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Adam sighed as he pushed the now empty bedframe against the wall and went back to his mattress on the floor; pillows surrounded it to make it somewhat even and then there was his small collection of stuffed animals he had begun collecting upon his arrival to this hellscape. It was pitiful really, hell of course was not a place for amazing stuffed animals but it surprisingly wasn't all the worst, especially if he hit up the hellborn shops.
Some of them were even smuggled from the human world. He cuddled a plush pigeon he'd found at a pawn shop and cooed at it before laying it in his nest.
Lucifer was standing in the doorway, eyes wide as he gaped at Adam in astonishment. He had entered without knocking, barging his way in imperiously and about to throw a stuffed animal at his feet in attempt to follow his daughter’s request to ‘be nice’ to Adam and help him adjust. He had noticed that Adam seemed fond of plushies…so he’d gotten a couple for him as something like a peace offering.
He had never expected that Adam would be nesting with them…he flushed, feeling as if he was intruding, and he cleared his throat nervously. “A-Adam…” he called out, holding his gift behind his back.
Adam practically squawked and his wings flared out as he jumped.
“Jesus Christ! Have you heard of knocking asshole?!” He was flushed a brilliant shade of red as he looked over his nest before quickly climbing in front of it and spreading his wings to hide it from view. “What do you want?!” He asked defensively.
Lucifer tilted his head slightly and smiled with amusement as he saw the way Adam was defending his nest…he was so cute. He realized what he was thinking and flushed gold. “Oh, I was just…wondering how you were getting on…” he said softly as he approached, eyes on Adam as he stopped a good pace away from the nest. “I, uh, have this for you.” he added and thrust out the plushie he’d made for Adam, a golden eagle with wing patterns like Adam’s…he might have put a fair bit of effort into it. He never half-assed anything!
Adam blinked and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “You were checking on me?” He asked, lowering his wings and shuffling over on his knees to look at the stuffed animal, taking it from Lucifer to look it over, blushing a little at how soft it was. He gave it a little squeeze and sniffed it. So soft, good quality… hand made yet not raggedy at all… “Wow…” he couldn't help but rub his face against it before remembering what company he was in. He jerked up and tossed it into the nest “Uh, it's nice thanks… did you make it or something?” He asked.
Lucifer smirked and approached a little closer, but restrained from reaching out to touch Adam…not yet. “I did, you know I’m good with my hands.” he said smoothly. He let his eyes drift to the nest, tilting his head slightly. “Hmm…should I supply you with more pillows and blankets?”
Adam huffed, “You know that sounds dirty when you say it like that!” He said and looked toward his pitiful nest. It wasn't even a third of the size it was in heaven. “I mean as long as there is enough for everyone then I wouldn't mind a few more I guess…”
That was oddly considerate of him. Caring about the other residents of the hotel.
“I can demonstrate for you~!” Lucifer chuckled as he glanced back at Adam with hooded eyes, considering giving Adam a reason to have a nest…they’d been dancing around their past the entire time he’d been down here. Adam had been slowly acclimating to life in Hell, but he was understandably still a little traumatized. And of course their time together in Eden was still a sticking point. But Lucifer was still attracted to the first man, and he wouldn’t mind starting up a proper relationship now.
“I can provide you plenty of bedding without depriving anyone else!” he declared, snapping his fingers and manifesting a pile of thick, soft, blankets and pillows. He’d let Adam decide where to place them himself.
Adam sucked in a deep breath and reached for the blankets hesitantly, looking between them and Lucifer as if they would be taken away at any second. When he touched them and they were real he snatched them up and began adding them to his nest, building it up and taking his small collection of stuffed animals, putting them towards the middle. He settled his wings over them protectively, moving the new one Lucifer made him into his lap to stroke it gently, involuntarily cooing at it.
It was a minute or two before he could focus again. “uh… thanks I, uh, guess. Nesting really sucks. I bet whenever you get in the mood you get real annoying about it too huh?” He asked, hugging the doll like it was a child.
Lucifer was flushed slightly as he watched Adam, admiring the graceful fluidity of his motions, but he could tell that Adam was doing this more out of instinct than an actual want. He could understand the urge, and at least hoped that it brought him comfort. He moved closer to stand at the edge, not wanting to intrude without permission. “Yeah…lots of ducks.” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
Adam smiled a little, “They were always your favorite. So even now you keep them? Even in your nest?” He looked up at Lucifer and then down at his nest. “You, uh… wanna come in? You gave me materials so, um, sharing it is the least I can do” he said blushing. “Keep bringing me stuffed animals, I might even let you live here.”
Lucifer brightened as he was given permission to enter the nest and he snapped his fingers to remove his boots before kneeling down to climb onto the side of the nest. “Yeah, ducks and all the memorabilia I can find.” I added with a chuckle. When Adam mentioned him living there…his entire face flushed a bright gold and he stammered, eyes wide. “I-here, with you?” he gasped.
He shifted to sit, pulling his knees to his chest as he gazed at Adam. “Do you mean that, are were you just saying it to be nice…?” he asked more gently.
Adam chuckled “Don’t lose your head man… and uh… a bit of both?” He scratched his cheek. “It’s kind of mean to accept this nice stuff without giving anything back, that's what your daughter says. Also, it's kind of… lonely here. I had a flock up in heaven, my girls, and we took care of each other. We preened, nested, and we'd hunted together. And now it's just me. Sure Vaggie gets it but she seems happy enough to keep away from me so uh someone else who understands what it's like to well… be this would be nice. Even if it is the guy who got me here in the first place,” he said and playfully jabbed him in the side. Though due to their size difference it still knocked Lucifer over into the soft nest.
Lucifer could certainly understand that loss…he’d had a flock once too. And even now, after all this time he still missed them so badly…he had never thought that Adam had had a flock too, but of course he had…he’d been so close to his murderous squad…he must be so lonely. When he was knocked back he reached up to pull Adam down with him. “I miss my flock too…” he admitted in a small voice. “Every day…Michael and Raphael…Gabriel and Uriel…even Sera.” he buried his face into Adam’s chest. “I’m sorry we ripped you from yours…”
“But I’ll be your flockmate, Adam, we can preen and nest and hunt together from now on!” Lucifer declared after a moment.
Adam squawked as he was pulled down too but wrapped his arms around the shorter king. “I look forward to it Lucifer.” He said hugging him a little tight before letting up. “I promise I'll try to be good to you and keep working on myself. I want to be a flockmate worth having.” If he had to go to any number of those dumb counseling sessions. He didn't want to lose his flock again even if it was only a nest of two.
Lucifer felt dizzy with affection as he heard Adam promising to try and be a better person, words he’d never thought Adam, the first man, the egoist, would ever say. “I’m so proud of you, Adam…” he breathed, smiling with adoration up at his face. “I’ll help in any way I can…and I’ll work on myself too…I won’t let depression consume me…” he promised.
“A broken nest of two losers, I like it,” Adam said, one arm around Lucifer. “I’m glad you stopped by. Really, thanks for the gift.” he said looking at the stuffed animal in his other arm it was definitely his new favorite… well maybe next to Mr. Pigeon.
Lucifer cuddled against Adam and relaxed, eyes slowly closing as he hummed to himself before opening them again and looking around the nest again. “So, why the stuffed animals?” he asked softly.
“Oh well… they're soft and comforting and that's all they do. There's nothing else like it. Never was.” Adam said “When I was alive, everything was hard and awful and sure, sometimes wool or a patch of moss could be soft, but that wasn't what it was for… and there was always something hard under it. When I died, sure the clouds were soft, but by then the people were hard and I had so much to do and be, it didn't feel like it was real. And clouds, they always move and shift and they're full of rain… but a stuffed animal? It's just soft. You hug it, it squishes and you feel a little better. There's nothing else to it.” He said, smiling at his little collection. “And they come in so many cute shapes too.”
Lucifer gaped up at Adam in astonishment for a moment before sitting up, almost in tears. “Oh, Adam! I’ll give you all the stuffed animals you could want!” he declared, snapping his fingers and summoning a pile of stuffed animals, all the animals he could immediately think of.
“Wait what-” Adam gasped as he was buried under a pile of stuffed animals, all of them so soft and new. And in even more variety than he'd had in heaven! He squirmed and wiggled his way out of the pile. “Lucifer!” he couldn't believe he could just make this kind of stuff on a whim. Did he care about his silly feelings that much?
“I’ll never be able to pay you back for all this!” He said even though he didn't want to return a single one, he wanted to go through them, cuddle each one and find it a place. Maybe build a second nest of just the soft stuffed animals just for comfort.
Lucifer laughed and sat back to watch Adam with warm eyes. “I don’t need repayment, I just want to make you happy…” he said gently as he watched the sinner touch the stuffed animals as if they were so precious to him. “You can let me help you name them!” he added with a bright grin. Just like it was back in Eden…
Adam smiled at him, a large genuine smile. He looked almost like that innocent man back in Eden too. Like the centuries of hatred and stress had worn off for just a moment. “I’d like that a lot.”