The lights above the bar were dimmed, no one but Husk around quite this late at night. His hands kept moving as he stared into space. The glass he was holding had long since been rid of any water from its earlier washing.

His date of death had arrived seemingly out of nowhere, and for once he wasn't blackout drunk during it. It had already been several decades, and most of the time he'd been too drunk to even remember the date, but this year he couldn’t help but dwell on his life. It made sense. He'd never really taken the time to process it, and now, here he was, with people who actually cared for him, and people whom he in turn cared for, for the first time since his death.

He’d lived a much longer life than the rest of the sinners at the hotel, but had spent much less time in Hell than most of them. If Cherry finally moved in (though she kept dismissing the invitations, even as she spent more and more time at the hotel) she would be the only one who’d died after him.

The sigh that left him was so deep that he could practically feel it in his bones, and he flipped the switch to the bar lights, turning them off. He was done for the night. He was the only one awake at this point, and there hadn’t really been any reason to keep the bar open for quite this long tonight in the first place. He’d just been so distracted all day.

Grabbing a bottle from one of the shelves behind the bar, he headed for the front door. He shut it behind himself quietly, moving to sit on a bench overlooking the statue depicting Dazzle’s larger form.

Pulling out a cigar, he stared at it for a moment, realising he’d forgotten his lighter inside. He ran his hand down his face in frustration. Great. Just what he needed.

“Need a light?”

Husk jumped at the voice right next to him, almost falling over where he sat. “Motherfu-” He cut himself off, staring into the face of none other than Lucifer. “I- didn’t you go back to the palace hours ago?”

“Yes, well. I was, hrm.” Lucifer looked to the side, fiddling with his wedding ring as he avoided looking Husk in the eye. “I saw you from the tower.”

Ah. Clearly he wasn’t the only one unable to sleep tonight. “I’d have thought you’d sneak into Angel’s room rather than be alone up there, then. I know he'd enjoy the company.”

While Angel had tried to keep his mouth shut, he had spilled some of what had gone down in his bedroom a few nights ago, while they were alone in Husk’s room. From all accounts, it seemed like they were both down for it to happen again. Angel was most certainly eager to have another rendezvous.

Lucifer snapped his fingers, making a small flame appear above them, suspended in the air. He moved his hand toward Husk, who leaned in to light his cigar. When the tip glowed red, the little ball of fire disappeared like a snuffed out candle.

“I didn’t want to assume,” Lucifer admitted where he stood by the bench. “But you were out here and I… you looked like you might be in need of company.” He looked unsure, as if he wasn’t sure he had read the situation right, but was making an attempt to be there for Husk regardless, just in case he needed it.

He wasn’t wrong. While part of him wanted to be alone, he knew it was a bad idea right now, and he didn’t really want to wake Angel after the long day at work he’d already had. He’d been exhausted enough to almost fall asleep at the bar a few hours ago. “I… wouldn’t mind it,” he said, taking a slow drag from the cigar. He offered it to Lucifer, who accepted it with a ‘thank you’ as he finally sat down next to him.

“Feeling lonely tonight, huh?”

Lucifer almost fumbled the cigar, ashes raining on his white trousers. He quickly cleaned them off, the stains gone in the blink of an eye. He coughed out more smoke than he could have ever gotten out of just one single cigar, giving it back to Husk. He thought back to Lucifer spitting fire as he ordered Lute to leave Hell. “That- am I, that transparent?”

“To me, at least. But I’ve had a lot of practice reading people.”

“Charlie mentioned you were good at that.” Lucifer stretched out his legs in front of himself where he sat, leaning back on his hands. For a few minutes they sat there in silence, Husk finding himself relaxing. Eventually he heard Lucifer speak next to him, surprise in his voice.

“Non-alcoholic cider?”

He threw a glance to where Lucifer was inspecting the label.

“I’m trying to cut back.” He held out his hand, Lucifer handing him the bottle. Husk uncapped it, before offering it back for Lucifer to taste. “Doesn’t taste nearly as good, but it gives my hands something to hold.” He watched Lucifer take a sip out of it.

“Is it difficult? You’re around alcohol all day…” 

Husk leaned against the backrest of the bench, staring up into the sky, up toward the large pentagram lighting everything up in lieu of a sun. Farther away he could see the glowing white of Heaven’s gates. They looked cold compared to the warm red of everything else. It made him think of Charlie’s attempts to redeem Angel, and how Angel was trying so hard to change, even though it was hard on him. Husk might not feel the need to be redeemed himself, but maybe Angel’s efforts were rubbing off on him. He wanted to be better, for a change. Not necessarily good , but better. He had been a shit person for so long, but Angel didn’t deserve that. He deserved the world. So here Husk was, actually trying for once in his afterlife.

“It’s hell.” His lips tugged upward just a fraction at the unintentional choice of words. “Serves me right for spending so many decades drunk off my ass.” He took the bottle back as it was offered, taking a long swig out of it. He moved it back and forth between his hands, only paying enough attention to what he was doing to not drop his cigar.

Turning to look at Lucifer, he met his eyes. There was something open in them, and he could tell that Lucifer was doing his best to understand, even though he was a being completely different to almost everyone else in Hell. He had his own demons (metaphorical and literal alike), even if he didn't yet know if addiction was one of them. He didn't know enough about angels to know if they even could get addicted, and whether or not it worked differently when you were Fallen.

His next words weren’t so much a decision being made as it was the need to get it out. It helped that Lucifer was the one right next to him, as much as he was hesitant to admit it.

“I died on this date,” he said, slowly, not used to being the one opening up. He was used to pouring drinks into glasses, not his heart into other people’s hands. “It's my first time being even remotely close to sober during it.”

Lucifer’s fingers twitched, as if he wanted to reach out but wasn’t sure it would be appreciated. From what he knew so far about Lucifer he didn’t hesitate to show his love for Charlie, and had been quick to be friendly toward Vaggie, but with others he had taken a lot more time. Though to be fair, he had mostly seen him interact with sinners, and his interactions with Adam and Lute on the last extermination could hardly count as everyday occurrences. Husk however preferred to keep his heart hidden away when he could help it.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” Lucifer tried, testing the waters. Husk was fairly certain he would back off if he asked him to.

He tapped the ashes off the cigar between his fingers before taking a long drag from it. He thought it over. Did he? It had been decades, and while he’d talked a little about it with Angel, it felt like pulling teeth whenever he tried, even when he wanted to. Alastor was the only one who knew all about it, unfortunately. That much had been unavoidable after he sold his soul to him. But Lucifer had to have both seen and done countless unspeakable things, having been around longer than Hell had even existed. “...Yeah.”

Lucifer gave him an encouraging smile. He turned his hand over, finally raising it in an offering. After a moment, Husk took it. Lucifer’s palm was warm against the heart in the middle of his own.

“I had a partner,” he told him. “Used to say either my drinking or gamblin’ was gonna be the death of me.”

Husk dropped the tiny remains of his cigar to the ground. He watched the embers fade as he picked up the bottle next to him again. “He was spot on, too. Got drunk off my ass one night, to the point where my tricks failed me. They killed me when they caught me cheatin’.”

Lucifer’s hand squeezed his, and Husk turned back to look at him. “I know I made him cry when I wouldn’t stop. He’d get pissed at me sometimes when I came back home, even when I’d won, cus he was so terrified I’d get myself into some deep shit. And then he ended up being right. I was a shitty partner, don't even get why he stuck around for so long.”

“If I’m overstepping, let me know, but…” Lucifer’s thumb rubbed the back of his hand, slow and smooth motions against his fur. “What made you unable to stop? I admit I don’t know a lot about… things like this. That's more… Belphegor and Beelzebub's area of expertise.”

A wry smile made Husk bare his fangs. “Never spent a whole lotta time around sinners, huh?”

Lucifer rubbed his neck, glancing toward the gates of Heaven in the sky for a moment before casting his eyes downward. “I tried to, at first. But with all the horrible things that happened here, it made me resent them instead. I Fell for humanity to get free will, and this is what they did with it? Lilith got along with sinners so well, but eventually I… just couldn’t. So yes, I’ve been avoiding sinners for millennia.” His eyes snapped back to meet Husk’s. “Hey, I thought we were talking about you tonight, not me.”

His expression made Husk laugh, a warm feeling spreading in his gut at the indignant look on Lucifer’s face as he laughed at him. He thought he could understand what Angel had meant when he said that Lucifer was fun to tease. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

“But I don’t know exactly,” he admitted, finally, smile fading into something barely there. “It wasn’t for a lack of love for him, even if it was… a pretty fucked up version of love. My head was always such a mess. I know I was difficult to deal with. Hard to love.” It left a sour taste in his mouth to think about. He’d been a terrible partner. He hadn’t been that surprised back when his wife had finally left him, and his addictions had only gotten worse after that.

He could see that there was something Lucifer wanted to say as the last words left his mouth, but Husk continued before he could say something he might regret later. “Used my time at war as an excuse for too long and got used to it, I guess.”

“I didn’t know you were a soldier.”

“Didn’t really get a choice in it. Last month’s been the first time I actively chose to take part in a big battle like that. I’m used to the regular slaughter Hell’s got going on but this was… different. We’ve never stood up to Heaven before.”

It didn’t seem like Lucifer quite knew what to say, so for a little while they were silent again, until Lucifer finally gathered his thoughts. “I know Charlie really appreciated that you stayed. Not just her, I also- you didn’t have any obligation to risk your lives, any of you, but you still did, and for that you have my utmost gratitude and respect.”

Husk knew that he was blushing, though his fur helped in hiding it, along with the red light up above. “Felt wrong not to,” he admitted. “I might have my gripes with this place but I… do care about the people inside of it. Couldn’t let them fight alone.”

Husk felt just about ready to end the spilling of his guts now. He’d already said far too much. Especially for the level of drunk that he was right now.

It seemed like Lucifer was ready to call it a night too, as he stood up, though he didn’t let go of Husk’s hand quite yet. “If you ever feel like talking again,” he said, coming to stand right in front of him. “I’ll lend you an ear. Any time you need. Even if I’m not nearly as good at it as you are.”

Husk’s lips parted in a smile. “You too,” he replied. “I know you got a shitton of stuff to talk about.” He may have lived for a pretty long time for a human, but Lucifer was on a whole other level when it came to time spent alive, compared to him. His own 73 years were just a fraction of the thousands of years Lucifer had existed.

Lucifer returned the smile. “Thank you,” he said, raising Husk’s hand to press a kiss to his knuckles. “Good night, Husk.”

Husk could only gape as Lucifer let go of his hand, giving him a shy wave as he unfurled his wings. He watched him take flight, taking off to his tower.

Holy hell. He rested his fingers against his cheek. His face was burning. What the hell was that? He had to admit it definitely did something to him.

Husk clutched the bottle tightly in his hand.

He could completely understand how Adam had lost not just one, but two wives to Lucifer.

Fine. He was fine. So what if he might be a little bit into the King of Hell? He’d figure out how to deal with those emotions eventually.

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