Continuation of Don't Run Away for SPCLjmm - I know you wanted the whole week in Vegas, but that would be a much longer fic and I think I would have to make that its own story, after starting to write this one. So here's a little bit to tide you over until I get around to that. :)
EDIT: I am splitting these two chapters out into their own story, but I am leaving them here as well for those that enjoy it. So if you want to read more, hop over to the new story which I will write more on at some point, or if you don't, enjoy these two!
Comments/Reviews welcome (and encouraged!)
Even though it's getting a little late, Lucifer is true to his word and an hour later he shows up at his Detective's house, looking like his normal self in a crisp suit. With a lighter step, he walks up to her door and knocks sharply before he waits, looking around at the hallway before he turns when the door opens. "Detective.. you look lovely." He is a little surprised as he looks at her in her casual jeans and a sweater, her hair down around her shoulders.
"Oh.. Thank you.." Chloe says as she looks down at herself. "Um, just give me a minute to lock up and make sure I have everything, ok?" She asks as she watches him, turning to go back into her apartment, her suitcase sitting next to the door with a small toiletry bag on top of it.
Feeling an odd fluttery feeling as he thinks about the trip ahead of them, Lucifer looks around for a few moments as she checks the windows and doors. "I picked up some of those scones you adore on the way over, in case you got hungry during the drive. It's a bit of a long one, afterall." He points out as he moves over to pick up her luggage and wait for her by the door.
After making sure that she has everything, Chloe comes back and she smiles a little as she looks at him. "Thank you, Lucifer.. I didn't even realize you knew I liked those." She admits a she looks at him with a soft smile, maybe a little nervous about this trip, but her brush with death has made it clear what she wants and that while some things are worth waiting for, she wants to make sure some things don't escape her grasp. And she thinks Lucifer is going to be worth it.
"It may not seem like it, but I do pay attention, Detective. Especially to you." He explains gently, tilting his head a little. "I'll take your bags to the car and wait for you to get finished up, then." Lucifer finishes, clearing his throat briefly to keep from getting too sentimental, before he carries her bags out to the car, putting them in the trunk alongside his before he turns to look back at the building and wait for his Detective to join him.
Getting everything else secured, Chloe walks out to meet Lucifer, smiling a little as she sees him standing there. "I hope you don't get offended if I fall asleep on the drive." She says as she watches him curiously, going around to get into the passenger's side of the car.
Lucifer chuckles a little and shakes his head. "Not at all, Detective." He reassures as he get in. "There's a blanket there by your feet should you get cold. The scones and a few bottles of water are in that bag there." He explains as he points to them, waiting for his partner to get buckled up before he starts the car. "Feel free to sleep if you wish, but the stars are fairly spectacular once we get out into the desert." He shrugs a little before he pulls out onto the road and starts to drive toward the highway that will lead them to Vegas. At least the somewhat late hour will mean they avoid most of the traffic, and it should put them at the hotel at around midnight.
"Wow.." Chloe says with a surprised laugh as she looks at everything. "I guess you thought of everything." She looks over at him as they start driving and smiles, reaching over to rest her hand on his arm for a moment to give it a squeeze before she settles back into her seat. "So should I even ask what kind of hotel that you already made reservations in?" She asks, knowing that he has something already, probably long before he invited her to go with him. So with just expecting it to be him, she wonders what type of thing he arranged for.
"I'm sure you'll think it's lavish, but comparatively it's a relatively modest suite." Lucifer reassures as he glances at her. "Bedroom with a king size bed, two baths, hot tub, balcony, fireplace..." He can't help but smirk a little. "Any chance I might get a private recreation of that scene from Hot Tub High School?" He asks playfully as he glances over at her.
Giggling a little, Chloe shakes her head a little. "No promises." She says with a bit of amusement as she glances a him "Too bad I didn't bring my bathing suit." She murmurs, actually wishing she had thought of that. "So we just have the one bed to share, huh?" She asks, reaching down to pick up one of the scones out of the bag to start nibbling at it.
"It is a King size bed, Detective. Plenty of room for both of us, unless you decide to hog the covers again." Lucifer teases a little, thinking about it. "I would never do anything without your consent. Besides, need I remind you, the last time we shared a bed you were buck naked and I was a perfect gentleman." He points out, sounding almost a little offended as he glances at her.
Snickering a little more in amusement, Chloe nods quietly. "Yes, yes you were. I don't mind sharing the bed, Lucifer." She reassures as she looks over at him. "Sounds pretty nice, but you're right, not as big as I thought it would be. I figured you'd get one of those Presidential suites or whatever that has three bedrooms, two stories, and a grand piano or something. I know how much you like your piano." She point out as she watches the scenery zip by, putting her scone in her lap for a moment to secure her hair in a messy bun before she goes back to her nibbling.
"Yes, I might miss my piano." Lucifer admits as he glances over at Chloe for a moment with a little smile. "But I'm fairly sure the company will make up for that." He reassures with a small smile as he continues to drive, deciding to take local highways instead of the interstates because it should make for a better drive. "And if you truly desire, I am sure we can find a place where you can get a bathing suit, Detective." He reassures, before he grins a little, deciding not to push things with any comment about skinny dipping.
Relaxing back in her seat a little, Chloe smiles as she looks over at Lucifer and finishes her scone, licking her fingers a little. "I am sure there are. But they're probably all super skimpy, because it's Vegas." She says with a little shake of her head.
"Not sure why you should be so concerned about that, Detective. You've kept up quite well since your acting days. You'd look stunning in a bikini." Lucifer reassures as he glances over at her for a moment, sounding genuinely confused about why she might not want to wear something revealing.
"Not as good as you might think. Having a child is hard on the body, Lucifer." Chloe reminds him, shaking her head a little. "I don't know. I didn't get stretch marks as bad as my mom did, or so she always says." She rolls her eyes a little. "I don't know, I'm just not that comfortable in bikinis anymore." She explains as she watches Lucifer's profile, leaning forward to turn the heat on a little to create some air pressure from inside the car.
"I assure you Detective, there are no amount of stretch marks that would in any way diminish your beauty." Lucifer reassures sincerely, relaxing into the drive and reaching over to place his hand over hers to give it a light squeeze before he returns his hand to the wheel. "Have you ever been to Vegas before, Detective?" He asks in a change of subject, not wanting to make it uncomfortable for Chloe, and he's still perhaps feeling slightly off-kilter from earlier as well.
"Oh.. um.. no." Chloe says, blushing a little after his compliment. "I've never really been out of California really. Silly, huh? I've lived in LA my entire life. I mean, I traveled a little for acing or sometimes my mom would bring me to wherever she was, but I never really got to see more than film sets, so I don't really count that." She explains with a little smile. "Besides, I've never had a lot of disposable income to be able to blow it in Vegas." She teases a she looks at him. "Seems like just your type of place, though."
Taking in what she says and considering it for a few moments, Lucifer chuckles a little. "Well, I can't deny that. Vegas is lovely, I've been a few times before. Not in the last few years though." He says as he tries to think about the last time he was there, glancing around the road they're on. "As you once pointed out, Detective, I have a great deal of disposable income, so for this week, you will allow me to pay for whatever it is you desire." He holds up his hand to cut off any objections. "I insist. It would take significant effort on your part to put any sort of dent in my monetary worth, I assure you." He smiles a little as he glances at her. "We can do whatever you wish." He senses her hesitation and sees her fidgeting out of the corner of his eye, chuckling a little as he nudges her a little. "Come on, Detective." he wheedles, glancing over at her with his most charming smile. "We have a week, in Las Vegas. The shows alone are impressive. Not to mention the buffets and he selection of foods.." He trails off as he glances at her. "Walk on the wild side. Your child is being taken care of, you are on vacation from work, and you're with the Devil in the City of Sin." He chuckles a little, reaching over to take her smaller hand in his. "I'll keep you safe, Detective. Trust me."
The last time Chloe really let loose was during her teen years, before her father died, so the idea of going back to that does make her a little nervous, but she laughs a little at Lucifer's attempts to convince her to slip into his world just a little. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze before she nods a little. "I'll try, Lucifer. And that's the best that I can do. It's been a long, long time, since I've been able to cut loose." She says honestly as she looks around for a few moments, the lights of LA having quickly faded behind them, the occasional street light throwing the angles of her partner's face into sharp relief. Which just makes her want to touch his face and memorize every curve and plane. It's an odd urge, she'll admit that. "But we're going to have to compromise, you know. You may have to do some boring things with me, too." She says quietly, surprising herself with how much she enjoys Lucifer's hand around hers. Perhaps it's because like some romantic hero, they've had very little skin-to-skin contact, in reality. The hugs or touches they've mostly had have been through shirts or jackets, and Lucifer is usually wearing two to three layers anyway. Looking down at his hand for a moment and his onyx ring, she lifts her free hand and tracing along the bones on the back of his hand gently.
"I suppose that's the best that I can hope for." Lucifer muses a little, glancing over at her for a few moments. "Well, I am entirely at your disposal. Even for whatever boring activities you might have in mind." He reassures, glancing over at her a few times. "Not that I mind of course, but what on earth are you doing with my hand?" He asks in amused confusion. When people try and molest him, they don't usually take an obsession with his hands. Well, there was this one... That was an exception though.
Blinking a few times, Chloe looks up at her friend and partner before she clears her throat. "Oh. Sorry, I...I don't know. You have nice hands, that's all. I never noticed." She explains before she shakes her head. "I might be getting loopy, I'm a little tired." She admits a she releases his hand so she can lean over and pull up the blanket from her feet. "I'm going to try and sleep a little." She decides as she scoots down in her seat to turn toward him and nestle her head on the back of the seat.
Lucifer nods a little as he glances over at her, reclaiming his hand. "Yes, I think that might be best." He says cautiously, settling his hands back on the wheel, though looking at his right hand for a moment as he briefly extends his fingers, then turns his gaze back to the road. The rest of the ride is silent, because the Detective falls asleep rather quickly, leaving the Devil to his own thoughts as he tries to figure out what they should do, their first few days in Vegas. Though he hopes there will be at least one or two days where they will be holed up in the hotel room, if he has anything to say about it.
By the time they reach the hotel it's just after midnight, and he pulls up to the front doors where the valet is, getting out and unloading the suitcases onto a cart the bellhop brings around before he moves to the passenger's side, shaking Chloe gently. "We're here, Detective." He murmurs as he looks at her.
Jerking awake in surprise, Chloe looks around blearily. "Oh.. ok.." She murmurs before she accepts Lucifer's hand, untangling herself from the blanket before she gets out, stumbling briefly only to be steadied by Lucifer's arm. "I'm ok. I'm good." She reassures, rubbing her eye as she takes the offered arm and curls her hand around his bicep as she blinks and looks around at everything as Lucifer leads them to the front desk.
Getting checked in is smoothed over by the subtle exchange of money, and Lucifer finds some amusement in his Detective leaning against him, still half asleep as he signs the required key cards and follows the bellhop toward the elevator. He takes Chloe's hand from his arm, before he puts his arm around her waist to help keep her steady. "Now I see why you drink so much coffee." he says quietly to her as they step into the elevator.
"Shut up." Chloe grumbles a little as she leans against Lucifer, who is soft and warm, and smells good. And yeah, she's still groggy, but so what? She narrows her eyes at the bellhop as she sees his look of amusement. "What're you lookin' at?" She says a little more sharply than she means to, glaring a little at the boy who quickly turns eyes front. When she feels more than hears the chuckle against her, the Detective looks up at the Devilish man at her side. "What?" She asks as she looks at him. "He was looking at me like I was drugged out. I'm not on drugs, I'm just tired." she grumbles a little, her tone taking on a definite pouty quality.
Chuckling a little again but tightening his hold slightly on Chloe to keep her from kicking the bellhops butt when the boy stifles a snicker into a cough, Lucifer looks down at the Detective. "I'm sure he doesn't think you're on drugs, darling." He reassures, not even thinking of the term of endearment. "Having seen you in both states, I can at the very least say you are not drunk. You're much more easy-going and self-pitying when drunk, less violent." He teases, chuckling as he follows the bellhop out of the elevator, leading Chloe along gently to the door. Once inside, he releases Chloe gently and turns to the bellhop. "We can manage from here." He reassures, holding out a large bill toward the boy.
"Yes, sir." The boy says as he takes the money, unloading the cases off his cart and then backing out of the room with it, smirking with amusement.
After securing the doors, Lucifer looks over to see his Detective taking everything in, in ht main room. "You can gawk at everything tomorrow, Detective." He says as he gathers the bags. "Bedroom is this way." He tilts his head toward the doorway, not having been in this hotel room before but the placement seems right.
The view was drawing Chloe's attention more than anything else, and she at Lucifer's voice, nodding a little and hopping along as she removes her shoes and socks along the way, then scooping them up. "Wow.." She murmurs as she looks around the very large, lavish bedroom. She puts her shoes and socks inside the door, sliding out of her jacket and putting it on the chair before she goes to look out the windows again.
"I'm glad you're suitably impressed." Lucifer notes, amused as he hangs his clothing bag up in the closet, putting her toiletry bag in the bathroom and setting their suitcases down. "We can unpack our things tomorrow, for now, you should change for bed." He says as he steps up behind his Detective, putting his hands on her arms gently before he looks out over the view for a moment.
Chloe hmms a little, leaning back against her partner and.. boyfriend..? In any case, the contact is brief before she straightens and nods. "Yeah, you're right.." She turns, putting his hand on his bicep for a moment as she walks past him and over to her bag, digging through it for a moment until she finds what she wants, then she retreats to the bathroom.
Torn between wondering if this is going to be the longest week of his life or the most fascinating, Lucifer starts to undress as well, emptying the pockets of his jacket and his pants onto the top of the dresser, frowning as he notices his cigarette case. Surely the Detective won't approve of that, so he slides that and his lighter into his suitcase. His belt joins the rest of his items before he starts to undress, not caring if the Detective comes out to find him in a state of undress afterall. She seems to be taking her time though so the Devil manages to change into a set of pajama pants he brought along to make her feel more comfortable, and he goes to look out the window. He's not all that tired but he doesn't want to keep his dear Detective awake and she clearly needs the sleep.
It takes Chloe a good few minutes just to explore the bathroom. With a full walk in shower, two sinks, and a tub in the corner big enough for at least two people, she's thoroughly impressed. She does take her time though to make sure she gets her makeup off, and change. And yes, she shaves to both because it has to be done and because she doesn't know how Lucifer feels about those things and she kind of wants to feel girly this week. Part of the purpose of this week is to figure how how they fit together, in a relationship, afterall. And there is the possibility that the relationship could turn physical. A rather high probability, actually. Sighing, Chloe takes one last look at herself in the mirror and then steps out, dropping her dirty clothes onto her suitcase to deal with later, wearing a simple slightly over-sized t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Taking in Lucifer for a moment, she approaches slowly and rests a hand on his bare arm. "Hey." She says quietly as she looks up at him, stepping slightly in front of him so she can see him better.
"Ah. Finally finished, Detective?" Lucifer asks, smiling as he glances her over. "I wasn't sure how you wanted to handle the sleeping arrangements." He explains as he turns to face Chloe a little more and motion to the bed. "That is, I wasn't sure if you had a preference for what side you liked to sleep on. I can sleep pretty much anywhere, you see." He explains, before he turns a little again and slowly pulls the curtains shut to hide the view but also it will block out the morning sun.
Smiling softly as she looks at Lucifer, Chloe looks at the bed and the nods a little. "Very considerate of you, Lucifer. I prefer the right side. So, this side." She explains as she motions to the side closest to them before she walks over and pulls down the covers before she climbs up into the bed.
"Right.." Lucifer says slowly, not having expected it to be that easy. He shuts the lights off in the main room before he returns to the bedroom to do the same before he gets into bed, laying on his back to look up at the ceiling.
After trying to get comfortable for a minute or two, Chloe sighs, the unfamiliar bed not helping her. "Come here, Lucifer... scoot closer to the middle." She mumbles, motioning him closer with one hand.
Rather surprised, and confused, Lucifer obeys, moving more toward the middle before he looks over at her. "Here?" He asks, and when she nods, he lays back again, putting his hands behind is head. He's slightly startled when his Detective moves up against him and decides to use him as a pillow. "Detective?" He asks uncertainly, lowering one arm to place it around her slowly to help keep her in place.
"Shush. Ask me tomorrow." Chloe mumbles as she drapes an arm across him and nestles her head against his chest, nuzzling for a moment before she gets comfortable. It barely takes a minute for her to drift off once she gets comfortable, between Lucifer's familiar feel, the sound of his heart and whatever cologne or deodorant he uses.
Chuckling a little, Lucifer merely nods before he pulls the covers up around them both. And while he may not have been tired before, and he doesn't understand the warm feeling of comfort this brings him, it certainly helps ease him into sleep as well. Securely holding Chloe to his side with one hand, the other resting on her arm where it lays across her, Lucifer drifts off into the land of peaceful, yet vague dreams.