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Lucifer Morningstar was known for many things. A rich club owner, dashingly handsome devil, civilian consultant for the LAPD, truly miraculous in bed if he did say so himself, cunning, fierce — he would even openly admit to being a self-indulgent idiot if his partner, Detective Chloe Decker, pushed the right buttons.
But being a babysitter? No, that wasn’t in the grand package he came along with. A penthouse? A life of immortality? Money, drugs and women? He knew those like the back of his hand, he could give favours and know just somehow, it would eventually turn in his favour. Those were the things he came with, the little accessories his being owned.
So how did he end up here? He honestly felt like crying. A grown ass man— er, lord of hell… fallen angel — take your pick, sitting down as the daughter of a certain Detective Dan “Douche” Espinosa and the Detective (Chloe) sat behind him. He would have said no on any other occasion, would have ‘gently’ nudged the child downstairs where the remaining few club guests were partying. Lux was quite the venue for part goers, and not being able to make an appearance certainly felt unfortunate, but he’d accepted because Chloe had asked and well… Chloe was different.
The girl behind began to show him the assortment of clips and bows in a small plastic box, grinning mischievously as the devil groaned. Trixie was a bright girl — Lucifer couldn’t deny she had a lot of “street smarts” as Dan had once claimed, and he would be proud, if it weren’t for this exact reason that he was in his current predicament. A giggle was muffled, somewhere behind him, and Lucifer turned his head to look, before pausing and shaking his head; he wasn’t sure he’d want to see what the child had done to his wings.
Yeah, those wings. The glorious wings that he once blamed his father for returning to him. However that was well in the past by now. Lucifer had gone through a number of revelations with the help of his psychologist and friend Linda and advice from his brother Amenadiel and after the unexpected reveal to Decker, it was then Trixie, Dan and even their friend Ella Lopez’s turns to find out the truth. A relief, if he’d been honest, that their secret would be safely entrusted to the small group, so he could continue to be the devil he knew himself to be, and any strange comments or events that followed him would be easier to explain.
He had felt guilty about their initial reactions. Well into three months did Chloe decide she’d talk to him, which was a pleasant surprise because he’d truly believed he’d screwed everything up himself. But no, Dr Linda had helped him through sessions, and now it was like a great weight had lifted off of his shoulders —ah no... feeling the child touch his wings made him retract that statement immediately.
“But you look pretty!” Trixie protested, beaming in front of him at her work. Sparkly clips and bows were delicately strung through the feathers, decorating the pure whiteness with spots of colour and sparkle. Trixie snatched at Lucifer’s phone, and quickly worked her way through the device to snap a picture in satisfaction. Lucifer only groaned.
“Human child… er, Trixie—“ he was still getting used to her name, referring to children was usually easier when they were simply “offspring” however Chloe was an important person in his life, and Trixie was her kid, so Lucifer figured he’d practise to make an exception for the girl. “It’s not entirely aesthetically pleasing.” He began, “First of all, pink is really not a flattering colour in comparison to my current outfit, and secondly; they aren’t even spaced out properly.” He gave a ‘tsk’ at that as he judged the photo, feeling the girl brush a hand through the soft feathers again.
“Heh, I know, I was just making you look silly— mommy would find it funny.” She bemused, gently removing the ornaments from their place. “But you know… your wings are really pretty, mommy said you wanted to get rid of them.” Her curiosity never failed to amuse Lucifer, to which he chuckled in amusement.
“Yes, well, I appear to have changed my mind.” He admitted, “It turns out that I can keep my devil face and my wings— lucky me!” Trixie placed the little clips back in the small box in her hands as she hummed in agreement, double checking she’d removed them all before stepping back. “Right, well, I’ve certainly had enough of the children beauty parlour for one day…” he sighed, wings retracting and tucking away into the void of nothingness. It felt good to feel liberated and it felt good to be able to move around without the fear of knocking something over. Lucifer stood and stretched, before casually checking the time.
“Mommy won’t be back for another hour.” Trixie stated promptly, as if she could read his mind. Lucifer chuckled before nodding, taking swift steps to the small lounge in the middle of the open living space. The girl plopped herself beside him, still clutching the box of hair accessories that clattered within their confinement, she crossed her legs as she stared up at him expectantly.
“Where did she decide to go off partying again?” Lucifer entertained himself, pouring a glass of wine. Chloe has strictly forbidden getting wasted, so the devil had to make do with the loopholes he could.
“She’s at my school and talking to my teacher.” She explained casually, leaning into Lucifer tiredly. “It’s a yearly parent and teacher meeting.”
“Ah, I see.” He said thoughtfully, staring at her small frame. Usually he would have pushed her away the second her head came into contact with his body, but for some odd reason, he didn’t have the heart to move her when she looked so… peaceful. He chose to keep a close eye on her while trying his best to not be so ridged, that was until she bolted up right and turned to face him grinning. Already, the expression worried Lucifer, who almost didn’t want to dare ask what had entertained her so much.
“Can you do my hair?” She asked, a smile on her lips. Lucifer stared at her incredulously before sighing. Just something about how she managed to hold such a glance without blinking – and that it was somewhat saddening to watch, he begrudgingly sighed and nodded, beckoning for her to turn around and give him the little box. She cheered delightedly as Lucifer began to rummage through the contents of the container.
The safest option was the tiny brush he could eye, picking it out and uncharacteristically, brushing her hair so softly as if she’d break like fine china. He internally groaned — some devil he was, now sitting and playing with a child, how undevilish. They didn’t speak for a while as Lucifer gathered her brown locks in one hand and had begun to separate the strands into three, just as he’d witnessed Chloe do so expertly. “Ow, that hurt.” Trixie mumbled, who in turn was surprised to find Lucifer give up immediately.
“Yeah well, as much as I’d like to play dress up… I’m afraid it’s rather pointless-“
“You don’t need to be scared.” She cut him off, and never had Lucifer been so stunned before. His eyes had been blown wide by that point, and his questioning expression did nothing to aid the situation so Trixie decided to take the lead. “You know you’re a great dad right?”
“Wait what?” Now Lucifer was incredibly surprised, staring down at the girl who only appeared to be so sure she knew what she was saying. “Scared?” He scoffed, “ I’m bloody Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, Where on Earth did you get that idea?” He folded his arms after placing the hairbrush back inside the plastic box, eyebrows raising in question.
Trixie touched his arm gently, as if to offer a form of support. “You got worried you hurt me.” She grinned, “but it’s ok — it wasn’t anything bad you know.”
Lucifer shook his head. “No, how the hell did you come up with that conclusion? It’s preposterous.” He sighed distractedly, nervously throwing a glance in the opposite direction of the child. He wasn’t about to be called out on by a kid was he? Heck, she wasn’t even 10! This would definitely be something Mazikeen wouldn’t drop had she been with them presently. The Devil thanked his father for once that something had at least gone right.
Trixie’s mouth formed a little “O” shape before closing, reanimating a gapping goldfish as she processed the question. “You sounded confused… is it because you’re going to ask mommy to marry her?” Now Lucifer was convinced that the child was either a fellow celestial being or a sneaky eavesdropper, because not even their closest friends had known he was planning to do anything of the sort. Now it was his turn to be a gaping fish.
“You’re rather sneaky.” He commented, to which she giggled, leaning over and whispering in his ear.
“It’s what you truly desire though, isn’t it?” She said, and suddenly Lucifer could recognise the exact same smug expression slapped all over the detective’s face whenever she was proven right about something.
“Yes, I guess I’m not a good influence for you either huh?” He joked, but it felt self deprecating if he were being honest with himself. Trixie gave him a hug despite knowing his discomfort towards physical boundaries anyways, surprised to find that he honestly didn’t seem to mind. But his mind had already focused on something else — more importantly, what she’d said.
So without another moment, he turned to her and hesitantly asked a question himself. “What about you, what’s your greatest desire?”
Trixie smiled innocently. “Buy me chocolate cake and I’ll tell ya.” She bargained, and Lucifer laughed.
“I could just use my little trick.” He pointed out, and Trixie squeaked in protest as she playfully pouted.
“That’s no fair! Ok, I’ll talk, just chill. It was worth a shot.” Lucifer rolled his eyes knowingly. “Alright!” She threw her hands up in mock surrender as she smiled once more. “Sure you wanna know?” She asked, receiving a confident nod from the devil.
“I’m curious is all darling, helps me to better understand… you tiny humans.” With that being said, Trixie has nothing else to add.
So she leaned inwards, up to Lucifer’s ear and cupped a hand around to keep the secret safe. “I really want you to marry mommy and become apart of our family.” She said, and judging by the tone of her voice, Lucifer could only tell that what she’d said was true.
With that, he nodded and turned away, finishing the last of the wine in his glass. He felt oddly sober, and just the perfect amount to be dealing with such situation, so Lucifer dared to look at the small child as he processed what she’d said. “I’m not… I’m not Detective Douche— er, Dan… I’m not your… father.” He said awkwardly.
“No… but you’d become my second daddy – and I’ll have two daddies!” She cheered, slowly dawning on the realisation that Lucifer appeared troubled. Her face quickly frowned. “Do you… not want to be my daddy?” She feared, biting her tiny lip in concern. Lucifer hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, but choosing the right words was almost impossible.
He sighed heavily, leaning forward with his hands clasped in his lap, lowering to the girl’s level slightly. “Trixie darling, quite frankly I’d be a terrible father I mean—“ he took a second to scoff at the thought, avoiding her gaze guiltily, “I’m the devil, we both know that. The devil’s daughter? That’s just… not a… I can’t look after children!”
Trixie raised an eyebrow up at his stammering, studying his facial expression as the fallen angel began to fall into a loop of worry. “Lucifer, relax.” She said quietly, crawling towards him and kneeling on the sofa, “You are scared… but it’s ok.” She began, a hand placed on his shoulder. “You love mommy and mommy loves you — besides, you are a good daddy.” When her words did nothing, she decided to wiggle her way into Lucifer’s lap, who now realised just how close the child was. “Good daddies spend time with their children — even if they aren’t their own. They let them decorate their wings even though they don’t like it, they brush their daughter’s hair even though it’s strange. Good daddies love their daughters even though they think they can never love because they’re the devil.”
Lucifer stared at Trixie for a moment, now seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was sitting in his lap with her hands on his shoulders. He felt a heat from somewhere in his chest, glowing along with a similar sensation he’d only ever experienced with Chloe. Except this time it was slightly different, this time he knew that the girl was absolutely right.
He chuckled breathlessly before shaking his head. “You really think that me, the devil, are those things.” He stated doubtfully. “You really are something else.” Trixie shrugged her shoulders before smiling.
“Well… that’s what I see at least.” She grinned, watching Lucifer look at her intensely.
He sighed before opening his arms outwards, a deadpanned look on his face as Trixie beamed. “All right, I suppose you’re right… bloody hell when did I become so soft?” He said, biting back the urge to make an inappropriate joke as the child engulfed his larger build into a tiny hug. Lucifer had only ever hugged Chloe willingly before, all other hugs had never been reciprocated with as much care. Usually it was Ella who’d hug him, or Trixie in the past, and he’d tense up and not move, because how was he supposed to deal with hugs? But now, in this moment, as he hesitantly hugged the small girl back, he knew that she’d wormed her way into his heart.
“It’s because you’re a good daddy.” Trixie whispered into his ear, and Lucifer smiled just that tad bit more.