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Why him?
Lucifer sat at the bar, edges of his lips shifted down as far as they would go, uncaring of the ugly expression that must be plastered on his face. He twisted the ring on his finger, loosening the position that it's maintained for millenia.
Why him?
Groaning loudly, Lucifer let his head drop onto the wood of the bar, a loud thunk echoing into the surrounding space.
Why?
Him?
He’d never asked to feel like this again. To feel…warm. Light, like he could fly without the use of his wings. Like every breath he takes wasn’t filled with the poison of hell, the fire of his mistakes. Like he was… right …where he was meant to be.
He was filled with joy once again, despite how guilty he felt with every genuine smile, every skip of his heart, every lingering glance, every hitch in his breath, every tremble, every –
.
.
.
Despite everything, he felt… alive , again.
He felt love again.
Why did this have to happen to him?
Why for… him ?
All the red bastard did was fight with him! He would push back incessantly, whatever they did, everything they did! Just to be a bother!
There was never any care for Lucifer’s title, nor any thought to how badly Lucifer could damage him if he was truly pushed to. It was like the sinner somehow knew that Lucifer wouldn’t.
Couldn’t.
Every sharp word sent Lucifer’s way, every jab, every invasion of personal space, every childish action to gain Lucifer’s ire.
It only drew him to Alastor more.
At first, it was merely anger, a need to be better, to do better than the overlord. To be of more value to his daughter than some lousy sinner off the streets.
If only Lucifer knew how much trouble his exposure to the sinner would cause, he would have never allowed their hostility to develop into… more.
Their honest fighting turned to petty squabbles. Squabbles to mere disagreements. And then…don’t get Lucifer wrong. They still fight, plenty , but it…changed its tune, at some point. Venomous glares became playful challenges. Words aiming to hurt turned to mostly harmless taunting.
As weeks turned to months to nearly a year…Lucifer only felt… more.
What he could now call friendship started to…wobble, for Lucifer. With time, Lucifer could easily say he loved the sinner now. For all his tacky red outfit, eerie smile and thirst for demon flesh.
Over the months they grew closer, uniting in their care for Charlie and her dreams, finding that they had shared interests, more than either of them suspected. What started as not being able to stay in the same room with each other developed into listening to music together, squabbling over better artists, instruments and who was the better dancer.
In the beginning, the only contact they would have would be with violence. Then there was no contact at all, as they fought less and Lucifer discovered Alastor’s aversion to it. And then…then they would be sitting side by side, playing music together.
Then Alastor would be touching him, a hand on the shoulder here, a guiding hand to his lower back there.
Recently, there’s been mutual contact, a soul shaking development for Lucifer. They’d be pressed side to side as they spent time together, laughing over nonsense. Lucifer can touch! A brush to Alastor’s wrist to gain his attention, a grounding grip to the biceps. All with no negative reaction.
He’s able to read Alastor better, a privilege not many have, he knows. He’s nowhere near the little maid’s level, but by his Father’s name he’s getting there.
It’s almost like an addiction, how much he wants to just… be with Alastor.
Like his rubber duck collection, all he could think of was more.
He wanted more.
He wanted…more time together. He wanted memories, just between them. He wanted to share secrets that they’d only keep between themselves. He wanted to hold the sinner’s hand. He wanted to wine and dine. He wanted anniversaries. He wanted shared space. He wanted–
Sucking in a shaky breath, Lucifer gripped onto the bar counter, head lifting back up as his eyes stared emptily forwards, once more spinning his wedding band– divorced, he’s divorced, she’s not coming back, she’s never coming ba – around his finger, sliding the gold band up to his knuckle and back into place, not yet strong enough to fully remove it.
He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be strong enough, despite his new feelings.
It stopped being a source of comfort long ago. Now, the ring felt more like a chain. Heavy, binding.
A prison he can’t bring himself to break free from.
Maybe…maybe if he just…if Alastor feels the same, mayb–
A quiet clink of glass startled Lucifer back into the present, his eyes refocusing onto a cup filled with a lightly colored, fizzy liquid. Jerking his head up, Lucifer forced a too-wide smile onto his face, eyes locked onto a golden pair.
“Oh! Uh, hey there…Hhhitler?” Lucifer winced, suddenly not very confident that he’d gotten that correct. “What’s, uh, this?”
Husk raised an unimpressed eye, sliding the glass closer to Lucifer. “It’s Husk.”
“Right! Uh, I’ve never heard of this beverage before, it sounds…unpleasant.”
“Just drink that.” Husk scoffed, stepping back and grabbing a glass to polish, eyeing the king of hell and narrowing his eyes until Lucifer reluctantly picked up the drink, taking the smallest sip possible.
A pause passed between them until Lucifer took a longer drink, humming in surprise as his taste buds seemed to ignite, hints of apple, citrus and rum taking over his senses and temporarily stopping his spiraling thoughts.
Damn, who knew alcohol could wash his troubles away?
Take that depression!
Oh shit he was thinking about it again.
Knocking the rest of the drink back, Lucifer slammed the glass onto the table and pushed it towards Husk.
“Another, if you would please.”
Shrugging, Husk worked on another drink, Lucifer sighing in relief.
Once the drink was ready, Husk handed it over to Lucifer, waiting until he’d brought the drink up to his lips before casually saying, “I’ve seen the way you look at Al.”
Choking, Lucifer immediately hunched forward and tried to cough up the liquid, slapping a palm onto the counter with every heave, uncaring of how undignified he must look.
Eyes wide and wild, jaw dropped open, spit running down his chin with the alcohol, a puddle just beneath him.
“Excuse me, what?”
Rolling his eyes, Husk passed the king a napkin, wiping the counter down back to spotless as Lucifer tried to clean himself up, conveniently forgetting he could just magically make himself presentable again.
“You heard me, your Majesty. I know the look, I’ve been around Al long enough to see it happen from time to time. Before you do something stupid like confess I just needed to tell you. Don’t. Alastor isn’t someone that can love, so best not to try.”
“The look– I don’t have a look! There’s no look! Pfffft, what? Con fess? Haha! Yeah sure, I’ll confess how much I uh– hate the guy! Yeah!” Lucifer forced a laugh, beads of sweat beginning to line his brow.
“Your Majesty, I’m serious.” Husk placed his elbows on the counter, lazily placing his chin on his paws. “I know how to read people, you ain’t foolin me. And before anything bad happens, like Al throwing a bitchy fit and destroying the hotel because someone decided to breathe ‘love’ into his space, I’m gonna put a stop to it.”
Lucifer drooped, smacking his forehead back down onto the counter with a pained groan. “Ugh, just leave me be. We’ve been getting along! If– and only IF I say anything it can’t possibly be that bad.” Tilting his head up, Lucifer eyed Husk from below. “Why do you care anyways? You hate the guy.”
“I may hate the guy but I already had to help build this place from scratch once, I don’t wanna do that again. Plus, who do you think Al goes off to rant about this shit to, Niffty?”
“Who?”
Husk sighed, tilting his head back and muttering something or other about no patience and idiots. “Just don’t fucking say anything to Al! Try to help a guy and he’s goddamn difficult .”
“Hey! I didn’t ask for any ‘help’. It seems unnecessary. I’m the king of hell! I can work my charms and then we’ll be right as rain, no acid involved!” Lucifer sat up and grinned wide, eyelids drooped low and eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
“That.” Husk pointed a claw at Lucifer, tip centimeters away from the king’s nose. “Don’t do that. To be blunt sir, Alastor doesn’t do relationships, romantic and definitely not sexual. It grosses him out. He doesn’t get it, or want it. If anyone tries getting close to him with either intention he either eats them, kills them or avoids them for the rest of eternity. Never tell Al that I told you any of this, he’d erase me, but Vox, the tv demon? He and Al used to be friends.”
Lucifer raised an eyebrow, “That sinner he fights with all the time?”
“Yeah. They were business partners for some time, almost as close as Al is with Rosie. But one of them caught feelings and decided to take their shot. Let me give you a hint; it wasn’t Al.”
“But…how did they end up like they are now?”
Husk flapped his paw back and forth, grimacing as he shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know the full details. That kind of affection Al isn’t capable of giving and Vox couldn’t handle it or whatever. Tried to force it. Because of that Al almost killed the guy and now they’re, well, you know. Enemies I guess.” Shaking his head, Husk leaned closer, narrowing his eyes at the king. “I’m only telling you all of this to help the hotel, okay? I don’t give a rats ass about Al or you for that matter, but I have a good thing going on here and I don’t want you fucking it up. Be his friend if you want, hell knows why you like the guy, but keep your feelings to yourself. He doesn’t want them, and you’ll just wind up hurt in the end if you try. Capiche?”
Lucifer frowned, dropping his chin back to the bar counter below. “Fine, fine, I get it. I won’t do anything, you have my word. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a…friend, anyways. I think I could use that too.” Even if it’s not what he wanted.
Then again, when has Lucifer ever really been able to have what he wants?
Frown deepening, Lucifer jerked back upright, leaning ever closer to Husk and preparing to ask for something stronger. He was determined to get as drunk as physically possible tonight.
“Oho, what’s this? And what are you two discussing so closely?”
Alastor appeared on Lucifer’s right, startling the man into shoving Husk’s face away and jerking back himself, nearly toppling his seat over and sprawling onto the floor if he hadn’t dug his claws into the bar counter, leaving deep punctures into the wood.
Rightening himself, Lucifer grinned wide, eyebrows knit together in anxiety as he looked at Alastor.
“Alastor! Aha we weren’t doing anything! We were just, um, hrm,” Lucifer snuck a glance at a grimacing Husk. “Uuuuhhh…flirting?”
Silence stretched through the air, Husk staring at Lucifer, unimpressed, while Alastor’s eyes narrowed in disgust.
Now, Lucifer may have been the creator of lies, but he never said he was good at it.
“What a…horrid topic. I will take my leave then, continue as you were boys!”
As Alastor turned to leave, Lucifer panicked, scrambling to his feet and following after the sinner. “Wait, wait, it was just a joke, for fun! Ha, ha! Right Hook–er, bar man!” Lucifer gestured at Husk dramatically, eyes wide and wild.
“...Yeah. Fun. I’m off the clock, fuck off and don’t bother me anymore.” Husk flipped the pair off, scoffing as he finally left from behind the bar, exhausted.
The two watched Husk depart, Lucifer wringing his hands together awkwardly, once more brushing over his ring, a depression beginning to sink back into his gut.
“Welp…this was fun! It’s getting pret-ty late now so I think I’ll just go to, uh, bed. Goodnight, Alastor!” Lucifer made his escape, his shoulder’s beginning to slump with every step he took.
“My King, would you like to join me for some late night baking?”
Stopping in his tracks, Lucifer turned around, eyes wide as he eyed a relaxed Alastor, permanent smile seeming more…soft, than usual.
“You want…me? To help you bake?”
“Hmm, well, I wouldn’t say no to having some company for the night. I haven’t made my mother’s favorite beignets in quite some time, and it would simply be a crime to not have everyone know the delicacies she’s created, even you sire. Though I don’t know if you are able to truly appreciate their magnificence with that oh so tiny body of yours, haha!”
Alastor turned away and began walking to the kitchen, Lucifer hot on his heels as he raged over the comment, the two bickering through the night and even when the pastries were done.
“These are good Al, but I think they could use some more sugar, where’s the–”
“Prepare to lose your life if you dare to desecrate my mother’s recipe.”
“Pff, it’s just sugar, lookit here just dunk and–AAAAAAAA”
They remained seated next to each other nearly into the next morning, laughter sprinkled in between their petty squabbles and bites of beignet, white powder coating their fingers and lips.
Lucifer forgot all about his depression, merely enjoying his night with Alastor, more than happy to spend time with the other sinner.
And if in the midst of cleaning up, Lucifer slipped his ring off to wash the dishes and left it off for the remainder of the night, dropping it into a drawer instead of putting it back in its usual place the following day, well, no one in the hotel would question him.
And in the end, at least Alastor was here. Lucifer can talk to him, see him, spend time with him. He’s lonely, but he doesn’t have to be anymore. Maybe, with time, Lucifer can learn how to just be a friend.
Maybe, with time, that will be enough.