I See You

by deepinsidemy_rockhardbrain

Summary:

Set after 5a, no 5b or season 6 exists because...well. We know why. Michael has been taken under Ellas wing. She knows he has an eye for detail, he notices things and that's just what she needs in an apprentice.
When a body is found outside Griffith Observatory, it will take the mortals and celestials to work together to bring the murderer in.

Notes:

Had this in the WIP pile. I wasn't going to do anything with it but I caught the writing bug again, deleted a chapter, rewrote paragraphs and sat on it some more. Finally I'm ready to share it.
It will be multi chapter. Maybe 10 or so. First few chapters are ready to go, remaining need some tweaking still.
Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy.

3/01- I've also had to turn guest comments off due to bot type spam.

Chapter 1

Prologue

A seven-year-old Julian Moore was hiding in the church rafters during a thunderstorm. He saw a flash of light and a figure appeared.

“The stars will shine when the Twin is restored.”

Julian didn’t understand it then, why would he? After all he was just a boy. However, that moment stayed with him and from then on he spent his days waiting for something. He started attending church, and whilst he was at church, he felt like he fitted in. He could talk about angels and god and heaven and no one laughed at him.

Now an adult, Julian had taken on the role of handy man at the same church who had taken him in. He lived in a small bedsit and had little money or belongings. He worked hard for the church and kept himself to himself. On his odd days off, he would walk for miles, hike the hills, find abandoned buildings or places and take pictures with his old phone.

He happened to come across the disused zoo by accident. It had been empty of animals and visitors for years. As Julian walked around he heard a noise that had him stopping in his tracks. He strained his ears to hear better. Wings, flapping. It sounded like a big bird too. Taking his phone out and opening up the camera, he started to make his way towards the whooshing noise.

Peeping round the corner his eyes widened. There was a man. Naked from the waist up. With large dark black and grey wings protruding from his shoulder blades, groaning as if in pain. With shaking hands he began taking multiple pictures and then videos.

The man was gone in the blink of an eye and when Julian looked again he was nowhere to be seen. His heart pounded as he tried to process what he had witnessed. It was an Angel. A real life Angel.

Professor Thorne!

He had to get this to that infuriating man who refused to believe in anything other than science.

As he turned to leave, his eyes caught sight of a large, dark grey feather. He bent to pick it up, his fingers tingling as he stroked at it. It was different to a bird feather. Softer than silk, it had him trembling in excitement or maybe even fear. He wasn’t sure.

Tucking the feather into his jacket he quickly left the zoo and went straight to find Professor Thorne.

“You wanted proof? I have your proof old man!”

The Professor looked up. “Julian? Not again. What is it this time?”

“Look!” He held out the feather to Thorne. “Touch it. A real Angel feather.”

Professor Thorne rolled his eyes. “Julian. How many times-“

“Touch it. You’ll see. Besides...I have pictures and, and videos too!” he was practically foaming at the mouth in excitement.

Professor Thorne cautiously took the feather that was being thrust into his face. He felt the tingling straight away and almost let go. His eyes moved to Julian who was waiting for his reaction. “See? And here. Look. A man with wings!”

Thorne looked at the photos that Julian had taken, scrolling through until he got to a video. A tall man, around 6 foot with dark hair and a slight lean in his posture stood barefoot in what looked to be a cave. His wings were stretched out. One was perfectly formed, and groomed well. The other dropped and had feathers bent in different directions.

“Where...how...Julian?”

“The abandoned zoo. He was there. Then he just disappeared.”

“This cannot be what it looks like, there has to be an explanation.”

Julian’s eyes were wide, “There is an explanation. Angels exist. I was right. You were wrong. All this time.”

xxxxx

His Father told him he was no longer welcome on Earth. It had made him angry. He retaliated. Not his finest moment but Amenadiel had stepped in at the last minute, pressing their Father for a chance to change the course. 

Lucifer was outraged, he worried for the safety of Chloe, for Dan's mental health. For Charlie. But it was actually Ella finding out about them all that had him reflecting on his anger. A second chance she had suggested to him would be fair. After all they had all seemed to have one at some point, why shouldn't Michael?

And so, because it was hard to say no to this pocket rocket of a human being, Michael had agreed to work with Ella because the alternative was a timeout in Hell. He would be her apprentice. She would teach him, guide him and give him a purpose. To keep him busy and out of trouble.

Lucifer was apprehensive. Chloe was equally unsure but Amenadiel assured them things would probably be alright. And that's how Michael found himself under Ellas metaphorical wing.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Summary:

Let's begin...

Notes:

Prologue and chapter 1 up. More chapters to follow over the Christmas period.

For the first few weeks, the lab felt more like a prison than a sanctuary. Michael spent his hours hunched over microscopes, his eyes forced to focus on hair fibres, skin cells, and samples of blood. He was a creature of the infinite, now trapped in the infinitesimal.

Lucifer often lingered by the window, his expression a mixture of pity and smug satisfaction, waiting for the moment Michael would snap. But that moment never came.

Instead, there was Ella.

She didn’t treat him like the Right Hand of God or a fallen villain. She treated him like a puzzle that just needed a little more time. She gave him his own desk and his own kit. She taught him that justice wasn’t just about punishment, it was about the truth hidden in the details.

“Every body tells a story, Mikey,” she had told him on his first day, her smile undimmed by the harsh light of the labs overhead strip light. “You just have to learn how to listen.”

Michael didn’t think he was capable of listening. But as he looked down at the evidence from an ongoing case, he felt a flicker of something he hadn’t felt in an eternity.

Curiosity.

He even chose to ignore the fact she had nicknamed him. Mikey. He huffed as he realised he wasn't going to correct her. 

It was a small, fragile start. He was still angry, still stubborn, and still dangerously powerful, but for the first time since the Fall, Michael wasn’t looking at the heavens. He was looking at the world.

xxxxx

“Is this absolutely necessary?”

“Yes. Lucifer. It is.”

Lucifer let out a huff. “But why?”

Ella eyeballed the Devil. “Because he can’t go out on his own yet and no one else knows him like you do.”

Michael scuffed his shoe at a mark on the floor. He said nothing.

“He can go on his own.”

“Not yet he can't. You are his brother. Help him out. Help me out.”

Lucifer looked down at Ella and the over at his twin, a hopeful look from Ella versus a scowl from Michael. He could think of a hundred reasons why he didnt want to spend time with Michael and yet he couldn’t think of one reason that would wash with Ella as a good enough excuse.

He raised his hands and let them fall to his sides, “Fine. You and your puppy eyes win Miss Lopez. Michael. Let’s go.”

“Oh goodie.” Michael muttered.

Ella handed Michael the camera bag, another bag labelled Property of Forensics Dept. And a LAPD windbreaker. “Just remember what I taught you. You can do this.” She gave him a double thumbs up. He rolled his eyes.

“Of course I can do it. I just don’t see why I need to.”

“Because I’m busy and you are my... apprentice for want of a better word.”

“This has to be rock bottom, right here, answering to a mortal.”

Ella took a swipe at his arm. “Dude, you have no idea how good you got it here with me. I could have you cleaning beakers and watching mould samples grow.”

Michael opened his mouth but Lucifer got there first, “Lets not argue Brother, she’s a feisty one.”

Ella waved at them as Lucifer ushered Michael out of the door. “Thank you!”

“Why is she always so fucking cheery?” Michael grumbled as they made their way up the stairs and to the precinct parking lot.

Lucifer shrugged, “No idea, but it’s catching the more time you spend with her so there’s still hope for you yet.”

Michael scoffed. “I’m good thanks. Dark and broody. It’s kinda my thing. Sunshine and rainbows is not.”

“You aren’t wrong. Anyway, where is this place?”

Michael checked the paper he had tucked into his pocket earlier, “Um, the observatory? Some monument at the front, apparently we can’t miss it.”

xxxxx

“Well...Miss Lopez wasn’t wrong.” Said Lucifer, as they stood looking at a body. It was a man, with greying short hair. He was in a pale blue shirt now blood stained, a tweed jacket that looked similar to something Michael probably had in his thrift store wardrobe and some navy trousers.

The body was in a position that wasn’t the result of someone just collapsing, and judging by the blood on the floor and the smears, the person had been killed a few feet away, dragged and repositioned to where they were now. The body was at the base of the astronomers monument.  An arm was extended and resting a bloody hand at the foot of Galileo. On the floor nearby was a brass telescope.

Michael began by putting on shoe covers and gloves and walking round the crime scene. His eyes darting to every tiny drop of blood, every smear. He stood over the body and tilted his head and then went to retrieve his camera. 

Lucifer on the other hand was clearly bored and unfazed by the dead body, started whistling whilst playing a game on his phone. Michael looked up at him from his crouched position, “Can you not do that, its really annoying.”

“Your point being?”

“I’m trying to work whilst you play games on that thing. Not helpful. Does Chloe put up with this?”

“She at least makes being at work fun. You do not.”

Lucifer carried on as he was. Michael turned back to the body. There were marks extending up to the neck, just visible over the top of the shirt collar. Possibly from fingers, possibly a weapon, but it was too early to jump to any conclusions. His eyes followed the arm that was resting at Galileo – why? There was a clue here, the telescope too. His attention turned to the sundial that sat on a podium nearby.

Walking over he could already see smears of blood. He began to take pictures, the smears weren’t accidental or the results of the man stumbling past. Michael was almost sure they were marking the time, the marks were too precise but he knew better than jump to early conclusions, Ella had taught him that. He returned to the body to take the temperature. He needed an idea of time of death for his report.

“Are you not done yet?” Lucifer asked, “I’m parched and it appears I have forgotten my flask.” He said patting at his chest and looking inside his jacket pockets.

“Almost. You know, I’m sure there’s something going on here-“

“Yes, this poor sod has been murdered, clearly for poor fashion sense, just look at those loafers.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” Then he took the time to look at Michael, his brow dipping as his eyes moved around, his fingers pointing as he talked to himself for a few seconds. “Well? What is it?”

“I...don’t know. I mean, I feel like I should know but its evading me.”

Lucifer huffed, “Michael, I appreciate we are immortal but even I don’t have the time for this.”

“I’ve just got a weird feeling about this one. I can’t put my finger on it yet which is fucking annoying, so I’ll take everything back to Ella. Once the body is ready for the post mortem I need to know what made the marks on his neck and chest. I’m pretty sure he didn’t die from those but a stab wound, judging by the blood.”

“Finally. Okay, let’s wrap this up and get going.” Lucifer grinned and turned on his heel.

“I mean it Lucifer, something is off.”

His tone had Lucifer looking back over his shoulder, his step faltering ever so slightly.

“If my gut feeling is right, it’s more than a murder, it’s bigger than this guy.”

“Then can I suggest some pepto bismol-“

“I’m not joking.”

Lucifer eyed his twin. “No. Apparently you aren’t. Let’s get you back to Miss Lopez pronto then.”

Michael did another quick walk round of the scene to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, then gave the officers permission to get the body to the coroner and the scene cleaned up.

He was quiet in the car on the journey back to the precinct. Whilst the markings on the sundial had been precise, the rest of the scene had been sloppy. The way the body had been dragged, the way it had been repositioned. Was the murderer rushed? Was the victim too heavy to move further?

Lucifer looked over at Michael. For the first time, he didn’t look like a bitter imitation, he looked like a man who had found a puzzle only he could solve.

“Why Galileo?”

“Hmm?”

“Well there were five other statues. Why that one?” Lucifer asked the exact same question Michael had been asking himself. He half shrugged. “I don’t know. There must be a relevance but what that is, is currently a mystery to me.”

xxxxxx

Ella took the call from the coroner, pictures were being emailed over. The cause of death was a stab wound with a sharp object, something wooden but the edges were rough. Not necessarily enough to kill the person but without medical attention the blood loss meant death would have been inevitable. There hadn’t been any murder weapon found, so the wooden object was still out there somewhere.

Michael studied the pictures that had come through, then he printed them off. Laying them on the large metal table in Ella’s lab he looked at the pictures as he walked round the table. With every foot step, he saw another image. A familiar image but not in the way these pictures showed. From a different angle and from up close.

Stars!

The marks on the body were star constellations and not just any constellation. He knew there was something else. The telescope, the sundial. The best time to see that particular constellation was the evening, around 9pm. Best seen in February. He needed more first.

“Ella. Tell me about the deceased.”

Ella picked up the beige folder and opened it, lifting the top piece of paper. “Professor Alan Thorne. Age 58. Retired. Astronomer, astrophysicist and cosmologist. Was writing a book apparently. He’s been very secretive to those that knew him with what the book was about though.”

“Do we have his phone records yet? Any CCTV, last known place to be seen alive?”

“Not yet. The digital forensics team are working on the phone. The Observatory CCTV is with Chloe, but nothing useful yet. What’s up mi amigo? Are your Spidey senses tingling?”

Michael pulled a face? “My what? Nothing is tingling. Just...I know what this is.” He tapped on one of the pictures before sliding it across to Ella. “Its a constellation. A star constellation.”

“Yeah? Just looks like loads of dots to me.”

“I can assure you what are dots to you, are stars to me. It’s a constellation for sure.”

“Okay. So which one?”

Michael said nothing at first, then after a dramatic pause he leaned forward to whisper, “Gemini.”

 

 

 

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Summary:

A trip to the victims home reveals secrets...

Lucifer arrived just as the word Gemini was whispered. His brow raised as he stepped into the lab.

“Did I hear that correctly?”

“You know you did.”

Michael lifted a picture from the table and handed it to Lucifer who studied the picture with almost as much intensity as Michael had.

Ella spoke, “This is what I like, your eye for detail Mikey. I would never have realised what this was. Are you sure?”

Michael didn’t blink. “The spacing between the Pollux bruising and the Castor bruising is precise. It’s a 4.5 degree offset. It’s unmistakable.”

Lucifer let out a dry chuckle. “He’s right, Miss Lopez. My brother has always been obsessed with alignment. Usually his own, but he knows a constellation when he sees one.”

Michael shot Lucifer a look that could melt lead. “It’s a signature, Ella. Thorne was an astronomer. The killer didn’t just murder him, he has branded him with the very thing he studied.”

“But why?”

“I guess that’s what we need to find out.” Michael was now thinking about the deceased. “But now we know who he is, do we get to go to his place?”

“Yeah, Chloe is sorting that. Wanna go with her?”

Lucifer piped up, “Absolutely not. He’s not spending a second alone with the Detective.”

“Worried she’ll prefer working with me over you?” Michael replied with a slight smirk.

“Don’t be absurd. I’ve still got my eye on you, I know what a sneaky bastard you can be.”

Ella thought for a moment. “Its fine. I’ll take him. If you go with Chloe, there’s no arguments then.” She shot a look at Michael who was scowling at her. “Spit it out dude. What’s your beef?”

“I don’t have beef, Ella. I am trying to learn a job. I can’t do that if I am being babysat at every turn. I’m more than capable and she isn’t in any danger if that’s what he is insinuating.”

Shaking her head at Lucifer to stop him replying, she stepped towards Michael, her hand gripping his forearm. “Hey? You are right, it’s just trust takes time. That’s all. Let’s go to the house together, we can look for anything that might help with what you have found here.”

Michael let out a noisy sigh, “Fine. If Chloe says it’s ok, we can all go. And I promise to be on my best behaviour.” He said pointedly to Lucifer.

“I’m sure the Detective will be thrilled at this little group scenario.” He said waving a finger between them.

Ella smiled at Michael, her grip loosening as she gave him a reassuring pat. “I have every faith in you.”

“Thanks?”

“Ignore Lucifer. I brought you on board, I saw something in you. You won’t let me down-“

“Don’t count on it Miss Lopez.”

Ella turned to Lucifer, “Button it, you. Not helping. Grab your stuff Mikey, let’s go and grab some evidence.”

Michael stood still as she walked away. He hated to admit but he did like Ella, how could he not. She just didnt seem afraid of him. She stood her ground, had his back and oddly, and had faith in him. Something that had been lacking for him in, well, an extremely long time.

xxxxx

Chloe trusted Ella. She trusted Lucifer but she still wasn’t there yet with Michael. Her hand ready to grab her gun, not that it would harm him, but it made her feel better. “What are we looking for?” she asked Michael.

“Note books, drawings, a laptop. Anything that ties in with writing a book. Research. Anything that might hold clues to his story.” Michael said as he looked around.

“Right. Okay, well I suggest we start looking.” Chloe replied and looked over at Lucifer who had already been looking at a tall bookshelf. “Lucifer?”

“Hm? Yes?”

“What’s caught your attention?”

He carefully pulled out a book from a higher shelf. Nothing special jumped out to Chloe but it obviously meant something for Lucifer to notice it.

“Do you know the story of Castor and Pollux, Detective?”

Chloe shook her head, “Cant say I do.”

“The quintessential sibling tragedy. You see, Detective, Castor and Pollux were the Dioscuri. They shared the same mother, but they had different fathers.” He held the book up to her. Greek mythology.

“Two fathers?”

“One was a King, making Castor a mere mortal. The other was Zeus, frightfully dramatic fellow, loved a lightning bolt, which made Pollux divine. Immortal. Untouchable.”

“So they were half-brothers. Not twins?”

“Correct. When the mortal one, Castor, inevitably bit the dust in a brawl, Pollux couldn’t handle the silence. He begged Zeus to let them stay together. So, Zeus split Pollux’s immortality between them. To spend half their time in the underworld and half in the heavens. Always together, never truly whole on their own.”

“That sounds... actually kind of beautiful.”

A dark flash flickered in his eyes as he thought of Michael, “Does it? To be tethered to your shadow for eternity? To have your identity defined entirely by the person standing next to you? It’s a prison sentence, Detective. One brother is always dragging the other, in directions they may not have wanted to go. In a twist, this feels rather close to home.”

Chloe swallowed and looked over at Michael who was currently sat at the Professors large mahogany desk, moving pieces of paper and lifting star charts.

“And Michael? Which one is he?” she whispered.

Lucifer gave her a sad smile. “Michael has spent eons trying to be noticed by our Father, commanding heavens armies, a fearless warrior, a master impersonator. But look at him now, willingly answering to Miss Lopez and obsessing over blood spatter and murder. I’m not sure he knows himself.”

Lucifer returned the book as Chloe wandered towards a large cork board, where equations were pinned to it, string connecting pictures of constellations to another. Nearby was a compass and another telescope but this one was on a stand and pointing out the window, upwards.

Ella bent slightly to peer through the lens. “Sky.” She shrugged.

“It’s a bit early to see stars, Miss Lopez.” Said Lucifer from behind her. “They are there but you won’t see them at their best now.”

They were interrupted by an ‘ah ha!’ from Michael. He pushed back in the chair as a drawer, apparently hidden, slid forward from under the main desk. Michael peered inside and slowly pulled out a leather bound sketchbook that had looses pages sticking out. He quickly checked the rest of the drawer space which was empty. Pushing the drawer back in he set the book on the desk top in front of him.

Lucifer, Chloe and Ella joined him.

“Dude!! A hidden compartment. Excellent!” Ella placed a hand on his shoulder. Michael barely minded the warm contact. He was getting used to how she communicated, touch being one of them. It was almost becoming reassuring.

The leather cover creaked slightly as Michael opened it wide, the pages fanning before settling on a marked page. Michael stared before turning the pages back and forth. There references to Castor and Pollux, multiple drawings of the Gemini constellation. There were scribblings about Galileo, star maps and angles of the earth’s axis.

Finally he got to a page that stopped him in his tracks, dated only a month or so ago. It was a drawing. His eyes travelled up to meet Lucifer’s.

“It’s...me. This drawing. It’s of me.”

“It could be anyone Michael.”

“Look at it again.”

Lucifer knew it was Michael, the misshapen wing was specific to him. It just meant Michael was right and there was more to this case than they had first thought.

“He knew. He wasn’t just looking at the sky that night, Lucifer. He was looking for me. Since we arrived at the observatory, I’ve had this feeling. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But I somehow knew I was meant to be involved.”

Lucifer leant over his shoulder, his voice losing its mocking edge, “Well, that’s... uncomfortably accurate. And unless you’ve been moonlight modelling for the local art college...no?”

Michael’s fingers grazed the pages. It didn’t feel like paper; it felt like a cold sweat. “Thorne wasn’t just sketching,” Michael whispered, his voice trembling with an emotion he couldn’t name. “He was shaking. Every line on this page... he was terrified. The fear is unmistakable.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Michael. So a human had an obsession with an Archangel. Join the club. I have three drawers full of poems at Lux, most of them rhyming Devil with Level.”

“It isn’t a poem, Lucifer! Look at the feather density on the primary wing. He didn’t see me in a dream. He has seen me in the flesh.”

“So our victim has an obsession with Michael, but we are still no nearer to finding his murderer.” Said Chloe, her eyes searching the drawing for any other clues.

“I think we are...” Michael said as he turned the page. In scribbled words was the name Julian Moore accompanied by the words dangerous and deranged.

Julian kept returning to the zoo, hoping to see the Angel again. He even persuaded Professor Thorne to accompany him one day. Armed with his sketchbook Thorne tucked himself into a hidden corner where they waited. It was dark and chilly and they were almost ready to leave when the man turned up.

Both men began to noticeably tremble.

The Angel paced, muttering angrily to himself. Unaware he was being watched by two mortals.

Thorne took out a pencil and began to sketch. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He felt afraid and yet he couldn’t look away. He wanted to leave and yet he felt glued to the spot. Glancing sideways at Julian, he saw a wide eyed man in awe of the Angel in front of them.

Thorne was a man of science. He needed to consult his books. To dig deep into things he didnt know or truly understand. What he did know was this Angel needed to be captured. Whilst he was on earth, Thorne was sure no one was safe.

xxxxx

After that night at the zoo, Julian and Thorne processed the miracle very differently.

To Julian, this Angels arrival was even more proof that he had witnessed divinity as a child. He had to find out more, it was all that he could think about.

He started by following the trail of the “tall, dark, and brooding” man from the zoo. Although, oddly, it hadn’t actually been that difficult. In a city of nearly 4 million, Michael’s energy, the heavy, jagged aura of fear left a trail that Julian could practically taste.

Julian spent days in the shadows across from Lux. He sat in his rusted sedan, nursing lukewarm coffee, watching the golden-boy version of his Angel. He saw Lucifer Morningstar, dashing, vibrant, and utterly perfect. The Twin.

Julian hated him instantly.

Every time he saw Lucifer clap Michael on the shoulder or mock his slouch, Julian’s knuckles went white on the steering wheel. To Julian, Lucifer was the thief who had stolen the light, leaving Michael with the scars and the shadows. He watched them argue on the balcony in Lux, their silhouettes framed by the purple neon of the club, and he took notes in a cramped, frantic script, The Light-Bringer mocks The Sword. He is a DISTRACTION.

Julian’s ways weren’t just physical. As a church handyman, he was almost invisible. He was also the man who had learnt to fix the Wi-Fi in the rectory and repaired the parish laptops. He used those skills to dig.

He managed to gain access to a shared cloud drive used by the Archdiocese, which had historical ties to city planning. He tracked the movements of Michael through security footage he shouldn’t have been able to see.

When Michael began spending time at the LAPD, Julian moved his vigil. He found a perch in a nearby parking structure with a pair of high-powered binoculars.

At first, Julian was confused. He watched through the glass of the lab as this small, bubbly woman bounced around his Angel. He saw her offer Michael food and snacks like they were sacred offerings. He saw her put her hand on the shoulder that even Julian didn’t dare to touch in his dreams.

Ella Lopez.

Julian began to view Ella as a parasite. He believed she was anchoring Michael to the dirt, and along with Lucifer, she too was distracting him with human trivialities like forensic slides and birthdays.

The stars will shine when the Twin is restored.

That’s what the message was, and it was all becoming clearer.

It was then he decided that Michael wasn’t just his project, he was his responsibility. If the Angel was too broken to realise that this human woman was a shackle, then Julian would have to be the one to break the chain.

Thorne however, was a man who lived by the clockwork of the universe. To him, gravity, light, and entropy were the only gods. When Julian first showed him the footage from the zoo, Thorne didn’t feel blessed. He felt violated and quite frankly, scared.

Thorne had spent the first few nights after the zoo visit trying to debunk the footage. He analysed the wing beat frequency and realised that, according to aerodynamics, a man of Michael’s mass should not be able to generate that much lift.

He began to keep a separate, secret ledger. While Julian saw a Broken Angel, Thorne saw a Biological Impossibility. He started tracking Michael not to pray to him, but to figure out how he bypassed physics. If Michael could vanish in the blink of an eye, then Thorne’s life’s work, the study of space and time, was effectively a lie.

Julian and Thorne became an unlikely team, driven by a shared secret that isolated them from the rest of the world. However, the tension between the two men reached a breaking point when they saw Michael interacting with Ella.

Thorne was afraid that Michael was a leak in the universe and that his presence would eventually unravel the laws of reality.

Julian saw the same scene and felt only jealousy and rage. To him, Ella was a trouble.

Thorne eventually wanted to go public. He wanted to trap Michael, to bring him to a laboratory, to be measured and studied. He wanted to tell the world that the Order of the Universe was wrong. That everything they thought they knew...well, they simply didn’t. But Julian couldn’t allow Michael to be turned into a science experiment. When Thorne suggested they alert the scientific community, Julian saw it as the ultimate betrayal. He didn’t just kill Thorne to keep the secret, he killed him to save Michael from the cold, clinical eyes of a man who didn’t believe in miracles.

Julian had watched Thorne peer through his expensive lenses for weeks, treating the Archangel like a math problem to be solved or a glitch in a computer program. Luring him to the observatory that night felt like a real consecration, the moment the cold stone of the telescope would finally be washed in the heat of a believer’s justice. Thorne had stood there, silhouetted against the astronomers monument, rambling about biological data and gravitational shifts, completely oblivious to the man standing in the shadows behind him. Julian had felt a strange, icy calm settle over his heart. He wasn’t just a handyman anymore, no, he was the protector of a secret the world wasn’t worthy of.

As he gripped the heavy, sharpened cross he had brought from home, he realised that in order to save the Angel, the scientist had to be silenced. Under the vast, indifferent gaze of the stars they had both obsessed over, Julian stepped forward to turn the observer into the first sacrifice.

Notes:

I'm hoping to post the next few chapters over the Christmas period but that depends on if I get left alone for more than 5 minutes!

Thank you for the kudos and comments so far. ❤️

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Summary:

Michael witnesses how Julian and Thorne saw him and it hit a nerve. With Ellas words of advice he is learning to keep his cool...sort of.

Michael studied the pages. He had been watched. Multiple days and nights, they had come to the zoo to observe him and he hadn't realised. He had been so preoccupied with his own plans.

Professor Thorne had made lots of notes. Detailed with times and dates, addresses, weather, temperature even. And then there were dates and times relating to photos and videos.

“We need to stop digital forensics” Ella blurted out, “If we don’t, they’ll find the pictures.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Humans don’t tend to believe, they’ll probably think it’s cosplay or something.” Lucifer said, seemingly unbothered.

Michael huffed, he spent his entire existence trying to present as perfect (or at least better than Lucifer). Potential photos of his mangled wing is the one thing he never wanted anyone to see, especially unworthy humans.

“We should go back to the lab.” He suggested, holding the note book to his chest, standing he stepped out from the desk without waiting for an answer.

xxxxx

It was too late to stop the forensics of Thornes phone. It had already been accessed and the contents were downloaded. Ella and Chloe had had an email to say everything was ready to view.

There were texts and voice notes, videos and photos all going between Julian and Thorne for a little over a month. Thorne had trawled the internet for just about everything related to celestials. Then, when Julian had disclosed Michael had a twin, he had researched Lucifer too. 

“I trust he used an incognito tab,” Lucifer remarked, smoothing the lapel of his Prada jacket with a look of mock concern. "Not because I’m a secret, darling, but because once the Google algorithm gets a taste of me, it’ll start suggesting all sorts of delightful immoral things to his feed for the rest of eternity. A slippery slope, truly.”

“Of course,” Chloe muttered into her hand. “Your biggest concern is his search history.”

She looked at Lucifer, her expression a mix of exhaustion and genuine disbelief. “Lucifer, Thorne wasn’t looking for escort recommendations or sex toys. He was trying to figure out if you were also a threat."

Chloe finally sat up straight, her detective instincts overriding her annoyance. “Despite being a victim, Thorne was just as dangerous to you guys as Julian is.”

Lucifer’s smirk faltered slightly as he looked at the sheer volume of folders Thorne had compiled.

“She’s right,” Michael said, his voice cold. “Thorne wasn’t just curious. He was hunting for a glitch or fault in the divine. If he hadn’t been killed, he eventually would have tried to find out what happens if you bleed an Angel dry in the name of science.”

The room went silent, the only sound was the hum of the computer fans and the distant siren of a patrol car. “Lets see what’s in these folders, I guess.” Ella sighed, clicking the first one.

Michael stood as still as a statue, his eyes fixed on the screen. The video was grainy, shot in the low light of the zoo’s cave, but to those who knew him, there was no mistaking the silhouette. The frantic, uneven beat of his wings, one dark grey and majestic, the other dropping like a broken limb.

“Turn it off,” Michael said. His voice was a low, dangerous vibration that made the glass beakers on the table hum. Lucifer narrowed his eyes at his twin. 

“Michael, wait,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “We need to see where he’s following you in the later clips.”

“I said turn. it. off!”

With a flare of celestial temper, the monitor flickered and died, a small wisp of smoke rising from the back. Michael’s breathing was heavy, his slouched shoulder trembling. He felt exposed, as if Julian and Thorne had reached into his chest and pulled out his secrets.

“They were there,” Michael hissed, looking at Lucifer, who for once looked genuinely uncomfortable. “While I was... while I was lost. They watched me like a beast in a cage. They saw me...like that.”

Trying to lighten the sudden dip in mood, Lucifer joked, “Michael. It’s just a bit of voyeurism. Humans do it all the time. They’ve been drawing me with a tail and horns in various unflattering ways for centuries.”

“It is not the same and you know it! They didn’t see you failing, Lucifer. They saw me... they saw the imperfection. Thorne didn’t just look at me, he looked pityingly at me.”

Ella stepped into his personal space, ignoring the cold dread his presence was causing. “Hey. No, Mikey. No. He didn't pity you. He thought you were the answer to every question he ever had. He's scared. That’s what’s scary. To him, to Julian, you aren’t a person. You’re a find. And that is a huge violation. I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t need or want your sympathy, Ella. I need to find this Julian and teach him a lesson.” Michael growled, balling his fists at his side.

“No. We don’t do that. I get you are mucho angry but we do this the right way. Trust me. Okay?”

Michael abruptly stepped away. “I need a coffee.” And then he stalked off.

Chloe sighed. “Should we be worried about him?” she asked to Lucifer.

“Yes. But I think, for the moment, Miss Lopez has him...under control.” Lucifer said, watching Ella with curiosity as she followed after Michael.

xxxxx

Later, Michael sat stiffly in Ella’s battered lab chair, his fingers hovering tentatively over the trackpad of her laptop. After the earlier incident with the lab monitor, he was treating this piece of plastic like it was made of thin glass.

“I am... clicking. Gently,” he muttered to himself.

He pulled up the video file from the zoo again. He forced himself to look past his own hunched form and the shameful, dragging weight of his wing. He ignored the him in the centre of the frame and looked at the periphery, at a rain puddle caught in the corner of the enclosure’s concrete floor.

As the Michael on screen paced, the puddle rippled. For a fraction of a second, the light from Julian’s phone caught a reflection in the water.

“There,” Michael breathed. He froze the frame. He leaned in so close his nose almost touched the screen. “Ella! Come look at this.”

Ella scurried over, a half-eaten meatball sub in one hand. “Whatcha got, Mikey?”

“Look at the water.” Michael pointed a long finger. “It’s not just a reflection of the man holding the phone. Look at his shoulder.”

In the distorted reflection of the puddle, Julian Moore wasn’t standing straight. He was deliberately dropping his right shoulder to match the Angel he was filming.

“He isn’t just documenting me,” Michael said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy register. “He’s...copying me.”

“Creepy!”

The discovery didn’t bring Michael peace, it brought a cold, sharp hunger for retribution. He stood up, the chair skidding back against the tiled floor. The Sword of God was back in his eyes, hard and unyielding.

“I know his face now,” Michael said, turning toward the door. “I don’t need the police. I don’t need a warrant. I’ll find the church, and I’ll show him exactly what an Archangel is capable of.”

“Whoa, whoa! Big guy, stop!” Ella jumped in front of him, her small frame looking tiny against his broad, tense shoulders. She put both hands flat on his chest, right over his heart. “You aren’t going anywhere like that.”

“He mocked me, Ella. He saw me at my worst and thought he could imitate it? He is a murderer.”

“I know! And it’s horrible!” Ella didn’t flinch, even as a feeling deep in her chest grew heavy with Michael’s radiating fear. “But we do this the right way, Michael. We follow the law. Not because the law is perfect, but because it’s what keeps us from becoming the monsters we’re hunting.”

“I am an Archangel,” Michael hissed. “I am the law.”

“Not in this lab, you aren’t,” Ella snapped back, her eyes shining with a mix of stubbornness and genuine care. “In here, you’re my friend. And friends don’t let friends commit extra judicial smiting.”

She softened her grip, her thumbs brushing against the fabric of his jacket. “I have faith, Mikey. I have faith in the truth, and I have faith in you. If you go out there and kill him, Julian wins. He gets to see a dark version of the Angel he’s so obsessed with. But if we arrest him? If we prove he’s just a terrible human? Then you’re the one who wins.”

Michael didn't blink.

“I’m on your side,” she whispered. “So, let’s go find Chloe, tell her about the Copycat reflection, and go find Julian together. As a team. Okay?”

Michael looked down at her hands. No one had ever claimed to be on his side without a condition or a command attached. His posture didn’t fully straighten but the terrifying glow in his eyes faded. He let out a long, shaky breath. “Fine. We do it the mortal way. But if he tries anything, Ella... the law will be the last thing he feels.”

“Fine.” She smiled at him, confident he wasn’t going to suddenly fly off and go rogue.

xxxxx

Michael stood by the vending machine, unsure of what it was he actually wanted. Beside him, Ella was mid bite into a glazed donut, her other hand gesturing wildly as she explained the chemical composition of a specific car paint she’d heard of. “I’m telling you, Mikey, if I can just-”

Chloe marched in, her jacket already on and Lucifer trailing behind her, looking uncharacteristically focused, though he still paused to check his reflection in the glass of the vending machine.

“We have it,” Chloe announced, her voice echoing off the tile walls. “Julians address.”

“The church.” Michael said softly. “It’s where he thinks he’s safe. In the shadow of a God...who stopped listening.”

“Uniforms are already rolling out,” Chloe said, checking her watch. “Lucifer and I are heading in now. Julian is dangerous so the quicker we find him, the better.”

She looked at Ella and then at Michael, her expression softening just a fraction into a look of professional command. “Grab your stuff. Both of you. We need the forensic eyes on the ground. If Julian has been researching you, Michael, I want you to be the one to tell us exactly what he’s taken.”

“Finally!” Lucifer chirped, though his eyes remained cold. “A field trip to a drafty old church. How delightfully nostalgic. Not.”

Ella didn’t need to be told twice. She swallowed the last of her donut, and went back to grab her field kit from the lab. She slapped Michael on the arm. “You heard Chloe. Let’s go see what this guy’s been hiding under his mattress.”

Michael reached for his trust LAPD windbreaker, not realising his slouch was straightening as the Sword within him began to sharpen. “He won’t be in the bedsit,” Michael muttered, more to himself than to Ella. “He wants an audience.”

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

Thank you for reading thus far! 😂 I hope to be posting a few chapters over the holidays.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

The church was a humble, older building on the edge of the city. The smell of possibly frankincense and definitely floor wax was overwhelming as they entered.

Chloe, Lucifer, Ella, and Michael, were led towards the back by a nervous looking priest, as Michael’s fear sense began to prickle. He watched the priest as they walked.

“He’s a quiet man, Detective.” The priest whispered, his keys jingling. “Julian has been a blessing to this parish. But he hasn’t been to morning mass in three days. It’s... unlike him. His phones been off too.”

“Yes, well, blessings often have a nasty habit of turning into curses when you aren’t looking,” Lucifer remarked, his eyes scanning the religious iconography with bored distain until a smirk crossed his face.

“Blond suits you Michael” Lucifer pointed to a painting labelled “St Michael”.

“Oh ha ha.” Michael replied sarcastically. At no point had he ever been blond. 

The priest unlocked a heavy oak door that eventually led to a small basement room. As the door swung open, the first thing to hit Michael was the unmistakable smell of damp and sweat.

“I’ll leave you to it.” The priest said as he stepped away from the door. Chloe nodded in acknowledgement as he went back the way they had came.

The bedsit was cramped, but every inch of the wall space was utilised. It wasn’t just a room, it was a sanctuary dedicated to his religion but more than that, a single subject.

What appeared to be hundreds of photos from the zoo, were pinned to the stone. Some were zoomed in so far they were just pixels of Michael’s grey feathers.

On the far wall, by a neatly made bed, was a clean patch of wood where a crucifix had clearly been hanging for decades. The screws were stripped, suggesting it had been ripped down in a hurry. On the floor, wood shaving lay scattered about.

“Uh Chlo? I think I know what the murder weapon could be.” Ella said as she studied the missing crucifix. “Dudes made it into a shank!”

Chloe nodded and moved into the room with practiced professional distance, but Ella stayed close to Michael. She saw him staring at the mirror in the corner of the room as she carefully looked at items around her.

“He was standing here,” Michael said, his voice hollow. He stepped in front of the mirror, matching the exact spot where Julian must have stood. “He was looking at these sketches and trying to match me. I don’t understand...” He scratched at his stubble.

“Look at the desk,” Ella said drawing his attention away from the mirror. She pointed to a scrap of paper weighted down by a small, jagged piece of stone.

Chloe used her pen to flip the paper over. It was a list of names. Thorne’s name was crossed out in dark red ink. Below it was another name and description, Lucifer Morningstar – twin, distraction.

“He’s coming for me next?” Lucifer asked, sounding more offended than scared. “How cliché.”

“No,” Michael said, “He’s not coming for you yet, Lucifer. He thinks you’re the distraction. The one who corrupted me.” He pointed at some pictures that lay amongst the scattered papers. Lucifer in Lux, at the precinct, sat in his car. “But his attention is elsewhere first...”

Michael’s hand hovered over the marble paperweight, but his eyes were locked on a tiny, distinctive mark on the corner of the paper. “The blue glitter on this paper. It’s from that card you made me sign.” Michaels voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s Ella.”

Michael turned to the group, his face dropping as he made eye contact with Ella. “He thinks you’re the mortal, Castor, holding back my divinity.”

“Miss Lopez? I don’t understand.” Lucifer looked at his brother and then at Ella.

Ella frowned as she leaned in to get a better look. “Wait, the card for Cacuzza? I mean, I was passing that around the whole precinct, but how did any end up here?”

“Because he must have there. He wasn’t just watching from afar, Ella. He was in the building.” Michael’s eyes widened with a frantic clarity. “He didn’t just see me. He saw you. Us. Together. He has drawn his own conclusions.”

“You’re saying the murderer, your stalker, was in the precinct? Pretty bold if you ask me. My mojo usually picks up on that level of obsession, but I suppose I have been distracted by the appalling quality of the break room coffee.” Lucifer said.

“He must have seen us together, Ella.” He looked at the list of names again and tapped at Ella Lopez – LAPD - The Mortal Shackle. 

A small shiver ran down Ella’s spine. “Okay, so... I’m the Castor to your Pollux in his head. Why me? Why not Lucifer?”

“Maybe he wants to cut any ties that aren’t celestial first, so the Archangel, or Angels,  can come out to play?” Chloe suggested.

Lucifer let out a burst of laughter. “Play? This one doesn’t know how to play, Detective. Julian is going to be sorely disappointed if he’s expecting play time with Michael.”

Michael sniffed at Lucifer, mock offended but he couldn’t deny it, playful wasn’t in his repertoire. Fearful yes, playful, absolutely not!

While Chloe and Lucifer continued to look over the list of names, Michael stood by the small, cramped desk, his eyes scanning the surface with a forensic intensity that made the air feel still. He wasn’t looking at the names, he was looking at what had been removed.

“He didn’t just take the cross from the wall,” Michael said, his voice cutting through the whispers He pointed to a rectangular clean spot on the dusty desk. “Something else was here. A book? A map?”

He leaned down, his nose inches from the wood. He noticed a faint, jagged indentation left in the soft pine, a ghost of a drawing that had been pressed down too hard by a frantic pen.

“Ella, do you have a pencil?” Michael asked.

She offered a pencil from her jacket pocket. He took it from her and, with a lightness of touch that surprised even himself, began to shade over the indentations. A shape began to emerge from the wood. It wasn’t words.

It was a drawing of a building.

"Lets get it back to the precinct and see if we can find what or where this place is." Chloe suggested.

xxxxx

It had taken almost three long, frustrating days for the pieces to align. The drawing Michael had unveiled at Julian’s bedsit hadn’t initially matched on any current maps or buildings.

The belfry Julian had sketched featured a distinct, Gothic arched window that had been bricked over during a 1990s renovation of St. Jude’s. It was only when Ella dug up the historical archives of the Archdiocese that the truth clicked into place.

While they were hunting for a shadow, a missing person report had come in. A pillar of the community was missing.

Father Vincent Paretti.

 

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

“He was the keeper of secrets,”

Michael reviewed the details of the missing man. 

The man who had served as a bridge between Thorne’s cold science and Julian’s burning faith, hadn’t been seen at morning mass for forty-eight hours. “He wasn’t just a priest to Julian. He was the one who held the records of his visitation as a child. He was the only one left who could prove Julian wasn’t a prophet, but a patient. We need to find him.”

xxxxx

Time had been unkind to the old stone belfry. It was a shell of a building, choked by bird droppings and thick, dusty webs that clung to the bricks like sticky, grey veils, masking the rot underneath.

Michael and Ella carefully climbed the narrow spiral stairs, their flashlights cutting through a decade’s worth of dust and dirt.

There was a sharp, metallic tang that Michael’s internal compass recognised instantly.  When they reached the top, the beam of Michael’s light landed on a figure slumped against the massive bronze bell.

Father Vincent was posed in a terrifying, ritualistic position.

“Look at his hands,” Michael whispered, his voice echoing in the stone chamber.

Wedged tightly into Father Vincent’s stiff, prayer-clasp hands was a small, brass-fitted telescope. Michael recognised It immediately as one of Thorne’s portable models, its lens cracked as if it had been forced into the priest’s grip with violent intent.

“He’s not just posing him,” Ella said, her voice shaking as she adjusted her light. “He’s making him watch. But watch what? There’s nothing but a brick wall in front of him.”

Michael knelt, his eyes narrowing as he followed the line of the telescope. It wasn’t pointed at the bricked up window, it was angled precisely toward a small gap in the masonry where the mortar had crumbled away. Through that tiny aperture, the sky was visible and more specifically, the section of the horizon where the stars were beginning to shift into their night time positions.

Beneath the priest’s feet, Julian had used blue and yellow chalk to draw a series of complex, intersecting lines that mirrored the star charts they had seen in Thorne’s home.

“These are Thorne’s calculations,” Ella whispered. “But look at the centre. He didn’t put the sun or the earth there. He put an icon of a sword.”

“He’s mapping the alignment,” Michael realised. “He killed Vincent because...he tried to stop him? Maybe he saw Vincent as a traitor to the divine cause.”

Michael carefully checked the priest’s pockets. A small card fell out, fluttering onto the chalk-drawn star map. He picked it up with his gloved hand. It was a VIP pass to Lux, dated nearly a decade prior.

On the back, in Lucifer’s flamboyant, sweeping script, were the words: To Vinny, thanks for the chat about Thomas Aquinas. You’re still wrong. L.

“Lucifer,” Michael called out, his voice flat. “Up here. We have our victim...and I believe you knew him.”

Lucifer appeared at the top of the stairs, his polished shoes crunching on the grit of the belfry floor. He took the card, squinting at the name. He looked down at the pale, still face of Father Vincent, then back at the card.

“Ah, yes. Vinny,” Lucifer said, his tone unusually subdued. He tilted his head, studying the priest with a furrowed brow. “Though, to be fair, I almost didn’t recognise him. When we spent those long nights arguing over the nature of free will, he had significantly more hair. And he was... well, let’s be honest, he was a lot less chubby. Mortality is quite a cruel mistress, isn’t it? One moment you’re a lithe young curate with a sharp tongue, and the next, you’re a stationary celestial landmark.”

“So, he was one of the few who knew the real truth?” Michael said, ignoring his brother’s commentary on the priest’s waistline. “And Julian knew that. He didn’t just kill another man, he killed a witness to our history.”

Lucifer’s playfulness vanished as he looked at the telescope wedged in the dead man’s hands. “He was a good man, Michael. He didn’t deserve to be a prop in some madman’s play. If Julian wanted to see an angel so badly, he really should have just asked for a formal introduction.”

Ella, who had been quiet as she processed the scene, pointed to marks on the mans trousers. “That’s not chalk, I’m pretty sure we’ll find that its marble dust and the telescope, the VIP pass... Julian isn’t just killing people. He’s collecting mementos from everyone who ever had a connection to you guys. Its almost as if he is clearing the room so it’s just him and you, Michael.”

“Then let’s not keep him waiting,” Michael said, the brass telescope clicking as he tightened his grip. “He wants an audience? He can fucking have one.”

xxxxx

Back at the lab, Michael laid out the items recovered from the belfry. Alongside the brass telescope and the star charts, he opened a small, leather-bound notebook he had pulled from the priest’s desk. It was Father Vincent’s private journal, but the last several pages had been torn out.

“He didn’t tear them out to hide them,” Michael noted, his eyes tracking the jagged edges. “He tore them out because someone was forcing him to explain them.”

Between the pages, a loose charcoal drawing fell onto the metal table. It wasn’t a map or a diagram. It was a hauntingly detailed silhouette of a weeping figure, its head bowed into its stone arms, wings drooping in a way that looked hauntingly like Michael’s own.

“The Angel of Grief,” Ella whispered, leaning over his shoulder. Her voice was small, filled with a sudden, chilling recognition. “That’s the monument at the Stanford Arboretum. It’s a memorial for someone who died of a broken heart.”

“Only Julian doesn’t see a monument,” Michael said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. “He sees a portrait.”

Lucifer leaned over, his eyes tracing the lines of the drooping wings. “It’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it? Julian isn’t just a killer, Michael, clearly he’s a dramatist too. He’s staged the perfect backdrop for you.”

“It’s more than a backdrop,” Ella added, pointing to a set of coordinates Julian had scribbled at the bottom of the sketch in Father Vincent’s ink. “He’s timed it. The monument faces a specific direction.”

“He’s not just waiting for me to find him,” Michael said, already heading for the door. “He’s waiting for the light to hit the stone so he can see the real me. I have to get to the Arboretum before the moon peaks.”

“You aren’t going alone.” Chloe said.

“I think I’ll be fine, thanks Chloe. Immortal. All powerful. Remember?”

“I get that, but we are a team, we work together. Whatever he has planned, we go into this as a team.”

Michael didn’t need a team. He was more than capable of taking down a single mortal on his own. He looked to Lucifer to agree he could go alone. Only it didn’t come.

“The Detective is right, Brother. Who knows what this little lunatic is planning. Better we are all there, and it’s been a good while since I’ve had to use my Devil face, tonight could be a good night to bring it out-“

Michael grunted as he cut Lucifer off, “Fine. Then we go.”

Ella and Chloe both shook their heads in unison.

“We go as a team and that’s final. I’ll have uniforms as back up should we need it.” Chloe said, walking out of the room and tugging Ella with her. The conversation was over.

“You’re losing your edge, Sam.” Michael sneered. “Since when do you turn down a little celestial tag team?”

“Since the person in charge has saved my life more times than I can count while I was busy being arrogant.” Lucifer countered. “Julian has spent weeks following you, Dad knows what he has got planned. Do you really want to walk into that trap alone?”

“I am an Archangel,” Michael growled, the air around him beginning to crackle. “I don’t fall into traps. I dismantle them.”

“Yes, maybe before. But not now. You saw yourself through the eyes of a man who thinks you’re a broken toy. You’re not thinking like a soldier.”

Michael turned on Lucifer, his eyes flashing with that cold, celestial fire. “Admit it. You’re just here for the show? To watch me struggle, you want to be the one to bring Julian in. To tell everyone you saved me.”

Lucifer didn’t flinch. For a brief second, the playful mask slipped, revealing the ancient, weary brother beneath. “I’m here because I know what happens when you let a human’s obsession get under your skin. It festers.” He reached out, surprisingly gentle, and straightened Michael’s shirt collar. “Let the Detective be in charge. Let Miss Lopez think she’s protecting you. It costs us nothing to be team players for an hour, Michael. But it might save you from doing something you can’t undo in front of the only human who actually gives a damn about you.”

Michael looked toward the door where Ella had disappeared. The anger was still there, a hot coal in his chest, but Lucifer’s words had landed.

xxxxx

Stepping out of the car, the cool night air of the cemetery was pressing against Michael like a physical weight. The moon hung in the sky, a sharp, judging eye that seemed to track his every move. He watched the others as they prepared to move, but his mind was already miles ahead, caught in the friction between who he was and who he was trying to be.

I am not a weapon, he repeated silently. I am an investigator. Look at the scene. Don’t feel the fear. Analyse it.

But the air was starting to feel thick with a specific kind of dread. It wasn’t the clean, clinical fear of a lab or a routine crime scene, it was the jagged, hysterical terror of a man who believed he was performing a holy act. Michael’s eye for detail began to scan the environment, his brain automatically filtering out the graveyard’s distractions to look for any anomalies.

They moved toward the monument, the white marble of the weeping angel shining like bleached bone in the dark. Michael raised a hand, signalling the group to halt.

“Stop. Don’t step into the light,” Michael whispered, his voice a low vibration. “He’s positioned that flashlight to create a tripwire of shadows. If we break the beam, he’ll know exactly where we are.”

“Michael, can you see him?” Chloe asked, her hand gripping her gun.

“No. But I can see the cross,” Michael replied. He squinted, his celestial sight picking out the grain of the wood propped against the base of the statue. “He’s sharpened the end... just like Ella said, I bet it’ll be a match for the victims injuries.”

From the darkness behind the monument, a voice rang out, thin, reedy, and vibrating with a terrifying kind of joy.

“You’re late, Michael! I thought the Distraction and Shackle would have slowed you down more than this. But it’s alright. The stars are almost in position. Gemini is rising. It’s time to shed the weight of the earth!”

Michael stepped forward, leaving the safety of the trees. He kept his hands visible, his posture deliberate. He wasn’t the Commander of Gods army in this moment, he was Ella’s forensic apprentice.

“Julian!” Michael called out, his voice steady despite the cold rage simmering beneath his skin. “Step into the light. We need to talk about the evidence. We need to talk about what you did to Professor Thorne and Father Vincent.”

“No! Thorne was a crazy scientist” Julian yelled, his shadow dancing against the marble. “He looked at you and saw a problem to be solved. And Father Vincent...he knew too much, he thought he knew the truth! But I look at you and see the real TRUTH! No more talking! Let’s see if your wings can be fixed, restored to their former glory, once that mortal weight is gone. Then...I come for Lucifer!”

Michael almost laughed at the man’s crazy ramblings until he felt Ella’s presence behind him, her fear a sharp reminder,  piercing his thoughts.   

It was at that moment he realised that Julian probably wasn’t looking for an actual fight, instead he was looking for a ritual.

And Michael had to decide if he would give him one.

 

 

Notes:

Happy New year to you all. Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it all.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Notes:

Some minor violence in this chapter. Nothing too graphic.

Michael closed off Ella’s fear and focused his mind, forcing the roar of his celestial instincts to quiet so he could listen to the logic Ella had taught him. He scanned the area around the monument, his eyes moving like a high speed camera.

He didn’t look for a person, he looked for the displacement of light. He noticed a strange flicker in the reflection of the marble’s polished surface, a secondary refraction that didn’t match the moonlight or the flashlight on the ground. It was the glint of a watch face or perhaps the brass fitting of the cross.

“The crypt to the left,” Michael whispered, his eyes narrowing. “The angle of the shadow is being clipped by...”

But he was a second too slow. Julian hadn’t been waiting behind the monument, he had looped around through the dense thicket of tombstones.

A sharp, terrified gasp cut through the air.

“Michael!” Chloe warned, but Michael was already moving.

Julian had lunged from the darkness, his arm hooked tightly around Ella’s neck, pulling her back against his chest. In his other hand, he brandished the sharpened crucifix, the jagged wooden point pressed firmly against the hollow of Ella’s throat.

“Don’t come any closer!” Julian shrieked, his eyes wide and glassy with religious fervour. “The Shackle must be broken! See, Michael? See how she wilts? I'm fulfilling the prophecy. The stars will shine when the Twin is restored." Julian was spitting as he spoke.

The atmosphere around Michael suddenly changed. The temperature in the cemetery seemed to drop twenty degrees. He was no longer Ella’s forensic apprentice, a disgraced angel trying to make amends to those he had harmed, he was once again the all powerful Sword of God. Someone had laid a hand on his...Ella, and he was furious.

Julian had no idea what he had unleashed. He was staring into the dark, ferocious eyes of a being that had commanded legions, a mighty Archangel who had helped shape the universes and cast his own twin from Heaven.

“Let. Her. Go,” Michael said. The voice didn’t sound human. It was a layered, harmonic boom that rattled the headstones.

“She...she has to die first, so you can be whole!” Julian cried, his hand trembling, the wooden point drawing a bead of blood from Ella’s neck. She let out a small whimper. Michaels fists balled at his sides as her fear was surrounding him like a cloud of mist. He struggled to keep his composure, his wits, his strategic thinking.

Behind him, Chloe had raised her gun ready but she had no clean shot. She looked to Lucifer and mouthed what now?

Lucifer could already feel Michael’s burning fury, he just knew that this wouldn’t end well for Julian, Michael would break him the first chance he got but yet he was still fearful for Ella’s safety. The point of the sharpener crucifix was in a deadly position and was already drawing blood.

But this was Michael’s battle and Lucifer would just have to be ready on his brother’s command.

Michael swallowed, Lucifer’s worry for Ella was drifting through. The distraction. He didn’t need that now. He channelled his rage on to Julian, blocking out Ella and Lucifer.

With a deep breath he finally spoke.

“That...is where you are sadly mistaken, Julian.”

In a blur of motion too fast for the human eye to track, a burst of celestial speed that left a vacuum in its wake, Michael appeared inches from Julian and Ella.

His hand clamped around Julian’s wrist with the force of a hydraulic press. The sound of Julian’s radius snapping was like a dry branch breaking in the silence. The wooden cross thudded as it hit the grass as Julian cried out in agony. With his other hand, Michael snatched at Ella’s upper arm, yanking her behind him with a strength that was both terrifying and protective. His body shielding her from any further danger.

Michael didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He stepped into Julian’s space, his hand migrating to the man’s throat. He lifted the handyman off the ground with a single arm, pinning him against the cold marble of the Angel of Grief. Michael’s wings burst out from behind him, the shadows they cast growing across the graves as they extended to their full, intimidating size.

“You wanted to see the truth?” Michael hissed, his face inches from the terrified human. “You wanted to see the Archangel Michael? Well, here I am. In my full glory. And I am going to make you regret ever touching her.”

His grip tightened. Julian’s face started to turn a bruised purple, his legs kicking uselessly against the air.

“Michael, stop!” Ella shouted, her voice shaking as she rubbed her throat. “Mikey, please, look at me! Don’t do it!”

“Listen to Miss Lopez, Brother,” Lucifer said, stepping forward, his voice solemn. He placed a steadying hand on Michael’s shoulder. “If you kill him here, you aren’t the man who helped track a killer. You’re just another murderer. No better than him. You’ll be proving all of them right.”

“He tried to kill her, Lucifer!” Michael roared, his eyes glowing with a faint, dangerous light. “He...was going to come for you too. He wanted to use my name to justify slaughter!”

“I know.” Lucifer said. “And I’m confident he will get his punishment in this lifetime and his next, but not like this. Not by your hand.”

Ella stepped into Michael’s line of sight, forcing him to look at her instead of his victim. “But I’m okay. See? I’m right here. You saved me, Michael. You did the job. Now let the law do the rest. Please. For me.”

Michael’s fingers twitched. The urge to snap Julian’s neck was a physical hunger, a way to silence the shame of being watched, the anger of being hunted, for the guilt that Ella almost got hurt. But he looked at Ella, and saw the trust in her eyes. It hit him hard in the chest. Even seeing him like this, she still trusted him to do the right thing.

With a snarl of pure frustration, Michael opened his hand.

Julian slumped to the ground, gasping for air, his spirit broken long before his body could be. Michael turned away, his wings receding into his body, his posture remaining straight. Even.

He didn’t look at the cowering man. He looked at his own trembling hands. “You’ll want that cross, Chloe,” Michael said, his voice returning to its usual tone. “The wood grain will have captured the epithelial cells from his palm, possibly Thornes and the Fathers blood still. It’s... it’s the evidence you need.”

He turned to walk away, he felt physically exhausted in more ways then he could explain. It was definitely something he wasn’t used to feeling.

Lucifer watched as his brother made his way back to Ella’s car, getting in the passenger seat he put his head in his hands. Something long forgotten tugged from within Lucifers chest. Michael was in pain, he was trying to process feelings he hadn’t had in eons and it was echoing through Lucifers body.

As Chloe radioed to the uniforms for arrest assistance, Lucifer spoke.

“Ah, Detective? I need to take Michael...somewhere. Before he completely loses control. I’ll see you back at the lab as soon as I can.”

Moving her radio from her mouth she replied, “Okay. Be careful alright?”

“I always am.”

Lucifer walked up to Ella’s car and opened the door. “Lets go for a fly, Brother.”

xxxxx

“Get out of my head, Lucifer,” Michael rasped, his voice cracking as his feet hit the hard ground. “I can feel you... poking around in there. Stop it.”

“I’m not poking, Michael,” Lucifer replied, his voice unusually soft, devoid of its usual theatricality. “You’re broadcasting. It’s a bit hard to ignore when my own chest feels like it’s being crushed by the weight of your self loathing.”

Michael looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot and somehow glowing with a faint, dying amber light that hasn’t been there before. “I almost did it. I wanted to hear his neck snap. I wanted to show him exactly how powerful I could be. He looked at me and saw a...a what? A deity? For a second... I nearly succumbed. I wanted the Sword back.”

“And yet, you didn’t,” Lucifer said, “You listened to Miss Lopez. You chose epithelial cells over the execution. That’s... progress, I suppose.”

“Is it?” Michael slammed a fist against a large rock, making it crack under his power. “Look at me! I’m working in a lab, or wearing a windbreaker most days, suddenly being hunted by humans who think I’m a broken toy. We used to rule the skies, Lucifer. You and I. We were the first thing the stars saw when they opened their eyes. All powerful, creative, together...”

The silence that followed was heavy. The memory of their beginning, two halves of a whole, soaring through the silver City before the concept of Hell existed, vibrated between them.

“We were,” Lucifer whispered, finally looking at his twin. The mask of the playboy was gone and in its place was the face of the brother who had once loved Michael more than any other. “We were the best of them. The Light Bringer and the Protector...at least until you decided that being Dad’s Right Hand meant ignoring your own heart. And I decided that being free meant burning everything and everyone down.”

“You left me!” Michael snapped, the anger finally spilling over. “You chose Eve, that stupid Garden, you rebelled and left me to be the Good Son. I had to be everything you weren’t. I had to be the soldier, the enforcer, the one who helped keep control and cleaned up the mess! I became angry, jealous and-and bitter, there was no room for anything else once you walked away.”

“You cast me out!”

“Because I followed our Father’s orders, Lucifer!”

“And look where all this has got us,” Lucifer countered, his own anger rising to meet Michael’s. “I became a King of a kingdom I hated. A keeper of the guilty. Surrounded by all of humanities sins. Thanks to our wonderful parents, we’re both broken, Michael. Not just your wing or reputation. We’re shattered.”

Michael looked out at the ocean, his jaw tight. “I don’t know who I am without Heaven, Lucifer. If I’m not the Commander, weighing Souls, running things, then I’m just...Michael. A mere man with a bad shoulder and a talent for seeing the worst in people.”

“Actually,” Lucifer said, reaching out but stopping just short of touching Michael’s arm. “You’re the man who noticed a fleck of glitter on a piece of paper. You’re the man who willingly saved a human because...she’s your friend and you care for her. That’s more than I ever as for the first few decades of my vacation.”

Lucifer tapped that the rocks under his feet “The Light and the Dark... they’re just colours, Michael. We’ve spent eons being what Dad wanted or what the humans feared. Maybe it’s time we just tried being... brothers again. Even if we’re terrible at it.”

Michael let out a long, shuddering breath. The tension beginning to dissipate. He leaned his head back looking exhausted.

“I still hate your hair.”

Lucifer smirked, the familiar glint returning to his eyes. “And I still hate your dress sense. But I suppose we can’t have everything."

Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Chloe had already settled herself at her desk to deal with the paperwork for Julian Moore’s arrest, he was currently receiving medical attention for his broken wrist so she had time.  Ella on the other hand, was a bit more pressed for time.  She had a half-dozen blood samples still to process, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking long enough to pick up a pipette.

It had been three hours since the sirens had faded at the cemetery, three hours since she had watched Michael’s eyes turn into something ancient and terrifying before he vanished off into the night sky with Lucifer.  

The heavy glass door of the lab finally swung open.

Michael trudged in first, looking like he had been dragged through a hedge backward. His LAPD windbreaker in his hand, his hair was a mess, and his expression was a mask of pure, concentrated gloom. Lucifer trailed behind him, giving Ella a small but supportive nod before leaving to give them space.

"You’re back," Ella breathed, her voice cracking before she surged forward. She didn't hesitate, she threw her arms around Michael’s waist in a typical Ella Lopez hug, burying her face in his chest. 

Michael stiffened, his arms hovering awkwardly at his sides as if he weren't sure whether to hug her back or bolt for the exit. "Ella. You’re... squeezing me." He carefully patted her back before apprehensively wrapping an arm across her shoulders, holding her to him. It wasn’t like the Red 2 Mars hug. He could feel her anxiety, the worry and fear so he let her hold him until she was ready to let go. 

"I thought you weren't coming back!" Her voice muffled as she spoke into his shirt. She pulled away just enough to look up at him, her eyes bright with tears even though her mouth was already twitching into a relieved grin. "Don't ever do that again, dude! You scared the cheesy biscuits out of me!"

Michael looked down at her, his brow furrowing in that stubborn, grumpy way he always did when he was overwhelmed. "I'm sorry? Look, I...shouldn’t be here, Ella. At all.”

"Ugh, here we go with the brooding," Ella groaned, finally letting go but staying firmly in his personal space. She grabbed a paper towel from the counter and started dabbing at a smear of dirt on his cheek. "Hold still."

"I’m serious," Michael snapped, although he didn't pull away from the paper towel and allowed her to wipe his face. "Julian... that man... he was a symptom. As long as I am here, as long as people like him know what I am, you are a target. I am a beacon for the crazy, or cray cray as you call them. Today it was a cross. Tomorrow...it could be worse." His fingers lightly ghosted the paper stitches on her neck. Ella swallowed as she felt his light touch.

He turned away from her, "I’m a danger to you. I’ve spent eons being a weapon, Ella. I don't know how to be anything else, and I won't have your blood on my hands because I’m trying to play human in a lab."

Ella dropped the paper towel and stepped around him, forcing him to look at her. Her bubbly energy was still there but her voice was raw with emotion.

"Okay, first of all? Rude. I can take care of myself...mostly." she said, pointing a finger at his chest. "And second? These last couple of months? Working with you, teaching you how to use the centrifuge, watching you get all excited over a partial fingerprint even though you pretend to be bored? They’ve been the absolute best, Michael. Like, top tier."

Michael scoffed, looking at the floor. "I’m a grumpy, arrogant shadow of my brother who can't even stand up straight."

"You’re my partner," Ella countered, her voice softening. She reached out, her hand  gently resting on his arm. He didn't flinch. "And you’re my friend. You think I’m scared of some guy with a wooden stick? I’ve grew up in Chicago, Mikey. I’ve seen weirder stuff on the bus. And uh, FYI? You need to look in a mirror, cos my dude, there’s no slouch to be seen.”

Michael hadn't given his posture much thought, but she was right. How odd.

She gave his shoulder a little shake, her grin returning, wide and honest. "You saved me today. You used that big, scary brain of yours to find clues and then you used your...whatever-that-was speed to stop him. You chose to be the good guy. And I like the good guy. He’s way more fun to have tacos with."

Michael looked at her for a long time. He wanted to be stubborn. He wanted to tell her she was being naive and that the universe didn't work this way. But the warmth of her hand was the only thing keeping the cold, dark echoes of the cemetery at bay.

"I’m still going to be difficult to work with," he muttered, his voice losing its edge. "I’m still going to complain about the music you play in here. And I’m still not signing any more cards for people I don't know."

Ella laughed, a bright, bubbly sound that seemed to chase the last of the heaviness out of the room. "I'll take it! Now, come on. We have a mountain of evidence to log, and I’m pretty sure Lucifer is about to start eating all of Dan's snacks if we don't give him something to do. I’ll treat you to a drink after we finish. Two even?"

Michael let out a noisy, dramatic sigh, but as he turned toward the computer, a tiny, almost imperceptible ghost of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. He hadn't realised it yet, and anyway, he was too stubborn to admit it, but the Mortal Shackle wasn't a weight at all. For the first time in his existence, he was finally anchored to something that wasn't a command.

xxxxx

Lucifer stuck his head in to the now empty lab, Ella was currently showing Chloe the contents of a manila folder. “Julian’s probably off to the loony bin. You’ve done a right number on him.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“I was being sarcastic. It’s clearly wasted on you though. Drink at Lux?”

“No thanks. I agreed to let Ella buy me a drink... for apparently doing my job?” he shrugged. “It seemed to please her and I get free drinks – LA is expensive.”

“You help yourself to free drinks at Lux? Anyway whilst I remember, Amenadiel wants to see you too.”

Michael rolled his eyes, “Excellent. What have I done now?”

Lucifer was already walking away, “He didn’t say, but he had that I’m the eldest and therefore burdened with wisdom look on his face. Helpful hint - do try to look repentant, I find it saves so much time on the lecturing.”

Michael scowled as he turned and put his hands together. “Amenadiel. I got your message. Will meet you later. You’ll know where and when.”

He then went and sat down at the computer. He was starting to understand why humans turned to drink or two after a stressful day (or few weeks) at work!

Notes:

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on this fic. I'm glad you have been enjoying it. ❤️

Chapter 9

Notes:

The beginning of the end readers! This is the last chapter... before the last chapter!

The loudness of the bar faded as Michael stepped out into the cool night air of Los Angeles. He watched Ella’s taillights disappear around the corner, her bossy reminder to get some sleep still ringing in his ears.

For a long moment, he just stood on the sidewalk, a solitary figure in an old jacket.  He looked down at his hands, the same hands that had once held a blade and shield. They were marked with a bit of graphite from the sketch he’d been analysing earlier and smelled faintly of the lemon-scented sanitizer Ella insisted on using.

He didn’t fly. Instead, he walked. 

Michael passed a darkened shop window and caught sight of his reflection. He didn’t see the Archangel that had cast out his twin, who had protected Heavens gates, who had caught to keep order with Lucifers rebellion. Instead, he saw a man with a tired face, but he was also able to acknowledge a man that stood straighter than he had in a long time.

As Michael felt the weight of his own phone in his pocket, he remembered it was filled with Ella’s frantic, emoji-laden texts and he realised that for the first time in an eternity, he didn’t feel broken or lost even. He felt occupied. And more importantly he felt wanted. He scoffed to himself at the absurdity of it all. This was not how he saw things going. 

He made his way toward the quiet, elevated park where the city noise thinned out into the rustle of eucalyptus trees. He knew Amenadiel would be there. He could feel the familiar, steady pull of his brother’s Grace, like a lighthouse beam cutting through early morning fog.

Michael hiked up the path, his boots crunching on the gravel.  The night sky clear above him, welcoming him forward.

As the silhouette of his brother appeared by the stone birdbath, Michael adjusted his posture, shaking off any apprehension before stepping into the light of the moon.

xxxxx

Amenadiel stood beside his brother, looking out at the sprawling horizon of Los Angeles.

“You look tired, Michael,” Amenadiel said softly. “But you also look... grounded.”

Michael let out a short, sharp breath. “I’ve spent the last few hours being lectured by a human who barely reaches my shoulder about the importance of decompressing and getting enough sleep. Apparently, an Archangel’s scowl is bad for the lab’s morale.”

Michael sat stiffly, his shoulders hunched, his hands wrapped around a glass of vodka as if he were trying to find warmth from it. Across from him, Ella grinned, her celebratory beer untouched as she watched him with that characteristic, observant sparkle in her eyes.

“So,” Ella said, leaning forward on her elbows. “Your first proper case, closed. Julian is in a cell, psych evaluation pending. Are you gonna admit it? Are you pleased Amenadiel talked your Dad into letting you stay on Earth? No more threat of a Hell-bound timeout.”

Michael sighed, a sound that seemed to vibrate the ice in his glass. “Pleased is a strong word, Ella. It’s...less intolerable than the alternative. But the risk remains. Today proved that my presence creates variables you shouldn’t have to deal with. Julian was obsessed with me. You were nearly killed because of a celestial grudge you aren’t even a part of.”

Ella reached across the table, her small hand catching his before he could pull back. “Mikey, look at me. I’m a forensic scientist in Los Angeles. I deal with cartels, cults, and the occasional normal psycho every single day. Danger comes with the territory. It’s the job. It could happen with or without you, and I knew that when I signed up. So, don’t you dare take that on yourself.”

Michael looked at her hand, then back up at her face. He felt that familiar, irritating warmth, the shackle that Julian had tried so hard to break.

“You’re incredibly stubborn,” Michael muttered, though the edge was gone from his voice.

“I prefer the term persistent.” She chirped, leaning back with a satisfied smirk.

“It’s more than that. You’re... bossy,” Michael added, a ghost of a scowl on his face. “You give me orders. You tell me how to sign cards and how to dress. You treat me as if I don’t have the power to tear down this entire building.”

He paused, his gaze softening in a way that would have shocked Lucifer. “I’ve spent eons hating humanity. I find them loud, fragile, and endlessly disappointing. But...” He struggled with the words, his throat tight. “In this short space of time, I’ve grown fond of you, Ella. You’re kind in a way that doesn’t feel like a weakness. You aren’t afraid of me, even when you should be.”

He looked away, staring at the blurred lights of the street outside. “And...maybe I need to consider the idea that its exactly what I need. Someone who isn’t impressed by a celestial being, but is very annoyed when I smudge a slide. You really are the first person outside of Gabriel to put trust in me. Um and I appreciate it.” He ended with an awkward cough. 

Ella beamed, her bubbly energy practically vibrating off the wooden booth. “See? I knew there was a heart under that grumpy facade. You just need your own space to shine, dude.  And just so you know, I’m gonna keep being bossy. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t skip the next precinct potluck.”

Michael let out a short, dry laugh, the first real sound of amusement he’d made in months. “God help me.”

“He already did, Mikey,” Ella winked, raising her glass. “He sent you to my lab.”

Amenadiel smiled, a genuine expression of relief. “So, Ella is still keeping you on your toes? I was worried the transition might be too jarring for you.”

“It is jarring,” Michael snapped, finally turning to face his brother. “Everything here is loud, messy, and illogical. And yet...” He looked down at his hands, feeling the phantom weight of the tools Ella had taught him to use. “She doesn’t see a villain, she sees a partner who is slightly better at pattern recognition than the average mortal. But she’s bossy, Amenadiel and she clearly enjoys having an apprentice.”

“And how does that feel?” Amenadiel asked, his voice steady. “To be someone’s student instead of their superior?”

Michael paused, the anger that usually fuelled him feeling strangely distant. “It’s... alright actually, but mainly because it's her. When I’m in that lab, the want of the Silver City fades. I don’t have to be the Right Hand. I just have to find the truth in the evidence. I told her tonight that I’ve grown fond of her. I think... I think I might actually need her to keep me from becoming the monster our Father fears I am.”

“You aren’t a monster, Michael.” Amenadiel placed a firm, supportive hand on Michael’s shoulder. “I knew she was the right choice. Father may have closed the gates, but He didn’t do it to punish you. He did it so you could finally find a version of yourself that wasn’t defined by a weapon or a position. And you are doing that.”

Michael looked up at the stars, the same ones that Thorne had obsessed over. For the first time, they didn’t look like a battlefield or a map of his failures. They just looked like lights.

“Don’t get sentimental, Brother,” Michael muttered, though he didn’t pull away. “I still hate the music she plays. And the stupid amount of glitter...in a lab of all places!  But... I suppose Earth has its merits. If only for the tacos.”

Amenadiel laughed, the sound echoing in the quiet park. “I’m proud of you, Michael. You embraced this chance and it’s been wonderful to see you progress.”

Michael said nothing, but something deep inside him felt warm at his brother's praise.

xxxxx

Lucifer leaned against the doorframe of the lab, watching with an arched eyebrow as Michael meticulously packed Ella’s field kit. Michael was currently debating whether she had enough evidence bags, his expression a portrait of intense, dark focus.

“You know, Brother,” Lucifer started, his voice dripping with honeyed mischief. “I’ve been reminiscing. Do you remember our little chat, a few months ago? When you were quite insistent that your thing was being dark and broody?”

Michael didn’t look up, though his jaw tightened. “I’m still dark, Lucifer. And I’m currently very broody. So get to the point. And quickly.”

“Oh, I’m just admiring the scenery!” Lucifer pushed off the doorframe and strolled toward the desk, picking up a stray pink highlighter. “Because for a man who claims sunshine and rainbows aren’t his style, you seem remarkably comfortable standing in a room that smells like vanilla cupcakes and is currently, correct me if I’m wrong, covered in a light dusting of craft glitter.”

Michael snatched the highlighter out of Lucifer’s hand and tucked it into a side pocket of the bag and then brushing at his left arm. “It’s a shared workspace.”

“It’s a kaleidoscope of whimsy, Michael! And you’re the centerpiece,” Lucifer chuckled. He leaned in, lowering his voice to a mock conspiracy whisper. “I saw you earlier. You didn’t even flinch when Miss Lopez sung along to that ridiculously upbeat pop song. In fact, I think I saw your left foot attempt a rhythmic tap. It was harrowing.”

“I was merely...keeping time with the centrifuge,” Michael hissed, finally looking up with a glare that would have melted metal.

“Of course you were. And I suppose you’re wearing that hideous LAPD windbreaker because it matches your broody aesthetic, and not because it makes her smile?” Lucifer straightened his cuffs, his smirk widening. “Face it, Michael. You’ve been annexed. You’re still the dark, stormy cloud, but you’ve gone and let a rainbow set up shop right in the middle of your thunder storm. It’s quite the look for you. Very...approachable.”

“I am not approachable,” Michael growled, throwing the kit over his shoulder.

“Hey, Mikey! You ready?” Ella’s voice chirped from the doorway. “I found a unicorn sticker for your locker!”

Michael froze. “Say nothing, Lucifer.” He shot one final, lethal look at his twin before turning toward the door. “Coming, Lopez,” he called out, his voice instantly losing its serrated edge.

As Michael walked away, Lucifer called after him, “Don’t forget your parasol, Brother! Wouldn’t want the sunshine to ruin your brooding!"

Notes:

I'll hopefully post the last chapter this weekend.

Notes:

Please let me know with kudos and/or comments if you are enjoying.