"I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted. I realized that you have room for other types of relationships… Even if it includes him. Just, be careful,"

Chloe nods and tries to make him stay, but he tells her a Bachelorette party is happening at Lux and she lets him walk away.

In reality, there's no party. He closed the club for the night and if she catches him on his ruse, well, nothing will really change.

Pierce is Lucifer's friend, in a way. They share a bond, know what it's like to live forever and all that. Similar yet completely different.

Pierce is immortal but human. With him, the Detective would relatively be safer because she wouldn't be a target. They could actually build a life together. She'll leave eventually and Cain will remain cursed but still, better than being with the Devil. Her safety is all that matters.

So Lucifer takes a step back and allows for things to unfold in front of his eyes.

His chest tightens each time the smile that was supposed to be his, is instead given to another. Lucifer admits to himself that he does love Chloe, for all she is and that he understands that loving could also mean letting go. So he lets go.

He makes himself scarce and only comes when needed but his extreme glee is gone. Most of the time he looked sick, weary, but kept up appearances as he still looks as slick as ever, dressed to the nines. But his eyes seemed empty.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asks him one time before they enter the interrogation room.

"I'm fine, Detective. A little sniffle won't kill me. Shall we get this over with?"

"Right,"

Lucifer proceeds to lean on the table and lazily asks the man in question his greatest desire.

Of course, it's something mundane that clearly proves he's not the murderer.

The consultant grumbles. He really wanted to close the case as soon as possible because he's feeling under the weather. Maybe it's because he's around the Detective that he's catching all sorts of human viruses and it irks him greatly.

"I'm so sorry, Detective. I don't feel good today. Do you mind me taking the rest of the day off?" He tells his partner on the way out of the interrogation room.

"Not at all. I think we can manage. Get well soon."

Lucifer hums in response, and damn, is the ground uneven? Ah, but he pulls himself together. Fake it til you make it, he supposes.

Three days later and he isn't any better. For sure Chloe isn't around?

His phone rings and he picks up.

"Lucifer,"

"Detective," His voice sounds different, a little hoarse, stuffy even, that she refrains from scolding him for missing work without any sort of notice.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really. Are you in the precinct?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Ah, I thought you were in the area. I don't think I could come in today, and no, I'm not trying to avoid you. I'm just sick,"

"Why do you think I'd think that? Nevermind. Drink lots of fluid, and by fluid, I mean water, not whiskey. Got it?"

"Yes, Mother," He teases.

"I'll drop by later to see how you're doing,"

"No need, Detective. I'm very much capable of taking care of myself,"

"No arguments. I'll drop by later,"

"If you insist,"

She does keep her word and visits him in the penthouse.

"Lucifer?"

"In here, Detective." He answers weakly. She finds him curled up in his bed, hair unkempt and she notes that this is only the second time she saw him, well, underdressed.

Lucifer sits up and pinches the bridge of his nose; his riot of a headache only worsened his nausea.

"Make yourself a drink, feel at home, or whatever. I mean, I'd pour you one if my vision wasn't spinning," He says, head down and eyes closed.

A cool hand on his forehead made him look up and open one eye. His vision is blurry that he could barely make out the reaction on her face, although he knows she's wearing that worried frown.

"You're burning up,"

"I'm always burning up, Detective, it's nothing out of the ordinary." With his obvious teasing falling short, he proceeds to lay back down and does a long-suffering sigh.

"Right. Have you taken any medications?" Chloe asks while pulling the sheets up to his shoulders.

"I don't need those. They'll never work on me anyway. Supernatural metabolism and such,"

fights the urge to roll her eyes.

"Seriously, Lucifer. You're not gonna get better if you keep this up,"

"Maybe it's better that way," He blurts out.

"Lucifer,"

"Just get Maze, please. I mean, I did tell you, you make me vulnerable right? I mean that in the literal sense. You being here, and please don't take offense, only makes it worse,"

"Fine. You don't want me around,"

Lucifer scoffs, "Of course I want you here. I want to see you, I want...I want you, but I can't have you," His voice peters out, "I'm hallucinating, am I? You're not really here,"

He sighs in exasperation. Yet she feels real. Sounds real.

"But I am,"

"Oh, good one. Bugger off, I need sleep, or maybe drugs,"

Two more days pass and he's still feeling like shit; the meds weren't helping and he's at a loss on why he's afflicted with such nuisance, even when his partner isn't in range. Or is she?

For some reason, however, he suddenly feels a sense of dread, like something's wrong but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Yet, his first thought is that of Chloe.

"Something is definitely off," He tells himself when his call got redirected to voicemail. Lucifer knew she was on a stakeout and perhaps things didn't go as planned.

So off he goes, somehow sensing his partner's in danger, even though he could barely keep himself upright. Flying has been tricky, too. But screw them all.

Frantic, he finds himself in front of a burning building. He wastes no time and runs into the flames, adrenaline pumping into his veins while he focused on locating the Detective. And he finds her - them, in a secluded room. Cain's passed out, or dead, probably from smoke inhalation, but fuck, Cain was supposed to keep her safe.

"Useless prick," The devil mutters under his breath as he checks the Detective.

Their Lieutenant is immortal so the Devil leaves him to burn (and that he'll probably wake up still burning, coz he deserved it) and drags his unconscious partner away from the chaos. This proved to be challenging as they had to exit the same way. Well, former Lord of Hell was somewhat prepared. Sort of.

The minute he entered the burning inferno, he had suffered severe burns on his arms, legs, everywhere, so bad, that he couldn't feel any pain anymore. He was saving the use of his wings for this; to shield her from the flames just long enough to get in the clear.

Lucifer doesn't know how he got her to the entrance of the nearest medical center's emergency room. He smiles at himself for the feat despite his weakened state. Cain would probably get the credit for the save but the club owner simply doesn't care anymore.

As he hands his partner over to the staff on duty who wheels her away, he collapses and finds himself back home.

To Hell.

And maybe going 'home' isn't too bad. There's nothing left for him anyway. It was only a matter of time before she decides to kick him out of her life, and that maybe she'd appreciate him opting out instead, to make things less complicated.

Or, he could just go back to his body and leave town, start anew, maybe return when the Detective is finally in the Silver City.

Chloe wakes up a few hours later to find Dan, Trixie, and Marcus by her side. She doesn't remember how she got out but deduced that it must have been their Lieutenant who pulled her to safety. But then she remembers seeing him pass out before her.

Now that she's fully awake, she notices the tear stains on her daughter's face. She must've been so worried for her.

"I'm okay, baby," Chloe reassures while her spawn just nods and immediately gives her a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay, Mommy. But,"

"What's wrong, monkey?"

Before Trixie could tell her, Marcus interrupts the conversation and says "It's Lucifer. He didn't make it."

It's probably because her mind is still a little foggy that she misinterprets his statement about Lucifer not being there.

"Yeah, he's out sick. I called him earlier before the botched stakeout and,"

"No, Chloe. He's gone. He pulled you out, brought you here,"

"That can't be. You got me out of there, didn't you?"

"No. I just can't believe he'd sacrifice his life like that,"

Something about the way the Lieutenant said it made her blood boil. His voice lacks sympathy; it was more of genuine coldness, perhaps at the fact that Lucifer was the one who saved her and not him, or maybe Lucifer left him behind to die; which should not be the case.

"But yeah, of course," He continues, "he'll do anything for you. Anyway, I'll come back later,"

Cain leaves the room in a haste and Chloe looks at her ex-husband, expecting him to tell her it was a mistake or a cruel joke.

But Dan shakes his head, while Trixie tightens her embrace.

"The staff on duty at the emergency room saw him collapse as you were being wheeled away. He was burned beyond recognition, Chloe. They couldn't figure out how he got you both in the hospital," He pauses, throat constricting a bit because, despite everything, he was a friend, "They did everything they could. I'm so sorry,"

In the morgue, someone opens the freezer where the Devil's body is located. Said figure bags the consultant, and carries him over their shoulder, exits the hospital without drawing any attention.

It's pandemonium when morning came. Caretakers had no idea how Lucifer's body was moved. Ella confirmed that the self-proclaimed Devil didn't miraculously come back to life; that someone else took him. The security cameras were tampered with, and the shoe tread marks they found on the scene weren't of any help.

Chloe is beyond angry that she couldn't even mourn the loss of her partner. She's determined to get to the bottom of this and find whoever's responsible.

Suspiciously though, their Lieutenant suddenly requested to move back to Chicago effective immediately, putting their supposed 'romance' or whatever to a screeching halt; to which Chloe is somewhat grateful.

TBC

A/N: Look what I did to myself. Now I have 3 WIPs. T_T

Had this in my drafts for a while. Still stuck with the previous two. T_T