Chloe was sweating bullets. This large elevator seemed small to her in this moment, and she focused on her breathing. What was she going to tell Lucifer? How was she going to tell Lucifer? Would she tell him only a portion of things, or would his enchanting presence get her to spill everything? Wiping her forehead with the back of her good arm, she stares at the ceiling of the elevator. As many times as Chloe has ridden this never before did she notice the mirror at the top. Closing her eyes, she jerks her head back to face the ground. Not opening them yet, she realized it might be a long time before she ever wants to look at her reflection again. The ding rings throughout the empty space notifying Chloe that she has reached her destination. Yet her first thoughts include turning back and not coming back.
"Detective?" Lucifer's voice sounds out, and Chloe allows her eyes to open. The man is standing in the middle of his loft, a drink of his choice cradled in his left hand. Lucifer's eyes are filled with bewilderment and his eyebrows are flying off his face. "What are you doing here this late?" Chloe hadn't even bothered to look at the time. As whips out her phone to check and realizes why the sitter was so tired. The hour is in the AM, and well past any hour anyone should be up.
Chloe opens her mouth to speak to her defense but her words get lost as her eyes attach to Lucifer's physique. While still wearing pants unlike many of her encounters in this apartment before, he was topless. The grooves of hard work are across his abs, and he seems practically hairless. Every line is so clearly defined and Chloe would be a fool to not at least take notice. A sly smile creeps across his handsome face. "Have you come here to entertain me? Or are you going to kick me out of my own apartment this time?"
"Lucifer, I'm-"
"No no," Lucifer cuts her off. "That was rude of me. I'm sorry, I realize earlier was difficult and I probably only made things worse." There is sincerity in his tone and his eyes are soft. Resting his drink on top of the piano, he makes his way slowly over to Chloe. "Why are you here? And how are you holding up?"
"I'm not even sure myself. All roads just seemed to lead me here. Wait - Who are you and what have you done with Lucifer?" Chloe jokingly laughs. But a wave of dread washes over her at the same time. Already after a simple fight, Lucifer is looking at her like she is partially broken and in need of repair. How would he look at her if he knew what was really wrong? And if she already wasn't overthinking things another wave of uncertainty hit her. What if I am just crazy? What if I am so off and this burn just came from something else?
Lucifer's laugh fills the room. "Yes it would seem those sessions with Dr. Linda have really been paying off. She is...teaching me things. Like emotions and behavior not only of my own but to recognize it in others as well. Things like body language and observation and lately we have even been exploring my talents."
Chloe stares into this changed man and simply shakes her head. "What do you mean?"
"Oh you know," Lucifer chuckles. At this moment he looks like an excited four year old. His shoulders keep moving with giddiness. "The hidden desires. We are evolving it! We are working on a type of language through eye contact and what it can say about a person."
Taking several steps into the loft, Chloe stares up at Lucifer. "What are mine saying?" Chloe asks out of curiosity. Before listening to his answer, Chloe can't stop herself from looking over her shoulder to ensure she was the only one who got out of that elevator. To make sure no one had followed her, supernatural or not.
Lucifer straightens his posture and clears his throat as Chloe just continues to stare forward at him.
"Well to begin Detective, I would almost say that you are experiencing a serious discomfort. Not just that however," Lucifer begins. He blinks and refocuses. Something is off, Lucifer's mind is telling him. He wants nothing more than to switch to his other eyes and check on her with them. At least if he activated his real devil eyes he would be able to see any entities surrounding her. He hoped there was none, but something was so different about the Detective in this moment. Lucifer felt a need to protect her but he couldn't even identify what from. "I'm detecting anger. I'm detecting fear Detective. Do I scare you?" Lucifer questions.
"You? No of course not," Chloe brushed off. "Why?"
"Because frankly Detective I wouldn't be surprised if you did. I am a scary person and you haven't even seen it all yet," Lucifer comments, grabbing his drink from where he left it and wiping away the condensation lines with his hand. Raising it to his lips Lucifer notices her puzzled gaze.
"I've seen a lot. Some of which I can't even explain. However, I've seen a lot of things tonight I can't explain," Chloe starts, and can no longer meet his eyes. Until she thinks of a proposition. "What if...I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" This would ensure she wouldn't have to come up with a fake case to support her argument. If he could finally show her the truth maybe she could tell him as well. Plus maybe she would receive the answers to so many unanswered questions. Looking over her shoulder once more to check for any sign of Malcolm, she peers back up at Lucifer.
"What do you mean Detective?" Lucifer smirks, thinking dirty thoughts as usual.
"Surely not whatever your immediate thoughts were. I'll tell you something that happened tonight that I can't explain if you can show me your worse side," she explains.
Lucifer hesitates. At least if he showed her, Lucifer would have the opportunity to check her over. Then she might even tell him what has her so spooked. But what if she became even more scared of what he could show her? Most criminal's have practically wetted themselves at the sight. When Lucifer saw the fear in their eyes he felt powerful and pride. But somehow Lucifer didn't know if he could stand Chloe looking at him the same way. "Are you sure Detective, you already seem quite agitated and paranoid. You seem to be checking over your shoulder every second. I don't want to frighten you."
"After everything I've witnessed I think I can handle it. I wouldn't see you considering it in your eyes if I knew you didn't think I could handle it," Chloe explains.
Lucifer quietly closes any remaining space between them. Looking down at her thanks to height difference and the fact she isn't wearing any heels, his left hand crawls its way up Chloe's side. Sneaking behind her hair, it lightly provides guidance behind her neck in case she intends to flee or do something rash. If she wanted to see it, Lucifer would try and make sure he didn't hurt her. Not only that but he wished to ensure she wouldn't hurt herself. Or perhaps maybe the hand was a measure for himself to tell himself that there was no backing out now.
This was it. Lucifer was finally going to show Chloe his true self. There was never another moment in their time together that he had ever felt more vulnerable.
Pulling her closer in what seemed like a desperate last attempt to not fall apart, Lucifer crashed his lips onto Chloe's. Immediately throwing her arms up onto his broad shoulders Chloe also felt what seemed like an desperate attempt to hold onto this moment. Chloe couldn't ignore that what this felt like was fire. Not just metaphorically but literally. Lucifer's body temperature was rising high. Pulling him towards her, Chloe's hand found their way to the shadow of a beard on his face. Her hands glided down smoothly while simultaneously pushing him closer to her. Their lips moved so fast that every time they seemed to leave one another they both felt incomplete. So much passion was held in this moment, and if someone were to walk in on them they wouldn't even stop. Whoever that person was would probably blush but not them. This was something to pure to throw away with a simple peck. Slamming his lips onto hers, they already seemed to feel swollen but they couldn't seem to stop. Lucifer's other arm was behind the small of Chloe's back allowing her to lean back on his support. Their tongues were creating a dance too unique for Lucifer to compare to any of his other lovers.
Lucifer knew time was up, but she had just given him all the confidence he could ever need. He could only pray - no he wouldn't do such a thing - hope that she would still love the man she was just kissing. The passion they just shared allowed Lucifer to transition painlessly. Lightly pushing upon her hip to end things, Chloe pulled back. Lucifer's face grew serious.
Chloe would finally see Lucifer in his full form.
If Chloe had expected that the first emotion she would feel would be fear, she was completely wrong. Her fingers were careful as they lightly touched what was once mistaken for perfected porcelain. The skin was torn in place, bumpy and scorched beyond belief. His deep dark eyes seemed to scatter, not meeting Chloe's but she couldn't stop staring into them. The seemed like a black hole, deep and full of pain. But those eyes also reminded her who the real man was under the horns and frightening appearance. A man whom all life's struggles and fails were blamed upon. Like Lucifer always reminded her, he didn't choose for any of this to happen. Continuing to stare at him, she could almost hear a growl in Lucifer's throat which caught her off guard but the point was still relevant. While she could see why she should be afraid, she simply wasn't.
Lucifer stared down at her for a moment but couldn't bear to see it when he eyes would inevitably shift to disappointment or fear, so he looked just past her. He reminded himself to use this time while his eyes were red to his advantage to check upon her. At first glace he didn't see much. Until he saw her shadow shift. Behind her should have been a shadow created by the florescent lights, still or moving with her. Instead it was peeling itself up from the floor. Lucifer bent his eyebrows in confusion and continued to figure out what it could be. The figure grew darker and began to float just behind Chloe. As if being pulled from the wrists, the arms on this thing began to rise upwards. It hands were droopy making its appearance creepy. The arms however began to drop upon Chloe's shoulders. Crossing themselves near her waist like it was showing a possessive gesture at Lucifer. Feeling something deep within his throat, he forced more energy into his eyes as he growled slightly. The figure only opened it's eyes which were dark and not recognizable. This was no shadow or simple hallucination. The way it was clawing onto Chloe made it seem like it was a part of her. Lucifer snapped out of his form, his heart heavy as he knew exactly what was happening to her. But he needed more information which he could only hope Chloe would now give after he held up his end of the bargain.
"Oh my-" Chloe started but not wanting to hear his Father's name after what he just showed her, Lucifer cut her off.
"I know, it is absolutely hideous," he began. For some reason he felt the need to defend himself. Place back up the wall he had just stripped, ensure himself he hadn't just made a stupid mistake. "But to be fair I have been telling you this since day one. And it isn't like I chose this fate that made me who I am. It was all my Father's idea. I could still be this handsome all the time had he not cast me out. And don't even get me started on what you must think of me now. It's like a monster from your worst nightmares isn't it-"
Lucifer was cut off by Chloe touching his chest with a single hand. Her hand was cold but that wasn't what caught his attention enough to stop rambling. It was the gesture itself. How could she even want to touch something like him? It hovered over where his heart was and rose and fell with his breathing. Deciding to lighten the mood, Chloe decides to go with a lighthearted joke. "If I only loved you for who you were on the outside, we wouldn't be together."
Something about her acceptance of him made Lucifer release a breath he didn't know he had been holding. A laugh bubbled its way out of him and he felt like a weight had just been taken off of his shoulders. "I love you for who you are inside Lucifer. The real you that doesn't wear a mask," Chloe continues. Lucifer's eyes begin to blur as he looks down at Chloe's hand and takes it into his own. A singular salty tear rolls out of his eyes and he uses his other hand to wipe it away quick.
"How do you humans handle emotions? They are so bloody inconvenient," Lucifer says quickly, brushing the moisture on his finger onto his trousers. Chloe looked at her hand within his. The warmth radiating from it made Chloe feel temporarily safe and comforted.
"You finally let someone in Lucifer. You allowed yourself to be vulnerable," Chloe explains with a bit of a laugh at his surprise outburst. "Thank you."
A moment of silence falls over the both of them. All that is permanent is the sounds of their breathing and their fingers intertwined.
"Your turn," Lucifer simply states.
Anxiety rises within Chloe. But if Lucifer could come forth, so could she. "I don't know how to explain it. It's crazy Lucifer," Chloe tries to begin.
"I saw something Chloe," Lucifer tells her. "When my eyes were red, I saw something. I know what is happening but I need to know everything." Lucifer places a hand on Chloe's shoulder. Nodding, Chloe tries to think where to begin. Looking down at her arm, she figured maybe that was where.
"I was sleeping after you left. In my dream I was in a dark place full of ash and death and...torture. In the place I saw Malcolm. It was like he wasn't human. His eyes were black as the night itself. He told me I was in hell. He cornered me, asking me what I was doing here," Chloe looks down at her arm. Ripping the tape keeping it shut clean off, Chloe began to unwind the bandage. "He grabbed my arm and I remember in the dream it felt like it was burning and when I woke up I had the burns. It wasn't just a dream-"
As soon as Chloe removed the bandage to reveal her own scorched flesh, Lucifer grabs her wrist and pulls her arm towards him. Examining it closer the burns are in the shape of a hand and not only was it burned but bruised as well. "Bloody hell," Lucifer whispers.
Continuing, Chloe goes on. "He told me an Angel must have placed me in a dream like a form of torture. But he said that a danger or side effect of doing so was that if the human within the dream met a demon that demon could possess the person. Malcolm told me I was the ticket back to life for him. I saw him walk through me and then I heard his voice in my head. His words are still sticking with me. His voice telling me that he has a plan for me. I woke up and fell out of the bed. I then went to the washroom and tried to wash my arm. When I looked up into the mirror I didn't see me. Lucifer, I wasn't my reflection. It was Malcolm. Every move I made he also made. It was like," Chloe's voice cracks. "I wasn't even myself anymore-" her sentence tails off, her crying making sure she cannot continue.
"Chloe-" Lucifer uses her full name, whispering it to her quietly. Pulling her wrist, his arms engulf her in an embrace. One hand kept itself behind her neck where he hair was. The other was preoccupied within its movement of rubbing up and down her back. Lucifer just gave her a moment to let it all out. Her shoulders shook violently and he could feel the dampness on his shoulder. He didn't care. Instead Lucifer was looking up at the ceiling, cursing at his dad. That was, until his brain latched back onto a single fact.
In order for a human to dream of the literal hell, it has to be a punishment inflicted by an angel. Narrowing his eyes, Lucifer feels the anger growing within him. Lucifer knew this wasn't an act to hurt Chloe. It was using Chloe to hurt Lucifer. "I'm going to fix this," Lucifer whispers in her ear softly. But inside his mind was screaming at him. He didn't know how to fix this, but he needed Chloe to believe he did. And technically Lucifer did have a lead on how to fix this. He had to confront the angel who did this. And something told Lucifer he already knew exactly who did this.
Amenadiel.