For AUgust's Trick AU Treat Event, Day 1 Prompt: "Deal with the Devil". CW: references to child abuse, miscarriage, and homophobia

Pride, the most insidious of sins, from which all others originate. It is no surprise that the souls of the damned find their new home within its ring, with only the most wicked souls among them finding anything resembling luxury.

But even Overlords have a master, one whose power trumps them all. For at the centre of the frozen wastelands of the Ninth Circle lies Castle Morningstar. Its glorious halls are filled with fire. Within its chambers resides Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness himself. Secluded within his lair for years, many sinners wonder what cruel plots their dark king could be concocting.

"Finally after years of labour," snarled a sinister figure hunched over a workbench, "all shall tremble, before the might of the FOUR DUCKS OF THE APOCALYPSE!"

Lucifer turned around to reveal four small rubber ducks: white, red, black, and grey. He bowed as he presented them to his audience, piles of even more rubber ducks, most sporting some unique accessory. The smile on his face faltered as his cheers of triumph were met with deafening silence. Frustrated he slammed the four ducks against the wall, before leaving his workshop to make his way back to his throne room.

The fallen angel sat on his throne and stared through the empty corridors, the only other demons present being the two goat bodyguards his wife named Razzle and Dazzle, neither having any more capacity for speech than the dolls they were created from.

Truth be told, Lucifer was lonely. Sure he had dozens of noble demons calling themselves his friends, but he always had to keep his distance from them, since he could never tell which ones were only in it for the power. That left Lilith as the only person in his life he trusted, but she was always off on her musical tours, meaning Lucifer was left alone.

Lucifer pulled reached into his pocket and pulled out another rubber duck. Unlike the others, it was a normal duck that didn't have any fancy gimmicks attached to it. It was the first one he ever made, a month after they learned Lilith was pregnant. Back when he was still naive enough to believe he and Lilith could actually make something good down in this pit. But those hopes didn't last long before being torn away from him.

Lucifer's inner thoughts were interrupted by a tug at his soul. He knew the feeling well, a mortal was summoning him. Normally he would ignore it, perhaps forward the call to Satan, but he needed the distraction. Lucifer shed his current form and changed into one closer to his true appearance: his wings spread out, horns sprouting from his head, and a serpent coiled around them in a mockery of a halo. Lucifer opened the portal and flew in.

"WHO DARES SUMMON LUCIFER, PRINCE OF LIES!" Lucifer yelled at the top of his lungs as he appeared in a fiery vortex. As the flames that summoned him dissipated, he saw he was in what appeared to be an attic, but was taken aback when there was seemingly no one there. Until he heard a small whimper.

Looking down Lucifer saw a child, right beside the summoning circle. Blonde hair, book in hand, barely visible bruises on her skin. She couldn't have been older than 12. Unsure how to react to the scared girl in front of him, Lucifer retracted his more demonic features and knelt.

"Uh, hey there, kiddo," Lucifer said to the girl in a calming voice while attempting to mask his confusion. "What's your name?"

The girl seemed to calm down a bit. "Charlie," she replied in a hushed tone. After a brief pause, she spoke again, "Are you the devil?"

"Yeah, I am, and you're the one who summoned me?" Charlie nodded in response to Lucifer's question, so he pressed a little more. "And why would a kid like you do that?" he asked.

Charlie looked down. "I didn't have anyone else to go to. My parents won't listen to me. They're never around, and when they are home they're more busy fighting each other."

Lucifer frowned. "And what about your friends?" he asked. Charlie looked down.

"No one at school likes me either. They think I'm weird," Charlie said quietly.

Lucifer sat there quietly for a moment, he knew what it was like to be neglected by a parent and to be ostracized by your peers. "What would you like me to do?" he asked gently, ready to make a bargain.

Charlie looked to think about it for a moment before tears started welling in her eyes. "I- I don't know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this!"

Charlie got up and began to leave. Lucifer didn't know what to do. He couldn't just leave this girl on her own. He called out to her, but Charlie didn't stop and reached the door. Unsure what to do, he reached into his pocket. He took the duck out of his pocket and squeezed it.

QUACK!

Charlie paused and looked back at Lucifer with a confused look on her face. The angel just smiled and said, "Pretty cool right!"

Charlie giggled and walked back towards Lucifer. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

Lucifer's grin widened. "I made it myself! I have a bunch more, wanna see?"

Charlie's eyes widened as she nodded. Lucifer opened a portal to his workshop and began pulling out various gimmicky ducks. A flying duck, a bubble blowing duck, the glow-in-the-dark duck, all the ones that wouldn't seriously maim the human girl. And Charlie's face lit up with joy with everyone. Lucifer felt pride he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Why do you have so many of these, and why ducks?" Charlie asked.

Lucifer's smile fell a little. "I don't have much else to do down there. Ducks were always my wife's favourite animal. When we made a room for our child we painted the walls with pictures of the Garden of Eden. All of the animals playing peacefully. There were nearly two dozen ducks," Lucifer laughed.

"You have a kid?" Charlie asked innocently. Lucifer's smile disappeared, and he stared down at the floor.

"No, they, uh, didn't make it," he replied.

Her smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay, Charlie. You couldn't have known," he assured her. The weight of the conversation settled heavily in the air.

He looked up and saw her trembling slightly, clearly worried she had overstepped.

"You don't need to be scared of me, kiddo," he said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Charlie still looked at his with a fearful expression, "Aren't you going to punish me?"

Lucifer felt so sorry for the girl in front of him, "of course not kiddo. You just asked a question. You had no way of knowing. It's not your fault!"

Lucifer noticed Charlie relax a bit, but saw she had a hand covering a bruise on her arm. "Did your parents do that to you?" he asked in a gentle but concerned tone.

Charlie grew quiet, but the silence told Lucifer everything he needed to hear. "Would you like me to do something about them?"

Charlie looked shocked. "No! You can't hurt them! I don't want to hurt anybody!"

Lucifer was taken aback by her response. "They hurt you," he said.

"It's not right to hurt people back," Charlie replied, her voice firm despite her shaking.

The angel felt something stir within him, something he hadn't felt in millennia. This girl had a kindness and a moral compass that was almost angelic.

"You know, Charlie, you're too good for this world," he said

Her eyes grew wide as she looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You've got a good heart, kiddo. You're not going to end up in my kingdom," he said with a smile.

Her eyes grew even wider and filled with fear. "But I'm a sinner," she whispered.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, his tone gentle.

"I like girls," Charlie cried, "my parents say that's a sin."

Lucifer felt his blood boil even more. "Your parents are wrong. You didn't do anything wrong, that's just part of who you are! My Father has many rules, but I know he judges you based on your actions, not your identity."

Charlie still looked scared, "I summoned you, isn't that a sinful act?"

'Shit' Lucifer thought. While he didn't know exactly what actions got a person damned, communing with the original sinner was probably one of them. But maybe there was still hope for her in that regard.

"Listen, Charlie. You didn't strike any deals with me. This little meeting probably won't even be noticed," Lucifer said with feigned confidence, "be kind to others, don't let people treat you like shit, and keep being the same adorable ball of sunshine you are, and I'm sure you'll see the pearly gates."

Charlie smiled, and Lucifer's day was made.

As the candles in the room began burning out, Lucifer reached into his pocket and pulled out the same rubber duck he made for his child. The one he'd been carrying around for nearly two centuries now.

"Here," he said, holding it out to Charlie. "Take it. It's a little something from me to you."

Charlie took the duck, her eyes lighting up with wonder as she examined it. The simple rubber toy had a comforting warmth to it, something that seemed to resonate with the innocence of the girl holding it.

"But, why are you giving me this?" she asked, her voice filled with astonishment.

Lucifer thought for a moment, before smiling. "Because it was always meant for you."

Charlie looked at the duck fondly, and Lucifer felt a warmth in his heart. Like he was getting a glimpse into another life, one where the empty halls of Castle Morningstar were instead filled with the joy and laughter of a family. But while he might have once felt jealousy at what he couldn't have, Lucifer instead felt content with giving a little bit of happiness to a girl who needed it.

Lucifer looked down at the fading sigil beneath him. His work here was done, no pacts were made, and just maybe he did a little good. Lucifer got ready to snap his fingers and return to hell.

"I want to make a deal!"

Lucifer looked at Charlie incredulously. Her face looked determined, she was completely serious.

"What kind of deal are you talking about?" he asked.

"I want to see you again," Charlie said,

Lucifer felt his eyebrow raise. "See me again to do what?" he asked.

"To talk to you, as a friend," she said bluntly.

Lucifer felt something stir in his chest that he hadn't felt since the Garden. He was used to people wanting power, riches, or revenge from him. But a simple friendship? That was something new.

But he couldn't. "You shouldn't want to be my friend Charlie, I'm-"

"The devil, I know," Charlie cut him off, looking dejected, "I don't see what the big deal is. I'm not going to ask you to hurt anyone or give me anything. I just want to talk! It's not like I have anyone else to do that with."

Charlie's face fell. She was manipulating him. She was trying to guilt him. And it was working.

"Alright, we can talk again. But not too often. Once every full moon, when the dark magic in the air is at its strongest I can appear without notice. We'll meet again in this attic, and for the rest of the night, we can talk. Do we have a deal?"

Lucifer held out his hand, and Charlie shook it. Lucifer could feel the binding magics of the deal binding them together.

The sun was starting to rise, and the summoning circle had almost entirely faded. Lucifer looked down to see his physical body turning to dust as it was pulled back into hell. He looked back at Charlie and waved goodbye.

Lucifer found himself back in his throne room. It had not changed at all in the hours he had been gone. Even Razzle and Dazzle hadn't moved a muscle. And for once, Lucifer was fine with that. He had already begun plotting for the next full moon, thinking of things to dazzle Charlie with, and maybe even find a way to deal with those bastards she called parents.

Lucifer finally had something to look forward too.

*Peaks from behind corner*

Hello, it sure has been a while hasn't it. Life sure has been busy, but I thought I'd get back to writing with a short challenge. Don't have much commentary about this fic specifically