It actually was, unsurprisingly, a very long night. It was always hard for Chloe to get to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings, a bad side effect of her unsteady home life as a kid, growing up with an actress for a mom. And it certainly didn't help that she remained acutely aware of Lucifer's half naked presence right across the hall. Or the fact the other side of the bed still smelled like him, warm and masculine, simultaneously comforting and stupidly arousing. Any bit of sleep she managed to catch was filled with entirely inappropriate dreams about her errant partner. Her waking thoughts weren't an improvement.

The obnoxious twittering of waking birds alerts her to the fact that morning is already here, and there's no longer any possible hope of a few more hours uninterrupted sleep. She might as well get up and take a shower or something.

Checking out the master bathroom, Chloe supposes the house has one thing really going for it. Her own bathroom seems tiny and austere by comparison. This one is pretty much the definition of lavish. She's currently torn between either the luxurious waterfall shower or the jacuzzi bathtub, both flanked by heated towel racks. In the end, the bathtub wins out, if only because the controls look a little more manageable. And it's not like she has anywhere in particular to be this morning, so she can afford to soak for a bit.

Slipping into the perfectly heated water immediately eases some of the pent up tension in her body, and a flick of a switch has bubbling jets hitting her back and legs in just the right spot. It's almost enough to make this whole operation seem worth it. Chloe allows herself to relax into the soothing motions of the water for far longer than she had originally intended.

But eventually she grows a little bored and starts playing around with the different functions. She discovers the perfect settings for an aquatic back massage, as well as the precise settings for splashing a quarter of the water out of the tub. There's even a detachable hose, which she uses to wash and rinse her hair. But she can't avoid her own thoughts forever, and eventually the tension creeps back in just as if it never left in the first place.

So Chloe gives up on the whole relaxing bath experience, toweling herself off briskly before collapsing face first back onto the bed, muffling her groan of frustration into the mattress. She had known going into this that being stuck in close quarters with Lucifer was going to be intense, but it hasn't even been 24 hours together and she's already wound unbearably tight. And she can't just leave, or hide out in the bedroom all day, so she needs to do something to relieve a little of this tension or she is going to do something totally stupid. Possibly involving Lucifer.

Without her being entirely conscious of it, one of her hands has already snuck its way beneath the towel, but at this point she's past worrying about it. In fact, this doesn't really seem like such a terrible idea. Maybe she could just work off a little of her frustration, and then she could greet the day totally refreshed and able to handle anything her partner/current roommate could dish out.

She allows her hand to continue along its path, tracing up her inner thigh, finding that her body is clearly several steps ahead of her brain. She's already slick and wanting as her fingers slide along her folds, and she can't quite suppress the sharp intake of breath when her fingers brush against the little hidden bundle of nerves that seems to be the focal point of all this tension thrumming through her. But the likely very near proximity of her aggravating housemate makes her clamp down on any other sudden vocalizations. She's just going to make this quick and quiet - this being neither the time nor the place for something more drawn out or noisy. Not unless she wants to risk the current object of her thoughts finding out exactly what she's doing in here.

And she tries, she really does, not to allow any more thoughts of her philandering partner to enter into this, but it can't be helped. It was barely more than a few short hours ago that he was teasing her about her sleeping attire, or his usual lack thereof, and offering to share her bed. It's so easy to bring to mind the image of him leaning rather attractively against the doorframe, strong forearms still temptingly exposed by his rolled up sleeves. His hands are equally beautiful and painfully tempting - a piano player's hands, with long, elegant fingers that are still firmly masculine. She imagines those fingers on her now, skillfully bringing her right to the brink and then swiftly drawing back, endlessly teasing. But she doesn't take the time to tease herself, already so close that she can no longer bear the thought of even slowing down. She's jumping ahead in her fantasy a bit, trying to speed up her own climax.

For some reason it's the image of Lucifer holding her afterward that finally draws her over the edge, her release unexpectedly intense as a result. She's not entirely sure it's a very realistic scenario, but it's what finally breaks through all the tension and allows her some modicum of relief. Still shaking from the experience, she rolls onto her side and allows herself to come back down a little. Her blood is still pounding in her ears, and her breath is coming out in shaky pants, but she finally feels completely relaxed - for the first time since she learned of their assignment.

Coming back to awareness, she realizes that morning was well and truly underway at this point. So Chloe finally gets up and goes back to getting ready for the day, washing up (again) and drying her hair. She doesn't bother putting it up today, allowing it to fall down in soft waves as Lucifer had styled it the previous day. She's already convinced that this day is going to be much easier, now they've had some time to adjust to the house and she's gotten a chance to relax a bit. She quickly throws on one of her Barbara Jones-approved floral sundresses before heading downstairs, congratulating herself on her plan being a total success.

Her plan was a complete failure. Apparently, her attempt at finding some relief had merely primed every single nerve in her body to react even more strongly to the sight of Lucifer in their kitchen cooking breakfast, wearing nothing but the low slung pajama pants from last night. Her eyes are glued to the little V of his hips that peeks out from beneath his waistband, which is such a weird thing to focus on but clearly she is no longer in control of her libido. Or anything else about this situation. Lucifer looks up from the pans of sizzling bacon and eggs, aiming a self-satisfied smile at her as if he knows exactly what she's thinking. He doesn't call her out on the staring, however.

"Good morning, dearest. Now I just was thinking, do you prefer Barb or Barbie? And eggs sunny side up or over easy?"

"I'd prefer Barbara. And over medium, thanks." She grumps as she slides onto one of the seats at the kitchen island, taking a grateful sip of the coffee that's already been set out for her, made exactly the way she prefers.

"What about sweetheart?" He suggests instead, and despite the proffered coffee and breakfast it is much too early for pet names. Or any of this.

"No."

"Honey bunch?"

"No."

"My little snuggle muffin?"

"Absolutely not!"

But he continues on with even worse suggestions. "What about baby cakes? Angel face? Doodle bug?"

A surprised laugh finally escapes at that last one. "Ok now you're just making these up."

"I'm sadly not." He insists while sliding her eggs onto the plate in front of her. She realizes she could easily get used to this, and quickly tamps down on that thought.

"So what should I call you then - Bobby? Bob?" Neither of them really seem to fit, and from the disgusted look on Lucifer's face he definitely agrees.

"Bobby is a child's name. And Bob makes me sound like a serial killer, or a pervert or something."

"You're telling me you're not either of these things?" She teases back, chuckling at his offended expression.

"That's it, no bacon for you!"

Chloe tries to grab some off the plate where it's cooling before he can move it away, but he's too quick for her. She jumps out of her seat to try and follow the move, but Lucifer simply lifts the plate high over his head. Suddenly lacking any sense of shame or dignity she even goes goes so far as to jump for it, only to find herself landing barely a hair's breadth away from Lucifer's very firm, very naked torso. Her hand still lingers on his warm shoulder from where she had used it for leverage, and she quickly snatches it away as though burned. She awkwardly reaches up to rub at her own neck and twist her hair back from her face, for lack of anything better to do and to keep her traitorous hand from reaching out towards him again.

"You've changed your mind then, I see? You no longer want it?" He asks coyly. It seems they can't even get through a conversation about breakfast food without some kind of double meaning slipping in. Chloe resolves to ignore the innuendo and continue on as if he were merely discussing bacon.

"I can just get my own." She moves towards the fridge in hopes of calling his bluff, realizing too late that she's inadvertently fallen into innuendo herself.

"Oh can you?" He retorts, eyebrow raised, and oh god, Lucifer knew! She doesn't know how he knows but somehow he does - or does he? He couldn't have possibly heard her this morning, and despite her occasional suspicions he can't actually read minds. Chloe tries to calm her rapidly beating heart, realizing he's probably just teasing her. There's no reason for her to panic like this.

And in the meantime, he's apparently lowered the plate back down, more focused on shooting her knowing-but-couldn't-possibly-be-actually-knowing looks. She takes the opportunity this lapse presents to snatch several strips of bacon before sliding back into to her seat.

"Looks like I won't have to, I guess." She announces cheekily, biting into the crispy bacon.

"You needn't have worried, Detective, I never had any intention of letting you go without." He replies meaningfully. Chloe chokes down her bite, trying and failing not to read too much into his words.

At least the remainder of breakfast is mostly free of innuendo, as they turn their focus to the case. Chloe's plans for today are to look around for any possible clues as to where the murder might have taken place, now that the house has been ruled out by the CSI team, and then maybe to try and talk to one of their neighbors without arousing any suspicion. However, Chloe has no idea how they're going to get the info they need without seeming weird and nosy. She's barely ever spoken with her own neighbors, other that the usual brief hello or an awkward conversation about the weather - a very limited topic in a city that stays pleasantly sunny pretty much year round. And they only have a week to somehow maneuver their way into their neighbors' confidence.

"Maybe we should look at the community events calendar or…" whatever Chloe was about to suggest next is interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. From the sound of it, it's certainly not Ms. Palmer or anyone on the force. Chloe abandons Lucifer to the kitchen to go and answer it, opening the door to discover a petite woman in a sweater set bearing cupcakes.

"Hi, I'm Cynthia Nyugen, your new next door neighbor! My husband Derek and I saw you moving in yesterday and we just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood. Derek's in finance, so he's off at work right now, but I figured us girls could get to know each other a little better - here!" And then Chloe suddenly has an armful of chocolate cupcakes.

"They're gluten free made with avocado instead of butter, so they're totally healthy!" Cynthia assures her, not that there's anything reassuring about avocado in a dessert. Chloe forces a smile in response.

"Thanks…well I'm Barbara Jones, and my husband Robert and I just got married. He's…" she's trying to decide whether she should state his job title, like Cynthia had just done, or explain that he's right there back in the kitchen. A bare arm sliding around her waist keeps her from having to finish that sentence.

"Right behind you, love." Apparently Lucifer hasn't bothered putting on a shirt in the meantime, and Cynthia is obviously appreciative of the fact. "Robert Jones, a pleasure to meet one of our new neighbors."

Cynthia actually giggles in response. "Well we're always happy to welcome new families into our little community. You'll let us know if you need any help getting settled in, of course. And then you have to come over to our place this evening to meet Derek and some of the others - every Friday we invite a few of the couples over for a little grown up game night. Tonight you'll be able to meet the Isaacsons. It's super fun, you two should totally come!" She demands brightly, throwing in a little shimmy to prove how 'super fun' it all was.

Lucifer's expression turns a little wicked then, which was always a sign of trouble. "Well I do love grown up games."

Chloe does her best to elbow him stealthily, and thankfully Cynthia doesn't seem to notice the move, or Lucifer's pained grunt in response.

"We'll be there." She smiles back at the other woman, not entirely forced this time. This was as good a chance as any to find out more about Vidya's neighbors.

"Perfect, we'll see you at 8!"

"This isn't exactly how I anticipated our evening turning out." Lucifer says a little too loudly as he glances down at the pile of board games on the table in front of them.

Thankfully their hosts are no longer in the room, but Chloe still gives him a pointed look that clearly implies he should stop talking. He doesn't.

"I mean when someone invites you over for a 'grown up game night', you expect something 'grown up' - like perhaps strip poker, or even regular poker, not…" Lucifer waves his hands wildly over the stack of colorful boxes, "Candyland!"

Chloe can't help the laugh that escapes her at Lucifer's dismay. If anything his pouting only worsens at her amusement.

"Well I'm glad at least one of us is enjoying themselves. I suppose you actually like playing Candyland."

"I enjoy playing it with Trixie, but I'll admit it's not what I was expecting either." She concedes. Though she really should have expected it at this point. After Cynthia Nyugen's visit, several other neighbors dropped by to welcome them to the neighborhood, all with baked goods and/or small children in tow. It was sort of surreal, actually. Chloe didn't think anyone even did that anymore. It was like something out of a 1950s sitcom, only instead of sugary jello molds they were bringing gluten-free cupcakes, kale muffins, and homemade granola. Lucifer had immediately tossed the kale muffins into the trash ("who would do such a despicable thing to a poor, innocent muffin?"), and it was all Chloe could do to keep him from setting the whole thing on fire.

Several of the women who had dropped by had insisted that Lucifer and Chloe, or Robert and Barbara Jones, join them for Saturday's neighborhood luau - without a single trace of irony - or any number of wholesome community events. More than a few of them seemed taken by Lucifer's charms, which at this point was no long surprising to her.

But now here they are at Cynthia and Derek's, joined by Richard Isaacson (also apparently in finance) and his very young, very blond wife, who everyone seriously calls Bunny even though her real name seems to be Elizabeth. She's definitely in the category of women who are charmed by Lucifer, but she seems equally aware of the prenuptial agreement that likely hangs over her head. Both women are excited to hear about Chloe's ridiculous side business, and Lucifer manages to do a pretty decent job discussing his fictional consulting start up with their husbands. They're all seated snugly around the coffee table, glasses of wine in hand, deciding which board game to play on a Friday night. How did this become her life?

"I think we should play the Newlywed Game tonight, that way we can get to know our new neighbors a little better!" Cynthia suggests, and of course her husband agrees. Richard and Bunny also seem to like the suggestion, so all eyes turn toward Chloe and Lucifer. Chloe just nods along, not overly concerned with what they play, as long as everyone is talking.

"How about you, Bob-o? You in?" Richard nudges Lucifer for an answer. Chloe can see him cringing at the nickname, but he responds with a forced smile and a "Sure thing, Dick," and they quickly shuffle around, putting the husbands on one side of the table and their wives on the other.

As Derek explains the rules, she begins to realize her mistake. The whole purpose of the game is to test the knowledge of your spouse - something Lucifer is decidedly not. She has no idea how to play this game. Should she answer the questions as Barbara, or as herself? She's not really sure she knows Lucifer well enough to answer as Chloe, but it's not like she knows much of anything about Robert Jones. They have a pretty basic cover story, with job titles and a wedding anniversary and little else - it's not like they're trying to infiltrate the mob here. They probably should have discussed some of the particulars in case they were asked, but instead they've been kept busy all day with so many surprise visits from their new neighbors. They didn't even have time to leave the house, let alone search for a potential crime scene.

But it's too late to turn back now. They're already being handed answer cards, and Richard is reading off the first 'Memory' question for the ladies. It's seemingly a simple enough question, 'When did you first meet him?'.

Robert and Barbara have a wedding date, but no other detailed anniversaries. Chloe figures her best bet is to go with the real answer, and just hope that Lucifer does the same. She doesn't want to mess things up this early in the game if they don't have to. It's a relief that at least the question wasn't 'How did you first meet him?', which would have been much harder to explain.

For once, Lucifer seems to be on the same wavelength as her, and when the moment of truth comes, their cards somehow manage to match up. Richard and Bunny's don't, leading to a brief spat over Richard's previous wife. Chloe can't help but note the overlapping dates between Richard and Bunny's first meeting (the actual answer to the question) and his marriage to the former Mrs. Isaacson. Derek is quick to interrupt their bickering with the next 'Personality' question - 'Who would your partner say wins most of your arguments?'- cringing a little at the poor timing.

Bunny immediately begins scribbling her answer down with a huff, while Richard looks somewhat penitent as he writes.

Chloe's still just trying to figure out what to write down on her own card. She would like to think she wins most of their arguments - even though Lucifer somehow still manages to get his way more often than not. But the question is what will he put? She mentally weighs his professed love of honestly against his oversized ego.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, both seem to win out. Lucifer does answer that she tends to win their arguments, matching up with her own answer, but he has added a little note that says "only because I let her", which is a total lie. Well, almost a total lie. Lucifer does tend to give in a lot more easily these days. She tries not to think too hard about why.

This time it's Derek and Cynthia's answers that don't match, with both of them insisting they tend to win arguments. Richard, somewhat chastened by forgetting the details of his first meeting with Bunny, has put down 'she wins', which obviously matches Bunny's answer. It seems this is enough for him to be forgiven, and Bunny jumps forward to give him a noisy kiss across the coffee table.

"Moving on," Derek hints towards the affectionate couple, "the next question is in the 'Sensuality' category." Cue giggles from the other two couples, a wolfish grin from Lucifer, and a pained groan from Chloe. "Who would your partner say is the most adventurous in the bedroom?"

Another easy one, for them at least. Lucifer's the very embodiment of 'adventurous', while the most action she's seen since separating from Dan has been unintentionally walking in on Lucifer naked. And wasn't that just depressing? Not Lucifer being naked, of course - even she could admit the man was sex on legs - but that that was as far as it had gone. Her thoughts drift back to that evening without her quite meaning to, suddenly feeling the need to pull her hair back from her overheated skin. She hadn't really regretted her decision to walk away at the time, but that doesn't mean she doesn't occasionally think about how things might have turned out differently that night if she had just let herself take what was offered. Usually in these (unintentional, very bad) fantasies she somehow winds up spread out on his piano like that scene in Pretty Woman, while somehow ignoring any potential consequences of a one night stand with her capricious partner.

Lucifer, however, seems far less bothered by the question. He proudly holds up his card reading "ME", shooting a lascivious wink towards her, which Chloe would have ignored but Barbara Jones meets with a shy smile and raised card reading "HIM". Richard and Bunny are still in sync as well, and it's no surprise that Bunny's the more adventurous of the two considering the age difference. Derek and Cynthia get it wrong again, both claiming the title for themselves.

The ridiculous 'Potpurri' category brings them an asinine question about bedtimes that everyone sort of vaguely gets wrong, but Derek and Cynthia's answers are the closest so they're given a point. This at least seems to signal the end of the first set of questions.

"Well it looks like our new neighbors are winning the first round. I guess you two have the advantage of actually being newlyweds!" Cynthia chirps in after reading out the scores. Chloe almost laughs at just how newly 'wed' they really are. But so far things are going well. They haven't blow their cover, and they're getting a feel for their new neighbors. Not that a little harmless matrimonial discord is a very useful clue in a murder investigation, but they're willing to let their guards down around their new neighbors, which is what she were hoping for.

Bunny takes immediate charge of the gentleman's question round. "Alright, 'Memory' - what is her favorite album?".

Chloe realizes this question is a little trickier - it's not like this was part of their identity details or something Lucifer could possibly know about her. Should she just use the true answer? It was a little embarrassing, of course, but she could always play it off like it was 'Barbara's' answer at least. She's really starting to suspect Lucifer has some heretofore unrevealed talent for mind-reading when he holds up his card reading 'Breakfast Club soundtrack'.

"How di…" She stops herself in the middle of asking the question in front of everyone - obviously her 'husband' would know her favorite album. But Lucifer seems to understand what she's asking all the same.

He gestures brightly towards her, "My wife, ladies and gentlemen," and pauses for dramatic effect. "We're in the car one day and that ghastly Simple Minds song comes on the radio - I dare to try and change it, and I swear I nearly lost my hand she slapped it away so hard! I learned never to try and come between my little Pookie bear and her love of John Hughes."

The story is surprisingly true, if a little exaggerated - she barely even touched him and she's certainly not in love with John Hughes (John Bender, on the other hand…). Though she can't believe he even remembers that, or that he figured out her favorite album just from that single interaction. But Lucifer's always had a talent for reading her just a little too well, even if she always pretends to have no idea what he's talking about. Sometimes it feels like Lucifer understands more of her from just their short time together than Dan had after 6 years of marriage, but then just as often he'll seem completely oblivious to her feelings. Those times are becoming less frequent as of late, however, and it's taking more and more effort to maintain her carefully built walls when she's around him.

Bunny interrupts her musings with the next 'Personality' question. "Who would your partner say irritates the other the most?" Chloe realizes she needs to get her head back into the game.

Another proudly raised "ME" from Lucifer, and a laughing "HIM" from Chloe. Another misstep for Cynthia and Derek, but they seem to laugh it off as they have both put themselves as the answer. Richard has carefully put himself as well, and Bunny readily agrees. Nothing very surprising with that round.

"Ooo, 'Sensuality' question - how does your partner let you know when she's in the mood?" Bunny asks saucily, pretending to fan herself with a sharply manicured hand.

And Chloe is a grown woman, she's been married, she's mothered a child, and she is far too old to blush at a simple question like this. But apparently Barbara Jones still does. She quickly scribbles down some bullshit answer about openness and honesty and prays that Lucifer doesn't come up with something too embarrassing.

In the end, it can't be any worse than the other answers. Derek reveals that Cynthia always puts on Marvin Gaye and drinks too much wine whenever she gets in the mood, and Richard doesn't hesitate to tell the group that Bunny will greet him at the door in sexy lingerie. Cynthia is hiding her face in her hands throughout the round, while Bunny looks as cool and confident as ever.

Lucifer's answer is…unexpected. His sheet simply reads 'She gets cranky', which is a completely stupid answer, and she's about to protest this assumption but he begins elaborating. "She's still a little shy about the whole thing, poor darling, so she tries to cover it up by snapping at me." She's about to yell at him now if he doesn't shut his mouth, but he keeps going. "But I can always tell - she'll start twirling her hair or touching her neck whenever that's what's really on her mind."

Chloe's hands immediately drop from away from her neck, she wasn't…she really isn't…it's just that Lucifer is embarrassing her and it's really warm in here. But the way Lucifer's looking at her right now it feels like he can see right through her, that he's seen every dirty thought she's ever had about him. Particularly all the ones she's had since they started playing this ridiculous game. She tries to join in with the group's well-meaning laughter, but it comes out forced.

Chloe retreats further into the character Barbara Jones to deal with the constant prodding into their marriage and their sex lives (or lack thereof), but the answers she gives are all very obviously about Lucifer, and they're both aware of it. The real question is how much of what he reveals is really him, and how much is his character?

Chloe becomes especially curious when couples are asked how many children the husband would say he wanted. Richard already had two kids from his previous marriage, which he and Bunny both agreed were enough. Cynthia and Derek wanted at least two as well, if not more. Chloe just wrote down one, partly thinking of their cover but mostly thinking of Trixie. Strangely, so did Lucifer.

"Really, just one?" Derek asks with no small amount of disbelief.

"I have a lot of siblings, and I do meant a lot, and I certainly wasn't my dear old Dad's favorite." Lucifer begins explaining, "to be fair, I was quite the little hellion." He grins at his own joke, and Chloe can't stop the smile that sneaks up on her as well. "So I think I'd rather have just the one, personally."

As far as Chloe knows, Robert Jones doesn't have any siblings. Lucifer Morningstar does. And a whole bag of daddy issues to boot. Does that mean he actually wants a kid? He had told her when they first met that he never understood the point of them, but he doesn't seem to mind Trixie very much anymore. Was he reconsidering? Or simply acknowledging their cover story of wanting to start a family as well as Chloe's existing one? And did it even make a difference? Chloe tries to pretend it doesn't mean anything, and focus back in on the conversation around her.

"I'd have a whole soccer team if I could. We've been trying for a while but we're still hopeful. It's why we moved here. I mean what better place to raise a family?" Cynthia reveals.

"So it's all families here then?" Chloe shifts back into detective mode.

"Well, there was one single woman, an environmental lawyer or something or another about saving the earth. But she up and left a few months ago. I think you actually have her house now." The other woman offers this information in a manner that doesn't seem to indicate she's aware of the murder.

"She was just by herself?"

"By choice, she insisted." Cynthia's tone seems to indicate that she doesn't believe anyone would ever be single by choice, "oh but she did want kids though. She was trying to adopt one from Africa or something. It was all very noble. She moved here so she'd look better to the agency or whatever. But I guess our little community wasn't really for her, she was only here a few weeks."

"You two weren't close, then? Even living right next door?" Chloe presses, hoping for something more.

"I don't think we even spoke more than a couple times in passing. Of course I welcomed her when she first moved in, but we didn't see much of her after that. She was always off working at crazy hours. I don't know why, it's not like she didn't have money enough from her family."

This part Chloe already knows about. The Patels were quite wealthy, and wielded a lot of influence in the city. Enough to convince a police chief to cook up this 'discrete' investigation. But apparently Vidya liked her job, and wanted to save the world. Too bad she'd never get the chance to now.

"So what's the theory? You think they killed our girl because she didn't quite fit in?" Lucifer whispers as soon as the others are no longer listening. Cynthia and Derek have gone off to the kitchen to uncork a few more bottles of wine, while Richard and Bunny have discovered a whole new topic to argue about (the future of her 'modeling' career, apparently). Chloe moves closer to Lucifer, not wanting to risk them being overhead.

"It doesn't really seem likely. I mean, they could have just slammed her with a bunch of HOA fines or something if they wanted her out. I don't think they'd bludgeon a woman to death just because she didn't want to come to game night."

"I would happily accepting bludgeoning over inane board games." Lucifer insists.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself just fine. And we're actually winning, I think" Chloe's not entirely sure how they managed it, though the other two couples appear woefully bad at the game. It doesn't have to mean anything.

"I enjoy any opportunity to be the cause of that delightful little blush you keep trying to hide. But I'd prefer to do so without the audience next time, and perhaps without the scorecard. Though I suppose we could always…"

Chloe practically leaps back into her seat, thankfully just in time for Cynthia and Derek to come back in with the wine.

"Alright, who's ready for another round?" Cynthia enthuses.

Chloe's not sure if she means another round of wine or the Newlywed Game, but she's going to need a lot more of the former if she's going to get through the latter.

"Ok, final tallies everyone, so out of a total of 50 points possible, Rich and Bunny scored a 27, Derek and I have 32 points, and our newlyweds have won with game with 39 points! Congratulations you two!"

Cynthia seems honestly excited for them, but Chloe still can't quite believe they actually won. Lucifer somehow managed to even get all the bonus round points by naming her bridesmaids - for a wedding that never even happened! Chloe supposes it made some kind of sense that they'd both just list all of the women they knew in common, which amounted to Ella, Maze, and Linda, but Richard could barely name one bridesmaid for his actual wife! Chloe tries to console herself that the scores simply reflected the deep gap between the other couples rather than some kind of real connection between her and Lucifer.

"Now you have to kiss!" Bunny exclaims.

"What?" Chloe chokes out.

"I think you're actually supposed to kiss for every right answer, but we've been ignoring that rule since the coffee table was in the way." Derek explains. "But you two won, so…"

"So now you have to kiss!" Bunny finishes for him.

"Um…" Chloe looks over at Lucifer, who seems to be thoroughly enjoying her discomfort.

"Now now, don't tease her, I told you she was shy." He sits back with his cheshire grin, entirely amused with the situation but apparently willing to spare her the awkwardness. She had half expected him to take advantage of the opportunity, but surprisingly he's decided to be a gentleman, even if he's also decided he's going to be a smug bastard about the whole thing. Which is why she finds herself leaning over to press a quick kiss against his unsuspecting lips, delighting in the way his cocky grin fades as she pulls back.

"Come on, that was barely a kiss!" Someone, probably Bunny, complains. But Chloe's attention is focused entirely on Lucifer, and the sudden hopeful look that spreads across his face. It's moments like these where she can no longer remember why she ever thought this might be a bad idea. With renewed courage she leans back in to meet his lips once again, in a kiss that's just as soft and yet somehow so much more than its predecessor, because this time Lucifer is able to kiss her back. Their lips move chastely against one another, but it's enough to send little frissons of pleasure all down her spine, making her toes curl up in delight.

She had always expected that if she ever actually let Lucifer kiss her, that it would be completely explosive. The kind of frenzied passion that comes from so many months of built up tension. She had honestly expected him to devour her the first chance he got. But here he was, kissing her so carefully, as though she might accidentally fracture into a million pieces and just float away. And she is beginning to feel as though she might actually do so. Their kiss is no less passionate for all its gentleness, managing to convey a depth of feeling she had never truly expected from the man before her. It is almost too much, and Chloe finds herself pulling back much sooner than she really wants to.

Lucifer still looks a little dazed as she pulls away, putting some much needed distance between them, and she imagines she looks much the same. Bunny is cheering loudly for them, and everyone else is wearing fond smiles for the happy couple. And just like that its suddenly more than she can bear.

Of course she makes all the usual excuses and thanks their hosts for a lovely evening, but inside her head is still swimming. Right now she really just wants to go home, even if it's just to the fake home she shares with the man who's currently turning her head into such a mess.