Chapter Text
When Chloe first admitted that she wanted to try moving beyond their elevated platonic relationship in which she was performing the loving yet trite task of teaching Lucifer how to develop affection, his knee jerk reaction was to immediately agree, but thankfully his brain managed to jump ahead of his heart and mouth. They’d been walking on the Manhattan Beach Pier after dinner one Friday night in July, and Trixie had run ahead of them toward the roundhouse containing the aquarium which had already closed for the day. The lights of a handful of container ships and oil rigs shone in the distance beyond them as they continued walking before Chloe finally stopped.
‘Lucifer?’ she asked nervously, and he stopped only because his hand was clasped in hers. ‘Did you hear me?’
‘Yes, my darling,’ he replied with a smile, but his brow was furrowed. ‘That certainly sounds delightful.’
‘… but?’ she said quietly as he stepped back to her.
‘But…’ he started then sighed. ‘But I feel there’s still too much you don’t know about me to make an informed decision about a deeper relationship.’
‘Then tell me,’ she replied, reaching out to take his other hand as well.
‘I have,’ he said slightly hysterically. ‘I have, so many times. I’ve attempted to do my due diligence without scaring you, but I’m afraid that the fact isn’t being interpreted fully.’
‘Is this about you claiming you’re the Devil?’
He opened his mouth to speak when Trixie’s voice came from his left.
‘He is the Devil,’ she said confidently as she slowly walked up to them.
‘That’s just a thing he says, monkey. I thought that after he learned more clearly how incredibly loved he is, he would realize he isn’t, but—‘
‘The Devil can be loved,’ she argued, and Lucifer looked down at her. ‘The people who say the Devil is bad just don’t know how awesome Lucifer is.’
He gave her a huff of a laugh and a smile. ‘Glad for your support, dear Urchin.’
‘I also thought that working with Linda more would lessen your belief in being the Devil,’ she said a bit quietly.
‘Linda knows I’m the Devil. There’s no denying it with her.’
‘If so, how? What has she seen that I haven’t?’
He was taken aback for a moment. ‘Seen. Well, yes. I suppose it is a seen.’
‘Has she seen your horns?’ Chloe asked jokingly, raising her eyebrows, but her face fell quickly when his stayed utterly serious.
‘She’s seen my face,’ he said in a tone somehow both light and strained. ‘You’ve seen the face given to me by my parents upon creation billions of years ago, but she’s seen the one that’s under this facade, the one molded by injuries from my fall, time in Hell, and self-hatred.’
Trixie responded by leaning against him, but Chloe looked at him pointedly.
‘Then show me.’
He stiffened. ‘I can’t.’
‘So, you’re unwilling to have a romantic relationship with me because I don’t accept that you’re the Devil, but you won’t show me proof?’ she pressed. ‘That just sounds like you don’t want a relationship and want to pawn off responsibility to a third party.’
‘Detective, no,’ he responded immediately. ‘I’m terrified of losing you if you see me for who I am, as I nearly lost Linda. She had the cushion of being affected by my divinity and still didn’t speak to me for weeks out of absolute terror. I can’t bring myself to do that to you.’
She squeezed his hands after a few long moments. ‘Then we keep working on it.’
‘What if he really is the Devil?’ Trixie asked suddenly as she put her arms around his waist. He dropped one of Chloe’s hands to press a hand to the child’s back. ‘What would you do?’
‘The Devil isn’t real, Trixie,’ Chloe said, laughing uncomfortably. ‘The Devil is a made-up entity used to scare people. God, the Devil, angels… none of that is real, honey.’
‘Amenadiel is an angel,’ Trixie replied. ‘He’s real.’
‘How do you know my brother is an angel?’ Lucifer asked with some confusion.
‘The Devil is a fallen angel, so your brother would have to be an angel, right?’
‘Right,’ he replied disbelievingly, narrowing his eyes.
‘Do you have wings?’ she asked a bit excitedly.
‘Unfortunately, yes,’ he replied with distaste. ‘They appear to have made a permanent return despite my best efforts.’
Chloe looked at him with concern before turning to Trixie. ‘Trixie, maybe it’s best to not ask things like that.’
‘I appreciate her candor,’ Lucifer replied, shooting something akin to a glare at Chloe. ‘And her understanding.’
‘She’s a child,’ Chloe replied, and Trixie scoffed. ‘She believes in fairy tales.’
‘No I don’t!’ she snapped. ‘I believe in Lucifer because he’s real, and he wouldn’t lie to me!’
‘People call themselves monsters all the time,’ Chloe replied pressingly. ‘It doesn’t mean they literally are!’
‘The Devil isn’t a monster! Lucifer isn’t a monster!’ the child screamed, tightening her grip on Lucifer, who looked down at her with wide eyes. A couple walking by stared as they moved past, and Chloe blushed.
‘I think it’s time to call it a night,’ Lucifer said stiffly as he blindly ran his hand down Trixie’s hair.
When he turned, Trixie was holding tightly enough that she dragged with him. When she didn’t let go, he reached down and picked her up, sliding her to his back and beginning the walk to the car as she looped her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek to his upper back. She was initially surprised but comfortably settled against him quickly. After a pause, Chloe started after them. She reached out for Lucifer’s hand, but he elected to keep both hands under Trixie’s legs as they headed back to the Aston Martin.
—
Chloe wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not when Lucifer didn’t show up to work on Monday after a weekend of silence and being left on read. She decided to give him space for the day, but when he hadn’t responded to her by midday Tuesday, she hesitantly called Linda.
‘I won’t get into details besides that he’s hurt and conflicted,’ the doctor responded. ‘He’s upset that you believe he’s lying.’
‘How can I believe that he’s the literal Devil? That’s absurd, Linda. You actually believe that?’
Linda laughed darkly. ‘I know it’s the absolute truth, and I think my reaction to it makes him even more terrified to prove it to you.’
‘A… face?’ Chloe asked. ‘Does he really have a second, physical face?’
‘Yup,’ she confirmed. ‘Maze too.’
Chloe laughed way too loudly for the interrogation room — it echoed back at her. ‘Right, Maze is a demon.’
‘Yes,’ Linda replied calmly, dampening Chloe’s irreverence. ‘Amenadiel is an archangel. They’re biological brothers, not an adoption situation. They grew up in Heaven with a bunch of brothers and sisters as well as their parents, God and Goddess. Well, until Lucifer was punted out and became, you know, the Devil instead of the Archangel Samael.’
Chloe was silent. She’d never heard the other name Linda said.
‘If you want proof, you have to be ready to accept a lot about existence and some really sad truths about Lucifer’s life before settling in Los Angeles,’ Linda continued. ‘And you have to assure him you won’t hurt him when the truth is presented to you and actually keep your word.’
‘Fine,’ Chloe said a bit halfheartedly. ‘I’ll go after work and get proof of him… of him being the Devil.’
‘I’m serious, Chloe,’ Linda said coldly. ‘Don’t lie to his face that you’ll accept him for who he is then break his heart. After all he’s been through, he deserves better than that.’
‘I’d never hurt Lucifer,’ Chloe replied quickly.
Linda sighed quietly. ‘I hope that’s the case.’
Linda hung up before Chloe could say anything else.
—
‘Linda said you were coming by,’ Lucifer said to the opening lift, not bothering to look toward it. ‘She didn’t seem entirely confident that this was a good idea and offered to chaperone, but I want your candid response.’
Chloe walked to the couch where he was sitting in a dressing robe and silk pajama pants, his elbows on his knees. Alcohol was conspicuously absent, but she could smell lingering cigarette smoke on him. His hair was unstyled, a mess of curls, and his five o’clock shadow was tipping forward into beard status. He looked exhausted.
‘What happened?’ she asked softly, reaching out to touch his hair and almost surprised that he didn’t recoil.
‘I know what you’re here for,’ he said in a strained voice. ‘With Linda, I was just sat across from her and showed her. I’m not sure how to do it with you.’
He dropped his head for a moment before looking back up at her.
‘You’re about to see something horrid,’ he muttered. ‘Where would you like to sit if you’re going to be terrified and want to escape post haste?’
She laughed uncomfortably. ‘Why would I want to escape from you?’
He looked at her wordlessly, and she took in the shadows under his eyes and the general sense he’d given up. She frowned before sitting next to him.
‘You’re really worried about this,’ she said softly.
He laughed sardonically without looking at her. ‘You have no idea.’
‘Whatever it is, you’re still you. I won’t abandon you. You’re kind and loving, and you’ve come so far and grown so much since we first met. I know you, and I won’t give you up.’
He looked sideways at her. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Absolutely,’ she said, nodding.
With a sigh, he stood, walking to the chair across from her.
‘I’ll show you from here,’ he said so softly that she barely heard him then looked up with concern. ‘Are you sure?’
She nodded again, and he returned the nod before taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and his face shifted. There was initially silence, and he opened his hellfire eyes.
She was already patently terrified, one hand to her chest, one hand digging into the leather couch, and one foot hovering. The glowing of his eyes, however, was what sent her crawling over the back of the couch, placing the furniture between them as his face switched back. Her hands flew to her mouth as she started to back away.
‘It’s all true,’ she whispered against her palm. ‘It’s… it’s all true.’
‘As I’ve said,’ he replied as he stood. ‘I’m the Devil, Chloe. I’ve never lied to you.’
She shook her head, backing into the piano and throwing out a hand to guide herself around it, not taking her eyes off of him. When he began to walk toward her, she moved quickly and knocked into the piano bench, falling over. He moved to help, but she scurried back.
‘No,’ she said softly. ‘No, you’re… no.’
‘I thought I’d still be me?’ he said, his voice unbelievably strained as he nervously bothered the cuffs of his dressing gown. ‘That you wouldn’t give me up?’
‘You’re the Devil,’ she hissed, and he recoiled. ‘You’re… you’re evil.’
He looked unbelievably hurt, as if she'd physically hit him, but she didn’t seem to notice or perhaps care.
‘I’ve let you be with my child,’ she said disbelievingly as she stood then continued to back up toward the lift. Her hands flew to her mouth again. ‘I’ve let a demon babysit my child!’
‘This is what I knew would happen,’ he said in a rough whisper. ‘I knew this is how you would respond, and this is why I was afraid.’
She finally backed into the wall beside the lift and froze, just staring at him.
‘Chloe, I—‘
All at once, she began slapping at the button for the lift and immediately got into the car when the doors opened before slapping at the button in there as well. After watching the doors closed, he slowly sat down on the floor, pulling his knees to him and laying his head upon them.