Come To This: Version 1
A/N: Remember that originally intended angst piece I was talking about in Version 2's author notes? This is it. And this time, there is no happy ending. First two-ish paragraphs will be about the same and then it all goes downhill from there. Again, I'd recommend getting to know the song Come To This by Natalie Taylor before or during reading. Because feels.
"It's all true," Chloe whispered, taking a step back as she took in the sight of Lucifer standing over Marcus's body. "This can't be happening," she whispered desperately. This couldn't be.
"Detective?" Lucifer questioned with worry. "Chloe?" As he took a step toward her, reaching out, she took another step backwards, foot hitting the back of the bottom step of the stairs behind her. It was only then that he look at the charred, raw skin that covered his hand. Gasping softly in terror, he grabbed a piece of shattered glass from the floor, dropping it in horror as he saw his Devil face reflected back at him. It shattered again, and Chloe watched the action with wide eyes, jumping back. Lucifer once again looked to her, heart throbbing painfully in his chest at the lack of recognition in her beautiful eyes. All he could see was fear. Chloe saw Lucifer's face returning to normal, tears rolling down his cheeks in rivulets. It was then that he fell to his knees with a heart-wrenching sob.
Lucifer didn't know how much of it was in pain and how much of it was hopelessness, but he knew that it was because of both. As cries of agony echoed throughout the room, a huge pair of bloodstained wings suddenly burst forth from his back, shielding him from view. Chloe looked the devastating state her partner was in. She couldn't handle this right now. God, Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, the Devil… All of those things were real, and she could not process that information. She needed space and she needed time. She needed to leave. She took another step back, and the sound caused Lucifer to look up at her with Hellfire scarlet eyes. To see her retreat from him in fear was exactly what he had expected, so why did it hurt so much? She met his gaze and visibly recoiled at the raw emotion in them: pain, heartbreak, guilt. At the sound of thundering footsteps he was gone in a whoosh! of feathers.
Chloe felt her knees buckle just as Dan, Ella, and the LAPD came swarming into the room. They cried out in alarm, but it didn't register to Chloe. Nothing was registering with her. All she could do was stare at the spot Lucifer had been in just moments ago. She needed time. She needed time to let the truth sink in. Shakily getting to her feet and waving off everyone's attempts to stop her, she went to a cruiser and drove. And drove, and drove. She didn't pay any mind to where she was going, just wanted to put as much space between her and that place as possible. It wasn't until the sky turned dark and the sun began setting that Chloe realized just how long she'd been away, and just how much she hadn't paid attention earlier.
Lucifer's wings had been spattered with blood; he'd been crying out in agony, at first to what seemed to be her reaction. Had it also been because of pain? And his eyes… When he'd looked at her, he'd looked as if he'd lost his will to live, like he had nothing left to lose. Devil or not, he… He was still Lucifer… Wasn't he? She suddenly slammed on the brakes and did a full 180, speeding in the direction of LUX. Devil, angel, whatever he may be, he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be feared or hated or cast out. Why hadn't she just accepted him, shock and all? Why hadn't she been stronger? Why hadn't she tried to comfort him?
With a screeching halt, she rushed out of the cruiser and into LUX, impatiently tapping her fingers against her thigh as what seemed like eons passed, the doors of the lift finally opened. She stepped out and was immediately met with a room full of sheet covered furniture. No. No, not again. Not like this. What truly caused her heart to stop was the sound of wings, what she knew was Lucifer's wings spreading.
In the time it had taken Chloe to finally seek him out, Lucifer had made visits to everyone who'd made him feel at home in Los Angeles, Chloe aside. Dan and Ella had been confused when he suddenly told them he was leaving, telling them the case had brought to light certain things that made it necessary for him to be as far away from LA as possible. Dan didn't know what to say, but offered a shaken and shocked Lucifer a handshake, which he accepted. Ella had offered an embrace and words of well wishes and good luck wherever he would go next. Lucifer gratefully accepted all of those things before leaving the police station for the last time, two feathers drifting down where he once stood. Ella crouched down and carefully picked them up as Dan stood rooted to the spot. They looked to each other in realization, both rushing to the elevator. Next, he went to see Linda, pleasantly surprised to find Maze with her.
"You're leaving?!" Linda questioned, almost hysterical.
"You're leaving?" Maze questioned, hesitant and unsure. The news was a shock, and so was Lucifer's response.
"Yes, and that means you can finally go home, Mazikeen, just like you've always wanted." He sounded forlorn, nothing like the Lucifer she knew, which made her feel even more horrible when she net spoke.
"I'm… I'm not going." He didn't seem surprised, like Linda, or even upset. Instead, he looked understanding, happy for her even. He held out a familiar looking coin, very much like his own, and dropped it into her outstretched hand. She looked at him with rare tears in her eyes. "So this is it then? After everything we've done to get to this point, you're just going to give up?"
"She… She can't even look at me, Maze. I can't stay on Earth. If Chloe can't stand to be anywhere near me, what purpose do I have here?"
"Lucifer…" Linda began, before being engulfed in a tight embrace that she returned.
"Linda, you've been such a wonderful friend to me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for you, but I have to go." They pulled away, and she tried to change his mind one last time.
"If you just give it time… You remember how I was after I found out. Chloe's strong. She'll come around."
"I saw nothing but fear in her eyes, and while I could never doubt her…" He just couldn't stand this, this pain, this situation. Never again would he ruin another loved one's life. No. If he couldn't live without hurting others here on Earth, then he'd just have to go somewhere else, and there was only one destination left where he was welcome.
"I'll come visit," Maze whispered, clutching the coin tightly in her hand. "And I'll keep Chloe and Trixie safe."
"Mazikeen, I-" She embraced him briefly, sniffling.
"Don't ever speak of this to anyone," she growled, though with no real heat. He laughed sadly.
"You have my word. Thank you, both of you, for everything." In the blink of an eye, he was gone, two feathers drifting down in front of them. Maze put her arms around Linda, who fell into her chair with a hand to her mouth, eyes unfocused and watery.
Lucifer's last stop was to see Trixie. Of all the people who he had to say goodbye to, apart from Chloe, Trixie was one of the hardest to let go of. He appeared in her bedroom to see her sleeping peacefully, a wing gently sweeping hair out of her eyes. She made a small noise before her eyes slowly opened and she sat up in bed. "Lucifer?" she asked sleepily. He took a deep breath.
"Hello, Beatrice," he whispered. She took in his sad expression with concern.
"What's wrong? Where's mommy?"
"Your mother is fine, just a bit shaken after her latest case, that's all. I… I'm just here to say goodbye. It wouldn't feel right to leave without seeing you."
"Why are you leaving? You can't leave." She stood up on the bed, not quite his height, with determined eyes. "I won't let you!" She seemed unfazed by his bloody wings, taking them in before her eyes flickered back to his face. He gave a startled laugh.
"You are one of the most extraordinary humans I've ever had the fortune to meet, Beatrice Decker." He felt his resolve wane a bit at the tears beginning to collect in her eyes. "Your mother and I… We had a bit of a falling out, and I very much doubt she'll want to see me again, so I'm going to make sure that she has her space and that I never bother her again." It was then that a tear fell and Trixie quickly jumped off the bed to cling to one of Lucifer's legs.
"Please don't go. I don't care if you're Satan; you're not evil like the church people say! Don't go!" He crouched down until he was level with her, pressing a kiss into her hair as she cried in his arms.
"I will miss you," he told her softly, before breaking from her grasp and disappearing from the room, a feather drifting down to land on her bed.
Lucifer found himself at LUX, looking around at the place he'd lived in during his stay in LA. With a snap of his fingers, the furniture around him was covered in sheets, a familiar sight. This was it. This was the end. He made his way over to the balcony, looking across the city for one last time as the sun almost finished setting. Looking down, he made sure no human would accidentally fall into the portal that would take him back to Hell before preparing to fall, just as he had all those millennia ago. As he began spreading his wings, he heard the lift door open and paused. How fitting. She was here to see him off, wasn't she?
"Lucifer, please, you don't have to do this," she pleaded to him, stepping into his line of sight as he turned to face her. "Please." He saw the apology in her eyes, the hope, but still there was fear, and his mind was already made up.
"I'm sorry, Chloe," he whispered, voice breaking as he jumped up and let himself fall from the edge of the balcony.
"NO!" she screamed, rushing to the balcony to find him hurtling towards the ground.
Lucifer closed his eyes, concentrating, imagining the gates to Hell and a portal to help him get there. A familiar hum of grace and he could feel the heat and despair rising from the ground, even as he heard the screech of tires and cars skidded to a halt in front of LUX. Linda, Maze, Dan, Trixie, and Ella all watched Lucifer be swallowed up by a red shimmering portal, chained doors and ash seen within, which closed promptly when he was out of sight. They all rushed into LUX, finding a weeping Chloe on her knees by the balcony, a feather held loosely in one of her hands. They all gathered around her, holding her tight.
Back in Hell, Lucifer braced himself, wings quivering slightly, as one of his higher ranked demons prepared to remove them with a demon knife. Hell, it was where he belonged, and in his mind, he knew that everyone else was better off without him anyway. Looking one last time at the gates, he nodded his consent, screaming as once again his wings were cut off. He ordered them to be dealt with.
'Please, Lucifer. Please, come back. Please, come back to me,' Chloe called out to him. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he didn't try to stop them.
"I'm sorry," he whispered once more, heart shattering. Chloe gasped in shock at the sound of his voice in her head back on Earth, more tears falling as a result. The sun set, and the city was cast into darkness.
He walked away, and didn't look back.
Closing A/N: Aaaaaand there's that. I personally like the writing of v2 better, but here you go. One angsty, sad ending fic. If you haven't read Come To This: Version 2, that would be the happy ending version. But here's to season 4, which will have a much happier outcome, because we will get one. I will go down with this fandom, and I will go down with this ship.
