Part Vingt-tres - It has to be done...

[gracefulsins]

 Adam’s sleep was dreamless, and long, but not as deep as he had gotten used to on the island. From time to time he was roused just slightly out of his sleep so that he could shift into a more comfortable position. That had never happened on the island, because there was no such thing as ‘uncomfortable’ on the mattress that Lucifer had made for them. Not that the one they had now was overly uncomfortable either, but sleeping on something that didn’t feel like it was little more than air was going to take some getting used to again.

Still he had been tired, and despite falling asleep earlier than he would have normally, at least, according to the local time, he slept well into the next morning. He heard the sounds of Lucifer still humming several minutes before he actually really woke up, the sound seeming like it was part of a dream. Eventually though, he opened his eyes, greeted to the sight of Lucifer’s chest, and realizing that it was daylight, but it didn’t look too bright outside, and mercifully, the blinds were still pulled shut, keeping the room relatively dark and cool.

He was glad for that, because he wasn’t quite of the mind yet to rouse himself from bed. He shut his eyes again and stretched his body out, feeling his skin brush along Lucifer’s as he did, and then settled himself back down, almost like he was going to go right back off to sleep again. Not a bad plan really, in his opinion, and if it happened, he wouldn’t mind another hour or two of sleep, would actually welcome it. He was feeling the effects of a lighter sleep than he was used to. It would pass once he got himself out of bed, he knew that, but actually getting out of bed was the hardest part, now wasn’t it?

After a few more minutes of lying still and not being able to drift back to sleep, Adam rolled over on to his stomach, moving slightly away from Lucifer at the same time, and grumbling something incomprehensible in his half-sleep, he pulled his pillow over his head, in some kind of attempt to block out the fact that it was daylight and that he was going to have to get up soon. He had never been a particularly gracious person in the morning, and avoided them when he could, and none of that was going to change now. He kind of liked the idea that if he lay here long enough and pretended, it wouldn’t really be morning, and he could go back to sleep. He was pretty sure that the idea might even make some kind of sense.



Lucifer made a slightly displeased face when Adam rolled away, mrring under his breath a little. He followed Adam, smirking and softly kissing Adam's bare shoulder blade up til the pillow covered his skin. The drapes got thicker, completely blotting out the early morning light into the room. "You know...I can keep it dark in here all day. If you want to stay in bed." He chuckled deep in his chest, still just kissing at Adam, not pushing it any further for the moment, but that would change if he responded. He also knew that Adam had to eat and shower and do all those human things that he did in the mornings.

He gently pulled the pillow off of Adam's head, moving slowly upward to kiss at his neck. His hands coming up to knead the slightly tense muscles along Adam's spine. "Though, you wanted to be around other humans, and it's just us in here." The smirk could be heard in his voice, but he kept rubbing on Adam's back, working the tense muscles til they relaxed, he wasn't trying to put Adam back to sleep, just waking him up more gently than sunshine did. He gently shifted Adam over, sitting up on his knees so he could run his hands along Adam's back easier. Perhaps he was spoiling Adam too, there was that.

"I wouldn't object to laying here with you all day, however. It's whatever you want, Adam." When there were no more knots in Adam's back he moved his hands back, bracing his weight on one of them and going back to gently kissing Adam's skin. He literally could do this all day, he didn't get bored easily, and had just spent nearly eight or so hours thinking about little more than Adam...so doing this for eight hours? He may end up pushing things further if he was going to...but he still had at least two good hours of control, so long as Adam didn't do what he usually did to Lucifer and make him want to pin him to something and kiss him til he was half crazy. Lucifer had enough of a problem not marking Adam up enough that there wouldn't be any question as to who he belonged to. The fallen angel was possessive, it was a fault...but honestly, he liked it when Adam was clingy and possessive too, and while he didn't own Adam, there was a sense of 'He's mine, you stay away or I'll burn you to ash' to the feelings he had for the human.

Hmm... maybe mornings weren’t so bad after all. He relaxed under Lucifer’s touch, his lips, his hands... Adam could get used to waking up to this. Eventually, he rolled back over on to his back, reaching up; he hooked his hands around Lucifer’s neck, and pulled him back down for a kiss. By far, one of the best ways to start a morning. “Good morning to you too,” Adam chuckled, smiling up at Lucifer. He felt good this morning, really good. Looking down at his chest, he could see that some of Lucifer’s marks had darkened over the course of the night, but none of them hurt; a bit tender to the touch maybe, but it was a huge improvement over how things had been before.

He knew that things were going to have to be dealt with today, which was probably why he was so hesitant to get out of bed. Lucifer’s offer to lie here all day was tempting as hell, but if he took it, nothing else was going to get done, and he would regret that later. “How about a rain check? I owe you one day of lying in bed doing absolutely nothing.” Adam tossed some of his hair back out of his eyes, and he was sure that it was all kinds of everywhere right now. The action reminded him, that they were going to need money, because Adam needed a haircut. His hair had grown while they were on the island, and it was longer now than he generally liked to have it.

A shower was first on the list though; and then food, because his stomach was already gnawing at him. That was another thing that they were going to need money for. Plus, yeah, Lucifer had gotten them in here for free, but he wanted to be able to pay the old woman that had let them in if he could. He felt like they were taking advantage of her... and if this was her livelihood, she might need the money, and they did owe her for the room. It was only right. He didn’t want to have to keep relying on Lucifer every time he was hungry or needed basically anything. Though what they were going to do about money, he had no idea. He had a sneaking suspicion that they weren’t even in the States anymore (another thing that he was going to find out today), but he hadn’t even had any American money, never mind currency for anywhere else. He’d had a steady income of nothing while he was dead, and his bank account had been in a state of despair even before that.

He thought all of that over while still holding on to Lucifer’s neck, biting gently on his bottom lip while he thought. “Today, I have things that I have to do. And I do want to see people.” He lay still for another moment, before letting go of Lucifer and pushing himself up to a sitting position. If he didn’t get up soon, he was going to end up lying there all day.

He would have to think over their money situation while he was in the shower; see what he could think of, because right now, he wasn’t so sure what they were going to do. He wasn’t going to rely on Lucifer’s grace for everything, they needed it for a lot, yes, but that just made Adam even more determined to figure out a way to pay for the things that he could.

Lucifer didn't press or resist when his human, his Adam, pulled him down to kiss him. "Good morning, Adam," he replied, pleased that he wasn't grouchy any longer. He much preferred Adam happy over any other emotion, even over when he writhed for want of the devil. Lucifer couldn't help but be curious about what it was like to sleep, to die a small death and be surprised every morning with Adam's cranky behavior. It really wasn't surprising that he resisted waking up, he seemed so at peace when he slept next to Lucifer. When he wasn't having nightmares, which seemed to stay away so long as Lucifer was near, physically. That alone made the angel feel like he helped Adam, at least a little...and selflessly to boot. It was selfless...mainly because he didn't know how he was doing it, keeping his nightmares away, but he had a sneaking suspicion that /somehow/ Adam slept peacefully because he was there. Call it arrogance, but it seemed true for one reason or another.

The devil's eyebrows contracted for a moment when Adam mentioned taking a rain check, he didn't quite understand what Adam meant with "rain check" but he did know the meaning of the word 'owe'. "You owe me nothing, Adam." He sounded quite serious for a moment too. Adam had only once or twice been more than mildly irritating, usually he was a joy or an amusement to be around. That made the devil happier than he had been in over two thousand years. In reality? This happiness was worth every other human life that Lucifer spared. Simple as that. He easily owed Adam more than that if he thought about it. Hearing the human say that he owed Lucifer anything at all...it caused ruffled feathers and distress to the archangel.

He rocked back on his knees when Adam moved to sit up, getting out of his way. "I know that you do, We're here for you, so enjoy your time, I'll behave." He knew that Adam worried about the humans, and he should, but perhaps not quite as much as he did. Lucifer would take a lot of pushing to break that promise, still acutely aware that if he did, Adam would more than likely leave out of anger. Lucifer wouldn't keep him a prisoner any longer, no, if Adam wanted to leave he was free to do so. He caught Adam's hand and tugged him close to give him a quick kiss before letting him go shower.

He would more than likely stay with Adam until he wanted to go explore the town on his own and then he would go and find himself some demons elsewhere. He would not bring them here, as he remembered the reaction he'd gotten the last time, he had no doubt that Adam would still be unhappy, but this had to be done. He was going to do no lasting harm to them, and they would be blissfully free of demon by the end of the day. That was the best the devil could do and if Adam couldn't accept that, then Lucifer didn't know what to tell him.

He only had so many options.

He was going to think of how to tell him while Adam showered and perhaps ate. He had a bad habit of making him upset...and he didn't like doing it anymore than Adam liked /being/ upset. Sometimes it just seemed impossible not to do so though, like this instance, there was no compromise to be had...there was blood or no blood and Lucifer killed his vessels, there was nothing he could even /do/ about that...and it upset Adam. All that the angel did was sigh, watching Adam quietly with a mostly peaceful expression, things would be as they would be, best to just wait and see, because Lucifer had predicted many outcomes, but never this one.

So perhaps it was best to just pitch the idea and work through any issues after that. He had thought it through and was now just working out the 'how' because that seemed to matter just as much as the 'what' during times like these.

Adam chuckled and nodded his head. “Alright then, I don’t owe you a day of lazing around in bed and doing nothing.” Just a hint of a smirk pushed at the corners of his lips for a moment, and he nipped at Lucifer’s bottom lip, before pushing off the covers and lifting himself out of bed. He figured that it was time to go and check out what kind of state their bathroom was in. If it kept with the rest of the place, then it was probably alright, but with motels, the possibility of your bathroom being in a... questionable state to say the least was always there. He hoped not, because no one wants to shower in a bathroom where it feels like you are going to catch something just by using the soap; but after being spoiled with a freaking waterfall on the island, it would just be even more of a letdown than it usually would.

He turned and headed for the bathroom, pausing in the doorway to check everything out. He breathed a sigh of relief to note that it was actually quite nice. Fresh, clean, white towels sitting on the rack, a new, and still unwrapped bar of soap in the shower; it wasn’t much more than the bare necessities, but it was all there, and he couldn’t ask for more than that.

Walking over to the shower, he turned the taps, waiting, and feeling the water until it was just the right temperature before stepping in. He had set it so that the water was just on the cool side of scalding hot, and steam came up almost immediately out of the shower. He liked it that way when he was thinking, don’t ask him why, but he did, and it helped. He unwrapped the soap, and rolled it over in his hands while he thought. Money that was the main problem that he was facing right now, he had none. He needed it, but where was he going to get enough to live on?

He didn’t have any to speak of, and, on the run from Heaven, and supposedly being a dead man at that, working was out of the question. He wondered vaguely if Lucifer couldn’t somehow just... make money. Hell, the guy had made an island bigger and put a fully equipped house on it in a matter of minutes, so he supposed authenticated bank notes wasn’t a far stretch. He didn’t like it, because one, it was a federal offence, and two, because asking him to make money wasn’t exactly as far from being dependent on Lucifer as he had wanted. It was a step up, because he wouldn’t need to be harassing Lucifer every single time he needed anything... but still.

He mulled that over while he lathered himself up, enjoying the steady stream of water coming out from the faucet. He supposed that when you got right down to it, like it or not, he was dependent on Lucifer. This was the only solution that he could think of that might actually work. And if Lucifer couldn’t do it, then he wasn’t sure what they were going to do.

Lucifer listened to the water, and had to resist the urge to get up and follow Adam to the shower. He'd rather enjoyed the shower at the island with Adam the one time that he took one with the human. He had things to be thinking about though. Not how water was rolling along Adam's back, but he couldn't help indulging and watching as he thought though, or tried to. He was going to watch and think at the same time. That...didn't work. He was following the water down over the muscles in Adam's back, not thinking about a damned thing. He was debating on distracting Adam, with phantom caresses or himself, but he eventually relented, standing up and slowly getting dressed, he took the time to dress normally, mundanely.

It was hard to pull himself from Adam, he was lovely...and oh how he tempted Lucifer without even trying. If Adam knew half of the thoughts running through the devil's mind right now, he may have changed his mind about wanting to get out of bed, or trusting the angel. Once he was dressed, he paced back and forth a little, focusing on how and when he was going to tell Adam what his plans were for the day...he practiced a few more times, muttering under his breath at the face he imagined Adam making. This was not going to end well. Not. At. All.

So perhaps he just wouldn't tell him?

No that wouldn't go over well either.

He cursed in Enochian, eventually just deciding that he'd just wing it. He wasn't getting anywhere trying to think it out because anyway it happened he saw nothing but Adam being upset. He settled for sitting back down on the bed, opening the blinds and letting the now bright morning light into the room. He managed to at least look slightly relaxed, like he had nothing on his mind. Though he really did, but not for now...now he just tried to enjoy Adam, and he fully intended on...licking some of the stray water from his skin when he came back in the room. Fully intended before they went to get something to eat, or Lucifer made them something from nothing.

Finally Adam decided that he had spent enough time in the shower. He hadn’t thought of any better solution to the money problem than asking Lucifer if he was able to create some for Adam. At least that way, he would be able to pay for food and a haircut, and whatever else he might end up doing while exploring the town, and he would be able to give the woman downstairs whatever money that they owed her for however long they stayed here. He shut off the water and stepped out, picking up one of the towels from the rack and ran it through his hair to catch most of the dripping water, before wrapping it around his waist.

Oh, and another bonus of today? He was going to be able to wear his own clothes. Up until now, the only pair that he’d had belonging to him was the ones that he had woken up in, in that field in Duluth. For obvious reasons, he hadn’t worn them since, and didn’t plan to. Nope, no way was he ever going to wear those again. Stepping out of the bathroom, he crossed to the door, picking up his bag from where he had let it drop the night before, and brought it over to the bed so that he could look through it. The day had seemed pretty sunny before Lucifer had darkened the blinds, but he wasn’t sure. He walked over to the window and peaked out the blinds to make sure before he decided on what to wear. It was sunny, fairly warm, he figured a basic pair of jeans and a t-shirt would do for the day.

He stepped back over to the bed, unzipping the bag, and first took out the photo of him with his mom and dad, as well as the small box that he had taken from his room, putting them down on the small table beside the bed. He barely so much as looked at them right now, too painful, not the time. “So,” Adam figured that just asking right off the bat was the best thing to do, because everything was shot anyway if Lucifer wasn’t able to. “Do you think that you would be able to make money? Or get us some money, or something?” He quirked a brow at Lucifer, before going back to rummaging in his bag, pulling out a pair of dark jeans and a navy blue shirt. He figured that they would do for the day, and tossed them onto the bed, zipping up his bag again before looking at Lucifer.

Lucifer's brows drew together, "Yes...I can make money...it's just paper isn't it?" He said, though he stood up from the bed and walked over to Adam and leaned in and inhaled, he smelled of the soap and clean...and he gently licked a stray drop of water off of his neck. He didn't move away from Adam, still licking small beads of water from his skin as he started speaking again. "I'd just need to see it, and I can copy that piece over and over..." He placed a small kiss on Adam's pulse point, feeling the heart beat fluttering under his slightly flushed skin. He'd been thinking of doing that since Adam got in the shower.

He pulled back, nuzzling at Adam's neck for a moment. "Mmmm." He wrapped his arms around Adam, pulling him into a hug.

"I can do that for you, and let you be to explore the town...I have to..." He trailed off, the tenseness in his shoulders giving his awkwardness away. He really didn't want to ruin this. "I have to go and get blood." He said eventually, lifting his head and biting his lip, letting go of Adam, getting the feeling that he wouldn't want to be touched with the knowledge of what was going to have to do. "I'm...going to...only take a small amount from each, and I'll dispossess them." He moved around to face Adam, his eyes very sincere. This was the best he could offer and it showed, in how he was standing, how he was talking and that look in his eyes. "I won't kill them. I promised you." Here was the moment of truth, a test of Adam's trust.

"...but I'll get your money first." He said, quietly, hopefully. He didn't want to fight...and he knew this would test the peace they had achieved. He stepped back again, putting a little more distance between them, sitting down on the bed and waiting for Adam's response to what he said. He kept his eyes on Adam's face, watching for that tell tale shutdown. The signs of Adam getting ready to explode. Lucifer had watched Adam for the entire time they'd been together off and on...he paid attention to the changes in the humans face, the signs of emotions so he could at least read them as they happened so he didn't have to even read Adam's mind. It was a bit shorter term than mind reading, but it was....more authentic.

He wasn’t really even sure what had just happened for a few moments, like his mind just refused to catch up with the rest of the world. One moment he was happily enjoying Lucifer’s tongue swiping at his neck, and now... this. He supposed that he should have expected it. Lucifer had told him this yesterday, but since then, he had happily blocked it from his mind altogether. It wasn’t the best coping strategy, because now he had to face it all over again. In all honesty, the idea that Lucifer was going to have to drink blood, and a lot of it to boot, was revolting, at best.

There was a small improvement to the story today though. Yesterday, he had said that the amount that he needed to take would kill a person, but he was saying now that he wouldn’t take enough from anyone to kill them. He knew that meant that he was going to have to bleed more people, but he figured it was a trade up from having to kill someone. If there was another option, Adam would have loved to hear it, because neither of these was fantastic, but he knew that the only other one that there was would be Lucifer taking another vessel, which meant someone else eventually dying. What he was left with was basically the lesser of three evils; bleeding more people, but not killing them.

Great.

“Okay.” Adam eventually just nodded, picking up his jeans again, running his hands over the denim. What he actually wanted to do was scream and rage at the unfairness of everything until it was somehow all better and nothing was wrong anymore, but that wasn’t going to happen. So... he could either just accept that it was going to happen, or throw a fit, but it was still going to happen anyway. “You won’t kill them so... and that’s good, and so is not leaving them possessed like that.” He still shuddered to remember thirty pairs of black eyes staring at him, so much like staring into nothing. “So... okay.” He wouldn’t have to be there anyway. He would be doing his own thing, and he already knew that when Lucifer came back, Adam was going to act like it had never even happened.

It was a rift between them, he knew that, but talking about it only felt worse. It had to be done, so, he just wanted Lucifer to go and do it, and he didn’t want to know anything else about it.

Lucifer had the decency to look ashamed, and he felt it. He'd upset Adam...he knew it. He didn't want to upset him. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, pressing his fingers to his forehead, and brushing them out over his eyebrows, over the burns hidden by illusions. Their relationship was going to be hard, and short. Though, he...it was worth it. Adam was worth it. He didn't know what to do. "I'll make sure they don't remember." He said, standing up and pacing a little, he didn't handle this feeling very well. E-lo-sha...he felt like he was betraying Adam, and he did not like it at all, but he couldn't do anything about it. Nothing at all. The angel's hands were tied and he hated it. Hated it.

He eventually shook himself and let the topic drop, but he was still tense, worried. It wouldn't take all day, and it would leave his human free to roam the town, and when he got back, they would do whatever Adam wanted. He knew he would miss the human while he was gone. He smiled a little sadly, and shook his head once more. "Okay...you wanted money?" He said, partially wishing that he could just stay, he wanted to, to see Adam's joy when he saw the other people, when he just did anything...Lucifer felt like he was going to be missing out on a wonderful day somehow.

He loitered, still looking awkward while Adam got dressed. He'd have to get some money from the woman downstairs to look at it, it wouldn't be hard, but he had no need of the currency, so he had no idea what it looked like really. He knew he'd head to the nearest large city, demons congregated where people were. They flourished where people were in pain and dejected, where lots of bodies were and their exploits could be easily explained. He knew he could put out a call and they would come like moths to a flame, he was their god after all. They wouldn't like the surprise they got with getting sent back to Hell for their troubles, but a promise was a promise, and the devil was a harsh critic of his creations. They were barely better than the humanity they sought to 'destroy' they'd forgotten what they once were to become what they currently were, but that changed nothing. They were the dregs of humanity, and the very reason Lucifer hated humans, demons were weak creatures. If he didn't need them currently, he would be more than happy to spend the day with Adam in peace, but he couldn't, of course. Nothing was ever easy.

Adam nodded once before unwrapping the towel from around his waist and slipping the jeans on, followed by his navy shirt. “Yeah, I need money.” He picked up the wet towel and carried it back into the bathroom, placing it back on the rack where he had gotten it from. “And don’t...” Adam trailed off, pausing in the doorway of the bathroom while he thought it out. “Don’t be sorry okay? Just... don’t kill anyone. You’re leaving them alive, and not possessed, and they won’t remember. I can’t ask for more than that.” He still hated it, hated what Lucifer was going to do, but honestly, he knew that it was only for him that Lucifer was going to be doing those things. Otherwise, he was pretty sure that Lucifer wouldn’t think twice about bleeding dry however many people it took to keep his vessel together.

Besides, he didn’t like that upset look on Lucifer’s face, and he didn’t like being the reason that it was there. But he couldn’t very well let Lucifer go out and bleed people until they died without saying something about it. At least this way, he could hope that he had somehow affected things for the better. Still, the knowledge of what Lucifer was doing wouldn’t exactly be easy to live with, but at least he might be capable of living with it.

“Come on, let’s go.” He crossed to Lucifer, reaching his arm out and taking the devils hand, giving a light tug so that Lucifer got to his feet as well. Sitting around and looking dejected wasn’t going to get anything done for either of them. One way or the other, it was going to happen. Adam had accepted that much.

“And I’m glad, by the way,” He stopped inside the doorway, turning his head to look at Lucifer. “I’m glad that you are going to be leaving the people alive. I really am. It means a lot to me. More than you probably realize.” With that, he reached out and pulled the door to their room open, stepping out into the hallway at the top of the stairs. He knew that this was going to be hard, but he didn’t want to do something that was going to make it even harder to deal with than it already was. Acting like a child was only going to make it more difficult on himself. He had the option of either enjoying his day, or spending the day worrying about what Lucifer was doing, and ruin it for himself. This was going to be his first day around people in a long time, and he was looking forward to it, he didn’t want to ruin it.