Gotta Have Faith

The sound of quiet laughter drifted throughout the flower shop, and Betty rolled her eyes while Mimi silently giggled beside her. She never would have expected this after this morning, so it’s good to know that she can still be surprised. When she woke up bright and early this morning, she got dressed for the day and cooked up a quick breakfast. Lucifer is an early riser, so she didn’t have to bother with waking him up. He joined her after a shower, and she did her best not to smile when he walked into the kitchen with a scowl. He hates having to do “human” things, like showering and eating. They ate in near silence, Betty mostly listened to his murderous thoughts while chewing on her toast, and then she led the way outside. That’s where the problems started.

“I don’t want to go.” Lucifer was standing on the front porch, the rising sun lighting him up like a beacon of goodness, and crossed his arms.

“I don’t really care. I have a business to run and money to make, unless you want the power company to cut the lights and for us to starve.” His eyes were so cold despite the warmth in the air, and Betty propped her hands on her hips. She’s standing in her front yard, ready to go, and she doesn’t really have the patience to argue with the devil right now.

“Then go without me.” He turned on his heel and walked over to the porch swing, and Betty listened to the familiar sounds of the worn wood welcoming a new weight.

“Kind of impossible, Lu, since we’re bound together. Even if we weren’t, I wouldn’t leave you alone. I’d come back to find the house burned to the ground.” Does he think she’s an idiot? Well, probably, since he’s supposed to be superior to all humans…but still.

“Why would I do something that would inconvenience me?” She doesn’t like that smug little smile on his face.

“Are you forgetting about the pain that comes with us being separated?”

“I can handle a little pain.” He’s still smiling, like the cat that ate the canary. He wants to play it like this? Fine. She’ll play along.

“Suit yourself.” She stalked over to her Jeep and swung herself inside with ease, and she threw her hand over her head to wave goodbye as she started down the driveway. Her tires had just touched against asphalt when she felt a pull in her stomach, and her fingers twitched against the steering wheel. It didn’t hurt, but she felt wrong. Looks like she’s going to feel a little more than a tickle after all.

A part of her wanted to drive all the way into town and go about her day as if nothing had changed. She wanted to sit in the flower shop, talk to her usual customers, charm new customers into buying as much as possible, tease Mimi, and be normal. It was so tempting, but now it felt like her insides were replaced with rocks. She’s still not in any pain, but she feels heavy. Weighed down. She drove for a couple of minutes, swore, and whipped the Jeep around. Her knuckles were white as she drove back up the driveway, and she couldn’t see Lucifer. He wasn’t in the swing. She slid out of the driver’s seat, left the door open, and quickly moved up the steps. Lucifer was laying on the porch, face up, but curled in on himself. His face and neck were sweaty, and he was taking quick shallow breaths. Betty slumped into the swing and nudged her toes against his leg.

“So, ready to go yet?” His body was still twitching, likely from the aftershocks, but he could still glare with the best of them.

“I think I’ll make an example out of you. Keep you on the edge of death for years, until you’re begging for the end.” Betty stood up and reached a hand out towards him, and Lucifer’s stolen hand wrapped around hers. She pulled him into a sitting position and bent down so that their noses nearly brushed. Bent down so low that all she could see was the blue of his eyes.

“I will never beg you for anything,” she said slowly. She’s not the begging type, never begged for anything and isn’t going to start now.

“You will eat those words.” She pulled him to his feet and let the callused hand go, and Lucifer smoothed his shirt down. Once he was satisfied, he swept an arm out and bowed his head the smallest bit. “After you.”

She prepared herself for a long day of angry insults and death threats, but Lucifer has been absolutely wonderful. He greeted Mimi with a smile and asked about her life as Betty checked the flowers, and he’s even helped the customers look around. He’s up to something, she can feel it, but she can’t see it. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. Lucifer is the sly and cunning type. Is he trying to fake his way into completing his Father’s wishes? Because she’s pretty sure that He can see right through that. Whatever Lucifer’s big test is, he has to pass it honestly. She knows that much. Does He really expect the devil to change his ways and love humans just because he’s stuck as one?

“Oh, Betty, your young man here is just wonderful!” Mrs. Richardson said as she reached the counter. Betty rang her up with a tight smile, and she could see Lucifer’s smug smile over the older woman’s head. Mimi was ducked down behind the counter where no one could see her with her hands clapped over her mouth, and Betty subtly kicked the blonde’s ribcage.

“Yeah, Lu is the best there is,” Betty replied and handed the bag over. Mrs. Richardson patted her hand and leaned over the counter so she could whisper, but she was still loud enough that even Lucifer could hear her in the back of the store.

“He really is a keeper.” Mrs. Richardson left with a wink to Betty and a wave to Lucifer, and Betty groaned once the door was closed behind her.

“That was awesome!” Mimi yelled as she popped up from behind the counter. Lucifer walked over to the counter and leaned one elbow against it, and Betty had a sudden urge to rip the smile from his face.

“How’d I do?” he drawled.

“Very convincing,” Betty said without even bothering to put up a placating smile. Lucifer’s eyes were boring into her own, but she knows what he’s doing. She also knows that it’ll never work.

“Very awesome! Good job, Lu!” Mimi praised. The former angel is clearly conflicted. Betty will have to remember to have a talk with her later.

“I like Mrs. Richardson. She’s…sweet.” She doesn’t like the look of that smile. Everything he does feels so cold to her.

“She’s a good woman,” Betty agreed. If he touches old Mrs. Richardson, she’ll tear him limb from limb. Orders or not.

“Cheer up, Betty,” Lucifer said as another customer walked in. Betty greeted the young man, and Lucifer swooped in to help him. It didn’t matter where they went in the store, Betty never took her eyes off of them. Off of him.


He watched the way that the muscles in her legs shifted under her golden skin as she climbed the stairs, noticed how the mint green of her dress looked against the backs of her knees. She was so painfully human and looked so fragile under the light of the moon, and he could feel his anger itching just under his own thin skin. Her hair was down for once and fell across her shoulders in waves, and he wanted to twine the darker strands around his fingers and pull. He spent an entire day playing the part of a perfect mud monkey, and bile has been choking him since that first wave of pain this morning. He hates how much power this one woman has over him. He hates how powerless he is.

The rage built into a deafening crescendo as they stepped into the house, and he snapped. He couldn’t hold it in anymore. He took one big step forward, and Betty pushed out one harsh breath as he spun her around and pushed her back against the wall. They’re standing in the living room, and he can see into the kitchen. His hands are finally, finally, wrapped around her neck. He can feel her pulse against his palm, a strong and steady beat, and he tightened his fingers. Her lips are parted so that he can feel small puffs of air against his chin, and her brown eyes are looking straight up into his. Even now, with her life literally in his hands, she’s not afraid. He squeezed until her eyes opened a little more and those little breaths stopped, and he smiled as a vein on her forehead began to bulge and her cheeks flushed with color. She never struggled or tried to get free. The longer he held on, the more she relaxed. Her body was completely trapped between his body and the wall, and she sagged against him.

“Do you feel anything?” he hissed. She’s still just staring at him and calmly waiting for her end. He loosened the hold, and she opened her mouth a little more to suck down a full breath. Her chest pushed against his as she breathed, but her cheeks were still a dark pink.

“Hungry.” His thumbs dropped from her throat to her collarbones, and he watched the way that her skin shifted over her sternum as she took another deep breath. He was touching the silver chain around her neck, but the container holding his grace was hidden. He could feel it pushing against his own chest; it’s so close.

“What?” He looked back into her eyes, such a dark brown that they almost look black.

“You asked if I feel anything. I feel hungry, and like I need a good foot massage.”

He started to reply, but he never got the chance. Betty’s pupils widened to cover her dark irises, and the sound of her head hitting the wall echoed in the open room. Her hands, which had been hanging by her sides, shot up and gripped his forearms. Nails cut down into the skin as her body locked up, and he was suddenly holding her stiff body up against the wall. Her lips parted as she suddenly screamed, and her skin was heating up under his palms. Her pulse was racing, faster than any human’s should be able to, and then she went completely lax. Her fingers were still holding onto his now bloody forearms, and her body was soft against his. She still felt too hot, like she was burning from the inside out. The breath she took in sounded like a groan, and he caught a flash of her brown eyes before they closed completely.

“So that’s what a vision looks like,” he murmured, mostly to himself. She may be God’s Favorite Assassin, but it looks like Father didn’t take it easy on her. “What did you see, Betty Fay?”

“Nuriel took his true vessel and fought against Gabriel. The whole town is gone, destroyed by fire and grace.” Her head was still resting back against the wall, and he can see the marks appearing on her throat. She’ll have dark bruises tomorrow. He left his mark on her, and she left some on him.

“Is Gabriel…?” Her eyes slowly opened, and she dipped her chin so that she could really look at him.

“You killed him once, so does it matter if someone else has killed him too?” He wanted to flinch at her words, but he held still. He dug his thumbs into the grooves of her collarbones, and her nostrils flared. It’s the first real reaction he’s gotten out of her.

“He’s my brother, and I love him.”

“But you killed him.” He can still see the burned imprint of Gabriel’s wings on the wooden floor; he can still hear his little brother screaming as he was tortured in Hell.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t love him.” She stared at him, studied him, and nodded her head once. Her chin brushed his wrist, because he’s still got his hands wrapped around her throat.

“Gabriel is alive, and so is Nuriel. Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to kill Nuriel, so he banished him from his vessel. The whole town was already dead, and Gabriel didn’t want to kill the man that Nuriel possessed. Looks like your brother has really turned himself around,” Betty forced out. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, so she talked quietly.

“Where was Michael?” He knows that his big brother is walking the Earth and sticking close to Gabriel, so where was he?

“Michael is in a constructed vessel, so he left.” Lucifer blinked, let go of her throat, and took a step back. Betty slid down the wall a little now that he wasn’t there to hold her up, but she quickly stood back to her full height. She kept her head up so she could look at him as she started idly wiping the blood off her fingertips. All it did was smear it. Michael…left? Michael doesn’t know how to turn down a battle; his brother is a warrior, not a coward. Why would he run? “Because when Gabriel inhabits his true vessel, he’s stronger and Michael knows it. Everyone’s changing but you. Wonder why that is?”

“Stay out of my head.” His voice was a quiet growl, and Betty’s reply was a quiet roar.

“Make me.”

They stared at each other, daring the other to make a move. Lucifer wanted to step forward and end her for good. He wanted to wipe her from the universe’s memory, but he’s got a feeling that he’d still see her eyes. He never knew he could feel so much rage towards one little human, but he can taste blood in the back of his throat every time he looks at her. It doesn’t matter what he does, she doesn’t care. She just looks right through him like he’s nothing, like nothing matters. He could push her up against the wall again and hold on until her eyes went blank, and she still wouldn’t react. He might have underestimated Betty Fay.

“Time for a late dinner?” he finally asked. Betty rolled her shoulders to push off of the wall, and her lips twisted into a small smile.

“I laid out some steaks this morning. Go get washed up, and I’ll call you when it’s done. Unless you want to help? You can peel and mash the potatoes.” She was already in the kitchen, with the lights flipped on. He watched as she twisted her hair up into a ball at the nape of her neck, and he could just make out the dark red marks from his fingertips.

“Let me clean the blood off first.” She looked over her shoulder at him and glanced down at his forearms, and her smile was brighter this time.

“Sorry about that. Hurry it up, will ya?” He turned on his heel and moved off to his room, and he only had one thought echoing inside his head.

She wasn’t sorry at all.