Husk rubbed his fingers between his eyes.

Fuck, he was tired.

He probably shouldn’t have stayed up that late when he had to get up and bartend the next day, but one game of billiards had turned into two, had turned into five, and it’d been hard to stop playing. Especially when money had started to be betted, which, well. Another bad idea. But it was said and done, he couldn’t go back in time and smack himself over the head, so worrying about it now was pointless.

 

Coming over to the counter where Lucifer was listening to something Charlie was talking about next to the coffee pots, hot water and the one million types of tea bags she insisted on stocking, he grabbed his mug. It was already filled, steam rising off the top.

Downing about a quarter in one large gulp, he scrunched his nose. That didn’t taste like coffee. Especially not black coffee, which was his usual preference on days like these.

Mere seconds later, he felt his head start to get fuzzy, his vision blurring. He felt like he was falling asleep while standing.

As he fell to the floor, the last thing he could hear before passing out was a frantic voice calling out, the ‘shit, fuck, fuck, fuck’ just barely registering before everything turned black.

 

 

As Husk came to, he could feel something soft beneath himself.

Bleary-eyed and with mussed fur on end, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He could hear his stomach growl angrily at him.

When the hell had he fallen asleep? The last thing he could remember was being in the hotel kitchen.

 

Opening his eyes, he squinted at the colourful bunting above him. He turned his head at the feeling of something shifting beside him.

There, right next to him, was Lucifer, legs folded beneath him, a purple sheep-like plushie that he was pretty sure was supposed to look like Belphegor in his arms as he stared down at him, a sea of rubber ducks behind him on the floor, looking like they had been hastily shoved off the bed.

As their eyes met, Husk frowned.

“Why the hell am I in your bed?”

Because who else would have a bed with the face of a duck as a headboard?

“Oh, uh. You drank my sleepy-time tea. Sorry about that, by the way. I kinda… used your mug on accident.”

 

Propping himself up on an elbow, he pushed his hair out of his eyes. As his eyes scanned the room, he found his top hat on the nightstand next to a duck-shaped night light.

“I’ve never known tea to knock anyone out like that. No matter how many ‘sleepy-time’ stickers you slap on it.”

“Well, yes, it’s meant for archangels, not sinners. At least you didn’t drink the whole mug, that probably would’ve killed you.”

“That’s reassuring.”

 

As he sat up, he watched Lucifer rub the back of his head in embarrassment. He was dressed in pyjamas and socks, his long sleeves more than a little oversized. As Lucifer lowered his hand he could see his claws disappear into the sleeve.

“How long was I out?”

“Uuuummm…” Lucifer played with the plushie in his lap. “73 hours?”

“What the fuck, Lucifer?”

 

Lucifer hid his face behind the plushie.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry! I won’t mistake our mugs again, I promise!” He peeked out from behind the plushie, eyes peering up at Husk. “I can… get you something to eat? Anything you want, I’ll summon it for you. As ah, as an apology.”

Food did sound really good right about now. If he’d been sleeping for that long he got why he was so hungry.

“Fine.” He crossed his legs beneath him, leaning his chin on his knuckles as he thought it over. “Those pancakes you made a while back were pretty good. Got any more of those?”

Lucifer’s eyes widened, plushie sinking to his lap. “Really? You liked them?”

“I’m not sayin’ it twice.”

 

A happy blush spread across Lucifer’s cheeks. “Yeah, uh, of course, I can get you some of those.”

With the snap of his fingers, a bed tray filled with fluffy, steaming pancakes appeared in front of him.

“What do you want on them? I can get you literally anything. Except maybe my tea.”

“I don’t think most people want tea on their pancakes. Especially not that tea.”

At Lucifer’s embarrassed expression, Husk’s lips split into a grin. “Relax, I get that you were joking. I’ll have blueberries and chocolate sauce. And some actual coffee this time.”

 

He watched Lucifer’s shoulders relax, and with another snap of his fingers a bowl of blueberries and a small jug of chocolate sauce joined the plate of pancakes on the tray, Husk’s usual mug filled with coffee next to the rest of it, the scent of it spreading throughout the room.

Pouring the chocolate on top of the pancakes, he glanced up at Lucifer for a moment.

“What were you doing while I was occupying your bed?”

“Watching you.”

Husk raised an eyebrow. “The whole time?”

“Yes.”

“You ever been told that’s kind of creepy?”

As Lucifer quietly stared anywhere but at Husk, he could assume that yes, he had been told this before.

“I got bored of reading.”

“And staring at me’s not boring?”

“No. You’re pretty.”

Husk nearly spilled the blueberries across the bed at the words.

“You-”

Eyes locking with Lucifer’s, he felt his face grow hot. At least his blush wasn’t as bad as Lucifer’s. He looked like he hadn’t planned on saying those words out loud. Like he hadn’t noticed that he had spoken them until Husk’s shock showed on his face.

“Uh, I, uh, I should give you some, some privacy while you eat, sorry, I’ll just…”

Lucifer’s wings sprouted from his back, and Husk watched him as he wrapped them around himself, effectively cocooning himself.

He snorted a laugh.

“Get outta there, dumbass.”

 

After a few moments, Lucifer’s feathers parted. Husk could see his face glowing in the shadows his wings cast around him.

“...I didn’t mean to admit that.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

Raising a hand, Husk’s fingers gently pushed against Lucifer’s feathers, making him finally come out of his hiding spot.

“I feel like I’m a little too old to be called ‘pretty’.”

“I’m as old as time, I don’t think you can pull that one on me.” Lucifer’s smile was shy as he met Husk’s eye. “I meant what I said. I mean, I didn’t mean to say it, but I still meant it.”

Husk covered his mouth behind his hand, staring out into the room. He could feel his face grow hot again. It had been a long time since he’d been called that. He didn’t really know how to respond to it.

 

From his periphery, he could see Lucifer summon his usual mug into his hands, very obviously trying to distract himself from his own embarrassment.

For a long, awkward moment, they both sat there, until Husk finally spoke.

 

“I guess,” he started, pausing as Lucifer looked up at him. “I don’t mind it that much. If you called me that again. As long as you don’t do it in public.”

Lucifer’s eyes widened. A smile spread across his lips, the warmth of it making Husk almost want to look away as it spread all the way to his eyes. He looked way too soft while looking at him.

“Quit lookin’ at me like that.”

“I can call you pretty but I can’t look at you?”

“No. Yes. Ugh.” Husk shook his head. Lifting his wing, he motioned for him to come over with one hand, picking up his coffee mug with the other. “Get over here.”

 

Wings retreating into his back, Lucifer shuffled over across the bed until he was right next to him. His shoulder pressed against his arm, a cool touch even through the thick fabric of his pyjama shirt. Husk glanced down at him, Lucifer’s eyes still on him. Eyes still soft, and so much warmer than his body temperature.

He needed to stop thinking about that.

 

Eyes turning toward Lucifer’s mug, he stared down into it, avoiding meeting Lucifer’s eyes any more than that. It looked almost the same as his coffee, but now that he was actually paying attention to it, it had a slight purple shade to it.

“You still need to drink that even though you’ve been up for three days straight?” He’d imagine most would be ready to pass out from exhaustion after being up that long.

Even through his sleeves, he could see Lucifer’s hands tightening around the mug. “I can’t sleep without it. Doesn’t matter how long I’m up, I can’t fall asleep on my own. It’s been… a very long time since I was able to.”

 

Husk hummed, leaning back against the headboard. He watched Lucifer snap his fingers, making the now cold pancakes warm again. He stretched out his legs, pulling the tray closer. A wing wrapped around Lucifer, pulling him in closer. The little noise that escaped Lucifer in that moment made him crack a smile.

As he ate his pancakes and drank his coffee, he could feel Lucifer sip his tea beside him.

He didn’t know how long it would take Lucifer to fall asleep from it, and he wouldn’t stay for hours to watch him sleep, the way Lucifer had. He didn’t think he could stay in bed for that much longer, not with how long he’d already been sleeping.

But at the very least, he’d stay with him until Lucifer fell asleep. Just for a while.

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