A/N: hello there! i'm so sorry for the wait, but... life happened and i want to give these two only my best, so i waited quite a bit for the right moment to write. oh, and, if you have prompts or things you'd like to see, just tell me and i'll try and work them into the story. or questions, or stuff like that. and a huge thank you to miles - she inspired a certain quirk in this story, and you can thank her if i finally forced myself to sit down and get this done.
enjoy, and... leave me your thoughts? xX
"Come in."
His voice is always the same. Since many years she's known him, and his voice has never lost that shadow of depth and danger.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Come, sit, my dear," he gestures for her to step inside, and Regina does just that, needlessly smoothens her pencil skirt with hands that are starting to sweat.
Lucifer is sitting at his desk, in his office, his hands steepled, with a smirk on his lips, his dark eyes shining. He's attractive – he has to be, Regina has lost count of how many lovers he's had in the millennia, all devils are attractive. But he is… more. She can see why humans are so prone to fall for him. She can resist his charm, most of the time, but not many humans are able to do so.
She walks inside, sitting awkwardly in front of him. Usually, she's not this nervous when she meets him. Of course, no one is ever completely at ease with him, but this is new – the sweating of her palms, her heart beating fast.
"I asked to see you, yes," he smiles kindly. "What's wrong, Astaroth? I have noticed your… strange behavior, at All Hollows. You know, I'd hate for this to be a… bad sign."
"I…" she gulps down, sinking into his eyes, but she doesn't see rage, she sees… concern. "Actually…"
"I understands there is a problem," he cuts. "Particularly when you skipped the transformation. Now I'm wondering… what is the problem?"
Regina drops her gaze down to the floor. Bites her lip, and she's just opened her mouth to answer when someone knocks on the door. She hears a meaningless exchange between him and his secretary – Mr Samdi, your 2pm is here, and Make them wait until I've finished here, thank you, – and he coughs lightly, encouraging her to go on.
"Right," she murmurs, finally looking at him. "I… have had trouble with my transformations. I had to… stop for a while, and then I found it difficult to change again."
He nods, humming. "Of course. Well, that could happen every now and then. Happened to Cora once, too, if I recall correctly. I am sure it's just a fluke," he raises an eyebrow, almost defying her to contradict him. "Isn't it?"
"Well," she starts, unsure on how to tell him the truth – because the truth must come out, one way or another, and it's better for the truth to come out at her terms rather than his. "I… actually, I've found a… a… problem, in my human shape. It's barely noticeable… but I did my research and I don't understand what's the matter."
"Interesting. Do you happen to remember when it first appeared? What's the nature of your problem?"
"I don't know when it happened," she says flatly. "I noticed it… about two months ago, but it could have been there before. It's on my back… it's a dot of light."
She's still looking at him, when she pronounces the last words, so she doesn't miss the flicker of rage in his eyes, just an instant, immediately replaced by his usual calm demeanor.
"Could you please show me, Astaroth? I think I may know what it is, but I need to see it."
Regina gulps down, suddenly nervous. "Show you… here?"
"You don't need to change of shape," he's quick to tell her. "Just… strip of your shirt, I only wish to see this dot of light. No one is going to disturb us."
She nods, gets up slowly from the chair, and keeps her eyes locked to his as she unbuttons her flimsy, see-through black shirt, then removes the shirt and is left in her bra. She gets closer, turns, and Lucifer raises from his seat to round the desk and look at her skin. She feels his fingers ghost around the dot, she can feel it pulsing now, as if it is somehow sensing all the darkness of Lucifer's soul.
"Interesting," he repeats. "Really… peculiar."
"So what is it?" she breathes out, her heart thumping – for the first time in weeks, she feels the urge to change. It's almost painful, but she knows she can't, not here, not now.
"A crack," he says, tranquil, as if it doesn't matter. "It can happen. It's rare, and different from Cora's problem, but you needn't worry, my dear. Have you met any… angel, recently?"
"Yes… they placed an angel to observe me, during my human job," she breathes out. "He… we haven't interacted much yet."
It's him. It's his fault.
"I see." Lucifer goes to sit at his desk again, motions for her to dress. "Well, the only way to cure your problem is to change, at least twice a week. And Regina," he adds, "make sure you don't… encourage him. The angel. I'm not worried, at this stage, because I know you'll be able to get back on track. But they are tricky," he says, his eyes narrow. "He clearly thinks he can push you back into the light, but you know better, don't you? You know it's delusional to think redemption is possible."
"Yes, sir," she nods, a knot forming in her chest. "I'll… see to that. I'll make sure to report any problem."
"Good," he smiles, kinder now. "Now go. I'll see you at the next meeting."
"Thank you for your time," she murmurs, but he's already engrossed into reading the paperwork on his desk. She approaches the door, and opens and closes it carefully, with a smile to his secretary.
Damn it.
.:.
She finds a rose on her desk.
The halls are already glowing with the first Christmas decoration – sparkling whites and golden spheres, all together bringing down her already tempestuous mood.
So it takes nothing – just a fucking yellow rose, with its complimentary card, to send her fuming. How dare he. Just as she discovered it's his fault if she's like this – a weak, disgusting shell of what she used to be – and he sends her a stupid rose, as if she's some kind of medieval princess he needs to woo.
Milady, says the card, you still owe me a drink, after that unfortunate Halloween party. I hope to see you… after hours, so we can talk a bit. If you want.
Your friend,
Robin.
Regina takes the rose and the card, walks towards his office, oh so royally pissed, and enjoys the quiet of the empty halls. She hopes, hopes he's not there, so she can place a curse on him and everyone he holds dear, but she also hopes he's there so she can smack his stupid face with a fist.
"Regina," he welcomes her, and fuck, he smells good today. Looks good too, with a blue sweater that brings out his eyes. Actually no, he smells awful, because no one is supposed to smell this good, and she knows it's part of the magic of the angels, and it's bothering her to no end. He smiles, the idiot. "To what I owe the pleasure?"
"Get inside, you moron," she says, cold as ice.
"Did I do something wrong?" he tells her, widening his eyes, the shadow of a smirk on his lips – and no, he doesn't get to do this.
"This is completely wrong," she slams the card against his chest, holding herself back from breaking his nose. "You have to stop being friendly with me, you have to stop getting close to me. It's wrong. You must stop doing that, because we just can't. It's forbidden. Is you stupid skull so thick you can't understand this simple rule?"
He seems dismayed, looks at her with concern, then curls his hand around her wrist. "Regina… did they threaten you in some way?"
"No," she shakes her head, trying to free her hand, but he just holds it so calmly and gently that she gives up. "I just… I shouldn't even be here, let alone telling you about my problems!"
"I don't believe you," he asserts, "please, tell me if they did something to you. I want to know, I want to help."
"You – can't… help," she chokes on her words, the rage from earlier dulled into angry tears, "you are the problem. I shouldn't… be with you, talk to you."
"I can't just… stop seeing you!" he's frustrated, she can hear it from his voice, from the way his hand goes from holding her wrist to holding her fingers in an almost-too-tender way. "What happened?"
"I… I'm sorry," she frees her fingers, and a single tear escapes her careful façade. "Please, don't search for me anymore. I have to… solve this problem first, I'm sorry."
The door slams behind her and she leaves him there, too surprised to act. As she walks away, she can feel her heart getting stronger – darker, her hands curled into fists and her eyes narrowing. Electricity buzzes behind her, her wings quivering on her back, begging to be released.
Enough of this.
.:.
Robin phones Mary Margaret, after work.
Gabriel is between the most powerful angels – if not the most powerful – and they're very good friends, not to mention she has worked with Regina, or… against, in the past. So she seems to be the most easy answer to his problems, but as the phone rings, he finds himself hoping she won't answer.
"Yes, hello?" her usual chirping tone, so kind, and Robin gulps, wondering why he's become unable to speak all of a sudden.
"Hi, Gabriel," he says. "It's me. Do you have time today? I really need to talk to you."
She tells him they can meet, of course, in one of those prissy cafés she favors, in lieu of his trusty favorite diner. They have scones and tea as he explains the problem, but surprisingly, Gabriel doesn't smile – she scowls, holding her tea cup with a haughty expression.
"You just had to mingle with their species, didn't you?" she says, disapprovingly. "Arariel, she… she's not to be trusted. I don't understand what you see in her. All the last reports are absolutely worrying, and if you don't care…"
"I'm just telling you there is something we don't know, Mary Margaret," he says patiently, his butter knife forgotten and suspended in the air. "Maybe even your precious reports don't tell us everything."
"So you want to act as a spy?" Gabriel asks, suddenly very interested. "You want to get close to her and learn her weaknesses?"
"I… that would be low, almost at their level," he mutters.
"We are at war with them, Arariel," she says, sipping on her tea. "I thought you'd know by now. That's an excellent idea, though. We must fight them with the weapons we have, and if you're in the position to get… closer to one of them, let's say, I want you to use this chance to discover more about them. It's awful, I know, and I'm actually ashamed we don't have more information about their species by now – we've been slacking in the intelligence department, and Michael won't listen to me when I mention it, he's still so partial for swords and flames, bless him…"
"Wait a minute," Robin interrupts her ramblings, "are you serious about this?"
"Absolutely," she says, her eyes candid. "Go, do, and report back at the next meeting. And… thank you, you've given me a lot to think about."
She gets up before he can even reply – tosses some coins on the table, more than enough to cover their meal and to leave a generous tip, and smiles at the waiter as she exits.
For fuck's sake.
.:.
He avoids Regina for a week, long after the first snow has fallen. She's asked for space, and he's trying to be polite, trying to let her solve her mess before offering a peace deal once again.
Because he doesn't want to do what Gabriel has asked. He likes Regina. Even if she's a devil, even if she's impossible to be around sometimes, even though she frustrates him to no end. He finds himself wondering, what would have happened had she not fallen?
Would they be friends? Something more?
He knows how relationships work. He's had some, during the years – during all his reincarnations, he's found women and men and he's made their lives better, kept the secret for years, never had children – it's forbidden – and he knows some angels are together. Gabriel is with Michael, after all, and she's expecting a baby.
(It's funny, how it works. Angels together can have children, but only female reincarnations of both angels and devils can have children with humans. Maybe Regina has had children during the years. He'd like to ask her, someday.)
He knows how things work down here, but up there? No one tells.
Could they have been something more? He searches on his books, in the Book of the Word, because he's curious, not because he actually thinks he'll make any use of what he finds. Maybe it's only a way to understand Regina better – if this has to do with her sudden running away.
Word says that the Gods have forbidden many kinds of bonds, ever since the Traitors have fallen. They must suffer through their punishment and can be together, but there are limitations – a devil with a devil is a potential disaster waiting to happen, and a child of devils would be a horrible creature to be eliminated at once. It depends on the levels of power, and their place in the hierarchy.
Some whispered of possible unions between angels and devils – this is undocumented, unprecedented, and the Gods didn't say what would happen, but it is told that it would be an abomination, and would result in unspeakable wrath.
Well.
.:.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to her. Yes, I'll hold. Thank you." He waits for a moment, Vivaldi's Four Seasons filling the speakers. Winter, he thinks. Fitting for the season.
"Lucius, what a surprise," Mal says, he hears her relaxing on her chair. She's at work, but he never calls her there, so she must know it's pretty important. "What can I do for you, dear? You're not cancelling our date tonight, are you?"
"No, no," Lucifer answers, keeping his voice low and sultry. "We're still on, love. I was calling about an urgent issue, and I'm afraid it can't wait till tonight. Not to mention… I didn't want to stain our night together with work-related matters."
"Oh," Mal sighs, "you're wonderful, dear. So, what's happened?"
"Regina came by, earlier," he says. "I summoned her because she didn't change of shape during the Samhain meeting, as I am sure you remember. Now… as you call yourself her friend, and are between the people who know her the best…"
"Yes, I suppose I am. So?"
"So… we have a problem."