Chapter Text
Lucifer Morningstar was riding high on a cloud. A figurative cloud, that is -- he didn’t have any wings with which to actually fly, although at times like these he wished he did. Ah, if only he hadn’t had Maze cut them off!
He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Chloe had actually admitted that she cared for him! It was just mind boggling, for he was the Devil -- no one had ever cared for him! But then again, he had never loved anyone quite the way he loved her. Maze had probably come the closest, but she was his demon, which was a far different thing than a... a girlfriend. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t anything like what he felt for Chloe.
Chloe.... A smile lit his face when he thought of her. Now that she knew he was Lightbringer1, he couldn’t wait to start a relationship with her. When she had finally found out, she had hugged him, and oh, how good she’d felt in his arms! Unfortunately, a detective had interrupted and called her away. As she had left him, he assured her he would see her the next day, for he had things to do at LUX... and then he danced on a cloud all the way back to his club.
After dealing with the mix-up in the shipment of alcohol and taking care of little things at the nightclub, he headed upstairs to his penthouse. As the elevator doors opened, he was surprised to find Maze at the bar, helping herself to a shot of Scotch. Catching sight of him, she grabbed another shot glass off the counter and filled it up, then held it out to him. Tipping his head to her as he smiled slightly, he took the glass and downed it.
“What brings you here, Maze?” he asked as he refilled his glass.
His demon smirked. “Just wondering how long you’re going to let Lightbringer1 steal your thunder.”
“Oh, have no fear -- that was resolved today.” He looked at her with a smug grin. “The detective now knows it’s me.”
“Oh.”
Lucifer blinked. Was it his imagination, or did his demon look disappointed? “Why? Were you planning something wonderfully nefarious against the douche?”
“No.” Maze’s face twisted into a mopey frown. “I wanted to see Chloe clean your clock.” She squinted at his bruised face, then glanced at the ruins of the penthouse. “It looks like I missed a good fight, too.”
He gave a low chuckle. “Oh, this wasn’t the detective -- this was Amenadiel.”
The demon started. “Amenadiel?”
“Mm,” Lucifer said as he downed his second shot of Scotch. “I was feeling particularly destructive, and he served as a good punching bag.”
“It looks like you were the one who was the punching bag,” she said dryly, before leaning close with concerned eyes. “Look, I’d steer clear of your brother, if I were you. I don’t trust your mother, and those two have gotten awfully cozy lately.”
Maze’s warning rankled, even though he had the same uneasy feeling as his demon. Shrugging off her words, he reached for the decanter of Scotch and poured himself another shot. “I’m sure he’s just getting reacquainted with Mum. After all, he hadn’t seen her in a very long time.”
“Sure. Let me hear you say that after they stab you in the back,” Maze huffed.
The suspicious part of Lucifer wanted to take Maze’s advice and tread carefully with his family, while the part of him that still loved his mum wanted to shout and tell her she was wrong. The part that loved his mum won. “I beg to differ, Maze. They won’t stab me in the back -- they have no reason to.”
The demon snorted with disgust. “You’re an idiot.”
Irritation started bubbling up within him, and he struggled to tamp it down. His hand involuntarily tightened, shattering the shot glass he held and spilling Scotch all over the counter. “Damn it all,” he muttered as he rounded the counter and grabbed a bar towel. With swift, jerky movements, he mopped up the shards of glass along with the alcohol. “Are you going to continue insulting me, or did you have some other purpose in being here?”
“Well, since I didn’t get to see the big showdown between you and Chloe, I figure insulting you is the least I can do.” She sauntered up to him as he paused in his cleaning efforts. “So... now that she knows, when are you going to do it?”
Lucifer stared at his demon, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Do what?”
“Do I have to spell it out?” Maze rolled her eyes at him. “Come on, Lucifer. You know....” She made a crude gesture with her fingers.
“Oh!” Lucifer said as he brightened. “Oh... well.... I haven’t really thought... I mean, I haven’t discussed it with the Detective --”
“Since when have you ever discussed having sex with one of your humans?!” Maze snapped. “What are you waiting for? You’ve been lusting after her for a year! Just grab her and do it on the floor, or against the wall or something!”
His eyes narrowed at Maze’s vulgar suggestion. In carefully measured tones, he said, “The detective is not one to be treated in such a cavalier fashion.”
The demon laughed with contempt. “You’ve fallen so low, Lucifer. I would have never believed that you would truly be as sappy as your writing. Ooooh, the Lord of Hell, as soft as one of Trixie’s plushy toys -- all flowery and sappy and oh so wimpy!” She laughed uproariously as she doubled over with mirth. “So when are you going to do it, huh? Because you really need to f--”
“Maze!”
At his sharp tone, she sobered -- or tried to. “I mean... what are you going to do now?”
Lucifer straightened and lifted his chin resolutely. “I’m going to ask her out on a date.”
“A date.”
“Yes.”
“With Chloe.”
“Yes.”
The demon snorted, then erupted into guffaws, while Lucifer shot her an annoyed glance.
“What?” he asked. “It’s not unheard of for the Devil to go on a date...!”
“The King of Hell is going to ask a human on a date! Oh, this just beats all!”
Lucifer really couldn’t understand why Maze was laughing so hard. “I’ve been on dates before....”
She gave him a mocking glance. “No, you’ve had sex. Not the same, Lucifer.”
The blood drained from his face at the truth in her words. While he had gone out with humans at times, it was only because they fell all over themselves to be with him, and it always ended in sex. Never before had he asked anyone out on a date -- and now he was going to ask Chloe? Chloe, who had never been susceptible to his good looks and charm? What if she didn’t like the place he decided to take her? What if she wasn’t impressed with anything he did for her? Worse yet -- what if he asked her out, and she said no?!
A strange, churning sensation twisted his insides as his breathing grew rapid. He suddenly found it difficult to concentrate. What was happening to him?! The thought of Chloe rejecting him was absolutely horrifying. No one rejected the Devil! Well, except her, apparently. She could say no -- in fact, she said no to him constantly. Bloody hell, what would he do if she said no?! His heart started pounding like a jackhammer, and his breaths seized in his chest. Lightheadedness assailed him, bringing with it black spots that danced in front of his eyes. Was he dying? Surely, he was dying....
No. No. She would not say no. She had said she cared for him. She couldn’t say no... could she?
Maze watched him, her expression a strange combination of amusement and pity. “Maybe watching you ask Chloe out will be just as good as seeing her beat your ass to a pulp,” she said with a smirk. As she headed toward the elevator, she threw over her shoulder, “Enjoy your planning. Make sure you ask her out when I’m around.”
Maze’s laugh echoed in his ears as the elevator doors closed behind her. Lucifer stood frozen at the bar, waiting for the strange symptoms to fade. They didn’t.
What was he going to do? He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. He was terrified that Chloe would say she didn’t want to go out with him. Not that it should matter to him -- after all, he had been rejected by his father and family, thrown into Hell and vilified by humanity and the divine ever since. Why should one human telling him “no” send frissons of fear down his spine? And yet it did....
He struggled to understand the implications of a rejection. She had said she cared for him, but if she rejected him, would that mean she only liked him as a friend? That she had no intention of going beyond that? Would he ever be able to show her how much he loved her? He only knew one way to express his love, and that was through the physical act. If she only thought of him as a friend, was he destined to a life of celibacy? For, truth be told, there was only one person with whom he wanted to have sex -- Chloe Decker.
The distressing thoughts chased each other around until his head spun. Trying to regain his equilibrium, he took a deep breath and poured himself another shot of Scotch. His trembling hand nearly caused him to miss the glass, and he cursed as he returned the decanter to an upright position. Downing his drink in one gulp, he closed his eyes as the alcohol burned down his throat. He had to get a hold of himself before he drowned in anxiety.
There was only one thing he could think of that would allay his fears -- writing. Nodding to himself, he headed toward the elevator.
________________________________________
It didn’t go as he had hoped.
Lucifer sat in front of the public access computer at the library, with a white screen staring back at him. His fingers rested lightly on the keyboard, but they didn’t move. Not a single thing came to his mind as he glared at the blank Google document. Not one story idea. Nothing.
It was more frustrating than having to count the number of souls that resided in Hell. Why couldn’t he think of anything? He needed to write, to work out his fears, to figure out the best way to ask Chloe out. If he couldn’t write, what would become of him?
“Bloody hell!” he spat, earning him several dirty looks from other library patrons. Ignoring them, the Devil logged out, rose to his impressive height, and strode out of the building. Despair clawed at him as he climbed into his car. Leaning his forehead against the steering wheel, he took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down.
He could write. He could still write. This was just temporary.
He’d go back to LUX and dance his heart out. Surely that would help? Maybe inspiration might hit...? He hoped so. It had to. If it didn’t, he’d be in trouble when he saw Chloe in the morning....