Author's Note: This may have come out much longer than I intended, but let it never be said that I backed down from a planned plot line.
Bonus Chapter: The Bell Tolls for Thee
Maze stared at the teal envelope covered in turtles and starfishes. It looked like a wedding invitation, but who in literal Hell invited the Devil to their wedding? With a brief check around for witnesses, Maze slipped a nail under the flap and carefully opened the strange mail. After confirming that it was no one she knew of, someone named Tyler Lorns, Maze tapped the envelope against the counter. This could be the chance she had been waiting for. She just had to make sure he took someone besides her. 'Maybe Chloe? No, then he'll get himself killed...' Maze mused to herself.
"Morning Maze, have you seen Louis? He was suppose to be here two hours ago to work on the sound system."
Maze stopped her tapping, as a slow grin spread across her face. With barely contained glee, her bar stool slowly turned to let Maze face an annoyed looking Natalie Varquez – her favorite devil-sitter.
"Nope, but this came for Lucifer, you should take it up to him and ask. You know how he likes to break-in the new help." She said with a smirk, the bright envelope held out to Natalie.
Natalie's look of annoyance dropped into a sigh, "It's a wonder anything ever gets fixed around here." With a nod, Natalie took the envelope and made her way to the elevator. Maze waited until the doors closed before beginning her next phone call.
Inside the elevator, Natalie fumed about the missing sound technician. The ping from the elevator pulled her attention up just in time to avoid running into said technician. The level of disarray to his clothing and hair confirmed Maze's theory. She raised a hand to stop the sputtering of excuses. She stepped out to allow Louis to make his way down to the club floor.
Purpose filled her steps as she stalked across the pent house. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the envelope on to the bar top before smacking her hand against it. "Can you at least wait till the repairs are done? I had to send everyone home for the day to prevent a damn mutiny. Practice was suppose to start two hours ago." She seethed at the smug looking owner.
In Lucifer's mind, the day just kept getting better. "So you're free for the rest of the day, then?" He asked as he picked up the envelope.
As Miss Varquez pinched the bridge of her nose, Lucifer busied himself with looking over the invitation. "Oh Splendid!" He exclaimed, "Tyler and Benedict are getting married! Oh, and on the beach on the 4th of July. How charming."
He paused, considering the date for a moment, "That isn't a Tuesday, but perhaps Maze would let you have to day off to go with me, if you would like to. It does say I get a plus one."
Lucifer watched Miss Varquez as empirically as he could. The hand that had been pinching her face now came down to take the invitation to read over it herself. Her face was impressively blank as her eyes flicked back and forth. Once the bright card was slid over to him, she took his tumbler from the bar and downed the bourbon within. "Sure." She said and then turned and left. The tumbler carelessly tossed over her shoulder.
'Better and better.' He thought to himself as he leaned forward to catch and refill the tumbler with a smile.
0-0 0-0 0-0
It seemed suspicious to Natalie. Maze had been so quick to agree to the extra day off, considering that last month's request had been ferociously denied (Natalie had cashed in the favor Maze owed her in order to seal the deal). She scrolled through her contacts for a moment, before hitting the call button.
"Hey... Yeah, I know, I know. I'm on the 'fuck-off list' but you still owe me one... I need you to check an event for me, make sure it's on the level... "
After about an hour later Natalie ended the call satisfied it wasn't a trap. While traps didn't seem like Maze's style, many a lost sparring lesson had taught Natalie to not underestimate Maze's creativity. In a deeper truth, Natalie was confident that Maze knew better then to turn on her. The two had an unspoken agreement that they didn't want to seriously fight each other. 'Which means she needs me out of the way and distracted.' She thought.
She checked the calendar on the wall before making her way to the living room. Evan sat on the couch, game station controller in hand, clearly focused on his race. Natalie's voice teared through his concentration, which caused him to startle.
"Oi! Put down the Nintendo, I'm going on a trip next week and we need to talk about it now."
"Nat! Douche-stockings! Don't do that!" He shouted back from his new spot on the floor.
"Getting that distracted is dangerous, how many times do I have to tell you?"
"I only do it when you're here to keep me safe. And not everything is made by Nintendo."
"Focusing please."
"Ok, ok. Why do we need to talk about a trip next week?" Evan paused his game, full attention finally turned to Natalie.
"Maze is getting me out of town for something. Since I don't have any contacts right now, I need you to keep an eye on her and find out what is going on."
Evan stared at Natalie in horror and shock. "Like... your-boss-who's-a-bounty-hunter Maze?"
Natalie sighed for the thirty-fourth time that day as she crossed the room to sit on the couch.
"Mobsters are one thing, but bounty hunters? Am I really ready for that?"
"Evan," Natalie started softly, "She may be stronger than you, but she's still just human. You're going to battle Pale Ones when I'm finally gone from this world. Would I like to wait longer before giving you field work? Yes, but we don't know enough about Maze, and Mr. Morningstar for that matter, to blindly trust them."
Evan's expression switched from relieved to puzzled, "So, if you don't trust him, why do you keep making out with him?"
Natalie's softness melted into cold indifference.
"Ok, no need for the looks, I'll toss it up to 'do as I say; not as I do.' I'll do as you ask and I won't let you down, so can I finish my race now?"
Natalie sighed – thirty-five – and leaned back for a much needed nap.
0-0 0-0 0-0
It may have taken him the whole week to negotiate it; but when both Miss Varquez and Maze agreed to extend the time off to included the day before and after the wedding as well, Lucifer was ecstatic. Including Miss Varquez's normal Tuesday off, that was four days. As he packed his convertible Tuesday morning, he sent a text to alert his traveling companion that he would arrive soon to collect her for their trip. Maze's warnings to be careful, avoid devil-nappings, and to not annoy her lead-choreographer fell on mostly deaf-ears. Although he did nod along to prevent a last minute cancellation.
When Lucifer pulled up to the home of Miss Varquez, he was mildly disappointed that she was not already outside and ready to leave. Before he could remove himself from the vehicle to find the delay, the main door opened. Evan scurried out with a look of pure mischief and a suitcase, while Miss Varquez followed after with one flip-flop on and the other in hand as she attempted to strike the fleeing young man. Evan merely laughed and handed off the suitcase to Lucifer.
Before Lucifer could question the situation, Evan jumped away from the other shoe being thrown and sprinted back inside. Lucifer hadn't been so lucky. Part of his nose stung from the contact and his free hand came up to cradle it. At the sensation of pain, Lucifer's gaze swept the area to look for the detective. With a shrug and the assumption she must have been driving down the nearby freeway in a remarkable feat of timing, he turned his attention to the pair of hands that took hold of his face. The familiar, almost comforting, sense of panic washed over him.
He scoffed at the worry that danced through her storming eyes. 'As if a mere, beautiful mortal could harm me.' He thought with a chuckle, 'The detective my constant exception of course.'
He shifted the suitcase out of his lap and exited the vehicle. He wrapped his hand firmly around hers. The barest flush rose across her cheeks as he pressed a soft kiss along the back of her knuckles. Miss Varquez busied herself getting comfortable in the car while he loaded her suitcase into his trunk.
Natalie focused her breathing, but was still caught off guard when the car surged forward. A glance at the speedometer drained the remaining color from her cheeks. She closed her eyes in determination to attempt to sleep through any potential crashes. 'I hate traveling without Kana.' She thought with a sigh and dozed off.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Natalie was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Morningstar was entertaining company for extended periods of time. After the car ride, they had a couple extra days before the wedding of his friend. His near constant use of innuendos was more impressive in its versatility than persistence. In fact, the trip felt remarkably like a vacation. Late night beach walks with strange conversation topics included.
A smile flickered across her lips as she finished her make-up for the wedding this afternoon. Once she was strapped into her sandals, she looked over the complete look. The shimmering emerald-colored dress flowed from an A-line waist. With her hair pinned into a bun, simple silver hoops adorned along her ears, and her aged silver necklace, Natalie felt regal. She also felt someone watching her.
A shadow in her mirror drew her attention. The eyes that ran over her came up to meet hers in the mirror. She could feel their path, like a teasing sensation. Rather than tame her smile, she gave a small spin so that the material sparkled in the light. "I clean up well," she joked, "but maybe someday I'll get to see you dressed down for once."
"Would wearing nothing count?"
"I imagine not, you're pale enough I could leave you in a parlor like a marble statue."
His smirk grew as he stepped closer, "I don't believe your flat has a parlor, however I would be happy to adorn your bedroom decor."
Natalie couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of her. "I'm sure you would." She responded as she took his hand to make their way to the beach for the ceremony. Not only could she not contain the fluttering feeling that left her soaring, she was surprised by her lack of desire to. Before they rounded the last bend, she stole one last, ill-advised kiss.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Albert Howard Christenson was a man of practicality. It was how he made his fortune, choose his business partners, and selected the jobs his company accepted. He was also a family man. While he had no wife or children, he had his parents, his uncle, and an adorable terrier. Well, he had his uncle until his uncle was betrayed by a cleaner who worked for him. However, Albert was a man of destiny.
His latest attempted at a date had insisted he join her at a friend's wedding. Albert thought attendance of such an event assumed more of the relationship than he considered practical. After-all, he needed to find someone of a much higher social standing than this silly, naive, woman-child. However, his charity was rewarded by his great destiny. The L.A. She-Devil, Natalie Varquez, was also in attendance. Smiling and unaware of how the fates had betrayed her.
With a dismissing hand to the shrill woman talking at him, he pulled out his smartphone to call his cleaner. The details to his plan flowed effortlessly, however it was only to be expected. After-all, he was a man of destiny. And that traitorous swine wouldn't know what hit her. Ah, the might of destiny!
0-0 0-0 0-0
Natalie woke up with the sensation that she had been beaten senseless with a massive stone brick. She didn't recall drinking that much at the party and attempted to rub her face. Limited reach and the soft shuffle of metal caused her to give a frustrated groan. 'I remember going back to the hotel... Morningstar went down to the pool, and I went to sleep...' Natalie thought to herself, trying to work out a time line.
'Shit! Morningstar! We've been everywhere together, anyone targeting me would have noticed!'
It took focus, but Natalie worked her way through the groggy sensation to peer at her surroundings. No windows, concrete walls, table full of "nope", and no Morningstar. With any luck, he was considered too high profile and left behind. Assuming she found a way out of this mess, she didn't need Maze coming after her because something befell the adorable idiot.
For the... seventh? 'Stupid drugging.' For the seventh time, she wished she had just brought the damned sword rather than be this powerless. As she tested the range of motion allowed by the restraints, a door to her left opened. Other than the traces of blood on the cuffs of the sleeves, the man that entered looked like an accountant. Simple dress shirt and a small business like smile.
"Ah, you're awake." He started and stepped closer. "Good, good. Let me get the camera and we can start."
'Great, one of those wackos.' Natalie sneered to herself.
"You know, you're much prettier than Sir Albert implied. Shame that, I would have loved to have my own fun with you before I killed you." He stated conversationally as he set up the tripod and camera. "Oh, well. I'm sure if I'm quick you'll stay warm long enough after you're dead."
He paused, a disappointed look on his face, before pressing the record button. "No questions? None at all? I just told you I was going to kill and fuck you. Don't you even want to know who I am?"
The dark chuckle Natalie gave sent a visible chill through the man before her. "Oh, I know you. You're my next dead body. We're well-past the why questions. Word of advice: you better kill me. Because when I get out of these chains; I'm going to give you a ten second head start and then hunt you down like a manged animal – with your own camera - and send the tape to your boss. I'm sure 'Albert' will love it."
"You really are her. The Natalie Varquez. I'm going to be able to set my own rates after this. Do continue the good show though." He said in a soft awe. His hand found his table of tools without having to look, which spoke to a familiarity that told Natalie it was going to be a long night. She lifted her chin and gritted her teeth. She could handle a long night.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Lucifer stumbled out of the linen closet, leaving the pool attendant to straighten themselves out. He was chipper as he entered the elevator to go to his temporary pent house. Despite Miss Varquez letting him sleep in the same bed, she seemed in no hurry to properly bed him. It was strange to just sleep next to someone. However, after he had awoke that morning in a tangle of snuggling limbs; he hoped that tomorrow morning had an even greater lack of inhibitions. He wasn't sure why, but she was hesitant to lay with him. Not that he minded, she seemed completely unbothered by his constant romping and - the strange sensation she produced in him aside – he deeply enjoyed kissing her.
And dancing... He left his mind to wonder through the many dances they had shared that night. Her grace matched with his own. The memory of feeling her sway against him as he led her from one dance to the next returned to him. Neither of them had wanted to leave and danced till the DJ packed up and told them to leave. Even then, they had danced in the pent room one last time before he left for his nightly swim.
The ping of the elevator sent him forward, key-card fished from the skin-tight pocket of his swim trunks. The card then fluttered to the ground as the room came into view. The tables were up turned, there was a splatter of blood along a wall, and one Natalie Varquez was missing. He staggered through the rooms, taking in the damage. His eyes locked on a butter knife lodged into the wall across from the bed. 'She was fighting... Someone took her.'
He could feel where the side of his jaw was twitching. He turned on his heel and began to make his way to the security office on the lobby floor. Once he was before the door in question, he pushed it open with enough force to overpower the locking mechanism. On the other side was a startled guard counting a sizable stack of money. Lucifer's twitch returned with vengeance.
"Who. Took. Her?" Lucifer asked as calmly as he could.
"You-you can't be in here! H-h-how did you-"
"WHO?!" He shouted as he dropped his facade. His Devil-face felt like fire against his bones as his rage burned red in his eyes.
"Albert's cleaner! Tony Samuels!" The guard shouted back before devolving into a screaming fit.
With two names, Lucifer began his scouring of the town. Enough money and the right favors were the golden keys that let him into the local underground scene. It was here that a particularly naughty code-gerbil gave him the address to the safe house and torture den of Mr. Tony Samuels. At use of the word "torture", Lucifer rushed off without another word.
The building was gloomy and fenced in. With an internal promise to get the damage fixed tomorrow, Lucifer pushed his petal to the floorboard and rammed through the gate. In a flourish, Lucifer skidded to a halt before a large steel door. He could hear the sound of a group of armored boots running up behind the door and wasted no time throwing it open. The room only had six guards, though a group seemed to be running down a particular hall way.
His hand moved like lighting as Lucifer to hold of the first guard and threw him into the others. With a kick of the nearby couch, the group was quickly pinned between the wall and the piece of furniture. Thankfully the impact against the wall had been enough to knock them out, and Lucifer let the other four lead him to his real goal. He followed on silent feet, but paused when the scent of blood reached him. He carefully turned the corner and peered through the doorway.
Chained the wall, covered in stabs and burns, was a panting Natalie Varquez. Blood, a deep dark red, nearly purple in the basement's lighting, dripped slowly on to the floor. His vision was narrowed to watch a single drop roll down to her elbow before it fell to the floor... The floor that was painted in her blood. It was when he stepped forward that the other people in the room noticed him. Before he could stop himself, his wings sprung forth to protect him from the rain of gunfire as he made his way to break the chains.
Once she was gently placed against the wall, and the humans behind him reloading, he dropped his winged barrier and turned with his true face. A snarl escaped him as he scooped up the one covered in blood and slammed him against the wall. The four guards all sprinted for the door, a concert of screams left in their path. Tony Samuels mumbled the words "no" and "you're not real" over and over. Lucifer's haze of rage was broken with the sound of a cough from behind him.
The target of his ire was dropped and forgotten as Lucifer turned to tend to Natalie. In the flash of an eye, he returned his facade and dropped to a knee by the recovering woman. The coughing was bringing up blood, which she spit out once she became focused enough. Finally those familiar storms turned to him, fear and hesitant hope clear in their depths. "Morningstar?" She mumbled with a pinched brow.
"Yes, yes, I'm right here." He responded softly.
He watched as her eyes slid off his face and focused on the man huddled in the corner. With a grimace, she pushed off the wall and stood up. When she picked up one of the knives off the table, Lucifer's eyes widened. 'She intends to kill him.' A distant part of him, that wasn't buried in rage, whispered. As his gaze turned to the blood soaked floor, he couldn't find it in himself to stop her. A blinking in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned. 'A camera?' He thought, and went to check the most recent footage.
Rage flowed through him anew and he smashed the offending equipment into the floor to destroy it. He turned to look back toward Natalie. The mumbling had stopped, and she stood over the now dead Tom Samuels. She dropped the knife casually, and turned to face him. She glanced at the ruin equipment with a frown, but shrugged it off. She looked exhausted and muttered a question about the nearest sink.
He led her to the bathroom he had sneaked past earlier. After a quiet moment of watching her hands under the water, washing away both her and Tom's blood, he nudged her over, took the soap bar, and softly scrubbed her hands. Her brow pinched together again as she watched him, an unspoken question hanging between them.
Slowly and silently, the two cleaned away the worse of the blood. Lucifer found some spare clothing while she finished her sink-based birdbath. Once she was redressed, she used the remaining spare clothing to make simple bandages. Lucifer worked quickly and patted her shoulder softly once the process had been finished. He extended his hand to her, and then led her out of the now abandoned building and back to his car.
Rather than return to the hotel, he commented that he would replace anything lost and opted to just begin the drive back to L.A., and a nod of agreement sent him on his way. The drive was quiet, and thankfully uneventful, until Lucifer pulled up to the building that Miss Varquez lived in. They stepped out, and looked up at the building. He drummed his fingers for a moment before he spoke.
"Miss. Varquez, I hope you do not blame yourself for what happened. I can still take you to a hospital if you'd like."
A soft chuckle came from the woman, and she turned to look up at him. "No, I'm sure I don't want to go to the hospital... You've probably figured out by now that I'm not just an informant. But thank you for helping me."
Her hand reached up to softly stroke his cheek. He didn't fight the faint smile that found him when she kissed him. He indulged himself in the soft pressure. His tongue was greedy as it tasted her. For a moment, he wondered if she could feel his heart beat through the tight grip of his shirt. Her fist were wound into the back of his shirt, pressing herself against the length of him. As the thought of picking her up and pressing her against the hood of his convertible crossed his mind, she stepped back.
"Thank you." She whispered again, before she turned and entered the building.
Once again dazed and dismissed, Lucifer returned to Lux. He made his way to the piano, the room around him a party blur that he wasn't ready to enter yet. A frown set into his face as he pressed the first chord.
With a muttering about the sanctity of a devil's piano, he called over his shoulder, "Maze! Did you sneak in someone to tune my piano again?! What have I said about other people touching my pianos?!"