Chapter Text
Lucifer hasn't been doing great. He got called out for not smiting an obnoxious Overlord, then his daughter got mad at him, then he got put in a box that hurt a lot. He's pretty sure things have been going well for Charlie since then, which is nice, but all the new hotel residents checking in kind of sucks for him. Now he has to be around all these awful Sinners. He can't leave his room without bumping into people constantly. On occasion, he tries to wander around looking for Charlie, but ever since the hotel became so crowded, he hasn't actually managed to find her before the chaos becomes too overwhelming and he teleports back to his room.
He's understandably reluctant when someone knocks on his door. The last time he answered a knock, Charlie's girlfriend told him to do something stupid behind his daughter's back. He only bothers to drag himself out of bed because the person on the other side could theoretically be Charlie.
His efforts turn out to be worth it as he opens the door to the sight of his lovely daughter. "Charlie!" he cries delightedly, bringing her in for a tight hug. That's when he notices she didn't come alone. He sees an unexpected but familiar face over her shoulder. "What the fuck is he doing here?"
Charlie quickly pulls away from her father to step in front of their unwelcome guest and dons a placating tone. "So, Dad, you remember Vox, right? And Vox, you remember my dad." She glances back at Vox, who has been staring blankly at the wall and doesn't stop doing so even when addressed. "Dad, Vox is here because he... needs a little help!" she says awkwardly.
"You can say that again," Lucifer responds with an eye roll.
"Dad!" Charlie scolds quietly, as if Vox won't hear her in the otherwise silent room.
"What? He literally tried to kill everybody and invade Heaven!" Lucifer gestures angrily in Vox's direction. Vox's eyes narrow and his face twists into a slight scowl, but he continues staring resolutely at that wall.
Charlie gently pushes Lucifer's hand down. "That... has something to do with it." She glances back at Vox and then down the hallway behind them. "Can we talk in your room?"
"Uh… Sure, sweetie, come on in," Lucifer says, stepping back into his room. He smiles at Charlie, then glares at Vox when he's sure Charlie isn't looking, but Vox still isn't looking at him even as he wanders into the room. Rude.
Charlie takes a seat on the bed and Lucifer joins her. "What's up, princess?" Lucifer asks, starting to feel a little concerned by Charlie's serious demeanor.
"So… Dad, Vox was brought here by his partners because... They were wondering if we, um, have a service like a... suicide watch?"
Lucifer blinks. "Do we?"
"Well- we didn't, but it seems like a good idea, right?" Charlie keeps looking at Vox with a complicated mix of suspicion and concern. "I know he's kind of a monster, but I still don't want him to kill himself, you know? And maybe, if we can help him, he'll give redemption a try when he's in better shape. It would be so good for the hotel if we could show everyone we answered our former worst enemy's cries for help! Then nobody would have to worry about whether they were 'too irredeemable' for the hotel! Because, clearly, they'll see we help everybody!"
"O… kay? Are you coming to me to ask for my approval…?" Lucifer asks, confused about why he's suddenly relevant to the hotel's operations. Charlie doesn't typically ask for his input.
Charlie claps her hands together. "Oh! Right! I almost forgot!" She smiles at Lucifer in that hopeful way that always makes him a little nervous. "I was thinking, Vaggie and I might be a little too busy running the hotel to watch Vox personally, and if we're helping Vox here at the hotel, he needs to be kept away from Alastor... And, well, your room does say 'No Alastors allowed!'" She grabs Lucifer's hands before he has time to reject her proposal. "Vaggie and I can watch him and keep him safe from Alastor when we're not busy, and he's going to go home on weekends! You wouldn't be stuck with him all the time! A-And you don't need to talk to him or anything! Literally just let him hang out in your room and make sure he doesn't kill himself and I'll be happy! Pleeeease, Dad?" She gives him her best pleading puppy-dog eyes.
Lucifer looks at Vox. He's dressed much more plainly than the last few times Lucifer saw him, wearing just loose grey sweatpants and a thin t-shirt. Bandages cover his neck. His arms are crossed and his shoulders hunched, his body facing Lucifer and his daughter but his glare directed at an empty wall as it has been since he arrived. He has to have been listening this entire time, but Lucifer hasn't heard so much as a scoff coming from his direction.
Well... If he was going to keep his mouth shut...
"I guess there's no harm in letting him hang out in here..." Lucifer says.
Charlie throws her arms around her father's shoulders. "Thank you SO much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This won't be a permanent arrangement! You'll have your room to yourself again as soon as I can get things figured out, I promise!"
Lucifer smiles fondly at his daughter as she jumps to her feet. He has no idea where she finds her seemingly endless supply of energy, but it makes him happy every time he sees it. He's so relieved she didn't inherit his issues.
Charlie bounds over to Vox and places her hands on his shoulders. "Okay! So! Vox! You'll be staying here with my Dad until I come get you, got it? That's a royal order!" she announces, trying to sound regal and authoritative.
"Mmm," Vox hums dismissively.
"Great! I'll be back in a bit! Behave! Bye-bye!" Charlie calls as she runs out of the room.
Lucifer slides back in bed and pulls out his phone, assuming he and Vox will just ignore each other until Charlie returns. He is very annoyed when that is not what happens.
"If you give me an angelic blade and go take a piss, this problem will be solved by the time you get back," Vox offers casually.
"As great as that sounds, Charlie explicitly asked me not to do that, sooooo…" Lucifer replies without looking up from his phone. His gaze only shifts to Vox when he hears a drawer opening. "Hey, leave my stuff alone!"
Vox scoffs, rifling through a drawer full of Lucifer's clothes. "Or what, you'll smite me? I'd fucking pay you to if you actually could, you royal fraud."
Lucifer sits up in his bed and raises his voice. "Charlie didn't say I couldn't tie you up! Don't tempt me!"
Vox's head whips around to make eye contact with Lucifer. Lucifer finds his own eyes widening at the surprisingly distressed look on Vox's face as well as the brief glitch that scrambles his screen. He abandons the drawer he was rummaging around in and steps closer to Lucifer's bed, his empty clawed hands outstretched like a beggar's.
"Look," Vox says softly, placatingly, "Neither of us want me here. Your daughter doesn't really fucking want me here. Just tell me where you keep the angelic shit. Tell her you only looked away for a second. Shit happens. People make mistakes. She won't hold it against you. Maybe she'll even feel bad for you if you play up the guilty act. You get your room to yourself again, and your daughter never has to fucking deal with me again. She'll have one less thing to worry about! Don't you wanna do that for her?"
Lucifer stares at the former Overlord slack-jawed. He doesn't know if he should be feeling offended or just pity this sorry sucker. Does he really think the literal devil will be swindled by his sweet-talking? Or is he just so desperate to escape to oblivion that he's grasping at straws? Lucifer wants to lean into the indignant rage of being talked down to by a lowly Sinner, but he's mostly just uncomfortable the more he sees the way Vox watches him, so carefully, as if Lucifer has the power to permit or deny him his greatest wish in this moment.
Without a word, Lucifer raises one hand and, with a snap of his fingers, Vox is tied up in angelic rope. He lands heavily on the ground, out of Lucifer's sight.
Lucifer hears a rage- and static-filled hiss of "Fiiiiiiine..." as his attention returns to his phone and he attempts to put that strange interaction out of his mind.