Lucifer tilted his head against the passenger window like an eager tourist, drinking in the glorious sight of pedestrians, palm trees, vibrant glass fronted shops and coffee bars. There were so many people here, all wrapped up in their own daily life, completely oblivious to the divine beings trundling through their midst in a dusty old pick-up truck.
The blistering mid-morning sun bounced across the distant skyscrapers. Monuments of molten gold and warm stone. He liked these citadels, so sharp, brilliant and modern. It was one of the reasons he had chosen the lofty perch of Lux as his home. Each high tower was a temple to money, luxury or clever invention. A shrine to independence and free will. They rose up defiantly against the startlingly blue sky, barely a cloud in sight overhead.
The slow pace of traffic was a direct contrast to the anticipation thrumming from Lucifer.
Raphael patiently let yet another car out in front of them at a junction.
"Bloody hell" Lucifer sighed. "You know... you could just let me drive?"
Raphael chuckled and shook his head "No chance pal..." he drifted a hand over to protectively pat the dashboard like a beloved pet.
Lucifer huffed as he leant forward, easing himself slowly into the borrowed shirt, ignoring the buttons to let the soft fabric hang loose and comfortable around his aching shoulders.
"Well at least take the next left." he muttered, pointing with a jab of his finger, "just a tad faster that way". He draped his other arm carelessly out of the open passenger window, drumming his fingertips in a light staccato rhythm against the door.
Raphael glanced over as they waited at a red light. "What are you going to do first?" This was the most energetic he had seen his brother. On the long drive here, as they watched the city hove into view, Lucifer had wound up tighter and tighter and he was starting to wonder whether he might potentially snap.
Lucifer frowned in thought. "Have a shower?" He wrinkled his nose, looking down at the state of himself.
"No... actually, I'll have a bloody drink." he nodded firmly, glaring at the traffic ahead, wishing it would just scatter for once at their approach. He could make that happen, but he'd probably never hear the end of it.
"And then?" Raphael arched a pale brow.
"Then..." Lucifer's mood seemed to falter slightly as he hesitated, his voice softening, "...then I have some catching up to do."
Raphael peered at him warily, "You're not tempted to show off a few feathers are you?
"Course not" Lucifer frowned, his response a reflex snap of scorn, but in reality the temptation was playing on his mind. He had been on his way over to see Chloe, to tell her everything, when this all started.
It was a fundamental rule that the divine should never reveal their true nature, mortals just couldn't cope with it. Best that they fly, literally, under the radar wherever possible. But Lucifer indulged, of course he did. A little flash of 'devil face' here and there helped bring the worst kinds of criminal to heel, it helped the detective and it had a unique entertainment value, a lovely kind of win-win.
Lucifer frowned in thought. To actually sit down and tell someone though? That was always a very risky roll of the dice.
He couldn't help but be reminded of Linda's blank horror, that utter silence. She had pushed and pushed for the truth and it had almost ended in disaster when he finally capitulated and revealed his true face.
It was the fluttering tremble of her bottom lip that stuck most sharply in his memory, much more so than her halted stare, her mind had simply shut down at the immensity of the revelation. She was a mortal who shepherded others, using compassion to navigate them through times of great difficulty. Her life was dedicated to understanding and therapy and he'd nearly broken that robust intelligence apart completely.
True, she had recovered, but it was a close run thing.
He could tell that Raphael meant well, the way his brow crinkled, the way those green eyes kept darting in his direction, worry edging each carefully chosen word.
He'd finally decided to bloody go for it, to actually share the truth with Chloe, when he'd been ripped out of the situation and flung far away out into the desert. Was it a not-so-subtle warning to reconsider the decision? A direct intervention to stop the conversation before it could even begin?
Lucifer distractedly watched the familiar streets crawl by as he considered the idea.
It could have just been bad timing?
"It would be best to keep them hidden." Raphael pushed on."In the long term, what would you gain from it?" he hesitated thinking back to that unusual outburst earlier, his protective instinct overflowing not just for his brother, but for the mortals who shared his company too. "...What would she?"
"Yes, I know!" Lucifer huffed impatiently, shaking head with a sigh, more of his previous energy evaporating away with it.
He knew Raphael was speaking from a place of concern, but still he didn't want to hear it. He'd always been so damn meticulous, never lying to her about his true nature, but that wasn't the same as the incredible risk of laying out the full truth. His resolve cracked and wavered as he imagined that same terrified tremor on Chloe's lips.
"Giving proof of the divine", his brother intoned slowly "is incredibly dangerous. You know it never ends well for anyone?"
"I know... I know" Lucifer sighed a soft low breath.
Chloe... staring blankly at a wall, broken down and reduced to silence. Her spawn crying and clawing at her for a response.
He did not want to see the good detective fall apart, not by his hand, not like that.
Better not to... safer not to...
Back to square one it was then.
Mentally he cast about for a solution, a back-up plan, how was he going to begin to explain his absence without some form of lie? He glanced away in resignation, out of the open window, leaning back against the old seat as the traffic started moving again.
He'd come up with something, he always did.
For now what he really wanted was to just go back to how things were. To forget the whole damn debacle and slide neatly back into the life he had been living. To get himself a shower, a shave, a suit and some scotch. Perhaps not in that order but certainly his immediate future included all of the above, sooner the better.
He perked up instantly at a brief impression of Lux in the distance. Just there, flashing between two high buildings, was a glimpse of his home.
His heart thudded inside his chest, a lurch of happiness.
Home.
"Will you be coming up?" Lucifer dragged his eyes away from the welcome sight of the tall building.
Raphael frowned nervously, steering them ever closer toward the rapidly approaching pale tower. "Do you still consort with a demon?"
"What... Mazikeen?" Lucifer chuckled dismissively. "You're not frightened of her... are you?" He turned slightly to peer at his brothers deepening frown. "Oh, but you are though aren't you."
Raphael seemed determined to ignore the taunt as Lucifer slowly grinned. "Amenadiel always gets on rather well with her..."
He laced the words with just enough suggestive innuendo that his brother was able to connect the dots. The car braked a little too hard as they approached the next junction. "He does?" Raphael stuttered.
Lucifer just nodded slowly, some of that old twinkle of delight returning to his dark eyes.
Raphael muttered a low scandalised "no!" in horror, unable to believe such a rumour about Amenadiel. That he, the strongest of the archangels, would fall in such a sordid way. He looked again at Lucifer, wondering just how dangerous it was to be in his sphere of influence.
"Relax brother, by your rationale, even that was meant to happen." Lucifer smirked at his brothers appalled expression, turning his attention back toward the approach of Lux.
Raphael glanced up for a moment, seeking patience, taking a slow breath to steady his nerves. If this conversation was amusing or calming for his brother, offering him a some clarity after his ordeal, well then... he could bear it.
.
.
.
They pulled up in the shaded alley behind Lux, the rumbling engine finally dying down into silence, Raphael hopped lightly from the cab and Lucifer followed, tumbling out, shuffling his way slowly around the truck to stand beside him.
The brothers stood awkwardly, just a couple of feet apart. "This is where I leave you" Raphael eventually smiled. He turned slightly to study his brothers profile. "Will you... will you be alright?"
Lucifer shrugged off the concern "of course" he tugged at the sleeve of the old shirt without thinking. His hand habitually reaching for cuff-links that weren't there.
"I'll see you around eh?" Raphael had done what he could, he'd been a true brother, offering a balm, someone to talk to, someone to ride by his side on the long road out of the desert. He'd lain out an alternative perspective for Lucifer's consideration and an olive branch from the family.
The ineffable plan always worked out as intended, Raphael had absolute faith in that. All he could do was leave the breadcrumbs for his brother, it was up to Lucifer to actually follow them or not.
One step toward the light, that was all he wanted his fallen brother to take.
Lucifer arched a brow and smiled, "not if I see you first" but then had the grace to wince at his own harsh words. "I... won't forget what you've done for me". His dark eyes filled with an intense sincerity, a gaze that Raphael couldn't return easily, as awkward with gratitude as he was with confrontation.
"I..." adequate words seem to escape Lucifer's silver tongue, so he simply reached out to lay a hand on his brothers shoulder "Thank you..."
Raphael looked up at that, peering through the few strands of his shaggy auburn hair that had cascaded over his eyes. He returned the gesture so that the brothers mirrored each other. "Aye well... think on what I've said eh?"
He gave Lucifer's shoulder a gentle squeeze and smirked, the touch subtly soothing. "Now go take a shower, you look like crap."
Lucifer chuckled, it was true enough.
As Raphael turned the old engine over once more, he flipped the stereo back on, offering Lucifer a lazy salute through the open window.
A pair of harmonic voices echoed back and forth across the alley, with a blast of '...sail on silver bird' the truck hauled around. Lucifer stood for a long time, watching the old pick-up merge and vanish into the midday traffic.
Lucifer shook his head at the state of himself, standing around like some awful dazed tramp. Punching in the security code to the service lift, he smiled, he was finally home.
.
.
.
The first thing to catch his eye was the smashed piano. He paused by the old carcass of polished wood and wire, nudging one of the slender keys with a bare dusty toe.
"Oh this'll have to go" he murmured mournfully.
Shuffling over to the bar, Lucifer had just closed his hand around a much anticipated bottle of scotch when he heard it.
He looked up at the rustling sound of someone else moving around in the apartment. "Little welcome home party it it?" he peered around smiling, clutching the bottle close, unwilling to let it go.
Mazikeen strode from the bathroom, giving him a stunned once over. Her gaze lingering on his filthy bare feet and crappy shirt.
Lucifer beamed a wide grin of delight, "Mazey! What are you doing?"
Her stern expression didn't even flicker."I was looking for clues."
"What in there?" he snorted in amusement.
"I was being thorough..." she tilted her head, unsmiling, not wanting to be distracted "what happened to you?"
"Did you miss me?" his eyebrow twitched up playfully.
It was entirely the wrong thing to say, Mazikeen stalked slowly across the penthouse, her eyes narrowing. "Where have you been all this time?"
Lucifer tilted his head to one side, still grinning at the joy seeing her again. "How long was it?"
"How can you not know?" she shot back, exasperated.
Lucifer visibly stalled, brow furrowing, his smile slowly fading.
"You really don't know do you?" Mazikeen studied his reaction with a hard look. "How could you take off like that?" She jabbed an accusing finger at him.
"Hey... I didn't..."
"How could you do that to Decker?" She snarled furiously, advancing even closer, getting up close to glare at him.
Lucifer threw a hand up, actually taking a few steps back. "Not now Maze..." he whined defensively.
"Do you have any idea what-."
"It wasn't like th-"
"So what was it then?"
"Just stop!..." His eyes flashed a brilliant angry red. There was an almighty 'fwoomph' behind him, the pale wings unfurling to flex wide in warning. They dominated the apartment with their subtle glow, stopping the argument dead.
Mazikeen stumbled back, eyes wide, gasping in shock. Her voice, when she found it, was hushed and breathless, "what... what does this mean?..."
Lucifer shrugged, the wings bobbing gently up and down in response. "I..." he shook his head "...don't know"
He simply looked down at the bottle in his hand, grimacing as the wings drooped low. Heading back toward the bar he poured out a generous glass, barely pausing before downing it in one with a low hiss of pleasure.
His gaze fixed on the empty glass for a long time, a thoughtful lost look before he eventually glanced up at her.
"Darling" He flashed her his brightest and most hopeful of sly smiles, his voice a low purr, "have you still got those blades?"
.
.
.
A/N: The song reference there was 'Bridge over troubled water' by Simon & Garfunkel. (Raphael does love them a bit yep).
