Maze blinked, her usual sharp confidence flickering into something closer to confusion. "Twins?"
Lucifer chuckled softly, but there was a weight in it, a thread of something Maze wasn't used to hearing from him—sadness.
"Ah," he murmured, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "I see Amenadiel failed to mention that part. Or perhaps he just didn't think it relevant."
Maze scoffed. "Yeah, well, you know how he is. Selective as hell when it comes to the truth."
Lucifer hummed in agreement, gaze distant. "Yes. And this is quite the selection to omit, wouldn't you say? Though it doesn't surprise me, as he never approved of our close relationship."
"What's the importance of it?" Maze frowned. "I mean, so what? You and Michael popped into existence together, and then what—he stuck to Heaven, and you got chucked into Hell?"
Lucifer sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No, Maze. That came much later. Much later." He tapped a finger against the rim of his glass. "You see, Michael and I... we were different from the start. We were both powerful—perhaps the most powerful of Father's children. Where I was given the gift to bring things to life, Michael was given the raw power of creation itself. He was Father's right hand, His strength, His might. And I was the Light. We complement each other."
"Sounds like you were pretty tight." Maze crossed her arms, still trying to piece it together. "So why hasn't he left Heaven to visit you in, what, millennia?"
"He couldn't, even if he wanted to." Lucifer's smile was thin, brittle. "Because Michael isn't whole, Maze. Not anymore."
Maze's frown deepened.
Lucifer leaned back, staring out at the city. "Long ago, after my fall and before you were born, something happened to him. Something... catastrophic." He sighed. "His mind, his grace, the core of his power—they remain in Heaven, governing in his absence. But his heart, Maze? That is missing."
The air in the room shifted.
Maze straightened slightly, tension creeping into her shoulders. "Missing? You're telling me Heaven's being run by a damn autopilot?"
Lucifer exhaled, a small, humorless smile tugging at his lips.
"Something like that, yes." He swirled the whiskey in his glass, watching the amber liquid catch the light. "Michael's mind and grace—his divinity—are enough to issue commands, enforce order, maintain Heaven's... shall we say, 'structure.'"
His voice dipped slightly, a faint note of bitterness seeping through. "But there's no soul in it, Maze. No heart. No... choice."
Maze scowled, pacing a few steps away before turning back. "That's insane. How the hell do all those halo-wearing bastards follow someone who's not even really there?"
Lucifer's smirk returned, sharp and knowing. "Ah, my dear Maze, faith is a powerful thing. And obedience?" He raised his glass. "That's even stronger."
Maze folded her arms, clearly working through this. Then her gaze sharpened, suspicion creeping in. "Alright. Fine. So he's been running Heaven like a machine all these millennia. What's Michael being missing has got to do with you acting all weird about the doctor?"
Lucifer's smirk faded, and for a moment, he said nothing. Then—quietly, carefully—he answered, correcting her and ignoring her question altogether. "Not missing, Maze. Hidden."
Maze inhaled sharply as she thought of how they found this universe. And in that moment, she knew.
She knew exactly where this was going.
"And I think I've found his Heart's location."
Silence.
Maze blinked, barely processing the words at first. "You... what?"
Lucifer finally met her gaze, golden eyes flickering with something unreadable. "It's here, Maze. In this universe."
Maze didn't speak right away. Her mind was racing.
She thought back to Lucifer's strange behavior since they arrived. His reluctance to explain things. The way he kept gravitating toward that damn hospital. His fixation on a certain mortal doctor.
And suddenly?
It all clicked.
"...Holy shit," she whispered, eyes wide as she stared at Lucifer like he had just grown another head. "Hold on. You're telling me Doctor High-and-Mighty has some part of your angelic twin? The same twin who's been in a coma since before I was born?"
Lucifer didn't confirm it.
He didn't need to. Instead, he let out a slow breath, setting his glass down with a soft clink. His fingers traced the rim absentmindedly, as if grounding himself. "Not just that." His voice was quieter now. "I've seen it, Maze. It's not just a part. Michael—his heart, what made him him—it's inside Stephen."
Maze's brows furrowed, skepticism flickering in her dark eyes. "That doesn't make any damn sense, Lucifer. How the hell does a human have part of an archangel inside him?"
Lucifer huffed a short, humorless laugh. "Trust me, darling, I'd love an answer to that myself."
He leaned back, looking toward the grand window of the penthouse, the skyline stretching endlessly before him. "I tried to ignore it at first. It was just… familiarity. A feeling. But the more time I spent around him, the more I saw it."
His fingers curled slightly against the bar top. "The way he carries himself. The way he speaks. That unbearable arrogance—"
Maze snorted. "Yeah, your brother sounds like an ass."
Lucifer shot her a dry look. "He is. And so is Stephen." His lips curled slightly, though the fondness in his expression warred with something deeper. "But it's not just that. It's… everything. Not just the stubbornness and the strong moral code, but his soul told me more about their similarities, too."
"It yearns for me." He exhaled sharply. "When I touched him with my wing, when I restored his sight for a brief period, for a moment—just a flicker—I saw something."
Maze's gaze sharpened. "What did you see?"
Lucifer hesitated.
Because the truth?
He had seen Michael.
Not fully. Not clearly. But in that instant, when Stephen had gazed at him with awe and confusion—when his newly heightened sight had brushed against something greater—Lucifer had glimpsed it. A reflection. A whisper, but still a flicker of his brother's essence buried so deep within Strange that it was almost imperceptible.
Almost.
But Lucifer knew his twin.
And that was why this realization terrified him.
Finally, he spoke, voice softer now. "I don't know how or why, but I do know this—Stephen isn't just some random human. He's connected to Michael, to Heaven, in a way I can't yet understand."
Maze studied Lucifer for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, with a smirk, she leaned against the counter. "So, let me get this straight—you're pining after a guy who has a piece of your angelic twin inside him? Sounds like some twisted divine soap opera."
Lucifer chuckled, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Oh, my dear Mazikeen, family drama is always the worst kind of drama—especially when old, powerful beings are involved." His golden eyes gleamed with something between amusement and something heavier, something more introspective.
Maze tilted her head, watching him carefully. "I get that demons don't care much about the whole 'siblings' thing, but angels—your kind—you're different, right? You're all about rules and order and what's proper."
Lucifer exhaled through his nose, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Normally, you'd be right. Angelic bonds are… different. More rigid. More familial in a way that's quite human."
His fingers tapped lightly against his glass before he finally admitted, "But Michael and I? We were never like the others."
Maze raised a brow. "How so?"
Lucifer's gaze turned distant, as if looking into something only he could see. "Because, Maze, we were once the same being."
Maze blinked, her smirk dropping slightly. "Wait, what?"
Lucifer let out a small laugh, but there was a quiet melancholy beneath it. "Before our Father split us, we were one. One mind, one will, one soul. And then, with a single command, we became two souls who still yearned for the other."
He tapped his temple, then placed a hand over his heart. "Michael got the power to create—the raw force of will to shape existence. And I…" He smiled, sharp and amused. "I got the power to bring it to life. To give meaning to what he built."
Maze watched him, her usual teasing absent. "And didn't that bond go away after he stayed in Heaven and you fell."
Lucifer's jaw tensed for half a second before he forced a smirk. "Going on by the level of longing I could feel, apparently not."
Maze hummed, crossing her arms. "So what does that mean for the good doctor?"
Lucifer leaned back against the counter, letting out a long sigh. "That, my dear, is the million-dollar question." He glanced at the empty space beside him, where his wings flickered in and out of visibility. "I don't know why Michael's heart—his essence—is inside Stephen. I don't know if it was deliberate, an accident, or something even my Father didn't foresee."
His fingers tightened slightly around his glass. "But what I do know is that I want to find out."
Maze smirked again, trying to lighten the mood. "And in the meantime, you're flirting with him?"
Lucifer chuckled. "Can you blame me for wanting something serious? He's delightfully sharp, thoroughly infuriating, and his soul burns with such intensity." His smirk turned almost self-deprecating. "And, well… I do have a habit of being drawn to impossible things."
Maze rolled her eyes. "Serious, huh? That's a first."
Lucifer rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his whiskey. "I am capable of commitment, Maze."
"Oh, sure," she said, dragging out the words with obvious skepticism. "You're great at committing… to running away when things get too real."
Lucifer shot her a dry look. "Must you be so delightfully insufferable?"
Maze grinned, completely unapologetic. "It's my job." She tilted her head. "So, just to be clear—you were already interested before you figured out the whole Michael thing?"
Lucifer hummed, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "Yes. When I first looked at his soul, I was intrigued. Fascinated, even." His golden eyes flickered with something unreadable. "There's something about him—his sharpness, his arrogance, but also his unwavering conviction. His passion."
Maze raised a brow. "So, like Matt?"
Lucifer shook his head, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Not quite. Matt is extraordinary in his own right. But with him, it was always friendship—admiration, even. I saw someone in him who would make a good friend, a kindred spirit in some ways. But with Stephen, I want something more…" His voice trailed off for a moment before he continued, quieter now, "The attraction was already there. But after I touched him with my wings, after I confirmed what I suspected about Michael…"
He let out a slow breath, setting his glass down with a soft clink. "Now, I want him in a way that I haven't wanted anyone in a long time."
Maze's smirk widened. "So, to summarize—you were already halfway gone for the guy, and now that you know he's carrying a piece of your other half, you're fully screwed."
Lucifer sighed dramatically. "How poetic of you."
Maze sniggered. "I mean, can you blame me? This is some real fate-of-the-cosmos level drama. And you love drama."
Lucifer rolled his eyes but didn't deny it.
Eventually, Maze's amusement sharpened into something more thoughtful. "So… are you gonna tell him?"
Lucifer, still swirling the last remnants of whiskey in his glass, barely lifted his gaze. "Tell him what, precisely?"
Maze rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, maybe that he's carrying around a chunk of your twin brother's essence inside him?"
Lucifer hummed, thoughtful. Then, with a languid shrug, he said, "If he asks, I'll tell him."
Maze snorted, a knowing smirk curling her lips. "Yeah, I don't think you have to worry about that happening anytime soon."
Lucifer arched a brow at her.
Maze gestured vaguely toward the door. "Did you see his face when he ran out of here? He looked like you just told him you were pregnant with his child." She sniggered. "Poor bastard was overwhelmed."
Lucifer chuckled, setting his glass down. "Yes, well, I do have that effect on people. Though I do admit to being a bit too much when I said that I could get into an exclusive relationship with him if he asked for it."
Maze stared at him for a beat before bursting into laughter.
Lucifer scowled. "Oh, do be quiet, Maze."
"No, no, hold on," she wheezed, wiping at her eyes. "Lucifer Morningstar, King of Hell, the celestial embodiment of temptation itself, doesn't want to share?" She smirked. "What's next? Marriage? Kids? A little house with a white picket fence?"
Lucifer groaned, rubbing his temples as he, for once, didn't have a witty retort ready.
She squinted at him, watching the way he lingered too long on his own drink, golden eyes clouded with something almost vulnerable.
"Oh, shit," Maze breathed, realization dawning. "You're serious."
Lucifer shot her a flat look. "Was the dramatic monologue not enough of a clue? I don't want to share him. If I have him, I want all of him. Happy?"
Maze smirked. "Ecstatic."
Lucifer rolled his eyes, but the truth was… it felt good to say it out loud. Even if Maze was the worst person to admit it to.
"So why'd you let him go, then?"
Lucifer's expression soured instantly. He lifted his glass to his lips, muttering into the rim, "He said he had a girlfriend."
Maze barked out a laugh. "And you didn't ask him to let her join you in bed alongside him?"
Lucifer glared. "I don't want her."
Maze smirked. "You don't even know her."
Lucifer scowled, shifting uncomfortably before pouting into his drink. "Maybe I just want to be a little more selfish this time." He swirled the whiskey idly, his voice softer. "If I have him… I don't want to share."
Maze stared at him, then let out a slow, exaggerated whistle. "Damn. You really have it bad."
Lucifer groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Don't remind me."
Maze just grinned, raising her glass in a mock toast. "Oh, I love this look on you."
Lucifer huffed, but he couldn't even bring himself to argue. Because, for once, he wasn't entirely sure what to do.
.
.
Comments give me motivation (and powerstones ignite me)!
Also, if you want to support me and read chapters ahead, go to my p@treon: JorieDS