#I'll probably at some point adapt this more into a proper fic on ao3

[procyonloser]

2nd part, Lucifer's pov this time around, flash forward a few years into the future.

Warning for depictions of drinking

Lucifer stared at Cain and Abel, and Abel at least had the sense to look guilty over what his brother had just said. Not too guilty though, they were still 13 year old boys.

"What?" Lucifer repeated, as though he hadn't heard them the first time. "You told him what?"

Cain crossed his arms, digging in his heels metaphorically. "I told him we weren't coming, maybe never again. He's barely our father, we've lived with you 90% of the time since you married mom, and even more since you divorced."

Eve hadn't been interested in taking the boys after she and Lucifer split, which Lucifer was thankful for, he loved being a father to his step sons - but he never meant to take them from Adam. It started with them stayed here on the weekends, but when Cain started to complain and Lucifer had them enrolled in a private school, it switched around and Adam had them on the weekends. The last few years, the boys (Cain) made more and more excuses to not stay with their biological father. Sometimes only Abel would go to stay with him. Lucifer tried to talk to Cain, but didn't think lecturing him would help any.

"I love Dad, it's just... his apartment is nearly an hour away, and our school is here. All our friends are here. Our stuff is here. It doesn't make sense for us to keep going to his place." Abel said, though Lucifer could tell that Cain had probably coached his little brother.

"He could move closer if he actually loved us." Cain said sharply, and Lucifer realized he'd made sizeable mistakes in raising the boys. Adam had come from a fairly affluent family, but they were incredibly religious and Adam being divorced twice was enough grounds for them to cut him off financially. He'd also ended up paying alimony to both spouses for awhile, since initially he had far more money than they did - though that had changed fairly quickly.

"Your father can't afford to just... move," Lucifer said lowly. "This area is expensive, boys. He clearly still loves you, and you..."

Lucifer shook his head. It wasn't until near the end of his marriage to Eve that he'd found out she'd not wanted custody over them whatsoever, and even though Adam was granted total custody, the boys were a crying wreck missing their mom at only 3 years old.

"You're going to call him and apologize." Lucifer said firmly, and Cain just rolled his eyes. "I'm not joking, Cain! Do it now!"

Lucifer had almost never put his foot down when it came to his kids, not with Charlie, not with Cain and Abel. He enjoyed being a people pleaser. It was easy to make kids do what you wanted when you promised them ice cream or games or vacations. He never fought with them, which seemed great at first! But, now Charlie stayed more with Lilith than him; and Cain and Abel were, quite frankly, turning into little shits.

Cain looked up at him, wide eyed. Abel quickly pulled out his phone and dialed his father - but there was no answer.

"Cain." Lucifer said, jaw stiffening.

Cain huffed before, he too, attempted calling Adam. Still, Adam didn't pick up. Worry began to build up in Lucifer, after each consecutive ring went unanswered. "See? He's too busy to care. He doesn't love us." Cain mumbled, sounding miserable.

Lucifer tried calling him too, though Adam and him usually only exchanged short texts. Still nothing. He didn't know any of Adam's friends to call to check up on him either, if he had friends. He had when he was in highschool and college, but that was the last Lucifer had known of his social life.

Lucifer grabbed his wallet and his keys and went to the garage. Cain and Abel followed behind him like little ducklings, uncertain, and not used to Lucifer seemingly angry.

"Dad?" Abel asked, and normally Lucifer loved it when his step sons thought of him as their father. But not right now. He turned on his heel to stare them down.

"Adam and I might not always get along, we might have a very... complicated history. But I know Adam, and he loves you. He thinks the world of you two, and just because I'm wealthier, you want to stay with me? How do you think that makes either of us feel?" Lucifer asked them, and their faces fell. "Both Adam and I know what it feels like to be unwanted by your family, and I never wanted him to feel like that just because I love you both too. I'm going to drive over and check on him."

Cain said nothing, he just looked down at his feet, while Abel looked close to tears.

Lucifer let the door to the garage close between them. The were old enough to stay at the house alone, plus Lucifer had cooking and cleaning staff around to keep an eye on them. He made his way to his car, and prepared for the long drive to Adam's apartment.

It took 45 minutes in traffic, and Lucifer wasn't sure how much earlier the boys had actually messaged Adam to tell him they weren't coming. Lucifer got out of his car, getting a few glances from passerbyers. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the red Spyder, but he needed something fast. He did have a key up to Adam's apartment, in case of emergencies, so he took the steps in record speed, and his hands shook as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, the room smelled like alcohol. It was dim, no light except for a muted television on the wall. Lucifer walked in gently, until he saw a figured hunched over on the carpeted floor.

"Adam?" Lucifer asked softly, and after a moment, the younger man looked up at him. His eyes were red, and there were ruddy tears tracks down his cheeks. His hair was a mess, and it looked like he'd only gotten about halfway through shaving.

"You are... the last person I want to see right now..." Adam's voice quivered as he stared up at him. A mostly empty bottle of jack was beside him on the ground, spilling into the carpet. His voice slurred over certain sounds, blurring them together. "What, you come over to make me sign shit? So you can steal my kids? I always knew you hated me-"

"No," Lucifer said softly, but firmly. "I came to check on you. I was not happy that the boys said what they said to you. I'm not trying to steal-" Adam cut him off, scoffing and looking to the side. He had pictures of Cain and Abel when they were little on his fridge. All over it. Every inch of it.

"... Why am I never enough? Why does no one ever love me?" Adam whispered, and Lucifer snapped his attention back to him, watching as fresh tears dripped down his cheeks. "My dad kicked me out, cut me off... Lilith hated me... Eve hated me... Now my sons hate me. I'm the common den...demo...deneni..."

"Denominator," Lucifer said for him, and Adam just nodded, clenching his eyes closed and curling in on himself. "... My parents kicked me out too. My mother died about a decade back, I found out years after, from my brother who also doesn't speak to me." Lucifer said, sitting down beside Adam. "... and Lilith and you were a bad match, you got married too young, and I know it's because of your parents setting up the marriage. And Eve... Eve is kind of a bitch."

Adam choked on a surprised laugh, looking over at him, eyes still watery.

"I've been divorced just as much as you have, so I...I understand. You know, my daughter Charlie doesn't talk to me that much anymore, and that scares the hell out of me...I don't even know how to go about talking to her. And, today...I realized I hadn't been a very good father to Cain and Abel either." Lucifer met his eyes, and smiled at him. "They need you, Adam. I'm sorry if... If I made the situation worse. You'll find someone who loves you unconditionally, I believe that, because I need to believe it for me too."

Adam appraised him for a moment, before looking away and shaking his head, wiping at his eyes. "They don't want me...I don't even blame them, they have this tiny room here, bunk beds... Usually over the weekend, I'm just making them do homework for Monday. They're miserable around me."

Lucifer remembered tutoring Adam in highschool, they'd been friends then. Adam had had this boisterous personality that Lucifer always felt invigorated by. Lucifer was a few years older than him, and didn't really have any friends of his own back then. But, Adam always seemed so happy to see him, he'd smile so brightly at him. Lucifer remembered the moment his expression turned to hate, after he and Lilith split, and he found out Lucifer was dating her.

Now, Adam was on the floor of his apartment, in a tank top and boxers, crying into his knees.

"What if you lived with me?" Lucifer blurted out, unable to stop himself. Adam froze, before looking up at him with wide eyes. He looked more 20 right now than his actual age at 37.

"What?" Adam blinked, his long eyelashes sticking together with unshed tears, cheeks and nose pink from crying and- oh god, Lucifer realized in some horror.

Did he like Adam?

Mini au IDK. Pre adamsapple. Divorced Dad Adam

Adam picked up Abel, who was still sniffing even as he latched onto Adam's leg. Cain, on the other hand, was glowering up at his brother, still holding onto his backpack and clearly not wanting to go. Admittedly, Adam wasn't happy about being here at fucking 2 in the goddamn morning either.

"Sorry," Charlie said, lisping a bit since she'd gotten braces. She might have tried to look goth, but she was still a theater kid at heart. "In school, everyone was talking about this new movie...I mentioned it to the twins, it sounded like they wanted to see it."

"I did want to see it." Cain complained, siding with his step sister and looking put out.

"Yeah, well, Abel pissed himself in fear, so maybe no fucking slasher movies for kids under 10?" Adam huffed, readjusting Abel on his hip so the kid wasn't strangling him. "Where's your mom?"

"On a date, in the city. They were dressed all fancy and left in a really cool car." Cain said glumly.

"Wouldn't take us with."

Yeah, no shit, Adam thought to himself. He couldn't imagine a worse hell than a romantic date with two 7 year olds tagging along the entire time.

"Why don't you have any cars like that?" Cain asked him.

"Because your mom took all my shit in the divorce, and then married a rich fuck." Adam said in feigned sweetness. Charlie looked upset, eyebrows fitting together, but she was all of 13, and she knew just as well as he did that her mom Lilith was Adam's other ex wife. So, he had reason to be annoyed. "Now get your shit and get in the car, we're going home. It's too late at night for this and your brother is going to need therapy."

"The monster that lived under his bed ate out the man's eyeballs." Abel mumbled into his shoulder. Great, Adam wasn't going to sleep alone for a year.

"You suck, I wish Lucifer was my dad..." Cain stomped down the front steps with as much force as a 7 year old could muster. Adam rolled his eyes, but before he could open his mouth again, a candyapple red car came screaming up the very long driveway.

"Fuck," Adam whispered under his breath. "Here we go again."

Lucifer practically jumped out of the front seat, running up the sidewalk looking concerned, but his tie was noticeably loose, and the buttons on his shirt weren't in the right spot. There was what a bit on lipstick on his neck.

"I got your message, Charlie, is everything alright?" Lucifer asked, looking at his daughter in worry. "No one is hurt, are they?"

"Everything is fine," Adam cut her off, glaring down at the older man. "Abel got scared, I'm taking the boys home."

Lucifer looked between him and the boys, frown curling his expression downwards. "Oh no, that's too bad. I'm so sorry to hear that, I was really looking forward to the weekends they were here..."

Not enough to stop you from going out and plowing Eve on a Friday night, Adam thought in smoldering anger. He'd had to drive all the way across town to drop them off, only to come back in the middle of the fucking night for them.

"Yeah, I had the rest of the weekend planned. Homemade pancakes and waffles with whipped cream and fruit, then I was going to take them to LuLuWorld, and then I was going to let them pick out any toy set they wanted." Lucifer listed off, seemingly legitimately upset by the news. Abel's head picked up off of Adam, and he looked at his step father in sudden fixation.

Eve got out of the car, glare fixed on Adam before rounding it to wrap her arm through Lucifer's. She sure as fuck never wore any dresses like that when he'd been married to her.

"Well, if the boys want to stay with Adam, that's fine. Nothing wrong with that, Charlie likes to stay at her mother's some days too." Eve practically purred, running a finger along Lucifer's jaw. Lucifer looked up at her with adoration that made Adam's stomach turn. How long had it been since he and Lucifer had been friends?

"I think I'm okay now," Abel said, pushing to get down on the ground. Adam let him go, and Abel ran over to his step sister's side, which caused Cain to do the same. "Yeah, I'm totally okay now. Thanks Dad, see you again Monday!"

"Or never, we could just stay here," Cain said under his breath, but Adam heard it anyway.

"Oh good!" Lucifer said, turning to smile at Adam, like he was doing him some kind of favor. "I'm sure you're happy to get your weekends back! I'm sure you're busy."

Eve scoffed, and Adam boiled below the surface.

"Fucking whatever man." Adam turned to walk towards his car, but Eve stopped him with a small smile on her painted lips. Lucifer was already leading the kids back into the house, promising them popcorn and a happier movie to watch.

"Maybe we should rethink custody arrangements?" Eve raised her eyebrow at him, a sly smile darkening her features. "The twins seem much happier here."

Adam fumed, marching up to get in her face, not afraid of how it looked. "Fuck. You. You didn't even want them. I had to fucking beg you to take them on the weekends because they wanted their mom. You're not taking them from me."

Eve didn't seem bothered by his response. "Looks like I already have." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered back into the house, only sending one last parting message to him. "By the way, Adam? He's bigger."

The door shut behind her, and Adam was left outside, cold, in the dark, and pondering arsony.

"Maybe I'll fucking steal him from you, see how you like it!" Adam shouted at the front door, hands balled up into fists at his sides. "I can't fucking wait until you're miserable and I'm the one sucking his fucking soul out through his co-"

The door creaked back open, and Lucifer looked out of it, brows furrowed. "...Uh...the kids can hear you."

Adam turned bright red from embarrassment. "Fucking good! I'm glad!"

Lucifer stared at him. "... Right, goodnight, Adam."

With that the door shut, and Adam got back into his car, slamming the door closed, and then hitting his head against the steering wheel about fifty times.

First loves sucked. Second loves sucked more. Third loves sucked hardest.

He hoped his ramen in the microwave hadn't gotten mushy.