The Devil's Nest, Friday Night

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer should have found some way to upstage Eric yet again. To show him that he couldn't get away with these kinds of ridiculous provocations, that pianos and class were important, and...

... yeah.

Last week's discussions with Octavia might have finally sunk in.

The piano, when it arrived, was normal: a beautiful, shiny wing with a gorgeous sound that worked just perfectly with the club's acoustics. He stared at it for a while, situated as it was on the still too-big stage.

Then finally sat down.

"Stars, they come and go..."

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke got drinks at the bar, then came to lean against the piano, as had become his habit.

“Gorgeous,” he murmured, sipping his bourbon.

[my_own_advocate]

"I know I am, but thank you," Lucifer said, and he looked up at Duke with a smile at roughly half its usual smugness.

Or a quarter.

More pensive, really.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke set Lucifer’s drink down on the piano, his smile fading a little.

“Missing the Bahamas already?”

[my_own_advocate]

"No, just... thinking, I suppose," Lucifer said. He reached for his drink. "Ah, thank you."

[betterthanaplan]

"De nada," Duke said. "Thinking about what?"

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer took a big sip and thought about it.

"What to do with myself, mainly," he admitted.

[betterthanaplan]

"Ah, the eternal earthly question," Duke said, gently teasing. "I take it looking for weirder pianos is losing its shine?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I came close to making Octavia cry last week when I went about talking about this problem the wrong way, so I suppose it's time for me to actually think about what I'm doing," Lucifer sighed.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed, moving to sit next to Lucifer at the piano. "In all fairness, it's very easy to talk about things the wrong way with Tavi."

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm usually a bit better at it," Lucifer said, looking at him again. "Though we fixed it in time."

[betterthanaplan]

Oh sure, Luce, rub it in.

"What was this one about? Other than you finding something to do."

[my_own_advocate]

He was just stating a fact! And hadn't been thinking about Duke's experiences at all.

"I," he started, and sighed, and said, "We'll need to sit somewhere in a corner for this," and got up.

[betterthanaplan]

"Gotcha. Should I put some rum out for the squirrels?"

[texted3times]

"This one isn't terrible," Eric observed from the shadows.

[my_own_advocate]

"Good," Lucifer said, hands folding over the keys. "Don't set it on fire."

[texted3times]

"It doesn't make my eyes bleed, so it's probably safe."

Probably.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer rolled his eyes and stepped away from the piano.

He walked towards Eric's shadowy corner. "How kind of you to brood in that direction."

[texted3times]

"The obnoxious spotlights bring out my cheekbones if I stand just here," Eric said dryly.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer chuckled lightly. "Mm," he said. "We should probably shrink the stage a bit. And the lighting rig."

[texted3times]

Eric quirked up an eyebrow but wasn't going to point out the concessions. "Perhaps reduce the axe range's footprint back to where it had been?" he suggested.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes," Lucifer said idly. "We'll have to make Tiny mop more, though. For hygiene."

[texted3times]

"I will agree to that," Eric said magnanimously.

[my_own_advocate]

"Good."

They could both agree on the topic of Tiny.

Lucifer cleared his throat.

"I may have become God," he said, after a moment. (It was related.)

[texted3times]

Eric blinked. "You've what now?"

[my_own_advocate]

"While I was in LA, my Father retired," Lucifer explained. "There was a war for the throne, I won."