The Devil's Nest, Tuesday Night

[my_own_advocate]

The Devil's Nest was a bar, or a club, really, and thus usually more the scene for your... popular music fare. But Lucifer, being Lucifer, was prone to moods, and sometimes those moods flung themselves rather loudly in one particular direction...

Anyway, that was why the Devil was behind the piano tonight, playing some of the world's most dramatic classical music. It was likely he'd work his way up to Beethoven in another thirty minutes or so.

Why?

Who knew. It was Lucifer, and he went with his gut.

[[ open ]]

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[hasaknightjob]

Starting the day with the gym and ending with a drink counted as a balanced diet, right? If nothing else Marc appreciated the way the Devil's Nest was quieter compared to a place like Caritas.

Yes, even with Lucifer playing piano. At least it wasn't a zombie band?

Marc was dressed casually but even so his clothes were better fitting and not wrinkled like Steven's tended to be, so that might give a hint as to which one of them was bellying up to the bar if Lucifer was an observant sort.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer was, in his own way, very observant!

... of course it had been ages since he'd seen Marc, so whether or not it would actually occur to him to notice was another thing entirely. Either way, his impromptu piano performance was drawing to a close with a number of dramatic gestures and loud presses of the piano keys.

[hasaknightjob]

Which was entirely fair, given that Marc himself only remembered details like Lucifer's name since it was, yanno, Lucifer.

The gestures were dramatic enough that Marc watched. Since hey: free show. Plus drama that was not his own was always a bonus.

[my_own_advocate]

Had he come to the right club!

Well, possibly not entirely tonight, but still. As Summer could tell him, with Lucifer, there was always drama somewhere.

One more bang of his hands on the keys, a dramatic moment of silence... ...and he slid away from the piano with his empty glass, to head towards the bar. "I'll have another scotch, Tiny," he said, leaning over the bar. "And don't go gentle on the pour."

[hasaknightjob]

"Whiskey," Marc said, as long as Tiny was taking requests. And there was the American accent for whatever that was worth.

Lucifer got a nod of greeting since hey: Marc wasn't going to force conversation on anyone who wasn't in the mood for it. Not that he knew Lucifer well enough to tell if he was or wasn't in the mood to talk. Up to Lucifer at that point.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer did hear the accent. He threw Marc a glance. "Ah, you're the other one."

[hasaknightjob]

"I'll take 'other' over the usual comparisons," Marc said. Particularly since the usual comparisons tended to involve their relative intelligence (with Steven frequently coming out the winner there.) "Least there's no need to pretend about it."

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I didn't want to lead with calling you the 'grumpy one'," Lucifer said. "Felt a bit presumptuous. And honestly, compared to your other half, most people would qualify as grumpy."

[hasaknightjob]

"No, grumpy's fair," Marc said. "Steven's upbeat enough for three people at least."

Oh unknown irony.

[my_own_advocate]

"He is very friendly," said Lucifer, who'd happily ranted at Steven for what felt like an hour and hadn't paid much attention to how much Steven might have said back, if any. "Must be an interesting time in your head."

[hasaknightjob]

"Persistent too," Marc said. "Once he gets an idea in his head he's like a freaking terrier the way he won't let go."

Like insisting that Marc needed to get out more and have a life of his own. Ignore the part where Marc was doing just that at the moment.

"It was easier when he didn't know he could talk to me."

[my_own_advocate]

"Ah," Lucifer said, swiping his drink off of the bar. "Less backtalk."

[hasaknightjob]

"Less backtalk, less interference, less danger," for Steven, Marc meant. Also ignore the hint of melancholy at the idea of going back to the old ways. It meant nothing.

[my_own_advocate]

"Danger," Lucifer echoed. "Right, your whole bloody god deal, full of broody violence, falling out of windows, general intrigue, that sort of thing, I take it."

[hasaknightjob]

"That's the one," Marc said. Yeah, there were things Marc had done other than the god stuff, but everything Lucifer said applied to that too so there was no point in clarifying. "Not much of that this year, though. Almost boring."

Marc never expected to miss hearing from Khonshu but there it was.

[my_own_advocate]

"It does feel a bit like a gated suburban community around here, doesn't it," Lucifer said, nodding.

[hasaknightjob]

"Not nearly as many of my kind of people as I was expecting," Marc agreed. By which he meant not nice.

[my_own_advocate]

"It waxes and wanes," Lucifer said, waving a hand. "We've just collected an odd amount of boy scouts recently."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc made a face. "Not my type. Hell, even Steven isn't if you push him enough."

Friendly? Yes. A better person morally than Marc? Hell yes. Boy scout? Nope.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer snorted. "Really?"

[hasaknightjob]

"He won't kill," Marc said, because that was a hard line. "But if somebody hits one of his buttons he'll get pissed real quick."

Whether Steven stopped being terrified out of his mind while he did it was hit or miss, but he'd do it all the same.

"Even told Khonshu to fuck off," Marc said, just to give a point of reference.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer lifted a finger. "He used that actual word?"

[hasaknightjob]

"May have been 'piss off'," Marc said, when he realized he couldn't remember the words exactly. "But he does swear if that's the question."

It was a habit they shared, albeit with different vocabulary.

[my_own_advocate]

"Huh," Lucifer said, tilting his head. "Life is full of surprises."

[hasaknightjob]

"You wouldn't expect it from him," Marc said, because fuck knew he hadn't so no argument there. "But like I said, push his buttons and I'm the one holding him back."

Sometimes. Sometimes Marc just got out of the way. Mainly it mattered if Steven was going to get himself killed.

[my_own_advocate]

"Now I want to see that," Lucifer said. He sipped his drink. "That's not a threat."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc nodded to show he understood. "Murder or hurting kids usually does it."

Or murdering kids, but Marc had many reasons why he was going to glide right past that topic as though it wasn't hanging out there by implication.

"Taking advantage of people too," Marc added, after a thoughtful sip of his drink. "Con artists. Cults. That kind of thing. That one's not as bad but it pisses him off."

[my_own_advocate]

"I also hate cults," Lucifer mused. "Especially the Satanic ones."

[hasaknightjob]

"The ones for people not you suck too," Marc said, in case Lucifer was wondering. He took a sip of his drink, then amended, "Or gods I guess. Whatever the fuck you are."

[my_own_advocate]

"Ah," Lucifer said.

The lights did a little weird dim-and-light-up-again dance.

"Just God," he offered. "Big G."

[hasaknightjob]

It wasn't any of Marc's business if they didn't pay their electric bill.

As for the rest, "No, there's more than the one. Much though my life would be easier if that wasn't true."

Also much more finite, since it would've ended over ten years ago now.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm aware of all the other ones, yes," Lucifer said, "But for whatever sprinkling of universes my Father created, it's me."

Which he was trying to repress most days of the week.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc took another, longer sip of his drink as he rolled that statement around in his head. Finally he replied with, "Are you asking me to do anything about it?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Please, no, forget all about it."

Lucifer was trying to!

[hasaknightjob]

"Cool," Marc said. Because he was more than happy to do that about any deity related being and/or piece of information that did not somehow directly affect his life. For any number of reasons, not just, "Would've made Passover really fucking awkward."

[my_own_advocate]

"Either way, cults are terrible, agreed," Lucifer said, lifting his glass. "Except the ones that are just about copious amounts of fully consensual sex, of course."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc lifted his glass in a return salute. "Can't say I ever encountered one of those. But in my line of work I never met the fun people."

[my_own_advocate]

"The Greeks and Romans were a great deal of fun," Lucifer said brightly.

[hasaknightjob]

"I'll try dying in one of their temples next time," Marc said. It was what passed for humor from him. He didn't actually think any god less... intense than Khonshu would have wanted him.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Hiiii, Lucifeeeer~."

Don't mind a randomly appearing Summer leaning in a little on your piano with that not-even-remotely innocent look on her face, but she'd definitely much rather just go directly to him for this that deal with Tiny.

But she wasn't about to waste his time, either.

"So you don't know if you guys still keep some of that Cup Noodle soda around, do you?"

[my_own_advocate]

"... no," Lucifer said slowly, raising his eyes from the keys bit by bit to-- hello, Summer. "If I did, I would have had it set on fire months ago."

Yes, he would have tried to set the soda on fire. Just roll with it.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer met those slowly lifted eyes with a bright smile once they got there, because hello, Lucifer.

"Don't set the Cup Noodle soda on fire, Lucifer," she said. "Very buff and attractive men actually drink that crap."

Well, a specific buff and attractive man, but details, details.

"Could you go check for me? I was hoping to snag a few bottles for tomorrow."

[my_own_advocate]

"I can get Tiny to check for you, I'm not touching that with my bare hands," Lucifer said, pulling a face. "And they do? Well, if the buff and attractive men want to die by age 24, I suppose it's a free country."

He waved at Tiny.

Tiny sighed and disappeared into the back.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Thank you, Tiny!" Summer sang put after him before her grin returned to Lucifer.

"And make that resilient buff, attractive men, then, since he's already in his thirties."

Maybe those ten years without it really gave him a good grace period.

[my_own_advocate]

"Right, likely a heart attack at 39," Lucifer mused. "At least he'll go out the way he lived..."

There was some general noise of boxes being thrown around, from the back.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"You know," mused Summer, "for a guy whose whole deal is supposed to be vice, you sure are pretty judgey about it."

[my_own_advocate]

"Everyone has standards," Lucifer told her, "Even the Devil."

Tiny reappeared out of the back room, holding what appeared to be a fireproof container.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"I have soooo many questions about that container," said Summer, her eyes brightening with delight as Tiny showed up up, "that I don't even know which one to begin with!"