InsaneJournal

Lucifer had left Hawke’s room that morning early and unannounced, something he’d only done once before, and even then she’d woken up to see him leaving. Today he’d left unnoticed.

He hadn’t looked at his PADD, and thus was unaware that she’d written to him. Instead he’d flown and explored and tried to figure out what the bloody hell it all meant. Then he’d spotted Kate and he’d taken the opportunity to show off his wings to her.

Now he was standing at the door to Hawke’s room, knocking, uncertain of what to expect. Overnight, everything had changed.

One thing that was absolutely clear in Hawke's mind was that Lucifer had told her that he was not Fenris and that, therefore, she had to trust him not to go anywhere. Not on purpose, anyway. She'd taken that to heart, though at times it was hard to listen to his words instead of that tiny voice in the back of her mind that told her everything was going to the abyss all over again.

Instead, she’d decided to worry. She'd written in her post that it wasn't like him to up and disappear unannounced - so what had happened? When he hadn't immediately responded she'd decided to go for a workout and then take a shower. Anything to keep herself and her own mind busy.

So when he knocked at the door, she was still drying her hair. Trying very hard not to let her worry levels teeter too far in the direction of doing stupid things. Hawke opened the door, wrapped up in her towel, and blinked at him. "So you're... okay, then?"

Were the words that came out of her mouth, instead of a greeting.

“What?” Lucifer asked, looking at Hawke confused. He’d left early that morning sure, and it was much later in the day. But why wouldn’t he be alright?

“I mean, no why would you think I wasn’t?” he asked, continuing to stare at her. And wondering he was going to go inside or not, especially since she was standing there half-naked, in a towel.

"Because I..." Hawke said, trailing off and pondering her own word choices. There was an awkward pause where she realised that he was just standing outside of her room and that she was, in fact, in a towel. That was silly, and Hawke stepped away from the door and opened it further so that he could enter, if he liked. It wasn't as if he had never seen her naked.

She waited until he was inside, then continued, "I'd left you a message. It seemed rather odd to wake up and find you missing, so I worried that something had happened."

Hawke was keenly aware that it was Sunday, and those were days that could get quite rough for people. She hadn't checked her own PADD to see if any familiar names showed up or had gone missing, but there was always the possibility that something could have gone wrong there. "Since it's... Sunday and all."

“Oh,” Lucifer said, understanding her then, stepping inside and closing the door. Hell, he’d woken up thinking the detective had arrived after all, given the headache that accompanied his newly returned wings. “Well I’m still here. Things have changed though.”

He didn’t elaborate yet, instead considering the best way to do so that wouldn’t involve her getting as angry as Beckett did.

"I didn't think you'd just up and left left, though I suppose I really should have checked that announcement. It never even occurred to me that that might be what had happened." Hawke mused, more talking to herself than Lucifer on that last point. Pragmatic as she'd become, she was surprised him being 'sent back' wasn't the first thing she'd thought of.

She tousled the rest of her hair dry, adding, "I was mainly worried someone had shown up or had left that had upset you. What's going on, then? That's changed, I mean."

“Me too, when I woke up with a splitting headache. Still immortal, by the way,” he added. He’d never put his blazer back on so now he simply unbuttoned his shirt and turned around. His flawless, unmarred skin would be instantly recognizable to her.

“That changed,” he said. And as she would have been staring at the lack of scars, he let his wings loose, before turning around. “So. There’s that. No idea why!”

Her hand had stretched out on instinct, ready to skim her fingers across his completely smooth bare back. As if they'd somehow find the texture of the scars if they went looking, and only her eyes were being deceived.

But then there were wings, and she was still standing there with her hand outstretched and her mouth agape. Hawke's eyes blinked a few times. Surely events like this weren't that startling after the life she'd lived up until now.

"So you ... those are." She finally said, still blinking. "That's not fair. I can't ask you why, since you don't know."

“That’s right, I don’t. I woke up knowing what happened after I drove away from the detective, and that I had my wings back for no discernable reason. So naturally I’ve been out testing them all day, jumping from island to island while resisting the urge to go back to Mexico or something. Just because I could, if I wanted.”

Lucifer shrugged, his wings retreating out of sight, leaving only his flawless skin in their place. “So, how was your morning? Other than worrying about where I was?” he asked, turning around with a sheepish look upon his face.

"You just..." Hawke squinted as the wings vanished again. Her hand was still out in front of her, and she realised how ridiculous it looked before dropping back down to her side. "Well. What happened after you drove away, then? Did you ever mend it all? I can't tell if this cheerfulness is the sort where it's forced or if you're actually in a good mood about all this."

From everything Lucifer had ever told her about his wings, Hawke was thinking it could really go in either direction. But it seemed like he was too willing to change the subject, and that felt like dodging some greater issue to her.

“I’m not trapped, anymore,” Lucifer said, already forgetting his inclination to not repeat how he broke the news to Beckett. He could think of no other circumstances that would allow him to have his wings back and be so thrilled about it. “Even on the ship, I’m not trapped there. Isn’t that brilliant?”

"So you could leave? How does that work, exactly? It's not as if you can just open up a door and fly out." Hawke said, arching a brow at him. Part of her was always going to worry that anyone in her life would just up and leave when given the chance, but mainly at this point she was just confused.

"As far as they've told me, I mean. You can't even breathe in Space, there's no air. Though I suppose you wouldn't need air, come to think of it. But where would you go?"

While waiting for his answer to that, she went to her luggage and started fishing around in it for something to wear. The conversation they were having was definitely distracting enough that she'd almost forgotten she wasn't dressed.

Lucifer waited until she was looking at him again, and then simply disappeared. Then reappeared, about twenty seconds after. “There’s no real limitations now, other than I’m stuck in this universe, this time. Or you know… I could return to hell.”

"Maker... where did you just disappear to?" Hawke had barely had time to process that he'd gone missing, and was still staring at the spot he was in when he returned. "Did you just go to Hell? Are the wings just extremely fast, then? Or do they actually teleport you?"

This was fascinating from a magical perspective. But then the idea that he could return to hell sunk in, right about the time she pulled her shirt on. And she stopped mid-pull, shirt half over her head before she muttered the word, "Balls."

“No, I didn’t go to hell. That may end up being a one way trip and I’d rather not find out just yet,” Lucifer said. “I just went to the top of the cliff and back. But if I wanted… anywhere on this planet, I could visit. I could jump back onto the ship. And yes, it’s more teleportation, though I could fly the way you’re thinking of it, too.”

He looked rather self-satisfied and added, “I’m no longer trapped anywhere I don’t want to be.”

"Well..." Hawke mused, while pulling her head through her shirt. "I'd be the last person to tell you that this was a bad development. We both know how I feel about... being trapped, or feeling that way. I'm not sure going back to Hell is the best choice you could make, but I do know that that choice is yours alone. Only I hope you'll wait a bit, of course."

He'd said he wasn't leaving. And if it was a one way ticket, she trusted him not to just pop off. "Could you take ME flying somewhere?"

“Just let me know when you’re ready,” Lucifer replied. “I might want to mention that while I know this is possible, I’ve never actually done it.”

"Ooo. Well, I'm always glad to be a part of the more fun scientific experiments," Hawke joked. She quickly finished putting herself together, then grabbed her wallet and key, and nodded. "This should be the nice, quick way to dry my hair. Watch me turn into some kind of poodle when we land and you'll still be as handsome as ever."

Lucifer only smirked in reply, then wrapped his arms around her. One moment they were in her room, the next high atop the cliff where they could look down on the resort.

“I figured this was a better place to bring you than over the ocean or something,” he teased.

That was quick and almost too smooth for Hawke's comfort. She'd been expecting a lurch, and had braced for impact. Probably a little too tightly, in fact, because her arms were still clenched around Lucifer in some kind of death grip.

Slightly embarrassed, Hawke took a step away and grinned at him sheepishly, then took in the view. "That's... breathtaking. And yes. If you'd done that I'd have probably boxed your ears later."

"Better later than now, I could just leave you to hike back," Lucifer smirked as Hawke released her vice-like grip on him. There was something about the interaction bothering him, but he couldn't quite place it. So he didn't say anything. "Anyway, that's how I could go anywhere."

"I'm still not sure how it would work in Space, but I suppose as long as it does work, that's all that really matters," Hawke mused, after spending another few seconds just taking in the view. For some reason, Thedas never looked this beautiful. Perhaps it was because she never got the time to just stop and take it in.

"From up here it all looks like a quiet, sunny little paradise." She added, in a whisper. Then she shook her head at herself, shaking the sentiment right out of her head before it stuck.

Hawke looked back over at him, thoughtful for a moment in a way that was almost pensive. "That really does change everything for you. We always knew there was this possibility that someday we'd escape - it seems to happen often enough, anyway. But never by choice. These wings give you a level of agency that I almost envy."

"That is all that matters," Lucifer agreed, not giving thought to the how of it all. He simply didn't care about that, his focus was entirely on the freedom he'd been granted. "Anyway," he said, taking hold of her again and suddenly they were back in his room. "That's where I've been, and this is what I'll be doing." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, released her, and then disappeared again without a further word.