When Angel woke up, it was to the tickle of hair in his nose, making him nearly sneeze. Opening his eyes, he smiled as he saw Lucifer shifting closer to Husk, who was snoring beside them. Sitting up, he ran his fingers through Lucifer’s hair, brushing out the parts that stood in every direction.

Then, he noticed something move, making Lucifer’s hair shift. Angel carefully parted Lucifer’s hair. He’d never actually seen Lucifer’s ears before. They looked similar to those he’d seen on elves in tv-shows, sharp tips pointing backwards more than they did upwards. He watched them wiggle as the fur on Husk’s chest tickled his face. Cute.

 

As soon as his fingers brushed skin, Lucifer’s eyes flew open, his hands slapping onto his ears as he shot straight out of bed. Angel almost fell backwards in surprise,  Nuggets squealing and jumping down to the floor, Husk waking up from the commotion. He blinked up at Angel, still sitting in bed, supporting himself with all four of his arms so he didn’t fall over its edge, Lucifer standing in its center, eyes wide, breath loud and ragged.

“The hell’s goin’ on?” Husk sat up, shaking the sleep out of his head.

“I don’t know, I touched his ear and he just flew up.”

“His ear?”

They looked up at Lucifer, who was staring straight forward, out into the rest of the room, though it was clear that he wasn’t really seeing it. His hands were still firmly pressed against his ears, his body shaking.

Angel reached out, pausing before his fingers touched. “Sweetcheeks? Can ya hear me?”

For another few seconds that felt entirely too long, Lucifer stood there, lost in his own head.

Then, slowly, he sank back down onto the bed, legs folding beneath him. He looked up, noticing eyes on him. He seemed disoriented, like he hadn’t remembered where he was until a second ago. His hands had yet to move away from the sides of his head.

“Hey, I’m not sure what happened, but I’m sorry for scarin’ ya.”

“I…” Finally, Lucifer lowered his hands, taking Angel’s hand in his as it was offered. “I don’t… What happened?”

 

Angel motioned toward Lucifer’s ear, careful not to touch this time. “I kinda… touched your ear while ya were sleepin’ and ya just… shot right outta bed.”

“Oh.” Lucifer’s fingers brushed through the thick hair that had covered his ears so well it had taken them weeks to even see them properly. “Yeah, that’d, that’d do it.”

“Why?”

Lucifer’s fingers tightened around Angel’s, and he looked between them. “I don’t… I haven’t… I hide them for a reason. I haven’t let anyone touch them in thousands of years.”

Husk shifted where he sat, moving closer to the two of them. “Not even Lilith?”

Shaking his head, Lucifer let out a shaky breath. “They’re… they’re unsightly.”

“Hey now, I thought they were pretty cute,” Angel argued. “They’re kinda like one of them elves.”

“No, they’re…” Lucifer fumbled for the right words, the claws of his free hand digging into the soft fabric of his pajama bottoms, tearing it, nearly breaking skin. “That’s not really my ears. It’s a… it’s a glamour.”

Now sitting properly side by side with him, Husk reached out to pull Lucifer’s hand away from his thigh so he wouldn’t hurt himself. “It can’t be that bad, can it? Hell’s gotta have weirder to offer.”

Lucifer laughed, a sad, torn laugh that cracked at the very end. “It’s more for my own sake than for anyone else, really. I hate them. I used to- I used to love them but after the Fall, I…They used to be pretty, now I can’t even look at them anymore.”

“Still got some vanity left in you, huh?”

“Of course.” They could almost sense a smile on Lucifer’s lips, then. “I’ve got plenty of that. I’ve stopped caring what people think for the most part by now, but some of it’s hard to kick.”

Angel leaned in, pressing his arm to Lucifer’s, his hand never leaving his. “How long’ve ya been keepin’ that glamour on for?”

Lucifer stared up into the ceiling as he thought, trying to remember. “I honestly don’t know. For most of the time that I’ve been here, I think. Time kind of blends together after a while. Can’t tell one millenia from the other.”

“You don’t think you’re makin’ yourself hate them worse by hiding them for so long?” Husk leaned against his other side, a warm weight against his arm.

They felt Lucifer’s hands twitch in theirs as he no doubt wanted to either start fidgeting or dig his claws into his skin again. “Proooobably?”

Angel pulled Lucifer’s hand onto his lap as he started to play with his fingers, feeling Lucifer’s tense body finally start to relax a little. “So why’re ya hidin’ your ears in your hair even with the glamour on?”

A long, high-pitched,’uuuuuh’ was their only response at first, Lucifer’s eyes darting around the room. “Myyy glamour kinda crams my actual ears into shape beneath it so they kinda. Move in really unsettling ways. It can look very unnatural.”

“Wait.” Angel’s movements stopped, both him and Husk staring at him with worry swirling in their guts. “That sounds super painful.”

“Eeeh, you get used to it after a few… thousand… years. It’s really not that bad. They’re pretty numb these days anyway, so as long as no-one touches them I’m fine. It freaks me out a little, but if I’m awake I can make sure nothing actually comes in contact with them.”

“That… really doesn’t sound good, baby.” Husk frowned. “And when you changed them into cat ears for me? That didn’t hurt?”

“Oh, they felt the best they have in years! Shapeshifting’s a little different than glamorous for me, but the cat ears really gave them room to breathe. Got to stretch them out for a while. Bunny ears are the ideal though.”

Angel’s brows furrowed. “I know you’re a masochist an’ all, but this whole thing just sounds… uncomfortable.”

“It’s fiiine! I’m A-ok! I’ve had waaay worse.”

“Uh-huh.”

Lucifer’s eyes shifted between them, a nervous laugh bubbling out of his throat. “Are, are you mad at me?”

Husk frowned, confused. Glancing at Angel, he could tell that he felt similarly. “Why the hell would we be mad at you?”

“I don’t know, I just, instinct?”

“Well that’s not fucked up at all.” Angel cupped Lucifer’s cheeks, turning his head toward him. “We’re not mad at you. If ya do somethin’ that makes us mad, we’ll tell ya. Okay?”

Slowly, Lucifer nodded. A smile spread across Angel’s lips, and he pressed a loud kiss in between his eyes. “Great. Ya really should let your ears loose though, ya know if something’s numb long enough it can stop workin’ for good, right?”

Lucifer’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, saw it happen to a guy when I was still alive once. So you should probably at least let your ears breathe once in a while.”

With his cheeks still between his hands, Angel got to watch Lucifer as he scrunched up his face up close. He heard Husk’s quiet snort at the expression he was making.

Lucifer let out a low groan, the sound long and frustrated. “Fiiiiine.” As Angel let his hands fall from Lucifer’s cheeks, Lucifer’s hands came up to cover his face, dragging his fingers across it, tugging at his skin.

“You don’t have to do it in front of us, you know,” Husk said, leaning back on his arms. “We just don’t wanna see you in pain. Other than when you want to be.”

“No, no, I have to do it when you’re here or I’m not gonna do it at all. I know myself well enough to know that.” Lucifer pressed his fingertips to his eyes, before finally lowering his hands down to his lap. “I won’t,” he started, voice wavering. “I won’t make you promise not to be disgusted, I know what they look like. But can you at least… try to look at me the same, after?”

His eyes were wide, full of fear. He had gone so long keeping this part of himself out of sight, unknown to anyone but him and Lilith, that he didn’t know what to do with himself now that he was going to let someone else see them.

“Don’t worry, sweetcheeks.” Angel leaned forward, taking one of Lucifer’s hands in his again, Husk taking the other. “We won’t stop caring about ya, no matter what ya look like.”

Lucifer’s smile was hesitant as he looked between them, before he sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes. As he let it go again, he let the glamour drop.

 

The remnants of wings fanned out from either side of his face. With feathers, they might have been the size of a dove’s. But what remained of them now were only bones, blackened and twisted, breaks that had healed wrong fused with gold. As they slowly stretched to their full width, they shivered like a leaf. Every movement they made seemed like a struggle, something that took immense effort.

Lucifer gripped their hands tightly as he looked up at them again, though he was struggling to meet their eyes.

His discomfort was obvious on his face, in the way he held his body, tight as the string of a bow.

Husk reached up, fingers gently brushing his cheek. Lucifer’s eyes squeezed shut. “They’re not nearly as bad as you think they are.”

Lucifer shook his head weakly. “I have a hard time believing you.”

“I’m not too surprised by that.”

Eyes slipping open, Lucifer looked down at his hands, thumbs running along the backs of Angel and Husk’s hands. “...You don’t think they’re hideous?”

“Not at all.” Angel smiled as he met his eyes. Lucifer looked ready to cry. A tiny smile made its way onto his face.

“Well, you haven’t run for the hills yet, so I guess you don’t find them too disgusting.”

Angel laughed, his smile warm. “Baby, no part of your body could ever be disgusting. Besides, if ya can think my legs are cute when I hate ‘em so much, can ya believe that I think your ears are kinda cute too?”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, looking sceptical. “Now there’s an exaggeration if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Hey, don’t shame my tastes, sweetcheeks, ya don’t know all the things that I’m into.”

 

They heard Husk’s laugh beside them, and when they turned to look at him, he was grinning ear to ear. “Angel’s right. We haven’t been together long enough for you to know every single thing we’re into yet. And your ears? I could definitely be into that.”

A blush rose to Lucifer’s cheeks, Angel’s smile growing wider. He dropped to the side, dragging Lucifer down with him, making him land on his back before rising up on his elbow to look down at him. As Angel and Husk hovered above him, they heard a quiet ‘oh boy’ leave his lips.

Husk leaned down to press his lips to Lucifer’s, letting himself drop down on his other side. Lucifer’s ears flared out for a moment, before the remnants of them moved in front of his face in an attempt to cover it, bones still shivering.

Angel walked his fingers up Lucifer’s chest, a claw running a smooth line up his throat. “What’d I say about hidin’ your pretty little face, baby?”

“This hardly counts as hiding.” Lucifer pouted, but slowly moved his ears back to what they could only assume was their resting state.

He sought out their hands again, feeling their warm palms against his. He squeezed them tightly, feeling himself smile again, finally starting to properly relax.

 

God, how he loved them.

Back to top