Chapter 10: Old Habits

Chloe sat on the couch of her living room with Trixie tucked into her arms. She had already called and apologized to the lieutenant. Lt. Rio was a parent, so rather than a real punishment, Chloe had been assigned a required vacation after this last year of complete chaos in her life. If she was honest with herself, some time with Trixie would be nice. That sense of comfort was soiled by the thought of the items left by the worthless ex, Beret, that still needed to be tossed out.

"Are you listening?" Trixie asked her mother with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I was thinking too hard, what's up?"

"I said, I want to go to karate classes. If your job is going to keep ending up with me being stolen, I wanna fight back. Like Maze would if someone messed with her!" The child exclaimed, throwing out mock moves.

While Chloe wanted to reject the idea, she couldn't deny that Trixie did have a point. "Ok, I'll talk with Dan about it."

"Yes!"

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Natalie stood in the quiet of her kitchenette. The roommate had sneaked off for his date, it was a couple hours till Maze showed up for drinks, and her shoulders ached. She released a deep sigh, as she picked up the coffee pot. 'Cups are for people that have energy for that nonsense' She thought to herself as she poured the cream and sugar into the pot.

The ringing of her cell phone pulled her attention from the caffeinated glory she had just prepared. She was abrupt with the call. She hated when clients felt the need to check-in after a final report. She thanked them for the payment, and hung up. With a scowl, she downed the pot and began cleaning her knives to be returned to their storage.

As she expected, the task was finished just before noon. Her mood was greatly lightened as she began rummaging through the kitchenette for a blender and her stash of good rum. The sound of arguing from the hallway became a prequel to the knock that should have been from Maze.

"I'm allowed to have my own friends!"

"I know that, I merely want to know who it is."

"That is no reason for you to invite yourself along."

"Well, how else am I going to find out. You refuse to tell me anything this time. The detective was very distraught."

Natalie couldn't stop the groan that escaped her. She hated when people knew where she lived. She made a mental note to speak to Maze about privacy as she made her was to the door.

As the door opened, Maze attempted to push through and shut it on Lucifer's face before he could enter. With a quick side step, he entered the threshold before it slammed closed. For a moment, as the sound of wood striking wood resounded through the small apartment, he had the strangest feeling of being trapped and in danger. The thought was quickly dismissed as a pair of familiar storms entered his sight.

"Miss. Varquez. I never thought you would be Maze's new informant friend. Although it does make sense, the two of you do seem to get on quite well." He babbled, stating the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah... Maze, moment in the hall?"

As the two wondered off, Lucifer helped himself to a look about the rest of the apartment. The only items of interest were a locked closet and a box with his favorite herbal supplement. He helped himself to one of the pre-rolled joints in the box as he listened in on the conversation.

"What is he doing here?"

"Look, I tried to get him to fuck off, but I guess he was too wigged out about last night. Not that he did any of the work to save the kid."

"No one else, I like my privacy."

"Yeah, yeah, you got the rum?"

The two returned with a chuckle from Natalie. The chuckle paused as she saw the owner of the club she worked in, smoking one of her joints in her living room. As her boss plopped down on the couch next to him and reminded Natalie about the daiquiris, Natalie decided this was the weirdest day in a very long time.

When Natalie returned with a tray of drinks, Lucifer took the moment to look over the rest of her before she could make eye contact with him again. Even without the sunset, she still looked like a molten temptress. She seemed almost ethereal within her own home, even dressed in worn jeans and an over-sized T-shirt. She handed Maze a glass first, followed by Lucifer. There was a momentary contact as his hand grazed hers to take the glass that made time stop for a moment. In that freeze was a sensation to run that he ignored.

"Mmm, that is good rum." Maze commented, taking hearty gulps from the glass.

"So, do you spend all of your Tuesdays drinking daiquiris? An admirable reason for a day off." Lucifer asked, as casual as his curiosity would allow.

"Just information dealing." Natalie countered. Maze snorted a giggle. Natalie didn't really know what Maze had or hadn't told Lucifer, but she could at least follow what he had already given away that he knew.

Lucifer seemed to have misunderstood Maze's snort as he pressed on. "And what did you charge Maze for that information? After-all, I don't care to make contracts under false pretenses."

"Don't worry, the first taste is always free." Natalie retorted as she switched the direction her knees were crossed.

While his attention was drawn to the movement, he didn't let it distract him from the gem of information she had presented to him. 'Tuesday is the day of questions,' He thought with a chuckle of his own, 'She's actually answering my questions this time.'

"I find myself in need of a piece of information, perhaps you can help." He started, leaning into the couch to make himself more comfortable.

Natalie looked at Maze for a moment, but she was busy with her drink and had no interest in helping her new friend avoid Lucifer's questioning this time.

"Well, I've got time to kill, what would the wealthiest club owner in L.A. like to know?"

He tilted his head with a victorious smirk, however before he could ask about her desires, the phone in his suit pocket buzzed. With a upraised finger to show he needed a moment, he checked the caller id and then answered.

"Detective. … Of course, I would be happy to accept the small one's tea invitation. … Now?" He paused to look at the two ladies in his company, both made a shooing motion. "Yes, it seems I've been uninvited from my current party, so I will be happy to join."

Maze waved Lucifer off, and shoved him out the door before he could find an excuse to stay. She wanted to have fun, and Lucifer just wanted to do that weird 20 questions game he played with the humans.