With instructions in place, Azrael's message delivered, Lucifer has decisions to make. And as he considers his options, Chloe considers hers.

Wrap Me in Your Wings – Chapter 21

Lucifer sat at his piano playing random songs as he thought about his father's instructions.

Marriage.

Sure he and Chloe had hinted at living together. Sure, their love had been growing for years as they tiptoed and danced around the topic. Sure they had just consummated their feelings for each other and spoken the words. And sure…being with Chloe just…felt…right.

But Lucifer had to admit, if only to himself for the time being, proposing marriage was an idea that had never crossed his mind. Even when he asked to make a life with Chloe, that 'm' word hadn't crossed his mind.

Now when confronted with God's plan and a reminder that the companionship of marriage was exactly what he was envisioning, there was just one last lump that Lucifer had to swallow: the commitment.

Could he commit himself to Chloe? In truth, that's what he was asking to do, wasn't it? Making a life with her was committing to her. He could do this, right?

He, Amenadiel and Maze had watched Azrael leave with another swoosh of her wings. Lucifer's brother had looked at him closely and did his best not to grin at the dumbfounded look on the devil's face.

Maze had laughed. "You…and…marriage?" she asked "Let me go get my knives and a blow torch," she walked past Amenadiel and looked directly into Lucifer's eyes, "cause the day you get married is the day Hell freezes over!"

She widened her eyes and then smiled with a softer laugh as Lucifer's eyes lit with their orange glow.

"Don't," Lucifer warned his demon.

"What?" Maze continued looking eye to eye with him, even through his devilish glare. "You said it yourself, you're not marriage material. Hell, Linda won't marry Amenadiel and they have kid together. What makes you think Chloe would marry you?"

Lucifer swallowed and backed down, his eyes going back to their deep brown. "She loves me," he answered, stretching his neck to try and alleviate the sudden discomfort from his collar. "She wants to live with me. She's willing to live with me, I think. Marriage is just a step beyond that," he tried to convince himself as much as the female standing beside him.

"You've never made a commitment to anyone, Lucifer," Maze continued prodding him.

"I became a consultant to the LAPD because I wanted to be closer to Chloe. I've been committed to that job for years which somewhat makes me committed to her already," Lucifer countered.

"And you've left her how many times? And she's almost died because of you," Maze held up her hand to start ticking off another number of incidents as Lucifer practically growled at her.

"Alright," Amenadiel raised his voice and his hands to stop the bickering. "Maze, we've all changed. Look at you, you're a bounty hunter who's lived with a human and is a caring aunt to Charlie and practically that for Trixie, too. Can you deny any of that?"

Maze pouted, "No."

"Now it's Lucifer's turn," Amenadiel looked between the two of them. "But Luci, one question…"

Lucifer looked at his brother, took a drink from his glass and asked pointedly, "What?"

"Do you want to do this because of your love for Chloe? Or do you want to do this to stay out of Hell?" Amenadiel looked at his brother seriously as Maze leaned against the piano and waited for him to answer.

It was true. Their father was giving Lucifer an ultimatum. And if Lucifer was just considering this as a means to stay on earth then he needed to consider Chloe's feelings even more.

After a moment of true thought and consideration about the question, Lucifer looked his brother in the eyes and answered. "I want Chloe," he breathed in deeply, let it out slowly and chanced smiling. "She's the reason I've stayed here. Los Angeles became home to me after I met her and worked with her and got to know her…and fell in love with her." He breathed in and out calmly, looked between Amenadiel and Maze and answered them honestly, "I want to be with Chloe." He nodded with certainty at Amenadiel, "I want to marry her. But she still has to choose me. I don't want her to feel it's an ultimatum."

Maze rolled her eyes, "Well don't get all gushy about it," she let her tongue fall outward, pretending to gag.

Amenadiel laughed at them both. "What do you need us to do, Brother?"

Lucifer thought momentarily, "You must let Chloe know that I don't have to leave. But, tell her I need to get my thoughts together before I can explain things to her. Tell her…I need some time alone to think things through."

Amenadiel and Maze both looked at him. "Don't do that to her," Maze warned, realizing his idea could go badly.

"But it's true," Lucifer looked at the demon and his eyes spoke the truth. "I have to convince her to spend the rest of her life with me. I've put her through ups and downs and I'm not sure she will agree to marry me. I need time to think about that, to truly set my mind straight. If she won't marry me, then… well…" his smile faded slightly.

"Reassure her that I'm still in Los Angeles and tell her I promise not to leave L.A." Lucifer pulled the ring box from his pocket, opened it and looked at the beautiful gems.

Suddenly he felt nervous. His palms were a bit sweaty and he felt just a little short of breath. He needed to make this commitment to his detective. He needed to ask her that simple question. He had always made fun of other sophomoric men who stressed over marriage proposals.

He thought of Chloe's face and the idea of putting this ring, this family heirloom, on her finger as a promise of his commitment. Maybe those men weren't sophomoric at all. Perhaps the idea of committing their lives to women they loved was truly as overwhelming as what he was feeling now.

And yet, it was worth it…she was worth it.

*****WMiYW*****

Chloe spent an hour talking to Ella. The younger woman had helped her focus on something besides calling Lucifer or going to Lux and yet their time together had been spent talking about Lucifer. Still, as soon as Chloe stood up and said 'Well, better get back to it,' she picked up her phone and had her thumb on the screen, ready to call the man who was constantly on her mind.

She was honestly ready to go back to Lux, climb back into his bed with a scotch and journal #12. Being at work wasn't distracting her from anything. She wanted to know what was going on and why she hadn't heard from him in hours. She wanted to rewind to yesterday and relive it again and again.

The detective took a deep breath and looked at her phone screen again. Don't call. She told herself; and she obeyed. Texting wouldn't be as invasive. She convinced herself.

That's why she found herself back at her desk, phone still in hand, staring at the screen.

"Are you okay?" she typed and then deleted.

"Any word from your sister?" she backspaced through the line.

"Do you know your father's message yet?" she tried and deleted again.

Finally she put her head down and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I love you. Hope everything is ok." Chloe looked at the screen an extra few seconds and added a simple heart emoji before sending the message.

Before she could delve into the file folder that she picked up after hitting 'send', Chloe noted the familiar face coming down the precinct stairs. Maze was wandering in without a suspect in handcuffs and was looking directly at Chloe. On this day she wasn't sure what to think about this visit.

"Lucifer said to tell you," Maze began promptly as she stopped her feet in front of Chloe's desk, "that he needs to think about a few things."

Chloe looked up into the dark-skinned demon's face. "Really?" her tone was a bit sarcastic.

Maze creased her eyebrows wondering why Chloe chose that question.

"I'm sitting here wondering if he's been sent back to Hell and you're standing there telling me he needs to think?" Chloe blinked. Honestly, she should take this as a good sign, right?

"Oh, right," Maze swished her head back and forth and twisted her lips, "His dad gave him some instructions, some choices he has to make. For now Lucifer can stick around here but he said to tell you that he needs a little time alone to think."

Chloe breathed in and smiled, "So Azrael didn't take him back to Hell?" she spoke softly as she looked at Lucifer's friend. "You could've just led with that, ya know?"

Maze rolled her eyes.

"So where is he? I'll go grab lunch and take something to him," Chloe started.

"Decker," Maze stopped her before she could stand up, "don't." She shook her head and put her hand out telling Chloe to stay in her seat. "Seriously, Lucifer said to tell you that he's not leaving L.A., but he needs a little time to himself. His father's instructions included some choices that Lucifer wasn't prepared to make right away. He's gotta get his head on straight."

"What are the instructions?" Chloe wondered, "What kind of choices?" She looked at Maze with a questioning face. "I can help him," Chloe tried to explain but Maze dipped her head and gave Chloe a teacher-like gaze.

"Look, he's not running to Vegas this time. And he gets to stay here, at least a little bit longer, consider that progress," Maze tried to instruct the detective.

Chloe looked down at her phone that beeped just as Maze started speaking. "Not leaving but need some time alone… Love, Lucifer"

She took a deep breath. Had they made progress, or were they taking a step backwards? He wasn't leaving, but was leaving her in the dark. Chloe sighed. Why wouldn't he let her in? Why wasn't he wanting to celebrate if he didn't have to return to his demon-filled, non-earthly home? What was his father's message?

She looked up at Maze and shook her head. "Is he okay?" she chanced asking the woman who claimed that human emotions on an empty stomach made her ill.

Maze thought about Lucifer needing to propose to Chloe. She thought about her boss being tied to one woman for the remainder of that woman's life. And she thought about the complete 180 degree turn that their lives had taken since meeting Chloe Decker.

"Probably," she gave Chloe the one word answer then thought another second before continuing. "You know he doesn't like it when his dad tells him to do something. He likes to rebel. It's just his nature. But we'll see what he decides to do this time. Giving it more thought than he would've a while back. That's probably…good… You humans have rubbed off on him."

"Maze?" Chloe broke her verbal thoughts.

"Yeah?" the demon looked back at the human.

"Azrael didn't stab him with the flaming sword of death, or drag him by his collar back to Hell, right?" Chloe was content when Maze pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Not yet," Maze countered.

Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head. She breathed in a long breath and let it out slowly. "Then I will take that as a good sign. Period."

*****WMiYW*****

The detective tried not to worry the rest of the day. But when 3:00 rolled around she was happy to leave the office work and head toward home. She was already trying to decide what to tell Trixie, since it appeared that Lucifer wouldn't be home with them tonight.

The text that came through as she was pulling up to the school eased that stress a little bit, but also added some confusion to the mix.

"I picked up our urchin from school. Taking her for dinner then will get her home."

Chloe stared at the message for several seconds. What on earth? She checked the phone number, and sender…yes, it was from Lucifer. She debated pinging his phone to figure out where he and Trixie were… but then she simply sighed and shook her head.

She took her foot off the break and pulled away from the curb where she had parked to pick up her daughter. Damn it. What was he up to? He knew she wanted – no, she needed to see him. And yet now he was off gallivanting with Trixie?

The 35-year-old woman pouted. She was jealous of her own child and frustrated with the adult man who was apparently taking the 11-year-old to dinner. Why again did she love him when he frustrated the hell out of her? Was this a sign that he was fine? Or was this a signal that she should find them and confront him about the day's happenings?

She stewed as she drove. But finally she smacked her hands against the steering wheel and shook her head. Deep, cleansing breath… She wasn't going to let this bother her. She should be happy that he was spending time with Trixie – wait, was this really I-hate-children-they're-all-foul-miscreants Lucifer Morningstar, or had the Angel of Death taken over his body during the celestial visit?

Chloe felt her teeth clenching. She couldn't wait for him to bring Trixie home. She and her new-found man-child of a lover needed a long discussion about openness and communication…again.

She hoped they would enjoy dinner…Chloe found the nearest Carl's Jr., drove to the drive-thru menu and ordered a nice juicy burger, a large order of curly fries and the largest chocolate shake they offered…with whipped cream.

He'd better damn well be fine. Cause the more she thought about this, him, his fears from the night before and their quiet promises laying in the bed in each other's arms, made her want to kill him.

*****WMiYW*****

"Not that I'm complaining, but how come you're picking me up?" Trixie asked as she threw her backpack into the trunk of Lucifer's Corvette convertible and climbed into the bucket seat beside him.

"We need to talk," Lucifer said, with a slightly serious tone to his voice.

Once his guests had left he had spent another hour playing piano, clearing his head and thinking about marriage. And, Lucifer had come to one sure conclusion: He needed to have Beatrix in his corner before proposing to Chloe.

He felt quite sure the urchin would be on board for a marriage proposal, but unlike the last man that had requested her mother's hand in marriage, Lucifer wanted to know the absolute truth of how Beatrix might feel about this commitment.

"Look," Trixie started immediately after Lucifer's directive. "All I told Ben was that he looked cute. He's the one that kissed me and it was just on the cheek. Not like I'm gonna marry the guy. What's the big deal?" she rolled her eyes and looked out the front windshield.

Lucifer had pulled the nose of his car out of the parking space but then stopped abruptly, put the car in park and looked at the elementary school girl who was wriggling under the discomfort of the seatbelt.

"Wait…hold on a minute, did you say 'kiss'?" Lucifer stared at her until she looked at him. Trixie was sure she saw some orange flecks, almost like sparks, moving across his pupils.

"Well yeah," Trixie nodded, "Isn't that why you're here? My teacher saw us at recess and Ben got in trouble for a public display of affection? Is that what a PDA is?" Trixie gave Lucifer a little more information which caused Lucifer to sit back in his seat before he unbuckled his seatbelt and started to open the car door.

"He got in trouble? What'd the school marm give him a swat on the wrist? Who is this boy? I'll take care of this punishment…" he mumbled something else under his breath.

"Lucifer!" Trixie quickly reached out and grabbed him by his arm.

"What?" He looked back at her with a scowl on his face and this time Trixie was truly sure she saw something like flames in his eyes.

"He's just a kid in my class. It's no big deal!" she tried to emphasize with a blush.

"I'd beg to differ with you on that, young lady," Lucifer sat quietly for a moment catching his breath and trying to exercise a little self control in front of the child.

The horn blowing from a car behind them made Lucifer think about where they were and what he was supposed to be doing.

He took a second and then closed his door again and re-buckled his seatbelt. "Are you hurt?" He asked Trixie in a gentler tone.

Trixie shook her head, still blushing, and giggled, "No. Ben's actually kinda cute. He's nice. We've been friends since like 2nd grade."

"You're too young," Lucifer looked in the rear view mirror, put the car back in gear and slowly began pulling out again. "I have more important things I have to explain to your mother. Playground kisses aren't on our list to discuss for another decade or so," he grumbled slightly.

Trixie shook her head as she listened to him and they actually started picking up speed on the roadway. "You know I'm 11, right? I'm gonna kiss boys before I'm 21," she claimed.

"Nope," Lucifer shook his head. "We are not having this discussion right now, and if I'm around your first kiss won't happen till you're 25 if you're lucky."

Trixie leaned back in her seat, "Good luck living in that fairytale world…" she rolled her eyes as she mumbled and gave a huff of a laugh. "Pretty sure you don't get a vote on that one," she spoke a bit louder and then asked, "When did you have your first kiss?"

Lucifer moved his head around as if he was trying to crack his neck and avoid the question. "That's beside the point. We are talking about you," he stopped.

"Well, let's not," Trixie crossed her arms over her chest, already finished with that conversation. "If you aren't picking me up because of that, then how come you're here?" she questioned him and then had another thought. "Is mom okay?" Trixie turned with a jerk towards Lucifer who met her eyes and saw the hint of fear in them.

His look at Trixie immediately softened as he realized what was going through her mind. "She's fine," he nodded and made sure the girl felt his assurance. "Beatrix, the detective's just fine. All she was doing at work today was paperwork. I just have something I need to discuss with you," Lucifer shared.

"Well that still sounds kinda serious," Trixie commented and waited.

Lucifer breathed in and out a few times and then glanced at her as he drove. "It could be. Depends on your thoughts. Hopefully it'll be an enlightening conversation."

He looked back at the road, sped up a little more and changed his tune momentarily. "Now, my little Urchin, what are you in the mood to eat?" he started, followed quickly by, "I thought we could take a drive, grab an early dinner, and then I've got a proposal for you."

*****WMiYW*****

Chloe opened the apartment door and balanced her shake, her bag of food and the bag of paperwork that was slung over her shoulder. She pushed the door closed with her heel once she was inside and headed straight toward the kitchen counter.

She dropped off the work bag by the computer table and then sat the brown paper fast food bag down and took a long drink of chocolate creaminess as she noticed the journal sitting on the counter, out in the open. She picked it up and read the number 12 on the binding. Then she saw the handwritten note apparently marking a particular place in Lucifer's book.

The detective took another minute to take her food from the bag, put her phone over to the side and make herself comfortable. She began nibbling on the fries as she opened the book that she had been avoiding and looked at the note that Lucifer had written earlier in the day.

I know right now you're wondering what happened today. You're probably mad at me because I should have come to you immediately after Azrael left. Please don't be.

I do plan to talk to you about it once I have my thoughts together. I'm not trying to keep you in the dark; I'm not running away this time, I just need to consider what is happening. My father is letting me stay on Earth, Chloe. For the first time in a long, LONG time He has given me a direct answer and it's a positive one – at least it can be.

There is a method to my madness – well, there always is, but at least this time I'm telling you that up front. So, while I'm out with Beatrix, please read a little bit from this journal, particularly, the entry that I've marked for you.

Maze will bring Beatrix home at a decent hour and I'm quite sure the urchin will still have homework to do –I'm certainly not one to help her!

I will see you tomorrow evening and hopefully this weekend we can spend some time discussing Father's message. I know Beatrix will be spending the weekend with her father. I hope you'll accept this as an invitation for you to spend it with me, please.

I'll just leave it there, for now. Talk to you tomorrow.

My Love,

Lucifer

*****WMiYW*****

Damn him. Chloe read the note through four times before putting it down. How was she supposed to stay mad at him when he had obviously given this some thought and she was part of it.

She sighed. She needed to focus on the fact that he was still here and didn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. She could do that, right? Considering the last 48 hours and the growth of their relationship in that short time, this was all good. It had to be.

Chloe closed her eyes and kept nibbling on her fries. She unwrapped the burger and grabbed napkins to try and keep the mess at bay. Then she did as Lucifer requested, opened the journal to the page he had marked, took a deep breath and started reading.

She walked out of here in tears…absolutely devastated, sobbing, tears. And for the first time in my life, my heart truly broke. Yes, I was deeply hurt when I learned of Father's meddling in my relationship with Chloe, but this time…this heartbreak came directly from her.

How could she do this to me? I've never lied to her. I've told her from the beginning who I was and I think something inside of her told her it was true. But until she saw my devil face…until she saw the real me, she couldn't let herself believe.

And then when she did, all of my truths hit her at once.

She was in physical pain, she had been shot. She was in shock and had no clue who to turn to. And her terror likely began there, the sight of me, my true self…

I understand why she took her offspring and fled to another continent. I'm sure there was a lot to come to terms with and a lot to figure out. After the first couple of weeks I honestly thought, perhaps she and the child wouldn't return.

Why would she want her daughter to be around Satan himself.

But for her to return with some absurd plan to try and send me back to Hell… For her to lie to me when I simply asked if she had discussed my identity with anyone… I think the only thing in my past that I can compare to that pain was when Father kicked me out of Heaven and sent me to Hell.

Honestly, I think this was worse. To find out that she would betray me, our friendship, our relationship without talking to me first… Chloe broke my heart. I don't know that I've ever felt something so deeply inside of me. To love someone… and to be broken by that love.

*****WMiYW*****

Chloe stopped there momentarily. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat from the memories that were still pretty vivid in her mind. To relive these moments and thoughts from the depths of Lucifer's heart was a hard pill to swallow. It was the exact reason she hadn't even attempted to read this volume of his life.

She found the box of Kleenex on the side table near the couch and grabbed them. She pulled a couple of the tissues free from the box, dabbed at her eyes and wiped under her nose. After another deep breath, she looked back at his writing.

Tonight she came clean about the lies, about the plan with Father Kinley and about her change of heart… and her fear.

She's terrified of me.

Chloe noticed the discoloration on the page at the point, as though something had been smeared on the paper. It only took her another second, when one of her own tears fell on the page, to realize this was probably one of the places where Lucifer's own tears had fallen.

His realization that she was scared of him was another part of his brokenness. Chloe knew that. It was the reason she hadn't wanted to admit it to him. She had avoided telling him those words from the moment she returned to L.A. and returned to work…and to him.

She had been so torn by the idea of loving him and yet being scared for her life in his presence, that all she could think to do was run away with Trixie. She needed time and space and some way to come to grips with the absolute truth that finally surrounded her.

She's the only one I care about. I care what she thinks of me. No one else matters, just her. All I want is to be near her, to make her happy with me, to make her…proud…of me. I want her to believe in me, believe that I've grown because of her, that she has been a positive influence on my life. I need her to know that I haven't revealed my true self to her before this because the last thing I want is for her to be scared of me.

Hurting her, hurting Chloe, is something I never wanted to do. And yet now… with the truth in plain view…I've done exactly that.

We've hurt each other. Can either of us get past that?

All I know is that my heart still pounds when I think of her. My heart breaks even more when I think of her crying and trying to tell me that she believes I'm not that hideous creature on the inside.

I want to believe that she believes that. I want to believe that she sees another side of me. I want to tell her that I… I love her… But more than that, I want to know that maybe, just maybe, she loves me as well.

I don't know how to broach that subject with her. And right now I don't know that we can even face each other. Right now I'm still living in the hurt of anger and mistrust and the fears in her heart. I want to get over that…I truly do…to move past the lies, the deception and back into the truth.

I want to be in her life if she'll let me.

That, remains to be seen.

*****WMiYW*****

At that, Chloe had to put the book down. Those memories were coming back to her full force and reminding her of similar feelings that she had endured.

She finished eating with the thoughts and emotions running through her mind and she wondered…

The detective went to the desk and found some of Trixie's notebook paper. She took a few sheets and moved the keyboard off the desk tray. In no way would her handwriting look like his, but maybe she could resolve some of her own feelings the way Lucifer apparently had.

She would try to write them down.

My Dearest Lucifer,

First and foremost I want you to know, I love you.

*****WMiYWChapter21WMiYW*****