Chapter Text
Lucifer stares up at the ceiling of the new hotel lobby. He’s laying on a plush red couch and listening to the crackling fire. His hat is sitting on the other end of the couch, taking up an entire cushion. He hums and closes his eyes.
The hotel reconstruction had taken a lot of his energy. After only using his powers to just make ducks for so many years, a whole building was kind of a lot. Everything was going smoothly though! Alastor had hopefully died and now Lucifer could take place as Charlie’s ONLY father figure. Sure, he was absent for… most of her life, but now! Now he can really get into parenting.
He’s already secretly stolen some of Charlie’s books on communication and interpersonal relationships. Apparently healthy communication is necessary for good parenting? Who would have known!
Lucifer is too lost in his thoughts to hear the door open, but he definitely hears it slam closed. The walls of the hotel quiver with how hard the door closes. He leaps off the couch to see whoever deemed it appropriate to attack a newly rebuilt hotel. His eyes redden and his horns start to appear. Whoever’s barging inside is in for it.
Oh.
Lucifer’s horns shrink down when he realizes it's just Alastor standing in the foyer of the hotel.
Damnit!! The bastard isn’t dead.
Alastor, however, is dripping in blood. It’s splattering on the carpet and dripping down his lips. It’s smeared across his face and coat and pants. The coat in question is soaked and there’s a large rip in the fabric.
Alastor’s antlers are elongated and his eyes are dark and clouded. He glances around the room wildly before his black eyes settle on Lucifer. He stalks forward with silent footfalls and lunges at the angel. He sails over the couch and pins him down.
“W-wait!” Lucifer tries to say before he’s thrown to the ground. The demon on top of him is seemingly feral and goes in to bite him. “Woah there, buddy!”
Lucifer laughs and presses his palm against Alastor to push him back. The demon pauses and looks down in confusion as he’s suspended a foot off the ground. He thrashes and snarls but can’t enlarge himself or summon any of his shadows; Lucifer stands up and dusts himself off.
“Let me go!” Alastor growls and static crackles through the speakers in the hotel. The fuzzy sound is accompanied by discordant jazz and his eyes are still black with red radio dials as pupils. If Lucifer wasn’t all-powerful, he’d think the demon was intimidating.
“Ah! He speaks!”
Alastor glares at him and his antlers begin to shrink.
“He doesn’t speak?” Lucifer ponders and leans in closer to inspect the gash on the demon’s chest. “Oh golly, that looks nasty! What happened?”
“I’m fine,” he snarls through his teeth.
“Yes, the blood on the carpet really sells the whole ‘being fine’ thing,”
Alastor tugs the tatters of his coat over his chest to obscure his wound. “I’m fine, really.”
The darkness is starting to fade from his eyes.
Lucifer raises an eyebrow and flicks a finger. Alastor’s coat is flung open and Lucifer leans in to inspect the wound. It’s ugly and it looks like it’s not healing at all. Stitches are pulled taut over the smaller ends of the wound, but they look to be turning black just like the rest of the exposed flesh. Blood oozes out and Lucifer can see a few ribs.
“Uh, this is like, really really bad,”
Alastor lowers his ears and looks to the side; he grimaces, as much as he can while grinning, and says nothing.
“How’d you get like this? I mean,” Lucifer leans back, lets air puff out of his lips, and runs a hand through his hair. “This is angelic, isn’t it?”
“It might be,” is all the demon says.
“You realize it’s going to kill you, right?”
“Nonsense, radio is never dead.”
Lucifer smirks and crosses his arms, “So you’re just gonna let this fester until you die?”
“I can find a way to fix it; it’s not that serious,” Alastor says and turns his nose up.
“You know… I could heal you. Right now. All you have to do is ask,”
Alastor scoffs, “You think I would humiliate myself in such an obvious trap?”
Lucifer raises an eyebrow, “Who says it’s a trap?”
“Nothing in Hell is free, don’t pretend like you don’t know that,”
Lucifer sighs and releases Alastor from his restraints. The demon falls to the ground in a pile of misery.
“Whatever, I’ll be here if you need me,” he says and turns away from Alastor to resume laying on the couch.
If Alastor can’t even ask for help then he’s not getting any.
Alastor grunts and rights himself before disappearing into the floor. Lucifer watches him go from the corner of his eye. That bastard. He should be dead. He could be dead…
No. No, no no! Lucifer is not going to kill one of Charlie’s friends , because he’s pretty sure that’s not how healthy communication works.
-
Lucifer is singing to himself while making breakfast for everyone. There’s a plate with a growing pile of pancakes on it and Charlie and Vaggie are sitting at the kitchen table, watching him and talking.
No one else is awake or downstairs yet and Lucifer is soaking up the casualness of the whole situation. He just gets to do this! He gets to be a presence in his daughter’s life, and nothing could make him happier.
He listens to Charlie and Vaggie’s conversation like a podcast. Charlie goes over all her ideas for the new hotel and how she plans to entice sinners into staying. She talks about learning how to become a therapist and implementing all sorts of team activities into daily life. She mentions something about the day they tried trust exercises and Vaggie groans.
“I’m still embarrassed about that!”
“You did great, Vaggie! Your final method really did work!”
“I think we’re gonna have to find something less violent ,”
The girls laugh and continue their conversation. Eventually Charlie mentions hosting classes so sinners could learn skills that didn’t have to do with debauchery.
Lucifer pipes up, “I could help teach a cooking class,”
“Oh! Would you?! That would be wonderful!!” Charlie squeals at his offer.
“I think, maybe it’s a good thing that you want them to learn new stuff while here,” he says as he flips a pancake. As much as he believes in Charlie, he’s seen centuries of the worst imaginable and he’s still not entirely convinced that the unredeemable can actually be redeemed.
“I agree! Just think, maybe they’ll do less drugs and instead learn to cook, I don’t know, dutch babies or something!” She beams and sips her coffee.
“I think it could work,” Vaggie smiles at Charlie and passes her a colored pen.
“What other skills would sinners want to learn?” she asks Vaggie and writes some notes down. Lucifer goes back to idly listening and cooking.
He pours the last pancake into the pan when Angel, Husk, and Cherri burst into the kitchen.
“Mornin’ fuckers! What’s for breakfast?” Cherri asks and pours herself a cup of coffee.
“Something smells good,” Husk mumbles and Angel nods while using the shorter as an armrest.
“Yes, indeed, something smells lovely,” a static voice oozes from behind everyone.
“Alastor!!” Charlie exclaims. Lucifer turns around to see her jump up from her chair and rush over to him. She grins and wraps him up in a giant hug. Lucifer’s eye twitches and he ignores the self righteous glance he gets from Alastor. “I thought you died!” she cries when she releases him from the hug.
“No, I just had some business to attend to. Nothing serious.” He waves his hand dismissively and continues speaking, “The hotel looks lovely, Charlotte, dear,”
Charlie grins and lets out a happy gasp, “Thank you! I think we did a really good job. It was really wrecked after my dad fought Adam, so we needed to do major repairs…. But look how amazing it is! We’ll be bustling with business in no time!”
Alastor nods and tilts his head in interest. Lucifer lets the final pancake sit in the pan for not nearly long enough before practically shouting, “Pancakes are ready!!! Someone grab silverware and plates! And the syrup, maybe!” He says with a slightly deranged grin.
He lets the undercooked pancake flop on top of the pile and ushers everyone towards the dining room. Angel and Husk exchange a few silent glances before grabbing plates and silverware.
“I got the syrup. Anyone want anything… else?” Cherri asks and opens the fridge to find the syrup.
“Awww, you guys! You’re all so sweet!!” Charlie says with a sniffle and a collective groan rises from everyone in the kitchen.
Lucifer marches out of the kitchen and to the new dining room. He places the pancakes in the center of the table and helps Angel and Husk disperse the forks and plates. Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor appear in the room a moment later, and Charlie is still talking Alastor’s ear off. He wasn’t even gone that long.
Lucifer shakes his head and plops into a seat. Charlie sits next to him- a small victory- and Alastor ends up across from him. He passes the pancake filled plate around and everyone digs in. Cherri comments about how this is some of the best food she’s had in Hell, and Lucifer beams.
Halfway through the meal, Lucifer is finishing his third pancake and notices that Alastor has barely touched his food. His skin is more colorless than usual and his trademark grin is tight. Lucifer chews and chuckles to himself.
Maybe Alastor will die, afterall. He can only hope.
The rest of breakfast is uneventful. Charlie talks Alastor’s ears off, and Lucifer’s only solace is how much pain he can tell Alastor is in. It’s almost sinful how much he’s enjoying each time the demon grips his mug a little too tight.
He almost regrets offering his healing services.
-
Lucifer is cleaning the breakfast table and trying to scrub away a particularly sticky bit of syrup off the table when radio static fizzles around him. He glances up to see Alastor staring at him.
“Like what you see?” he jokes.
“Not in the slightest,” Alastor bites.
Lucifer laughs and keeps wiping down the table. He lets the silence grow.
Eventually, Alastor huffs in annoyance and Lucifer glances up. “Can I help you?”
“No. You most certainly cannot help me,”
“Alright.”
Alastor sighs and watches Lucifer. He just continues his wiping and wiping and wiping. He sprays more cleaner on the table.
“The table is clean!” Alastor bursts out.
Lucifer smirks and stands up. He crosses his arms and looks at Alastor. He’s pale and looks clammy. “I was just making sure.”
His eye twitches, “Of course, sire. Wouldn’t want to half-ass something,”
Lucifer’s smirk leaves him and he furrows his brows “So why do you want to talk to me?”
Alastor grits his teeth, grimaces, and grips his cane. “You know, I think I’m good.”
He turns around and walks towards the lobby when Lucifer stops him. He poofs into existence in front of the demon and shakes his head. “I can tell it’s just getting worse,”
Alastor lets his smile droop a little as he speaks, “I told you last night, it’s minor.”
“Minor?” Lucifer raises both eyebrows and glares up at Alastor.
He inhales deeply, “Yes. Just a minor… wound,”
Lucifer rolls his eyes. “You’re insufferable, you know,”
“Likewise,” Alastor hums and looks the King up and down.
“Just- just let me heal you? Okay?” he finally says. He’s still gripping the rag used for table wiping when he offers.
He still doesn’t know why he offers. It’s not like he wants Alastor to be alive, but he can’t let one of Charlie’s friends die! If he did, and Charlie found out, he would be out of her life forever. The thought sends a painful sting down his spine.
“You wouldn’t just offer! So stop acting like you are,” Alastor squints and steps around Lucifer.
“I don’t have ulterior motives, I promise!” Lucifer calls after the demon. “I don’t even know why I’m trying to heal you! I should want you dead. I mean, I do want you dead! But…. not like this. I mean I love the look of unending pain on your face, but this is just sad.” He waves a hand at Alastor. “You’re going to waste away to nothing! That wound is going to feed off of your soul,”
Alastor snarls and walks quicker, “You just want to get me into a position so you can dispose of me.”
Lucifer shakes his head and watches him leave.
-
Charlie and Lucifer are sitting on a couch in the lobby. They share between them a notebook and Charlie’s variety of colored pens. Lucifer is simply delighted to have a reason for so much time with his daughter.
She’s so full of hope and love and it’s refreshing. Her perspective fills Lucifer with a little bit of hope himself. Maybe he’ll get to see a better side of humanity.
“So you’re thinking of a course based class?” Lucifer asks and stares at the notebook filled with notes. “Like with units and stuff?”
“No, I was thinking it’s a class you teach, and each session you teach everyone how to make a different dish!” Charlie grins and points to a bullet point on the page.
“Oh, so instead of each class building on the previous, it’s more of a come-and-go situation?”
“Yes! That means sinners won’t have to always go to your class. It gives them more freedom to explore what they enjoy,”
Lucifer nods and writes a few things. Charlie keeps talking about how each class will be to help their clients find out what makes them more “fulfilled”. Lucifer still can’t fathom a state of fulfillment from anything in Hell.
Alastor and Niffty are discussing something on the other couch. Lucifer would be annoyed about Alastor’s presence, but he at least gets to watch the man pay for his stubbornness. Every slight shift or enthusiastic bounce from Niffty is causing the demon to wince.
No one has noticed that Alastor is currently dying , but Charlie has decided that Alastor is mad at her. Speaking of Charlie, she nudges Lucifer and yawns. “I think I’m gonna go to bed. It’s been a long day and Vaggie wants to hang out a little,”
“Oh! Of course!! Go hang out with her. You two are so cute, by the way!” Lucifer gushes, “I’m glad you found such a nice girl! I was worried for a while-”
“Dad!” she chuckles and interjects, “Thank you,” she says with a smile “I’m glad you like Vaggie! But don’t get all weird about it? Okay?” she asks with a laugh.
Lucifer nods and chuckles, “Of course. I don’t want to be embarrassing!!”
Charlie grins and heads towards the elevator. “Goodnight, dad! Goodnight Niffty and Alastor!”
“Night night, Charlie!” Niffty hollers.
“Good night, Charlotte,” Alastor hums pleasantly.
“Sleep well,” Lucifer smiles.
He decides to ignore Alastor’s tone and focus on Charlie. She disappears into the elevators and is off. Lucifer returns to writing down recipe ideas and thoughts on teaching a class.
Eventually, he stops hearing Niffty’s maniacal little laugh and he looks over to see Alastor staring at him.
“Um,”
Alastor blinks wearily a few times before his eyes return to the book in his lap.
That’s weird. Alastor is failing to control his discomfort. Lucifer revels in the idea of the sinner croaking right here and now.
He shakes his head and stares at his book. On the other side of the lobby, Husk is cleaning and closing up the bar. Angel sits at one of the stools and bothers him. Lucifer zones out for a little while and when he’s back, Angel and Husk are gone.
Now it’s just him and Alastor. He glances up and sees that Alastor is leaning to the left slightly and his eyes are closed.
“Alastor…” Lucifer asks carefully.
Alastor doesn’t respond. His body slumps a little more and Lucifer puts his feet on the floor and leans forward. “Alastor?”
The demon’s body gives out and he falls into the arm of the sofa.
“Alastor!” Lucifer shouts and rushes over. He hesitates before rolling him over. When Lucifer touches his neck to test for a pulse, he’s clammy. His skin is cold and sweaty; it’s not pleasant.
Lucifer taps Alastor’s cheek a few times, but he isn’t roused.
“Shit,” he groans.
He grabs on to Alastor and transports them to his bedroom. Lucifer grimaces at the thought of Alastor’s blood on his sheets, but he supposed it might be worth it. He stares at Alastor laying on his bed and rolls his eyes before climbing up next to him. He shakes his head and reaches for Alastor’s coat to undo it.
“I have to, um. Well. I have to take this off of you,”
No response.
“I hope this doesn’t make things weird between us,” he furrows his brows.
Alastor lays on his bed, motionless.
Lucifer bites his lip in concentration and unbuttons Alastor’s coat and shirt. Each button reveals a more horrible stretch of wound. Alastor had indeed let the wound fester. The flesh was almost completely black and whatever wasn’t black was a sick brown color.
“You stubborn, stubborn man,” Lucifer mutters.
He summons his powers to his palms and presses each hand against Alastor’s head. He exhales and sends the healing light into Alastor. A few moments later Alastor opens his eyes and blinks blearily.
When Alastor realizes where he is and who’s on top of him, static immediately crackles through the air. He stiffens under Lucifer.
“What are you doing?” he asks blankly.
Lucifer leans back, “You passed out in the lobby. You looked… really fucking shitty so I brought you here to examine you.”
This fucker was going to fight every step of the way, wasn’t he?
“As I told you before, I am fine!” Alastor snarls and tries to throw Lucifer off but he can’t move as the seemingly weightless King pins him down.
“Stop writhing! I’m trying to help you, damnit!”
“No,” Alastor grits his teeth, “You’re trying to get something out of me!”
“Like what?!” Lucifer snaps, “I’m already the King of Hell. There’s nothing you can give me!”
“I can stop being so close with your daughter,” he hisses.
Lucifer’s eyes harden, “I can’t believe you’d think so lowly of me, Alastor,”
“You are a master of lies, sire,”
“Look. No deal. No agreement. Nothing. You don’t owe me anything , I promise,” Lucifer pleads.
“Why are you so desperate to save me?”
“Because I can’t stand to see Charlie lose another… friend. You’re important to her and… and I can’t just let you die,” Lucifer scowls as he speaks, like the words pain him; he can’t believe he’s having to open up to get this bastard to even consider not dying.
“No deal?” he asks quietly.
Lucifer sighs like someone who’s just lost something important, “Yes! Now please! You’re literally almost dead.”
Alastor grimaces at the words. “If you must,” he says with a frown and lets his arms fall away from his torso.
“Alright, let’s get to work,”