Lullaby

[DevXRaven]

A special happy birthday to Raven!

---

I stared at the calender with a cold chill creeping up my spine.

Today was the day... My birthday.

Once upon a time, birthdays had been a fun thing. It was a chance to get together with my family and friends, to go out and do something fun, to get gifts, usually things that replaced my old and worn out stuff, but gifts nonetheless. We would go out to eat at a nice restaurant, gather together in the palace afterwards, maybe do an interview or two for the media, who were always dying to know what I was doing on my birthday.

But the last time I'd celebrated a birthday, or the last time I even remembered I had one, was laying in Julius's bed trembling, the cold chill nipping at my feet, the rough knit blanket barely protecting the rest of me from the cold and Julius's prying eyes. The sound of men shouting outside the tent, the putrid stench of their sweat, blood, filth, and cooking meat. The tent was dim, nearly dark, and I could hear Julius's footsteps growing nearer and nearer, my heart pounding violently against my chest as I choked on a sob and curled up under that disgusting blanket to hide to no avail.

Yeah, I wasn't really looking forward to celebrating something like that anymore. Not now that it was tainted.

"Hey, babe, breakfast is ready." I blinked and turned away to see Dev setting plates at the table. The stench from my memory faded and was replaced with the warm smell of Dev's breakfast menu. Scrambled eggs, light and fluffy, bacon that still seemed to sizzle on the plate, toast heated to a golden brown, and a side of peach yogurt. It smelled delicious, and a smile of relief came onto my face as I moved away from the calender, draping my towel around my shoulders.

"This is an awfully nice breakfast." I commented. Normally, we'd go out to eat or Dev would scrape up what cereal Terry had left behind for us to eat. Even though Terry was sixteen, he still refused to grow up enough to clean up after himself. The kid was the only reason our shared apartment looked like a frat boy house. I'd managed to get Dev to join me when it came to cleaning, but Terry was ever determined to make a mess.

Teenagers.

"Well," Dev said slowly as he pulled out a chair for me to sit down at, and he leaned down to kiss my cheek gently, "It's kind of a nice day, right?" I hesitated at that, glancing up at him and he smiled.

"Happy Birthday, baby." He said, giving me another kiss before taking his seat. I forced a smile, even though it hurt my face. I didn't want to ruin Dev's surprise. He didn't know that my birthday no longer meant anything cheerful. I liked seeing him pleased to do something for me. It was always vice versa, what with my constantly nagging to clean the place up, get to work, dragging him out of bed and into the shower. I was always on his case.

If I couldn't make this day work for me, I should at least make it work for him, so I just smiled as I ate breakfast, pleased with the rich flavor of it. He'd added his own seasonings and little touches, making my stomach practically soar.

"Ooh, that smells good," Terry's voice said from the hallway as he wandered in, "Any left?" Dev scoffed.

"I should just keep stuffing Lucky Charms down your throat given the way you left the kitchen last night. What happened to all the chips?" He asked. Terry wrinkled his nose adorably.

"There was a Naruto marathon on last night and I needed everything I could get so I wouldn't have to get up and leave it." He insisted. Dev made a noise of supreme disgust. But he really only had himself to blame for Terry's Japanese anime obsession. If he hadn't of bought everything Terry asked for, it probably wouldn't be like this, but I knew Dev didn't regret anything.

Terry had been an orphan when Dev came across him. After his mother was killed, Terry had wandered to Hell in hopes of finding his mother, only to get ganged up on. Dev had come to his rescue and took Terry under his wing, like his younger brother. Then, Terry had just been a kid. Now he was in that awkward stage between boy and man. Lanky and tall, incredibly clumsy with thick black hipster glasses he struggled to keep in place, Terry wasn't too bad looking. He'd bypassed the whole acne phase. He didn't cut his hair, so it was currently brushed off to the side of his face, long past his shoulders, and damp from his shower. His brown eyes snapped fire at Dev for ragging on him constantly before he went to fetch his own breakfast.

"So," Dev said, grabbing my attention again, "I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner tonight. I know your family probably wants to hog you today too." I wasn't sure what to say to that. My hope was that everyone else had forgotten, like last year, but last year was understandable. We'd been at war with the Titans. There was no way we had time to stop and celebrate anyone's birthday. This was the first year we didn't have any threat of war coming to us.

"Uh, I don't know," I said slowly, making him look at me curiously, "I'm sure we can spend the day together, if that's what you wanted." Dev raised an eyebrow, looking a bit confused, but he didn't have a chance to say anything because my phone rang. I excused myself and went to grab my phone from the coffee table in the living room.

"Hello?" I asked, sucking a bit of bacon juice off my fingers.

"Happy Birthday, cupcake," Akin sang into my ear, making me grimace for a moment before smiling, unable to ignore the cheeriness in his voice, "I'm sorry for interrupting whatever you have planned, but do you think you could stop by today? Hannibal has a gift he wants to give you, and me too!" I tried not to wince. I didn't need a gift... But the fact that Hannibal of all people wanted to give me a gift was baffling.

It wasn't that Hannibal and I were friends. In fact, friends would be putting our relationship lightly. There was a kindred spirit between us. We'd probably die for each other when it came right down to it, but Hannibal wasn't very good with things like this.

"Sure," I said after a moment, "That sounds great. Mind if Dev tags along?"

"No problem! See you in a few." He hung up and I did the same, tucking my phone into my jeans pocket as I approached Dev, who frowned at me. I hoped he hadn't eavesdropped.

"That was Akin," I said, making him wrinkle his nose, "He wants me to stop by and pick up some gifts he and Hannibal have." Dev raised an eyebrow.

"Hannibal knows what a birthday is?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. He has one too, ya know."

"Does he celebrate it?"

"No."

"Exactly."

"Don't be rude," I scolded him lightly, picking up my mug of coffee to take a deep gulp before speaking again, "Hannibal's a great guy, Dev. Don't pick on him when you don't know him well enough to do so." Dev hummed in disagreement, but he said nothing more on the matter knowing that he'd lose his argument before it even started.

It wasn't that Dev hated Hannibal. No, more like Hannibal made him uncomfortable, and I wasn't surprised. With others, Hannibal was stand-offish and wary. Much like myself, he was watchful of everything around him and always tense, guard up and waiting to expect even the slightest jab at him. But when it came to Akin and I, Hannibal opened up right away no problem. Most people knew Hannibal as the emotionless pet they believed Akin trained him to be.

On the contrary, Hannibal was pretty talkative and sarcastic. Incredibly cynical, but entertaining and fun to be around nonetheless.

I think the only reason Dev didn't like him was because Hannibal took up a huge amount of my time. We were always heading to the cafe in the morning or heading to the gym, taking walks. I'd ditched Dev a few times to hang out with Hannibal, but those times had been dire. If there was anyone I could talk to about what happened in Hades with Julius, it was Hannibal. Only Hannibal understood me when I spoke about it.

Everyone else patronized me. Things like "don't think about it" or "it's in the past" or "get over it" were not things I wanted to hear. Granted, Dev never said those things, but he did looked uncomfortable and distressed when I was having one of my bad days. It was like he wanted to help, but he didn't know how and I hated making him feel responsible for me. Hannibal, on the other hand, talked with me about things, agreed and disagree, tried to give me advice.

He never said things like "get over it". If anything, he told me repeatedly, "don't forget it". According to Hannibal, he never forgot what his attackers did... or what he himself did. He didn't try to forget it. There was no point, because nothing could make us forget. It was a scar on our souls that would never go away and Hannibal's idea was to embrace it and hope it made him stronger.

I didn't talk too much to Dev about Hannibal, though. He tended to misinterpret things as Hannibal trying to flirt with me, which was downright ridiculous. When I told Hannibal about Dev's suspicion, he'd given me this long dead stare and said,

"If I was capable of laughing, I'd be doing belly rolls right now."

Yeah. Hannibal and I were close, extremely so, but we definitely weren't in love. Hannibal adored Akin and worshipped the very ground he walked on. If anything, I admired his loyalty and trust in Akin. Even after everything that happened to him, everything I'd seen people do to others with their power, he still let Akin control him completely. When I'd asked if the relationship bothered him, Hannibal had practically lectured me on it.

"My entire life has been me losing control. You know that. The slightest things piss me off and I want to break ass over it. If it wasn't for Akin, I would've hurt more people, and myself. Akin's control isn't a thirst for power. It's his need and want to help me. Trust me, if I didn't want it, we would all know."

Yeah, I suppose so. Hannibal was pretty powerful. A hybrid god from two of the most ancient and powerful pantheons in existence. Atlantean and Greek. The only hybrid of his kind. Even his presence was enough to intimidate people. His power crackled in the air and made the hairs on your arms stand on end. He could easily break Akin's handcuffs into pieces, but he never did.

"Well, if we're gonna go, we should go now. That way I can hog you the rest of the day." Dev declared after we finished breakfast. I nodded and went to our shared room. Dev's room used to be a smelly pig-sty full of dirty laundry, strange under garments that did not belong to him, and fast food bags with half-eaten meals that were home to millions of bacteria.

After I'd moved in, this was the first place I had cleaned. You could actually see the burgundy carpet now, fluffy and soft after a deep cleaning, a classic iron frame bed with gold and brown bedding. The clothes were all picked up and in their rightful places, our stuff set up on nightstands by the bedside and the dresser. The walk-in closet had been cleared up with a pillow and blanket on the floor, for the days when I needed it.

I didn't need it often, but it was still nice to know that I had somewhere to go on the days when I couldn't take it anymore.

I hung the towel on a rack behind the door and picked a black knit turtleneck from the dresser and a leather jacket to match my pants. I pulled on a pair of leather gloves and laced up my boots, pausing to look at myself in the mirror as a small chill crept through me.

While I looked different now, I couldn't help, but remember a time when I looked in the mirror and I swore I was looking at a ghost. After Hannibal had rescued me from Julius's camp, every time I passed a mirror, I'd cringed. I was frail and skinny, so skinny that my ribs were visible and countable.

Now I looked like nothing had ever happened. It helped that I wore clothing that covered almost every inch of me. I couldn't help it, though. Nothing pained me more than seeing people's faces when they saw my scars. It was like a light shut off in their eyes. I was a constant reminder of what could happen to them if they weren't careful, and I hated being a cautionary tale, a statistic.

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my curly black hair, then ran a finger down my nose that definitely reminded me of my father's, high cheekbones like his, and lips like my mother's. I hated how girly I looked. It was like nothing I did could change the face that I was pretty. I didn't want to be pretty.

"Damn, you look sexy." Dev's voice said from behind me in the doorway. I turned to arch my brow at him. How did he do that? How did he know what I was thinking? What I was feeling? How could he see me as sexy and not foul and used? It was one of the hundreds of reasons I loved him, that and the fact that he had stopped sneaking up on me like he used to. He probably knew better after I body-slammed him once. He scared me shitless when I'd been lost in thought doing work.

"Likewise." I told Dev, scanning him from head to toe. Dev smirked, shifting his weight to one leg in an incredibly gorgeous pose. Well over six foot with light blonde/brown hair that he wore pulled back into a loose curled ponytail, and powerful hazel eyes that cut me a hot stare that made my body react instantly, a sun-kissed tan from hours of working in the hot sun under my command, Dev was definitely the Deadly Sin of Lust. Literally. Though, even if he wasn't, my body would still react the way it did.

It still embarrassed me and Dev just smiled, coming over to take my hands in his so he could lace our fingers together, leaning in to give me a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Let's go before I decide to strip you right here." He said. I smiled at that. His words used to worry me and I'd spend the rest of the way fretting over how I was going to please him, how I was going to keep from making a fool of myself, or worse, a whore. But now I was so accustomed to it that I didn't mind at all.

The fact that he could look at me naked, all my scars bared to his eyes, only spoke further lengths of his affection.

We left the apartment, and Terry to his endless hours of pigging out while watching television, taking Mercury Avenue toward Akin's apartment complex in Hell. The air was rich with the smell of coffee and breakfast foods, music playing from shops that were opening, so there was an interesting mix of electronica and traditional folk music. People were emerging from their homes either for work or leisure. Most of them waved at me and I nodded politely to them. A few called out "happy birthday" and I tried not to flinch.

As a prince, it wasn't surprisingly that the whole realm knew my birthday. According to news reports, the realm had gone into heavy mourning when they thought I was dead. No one went outside on my birthday during that year I was gone. It was so strange to think that, all this time I thought I'd been nothing to them, only to have everyone miss a day of normalcy to cry for me.

It was a little embarrassing.

If the realm even knew who they were crying for, they would've never done so. So far, only my family and very, very close friends knew about what happened. And everyone who'd been in the meeting room that day Julius had broadcast my first night with him and his men. It chilled me to the bone every time I approached one of the generals who'd been at that meeting. They instantly got uncomfortable as if they were afraid of saying the wrong thing. They didn't treat me like a military man anymore, but like a shattered doll and it was infuriating.

These men who'd used to mock me and kick me around, giving me the tough love treatment and telling Lucifer to fire me because I was just a child. All of them had quickly changed their tune as they remained polite and courteous. I'd rather they go back to kicking me around than treating me like I was fragile.

"Stop frowning," Dev's voice, drawing me from my thoughts as we walked hand-in-hand, "You're gonna get wrinkles."

"I'm immortal. Wrinkles aren't a problem."

"I think you should stop testing it," Dev said, giving my hand a squeeze and flashing me a dazzling smile, "Come on, cheer up. We're gonna have fun today. Promise." I squeezed his hand back, giving him a smile. I really hoped he was right. The last thing I needed was a flashback right now.

We approached Akin's apartment complex after half an hour. The building was incredibly tall, made of sleek white steel and tinted windows with a call-box out front and a barrier to keep intruders from just waltzing in to bother the tenants. I went to the call-box and dialed Akin's number. His face appeared on the small screen above it.

If there was one thing I could agree with Hannibal on, it was that Akin really did look like the stereotypical angel. With fair hair and skin, and icy blue eyes that were an exact copy for Lucifer's, Akin seemed to always glow with cheerfulness. There was something really feminine about him, maybe his tight flashy clothing or his sweet and polite mannerisms, his friendliness, something, but the moment he spoke, people tended to get caught off guard by his incredibly deep voice that was laced with a New England accent, which we always found odd considering Akin had never even been in the mortal realm before.

"Raven! And hey, Dev," He added, making Dev huff, "I'll buzz you guys in and meet you at the door!" I nodded and there was a growling buzz from the speakers before Akin hung up and we walked inside, checking in with the receptionist before heading upstairs.

I'd already been inside this building numerous times before Akin even moved here. There were two penthouses on the top floor, one belonging to Akin and the other belonging to the Deadly Sin of Greed, Jericho. Often times, I'd run into Constance, the Deadly Sin of Wrath, coming and going. For the longest time, rumors ran rampant that the two were in a relationship and even engaged at some point, but Jericho and Constance had adamantly insisted that the two of them were simply friends, really close friends. Apparently they were horror movie junkies that spent several hours a week just watching every horror movie known to the universe.

Yeah, it was a strange relationship.

But I wasn't one to talk.

We got off the elevator and went to Akin's door on the left, and it was already open with Akin standing there, looking positively thrilled, as usual. His blonde hair was pulled up into a hair clip, and he wore a pair of tight jeans with glitter sprayed across the bottoms, and a loose silky white v-neck. He immediately came and gave me a hug. I hugged him back, always caught off guard by how fierce his hugs were. For someone who looked lean and slender, Akin could probably break spines with his bear hugs.

"Come on in," He said happily, "Hannibal made hot chocolate! You have to try it. I swear, he makes the best hot chocolate." I smiled, having no doubt about that. Dev made a face like he didn't believe it, but I held a finger to my lips as Akin led us into his penthouse.

It was a beautiful place, sleek and modern, with nearly everything in white or cream, except for the black furniture and hardwood floors. Akin took us into the kitchen that was open to the rest of the place, a huge living room/dining room area and a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Floor to ceiling windows, tinted to allow privacy, but clear enough to see the gorgeous Hell skyline.

"Hannibal! Downstairs, sweetie!" Akin called over his shoulder as he went to a pot on the stove. The place was warm and toasty, and I could smell the delicious rich hot chocolate wafting into the air. Akin poured me a mug and handed it over. He offered Dev a cup, but Dev polite declined and Akin shrugged it off. I took a sip and sighed.

"Oh god, that is good." I said, taking another tentative sip to avoid burning my tongue. Dev still appeared skeptical, but Akin jumped on yet another chance to gush about how perfect Hannibal was, and I just smiled.

"Definitely," Akin exclaimed, "He's so good at this kitchen thing. It's why I have him do all the kitchen work. You won't see me in here other than to eat whatever he makes. I suck at cooking. I burnt toast. Hell, I've burned water, Raven. Water."

"How do you burn water?" I asked, incredulously. Yeah, only Akin.

"I forgot about it and had it up to high. I swear, Hannibal laughed at me."

"He laughs?" Dev asked. Akin gave him a droll stare.

"Because I'm actually funny, unlike you."

"I'm hilarious."

"Yeah, maybe when you trip over your huge feet." Akin mocked. Dev made a noise of distress and looked at me, practically pouting. I laughed and elbowed him. Akin smirked, then looked past us and his face lit up. I felt Hannibal's presence before I saw him. We turned to see him coming down the stairs from the loft that hung out over our heads.

Hannibal was ridiculously tall, even taller than Dev, at nearly seven feet. His olive skin stretched tight over rippling muscles that were heavily scarred by centuries of battle and cruelty, his long black hair swept to the side and draped near the left side of his faced to hide the vicious scar that ran through his eye, making it a milky white. His other eye a bright shade of blue. While there was something very Greek about Hannibal, there was also something very Atlantean. I'd never met another Atlantean aside from him and Xenon, but there was one thing they had in common... An ancient, deadly beauty that shook you to the core of your soul.

And his accent didn't help. Even after all these years, Hannibal had a rich Atlantean accent. His Ts sounded more like Ds and his Us more like "oo", with Rs that rolled off the tip of his tongue.

"Happy Birthday." Hannibal greeted me, his voice a deep attractive timbre. I smiled at that. Even though his face was stoic because of Dev's presence, I saw his features soften and his eyes glint. It was like he knew I wasn't a huge fan of this birthday thing, but he wanted to celebrate it anyway to try and make me feel normal.

He handed me a small box wrapped in silver and blue paper. I took it, raising an eyebrow and he just stared at me expectantly. Akin came over to link his arm with Hannibal's, giving him an excited grin and kissing his shoulder before he looked at me. I peeled the paper back from the box, a small black box about the size of a CD case, only thicker. I cocked my head curiously and pryed the box open.

A smile lifted at the corner of my lips. Inside was a small round gold pocket watch, intricately designed with beautiful swirls, twisting and turning. I pressed the top and it flung open to reveal the antique clock inside. The moment it opened, however, a beautiful song started to play. It was soft and gentle, a lullaby, soothing to every part of me. As it played, I began to recognize it and I instantly felt like I was transported to that mansion in Inferi where I'd been kept after my rescue.

Hannibal had been trying to restrain me during one of my episodes where I was screaming and throwing myself away from him. I'd even punched him and bit him at some point, until he started murmuring something in my ear in a language I hadn't recognized at the time. Akin had told me it was an Atlantean lullaby, but I found it strange that Hannibal had never sang it. He didn't sing. And even though there were no words to this pocket watch lullaby, I knew instantly that it was the same lullaby Hannibal had told me in the past in order to calm me down.

I looked up at Hannibal, who waited for my response. Even though his face was blank, I could tell that he was eagerly waiting for me to like it or dislike it.

"Thank you, Hannibal," I managed to say at last, and he tilted his head as if he was unsure if my response was good or bad, and I laughed, "Seriously, thank you. This is beautiful. Where did you find the song for it?" Hannibal relaxed, looking relieved by my approval.

"I'm not sure," He admitted, looking back down at the gold watch, "I was at a thrift store with Akin and I felt like I had to get it. When I played it, I recognized it. Somehow." I smiled.

"Well, it's perfect. I'll carry it with me always." I replied. He looked embarrassed, but pleased either way. I didn't really want to close the watch, because the sound of the lullaby was really calming. I felt like I could listen to it all day, but I didn't want to ignore the fact that Akin had gotten me something too. So I laid my thumb carefully over the top, closing it so the soft gently faded away and I closed the box, tucking it away into my jacket pocket.

The rest of the visit was occupied by Akin giving me so many gifts that I wasn't sure I could get them all home. Leave it to Akin to buy out a whole store for my birthday. It was definitely more clothes than I needed, but I didn't say anything. He looked excited to have bought me so much, so I accepted his gifts with a smile and thank you.

After a couple hours, Dev and I decided to finally head out so we could drop the stuff off at our apartment and go out to lunch together.

Though, right as we left the building, my cell rang and I sighed with frustration, giving Dev an apologetic stare and he just shrugged. I used my powers to pick the phone up that was coiled around my left ear.

"Hello?"

"Raven," Lucifer greeted warmly, "Happy Birthday." I smiled and mouthed my dad's name to Dev, who nodded in understanding.

"Hey, dad. How's it going?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you were doing anything right now."

"Uh, well..."

"I'm at a restaurant on the end of Mercury Avenue. It's the Greek one on the second floor."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Why don't you come join me and we can have lunch together?"

"Well, I'm kind of with Dev."

"Bring him along."

"Okay." I agreed without argument. It'd be nice to see my dad. I hadn't had the chance since he'd been so busy with fixing things up after the war. It'd taken him quite a few months to get everything in order, what with half the city being destroyed and his palace getting swallowed by the Black Sea. So I wasn't going to argue with it. Besides, I was feeling much better about this day after Hannibal's gift.

"My dad," I said to Dev, who raised an eyebrow, "He wants us to meet him at a restaurant on Mercury Avenue for a birthday lunch." Dev pouted.

"Damn it, right when I think we're alone, someone's gotta come hog you." He complained. I smiled, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek and he perked up at the gesture.

"You can have me all to yourself tonight. Promise." I assured. Dev nodded and we headed back to the apartment to drop off our stuff before heading back to Mercury Avenue. The restaurant Lucifer mentioned was one of the older ones, traditional and folksy. It sat on a second story above an old apartment, and it was heavily decorated with laurel branches, grapevines, and the windows were tinted to allow privacy for the customers. The music was rich and powerful, flowing through the speakers. It was cheerful and exotic. I always liked Greek music, and it was a good thing too considering Lucifer's new boyfriend was Greek.

And speak of the devil, when we entered the restaurant, surrounded by the delicious scent of olives and warm oven-baked bread, I spotted Lucifer and his boyfriend sitting at one of the booths. I heard Dev make a weird noise to express his displeasure of the Greek god's presence.

Hades was Lucifer's current lover... and pain in the ass. At least to most people. I'd grown accustomed to Hades's acerbic personality and barbed sarcasm. The god went through more than anyone could possibly understand and he still managed to retain some kind of decency that he reserved solely for those who were closest to him.

Although, I always found his relationship with my father strange considering they were exact opposites in almost every way possible.

Lucifer was an angel, literally. His golden blonde hair fell in loose curls over one shoulder, his eyes a celestial shade of blue, creamy skin and smooth complexion, and a white leather ensemble that seemed to be the only thing in his closet considering how often he wore it.

Meanwhile, Hades was painfully Greek. His features were like something off a carved Greek statue, perfect in every way from his aquiline nose to his jawline. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue that seemed to eternally glow. His long black hair was brushed to the side, swept over his shoulder. And he wore a black leather outfit as opposed to Lucifer's white.

Yeah, they brought a whole new meaning to "opposites attract".

"Raven," Lucifer greeted me as we approached, and he stood up to give me a hug and a fatherly kiss on each cheek, "Happy Birthday, my son." I smiled.

"Thanks, dad. It's nice seeing you," I paused and looked over at Hades, who watched our exchange with a eerie stare and permanent scowl, "You too, Hades." Dev said nothing, choosing to remain silent, probably so he can focus on keeping his mind clean. Hades had gained the power to read minds after he ate his mother's heart, and while it didn't work on people he was closest to, say Lucifer or myself, it worked perfectly on Dev and Hades took every chance he could to mock the Sin for whatever strange thing passed over his mind.

"Shut up, Sin, I'm listening." Hades told Dev, who hadn't even opened his mouth. Dev stiffened and Lucifer gave Hades a chiding glare.

"I told you to behave. You're the one who asked to come with."

"I am behaving. At least I'm not pissing on the floor." Hades returned sourly. Lucifer shook his head, gave me a quick apologetic smile before Dev and I sat on one side of the booth while he and Hades sat on the other.

"Akin told me you stopped by earlier. How did it go?" Lucifer asked me after we reviewed the menu and ordered our meals. I laughed a little, rubbing at my neck awkwardly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he bought out an entire leather section from downtown given everything he gave me," I said, making Lucifer chuckle, "And Hannibal got me this." I pulled the pocket watch from my pocket to show him and Lucifer's eyes widened.

"A pocket watch?"

"It's got a special meaning," I said, then opened it to play the lullaby and Lucifer's eyes glowed this time, as if he were fascinated by it, "It's an Atlantean lullaby." Hades choked on his water and Lucifer scowled at him. Hades looked sheepish for a moment before clearing his throat, frowning at it.

"I didn't think the hybrid knew music." He said uncomfortably. I knew how he felt about Hannibal and I knew no amount of "come ons" would make him change his mind, so I just smiled as I shut the pocket watch and tucked it back into my pocket.

"Yes, he does. Sort of. He didn't sing it. He just knew the lullaby. Anyway, I thought it was great. It might actually help me when I have a panic attack," I admitted, running my thumb over the ridged designs while it sat in my pocket, "Anyway, enough about me. How's everyone else?" Lucifer smiled.

"Dania sends her regards. She's currently entangled in yet another one of her misadventures."

Poor Alexis.

Her husband, Alexis, seemed to always get dragged into her "misadventures". A stern Greek soldier who's heart only softened for Dania, he probably wasn't handling the crazy life of a trickster well.

"Bali and Wednesday have sent gifts to the palace for you," Lucifer continued, referring to my twin sisters, "Thorn says he can stop by tomorrow to see how you're doing. He bought something for you as did Ambrosius. Alaric and Stanton are also coming in later, so expect a visit from them. Jaques had to go visit his in-laws in the mortal realm, but he'll be back Sunday to terrorize you." I smirked at that.

Yeah, if anyone was good being a mother hen, it was Jaques. The oldest of Lucifer's children, he was always trying to corral the rest of us and make sure we weren't doing anything dangerous. If Lucifer wasn't there to slam us with lectures, Jaques was. Sometimes, he drove me insane, I swear. It'd gotten even worse after I'd returned from war. He called me at least once a day to ensure that I was healthy and taking care of myself and that Dev wasn't "mistreating" me. As if Dev would ever do such a thing.

We enjoyed the rest of lunch, listening to Hades throw in irritated quips, Lucifer trying to make him behave, which was never going to work. Dev was silent most of the time, and I noticed that he was starting to frown more and roll his eyes.

I was a little disappointed that he wasn't having fun. I knew it was hard for people to get used to Hades, but he wasn't that bad. At least, not after you understood him more. Then it was easier to handle him.

It was like trying a new food. You had to keep eating it to get used to it.

We finally left the restaurant and headed back toward the apartment, taking our time to walk through a few parks. Even though Dev was holding my hand, he was acting a little stand-offish and I felt like it was my fault. I knew he wanted to spend the day with me, because it was rare that he got to spend a whole day with me, but I didn't think it'd upset him enough to not be making jokes or trying to kiss me.

"Are you all right?" I asked. Dev blinked, then looked at me and smiled.

"Yeah, fine."

"Liar."

"Aw, hey now."

"Then why do you look constipated?" I asked dryly. Dev rolled his eyes, then switched his hold on me so he had his arm around my waist.

"I'm sorry," He admitted sheepishly, "I'm kind of selfish. I just wanted to have you all to myself. You're either always working or always hanging out with Hannibal and I hate coming home to an empty bed, or waking up to one. I like it better when I wake up and you're snuggled right up against me." I blushed warmly at that and Dev gave me a kiss on the head.

"I do not snuggle."

"You totally snuggle. You crawl right up against me and drive me nuts. You also steal all the blankets."

"I so do not!"

"You so do to," Dev exclaimed, "And sometimes you snore--"

"Okay, now I know you're lying. I most certainly do not snore."

"No, not really," Dev said with a grin, "But you make cute little noises. Probably one of the other reasons Anza calls you bunny."

"I'm pretty sure bunnies don't make noises."

"I'm pretty sure they do," Dev replied, then grinned and rubbed at my side, "Sorry for being a stick in the mud, though, really. I love you. I hope you had a good birthday." I smiled, slipping my arm around his waist to pull him closer.

"Yeah, it was pretty great. Thanks, Dev."

"For breakfast?"

"For being the best birthday present." I said with a laugh. Dev beamed. God, he looked like such a dork when he was happy. How could someone so deadly and sexy manage to look adorable like that? I couldn't understand it, but I didn't try to. I just savored it as we continued our walk, ignoring the cold and the chime of the palace clock in the distance to signal it was past eight.

Now I could only hope that by Dev's birthday, I'd be ready to give him the best present ever in return.

---

A/N: Yay! Birthday one-shot is finished for Raven :) Now, I know there's going to be questions about their sex life. It isn't going to be solved that easily, but maybe Raven will be ready by Dev's birthday, who knows? But what matters is that Raven's improving steadily. So, Happy Birthday to my baby~