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Chloe smiled when she woke up, feeling incredibly well. It had been a while since she had woken up feeling that rested. She got out of bed and put on her robe, shivering. It was cold this morning. Turning towards the window, she realized she had left it slightly open last night. She hurried to close it back.
As she was heading towards the bathroom, she noticed a white feather near the chair at the end of her bed. She picked it up, wondering where it came from. The feather looked like a down feather you would find inside pillows and winter coats but bigger, about the size of her middle finger. She frowned. Her bed comforter and pillows were not made of down as far as she knew. Did a bird enter through the open window last night? She hoped not. Birds in a house, especially white ones, usually meant a bad omen. The bird who lost it must have been beautiful though, because it was so white it was almost glowing.
Caressing the incredibly soft feather, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. She put it in the drawer of her nightstand and went to get prepared for work.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
“Did you sleep well, Detective?” Lucifer asked, handing her her favorite tall nonfat almond milk latte with sugar-free caramel drizzle. “You seem radiant for a Monday morning.”
“I did actually, Better than I have in weeks,” Chloe answered, taking the hot cup. “You seem to be in a good mood too.”
“I have nothing to complain about,” he replied with a smile.
Lucifer observed Chloe doing paperwork, not disturbing her for once, content to play on his phone, until a new case fell on Chloe’s desk.
“Great!” Lucifer let out happily. “I am in the mood for some action!”
Chloe smiled and after throwing her empty cup in the garbage can, followed Lucifer out of the precinct. With the details she read in the file, Chloe was pretty sure they were going to work on the case for the whole week. She was hoping Lucifer's good mood would last.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Two days later, Trixie ended up in Chloe’s room in the middle of the night.
“Can I sleep with you?” she asked in a small voice. “I had a nightmare.”
“Sure, Monkey. Come here.” Chloe lifted a corner of the comforter to let Trixie slip in bed beside her.
“Why was Lucifer here?” Trixie asked, as she came to the bed.
“What do you mean?”
“When I arrived in your room. Lucifer was sitting in your chair.”
Chloe laughed. “That must have been part of your dream, Monkey. Lucifer wasn’t here.”
“No, it wasn’t a dream! Look, he even lost a feather.” Trixie went to the chair and came back with a feather between her thumb and forefinger.
A white feather.
Chloe frowned and opened the drawer of her nightstand to fish out the feather she found at the same place two days ago. They were identical.
“Lucifer was here?” Chloe asked, sitting up, skeptical. Knowing his luciferness, it might have been possible, but she highly doubted it. Besides, Trixie was in the entrance of her room when she woke up. “Why didn’t I see him leave in that case?” she asked, wondering who was still sleeping between her daughter and herself.
“He opened his wings and disappeared. I didn’t even have time to say goodbye to him!” Trixie complained.
Chloe bursted out laughing. “Monkey, it was definitely a dream. Lucifer doesn’t have wings.”
“Of course he does! He’s the Devil, remember?” She was adamant in her belief. “Maybe he is your guardian Devil.” Trixie finished her sentence with a big yawn.
Chloe sighed. How do you explain to an eight year old that her friend was delusional?
“Trix, babe, you must not believe everything Lucifer says.” Chloe said as she got Trixie tucked into bed beside her.
“He doesn’t lie!” The little girl exclaimed.
“For him, it might be the truth, but it’s not the truth, you understand the difference?”
“But I just saw them! It was really quick, but I saw his glowing wings before he disappeared! I swear mommy, that’s the truth!”
Chloe was still tired and she had another long day ahead. She didn’t want to have an argument with her daughter in the middle of the night.
“Let’s try to get some sleep. We’ll talk about it tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Promise?”
“Yes. Please, sleep now.”
Trixie settled in bed beside her mother and they both fell asleep not long after.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
“So, will you ask him?” Trixie asked, as they were eating breakfast.
“Ask who what?” Chloe asked while cleaning up the mess she made with breakfast.
“Lucifer. Why he came last night?”
Chloe had already thought of an answer in case Trixie asked about it once again. She knew how stubborn she could be. “If he really came, I don’t think he would want me to know. Otherwise he would have asked permission, right?”
“But I want to know!” Trixie pouted. “Besides, Lucifer never asks for permission.”
Her daughter had a point, Chloe had to admit. She remained silent for a moment, lost in her thoughts. The fact that Lucifer could have visited her in the middle of the night was possible even if not likely. But her daughter was half asleep and–
“You could place a camera,” Trixie suddenly said, bringing Chloe back to reality. “We know he has already come twice. He might come back again.”
“That’s a good idea. It can’t be that expensive.” She couldn’t believe she was entertaining the idea but if he really was breaking into her house, she had to know.
“Dad got one. You can ask him.”
“Let’s not talk about this with your dad, okay? He doesn't like Lucifer very much and I don’t want to cause trouble.” Chloe knew she had to keep her ex out of this situation. If he suspected that Lucifer...
“Okay mommy.” Trixie agreed and finished her breakfast before getting ready for school.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Chloe was watching the video footage that the security camera had taken the night before. Having found a third feather on Saturday morning, she had decided to buy the camera as Trixie suggested. Chloe didn’t believe the wings theory, but maybe Lucifer was wearing a down coat or something? If Lucifer was coming at all.
Chloe was watching the video alone, Trixie being with her father for the weekend. She had put the viewing on high speed, not wanting to spend hours looking at her empty chair. It was definitely boring and she really hoped to find something. She didn’t want to repeat this watching everyday until she could unravel the mystery of the feathers.
Suddenly, the image changed. There was definitely someone sitting in her chair. She pressed pause, almost excited now. The image was surprisingly clear despite the darkness in the room.
Lucifer was sitting there, legs crossed, hands on his lap. She should have been furious to learn he was spying on her in secret, but she just couldn’t. The look of adoration on his face was incredible. He was watching her as if she were the most precious thing in the world or perhaps more like a mother would look upon her newborn child, with pure love. He may not be able to tell her how he felt but the truth was there on her video screen. She smiled, a remarkable feeling of love spreading through her body. But how was she going to tackle the subject with him?
She jumped backwards in the video to see at what time he arrived. How much time did he spend watching her each night? When she didn’t see him anymore, she stopped the video and pushed the play button to watch him arrive. Suddenly she frowned and went a few seconds backward again.
She shook her head. One second, the chair was empty, the next Lucifer was sitting there.
How was that possible?
Besides, she also noticed he was wearing his usual suit, not a down coat as she had thought to explain the feathers.
Now she watched the video the third time – image by image
There. A flash of white.
She couldn’t say it was wings as Trixie suggested, but there was definitely something glowing on each side of him. Maybe she could see it better when he was leaving?
Heart pounding, she fast forwarded through the video until Lucifer disappeared.
Two hours, according to the time stamp on the video. He spent two hours watching her sleep. Who had said ‘crazy in love’? She started this time a little before he left and played it once again slowly, frame by frame. She smiled again, thinking about her crazy boyish partner, so immature he couldn’t–
Her thoughts froze in her mind. No, it couldn’t be. She rewatched the video, once again frame by frame.
Against her dark wall, two huge glowing wings were spread on either side of Lucifer.
The wings of an angel. Trixie was right.
An angel who just happened to be the Devil.
The Devil who was in love with her.
What was she supposed to make of that information? Her head was spinning, her mind reeling. If the Devil was real, what about the rest? Heaven. Hell. God?
She went to the sink to splash some water on her face. Okay. What to do now? Her heart was racing in her chest but she couldn’t say she was afraid. She probably should be, but she just wasn’t. The way he was looking at her, with all this adoration on his face, she knew deep down he would never hurt her.
She returned back to the screen, still frozen on Lucifer sprouting wings. What about all those images religions used to depict the Devil? The beast devouring souls. She had never been one to believe but what she was looking at was far from what she had heard of and seen. Was everything as false as this? The Devil, evil? She laughed internally. Lucifer was a lot of things, but he was not evil. In fact, she would say he actually punished evil. Hadn’t he been helping her for years? And maybe he encouraged people to follow their desires but he hated anything that was against Free Will.
She realized she had made her decision. She needed to talk to him. Now.
She took a picture of her screen before shutting it down and went to the door, deciding to go to the penthouse. As she opened the door, she almost received Lucifer’s fist in her face as he was about to knock.
“Oh! My apologies, Detective!” Lucifer said awkwardly. “I didn’t know you were going out. I will come back if–”
Recovering from her surprise, Chloe grabbed his jacket and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him.
“Detective! What are you do–”
Chloe put a hand behind Lucifer’s head and pulled him closer for a passionate kiss. Lucifer reciprocated shyly, unsure on how to react.
“Detective, not that I am complaining, but are you sure about this?” he asked, breathlessly when Chloe parted from him slightly, looking at her half afraid, half amused.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in all my life,” she replied before kissing him again.
After a few minutes of a passionate kissing, they finally parted, almost exhausted.
“I want to see them,” Chloe whispered, locking eyes with him.
“Detective! I never knew you were this naughty!” Lucifer laughed, giving her his signature grin as he kept his arms around her waist. Whatever had led to this moment he would not question.
“Not them,” she answered, smacking him on his chest, “Them,” she added, gesturing behind his back.
Lucifer sighed and tilted his head on the side considering what was really going on. As much as he was happy with this turn of events, he wondered what brought it on. Looking deep into her eyes he made a startling realization.
“Since when do you believe me?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“Since Trixie saw you in my room a few nights ago.”
Lucifer was stunned. What was this about the urchin? But regardless of how the Detective knew, he couldn’t show her his wings so he shook his head. “I– I can’t show you. Humans are not designed to look upon divinity. It drives them mad and I would much rather have you stay sane. Besides, I am not my Father’s angel anymore. They are not what defines me. They are my Father’s doing and I don’t want you to think that is all that I am.”
“I don’t care about your Father. From what you’ve told me, God or not, he seems like an asshole,” she said, earning a laugh from Lucifer.
“Oh, He is!” Lucifer confirmed with a vigor only half way hidden under his laughingly smug tone. Even as he was pleased to have someone to take his side for once and even more pleased that it was his Detective.
“You molt, by the way,” Chloe remarked, running her hands up the lapels of Lucifer’s jacket.
“I certainly do not!” Lucifer exclaimed, offended.
“Oh yes, you do. Wait, I will show you the proof.”
She left him in the living room and went upstairs to her bedroom nightstand. She picked the three feathers out of the drawer and headed back downstairs. It was not how she intended to tackle the subject, but now that Lucifer was there, no time like the present.
“See?” Chloe said, holding the feathers in front of him. “You molt.”
“I do not molt!!” he retorted, as if insulted. “It’s just a few feathers. Do you have any idea how small your room is for my wings?”
“A pretty good idea, yes.” She didn’t tell him she had already seen his wings. She didn’t know how he would react to the fact that she had put a camera in her room to catch him. “Please, I want to see them,” she begged, trying to imitate her daughter when she was asking for a favor.
He smiled and caressed Chloe’s cheek. She was holding three of his feathers and seemed perfectly fine. Maybe she was immune to divinity in general like she was to his mojo.
“My dear Detective, Chloe, how could I refuse you anything?”
He took a few steps back, making sure nothing was in the way, and unfurled his massive wings.
Seeing them on videotape was one thing. Seeing them up close and personal was totally different. Speechless, Chloe came closer. They were huge. And had a pristine white, whiter than anything she knew, as if they were glowing. Ok, they were glowing in fact.
“This is so far from what I figured the Devil would be,” she let out, her voice full of wonder. “No one ever depicts you with beautiful white wings.” At least as far as she was aware.
“Well, he said hesitantly, suddenly feeling a little unsure. Perhaps she wasn’t as immune as he thought? “I told you no horns but there was a time I was also known as the Lightbringer.”
“The Lightbringer,” she breathed in awe. It fit the image before her. She stretched out her hand. “May I?” she asked, her fingers hovering a few inches above his left wing.
He hesitated. No one had touched his wings, not since… But this was Chloe. He could deny her nothing. “Of course,” he finally acquiesced, pulling the wings slightly forward.
Chloe brushed the soft feathers slightly, wondering for the thousandth time since she had seen the videotape if all of this was real. She felt the wing quiver slightly. She was actually touching an angel’s wing.
“I am not dreaming, am I?” she murmured, reverently “This is real? You are real?”
“Of course, I am real, Detective!” he chuckled. “But you? Are you really alright? I mean, I am the Devil.”
“The Devil who appears to be in love with me,” Chloe blurted, before slapping her hand over her mouth.
Lucifer’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth, thinking to say something to deny what she said, but he remained silent. There was no denying the fact.
“I have so many questions,” Chloe added, pulling a baffled Lucifer over toward the couch. “Where do we begin?”