Read Feathered Friend first or otherwise this story will probably not make much sense. There should be a series thing on this site to make reading story series easier...


Nesting Behaviour

It started small.

In fact, it started with a pen.

Dan had no idea what it was doing mixed in with his cheap plastic biros, but there it was. A sleek, black and extremely expensive looking fountain pen. The word Morningstar was embellished on it in gold, so he knew who it had come from, but not why.

He looked around the bullpen, noting that both Chloe and Lucifer were not at his ex's desk. He shrugged, put the pen down in the holder with his own and left to go see if his pudding had been stolen that day.

He stared intently at what must be his mind playing tricks on him. There wasn't just one pudding where his lay nestled in its usual spot. There were three. Each with a name and warning not to steal. Also, the pre packaged store bought one he usually got was gone, in exchange for pudding cups you'd find in a home kitchen. He slowly grabbed his and pulled it out. He decided if he got sick after eating it that it was indeed some cruel joke played on him by the Devil, because isn't that what the Devil is supposed to do?

He closed his eyes at the first taste, because this was not only homemade but perfect.

What exactly was going on here?

He wished that Lucifer was there to answer his questions, but he wasn't. Shrugging, forgetting about the pen, he got back to work. He would just have to wait until he went home.

After he had done with filling out paperwork on the cases he was working on, he went home to spend some time with Dusty. He found the bird to have gotten attached to him very fast and hated not being talked to first thing when he got home. He was sure the parrot held a grudge for days after if he didn't say hello to him first thing. He couldn't even go to the bathroom first. He wondered if that was normal bird behaviour.

It wasn't until about a half hour before he was due to leave to go to Lucifer's that he noticed something else different. A shirt and sweatpants were found in a neatly wrapped bundle on his bed, with a note on top which simply read 'For grooming'.

That's when Dan got angry.

Picking up the clothing, he stormed out of his apartment and out to his car, keen to have a go at the Devil himself for breaking into his house while he wasn't home. Lucifer needed to learn boundaries.

When he arrived at the building, Lux still wasn't busy so he didn't waste any time going straight over to the elevator up to the penthouse apartment above the club which Lucifer called home. He had no idea how this new arrangement of theirs would all work with Lucifer also having to run a club during the nights. He guessed that would be something to work out later, because right now he just wanted to get it through the angel's thick head that it was not good to break into other people's homes.

"Lucifer! What the Hell are you doing?!" was the first thing out of his mouth when the doors opened to the apartment.

He stopped to blink after the words were out of his mouth.

"Well, most people would call it playing the piano. Why? Am I not doing it in a way you find pleasant or something?"

Rubbing his forehead, sure he'd end up with a headache sooner or later, he shook his head. "No, I meant with the clothes...and the mess."

He had never seen Lucifer's apartment look so unkempt. He was sure Lucifer was actually allergic to mess. There were things scattered everywhere.

"The clothes are for you! Picked them out myself and everything. Don't worry, Ella got the same, no special favours. As to the mess...yes, I am currently looking for the nicest sheets I can find and ended up spreading them everywhere to see. Sorry. At least it won't take long to clean up."

Blinking again, Dan shook his head. "I don't understand you at all sometimes..."

Oddly enough, the anger had disappeared. Usually that would be quite the task when dealing with Lucifer, but there was just something so...odd with the mess, it stole his thunder. So to speak.

"Uh, is Ella here?"

"In the bathroom getting changed. Should be out any second. Why the two of you are changing in a bathroom makes no sense. It's not like I'll make any unnecessary moves on either of you, even if you are naked in my living room."

It took him a few seconds to remember that he wasn't the only one that would run into communication snags sometimes. He needs to keep remembering that Lucifer wasn't human. "Humans aren't too keen on public nudity unless they really know someone, or are intimate with them, and even then sometimes it's frowned on in certain circumstances."

"Yeah, don't get it. If you have it, flaunt it, I say."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Well, you do that. I'm waiting for Ella to come out here, so I can go get changed. Why the clothes anyway?"

Lucifer blinked at him, the movement slow. "It just...seemed like the nice thing at the time. You know, matching outfits. Well, mine without the shirt, because shirts don't work too well with wings showing unless it's something that's been planned and, well, I am finding myself not remembering exactly how to plan for it..."

That pinged something in Dan's head that reminded him of everything else. "So, what's with the puddings? And the pen?"

Lucifer blinked again. "Uh, I thought your pens looked a bit cheap. And if you're going to eat pudding at least eat the good stuff. Made it myself."

Dan stared, because he couldn't really think of anything else to say. The whole argument had fled his head now in favour of getting in the bathroom to change, because he was feeling awkward now.

That's when Ella appeared dressed in the same shirt and sweatpants that he was soon to be wearing. She smiled at him.

"Hey! You're here. Great! We can do this early then. I want to get some downtime to read tonight before going to bed."

And with that, he took his clothing bundle, ran into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

He suddenly wished he had not agreed to this at all.