Partners in Crime

23: Plants

Lucifer's POV

I lay in the middle of my bed, my limbs spread out to about as far as they can go. All I'm wearing is a very large duck T-shirt and underwear. Charlie moved out to a hotel for a passion project of hers. Redemption seems like a silly idea, but I'll still support her through this. She calls me every night to tell me about her day. Those calls are the only thing keeping me going.

I tried to make ducks to distract myself from the pain of missing Alastor. It's not working though. I can't stop thinking about him. Wondering how his day is going. Wondering if even remembers me anymore.

It has been a long time. I wouldn't doubt he's forgotten. I keep whispering to myself that he still loves me. That he's missing me. But my brain keeps telling me the opposite. What if he's found someone else? What if he doesn't love me or Charlie anymore? What if he chose Vox over me? Oh God.

"He wouldn't. He wouldn't. He loves me. He loves me lots. H-He wouldn't leave me. He wouldn't," I say. I grab a pillow and hold it close. I bring my knees close to my chest. I laugh dryly and cry into the pillow. "Please love me, Alastor," I whisper to myself. "Please still love me. I love you so much."

I wake up the next morning, feeling like shit. I fall out of bed and just lay on the floor for a moment. It's kind of comfy down here when there aren't ducks littered everywhere. One way to distract myself has been cleaning. All of my ducks have been moved to one large room. That took forever. I still find ducks everywhere. In cabinets, under furniture, in the chandelier. Everywhere. Now it's become a game. If I find a duck today, I lose. If I don't, I win.

I get up off the floor and walk to my kitchen. I make myself pancakes, the only meal I've been eating since Charlie left, and a cup of coffee. I need to eat something other than pancakes. I keep saying that to myself, but never actually do anything about it.

I wonder how many sinners are still alive after yesterday's extermination. The angels have been getting more deadly every year. And here I thought angels were supposed to be the nice ones.

I sit beside a potted plant, which is dying, on a chair. His name is Gerald. He drinks coffee, but coffee kills. Poor Gerald. I pat his leaves, which crumble after the soft touch. I flinch and take my hand back as I watch the dead pieces of leaves fall onto the chair and the floor. Shit. I grab all the little pieces and place them in the pot. I give Gerald a nervous smile and two thumbs ups before all of him crumbles. My smile vanishes as I watch pieces of him fall everywhere. This is my 16th one already. Dang it. Maybe feeding my plants coffee is a bad idea. I wish Heaven accepted my ideas more when I was up there.

We could've had coffee drinking plants! Wake up in the morning and share a cup of coffee with your plant. Who wouldn't want that? While it can be good for them, I guess too much is a no go. They also declined walking trees. Walking trees would be cool. I never understood why Heaven hated my ideas. Azrael has always told me when we were younger not to worry about it. Normal trees are lame.

I pick up all the pieces of Gerald and put them in the pot. I bring it outside and dig a large hole in my backyard. I roll up my sleeves halfway through it. Once the hole is finished, I dump Gerald into it, then bury him. I put the pot upside down on top of his grave. I take a few steps back, put my hands on my hips, and look at the 16 pots sitting upside down beside each other. I still remember the names of all of them.

Gerald, Samantha, Ashley, Jimmy, David, Jonathan, Simon, Tracey, Kenslee, Goliath, Kris, Jesse, Niko, Wallace, Quinn, and Bobby.

I have another pot around here somewhere. I walk back into my castle and look around. I walk into the storage area, where I find a few sometimes, and dig around. I find a small light purple pot, not the usual larger pots I find, but it'll work. What plant do I want to put in here? Hmmm. Maybe a Spiderwort I have in the back of my garden. I got a few of those. I shall name her...Lily. Yes. That's a beautiful name. Any name is beautiful really. I walk out of the room and shut the door.

"Hello Lucifer," someone says behind me. I jump and drop the pot. Aw man. I'll have to get a new pot for Lily. I turn around to see Lilith. Ugh. I don't want to see her. She should've stayed wherever she ran off to. I do wonder where she went, but I don't care anymore.

"What do you want Lilith?" I ask in a colder tone than I wanted. I start picking up the pieces of the now broken pot. "Come to make some lame excuse why you left Charlie and I's life for so long?"

"No. I came because I found something of yours."

"What? I don't have time for any games or tricks." I could probably fix this pot. Lots of glue is necessary. I have hated using my magic ever since I met Alastor. I've always wanted to relate to him, be more like him. Charming, confident, scary-but it's hot-.

"No tricks. Just a little human you've been obsessed with. You're husband. Congrats by the way." The world around me stops. Has Alastor died? If so, where is he? Does he even remember me? Is Lilith playing with me?

"Where is he?" I ask, sounding more desperate than I would like. I hold the pot pieces close, cutting myself on my arm and hands a bit. Lilith smiles and snaps her fingers. A tall red deer demon appears sitting on the ground in a poof of purple smoke. It's been a while since Hell has seen a deer demon.

"Lord, I swear you need to stop doing that," the demon says. That voice. The sweet voice of the man I fell for. I've missed that voice, even if the one I'm here now has a radio filter over it. Alastor stands up and dusts himself off.

"Al..." I say quietly, mostly to myself. His ear twitches. 

"Luci?" He looks up at me. A genuine smile stretches across my face and my eyes light up. He remembers me! I run and jump into his arms. He catches me and I wrap my legs around his waist. I immediately pull his face forward into a kiss. He kisses back roughly as his large hands grip my thighs. I moan into his mouth as he bites my lip, making it bleed. He licks the blood off my lip, resulting in me blushing a yellow hue.

"I've missed you~" I whisper.

"I've missed you more dear. I've missed you so so much," Alastor whispers back. He kisses my nose. "I love you, dear."

"I love you too. I will always love you." Tears start forming and a few slither down my face. I wrap my arms around him for a hug and bury my face in his neck. He starts petting my head. "Don't ever leave again."

"Dear, wasn't it you who left?"

"Shh." He chuckles. 

"I won't leave. I'm by your side forever, Luci. You have my word."