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“It’s only temporary, Char. Need to be on the lookout for more possible disasters and catastrophes.” Lucifer anxiously mused as he summoned yet another box of his belongings, “I can make a hideout riiight at the tippy-top, won’t even notice I’m there.”
Charlie sheepishly grinned, trying to ignore all the junk now cluttering the main lobby. She didn’t remember her father having nearly this much stuff during her childhood, let alone this many rubber ducks. There were boxes that were full of just those alone. Did he not have any other personal belongings?
“I mean… I’m more than happy you wanna stay and help out but…” She was light on her hooves as she stepped towards one of the boxes and plucked a duck up in her finger tips, “Don’t you think this is, uh… a bit hoarder-ish?”
Lucifer cocked his head to the side, “Is it? Do you think so?”
“I mean, I’m not one to judge. Maybe your new room could use a bit more of a… fresh look. N-not saying you need to get rid of any of your stuff, I just—“
“Charlie.” Lucifer put his hands up, snapped his fingers, and nearly half the boxes vanished, “I can take suggestions. Buuut, that one has to stay.” He gestured to a box which was, you guessed it, exclusively of the aforementioned rubber-duck variety. Charlie had sighed in relief. She remembered how her father could be “rejection sensitive,” at least that’s how her mother put it, so it was nice to see him take her words to heart and actually compile with a suggestion, even if it meant some minor enabling.
He lifted a finger and his belongings floated alongside him, “Alright, up you go and—“ he snapped his fingers yet again, him and Charlie now at a completely new place in the hotel. The interior was reminiscent of a lighthouse, and almost industrial in style, with the walls and floor made of metal and bolted together. Large windows lined up along the rounded space, giving a perfect view of the outside.
“Oh, this is neat.” Charlie said, letting her eyes soak in the architecture, “Not super bedroom-y though, or really homey.”
“Workspace,” Lucifer jokingly chided, “and bed space, and anything I need it to be.” He dug his hands into one of the boxes, miscellaneous bottles, jewelry, papers, and pens, before he scoffed, smacked his forehead and summoned a desk and chair, teleporting the clutter there for the time being, “There, just like home.”
Charlie snorted, “Maybe bring in a bed too?”
Another snap, said bed slamming rather harshly onto the floor, leaving the room to jitter a bit and a yelp coming from both of them. Silence filled the vacant space before the two then bursted into laughter.
“If this entire thing collapses, I’m gonna start doubting your handy work.” Charlie teased, now bending down to fully help with the unpacking process, internally sighing at a lot of the items she had plucked out. Most of the things her father had brought in, minus the bed and desk, was total junk. There were papers dated back to the 1800s, and pens long dried from ink. Empty cups and some utensils. It was as if her father really couldn’t let anything go. There wasn’t actually any real trash, thankfully, but the presence of needless and unnecessary items did more than enough to incite her worries.
“Oh, please, this entire hotel will be going down with it.” Lucifer had bit back, before pointing to another box near the one Charlie was sifting through, “That one over there has some files for Satan I have to send. Could you get those for me? Please?”
Charlie nodded, somewhat perturbed that “important files” were shoved off into flimsy cardboard boxes, but she nonetheless walked over to assess the chaos before her. Luckily, this didn’t seem as egregious, just some normal desk supplies and the occasional duck or two, but what she wasn’t expecting were a couple books stacked alongside them as well.
“Oooh, is this a Purgatory Dictionary?” Charlie almost squealed, “And a guide on Heavenborn? Why haven’t you shown me these?”
“Those were in there?” Lucifer scratched his head, before groaning and stretching his back, “Any book or whatever is yours for the taking, honey, I don’t need them.”
While slightly confused by the comment, Charlie nonetheless dug in, a few catching her eye. An encyclopedia on human life, a guide to all things plant based on earth, she felt almost giddy at the new knowledge. Eventually, she came across a rather old book, its binding withered and cover barely readable, Charlie making out the title, “History of Hell.”
Lucifer and Lilith would read Charlie stories of Hell when she was younger, but her actual knowledge on the history, besides her parents’ own lives, was surprisingly little, so she more than happily, and carefully, took the book in her hands.
“I don’t think I remember you ever reading me these.” Charlie quickly flipped through the pages of the long worn book, her smile dropping at the illustration she had come upon.
“Charlie?” Lucifer had asked in the sudden silence, but understood after seeing what book Charlie had taken a look at.
The picture shown, was what appeared to be an angel with a top hat, being held down by two large figures as his wings, six in total, were violently ripped off his back. Even with its simplicity, Charlie felt disturbed by the image alone. She didn’t even look at the words accompanying it.
“Oh, uh, yeah that’s… that’s an odd one.” Lucifer cleared his throat, “You might not be all that interested, it’s a pretty lame—“
“Did they take your wings, dad?”
Lucifer froze, his body tense before he turned back around to see the hurt expression on Charlie’s face, and his heart sunk at the sight.
“Yes.” Lucifer said, promptly popping his wings out of his back, “But they’re back now. No worries.”
Charlie’s frown seemed to deepen as she closed the book, “I mean, yeah but…” She wasn’t sure what to say. Her dad tried to seem unbothered, but based off his silence upon seeing the image, that wasn’t exactly believable.
“I just… I know they’re back now but—“ she bit her lip, “Did it hurt— no, shit, that was a dumb question—“
“It did.” Lucifer fluttered his wings back until they weren’t visible anymore, “Not anymore than the fall. That was like, bone-crushing, literally.” He laughed, and Charlie felt goosebumps at just how empty it sounded, “Maybe we could put the desk near one of the windows instead of next to the bed, I don’t wanna accidentally bump into it when I get up—“
“No, no, dad,” Charlie stood up, “Don’t just brush this off, what… do you mean the fall hurt more? What do you mean by bone-crushing?” Maybe she was prying too much, maybe she felt hurt that even now her father still seemed too emotionally closed off. This wasn’t exactly a subject Charlie was willing to brush under the rug, especially if it was something her father was suffering the consequences from.
Lucifer took a moment to respond, sweat now beading from his forehead before he slowly got up, “I’m… what I’m meant was…” he sucked his teeth and darted his eyes to the side, “Uh, how about I… tell it from the beginning, yeah?” Lucifer swayed back and forth, before eventually settling down on the bed. Charlie, still antsy, stood still before him.
“I was called to The Council of Angels, they found out what I did back in Eden. I think I tried playing dumb before they got actual evidence that it was me.” Lucifer laughed, before folding his arms around himself, “At first it just seemed like another scolding or punishment, but they got… more angry. They told me my actions had led to evil and chaos effecting the earth, and that ‘everything they had worked so hard for was now ruined.’ They even brought Lily— Lilith up too, as a witness.”
Charlie felt… oddly disturbed by how casually her father told this story, so seemingly nonchalant. She’s always had some book talking about her father’s fall, but actually hearing it from him was a whole new level.
“I think I got a bit more worried when they… brought God in. They started yelling more. Took me to the edge of Heaven to show me where Hell had formed.” Lucifer bounced one of his legs repeatedly, “It was a little freaky, but I thought that was the end of it. I genuinely thought it would just end up with a couple more years in locked up or maybe I’d get some feathers plucked but, I got held down, and they… uh…”
Charlie moved closer, wanting to reach out, to either hold his hand or put one on his shoulder, any kind of comfort, but she could barely read his body language to gauge whether or not he’d even want any physical contact.
“They ripped my wings off, and threw me over the edge. Lilith was still there, and she went after me. I think that’s what they were gunning for.”
“It was an actual fall.” Charlie finally said.
“Yeah, and like, let me tell you, Char, that shit fucking huuurt.” Another empty laugh, “It was like, splat, blood everywhere. I was like a bug getting hit with a fly swatter. My back hasn’t been the same since.” As if to prove his point, he rubbed his back for emphasis, “Like, most days I’m pretty good, but get me out and about for a few hours and wooo I’m gonna be a wreck. I know I’m pretty pompous, but that cane isn’t just for show, sweetie.”
That’s right, Lucifer never went anywhere without his cane most of the time.
“I… didn’t know that.” Frustration finally seeped in, “Why didn’t you tell me? About any of this, about what Heaven had done to you?”
Lucifer’s face went blank, “I, uh… well I… You were young, and I… I didn’t think…”
“You never talked to me about anything ever, because, news flash, you weren’t exactly there.” Charlie’s nose scrunched up with the scowl on her face, “Me being ‘too young’ stopped becoming a proper excuse when I hit one hundred.”
“I know… yeah, yeah you’re right, I know.” Accepting defeat, Lucifer sighed, “I think I just… maybe it was my ego or maybe it was just not wanting to scare you. Plus, like, cmon, it was my own fault, y’know? Can’t hide that.”
“And what did you mean by spending years locked up, and plucking your wings? What else did they do to you?”
“Oh, oh, just punishments. Acting out, so they’d lock me wherever, angels don’t exactly need to eat so they could just leave me somewhere for a hot minute without ever needing to check up, and if you lose enough feathers you can’t fly, so, you know, plucking feathers. They’d grab a bunch and just ripped ‘em right out—“
“Can you—“ Charlie slapped her hands against her face, “Can you please,please stop thinking this is funny? And talking about this like it’s some joke?” She couldn’t tell if her father’s joking tone was to make her or himself feel better, but it certainly didn’t work, “Look, I don’t care what you did or whatever, that didn’t mean you deserved getting your wings… a-and the fall, dad… they hurt you.”
Lucifer seemed to understand that any retort or justification would end with Charlie getting more upset, so he went quiet, blankly staring at the floor and twiddling with his thumbs until he felt comfortable enough to speak again.
“Actually becoming a Fallen Angel was the worst of it, I think.“ Lucifer ran a hand through his hair, “The transformation was… slow, I could barely control any of my powers. They told me that my transformation would be painful, and that it would be… hideous. Your mom tried to help, but she… could only do so much to lessen the pain.”
Charlie waited for him to continue, “She had a better time adjusting to Hell than I did. While we ruled, she did a better job than me, that’s for sure. She made sure people knew she was the Queen of Hell, and I was too busy cooped up in our room. Doing nothing.”
Charlie remembers her mother well. She remembers the walks she, her, and her father would take in one of the few scenic places in Hell. Her mother playing with her in her room, tucking her into bed at night and waking her up for breakfast. Lilith, even though she was always busy, found time for Charlie, she always did. But, something had changed in her, seven years ago when she left. One moment she was doing her duties and the next, she was gone.
“I don’t think I can blame her for leaving.” Lucifer finally said, “I’m not the person she fell in love with anymore. If I was stuck with some incompetent king who just made toys all day, I’d leave without a trace, too.”
“Oh my god, dad.” Charlie gasped at the statement, “Don’t say stuff like that, don’t you ever say anything like that!”
It was odd that the Demon of Pride would speak so lowly of himself, and the fact that he said that with zero hesitation scared Charlie to no end. How long had he been thinking this way? Blaming himself for Lilith leaving?
“Charlie, I’ve barely been able to get myself out of bed the last couple of years, and your mother had been desperately trying to keep this kingdom under control on her own.” Lucifer stared at her. He tried so hard to look reassuring, as if to somehow quell all of Charlie’s worries because he knew he said too much. Things that he didn’t want Charlie to know lest she think of him less. That her father was weak, so weak that his love of over ten thousand years had left him. “It was… time for her to move on. I just wish she told me.”
Any frustration Charlie had harbored swiftly melted at the words she had heard, her mind racing to the past seven years. How Lucifer had been withdrawn, not seeking out any companionship unless he absolutely had to. And Charlie remembers not seeking him out either, not checking up on him to make sure he was okay. The guilt that had formed began to eat her alive immediately, knowing her father had been suffering, and that was the reason he hadn’t contacted her, or anyone anymore.
“I shouldn’t have said any of that.” Lucifer said blankly, his face almost fearful, and Charlie gulped.
“No, no you needed to tell me that, dad. I—“ She took in a deep breath, “Ok, first I’m gonna hug you because— that was a little scary.” True to her word, Charlie immediately marched over to the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around her father, him jolting at the touch.
“Charlie—Charlie, it’s okay, it’s not…” Lucifer went silent as Charlie somehow hugged him tighter, as if protecting him, whether it be from angels or demons, anything that could possibly bring him more harm. Lucifer brought his hands up and squeezed the fabric of her shirt, his own futile attempt at hugging her back. Emotions ran through him a mile and minute and he internally scowled at the tears that began to brim his eyes.
“Thank you, Charlie.”
Charlie, smiling, pulled back first, placing her hands on his shoulders and getting down to his level.
“I’m not a kid anymore, dad. I can help you now. Whatever Heaven did to you, physically or mentally, I can be there to help you. I want to help you. You… even if you weren’t around often, you always made sure I felt safe, I want to do the same thing for you now.” Charlie felt as though she was pleading as she spoke, wanting desperately for her father to hear her. Lucifer’s wide eyes had long been glossy, tears now freely spilling down his cheeks, before quickly wiping them away.
“I’m so happy you grew up to be so kind.” Lucifer smiled, “It’s hard to find people like that down here, and you’ve found some nice people here, too.” He patted her hand, “Minus Alastor, of course.”
A bubble of laughter left Charlie’s lips as she got up, wiping her own face in case she shed any tears too.
“Okay, now let’s actually unpack.”
“Make sure you tell Alastor that you went out of your way to help me with my new room rather than him.”
“Oh, come on, he just got back and he’s been helping out with rebuilding the hotel, too! Can you cut him some slack?”
“I’ll gladly do that when he stops stealing daughters from unsuspecting fathers, thanks.”