The version of Mad World I am listening to is the cover by Gary Jules. But, hey, nothing wrong for Tears for Fears either.

The two men were once again crammed into a sports car, except this time they were taking Eric's newer Corvette back to Bon Temps. They were closer to the ground in this car and the seats were comfortable, making it feel like they were speeding through the night on a sofa. Every time they passed under a light, the hood of the car lit up a sparkling silver that made Eric feel like his life made sense. This sight was familiar and it calmed him down. The devil next to him did the complete opposite.

Lucifer had been waiting outside the door when they opened the bar that night. He'd come in like it was a second home, nodding at Tara as if he were good friends with the baby vampire. He'd received a hiss and a few choice words from her, but it hadn't phased him. In fact, he'd just smiled and acted like it was her love language. Which, if Eric stopped and thought about it, perhaps it was.

Now they were back on the blacktop, heading for Bon Temps again, except Lucifer was in the passenger seat. He was talkative, telling Eric about the fact that he moonlighted as a police consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department. He kept the conversation going single-handedly as Eric drove along in silence. Even though Eric seemed to be pensive and quiet, he was actually acutely aware of Lucifer in his car. Taking up space where no one had taken up space before—at least not as much as he did. It wasn't just Lucifer's height that was filling the Corvette. It was his rich voice lilting with an accent as he told a story, the complicated smell of fallen angel, cologne and expensive linen, the occasional touch against Eric's forearm or leg as Lucifer made a point he wanted to stress.

This man he'd just barely met was bigger than life itself. He was charming, loyal, determined, caring, an attentive listener—and incredibly flirty.

Not to mention the man looked damn fine in a suit. Mind you, Eric wouldn't be caught dead in a suit these days—a necktie always reminded him of the hangman's noose. But on Lucifer? Damn, did it ever work for the dark-haired man. Eric always appreciated a person who knew how to dress, wearing clothes that complemented their body types and looks instead of trying to force their body to conform to what fashion dictated. A dark-haired man in a tailored three-piece suit was just as alluring as a blonde waitress with long legs in a short white sundress. To Eric, anyway.

This was the third night in a row he was spending with the man. Pam had not been happy when he'd left almost as soon as the clientele had rushed inside. She went on about how he respected the devil more than he loved her. And why spend so much damn time with the devil when he would certainly have all the time in the world when he met his true death. Yadda yadda.

She called him an asshole when he ignored her and headed for the door.

Lucifer had found the entire conversation delightful.

Now they were almost to Bon Temps and Eric was strung tighter than a guitar string, listening to the sound of Lucifer's voice and wondering why the devil was so intoxicatingly addicting. He hadn't been able to get the man out of his mind since meeting him. He wanted him. In all the ways. My God, he wanted him like he wanted Sookie.

Maybe . . . perhaps . . . even more so.

But no, that was just absurd.

He rolled up to Lafayette's rundown house, doing his very best to try to remove those thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to have feelings about Lucifer at the moment. At all. He was tired of feelings. They only ended with him hurt and not knowing how to make it go away.

Eric contemplated Lafayette's house. Even focusing on that didn't help. His relationship with Lafayette had become complicated. Once he had been a voice of authority to the man. He'd scared him within an inch of his life and tortured him to the point of serious physical and emotional pain. But it wasn't as simple as prey and predator any longer. Lafayette had been there when the witch Marnie had cursed him. He'd actively played a part in the actual curse. And even though Lafayette had denounced the coven, even helping Sookie, the power balance between them had shifted.

He still had Lafayette selling V, but he hadn't asked for payment since before the curse. So who knew if the fry cook was still doing his second job?

"This is it?" Lucifer asked, eyeing the small, rundown house. The lights were on behind colourful shades, the light bleeding through the patterns to make the house look like a kaleidoscope in the dark. Unsurprising that Lafayette lived in such a hovel—working in the kitchen for Sam Merlotte couldn't possibly be lucrative. It was no wonder he dealt in drugs and sex as well. Why he didn't just quit the bar and peddle his other wares full time was beyond Eric. He could probably afford a better lifestyle if it was his main source of income, no less.

"This is, indeed, Lafayette Reynolds' home." Eric saw the beater car in the driveway and frowned. He'd given Lafayette a car once. Where the hell had it gone?

He slid a glance at Lucifer. "It's a far cry from Bill's little southern fortress, isn't it?"

Lucifer gave a small nod. "Yes, but I believe it still showcases Louisiana quite well. Pure opulence with little regard that the majority of the state lives like this." Lucifer looked over at Eric. "His mansion puts even your bar to shame, and that's a place of business."

Lucifer was the first to get out of the car, smoothing out his clothes to make sure there were no wrinkles to be seen. Just as before, he was dressed impeccably in a light tan linen suit with a powder blue shirt. Still no tie, but this time he had on a vest as well, and Eric had to admit the entire ensemble looked delicious on the devil. It was probably the first suit he'd worn that matched the muggy heat, too. Eric wondered if perhaps the devil was similar to a vampire in that the heat—and the cold—didn't bother him. He tucked that question away to ask at another time. Right now they had a drug dealer to bother.

Eric led the way up the steps to Lafayette's porch, hearing the music thumping from inside. He wondered if Lafayette had someone home, or if he was using his webcam. It could be either. The man, if anything, was open to just about anything. In either case, it meant he had to knock rather loudly to get the man's attention. It took a solid five minutes, and Eric was beginning to get pissed. Lucifer stood behind him, hands in his pockets, looking like he had all the time in the world, but Eric was getting impatient. He hated to show Lucifer that he seemed to have little control over those he had always considered under his power. And because Lafayette was human, Eric couldn't simply walk into his house like he'd like to.

So bang on the door he must.

How unbecoming.

Eventually though the music did shut off and finally Lafayette opened the door. As soon as he saw Eric's tall frame in the doorway, he backpedalled. "Oh, hell no," he said, shaking his head and gesturing for Eric to get the hell off his property. "I'm not dealing with you no more."

"Lafayette," Eric said, trying to make it so he sounded pleased to see him but also hurt at the response. "Is that how we greet friends?"

Lafayette scoffed. "We ain't friends and you know it."

"Why would you think that?" Eric asked, pretending to be affronted. It was actually easy—the man did affront him. He'd lost his fucking memories because of Lafayette, Jesus and that fucking coven of witch wannabes.

"You know damn well why," Lafayette replied. "You think I'm dumb enough to think you'd forget?"

"I thought that was the entire point of the curse," Eric reasoned.

Lafayette pointed a finger at him. "See? You know I was there. You probably come to kill me."

"Don't be silly, Lafayette. I've come on an errand or two. We are still business associates, aren't we?"

Lafayette stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief. The man was dressed as colourfully as he decorated, wearing a wildly patterned durag to cover his current lack of hair, a silver tank top that stopped just above his belly button and wide legged jeans that sparkled. Whether he was out and about or blaring his music at home, Lafayette certainly cared about his sex appeal. It wasn't Eric's taste, but he had to admit the man did his makeup better than every single woman in both Bon Temps and the larger town of Shreveport. He was prettier than almost all of them, too.

"You sayin' we still business partners, after all that?"

Eric spread his hands wide, as if the matter was but an inconvenience at best. "I came out unscathed, didn't I?"

Lafayette narrowed his eyes at Eric. "I don't know. Did you?"

Eric suddenly found Lucifer in his space, the dark haired man jostling for position to get a look inside the door at Lafayette. Unlike Eric, Lucifer could just waltz right into his home if he felt like it, but the devil was nothing if not polite. "Lafayette, it is such a pleasure to meet you."

Lafayette continued to stand in the middle of his living room, arms folded over his chest as he tried to make sense of this new guest. "Can't say I know your name," he finally said.

This, of course, brought forth a charming smile from Lucifer. "Why, I'm Lucifer Morningstar. Eric is trying to help me and he thought perhaps you'd be just the person who could answer my questions."

This had Lafayette narrowing his eyes again. "What kind of questions?"

"I assure you that there are no consequences for you. Only for me and my vampire friend."

Lucifer's voice seemed to have a calming effect on Lafayette, but it was still obvious he didn't want to invite Eric in. After a few awkward moments of silence though, the man sighed and cocked a hip. "Y'all aren't going to leave unless I let you in, are you?"

Lucifer lit up with a second smile. "That's the spirit," he said and he stepped over the threshold before Lafayette could even utter any words. Eric crossed his arms and glowered at Lafayette, waiting for the words to give him permission to walk inside.

"I should leave you out there," Lafayette said. "How do I know you won't hurt me if I let you in? Can't say I'd blame you either."

Lucifer turned to see Eric still hovering in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow in question but turned back to Lafayette. "Come now," Lucifer said. "He's here with me. He's got no quarrel with you today."

Lafayette dropped his arms and almost seemed to sag. "Fine. Eric, come in."

Eric stepped through the door and then shut it firmly behind him. Lafayette's tension came back as he walked to the centre of the room to join him there. Lucifer, on the other hand, was like an eager child, taking in all of the colours and patterns and garish decorations all around him. Eric, trying to ignore the delighted sounds Lucifer was making at each new discovery, clasped his hands in front of him and frowned down at Lafayette. "It's been some time," he finally said. "Have you managed to move the V?"

Lafayette was looking at Lucifer, curious about the man. "Half the supply is gone," he said, but it was clear he was refraining from telling Lucifer to stop touching his stuff. The devil was literally picking things up and putting them down. When he found a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, he jingled them and grinned slyly at the two men in the middle of the room. "My pair isn't quite so colourful, but I must say you have some quality stuff."

Lafayette raised his eyebrows in surprise at the comment from the tidily dressed man. "Got yourself some interesting tastes?" he asked, seeming to reevaluate his opinion of what he must be assuming was Eric's associate.

"If it involves sex, the kinkier the better I always say," Lucifer smirked to himself as he put the cuffs back on the coffee table. He straightened and then his eyes lit up as he took in the far end of the living room where Lafayette kept what Eric could only describe as an altar. Although it was certainly no altar he'd ever seen in any other house or place of worship. In fact, every time he was invited into this house, it seemed to have even more things crammed into the small space.

"Oh, this is lovely," Lucifer said as he wove around the coffee table to stand in front of it. "Not just one religion—Mother Mary next to Vishnu. Moon Goddess having tea with Jesus. Covering as many bases as you can, I see."

"Exactly," Lafayette agreed. "Either I'll get it right with one of them, or piss them all off. Either way, they ain't been very helpful lately." A glance at Eric revealed the vampire grinning at him. Yes, life probably hadn't been very good to Lafayette after he helped curse a vampire sheriff and then also pleaded for his dead cousin to be made vampire—which had pissed Tara off to no end. She seemed to be getting the hang of things as a vampire, but there had definitely been a good bout of self-loathing at the beginning.

Lucifer cried out in surprise as he picked up a framed picture from the altar. He held it aloft, staring at it in amazement—and amusement. "How on earth do you know Detective Douche?"

Lucifer was shocked as Lafayette sprinted across the room to grab the framed picture from him. The human pulled it closed to him, cradling it against his chest as he glared the devil down. "You do not touch Jesus, do you understand me?" he said, all attitude and righteously angry. "He is sacred and you will leave him be. Whatever you are, sugar." He looked Lucifer up and down, pointedly telling everyone in the room that he knew Lucifer was anything but human.

Lucifer smiled warmly at his words. "Sugar, I quite like that." He looked over at Eric. "Spice?" he asked, referring to the vampire.

Eric glared at him. He was not spice. He was a fucking vampire.

Lafayette was the one who responded though. "Mmm, yes, and I'm everything nice." He seemed to give Lucifer a second look over. "Now what do I owe the pleasure for you unexpected visit?"

Eric continued to glower in the corner, but Lucifer was more than happy to talk. "Yes, well. I've a quandary I'd like to solve."

"A quandary," Lafayette interrupted with a snort of laughter. "Where'd you find this man, Eric? He's something else."

"He found me," Eric replied. "And I quite agree." He really was something else. Far more interesting than anything from the swamps of Bon Temps.

Lucifer gave Eric an inquisitive look but when Eric didn't say anything else he turned back to Lafayette. "Indeed, a quandary."

"And that is?"

Lucifer looked delighted at Lafayette's taking the bait so easily. "Oh! Well. Do vampires have souls?"

Lafayette stood there, just a few feet from the devil, and stared at him in incredulity. Only Lafayette could put sass into such a look, and he did so now with all the sass that was in him. "I'm sorry. Do vampires have souls?" He slowly set the picture of him and Jesus back on the altar.

Lucifer was momentarily distracted as he set his eyes on the picture again. "You call him Jesus?"

"Of course I call him Jesus. He was Jesus." Lafayette leaned back and eyed Lucifer suspiciously. "Why?"

Lucifer was thinking and his mouth opened just a tiny bit, a tiny noiseless sound coming from him as he seemed to realize something. He looked back down at the picture of Lafayette with his now deceased boyfriend. "He looks the spitting image of someone back in L.A. A bit of a corrupt police detective. Never did like him much."

"My Jesus was never a cop. And he was an angel, you hear me?"

A bit of a scoff from Lucifer. Eric smirked from across the room. He was beginning to understand what things bothered the devil. And he found he liked knowing what made the man tick.

"I hardly think he was an angel. I'd know. I know them all."

"I'm sorry, what now?" Lafayette asked, blinking fast in disbelief at Lucifer.

"Well, you see Lafayette . . . I am an angel. The real thing."

Silence stretched out between the two of them, Eric nothing but a third wheel as he watched. The thing was—Lafayette wasn't laughing. In fact, Lafayette seemed to be taking him seriously. "Seems hard to believe an angel would be into handcuffs and vampires," Lafayette finally replied.

"Oh, not all angels are perfectly innocent," Lucifer replied.

"I suppose even the devil was an angel once," Lafayette mused.

"Still technically am, actually," Lucifer said, sounding smug.

Two human heartbeats. That's how long it took before Lafayette was backpedalling across his living room, heading toward Eric like he was the safer of the two men he'd invited into his home. "Jesus fucking Mary and Joseph," he swore. "What the fuck you thinkin', Eric? Bringing the actual devil in my house?"

"Oh, I like this friend of yours, Viking," Lucifer said from across the room. He was looking at the picture of Jesus again, but there was a smile on his face. "A human who actually believes me. What a treat."

Lafayette let out a single sob. "Oh, fuck no."

I hope you enjoyed my rendition of Lafayette as I enjoyed writing him. I really hope he comes across as Lafayette, hands down the best change in a book-to-screen creation I've ever been okay with.

I fully intended to only spend one chapter with Lafayette, but the chapter was growing long and there's still lots more to be said. So let's come back in a few days with the rest of their visit, shall we? *toothy fanged grin*