Chapter Text
Lucifer was quite used to being confused and this only happened more often since he moved into the hotel his daughter ran.
Sinners were more often than not the cause of his confusion. From their forms (seriously, there was a sword dating a quill here, how do you get unlucky enough to get those forms!?), to what they eat (why does everything Nifty make have to be encased in jello?) to how they speak (what the Hell is skibiti!?) confusing more often than not.
This was a new kind of confusion.
When he had woken up that morning, it was to a cloudy head and an aching body. He had stayed up late that night hunched over his desk working on a new duck, feeling he needed to finish it.
His confusion started when he opened his door on his way to the elevator. A pear tree in a pot sat outside his door.
It took a moment before his mind caught up and forced him to look around, finding nobody, he stepped closer to the tree. It was only three feet tall, but the foliage was healthy and filled with pears that were in different stages of development.
The wooden pot that it was in hummed with magic that had been fed into the runes that carved the inside of the pot, but with a glance, Lucifer identified them as assisting with the growth and comfort of the plant.
The pot itself was a stained dark wood decorated by a single large carving of a pudgy bird, stained a lighter brown with feathers mottled with darker spots, a black band covered the bird’s eyes. It took a few minutes before the king realized he was looking at a carving of a partridge.
Lucifer carefully checked it over, looking for a note or any sign of who left it but came up empty.
This was a very confusing thing for him, why a partridge? Why a pear tree? Was this another idea that Charlie had for therapy?
It was too early for all these questions, he needed coffee. Then he would just ask Charlie about it.
****
By the end of the day, he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Charlie about it, the hotel proving to be rather eventful that day. Between fights among the guests and fights outside the hotel, it had been a hectic day. The plant itself was now standing proud by his door, a little bit of green to bring him a smile as he entered or left his room. And he thought that was that as he fell asleep that night.
The next morning he passed the tree to wait for the elevator doors to open. When the doors opened, he was left confused again. Inside were two plushies of doves nestled together on the railing that ran along the opposite wall of the cabin.
Was…was someone trying to threaten him? It had to be for him, sure the elevator wasn’t locked or anything, but as it only went to Lucifer’s room there was no way it was meant for anyone else. Doves were always a symbol of Heaven, was that what this was? Was that what the tree was? He knew that humans always debated what the fruit was, but two seconds in Hell should have made it obvious that it was an apple.
But then why a partridge?
No, Heavens doves were always pure white, these were speckled with browns. Turtle doves. Someone was really testing his bird knowledge. (Jokes on them, all the original archangels made birds based on their own form. He was very knowledgeable about birds.) They were also really cute for them to be a threat.
Lucifer stepped into the lift and picked one up, it started cooing at the movement and he couldn’t help but squeeze it in his arms, the soft plush seemed to melt in his arms.
Yup, can’t be a threat.
He turned both doves over, looking closely for a name or a note, but just like the tree, there was nothing.
As much as he wanted to figure out this mystery, (that’s a lie…he just wanted to stay and cuddle them in his room) he unfortunately had only an hour before he had to head to a meeting with the sins. With how long it had been, he didn’t think he’d be back until tomorrow.
It was with a heavy sigh, he brought the dolls back to his room to place them on the mantle.
****
It was so late when he came back the next night that the lobby was empty when he returned. Lucifer was so tired, they had the meeting at the palace and had taken a break to rest, but after being at the hotel, his room at the palace felt so cold and lonely that he couldn’t sleep.
But he was still so wound after all the fighting that he figured a snack would help settle him before he collapsed in his own bed.
It was there in the kitchen that he found another surprise. On the table sat three cloches and a note with his name on it in an elegant script. The back read simply ‘Enjoy your three French Hens.’
With great confusion, he opened each one of the silver tops to reveal a French chicken casserole, a French-style chicken and potatoes, and lastly Chicken Fricassée. He knew this because they all had helpful cards in a hold placed in the middle of each dish written in the same elegant writing as the card.
Who was doing this and why? He was happy that someone seemed to be thinking of him in not a negative way (pretty sure? This still could be a terrible attempt to threaten him, but he couldn’t be poisoned so it was fine.) But who was it? Tomorrow evening Charlie, Vaggi and him were all planning to spend time together tomorrow, maybe he could bring this up to them and get their thoughts on it.
For now, he was going to get a plate and dig in! (It was amazing, whoever it was knew their way around the kitchen.)
****
The next day passed with nothing in sight (he wasn’t expecting anything, but still…though Lucifer finished off the chicken for lunch) the hotel finally seemed to calm down for the moment. Yet the day had not been without its own oddities, Alastor hadn’t been as present lately. Usually he showed up once in a while to make a few snide comments and argue with him before disappearing to go do whatever he did in the hotel.
Not that he was worried about the asshole! Absolutely not!
…but he was one of the only beings in the hotel that would talk to Lucifer. Most everyone else either avoided him or wanted something.
Case in point, the red sinner had just walked into the lobby where he had a clear view of where Lucifer was seated scrolling on his phone as he waited for the last few minutes for Charlie and Vaggi to be done with the last therapy session for the day.
He was clearly not busy and Alastor wasn’t rushing so he was clearly not doing anything important, but he still passed through the room without so much as a judgy glance at the lounging King.
Guess that was another mystery that he was going to have to look into in the upcoming days…but not because he was worried about the guy. Just what was he up to…not worried, suspicious.
Hey look, it's Charlie and Vaggi!
The two were leading a group of sinners out of the therapy room, saying their goodbyes and outing in the last efforts of reaffirming whatever had been said inside the room.
Finally once the sinners were milling about talking amongst themselves, Lucifer approached the now free pair.
“Hey, Dad!” Charlie greeted brightly, followed by Vaggi’s less bright, but still sincere, “Hello, sir.”
“Come on, now! I told you to call me dad! …or was it daddy…no…not that…at least stop with the sir.” He finally settled on.
It earned him an awkward chuckle from both girls before he changed the subject. “Now how was therapy today?"
They chatted lightly as they headed up, the elevator opening to the hall that led to his room. It was there that he froze.
“Oh wow! You really went all out!” Charlie cheered as she moved quickly to the serving cart that was placed by his door. On it held plates of small sandwiches and cookies mixed in with a beautiful china tea set that Lucifer had never seen before. Three of the cups were upright and ready to use, the other one set upside down on its saucer. It was set for the three of them.
“I…I didn’t do that.” He finally admitted as he also moved closer to inspect the cart. The smell of a sweet fruity tea (his favorite type) with a hint of warm spices mixed nicely with the more savory sandwiches and simple cookies.
“What do you mean,si-Lu-Lucifer?” Vaggi asked.
“For the past few days, somebody has been leaving me presents…at least I think they are? Or they’re doing an awful job of threatening me. I’m not sure!” He admitted as he picked up a cup. On the delicate white surface was a painted forest scene with a single black bird taking flight. The other four cups each had a similar forest scene but during different seasons and single black bird, similar enough to make it clear they were a set but still unique enough to make each special. The pot itself didn’t have a bird and neither did any of the small plates or saucers, those all just having trees that intertwined with one another and fields of flowers.
It was just four black birds.
He spread his magic across them all, confirming nothing was poisoned or laced with anything dangerous, not that that would even bother him, but he was worried about the girls.
Was Charlie as durable as he was? Or more like Lilith? A hybrid of the two? Vaggi, being an angel, should be immune to Hell made poison. Whatever, he just knew he wasn’t going to try and find out.
“Everything is fine, guess we can take it inside and enjoy it.” He said with a shrug, the cart moving on its own with a thought from Lucifer as they moved inside his room.
“What do you mean someone has been giving you gifts?” Vaggi asked, trying to circle back to that.
“I was actually going to ask about that…” he said, finally able to tell them about the past few days as he poured the tea and the girls helped themselves to the sandwiches.
“Well…that is weird. And nobody has said anything to you?” Charlie asked after he finished.
“No, and I haven’t seen anyone nearby.”
“I mean…it seems like they’re trying to be nice…”
“I guess, but if they are, why aren’t they signing anything?” Vaggi cut in, her suspicion clear in her voice.
The moment of contemplating silence that followed was broken by Charlie’s excited gasp. “You have a secret admirer! Somebody at the hotel has a crush on you, dad!”
“Wait, what, really?” The words stumbled out in his surprise, his mind trying to wrap around that thought.
“Yeah! They’re leaving you presents and seem to be aware of what you’re doing, leaving you dinner when you were at a meeting late and preparing tea for you when they knew we would be here! They’re just being shy.”
“But what’s the point? If he doesn’t know who’s leaving them, then why do this?” Vaggi asked.
“Maybe they’re working their way up to it. They’re just nervous! Maybe you should bring something they give you around the lobby? If they see you using what they gave you, maybe they’ll feel better about coming up to you?”
“Well, hang on, Charlie. Do you even want the attention, sir? We could make an announcement and ask them to stop.”
They both looked at him and Lucifer was forced to think about a possibility that he really never thought about…dating again.
Was this something he wanted? Yeah, he and Lilith had been separated for years but was he ready for another relationship? Did he want one? He was just finally getting to know his daughter again. Did he really want to add another one to that?
And if he didn’t, he really should just say something in the group, shut it down before it could go too far.
“I…I don’t know…” he finally admitted.
“You can think about it, it’s okay.” Charlie said, reaching out to hold his hand. “If you want, we can also just quietly try and find out who it is. We could ask Alastor for help. He-“
“No! Not that! He can’t know!” Lucifer cried out. He would never live it down if Alastor found out. “I’ll think it over. When I decide what I want, I’ll let you know. Okay, kiddo?”
“Okay, dad.”
The conversation finally moved away from his potential romantic change and onto other topics as they continued to pick at the spread.
****
When Lucifer woke the next morning, it was curled around a turtle dove with a warm feeling in his stomach.
He had talked to his daughter and her girlfriend well into the night before going to bed, the conversation for once, flowing easily for once as he finally was able to catch up with what his daughter had been up to since he
The feeling grew when he left his room and stepped into the hallway to the elevator to see the lights were off, but the area was lit by a bunch of fairy lights that were twinkling against the ceiling. And nestled among the lights were five golden acrobatics rings suspended from the ceiling by silky apple red ribbons.
All the rings were different sizes and at various heights to make an amazing sight. His wings couldn’t be contained and he took off into the air with a laugh, diving through one ring to grip another, pulling himself up to sit on the ring to swing gently.
It was late morning before he finally made it downstairs with a large smile on his face.
The lobby only had a few sinners wandering about as the ones who were scheduled for therapy were already there and the ones that weren't were usually in one of the recreation rooms or in the city enjoying their day off.
Currently, it was just Husk behind the bar, with a few new guests in the stools. Alastor was also there behind the bar, looking like he was in the process of taking inventory of the bottles.
His eyes left the clipboard to eye up Lucifer as he entered. A brightness seemed to enter his eyes a second before he turned back to Husk.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Husker dear.” He announced and then dissolved into the shadows, casting one last look at Lucifer.
Later, with coffee in hand he let his mind wander to the question Charlie asked. A question he needed to answer soon.
It wasn’t fair if he continued accepting these gifts if he had no intention of giving them a chance…in that case it would be better to make an announcement like Vaggie recommended and be done with it.
He really wanted to know who it was but he didn’t have a clue and there was a hotel full of potential suspects.
It wouldn’t hurt to give them a chance, right? Someone put this much thought into gifts, even if they were coming out of nowhere. Really, all the birds made no sense.
But still, sweet.
So, yeah, guess he’d give it a chance…now he just had to figure out who it was.
The day continued on as normal for the very busy hotel, Lucifer putting off anything he was supposed to do (this was also normal, but he was well aware of his habit of procrastinating and will try to fix it…tomorrow.) to plant himself at the bar and drink tea out of his new tea cup that afternoon. His eyes stayed on his phone as he mindlessly scrolled through duck photos, his attention was actually scanning the crowd. The snake on his hat was always dismissed as it was actually the twisted form his halo took upon his fall, but it was still a part of him. He kept some extra eyes on it, not liking to keep so many of his usual eyes closed but not wanting to scare the first humans.
Long story short, his snake had eyes he could always see through.
So far nothing stood out. A few sinners stopped to gawk at him, but he wouldn’t say it was anything more than a fleeting look.
Alastor seemed to make an appearance, finally, but only spared him a brief glance before moving on. His shadow on the other hand seemed to linger a bit, as if curious what he was up to.
It was something that Lucifer always wondered about, that shadow. Was it Alastor? Did it have a mind of its own? It always seemed more expressive than the deer was, did he just suppress his emotions so much that one day they got fed up and moved to his shadow?
He knew there was no point in asking Alastor about it, he’d just smirk and walk away like some masked man of mystery. (He would know, he did ask, and that was what happened.)
The shadow suddenly swelled in shape and rushed back towards Alastor, tugging on his pant leg and chittering something excitedly.
Lucifer had no idea what got it so excited, but Alastor just hushed it, and walked out of the lobby towards the kitchen. Must be time to start dinner.
Guess it was another day of the silent treatment…did he do something wrong? Last they had bickered it was over nothing new. Well tread topics that were moving closer to jokes than actual arguments.
The lobby suddenly got noisier as the latest session concluded, filling with the fleeing attendees. None of them paid much attention to him at the bar.
Slowly but surely the lobby began to empty as the groups of sinners moved onto different activities once their friends gathered. This was when Charlie and Vaggi headed over to join him.
“Hey, Dad!” She greeted brightly, taking a seat next to him, Vaggi opting to stand by her girlfriends stool.
“Anything new, sir?” She asked, quietly.
“I don’t have an answer for someone who still calls me sir.” He responded with a playful pout.
“S-sorry…anything new, L-Lucifer?”
“Yeah, two more gifts, one more each day. Yesterday it was acrobatic rings and today it was a bunch of dress-up geese.”
“I don’t get it…are they trying to give you hints? A bird demon? They have given you a bunch of birds.” Charlie asked, trying to think of anything that would help.
“No idea, I’ve been watching all day, hoping somebody would react to the cup, but nothing.”
They all fell silent before Husk headed over to them.
“Any if y’all want something?” He asked impatiently, despite the bar being empty for the moment save for the three of them.
That was when Charlie’s face lit up as she looked at the grumpy bartender. “We could ask Husk! He sees everything!”
“Nah-uh. I’m not gettin’ involved in anything.”
“Come on, Husk! Please? It’s nothing bad. Promise!” The look on the cat’s face at Charlie’s begging was chilling, but did nothing against her overwhelming optimism.
“Fine…what?” He finally groaned out after a few moments of silence.
“Someone’s been leaving me stuff and we were hoping you might have seen something to tell us who.”
“What kind o’ stuff?”
“A pear tree, stuffed doves, food, tea set, acrobatic rings, and just this morning dress up geese.” He listed out. Something like recognition passed by his face after a minute of silence.
“What kind of food and tea set? And how many of each?”
“One pear tree, two doves, three chicken dishes that whoever called French hens, one tea set-here is one of the cups-five rings, and six geese.” Lucifer handed Husk the emptied tea cup, the usually blunt man was careful as he took it in his hands to look it over.
“Are the birds only on the cups?”
“Yes.”
“So four black birds.”
“It’s a count up? What’s it counting to?” Vaggi asked,
“Twelve. You got a cute little admirer there, your majesty.” Husk said with an amused smirk as he set the cup gently onto the matching saucer in front of Lucifer.
“How do you know that? And why twelve?” The shorter woman seemed to be getting irritated, a sentiment that Lucifer was starting to share.
The sinner looked at them each in turn with confusion then understanding. “Oh, right, guess with none of you being born on Earth, you might have missed that carol. It’s the twelve days of Christmas. ‘On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree…” he half sang in a tone-less grumble. “It’s a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, five golden rings, six geese a layin’, seven swans a swimming, eight maids a milkin’, nine ladies dancin’, ten lords a leapin’, eleven pipers pipin’, twelve drummers drumin’.” He continued, rambling off the twelve days.
“So…someone is flirting with dad…with a Christmas song?” Charlie asked slowly, the absurdity of the idea finally being noticed by Lucifer.
“Looks like it. The carol is a bunch of heavenly imagery or somethin’. Heard Nifty talking to that quill sinner ‘bout it the other day. Guess she liked the song when she was alive or somethin’. Guy went on and on about the history and symbolism. That’s all I know. Now keep me out of it.” He muttered, walking away to serve the pair of sinners at the other end of the bar who just walked up.
Before they could say anymore, the bell rang out, signaling that dinner was ready to whoever wanted it.
“Come on, Vaggi, let's go eat. We have one last session after. Let us know if you find anything?” His daughter asked softly as she and her girlfriend stood and headed off hand in hand with a good-bye.
It was later, when he was alone in his room, he was scrolling through everything he could find on the carol, said carol playing through the tinny speakers of his phone as version after version played.
****
The next morning he leaves his room to a row of geese, standing guard against the wall. Three on each side proudly displayed with a large golden egg at each of their feet. Each one was dressed in a replica of the palace guards’ uniforms.
He really wished he understood why geese. He feels like he’s missing a key element with the gifts.
As he pondered, he picked up an egg and noticed it was hinged. Clothes spilled out of it when he opened it, all of them familiar. It was a mini goose version of Charlie’s and Vaggi’s normal outfits.
He excitedly opened the rest, and found himself with geese sized outfits of Husk, Angel, Cherri, Nifty, Baxter, Ozzy, Bee, his own, a duck onesie and Alastor. Two per egg, whoever it was had been busy.
With a snap, the two closest to the door were redressed as Charlie and Vaggie. With a smile, he headed down to the lobby for breakfast.
It was nearing the evening when he was approached by Charlie and Vaggi. “Soooo…We have a special session tonight. Alastors agreed to teach a swing dance class. You should come!” She shifted nervously as she asked, clearly worried about him and the sinner in a room together. It very rarely ended well.
He almost es declined, but then he saw an opportunity to finally keep the sinner in the same room as him. This was his chance to figure out what was going on with him.
“That’s a great idea, sweetie! Count me in!”
Two hours later after dinner (it was just a buffet style now with all the new dinners flooding the halls, the days of sit down dinners with Charlie’s new ‘found family’ were gone) Lucifer was standing with Charlie and Vaggi as they watched the sinners file in.
There weren’t a lot of sinners there who signed up and he wondered if it was the class or the teacher who was the reason for that.
Before he could really debate that thought, shadows reached out from the walls to pool together, raising up before Alastor took form.
He wasted no time starting the class, barely done forming before he was pairing up the attendees, Lucifer standing off awkwardly as he realized he was the odd man out.
He was debating whether to just sneak out as he watched the tall sinner stalk around the room correcting how they stood with each other before he was suddenly being pushed forward. Alastor caught his hand and pulled Lucifer into a starting position of their own. (The blonde saw a very familiar shadow snickering on the wall where he had just been standing and couldn’t help shooting in a glare…it did not stop laughing)
Alastor continued talking as he held Lucifer but didn’t really acknowledge him beyond his touch. But he knew that wasn’t the case, with how close he was to the sinner, he could hear how his heart was racing. Was he nervous about teaching? No…that didn’t feel right.
Before he could ponder more, the man in question’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Ready, sire?” His eyes were focused on him as yellow met red. He hadn’t been paying attention but he knew how to swing dance already.
Music and dancing had always been important to Lilith and him so to keep things fresh they had always made a point to learn the newest music and master the newest dances.
This had fallen off since Lilith left but swing dance had been among the last ones they mastered.
“Let’s do this!” He grinned.
The motions were slow as Alastor explained each step. Each motion repeated a few times before moving into the next step, Lucifer allowing himself to be led.
Finally, the radio sputtered to life as he ordered the pairs to practice what they learned. The King thought that it would be the end of their dancing, that Alastor would watch the group, but to his surprise he was swung into a proper dance.
“Not going to watch your students?” He asked, no sooner did the words come out than did he hear a yelp from a sinner nearby. A shadow tendril retreating back to the floor after it smacked a nearby sinner.
“Mind your feet. A good base is important.” He called out without even looking or slowing as he continued to swing Lucifer around.
Everyone visibly straightened at the confirmation that despite dancing himself, he was still watching.
This continued on, song after song and Alastor yelling out instructions and corrections as the songs continued getting faster. Sinners started tapping out and leaving, unable to keep up. Soon, it was down to just a pair of sinners and Charlie and Vaggi. The class became more informal as teaching slowed and the pairs just enjoyed the activity. Occasionally, Alastor would show off a more advanced swing step for the others, offering gentler corrections than before.
Lucifer found himself laughing as all the spins started going to his head. Finally as their fourth (or was it fifth?) song ended and the teaching had trailed off two songs ago, he finally spoke up. “Alright, Bambi…my turn.” He shifted his grip, trying to take the lead with a grin before he was spun suddenly, finding his back pressed against Alastor's chest.
“If I allowed that, we would look ridiculous! Best leave it to me, you highness.” He purred in his ear, the emphasis on the high in highness making it clear that it was another jab at his height.
Lucifer fought to keep his pout on his face, allowing Alastor to swing them through a few more steps, before he struck.
Like the serpent everyone associated him with, in the matter of moments, his grip shifted again and so did his body. By the time Alastor caught up, he was being spun out and back towards a larger form. Now he had to look up, his wide surprised eyes meeting Lucifer’s amused smile.
“Shapeshifter, remember?” He whispered into the sinner’s ear, copying his purr.
Alastor looked away quickly with a scoff (was his face turning red? It was hard to tell in the low lighting) but he didn’t pull away from Lucifer. “If you must.”
It was the closest he would ever come to a yes from the deer, so he wasted no time in really getting into the dance.
They got lost in the music, both of them pushing the other into more advanced steps as song after song passed by.
Finally, both of them breathing heavily, finally needed to stop. It was then Lucifer realized they were alone in the large room, he wasn’t sure when everyone else left.
He allowed his form to return to his original as he looked around. “Guess we…we…“ he trailed off as he turned to watch the last hint of Alastor sinking into the floor and dissipate, leaving the King of Hell alone in the large room.
The high he felt from all the dancing disappeared in an instant before he finally disappeared himself to go be alone in his room.