"Is there anywhere you want to go?" Chloe asked once they were in the car. She watched him as he settled into the passenger seat; his eyes were on the dashboard.
Lucifer opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He turned towards her and gave her a soft smile. "Just back to your place."
"Okay." Chloe nodded her head as she started to drive off.
The drive was quiet; Chloe wanted to ask him about the interview, but she had noticed Lucifer closed himself off by looking out the window though not looking at anything in particular. She decided to let him be until he was ready.
"Detective?" Lucifer sat up straight in the seat and looked over at the woman. "This isn't the way to your flat. This is..." The words got caught in his throat.
"I know," Chloe replied, her eyes still on the road. "If you're not up for it, I can always turn around.
"No. Don't!" The man spoke without hesitation, confirming she had made the right choice. "I just thought it was closed to the public?" Lucifer questioned as he looked out the window.
"Luckily for you, I'm not the public, and I may have some leverage." Chloe glanced over at him; a smile grew on her lips. She could see his excitement floating to the surface with a pinch of nervousness. Her own heart started pounding in her chest the closer they were.
Once they had parked across the street, which was quiet since the club was closed, Lucifer slowly stepped out of the car; his eyes scanned the building from the base all the way to the tip; for him, it almost didn't feel real. A mirage. His eyes glazed over with a mix of emotions.
LUX had been his home since his stay on earth. So many unforgettable memories flashed before his eyes. Then there were the memories he wanted to forget but will be forever sketched in his mind. He could already feel the heat on his face from the fire.
"This way." Chloe offered her hand, pulling the man out of his trance. Like a magnet, his hand attached to hers. The Detective led the man to the service door. " I only came by here once since..." she didn't bother finishing the sentence. They made their way into the club. "The Grand Reopening was supposed to be yesterday, but the investigation put a damper on that."
Lucifer stood still in the passageway, looking in; there were only the lights on behind the bar bleeding onto the dance floor. The rest of the corners were completely shaded. From what he could see, the club had not changed besides the white sheets covering all the furniture keeping the dust at bay. The air smelt stale, abandoned from the usual hundred sweaty body and spilt liquor.
Lucifer's feet started moving again when he saw the large object in the middle of the room. Each slow step he took brought him closer to the instrument he missed most. In one swift motion, he pulled the sheet off the grand piano. The man gingerly lifted the fallboard as he sat down on the bench. Fingers grazed along the ivory keys before he started to play a melodic tune. Chloe watched him in the distance for a few minutes taking in the music the man was making before joining him on the piano bench.
"It's out of tune," Lucifer stated; he wrapped an arm around her waist. His other hand, still gently resting on the piano. Chloe looked up at him to see his watery eyes staring at the top of the piano. Her hand gently rubbed his back in an attempt to pull him back to earth. Chloe then noticed a smile tug on his lips. "This is where we first met. In this exact spot." Lucifer looked down at her.
"It is." The woman smiled; her body melted into his, her head resting on his shoulder. "I remember thinking you were some smug smart ass. I was wrong."
"Not all wrong; I definitely was when I met you." Lucifer chuckled to himself. "You made me a better man. You taught me that I am capable of love." The man out a long sigh. Chloe looked up at him, her lips slightly parted. "Hmm. Thank you for bringing me here." He kissed her on the forehead. Chloe's hands reached for his head and pulled him in for a kiss. His free hand instantly found her cheek; he brushed her hair behind her ear.
Lucifer stopped suddenly when he heard footsteps in the distance. The Devil reluctantly pulled away from her. "I know you're there. Stop being a perve and show yourself."
"Hey, Luci," A familiar voice filled the room.
"Brother." Lucifer looked up to see the outline of his brother on top of the staircase. The Devil rolled his eyes and looked back at the piano. "Do you always have to ruin a good time, or did you find something else to accuse me of?"
"No, Luci, that not..." Amenadial scoffed but stopped himself. "I may have followed you..." The brother said with a slightly embarrassed tone.
"That's not creepy at all." Lucifer snarked back before the older angel could explain. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to show you something. Upstairs. I knew you wouldn't come if I asked, but I did have a feeling you come here."
Lucifer looked over at the Detective, who was silent during the brotherly spat; she smiled and nodded in encouragement. He let out a sigh before he stood up and offered his hand to the woman.
Chloe stood between the two brothers in the elevator, keeping a barrier to prevent Lucifer from throwing a punch. She could feel him seething as his hands tightly squeezed her hand. But as they passed each floor are were getting closer to the top, his anger slowly turned into nervousness.
The door of the elevator opened up and revealed the penthouse. Amenadial stepped out and turned towards his brother, who stood in astonishment.
"This is amazing, Amenadial." Chloe gasped; she looked over at the man at her side. He was speechless. She pulled him into the room. "How did I not know about this?" She asked the older brother.
"Well, I didn't want to give you false hope. I didn't even know if he would come back. Wishful thinking, I guess." Amenadial sighed; he sat down on the arm of the sofa. His eyes were on his brother, whose eyes were scanning the room. "I couldn't match everything, but I did my best to get some things as close as possible." Lucifer walked deeper into his old home; his hand grazed the half-empty bookshelf as he walked; he stopped to remove a book off the shelf, his fingers flipped through the pages. "I wasn't able to recover a whole lot from fire. I know you had a lot of first editions and other priceless artifacts; Maze helped track down other copies of the books she could remember." Lucifer looked over at his brother, the stunned look still across his face. "Would you say something already? This silence is unnerving."
"Why? Why did you do this?" Lucifer asked; he placed the book back in its place. His hand found the pockets of the sweatpant as he stepped towards his brother, waiting for an answer.
"Because, Luci, you are my brother, and despite our..." The man sighed "my arrogance, I do care about you."
"You missed me." Lucifer gloated, a smile formed on his face. The smile gave Chloe butterflies because there was a glimpse of the man she once knew.
"Yes, Luci, I missed you." Amenadial let out an embarrassed chuckle; gradually, he stood up and faced his brother. "And I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
"Well, how can I stay mad now? You gave me back my home." Lucifer's eyes glazed over. "Thank you, brother." Amenadial pulled his brother in for an embrace. After a moment, Lucifer pulled away from his brother, but his hand was still on his shoulder. "I can't believe how much you replicated my place. I mean, it's remarkable."
Lucifer let go and walked up to the bedroom; he stopped suddenly in the doorway. His hand instantly clutched his chest attempted to cover an invisible wound.
"NOOOOOO!" Chloe cried out.
The Devil noticed the blade just off the center of his chest. Slowly, he looked up and saw Chloe struggling to break free from the demon's grip before dropping to his knees and onto his back.
"Chloe!" he muttered through his laboured breath when he realized that she'd escaped Eligos grasp and was by his side.
"No. No, no, no. This can't be happening! Lucifer, stay with me," she begged."Dan, help me, please." She looked back at the other detective. "Lucifer, stay with me, okay? You're going to be okay."
"I... it's ov'r... f ' me." Lucifer struggled to form words.
"No. I don't believe it. Everything is going to be okay," she cried, sobs wracking her body. "Please, I need you."
"Chlo'... you... th' best... the best... thing... that's... ever... happened... to me." He took his time to make his words clear. "I love... I love you."
"I love you! I love you so much; that why you have to stay with me."
"Lucifer, you okay?" Chloe pulled the man out of his memory.
"Hmm?" He looked back at the woman.
"You okay?" The Detective asked, concern filling her voice.
"I'm fine." Lucifer gave the woman a weak smile before making his way to the bar. 'I'm fine' had been his go-to loophole answer to avoid what was really going on in his mind. It was driving Chloe nuts.
Just as he was pouring himself a drink, the elevatored dings. The doors opened, and Maze stepped out carrying several garment bags in her hands.
"Alright, time to get you out of those douche clothes and into something more fitting." Maze smiled, holding up the bags.
"What is this? I was gone for one year. All of a sudden, everyone seems to be extra nice to me. It's unsettling." Lucifer sipped on his drink, a smile crept on his face.
"Whether you were gone or not, I will not let you walk around looking like Dan for a minute longer. Besides, I didn't pay for it. Alehandro will bill you later." Maze said as she walked up the stairs and despaired into the closet.
Lucifer went back to his drink and gulped it down. Chloe made her way to his side. "Hey, you sure your okay?" She asked with a whisper, her hand rubbing his back.
"I'm..."Lucifer let out a sigh. "It's a lot to take in in one day. But I assure you I'm fine."
"Okay." Chloe nodded her head; she pursed her lips for a moment. "But if your not, just let me know and we can leave or do anything you want."
"I know." Lucifer smiled.
"Are you coming?" Maze peaked her head around the corner. "Alehandro really outdid himself this time. You're going to love it."
"Right." The Devil stood up.
"Brother, hold on," Amenadial spoke up. "Do you still need that?" He pointed down at his brother's ankle.
"Well, I never needed it, brother. It was more of a forced-to-wear kind of thing." Lucifer joked at his own expense.
"Sit down." The older brother rolled his eyes.
Lucifer sat down in the nearby chair and placed his foot on top of the glass coffee table. The chain linked to the cuff made a clinking sound on the glass. Amenadial reached for Lucifer's ankle and lifted it up.
"Easy, brother!" Lucifer scoffed, his hands gripping the side of the couch.
The older angel ignored his brother while he tried to find a good grip on the cuff. Chloe watched from a distance as Amenadial summoned all his strength and started to pull on the iron. It took him a few times, but there was no give. She could see the worried look across Lucifer's face, he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Amenadiel relaxed for a moment before he pulled on it again. The angel was holding his breath as he tried with all his might to rip the cuff apart. A bulging vein could be seen on his temple. In the attempt to get the thing off, he nearly lifted Lucifer off the chair. "Almost." The word squeezed out of his mouth.
The iron finally gave way, making the older angel fall backwards. The pieces flew out of his hands. Amenadial propped himself up on his hands with a cheeky smile on his face. "That wasn't too hard."
"Right?" Lucifer let out a sigh of relief as he straightens himself on the chair. His hand gravitated to his finally freed ankle, his fingers grazing over the fading blue ring that was hidden underneath. "Thank you." He quickly pulled down the pant leg to cover it up. Amenadial just nodded his head.
Lucifer stood up and made his way to the closet where Maze was waiting.
In the closet, he noticed that Maze had already taken out the suits, five in total, and had displayed them on the clothes rack.
"Alehandro was only able to get a few ready for today, but there will be more coming." Maze crossed her arms and flashed a smile on her face.
Lucifer made his way to each one and felt the fabric. "You did good, Maze." He looked over to his favourite demon. "Thank you."
"Try them on, and I'll be right back with the shoes." Maze headed towards the door.
"Maze," Lucifer's words stopped her in her tracks. "Why are you doing this for me? You don't work for me anymore."
"Because," The Demon stood with her back to him, "you came back for me. You gave me my life back." She looked over her shoulder.
"I shouldn't have left you there in the first place." Lucifer's voice with filled with sympathy. "You don't owe me anything."
"I brought you a few suits with your money, and you saved me from the torment of my siblings. Call it even."
"After everything I put you through and all you've done for me," Lucifer gave the woman a faint smile; his lip trembled. "We'll never be even."
"Well, good thing we still have time." Maze replied, trying to hide the tears starting to well up. The demon was never good at emotions; she just wanted to push them down and move on. "It's good to have you back." The woman said as she turned and started to walk away, not wanting him to see her cry.
Lucifer took his time choosing which suit he wanted to put on; after a few minutes of taking in each one, he picked the classic black satin.
The pants fit him like a glove, snug in all the right places; Alejandro had a magical touch of how a suit should fit. The Devil stood in front of the seven-foot-tall mirror; he could hear the murmurs of conversations in the main room while his fingers buttoned up the white dress shirt. However, the words were just distant mumblings. The image of himself was like staring at a stranger. Years beyond years spent in isolation with no way to recall his own appearance, yet he would never forget her face. The man in the mirror seemed put together, but he knew inside he was falling apart. The time spent as a prisoner in the place he once really did a number on him. The irony was not lost on him. Lucifer's fingers fiddled with the cuff of his shirt when he realized that the other room had gone silent.
Lucifer wasn't sure if it was curiosity or fear of abandonment that got the best of him as he hurried out of the closet, passed the bed and into the living room. It was empty, but he did notice a stack of boxes left by the door. Panic started rising in his chest as his heart began to pound against his rib cage. His breath shorted; the room started spinning.
"Don't you look dashing?" The soft voice came from behind.
Lucifer pivoted on his heels towards the comforting voice. Chloe stood on the balcony with two tumblers in her hand.
Lucifer's heart started to slow down as he gazed at the woman standing under the moonlight. His bare feet began moving towards her.
"Amenadial had to leave to help Linda and Maze wanted to give us some alone time," Chloe mentioned as he made his way to her. "I'm not going to lie, I am sick of people, I just want to be with..." The man wrapped his arms around her waist. Unable to reciprocate the hug, she held the glasses awkwardly in her hands. The Detective could feel his body trembling as his arms tightened around her. "..you? Hey? You okay?" She attempted to pull back to get a better look at him.
"I need to leave." Lucifer's voice shook, "I can't be here. Not right now." At the moment, his home was tinted with unwanted memories playing too vividly in his mind. Where he was standing now was the same place he left her after she professed her love for him. A few minutes ago, he passed the bed where they made love for the first just before their world was turned upside down by the demons that relished in his torment. The best moments of his life walked hand in hand with the worst. "Please."
"Yeah, of course. We'll go. Anything you want." Chloe nodded her head as she passed him the tumbler. "Here." He quickly slammed the drink and then finished the woman's drink. Lucifer reached for her hand and headed towards the elevator pulling Chloe behind him, grabbing a shoebox on the way out.