Summary: Being a family...?
Really Really
Chloe opened her eyes, groggy like she couldn't remember being since Trixie was born. Letting her head drop back onto the pillow, her outside arm fell limply over the side of the mattress. She needed next to nothing more than a drink of water right then. The moment it registered how bright the room was she shot up off the pillow again, frantically searching for her phone. Unable to find it, she crawled across the bed, cozying up beside Lucifer, who had laid there motionless since the moment she woke up. Placing a kiss on his cheekbone, she waited for him to admit she'd woken him up... again.
A smile slowly appeared on his lips.
"Uh huh. That's what I thought," she said as he opened his eyes and looked her way.
Smiling but dozy, he greeted her. "Morning."
"Morning. Have... you... seen my phone?" she asked, still surveying the room and turning pillows over looking for it.
Taking in a deep breath and waking himself all the way up, he replied, "Mmm hmm. It's charging on the dresser. Couldn't get it to turn on when I tried to check it last night." Only moments after he'd laid her down on the bed a couple hours ago, she was out cold.
Chloe let her face drop into the pillow beside him. "Shit."
"I'm sorry, I..."
Chloe got up as quickly as she could, steadier on her feet than she expected to be. "No! Nope. Don't apologize. Not you. At all. I was supposed to bring Trixella to school this morning and I'm late. Soooo friggin' late..." She stood at the dresser, nothing on but her agitated worry, waiting for her phone to turn on to give her the time. She was already twenty-odd minutes late. When she shook her head and hung it, Lucifer was up and out of bed on his way to freshen up for two minutes without a word said. She dressed herself as quickly as she could, tying her unkempt hair back. She could still smell the lake water in it and it needed more attention than she had time for. While he disappeared into the closet, she took over the bathroom. Before she'd finished, her sidearm, belt and badge were placed on the counter beside her.
Rinsing her mouth out, he was out of the room by the time she looked up again. She dried off, exiting the bathroom dressed except for her footwear.
"Thank you," she said, finding Lucifer at the safe, sidearm and badge on, threading the tail end of his belt through the buckle. He'd forgone the usual three-piece for a simple shirt and slacks, cuffs rolled back.
He looked to her and smiled, closing the safe. "Of course." He walked over to her without a further word. Chloe cocked her head back, unsure of how to read him. Reaching for her hand, he asked, "I know I've overstepped already, but can I have ten more seconds?" Her smile was the only answer he needed. He brought her in close and kissed her, having no intention of stopping anytime soon, but he was, in the end, true to his word.
Chloe reached up, putting her arms over his shoulders and pulling him into a hug. "Ready?" He nodded and she let him go, the two silently heading straight to the elevator. She was putting her shoes on as the elevator door closed behind them...
Parked outside the school, Chloe exited the car, kneeling in front of Trixie and sorting out the slight state of disarray of her daughter's jacket and backpack. She looked up to Trix, resting one of her hands over the little girl's heart. "I'm so sorry I was late, monkey. It won't happen again," she said, feeling torn.
Trixie nodded. Chloe could see the wheels in her mind turning trying to figure out how to ask what she wanted to ask. "Did you guys have a sleepover?"
Blindsided, Chloe had no idea what to say. "Uh..." She looked to Lucifer panicking a bit. She was surprised when he evenly met her gaze and replied to it with a slight nod. "Yeah, Trix. We did."
"Oh." Trixie said, sounding hurt. "That's why you didn't answer your phone." Chloe's expression changed to sadness. They had to figure out how to include her in more of their time together. The collateral damage was piling up too damned high. When she looked back up to Lucifer, he wasn't looking their way at all. It took her slightly aback.
"Yeah... you remember how... shooting him meant I really liked him?" Lucifer's head whipped back around to face them as he scoffed, keeping silent the laughter that had him shaking in his seat. Trixie nodded.
"Well, having a sleepover with him means I really, really, really, really..." Chloe took in a breath to help her finish the sentence. "really like him," she said, unable to help smiling.
"Really, really?" Lucifer asked, mockingly.
Chloe eyes went wide the moment before she bowed her head having to get through a solid bout of laughter. He had no clue what he'd just done. She looked back up, smiled and nodded, replying, "Yeah. Really really."
"Can we have a movie night tonight?" Trixie asked.
Chloe shook her head. "No, hun. Lucifer has to work tonight–"
"Not anymore, I don't. And... well... seems it's not a guest room anymore," he said, swallowing nervously.
Chloe looked up to him, shocked. She took in a steadying breath and nodded. "Okay. All right. A movie night it is. I'll let your Dad know we're picking you up after school. Sound good?"
Trixie nodded and looked between the two of them beaming, bouncing on her toes she was so happy. "I know which movie I want to watch!" Chloe nodded and hugged her daughter tightly, her eyes closed just as tight, feeling like her heart was about to break open again. She took in a breath but still didn't think she could keep the emotion out of her voice. She met his gaze over the side of the car mouthing, "Thank you."
His affectionate expression, subdued smile and nod was his answer. In keeping with the euphemism, he was fairly certain this little sugarplum was the biggest 'Deckerstar' fan in all of Creation...
Trixie was off bounding into the school and waving one more good-bye to them as Chloe got back into the car. She buckled herself in and sat, silent and unmoving, her gaze pointed at the dashboard but it looked as if she was seeing right through it. Lucifer turned the key in the ignition and reached for the gear shift. The moment before he touched it, he took in and let out a deep breath, rolling the key back. He hesitantly rested his hand on Chloe's and she looked away, toward the school, putting her arm up on the car door. She was shivering from head to foot and not from cold. Out of sheer fear.
They sat that way until Lucifer couldn't stay silent anymore. "Chloe... say something." She fixed her gaze on his hand, covering hers, and shook her head. Her eyes were wide and watering. They were two separate parts of her life. He still shied away from Trix, but not for lack of caring. He was probably as terrified of the prospect of... she was having a hard time thinking it, never mind saying it. He was likely as terrified of the prospect of being a father as she was of things going wrong somehow. That this just wasn't the way he wanted to live his life.
He'd rested the side of his head on his knuckles, his arm propped up on the car door, never taking his eyes off of her. A slight smile showed on his face the moment the thought occurred to him. "Got to start somewhere, yeah?" A sob burst out of her and she clamped a hand over her mouth, turning her other hand over to properly take hold of his. He wasn't talking about the conversation. Translation: no idea what I'm doing, but, for whatever it's worth, I'm standing on the path. She looked skyward as tears started running down the sides of her face, the more she blinked. They were tears of sheer joy.
Lucifer's eyes were beginning to water. "Chloe, whatever it is you want to do, do it. I'm lost."
She kicked off her shoes, getting to her knees on her side of the seat. She closed on him with a surprising kiss she couldn't keep sealed thanks to the sobbing wracking her body and keeping her from breathing properly. Soon enough she gave up, resting her chin on the slope between his neck and shoulder, haphazardly wrapping her arms around him and melting down onto the seat. Lucifer steadied himself, taking a deep breath in and letting it out as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer over his lap – hopefully into a more comfortable position. As hard as he tried to prevent it, he still found himself beginning to shake. As soon as she felt it, she pulled back, meeting his gaze. He was cradling the upper half of her like a child. If his walk down this path had to start somewhere, this was as good a place as any. One of her eyebrows went up inquisitively asking the question without the need for a word. Are you sure about this? He let out a single joyful laugh, smiling down on her and nodding as he moved a few locks of hair aside from her face.
She hadn't thought anything could possibly be putting distance between them anymore, but here it was – the very last layer of her defenses taken down. There was nothing left separating them. Not physical space, clothing, flesh and bone – nothing. In spite of both of them being fully clothed, she was lying in his arms, laid bare for the very first time. A new wave of tears started but this time there was a smile on her face. He kissed her, having to occasionally make room for a spat of laughter, and the world outside them went away - the parents directing their kids eyes away, the laughter, the murmuring and 'awwws'...
Without so much as a word uttered between them, they understood a simple truth: the quintessential playboy had retired.
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