Work Text:
The human seems to be up and about – Lucifer can tell by the sound of their footsteps leaving their room and tip-toeing around so as not to disturb anyone. But, up late working anyway, Lucifer has caught on to this little habit of theirs, especially since his hearing has become trained to hear footsteps from how often Mammon sneaks out. He considers catching up to them and asking why they’ve been wandering around on recent nights, but he has all this work, and well… D.D.D. is more convenient anyway.
“Feeling restless?”
He taps the keys of his phone and waits until the small check appears beside his message as proof that they’ve read it. Their reply is just what he expected too.
“Sorry if I’m being too loud. I didn’t want to wake anyone up.”
Lucifer smiles to himself at that – for someone who likes to stick their nose into other people’s business, the human did seem to be considerate at the best of times. It’s one of the qualities of theirs that he treasures, though he’ll probably never say. Especially considering the fact that they know he’s set a curfew. He told them on their first night in the House of Lamentation. But, even still, he can’t blame them for wanting to leave their room on sleepless nights.
Maybe he’s too easy on them.
“Don’t worry about that. I’m awake doing work anyway and I can say with confidence that none of my brothers would be bothered. Are you having difficulty sleeping lately?”
He considers his next message carefully, trying to appeal to the human as best he can. This house is run by him, after all, and all of the occupant’s problems are his problems too.
“I might suggest making some tea for yourself. I’ll be happy to accompany you in the kitchen and walk you back to your room when I’ve finished this last form.”
They read it instantly and start typing back – he wonders where they’ve stopped in the house and if they’re taking his advice when he reads their next reply.
“Thank you. I don’t want to disturb your work though…”
Lucifer isn’t one to judge for how people come off in text conversations – Diavolo has told him a number of times that Lucifer can appear even more abrasive than usual when texting. But there’s something off about the human’s messages that he believes might have meaning to it, and he can’t just ignore that. Looking down at his incomplete student council work, he gently pushes it aside before texting them again.
“Is there anything troubling you? I want to make sure that every exchange student is taken care of.”
He hopes the human doesn’t take this the wrong way… of course, he cares about them on a more personal level than that; they’re truly not just another exchange student to him. He can’t help but want to add something to reassure the human of that.
“And that means you, especially.”
No matter how confident Lucifer usually feels, it’s hard not to give himself a rise by sharing meaning in his messages to the human. It seems that they’ve paused upon reading his message too because they wait a long, agonizing moment before they start typing back and reply to him.
“I’ve had nightmares the past couple of nights.”
Nightmares? Well, Lucifer is more than familiar with those.
Thinking about his favourite human alone in their room with those plaguing dreams feels like his own nightmare. With that urgent thought, he texts back.
“Would it make you feel better to sleep somewhere else? I can’t guarantee I’ll even get much sleep tonight, so my bed is open.”
It feels like a bold request – even though he knows the human is not unfamiliar with sharing sleeping space with his brothers at times. However, his bed and his room… he can’t remember, if at all, the last time someone else slept there. It might be sort of refreshing. He continues typing.
“I’ll come out soon to accompany you for tea. Wait at the bottom of the stairs for me. Then, we can make our way back together, so you don’t have to be alone.”
Their message back reminds him of the chipper human he knows.
“Thanks Lucifer! That’s really sweet.”
It puts a smile on his face. Sweet. Now, there’s a new word to describe him.
“Any time.”