Chapter Two - Chloe and Dan

Chloe was working on paperwork until another case came in for them to take, which suited him just fine given his current mood. His inability to sit still for longer than two seconds without shifting also seemed to be a problem, given Chloe's looks of annoyance every time he moved.

Sighing loudly, she put her hands either side of her keyboard. "You know, if you're that bored, you can leave. You don't have to be here for this part. In fact, you usually make yourself scarce when it comes to the whole paperwork side of things. Why are you here?"

He shifted again and winced. "Umm, I have a bit of a personal problem. And you might be able to help with it..."

Her eyes got wide at that. "A...personal problem?"

He nodded. "Yes. Remember when we went to that auction to get my wings? Well, I...got them back."

She held up and hand and squinted at him in confusion. "Wait. I thought, after, you said you destroyed the real ones. That you did track down and get them and...I don't understand."

He grinned. "Oh, yes, I did. This is a brand new set. Do you have any idea how bloody annoying growing in new feathers is? It's a nightmare. It itches and I can't scratch. My whole back feels like its on fire right now and it is really, really irritating. And my poor new wings feel like they are being constantly jabbed by miniature spears. The problem is that like birds, angels flock. We groom each other, because it's hard as hell with a human shaped body to actually reach all the feathers. And pin feathers are really, really tricky even with help."

Chloe stared at him like he had gone nuts. "Have you talked to Linda about this? Seems more her problem than mine..."

He frowned in confusion. "Well, yes. She said I should come to the people I know and trust to help with them. She doesn't know anything about how to help. She did say that they look irritated though."

"Wait, she actually told you to come to me to help you with feathers for wings? And you showed them to her?"

"Yes. How else would she give advice if she doesn't know the problem?"

She shook her head. "Lucifer...I know nothing about wings. Real, fake or imaginary ones. Sorry."

He leaned back in the chair he was sitting on and sighed. "Damn. Okay, well, thanks anyway. Is Dan in? Or Ella?"

She smiled at him when he mentioned Dan's name. "You know, it'd do both you boys good to spend time together away from the precinct. I have no idea about Ella, but Dan's around somewhere. He'd probably know more about wings. Heard he got a pet parakeet not too long ago for company."

Lucifer blinked at that. Parakeets were tiny compared to him, but hey, it was better than no help at all. It was very unlikely though that Dan had experienced anything to do with pin feathers yet, as it wasn't exactly moulting season.

He nodded. "Okay. I'll go find him and ask if he can help."

He got up off the seat, making sure to scrape his back along the back as he got up in an attempt to stop the itching. It didn't work. He had to physically make himself stop rubbing against the dividing wall of Chloe's desk and the rest of the precinct on the way out, because his ability to resist was fraying to the point of nonexistent.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked, amusement in her voice.

He scowled. "I told you, I'm itchy. This is driving me mad. I need a shower and a proper bloody grooming is what I need."

"Looks like you need calamine lotion."

He glared at her. "Oh shut up. You're no help anyway, you've already said that. I need to go before I rub my back raw..."

She waved him away with a grin still on her face, already going back to her computer screen, pen held in one hand for written work, other hand flying over the keyboard. He left her to it, and scoped out Dan's desk.

An unopened pudding was sitting there and he almost went for it. Almost. And then he had the sense to look around him and spotted Dan a few desks away staring at him. He grinned widely and waved, before sticking his hands in his pockets. He had promised to never get caught again.

He did sit in Dan's seat though it made for a rather awkward rubbing post, but it was at least there...

He only had to wait ten minutes with the snack temptation in front of him while Dan did whatever it was he was doing. He almost ate it several times.

"Lucifer, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Oh, you know...just wanting to chat. The Detective is doing paperwork and sent me to you, because I was annoying her. And I came to ask a question too. She said you recently got a bird..."

Dan looked annoyed by his existence, but that was normal. "Uh, yeah. He's a Quaker parakeet. Got it from someone illegally holding him. Got to find a good family out of state to keep him, so I'm looking after him for a bit. Why?"

"Have you gotten used to touching it? Grooming? You do groom your bird, right?"

Dan was looking at him like he had gone crazy. "Uh, yeah, around the head and neck. It preens its own feathers fine enough as it is, but it can't reach those. It likes head scratches."

Lucifer hummed in agreement to that. He liked having his hair played with sometimes...but that wasn't the type of fun he wanted with the douche. "So, do you bathe the bird? Like...does it have baths or showers or get its feathers cleaned regularly?"

Dan was beginning to catch on that he had something else to say from the look passing over his face. "Yeah, it has a pool to splash around in to clean its feathers and I also change it daily so it has clean water. Why all the bird questions?"

"Uh...I have need of someone that knows me and knows...well, wings really. But I'll go with any feathers right now. I have a set of wings that are in major need of being washed and as much grooming as possible done to them, but there are...several problems."

Dan actually looked interested in that. "Oh? What are the problems?"

"One, they're big. Two, they're new feathers..."

Yeah, he definitely had Dan's attention now. "What do you mean new feathers?"

"Pin feathers. Were you told about them?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. A little. Been watching videos on it for when Dusty moults."

Something in Lucifer relaxed at that. Dan was taking this whole bird thing seriously at least. "Well, this is two big wings full of pin feathers."

Dan frowned but nodded. "Blood supply still in there?"

Lucifer nodded. "Yep, and I really want the growth to stay even and all together. I do not want a mess of feathers all over the place in their growth. Thankfully this is a one-time thing. Well, second if you count the first set I had...but let's not go there."

Dan looked at him oddly. "Okay, so...what do you need me for?"

"I need help with the whole grooming thing. I can't do it on my own. I don't want to break any and it's likely to happen...plus I need someone to hold the hose..."

"Hose?"

"I did mention that the wings are big, yes? Trust me, Dan. Just...come to my penthouse tonight and I'll show you what we'll be dealing with. Oh! Do you know if Ella knows anything about birds?"

Dan shrugged. "One of her brothers runs a bird sanctuary, so she probably knows something about birds."

Closing his eyes, Lucifer grinned. "Great! I'll see you tonight then! It's a date with feathers! Wait, you named the bird Dusty?"

Dan glared at him. "He's got a lot of grey on him, shut up!"

Holding his hands up, he grinned. "Fine. Do you know if Ella is in? I want to talk to her about it too. Things will go a heck of a lot quicker with two others. One for each wing. Lovely. Haven't had that since my Fall."

Dan gave him an odd look at that, but he was used to odd looks. As it was, by the end of that night, at least Dan would know the truth, and if he got lucky, so would Ella. He doubted either of them could get Chloe to believe he was the devil. She was proving to be against anything that remotely tied him to being a bad person.

Of course, his frenemy decided then was a good time to pick up the pudding and open it in front of him. Twitching, he got up and stretched, trying his hardest to stretch the pain out of his wings and back. Naturally it didn't work.

It wasn't until Dan had finished with his snack that he got an answer. "Ella should be back from the field in a half hour. You could go wait for her if you want. Or you could go home and I'll talk to her."

He frowned and thought of that one. He shrugged. "Nah, thanks anyway. I'll stay and wait. I haven't got a lot left to do, really. Not at this time of day..."

And with that, Dan nodded and waved him on his way as he went to wait in Ella's lab, where there was at least music to keep his mind occupied.