"Hey, watch those eggs for me," he said, unable to resist the setup. He kept his tone light, joking. "I'll just go put some clothes on. Who knows, maybe they'll hatch before I get back."
Lucifer's eyes flew wide open. She looked from him to the eggs and back again, genuine panic flashing across her features. "What should I do if they hatch," she asked, her voice tense, "and you are still not here?"
Look at her expression.
A grin spreading across his face.
It's fucking priceless.
He chuckled, shaking his head as he walked out of the kitchen and down the short hallway to his bedroom. He figured he should dress properly, even if his guest was from a time before thread and seemed to view him less as a person and more as a fascinating, ignorant primate.
As he pushed his bedroom door open, the reality of his empty fridge hit him again. "Arghh!" he groaned to the empty room, running a hand through his messy hair. "I should've remembered there were only two eggs left. I wish I could just duplicate them or something. I'm so hungry I might have to let her have both."
He had no idea that the walls of his small house were no barrier for Lucifer's preternatural hearing. In the kitchen, Lucifer's ears twitched subtly at the sound of his voice. She glanced toward the hallway, then looked back at the two pale eggs on the counter, her brow furrowed in thought.
He desires more of these eggs? But he himself warned me they might hatch.Should I take the risk and create more? I could always eliminate the creatures if they emerge before he returns.
Then she replayed his last, muttered sentence. I might just let her eat all of them.
Her thoughts stalled. But... he is prioritizing my nourishment over his own?
A slow, confident smile touched her lips. I mean, is there anything in this realm I cannot subdue?
Decision made, Lucifer reached out and carefully picked up one of the eggs. She cradled it in her palm. Her irises began to glow with a soft, golden light, like sunlight seen through honey. She held her other hand a few inches above it, fingers curled as if gripping an invisible object. Then, with a gentle, pulling motion, she performed an act of impossible creation.
From the surface of the existing egg, she pulled another. It was as if she were drawing it forth from the same space, a perfect, seamless duplication. The new egg materialized fully formed in her waiting hand.
Lucifer looked at the two identical eggs now in her hands, her smile blooming into one of pure, delighted success.
She did it again. Placing one egg down, she took the other and repeated the motion. A gentle pull, a soft shimmer of light, and a third egg appeared.
And again.
And again.
In his bedroom, the man was finally pulling a faded band t-shirt over his head. He yanked on a pair of shorts and turned to leave, but his gaze caught on the framed photograph on his dresser. He walked over and picked it up. It wasn't just a picture of him in the nice clothes. Standing beside him, an arm thrown around his shoulders, was his childhood best friend, both of them grinning without a care. A familiar, bittersweet smile touched his lips.
The smile vanished, replaced by confusion, as a distinct crack echoed from the kitchen. It wasn't the sound of an egg breaking. It was different, sharper, like the snap of static electricity.
What the hell is she doing now?
He set the frame down and hurried out of the room. He found Lucifer standing at the counter, her back to him, one hand held out. As he entered, he saw her make that same gentle pulling motion in the air. Another egg popped into existence in her grasp with a soft pop.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief.
He walked around the counter to face her, his eyes sweeping over the kitchen surface. The two eggs he had left were now eight. They sat in a small, precarious cluster.
Lucifer slowly looked up at him, her expression one of immense pride. "I made more eggs," she announced, beaming. " Now we can both eat our fill."
He stared at the eggs, then at her. His brain struggled to process what his eyes had just seen. "How did you do that?" he asked, his voice low with wonder. He needed to hear her say it.
"It is a simple ability," she said, as if explaining that water was wet. "I can create anything I want." She tilted her head, her glowing irises fading back to their normal blue. "Would you like me to do it again?"
"Yeah," he said, the word coming out in a breath.
Seeing it once still wouldn't convince me, he reasoned, his mind reeling. I need to see it again.
Lucifer's smirk returned, full of confident mischief. Her eyes began to glow once more, a brighter, more deliberate gold this time. She carefully selected one of the new eggs and held it up between them, cradling it in both hands. She met his gaze, held it for a dramatic second, and then performed the miracle.
With that same effortless, pulling gesture, she drew a second, perfect egg from the first. It separated from the original with a quiet, solid pop, like a soap bubble detaching.
The man's jaw went slack. His eyes widened so much they almost hurt. "WOAH!" he exclaimed, the sound bursting out of him. "THAT IS SO COOL!" The praise was instinctive, pure, childlike amazement.
"See?" Lucifer laughed, the sound bright and unguarded. She loved the look on his face, the unadulterated wonder. It was better than any worship she could remember.
"Yeah! I believe you now!" he said, laughing a little himself in sheer disbelief. Caught up in the moment, he reached out and patted her head twice, a casual, friendly gesture he might use with a teammate who'd done something great.
The moment his fingers touched her hair, the atmosphere shifted.
Lucifer stopped laughing. Her glowing eyes fixed on him. The eggs, forgotten in her hands, tumbled to the linoleum floor with a sickening, wet crunch. Yellow yolk seeped across the tiles.
He froze. His hand snapped back to his side as if burned. He took a full step backward, his own hands coming up in a universal gesture of surrender. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, his voice tight. "I didn't mean to. It's just a habit. A stupid habit."
Lucifer simply stared at him, her head tilting slowly to one side. Her expression was unreadable, but it felt intense, like the calm before a storm.
The silent staredown lasted for several long seconds, each one stretching out in the yolk-scented air.
Then, Lucifer finally burst out laughing. It was a rich, genuine sound that filled the small kitchen. "Why do you look so nervous, human?" she asked, her eyes dancing with teasing delight.
"I just thought... you might do something because I touched you," he admitted, his shoulders relaxing just a fraction.
Lucifer laughed again, shaking her head. "I would never attempt to harm you," she said, her laughter subsiding into a warm smile. "You are the first human I have properly met here. And you will likely be the last human I choose to be with."
The man offered a half-hearted, complicated smirk in return. Her words felt weighted, carrying a loneliness that mirrored his own in a way he couldn't quite grasp. To break the sudden depth of the moment, he bent down and carefully started gathering the unbroken eggs from the counter.
"Well," he said, his voice returning to something like normal. "It's getting late. We should actually cook these things before they... you know, spontaneously multiply again."