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Five years. That’s how long his daughter’s passion project turned semi-successful revolutionary rehabilitation program -he was still workshopping the title- had been officially open.
While his lack of involvement in the first year pained him greatly, he was just happy that he could be there for her now- better late than never, right?
Not only had they managed to more than triple the guest count with a successful redemption under their belt, but Heaven was being somewhat cooperative, and the exterminations were on hold -hopefully permanently.
Sometimes it felt like the hotel was a revolving door, either with unsuccessful guests leaving of their own accord, or some being -eaten- escorted out by the resident radio demon, but for every few failures, they had a wayward soul actually putting in the effort. It was refreshing to see.
With his daughter back in his life, her ragtag group of sinners turned found family around them, and her facilities manager taking up residence in his heart, Lucifer was happier than he had been in centuries.
Which, of course, finally gave him the strength to begin moving on from his past. Case in point, he had spent the past year or so cleaning out the palace, tearing down whatever needed to go, making room for more, happier, memories. Old pretentious portraits were traded for candid photographs -albeit some distorted-, or just any piece of art he saw and deemed ‘neat’. A new paint job breathed life into the once deserted and dusty halls, and a small staff of imps -well-paid and thoroughly vetted- handled some of the simpler upkeep responsibilities.
Lucifer’s most recent string of projects, the ones keeping him out late, much to the chagrin of one such deer demon, had to do with the quickly approaching holiday.
He was never one for celebrating Christmas, another ridiculous holiday centered around how shitty his ‘father’ could be. I mean, seriously, why were they giving him props for forcing a pregnancy on a young girl only for that kid to end up brutally murdered? Oh, Jesus died for their sins? Bullshit. If anyone took a spear to the ribs for humankind it was him, and where was his holiday?
And don’t even get him started on Sinsmas, the bastardized version of the holidays drummed up by the hellborn- as IF any of them needed an excuse to sin freely.
Regardless, the holidays were still beloved by many, -including his daughter-, so he sucked it up and made the best of it, and after working so damn hard for the past few years, they all had a reason to celebrate.
After putting the last few touches on the decorations, ensuring that the giant Frazier fir he conjured up was indeed perfectly straight, and the lights that outlined the palace were twinkling just right, the angel finally was able to return to the hotel.
It was quite late, he could tell by the way his room was bathed in darkness, his lover already curled up under the duvet snoring softly. He smiled to himself, reaching out to card his fingers through those deceptively soft locks of crimson hair. He watched as an ear twitched and the faintest hint of static buzzed through the air, fading just as quickly as it began, the taller demon unconsciously leaning into his touch.
Lucifer didn’t take for granted how special this was; Alastor’s normal hyper-vigilance was gone, the demon putting his full trust in him as a partner. The angel coveted these moments of vulnerability, treasuring them as the gift they were, something they had both worked so very hard to achieve.
Their relationship was like no other he had been in -not that he had been in that many- sometimes it was all teeth and blood, challenging them both to rip their way through their inhibitions, dragging each other kicking and screaming into healthy communication. Other times it was pillow-soft, warm like a hot bath, a balm to their emotional wounds; two damaged souls, finding solace in piecing each other back together, bit by bit.
Their love -yes love, he could finally say it-smoldered like the embers left behind by reckless campers, threatening to raze the forest -and everything in it- if left unchecked; or perhaps it would just slowly burn down to carbon, changing them on a molecular level, until they crumbled back into the earth as one to be reborn as something entirely new.
Pulled from his musings by a grumble, his demon rolled over in his sleep, brows knit into a scowl above his sleep mask. Lucifer reached up and gently massaged away the tension in the other man’s forehead before crawling under the sheets next to him. He could get sappy another time, they had a big day of celebrations ahead of them, and he needed some sleep.
It was Christmas morning in hell, and Alastor was already irritated. He was never a fan of the holiday - growing up dirt poor would do that to you. He didn’t care about the gifts, but he was acutely aware of how inadequate his mother felt when she couldn’t provide the same magical experience for him as most of the other children. He hated anything -and anyone- that made her feel like she was somehow not enough. Add in his father getting belligerently drunk and the things that usually followed and you’d have everything you needed for a miserable holiday season.
He also couldn’t stand the cold. The blistering heat of hell only felt like home to him, reminiscent of a particularly sweltering Louisiana summer. Alastor thought the term ‘hell freezing over’ was always a figure of speech, and yet here he was, stuffed into a thick knitted sweater and still shivering as he glanced out the palace window, watching as big white flakes fell from the sky.
Lucifer, ever the show-off, had truly outdone himself this time. Somehow the king had made it snow in hell. Well, technically the weather only existed inside the palace grounds -the rest of the ring as firey as ever- but still, it was quite a feat. Impressive, yet entirely unfavorable if you asked Alastor. He tugged at the collar of his sweater, crossing his arms around himself as he pouted, going back to his seat by the fire.
The rest of the group had been ecstatic, praise flowing from their lips the moment they crossed the front gates, taking in the snowglobe-esque scene in front of them; snow fell quietly around the palace, which was lit up in twinkling lights and adorned with wreaths and bows. Hallmark had nothing on the devil.
Inside, the palace had gotten a similar treatment. Fairy lights, garlands, and ribbons galore, there was hardly a surface that wasn’t decorated. Everything converged into the old ballroom, now decked out with a massive tree, plenty of plush seating and a roaring fireplace.
There were tables piled high with foods of all sorts; a glazed ham, mini quiches, no less than 3 different iterations of potatoes, roasted vegetables, and many, many types of sweets. Bottles of spiced wine and cider were waiting to be opened alongside a large punchbowl filled to the brim with eggnog -heavy on the nog- courtesy of Husk.
“Hey Scrooge, see if this helps.” Lucifer interrupted his moping with a smile, holding out a steaming mug for the prickly demon.
“What is this?” Alastor took the mug, eyeing the tawny-colored liquid with suspicion. It was much too pale to be his usual coffee.
“Just drink it, sourpuss.” Lucifer groaned, rolling his eyes despite the grin still plastered across his face. When Alastor made no move to do so, he sighed, relenting. “It’s an eggnog latte, there’s 3 shots of espresso in there, and some extra whiskey, so I promise you it’s not too sweet.”
“Hm… we’ll see.” Alastor narrowed his eyes at his partner as he took a sip, Lucifer waiting for his review with bated breath. He swallowed, remaining deliberately silent to spite the angel, finally speaking after what must’ve felt like an eternity.
“It will do.” Alastor’s smile softened ever so slightly and he wrapped his claws around the cup, treasuring the warmth it brought him. He didn’t complain when Lucifer slid into his lap, the faintest hint of hellfire radiating from deep inside the fallen angel. Perhaps like this, it wasn’t so bad.
He sighed, leaning into his lover while they both watched the rest of the crew decorate the tree. Vaggie and Husk were responsible for the out-of-reach areas for obvious reasons, with Niffty crawling along branches to assist, while Charlie, Angel, and Cherri handled the lower portions.
“Think the hotel is gonna still be standing when we get back?” Lucifer joked, looking up at the demon above him.
“I certainly hope so. I do believe I left it in good hands.” Alastor responded, nonplussed. He didn’t think the six sinners currently trying for redemption would cause that much destruction throughout a single night. Besides, it wasn’t like they were unsupervised. Alastor had called forth his shadow minions, leaving them responsible for keeping everything in check. A few whispered threats from him if there happened to be any misbehavior didn’t hurt either.
He wasn’t terribly concerned, as their current selection of guests had been in the program for a few months already, and Lucifer made sure to leave them with plenty to do. There was an equally grand buffet of food and drink left behind, as well as a large collection of movies to watch. The hotel would survive without its staff for 24 hours.
“Besides, it only took you a few hours to rebuild the first time.” Alastor chuckled over sips of his drink, the alcohol starting to warm him from the inside out. “If we must do it again, at least I’ll be around to make sure the design isn’t as tacky.”
“Oh, fuck off.” Lucifer huffed, giving the deer a gentle nudge. “Don’t lie and say my style hasn’t grown on you. Who got you this nice sweater, hm?”
“Touché, your majesty.” Alastor relented, pressing a kiss to the top of his angel’s head.
“Dad! Al! C’mon, it’s picture time!” Charlie called over, beaming as she held the camera high. Alastor had long since conceded his stance on photography to the two Morningstars, allowing himself to be captured mostly undistorted.
“Coming, Char Char!” Lucifer replied, shooting back an equally as brilliant smile. He slipped off the demon’s lap, reaching for one of those large, crimson-tipped hands, giving it a small tug as Alastor followed suit.
After taking what felt like entirely too many photos, the group moved on to opening gifts. The amount of presents piled under the tree was excessive, what with Lucifer having sent everyone to town last week with a wad of cash, not expecting any of it back.
Bags and boxes were exchanged, jokes were told, and an unhealthy amount of cookies consumed. The eggnog finally began catching up to everyone, and the conversations slowly died out, until it was only Alastor and Lucifer left awake.
Everyone else had passed out in various positions, curled up under blankets and nestled down into pillows. The palace was silent, save for the crackling of the fireplace, and the snow continued to fall outside, coating the grounds in a blanket of white that would be gone come morning.
Once again, Lucifer crawled into Alastor’s lap, this time he straddled his thighs, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck before going in for a kiss.
After a few moments of soft lips moving against each other, the angel pulled away, smiling contently. He shifted, quirking a brow at Alastor before he spoke, biting back a laugh. “Is that another gift I feel in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?”
Alastor stiffened, no longer kiss-drunk, his previously dopey grin shifting into something unreadable. “I actually do have one last thing to give you.”
“Wait, what?” Lucifer questioned, blinking away the eggnog-induced haze. He watched as the man in front of him reached into a pocket, producing a beautifully wrapped box. The outside was a satiny black, topped with a delicately tied golden bow.
“Go ahead. Open it.” Alastor encouraged, sitting back against the chair, eyes glued to the other man.
When Lucifer pulled the ribbon loose and lifted off the lid, the sides of the box fell away, revealing a burgundy silk lining, upon which sat… a ring?
Lucifer gingerly picked it up, turning it over in his hands. It was the color of African ebony wood, and just as lightweight, but the texture reminded him of bone. It was clearly polished, but some slight ridges remained. In truth, it reminded him of Alastor’s-
He froze, eyes immediately darting up to stare at the top of the demon’s head.
It couldn’t be-
He didn’t-
He would’ve noticed if Alastor was missing a-
Lucifer’s thoughts raced as he skimmed through his memory, his brain screeching to a halt when it finally landed on something.
Seven weeks ago Alastor had come home missing an antler, blaming it on a disagreement with that TV demon that got a little too heated, leaving them both a bit worse for wear. Lucifer had believed him- hell, he wasn’t exactly lying, they reported on the resulting 2 blocks of carnage on the nightly news.
But when had Alastor ever let a demon get that much off of him? And when had he ever left Vox able to walk after one of their fights? No, that fight was a cover for Alastor to remove one of his own antlers- A piece of himself.
Alastor had taken the time and effort to remove a piece of himself, to craft -with his own hands- a ring, to give to Lucifer.
“Lucifer?” Alastor’s voice was quiet and filled with concern.
Lucifer noticed his hands were shaking, and oh- he was crying. When did he start crying?
“This is- this is you.” He finally spoke, voice hoarse as he tried to keep it steady, failing miserably as he looked up at his partner.
“Well, technically yes, I suppose.” Alastor sighed, thumbs coming up to wipe tears out of his Angel’s eyes. “But now, it’s your’s…I’m- I’m your’s.”
Lucifer beamed, hands closing tightly over the ring in his hands- it would never leave them again, he would smite anyone that tried to take it -him- away. He let himself slump forward, forehead thumping against Alastor’s chest, the demon immediately wrapping those long arms around his body, holding him close.
After a moment of gathering himself, Lucifer once again pulled back, expression tender as he turned the ring over in his hands, before finally slipping it on his finger. “So, does this mean…?”
They had spoken about marriage before, multiple times. Alastor had always been hesitant, not one for tying himself down, and not seeing why they needed legal documents to prove their devotion to one another, which Lucifer understood. He still had daydreamed about perhaps one day locking down the radio demon and being able to parade him around the rings as his husband, and not just in the common law sense.
Lucifer always pictured himself once again taking a knee -hopefully for the last time in his life- asking for his partner’s hand. He never expected to be the one proposed to. The fact that Alastor not only took the initiative but did so in such an intimate gesture made his heart swell, threatening to burst.
“Well, yes. If you’ll have me.” Alastor smiled his real smile, the lopsided quirk of his lips that only Lucifer ever got to see.
“Of course. God, yes. Absolutely.” Lucifer agreed, nodding almost to the point of hysterics. It wasn’t even a question in his mind, one of the easiest ‘yes’s he had ever said.
“Lovely.” It was Alastor’s turn to blush, the look he gave Lucifer nothing short of admiration, eyes full of so much love it threatened to spill out and pour down his cheeks.
“Now, my only request-“
“Yes. Whatever you want. Anything.” Lucifer interrupted him, earning himself an eye roll and a chuckle.
“Careful there, Your Majesty.” Alastor joked, giving the angel a playful flick to the nose. “All I ask is that we take our time with this. I’m certain you want to plan some extravagant ordeal, which is fine, but I’d prefer we do it together, slowly. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow in a tuxedo with the entire realm waiting for me to profess my love for you in front of them.”
Lucifer snorted, only because of how spot-on Alastor was. He knew better than to pull something like that on the demon, but it wasn’t like the thought wasn’t there… Lucifer wasn’t exactly known for being patient.
“Of course, my love. We can take as much time as you need. All that matters is that you’re mine.” Lucifer’s tail swished behind him, manifesting along with the hellfire burning in his eyes.
“Mm… I do quite like hearing you say that.” Funny how much a man could change in 5 years. Alastor would have never thought he’d enjoy ‘belonging’ to anyone, much less the king of hell.
“I would hope so, considering you’re now my fiancé.” Lucifer grinned devilishly, pulling out his best French accent for the occasion. “Fuck, I love you so much. You have no idea.”
Before Alastor could respond, Lucifer was dragging him down for a kiss, this one all passion and excitement, with the slightest bit of heat. The angel barely managed to pull himself back to speak. “I’m going to ride you all night-“
“Lucifer.”
“-and then I’m gonna flip you around and fu-“
“Lucifer!“ Alastor admonished, pressing a palm over his lover’s mouth, only to yank it away with a scowl when Lucifer’s tongue brushed against it.
“What? Everyone’s asleep.” Lucifer huffed, purposefully grinding himself into the other man’s lap.
With an exaggerated eye roll, Alastor shook his head. “You may have me however you want, as long as it’s in private.”
“Oh baby, ask and you shall receive,” Lucifer smirked, a quick snap of his fingers opening a portal behind him. A quick tug on the deer demon’s shoulders, and they were both falling, the portal gently depositing them on top of their mattress.