Chapter Text
“So... what do you want?”
Lucifer looked at Chloe and smiled charmingly. “Whatever you want, my dear.”
Chloe buried her head in her hands, tempted beyond belief to start bashing her head against a wall. “Please concentrate, Lucifer. This is important. What do you want?”
His brow furrowed. “Whatever you wish.”
“No -- really! What do you want?”
“Whatever you desire.”
Chloe hung her head. They had been having this discussion for the last hour as they sat next to each other on the couch in her apartment. A week had passed since they had gotten back together after the whole matchmaking debacle, and Chloe really wanted to help Lucifer regain his sense of self worth. She knew it was practically non-existent, so she figured the best way to bolster him up was to have him start telling her what he wanted -- to make him realize that his desires mattered. She thought they would start off with something simple, like food -- but it hadn’t been going as planned.
Lucifer was so set on giving her what she desired that he refused to give her any indication of what he wanted -- either that or he felt his needs were so insignificant that they weren’t worth mentioning, and Chloe refused to believe that. She was sure she could coax out his wants -- she just had to be patient. Taking a deep breath, she tried again.
“Seriously, Lucifer -- what do you want to eat?”
He frowned at her, looking boyishly adorable in his confusion. “You keep asking me that, Detective. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Just tell me what you would like to eat for dinner.”
“Whatever you --”
“--Desire. Right.” Reaching over, Chloe picked up his hand in hers and squeezed. “Lucifer, it’s okay to tell me what you want. You don’t have to give me what I want. I want what you want.”
The fallen angel’s head reared back as he gave her an odd look. “But I want what you want, my dear.”
The blonde detective felt as if she was on a hamster wheel, running in circles. Bashing her head against the wall was starting to look very appealing. “Please... just tell me what you would like to eat for dinner, and we’ll go there.”
Just as he opened his mouth to reply, Trixie burst out of her room and ran over to them. “I’m hungry! Are we going to In-N-Out today? Are we?”
Lucifer swung his gaze from the little girl to Chloe and said, “In-N-Out. That’s where we should go for dinner.” He smiled as he lifted his chin, looking proud of himself.
Chloe had to laugh. He looked so happy, as if he had just given her the moon, with his face lit up by a big, smug smile and his eyes twinkling with joy. How could she scold him for not telling her what he wanted when he looked like that? Sighing, she nodded. “Okay, fine, you get a pass on this one, but you will tell me what you want eventually.”
It was when the four of them went to dinner -- Lucifer, Trixie, Maze and herself -- that the demon angrily pointed at her with her fries and said, “You gotta stop writing stories about you and Amenadiel.”
Chloe’s mouth fell open. “But I’m not --”
Meanwhile, Lucifer’s gaze swung to her, sharp and accusing. “What’s this?”
Trixie chirped, “Maze has been showing me all the stories that star Mommy and Amenadiel.” She turned bright eyes to the fallen angel. “I don’t think I’ve met your brother, yet. Have I?”
“No,” the Devil said and glared at his partner. “And hopefully you never will, if your mother is harboring hidden feelings for the wanker.”
Chloe chafed under the false accusations. “Look, I’m not writing anything. I’m not a writer -- the only thing I wrote is ‘Letting Go’ --”
“And a wonderful story that was, although the ending left much to be desired.” Lucifer looked at Maze. “So then why do you say Chloe is writing stories?”
“ImChloeD is writing a lot lately, and a lot of fans are shipping the detective and Amenadiel -- or LuciBro, as he’s called in the stories. I don’t like it.” Maze stabbed her fries into some ketchup and stuffed them into her mouth, chewing loudly with a disgruntled look on her face. “The descriptions of both of them are pretty accurate. It has to be written by someone who knows them, and with that kind of pseudonym....”
“It’s not me.”
Trixie glanced at the adults. “Why are you all upset? It’s not like Mommy is going to run off with Lucifer’s brother.” She took a sip of her Neapolitan shake. “I mean, Mommy loves --”
“Okay, are we done eating?” Chloe interrupted as heat burst into her cheeks. She hadn’t yet told Lucifer she loved him, although she had written it in her story -- and she had no intention of telling him now in front of everyone in a burger joint! “We really should get going.”
Lucifer wiped his hands on a napkin, oblivious to what the little girl had been about to reveal. “Yes, I’d like to take a look at these stories myself.”
When they returned to the apartment, Trixie grabbed Maze’s hand and dragged her into her room, asking the demon to tell her all about her latest hunt. Always happy to relate stories to the bloodthirsty little girl, Maze went without complaint, leaving Chloe and Lucifer alone.
“Well, let’s see these stories that someone’s been writing,” Lucifer said as he eyed Chloe with suspicion. Rolling her eyes, she went and fetched her tablet from her room. Handing it to him, she said, “Have a look, but it’s not me. You know that.”
“Hmm.” He just looked her up and down before turning his attention to the device. “I haven’t forgotten that look you gave him when you first met him.”
She thought about throwing something at his head -- like a chair. Maybe that would end his jealous suspicions! “We talked about that before --”
“But that doesn’t mean you didn’t give him that... look.”
She flung out her hands and shot a gaze skyward as she struggled for patience. “Oh for crying out loud -- sometimes I just want to hit you!”
Glancing up at that, Lucifer gave her a hungry grin as his eyes sparkled with mischief and desire. “Ooooh, really, Detective? Maybe combined with a little bondage, perhaps? You could tie me up and spank me --”
She gaped. “Are you really into that stuff? Is that really what you want?”
“Of course, if it’s what you desire!” His eyes lit up gleefully. “Is it?”
Even now, in the middle of an argument, he wouldn’t tell her what he wanted. Rubbing her forehead, Chloe wondered if she’d ever be able to reach him and coax his desires out. She tapped the tablet. “Just... just look up the story.”
“Very well -- ah. Here we are.” His brows drew together as he read. “Goodness, there are more Detective/LuciBro stories here than I expected.”
“What? Let me see.” She started to reach for the tablet but he held it away from her.
“In a moment.” The crease between his brows deepened as he scrolled down. His mouth pulled in a tight line as his eyes narrowed. “Apparently you have a large group of people shipping you and my bloody brother.” After handing the tablet to her with a sharp movement, he threw himself onto the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Unacceptable!”
Chloe clicked on ImChloeD’s profile and frowned when she saw twenty-three Detective/LuciBro stories posted. Apparently the writer had been very busy. Clicking on the latest one about the detective going to a BDSM parlor with LuciBro, she scanned the short 3000 word story. Lurid was far too tame a word to describe the goings-on in it. Bile rose in her throat as her stomach lurched, but she swallowed hard to keep from losing her dinner. Scanning the comments, she noticed that many of the readers seemed to fully endorse the pairing. One caught her eye:
From TouchedByAnAngel: They've been my OTP since that Lightbringer1 story where the detective yelled at Lucifer’s brother. OMG, SEXUAL TENSION!!!!!!! And oh, that scene in the fic where they play chess together was totally a metaphor for sex!
Chloe goggled at the comment. How the hell could anyone mistake a chess game for a sex metaphor?! Comment after comment from different readers expressed how wonderful the pairing was, but thankfully not all readers were that enamored of the pairing, as indicated in a reply to TouchedByAnAngel’s comment.
From ThisPoetDefinitelyDoesNotWearPrada: Uhh excuse me, but when you get shouted at by your mum or sibling or whatever, is that now sexual tension too? Lucifer's brother is a douche. There is no way the beautiful, strong willed Detective would stand on his side! She is team Lucifer all the way! Surely her standing up to Lucifer's brother proves that!! Normally I'm not one for OTP shaming or whatever you want to call it but this is just wrong on so many levels!!!
Well, thank goodness for some levelheaded readers! Placing the tablet on the coffee table, Chloe sat down beside Lucifer. He instantly shifted away from her -- which hurt. With narrowed eyes, she glared at him while her mind called him ten thousand times an idiot.
“You think this is me?” She couldn’t keep the anger from her voice.
Keeping his gaze on his folded arms, the Devil said nothing.
“Oh my god!” Rolling her eyes, Chloe flung up her arms. “You gotta be kidding me!”
“Dad doesn’t kid much, Detective,” he muttered. “He is hopelessly dull and lacks a sense of humor.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and considered punching him. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and tightly controlled to keep from screaming. “Lucifer, you idiot. Do you really think I would write these things?”
He glanced at her before turning his attention to the far wall. “Well... no....”
“Then why are you being such a dope about this?!”
When he turned to look at her, his gaze faltered, then dropped. He unfolded his arms and clasped his hands in his lap, gazing at them so hard Chloe thought he’d burn a hole in them. “Right. I... I remember how you looked at him, and....”
“That was ages ago!” She wanted to scream -- actually considered it, before taking a deep breath. “Look, I assure you, when I first met him at the black market auction, it may have looked like I was attracted to him, but I wasn’t.”
He didn’t believe her -- she could see it in the twist of his mouth, his averted gaze. “I know what I saw. That look --”
She rolled her eyes. “I was teasing you, okay? I don’t get the chance often to get the upper hand, so to speak --”
“You did it on purpose?” He looked appalled. “With my brother?!”
She took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, yes. So please stop thinking I want him instead of you!”
“But... how could you...?” His eyes filled with pain and turmoil. Chloe’s heart squeezed as guilt washed over her.
“It was wrong of me, and if I knew how much it would hurt you I never would have done it.” Sighing, she reached over and squeezed his hands with one of hers as her face gentled and the anger drained from her. “Lucifer, you’re the one that I want. You. Not Amenadiel. Just you. Okay?”
She tried to catch his eye. His shoulders slumped but he nodded as his hands grabbed hers and held on like she was his life preserver in a turbulent sea. Chloe’s chest tightened as her heart went out to her Devil. She had a long uphill battle, but she vowed she would keep chipping away at his insecurities until he believed himself to be the man she knew he was. Readjusting her position, she sat right next to him, so that they were touching thigh to thigh, then rested her head on his shoulder.
“Detective,” he said in that soft, surprised voice he used when she caught him off-guard. Snuggling against him, she reveled in the feel of him beside her -- warm like sunshine, strong, powerful, yet gentle.... When he released her hand so that he could wrap his arm around her, she finally smiled.
“Just you, Lucifer. Just you.”
He said nothing in reply, but pressed his cheek against her hair. They stayed liked that a long time, happy just to be together, until it was time for him to go home.
________________________________________
Charlotte Richards sat at her desk, finishing another lurid ImChloeD story on AO3, when there was a knock on her door. Calling “Come in,” she was pleased to see Amenadiel walk into her office. Logging off the computer, she swiveled in her chair to face her son with cold and calculating eyes. She had been expecting him sooner than this, but better late than never.
“Amenadiel! What brings you here?” she asked with feigned innocence and a plastic smile.
The angel shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he shifted from foot to foot in front of her. Charlotte waved to the chair opposite her, where he took a seat. “There’s... there’s something that’s been bothering me.”
“What is it?” She already had an idea, of course, but she had to maneuver Amenadiel into doing what she wanted without coercion. When he hesitated, she coaxed, “Come on, you can tell me. I’m your mother.”
He bit his lower lip. “It’s about... Chloe.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Lucifer’s human?”
“Yeah.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if torn. “I... I don’t know what to do.”
Ah, this was going just as she had planned. “Do?” She folded her hands on her desk and leaned forward, the very image of a concerned parent. “What’s going on?”
“Well, apparently Chloe’s been writing these stories on me on AO3 -- really... uh... graphic and sexual stories. It’s weird. I know she’s in love with Luci and he with her, so I can’t understand why she’d write such things.”
“Oh my,” Charlotte said with dismay, although her insides were bubbling over with mirth. “That’s not good -- but maybe she’s not really in love with your brother. Maybe she’s really interested in you.”
Amenadiel’s jaw fell open. “No way, Mom. There’s no way of that -- believe me.”
“Are you sure?” The blonde goddess’s eyes grew cunning as she smiled at her son. “You can’t tell me she’s never... you know, looked at you in that special way?”
He ran a hand over his head. “I... well, there was that one time when she first met me....”
She schooled her face into concern. “Amenadiel, what if she’s playing your brother for a fool? She may very well be. You know how these humans are -- notoriously fickle. Don’t you think you owe it to your brother to let him know that his lover is coming onto you?”
The angel looked uncomfortable. “But... I don’t know if it’s really her writing these stories. What if it’s someone else? I don’t want to make false accusations --”
Charlotte gave him a sharp look. “But you think it is....”
Amenadiel ran a hand down his face, pausing at his chin. “Well, the writer’s pseudonym is ImChloeD. Who else would have a pseudonym like that except Chloe? And she knows me well enough to be able to describe me in detail, as these stories do.... Luci’s stories only refer to me as his brother with no real descriptors.”
“It sounds like her to me.” She shrugged. “Of course, if you want your brother to continue to be fooled by the human, that is up to you. I won’t say anything to him.”
The angel frowned. “If she’s coming onto me, it has to stop.”
Charlotte waited silently, only watching her son.
He finally nodded. “I’ll talk to Lucifer. At least give him the heads up.”
She grinned like a shark. “You’re a good brother, Amenadiel. Lucifer should be grateful to have a brother such as you.”