Owner	Pose
Lucifer	A few days after their trip to Giza and likely before they make it back to the Savage Lands, Lucifer requests that he return to Lux to do some paperwork and other business related things. There is something more in store, however, should Nathaniel choose to come along. Though that is entirely up to the man with his fingers in a few several projects right now. "I have something I would like to give you, show you, if you would like to join..."
Sinister	"Oh, I could do with a night of lounging in the club, whilst you do as you need to do. Foreign beds are nice and all that, but they're not our bed, are they?" A simple reply to the invite, but in a softer tone. "Of course, I'll come." Bestowed with a kiss. So it was that whilst paperwork was achieved and the necessary i's dotted and t's crossed, Sinister watched the young and the famous, the rich and the socialite, the ordinary and the extraordinary bump shoulders in Lux. He ascends to the penthouse whilst it's still open and raving downstairs, having had his fill of it all. White shirt unbuttonedm to his collarbone, black jeans belted with a silver buckle upon which sits a raven with a white feather in its beak, his light jacket hanging over one shoulder from the curl of one finger. He brought up a bottle of cognac and looks about the place with a calm expression, tinted with a very faint smile. "Honey? I'm home..."
Lucifer	The penthouse smells of brimstone and sulfur, and has an aura of blood red within it. Like someone flipped stage lights to give the rooms a crimson glow between the shadows. The fireplace roars with life, flames licking up into the chimney but also threatening to engulf the living space itself. Lucifer stands in the center of the room, dressed in all black with skin that is either red by natural elements or picking up the room's glow. "Welcome home..." He offers with a grin, teeth stark white against the rest of his features. "Please, come in, relax... this is just part one of...well I don't know how many parts this will take but...join me?"
Sinister	Sinister halts on the first step out of the elevator, for this IS a phenomenon that requires a bit of taking in. The gilded doors shut behind him with a 'ding' as he lowers his coat from his shoulder. Steps, sure but slow, are taken into this rather oppressive atmosphere, eyes travelling to the flames of the hearth, the walls in that lurid shade and the devil limned in the glow of all this. He doesn't flinch though, even as he's waving a hand infront of his nose to clear (pointlessly) some of the smell of sulphurous gases from his nostrils. Steps that take him downward into the sunken middle of the room, a glance to the bar of Whiskey upon one wall, the couch and such arrayed around this middle, where the coffee table has been moved and lastly to the devil himself, looking the being straight in the eye. "Just so as you know, sweetie... the pyrotechnics aren't really all that conducive to relaxation, unless you're a pyromaniac. But I will do my level best." He winks.
Lucifer	"Ah. I was getting...cold." Lucifer offers, that grin still wide, watching as Nathaniel makes his way into the room. "You'll forgive me for my penache to set up an atmospheric domain but...I was sort of missing a little of this and that. Pieces of the whole as it were. Aside, this may help me in what I wish to show you this evening..." He reaches a hand out, in the flicker of fire he's normal skin tone, so the red is just a reflection. Maybe. A closer look at his face and it seems to be almost holographic in a way some face-changing cards are. One way he looks like he always does, but turn a little to the side and there's silver in the eyes, red peeled skin within the cheek bones, and an overall more hollow look. "Shall we have a drink first?" Asking as he motions towards the cognac that Nathaniel holds in hand.
Sinister	The holographic 'show' causes an ooooooooooh-so-slight narrowing of the eyes. The devil face, doesn't come out to play often and it's usually with a state of mind, attached. But after the narrow, they flare wider with a grin, taking the hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss the knuckles. And as he's said many a time before now "Ohh, let me burn," just softly, barely heard, but lipreading is an artform is it not? "A drink. A bit of debauchery, whatever floats your boat. I feel disinclined to the civilization of a glass though," reaching the bottle to his teeth, he yanks the cork out with a bite and spits it at the fire with some accuracy, proffering the bottle as he eschews couch or chairs, to sit on thin air, as is HIS want to do on occasion. Legs cross at the knee and he leans, as if on a chaise, elbow propped on an invisible arm-rest. "It's all in the prestige, isn't it?"
Lucifer	Lucifer takes the proffered bottle once cork has been removed and burned, then downs a good few swallows while watching Nathaniel sit upon the air. "I suppose it is. Though I don't really know what type of prestige I truly hold..." The bottle made to float then, a bit closer to where Nathaniel lounges though Lucifer follows it, and closer still, to lean in and capture Nathaniel's lips in a kiss. He tastes of brimstone and cognac, and while within that kiss the fire erupts and pours out from the hearth, threatening to burn the penthouse down - but Lucifer has control of it. It swirls around the both of them, engulfing them in flames that are hot but do not burn. As the flames dissipate, lounging Nathaniel, floating bottle and Lucifer remain in their positions but the scene has definitely changed. A memory, of sorts, and Lucifer soon straightens to look around. They're in the Haven Police Department, and Lucifer tilts his head while he takes in the scene. "Now this is interesting for a trip down memory lane..." He looks...almost younger? Or perhaps has a more naieve air about him. Something, and since this memory is years old - well...
Sinister	Sinister's eyes close in the kiss of contact. The heat, felt, but he trusts. Or perhaps more morbidly, if he were to burn he would have no regrets. But safe in the face of the fire, there is only a brush of fingers down Lucifer's chest before he opens eyes to the scene. "Hold that thought," and in mind, it's the prestige he's thinking on, to identify the culprit. But then, there is the scene; it is glanced at, but Lucifer knows just how deeply Nathaniel Essex tends to 'glance' at things. He's taking in the desks, where they're positioned, the paperwork in piles, the pencils in cups, all of it, the light, the smell in the air, of office space, coffee and printer ink. He looks from scenery to devil, tiltings his head as he takes in the /aspect/ of the man, how there's younger eyes, more impish devil-may-care about him, which is wholely appropos all things considered. "Did you just let your psyche latch? If not, I dare say there's something of pertinence here." He says with a warmth in the tone, taking a deep breath and stepping down from the air. Cognac is swigged, even if he isn't truly in a memory but in a kind of magic that projects it, the cognac feels real enough. Several swallows later and he sucks his teeth, watching curious.
Lucifer	Desks are piled with papers, pens scattered where people have been scribbling notes or jotting down names and numbers. A few detectives sit at their desks on their phones and then Lucifer steps forward and 'into' the memory. He has a role here after all. A young woman - mid 30s perhaps - comes barreling out of a side office and almost bumps into Lucifer. "Ah! Detective! Fancy meeting you here..." "Lucifer?! What are you doing here?" "Well, I thought it was obvious. I'm here to help you with the case. A young woman is dead, her killer out there still on the streets and no one here seems to give a damn, so I thought I'd help!" "You want to help? I'll tell you how you can help. You can march your ass out of this station and let us do our work!" After which, without letting Lucifer get another word in, the woman storms off while muttering under her breath. Lucifer turns on heels and steps back towards Nathaniel and the bottle of booze. "Took her a bit to warm up to me..."
Sinister	Sinister balls his free hand into a fist, hiding his mouth behind it as the scene starts off, the initial reaction one that he has to hide his smile for. A clearing of the throat happens thereafter, particularly as he notes the periphery reactions to this event, which were several cops looking knowingly after Decker and some side-eyes that were sent Luci's way. "So it seems. She had what shall we call it... a no nonsense attitude?" He grins, leans beyond Lucifer to watch the Detective walking off. "Nice view," Luci's not the only one to check assets. Looking back though, he tilts his head. "This was a beginning, I think. Yes? It certainly seems like it was the start of an adventure."
Lucifer	"Yes. Somewhat. I had been topside for about... six months? Almost a year? Maize was starting to itch to go back to Hell. Amandiel had visited me a few times." Lucifer offers. "The girl I was speaking about was someone I had given a favor to. The favor had worn out. Tit for tat. And while I was walking her to a car...someone drove by and killed her." Lucifer offers. "I was a suspect for a hot minute. For reasons...like how there were multiple shots fired and I didn't take a single hit." He shrugs then. "A beginning of a truly trying and wonderful relationship. And yes. Not a bad view either." That last line said...almost sadly.
Sinister	Sinister knows Lucifer. Knows him well. Who knows how many times he's played interactions in his mind whilst contemplating eyelids, watching, observing. He has degrees in psychology that would make him the envy of many criminal psychiatrists and makes him a master manipulator of men, after all. And so: "...she was one of your first crushes here on Earth, wasn't she? And I bet... because you want what you can't have, the very most." There is no jealousy in his tone, only observation and a measure of empathy. He touches Luci's hip then, moves the hand up to rub the small of the back. "Did you have great adventures?"
Lucifer	"I could have anyone at any time...just on a whim. After a few drinks and some talking. Make deals. Make love. But her..." Lucifer motions. "For some reason she wouldn't fall for it. Not any of it. And the more I tried and the more she denied me the harder I fell." He says all of this and then gives a chuckle and a nod of his head, reaching for the cognac to take another couple of swallows from the bottle. "Oh, so many great adventures. They don't come to me much anymore for help but...those were some fun times indeed."
Sinister	Sinister looks out toward where the Detective in this memory, is talking to another beat cop. He gazes her way a long time, taking the bottle back from Lucifer to swig himself with a smack of the lips and a sigh. "I suppose I should thank her then. If you'd got what you wanted every time you wanted it, you would never have appreciated what you had, when you had it. She gave you personal growth. Paved a way." He ponders that, frowns a little bit and looks then at Lucifer's profile. "So why share this one?" he asks, curiously. "This isn't a moment where you were happiest, but there's significance to it. Or is the reason as I've just noted. Or..." he holds up a finger, gestures with it and silences, punctuating that moment with more singular thrusts of the finger "...the beginning of understanding?"
Lucifer	Lucifer is silent for a long while, seeming to take in all that Nathaniel has said and mull it over in his mind. He thought he had happiness somewhere, but with even seeing this now there comes a revelation of another sort. "The beginning of understanding. The beginning of me...shaping into who I am now..." He offers this first, lowly, and then looks to the bottle a moment, back to Decker, and then finally to Nathaniel. "This is where I landed...and while I would like to say that there are other memories. Happier memories..." A pause, a breath that isn't needed taken anyway to fill the empty. "...My happiest memories are my most current ones. I realize that now. I have been my happiest...with you. And Vlad. Both of you. With my life now, as it's shaped even further into actually having some sort of meaning."
Sinister	Sinister nods a few times at that, then with one long, lasting look sent toward Decker, he turns to face Lucifer head on and sets the bottle to floating again. Both hands are lifted to the devil's shoulders and settle there, giving a tender squeeze and absently cocking his head as he imagines other interactions. He shakes his head to clear it, looks Lucifer in the eye and simply smiles his ghost of a smile. "You questioned your prestige," he says this, then releases a hand to put a single finger on Lucifer's lips, to silence him, returning the hand to its previous hold. "There is nothing about you that lacks prestige. Not a single thing. Even when you think the least of yourself, you are the most I would ever want and I am a /picky/ bastard, you know. I have standards and they're exceptionally high." Small mouth, big eyes for emphasis. But then it all softens. "I know you never hid who you were here. You do not lie. And yet, you brought yourself down to being a man, took your knocks and lords know, you've taken them still with me. I'm a fussy little sod. But you humble yourself, every single day. To -be- prestigious. It isn't always about the showmanship. The drama. Sometimes it's about the dignity and ... calibre of being. Sometimes, I don't tell you I love you enough, I think. But one thing I know I never will suffer from is a lack of respect, for you."
Lucifer	It's a good thing that finger was used to shush the Devil, because he surely would have had some sort of quip. That single gesture forces - gently and kindly - Lucifer to listen to the rest of what Nathaniel has to say. After it all, he closes his eyes and gives a single nod of his head. "How is it that you seem to know me better than I know myself sometimes? That seems to fit... all of it. Though I will say..." He pauses, breathes. "You may not SAY you love me in so many words all the time... but you SHOW me you love me in so many ways... and that's worth something too. I can't lie, it would be nice to hear it a bit more often...but...you do show it. You show me I'm worth something in your eyes..and coming from you..it's a large gesture..." He looks to the memory, back to Nathaniel, "...A short jaunt..perhaps we are done here, yes?"
Sinister	"Perhaps so," Sinister replies, but not long after this, he tugs closer, a gentle gesture, to thereafter enfold with both arms, resting his cheek atop that dark head of hair. He holds there for a good long while. "I suppose I am quintessentially english in a manner I sometimes have a hard time breaking from. I am a man that does not truck with fools, nor do I like to be a braggart, or a blow hard. What I say, I intend. What I intend, I do. To me, actions speak infinitely louder than words and yet... language is a precious thing. A beautiful thing. It can paint the imagination from one mind to another, can beggar a man not to cry and can find the fundament of the soul in the most profound of ways. All the decorations in all of creation, could not challenge the ability of words to colour the world, or create an imagery of profound significance. Words are a weapon and a balm. So..." he inhales, exhales, then turns his face to kiss the crown of the archangel he calls his beloved. "...I do not say I love you as much as I should, because I feel... to say it all the time, diminishes it. Makes it a cheap thing... when I can show you in so many ways, as you like to note... how much you truly mean to me. But that does not mean I should... ever... deny you hearing those three little words. They mean a great deal. YOU mean a great deal. You always and forever will. I..." he presses face to scalp again one more time in lingering contact, says the words against skin "...love you."
Lucifer	Lucifer allows himself to be held, basking in the moment of it, and listening once more to all that Nathaniel has to say. A sound comes from him at that kiss to his forehead but otherwise he is silent and listening. Once Nathaniel is finished, he smiles. "I love you, too." A beat. "I think that is why I never really brought it up. You've told me on a few occasions that saying things over and over again seem to diminish their value. So you show, and in showing you say it but without words. It's a fair trade off, since I know that such is your love language." He nuzzles into then, breathes deep, and nuzzles again. "And you say it back when I say it to you...sometimes... so there's that." A glance, but he doesn't move much, just averts his eyes one way and then another. After a beat, the scene changes, fades away into nothing and they are back in the penthouse. Though the glow of red is gone, the scent now is butterscotch and cinnamon thanks to a few burning candles. The fire is now just a gentle roar within it's confines of the fireplace. Normal. Well, as normal as things can get for the Devil and his lover.
Sinister	"I promise to you, I will try and say it more often. You deserve to know that you -are- loved." Sinister replies to this, squeezes and relaxes afterwards, taking in the scents of the penthouse, the normality of it with a trace of humour in that he laughs soft and low. "You know, considering how brilliant you are, you are amazingly vulnerable. It is overwhelmingly endearing and I fear I am underwhelming in response." He clucks his tongue at that, a snort of mild disgust at himself an audible punctuation to that sentiment. Then he does not break contact, but slips himself aside, arms still around, to walk himself and his beloved toward their bed, perhaps not for anything more than holding. It seems to be a moment where things could go many ways; one of those cross-roads. "You are amazing, my heart. And I doubt I'm ever going to stop wondering how I found the one man in all of creation whom I feel could comprehend me without judgement. You are quite singular after all and before I stepped through your doors that second time," for he'd been to Lux once before and not really interacted much "...I wasn't even sure you were real. HOnestly, when I'm having a moment, I still don't quite believe you are. But nonetheless, here we are. Thank you for sharing a memory with me, voluntarily. It is extremely... intimate."