If you had told Natalie that she would literally find herself nestled between an angel and a devil on a Sunday night before she contracted Satan, she would have laughed in your face and called you a kidder. Now, she would accuse you of being a witch for accurately predicting her plans for the weekend.
"Why are we watching this again?" Lucifer asked, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, already determined to hate the movie before he even watched it.
"This is Zadkiel's favorite movie. We want him to feel welcomed," Natalie said, keeping her tone upbeat to hide her nervousness. She'd wanted to keep him out of her arrangement with Zadkiel, but he'd insisted on supervising.
"No, we don't," Lucifer said. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Come on, it'll be fun," Natalie said, snaking her arm around his and pouting. He was too busy glaring daggers at Zadkiel for it to have any effect.
"Isn't there a scene where a gargoyle loses a poker game against a bird?" Lucifer asked. She laughed, not seeing the downside.
"Yeah. Doesn't that sound amazing?" Natalie said.
"Nope, I feel dumber having said that sentence," Lucifer said, gnashing his teeth. Natalie was determined to salvage the night and ignored the fact he was being a grumpy pants.
"The songs are super pretty though. You'll like The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I promise," Natalie said. Zadkiel perked up. Eyes flashing subtly.
"Oh, you're a fan. What's your favorite song, sweetheart?" Zadkiel asked.
"I ask for nothing. I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I," Natalie sang spontaneously, having picked up the habit from Zadkiel. Lucifer's sullen expression didn't change, but she felt his grip on her hand tighten.
"Please help my people, the poor and down trod. I thought we all were the children of God," Natalie finished, getting a little teary eyed.
She noticed Lucifer obscure his face with his free hand, and she thought she saw his golden piercings briefly bleed black. She was about to ask him what was wrong when Zadkiel spoke up.
"If you don't marry this girl, I will." Eyes sparkling as he casually wrapped his arm around her shoulders and glanced down at their intertwined hands meaningfully. Lucifer instantly freed himself from her grasp, getting self conscious. She didn't push the issue. Natalie giggled, assuming Zadkiel was kidding. She was about to let him down easy when Lucifer beat her to it.
"Zad, she's a minor, back off, even you have to have some morals," Lucifer said, attempting to shame him into being less of a flirt. Zack remained unfazed, flashing his pointed teeth.
"Hmm, I wonder why you felt the need to look that up," Zadkiel said.
Lucifer's face burned red from the insinuation. She knew for a fact that he had checked out some law books last time they went to library to get a better grasp on how human society functioned and was about to say as much when Lucifer summoned his golden sword, escalating the conflict.
"How about I slice you in half and you can stop wondering" Lucifer said, making a swiping motion that only served to slice off a piece of Natalie's hair. She blew the small chunk of hair out of her face. He was so paying for that later.
"Try it, I dare you, " Zadkiel said, removing his arm from her shoulders as he maneuvered his body into a fighting stance. He reached behind him and took out his knives.
Natalie pursed her lips. One of these days she was going to sit down with all the angels and the Fallen she knew and make a no weapons in the house rule. As of now, neither Lucifer nor Zadkiel seemed to consider how he she might be hurt in the crossfire, she gingerly placed a hand on each of their weapons to remind them.
"Boys, play nice" Natalie said. She wanted to watch the movie already. They only had so much time before her father returned from his date.
Zadkiel and Lucifer lowered their weapons and abandoned their fighting stances, taking great effort to pretend they didn't want to rip each others throats out as they settled back into their respective positions on opposites sides of the couch. Lucifer dispelled his weapon, interpreting what she said as an order instead of a warning. Zadkiel was under no such obligation and held onto one of his knives, moving his thumb along the edge of the blade.
"Besides, humans mature faster than us. I can wait a few years," Zadkiel said, catching her off guard.
Natalie laughed off the suggestion, getting uncomfortable. "You're not serious."
"I am, strange you both seemed to be in denial about it," Zadkiel said.
Natalie's smile slipped off her face and yet she felt warmth rush to her cheeks. This wasn't the first time one of the Fallen had flirted with her, but something about the way Zadkiel went about it felt too calculated. Like he had planned their entire life in advance and Zack was simply taking his time to properly woo her. She didn't dare look at Lucifer's to see his reaction. Natalie didn't have to. Lucifer pushed her roughly aside, before she could question what was happening. She heard it, a loud smack as Lucifer's fist made contact with Zadkiel's face. Natalie's first instinct was to yell at him for losing control of himself when she heard the sickening crunch of Zadkiel's knife slice Lucifer's flesh.
"Oh shoot, Luce, your arm, you need to be more careful. You haven't done something like that since . . . Jericho," Natalie said, grabbing hold of his arms to inspect it before dropping it as she realized her mistake. Lucifer felt threatened by Zadkiel. She watched as he slowly healed the large nasty looking cut. Maybe, he was right to worry about the Fallen angel. Zadkiel hadn't hesitated, but she couldn't bring herself to scold him when he'd acted in self defense.
"Who's Jericho?" Zadkiel asked, rubbing his swollen cheek. Natalie's nerves were shot after the incident, and she refused to give him a direct answer. Instead, she turned to Lucifer and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, come join me in the kitchen real quick. We need to talk," Natalie said, getting up and beckoning him to follow. He didn't budge, moving his newly healed arm experimentally.
"He'll still be able to hear us. We might as well talk here," Lucifer said. She considered asking him to join her in the backyard instead but decided against it. Zadkiel needed to hear this too.
"Zack, would you at least pretend not to listen while we talk stuff out?" Natalie asked. Mostly, she wanted him not to interrupt. She knew damn well Zadkiel was going to ease drop.
"Sure thing, I'd do anything for you," Zadkiel said, pocketing his weapon and raising his arms in a gesture of goodwill. She stiffened as the implication wasn't quite a sweet as he might have intended.
"Do I need to cut your tongue out to stop your lies," Lucifer said, immediately stepping forward to better shield her from Zadkiel's view. She needed to hide her uneasiness better. She didn't want to put Lucifer more on edge than he already was.
"How about you don't make me get out the 'get along' shirt and follow me, 'kay," Natalie said, dragging him by the arm. He relented, allowing himself to be led away.
"Fine. You, stop flirting so much," Lucifer said, pointing at Zack.
"Make me," Zadkiel said, pushing down his lower eyelid and sticking his tongue out.
"Gladly," Lucifer said, making a move to summon his sword. She snatched his free hand before he had the chance and pulled at his other arm, refocusing his attention.
"Do I really need to order you into the kitchen?" Natalie asked quietly.
"No," Lucifer said, shoulders sagging as he reluctantly made his way into the other room, dragging his feet the entire time. She glared at Zadkiel when he snickered and made whipping noises, grateful Lucifer didn't understand human culture enough to get that joke.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lucifer asked, taking out a chair for her to sit. She gladly took it, drumming her fingers on the table as she gathered her thoughts. He sat across from her, scrutinizing her every movement. This wasn't making her any less anxious. She took a deep breath and decided to blurt it out.
"I actually dated someone while we were together in the other world," Natalie admitted.
"Christ, I don't care, " Lucifer said, rolling his eyes, already losing interest in the conversation. He was getting the wrong idea again.
"Chill, I'm going somewhere with this," Natalie promised, biting her lip. She was very tempted to forget the whole thing and bring this particularly sensitive topic up another night.
"Go on," Lucifer said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table as he zeroed in on her nervousness.
"Jericho was just using me to get to you, and he succeeded," Natalie said, fiddling with her hair to distract herself from his sudden grimace. She wanted to get her point across without being interrogated for the next hour.
"Could you be anymore vague? I want details," Lucifer said, calling her on her evasiveness.
"Yeah, can we come back to that later when we don't have company?" Natalie asked, making up an excuse. She personally didn't care if Zadkiel knew the details, but she knew full well that Lucifer wasn't comfortable having Zadkiel around. He hesitated and was about to argue with her when Zadkiel interrupted them.
"Don't mind me. I'm not even listening." She hid her grin behind her hand, pretending to cough. This devil had proven himself more useful than she'd first imagined. Lucifer sighed, forcing his face into a more neutral expression.
"Very well, I see your point. Why did you bring up your poor life choices, then?" Lucifer asked.
"You told me he was bad news, but I asked you to trust me and go against your instincts. This was after the bridge incident so you weren't in a position to argue with me. I was the one who should have trusted you. I'm sorry," Natalie said, placing her hand around his enclosed fist.
"Oh," Lucifer said, unsure how to respond. She frowned, moving her thumb along his knuckles. Had no one ever apologized to him before?
"So, if you don't want me to hang out with Zadkiel, I'll stop, no questions asked" Natalie said, noticing him visibly relax at her offer despite his stony expression.
"I don't." Lucifer said, uncurling his fist to interlock his fingers with hers. There was an urgency to the gesture as he tightly held her in place like she might disappear on him if he let go for even a moment.
"But only if you think Zack is actually dangerous and not because you're jealous," Natalie finished. She had a promise to keep. Lucifer let go of her hand, the connection broken and stood up abruptly, slamming the chair back into place.
"I'm not- I don't get- You're unbelievable. I'm your guardian angel. It's my job to protect you. Zadkiel is bad news. Stop seeing him," Lucifer said, pointing a demanding finger in her direction.
"Prove it," Natalie said, crossing her arms.
He gawked at her and visibly struggled to form a coherent argument. The corners of her mouth turned up. Her devil always seemed to lose his silver tongue around her, how cute.
"He's the devil. How much more proof do I need?" Lucifer asked, hands open and pleading in front of her, begging her to believe him.
"So, were you," Natalie reminded him.
"Natalie, that's not fair," Lucifer said, losing his composure. She'd left him visibly distressed.
"Too soon?" Natalie asked teasingly, getting up to comfort him.
"Trust me, please," Lucifer said, immediately taking hold of her hands. She remembered her devil's old calloused hands and how her new angel's hand were smooth and free of most of the scars her Lucifer suffered. She glanced at his newly healed arm and wondered if she was making the right choice.
"Of course, I'll go tell him to leave right now if you can look me in the eye and say you're not making me do this for your own selfish reasons," Natalie said, touching her forehead to his. She'd stopped playing fair a long time ago.
"I- He's the- Fine, you can see him, but only if I'm there, and I want advanced notice when he shows up," Lucifer said, face visibly reddening. He released her hands and backed away from her, not quite prepared for the amount of physical affection he was currently experiencing. She didn't allow him to go far, amused when he allowed himself to be backed into a corner. Satan wouldn't have made that mistake.
"Thank you, Lucifer. You won't regret it," Natalie promised, giving him a brief peck on the cheek before allowing him to escape a safe distance away to calm himself.
"I better not, girl. I'm pretty sure you had me dating a satanist," Lucifer said, voice regaining its hard edge as he made his way to the opposite side of the kitchen.
"No, I mean one of your jackets went missing once, and I found it in his closet, but that was probably an honest mistake. And sure, he always wanted to talk about you during our dates and insisted we hang out together all the time, but that's not weird, right?" Natalie asked, rationalizing the whole situation to hell and back.
"Girl, listen to yourself," Lucifer said. Yeah, she might have accidentally set up Satan with Jericho.
"Shit, I'm sorry, " Natalie said. She'd even insisted that Jericho might end up being the one person he cared about by the time the apocalypse hit. Natalie knew perfectly well who that actually was by the end of their time together.
"You can make it up to me buying me more candy. I'm starting to get withdrawals," Lucifer said, rubbing the side of his forehead with his fingertips. So, Zadkiel hadn't been the only reason he'd been cranky all day.
"How did you go through fourteen bags of candy already?" Natalie asked. She couldn't afford to keep feeding him sweets if he went through a hundred dollars worth of candy in a matter of days.
"Who's the one on trial here?" Lucifer asked.
"Fine, whatever," Natalie said. He was paying for them. She'd noticed his clothes were always covered in dog hair when he came home so he must still be walking dogs for money.
"Why do you even want him around? Even you have to see he's not worth the trouble he brings," Lucifer asked, giving up on any sense of stoicism as he scowled at her. His sharp angular features made his angry face easy to see, even from across the room.
She couldn't deny that Zadkiel had made her uncomfortable today, but he could have asked her for anything, and all he wanted was someone to care about him. There was a sincerity there that she couldn't readily dismiss. Natalie wasn't ready to give up on Zadkiel yet.
"He helped me out and the only thing he asked for in return was for me to be his friend. Sure, he's not perfect, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt," Natalie said. She wanted to keep being the kind of person that gave people a chance.
"I see, you just had the unfortunate luck of catching his interest. Quit being so nice all the time, " Lucifer said in a huff. He was going to regret that.
"Okie dokie loki, for an angel, you're super insecure," Natalie said, satisfied when Lucifer became outraged enough to march over to her and close the distance between them.
"I am not insecure. You just keep me in a constant state of stress with your bad decisions," Lucifer said, keeping his voice even, clenching his hands into fists to keep the anger in. That couldn't be healthy.
"You're also terrible at buttoning up shirts. I swear sometimes you're like a toddler," she said, refusing to stop until she got a rise out of him. He flicked her nose. Ow.
"I said stop being nice to Zadkiel, not me. He's clearly taking advantage of the fact you're a total push over," Lucifer said. Oh, not only had she been given the label nice out of nowhere, she was a push over now too.
"I thought I was the devil," Natalie said cheekily. Pleased, when his eyes widened and his mouth briefly opened as if not sure what to say to that, he hadn't expected her to correct him.
"Yes, a devil who's a push over. You're terrible at your job," Lucifer said, recovering nicely.
"I'm not a pushover," Natalie said. She wouldn't have lasted a week with the devil, let alone a year with him, otherwise.
"Says the girl who has three dates to prom," Lucifer said. Natalie raised an eyebrow, skeptically.
"I thought you were coming for emotional support," Natalie said, hoping to catch him contradicting himself again. No such luck.
"I am, but that doesn't erase the fact that you have trouble saying no to people," Lucifer said, getting back to his point. She side eyed him.
"Seriously, I don't. I want to go with you guys. Who says it needs to be a couples thing?" Natalie said, linking her arm with his. She was going with her three longstanding friends, and there was nothing wrong with that.
"What about Zadkiel?" Lucifer asked, watching for any hint that she'd been coerced into the arrangement. Frankly, he shouldn't have bothered. She was the kind of girl who would have befriended the dragon and told the knight to buzz off. He didn't seem to get that yet, despite the mounting evidence.
"I think Zadkiel truly wants to be my friend, or he wouldn't have asked," Natalie said with a shrug. It was as simple as that.
"I still think he's up to something," Lucifer said, mouth forming a thin hard line.
"I mean, he mentioned wanting to corrupt you," Natalie said, framing the information as a joke to soften the blow. She wasn't fully convinced that wasn't Zadkiel's plan, and Lucifer deserved to know. Immediately, he went rigid and let out a shaky breath.
"Can I take back what I said about you being able to see him while I'm around?" Lucifer asked, finally acknowledging that in the end what they did would always be her decision.
"No, but if it makes you feel better, he's not interested in dating you," Natalie said, attempting to cheer him up. He let out a soft chuckle and ruffled her hair with his free hand.
"You asked Satan if he was interested in me. What's wrong with you?" Lucifer asked.
"According to past you, everything," Natalie said, giving him a tongue and cheek answer. The smile left his face, and he avoided looking at her as he spoke.
"I mean, not everything." Lucifer admitted. Oh, he had taken her seriously.
"Really? What do you like about me?" Natalie asked, standing on her tippy toes while looking at him with expectant wide eyes.
"I don't like you," Lucifer said automatically. Pfft, so, much for that, she might as well tease him a little bit. This was a rare opportunity.
"'Kay, maybe, I'll ask Zack," Natalie said, releasing his arm and slowly walking away.
"You're gorgeous and easy to manipulate," Zadkiel shouted from the living room. Natalie grinned maniacally. Perfect.
Lucifer grabbed her arm, more roughly than intended and pulled her back to his side.
"Shut up, I wasn't done." Lucifer shouted back.
"Then, tell her you love her, coward," Zadkiel yelled.
"I don't love you . . . I mean . . . I don't completely hate you. You're innocent. I've never had a problem with humans like you," Lucifer said, getting flustered.
"Uh huh, you've said that before. What else?" she asked, getting in front of him in order to block any potential escape. Natalie pressed her hands against his chest, still looking up at him with large hopeful eyes. This is the most direct answer she'd received from any Lucifer, and she greedily wanted more.
"Do we really have to have this conversation right now?" Lucifer asked, gently taking hold of her hands and removing them from his person.
"Yes, go for it, Lucifer. It's not like I'll use this information against you later or anything" Zadkiel said, taunting him. He wasn't helping.
"Don't antagonize him, Zack," Natalie said. Don't ruin this for me, dammit.
"He started it," Zadkiel yelled back. Lucifer had enough and pushed her away, heading back to the living room presumably to rough up their guest.
"Let's go watch the stupid movie," Lucifer muttered.
Movie night went better than expected. She laughed at all the stupid immature jokes that always made Lucifer cringe. He didn't say a word the entire movie, but occasionally, Natalie would feel him squeeze her hand for comfort. Zadkiel and Natalie sang every song. The only time she felt remotely ill at ease was when Zadkiel sang the Hellfire song, eyes glowing in a very obvious tell. Lucifer must have been paying attention because she felt the familiar hand squeeze and she relaxed. Natalie wasn't alone, and if her luck held, she'd never be alone again.
When the movie finished, Zadkiel grabbed her by the waist and pulled her over to him, purposely drawing her away from Lucifer. Grinning from ear to ear, he casually said, "This was nice an all but we should go somewhere exciting next time. How do you feel about going to the city?"
"Yeah, city is a no go. I don't want to go anywhere too crowded and full of disease," Natalie said, rubbing her neck as if her throat was still covered in phlegm. She never wanted that suffocating sickness to touch her ever again.
"Okay, what about the coast? It's nearby, and if you go early enough, the beach is practically empty," Zadkiel suggested.
Out of all the places in the world he could have suggested, he had to bring up that accursed place, what a cruel joke. Lucifer's casual hold on her hand changed into a death grip. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.
"About that, I'm just going to be upfront with you. I got sick and died when visiting the coast with Lucifer. I don't want to go anywhere Pestilence might be around," Natalie said. She would have preferred never to mention her death to anyone ever again, but if it spared her from having awkward conversations like this one in the future, she would gladly fill him in.
"Is that all? The end of days hasn't even started yet. She's not going around spreading diseases right now. Besides, I have Ipos book. We can look up where she's going to be and avoid that area, give you some peace of mind," Zadkiel said.
"I hadn't thought of that. I guess if we plan ahead we should be fine," Natalie said, attempting to pull back several unruly strands of hair behind her ear before she remembered they'd been cut way too short by Lucifer's blade.
"Exactly, sorry you had to die, love. Your Satan obviously wasn't good at thinking things through," Zadkiel said, hands glowing a soft purple as he fixed her hair for her, returning each strand to its proper length.
"Shut up, stop pretending you actually care about her. The only thing you care about is getting your way," Lucifer snapped, forcibly removing Zadkiel's arm from her waist and pulling her back to his side. Zadkiel chuckled and thankfully did not attempt to retrieve her. She'd had enough of being tossed around like a rag doll tonight.
"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Zadkiel asked. Eyes glowing mischievously.
Natalie felt Lucifer tense behind her. She stood up, worried she wouldn't be able to stop the fight if things escalated. The most she'd be able to do is make the fight terribly one sided. Clapping her hands together, she smiled brightly.
"So, it's settled. Zad, you'll find out where Pestilence is going to be, and then, we can pick something to do together," Natalie said.
Lucifer shook his head and glowered, clawing at the couch because he'd missed his chance to get a hold of Zack and tear him to shreds. Zadkiel smiled smugly at his brother before getting up to join her.
"Sounds like a plan, shame Lucifer won't let you out of his sight or we could go to some of the Fallen hangouts," Zadkiel said, lazily placing his arm around her shoulders. His eyes were trained on his brother looking for any perceived weakness.
"Good, I don't want her exposed to their filth," Lucifer said, crossing his arms and looking away. His piercing started to bleed black, and she was having trouble keeping the smile on her face.
"Oh please, I know the real reason you don't want her to meet them," Zadkiel said, sounding genuinely angry. Something she hadn't witnessed since he'd spoken with his Father.
"Why? They all love Lucifer, right?" Natalie asked, completely clueless. Lucifer's silence was damming. Natalie bit her lip, remembering what the world thought of traitors. Friends of Heaven often made an enemy of Hell. Lucifer transformed into his tiny Stan form, distracting her from her thoughts.
"Why hello there, short stack," Zadkiel said, absolutely delighted by this development. He released her and bent down to greet his little brother.
"Come any closer, and I'll rip your eyes out," Lucifer said. She recognized that passive aggressively cheery facade as a warning not to push her luck. Zack was not experience enough to take the warning seriously.
"Ha Ha, I won't then," Zadkiel said, daring to ruffle his hair. Lucifer was quick to bite his wrist.
"Son of a-" Zadkiel started to say when she interrupted him.
"Oh, are we out of time already?" Natalie asked, feeling bad that she found his pout adorable when he was swallowing his pride in order to keep his cover.
"Yes, your father is coming. I heard the car pulling up the driveway, " Lucifer said.
Natalie paled as she realized how little time she had left to pull this off. If her father came in and saw a nearly six foot tall man with tattoos in her living room, she was so grounded.
"Zadkiel, go out the backdoor. If you're careful, he won't spot you," Natalie said, grabbing him by the shoulders as she attempted to gently guide him to the backdoor. He didn't budge.
"Nah, I'd like to meet him," Zack said, turning to grin at her malevolently like the damn trickster god he was. Zadkiel was being difficult on purpose.
"You can't meet him looking like that. You'll give the poor man a heart attack. Besides, I'd rather you not get entangled in her family life," Lucifer said, giving him more incentive to stick around.
"Ha Ha, you wish. I'm in this for the long haul. Hmm, let's see. He'd find a woman less threatening right?" Zadkiel said. Natalie's first instinct was to argue that he didn't need to flip genders if he didn't want to, but the faster he changed forms the less likely she would be in trouble with her dad for having questionable friends.
"We don't have time for this. Hurry up and leave," Lucifer said, through gritted teeth.
"I don't want to be short like you. I know I'll be her new teenage friend. Walla! I'm still gorgeous and not inconvenienced in the slightest," Zadkiel said, transforming into a shorter, less toned, version of her female form before her very eyes. The clothes she wore had a very eighties vibe, with funky bright contrasting colors and impractical embellishments.
"I don't hate you, but you're terrible," Lucifer groaned.
"Love you too, bro," Zadkiel said, purposely copying her upbeat tone. Did she really sound like that much of an airhead?
"Oh, hello there, I haven't seen you around before. Are you one of Natalie's friends?" Alex said, friendly and welcoming as always. Natalie let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, I just transferred here from another school, and she invited me to movie night," Zadkiel explained, hands behind her back as she swished her hips, using exaggerated motions to sell her youth and naivete.
"That's lovely. What's your name?" Alex said.
Aware that her actual name was probably taboo, Natalie wracked her brain trying to think up a name that would fit the fallen angel on such short notice.
"Her name is Ze-" Zadkiel cut her off before she had a chance to finish.
"I'm Zadkiel. Nice to meet you, sir, " she said, holding out a hand for him to shake.
To her father's credit, Alex did his best not to look too shocked. "Oh, umm, what an unusual name," Alex said, returning the handshake, smiling weakly.
"But my friends call me Xena the warrior princess," Zadkiel said with such confidence that Natalie couldn't help but giggle.
"I'm not calling you that," Lucifer muttered.
"Very well, Xena, are you hungry? I brought some leftovers for these two. I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing," Alex said, humoring her.
"Sure, I'm not the one who has a problem with sharing," Zadkiel said, clearly throwing shade at Lucifer. The statement was innocuous enough for her Father to miss.
"My problem's with you, not sharing," Lucifer said. Natalie slapped her forehead and sighed. Lucifer had never been one for subtlety.
"Oh my, did something happen?" Alex said, adjusting his glasses nervously. Memories of Max's temper tantrums probably playing in his head.
"No, dad, Lucian is just grumpy. I'll share with her. No problem. There's no need to start fighting over pasta," Natalie said, doing her best to smile enough for the three of them.
"It's fine. I'll give her mine. I'm not that hungry anyway," Lucifer said, shooting her a look that said, You're a human. You need to eat, dummy.
"That's very kind of you, Lucian. You kids have fun. I'm going to turn in," Alex said, trusting her to send Zadkiel away after diner and get some shut eye before school tomorrow. She wasn't sure it was going to be that easy to chase the devil out of her house.
No one said a word as they entered the kitchen, Natalie and Zadkiel each holding a carton full of pasta. Zadkiel pulled up a chair with such effortless elegance that you'd think she wasn't annoyed. The way she played the knife game with her plastic fork said differently. Lucifer mechanically took a seat, purposely dragging his seat over so he was sitting between them. Natalie opened the box and started stuffing her face, ignoring the tension in the air. Zadkiel followed her lead, but she was so damn graceful that Natalie found herself staring. Zad gave her a knowing smile, and she looked away, stuffing more pasta into her mouth hole.
"Can you two at least pretend to get along when my dad is around?" Natalie asked finally.
" Lucifer is the one who made it personal," Zadkiel reasoned. She wasn't wrong, but she wasn't innocent either.
"Zad being passive aggressive is not helpful. Don't antagonize your brother," Natalie said, shaking her fork at her before taking another bite of pasta.
"It's not my fault you bring the devil out of him, love," Zadkiel said, twirling her fork back and forth with no intention of eating anything else. Natalie spit out her pasta, not prepared for that response. Unfortunately, stray bits of pasta landed on Lucifer's face, he remained silent, but his menacing glare spoke volumes. She was too angry to properly beg for forgiveness.
"What the Hell, Zad? Like he doesn't call me the devil enough these days, explain yourself," Natalie yelled.
"He's overly possessive of you," Zadkiel said, snapping her plastic fork in half.
"That's not true. Sure, Lucifer's being a little overprotective but-" Natalie said, before Lucifer butted in.
"Excuse me, why wouldn't I be when the devil takes a sudden interest in you?" Lucifer asked, snapping her own plastic fork before she had a chance to stuff her face and avoid the question.
"Not to mention the fact you're opting out of the apocalypse because she asked you to, selfishly abandoning your family when they need you most, I would say those are the actions of a devil not an angel," Zadkiel said with a smirk.
"How did you even get that information?" Lucifer asked evenly. Jaw clenched and fists at the ready as he directed his glare at the fallen angel.
"How do you think? Michael was whining about it in Gabe's coffee shop and one of the Fallen happened to stop for a drink and overheard," Zadkiel said.
"Time to yell at Michael again," Lucifer muttered dejectedly. She had a feeling this wasn't the first time Michael had accidentally spilled Heaven's secrets.
"Anyway, it's been fun, but I really should be going," Zadkiel said, giving her a quick salute before making a hasty exit.
"Bye, Zad," Natalie said, relieved she didn't need to ask her to leave.
"Bye Nat, see you at prom," Zadkiel said.
"Michael mentioned that too, huh? I guess it's a date, ha ha." Natalie said, playing it off as a joke. She was already taking three guys to prom. What harm could bringing one more person do?
"Really, girl?" Lucifer said, once Zadkiel left the premises. He'd been quietly steaming for a while now.
"What? She knows I'm not serious," Natalie said, knowing perfectly well Zadkiel could still hear them from the sidewalk. Maybe, she was serious, but Natalie was not and most likely never would be. Zadkiel blew her a kiss, and she rolled her eyes. This Satan was persistent. She'd give her that much.
