They were making their way through the crowded street, afternoon sun shining into her eyes. They had just returned from a case, an easy one this time; a string of thefts she took on to forget the stress brought by Malcolm and her own suspicions. The thefts were beneath her as a detective, but it eased her mind to be doing something good, making a difference.

She noticed the sudden silence where there should be relentless chatter, so she turned around, looking for her self-proclaimed partner. Lucifer was nowhere to be found. She took a moment to roll her eyes, exasperated to the depths of her very soul. It was so typical of him, disappearing in the middle of a stroll, seeking mischief. She backtracked her path, being the better person and deciding to search for him, despite the possibility of not finding him.

She didn't have to walk long. There was a crowd of people, and she could hear outraged gasps and desperate cries. She figured she should be alarmed, but was instead filled with exasperation. Lucifer was the only person she knew that could inspire such a response in so many people at once. Well, the other was her mother.

She dove into the crowd head first, determined to save them from the insanity that was the self-proclaimed Devil.

"Lucifer?!" she called. "Lucifer, what are you doing?"

He didn't answer. He always answered, whether she liked it or not.

"Lucifer!" she tried again.

"Shush, Detective!"

A hand grabbed her out of nowhere and pulled her to the front of the crowd. It was her partner. He had a peculiar look on his face, one she had become quite familiar with during their time together. It was a look of unearthy focus, like a gaze of a raptor eyeing its prey.

Chloe followed his gaze and noticed that for a change, he wasn't the source of spectacle for the gathering people. Instead, it was a TV in a store window that caused the commotion. There was no sound, but the video playing was descriptive enough. It appeared to be a news channel, showing a city overrun by… creatures. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look. There were weird beings, some walking on the ground, others flying on carriage-like contraptions. It didn't seem real and she would've thought it a movie, except she kept herself appraised on all upcoming movies. The shots themselves were poor quality. The news reporter was also clearly distraught and was gesturing frantically on the screen.

A sudden close up made her take a half step back. It was abrupt, filling the screen with an image of a creature of grey skin and a body resembling a zombie, with something reptilian or insectoid about it. The view was quickly lost, as the cameraman retreated behind the wall of a fallen building. Then the view moved rapidly, creating a blur, zooming in on a flying... whale skeleton? Turtle robot?

A sudden explicit curse tore her gaze away from the TV and to her partner.

"Lucifer, what is going on?" she hissed, grabbing his shoulder to make him focus on her.

"It appears, Detective, that Earth is under attack. New York, to be exact," he said, face pinched.

"Attacked? By what? What are these things?"

"That, my dear, is the question."

Two days later found her in Lucifer's club, nursing a strong drink and wishing she could be an irresponsible mother just this once and get gloriously drunk. Imagining Trixie's big sad eyes made her refrain, but it certainly didn't make the wish go away. The man next to her obviously didn't have the same reservation.

"An alien invasion," she stated, needing to throw out the words. They were the most outrageous words she had ever said, and she shot a movie and accused a cop working with the criminals.

"It would certainly appear so." Her partner raised an eyebrow at her.

It was all over the news, the disaster that struck New York, leaving the city with numerous victims and filling it with panic. It was the hottest topic in her department as well, and she could see first hand the impact it made.

"I just… Aliens? I'm a cop. I solve crimes. Murders of people by people. What does one do about murderous aliens?" She took another gulp of her drink.

"What I find more interesting is how they got here. You see, the Earth is protected. How did they open the portal above New York? It should be impossible!"

Lucifer Morningstar always baffled her, but at times like these it hit her she didn't understand him at all. He thought he was The Devil, that she knew, but the act itself was perfect. As a former actor she could admit that. If he never told her he was the Devil, it would never crossed her mind to assign him such a role. He didn't really act as she thought an Evil Satan would. But his act was consistent, building up on itself, backed up by knowledge and facts he clearly internalised and could utter on command. The act never failed, he never wasn't The Devil. And at times like these she almost believed him.

"So you think they are aliens? I thought you didn't believe in such things. Church isn't really pro-alien life, is it?" she tried carefully.

"Church?! Church is made by men, with human beliefs and most ridiculous notions! Of course there are aliens out there. They just shouldn't be here! I will have to ask my brother, even if I hate doing that. Obviously this is quite serious."

She gave him a skeptical look. He didn't do serious often, and even when he did there was a flippancy to his words and actions that unnerved her.

He grimaced. "Well, obviously I wouldn't have cared, but I live among humans now. They can't just decide to come and kill people! I came here to take a vacation, relax and enjoy life. I can't do that if some alien zombies decide to ransack a whole city!"

"You are upset because you can't party. Because aliens came from the sky and killed people," she deadpanned. "Right."

"Well, not only that! I slept with one of the heroes that fought them! I was promised future sex!" He sounded genuinely upset.

"You had sex. With a superhero. Of course you did." She thought about a gorgeous red-headed woman on the news she saw that day, but took another look at the man beside her and changed her mind about assuming.

"Do I want to know which one?" she sighed.

"You most certainly do! No matter how immune to my charms you are, even you would want to watch that!" he said, puffing up like a peacock.

"Watch that? Never mind. So, who are you concerned about?"

"Why, Tony Stark, of course! Go big, I say! Tony has quite the reputation, warranted I assure you. He is great in bed and knows how to enjoy the better things in life. Besides, he cheated death in Afghanistan, that makes him doubly interesting."

Chloe stared at him for a few moments, trying to wrap her head around the concept of Lucifer Morningstar and Tony Stark in one room. Together. Two such egos meeting, no wonder it was almost the end of the world.

"You slept with Tony Stark. How has that never made the news? Did you stay in touch?"

"I can be discreet! And no, we parted ways after three days. We simply couldn't go on! Human bodies have a limit, you know. Hell, I have a limit. Besides, he didn't want to make a deal with me. Said he'll fix his own mess. Admirable, I say."

The Detective hung her head, feeling the headache forming from oversharing. Lucifer really was shameless. Some dark part of her wondered at those three days, purely from morbid fascination. Two rich lunatics, one a former Merchant of Death, the other a self proclaimed Lord of Hell. Well. Some thing are best left alone. And out of mind.

"Maybe I should call him. Yes, that would give me the first hand accounting! Hmmm."

Well, apparently she will have no such luck. She reached for the bottle to pour herself another drink.

It all grew so very complicated quickly after that. Lucifer was accused of murder, Malcolm went insane, and she faced the most horrible moments of her life when her daughter was kidnapped. It had been a mess, exhausting her physically and emotionally, days starting to blur together. It became more and more apparent that the only one she could rely on even a little was, surprisingly, Lucifer. No matter how you looked at it, she could always rely on Lucifer to be Lucifer, with his perversions and manipulations, passions and mysteries.

He might even be immortal, if only in his persistent character. An annoying mosquito you can never truly squish.

They were at her house, after all the commotion was over, after they were questioned at the station and they carted away Malcolm's body. After cleaning them both, rubbing off dust and terror under the spray, she finally managed to get Trixie to sleep. She could only hope exhaustion would keep the possible nightmares at bay.

Her partner was waiting for her in the kitchen, dressed in her robe, hair wet from the shower she heard him taking without her permission. He was nursing a glass of orange juice as if it was the finest Scotch, and for some reason she was overcome with a fit of giggles. It was so ridiculous! Ever since she met him, her life had been on a rollercoaster. Well, she never really had a calm life, and honestly she never even wanted it, but this really took the cake.

Chocolate cake. The thought brought her back to Trixie and all the horrible mirth left her. Looking up, she saw Lucifer gazing at her with his laser-like focus again. It made her feel exposed, as if all her thoughts were shown on her face for him to read. He tilted his head to the side, signaling confusion she now recognised. Ah. He didn't read her after all. He never really seemed to get her love for her daughter. He observed it, knew it, but she could see he never understood it. Chloe remembered him saying he never came in contact with many children. Additionally, softer emotions often went right over his head. For him they were a learned behaviour, rather than something one felt.

"A glass of orange juice for your thoughts?" he inquired, thankfully quietly. Apparently that clue he got.

"I'm just worried for her, is all. My job should never have touched her, at least not beyond the unavoidable," she sighed.

"Ah. Detective Douche. Your parting did affect her, correct?"

"Yeah. Oh god, Dan. I don't want to even think about that can of worms. He will go to prison. Damn." She covered her face with her hands, feeling truly tired and out of her depth.

"What do I do, Lucifer? Trixie was kidnapped, she heard her mother get shot at, her father is a dirty cop who will be going to prison. If people at her school find out it will be a disaster…"

"Chloe," interrupted Lucifer. "Look at me."

She lifted her head, unable to resist. Because his tone registered with her, and it was the tone that made her so mad at him most of the time, but also appreciative for all he had done. Because it was a tone of a Lucifer with a solution to a problem, and even if his solutions usually gave her headaches, they were always very effective.

"Tell me, Chloe," he said, looking into her eyes, "What it is you want right now? What do you want most in the world?"

And it was easy to answer that, because she knew what he wanted to hear when he asked that. He wanted her honest desire, without her fears and reservations. Just, what did she want?

"I want to go away. I want to take Trixie and go far away, somewhere we will be safe and without worry. Somewhere to gather strength."

It poured out of her, from the bottom of her soul, and she knew she wouldn't be judged by him, he would never think her a coward.

"A vacation!" he cried, and she shushed him for being too loud.

"I can arrange that, Detective, no worries! How do you feel about New York?"

He really was unpredictable.

"New York? What is in New York?" she asked.

"Well, remember that alien invasion…" he started.

"Hold it right there. I want my little girl safe. I will not let her near aliens." she said firmly, willing him to understand the concept, to comprehend it in his weird Devil head.

"Oh calm down. The aliens are long gone. I, on the other hand, still haven't managed to contact Tony and I am infinitely curious about that little happenstance. So, how about it? We go to New York, have a little vacation, stay in the most expensive hotels, meet Tony Stark, gain Trixie bragging rights and get me my information. Everybody wins!" He looked positively gleeful at the very thought.

"And how will you get to Stark if you haven't managed to contact him thus far?" she asked, already fearing the answer.

"I will go to his tower and request a meeting. If his secretaries refuse, which, as you know, is unlikely, I will start stripping in front of the nearest camera until I get his attention. He couldn't possibly forget that body!"

She could do nothing but stare. But then, knowing him, he would get what he wanted, and that in itself was oddly reassuring.

"All right," she sighed. "Fine. But there will be rules and lines you won't cross, such as any possible indecency in front of Trixie. There will be others, but I'm too tired to think. And I want at no point to learn anything about your… thing with Tony Stark. Got that?"

"Your loss, Chloe," smirked Lucifer, all smug and cocky.

She stood up.

"Well, I'm going to bed. You? You can stay or go or whatever. Just... don't bother me for the next twelve hours, and don't you dare come anywhere near my room."

His smirk fell a little at that and he pouted. She sometimes knew him too well. She turned around and went to sleep.