Work Text:
Check.
Check.
Checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck.
Lucifer quickly worked his way through the stack of student council paperwork sitting atop his desk. It wasn’t his preference to be doing work at home, but his brothers had caused such a ruckus at the academy the day prior that he couldn’t finish his work there and had no other choice but to take it home.
Even that ended up being a struggle for him because Diavolo kept pleading with him not to take the work home and that it could be done another day, or that he could even do it himself. Of course, having Diavolo do the work that was assigned to him was preposterous, so Lucifer flat out denied that offer. Also, what kind of demon did Diavolo take him for if he couldn’t even be trusted to finish mundane paperwork? Diavolo doesn’t typically have an issue with him working from home either, so why he decided to make it an issue that day was beyond him. Tch.
Crash.
“SIMEON!! He’s doing it agaaaaaiiin!!” Luke yelped.
Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed out of frustration. Must life always be so tiresome? Can he never have a moment of peace? And why were the members of Purgatory Hall even here? The moment he got home, they had just invited themselves in and immediately scurried off to the kitchen and Lucifer was simply too tired to say anything.
Another sigh. Back to work.
Lucifer lifted the last stack of papers he had to work through-
!!BANG!!
The papers in his hand crumpled from being crushed under his grip.
“LEVI, LOOK WHAT YA’ DID, LORD DIAVOLO IS ON FIRE!!!”
“HUH? T-THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT M-MAMMORON!”
Lucifer got up immediately, his horns and wings sprouting as an angry demonic aura surrounded him. On a normal day, none of this would phase him, but he was a bit too tired today and Diavolo was apparently on fire in the kitchen. This was no longer a matter that could be ignored.
Lucifer walked towards the kitchen, thinking of all the punishments he could bestow upon his brothers, and if he could, the members of Purgatory Hall as well for being a nuisance and aiding his brothers in their nonsense. Lucifer scoffed and muttered to himself , “they of all people should know better.”
Lucifer stood outside the door to the kitchen and he could see smoke coming from under the door as well as hear all the clamoring and panic of everyone trying to extinguish Diavolo. He shoved the door open and was about to start cursing towards the Celestial Realm but was stopped dead in his tracks when he laid his eyes on the scene before him:
Mammon and Levi were covered in fire retardant, likely from a botched attempt to extinguish Diavolo, Luke was cowering in a corner while Simeon was consoling him, Beel was crouched on the floor, covered in cake batter and a mixing bowl half in his mouth, Belphie was asleep on one of the countertops (and Lucifer did not want to know what was caked in his hair), Satan was fuming that his limited edition human world recipe book got ruined with frosting, Asmo was in near hysterics over a smidge of batter that got on his face, and Solomon was unsurprisingly unscathed and smirking, likely taking joy in the chaos.
Lucifer scanned the room for Diavolo and found that he was laughing while Barbatos looked like he was fighting back the urge to destroy the House of Lamentation and all of its occupants. Lucifer’s worries were slightly assuaged since it appeared Diavolo was no longer on fire. He'll have to deal with how that problem occurred later, though he could take a few educated guesses. First, he needed to find out why the kitchen was in complete disarray.
“What is the meaning of th-“
Everyone seemed to have forgotten the mess that they were in and directed their attention towards Lucifer and suddenly shouted in unison, “SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCIFER!” Even Belphie had woken up from his slumber to sleepily mutter his birthday wishes to the eldest.
Lucifer could also hear a voice behind him, a familiar and soothing voice, his beloved MC. “Happy Birthday, Lucifer! Sorry about the mess. We did our best.”
Ah. His birthday. He had completely forgotten about the occasion and upon closer inspection, amidst the chaos in the kitchen, he could see a cake sitting there, the decorative jewels laid upon it dazzling against the lights. Once he realized the situation, he retracted his demon form and resumed his casual appearance.
He turned around to look at MC and the earnest expression on their face coupled with the excited looks on his brothers’ and everyone’s faces, made him break out into a laugh.
Mammon and Levi began to laugh nervously, not sure if Lucifer’s laugh was one of joy or one of a maniac about to unleash hell upon them for being the culprits behind Lord Diavolo’s incident . MC pushed Lucifer further into the kitchen, towards the cake that everyone painstakingly took the time to make. Lucifer wiped at the tear threatening to fall from his fit of laughter. He wasn’t even sure what he found so particularly humorous about this, perhaps it was the exhaustion settling in coupled with the scene of his brothers and the members of Purgatory Hall (except Solomon) in complete disarray.
“Oi, are ya gonna keep laughin’ at the cake, or are ya gonna eat it? We put alotta effort in ta’ this for ya!” Mammon said, sighing with relief afterwards. So Lucifer wasn’t mad, at least not yet.
Lucifer looked at the cake and around the kitchen, at all the eyes staring at him, waiting with apprehension for some sort of approval. He focused back on the cake, reaching out a finger and scooping up icing, proceeding to lift it to his mouth and hover it near his lips while everyone kept their eyes on him with bated breaths. Finally, he popped the finger in his mouth and cleaned it off, a ‘pop’ sound echoing deafeningly throughout the all too quiet kitchen.
“Hm. Not bad.” Lucifer said as he dug his finger in for another scoop of icing.
There was a collective release of relieved sighs throughout the kitchen and some high-fives that went around as everyone watched Lucifer enjoy the cake that turned HoL’s kitchen upside down. It was all worth it in the end.
MC handed Lucifer a cake knife, smirking, “Alright, birthday boy , there’s a proper way to eat that cake and it’s definitely not the way in which you’re eating it right now. Cut your slice.”
Lucifer’s cheeks pinked as he looked at the cake and the gaping hole that was in the side of it due to him just continuously scooping the sweet icing into his mouth; he had indulged himself a bit too much , perhaps.
He took the knife from MC and sliced through the cake, the knife moving through the layers with ease. Lucifer quickly cut up the rest of the cake in equal slices (except, a slightly larger piece for Beel) for the rest of the audience in the kitchen. After staring in awe at the finesse of Lucifer’s knife skills, everyone grabbed a slice of cake and broke off into groups scattered amongst any inhabitable area of the kitchen while Lucifer had decided to take up a spot next to MC.
“I take it this was all your doing?”
“Hm? Whaddya mean, I didn’t do nthing.“ MC said between a mouthful of cake.
“MC, do you take me for a clueless demon? You are the only one in the entirety of the Devildom who could get that bunch to all work together, let alone entirely for my benefit. ”
MC looked up at Lucifer, those innocent eyes he loves wrinkling at the edges with glee and making his heart melt. He lifted his hand to wipe some frosting at the corner of their mouth, his hand lingering there for a moment before he uttered a heartfelt “ thank you.”
MC smiled gleefully at him, taking the opportunity while he was momentarily distracted to shove a forkful of cake in his mouth. “Mmmf-!” Lucifer was caught off guard and nearly choked on the too large forkful of cake that was just forcefully shoved in his mouth. He swallowed it down in one big gulp, the mass of cake making its presence known all the way down until it landed in his stomach.
“Was that really necessa-“
“Okay, there! You’ve eaten your cake.” MC looked around the kitchen, making sure no one was looking at the two of them, “I have a surprise for you, but let’s sneak out of here to somewhere more quiet?”
Before Lucifer could respond, MC grabbed Lucifer’s hand and dragged him out of the kitchen and he complied with no protest. After all, he was quite interested to see what surprise his beloved MC had in store for him considering the surprise cake was more than enough of a gift in his eyes (even if did cause him a brief headache).
He was not expecting to see them stop right outside his bedroom door, though. Just what could his beloved MC be hiding behind the door of his very own bedroom? MC opened the door and they both walked in, but at MC’s behest, Lucifer walked in with his eyes closed. If MC was trying to keep the element of surprise, it was a futile attempt since his other senses were now heightened and he didn’t need his vision to sense MC walking towards the record player in his room, but he figured he’d humor them anyway.
He stood there, hearing the precise moment MC set a record upon the player, placing the needle on it, and… it wasn’t long before he heard MC sit on the bed and tell him that he could “open his eyes now” before the music started playing.
He opened his eyes to see MC sitting on the edge of his bed, patting their thighs and motioning him to join them so they could listen to the record together. Lucifer pretended to act surprised then gladly obliged, positioning himself beside MC so that he could comfortably lay his head on their lap.
The moment his head hit their lap, the effect of the cursed record that was playing finally hit him. He felt as though every single (or, all six ) of his problems had vanished and for once, he felt completely and utterly at peace. Truly one of the best gifts he could ask for, especially with all of the stresses he had been dealing with as of late.
He rolled over in MC’s lap so he was face up, looking at MC. “Where did you get a record like this? The music shop I frequent doesn’t typically carry records of this… gentler variety.”
MC said nothing in response and just smiled, placing their hand on Lucifer’s head and weaving their fingers through his hair. They began to hum along to the record, and Lucifer began to feel incredibly tired all of sudden. He was fighting to stay awake, to be able to savor more of this special moment, but his eyes felt so heavy, and his body felt like a rock.
MC smiled as they watched Lucifer fall asleep, "great, the cursed record is working" they thought to themselves. Gently, MC tried to remove themselves so Lucifer could sleep in peace and they could join the brothers and everyone else in trying to repair the kitchen before the effects of the cursed record would wear off and Lucifer would wake up. As soon as MC moved barely an inch, there was a sudden flurry of feathers and blankets before MC found themselves swaddled in silky, black feathers and under the cover of warm blankets.
“Lucifer…?”
Lucifer pulled MC closer to him, nuzzling his face into their neck as he muttered, his voice laden with sleep, “Stay. Let me enjoy this perfect surprise a while longer… ”