Work Text:
Amenadiel refurled his wings with a whoosh as he made his way down a familiar corridor in Hell. A corridor that every time he walked down, it seemed less and less dark and imposing, and instead now radiated hope and light. Light that his favourite brother had brought to this once forsaken place. Lucifer truly was the Lightbringer, and Amenadiel was so proud of him.
After reaching his destination, he knocked before swinging the door open and stepping inside an exact replica of Linda’s office. A fond smile tugged at his lips as he took in the sight of Lucifer reclined in his chair, cross legged with his red-soled Louboutins resting atop his desk as he sipped on a glass of what was more than likely whiskey.
He must have been in between ‘patients’.
“Hello, brother,” he greeted warmly.
“Amenadiel!” Lucifer replied, smiling widely as he stood up and made his way over to him. “Love the dress.”
“It’s a robe, Luci.”
Lucifer smirked, mischief twinkling in his eyes. “Like I said, love the dress.”
Amenadiel rolled his eyes. Teasing aside, he didn’t miss the way his brother’s eyes zoned in on and lit up in excitement at the sight of the neatly wrapped box he held under his arm.
Ruler of the Silver City he may be, but he also now had a side hustle as a postal worker. Once a week he would visit both Lucifer and Chloe, delivering parcels between the two people who loved each other beyond measure, but who were, for now, separated by circumstance. It was a small thing he could do to help ease their longing, and it was worth it to see the happiness it brought. A happiness that was written all over Lucifer’s face right now.
“Delivery for Morningstar.” He held the box out to him and smiled affectionately as his little brother beamed and accepted it gratefully.
“Thank you,” Lucifer sighed, the tone of his voice alone making it clear that this was the highlight of his week.
If someone would have told Amenadiel back when Lucifer first decided to make his Earthly vacation a more permanent situation, that the Devil would fall in love with a mortal woman and have that look in his eyes at the mere thought of her, he would have laughed in their faces. But there was no mistaking that that had indeed happened. Lucifer was so very much in love, and Amenadiel was so very glad that his past self had been proven wrong.
“How long ‘til your next day together?” he asked as he watched Lucifer run his fingers gently over the red ribbon that had been lovingly tied around a black gift box.
“56 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes and 17 seconds,” Lucifer recited from memory.
Amenadiel smiled. So in love. “It’ll be here before you know it.”
Lucifer tore his attention away from his gift and looked over at his brother. “It will. Thank you, for changing how time works down here. You’ve no idea how much it helps.”
There was so much sincerity and gratitude in Lucifer’s words that Amenadiel felt his chest tighten. With Hell no longer being a place of torture, but instead now a place of reformation and healing, the ‘torture’ of time moving more quickly was no longer necessary. Being God, he had the power to change that. And so he did. And now, time on Earth and Hell was linear. So one day for Chloe was the same as one day for Lucifer. “You’re welcome. It was the least I could do.”
As close as he and Lucifer were now, this conversation was getting close to hugging territory, and that was something they tended to save only for very special occasions – like winning celestial wars, or finally managing to get Charlie to stop crying.
And so Lucifer cleared his throat and ducked his head. “Yes, well, it means a lot.”
Amenadiel nodded modestly and then gestured towards the box. “So, are you gonna open it, then?”
Lucifer’s face lit up again. He perched on the side of his desk and with the upmost care, carefully untied the ribbon and set it aside. When he lifted the lid and looked inside, his whole face softened with affection.
He reached in and lifted out a slightly crumpled piece of paper that displayed a small handprint shaped paint splodge, with the initials ‘ALM’ fingerpainted next to it. The slightly neater lettering suggested that had been added by Chloe. “Rory,” he murmured reverently, placing his much larger hand over the print of his daughter’s tiny one – the closest he could get to holding her hand right now. Fatherly pride shone in his eyes. “She clearly gets her artistic talents from me.”
Amenadiel snorted. “Clearly.” Lucifer was good at many things, but art was not one of them, and his infant daughter had arguably already surpassed him, even before reaching the tender age of two.
Next came a selection of photos – of Rory, Chloe and Trixie. His family. The family that he would do absolutely anything for, even if it meant being apart from them for now. Happy tears glistened in his eyes at seeing these snapshots of the people he loved most. Photos of them at the beach, at the apartment, in the Corvette. In each one of Chloe, she was looking directly into the camera, and he knew she was imagining that she was looking directly at him. It was the one in which she made a heart sign with her hands though, a sleeping Rory resting peacefully on her chest, that caused those tears to escape and roll down his cheeks.
So in love, Amenadiel thought again. He knew that each of those photos would be lovingly framed and added to the ever expanding collection on Lucifer’s bedroom walls – a reminder of why he was doing this, and the eternity he would share with them after this ‘blip’ in time.
Lucifer’s tears turned into an amused chuckle when he pulled out a jumbo bag of Cool Ranch Puffs from the box. “It is scandalous that Uber Eats don’t deliver here,” he exclaimed dramatically. “Lucky for me, my Detective looks after me and keeps me in snacks.”
The next gift in his box was a letter. Lucifer picked up the ivory envelope and lovingly traced the words ‘My Lucifer’ written on the front.
Amenadiel knew he wouldn’t open that one now.
He always saved the letters for when he was alone.
With each of Chloe’s letters, Lucifer would close his eyes and imagine her there with him, holding him in her arms and speaking her words of love and devotion aloud to him. He would read them over and over, savouring them, until he could recite them verbatim.
“I love you, Lucifer Morningstar - heart and soul. Forever yours, Chloe.” She finished each one with the same words, reminding him once again that their love would not falter, and that eternity was theirs.
Afterwards he would go to sleep with her words replaying in his head and dream of the day when he would see her again.
After placing the letter safely inside his jacket pocket, right next to his heart, Lucifer delved back into the box and grinned in delight at Chloe’s final gift to him. “Well, those will definitely come in handy, Detective!” he purred appreciatively. Hidden inside a layer of tissue paper was a familiar pair of turquoise lace panties that he’d taken great pleasure in peeling off of her on numerous occasions.
“What is it?” Amenadiel asked curiously.
Lucifer smirked and replaced the lid on the box. “Something for my eyes, and other body parts, only.”
Amenadiel grimaced in discomfort. “Yeah, I didn’t need to know that.”
“Well, you asked.”
“Remind me not to next time.”
The two brothers caught up on celestial matters for a while and Amenadiel filled him in on his nephew’s latest achievements, until a knock at the door signalled the arrival of the next lost soul in need of Lucifer’s guidance.
“I guess that’s my cue.” Amenadiel stood up from the couch and squeezed his brother’s shoulder. After picking up the parcel that Lucifer had prepared for Chloe, he made his way over to the door. “I’ll see you next week, Luci.”
“See you next week, brother.” His eyes twinkled with mischief as Amenadiel reached for the door handle. “Oh, and would you tell Chloe that I had some very pleasant dreams last night about our adventures at the Golden Gate? Wonderful in fact.”
Amenadiel smiled. “Of course. That’s really sweet Luci - I’m glad you got to make those memories together. I’ve heard it’s lovely down there.”
“It is quite the spectacular view. I’d highly recommend it!”
“Maybe I should ask Linda if she’d like to go,” Amenadiel mused.
Lucifer’s lip twitched in amusement at his brother’s innocence. “You should definitely do that.”
“Hey, Amenadiel!” the woman he’d come to see as a sister greeted him with a smile when he arrived to make his second delivery of the day.
“Hey, Chloe.”
She opened the door wider for him in invitation and he stepped inside, before following her into the kitchen.
“Would you like a drink? I was just making some coffee.”
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
Amenadiel set Lucifer’s parcel down on the breakfast bar and took a seat on one of the stools.
After starting the coffee machine, Chloe turned back to him and her eyes were immediately drawn to her gift. The way her sea-green eyes lit up with unbridled love and excitement at receiving a tiny piece of her soulmate, was an exact replica of what Lucifer’s dark ones had done when he’d received hers.
“How is he?” she asked as she waited for the fancy machine that Lucifer had bought for her to do its thing.
“He’s doing a lot of good down there – Hell’s no longer filled with darkness anymore.”
Chloe’s face softened, her face lighting up with pride for the man she loved. “My Lightbringer’s living up to his name.”
“I can tell he’s proud of what he’s achieving, but he misses you and the girls.” Amenadiel smiled fondly. “The first thing he always asks about, after insulting my robe of course, is how you are.”
Chloe chuckled at the robe comment and blinked away tears at the rest of what he’d said. She turned around to pick up the coffees that were now ready and to give herself a moment to compose herself. “I miss him too – every day,” she told him as she took a seat opposite from him and handed him one of the mugs.
“Thank you,” he replied softly. And he meant not just for the coffee, but also for loving his favourite brother.
As they sipped their drinks, Amenadiel didn’t miss the way Chloe’s eyes continually flicked down to Lucifer’s gift, which was ornately wrapped in gold silk and securely tied with matching organza ribbon, belying the patience she was attempting to portray.
Wordlessly he slid it over to her.
She blushed shyly at her lack of subtlety. “Thank you.”
“Luci was just as eager to open yours,” he informed her kindly. “He loved your gifts by the way – just like he always does.”
Chloe beamed at that, happiness radiating from her at being able to bring him some joy.
Unable to wait any longer, she ran her fingers gently over the silk wrapping before moving it aside to reveal its contents. At the top, as always, was a letter for her. She smiled warmly as she picked up the envelope and read the words, ‘My Love’, written in his distinctive, elegant cursive.
She would read it later tonight, just as she did every time, when she was curled up on his side of their bed and wrapped up in his favourite dress shirt – the white one that she would always ‘steal’ when she stayed over at the penthouse.
After putting it carefully to one side, she picked up the next item that Lucifer had sent to her. With curious excitement she opened the small black jewellery box and gasped when she saw its contents.
Lucifer had told her that he’d been working on something for her a few letters ago but didn’t say what it was. And this was clearly it. With trembling fingers, she held it up to the light. A delicate black stone hung from a shining silver chain. But it was the shape of the stone that made her chest constrict and her eyes mist up: a star, with four points – two large ones and two small. Even without the simple inscription of ‘Our family’ engraved on the back, Chloe would have known. Four points making a whole – her, Lucifer, Rory, and Trixie.
Chloe let out a shuddering breath and fastened the clasp behind her neck. It hung down to her chest, the stone a soothing weight against her sternum, and her heart beating for him beneath it.
There was one remaining gift left inside the parcel and a fond, happy hum escaped her lips when she realised what it was: one of Lucifer’s silk pocket squares – ironically, the same colour as the ‘item of clothing’ that she’d sent him. She cradled the soft material in her palms and lifted it to her face, before closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. The scent was so familiar it was dizzying – whiskey and smoke, and something just so distinctly him. It was as if he was standing right there next to her.
“You can’t see me, but I’m right here. …No matter where you go. No matter where you are. I’ll be with you. I’ll be with you always.”
She knew that he was always with her too.
Amenadiel was pretty sure that Chloe had forgotten he was even in the room, so lost was she in her memories. He dropped his gaze, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment.
The screen on Chloe’s phone that was plugged into the socket next to him, lit up and caught his attention. But it wasn’t the text from Linda suggesting a playdate for the two half-angel cousins, or even the photo of Chloe and Lucifer holding each other at the beach that she had as her home screen, that caused a warm smile to spread across his face.
No. It was the countdown timer in the middle, labelled simply with a star: 56 days, 7 hours, 25 minutes and 41 seconds.
Lucifer and Chloe were different in many ways, but in others, especially when it came to their feelings for one another, they were so very much alike.
When Chloe opened her eyes, she smiled bashfully. She didn’t let go of Lucifer’s pocket square, keeping it clutched securely in one hand, whilst with the other she picked her mug back up, hiding her face behind it as she took a sip.
A wave of affection for the woman who’d captivated his brother’s heart washed over Amenadiel. “Luci told me to tell you that he dreamt about your trip to the Golden Gate last night by the way,” he told her, filling the silence as he remembered Lucifer’s request. “He has very fond memories of it apparently.”
Chloe blushed all the way to the tips of her ears and choked on a mouthful of coffee.
“Are you okay?” Amenadiel asked, looking a mixture of confused and concerned.
She coughed. “Um…yeah, just went down the wrong hole.” Her eyes widened. “The coffee, that is!”
Amenadiel just scrunched his brow and looked even more confused.
Chloe realised then, with no small amount of relief, that her pseudo-brother-in-law had no idea that the Golden Gate that Lucifer had been referring to, had nothing to do with the steel suspension bridge in San Francisco. A fact she had no doubt Lucifer had been fully aware of and taken great delight in.
Her partner had grown and matured so much over the years that she’d known him, but there would always be a part of him that would forever remain an overgrown man-child. She loved that part of him too, much as she’d pretended to be annoyed by it in an attempt to disguise her amusement in the early days, and she wouldn’t change him for the world. That said, she was not going to be the one to dispel his oblivious brother of his rather more innocent assumption.
“Sooo, how’re Charlie’s flying lessons going?” Chloe asked, in need of a swift subject change. “Linda still keeping the bubble wrap company in business?”
The following week…
“Lucifer! Why didn’t you tell me that the Golden Gate is a sexual position?!”
Lucifer smirked, totally unrepentant. “Is it my fault that my millennia old brother has the sexual experience of a clueless, acne-ridden, bumbling teenage boy?”
Amenadiel glared at him. “I passed on your sex dream to Chloe, and then I asked Linda if she’d like to go there with me - and told her you’d recommend it! I haven’t been able to look either of them in the eye ever since!”
Lucifer grinned in delighted amusement at this play of events and Amenadiel’s subsequent mortification. “Oh, don’t be such a prude, brother! You and Dr Linda did produce a child if you recall, so she’s already familiar with your necessary bits!”
“That’s not the point, Luci,” Amenadiel deadpanned.
“Isn’t it? Well perhaps it should be – you look like you could do with a good golden gate,” Lucifer continued, undeterred. “It might loosen you up a little. Reverse cowgirl is also rather delightful! Tell me you’ve at least heard of that one?!”
“Please stop talking!”
“Tell her that I love her. More and more with every day,” Lucifer said as he handed over his latest parcel for Chloe after walking his brother to the door later on.
“There’s no hidden sexual innuendo behind your message this time?” Amenadiel asked dubiously, the embarrassment of Lucifer’s last seemingly innocuous message still fresh in his mind.
“Well, I could provide a list of the more intimate things I love about her too if you would like-” Lucifer teased.
“That won’t be necessary,” Amenadiel cut him off quickly before he could start listing anything.
Lucifer grinned in amusement, but then added seriously, “Then no, there’s no hidden meaning. Just the truth.”
“Well, that actually is sweet.”
“Oh, and would you mind bringing my Polaroid next time?” Lucifer added, as a thought occurred to him. “I’d like to give the Detective some updated material of me.”
Amenadiel gave him a flat look. He may not have known what a ‘Golden Gate’ was, but he definitely knew that sinful mischief that sparkled in Lucifer’s eyes. PG rated headshots they would not be.
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.