Chapter Text
Chloe Decker sat in her car at the parking lot of the LAPD with her fingers clasped around the steering wheel and tried to prepare herself for going back to work.
After the whole mess involving Pierce and Lucifer, the new Lieutenant had granted her two months of vacation she had promptly taken. She had spent time with Trixie and talked to Ella, keeping her informed of her wholly unsurprising life. She called Linda regularly (because apparently Linda had known about Lucifer for quite a while and didn’t think it was important for Chloe to know) and did everything to avoid Lucifer. And Lucifer had never bothered her in those two months. Ella had said that he still worked at the LAPD and was now accompanying Dan on his cases, being his usual charming self (or, as Dan had once said: annoying, over the top, and cocky).
And today Chloe would see Lucifer again. Would have to work with him again and pretend to the rest of the world that no, her entire worldview was not shattered, thank you very much.
She grabbed her bag, opened the car door, and stepped outside. Breathe, Decker, just breathe, she told herself, as she stepped into the precinct and was welcomed by the smell of coffee and loud noises coming from the direction of the arrest cells.
Just breathe.
She nodded to the woman sitting at the front and currently talking to somebody on the phone.
Breathe.
The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, followed by two new officers, probably fresh from the academy. Both of them were nervous, the blond man on her left fiddling with a small bracelet on his arm. The doors opened again on her level and Chloe stepped out and onto the bridge. Her gaze wandered immediately down to the open room and then to the back where her desk was. She had expected it to be empty, but instead, she saw Lucifer sitting on the edge, a seemingly bored expression on his face while he skimmed through the few papers that sat on her desk.
To be honest, nothing that Chloe had done in those past two months could have prepared her for this moment. Lucifer seemed so… normal. So… un-devilish.
Chloe watched as Ella came bouncing out of her lab, heading straight towards Lucifer. She saw how her partner stood up and was promptly hugged by Ella before she launched into one of her info dumps where she used her whole body to express herself. Chloe knew that Lucifer held no particular interest in forensics, but as always he listened to Ella and tried to keep up with her for no other reason than her happiness. She smiled. Down there were two of the most important people in her life, waiting at her desk for her return.
Chloe stepped down the stairs.
“Decker!” Ella exclaimed. “You’re back!” Her friend pulled her into a tight hug and for a short moment, Chloe buried her face in Ella’s hair. “I can’t believe that it’s only been two months! Without you work is so dull, we only get the boring cases!”
Chloe smiled. “So you only missed me because of the cases?” She just couldn’t resist the teasing.
“Of course not, how could you think that?” Ella laughed, hitting her arm playfully, her brown eyes glittering in the sunlight.
Chloe smiled again (she just couldn’t stop) and then looked at Lucifer, who was uncharacteristically quiet. He stared at her with a look on his face she could barely recognize. He almost looked scared. Of her? Why would he be scared of her? She smiled at him in what was hopefully a reassuring smile, but that seemed to make Lucifer even more nervous. So she decided to channel her inner Ella and pulled him into a big hug. Lucifer was stiff against her body, not expecting her to react like this. She could feel his heart throbbing fast in his chest when he slowly returned her hug. Chloe could hear Ella awwing in the background and smiled against Lucifer’s shoulder.
“Detective?” Lucifer sounded insecure. Chloe never wanted to hear that tone in her partner's voice again.
“Lucifer”, she greeted him, her arms still wrapped around him. Yes, she normally wasn’t a touchy person in public (especially not in the precinct where everything could (and would) be turned into rumors), but she knew that he needed reassurance.
He stared down at her, obviously at a loss for words.
“Hey, uhm, Ella?”, Chloe asked her friend. “Could you give us a minute?”
It took a moment for Ella to react, but a big grin split her face when she heard what her friend wanted. “Of course! Everything for Deckerstar!” She left before Chloe could ask her what Deckerstar meant.
“Detective, are you well?” Lucifer’s voice was full of insecurity and worry.
“Yes”, she answered. "Now that I'm here... I am well, indeed."
Lucifer seemed irritated by her statement, so she tried to explain.
“I… I’ll be honest, the first few days after the… incident, I was really, really scared. I didn’t know how to process that you’re the real Devil. I thought about packing up and leaving the country so that you can never find us again.” She took a deep breath. “Then I got a call from Linda. Apparently, you told her that I also know the truth and she was worried about my reaction. She told me how she reacted and for a long time, we just… talked. And she reminded me that you never hid the truth from me. It was my fault that I didn’t believe you before and for that I am sorry."
Lucifer stared at her. “Detective, you have nothing to be sorry for!”, he said.
"But I have, Lucifer! I have left you completely alone for two months. I didn't call or text you, I just... ignored and avoided you completely. Looking back, that wasn’t the best reaction from me. I should have talked to you earlier. I’m sorry. And I want you to know, that I don’t have a problem with you, Lucifer."
At that, he looked completely flabbergasted and ready to argue, but Chloe continued. She knew that she needed to get this out without interruptions.
"It took a while, but I realized that you were still my friend, still my partner. And I never felt like I was in danger with you or that I couldn't trust you. Linda helped me understand the real reason why I left you without a word. Because if you are real, then everything else is also true. Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, and probably more I’m not aware of. And that thought is so scary, Lucifer."
Lucifer almost looked sad. "I never wanted to be the reason that you question everything around you, detective."
"I know that wasn't your intention. And yes, it was overwhelming, but I think I understand now. I can live with it."
"Are you sure, detective? I understand if you need more time to process."
"Lucifer", Chloe said and looked him directly in the eyes. "I had enough time to process everything. If I think any more about this, I will go insane. I want to go back to work with you. Because... I missed working with you. You're a great partner."
Lucifer was quiet, but he seemed cautiously happy. "I like working with you too, detective. Detective Douche is nothing like you."
Chloe giggled. She giggled. She had never giggled in her life before. But she found that she didn't mind it if Lucifer was the cause of her giggling.
Her partner looked at her like she had hung the stars.
“Hey you two lovebirds, we got a new case!” Of course, it was Dan who interrupted their moment. He stood in the door to one of the conference rooms, holding up a couple of folders.
"Speak of the devil", Lucifer murmured under his breath. Chloe giggled again.