"Mommy, did you get anything for Lucifer as birthday present last year?"
Chloe closed the oven door before diverting her attention to Trixie. Her daughter was playing with a half-eaten piece of chocolate fudge, fingers squishing the uneven edges of the confectionery.
"I don't think I did, Monkey. I just wished him Happy Birthday. That's all."
"Oh…I guess I have to think of something then."
The Detective smiled, watching her daughter disappear into her room after devouring the chocolate fudge. Trixie's sudden proactiveness caught her by surprise. Aside from Dan and herself, her daughter had never been so enthusiastic over someone else's birthday. On the contrary, Chloe and Dan were the ones who usually went to great lengths in making sure Trixie's birthday was a great one - although sometimes Dan couldn't make it, but he always made it up to Trixie. This was the least they could do to compensate for the lack of quality time spent with their daughter due to their sporadic work schedules.
Truth to be told, Chloe had some reservations in letting Lucifer mix with Trixie, fearing that he would be a bad influence on her child. Being a high-end club owner with preceding drug and alcohol abuse history did not mesh with her idea of an ideal role model for Trixie. Being single and carefree, Lucifer was totally clueless when it came to parenting matters, let alone dealing with children.
Chloe vaguely recalled having a heated conversation with her partner few months ago regarding Trixie's behaviour. Her daughter mutilated her doll as an excuse for parents to buy her new one. Whilst she strongly condemned her daughter's actions, Lucifer commended them. In his eyes, Trixie was being street smart in getting what she wanted and Chloe should respect that. It was frustrating to see him sabotaging Chloe's attempts to teach Trixie about morals..
At the same time, she was grateful for Lucifer's presence in Trixie's life despite his proclaimed revulsion towards children. In fact, she noticed lately that he had been spending more time with her daughter, particularly after Chloe had asked Lucifer to get Trixie from school last Monday. She was astonished when he had volunteered to pick up her daughter yesterday without her asking. Lucifer usually would never do such a thing without being forced to. The new discovery left her mind reeling but she has yet to figure out the cause of his peculiar behaviour. Chloe was pulled from her thoughts when the oven timer began to beep, turning her focus to taking out the cookies.
The second victim to face Trixie's questioning was none other than the Devil's accomplice, Mazikeen. On the way to the neighbourhood playground, Trixie had asked the Demon for advice on possible items which she could consider as Lucifer's gifts. To her dismay, her best friend was not giving helpful suggestions.
"Sorry to disappoint you, little human. I don't think there is anything you can offer to him right now that he's interested in. You're not old enough to purchase anything that he likes.."
Realisation dawned as she heard Maze's remark.
Trixie was in no position to get Lucifer anything because she had no means to obtain a gift that he would typically enjoy. She had emptied her piggy bank earlier but her savings was not enough to buy Lucifer anything suitable. The little girl felt frustrated at her incapability to make her friend happy, despite him being there for her and mother all the time. With a heavy heart, she flopped down on her bed.
An idea hit her when she saw the heart shaped origami sitting at the side of her writing desk. Trixie pulled out a drawer and rummaged for the necessary stationery to commence Lucifer's birthday project. Retrieving a 'Do Not Disturb' sign from her desk, she hung it on the door.
"This is going to be the best birthday gift ever!" she said to herself excitedly.
Chloe was on her way out when she saw the sign hanging her daughter's door. She was tempted to ask Trixie what she was up but she stopped herself when she noticed the young girl was exceptionally busy cutting papers on her desk.
"Baby, I'm going to work now. You sure you will be fine here with Maze?"
"Yes, mommy! Say hi to Lucifer for me!"
"Will do, monkey. See you tonight!"
Chloe walked in, pressing a kiss to Trixie's head as the girl wrapped her arms around Chloe.
The next day Trixie sought Mrs. Whitter's help to assist her in producing a pop-out card. It was a daunting task to trim the narrow edges without accidentally ruining the whole thing. After two hours of perseverance and several try outs, she successfully created the perfect birthday card for Lucifer. Satisfied with her work, she folded the card and placed it into a pink envelope before tucking it safely into her schoolbag.
As the evening rolled around, the Deckers' residence started to fill with people. Lucifer had taken it upon himself to host his birthday party at Chloe's, after much arguing and pleading to which Chloe has finally caved and agreed . It was a new experience for the bar owner to celebrate his birthday anniversary with close friends instead of throwing a massive party filled with random strangers at Lux. Lucifer had returned the favour by taking care of the catering, much to the Detective's relief.
Trixie was the last one to hand Lucifer his present after the cake cutting. He was mesmerised by the beautiful origami stars stacked inside a glass bottle, forming multi-coloured clouds. He opened the pink envelope taped beneath the glass container. In the middle of the card was a pop-out figurine with wings extending from it's back. It took a minute before he realised the figure was the Devil himself - twin horns protruding from his head confirmed that. His attention shifted to message scribbled below the pop-out cutting.
Dear Lucifer,
Happy Birthday! May these stars brighten your day and chase all your sadness away.
From,
Trixie
P/S: The stars are prettier in the dark.
"Do you like it, Lucifer?" asked the little girl, nervous hands clasping together behind her back.
"I love it, Beatrice. Thank you."
To everyone's surprise, Lucifer dropped down to one knee and hugged Trixie close.
Maze, the ever opportunist, snapped a picture of her friend's "softie" moment for future blacklist material.
Later that night, the Devil lay on his bed feeling content for first time in a long time. It wasn't often that he received a gift without any strings attached.
And true to her word, the stars did look pretty in the dark, glow in the dark paint dotted over the edges to make them shine.
