#having nightmarish time of my life waiting for s4

[fearwakes]

Succession 1.08

[azookiex3]

A Devil’s Love: Chapter 8

AN: I apologize for such long waiting updates! With S5 filming I now have a time limit. I want to get this story through S4 before S5 comes out. I will do my best to get updates out quicker! 

Check out this story's playlist on Spotify! If you do, please read the description so you can see how the songs are organized!

Warnings: Swearing, Animal Deaths, Mentions of blood/painful injuries

AO3 , Fanfiction Net , Wattpad

Tag List: @insanity-is-always-fun @anushay1998 @emiwrites3reads @i-am-canada-13 @heart-of-pots-and-pans @tinyybiceps @jessicarene99

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Chapter 8: Shoot Me Stab Me

"Do you usually snoop through a woman's place?" You say sarcastically. You walk to the couch and plop down next to Lucifer. You sit sideways so you're facing him, and rest your left elbow on the back of the couch and use your hand to rest your head.

"No, but I'd much rather be snooping through your underwear drawer than these-" he shakes the letters in his hand, "atrocious words!"

You sigh, "Lucifer-"

"Have you told anyone about these?"

You look at him like he was being ridiculous, "No, of course not. Why'd you think I hid them?"

"Not even this one?" He holds up one of the letters, and you know exactly which one it is without even having to look.

"'You're going to regret stepping into my business, bitch. Boom.'" Lucifer shakes the paper once more and looks at you with an expression you can only describe as angry/desperate/worried, "Isn't this something you should tell that FBI agent about? He is still working on your bomb case, yes?"

"Yes he is and yes this is something I should have told him as soon as I got it, even the first letter. But Lucifer," you place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze, "There's a reason why I haven't. Not yet." You remove your hand and motion to all the papers he has, "Before I explain see if you can do me a favor. I wrote the time, date, and location on the back when I received these. Can you find any kind of pattern?"

Now he looks at you like you were being ridiculous, but he complies with your request. You watch his eyes read each time stamp with a strong intensity, but slouch your shoulders when you see his face scrunch up.

"That's what I figured." You sigh, "Alright. I was going to wait until we ate buuut I'll explain my theory I talked about in the car now." You start collecting the letters from Lucifer.

"First off, I'm 99% sure Roberto wrote these because of this last one." you hold the bomb threat, "Second, I think the messenger he's using is an inside source. More specifically: someone in my K9 division."

"You know of someone else who could send these kind of words to you?" Lucifer stares at you.

"That's what you gleaned from that?"

"At first yes. If you believe someone else is after you I'd very much like to know."

You sigh and rub your brow, "You don't need to know Lucifer."

"So there is then? Is it someone responsible for you having those nightmarish flashbacks?" He presses on.

"Lucifer, drop it." You say sternly. You both have a stare down. Then Lucifer looks away with an irritated sigh.

"Fine. I'll drop it, for now." He turns slightly on the couch to face you better and rests his clasped hands on his lap, "So, why are you so sure this Roberto fellow is writing these?"

You unclench your jaw and release some air. I got to stop being close to him, "Well, his is the only 'business' I've put myself between."

"And why do you think his inside is in the K9 division?"

"Because it makes sense. How else can a notorious dog fighting boss avoid the authorities so easily? Plus, these letters show up where I'm not or right when I've left." You sigh and place the letters back in the coffee table, "It has to be someone on my team, because I know no regular officer would care about my clinic, and these have only popped up there or at my office in the precinct."

"In a way, he's giving you the message that he's always watching you?" Lucifer says quietly.

You look at him sadly, "Yeah, and after the bomb went off in your club…" You sigh, "I'm really sorry about that by the way."

"Don't." He says sternly and raises a finger at you, "You're not the one that tried to end your life by placing a bomb under your car."

"But if I would have told someone about these letters sooner-"

"You're trusting your gut, K9. Being around the Detective for so long I can tell that's a good thing to do." He gives you a reassuring smile.

You smile back, "Thanks Lucifer. So, you want to help me out again? It seems I can't catch this backstabber myself."

"Help you catch the bloke who swore to protect humans but yet helping in trying to end your life with some dog boy?" His smile has bite in it, "You can count on me, K9. Always."

"Good." You close the coffee table and stand, "But we're eating first. Pizza?"

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"This backstabber better show himself quicker. The Detective is starting to get suspicious of all the time I'm spending here." Lucifer says on the phone to you as he side glances at Chloe inside Ella's lab. 

You and him have been holding this stake out for a week now, and still no sign of the messenger. Lucifer watched the precinct while you stayed at your clinic.

"I told you we should switch it up." You reply to him. He imagines you rolling your eyes while you sit at your desk.

"You're certain you don't want to tell her? Clearly she's not in on it."

"Of course, but Chloe is a damn good detective. If this guy sees that she's hanging around my offices more they'll know what's up." He hears you chuckle lightly, "With you it just seems like you're being a weirdo, as usual."

"I beg your pardon?" Lucifer places a hand over his heart in feign shock. You must have heard it in his voice for you start to laugh. He smiles and settles more comfortably in the chair. His focus returns to your office door.

"Nothing out of the ordinary on your end, I take it?" He asks.

"Besides seeing a body builder bringing in his bunny in fear of her having a cold? Mmm, nope." 

Lucifer sighs, "That's another thing I'm missing! The beautiful men and women in my club. You know, this is the longest I've gone without-"

"Lucifer!" Chloe steps out of the lab with Ella behind her, "We're ready to go!"

"Thank you Chlo Chlo for the save!" Lucifer listens to your sigh of relief, "Talk to you later darling."

"Yup." You hang up.

Ella and Dan walk up the stairs with Chloe and Lucifer behind, "Who do you keep talking to so much?" Chloe questions him.

"K9." He replies easily.

"Oh," Chloe looks a bit shocked, "What for? Is everything alright?"

"Eventually, yes." Lucifer smiles down at her and pats her shoulder, "Now, what's this case about again?"

Chloe sighs.

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You walk into the precinct the next morning. You were called in to help with the weekly K9 training since one of the trainers got a cold.

"Good morning, K9!"

"Hey, Earth!"

You look up from making your tea at the stairs to see Lucifer and Chloe walking down. You smile and wave back to them while saying good morning. 

Chloe gives you a hug and whispers in your ear, "You're ok right?"

You squeeze and whisper back, "Of course."

She pulls back and smiles at you. Lucifer tells her he'll make her coffee and she nods in thanks before going to her desk.

"Let me know when the tea's done, yeah?" You smile at him.

"When did the Devil become a common British servant." He mumbles. You laugh and wink at him before retreating to your office. 

You open your door and brace your mind at the pile of reports on your desk. All of them were completed assignments that you just needed to look over and sign. Here and there you'd find joking notes from your team. 

You step around the desk and pull out the chair, and hear a crinkling sound. Looking down you see an envelope. You pick it up and open it carefully, then sigh.

Damn it.

"I decided to make yours as well to embrace this new role of mine." Lucifer smiles as he walks into your office holding your tea, but his smile falls when he sees the solemn look on your face.

You hold up the new Roberto letter, "He got under your nose too." 

You place the letter upside down and grab a pen to start writing your notes on the back. With your head down, you didn't see Lucifer's eyes flash red. 

"It seems we're going to need more eyes." You sigh and look up at him. You take your tea and nod thanks to him.

"But now we need to wait for another lead."

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A few days have passed since receiving the new letter. You told Lucifer to take this time off to, "help himself,'' while you wait for a lead to pop up on Roberto's operations. 

You're dragged from your thoughts as your precinct office phone rings. You pick it up and are greeted with Miller's voice. 

The ASPCA, along with a couple of your recruits who volunteered to help, think they have made a huge breakthrough. They believe they found Roberto  Alejandro's breeding facility. 

Which means this mission will need to be planned carefully, and incredibly dangerous.

You make the quick decision to not tell Lucifer. He isn't your partner. He's basically a civilian you roped in. You weren't going to place him in any danger.

You peek out your window, and seeing that Chloe was busy with Ella and Lucifer was nowhere to be seen you make a quick exit.

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"Alright everyone!" You say loudly in the small room that holds your entourage of officers. Everyone quiets down immediately and gives you their full attention.

"We're about to hit Roberto Alejandro's heart of operation: his breeding facility." You start, "The ASPCA and I have been going back and forth for a plan of action for the last 24 hours. Finally I got them to cave into mine." You look around the room, "Some ASPCA officers along with Miller's team will create a diversion at the front of the building, as well as Blanch's team creating a disturbance at the back. I will be sneaking in to disable any traps and placing markers for where all the dogs are. Miller and Blanch," you look to each of them, "you're responsible for dragging out all of Roberto's men and not letting any escape. Some extra ASPCA officers will be hiding on either side of the building to make sure no one escapes."

"So, that's the plan. After all that we save these poor animals." You look around the room, "Any questions?"

"Ma'am!" Blanch raises her hand, "Are you positive you don't want backup?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry ma'am. We're just worried for you." There's a slight murmur through the room in agreement with Blanch, as well as a few of the K9's whining along with Buster.

You smile at everyone, "I appreciate your concerns, but I'll be fine. Just focus on your teammates. I'll be in radio contact."

When no one else raises their hand you dismiss them and watch them all leave. Once the room is clear you exit and start to head up the stairs.

"Earth!"

You stop in the middle of the stairs and turn around to see Chloe at the bottom, "You sure you don't want me to tag along with you?"

"You sound like everyone else." You laugh and wave to her, "I'll be fine Chlo."

"Alright." Chloe nods and smiles, "Good luck. Hope you catch this bastard once and for all."

"Oh I will, eventually." You turn, walk a few more steps up, then look back to your best friend, "And hey, don't tell Lucifer ok?"

"Yeah. Sure. Of course." Chloe gives you a wide smile and waves goodbye. With your back turned and heading up the rest of the steps you couldn't see her two fingers cross each other.

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From what you can hear outside and the radio chatter in your ear, your plan is going perfectly.

While the north and south distractions went off you waited for the all clear from the east and west sides. Once heard you quickly ran to the building and up the fire escape. You decided it's best to start from top to bottom. After forcing a window open you move stealthy through the building.

So far you've disabled two cameras and one trip wire. You've also come across two apartments filled with dogs.

"West to Spy. Just saw a man go through your opening." You hear through your ear piece as you lockpick the last door on the top floor.

Shit-

"Hello dar-" You spin on your heels and give the man behind you a gut wrenching punch. When he kneeled over you move a knee cap to his face, but a hand holding a very familiar looking ring stopped the attack.

"Lucifer?!" You hiss through clenched teeth. You help him sit on the floor and lean against the wall, "What the hell?!"

"I should be the one saying that to you!" Lucifer wheezes out, still holding his gut, "You hurt me!"

"No shit Sherlock! That's what happens when you sneak up on me, and on a mission!" 

"No no, you misunderstand. You hurt me, with a punch!" Lucifer looks up at you with a questioning gaze, "Just what are you, my dear?"

You stare at him, "What-" the sound of the front door slamming open underneath you made you freeze. You decide to slam open the door you've been lock picking and drag Lucifer inside with you. Thankfully this room looks to be just a basic apartment for Roberto's men.

You pull Lucifer into one of the bedrooms and stand flush against the wall. You pull out your gun in preparation for the men you hear climbing up the floors.

"What are you doing here Lucifer?!" You hiss at him while keeping your eyes and aim trained on the apartment door.

"The Detective let it slip what you were doing today. Innocently and completely by accident, of course." He adds when he sees the look on your face.

"But K9," Lucifer steps over to the other wall next to the bedroom door so you can see him in your peripheral, "Why didn't you tell me about this? I thought we were in this together now?"

The slight pain in his voice makes you take a peek at him, "I only asked you to help watch for the messenger, and that's all. You're not my partner, Lucifer." You look to the front door again, "You're just a civilian I've roped into this. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Well, too late for that darling." He gives you a small smile as he rests his hand on his stomach, then grows serious once more, "This mission is important to you and I rightly don't appreciate this dog man threatening you. Of course I'm going to help."

You look at him hard, and that's when the front door burst open. Lucifer goes flush against his wall as you fire away. Thankfully it was only two guys who couldn't aim for shit.

"Right, but before I fully help I need to test out something." He says when you stop firing and the bodies fall. He stands in front of your aim, "Pull a Detective and shoot me!"

"What?" You're astonished.

"Come on K9! Just give me a little shot!" He's smiling and opens his arms wide.

"I'm not going to shoot you!!!"

"Don't worry, I completely understand. You want to be original! Right!" He snaps his fingers, "How 'bout you stab me with that pretty knife you have hidden in your boot!"

"God, I knew you were weird but psycho too?" You push past him and out the door.

"Come on, K9!" He chases after you as you head down the stairs to the next level, "Shoot me! Stab me!"

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You and Lucifer clear the rest of the floors and are now on the last door of the main level. There were fewer traps on the lower levels and you're thankful for that since Lucifer kept distracting you with his bizarre request. You think you've disabled all the cameras and counted a total of eight rooms filled with dogs. This apartment complex has a total of twelve rooms.

You and Lucifer only encountered a few other men, which were easily disabled with either your gun or Lucifer's fists.

"I believe we got them all ma'am!" You hear Blanch call on the radio.

You pull out your own radio for the first time this mission, "Good. Any casualties?"

"Just some grazed shots on all four sides, Captain. No one fell." Miller responds.

You take in a breath of relief, "Good work everyone! I have eight apartments filled with dogs, and one that looks to be drug manufacturing. Round up the trucks and let's-"

"K9, one moment." Lucifer interrupts and you look at him, "Do you hear that?"

You raise a brow at him, but start to listen. You can softly hear dogs on your floor start to whimper, and something...else? You remove your earpiece to listen more closely.

It was beeping. A beeping that came from the last room you opened.

"Oh shit-" 

Before you know it Lucifer has you pinned to the floor with you beneath him as that room explodes and debris flies out. 

The dogs are barking now, on all levels, and you can hear more beeping.

"ALERT!" You scream in your radio, "There's bombs in each room, and it sounds like they're at different times! Forget the trucks and get-"

You hear another bomb go off on the floor above you, and the barking of dogs decreases drastically.

You're in complete shock. You faintly hear the radio go off and Lucifer calling your name. When another bomb goes off on the main floor Lucifer lifts you up and out of the building.

"Do not let her back in, and I'll be taking that." Lucifer hands you to Miller and he takes his radio. 

Seeing Lucifer run back into bomb infested building snapped you out of it.

"LUCIFER!" You scream after him and start to run, but Miller holds you back.

"Captain! It's not safe to go in there!" Millet says as he watches one of the windows on the top level blow out.

"Oh, but it's ok that he can?" You screech.

Miller stares at you, "We can't lose you Captain."

The look you gave your second could freeze the fiery pits of Hell. 

You grab his radio, "Lucifer!"

You hear some static first before his voice makes it through, "Hello K9!"

"Get. Out. Lucifer."

"I'm perfectly fine, K9!" You hear another bomb go off and more dogs barking, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to rescue as many of these slobbery beats as possible."

You grip the radio, voice wavering, "Why do you care?"

"Because you care, my dear." Then the radio goes silent.

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Thirty long, dreadful minutes pass by when you see the last bomb go off. Lucifer hasn't spoken on the radio since his last reply.

Miller doesn't stop you from running this time.

"LUCIFER!" You throw open the front door, and the sight before you stops you in your tracks. 

Lucifer is standing in the middle of the floor surrounded by dogs of various size and age. A lot of them are injured, but still breathing and walking.

"Bloody dogs…" Lucifer mutters while shaking dust and fur off his suit. He looks up, "Ah, K9!" He opens his arms to gesture the dogs, "The Devil does good work, yes?"

You call out from the front door for everyone to come get the dogs and search the remainder of the building. As they enter you exit and walk away from that building of death.

"K9?" Lucifer jogs after you, and when you're far enough away you turn on him and wrap your arms around his neck.

You pull him as close as possible. Scared to speak, so Lucifer speaks for you, "I told you I'd be alright, dear." He pulls you away so you can see his person. His suit had cuts all over, but there was no hint of blood on the exposed skin.

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"So, she's able to hurt you but you don't bleed around her?" Amenadiel's voice comes through Lucifer's phone. 

"Well, I suppose K9 could make me bleed, but no. I am not 'vulnerable' when near her like with the Detective." Lucifer chills by the precinct breakroom where he's able to more clearly see your office door. His brother is outside in some dark alley, watching people come in and out of the precinct.

"What is it with you and these human women being able to get to you?" Maze's annoyance comes through next. She is watching the road and surrounding area of your vet clinic.

"You guys have some weird code talk." Alice's soft voice comes next. She is inside the closed clinic sitting inside your office. 

"Told you none of this is code, doll. Badass Earth is another chick that can hurt my boss."

"Uh-huh…"

Lucifer holds in a chuckle at Amenadiel's sigh, "Ah, Ms. Green?"

"Yes, Lucifer?"

"How is K9 doing? I haven't heard from her since we parted ways at that building."

"Better. Not so much in a gloom state anymore. After hearing that the number of animals you saved is greater than deaths put her spirits up."

Lucifer smiles warmly, "Lovely." His phone beeps and he pulls away to check his screen. Speak of the him, you were now calling.

"I'll be back in one moment." He says to the group call, then answers yours, "K9-"

"The messenger came here, to my home. Just now." He can hear in your voice that you are breathing hard and the stomping of bare feet on cement, "I'm chasing after him now."

"I'll be right there, love. Keep your phone on." Lucifer hangs up and goes back into his group call, "Amenadiel, in my car now. Maze & Ms. Green, the messenger appeared at K9's home. She's chasing him." Lucifer hurries out of the precinct and sees his brother enter his car.

"Got it."

"Oh no…we're leaving now."

As Lucifer enters his vehicle he turns on the phone tracking app the Detective showed him. He clicks on your contact, hands the phone to his brother, then engine roar out of the parking lot.

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This guy is quick, but you are quicker. All that time spent running through the woods wasn't a waste.

To get ahead of this guy you decide to cut a corner into the foliage. You match his pace, and push forward so you're a few feet ahead. Then, you jump out and successfully push him to the ground.

Your kneecaps skid painfully on the sidewalk as your body tries to stop. Gritting through the pain you stand and jump on top the man before he can get up. 

The two of you begin to fight. Him for his freedom and you to secure him. This guy was good. Throwing multiple punches to your face so you see stars, but you maintained pressure on his knees and attack his stomach.

Just when he throws that last good punch on the back of your head and you start to black out, a car's headlights envelops you two. Another car does the same as the two in the first car rush over and pull you two apart.

"K9!" 

You manage to blink away the blackness forming in your brain. You look up to see Lucifer holding onto you, concern etched on his face. Looking back to the messenger you see Maze and that guy Amenadiel holding him down. Maze places handcuffs on him.

You see Alice run to you next. She takes Lucifer's place behind you so he can stand next to the hooded man.

"It's about bloody time we caught you." He hisses at the man. He grabs his hood, "Now, who dares backstab my K9?"

He pulls the hood back and you gasp. Lucifer turns furious.

It was Miller.

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You sit in the room behind the two way mirror. Freshly bandage from the precinct medical facility and an ice pack on your head, you watch as Agent Monroe (who you called while getting patched up), Chloe, and Dan interrogate your former second.

You and Chloe had to force Lucifer out of the room. You told him to stay by your side, and that's exactly what he's doing. He's standing behind you with his hands gripping the back of your chair.

You sigh, "I really should've seen this coming."

"Don't, K9." You feel Lucifer grip the chair tighter, "This blame is not on you."

You shrug. Miller explains how he was jealous of you. How you just show up and take the Captain spot right from him. He didn't care that you had previous experience. He cared how you were gone for years from this office. How you didn’t even continue your police career in New York. 

Not matter what Lucifer says, you really should have seen this coming. You know Miller is not the only one in the K9 division that has these thoughts. You'll have to be more careful now.

Miller also talks about how he was the last one to get close to breaking down Roberto, but then Roberto sent him a letter asking to meet alone. Miller, stupidly did, and Roberto made him an offer he couldn't refuse. That's how he became a lackey.

And that's exactly what's happening to you now. The letter Miller dropped off was from Roberto asking for you to meet him at some old factory, alone, to "talk".

"So, what's the plan of action?" Dan asks as he, Monroe, and Chloe walk into the room. 

Your eyes stay on Miller until you see him handcuffed and taken out, "I meet with Roberto, of course."

"Not alone." Lucifer says as a fact looking down at you.

"No." You stand up and turn to face everyone. You pat his shoulder, "Not alone."

"Alright." Monroe nods, "When is the meeting?"

"He wrote tomorrow at midnight."

"And here's the address of the factory." Chloe hands him a sticky note.

"Good." Miller nods his thanks, "Here's what I'm thinking," he looks to everyone, "A small squad. Two, maybe three on each side of the building. While Ms. Earth goes in so do we. Stay in the shadows and disable any hidden reinforcements. When we hear her signal we come out and apprehend Mr. Alejandro."

"Any questions?" Monroe asks.

"What's the signal?" Lucifer asks looking down at you.

You smile and look at him, "How 'bout 'Shoot me stab me'?"

He laughs.

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You death grip your steering wheel.

You're not sure why you're so anxious. You tell yourself it's because you're finally going to catch this guy.

But truthfully, you're terrified that something is going to go wrong. Now there were people you cared about on this, and it was driving you mad how they could get hurt.

Music wasn't even able to calm you down.

The factory finally appears in your vision. When you get there you park next to the only other car, most likely Roberto's. After taking a quick look inside the car you head inside the building. 

You're greeted with an expansive space. A space so large and empty that your footsteps echo loudly. Standing in the middle of this space was him.

"Ah, the infamous Animal Whisperer, at last." Roberto gives you an unnerving smile.

You roll your eyes and scoff at the old nickname. You haven't heard it since NY, "I see I got under your skin enough to do research on me." 

"Any smart businessman would research their rivals."

"We are not rivals and you are not a businessman." You bite, "You're a criminal who should've been caught long along."

"Ah, but that is the police's fault, no?"

"Their fault for taking your bribes, which you're no doubt about to try on me. Well let me tell you pal," you point at him, "nothing you say here and now will keep me from locking your ass up."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." He acts like he's pondering, "I have thought about what I could do to make you give up. Maybe threaten your clinic with bombs, or every shelter in California. Too much work, however."

"Joy for me."

"Rightly, so. Ah, but then the perfect thing just came to me. Literally." His smile is all teeth. "I know what, or rather who, you fear most in this world Whisperer."

"I fear no one." You lie, and the bastard knows it. You fold your arms to hide the shiver.

"Tsk tsk. You know it's sinful to lie. Nevertheless, what I'm offering you is protection."

"What the hell makes you think I want or need your protection?" You snap.

He laughs, "Because I know what's about to happen, Whisper, and I am the only one who can prevent it."

"You adding fortune teller to your resume now?"

His smirk is evil, "What's your answer, Whisperer?"

Now you fake ponder, "You know what?" You pull out your pistol and aim it at his head, "I'd rather you shoot me or stab me."

"Wrong answer. Men!" 

You take satisfaction in seeing the bastard's smug smile turn to a frown when, instead of his men coming out, your party shows themselves. The two of you are surrounded by Monroe's men, as well as Chloe, Dan, and-

Where's Lucifer?

"Right here, darling." As if he read your mind, the man missing was standing right behind you. He smiles, "You're cute when you jump."

"Do you want to get punched in the gut again?" You holster your gun and face him. Behind you Monroe arrests Roberto while Chloe, Dan, and the others round up his men.

Lucifer makes a pained face, "Definitely not." You laugh and that makes him smile, "So, dog boy is finally caught. Care to celebrate over at LUX? I can have Maxwell make you a wonderful fruit smoothie."

"Thanks for the offer, but I just want to relax at home right now. Tomorrow night?" You smile at him and touch his arm.

"Of course, darling." Lucifer walks you to your car and watches you until you're out of sight. He turns around and sees Monroe putting Roberto in the backseat of his car.

Lucifer smiles wickedly and his eyes flash red, "Show time."

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Monroe had the LAPD put Roberto Alejandro in a holding cell while the paperwork was done. Roberto sat in the smallest cell and furthest cell the LAPD has.

Perfect.

"It does amaze me how I've come to love scum like you loose their freedom, when I'm usually all about freedom." Lucifer Morningstar appears before Roberto's cell door. Hands in pockets and a teeth baring grin, "Then again, this place does remind me of Home."

"What the hell do you want pin-up?" Roberto asks as Lucifer looks around the space. 

Lucifer's eyes focus back on the criminal. He removes his hands from his pockets and grips the bar door, "Lucifer Morningstar, and before you roll your head like every other human, let me show you proof." Lucifer leans close to the door, "K9 is in no way sinful. However-"

Roberto screams. The Devil is out.

"I am."

Lucifer pulls open the locked iron bar door and steps inside. Roberto cowers in a corner, unable to see the wide open door of freedom due to the Devil before him.

"Please…." Roberto shakes violently. Sweat immediately pours from him, "Please don't hurt me…."

"Well, you see, I usually do, but I promised my Demon that she'd get to do the torture on you." Lucifer steps to the side and gestures to Mazikeen of the Lilum. Her grotesque half face smiles at the human as she twirls her daggers.

"But before I allow her to destroy your body, I have a question for you dog boy." Lucifer predatory walks to the human and kneels down before him.

"Who is after Earth, or who you stupidly call the 'Animal Whisperer'?"

"The...the Kidnapper."

"The who?"

"I…I don't know him personally. He, she, hell could be multiple people. It's just a name. Notorious at making people disappear." 

"What does this 'Kidnapper' want with Earth?"

"N-nothing personally." Roberto shakes his head, "The Kidnapper takes jobs. People pay 'im to take people and keep the cops away. After the cops give up he takes them to the client."

"When is this stain coming for her?"

Roberto Alejandro, the first human Lucifer watches become smug in the face of the Devil.

"She's already gone."

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"I know I said I was ready to face him, but...this is just too soon." You pace back and forth in your living room. Alice stands there watching you move, "I mean, it hasn't even been a year yet!"

"Maybe he was just messing with you, Earth." Alice tries to reassure you.

"No. No no no, Alice. He absolutely knew." Your pacing increases and now your hands were in your hair. "How could someone like him find out?! The only people who know the truth are you and Damien, and I sure as shit know neither one of you said anything."

"Earth, please calm down." Alice grabs you to stop yourself, "This isn't helping you."

"Yeah...yeah you're right." You sigh, "Ok...ok let's fortify this place."

You walk up the step to your bedroom as Alice goes to the closet next to the kitchen. Just as you're about to open your bedroom closet something catches your eye in its mirror doors.

Your plants on the balcony were all broken.

You hear Alice scream and something break. You spin around and that's when your closet doors open and arms come around you. You get the person off with the ball buster move, then spin and punch him in the face followed by a kick to the stomach. You run from the room and catch a glimpse of Alice fighting another person as two more men come from your balcony. One of the men throw a punch to your already sore head and you see stars, but manage to still take them both down. Obviously these intruders don't know about your strength.

Alice screams in pain and you look to see her fall down hard. You run to help her-

"Idiots. The boss gave us this for a reason."

An arm wraps around your head and a needle enters your neck. An all too familiar drug starts to enter your bloodstream.

"NO!" You kick and punch, but by now your body is locked by other arms surrounding you. You free your head long enough to see Alice motionless on the floor as three other men surround you.

"You're freedom is over." The voice that holds you from behind says.

The drugs take you into that pit of darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------

"She still hasn't picked up?" Lucifer questions Maze as he speeds down the roads.

"For the last time no. I've been trying since we got in the car!"

"What about Alice? They live in the same complex!"

Maze becomes quiet, "Tried her too. She's not picking up either."

Lucifer yells and slams the gas pedal down.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Devil and his Demon arrive at your apartment complex. Lucifer doesn't even park. Just stops the car abruptly. Him and Maze run inside and up three flights of stairs.

"K9!!!" Lucifer yells banging on your door.

No response.

Maze kicks in the door and the two enter into a wrecked apartment. Vases of plants and picture frames lay broken on the floor. Lucifer walks further in to look inside your bedroom. One closest door lay broken on the floor. Your easel next to the balcony door was on the floor, and the painting you were working on was ripped to shreds. Looking outside he sees all your plant pots shattered, and the plants themselves stepped on in a hurry entrance/escape.

"LUCIFER!" Maze yells from the living room and he rushes over. 

Alice is laying on the floor, unmoving. Maze quickly kneels and presses two fingers to Alice's throat.

Maze lets out a breath she's been holding, "She's alive."

Lucifer releases air from his nostrils. He leaves her to stand on your balcony. He looks up to the night sky. He grips the handrails and tries to calm the Devil in him.

He calls Chloe.

[the-neurotic-zen-master]

TDBM fic; Jean/Lucien; fluff

A/N: a thousand thank yous to underthisweather, my wonderful flatmate who checks my writing for spelling errors even if she is not in the particular fandom (but who actually listened/blurrily saw most of s4 and s5 after her eye surgery along with me, as she couldn’t really do anything else at the time) 

Drawing you

After that first disastrous incident, Jean knows better than to look at Lucien's sketching notebooks. It is not even that she thinks Lucien would mind anymore, considering they have long stopped being just the doctor and the housekeeper. Sometimes, it even seems to Jean that Lucien leaves his notebook out in the open intentionally.

Still, she does not want to intrude. As an immensely private person who now has to learn to share parts of her life with a partner all over again, she understands the need to keep some things your own. It is not about hiding something from the other person, it is about retaining some parts of yourself just for yourself.

But, learning to share is nice too, Jean thinks with a smile.

So no, Jean does not intend to look in Lucien's notebook. But she does not notice that it was on top of the duvet when pulls it off the bed in order to change the sheets on Lucien's bed, and it clatters onto the floor and falls open.

Ready to shut it quickly and set it on the nightstand, Jean bends down to pick it up. However, something catches her attention.

Her face.

Instead of the nightmarish pictures of battle fields and internment camps she expects, she sees her own face reflected back at her. So her good intentions fall to the side, and she picks up the notebook carefully and looks more closely.

Both pages have drawings of her. The one on the right is a drawing of her face up close. In the picture, she is looking slightly to the side and down, with a smile on her face.

The drawing on the left is a full-length depiction of her. She seems to be in some kind of motion and she has a duster of all things in her hand. Suddenly, she realises that she isn't just moving in the picture, she is dancing. A half-forgotten memory niggles at the back of her mind, as she looks at the picture but she is jarred out of her train of thought by a sound at the door.

Jean looks up sharply, seeing Lucien at the doorway. He looks at the notebook in her hands and actually blushes. She wonders if she has ever seen Lucien blush.

Jean snaps the notebook shut, "Lucien, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry, it just fell-".

He cuts her off with a gentle assurance. "I know you wouldn't."

How far they have come, she thinks.

Jean pauses for a moment, both wanting to give him back the privacy she accidentally breached but also immensely curious about the drawings. It is her in them, after all.

Lucien remains silent at the doorway, looking more and more charmingly embarrassed. It is a far cry from the angry defensiveness that he exuded the first time she looked at his notebook. If anything, it seems as if he is waiting to see what her reaction is.

Jean raises the notebook slightly in her hand, the pages still open. "You know, no one has ever drawn me before," she teases.

Lucien continues to blush but a mischievous look lurks behind his eyes. "Now that is a shame."

Possibilities race through Jean's mind at his tone. Possibilities of more daring drawings. Now it is her turn to fight a blush.

She closes the notebook, gently cradling it between her hands. "I really did not mean to look, Lucien." She wants to reassure him once again, her tone serious. 

Lucien takes the three steps separating her and cups her cheek. "I know, Jean. I am not upset." Jean settles her right hand on his shoulder, her forearm pressed against his bicep. "But you know that you can look if you want to. What is mine is yours, remember?"

"I think that part comes after the vows." Despite her argument, she is delighted by his statement.

"I think that part came long ago, darling."

Even though everything tells her that kissing Lucien in his bedroom in broad daylight with no one else in the house is definitely a Bad Idea, Jean can't help herself and leans in to kiss him. Ever since the evening in the kitchen, Lucien has been careful not to push her too far. She is immensely grateful for his thoughtfulness, his consideration for her boundaries proving how right her decision to marry this man has been; however, sometimes she wants to throw propriety out the window and push him past a point of no return.

Before her desire can overrule her common sense, Lucien pulls back, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

However, he does not withdraw from her so they stay there, leaning into each other, surrounded by sunlight, for several minutes.

"I have two notebooks." Lucien's careful words startle her out of her daydream-like state. "Well, I have many but most of them are full already." Jean grips his hand more firmly. "Putting my nightmares on paper helps. It helps me sort out my mind. But even when I don't have bad dreams, I can't sleep sometimes. So I started to draw other things too. Things that bring me joy." He pauses. "People who bring me joy."

He takes the notebook from her hand and flips through the pages. She sees drawings of places, most of them she recognises from Ballarat. She sees detailed drawings of their kitchen and their sunroom. She sees pages of sketches of Li, both as a young child and as an adult, and her heart once again aches for Lucien. She also sees drawings of Matthew, Alice, Mattie, Charlie and Danny. However, she seems to feature most frequently, making up at least a third of the sketches. Drawings of her abound, in various state of completion. Some depict just her features, others are of her in fully realised backgrounds. The pictures are carefully drawn and detailed. They are soft and light, unlike the distressing pictures she saw so long ago.

"Oh Lucien," she whispers, tearing her eyes away from the notebook in his hands and looking up. The idea of Lucien drawing her from memory (and it has to be memory because she can’t remember ever seeing him with this notebook in hand) fills her with emotion.

"You," Lucien's eyes fix steadily on hers. "You bring me joy, Jean."

Somehow, the weight of Lucien’s confession makes her feel lighter than she has ever felt. She knows that even if they live their entire lives in absolute bliss (as if that were possible), those darker parts of Lucien will always be there. It doesn’t frighten her. If it frightened her, she and Lucien would not be where they are. But her heart settles with the knowledge that Lucien is learning balance.

The hand that is resting on Lucien's shoulder moves to cradle his cheek. "You bring me joy too." Jean feels her eyes fill with tears but refuses to let them spill over.  

Lucien turns his face and kisses her wrist. "I intend to do that for the rest of our lives."

Jean doesn't think she has ever heard a promise better than that.