TEN-YEAR-OLD Annika had been very adamant on asking her mother what it was like to be in love, and the answer she had gotten was that loving someone you shouldn't was a hardship, one difficult to overcome without earning some scars in the process, but it could be worth it in the end. If it was meant to be, things worked out. Obviously, Annika hadn't understood then what her mother had meant, but now that she had undeniably fallen for Lucifer, things were starting to make sense. She had considered that Lucifer didn't love her back, that she was merely one of his many women to conquer, but now, everything was working out. She was feeling the magic that her mother had hoped for her.
Lucifer had explained to her and Dan that he had cut a deal with Malcolm, who had made a different call and let the man live. The person who had actually shot Lucifer had been the murderer Chloe had been on the hunt for, and once the investigation had been shut and sealed, Annika had been welcomed back with hugs and praise. Afterwards, it was Lucifer's time to pamper the poor woman with his luxury shower and all the food her heart could only desire.
"Are you certain you're alright?" Lucifer asked for the millionth time, his eyes full of concern as he watched Annika devour more and more fries while they sat opposite one another on his bed. Being tangled in his sheets with junk food was just about everything Annika could have hoped for, and so, she could give him a genuine smile along with a reassuring touch on his hand.
"I will be. I won't deny that it was a lot, so I'm going to make an appointment with a professional to talk through it. But right now, I'm as good as I can be", she swore, although she had to admit that Malcolm still being out there was a worrisome thought. "Besides, you're the one that got shot", she added matter-of-factly, earning a nod from Lucifer who couldn't argue back. But for someone who had almost died, he was doing impressively well.
"Yes, well, I've got an excellent therapist now that you're looking for one", Lucifer pointed out with a grin, and matching the expression, Annika leaned over the fast-food bag to land a hand on the man's cheek and pull him into a gentle kiss.
When she withdrew, though, she didn't appear quite so happy anymore. "I appreciate that. I don't think that drinking with Maeve is gonna fix this one", she mumbled, unsure how to proceed but she knew he had to break the news about Amenadiel eventually. "You know, when we went to the auction, I had no idea the other man was your brother. He posed as a substitute teacher at the school", she explained with a sense of gloom settling into the back of her mind yet again.
Similarly, Lucifer was tensing under her touch. "You're not saying what I think you are, are you?" he gritted out, and all it took was one nod from her for his eyes to lit up with fire. Raging red replaced the soothing, warm brown Annika had been gazing into and the faint smile on his lips twisted into something infuriated, while his hand on hers tightened to nearly crushing. "I suppose I will have to pay Amenadiel a visit tomorrow", he huffed out with a growl, already picturing his fist colliding with his brother's face. Being the target himself was something he could deal with, but Annika was where he drew the line.
"Tomorrow, then", Annika concluded quietly before moving all the food away and climbing onto Lucifer's lap, her fingers digging through his curls as she rested their foreheads together. For now, it could just be the two of them, and as he slowly accepted that along with Annika's lips against his own, the red in his eyes faded away. Just like that, the tension in him was far from angry and as he pushed Annika to her back, wary of her bruises, it was easy to let go of all their troubles, even for a moment.
It seemed that even with a husband like Annika's father, her mother had been onto something.
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THE NEXT MORNING began with Annika alone in Lucifer's bed, but she certainly didn't mind hogging all the blankets and pillows to herself, as well as breathing in the wondrous scent Lucifer had left behind. Once she got up and got dressed — in Lucifer's shirt, no less — she noticed the note he had scribbled for her, one where he wished her a good day and explained that he had either gone to help Chloe on a case or to fight Amenadiel.
Either way, it was good enough reason and Annika decided it was also the perfect opportunity for her to approach Mazikeen.
Tiptoeing downstairs, Annika was glad that the club's opening hours hadn't yet arrived, or else arriving without pants could have been awkward. Now, though, when it was just her and Maze, the latter broke into a pleased grin on the other side of the bar where she was sipping on a drink.
"Look at you, babe. Here for clothes?" Maze grinned, drowning the expression into the glass she was downing before rubbing her hands together at the idea of dressing Annika up.
Before anything more could happen, Annika was cutting in. "That too, but I heard you got my cat", she recalled, and already sighing in disappointment at the thought of having to give the plucky animal up, Maze nodded. Annika couldn't blame her — Violet was a charming little kitten, meaning it was easy to get attached. Concluding from the pout Maze flashed while resting her elbows against the counter, she was learning that the hard way.
"Yeah, Lucifer thought I should take care of her while you were gone. Do I need to give her back now?" the demon frowned, but hoping to help her own case, she added a smile. "I'm glad you're safe, though", she continued, and chuckling, Annika nodded before taking a seat on the other side of the counter.
"I'm okay with you taking care of her for a few more days. But that's not why I came to you, either", she elaborated with a deep breath, and suddenly intrigued, Maze's defeat was wiped away with curiosity. "The feeling of being so helpless when I was taken — well, I hated it. So could you, pretty please, teach me how to kick ass?" A hopeful look shone in her eyes as she stared at Maze, wishing to find any sign of agreement on her gorgeous features. She didn't want to be so vulnerable anymore, so learning a few nifty tricks to defend herself from Hell's most brutal torturer sounded like the best medicine.
And lucky for her, the smile that stretched Maze's lips was nothing if not tempted. "With pleasure, sweetheart", she whispered with determination and Annika, albeit already tired, clapped her hands together happily.
Once Maze had equipped her with unreasonably revealing clothes, the two were positioned across from one another on Lux's dance floor with the demon insisting that Lucifer wouldn't mind in the slightest. Annika wasn't all too convinced, but for the sake of learning how to get any undesired person to back off with a solid punch, she let Maze do her thing.
Annika had never been in a fight, not a physical one, at least, so it was all uncharted territory for her — but with Maze in the lead, she wasn't worried. After being kidnapped by an actual angel of the Lord, learning how to properly elbow someone in the guts didn't sound bad, anyway. She had spent all her life trying to be good and believing that deep down, everyone else tried the same, but perhaps it was time for her to accept that there was plenty of evil out in the world. She couldn't be an innocent angel until the very end, or the end wouldn't be very far. Who knew, if it wasn't for Dan, maybe she'd still be Amenadiel's prisoner.
"Okay, punch me", was Maze's simple instruction after explaining the structure of a proper hit, and as she cracked her knuckles and prepared for the incoming strike, Annika's eyes widened with shock.
"What?" she laughed, "I'm not going to punch you!" As soon as she had spoken, though, she began to wonder if Maze had a point. She was clearly made of steel and spunk unlike Annika — surely a woman who went around picking fights could take a punch. So maybe, what Annika needed to do was take her advice. After all, no one ever dared to challenge Mazikeen, whereas Annika was an easy target and aiming to change that.
With that in mind, she lunged towards Maze and threw her fist towards her to strike her in the cheek, but apparently, the woman knew exactly what to expect. Effortlessly, she dodged the attempt and grabbed the Hayden's wrist before sweeping her off of her feet and shoving her onto the floor. With a huff, Annika collapsed onto the hard tiles and Maze followed, falling on top of the woman with a charming smirk twisting her lips.
"Sloppy", she commented teasingly, offering a hand to Annika after jumping back up to both feet. With a groan, the brunette accepted the gesture, but knowing that complaining wouldn't get her anywhere with the demon, she settled for giving her a glare. "Maybe it would help if I played the kidnapper in this situation. So, pretend I'm the beefy, hostile stranger coming for you. What do you do?" the bartender continued with a thoroughly amused chuckle at Annika's frustration.
No more jokes were exchanged — Maze attacked her from behind, holding the woman in a relentless grip and making it nearly impossible for her to move. Closing her eyes, Annika weighed her options and tried to ignore being body to body with Maze and how her warm breath tickled her neck, how she could almost sense the pride on her face. Eventually, she decided to take action and rammed her elbow into Maze's stomach to writhe out of her hold, but when nothing seemed to happen, she kicked back to land a blow on the demon's knee. With that, the woman slumped down with Annika in her tow, and they found themselves on the floor yet again.
Before Annika could make any hasty moves to try and take control of the situation, Mazikeen had rolled back on top of her with her eyebrow lifting in the air. "That was better. Tired already?" she taunted, and panting, Annika blew the strands of sweaty hair away from her face before pushing the woman off of her and leaping back up.
She was exhausted, but rather than returning the snark, she lifted her leg in the air as soon as Mazikeen was standing again, only for every kick to be averted flawlessly. It was obvious that Maze was good at what she did, but Annika tried to be smart rather than violent — and so, when Maze tried to return the favor by throwing a punch, she crouched and delivered a heavy hit into Maze's side.
By some miracle, the demon fell back down and this time, Annika got to remain upright with her hands thrown into the air victoriously. A proud grin spread over her lips and mirroring the expression, Mazikeen gave her an impressed clap from where she was sitting up.
"Oh, babe, you're going to be so badass."
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Thank you soooo much for 5k reads! It really means the world to me (':
Also did you guys see the latest Lucifer episode yet,, how'd you like it?¿ (: DAN AND HIS PUDDING THO
Update 09/04/2020: This book has now been rewritten, so the face claim for Annika is no longer Scarlett, and Myra's name is now Maeve! Most of the changes are minor but if you're suddenly confused about the subtle differences, that's why! x