On a lazy Sunday morning in early August, Detective Chloe Decker blinked open her eyes and found that she was quite well rested, even with the chaos of the last few weeks in mind. The first rays of sunshine of the day were lurking through the curtains and dancing on that monotone grey rug of hers, as the dark blue curtains were swaying in the light breeze that came in through the open window. She had opened it in the evening, because it had offered a welcoming breath of wind after the heat of the midday. But at this point in time, the gentle wind was accompanied by the familiar scent of the ocean, mixed with the fruity odor of whatever plants Trixie had insisted on planting in their small garden.
A small smile on her lips, Chloe closed her eyes again and snuggled herself even deeper into Lucifer's body, enjoying the warmth he offered her. He grunted a little upon her movements and for a moment, she almost felt bad for having woken him up, but that was only until he started leaving a trail of feather light kisses on her collarbone.
"Good morning, darling," he purred into her shoulder and when she returned the greeting in the same playful tone, she could feel his lips stretch outward against her skin.
Almost absentmindedly, his strong and warm hands were brushing up and down her bare arm, before he draped his left arm around her waist (almost as if trying to flush their bodies even closer together) and his hand came to rest on her not yet visible baby bump. His fingertips were drawing little circles on her abdomen, and the sweetness of the gesture blew her mind, especially considering that he had never been a devil who was particularly fond of children or even of the idea of them. Chloe remembered quite vividly how he had called children terrible taxing burdens and how he had blatantly told her that he had no idea why humans chose to procreate – and that had happened the very first time they had met each other.
But watching Lucifer realize and come to love that the rebellious half-angel Aurora, or Rory for short, with the pink strands in her hair and the obvious daddy issues (that had reminded Chloe of Aurora's father the very first time they had met), actually was his, their, daughter still made her feel all fluttery inside. Admittedly, it had been a bumpy road, much like the one ahead of them, as August 4th was approaching with a dangerous speed, but she didn't want to think about that right now – and she had become very good at avoiding the look at the calendar every morning.
"Lucifer…" she mumbled softly, rising her voice a little to indicate that it was meant as a question.
"Hmm," he hummed, only half-heartedly registering her with his face snuggled up against her neck and the scent of her shampoo in his nose – it was a mixture of cherries and vanilla and something so uniquely her that he couldn't seem to put his finger on it.
Chloe carefully winded herself out of his embrace, at which he protested strongly and she couldn't help but grin. Biting her lip to keep her smirk in check, the detective rolled onto her other side and scooched closer to him again, until their faces were only mere inches apart and she was able to intertwine his big hands with her own between their bodies.
"Hey," he greeted her again, obviously no longer unopposed to the switch of her position, as he teasingly brushed his nose against hers, before leaning in even further to place an unbelievably soft kiss on her lips – soon followed by another and then another. These gentle touches had become one of his many ways to show her just how much he loved her (which was amazing, coming from the man who had effectively shied away from any form of physical contact that wasn't of sexual nature just a few years ago).
"I have been thinking," Chloe spoke up and only now opened her eyes again only to stare into the familiar mahogany ones of his that he had clearly inherited to their daughter, "You know, uh, I have been wondering how all of this," she pointed with one finger towards her stomach and watched as his eyes followed her movements, "is even possible. I mean I knew that it was possible for Amenadiel, but I never quite understood why. And I guess… I have a theory."
"Do tell, my love," he prompted her, curious to hear what she had come up with.
Chloe's lips twitched upwards at the petname and she glanced down at where their hands were joined, before her eyes darted up again to lock with his once more.
"Well, we have established by now that your body self-actualizes and so does Amenadiel's. And you have said time and time again that Amenadiel wanted to be closer to humanity around the time that Charlie was conceived. And how could an angel possibly get closer to humanity other than having a child with a human?" she asked and gave him a moment to let the words sink in, "So Amenadiel self-actualized the ability to have a child with Linda." Her eyebrows furrowed a little, as she watched how the little wheels were turning inside Lucifer's brain.
"So… what you are saying is that I self-actualized the ability to produce offspring with you, even without consciously being aware of it yet?" he wondered and upon seeing her nod, something seemed to click in his brain. Letting go of her hand, he made use of his now free hand to lift up her shirt a little and place it on her stomach, where he gently rubbed his thumb on her bare skin, now with wonder shimmering in his eyes. "But that would mean…"
"That this wasn't just some accident to be explained by our carelessness regarding protection, but… that you wanted all of this, that you wanted to be a family, that you wanted Rory… even if you couldn't voice it yet," Chloe finished his sentence quietly, afraid her voice might crack at any given moment, as she placed her hands on top of his.
The words caused his heart to take a leap. He had never, not once in his long (and sadly often miserable) life, imagined himself with children. Even warming up to the urchin had taken him months, if not years – although there was a part of him that had adored the little girl from the moment he had met her. But with the detective, with Chloe, everything was different. She (and Trix and Rory now too), they were his home, his family and there was nothing he wanted more than to ensure their happiness and safety for the rest of his life. And although he had never found that he was meant for fatherhood, or that he would be particularly good at it, it no longer seemed like such an impossible task or even a burden, when Chloe would be there to share the experience with him.
He chuckled softly. "I think you are making a valid point, darling," Lucifer replied finally, before something else seemed to dawn on him and it looked like a shadow was dancing over his face, where his eyes had shone brighter than the sun just moments before. "But if that is true… my mysterious disappearance makes even less sense than it bloody made before!"
She sighed heavily, as the mere thought of him leaving caused a pang in her heart.
"Not that it made any sense before, because I would never choose to abandon you… or our child." He added, and his voice cracked a little at the end. He was trying so hard to fit all of the pieces together, to make sense of a situation that simply didn't make any sense, and she could tell that it was tearing at him.
"I know that you wouldn't, Lucifer. And we will figure this out, okay?" she whispered encouragingly, trying not only to reassure him, but also herself. Because even if she had no doubt that she would be able to raise two beautiful daughters on her own, she really didn't want to do it without Lucifer by her side.
He hummed, not really convinced, but at the same time not ready to accept any other outcome than one, where he wouldn't abandon his own daughter for whatever reason.
"We will figure this out," she repeated her words, this time with more conviction, as she cupped his face with her small hands. His beard was raw under her palms, but she loved the feeling. With her thumb she wiped away a single tear that had spilled from his glassy eyes. "We have figured out everything else up to this point, so what's one more challenge for the famous Chloe Lucifer partnership, huh?"
Her attempt to elevate his mood seemed to be successful, when he barked out a laugh at the familiar words their adult daughter had used – and it was contagious; her lips curved into a big grin too, as she saw how Lucifer visibly relaxed. With her palm, she continued caressing his cheek and gently drew crescents under his eyes.
"I love you, Chloe Decker. More than I could ever say," he admitted and he wasn't in the slightest bit scared by the words leaving his mouth, quite the contrary actually, they seemed to be giving him strength, "Both of you, actually," he added with another glance at her abdomen.
"I love you too, Lucifer Morningstar. So much," she replied, a happy smile plastered on her face.
And right then and there, neither of them would have minded if time just stopped for a little while, so they could stay in their little bubble. Their lips found each other's again and what started out as a slow kiss, much like the ones they had shared just a few minutes before, soon became much more passionate, as the heat between their bodies seemed to be growing exponentially – that was at least until somebody knocked on the door.
"Mom, Lucifer, are you doing what the bees and the birds are doing or can I come in?" Trixie's voice came from the other side of the door and Chloe could barely keep herself from laughing out loud at Trixie's words and Lucifer's flabbergasted look.
"No, monkey, you can come in," Chloe said in response, as she changed her position and finally sat up in the bed, fully aware that her and Lucifer's moment of togetherness was over for now.
Trixie didn't need to hear that twice and just a few seconds later the door flew open and she jumped on the bed. Naturally, the girl robbed herself up towards the bedhead, until she was laying between her mom and Lucifer, where she propped her chin in the palm of her hands and looked expectantly up and down between her mom and the man she sometimes lovingly referred to as her step-devil.
"Morning," she grinned at Lucifer.
"Mhm," he mumbled, before raising his head to be able to lock eyes with Chloe, confusion written all over his face, "What are the bees and the birds doing?" he asked with the innocence of a ten year-old.
"It's how children are made, dummy," Trixie retorted, before her mother had the chance to.
"Oh!" he exclaimed and a cheshire cat grin formed on his face, "Well, we definitely did do that!" He said it with so much pride that Chloe almost felt bad for smacking him on the arm. But her daughter had always been receptive and she really didn't want Trixie to put two and two together, before they actually had the chance to sit her down and talk to her about it all. Preferably once everything had settled and August 4th laid well in their past. Lucifer rubbed his arm with his free hand, feigning hurt, but the little smile remained glued to his face.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I didn't want to hear!" the girl brought the pair back to their conversation and scrunched up her nose slightly, because as much as she loved the relationship between her mom and Lucifer (she had honestly liked the idea of the two of them together from the very beginning), she really didn't need to know all the details. At least not that kind of details. "Anyway… I thought we could make pancakes this morning,"
"I second that!" Lucifer was quick to jump on board.
And soon enough two pairs of hopeful eyes were gazing up at Chloe, practically begging her to agree. For a moment, she wondered if it was always going to be like this – Lucifer behaving like he was one of her children instead of acting like he was the father to one of her daughters. And she didn't need to ponder long (or at all) to know the answer to that one. He was always going to be the fun parent, it was just who he was, and as exhausting as it could be on some days, she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Didn't we have pancakes for breakfast just yesterday?" she asked and watched how both their heads ducked a little at her intense stare. Even if pancakes sounded pretty good to her (and little Rory) as well, she loved to tease them just a little bit.
Her boyfriend and her daughter shared a glance and as if they had communicated without words, they then gazed back up at her again, both with newfound confidence and those puppy dog eyes that always made it almost impossible for her to say no to. Chloe bid her lip to keep herself from smiling.
"Okay, fine, pancakes it is!"