Chapter Text
I never got to sleep that night. Or the next. Even five days later and I still haven’t managed to sleep for a single minute. It drove me insane so much that even on the first night I wanted to sleep I knew I needed to just get out of bed and do something.
At first, I settled for redecorating my room, since Charlie had told me that very day that I was welcome to do what I wanted with it. Not even four or five hours later and my room was fully decorated. By that point it was only a few more hours until it was time for breakfast again, so I settled on finishing my book on one of my new chairs by the fireplace.
The next night was much the same, but instead of staying in my room to deal with it I decided to explore the hotel on my own. No Overlords or infuriating brothers to deal with. It has a different atmosphere at night I realised. It’s more peaceful. Part of me has felt like I’ve been intruding in someone else's house but I quickly pushed those thoughts aside when I remembered how happy Charlie has been to have me here. Granted, that could be just how she usually acts but I do think that part of her happiness has been because of me.
When this weird insomnia thing happened again for a third night in a row, I decided to do something I’d been thinking of for a while. In every other Ring I have my own place to stay in that’s just for me. Of course, when I’ve been in Envy more recently, I’ve only stayed in the beach house so I could make the most of it, but I do have my own place for the times when I don’t have the luxury of staying there. The only Ring that I don’t have my own place however, is Pride. Where I currently am.
In light of me staying here for the foreseeable future I decided to start making a manor somewhere in Pride. Somewhere special to me. I started by making the blueprints and then I made a portal directly to where I wanted to build my manor. It’s at the very far edge of the Ring in the middle of a forest that I helped create after being sent to Hell.
I didn’t want to rush building it by just creating it completely from nothing, so instead for the few nights that I’ve been there I would create clones of myself and create materials to build it manually.
I’ve made quite a bit of progress on it, but it’s still not quite done yet.
Now, it’s the sixth night of having no sleep when I would very much like to have it. I decided to take a break from building my manor to look around the hotel a bit more.
I went into the elevator on my floor and just pressed a random button to see where I would end up. Walking out, the hallway seems the same as every other hallway in the hotel so there’s not much to go off of there. I walk mindlessly down the hall not really taking any of it in until I saw a door partially open. I don’t think anyone else would be up at this time but I’m still careful about opening the door further so I can peek inside, not wanting to scare anyone without realising someone's there, or deal with anyone I don't want to.
The light is off so it’s a little harder to tell but it doesn’t look like anyone else is in the room. I turn on the light and close the door behind me as I step in and I’m surprised at what’s in it. Well, only slightly. For a place as big as this it’s no wonder that there would be a music room, I just can’t completely remember Alastor showing me one on our very extensive tour.
There are all kinds of instruments; a grand piano in the corner, string instruments set up by a wall, some woodwind instruments opposite by the other wall and others spread across the vast room. It's certainly not the biggest music room I've ever been in, one in particular coming to mind, but it is still a decent collection. The one calling to me right now though is the piano.
I walk over to it, prop the top up and sit down on the bench. I play a few simple tunes to test it out and once I’m happy with it I just start playing whatever comes to mind.
Lucifer and I had just finished dinner and we were rushing to the music room. We had finally finished composing a new piece to play together after months of trying to get it right, only to have to wait even longer because dinner was ready. Lilith was trailing behind us, eager to listen to another piece we created but not in a hurry to get there.
Our laughs were infectious as we reached the music room and threw the doors open, immediately going to the piano near the back.
“Ok ok, so who’s going to play the piano and who’s playing the violin?” Lucifer was bouncing up and down on his feet unable to contain his glee. I wasn’t much better though, my fingers itched at the thought of finally playing our piece on either of them.
“Hm, I don’t mind which one I play. Although, I do have more practice with the piano.”
“Great! Let me just grab the violin and then we can start!” He ran off in the opposite direction and by the time he came back I had already set up the piano and Lilith had taken a seat nearby. “Lili! Are you ready to hear the best music ever composed?!”
“Yes Luci, and I know it will be amazing because you two are the ones who made it! You never fail to compose the best music I've ever heard.”
“Great! Lilah are you ready?”
“Mmhmm. I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to play this!”
“So do I! Ok, on the count of three?”
“Three...”
“Two...”
“One...” We say this at the same time and grin at each other before we both close our eyes and lose ourselves to playing the melody we both have memorised in our minds.
Over the next few minutes, the world was silent save for the high notes of the piano and airy tones of the violin. The two instruments complemented each other perfectly; when one of them was slowing down or getting quiet the other easily filled in the gaps, keeping the momentum going. The piece was beautiful and heartbreaking. It was uplifting and full of hope. It was happy at its core.
My fingers flew over the keys as if they couldn’t stand to touch them for fear of being burned. The piece I decided to play was melancholic but familiar, as if I’ve played it a million times on this exact piano. I felt the need for there to be someone playing the violin, but I didn’t give in to the urge to create a clone of myself just to hear what it would sound like. The piece I was playing was, nonetheless, a heartbreaking one with nothing to pull you back over the edge. You just keep falling. Nothing to ground you or soften your fall once you reach the edge. At its core, it was sad.
“You know, I haven’t heard that piece in a long time. It was happier when I heard it last though.” A soft voice came from behind me and my fingers froze on the keys, a discordant melody ringing in the air. I don’t turn around, but I know who’s standing behind me. “Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, I thought you already knew I was here.”
I don’t say anything, hoping he’ll get the hint and just leave, but now that I know he’s there I can’t unfeel his presence. I hear him sigh and then for some reason he keeps talking! “What made you play that all of a sudden?” When I still don’t answer him, I really do expect him to go back to his apple tower. Of course, being Lucifer, he doesn’t do what I want him to. He moves closer to me. “Maybe we should finally have a talk, just between us, without anyone interrupting? We can’t live like this forever you know. We can’t keep avoiding each other when we live in the same building.”
I can’t handle this now. Maybe not ever. Every night has been terrible, trying to sleep, thinking that will finally be the night I do sleep. It never comes for me. Instead having to put all of my energy into building a manor at the very edge of the Ring. Losing the beach house less than a week ago to the man currently not taking a hint of when to fucking leave! I want to snap at Lucifer again. Call him out, shout at him, anything! I don’t have the energy for that though. So instead, I simply vanish. Well, teleport is a more fit description, but I don’t make any noise when I leave. Just a swirling, shimmering, golden and red mess of sparkles that disappear before they can even touch the ground.
I didn't have any direction for where to go. I just felt so scared and nervous and exhausted and freaked out. I wanted to be safe. My magic must’ve taken me somewhere where I do feel safe. Towards the end of the interaction, however much it can called that with Lucifer the only one talking, I closed my eyes so tightly shut I thought I had managed to go back in time, back to when we were creating the stars, with how many I could see in my vision. I was only able to open them again when I could no longer feel his presence behind me.
Once I was able to open them I gave a soft chuckle at where my magic took me. My manor. Or at least what’s been built of it. Of course this is where I last felt I was truly safe. It’s the last place I was really alone, with no one around for miles. I realise that I’m on my knees on the bottom floor without a roof over me as a drop of rain hits me. I look up, startled, into the night sky of Pride. It’s acid rain, but it’s never hurt me before and I don’t think my Father would start letting it now. After the first few drops it’s as if a dam has broken loose, thousand of drops falling down at once, and in no mood to stop anytime soon.
They land on my skin and my clothes, determined to break something, but all it succeeds at is making me soaked. I’m not wearing anything particularly fancy right now, just another oversized jumper and leggings, but right now I’m not in the mood to be wet. The fun kind or the normal kind. My wings come out without being prompted and curl protectively around me, completely shielding me from the rain.
I don’t know what time it was when I got to my major but when I next look through a gap in my wings I can tell the sun is nearly fully above the horizon, which means it’s only a few more hours until everyone will be down for breakfast. Do I even want to be there right now? I’m not sure. But, I did promise to be there for Charlie. And I can’t do that if I’m always scared my brother is around every corner. I’ll stay. For her.
The rain must’ve stopped a while ago because I can’t feel it on my wings anymore and my clothes are already half dry, but I snap my fingers to completely dry myself anyway. I stand up and let my wings come back into myself as I do and look around. Nothings damaged, I didn’t think anything would be and thankfully was right, but maybe I have some time to work on it.
Now that I’ve been here for nearly a week I’m pretty confident about where to go. Especially places that I go every day; my room, the parlour and right now the dining room for breakfast. No one’s surprised anymore when I walk in, after the first few days they realised that I was here to stay and quickly got used to me being here. I always make sure to get here at exactly eight am, that way it builds a habit in everyone. Today is no different. I walk in, take my seat between Charlie and Alastor and prepare for Eden to wind her way around me, but she doesn’t come. After that first day Eden would always come over to me during breakfast and then I would, very reluctantly, give her back to Lucifer before going about my day.
I look up from where I was pre-emptively preparing a plate of meat for her and am surprised at not seeing Lucifer where he usually is. Or anywhere at all. I’m not sad that he’s not here, but I would’ve at least liked to know I wouldn’t see Eden today.
Alastor had already prepared my coffee for me, since he gets down here earlier, and I thank him for it then start a conversation with him to distract myself.
We talk for almost an hour before the door opens and Lucifer walks in. I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the fact I thought he had actually left. Once the door falls shut behind him he starts walking to where he usually sits before he suddenly stops walking and his head turns so sharply in my direction I’m a little surprised it didn’t snap or fall off. No one else pays Lucifer any mind but he’s staring at me with the clearest look of shock I’ve ever seen.
He looks like he wants to say something to me, another false apology perhaps, but when I tilt my head slightly and give a grin so wide it shows off all my teeth, with a look that screams that I’m daring him to even try, he just sighs quietly and sits down, letting Eden slither over to me.
The rest of breakfast was a calmer affair. I had Eden to distract myself with, feeding her little bits of meat every few minutes. I talked more with Alastor and then Charlie as well. Interestingly though, Lucifer never picked a fight with Alastor. He usually does, in fact most of their interactions that I’ve seen over the week have been them fighting, but not today it seems.
The rest of the day I spent helping Charlie with whatever she needed and relaxing in the parlour, which is something that I quite like now that I’ve started.
When I get to my room in the evening it’s an automatic process now to start my night routine. Shower, get changed, brush my teeth and taking off my makeup. I don’t feel like reading much today so I just head straight to my bed. I’m not expecting to fall asleep tonight. I haven’t slept in about three centuries, maybe my body has just forgotten how to. So it’s a shock to my system when instead of the usual tossing and turning, when I lay down, get comfortable and my head hits the pillow, I’m falling.
Lucifers POV:
When Lucifer had heard the piano being played as he wondered the hotel corridors, he thought he was dreaming. Which he immediately dismissed because his dreams aren’t nearly this nice. As he got closer to the room the piano was being played in, he felt like he was in a dreamlike state regardless. His body in the present, softly opening the door and watching. His mind in the past, when they could still laugh together about even the most mundane things and composed songs together.
He wasn’t thinking when he started speaking, but in his defence he thought she had heard him. He cursed himself as soon as the words came out of his mouth, but once he started he couldn’t stop. He cursed himself even more once she left, acting like a spooked animal that’s been cornered in an unfamiliar room. She didn’t even say a single word to him, which he should’ve took as the sign it undoubtedly was. He didn’t though and now he’s got to suffer the consequences.
He knows that she told Charlie she would stay and help but he knows his sister. After something like that he wouldn’t be surprised if no one hears from her for a few decades. Disappearing without a trace to wherever it is she goes where no one can follow.
He wanted to spend the whole day in his room, maybe the whole week, but Eden was convinced that Delilah would be downstairs because of a promise she made and he can’t do that to Charlie. Hide away from the world and from her without any contact from him.
Despite his best to appear ready he was still a bit sluggish when he went down for breakfast already an hour late. When he walked in, he barely paid anyone any mind but as he was about to reach the chair he favoured, only because that creepy red guy was sat near Charlie and he refused to sit anywhere near him, he stopped clear in his tracks and snapped his head around so fast he’s surprised a bone didn’t break.
She's here. And she’s staring right at him with surprise of her own. He wants to say something, anything, to her, but he’s scared that she’ll actually leave for good this time. Especially if last night is now on a list of things that he’s not allowed to talk to her about, never mind the fact there’s only two things on that list now. He realises that he’s probably been staring for too long, and he can feel Eden itching to slither her way towards Delilah, so he hastily sits down in his chair, raising his hand to the table so Eden can do just that.
He keeps staring at her intermittently during his breakfast, just to make sure that she’s actually here, and for once he doesn’t even mind the fact that the person she talks to the most is Alastor. He’s just happy she didn’t run away from him again.