Work Text:
Lucifer was never one for routines. He got bored too easily, and repeating the same tasks over and over again every single day with no variation often led to him slacking off and neglecting certain things until he wasn't accomplishing anything at all. It did mean people sometimes had difficulty tracking him down when they needed his assistance or some royal signature or whatever, but it was better than not doing any of what he needed to do.
Of course, now that being the king meant about as much as tits on a nun, he had plenty of free time in his not-schedule. And damn it, when you've lived as long as he had, you run out of things to do eventually. The world was ever-evolving, but you can't really go back through and explore classic literature to see what it was like before when you were alive when it was first published. Plus once he read it, he remembered everything, and he'd find himself sitting there rattling off what lines were going to come next while he was reading, which was almost worse than going to a movie theater to see a show and someone next to him was spoiling the ending before the opening credits finished.
Not that he went to movie theaters often. Never did like the moving pictures. No, books were more his pace. Which was precisely why he was currently exploring the hotel library, flitting from shelf to shelf in search of a title he might not have read yet. He was having some success, a growing pile of books on the table in the middle of the room showed that much. There were a couple he thought Alastor might like in that pile, too, murder mysteries mostly.
The bulk of the books were fiction, though he did grab a couple books about deer. They had some special plans for the upcoming human holiday and, given the demon's more bestial traits, Lucifer wanted to do a little research. He wasn't quite sure what to expect for side-effects from Ozzie's pills, so he figured it would be a good idea what to expect if they drew from a sinner's enforced form in Hell. Mannerisms he might have to watch for. …Or look forward to. He'd find out when he read the books.
Once he was satisfied with his collection, he piled them all up in his arms, barely able to see over the top of the stack, then started out the door. As he reached for it with his tail, it burst open, knocking him on his ass and sending the books flying as a very excited seraphim shot into the room.
"Mister Morningstar!" Emily called, looking around the library, blissfully unaware she'd just zipped past him. "Mister Morningstar? Are you in here? Mister-oh!" she gasped as she turned around, covering her mouth with a giggle as he dusted himself off after getting up. "Sorry, didn't see you there!" She landed nearby, gathering up some of the books to hand to him.
"That's alright, uh…" he trailed off, his eyes locking on the gold wing on her back before abruptly looking away, grinding his teeth. "Emily. It's fine," he assured her, bending down to help pick up the books.
"Sorry," she apologized again, giving him a winning smile and offering him the books she picked up for him. "I have a delivery for you! Not the books, a letter," she explained as he accepted them.
"A letter?" he mirrored, blinking and arching a brow before he realized what that would mean. "A letter!?" He dropped the books, suddenly excited and holding his hands out. "For me?"
"Of course! Gabriel was very clear that this letter was for your eyes only," she said with a very serious salute before pulling the envelope from her bag and laying it in his hands. "I hope it's good news," she offered, glancing down and busying herself with gathering up the books again.
"Gabriel," he repeated, staring at the wax seal as his anxiety spiked. This was it. This was the moment of truth, whether the efforts put into his prior letter were worth it or if letting it all go was the right decision to make. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before breaking the seal with his claw, flipping it open and pulling out the folded paper inside.
The bubbly seraphim set the books on the table, then clasped her hands in front of herself, smiling at him as he started to read. "...You're a lot more relaxed about getting a letter from your brother," she remarked with a giggle. "He summoned his mace like it was going to bite him." She was quiet for a moment before her smile dropped and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oops! I wasn't supposed to say that!"
The devil blindly reached for the back of a nearby chair, swiping at the air until his fingers found purchase along the carved wood. He pulled it over, sinking into it as his tail flicked nervously in the air. "...Soooooo, what's it about?" Emily asked, hovering over to him.
"He… he wants to see me," he said dumbly, lowering the letter to his lap. "He wants to arrange a meeting. Just the two of us." He sat in stunned silence, staring at the messy handwriting in disbelief. Gabe was… actually willing to hear him out. Or he wanted to tell him to his face that he wanted nothing to do with him and to stop trying. But if that was the case, he wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of writing him a letter. His thumb swiped over the scrawled signature, claw lightly scraping the paper.
"Oh, how fun!" Emily cheered, clapping her hands together. "Are you going to write a response right away, or… should I go? I've got some other letters to deliver. I can come back later."
"No, that's… that won't be necessary," he said, shaking his head before meeting her gaze. "My response won't be long enough for a letter. Just… let him know to pick the date and time and I'll make it work."
"Sure!" she nodded, spinning around in midair. "I'll let him know! Have a great day, Mister Morningstar!"
"It's Lucif-" he sighed. She was already gone, the pop of a bubble notifying him her portal had already closed. Excitable thing. Only made the guilt about her wing that much heavier. She almost reminded him of himself, when he was… well.
He got to his feet, staring at the letter for a moment longer before he snapped his fingers, a duffel bag depositing itself on the table next to his pile of books. This was probably the smarter idea to begin with. He laid the books into the bag, along with the letter, before zipping it up and lifting the strap over his shoulder.
~
"Pick the time and date?" Gabriel asked, arching a brow at Emily. "That's… all he had to say?"
The seraphim only beamed back at him, nodding quickly. "Yep! He said he'd make whatever time and date you want work, so… pick one!" She clasped her hands in front of her, landing on the ground in front of him. "He was super nervous about opening your letter. And kinda shocked that you wanted to meet up. He had to sit down," she explained. "I found him in the library at the hotel. He was picking up a lot of weird books," she mused, tapping her chin.
"...Do you remember what titles?"
She furrowed her brows, rubbing her chin. "...The Hidden Life of Deer, The Sentinel, Walk the Wire, Gardens of the Moon, and Empire of Silence. Those are the ones I helped him pick up off the floor, anyway," she said with a shrug. "Any idea what they're about? Well. Other than the deer one," she added. "That one's kind of obvious."
The archangel blinked. He… really should read more. "I haven't the foggiest idea. But Raphael might," he mused. "I'll ask him, then I'll let you know what time I want to have the meeting."
The seraphim gave him two thumbs up. "Okay! I'll fly by the penthouse tomorrow afternoon, then!"
~
"He's reading… mystery novels?" Raphael asked, lowering his reading glasses. The two archangels were sitting in his study, Gabriel pacing the floor as the black angel read over a medical journal.
"Is that what those are?" Gabe stopped, tilting his head quizzically.
His taller brother sighed, removing his glasses and marking his page. "The Sentinel and Walk the Wire are both mystery novels," he explained. "The former being part of a series of novels featuring an ex-military musclehead that can't seem to keep himself out of trouble. I believe there's a television show on Earth about him now on Netflix."
"The two after that, however, are… fantasy novels. Gardens of the Moon is the first in a series about a war-torn empire, high fantasy, sort of like Lord of the Rings." At the expression of further confusion on Gabriel's face, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Father, give me strength," he lamented. "High fantasy," he said slowly. "Dragons. Castles. Magic. Elves, dwarves, ancient evils and good triumphing over them."
"Ohhhh, so like Game of Thrones."
"I… yes, technically. You do realize that was a book first, right?" His silence brought the darker angel physical pain. "Never mind. Empire of Silence is a sci-fi novel." More silence. "Aliens," he deadpanned, a long-suffering smile on his face.
Gabriel crossed his arms, flopping into one of the chairs. "Why not just watch a movie?" he grumbled.
"Because he has auditory memory issues, dear," Raph sighed, putting his glasses back on and resuming his reading. "The exact opposite of Michael. He'd remember the scenes, but unless someone put on subtitles, he wouldn't remember the music or the dialogue. If he reads a book, he remembers all of it. Movies and television are a fusion of sound and sight, while books and music are one or the other. He can enjoy those and still have the entire picture later, so to speak."
"We were both made parts of a whole. That's why we compliment each other. I'm studious where you're lax, he's adventurous where Mike is stoic." He glanced up at him, a smirk on his face. "And why you write like you're holding a pen for the first time and I make calligraphy."
The dark-haired angel sighed, gazing out the window. "...Are you sure agreeing to this meeting is the right idea?"
"Not in the slightest," Raphael admitted with a shrug. "But… I know if you don't, you'll be pacing the floor wondering what's going on in his head. This will give you a chance to ask him directly. So take it."
"...Why in the name of our father is he reading about deer?"
~
Lucifer was pacing in the parlor, his tail swishing behind him each time he turned. The king's hands wouldn't stop fidgeting, like he wasn't sure how to hold them or where they were even supposed to go. Alastor was sitting on the couch nearby, an even expression on his face as he watched him move back and forth. "You'll have a furrow in the floor by evening at this rate," he remarked.
The devil sighed, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling as his shoulders sagged. "I don't know about this, Al. I haven't talked to him in so long. The first time we've even seen each other since I was cast out and he was being a jerk," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "Then I send him a letter offering a meeting with the two of us to go over my offer and he just… accepts it? Should I be more concerned? Should I be excited? Both?" he groaned in frustration, bringing both hands to his head and tugging on his hair.
"I'm beginning to see where Charlie gets it," the Radio Demon muttered to himself.
Before the fallen angel could offer a retort, a bubble portal opened up in the parlor and Emily buzzed in, landing lightly on the floor. The seraphim offered a bright wave to the demon before her attention locked on Lu. "Okay, so he's gone over his schedule and the next opening he has is this Thursday," she informed him. "He also wanted me to remind you that this is just supposed to be the two of you, so if he shows up and there's anyone else in the room, he's leaving," she added, frowning a little.
The static to his right warned the king how his partner felt about that. "Alright, Thursday," he confirmed, nodding to her. "Thank you, Emily. Let him know I'll open a portal for him to come through just outside the gates."
Once she left, Alastor tilted his head at Lucifer. "Do you really think it wise to be meeting one on one with him given your last interactions have been unpleasant?" he asked, arching a brow.
"Al, it's a show of faith," he explained, making his way over to join him on the couch. "And this isn't a situation like meeting with a sinner for me. He can hurt me, but I can hurt him back," he reasoned. "I don't want it to come to that, though. Even if all that comes of this is him telling me they want nothing to do with anything I can offer and I can go jump off the nearest cliff… at least I tried, right?" he offered with a shrug.
The deer demon only shook his head before pulling him into a hug. "If he hurts you, he will not be leaving unscathed," he warned.
"He won't," the angel assured him, returning the embrace. "...Physically."