InsaneJournal

Who: Lucifer Morningstar + Samandriel
What: Lucifer proposes
When: 12/25
Where: Monterey Bay Aquarium
Rating: Low
Status: Complete




The thing about dating an angel was this: Lucifer had to remember that Samandriel wasn't exactly human. Had to remember there were things large and small that made him just a little different than he'd been when they met.

It wasn't a big deal really. Mostly (after the dreaming) the differences were made up of strange but generally positive perks. No one could argue against instant flight and teleportation, healing, some really fucking gorgeous wings. And lots of other things, really. Lucifer had never thought it weird, just went along with it all and took it the best he could.

There were a few things that were… occasionally less than desirable though. Samandriel's complete and utter ambivalence for eating, for instance, was something that Lucifer was still trying to get used to. And something that rather put a damper on any kind of typical proposal. Because often times those things happened in restaurants, before the champagne and entree but after the wine. Seeing as it was Samandriel's birthday, as well as the day Lucifer meant to get down on one knee proper, he definitely wasn't going to do it in a place where the younger angel would feel uncomfortable.

So he'd planned. Lots of places were closed on Christmas Day, but enough money and promises of future donations had landed them both in a spot that Lucifer found beautiful and romantic in a strange, interesting sort of way.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was empty, but for them and a few people milling about behind a counter or two. And that was okay. He didn't need this to be a public affair, and really preferred it wasn't. His life and choices were no one else's business beside his own. And Samandriel's.

They both knew exactly why they were here (it was hardly any surprise, considering prior conversations), but Lucifer wasn't really rushing anything either, content for the moment to just wander around and look at the displays of ocean wildlife.

Samandriel hadn’t been particularly concerned about Lucifer getting to things immediately, and honestly was half expecting the whole thing to happen at some mysterious dinner later. So he was content to take his time as well, wandering through tunnels of jellyfish and displays of sharks and turtles and brightly colored other fish. He made a mental note to tell his brother to bring Dean here for the sharks alone.

When they got to the otters, some playing and running around and others happily floating or curled around with each other, Samandriel had to stop and smile a little. He resisted the urge to lean against things or to simply go in and play with them himself. Instead, he stood next to his boyfriend and smiled, watching two of them floating and holding hands while they slept. That was the kind of love he thought he and Lucifer had. Hanging onto each other so they wouldn’t get separated (this time) and yet still totally comfortable enough to fall asleep in each other’s presence.

His hand slipped out of his pocket and he laced his fingers gently with his boyfriend’s. Maybe Lucifer wouldn’t know what he was thinking specifically, but that didn’t really matter. Lucifer at least knew that Samandriel loved him with all his heart, his soul, his Grace, and nothing would change that. Not even Hell.

Which was good, because whether either of them liked it or not, Hell would be coming. Probably in vast, indescribable amounts.

Oddly, Lucifer just wasn't worried about it. He figured, yes, the place was awful (if Samandriel and Dean's accounts were anything to go by), but it wasn't as if he weren't running the place. It would be a different, detached kind of suffering. One that the Morningstar was able to live with the idea of.

Not that he thought of Hell often. And not that he was thinking of it now. No, right now it was the furthest thing from his mind as he tried to watch both the otters and Samandriel at the same time. The otters were ridiculously cute in ways that only little underwater cats could be, but he genuinely enjoyed his angel's pleasure over them as well.

Really, this was a good a spot as any - the both of their content was nearly palpable, and Lucifer could only see making it better. Even with their fingers twisted together, it was easy to dig his free hand into his pocket, pull out the little box (with ring) and drop to one knee -- never letting go with his other hand.

"Samandriel," he said, and couldn't stop smiling almost stupidly, couldn't help noting that he wasn't even the tiniest bit nervous. It was hard to be when every day for the last several months, Samandriel had started or ended the day with, "Marry me."

Not even a question, really. It didn't need to be. Everything was a choice, but this one had long ago been made.

There was an ease and joy in Lucifer that Samandriel couldn’t help but notice, wouldn’t have been able to ignore even if he weren’t an angel. He really liked that smile on Lucifer, the way it crinkled the corners of his gorgeous eyes. The younger of the pair of them just had to enjoy looking at his boyfriend for a moment, to savour this before he answered.

Of course, when he did, the answer was unsurprisingly, “With all my heart.” And that would have to be yes enough, or more than enough. What Lucifer had found for him was gorgeous, and Samandriel would wear it so very proudly. This meant so much more than just jewelry. It was forever in a way that most couldn’t possibly fathom. It was being able to go out to dinner and dance with his now fiancee and soon to be husband in public. It was going to be making music together until there were no ears left in the world to hear it.

Completely unsurprising, right down to the phrasing. But that didn't make Lucifer any less pleased, or his smile any less bright over it. "Good," he said, and more than meant it -- so much, in fact, that he repeated it. "Good."

Because it was. And Samandriel was. It only made sense, the same way they made sense.

The (not) question and answer might have been lacking in some traditionalism, but the way Lucifer stayed on his knee as he slipped that long-deliberated over ring onto Sam's hand? That was just the way things were meant to go, he supposed.

Samandriel couldn’t help but grin as the ring slipped on, a perfect fit of course. He would expect nothing less from someone who paid as much attention as Lucifer did. He pulled his fiancee up to standing, cupped his cheek and leaned up for a slow, deliberate kiss. That was something he was allowed to do now. With that ring came his legal ability to consent to the only relationship he ever wanted like this.

“I love you,” he said softly as he pulled away. Smiling almost impishly he added, “and you managed to actually surprise me.”

"It was now or never," Lucifer said, sly and amused before taking another kiss -- and even if this wasn't quite public, there was some promise to it that there would be many more where that came from and the time and place mattered not at all anymore. "Otters are distracting creatures, even for people who can read thoughts."

Samandriel let the kiss linger longer than he should have. “Best birthday ever,” he murmured. “Do you wanna tour the rest of the aquarium or shall we let these people close up so they can go back to their holiday and I can go home with you and have completely raunchy celebration engagement sex?”

"We can't do both?" Lucifer asked, his smile just as wry as it was patient, and he brushed a thumb over Samandriel's cheek. "There are stingrays by the exit. It's an interactive exhibit," he said, nodding his head in the proper direction. "I'm not leaving here until I've pet a stingray, Samandriel. I paid for that pleasure, it's very important." Probably it was a sort of strange, boyish enthusiasm, but Lucifer was allowed his oddities, and he knew Samandriel would put up with them happily.

Samandriel ducked his head fondly, always glad for any bit of affection Lucifer was willing to give him, which fortunately was a lot. “Then come on,” he said, stealing another kiss because he could. “Let’s go get your stingray pets in before dinner and dancing.” He walked with Lucifer in the general direction of the exit, smiling at a young woman who was cleaning some glass and clearly very happy for the both of them. More clearly to Samandriel, of course, but sometimes that was just what happened when you were an angel and listened to more than you ought.

Stingray petting was everything that Lucifer had expected, really. Wet, a little bizarre and not at all slimy. All in all, he was glad he'd taken the time for it if only because today was certainly meant for new memories and experiences. Not that petting a jaguar stingray was going to be what he recalled when he looked back on this day.

"Alright," he said after a while, drying his hands and raising an amused eyebrow at Samandriel. "Dinner and dancing, then?"

Samandriel liked watching Lucifer with the stingray. It was nice to see him tender with something that wasn’t him, nice to see that look in his eyes no matter what the cause, that soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Dinner and dancing,” Samandriel confirmed.

He took Lucifer’s arm and had completely intended to walk with him happily to the car. There were other people who had plans for them instead. All told, there were half a dozen cameras there. Large ones. Samandriel froze and tensed, gripping Lucifer’s arm tightly as he made the very distinct effort of not flying them both out of there in front of so many witnesses. That look on his face might have read as fear and surprise, a normal reaction to a complete invasion of privacy, but there was more to it than that. Lucifer would see the focus there, had seen it before in so many other circumstances particularly where Samandriel’s wings were concerned. This was nothing new and he needed to be talked out of it before things became somewhat of a disaster.

Luckily, Lucifer was just a charming sort, and somehow managed to be well adjusted even for moments like these that occurred only randomly. He wasn't a high scale celebrity, but probably only because he never did anything silly enough to demand constant public attention.

But until only a half an hour prior he had been a very rich, eligible bachelor.

He smiled, easy and a little wry, and settled his hand - firm and reassuringly present on the small of Samandriel's back. "Already?" he asked of the camera men, as if he were not so much surprised they were there but instead impressed. "You'd think they'd have brought champagne along to help with our celebrations, but no. Shall we ever forgive them, Sam?"

The physical contact helped immensely in that way that Lucifer always seemed to be able to ground him when he was ready to flee with just a touch. He was glad that his boyfri- fiancee had figured that out. Eventually, he relaxed into a smile, as bright and charming as he gave to anyone who walked through Lux’s doors. “Perhaps just this once. After all, I hardly think they’ll be invited to the wedding.” He winked at one of them. There was no way they were going to manage to make it to the wedding. Samandriel was certain of that. Likely nobody would know where it was and they’d all just take ‘air angel’ to the location.

With Lucifer’s gentle urging at the small of his back, he managed to find his feet again and keep walking to the car. This wasn’t a big deal. It’d just caught him off guard and he managed somehow to not make a fool out of either of them. It was progress. He’d totally earned that dance later.

"I really hadn't expected that quite so soon," Lucifer apologized once they'd gotten into the car and managed to drive off without hitting anyone that felt like stepping a little too close to the wheels. It was just a talent of his to sound calm, if not slightly bored more often than not and this time was no different. "You did very well, though." Much better than that first time they'd really gone out. "Five dollars says they'll actually send champagne."

“The one you called out was actually thinking chocolate covered strawberries,” Samandriel said, buckling up because he had to and not because he needed to. He rested his hand on Lucifer’s thigh, needing that point of contact to keep himself calm. It was pretty obvious that someone in the aquarium was probably pissed off that they had to come in on Christmas Day and so tipped off someone who tipped off everyone else. “Now there’s photos of me looking like a deer in headlights,” he murmured. “Lovely. Which gossip rag do you think is going to buy them?”

Lucifer snorted over the idea of being sent chocolate covered anything by a member of the paparazzi, shook his head a little and then covered Sam's hand with his own even if he did keep his eyes on the road. "You'll look fine in the photos. And probably will continue to look fine in all the ones that will be taken in the next week or so before things die down a bit." It was just how things worked. After that, everyone would just be bored and over it. People were fickle.

"And who knows. People? and US, most likely." a pause. "Unless Beyonce does something amazing in the next week." Idly, he wondered if anyone owed him any favors.

“Beyonce already dropped a whole new album without warning, I doubt she has more up her sleeve,” Samandriel said, turning his hand over to hold Lucifer’s. “This is really happening isn’t it? You and me and everything public.” The people at school were absolutely going to know. Hell, as soon as this broke properly (likely with some kind of headline pertaining to Christmas and Romance being in the air) his phone was probably going to blow up with people who previously only talked to him for homework help. He made a mental note to turn off Facebook notifications entirely.

“My next shift at Lux,” he said softly, looking over at Lucifer, “we should do a duet for a while. Give them something beautiful to take pictures of if that’s what’s going to happen anyway.” Or perhaps be recorded on someone’s phone and sent elsewhere for caps to be taken of. Or just uploaded onto whatever website was gonna pay the most for it. “While I try to figure out if I can lie and say you didn’t lay a hand on me until after my birthday.” That was information that was going to be dug up real quick, he was certain of it. Then again, if he pulled the right strings, he could probably get Dean’s friend to change his information in databases or at least make it harder to get at. The latter was probably the safest bet. Any actual change in things would possibly either be obvious or make it look like he’d been held back a grade which no one would believe.

"Yes," Lucifer said, chancing a glance over at Sam and tilting his lips up slightly, half a smile. "No more secrets. In some regards it will be easier. The media will be bored with it soon enough, I'm hardly huge conversation topic when it comes to gossip that doesn't include money."

His thumb, he ran over the curve of Samandriel's wrist and he went back to the road. "Happily, I will play with you." They didn't do it often, because Lucifer had been sure it was a huge tell -- their music told all of their secrets without words.

"It's probably best to not answer any questions pertaining to where either of our hands have been, though. Easier that way for now."

Playing together was, in a way, as close to exhibitionism as the pair of them got. It’d only happened the once in public on a particularly slow night and Samandriel had been aware enough at the end of it to notice the bar staff blushing and averting their gaze. If anything would be convincing enough that there truly was love there and not either a desperate grab to reclaim youth or to get a step up in the world, it would be obvious in the notes they made for and with each other.

“Perhaps,” he allowed, “and perhaps not. That idiot who went and married the underage woman is old news now. What better to follow up with than your money and my legal age.” His actual age was hardly something that could be discussed in interviews or whatever followed all of this. His relaxation when it came to Lucifer touching him was palpable, the young angel practically melting into the heated seats. Similarly he didn’t doubt that people were going to try to catch him out having an affair that Lucifer was completely aware of. Lovely. The Winchester exception was about to need to be far more careful than before. Not that they were particularly obvious, but there would be looking.

“You’ll have to show me how to manage this,” he whispered. “You’re a known entity. Any critical lens is going to be focused right on me and...and I’m going to need your help.” More than ever. Samandriel’s angelic propensity for getting anxious and vanishing (that he’d probably picked up from Castiel at some point) was going to be something that needed to be curbed sooner rather than later.

"They're more likely to focus on your gender than your age, at least at first," Lucifer pointed out, and didn't really need to explain any more than that. He supposed he should have a talk with a PR lawyer just to be certain on a few things. It wasn't as if Lucifer were an expert on suddenly getting married to young men. He was just confident and that generally went a long way.

"I'll help you," he continued, tone even but understanding. He knew what was being asked here, was more than willing to give it without second thought or question; this was part of what made them them after all. "We'll have public rules, and you'll be more than good."

Either way, he was sure that they’d avoid Lucifer getting in any actual trouble. Inwardly, he was almost sad that his biological family was about to find out from someone other than him that he was getting married. Almost. He’d be sure to tell Julia himself hopefully before any gossip column broke the story.

He looked over at Lucifer. “Thank you,” he said softly, just watching the other man focus on driving them to wherever they were having dinner. He cared far more about the dancing after than any fancy, candlelit meal, but he would enjoy Lucifer’s presence regardless of location.

Snorting slightly in amusement, Lucifer offered a tiny almost-shrug. "You don't need to thank me, Sam. I'd never just leave you to deal with something like that on your own. It's hardly fair." He pulled Samandriel a little closer by his hand, brushing a kiss along his knuckles.

"I think the dancing will be a good enough distraction for the night."

“I love you,” Samandriel whispered, and thought that covered more than enough when it came to what needed to be said or what could be said between them.

Lucifer couldn't help but grin in response to that, teeth grazing against his bottom lip. "Then I suppose we should get married."