Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

The room was silent now that it was only Evelyn and Lucifer, who had told Isaac to stand outside for this private conversation. The two S-rank women were sitting on the couch, facing each other. Evelyn had made herself some tea as well and blew on it to cool it down.

Lucifer put the cup on the coffee table and leaned back, her posture still perfect and composed.

“Eve—”

“It’s Evelyn,” she interrupted and took a sip of her tea. The taste was calming and it warmed her up slightly. The room smelled of jasmine.

A hum left Lucifer as she took in Evelyn’s appearance, from her blonde hair to her blue eyes. Something had changed in those eyes.

“You seem closer to him again...” Lucifer trailed off and smiled.

Evelyn sighed, a small one. The light in the room dimmed slightly.

“Can we not talk about that now Luci?” She looked away.

The other woman chuckled and stood up to open the balcony door, letting the air in. Lucifer never liked closed rooms for difficult conversations. She'd told Evelyn that once, years ago, over a different confession entirely.

The sky was clear of any clouds, the weather nice. The sun was bright and the smell of salt water was present.

“Why did you kill your husband and son?” Lucifer went straight to the point.

A breath left Evelyn. Her tea long forgotten on the table as her hands tightened on the couch. Of course, Lucifer wanted to talk about that. The Judge was a seeker of truth, she’d find it no matter where she dug.

Evelyn decided to answer honestly.

“Because they were sick. Monsters.” Her eyes went down to her lap.

Lucifer turned from the balcony to face her again. The sunlight making her white hair glow.

“But to go as far as to kill your son? A child you raised from birth...that is not something a normal sane mother would do.” She walked over and sat next to Evelyn, their arms almost touching.

“Did Silas force you to do it?” She asked, a serious look on her face.

Shaking her head, Evelyn answered, “No. This was entirely on me, Luci. My decision, my sin, my burden.”

“I find it hard to believe. He has always had an effect on you since we met. You changed for him and after you two broke up, you tried to recreate it with your new family, did you not?” Lucifer's focus never left Evelyn’s eyes, looking for any signs of lying in her face or words.

“Did he say he was going to kill them if you didn’t?” She pushed, not letting her friend get away with vague answers.

Evelyn frowned and met her gaze, her blue eyes sharp.

“They. Were. Monsters. That is the end of it. If you want to punish anyone, punish me. Silas only did what I asked him to.” It felt good saying this out loud, saying the truth.

“Alright then. The formal investigation into Haden Everheart's death remains open, Evelyn. You'll hear from me when it's complete.”

A sigh left Lucifer’s lips as she leaned back against the soft leather couch and closed her eyes, thinking of how to proceed. They stayed silent for a while. The room felt cold despite the warm wind that blew in, or perhaps it was Evelyn herself who felt cold—she couldn’t tell anymore.

After five minutes, Lucifer finally spoke up. Her tone was a little sad.

“I think your feelings for him are still clouding your judgment Evelyn. He is a man who hides behind the love of his family as an excuse to do unlawful things, like today.” She looked at Evelyn with sympathy. “He isn’t good for you.”

Evelyn clenched her fists on her dress. Those words were a stab to her gut because she thought the same once. Now after what he did for her...it was clear as day to her that he was.

She wanted to yell at Lucifer but she was a friend and didn’t deserve that.

“He saved me...he truly did Luci. He could have left me to die on that barren planet but he didn’t,” Evelyn’s voice cracked.

Her friend raised an eyebrow. “So? If I recall correctly he saved you before when you wanted to jump off the roof too. That time he used you, broke you. This time won’t be any different.” Her words were blunt.

Was this all a lie? No. Silas and Elizabeth were sincere with her and she felt the truth in her soul.

“He may not be lawful in whatever way you see fit. But his actions come from his heart, no one else’s,” she said and looked out the balcony door. “He loves his family more than anything and I hope I can be a part of it.”

A silence followed.

Lucifer didn’t respond immediately, her hands going to her rings. The ring of ‘logic’ turned red on her finger, a sign of her contract activating and Evelyn shivered.

A threat? No, the Judge was just using it to tell the truth.

“Why don’t you put your logic to the test? Take away the emotion of this and tell me what you truly think of his actions, objectively Evelyn.” Her red eyes were piercing.

Taking a shaky breath in, Evelyn closed her eyes. That contract would force her to be logical, to discard any feelings. She had already used it once when she spoke of the rooftop incident with Silas. She had called it unhealthy back then, despite the warmth she felt in her chest.

“Go on,” Lucifer urged her.

Evelyn swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke with a clear mind.

“No, I want to take a leap of faith for once. Logic can’t tell me how to feel...about this.” The ring went back to its golden color and Evelyn slumped her shoulders, exhausted from the pressure of that contract.

Lucifer nodded, her gaze softening. Outside, the ocean breeze moved through the open balcony door and the jasmine from the tea finally reached Evelyn again—she hadn't noticed it stop.

“Then my friend I will be there to pick up the pieces when your faith inevitably gets shattered by reality.” Her hand patted Evelyn on her lap and she stood up.

“A zebra does not change its stripes, and Silas will always be the monster who let the world burned while he stayed with his family,” Lucifer concluded her statement and headed to the balcony door.

Evelyn had one last thing to say.

“He let the world burn but he also saved it, Luci...you can’t place perfection on a twenty year old man. You weren’t perfect back then, Matilda wasn’t perfect either. Even Berlin had his flaws.” She turned her head to look at Lucifer. “The world needed monsters to survive the apocalypse. Your judgement would not matter if they didn’t exist.”

Silence. Then the white-haired woman smiled.

“Perhaps. But once the war is over, the guns need to be put down and the monsters slain. Goodbye Evelyn.”

She closed the balcony door behind her. Then she was gone.