Lucifer knocked wearily at the bathroom door, calling out, "Miss Lopez, please open up."
"Go away!" Ella called back from the other side
He rolled his eyes and grumbled, his fist tightening as it rested against the door. "Miss Lopez!"
Chloe, sensing his increasing agitation, put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and tried, "Ella, please talk to us. We know how difficult this must be for you; we're your friends!"
Lucifer sighed and quietly grumbled, "I'm going to open the door."
"No!" Chloe whispered harshly, her eyes and voice like steel, "You doing your lock-mojo is just going to freak her out even more. Believe me, Lucifer, this is something she needs to come to us about. We can't just force-"
Chloe paused when, finally, the lock on the inside of the bathroom door clicked. Slowly, Ella opened the door, revealing her, still in her cobalt dress from the wedding. Her eye makeup was smeared and running around her blood-shot eyes. Margaret, her bathtub chicken, was tucked underneath one arm.
Ella glared at Lucifer and yelled, "Okay. You want to talk? You claim you don't lie, so come on, Lucifer! Tell me how you can see the ghost that's haunted me since childhood."
Lucifer took a deep breath as he gulped. For a moment, he looked over his shoulder at Azrael, who was pacing anxiously in Ella's living room. Then he looked back at Ella, knowing that there was no turning back now.
Ella Lopez was about to find out the truth.
Three hours earlier...
Chloe's and Lucifer's wedding reception took place on the same beach as their wedding. Following the ceremony, a DJ, buffet table, and open bar were set up. The sun was setting now, casting the sky into brilliant hues of orange, pink, red, and purple. Even after living there for years, the L.A. sunset never ceased to amaze anyone, except maybe Maze, who was much more fascinated with catching up with Eve to notice much else.
Lucifer and Chloe had finished their first dance as husband and wife, a few of their friends made speeches, and many pictures were taken.
After all of that, Chloe had a little surprise for her new husband. Finding the courage at the bottom of a shot of vodka, Chloe walked up to the DJ booth and took the mic he offered her.
"Excuse me everyone, hi!" She smiled, then continued, "Um, as you probably know, normally at weddings, there is a traditional father/daughter dance. Unfortunately, my dad, well, he can't be here. But...I don't think that should stop us. So, I would like to invite Lucifer and our daughter, Iris, onto the dance floor for their first father/daughter dance.
Lucifer's eyes widened at Chloe's invitation, but he quickly accepted. Iris was just a few feet away, playing with Charlie.
He knelt down next to her, taking her very small hand in his, and asked, "Bullet, would you like to come dance with me?"
Iris's head snapped up and she eagerly nodded.
Lucifer nodded his head toward the dance floor, taking Iris by the hand, and walked her out to the center of the cleared space.
Once there, he lifted Iris up on his hip, seeing as she was quite significantly shorter than he was. With one arm underneath her rear, he held her left hand in his right.
Daughters by John Mayer began playing as Lucifer swayed with his daughter.
"Are you having fun today?" Lucifer asked her.
"Yes." Iris answered, her smile as bright and dopey as it always seemed to be, and yet, so very much the detective's.
"You and I have never danced before, have we?" Lucifer pondered.
"I wike dancing." Iris said.
Lucifer chuckled, "Me too."
Comforted by the music and the security of her father's arms, Iris placed her head on Lucifer's shoulder, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Giving a few low hums with his adoring smile, Lucifer moved the hand that had been holding Iris's hand onto her back to support her.
Caught up in the moment and emotion of the day, Lucifer quietly said, "I love you."
"I wove you, Daddy." Iris replied.
A huge weight Lucifer hadn't realized was there felt as if it had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't realized until now how important it was to him that his daughter knew without a doubt that he loves her. He's always feared losing her to his siblings, not being good enough for her, or hurting her in one way or another, but Lucifer realized now that all of those anxieties were leading to one place: Lucifer doesn't want Iris to feel the same way he had growing up, like she was unloved or unwanted.
That is how he found himself telling her the one thing he had always wished he heard from his own father, something he had only told one other soul in a bit of a misunderstanding.
"I am so proud of you, Iris."
Iris snuggled closer into Lucifer's chest. He lightly kissed her shoulder (the only part of her he could reach with her laying on him) As Iris wrapped her arms around him, almost as if giving him a hug, and she, in turn, kissed his cheek.
He doesn't quite know what he's so proud of, but he never lies, so his admission was the truth, there was no doubt about that. He's just immensely proud of her for just being her.
Two minutes later, the song ended, and Lucifer put Iris down to go run off and play with other children.
He felt some one tap his shoulder, so Lucifer turned around. Trixie was standing behind him with a smirk on her face, asking, "Mind if I cut in?"
***
Ella sat in her favorite chair in her living room, a very large and fluffy bean bag chair that honestly took up half of the small room and threatened to swallow the small forensic scientist whole. She had her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. Before sitting down and demanding answers out of the others in her living room, she had gone to her room to take off her dress and makeup and get into a pair of comfortable leggings with emojis on them and a large t-shirt.
Chloe, Lucifer, and Azrael all sat together on the couch across from the bean bag chair, quite cramped actually, thanks to Lucifer's greater size compared to the two women.
Not being able to stand the awkward silence and waiting, Lucifer spoke up first with a cheeky grin, "The last time I was alone in a room with this many adult women, things were much more fun than this."
Azrael grimaced and practically growled, "Dude! Shut up!"
Lucifer pursed his lips, his eyes widened slightly, as he rubbed his hands together, doing as Azrael said.
Calming down, Azrael hung her head and turned back in Ella's direction. Quietly, she asked, "Where do you want to start, Ells?"
Ella - who hadn't even moved, much less smile at Lucifer's sex joke - took a breath and slowly turned her head toward her friends, at least, she thought they were her friends.
Her voice tired and hoarse from crying, Ella answered, "The car accident. Start with what you were really doing at the car accident."
Azrael seemed to twitch uncomfortably as she quickly replied, "Just know, whatever you ask, you might not like the answer."
Shocking them all, Ella yelled, "No! What I don't like is being lied to and made to seem like I'm crazy. Rae-Rae, I went over twenty-years thinking that I was the only one who could see you. A ghost! You know what that was like for me, what that put me through! Now I find out that my best friend can see you too? Who the hell are you?"
Azrael gulped.
Two hours earlier...
Once Lucifer had finished dancing with the girls, the party really got started. The DJ was incredible and everyone was having a blast. The children seemed to really enjoy the cake and chasing each other around. He and Chloe were able to dance several more times after that, each more enjoyable than the last. He supposed he'd never get tired of dancing with her, his wife.
As they were all mingling and taking a food-break, Eve found Lucifer by the bar.
"Hey Luce," She smiled softly.
Lucifer chuckled, remembering her greeting from the time they met years ago in Lux. This time, his tone was less shocked and more pleased to see her, "Eve."
She giggled softly and looked around. She still seemed to thoroughly enjoy the color red, as it was the color she had picked out for her dress tonight.
"I just wanted to say thank you for inviting me." Eve said.
Lucifer sipped his drink and then brushed off, "Of course! It's good to see you again, especially making Mazikeen so happy."
Eve blushed and glanced over at Maze, who was doing some silly dance with the infamous Tribe to a 90's boy-band song.
"It's great to see everyone again," She started, "but I'm not back. I'm still...figuring things out."
Lucifer nodded and replied, "I understand."
"You know, one of the biggest reasons I came tonight was to meet Iris!" She exclaimed, her voice just as bouncy and musical as it had always been.
Lucifer smiled brightly and nodded, "Can you believe it? Me, a father?" He still chuckled at the absurdity of the idea, even though he's been a father for two years now.
Eve shook her head, completely shocked, "I mean, when I first heard that you had a baby, I was like, whoa! Never saw you enjoying parenting coming. But, she is so freaking cute."
"I know," Lucifer drawled.
"And she looks exactly like you." Eve commented.
Lucifer's eyebrows pinched together slightly as he asked, "Really? I see more of the detective in her face. Like, her nose and smile...things like that."
Eve nodded and replied, "I can see that, but she totally has your eyes and that same...light inside of you that I always saw."
Lucifer considered that. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about who Iris looked more like since the day she was born.
"Anyway," She continued, "I also want to apologize for not reaching out two years ago. Would you believe me if I told you that Maze never called me to tell me that Chloe was pregnant? I mean, a year after I left, I got back in contact with her, because that's what you do when you miss somebody, so one would think that when one of the greatest loves of your life is going to be a father, someone would tell me."
Lucifer tensed up, fearing that, perhaps, he had made a mistake in inviting Eve. Was she still hung up on him?
As if she read his thoughts, she clarified, "Ooh, that didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I mean that, I know we're done and you've moved on, and I'm so happy that you're in love and unbelievably happy with Chloe. I am, Lucifer, I really am." She touched his forearm lightly. "I mean that we're friends, and if I had known that Chloe was pregnant, I would have called or sent a present or something. Maze told me as an after thought the day Iris was born when she was hanging out at the hospital with Trixie."
Lucifer nodded in understanding, smiling fondly at her, "It's alright."
"She really is a sweet kid." Eve added, "I told her that I'm a very old friend of her daddy's."
Lucifer laughed and joked, "Trying to explain to a toddler how old you are? I don't think she can even count to ten yet, Eve, much less...however old you are."
Eve scoffed and shot back the rest of her drink, shaking her head, though amusement was present in her expression. When she had finished, she placed the glass back on the bar, and said, "I'm going to go say hi to a few more people I have to catch a flight back to D.C.."
"D.C.!" Lucifer recalled, seeing as that's where he sent her wedding invitation, "Pray tell, how did you end up in the U.S. capitol?"
Eve laughed and shrugged, "When I started traveling, I figured I'd start seeing what this country had to offer. So far I really like Washington, there's always something happening there, but I think it's going to be time for me to move on soon."
They spent the next few minutes chit chatting about all the places she's been, and what her possible plans are for the future. Lucifer filled her in on all the details of what had happened in his life leading up to today. They talked easily for a long time until, finally, there was nothing to talk about anymore.
"Well," Lucifer breathed, "wherever you do end up, I hope you find what you're looking for."
Eve opened up her arms for a hug, and Lucifer leaned down into her, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame.
"Congratulations, Lucifer." She said genuinely, "I'm so happy for you."
They smiled once more at each other before Eve headed back onto the dance floor to see the girls and Maze one more time.
Lucifer ordered one more scotch, taking this one with him, as he decided to take a stroll along the shoreline, just taking Amenadiel's advice into consideration one last time.
He gazed off into the distance, watching the waves slowly rise and fall as they came closer to land. He didn't hear anyone approach until they greeted him.
"Lu?"
Lucifer recognized the voice and immediately turned around, his eyebrows raising just a bit higher on his forehead.
"Azrael?" He blinked, not believing his eyes.
There, standing just a few feet away from him on the beach, in a knee length white dress with large red hibiscuses on it, black sandals on her feet, and a black pair of glasses on her face, was the Angel of Death and Lucifer's favorite little sister.
"What on Earth are you doing here?" He asked.
***
"The night you got in that car wreck," Azrael hesitantly began explaining, struggling to maintain eye contact with Ella's accusing and betrayed stare, "I was there...to pick you up."
"Pick me up?" Ella asked, shaking her head with confusion.
Azrael paused, her shoulders tensed as she pondered how best to explain this story to her best friend.
"Ella, you remember how bad things were that night." She said gravely.
Ella scoffed and grumbled, "Yeah, the paramedics said it was a miracle I was still alive, that it looked like I wasn't going to make it."
Chloe took in a sharp breath and looked at her hands. Lucifer spun his onyx ring around his finger.
Azrael stared imploringly at Ella. Ella stared back, her confusion fading into disbelief at the look Azrael was giving her.
She sat up as best she could in her bean bag chair and accused, "Wait. Rae-Rae. Are you telling me that you were there to get me? Like, take me into the ghost world? I should have died?" Ella's tone increased hysterically.
Azrael shook her head slightly and replied, "Not exactly. Um..."
Lucifer grumbled, "Best get on with it. There's no turning back now."
Lucifer stood up from the couch and paced the room, looking increasingly agitated as Azrael continued the story. He strode around Ella's main room, eyeing the various religious trinkets that clashed with the fandom memorabilia.
"I was there to come get you, but...in my line of work, sometimes there are some false alarms. You were a false alarm. I don't control who lives or who dies...I just take them to the next place."
Ella blinked and asked, "Wait, like, the Grim Reaper?"
Azrael gave a miniscule flinch before saying, "I mean...I don't think I'm that scary, but that's really more a term humans made up for scary bedtime stories."
Ella opened her mouth to say something else, but then she stopped, her face paling. She stared at Azrael and breathed, "You didn't deny it."
Azrael pursed her lips and ducked her head down momentarily.
"Rae-Rae," Ella said, "Are you Death?"
Azrael sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose, "Well, death is more of a verb, something that happens to mortals. Death isn't a physical being. Again...scary stories. I'm...pretty much a guide. You've actually heard about me and talked about me in that Catholic school you went to. I kind of made sure I ditched the day your teacher talked about Exodus."
Ella buried her face in her hands, tearing her fingers through her hair. Then she froze, the slight creases on her forehead indicating that she was thinking.
"Hold on...Exodus..." She breathed. Then her eyes bulged out of her head as she cried, "Holy smokes! Like, the Angel of Death?"
"Yes," Azrael's voice was small and timid, so unlike any legend of the Grim Reaper or the Angel of Death Chloe or Ella had ever heard.
Ella's breath hitched as she looked over at the wall next to her, seemingly staring through it as she tried to catch up with the new information her oldest friend had given her.
Finally, after a long moment of silence and Azrael sitting on the couch like she was preparing for a scolding, Ella harshly said, "Rae-Rae, I'm going to need you to tell me everything."
One hour earlier...
"My favorite big brother is getting married to the love of his life. Do you need anymore than that?" Azrael teased.
Lucifer slid his hand that wasn't holding a glass into his pocket and replied with a joyless smile and a sarcastic tone, "Well, seeing as the last time one of our siblings popped in unannounced, my unborn child nearly got taken away. Forgive me for being skeptical."
Azrael sighed sadly and her shoulders slumped as she replied, "Lu, I'm not here for your kid, okay? Honestly, I heard through the grapevine that you and Detective Decker were getting married today, and, well, I just wanted to come say congrats."
Lucifer studied her for a moment. He highly doubted that Azrael would ever lie to him, but his siblings have pulled worse betrayals in the past, proving that he couldn't trust any of them, except maybe Amenadiel, but that came after several years of turning over new leaves.
Lucifer nodded his head in the direction of the party and said, "There's free booze and cake over there if you'd like to join."
Azrael gave him that small, appreciative smile she used to all the time when they were younger, when he'd include her or be kind to her when all of their other siblings weren't.
Together, they slowly walked down the beach back toward the reception where music and lights were blaring and people danced to them.
"So..." Azrael dragged out, "how is your baby?"
Lucifer laughed, his smile brightening, "Not so much a baby anymore, I'm afraid, but bloody spectacular."
"You had a girl, right?"
"Yes."
Azrael smirked and elbowed him in the side, "Look at you getting all mushy!"
Lucifer glared at her, affronted, "I am not mushy!"
Azrael rolled her eyes and retorted, "Lu, come on. We all know you hate kids."
"I bloody despise the little urchins." He replied.
"But not yours?" She countered.
Lucifer smiled ruefully and repeated, "But not mine. Mine is...different."
Azrael hummed sarcastically, totally not believing a word. After a few more seconds of walking, coming closer to the party, Azrael asked, "I don't think I ever heard what you named her."
Lucifer linked arms with Azrael as they entered the party and replied, "Iris. Well, her full name is Iris Melody Morningstar."
Azrael gave a long, drawn-out whistle and replied, "Wow, that's really pretty."
Lucifer chuckled, "Pretty name for a pretty girl."
They got Azrael something to eat first. She eyed the buffet table wildly, like she didn't know what to look at first. Angels don't need to eat in the way humans do, so realistically, Azrael probably has never been offered this much food before.
"Take as much as you like," Lucifer offered. Azrael grabbed a plate and chose a few snacks after careful consideration.
"I remember some of these from when Ella was little and her mom would bake and cook and stuff. It was so good. Although, I never ate any of the snacks when Ella was watching, 'cause I kinda told her ghosts can't touch stuff, but when she left the room or fell asleep, I snacked. "
Lucifer didn't comment on his sister's lies to Miss Lopez. Instead, the two of them stood on the side lines of the party, chit chatting, listening to the blaring dance music, and not really being bothered much by anyone. If anyone did stop by, it wasn't someone Azrael knew, and they didn't pay her much attention other than a acknowledging smile.
"You know, things aren't as bad at home as you think they are." Azrael pointed out as she dipped a tortilla chip into some salsa.
"How do you mean? It was literally Hell for me the last time I was there." Lucifer replied.
"I mean," Azrael shrugged, "not everybody is as mad at you anymore."
Lucifer set his tumbler down on nearby table a little harder than he should have.
"Really? Then, explain why Remmy and I nearly fought to the death because I impregnated a human, whom I love, mind you? How Michael tried to steal my life four years ago? Why..." Lucifer paused, blanking over this brother's name, "he tried to have the detective killed."
Azrael looked defiantly at him, something she rarely does considering how shy she tends to be. Lucifer has told their brothers and sisters before, though, Azrael can be no sweet peach.
"Lucifer, you can't generalize and pigeon-hole all of us because of a few bad apples...why the heck did I use the apple metaphor." She reminded him, before kicking herself for the poor choice of words.
Despite her misstep there, Lucifer gave a small, amused, breath of a laugh, before saying, "Well, if they aren't royally pissed at me anymore, how come none of them have popped in to say hello or have come to tell me themselves? Not that I'd likely forgive them. It has been literal eons."
Azrael shrugged as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "Your guess is as good as mine. I think most of them are still shocked from the rebellion. A couple have been watching though-"
"Perverts."
"And they've been paying attention." Azrael ignored him, her tone imploring that he understand, "They've watched some of your time here on Earth, almost like it's a TV drama. Fun fact: there are quite a few Deckerstar shippers in the Silver City, especially after they found out that Dad made Detective Decker personally. Oh, and Amenadiel filled Remiel in on some of the stuff before his son was born. A few of our brothers were really proud of how much you changed, Lu. You went back to Hell without anyone forcing you to, and you did the noble thing, sticking around for your daughter's life and not abandoning her!"
Lucifer scoffed, "I'm sure they were only proud of the fact that I, for once in my bloody life, did as I was told like a good little boy."
Azrael shook her head.
Lucifer didn't seem to notice, however, and continued, "Plus, even if a handful, if that, changed their minds about me...it all comes down to what Dad says, and I know Dad has been off doing His own thing the last couple of years, so the Silver City is being babysat by the Big Three."
Azrael blinked, "Wait, Dad is...what?"
Lucifer sighed, "Amenadiel, Maze, Michael, and I got into a bout of fisticuffs, Dad got sick of our bickering, stepped in, and well...it's a rather long story, involving a very dramatic family dinner and some karaoke. I can fill you in later."
Azrael's eyes widened, deciding to take him at his very strange word.
"Anyway," Azrael slowly continued, "how shocked would you be if I told you that two out of the Big Three are actually genuinely proud of you and are amazed by your story?"
Lucifer looked squarely at his little sister and deadpanned, "I'd say what drugs have you been taking and can I have some?"
Azrael giggled and nodded her head once in an affirming way.
Lucifer's eyebrows pinched together with a faint smile, but they faded all to quickly into an eye roll. "Let me guess which one isn't on board with my change..."
Azrael sighed, "Michael has always been a dick, we established this eons ago."
"I can't believe Dad didn't remove his archangel status after what he did here." Lucifer scoffed, shaking his head. "So bloody unfair."
"He couldn't leave all of the Silver City up to Gabe and Raph." Azrael pointed out, "That's like leaving the universe to the high school stereotypic jock and stoner. Plus, he is being punished, but it's somewhere he can't harm or manipulate anybody."
Lucifer smiled slyly and charmingly replied, "Oh? Do tell."
Azrael leaned in close and quietly answered, "He's answering prayers. If one of our siblings gets caught up in one of their assigned tasks, and they can't answer prayers and stuff, he's supposed to do it. Putting it in precinct terms, which you might get: Michael is the department bottom, but because he's been tenured in, he can't be fired."
Lucifer guffawed and clapped his hands, "Oh that is rich! He's a bloody guardian!"
Azrael laughed and nodded, "I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's really freaking funny!"
"Oh no, definitely laugh all you want!" Lucifer encouraged her.
After a moment of laughing at Michael, Azrael said, "I don't know what their plans are. Remmy acted all on her own when Detective Decker was pregnant with Iris, I swear. The rest of us didn't have anything to do with that. Remmy thought she was following orders-"
"But Dad hasn't given any, and you lot are just assuming, yes I've heard that excuse before."
"Anyway, um, I was wondering...I don't know if you and your wife or Amenadiel would be comfortable with it, but...do you think it'd be okay if I met Iris and Chucky one day?" Azrael asked.
"Chucky?" Lucifer asked, affronted. Then he clarified, "His name is Charlie."
"Oh," Azrael blushed, "Sorry. That's what Michael calls him."
Lucifer rolled his eyes and muttered a string of profanities about his twin that made Azrael quite uncomfortable.
"Lu," She started, "I know this is probably a lot to ask, but...if you, Amenadiel, his partner, and maybe Detective Decker say it's okay, well...do you think I could meet them?"
Lucifer considered Azrael and her clearly genuine plea. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and kindly answered, "It's alright with me if you want to meet my daughter, but, I cannot speak for Amenadiel, Linda, and the detective. However, I give you my word that I will talk to them about it."
Azrael beamed and jumped slightly on the balls of her feet, exclaiming, "Really? Thanks, Lu!"
Before he knew it, Azrael had wrapped her arms around his middle without warning. Now he sees more of why she and Miss Lopez got on so well.
"You're welcome." Lucifer said timidly, patting his sister's head.
Azrael broke away a few seconds later, her head turning toward the dance floor. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri had just come on and quite a few people were slow dancing.
"Oh man, I love this song!" Azrael exclaimed, "Ella and I used to scream-sing to it, especially when we watched that last Twilight movie together."
"Would you like to dance?" Lucifer asked, offering her his hand.
Azrael looked at his hand like it might bite her, shook her head, and answered, "Oh, um, I don't...I can't dance."
"Sure you can!" Lucifer argued, "Come on." He gently placed his hand on her back and nudged her along to the dance floor. "If I can dance with a two-year old, I can dance with my immortal little sister with little dancing experience."
He led Azrael out to the dance floor and held one of her hands in his, while placing the other on her back. She mirrored him. With someone as inexperienced with dancing as Azrael, he probably should have had her place her hands behind his neck, but given the height difference, that didn't seem possible.
"Follow my lead." He told her reassuringly as she looked down at her feet with worry.
Lucifer swayed to the beat of the music, keeping his expression calm and pleased while fighting the urge to grimace the few times Azrael stepped on his toes.
"This isn't so bad." Azrael decided. Lucifer smiled.
Lucifer gave Azrael a spin as the song was coming to a close.
"Okay, mister, you didn't think you were going to get to leave this wedding without giving me a dance-" Ella teased as she made her way over. Given her slight slurring of words, it was clear that she was quite tipsy, bordering on drunk. However, she froze and that glorious buzz vanished as her eyes locked on Lucifer and his dance partner. Ella gaped at them as Azrael sprang away from Lucifer. He looked between both of them, realizing what was so bad about this.
"Miss Lopez," Lucifer started, but Ella interrupted him.
"Rae-Rae?" She asked hoarsely, "What are you doing here? H-how can Lucifer see you? How can he touch you?" Her questions became more hysterical the more she asked.
"Ella, I can explain." Azrael hurriedly answered.
"You told me that nobody but me could see you! You said that you couldn't touch anybody because of ghost rules!" Ella yelled, her eyes becoming red with tears.
Azrael flinched and looked around nervously, whispering, "Ella, keep your voice down!"
"No! No I'm not going to keep my voice down! Rae-Rae, you're my best friend, but it looks like you've been massively lying to me. You let everyone think I was crazy, but now you're dancing with my best friend on his wedding day?" Ella cried.
Not helping matters at all, Lucifer added, "Miss Lopez, of course I can see her. She is my sister, after all."
Ella stared at him, her body going slack as she repeated, "Your sister?"
"See? This is why I don't lie." Lucifer reminded Azrael, who shot him the deadliest glare Lucifer had ever seen.
Ella tore her fingers through her hair and then continued, "Okay...okay, say that makes sense. You never told me you had a dead sister! I get, that must be hard, but we've been friends for years, Lucifer, and she's never come up!"
"Well, that's because-" Lucifer started, but Ella cut him off.
"And Rae-Rae, the last time you were in L.A., you saw me at work, you knew that I worked your maybe-brother, so why not tell me?"
Azrael didn't look at her, instead, the sand seemed safer than Ella's betrayed and pained eyes.
After receiving no answer, Ella stormed off.
"Ella!" Azrael called after her, moving to follow her, but Lucifer held onto her arms.
"Let her go," He advised, "she's going to need space."
At that moment, Chloe jogged over, concern written all over her face, "Hey, what's wrong with Ella? She looked really upset."
Azrael locked her fingers behind her head, looking up at the sky with shining eyes.
Lucifer sighed as he looked to Chloe and explained, "This is my sister, Azrael."
"Your sister?" Chloe asked, alarm evident in her voice.
"She means no harm, Detective, I assure you." Lucifer implored, gesturing with his hands with palms toward Chloe, asking her to have patience, "She and Miss Lopez have...a history, and it seems that, well..." Lucifer couldn't quite figure out how to explain the rest of it.
Chloe's eyebrows pinched together as she placed an index finger on her chin in thought. Then she asked, "Ella didn't happen to think your sister was a ghost, did she?"
Azrael answered, tears weighing down her voice, "Yeah...that's what I told her I was."
Chloe nodded, no judgement or shame anywhere in her demeanor. She looked to Lucifer with wide eyes and calmly said, "Ella is going to need answers. She's not going to stop until she gets them, and I don't want her to get hurt."
"Neither do I, believe me." Lucifer agreed.
Chloe grabbed onto his forearm, squeezing lightly, "We need to find her, and explain this to her ourselves so she doesn't do something reckless."
Like I did, Lucifer assumed were the next words she was omitting.
"If she feels safe, and with friends, this might go as smooth as something like this can be."
"Right now?" Lucifer asked.
Chloe sighed and asked, "Would you be okay postponing our wedding night?"
Lucifer took a deep breath. He hated the notion of not being able to have sex with the detective - his wife - tonight, but it seemed there were more important matters at hand.
"It's Miss Lopez," He answered, not wanting, even more than missing their wedding night, Miss Lopez to be hurt because of him and his family. She was way too good for that; a soul that special deserved better.
Chloe nodded and said, "I'm going to tell Linda we're leaving and why. Hopefully she can cover for us."
With that, Chloe, Lucifer, and Azrael took off to find Ella. Chloe asked Azrael if she would fill her in on her relationship with Ella before they found her (they decided to start looking at her apartment). Lucifer was uncharacteristically quiet the entire way.
***
Azrael finished telling Ella everything, from the false-alarm car accident, to wanting to be her friend, suggesting she go to L.A., thinking that her two favorite people could be together since she can't, and why she was in the city tonight.
Ella remained balled up in her bean bag chair, listening intently to Rae-Rae's story, but keeping extremely quiet to the shock of everyone else in the room. Besides the day Pierce yelled at her for talking too much, none of them had ever known Ella to be quiet, much less silent, about anything.
Finally, Ella mumbled, "Why didn't you want to tell me who you really were, Rae-Rae? I would have accepted you. I always thought angels were pretty sweet and badass."
Azrael tried to smile, but it wasn't convincing at all.
"Because...I didn't want you to look at me like I was different, like I was a...superhero or something. You were always so kind, and if you kept thinking that I was human-ish, our friendship could be kinda normal. Plus, you had this massive and deep faith in Dad that is so freaking inspiring that, I was worried if you knew the truth, it would change such a huge part of what makes you so incredible."
Ella squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her head into the space between her legs and her chest for a moment.
"I really wish you hadn't lied to me." Ella whispered.
Azrael sniffed and looked away.
Chloe got off the couch then and came over to hug Ella. Ella snuggled into her chest, doing her best to hold in the tears.
"Jeez," Ella sniffed, "It's your wedding day and you're here when you should be getting massively banged taking care of all my crazy." She joked.
Chloe chuckled and replied, "It really wasn't that long ago I was in your shoes. I wish I had been smart enough to lean on my friends through it. I just didn't know that anybody else knew."
Ella giggled, but then Chloe felt her stop breathing for a minute. Ella's head snapped up, her eyes wide, and mouth gaping slightly.
"Oh goody, my turn." Lucifer said coldly, a forced smile on his face as he leaned against the far wall.
"Rae-Rae said you are her brother." Ella said dryly.
"That is correct." Lucifer answered. "Older brother."
Her searching, thinking face returned as she continued piecing together the clues, almost thinking out loud.
"You never lied."
"I don't lie about my identity. It's up to you humans whether or not you believe me."
Ella flinched at his use of "you humans". Then she said, "That...makes so much sense."
Lucifer blinked and shook his head, asking, "Come again?"
Ella looked up at him, no longer crying, but her eyes seemed almost clear, "Now everything makes so much sense. The feathers in the loft...how you get people to confess their desires..." She let her thoughts trail, insinuating all of the other weird things that had happened around Lucifer in the past.
"Yes I...I suppose it does." Lucifer answered but as more of a question, "Why aren't you, you know, going insane?"
Ella shrugged and replied, her voice distant, "Well, I mean, I might be. Does anyone have booze?"
Lucifer's mouth dropped open at her and his eyebrows shot up on his forehead, "Miss Lopez! You just realized that I am who I've always said I am. I am Lucifer Morningstar...the devil. You're supposed to go into frantic state of pure madness!"
Ella sighed, getting up to pace a little bit, "I don't really know how to react right now! My brain's all like 'Does not compute', but at the same time, so much makes sense. Like, dude. The first day we met I told you I think the devil gets a bad rap. Heck, I even told Decker once that the devil started out as an angel, so there's no way he could be all bad. This is a lot different having faith that the Big Guy, the devil, and apparently, the Angel of Death are real, and actually knowing they're real."
Lucifer calmed down just a little bit, very glad that she wasn't utterly mortified of him, but still concerned for her.
"I just don't know, and I hate not knowing." Ella said frustratedly, running her hands over her head.
Chloe stood up and placed a gentle hand on Ella's shoulder, saying, "I'm sure you have a ton of questions, and we all want to answer them, but for now, we just want you to be okay."
Ella took in a shaky breath, trying to fight off more tears, as she answered, "I think I will be. I just...this is a lot."
"I know." Chloe replied empathetically.
"Right now, I just, I think I want to go to bed. I had a lot to drink tonight, and maybe I'll feel better in the morning."
Chloe pressed her lips together, hesitantly asking, "Ella, are you sure? I don't have a problem staying with you tonight."
"No, no." Ella assured her, though her limbs had begun to tremble, "It's fine...I'm fine. Just, you can go ahead and go. I'll go right to sleep, I promise."
Chloe looked over at Lucifer, who hung his head with defeat.
"Okay," Chloe gave in, giving Ella a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "but please feel free to call me or Linda whenever you want to talk. We'll get together and drink and answer all your questions."
Ella tried to smile too, but hers was even faker than Chloe's. Ella nodded and said, "Yeah, okay, sure."
With that, there was a just of wind, and Ella whipped around. Azrael was gone.
Ella looked over to Lucifer with wide eyes. He explained, "She took too long off of work. Sis isn't really good at goodbyes, anyway."
Ella pressed her lips firmly together, placed her hands on her hip, and looked down to try and hide her urge to cry.
"Ella?" Chloe asked, lightly touching her shoulder again. To her surprise, Ella flinched away.
"I'm just gonna...I'm going to bed now." Ella hurriedly walked across her apartment to her open bedroom door.
"Goodnight, you guys, and congrats." She said, her voice full of tears, as she closed the door behind her.
Chloe sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I think it's best we leave, Detective." Lucifer said gravely. Chloe nodded.
Together, they left Ella's apartment, even though it felt wrong. There's was nothing more they could do at this point, other than let Ella come to them when she was ready. Lucifer locked the door as they left, walking with Chloe back to the car.
They didn't say much for the rest of the night. Dan was supposed to take Trixie and Iris back to the house, while Chloe and Lucifer went to the penthouse for the grand finale. The newly wedded couple did go back to the penthouse, but they didn't feel in the mood at all to do what they had planned. Instead, they took off their wedding clothes and put on more comfortable attire, trying to just go to sleep.
Chloe had a restless night, her body tired from the events of today, but her mind continuing to chuck questions and fears at her.
Lucifer didn't sleep a wink, his only thoughts concerning the fact that he might have just lost Miss Lopez, and that uncomfortable truth made him utterly sick.