Chapter Text
“Well, to making plans.” Lucifer opens his arms, lifting an inviting eyebrow, and Candy steps forward to hug him, unsure how to thank him for everything he did for her. He backs away with a smile and takes a slow, deep breath through his nose as if he wants to say something, but changes his mind at the last second. “All right.”
Candy follows him to the limo, thinking through the last couple of days. She wasn’t sure about this plan of his when he first came up with it, but it’s worked out well for the both of them. Her club, her livelihood has been saved; she doesn’t know what she would have done without this strange man who calls himself the Devil.
If she’s being honest, conning his mother was easy. She was a bit of a bitch, anyway, and Candy hadn't felt bad about it. She didn’t get any useful information from the woman, but Lucifer seems satisfied enough that it worked out.
The other half of his plan, though—she does feel some guilt there. The moment Candy walked down the precinct stairs and saw the expression on Detective Decker’s face, the look that said her heart was breaking, she wanted to call the whole thing off. She had been under the impression Lucifer’s feelings for his Detective were unrequited. He said something about her ‘not having control over her feelings’, which Candy still doesn’t really get, but people take rejection differently. Maybe that had been his coping mechanism.
What she does get is that he doesn’t think he’s good enough for the Detective—and he’s so wrong. He proved that with what he did for Candy. If he could go through all this trouble for a complete stranger, she can’t imagine what he’d be willing to do for Chloe Decker.
Before she gets in the car, she turns to him, needing an answer to the question that has played on repeat in her head for days. “Lucifer, I get why you had me con your family. But what is going on with you and Detective Decker?”
Lucifer laughs a little awkwardly and clears his throat, but doesn’t answer. Maybe he isn’t sure what to say, or how to put it into words; he doesn’t seem to have the greatest grasp on his own feelings. But this woman was practically all he talked about on the way to LA from Vegas. Candy barely knows either of them, and she can see how bad they have it for each other.
“It’s none of my business. But...I wouldn’t screw that one up,” she says softly.
With one last smile at the Devil who saved her life, Candy gets in the limo and he closes the door behind her. The last thing she sees is the half-stunned, half-bemused expression on Lucifer’s face before the limo pulls out of the parking lot and into traffic.
An idea is forming in her mind. She doesn’t know if it’s a good idea, or if it will make the situation worse, but these two people who clearly care deeply for each other are locked in a stalemate. And it would be a shame if they didn’t find their way out of it.
Candy’s always been a bit of a matchmaker. When she sees two of her friends pining for each other and neither has the nerve to do something about it, she can’t help but try and nudge them along. The last two days, she’s watched Lucifer and Chloe together, seeing how they work together. She listened to Lucifer as he fought to win back their partnership and saw how hurt Chloe was by his actions. And she does believe he was only trying to do right by the Detective; she heard it in his voice the night they drank wine and ate ice cream together.
This might be her last chance to help Lucifer, even if he might not appreciate it initially. Really, she should stay out of it and let them sort it out; this is none of her business. But then she remembers that look on Chloe’s face when Lucifer introduced them. Candy’s guilt alone won’t let her leave LA without a slight detour.
Leaning forward, she asks the driver to take her somewhere else first and he obliges. Thankfully, Candy has a really good memory, and she remembers Chloe’s address from when she and Lucifer were there yesterday.
She knocks softly on the door and waits, taking a deep breath when it opens a few minutes later. Chloe’s mouth falls open a little in stunned surprise, not that Candy can blame her in the slightest. Smiling tentatively, she says, “Hi.”
Chloe blinks, mouth opening and closing a couple times before she manages to get out a reply. “Um...hi,” she says, her eyes narrowing slightly. “What are you...doing here?”
“I know, I’m probably the last person you want to see,” Candy says. Again, she wouldn’t blame the woman. Frankly, Candy is surprised not to get the door slammed in her face. But from everything she’s seen, Chloe is a good person with a kind heart. The way Lucifer talks about her isn’t an exaggeration, even if he does have her on a bit of a pedestal. “And I probably shouldn’t be here at all, but...I couldn’t leave without talking to you. Clearing the air a little bit.”
Chloe frowns. “Leave? What do you mean?” She looks over Candy’s shoulder, like she’s looking for somebody else. “Where’s Lucifer?”
Candy takes a breath, trying to figure out how to do this without breaking Lucifer’s confidence entirely. “He’s back at Lux. And I’m going back to Las Vegas. We...broke up.” It’s as good a word as any to describe the ending of their deal.
The impact of her words are instant. Chloe’s eyebrows shoot up. She doesn’t say it out loud, but Candy can practically hear her thought of ‘that didn’t take long’, and see the relief she tries to hide quickly. “Oh,” she says politely, pressing her lips together.
“Yeah, there’s...sort of another woman.”
The look on Chloe’s face would be comical under different circumstances. The shock and disappointment are what shine through behind curiosity. “Another woman. Like, he cheated on you?” She asks the question like she doesn’t really want the answer.
Candy’s eyes widen and she shakes her head. That wasn’t what she meant at all. “No! No, nothing like that, I swear,” she says hastily. “But he definitely has feelings for this woman, real feelings, that I don’t think anybody else could ever compete with. Certainly not somebody he’s only just met.”
Just in the two weeks she’s known Lucifer, she saw how men and women seem to flock to him like magnets. Not once did he even seem the slightest bit interested, that sad look in his eyes, like his heart had been shattered and there was no repairing it, never fading. He always sent those hopeful people away with a polite dismissal, sometimes directing them towards someone else. Even before their ‘marriage’, he was too distracted to consider taking anybody up on their propositions.
Chloe lets out a breath that sounds like relief. “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
The other woman’s lips twitch, and she wonders if Chloe has any clue how far gone Lucifer is for her. “There is, yes. See, when I first met Lucifer, I was under the impression that his feelings for this woman were unrequited and that was the reason he looked like he’d had his heart ripped out and stomped on. But after the last few days, I’ve had to reevaluate that theory. Granted, I only know his side of the story, but I’m pretty sure this woman has feelings for him, too.”
“O...kay?” Chloe says slowly. “So, what? He ended things with you?”
Candy’s head tilts from side to side as she contemplates her answer. She shouldn’t be the one to tell Chloe the truth about the deal—that should come from Lucifer. But maybe she can lead Chloe in the right direction. “Let’s say it was mutual.”
“Riiight...” Chloe’s eyes narrow on Candy, her mind clearly whirring with questions. “Okay, I really mean no offense here, but there’s something very different about you.”
“Not the dumb blonde you thought I was?” Candy says, amused. Chloe looks away, her face turning a little pink; that’s obviously what she was thinking. Candy glances down at herself. It’s a bit of a relief to finally wear her regular clothes again. And the pink in her hair washed out easily. She never masqueraded as her alter ego for this long before and it’s been exhausting. “I totally get it, don't worry about it. Look, that’s kind of a long story and I’m really the wrong person to tell it to you. I know this is weird and awkward, but can I give you some advice?”
Chloe blinks, looking confused by the entire situation. “I guess?”
“I know you probably already know this, but Lucifer is a really good guy,” Candy says earnestly. “Better than he thinks he is.” She knows how far in debt she was, and it felt like she would have been stealing from strangers for the rest of her life just to pay it off so she didn’t lose her father’s club. Her legacy. Her home. And if she couldn’t find a way to pay off that debt...well, she knows how Vegas loan sharks work. She’d really rather not end up in a shallow grave in the middle of the desert as buzzard food.
Swallowing, Chloe looks away for a moment. Candy has no doubt that she already knows all of this, but sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to have a reminder.
“His execution sucked, but I really believe he thought he was doing the right thing.” Whatever convinced Lucifer that Chloe’s feelings weren’t her own was powerful enough to stop what they had in its tracks. Even though Candy suspects this whole deal came about because Lucifer wanted to find a way to come back to Los Angeles. To his Detective. He probably would have found his way back here sooner or later; she doesn’t think anything could keep these two apart.
Crossing her arms, Chloe looks down. Again, Candy thinks she can read the other woman’s thoughts on her expression. ‘Running away and marrying a stripper is far from doing the right thing.’ Candy agrees, but it isn’t her place to say. Really, none of this is her place. She hopes Lucifer won’t be too upset with her.
“He hides behind his jokes and pretends he doesn’t care, but I think he cares more than anybody.” He would have to, to pay a stranger’s debts without a second thought, even if there is a deal involved.
Chloe blinks again, her brow furrowing as she just listens.
“Especially when it comes to you.”
Slowly, the Detective looks up again, her eyes widening. She looks surprised, as if Lucifer’s feelings are news to her. He told Candy the story of Chloe’s poisoning. How the antidote was supposed to be impossible to get and he went through Hell to acquire it and save Chloe’s life. She isn’t sure how anyone could doubt another’s feelings after something like that.
Chloe opens her mouth to speak, then closes it, her arms tightening around her body, protecting herself. “Look, I’m not trying to come between whatever you and Lucifer have,” she says quietly. “So if—”
“You haven’t,” Candy assures her. “In fact, I’m the one who came between the two of you, and I feel really bad about that. As soon as I saw your face at the precinct, I wanted to call the whole thing off.”
Chloe freezes, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Call what off?” she asks slowly.
Candy hesitates briefly, leaning forward a little. She’s getting a bit too close to the truth. As much as she wants to tell Chloe everything, she doesn’t have all the details and that might only make things worse with Chloe and Lucifer, which isn’t her intention.
Choosing her words carefully, Candy goes on. “I’m not who you think I am. After tonight, I highly doubt you’ll even see me again. But I feel like I owe both you and Lucifer, so I just wanted to make sure you knew there’s a lot more to this story than you think. Don’t give up on Lucifer. He’s a bit of an idiot, but so are most guys, you know? His heart is in the right place and I really believe the last thing he would ever do is hurt you intentionally.”
“Who are you?” the Detective asks quietly, studying the other woman intently.
Candy considers the question for a few seconds. “Someone who’s trying to help a friend who saved her ass back in Vegas. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry for any part I played in hurting you. You seem like a really great person, and I can see why Lucifer is so gone for you.”
Chloe sucks in a surprised breath.
“He’s worth taking a chance on,” Candy adds softly.
Blue eyes flash with hurt that can’t be masked. “I did take a chance on him and he ran.”
Candy smiles sympathetically. “Yeah, I know. Like I said, he’s a bit of an idiot. But the thing is, I’ve only known him for a couple weeks, and in that time, you’re practically all he talked about. Whatever is going on between you two, it’s worth sorting out. You two make an incredible team. I saw it in how you worked together.”
Chloe nods. “Yeah, we do,” she says, mostly to herself. She’s quiet for a minute, and Candy can practically see her mind working through the presented evidence, trying to fit the pieces together and solve the puzzle.
Glancing at her watch, Candy sees she’s used most of her allotted time for this conversation. Her flight leaves in two hours and LA traffic is a bitch. “Ugh, I’d really like to stay and talk to you some more, but I have a flight to catch. I just wanted you to know that there’s more to this than meets the eye. You should talk to him, give him a chance to explain. Try not to be too hard on him; he just wanted to do right by you.”
Before Chloe can even formulate a response, Candy gives her one last smile and turns to leave. “Wait!” the Detective calls abruptly. Candy turns back. “Why are you really doing this?”
The other woman tilts her head, still smiling. She thinks about what little she knows of Chloe and Lucifer. Everything he told her about how Chloe is the first person who ever saw something good in him. He spent the drive from Vegas relaying most of their partnership and the cases they’ve worked together. Lucifer might not realize it, but he’s head over heels in love with Chloe. And even if she’s trying to hide it, Chloe feels the same about him. These two belong together.
“Because you both deserve it,” she says simply. “It was great meeting you, Detective Decker. You’re exactly how Lucifer described you. Good luck.”
With one last smile, Candy walks back down the path towards the parking lot, feeling Chloe’s eyes on her all the way. She doesn’t know if things will actually work out with those two, but she hopes it does. Lucifer deserves a little happiness in his life, and so does Chloe.
As for Candy herself, she can’t wait to get back to Vegas and finally walk into Fletcher’s without a dark cloud of fear and despair, free from the debt that has been hanging over her head. She has a lot of regrets in her life, but one thing she’ll never regret is making a deal with the Devil.