Author's notes:

Hello guys! Here's an all new one-shot about the episode 5 of the last season. I really liked it and not just because their situation was angsty, I truly liked how he made his closure and wanted to give you what I felt by watching it the first time.
It's all about Lucifer's POV. Not beta-checked yet.

WARNING - Spoilers S4 below.

ONE CLOSURE LIKE ANOTHER

"Everything happened so fast."

How many times hadn't he heard this sentence from either one person, witness, victim or suspects?

So fast; no time to see, feel, understand and react to wherever it was.

Fast and uselessness firmly combined in a moment, a movement, an inaction for most of the time.

Everything happened so fast.

It is evident that all these people hadn't overplay their experience. Fast; it was. Useless, he had been as well. He had been relieved that this armed douche had interrupted the Detective who was questioning him about his past and actual relationship with Eve.

His own words had been fast, quickly stopped by this noise.

A deafening one.

He had reacted, his body had reacted, he should say. Leaning forward, his hands instinctively guided to a spot in particular.

Fast had been this thought.

Why is there red on my shirt?

Then he looked at this Marco, at his gun.

Then another puzzled thought; what's the bloody point of calling for others to remain quiet while he's not?

Stupid.

"Lucifer!"

Oh, the floor was uncomfortable. He had looked at Chloe's and Eve's dead worried face without understanding how or why they were both above him.

So fast.

It was just as fast that his head fell back to the ground.

A simple red spot couldn't hurt that much, not so fast.

-xXx-

Someone's dragging him.

He stiffs when this someone lifts him up and the pain pierces his belly.

"E'sy…."

No one listens; everyone's crying, screaming, shouting. Marco's shouting the loudest.

"—ody, sit down!"

His back hits the banister near the dance floor.

That hurts.

"—anyone thinks they're going to escape through the crowd or anyone tries to rush me— Back up!... everyone dies!"

So theatrical.

He looks down at his belly, at this red that's spreading. It's thick under his fingers, under Eve's fingers.

Blood?

Ow.

Now he understands. The noise, the pain, the Detective….

It made sense, sort of. She had been shot at at the very beginning of their partnership; what could be more logical than him being shot at the very end of it? To have a proper closure.

But he didn't talk that much with Jimmy, did he? Why is she trying to negotiate with that man? Is it for him?

"Okay, okay, whatever you say. Whatever you say, but this man needs an ambulance-"

I'm the Devil, for Godn—

She'll never accept it, will she?

"No, shut up! Shut up, no."

Voilà. Useless, as he had guessed. A considerable waste of saliva.

"Are you okay?"

Chloe is near him; he didn't see her coming that close.

Disturbing.

He tries to smile. he almost succeeds.

"A-a bit of a stomach ache, Detective."

She doesn't react as well as he would have thought to his words. He looks away; he can't stand her gaze in addition to the pain. Maybe she's avoiding his too, she have done it so many times….

"He's the Devil though. He's going to be okay, right?"

Well, he'll only die in this plan. That's what might happen if his memories are correct, right? Too much blood loss, this whole perforated organ and internal bleeding thing—

"—eah. He's going to be fine."

Oh, the joys of lies….

She doesn't look at him. She knows that he knows.

The Prince of Lies and all that….

"We'll get help. You stay here with him, okay?"

Lucifer watches her walk away.

Pain doesn't change that.

-xXx-

Damn it, if that idiot wouldn't stop pacing back and forth in the second….

What does he expect by wandering around like this, gun in hand?

"Lucifer, I'm so sorry I got you into this."

He laughs. Well, he's trying to. The result isn't brilliant. Maybe if he takes a longer breath this time...

"Nonsense."

True. It doesn't make any sense; the bullet lodged in his belly, not in his lungs.

Swallowing should be easier.

"Y-you needed my Aston to get in and nobody drives it but me."

That's odd... the contours of the Detective's face are moving. A bit. He blinks, but it doesn't seem to change anything.

"I could have found another way. It's—" she keeps blaming herself.

"No."

She stays quiet.

Good; he can't stand to hear her tormenting herself like that. Maybe it's true, maybe she could actually find something else, someone else to help her. She could have, especially after—

"It's not your fault."

It's his.

It has always been.

"I needed closure."

She doesn't like what he's saying, he can see it. However, they need a closure. It's happening, whether they like it or not. His blood soaking the top of his pants is working on that goal. The closure moves around them. The room also moves around.

"I just didn't expect it to be quite so closed…"

He coughs and his eyes gets lost elsewhere. His hands are as red as the bottom of his shirt. It reminds him another night, another idiot. Being an idiot wasn't just a human privilege. And Uriel was the biggest idiots of all; threatening him and the Detective more specifically...

Did he see all this?

Had he seen the betrayal? The broken trust? The lies?

He would never know for sure, unfortunately.

What a waste!

He notices how ironic his situation is, how his injury is; the same spot where he had hit his brother. Such a clever way to make him pay his faults...

"—t him to the hospital."

"No, I'm fine, Detective. You just get me within an inch of that dullard and I'll tear his arms off like a turkey leg."

The metaphor isn't that metaphorical; he really looks like a stormy turkey, walking and walking again in front of them.

Eve gives him something to drink. What a delightful attention. "Thank you."

Is it water? Or gin, perhaps? It's really hard to tell.

Chloe and Eve are talking, but he doesn't get much of it; he focuses on the smooth touch of the glass in his hand. The glass almost slipped several times from his grasp, with all that sticky blood covering his palms. He closes his eyes, it feels nice, especially when the room moves that much around him. Almost as pleasant as Eve's hand along the line of his neck.

Something's touching his back too, much less pleasant. He doesn't want to protest, curiously.

Eve puts more pressure on his belly.

Gin or no gin... drinking all the contents of his glass seems like a wonderful idea to him, but—

"Lucifer."

Present, Detective.

More or less.

He focuses on her voice, her lips. They move more slowly than usual. "You have a job, too."

Job? She was the one who rejected him, not the other way around. He frowns.

"How do we sober up Ella?"

Sobering up. Right.

"H'd this…."

Eve gladly takes his drink away from him. He hopes to get it back quickly. His pockets seem to stick to the fabric of his jacket, it takes him several seconds to find what he's looking for.

"Not sober, but… how about focused?"

Chloe doesn't like the sight of this little package between his fingers. She gives him a warning glare. He doesn't expect her to approve him blindly; he no longer expects anything. Just a closure.

"It's…'e best way to lose your roll, D'ctive."

Bloody Hell, he just smiled at his future ex-partner... no need to suffocate him for that. He almost drops the package.

But Chloe doesn't argue.

That's a first.

He doesn't have an opportunity to question her reaction any further; Eve presses a little harder on his wound and the package slips out of his hands for good.

Gin.

Lots of it….

-xXx-

"—er Bluetooth or cellular. Cellular would be a lot less complicated. The relay's got no proximity handicap."

"I see the... cocaine is working."

If only alcohol could work that well against the pain...

It climbs to his lungs, but he doesn't cough anymore. Not for a while. There's just this weight on his chest... too exhausting to remove. He rubs his fingers on the edge of his glass. He still feels them.

A little less than before, but still.

Ella asks him a question, but he's too busy trying to guess what he's drinking this time. Even his palate no longer desire to cooperate.

Not Gin... is this Vodka?

He can feel the liquid going down his throat. It doesn't ease the nausea squeezing his stomach. That sneaky one….

"Do you have any left? I'd hate to return to H'll sober," he asked between two verbal storms from the young forensic.

"You're not going to Hell."

Of course he will. Where else could he go?

He wouldn't have the same fortunate reversal than Charlotte had had. He's the Devil. And he doesn't like the idea of rising to this higher destination.

"—stop saying that. Know what else you need to do? Stop talking about this as your last case."

But it is.

"It's a real bummer, okay? And I've really got to stay positive."

"The Detective and I have w'rked together for far too long... t-to not accept each other for who we truly 're."

Breathe in.

He must breathe in before breathe out. "Sadly... I don't think that'll... 'ver happen, Miss Lopez."

This alcohol doesn't taste quite good.

He can't swallow. Ho—?

"That is crazy. That is crazy," she keeps repeating. "You guys are the best team ever. I mean, You care about each other so m—"

Wrong. Chloe had been rather clear about it.

She'll never love him enough to... to...

To what exactly? He can't figure.

"—ake a bullet for you?"

He glares at her.

She understands and looks sheepish before all the blood staining his clothes.

"Oh... sorry."

Not as much as he is.

"But seriously… "

Bloody Hell….

"You keep talking about 'closure'; what the hell does that even mean?"

Not Hell, a wise destination. Reasonable. Truly reasonable. It should have solved all their problems.

He sighs. "That's the point. I don't know."

And Chloe comes back to him.

Does she?

-xXx-

Somebody raises his voice.

Unpleasant dissonance in the peaceful torpor in which he loses himself more and more often. There's always someone to shake him by the shoulder and give him another glass of a liquid that he hardly feels now, but it's a lot of efforts for such a limited result.

He tries, but the reality is always slipping away far too quickly.

Like a mosquito during summer night.

He forces his eyelids to rise. Just a bit.

Just when Marco throws a sandwich at the Detective's feet. The taste mixed with this pool of blood... not the best culinary choice.

A pool of blood?

Marco waved his gun in the air, threatening everyone with it.

So loud. And much less calm than he claims to be.

"Dan wouldn't make a mistake like that..."

"Are you sure?" Lucifer mumbles.

He's cold.

"I o-once saw him... eat a marble b'cause it was in a candy dish."

This anecdote distracts him for a second. He shouldn't think too much about all that blood on him. Under him, too. A little bit everywhere, actually.

Ella's saying something, but he can't hear straight.

His head goes backwards; towards the stars.

Stars?

weren't they inside? Yes, at Lux.

Then why are there so many stars in the middle of his ceiling? He knows their names off by heart; no surprise here, he created them all alone. Rigel, Alioth, Atria...

He lowers his head when Miss Lopez finally stops talking.

What he sees is worthy of his physical effort.

"Ladies…" he breathed, pleasantly surprised. "Oh, It's a comfort to know I'll exp're erect."

Standing straight before death. A closure, a tight one.

"Cheers. Oh, bollocks..."

Well, well, well... what's all that blood in his glass? Can't it stay on the ground like the rest of it?

How rude….

"This is the answer. This is the answer!"

What now?

-xXx-

A dull noise.

It's difficult, but Lucifer opens his eyes.

He smiles; an eye for an eye. The knife is clearly less spectacular next to the Lucifer's punishment for Marco, but witnessing the loud moron's fall is nevertheless delectable.

This woman threatening the Detective isn't.

-xXx-

He no longer knows the sequence of events.

What he should know, what he should ignore.

He knows that he had crawled on the ground - for lack of anything better - to Marco.

He knows he had enjoyed his punishment.

And he knows that darkness is much more bearable than reality since he gladly fell into it.

But he doesn't know a thing about the pain that hits him from nowhere.

He doesn't scream... there's no need; others do it very well for him. The pain keeps him firmly pinned to the ground. It's warm, stroking his chin.

Its fingers brushing his neck.

The darkness retreats before the Detective, so stubborn, always. She seems worried….

"—u okay?"

A stupid question, but he doesn't tell her.

"You l'nded on my b'llet wound..."

Keep your eyes open, just a little longer.

"That's exactly… the jolt o-of blinding pain I needed to bring me round."

He doesn't know why he's smiling, nor even why his smile widens. It must have something to do with the way that Chloe's staying on him, right next to him. She touches him, looks at him... she stays. "I'm sorry."

She wants to move away from him, but not him. He no longer wants this.

"N-no... Detective," he says.

She's looking at him. His breath gets stuck in his chest, between the known throbbing pain and another - an older one - one that he breathes out before her look just for him. He wants to touch her face, too. He would like that his eyes stop avoiding reality, preferring darkness.

"You... threw yourself 'nto me…"

He's breathing out; shakily, faster. "You... 'ere willing to sacrifice yourself to... save me…"

Him. To save him... him.

What did Miss Lopez say?

It's crazy.

Crazy, indeed.

She is; risking her life for….

He breathes out once more and welcomes the silence, the madness of her actions.

-xXx-

A closure happened.

The Lux's closed and opens to the starry sky of LA - it really is, this time. The Detective's voice is replaced by others; urgent and annoying. Squeeze one's fingers, say his full name to another, keep your eyes open….

They're talking, talking and talking again.

They talk about him, his injury, their destination.

But his hand closes on the ambulance door. He doesn't let go and won't. Never. They urge him to let go, to let them heal him properly.

Nonsense.

The metal bends under his will and everyone looks at each other without understanding this phenomenon. Lucifer removes the oxygen mask from his face with an impatient gesture.

Others protest but he doesn't care.

"O-out of the question. 'won't leave… need closure."

Saying these few words is exhausting, but not enough to let himself be taken away against his will to one of these human hospitals. He looks around, stands up on the stretcher and puts the pain away when it pierces his belly.

"Lucifer!"

Eve encircles her face with her hands, her shakily breathing brushes his cheek.

"Oh G— Are you all right?! Y-you- Ella defused the bomb a-and—"

"Where's... where's the Detective?"

She releases him and steps back a bit. "She stayed inside. You're s—"

"Wanna talk to her," he cuts her off, trying to remove the needle stuck in his arm.

Her trembling hands catch his and he lifted his head, losing patience. She doesn't step back this time and keeps her hands on his.

"Then stay still," she says.

She smiles, still shaky, still holding him. "She'll be here soon, okay? She just has to deal w-with this bomb and everything…."

Right.

And her absence explains his slight health improval. He wouldn't run a marathon or even satisfy Eve's deepest desires, but he's better enough to repeat his request to stay on the crime scene until he says otherwise. Given the significant improvement of his health condition and his force of persuasion, the paramedics have no choice but surrender and wait for this Detective's return.

Time passes and Lucifer even convinces Eve to give an alcoholic boost to this sort of... medicinal liquid.

And finally, he sees her.

She notices the alcohol where there shouldn't be any, but smiles anyway.

So did he. "Detective! Fancy seeing you here."

"How are you feeling?"

"I started feeling better the moment I got out on the street. Funny that."

They exchange a glance; there's no need for further explanations. She knows and he knows why. Yet, there he is. Not anywhere else.

That being said, he suspects her of having deliberately stayed away during all this time.

"Also, I have an excellent nurse," he adds by wrapping Eve's shoulders with his arm, who stays strangely quiet since the Detective arrives.

"I'll give you two a moment."

And Eve walks away without another word.

Chloe seems fascinated by the ground and he is by the cheap blanket that covers him to the waist.

"So, anyhow, I just... I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Her eyes are a bit red. "And, about this being your 'last investigation'..."

They're more and more red. Her voice slightly changes. She takes a shaky breath before looking at him.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that... I understand how you're feeling."

Well, that's a good thing. This will make things easier for both of them, to have their closure.

"And now I understand how you feel as well, Detective."

"Because I'm terrified!"

"And... for what it's worth, I think I've got my closure."

"Then I have my answer."

"Good," she replied very weakly.

She looks away and chews her lower lip. Lucifer watches her quietly nodding, again... and again.

And he smiles.

"For our next case..."

She turns around, frowning, struggling to believe what she's actually hearing. The closure happened, though.

"—try not to bring a trigger-happy murderer to one of my parties."

Her eyes shows slight surprise and Lucifer's smile widens. "It kills the buzz."

"You still want to be partners?"

He then sees behind her the paramedics approaching them with a determined look on their faces; the time has come. How impatient they can be….

It doesn't matter; the closure is definitely done and the Detective's here. "You know me, Detective. I go off and do something dramatic and then I realize I'm right where I want to be."

He doesn't miss her expression, this 'red' wonder in her eyes, around her mouth opened by stupor. Opened, not more closed. Without fear, anger, betrayal and without lies….

A closure.

And the Detective's smile is the best one he could have hoped for.

THE END

Author's notes:

I hope you liked it, and that you liked the episode even more ^^
let a review/fav if you do!