[ He hears the steadiness in Elio's voice, the clarity. He's never harsh or authoritative, no, but he does know what he wants, what he doesn't. He's capable of making perfectly legitimate, sensible choices. Lucifer knows. He trusts him more than... well. He does.
He does.
When the other man steps up closer to him and rubs his shoulder, his fingers slipping up to his neck as he speaks and nudging his panicked hands out of the way, Lucifer slumps a bit where he stands, crossing his arms in front of himself mostly to give that last bit of tension, that darkness coiled in his chest, some sort of exit route. At the feel of Elio's fingertips running through his hair, brushing over his scalp and setting each strand a-right (not unlike what he used to do when he'd groom his wings), Lucifer closes his eyes. Stands there silently for a long while, simply letting the calm of Elio's decisiveness, the quiet around them, seep into his nervous system. The trees around them rustle and further down, the sea rolls in, again and again.
Finally, Lucifer reaches into his pocket and brings out the long piece of silver that materialized amongst Mazikeen's weapons one day, out of nowhere, a few days into his arrival back in Hell. It looks like a link-less armband, maybe, except it comes without locks and without any sort of adornments. She'd come up to his throne, flapping it at his face and looking completely, utterly disturbed - after all, she'd said, if I'm supposed to torture anyone with this thing, I'm not even sure where I'd put it or why. He'd taken it and thought little of it for a while until slowly but surely, data started piling up whilst Amenadiel researched. He'd had Ella's help, apparently; she'd figured out the truth whilst doing her own little investigation into Cain's death - that little woman won't let herself be fooled for long.
In any case. He looks it over, eyebrows furrowed. It's shiny, true, but otherwise pretty unremarkable.
As he leans back against Elio a little, however, it folds from between his fingers and stretches out to its full length, seemingly trying to crawl through the air and around Lucifer. Within long, it's flat-out struggling, trying to crawl up his arm, under his hand, wriggling like a snake between his fingers.
Trying, desperately, to get to Elio.
It's true, then, isn't it. ]
The conditions are unclear.
[ He grabs it between both hands and it twitches pathetically between his fingers. Turning, dislodging Elio's fingers in the process, he holds it out between them. He can feel it buzzing at the sight of the other man, this thing, glittering in the sun. ]
One day, this simply existed.
[ A small smirk, half-hearted. Worried. ]
And apparently, it's been quite lonely without you.
[ While he fixes the other man's hair, one strand at a time, slowly stroking over his scalp, aligning each lock, Lucifer simultaneously relaxes and tenses, as if the ambivalence won't leave him, but then again, it's a lifelong battle they're dismantling and a life, for someone like Lucifer, is without end. Elio allows him time, keeps slicking his hair back until the other man turns around and thus, dislodges his grip. Elio lets his hands drop to his sides, looking up at him searchingly. Lucifer has taken out what looks like a silver bracelet, no links or locks, but it's dangling between his fingers, coiling like a snake. Like it's got a life of its own. The conditions are unclear, says the Devil and Elio would laugh and tell him, that's life for you, isn't it, if he didn't suddenly feel this strong impulse to touch the thing between the other man's hands, to feel the weight of the armband, to feel the character of it. He's left with the notion that they would match, they'd match just right.
One day, this simply existed, Lucifer says, and apparently, it's been quite lonely without you.
Raising his gaze from the bracelet, the silver catching glimpses of light like a mirror, interpreting a motif, and to Lucifer's face slowly, Elio can't help but smile. If this thing that suddenly existed in Hell of all places has been lonely without him, then it's because Lucifer was, first. It's how it works, it seems. In Hell, Lucifer is not only King, he's Creator. All mythologies have their own Hades. Elio has just happened to fall in love with the Abrahamic one, lucky him. He reaches out both hands, watching the poor thing more or less try to swing back and forth between Lucifer's fingers, until they finally connect, a little piece of silver slipping between Elio's fingertips and it's burning hot, like fire, the whole piece buzzing happily. Elio doesn't feel sorry for it, like he doesn't feel sorry for Lucifer, but he is quite pleased as he takes it from the other man, lets it slide around his fingers, left hand, wrist, forearm.
It's snake-like which is all sorts of fitting, right? Considering who made it for him. ]
Apparently - [ Elio looks up from his now encircled arm to meet Lucifer's eyes, because he's talking to the man and not the piece of sentient metal currently wrapping around his arm twice as if to secure its own position, as if to secure Elio's, whatever it is now. Persephone? Queen of the Dead? He smiles, softly. Amused. ] - I've been quite lonely without you, too, Lucifer.
[ The silver ring seems to lock in place around his arm, tight-fitting, but without tautening, Elio wouldn't find a single bruise on his skin, he's sure. The weight of the armband itself is almost unnoticeable, what weighs on him is the feel of dimensions, like his world just went from 3D to... 30D. He draws in a deep breath, lifts his arm to look at the thing for a moment, then lifts his gaze to meet Lucifer's worried expression. ]
[ The silver bracelet - because it is one, apparently - practically jumps into Elio's waiting hands, snaking up his arm to lie against his wrist, curled up snugly. Lucifer feels oddly at peace at the sight of it. Which... probably means that he's somehow affected by its presence which is just fine, obviously, like he's not already much too affected by everything, ever. He sighs. Meets Elio's gaze, looking as he settles with the bracelet, with whatever it does to him whilst attached. Something changes with his appearance, too, something that wouldn't be immediately obvious to anyone not celestial. But to Lucifer, Elio suddenly loses all traces of otherness.
Like he's been family all along.
Would you look at that. ]
It's you, I think. An extension of you, the way you are.
[ A half-smile. ]
To me.
[ Remarkable, yes. A good word. He brushes his fingers over the bracelet, feeling it humming in response. Then, quite easily, he completes the movement by sliding his hand over Elio's knuckles, fingers, before linking their hands. Something powerful and very familiar surges through him and his wings unfurl at it, snapping out to either side. They aren't quite as impressive-looking as they could be - when he left, they'd been groomed to perfection but in Hell, well, that's not an option. He's done the best he could with a Hell-loop-created shower but all the same, they are... not at their best.
They still take up quite a lot of space, like, enough for him to whack his flight feathers against a pomegranate tree, a couple of fruits tumbling to the ground a split second later.
He pouts a little.
Thanks Dad, for making him wear the most infuriatingly stupid appendages in the known bloody universe. ]
[ It's you, I think, Lucifer says, Elio feeling himself actually blush a little. He was never good with compliments, especially not ones from people he treasured, those were the exactly worst, actually. Shaking his head a little, not in response to anything in particular of what Lucifer has said, he looks down to watch the other man brush his fingers over what is now very much a bracelet locked around Elio's wrist, before running them down over the back of his hand, his knuckles, then interlacing their fingers gently. It's a slow motion, he feels every single second of it separately, like running his fingers over the keys of the piano and drawing out each note, the same sentiment. Somehow Elio knows now that he's exalted from one state to another, that he isn't fully human any longer and that his life will look inherently different from hereon out. He's okay with that. He's okay with the implications. The consequences, even when unsure and unknown. He's walked into so many other situations blind, this one at least he'll face together with an excellent guide.
Looking up at Lucifer, he catches him just in time to see his wings unfurl, knocking a couple of pomegranates off the nearest tree and he smiles, looking down, still red-cheeked and invigorated. He gives Lucifer's hand a small squeeze and then releases him, stepping closer, slipping his fingers into the thick fabric of his shirt, grabbing hold. They're standing close enough that he can feel him, chest to chest. Heartbeat. Heat. Elio tips his head back and looks straight up into his face, wings like framework behind him. They look a bit sad again.
Hell will be a place for wing-grooming from now on, trust him. ]
You should kiss me and then you should carry me off.
[ It's his final permission. Spoken. Given freely. Willingly.
He'll be leaving his family behind, in the midst of their greatest sorrow, but his family is one of strong women who can fend for themselves, Elio thinks that's where he gets his... whatever it is from. His mother who says, go, Elio, go. She knew. She felt it, feminine intuition, that he wouldn't be coming back, he gets that distinct feeling. And it relieves him.
Running his palms flat up Lucifer's front, he watches the bracelet catch the light like it holds a little bit of sun inside. ]
[ There's something about Elio's face, about the light shining within his eyes, beneath his skin, that feels realer than anything else he's ever encountered. Like they're a matched set, him and Elio, his own wings glittering faintly in the sun as well, durable still, despite all that's come before. For the first time, he looks at Elio, wearing that bracelet, and thinks that maybe... maybe...
Just maybe.
Maybe this won't be another Fall.
He leans into the touch of Elio's palms, hating himself all over for that spark of hope, that foolish notion that maybe this really is what it looks like, maybe Elio is supposed to traverse both worlds to keep the balance because the ruler of Hell can no longer rule alone. Amenadiel had been quite certain, last they spoke. It's all the talk up in the Silver City, too, an all-consuming question for his family when they'd but given up upon the answer. Has Samael been forgiven at last?
Picking Elio up in his arms, Lucifer leans in and kisses him. It's a long, slow kiss, simply lips against lips at first before he dips his tongue inside briefly, to get that taste back in his mouth. Maybe it's been two hundred years and that's why everything feels like more, now, like an emphasis. But it does. Elio feels like himself times a hundred, his taste and scent shooting straight into Lucifer's bloodstream. He closes his eyes and holds him close.
Giving his Father yet another chance - another touch of faith, always another, even now - Lucifer dives downwards, clutching Elio to his chest and taking them both away, down and down, beyond the Earth. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
He does.
When the other man steps up closer to him and rubs his shoulder, his fingers slipping up to his neck as he speaks and nudging his panicked hands out of the way, Lucifer slumps a bit where he stands, crossing his arms in front of himself mostly to give that last bit of tension, that darkness coiled in his chest, some sort of exit route. At the feel of Elio's fingertips running through his hair, brushing over his scalp and setting each strand a-right (not unlike what he used to do when he'd groom his wings), Lucifer closes his eyes. Stands there silently for a long while, simply letting the calm of Elio's decisiveness, the quiet around them, seep into his nervous system. The trees around them rustle and further down, the sea rolls in, again and again.
Finally, Lucifer reaches into his pocket and brings out the long piece of silver that materialized amongst Mazikeen's weapons one day, out of nowhere, a few days into his arrival back in Hell. It looks like a link-less armband, maybe, except it comes without locks and without any sort of adornments. She'd come up to his throne, flapping it at his face and looking completely, utterly disturbed - after all, she'd said, if I'm supposed to torture anyone with this thing, I'm not even sure where I'd put it or why. He'd taken it and thought little of it for a while until slowly but surely, data started piling up whilst Amenadiel researched. He'd had Ella's help, apparently; she'd figured out the truth whilst doing her own little investigation into Cain's death - that little woman won't let herself be fooled for long.
In any case. He looks it over, eyebrows furrowed. It's shiny, true, but otherwise pretty unremarkable.
As he leans back against Elio a little, however, it folds from between his fingers and stretches out to its full length, seemingly trying to crawl through the air and around Lucifer. Within long, it's flat-out struggling, trying to crawl up his arm, under his hand, wriggling like a snake between his fingers.
Trying, desperately, to get to Elio.
It's true, then, isn't it. ]
The conditions are unclear.
[ He grabs it between both hands and it twitches pathetically between his fingers. Turning, dislodging Elio's fingers in the process, he holds it out between them. He can feel it buzzing at the sight of the other man, this thing, glittering in the sun. ]
One day, this simply existed.
[ A small smirk, half-hearted. Worried. ]
And apparently, it's been quite lonely without you.
no subject
One day, this simply existed, Lucifer says, and apparently, it's been quite lonely without you.
Raising his gaze from the bracelet, the silver catching glimpses of light like a mirror, interpreting a motif, and to Lucifer's face slowly, Elio can't help but smile. If this thing that suddenly existed in Hell of all places has been lonely without him, then it's because Lucifer was, first. It's how it works, it seems. In Hell, Lucifer is not only King, he's Creator. All mythologies have their own Hades. Elio has just happened to fall in love with the Abrahamic one, lucky him. He reaches out both hands, watching the poor thing more or less try to swing back and forth between Lucifer's fingers, until they finally connect, a little piece of silver slipping between Elio's fingertips and it's burning hot, like fire, the whole piece buzzing happily. Elio doesn't feel sorry for it, like he doesn't feel sorry for Lucifer, but he is quite pleased as he takes it from the other man, lets it slide around his fingers, left hand, wrist, forearm.
It's snake-like which is all sorts of fitting, right? Considering who made it for him. ]
Apparently - [ Elio looks up from his now encircled arm to meet Lucifer's eyes, because he's talking to the man and not the piece of sentient metal currently wrapping around his arm twice as if to secure its own position, as if to secure Elio's, whatever it is now. Persephone? Queen of the Dead? He smiles, softly. Amused. ] - I've been quite lonely without you, too, Lucifer.
[ The silver ring seems to lock in place around his arm, tight-fitting, but without tautening, Elio wouldn't find a single bruise on his skin, he's sure. The weight of the armband itself is almost unnoticeable, what weighs on him is the feel of dimensions, like his world just went from 3D to... 30D. He draws in a deep breath, lifts his arm to look at the thing for a moment, then lifts his gaze to meet Lucifer's worried expression. ]
You've made me something remarkable.
no subject
Like he's been family all along.
Would you look at that. ]
It's you, I think. An extension of you, the way you are.
[ A half-smile. ]
To me.
[ Remarkable, yes. A good word. He brushes his fingers over the bracelet, feeling it humming in response. Then, quite easily, he completes the movement by sliding his hand over Elio's knuckles, fingers, before linking their hands. Something powerful and very familiar surges through him and his wings unfurl at it, snapping out to either side. They aren't quite as impressive-looking as they could be - when he left, they'd been groomed to perfection but in Hell, well, that's not an option. He's done the best he could with a Hell-loop-created shower but all the same, they are... not at their best.
They still take up quite a lot of space, like, enough for him to whack his flight feathers against a pomegranate tree, a couple of fruits tumbling to the ground a split second later.
He pouts a little.
Thanks Dad, for making him wear the most infuriatingly stupid appendages in the known bloody universe. ]
no subject
Looking up at Lucifer, he catches him just in time to see his wings unfurl, knocking a couple of pomegranates off the nearest tree and he smiles, looking down, still red-cheeked and invigorated. He gives Lucifer's hand a small squeeze and then releases him, stepping closer, slipping his fingers into the thick fabric of his shirt, grabbing hold. They're standing close enough that he can feel him, chest to chest. Heartbeat. Heat. Elio tips his head back and looks straight up into his face, wings like framework behind him. They look a bit sad again.
Hell will be a place for wing-grooming from now on, trust him. ]
You should kiss me and then you should carry me off.
[ It's his final permission. Spoken. Given freely. Willingly.
He'll be leaving his family behind, in the midst of their greatest sorrow, but his family is one of strong women who can fend for themselves, Elio thinks that's where he gets his... whatever it is from. His mother who says, go, Elio, go. She knew. She felt it, feminine intuition, that he wouldn't be coming back, he gets that distinct feeling. And it relieves him.
Running his palms flat up Lucifer's front, he watches the bracelet catch the light like it holds a little bit of sun inside. ]
no subject
Just maybe.
Maybe this won't be another Fall.
He leans into the touch of Elio's palms, hating himself all over for that spark of hope, that foolish notion that maybe this really is what it looks like, maybe Elio is supposed to traverse both worlds to keep the balance because the ruler of Hell can no longer rule alone. Amenadiel had been quite certain, last they spoke. It's all the talk up in the Silver City, too, an all-consuming question for his family when they'd but given up upon the answer. Has Samael been forgiven at last?
Picking Elio up in his arms, Lucifer leans in and kisses him. It's a long, slow kiss, simply lips against lips at first before he dips his tongue inside briefly, to get that taste back in his mouth. Maybe it's been two hundred years and that's why everything feels like more, now, like an emphasis. But it does. Elio feels like himself times a hundred, his taste and scent shooting straight into Lucifer's bloodstream. He closes his eyes and holds him close.
Giving his Father yet another chance - another touch of faith, always another, even now - Lucifer dives downwards, clutching Elio to his chest and taking them both away, down and down, beyond the Earth. ]