[ So, something is clearly not as it ought to be and the Detective's looking at him like she thinks he's done something deliberately to off-set himself which, well, he obviously wouldn't. At least, not today. He thinks about the look in the other man's eyes, how he'd looked so... untouched, maybe politely confused, just... insufferably normal. That's never happened before. Why would it happen now? First, he's vulnerable and also, consequently, kill-able around the Detective, now he's losing his mojo in the face of a seemingly random piano twink?
What?
No, seriously. What?
We need to start interviewing, says Chloe, frowning at her phone. Faculty first, narrow down the list of suspects. Family, too. She looks at him expectantly like she thinks he isn't going right back inside that room to set things straight. Really. Like she doesn't know him at all. ]
Yes, good luck with that. [ He nods towards the room. ] I'll be right back.
[ She splutters something in protest but he overhears her, barging into the practice room and shutting the door behind him firmly. The other man's on the verge of leaving, it seems, and Lucifer strides right up to him, pausing a feet or two away and saying, eyebrows raised and smile in place: ]
[ The door opens and closes and Elio turns around to face whoever's entering, guessing it might be the detective back with follow-up questions, but it's not. It's the consultant again and he stops a couple of feet away, eyebrows raised and the almost too wide smile in place. All teeth. Dangerous, Elio thinks and thinks of Oliver for the first time in weeks. It can't be a good sign. He straightens up at the question, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and looking over the other man's shoulder, well, around his shoulder rather, because the consultant is tall as a wall and exactly as broad, too. Beautiful, not that it matters at this particular time. ]
I'm on my way home. I've been dismissed.
[ By your people, it means. As well as by my own.
Still, since the consultant's here, there must be something they need him for. Elio licks his lips and returns his attention to the other man's face, his striking jawline, intense gaze. He remembers the way it'd felt a bit as if he was being looked inside before, your body's mine, mine is yours. It's a weird feeling, difficult to explain and Elio has only experienced it with one other person before. It's been so long now, he can't even properly remember if it was the same or something else, similar.
They're far from Italy right now, that's really all he knows. Very far. ]
[ The man - Elio, wasn't it - tells him he's been dismissed, meeting his gaze after clearly concluding that the way out's literally not in sight right now. He has a calm temper, it seems, and he's fairly sure the man's pleasant to be around under most circumstances (including naked circumstances, actually, look at that). No wonder the Detective isn't seriously considering him a murder suspect in this case. He doesn't look capable of harming much of anything, let alone a girl he was meant to be tutoring.
But right now, adorableness aside, he's first and foremost a thorn in Lucifer's side and as such, Lucifer stares him right down and replies, voice somewhere in the higher registers (call it hysterical and go directly to Hell): ]
You can tell me - [ He leans in a little closer - and down, as it were, Elio isn't exactly tall - and turns on his mojo like his immortal existence depended on it. ] - what is it you truly desire?
[ It has to work. How could it not work? If Dad took his gift from him just because he's failed to uphold his agreement... well, what would that accomplish, aside from slowing him down in terms of concluding their arrangement? Certainly, it would be a weighty punishment and he's in favour of dishing those out, Lucifer's well aware. But all the same.
[ The man doesn't budge, but instead asks him, again with the staring, what it is he desires and Elio doesn't understand the question. What is it he wants to know, his preferences, his childhood wishes, the dreams he had for himself three years ago? Their eyes lock across the very short distance between them all of a sudden, the consultant showing no regard for personal space whatsoever and Elio steps back, once, twice, before blatantly letting his eyes run over the other man's features, down his front to some vague place around his pelvis area. He'd have been his type, sure. Hadn't he just lost the girl he's been crushing on for months. Bad timing, is it?
Dangerous, he thinks again and raises his gaze to the consultant's face slowly, breath slightly shallow, his hands freezing and his stomach feeling upset. Nerves. ]
You're making me a bit uncomfortable right now.
[ With that, he steps back another step, mostly so he can start moving around the other man towards the door. He thinks he remembers the principal promising to call a cab. It should be here now, right? However, because Elio is at heart a good person, so his father insists still, fifteen years later, he stops next to the consultant, close enough that their sides are almost brushing. ]
[ The other man takes a long moment to answer and for a second, a non-blessed second, Lucifer's right back where he usually is, everything's all right with the world, a tiny fluke, nothing to worry about -
But then, Elio gives him the most blatant look-over he's had since some time this morning and goes you're making me uncomfortable which is certainly not the point with this exercise, quite the opposite. Lucifer blinks straight ahead, still at Elio's eyelevel even when the other man steps around him, pausing close enough by his side that they're nearly touching. Asking the question back at him. What do you think, well, that's a decent question right now, isn't it. He thinks his Dad's a bitter, crazy codger who'd better stop messing with his existence, stat. Mum - well, Mum's just as bad, is she, making all of this his problem when in reality, it's just a boring continuation of that old, timeless classic - Mum and Dad, fighting and getting their children caught in the middle. Everyone's useless. Everything's in shambles. ]
No chance. No chance in Hell!
[ Going blink-blink-blink another couple of times, he finally just spins around, grabbing Elio by the right bicep - lean, not tiny, some decent strength hiding away underneath that two-bit shirt of his - and marching them both out of the room. He's not being particularly gentle, here - after all, there's such a thing as too much crazy, even by celestial standards and if his mojo is truly gone, Lucifer's going to start a bloody riot. ]
[ The other man blinks at him a few times, then spins around and grabs Elio by the right upper arm, dragging him with him towards the door and out into the hallway. I'm under arrest, he thinks to himself a bit dazedly, the consultant's grip hard and unyielding, in no way gentle and for some reason, it makes Elio think about sex, fucking up a wall in a public place. He shakes his head, frowns. ]
You're...
[ ... hurting me. It's a whisper more than a whine, but under any circumstances it reminds him of Oliver and him fighting over his cum-filled, thoroughly fucked fruit, Oliver grabbing at him to have it, eat it. Elio stumbles after the consultant, down the hallway, they're not moving in the direction of the crime scene, so he really has no idea where they're going.
Looking up at the other man, his beautiful, strong profile, marked nose and chin, lickable jawline, stubble, Elio tries again, a bit louder for the ones in the back. It's like waking up a whole auditorium, really. He's a good teacher, he knows how. ]
[ He's not truly dragging the other man down the hallway, considering how he's actually just stumbling slightly to keep up with him, obedient, even in the face of what must be total and utter confusion. Lucifer's honestly not pre-occupied with Elio's experiences, however; he catches the question regardless and answers because he isn't, you know, rude: ]
Of course. We're going to find - ah. Yes!
[ He pulls them both to a stop by some random door further down the hallway, blocking the path of a young girl - brunette, glasses, the dull attire of someone who's studious and not much else - who looks up at him, eyes wide. He releases Elio, leans right down and in, the girl cowering slightly in response, trying to back up against the wall. ]
You! [ He smiles. It's not a very friendly smile. ] What do you want, my darling? Aside from a complete make-over, what's your greatest, most heartfelt desire?
[ The girl blinks. Stares at him, her gaze melting from shocked to dreamy, complacent, as she replies, leaning in herself until Lucifer can feel her breath against his chin: I want - to steal the 1693 Gould Stradivarius from the Metropolitan! Her eyes are almost blazing when she finishes her sentence, her smile wide and excited, like she's planning on going for it right this very second.
At least until she steps back, stumbling slightly, ducking her head and rushing off with a quick, Um that probably isn't meant to go on any records, either.
Lucifer stares after her. Then, he stares back at Elio, eyebrows raised, like he's waiting for an explanation. Which he is. Right this moment, please. ]
[ No answer forthcoming, apparently, so Elio just follows until they run into Amy Johnson-Williams who's for some reason still roaming the hallways when she should be in class or in the studio or, at least, not here. The consultant drags them to a halt in front of her, pulling the same stunt on her that he'd done on Elio earlier, leaning all up in her face and making her cower - that is until he asks that question, what does she desire, and something changes. Elio can't pinpoint it exactly, it's not a magical crackling in the air or sparkles or anything, but he gets the distinctive feeling that something's extraordinary is happening right in front of his eyes. He can see it on her, the way her eyes glaze over and she blurts out that she wants to steal the 1693 Gould Stradivarius from the Metropolitan, because that's the kind of dark want the heart would harbor, right? That's the kind of thing you'd want to do and never tell a soul about, but now she's telling this stranger and slinking away afterwards like it's completely normal. Elio stares at her, then he stares at the consultant who's turned towards him, eyebrows raised. In question. What question? What he desires? Are they still on that?
Elio licks his lips and glances after Amy who's disappeared, wisely, around a corner. He shifts from one foot to the other, only then - to his dismay - realizing he's gone slightly hard in his pants. He's a possible murder suspect and he's hard for no reason. It's elegant. ]
That was impressive. [ All he says. For a little while at least. Another moment and he adds: ] What kind of consultant are you?
[ The girl goes on her merry way and the hallway falls silent in the wake of her footfalls, except maybe for Elio's awkward shifting around. Lucifer automatically looks down because that's the normal thing to do, surely, and notes that the other man's gone... slightly stiff. Oh! Good thing he's attractive. He'd get a bit hard himself, really, if he weren't still busy being utterly confused. He's not drunk enough or high enough for any of this.
He looks around at Elio's question, suddenly hyper-aware of the Detective's distinctive lack of presence in his life - where'd she run off to and how's he going to track her down and solve this little mystery simultaneously? He mulls it over, giving the other man a passing glance and replying, absent-mindedly: ]
Well, I'm also the Devil. I draw out people's desires, you see, except for some reason... [ Blink. He stares at Elio again, unblinkingly: ] Yours. Can't seem to get a handle on those.
[ He stands back a step or two. No Detective. No answers. He glances upwards, completely by habit, but naturally, that's unfruitful. Thinking. Thiiiiinking. Wait, wait, wait! Yes! He looks back at Elio, a smile of real, honest glee spreading on his face. ]
But you're a suspect, aren't you? Not a very convincing one, granted, but we must play the hands we get.
[ It's better than TV, really. The man goes through several stages of expression, from glancing down at Elio's awkward boner without commenting on it, Elio is counting his blessings currently, to looking around, looking up and saying, he's the devil, he draws out people's desires... Elio stares at him for a long, long time without saying anything, just frowning slightly and trying to puzzle it together in his head. Is he making fun of him? Why would he, why would he lie? Is he crazy, exhibit A and B and C suggest yes. Still, Elio can't shake what happened to the girl, what isn't happening to him and the crazy thing would be to believe him, but where would the devil go if not LA? Where else would the devil be?
If the devil existed. What would he look like? Slight stubble, tall, broad, tanned?
Elio meets the other man's eyes as his face lights up in some kind of childish glee and he's back to smiling widely, so Elio thinks dangerous again and gets a little harder. You're a suspect, the consultant realizes, and they both draw the same conclusion, he can do with Elio what he wants, can't he?
Nevertheless, Elio doesn't step back. He stands his ground. ]
I'm a suspect who doesn't believe in the Devil, will that be a problem?
[ There's no sarcasm to his tone, he's completely serious. ]
[ Elio looks right back at him and tells him he doesn't believe in the Devil and for a second, Lucifer thinks he might be an atheist (could be worse, really) when it occurs to him that an atheist wouldn't put it so specifically - it's an odd thing to single out, if by principle you're trying to distance yourself from the Christian faith. Most people go, "I don't believe in God" or something equally unoriginal. Not to mention, it always makes them sound really stupid, he means, how do you so readily denounce something you can't possibly prove the in-existence of - but that's neither here nor there.
Tilting his head slightly sideways, he looks at Elio briefly. Then, he picks out his phone and types in a text for the Detective - or he would, rather, if she hadn't already texted him with an order to head back to the precinct. What, on his own, two feet? She's a monster.
Back to the man at hand, however... ]
Not at all.
[ He pockets his phone and fixes Elio with another searching stare, though it's not as intensely adamant anymore. Curious, rather. Very. ]
Jewish, right? Might've figured that out from your last name.
[ Still doesn't explain his mojo immunity - unless he's suddenly Jesus which, well, doubt it. Dad's eccentric but that would just be a flat-out bizarre move. With a mumbled come on, then he slips past him towards the door by the far end of the hallway. He's taking him with him, obviously. Wouldn't do to lose this one, not before he figures out what's up and what's down. With his Mum here, with Dad in a godly snit, you just don't leave these things up to circumstance. ]
[ Not at all, answers the man who's the Devil and Elio feels an urge to reach up and dig out his Star of David from around his neck, but refrains mostly by second nature. Jews of discretion, still. Always. However, it's as if the other man has read his mind and looks at him curiously, concluding his faith from his last name and it is pretty standard, isn't it? It's not necessarily some magic trick or cosmic power. It simply still feels like it could be, that's all. ]
It kind of gave it away, didn't it?
[ And because he hasn't thought of Oliver for all of two minutes, Elio turns and follows the consultant, he still hasn't caught his name, he forgot, but it could be a lot of things, if he's the Devil. From Samael to Beelzebub. Satan. Because he hasn't thought of heaven back at his parents' summer house and Oliver's mouth on his cock for all the time the other man has spoken, Elio doesn't object, but breaks into a half-trot to keep up. The tall Devil has tall-man legs, after all.
He has no idea what will happen. With Marcella or with him, will she go where the Devil apparently isn't anymore? Will Elio go where he is? There's a moment when the dimensions seem to melt together and Elio feels slightly dizzy from it.
[ Elio follows him quickly, already proving himself quite adept at simply going with the flow. That's a great quality for a man who's immune to the Devil's mojo, really - it'll make it a lot easier, figuring out why. Lucifer looks at him sideways as they step outside, the campus around them buzzing with nervous excitement, people gathering in clusters, no doubt whispering about the murder, about whodunnit, gearing each other up. He likes that. Maybe some of them will burn off the nerves later with a drink or two, drugs, sex.
As they should. ]
I suppose you'd know me by the wrong name.
[ He keeps his pacing slow enough to match the other man's shorter legs - now that he's in a conversational mood, he's got no significant problems slowing himself down for the occasion. ]
Since I'm planning on buying you coffee - [ He smiles, softer around the edges now. Next to them, someone's whispering Elio's last name and pointing towards them. Oh yeah. That's what happens when you're a murder suspect, supposedly, the gossip machine's cranked up to eleven. ] - you should have the real one. I'm Lucifer Morningstar.
[ He doesn't hold out a hand in greeting, seeing as they're walking and he's already man-handled the poor fellow as it is. Aside from the names, surely they're past all further needs for introduction. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
What?
No, seriously. What?
We need to start interviewing, says Chloe, frowning at her phone. Faculty first, narrow down the list of suspects. Family, too. She looks at him expectantly like she thinks he isn't going right back inside that room to set things straight. Really. Like she doesn't know him at all. ]
Yes, good luck with that. [ He nods towards the room. ] I'll be right back.
[ She splutters something in protest but he overhears her, barging into the practice room and shutting the door behind him firmly. The other man's on the verge of leaving, it seems, and Lucifer strides right up to him, pausing a feet or two away and saying, eyebrows raised and smile in place: ]
Where do you think you're off to?
no subject
I'm on my way home. I've been dismissed.
[ By your people, it means. As well as by my own.
Still, since the consultant's here, there must be something they need him for. Elio licks his lips and returns his attention to the other man's face, his striking jawline, intense gaze. He remembers the way it'd felt a bit as if he was being looked inside before, your body's mine, mine is yours. It's a weird feeling, difficult to explain and Elio has only experienced it with one other person before. It's been so long now, he can't even properly remember if it was the same or something else, similar.
They're far from Italy right now, that's really all he knows. Very far. ]
Is there anything I can do for you?
no subject
But right now, adorableness aside, he's first and foremost a thorn in Lucifer's side and as such, Lucifer stares him right down and replies, voice somewhere in the higher registers (call it hysterical and go directly to Hell): ]
You can tell me - [ He leans in a little closer - and down, as it were, Elio isn't exactly tall - and turns on his mojo like his immortal existence depended on it. ] - what is it you truly desire?
[ It has to work. How could it not work? If Dad took his gift from him just because he's failed to uphold his agreement... well, what would that accomplish, aside from slowing him down in terms of concluding their arrangement? Certainly, it would be a weighty punishment and he's in favour of dishing those out, Lucifer's well aware. But all the same.
It has to work. ]
no subject
Dangerous, he thinks again and raises his gaze to the consultant's face slowly, breath slightly shallow, his hands freezing and his stomach feeling upset. Nerves. ]
You're making me a bit uncomfortable right now.
[ With that, he steps back another step, mostly so he can start moving around the other man towards the door. He thinks he remembers the principal promising to call a cab. It should be here now, right? However, because Elio is at heart a good person, so his father insists still, fifteen years later, he stops next to the consultant, close enough that their sides are almost brushing. ]
I liked Marcella. What do you think I truly want?
no subject
But then, Elio gives him the most blatant look-over he's had since some time this morning and goes you're making me uncomfortable which is certainly not the point with this exercise, quite the opposite. Lucifer blinks straight ahead, still at Elio's eyelevel even when the other man steps around him, pausing close enough by his side that they're nearly touching. Asking the question back at him. What do you think, well, that's a decent question right now, isn't it. He thinks his Dad's a bitter, crazy codger who'd better stop messing with his existence, stat. Mum - well, Mum's just as bad, is she, making all of this his problem when in reality, it's just a boring continuation of that old, timeless classic - Mum and Dad, fighting and getting their children caught in the middle. Everyone's useless. Everything's in shambles. ]
No chance. No chance in Hell!
[ Going blink-blink-blink another couple of times, he finally just spins around, grabbing Elio by the right bicep - lean, not tiny, some decent strength hiding away underneath that two-bit shirt of his - and marching them both out of the room. He's not being particularly gentle, here - after all, there's such a thing as too much crazy, even by celestial standards and if his mojo is truly gone, Lucifer's going to start a bloody riot. ]
no subject
You're...
[ ... hurting me. It's a whisper more than a whine, but under any circumstances it reminds him of Oliver and him fighting over his cum-filled, thoroughly fucked fruit, Oliver grabbing at him to have it, eat it. Elio stumbles after the consultant, down the hallway, they're not moving in the direction of the crime scene, so he really has no idea where they're going.
Looking up at the other man, his beautiful, strong profile, marked nose and chin, lickable jawline, stubble, Elio tries again, a bit louder for the ones in the back. It's like waking up a whole auditorium, really. He's a good teacher, he knows how. ]
Are you going to tell me what we're doing?
no subject
Of course. We're going to find - ah. Yes!
[ He pulls them both to a stop by some random door further down the hallway, blocking the path of a young girl - brunette, glasses, the dull attire of someone who's studious and not much else - who looks up at him, eyes wide. He releases Elio, leans right down and in, the girl cowering slightly in response, trying to back up against the wall. ]
You! [ He smiles. It's not a very friendly smile. ] What do you want, my darling? Aside from a complete make-over, what's your greatest, most heartfelt desire?
[ The girl blinks. Stares at him, her gaze melting from shocked to dreamy, complacent, as she replies, leaning in herself until Lucifer can feel her breath against his chin: I want - to steal the 1693 Gould Stradivarius from the Metropolitan! Her eyes are almost blazing when she finishes her sentence, her smile wide and excited, like she's planning on going for it right this very second.
At least until she steps back, stumbling slightly, ducking her head and rushing off with a quick, Um that probably isn't meant to go on any records, either.
Lucifer stares after her. Then, he stares back at Elio, eyebrows raised, like he's waiting for an explanation. Which he is. Right this moment, please. ]
no subject
Elio licks his lips and glances after Amy who's disappeared, wisely, around a corner. He shifts from one foot to the other, only then - to his dismay - realizing he's gone slightly hard in his pants. He's a possible murder suspect and he's hard for no reason. It's elegant. ]
That was impressive. [ All he says. For a little while at least. Another moment and he adds: ] What kind of consultant are you?
no subject
He looks around at Elio's question, suddenly hyper-aware of the Detective's distinctive lack of presence in his life - where'd she run off to and how's he going to track her down and solve this little mystery simultaneously? He mulls it over, giving the other man a passing glance and replying, absent-mindedly: ]
Well, I'm also the Devil. I draw out people's desires, you see, except for some reason... [ Blink. He stares at Elio again, unblinkingly: ] Yours. Can't seem to get a handle on those.
[ He stands back a step or two. No Detective. No answers. He glances upwards, completely by habit, but naturally, that's unfruitful. Thinking. Thiiiiinking. Wait, wait, wait! Yes! He looks back at Elio, a smile of real, honest glee spreading on his face. ]
But you're a suspect, aren't you? Not a very convincing one, granted, but we must play the hands we get.
no subject
If the devil existed. What would he look like? Slight stubble, tall, broad, tanned?
Elio meets the other man's eyes as his face lights up in some kind of childish glee and he's back to smiling widely, so Elio thinks dangerous again and gets a little harder. You're a suspect, the consultant realizes, and they both draw the same conclusion, he can do with Elio what he wants, can't he?
Nevertheless, Elio doesn't step back. He stands his ground. ]
I'm a suspect who doesn't believe in the Devil, will that be a problem?
[ There's no sarcasm to his tone, he's completely serious. ]
no subject
Tilting his head slightly sideways, he looks at Elio briefly. Then, he picks out his phone and types in a text for the Detective - or he would, rather, if she hadn't already texted him with an order to head back to the precinct. What, on his own, two feet? She's a monster.
Back to the man at hand, however... ]
Not at all.
[ He pockets his phone and fixes Elio with another searching stare, though it's not as intensely adamant anymore. Curious, rather. Very. ]
Jewish, right? Might've figured that out from your last name.
[ Still doesn't explain his mojo immunity - unless he's suddenly Jesus which, well, doubt it. Dad's eccentric but that would just be a flat-out bizarre move. With a mumbled come on, then he slips past him towards the door by the far end of the hallway. He's taking him with him, obviously. Wouldn't do to lose this one, not before he figures out what's up and what's down. With his Mum here, with Dad in a godly snit, you just don't leave these things up to circumstance. ]
no subject
It kind of gave it away, didn't it?
[ And because he hasn't thought of Oliver for all of two minutes, Elio turns and follows the consultant, he still hasn't caught his name, he forgot, but it could be a lot of things, if he's the Devil. From Samael to Beelzebub. Satan. Because he hasn't thought of heaven back at his parents' summer house and Oliver's mouth on his cock for all the time the other man has spoken, Elio doesn't object, but breaks into a half-trot to keep up. The tall Devil has tall-man legs, after all.
He has no idea what will happen. With Marcella or with him, will she go where the Devil apparently isn't anymore? Will Elio go where he is? There's a moment when the dimensions seem to melt together and Elio feels slightly dizzy from it.
But he doesn't fall behind. ]
no subject
As they should. ]
I suppose you'd know me by the wrong name.
[ He keeps his pacing slow enough to match the other man's shorter legs - now that he's in a conversational mood, he's got no significant problems slowing himself down for the occasion. ]
Since I'm planning on buying you coffee - [ He smiles, softer around the edges now. Next to them, someone's whispering Elio's last name and pointing towards them. Oh yeah. That's what happens when you're a murder suspect, supposedly, the gossip machine's cranked up to eleven. ] - you should have the real one. I'm Lucifer Morningstar.
[ He doesn't hold out a hand in greeting, seeing as they're walking and he's already man-handled the poor fellow as it is. Aside from the names, surely they're past all further needs for introduction. ]