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Lucifer hadn’t meant to ever run into the kid again. Really! That’s why he’d gone to Egypt, specifically, because it’s not like the boy and his family would end up
there.
Right?
Right?
Wrong. He was very, very wrong.
It started, as all good stories should, with a small being running full speed into his legs and very nearly knocking him over.
“Hello, small child?” He tried to take a step and still the child clung to his legs. “Where is your mother?”
“You came back!” the child cried in glee. “I knew you would.” Panic raced through Lucifer’s mind.
“I don’t know what your mother has told you but I am not your father! Where is your mother?” He finally succeeded in prying the small boy off of his leg and held him out at arms’ length. This only resulted in giggles.
“She’s talking,” the boy said, clearly bored by the very idea. “And not even about anything interesting, like stars or how animals work!”
“Stars are very interesting, yes,” he said, looking around frantically for a woman who might’ve resembled the boy. “Please don’t say you think I’m your father.”
“I knew you liked stars! They’re so cool! And pretty! Did you know people tell stories about the stars? They say there’s animals and heroes up there!” The boy continued to ramble as Lucifer looked around.
“Jesus! Jesus, where are you?” A woman was calling out, looking low, for a small child. Lucifer could’ve sobbed in relief.
“Momma!” Lucifer set the boy down as he started to turn, and he shot off like a rocket, colliding with his mother’s legs in the same way he had collided with Lucifer. “Momma, Momma, look who I found! He came back!”
“I don’t know what you have told the boy, but I am
not
his father,” Lucifer rushed to say. The woman looked up at him, and recognition sparked in her eyes. She smiled, took hold of her son’s hand, and walked closer to the man.
“He knows you are not his father, fear not. It is good to see you again, my lord.” She didn’t quite bow, but she nodded her head in respect.
“I - I am afraid I do not recognize you, dear lady. My apologies.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I do not expect a king to remember everyone he meets, especially a child who is no longer a newborn babe.” The words struck a match in Lucifer’s mind, and he blinked in surprise.
“Mary.” She smiled at him. “What are you doing in Egypt?”
“The angels told us to!” Jesus said, speaking up from his mother’s side. “And then they’ll tell us when we can go home again! But for now they tell us to stay here!”
“Oh, do they? Which angels?” He crouched down, to get on the boy’s level, and got a grin in exchange.
“Gabriel, usually. She always has stories to tell me when she stops by! And I’ve met Amen - Amen - Amen…” He trailed off as he tried (and failed) to pronounce the name.
“Amenadiel?” Lucifer asked, and the boy’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, him!”
“You know the names of angels?” Mary asked, looking at Lucifer with something close to suspicion. “You must be quite a king, for God to hold you in such favor as to know the angels.”
“Could we perhaps
not
have this conversation in the middle of the street? Please? I promise to tell you who I am, but I would prefer to do it
not here.”
Mary holds his gaze, never once blinking.
“My son trusts you. You have visited us before and held him, and promised us safety in your kingdom. You are welcome in our home.” Her eyes gleamed, and for some odd reason, Lucifer felt
frightened
of this mortal woman. Which was absurd! He was more than a head taller than her! He had
powers,
for goodness sake! He had no need to be scared of her. “But you will answer our questions with honesty.”
“I always do,” he said, bowing slightly. “Lead the way.”
“Yay!” Jesus pulled on his mother’s arm, running slightly ahead of her.
“Is he always so…excited?” Lucifer asked as he followed the pair. Mary nodded, a tired smile on her face.
“He is so full of love for the world. He wants to do everything, see everything, talk about everything. It is refreshing, but also very exhausting.”
“Daddy!” Lucifer cringed as the boy ran into the small house, despite knowing for a fact that his Father - their Father, really - would not deign to inhabit such a place. Sure enough, it was not God who scooped the boy up, but Joseph, who picked up his son with a smile.
“There's my boy!” He leaned down to press a kiss to his wife's cheek, before he noticed who came in behind her. “If I'd known you were bringing company, I might’ve tidied up a bit.”
“Jesus, go play outside for a moment,” Mary said. “The grown-ups need to talk.”
“Okay, Momma!” The boy ran outside with a smile. When he had gone, the small home seemed to grow colder.
“What's going on?” Joseph asked, looking between Mary and Lucifer.
“He knows the names of the angels that visit our son,” she said simply. “I want to know why.”
“I would assume for the same reason he came to visit when Jesus was born.” He glanced at Lucifer.
“Well, you're not…wrong.” Mary glared at him, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Just…don't scream.”
With a deep breath, he let himself change. Tanned flesh burned away to reveal a painful red. His eyes did the same, no longer a deep brown but a fiery crimson. As he spread his hands, they grew into claws. When he looked up at Mary and Joseph, their eyes were wide - with anger, fear? He couldn’t tell.
“You’re a demon,” Joseph said, one arm out to protect his wife.
“No. I’m the Devil.” He bowed ever so slightly. “Lucifer Morningstar, king of Hell. Again, please don’t scream.”
“I let you hold my son.” Mary’s voice is low, almost dangerous.
“You could have refused! I wouldn’t have snatched the boy from you!”
“If you think you can set him astray, I will -”
“He ran into me!” Lucifer interrupted, not wanting to hear what Mary would do to him. (The woman scared him, for some reason.) “I came to Egypt because I thought it would be far enough away to not run into anyone who’d recognize me! Clearly, I was wrong.”
“What do you want with him?” Joseph asked.
“Nothing! Like I said, the boy ran into me!”
“No. Not at this moment. When he was born,” the man clarified. “Why did you come?”
Lucifer sighed.
“I heard our Father’s plan from Gabriel. I wanted to see if it was true.” He fiddled with the sleeve of his robes, careful not to pierce the fabric with his claws. “All I planned to do was see if the boy had been born. I had not planned on you seeing me.”
There was silence for a moment; Mary glared at Lucifer, Joseph still had his arm out in front of her (although it was less to protect her and more to hold her back), and Lucifer seemed to almost be…cowering from the couple. Which was absurd! He was the Devil! The King of Hell! These mortals couldn't do anything to him! There was no reason for him to
fear
losing their approval!
(He was lying to himself, of course. Not only did Mary scare him for no clear reason, but she had, hardly an hour ago, liked him. Or at least, she had been friendly toward him. Not a lot of people did that.)
“Momma, Momma!” All three adults jumped as Jesus ran inside, waving his arms excitedly. “I saw a beetle and it landed on me and let me look at its wings and…” The boy trailed off to catch his breath, then looked around. “Lucifer! You're still here!”
Once again, he threw himself at Lucifer’s legs. Lucifer, still looking very burnt and demonic, tried to take a step back, but to no avail.
“Jesus, let go of him,” Mary said, the tone of her voice making it clear that no argument would be tolerated. He did as he was told, looking at his mother with glee.
“Momma, can Lucifer stay for dinner? Please?” He turned back to Lucifer, whose face had shifted back to normal. “Momma makes the best food ever! You'll love it!”
“Why do you want him to stay for dinner, son?” Joseph asked, kneeling down to get on the boy’s level.
“He's my brother,” Jesus said simply, a smile on his face. Joseph looked first to his wife, who was clearly thinking at a mile a minute, before looking at Lucifer. The man was staring at Jesus with something akin to shock on his face.
“You…you still want me to stay? Even after seeing my face?” The boy - hardly even a boy, a toddler, really, he was still so small - frowned.
“I always knew who you were,” he said, his voice too wise for his small size. “You could've been mean. But you held me and sang to me and you're my brother.”
“Yes, I - I am your brother.” Lucifer looked up from the boy to make eye contact with Mary. The woman was no longer looking at him with distrust; there was a look of understanding on her face. “Am I welcome to stay for dinner?”
“You may stay,” she said with a nod. “I ought to have trusted his instincts sooner.”
“There are not a lot of people who trust me,” Lucifer said as Jesus grabbed his hand and began to pull him away, presumably to see a beetle or bird or talk about the stars. “I understand why you wouldn't.”
“That may be true,” she said, stifling a laugh at the sight, “but I trust my son. And he trusts you.”
It was late when Lucifer left; as much as he doesn't want to, he does have to return to Hell. But Joseph stopped him before he left.
“When our son was born, you gave us a promise. Does that still apply?”
“None of you will end up in Hell, I am sure of it,” Lucifer reassured the man.
“That's not what I asked. Does your promise still stand?”
“I always keep my word,” he said with a nod. “It still stands.”
Joseph sighed, relaxing slightly. “Good. Thank you.” Lucifer just nodded again. “I wish you safe travels.”
“I - thank you.” Without another word, Lucifer stepped into the night. Better to leave before he started doing something he'd regret, like getting sentimental. But he promised himself he'd be back. Just…perhaps when the boy was less likely to hug him.