Chapter Text
The morning that they were set to sail, Lucifer hold on a little stronger to his husband's middle while they were laying in bed. They both knew that the other was awake, but neither dare to make a sound. That way it was easier to appreciate the caress of the bedsheet over their naked legs, the soft and firm embrace of their bed. The light entering through the window to draw a perfect semi circle over the wall, near the shelf full of perfumes that Alastor's mom had made for them since they married. The light reaching up the small beautiful glass bottle would shine so beautiful around itself. The gentle sway of the curtains looked so peaceful, so effortless. A sign that it was going to be a good day for navigating perhaps?
Eventually, however, Alastor had to break the silence. There was no point delaying the inevitable. It would only make it harder to let go.
"Good morning, darling" said softly, resigned.
"Mmm" Lucifer sighed over the shoulder blades of Alastor and kissed the warm skin, letting his lips stay there. A deep breath to try to contain every trace of his essence and mark it forever, even deeper that it already was. "Morning. Hungry?"
"Always" purred Alastor as the hand of Lucifer went down, stroking the curvature of his belly. The whole reason why they had to separate at all, even though they would never call it like that. As much of a surprise it was the pregnancy, as much the timing was not ideal for neither of them, it was very much still a blessing they could never regret. Especially not now that their presence was so evident, not after the irst time they felt their movement, small kicks accompanying Lucifer's singing voice. "And I guess them too," added with a light chuckle.
"Good." Lucifer yawned, nuzzling his back a moment more. "Want me to bring breakfast to bed?"
"I can move on my own, dear." As if to prove his point, Alastor lifted himself from the bed and stretched out his arms over his head. Lucifer gently scratched his lower back, admiring the long back, the long and thin scars that decorated it all over the slim muscles, signs of the many battles that body had endured. Lucifer couldn't stop himself from reaching out to kiss a deep one near Alastor's neck. A small gesture of gratitude because the wound wasn't fatal. "Darling" said the taller man and it could have been a plead to stop, to continue, to stay, to go, all at once.
Lucifer shook his head briefly. There was too many things he wanted to say and they all felt so small, so pointless.
"Come on" said, imprintig a lighter note on his voice he didn't have. He rubbed the side of Alastor before jumping out of bed. "We shouldn't keep the baby waiting."
After they were both dressed up and presentable, Lucifer walked out of their room wtih his hand on his husband's. On the hallway to their dinning room he eyed the inmense gardens where they stayed in more than one starry night.
The colorful flowers that sometimes he cut just to put on Alastor's hair were blooming so beautifully, under the tree where Lucifer liked to believe happened the conception. Alastor argued with him about it sometimes. No, it was definitely on the shores of the beach after they came back from watching a threather show. It had to be because he didn't even mind about the sand or the fishermen that constantly interrupted them yelling to each other for more net. What else could cause that miracle, if not because his body already knew that something else was going to happen to it?
Lucifer really couldn't argue with him there, it was impossible to know anyway. But he still liked to think it was under the tree. Mainly because someday he was going to make so many more memories with their child there and it sounded nicer if everything about them started right there.
"Not a single cloud on the sky" commented Alastor. Lucifer had noticed that too, but didn't want to say it. Now that he did, he had no choice but to nod.
"But the winds seems fine" added, squeezing the hand of Alastor. "Is your mother coming today?"
"You know that she would swim all the way here if she could." Alastor sighed, but a small smile still playing on his lips betrayed his true feelings. He hated being fuzzed over too much, as it was the case since the pregnancy was announced, and at the same time, he could never bring himself to hate his mom visiting. Lucifer was wise enough to not say what a relief would be to count with her, so Alastor wouldn't have to be alone with the servants and guards. "I am sure she will arrive soon. Her room is ready, right?"
"Yep! Brought the best bed and everything in the entire palace, just for her." Lucifer chuckled when Alastor just nodded solemnly. It wasn't anything less than what his own mother deserved. They both could agree on that. "The only thing I regret is that I won't be able to enjoy her meals."
"The only thing?" repeated Alastor with an arched eyebrow. He caressed his own belly pointedly. "Are you sure you can't think of anything else?"
"Mmmm. No, nothing" Lucifer grinned wide as Alastor huffed.
"Well, that works better for me then" determined the man with a smirk, a beat later. "I can finally have the real father over and stop hiding from you."
"Oh ho ho, so you admit it then?"
"Darling, please, everyone knew. You were the only one who didn't catch on."
"Ah, damn it. Well, better late than never, I guess." Lucifer chuckled as he brought a hand to wrap around Alastor's waist, bringing him closer to him. Alastor let an arm around his shoulders to stroke his cheek. "Just make sure to change the sheets before I come back at least. Also I am still giving the kid my name even if they are not mine. You know, for the kindgom's sake and all."
"Of course. How else are we supposed to still enjoy your money? The kid of a king is a lot more profitable than the kid of a travelling artist."
"Travelling artist? I knew it. Did the fumes of his paints were enough to seduce you?"
"It was mostly his height" said Alastor, patting the head of Lucifer that couldn't reach above his own chest. "So tall that his head almost touches the ceiling."
"That big? Wow. Okay, maybe I will accept him in our bed after all."
Alastor snorted, covering his mouth as the laughter scaped him without control. Lucifer squeezed him close once as they reached the dinning table. As they sat down at the head of the table, Lucifer pulled to get Alastor to sit on his lap.
On any other day, Alastor would make a show of enduring this as something inevitable that the neediness of the king was imposing on him. He would comment that other chairs were perfectly fine for the using and there was no need for such gestures. But lately Lucifer was hearing less and less such words. On that day, Alastor didn't say anything at all. Instead he rested his cheek on top of Lucifer's head, playing idle with some strands of hair between his fingers. Lucifer prefered to hear the heartbeat of Alastor through his tunic, over the long deep scar that crossed his chest. Remmanents of battles won. Reminders of what it was almost lost.
When their food came in, Alastor didn't move from his place. His feet dangled at the side of Lucifer's thighs, lovely long legs that Lucifer was happy to run his hand through while eating with the other. The extra weight did not bothered him at all. With the baby so close he could almost see himself carrying the two of them around the palace he made with his hands. Not for the first time, he was glad the baby room had been prepared already, right in front of their own to attend their every need.
That was after Lucifer had been summoned to lead his people against their enemies. All because of some woman, according to all reports. A part of Lucifer wanted to be skeptical, to even laugh at the absurdity of sending a bunch of people right to their death just because of that. But then in his head he changed the image of that Helen woman with Alastor and, well, then it made a little more sense. There was no choice in the matter either way.
It was going to be the very first battle that they were apart from each other. Without his right hand man taking care of his back and any blind spot he could have. Without taking care of each other despite everything, only to later laugh it all off under the stairs by sharing whatever drink was available for them. The memory of it was going to have to be his only fuel. The promise that he could get it back all over again if only he did his job and he did it right. Another victory to carry home, a new story to tell to their child.
Alastor's protests have been brief, at least, and therefore less painful. As unexpected as the pregnancy was, the family they wanted to form was actually happening at last and neither would ever dare to put that into jeopardy. Not for Lucifer who have lost his parents well before they died and not for Alastor, who only ever truly had his mother before his father was dealt with. They had been given an opportunity to be better, to do better, and dismiss that was never truly an option. Understand all of that, knowing all of that, did not made the wish to stay any less stronger. He could only imagine how much worst it had to be for someone for Alastor to stay home and just wait for news. All things considered, he was truly amazed at how well he was taking it. It didn't hurt either to know that he wasn't going to be alone either.
Speaking of, his mother arrived just as they were preparing to go to the port. Alastor barely had time to come out to the hallway when the loud voice of the small woman reached them. After the death of her husband, Evelyn had become the head of their perfume house, reaching more and more clients everyday, filling out places with all their fragances, but she didn't look like it at a first sight. A mistake not many got to commit a second time. But at that moment she could have been any other woman rushing down to meet Alastor and hug him as tight as her arms could. With her short stature, more pronnounced that Lucifer's, her face looked up with a splenderous smile and crinkling eyes.
Lucifer noticed a few more strands of gray hair mixing on the black curls that weren't there since the last time he saw her. Naturally, years waited for no one. But it was always a shock to be reminded of that, coming from the closest thing to a mother he also had left. When he had nothing but a title of king at a way too young age, Evelyn had receive him without question or condition as another part of the family. Well, besides the condition of never hurting her son or else she would make sure to make him pay. But Lucifer had no intention of doing that, even before they started dating, so it worked well for all of them.
"Let me look at you!" said Evelyn, holding both hands of Alastor as she scanned him all over. She got on her tip toes to brush a curl out of his face and thumb his cheek gently. "Have you been sleeping well, dearie? How about food? You know you are eating for my precious grandchild too, so you better keep their little body well fed" added, patting his stomach.
"We are both fine, mother" replied Alastor with a sigh. "No issues to report."
"Don't worry, we will keep it that way. Now I am around, you are going to get some real homemade meals on you" said Evelyn, kissing the knuckles of her son before she finally looked at Lucifer. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Were you not planning to come greet your mother-in-law, Lucifer? The big important man has better things to do?"
"Are we talking about the same Lucifer I know?"
"Ha ha" Lucifer rolled his eyes at his husband's comment before going to kiss the hand of Evelyn. "I would never. Thank you a lot for coming."
"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world." Evelyn smiled and it was beautiful, just like the smile of her son when it was sincere. It could be terrifying just like Alastor's. "I left everything ready at home. Take all the time that you need and we will be waiting, with a little one between us. Which reminds me, do you both have names already decided?"
"Only one name," said Lucifer, looking at Alastor who nodded. "Either a boy or a girl, we thought that Charlie would suit them."
"Charlie," Evelyn sighed, clasping her hands together. "What a lovely name. I can't wait to meet the face it belongs to."
Lucifer neither. For now, however, there was a ship that he had to be on. On the port it was a lively scene, full with all the people saying goodbye to their own families and friends or were already up their respective ships. Lucifer saw a bunch of familiar faces, some that were entirely new, but there was one in particular that was just waiting to be recognized by him. He couldn't help to laugh when the woman jumped in place, fixing her glasses as She came over with open arms.
"Uncle!" called, hugging Lucifer tight by the upper side of his back, because of course she had to surpass him in height before she was 16. At 19 years old, with a few years of training on her, she could also lifting him up easily to make him spin on her cheerfulness.
"Emily!" greeted Lucifer in return once his feet found the ground again and he patted her back. Technically speaking, he wasn't really the uncle of Emily, but she had always been a welcome presence at his home. The mother of Emily had been cousin of his mother, providing all the excuse they needed to keep on each other's lives. Even Alastor, notorious in being rather scarce about his warmth, ended up taking a liking to her and exchanged letter with her on the regular. "I was hoping to see you. Is Sera somewhere with you?"
Her older sister, Sera, wasn't as close to his side of the family. But she truly cared for Emily and that was enough reason to give her grace. When they came to know each other, Sera was just too old to fulfill the same role as Emily and had her own life to concern herself with.
"She was setting up everything on the ship already!" Emily chirped before she went to hug Alastor, who gave her a couple of pats in the head, which was more than most people ever got from him. Then she noticed Evelyn and squealed, holding out her hands for her. "Auntie, I haven't seen you in so long! How are you doing?"
"Perfectly well, dearie." Evelyn smiled as she brought her closer, for a proper hug. "Oof, I can barely wrap my arms around you. Stop growing so much or soon I won't even be able to reach you."
"I will try, but I can't make any promises." Emily laughed, kissing her two cheeks.
Evelyn sighed dramatically, holding her face between her hands. Her freckled face with darkened skin not unlike her own. They could have passed for actual mother and daughter, if it weren't because of Emily's naturally white hair. Seeing standing next to Alastor and speaking to him, Lucifer hoped that their baby could be like that. Just a bright person capable of carrying on joy wherever they landed to.
"I can't believe you are going to your first war already" sighed Emily, fixing the hair of Emily behind her ear. "You are far too beautiful for any of this, dearie."
"You never said that to me," pointed out Alastor with a mocking indignation, crossing his arms.
"As if you would have listened a word I said!" scoffed Evelyn.
It was too perfect of an opportunity. There was no way for Lucifer to not take his chance.
"I guess some faces not even a mother can love after all," commented casually with a shrug and let out a laugh when Alastor's eyes squinted with daggers to him.
"Just for that, you are not invited to share bed with me and my lover."
"What? Aw, come on, don't be like that! I though we both could hang from their arms and touch the ceiling like his head does."
"No, that will be only me and our baby, who will be tall as a tree."
"Well, I hope so! If he is going to have his way with my husband, the least he could do is leave me a tall kid. As a courtesy, you know."
Emily inclined towards Evelyn.
"I am confused. What is happening?"
"Sweetie, I stopped trying to make sense of whatever nonsense game these two have going on ages ago." Evelyn sighed, patting the arm of Alastor. "Although I warned you about making those kind of jokes before. Lucifer could get the wrong idea."
"Mother, he would need to have ideas in the first place for that to happen."
Evelyn pursed her lips at him with a frown. Lucifer laughed while wrapping an arm around Alastor's waist.
"It's okay, Evelyn, we are just joking around. I know Alastor would never do that," said and then pretended to cough into his hand, "Because nobody else can handle him."
"What was what, dear?" The smile of Alastor turned into something sharp.
"Oh, nothing, babe, just a cough."
"What a rough one you had! Maybe a splash in the water would help clear you up! You can swim back, right?" Alastor slipped an arm down his back and Lucifer knew, as much as he was sure the sun would rise the next day, that Alastor was fully capable of throwing him to the water, pregnancy or not.
But just as Lucifer was ready to retort back, a horn cut through the air. That was merely the first and from there, the rest followed. The reality of the situation suddenly came crashing down upon them like another wave. Everything was ready to sail. All the people who were left to get on their respective places started moving, hundreds of feet and arms and voices breaking any peace that was before.
"I better get going!" said Emily and hugged Evelyn again. She reached over to kiss a cheek of Alastor and rub his arms. "Tell the baby they have an cousin that will love to meet them!"
She gave Lucifer's shoulder one final squeeze before going over to the crow, getting lost on them. Lucifer stared up to Alastor, but he had already bend over to hug him first. Lucifer couldn't do anything but squeeze him back. They had never had to say goodbye like this before.
What a fool he was for ever thinking that anything could have made this less painful.
"Come back soon" whispered Alastor against his neck, leaving a single kiss over the muscle moving.
"I will" sighed Lucifer, gripping to his back. "Stay safe. Tell Charlie that their papa loves them."
"They will know." Alastor took a deep breath just above his clavicle, as if needing to register whatever Lucier smelled like right then, right at that moment. It only made sense that the son of a perfume maker would rely so much on his own nose to capture what he wanted. "Of that they won't have a single doubt."
"Good" Lucifer let his hand grab a handful of Alastor's curls, feeling them come undone and bounce against his fingers. He kissed him on the neck and tightned up his hug again before letting go. "If there is any way to send a message, I will" promised, before turning to Evelyn and hugging her as well. "Please, take care of them."
"You don't have to tell me twice, dearie." Evelyn caressed his cheek with a smile. "You just have to worry about coming home, alright?"
Lucifer nodded. He kissed her cheek and hold the hand of Alastor as long he could. It felt like an infinite second until the palm slipped out of his grasp and he had to keep going, walking up the wooden bridge to the ship. Once on top, he located his family at the port and waved at them, just like a bunch other of his soldiers, while the rope was being released from its support and the sail extended over the main mast. At his side, Emily was smiling and elevating her arm enthusiastically. Out there on the dry land, Alastor seemed so small and so big at the same time as he waved back, holding the hand of his mother.
It didn't take long for the other men to start moving across the ship, putting their things in order, getting into their positions. It was only when he saw that Alastor and Evelyn were turning to leave that Lucifer realized something.
"Fuck, I forgot" said to Emily and gave her his bag. "I will be back in a bit, have a rope out for me."
"What do you mean?" asked his niece, her confusion turning to alarm when Lucifer climbed the starboard. She didn't even had a chance to react before he jumped to the waters. "Uncle!?" she called, her voice joining to other ones calling for the captain.
Lucifer came out a second later, lifting a thumb up in the air as he made his way to the shore. The yelling eventually reached the people there. Alastor and Evelyn came back just in time to see Lucifer coming out of the water to the sand. He walked, drenched as he was, immediately up to Alastor and pulled on the front of his tunic to make their lips meet. For one glorious moment, he could feel Alastor slumping against him, all the shock washed away to be replaced by a singular contained sigh of contentment.
"I forgot to tell you I love you" said Lucifer, barely separating. "I couldn't go without telling you that."
"You absolute madman." Alastor chuckled, placing his hand on top of Lucifer's. "I know already, you idiot. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
"Just wanted to say it anyway" Lucifer nuzzled his cheek and kissed the corner of his lips. "I will think of you all the time."
"You better." Alastor hummed, his head inclined towards Lucifer's until their forehead made contact. "It wouldn't be fair I was the only one."
"Never." Lucifer kissed him again. "Do they look mad at me?"
Alastor looked over Lucifer's head towards the boat. All the faces, including Emily's, staring to them.
"Mostly confused, I think."
"I can deal with confusion." Lucifer sighed and then bended a little, kissing the belly of Alastor over the fabric that became wet because of his contact. "I love you too, little one. Be good with your dad and your grandma."
As he stand straight again, Alastor kissed his forehead.
"Come back safe" said like a spell, brushing his wet hair back. "Or I swear I will drag you back from the underworld myself, Lucifer."
"Noted," Lucifer chuckled and gave his hand a squeeze, with a bigger grin that he had before. "Now I am better. Bye!" said, unceremoniously jumping back to the waters to swim his way back to the boat.
"You better pray to the gods that he doesn't get a cold now!" yelled Evelyn from behind him and he could laugh if it wasn't asking to swallow ocean water.
Once he was near the boat, just as he indicated, Emily let out a rope that he used to climb his way back up. As he reached the top, Emily pulled him by the arm the rest of the way until his feet were back again over the wooden floors.
"Was that whole show really necessary, captain?" commented Sera with a sigh, bringing him over a towell that she quickly spread over his shoulders.
"Is he still looking?" asked Lucifer, hugging to the fabric.
"To make sure that you weren't drowning, surely" said Sera, throwing a look back. "But yes, he is."
"Then it was worth it" said Lucifer, shivering but looking totally satisfied with himself.