Chapter Text
Husk sat against the pillows that morning watching as Lucifer stared forlornly into the wardrobe like it had personally wronged him.
In the bed, Alastor was fast asleep on his back. It was late morning at this point, the sun well up in the sky, but the King was still abed with his body exhausted and wrecked. He’d managed a trip down the stairs for Lucifer’s ‘trial’ two days ago, but it had taken a lot out of him and he’d retreated right back to his sickbed after with as much dignity as he could muster. Lucifer still walked with a slight limp, but he was already bouncing back from his injuries thanks to Husk’s diligent care.
He’d seemed lighter since the trial, no longer looking over his shoulder or flinching at the sound of his name. Husk had hated giving him a ‘punishment’, but honestly it seemed to be working. This was the first morning since where he’d seen his wife looking out of sorts beyond the occasional pain.
“Sweetheart?” He called from the bed, knowing Alastor was too deeply asleep as he recovered to be disturbed by light conversation.
“Mm?” Lucifer called back, running slim fingers over the shirts hanging in their wardrobe.
“You’ve been starin’ at the clothes for awhile. Somethin’ wrong?” The Hobgoblin asked lightly, not wanting to make mountains out of molehills if there were none to be found.
Lucifer was quiet for a long moment before sighing and selecting a plain muslin shirt, tugging it over his head. He disappeared into the bathroom to change his trousers, still not allowing Husk to see much of his body even now. His husband made sure not to fuss about it and even pretended he didn’t notice most days, knowing Luci would come around when he was ready to.
“...I just keep looking for my shirt and then remembering it’s gone.”
Patting Alastor’s covered stomach gently, Husk rose and padded to just outside the bathroom door, “Your red one?”
A sad sigh came from behind the door, “...Yes. I wore it to Winter because I wanted to not feel alone. Vox shredded it. I loved that shirt…”
Husk knew perfectly well that his wife adored that shirt. Somehow he hadn’t realized yet that it was utterly destroyed.
But Lucifer kept talking, “He didn’t destroy my wedding band or the torc, thank God, but I really miss that shirt. I just…Al was so proud of that shirt. He loved it when I wore it.”
The bigger man leaned on the wall next to the bathroom, crossing his ankles and preparing to settle in, “Baby, Al loves you in anything.”
“I know…”
Husk hummed and leaned a little closer to the door, “...This ain’t all about the shirt, is it?”
Silence.
Rapping his knuckles gently on the wood, the bigger man asked, “...Mind if I come in? This feels like a face-to-face talk.”
There was another long silence and Husk could practically hear his wife’s head buzzing with all the pros and cons of saying yes or no to that request. At last, the door clicked open without a word and the hobgoblin let himself in, taking the silent permission for what it was. It wasn’t a full moment of vulnerability, however, considering Lucifer had his branded hip turned away, carefully concealing it from his husband. Still, it was progress that Husk would take considering he’d been allowed in and Lucifer hadn’t rushed to put his trousers on yet.
Clicking the door closed behind them for privacy, Husk leaned against the counter where Lucifer normally got ready for the day, “Baby, you know Al will get you another shirt just like it if you ask. I’ll get you another shirt just like it. You could even find the tailor and commission one yourself. So…it ain’t just about the shirt is it?”
Lucifer leaned carefully next to Husk and rubbed at his own arm, “...It was something nice that Alastor did for me while we were still figuring each other out - giving me that shirt. It made him happy. It made me happy. Vox cut it off of me without ever caring what it meant. I think I’m just realizing how much he really took from me that I’ll never get back.”
Slim fingers drifted down towards his hip before he snatched them away again.
Husk took his hand and squeezed it, “It’s a real big thought, huh?”
“...It sucks,” Lucifer said frankly, rubbing his thumb over the other man’s knuckles.
“Luci…it’s just you’n me this mornin’. Al’s still crashed out. D’you wanna talk about what happened? Now that you know you’re safe and ain’t nobody gonna get mad at you? I know Vox did…a lot.”
The Queen bit his lip and worried at Husker’s hand, “...He raped me, Husk. I remember it all. It’s not like last time…with you and me. You loved me and you tried to protect me even when…” Lucifer shook his head to clear it, “A man who wasn’t either of my husbands or someone who cared about me was inside me. He muzzled me, beat me, marked me. I don’t…I don’t feel like I own myself anymore sometimes…”
Extending one deep scarlet wing, Husk tugged Lucifer up to his side and nestled him against his warm pelt, “I hate that you feel that way because it’s bullsh*t. You own yourself, babe. Every inch. Hells, Al and I won’t never touch you again if it’s what you want. You just say the word.”
Lucifer shook his head hard, “No, I don’t want that. Are you out of your mind? I love having sex with both of you. I lovebeingwith both of you. I’m kind of struggling with the fact that…”
He went quiet and Husk hummed again and dared something.
Slowly releasing his hand from Lucifer’s he slid it down his clothed side and gently tapped the edge of the brand he knew his mate was still desperate to hide. The skin around it shivered like the back of a startled cat and the blonde tried to pull away. For once, Husk didn’t let him and hoped desperately he wasn’t making the wrong move.
“Does it hurt?” He asked gently.
The dancer shivered and edged his leg away, “...Yes, but…”
“But?”
Sounding frustrated, Lucifer blurted, “Why does it feel different? I don’t understand. Vox has scarred me up before and Alastor talked to me about it! It felt fine! So why does this feel so much more disgusting? I’ve legitimately thought about cutting it off sometimes when you’re both asleep.”
Okay. Nope. This stopped here.
Grumbling, Husk looped his arms around Lucifer’s middle and pulled him so they were chest to chest (or as close as they could be given their height differences), “Vox is f*ckin’ dead. You killed him. Baby, you killed him so hard they couldn’t even identify what was left. If this is about things bein’ taken, you more’n balanced the scales.”
“Then why does it still feel so ugly?” The changeling asked, actually allowing himself to be settled against his husband’s fur.
“Same reason your knife scar felt ugly at first. There’s a lot wrapped up in it. Lotta big feelins and sh*t. What that f*cker did to you was brutal and it’s gonna f*ck you up for awhile, but you don’t gotta hide from me’n Al. We understand brutal,” Husk said, stroking claws through his hair.
Sighing softly, Lucifer murmured, “...Rosie wanted to put me in a backless gown if we ever had a public wedding.”
“And he didn’t take that from you. Sweetheart, you can still wear somethin’ backless,” Husk informed him, “Scars don’t bother nobody here. Al’s got ‘em. I’ve got ‘em. Hell, even Rosie and Del have ‘em even though you’ll never see ‘em.”
There was a soft noise from the main room and both of their heads turned, perking up immediately.
“Guess the big guy’s awake,” Lucifer said quietly.
“...You wanna stay here or come with me to go check on him?” Husk offered, leaving his wife the option to hide a bit longer if he wasn’t ready.
“No, let’s go,” the changeling said and pointedly didn’t put his leggings on, opening the door and padding out in just his shirt and undergarments.
From the bed, Alastor watched with hazy crimson eyes deep as the hells themselves and twice as warm.
He rasped, “A lovely sight. I had not realized how much I enjoyed your legs until you began to withhold them from us.”
Husk followed Lucifer out of the bathroom and settled back into his spot on the bed, checking over the Lord, “How you feelin’ this mornin’, Boss?”
Lucifer quietly reclaimed his portion of the bed and laid down on his uninjured hip as Alastor groaned, “Like I have been stabbed repeatedly in the chest and portions of my anatomy are regrowing rather more slowly than I would prefer, thank you for inquiring.”
“Smart ass,” Husk said fondly and patted where the blanket muffled his touch.
The stag rumbled at him before coaxing Lucifer close enough that he could nuzzle into his hair without twisting his neck or chest too painfully, “A morning for serious conversations, is it? Considering Husker dear is dry as a bone, I sincerely doubt you closed yourselves off to bathe.”
Resting his head carefully on Alastor’s shoulder, Lucifer grumbled and tried to get comfortable, “I’m just dealing with some sh*t. Don’t worry. It’s not another Magne Breakdown Special.”
“Mmm,” Alastor said in return, letting his questioning hand drift near to the bared hip he’d not been permitted to look at since the day he found Lucifer in Verglas Hall.
Lucifer sighed and tried to suppress his shiver of loathing, “Yes. That.”
Feeling the shudder, Alastor stopped short of actually touching the snowflake emblazoned angrily into white skin, instead letting his big hand rest just above it, “It speaks volumes, you know.”
Lucifer blinked, looking up at his King curiously, “Wait…what does?”
“When I found you…” He tried to sit up, grunted in pain, and gave up the fight to gravity, “...you were shackled, muzzled, branded, and whipped…but still awake. Not just awake, but aware. The fact that Vox had to go to those lengths to tame you and still failed is rather impressive.”
Golden eyes studied the Lord of Autumn’s expression and found only a smug sort of pride as the man continued, “The wild folk of Autumn aren’t known for bending the knee and now they’ve a genuine unbreakable Queen to lead them.”
Digesting that, Lucifer continued to watch his face, raising a hand to stroke over Alastor’s bared collarbones, “...I feel kind of broken.”
“Mother informed me you woke up out of a comatose state fighting so hard you injured the healer. That doesn’t sound so broken to me,” the King tried to shrug nonchalantly and hissed when it tugged at his chest.
Husk rolled his eyes, “Al, quit tryin’ to be all theatrical when you’re prob’ly missin’ part of a lung.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Old Cat,” Alastor huffed back, sounding gravelly.
“Ugh, if you’re feelin’ awake enough to be a sassy bitch, you’re awake enough for breakfast,” Husk groused and tried to stand only for Lucifer to sit up.
“...I’d like to go. I need a walk.”
Husk and Alastor looked at each other quickly before the hobgoblin reminded him, “You still need a chaperone, sweetheart.”
“I’ll go knock on Tawny’s door or see if Del’s awake. I promise. No funny business, I just want to see Dainah and I need some time to think,” He promised, not sliding out of bed until he was sure he wasn’t going to get in trouble for it.
To his surprise, Husk just leaned back into the pillows and nodded, “Alright. Make sure you nab somethin’ for yourself too.”
“Go with mother, please. She’s been worried about you,” Alastor voiced his opinion on the matter before letting his eyes fall half-lidded.
Relieved to see that Husk and Alastor were honoring the terms of his punishment, Lucifer leaned in to kiss the corner of the Lord’s mouth tenderly, “Okay. No problem. If we end up talking too long, I’ll have something sent up, okay?”
“Very well. Get dressed and then off you go,” the Stag King hummed, privately pleased to see life coming back into his bride’s eyes.
The changeling slid from their bed and trotted back to the bathroom with only the slightest limp to slide into his leggings and boots, emerging shortly after smelling of apple blossoms. His torc sat neatly on his neck and the soft silver threads of his wedding band gleamed against his pale wrist. The injuries there caused by the shackles had been among the first to heal and Alastor was glad of it. Looking at them had filled him with rage that certainly wasn’t conducive to rest, relaxation, or healing.
Sighing happily, Lucifer slipped out of their room and sauntered down the hall of the royal wing feeling like a free man for the first time in a very long time.
At Delphine’s door, he stopped to knock politely and when she opened it her face brightened in that serene, radiant way of hers…just a faint widening of the eyes, a softening of her smile, “Hello baby, what can I do for you this morning?”
“Hi Del, I was going to go arrange for breakfast and wondered if you’d chaperone me?”
Stepping out of her room, the Queen Mother said, “Of course, dear. I’d been worried, you know. It’s difficult not to see you out and about like you used to. I understand you’re still on the mend, of course, but I had been worried you were perhaps…”
“Wallowing?” Lucifer filled in so she didn’t have to, smiling softly to let her know he didn’t take offense, “I was a little. There are things that are…hard…to come to grips with. I’m still grappling with them. But Husk and Al are there to knock sense into me when I start digging myself a hole, so…”
Delphine pointedly didn’t look at his hip or back, though they both knew what he was referencing, “Yes, well, there’s quite a lot to be excited for, dear. Autumn is simply buzzing now that you and Alastor are returned. People haven’t forgotten you’re supposed to have a wedding come the Solstice.”
Lucifer looked at her in surprise, “People still want that? Doesn’t everyone know Alastor and I are already married?”
His mother-in-law snorted in a delicate, ladylike way that he envied, “Dear, they’re waiting for you and Alastor to formally announce that you’ve wedded Husker. Besides, they never got to celebrate your wedding to the King, so they’re eager.”
Her bright eyes looked a little distant for a moment as she added, “Not to mention…we’ve had nothing but wakes and farewell celebrations this season…what better way to end Autumn’s time in the sun than with an actual party? With something to be joyful for?”
“...You and Rosie are planning something, aren’t you?” Lucifer asked, slightly amused.
Delphine shot him a sly smirk, “We might be. Don’t worry though, dear, we’ve planned around your visit to see your brother. Rosie’s been monitoring our Thin Place quite carefully. You’ll be able to go through tomorrow or the day after, most likely.”
“And do you really think Al will be okay to travel? Standing is painful for him right now,” the changeling asked.
Here, Delphine looked a tad more frustrated, “Knowing my boy, he’ll go whether he’s healthy enough for it or not. Just give him a place to rest once you arrive and keep an eye on him, please.”
Lucifer nodded and they descended the stairs into a lively, happy Harvest Home full of good smells and thriving people bustling to and fro, “...It’s too bad Charlie won’t be able to go back with us. I would have loved for her to pick some of her mom’s things for mementos…go through her toys…”
His mother-in-law patted the small of his back gently, “Why haven’t you asked her home yet? No one’s hunting her anymore.”
He looked a little embarrassed, “Well…at first I was still so hurt…and those first few days we weren’t sure Alastor was going to make it. I didn’t want her here for that. Then I was struggling after he woke up until we had our meeting and didn’t think about it. Then I’ve just been thinking hard about other things and not feeling very well, so it didn’t feel fair to ask her home after my trial…not until I was the father she deserved again.”
“And now?” Delphine asked gently.
“...Now I wish I’d sent for her sooner. I feel bad about her missing the chance to go back to the cottage or to be at the wedding party…I even missed her birthday because things happened so fast and went so badly…” Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck.
“Try not to fret too much about it, Luci dear. She’s a lovely little girl and I’m sure she understands. We’ll bring her home,” Delphine soothed him as the two of them ducked into the kitchens to a general chorus of happy greetings and well-wishes.
~*~
In the end, Lucifer had gotten wrangled into sitting at the table and having tea with Columbine, Fennel, and Dainah as the breakfast shift wrapped up. Smiling fondly, Delphine had gathered up the meals for his husbands and taken them upstairs, content to leave her son-in-law with different chaperones for a time. There was a break between shifts anyway and Lucifer hadn’t gotten the chance for a long conversation with his friends in a while. Plus, his mates would be pleased he was starting to interact again.
He’d been a little surprised to find Daniel in attendance, but apparently the man had been using his knowledge of plants to offer some help in the kitchen while he figured out what to do with himself. Lucifer had looked him over and found no injuries on him as promised, but Daniel was giving him an odd look…something just as searching and even a little sad. The Queen had wronged him too, but Daniel didn’t look sore about it and the discomfort of seeing him again didn’t last long.
Currently, Lucifer was halfway through his second cup after approximately an hour of getting the latest kitchen gossip while the day edged towards the noon hour. It was finally starting to feel like his skin fit again.
“...And then Fennel proposed to him!” Columbine finished a rather raucous story with a flourish and Lucifer turned quickly to see Fennel herself blushing hot all the way down her neck.
“Fen! You did?! What did Aidan say?!” The Queen asked brightly, leaning closer on one elbow.
“He nearly passed out is what he did,” Dainah huffed with amusem*nt.
Fennell huffed, “Well, what was I meant to do? He goes running off into Winter and manages to survive, so I think to myself I’ve got to pin this man down before he goes and gets himself killed in another bit of foolishness!”
“...He did say yes, though,” she added.
“Congratulations!” Lucifer said brightly and meant it, so grateful that there was still joy in the Autumn Court. Speaking of…
He turned to Daniel for the first time that morning and carefully traced the rim of his teacup, “...How have you been?”
Daniel seemed surprised to be acknowledged and he blinked, “Oh! Um. I’m quite alright, actually. Doing well, all things considered. Quite happy to see you back on your feet if I’m being honest…”
Lucifer bit back a wince.
Luckily, no one seemed to catch it and Dainah quickly picked up the slack, “Oh! Don’t let the boy fool you. I’m quite cross with him!”
The other changeling flushed and the Lady blinked, “Oh?”
“I’m just about fed up with all of my talented kitchen helpers getting themselves all occupied elsewhere!” The old woman huffed teasingly, whipping her rag gently at Daniel.
Lucifer’s face turned back to him and both eyebrows raised, “...Daniel? Are you going back to Winter or something?”
“God no, perish the thought!” The changeling exclaimed and shook his head vehemently, “No…I was actually…well…I had a talk with Rosie shortly after your return and she mentioned that Spring has medical knowledge…or they used to. I…well I think it would be rather disastrous if I went home so…I’ve been thinking about a new place. I could be of some use there! Did a bit of gardening in my day, you know!”
Lucifer’s face softened and he smiled, “...So you’re going to Spring?”
The other man nodded even as Dainah huffed, “Yes. No rotten old memories there, right? And if they train healers, then maybe…”
“I think it’s a great idea,” the dancer said quietly, something tense in his stomach unknotting at the realization that Daniel had somewhere safe to go…something to do with himself, “The Lady of Spring will need some good people on hand. I’ll send a recommendation so he knows to expect you.”
Daniel’s face lit up at the prospect and another frayed tangle of guilt released in Lucifer.
Outside, the sound of a horse’s hooves came through the open kitchen window, a high-spirited whinny stealing their attention away from Fennell’s upcoming marriage plans. Lucifer tensed instinctively and immediately found Columbine’s hand on his elbow. Dainah stood from her place at the table and straightened her pinafore with a perfunctory air.
“We’ll just see about this, shall we?” She huffed, tossing her rag over her shoulder and popping out the back door into the gardens to see who had ridden up.
Lucifer didn’t realize he was holding his breath and had to remind himself that Vox was dead.
Valentino was dead.
Neither of them had come for him or his family.
Only Columbine’s hand on his elbow grounded him and he made himself breathe in and then out.
For a moment, the only sound was the clucking of the very spoiled chickens out in the yard and the bleat of goats before Dainah reappeared in the doorway, eyes round as saucers, “Columbine? Escort the Lady to the front door, please. Off you go, there’s a good girl. He’ll want to see this. Fennell? Go and summon Lord Husk immediately.”
There were some generally confused expressions, but nobody disobeyed Dainah in her own kitchen.
Feeling tense and unsure, Lucifer allowed Columbine to ferry him out of the kitchens and back into the main hall. He wasn’t terribly frightened because he knew that Dainah would have sooner cut out her own tongue than send him into danger, but there was that instinctive part of his brain that still worried. He saw Rosie stepping into the hall, apparently drawn by the sound of hooves, but her face was calm and even a little happy, so things couldn’t be too bad?
She watched as they reached the front door and Lucifer stopped suddenly, hearing voices just beyond.
There was a woman talking…rough and animated. It wasn’t a voice he recognized, especially not faintly through a door.
But the other.
He’d know that voice even if he were deaf and standing behind a door on the other side of the world in a different Realm.
Charlie.
Gasping, Lucifer threw open the doors to the palace and left Columbine in his wake, not caring about his punishment as he dashed out onto the landing. There at the bottom of the stairs on the main thoroughfare was a proud-looking white gelding, tossing his mane and pawing impatiently at the ground. Astride his back was a woman Lucifer had never seen before in his life, a cyclops with sun-bleached riotous hair, more tattoos than he could shake a stick at, and a grin that was all fang. Sitting in front of her, tan as toast from her time in the sun with her pretty blonde hair done in two long plaits down her back…
Huge brown eyes turned to him and his daughter’s face lit up like the sun.
“Daddy!” She cried and Lucifer’s legs nearly gave out.
Not caring for the weakness in his injured hip, Lucifer threw himself down the steps and right up to the horse just in time for the rider to easily heft up his little girl and deposit her right into his arms, her expression wryly amused.
“Charlie!” Lucifer yelled, hugging her close and kissing all over her head where he could smell the faded scent of salt.
“Wow,” the woman on horseback said, sliding off easily and letting the groom take her high-spirited mount, “Like a little clone of you, isn’t she?”
Legs shaking, Lucifer was forced to sit on the bottom step with Charlie cuddled to him while she spoke at him excitedly, “Daddy! Daddy! I missed you so much! Wow! Daddy, your eyes are so funny now! You look like Razzle and Dazzle!”
Lucifer let her talk. He’d let her talk forever about everything and nothing just to hear that voice again.
“Cherri?” Husk’s voice came from the main door.
“Hey Huskie! Woodchuck’s gramma lemme know you lot were ready for her to come on home. Looks like we’re not a minute too soon, eh? Like the new one, by the way,” the cyclops tapped near her eye, indicating Husk’s scar.
“Holy sh*t,” Husk breathed and quickly made his way down to Lucifer’s side where Charlie’s eyes lit up anew, “Papa Husk! I’m home! I have cool things to show you!”
“I bet you do, baby,” he said gruffly to avoid sounding like he was about to f*cking cry.
Cherri shook her head at the lot of them and hopped up the steps to where Delphine and Rosie were standing with knowing looks on their faces, “Gods, those two are a right mess, eh? How you ladies doin’?”
“Howdy-doo, Cherri!” Rosie greeted with a chirp, “Doin’ just peachy, thanks for askin’.”
“Thank you for coming so quickly, Lord. I hope you’ll be staying the night?” Delphine said with genuine pleasure in her voice.
“Course I am!” Cherri grinned all co*ck-eyed, “That’s a two-day ride. Ain’t doing that twice in a row without a little R&R in between. ‘Sides, I figure Queenie’s gonna be a little preoccupied for a bit and I’d like to meet him properly. Get to know the guy Horn Head picked.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like! Come on, I’ll show you to a room,” the Advisor crooned while Delphine peeled off down the steps to see her family.
Lucifer turned when his daughter cheered, “Gramma!” and he pinned Delphine with a ‘look’.
“...You knew she was coming home,” his voice just sounded watery and a little stunned.
Smiling kindly, Delphine just folded her hands in front of her and said, “Can you blame an old woman for wanting her family where they belong? Hello, Charlie sweetheart.”
Eager and blossoming now that she was back in the woodlands, Charlie scrambled over to hug her grandmother tight. Carefully, Husk took Lucifer’s hand and helped him to stand again, the two walking over to the stately former Queen where she was petting Charlie’s hair and just letting the happy child hug her tight. Husk kept his arm around his wife to keep him steady and raised an eyebrow at Delphine, who looked like she was nowhere approaching contrite - pleased as punch.
“...Thank you, Del,” Lucifer whispered.
“Think nothing of it, baby,” the woman told him gently and then looked down at her sweet, happy little granddaughter, “Do you want your fathers to take you to see Alastor, dear? I’m sure he’s missed you too.”
Charlie looked so excited she could almost burst, “Yes, please!”
She unhooked herself from Delphine’s leg and quickly found herself swung up into Husk’s arms, holding her tight while the woman said, “I’ll speak to the groom about having her things brought up. For now, take her to see her papa.”
Then she kissed Charlie on the forehead and swept off like the world’s best Faerie Godmother right out of a storybook.
Standing alone with their daughter, Husk started purring against his will, yellow eyes soft, “Hey kid. Didja have a good time?”
Charlie nodded and leaned back so she could look him in the face while they started walking back into the palace, “Mm-hm! I was super sad at first, but Auntie Cherri is cool! We did fireworks and blew up sandcastles! I missed you lots, though.”
“I’m sorry, you did what now?” Lucifer asked, raising a dark brow.
Husk snorted.
Charlie looked at both men as something crossed her mind, “...Auntie Cherri says I could come home ‘cause the bad man was gone. Is he gone?”
Catching Husk looking at him, Lucifer sighed and reached for his daughter, propping her on his undamaged hip and pausing at the foot of the stairs so they could talk, “Char-Char, the bad man’s gone. Gone for good. Big gone. But…Papa Alastor got hurt making sure he stayed gone, so be gentle when we go see him, okay? He’s going to be in bed for a while, but he’ll be fine.”
His daughter’s eyes were concerned, “He’s got ouches?”
“Big ones,” Lucifer said, hugging her tight, “Because he was brave and came to save me so I wouldn’t get hurt. Everyone’s okay though. Can you be gentle when we go upstairs?”
Big eyes as serious as she could possibly make them, Charlie nodded so hard her little braids went everywhere. It almost made Lucifer chuckle and he pressed a play-sloppy kiss against her cheek just to hear her squeal. He’d missed this. He’d missed every second of this.
Husk ushered them both up the stairs and back down the hall to their room.
Inside their quarters, the curtains had been pulled open and the balcony door was ajar to let in the cool breezes of a sunny Autumn noontide. Alastor was half sitting up against the pillows and caught between dozing and gazing out the windows at the wind rustling the trees, bandages covering a large portion of his chest. His scarlet eyes blinked out of a demi-snooze when Husk opened the door and peered in.
“Hey boss, got a delivery for ya.”
“Mmm? What could it possibly be, Husker?” The King asked, rough and low but relaxed.
“Turns out your momma’s a dyed-in-the-wool schemer and she arranged to have a Princess sent to us,” the hobgoblin said and stepped aside so Lucifer could carry Charlie in, “You wanna accept?”
Alastor’s vein-bright eyes widened at the sight of the little blonde heir to his Kingdom sitting in her father’s arms like a piece of the puzzle that made Lucifer whole had been returned to him. She was glowing from her time in the sun, her hair gone a shade or two paler, wrapped in a red chiton not unfashionable for the Summer Court. The beast in his heart crooned. The young had returned to their den.
Holding out a single hand, he said quietly to avoid startling her with how different his voice sounded, “Come here, Charlotte.”
Lucifer carried her over to the bed and sat her down, watching as his daughter immediately moved so she was in range of her papa’s clawed hand, “You do have big ouches, papa…”
“Quite so,” Alastor hummed.
“...From making the bad man go away?”
“I’m afraid that part was your father’s doing. I merely helped,” the King said fondly, tucking some of Charlie’s blonde hair behind her ear, “Your father was quite impressive.”
The Queen felt himself blushing and tried to protest, “Alastor…”
“Tut!” The man said and then fought down a cough as he raised his voice just a hair too high for comfort, not wanting to startle Charlie.
Charlie looked at him with worry in her eyes and she fiddled with the hem of her little dress, “...Do I gotta go back to Summer?”
Alastor humphed at that and shook his head slightly, “No, dear girl. You’re home where you belong now. I'm simply recovering and it's nothing to fret over.”
“Matter of fact…” Husk said with a grin slowly splitting his feline features, “We even got a big surprise for you.”
The little girl’s eyes widened, “A surprise?!”
“Mm-hmm,” Lucifer picked up, smiling, “Your papas and Auntie Rosie have figured out a way to let us go back to the cottage for a night to get our things. I want you to pick some of mommy’s things to keep and decide which toys to bring back with you.”
He pointedly didn’t mention Uncle Gabriel, too afraid that the man would somehow not show. Lucifer couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing his little girl.
Charlie looked like they’d promised her not only two Christmases at once but a birthday as well, her body practically vibrating with happiness, “Really?!”
Alastor’s ears folded back at the volume of her squeal, but he pointedly didn’t offer a single complaint. Instead, the man only looked smugly satisfied in that way of his, pleased that his daughter was pleased.
“Really, duckling,” her father confirmed and found himself with an armful of happy girl that set his entire world upright again.
There was a polite knock at the door and a member of staff (Columbine’s wife? Lucifer tried to recall) gently deposited Charlie’s things just inside the door before leaving them be. Her attention redirected, Charlie launched herself onto the floor and began to rummage much to her fathers’ amusem*nt. She began to pull out all sorts of things…little clockwork toys, dried flowers, clothes, interesting shells…and gathered them up in her arms to haul back to the bed to tell them all about her trip.
For a morning that had started out horrible, things were looking up.
Outside of the door, Delphine nodded primly to herself. This was the final push everyone would need on the road to recovery. She could already see the sun peeking out again in Lucifer’s eyes.
Now for the wedding.
~*~
Dinner that night was in the War Room once again, though Alastor was conspicuously not present. He’d been feeling altogether too poorly and had been ordered to stay put by not one but two determined spouses (and their daughter, the traitor). He was currently sleeping peacefully while Charlie sat happily between Lucifer and Husk at the table, scribbling on a piece of parchment with some charcoal while her father had his first official meeting with the Lord of Summer.
It was…interesting.
Cherri was grinning from where she sat across the table, her chin propped up on her fist, “Good to see you again without all the…”
She waved her hand around demonstratively, “Emotions.”
Husk snorted into his drink, “Cherri, you’ve got no idea.”
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed hard at his husband and Husk almost felt bad…at least until Cherri started laughing uproariously and then he promptly didn’t anymore.
“Pleased to meet you. Sorry my husband is being a…” Lucifer looked down and saw his daughter at the last minute, tucking his tongue between his teeth to say, “...a jerk. He’s horrible.”
“Husband!” Cherri guffawed, "First he's 'Papa Husk' and now he's husband. Man, you Autumn folkdomove fast."
“Yes, apparently I thought it would be a good idea to have another man in my life to push me around and embarrass me in front of guests,” the changeling said through a squint that tried to convey very much that his mate was in deep sh*t.
“You love it,” Husk muttered into his cup.
Infinitely entertained, Cherri took a drink of her own and said, “Huskie said you gave ‘em hell. Boy, he wasn’t kidding.”
“Anyway,” Lucifer cleared his throat, “I wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of Charlie when she couldn’t be home with us. It means a lot to me that she was safe.”
Cherri made a rude noise with her lips and waved it off, “Nah, no problem. Hope you know she’s coming back to see us at least once a year, though. Like, that’s non-negotiable.”
The Queen raised an eyebrow, “Is it now?”
“Yup,” Cherri popped the P like a bubble on her lips, “That’s the toll for babysittin' for like two months. We get at least two weeks a year.”
Far from being offended at the brazenness of the demand, Lucifer found himself amused to realize all Lords of Fae were just as pushy and domineering as his husband. Too bad for them Lucifer only bowed to one Lord in the Kingdom.
Humming to himself, he folded his hands together and set his chin on top of them, “I’d like to hear a please in there and then maybe I’ll consider it.”
He grinned, showing off fangs of his own.
Cherri grinned right back, liking the push-back, “I’m sure you would.”
“Oh boy,” Husk sighed and chuckled in time for Delphine to walk in the door, “Evenin’, Del. You got here in time for dinner and a show.”
“Did I?” She said and took a seat near Rosie’s customary spot.
“A-huh,” Husk poured her a drink.
Lucifer drummed his claws together where they were interlaced, a little tic-tic-tic that Husk tried not to find deeply attractive, “Charlie, what happens if people don’t say please?”
Hearing her father call her name, the little girl’s head popped up and she recited, “Gimme gimme doesn’t get.”
“Exactly,” her father purred, eyeing Cherri and oh boy, Husk willed his groin not feel any sort of way about that with a kidandDelphine in the room.
Cherri narrowed her eye before giving it up and barking out a laugh, “Alright, look. My wife is nuts about the kid. We’d like if she came to visit us for a vacation once a year if you’re cool with that.”
The dancer’s fierce smile immediately softened. It wasn’t a please, but the spirit of it was there and he replied, “We can work something out. I’m sure Charlie would love it.”
Delphine hid her smile behind the rim of her cup.
The Lord of Summer shook her head and mused, “Damn, you’re not one of those ‘weak and retiring’ Ladies are you? Bit of a pint-sized terror when you don’t get your way, I can tell. I like it. Gods know I appreciate a Queen who doesn’t take sh*t lying down.”
“Auntie Cherri…” Charlie piped up.
“Yeah, yeah. No swears. Sorry kid,” the Lord huffed, “So, where’s Horn Head tonight?”
“He’s resting upstairs, I’m afraid,” Delphine said, picking her own spot in the conversation now that Lucifer had established himself and passed muster with the much older Lord, “the incident in Winter took the wind out of him.”
“No bloody wonder,” the Lord of Summer said, reaching to refill her cup, “that Vox drongo was thick as a post, but powerful. Surprised any of you are standing, to be honest.”
“It’s harder some days than others,” Lucifer admitted before the last member of their party for the evening appeared - Rosie with little Vaggie in tow. She’d be going back to Winter soon…they’d likely escort her there for the Cold Moon so she could be with her mother…but for now the sisters had agreed to keep her in Autumn until things were fully settled in her homeland.
Charlie zeroed in on her like a homing missile.
She hadn’t seen another child in months and her eyes lit up, “Hi! Your hair is pretty!”
Vaggie clearly hadn’t been expecting another child either and she jerked, blinking her pale yellow eyes in surprise, “Oh. Um. Thank you. I like yours. It’s…yellow?”
“Thanks!” Charlie said, apparently failing to register how awkward the compliment had been.
She shimmied down from her chair and scooted over to Vaggie with her hand out to shake while Rosie watched them both with glittering black eyes, “I’m Charlie! It’s nice to meet you!”
Recognition registered in the other girl’s eyes and she carefully considered the hand, unsure what to do with it. Head tilted like a shy bird, she reached out and just…stuck her own hand out next to Charlie’s rather than shaking it, assuming it was some kind of new salute she’d never encountered before.
“I’m Vagatha. Vaggie. Um. Whichever,” the pale girl said.
Charlie giggled and took her hand, giving it a vigorous shake while Vaggie blushed and just watched every move she made with fascination.
Lucifer’s eyebrow kicked up and his eyes flicked to Rosie.
Very interesting.
Still holding a blushing Vaggie’s hand, Charlie called up to her father, “Daddy! Can I go sit with Vaggie? Please?”
Unwilling to deny his daughter something so simple, the Queen smiled and patted her head, “Sure sweetie. Knock yourself out.”
Charlie darted off with her new best friend (Vaggie just didn’t know it yet) in tow, finding a spot with two seats next to one another before coming back to snatch her paper and charcoal up. Lucifer smiled fondly just to see his daughter existing where he could see her again…as normal, sweet, and excited as she always was before she’d had to leave. It fixed one of the cracks in his soul to watch his little Charlie be so free and know that of all the things Vox had taken away from him, she wasn’t one of them. Her happiness wasn’t one of them.
He felt Husk’s big hand on his knee, squeezing gently and reached down to squeeze back.
Rosie and Delphine just shared a relieved look while they observed the table and those assembled, knowing the King was safe and recovering upstairs.
Fully rallied from the morning, Lucifer turned back to Cherri, “So, about holidays.”
The Lord smirked and the negotiations began.
~*~
The following evening Rosie announced that it was time.
Lucifer was nervous and trying not to let it show, dressed in a set of normal sweatpants and hoodie to try and soften the blow of his new appearance if Gabriel happened to be there. He knew it was going to be a shock either way, but…he could make it less of one? He didn’t know. His stomach hurt he was so nervous. His leg hadn’t stopped bouncing all morning to the point Alastor had threatened to tie him down if he couldn’t ‘cease his frenzied jigging’. He’d started pacing after that, which was a far more normal occurrence for his mates to endure and so little else was said on the matter.
The little family had collected themselves - Lucifer holding Charlie’s hand while Husk helped support Alastor - and followed after Rosie to where the Thin Place was hidden away.
She led them on a winding path through Harvest Home, quite similar to the one they’d taken to reach the shrine where Alastor and Lucifer had been wed. However, this way veered off to a different part of the vast root structure, locked behind a heavy door for which only she had the key. Not even the King himself was afforded one - a fact which he’d never seen fit to quibble about, preferring to keep this pathway through the Veil protected and secret.
It was gloomy down here by design, not intended to be as welcoming as the shrine.
Perhaps by will or cunning, no lights grew from the walls to guide the way, Rosie providing the only illumination in the form of a lantern while Charlie clung to her father’s pant leg and Husk patiently negotiated Alastor down the steps. The air had that familiar heavy feeling it did from around the time of the Harvest Moon Festival, the magic so thick Lucifer could taste it on the back of his tongue, wild and electric.
Rosie counseled them as she led the way, “Now, I’d like you all back by the noon hour tomorrow. One night and no more. Stay at the cottage only please. We want to do our best to avoid interactin’ with any Humans who aren’t family. If I don’t see you by the appointed time tomorrow, I’m sendin’ my swift. The Veil won’t thin again properly until the Vernal Equinox and it’d be a headache and a half to peel it open for you all.”
At the bottom of the stairs was yet another locked door, but before Rosie let them through she gave them all a sharp look, “Understood?”
“Yes, Rosie,” Alastor said, “Trust me. We’ll make due haste home again.”
“Now Al, you’ve never been outta Faerie, so don’t go gettin’ overwhelmed. Husker, Luci, keep an eye on him, got it?”
“Got it, Rosie. Now c’mon, we’re burnin’ moonlight,” Husk huffed.
The Advisor unlocked the door, but held a hand up at the last minute, looking directly at Lucifer and whispering low so Charlie wouldn’t pick up on it, “Remember Little Light, no matter what happens you got a lovin’ home to come back to.”
Lucifer gave her a fond smile and nodded, “There’s no place Charlie and I would rather be.”
Nodding, the shrike finally opened the door.
Beyond it lay a room devoid of any furnishings that was filled to bursting with riotous growing life. Lucifer was astounded by the space. Every flower that bloomed was two to three times the size it should have been with resurrection ferns the size of small beds furling out over the ground. Natural bioluminescence lit the space up like daytime and the perfume of wild flowers was dizzying. The Queen almost staggered back a step until Husk gently pressed the small of his back, guiding him towards a swirling ‘ripple’ in reality just ahead.
“You’re alright, sweetheart. Since this is a weak place between worlds, magic goes nuts here. The Thin Place is just ahead. All you need to do is step through and we’ll be just outside your garden gate,” the hobgoblin coached.
“Hold on tight, duckling,” Lucifer told his daughter and squeezed her hand, walking forward.
For some reason, he felt compelled to hold his breath as he approached the humming rift in the universe, nervously stepping through…and out into the chilly night air that smelled of dew and overgrown grass. He gasped and his eyes snapped open (when had he closed them?) to the sight of their rustic little garden gate and the low-growing rose bushes all around the inside. The place was so familiar it felt like he’d never left, but so alien that it all felt like a dream from another life.
For the first time in three months, Lucifer was back in the Human Realm and it was…dim?
He was confused. Smells were duller here…colours less vibrant and everything less sharp. He was reminded of watching old movies from a time when hi-definition was just the science fiction of the next century. How was it that the world that had been his home for thirty years suddenly felt less real than literal Faerieland?
His eyes drifted up to the house as he heard Alastor and Husk stepping through behind him and nearly forgot how to breathe when he saw the lights were on.
Someone was here.
Lucifer squeezed Charlie’s hand again and made himself push open the garden gate before turning back to his husbands, “Al, Husk…can you wait just a minute for me to look around? There’s a bench in the garden if the big guy needs to sit.”
“Don’t condescend to me, pet,” Alastor snipped and Lucifer briefly released Charlie to come and press a gentle kiss to his husband’s grumpy mouth.
“Just a minute,” he whispered.
Then he was turning back and forcing himself up to the door, knocking gently.
He heard feet shuffling frantically over the floor.
He heard a grunt as someone clearly tripped and fell over within.
And then the door was ripping open and there was his older brother’s handsome, sculpted face staring down at him, eyes wild and neatly shaved bald head dewy with a light sweat. He was wearing a dapper cowl-neck sweater in a soft wheat colour that made the rich mahogany of his skin stand out beautifully under the winter moon, his slacks neatly pleated.
The brothers stared breathlessly at one another and Lucifer only hoped the shadows from the old apple tree hid the peculiarities of his eyes for just a little while longer.
“...You came…” Gabe breathed.
Then Charlie shattered the quiet with a joyful cry of “Uncle Gabe! Uncle Gabe!”
The older man’s eyes went misty and without even caring about his nice trousers, he fell to his knees and bundled his niece to his chest, burying his face into her hair, “Charlie! Oh, thank God you’re okay!”
“...I was scared you didn’t get my letter…that you wouldn’t be here…” Lucifer whispered and found his eldest brother looking up at him again.
“I took a vacation from work so I wouldn’t miss you. I…Lucifer…where the heck did you go?” Lucifer could hear that he really wanted to swear until he was blue in the face, but he was holding back for Charlie’s sake, “Did you get in trouble?!”
“It’s…it’s such a long story, Gabriel. Can we go inside? I don’t want Char-Char to catch cold,” the small blonde said, tucking a blonde curl behind his ear.
“Come in and sit down. You’re telling me exactly where you disappeared to,” Gabe’s voice was stern (the classic Big Brother tone Lucifer remembered so well from his youth) before he stepped aside to let the father and daughter back into the cottage.
“...Don’t lock the door,” Lucifer murmured as he stepped in and pointedly kept his eyes averted.
Gabriel frowned, but did as he was told, willing to do anything to keep his baby brother from disappearing before he got the whole story.
Inside, he watched as Lucifer crouched in front of his daughter and told her, “Go and pick out any clothes you want. Fold them up nicely on the bed. Same with toys…pick them and put them on the bed with the clothes. Then you have permission to go into daddy’s room and look for anything of mommy’s you want to take home with us.”
The little girl kissed his cheek and scampered off while Gabriel watched every move like a hawk. She looked so healthy. She looked happy. She looked tan and energetic and well-fed. Wherever his wayward little brother had been, his daughter hadn’t suffered during their absence. If anything, she looked better than she had before their disappearance.
The minute she was out of earshot, Gabe came to stand at his baby brother’s shoulder, speaking low and heated, “Lucifer, where have you been? No call? No note? You left behind your wallet and your phone so I couldn’t get in touch with you and Sera refused to even ask father to help me find you.”
Lucifer’s shoulders slumped and he still wouldn’t look at him, “Gabe…you wouldn’t have been able to find me anyway. I’m so sorry. I let you know as soon as I could…”
“Luci, look at me…” Gabe pleaded.
“...You have to promise not to freak out first,” his baby brother whispered.
Gabe’s mind rushed to all of the things his brother might be hiding. Had he gotten hurt? Was something wrong with his face?
But instead of risking chasing his flighty sibling off, he whispered, “...Okay. Just…let me see you, please.”
Taking a deep breath, Lucifer turned and leaned back against the couch with his arms folded. He looked directly up at Gabriel and his eyes…good God, what the hell? His normally tawny eyes certainly weren’t anymore. They’d gone all gold, split down the middle by a viper’s pupil drawn tight in the warm light of the house. Where his arms were folded, there were long claws laying against the soft fabric of his hoodie sleeves that had never been there before.
It was…
Gabe had no words.
There was a plaintive, hopeful look in Lucifer’s eyes, begging him to understand…to be there for him. It was the same look his brother had given him that day over the table when Gabriel had first given him the ultimatum to move out to the cottage in the first place.
“...Luci…” he breathed.
“Gabey, I’m going to tell you an absolutely batsh*t story and I need you to believe me, okay? I want to tell you absolutely everything. I want you to know everything. No secrets. You’ve been my best friend for the last five years, but it’s going to sound like lies, okay?” Lucifer said, snake eyes flicking back and forth across his face, looking for anything…any indication of how he was feeling.
Gabriel swallowed thick and forced himself to nod.
What the f*ck else was he meant to do?
Those weren’t contacts.
Lucifer held up a clawed finger, “First though, my husband is out in the garden and he’s not feeling well. I’d like to bring him in out of the cold. Do you promise not to freak out if I let him in?”
“Husband…?” Gabriel’s brow furrowed and he sat down heavily on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.
Whatever he thought he’d been expecting when his baby brother returned, it was nothing like this and he suddenly didn’t have a playbook any longer.
“I…sure…”
Lucifer gave him an achingly grateful look before standing and walking to the door, talking to someone just outside. After a moment he stepped aside and what walked in….
Well.
Suddenly Gabriel wasn’t so sure he was awake after all.
Two men of towering height appeared in the doorway, far dwarfing his much smaller baby brother. The first man was lean and sleekly muscled with dark red hair cropped neat and clean and skin about three shades lighter than Gabriel’s own. His intense eyes were fathomless royal carmine and he had to duck through the doorway to avoid scraping literal goddamn antlers against the frame. Alert ears twitched from the hair atop his head and he stood on unguligrade legs that terminated in polished hooves. Lucifer only came up to the man’s collarbone, and barely that.
He was escorted by another man far more compactly muscled and covered head to toe in sable-and-white fur. A pair of scarlet feathered wings tucked up behind his back and his yellow-on-black eyes were watching Gabriel carefully. The right one was bisected by a pronounced scar and a sleek tail swished across the wooden floor behind him. He wore far less clothing than the buttoned-up dusky-skinned man, and he was smaller. Lucifer at least reached the bottom of his chin. Almost.
For Lucifer’s sake, Gabriel hoped the second man was his baby brother’s husband.
For his own sake, Gabriel sincerely hoped this was a dream.
Apparently not as Lucifer smiled at them both and said, “Husk, can you get Alastor situated on the couch? We can get a fire started so the house warms up a bit. Charlie’s just back in her room right now.”
Then he turned back to his brother and said, somewhat nervously, “Alastor, Husker…this is my big brother, Gabriel. Gabey? These…these are my husbands.”
He winced as he said it like he knew how absolutely ludicrous that statement was.
“Husbands,” Gabriel said flatly in disbelief, as if that was the craziest thing he was seeing.
Maybe his brain was just picking the least insane thing to focus on?
“Yeaaaahhhh…” Lucifer drawled, rubbing the back of his own neck and coming to join his brother at the breakfast bar, “It’s…it’s been kind of a f*cking crazy three months.”
“I…” Gabriel started, stopped, cleared his throat, “At the risk of sounding rude…Lucifer…what are they?!”
A wry smile creased his baby brother’s lips, “...Faeries, if you’d believe it.”
“Faeries,” Gabe stated, feeling mildly hysterical.
Lazily, Lucifer sighed, “Yup. Disney f*cking lied.”
It startled a laugh out of his brother, rattled by the pure absurdity of it, who placed a hand over his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath.
His brother’s surprisingly low voice soothed, “I’ll go ahead and answer some questions for you. No, they’re not a supremely weird mafia group with an awesome costuming budget. No, you’re not dying and this isn’t a death hallucination. No, you’re not dreaming and you didn't OD on anything. Just going through the checklist.”
“This is real,” Gabriel said, knowing full well he sounded strangled.
“Super real,” Lucifer confirmed.
“So you’ve been…”
“Long story short? I got kidnapped by Faeries three months ago for a political wedding thingy. Turns out I actually really like the asshole and Charlie’s like stupid-happy where we are, soooo….” the dancer twirled one finger in the air as if to say ‘nothing to see here, no big deal’.
Gabriel didn’t want to admit how much that made sense (because how could an utter fantasy make any sense?), but he was a man of evidence and proof...and there was quite a lot of both right in front of him. There were two men sitting on his couch who couldn’t be anything other than inhuman. His niece looked incredibly happy and healthy, not like a kid who’d been on the run or imprisoned for months. Even his baby brother looked healthier and…Lilith’s wedding ring was no longer on his finger.
“But…husbands…”
Lucifer’s smile went all dumb and soft at the edges, “...The big guy came first. But turns out Husker’s a pretty charming guy himself. We work together. Seems like Faerie isn’t weird about the whole polyamory thing.”
He waved it off and tried being serious, “Gabey…look…I know it’s a lot. I know that. I’m being kinda glib because I’m really scared you’ll freak out on me here. I mean, if I were you I’d freak out. I did freak out. But it was really important to me to see you again before I leave for good…because you’re the only family I’ve got left here.”
“For good?” Gabriel asked, feeling his heart sink.
The little blonde gave him a heartbreaking expression that was both happy and sad at the same time…wistful, “Outside of you, there’s nothing left here for me. I know I messed up bad after Lili died, Gabey. The drug abuse, losing my job, everything. The rest of the family doesn’t want to even hear my name. I have a wonderful life in Faerie…so does Charlie.”
The cat…man…thing (Husk?) was watching them both carefully with genuine care in his eyes. The stag was quiet.
Gabriel swallowed and pressed the back of one wrist to his forehead, “Luci…Luci, I don’t…”
Lucifer waited patiently for him to get his thoughts together.
“...I don’t want you to leave,” Gabriel finally blurted, really trying to absorb the concept of a world where he couldn’t check in on his baby brother from time to time…couldn’t see his pretty niece or see her bright smile. He tried to imagine a future where all he had to look forward to were miserable, endless, high-profile divorce cases he didn’t even enjoy until he retired to please a father who had abandoned his own youngest son.
He tried to wrap his head around all that without the promise of birthdays with Charlie or wine dates with his baby brother.
It felt bleak.
“Gabe…” Lucifer whispered.
“Please. You’re the best part of our family. I don’t think I can handle never seeing you again,” he knew he sounded desperate and he wasn’t ashamed of that fact.
Suddenly, the stag man was scoffing from the couch, “Who on Earth said you’d never see him again?”
Before Lucifer could respond to that, his daughter was calling him and he stood quickly from the stool, wobbling slightly, “I’ll be right back. Sorry.”
He power-walked down the hall, leaving his brother and his husbands alone.
They regarded each other almost warily before Gabriel stood and took his stool with him, sitting back down in front of the couch so he could watch both men who were apparently married to his baby brother, “...Run that by me again.”
Alastor, the stag, lifted his eyebrow, “Does never seeing Lucifer again really distress you so?”
“Of course it does. He’s my baby brother.”
The red ears on top of the man’s head flicked and Gabriel was briefly fascinated before the man spoke again and reeled his attention back, “Lucifer told us of how your family abandoned him. Our daughter has told us that her teachers spoke poorly of him. I have no desire to let him return to a place that places so little value in him…however I would be amenable to allowing you to visit him.”
That staggered the lawyer and he reared back slightly, blinking.
“Consider it,” the red-headed Fae male said with a hum.
Husk tsked at him and stood to walk over to Gabriel, holding out one large paw-like hand (a gesture he’d learned from Lucifer), “Hey, don’t mind him. He’s just overprotective of our wife is all. M’Husk. It’s good to meetcha, Gabriel. Luci has great things to say about you.”
Dedicated to good manners and decorum, Gabriel took the hand he was offered firmly and pumped it once, “Good to meet you, Husk. I hope you don’t take offense when I inform you I am struggling with the concept of my newly widowed baby brother suddenly having two new husbands.”
The cat-man rolled one shoulder, “Nah, I get it. Take your time. Figuring out how sh*t worked with all of us was hard for blondie at first too.”
Alastor interrupted them, the man having levered himself painfully up off of the couch to walk slowly over to the fireplace, studying a photo sitting on the mantle. It was lovely…his pretty wife smiling so wide that all of his teeth were showing next to a very, very familiar statuesque blonde woman. They were both dressed extremely informally and the woman was in a strange bed holding a tiny form in her arms.
Gabriel turned to see what he was looking at and his eyes immediately went soft and sad, “...That’s Luci and Lils the day Charlie was born. They got a nurse to take it.”
“Tell me about her,” Alastor said and Husk was surprised, but quiet.
Feeling the energy in the room, Gabriel proceeded carefully, walking over to the tall stag, “She was one hell of a woman...cultured, elegant, well-spoken and she loved my idiot brother like nothing else. Lilith made him brave. Lucifer’s always been a dreamer, but when we were young, he was so conflict averse. I’d get so angry at him, but Lilith…Lilith encouraged him to be bold and rebellious. She encouraged him to grow up.”
Gabe reached out to brush his dark fingers down the glass protecting the photo.
The stag looked conflicted, his bright ruby eyes gone dark.
“...But he lost her…and he needed someone else to make him bold. He wasn’t healthy after she was gone,” Gabriel said, sensing that there was something complicated going on and naturally inclined to fix it, “...If you make him even half as brave, then…I don’t understand it, but I’m…grateful he has you.”
Giving a pep talk to a literal Fae hadn’t been on Gabriel’s bingo card for the year, but…
He did have to clear something up though, “...Did you really steal him?”
Husk grunted and rubbed at one of the triangular ears poking up from the top of his head, “Eh, that was my fault…and a f*ckin’ long-ass story.”
“...How has he been?” Gabriel ventured next.
Husk watched as Alastor carefully made a slow (painfully slow) circuit of the room, looking over the pictures scattered around of an entire life lived before he ever knew the small blonde.
While the other man was occupied, he said to his brother-in-law, “We’ve had our hard days. He’s restless at night sometimes. Gets nightmares sometimes. But we’re workin’ on gettin’ him to talk to us when he has a bad day. It’s a little better every time and that’s all we can ask for. He’s worth it.”
This entire night was insane beyond words, but that…Gabriel had to admit he didn’t hate hearing that.
Both men went quiet for a moment to focus in on the happy chatter of father and daughter back in the bedrooms, making sure everything was going well before focusing back in on each other. Gabriel asked the next question pressing on his mind.
“Is Charlie happy?”
Husk answered again, leaving Alastor to his investigation, “Never met a happier kid. If you’re worried about whether or not she’s well taken care of with us, she’s fine. f*ck man…Al’s the damn King. That makes Charlie the Princess. Court loves her, she’s got a grandma who dotes on her, and her daddy showers her with love.”
Gabriel was about to open his mouth when Lucifer and Charlie’s voices floated back up the hall, the little girl sounding excited, “Can we watch it, daddy?”
Her father sounded unsure, but aiming somewhere north of encouraging, “We need to ask your papas first, okay? Remember that a TV might be spooky for them, sweetie.”
Husk shot Gabriel a look that said they’d table the discussion for later, turning back to where his mate was emerging from the bedroom area with an excited Charlie who currently had a tiny box in her hands, “Hey kid, whatcha got?”
“Mommy and daddy’s dance movie!” The child crowed proudly.
Lucifer was blushing gently behind Charlie, gently touching her shoulders, “...It’s the recording of when Lilith and I danced Romeo and Juliet. Charlie loves it…”
He sounded almost apologetic.
The hobgoblin blinked, “The f*ck is a movie?”
“Papa Husk!” Charlie chastised.
“Sorry, kid…but question stands.”
The small blonde took the little box from his daughter and traced his fingertips over the case, feeling the cool plastic under the sensitive pads, “You know how Del’s records are like music frozen in time? DVDs are like that but with pictures. They record moments of time. This movie of Lilith and I is from before Charlie was born. I was still in my twenties.”
“Can we please watch it, Papa?!” Charlie begged, turning the full force of her puppy dog eyes on the hobgoblin.
Gabriel watched as the imposing, scarred man legitimately crumpled in the face of his niece’s innocent begging and he said, “...Why don’t we ask your daddy to uh…play it? Also, Al, siddown. You don’t need to go wanderin’ right now.”
The red-headed King let out a displeased rumble at being ordered around, but made his way grudgingly back to the couch as commanded. He would never admit that his chest was on fire from the activity and he actually did need to sit - it was a matter of pride. Gabriel watched him warily, something distinctly ‘prey-oriented’ in the back of his mind telling him on no uncertain terms that this man was absolutely a predator, just a tame one for the moment. When the big man sat, one of his lips drew up in a pained grimace, flashing razor sharp teeth that absolutely did not suit his deer-like extra parts.
The lawyer watched how his little brother fiddled with the DVD, looking pointedly at the red-head, “Al, if you need to rest…”
“I enjoy seeing you dance, pet,” the stag replied, waving the unspoken concern away as if it meant nothing at all to him, “And Miss Charlotte has put in a special request. This is not a treat she will be able to experience often so I see no reason to deny her.”
“And can we have a dance party after?!” Charlie piped up, clambering up onto the couch and carefully seating herself next to Alastor so she wouldn’t jostle him.
“We’ll see,” Lucifer said with a hedging tone, turning his back to the room so he could start fiddling with the entertainment system, "You still have a bedtime, missy."
Gabriel’s eyes widened at the sight of his brother’s neck in the light, suddenly catching sight of the snake scales pouring down his spine from the nape of his hair before disappearing into the collar of his hoodie. He caught Husk grinning at him, not unkindly but definitely knowingly. He bit his tongue until Lucifer made a triumphant noise and the screen flared to life, soft music filling the room.
Not really having a proper menu, the DVD started right away and Gabe gently cleared his throat, “Hey, Luci? Mind if we have a talk?”
Lucifer blinked at him but Alastor only flicked a look at both of them, gently jerking his chin in the direction of the hallway.
Tacit permission.
“Sure. Charlie’s gonna be dug in to the movie for awhile,” his brother replied and walked back towards the bedrooms, letting himself into his daughter’s and immediately moving to start re-folding the clothes she’d picked out. He was making himself busy as an instinct while Gabriel quietly closed the door, “What’s up, Gabey?”
“...Are things really okay?”
Lucifer sighed softly and sat gently on the bed, lap still full of a shirt he’d only managed to half-fold, “...They really are. Nobody’s got a gun to my head or anything. They don’t have guns, for starters…”
“Luci, be serious,” Gabriel said, voice low.
Rosebud lips twisted, but that little blonde head nodded, “I’m happy, Gabe. Despite the whole ‘kidnapping’ thing, I really did have a choice about marrying Alastor. I could have said no anytime.”
“And the Husk guy?”
“Also totally my choice. He and Al…they make me feel safe. I haven’t felt safe in half a year except when you’re around, and you’ve got your own life to live. You can’t waste it being my security blanket,” Lucifer said quietly, going back to work, “They’re so good to me.”
“I’m worried that you rushed things, Luci. It’s been three months and you’ve already got two husbands and that’s…it feels rash,” his brother said with a gentle but firm concern to his tone.
Lucifer smoothed a thumb over the neck of a petite sweater, “...It’s been nine since Lilith died.”
“I…” Gabriel tried to find something to say about that.
“...You really don’t need to worry about me anymore, Gabey. Me or Charlie. I haven’t had a pill in three months.”
“Not even your depression meds? Luci…”
His brother sighed, “Not like they make them in Fae. It’s…that one’s hard…but…they take care of me, Husker and Al.”
“I think you should stay here. Being away from all of your medication isn’t good, Luci. You need to be somewhere where there are pharmacies that can help you and good doctors with your medical files. What about Charlie? She could be predisposed to cancer. She needs to be somewhere she can be checked regularly once she gets older,” Gabriel fretted, coming to sit down next to Lucifer to try and get him to listen.
“Charlie is part of the reason I decided to stay. She’ll never get something like cancer in Fae…never get sick like Lils did. She’ll live a good, long life…practically timeless,” Lucifer said a bit more firmly than intended before forcing himself to take a deep breath, picking up one of the stuffed animals Charlie had selected to take with them and setting it in his lap, “As for me…what good is a healthy head if I never see Husk and Alastor again?”
He turned his yellow viper’s gaze up to his brother, “...And I think you know I can’t stay. The way I look now? It’s never going away, Gabey.”
Gabriel stared at those eyes and asked softly, “What happened to you?”
Lucifer’s clawed hands gently squeezed the stuffy toy, “I’m not Human anymore, for one thing. It’s something that happens if you spend too long in Faerie…you start to adapt to become a part of it. It’s called the Change. I don’t fit here anymore.”
“There are cosmetic surgeons…”
“At all, Gabe. I don’t fit here at all anymore. Nothing smells right. Nothing looks right. Nothing feels right. I don’t have a job, Charlie disappeared from school, people knew I was abusing my prescriptions…hell, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a DCF report put out on me. But back there…I have two men who are crazy about me, a mom who actually cares about me, people who need me. The world feels big and beautiful and free on the other side,” Lucifer gave his brother a soft smile, “I’m okay with being one of the people who disappears.”
“I’m not,” the dark-skinned man said with all the strength in his chest. The idea of losing his baby brother again after only ten years of having his friendship struck him in the gut.
“Then take Alastor’s offer. Come visit,” Lucifer said, “How long is dad giving you off from the firm?”
“I took a few months. If you were really in trouble, I wanted time to make sure I could take care of you,” Gabriel said.
“So…spend it with us. Charlie would lose her mind to have that much time with you and I know Delphine would love you. You could spend the winter with us and we’ll send you back here at the Vernal Equinox,” something buzzed in Gabriel’s pocket and Lucifer’s eyes flicked to it, “...You could get away from mom and dad for a while.”
"Delphine?"
"Alastor's mother...my mother-in-law. She's from Earth just like us...sure, it was Louisiana like a hundred years ago,but..."
What Lucifer was pitching him…it didn’t sound terrible.
He could tell his overbearing father he was going somewhere without cell signal and just spend three unbroken months with his baby brother. He could meet his new family. He could see this place where Lucifer was making a life (and, if it was actually awful, he’d have more time to convince him to leave). But this was all still absolutely insane and the idea of running away to what was apparently a whole other world was…intimidating. Gabriel was a man who valued well calculated plans and good data...time to digest information and make the best decisions with what he was given.
“...Can I have the night to think about it?” Gabriel finally asked.
Lucifer’s eyes brightened at the suggestion he was even considering it, “We don’t leave until noon tomorrow. Take your time.”
“Thank you,” the bigger man’s thick brows beetled together and he said, “For coming back at all. I was worried sick.”
“Gabey…you’re the only member of my family who ever cared about us. I hated the idea that you might never know we’re okay. I couldn’t leave you like that, not after everything you did for me’n Char-Char,” the smaller man said, slowly releasing the stuffed animal and placing it back amongst its fellows.
“...I like the Husk guy, by the way,” Gabriel replied, smoothing down his turbulent emotions and clearing his throat again (a nervous habit), “Alastor is…”
“An ass?” A sly, fanged grin split his brother’s face, “He can be, yeah. It’s kinda why I like him so f*cking much. He’s not boring. He’s bad with the feelings thing, but he’s sweet in his own smug way. We match each other…I put him in his place and he puts me in mine. Husk balances us both out.”
“You never did like it when things were easy,” the older man shook his head fondly.
“Nope!”
~*~
Out in the main room, Charlie was leaned up against Alastor’s side, dozing lightly and lulled by the familiar sights and sounds of the movie.
The King was transfixed by the whole concept…the very idea that he was watching a Lucifer from the past. This vision of his wife seemed lighter and more innocent than any Alastor had ever known in their brief three-month romance. He was dressed all in white, the dress wrapped around his slim body diaphanous, flowing like water from an empire waist to his knees. His golden hair was slicked back and a gold woven net had been pinned in to give the illusion of extra curls at the back. He smiled easily and often…real despite the fact he was playing a romantic lead.
He moved as if he were no more substantial than the gown he was clothed in, light and airy and free.
The woman with him (cunningly disguised as a man) was…it was the face the forest had worn when she spoke to Alastor at the edge of death. She had chosen Lucifer’s wife as her mouth and Alastor was unsure how to feel about that.
Lilith was perfect and that fact sat in Alastor’s guts like rotted fruit.
Every movement was perfectly executed, every muscle perfectly honed, every gaze entrancing and enticing. She was strong and beautiful and the way Lucifer looked at her filled the stag with a jealousy he could barely name. How foolish, he told himself. How utterly ridiculous to feel such things about a dead woman…as if he were in competition with a ghost. His eyes flicked back up to the picture on the mantle - of a Lucifer and Lilith in their first minutes as parents and the pure joy there. Had he ever given his wife such boundless happiness?Couldhe?
“Hey,” Husk murmured, perhaps seeing the tension in him.
Alastor made a non-committal sound and turned back to the movie in time to see a younger Lucifer swoon into the goddess’ arms.
“Luci sure can move, huh? Never seen dancin’ like this,” his Old Cat tried to distract him.
“It’s always a delight to see him dance. You must insist he do so for you once we return home,” Alastor said quietly, aware of the sleeping child at his side.
His voice sounded preoccupied.
Shifting up from his spot on the couch and coming to sit on the arm next to the King, Husk whispered, “He loves you, boss.”
“I am aware,” Alastor said gruffly.
“Then why do you look like you’re thinkin’ about throwin’ this television thing through a window?”
The stag sighed carefully, trying to avoid hurting himself, “...I believe I had hoped I would outshine her in some way…that there was some flaw in her I could see. But she is everything Lucifer said of her and more. Simply look at her, Husker. She was part of a private world I can never hope to share with Lucifer, she gave him a child, shared his life with him. What is three months compared to ten years of partnership?”
A strong hand gently pinched the back of his neck, “Hey, enough of that. You’re thinkin’ about this all wrong. You should be grateful to her.”
“I beg your pardon?” Alastor hissed and then promptly forced himself to be quiet when Charlie shifted at his side.
“That woman right there? She gave us the Luci you and I are both f*ckin’ nuts about. She spent ten years helpin’ make him the man you were able to fall for. She gave us a gift,” Husk said, tilting his head to Charlie.
Well.
Alastor had never properly considered that.
“And the biggest part you’re forgettin’...you’re the only one comparin’ you to Lilith. Luci sure ain’t,” Husk let out a stuttery purr, more stops and starts than proper sound, “Y’know he was devastated when he thought you were dyin’? I think losin’ you woulda killed him. Tell me that ain’t love. As for the time? Boss, we got literal millennia if we want it.”
The King jerked at the very possibility that his death could have killed his mate, grunting in pain when it agitated his wounds, but Husk was quick to calm him, tail swishing, “Just…chew on it for a bit.”
He did.
Alastor mulled it over and over and over as the rest of the recording played out and Lucifer remained back in the bedroom to talk to his brother. Husk made the decision to shoo everyone off to bed, carefully picking up Charlie and walking back to the room he remembered being filled with the little girl’s things. He found the brothers there talking and packing and they got the child tucked in for the night before making arrangements to get up early the next morning, finish packing, and have that ‘dance party’ Charlie was so eager for.
Gabriel pulled down bedding to sleep on the couch with the understanding that Husk, Alastor, and Lucifer would be sharing his room.
Alastor was still deep in thought as they retreated to Lucifer’s bedroom and turned out the lights, opening the little window just a crack to let in the night air. He considered it as he and Husk both realized that a grand total of none of Lucifer’s sleep clothes would fit them and decided to simply use the blankets to hide their modesty for the night. The stag’s brain stayed full as he slid into a place in bed nearest the wall so he wouldn’t risk falling off if he shifted in the night, Husk at his side with Lucifer draped on top of him beneath a thick duvet.
When at last the lights were out and the still of the house settled over them, the stag looked down at the little ring twinkling on his pinkie and said, “...Your Lilith. She was lovely.”
Golden, lucidum-shine eyes turned to him in the dark and Lucifer hummed, “She was. Gorgeous.”
“She suited you,” Alastor admitted, not feeling quite as much like his tongue was poisoned when he said the words.
A small hand reached out to cup his cheek, “...So do you, big guy.”
And then his bride was leaning over to kiss him deep and slow, and suddenly the idea of Lilith Magne pained the Lord of Autumn not at all.
