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The sudden cacophony of the gunshot echoes off the shed walls, causing her ears to ring momentarily. With the suspect finally incapacitated, she lowers her gun, watching as two uniformed officers come in and take him away.
Holstering her weapon, Chloe approaches Lucifer from behind as he stands with his back against the wooden support beam that had been between her and the perp when he'd thrown the axe. Coming up beside him, her eyes widen in horror to see the long, wooden handle of the axe protruding from his right side, pinning him to the beam. She slides her gaze up to his face. "Lucifer. Oh my god!"
"Oh. Well, there's an oxymoron," he quips, his posture rigid.
Chloe reaches out, lifting up the edge of his jacket, searching his side for any sign of blood. "It's just your jacket." Her shoulders relax slightly as her eyes shoot up to his. "You're ok."
"Hardly," he says as she grips the handle with both hands and pulls, freeing the axe from being lodged deep into the wood. "It's the second suit I've ruined in as many days, but yes… Are you ok?" He looks at her, his eyes full of concern.
She doesn't answer.
Lucifer had saved her life by risking his own, and the feeling his actions had left her with were that of both comforting familiarity and frustrating confusion.
The picture Father Kinley had painted of the Devil had been one of pure evil; a deadly and disgusting creature whose only purpose was to punish and destroy; a being who lived to fulfill its own twisted desires. She struggles to find a correlation between the monster the Priest had described, and the man standing before her now. She's left with the sudden irrational urge to test him.
Hesitantly, but with nervous determination, Chloe lifts the axe, Lucifer's posture never changing as he remains impossibly still, silently watching her. Staring down at his chest, she allows the razor sharp edge of the blade to rest gently against his sternum.
"If I press this into your chest, it will kill you?" she asks quietly, her gaze lifting to his face.
"Yes." He looks down at her, his dark eyes full of undeserving, yet unwavering trust.
"Because I'm close to you?" Her shaking fingers tighten around the handle.
"Yes," he replies again.
"But you jumped in front of it anyway," she states, her head tilting to the side in disbelief.
"Yes. And I would do it again and again. Don't you know that Detective?" He returns with a question of his own.
Chloe doesn't realize she's unconsciously been applying more pressure during their exchange, and as she lifts the blade of the axe away from his pale unblemished skin, she finds a line of bright red, the edge having cut into his flesh.
Her sudden intake of breath is quickly followed by a whispered apology. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry!"
Staring at his chest, she lifts her left hand to gently brush her fingertips over the incision, carefully lowering the axe with her right, letting it hang by her side. Lucifer had given her no indication that the blade had been cutting into his skin. She'd been hurting him and he had let her, saying nothing. But why ? She looks up with trepidation to find his gaze still fastened upon her, his eyes soft and devoid of any anger.
"It’s ok." He raises his hand, slowly, so as not to startle her, and wipes a tear from her cheek that she hadn't even realized had fallen.
She leans her face into his palm, bringing her hand up to cover his, holding it to her face. Closing her eyes, the axe clatters to the floor beside her as she releases her grip on the handle. "I hurt you," she says softly.
"It's nothing." He immediately assures her. Feeling him gently cup her face with both of his hands when she doesn't open her eyes to look at him, he urges softly. "Chloe… look at me," But she shakes her head, biting her lip as she clenches her eyes, attempting to stall the impending flood of tears. " Please…" he adds, his voice taking on an edge of desperation.
She sighs heavily, finally opening her eyes to look at him, her eyebrows furrowing in deep regret. Unwanted tears overflow, sliding down her face before dripping to the floor.
"I'm ok, see? It's just a scratch." He downplays the injury in his familiar flippant tone, his intention most likely to ease the guilt that she's certain is written all over her face.
He's more concerned with how I'm feeling than with the open incision on his sternum.
She stifles a small sob as she falls forward to lay her head gently against his chest, careful to avoid the injury.
Lucifer wraps his arms around her, pulling her in tight against him. He rubs his hand back and forth between her shoulders, resting his cheek lightly against the top of her head.
"Chloe..." Her name falls from his lips as he exhales, and the way his accent curls around it causes her heart to momentarily flutter in her chest, despite the swelling cascade of tears that flood her eyes. "Shh, I'm alright. I give you my word. Please don't cry."
His reassurance only seems to make her cry harder, her fingers twisting into the material of his shirt. She's so confused. The Priest’s warning echoes in her mind, trying to convince her that this man, who holds her with such care and tenderness, is the embodiment of evil; something she knows deep in her heart can't possibly be true. This is Lucifer, her partner, her friend. No , she corrects herself, not her friend . She would be lying if she didn't admit that he had become so much more. Devil or not, she knows him . Doesn't she?
"Why did you do it?" she whispers against his chest, the warmth of his hand seeping through her shirt as he continues to rub her back. A cool breeze comes in from the open door behind her, but she hardly feels it, her body soaking in the heat that emanates from the man who holds her.
"Do what?" he asks, his voice smooth and steady, grounding even. The role reversal is not lost on her, even in her state. Just as she has always been able to calm him with a simple touch, to coax him down from his anger, he now calms her with the soothing tones of his velvet voice. And isn't that funny in a way that isn't really funny at all? The Devil-- her partner-- whatever-- soothing her ?"
"Jump in front of the axe? I was only a few feet away… you could have been killed."
The hand rubbing her shoulders suddenly stills.
"I know." He says simply, with no indication of concern over his own well-being.
"Then why? " she asks again.
Despite the permeating silence that surrounds them, when he finally replies, his voice is so quiet she almost doesn't hear him. "I… didn't want you to die."
His admission shouldn't surprise her, he had always tried to protect her; but that was before she knew that he chose to risk his life despite his vulnerability in her presence. Only around her did he become mortal, but it had never once stopped him. He's always been ready to die for me. Her heart clenches painfully with a fresh wave of guilt. How am I supposed to betray him?
"What about you?" Chloe finally asks, silently waiting for his answer. But when a few minutes go by and he still hasn't spoken, she leans back to look up at him. He's staring up into the rafters, his head tilted back to rest on the beam behind him. His eyes are glassy and brimming with unshed tears.
Oh God! Chloe panics. Has he figured it out? Does he know about Father Kinley? Her heart hammers in her chest.
"Lucifer?" she asks nervously, afraid of what he might say.
His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, tears escaping from the corners of his eyes when he lets them fall closed. "I'm the Devil," he whispers. "My death, whenever it comes, will mean nothing… but to die protecting you… that would mean everything."
She doesn't know what makes her do it. Maybe it's his unwavering willingness to protect her at all costs, or the heart wrenching idea that he truly believes his death will be meaningless, or maybe it's because the feelings she's had all along for this beautiful, stubborn, infuriating devil of a man, refuse to be denied any longer.
Reaching up with one hand, Chloe slides her fingers around to the back of his neck and buries them in the short hair at his nape. His eyes open slowly, looking down at her as he lifts his head off the beam. She unconsciously wets her lips, anticipating her next move, his eyes widening in surprised confusion. Stretching up on her tiptoes, she doesn't stop to think before pulling his lips down to meet hers. His mouth is soft and warm against her own; a feeling she hadn't realized she'd been missing.
Lucifer seems to hesitate before kissing her back, his hands dropping to rest lightly on her hips as he tilts his head, changing the angle of the kiss. She presses into him, pinning him against the beam, urging him for more when she's suddenly startled by the sound of her ringing phone. Breaking the kiss abruptly, she steps out of his arms, her eyes shooting up to his briefly before she turns around, slipping her still ringing phone from her jeans pocket. Looking down at the call display, she sees that it's the Lieutenant, likely waiting for her to go in and give her statement for the events leading up to tonight's arrest.
"Decker," she says, answering her phone. "Mmhmm… yep… I know… He's with me… No, everything's fine… We were just leaving… Right away Sir… Ok, goodbye."
"Sorry," she says, hitting the 'end call' button as she turns back around to face Lucifer. "That was the Lieutenant, we need to head back to the precinct…" her voice trails off as she looks to where her partner had been standing just moments before. But she's alone, the shed is empty.
Lucifer is gone.