A/N: Haha so remember when I said I wasn't gonna write anything for Lucifer beyond my established universe? I LIED APPARENTLY HERE YOU GO
I'm not okay! Not! Okay! AT ALL oh my god I'm going to fucking- cry- take this and my life and all of it I am done I am so done I cannot I'm going to fix this you guys I swear even if it takes my last fucking breath to do it. Just. Here. Oh my god. Don't worry I'm still going to be writing in my original Luciverse I just need to get this off my chest first and then we can go right back to all that okay? Okay. Alright. Oh my god. Oh my... Lucifer? WHATEVER HERE YOU GO.
There's no lightning. No thunder. No flashing lights, no booming applause.
Lucifer, for once, is content without a big show. Silently, with all his siblings' and the demons watching, he slowly pulls the piece out of the sword, watching the flames flicker and diminish in an instant as he does, and slowly allows it to drop and hang at his side. He raises the piece instead, rolling it across his knuckles, and flicks his eyes back up to his siblings. His gaze finds Amenadiel first, and he takes a moment - just a moment - to really bask in the pride shining in his brother's eyes. It means so much more to him than he ever thinks he'll fully be able to express to his brother, but he hopes the smile he offers conveys even a fraction of what he's feeling right then, for he's sure that he's feeling so much now that even that fraction is enough.
"Amenadiel," he calls quietly, and his brother is up and on his feet, making his way forward at once. Lucifer moves to hand the piece to him, holding it carefully between his thumb and index finger, and his brother simply stares for a moment before slowly reaching out to take it from him.
The others are starting to rise, as well. Lucifer looks at them briefly and they freeze, wavering, uncertain. His eyes find Michael for the barest fraction of a second, and his gaze doesn't linger.
Instead, he turns to Chloe.
She's what's important now. Distantly, he barely remembers passing the blade to his brother as well - and Amenadiel takes it dutifully, silently - but he comes back to himself quickly enough to gather Chloe into his arms, pulling her into a kiss without caring, for a second, who's watching. They don't matter to him. The only thing that matters is the way Chloe's lips feel against his own, the way her face feels, cupped in his hands, the way her hair's brushing against his fingertips and the way her hands curl against his neck, knuckles brushing over the stubble on his cheeks as she melts into his arms and kisses him back just as gently, just as passionately. It's not enough, not really. He wants to hold her, kiss her, make love to her and tell her those three words over and over again, tell her how much she means to him, how scared he had been and how he never wants to go through that again, he can't lose her, he won't lose her again.
After a few seconds, she pulls her lips away, breaking the kiss somewhat reluctantly. Lucifer doesn't mind, not much, because her hands are still there, against his neck, and he can feel them - and he can feel her, the blood rushing through her veins, her heartbeat pounding in her fingertips as her hand climbs up to cradle the side of his face in her palm, and he can't really think of anyone who had ever touched him as tenderly and lovingly as she does sometimes.
"I love you, too," she whispers after a moment, and Lucifer melts into her hand, pressing his face deeper into her palm and squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he can for a moment, reveling in the feeling of just being close to her minutes after believing he'd lost her forever. Chloe pulls him into her arms suddenly, suddenly enough that he can't bite back a quiet gasp as her arms wrap around him, holding him close. But he's only frozen for a few seconds before he hugs her right back, bunching up a fistful of her hair in one hand as gently as possible and wrapping the other around her neck, burying his face into her shoulder and breathing in deeply.
He'd almost lost her. It hits him as he inhales lungfuls of her familiar scent through his nose, like a ton of bricks, and suddenly he can't breathe. He's thrown right back to the feeling of her in his arms, shaking and bleeding and dying faster than he knew how to react. To the fear and the pain and the horror and the grief that had engulfed him all in the span of one, one second when Michael had stabbed her through the stomach. To the terror that he might not get to her on time. To the knowledge that it was his fault, all his fault, he should have never let her come today, he should have left her behind, taken her somewhere safe before the battle started, should have stayed with her, shouldn't have let her go off alone with Michael chasing her, should have told her he loved her before because in that horrible moment he didn't think he'd ever get the chan-
"Lucifer. Lucifer, breathe," Chloe's practically chanting the words, soft and steady, both hands gripping her face now. He hadn't realized she'd pulled away, and his first instinct is to immediately get closer, to pull her back into his arms and hug her as tight as he can and never let go again, but when he tries to move, she doesn't let him. She's still holding his face, still looking up at him with those wide blue eyes filled with nothing but concern. He doesn't understand until he tries to take a breath and finds his lungs had practically clamped shut. But it doesn't matter. His hands are trembling now as he brings them back to her face, holds them there, holds her there, and blinks back the sudden rush of tears that had blurred his vision.
"Never again," he manages to choke out, and then he can't swallow back the sobs that follow. In front of his siblings, the handful of demons Mazikeen had brought, and Eve, Lucifer just breaks. And it's awful. It's tears and pain and sobbing and he can't bring himself to stop. It's not Godlike at all and Lucifer doesn't care - he couldn't care less. He can't stop. He's not sure he wants to. Because through the pain, there's so much relief, and that's what's really driving the tears now; relief. Relief that Chloe is there. She's okay. She's alive and Lucifer's alive and they're okay. So yes, in front of the audience they'd all gathered, Lucifer breaks. And he doesn't care who sees.
He has no pride, not right now. Pride is the last thing that matters to him right now.
Amenadiel has to fly them to the penthouse. It's a quick flurry of wings and air and noise that doesn't really matter to Lucifer in the long run. The only thing he can think of is Chloe, getting as close as possible, and this time, she lets him. This time she just holds him, and through his own tears and sobs and gasping for air he can see her own tears, hear her own quiet, hitching breaths as she buries her face against his shoulder and rubs a hand over his back, shaking.
It's so much, Lucifer doesn't know what to do with it. Chloe's still crying by the time Lucifer manages to calm himself down, and he just holds her, because he doesn't know what else to do, while she sobs tears of relief of her own into his shoulder and squeezes him tight enough to hurt. He takes to planting little kisses against her head, across her hair and to her temples while she curls up in his arms and digs her nails into the back of his neck. It's sad, and it's awful and it goes on for hours, and hours, and hours on end. Lucifer breaks down again a few times himself, but it's quiet tears this time, racing down his face and disappearing into her hair as he presses his cheek to the top of her head and unfurls his wings and wraps them in a cocoon of feathers.
They weather the storm like that, together, until it stops. Chloe falls silent, sobs subsiding, tears still flowing, but she's still making quiet little sniffles and whistling sounds through her nose, and Lucifer just tucks his wings over her and blinks back what he knows isn't the last of his own tears, sure that more will follow, because there's so many emotions welling in his chest he's not entirely sure what to do with, but he does know that this is surprisingly cathartic for him as well. Chloe falls like a dead weight into his arms and Lucifer falls back with her held tightly to his chest, cushioned by his wings and the mattress beneath them, and huffs out a shuddery breath.
It takes a while, but he finally manages to look down at her. It's a difficult task with her head on his chest, and he tries not to disturb her too much as he maneuvers her to his side, cradling her head in one arm and letting her settle into the crook of one of his wings, curled tightly around the both of them. Hesitantly, he lets a little bit of light peek through so he can see her face, and breathes out a quiet sigh when his eyes adjust enough to do so. Tear-streaked but surprisingly relaxed. She's not frowning, but she's not smiling, either. Every now and again, her bottom lip would twitch and quiver, her eyelashes would flutter, her chest would shudder in an inhale and Lucifer quietly takes in everything, every movement, every twitch and tick, every reminder that she's alive. And he stays like that, just like that, for the longest time. Just watching her breathe.
He stays like that until he hears footsteps approaching, and every muscle in his body tenses. His wings flutter and tighten back around them, sealing shut, curling protectively around Chloe.
Amenadiel's voice breaks through, muffled and gentle and concerned. "It's just me, Luci."
There's a moment of hesitation that even Lucifer doesn't understand - and for that matter, doesn't quite care to analyze right now - but he does eventually unfurl one wing, the one curled around him, to look for his brother. The other one stays wrapped around Chloe, shielding her from an invisible threat Lucifer knows isn't really there, but it definitely makes him feel better to have her tucked against him, knowing if anyone comes for her they have to get through him.
Amenadiel just barely looks in Chloe's direction as he approaches the side of the bed. The human is barely visible with Lucifer's wing curled around her and he's not about to move it, so his oldest brother turns his attention back to the younger after a moment, eyebrows furrowed.
"The others have gone back to Heaven," his brother murmurs after a moment. Lucifer barely manages to nod in response, somewhat numbly. "They took Michael with them. They're awaiting your orders, Lucifer."
"They'll be a-waiting for a while," Lucifer warns. The words are too weak, too breathy, too quiet. Amenadiel doesn't say anything, only inclines his head in a silent, passive understanding and settles down on the side of the bed next to him. It shifts a little with his weight, but Chloe remains undisturbed without even a twitch; Lucifer flicks his gaze back to her after a moment, peeking under his wing to watch her. It takes a few seconds of watching her chest fall and rise over and over again through quiet, stuttering breaths for him to really relax again; for the tension to drain from him all at once, adrenaline he wasn't even aware had lingered to wither away.
It leaves him exhausted, far too exhausted. It's a tidal wave that knocks his head back onto the pillow and forces his eyes shut, and he can do little more than breathe in a quiet, shuddering gasp that doesn't even leave his lungs again all at once. A hand on his shoulder makes him flinch - violently - but it doesn't leave even when he jolts and freezes at the contact, and it only takes a few seconds for him to relax again and melt into the touch all at once, opening his eyes. His gaze finds Amenadiel, finding nothing but absolute warmth and love glittering in his eyes.
"Get some rest, little brother." Amenadiel's gaze slides toward Chloe for a second, then roots back to Lucifer, who finds he can't move his eyes from his brother's. "Do you want me to stay?"
"Please," Lucifer breathes, a weight leaving his chest as the word shudders through his lips.
Amenadiel only nods, and pushes himself up suddenly, but only to move closer; Lucifer can only watch, blinking back the tears brewing in his eyes, as his brother leans down close to him and presses his lips against his forehead, with a tenderness Lucifer had imagined he only reserved for Linda and Charlie. Another rush of tears blur his vision, too sudden for him to react; he blinks most of them back furiously, then simply allows his eyes to squeeze shut, letting out a soft sigh.
The bed shifts as Amenadiel settles back down beside him, and with the comfort of knowing his oldest brother will be watching over the both of them, Lucifer finally allows himself to drift off.