a pretty important one, at that, but let me make one thing clear." She dropped one arm and raised the other one, jabbing a finger against Michael's chest. "You. Ever. Hurt Lucifer again. And I will make you regret it."

Michael was genuinely starting to see what Lucifer saw in her. She was fierce. He also realized why he was scared of her, to an extent. "... Noted," he replied carefully, his gaze flickering away for a second, after Lucifer, then back down at where Chloe still had a finger pressed against his chest.

She pushed harder, and Michael winced. She wasn't done.

"And I don't think I have to warn you about hurting Ella, but I will anyway," she added slowly and deliberately. "Don't. Capiche?"

"Capiche," Michael sighed warily, a relieved look crossing his face when Chloe nodded, satisfied, and jerked her hand back before promptly spinning around and walking away from him, grabbing a half-empty trash bag along the way to continue cleaning up the feathers.

"She's overprotective," Ella said casually from beside Michael, who hummed faintly in agreement, shaking his head in bewilderment. Well, his brother had a good one. "But, I, uh, agree. With the Lucifer thing."

Michael blinked, looking back down at her. "I don't want to hurt Sammy, El," he told her quietly. "I've actually been trying to think of how I can…" He hesitated. "Reverse… the damage done."

Ella smiled slightly, wrapping her arm around one of his and giving a soft squeeze. "You'll figure it out, Mikey," she told him warmly. "And Chloe'll warm up to you. Eventually. In a few years. Probably," she added slowly, then grinned, eyes twinkling with amusement. Michael cracked a small smile and shook his head.

"Yeah, I-" Michael cut off when the sharp ding from the elevator caught his attention, whirling his head around to look. He stiffened when he saw Mazikeen step through, twirling one of her twisted blades in her hands idly and staring down with a look of complete boredom on her face. Then, he watched her stop, watched her eyes slowly flicker up, landing on the white and gold feathers.

"What the hell happened?" Mazikeen demanded, her grip on the blade seeming to tighten, and Michael suppressed a shiver, completely tense as he watched the demon. Then her eyes flickered up, landing on Michael, and she literally bared her teeth and started toward him. "What did you do-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't do anything!" Michael exclaimed, his voice raising considerably as he leaned back, pulling Ella along with him and trying to pull her behind him. Instead, she tugged him back and stepped forward, intercepting Mazikeen and raising her hands defensively, halting the demon in her tracks.

"Ellen!" Mazikeen protested, letting out a low, inhuman growl as her glare focused on Michael, lips curled back. "Move."

"Ella," Michael started tentatively, reaching to put a hand on Ella's shoulder, but he jerked back when Mazikeen lashed out at him abruptly.

"Don't touch her!"

"Can somebody call her off?!" Michael exclaimed desperately, holding one hand up in defense and glancing at Ella, who looked surprisingly calm despite the situation. Amused, actually. Chloe looked amused, too - And she certainly wasn't going to stop Mazikeen from ripping Michael apart, go figure… Oh, god, he was about to get killed by a demon.

Mazikeen pointed the blade at Michael and, in one quick movement, jerked Ella out of the way and shoved her toward Chloe. The former archangel whipped his head around, wide-eyed, but besides now looking irritated, Ella seemed fine.

Michael's attention was immediately directed to the demon in front of him, however, when Mazikeen stepped toward him and snarled. "Eyes on the enemy, Mikey," she sneered. "I won't ask you again. What. Did. You. Do."

"I didn't do anything!" Michael exclaimed, holding both of his hands up now. Mazikeen glared at him, spinning the blade wordlessly in one hand, and the former archangel sucked in a breath to explain. "Look, I didn't-"

"Where's Lucifer?" Mazikeen cut him off, her voice dangerously low, and then it clicked. Oh, Lucifer. Of course, she was angry with him - She was defending Lucifer! His little brother must have told her about him - Which would most certainly explain Mazikeen's initial reaction to learning who he was. Yes, this was all making sense. She was protecting her boss.

Michael opened his mouth, then snapped it shut when Amenadiel suddenly stepped in, walking into the room with his hands shoved into his pockets and his gaze fixed firmly on Mazikeen.

"Sleeping," he told the demon simply. "Down, Maze."

Mazikeen growled and grumbled, but she turned and threw the blade; It flew through the air and lodged into a wall, sticking there firmly along several other deep knife marks. Michael tried not to wince. "Fine," she spat, sending another glare toward Michael before turning to face Amenadiel completely. "What happened, then?"

While Amenadiel started to explain, Michael simply rubbed a hand down his face and turned his head to look over at Ella, who flashed him a slightly relieved and amused looking smile. Chloe actually looked somewhat disappointed, but she kept her expression neutral for the most part.

"Mortal…" Mazikeen mumbled when Amenadiel finished explaining, turning and looking Michael up and down. Then she grinned, quick and shark-like, and Michael took a few steps back. "Well, that should be-"

"Maze," Amenadiel sighed, narrowing his eyes.

"Come on!" Mazikeen objected, turning to face him again. "At least let me cut him up a bit. After what he's done, he deserves it!"

"I don't normally condone violence, but I agree with this," Chloe stated, raising one hand, and grinning when Ella firmly but gently slapped it down again.

"I disagree with this," Michael objected, and Ella hummed faintly in agreement, causing the former archangel to send her a slightly relieved look. Mazikeen narrowed her eyes and looked at Chloe, then Ella, then Michael, and then Amenadiel again before looking over his shoulder toward Lucifer's room.

"Fine. I'll wait until Lucifer wakes up. He'll decide." With that, Mazikeen whirled around and winked at Michael before turning back to Chloe. "I dropped the bounty off at the precinct." She turned and headed back to the elevator, flipping all of them off over her shoulder. "Text me when Lucifer wakes up!"

Michael had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well for him.

He also had a feeling that he was going to start hating being mortal again.

Chapter Text

Day One.

Lucifer had, of course, told Mazikeen that she couldn't torture his older his brother. He was pretty sure that dying had been enough of a punishment for Michael, anyway, and he of course didn't want to do anything to potentially hurt Ella. And, as much as Lucifer disapproved - heavily - she loved him, and that was something that Lucifer could understand and accept, for the most part. So, no torture. So far, Michael had been decent to him. He was keeping his distance, actually; Lucifer hadn't seen him much since the day before, but he wasn't too worried about it. What he was worried about was the lack of his powers.

The former Devil clicked his teeth together and spun himself around in his chair - Chloe's chair, actually. Chloe was… Somewhere. Lucifer actually didn't know where she was… He should find out where she was. He sighed, sitting back a little, then looked up when a familiar person passed him. "Daniel!"

Dan stopped, sighed, screwed his eyes shut and looked like he was internally cursing for a second, then turned to face Lucifer and forced a smile. "Lucifer."

Lucifer studied him curiously for a moment, genuinely wondering what that reaction had been about, but he brushed it off. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He asked with a grin, cocking his head to the side and raising his arms up, crossing them behind his head and leaning back in the chair. "Booty call?"

Dan opened his mouth, then closed it, a frustrated look on his face. "No, Lucifer, I was-" He stopped, his gaze flickering beside Lucifer, resting on something on Chloe's desk. Lucifer didn't have to look to see what it was, but his expression changed, turning smug to sheepish when Dan turned to glare at him. "Really? Really?"

Lucifer frowned, glancing at the empty pudding cups scattered on the desk. "What? I was hungry," he responded casually, gesturing toward the cups and looking back up at Dan. "And they were there, conveniently."

Dan stared at him for a moment, not speaking, then threw his hands up in exasperation. "Not conveniently, Lucifer, those were mine!"

Lucifer turned back to look at the pudding cups - obviously labeled Dan in sharpie along the side - then glanced back at Dan. "Well, obviously. But you should know to bring enough for the rest of the class," he said innocently, and Dan looked like he was about to pick up Chloe's computer and chuck it at him. "Relax! I'll make it up to you later," the former Devil said dismissively, raising one hand complacently. "Now, have you seen Chloe? She hasn't come in yet and work is awfully boring without her."

"She's off today. Watching Trixie," Dan said irritably, narrowing his eyes at Lucifer, who visibly deflated at the news, eyes narrowing faintly as well. "You could just work."

"Without my partner?" Lucifer asked skeptically, putting his hands back down and folding them neatly in his lap as he leaned forward once more. Dan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers wordlessly, and Lucifer sat still and silent for a moment before speaking again, faintly curious. "Well, perhaps I could…" He trailed off, clicking his teeth together. "Working isn't too horrible, I've learned." It was true, Lucifer was starting to actually like working in the precinct. Usually, it was just to be there with Chloe, but when Michael had arrived, Lucifer had actually started working - and despite the circumstances, part of him had enjoyed it.

Dan hummed faintly in acknowledgement, raising an eyebrow at him. "Great. I've actually got a case I could use some help on," he offered, somewhat reluctantly. Lucifer understood that - Working with him wasn't exactly easy. Or, it hadn't been. He'd been unfocused, childish - He still was, for the most part. But he'd proven that he could focus and work when he needed to, too. Dan seemed willing to give that a chance.

"Wonderful," Lucifer hummed, flashing him a grin. "Daniel and the Devil, at it again." He paused, his expression changing as he remembered something, and he let his shoulders slump forward with a slight pout. "Well, actually, not quite. I'm not really the Devil anymore, not since my Father took away my powers. Completely." He narrowed his eyes faintly. "I suppose it doesn't quite seem like he's trying to control me now, though it does feel like there's something to be learned from this. I wonder if he'll return them, or leave me mortal…? Perhaps…"

By the time he forced himself to focus again, Dan was just kind of staring at him in complete silence, an odd look on his face. Lucifer blinked a few times, looking up, and frowned. "... What?"

"You," Dan started, and shook his head. "You are a really… really weird person." He then turned and walked off toward his desk, picked up a file, and walked back over, tossing the file over Chloe's desk to Lucifer and heading off without another word. Lucifer squinted, watching him go, then picked the file up and flipped it open. He scanned the pages, humming, and tapped his fingers against the folder wordlessly as he read, taking in every detail.

He jumped when something hit the desk in front of him, and took a moment to recover before looking up, eyebrows raising faintly in confusion for a moment before his expression smoothed out, focusing on Ella with a small grin. "Ms. Lopez! What can I do for you, my dear?"

Ella smiled right back at him, looking extremely happy, then pointed at what she had set down on the desk. Lucifer followed her gaze, and had to do a double take, staring for a moment to make sure he was seeing correctly. It was a cross. A cross necklace, actually.

"For you," Ella stated, "since you and God, you know, reconciled."

"Ah… Well, it's lovely," Lucifer said slowly, staring for a moment. A cross necklace. To represent that he was no longer pissed at his Father, perhaps. It wasn't such a bad idea - To be fair, Lucifer had considered getting himself one more than once. Because despite it mainly being a religious symbol, he actually liked crosses. And, to be fair, they represented Jesus more than his Father, so…

After a moment, the former Devil reached out and picked the necklace up, rubbing his thumb across it for a moment before looking up and tilting his head at Ella, who was watching him with excitement flickering through her eyes. Lucifer chuckled slightly, closing his fist around the necklace. "Thank you, Ms. Lopez."

Ella just shrugged, then smiled warmly. "For what it's worth, I'm really glad you and your Dad managed to sort out everything," she said curiously, cocking her head to the side. "Like, really. It's great, Luce."

Lucifer hummed in agreement, a smile tugging at his lips. "... I agree," he finally replied. "It's nice. Not being so angry at him." He paused, turning his head to look toward Michael's desk, and he raised his eyebrows faintly when he saw that Michael wasn't there. He actually hadn't seen him at the precinct at all that day. "Did my brother not come in today?"

"Ah…" Ella bit her lip and gave a slightly sheepish smile. "We were, uh, taste-testing alcohol again. Apparently angelic powers also include a heightened tolerance to alcohol. He passed out, woke up with a bad headache, so he's back at my place resting and nursing his first real hangover."

"Yay Michael," Lucifer mumbled curiously, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "Ah, the poor sap. He'll be alright, though, hangovers never killed anyone," he mused. "I expect he'll be keeping his distance from alcohol for a while, however." He chuckled a little, brown eyes flickering with amusement, and Ella let out a small giggle.

"Agreed." Ella paused, looking away for a second, then her expression changed, turning slightly unreadable. Then, finally, she turned back to him, frowning. "This might sound stupid, but- does the name Rae-Rae mean anything to you?"

Lucifer sat absolutely still for a moment before leaning back, staring at Ella with an almost disbelieving expression. He snapped his mouth shut, throat constricting, and forced himself to swallow as he glanced away. Rae-Rae.

"So this is it?" Lucifer stared down, teeth clenched, trying to fight back the tears brewing in his eyes. He drug his thumb across his palm roughly, allowing his nail to sink into the soft flesh. For a moment, he pressed harshly, almost as if he was trying to break the skin. Then he stopped, abruptly, and let his hands fall to his sides. "After everything, this is how it ends, Rae-Rae?"

"I don't want it to end, Sam-" His sister started to protest, staring up at him through wide, desperate eyes. Her wings ruffled behind her, brown eyes searching desperately, and Lucifer whipped around to face her, his own wings bristling.

"Samael is no longer my name, Azrael," he told her firmly, but there was no real bite to his words. He curled his lips back slightly. "If Father thinks I'm so undeserving of being in Heaven then I must be undeserving of the name he gave me. Screw him!" Lucifer hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. "My- My name is Lucifer."

Azrael stared at him wearily, biting her lip for a moment. "Talk to him, Lu," she encouraged quietly. Lucifer scoffed, turning his head away, and Azrael stepped forward as she continued, "please! I don't want to lose my favorite brother. Don't you get it? This will rip all of us apart!" She begged.

Lucifer spared her a look, then glanced down the long silver hallway, his eyes flickering across the doors lining the walls. Then he started laughing, "why am I fighting this, anyway? I hate this place."

Azrael looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "You- What?" She breathed, eyes wide with disbelief. "S- Luce, this is your home!" She reached out and grabbed his arm, turning him to face her again. "This is where you belong, not- not down  there !"

"After everything I've done," Lucifer seethed, glaring at her, "how can you possibly stand here and tell me that this is where I belong?"

"Because this is your home!" Azrael repeated, much more fiercely. "This is where you were raised, where you were born! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"You think I want to leave, Azrael?!" Lucifer yelled back, jerking away from her and stepping back. He jabbed a finger down the long hallway, gesturing toward the room at the very end of the hall. "You think I just want to leave you behind?! You, and Amenadiel, and Uri?!"

"Then stop!" Azrael exclaimed. "Stop fighting against Dad so much!"

"It's a little too late for that!" Lucifer spat. "And even if I was willing to stop, I'm not willing to stand by while he pushes his family away for- for-" His lips curled back slightly, and his eyes flared up, blazing a bright red. "For those anomalies!"

He ignored the gasp from Azrael completely, standing still for a moment before his eyes slowly faded back to normal. "... If he's going to push his family away one by one," he started quietly, "then I will be the first."

"Lucifer," Azrael pleaded, gazing at her brother desperately. "Think about what you're doing."

Lucifer scoffed, then chuckled bitterly. "I am thinking, Azrael." He turned his head, glancing back to the door at the end of the hall, then gritted his teeth and simply marched past his sister. "I seem to be the only one who is."

Lucifer stared down, shoulders tense, not reacting as Ella called his name. He felt her hand on his shoulder now, shaking slightly, heard her yelling his name right in his ear, but he didn't react for several minutes, lost in thought. Finally, however, he did manage to jerk his head away just as she had been about to scream again, twisting his head to look up at her. "What do you know about Rae-Rae?"

Ella blinked, looking genuinely dumbfounded for a moment. "Well, she's a ghost. And I'm the only one that can see her - could. Could see her. She's gone now, actually," she added tentatively, frowning. "Do you… Did you… Know her?"

Lucifer blinked, sitting back slowly and staring up at her blankly for a moment, thinking before speaking again. "Rae-Rae is short for Azrael," he finally said, closing his eyes. "My younger sister."

There was a long few minutes of silence in which Ella processed this information and Lucifer processed the fact that Azrael knew Ella - Azrael had spoken to Ella. Azrael had used the nickname given to her by Lucifer himself as her introduction, apparently. His chest ached at the thought of her, the familiar anger gone and replaced with a sense of longing. He would give absolutely anything to see his little sister again.

"Wow," Ella finally mumbled. "I knew an angel before I'd even met you." After a pause, Ella spoke again, much more quietly, and Lucifer blinked his eyes open. "I'm guessing things weren't so smooth between you two, huh?"

"Azrael was one of the few that didn't turn their backs on me during the rebellion," Lucifer replied faintly, shaking his head. "After Dad kicked me to Hell, I never saw her again." He trailed off, a pained expression crossing his face. "We didn't exactly…" He stopped, and spoke again carefully, "we… parted on relatively bad terms."

"Oh," Ella murmured sympathetically, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze. "Well… she's your sister, Luce. I'm sure she misses you."

"I'm sure she does," Lucifer agreed with a shrug. "She probably thinks I wouldn't want to see her. Which is understandable, I suppose. For the longest time, I…" He trailed off. "Well, I was angry. At all of them. Or, mostly all of them." He chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking, then frowned. "Considering it all. Still, at the time, it hurt."

"Too bad I don't see her anymore." Ella made a face. "Or I'd pass the message along." She studied him for a moment, then smiled reassuringly and added, "hey, but I'm sure you'll see her again one day, you know? And you'll have a chance to make it right again. I mean, you fixed things with your Dad - Fixing things with Rae-Rae shouldn't be difficult, not after that, y'know?"

Lucifer tilted his head, looking up at her, then let out a low hum and smiled faintly. "... I suppose so," he finally responded, blinking. Then he started chuckling. "You would make a fairly good therapist, Ms. Lopez." Which reminded him, he had a therapy appointment tomorrow.

"Thanks, but I'll stick to being a forensic scientist," Ella laughed and pulled her hand back, and then got a very oh, shit expression on her face. "Uh. Speaking of this. I'm supposed to be working!" She exclaimed, smacking herself in the forehead.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, giving a slightly amused smile. "Go work." He stood, picking the file back up and pocketing the cross necklace. "I have to catch up with Detective Douche, anyways."

"Have fun!" Ella launched herself forward, giving him a hug so fast that he didn't have much time to react, then she pulled back and took off in the direction of the lab. Lucifer smiled a little to himself, shaking his head, then looked back down at the file before pushing the chair back into place and heading off to find Daniel.

Hours later, Lucifer was walking into Chloe's house - he didn't even bother knocking, not really. He shut the door behind him, paused for a second while the silence sunk in, then called out tentatively, "if you're waiting with a gun, please don't shoot. It wasn't fun the first time and I doubt a second time would be much different." He smiled to himself despite that, however, remembering the time Chloe had shot him. No, it hadn't been fun. That had hurt. A lot. Being shot, in general, hurt like all Hell.

A second passed, and then the familiar; "LUCIFER!"

Lucifer bit back a grin and braced himself as the tiny human raced from her room, leaping up and throwing her arms around him in a hug. Lucifer fidgeted slightly, not quite uncomfortable, and patted the child's head a few times. "Yes, hello, spawn."

Honestly, he'd grown to like the tackle hugs. Even if the kid was messy most of the time, and loud, and sometimes annoying, she was genuinely happy to see him whenever he walked through the door. Which, to be fair, wasn't something Lucifer was used to at all.

Trixie pulled back and grinned at him, bouncing up and down excitedly. She was practically vibrating, Lucifer noted. She must have had chocolate cake. Or chocolate something. The spawn adored chocolate. "Guess what tomorrow is!"

"Ah. Tomorrow is your birthday, child," Lucifer replied without missing a beat, glancing up and grinning at Chloe as she walked out of Trixie's room, putting a bookmark in some children's book she was holding. She raised an eyebrow at the two, and Lucifer returned the gesture before looking back down at Trixie, who actually looked kind of surprised.

"How did you know?!"

Lucifer offered her a curious look. "I've known you and your mother for quite a few years now, Beatrice, do you truly believe I wouldn't have your birthday memorized by now?" He questioned, giving her head another pat before easing past her and walking over to Chloe. "Actually, that's why I'm here. Detective, I've been meaning to ask permission to take her to the mall."

Chloe was just staring at him blankly, seeming completely lost in thought, but she snapped back to attention after a second or so, frowning. "The mall?"

"Yes, well, I figured I'd let the urchin pick out a few things of her choice from a couple stores." Lucifer gestured vaguely, stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning to glance back at Trixie before looking back at Chloe. "I've learned that money is a better gift than actually buying something. At the risk of her not liking whatever I do get her-"

"I like anything!" Trixie squeaked, staring at him with wide eyes.

"-This seems like a better option." Lucifer then turned his head, sparing Trixie a curious glance. "I was considering getting her one of those toy oven contraptions. Something she can use to make her own chocolate cake."

"I had one of those and it broke." Trixie pulled a face. "And I'm not a good cook."

"Well, this is exactly why you'll be choosing your own gift, then." Lucifer flashed her a grin and turned back to Chloe, who was now smiling slightly, watching the two. After a moment, though, she seemed to realize they were both waiting for her thoughts on the matter, because her eyes suddenly went very wide.

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, you can take her to the mall, Lucifer," Chloe said quickly, and eyed him warily. "Maybe I should go, too. Just to make sure you don't get caught up looking at suits and lose her or something."

Lucifer gasped, a look of obviously mocking offense crossing his face. "I would never, Detective," he told her solemnly. "I'll have you know I plan to keep a very close eye on your spawn. I know about kidnappers and all. I was kidnapped once." He went silent for a moment, narrowing his eyes and glancing past Chloe.

"... Uh huh." Chloe shook her head, rolling her eyes, but she was chuckling slightly. "I think I'll come with you just to be sure."

"If you insist," Lucifer chuckled. "Tomorrow it is, then. You set the time, I'll be available." He paused, then raised a hand. "Not in the morning, however. I have a therapy appointment at ten. Then I'll be available."

"Yay!" Trixie exclaimed, and Lucifer grinned slightly, turning his attention back to the child. "This is perfect, actually, for my plan!" And with that, she threw herself at Lucifer and gave him one last hug. "You're the best, Lucifer!" Then she was bolting off again, disappearing into her room and shutting the door behind her with a click.

Lucifer watched her go, dumbfounded and confused all in one. "Plan?" He mumbled, then shook his head. "Well, whatever that means…" He narrowed his eyes. "She seems pleased."

"You've made her pretty happy," Chloe agreed, gazing at him. Her blue eyes flickered, a warm smile making its way onto her face. "This is really nice of you, Lucifer."

Lucifer smiled slightly in response. "Yes, well, I've grown rather attached to your spawn," he replied dismissively. "Don't get me wrong, I still dislike most children. Yours is just much more tolerable."

"She's a good kid," Chloe replied softly, setting the book aside and walking forward, closing the distance between them. "And I think the attachment is mutual," she added, eyes sparkling with amusement. Lucifer grinned back, staying silent for a moment as he gazed down at her.

"I think I've grown attached to you, as well," he added quietly after a moment. Chloe looked faintly surprised by that for a second, then, after a second or so, she took another small step forward.

"Now that, I can say with certainty, is definitely a mutual attachment," she told him softly. Lucifer couldn't help but laugh slightly at that, but the sound held more relief than anything.

"You know…" Lucifer started, smiling slightly, "the whole thing about me being the Devil… You took all of it very well. Considering the circumstances."

Chloe blinked, tilting her head slightly. "I'm still processing," she admitted. "But at this point, I guess, I've always known. You've never lied about it - You've never lied about anything." A weird look crossed her face. "Honestly, the shock of it's just worn off. All I can think about now is everything you've ever said - About you, and being the Devil, and Hell and Heaven and your Father, and…" She laughed hollowly, eyebrows furrowing, "it's all been right in front of me and I've never even tried to see it."

Lucifer hummed, a smile tugging at his lips. "Well, to you, I was probably just some crazy, overdramatic man you met in a nightclub who uses religious metaphors to describe his life," he mused. "You had no proof that any of it was real, and… Perhaps I should have shown you sooner." He frowned.

"You tried, didn't you?" Chloe asked suddenly, as if a realization had just hit. "That day in the precinct, you were going to show me something."

"My Devil face," Lucifer replied quietly. "It wasn't working." He made a face, shaking his head slightly. "That's when I got my wings back."

"And I thought it was just your way of distancing yourself again…" Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head. "Lucifer, I am so sorry I didn't believe you before."

Lucifer sighed, then smiled slightly and walked forward, putting one hand on her shoulder and moving the other hand under her chin, lifting her head up. Chloe blinked her eyes open, looking at him, and Lucifer simply brushed her hair from her face with his thumb as he replied, "you believe me now, Detective. That's all that matters."

Chloe blinked at him slowly, silent. Lucifer stayed still for a second or so before starting to pull back, but Chloe raised one hand to grab his wrist before he could, halting him completely. She moved his hand back to her cheek, leaning into the touch without moving her gaze.

Lucifer smiled slightly, shuffling forward and lowering his head, pressing his forehead against hers lightly. Chloe exhaled softly, a smile on her face now as her eyes slid shut again, and pulled herself closer until their lips were touching, just barely ghosting over each other.

And, then- "MOMMY! Mommy, come here, look!"

Lucifer bit back a sigh and pulled his head back, and Chloe was giggling to herself now as she pulled back, eyes wide with amazement as she glanced toward Trixie's room. "She has impeccable timing, doesn't she?" The former Devil groaned.

Chloe offered him a sympathetic look, then a thoughtful expression crossed her face. When Trixie called out again, Chloe walked forward and stretched up; Lucifer blinked, barely having time to register as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight, Lucifer," she whispered in his ear when she'd pulled back. Lucifer took a deep breath, eyes widening slightly as he gazed down at her.

"Good…" Lucifer faltered for a second, swallowing and trying again, "goodnight, Detective." Chloe smiled at him before turning and grabbing the book she'd set on the coffee table, heading off down the hall. Lucifer watched as she disappeared into Trixie's room, the door shutting gently behind her, and he stayed still for a moment before leaving. He made sure to lock the door from the inside before he'd shut it, and immediately fell back against it when it clicked, staring ahead in complete silence.

And if you don't ask Decker out soon, son…

Then he exhaled, smiled, and started laughing.

Chapter Text

Day Two.

"Do you ever get tired of being an asshole? It kind of seems like a constant job for you. I'm curious, how do you have the energy?"

Michael blinked, slowly shutting the book in his hands and lifting his head. His gaze flickered to the side, but despite not being able to see his sister from where he stood, he didn't turn to face her. Instead, he bit his lip and looked down again, then clenched his teeth and forced a chuckle. "I have a lot of stamina," he said simply, smoothly, as he turned the book over in his hands and scanned his eyes over the back, pretending to read the words written across. "Do you need something, Azrael?"

"Yeah. For you to stop being a dick!" Azrael spat, and Michael snorted. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but Azrael cut him off before he could. "You need to talk to him!"

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific," Michael scoffed, watching his knuckles turn even whiter as he tightened his grip on the book. He clenched his teeth even tighter for a second, then raised his head and forced himself to relax, trying to focus on anything but the anger radiating off of his younger sister. "I'm the last person Samael wants to talk to, anyways."

"He's ripping himself apart!" Azrael exclaimed, her voice closer, and Michael lifted his head again, not turning. "Put your pride away, your ego! Can't you see what you're doing to him?! Can't you see how far you're pushing him?!"

"Samael makes his own choices!" Michael finally snapped, his calm facade dropping as he turned his head faintly to the side, lowering the book. "I've done nothing wrong."

"He's going to start a war," Azrael seethed.

"That's his decision!"

"No!" Azrael yelled, "Samael doesn't want this! He's angry and hurt, and you don't help anything by- by breaking him down every second you two are together! You think nobody notices, Michael, but I notice! Amenadiel's noticed!" Her voice grew harder, colder, but Michael could only focus on the burning anger lashing from her. It hurt - physically, genuinely hurt, and Michael wished she would just leave. "The things you do, the things you say to him! How can you be so cold to your own brother?!"

Michael closed his eyes, lowering his chin and taking a deep breath to steady himself. "Samael is far from innocent," he hissed. "If he's turning against us, against Dad, then-"

"Michael!" Azrael's voice rose to a pitch that actually hurt his ears. "You constantly antagonize him! If it were me, I'd hate us, too!"

"Well good for you, good for him!" Michael finally whirled around. "If you ask me, Heaven will be a lot better off without him!"

Azrael stared at him, disbelieving and furious, then abruptly stormed forward. Michael didn't feel much after that, but he certainly felt it when she raised her hand and backhanded him across the face with enough force to turn his head to the side. He grimaced, silent, and set his jaw, moving it around a bit to make sure it wasn't broken. He then turned to say something, mouth opened, but Azrael spread her wings and was gone before Michael could get a word out.

Michael shut his mouth, looked down at the book, and promptly snapped it in half.

Michael tried not to flinch when a cup of coffee was set down in front of him. He blinked down at it for a moment, watching the smoke rise, and it took him a few seconds to remember where he was, and what was going on. He relaxed a little, surprisingly relieved not to see the familiar white walls of the Silver City, and he looked up to see Ella standing beside the table, another cup of coffee in her hand and two… rectangle-shaped, color looking things in her other hand. She grinned at him, blissfully unaware of his confusion, and dropped one of the rectangles on a plate in front of him.

The archangel looked down, blinked, and lifted his gaze again, eyebrows raising. "... What's this?" He asked slowly, curious and confused at the same time. Ella laughed a little, then lifted the other rectangle to her mouth and took a bite out of it, chewing and swallowing before she replied.

"It's food. It's a poptart," she explained, gesturing to it. "Try it, angel boy, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Oh," Michael chuckled slightly a smile forming on his lips. He leaned back a little, picking the poptart up and turning it around in his hand before looking up. "... Do you have to work today?" He asked, then blinked. "Do I have to work today…"

Ella laughed a little, crossing her arms and leaning forward over the table. "I probably will have to," she admitted, "but I don't have to go in today until I'm called in. So I might have a little bit of time here. As for you, I'm pretty sure you do," she admitted. "I'm still confused as to why you kept the job."

"As am I," Michael admitted, then offered an amused grin. "But it keeps me near you, so I don't mind. And, who knows, I might grow to enjoy it."

"Like Lucifer did," Ella commented, shaking her head. Michael hummed in agreement before biting into the poptart, and he immediately straightened up, letting out a pleasantly surprised hum as his eyebrows raised. He paused, chewing slowly and swallowing.

"This." He looked down at the poptart, then up at Ella, holding the food up a little. "This is amazing."

Ella grinned. "Michael likes strawberry poptarts. I'll keep that in mind." Michael hummed in acknowledgement, finishing off the rest of the poptart rather quickly and running his tongue across his lips. He'd never tasted anything like it, actually. He wondered for a second if he had tasted things differently because he was an angel, and now that he was mortal…

"Hm." Michael ran his tongue across his lips again, and grinned. That made sense, actually. Now that he thought about it, he'd had white wine the night before - And that had tasted a little different. Stronger, sweeter, than it had before. He just hadn't thought anything of it. And, now, the former archangel was wondering what else would be different.

He looked down at the coffee, curious, and lifted the cup to his lips to take a sip. When he'd drank it before, it had actually tasted rather dull.

Now it was bitter as hell.

Michael spit it back out into the cup, gasping, and stuck his tongue out, his face scrunching up reflexively. Ella promptly started laughing, doubling over and pressing the back of her hand over her mouth to muffle the laughter.

He knew one thing, he wasn't going to be trying beer again anytime soon. He couldn't handle it when he was an archangel and he doubted he could handle it now that he was human.

"Coffee's out, then," Ella decided, gasping for breath when she'd stopped laughing. "I have to get you to try lemonade, God…"

Michael's head immediately lifted at that last word, but after a second, he relaxed again, shaking his head. His Father's intentions had been a little unclear, but Michael was smart enough to figure that he wouldn't be going back to Heaven anytime soon. And… To be honest, he didn't want to.

"So you've got a sweet tooth," Ella added thoughtfully, not noticing his pause. "You definitely have to try cupcakes. Oh, and chocolate…" She tilted her head, gaze trailing as she thought, and Michael stared at her curiously for a few moments before pushing his chair back and standing up, heading to the sink. He dumped the coffee out and rinsed the cup out, setting it in the sink.

"So, are you gonna talk to Lucifer today?" Ella prompted suddenly.

Michael winced. He hadn't spoken to his brother since… Well, since the day at the penthouse. He didn't really think Lucifer would want to see him at the moment, anyway, so he'd been keeping his distance. It was inevitable, though, he knew that. He couldn't avoid his little brother forever, but he wanted to give Lucifer a chance to get comfortable again before Michael tried to become a part of his life again. He wanted to do things differently, to fix things between them, but… He knew it would take time.

"Hey, it's okay. Totally understandable," Ella told him quickly, snapping Michael from his thoughts. "I just, you know… I think you should talk to him. Sort everything out, tell him you've changed," she encouraged.

Michael opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again and nodded, deciding against telling her about all his worries. In particular, whether or not he even deserved a chance to explain himself, to ask for forgiveness. Instead, he just shook his head and turned around, offering Ella a slight smile. "I will," he responded, sighing. "I… I'll try and talk to him at the precinct. If he's there."

"Good!" Ella chirped, checking her watch. "Get dressed, I'll give you a ride. And then I'm going shopping."

"Ah, if only I had my wings, I could just- whoosh." Michael gestured slightly, and grinned when Ella laughed. "But I guess it's kinda nice, too." With that he headed past her to head for his room, but he did stop beside her for a second. He thought for a moment, then turned and pulled her into a hug.

Ella seemed surprised, but she hugged him back warmly, seeming pleased. "Thank you, Ella," the former archangel sighed.

"Awh, Mikey!" Ella squeezed slightly, giggling. "You don't have to thank me for anything," she assured. Michael didn't respond, staying where he was for a moment before pulling back. But not before leaning in and pressing his lips to her forehead, lingering for a few seconds. Ella leaned into the couch, a content sigh escaping her lips as she pressed her hands against his chest, leaning into him wordlessly. He kept his arms around her, pulling his head back to rest his forehead against hers.

Ella grinned up at him, eyes sparkling. "You're such a cuddlebug," she teased softly. "I think I like it."

Michael hummed in acknowledgement, a small smile appearing on his face. "I think I like you," he responded easily, offering the woman a wink after he spoke despite the fluttering in his chest. Ella looked surprised at first, but it didn't take long for her expression to warm up again, and, with a grin, she tilted her head back and pressed a quick kiss to his nose.

"I think I like you, too."

Michael laughed a little, sucking in a sharp breath at the warm feeling twisting in his chest. He stayed where he was for a moment, just holding her close, and she shifted slightly to lean her head into his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this content. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this warm, sweet feeling.

"Mikey?" Ella murmured, breaking him out of his thoughts. Michael shook his head slightly, letting out a low "hm?", and Ella giggled. "You have work."

"Oh!" Michael inhaled sharply, a rush of heat rising to his face as he immediately pulled back. Ella just giggled again, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Hah, right, work."

"Don't worry," Ella giggled. "We can cuddle later." With that, she downed the rest of the coffee and bounced past him.

"..." Michael blinked, turning to watch her go. "... 'Kay."

When he got to the precinct, he was faintly surprised to see that Lucifer was there and Chloe wasn't. Usually, his brother stuck close to Chloe - But it was still early, maybe she just hadn't arrived yet. Michael hung back and stopped beside his desk, muttering a quick goodbye to Ella before she left. Lucifer was talking to Dan at the moment, leaning back against Chloe's desk, and Michael glanced at him before turning away.

And then he blinked, looked up, and did a double take. Because there was currently a cross hanging around Lucifer's neck and he didn't even seem to care. He was grinning as he spoke to Dan, who looked mildly annoyed by whatever he was saying, but then the detective started laughing a little himself.

Michael blinked and faltered for a second. Lucifer looked content, he looked happy, he looked… He looked comfortable. In a way Michael hadn't seen him in so long. He compared that to how tense his brother was with him around, how annoyed he always looked in his presence, and how he tried, so hard, to act like he wasn't still afraid of him.

The former archangel took a deep breath and turned back to his desk, leaning against it and screwing his eyes shut. He knew he'd promised to talk to his brother, but how could he? Every time he was even near him, his brother seemed completely, utterly uncomfortable.

If keeping his distance was what it took to get Lucifer to relax, then he would keep his distance.

Michael stayed in his position for a moment, hands on the desk, head down, leaning forward slightly with his eyes squeezed shut. Finally, though, he forced himself to relax and pushed himself up, stepping back and starting to turn, but he inhaled sharply and stumbled back slightly when he bumped into someone - Or, well, they bumped into each other. Michael winced, running his fingers through his hair and catching himself on his desk.

Already knowing his luck, he didn't even have to look to know who it was. "Sorry," the former archangel sighed, carefully avoiding his younger brother's gaze.

Lucifer blinked, looking a little taken aback by that for a second, but he responded quickly. "Ah, my fault, actually." He lifted his phone up a little before putting it back into his pocket. "I apologize." He paused, opening and closing his mouth, clearly at a loss for what to say. "I heard you got a hangover yesterday."

Michael snorted slightly, trying not to wince at the memory of the splitting headache he'd had the night before. "Uh, yeah. I gotta say, it's not pleasurable," he admitted, making a face. "Confusing, how do humans handle that, anyway? I mean, if the consequences are that severe, why even…?"

Lucifer gave a dry smile. "Yes, it's such a price for its magical healing powers," he replied, shrugging. "Alcohol numbs things. And the hangover isn't too horrible unless you're a lightweight. Or if you're simply used to it," he commented, then chuckled, "and since you're not, well…"

"Ah…" Michael snorted, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, then, I'll be staying away from alcoholic drinks for a while. That's for sure." He blinked, falling silent for a moment, then cleared his throat. "So, Decker's not in today?"

"It's her day off," Lucifer replied, narrowing his eyes faintly. "I just got out of therapy and stopped by to help Daniel with a case we're working on. I'm actually on my way to see her now." He looked down, pulling his sleeve back to check his watch. "Since I don't really have anything to do until her spawn gets out of school. We're going shopping."

Michael blinked.

Lucifer blinked back. "... Don't ask."

"Mm…" Michael trailed off and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something, then paused, hesitated, and thought better of it. "Alright. Have fun, Sammy."

Lucifer gave him an odd look, and Michael had a feeling it wasn't because he'd called him "Sammy" this time. Yeah, Michael knew he was acting strange. But Lucifer being more confused than afraid was much more preferable to the archangel, so. He was doing a pretty good job so far. He sighed in relief when Lucifer simply shrugged and walked past him, and turned his head faintly to watch him leave the precinct.

This was going to be a little harder than he'd expected.

Lucifer, meanwhile, didn't know whether to be confused or concerned at the moment. Michael was acting weird - Really weird, actually - But he brushed it off after a moment. He was probably just adjusting to the whole new mortality thing - understandable enough. Lucifer was actually taking it pretty well; After all, he was practically mortal around Chloe. The only thing he found annoying was that he couldn't use his powers anymore. Which would make his job much more difficult, actually, but he brushed it off. The point was, Michael had never been remotely mortal before, so this was all probably hitting him a little harder.

Lucifer made a mental note to ask Amenadiel if he'd be willing to coach Michael on being human - After all, Amenadiel had pretty much been through the same thing, thrown into mortal life by the loss of his powers. So hopefully he could help Michael relax a bit. As for Lucifer, he was dealing with it himself. And it was the last thing on his mind, surprisingly.

He had too many things to think about. Chloe, Trixie, fixing up his penthouse, reopening Lux - Things he needed to make time for. Of course, Chloe and Trixie would both be taking top priority, especially today, as Lucifer had made a promise he intended to keep to the Detective's spawn, and Lucifer was nothing if not a Devil of his word.

… Mortal of his word now, actually, but that wasn't the point. Idly, he wondered if he even wanted to be considered the Devil anymore anyway - And he came to the conclusion that he didn't. Surprisingly.

Lucifer sighed and continued on his way, getting in his car and starting the engine. He turned the radio on, not really paying attention to the song as he closed the door. And, after a moment of debating, he put his seatbelt on, because now he could actually be hurt if something happened and he were to crash. Normally, he wouldn't deal with it, but he really wasn't going to take any chances at the current moment.

Again he wondered what God was trying to teach them by taking their powers away, and whether or not it was permanent. He drew a blank as he drove, eyes fixed ahead. Maybe it was permanent. If so, Lucifer would most certainly have to get used to the loss of his powers - and the idea of mortality. Constant mortality.

… Actually, it didn't sound half bad. Lucifer sighed, taking a turn and speeding up a little. It didn't take him long to reach Chloe's house, getting out of the car and heading inside like he owned the place, not even bothering to knock. "Detective?" He called, adjusting his suit jacket and checking his watch again. Still quite some time before Trixie got out of school. Lucifer was still a little miffed that they made her go to school on her birthday, actually.

"Just a second!"

Lucifer hummed in acknowledgement and wandered toward the living room. He stopped when he saw Mazikeen lounging across the couch, chewing on a straw and scraping her nails across one of her demon blades as she focused on the TV. She looked up, however, when Lucifer entered the room, spitting out the straw to greet him. "Hey."

"Hello, Mazikeen," Lucifer greeted pleasantly, offering his usual charming grin as he leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. He spared a glance toward the TV, tilting his head. "Is this Fifty Shades?"

"Uh huh," Mazikeen hummed, rolling her head around to look back at the TV. She then looked down at the blade in her hand, dragging her nails up to the tip, before letting her eyes flick up to Lucifer without really raising her head. "So are you still against me gutting your brother?" She asked blankly. "I mean, you know, I don't even have to kill him. Just torture. And he's human now, which makes things so much easier."

Lucifer spared her an exasperated look, leaning his head against the doorframe and turning around to lean back against it completely, crossing one leg over the other. "Sorry, Maze," he said simply, and she huffed as he continued, "but I believe Michael's learned his lesson. Just stick to your bounties."

"Bounty hunting's getting boring," Mazikeen grumbled, turning back to the TV. "Seriously, nothing's ever a challenge anymore. Humans are stupid," she commented, blinking slowly. "Most of them, anyway."

Lucifer snorted, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Agreed. Most of them. Others, however…" He sighed, glancing into the other room for a second before turning back to look at the TV. "Are quite favorable."

"Eh, Decker's alright. The kid, too," Mazikeen replied dismissively, and grinned. "Yo, I got the kid a pair of nunchucks. Think she'll like 'em?"

Lucifer bit back a laugh. "Hopefully, you consulted the Detective about that first," he warned. "But, I'm sure the child will like them, considering you've corrupted her so much already," he mused. "Teaching her to fight actually isn't a bad idea, however. She'll be able to defend herself."

"Yup," Mazikeen hummed, sticking the straw back in her mouth. "I'm teaching her how to pole dance next."

Lucifer's smile dropped. "Absolutely not."

Mazikeen raised her eyebrows and looked up, a faintly curious look sparkling through her eyes, but before she could open her mouth to reply, her gaze abruptly darted past Lucifer. And, immediately, a sheepish smile formed on her face, clenching her teeth shut around the straw. "Oh, hey, Decker."

Lucifer lifted his head, immediately turning to flash a grin at Chloe, who was currently pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she walked into the room. "Hello, Detective."

"Hey, Lucifer." Chloe let her arms drop to her sides and shook her head a few times, her ponytail bouncing along with her. She leaned back, crossing her arms and looking up at Lucifer. And, Lucifer, who hadn't been able to stop thinking about the events of last night at all, wondered for a second if she was thinking about the almost-kiss as much as he had been.

He decided against bringing it up, though. If Chloe wanted to talk about it, he would know.

"I thought I'd hang here until Beatrice was released from her prison- I mean, school," he corrected himself, offering a shit-eating grin when Chloe rolled her eyes in mock exasperation at the former Devil. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, make yourself at home." Chloe shrugged, gesturing toward the living room. "I have a couple errands to run but I'll be back in about an hour or so. So you and Maze can watch…" She paused, and stared at the TV for a moment. Then she blinked, eyes widening, then narrowing, and opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out.

"Fifty Shades of Grey," Mazikeen offered helpfully, and gave a cocky ass smirk when Chloe shot her a look. "What?"

"Whatever," Chloe sighed, shaking her head. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." She sent Lucifer a pointed look, and the former Devil just grinned in response as she left. He hummed, hearing the door shut behind her, then turned back to Mazikeen. The demon reluctantly pushed herself up a little to make room for him on the couch, pulling the straw out of her mouth for a second.

"Wanna watch The Godfather?" She pointed the remote at the TV, looking a little bored at the current movie.

"Hmm…" Lucifer stared at the TV for a few moments before turning to look toward the kitchen. "We'll need popcorn for that."

Only a few minutes into the movie, Mazikeen decided to text Amenadiel to come over. Which he did, and, while confused as to why they wanted him there, took a seat between the two of them. About an hour in, all three of them were comfortable. Amenadiel ended up doing some really horrible impressions, quoting the movie with a shit-eating grin that had not only Lucifer doubling over in laughter, but Mazikeen was gasping for air before it was over.

They had finished the movie and were in the middle of the Matrix - Amenadiel's suggestion, he thought it looked interesting - When Lucifer got a text from Chloe telling him that she had picked up Trixie from school and was on her way back.

He stared at the phone, then looked up again. "... Would you two like to help me bake a chocolate cake?"

Amenadiel and Mazikeen exchanged a look, then shrugged in unison.

Lucifer grinned.

Trixie looked pleasantly surprised when Lucifer got to the car, holding three small plates, each of which holding a slice of chocolate cake. He gave one plate to Trixie - the one with the biggest piece - and another to Chloe.

"Whoa," Trixie whispered. "Heheh, thanks, Lucifer!" Chloe didn't say anything, just spared Lucifer a grin before digging into her own slice. Lucifer just chuckled, taking a bite of his before responding to Trixie.

"Happy birthday, spawn," the former Devil said cheerfully, shutting his door and fastening his seatbelt. "How was prison?"

Trixie started laughing around a mouthful of cake. "You're so funny," the kid giggled, then grinned. "It was cool! I got a cupcake, and my friend Claire gave me an ice cream sandwich at lunch. I still had to do my work, though." She sounded faintly annoyed by that.

Lucifer hummed slightly, glancing out the window with a smile. "Well, at least you got a cupcake and ice cream," he responded optimistically. "And now your day can really begin."

Trixie lifted her head, licking at the cake crumbs around her mouth with an excited expression. Lucifer glanced at her through the mirror, a warm smile forming on his face. "The mall?" The child asked excitedly, bouncing a little in her seat as Chloe started the car again and pulled out of the driveway. "We're going to the mall now, right?"

"Yes," Lucifer responded, glancing out the window. "We have three hours to spend however you choose, and then I'm afraid we have to hand you over to your father. I happen to know he has some plans of his own." He spared a glance toward Chloe, who was grinning a little wider now, her eyes fixed on the road. Trixie, meanwhile, looked beyond excited.

"Oh, this is gonna be the best day ever!"

Lucifer simply chuckled. "I'll make sure of it, Beatrice."

When they got to the mall, Trixie ran ahead, excitedly looking in every store they passed. She wanted to ride on the merry-go-round, and, luckily, Lucifer had come prepared with coins just in case. They hadn't even been there ten minutes, and she already seemed to be having the time of her life. Lucifer was faintly surprised by how much that pleased him, to see the child with such a huge, bright smile on her face, giggling and having fun. But it did, and it brought a warmth to his chest that Lucifer hadn't felt in... well, a while.

The former Devil tilted his head, watching her run around one of the stores, looking in particular at a few rather large stuffed animals. He turned his head slightly when Chloe came up beside him, wrapping both of her arms around one of his and leaning her head into his shoulder. Needless to say, he was surprised by the action, but he didn't comment.

"Did I already tell you how nice this is, you doing this for her?" Chloe murmured, pressing the side of her face into his suit jacket. "You've made her really happy, Lucifer. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Detective," Lucifer dismissed easily, but his smile widened just a little bit, the warm feeling intensifying. "She… Well, she is a good kid. She deserves this."

"And to think, you said you didn't like kids."

Lucifer hummed, tilting his head toward her. "She's your kid, Detective. It would be impossible for me not to like her," he finally admitted. In response, Chloe just gave his arm a light squeeze and then promptly started laughing when Trixie accidentally knocked one of the stuffed animals over on herself.

Lucifer's lips twitched slightly, stifling a grin as he raised his chin. "Are you alright, spawn?"

Trixie pushed the stuffed animal up - it was a lion - and gave Lucifer a thumbs up, giggling. "Yep, all good!" Then she blinked, glancing over his shoulder, and her eyes widened. "Can I get a sugar cookie?! Please, Lucifer!" She exclaimed, scrambling to her feet.

"Well, I certainly don't see why not." Lucifer turned an expectant gaze to Chloe, who snorted slightly and nodded, pulling away from him. "Wonderful! I will be right back, then." He turned, and winked at Chloe as he did so. "Try and protect her from all those wild animals, hm?" He questioned, throwing a teasing glance back at Trixie - who stuck her tongue out, and Lucifer promptly returned the gesture - before heading off.

He was in a pretty good mood, and surprisingly wasn't even bothered when someone sneezed toward him as he passed. He simply offered a "bless you" and brushed his suit jacket off before continuing on his way. He ordered the sugar cookie Trixie had requested, and after a moment of debating he ended up getting a chocolate chip one for Chloe before he returned to the two, who were busy rearranging the stuffed animals the way they had been before.

"I like this one," Trixie commented, stroking the mane of the rather large stuffed lion. She looked up when Lucifer approached, eyes lighting up, and jumped up and ran to meet him immediately. "Yay! Thank you, Lucifer!" She beamed, giggling as the cookie was handed to her, and then she promptly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Which Lucifer returned one-handed while handing the other cookie to Chloe, who took it with a faintly surprised expression.

"You're quite welcome, Beatrice," he replied, patting the kid's head before pulling back a little. "Now, you wanted that lion, correct?" He pointed toward the toy in question.

Trixie blinked, turning to look at the stuffed animal before looking back up at Lucifer. "Isn't it too much?"

Lucifer actually snorted. "Remember who you're talking to, spawn." He crouched down in front of her, offering a warm smile. "I have more than enough money for that, and whatever else you might desire. Within reason-" He added for Chloe's sake, when the detective opened her mouth to object. "My point is," he continued, smiling at Trixie once more, "it's your birthday. Whatever you want - that your terrifying mother approves of - is yours."

Trixie tilted her head a little, then smiled again and walked forward, throwing her arms around his neck. And then she promptly reached up and pecked his cheek. "Thank you, Lucifer."

Lucifer was still for a moment, completely stunned by that, before slowly managing to wrap an arm around her in response. "... You're welcome, child," he finally murmured. "Happy birthday." He cleared his throat and leaned back. "Now, go on. Enjoy yourself."

Trixie grinned and jumped up, rushing off at once. Lucifer watched her go, still puzzled, before slowly pushing himself to stand again, straightening his suit. He looked up to see Chloe just smiling at him, actually chuckling a bit to herself at the bewildered expression on his face.

"You really aren't used to children, are you?" she asked him bemusedly, grinning.

"I'm not used to children liking me," Lucifer corrected. "Nor am I used to children I can actually tolerate." He paused, looking back at Trixie for a moment.

"I've been meaning to ask," Chloe commented, walking forward to stand beside him again. "Do any angels start out as kids? Like, what's the aging process?"

Lucifer hummed, narrowing his eyes. "We start out as fledglings, which is the equivalent to a newborn in the Silver City," he finally started to explain, "but we age much differently. One month is equal to one year, for us. As far as physical appearances go... well, we're basically giant toddlers when we start out. We don't age in a physical sense."

"Weird," Chloe muttered, finishing off her cookie and brushing her hands off on her pants. "So there aren't kids in Heaven- the Silver City, whatever…" She made a face.

Lucifer nodded, his gaze trailing away for a moment. "Childhood doesn't exist for us angels. Not as it s for humans, at least." He blinked. "There were several angels after me, but I wasn't around for the birth of many of them. And since my Mother was cast down to Hell after me, I doubt there are any fledglings left up there." His gaze flickered toward the ceiling. "Your spawn... She reminds me of someone... That I was once quite close to. Someone I don't see anymore."

Chloe nodded slowly, though she did seem a little overwhelmed by all the celestial talk. So, Lucifer cleared his throat and changed the subject, looking back down and focusing on Trixie once more.

"But today is not about me, Detective, and I assure you I will answer whatever questions you may have at a later date." The former Devil flashed her a grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lion to pay for."

Chapter Text

Day Three.

"Don't tell me you stayed up all night again…"

Lucifer paused, just for a second, and looked up. He was busying himself with cleaning up the rest of the feathers until he was called into the precinct - He'd decided not to go in that day until Chloe needed him for something, spend his free time trying to pick up the mess in the penthouse. He was genuinely surprised by how many feathers there still were, scattered all over the floor. It was honestly ridiculous and Lucifer was about ready to call up to his Father and ask Him to clean up the mess since God had been the one to make their wings shed in the first place.

The former Devil flashed a sweet smile at his oldest brother, slightly nervous, but charming. "I had things to do…" He started, and sighed when Amenadiel simply groaned and facepalmed, shaking his head at his brother wordlessly. Lucifer frowned slightly, rolling his eyes and pushing himself to stand up completely. "What?"

"I think you keep forgetting that you're mortal," Amenadiel scolded, "and you need a lot more sleep now than you used to. Luci, this is dangerous. Really dangerous. Humans aren't supposed to stay up like this."

"I slept the night before!" Lucifer protested, gesturing toward his room.

"You can't skip nights anymore," Amenadiel retorted. "It's going to take a toll on you. You already look weak at the moment."

Lucifer blinked, distracted by that. "Do I?" He couldn't really take offense, at the moment. He actually wasn't feeling too great, either. For starters, he felt like someone had a hand around his throat and was squeezing for all they were worth, and every so often his nose would start tingling before settling back to normal. Oh, and, not to mention, he was aching everywhere. Everywhere.

"And you look really pale," Amenadiel added, frowning even deeper now as he walked forward. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Well-" Lucifer was about to tell his brother that he felt like he'd been hit with a bus when his phone started buzzing from the counter. "Hold that thought," He sighed, frowning, and turned away from Amenadiel, reaching out to pick the phone up and being careful not to touch any of the pieces of glass scattered around - He'd already cut himself about an hour ago by accident and had bled for at least two minutes.

"It's the Detective," Lucifer hummed, waving his phone slightly and starting to respond to the text. "I have to g-"

He stopped when the tingling feeling in his nose started up again, this time accompanied by a slowly building pressure. Lucifer took a deep breath in - which actually made it worse - and completely froze.

Amenadiel blinked, shuffling forward. "Luci-"

And then Lucifer sneezed. For probably the first time in his entire life, he sneezed. And it actually fucking hurt. Luckily, it wasn't accompanied by any snot, though, so he'd take that as a win. Still, he was actually pretty disgusted.

"You're sick," Amenadiel said immediately, sounding completely shocked at the realization while Lucifer silently rubbed at his still-aching nose. "You're sick."

"Wonderful," Lucifer grumbled sarcastically, honestly panicking a little bit. He'd never been sick before. Did this mean he couldn't go to work with the Detective now? Did he have to go to a hospital? Lucifer did not want to go to a hospital. "Maybe it'll pass," he said quickly, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. "Humans get colds all the time, right?"

"It could be more than just a cold," Amenadiel warned, frowning. "I think you should stay here and get some rest."

"What is with you and rest?" Lucifer groaned, turning to face him. "I don't need it. I'll be feeling back to normal before the day's over, I'm certain of it." He frowned. "Or, at least, I hope so. I don't want to be holed up here sick," he grumbled.

"Lucifer," Amenadiel sighed. "I may have been oblivious back then, but I'm much more observant now. And I can see that whatever this sickness is is affecting you much more than you're letting on."

"I don't lie," Lucifer protested, frowning. Then he snickered. "You really were oblivious back then, weren't you?"

"You don't tell the whole truth," Amenadiel countered, then frowned, glancing away for a second. "And, yes, I was."

Lucifer blinked, staring at him for a moment. "You're not really upset about that, are you?" He questioned, confused. "All of that was so long ago, Amenadiel."

"Lucifer?"

Lucifer flinched, visibly, his wide eyes flickering up as he turned around to face Amenadiel. He stepped back slightly, wings unfurling immediately to leave, but his brother didn't look mad. That halted Lucifer for a moment. Ever since all of this had started, every one of his siblings had been absolutely livid at him for what he'd done, what he'd started. Amenadiel just looked puzzled and maybe a little disappointed as he walked forward. "I-" Lucifer started, then faltered, wings lowering. 

"Brother, what are you doing?" Amenadiel asked softly, stopping in front of him and reaching out to brush Lucifer's hair back, away from his face. Lucifer didn't say anything, folding his wings back completely as his brother tried to tame the wild curls that Lucifer no longer bothered with. "This isn't you."

"No, this is what Dad's made me," Lucifer responded bitterly, pulling away from his oldest brother abruptly. "Don't you see, Amenadiel? You can't stand there and tell me you agree with him- with Him pushing his family away for- for…"

"Father is distracted now, yes, Luci, but He still cares for us. For you," Amenadiel assured, eyebrows pulling together as he frowned at his younger brother.

"I'm sorry, Amenadiel," Lucifer let out a low, dry laugh and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "But He truly doesn't. If He did, He'd be paying more attention to his family rather than His oh-so precious toys."

"Lucifer…" Amenadiel sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "It's… more complicated than that, brother. I'm sure Dad has a reason for-"

"Abandoning us?" Lucifer threw in helpfully, still sour.

Amenadiel spared him a look. "-For getting so involved with these humans." He narrowed his eyes slightly, an odd look crossing his face. Lucifer wondered, for a second, if Amenadiel felt the same way he did about the humans. The lower race. The creatures that had taken his Father's attention from His own family.

Lucifer loathed them. He doubted that would change. "Well, it's not just him," he finally said, shaking his head. "Mum's grown cold, Uriel will hardly speak to me, and M-" He winced, glancing away. "Michael…"

Amenadiel's expression had changed considerably, stepping toward his brother. "I warned him to back off. Is he still bothering you?" He demanded.

"He's always bothering me, Amenadiel, it's Michael," Lucifer mumbled, subconsciously bringing his hand up to rub at his shoulder. "Just- Between all of it, I can't do this anymore. The Silver City, it- it isn't what it used to be, our family isn't what it used to be."

Amenadiel stayed silent for a long time before suddenly stepping forward again. Lucifer flinched at first, but he froze in surprise when his brother simply pulled him into a tight hug. The younger angel stayed still for a moment, stunned, then hesitantly returned it.

"Wh- What's this for?"

"For not noticing how much you were hurting," Amenadiel murmured, resting his head on top of his younger brother's. "I'm sorry, Luci."

"It's not your fault," Lucifer muttered with a slightly breathless, bitter laugh. He closed his eyes, digging his fingers into Amenadiel's jacket and burying his face into his oldest brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Amenadiel chided him, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm sorry for bringing up all this drama," Lucifer said simply. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. I know you, Amenadiel, you wouldn't turn against Dad, not for even a second."

"We'll be on opposing sides," Amenadiel mumbled, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Lucifer nodded faintly, then sighed and pulled away. Amenadiel kept a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. "I wish I had seen how much this was affecting you. I should have."

Lucifer blinked, shaking his head. "It wouldn't have made a difference," he responded faintly. "It's too much, brother. I can't just stand by and…"

"I know."

"Do you think He'll destroy me?" Lucifer asked suddenly. "Do you think Dad would…"

"No, Luci," Amenadiel interrupted quickly, eyes widening. "You're His son. I know you don't think so, but He really does care about you. The worse He'll do, is…"

"Send me away." Lucifer smiled bitterly. "With my luck I'll land on Earth with the humans."

"Or…" Amenadiel didn't seem to want to finish that sentence.

"Or the Underworld," Lucifer finished for him, his voice going a little softer at the thought. He stared down, uncertain, then shook his head and looked up again. "Well, whatever happens will be better than this." He gestured around.

"Better than me and Azrael?" Amenadiel asked lightly, a rueful smile tugging at his lips. Lucifer blinked, arms dropping to his sides, then forced a grin at his brother.

"Not likely, 'Menny."

"I should have noticed," Amenadiel finally mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I won't make that mistake again."

"I'm glad you didn't," Lucifer countered, clearing his throat, which had started itching at that point. He did it again, then sucked in a sharp breath and stifled a cough. "If you ask me, everything turned out pretty alright."

"It could have been better," Amenadiel objected, then paused, his gaze focusing on his brother. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward. "Enough of this, we can talk about that later. You really need to rest."

"Amenadiel-"

"Lucifer."

"Alright-" Lucifer sighed, holding his hands up, and spared his brother a pointed look as he took a few steps back toward his bedroom, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder. "Alright. I'll go rest. But I'm doing so extremely reluctantly, so… keep in mind that I'm extremely displeased with your sudden mother-hen behavior. Or, perhaps not so sudden," he added thoughtfully, "since you always did seem to be a helicopter p-"

"Go." Amenadiel rubbed his hand down his face.

"Going." Lucifer huffed out a sigh, a little dramatically. Instead of heading back to his room, however, he inched forward and reached for his phone. Amenadiel glared, deeply, for a second, but relaxed reluctantly with a sigh when Lucifer promptly stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm merely telling the Detective I'm on house arrest. Hah, maybe she'll come save me." He smirked at Amenadiel before turning back to his phone, sending a quick text to Chloe explaining most of what was happening before setting the phone back down and looking up, back toward the shattered glass and feathers littering the room.

A hand on his shoulder snapped him from his thoughts, as Amenadiel came up beside him and leaned against the counter, brushing a few shards of glass away with the sleeve of his jacket as he looked down at his brother. "It's not the first time the bar's been wrecked, brother."

"No, I know. I know," Lucifer sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Obviously. I'm just getting a bit tired of having to clean it up."

"Understandable," Amenadiel commented quietly, thoughtful for a moment. "You miss your powers, don't you?" Lucifer didn't answer, just let out a low snort clasped his hands together over the counter, ducking his head a little. As he did, the cross necklace around his neck swung loose from where it had been safely tucked in his shirt moments before, and Amenadiel took notice to it immediately. "Hey… where'd you get that?"

"Hm?" Lucifer looked up at him in confusion for a moment, and Amenadiel gestured to the necklace. The former Devil looked down, mildly startled at first, before he shook his head. "Oh, yes. Ms. Lopez gave it to me." He reached up, touching the necklace around his neck for a moment before shrugging and throwing his brother a glance. "Figured since Dad and I have reconciled…"

Amenadiel's lips twitched, almost breaking into that smug grin Lucifer knew and hated so well, but he managed to control himself this time. "That's nice, Luci. It looks good on you," he mused with a light smile, and Lucifer let out a snort and rolled his eyes to the side, looking away for a moment.

"Anything looks good on me, brother."

"Whatever you say." Amenadiel let out a low chuckle and clasped a hand over his back. Lucifer looked up, a little surprised by the lack of pain, but then relaxed quickly a moment later. Of course, he hadn't cut his wings off this time, there wouldn't be any scars there now.

Lucifer went silent for a few seconds, looking thoughtful as he stared down. "Amenadiel?" His oldest brother let out a low hum of acknowledgement, and Lucifer continued. "After I… left, were Azrael and Gabriel… Were they…"

"... Azrael and Gabriel are fine, Luci," Amenadiel spoke quietly, moving his hand away to place it back on the counter. "Father let them off easy after what you did after the trial. Azrael went on with her job, and… Gabriel is still writing, as far as I know. He was when I left." At this, Lucifer paused. He thought back to when Michael had first shown up, Raphael and Gabriel at his sides. His younger brother hadn't even cast him a passing glance - but then again, Lucifer hadn't been able to keep his gaze on him for too long, either. He remembered how pissed he used to be at Gabriel - at all of his siblings. But Azrael and Gabriel in particular, his anger toward those two was simply… unjustified. He wished he could talk to them now.

What did they think of him now?

"… Good," Lucifer muttered, and Amenadiel nodded slightly.

"Now go get some rest."

Lucifer rolled his eyes, but he did lightly nudge his brother's shoulder with his own before turning and heading back for his room. He sneezed again before he was even halfway there.

Michael stared down at the pudding cup that Ella had shoved into his hands, sitting at his desk and silently swirling the spoon around warily, watching the brown mush swish back and forth with the motion. On occasion, he looked up, searching for his brother, or Ella, or someone interesting. After giving him the odd snack, Ella had told him she had a crime scene to get to. Michael had offered to go with her, but Ella told him there were police officers already working the case, so the former archangel had to stay behind. The more he sat there and waited, the more worried he became. Lucifer hadn't shown his face, not once that day, and the concern churning in his chest was almost unbearable.

The worst part was that he didn't have the usual, collective anger from everyone else to drown it out. So he felt every twist and stab of emotion - his own emotion. He didn't quite like what he was feeling, but he tried to brush it off. Tried to tell himself Lucifer was probably just with Chloe, or at a therapy appointment, that's why he hadn't seen him… or he'd simply decided not to show up that day. Maybe he was taking a lazy day. Maybe he was nursing a hangover. Wait. No. Lucifer apparently didn't get hangovers… maybe he'd drank too much? He was mortal now, after all, maybe the rules had changed for him. Then again Michael wasn't sure if any amount of pain could stop Lucifer from coming to work.

He shot down each and every one of his own ideas, tapping his fingers idly against the pudding cup and staring down, bouncing his leg up and down nervously and occasionally hitting his knee against the bottom of the desk. The physical pain was actually a nice distraction, until it began aching so much that he finally had to stop and take a breath. No, this was fine, everything was fine. Lucifer was fine. Just because he was mortal didn't mean he needed to be fussed over like a kid. Jeez, it was so much easier to ignore his own feelings when he had the feelings of literally everyone else dumped on him. Now he had no idea what to do with his own. He still wasn't entirely convinced they were his own.

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and forced himself to lean back in the chair, just putting the pudding down on the desk and settling both hands on his legs, his fingers digging into the fabric of his white pants. Maybe he was just bored. Yeah, that had to be it. He was bored, and he had nothing better to do than sit around wasting time over his own emotions. So he needed to find something to do. A case. If Pierce were there he'd be dumping file after file on him, but-

Oh, Dad, why was he thinking about Pierce of all people?

Michael very much so wanted to bash his head into his desk at that moment. Instead he put his head in his hands, screwed his eyes shut, and tried to think. Well, not to think. But trying to push the thoughts back instinctively made them worse, instinctively made him think about it that much more until it was all he could focus on. Until, eventually, it became too much. He shoved his chair back, forced himself to his feet, grabbed his overshirt off of the back of the chair and promptly stormed out of the building in a blind rage.

This time, though, his anger was his own. Such boiling, twisting, burning anger and every bit of it was directed right toward himself. Anger for feeling the way he did, and even more anger for being angry about caring in the first place. Anger for being selfish, for wanting to not care, for wishing he didn't have to. Anger for being angry in general, knowing he shouldn't be feeling like this. He wasn't being forced to focus on everyone else's rage right then, so why was this such a big deal? Why did it hurt so much? Why couldn't he drown it out? Not that he ever could, but these were his emotions. Firsthand. And they hurt worse than any empathy powers could ever make him feel.

"Okay. Okay." Michael pulled himself to a stop, taking a quick glance around before simply screwing his eyes shut and sucking in a slow, deep breath, letting it out slowly and trying to think. Okay, he was fine. He could control this. He didn't know how, but he could. These were his emotions, and he could feel how he wanted to feel. He just had to finally figure out how to do that. He'd always been so focused on everyone else that he'd never had to think about it before, never had to think about how he really felt.

He'd been so focused on the anger.

It had always only been the anger.

It took Michael a few moments to actually leave the library, leaving the broken book behind. Gabriel would be pissed at him, he was sure, but Michael would prepare himself for the anger that would surely be radiating from his brother. It wasn't much different from the anger of the other angel's, anyway. It was just another headache to him, or at the most, a few hours of burning, suffocating chest pain. Either way, it wasn't anything new.

"You know, maybe if you stopped pissing people off, you'd be in less pain?" Raphael suggested idly, falling into step with him. Michael glanced down at his brother, then rolled his eyes and looked away again.

"Come to berate me, too?" Michael snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked. "Because, believe me, I've heard quite enough from Azrael. And I can't imagine Amenadiel will be too pleased with me, either, so that confrontation should be fun." He made a face. "I can feel his anger from here."

"Why is anger the only thing you focus on?" Raphael asked suddenly, sounding genuinely confused. "Your ability, you can sense all emotions, not just the negative ones. The positive emotions probably won't hurt you as much."

"Oh, wonderful," Michael replied sarcastically, "just tell me where to find a sweet little ray of sunshine in the Silver City."

"Azrael."

"Azrael hates me," Michael responded coolly, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "In fact, at the moment, her anger is just a little stronger than anyone else's here. Besides Amenadiel, but he's always pissed about something."

"Gabriel," Raphael suggested, and Michael blinked, actually not having anything to retort to that for a second. Then he snorted.

"I just snapped one of his books in half," the archangel replied easily. "I won't be on his good side for a while."

"Why Father gave you, of all angels, the ability to feel what others do is beyond me," Raphael muttered.

"It's beyond both of us, Raphael, but I'm not questioning Him."

"You never do…"

"Why is that such a bad thing?" Michael demanded, shaking his head and running his fingers through his blonde hair. "Everyone's second-guessing Him now, and it's annoying. First Samael starts planning a war, Mother and Him are fighting constantly, and now even the most loyal angels are questioning His leadership."

"I'm not questioning His leadership," Raphael protested. "I'm questioning why He made you an empath."

"Well, ask Him," Michael retorted, rolling his eyes. "Because I don't have a clue. But this is what He wanted, so it doesn't matter."

"Yeah, okay." Raphael shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "One of these days, though, it's gonna matter," he warned. "I mean, come on, Micah. It's affecting you physically and mentally, and I don't think I even have to mention the emotional strain. You should talk to Dad. Let him know that the powers are hurting you."

Michael blinked, honestly distracted by the use of the nickname for a moment, but he quickly recovered to respond. "I'll be fine."

"You're willing to put yourself through all this pain just to avoid confronting Him?"

"Yes, well, I'm sorry I don't complain like a priss about every little thing," Michael remarked. "It hurts. Boohoo. I got over it, so you should do yourself a favor and do the same. Quit worrying about me and start worrying about Samael's stupid "war"."

Raphael stared at him for a moment before raising his eyebrows and looking away with another half-hearted shrug. "Yeah, man. Whatever you say."

The positive emotions probably won't hurt you as much.

"Shit, Raph…" Michael hissed, digging his fingers into his hair and squeezing his eyes shut a little tighter. Maybe if he'd listened to his brother back then, none of this would be happening. If he had just taken his advice, gone to his Father about how his powers felt. How much they hurt. How angry he was, all the time. Or even just tried to focus on the good emotions instead of the bad ones. There were plenty in the Silver City, Michael had just been looking for a reason to be angry. A reason to hate Lucifer as much as he'd always wanted to. A reason to get back at him, to push him as far as he had, to satisfy the burning rage in his chest. But it never had, it never satisfied him because Raphael was right; No matter what he did, he was always going to be angry until he stopped focusing on the negativity and started focusing on the positivity.

For just a second, he wished Raphael was there. Maybe he could talk him through this. Michael hadn't listened to him before, but if he could now, he would. And if he could, he would look Raphael right in the eyes and tell him how grateful he was to him. Of all the angels in Heaven, Raphael was the only one who could really stand to be around him, the only one who kept his patience through Michael's long-winded rants and never seemed fazed by him snapping on occasion. Michael just wished he could have seen it sooner, the loyalty his brother had possessed. The strong, undeserved loyalty.

He sighed and pressed a hand over his mouth, trying to focus. Right, the positive emotions. What made him feel good? Ella. Ella made him feel good. Thinking of Lucifer made him feel… guilty. Amenadiel, too. Raphael. Gabriel. His siblings. His entire family. His Dad…? No, those feelings were complicated… So, Michael stopped thinking for a second. He stopped thinking and went still, trying to clear his brain before he continued his internal search. There had to be something, something inside that could calm him, something that could make him feel even a little better than he did right now and he just needed to find it so he could calm himself down.

The former archangel sighed and combed his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds until he realized he most certainly needed to breathe, especially right then, when his breathing was more shallow than ever. So he sucked in another breath and let it out slowly, grimacing a little as he turned back toward the precinct, and hesitated. As boring as it was, he usually stuck around because Ella was there. But she wasn't there today. So did he really have a reason to stick around anymore?

Chloe certainly wouldn't want him around - not that she was there right then, she was off on a case - but Daniel was, and the cop was shooting him looks every few seconds that… well, Michael wasn't really intimidated by the little shrimp, but he certainly did feel a lot smaller under the accusing glare, which seemed to make the pain in his chest even worse. He sighed, digging his fingers deep into his overshirt and looking down at it in silence for a moment, shoulders twitching a little as he thought. There was nothing left to do here, and he wasn't wanted by anyone in that building anyway. Which was fair, and good, because it left him able to leave in the first place.

But leave where? He couldn't go back to Ella's, there would be no point in that, she wasn't there. He couldn't go to Lucifer's, much as he wanted to check on the guy… Lucifer wouldn't want him around either. Amenadiel certainly wouldn't, if he was there, and he probably was. He didn't want to be alone, though, that was the problem. And he had nowhere to go, nobody else to talk to - nobody that would want to talk to him, anyway.

He shook his head at himself and sighed, glaring down at the sidewalk for a moment before just turning to head down the sidewalk, no set destination in mind. He'd go get lost in a crowd or something, people-watch. It was better than nothing. Or, at least, it would have been if he hadn't immediately bumped into a tiny, blonde-haired woman with glasses who Michael instantly recognized as Lucifer's therapist, despite never having met her in person.

"Sorry." Michael reached a hand out to grab her shoulder as she stumbled, the former archangel surprisingly steady on his feet, himself. The woman just chuckled a little, somewhat nervously, and flashed him a small smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"Good…" Michael pulled his hand back a little, hesitating slightly. Typically, Lucifer's friends didn't quite like him. Ella was the exception, but honestly, the way she was - she liked everyone. Daniel and Chloe loathed him, and this was someone Lucifer spoke to everyday about his issues - Michael had no doubt that his name had popped up quite a bit during those conversations. The former archangel grimaced and glanced away for a second, ready to turn and continue on his way, but the woman stopped him.

"Hang on a second- are you alright?" She tilted her head at him as Michael's gaze flickered back to her. "You just seem… very deeply conflicted." She paused, eyes narrowing as she stared at him - as if she was searching for something, and Michael shuffled on his feet a little uncomfortably under the stare.

"No. No, no, I'm fine." Michael took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair again, the motion no longer serving to calm him, but somewhat of a nervous habit by now that he barely even noticed. The woman didn't look convinced, and especially not after Michael huffed out a half-hysterical laugh and shook his head slightly. "Just- emotions, you know? Stupid emotions."

"Right." The woman nodded in clear understanding, crossing her arms over her chest and looking up at him. She actually had to tilt her head back slightly to look at him in the first place, and Michael couldn't help but let out another half-hearted chuckle as he scrubbed a hand down his face. "Well, the emotions re important, but the cause is a main focus also. The source is what you need to look into, what's making you feel the way you do."

"Oh, well, that's easy," Michael muttered with a shake of his head. "I just… I need to find a way to stop. To make the feelings just… stop."

"Hm." The woman narrowed her eyes, then stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a card. "Listen, I have to get to work. But-" She held the card out to him, and Michael took it after a second or so of hesitation, looking down to scan the words written onto it. "You clearly need to talk, and, luckily, I literally get paid to listen. You should schedule an appointment and come around sometime."

"... Maybe," Michael sighed and bit his lip, averting his gaze once more. The woman hummed and headed past him, and she got a few feet down the sidewalk before Michael shook his head a little and turned. "Hey, uh, Linda…" He trailed off and went silent for a moment as she turned back to him, looking up expectantly, and Michael visibly hesitated for a few seconds before he simply shook his head again. "Sorry, nevermind."

Linda frowned at him, at least for a few seconds, then offered a small smile. "Alright. I hope I'll see you soon-" She paused, giving him a pointed look and meeting his amber eyes for a few seconds. "Michael."

The former archangel blinked and stared at her, completely silent, as the human turned and continued on her way. He continued to stare until she had turned a corner and disappeared behind a row of buildings, standing completely tense in the middle of the sidewalk for a second or so longer before dropping his gaze to the card she had given him, still visibly shaken by that… entire interaction.

… Therapy, huh?

Before he could think about it too much, the door to the precinct swung open and Daniel stepped out, looking as grumpy as ever. Michael glanced up, quickly stuffing the card in his pocket and staying silent as the human turned to him, looking irritated. "Let's go, we've got a case."

"And you want me to tag along," Michael said blankly, staring at him. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to feel about the human. He didn't really hate him, but he didn't quite like him either. Still, he was Ella's friend, and apparently Lucifer's… acquaintance, so Michael would make an effort to try and get along with him. Key word, try.

"No, not really. But nobody else is available and you're just standing out here, so I figured you might as well do something useful," Daniel huffed and walked past him, and Michael paused for a second as he turned to watch him go, mouth opening slightly to spit out a retort. But he stopped, mostly because he couldn't really think of something to counter that with, and also because he didn't really have the anger to respond right then.

So instead, he just sighed and turned, walking after him as he shrugged his overshirt on and buttoned it. A day with Daniel - this should be interesting.

By the time they got to the crime scene, the tension was practically suffocating the former archangel. He was honestly beginning to feel glad he couldn't feel the anger from the cop - what he could sense was overwhelming enough, and he didn't even have his powers then. Honestly, though, other than that, it was kind of peaceful. As long as he couldn't feel Daniel's anger, he could at least try and act like it didn't exist. He sighed and pushed the door open, stepping out of the car and shutting his door at the same time Daniel did.

"So, what-" Michael looked up toward Daniel, but the cop merely walked past him and headed for the house. "... Happened." The former archangel grimaced and ground his teeth together wordlessly for a few moments, staring after the human sourly before shaking his head and following. Whatever, just get through the day. He deserved this anyway.

He didn't bother with gloves as he followed, just simply shoved his hands into his pockets and walked in after Daniel, a grimace settling across his lips as he looked down. A human man - in his 20s, Michael would assume - was laying sprawled out across the floor on his stomach, his head turned at a rather unnatural angle and his mouth open, blood still trickling from his lips. Michael blinked, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Ugh… Gross."

"Miiikey!" Michael looked up, both surprised and pleased, as Ella bounced toward him with her camera hanging around her neck and threw her arms around him. The former archangel chuckled a little, wrapping his arms around her in return. "Hi!"

"I thought you had another crime scene to investigate?" He commented, amused as he pulled back and Ella turned away to do her thing, which at the moment was taking pictures of the victim's body. Michael spared a glance up toward Daniel, who was glaring at him silently as he spoke to another man - probably the one who had found this poor sap.

"I did," Ella replied, letting her camera swing back into place around her neck as she turned and smiled at him. "And then I was called here when I was on my way to the precinct. This poor guy-" She pointed to the man on the floor, and Michael reluctantly looked back down at the dead human, eyes narrowing. "Had his neck snapped. Pretty violently, too - looks like it was enough pressure to nearly turn his head around completely on his body." She shuddered a little, and Michael raised his eyebrows hummed.

"Right, that's unfortunate," he sighed, then looked back toward the man Daniel was talking to. "And I'm guessing that's the guy who found the poor dude."

"Mhm, his roommate," Ella explained, then looked down when her phone buzzed, blinking. "Ah, jeez, I gotta go. I swear, Lucifer better get in today," she complained as she turned away, peeling her gloves off and grabbing her kit. "It's been seriously busy. I'll talk to you later Mike!" She added, rushing past him and lightly brushing her shoulder against his in the process.

"Bye…" Michael sighed, turning his head to watch her go.

"Saint," Daniel spat the word out with an almost disbelieving tone (something Michael could understand, considering what Daniel knew the man had to think the name was ironic since there was no way in hell Michael could be a saint), but the former angel turned anyway to look at the other as the cop made his way toward him. "Good news."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of good news, considering," Michael commented with a glance toward the dead body on the floor, and Daniel's expression shifted to the same irritation he regarded Lucifer with.

"... I swear to God, I can see the family resemblance…" Daniel mumbled, and Michael mused over the irony of that statement until the cop spoke again. "Just listen. Dude's roommate was apparently attacked by the same guy that killed this dude-"

"Oh. You're so right. That is good news!"

Daniel's eye twitched.

"The attacker's name is Koby Winters, and apparently Jennings here owed him a ton of money that he didn't pay back. So."

"Great." Michael cracked his knuckles and looked over at Daniel, raising an eyebrow. "Then this should be mostly easy, as long as he hasn't ditched town or som-" He paused, cutting off when Daniel simply shoved past him again and headed out the door, and he frowned slightly. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned and followed after him with a hum as he headed for the car. "You know, I get the feeling you don't like me."

"You think?" Daniel opened his door with a huff and got in the car, and Michael took his place in the passenger's seat. Of course, he was just stating the obvious, no doubt about that. But he was hoping to ease some of the tension. He wasn't sure why it was so… uncomfortable to have someone be angry with him - especially now that he couldn't even sense that anger. In a way it probably made it harder, not knowing how intense the rage was. But it also made it easier, because he wasn't feeling it as well, and maybe he could do something about it.

"Yeah, I get it," Michael muttered, glancing to the side. "I don't particularly like me, either." He curled his hands into slight fists and looked down, and Daniel paused for a split second before starting the car with a sigh. "If this is about-"

"It's about you being a controlling, abusive bitch to your brother."

Michael paused, snapping his mouth shut and glancing at him. As much as that hurt, it was the truth. And he couldn't deny that he was glad Lucifer had friends on Earth who really cared about him… taking a deep breath, he fixed his gaze on his hands and frowned as Daniel started driving. "I know, and you have every right to hate me for that."

"Yeah," Daniel grumbled, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. "So, what, this mean you're not taking Lucifer 'home', wherever that is?" Michael paused, the realization settling in - Daniel had no idea about the angel shit - and he fell silent as Daniel continued, "what changed your mind?"

"There's just… been a change in plans." Michael looked down at his hands, blinking. "Our Father decided… Lucifer, belongs here."

"What's with this Father of yours, anyway?" Daniel grumbled, clenching his teeth. Michael glanced at him, then looked ahead toward the road. "Lucifer's always talking about how much he hates him, and yet you…" He narrowed his eyes a little. "Well, you don't, but you don't seem much better, either, so."

"Ouch," Michael muttered, a little more offended at the insult to God than anything. Poor mortal, had no idea who he was talking about. He looked away, staring out the windshield once more before letting out a low sigh and sinking down. "S- Lucifer doesn't have good history with our Father. But, recently… they've reconciled." He sighed, relaxing against the seat. "And our Father agreed to let Lucifer stay."

"And what about you?"

Michael paused. "I'm staying, too."

Daniel glanced at him, silent, then let out a huff and looked ahead again. "Whatever, man. Just stop dicking around with Lucifer. He may be a shit sometimes, but…" He gritted his teeth, seeming reluctant to continue, but he did so anyway. "He doesn't deserve your crap. And if you ever," his voice dropped, a little darker, a little scarier, but Michael merely glanced at him. "Ever even lift a finger against Ella, I will destroy you."

"Noted," Michael replied quietly, looking away again. "I'm trying to be better, Espinoza." At this, both men fell silent for a long time before Daniel finally spoke up, somewhat hesitantly, but not as angry as before.

"Good."

Chapter Text

Day Four.

"I'm dying."

Chloe paused mid-step and looked up at Lucifer, who was currently snuggled under the blankets in his bed, arms crossed over his chest and pouting like a child. He also had balled up tissues next to him, and a pack of mint chewing gum at his side. It didn't seem to be helping clear his nose, though, because his mouth was half-open as he breathed, and even that didn't seem to help him that much. His hair was messy, lacking the usual gel, and Chloe noted faintly that being sick wasn't exactly a good look for the poor Devil… Of course, he'd probably never been sick before. This must be entirely new to him.

"You're not dying, Lucifer, you're just sick," Chloe told him with a sigh, continuing on her way up the stairs and setting the bowl in her hands down on the nightstand before reaching forward to feel his forehead. He raised his eyebrows at that, but he didn't comment on it as Chloe pulled back, sighing. "And you've got a fever. Have you taken any medicine?"

"I don't have medicine, Detective," Lucifer chuckled a little bit despite himself, his voice strained. He didn't sound right, and it made Chloe frown as she shook her head and brushed his hair back, kind of instinct by now. She was used to dealing with sickness - Lucifer was not used to being sick, so this was going to be a bumpy ride, no doubt. Honestly, it worried her that he was mortal now, he could get sick, he could be hurt…

"Well, luckily, I brought some along with me just in case. You're lucky Amenadiel called me," she added, grabbing her purse and pulling it open. Lucifer hummed lightly at the mention of Amenadiel, even giving a slight roll of his eyes as he let his head fall back against the headboard with a low, huffy sigh. He looked grouchy, the way a child be when they were sick, and Chloe had to bite back a chuckle despite herself. "Otherwise you'd be stuck here feeling miserable."

"Or dead." Lucifer sniffed, and Chloe let out a sigh and rolled her eyes despite herself, grabbing a bottle of cold medicine out of her purse and studying it for a moment. It was for kids, but given that Lucifer had probably never even had medicine at all, ever, it should work for him if she gave him enough. It would at least help the stuffy nose and, judging by his raspy voice, soothe his throat. So she poured some of the liquid into the cup and held it up to study it before handing it over, and he took it gratefully. "Thank you, Detective."

"You're welcome, Lucifer." Chloe watched him take a tentative sip from the small cup, then reluctantly tilt it back to down all of it at once, coughing a bit in the process. Chloe took the cup back and set it aside to rinse it out later, then picked up the bowl and offered it to him. "I brought you soup."

"You… brought me soup." Lucifer blinked and stared down at it for a moment, then let his gaze flicker back up to her face without lifting his head. "… Of course you did." Chloe then promptly smacked him on the shoulder, albeit lightly, and he let out a low chuckle and took the bowl from her. "I appreciate it, actually. Amenadiel won't let me eat anything good… He won't even let me drink. Can you believe that?"

"Alcohol's only going to make this worse."

Chloe glanced up, a bit startled to see Amenadiel literally just standing in the corner, arms crossed over his chest and watching Lucifer with a mixture of worry and wariness in his gaze. Lucifer merely picked up one of the balled-up tissues and tossed it at his brother half-heartedly, causing Amenadiel to lean back away from it as far as possible. "Says you, brother." He looked back at Chloe. "Honestly, he's been insufferable lately."

"He's just worried about you, Lucifer," Chloe told him with a soft laugh, and Lucifer snorted a little in response as he scooped up a spoonful of the soup - none of the noodles or chicken, just the soup, and promptly started sipping at it. "He's just trying to take care of you." Chloe looked up and offered Amenadiel a smile. "I mean, what are brothers for, right?"

She certainly wasn't expecting Lucifer's reaction to those words. It was something out of a comedy - he coughed, then promptly spat the soup out, head snapping up. Chloe had to reach forward and grab the bowl from him to stop the whole thing from spilling over the bed, eyes wide with alarm. "Lucifer!"

"So, uh, you're really going along with the war then, huh?"

Lucifer blinked and looked up, turning his head. His brother stood still, leaning against the doorway and watching him through wide, careful blue eyes. His dark brown hair fell curled around his face, as he raised a hand to brush them back and tilted his head back to look up at his older brother. Lucifer was actually quite taller than him, despite him being made only about a month after him. Regardless, he relaxed immediately at the sight of his brother, offering him a small smile before it melted, registering his words. "It's not a war," he protested. "It's more of a…"

"Rebellion?" His brother offered helpfully after a moment of silence, and sighed when Lucifer nodded. He went silent, fixing his gaze on the floor for a few seconds longer, before finally just shaking his head and looking back up at Lucifer. He looked torn, at least for a few seconds, but a look of determination quickly replaced the uncertainty. "Okay, I guess that's a little better. I'll tell you what, though, I can't wait for this whole thing to blow over. It's good, though, you giving Dad a wake-up call!"

Lucifer's eyes widened for a second, genuinely startled by that, and opened his mouth to respond. His brother was speaking again before he could, though.

"I mean…" His brother ran his fingers through his hair again, then let his fingers run down the back of his neck, rubbing at the skin as he rushed to correct himself. "Nothing against Dad. Okay? He's great. Love Him, I really do. But…" He hesitated a bit, looking away. "I don't know, I'm worried about Him. Maybe this is what He needs - maybe He'll even stop the Project!"

"... I doubt it, Gabriel…" Lucifer sighed heavily and rubbed a hand down his face. He knew he should be more pleased that one of his siblings was on his side, willing to stand with him during this - but he could only feel worried for his siblings. Especially Gabriel in particular. He knew Gabriel didn't quite see the reality in these situations - he was young, at heart. He didn't understand what consequences could come with this.

"Aw, c'mon, bro," Gabriel protested, eyes widening in dismay. "There's a chance there, I'm sure. This whole thing'll pass, and hopefully by the end of it, Dad'll be back to- to, well, being Dad."

"That's not quite the point of it," Lucifer admitted, shaking his head. "But it would be nice, wouldn't it?" He glanced up at Amenadiel when his oldest brother eased past him, clasping a hand over Gabriel's shoulder as he passed to leave the room. Gabriel leaned briefly into the touch with a smile, turning his head to the side to say a quick goodbye, and Lucifer watched Amenadiel leave with a sigh. "See you later, 'Menny." He then looked back at Gabriel, watching him try to tame his hair once more. "So, how has my favorite younger brother been?"

"Good," Gabriel chirped, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked forward. Gabriel wasn't that younger than him, but he'd kept a small, childish part of him that Lucifer actually somewhat admired. He didn't let the bitterness get to him, not even for a second. Lucifer could admire that. "Just finished my new book."

"I thought Father wanted you to work on the tablets," Lucifer commented, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Oh, I am," Gabriel replied, blinking in confusion. "I finished five of them up yesterday."

"He told you to start them yesterday," Lucifer said slowly, blinking. "How did you finish five of them in one day?" Gabriel looked equally bewildered, staring at his brother in complete silence for a moment before frowning and shrugging.

"I'm… A fast writer?" The archangel tried, shaking his head and shrugging again. "I don't know. It's a gift. In any case, I got 'em done just in time to finish my book, too. I was just about to start the next one but my hand hurts so I figured I'd take a little break."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on his face. "I can see why Dad chose you to be the Scribe," he admitted, biting his lip. "You certainly have a talent for it."

"Awh." Gabriel's warm smile turned into something a little more mischievous, his blue eyes brightening as he grinned. "That sounds suspiciously like a compliment."

Lucifer responded with a faint smirk, but it melted after a moment. He gazed at his brother, watching Gabriel move past him to pick up a book lying on one of the tables in the room, then quietly turned his gaze to the floor. For a second, just a split second, he wondered what he was doing. Wondered if he truly wanted this for himself, for his siblings. It wasn't too late to apologize to his Father, to change everything, to… To go back to being Samael, the Angel of Light. It wasn't too late to turn back, not yet.

But did he want to? Did he want to go back to that miserable life?

"Something seems to be bothering you, big brother," Gabriel commented, his gaze fixed on the book as he flipped through it. Lucifer blinked and shook his head, bringing his attention back to Gabriel with a frown. "... Are you having second thoughts?"

Lucifer didn't respond for a moment, his mouth twisting slightly as he thought. "I'm… not sure," he finally admitted. "I just… I have much to consider."

Gabriel looked up, his wide blue eyes holding Lucifer's for a long moment before he smiled again, soft and reassuring. "Whatever you choose, brother, we're your family," he told him. "And we love you. All of us. No matter what!"

Lucifer smiled slightly, but he couldn't disguise the uncertainty he was feeling. "I hope that's true," he responded quietly, "as I sincerely doubt I'll have many fans in the Silver City when all of this is over."

"They'll be mad, no doubt. Upset, disappointed…" Gabriel trailed off, smile faltering. "But… You're our brother, and we know that you love us. Whatever else you might do, the ones here who are close to you will never forget that."

Lucifer fell silent for a moment, thinking that over, then nodded and squeezed his eyes shut with a sigh. "Thank you, Gabriel."

"Hey, no problem!" Gabriel's tone was light again, giggling softly at his older brother. "I mean, what are brothers for, right?"

"Lucifer, oh my G- gosh, are you okay?" Chloe had her hand pressed to Lucifer's head when he seemed to snap back to his senses. Amenadiel had moved forward to his brother's side, as well, a hand on his shoulder and a deeply concerned look on his face as he leaned over the bed and searched Lucifer's gaze. He looked like he was spacing out, at least for a few seconds, but he returned to reality pretty quickly. He jumped, flinching slightly at how close Chloe and Amenadiel were, and took in a breath as he leaned back.

"Jeez- what? I'm fine. I'm fine," Lucifer assured quickly, taking a deep breath and lifting his hands up slightly. Then he paused, glancing around - presumably for the bowl of soup, with Chloe had set down safely on the nightstand once more. "I zoned out for a moment, is all. Lost in a memory." He shook his head.

"Don't do that!" Amenadiel huffed and sat back, looking irritated, and Lucifer spared him an annoyed look. Chloe just sighed and sat back on the bed, shaking her head with a frown. Okay, that had been concerning, but at least he was okay. Part of her wanted to ask about the memory, but she shook it off and instead reached for the bowl of soup, handing it back to him cautiously.

"Just be careful this time."

"I know, Detective, I know," Lucifer sighed, taking the bowl. "Thank you. I get enough lectures from my dear old big brother here." He went silent for a while, staring down with an odd look on his face, and Chloe watched him carefully. Finally, though, Lucifer just took a deep breath and relaxed against the headboard, pushing himself upwards a little bit to sit straighter so that he could eat the soup a bit easier.

"Sure you do," Chloe sighed with a roll of her eyes, and Lucifer was back to sipping at the soup once more. "Listen, I have to get to work," Chloe told Amenadiel, turning back to the oldest of the two and fishing the bottle of medicine out of her bag to hand to him. "Don't give him any more for about four hours, if his symptoms get worse. And just fill that cup up to the rim-" She gestured to it, then fixed him with a pointed stare. "And, I don't care how much he complains, if he gets really bad he needs to go to the hospital, okay?"

Amenadiel nodded grimly, while Lucifer let out a low huff of protest and glared at Chloe half-heartedly in between sips of the soup.

"Good." Chloe offered Lucifer her sweetest smile, and the glare melted a little bit. "I hope you feel better, Lucifer."

Lucifer lifted his head a little and looked at her, then offered a small smile despite the exhausted, and slightly pained expression on his face. "Thank you, Detective."

"I don't wanna go."

Ella let out a strained sigh as she leaned back beside Michael's bed. She crossed one leg over the other and looked down at her poor little angel boy, who currently had his face stuffed into his pillow and his arms above him, pressing another one over his head. It vaguely reminded Ella of when her brothers would try to get her up for school, and she would burrow deep into her blankets and pillows and whine about not wanting to go. Sometimes they gave up - other times they would literally drag her, kicking and screaming, to her bathroom until she got dressed for the day. Well, Ella wasn't sure she could pick Michael up, angel or not, but she most certainly could stay there and annoy him until he got up.

She smiled to herself, shaking her head a little and reaching out to tug the pillow off of his head. He whined a little in protest, but he didn't put up much a fight. She pulled it from his hands and tossed it onto the bed beside him. "Come on, Mikey. It can't be that bad," she soothed, and Michael lifted his head a little to stare at her in disbelief.

"I spent the day with Espinoza, El," he complained, letting his head fall again, this time just resting his cheek on the pillow so that he could look at her. He blew at a few strands of his blonde hair that had fallen into his face, letting out a low sigh and rolling his eyes to the side. "He hates me. And, you know, I can't blame him, but…" He grimaced. "Plus, Sammy's been off somewhere else and he's not there to hold Decker back if she tries to kill me."

"Chloe's not going to kill you, Mike," Ella chuckled, looking down at him and furrowing her eyebrows together. Honestly, she had to imagine that work was boring for him either way. Maybe he would be better off hanging out with Lucifer and Amenadiel - from what she'd heard from Chloe, Lucifer was at home sick of all things and Amenadiel was sticking around to keep an eye on him. "Look, if you don't wanna go to work… Maybe you can go visit Lucifer. He's been sick, he needs the support," she offered, and Michael peered up at her with a mixture of curiosity and faint concern in his eyes.

"Sick?" The former angel heaved himself up immediately, sitting back on the bed with a heavy sigh, but he didn't quite get up. Ella bit back a smile. "What do you mean 'sick'? Fff, of course, that's why he wasn't there yesterday…" An odd look crossed his face.

"Angels don't get sick, huh?" Ella questioned knowingly, pretty sure she already knew the answer to that. Michael shook his head a little, leaning back and propping his arms back beside him to hold himself up on the bed as Ella continued, "well, then, he definitely needs the support. I was gonna swing by later, so if you want I can drop you off there now before work and come pick you back up when I get off."

"I doubt he'll want to see me…"

"Now that's not true," Ella chided, giving him a look. "Come on, just go sit with him for a bit. The three of you can talk about how horrible it is to be human and, hey- bonding experience! Fun!" Michael didn't look convinced, so Ella added, "come on, you know you wanna go check on him."

"Mm… maybe," Michael commented idly, though he did look a little tempted now. Ella quirked an eyebrow at him, waiting, and the former angel stared back at her in silence before letting out a sigh and rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. "Okay, okay. I guess it'll be better than dealing with Decker and Espinoza's withering stares." He pushed himself up off of the bed and brushed himself off a bit, and Ella beamed and giggled.

"There's my angel boy." She reached up and pecked him on the cheek, feeling the heat rush to his face as she did so, before rocking back on her feet with a smile. "Now, get dressed, I'm cooking breakfast, and then we'll go." She bounced past him with a grin, but she spun around to face him once she reached the doorway. "Also, I got lemonade, so prepare yourself!"

Her smile widened a little at his amused, albeit mystified, grin, as she spun around and continued on her way.

"Should I go to therapy?"

Ella blinked and looked up, glancing over at Michael questioningly. The former angel had an odd look on his face, a mix of thoughtful and confused as he stared out the window, and Ella let her gaze linger on him for a moment before the reminder that she was driving set in. She quickly turned her gaze back to the road and straightened the car out, since she had very nearly almost run over the sidewalk, and took a deep breath and reminded herself to focus. As amazing as he was to look at, she had to focus. "Do you think you should go to therapy?" She asked, curious, confused, a little worried - was something wrong with him? They hadn't really had much time to talk about everything that had happened - maybe he was just overwhelmed about being human…

"I don't know," Michael sighed, and Ella glanced at him for a quick second as he let his head fall against the back of his seat, closing his eyes. Ella hummed a little, looking ahead once more, as Michael continued speaking. "It's just… confusing. My whole life, I've just been dealing with other people's emotions - feeling other people's emotions. Not really my own. I'm… not sure how to deal with it now." Ella blinked as he finished, falling silent for a moment and furrowing her eyebrows in thought. She tapped her thumb against the steering wheel, biting her lip.

"Well…" She started, carefully, as she turned the steering wheel to turn down another road. "That does sound like a therapy thing. You know, Lucifer goes to therapy!" She added, and Michael hummed a little in response, glancing out the window. "But you already knew that, I bet. But Luce told me she knows- like, everything. She knows everything. You know, the Devil stuff…"

"Wait, really?" Michael immediately turned his head to stare at her, eyes widening a little, then let out a snort and looked away. "And yet he gave me hell about telling you."

"Cut him some slack, Mike," Ella chided, and Michael let out a low snort, but he sank back into the seat with a sigh. "I mean, Linda is his therapist. But look- if you do decide to go to therapy, you should see her. Since like, she knows everything anyway." She shrugged, glancing up through the windshield and taking another turn as she headed for Lux. "Chlo and I were actually gonna meet up with her later tonight, y'know, talk about all this angel stuff."

Michael let out a low chuckle despite himself, glancing at her. "Overwhelmed?"

"Not really. But, Chloe is… kinda." Ella shrugged. "I mean, she's not afraid or anything and she's… actually, honestly dealing with it all pretty well. I think she's more or less still shaken over the fact that she fell in love with the Devil, and the Devil's not as evil as everyone makes him out to be." Honestly, she wouldn't blame her friend for freaking out over that in particular - she had always figured the Devil got a bad reputation anyway, but it was still somewhat startling to actually realize Lucifer was the real, actual Devil. The way he acted… the attachments he made, the things he did. A tiny part of her couldn't help but feel stunned - but then the rest of her remembered that, honestly, she'd known it all along. He'd said it all along.

"Surprised she's handling it well at all," Michael said lowly, looking out the window once more. "Considering the way she found out."

Ella glanced at him, her expression softening. The amount of… self-loathing in his voice was indescribable. She knew how much he must be kicking himself, for the things he'd done in the past. But when she looked at him, she didn't see just… someone who had made mistakes, someone who had done bad. She saw someone who was afraid and confused, and someone who clearly wanted, more than anything, to fix the mistakes he'd made, to right what he'd wronged.

Maybe therapy would be a good thing for him.

"Well, look," she spoke up again, and Michael glanced at her as Ella returned her gaze to the road. "You should go see Linda eventually. Just try it out and talk for a bit. If you think you need it, then you do." At this, Michael fell silent, but the tension seemed to drain from him as he relaxed into the seat and nodded, turning his gaze to the window once more.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" The former angel asked, rather suddenly, and Ella glanced at him with a confused look.

"What?"

"I mean, come on. I showed up, out of the blue - and from the second I got here, you've been nothing but nice to me. Even after everything I've done. I'm sure Lucifer's told you about- about the abuse? The- Hell, the torture I put him through? So why? Why don't you hate me?" Michael paused for a second after his rant, sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment before letting it out in a huff and looking away, completely tense, shoulders squared and his fingers digging into the fabric of his pants.

Ella frowned.

She wouldn't lie - she was… angry. She didn't know the extent of the things Michael had done to Lucifer, but she knew what she'd been told and what she could guess from the unease Lucifer displayed around his brother. But she also knew what it was like to have siblings that fought - and not just playing, not just messing and teasing. Genuinely, seriously fought with each other. Maybe it wasn't healthy - but she knew just as well as anyone that boys would be boys, and brothers fought wars with each other. They could find the most stupid things to get angry at each other about, and then it would all go to Hell from now. This wasn't any different. Maybe it was on a much larger scale, and maybe it was beyond just fighting, beyond just abuse.

But Ella wanted to believe there was good where there was bad, too. Even just a little bit of it. She saw Michael's guilt, clear as day, the shame and the anger toward himself as he glared at his hands, probably replaying the memories of what he'd done, over and over again. Ella wasn't exactly a saint, herself. She certainly hadn't been before she'd become a forensic scientist. It hadn't exactly been her first job choice, but she was glad she ended up where she did. She was glad someone had decided she was good enough, that she deserved the benefit of the doubt, the chance to make up for the bad she'd done and right her wrongs.

Michael deserved that same chance. Everybody did.

"I guess…" Ella bit down on her lip and glanced at him again, having to remind herself once more not to stare too much. But she did catch his gaze, and held it for a second or so before quickly returning her gaze to the road. "I guess it's because I've… always believed that everyone deserves a second chance. Even you." She shrugged. "And I think that if you feel bad, and you really wanna fix it… then that's just one more step forward. Toward being better." She went quiet for a moment, staring ahead and furrowing her eyebrows together. "I think… I know you can be better. You just have to know it, too."

Silence met her words, at least for a few moments, as Michael let out a quiet, but heavy, sigh and leaned back into the seat, letting his head fall back and lifting his gaze to the roof of the car. Ella glanced at him briefly, then looked ahead once more. "We all need someone to believe in us, Michael."

"Thank you," Michael murmured in response, and Ella looked at him again. He caught her gaze, completely serious, amber eyes flickering as he searched her eyes for… something. And he must have found it, because the rest of the tension seemed to drain from him at that moment, completely relaxing against the seat. "For believing in me."

Ella simply chuckled at him, taking another turn and pulling the car over when they reached Lux. "No problem, bud." She flashed him a smile. "Everyone deserves a little love, a little loyalty." At these words, Michael blinked and looked away, his gaze lingering out the window now as his fingers suddenly twitched and curled into fists.

Michael continued on his way, Raphael walking beside him at a slightly slower pace. The archangel's amber eyes were fixed ahead, silent and thoughtful. If his brother truly was to go through with this little war of his, then he had to know he didn't stand a chance. He had to realize he was about to fight against all of Heaven - Fight alone, at that. Michael couldn't think of one angel who was ready to turn against God, except for dear little Samael. He'd be alone on his side of the battlefield.

Oh, didn't he know what a horrible mistake he was making? Michael blinked, an odd feeling twisting in his chest for a second. His steps faltered, but strengthened quickly, raising his chin when Raphael turned his head to glance at him. His brother's gaze lingered, but Michael refused to acknowledge him. He didn't show weakness.

And he most certainly wasn't going to feel guilty! None of this was his fault. Yes, he was hard on Lucifer, but that wasn't what was pushing him away. Lucifer was weak, and… Okay, maybe Michael was pushing him. A little. But he wasn't meaning to! Yes, he'd wanted Lucifer to do something stupid, something rash, something to show God that he wasn't the perfect son…

But maybe he'd gone a little too far in his efforts. Michael hadn't expected a war - Which wouldn't really be much of a war until Lucifer actually had an army - He'd expected a yelling match between Lucifer and their Father, at best. He didn't expect a full on fight, he didn't expect Lucifer to change his name, to change himself completely, to directly declare a rebellion…

Michael blinked, an uncomfortable feeling twisting in his gut, and for some reason, he couldn't shake it. He tried to press it down, pass it off. Maybe it wasn't even his own. Maybe it was something his siblings were feeling. After all, they were more uneasy with this whole thing. Michael didn't care. He wouldn't waste his time worrying about Lucifer. He wasn't going to win.

Michael wondered how far Lucifer would be able to go until God did something about it. Their Father was probably still trying to give Lucifer a chance, give the young angel a chance to prove his loyalties again. But if this escalated… Would God be willing to do what needed to be done to protect Heaven from his brother's wrath?

The archangel had been tasked with training Lucifer, after all. His younger brother was nowhere near the fighter Michael was, but he was still powerful. Michael knew this.

Michael bit back a sigh and stopped walking, his head turning to the side as he watched Gabriel and Lucifer exit one of the rooms, side by side. Lucifer froze the second he noticed Michael, and Gabriel faltered at his reaction, looking confused. Michael, meanwhile, could feel the terror coming from his brother in waves. He tried to convince himself that the twinge in his chest was satisfaction, not guilt.

"Lucifer, Gabriel," Raphael greeted amicably, tilting his head faintly in greeting to his brothers.

"Hey, Raphie," Gabriel greeted him with only half of his usual enthusiasm, his gaze flickering between Michael and Lucifer wildly. But the archangel didn't take his gaze off of Lucifer, who was gazing back at him silently with a myriad of emotions on his face.

It was a while before anyone spoke after that. Michael simply held Lucifer's gaze, torn between his anger for his brother and his loyalty to his Father. The archangel had a feeling he could talk his brother out of this - He had a feeling he could talk his brother out of anything. Lucifer wouldn't like it, he  really  wouldn't like it, but Michael was the one he'd always obeyed - Even above God, which Michael found a bit strange. It Michael really wanted to, he could stop Lucifer's plans in their tracks.

The part of him that wanted to see his brother fall would not allow that. So he just smiled, sharp like shattered glass. "All hail Samael, Angel of Dramatics," he started coldly. "Look at you, declaring war on your own Father."

"It's not war," Lucifer grumbled, a look of irritation shadowing over the fear. "And he hasn't been much of a Father lately."

"He's been busy," Michael defended, his amber eyes hardening slightly. They sparked up a bit, flames flickering for a moment before he forced himself to relax. "He doesn't always have time to coddle you like the precious little fledgling you are," he sneered. "Get over it, Samael, the world doesn't revolve around you."

"This isn't just about me!" Lucifer exclaimed, looking appalled. "Dad isn't just pushing me away, he's pushing everyone away! In favor of those stupid humans," he spat. "Ants, compared to us. Anomalies!"

"Agreed, they're useless apes that-" Gabriel cut in with a bright smile, but he quickly backed off when Raphael sent him a look. "That… uh… Ehehe…"

"You're clearly a great influence," Michael scoffed, sparing a glance toward Gabriel. "What would Dad say if he heard you talking like that?" He sneered at his brother. "You sound just as pathetic as Samael, Gabriel. I expected better from you."

"Leave him out of this." Lucifer's tone had darkened considerably, taking a slight step forward to stand in front of Gabriel, who looked faintly surprised and a little hurt at Michael's comment. The archangel glanced back at his younger brother, met his gaze for a second, and stepped forward to close the distance between them.

"Or what?" Michael growled, leaning forward until his face was inches from Lucifer's. "You don't order me around, brother."

Lucifer blinked, faltering slightly for a second. Then, just as it looked like he was about to back off, he abruptly set his jaw and surged forward, raising his hand and slamming his fist into Michael's face with enough force to send the archangel staggering back.

"Samael!" Raphael growled, and Gabriel let out a short squeak of surprise.

The anger coming off of Lucifer was more than he'd ever felt from the younger angel. And it only made him more furious. Literally. Michael clicked his teeth together, moving his jaw a little before simply brushing the pain off and walking forward. Lucifer's expression went from pissed off to "oh shit" in a heartbeat, but Michael had grabbed him by the neck before his brother could start moving back, lifting him into the air one-handed.

"Michael," Raphael hissed, walking forward and grabbing his shoulder. Michael spun around, his free hand lashing out to shove him back, but Raphael ducked away quickly, his grip on his shoulder tightening. "That's enough!"

"You don't tell me what to do, either, Raphael," Michael said darkly, then shoved Lucifer back and released him, watching his younger brother stumble back. He fell back against the wall, holding his throat as he gasped, and Gabriel immediately rushed to his side.

Michael watched numbly for a moment, trying desperately to tame the anger flickering through him. Lucifer shook his head, and, after assuring Gabriel that he was okay, he looked up at Michael and clenched his teeth. He didn't say anything, though, simply pushed himself away from the wall and shoved past Michael. The archangel tensed and spun around, but Raphael grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him back, stopping him in his tracks. " Enough ."

"Get off," Michael snapped, brushing him off, but he didn't move to follow Lucifer. Gabriel stood a little uncertainly, and Michael turned to stare at him. "Well? Follow him like the obedient little puppy you are," he snarked.

Gabriel blinked, shifting back a little. "It… It doesn't have anything to do with obedience, Michael. But I don't expect you to understand what feeling love and loyalty toward a sibling means." With that he eased past him and rushed after Lucifer.

Ella watched carefully as a myriad of emotions crossed Michael's face. Confusion, uncertainty, guilt, anger… but the former angel was silent. Even as his eyes focused, whatever little world he'd been lost in coming to an end, he just blinked and turned to push the door open and get out. And Ella frowned a little bit, but she didn't say anything yet, instead opting to grab a bottle of tequila she'd grabbed for Lucifer before pushing her door open to get out as well.

"Are you okay?" She turned to face Michael, who was leaning against the side of the car, running his fingers through his blonde hair and staring down with a deep grimace on his face, completely tense, completely quiet. He looked up when Ella spoke, and blinked once as he nodded, turning his head to look up toward the building. Ella wasn't convinced, but she decided against pressing him. He had opened up to her a bit more that day, and she didn't want to do anything to close those walls up again. "Alright, if you're sure. C'mon, I'm sure Lucifer'll be happy to see you," she said optimistically, and she didn't miss the disbelieving snort as she stepped past him and headed for the building.

The bar was still a total wreck - and the penthouse was no better. Ella frowned a little as she stepped through the elevator doors and headed inside, Michael sticking close to her side and eyeing the feathers on the ground with a mixture of disgust and horror. Ella was more or less fascinated - at least when she was assured that the process of losing the wings was more messy than it was painful. As she walked, she plucked up one of the golden feathers from the floor and studied it curiously, and Michael shuffled just a little closer to her as they reached Lucifer's room.

"No, no, you have to plug it into the one with the red outline." Ella's eyebrows twitched, raising slightly as she came to a stop in the doorway and watched. Lucifer was sitting up in his bed completely, arms at his sides and his hands keeping himself up, while Amenadiel was busy trying to hook up a TV to what looked like a Roku. "The red one, Amenadiel, are you color bli- Oh, Ms. Lopez! And-" Lucifer paused, mouth half-opened, and his gaze darted to Michael. His expression changed, more surprised than anything. "Michael?"

Ella lifted a hand and waved, passing the bottle of tequila to Michael (who looked extremely awkward) and heading over to help a very exasperated-looking Amenadiel. She took the cord from him, chuckling a little at his extremely grateful expression, and turned away to hook it up to the TV.

"Hey, Sammy… you look like shit," she heard Michael finally say, and the confused and slightly offended 'wow, thanks' from Lucifer was drowned out by Amenadiel's startled but amused burst of laughter as the oldest of the three took a seat on the edge of Lucifer's rather large bed.

She could picture Lucifer's childishly angry scowl as he responded, "thanks, Michael, this is what being sick does to people." Ella turned back in time to see his face light up, spotting the tequila Michael was holding. He opened his mouth, only to pause, his gaze darting toward Amenadiel. The oldest didn't seem to notice the alcohol yet, and Ella's lips twitched amusedly as Lucifer relaxed and smirked to himself, turning back to Michael. "It's awful."

"I'll bet," Michael muttered, shuffling on his feet a little bit but staying still for the most part. Lucifer, meanwhile, was now reaching for a remote that he'd sat beside him, buried under the mess of tissues, to turn the TV on. Ella stepped aside to let him do his thing, smiling and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I hope you feel better, Luce," she told the former Devil brightly, and Lucifer's lips twitched upwards just a little bit in response.

"Thank you, Ms. Lopez."

Ella just grinned, stepping back toward the doorway. "I gotta get to work. Is it cool if Michael sticks back with you two?" She glanced at the TV. "You can all watch a movie or something, complain about mortal life." At this, Amenadiel seemed about to protest, but Lucifer cut in before he could get a word out. He seemed surprisingly indifferent to Michael sticking around, honestly - Amenadiel is the one who looked uneasy with it.

"Yes, sure, fine. He's less of a helicopter brother-" Lucifer waved his free hand dismissively, reaching for a box of tissues that was on the nightstand, a little too far out of his reach. Amenadiel started to stand, but Michael crossed forward before he could get close, grabbing the tissues and handing them to him without a word. "-Thank you. And less fussy."

Amenadiel eyed Michael warily, but the former angel simply averted his gaze to Ella and shrugged. Ella simply grinned and nodded, turning away and giving a wave. "Good, then. See you guys later!"

"Goodbye, Ella," Amenadiel called, and Lucifer and Michael joined in.

"See you, Ms. Lopez."

"See you later, El."

"Well, then!" Lucifer broke the silence between Amenadiel and Michael - the former of the two seemed to be trying to spark up some kind of staring contest and Michael was completely just ignoring his glare altogether. Lucifer glanced between them, eyebrows raised slightly as he tugged a tissue out of the box and blew into it. The noise immediately caused Michael to step away from the bed, and Lucifer had to bite back a chuckle as he tossed the tissue onto the bed beside the others. Honestly, he was equally as disgusted, but it was necessary to keep himself breathing. "I suppose we're watching a movie."

"Guess so," Amenadiel mumbled begrudgingly, continuing to stare at Michael for a moment longer before slowly sitting back down on the edge of the bed. Michael hesitated, then took a seat on the floor, leaning back against the bed and pulling his knees up to his chest as he turned his head to the side to look up toward the TV. Lucifer watched him curiously for a moment before continuing what he was doing, which at the moment was trying to get to Netflix.

He was surprisingly silent, and Lucifer was surprisingly concerned. Of course, his initial reaction had been to tense when Michael entered the room - always was, always had been, and old habits died hard. But Michael seemed a little more relaxed, a little less angry. And of course he was, without the emotions of thousands of others swimming around inside of him. He just looked a little out of place. And honestly, Lucifer would take his company over Amenadiel's, at least right then. Amenadiel was just fussing over him like he was a five year old with a broken leg. He wouldn't even let him get up to do anything except use the bathroom.

And he wouldn't let him have alcohol, either. He dropped his gaze to the bottle of tequila that Michael had set down beside the nightstand, but he didn't make a move for it yet. Not with Amenadiel in the room. Instead, he started clicking through the movies, eyes narrowing slightly as he did so. "How do the two of you feel about NCIS?"

"Whatever you wanna watch, Luci," Amenadiel sighed, and Lucifer glanced at Michael as his older brother raised his head to study the TV, a look of confusion crossing his face for a split second, reading the description.

"A… cop show?"

Lucifer squinted at him. "Much more than that, but that's the basics of it, yes." He sighed and scrolled back to play the first episode, and Michael let out a hum and sat back again. Falling silent once more. Honestly, it was weird - having him there, but… quiet. He was so used to him running his mouth. Not that he was particularly complaining, but it was mildly concerning. Maybe he was traumatized from dying.

Maybe he'd seen Hell. Lucifer thought, half-amused and half-disgusted with himself, that he probably had gone to Hell… He wondered what Michael's Hell was like, what he was afraid of. Wondered if he even wanted answers to these questions. He shook his head and tried to focus.

"I need a drink," Amenadiel sighed and stood up, and Lucifer let out a low whine in the back of his throat, a sound of both disbelief and scorn as he glowered at his oldest brother. Amenadiel blinked and rolled his eyes in response to that look, already heading for the doorway. "I'm not the one that's sick, Luci, alcohol is the last thing you need right now. I will gladly get you anything else while I'm out here, though. Like a water. You probably need a water."

Lucifer scowled a little, watching him leave the room, and raised his voice as best as he could to respond. "Water is disgusting, Amenadiel."

"It's good for you, alcohol isn't."

"Hypocrite!" Lucifer marveled, and Michael, who had been silently listening to the conversation, actually let out a low chuckle.

"Again, I'm not sick," Amenadiel responded, a little lighter now. Then added, "do you want a water or not? I'd offer juice but you don't seem to have any. So your choices are limited." Lucifer paused, leaning back with a huff. But his attention quickly turned back to Michael when his brother suddenly turned, reaching for the bottle of tequila beside the nightstand, and reached up silently to give it to him. The former Devil cocked his head to the side questioningly, but Michael merely met his gaze before flicking his amber eyes toward the doorway and quirking an eyebrow at Lucifer expectantly.

Lucifer's lips tugged into a grin, taking the bottle eagerly as he responded to his oldest brother with an almost smug tone to his voice now, "no thank you, Amenadiel, I'm just fine."

"You sure?"

Lucifer simply popped the cap off of the bottle and bit back a chuckle. He mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Michael - who merely offered a slightly forced half-smile in response - as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip, relaxing into the bed immediately with a hum and lifting his gaze to the TV. "Positive."

By the time Ella came by to pick up Michael, the three were actually having a pretty good time. Amenadiel had, begrudgingly, cleared off the tissues so that all of them could sit on the bed, with Amenadiel in between his younger brothers. Lucifer was snuggled under the blankets, though he was sitting upright with ease now. The tequila helped numb things a little bit, so he was feeling much better. He was also pleasantly surprised with how much easier it was to get drunk as a human - one of the few perks. He had barely taken a few sips before the effects had set in, and Michael had taken the bottle back quickly before Amenadiel had entered the room. Unfortunately for both of them, Lucifer was already buzzed by then and when Amenadiel asked him if he'd drank anything, well, he obviously couldn't lie…

But after that, they had gotten along fairly well. Michael remained mysteriously quiet, but he seemed to relax, and Amenadiel seemed a bit more open to having him there after Michael thoroughly apologized for giving Lucifer alcohol and assured that it wouldn't happen again, much to the youngest brother's dismay. Either way, he was actually somewhat content with having the two of them there, Amenadiel especially when he actually stopped being such a mother hen. Michael's company wasn't as intolerable, either. Almost enjoyable, honestly. But that alone was weird in itself.

Still, he tensed if Michael moved too fast, or shifted positions or glanced at him. Instinct. He couldn't help himself, couldn't stop himself. He wanted to believe he wasn't as afraid as he used to be, not after everything that had happened. Michael hadn't lifted a finger against him since God had showed up, since Michael's (near?) death experience. He could barely look him in the eyes. Which began to make him wonder if Michael was afraid of him - Lucifer had nearly killed him, after all.

He'd almost killed another one of his brothers. The thought made his heart sink, stomach flipping, and he had to excuse himself to the bathroom more than once to throw up after a while. His brothers seemed to pass it off as side-effects from the sickness, but he didn't miss the worried stares from Amenadiel or the confused, slightly disgusted, concerned half-glances from Michael when he returned to the room each time. Thankfully, though, he seemed to grow numb to the thoughts as time went on, and it became easier to distract himself, lose himself in the TV.

He actually found himself trying to solve the cases on there, too. Maybe it was instinct, from working with the LAPD for so long. But he found himself genuinely satisfied when he got to the point where he could name the killer before it was revealed.

After a while, Amenadiel had agreed to let him have a cigarette. Which led to a brief coughing fit, and then he ended up back in the bathroom puking while Amenadiel ranted about 'knowing it was too early to attempt something like that so soon, this is what you get Luci, you see now?' in the other room and Michael seemed to be struggling with amusement and concern. Lucifer made sure to flip Amenadiel off on his way back to the bed after that.

They'd ordered pizza (which Michael absolutely adored at first taste, much to Lucifer's amusement) when Amenadiel had to remind them that they needed to eat now that the two of them were mortal. Lucifer was actually pretty glad at having him around then, after remembering that Amenadiel had some experience being human now. He certainly would be able to teach them a lot.

Oh, it also seemed like Lucifer couldn't hold down food, either, because he threw up again less than thirty minutes after having just one slice of pizza. And he caught Michael's pitying look as he bit into a slice, as Lucifer left the bathroom. Lucifer also ended up flipping him off, with more of a childish pout as he did so.

… All in all, the day wasn't as horrible as expected.

At least until Michael started sneezing.

Chapter Text

Day Five.

"This… This is pathetic."

Lucifer scoffed a little at Mazikeen's words, looking up to spare the demon a glare. Amenadiel stood behind her, looking extremely reluctant to step past the doorway. At the moment, both Lucifer and Michael were sitting in the bathroom, Michael with his back to the wall facing the toilet and Lucifer stretched out in the tub, his arm crossed over his chest as he leaned back with a frown. He had been feeling better yesterday, but today was just ten times worse. And Michael seemed to be feeling as crappy as Lucifer had been feeling the day before, too. Lucifer didn't have the heart to tell him it would get worse the next day. Or maybe he just wanted to be an ass and decided not to warn him. He still wasn't clear on that front.

Either way, Ella had brought him back for the day since he was sick, and Amenadiel had just thought it best to station both of them in the bathroom since neither of them could seem to stop throwing up. Despite Chloe's warnings, Lucifer was still denying going to the hospital, and Michael had just plain made it clear that it was not an option for him at all. Though, judging by the look on Amenadiel's face, he was about ready to stop asking in the first place.

Mazikeen also looked incredibly disgusted by the two, which also gave Lucifer the feeling that the demon would end up dragging them to the hospital just to get rid of them, anyway. She didn't seem worried, which was a nice change from the hovering that Amenadiel, Chloe and Ella were doing the past few days, just mildly annoyed and slightly amused at Michael's suffering in general. Lucifer would be lying if he said he didn't take some satisfaction in his older brother's miserable state, but he would keep that to himself for now.

"Seriously, what the Hell?" Mazikeen continued irritably, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at the two. "You look pitiful."

"Thank you, Mazikeen, really boosting the confidence here," Lucifer remarked sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, and Michael let out a huff of agreement as he turned away and reached for a box of tissues sitting beside him, blowing into it wordlessly before simply tossing it into the toilet and flushing it. "We're merely sick," Lucifer went on, watching his brother. "With some contagious human virus."

"That you gave me," Michael grumbled, and Lucifer rolled his eyes again, but he didn't respond. Couldn't help but wonder if he was gonna get his ass kicked for this once Michael was actually feeling up to ass-kicking. And now he was just completely dreading that.

"What should I do with them, Maze?" Amenadiel finally spoke up, peering at his brothers from around Mazikeen with a frown, as if the two were rabid and needed to be quarantined. Lucifer squinted at him, while Michael let out an offended-sounding hum in the back of his throat. "They won't stop sneezing. And coughing. And puking."

"What? This isn't my problem!" Mazikeen whirled on him at that moment, causing Amenadiel to take a few stumbling steps back away from the demon. "I only came here for alcohol, which apparently I'm not going to get anyway. You're on your own with these sorry asses." She snorted and shook her head, as if the idea of sticking around and helping Amenadiel with them was completely preposterous, and Lucifer internally grimaced. Not at the insult, but at the fact that the one person who wasn't babying him was about to just turn and leave. Leave them with the mother hen once more.

"Wait- Maze-" Amenadiel was squeaking, literally squeaking, as Mazikeen simply grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him inside the bathroom, sending him stumbling slightly toward Lucifer and Michael. Both of the younger former angels raised their eyebrows at the oldest, as Mazikeen reached forward to grab the doorknob.

"You three have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Lucifer managed to lift a hand to wave before the door shut, then turned his gaze to Amenadiel in silence with a questioning look. His oldest brother paused, backing up until his back hit the now closed door, and reached a hand up to grab the doorknob. "Right… so…" Amenadiel paused, glancing between them uncomfortably. Lucifer bit back a smile and Michael just snorted and let his head fall back against the wall with a miserable little sniffle as Amenadiel took a deep breath and continued, "you two are alright, right? I'll… I'll go order some food."

Michael seemed to visibly perk up, while Lucifer eyed Amenadiel suspiciously. "No more pizza…" He finally spoke up, cautious, and Amenadiel nodded quickly before pulling the door open and rushing out about as fast as he could, pulling the door shut behind him in the process. Lucifer stared at the door for a long moment, managing to hold it in for about thirty seconds before suddenly breaking down giggling.

"That's…" The former Devil groaned and sank down into the tub until his head hit the bottom of it, staring up wordlessly toward the ceiling. "That's okay, brother, leave us to die."

Michael let out a slight chuckle, more half-hearted and tired than anything. "I doubt we're gonna die, Sammy," he finally sighed, and Lucifer's lips twitched slightly as his gaze darted to the side, sighing. He didn't say anything about the nickname, just twisted slightly to rest his cheek against the bottom of the tub, finding immense comfort in the cold as he let his eyes flutter shut for a second. Dad, he was burning up right then - it was worse than Hell.

"Whatever lesson Dad's trying to teach us with this," he finally sighed, breaking the silence and pressing his hands against the side of the tub, hoping maybe he could drain the rest of the heat from his body. "We need to figure it out immediately."

"For once, we agree on something," Michael huffed with a groan, and Lucifer heard a sharp thud as his older brother fell against the bathroom floor, probably looking to find the same cold in the tile as Lucifer was finding in the tub. Lucifer shifted a little, sighing again, this time a little heavier, a little more dramatic. "I don't wanna die again."

Lucifer blinked and lifted his head a little, but he didn't get very far. Almost like magnets, his head thumped back to the bottom of the tub, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his sweat-damped hair. "What was it like?" He finally asked, quietly, somewhat tentatively, wondering if Michael even remembered it at all. If he remembered going to Hell. There was no way he'd ended up in Heaven - Lucifer had seen the guilt in his eyes just before the light had faded from them. Michael had gone to Hell, undoubtedly. And for some reason, that thought left Lucifer feeling guilty as well.

"Don't remember," Michael mumbled, his voice slightly muffled now. "Just remember blacking out and waking up." Lucifer fell silent for a few moments, considering that, then puffed out a soft sigh and closed his eyes again. Maybe that was for the best, anyway.

"I apologize for nearly killing you, by the way."

"I won't hold it against you."

Lucifer hummed a little in response, going silent for a little while after that. Michael seemed to bite his tongue, as well, but there was a weird air to the room now. As if they both had something they wanted to say, but couldn't seem to find the words for. Lucifer was honestly too tired right then to try and keep that conversation going by much, and Michael just seemed unwilling to continue either way. Lucifer could understand that, actually. So, he changed the subject with a quiet sigh. "So, what's it like, without your powers?"

There was a short pause in response, and then a quiet, but honest, "peaceful."

Oh, of course. Michael was an empath. In the sense that he could literally feel everything that the people around him were feeling. Lucifer did not envy his brother on that front. Though he did wonder, and often at that, why Michael chose to focus on the negative emotions rather than the positive ones. Or simply find a way to… not feel it at all. There had to be something… And it was a big change, even now. That anger that usually surrounded his brother was gone. He seemed calm, for once. At ease, for once. Even being sick, he wasn't pissed. He wasn't punching the walls or the floor, or Lucifer. He was laying quietly on the floor, having an actual, open conversation.

A yawn from Michael interrupted his thoughts, and it wasn't long before Lucifer was yawning, as well, a groan immediately following soon after as he buried his face into the bottom of the tub with a low sigh. At that point, it was growing hot again, as if the tub had absorbed the heat from his body, when he'd been hoping for it to be the other way around.

"I hate this." Lucifer grimaced, eyes still shut, getting lost in the dark, swirling colors floating inside his eyelids.

"Me, too," Michael muttered simply. "It's… unbearable." Lucifer blinked his eyes open and fell silent, staring at the bottom of the tub before simply turning back over onto his back, clasping his hands together over his stomach and furrowing his eyebrows together with a faint, troubled frown as he sighed.

"Do you think if we lose Dad'll make us stay on Earth?" Gabriel fell back to sit beside Lucifer, pulling his knees up to his chest, and Lucifer glanced over at him with a hum as he looked down. The floor in this room looked like it was made of glass, giving them direct view to the Earth below. His gaze tracked a few of the humans for the moment, lingering on Eve in particular as he stretched his legs out a bit, before pulling one up to his chest and leaving the other splayed out.

"I hope not," he sighed, rolling his eyes and resting his head against the wall. "Then again, it'll have to be better than Heaven, right?" Gabriel didn't respond, but the soft hum and sigh was somewhat of a confirmation. He leaned back a little bit, promptly resting his head against Lucifer's shoulder. Lucifer just stayed still, not seeming the mind in the slightest.

"… What do we do if we win?" Gabriel finally asked, quiet and thoughtful, and Lucifer paused. Honestly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. What if they won… he honestly didn't know if that was even a possibility. Yes, they already had a few angels willing to join them, and Lucifer had some plans in mind for what to do next - but this was God they were going up against. Lucifer knew very well that he was the most powerful being in existence.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, with a shrug to accompany his words as he stared down. "I guess we'll… cross that bridge when we come to it."

Gabriel glanced up at him and opened his mouth, seemingly about to speak, but a soft swish of air caused both of them to turn their heads. Azrael stood there, tugging her hood down to make her face visible and tossing her Blade to the side, sitting down beside Lucifer in a huff and collapsing against her older brother with a sigh. She didn't say a word, and neither did Lucifer, wrapping an arm around her and tugging her closer, leaning his head against Gabriel's silently as the three looked down across the Earth.

"I hate this place," Azrael mumbled after a few minutes of silence, and Lucifer let out a low sigh and closed his eyes. His sister buried her face into his shoulder, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I miss… I miss how it used to be."

"Me, too," Gabriel spoke up quietly, his voice wavering a little as he spoke. "There's too much tension now, it's… it's unbearable." He swallowed and sighed, and Lucifer felt his arms wrap around him as Gabriel leaned into him, burying half of his face into his other shoulder and peeking at the Earth through one eye as he frowned.

Lucifer stared down, blinking, watching. His gaze flickered, studying each of the humans in turn as he sighed and shut his eyes. "They look so happy."

"Ehehe…" Azrael giggled a little despite herself, raising one of her hands to rub at her eyes. "They really do, don't they? Like we used to be." She sighed. "Do you remember? Learning how to fly, and… and our snow fights down there, before the humans even… existed?"

Lucifer's lips twitched, his chest aching as he nodded. "I remember."

"I… I wanna be like that again," Azrael breathed, her voice hitching as she shook her head and lifted it up a little, looking up at her brothers. Gabriel nodded his agreement, not taking his gaze off of the Earth, but Lucifer took a few moments to consider his sister's words - genuinely consider them. Then, finally, he set his jaw and nodded.

"We can be," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut. "If we can get Dad to listen to us, we can be. That's what we'll do, if we win. We'll tell him to stop. We'll end it all, end the Project. We'll go back to the way we used to be."

Gabriel hummed a little in agreement, as Azrael lowered her head back to his shoulder. "… I like that idea," his brother murmured tiredly, and Azrael sighed.

"Me, too."

"Good." Lucifer stared down in silence for a moment, then merely closed his eyes with a sigh. "Then it's settled."

Lucifer grimaced a little, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. His heart ached for his siblings, at the memories of all he'd put them through. Yes, they'd agreed, but Lucifer should have never suggested it in the first place. It was his battle to fight, not theirs. But he had genuinely wanted them to be happy again, and they clearly wanted to be able to fight for that happiness just as much as he did. Even if it had gotten them into trouble in the end. Lucifer was just glad he'd taken the fall… not them. They hadn't deserved that - they were just following him, after all.

A visit would have been nice, though.

A 'how are you doing, Luce?' or 'hey Lu, what's up?', a pop-in every now and again. Lucifer would have liked to keep tabs on Heaven, to know what was going on with his siblings. But Amenadiel was the only one who ever came to see him down there, and even those visits were rare and… short, and cold. The bond between them seemed to crack the second Lucifer had fallen, and it had shattered further as the years passed.

It was comforting, now, to see Amenadiel still… cared. Lucifer had genuinely begun to believe his brother had grown to hate him for what he did. And he'd… wanted to hate him right back. Hell had changed him a lot - but then, when he arrived on Earth, in Los Angeles, it was as if something had clicked. A small part of him, like a piece to a puzzle he'd been missing for years, had suddenly just snapped into place. And suddenly he was smiling again, he was laughing again - and he'd felt better than he had felt in Hell, or even in Heaven. He felt alive.

And when he'd met Chloe… Well, that sealed the deal right there. Lucifer became attached to her instantly. Her personality. How tough she was, how fiery - how she was resistant to his charms. How she made him vulnerable. She became his equal; someone who could match him. Now, what was he to do with that? What was he to think of that? It had been terrifying at first, but it had steadily turned into satisfaction.

For once, it was a life free from Hell, from Heaven. He was the Devil - he would always be the Devil, and he'd worn that title with pride. But something had changed during his time in Los Angeles. Fascination with humans grew to… fondness, and genuine compassion for the humans there. Most of the humans there. He grew to enjoy his job - not just the concept of bringing punishment for the bad humans, but justice for the good ones. It wasn't just about working alongside Chloe anymore - that was just one of the perks.

He wouldn't deny that, even through all of that, he'd never truly felt free. It always came back to his Father somehow. That deep, burning hatred he couldn't seem to shake. But with that gone, now… Lucifer wondered what his life had in store for him. Now that he could actually let go of all that, now that he'd had some closure.

He wondered… what it had in store for him and Chloe.

She knew he was the Devil… and she wasn't afraid. Then again, maybe his lack of powers had something to do with it - and the way the realization had hit her wasn't exactly horrifying. Linda had seen his Devil face; Chloe had seen a pair of wings. So it wasn't surprising that she was reacting to this a little better… still, the realization that Lucifer was really the Devil should have done something. He wasn't complaining, but it was odd. Was she scared? Was she hiding it? She'd let him around her spawn, even after everything…

Lucifer sighed, then let out a low chuckle and shook his head, pulling his hands up over his eyes wordlessly. The Detective had always found a way to confuse him - of course this wouldn't be any different.

He heard a soft hum from Michael, confused and curious all in one. "What're you thinking about?" And Lucifer paused for a second, his head turning in Michael's direction for a moment before he suddenly pushed himself to sit up and reached forward to turn the water on, scooting back a little so that his clothes wouldn't get soaked. He waited a second for it to get completely cold before putting a hand under the water, relaxing against the side of the tub with a sigh and turning his gaze to his older brother.

"The Detective."

"Figured." Michael watched him for a moment, silent, then pushed himself up a little and scooted toward the tub until his back hit the wall against it, reaching forward to put his hand under the water. Lucifer moved his own hand to the side to give him a little more room, carefully avoiding any physical contact. "She's the only one that makes you giggle like that."

Lucifer blinked, sparing him a slightly offended look. "… I don't giggle."

"Yeah you do, Sammy." Michael withdrew his hand from the water to run it down his face, giving a soft sigh as he did so. Lucifer studied him curiously before doing the same, shivering a little at the feeling of the cold water dripping from his fingers to his face as he did so, soaking into the burning skin instantly. And he relaxed, immediately, then promptly reached both hands out and cupped them under the faucet before simply splashing the water in his face.

"This is worse than Hell," Lucifer mumbled, and Michael huffed.

"You think Hell's hot? Heaven doesn't exactly have air conditioners."

Lucifer chuckled a little at that despite himself, glancing at his older brother through weary brown eyes as he shook his head, scattering droplets of water that had hung onto his bangs in the process. "Most of Hell is literally made out of fire, brother," he responded with a hum, throwing another handful of water into his face. "Not even fire, worse than fire… Think of the heat of the sun, times five."

Michael went silent for a moment before responding, relaxing against the wall and returning his hand to the water. "Jeez."

"Precisely." Lucifer offered him a shit-eating grin, and Michael just rolled his eyes. The former Devil studied his older brother for a long moment before relaxing into the tub again, leaning back and closing his eyes with a low sigh. Eventually, he ended up turning the water off when both of them started getting chills from the cold, but it was better than the fever, so Lucifer would most certainly take it. He pulled his knees up to his chest, scooting to the side of the tub that was still dry and leaning back against it silently.

Michael fell silent for a while, and Lucifer did the same. His brother shifted a little to lean his cheek against the side of the tub, letting out a low sigh. "Do you think He'd leave us like this? Mortal?" He finally muttered, and Lucifer paused for a second, staring up at the ceiling. He stayed quiet, as Michael continued, "on one hand… it's peaceful, without my powers. On the other, this? Sucks."

Lucifer snorted. Then he sighed, his gaze lingering on the ceiling for a few seconds in complete silence before he just shook his head. A few days ago he would have made some comment on God just wanting to torture them, make them suffer. Now? He had no idea what his Father was doing with this. He knew there had to be some lesson to be learned from it… right? There had to be something. And the sooner they figured it out, the sooner they could go back to being angels. Or, Lucifer could go back to being the Devil.

… He wasn't sure why, but that thought didn't quite appeal to him anymore.

"There's some lesson hidden here," he finally sighed, rolling his eyes toward his brother as Michael raised his eyebrows a bit in response. "We just need to figure out what he's trying to teach us from this."

Michael huffed out a sigh, and opened his mouth as if to respond, but he didn't get much of a chance to. The door swung open, making both brothers jump, as Amenadiel entered the room a little hesitantly, followed quickly by… Linda. Lucifer blinked at his therapist, faintly surprised, as Amenadiel gestured to Linda, and then to them. "I don't know what to do. They're sick. They're miserable."

Linda glanced between them for a long time before looking back at Amenadiel, eyebrows raising helplessly. "Why is it so hard to understand that I'm not that kind of doctor?"

"Tch." Lucifer rolled his eyes and chuckled a little, while Michael merely let out a low sigh and lowered his head to the tub once more. Linda turned back to the boys as Amenadiel left, and lifted one hand to wave - that's when Lucifer noticed she was holding a bag in her other hand. McDonalds, by the looks of it. And the second it caught his attention, the smell flooded over him. Fries and burgers and… salt. But the smell of the food instantly made him nauseous.

Judging by the way Michael was turning green, he wasn't the only one.

"Hello again," Linda addressed Michael with a smile as she began digging through the bag, and Michael lifted a hand to give a half-hearted wave in response. Lucifer's eyebrows pulled together, glancing between them wordlessly in slight confusion. 'Again'? Had they met before? Lucifer certainly didn't recall introducing them, but then again, he had been holed up in the penthouse for quite some time. And he didn't know every detail of Michael's life. Not to say he wasn't somewhat curious… "How are you two feeling?" Linda continued, stepping further into the room to hand Michael a burger.

"Uh, a little lost. Thanks," Michael mumbled, taking the burger and kind of just staring at it for a moment. Linda nodded sympathetically and handed him a bag of fries, then turned to give Lucifer his food as well.

"Dead," Lucifer told her simply, looking her right in the eyes as he took the burger and fries. Linda's lips twitched briefly, crumbling up the now empty McDonald's bag and tossing it in the trash bin before turning to leave the room, returning a moment later with two sodas. Michael took his without hesitation, but Lucifer eyed the drink for a moment before taking it, somewhat reluctantly. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course." Linda simply nodded and closed the door, sitting with her back to it almost immediately. "Now as I understand, Lucifer, you and God have reconciled."

Lucifer paused for a second and stared at her, a little suspicious, wondering if this was turning into one of his therapy appointments. He unwrapped his burger slowly and poked at it, though he didn't make a move to eat just yet. "I suppose so," he replied slowly. "At the very least, I am much less pissed at him than I used to be."

"This is good. This is progress."

"With that said, I don't believe I'll need therapy anymore," Lucifer continued proudly, a smile now tugging at his lips. Linda quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly, as Lucifer continued, "don't you see? I'm fixed, Doctor. Perfectly fine now. No more anger. Everything's fine."

Michael snorted. Lucifer blinked, glancing at him for a second. "So you've got absolutely no problems with being human?" His brother tilted his head at him, eyebrows raising. "No other issues but Dad?"

The former Devil paused for a second to consider that, narrowing his eyes a little and falling silent. While he thought about that, Linda merely offered Michael a small grin, looking slightly impressed. "And I can tell you've gone through some changes, as well. Lucifer told me of your abilities, a while back. It must be much easier to function without them."

"You have no idea," Michael mumbled. Lucifer finally lifted the burger to his lips to take a bite while they spoke, zoning their conversation out for a moment. Michael had a point, his issues hadn't completely revolved around his Father. He had certainly blamed God for most of his problems, but now without all that rage directed toward Him… Lucifer wasn't sure what to do. Eons of being angry with him for so long had made him used to that burning, fiery rage - the hatred. Hell, he almost relied on it now. Now it was as if everything he'd known was just one big lie, everything he'd ever thought, or felt.

… Okay, so he probably would still need therapy.

He shook his head and forced himself to focus, grimacing a little as his stomach let out a low growl. Either asking for more food or warning him not to eat any more of it. He eyed the burger in his hands for a moment, digging his fingernails into the buns and biting his tongue as he considered it. On one hand, he knew he was hungry and needed to eat. On the other, he knew it was probably futile as whatever he ate would just come back up immediately.

He let out a low, pained sigh and took another bite.

"So you both think there's something God is trying to tell you by taking away your powers and, essentially leaving both of you vulnerable." Linda sounded thoughtful, hands clasped together in her lap as she considered this information. Lucifer glanced at her, and then at Michael, eyebrows raising at his older brother. "And what do you think that is, so far?"

Lucifer paused, exchanging a look with Michael, who merely gave a helpless shrug in response. "That he doesn't… want us in Heaven…?"

"But you already know this," Linda commented with a tilt of her head. Michael blinked, and sat back, looking completely confused now. His amber gaze darted toward Lucifer, who simply shook his head and took another daring bite of his burger.

"Just let her do her doctor thing."

"Well, how do you feel about all of this? Being left powerless?" Linda turned her gaze to Lucifer at that moment, adjusting her glasses and raising her eyebrows questioningly, and Lucifer returned the stare in silence for a moment as he considered that question.

"Well, the powers are less of a problem, in my case. For now at least," he finally replied, rubbing his thumb over his mouth and clearing away some crumbs from the burger as he leaned back and narrowed his eyes. "It's more so the vulnerability that's the issue. Being 'sick' isn't exactly fun, Doctor."

"Yeah, and, I mean, it's not like I'm exactly missing my powers," Michael mumbled. "Actually, I prefer them gone."

"Mm." Linda chewed on the inside of her cheek, looking just as thoughtful as Lucifer felt right then. "So Lucifer, you're more or less indifferent to the powers, but still don't care for mortality." Lucifer nodded, and Linda continued, "and Michael, you'd rather be without your powers, even at the cost of being vulnerable."

"Pretty much," Michael replied, blinking.

"Yep." Lucifer nodded.

Linda hummed, looking thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Well, the first step toward figuring out what exactly needs to be learned from this is to figure out exactly how deeply you both feel on the matter," she stated, leaning forward a little. Lucifer exchanged a look with Michael, who furrowed his eyebrows slightly in thought as Linda spoke. "So, let's start from the beginning."

Chapter Text

Day Six.

And here it was.

The moment Lucifer had been waiting for.

The moment they'd all been waiting for.

He stood still, shaking slightly, as his Father's piercing glare met his gaze. Though, he didn't seem angry. Just disappointed, worried - afraid. Afraid that Lucifer had screwed up too much of his stupid little Project, the project that was, of course, so much more interesting and important than his own family. The angel sucked in a deep breath and glanced to the side, where Gabriel stood shoulder to shoulder with him. But his gaze was fixed on the floor, unable to meet God's gaze as directly as Lucifer could.

The angel swallowed, the realization seeming to crash into him right then; they were about to be punished, all of them. Every angel that had joined him in the rebellion. Gabriel and Azrael would be facing the worst of it, with him, as they were the ones who had helped him start it in the first place, the ones who made the plans, who executed the plans…

They were in this together, but Lucifer wasn't sure if he wanted them to be, anymore. Gabriel looked terrified, and Azrael was clinging to his arm. He could feel her shaking - honestly, it was probably why  he  was shaking, too. Unconsciously, his gaze flickered up, over God's shoulders. Amenadiel, Michael and Raphael stood side by side. Amenadiel wouldn't meet Lucifer's gaze, and Raphael was merely staring at Gabriel - but Michael…

… Michael looked just as scared as he felt.

He tried to brush it off, convince himself that the fear was merely Michael's empathy powers coming into play, feeling the terror that he, Azrael and Gabriel were. It couldn't be his own - why in Heaven would it be? This is what Michael had wanted from the beginning, something to show God that he wasn't the perfect son He thought he was. Lucifer's fear steadily dissolved into anger, and Michael's face twitched slightly in response, a grimace tugging at his lips as he suddenly averted his gaze and looked down.

"Samael," God finally spoke, and Lucifer's gaze snapped up to Him instinctively, his anger intensifying.

"That is not my name."

God stared at him for a few moments in silence before narrowing his eyes and stepping forward. Lucifer stepped back. In an instant, however, there was someone behind him, blocking him from getting too far - he looked up, his gaze meeting Amenadiel's as his brother silently hooked his arms under the younger angel's, holding him completely still. When Gabriel and Azrael moved to assist him, Michael and Raphael were there to hold them back just as quickly.

"Let him go," Azrael hissed at Amenadiel, but paused when she met his gaze. Lucifer held Amenadiel's gaze, too, his anger dissolving as he noted the terror in his eyes, a deep, worried fear as he stared down at his younger siblings. In fact, he could feel Amenadiel shaking, as well. His oldest brother hadn't done a thing wrong - hadn't chosen any certain side in the war. He wouldn't be punished… Lucifer took great relief in that.

"Dad-" Gabriel's head whirled toward God, pleading. "Please, don't hurt Luce, he didn't-" His stumbling words were cut off by Azrael, who sounded more furious than afraid now.

"UGH! Why won't you just listen to us?!" She yelled at God, tugging against the hold Michael had on her. "Don't you care?!"

"Stop it," Lucifer hissed at both of them, teeth clenched. "Neither of you deserve-"

"Enough!" God bellowed, and the three angels immediately jerked back, each one falling silent as they stared at their Father, who finally had some anger on his face. Goddess, beside him, rolled her eyes at his tone and merely looked away. Lucifer glanced at her for a second, wondering why she wasn't doing anything, why she wasn't stopping Him from… whatever he was going to do. Would they be destroyed? Would… Goddess even care? She was part of this, too. Why wasn't she…

Lucifer shook his head, pushing the thoughts back and looking down. No, he didn't want her to be punished, too. She didn't deserve it either.

"The three of you-" God took a deep breath and clenched His fists. Lucifer took a small bit of pride in that, that finally He was feeling something, finally, He was facing them, forced to talk to them. Maybe not forced to listen, but it was something. He was there. He was realizing. He was noticing. He was paying attention. "Have gone far too far now." He let out a low hiss, a disgusted sound in the back of His throat, and snapped His fingers. In an instant, the floor below them cleared, almost like glass - and Lucifer stared down at the fight currently going on below them, angels and demons alike rushing at each other from all sides.

"Samael," his Father growled, turning his attention back to Him. "You have created a war. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything at all that could possibly justify, make up for what you've done?" At that point, His gaze turned slightly pleading, searching Lucifer's desperately for something He wasn't going to see.

"Apologize," God spoke, quiet but firm. "Apologize… and your sins will be forgiven. We can move on from this, my son." He stepped forward and extended a hand toward Lucifer, lightly touching the side of his face, and the angel's eyes darkened. "Just apologize."

Lucifer blinked, staring at him in dead silence for a moment before jerking his head back, leaning back into Amenadiel's arms and spitting out a response. "I am not…" He paused, taking a breath, and clenched his teeth.

"I. Am not. Samael. Anymore," he spoke, voice quiet and seething, "I am Lucifer. And I… am… the Devil!"

At this, each one of his siblings gasped, and God jerked back as if he'd been struck across the face. Lucifer didn't care, not anymore. He was done. Done with Heaven, done with God, and done with… everything. He clenched his teeth and swallowed, waiting, as God stared at him before nodding quietly and closed his eyes, almost looking pained. Lucifer merely rolled his eyes and looked away.

"... Very well." God clasped his hands together and looked down. "Then… I have no choice but to punish you. You've committed several acts of treason, and dismissed each warning I have given you. And…" His gaze flickered to Gabriel and Azrael. "… You've drug your siblings along with you. Amenadiel, how do you find your brother?"

Amenadiel looked down at Lucifer, who merely fixed his gaze on the floor and refused to move. "… guilty, Father," the oldest angel finally spoke, quietly, and Lucifer bit his lip and fought against the rush of anger that flooded him at that moment.

"Raphael?"

"Guilty."

And the last one. "Michael."

Lucifer finally allowed his gaze to flicker up. Of course he knew what Michael was going to say, he just wanted to look him in the eyes as he did, mark this as the final time Michael would ever be able to do anything harmful to him ever again. However, he was surprised to see a deep uncertainty in Michael's gaze as those amber eyes held Lucifer's, the archangel's shoulders tense and his teeth clenched as he stared in Lucifer's direction.

"N…" A pause, as Michael's pupils seemed to shrink, a realization settling in, and he tore his gaze away from Lucifer with a scoff. "… Guilty."

God nodded and looked over at Gabriel and Azrael. "And these two?"

"They didn't do a thing," Lucifer cut in, glaring at his Father. Gabriel and Azrael both let out squeals of disagreement, turning in their brother's direction, but Lucifer held God's gaze firmly. "They don't deserve punishment, you leave them be." He wasn't… he couldn't let them be punished for his crimes. They'd stood by him long enough. Gone along with his stupid plans that had led him… here. Whatever was going to happen to him, he just wanted them to be spared from God's wrath.

God paused, looking toward Azrael and Gabriel, who were both rushing to speak now. "Don't listen to him! He's just trying to protect us - we were all in this together!" Gabriel exclaimed, struggling a little harder against Raphael now. "And if he's being punished, we will too!"

"Don't you dare try to take the blame here, Lu," Azrael seethed, glaring at Lucifer. "Or I- I swear to Dad, I'll kill you myself!"

Lucifer blinked, genuinely taken aback. He had expected the two to back out the second they had the chance, but… they were still there, still willing to fight. Even Michael seemed surprised, as his grip tightened on Azrael and he and Raphael shared a look, almost of the same uncertainty Michael had been displaying moments before. "I don't understand. You don't deserve this."

"Then neither do you!" Gabriel hissed, and God took in a breath and raised a hand, seemingly coming to a decision.

"That's enough."

Lucifer blinked and glanced back at him, fury replacing the confusion as his eyes hardened into a glare. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare punish them for this, too. Punish me all you want, I'm the one at fault here, but don't. Even. Think about bringing them into this!"

"I didn't bring them into this, Samael!" God finally yelled, and Lucifer visibly flinched as His voice echoed around the otherwise empty room. He felt Amenadiel jerk back, pulling the younger angel along with him almost… protectively, and watched each of his siblings tense in turn as God stepped toward Lucifer. "You did."

Lucifer blinked. Then… slowly, but surely, the anger returned. Twisting, churning - boiling anger, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Michael visibly shaking from it, as Lucifer leaned forward in Amenadiel's arms and met his Father's glare unflinchingly.

"Go to Hell."

God stared back at him, tense and silent, then sighed. The fury on His face dissolved into sorrow, as He dropped His gaze to the floor and raised His hand. "... I'm afraid I won't be the one going, my son." He swallowed, hand shaking, and looked back up. "Lucifer, Gabriel, Azrael… the three of you are all found guilty on account of treason." He went silent, looking pained, then spoke. "Your punishment… Will be exile to the Underworld. For eternity."

He paused, as Lucifer jerked his head back and let out an outraged yell. "You bastard!"

God looked down once more, for a second, then snapped his fingers. The ground below them disappeared, the room with the fighting angels and demons gone, instead leaving nothing but complete, empty air. A dark that faded into blue, then a deep… burning, fiery red. Lucifer stared down, wide-eyed, anger dissolving into terror. Gabriel and Azrael both whimpered at the sight, and even stone-cold Raphael seemed unnerved.

"Let them go," God commanded.

… And then they were falling.

Lucifer awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for air as he jolted and froze. His back hurt like a motherfucker and his head was swimming, wildly, with the screaming thoughts and memories jumbling in his brain. It took him a few seconds to actually catch his breath, gasping and staring up at the ceiling from where he was still lying in the tub, completely frozen and unable to move. He breathed out, a huff of air almost like a laugh, but there was nothing humorous about the situation. The feeling, that horrible feeling was still tingling in his stomach, the pressure on his chest not relieving in the slightest. He could still feel the cold air rushing past him, the slowly building pain, the impending sense of doom that had just come… crashing on him the second the floor had disappeared beneath his feet.

It wasn't his first dream about the fall, his first nightmare where the memories would play over, and over, and over again in his head to the point where he didn't think he could take it anymore. Sometimes he still didn't think he could take it. It hurt to remember, but he couldn't stop it, he couldn't control it, not in his sleep. There was nothing he could do but relive it.

He shuddered, bringing a hand to his head as he pushed himself to sit up slightly, his free hand pressing against the bottom of the tub to hold himself up as he took a look around the room. Ella must have come to pick up Michael after Linda left. Lucifer had fallen asleep while Michael and Linda continued to talk. But his brother was gone now, and the bathroom was empty aside from him, the door wide open. He was almost ready to lay back down and fall asleep again, but something stopped him. He wasn't sure what.

It took him a while to bring himself to stand, balancing himself against the wall for a moment as he carefully stepped out of the tub. It didn't take long for him to regain some steadiness, breathing out a low sigh as he took a step toward the door and released his hold on the wall. He ran his tongue over his lips, his hand raising to his head once more. His hair was damp with sweat, but the burning heat that had enveloped him the day before was gone. In fact, he felt kind of cold.

He sighed again, more relieved than anything, as he reached the doorway and paused for a moment. "Amenadiel?" He called out for his oldest brother, eyebrows raising as he rubbed at his eyes and ran his fingers back through his hair, grimacing a little. He was definitely going to be taking a shower soon. Now would be a good time, while he felt… not as shitty. It wasn't perfect, but he'd take it, if it meant he didn't feel as horrible as he had the day before. If he wasn't drowning in his own sweat.

Silence met his call, so Lucifer just let out a huff and made his way toward his bed. Someone had cleared off the tissues, and the former Devil took a guess that it was Linda, given how on-edge Amenadiel seemed around him and Michael and their sickness. Lucifer did plan on giving his oldest brother… well, Hell, about that. It would be all too perfect to tease Amenadiel on his sudden squeamishness, which was both amusing and… well, understandable. Amenadiel was smart to keep his distance, truthfully enough, to avoid catching whatever illness Michael and Lucifer had caught. Either way, he was still going to taunt him about it regardless.

The bed was made, neatly, and again Lucifer guessed that Linda was responsible for it. He made a mental note to thank her as he fell back onto the bed with a sigh, covering his face with both hands and squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He was feeling a lot better compared to yesterday, but still… weak. Not in pain, just weak. It was an odd feeling to have. At least he wasn't throwing up anymore, or aching all over, or sneezing his brains out. And hopefully this was the end of whatever sickness he'd gotten.

He let the silence envelop him for a moment, his hands finding their way under his head and gripping at his hair wordlessly as he looked up at the ceiling, eyebrows pinched together. The horrible, tingly pressure in his stomach had dissolved, thankfully enough, but the nightmare - the memory, was still fresh in his mind.

"… Alright, that's it," he mumbled, pushing himself up again and sucking in a deep, slightly unsteady breath, letting it out in a deep huff as he pushed himself off of the bed. He took a second to steady himself against the wave of dizziness from standing up too fast, then, with a huff, he turned away and headed for his closet, pushing the door open without another word and reaching inside to grab some clothes. He might as well take a shower while he waited for his brother - or someone, at least. Or he could just leave the penthouse, but then he ran the risk of Amenadiel fussing at him if his brother returned while he wasn't there.

Honestly, he wanted to go back to work. See Chloe. Do something other than sit around and feel miserable. But there wasn't much he could do like this. He didn't think he could focus on a case the way he was, even if he was feeling better, and he didn't want to risk infecting Chloe with this disease, as well.

Lucifer let out a sigh as he headed back toward the bathroom, running his fingers through his hair and shutting the door behind him silently.

He took his time in the shower, letting the warm water rush over him. He relaxed a little bit at the sensation, closing his eyes for a few seconds and letting out a low, steady sigh. He could feel every drop of water soaking into his skin, dripping from his hair, from his eyelashes. He allowed himself to relax, tension slowly relieving from his shoulders as he tilted his head back and allowed the water to rush over his face, his lips parted slightly as he took in a deep breath and simply stood under the spray.

About an hour and a half passed before he finally forced himself to move, turning the water off and stepping out. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off, changing into the suit he'd picked out, wanting to wear something fancier than the sweatshirt and pants he'd been in before, too tired to change after he'd begun getting sick. He left the bathroom as he dried his hair, deciding against using hair gel for now - he simply didn't feel like messing with it at the moment. His hair was actually quite curly without the gel. While he usually despised it for the most part, as he hated not being able to tame his own hair, he let the curls bounce and even fluffed them a bit as he let the towel rest around the back of his neck, the sides spilling over his shoulders.

He left his room, for the first time in about two days. Someone (he was guessing Amenadiel now) had cleared away some of the glass and feathers, but the piano was still damaged and the place was still a wreck for the most part. Lucifer grimaced, briefly, as he headed over to the bar to see what he could recover from the wreckage. But it seemed like Amenadiel had also cleared out most of his alcohol, as well, so Lucifer let out a low curse and headed toward the elevator with a sigh.

He leaned himself against the wall on the ride down, swallowing back the nausea building up as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose. Normally it wouldn't bother him, he'd gotten used to the feeling of riding in an elevator by then, but the dream was still flickering freshly through his mind and the feeling was most certainly not welcome after reliving that nightmare again. Pun intended.

His breathing became stifled, even as the elevator stopped and dinged, the doors sliding open. Lucifer simply lifted his chin and forced in another breath, this one shakier. Usually he didn't really need to breathe (he simply liked the feeling of it), but it was getting harder to do so and he was feeling rather lightheaded because of it, his chest beginning to ache. Finally, he simply slid down to sit on the floor of the elevator, gripping his knees tightly as he pressed his legs to his chest and drew his shoulders up, tense and silent and struggling as he took in another breath and forced himself to remember to breathe.

He was vaguely aware of someone saying his name, but they sounded too far away for them to really catch his attention. He kept his eyes shut, despite the darkness making him feel even dizzier, and just sucked in another breath and tried to relax. Vaguely, he was reminded of the first time he'd been in an elevator. It had honestly spooked him so much that he'd nearly had a breakdown in front of a crowd of people - luckily he managed to wait until he was alone to do so, however. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

He could feel the air brushing past him, the world spiraling around him as he fell. Unsure where he'd land. How he'd land. If he'd survive it. Only knowing he was falling… and barely even registering that at the same time.

Another trembling breath left his lips, sucking in a gasp of air and letting it out in another short burst. As he did so, he realized that someone was grabbing his shoulder, the touch firm and strong and grounding enough to send him spiraling back to reality, visions of the Fall fading and replaced with the dizzying darkness until he blinked his eyes open and looked up.

He was alone.

He blinked once, and then again, confusion darkening his features as he tried to push himself to stand, but his legs didn't seem to want to work right then. So he sank back against the wall of the elevator once more, silent and tense and trying to regulate his breathing in the process. His eyes darted around warily, taking in everything around him that he could see and trying not to let himself spiral back into the memories, the Fall. The sound of footsteps turned his attention back to the elevator doorway, going alert once more but relaxing immediately as he watched Amenadiel approach, taking in his brother's concerned expression as the oldest knelt beside him and offered him a glass of water, which Lucifer took with a surprising lack of protest.

"Slow sips," Amenadiel advised him, and Lucifer offered nothing more than a hum of acknowledgement. His brother settled beside him, against the wall, his legs stretched out and his hands pressed to the floor beside him. After a moment of hesitation, Lucifer spread his own legs out in front of him, a sigh breaking through his lips as he placed one hand down against the cold floor of the elevator, the other holding the glass to his lips as he allowed some of the liquid to trickle into his mouth, not quite drinking.

"Are you okay?" His brother asked after a moment, and Lucifer spared a glance toward him, lowering the glass a little bit. He looked down at it, watching the glistening liquid slosh around in the cup at the slightest movement, and furrowed his eyebrows together.

"I don't know."

Amenadiel looked over at him, understanding flickering through his eyes, and a deep concern. Lucifer gazed back at him, his mind flashing back to the sleepless nights in the Silver City, his oldest brother at his side after an argument with God, a torturous session with Michael. Simply needing the silent support Amenadiel offered. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"… No, I don't," Lucifer answered honestly, and Amenadiel nodded and leaned his head back against the wall. The former Devil let his gaze linger on him for a moment longer before looking ahead once more, finally daring to take a small sip of the water and tensing instinctively for a second. When no nausea followed, he took another sip.

Amenadiel was silent, which Lucifer was grateful for. He looked concerned, and looked like he wanted to speak, but he didn't. The former Devil stayed silent as well, sipping at the water as he sat there. His oldest brother did speak after a while, but he had changed the subject, thankfully. "So, what are you doing down here?" Amenadiel looked down at him as Lucifer glanced up, eyebrows raising. "You look like you're feeling better. And you took a shower," he noted, his eyebrows pinching together slightly.

"Ah, I did. And I am," Lucifer replied, taking a deep breath. It was a little easier this time, thankfully enough, so he took in another one and let it out slowly in a soft sigh as he relaxed against the wall. "At least, I'm not feeling as horrible as I was yesterday," he conceded, looking down as he rubbed his thumb across the rim of the glass. "I was considering going for a ride, actually."

"Where?" Amenadiel looked anxious again, that overprotective look that Lucifer knew so well, and the former Devil let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes to the side. "It's a little too early to go back to work, Luci," his oldest brother continued.

"Well, of course. I didn't mean work," Lucifer sighed, glancing back up at him before reaching up to grab one of the handrails, pulling himself to his feet. Amenadiel pushed himself up as well, watching carefully as Lucifer steadied himself and stepped out of the elevator. "I meant what I said. A ride. Fresh air would probably do me some good, as well," he added, more so for his brother's benefit than anything. It wasn't a lie, though, fresh air would certainly do him some good after being cooped up in the penthouse for so long.

Amenadiel seemed to soften at that, and Lucifer hid his triumphant smile by taking another sip of the water. "Well, alright." He paused, frowning. "Are you in any condition to drive…?"

"Amenadiel…" Lucifer huffed a little, shaking his head, and Amenadiel held his hands up in a half-placating, half-defeated gesture.

"Okay, okay. I know. Just be careful, Luci."

"Oh, no promises…" Lucifer paused, looking back toward the elevator for a moment, then frowned and reached into his pockets. No keys. "Oh, bollocks, of course," he cursed, shaking his head a little bit at himself and running his fingers through his hair. Amenadiel offered him a confused look, and Lucifer shook his head again as he explained, "my keys, of course, I left them in the penthouse." He stepped toward the elevator, but Amenadiel stopped him with a hand on his chest, lightly easing him back.

"I'll go get them," his older brother offered, and Lucifer raised his eyebrows curiously. "Where did you leave them?" Lucifer paused for a moment, his gaze darting away briefly and his eyes narrowing as he tried to remember.

"On the nightstand, I'd assume. Or the dresser."

Amenadiel nodded and retreated to the elevator, and Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows and watched wordlessly as the doors slid shut and his brother was gone. He stared for a moment, silent and still, then turned and looked toward the bar. It was left unharmed, unlike the one upstairs. No shattered glass or feathers, and the drinks on the counter were left untouched. Of course, his oldest brother couldn't get rid of all of those.

After a moment of debating, he turned and headed for the bar, stepping past the counter and reaching up to one of the back shelves to grab a bottle of whiskey. He rolled it over in his hand, studying the label, then simply stuck it into one of the inside pockets of his suit jacket. He grabbed another bottle - tequila this time - and stuffed it into another pocket before stepping back around and taking a seat on one of the stools to wait for his brother. Amenadiel would disapprove, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

He looked up when the doors opened again, and Amenadiel stepped out. "Here." He headed toward his brother, holding the keys out, and Lucifer grinned and stood, taking them gratefully.

"Wonderful. Thank you, brother."

"Just be careful," his oldest brother repeated, eyebrows furrowed together.

"Again." Lucifer flashed him his usual charming smile, and a wink, tossing the keys up into the air and catching them with ease as they came back down. "No promises." And with that, he spun around and headed for the stairs to leave. He did stop, for just a second, however, hearing his brother suddenly speak up behind him before he'd gotten halfway up the staircase.

"And don't drink too much of that, you'll make yourself sick. And do not drink and drive."

Lucifer stopped and glanced back at him, just for a second, and his oldest brother offered him a smug smirk. The former Devil paused, a grin forming on his lips despite himself as he nodded and continued on his way. "Noted."

Fallin1

Lucifer stared, silent, tense, down at the license plate on the back of his car. His fingers twitched slightly, threatening to curl into fists as he gazed, a mixture of fury and disbelief alight and flickering through his dark brown eyes. His teeth ground together, almost with enough pressure to completely turn them all to powder, as he forced himself steady and turned his gaze to the sky. And he let that gaze linger, watching the clouds drifting for a moment.

The Fallen One.

For a second, Raphael's voice echoed in his head. Words his brother had spoken to him once before, not too long before the fall. When they were alone. Raphael only really spoke to him that way when they were alone. Things he had called him, piecing together slowly and carefully in the former Devil's mind. The failure. The rogue. The traitor. The fallen one.

Something twisted in his expression, something hurt and angry. A mix of both. His lips pulled into a firm line, pain echoing deeply behind the odd expression on his face. There was nothing to say, nothing to do. Just a hollow aching in his chest, the feeling of fire prickling at his fingertips and that rush of freezing cold air. The building pressure of the drop, making its way up from the pit of his stomach to his chest, tingling and lingering painfully throughout his entire body. Maybe it was just some sensitivity from being sick, being vulnerable. Maybe he was reading too much into everything.

A shaking hand lifted, passing through his hair again and again as he forced himself to move. Feeling numb, every bone in his body aching and resisting with the movement. He didn't bother with the doors, simply stepped right over into the driver's seat and emptied his pockets of the alcohol he had gathered, letting both bottles fall into the passenger seat and staring blankly at both of them for the longest time.

He felt the cold rim of the bottle pressing to his trembling lips before he'd registered that he'd grabbed one of them - whether it was the whiskey or tequila, he didn't care. Just hoped it was strong enough to dull the pressure.

But he stopped, his brother's words lingering in his head, and abruptly jerked the bottle downwards. He flinched as some of the liquid spilled over, sloshing onto the front of his suit and soaking into his shirt, and sucked in a shaking breath as he put the top back onto the bottle and practically slammed it into the passenger's seat. He moved for his keys next, shaking fingers pressing them into the ignition and twisting silently to start the car, the familiar roar of the engine bringing him back to his senses for the most part.

Something stirred in the back of his mind. A voice. A question. Clear and precise. What do you desire?

He blinked, forced his eyes to focus. Revved the engine a few times before pressing down on the gas, sucking in a gulp of air and leaning his head back a little. He kept his gaze fixed on the road, tired, weary, trying to forget. He should have stayed back at the nightclub with Amenadiel, at least then he could distract himself from the memories twisting about in his head, sharp enough to create scars. Or at the very least, reopen the scars that had already existed.

Again, more insistent. What do you desire, Lucifer?

Lucifer didn't care. Lucifer drove. He drove, and drove, and he didn't look back. He blew past red lights, narrowly avoiding causing a wreck in the process - it was only when he actually ran a terrifying risk of genuinely hurting himself and an innocent family (with children in the back seat, he noted) did he force himself to slow, to remember that he wasn't in any rush. Not so much that he was willing to risk a human's life just to try to outrun his own horrible godforsaken feelings. He drew in a shuddering breath between his teeth, easing up on the gas and steadying his hands against the wheel. Some color returned to his knuckles as he released his vice-like grip, the pale white flushing its normal pink as he slowed to a stop at a red light.

Louder. More of an edge to the words. What do you desire?

He looked down, at the alcohol in the seat beside him.

The more he stared, the more disgusted he grew. Disgust for himself, for thinking this was his only option. To drive off somewhere like a reckless maniac and get drunk to forget his problems. It sounded like something he would have done, before Michael had showed up, before he found that the best distraction was working. Doing something good, something that had a genuine, positive impact on the lives of others. Bringing justice to the innocent and punishing the sinners.

What do you desire? What do you  want ?

His jaw set, returning his gaze to the road as the light turned green. He started driving again, much slower, gaze darting to the signs at the side of the road and checking the speed limit every so often. Dark eyes gazed ahead, mouth twisting, teeth grinding, knuckles paling and flushing every so often as his grip would tighten against the steering wheel and release in the next second.

He wanted to stop.

He took a turn, one hand grabbing for the alcohol in the process. His gaze darted to the right side of the car, breezing past some humans walking down the sidewalk, children and parents… He pushed on until the humans disappeared from his sight, until there were no more cars around him. And he slammed on the brakes.

He stopped, sitting still, breath coming in gasps despite not being particularly winded. For a while he just sat there, his hand gripping the bottle of whiskey, fingers trembling as he stared down. His whole thing was desire, drawing out people deepest, darkest secrets, the forbidden things they wanted most in life. He asked almost every person he came across, but he had never really thought to think for… himself. Never thought to search for what he really wanted, deep down.

Quieter this time, but just as persistent: Well, what do you want?

Lucifer lifted his gaze to the street. His grip on the whiskey tightened.

His eyes narrowed suddenly, hard and cold, and without much of a warning, he raised the bottle over his head and chucked it as far and as hard as he could. It slammed into the road, broken glass flying up, a satisfying shatter accompanying it. The former Devil took a breath, grabbed the other bottle, and did the same before gripping the wheel again and making a sharp U-turn.

If he was going to drink, he was going to drink because he wanted to. He was going to drink to celebrate, to enjoy it.

Lucifer Morningstar made himself a promise right then and there; No more drinking to forget, no more running away and burying his problems in alcohol. No more turning his back on the people in his life when things got tough. No more falling.

He took in a breath and relaxed against the seat, eyes clearing slightly as he looked up toward the sky, and then back down. His jaw set, expression smoothing out slightly aside from the slight furrow of his eyebrows, eyes squinted against the wind as he continued on his way. No real destination in mind, not right then.

He just wanted to drive. Feel the wind in his hair, on his face.

Let himself go in a completely different way.

Chapter Text

Day Seven. Last Day.

Michael slept through most of the day. He'd slept through the entire day before, as well.

When he woke up, he was glad to find that he felt much less… hot, than he had the day before. He didn't quite feel cold, either. Somewhere in between. Somewhat normal. The former archangel blinked his eyes open and looked ahead for a moment, then started to roll over onto his back. Only to notice, pausing instantly, that someone else was in the bed beside him. And his heart skipped a beat when he turned his head and saw Ella lying there, arms under her head and her eyes shut peacefully, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

He relaxed slowly, shifting over completely onto his back to watch her. Her nostrils flared as she breathed, her lips parting slightly with a low sigh as she twisted slightly with Michael's movements, but she remained steady in her peaceful slumber. Michael blinked, unable to take his gaze off of her for the longest time.

She was so sweet, so innocent. So loving, so forgiving. Everything Michael wasn't, she was… perfect. And his heart ached with the thoughts that crossed his mind at that moment. He didn't deserve her - he didn't deserve that sweetness, that innocence, that love and forgiveness.

That perfection.

He bit down on his lower lip and turned his head to gaze at the ceiling, clasping his hands together over his stomach and staring upwards. His amber eyes searched the ceiling, roaming aimlessly as if looking for something, but his gaze never latched onto anything. Just stared up at the pure white as he pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes and thought. He let each of the thoughts in, allowing them to spin and spiral around his head until it made him dizzy. Maybe that was the difference between him and Lucifer. His brother tried to forget. Michael didn't want to.

He didn't want to forget how much pain he'd caused, how much guilt he deserved to feel. Pushing it down would only make it worse. He needed to feel it, to experience every painful emotion - his own painful emotions, rather than just feeding off of everyone else's. This is the kind of pain he had caused most of his siblings, Lucifer especially. What goes around comes around, and Michael was sure he was experiencing everything he deserved to be.

Breathing out a low sigh, he turned once more to look at Ella. Ella, who saw past the monster Michael believed himself to be. Ella, who was willing to overlook all of his faults. And for what? What had he done for her? He had simply been there - she had been the one to approach, the one to stop him in his tracks. The one who made him think.

Maybe it was a good thing. If she hadn't, Michael might not have ever been able to face that what he was doing was wrong.

His thoughts trailed off, mildly startled as Ella began to stir, a low groan breaking from the human's lips as she twisted on the bed and blinked her eyes open, squinting against the light. Michael paused, just for a second, and pushed himself slightly to sit up. A wave of nausea hit him in the process, and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from grunting as he balanced himself back against the wall, watching carefully as Ella pushed herself up as well.

"Good morning," he spoke quietly, as Ella reached out to feel his forehead.

"Hi," she finally replied, offering him a tired little smile as she brushed his hair from his face. He leaned into the touch slightly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Your fever broke. How're you feeling?"

"Better." Michael peered at her, still silently wondering at her compassion. How could she be so kind to someone like him? Someone who couldn't possibly deserve it?

Why did he care?

What even was he feeling right then? Why was she so important to him? Why did she make him question these things? Thoughts of her spun through his head, thoughts that hurt and ached at his chest in the most torturous way. And yet, it was pleasurable at the same time. It hurt, but he loved it (and for a second it made him wonder if maybe he was a masochist in that case). He loved the way she made him feel, but it scared the crap out of him. He grimaced slightly, and Ella gave him a worried stare before narrowing her eyes and pushing herself forward a little, her hand settling against the side of his face.

"What's on your mind, angel boy?" She asked him softly, and Michael glanced away for a second, toward the window. Ella furrowed her eyebrows, her thumb tracing over his cheek as she waited.

Finally, Michael raised a hand and gently clasped it over Ella's hand as he spoke, his voice soft. "I don't know how to feel about you."

Ella raised her eyebrows, seeming more confused than anything. She gently turned her hand over so that she could twine her fingers with his, bringing their hands closer together as she clasped them together and lightly placed her other hand over the back of Michael's, both of her hands holding one of his now as she shifted slightly to sit cross-legged in front of him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you…" Michael trailed off and took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out in a soft huff. "You make me feel things I've never felt before, El. It's like joy and sadness and anger and fear and… it's the most painful combination of emotions I've ever felt before. And it's all my own."

A pause followed his words, staring down at their hands as he lightly rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. "And it hurts," he continued after a moment, "but I don't want it to stop, at the same time. And I don't understand it, Ella, how it's so much pain and yet it… It feels like I need it." He exhaled slowly and looked up hesitantly to meet Ella's gaze, but she now had a soft, knowing smile on her face, shaking her head at the former angel.

"Oh, Mikey," she sighed, lifting one of her hands to touch his cheek again. "I get it. You've been feeling everyone else's emotions for so long that you don't know how to deal with your own. And it's scary, and it hurts. It's going to hurt, Mike. There's nothing you can do about that."

"I know," he mumbled, and she suddenly grinned and leaned forward, pushing herself up onto her knees and wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned back a bit, surprised, but he brought his hands up to her shoulders to hold her steady.

"But you'll always have someone there who's willing to help you understand," Ella breathed, and his eyebrows scrunched together softly as she continued, "you'll always have me."

His amber eyes held hers, sparkling with the pain and fear and joy he was feeling at the moment. The ice cold rush, the feeling of falling. The terror, but the satisfaction, the security. He was fine, he was safe. He was just… falling. In the weirdest way, at least to him. His breathing hitched for a moment, silent and thinking, before he tilted his head back and pressed his lips to Ella's in a soft kiss.

The painful feeling increased tenfold the second their lips connected, exploding in his chest. A jolt to his brain, freezing cold, a surreal feeling surrounding him completely. It was enough to make him pull back instantly, eyes widening in both horror and confusion as he realized what he'd done. Ella gazed back at him, just as wide-eyed, just as confused, but for a different reason.

"I-" Michael sucked in a sharp gasp and held his breath, shaking his head slightly. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I- Why I did that- Why did I do that?" He gasped, lifting a hand from Ella's shoulder to cover his mouth. He stopped, however, feeling her fingers wrap around his wrist before he could do so, and looked up.

"I know why," she told him gently, and, leaning forward, she pressed another kiss to his lips. There was another jolt, but this time it was accompanied by a warmth in his chest, in his stomach. He visibly shook at the feeling, at least for a second, before his hands came up instinctively to cup her face as he leaned up to return the kiss.

They pulled back, somewhat reluctantly, when breathing became an issue for them both. But Ella was grinning from ear to ear, and Michael, after a moment of hesitation, allowed his own smile to appear on his face as he let out a low, breathless chuckle. "I… Wow."

"Yeah, you said it," Ella giggled, her arms wrapping around him as she leaned forward. His heart fluttered a little as she nuzzled her head under his chin, a soft sigh breaking through her lips as her eyes slid shut. Michael hesitated slightly, then simply wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers, breathing out softly as he closed his eyes. "Hey, Mike?"

"Mm?"

"I do think you should go to therapy," Ella murmured, and Michael blinked his eyes open to glance down at her. "At least for a little while. At the very least, maybe it'll help you understand your own emotions."

Michael blinked and looked down at her, staying silent for a moment. There was a strange jolt in his chest as he started to speak, making him pause for a second, and his eyebrows knitted together. And then, as if something had clicked, it all came rushing back. The emotions, the good and the bad. Like a tidal wave breaking out over him, threatening to wash him away right then and there. And it was so painful that he almost let himself go.

But then Ella gave him a soft squeeze, arms wrapped around him, fingers curled gently into the fabric of his shirt, and he stopped. The wave of emotions calmed, more of a rushing river than crashing waves coming at him from all sides. The pain still ached at his chest, at least for a moment, until she tilted her head back to gaze at him. He met her stare evenly.

The pain faded, every other emotion dulling, receding to the back of his mind for the time being. Until all he could feel was his own, once more - the soft aching in his chest, the terror and the happiness combined. His own emotions, no longer drowned out by the pain of the others. Even though he could feel it there, now, flickering faintly in the back of his mind. But as long as he held her gaze, they wouldn't get to him again.

And, along with the emotions came a rush of strength. A strength he hadn't known he'd really had before. He took a moment to consider it, his amber eyes flaring up slightly with a certain fire, and Ella took in a deep breath as she watched.

Her hands lifted, grabbing his face gently. "Are they back? Your powers?"

Michael blinked down at her and nodded a little, genuinely stunned. She looked both pleased and worried, gazing at him as if waiting for something, and Michael paused. Of course he could feel the weight of the other emotions, could feel the negativity flickering just at the back of his mind. And for the first time, he pushed past that. Pushed the negativity down and tried to focus on the emotions that didn't hurt. The love, the joy, the excitement, the awe. He let it replace the anger and pain that were practically begging to take him over again.

He wrapped his arms around Ella and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes with a sigh. "It's okay," he murmured, feeling her relax immediately, snuggling back into his arms with a soft, content sigh. "… Everything's okay."

"I'm glad you came in today."

"Yes, well." Lucifer flashed Linda a rather tight smile as he paced back and forth, one hand adjusting his tie and the other smoothing his hair back. He paused for a second, near the window, and turned his head to stare out. "I'm feeling much better today." He narrowed his eyes, tugging on his suit a bit and smoothing out some of the wrinkles. But he continued to pass his hand along the fabric again and again, even when there were no more wrinkles to spread out, and Linda's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she took in his restless behavior.

She opened her mouth, maybe to ask him if he wanted to sit down, maybe ask him outright about his behavior. Whatever she was going to say, Lucifer beat her to the punch rather desperately, quickly. "I've been thinking-" He stopped, his steps faltering, and abruptly turned around to pace back toward the couch. "I've been thinking about some… unpleasant things, recently. Things regarding my past. Things I… perhaps didn't want to face." He stopped, sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment. "Perhaps I'm not ready to face them. But I want to."

That was what he wanted. He wanted to stop lying to himself. He wanted to stop covering up the bits of his past he'd forced himself to forget. He wanted to stop giving in to the stories he heard about himself. He wanted to come clean about what had happened that day. What he'd done. What he could have done, if he hadn't…

The palms of his hands began aching, abruptly forcing him to stretch his fingers out. He stared down at the indents his fingernails had left in his skin, taking a deep breath and turning back to Linda. "The Fall. It's about the Fall."

He watched as his therapist - his friend's eyes widened at the words, looking visibly shaken by that. Of course, why wouldn't she be? Lucifer rarely spoke about the Fall, at least in detail. About him being cast out of Heaven, forced out, as if that were all to it. No, there was more, buried deep down, underneath the lies that humanity and his siblings and himself had spun in a desperate attempt to forget the truth, forget the terror and pain and the choices he had made that day.

"Okay." Linda spoke carefully, as if anything could set the former Devil off at that moment. Granted, he did seem a little frantic right then, a little on edge. He shifted his feet back a little before suddenly jerking back and forcing himself to sit, his hands settling against his knees as he dug his fingers into the fabric of his pants and took a deep breath.

"It's all a lie," he started, taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment. "Most of it, at least. It's all been twisted, by humans, my siblings… none of you really know the truth." He stopped, sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment. "And I've been going along with it all this time because even I couldn't face it, what I'd done, the… the decision I'd made."

"The Rebellion?" Linda narrowed her eyes slightly and clasped her hands together, leaning forward a little bit. Lucifer actually scoffed a little bit, raising a hand to run his fingers sharply through his hair as he shook his head.

"No, Doctor, I…" At this, the former Devil visibly hesitated, staying tense as he dropped his gaze and stared down at his hands. He flexed his fingers a little bit, grinding his teeth together slowly and narrowing his eyes. It shouldn't be this hard to think about, to face. To unravel the denial he'd been in for so long, the lies he'd allowed himself to get wrapped up and stuck in. But he didn't want that anymore. He didn't want to live in the tangled web that he'd spun around himself. Forget humanity, forget his siblings…

"It's my fault. All of it, it's my own bloody fault," he hissed, though his voice lacked venom, more so defeated than anything. "For so long, I've been blaming my Father. My siblings. Mum. Humanity." He stopped, blinking, and pinched his eyebrows together. "But I can't, not anymore. It's all a lie."

"Lucifer," Linda said softly, and Lucifer glanced up. She looked excited, despite it all - but he could see the worry flickering through her eyes, as well. "This is progress, genuine progress."

Lucifer paused, at least for a second, and took in a breath as he nodded. Yes, it was progress. That's why he needed to do this, to tell the truth. To break away from the denial, the lies, the pain and the hurt and the anger. He didn't want to feel like this anymore.

"I let it happen," he spoke suddenly, each word feeling like knives in his throat. Linda blinked, looking briefly confused, and Lucifer visibly shuddered before forcing himself to clarify, "I let myself fall."

Gabriel was the first to go, followed closely by Azrael. Lucifer followed not too long after. For a second, the awful feeling took his breath away, a sense of pain and terror surrounding him as his heart and stomach lurched, feeling absolutely sick. Gabriel was screaming, Azrael clinging to him practically for dear life and Lucifer merely held onto himself, gasping for air and staring down with tears prickling in his eyes.

One by one, more joined them. Demons, Lucifer knew, the demons who had fought with him during the war. Briefly, he caught Lilith's gaze, and then Mazikeen's. He'd met her early on during the rebellion, Lilith's daughter. Her cold eyes met his with no hesitation, no terror. Just a knowing look. She had expected this.

Lucifer then looked up, at his siblings. Both of them were… petrified. Gabriel had tears pricking at the corners of his eyes now, holding onto Azrael for all he was worth, and his sister was holding him right back. Struggling for a moment between his own selfish desires and what he knew was right, he came to a decision and took in a breath. Unfurling one wing, and then the next, he lashed them downwards and pulled himself to a halt, catching both of his siblings by the arm as they started to fall past him.

"Lucifer!" Gabriel gasped, holding on tighter than ever. Lucifer actually felt his arm go numb from the pressure, but he didn't say a word. Just clenched his teeth and pushed himself upwards, past the falling demons, past the blur of blue and red, and he didn't stop until he literally, physically couldn't go any higher. It was like a barrier now, forbidding him to get even somewhat close to Heaven. He couldn't go an inch further.

"Shit!" Lucifer yelled, lowering himself down a little and fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill. Gabriel clung to him silently, wide-eyed, but it was Azrael who spoke.

"Lu, we can't-"

"Stop." Lucifer looked up for a second, then clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the both of them. He lifted Azrael up a little, just seeing if he could maybe get her through whatever invisible barrier his Father had set up, but he couldn't. And each moment he stayed in the air, the more his wings grew tired, weak. And when the feathers began to fall, he knew, instinctively, it was his Father's doing. He wanted him to fall, duh, he wasn't just going to let him stay there for the rest of eternity.

But Lucifer couldn't let his siblings be punished for what he'd dragged them into, they didn't do anything. This was Lucifer's fault, Lucifer's fault for creating the stupid rebellion and letting it turn into a war, letting his family destroy itself.

Even further.

Amenadiel…

He paused for a second, breath catching in his throat, and continued.  Amenadiel. I need your help.

Silence. Nothing happened. Lucifer was slipping, his wings growing heavier. He watched another feather fall, slowly trickling downwards, spiraling into the nothingness. He swallowed and tightened his grip, ignoring the screaming from his siblings as they tried to pull away, begging him to stop, that they were going with him, they  had  to go with him. He tugged them upwards and wrapped his arms around them both, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears and trying not to break down into sobs right then and there. What had he gotten them into? Why had he dragged them into this mess? Why was he  like this ?

… Amenadiel, please, he begged silently, biting his tongue. Please, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

The feathers stopped falling. Lucifer didn't notice.

He swallowed and looked up when he heard a rush of air, practically falling back down in relief when he saw Amenadiel there. His brother's eyes were wide, staring down at him, silent and tense. Lucifer wasted no time in lifting Gabriel up, and Amenadiel reached past the barrier to grab his wrist and tug him upwards, ignoring the younger angel's startled screech of surprise as Amenadiel yanked him up into his arms, wrapping one arm around him and reaching his hand down for Azrael.

Lucifer pulled her up, and Amenadiel grabbed her arm and pulled her through the barrier. The… former angel raised a hand, placing it right against the invisible wall and swallowing as he looked up. And then, abruptly, the barrier vanished. His hand went right through. His eyes widened as he lifted his hand up a bit more, pushing himself a little higher. Confusion and curiosity flickered through his eyes, as well as understanding.

God was willing to give him another chance. He was willing to let him back in. Lucifer felt sick. After everything he had done…

He stayed still, at least until Amenadiel reached down to grab his hand as well. Lucifer jerked back, sending himself spiraling downwards before he abruptly managed to catch himself.

Amenadiel's eyes widened, confusion and shock flickering through his gaze. "Lucifer, come on!" He exclaimed, and Gabriel immediately began struggling in Amenadiel's arms, reaching out for his older brother with wide eyes.

"Luce!"

"Lu!" Azrael warned, and Lucifer's wide eyes darted in her direction, tears flooding his gaze. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare let yourself fall! You can't do this! Not without us! You don't deserve this!" She leaned forward and reached a hand out, but Lucifer leaned back. All he had to do was fly up. The barrier was gone. He could go home. All he had to do was…

Apologize to God.

Lucifer wasn't sure he could do that. His stupid, selfish pride stood in the way. He wanted to, but at the same time he couldn't. He couldn't apologize for doing what he still believed was right. Maybe he shouldn't have brought his siblings into it, maybe he shouldn't have even rebelled - but he wasn't going to go back up there and become Samael again, and become an angel, and just live like everything was fine and normal. No, he couldn't do that again. It was selfish, but he couldn't do that again. He wouldn't do that again.

He pulled back further, blinking his tears back. "Take care of them, Amenadiel."

"Luci-" Amenadiel reached down further, his eyes pleading. "Don't do this."

"Oh, no-" Gabriel had tears in his eyes now, and it was so different from his usual bright smile that Lucifer flinched back on instinct, another beat of his wings sending him flying backwards. "Luce, please, please!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lucifer gasped, shaking his head violently and trying to fight back the tears, to no avail. "I can't go back, I can't- I can't live like this anymore!"

Amenadiel jerked his hand back, hurt flashing through his eyes. Azrael's head jerked back at the same time, eyes widening and pupils shrinking, but Gabriel only held Lucifer's gaze with a mixture of pain and understanding, and fear. And worry. Lucifer held that gaze for a few moments before he pushed himself back a bit more and took a deep breath.

"... then leave," Amenadiel whispered, and Lucifer ignored the outraged scream from Azrael as he turned his gaze to his older brother. Those warm eyes he remembered were now cold and distant, and he had to avert his gaze within just a few seconds, staring down.

Then, taking a breath, he folded his wings away again.

"LU!"

"LUCE!"

He looked up just in time to see Amenadiel push himself upwards, spiraling through the air with both of his younger siblings clutched to his sides, both of them staring down with wide, terrified eyes after their brother. Lucifer blinked, the tears escaping as he covered his mouth with one hand and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could.

… He was falling.

Willingly.

"I had a chance to return to the Silver City. Father was willing to give me another chance. Amenadiel was right there." Lucifer ran his fingers through his hair, gripping tightly now as he shook his head back and forth. His stomach twisted, chest aching with the feeling, the jolt, the memory of falling. The fear. "But I didn't, I couldn't. I couldn't do it. I wanted to, I really, really wanted to, but I couldn't do it."

"Lucifer…" Linda's voice came out in a breathless whisper, looking stunned by the story. Lucifer just shook his head, dragging a hand down his face.

"I could have… I should have gone…" Lucifer blinked, anger and pain flickering through his eyes as he shook his head. "I hurt everyone, I hurt them all so much - I could have done better, I could have made it better. It was so selfish, I was…" His voice shook, violently, cracking on the last few words. And he forced himself to stop, sucking in a deep breath and forcing the tears back.

He blinked rapidly to clear the tears as Linda suddenly stood, grabbing the box of tissues on the table in front of her and walking around to sit on the couch beside Lucifer. The former Devil sighed a little, but he did accept one of the tissues to rub the tears from his eyes. "It's good that you're facing this, Lucifer," his friend spoke gently, "realizing and admitting that you've been in denial, and accepting what really happened that day, is a good step toward helping yourself feel better about it. But don't push yourself so hard. Unraveling these truths slowly will be much easier for you."

Lucifer went silent for a moment, considering that, then nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Right… Yes." He cleared his throat, looking away, out the window. "Well… I've been thinking about the Detective, as well…" He trailed off, a little hesitant, but a little more open to admitting this than he seemed to be about the Fall. "I've been considering pursuing a… deeper relationship with her, but…"

Linda tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows. "But?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's too soon," Lucifer continued, frowning, "she did have genuine feelings for Pierce despite him being an all-around bag of dicks. Not to mention, she watched my brother kill him in the same day she found out that I truly am the Devil. And I'm worried… I'm worried I might scare her?"

Linda nodded slightly as he spoke, leaning back a little and narrowing her eyes slightly in consideration. "Has she expressed any hesitance or fear in your interactions so far?"

"Well, no," Lucifer admitted, biting his lip slightly as he leaned back and looked toward the window, watching a bird hop around in the grass outside. "She's actually been rather understanding about it all, honestly. But that's also somewhat concerning. I'm afraid maybe she hasn't had enough time to process." He was, genuinely, worried for the Detective. He didn't want to push her or make her uncomfortable, but he did want to know her thoughts on… everything.

"If you feel that it's too soon to pursue a relationship, perhaps you should hold off on that for a bit, then," Linda suggested. "But if you think there's something she needs to talk about regarding the things she's seen, then maybe you should talk to her about it. She may have questions, and may need help processing what she's learned."

Lucifer blinked and fell silent, considering that for a moment. Then his eyes widened, a light of understanding sparkling through his eyes. "Ah, of course! I need to become her therapist. I'm sure she has many questions and feelings and thoughts on the matter, and who better to assist her than me?"

Linda seemed to already have a protest ready, as if she was expecting him to twist her words around in some huge, dramatic way as he usually did. She seemed rather surprised that he actually grasped what she was trying to say this time. "Yes, something like that."

"Of course. You're a genius, Doctor." Lucifer stood and dusted himself off. "Session over, I must go speak to the Detective!"

"We've still got fifteen minutes left, Lucifer."

"Oh." Lucifer squinted at the clock, standing still for a moment before pursing his lips together thoughtfully. Then he simply shrugged and headed for the door, throwing it open. "Oh, well. Suppose your lunch break comes early today." He flashed her a smile and stepped out. "Thanks for the help, Doctor!"

Linda sighed, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "You're welcome, Lucifer."

"Detective! Detective!"

Chloe jumped, tearing her gaze away from the TV and looking toward the door. Lucifer? What was Lucifer doing there? According to Maze, the former Devil had been feeling quite a bit better, enough to go to a therapy appointment as Amenadiel had told her. He sounded frantic and desperate, which was enough to get her adrenaline pumping, her mind already jumping to scrambled assumptions. Someone was hurt. Mazikeen had taken Trixie to the park - she'd been kidnapped, or hurt. Pushing herself up, she strode toward the door and practically threw it open, and Lucifer breezed past her in an instant - almost knocking her off of her feet in the process.

"What's going on?" She demanded as she turned, leaving the door open. But Lucifer began talking before she could finish her sentence, drowning her words out as he spoke with that same frantic tone, and Chloe practically hung onto every word, blue eyes wide and alarmed as the former Devil paced back and forth and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Listen, Detective, I've been doing very much thinking and after a very eye-opening conversation with Doctor Linda, who suggested I should confront you about facing everything you've learned regarding divinity, I thought it best to come see you right away!" He spun to face her, clasping his hands together and meeting her wide-eyed stare. "I don't wish to make you uncomfortable or fearful of me, but I believe this conversation is long overdue. And so I am willing to answer any questions you may have."

Chloe blinked and stared at him in complete silence for a moment, feeling her heart pounding against her chest with enough force to nearly burst from her body. But the racing adrenaline was slowly dissolving, replaced with a mixture of confusion and concern for his somewhat disheveled, desperate appearance. His hair was messy, probably from running his fingers through it so many times, and he didn't seem to bother with the wrinkles on his suit or straighten his tie, which was currently slightly crooked. A grimace settled across her face as he spoke, shaking her head a little bit.

Of course she had questions, millions of questions. And yes, she had put most of them off because Lucifer was sick. But she'd also had a conversation with Mazikeen, who was able to answer some questions as well, regarding Lucifer and even Hell. Her concern and confusion returned as she thought, in particular, of one part of his sentence. 'Fearful of me', as if Lucifer was something to fear…

It clicked, maybe a little too late. Of course he was something to fear, he was literally… Satan himself. But he didn't act like the Devil should. He was nothing like the monster in the stories, the myths. He was gentle, he was kind, he was caring. At least, now. Chloe had no idea what he was like in the past, the things he'd done. And maybe she did want to find out. Maybe she did have questions for him, questions she wanted answered. But for now she was content knowing what she knew, processing the information she already had.

"Lucifer…" She huffed out a sigh and rubbed a hand down her face, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes for a moment before walking forward. He shuffled back a little bit, bringing Chloe to a halt as she considered that reaction, realizing he was keeping his distance… because he thought he might scare her. One corner of her mouth pulled downwards slightly, the other turning up as she narrowed her eyes and continued forward, grabbing his wrist to halt him as he started to step back once more. "Lucifer, I'm not scared of you."

"You're not?" Lucifer blinked, looking confused, but he didn't pull away from her. "You do realize I'm the Devil, correct? The Devil. Lucifer. Satan. Abaddon. Old Scratch. Beelzebub. Dark Lord. Prince of Darkness. Belial. The Fallen One." His tone changed a little on that last part, growing colder, and Chloe's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "The King of Hell, Lord of Evil - is this ringing a bell?"

Chloe shook her head a little bit, and Lucifer opened his mouth as if to further explain. Chloe simply raised a hand, pressing two fingers to his lips and shaking her head again to silence him. "Lucifer, that doesn't matter to me. I don't think of you like that." It was true, she didn't. She wouldn't be able to think of him like that if she tried, truthfully enough, because he didn't act like it. Sure, sometimes he went a little overboard. Some things made sense now. But Chloe had seen both the good and the bad that surrounded him - she'd seen him vulnerable, and afraid. She'd seen how genuinely compassionate he could be.

There was no betrayal, no anger. He'd told her the truth all along. She'd just been too blind to see it, to believe it. But then again there wasn't much of a truth to his words, either; he thought of himself as something evil, something cruel. Monstrous. Clearly he didn't see himself the way he should, the way he truly was. Even now, he seemed confused by her words, as if he couldn't even fathom the idea of her not being scared of him. As if there was a reason she would be. A good reason.

"Oh God," Chloe sighed to herself, eyebrows furrowing, and she watched his eyebrows raise slightly and a hint of mirth flicker to life in those brown eyes. 

"Quite the opposite, I assure you," he replied, and Chloe couldn't bite back a chuckle despite herself before she shook her head and forced herself to focus, to return to the task at hand.

"Look… Come here." Chloe pulled her fingers away from his lips and instead led him to the couch, letting go of him to grab the remote and turn the TV off. He took a seat, studying her with a mixture of curiosity and confusion in his gaze, and she settled beside him. "You're the Devil, sure. I know. I've had some time to process that. And yes, I do have questions. But let's get one thing straight - I am not afraid of you. Okay?"

Lucifer looked positively bewildered by this, but also somewhat pleased. "Oh. Well, then… that certainly makes things easier, I suppose…" He paused and looked down, picking at some lint on his pants and finally taking the time to smooth his suit down, and Chloe chuckled a little bit despite herself as she leaned back into the couch to watch him. "But if I did scare you, Detective-"

"You would know, Lucifer." Chloe raised her eyebrows at him, as Lucifer looked up to meet her gaze with a faintly surprised expression on his face. "If I was afraid of you, you would know. But…" She trailed off, wondering how to word what she wanted to say, what she wanted him to understand. "But just because I know what you are now, it doesn't change who you are. Not to me. Maybe you are the Devil, but you'll always be Lucifer Morningstar. My partner. The same guy I've always trusted and always will trust with my life."

Lucifer looked speechless, mouth half open but not seeming to be able to form the words. Finally, he just snapped his mouth shut and looked away from her, and Chloe just shook her head and reached forward, her hand lightly settling on the side of his face to turn his head back to look at her. "Why don't you believe me, Lucifer?"

Lucifer blew out a soft sigh, eyebrows pinching together as he stared at her. "There's simply no way…" He started, but then he faltered, grimacing a little. Chloe stared at him for a moment, wondered why trust was such a foreign concept to him.

Why the fact that she could accept him was such a foreign concept to him.

This was the man she trusted, for God's sake, the man she… loved. She loved him, and she would admit that. At least to herself, just for now. But maybe he needed to know it, too. He needed something to help him believe that Chloe meant what she was saying, that she wasn't just telling him all of this to satisfy him, to get off the subject. She just wanted him to believe…

Something clicked, an idea, a thought. Short and simple, but a smile tugged at her lips at the realization, knowing what she needed to do. "If I was afraid of you," she started, and Lucifer looked back down at her as she pushed herself forward slightly, his eyebrows furrowing in faint confusion for a split second before his own realization settled in. "Would I do this?"

With that question hanging in the air, she leaned forward and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his without a second thought and allowing her eyes to slide shut.

He was confused, startled. She could feel his hesitance as he kissed her back, somewhat dubious in his movements. It almost drew a laugh from her lips, his sudden awkwardness - so not like the Lucifer she knew. But it didn't last very long.

His tune changed in an instant when he realized what was happening. She felt his hands settle against her hips, pulling her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in return. His touch was gentle, but he deepened the kiss. A bit more passionate, a bit more desperate, and she loved every second. She probably should have taken in as much air as she could before she kissed him, though.

But he was gasping when they finally broke apart, chest heaving, breath coming in gasps. Chloe finally blinked her eyes open and looked up to focus on him, mouth opening to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

His eyes were blazing red.

A bright, hellfire red.

At first, yes, it scared her. For a second. Or, maybe startled was the right word. But the reaction only lasted a few seconds. She reached her hands up, ignoring his confused look, and settled her palms against the sides of his face. She ran her thumbs across his cheeks, staring up with wide eyes as the red faded back to its normal brown, and tried to push back the disappointment churning in her chest.

"What is it, Detective?"

Chloe just smiled a little bit, tangling her fingers into his hair. "I think your powers are back," she told him softly, and Lucifer's eyebrows pulled upwards and furrowed together in confusion. The Detective chuckled as she clarified, "your eyes were… red." Her voice dropped to a whisper at the last word, curiosity and amazement lacing her words.

"Oh…" Lucifer grimaced slightly. "My apologies, Detective, that must be quite the turn-off-" He started to pull away, gently grasping at her wrists to pry her hands from his face. Before he could push her away again - literally - she surged upwards to press another kiss to his lips. He let out a soft grunt of surprise, one arm wrapping around her instinctively and the other one going behind him, hand pressing to the couch to keep them both from falling back into the couch as he gasped.

Chloe pulled back, tilting her head up to press another kiss to his nose and watching his face flush a bright red color. "Quite the opposite, I assure you," she replied with a small grin, in a mocking British accent as she pulled away.

Lucifer sat there for a moment, looking… stunned, to say the least. He ran his tongue across his lips a few times, staring up at her through wide eyes, as Chloe settled back into the couch to watch him carefully. He no longer looked uncertain, no longer hesitance, but there was clear confusion in his eyes. Confusion that made her want to wrap her arms around him and kiss him again until it went away.

Finally, though, he spoke. "Well, then, I suppose now is a good time to ask you if you'd like to go out to dinner with me sometime."

Chloe blinked, faintly surprised by that, but it didn't take long for a grin to appear on her face, watching the relief shine in his eyes as she replied without hesitation, "I thought you'd never ask."