Chapter Text
The city faded in a slowly receding slant, the height of buildings diminishing from towering skyscrapers to squat offices to single story homes as the landscape of concrete and steel gave way to the San Gabriel Mountains. High resting peaks cut jaggedly through the sky, interrupting the endless span of blue. Though the speedometer of Chloe’s car claimed they were traveling at a brisk 60 miles an hour, to Lucifer in the passenger seat, they did not appear to be moving. They drew no nearer or further from the mountains, matched pace for pace by the massive chain of rock. Trees and the odd car whipped by them in the opposite direction, but the mountains... The mountains remained unchanged, an elderly, slumbering beasts which guarded the city, hidden from view by a curtain of smog.
For the eleventh time since they’d set out half an hour earlier, Lucifer wanted to ask where precisely it was they were going. It was true he’d told Chloe in the desert last night that he’d follow her anywhere, but he did like to know the destination at the very least.
Maybe, had it been another morning in another lifetime, he would have asked easily enough. Questions were never something he had shied away from in the past. Not even that question which had preceded his Fall, ensuring he would spend the rest of his existence alone. But today, he couldn’t bring himself to voice his curiosity. Chloe had purposefully not told him where they were going and she must have a reason for doing so.
So, he simply sat back, watching as the horizon changed minutely with each mile they traversed as he scratched idly at the side of his head. There was still sand in his hair, even after two showers. He shouldn’t have laid down on the ground last night. The blanket he’d brought along had done absolutely nothing to stop him from getting grit lodged in the strangest of places. And yet, he simply could not manage any irritation. Not when the reward had been a night spent under the stars with Chloe.
No, that was the wrong phrase. “Reward” cheapened the moment somehow. It had been a gift. Perhaps the most sacred of them all. He’d gifted her answers and she had in turn gifted him with her trust. Her secrets. Her dreams.
It was more than he had ever been given before, her desires not won but willingly shared. Her truths, her fears, she’d laid them out in a neat row for his inspection, his indulgence. He’d learned of the small things, the pieces of life which grant breath. He knew now her favorite book. Her worst memory. The scents she was most fond of and the nightmares that made her cry out. The days she looked back on when her heart ached and the moments she regretted with a ferocity that hurt his chest.
He’d learned them. Memorized them. Placed each bit of herself she shared with him in a special corner of his mind for safekeeping. Always.
They hadn’t left one another until dawn, caught between reminiscing and dozing as the stars rose and fell, dancing in the brief time between sunset and sunrise.
He couldn’t remember all that he’d shared with her. Memories of Heaven and his siblings. Adventures on Earth when he’d been younger and far less clever. His favorite river. His longest flight. The places he’d been and the people he’d met through his thousand and one lifetimes.
He couldn’t remember, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t be forgetting. He’d never known such a raw form of communication existed, one lined with such a request:
Here is a bit of myself for you to care for. Love it, please, and allow it to grow. Look upon it fondly when I cannot, and shelter it from the storms. Give it the time it deserves and when I forget it, when I lose it, remind me, please. Remind me of the things you see when you look at me.
The thought had come to him there in the desert, at one of those moments where he hadn’t been quite sure whether or not he was dreaming. But the truth that rang within them, a truth he had never before considered, was an absolute. And now, he thought he finally understood why it was that humans yearned endlessly for connections that came at the cost of their vulnerability. It wasn’t losing power, it was sharing it. Molding it into something new, something stronger.
There was much he hadn’t spoken of, dark stories left on their own to fester in that black, moldy corner of his mind. But if he shined a light on them, if he washed away the grime and allowed Chloe to see, he knew she’d treat them with the same reverence she had shown all the rest. She’d seen his worst, and he knew he was eons from being his best, but one day soon, he hoped she would know his every facet.
And, for once, he looked easily upon these future times where there would be no more secrets, no more hidden scars. Linda had outlined all this for him once before, telling him the things that relationships entailed. He thought it’d be hard, and maybe last night had simply been a fluke, their conversation an oddity that wasn’t liable to be repeated. But the fact of the matter was, for the first time in a million and some odd years, someone else knew all Lucifer was and he felt no fear.
“We’re nearly there,” Chloe said, breaking into his thoughts. She hadn’t said much during their drive until now. But the silence was not cold. Not when his hand rested on her knee and her fingers entwined with his own.
He didn’t ask where nearly there was. Last night had been for questions - and there had been many. More were undoubtedly still to come. They’d hardly even brushed the surface of the celestial side of things. Or that dark, hellish, underbelly. But they had time now. As much time as they wanted. Weeks, months, perhaps even years - though he dared not give his hopes so lofty an expectation to strive for - before their hourglass ran short, shattered by sour words or lost affections.
The road before them split and Chloe turned right, leaving the mountains behind them as they continued. It was a peaceful day. The weather was serene, the sky not blemished by so much as a single wayward cloud. The cracked window allowed crisp air to filter in and bring with it the natural scents the city lacked. The dusty smell of sun baked dirt. The sharper tang of growing things. The whispering hint of the ocean.
A sign was positioned on the side of the road, neat and clean. As they drove past, Lucifer raised a brow as he read the elegant writing. Falkner Cemetery?
The road abruptly became better maintained, grass and plants lining either side in two orderly rows that stretched on far ahead before coming to a halt just before a medium sized building with a Spanish tile roof. Again, the lettering Falkner Cemetery was displayed proudly, the parking lot ringed with trimmed trees. Aside from the company car, there were no other signs of people around.
“Isn’t it a bit early to be choosing adjoining burial plots?” he asked as Chloe pulled into one of the few parking spots.
She laughed and rolled her eyes, crystal eyes framed by golden tresses. This morning, she’d foregone her traditional ponytail, her traditional clothes, instead choosing to wear a plain tee-shirt and jeans along with a pair of sneakers that were ready to burst apart at the seams. There was no true design to the ensemble, no purpose in the mixing of colors and fabrics.
She was stunning.
“Way early,” she agreed, “seeing as we haven’t even formally been on a date yet.”
“What do you mean? Yesterday was a date.” He climbed out of the car, stretching to ease the stiffness that always came from sitting in such a cramped space for so long. “It matched all your criteria, at least. We were alone, it was inexpensive, and we were happy.” His jaw twitched. “You were happy last night, weren’t you?”
Chloe walked around the car, deliberately taking his hand. “Yes, I was. It was a good night, Lucifer. One of the best I’ve ever experienced.” She tugged him gently towards the far side of the building, where he could make out several footpaths leading off in different directions beyond the line of trees.
“Was it?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“It was,” she confirmed, hand tightening around his. “You’ve definitely raised the bar for first dates… and dates in general.”
Her easy agreement warmed his chest, a gentle heat like that of silk left in the sunlight. He hadn’t intended last night to be a date, moreso a precursor of sorts where she could ask any question she desired. But when they’d swapped to lighter topics and memories while her head was pillowed on his chest, it had become a lot less about what he was and more what they could be.
Chloe hesitated at the entrance to the paths, expression clouded with rusty familiarity before she picked the leftmost one and set off again. They were shrouded in the shade of the trees before they opened again, leaving them abruptly in a large field covered with headstones. Thousands perhaps, sat in their identical rows, stretching outwards and unbroken save for the occasional reddish maple tree.
They walked amongst the rows of low gravestones, most well kept but showing evident wear. Names were fading, inscriptions had long been bleached away. Their path forwards was clear but the grass showed few signs of being tread on.
Lucifer found the place strangely peaceful in a way he couldn’t quite describe. He’d always thought graveyards to be stifling with the sensation of mourning and pain. But there was a lilt of hope here he was surprised to find, the memories that had been buried here not drowning in misery but sunning themselves in a gentle repose. It wasn’t death that stalked the headstones, but life.
He slid closer to Chloe, their hands still entwined, neither quite leading though only one knew their true destination.
Chloe glanced up at him. “I guess this is a bit weird for you. I mean… cemeteries and angels probably don’t mix.”
“I admit, I’ve never had much reason to visit one in the past. Before, my stays on Earth were brief. They lasted only a few weeks at most before Amenadiel would track me down and force me back.”
She hummed, scanning the gravestones they passed. “Sounds like you didn’t have enough time to make connections.”
“Not at all.” The sun was hot on his back, piercing through his thin shirt. He’d forgone his jacket and waistcoat, at ease with dressing a bit more informally when it came to Chloe. “Lux really is the first place I have ever owned in my life.”
“Is that why you call Los Angeles your home?”
“This city is the only place in all the universe I have ever willingly stayed. And, more importantly, it is the only place I have fought so hard to keep. I swore to myself when I first came here that nothing would ever force me to leave.”
She came closer to him, knocking into his side. “I’m glad, of all the cities in the world, this is one you chose.”
The warmth of her body bled into his arm. “As am I. At first, it was more so because I enjoyed the pun more than anything else, but being here…” He hesitated, wanting to choose the proper words. It wasn’t often he spoke so freely of these things, least of all to someone who knew who he truly was. “I’ve never before felt like I belonged somewhere. Every city, every dimension, they were temporary. If another force hadn’t made me leave, I might have done so on my own - abandoned the Silver City someday or constantly traveled Earth in search of somewhere else.” His steps stuttered and he turned to face her fully, these words too important to let hang in the air. “I have spent my entire life running, whether it be towards or away from something. I don’t want to run anymore.”
“You don’t have to.” Chloe took his other hand in her own, linking the two of them together. Her expression was soft, brows drawn. “Not unless you want to.”
“I don’t,” he said softly. “This is where I want to be.”
“Well, Amenadiel’s not going to make you go again, right? So you’re safe here now-”
“No, Chloe.” Her hands were so small within his own and he feared that, feared how breakable she was. “Where I want to be is with you, location be damned. I already said I’d go anywhere you went, and I meant it. Los Angeles is special, that’s true. But the whole reason it’s so is because I’m here with you.”
Her mouth trembled at the admission but held firm. Wordlessly, she again led them on, peering at each grave. He allowed the silence to sit for a time, until the weightiness of his confession had dispersed some, allowing him to once again feel the warmth of the sun.
"Well, Detective, I hope you don't intend to leave me in suspense forever. Why precisely are we here - oh." The rest of the question died on his tongue as Chloe brought them to a rest in front of a gravestone with an all too familiar name. "Right… yes."
Chloe pulled free of his unresisting hand, walking forwards until her toes nearly touched the headstone. "I know it's been a while," she whispered, a gentle but pained expression on her face, her eyes lit with joy but her lips quivering with sorrow. "Hi, Dad."
He looked down at the gravestone, identical to all the rest save for the name and inscription.
John Decker - Loving Husband, Son, and Father.
He turned his uncertain gaze to Chloe, not altogether sure why she’d brought him here. “Detective?”
Chloe’s hand rested on top of the stone, fingers curling over the edge. “My Dad always wanted to meet every person I dated. He never met Dan, you know. We got together a few years after he died and by then… But you what? It wasn’t just that. I could have brought him here. But as much as I loved him, I always knew Dad wouldn’t like Dan.” Her hand fell to the name, tracing the engraving with a forefinger. “Maybe that was a sign. Maybe it wasn’t. But…” she half turned back to Lucifer. “I think Dad would have loved you.”
He didn’t know what to say. His jaw worked but there was a lump in his throat which muted him, words unable to pass the hard, hot ball choking him.
Chloe turned away again. “So… Dad, meet Lucifer. And Lucifer?” She stepped to the side. “This is my Dad.”
A lazy wind rustled the grass, whispering as it snaked between the graves. It caught the cuffs of his trousers as he moved forwards a pace. “It is, truly, a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Decker.”
Chloe hid a smile with her hand. “I know it’s kinda stupid, doing this.”
“Not at all. This is where you feel closest to him, yes?”
“Yeah. Mom moved out of the house I grew up in right after he died. And all the people he used to work with have long retired.” She moved back to his side, his slighter shadow. “I never believed in Heaven before, but I always feel like he’s still around when I come here. Like,” she closed her eyes, “if I turned around and looked, he’d be standing right behind me, thumbs tucked in his belt and a grin on his face." Her breathing hitched. "He’d say, ‘why the long face, Monkey?’ A-And he’d take me back to the car s-s-so we could get bu-burgers.” Hot tears spilled from her closed eyes, glistening in the late morning light.
“Shhh.” He pulled her into his arms without hesitation, her face pressed into his chest as he tucked the top of her head under his chin.
And from the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a figure doing just that, leaning against one of the nearby maple trees as he inspected the two of them with a genial expression topped by familiar dirty blond hair. Drawing his head up sharply, Lucifer blinked, only to find the space around the tree empty.
Chloe pulled away from him, rubbing delicately at her eyes. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing…” He continued scanning the area. Souls weren’t meant to linger and even if one had somehow been miraculously overlooked by his sister, he would have sensed it.
“Anyway,” Chloe regained her composure, “even if he’s not here, I wanted him to know who you were.”
“You think your father would approve of his only daughter dating the Devil?” he asked, entwining his arm around her shoulders to keep her close as they looked down at the grave.
“I don’t really know,” she said, gaze unfocused. “He was an atheist too. But my dad, he always wanted to help people. My mom used to get angry at him because he would give a few dollars to people who were begging outside the grocery store or work on side cases to help those who’s cases had been set aside by the higher ups." Her expression softened with fondness. "She said he was too kind, that the world didn’t reward nice people. But that was just who he was. If he saw someone hurting or suffering, he wanted to help them.
“And that night I first saw the scars on your back… I was horrified by them. By how painful it must have been for you." Her hand trailed up his back, following his spine. "If my dad had seen them, he would’ve launched a full investigation to figure out who had hurt you like that so he could make sure they never hurt anyone else ever again. And knowing that, I couldn’t ignore what I had seen either. I wanted to help you because he couldn’t.
“I don’t know if I did a decent job though. The truth… it’s a bit different than what I had originally thought. Bigger, let’s say. And older too. But even so, I had to try, even if I wasn’t able to give it my best shot.”
“You did enough. More than enough,” he said, words threatening to fail him entirely. He took a few deep breaths. “You truly think your father would have liked me?”
“You’re his favorite kind of person. Someone who has been shown the absolute worst the world has to offer and has every reason to fight back with the same rage and pain. But instead, all you want is to make people happier. You know what suffering is and you don’t want those undeserving of it to feel what you did.”
As always, her clear assertions of how good he was made him balk. It was so foreign, someone mentioning his good qualities beyond the façade. But he shoved down the gut instinct to refute her.
“For what it’s worth, I think your father is immensely proud of you. Had I the ability, I’d ask him myself.” He kissed the top of her head, lips lingering in her hair. “But even so, I know with absolute certainty that you have grown to be more than he could have ever hoped for.
Lucifer didn’t know what the following days would bring. He had no gift for foresight and the future was as big a mystery to him as everyone else. Only God knew for sure and it wasn’t likely He would be sharing anytime soon. The most Lucifer could do was be content with this, for as long or short as it lasted.
Chloe sniffed. “Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me.”
He had an inkling, well aware of how the praise of a parent was coveted by their child regardless of age. John Decker may not be here but he’d be a fool to not be overjoyed with the woman Chloe had become. Someone who could show kindness to even the Devil himself. Who could cry on his behalf and take his hand, offering her strength to him.
The wind again whispered past and Lucifer again thought he caught someone in the corner of his eye. This time, he did not dare take a proper look. But rather, he pulled his flask from his trousers pocket and offered it in silent salute before taking a sip and extended it next to Chloe who, to his pleasant surprise, also drank.
“I suppose,” he said as he replaced his flask, “this is another positive that came from cutting off my wings.”
She gave him a disapproving look, tongue peeking out to swipe the alcohol from her lips. “That better not be you looking to cut off yours again…”
“Nope,” he said. “It was merely an observation. Without the scars, who knows how things would have ended up between us.”
She shook her head slowly. “I think they would have ended up exactly the same. The path might have been different, but the destination?” She stroked his cheek with her thumb. “I believe this is always where we were meant to be.”
It was high praise indeed, considering they’d only been on a single date. But Lucifer understood what she truly meant. Whether it be as romantic partners or friends, mostly strangers who worked together or the sort of people who vowed themselves to one another without sharing even a kiss, in this city of just under four million they always would have found each other. However fleetingly. However unlikely.
“You should come with me next week to watch Trixie’s Halloween parade at her school,” Chloe said suddenly.
He chuckled. “I may be fond of your child but that hardly means I want to be anywhere near others.”
“True, but if you plan on sticking around, then there are a few things you’re just going to have to stomach,” she teased. “Besides, Trixie would be ecstatic if you showed and… and I want her to get used to the idea of us.”
“I thought you wanted to go slow?” he questioned.
“I do. But I don’t want to keep us in the shadows either. This, it’s special. Why should we hide it from anyone else?”
“Your reputation…”
Her hand moved from his cheek to his lips, silencing him. “Let them think what they want. I’m not ashamed of you, Lucifer. I’m proud. Of you. Me. Us.” Her hand slid from his lips to his chest, toying with a button. “The past week, I missed you constantly. With every breath. Every heartbeat. I don’t want to lose more time because of what someone else will say or do. You’re free now, you know? No more Hell. No more hiding. No more darkness. This between us… it’s meant for the light.”
For a few precarious moments, his mind simply stalled. What she was offering him… Then he was holding her close as his mouth pressed against hers. He cupped the back of her head and drew her near, pouring all the things he couldn’t - wouldn’t say - into a form of communication he was far more accustomed with.
He thanked her for staying, for listening. He demonstrated his awe for her faith in him. He gave her the respect and joy and maybe even love he felt for her in that moment, things he had gone so long without, he scarcely even recalled what they even felt like anymore.
He gave it all to her, and she understood him. It was evident in the way her tongue brushed against his, how her hands stroked up his back, instinctively skipping where his scars ought to have been.
When they parted with great reluctance on both their parts, their faces hovering scant inches from one another, Lucifer could see himself reflected in her very eyes.
The wind still blew. The sun still beat down on them. Somewhere not far off, a case was probably about to be assigned to them. He’d have to go back to Lux later to set up for the night, and Chloe would return to her own home to see her daughter. Their lives and their patterns hadn’t changed. Not really. He was he and she was she. But the blue of her life and the red of his had blended.
So when she asked him to come over for dinner later, he naturally said yes.
And when he offered to play a special set for her at Lux tomorrow after work, she instantly agreed.
They stayed for a while longer before heading back to the car, once again hands intertwined. And it was purple which stained their fingers, mixing in the space between them.
The Devil and his Detective, now what a strange pair they must have cut, two complete opposites finding peace with one another. There might have been some irony there, but Lucifer couldn’t bring himself to care.
They retraced their steps, moving away from a past that still soured their tongues, and towards an unknown future made all the less terrifying by the simple fact they were not entering it alone.
“Thank you,” Lucifer said when they reached the car.
“For what?” she asked, settling in the driver's seat.
“Everything.”
And he meant it. Every smile. Every word. Every moment.
She grinned, turning the key in the ignition before moving her hand to his knee, unable to keep apart. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”
They pulled out and returned to the road, rejoining the mountains which were exactly as they had left them. The sky remained clear. The radio was silent. And all that existed was profound peace.
The peace of those whose love and affections are branded on one another soul deep.