"A Deal With The Devil" – by Strega Brava
Disclaimer – If you recognize it, it's not mine. Simple. Hoping for Season 4. Here there be spoilers for 3 x 24…you have been warned.
Chloe had no idea how she had ended up at Linda's office.
She had no idea of anything.
Everything she thought she knew was a lie.
Everything she thought was a lie was true.
The image of that…that face…it was burning in her mind.
Even if there was a small inner voice that reminded her of the sadness and pain in his eyes before she turned away to run.
It seemed like she might have to run forever.
No one had followed her…and she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed.
She couldn't even cry even though it felt like her heart was breaking.
She was about to knock when the door opened and Linda stood there, absolutely surprised to see her.
"Chloe?"
And then the darkness took her…
When Chloe came to, she was lying on Linda's couch and Linda was putting a cool wet cloth on her head. She had a flashback to when she had had a mild concussion as a child and her mother fussed over her in much the same manner.
"Are you okay, Chloe?" Linda asked softly.
Chloe nodded weakly. "My whole world has turned upside down, Linda."
Linda looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you what I saw," Chloe whispered, looking up at the ceiling and noticing a small stain which looked like blood.
"Try me," Linda said with an encouraging tone. "Do you think you can sit?"
Giving Linda back the cloth, Chloe slowly got up with the other woman's help. Linda put the cloth into a nearby bowl and proceeded to give her a glass of water which Chloe gratefully drank.
"What happened, Chloe?"
She didn't know where to begin.
"It's…it's Lucifer…yes…Lucifer."
Linda's face remained neutral. "What about Lucifer?"
"I must be hallucinating. I mean…it just can't be true. It can't be. None of it. Can it?" Chloe asked desperately.
Linda did not look surprised or shocked. She had the look of someone who was glad that a secret was no longer a secret.
"I see. You've seen Lucifer as he truly is."
Chloe looked at Linda in complete shock.
"You knew?"
"I've known for some time…yes."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"It is not my truth to tell. It's his. And, if I recall, he has been telling you since you first met that he was 'the' Lucifer Morningstar"
Chloe looked down at the empty glass of water in her hand.
"I thought it was a metaphor. I thought it was all metaphors."
"It's real. It's all real. There is a lot you don't know but, again, he needs to tell you. Not me"
"How can I talk to him? He's the devil. He's an evil being."
A sudden horrifying thought struck her.
"Has he taken my soul? Am I damned to Hell?"
"You're perfectly safe and I'm sure your soul is still bound for Heaven. He would not want it any other way."
Chloe set the empty glass on the side table as she was afraid that she'd drop it.
"Chloe, Lucifer is not an evil being."
"How do you know that?"
"He died for you twice."
"What?!"
"Before you knew…all this…about Lucifer…what were your feelings for him?"
Chloe shook her head. "It's hard to explain."
Linda smiled. "It really isn't. My job is to read people so that I can enable them to help themselves. I know love when I see it. You love him. He loves you too. It's as simple as it gets."
"But he's the devil."
"He's Lucifer. He still is Lucifer. Nothing about him has changed. Only your awareness of all the things that make him Lucifer has changed. The curtain has been drawn back and all is revealed. But he is still the same."
"I ran away because…his face…"
"His devil face?"
"You've seen it?"
"Yes. It terrified me and, I will admit, that it took me some time to get my head around it. I am not a religious person."
"Neither am I."
"Neither is Lucifer," Linda chuckled.
"I don't know how to get my head around this. He saved my life today."
"That doesn't sound like the action of an evil person, does it?"
"I just don't know what to do. I feel completely overwhelmed."
"You need to talk to him. You owe him that. Then you can decide where you go from there."
"You make it sound so easy, Linda."
"Do you still love him?"
Chloe paused. Tears came to her eyes…spilling down her cheeks.
She looked at Linda but ended up looking at the ground…she nodded brokenly.
"I love him," she whispered. "I'm just so scared."
"Of what? You know he would never hurt you. He would give his life to protect you…he's already done that."
"I think he has wings," Chloe whispered, her eyes closing as she tried to piece together the bits and pieces of memory after Pierce shot her. She thought she had been enclosed in a protective circle of bloodied white wings. She was certain that they belonged to Lucifer and that he had flown her to safety.
He had protected her and had been badly injured.
And she just left him.
Was he okay?
Was he injured?
Was he dead?
Could he even die?
"He does have wings. They are…beautiful." Linda affirmed.
"I…I need to talk to him…even if it terrifies me. I owe him that."
"You owe me nothing, Detective," a familiar voice made her eyes open suddenly and she looked up.
Lucifer Morningstar was standing in the doorway. He looked disheveled and scruffy and he looked at her with an intensity that made her feel…what, exactly? Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes.
Linda looked from Lucifer to Chloe.
"I think three is definitely a crowd right now. I will give you some privacy and close the door behind me."
She left the two of them alone, staring at each other.
"I didn't realize you would be here," Lucifer walked over to Linda's desk and sat on it. "I came here to talk to Linda. I wasn't…certain…what my next step should be."
"You're the devil."
"Yes, as I have told you many times…I am the devil."
"You weren't lying."
"I have never lied to you."
"Amenadiel is really your brother?"
"Yes."
"Pierce is really Cain…the first murderer?"
"Yes."
"Maze?"
"She is a demon?'
"She's a…she babysat Trixie!"
"Despite everything…especially her recent miscreant behaviour…she is very fond of your offspring."
"That's comforting, I suppose. Is there really…God…up there?"
Lucifer pulled a small flask out of his breast pocket, opened it and took a sip. He held it out to Chloe who got up, walked over to him and took it.
She took a sip.
Whiskey.
Expensive from the taste of it.
"That is also true, unfortunately, Detective."
"It's all true."
"All of it."
Chloe paused to put the lid back on the flask and handed it back to Lucifer. Their fingertips touched for a brief moment and she couldn't help but start suddenly.
He suddenly looked deeply concerned. "Are you frightened of me, Detective?"
"I…this…it's a lot to take in."
"I give you my word…I would never harm you. My word is my bond."
Chloe nodded.
"Are you okay? I…I think you were injured after I was shot."
"My wings…yes, they were injured."
"May I see them?"
"Are you sure you are up for this?"
Chloe nodded.
A pair of white wings suddenly appeared from Lucifer's back. They were beautiful and glowed with a light all their own.
She had never seen anything so breathtaking.
"They…they aren't bleeding anymore. Did I imagine that?"
"No no…you weren't imagining anything, Detective. They were injured but they have now healed. But I had to protect you. I thought you had been shot. I had to take you somewhere safe…I thought it was too late."
"You heal…"
Lucifer got off the desk and turned to face her, setting the flask on the desk.
"Do you remember me telling you that you make me vulnerable?"
Chloe nodded.
"It was no lie. I am invulnerable when you are far away. When I am with you, I am vulnerable. I can be hurt. I can bleed."
Despite all the chaos of the day, Chloe was still a smart and intuitive cop.
"That's why you flew me away. You had to go back for Pierce…and you couldn't have a handicap."
"Very good, Detective. That is correct. Once I realized that you had been hiding a bulletproof vest under your shirt all this time…a very happy surprise, mind you…I went back to finish things."
"You killed Pierce."
"He would have killed me…and you. Not to mention Daniel and Ella."
"I don't doubt it."
Lucifer folded his wings and they disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, Chloe looked at him. He looked just like his old self…she almost wished for selective amnesia so that she could blot out the events of the past few hours.
But that wasn't right.
She had to face this and come to terms with this.
No matter how hard or scary it was.
"Show me…the face I saw."
Lucifer again looked worried.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
And then the other face suddenly appeared and Chloe couldn't stop herself from taking a step back.
"I'm...I'm sorry…I'll change back…"
"No!"
"What?"
"Don't change back, Lucifer. Please."
Chloe took a step closer to Lucifer and looked closely at him. His face was red, his eyes glowed like fire and there seemed to be deep scars on his skin. She didn't see any hair. He indeed looked the part of a Devil but he also looked like a tortured soul.
Except for his eyes.
Despite the fiery red irises, they were still Lucifer's eyes and she could see that they were warm and caring. It made her heart race.
He had saved her life.
He had almost died saving her life.
Linda had said that he had already died for her twice before.
She loved him.
Even now.
Was she damned?
She reached up to touch his face. He didn't say a word but she could see that he was afraid of her potential reaction.
His skin was cool to the touch. She had half-expected to be burned.
She carefully avoided the scars.
"Detective…I…Chloe…"
His voice failed as he saw she was not going to run away in fear.
"I think…there is a lot you need to tell me," she said, her fingers still caressing his cheek.
"Chloe, if you give me the opportunity," he whispered, "I swear I will tell you everything. I will do anything you ask."
She nodded and the face she knew returned…his eyes, now a deep brown, still with such a depth of caring and warmth that she felt guilty for having ever doubted him.
He was right.
He had never lied to her.
"I'm sorry for running away, Lucifer."
"You didn't go too far."
Chloe smiled which made him smile as well.
She closed the distance between them and embraced him. His arms immediately went around her and held her close. For a moment, she simply listened to the sound of his heartbeat.
"Chloe…"
"I will need some time, Lucifer, but I'm never running away from you again. And your secret is safe with me."
He pulled away slightly to look at her. He had that annoying smirk on his face which, if she was honest with herself, she rather liked.
"A deal with the devil. Is that a promise?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
"It is." She answered truthfully. "Do you accept?"
The smirk disappeared and he leaned in to kiss her. She did not hesitate for an instant and kissed him back.
"For you, I would go to hell and back." He whispered against her lips.