Chloe walked away from the balcony and took a deep breath. She should probably give Lucifer a little space right now. She had 24 hours, he could have a few minutes of that to deal with the mess she'd just made of his feelings.
She reached for her phone and arranged for Trixie to stay with Dan for the night. Then she texted Maze.
"Emergency meeting at noon tomorrow at the penthouse. Bring Linda and Amenadiel."
She didn't expect an answer anytime soon, and she didn't get one. In a few hours, she'd probably text Linda, just to make sure that the first she heard of this meeting wasn't Maze showing up at her office at 11:30 and dragging her off in the middle of a session. But Linda and Amenadiel deserved to enjoy the safe return of their baby without worrying about the next crisis. At least until morning.
He was still looking out into the city when Chloe went into the bathroom, washed her face and got into Detective mode. There was an answer somewhere. They just had to find it.
She was pouring them a drink when she heard the door to the balcony close.
"You read my mind, Detective."
He looked exactly like the stranger that had just waltzed past the crime scene tape so many times in the past. He wore his smile like a mask, and if she hadn't been on that balcony a few minutes ago, she would never have suspected there was a single thing on his mind more pressing than his next drink. She supposed she deserved that.
"Lucifer, I'm sorry." Chloe hesitated, then looked into his eyes and blurted out the rest.
"I needed some time and I couldn't think of another way. I won't do it again. You don't deserve it."
She gulped down her drink and reached for the notebook in her pocket.
"Ok, so let's start at the beginning. We need to break down this problem."
In full Detective mode now, Chloe headed for the coffee table.
"Do you have a bigger notebook, maybe? Some printer paper, something like that?"
While he looked, she paced nervously.
"So I'm thinking we can lay out everything we know about the problem, and then we can brainstorm some answers. Demons are just another perp, right? It's not the first time we've taken on a gang. We can work through some ideas tonight. I should tell you I texted Maze. She's bringing Linda and Amenadiel tomorrow."
Lucifer's head popped up from behind the bar,
"Detective, why are you bring them into this?" he sounded exasperated again.
"They should be part of this. They can help. They want to."
"You don't know that! Maze has her own life now," Lucifer countered "one she quite enjoys. And Linda and Amenadiel have baby Charlie - "
"And they all want to be here for you, Lucifer." Chloe interrupted.
He came back from behind the bar with a legal pad.
"This may not have occurred to you," Chloe continued, grabbing the pad, "but they love you too, in their own ways."
Lucifer dropped into the sofa, considering the idea for the first time. Maze didn't love him, surely. She was a demon, she had no soul to love with. He had made her to be his right hand and do whatever he wanted her to do. Except that she didn't, did she? Not anymore. She went off for months at a time, doing her own thing. She argued, and dated, and had real friends. She clearly cared deeply for Trixie -
"Lucifer!"
Chloe broke into his thoughts. She looked like she was waiting for an answer and he glanced down at the pad where she had written across the top in block letters: "Problem".
"Triple underline, Detective! Serious stuff. Yes, let's focus on the problem. After I get another drink."
She was already making a list, at the top of which was Charlie.
Lucifer watched her work as he poured. She had surprised him tonight. It took him a full 8 minutes to realize what that sucker punch meant. How hard she was fighting to give him a choice. Nobody had ever done that before. It took 12 minutes to understand how much she needed him to choose her.
He wanted to. He wanted to choose her more than he wanted his next breath. But love complicated things. It wasn't just about what he wanted anymore. He couldn't risk everything and everyone because he wanted to. If he could, he wouldn't be the devil she loved.
He walked back to the coffee table with his drink and looked over the papers she had spread out. There seemed to be a list of problems the demons could cause, a list of possible ways to keep the demons in Hell, and a rather short list of potential kings of Hell.
For the next 2 hours they took turns pacing around the table, adding to the lists, starting new ones, getting to the bottom of why the king must be an angel, and why Hell must have a king at all. They were sitting across from each other, leaning over the table, to read the same paper when they suddenly made eye contact and froze.
For a moment they both forgot they were being careful and longing rose between them like a tidal wave.
"Chloe…" Lucifer heard himself whisper.
Chloe looked away, shuffled papers.
He cleared his throat and looked for a way to save the moment.
"Are you hungry? I could fix us something to eat."
"That would be great, thanks."
She needed distance more than she needed food. She needed him more than she needed either, but she had used the feelings between them to get what she wanted once already and she would not do it again.
When he brought back grilled cheese sandwiches, she almost cried, remembering the last time he'd made them for her.
"Problem, detective? Is it not what you wanted?"
"It's fine." She acted casual, reached for half the grilled cheese, but didn't bite into it because she wasn't sure she could get the food past the lump in her throat.
"I can order something in, if you like. What do you want?"
Chloe took a deep breath, tried to say again that it was fine but the words couldn't get past the lump either. She kept her eyes on the papers and hoped he would just start talking to her about demons or something, but instead his voice softened and he asked again.
"What do you want?"
She couldn't help herself. She looked up and let him see it in her eyes.
"It doesn't matter what I want. I…" she took a deep breath. "I told you before I wouldn't use your feelings for me to get what I want again, and I meant it."
"To simply tell me what you want is not to force my hand, detective. You know that."
Chloe did know that. The words came rushing to her throat and she tried to slow them down but he spoke again.
"Tell me, Chloe."
"I want… I want to let the world burn if that means I get to keep you. I want to go back to the night when you first brought me a grilled cheese and stop myself from doing the stupidest thing I've ever done. I want to spend that night, and every night since then, in your arms where I belong. And more importantly, if we can't find a way and you do leave tomorrow…" she took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry. "If this is the only night I get to have, then I want to fall asleep tangled up with you in your bed, with the scent of us both in my lungs and I want to wake up early and watch you sleep before I wake you up with a kiss. I want everything you are when you are vulnerable, everything you've never given any of your lovers. And when it's all over I want you to know, to really know, in your heart and in your bones, that it meant everything."
She stood up and stepped away, chuckling awkwardly.
"I bet you thought I was going to say Chinese."
She felt his hand on her harm, gently turning her around to face him again.
"Chloe…" he whispered.
She tried to keep her tone light and cheerful.
"Enough about me, what…"
He lifted her face up to meet his eyes.
"What do you want? Lucifer?"
"Do you know that you ask me that more than anyone else ever has?" He wiped a tear she didn't know she was crying and answered her question.
"I want everything you are, Chloe. I want to know what it is to surrender my body and my soul to the one person who can really hurt me, and to emerge unscathed in the morning. I want to be held so closely in your light that even the darkest pit of Hell will never be able to drown out the memory. I want to give you everything I have ever held back and I want you to know, if I never see you again, that you were the only one who ever mattered."