Wow, guys, it's been way too long since I've updated this. I got sucked into the Outlander fandom and that's where I've been recently; didn't help that I hit a massive roadblock with this storyline. I got lost in various sites, books, and theories on what's supposed to happen with the Antichrist and the end of the world, and my brain just fried. Oddly enough, it was Far Cry 5 that motivated me again (play it if you guys haven't, it's an awesome game) Anway, so sorry for the long wait, hopefully, it's somewhat worth it. Not sure when the next chapter will be up but I'm not totally abandoning this yet. Stay safe everyone!
"You have got to be kidding me…" Chloe couldn't believe what she was seeing, and apparently, neither could Lucifer who had gone utterly silent behind her. Charlie was the Antichrist? Well, God certainly has a sense of humor, Chloe had to admit. Making one grandchild the Messiah and the other the Antichrist? Takes the phrase 'keeping it in the family' to an entirely new level.
"Charlie!" Linda bent down and scooped the toddler up. "Don't ever do that again, you had mommy worried."
"Crawling away won't be his worst crime," Lucifer muttered. Chloe smacked his chest lightly to get him to stop. They couldn't do this here, no, and especially not in front of Linda. They had to be sure before they did anything.
"Shut up, we'll take this picture and go home and talk."
"You can't be serious," Lucifer stepped around so he was facing her. "After what we've just found out."
"We haven't found out anything," Chloe hissed, cradling the top of Samael's head in her hand. "Do you remember how devastated we were to find out that Sammy was the Messiah? Imagine finding out he's the Antichrist instead."
"Yes, that is worse." Lucifer nodded in agreement. "That explains why the demons wanted him to rule Hell. The Antichrist is, well, the name speaks for itself."
"But they wanted Sammy too."
"Yes but only because he's my son. Had we known his destiny back then I'm afraid they might've tried to kill him, not make him their ruler."
"Stop," Chloe grabbed his arm and forced him behind her. "Don't say another word." She warned him before turning to Linda. "Hey, do you guys think we could get things moving along? I don't think Sammy is feeling too good." She rocked the infant for emphasis.
"He looks fine to me," Trixie said, shrugging at the subsequent glare her mother gave her.
"Yes, well, he's got colic, only a matter of time," Lucifer added.
"Colic?" Linda turned to Lucifer. "How in the world do you know what that is?"
"What?" Lucifer stared back at her. "Am I not allowed to read? I learned about it when I read one of those pregnancy books."
"Okay, well, let's get going. Everyone back to your spots!" Linda shouted.
Lucifer bent over Chloe's shoulder and looked down at Samael, "The one time I need you to cry." Chloe hit him once again in the chest but with more force. "Joking." He resumed his position and stood up straight. Chloe shifted Samael to the right of her chest and placed a hand on Trixie's shoulder. Lucifer kissed the back of her head and rested a hand on her bicep. Maze shot Lucifer a questioning look at his movements but said nothing.
When everybody was in the correct spot the cameraman approached the group. "Ready?"
Linda nodded her consent.
"Say cheese!"
It was late when they finally pulled into Lux's parking garage, the supposed twenty-minute drive from the photo studio took an hour and a half with two car accidents and several road closures. Samael was fussy and squirming relentlessly in his carrier by the time Chloe went to unhook the seat. The way he waved his fists and stomped his feet into the air reminded Chloe of Lucifer when he threw one of his tantrums. They looked and acted more alike every single day.
Lucifer took the diaper-bag from the backseat of her car and slung it over his left shoulder, he took Chloe's purse from her and locked the car behind them as they made their way to the private elevator. Lucifer and Chloe stood side by side with Samael between them as they rode the elevator to the penthouse. Once the doors opened with a ding, Chloe took Samael to the nursery while Lucifer made his way to the bar and started to prepare a bottle.
He didn't pay attention to the movement of his hands, by this point he could prepare a bottle just as easily as he could a bloody mary. He stared up at the ceiling above him, he could just imagine the smug face of his father staring down at him, teasing him for the mess Lucifer was now meant to deal with. Only, Lucifer didn't know what to do next. There was usually someone he could talk to, someone to offer him advice or steer him in the right direction. This time his options were limited.
He couldn't talk to his brother, Amenadiel would be more concerned in whatever plan their father had put Charlie into instead of the actual situation at hand. Linda was out of the question seeing as how she was the boy's mother. Maze didn't need another reason to fuel her crusade against God and Chloe, well, she might just be his only sounding board. Though she still wasn't entirely comfortable dealing with the celestial-side of things, she was slowly coming around.
Lucifer turned his head as Chloe walked towards the couch with a pajama-clad Samael in her arms. Lucifer went and sat next to her on the couch as he handed her the prepared bottle. Chloe thanked him with a nod and replaced Samael's pacifier with the rubber nipple of the bottle. One little hand grasped Chloe's shirt and the other reached up to grab onto the plastic container.
"Are we going to talk about what we saw?" she asked, looking up from Samael to Lucifer.
"Yes, of course," Lucifer nodded yet he made no further move to pursue the conversation. He couldn't take his eyes off his son, he noticed every little detail; the way the tiny hand squeezed when he suckled, the slight movement of his throat when he swallowed, the way his eyes rested on his mother as he ate… his son was a tiny interesting creature that he couldn't get enough of.
"Lucifer," Chloe nudged him with her elbow, "What are we going to do about Charlie? Is he actually the Antichrist?"
"He appears to be," Lucifer finally met her eyes. "I mean, we both saw him, he sat on a white horse. Just as it was predicted."
"We both know the Bible isn't spot on with its descriptions, it's very liminal, vague." Chloe shrugged. "How can we be sure?"
"There's not a test, Detective, we just have to take it as we see it."
"But what if we continue down the path of Charlie being the Antichrist, and we miss the real one?"
"That's a chance we have to take."
"Lucifer, he's your nephew, he's family, we can't just assume he's the Antichrist. How many times have you been wrong about what your father intended?"
Lucifer took a deep breath and relaxed back into the couch. Chloe had a point, he had to admit. No one ever knew what God wanted or meant; even when the words came out of his mouth there was always room for interruption. For all they knew this was another test created by his father for his own amusement. Lucifer understood Chloe's hesitation on the subject, Charlie was her family just as much as he was to Lucifer.
"I don't see you pitching any bright ideas,"
"Well," Chloe glanced at Samael. "What if we watch him for a night? I'm sure Linda and Amenadiel would appreciate it, and that way we can make sure before we talk to anyone or do anything. Wouldn't be the worst idea for Sammy to spend time with someone his own age either."
"That's brilliant!" Lucifer stood from the couch. "Sammy, your mummy is an absolute genius. We'll have Charlie here under the pretense of family bonding whatnot but in actuality, we'll be testing him."
"No, no tests!"
"You truly are magnificent, you know that, Detective?"
Chloe sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to be able to talk Lucifer down from this idea of his. It wasn't the worst, but she'd never tell him that, and it all depended on the kind of test Lucifer was talking about.
Chloe stood from the couch and placed Samael in Lucifer's arms, "He's done. You burp him and I'll call Linda."
"C'mon Sammy," Lucifer cooed. "Let's go get ready for your play date." He winked openly at his son.
"Lord help me," Chloe mumbled, glancing up as Lucifer walked towards the nursery with Samael.
"Huh…" Lucifer was stunned as he stared down at his nephew. For the supposed Antichrist Charlie looked completely normal, then again, he was the Devil and you couldn't tell without his glamour. Did Charlie have a glamour? Lucifer gently poked Charlie's stomach, he frowned when Charlie only giggled. No, that didn't lead to anything… maybe the infant was invulnerable? Lucifer shook his head. That couldn't be it either since Charlie had just gotten over a cold. Unless Charlie had his own Chloe, someone to make him vulnerable and they just hadn't found them yet. Possible but unlikely.
"Do you do anything? Anything at all besides drool?" Lucifer used the front of Charlie's shirt to clean his chin. "You're useless," Lucifer scoffed. "You're not telling me anything I need to know." Charlie cocked his head to the side and reached out towards Lucifer's face with a giggle.
"Unbloody believable," Lucifer shook his head and scooped Charlie off the changing table and into his arms. He quickly walked from the nursery into the living where Chloe was with Samael for tummy time. "You won't believe this," Lucifer told Chloe as he walked towards them.
"Lucifer, look!" Chloe motioned to Samael who upon hearing his father's voice lifted and tilted his head in his father's direction. "He's looking for you." Chloe stroked Samael's back as he lowered his head.
"Good job Sammy!" Lucifer smiled at his son. "At least there's some hope for this gene pool, his cousin is useless." Lucifer put Charlie onto the ground next to Samael. "He did absolutely nothing."
"He's a toddler," Chloe looked at Lucifer, "What? Were you expecting him to tell you if he was the Antichrist?"
"That would have been nice, a simple confirmation of yes or no, it's not that hard, Charlie." He eyed the toddler.
Chloe giggled and stood from her spot on the floor to join Lucifer on the couch. She grabbed his hand in hers and rested her head on his shoulder. Sometimes she couldn't believe her life, believe how lucky she was. She'd found the literal perfect man, well, Devil. Lucifer was the complete package; he cared for Trixie, respected her job, and would do anything to protect them, he'd already proven as much. He may be selfish and immature at times but Chloe knew deep down Lucifer would do anything for the people he cared about. She was proud to call him her partner, in more ways than one.
She raised her head to glance at him, only to find him already staring at her. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. He closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a searing kiss. It didn't take long before she was moving to straddle his lap as he stroked her back. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once; they'd be on her hips one second and sweeping under her breasts the next. She moaned whenever he hit a sensitive spot, encouraging his movements with a sense of urgency.
"Lucifer, wait," She put a hand on his chest to stop him and he responded with a whine. "We can't, the boys…" she trailed off, turning her head to glance at the two blissfully unaware toddlers on the floor behind them. Samael had dozed off by this point, a lake of drool covering the block he'd been playing with before he'd fallen asleep. Charlie held a teddy bear in his chubby fingers, he was stroking the fur with small, soft movements.
"They won't notice, or care," Lucifer reasoned, trailing his lips down her neck to her pulse point.
"I know," She pulled away from him but gave a reassuring kiss when he started to interrupt her. "There's a lot going on right now, and we're both stressed and tired. I know it's going to be hard, but no more talk of the Antichrist until we're sure it's Charlie, okay? You've done your little tests and examinations and they've proven nothing. If it's truly the end of the world…." Choe trailed off, glancing down at Samael's sleeping figure before locking her eyes with Lucifer.
"Let's try and enjoy each other while we still can."
"I wouldn't want it any other way, Detective."