Ezra stood in the middle of her new apartment, hands on her hips, surveying the blank canvas before her. The walls were an uninspiring shade of off-white, like old porridge left out in the sun. Lucifer lounged against the doorframe, twirling a paintbrush between his fingers with a grin that spelled trouble.
"So," he drawled, "ready to add some color to your life, darling?"
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "I swear, Luu, if you suggest neon green or blood red, I'm kicking you out."
Lucifer clutched his chest in mock offense. "You wound me! I was thinking more along the lines of a nice, calming... lavender."
Ezra blinked, surprised. "That's... actually not terrible."
"Don't sound so shocked," Lucifer chuckled. "I do have good taste sometimes."
They set to work, Ezra methodically rolling paint onto the walls while Lucifer... well, Lucifer seemed more interested in flicking paint at unsuspecting corners and creating abstract masterpieces when Ezra wasn't looking.
"You missed a spot," Lucifer said innocently, pointing to a patch of wall near the ceiling.
Ezra stretched up on her tiptoes, straining to reach. "Where? I don't see-"
Splat!!
Something cool and wet hit her cheek. Ezra whirled around to find Lucifer grinning like the cat that got the cream, paintbrush suspiciously close to her face.
"Oh, you did not just do that," Ezra growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
Lucifer's grin widened. "And what if I did?"
What followed was a chase. Ezra lunged for Lucifer, who danced away with supernatural grace. They weaved around furniture, leaving trails of lavender footprints in their wake.
"Come back here, you overgrown demon-child!" Ezra yelled, her ample boobs heaving as she cornered Lucifer by the window.
Lucifer's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Catch me if you can, mortal!"
He made to dart past her, but his foot caught on the edge of a paint tray. Time seemed to slow as Lucifer, ex self-proclaimed Lord of Hell, went flying through the air in a graceless arc. He landed with a spectacular splat in a puddle of lavender paint.
For a moment, there was silence. Then Ezra burst out laughing, the sound rich and full-bodied. "Hahaha!!!"
Lucifer looked up at her, paint dripping from his perfect hair, and soon joined in. Their laughter echoed through the empty apartment, filling it with warmth.
"You should see your face," Ezra gasped between giggles, offering Lucifer a hand up.
He took it, then used the momentum to pull her down into the paint puddle with him. "Now we match," he said with a wink.
Ezra should have been annoyed, but she found she couldn't stop smiling. "You're impossible," she said, shaking her head.
"That's why you love me," Lucifer quipped, then froze, realizing what he'd said.
An awkward silence fell between them, broken only by the distant sound of traffic outside.
Ezra cleared her throat. "We should, um, probably clean this up."
"Right," Lucifer agreed quickly. "Wouldn't want to ruin your new floors."
They set about wiping up the spilled paint, a comfortable quiet settling over them as they worked. Ezra found her mind wandering, pondering the strange turns her life had taken. Here she was, decorating an apartment with the Devil himself. If someone had told her this would be her life a year ago, she would have laughed in their face.
As they moved on to assembling furniture, Lucifer broke the silence. "Can I ask you something?" he said, his voice uncharacteristically serious.
Ezra looked up from the IKEA instructions for setting up furniture, that she'd been deciphering. "Sure, what's up?"
Lucifer fidgeted with a screwdriver, not meeting her eyes. "Are you... are you scared of me?"
Ezra blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Scared of you? Luu, I've seen you trip over your own feet and land face-first in a puddle of paint. You're about as scary as a labradoodle puppy."
Lucifer's lips twitched, but the worry didn't leave his eyes. "I'm serious, Ez. I mean, you know who – what – I am. Doesn't that... bother you?"
Ezra set down the instructions, giving Lucifer her full attention. "Luu, I've never been scared of you. Not from the beginning, not now."
"Even if..." Lucifer's face began to change, his mortal body, although wasn't on par, was adapting. His handsome features melting away to reveal something... other. Red skin, glowing eyes, horns curling from his forehead. "Even like this?"
Ezra looked at him, really looked at him. She saw beyond the demonic features to the vulnerability in those fiery eyes. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.
"You're not a bad person, Luu," she said softly. "You're just... you. And that's more than enough."
Lucifer stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed into the embrace. When they pulled apart, his face had returned to its human guise, but his eyes shimmered with something that looked suspiciously like tears.
"Well," he said, his voice a little rough, "that's... good to know. Now, are we going to finish this IKEA monstrosity or what?"
Ezra smiled, recognizing the deflection for what it was. "Sure, but I'm not letting you anywhere near the power tools. I've seen what you can do with a paintbrush."
As they resumed their furniture-building efforts, Ezra thought, Maybe this whole "normal life" thing wouldn't be so bad after all. Especially with a certain devilishly handsome troublemaker by her side.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of allen wrenches, colorful curses (some in languages Ezra was pretty sure hadn't been spoken on Earth for millennia), and the occasional crash followed by Lucifer's hasty 'I meant to do that!'
By the time the sun began to set, Ezra's apartment had transformed from a blank slate into something that actually resembled a home.
The walls glowed a soft lavender, broken up by the occasional Lucifer-created "masterpiece" that Ezra couldn't bring herself to paint over. Mismatched furniture created cozy nooks perfect for reading or, knowing her life, planning how to avert the next apocalypse.
Ezra collapsed onto her newly assembled couch, groaning as her muscles protested. "I think I've discovered muscles I didn't even know I had," she complained.
Lucifer flopped down beside her, somehow managing to look graceful even in exhaustion. "Welcome to the joys of mortal living, darling. Although I have to say, I'm developing a new respect for you humans. Who knew nesting could be such hard work?"
Ezra snorted. "Nesting? What are we, a pair of disgruntled pigeons?"
"Well, we are covered in a truly impressive amount of feathers from that throw pillow you murdered," Lucifer pointed out, plucking a fluffy white feather from Ezra's hair.
"Hey, that was not my fault!" Ezra protested. "You're the one who thought using your 'demonic strength' to fluff it was a good idea."
They dissolved into laughter, the kind that comes easily after a long day of shared work.
As their giggles subsided, Ezra found herself leaning against Lucifer's shoulder, too tired to care about maintaining her usual personal space.
"Hey Luu?" she said softly.
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for helping today. I know this isn't exactly your usual scene."
Lucifer was quiet for a moment, and Ezra worried she'd said something wrong. But then she felt him rest his cheek against the top of her head.
"Anytime, Ez," he said, his voice warm. "Although next time, maybe we skip the part where I end up covered in paint?"
Ezra grinned. "No promises. I kind of like you in lavender."