CHAPTER TWO

WORSE FALLS THAN THAT

" all the clouds in me are raining  "

- r. h. Sin

Pain.

Everyone saw it differently— for some it was like this empty hollowness that becomes every part of their soul, eating away every type of good that one may feel. For some pain was being numb— being disconnected from the very thing that made them a person. For others, the pain was a reminder, a reminder that even after every battle lost and every bone broken— they were still alive.

Josephine used to think that pain was like sandpaper— it would hurt in the beginning as it scratched every part of her but in the end, she would emerge out of the war victorious. Every time she broke, she realized she couldn't be more wrong.

Her earliest memories of pain went back thousands of years ago, to the days of the Rebellion when war was shaking the Silver City. Josephine had been very young then, a mere servant born to tend the needs of the Archangel Jophiel. It was also around the time she had fallen for Lucifer— or Samael, as he was called. His sibling hated her for it, even Jophiel not taking her side for falling in love with the light-bringer. To Josephine, the worst pain was being held down against her will as she watched Michael— the one who had the same face as her Lucifer, cut her face with his lance. It wasn't the agony that was brought upon her that hurt Josephine the most, but the face she loved that brought her so much pain.

Even after they fell, it had taken Josephine years to not cry in her sleep when that day happened again and again in her sleep. She couldn't even look at Lucifer sometimes, the scar on her face being the ultimate reminder that she was no longer an angel of beauty— she wasn't beautiful anymore with that dreadful wound that ran across her face. That's why she couldn't even blame Lucifer for sleeping... She wasn't his angelus pulcher anymore.

For Josephine, the pain changed its meaning every millennium.

The pain of a simple hurt baffled Josephine. It wasn't much— more of a sting really but it had been a thousand years since she bled. No one ever dared to hurt her— at least not physically but the blood dripping down on Chloe's floor told her that something much bigger was at play here. She was confused because surely her friend's stairs weren't made of something that could kill her, right?

Josephine was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a tiny figure colliding with her body, hugging her legs. The angel hadn't even realized when Chloe had started to tend to her wound and was bandaging her.

"Josie!" Trixie said, her arms still around Josephine, "What happened?"

"I—" She felt at a loss for words but thankfully Chloe was sure to fill her daughter in.

"Josie just fell, Monkey," the blonde woman spoke pulling her daughter away from Josephine gently, "But don't worry, she is going to be okay."

"Ye— Yeah I am okay, Trix," The angel gave the little girl a soft smile, "Just in a little shock."

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked as she kept her medical supplies away, "That was some kind of a fall you took there, Jo."

Josephine refrained from saying something like—"I have had worse falls than that," and instead answered her friend saying, "Well I am one klutz."

Chloe laughed, "I think I just witnessed it."

The angel grinned before turning to little Trixie only to find the child all dressed up, as if to go out— "Is Trixie going somewhere?"

"Oh yeah," Chloe nodded, "Dan's coming to take her out for the day."

Josephine's eyes light up at once, "Girl's night?"

The blonde woman gave her a lopsided smile and said, "As long as it stays low-key."

The girls laughed just as there was a knock on the door showing that Dan was here to pick Trixie up. Josephine liked Daniel even though he acted very strange around her— he was a good person who didn't necessarily make the right decisions. A part of Josephine still hoped that after all these months apart, the couple will find their way back to each other.

"Hey guys," Dan spoke as he entered the house, "Trix ready?"

Chloe smiled at him, "Oh yes, she is very excited."

Chloe stood up and went to go get Trixie from her room as Dan smiled awkwardly at Josephine, "How- How's the book shop going?"

The angel laughed, "You don't have to pretend to care, Danny but since you asked it's pretty good."

Dan shook his head at her before Trixie came running out of her room and hugged her father, "Daddy!"

Josephine too stood up and both she and Chloe said goodbye to the father-daughter pair.

'That's what a father should be like,' the angel thought as Dan and Trixie walked out, sitting back down on the sofa knowing well that Chloe's 'low-key Girl's night' meant that they were going to stay in and watch some rom-coms to pass time. 'Maybe I can convince her to watch Hot Tub High School-'

"Hey," Chloe said as she came back into the living room, "What do you say about going to that new club? I think it's called 'Lux'?"

Josephine's eyes darkened then, her mind drifting off to her previous conversation with Amenadiel— a conversation she would gladly associate with unnecessary, inconvenient, and easily said, hell. Hell scared Josephine— not because she was one of the tortured souls there lost for eternity but because she was one of those to blame, one of the reasons why to almost everyone. Throughout history, Josephine had heard stories of herself as they got spun around to things she could never imagine herself as. She was the she-devil, the queen of hell, the evil, and she hated it— of course, she did.

She wasn't evil and neither was Lucifer, through all of his faults. Sure, Josephine had started to hate her husband for neglecting her as the years went by but they weren't evil— just broken and everyone knows that being broken was much more dangerous than being evil.

"No," Josephine said too fast, "Let's just stay in."

Chloe looked at her friend, clearly confused, "You want to... stay in?"

The angel shrugged hoping her lies wouldn't catch up to her and said, "Yeah, it's been a weird day, and LUX... It's not a good place, Chlo."

"What do you mean?" The blonde woman asked— Josephine was usually outgoing and always ready for a party but as time passed by, Chloe could see that today she had been a little disconnected.

"I just— " the raven-haired shook her head, "It's not a good place and I doubt they will let you in, Decker with your serious glare," Josephine shrugged.

Chloe let out a laugh as she sat down beside her best friend, "Serious glare? Really— that's the best you got?"

Soon, the course of their conversation had changed, both of them getting more than a few drinks in and were soon acting like goofballs by the time Dan brought Trixie back. They were not that drunk, yes but sometimes acting like the way were was an escape enough and both of them had needed it— even though neither of the women liked to bring up their marriages into their casual talk (or that Josephine was actually a married woman). God worked in mysterious ways, and even though they didn't realize it, what these girls had— their true friendship was something that was all part of his plan.

As she left, Josephine looked at Chloe's face one last time— she had known thousands of souls like her, determined and believers of what they did but... this woman was special. There was a certain kind of light around her that the angel wasn't sure she understood but she hoped that the blonde woman never lost it.

"Hey, Chloe?" Josephine said as she stepped out of the door.

"Yeah," replied the detective as she massaged her temple with her one hand, "What happened?"

"I meant what I said about that club," the raven-haired looked at the woman seriously— her eyes staring into Chloe's blue ones with a seriousness that was enough to make all the demons in hell cower in fear, "If you see Lucifer Morningstar, I want you to turn around and run away. I want you to run away as if the Devil himself is chasing you."

"Fine," the detective said as she watched her best friend turn and leave, "I promise."

Chloe should know by now that it wasn't worth making promises that she wouldn't be able to keep.

When Josephine found herself back at her apartment, she wasn't really surprised to find her pleasant little home once again... violated.

"Twice in a day," she spoke as she walked around her house hoping nobody else had been snooping around, "I should feel special that such high angels are visiting me."

Jophiel stood up from his place on Josephine's favorite sofa, giving the woman one of his most enchanting smiles, "Oh, how I have missed your remarks, JoJo."

The fallen angel threw a fruit that was kept in a basket near her at her dearest friend (which he easily caught), "Don't call me that, 'Ophiel."

Jophiel grinned at her, "You know you love me."

"Why are you here?" Josephine asked, clearly confused, "According to your dad you are not allowed to see me."

"And when has that ever stopped either of us from meeting?"

The raven-haired beauty smiled at him, "Touché."

"So how did you find out that I was over here?" Josephine asked as she sat back on the sofa, "I thought Amenadiel would keep it a secret till both Luci and I were in hell."

Jophiel shrugged, "Well Gabriel first came to all of us at dinner and told us that both of you were in Los Angeles of all places and not together and then Sophia started to freak out because of some crazy thing she heard from a priest I think and Michael was furious. May I say that it's been fun watching you guys be angry at each other from the Silver City— hilarious, really."

"Haha," The woman rolled her eyes, "And you are here to tell me what? That I should go back to Lucifer because if you are— I will slap you."

Jophiel put his hands up in surrender, "Jeez Jo, when did you get so violent? And no— I am not here for any of that. I am here to spend time with you."

Josephine grinned, "Great! But there is something I need to tell you first— you cannot tell this to anyone, especially your siblings."

The Archangel clapped his hands in excitement, "Yay, I love secrets."

Once again, the queen of hell found herself rolling her eyes, "It's not funny, 'Phiel."

Josephine stood up once again, her thoughts once again all jumbled up— enough to give her a migraine really. Most of the time, Josephine felt like she was in a really fast train, just watching the world pass her without her being able to know where she was even going but sometimes, it seemed as if the train had stopped in one place and she was trapped inside— far away from home.

The fallen angel picked up the knife that was kept on her kitchen counter and put her hands around the blade, "Why is it that sometimes I bleed-" she pushed the blade into her flesh only for nothing to happen, "-And sometimes I don't?"

"What?"

"Where are you going?" Josephine asked as she found herself in front of Lucifer, "Why are you all dressed up?"

Lucifer smiled giddily at his wife, "Josephine! My love, you were the only thing missing."

The Queen of hell tilted her head in confusion, her eyes darting off to Mazikeen of Lilim who stood nearby, "My Queen, he wishes to go back to Earth."

"What?" Josephine walked over to her husband, "Luci, is this true?"

"Of course, dear," Lucifer shrugged, "I thought I could do well with a vacation."

Lately, things hadn't been okay between the couple— they fought too often and said words that no-one ever should but that never meant that they could just take a 'vacation'. Hell was their job, their punishment but nevertheless, every few millennia, Josephine and Lucifer found each other in this position— ready for a vacation that their job never guaranteed.

"Lucifer, we can't do that again," she tried to reason, "Last time we left, Dromos made an entire mess that was so hard to clean up."

"I am talking about me, Josephine!" Lucifer shrugged, patting his white suit, "You can stay here if you want— I need a vacation."

Josephine gasped, "You're going to leave me here? In hell, all alone?"

"Yeah that about covers it, sweetheart," the man grinned.

"You dare-" Josephine's eyes flashed blue, "I am your wife! You cannot just leave me here."

Advice for the kids: don't yell at the Devil.

Soon, Lucifer was towering her small figure, his red eyes flashing back at her, "Don't raise your voice at me!"

Josephine stepped back, her eyes darting off to see Mazikeen walk off. The woman was scared— and for a moment she was sure Lucifer was going to hurt her.

When she turned her eyes to his face again, she was surprised to see not anger mirroring from his eyes but horror.

"I—I am sorry," he took a deep breath, "I didn't mean to do that."

Josephine gulped, "It's— It's okay..."

"I am going to go, Josephine," Lucifer shook his head, "No matter what you say."

"Lucifer—" The angel of beauty wasn't sure when her tears had started to fall, "'in perpetuum et unum diem'. Was that all bullshit then?"

Lucifer stepped back, as his wings came out— majestic as ever, "I guess it was."

Josephine tried to fight the urge of hurling something at his head, "If you leave me right now, I can't promise that I will still be here waiting for you."

Lucifer shook his head, "You can't leave on your own, Josephine."

"I am not going to wait for you," Josephine repeated— more determined.

"You don't have another choice," Lucifer said before flying off.

His wife— the queen of hell, the angel of beauty and the she-devil, fell down onto the floor because really, she didn't deserve this for falling in love a thousand years ago.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: NOT EDITED BUT FEEL FREE TO POINT OUT MISTAKES! If you have any graphics you would like to make for this book then pls feel free! Also, pls vote and comment!

Qotd

What fandom do you think Lucifer will be the best crossover for?

My ans.

THE ORIGINALS! LUCIFER AND KLAUS MEETING WILL EITHER BE THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN OR THE WORST AHHHH (MIGHT BE PLANNING A ONE-SHOT FOR THAT)