The office chair creaked in protest as Chloe eased it back.
She stretched out with a massive yawn, features scrunching up at the blissful pop and grind of sore joints and weary muscles.
The old bullet wound was aching again, it was a dull but bearable ghost of pain that she tried to soothe with an idle rub along her collar bone, her fingertips massaged in little circles along the shoulder to work some of the tangled knots loose.
With a soft sigh she eventually tipped back toward her desk, flicking through the arrest file one last time to double check it was all signed off and complete.
She'd hardly slept, the final arrest taking place in the small hours before dawn, but it had been worth it. The arrest had been smooth, the culmination of weeks of investigation, a job well done by all involved.
Hard work, that's what had closed the case, not some unpredictable advisor, lucky tangent or strange confession of private desires. They hadn't needed it, not for this case, they'd managed just fine.
...Just fine.
Chloe looked up as a long shadow fell across her desk.
"Hot, soy latte, extra foam, just as you like it." Dan grinned, carefully handing over the tall steaming cup. "Nice work on the Farley case, that was quite the flying tackle at the end there."
She closed the file, huffing a low chuckle of amusement. "Well, maybe he shouldn't have tried to run?" She shrugged, feeling a couple of fresh bruises wave for attention as she did so. Cradling her drink she gave Dan a grateful nod of thanks. "Ella was suggesting grabbing a bite" she arched a brow, peering up at him, "a closed case celebration if you fancy joining us?"
"Sure thing, just tell me when." He perched on the edge of the desk in companionable silence, taking a sip of his own aromatic coffee. He seemed to sink toward the paper cup, just as weary as she was.
Although their marriage had fallen apart long ago, their lives were still very much entwined. Caring for Trixie, working together at the precinct, they made a good team. Their relationship had evolved over time into a solid and supportive friendship.
They knew each other well enough to see when the other was struggling with something, even when nothing was outwardly said. As much as Chloe had been going through a rough time, Dan had also been battling his own demons. He didn't speak much about his situation with Charlotte Richards, whatever it was, but Chloe knew he had been burned badly by how it suddenly ended.
It was good to see him smile, for a while there it had been a rare thing.
Her phone buzzed and she reached out idly to flip it over.
Decker, get over to Lux.
Chloe froze, staring blankly at the phone, her brow crinkling with a sudden frown. Maze was a bare minimalist when it came to messages, but those five words spoke plenty.
Before she could even react the phone buzzed again with a follow-up.
Like now...
It could mean only one thing.
"Hey, everything okay?" Dan frowned anxiously at her halted expression, "is it Trixie?"
Chloe just vaguely shook her head, tilting the phone around so he could read the messages for himself. His relief visibly evaporated, mouth flattening down into a tight pale line as he bit back the first few responses leaping through his mind.
She felt as though her heart had lurched down into her gut and then bounced back up into her throat. A sick swoop of nervous energy coursed through her as she tapped in a short message of her own.
What is it? Are you okay?
She'd hardly finished typing when another response flashed up.
Just come...
He was back. He had to be. Something... some new development had kicked off, what else could it be? She stared at the phone, heart thudding, At least it would be an end to the damn mystery.
"I have to go..." Chloe rose, throwing on her coat and snatching up her keys with a quietly determined huff.
Dan propped his forgotten coffee on the desk, rising to stand as well, hoping she would pause and maybe reconsider, just for a moment. "Do you want me to come with you?" There was nothing but concern in his tone.
He'd witnessed some of the quiet moments when Chloe's smile faltered, when she seemed distracted, and he knew the reason. If that man was toying with her, oblivious to the impact of his actions, just to inevitably put her through all of this again and again. He couldn't stand it. Chloe deserved better than that.
"No... no..." She shook her head, uncertain what she was feeling. A mixture of anger and dread jangled about in her chest, "thank you though."
"Just be careful... please? Don't let him pull anything on you alright?" Dan rested a hand on her shoulder, painfully worried. They'd spent so long in each others lives he couldn't help but feel protective. "If he's dicking around again..." he growled, the threat hanging in the air unspoken.
"I know, I know..." Chloe nodded, her voice softening, knowing exactly what he meant.
She shouldn't go, not after all this time, six weeks of absolutely nothing directly after a promise of everything. Her pride was stinging at the thought of running straight over there, but then she couldn't just ignore Mazikeen's plea, anything might be happening, Lucifer could be in real trouble for all she knew.
"I have to go..."
.
.
.
The drive over flashed by in a haze, her thoughts spinning through all the potential scenarios she could think of, still uncertain as to what the hell she would be walking in on. Her gaze had drifted back to the phone at every red light, but there had been nothing, no buzz, no light... no indication of a fresh message.
No explanation, just that enigmatic request: get over to Lux.
Abandoning her car in the alley she gazed up at the familiar building. It felt strange to be back at Lux, she had carefully avoided the place for weeks now. Ever since all that worry, all that desperate hunting for information, had yielded nothing.
As the lift ascended slowly toward the penthouse Chloe could just about make out the muffled sound of raised voices. She felt the weight of her gun heavy and reassuring in the holster, one hand drifted to rest on it... just in case. Was it a fight, was Maze in danger?
There was an indistinct murmur of a male voice...
And then...
"You think I'm-..." The lift rumbled as it slowed, obscuring some of the words "-do that again?" It was definitely Mazikeen, her distinctive voice angered and raw, a shout that confirmed a stand-off in progress.
Chloe braced herself, taking a deep steadying breath.
"You-..." The doors slid gracefully apart, spilling a warm golden glow into the subdued lighting of the penthouse. Mazikeen snapped her attention around, leaving the snarled sentence unfinished. She stalked straight over, partially blocking Chloe's view.
Mazikeen's eyes were too bright, her breath fast as if she had been running, her whole frame charged with emotion. Chloe had never seen her flatmate like this, normally she was so utterly composed. Meanwhile the penthouse seemed to dim noticeably in the background, a light somewhere turned down to leave the room feeling somehow diminished for the loss of it.
Her friend definitely wasn't alone.
"Are you alright?" Chloe asked in a hushed breath.
Maze simply nodded before stepping aside, turning back to face whoever she had been shouting at.
Lucifer.
There he was, just stood there quite whole and alive. Chloe gasped at the state of him as she stepped at last out into the penthouse.
He looked like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards, then taken for a roll through a few sandpits for good measure. Propped behind the bar, bottle of dark scotch held loose in one hand, empty glass clutched in the other. Covered in dust and dirt, dressed in an old shirt, more grizzled and unkempt than she had ever seen him before, but it was most definitely Lucifer Morningstar himself.
The smile he flashed at her was the same old delighted grin that he ever wore in her company.
The coil of anger in Chloe's chest tightened even further in response.
.
.
.
"I promised I would tell Chloe if there was a development..." Mazikeen paced distractedly, waving an arm around, "this is a development!" There wasn't just anger in her tone, there was something else. Maze sounded upset, distressed even.
Chloe snapped, exasperated. "What are you talking about? What exactly is going on here?"
She caught the look that flashed between Lucifer and Maze. A warning glare from him, with a defiant stare from her in response. Something was being said between them, they were silently dancing around some key truth, something... or someone... oh god was it a someone?
A cold feeling plummeted through the core of her being, she didn't have time for these games.
Chloe darted a glance around the penthouse, half expecting to see a pair of high glittery stilettos cast aside. Some evidence of Candy Morningstar back on the scene.
Is that what had happened?
"If you think I'm going to get rid of them for you..." Maze continued, "I just... can't." Maze shook her head again, turning to leave, her words sounding more like a quiet plea, "not this time." She flashed an apologetic look to Chloe, tilting her head.
The apologetic look irked Chloe, what kind of a friend would dump her into a situation unarmed with any of the facts? Get rid of what? She glanced around again. Get rid of who?
Maze reached out to lay a hand on her arm, seemingly desperate to convey something, but unable to say exactly what it was. "I can't explain it Chloe" she dropped her voice down low, "you have to talk to him yourself about all this".
All what?
In the end Maze shook her head in frustration, punching at the elevator controls, the golden light washing into the penthouse once more as the doors slid apart. As she stepped inside she simply murmured, her tone matter-of-fact, "You two... I think you need to talk."
Chloe was exasperated, if this was another Candy situation then she really didn't want to be here either. She couldn't understand why Mazikeen, her flatmate, her friend, would call her over for this confrontation... if that's even what this was?
There was a clink of motion from the bar, Lucifer was pouring out another overly generous glass for himself. He arched a brow at her, an unspoken question whether she wanted a drink too.
She simply folded her arms in response, narrowing her eyes.
The moment of silence that hung between them was absolute.