Lucifer stepped back slightly as Amenadiel stepped forward, his shoulder brushing against his oldest brother's as he shuffled back. Every muscle in his body seemed to have completely tensed up, feeling like he was freezing and burning on the inside. The man in front of him regarded him with a quiet, calm smile, curiosity sparkling through his green eyes as he looked him up and down. And it was Amenadiel who spoke next, even though Lucifer wanted to start screaming bloody murder right then and there. "Father."

It was almost like a confirmation, and it was what set Lucifer off. Before God could react to Amenadiel, Lucifer shoved past his brother, fists clenched and ready to punch as hard as possible. And if Amenadiel hadn't immediately grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back with practically every ounce of strength he had, Lucifer probably would have given his Father a bloody nose. God stayed silent, but his smile faltered as he lowered his chin, gazing at his son.

"Luci. No."

"Let me go," Lucifer hissed, trying to shove his brother off. Amenadiel held on tight, though, pulling him a little further away from God. "Come on, I've earned this!"

His Father blinked, taking a few tentative steps toward his son, and Lucifer went still for a second, tensing up again immediately. And then, suddenly, it was all too… Familiar. His oldest brother holding him back while his Father stood in front of him, just out of reach - Lucifer half expected Amenadiel to sprout a pair of wings and drag him back to Hell. He swallowed, writhing slightly in his oldest brother's grip, but this time it wasn't to get away so he could attack. And Amenadiel, bless his soul, he must have sensed his brother's fear, because he released him and stepped back, keeping one hand on Lucifer's shoulder and giving a light squeeze. Lucifer just took a deep breath and stepped back again, once more turning his glare to his Father.

God studied him for a moment, his eyes flickering over Lucifer's face almost warily. "I can see you're still a fiesty one, Samael."

Lucifer's eyes hardened, stepping forward again. And this time, even Amenadiel stayed quiet and still as Lucifer stepped forward, facing his Father for the first time in so, so long. "You've got no idea, Dad."

God frowned, shaking his head and once more raising his gaze back to his son's. And, after a moment, he stepped forward and reached out. At first, Lucifer flinched, slightly surprised, but his eyes widened in confusion when his Father simply pulled the collar of his shirt down, adjusting his suit. "I know it's been a long time. Maybe too long. But you can't possibly be as angry at me as you used to be."

It took a few moments for Lucifer to respond, staring at his Father. Then, wordlessly, he reached up and grabbed God's wrist, yanking his Father's hand away from him. "Well, no," he agreed, and God's expression brightened, only for his face to fall when Lucifer continued. "I'm angrier."

"But why?" God asked quietly, twisting his hand out of Lucifer's grip effortlessly and letting his hands fall back to his sides. Lucifer stared at him in disbelief, completely speechless for a moment. His Father had the nerve to stand there and ask why Lucifer was angry at him. Why he hated him.

"You know why."

His Father stared at him in silence for a moment, contemplating. And, after a while, he nodded and spoke. "Because I abandoned you," he murmured. "Because I cast you out without asking you why you did what you did. You're my son, and I treated you more unfairly than you deserved."

Lucifer hesitated slightly. He hadn't expected his Father to just… Outright admit it all, but. "Basically, yes," he managed, his eyes darkening. "What's the worst I did, Pops, huh? All I wanted was for you to actually pay attention to your children instead of your bloody creation, and in trying to end the neglect, I got- Well, more neglect!" He shook his head, a little surprised to feel his throat closing up, but he forced himself to continue. "It wasn't fair."

"You're right. It wasn't fair," God replied, lowering his voice slightly and staring at his son. "I should have been a better Father to you, but I let my anger get the better of me. And for that, I am sorry."

That caught Lucifer off guard. Okay, it was one thing for God to admit what he'd done wrong - And even Lucifer hadn't expected that - But for him to actually apologize? Lucifer was… Well, he was torn. He didn't know whether to believe him or not, truthfully enough. So for a long time, all he did was stand there and stare at his Father, his mouth slightly open. "... W- Well, you should be," he finally managed to spit out. He opened his mouth, ready to say more, but faltered. "... But, I suppose, I…" He trailed off, glancing away. "I can see that all the time and effort you put into this creation has most certainly paid off."

God smiled a little bit at that, green eyes seeming to light up for a second as he tilted his head at his son. "I wanted it to be perfect for you. For all of you."

"Pardon?" Lucifer shook his head and looked up, blinking in surprise as he stared at his Father. God just shrugged, looking away, toward the window.

"I wanted to create a place where all of you could… Live. Heaven was…" His Father trailed off, glancing back up at Lucifer. "Well, I think you can agree that Heaven was never much of a home?" When Lucifer nodded, God turned to face him completely. "And I wanted to create somewhere that would be. And I… I was worried, that it wasn't ready. That you weren't ready, just yet. But…" A small smile tugged at his lips. "I was wrong. I've been watching you down here, interacting with them, and I… I'm really not sure what I was so worried about."

Lucifer blinked, glancing away and narrowing his eyes. He didn't say anything, so his Father continued, voice going softer. "I thought your anger toward the humans would lead to you trying again and again to destroy them. So I cast you out before you could. Turned out it was your mother I had to worry about, not you." He went silent for a moment, grimacing, before stepping forward. "Samael, I am sorry."

Lucifer kept his gaze fixed on the floor, not knowing what to say. He was torn between his anger, and… The desire to forgive him, to get over the anger once and for all. He hesitated, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. As much as part of him wanted to stay angry, and he knew that if he really tried he could find a million other things to be pissed at his Father about… But he wanted to forgive him, too. He wanted to stop being so angry at him.

Because anger hurt. It hurt a lot. Lucifer sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "Fine- Fine! It's- It's surprisingly less harder to hate you now, so… Fine. I believe you."

His Father actually chuckled a little. Lucifer sighed, reluctantly blinking his eyes open and looking up at him silently. "So you forgive me?" God checked, taking a few steps forward and tilting his head.

Lucifer hesitated, staring at him for a while, but eventually nodded. As soon as he did, his Father pulled him into a hug. Which was, admittedly, probably the last thing he was expecting. And he couldn't move at first - He didn't move at first.

And without even thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around God, burying his face into his Father's shoulder in silence. "So what was with sending Michael to bring me to Heaven, then?" He mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by his Father's shirt.

"Just a way of seeing if he's ready, too," God responded warmly, letting out a soft chuckle and rubbing his son's shoulders comfortingly, giving a soft squeeze. "I never intended to force you back there, Samael. I never intended to force you back anywhere. You're exactly where you should be." He stayed silent for a moment. "I'm proud of you, you know that?"

Lucifer blinked, starting to raise his head, but after a moment he gave in and simply buried his face into his Father's shoulder again. "... Well, I suppose it is good to know now."

God chuckled, giving another soft squeeze before pulling away, patting him on the shoulder and turning to Amenadiel. Lucifer stepped back, glancing at his oldest brother before brushing past both of them and walking over to Michael. He zoned them out, crouching down beside his older brother and exhaling softly in relief when he saw he was breathing again.

"Thank Dad," Lucifer mused quietly with a sigh, reaching out and poking his older brother. "Alright, get up."

Michael grunted, shifting slightly and shaking his head slowly. It took a moment, but he sucked in another breath and blinked his eyes open, pushing himself to sit up and looking around in alarm. Lucifer tilted his head and pushed himself to stand up once more, reaching out to help his older brother up. "Good morning."

"What the f-" Michael cut off, taking a deep, slightly shaky breath and taking Lucifer's hand, allowing his younger brother to pull him to stand. "Wh- What happened?"

Lucifer hummed, then simply turned and pointed at God, who was now hugging Amenadiel. Michael did a double take, a look of pure disbelief crossing his face, then narrowed his eyes and turned to look at his brother. "And you're not attacking him?" He asked slowly.

"Well…" Lucifer trailed off, shaking his head. "It seems I'm not… Nearly as… Angry, as I…" He trailed off, letting out a sigh. Michael just chuckled, turning back to look at his Father and brother, and Lucifer followed his gaze. "... So, uh, I… May have overreacted with you. I'm-"

"I know," Michael cut him off, sounding slightly amused as he looked back down at his younger brother. "Trust me, I got everything I deserved and more."

"Now, that I will not disagree with," Lucifer admitted, a small grin tugging at his lips now. Michael rolled his eyes, but immediately straightened up when God pulled away from Amenadiel and turned to face Michael and Lucifer, offering them both a warm grin before focusing on Michael in particular.

"Welcome back, son. Have a good nap?"

Michael snorted, hesitating a little. "Ah… Father, I, uh, I really did try to bring Samael back to Heaven, but…" He trailed off, glancing at his brother.

"I know you did. A little too early, though, so I had to intervene. Sorry about that." God cleared his throat, clasping his hands together and glancing at the elevator. "Now, nice as this is… I do have to go. Michael." He looked up, fixing his son with a stern look. "Stop being a dick."

Lucifer choked on air at that, clearing his throat and turning his head away. Amenadiel seemed to have the same reaction, an amused grin on his face as he shook his head, and Lucifer was doing his best not to laugh.

"Yes, sir," Michael replied quietly, his eyes wide. That just made Lucifer want to laugh harder, but he held it in.

"Good," God responded, grinning again and glancing toward Lucifer. He winked at his son before stepping back, glancing up at the ceiling. "I know all three of you will be just fine down here. You have been so far," he sighed, closing his eyes. "I'll be watching."

"Bit creepy, but alright," Lucifer mused with a grin. It was kind of weird for him, admittedly - All the anger he'd held toward his Father before had just… Disappeared. Not that he was complaining, because it most certainly hurt a lot less now… And he was going to have quite a bit to tell Linda, wasn't he?

"And if you don't ask Decker out soon, son…"

"I beg your p-" Lucifer shook his head in bewilderment, turning back to his Father. His gaze met nothing, and it took him a few seconds to register that God was gone. Michael snickered, and Lucifer just stood in silence, staring at where his Father had previously been standing for a long time before turning back to his older brothers. "Did he really just…"

"Uh huh." Amenadiel nodded, and Michael shrugged. Lucifer scoffed, shaking his head and rubbing his hand across his face.

"Unbelievable…" He started. "Dad playing matchmaker, who would have expected?"

"I have to agree," Michael admitted, his amber eyes sparkling with curiosity as he looked down at his younger brother. He then turned, and Lucifer looked up when he heard the elevator ding again, the doors sliding open slowly. His head tilted, curious, but he wasn't too surprised to see Chloe and Ella.

Ella took one look at the scattered feathers, and Lucifer could practically see her almost having a heart attack. "Ohhhh, my God, what happened?!"

"Ella," Michael sighed and headed over to calm her down. Lucifer stared at them for a moment, silent, but looked over instantly when Chloe started over to him, staring at the feathers in confusion and slight uncertainty. She looked up when she reached Lucifer, meeting his gaze with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Lucifer tilted his head, staring at her. Then, without a word, he reached out and pulled her into a hug, resting his head on top of the Detective's. She let out a confused "oh", but hugged him back anyway. "For the first time in a long time, Detective."