Chapter Text
“Lucifer!”
When Lucifer heard Trixie’s familiar yell, he couldn’t believe it. After all, he was at LUX, and she should have been at home with the detective, or at school, or... something. There was no mistake, though, when she ran across the dance floor of the closed, empty club to barrel into him and attach herself to his waist. He gawked at the child as the liquor distributors with whom he was meeting chuckled amongst themselves. What was the little spawn doing at here? The day was still young -- shouldn’t she be with her mother?
“W-what are you doing here?” he asked, bewildered by her presence.
“Mommy and Daddy are fighting, so I came to see you!” She gave him a toothy grin.
He stared down at her, wondering what he was supposed to do now. “Ah. Right. Just... wait one moment.” She didn’t let go of him as he turned to the distributors and said, “If you will excuse me, I have some personal business to attend to.”
Amidst their chuckles and snickers, he led Trixie to a quiet part of the club and sat her down on the couch. Taking a seat in the armchair adjacent to her, he reached in his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“We need to contact your mother. She’ll be worried sick about you,” he said as he started to dial. Besides which, he didn’t know how to deal with the little human. He glanced at her with puzzlement. “How did you get here, anyway?”
Trixie looked quite proud of herself. “Uber! I used Mommy’s account.”
Lucifer grinned. The little spawn certainly had devious skills -- he liked that. “Well done.”
After telling Chloe that Trixie was with him, he slid his phone back into his pocket and turned to the child. “Your mother will be here in half an hour.”
“Oh good! I wanted to talk to you. That will give us just enough time.” She bounced up and down in her seat.
Raising his eyebrows, Lucifer leaned back into the armchair and crossed his long legs. “Indeed? What is it you wish to discuss?”
“I want to interview you!”
“Interview...?” He blinked at her in surprise. “Why?”
She smiled widely. “I have to do a report tomorrow on a famous person for school. I wanna do it on the Devil.”
Well, this was unexpected! Joy shot through him at the thought, making the butterflies in his stomach flutter about. Having been hated and maligned for so long, he was surprised that anyone would take an interest in him. He cocked his head at her. “You... believe I’m the Devil?”
“Of course!” The little girl started counting reasons on her fingers. “Your name is Lucifer, you say you’re the Devil, Maze says she’s a demon, and you came back to life after the bad man shot you....”
Lucifer smiled as he thrust out his chest and lifted his chin. Well, the little observant human was more of a believer than her mother! Imagine that!
“I think all those stories about the Devil are wrong because you’re good. You help Mommy catch bad people.”
Here was even more of a surprise. Warmth filled his insides at her words. She and her mother were probably the only human beings on Earth who thought he was good. “Yes, but punishment is my jam.”
She nodded sagely. “I like that. So you can send bullies to Hell, right?”
Lucifer shrugged. “Well, I punish the bullies once they’re in Hell -- or I did when I was there.”
She grinned. “That’s so cool! What’s it like in Hell?”
“Hot. Very hot. Lots of rocks and cells.”
“How do you torture people?” The little bloodthirsty girl was looking more and more excited. She reminded Lucifer of Maze getting ready to torture a soul.
“Well, mostly with their own guilt --”
Trixie screwed up her face. “Sounds boring.”
“Boring?!” Lucifer was appalled as he uncrossed his legs and sat up straight. “Hell is not boring, little human. Glorious, exciting, riveting... and somewhat ashy, but never boring. Heaven is boring.”
“Really?” She squinted up at him. “But God is up there. Is God boring?”
“Goodness, yes, child. He’s the most boring one up there, with all his rules and regulations.”
She frowned. “I don’t think I like God.”
Lucifer chuckled. “That makes two of us.”
Trixie suddenly stood up and sat on his lap, making him squirm with discomfort. She patted the top of his head. “How come you don’t have horns?”
He lifted an eyebrow at her as he pulled away from her touch. “The Devil doesn’t have horns, child. That’s just an old wives’ tale -- and besides, I’m much too sophisticated for that.”
Her face lit up with glee. “Can you turn yourself into a goat?”
Bloody hell! “No, I cannot! What is it with you humans and goats?! I am not a goat! Disgusting creatures -- I don’t even like their cheese!”
Trixie giggled at that. He glared at her, which made her laugh even harder. After realizing that she wasn’t scared of him at all, he finally relaxed and let his mouth quirk up at the corners. Then she snuggled up against him, and he let out a little yelp of distress as his body stiffened like a board.
The little girl didn’t seem to notice. “Do you miss your family?” she asked quietly.
Lucifer’s gaze grew distant as he thought of his siblings. “I... sometimes. But we don’t get along.”
“That’s so sad! Why don’t you get along?” Trixie asked, her eyes filled with distress. “Don’t they like you?”
Her concern touched him, and he found himself stroking her back comfortingly -- which surprised him, since he really did not like children. “Well, they used to, when we were all growing up, but... things change.”
“Well, I like you,” the little girl said, snuggling deeper against him. “I like you a lot.”
Now why that should make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside was something he couldn’t understand at all. It was probably the sea bass he ate for lunch, churning up his insides and making him feel... positively undevilish. He sighed. Being on Earth with the detective and her little one was definitely making him soft....
When Chloe finally arrived at LUX, Trixie had fallen asleep on Lucifer in his armchair. He glanced up at her as she approached and mouthed, “Help.”
She only grinned, pulled out her phone and snapped a photo before he could jump to his feet. “Just adorable,” she said, laughing.
He had the urge to stick out his tongue at her, but had the feeling it would only make her laugh harder. Disgruntled, he rose to his feet, with Trixie in his arms. “Yes, well, please -- take your little human.” He transferred his burden to her.
Trixie stirred, then opened her bleary eyes. “Can you come when I do the report tomorrow?” she asked sleepily.
Lucifer gaped at the little girl. She wanted him there? Him? He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t like children, and he certainly didn’t want to be in a roomful of screaming, crying, nasty little humans, and yet... she was doing a report on him! He couldn’t say no. “Of course.”
As he turned, he saw the tender look on his partner’s face. Heat rushed up his neck and into his cheeks. Chloe’s eyes were full of happiness and... something else. Something he couldn’t identify....
She leaned toward him. “Softie,” she whispered in his ear.
The Devil’s face grew even brighter red.
“Her presentation is tomorrow at 10:00 am,” the blonde detective said with a smile. “And don’t bring your strippers. I’ll see you there.”
With that, she left, leaving the Devil speechless behind her.
Lucifer couldn’t believe what he had just committed to. Perhaps he had lost his mind? And yet the detective had looked so pleased, and the little one was doing a report on him.... Warmth flooded his body, making him lightheaded with happiness. He straightened and smiled.
Perhaps he was going soft, but for once he found that he didn’t mind.