Chapter 54

Michael and Lucifer hear the lock on the door click, signaling that their twenty hours are over. It's usually silent, so Chuck must have figured out neither of them are in a hurry to leave.

"You wanna go?" Michael asks him.

Lucifer shrugs. "Sure."

They leave the room together, walking down the halls that now seem so familiar to them. They chat on the way, reminiscing on the good times they had before Lucifer was cast down. They enter the war room nearly in tears from laughing so hard, earning some weird looks that they ignore.

"I completely forgot about that!" Lucifer laughs. "The look on his face was priceless!"

"I think his reactions were always the best part," Michael adds.

"Maybe for you, but I personally liked seeing the evil genius in you," Lucifer tells him. "You were never like that with anyone else."

"Well, I don't hate anyone else as much as I hate Jesus," Michael replies with a grin.

"I don't think anyone has ever hated anyone as much as we hated Jesus."

"Jesus hated us more than we hated him," Michael says confidently. "The hell we put him through..."

"Was awesome!" Lucifer finishes with a laugh.

"Definitely," Michael agrees.

"I thought they hated each other," Meg says softly.

"No, Lucifer hated Michael," Balthazar corrects her just as quietly. "But Lucifer's the most bipolar person I've ever met, so I wouldn't be surprised if they hate each other again by noon."

~~

Jo walks into the war room a few hours later to see Michael and Lucifer dying of laughter. She slowly walks back into the halls, then makes her way back to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her softly and taking a seat on her bed. Maybe no one will notice she's awake.

Or not.

Suddenly, Lucifer appears in the room. His smile disappears immediately and he crosses his arms in annoyance. He leans against the wall and looks up at the ceiling, seeming content to just ignore her, which she can't say she's opposed to.

Unfortunately, Chuck has other plans. He pops into the room, getting Jo's attention immediately. Lucifer doesn't acknowledge him, pretending he doesn't know he's there.

"Lucifer." Chuck claps in front of him, but the angel doesn't flinch. He waves a hand in front of his face, and Lucifer's hand shoots out to grab his wrist, then yanks it forward, which easily would have ripped his arm off, had he been human and not God. Chuck pulls his arm free and shakes his head to himself.

"Okay, that was uncalled for," Chuck scolds him.

Lucifer just rolls his eyes, and Chuck sighs in defeat.

"Whatever. Guys, part of this agreement was that you have to, you know, acknowledge each other's existence."

"Interesting idea of an agreement," Lucifer mutters.

"Yeah, neither of us actually agreed to this," Jo adds.

"Whatever. You still have to do what I say."

Lucifer scoffs. "So much for free will."

"Oh, you still have free will," Chuck assures them. "It's just not going to do you much good."

"Okay, seriously, what do you want from us?" Jo asks, exasperated.

"If all goes well, you'll figure it out yourselves pretty soon. 'Til then." Chuck makes finger guns at them, then disappears.

Jo sighs. "What is with that guy?"

"He's a dick," Lucifer replies, not even trying to hide is frustration, nor does he sound like he wants to keep the conversation going, despite what Chuck said.

"Must run in the family," Jo mutters under her breath.

Lucifer glares at her. "What did you just say?"

Jo isn't sure if it's because she's feeling rather stubborn today, or if it's because she'd rather fight than sit in silence for twice as long, but for some reason she can't exactly place, she doesn't drop it like she usually would. Instead, she sits up slightly taller and says, "You know exactly what I just said. You may be ignorant, but you're not deaf."

Lucifer's eyes flare red for a moment, likely as a scare tactic, but Jo still doesn't back down. She stands up and crosses her arms, much like how Lucifer is standing.

"Watch your tone," he growls.

"Yeah? Or what?" she challenges. "You can't hurt me. Chuck's rules."

"No, I just can't kill you," he corrects her. "There's no rule against this."

He throws her into the wall behind him before she can really process what's happening. He takes a few steps towards her, his height making him that much more intimidating. Jo refuses to let that get to him, instead meeting his gaze confidently.

They just stand there in silence for a moment, until suddenly, Jo pulls him closer without thinking, pressing their lips together. Lucifer kisses her back without hesitation, pressing her up against the wall. His fingers get tangled in her hair, but neither of them care. He manages to fee his hands, sliding them into the top of her shorts. What happens from there... well, you can use your imagination for that, but let's say they definitely weren't fighting.