This is taking place after 3X10, The Sin Bin, because I had a lot of feelings after that episode. Mostly of the not so good. I have to admit feeling a lot of frustration with this season but… I tried to make it better :p

The main idea for this story (Lucifer's wings popping out because of his frustration and anger) was IceQueen1 's and she was kind enough to let me run with it.

Bloody Hell, They're Out Again

Lucifer observed the oblivious woman walk swiftly to the door with her arms full of grocery bags, hidden in the shadow of the wall. He hadn't meant to make an impressive entrance – a white lie, he always meant to make impressive entrances – but it was not his fault if that part of the building wasn't well lit at night. It was actually a flaw in security he would see rectified as soon as possible, it didn't sound very safe for Chloe or the spawn. He didn't bother worrying about Maze. Maze was more likely to kill the potential threats lurking in the dark than being hurt by them.

"Detective." he said, stepping out of the shadows as she struggled to balance the bags out to grab her keys from the back pocket of her jeans.

She startled badly and barely managed to keep a hold on her groceries.

"Jesus, Lucifer." She glared at him and then resumed looking for her keys, muttering under her breath. "One of these days I'm going to tie a bell around your neck."

Any other day, he might have answered that with an innuendo.

Any other day, she might even have been waiting for that.

"We need to talk." he said.

"I don't have anything more to say." she snapped, gritting her teeth, probably still furious because of the events of that afternoon. The death of the Sinnerman, the disappointment… It filled him with so much… rage. It was unfair. Just as unfair as when his father had judged him without giving him a chance to explain himself. It was… Chloe finally found her keys and she placed them in the lock, taking a deep breath. "Look, come in, say hello to Trixie…"

"No." he growled. "I do not have time for the child. I need you to listen to me now. It's important, Detective."

Anger and frustration were clearly perceptible in his voice but he didn't care. He had zero patience tonight. Not when a man who clearly should have been a corpse after being stabbed in the heart had just risen again. Not when he wasn't sure what it meant. Not when…

"Yeah? What is it now?" she scoffed. And it seemed she was angry and frustrated too because she turned her back to the door to glare at him some more, almost shaking with the strength of her indignation.

He wasn't sure how they had ended up there. He longed for the earlier days when it had been… easier. He knew the distance and tension between them were more likely his doing but…

"Marcus Pierce." he spat. "He's not who you think he is."

She rolled his eyes. "Another of your delirium?"

It was a cruel gibe and it hurt more than it probably should have. Plenty of people didn't believe his claims that he was the devil and, most days, it suited him. But Chloe… How many times had he tried to tell her? And he couldn't prove it. Not until he had his devil face back. The devil face was his true self and that was how he wanted to explain, to make her believe. He wanted her to believe, to understand. Maybe then…

"I never lie." he reminded her, irritated beyond measure by her refusal to see…

"Maybe you never lie, but you sure trick the truth." Chloe scowled. "Like today. What was today, Lucifer? You did what you wanted without a thought for the consequences. As usual. Without a thought for me."

He almost choked on the sheer stupidity.

"You're all I think about!" he retorted. "And if you were a little less stubborn…"

"I'm stubborn?" she repeated, incredulous. She shook her head and snorted. "I think you should go home before things are said we can't take back."

He took a few steps closer, very much into her space but not especially caring that he might look threatening. She didn't look threatened. She never feared him. Never. That was one of the things that made her so… Chloe.

"He killed the Sinnerman in cold blood, Chloe." he hissed.

"He killed the Sinnerman because you were about to do it." she replied.

It hurt.

It hurt so much it ripped him apart.

"I punish, I do not kill." he snarled and even that snarl was wrong.

Gone was the devil, his face, his crushing presence… He didn't know if it was her dulling it or another side-effect of the feathery pests that kept growing back. He snarled and it should have been a terrifying sound, the snarl of the beast hidden in the dark, instead it sounded… pathetic.

She stared right into his eyes, her face closed, her lips pursed tight to prevent the words she didn't want to say. I don't believe you. It was all over her face, in her gaze, in her stance.

"Listen to me." he hissed. "Marcus Pierce isn't his real name. The Sinnerman was working for him all along. He's the one who really had me kidnapped and…"

"And who is he supposed to be, then?" she cut him off with an almost mocking annoyed chuckle. "Another angel? A demon? A saint maybe?" She averted her eyes, staring at his neck instead of his eyes, her voice suddenly turning calm and almost detached. "You need help, Lucifer."

He gritted his teeth and took another step forward. His chest was pressed against the grocery bags now but still she didn't move back or turn to the door. It would have been so much easier if his powers had worked on her, so much easier…

"His real name is Cain." he explained, even though he knew it would be useless. "He's…"

"I know who Cain is." she sighed. "First murderer. Killed his brother."

"Yes! Exactly!" he exclaimed in relief. Maybe she was getting it. "My father cursed him to wander the earth for all eternity. He came here because he somehow found out you made me vulnerable. My take is he thinks that if you can make the devil bleed you can probably break his curse and…"

"Lucifer, this is insane." she interrupted. "Do you even hear yourself? Lieutenant Pierce saved you today. You could have gone to jail. You could have gotten fired. He…"

"Why aren't you listening to me?" he cut her off right back. "Why are you so bent on believing him over me?" And suddenly it was right there, between one breath and the next. The reason plainly written on her face for the grand total of a brief second. And he laughed. He laughed. A bitter cold laugh that made him step back, out of her space, out, out, out… "You like him."

The accusation lashed in the air like a whip.

Chloe clutched her grocery bags tighter to her chest, defensive and annoyed. "No. I don't. And even if I did… It's none of your business, Lucifer."

"Isn't it, now?" he asked, still laughing bitterly. His head was light and he was dizzy. Had that been Cain's plan the whole time or was it just a cruel twist of fate? Or more likely a cruel twist of Dad. He closed his eyes, forced himself to take a deep breath… It wasn't enough to stop the sneer or to stop his whole body from tensing. When he spoke, it was in a low dangerous hiss that had sent humans running in terror before. Chloe, of course, didn't even flinch. It infuriated her even more instead. "Listen to me, Detective. He is not who you think he is. All he wants is to use you. Once he's done that…"

"He will run to Vegas and get married to a stripper?" she finished for him with so much venom it brought him short.

"That was…" he started to raise his voice and then stopped. "I had my reasons for that."

"You always have reasons for everything. It doesn't mean they're good ones." she snapped. "I don't know what your problem with Pierce is. I don't know if it's just jealousy or…"

"Jealousy?" he scoffed. "Did you listen to a word I said? It's not about… It's not about us, Chloe. Cain is dangerous. He's…"

"His name is Marcus Pierce. He's a police officer not some biblical figure." She shook her head. "Call Linda. I'm done."

"Biblical figure or not, he killed the Sinnerman." he spat.

"Because you were about to." she shouted, finally losing her cool.

And it was the last straw.

He felt the tiny amount of patience he still had evaporating into thin air.

"He killed that man in cold blood!" he roared. A proper roar. A roar worthy of the wrath of the Heavens. As if in answer, thunder rumbled in the sky. "Why won't you believe me?"

Chloe's eyes grew wide and she stepped back, her grip on the grocery bags slackening. Cans rolled out of the bags when they hit the floor, something audibly broke…

Lucifer stood there, panting, suddenly out of breath with rage and frustration…

There was fear on the woman's face but not fear of him, fear of… There was awe there too.

The apartment's door opened on Maze's concerned face. He ignored the knife in his demon's hand, he ignored the mess on the floor, he ignored Trixie's head peeking out from behind the bounty-hunter's hip, and he ignored the stunned Detective to meet Maze's gaze.

"Bloody hell, they're out again, aren't they?" he asked.

Maze glanced from him to Chloe and pocketed the knife, placing a protective hand on the child's head. The spawn was the only one who didn't look confused or flabbergasted. She seemed to have accepted her new reality with a blink and a shrug.

Because Lucifer could feel them now, huge and terribly beautiful looming behind him, a soft glow chasing the night's shadows…

"Right." he scowled.

He had refused to use them since they had come back but, right then, all he wanted was to get out of there and faster than his corvette could take him. In a blink, the apartment complex was gone and he was back in the penthouse. He only stayed long enough to pour himself a drink he tossed at the wall with a scream of rage.

The wings itched.

Now that he had purposefully used them once… He yearned for the sensation of the wind in the feathers, he yearned for dangerous canon ball dive with impossible save at the very last moment, he yearned for the reckless flying Amenadiel always chided him for…

With a snarl, he grabbed the curved knife and opened his wings again.

In a flash he was on the beach.

He dropped on the sand, close enough to the water that waves licked at his feet. He fished his flask from his inner pocket and took a few steady mouthfuls.

He laughed.

A bitter laugh that ended up in a chocked sob.

He wasn't sure what was worse. That the Detective was attracted to Cain, that she didn't believe him when he told her the truth or that she believed he cared so little for her when the very thought of her getting so much as a paper cut killed him.

The beach was deserted at this time of night, so he grabbed the knife and went to work.

It wasn't easy to cut one's own wigs off but he had plenty of experience now.

He piled them up afterwards, his muscles straining in agony, poured what was left of his flask over them and then tossed his lighter in the mix. He flopped back on the sand next to the blaze, bare-chested and in pain, and he let his eyes wander to the sky like he rarely did. He could feel the sand sticking to the wounds that refused to stop bleeding.

Why weren't they closing?

And then, of course, the answer came in the form of a distant shout.

"Lucifer!"

Wouldn't that be ironic if he bled to death because of her…

"Mommy, he's hurt!" the spawn cried.

Why did she have to bring the spawn?

"Chloe, you need to go back to the car and drive away." Maze's voice ordered.

"What? No!" the Detective protested.

There was a scuffle and he thought he heard Linda's voice trying to mediate between Chloe and Maze. And then, of course, his view of the stars was blocked by the big ugly face of his brother.

"Why…" he drawled out, a little too weak for his taste. "Isn't it quite a party…"

"Lucifer, are you really hurt?" Trixie asked, falling to her knees next to him, her small hand coming to rest on his shoulder, her eyes full of tears.

He found he hated seeing the child hurt as much as he hated to see her mother in pain.

"Just a scratch, darling." he denied, his voice still distant to his own ears. "Nothing to worry about, I assure you."

Amenadiel was crouching next to him now. He wasn't sure at which point his brother had changed positions. The Detective was still too close and he was slipping.

"You are a reckless idiot, brother." Amenadiel declared and then looked up. "Is it done?"

"Linda is going to drive away until we call her." Maze confirmed, not gentle at all when she grabbed Lucifer's arm. "We're taking him back to the penthouse."

Between the two of them, Amenadiel and Maze hauled him up and back to Amenadiel's car, Trixie hurrying behind them.

He started feeling better long before they reached Lux. The wounds were closing and while he was still weak from the heavy blood loss…

Something strange was tugging at his heart.

The silence in the car was heavy. Maze was driving, her eyes on the road, one hand on the wheel, the other drumming on her thigh… Amenadiel was staring through the window… Trixie had yet to release Lucifer's hand, she had been clinging to it ever since his brother had dropped him in the backseat… Somewhere, Linda was probably explaining everything to a baffled Detective…

He wasn't sure why they had all come to that beach, ran to a needless rescue…

But it made him feel… Good.

Like… A family.

The only missing ones were Daniel, Charlotte and Ella and then… Then it would have been more of a family than his real one had ever been.

Trixie wasn't satisfied until he was lying in his bed, with pillows properly patted, covered with a blanket and spooning chicken broth she had forced Amenadiel to prepare. He kept swearing he was doing much better but the girl wouldn't be deterred and she could glare like the best of them. She sat crossed-legged on the bed next to him and she made sure he ate every spoonful because apparently that was what you ate when you were sick – and hurt was a kind of sick.

His brother seemed to find the whole thing hilarious.

At least until Linda and the Detective arrived at the penthouse, having been told it was safe to come back, and the strange tension between the angel, Linda and Maze kicked up again.

Lucifer didn't want to be left alone with the Detective, truth be told, and when the idea came up he tried to defuse it with mindless jokes, hoping Maze or Amenadiel would pick up on them. No such luck. Maze declared she would bring Trixie back home, all the while watching Linda and Amenadiel suspiciously, and the doctor immediately replied she needed to go back to her office even though it was long past office time. Amenadiel didn't actually say where he would be going but he left not long after Linda.

Lucifer could have lived without the suffocating hug Trixie gave him but the girl had clearly been shaken by what she had seen so he patted her back twice.

Once the penthouse was silent once more, Chloe hesitantly took the spot her daughter had just vacated by sitting on the empty space next to him on the bed.

He had carefully avoided looking at her since she and Linda had showed up and he didn't make an effort now, preferring to stare at the red silk sheets instead.

Silence, he thought, could be deafening.

"I'm sorry." she said eventually in a soft pained voice. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

He wanted to say it was alright, that he didn't really care about her not believing him because how could she have ? But he never lied and so he nodded instead, accepting the apology without claiming it was enough to erase the memory of the pain her refusal to trust him had inflicted.

"Never say I don't care about you again." he answered. "Don't even think it. You have no idea of everything I have done to protect you, to keep you safe. You have no idea."

Uriel, Charlotte, leaving her, the Sinnerman…

He felt her hand tentatively hover over his arm before finally making contact. He still didn't look up.

"Why do you cut them off?" she whispered, sounding horrified by the thought. "Linda said… She said you keep doing it."

"They're not me." he shrugged.

"Does it hurt?" she insisted.

"It's not pleasant." he dismissed.

He wasn't prepared for her to shift, to lie down next to him and rest her head on his shoulder. He was still bare-chested and he could feel her warmth directly on his skin and… She pressed her palm in the middle of his chest, over his heart.

"If it hurts, don't do it again." she demanded.

And, just like that, he knew he would never cut his wings off again. Because she had asked. Because she cared about him being in pain. Because him being in pain apparently caused her pain.

"I don't know what Cain is up to but I know he is dangerous." he declared, switching topics. He didn't want a repeat of the earlier fight but it needed to be understood.

"We'll find out." she offered. "What he's up to. We'll find out. You and me."

"I'm the devil." he stated because nobody had said the d word yet and all she had seen of his divine self was the wings. He didn't want any misconception. He wasn't the kind of angel she might mistake him for.

He didn't know what had happened in the car, he didn't know what kind of conversation she had had with Maze and Linda or even his brother… He hadn't expected such quick acceptance of the whole angels are real thing.

"You're Lucifer." she retorted. "You're not what they say you are, you're not some monster with horns… You're still… my Lucifer. Right?"

"That might be the most accurate description of me there ever was, darling." he snorted, only a touch bitter because everything had been so tense between them lately. But hers… He liked the idea. Being hers.

"Alright." Chloe accepted.

"Alright." he echoed.

It wasn't, not really. It would take time to make things completely alright, to repair the fragile wavering trust…

But, he thought, they would make it through.