A/N: I'm a bit late to the party, but better late than never.
And the newest episode ended so... hopelessly, that I had to write something to change some of those developments.

In consequence, I introduce you to a story that turned from a short one-shot into a multi-chaptered fic quite quickly if I'm to be honest. I have a general idea where it leads, but the estimated length may yet change. Luckily, I have the first few chapters lined up, so it shouldn't result in long pauses between them.

It's my first fic to Lucifer, and I sincerely hope that everyone is bearably in character (I've been told that Chloe might be slightly OOC, but it's for the better apparently, and I do hope it is). If you find any mistakes regarding things that happened before or during 3x18, please, tell me.
Timeline is quite vague on purpose, since they do not mention many particular dates in the show.

And, because why not, I strongly recommend listening to this song — "I Know You Care" by Ella Vos. I found it after I came up with the title, but it fits so perfectly (and the titles of chapters are going to be fragments of that song).

Oh, and as it is my first multi-chaptered story, I'll do my best to publish weekly, or at least every two weeks. There's a lot going on in my personal life right now, but writing is my coping mechanism, so I hope I'll keep doing it.

It's unbetaed, just proof-read, since I don't know any kind soul that could do that, so pointing out any mistakes is very appreciated!

Chapter 1: Before We're Lost

Chloe closed the front door behind Olga with a quiet thump, taking a deep breath. A lot had happened today, more than she would ever wish. Not only had they dealt with a dangerous serial killer on the loose, but she had also faced aftermath of that fateful concert-date with Marcus and all doubts she still had about pursuing that relationship.

If it wasn't bad enough, though, her roommate was gone, heading to God-knows-where, and Chloe now needed a good heart-to-heart girl talk more than ever. Even if Maze hadn't actually listened, Chloe would've at least got a chance to voice what was nagging her, hopefully sorting it out in the process.

In all honesty, what was happening with Marcus seemed too good to be true, too… surreal. She enjoyed the perspective of being in a relationship again (oh, how she missed it sometimes), that was sure. Yet, she had an unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever they were spending time together, as though her gut was trying to tell her something's wrong. The question remained, what.

A distinct knocking brought her back to reality before she had a chance to step away farther from the door. "Olga, did you forget something?" She expected to see her neighbour standing outside, but it turned out she couldn't be more wrong.

"Well, that's a new one." An all-too-familiar British voice resounded from behind the door. "I've never been mistaken for an Olga before." Lucifer flashed her his trademark smirk, and quickly strolled inside.

"What are you doing here?," she asked, having closed the door, positively surprised by his presence.

To come over unannounced wasn't anything new when it came to Lucifer—or unexpected, for that matter. She was taken aback by it, though, for they'd just seen each other, and she couldn't find any sensible reason for his visit. But it was Lucifer—some things around him just didn't make sense.

A smug look vanished from his face, replaced with a strange apprehension, and she immediately wondered if something bad had happened. "I am—I wanted to explain," he started uncertainly. She knew instantly that that tone of voice was reserved for rare moments when he chose to uncover his more vulnerable side. "Look, I know that I've been acting—"

"Insecure?," she couldn't help but interject, giving him a stern look. "Childish? Possessive?"

For a moment he looked like he was going to deny it, but upon seeing Chloe's expression, he must've deemed it nonsensical. "Well, I was going to say 'strangely', but—" He sighed, as if ready to admit his defeat. "Never mind. The truth is, perhaps I was slightly insecure about Pierce moving on our partnership."

That was how he felt about the whole thing, then. She should've thought earlier that Lucifer might get that impression, even though it couldn't be farther from the truth. She shook her head, looking at him earnestly. "Oh, Lucifer, that's not what's happening."

"I know, because I've realised that there is room in your life for—all sorts of relationships," he said, his eyes not leaving hers even for a split second, "even if one of them is with him." He dropped his gaze, seemingly having a great difficulty with saying the two last words.

Hearing that, her heart squeezed in her chest. It wasn't what she was expecting from her reckless and impulsive partner, whose level of maturity most of the time matched the one of her daughter. And yet, at rare occasions just like that one, he appeared to be more understanding than all men she'd ever encountered, including Dan. It reminded her of that fateful day on the beach, and she abruptly felt a strong urge to kiss him all over again. "I—," she began, not really knowing what to say, but she was instantly cut off.

"Just—Please, be careful," he requested, eyeing her intently.

Chloe wasn't able to stand seriousness of his gaze, so a snort escaped her throat. Always, when she thought he couldn't be any more charitable, he was surprising her once again. She just had no idea why he was still pretending that he felt nothing—that there was nothing between them.

Lucifer took her reaction as an acceptance of his plea. "Okay," he said more to himself, smiling nervously.

Chloe regarded his face for a moment. It was enough, however, for her to finally understand what was off when it came to Marcus. As a great guy as he was, he could never be Lucifer Morningstar—an arrogant club owner, who thought he's the Devil himself, and the one she really wanted to be in a relationship with.

She was quite annoyed with herself, to be honest. It'd been months since they had almost happened and she still wasn't able to move on from it, despite the fact that essentially nothing had happened. How pathetic of her, acting like she was a teenager with a giant crush on the most popular guy in school. She should've just let it go, but her heart knew better.

Besides, there still might be a chance. Knowing well that it's better to try and fail than regret not facing the challenge, Chloe decided to take a risk. Just throw caution to the wind, she told herself forcefully. "Do you want to stay? I can make some coffee and we can—"

Lucifer winced slightly, and her hopes plummeted. "Ah, I can't, unfortunately. There's a bachelor party at Lux and, well—" He smiled apologetically, looking a little nervous.

"Okay, another time." Her voice was a little too harsh for her taste, but she couldn't stop a feeling of disappointment from filling her chest.

That was absurd. It wasn't like they were together or anything, she shouldn't be mad at him for having his own plans. Her behaviour was foolish and unacceptable, not suiting a mature woman that she was.

"Yes," he affirmed, walking past her towards the front door.

She could tell that what he did was purposeful. He was running, again. The only thing she couldn't wrap her mind around was why. One would have to be blind not to see how jealous of Pierce he was, and yet when given a perfect opportunity to move on her, he's just fleeing the scene.

She gritted her teeth. This—all of this—had to stop, now. No more running from the thing that was between them, or else she would lose her mind.

Before any doubts could surface in her head, she turned around, in time to see her partner reaching for a door handle. "Lucifer, wait."

Even though Lucifer wholeheartedly meant what he had told her, it was quite a feat for him to keep his composure. Despite the notion of jealousy being far from foreign to him, he had never experienced it in such a way. It wasn't that he had never felt it—there was nothing he was more jealous of than human free will, after all. That, however—not taking his rebellious stunt into consideration—had never caused him to act as stupidly as today. He had never perceived humans as his rivals in any way, in spite of longing for their greatest God-given attribute.

Now, though, Pierce appeared to be his adversary all of a sudden. In the past few months, they might have been described using that peculiar human term—frienemies, but Lucifer had never deemed Cain a threat, not until now. Which was ridiculous, really, as Chloe didn't belong to anyone, especially to the Devil of all beings, so he had no right to be so possessive of her.

As much as he hated watching her and Pierce, at least she finally had a chance to experience real happiness—a chance to free herself from that preposterous infatuation that his dear Dad callously bestowed upon her. The only way to go was to treat it like a blessing in disguise. His heart throbbed mercilessly, but this time it was not about him.

He was about to make his exit, but her quiet voice effectively stopped him. "Lucifer, wait." He came to a halt abruptly, his hand just inches away from a door handle.

While a bit panicked part of him begged him to just leave and go about his evening as if that whole visit hadn't even taken place, something in her tone made him look at her over his shoulder with noticeable interest. He could see that she struggled with her words, her gaze set firmly on the floor right before his feet.

She took a deep breath, to clear her thoughts, he presumed. "What if—," she started warily, her fingers reaching to a bullet pendant around her neck. She still avoided his face, as if she was afraid of his reaction. "What if I don't want a relationship—romantic relationship—with Marcus?" She looked up at him at last, her eyes full of both wonder and reluctance.

Lucifer blinked, shocked by her confession. He might have utterly misunderstood the situation, though he could swear that was unlikely. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Detective," he said slowly, tilting his head.

With her fingers wrapped around the bullet, she started toying with the necklace. "The truth is—" She bit her lower lip, and he could swear the Detective was flustered. "I'm not sure if I want it. I mean, it could be nice to be going out again, but maybe I don't want to date Marcus. It… it doesn't feel right, you know," she admitted, looking at everything but him.

A quiet "oh" escaped his lips. It wasn't something he'd been expecting to hear. She had looked so happy, almost glowing with unspoken joy while being with Pierce, that he had hard time believing her statement. His naïve heart almost skipped a beat, hoping against hope that maybe it meant she… Then it dawned on him. Dear ol' Dad's back in the game.

His body immediately tensed. It was getting ridiculous—now she couldn't even date normally. How cruel He must be to do something like that to such a beautiful and pure creature was beyond Lucifer's comprehension. Even so, it was His thing, wasn't it? Mercifully giving something, then heartlessly taking it away just as easily. If Lucifer had ever thought that he couldn't possibly harbour any more hatred towards his Father, he knew now how misguided such a belief had been.

Chloe waited for a moment, clearly certain he would add something, probably a quip or a pun. Upon seeing his lips were pursed, she decided to continue: "I thought I wanted it, but it turns out—I don't know. It's just—he's my boss—it's hardly professional. And looking at him I realised I want—" she stopped for a moment, giving him a strange look, an emotion Lucifer wasn't able to identify behind her eyes, "—something else from a relationship."

"Well, in that case I am glad that you are successfully sorting out what it is that you desire, since I am clearly unable to help." He smirked, looking at her smugly, even if it felt a bit forced.

Despite his greatest efforts to keep his composure, he was afraid the Detective could see signs of his inner turmoil, she was too bloody observant. He couldn't stay here any longer or else his carefully constructed cool façade would shatter. And yet, he was incapable of forcing himself to leave the Detective, all because of his stupidly egoistic heart.

As if his weakness wasn't bad enough, there was something in Chloe's expression—in her beautifully sky-blue eyes (oh, what a divine irony, Dad)—that made him even more drawn to her. So much warmth and… was it really affection? No one had looked at him like that in eons, and she was a very welcomed exception. It wasn't real, however, he reminded himself brutally.

Lucifer took a deep breath. The dame blocking his feelings was cracking dangerously, so that it almost broke. He had to stay strong, though—stripping her of a chance to make an autonomous choice was the last thing he wanted. He would never lower himself to his Dad's pathetic level.

Suddenly, any remaining traces of hesitation disappeared from Chloe's face, and sheer determination took over. Her jaw set, she took a step closer to him, but still not entering his personal space. "I think it's high time we discussed… this," she said firmly, with a tone resembling her Mom voice, motioning between them with one of her hands.

Lucifer blinked again, trying to pinpoint a direction, in which she was taking their conversation. There was something dreadfully serious in her words, though, and a small voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to flee, despite his face remaining blank.

Chloe was apparently searching for something in his emotionless expression. Having not found it, she puffed irritably, gritting her teeth. "I mean, us," she explained impatiently, seemingly annoyed by his cluelessness. "I'm tired of avoiding it. I—I don't want to do this anymore, Lucifer."

Although Chloe hated how desperate she sounded, she couldn't care less about it at the moment. The objective was clear in her mind—she had to finally put an end to all that untold things between them. Her eyes back on him, she was begging him mutely to react somehow to her words.

She took another deep breath. No one said that opening your heart was an easy task. Seeing that he was still dreadfully silent, she chose to continue, her voice small: "I can see that you're doing many things that contradict it, but I know you care," she said forcefully. "You do, don't you?"

"I do," he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. In spite of it, it was enough for Chloe to hear.

"Then, why?" She looked at him expectantly, terrified as she realised that her eyes started prickling.

She couldn't—and she wouldn't—cry in front of him, not now when they might at long last make some progress. Despite her tenacity, emotions that were gradually filling her up were too intense for her to have a full control over them. Months of silence, unanswered questions and a heartbreak she had barely dealt with came back to her in full force. Unfortunately, it was too late to stop it—the camel's back broke.

"Why did you run away? Why?" It was almost a scream, desperation evident in cracks of her voice. "I want the truth, Lucifer. No more lies," she accented every word, trying to get her wavering voice under control.

His dark eyes round, he stared at her for a long moment, his inner battle apparent in the way his jaw clenched and unclenched. "I—" He cleared his throat, looking away guiltily. "I can't," he whispered resignedly.

Her heart sank. She was really hoping that his whole rule of 'I never lie' would work to her advantage, but apparently it didn't apply to her of all people. She ignored venomous thoughts, flooding into her mind, and yet couldn't erase bitterness from her voice: "Omitting the truth is also considered lying, you know."

Chloe crossed her arms, waiting for another blow. At this point, she wondered if it made sense at all, trying to get to him. He remained as distant as ever, building up even thicker walls that no one would be able to break through. Then, it hit her—he must've truly hated himself to disregard any opportunity for a little closeness. At this thought, some of her anger dissipated, though she still was far from being understanding of his persistent silence.

Lucifer seemed hurt by her statement, so there was a possibility that the rule was in force, after all. She shouldn't be surprised, with her partner having such an inclination to bend the rules, that what he was doing probably made a perfect sense in a twisted way in his mind. "Detective, you are the last person I'd like to lie to," he said honestly, if a bit affronted.

She snorted humourlessly, shaking her head. "Then why are you doing just that?," she scoffed, tired of his irrational stubbornness.

Her statement that she knew exactly who Lucifer was still stood, therefore she was unable to comprehend why her partner was so insistent on keeping secrets from her. No matter what he would say—and how horrible would it be—it could never significantly change the way she was seeing him. And what she saw was a good man struggling with the way others perceive him and with his own self-hatred.

Lucifer sighed, hiding hands in pockets of his designer suit. "To protect you," he said simply, as if he was stating the obvious.

Chloe barely resisted the urge to snort again. This time his words angered her more than anything else he had said this evening. "I can protect myself just fine, thank you," she said bitterly, her anger growing again. "Let me remind you that I am the one with a gun here." A sweetly fake smile spread on her lips. Her voice was getting higher with every word, but her growing rage clouded her mind enough for her not to notice it.

He raised his hands shieldingly, clearly losing his own temper. "You don't understand, Detective, it's—"

She didn't let him finish, she just couldn't deal with those flimsy excuses anymore. "No, it's you who doesn't understand."

Lucifer groaned, his fists clenching under the grey fabric. As much as he admired the Detective's strong-mindedness, in a situation such as this one it didn't come much in handy, actually. It was beyond irritating how she couldn't fathom a concept as simple as her safety.

Had he said something, her tirade might've been over. As he didn't, however, it just escalated: "I can't stand any more lies, Lucifer. I—our partnership won't survive long if we're not honest with each other," she stated, her lower lip quivering. "And I'm getting sick of fighting with you over it. So, you either tell me the truth about what we are standing on, or—or that's it," she declared, with a grim sense of finality, her eyes glassy.

His throat suddenly felt very dry, so that he almost reached for his flask, but refrained from doing so in the end, as him drinking might only further enrage the Detective. It was difficult for he could tell he was sobering up, and that conversation was only getting more and more intense, not to mention the pain reflected in Chloe's eyes that cut through his soul like one of Maze's blades. And a sole thought that he was the one to cause her that suffering…

He gulped down a lump in his throat. Despite a very unreasonable part of him wanting to get this over with, to show her everything, he knew better than that. "I—As much as it pains me to say that, I can't tell you," he said hoarsely, wishing against all odds that she would drop the subject. Which, obviously, turned out to be very naïve of him.

Chloe looked away, biting her lower lip, her fists clenched at her sides. "I guess I was wrong about you," she said weakly, barely keeping her voice even. "You don't care."

He cast a hateful glance at the ceiling before closing his eyes. It broke his heart to see her suffering, but maybe it was better this way. Maybe it would enable him to make a clean break this time and vanish from her life for good this time. After all, everything was worth the Detective's happiness and freedom, even his own misery.

However, before he could make a reasonable decision, his infamous egoism got the better of him yet again. "I do care," he said sternly, his eyes locked with hers. If only she understood… "In fact—I—" Oh, he's going to regret this later, a lot. "I love you, Chloe." He watched as her eyes went wide, and her lips parted, as if she wanted to say something. He was faster than her, however. "And, as much as I do, it changes bloody nothing if you can't make your own choice!"

She gave him an incredulous look, throwing her hands in the air. "Wha—?" She furrowed her eyebrows, his last statement clearly beyond her comprehension. "Obviously I can!," she argued fervently, as if there was an obviousness of sorts that he was unable to grasp. "And I choose you!"

He smiled under his nose bitterly, paying no mind to the implications of her confession. "If only it was that simple—"

Chloe sighed irritably, stepping closer to him. He could almost see flames in her eyes, and he had to admit that he was quite surprised by her tempestuous emotional state. "But it is! What the hell is your problem?" There was so much of both incredulity and fury in her expression that it almost threw him off balance. He saw her so raw for the first time since their paths had crossed.

"Funny that you ask," he muttered sourly. "I've already told you that telling you is out of the question, Detective, and I won't repeat myself!," he added much louder this time.

"But why?" Bitter tears practically fell from her eyes, she seemed not to care, though. "I love you too, Lucifer, what can be more important than that?," she asked hopelessly, on the very edge of losing her composure.

Yelling at her truly wasn't his intention, but he couldn't help a howl rising from his throat: "Your own bloody free will!"

Lucifer's scream reverberated through the house, as flames of rage licked his soul. He was certain his eyes were blazing—at least for a split second—the Detective, however, appeared to have ignored it, just like she always did. He couldn't tell if it was more comforting or infuriating right now.

Out of a sudden, Chloe's face fell, as if a realisation of sorts dawned on her. Hardly had he thought that she might have finally understood what he tried to convince her of, when she looked in the direction of her daughter's room with a terrified expression. "Trixie," she gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. Although it wasn't that the spawn was in any actual danger, Lucifer must've admitted that there was a high possibility of their heated exchange waking her up, and even the Devil himself didn't want that little human to hear things she shouldn't have.

Chloe rushed to Trixie's room to check on her, Lucifer paid it a little mind, however, preoccupied with an unpleasant itching on his back. His muscles contracted achingly, while he struggled to keep his wings hidden. It had been very close… Hiding his devilish—or rather angelic, as of late—self was much harder under influence of strong emotions, and he was never one to properly control his temper.

The Detective slowly opened the door to the spawn's room and peeked inside. It took her a moment, but she eventually closed the door, relief washing down her face. "She's still asleep," she said, satisfied.

Some of the tension build up during their argument dissipated during that short interval. Therefore, after she came back closer to him, they stood for a long moment in a weirdly uncomfortable silence, that Lucifer finally decided to break, his voice much gentler this time: "What you feel, it is not real," he explained patiently, suddenly taking a great interest in his shoes. "You are forced to feel it and I—I cannot take your freedom away from you."

Chloe exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. He could no longer see any angry determination, so he concluded that he might've started getting to her. "And how would it even work?," she asked tiredly, massaging her temples.

"I don't have even a slightest idea," he admitted without losing his nerve, "but in a twisted way it has to. It is always like that with Dad." He sneered, looking up.

She clearly chose to ignore that last part, and instead set her yet again firm gaze on him. "I know what I feel, Lucifer—" she said through clenched teeth, stepping even closer to him, "—and it's too fucking real." A curse fell smoothly out of her mouth, equally shocking both of them, but none gave it a second thought.

Hot tears slowly rolled down Chloe's cheeks, leaving behind trails of glistening skin. "I did my best to move on, but I just—I just can't," she declared sharply, "Not with you around, being that infuriatingly sweet and incurably indecent you."

He looked at her for a moment, his mind a mess of tangled thoughts. Then, the possibility that her words presented came forth, and just like that a hasty plan was formed. "I suppose I should leave, then," Lucifer said indifferently, his face expressionless.

He could tell that his words were essentially breaking her heart, as something—remnants of hope, probably—vanished from her eyes. That was the plan, however, wasn't it? By breaking her heart, he could allow her to have a normal life—a better life—that she so clearly deserved. Furthermore, knowledge that she hated him now might stop him from coming back this time.

He turned on his heel, adjusting his cufflinks, demonstrating that he deemed their conversation finished. Before he could take a step, however, she grabbed his arm, and even though her grasp was tight, he knew he could easily free himself.

"If you leave now, it's over." Her voice was cold, but he was unable to miss a quiet desperation in a way she was clinging to his arm as though he was her lifeline.

He looked past his shoulder just like before, locking his eyes with hers. He knew that the Detective deserved the truth, and storming out of her apartment might break not only her heart, but also his own.

There was always another way out, though—it might be less painful for her if she was the one to throw him out of her home. That would also be a perfect opportunity for him to show her the truth, since knowing it, Chloe most likely wouldn't even want to see him anymore.

"Do you really want to know what is my problem, Detective?," he asked, his voice quiet, yet as cold as ice.

She regarded him for a moment, apparently not really believing that he would give her any answer. After searching his face for any signs of a joke or a lie proved fruitless, she just nodded firmly.

Lucifer took a deep breath, trying to remember as many details of her gorgeous face as he only could. Then, aware that he couldn't stretch out that moment anymore, he closed his eyes tightly, turning around to face her. Even now, with nothing to lose, he dreaded her reaction. But it was now or never.

With soft rustling of feathers, his wings unfurled from his back.

A/N: Yeah, I know—damn, that escalated quickly.

But, honestly, I can hardly imagine it happening in any other way at this point.

I know, it's very angsty, but it can only be better from now on.

Plus, it was quite interesting to write such an unconventional love confession. A great writing exercise.

I hope you liked it.

'Till next week.