Chapter Text
When Alastor had arranged this visit, he’d been ready for a fairly large amount of things, from a place that was closer to being a toxic quarantine zone, to sexist comments about Omegas that he would not overlook, nor forget. All reasons for him to leave through the door not minutes after walking inside the apartment.
For hell’s sake, he was even ready to find the perfect place, finally, and put a satisfactory stop to his weeks-long search for a decent place he could live at for the upcoming months.
He was not, however, ready to find a little six-or-so year old kid running around the living room chasing after a black cat, nor to have to look down to meet his possible roommate’s eyes. And if Rosie’s gasp was anything to go by, neither was she.
Neither, and this was solely his impression, was he prepared for the enchanting beauty the man had been gifted with. What stood the most to him were his eyes, warm honey-colored irises that shone in the light like they were pools of molten gold, adorned with long lashes that, despite the platinum blond shade of his hair, were seemingly black, framing his irises with a perfectly alluring contrast. It all being prettily place in a doll-like face, soft expression lines almost invisible if one was not observant enough; Alastor knew the man he’d be meeting was supposedly some years older than him, but faced with the real thing, he found it was almost unnoticeable.
It almost didn’t matter to him that, following the man, was the scent of an unmated Alpha.
“I’m so sorry about this, I promise it’s not going to be like that all the time” the man said, an apologetic and nervous smile greeting them both as he stepped aside for them to get inside his place “You’re Alastor Broussard, yes? Nice to meet you”
“Pleasure to be meeting you, sir, quite a pleasure” Alastor greeted, his default response breaking through the shock of it all, his eyes drifting towards the little carbon copy of the man stopping in her tracks to look up at them, almost tipping back with how taller both him and Rosie where to her, especially compared to what could only be her father “I’m safely assuming you’re Lucifer Morningstar?” when the blond nodded, Alastor found himself incapable of biting back his next words “I must say, you are much shorter in real life!”
The little girl laughed behind her hands, muffling her father’s groan; an adorable gesture that made it worth it all.
“Ha, ha, very funny. I have never heard that one before” Lucifer replied, rightfully annoyed as Rosie, charming woman that she was, smacked him in the chest, a teasing smile failing to convince Alastor that he was being reprimanded “Char-Char, do not learn that, we do not make fun of people”
“Listen to the man, Alastor, we should not disrespect our host” Rosie coincided, mainly for the kid’s sake. She knew Alastor was rotten to the core by now, irreparable damage done long ago to his ability to feel remorse for his words “Forgive him, Mister Morningstar, he’s a gentleman most of the time”
Bringing Rosie with him had been a wise decision, as much as Alastor had fought against it in the morning. He supposes that it is in Rosie’s best interest that he finds a place for himself, instead of abusing her hospitality any further. His darling friend was a married woman after all, and while Franklin was just as sweet and understanding, Alastor can only imagine how many times they had sacrificed intimate activities and outings because of his presence in their home.
He was in luck that both were Betas, or things would have been far more complicated than necessary.
“Nah, it’s fine, it’s what you get when you’re an Alpha and this tall” Lucifer dismissed the matter entirely with a wave of his hand that mocked his own height, as he led then further inside the place. At first glance, Alastor already could tell this was amongst the nicest places he’d visited thus far; it was not spotless clean –with a child what place could be?– But there was apparently a thoughtful enough effort done in trying to keep as much as possible in order, bookcases ordered by size, author and collection, as far as Alastor could tell, the little trinkets laying around being carefully placed.
There was also a lack of television that thrilled him.
“Again, sorry About Charlie. She should be at school, but something happened and classes got canceled, so I’m taking care of her until her mother gets out of work” he explained calmly, inviting them both to take a seat in one of the pristine white couches, making himself at home in one of the matching armchairs. Alastor realized that the Alpha favored white tones for almost everything, his clothing only specks of color being the pinkish waistcoat and the black of his boots and tie “since I work from home and all that. Anyways, um… sorry I’m kinda new to this whole thing, so I’m not very sure what I should be asking”
“Hm? Why are you exactly looking for a roommate then?” Alastor ventured before Rosie could get ahead of herself and take control over the whole situation. Usually he would let her, after all Alastor was somewhat unfamiliar with the ordeal as well, but seeing the place, the location it was in, and the man that owned it, it made no particular sense that he was looking for someone to share his living space with. If Alastor had to be honest, he had been expecting a rich college kid whose parents were forcing to learn how to survive on their own, pretending to be older to get who-knows-what from it, rather than a man some years older than him, with a decent job and a child under his belt already.
“Ah, yeah, it was a friend’s idea that I got one. Since I have to pay child’s support it would help with the bills, plus it forces me to interact with other human beings face to face, others than my daughter and her mother, that is” the more Lucifer explained, the more Alastor got back to the impression that this man was simply another rich kid being forced to work for his fortune before inheriting daddy’s business, and while there was something distinctively humble about the way he admitted to have struggles that needed external aid, there also seemed to be no reason for him to need to share his nice apartment with an stranger “So, I’m giving it a shot!”
“Well, that’s a noble reason” Rosie said, this time she being the one stepping in first, shooting Alastor a warning glare about daring to interrupt her “So, sweetie, have you already interviewed other candidates? Or is my good ol’ Alastor the first one?”
“Oh no, there have been at least three more, but… two backed out the second they knew Charlie could be a somewhat constant presence. Guess people can get a bit uncomfortable being around someone else’s kid” he gave a sad look in his daughter’s direction, the child entertaining herself with a pair of twin goat-dragon plushies and a tea set that looked a tad too fancy for a toy set. Alastor has to truly wonder if this man is genuinely struggling enough for a roommate “And… the other threatened with killing my cat because he didn’t like pets, so that a big nope”
Before Alastor could ask about said cat, a black and white furball was jumping onto his lap, loud purring coming out of it the second it decided to make itself comfortable on his legs, body curling around itself and a long, feather-like tail wrapping it all. What surprised him the most was not the sudden and unexpected affection the animal was expressing towards him, enough years living surrounded by wildlife had proven that animals liked Alastor as much as he liked them; what surprised him was the bright single yellow eye that was looking up at him, pupil blown to an almost comical degree, begging for affection in silence.
He could do nothing more than to oblige, amazed that the fur was softer than it looked like.
“Keekee, down! Oh God I’m so sorry about that” Lucifer, to his credit, looked ready to launch himself over the coffee table to try and pluck the cat out of Alastor’s lap, embarrassment over the little animal’s behavior flushing his face in pink, the paleness of his skin making it almost glow “She’s not usually that friendly, I really hope she’s not planning on biting you”
“I doubt she’ll like the taste anyhow” Rosie mocked by his side, attempting at giving the little critter a pet, only for Lucifer to be proven right and for Alastor to corroborate once more that most animals adored him, by trying to take a bit out of his best friend “You lucky devil, wish I knew what kinda magic you use for pets to love ya”
“It’s all natural charm, Sha” he retorted, allowing his own accent to slip as she did when annoyed, a little game of theirs that had been going on for years now, so natural between them that often ended with a collection of confused glances, not many being able to tell their roots at first meeting “It’s quite alright if she wants to remain here, I do like animals as much as they like me, you see. So, shall we proceed with the interview?”
“Ah, of course!”
The proceeding hour and a half, with brief interruptions from Charlie announcing that she was hungry, the subsequent courtesy of being offered coffee and tea, and some more announcements that she was moving rooms or taking something from her father office, was spent responding a series of practiced questions that Rosie gracefully provided them with, both learned from all the acquired experience accompanying him to other visits and some mindful internet searches, going from simple ones about habits and working status, to those about their routines and cleaning schedules, about their cooking preferences and food restrictions.
Little was asked about personal lives, beyond the utterly necessary kind of questions, such as their relationship status and respective Gender, little was said in those matters. The plan was simple, introduce himself, if the place and the host meet Alastor’s expectations, sign the contract –or agree upon a date to do so– and proceed to pretend that he lived alone, avoiding the other man like the plague if necessary. So far they were nearing the second step of it.
It should be easy, it’s not like Alastor hadn’t shared living space with an Alpha before, and this one was proving to come with the added benefit of not being fightsy over his space. Territorial Alphas were a nightmare to deal with.
“How long will you be staying, by the way?” Lucifer asked a question of his own when they agreed on taking a brief guided tour through the apartment, the shorter man walking ahead of them “Not that there’s any rush for you to move out, I really don’t care, but depending on it I’ll have to have a complicated conversation with my ex, so…”
“Hm, I do suppose bringing an stranger into the same living space as your young child does not seems like a wise thing to do” Alastor had not, until then, been worried about Charlie’s presence; the little girl was polite and surprisingly quite despite being clearly an energy hurricane that would put most at edge –and there was some unused and rusty instinct buried deep in his mind that made him somewhat like the kid– but he was still a stranger, and supposedly a male Alpha. Low was not the number of abuse cases surrounding those disastrous circumstances. It was only natural that her mother will get concerned “Fret not, I only plan to stay for a few months, six at most. As soon as I find a place I can afford on my own in an ideal location, I’ll move”
“Great, good to know” the information seemed to ease Lucifer nerves, something that served for them to continue with the visit smoothly. The apartment was larger than first impressions gave away, even in the photos that Lucifer had used to advertise his search.
Three rooms, each one large enough for a king-size bed to perfectly fit inside –as per demonstrated by Lucifer’s private rooms– along with a reading chair and a lamp for it. An small desk could also fit if the bed was slightly smaller –what would be Alastor’s room serving for the demonstration this time– and in-wall closets that had nothing to be worried about in matters of usable space. Lucifer’s room had an en suited bathroom that Alastor, despite not being interested in seeing, can already imagine how big would be; the one for him to use placed down the long hall that lead to the living room they’ve come from, probably larger than anything Alastor had ever owned in his life.
The third room was Lucifer’s office and, when needed, Charlie’s room, so they didn’t took a peak inside. The little girl deserved to have her privacy respected
The kitchen was a small taste of paradise for him, cabinets full of spices and a large collections of cook books of foods from all around the world to choose from. Double doors fridge that, upon agreement, both he and Lucifer were free to use fully, groceries a joint purchase for the sake of commodity.
There were some ground rules to follow, that Alastor considered not only reasonable, but easy to add into his routine and ensure were followed for the sake of healthy connivance, such as remaining out of the other’s private space, lest something was needed from them or there was an emergency, a rule that could also be broken with previous permission. Keekee’s feeding was under the care or an automatic feeder, and Alastor only responsibility regarding the cat was to remind Lucifer to refill it if needed, same with her water. Laundry was each one’s responsibility, for privacy reasons (something Alastor felt thankful for) and taking out the trash would be under schedule.
All in all, Alastor felt like he had finally found the perfect place for him to stay while saving enough for his own place, he could even abuse his luck and stretch the time some extra months, to ensure his savings were more than enough. Lucifer was proving to be a tolerable presence, one he was not going to mind having around and being reminded it existed. Besides, the Alpha’s scent was unusually sweet, something close to apples and cinnamon, and sunlight; by far not the worse Alastor had ever encountered, and an advantage for him.
That sweetness was going to hide his own scent well enough, if the suppressants did their job as expected.
The fact that those golden eyes kept drifting back to him as they talked, a somewhat curious gleam adorning them, did very little to deter Alastor from seriously considering this as the winning option.
“I’ll be waiting in the car, Dearie. take your time” Rosie told him when he said he wanted to talk to Lucifer on his own before leaving, waving her goodbye to the blond before walking out of the place, leaving them both in a somewhat tense and awkward silence.
“Well, what is it that you want to ask? I can’t almost believe how loud your mind can be, why, I can hear it all the way from down there” Alastor said once he was sure Rosie had left for sure, smile pleasant yet not reaching his eyes. These kinds of moments usually made him uneasy and defensive, the fear of being discovered always a possibility that he had to be ready for “Come now, sir, it is not polite to make a lady wait”
“How can you be so damn mannerly yet such a jerk? Good thing you won’t be working from home, or the both of us could end up insane” the shorter man complained, going to the coffee table to pick up the used cups and plates, tiding after himself like he was not dealing with an stranger but rather an old friend, long ago used to this behavior “I just wanna ask if she’s your partner or something, nothing else. Not many would do all of this for someone they don’t care for; and I know we already talked about relationships, but well… you struck me like the kind to protect a woman’s decency”
“Oh she does care, indeed, but not in a romantic way. She’s currently married, in fact” Alastor was not keen on sharing personal details about his close friends, much less about Rosie; but he understood where Lucifer was coming from, he was not the first one and for sure was not going to be the last “She’s my closest and dearest friend. We’ve known each other for years now, I do not remain in her home simply because it is not my style to take advantage of the kindness from those I held dear. Worry not, I have no intentions on bringing any lovers here, and only ask for the same courtesy of you”
“Gotcha, if the microscopic possibility that something changes with my love life ever happens, I’ll let you know”
“Splendid! I’ll let you know my decision” with that, Alastor left. feeling for the first time since his search had started, that finally he’d found a decent place to call his own, if only for a short time. At the very least, even if Lucifer was not as organized and tidy as he had presented himself to be today, Alastor was not scared about the man turning his living space into the kind of mess he’d seen thus far.
It was satisfactory to know that he could truly consider an option for once, instead of having to reject the person on the spot.
————————-★————————-
A week later, Alastor was moving with in Lucifer, signing a contract for six months, the time open for negotiation if needed.
He felt much like that first day of college, when Mama had been the one driving him there, while music enveloped them, a familiar mixture of excitement and nervousness drowned by suppressants and hidden with some fake Alpha scent they had bought at the mall the week prior his moving.
It all was so familiar now to him, going through the same over the years enough times for him to know how to manage his scent, how to hide it and keep it like that until the cycle was started once more.
Hiding his Omega nature from everyone that crossed his pat, pretending that the smell of strawberries and morning dew and the wildness of New Orleans bayou was not his own.
It was all practiced routine by now.
He could only hope, as he always did, that Lucifer was not going to find out the truth before Alastor could flee out of his apartment and pretend he hadn’t meet him.
————————-★————————-
When Alastor entered the apartment that night, tired, annoyed and grateful that it was Friday and he had two full days of not dealing with work, he was not all that surprised to see pink child shoes alongside Lucifer’s formal footwear. What surprised him were the high heels sitting alongside the other two pairs, deep purple and so well keep he wondered for a moment if, perhaps, the owner of them was the kind of person that brought shoes only to wear them once then throw them away. He’d meet plenty of people like that, rich people that knew no struggles and lacked the wise of mind to find better uses for their money.
Along with it, was a soft smell of something flowery, almost nonexistent, that gave away this person’s Gender. A Beta.
Alastor didn’t know what to do with Betas.
“Lily, he’s not- will you fucking listen for once!” Lucifer’s voice cam from the living room, agitated and sounding at the edge between desperate and angered. Whoever was in there with him clearly taking a lot out of his usually cheerful and calmed demeanor “I promise you he’s not a creep, Stolas did a background check for me and everything!”
Well, good thing that Secondary Genders were mostly out of legal documents nowadays, that would have been inconvenient.
Alastor waltzed into the room, finding Charlie, as expected, sitting in one of the sofas with her twin plushies and Keekee curled by her side, enormous headphones over her ears and an iPad in her hands –how disappointing, Lucifer seemed to be a better parent than that– thoroughly distracted from the ongoing discussion that was nearing fight territory quite fast. In front of Lucifer, looming over Lucifer, was the Beta Alastor had smelled before, long blond hair falling like a waterfall down her back, piercing eyes nearly killing the shorter blond, achieving nothing but more anger from the man.
And Alastor was surprised to know that this woman was Charlie’s mother, despite the kid having nothing of her in her appearance.
“That’s not the point, Lucifer! How many serial killers had gone undiscovered through history? How many of them were the nice lady next door?” She responded to what Lucifer had said, and Alastor had to say, in the name of fairness, that she was right about that. He’d lived some houses away from one of those nice ladies when he was a kid, a serial widow according to Mama “And you expect me to be fine leaving my child while you have an stranger sleeping next door!? And, not content with that, he’s also an Alpha!”
It was amusing seeing the show go on, seeing Lucifer turn red in anger as the woman attempts to intimidate an Alpha that, Alastor feels quite certain, fears no one at all.
“And how exactly is this any different from you taking your lovers home?!” Lucifer dares to ask a sensitive question, and while Alastor is not one to agree about giving young kids access to brain-rotting technology, he has to agree that if he had had an iPad to muffle the sound of his father screaming to his mother when he was a child, he’d probably had been considerably a less problematic kid to the rest of the world “Or those ‘colleagues’ of yous, huh? How is my fucking roommate any different from any of them?!”
“That’s a fair question” Alastor couldn’t help but comment, drawing attention to his presence that, until then, only Keekee had shown some modicum of interest in, perhaps sensing the cat treats that he’d bought for Lucifer “Ah, please don’t stop on my accord, I’m sure this fight will get somewhere, someday. I‘ll simply make my way to the kitchen then to my room, now that I’m sure I won’t be treated like an intruder”
“And who the fuck are you supposed to be?” The woman asked, side stepping Lucifer to try and block Alastor’s way to the kitchen, attempting the same cheap intimidation tricks she’d been attempting with the shorter blond.
“Darling, in case you have forgotten yourself, attempting to intimidate Alphas without the use of pheromones is fruitless at best, be thankful that I care none for power plays” he, much like she’d just done, sidestepped her to keep walking further inside the apartment, the grocery bag finally making Keekee abandon her place on the couch to follow after him, friendly rubbing against his legs and softly meowing in hopes that it will get her a tube or a treat “Patience, my dear, these are not meant to be your dinner’s replacement” he said to the cat, because she was far more pleasant to talk to that his Beta following him, Lucifer in tow as well, hostility emanating from every pore “As for who I am, Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, I live here and will continue to do so for, at least, the upcoming months”
“Alastor, I would really, really appreciate if you forego the antagonizing my ex thing” Lucifer begged from where he stood, hands clasped together to emphasize the importance of Alastor adhering to that petition, that took away the entertainment he could obtain while being pruposefully targeted by the Beta “this discussion is ridiculous enough without your smartass mouth entering the ring”
“Well, that’s a lot less fun” he murmured to himself, rolling his eyes at the indignant gasp that came from the woman, as if what Alastor had said to himself meant some sort of deep, unforgivable offense to her pride or something equally worthless to him. Alastor is almost sure she had not even heard what he’d said “Very well, I suppose I can comply. In that case, do let me know when I’m welcome into common spaces once more”
Alastor had lived enough to know when to retreat from a fight, even when the other party thought it had not been enough, he was not one to fight lost fights, even when having everything with him to come out victorious. He left the pair of blondes inside the kitchen, waving a greeting to Charlie, her bright honey eyes displaying a kind of distress that Alastor knew too well.
He wanted to embrace the little girl and protect her from this situation, do what no one had done for him at that age.
“I’ll be in my room if you need anything, princess” he told her, more out of obligation of having someone in the place that knew where he was than anything else, Lucifer too stressed to be paying attention and his ex –rude not to introduce herself, if one asked Alastor– probably willing to use any excuses to try and make the situation worse.
“Can I come with you?” Charlie’s question took him by surprise, stopping him in his track; even if it was not exactly unexpected, the kid had meet him not two weeks ago, had that woman not taught her anything of value? Or Lucifer? “Please, Mister Alastor”
“Dear, I believe that is not a good idea, considering your parents are fighting over my presence here at the moment” half of Alastor’s life had been full of nonsensical talks about how, when the moment came, his parental instincts –because he held complex feelings about being refereed to it as ‘motherly’– where going to wake up with full force, preparing him for his own child, forcing him to feel protective and caring over any and all kids he encountered. More often than not, Alastor found himself hating other’s kids, spoiled little brats that, even from afar, were nothing more than obnoxious and noisy things he hardly could tolerate; and now, while being faced with a real child interacting with him, not much had changed.
Alastor had never considered himself suited for kids, and was in luck that his Omega condition had come sans the burning desire to mate and be breed –in and out of heats.
However, being faced with a child that wanted the exact same thing he had once wanted, that was another thing. Charlie didn’t deserve the torture of having to endure her parents’ screams about one another.
“Let me make an offer instead, you can’t come into my room, but we can sit by the door and read something together, hm? How does that sounds?” Alastor also was not going to allow this sweet and bubbly child’s mind be absorbed by that monstrosity while so young; he’d seen what it did to children and was not willing to permit that to be Charlie’s fate “I believe I have a couple of books suited for your age”
“I already read some big girl books!” She proudly announced, leaving behind her headphones and the iPad, taking her two companions with her and following Alastor almost jumping, almost back to the lovely kid he’d meet before “Mom says it’s good for me to start reading more big girl books”
“And she’ll be correct” those words had no right to taste like a sour lemon on his mouth, yet they did “However, I don’t think books about the technicalities of radio are what you want to read about”
“You work on radios?” Truth be told, Alastor can see why the bast majority of Omegas are weak to children, why they love them so much to want one of their own –everyone can make stupid mistakes, sadly– hell, he can even see why Betas want one, or two; Charlie asking about his job with such sincere wonder could broke a weaker man’s resolve.
“I do, yes. I talk about music and books, and sometimes about the news as well” he explained, hoping that this kid’s parents were respectable enough for her to understand with ease what he was saying. He’d encountered kids older than her that still talked as if they were toddlers, willingly “Ah, here they are! Fine literature for a fine little princess”
Alastor took, along with the books he’d once been given as free samples after a distant announcement over the author’s visit for some reason or another, two plush pillows from his bed, handed one to Charlie and told her to sit on it, by the door’s side on the hall, putting the other pillow by the door’s side inside his room, they were still separated and away enough so her mother would not think anything of it nor make a fuss about it, yet making one another company. He handed her the books, pleased to see how excited she got once her eyes meet the pink and glittery cover, getting even more excited upon reading the subtitle, happily announcing to him that the protagonist was a fairy –”Isadora is a fairy! She’s so pretty!”– before obediently starting to read in silence.
The fight could still be heard in the distance, but as Alastor started to revise the script he’d been give for Monday’s broadcast, he found himself capable of tuning out the screams and allegations happening at the kitchen; if he, with the low quality scrip, could tune out their voices, he’s sure Charlie was completely ignoring them by then.
It was only twenty minutes after that the front door was slammed, and Lucifer appeared once more, that Alastor regained consciousness of his surroundings and what had been happening for who knows how long. The Alpha was stomping towards his room until he saw his daughter and the twin plushies sitting by Alastor’s door that he seemed to calm down enough to have a civil conversation with another being.
“Al, I’m really sorry about all that, Lilith can be… a lot ” he apologized once at the door, making a confused noise before realizing that Alastor was not sitting at the desk but by the door, on the floor “What are you doing there?”
“Keeping your daughter company, it’s quite rude leave your little guest unattended. Who told you than a piece of glass and plastic was a suitable babysitter?” There’s really no bite behind his words, Alastor knows Lucifer wants Charlie to be a polite and decent person, someone that respects everyone regardless of everything, so teasing and reprimanding the man for his good intentions, in the way he usually does, seems like crossing a line. That, however, is not going to stop Alastor from being sarcastic and slightly abrasive “Is our little dictator gone already? Or does she plan to come back to try and get me arrested for whatever fears she’s convinced are real?”
“Leave her alone, did your mother never overprotected you?” Lucifer, looking in dire need of a drink, or a break, decided to sit by Alastor’s side, facing the inside of the room whit his back pressed against the door frame “She’s just making sure I’m not putting Charlie in danger, since that’s like, the whole reason why our custody arrangement is not the other way around”
“Normally, I would not care about your personal struggles” Alastor confessed as he puts down the script he’d been studying –a truly tragic attempt at getting all the historical facts about the songs in order– to give the blond his full attention “but as this seems to directly involve me, do enlighten me, why is your ex like that? Overprotectiveness is no excuse for putting up such a fight in front of the very person she’s pretending to protect”
Most of the time, unlike with Alphas, Alastor felt indifference over Betas, their sense of smell was not as remarkable as Alphas u Omegas, so they had a hard time telling Alastor Gender regardless if he was hiding it or nor, and their pheromones oftentimes were nothing more than a little smell that went unnoticed by everyone around them, even themselves. They never attempted to force submission out of Alastor, never tried to get his attention so he will try and mate them, neither they cared if Alastor remained uninterested, most of the time.
He supposes there are first times for everything.
“Lilith is not usually like that, I promise. And while she’s somehow justified to be worried, this is her daughter we’re talking about too, after all, there is still no right for her to treat you like that simply because you’re living here. This is not her house after all” Lucifer, to his credit, was handling the aftermath of the fight with surprising ease. Despite it sounding like it was an uncommon occurrence, he sounded like it was quite the contrary. That picked Alastor’s curiosity “It’s just… I was allowed unsupervised visitations a couple of months ago. Charlie staying for the weekend–hell, for the night– is something so new. She’s in her right to be worried and wary about this. If something happens, I fear she’ll take my baby away forever”
They should not be having this conversation with Charlie seated meters away from them.
“Charlie, my dear” Alastor called, the sudden realization that the topic was much more deeper than a neurotic ex overreacting about every little thing her ex-husband did hitting him like a train. The little girl hummed in acknowledgment for him to continue, not taking her eyes from the book “Do you mind leaving us alone? It seems there are some important conversations to be have between adults”
“Are you and Dad going to argue as well?”
“What?!” Lucifer rushed to answer, crawling toward his daughter frantically, dragging her into a tight hug that the little girl complained about the second her face was flushed against the Alpha’s chest “Nonono, no Starlight, no more fights or arguments tonight, or ever. I promise”
“Indeed, he’s just going to explain to me what happened. Boring adult talks about boring adult topics” he provided helpfully, not sure how exactly one tells a six-year-old child that they are going to talk about why she doesn’t gets to see her father more often. Alastor wasn’t even sure if she knew why it happened; that was not his place to intrude “Hm… why don’t we take this to the kitchen? I’m assuming neither of you have had dinner yet. We ought to teach your daughter what savory food tastes like”
At the mention of food, Charlie made her way to her room, plushies and books in hand, cheering in excitement at the prospect of trying new food. For such a young kid, Alastor was surprised that she felt so excited over something like that, most kids would feel unsure, behave picky and even reject the food without even trying. This one, Alastor thought, was not yet a lost cause.
“Shall we? Cooking will take long enough for a civil conversation to take place” Alastor told him standing up, offering his hand as soon as he stood in front of the shorter Alpha, helping him back onto his feet with a little more struggle than what his stature lend in “So, why is that, just now, your own child is being allowed to be under your care?”
Somewhere, as Alastor made the question, his mind reminded him that the plan had been to avoid this man like the plague, to pretend he lived alone and do his best so the truth was not going at risk to be found. And, somehow, Alastor still wanted to follow his plan, still wanted to pretend the was no one else inside the apartment, perhaps if Lucifer worked a normal office job, he could. But there had been something different from the start, something oddly unusual about the Alpha that made it impossible for Alastor to ignore his existence.
If only Lucifer were something more predictable, an Alpha like the rest of them, territorial and rude, imposing his will with growls and pheromones. If only he were something Alastor was more familiar with, perhaps this conversation would not be happening.
But, if Alastor knows something, is that the universe had a predilection for doing exactly the opposite of what Alastor wanted or needed., probably in the name of amusement.
Besides, Lucifer looked so… frail, a touch away from breaking. He simply could not continue his existence without knowing exactly why.
“I… look, I should have told you this before, and that’s on me. I wont blame you if you want to leave, and will not hold it against you if you do. We can even talk about refund if needed” for a brief, small and wistful moment, Alastor dared to hope that what he was going to hear was something similar to his own truth, eves if the chances of ever meeting someone in his same position were almost null –not may dared pretend they were something else. Of course, his hope found itself drowned with Lucifer’s next words “I have depression, can’t recall what kind right now, but it has been an issue even before Charlie was born. Of course, family court deemed me unable to take care of her on my own, as if forbidding me from seeing the only light my life had for a long time was going to make things better”
“Hm, law is usually quite useless when dealing with unusualness, and what is there more unusual than an Alpha admitting his metal problems?” Alastor commented as he got to gather some ingredients, as he started to chop and dice and prepare everything he needed. There was not many ingredients left –they had agreed to go grocery shopping the next day, to get to know the other’s preferences and habits– but Alastor was not his mother’s son in vain “So, your ex fears that your judgment is clouded by your mental state? Given her being your ex, it’s not all that surprising”
“Ha! Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m one mistake away from either an asylum or loosing all parental rights” there was laugh back in Lucifer voice, a sweet smile on his lips, doing things to Alastor’s chest that he had not felt before.
“Well, in that case” Alastor, despite the part of his mind, of his instincts that was screaming him not to continue the conversation, not to get closer to the man and his daughter, fully turned to offer Lucifer a warm smile, one that was usually reserved for Rosie “we ought to prove her that neither you are helpless nor I am a danger, won’t you agree?”
Lucifer’s smile, if Alastor ever got asked, could lighten a room, one coated in thick darkness and dancing shadows, it could bring light to every corner of it with ease. And it managed to break the last of Alastor’s resolve about remaining at arms length, farther if possible. It was another strange thing about this strange Alpha, his smile so precious and lovely, so beautifully angelic, Alastor found himself unable to do anything but smile back.
“Yeah” he said, his hand extended in front of him, not unlike what one would do when offering a deal. And while Alastor’s instincts were screaming that shaking it was equal to making a deal with the Devil, he found, as he took the hand in his, basking in the warmth of his soft skin, that he didn’t care “I agree”