"BECAUSE I BLOODY WELL LOVE YOU, THAT'S WHY!"
Chloe stood facing Lucifer in the penthouse, the tension in the air around them palpable. Both were still shaking with adrenaline, their argument having abruptly come to an end with Lucifer's unplanned confession. He remained towered above her, his face caught in a state of shock as the enormity of the words he'd just spoken sunk in.
The sudden silence that had fallen between them was broken by a shrill ringing, an intruding noise that failed to distract either of them from the other. Time seemed to have slowed, to the point that Lucifer might have wondered if his brother had finally managed to regain his powers, if it wasn't for the obviously unaffected human standing in front of him. The sound of her racing heart was the only thing he could hear, now that the caller who'd dared interrupt them had given up.
"Detective, I..." Lucifer tentatively reached out towards her, only to withdraw quickly as she stepped away. Her eyes never left his though, a look of evident confusion upon her face as she stared at him.
She crossed her arms in front of her body, her cheeks still flushed from the heat of their altercation. A matching fire echoed within his gaze, their passionate fight obviously having had an unintended effect on him that she'd rather not think about right now.
Her eyes dropped to the floor as she struggled to find her voice. "Lucifer..." She shook her head slowly. "You can't just..."
The sound of Lucifer's phone once again sliced through the air, disrupting her train of thought and finally catching the attention of its owner.
Snatching the offending item from the counter, Lucifer momentarily looked as if he planned to throw it against the nearest wall. A brief glance at the screen however saw him answering the call. He strode towards the bar, clearly intent on downing the first bottle of whisky he came across.
"What is it, brother, I'm in the middle of something here!" he snapped, and as he turned away Chloe stole a glance towards the elevator. She should leave. This was way too much to deal with on top of everything else she'd had thrown at her lately.
He loved her.
He actually loved her.
Or at least he thought he did. But he'd been the one to make it clear that they were friends. Just friends. Partners. Nothing more.
It was all too confusing. She needed to go. She had to go. Now.
But as she took her first step towards the way out Lucifer turned back around, bottle in hand. He caught her eye and she paused as she recognised something deep within in his gaze, a plea that she had only seen once before in the early days of their partnership.
Don't. Please.
Reluctantly, she nodded her head in silent agreement. Some of the tension that had been running through her body finally started to drain as she leaned back against the piano. He gave her a small smile of relief that she couldn't stop herself from returning as she watched him finally focus on whatever his brother was saying.
Which is when the bottle he was holding crashed to the floor.
Smile vanishing, Chloe looked on with concern as Lucifer's face fell and alarm took over. "What? How did this happen? Is she...?"
Glass crunched beneath his feet as he began to pace back and forth, all thoughts of the discussion they'd been having forgotten in an instant. "Why would she do this?!"
He grabbed another bottle as he gave his brother time to respond, the answer he received evidently not to his liking judging by the way he gritted his teeth as he poured himself a glass. Chloe looked at him questioningly and he shook his head in response, clearly unable or unwilling to let her know what was happening. He downed the amber liquid and started walking towards the balcony, before returning to the conversation.
"Oh, and I wonder where she got that idea from," she heard him scoff. "Martyrdom to wash away a lifetime of sins. As if that could ever work! Another cruel trick our Father likes to play on his foolish humans."
Chloe bristled at that, before chastising herself once again for getting drawn into her partner's delusions. When it came down to it he was just as human as she was, and a case could certainly be made for him being far more foolish. She smirked slightly at the thought before turning her attention back to Lucifer, who seemed to be on a mission to wear tracks into the marble floors of his penthouse, still mid-rant.
Now that she had a moment to herself, she couldn't help but consider the man in front of her, who minutes ago had been telling her exactly what she'd been waiting to hear for so long, whether he'd meant to or not.
He was beautiful even now despite his disheveled state, one hand running through his hair in frustration as he dealt with whatever was happening. It's not like she was blind, she knew how damn attractive he was, but it was his actions that had eventually changed the way she thought about him. They'd been through so much together, and he'd hurt her so deeply, but maybe, just maybe, this could be a turning point for them both, given time.
Because time was exactly what she needed at the moment. Her head was still reeling from discoveries of manipulation and deceit, from a future planned and torn away in an instant. She didn't think she could take yet another leap right now without knowing exactly what she was getting herself into. And Lucifer was anything but predictable at the best of times. But still, the feelings she'd had for him had never truly gone away, despite how deeply she may have tried to bury them.
Sometimes it was far easier to hate him than love him.
But she knew that underneath it all he was a good man. She closed her eyes at memory of the last time she'd said that, before pushing the pain away. Angels and demons aside, Lucifer had never lied to her. He'd proven time and time again that he would stop at nothing to protect her. If what he'd admitted in anger had been the truth...
Lucifer had stopped pacing. The lack of movement snapped Chloe out of her reverie and crashing back into the situation at hand. She noted with concern the way the colour had completely drained from her partner's face, his hand shaking as he held the phone to his ear. Moving into his field of view, she mouthed the words what's wrong? at him. He held up his hand in response, silently asking for her to allow him to finish.
"There's still time. As soon as she's gone I'll bring her back," he said, his words determined, an underlying finality to them that was not to be argued with. Not that it seemed to deter his sibling. "This is our fault, brother. We can't just leave her there!"
More arguing. She could tell Lucifer's patience was wearing thin, his grip on the phone white knuckled, his other hand clenched into a fist by his side. "She knows where she is, Amenadiel! You do realise that? She'll be tortured, over and over, all the while knowing that it's never going to end. She doesn't deserve that kind of punishment!"
Torture? Punishment? Chloe desperately wished she could hear the other side of this conversation; the longer it went on the more perplexed she became. One thing was clear though, someone was in trouble and no matter what she was dealing with in her personal life, she was still a cop. She caught Lucifer's arm, signaling that he needed to get off the phone. She could help. Dan could help. Hell, the whole department would get involved if they needed to. All he had to do was let her know what was going on.
Lucifer's eyes softened for a second as his gaze drifted down to her hand on his arm. The moment passed quickly though, his temper shattering as he pulled away.
"I don't CARE what our 'almighty' Father will think! I am doing this, Amenadiel! You got her into this mess, and it seems I must be the one to get her out of it. Stay with her until she passes, until I can bring her back safely. You will do this for me, brother, or I swear you will be the next one to join her. For it is I decide who is worthy of punishment, not you, and certainly NOT HIM!"
He slammed the phone down and Chloe gasped as the entire surface of the table fractured apart, falling down to the already glass covered floor. It was easy to forget just how strong he was sometimes, and on each occasion she was reminded she felt like she was experiencing it for the first time all over again. He leaned heavily against a chair, anger emanating from him as the frame twisted beneath his fingers.
Cautiously, she approached.
"Lucifer, what's happened?"
The metal of the chair groaned as his grip increased. Without warning, he threw it halfway across the room, the sound of yet more glass breaking as it landed. His eyes whipped up to meet hers, and for a moment she could have sworn they were glowing red from the force of his fury, the distant firelight reflecting within them.
"Why don't you ask your precious lieutenant?" he spat, the words containing a level of venom she'd never heard directed at her before.
She recoiled as if from a physical blow, tears flooding her vision. It was time for her to go. Lucifer obviously wasn't going to clue her in on what the phone call was about, and she had no desire to be used as a verbal punching bag while he worked through his anger. Gathering her things hastily, she all but ran for the exit, but when she pressed the call button a hand gently closed around her wrist.
"Detective, I apologise." She hadn't even heard him move. Warily Chloe turned around, and found his face full of shame.
"Please forgive me. Mu-" He caught himself. "Charlotte has been gravely injured and I fear I may have let my emotions get the better of me."
She didn't even hesitate. The look on his face changed to one of surprise as she threw her arms around him, all thoughts of leaving vanishing in an instant.
"My god, Lucifer, is she going to be ok? Amenadiel is with her right? Is the ambulance there yet?"
Questions spilled from Chloe's lips, faster than he could answer them, but even as she heard herself speak she realised that from what she'd already heard that it couldn't be good. Lucifer's next words confirmed it.
"They can't help her, there's not enough time. But I can."
Chloe wanted to ask him how, why he thought he could do something that the paramedics couldn't, and from here no less, but instead his earlier outburst came to the forefront of her mind. "Marcus. Marcus did this?" she asked. He nodded, his arms around her waist stiffening ever so slightly.
"Which is why it's time for you to leave, Detective. Time is of the essence and you can't be involved in this." He let go of her and stepped to the side of the elevator, indicating that she should make her way inside.
Chloe didn't move a muscle.
"I'm not going anywhere. You're my partner Lucifer. You need me. Despite everything that's going on between us at the moment, I'm not just going to abandon you." The side of Lucifer's mouth quirked up at that, his admiration in the resilience of his detective ever apparent.
But that didn't stop his hands from making their way to her shoulders as he attempted to guide her through the doors. "I'm afraid this is something I must do on my own. If you refuse to vacate, then I must. Either way, one of us is leaving this place."
"Lucifer, stop!" She broke free of his arms and shoved him backwards, annoyance flashing in her eyes when he barely budged. "Tell me what's going on!"
He still wasn't moving. In fact, he wasn't even looking at her at all any more, his eyes fixed on nothing, as if he were concentrating on something that she could neither see nor hear. When he came back to himself, he looked defeated.
"Very well. My brother informs me there's no time left to argue. I can't tell you everything, Detective, that would take too long now that she's waiting for me, but I can show you." He stepped forward, his hand rising to softly cup her face.
"Please believe me. I didn't plan for it to be this way." He bent forward to rest his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, Chloe."
She opened her mouth to respond, only to feel the breath stolen from her as her entire field of vision filled with white. So much brightness, such a stark contrast to the dark surroundings of Lucifer's home that it made her instinctively want to shield her eyes.
Lucifer stepped backwards away from her, and finally, finally her brain began to comprehend what she was seeing.
Wings.
Wings that seemed so out of place next to the black of Lucifer's suit and yet such a part of him that she couldn't comprehend them not always having been there. Her eyes widened, trying to take in the entirety of the magnificence spread out before her, but no sooner had room filled with divine light than it was gone.
And with it, Lucifer.
Chloe dropped to the floor, her legs no longer willing to support her while her mind struggled not to break.
It was all true.
All of it.
Her partner was an angel.
No, that wasn't right, was it? Not an angel. She knew what he was, he'd never been anything other than honest with her about that. Still, she couldn't bring herself to think the words, to connect the fear that name could invoke with the man she thought she had known so well.
Why had he never told her? Well sure, he'd told her, but telling is a whole different matter to showing. She felt a small swell of anger at that and she clung to it like a lifeline, a tether to bring her back to herself.
Lucifer, she was pissed at Lucifer. That she was a feeling she knew, something familiar and normal. The rest could come later.
Later however, appeared to be much sooner than she'd expected. As she made to rise from the floor, a massive gust of air threatened to knock her straight back down again. She brushed the hair from her eyes, and looked up at the man before her.
What a sight they must have made, her on her knees and him stood over her, his wings radiant around him. Probably not the way he'd imagined it, she thought, before squashing that image right down.
Now wasn't time. Neither was later. Maybe. Who knew?
She could feel the hysteria threatening to bubble up again and she searched desperately for something to focus on. Not the wings, best to avoid them. Not exactly a good idea to concentrate too hard on her line of sight right now either.
Whether Lucifer sensed her distress she didn't know, but it appeared he decided to solve the problem for her as he sank to the floor.
No. Not sank, collapsed. Something was dreadfully wrong.
In that moment all of her questions, all of her fears disappeared, almost as if they'd never existed in the first place. This was her partner, this was her friend and he was in pain. He looked at her, eyes rimmed red with unshed tears as he struggled to keep it together. "Chloe..."
She'd never seen him so distraught, not even after all he'd put himself through lately. She reached for him, careful to avoid his wings which hung heavily to the floor on either side of his trembling frame.
"I couldn't find her." His voice broke and she drew him closer. "She... she wasn't there."
Her arms fully wrapped around him now, Chloe barely took note of the fact that his wings had somehow vanished, concentrating only on giving him the comfort he so obviously needed. They stayed like that for a while, until his breathing evened out and Chloe felt confident enough that he could answer her questions.
"Lucifer?" He didn't pull away from her but she could tell he was listening. "Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to call someone?"
He shook his head once and held her tighter. "I'm so sorry," she said, "I don't understand. You were looking for Charlotte? You were looking..." She didn't know how to finish her question, but he nodded regardless before replying.
"She wasn't there. I couldn't find her. She's depending on me to find her..."
She said the first thing that came to mind as she tried to console him. "It's alright Lucifer. We'll search for her together, okay? Do you have any idea where she might be?"
A pause.
The minutes ticked by and gradually she relaxed her arms around him as his body stopped shaking. He leaned slowly out of her embrace, and she missed the warmth of him there almost immediately. But she couldn't mourn the loss for too long, for as he raised his head to look at her she saw that his eyes were no longer filled with anguish, but that something akin to wonder had taken its there place instead.
"She wasn't there..." he whispered. Realisation dawned across his features, and he grasped her hands as a grin spread across his face, as blinding as the sun.
"She wasn't there!"
She couldn't help but smile back at him, failing to understand but swept up by his infectious unbridled joy nonetheless.
He hugged her once more and as they sat there together on the floor, the Devil and the mortal he loved, for the first time in millennia, he raised his eyes to the Heavens...
And he smiled.