Disclaimer: I don't own Lucifer.
Chloe's eyes were glued to the hellish vision and her mind was in free-fall, until… it was no more. The Devil disappeared without so much as a warning.
Well, no… there was a warning…
It was a tear. Or Chloe thought she'd seen a tear, and it had been what nudged her slightly from her daze. Of course, it couldn't survive the contact with the being's scorched and flaming flesh, so it evaporated in mere seconds, but all the same, she was fairly certain she'd seen it.
She'd never seen Lucifer cry before.
Dan and Ella were by her side even before the backup came. She could hear faint, concerned voices and feel hands touching her, shaking her… but it was like she was on ice, as if the last time she'd seen her colleagues was years ago, before someone decided to freeze her and wake her up at a later date.
She was alone in her bedroom. She refused to – or couldn't – tell anyone where Lucifer was. From the living room, she heard Dan speaking on the phone (We've got to find him, dammit), but he didn't come inside. Some minutes – or hours – later, there was a soft knock on the door and then a hand was on her shoulder, gripping it tight.
Linda sat next to her on the bed, making it so that Chloe was staring at her, with her empty eyes.
"You know, don't you?"
No answer.
"Chloe… I know this is hard for you to swallow, but give it time and you'll see it's best you found out now, rather than later."
Chloe wasn't processing. Sure, she could hear Linda's words, but her mind couldn't make the proper connections as to what they meant.
Until, she could.
Slowly, with her friend's hand steadily on her shoulder, a point of focus, she began to hear and then to listen. And then a violent shudder moved her and her eyes watered, even though she wasn't sad.
Linda had stayed there, unmoving, until Chloe's eyes were dry again. For some reason, the detective's head felt clearer than it had in a long time, as if the surge of tears washed all the foggy parts away.
"You… you knew?" was the first thing she uttered, directed to the therapist.
"Yes. Lucifer… he was forced to show me, when I threatened I'd give up on him if he didn't tell me the truth."
Chloe swallowed. "And… how did you take it?"
"Well, I was as shocked as you, at first. Didn't speak to him for some time. It was Maze who…"
At this, Chloe's eyes widened.
"Maze!" she shrieked. "She's a… she's a…" Linda shushed her.
"Baby steps, Chloe, baby steps."
"She's a…" But Chloe couldn't utter the word. Even now, it seemed so unnatural.
"You need to say it, in order to accept it, Chloe. Say it. Say it out loud."
"She's a… demon. Maze is a demon. From Hell." Chloe's voice sounded shaky even to her.
"And Lucifer is…" Linda prompted.
"Lucifer is the Devil." This time the detective's voice was more determined as she spoke, but she shuddered when she finished the sentence. "How…?"
"It's a long story. I'll try to fill you in, but first, you've got to embrace what you're saying. Heaven and Hell exist. God exists. Angels exist. And Lucifer… he is real, too."
"Heaven and… Lucifer is real…"
"Say it like you mean it!"
Chloe swallowed.
"Lucifer is real. Lucifer is the Devil."
"Lucifer is… Lucifer," Linda summed up. "Tell me about Lucifer."
Chloe threw her an inquisitive glance.
"Lucifer is… the Devil," she repeated the mantra, like she had been for the past ten minutes.
"No. Lucifer… what is he, to you?" Linda looked at the detective in a meaningful way.
"Lucifer…" Chloe slowly regained her composure, thinking about the club owner. "He's… my partner. He owns Lux. He's British. He's a narcissist and a sex addict. He's insensitive. And at times, he's incredibly intuitive. He hates Dan. But lately I feel like he doesn't, not so much. He drinks a lot. He loves Ella, Nina Simone, and his Corvette. He plays the piano. He's got an angel's voice and he's sexy as Hell…"
At that, Chloe's voice quietened and she looked at Linda strangely. Then, out of the blue, she burst into laughter. "Lucifer is the Devil. Lucifer is the Devil!" she exclaimed. Linda couldn't contain herself and a chuckle escaped her, too.
"Gosh, Lucifer… Lucifer is the actual Devil." Her last two words were heavily punctuated. "He… This is ridiculous! It's no wonder I didn't see it before! He doesn't act at all like the Devil would. He's so insensitive and out of place it's funny most of the time. It seems as if he was actually born to entertain. He loves the spotlight. He hates criminals with a passion. And he doesn't stand for lying. It's incredible! He really is the Devil?"
Linda was smiling. "Doesn't it seem like a minor thing compared to what you just described?"
Chloe nodded fervently. "It does! Oh, it… it does!"
That night, Chloe slept holding Trixie in her arms. She might have made some steps towards accepting Lucifer's true nature, but she often did, at times, marvel at the incredulity of it all and question her own beliefs. And until she really embraced that, she needed to keep Trixie with her, feel like she retained some semblance of control over her life.
Then came that day. The day she couldn't get out of.
Being friends with Charlotte wasn't the only reason she needed to go the funeral. In fact, there were plenty of other reasons at play.
First off, she was a detective of the LAPD and Charlotte was a member of the DA's office, therefore, the whole precinct was expected to attend. Secondly, Charlotte had been Dan's most serious love affair since their divorce and the poor man was utterly broken. She needed to be there for him. Third, she herself needed to come to terms with the fact that the poor woman was gone. She had seen Charlotte Richards rise from a mean, vindictive and corrupt lawyer, to a human being that genuinely tried to do good. And last but not least, she needed to face him.
Never, not once in her life, did she think she'd ever fear facing Lucifer of all people!
At first she didn't see him and she was afraid he hadn't come. Strange thoughts popped in her head. Could it be that he was as scared to face her as she was?
But then she spotted him lingering in the back of the small assembly. She hadn't been working in the DA's office for long, so she hadn't made many friends there, and despite requests to attend, many of the precinct officers weren't friends with Charlotte and, well, there wasn't really a lieutenant to enforce the decision.
Lucifer wasn't actually part of the assembly. He was much closer to other graves and a casual onlooker might not have realized he was there for the funeral, if it weren't for the look on his face. He seemed even more heartbroken than Dan, if that was possible.
Chloe realized he felt responsible for what had happened to Charlotte. He'd had a strange relationship with her from the beginning – though Chloe still wasn't much closer to figuring it out than she'd been before – and Charlotte had fell victim to Pierce (Cain, her mind corrected), a man whose true colours Lucifer knew and had kept a secret.
All this was pretty much written on Lucifer's face, and it made Chloe want to cry and comfort him at the same time. Once the funeral was over, she made up her mind and approached him. When she got closer, he looked at her sheepishly and expectantly.
"Chloe…" he said when she didn't speak, but she cut him off.
"Lucifer, I get it."
He raised his eyebrows. "Get what, Detective?"
"You… not telling me. I get it, although I am… really angry at you for not doing so earlier."
"But I did…"
"Oh, no. No, we're not going there. You're gonna say you 'told me all the time' and 'never lied to me', now that's a whole load of crap. You knew I would never believe you and you hid the proof from me. You might call that bluffing, but I call it lying, Lucifer."
Seeing she wasn't making things better by patronizing him, she repeated "But I get it, Lucifer. You were in a tough spot. I get it."
His eyes melted but he seemed to pull himself together. "Detective… I have to admit, I was scared," he said, in his characteristic gentleman-like way. His eyes seemed glued to hers, like the rest of the world didn't exist at that moment. Lucifer was always perfect at focusing completely on whomever it was that he was talking to at the time. "It was, I believe, the reason I didn't talk to you about my feelings either. It was a… a secret I kept from you and if anything serious were to happen between us, you'd need to know it too. So the risk was double, if you want."
Chloe took a step forward.
"Well… I guess now you've got both out of the way."
He smiled. "It's true. And seeing as you don't seem like your brain is fried, even if you don't respond to my feelings, I still couldn't be a happier man… well, devil."
Chloe looked at him questioningly.
"Who said I didn't respond to your feelings?"
He started. "Well, Detective… Chloe… how could you ever…?" Now Chloe didn't get to see this often! Lucifer Morningstar at a loss for words
"Lucifer, I'm not saying things are just like they were before… but they could be. I need some time, but… I feel like I've made some progress and with time I can fully embrace this. Until then, I'd really like for our partnership to continue as it was. Believe it or not, I don't want you to feel bad. Can you give me some time?"
Lucifer smiled warmly.
"You can have all the time in the world, Detective… quite literally."
A/N: Hopefully this will be continued, once inspiration strikes! Until then, however, it's considered an one-shot. My take on how Chloe could start coming to terms with the truth about Lucifer. Please, read and review! #SaveLucifer