Welcome to chapter 1!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lucifer or Vertigo comics.
One Week Earlier,
The two brothers stood at the edge of the forest, emotionally unprepared for the battle ahead of them.
"Lucifer," Michael started, "Being realistic, all of us might not make it out of this,"
"I understand that brother," Lucifer sighed. "But what other choice do we have?"
"None," Michael replied. "But, should only you and Elaine make it out, I want you to promise me you'll ensure that she is taken care of,"
Lucifer lowered his head. "Of course I will M-"
Michael grabbed his brother's arm and forced him to look him in the eyes. "Promise me Lucifer,"
"My word is my bond, brother," Lucifer insisted.
Michael nodded and turned away from his brother. "Now that it's settled, we have a battle to fight,"
Currently, at Lux,
Lucifer looked back at Elaine. "So, what do you want for dinner?"
Elaine shrugged. "I'll be fine with anything,"
"You sure?" Lucifer asked. "If we don't have the stuff here, we can order out. Or I could make you something. Chicken alfredo? Gnocchi? Sashimi?"
Elaine stepped into the kitchen area, giving their pantry a quick look through. "How about grilled cheese?"
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Grilled cheese?" he echoed.
Elaine nodded. "You know, when you put some cheese in between two pieces of bread and heat it up,"
Lucifer rolled his eyes. "I know what grilled cheese is,"
Elaine giggled to herself as she watched her uncle grill the sandwiched.
After they were both well into their sandwiches, Elaine looked up at Lucifer. "So, what's on your agenda for tomorrow?" she asked casually.
Lucifer straightened his back. "Well, I was going to meet the Detective at the station, but if you need me-"
"I'll be fine," Elaine assured him. "You should go to work. I mean, I'll just be catching up on some sleep and getting settled,"
Lucifer nodded slowly. "Okay. But you have both Maze and my numbers, right?"
"On speed dial," Elaine teased.
"Alright then," Lucifer smirked.
"Where did you get your birth certificate from?" Elaine asked suddenly.
Lucifer looked back at her thoughtfully. "Well, as I was not given one at birth, I had a very helpful gentlemen write it up for a fair price. Why?"
"Well, it's just that I'm going to need one when I register for school and what not," Elaine explained quickly.
"Understandable," Lucifer said. "Just write down what you want on it and I will get him on it,"
"Well that leads me to my next question then," Elaine said after swallowing a bit of her sandwich. "Now that the Bellocs haven't been my parents for years now, it doesn't seem right to go by Elaine Belloc anymore,"
"Perfectly reasonable," Lucifer nodded. "What would you like to change it to?"
"Well, I was thinking maybe my middle name could be Demiguros, as it was Michael's last name. Or title actually. And since know I have it, you know,"
"Why not have that be your last name?" Lucifer asked.
Elaine shrugged. "It would be an odd last name. Essentially as it is not the last name of any of my living relatives,"
"Most in our family don't use last names," Lucifer smirked.
"I know, but I need to. And you chose to," Elaine added. "So, for it to make sense, maybe I should go by Morningstar, so people will ask less questions,"
"Now that you are my ward, it would be the most logical," Lucifer mused. "Although people are going to ask questions regardless,"
"So what will we tell them?" Elaine asked. "I mean, I know you don't lie, so we can't make up any fake backstory,"
"We can just explain that you are my niece and I am now taking care of you as your biological father recently passed away. They don't need any more than that," Lucifer told her.
Elaine smiled softly before finishing her sandwich.
"Tired?" Lucifer asked.
Elaine shook her head. "Not yet,"
"Great! We have time for the next Ted movie then," Lucifer grinned.
Elaine smiled and put both their plates in the sink while Lucifer rushed over to the remote.
Life with Lucifer would be rather interesting.
The next morning, the Precinct,
"Good morning Detective," Lucifer chirped as he arrived at Chloe's desk that morning.
"Morning Lucifer. What are you doing here?" Chloe asked.
Lucifer feigned offense. "Why Detective, I thought partners worked together on a regular basis,"
Chloe smiled and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. You should be resting at home. It's just paperwork today and with everything that happened I just thought-"
"I'm fine Chloe," Lucifer insisted. "More than able to do paperwork as well,"
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated doing paperwork. You said that there was a cell somewhere in hell dedicated to just that task,"
Lucifer shrugged. "I did. But, being honest, paperwork isn't the only reason I'm here," he admitted.
Chloe leaned forward. "And what reason is that?"
"I, well, wanted to talk to you about something. Or rather, someone," Lucifer muttered.
Chloe nodded. "About your brother?"
Lucifer shook his head. "No, about Elaine,"
Chloe sat back in her chair. "Elaine? Well, we never did say we were exclusive or anything, so if you and her-"
"There is no Elaine and me. At least not like that," Lucifer promised her. "Elaine isn't my girlfriend or anything of the sort. She's more like my child,"
This stopped Chloe in her tracks. "Did you just say child?!"
"Yes, well, technically she is my late brother's offspring, but I am her current guardian," Lucifer said, taking a deep breath. "You see, while I was in London I visited her at Oakham, her boarding school. And after everything that went down with Michael, we decided that it would be best if she were around family. So…" Lucifer took a deep breath.
"So you're going to live in London with her?" Chloe whispered.
"No, no," Lucifer corrected. "We decided that Elaine would come live here with me, in Los Angeles,"
Chloe nodded, taking a moment to think. "That's a big change for you. Lots of adjustments, you know,"
Lucifer smirked. "Not that many. Elaine is pretty mature, likes to take care of things herself, very independent. Hell, she is like a self cleaning oven,"
"Lucifer!" Chloe scolded.
"What? It's true," Lucifer shrugged.
"So, what else can you tell me about her?" Chloe asked.
"Oh, she's just darling. She's mindful of her education, she just adores going to school. Very interested in science and math and such. Practically an angel," Lucifer smiled.
"I'd really love to meet her," Chloe said. "I mean, I know it's kind of soon, but-"
"But I already know Beatrice, I met her during our first case. And anyways, you are my partner, it only make sense that you two know each other," Lucifer reasoned.
Chloe nodded. "So, when works best?"
"How about lunch tomorrow," Lucifer suggested.
"Trixie is staying with Dan, and I have nothing planned, so it sounds perfect," Chloe grinned.
Lucifer smiled. "It's a date then. Now, how about we get back to that paperwork?"
Morningstar Penthouse,
Elaine sat up in the guest room bed, enjoying a book she had plucked out of Lucifer's personal library. She had already 'unpacked' the few items she had on her, so she had nothing else productive to do. She tried Milton's Paradise Lost, but the epic hit a little too close to home, causing her to read The Little Prince instead.
She was deep enough into the book that she failed to notice her favorite demon standing in the doorway.
"Hey kid," Maze said, giving her a little wave as she entered the room.
Elaine quickly inserted a bookmark on her page and set the book down. "Hello Mazikeen. Is everything okay?"
Maze sat down along the edge of the bed. "I just wanted to check up on you. With everything that has been going on, you know,"
Elaine nodded. "I'm fine. I really am,"
"So, what are you up to?" Maze asked, absentmindedly looking around the room.
Elaine shrugged. "I finished unpacking, so I decided I would get some reading done,"
"Unpacking?" Maze raised an eyebrow.
"Well, now that I'm staying here, I thought I might as well," Elaine smiled.
"Don't take it like that," Maze said. "It's just I didn't realize your stuff had gotten here yet,"
"It hasn't," Elaine admitted. "It will be a little while until my stuff gets here from Oakham. I just put away the couple things that Auntie Jophiel left me,"
"Well that explains the nun outfit," Maze smirked.
Elaine rolled her eyes. "It's a sweater, Maze,"
Maze shrugged. "Whatever. If you want some real clothes, or need anything else, I can take you shopping you know,"
"That sounds fun," Elaine responded. "Are you working tomorrow?"
Maze shrugged. "Only if I want to,"
Elaine chuckled. "I guess Lux can survive without you for one afternoon,"
"Yeah, about that," Maze sighed. "I'm actually not working here at Lux anymore. I'm in the bounty hunting business now,"
Elaine smiled. "Probably suits you better, huh? Well, as long as you're home by dinner I doubt it'll make much of a difference,"
Maze nodded her head and smiled. Apparently Lucifer had yet to mention Maze's current living situation to her. And with all the other changes in the young girl's life, Maze was hesitant to tell her. "Of course I'll be home for dinner tonight. We can order from the Chinese place you love so much,"
"Sounds like a plan," Elaine grinned. "To be honest, I really happy that the three of us are going to be together again,"
"Yeah," Maze nodded. "Me too,"
End of Chapter 1.