Work Text:
After Chloe yells at him in front of a classroom overstuffed with teenagers, they start talking more.
Lucifer had been impressed, almost, with the way she refused to take his shit. He really hadn't meant to insult her discipline, though he has to admit (to himself, if no one else) that he'd admired her for her response. She'd been furious, eyes flaring, cheeks flushed.
He'd already found her beautiful, but since then, he thinks about her far too often.
At the end of the school day, he headed over to her classroom, to--apologize, or something, he's not quite sure. But she'd beathim to it, either way.
"I'm sorry," she'd said when he entered. "It was unprofessional of me to yell at you in front of students, especially since you weren't even--well. Anyway. I'm sorry. Won't happen again."
"It's fine," he'd said. "I suppose you weren't the only one who could have handled that better."
She grinned at him, and Lucifer couldn't help but smile back, which should have been his first warning.
Then she looked at her phone and swears under her breath, and what he should have done was wish her luck with whatever was upsetting her and leave.
Instead, he asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, fine," Chloe says, through the tense set of her shoulders betrays her. "It's just my ride. Linda's caught up at a conference across town, I'll have to wait for a couple extra hours. Guess I'll get some grading done."
"Well, where do you live?" Lucifer asks. "I've nothing to do today, I could give you a ride home."+
Chloe raises her brows. "In LA? Lucifer, I could live legitimately everywhere."
"Not the Hills, though? I'm assuming."
"Teachers aren't exactly known for being paid well, that's an easy guess," Chloe says. "I live near Santa Clarita?" She looks disappointed, because--yeah, that's actually quite far from the school.
"I'm not too far from there," Lucifer says, which isn't technically a lie, because in the grand scheme of things, an hour or so's drive isn't far.
Chloe smiles at him. "Alright, then."
Lucifer's car is nicer than most--all--of the cars in the parking lot. He isn't living off his what his father left him anymore, but he's held onto what possessions he has from then--a lovingly maintained convertible, a ring worth more than some small houses, suits nice enough that he's reluctant to wear them into the classroom. The high school's mostly pretty disgusting; despite the hard work of the janitorial staff, trash reigns. They're underpaid, he can't and doesn't blame them.
Chloe's far from impressed, though.
"How much money did you spend on this?" she says with a snort.
"Less than you'd think," he says.
Chloe rolls her eyes, but he's pretty sure she's smiling. Or at least almost smiling. Smirking. Something along those lines.
She gives him directions, and for the first few minutes of the drive, they're silent.
"Can you put on music?" she asks finally. At his nod, she starts messing with the stations. (It's all the same to Lucifer; he prefers the music he plays himself.)
When she does eventually settle on a station, Lucifer gives her a look out of the corner of his eyes.
"Do you have something against my taste in music?" she asks, annoyed again. He can't bring himself to mind too much, though, what with the way she's grinning in the mirror.
"90s pop," he says, trying to fill the word with as much disdain as possible. "I'd prefer almost anything else. What else do you like, Romeo and Juliet? Disney movies?"
"Not a fan of Romeo and Juliet," Chloe says. "But I don't hate Disney movies. My daughter loves them."
"You have a daughter?" Lucifer asks, surprised.
"Yeah," Chloe says.
Lucifer resolutely tells himself that what he's feeling is curiosity, not jealousy. "I wasn't aware you were married."
"I'm not," Chloe says. "My ex actually works at the school, do you know Dan?"
"Espinoza?" Lucifer asks. "Really?"
Lucifer's never really been a fan of history or history teachers, but he finds Daniel Espinoza to be an especially dull teacher. No one gets that excited about historical events, and he's not nearly a good enough liar to get away with it.
"Yeah," Chloe says, defensive. "He's not a bad guy."
"Agree to disagree," Lucifer says. "Let's go back to your baffling love of Disney movies. Aren't you an English teacher? Shouldn't you have taste? Watch, I don't know, Bones or something?"
"Bones?" Chloe asks. "Really? But...yeah, I really don't mind Disney movies."
"I can't believe that," Lucifer says. "I--"
"Turn here," Chloe interrupts.
Lucifer turns. "Bloody LA traffic," he mutters. "Anyway, Disney movies are just--cheap life lessons for children, and bad lessons at that."
"Okay, give me an example," Chloe says. She doesn't sound that annoyed, and when Lucifer glances over, she seems more curious and amused than irritated. Strange.
"Beauty and the Beast," Lucifer says. "That's a movie about Stockholm Syndrome. Kidnap someone and eventually they'll fall in love with you? Why would anyone be interested in a monster?"
"You're missing the point," Chloe says. "Belle and Adam--"
"You know their names," Lucifer says, delighted.
"Shut up," Chloe says. "The point is that they're both outsiders. Belle is too bright for her village and their period-typical sexism, and Adam is--well, a beast. But they both see each other for who they really are!"
"Decker, I would never have guessed you were a romantic," Lucifer says.
"Really? I feel like most English teachers are," Chloe says. "I mean. You did mention Romeo and Juliet."
Lucifer snorts. "Shakespeare. The two wouldn't have lasted as long as they did in real life."
"Wow. You're kind of a pessimist, aren't you?" Chloe says.
"Guilty."
"I think," Chloe says, and she sounds so contemplative that he can't help but glance at her again, even though he knows that's dangerous on pretty much every LA street. "That love stories aren't--shitty wish fulfillment. Aren't just that, anyway. It gives you hope, you know? As long as you're not romanticizing--"
"Kidnappers?"
"Sexism, or something," Chloe says with a roll of her eyes. "And Beauty and the Beast is probably the only story I'm fine with that has that, by the way. The stories help you learn about the world around you through the way you process it."
"I'm not sure I understand," Lucifer says. "But you sound convincing, I'll give you that much."
"There's this quote that explains it better than me, but I can't quite remember it," Chloe says. "I'll send it to you, if I do."
"You could have just asked for my number," Lucifer tries. Chloe doesn't say anything, but he'd bet money on her rolling her eyes.
Eventually they pull up to her place, an apartment complex with bright walls and a ton of greenery. It's nice, Lucifer supposes, if not really his taste.
"Thanks for the ride," Chloe says.
"Any time," he responds, before pausing. He's not sure he'd meant to say that. Judging from her wide eyes, she wasn't either.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Ask Mazikeen to give you my number," he says before he can tell himself it's a bad idea. "So you can send me that quote."
She nods, smiling again, before closing the door. Still grinning, Lucifer pulls out his phone to make sure he doesn't have any urgent emails, because such is teaching.
mazikeen:
did you leave the school with decker
lucifer i know you're glued to this thing answer me
Yes, why?
And more importantly, how do you know?
one of the students in linda's tutoring class spotted you
and jsyk basically every single teacher in the school is gossiping about it
It was just a ride, tell them to stop.
absolutely not
this is the funniest thing that's ever happened
i give decker five minutes before she blows up your phone yelling at you
also i'm giving her your number so that can happen
You're an awful friend.
i'm a fucking delight
Lucifer sighs.
At least keep Eve from the worst of it?
lmao i couldn't do that
i'm pretty sure she's spearheading it
That doesn't surprise me.
she bets you two are together within the semester
Mazikeen.
i'm betting the month