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The perks of having Lucifer Morningstar around constanly were various and numerous.
Now, some would argue that having said devil around had more drawbacks in the form of chaos, mischief, theatrics, and the occasional celestial war. These drawbacks rendered the aforementioned perks pale in comparison. Right?
Well, the residents of the Decker household respectfully disagreed.
For example, one of the simplest "perks" was Lucifer's ridiculous aptness in the kitchen.
Even early on in their partnership, the devil was in the habit of breaking into Chloe Decker's house to cook her and her daughter breakfast.
Omlettes, waffles, pancakes...
Other times, he would either follow Chloe home with his sleek Corvette or materialize on their doorstep in the late evening and let himself into the house to cook them dinner.
Dinner usually ranged from simple homemade Mac and Cheese to five star dishes that neither Trixie, nor her mother, managed to pronounce the name of. Whatever he made was delicious though. Always and without fail.
On rarer occasions, like weekends or holidays, Lucifer would go as far as to cook them lunch or two or three meals in the same day.
He would discard his expensive suit jacket and roll up the sleeves of his equally expensive dress shirt before setting on his self-assigned task of feeding them.
Chloe had never understood it. She had never questioned it either.
At first, she had thought that it was because he could not resist a chance to show off or to annoy her. Perhaps the notorious playboy believed that spending more time around her, pestering her, could somehow increase his chances at getting into her pants.
It hadn't mattered much because while Lucifer had been an incredible pain in the ass, his presence got a lot more tolerable after a some time passed (at least after he had stopped trying to play fetch with her daughter)
Besides, his presence was not always irritating. When their relationship began to grow, and she found herself falling for him, Chloe had not minded keeping him close.
Sue her.
She preferred seeing Lucifer cooking them dinner and bickering with her daughter before settling down to play several games of monopoly with them. How could she not when the alternative was imagining him in his club, engaging in almost every single unhealthy coping mechanism in every psychiatry book to ever exist. His alcoholism, his drug abuse, his constant partying, his never-ending stream of one-night-stands...
Not to mention jumping in front of shooters, begging them to shoot him, putting a hit on himself, killing himself by a defibrillator, repetitive self-mutalation... The list seemed endless.
Could anyone really blame her for wanting to keep him close and safe? (Well, as safe as possible)
Chloe sighed, scolding herself lightly. How had her thoughts spiralled from watching Lucifer cook them dinner one Tuesday evening to contemplating his past suicidal tendencies?
He was still talking, rambling about something that happened with Amenadiel. She had offered to help of course, but Lucifer had refused, adment that cooking was his job. Whatever that meant.
Actually, now that she thought about it, she was certain that that statement was what had set off her depressing train of thoughts.
Chloe got up from where she was still perched on a wooden chair, moving to hug him from behind.
As usual, Lucifer tensed before leaning back into her, deepening their contact slightly. It was a while before she noticed that he had stopped talking. She was too lost in the feel of his body along the line of hers, of his muscles shifting under his thin shirt as he chopped and diced and did who-knows-what, of how amazing he smelled, how warm he felt... Here, as whole and complete as possible, in her apartment and not in hell or otherwise.
Chloe had missed him.
"Darling," He nudged her with a shoulder, taking his eyes of off the carrots he was chopping (but not stopping), "are you well?"
"Lucifer!" She admonished half-heartedly, "Careful!"
Chloe knew that he could cook the entire meal with his eyes literally closed, but somehow, she still felt the need to warn him and scold him.
Lucifer stopped chopping, flicking the knife in midair before catching it again. He did not even turn back around until the 'trick' was done. Although she couldn't see his face, Chloe knew that his eyes would be sparkling with mischief and that his lips would be pulled into his trademark, cheeky grin.
"Lucifer!" She laughed, hugging him tighter.
A comfortable silence of sorts setteled among them. Chloe had intended to end the hug several minutes ago, but she could not really find it in her to let go of him anytime soon. Lucifer did not seem to mind. He grabbed the things that were near, adding and dicing things. He eyed the ingredients that were far from him, frowning a bit. Yet, Lucifer made no move to get free of her clutches. He did not protest or voice any objections.
Of course he wouldn't, she thought, not when he still thinks that everytime I touch him is a blessing. Not when he still thinks that I'm going to leave him, even after all we've been through.
Eventually, she let go of him, figuring out that there was no way in hell that he would break off their contact first.
Lucifer sighed, as if greatly burdened but yet greatly relieved. His shoulders slumped in mourning at the loss of her touch before he rushed to check on one of the saucepans on the stove.
Chloe continued watching him fondly, thoughts and querries plaguing her mind.
"Lucifer?" She ventured.
"Yes, love." He hummed, bumping a drawer shut with his hip.
"Why do you always cook for us?" She wondered.
"Do you not like it when I cook for you?" Lucifer frowned, halting.
"What? No! Of course not." She shook her head, "I'm not complaining; if anything, I'm greateful that you cook as much as you do. Just curious, that's all."
"Oh." He frowned, wiping his hands on a small, lilac towel, "Well..."
"Well...?" Chloe teased, "Well, what?"
"At first, it was just to be closer to you." Lucifer admitted softly, "To have an excuse to be here, I suppose. Then, it was to spend more time here too. I mean, even the urchin's company wasn't too bad once you get used to it. I... I liked being around you and her. It felt... safe. Warm. No where near as boisterious as LUX or even the Penthouse during a party, but somehow better at keeping silence away. Not the real kind of silence... Doctor Linda called it loneliness once, and I thought that was preposterous, but eventually she had me convinced, I suppose."
The oven dinged, and Lucifer whipped around, graceful as ever. He made quick work of extracting the hot tray, settling it with practiced care over the counter to add his signature, finishing artistic touches.
Chloe could not imagine opening her mouth, much less producing coherent words. Part of her feared that he would never answer her another time, not like this. After all, while Lucifer was growing to be more open and expressive after his return from hell, he was still... Lucifer. Another part of her was stuck attempting to process these words, spoken so flippantly and carelessly.
When Lucifer continued his cooking, lost in what he was doing, Chloe found it in her to interfere.
He really has the attention span of a hyperactive toddler, she mused, watching him work.
"Lucifer?" She proded.
"Hmmm?"
"You know that you don't really need an execuse to be around, right? Especially not now?" She bit her lip, opening her mouth to continue.
"Of course I do, darling!" Lucifer exclaimed before she could say anything else, turning around to face her, "Well, not an excuse per se. My company is, after all, delightful. It's just that you ought to make yourself useful if you want people to want to have you around. It's quite simple, Detective."
Quite simple...
How could anything be simple when he was so broken, so lost, so damaged?
And he doesn't even know it...
"Detective," Lucifer sighed, "it appears that I've upset you, again."
"I'm not..." She shook her head, because who would she lie to? Saying that she wasn't upset? Oh, she was livid. Just not for the reasons that were undoubtedly going around in his mind.
Lucifer sighed again, mumbling something about ruining another evening.
"Do you only want me around because I'm useful?" She questioned gently, approaching him and placing a hand on his forearm.
"No, of course not." Lucifer frowned, "Why would you ever think that?"
"Then why would I only want you around when you're useful?"
"Oh." Lucifer said, looking relieved, "That's different, Detective."
"Different how? Because you're the devil?"
"Exactly!" He beamed, "No one has ever wanted to have me around for... Well, to just be around, darling. Everyone always wants or needs something, and that makes them... Tolerate my presence for an amount of time that lasts longer that a party or a quick shag or a single night... It's how the world works, Detective. This isn't much I mean, but it's better than doing nothing."
He seemed a bit saddened by his last statement, but he blinked and it was gone.
And... What could she possibly do? When he was looking at her like that? When he thought that she finally understood? That...
Fuck.
Did he think that they would stop having him around if he stopped being 'useful'? Whatever that was?
Sometimes, Chloe missed the times when she thought that the whole devil shtick was just a persona, a delusion at worst. She missed wondering about who the real Lucifer Morningstar was, about what was beneath this devil mask he chose to wear at almost all times.
But when she learned that he was, in fact, the devil... Just how many cracks could she fix?
Or, more accurately, just how many times could a person be broken? How many times was Lucifer Morningstar, the devil, her boyfriend broken?
Lucifer, who had clearly thought that the conversation was over, had moved on. He was setting the table, fussing with the cutlery in the almost obsessive way that he somehow managed to make adorable.
Chloe closed her eyes, fighting back the encompassing waves of sadness. Curling up in a corner and crying at the injustice of all of this was neither the Decker way of doing this nor the method of helping him.
She approached him, slow and loud, remembering how he always seemed on high alert; ready to pounce, to attack. Ever since his recent return, Lucifer's jumpiness had been through the roof. Startling him would do no good.
Chloe placed a hand on his shoulder, going lower and lower until it stopped at his hip. She played with the string of his 'kiss the cook!' apron for a second, waiting for him to relax.
When he did, she was quick to hug him. Although their position was similar to what it was several minutes ago, the hug itself was very different. It felt different.
Lucifer seemed to sense that. He let go of the the stack of napkins that he had been fumbling with, dropping it to the table without any regard to where it was 'supposed to go'; a very un-Lucifer thing to do.
"Detective?" He hesitated, "I... You still seem distressed. I apologize for any-"
Chloe cut him off, pulling him down by two fistfuls of his shirt, and smashing their lips together.Lucifer was frozen for a moment, his lips unmoving against hers. He seemed to snap out of it, pulling her closer and reciprocating with his usual eagerness.
She had learned that sometimes, words were not enough with him. Not by a long run. Sometimes, the only way to get to her devil would be through his favourite language.
She pulled away, smiling at how flustered he looked; lips kiss-swollen and cheeks red. Wonder shone in his eyes, making them sparkle with something that set flames to whatever reserves she might have had more often than not. Despite all this time, to her never-ending amazement, a kiss could have such an effect on him.
"Detective?" He breathed, stroking her cheek with reverence that made her knees go weak, "Not that I'm against this,but you're usually less... fond of such... frevernt PDAs when your offspring is around."
Chloe laughed. Had their kiss really been that heated?
"You..." She shook her head, "Lucifer, having you around itself is a reason to want to have you around. The devil is excellent company. You don't need to cook every day or do anything of any type for us to want you around. We want you simply because you're you, Lucifer. Nothing else matters."
He stared at her as if he could not possibly begin to understand whatever preposterous nonesense that was escaping her lips.
She stroked a hand down his chest, waiting for him to understand. He had to.
Then, he was giving her that look.
The one that made her insides turn to mush. The one who made her feel like the sun and the moon. Like she had hung the stars (instead of him)… Like she was his entire universe; the answer to every question that could ever be asked; the solution to every problem that could ever exist.
As he continued staring, she wondered if she should have somehow addressed this more before. How could someone be so arrogant, yet so insecure? So confident, yet so unsure of himself?
Well, she would remind him then. Every time he forgot, she would be there to remind him that he was loved; wanted; needed.
However, it seemed like Chloe would not be alone in her quest.
The pratteling of little feet could be heard. Then, her little monkey, who would not be little for much longer, attached herself to Lucifer's waist.
Her head was higher than just his stomach now though.
Lucifer flinched, almost violently. Trixie tightened her arms around him, gentle yet firm. She would not let go, not when she was a complete believer in how he just needed to be loved and hugged.
"I like having you around, Lucifer." She declared, "I always have."
"Yes, er… Thank you, urchin." He nodded, fingers twitching as if he was trying his hardest to stop himself from prying her daughter off him, "You-you can let me go now. We have to sit down and... eat. Dinner would get cold otherwise and that would be a shame because, because..."
Unable to resist, Chloe found herself latching onto him as well. Her hands overlapped with her daughter's as they stood there, hugging the devil within an inch of his immortal life.
Trixie laughed, delightened. She tightened her hold on him, making Lucifer let out a surprised 'oof'.
Chloe pressed her forehead to his shoulder, running her hand down his back.
"We really, really love you, silly." Trixie declared, "Just you."
Lucifer was speechless, still standing there, trapped in the arms of the two mortals who had him wrapped around their fingers. His throat ached and the corners of his eyes burned. He could feel a warm feeling fluttering through his chest. It spread through his whole body, lazy but potent.
As they stood there holding him, dinner forgotten despite his well vocalized protests, the devil realized that if he was ever going to believe that he deserved this sort of treatement, it would be at their hands.
He would never have it any other way.