"You're driving like an animal, slow down!"
Tony's clutched a hand to the seat belt while the other was pressed against the dashboard as his heart raced in utmost fear for his life. It was the second time Lucifer almost ran them into a moving truck, giving no regard to the red signal that beamed on the traffic light.
"Oh stop being a baby; I'm getting a hang of this." Lucifer smiled behind the wheel.
"You're going to kill us!" Tony screamed. Beads of sweat were starting to gather on his face, transfixed with panic.
Lucifer smirked at how frail and pale Tony seemed to be.
"I'm immortal Ash, I can't die." Lucifer retorted with a chuckle just as he pressed his foot on the gas and overtook a vehicle on his lane. "And if anything happens, I'll heal you like before."
Leaning back on his seat with both eyes fixed frantically on the road, Tony's only prayer was that he got down from the vehicle as soon as possible. His prayers got answered when the car drifted into a serene street and pulled up at the first stop they planned to go when they left the office, the flower shop.
Tony came out of the car panting with both hands on his knees.
"Remind me not to get in a car with you again." He heaved as he tried to catch his breath.
"Thanks for the lesson, Ash." Lucifer uttered, giving Tony a light pat on the shoulder. His gaze shifted from Tony to the shop in front of him, taking in the colorful blend of purple hibiscus and yellow sunflowers set separately behind both sides of the shop's large windows.
"Come on, let's go."
The storekeeper gave a slight nod to them as they walked inside before burying his head in the newspaper on his desk while Tony led Lucifer through different rows of shelves each filled with certain flowers as they tried to make their choice.
"Hey, how about we buy a diamond necklace or something to go along with the flowers?" Tony suggested as they came over the rose section.
"No, I don't think so." Lucifer shook his head slightly. "If there is anything I've learned during these two days, it's that there are some people in this world that don't care much about material things, and Miss Lila falls right into that small category."
"So what? Everybody loves nice things once in a while, the flashier the better." Tony muttered.
Lucifer laughed.
"You don't understand anything about women, do you?"
"I think the fact that I still stay with my mum should have given that away." Tony said but only in his head.
Lucifer sighed.
"Well, I don't believe Lila is the kind of woman you would throw your money at to fix things when you have issues, she already has that." He bent lower and sniffed one of the roses. "Above all, she prefers honesty and staying true to your word, both of which I don't know how to offer." He added as he fondled with a petal.
"So what do you have in mind?" Tony asked.
"I want to give her more than the actual Dr. Bates would offer; something like..."
"Something like what?" Tony wondered what had caught Lucifer's attention as he was now staring out the window.
Opposite the flower shop was a music store but what had specifically caught Lucifer's eye was the piano sitting at the center of the shop. The sight took him back to a distant time filled with melodies and symphonies; a time where music and singing were all he wanted to do. Being the Lord of hell had made him miss some things, he admitted.
"You know what," He turned back to face Tony with his lips curled up in a smile. "I've got an idea."
** ** **
Lila sat on the couch with her legs crossed in the living room watching one of her shows to distract herself from her thoughts and the boredom that surrounded her. But even as the host of the show was going on about how much junk the average American consumes every day and how it was starting to become a clear danger to healthy living in the country, it appeared to be futile to aid her present need.
She soon drifted into her own thoughts as she reflected on the past two days as well as everything else since she met Henry. Lila's ideal plan for a vacation was more research and so was Henry's. They had both coincidentally taken a trip to Bangkok, Thailand where they met each other for the first time; while she was looking to explore the rich history of the locals and their relics, Henry was on an expedition, in search for a plant that was believed to help fight cancer.
Their paths crossed again five days after they first met on the plane as they returned to America and they both agreed it was not just mere coincidence but rather fate bringing them together. They kept in touch afterward and became good friends, and then their friendship blossomed into blistering romance, and on New Year's Eve underneath the Eiffel tower, he proposed.
That was a year ago and just around the time Henry started getting concrete results on his experiments on the mirror bridge and as a result, Henry got a whole lot busier. Lila didn't see it as a problem though; she was always traveling due to the nature of her job. Henry was never the perfect guy, but he was sweet in his own way and she admired his mind just as he did her heart. In a way, they complemented each other.
Still, she believed there was no excuse for the way he acted to Peter. The look on his face depicted cluelessness, almost like he was just seeing Peter for the first time; the same look he had on his face when she hugged him the other night. Could there have been a side effect to the experiment that no one else knew about?
At that moment, the doorbell rang, pulling her thoughts back.
"Coming," She said getting up as she sluggishly walked to the front door, expecting to see Henry but found Tony instead, holding a bouquet in one hand.
"Good evening Miss Lila." Tony greeted with an awkward smile on his face.
"Good evening, Tony. Where's Henry?" Lila asked sharply, a surprised look written all over her face.
"Uhm," Tony wondered where to begin from what Lucifer instructed him to do. First, he handed her the flowers which she took a sniff of.
"And this is for you too" He said as he brought a small note out of his pocket.
"What's this?" Lila demanded in confusion as she collected the note. Tony made no effort to answer but watched as she read the note.
Dear Lila, I'm sure you must be wondering what in the world is going on, I want to assure you there's nothing to be worried about. I want to apologize for how I behaved earlier this afternoon. But just to be sure you forgive me and not worry about this ever again, I want to show you one more thing you probably didn't know about me. Ash will bring you here."
"Who's Ash?" Lila wondered.
"I'm Ash." Tony raised and waved a hand now. "That's my name now." He added in a fading tone.
"And where will you be taking me to?"
"The leviathan, a bar downtown,"
"What would he want to show me in a bar?" She asked as lines of worry formed on her forehead.
"I think you'd like it, Miss." Tony smiled.
Lila sighed. "Alright, let me go get my purse."
She stepped out minutes later and got into the car with Tony who drove her downtown and came to a halt in front of the bar.
"Right this way miss," Tony said as he held the car door for her to step out.
The sun had set already there seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside as they walked in but it didn't take long for Lila to sight her fiancé amid the crowd, sitting behind a piano. Was he the one behind the melodic sound she had been hearing since she walked in?
In an instant, the whole light dimmed except for one that pointed directly at her and everyone stopped in their tracks to stare. Lila froze in shock.
"What the hell is going on Tony?" She whispered harshly.
"There she is everybody," Lucifer announced with the microphone set before Tony could say anything. "The damsel that has captured the heart of this handsome devil," He added as everyone laughed. "I just want to let her know how much she means to me with this little song."
"Lila," He faced her with a smile. "This one's for you."
Lila began advancing towards him as he sang. With each step she took, she did not only marvel at how skilled he was at playing the piano, but how angelic his voice was too. As he continued serenade her, those who were with their partner got to their feet and started dancing to the slow rhythm. Soon enough, those who weren't with a partner sought for one and joined in the dance too.
She kept smiling as she walked up to him. Inside her, she felt like a sixteen-year-old girl being swooned by her school crush. She wanted to jump into his arms and let him hold her forever to keep her warm and safe. They were only inches apart from each other now as she placed her hands on the piano; Lucifer was already bringing his song to a close. He had his eyes on her from the beginning as did she. He could tell all was fine with them once again. Perhaps she loved him even more now.
The crowd gave a round of applause he ended the song.
"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind." Lucifer said with a bow then returned his attention to Lila.
"You know a simple 'I'm sorry' back at home would have been enough." Lila remarked.
"Yeah, but then we wouldn't be seeing the dashing smile on your face right now, would we?"
"Fair point," She chuckled softly and sat down beside him. "But you know I'm not the one you should be apologizing to right? All of this should be for Peter."
"Oh, yes, Peter." Lucifer said out loud trying to show that he thought of that as well. "Yeah, I will."
"Then all is forgiven." She grabbed him by the arm and rested her head on his broad shoulders. "You never told me you could sing, or play the piano."
"Well, it was a passion from a long time ago, it still is." Lucifer explained as he stroked the back of her hand playfully.
Lila wasn't satisfied with his answer but she felt too ecstatic to probe any further. She only wanted to bask in the moment with her lover. "How about another song?"
Lucifer turned to the crowd.
"She wants another song people, what do you say?"
The crowd gave another cheerful murmur and Lucifer rose another song up.
As the joy and drinks spread around the room, Tony stood by the counter nursing a single shot of whiskey and observing how happy his boss looked with his fiancée. If only it was the real Dr. Bates, he wished.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice speak beside him.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Doug."
"It's your second strike girly, one more and you're out." The barman answered and walked away as Tony's jaw dropped at the sight of the girl before him.
"Hannah?" He called in amazement. She had loosed the ponytail and wore a grey flay top on black leather pants with black heels. The only thing she still had on from before was the big round glasses.
"What the hell!" Hannah yelled in a mix of anger and surprise. "Are you stalking me now?"
"What? Of course not," Tony retorted. "Dr. Bates and I are--"
"I don't even want to know." She interjected sharply. "Just stay away from me, please."
Tony watched her walk away and scoffed as he looked around to see if anyone saw what happened. No one was paying attention to him.
"I didn't even do anything wrong this time." He screamed but she was too far away to hear him. "Ugh, women," He groaned then finished the last of his whiskey and dropped the glass.