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The tension in the air was palpable as Lucifer sat, once again, in the very lounge he and Alastor had made up in a day prior. Alastor was with him on the couch, close but not quite touching this time. Across from them was Charlie, sitting in the arm chair and trying to conjure up a smile while obviously anxious and confused as to why she’d been called down in the middle of the day.
“So…” She started, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had immediately followed her arrival.
Lucifer opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it again. Charlie zeroed in on him, expectantly.
When he and Alastor had agreed to do this, Lucifer had insisted on taking the lead. This was his daughter and he owed it to her to be the one she heard this from.
But now, the ever encompassing doubt that had continued to plague him since he fell was rearing its ugly head. Would Charlie be angry? Angry that he hid this? Angry that he was moving on from Lillith? Angry that it was with her facility manager? Would she ask him to leave? Would he be ruining the second chance his daughter had so graciously given him?
The thoughts were all consuming and he felt paralyzed.
Lucifer could feel Alastor’s gaze fall to him. They had become so attuned to one another lately. He could feel him subtly shift, sliding one hand from his lap and letting it fall discreetly behind Lucifer.
The soft pad of his thumb began to stroke his back gently.
Lucifer could feel himself start to relax. Alastor knew that this was the grounding he had so desperately needed. He risked a quick glance and sent a small, grateful smile his way.
Charlie noticed everything, and her eyes widened.
Hell had a lot to say about his little girl; things he wished she’d let him smite some of them for; but one thing they could never call her was stupid.
When she looked, she saw.
“Oh. Hah. You really have been getting along.” She observed.
“Yes.” Lucifer admitted, the freeness of the simple confession invigorating him to take the hand from behind him and hold it in plain sight.
“Wow! Um. And how long have you been… getting along?”
Because he was never one to beat around the bush, Alastor finally stepped in.
“Well now, the answer to that depends entirely on what you’re really asking, dear.” He started, “We formed our… truce of sorts, shortly after the failed extermination. Our romantic entanglement, however, began roughly a month ago.”
“I’ve gotta be honest, Al. I didn’t think you did romantic ‘entanglements’.”
“Neither did I.” He answered quietly, looking down at their intertwined hands. “I have found that your father is a surprising exception to many of my rules.”
“I can see that…” She turned to Lucifer. “A whole month?”
He could see the flash of hurt in her eyes despite her valiant effort to disguise it as mere curiosity.
It was time to explain himself.
“I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner, Sweetheart. I never wanted to keep things from you. This was just so new and–”
“And I insisted on the secrecy.” Alastor confessed, cutting Lucifer’s rambling off.
Charlie’s eyes narrowed as she looked between her father and Alastor.
“Was this what had you so upset yesterday? He was your ‘rough morning,’ dad?”
“A misunderstand–” Alastor began but Charlie quickly held up a hand to silence him.
“I would like my father to be able to answer for himself , Alastor.”
Alastor conceded, and nodded stiffly.
“Yesterday was nobody’s fault, Charlie.” Lucifer defended, squeezing Alastor’s hand for emphasis.
Charlie’s face softened a little.
“Dad, I just want you to be happy . I can be okay with all of this if he really does; but if he doesn’t –”
He could feel Alastor stiffen beside him at the accusation.
“He makes me happy.”
It was a quiet but firm admission; one that dusted Lucifer’s cheeks in gold.
“I’ve spent a lot of time forgetting how to find joy in life, Charlie – but being here at the hotel with you, and having this ” he gestured between himself and Alastor, “has helped me start to remember.”
Tears began to well in Charlie’s eyes, and Lucifer wasn’t far behind.
“I’m still going to have bad days. They’ve been pretty inevitable since the fall. Sometimes I’m going be an asshole. Sometimes Al is going to be an asshole.”
Alastor let out a blat of static in protest but said nothing further, allowing Lucifer to have this moment with his daughter.
“But I want this. With him.” He concluded, resolutely meeting Charlie’s eyes.
Next thing he knew, his daughter had launched herself across the room, over the coffee table, and into his arms squeezing tight.
“Okay. Thank you for telling me.” She whispered before turning to Alastor.
“Be good to my dad. Please.” She demanded, eyes briefly flashing red.
Alastor looked almost proud as he nodded his head.
“Of course,” and because he couldn’t help himself, “I do believe that was my first ever shovel talk – and by royalty , no less! Don’t I feel special!”
Luckily, Charlie found the humor in it and snorted.
“Yeah, well, you should.” She said with a small smile, reaching out to briefly squeeze Alastor’s shoulder, showing him her version of acceptance while respecting his aversion to most forms of affection.
Once Charlie finally stepped back, Lucifer quickly took on his role as Alastor’s ‘exception’ by sinking into his side and sagging against him. The relief of Charlie knowing was immeasurable to him, so he could only grasp his hand once again to convey his quiet appreciation.
Looking down at their hands again, he remembered that there was one other thing he had been wanting to do.
“Charlie. There is, um, one more thing.” He said, straightening up.
At this Alastor turned his head curiously. They hadn’t discussed anything beyond just telling Charlie; but when Lucifer made gestures or declarations, he never did them by halves.
He did defy all of Heaven for his ex wife after all.
(And also for his faith in humanity as a whole, but that part was besides the point.)
Charlie looked nervous again.
“What is it?”
He took a deep, unnecessary breath, released Alastor’s hand, and carefully slid the wedding ring off his finger. Both Alastor and Charlie followed the movement intensely.
He closed his hand around it and when he opened it, the ring was now on a golden, glittering, chain.
He held it forward for Charlie to take. She didn’t.
“Honey, I want you to have this.”
“Why?” She asked, her eyes not leaving the gold band in front of her.
“This was one of the first things I forged from the flames when I fell. It not only symbolized a union between your mother and I, but served as proof that despite everything, I could still create beautiful things.” He divulged, and Charlie finally met his eyes again but stayed quiet so that he could continue.
“It was a symbol of hope for me for a lot of years until we managed to create something even more beautiful – you.”
He could feel the burn of the tears threatening to fall as the memories flooded his system.
“Dad…” Her own voice was wavering.
“It’s been over between Lillith and I for a long time, but that wasn’t what was keeping this thing on my finger.”
Alastor’s gaze felt blistering.
“So, what was it?” Charlie asked.
“I need to preface this by saying that Lillith wasn’t wrong to leave with you, Charlie. I struggled a lot over the years and you did not need to see all of that. – But when she did, that ring became the last little shred of beauty I had left. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t you; but I just couldn’t seem to let go of it.”
“I’m not going to make excuses. I should’ve been there for you from the very beginning. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t. I should have asked for help, I should have tried harder to get better instead of being so stuck in the past,”
“But now I’m done using it as a crutch. I want to move forward. It was a beautiful creation, and one that I hope my most beautiful creation will keep safe until she’s ready to give it to someone she wants to create beautiful things with; while I start appreciating the beauty all around me for once.”
It was honest, open, vulnerable – all things that were once terrifying to Lucifer; but luckily he’d had some practice with those this week.
Charlie continued to stare as she took in all he had to say.
Once it hit, she burst into tears and leapt into her father’s arms for the second time today. Lucifer closed his hand around the ring so as to not drop it before squeezing her back.
“I’m going to take such good care of it dad, I promise! It is so beautiful and I’m so glad we got to have this conversation and you don’t even know how much I missed you and how glad I am that you’re here with me; and I’m so happy for you and Alas-”
“Thank you, Charlie, for calling me that day and letting me in.” He answered softly.
This wasn’t a band aid that could be slapped on to just magically fix everything that had happened. You can’t change the past; but progress was being made, and that was all Lucifer could ever ask for.
Redemption was the name of the game, after all.
Charlie pulled away to lean back on her knees as she swiped away her tears and carefully slipped the chain around her neck.
She turned her focus to Alastor who had watched the entire exchange quietly.
“So, what happens next? Are you gonna tell anyone else?”
The question sent a strike of panic in Lucifer. They hadn’t gotten that far. How much more could he possibly ask of Alastor? This was already such a monumental concession on his part.
“I- I’m not su-”
“Stay tuned.” Alastor said suddenly with a wild grin, as his shadows rapidly enveloped him and Lucifer, transporting them to an empty hallway a few floors up.
“Hey! What was that all abo-” Lucifer was immediately cut off as he was shoved against the wall and kissed within every inch of his immortal life. Alastor’s claws dug in his hips roughly as his own hands automatically found themselves loosely wrapping around the sinner’s neck.
The kiss itself was all too short lived as Alastor gently pulled away, meeting Lucifer’s gaze intently.
“What was that for?”
“You desire large declarations of affection. They come so much easier to you. I hope you understand the significance of what I’m about to do.” He whispered, closing his eyes and bumping his forehead into Lucifer’s.
Lucifer couldn’t help but lean into the touch despite being utterly confused.
“Al, what are you -” but he never got to finish that sentence because the shadows returned, sweeping around his form and transporting him to the couch of the hotel lobby.
Charlie, Vaggie, Angel, Husk, Cherri, and Niffty were all also transported and arrived in a chorus of “Hey!” “What the fuck gives??” and one memorable “Oh, no! I’ve deserted my post!” from Niffty.
Fuck , his Radio Demon was powerful. He couldn’t even imagine how much more powerful he’d be without whatever deal was holding him back.
Alas, that was a conversation for another day.
Charlie’s eyes immediately found his own, confused and questioning. Lucifer could only shrug in return, just as lost as everybody else.
They might be together , but there was still a lot that Lucifer had to learn about Alastor.
The group’s murmured confusion ceased as a single radio appeared in the middle of the room and Alastor’s voice rang out.
“ Greetings, Sinners; and welcome to a very special broadcast! ”
“What.” Lucifer whispered.
“ This will be brief, I’ve no intention of keeping you all from your day. ”
“I’m guessin’ he wasn’t scheduled t’ go on today?” Angel called out.
“No.” Husk answered, staring curiously at the radio.
“ As a public figure, I’ve been the subject of many a rumor. Some of them true; a majority of them desperate attempts by televised hacks to undermine my status in Hell. ”
“ In the past, I’ve felt no need to address these rumors as my power obviously speaks for itself. I have, however, found that there is an exception to this.”
Lucifer felt Charlie squeeze his shoulder from her place beside him, but he couldn’t focus on anything but the radio in front of them and his lover’s voice.
“ I will be conveying this on air only once . I am a firm believer in being afforded one’s privacy; and while I’m well aware what I’m about to say contradicts that, and will appear to invite scrutiny, gossip, and assumptions to be made, I would be extremely wary in attempting to do so.”
A choir of desperate, agonizing screams blared through the room for emphasis; and the group of them shuddered.
“ I have entered into a romantic relationship with Lucifer Morningstar, and we are absurdly happy.”
Lucifer felt all the eyes in the room fall to him.
“Holy shit.” A voice behind him whispered. He thought it might be Vaggie but his thoughts were too scattered to accurately pin down who it was.
Lucifer knew how fucking hard this must have been for Alastor, but he did it for him .
The TV in the room spontaneously combust into flames, and Lucifer hardly gave it a second thought.
Like he had said, fuck that guy.
“ There will be no further comments on the matter, and questions are highly discouraged. Now, I shall leave you all, once again, with the reminder of what happens when my warnings are not headed.” He ended cheerfully; and the screams resumed.
With the closing of Alastor’s broadcast, the radio vanished and Lucifer was left alone with the shocked expressions of his fellow residents.
(With the exception of Charlie and Angel, who gave him matching knowing looks.)
It was a little awkward, but also so, so nice to have it out there. As previously established, Lucifer was terrible at hiding his feelings.
He opened his mouth to say something, anything ; but was immediately interrupted by shadows pooling at his feet.
“Uh, raincheck on the interrogation?” He asked, sheepishly grinning while gesturing to clearly being summoned.
The group groaned.
“Fine, fine – but you owe us!” Angel shouted with a smile.
“I’m actually not sure I even wanna know.” Husk admitted, and Lucifer let out a laugh as shadows impatiently began to cover him completely. He was transported to his own room, where Alastor was waiting for him.
Alastor was seated primly at the edge of Lucifer’s bed, legs crossed and his two hands resting on his microphone. He looked as casual as ever; as if he didn’t just face a genuine fear and tell all of hell that he was dating Lucifer .
Lucifer couldn’t really be held responsible for how he reacted; he was a hopeless romantic after all.
He ran towards Alastor who’s only response was to vanish his microphone and hold his arms open as Lucifer crashed into him, climbing into his lap and peppering kisses on his face.
Once they collided, Lucifer could immediately feel the tension Alastor was coyly disguising seep out from his bones.
“Was that… acceptable?” He whispered almost anxiously, and Lucifer’s heart clenched .
“Al, I can’t even remember the last time someone did something like that for me. But, why? I thought-”
He froze as Alastor took the back of his hand and gently stroked Lucifer’s face.
“My dear, you braved a lot today, and showed me where we stood and what this means for you. I thought it was only right to return the sentiment.”
Lucifer felt overwhelmed in the best of ways, and pulled Alastor into a gentle kiss. It was soft, slow, and yet still a little desperate as they tried to communicate all of what they were feeling through the meeting of their mouths.
“Thank you.” Lucifer whispered when the kiss broke.
“Same frequency, remember?” Alastor said slyly and Lucifer let out a small chuckle.
"Same frequency." He agreed.