Lucifer and Chloe were standing next to each other in the elevator as it rose upwards, each of them loaded with the presents they had gotten from their family and friends. It had been a great afternoon and evening, with all of them celebrating together at Lux, but now they were both looking forward to spending the remainder of the evening on their own.

Chloe couldn't stop smiling. Lucifer had been on his best behavior all day, just like he had promised her. Of course, she had noticed him spiking the hot punch with an extra amount of rum, but she hadn't said anything about it. After all, he had accompanied Trixie on his piano while she was singing Christmas songs and even joined her when she'd asked him for a duet.

He had insisted on how much he usually hated Christmas. But then he had never had people around who cared about him and who he cared about in return.

The doors to the penthouse opened after the elevator had come to a halt, and Lucifer gestured for her to go ahead.

Chloe placed the bags and boxes she was balancing on the floor next to the bar and then watched Lucifer do the same with the presents he was carrying. His slacks left little to the imagination as he bent down and Chloe couldn't look away.

"Like what you see, Detective?" Lucifer said with a smirk as he caught her staring at his backside.

"Actually, I do," Chloe replied, grinning right back at him. "I've unwrapped so many presents tonight, I just want to unwrap you next."

"You won't get any more presents if you're this naughty," he teased, taking a small step backwards as she extended her hand to reach for him.

"Ha! Now, isn't it ironic that you of all people reprimand me for being naughty?"

"Touché Detective, well played. Besides," Lucifer stepped closer again now, "I don't care if you're being naughty. Not at all." He bent slightly so his mouth was close to her ear and his hot breath caressed her skin. "I like it, actually."

Chloe's breath hitched as his lips ghosted over her neck and jaw until they found hers. Lucifer had mastered the art of kissing, but kisses like this one, soft and slow and sensual, were the ones that touched her most and resonated deeper than the heated, passionate ones.

Lucifer's hands found hers, and he trailed his fingers up her arms and over her shoulders until he cupped Chloe's face between his palms. She sighed as he deepened the kiss and his tongue lazily brushed against hers. She reached for him again, gripped the soft fabric of his dress shirt and pulled him closer. Her fingers started to undo the buttons of their own accord.

One.

His hold on her tightened.

Two.

He groaned into the kiss.

Three.

He pulled his lips away and took a deep breath.

Chloe looked at him questioningly. It was unlike him to stop her like this, especially after spending the day exchanging fiery glances when nobody was paying attention.

"Chloe, if you... if we continue, you'll miss your present."

Chloe's eyes lit up in the semi-darkness, surprise suddenly written over her face.

"You've got a present for me?"

"I do."

"But didn't we agree on not getting presents for each other? You insisted on it, Lucifer. You made me promise. You promised, too."

"Oh, that... Technically, I only promised I wouldn't get you a present. And I didn't. Your present is not here."

Of course there was a loophole in his promise. He still managed to leave them, and sometimes it drove her insane. But this, this was a pleasant surprise, even though his explanation left her confused as she tried to make sense of what he said.

"So if my present is not here, where is it then?" she wondered.

"Far far away," Lucifer replied, and from the way he looked at her a little apologetically, she could tell he was very well aware that this answer wasn't an answer at all. "How about you go and get changed into a bikini and meet me at the jacuzzi in a few minutes?" he suggested, and Chloe was too curious to deny his request.

That didn't mean she would let him get away this easily. They both had gotten used to teasing each other since they'd finally gotten together about three months ago. It had never been this easy to be herself with anyone before him.

"Are you sure that is what you want? Me in a bikini? That much fabric?"

She noticed with satisfaction how he swallowed as his gaze followed her hands wandering up to the buttons of her blue blouse. She undid the first one with a little more fumbling than necessary.

"You're such a tease... and you know it."

"I've been learning from the best, I suppose," she smirked.

"I'm honored. Yet I'm afraid I must insist on a bikini, or else I won't be able to keep my hands off you," he stated firmly before he added in a lower voice, "Or my mouth."

"Fine, then I'll go change, but just for the record, I wouldn't mind either your hands nor your mouth on me."

With that, Chloe swung around, a big smile still plastered on her face as she walked towards the master bedroom. It only grew wider when Lucifer called after her, "And don't think I didn't notice how you licked your lips just to distract me, darling."

It didn't take Chloe long to decide which bikini to wear. She had only brought over two of hers, and that was already half the collection she owned. She didn't bother folding her clothes, as her more sensible self usually would have done, she just left them on chair next to the bed. With Lucifer, she had learned to let go and live a little more, something she had forgotten sometime between high school and getting married. With him, she felt younger, more alive. She was finally able to say she was happy again.

When Chloe stepped outside on the balcony, she found Lucifer already sitting in the jacuzzi, steam rising from the hot water around him. His back was turned to her, and he seemed very focused on filling two champagne flutes with the bubbly drink. She could have watched him even from this angle for hours.

When he was done, he placed the bottle in a silver cooler right next to the pool. He picked up both glasses, one in each hand, and, without turning around, addressed her.

"Are you going to stay there staring at my handsome backside all night, or are you going to join me in the water?"

Damn, he knew the effect he had on her. She could have said yes and it wouldn't have been a lie. She loved watching him, even more so when he wasn't aware of it. Most of the time, that was only when he was sleeping. Then she lay beside him and looked at his relaxed features. It was especially those nightly hours that made her wonder how he could be as old as time and still look so young and peaceful when he was asleep.

But now he was awake and turned towards her, causing little waves on the water's surface as he moved. He held a glass up for her in invitation and raised his eyebrows. "Are you coming or do I have to make you?"

"I think it's too cold to stay outside any longer."

"What a lovely coincidence that I'm hot as hell," Lucifer grinned up at Chloe as she laughed and stepped into the water to join him.

"So humble, Lucifer, always so humble."

"I never said I was humble."

He handed her a glass, but didn't break eye contact with her.

"Thanks," she whispered as they both stood in the middle of the pool, facing each other. They were so close, yet not touching.

Tension surged between them like the steam from the water as they stared deeply into each other's eyes. They clinked glasses in silence and Chloe's gaze shortly fell on Lucifer's lips as he sipped from his champagne. Only the devil himself had the gift to make a mundane thing like drinking look this seductive.

Chloe was brought back to the moment when Lucifer took her glass out of her hand and set it on a tray beside the cooler along with his. She didn't know what she had expected; a heated kiss, more teasing, an assault to her senses. But Lucifer did none of that. Instead, he sat on the underwater bench at the side of the jacuzzi and gently pulled her beside him. Suddenly, he seemed nervous, and she had no idea why. He laid his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled closer to his side until the familiar heat of his body warmed her.

"So, what is it that you've planned?" she asked when he still didn't speak.

Lucifer cleared his throat. "I thought we could just spend some time gazing at the stars."

His answer surprised her, but if that was what he wanted, that was fine with her. Finally, it was a small romantic gesture, one that wasn't over the top like some of the dates he had organized for them right after they had started dating.

Chloe placed her head on his shoulder and a hand on his thigh while Lucifer absentmindedly began drawing little circles on her arm. There was no place on earth where she'd rather have been than with him, no place she could imagine feeling safer than by his side.

Warmth welled up inside her that had nothing to do with lust, but everything with what she felt for Lucifer. Warmth that made her heart swell and beat so fast, as if it wanted to reach out to him. She knew the feeling, she also had a name for it.

She just hadn't told Lucifer yet, she didn't want to scare him away. He hadn't said the words to her either, but he didn't need to. By now, she was convinced that his feelings for her were honest and sincere, and his actions told her more than his words.

The sky above the penthouse was cloudless. The moon was only a thin crescent far on the left. As usual, the lights from the city below took away the darkness of the night and left the sky in a lighter blue than it would have been without them.

The longer Chloe looked up, the more stars became visible. She tried to remember the last time she had taken the time for stargazing in the wilderness, but it was almost too long ago to remember.

"What was it like to look at the sky before there was artificial light disturbing the view?" she asked quietly.

Lucifer took his time to think about her question, and just when she thought he wouldn't answer, he sighed and said, "It was beautiful, magnificent. At first, there was only darkness, but then I made the first star. I watched it shine through the endless night and I loved it so much that I didn't stop lighting new ones for decades. Or centuries."

He paused, and Chloe tried to process his words. Sometimes, it was overwhelming to hear him talk about things she would never be able to fully grasp in her mortal mind.

"I couldn't see them anymore after my fall. Starlight is too pure to reach hell. I always missed watching the sky while I was there. It's one of the reasons I enjoy going to the beach at night."

Chloe reached for his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you for telling me that."

She knew it wasn't easy for him to open up about his past.

Suddenly, a movement in the sky attracted her attention.

"Lucifer, look! A shooting star!" she gasped in surprise.

It had been an eternity, by human definition, since she'd last seen one. And such a beautiful one it was! It flew almost in a semicircle across the sky, leaving a trail of light in its way.

"Oh, and another!"

She sat upright, unable to hide her excitement as a second one fell in a straight line right next to the first.

Her excitement mixed with nervousness as a third shooting star shot across the sky, followed by a fourth and fifth and then a sixth that painted a full circle on the blue background.

Chloe turned her head to glimpse at Lucifer, who had stopped breathing beside her. He wasn't looking at the sky, like she had expected, but straight at her, eyes shining with emotion.

"You..." she whispered, unable to form more words.

"Chloe," he whispered back, throatily, as if he'd forgotten how to speak.

Chloe could have drowned in his eyes, but she didn't want to miss a part of what obviously was his present for her. She looked back up at the sky in awe where he had written her name with starlight. It still lingered, although letter by letter it started to fade until only the plain blue sky was left, same moon and same stars as before.

She still didn't know what to say. And here she had thought he was up for a small romantic gesture. She'd been so wrong.

Lucifer still watched her with such intensity it made her heart burn with love. She brought a hand up to his face, and he rested his cheek against her palm, as if seeking reassurance. When she leaned in to kiss him, he cleared his throat once more.

"I haven't finished my present yet."

"There's more?" Chloe asked in disbelief. How could there be anything more magical than this?

Lucifer nodded, just once.

"Yes."

Chloe made sure to hold his hand tightly in hers when she forced her gaze back up into the night. For a few heartbeats, there was nothing but the stars and the sky, but then Lucifer raised his right arm and began writing something in the air with his finger.

A new shooting star shot across the sky, only one this time.

"I?" Chloe asked, and Lucifer hummed in approval.

He hesitated before he continued, his movements slow and focused. Chloe's eyes clung to every letter that appeared above them, smiling when she realized what Lucifer was writing.

"I love you," she whispered, inspired with awe.

"I really do, Chloe. More than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my existence," Lucifer breathed close to her ear, as if he was confiding his biggest secret to her.

And maybe he was.

Chloe shifted until she could see his face. The vulnerability in his gaze made her heart soar, and she couldn't keep the words to herself any longer either. And she didn't have to.

"I love you, too, Lucifer. To the stars and back."

He broke into a smile as the tension left him, and he didn't stop Chloe from kissing him this time.

Neither from kissing him nor from anything else that night.

Thanks for every read, favorite and review! It's highly appreciated. ❤ I hope you enjoyed this little story even if it was late for Christmas.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, all rights belong to the respective owners.