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Detective.
Detective?
Detective!
If she heard it one more time, Chloe Decker thought that she might burst from sheer exasperation.
It hadn't bothered her before. Truly, it hadn't. But, more recently, Lucifer's continued reference to her as "Detective" was starting to grate on her nerves. They had been dating for several months now, so shouldn't he have stopped?
He called her things like "darling" and "love" a lot too, but somehow "Detective" was still in the lead. As for her name... Well, Chloe could probably count the number of times that he had used her name on her fingers in all of the years that she had known him... After everything they had been through together.
Logically, she knew that the issue should not bother her this much, but it was. About a week ago, the thought had suddenly sprang up in her head. Chloe had not been able to get rid of its relentless badgering ever since.
"Detective?" Lucifer asked, swivelling in his chair and catching the pen that he had been tossing around and playing with for the past five minutes.
Chloe bit down the urge to scream a "WHY" at him and hummed something in acknowledgement.
"You've been awfully quiet all day long, darling." He frowned, turning around again to face her, "You're hardly even focusing on your boring paperwork. Is... Is everything alright?"
Chloe forced a smile on, her heart warming at the genuine concern shining in his dark eyes. It was almost enough to make her forget her foolish dilemma. Almost.
"I..." She hesitated, "I.. It's nothing. Just a bit distracted I guess."
Lucifer was regarding her, his eyes narrowed. He studied her features, careful and analytic, before nodding and giving her a small smile.
"Okay, Detective." He relented, deciding for once not to push it.
Chloe seethed.
*cries in Deckerstar*
One week later...
Chloe was staring at him as he stood in front of her, shoulders hunched and nervousness radiating through him.
Lucifer had cooked (as per usual). He'd made a tray of sandwiches; grilled cheese and Hawaiian. He'd also set the table just for them (Trixie was at Dan's for the weekend); a perfect setup including a bottle of her favourite red wine and some of her favourite red scented candles.
He'd excused himself, leaving the precinct earlier than usual after sighting a 'problem at LUX'. He'd apparently rushed here and...
It was all so... warm... So perfect... So him...
He was still wearing his famous 'kiss the cook!' apron, regarding her like one would regard a bomb that was about to go off.
"I..." He cleared his throat, "You've been out of sorts this past week, love, so I... Uh... I thought a nice dinner and a quiet night in would help? I made all your favourites and I know that- mmmph!"
She'd been staring at him in turn, wondering how he made her fall for him harder and harder every time she thought she had reached whatever maximum existed for such a thing. Also, he'd looked so... lost, confused, unsure of himself... He didn't even know what a great person he was, not when it came to the stuff that mattered.
Kissing him was the least of what she wanted to do to him just then.
She hugged him tighter, pressing her face to the crook of his neck. Lucifer was still, tense, arms frozen at his sides. It took him a moment before he dropped the spatula he had been holding, letting it clatter to the ground. He brought his arms around her slowly, sighing as his body relaxed.
"I... I hope I haven't managed to make you cry this time too." He said into her hair when she remained silent for a long time, wincing, "That... That's never been my intention, you know."
Chloe laughed, shaking her head against his chest.
"You, Lucifer Morningstar, are one of a kind!"
"Well, yes of course, Detective." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, pleased with himself.
But he'd said it again.
Detective.
Ugh.
Chloe tightened her arms around him again, pushing the silly thoughts out of head. Who cared if he didn't call her by her name when he was such an amazing person; the best boyfriend she could have ever asked for?
Lucifer wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. But he was perfect for her, and that was enough. Of course it was.
She reached up on her toes, pressing a light kiss to his lips.
"This... It's perfect, Lucifer." She smiled, bumping their noses playfully before pulling away, "Thank you for being so considerate. It's... really sweet of you. I love you."
"I love you as well, darling!" Lucifer beamed, leaning down to capture her lips.
His smile was wide and genuine, almost child-like in its glamor. It was infectious. Chloe found herself mirroring it, the familiar happiness that marked their time spent together taking over for the several few hours.
*cries in Deckerstar*
"That was a great movie, Lucifer." She smiled, stroking his cheek from where she was practically sitting in his lap, "This whole... idea of yours... It's brilliant."
"I still have a lot of other brilliant ideas." He grinned, his eyes darkening as they dropped to her lips.
Lucifer leaned in to kiss her, sliding his hands from her shoulders to her hips.
When they finally broke off, for the need of air and not much else, she was grinning as well.
"Another brilliant idea." She giggled, shaking her head.
"Well, I," Lucifer declared, " still have more of these so called 'brilliant' ideas. If you'd care to move this elsewhere, Detective?"
He looked... perfect. His hair mussed from where she had been tugging at it a second ago, his lips reddish and swollen, his eyes twinkling, and his smile so wide and suggestive and genuine .
But somehow, the spell which enamored her time with him; the simple magic of being together was...broken. Fractured.
"Detective?" Lucifer hesitated.
"Why do you call me that?" She blurted, her voice a tad too loud, blushing instantly.
And Lucifer was... he was looking at her... staring at her as if she had just proclaimed her desire to leave police work and start on the path of becoming a devout nun.
"Detective?" He repeated, "I... You mean that, yes?"
Chloe nodded, wondering if she should tell him to just forget about it. She could go back to kissing him, distracting him from whatever this conversation was going to be like. Then again, all things considered, she really wanted him to answer.
"You are a detective." He stated, unsure as if the fact itself could be doubted.
Chloe climbed off of him, sitting by his side instead. She stroked a hand down his forearm, wordlessly assuring him that moving away was not a sign poiting towards her anger or displeasure or whatever other platitude of unpleasantness that his mind could come up with sometimes.
"You called me that, before." She began, barely finding it in her to lift her head and meet his eyes, "But we, uh, got together and you... you still call me that. Detective. It didn't matter but then it somehow started to and it became everything I could think about and I know that it's stupid but-"
"Detective," He interrupted her ramblings, shaking his head and chuckling when he noticed what he said, "Chloe." He amended, "I-I had no idea that it had such a profound effect on you. Is... Is this why you have been acting strange all week?"
Chloe did not answer, too busy blushing and wishing that someone would smite her on the spot or something. Her silence was enough of an answer to him anyways.
"My apologies then." Lucifer whispered, taking her hand in his to stop her relentless fidgeting, "At first, it was because that was what you were; a detective. But then, a while later, it became more than a force of habit or a statement of fact. You were... you were growing closer to me and you meant so much to me... Now, I realized that that was when I started to fall in love with you, Det-" He shook his head, "Sorry! I... I'll have to get used to not using it I suppose."
"You don't have to stop, Lucifer." She sighed, recognizing the look in his eyes as the typical this-is-emotional-and-I'm-going-to-get-completely-bloody-screwed-or-abandoned-any-moment-now look, "Of course not. That isn't what I meant. I just want to know why."
"Oh." He breathed, "That's... much easier. When I began to realize that I loved you , Chloe, more than I ever loved anyone before; more than I ever loved before... and then the entire unpleasant business with the poisoning and the miracle stuff and Candy and the my mum and Pierce and... and..."
She caressed his arm lightly, attempting to calm him down. He could still get worked up over all that happened, finding a million possibilities that would have prevented them from getting together despite her continued reassurances that they were meant to be together regardless of how things played out (and not the kind of 'meant to be together' that came with the whole miracle fiasco)
"During all of that, when I desparately needed to not fall for you, because the devil didn't fall in love, then because I needed you safe, then because loving you and leaving and all the manner of unpleasant things that were happening hurt so much..." He winced, his eyes begging her to understand, "Doctor Linda said that I was trying to detach myself, trying to avoid all manners of emotional intimacy associated with everything between us because... Well, I knew that names were incredibly important, but their emotional implications escaped me. Then, after we 'got together', my darling, it was out of habit, of fondness, I suppose... Everytime I call you that now, I can't help but remember all that we had been through together. I can't help but think of how your entire police work... It's how we met and what I called you for so long through so much and while I am not sure -mmph!"
For the second time that night, Chloe interrupted him by smashing her lips to his.
How could she not?
It went on, unaffected by the passage of time. For both of them, time might not have existed at all.
"Lucifer," She finally whispered, hugging him close to her body, hiding her tears in his chest. Not that she would ever need to hide from him, never him.
"Yes, C-Chloe?" He whispered back, breathless, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist.
"You don't have to call me that, Lucifer." She laughed, "I just... I was being silly... Stupid even. I'm so sorry."
"Det- Chloe!" He admonished, "You're not stupid, darling. Never! And I also have no idea as to what you might be apologizing about, but I am certain that no apologies are needed."
But apologies were needed.
How could she be so stupid? Questioning his love for her? Doubting him? After everything that he had done...
Chloe did not respond, she just pulled him closer.
Lucifer, for his part, did not comment. He mirrored her movements, holding her. Occasionally, he would press a kiss to her hair or whisper something that was too low to be heard. Neither of them cared.
"Anymore brilliant ideas?" She asked after a long time, her voice shaky but her smile bright.
"Detective!" Lucifer laughed, scooping her up into his arms, "I thought you'd never ask!"