Chapter Text
You knew you shouldn't have built your bar with so much glass on one side. You just wanted to have a nice view of the street as you made drinks and made small talk with some customers! It was nice for awhile, it helped you feel connected with nature despite not going out much.
Until that large truck came by and drove straight into the glass, and by extension, you too.
So there was a moment there where your view was not of the streets, but of a massive truck in your face. That was nice.
When you came to from that accident you realized you were no longer on Earth since you were now in Hell. That was... probably the worst experience plus realization you had ever been through in the span of so little time.
For about a year in Hell you made your way around, doing small odd jobs and some more sexual work to get by. You had to unfortunately work for a bloke named Valentino, but you managed to get away from signing a contract with him so he could never control you. You had an end goal though, and today it was finally happening.
You were going to open a bar in Hell!
It was in a corner of Pentagram City, away from pretty much all the party scene streets. It was a quiet spot that reminded you a lot of the area around the bar you used to own. You loved the tiny building, and you loved the small intimate space it provided that was just big enough to fit a few customers in and have a decent sized bar. It had a nice smaller second floor you decided to use as your bedroom.
It was perfect.
Your decorations were fairly simple, some lights here and there to brighten the place up with some tabletop games to the side. You also had a jukebox, but you put a sign above it that specifically banned playing Tom Jones's "What's New Pussycat" 21 times in a row.
Your favorite touch? Your open and closed sign in the shape of an apple. It was the one thing you managed to make that looked just like the one you had on Earth, and you were very proud of it. Why was it an apple? Well your bar used to be called "The Apple of Knowledge", but from now on it was "The Forbidden Apple". It just seemed to fit better with Hell's vibe.
You flipped your sign to open and thus began your very first day as a bartender in Hell.
... Except very few even came by which was understandable. Pretty much every demon who wanted a drink would just go to the party scenes to have fun since they had nothing to lose. The people who did visit you tended to be more powerful demons who had no interest in mingling with those who were wilder. Those demons didn't talk much apart from ordering, so you did feel awkward and lonely. They would just hand you the money for their drinks and extra for your tip then leave either by the door or by teleporting. You didn't mind the extra money obviously but you were hoping to talk to people more often. Plus, making Old Fashions for pretty much everyone was tiring.
That still didn't make you want to go work somewhere else though, no no no you liked it right here.
Right here where-
"Do you serve tea here?"
Right where demons could drink their stresses away-
"What?"
"Do you serve tea here?"
"...Tea?"
Well, that was an odd question at a bar, but you were well prepared. Just, not expecting to get asked on your first day for something that wasn't alcohol.
"Yes, we do. Take a seat sir." You smile as you turn around to start boiling some water for the gentlemen who just walked in. You had a weird feeling stirring inside of you that you had seen him somewhere before, but you couldn't place it. He was a lot shorter than a lot of the other demons you had seen, yet had a larger presence.
"Does it get busy here ever?" He asks you, placing his hat and cane to the side.
"Well, today was the opening day so I'm not super sure yet- but if business runs exactly the way it did today, then no. It's rather quiet here."
You prepare some tea leaves- tea wasn't exactly your forte or anything but you still knew how to prepare it. You could hear the man hum in understanding as he looked around. The space was still kind of empty; you could only do so much with the little money you had.
"I was wondering why I hadn't seen this bar before," He speaks again, accepting the tea from you along with some sugar and honey, "you see my daughter runs a hotel and it has a bar, but I don't want to intrude on her space too much so I wanted to find somewhere else to drink. Hope you don't mind." He lifts his cup a little as if to say cheers, and begins to drink it quietly.
A hotel, huh? You had only heard of one, the Hazbin Hotel, but that was run by the Princess of Hell, so this must be about a different one.
"Well you're the first one today to actually start a conversation with me. So, I don't mind at all uh...."
You pause a little, you didn't know his name yet. When he noticed you were unsure of what to call him he seemed to put himself in deep thought before finally finishing your sentence for you.
"...Luci. Just call me Luci."
"Okay! Luci, would you like some more tea?"
"Sounds great... Hmm what's your name?"
You giggle and tell him your name, but he just shrugs it off. You knew he didn't really care to use it based on the way he addressed you when you handed him his refill.
"Thank you dear."
After he finished his second cup he left, and you called out to him to please come again.
From that day on, every evening Lucifer would come in and order some tea. It got to the point where you had it ready for him the moment he walked through the door so he didn't even have to order it. Not only was he a kind guest who would speak to you, he also tipped you almost way too much granting you a chance to decorate the place so it had more character.
"I see you've been decorating some more." He looks around at the strung lights and new figures and books.
"Yes well, I wanted things to look "homely"." You smile, wiping some bottles off because they were sticky.
"Homely? You mean you want this bar to feel like home?" You were taken aback at how tauntingly he said that. You tried to hide your reaction from him, and you succeeded since he wasn't even looking.
"Yes? Is there something wrong with that?"
"Oh, nothing. Just- could you really call a place as empty as here home? Could you call a place that serves demons in Hell home? Could you call a place that could be taken away from you at any second...home?"
You knew he had a point, but it still hurt. This was your home, your only home! Where else were you supposed to go?
You just nodded to him, unable to form a reply. The conversation died there, and you were rather thankful for that. Luci seemed a little confused why you never really replied, but he just kept sipping his tea until the cup was empty. After he left, you sat behind your counter, still unable to process the emotions that were flooding your brain.
The next day, Luci came again and you gave him his tea with a simple greeting, but the room was quiet. You had a long day making the world's strangest drinks yet receiving no thanks for any of it. Your home was starting to feel smaller and smaller, closing in on you. This was the dream you worked so hard towards?
Luci spoke, bringing you out of your deep thoughts.
"Any interesting guests today?"
"No, just the usual quiet demons. I'm glad I still get business though."
"Me too! I would hate it if I lost the "homely" spot to drink tea." He burst out laughing, completely missing your deadpanned face. Man did this guy make you want to cry.
"We normally serve, alcohol, you know. It's a bar." You inform him, wiping glasses and putting them away. You kept one out for yourself since you really needed a drink after talking to him.
"Yeah I know I know. I like the tea though."
You sigh as he chuckles, maybe a glass of beer would be nice.
"Oh yeah, what's going on upstairs anyway?"
Not that anyone spoke to you anyway, but no one had ever asked you about your ominous staircase before.
"Oh, my bedroom. You're not allowed up there." You plainly reply to him as your began to pour yourself some beer from the keg.
"Oh? How are you going to stop me?"
You freeze at he gets out of his seat, and starts walking towards the stairs.
"No! You can't!" You quickly place your cup down and run over only to trip due to the old splintered floorboards.
More laughter.
"Dear, dear I won't go up there don't worry. You should've seen the panic on your face though! Dear..?" He peeked over the counter to see you on the floor, trying your best not to tear up. Without lifting up your head you asked him to leave.
"I- I'm sorry I-"
"Leave, please Luci... Please don't come again."
This time, you didn't see Lucifer's reaction. His eyes were wide with worry and sadness, realizing he went too far this time.
But it was too late, he had to go.
The building became too quiet after that. The usual guests would come in, once in awhile bringing a friend or two, but they never spoke to you.
Lowly demon.
The only time any of the customers would speak to you was to ask if you wanted to have some "fun" with them which you always politely declined. They usually wouldn't push it since to them it was your loss, but it only made you feel more depressed.
It made you miss Luci, and you hated yourself for that. He was a prideful jerk!
But he did at least talk to you...
Such thoughts would run through your brain every evening around the time he used to come by, but you learned to shake them off. He's probably found some other establishment to order some tea by now anyway.
One night, a few weeks after you kicked Luci out of your bar, you received a small parcel that was unaddressed and unlabeled, yet it was sitting on your bar. You were a little scared, but you let your curiosity get the best of you.
Out came a small rubber duck, a bartender rubber duck. It was absolutely adorable- you just had no idea who made it.
With a shrug you placed it on the counter facing you like a lucky charm.
A couple nights after that, your first truly unruly guest came in about the same Luci used to drop in. At first he seemed charming enough considering he actually asked your questions, even bringing up your human-esque appearance. You didn't exactly want to explain that while yes, the main cause of your death was a truck accident the actual thing that killed you was your coworker inadvertently pulling some rubble and ultimately crushing you. You were glad you didn't take on the appearance of a truck thanks to that, but also was that really an accident? You knew she wasn't very fond of you due to your tips being higher than hers at the end of every shift...
Anyway, you brushed off his advances as you usually did with every demon.
First of all he seemed super creepy after speaking to him a bit. He would purr oddly and ask to buy you a drink, which you declined over ten times. He also tried to bring up your "sexiness" which you threw glares at him about. Disgusting.
Second of all your perception on "good-looking-demons" was skewed.
Luci was by far the most attractive demon you had ever seen, so everyone else looked like trash.
This is when things got nasty real fast. Unlike all the other demons who either just walked away or "forgot" to tip you due to your rejection, this one suddenly jumped over the counter and attempted to trap you under him. He covered your mouth and attempted to inject you with something...you really didn't want to know what it was. You struggled but you were nowhere near as powerful as the demons who clearly owned some souls. When you looked up past his laughing awful face you saw the duck you had received the other day, staring at you with its cute little eyes. Why did it seem to remind you of a certain dude?
help
You wanted to choke out such a word but nothing came out - all you could do was scream in your head, and much as you wanted to deny it you could feel yourself screaming for Luci.
You reached for something to hit this dude with, a bottle should be lying around somewhere!
But before you could grab anything you blinked once and the demon was suddenly pulverized. Bewildered you looked all around you, but no one was around. The demon was gone with absolutely no explanation.
You sighed as you leaned your head down on the counter. Thinking back, all you had been thinking about was that stupid tea loving demon. Despite your minimal interactions with him every demon you saw you would compare to him and all time seemed to pass based on how long it had been since he stopped coming.
He was truly such an asshole, but you missed the smug look he would give you. You missed his dumb fucking jokes, you missed his strange stories.
Even now, after experiencing something truly scary, all you could really think about was him.
He truly was an asshole- infiltrating your thoughts and never leaving them like this.
You did regret kicking him out that day- despite his dumb actions he was, as he was saying, just trying to get a reaction out of you.
Come to think of it, your face was gloomy as can be that day because of how tired you were. Plus, since Luci's comment from the day before that had shocked you so much you weren't speaking much.
He just... wanted to talk too didn't he?
"Luci... you can come back..." You murmured.
"Then can I order some tea?"
You lifted your head so quickly everything felt a little dizzy for a second. When your vision returned, there was Luci just sitting at your bar.
"...Tea?" Why was his presence giving you such whiplash? This was his usual time of visit, after all.
"Yes. Some tea, please."
From that night on Luci once again began coming to your bar every single night ordering tea and making small talk with you.
It was all you had to look forward to- but you were glad there was at least something, someone that could make you happy.