AN: Sorry this chapter took forever to get out! I had the idea for it, but I just couldn't figure out how to write it! Thankfully my mind is out of that block now. I was going to go further, buuut it's already at 6k words so Chapter 8 it goes. In case anyone is wondering, yes the updates will take awhile. Hopefully when my hours drop at work I can get updates out more quickly. Know that I'm not stopping this story & it's going to be a long one!
AN: Updated March 15, 2020 - Grammar
AN: Updated July 21, 2020 - Grammar
Rating: Teen
Warning[s]: Swearing
Show Timeline: Season 2 episode 14
Spotify Playlist: playlist/6UtbKY3ENfzrDYoubKnBN9?si=uiS6DWLKRMSYMh8dVT5ngg
***As of March 15, 2020, after Chapter 9: Can You Hear Me, I will no longer update "A Devil's Love" on this site. The reason being this site does not approve of second-person [you] stories. This story will be up for as long as the site allows. If you wish to continue reading past Chapter 9, please search AZookiex3 on AO3 or Wattpad, and you can search AZritesx3 on Tumblr. I've also started posting it on my DeviantArt [AZookiex3]! There is much more to this story, and I hope you continue to read!***
Chapter 7: Hurt You
"Last one, I promise." You rub the pup's head and she licks your face in trust. You smile and insert the last shot into the shoulder blades, "All done!"
Treat….
The pup looks up at you happily as her owners start petting her in congratulations.
You smile back and wink. You reach into your treat jar on the counter, "What a good girl you are!" You give her the treat and another pat on the head. You look at the owners, "Her vaccines are all done! She's free to run around with other animals."
"Awesome! We can't wait to get her to the dog park!" The husband says.
"Yeah! Poor girl whines at it every time we pass by." The wife laughs and kisses her pup's nose.
"I bet. You've got a real energetic one here." You laugh and gather your paperwork, "Well hopefully I won't have to see you till next year! Have fun little one." The pup puts her paws on your shoulders and gives you a lick. The husband then puts her harness and leash back on.
Bye….nice….playtime!
You wave to the pup as the family leaves the room. You exit through the opposite door when a worker comes in to clean the room for the next patient.
That was the last one scheduled for you today, and you didn't have to stay overtime with all the veterinarians in. You head into your office and sit on your comfy leather chair. As you put the paperwork away in your desk drawer your phone chimes, informing you of a text message.
"Is it Lucifer?" Alice asks as she walks into your office to hand you some more paperwork.
You shake your head, "No. Just Chloe. There's a new case."
"Oh…"
You look up suspiciously at your business partner and close friend, "What?"
"Well, I was hoping it was him so you could stop stressing." She shrugs.
"I'm not stressing over him." You lie and by Alice's eye roll, she knows it too.
Lucifer Morningstar has been gone from LA for nearly two weeks. Everyone, even Dan, has been trying to contact him since Chloe found his penthouse laid in white sheets. Lucifer didn't reply to anyone, not even you.
You can't help but think that he's gone because of you. Maybe you got too...personal during Chloe's poison scare. It scared the hell out of you what you two almost did. Maybe it scared him too and he had to escape just like with Chloe.
Or worst case: your past has come back sooner than you intended and took him.
You shake the thought from your mind and stand from your chair, "Call me if you need me." You hang your lab coat on the door hook and pass by Alice.
She grabs your arm, "I'm sure he's ok, Earth."
You nod slightly, not looking at her, "Yeah."
You pull up to the crime scene and park next to Chloe's car.
"Hey, Earth!" Ella smiles and waves happily at you when you join the group. Dan gives you a nod and Chloe looks at you with that same question in her eyes for the past two weeks.
You shake your head slightly at her, and like all the other days before her face flashes disappointment before returning neutral, "So, what's the case?"
"This guy's name is Ash Corrigan. Looks like he died from a blunt object to the head." Ella replies.
"Any idea on leads or murder object?"
"Not yet, but I did find this." Chloe hands you a flyer for a band. The victim appears to be the band's singer.
You and Chloe drive to the band's studio for questioning. The bandmates give you two a lead into a possible suspect: a woman named Courtney who was Ash's ex-wife and according to the female of the band, Courtney is bossy and violent. You two return to the precinct to meet up with Dan and Ella.
You half sit on Chloe's desk and drink from your bottle of water as Chloe explains what you two learned.
"That girl's name has popped up around here before." Dan says, "She's known for being abusive in her relationships."
"Alright. Earth and I will go talk to her. Do you have her address?" Chloe says.
"Yeah, here-"
"Detective!"
Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline, your eyes go wide, and you painfully spin your head around to look at the staircase. You can only see the back of Chloe's head, but you imagine she has the same look.
Lucifer Morningstar happily trots down the stairs like it was a normal day, and stands in front of Chloe with a wide grin.
"Lucifer?!" Chloe is speechless.
Lucifer gives himself a grand stature with his hands, "In the flesh!" He says while still smiling. He looks to everyone in the group, "Detective Douche, Ms. Lopez, K9."
You instantly look away from him when his eyes meet yours. Unlike Ella and Dan, you give Lucifer a barely audible grunt of acknowledgment. You ignore the fact that you think you see his smile slightly dim at your response.
Fucking dick. You take a long drink of your water.
"Lucifer...what happened? Where did you go? Are you ok?" The words tumble out of Chloe and she looks him over for any damage.
"Oh, I'm perfectly fine Detective! Just needed to blow off some steam after, well, everything."
Ass. Hole. You continue to drink your water, afraid that if you stopped you'd end up strangling him. Much better, and less criminal, to slowly squeeze the bottle of its contents.
"Anyways," Lucifer claps his hands together, "I have some news!"
"What-" but Chloe's question is cut off by a high pitched voice calling for Lucifer.
That makes you look again. You hold in your gulp of water as you watch a woman walk down the stairs in very high heels and a tight short pink dress. She has wavy blonde hair with pink streaks running through. She puts an arm in the crook of Lucifer's elbow and looks up at him with big brown eyes.
"I'm sorry, baby! I know you said to wait, but I got lonely." She pouts.
"It's quite alright, darling. Well, everyone!" Lucifer pats the woman's hand, "I'd like to introduce my wife, Candy Morningstar!"
Your hand flies to your mouth as water starts to escape. Ella rubs your back as you practically choke to death, and you imagine Chloe's face resembles that of Ella and Dan's: pure shock. Candy, oblivious to everyone's reaction, holds her hand up and is squealing happily as she shows off her ring. Lucifer smiles and holds up his hand to show a matching band.
What. The. Fuck.
"LUCIFER!"
You storm out of the elevator and yell for him. Your nostrils are flaring and your hands are balled into tight fists.
"LUCIFER!" You yell again, "GET OUT HERE!"
"Oh!" You hear a familiar squeak and look to the couch to see Candy pulling out earbuds. She's lounging on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, and high heels discarded on the floor.
Uhhh...
"You're K9, right?!" Candy expertly puts on her heels and skips over to you, "I've been so excited to meet you!" She giggles and hugs you.
Well, this feels awkward.
"Candy, darling, this is the person I said you can be yourself around." Lucifer comes from his closet and stands in his bedroom entryway, "She's the only one I'm not worried about."
"Oh, good!" You see an instant change in Candy. She seems to deflate from the perky personality and turns to a more "natural" one, "Almost thought I blew the favor there, Lucifer."
"Not quite." He winks at her.
Whaaat?
The look of complete confusion on your face makes Lucifer burst out laughing. You turn your attention to him, furious again, "What the hell is going on, Lucifer?!"
"Right right. Well," he takes the two steps down from his bedroom, "after the whole fiasco a couple of weeks ago I went to Las Vegas and met the lovely Candy who stands before you." You look at Candy and she gives you a small shrug and smiles with a wave, "I helped her out with her family business and in return, she agreed to marry me." He smiles at you like that clears everything up while he straightens his cufflinks.
"Only for a little while." Candy mentions when she sees the look on your face, "Once I'm done here tricking his family then we're getting a divorce."
"Wait wait wait." You close your eyes to process the information while shaking both your hands at them, "You," you look at Candy, "Actually got married to him-" you point at Lucifer with your focus still on her, "just to return a favor?"
"Well, my father's business means everything to me. If being married for two weeks is all it takes to save it I'd accept in a heartbeat."
"But, actually marry him?"
"Well, of course!" Lucifer buts in before Candy can respond. He walks to stand next to his piano, "Have to make it legitimate for my family who is no doubt snooping as we speak."
"Ok…" You take a breath in and out to process all this then look to him a bit more calmly, "So, you helped out Candy and as a return favor you had her marry you in order to trick your family?"
"Good job, K9!" He smiles and gives you two thumbs up.
"But-" you look at him sternly, "what does marrying Candy have to do with tricking your family? Better yet, why are you tricking them in the first place?"
"They've gotten too involved in my life." Lucifer suddenly turns serious and that makes you blink in shock at the quick mood change, "Pushing me to go in a direction that was planned. If it hasn't been obvious already, I don't let anyone push me into anything." The slight growl he had at the end of his sentence made you shiver, even though you suspect it's not aimed at you since he looked up.
"Fine, but why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Well, that would ruin Candy's-"
"No, Lucifer. That's not what I'm asking about." Your hands return to fists, "Why didn't you tell anyone you were fine?"
Lucifer stares at you, head tilted in puzzlement. Candy's wise enough to take a few steps back at the sound of your voice.
"I don't know what you mean, K9." He says sincerely, "I often disappear. Surely Maze told you that."
"You have friends now, Lucifer." You step to him, "Friends care about each other. You not contacting anyonereally scared-" you freeze for a second, "...Chloe." You look away from him.
Lucifer just stares at you and it's making it hard for you to breath, "I realize that now, which is why I'm trying to fix our partnership, but," he puts a palm to the side of your face to push your eyes back to his, "I didn't mean to scare anyone. Not the Detective. Not you." His thumb caresses under your left eye and you can feel that same pull from before in the hospital.
But you're still hurt.
You step away from him, "Yeah, well you did. Better get going before you're late. That definitely won't help you win her back." You turn away from him and head for the elevator.
"K9-"
"I don't want to hear it-" You step inside the elevator when the doors open and you end up bumping into someone. "Oh!" You take a slight step back and look up, "Sorry-"
You freeze.
Charlotte Richards looks annoyed as she fixes any possible wrinkles your bump could have caused. She looks down at you, "Ah. The human who didn't blow up. Of course you'd be here."
You take an involuntary step back at the tone of her voice and the look she gave you. You didn't expect that one step to put you against Lucifer's chest. He wasn't even near you before this.
"And the woman who paid off one of K9's possible murderer's bail," Lucifer replies back with the same tone. Charlotte just stares at him, and you can't help but sink more into Lucifer at the air change in between the two.
She freaks me out.
"What are you doing here?" Lucifer asks.
"I came to see what's so special about this woman you married, and why I wasn't invited to such an important event." She steps further inside the penthouse.
"Simple: no one has control on what I do and no enemies allowed." He smiles sarcastically at her and she rolls her eyes.
"Ooh! Are you Lucifer's sister?!" Candy's facade is back on and she giddies up to Charlotte just like she did to you. She goes in for a hug but Charlotte holds her hand up.
"I'm his mother." She hisses out.
"Whaaat?! Oh my gosh! You're so beautifully young!" Candy, it now seems to you, is an expert at acting. She didn't even flinch at Charlotte's coldness.
"I have an idea!" Lucifer exclaims, "Why don't you two enjoy a shopping day together! To get to know each other!" He winks at Candy.
"I would love that! Come on, mom!" Candy pulls Charlotte into the elevator, and you can't help the smirk that appears when you see Charlotte's face.
But the smirk instantly falls when you remember who you're stuck with now, alone, "Well, suppose we'll catch the next ride then?"
You can tell he's smiling behind you, but you refuse to turn around. Instead, you walk to the elevator and wait patiently for the doors to reopen.
Lucifer sighs and walks to stand next to you, also patiently waiting.
"K9-"
"Why am I allowed to know all this?" You cut him off. Still staring at the elevator you continue, "Why am I the 'only one you're not worried about'?"
He looks at you, "Because you're-", he stops, then faces the elevator, "You're just not. That's all."
You grunt and cross your arms, "Great explanation, Lucifer."
"K9, I-"
"Why don't you tell Chloe?" You cut in again.
He doesn't answer, and that makes your blood boil.
"You're tricking her too?" You look at him with fire in your eyes.
"Not...precisely."
"What the hell is going on with you?!" You face him now, "You two just got together! I thought-"
"Yes well, so did I." Now he cuts you off and faces you. You can't read whatever that emotion was in his eyes, "She and I are meant to be, which means it can't be."
"What."
But he just shakes his head and whispers, "You wouldn't believe me anyway. No point in trying to explain it."
"Well, what I do understand is-" you shove him, hard, "that you're too much of a chicken shit to just tell her. You just go off, marry some other woman, and leave her heartbroken with no explanation."
You're still boiling, but it feels good to see him hurt.
The elevator doors open, "Get your own ride." You say as you head inside and close the doors on him.
"Do I play good or what?" Candy smiles as she walks up to the car Lucifer called for her.
He smiles back, "Good indeed, my dear." He takes her suitcase from her and hands it to the driver to put in the trunk, "That'll teach my family not to butt into my business."
She laughs. The driver returns to the front and Lucifer opens the door for her, "Oh, here. Don't need this anymore." She removes her wedding ring and hands it to him.
But he pushes her hand back, "Keep it, darling. As a remembrance. In fact," Lucifer removes his wedding band, "keep this too."
Candy smiles warmly at him and takes both rings, "Thank you, Lucifer. For everything."
The two hug each other, "Call me if you need anything." Lucifer says. Candy nods then pulls back. She's halfway into the car when she stops and looks back at him.
"Just curious...what's the deal with you and K9?"
Lucifer just chuckles and looks away.
Candy gets the hint, "I get it." She raises a hand, "None of my business, but if I were you Lucifer, I wouldn't mess that up." He looks back to her and with a small smile, he nods. Candy goes into the car fully and he shuts the door. He watches the car drive into the street and away.
"I hope I haven't." He looks up at his building, then down at his phone where a blank text message to you shows on the screen.
A few days have passed since Lucifer returned. He managed to fix his relationship with Chloe, though she told him it's now strictly partnership and friends, which pleases him.
Lucifer - 1 Dad - 0
Now the problem was you. Lucifer has been trying to contact you the whole time. You never acknowledged his texts or calls. Somehow, you've even managed to avoid him at the precinct.
There was only one place left Lucifer thought to go where you'd definitely be.
"Hello!" One of the receptionists at the Circle of Life #2 greets Lucifer as he walks in, "How can I help you?"
"Hello, my dear!" He leans on the counter and flashes the receptionist his charming smile, "Is your boss in?"
"She is, do you have an appointment with her?" She starts to blush under his gaze.
"Not precisely, but I need to have a word with her. Would you mind directing me to her office?"
"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but I'm not-"
"Come now, darling." He leans more in and with his height, he easily manages to be near her face, "Surely you can bend the rules for me."
"I…" The poor woman is trapped under his gaze.
"Lucifer!"
Lucifer rolls his eyes in annoyance and stands straight. The receptionist was just about to stand and take him to you.
His annoyance disappears when he turns and sees who called him, "Ah! My dear Alice!" He opens his arms wide in shock then walks to her.
Alice eyes him, "Why are you here, Lucifer? You don't have a pet."
"Not of the animal kind." He winks at her. Alice rolls her eyes, but Lucifer catches that interest in her body, "May I please speak with K9?" He smiles.
"Earth doesn't want to see you, Lucifer. She specifically told me-"
"Alice Alice Alice~" He sing-songs her name and steps into her personal bubble. He takes her hand and holds it up, "You're a good friend to K9, aren't you?"
Alice can't speak. Her eyes are trapped in his and her face is beat red. She nods.
"Of course you are! You see, I'd like to still be good friends with her too. That's why I'm here, to make it up to her. Surely there's no harm in that?" He smiles innocently at her. He watches her throat move as she swallows.
She finds her voice, "Y-yeah."
"Wonderful!" He gives the top of her hand a kiss, "Can you please lead me to her then?"
Alice closes her eyes and sighs, knowing she's lost. She pulls her hand away and motions for Lucifer to follow.
She takes him through the back doors where other veterinarians and nurses work on computers and samples. Some animals are back here getting weighed or blood samples, and Lucifer has to hold his breath from all the different animal scents.
Finally, Alice stops at a white door and knocks. Lucifer hears your voice on the other side and can't help the smile that spreads across his face.
"Don't hate me," Alice says as she cracks the door open slightly and sticks her head in.
You look at her questionably, "Why would I-"
"Hellooo K9~!" Lucifer pushes the door fully open with his long arms behind Alice. Your face instantly turns into a frown. Alice shrugs helplessly and runs away.
"Get out."
"But I just got here!" Lucifer whines. He shuts your door and sits on one of the chairs in front of you. He crosses his legs and stares smugly at you.
You sigh loudly. You close your eyes and rub your temples, "Why are you here, Lucifer?"
"To get back in your good graces, of course." You put your arms down and stare at him. Getting the hint that you aren't going to say anything he continues, "I meant what I said, K9. I truly didn't mean to hurt you. Had I known I would have told you I was fine."
Lucifer uncrosses his legs and leans forward, "But please understand my side, K9. After seeing the Detective almost die I-" he pauses and you watch him swallow. Your face softens slightly, "I just had to get away for a bit. Yes, I didn't handle it correctly. I know that now. K9 all this, these friends, it's a new concept to me."
He stands up and comes around your desk to stand next to you. You don't turn your chair, but you do turn your body towards him. His eyes look pleading:
"Please, darling. How can I make it up to you?"
You stare at him, studying him. He looks truly sorry and distraught, and you have to admit to yourself you missed him.
But just as you are about to speak your cell phone rings. You look away from him to answer it.
It's Miller. The ASPCA found another dog ring.
You hang up and look up at Lucifer, "Alright, Lucifer. Come with me to this case to help out, then maybe I'll forgive you."
"I accept!" Lucifer's face beams of joy as you stand. You hang up your lab coat and Lucifer opens the door for you.
"Meet me at the precinct." You say to him as you head to your car.
"Yes ma'am!"
When you arrive at the precinct you change into your K9 uniform while Miller gathers up a team. Lucifer agrees to ride in your vehicle to the location where the ASPCA officials were waiting.
While driving you fill him in on the situation, "The ASPCA has been hunting a man named Roberto Alejandro for almost a year now. He's responsible for the largest dogfighting ring this state has had in a long time. They've never been able to catch his trail until it's too late. Somehow he seems to stay one step ahead."
"Hmm." Lucifer's looking out the window. You grip the steering wheel, thinking he's not listening.
"This may not be a homicide, Lucifer, but it's damn well important to me. At least act like you're interested."
He looks over to you, both eyebrows raised in shock, "I apologize, K9. It's true I'm not used to this type of case, but I am listening. I promise." You look at him and nod. Then focus back on the road.
"It does astonish me, however, that a man responsible for a dog ring is able to hide so well from two forces." He says.
"Yeah, me too, and I have a theory on that but I'll explain it later." You turn into a run-down looking neighborhood and continue, "Once wind of me being back in LA was heard the leader of the ASPCA contacted me about this case. Within the first two weeks, I was able to get more information than they could in months."
"Really?" Lucifer gives you an impressed smile, "What's your secret, K9?"
You fidget slightly, "You'll think I'm crazy."
"You're talking to the Devil, dear."
You scoff, "Right. Well, better to show first then explain."
The two of you arrive at the scene where the rest of your team is, along with an entourage of ASPCA men and women. You both exit the car and walk to Miller who's talking to one of the officers.
"What's the status?" You ask Miller.
"The ASPCA managed to catch a dog fight while it was happening in that building." He points to the decrypted brick house. Perfect place for crimes and criminals to hide, "When they charged in they managed to capture two of Roberto's men. Report says they saw him too, but he got away."
"Of course he did. At least we saw him now." You look at the ASPCA's kennel vehicles, "Any dogs saved?"
"The two that were currently fighting were shot down. However, we did find a room with more dogs in cages, five in total. One of the dogs belongs to one of the men they caught."
"Alright." You nod, "I'm heading in for them. I'll radio you when it's good to get them." You and Lucifer walk to the building, but Miller stops Lucifer.
"She does this alone, sir."
Lucifer raises a brow at him, but you step in before he can say anything, "It's alright, Miller. I told him to come with me."
"Shouldn't he at least have a bulletproof vest on?" He questions you.
"Oh, I don't need one of those silly things. I'm immortal." Lucifer says nonchalantly.
"Says the man who's been shot multiple times." You remark.
"While with the Detective, yes, but only with her. She makes me vulnerable. She's not here, however, so I'm 100% immortal." He says to you. You and Miller share a look. You end up shrugging and go along with it.
"Is it normal for you to expect being shot on this kind of case?" Lucifer asks as you both enter the building and head up the stairs.
"Only this one. There have been a few times where we thought the place was abandoned, then ended up in a firefight."
"Have you ever been shot, K9?" The worry in Lucifer's tone makes you look back at him.
You give him a small smile, "Not yet."
"Well, I'll make sure it remains that way."
"You can't always be with me, Lucifer."
"Beg to differ, darling."
You just shake your head at him, smile still on your face. You arrive at the door to the room with the dogs inside. Already you could hear whining and growling.
"Just stay quiet and keep to the door, alright?" You look back at Lucifer with your hand on the handle. He nods and you open the door.
Instantly the dogs start to bark and growl. Lucifer stays by the door while you walk a bit further into the room. You slowly raise your hands in surrender and continue to walk closer while the barking slowly dies to growls. You pick a dog to go to and slowly walk to their cage. Hands still raised, you kneel in front of the cage a few feet away.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." You whisper to the dog.
The dog eyes you. It's a pit bull with awful scars across its face.
Lie...humans…hurt
The pit growls at you menacingly, but still takes a step back into the cage.
"I'm not like the humans you're used to. I help and heal. No hurting." You slowly put your hands down and take a small step closer. The dog takes another step back, "Can you tell me your name?"
...Killer…
You hold in your scoff. That name was very common among the dogs you've saved, "Well Killer, can you tell me anything about these humans who mistreat you and the others?" You take one step closer and Killer takes one back, but he's reached the end of his tiny cage.
….No…
"You still don't trust me. How about I give you this," you hold out a treat, "and let you out of your cage? You can attack me and I won't fight back."
He doesn't answer. You place the treat through the cage. It takes a few minutes, but Killer comes up to the cage door and eats it. As he's eating you slowly reach out to the lock on the door. You open it quickly and brace yourself to get bit, like usual.
But the dog just cowers back into the cage.
What?
"I have to say, I'm a bit surprised." You say.
….Bad….worse than humans….
You raise a brow at him, but notice he's not looking at you.
He's looking behind you. At Lucifer.
You look back at him to see if he's doing anything to upset the dog, but Lucifer is just staring at you curiously. His hands are in his pockets and he's leaning against the door. Not threatening at all.
I trust...if...make evil leave…
You look curiously back at the dog, but nod and obey the wish, "Hey, Lucifer." You look behind you once more. He raises a brow at you, "I need you to step out of the room."
"What?" He's confused now, "Why?"
You look back at the dogs and notice that they are all as far back in their cage as they can get when Lucifer spoke.
Odd…
"I'm not sure why," you look back at Lucifer, "but these dogs seem to be wary of you."
Lucifer scoffs loudly, "Of course they are. I'll be outside. Better that way." He says, annoyed. You want to stop him but he's already out of the door.
Sometime after Lucifer left the room you gained the dogs' trust. You warn them that more humans are about to come in to take them inside a vehicle, where they'll then arrive at a building to receive treatment. You radioed Miller and it took an hour to just get the five dogs out of the building and into ASPCA hands. After talking to the head of the case about what you learned and telling your team to head back to the precinct you looked for Lucifer.
He's leaning against the hood of your car smoking a cigarette. His look is far off.
"Hey." You walk up to him.
The far off look in his eyes changes instantly when he looks at you, "Job well done, K9?"
"Seems like." You smile, then you give him a concerned look, "You ok?"
"Perfectly." He flicks the cigarette on the ground and stomps on it. As he's getting inside the passenger side you roll your eyes and pick up the bud. You enter your car and stick the bud in the cup holder to be discarded later.
Lucifer just looks at you. You shrug, "Don't condone littering." He laughs at you then stares out the window as you drive off.
After 10 minutes of silence, Lucifer finally asks that question you've been treading, "You understand animals?"
You take a quick side look at him expecting to see a look like he thought you were crazy, but that's not what you see. He looks genuinely curious and interested.
Still, it takes you a moment to find the courage to answer truthfully, "...Yeah, sort of."
"That explains why your clinic over in New York has such amazing reviews." He's smiling like he's incredibly happy to be let in on your little secret.
"You looked up my clinic?"
"Of course. I told you I'm interested to learn more about you, K9."
You're silent for a long time, "You're not going to tell anyone right?"
He looks at you questionably, "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because people will think I'm crazy and I'll lose all my business."
"Have people told you you're crazy before?"
Memories of being in multiple foster homes flood through. You remember all those looks the families gave you whenever you talked to a stray cat or wild animal. Then the image of a bright burning light from a lamp blinds you.
"Yeah." You say with no emotion, "All the time."
"Well, I don't think you're crazy. In fact, you've made me even more interested." He smiles flirtatiously at you.
You roll your eyes, but smirk, "Oh great."
The rest of the drive is you two having basic chatter. You ask him if he'd like to come over for dinner, as a thank you for coming.
"Does this mean you forgive me, K9?" His smile is so contagious. You smile back and playfully hit his chest.
You arrive at the apartment complex. You and Lucifer take the elevator up to your floor and head for your door.
"It's not usual that I'm this excited to be invited to a woman's home, especially knowing we won't be doing the dirty." He wiggles his eyebrows at you, "Or is that my real thank you?"
You laugh as you unlock the door, "Definitely not."
You open your door and step inside with Lucifer close behind. He notices you taking off your shoes and putting them on the shoe rack to the right. Respectfully he does the same.
"I'm going to take a quick shower first. That house was too damn humid." You say touching your sticky face, "Make yourself at home!" You disappear into your bedroom. Lucifer takes the time to explore your space.
It's tiny. More like a loft apartment. As soon as you walk through the door you can practically see the entire space. About five feet from the door is the kitchen island. The kitchen has a decent amount of cabinets. All white with silver handles, the countertops marble. Behind the bar stools under the kitchen island is the living room. You have a grey "c" shaped couch that's cluttered with pillows, along with a large quilt blanket hanging off the back. Lucifer walks past the living room to see that you have a step up to your bedroom like his penthouse. The difference is you have hidden sliding doors to separate the bedroom from the rest of the space. To his left, he saw a door leading out to a small balcony that can also be accessed from the bedroom. The balcony is littered with pots of flowers, as well as vegetables.
He smiles to himself. You did say you loved to garden.
He steps up into your bedroom to take a quick look around. To the right is a door that he assumes lead to the only bathroom. Next to that is two double mirror doors that he guesses is your closet.
"Well that's fun." He can't stop himself from whispering that comment.
Your bed looks to be a queen size. The bedsheets are various colors of green, and much like your couch, your bed is also cluttered with pillows. The bed frame is black wrought iron with an abstract design of a tree with leaves as the headboard. The base is the same design, but as just vines with leaves.
Lucifer bites his lip. He can't help himself. The design choices in your room are giving him way too many ideas.
He leaves your room and sits on your couch, after moving many pillows. He goes for the tv remote, but notices an opening in your coffee table. He messes with it and the top lifts up, it's one of those coffee table/eating tray sets. It makes sense for you to have one since there's no room for a proper dining set.
He notices something down inside the coffee table. He reaches in and gets a hold of various papers. He leans back and looks through them.
His eyes turn red and his blood boils at the words on the papers.
It's 30 minutes later by the time you exit the shower. You quickly dry off and comb your hair. You opt out of wearing your pjs. Instead, you put on a plain colored t-shirt and black leggings.
"Alright, what are you interested in for food?" You say out loud as you exit the bathroom and place the dirty clothes in your hamper. When you hear no response you walk to the living room.
You freeze at the top of your bedroom steps. Lucifer is holding the papers you kept hidden.
He looks at you angrily, but you can tell that the anger is more directed at the papers than you. He lifts them up in one hand and says in an aggressive voice you've not heard from him yet:
"Who's threatening you?"