A/N: Thanks a lot to LAIsobel and LCat for the kind reviews. And of course also a big thank you to my beta Thisisarealtagwhy and Sop12345d for the really big help as beta reader.


Chapter 2: 245 Days

It had been 245 days – almost a year - since he had left.

True to Charlotte's words all those weeks - months even - ago, nobody had seen Lucifer since he had left. There hadn't been any word about him – neither from their so called friends nor did she find anything remotely hinting at his whereabouts on the Internet.

And yes, she had checked is Instagram account, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter. Hell, the first weeks she had actually googled him twice a day, just to make sure there hadn't been any news of this guy called 'Lucifer Morningstar' – turning up in some other city to offer favors in return for an IOU. At some point, she had been desperate enough to morbidly check the local morgues for either him or any John Doe's that might fit his description. Just to be sure...

Only, she hadn't found anything.

No news, no pictures, no updates on his so called social media accounts. Only some pictures remaining there, reminding her of their time together, since it seemed he used to have a tendency to actually post pictures of them working together. Damn the smug bastard!

And now she was sitting here in front of this mirror. Finally getting ready. Putting up some last minute makeup, finishing what she thought the stylist hadn't gotten right.

"You ready?"

Dan's voice was soft when he carefully peeked around the door to check in on her. She merely nodded – not sure if she really was ready. But now was not the time to falter.

He was gone. No use thinking about him anymore. And why should she anyway? He had decided to walk out on her again. Why was she still thinking about the… Why?!

She took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to do. Was this how it was supposed to be? Her needing to "brace" herself to do this? Shouldn't she be more happy about it?

As if he had read her mind, Dan came up behind – his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. She could see his worried face in the mirror.

"You sure about this?" He asked her – his voice still soft. Unusually soft, to be precise. She wasn't used to him being like this anymore.

Something had become lost in him too when Lucifer left – as had Maze, and Amenadiel for that matter. So maybe it wasn't Lucifer's absence as much as his brother's that had changed her ex like this.

She forced herself to smile at him, to reassure him that everything was 'perfect'.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He merely nodded, not answering her question – just like she hadn't answered his.

Another deep breath, and she finally stood up, pushing the wrinkles out of her pristine beige dress.

She hadn't been able to bring herself to wear white since that day.

"Let's go," Chloe finally answered; determination back into her voice.

She was going to do this because she wanted to do this. And she would be damned, if she let that bastard keep her from it without actually being there. He had left – with no farewell or explanation whatsoever. She wouldn't let him take what might be her last chance at a happy ever after from her.

So Chloe smiled her brightest smile when Dan walked her down the aisle. Nodding at Charlotte who was still strangely a part of her life, even though she'd quit her job at the DA the instant the papers of her taking over LUX management became official. She smiled at Linda who had been a somewhat quieter, but was still a dear friend to her over these last months.

And finally, she got to the altar, where Marcus was standing, smiling at her.

She could do this. She would do this.

Only, when she turned around after they exchanged vows, rings, kisses and all that comes with marriage, she felt a tiny little voice in the back of her head, asking her if this had actually been what she had really wanted to do. But she shook it off easily. This was the right thing to do. No more wishing, no more waiting.

Of course, this was what she wanted to do. Why wouldn't it be? Marcus seemed to sometimes worship the ground she walks on. He was sweet, gentle and most of all he had never made a game out of their relationship. Much unlike a certain selfish nightclub owner - former nightclub owner.

Time for her to be selfish for once.

There were not that many people at her wedding – she never had been the very social type. Still, there were co-workers, such as Ella, some she would call friends, like Linda, and her daughter and her mother, being her family of course. Overall, still there was a surprising amount of people, considering that she hadn't really thought about who she had wanted to invite – knowing that he wouldn't show up anyway.

Slowly, her grace followed the smiling faces when everyone stood there clapping and cheering for the newly wed couple. She was happy, she really was. This was what she had wanted. A normal life, another chance at a family.

So they all left the somewhat improvised chapel, in the sense that it wasn't actually one. Marcus hadn't wanted it to be "in front of God" and since she had been wed before, she didn't mind not going through all the hassle to get another wedding in a real church.

It was a wonderful evening with them dancing – her actually letting go and dancing to her fullest while, later that night, Marcus decided to sit at the bar with some of his friends instead.

Dancing… Something she had gotten lost only once before - with him, in his club. But she didn't want to go there, so she shoved the thought aside and closed her eyes – reveling in the feeling of a full dance floor.

Chloe had long since lost sight of her new husband at the bar – as well as the former one, wherever that one had left to. There were bodies dancing around her, making her forget for a moment that she was still pondering over the whereabouts of somebody who obviously hadn't cared for her all that much.

That was when she felt the tingling. That same tingling she had felt so often when he had been close to her. Her breath hitched when she felt somebody else breathing behind her. Warm breath tickling her neck where it laid exposed thanks to her updo.

This couldn't be!

She wanted to turn around and ask the smug bastard how he could have walked out of her life that easily, only to return like this. Right now, for that matter! Only she couldn't. She didn't dare to turn around, too afraid that it was just her imagination going wild after the ten, twenty or more glasses of wine she must have had so far this evening. Who's bothering to count?

So she kept her eyes shut, reveling in the feeling of tender hands on her hips, swaying with her as if she was a lonely boat where he was the vast, open sea.

There was some kind of promise in this touch but she doesn't know what it could have meant. She only knew that she didn't want to lose this feeling. And despite that she would always deny it, she did miss him, missed his banter, his cocky smirk, his… well, just all of him.

Just when Chloe wondered if maybe she should turn around anyway and ask him what the hell he had been thinking to walk out on her again, something shifted. She didn't know what it was, but suddenly she knew that when she opened her eyes now, this would be the last she'd ever see, hear or feel of him again.

So she kept her eyes shut and tried to memorize the moment – just to make sure, in case this would be their last encounter.

She didn't want him to be gone forever!

"I will always be there."

She felt the words more than she actually heard them but still, she nodded in understanding, her smile bitter but sincere.

When the song came to an end, so did the tingling and she knew if she opened her eyes now, he wouldn't be there – at least not for her to see him. But something would remain – of that she was sure now.

She just wasn't sure what this would mean for her.


A/N: As usual, please drop me a note on the way out. I would really appreciate your opinion.

And please be a bit more patient with the Lucifer/Chloe pairing ;)