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„Remind me why I’m doing this?”
Lucifer glanced around the shady, narrow street, carefully avoiding to step with his polished Louboutin’s in one of the many rain puddles on the ground before turning to Trixie. The little girl gave him a triumphant grin.
“Because you owe me after you messed up big time with Mommy on Valentine’s day.”
Lucifer sighed. Trixie was right, he had royally screwed up back then. It had been early in their relationship, and when Chloe had suddenly begun acting strange – stopping conversations and phone calls every time he approached, making excuses to drive home separate, coming home late – he had been convinced that she had finally realized that she didn’t want a relationship with him, the literal devil of all beings, and was soon going to break up with him. But instead of facing his apprehensions and simply talking to her he’d done what he always did when his emotions got too overwhelming – run away and going on a four day long bender.
Big mistake. Really big mistake.
When he’d returned late at night on Valentine's Day, drunk and high and a complete mess, he’d discovered that she’d just secretly planned a romantic beach dinner for him as a Valentine’s gift. A dinner which he had completely ruined due to his bloody insecurities and his tendency to jump to conclusions. He had felt like an absolute idiot, ashamed, guilty and undeserving of her love, a combination which had almost destroyed their relationship then.
Trixie had literally saved his ass, helping him to apologize and to make it up to Chloe – something that had involved 666 red roses and a public, very emotional performance of Bryan Adam’s famous “Please, forgive me” in Lux among others things. He’d given her an IOU for her support, and the little hellspawn had chosen today to cash in her favor. Which was the reason why he was standing with her in a side alley of her school on this dreadful day that was Halloween, where the annual costume competition was soon to begin.
It was not that he loathed that day in general. He’d celebrated some of his best orgies at Lux on Halloween. But the part with hordes of costumed children, constantly screaming and begging for sweets, was horrifying. Especially with the shocking amount of brats that dared to impersonate himself, the devil, with cheap and cheesy costumes that always seemed to include some kind of horns. The sheer impertinence!
“Come on, the show starts in ten minutes. You’d better get ready now before someone comes and sees us,” Trixie quickly looked to both sides, making sure they were still alone.
She was costumed as something that could best be described as “Mini-Maze”, wearing tight black pants, a tight black top with some silver chains attached, a spiked collar, and some kind of weapon belt where two deceptively realistic plastic copies of Maze’s curved daggers were stuck. Her nails were also colored black and her hair was braided into two buns on top of her head. The best part, however, was the face-painting that covered the left side of her face with an stunningly replica of Maze’s demon face, complete with painted sinews, bones and rotten flesh, thanks to a very talented Ella Lopez.
“I still can’t believe you’re mother has given her permission for this- this travesty,” Lucifer groaned, before he surrendered to his inevitable fate and transformed to his devil form. Involuntarily he held his breath and waited for Trixie’s reaction. Part of him still expected her to scream and run in terror at his gruesome sight, but Trixie didn’t even bat an eyelid.
“It’ll be fun,” she replied unfazed, as if he was still looking the same.
“For you, maybe. You’re not the one who has to walk around looking like a monster.”
“Not like a monster. Like the devil.”
Lucifer looked down on his claw-like hands, muttering quietly, “What makes you sure there’s a difference?”
“Duh!” Trixie crossed her arms in a very Maze-like fashion, making her even more a double of the demon. “Because monsters are evil, and you’re not! You punish evil.”
It felt weird to hear his own words from a ten year old girl, a girl who knew exactly who and what he was and who was apparently still convinced that he wasn’t evil incarnate. In an attempt to hide his awkwardness he tugged at his sleeves and smoothed out his dress, but stopped when he noticed Trixie’s scrutinizing look.
“What?”
“Well, your face is really cool. Even better than Maze’s. But you still look so- civilized.”
Lucifer wasn't sure if he should be flattered or insulted by her comparison, opting for indignation eventually.
“Of course I am civilized. I’m the bloody devil, no Neanderthal,” he grumbled. Trixie giggled at his outburst, before she turned serious and tapped her chin with her finger. Finally, her face lit up and she shouted, “I think I got it! You have to strip!”
“I - what?” Lucifer sputtered, hoping desperately that he had misheard her. “Oh no! Absolutely no! Under normal circumstances I’d be more than happy to present my divine – uhm – assets,” he waved at his groin, “but I’m quite sure your mother’s agreement to this more than insane operation doesn’t entail any kind of R-rated nudity on my part, especially not now when I’m more resembling a roast you forgot on the grill than my usual handsome me.”
“You’re so silly! I just meant that you should take off your shirt, not going all nakey-nakey.” Trixie giggled again and jostled him playfully.
Thank Dad! Lucifer sighed and relaxed in relief. He wouldn't have known what to do if she insisted he stripped the full monty, as he would never break a deal, but fulfilling her request would have brought him surely trouble with the detective. Compared to that, taking off his shirt was just a small sacrifice.
The light afternoon breeze felt cool on his naked chest. Never ever he would have thought it possible to walk around in the broad daylight in his full devil form, at least outside of Armageddon, which, if he had a say in it, would actually never happen at all.
“So, are you satisfied now? Then let’s get over with this grotesque.” He was about to walk back to the main street, but Trixie stepped in his way.
“What about your wings?”
“They are fine in their own dimension, thank you very much,” he deadpanned.
Trixie pouted. “But without them you’re not complete. You promised!”
Bloody hell, the little hellion spared him nothing! Lucifer sighed once again and unfurled his white wings with a shrug of his shoulders. If he’d hoped to get at least now a decent reaction like awe, admiration or even rapture, he got disappointed again, as Trixie only crunched her nose.
“Nah, the other ones! The devil is not supposed to have angel wings!”
“Excuse me, but I am the devil and these are my wings.” This time Lucifer’s indignation was genuine, making his wings rise and his feathers bristle in the process.
“You know what I mean. So, please!” She gave him her best puppy eyes.
He countered with a long, fiery glare and rolled his shoulders twice, making the feathered wings disappear and the devil wings reappear instead.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this!” he muttered, still feeling strangely exposed and vulnerable. Trixie though looked at him from top to bottom with a satisfied grin.
“Awesome! We’re so gonna win this contest!””
“You’re aware that this is technically cheating? It’s a Halloween costume competition, but I’m not wearing any costume.”
“No problem. Here, take this!”
Trixie opened a large duffle bag that she had brought along and handed him a trident. It didn’t look like the usual cheap plastic Halloween props, more like a real weapon. The shaft was made of massive iron, and when he tested the three spikes with his thumb he felt that they were razor sharp. Nevertheless, the old cliché made him cringe.
“You’re kidding me,” he groaned.
“Isn’t it cool? Maze made it.”
That explained the weapon-like quality, but still didn’t lessen his uneasiness. If he wouldn’t have been sure that Maze was on a bounty hunt, he almost expected her to hide somewhere, taking photos of him in this embarrassing and awkward situation. They surely would have been ideal blackmail material for later.
The sound of a camera shutter release pulled him out of his thoughts and made him flinch. Trixie had her cell phone in her hand, shooting several quick pictures of him.
“What are you doing, spawn?” he asked flabbergasted.
“Don’t worry, they’re just for Maze. She asked me if I could send her some pictures of your full outfit, since she can’t be here with us today because of her work.”
Damn, he knew it! He had to give her that, using Trixie for getting humiliating pictures of him was an absolute clever move. Seeing that Trixie had already sent them to Maze, he suppressed a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. At least she hadn’t brought any horns, that would have been outright insulting.
Trixie had put her phone away again and studied Lucifer one last time. “And remember what Mommy said. No scary voice, no mojo, no punishing and no deals. We want to win the competition, not scare everyone to death!”
She seemed to take this contest rather serious, which was an unusual change of her otherwise playful manner.
“Why all this effort, urchin? Why is this so important to you?” Lucifer asked.
Trixie looked down and slumped her shoulders.
“Do you remember Tiffany, the mean girl who faked the snapchat account? Her Dad’s like super rich and always buys the most expensive costumes, so they win the competition every single year. Tiffany was so smug that she will win this year, too, so I… uhm… made a bet to her that I’d win this time. And if I lose she will mock me for the rest of the year.”
Lucifer remembered the little mean girl all too well, and suddenly the prospect of showing his devilish side openly on Halloween – even if it was only for a costume contest – didn’t seem too bad anymore. A small grin curled around his charred lips and the fire in his eyes intensified.
“Well, then I have to make sure that we will indeed win this ridiculous contest. Can’t let my favorite spawn lose her bet, can I?”
He bristled his wings and straightened up, before he held out his red skinned hand to Trixie. The relief on her face was clearly visible. She took his hand without hesitating, and together they marched to the school entrance.
************
Soft music floated through the air as Chloe stepped out of the elevator in Lucifer’s penthouse. Lucifer was sitting by his piano, his sleeves rolled up and his shoulders relaxed as he swayed slightly from side to side to the tune of the song he was playing. On top of the piano stood a half-filled tumbler and a large golden trophy. It was a bony skeleton that held its own skull in his hands. On the black base was a golden sticker with “Best Costume” written on it.
“Hey, how did it go?”
Chloe walked over to Lucifer’s side. She had a small paper bag in her hand, which she put on the floor as she planted a little kiss at Lucifer’s cheek, right above his stubble line. Instead of answering he seamlessly changed the song his was playing to Queen’s “We are the champions”. She smiled and took the polished statue from the piano top, reading the little inscription at the bottom. “Am I right in assuming you won?”
Lucifer interrupted his play and beamed at her proudly.
“Of course. I was absolutely superior. Even if, strictly speaking, my costume was only a preposterous pitchfork. But you’re now officially together with the best looking devil of your spawn’s school district.”
Chloe was glad that everything had worked out. When Trixie first had come to her with the idea of going with Lucifer to the costume contest she had been unsure if it really was such a good idea. What if someone recognized that it wasn’t a costume at all, but the real deal, causing a general panic in the audience? What if Lucifer’s mojo would run rampant again, making everyone blurt out their deepest, darkest desire in front of the children? Was it even right to force him into such an event, knowing that he disliked children and wouldn’t go anywhere near them if he could help it?
But then, maybe, it might do him good. She knew that he had still trouble accepting his devil form as a part of himself, even more so after his return from hell than before. Although she tried to show him again and again that she wasn’t afraid of his darker side and that looking like a living nightmare didn’t automatically made him the monster he thought he was, he was still hesitant to show her more than his hellfire eyes or some short glimpses of his other form. Maybe this little Halloween competition thing could give him a much needed boost in self-confidence on this particular issue.
Seeing his exuberant joy and pride now told her that she had made the right choice. She stepped around the piano and sat beside him on the bench.
“Trixie showed me some pictures of you. You were truly marvelous. Too bad I had to work, I would have loved to see you live on stage.” As she leaned her head against his shoulders she felt him tense. Looking up she spotted his confused frown.
“Why in Dad’s name would you expose yourself willingly to such an abominable sight if you can have this celestial perfection?” He gestured at himself, clearly trying to cover his bafflement with a familiar innuendo.
“Because I love you, all of you! Wings or not, red eyes or not, burnt skin or not, it doesn’t matter. Not to me!” Chloe said resolutely, remembering all too well the last time when she had said those words. Judging by Lucifer’s wide eyed look he remembered, too, and so she took his face in her hands and pressed her forehead against his. “Not to me! Nevermore!” she repeated and kissed him softly.
For a long moment he seemed still frozen in place, before he finally loosened up and returned her kiss with growing passion. His right hand found the back of her head, stroking her hair and caressing her neck, while his left roamed her back until it settled on her hip. A well-known heat spread through Chloe’s body, that made her shiver and moan. Lucifer reacted at once, covering her with feverish kisses along the side of her neck down to her cleavage. Before he could continue to even more sensitive areas Chloe stopped him gently, though.
“Wait. You may have won the contest, but there was clearly something missing from your costume, so I -“ she fetched the paper bag from the ground and took out the only item that was inside, barely hiding her grin“ - brought you these!”
It was a headband with two red plastic horns on it.
Lucifer threw his hands up and recoiled in mock horror. “Detective, how dare you!” he gasped, before a rather mischievous grin appeared on his face, “It doesn’t by chance have anything to do with a very particular dream of yours, does it?”
Now it was Chloe’s turn to flinch, while her cheeks turned to a deep red shade.
“Maze told you,” she stated.
Lucifer’s grin turned even more lascivious. “Of course she did, if only with a frustrating lack of detail. So I’m more than excited to explore every little naughty bit of this wonderful salacious phantasy with you!”
He took the devil horns and put them on. Everyone else would have looked utter ridiculous with these silly things, but he managed to look rather hot with it. Chloe felt a growing throbbing sensation between her legs at his sight and bit her lower lip.
“Now, detective, tell me everything about your infernal dream!” Lucifer asked in a sultry voice, before he lifted Chloe up with a smooth movement and carried her to his bedroom.
***************
