"What do you mean?" Michael tilted his head at his younger brother, shifting back a little on his feet and steadying himself against the door of the interrogation room. Lucifer paused, glancing inside again, before turning back to his brother. Michael raised his eyebrows.

"I mean," Lucifer sighed, running his fingers through his hair and gesturing toward the room. "Zoe killed her sister," he said matter-of-factly after a few moments. A look of surprise crossed Michael's face for a second - Genuine surprise, and it was the most emotion he'd seen from his older brother besides the cold, morbid amusement.

"Really?" Michael prompted, narrowing his eyes. "And how could you possibly know this, Sammy?"

Lucifer huffed, choosing to ignore the nickname this time, but he did pause for a few moments before replying. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I don't know, but I know." Again, his gaze flickered toward the room, then back to his brother, frowning. "Not only this, I think she had reason to. She got rather scared when I brought up Liorah again, as if just thinking about her terrified the poor girl."

"Mm." Michael glanced back over his shoulder. "So, then, let's arrest her."

"We don't have proof," Lucifer groaned, internally face-palming. Michael sighed, rolling his eyes and glancing back at his younger brother, annoyed. "We have to get proof before we can arrest her, and so far we have zilch."

"Samael, this job of yours is incredibly boring," Michael grumbled, looking his brother up and down for a moment. "Alright, then what? How do we get proof?"

"Interrogate Alexander Miles, for starters," Lucifer mumbled, shaking his head and dropping his gaze to the floor. "We'll need to keep Zoe here…" He frowned. Honestly, if Zoe really did murder Liorah - And for the reason Lucifer suspected - He honestly felt quite bad for the girl. The Devil cleared his throat and stepped back. "Run fingerprints, also, if Miss Lopez has anything from either crime scenes - Which we'll need to look back over for anything we've missed, now that we've got new information," he added.

Michael gave him an interested look, amusement sparkling through his amber eyes. He lifted his chin slightly, cocking his head to the side and raising his eyebrows. "Gotta say, Sammy, you're not too bad at this police stuff."

"Mm." Lucifer shook his head and looked away. Had it been anyone else to say that to him, he would've felt a little proud of himself. But this was Michael talking to him, and a compliment from Michael made his heart drop to his stomach, twisting in a painful, disappointed way. He felt no satisfaction from it at all - Just… Bitter, annoyed, and… Some other emotion he didn't care to identify. "I suppose I'm not."

"We're probably not going to be able to track down Alexander tonight, Lucifer. You should go home."

Lucifer stared down at his hands, gritting his teeth together silently. He wasn't sure why - And he knew Chloe didn't mean it the way Michael did. But go home struck a cord with him, it made him think back to his brother, to Heaven. For the first time in so long, he'd have to go back there. He'd be able to face his father again, face his siblings. And he only had a month to prepare himself. The Devil groaned, burying his face into his hands and staying silent for a moment, not even bothering to look up at Chloe.

He wasn't even waiting for Alexander, either. He knew the man hadn't done it, and he didn't care. It had been hours after the information was given, and he'd requested for Zoe to stay overnight at the police station. It had been revealed after further testing that Ashton had been killed before Liorah, and they were at a loss.

And Lucifer really, really wished people would stop telling him to go home. He had a therapy appointment anyway - And Dad knows he needed to vent all of this to Linda anyway. Michael couldn't take that from him. He could take his job, he could take him away from Chloe, he could take away his Dad-damned free will in a month, but he could not and was not going to take this.

"Hey." Chloe knelt down beside him - Lucifer was sitting on the floor, his back to some random desk - And nudged his shoulder to get his attention. "Will you be okay to go home?" As she spoke, he watched her eyes flicker toward Michael, who was boredly mulling around his desk, going through some other paperwork. Lucifer idly wondered how much paperwork his brother could really have.

He forced a small smile at Chloe, eyes flickering uncertainly as he shrugged. "Probably."

Chloe blinked, shaking her head and sinking down beside him with a sigh. "Well, you can come back with me," she suggested, glancing at Lucifer before turning her gaze to the ceiling. "Sleep on the couch."

Lucifer smiled a little at the offer, looking down at his hands and shaking his head. "No," he sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "Thank you, Detective, but I can't. I… Have therapy anyway, so." He cleared his throat and reluctantly pushed himself up. Chloe nodded, not moving just yet and tilting her head at the Devil as he turned back to face her. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Tomorrow - Lucifer was dreading tomorrow. He'd have to spend the day with Michael again, since he was still his partner for this case. But Chloe was now also working the case, which would make it a little more tolerable, so…

"Right," Chloe replied, nodding slightly and leaning her head back. "Tomorrow." Again, her gaze flickered to Michael, the unspoken question hanging in the air. And we'll see him, too, won't we? Lucifer sighed, glancing at his brother, before offering Chloe a small smile and turning away. He didn't look at Michael as he passed, but his brother stopped him with a hand on his shoulder before Lucifer could leave, lightly pulling him back in front of him and turning to face him, head tilting to the side and those cold amber eyes meeting Lucifer's.

"Why bother with therapy anymore, Samael? You're going home, it doesn't really matter anymore."

Lucifer gave his older brother an exasperated glance, then looked past him, just itching to get the Hell out of there. "That is not my name," he finally grumbled, shifting slightly and shrugging him off as he continued. "Besides, Dr. Linda is my friend and one of the people I have to say goodbye to, and you told me to tie up loose ends and send out my farewells," he added pointedly, fixing his brother with a glare.

"Mm, fair enough," Michael conceded, rolling his eyes. Lucifer nodded and walked past him, sucking in a sharp breath when Michael patted him on the back - He made it look casual, but he put a lot of force behind it, and it hurt. Despite this, Lucifer swallowed, raised his head, and continued on his way, gritting his teeth together wordlessly.

Now he knew the real meaning of "Hell on Earth", huh?

"So your brother, Michael, has come to take you to Heaven."

"Yes," Lucifer huffed, pacing restlessly from one side of the room to the other. He hadn't been able to stop moving since he entered the office, suddenly somehow more anxious without Michael there than he had been with his brother. "In a month, Linda - A month. Just a month in Earth and then I- I have to go back to that dreadful place, and…"

Linda nodded, her gaze never moving from Lucifer. Honestly, the Devil appreciated his therapist greatly - Even knowing who he was, she was still willing to try to help him. Though, Lucifer still wasn't sure what needed to be helped - But, that's why he was there. Sure, he had issues, but he was fine for the most part.

Or, he had been until…

"I can't…" Lucifer trailed off, taking a deep breath and turning to face her again, forcing himself to stop facing. "I can't go back there, Linda, I can't. And I can't even - Run back to Hell, now, and… This has all just…" He shook his head and continued to pace, scrubbing a hand over his mouth before throwing both his arms up in exasperation. "And it would have been fine, if he hadn't decided to stick around, too!"

"You seem very upset about him being here in particular," Linda commented, tilting her head and trying to meet Lucifer's gaze. "Maybe a little scared?"

Lucifer paused for a second, glancing at her, before looking away. He decided to stare out the window, frowning as he thought about that, before shaking his head and turning back to her once more. "Well, you would be too," he finally managed, keeping his voice steady. After a moment, he strode over to the couch, forcing himself to sit down. He bounced one leg up and down restlessly, hands fidgeting with his suit jacket as he stared down. "I mean, this isn't just any archangel, it's - Michael. Soldier of Heaven - Dick of Heaven and my own, personal tormentor."

"Tormentor?" Linda repeated, eyebrows pinching together as she stared at Lucifer. The Devil chuckled dryly, nodding and running his fingers through his hair as he sat back, looking up at Linda and forcing himself to focus.

"Yes, Doctor. Tormentor," he stated. "You see, Michael… Michael was supposed to train me. Along with my other siblings - Teach me all I know about Heaven and being an angel and a few little fight moves he threw in when he was bored…" He stopped, and shook his head before continuing. "He called himself my mentor, and in turn, I called him my tormentor."

"I see." Linda stared at him, concern flickering clearly through her eyes, as well as confusion as she leaned back in her chair. "And you're scared of him because…"

"Because he tormented me!" Lucifer exclaimed, then winced, lowering his voice. "I mean, he was always rough with us, but he had it in for me. The put-downs, the fights." He shook his head, looking down. "Michael always made sure that despite everything, I knew I was below him. And now that he's here, he's doing the exact same thing. Calling me Samael, and my wings haven't grown back again yet and he keeps hitting me in the back and it hurts and he's just-" He cut off, shaking his head.

Linda nodded, looking away for a moment, toward the window. "So what are you going to do about going back to Heaven?"

Lucifer went silent for a moment at that, shaking his head side to side and ducking his head. "I don't know," he mumbled. "I don't know what I could do, honestly. Michael's not going to give up and he's not going to leave unless I go with him, and Dad knows I'm not willing to fight him…" He huffed out a bitter laugh. "Probably why he sent him this time around."

"Right," Linda sighed, frowning slightly now as she stared down at her hands. Lucifer gazed at her for a moment, falling silent. Honestly, he felt a little bad for ranting all of this to her - They were friends, she wasn't just his therapist, and he didn't really mean to worry her. And, wow, he really, really did not want to say goodbye.

Lucifer cleared his throat, sitting back and forcing himself to speak again. "On another note," he piped up. "Pierce has disappeared - Conveniently when Michael appeared…" He trailed off, eyes narrowing. "But, he told the Detective that he was using his vacation days to take off for a little while, so I won't have to deal with two dicks."

"Well, that's good," Linda responded, tilting her head and staring at Lucifer. "Speaking of, how are things with you and Chloe?"

Lucifer paused, glancing at her. "Fine," he replied, forcing a smile. "Same as usual. She asked me if I was in a cult today, you know." At this, Linda cracked a smile and let out a small laugh. Lucifer's smile warmed slightly, much more genuine and relieved. "Now, enough about me, Linda," he hummed, leaning forward. "Session over, I'd like to hear about you now."

"Oh, really?" Linda tilted her head, quirking an eyebrow and grinning at him.

"Of course," Lucifer responded, smile brightening. "No reason for me to keep being depressing, eh? You're much more interesting, anyway. And I could use the distraction," he offered, cocking his head to the side. Linda chuckled.

"Well, if you insist."

When he got back to the penthouse, the first thing he saw when he stepped through the elevator doors was Amenadiel, pouring himself a glass of wine. He looked up when Lucifer walked in, and the Devil paused, glancing at his oldest brother before heading around to grab a bottle of whiskey. "Everything alright, Luci? You seem tense."

Lucifer chuckled, twisting the cap off the bottle and lifting it to his lips, taking several gulps before turning back to his brother, clearing his throat and waiting a moment before speaking. "If you ever, ever call me Samael for any reason, I will bash your mortal head into a wall," he seethed. Listening to Linda had calmed him just a bit, but on the way back to Lux, all the anger he'd repressed for his brother had come rushing right back.

Amenadiel seemed completely stunned by that for a moment, his gaze not moving from Lucifer for a second as the Devil lifted the bottle of whiskey to his lips and continued to drink. Eventually, Amenadiel cleared his throat and leaned over the bar, concern sparkling through his eyes. "I haven't called you that since Heaven, Luci, and I don't plan to," he told him seriously. "Come on, what's got you like this?"

Lucifer shook his head, setting the bottle down on the counter a little too roughly and lifting his gaze to his brother. And for a while, he stayed silent, just staring, before forcing himself to speak. "Michael."