Chapter 3: What Makes a Good Man

To tell me now (tell me now)

'n' show me how (show me how)

To understand (understand)

What makes a good man?

"Luci!"

The older angel didn't seem to hear his younger brother and kept walking down the beach, his mind somewhere else.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and tried to keep up. His legs weren't as long as his brother's and he knew it. After about a second, he stopped and smacked himself on the head. Right, angel. Wings. Teleportation. He'd almost forgot.

Lucifer luckily looked up at the very last second to avoid running headlong into the smaller man.

He growled lowly in his throat, his eyes flashing. "Shouldn't you be running back to Heaven?"

Gabriel frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. For as long as he could remember, and he could remember a lot, Lucifer's temper had never been this short. Sure the guy could be prideful, arrogant, and had a tendency to be a little vain, but he was never this quick to anger towards his family. Especially him.

Something was wrong.

"Lucifer–" he tried, but before he could get another word out his brother vanished.

Without missing a beat Gabriel followed him.

"Hey!"

Gabriel looked around, thankfully they were so far down the beach no one would notice if he, a grown angel, started yelling and chasing his older brother like a crazy person.

Small victories.

Lucifer had about a second to put his wings away before he was tackled to the ground causing sand to fly everywhere. He roughly shoved his little brother off of him before rounding on the smaller man. The Devil's eyes flashed dangerously in the night.

The Messenger gulped. There was a small chance he overshot his intended target.

See, Gabriel tried to land a few feet in front of his brother, but he misread Lucifer's flight pattern and ended up running straight into the older archangel. Gabe spat sand out of his mouth as Lucifer got to his feet.

"Lucifer…?" Gabriel whispered as he watched as his brother's sclera turned a murky black.

There was a rumble of thunder in the distance and it sent a shiver down Gabriel's spine. He didn't know what was going on, this wasn't his brother. It couldn't be.

This was the Devil.

He had heard rumors from his brothers and sisters about how many of them refused to get close to the Underworld, they said spending too much time in Hell changed a person. Gabriel hadn't put much stock into it though, after all, only demons and damned souls wandered the depths of Hell.

Sure he had been worried when Father barred Lucifer from Heaven and cast him into the Pit. Lucifer was his older brother, he loved him. But he didn't have any doubts that he would be all right, he was the first angel, the strongest of the heavenly host, the Morningstar.

As Gabriel stared at the being looming over him he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. The rumors had been true. He felt sick to his stomach.

After Lucifer fell, Father had banned anyone from going down to Hell. Gabriel and Michael had desperately tried to convince him to change his mind, but were ignored.

The archangel heard a roar and quickly rolled to the side, just as a fist collided with the ground, sending a shockwave rippling through the earth. He scrambled to his feet, not wanting to be on the receiving end of that blow.

"Lucifer!" Gabriel shouted. "Lucifer would you just stop!"

The Devil snarled and launched forwards, catching Gabriel around the waist. The Messenger bit back a cry as they both crashed into ground for the second time that night.

Maybe if he had tried harder to convince Father to let him visit his brother, he wouldn't be half submerged in salt water getting the ever loving crap beaten out of him at the moment.

Did Father know what he did to his favorite son, to his firstborn? Did he know this would happen when he sent Lucifer to Hell? Gabriel felt a twinge of anger toward God in that instant. Yeah, Lucifer did question their Father but did his punishment really fit the crime? Did he deserve to have his soul twisted and turned into this?

Gabriel caught Lucifer's fist as his brother tried another strike.

No, he didn't.

"I'm so sorry, brother," Gabriel uttered sadly. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Lucifer stopped mid-motion, his fangs slowly shrinking back to their normal length. The Messenger breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his brother's eyes turn back to their normal dark brown.

"Gabe?" Lucifer whispered tiredly. His skin finally starting to regain its original pallor.

Gabriel caught the Devil as he fell backwards. "Yeah it's me, Luci. You ok?"

Lucifer closed his eyes. "I never wanted anyone to see that."

"Don't worry, you're fine now," Gabriel smiled slowly. He knew in the back of his mind that he was lying through his teeth.

"It's not that simple," Lucifer sighed, he was so exhausted.

Gabriel was silent for a moment. "I wondered why your eyes were constantly red when I first arrived. Kinda makes sense now."

It took a second, but Lucifer pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. He felt so embarrassed. After being cast out of Heaven he ruled Hell for a couple millennia before he noticed that something was wrong. A part of him enjoyed being cruel and sadistic. The longer he spent in the Underworld the more the feeling grew and darker his soul became.

Lucifer growled at himself. Normally he was pretty good at keeping that side of himself at bay, locked deep inside. But the look on the detective's face… that had done it.

Something had broken, and he wasn't sure if it could be fixed.

"Luci?" Gabriel asked.

"You can go now Gabe," Lucifer replied dismissively.

Gabe raised his eyebrows as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, about that," he said slowly. "I'm actually thinking of sticking around a bit, you know?"

"Dad sent you to babysit me?"

"Not exactly."

Lucifer made a face. Dear old Dad strikes again. Damns his favorite son to Hell then can't seem to leave him alone or two seconds.

"Fine," Lucifer relented as he tried to wipe the wet sand off his pants.

"Great!" Gabriel clapped his hands and had a genuine smile on his face. "I've always wanted to explore LA."

For some reason Lucifer was beginning to feel like Gabe was going to get him in a lot of trouble.

"Can I stay with you?" The Messenger asked hopefully.

Lucifer slid his hand over his face and groaned.

Morning came before Chloe had gotten more than a couple hours of sleep. She couldn't stop thinking as the events of last night played over and over in her mind.

If she concentrated hard enough, she could still feel his wings wrapped around her frame. The ones she saw during the auction paled in comparison, now she understood why Lucifer was so concerned when they went missing. Back when he had asked her to put out a ABV on a pair of angel wings she thought he was just a little insane.

During the night her mind managed to drift back to when she first met him.

"Lucifer Morningstar."

"Lucifer Morningstar? Is that a stage name or something?

"God given, I'm afraid.

Now that she looked back, the pieces were all there, but her analytical mind refused to accept them. After all, what kind of person would believe that the actual Devil lived in Los Angeles?

When Lucifer had been shot six times by Jimmy Barnes she had chalked that one up to her mind playing tricks on her as she was lying in a pool of her own blood. It had been a bit hazy but she was sure he had winced as he took multiple bullets to the back.

Then she had woken up in the hospital and he was there sitting next to her bed, clearly unhurt.

The next time was when she had barged in on Lucifer's insane punishment with Nick and his adopted son and student, Josh. Nick had fired the gun and Chloe had waited for Josh to drop to the ground but he never did. One second Lucifer had been standing in her line of sight and the next he was behind her.

"Looking for someone?"

Nothing with Lucifer was normal. Especially when he had thrown Joe Hanson twenty feet through a glass wall.

"Did I squeeze too hard?" She had heard him say mockingly.

He had started to advance on the fallen manager, but was stopped, the anger drained instantly from his features as soon as they locked eyes. She had started to see a pattern but fought against the notion that perhaps he was the Devil as he so claimed.

"Please don't hurt me!" Lindsay Jolson cried as she cowered in front of the police consultant.

"Lucifer, don't move."

"Detective, you should leave," Lucifer had replied right before she saw his reflection change.

Perhaps she had been a bit in denial, but then Lucifer had told her to shoot him and he bled like a normal person. After that it was easier to dismiss his "I'm the Devil" spiel as nothing more than talk, even though her mind kept telling her that all those previous events had in fact happened.

Lucifer was able to escape from her handcuffs and a locked car with ease. He was also able to perform feats of strength that should be near impossible. After the Spider shot and killed Father Frank, Lucifer had picked the man up by his throat and shoved him against the wall. The larger man's feet were at least two feet off the ground but that could have been adrenaline she reasoned.

Everything he said contradicted what happened to him. He said he was invulnerable but he could be shot and burned. But the second she saw and felt his wings she knew he was telling the truth.

"I have never lied to you, and I will never lie to you."

Lucifer Morningstar was a puzzle, one that she wasn't sure she'd ever fully figure out.

And that was fine.

Chloe watched the sun stream into her bedroom, signaling for her to begin her day. She had to go see Lucifer, to apologize to him. The expression on her partner's face haunted her every day he was missing.

"You're just like all the others."

As she dressed she thought about Trixie. On the way home her little girl had not stopped talking about how she knew an actual angel. Chloe had planned on talking to her about the kidnapping, but it seemed her daughter had other plans.

Trixie had totally dismissed Malcolm and was totally fixated on Lucifer.

Chloe was quick to point out that the fact that Lucifer was an angel had to be kept secret. Her daughter had nodded in agreement. Apparently she didn't want to share her angel with anyone else.

Children were surprisingly resilient, so the detective decided that when Trixie was ready and willing to talk about the event, she would be there. Until then, it was probably best not to pry it out of the kid, reliving the experience might not be the best idea at the moment.

It was early, but there was no one to watch Trixie at the moment, so Chloe planned to just bring her along until a knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Chloe grabbed her gun and headed down the steps. Right before she got to the door a voice said her name.

"Chloe it's me."

She opened the door and came face to face with her estranged husband.

"Dan?"

"Hey," he half-smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah sure," she pulled the door completely open and allowed him to walk in.

"Thanks."

"Dan, how are you here?" She asked.

Dan scratched the back of his head nervously. "It's complicated. With Malcolm going off the rails crazy, the department wanted to just sweep this matter under the rug. So they only charged me with mishandling evidence."

"Of course they did."

"Right well, I'll be able to return to work in a couple weeks after everything's died down. There will be a demotion and a pay cut, but at least I won't be in jail."

Chloe was actually glad to hear that Dan wouldn't be going to jail. She had dreaded telling Trixie that Lucifer wasn't coming back, telling her that Dan would be gone as well would have been a nightmare.

"I'm really glad, Dan, I am," Chloe said quickly. "But I need a favor."

Dan nodded. "Sure, anything. You name it."

"I need you stay here with Trixie," Chloe said as she searched around for a couple of items and shoved them into her bag.

Dan checked his watch. "It's seven in the morning on a Saturday."

"I know, I just have to go do something," she responded after pulling on her shoes. "And to anything Trixie says please just listen and I'll explain when I get back."

"All right," Dan said slowly.

"Thank you, I'll be back soon."

The drive to Lux felt like an eternity. She swore she hit every red light on the way.

After parking her car, Chloe grabbed her bag and ran through the nightclub to the elevator which would take her up to his penthouse. For a moment she wondered why everything was unlocked, but then remembered that Lucifer had never been concerned with anyone stealing from him because who would dare steal from the Devil?

When the elevator doors opened, Maze was standing near the grand piano, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Thanks Decker," she mumbled as she passed.

"What are you talking about?"

Maze rolled her eyes and pushed the button to take her down to her floor. "I was so close to going back home, and then he came back to save you."

Chloe didn't have a chance to respond because the doors shut in her face, effectively ending the conversation.

She turned and walked towards Lucifer's bedroom, a place she had spent the night in not too long ago.

Lucifer was asleep, his long limbs tangled up in his black silk sheets. He was still wearing the same pants as last night so he hadn't even bothered to change before collapsing.

Chloe smiled despite how exhausted he looked.

Trying not to startle him, she carefully sat down on the bed. Almost instantly Lucifer's eyes snapped open and darted around wildly. When he finally focused on the woman next to him he relaxed visibly.

"Hey," she whispered and pushed a strand out hair out of his face, happy to see his eyes had returned to their warm brown color.

"Detective," he replied and propped himself up on his elbows. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I wanted to talk, and it couldn't wait," Chloe explained as she reached into her bag. "But first, you need to come with me."

Lucifer watched as the detective produced a comb and a pair of scissors.

"Very well," he laughed. "It's not like I had a barber readily available in Hell. But are you sure you're up for the task?"

"I'm sure. Trixie is afraid of getting her haircut by a stranger, so I do it. I'm actually not bad."

"Then I am all yours," Lucifer said and smiled.

Hello good people! Here is chapter 3. If anyone is wondering what I thought long haired Lucifer would look like, please google: Cenred. It was one of Tom's roles from BBC's Merlin.

As always, I love hearing from you. Stay safe, have a happy Lucifer Monday, and I'll see you next week.

Nicholls