The Twelve Days of Deckerstar

The 12th Day - Twelve Hours of Family

"Are you sure we want to do this?" Chloe asked as she and Lucifer stood outside Linda's front door. They had been standing there with Trixie for the last few minutes, trying to work up the courage to go inside. 

"Absolutely not." He replied. 

Trixie piped up, "Well, the sooner we go in, the sooner it will be over, right?"

"Or the sooner the apocalypse will transpire because if he makes one wrong move tonight, especially against Miss Lopez, I will not hesitate to end him." Lucifer growled, his eyes flashing red faintly. 

Chloe glanced at Trixie, who made eye contact with her. They knew they needed to mollify the situation, or else this entire evening would be atrocious from the start. 

"It's just Michael," Chloe tried to reason with Lucifer. She hated this brother too, but she did want to enjoy the holiday with her family and friends, and that especially included Lucifer. "Hopefully he'll be on his best behavior tonight with Ella around, and you won't have to talk to him."

"Yeah!" Trixie supplied, "Just stick with Mom and me. We've got you covered."

Lucifer glanced quickly at her and muttered, "I appreciate that, urchin."

They stood and stared at the door for a few more seconds before Trixie added, "It's getting cold out here."

Chloe was watching Lucifer tense up, so she nodded at the door. Trixie took the hint and rang the doorbell. 

A few seconds later, they heard footsteps coming up to the door, and finally, Amenadiel opened it. 

"Hey guys!" He greeted them as he gestured to welcome them inside the house, "Happy Holidays!"

To note, the group agreed to just use the term "happy holidays" this season because of the variety of the - shall we say - backgrounds joining them this evening. It just seemed like the safest way to go, especially considering how tense tonight is bound to be.

They all exchanged greetings, and Amenadiel told them to go ahead and place their Secret Santa gifts underneath the tree. Trixie took all of the presents and ran them over to the tree, while Chloe and Lucifer brought the vegetable platter and bottles of wine they were supplying into the kitchen.

Linda and Amenadiel agreed to host their get-together tonight because it seemed like the most neutral place available. They had an actual house, so more people could move around more easily than they would be able to in any of the apartments. Lucifer did offer his penthouse, but with Michael coming now, it didn't seem like the best idea. Plus, Charlie is beginning to be taught the Santa Claus bit of the holiday season, and he will likely go to bed early for "Santa". 

"Are they here yet?" Lucifer muttered to Amenadiel while Chloe and Linda chit chatted. 

"Not yet." Amenadiel replied, "They're the last ones. Everyone else came a few minutes before you did."

Sure enough, Lucifer saw Dan, Maze, and Eve in the family room with Trixie.

"I definitely plan on attempting to get drunk tonight." Lucifer glowered as he adjusted his suit jacket. 

"For once, I agree with you on that." Amenadiel replied as he beckoned Lucifer to come into the kitchen with him. Looking around secretly, Amenadiel reached into a top kitchen cabinet and pulled out an expensive bottle of cognac. 

"I didn't take you for a cognac man, brother!" Lucifer observed with a sly smile. Amenadiel took out two glass as well and poured some of the alcohol into each glass. 

"I got it just after Charlie was born. I figured I'd open it after some major event in his life, but I think we need it's help now."

Lucifer nodded with wide, eager eyes.