Chapter Text
Ⅰ
Alastor huffed and stepped back from the pair of Morningstars, snarling when the puny King shot him a shit-eating grin. Charlie hadn’t noticed the exchange, or if she did, she ignored it.
As she tended to when it came to her father. The way she desperately sought his approval and affection was nothing short of pathetic, and Alastor was disgusted by the saccharine sights those two continuously subjected him to.
As it were, he still needed to discuss plans for the hell-koi pond Charlie insisted Alastor install outdoors. So he stood back, glaring at the back of Lucifer’s tacky hat as he waited for them to finish. He wasn’t listening to what they were saying — no doubt useless drivel as was most things Lucifer said tended to be.
No, his fantasies of flaying the skin from Lucifer’s neck were far more entertaining.
“Don’t you worry, Char-Char,” Lucifer grinned, lifting his arms into a mimicry of a shrug. “I’ll make sure that pond is totally so-fish-ticated.”
There was a pause as they both just stood there. Charlie blinked, one eye after the other, as Lucifer nudged her arm with his elbow. His smile was wide, eyebrows jumping up and down. She giggled at his antics with a sad attempt to push him away. Alastor rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all.
“Eh?” Lucifer elbowed her more aggressively. “Fish? Get it?”
Charlie smiled and shook her head.
Lucifer continued, a bit more hesitantly, “‘cause ‘sophisticated’... sounds like ‘fish’...”
He trailed off pathetically, a nervous chuckle bubbling up the longer they stood there without Charlie reacting to his joke beyond observing her father’s pitiful floundering with unmasked fondness. This man was supposed to be the Devil? A cosmic joke, if Alastor ever heard one.
Then, Charlie threw her head back with a laugh. It was too sharp and loud to be considered real but it had Lucifer’s smile brightening. It spread across his cheeks — so wide those red circles nearly disappeared in the heavenly strands of his hair — and the crimson slits of his irises sparkled with his pride. There was a faint blush dusting the bridge of his scant nose.
Suddenly, it was all Alastor could pay attention to.
His stare was drawn to the tears that formed in the corners of Lucifer’s eyes. He was entranced, a strange nostalgia warming his chest and spreading to his limbs like liquid fire. It reminded him of the mornings as a young boy where he’d sneak out to the bayou to admire the dew drops that reflected the morning rays of the sun.
Lucifer’s own sporadic giggling filled the air — breathy and borderline manic, overcompensating for the awkwardness he must feel –– but Alastor’s brain only had one thought:
Adorable.
There was an urge, insistent and demanding and Alastor didn’t fight it — didn’t think — as he leaned forward…
Grabbed Lucifer’s arm —
— and clamped his jaw around his bicep.
Lucifer flailed, squeaked, and twisted around to put a hand on Alastor’s forehead and shove him off.
Alastor bit down harder.
Lucifer squawked. “What the fuck, Bambi?” He placed his foot on one of Alastor’s thighs. The briefest taste of sweet, angelic blood burst on Alastor’s tongue before Lucifer ripped his arm free. “I wasn’t even doing anything!”
“Alastor!” Charlie gasped and examined Lucifer’s arm that was already healed. A section of his coat was missing, dangling from between Alastor’s teeth. “You can’t just — just bite people!”
Alastor spit out the fabric and grinned as it landed on Lucifer’s boot.
Horns split the skin above Lucifer’s brow and Alastor watched with an amused chuckle as he bounced on one foot to remove the heeled boot Alastor had spit on.
“Apologies,” Alastor said. “I was just so tired of hearing His Majesty's irritating cadence. Like nails on a chalkboard, I assure you.”
“I’ll show you irritating, stupid ass bellhop and your dumb fucking hair —”
Alastor laughed and melted into the shadows. An instant later, Lucifer’s shoe flew past the spot his head had been seconds prior.
The muscle Alastor had long since thought dead thrummed heavily against his sternum.