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“CHLOE!”
The yell of her name echoes around the arena as Lucifer powerlessly watches his first love be fatally wounded at the hands of his brother.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
There was nothing he could do.
Chloe shouldn’t have been here, he told her not to fight but she insisted and now he’s going to lose her forever. As the tree of life is pulled from her stomach she crumbles to the ground and he feels a millennium and more worth of pain consume his body. The deafening silence of the area makes Chloe’s gasps seem louder.
“No, no, no, no, no, no...”
The same word tumbles from Lucifers mouth countless times as he runs over, falling to his knees to cradle her body, his hand hovering over her white t-shirt which is quickly being drenched in blood, knowing there is nothing he could do but savour these last few seconds.
"No, no, no, no, no, no...”
He holds her close.
“This is all my fault, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry.” Begging that the words would be enough to make her better.
“It’s not your fault.” She whispers, her eyes pleading for him to believe her, the last thing she wants him to feel was guilt over something that was her choice.
He didn’t force Chloe to be here, it was her own stubbornness, she wanted to be by his side, she knew the dangers that it could make her face. Would make her face. After all she was battling in a celestial war that would result in someone become God and, although she’s a gift from God – a miracle, she is still just a human being. No super strength. No invulnerability. She went in with a gun filled with bullets made from one of Maze’s hell forged blades. Even though they had a plan she still knew there was a chance it could go wrong.
And that is exactly what happened.
“I’m sorry, I'm sorry.” With tears brimming his eyes, his hand moves to cover her heart like he doesn’t want to miss a second of its last few moments beating.
“Don’t be sorry.” She fights for her breath, she has to get out what she wants to say before she can’t. “Lucifer,” She takes in another deep inhale before continuing. “We make our own choices. I chose to be here. And Dan, w-what happened to Dan...” Lucifer shakes his head as he cups her face as the tears fall, knowing exactly what she’s going to say but refusing to hear it. She has to forgive herself, she can’t still carry that guilt. He wishes he could just take it all away. He can’t let her go to that place, she can’t go there. She doesn’t deserve it. “It should’ve been me. Please, tell Trixie I'm sorry, t-tell her I love her.” Using the last of her strength she reaches up and rests her hand on his cheek, her fingers skimming against his stubble.
“No-”
“But this... this is not your fault. It’s not your fault.” Her voice fades and the hand on his cheek falls, brushing down his shirt and leaving a smear of blood on the white material, as she says the words. The last of her strength now gone and with the remainder of the air in her lungs, she breathes out her final words as her eyes drift shut. “I love you.”
“No, no, no, no, no.”
The hand that was on her cheek now cradles her head as he pulls her body in against his chest almost willing for the feel of his heart to restart hers. Tears falling, he rests his head on hers and holds her tighter, a “no” caught somewhere between a sob and a scream leaves his lips as he begins to let her go.
Lucifer gently lays her body on the ground, the ability to breath a challenge and the tears feel almost never ending. He stays on his knees, his hands hold his weight as he summons the strength to move, to do anything other than sob. The sweat from his battle with Michael drips from his curls, merging with his tears as they runs down his face. He feels as though if a feather were to land on his back he would collapse.
In his mind the last 4 years play back, every second from their first to the moment they set foot in the arena. Their first case and when she told him she was leaving the LAPD so she could stand by his side and help everyone. That night at Chloe’s where he played monopoly with her and Trixie and went back to the penthouse with a unicorn painted on his cheek. Her laugh. Her smile. When she saved Lux, the place he called home until he realised, she was the one who deserved that title. Their first kiss and their last. The night on the set of that damn reality show when it was Chloe, him and the axe and she realised the reality of his vulnerability around her. All the times they sat at the piano together, both at lux and in his penthouse, one time in particular stands out more than the rest. If that’s true, if you choose to be vulnerable around me then I choose to be vulnerable around you. All the times they’ve risked their lives for each other. When she told him that she loves him... from the first to the last time.
“I told you she should leave.”
Michael breaks the moment.
“And bad news is sounds like she didn’t make peace with her guilt and you know what that means.” The pleasure drips from his words and it takes everything Lucifer has to not knock off the smug smile he knows is on his face. “Y’know you really should’ve taken my offer.”
Lucifer shakes his head defiantly, his chest heaves with every breath. “This isn’t right, this isn’t right.” He whispers, his strength building back up as he moves his leg so he’s now only on one knee. “This isn’t right, it’s not her time.” He starts to stand, his voice rising with every word.
“What are you babbling about?” Michael scoffs.
Now at his full height Lucifer looks down at her body, his eyes puffy and tired, the pain soon hidden by determination.
“I’m gonna get her back.”
“You know that means going back to Hell.”
“If need be, I'd go to Heaven in a heartbeat.” Lucifer stares his brother down, his eyes unwavering as he rolls his shoulders and bright white wings spread out.
She’s alone.
The room is dark.
the only light coming from the flashlight in Chloe’s hand that’s resting above her gun as she scans the space around her.
The only sound is the dripping of a nearby pipe, it’s like a creepy, watery clock.
There's the smell of damp and a chill in the air, it’s definitely abandoned, it’s like a scene you’d find in a horror movie. But then again, this does all feel eerily familiar, she can’t tell whether the sense of déjà vu she’s getting is because she has been here before or seen this place in a movie, but there’s also an almost a dream like feel to it.
C’mon Decker you’ve gone into worse places than this, she mentally gives herself a pat on the back as rolls her shoulders before continuing forward.
She scans the room again, her ears perking up when she hears shuffling coming from around the corner, followed by a cough. Shining the light towards the source, she slowly moves around the corner and that’s when she sees his battered body hunched against the wall, his bloody and bruised face slowly rising to meet hers as she hurries over and crouches down to his level.
“Dan?”
It’s then that Chloe remembers why she’s here. The case. Her last case. He’d gone off on his own to check out the house, she was meant to go but he had insisted and then it all went wrong. He’d been taken, held hostage. All the searching they’d done to narrow down his whereabouts to a few places and that’s how she found herself in a knock off movie.
It’s also in that moment that Chloe realises she has been here before. She’s lived through this already, she was sure of it. But yet here Dan was, in front of her again and on the cusp of death. She didn’t know what was happening, whether this was some kind of nightmare or not, but she knew she was still, once again, going to do everything in her power to save him.
“Dan.” She embraces him. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re gonna get you help.” She darts her head around looking for some way to get someone's attention, but of course there’s no one else here and she can feel the emptiness of her pockets indicating she hasn’t got her phone on her. The tears and panic start rising to the surface, lost on what to do.
She was going to lose him... again.
“Chloe.” His voice weak as he fights to stay awake.
“No. Save your breath. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“No, listen to me, I held on to tell you-” He takes in a deep breath and... starts moving to sit up. Dans fixes his eyes on her, not losing contact and moves to kneel in front of her. He no longer looks scared instead he looks angry? Betrayed? “It’s all your fault.”
There’s a harsh tone to his voice.
The one he saved for criminals in the interrogation room.
“What... Dan, I'm-” She’s cut off by the feeling of cold metal in her hand and looking down she finds her gun in her hand the muzzle against his abdomen. She wills her hand to open, to drop the gun, but it won’t ungrasp, if anything her hold just gets stronger.
“You should’ve gone to the house, Chlo. You should’ve been the one they took, they beat ... they shot .” He berates her, the strong emphasis on certain words making Chloe flinch. “You’re the reason Trixie is gonna grow up without her dad. This was your final case and you let me go alone.”
Every word he says hits harder, her stomach feeling like it’s been impaled.
Impaled.
She furrows her brows as her eyes squeeze shut, a flash of Michael's face as he suddenly comes towards her before a shooting pain radiates through her body.
She gasps.
Opening her eyes again as the memory? dream? Fades.
Is it possible to have a dream within a dream?
Tears now at the surface, they begin to stream down her face, the guilt is overwhelming. She knows she should’ve taken charge, gone to the house, at the very least had Lucifer accompany Dan so he wasn’t alone. But she didn’t. Why didn’t she? She opens her mouth to speak but the words just don’t come.
“You killed me, Chloe.”
A loud bang echoes around the derelict room. Chloes ears ring as she watches Dans face drop before his body slump forward.
“No-” She exhales. “Dan, no, please. Dan.” The gun falls from her hand, smoke escaping the barrel as it hits the ground. Chloe moves the weight of his body to lay him on the ground before putting pressure on the wound but it was no use, there was so much blood, it was like a river. If this truly was a dream why did everything feel so real, why could she-
“Daddy?”
Chloe’s panicked breath gets stuck in her throat as she hears her daughters voice from behind her. Why is Trixie here? She looks down at her blood-soaked hands and they shake as she tries to think of a way to explain to her what just happened, she can’t even explain it to herself. She just shot Dan, Trixie’s father, but also didn’t. She had no choice; she couldn’t put the gun down. She doesn’t even remember pulling the trigger, she just remembers the piercing bang it made as the bullet left the barrel. The look on Dan’s face before he fell on her. The smell of the powder. The ringing in her ears. She can’t bring herself to turn around, she just stares at her hands willing herself to wake up from this nightmare.
“Mom, what did you do?”
At that she spins around.
She’s met with the terrified face of her 11 year old little girl. A look she never thought she would be in the receiving end of. All she wants to do is gather her up in her arms and tell her everything’s going to be okay, that she’s sorry.
“Trix,.” As she stands up her daughter takes a step back, her dark brown eyes coming to rest on her mother’s hands, the fear on her face increasing as the seconds go by. “No, baby, I didn’t- I couldn’t…” wiping her hands on her jeans to clear the blood away before she reaches out, wanting to do nothing but comfort her child.
“Stay away from me! You killed my dad!” Chloe flinches as Trixie steps back from her reaching hand, that feeling of impalement returns. “It’s all your fault. He was only here because of you.”
“Sweetie, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She sobs.
Her child hates her, of course she does. Chloe herself knows the pain of losing your father, she never wanted Trixie to feel that pain so young. Yet here they were and she was the reason her daughter was going to grow up without her dad, her best friend. 11 years is such a short amount of time to spend with someone, she could’ve had so much more but Chloe had stopped that. She’d stopped Dan from seeing his little girl grow, become a woman, meet the love of her life, he’d never walk her down the aisle, see his grandchildren. And the little things like sneaking her another slice of chocolate cake and building unicorn armies.
It was all gone and it was all Chloe’s fault.
“I’m never going to see him again and it’s all your fault.” A beat passes. “I hate you.”
And with those words Chloe finally collapses back onto her knees, her eyes squeeze shut, her hands covering them as her head falls to her knees. She’s trapped, riddled with guilt and feeling like she’s back in that hospital room again, telling Trixie that her daddy is gone.
She aches for the daughter she now feels she has surely lost.
She aches for Dan, he maybe be her ex-husband but he was still her friend and Trixie’s father, she still deeply cared about him.
Clearly not enough her mind torments her.
A cough broke the silence.
“Chloe?”
She froze.
It can’t be...
Not again...
She slowly raises her head, tear stains on her face and stray pieces of hair frame her face as she lets out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding onto before she slowly turns around.
Once again Chloe found herself looking at the bruised and bloody face of-
“Dan?”
That feeling of impalement returning once again as the realisation hit that this was less of a nightmare and more of a loop.
A Hell loop.
The words she’d thought to herself earlier echo in her mind. C ’mon Decker you’ve gone into worse places than this. Except now she was sure she hadn’t. After all is there anywhere worse than Hell?
The familiar warmth and the smell of ash was far from welcome.
The dark walls of the corridors look more like cliff faces, they’re jagged and layered with different shaped doors dotted around the place. Some metal, some wood, some with windows, some with chains on. He’d wonder down them when he got bored of sitting on his throne, of feeling like a bird sitting on top of the Empire State building looking down on New York. So sometimes he’d find someone, a particularly evil Hell resident and have some fun in their loop, switch things up, throw in a clown, Elvis or an old woman, entertain himself for a while.
The ash that falls like snow settles in his hair and on his broad shoulders as he begins his decent into the place he once unwillingly called home. The throne that sits on a tower of columns comes in to view as he rounds a corner, not wanting to look at it but also unable to tear his eyes away.
Lucifer had sworn to himself that he would never return, not since Father had told him that Hell no longer needed a warden, a fact that would’ve been nice to know before his most recent millennia long visit down here. If he no longer needed to be here then he never wanted to walk down these corridors again, at least not while he still had Chloe. But then that’s why he found himself there.
He’d lost her.
She’d died in his arms.
And now she found herself down here.
Another promise he’d made to himself and also to her, that despite him being the Devil – the (former?) Lord of Hell, she would never have to visit this place. He would do everything is his power to make sure that she made it to Heaven. A place where she without a doubt belonged. A place where she’d finally be reunited with her father. A place that, thanks to Michael and his dick-ish ways, she wasn’t in.
Michael.
His mind rushed with ways he could punish him once they returned.
Yes, Lucifer could just kill him like he had done with Uriel, they had Azrael’s blade after all, but that was an easy way out and Michael didn’t deserve easy. He deserved to suffer. Not just for killing Chloe and making her end up in Hell due to her guilt over Dan – another death, alongside their sister, that he was responsible for, but for kidnapping Chloe, for impersonating Lucifer and trying to take his life, all the thing he had done while Lucifer was stuck down here keeping an eye on everything. All the fear he brought up for everyone. The way he played them all, their father included. Making him think he was losing himself, being forgetful and convincing him to retire. All the things he’d done in the past. What happened in Eden was Michael’s doing, Lucifer rebellion against God. Michael had been the one whispering in his ear, convincing and manipulating him.
No, Lucifer had a plan for him, one he deserved.
As for Chloe, he wasn’t here to take her to Heaven. Not a chance. Even though that’s the place she deserved to be in, this wasn’t her time. It was far too soon. She still had years ahead of her. More years with Trixie.
More years with him.
He was here to bring her back to earth.
Back to her life, so she could live those years.
He dreads to think how long she’s already been here, a minute, no, even a second was too long. He doesn’t even want to begin to think about how many loops she’s injured.
That’s the worst thing about being the Lord of Hell... He knows how the loops work; he knows exactly what she’ll be subjected to. He knows that her guilt over Daniel’s death will be the star of the show and she will be ridiculed beyond belief, she will be worn down and beaten with words. The demons will do everything they can to make sure she doesn’t overcome her guilt, to make she just falls further and further until there is no chance of her saving herself and breaking free. They will make sure she is trapped down here for all of eternity.
A positive to being the Lord of Hell is that he’ll know instantly once he comes across Chloe’s room, call it Devils intuition if you will, but despite not having been down here for a while, there isn’t anything he doesn’t know about Hell.
It takes longer than he’d like but he eventually finds it. It’s a large metal door with a window on - not that you can see through the window and even though he fully knows what to expect from the loop he has no idea what he’s going to find when it comes to the Detective herself. Which means he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried, he wishes he was the one facing all this, he’d face a million Hell’s for her if he had to but he can’t so all he can do is save her, give her back the life she still deserves to be living and help her in any way he can to get through all of this.
He clenches he jaw, takes a deep breath and opens the door.
She’s lost count.
Honestly, she doesn’t even remember if she even began counting.
Things had only gotten worse, but then what would you expect when you’re in Hell? It’s not like she was on a vacation.
If she had been on one she knows Dan would be alive, not lying dead in her arms after she’s shot him for the 118 th time. Trixie would be running towards her after a swim in the sea, not backing away from her with a mix of terror and anger in her eyes. Lucifer would be here, by her side like he always is... except now when she needs him most.
She would do anything to see those dark eyes.
With every loop the torment got more vicious, the repeated cries of “you killed me”, “it’s all your fault” and “i hate you” felt like a walk in the park compared to now.
The tears had gotten to the point where she couldn’t breathe but it wasn’t long after that they stopped completely, she wishes they had lasted longer, but she felt as thought she had none left and Chloe was now numb to almost every word that was thrown at her because she believed them. She just accepted it.
As she once again felt the gun in her hand, she closes her eyes, listening to the words that Dan spits at her, among them he tells her what an awful mother she is, how he wishes he’d never met her even if that meant sacrificing his life with Trixie and no longer having her as well, and the biggest blow which first appeared a few loops ago...
“Your father will never be proud of you, Chloe. If he were alive, he would be ashamed to call you his daughter. So maybe it’s a good thing he’s up there while you’re stuck down here, maybe it’s a good thing you’ll never see him again.” He leans forward into the gun and she can feel his breath on her face. “I am so glad you’re dead.”
She's gotten used to the sound of the gun, but given what her occupation used to be, it was something she’d gotten used to a while back, there were a few times it had taken her by surprise, the first for sure.
The sound of Dan’s body hitting the ground, however, still made her flinch.
“Detective.”
Her brows furrow, this wasn’t the voice she was used to hearing at this point in her loop. She’d been waiting for too long to hear it, but was he really here or just a new addition? Another person here to yell at her and make her fall further into her guilt?
She hadn’t fallen completely, not yet, she felt close but there was always a voice at the back of her head telling her “no”. She wanted to believe the voice, she really did. After all it came from the person she trusts the most, the person who has now appeared at her side. But Chloe fears that if Lucifer is now a part of her Hell loop then she might just lose her grip and fall. Those couple of fingers that are still holding onto the ledge might just slip off.
“Not you too.”
She’s tired and now waiting for him to move in front of her, for him to be the next person laying dead on the ground. Another death for her to feel pain over. More guilt, even if she doesn’t have control over what she’s doing. She’s gotten to know how the loops work, she’s a detective after all and even if she’s not on the job her brain is always on the go, so she’d be willing to bet that this version of Lucifer will be vulnerable.
The return of his invulnerability was something they hadn’t had a chance to speak about, more because Chloe knew Lucifer wasn’t ready for that conversation and didn’t want to push him, it was a sensitive topic for both of them. That didn’t stop her from worrying about what it meant. Michael’s prints are all over that worry, he planted the seed of fear when he had her trapped in that cave and she hasn’t been able to shake it.
She’s been trying to fight back at everyone in her loop, keeping a hold on that voice in her head that contradicts everything they say. She’s mentally drained and doesn’t feel like she can trust anyone to be who she thinks they are, every face she has seen has turned against her, but the hand that brushes a stray piece of hair behind her ear before it softly cups her cheek is warm, while everything else around her feels cold. So Chloe opens her eyes and lets her face be guided until she’s looking at those dark brown eyes she’s been praying for, his other hand taking the gun from her hand.
“I think I'll take that.”
“Lucifer?” Her eyes taking in every part of his face. The soft curls that rest against his forehead instead of being neatly styled back, his eyes are strong yet he looks tired, drained and there’s a puffiness to them that you would relate to crying. His stubble, slightly longer than normal, framing the curves of his lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to get you. It's not your time and you-” He focuses for a second on the figure approaching from behind before his attention is back on her, noticing how a darkness has taken over her eye which were once sky blue. “you certainly don’t belong down here.”
“But Dan, I-” His hand falls from her cheek as she pulls away slightly, turning her head to look at Dan’s body before going back to Lucifer. “I can’t leave him. I need to save him.”
Lucifer picks his next works carefully. He knows how Hell can manipulate you, how it doesn’t just show you all your guilt but also shows you the things you want to see most, like how it twisted his own loop onto his mothers and made her not want to leave Uriel behind. And one of the things that is likely to pull the Detective into staying down here was now standing right behind her. Yes, he could just order the demons to stop, he could tear this whole loop apart but he can’t. Chloe needs to overcome her guilt; she needs to see that this isn’t real for herself.
“Detective...”
No, that won’t do.
“Chloe. I’m sorry but that is not Daniel, that is just a figment of your guilt, guilt you shouldn’t be burdening yourself with.” He pleads. “Please, believe me when I say that you have nothing to be remorseful for. Daniel, Dan, he was a good detective, a brilliant one, I should’ve told him that more often and I regret it, but he knew what was doing. He chose to go alone.” There’s a beat as he searches her eyes, hoping his words are sinking in. “Just like you chose to stand by my side. Choices like that show strength and we should be showing pride not feeling guilt.”
His own speech making him realise that he too has nothing to feel guilty over, what happened to Chloe wasn’t his fault, just like she had said, she chose, insisted on joining him.
“What happened to Dan... It wasn’t my fault?” She whispers and it’s somewhere between a statement and a question.
Maybe it was knowing that Lucifer never lies that made her believe that she wasn’t at fault, but also maybe she knew it all along and she just couldn’t bring herself to trust it. Either way the grip the loop had on her slowly loosened, reality fading in as the guilt faded out.
His hand finds its place on her cheek once again, thumb stroking across her cheekbone, compassion in his eyes as he watches the darkness that covered Chloe’s when he first looked at her start to lift and the bright blue he’s used to seeing takes its place.
“No, Chloe. It wasn’t. Now come on, you need to come back.” His voice gentle.
“Oh, that’s right.” The memories of time not so long ago fill her mind. The arena. Michael. All of Lucifers siblings, the ones who stood against him and the two that stood with him. Maze and Eve and all the demons they had on their side. It’s a shame the ones down here weren’t on hers now. She remembers Lucifer and Michael, their wings beating the air as they fought hundreds of feet up. Their struggle over the sword once they were back on the ground. The plan. She remembers running over and taking part of the sword, the piece that Amenadiel used to wear around his neck. Pain is the next thing that floods her mind, her hand unconsciously moving to her stomach.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
Flashes of Lucifer’s tear stained face go by.
“The war, and I left Trixie, and my friends and... I left you”
“Yes.”
“And this isn’t real. That’s not Dan and Trixie, she’s safe, she’s at home.”
“Yes, she is.” His eyes land on the figure for a third time. Now he just needs to get Chloe out of here before they start trying to pull her back in. “Come on Detective, we need to go.”
“How do we get back?”
Lucifer stands, offering out his hand to help her up, keeping hold of it as they reach the door he came through only a few minutes ago. He turns to face her to explain how the next part works, how all he needs to do is give her his ring that’s hold Lillith’s immortality, that it would bring her back. If he could he’d drag her out the door and just fly her home but he can’t, if she’s dealt with her guilt and walks through that door she’ll end up in Heaven and yes, he wouldn't hesitate to follow her, even if he burnt up before he made it. But he knows she’ll be reunited with her father up there and he can’t bear the thought of having to drag her away from another loved one, especially one she hasn’t seen in almost 20 years. He opens his mouth to speak but before he has a chance-
“Mommy?”
Lucifer’s jaw clenches as he closes his eyes, exhaling as his shoulders slump.
Chloe’s head whips round towards the voice.
The figure Lucifer had been watching now making their presence known and of course they would choose this moment. They were so close. All he had to do was give her the ring but now her hand was falling from his and she was being pulled back in.
“Trix, no...”
“Please don’t leave me, mom. It’s so cold down here. I’m scared.”
Out of the corner of his eye Lucifer watches as Dan’s body starts to stand, stumbling slightly at first, his eyes then following as he makes his way over to Trixie. Focusing back on Chloe, he sees her eyes start to glisten as tears began to form. She’d managed to deal with her guilt over Dan, she’d realised his death wasn’t her fault, that she could wish things had happened differently and not be burdened with feeling like it was all down to her. And her want to go home, the want to be alive again, to go back her friends and Trixie, to be able to go and comfort her daughter when she needed it most, it was strong. So of course, the demons would tap into that, they would bring another situation up to try and bring back that guilt.
“Please save me, Chlo. I don’t wanna die.”
They're trying to make her feel bad about leaving them down here, Lucifer thought to himself.
“Dan, I’m sorry, I-” With that Chloe moves towards them, making it a couple of steps before Lucifer’s hand grasps hers, but it’s not enough. She manages to pull free, their words having their desired effect. “No. Please. I-I can’t.” Her voice thick with tears.
“Detective, they’re not real.”
She bats Lucifer away as he tries to reach for her hand, her arm, something to bring her back. She wins in her efforts for a short time before he gathers her up in his arms a sob of “no” leaving her lips and within seconds she finds herself pressed against him. His arms wrapped around her, his hand holding her head against his chest.
She can hear his heart.
Feel his warmth.
“They’re not real.” He repeats the words again, his voice softer this time, as he carefully guides her the couple of steps back to the door while her eyes stay stuck on the demons but her ear still tuned in on his heart. Once they’re back at the door Lucifer slowly pulls away, his hand moving from the back of her head to her neck. Chloe leans away but her focus point doesn’t change.
“Look at me,”
Her head moves slightly but her eyes are glued to the doubles of Trixie and Dan who are still pleading her to stay.
“Chloe, please.”
With that her head slowly turns towards him, her eyes trailing a second behind as she tries to resist the pull. Once blue finally meets brown he gently takes her face in both hands.
“It’s not them. I know you know that.” They continue to torment her as Lucifer speaks, her eyes darting between him and the demons before she screws them shut in an effort to block out their words out and focus on those of the man in front of her. “I wish I could bring Daniel back, give Trixie back her father, I truly do, but I can’t. I can however make sure she still has you. The world still needs you, Chloe Decker and if I could take away all the pain you’ve experienced down here then I would do it in a heartbeat. Your strength and the way you care so much about so many, how you fight to give people you don’t even know the justice they deserve, is beyond admirable. To feel your love is an honour. You chose me, Chloe, and now I choose you because... because I love you.”
With that Chloe’s eyes shoot open, tears briming for a whole other reason. She’d come to accept that it could be a long time until she hears those three words. Lucifer was trying to deal with his crisis of realising his father had never shown affection towards him, never told him and his sibling that he loved them. So therefore, how was he, as his son, able to? How could he possibly love someone? Chloe of course, didn’t accept it, Lucifer showed his love in many ways, even if he was unable to say it. But now here he was, right in front of her, saving her and saying it.
“Lucifer,” A tear escapes, but he quickly wipes it away with the thumb that still resting against her cheek. Her left hand comes up to cover his right and a beat passes before he releases her face and takes the hand in both of his.
“I know I should’ve said it sooner and under different circumstances would have been more ideal, but truth be told I was scared, scared of what it meant, but then I realised it was ridiculous to be intimidated by something so beautiful. I was in a bad place when we met and time again you made me better, now let me take you home and do the same for you.”
With that he slips off his ring before once again taking her left hand and lining the ring, that was clearly meant for a finger twice the size of hers, up with her fourth digit. He captures her gaze before sliding it down her delicate finger.
White light begins to cloud her vision and Chloe feels herself being pulled away from Lucifer, a tightness growing in her chest as she hears the faint sound of blood beginning to flow through her veins. The sensation in her stomach is no longer that of impalement but warmth and it begins to spread as the white light gets brighter and brighter.
“I’ll be there when you wake up.”