a/n: Life. Just life. I'll get it figured out one of these days, I promise. Thank you to those that are still stickin' with me!

Day 73

"Hmm." Lucifer swallowed his mouthful of water and reached forward to place the glass on the table. "You should have seen it," he started as a wide smile crept across his face. "Detective Decker was absolutely brilliant. The baddie had his gun trained on me. Square in the ol' ticker," he said, flattening a palm over his heart. "The detective had her firearm trained on him. Then…" He chuckled gently. "Then she started crying. Crying," he repeated. "Muttering about the rather worthless day she was having. A cold shower because the water heater broke, no coffee because her roommate moved out and took the coffee machine. Oh! My favorite! The dog that peed on the carpet right in the middle of the living room." Lucifer released a content sigh as he joined his fingers over crossed legs. "She told him if he shot me, it would just be the rotten cherry on top. Of course, he was confused by the detective's display and distracted just long enough for me to steal his gun. Bad guy caught, case solved. All in all, a very satisfying couple of days," he said with a smile.

"I'm concerned, Lucifer," Linda started as she sat back in her chair.

"You shouldn't be. Bad guy caught," he reiterated. "The city is safe. Well," he started, rolling his wrist, "from that particular pain in the rear, at least. And no doubt we'll be after another one today." She nodded and gently tapped the top end of her pen on the notebook resting in her lap.

"I'm concerned about you, Lucifer."

"Me?" She nodded again. "Why?"

"Do you remember what we talked about the last time you were here?" He nodded slowly.

"I do." He sighed heavily when she lifted an eyebrow, silently prompting him to continue. "You said I was purposely putting myself in a position to be around the detective."

"Yes. And you said…"

"I said I was doing no such thing."

"Mm-hmm. And which one of us was right?"

"You," he answered begrudgingly. "Fine. Yes, the whole staying away from Detective Decker thing didn't work. My bad. Honestly," he started, scooting closer to the front of the cushion, "part Daniel's bad, as well."

"And why is that?"

"He made me explain the Candy situation to the detective."

"He didn't make you."

"He made me promise to tell her," he countered.

"Lucifer, he didn't make you promise, either. You could very easily have said 'no'."

"Let's agree to disagree, Doctor. The point is with the Candy explanation, the detective's anger towards me subsided. Minimally," he said with an absent gesture of his hand, "but subsided nonetheless. That would not have happened had he not forced me to speak to her." Linda closed her eyes and ran her fingers over her forehead. "See? Daniel's fault."

"You really play this all to your own advantage, don't you?"

"I'm sorry? I don't understand."

"You can run away from your father, from God, so He doesn't manipulate you, yet a person, a human, has the ability to force you into a promise, to force you into a conversation that you didn't want to have." Lucifer frowned. "Dan didn't force you into anything," she stated. "You simply used his words to justify rounding the rules you set for yourself, rules you didn't want to set in the first place." He opened his mouth to answer but Linda stopped him as she held her hand in the air. "I'm not finished. You said you needed to hear Chloe say that things between the two of you, professionally and personally, were over. She said as much. Yet you haven't made the break you set out to make," she said pointedly. "You haven't distanced yourself from Chloe at all. You are, in fact, right back to where you started."

"Sort of. The detective and I are simply colleagues now. No romantic notions to get in the way."

"Feelings don't just disappear, Lucifer."

"Right," he said slowly, "but Detective Decker and I discussed this. We agreed to partners and friends, and that nothing more would come from it."

"So you're just going to ignore how you feel for Chloe? Ignore what she feels for you?"

"Yes," he answered. "My feelings for the detective are what put her in danger and her feelings…well," he started through a breath as he sat back. "We all know the story behind her feelings, don't we?"

"Do we? Do we really know? Has your father come down from Heaven and said, 'Lucifer, you were right; I was manipulating your detective friend'?"

"Of course He hasn't."

"Then how can you be so certain that what she's feeling for you isn't real? And let's, just for shits and giggles, say that you're right about her feelings being manufactured…that doesn't make Chloe's feelings any less real to her." Lucifer frowned.

"Amenadiel said something of the sort, too," he said absently.

"Even when we know our feelings are misplaced or not returned, or simply wrong place, wrong time, they are difficult to ignore. Take your feelings, for example," she started, tipping her head to the side. "You still care about Chloe."

"Of course."

"Do you still love her?" He closed his eyes and sighed, but did not answer. "Lucifer?" she prodded gently.

"Yes," he responded. "I do."

"Do you think that's just going to go away? Blink and it's over?"

"No," he whispered.

"I realize this is not a typical situation, and there are many questions and factors at play here, but…" She sat forward and softened her voice. "You succeeded in pushing Chloe away. She told you she didn't want you around. And that worked. For a little while. Even though she was angry with you, she invited you to work a couple of cases with her. And you accepted. Now…now you're—"

"Unofficial official partners," he said with a gentle smile.

"Yes. Spending a lot of time with each other. Again." His brow furrowed as he listened. "Do you see where this is headed? What's to keep you from travelling down a familiar path?"

Lucifer

The soft tones of the piano floated through the empty club, gently bouncing off the walls. Lucifer needed some solace, some sense of peace to complete his day. Yet haunting, nameless melodies were all his fingers seemed capable of playing. Flats and minors, diminished chords, drawn-out notes, anything and everything proficient at pulling the drearier thoughts and emotions from his body. Lucifer lit another cigarette and took a deep drag before resting it on the notched edge of the nearly-full glass ashtray sitting on top of the piano. His early morning session with Linda had bothered him most of the day. He understood the doctor's concern, understood that neither he nor the detective had displayed much determination to desert the other, yet he felt this situation was under control.

Taking a second long drag from the cigarette, Lucifer smiled gently. Tensions between himself and Chloe had mostly dissipated over the previous weeks. They were in sync, rummaging through investigations, quickly solving cases. They encountered a few bumps along the road, none of which more than trivial inconveniences. The biggest obstacle came over the period of three particularly long days in court, in which Lucifer's mother attempted to use Charlotte Richards' reputation as a cut-throat lawyer, and the filth of the world, to draw a line between detective and consultant. Her endeavor had been fruitless as standing by each other's side only served to strengthen Lucifer and Chloe's bond.

They had gained ground in their friendship, as well. Chloe had agreed to let Lucifer treat her to a drink and a meal after the ordeal with his mother. Two partners, two friends, simply enjoying each other's company after a job very well done. Chloe seemed more relaxed, more comfortable around him. Her smile had returned and her eyes rolled at him with their typical frequency. Lucifer had brushed aside Linda's warnings of regression with the explanation that he and the detective were building some semblance of normalcy, and that was a good thing.

Sought by both parties.

After all, Chloe was the one that proposed the choices. Partners and friends, or nothing.

How could he possibly have chosen 'nothing'?

"We're closed," Lucifer announced loudly over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps on the staircase. "Lux doesn't open for another three hours. Come back then." He pulled the cigarette from the ashtray, the motion of his hand swirling the light grey smoke in the air.

"That's too bad. I was really looking forward to a drink." Lucifer paused with the cigarette halfway to his mouth and turned to regard his visitor.

"Detective," he greeted with a surprised smile. Chloe smiled gently in return as she reached the floor, her hand resting on the end of the railing. "Well, well." He ground the lit end of the cigarette into the tray and stood as he faced her again. "Far be it for me to refuse service to a beautiful woman." As he neared her position at the bottom of the staircase, he placed his hand on the small of her back, gestured towards the bar with the other hand. "What suits your fancy?" She shrugged gently as she took a seat on a barstool.

"Surprise me." He offered a playful, wicked smile and slipped behind the counter, keeping his back to her as he perused the wide selection of booze. "Lucifer," Chloe started gently, "I know it's only been a few weeks and that we're still working out some of the kinks—"

"I like kinks," he interrupted jokingly.

"I know you do," she laughed gently. "It's been…really nice. You know," she explained, rolling her wrist in gesture, "working as partners again." Lucifer turned towards her, smiling widely as he placed a bottle of alcohol and two empty shot glasses on the bar.

"Does this mean you'll keep me?" he asked, placing a hand over his chest in playful excitement. "Part two of 'The Detective and the Devil'?" He chuckled light as he filled both glasses. She laughed and nodded slowly as she folded her arms over the countertop.

"I think we can work out some kind of deal."

"Making a deal with the devil can be dangerous, Detective." Crossing his harms, Lucifer bent at the waist and rested his arms on the bar top, mimicking the position Chloe held. He leaned a little closer to her, enjoying the slight blush that graced her cheeks. "One never knows what he'll ask in return," he said quietly, dropping his eyes to her lips. She released a soft breath as he lifted his eyes to hers again. Holding his gaze, she reached for one of the glasses.

"I'll take my chances."

"I will certainly drink to that." He lifted his glass, clinked the side of the one Chloe was holding, and both tossed back their toast. Placing his glass on the top of the bar, he carefully studied her. With a gentle narrowing of his eyes, he tipped his head to the side. "Come, Detective," he started as he rounded the counter and took her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he pulled her off the stool and led her towards the back rooms of the club.

"To the wine cellar." Stopping his movement, he turned to look at her. "We are going to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"Our reunion, of course," he answered with a smile. "Pick a bottle, any bottle, and we'll properly toast our partnership." He gently tugged on her arm and continued towards the back. "Maybe you'd like to let your hair down a little tonight and dance with me, eh? We had fun the last time we danced."

"Lucifer." Chloe set her stance and stopped his forward motion. She studied his face as he turned again to look at her, eyebrow raised as he patiently waited for her to proceed. The last time we danced, she thought. There was no mistaking that he was referring to the night before Lux's scheduled demolition. It was, after all, the only time they had danced. And yes, she would agree they'd had fun; Lucifer had a very contagious excitement and his enthusiasm that evening had been no exception. Her hesitation wasn't triggered by that night, however; it was triggered by everything that followed that night.

"Detective?" Lucifer prodded gently at her silence. Chloe tipped her head to the side. This night was different from that string of events, though.

Wasn't it?

He was not knee-deep in a last ditch effort to save Lux and she wasn't calling in favors to save his home. He wasn't inviting her to dinner to express his gratitude. He wasn't ghosting on said dinner. They weren't openly sharing their appreciation and dependence upon each other in court, or sharing a relaxed meal of burgers and fries in the quiet, inviting warmth of his penthouse.

They weren't having moments.

He wasn't telling her that she deserved better than what he could offer.

And she wasn't kissing him.

"Detective?" he started again.

No, nothing about their current situation was the same. They had talked about that, agreed that they would remain partners and friends; agreed that they would not cross that line again. Celebrating our reunion, she reminded herself. That's all. She could do that.

"Sorry," Chloe said quietly. "I was just…" Lucifer took a step closer to her, keeping his hold of her hand intact but gentle. "I, uh…don't want…too much noise. Tonight," she said, gesturing back towards the empty club's dance floor.

"Then we'll go upstairs. Just you and me. No funny business," he quickly added. "I promise." She nodded slowly. "We've been through so much," he whined, finishing the dramatics with a slight buckle of his knees. "I think we've earned the right to mark this special occasion." He was right. Nothing had been easy, for either of them, since her poisoning. Finally, finally, the pieces seemed to be falling into place; things seemed to be heading back to normal.

As normal as anything with Lucifer could be.

"Okay," she agreed. "Lead the way."

Lucifer

"Well, you know the part," Chloe started as she shifted to draw her legs onto the cushion and beneath her body. "I eat the cake and then…"

"And then proceed to empty the contents of your stomach onto that young chap's head?" Lucifer laughed. "Yes, I do know the part."

"Well, that actor…Tyler…no." She scrunched her face and looked away. "Billie?" She cocked her head and lifted her eyes upwards. "Lucas…nope. I can't remember," she said with a shake of her head. "Anyway, that actor was let go after the first time we shat that scene." Lucifer tipped his head in question. "After I fake threw up the cake, he threw up. Like, for real.'

"What?" he chuckled.

"Yeah. Then proceeded to tell the director that he was okay and we could try the scene again, only to throw up before the director could yell 'action'." She listed towards him as she laughed. "That's not even the best part," she continued, poking a finger into his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me," he said, his laughter growing. "Just how many young lads were cast for the role?"

"Seven," she answered with a giggle. "Seven before we found one that could make it through the scene without getting sick. Ugh, I had to eat a lot of cake." Her laughter fell into a gentle hum as she lifted her wine glass to her lips. Lucifer released a content sigh as he watched the detective. The glimmer in her eyes reminded him of the long ago night when they had shared a dinner of burgers and fries. He remembered the soft feeling of her skin as he held her hand. He remembered the peacefulness of the evening, remembered feeling happy and at ease. He remembered everything as though he was living in that very moment. Perhaps he was, in a way, simply spending a comfortable, unhurried evening with Chloe.

"I can't believe you haven't shared these stories with me before now," he commented. "Rather hilarious, in my opinion. Especially knowing a no-nonsense cop was part of said hilarity." He lifted an eyebrow as he took a drink of his wine.

"That was a long time ago," she replied. "It was fun but it wasn't…it wasn't me. I was so young and stupid back then." Lucifer draped his arm along the back of the sofa.

"I am sure that was not the case," he stated as his fingers played with the ends of her hair. "Everyone starts somewhere, Detective."

"I suppose they do." Chloe offered a gentle smile and just as Lucifer had recalled the good memories of their 'moment', he quickly remembered how everything had soured. A part of him didn't mind that they had been interrupted, prevented from completing their kiss. The disruption had given both of them an opportunity to end on the same page. He had wanted to kiss her, and then believed it a mistake. She had initially thought it a mistake, and then had kissed him. Yet in a moment safely wrapped in each other's arms, they had decided together that they were real.

Together. That's what had mattered.

Until the revelation of his father's meddling had slapped him square in the face.

The decision had not been theirs; would never be theirs.

Lucifer closed his eyes, holding back the disgusting guilt he was sure he would have felt had they followed the seemingly natural progression of the relationship. He could not bring himself to think about the consequences or the pain he would have caused her. With a slow opening of his eyes, Lucifer lifted his gaze to Chloe eyes and then immediately dropped it to the lip she was lightly biting. How different his thoughts would be, how different his actions would be if he didn't need to worry about manipulations, if he knew her will was her own.

"What about you?" Chloe asked quietly. "Where did you start? You know, if you're really not Larry, the son of a plumber from Connecticut." Lucifer smiled gently and focused on the length of hair still between his fingers.

"Story for another time," he offered with a wink. He brushed the hair from her shoulder and then reached for her near-empty glass. "How about a refill?"

Lucifer

"You didn't have to drive me home, Lucifer," Chloe stated as they neared the front door of her apartment.

"What kind of partner would I be if I got you all liquored up and then didn't see you safely home?" he laughed lightly. "Can't very well let you Uber it, can I?"

"Yeah, you can," she nodded. "But I appreciate it. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He chuckled as she stumbled through a step and hooked her arm in his to steady herself. "Good?" he asked.

"Yep," she said with a nod. "You know what I don't get? I don't get how you can drink as much as you do and not be…I don't know, at the very least buzzed."

"Oh, I have quite the buzz going, thank you very much."

Interestingly enough.

Maybe 'buzzed' wasn't quite the right word. He was no stranger to the numbing effects of alcohol but his supernatural metabolism allowed him to burn through those effects rather quickly. Yet being around the detective, he had learned throughout the evening, slowed his processing. For the first time, and after far less than he would normally drink, Lucifer believed himself inebriated. He felt heavy, his body rather light. The world around him seemed insignificant and distant, the sights directly in front of him so alive and…close.

Close.

Like the detective.

"Then we need to drink together more often," Chloe said. "So I can learn your…your tells." She turned as they stopped walking and leaned her back against the door. "I don't think it's very fair that you have awful pictures of me and my drunk face, and I have nothing of you and yours."

"Well, good luck getting me that loaded," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Someday, Lucifer. Someday." He returned her smile as he looked down at her. So full of mirth, he thought. "Thanks for the ride home."

"My pleasure. Good night, Detective."

"Good night, Lucifer." He bent slightly and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, lingering a little longer than he should have. As he pulled back, Chloe's fingers appeared tightly curled around the lapels of his jacket, holding him in place. She stepped forward and lifted her chin, pressing a soft, slow kiss to his lips. He kept his eyes closed and drew a deep, measured breath as she put a small amount of space between them. His head felt heavy again, yet it wasn't simply a heightened physical reaction to what he had been drinking; it was his reaction to the detective. Oh, how he had missed this; missed this soft touch of her lips, the feeling of her body wrapped in his arms. How desperate he was to relive the moment they had shared on the beach, the moment they had kissed. The moment he felt…

Complete.

How was it possible to miss something he never truly had?

"Detective," he whispered. Slowly, he opened his eyes, met her dark blue orbs as his hands found her hips. He backed her against the door as he pursued her mouth. The delicate, explorative kiss maintained its relaxed pace but quickly deepened. He could never have enough of her, he decided as his fingers curled tightly in her hair. If he had an eternity to spend with her, to explore his…feelings, it would never be enough. He separated their mouths and rested his forehead against her. "Not like this," he started quietly. "Not when you're…not very sober," he said with a gentle smile.

"Your fault," she murmured.

"Guilty," he said as he pulled away. His eyes lingered on her mouth and his brow crinkled with a slight frown. How did he tell her? How did he convey everything he felt if he didn't know himself what it all meant? How did he prove that he had never lost interest in a 'them', even though he seemingly had lost his way? How did he walk away from what he truly desired? "Detective." His voice was barely above a whisper as he leaned in, pressing his body into hers. He placed a drawn-out kiss against her lips, pulling back before she could return it. "Sober," he repeated.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "Okay." Chloe closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the door as the heat from Lucifer's body vanished. She remained there, motionless in that position, until the hum of his Corvette's engine flared and then faded into the distance. She slid to the ground as tears slid down her cheeks. "Stupid," she chided herself with a whisper. "We're not supposed to do that."