[AN: Little late, so big chapter. Hope you like it.]
[Dr. Linda Martin's Office]
Linda sat in the armchair across from the couch with her notebook balanced over one knee. Her posture remained professional, though the way her fingers tightened around the pen betrayed how much effort that required whenever Lucifer looked directly at her.
"So, you're the Devil," Linda said, keeping her expression neutral.
Lucifer sat back against the couch. "That's the thing, Doctor. I know I'm the Devil right now, but before I was the Devil, I used to be a regular human like you in another world. I died and woke up as the Devil. Every now and then, I have these moments where I'm filled with so much rage that I act on pure impulse."
Linda's pen paused above the page. Her first instinct was to classify the statement as a delusion built around identity and trauma, though the man across from her spoke with unsettling certainty. "You believe you lived an entirely different life before becoming Lucifer Morningstar?"
Lucifer glanced toward the window before looking back at her. "I don't merely believe it. I remember crowded buses, unpaid bills, awful managers, and working two miserable jobs just to remain poor. Then a manhole cover ended my existence, and I woke up with millions of years of celestial memories inside my head."
Linda uncrossed her legs before crossing them again. The movement was quick and restless, and her grip tightened around the pen when Lucifer's gaze followed it. "That sounds overwhelming. You're carrying the memories of two identities, and both experienced powerlessness."
Lucifer's playful smile faded slightly. "Human me couldn't control anything. Devil me can control almost everything, except those flashes of anger. When they come, I stop thinking about consequences. I only want the person responsible to suffer."
Linda leaned forward, bringing herself closer than necessary before forcing her attention away from his cologne. "What usually triggers those moments?"
"People hurting someone who doesn't deserve it," Lucifer replied. "Betrayal, cruelty, corruption, and people escaping punishment because the law is too slow or weak. Something ancient inside me wants to tear through every restraint I have."
Linda wrote a few words, though her handwriting had become less precise. "You describe the rage as something separate from yourself, but you still choose what happens afterward. Impulses can feel overwhelming without removing responsibility."
Lucifer studied her with renewed interest. "So, you're saying the Devil should learn self-control."
"I'm saying the man sitting on my couch should understand what his anger is protecting," Linda replied. She swallowed when his eyes settled fully on hers, and her fingers tightened around the notebook. "Rage often covers fear, grief, shame, or helplessness. You may react so strongly because part of you remembers having no power."
Lucifer's expression grew quieter. "Now that I have power, I'm terrified of failing to use it when someone needs me."
Linda nodded with quiet understanding. "That sounds closer to the truth."
Silence settled between them while Lucifer watched her with an intensity that made Linda's professional composure harder to maintain. She pressed her knees together, adjusted the collar of her blouse, and tried to focus on the breakthrough instead of the warmth beneath her skin.
Lucifer smiled when he noticed her struggle. "You're doing remarkably well, Doctor, considering what you truly desire right now."
Linda placed the notebook aside and stood from the chair. "I think we've made enough progress for one session."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow as Linda began unbuttoning her shirt while walking toward the couch. "Have we truly made enough progress?"
"Yes, we did. I now know something about you and you understood what you must do or atleast try..." She took off her shirt and threw it on the floor. She was wearing a blue bra. "So, I call it progress. Now..." She rubbed her palm and gave him a knowing smile.
Lucifer looked at her body as he got hard. "Well, I guess it's payment time."
Linda quickly walked over and jumped into his arms. "Yaaeey!" She pushed him down on the couch before saddling him and began kissing him without wasting any time.
...
...[Chloe's apartment]...
For the past two weeks, Chloe had tried to treat Lucifer Morningstar like any other problem she could eventually solve with enough evidence, patience, and coffee.
The effort wasn't working at all.
Since leaving the hospital, she had replayed the shooting inside the recording studio so many times that the memory had begun to feel sharper than reality. Jimmy Barnes raising the gun. Lucifer stepping into the line of fire. Six bullets striking him from only a few feet away while his body barely moved beneath the impact.
Then Lucifer had walked without any injuries.
There had been no blood, bruising, or stiffness hidden beneath that tailored suit. He hadn't struggled to breathe or even touched the places where the bullets struck him. He had simply stood there, furious about Chloe getting hurt, as though six close-range shots were nothing more than rain hitting a window.
Body armor couldn't explain that.
Even the best vest would've absorbed the bullets while transferring enough force to leave deep bruises, cracked ribs, or internal damage. Lucifer should've needed medical attention. Instead, he had sat beside her hospital bed, looking smug and completely unharmed.
That left Chloe with explanations she didn't like.
Maybe Lucifer had arranged some elaborate trick, or she might've hallucinated after getting shot. The final possibility sat in the back of her mind like an unwelcome guest refusing to leave.
Lucifer had been telling the truth.
Every rational part of Chloe rejected that conclusion. The Devil didn't own a nightclub in Los Angeles, drive a vintage Corvette, and interrupt police investigations while flirting with everyone in sight. Immortal celestial beings belonged in religious texts and bad television, not homicide cases.
Yet normal men didn't survive what she had witnessed.
Chloe even did a background check on him. And she was really surprised.
'Lucifer Morningstar' is indeed his legal name and he has absolutely no records, history, or paper trail existing prior to five years ago.
By early evening, Chloe had reached the point where thinking without acting felt useless. She decided she would visit Lux, get close to Lucifer, and find something solid enough to either expose his trick.
Warm water streamed over her shoulders as she stood beneath the shower, one hand resting against the tiled wall while steam gathered across the glass.
Going into Lux as a detective would immediately put Lucifer on guard. He enjoyed attention too much to avoid her, though he would turn every question into flirting, jokes, or another speech about immortality. She needed him to be relaxed enough to reveal something without realizing she was investigating him.
Chloe closed her eyes as water ran through her hair.
She could pretend she was only visiting to thank him properly. That excuse was reasonable since he had saved her life. She could accept a drink, ask casual questions, then slowly get close to him while pretending to fall for his charm and...
Chloe turned off the water and reached for a towel. After wiping, she walked out and went straight to the sink mirror. She looked at her face. She turned her head around and touched her cheeks. Then she opened the towel and looked at her breasts.
"Humm..."
She squeezed her arms together to make them pop out a bit more.
"Still got it. Seduction it is. I'm gonna find out your little trick, Mr. Morningstar."
...
[Lux] [Night]
Lux pulsed with music, colored lights, and the familiar energy of people determined to forget their responsibilities before morning arrived. Lucifer moved through the crowd with a glass in one hand, greeting regular guests, accepting compliments, and occasionally stopping whenever someone interesting caught his attention.
Across the nightclub, Chloe sat alone at a small table near the edge of the dance floor, doing her best to disappear among the other guests.
Her blue dress was elegant without drawing too much attention, though it looked considerably different from anything she normally wore while working a homicide case. She also had a loose jacket on. She had left her hair loose around her shoulders, hoping it would hide the fresh bandage on her neck, but the white edge remained visible whenever she turned her head.
A small camera rested in her hand beneath the table.
Whenever Lucifer looked elsewhere, Chloe raised it and took another photograph. She captured him speaking with a group near the bar, shaking hands with an older businessman, and leaning close while a young actress whispered something into his ear.
Lucifer behaved exactly as she expected. He flirted with everyone, moved around Lux like he owned every person inside it, and somehow made arrogance look perfectly natural.
Nothing about him explained how he had survived six bullets.
Chloe lowered the camera when someone approached her table.
Maze placed a glass in front of her before Chloe could hide the camera properly. She wore a fitted black party dress that showed enough skin to make nearly every man nearby forget whatever conversation he had been having.
"Oh, I didn't order a drink," Chloe said, glancing between the glass and the woman standing beside her.
"Courtesy of the owner," Maze replied as she rested one hand against the edge of the table.
Chloe looked across the nightclub and spotted Lucifer speaking with two women near the stairs. He wasn't facing her, though something about the faint smile on his lips suggested he knew exactly where she was sitting.
"This is from Lucifer?" Chloe asked, touching the glass without lifting it.
"He asked me to make you something you'd like," Maze said while studying her reaction. "Did I get it wrong?"
Chloe took a cautious sip and found that the drink was surprisingly good. She set it back down while Maze continued watching her with the calm attention of someone deciding whether another person might become a problem.
"No, you got it right," Chloe admitted. "You and Lucifer seem really close."
Maze's expression shifted into a small smile that carried more history than Chloe could understand.
"I followed him through the gates of Hell," Maze replied with a proud expression.
Chloe stared at her for a moment, waiting for some indication that she was joking. Maze offered nothing beyond the same steady look, which somehow made the statement even stranger.
"I'll take that as a yes," Chloe said with a quiet laugh.
Maze pushed away from the table and walked back toward the bar. Chloe watched her leave, adding another question to the growing list surrounding Lucifer Morningstar.
Either everyone around him shared the same elaborate delusion, or Lucifer had recruited the most dedicated group of performers in Los Angeles.
A gentle piano melody rose above the music several minutes later.
Chloe turned and saw Lucifer sitting at the grand piano near the center of the club. His fingers moved effortlessly across the keys, drawing a slow and strangely intimate melody from the instrument. The conversations closest to him softened as people paused to listen.
For once, Lucifer wasn't speaking, flirting, or deliberately provoking anyone.
He looked almost peaceful.
Chloe lifted her camera and took another picture. Then she stood from the table, walked across the nightclub, and stopped beside the piano.
Lucifer continued playing for several seconds before...
"Hello, Detective," he said without looking away from the keys. "How has your undercover surveillance of my activities gone so far?"
Chloe slowly lowered the camera.
Of course, he had noticed her.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Then I assume you've developed a sudden passion for nightclub photography," he said while continuing the melody. "You should consider turning off the flash during covert operations."
"I've looked into you," Chloe said as she sat beside him. Her eyes were on his face. "Your name really is Lucifer Morningstar, and as far as I can tell, you didn't exist five years ago."
"On the earthly plane, no," Lucifer replied as his fingers moved through another series of notes.
"People don't appear out of thin air," Chloe said. "Who were you before those five years, and how did you survive getting shot six times by Jimmy Barnes?"
Lucifer stopped playing.
The final note faded through the nightclub while he turned toward her with his signature smile.
"Is that your usual reaction whenever someone saves your life?" he asked. "Do you investigate every helpful stranger afterward?"
"When I see something I can't explain, I look for answers," Chloe replied. "That's how being a detective works."
"I've already given you the answer," Lucifer said. "It's hardly my fault that you refuse to accept it."
Chloe folded her arms and waited.
Lucifer studied her for several seconds before his smile returned.
"Do you know what I think?" he asked.
"I stopped trying to guess what happens inside your head," Chloe replied.
"I think you like me," Lucifer said with complete confidence.
Chloe stared at him as if he had just offered the dumbest explanation of the evening. She moved her hand around her face as if she were pointing out the obvious fact. "What part of the look on my face gives you that impression?"
Lucifer shifted closer, studying her eyes rather than her expression.
"No, this isn't about your face," he said softly. "It's about your eyes and everything hiding behind them. I think you see something you truly desire, and you have absolutely no idea what to do with yourself."
"Really? Uh-huh," Chloe gave a quiet laugh and leaned closer. 'Now is my chance.'
Lucifer watched with growing interest as she placed one hand against his chest.
"Hmm~" Her other hand moved slowly along his side, tracing the expensive fabric of his suit while she brought her face close enough for him to feel her breath.
Several people nearby started watching them.
Maze noticed from behind the bar, and her expression immediately lost whatever amusement it had carried before. 'That bitch! Acting so cute... He's mine.'
Chloe smiled while her hands moved around Lucifer's torso, pressing against his ribs, his back, and the inside of his jacket.
Lucifer allowed the search to continue for several seconds before tilting his head.
"Looking for a vest?" he asked.
Chloe's hands stopped against his waist.
"You can go lower if you want," He said.
"There's no bulletproof vest," she said, sitting back slightly.
“You truly need to work on your seduction skills, Detective,” Lucifer replied. “Perhaps you should try a sexy red dress next time. Maze could help you with the details, since she’s exceptionally talented when it comes to seduction.”
Chloe ignored the suggestion and stood up while looking down at him with renewed determination. “I just couldn’t imagine how you’d get it under that suit, but I had to check." Then she mumbled, "What is it? What is it? What is it?" while shaking her head, trying to think. But she got nothing at the moment. She looked down at him. "I’m gonna figure out your secret, Lucifer."
“It isn’t a secret when I keep telling you the answer,” Lucifer replied, rising from the piano bench. He looked into her eyes again. “The greater mystery is why I don’t affect you, Detective. What makes you so different?”
Chloe held his gaze, feeling that strange feeling again. His attention normally made people lose their composure, yet she felt nothing beyond irritation and a growing desire to punch him, along with a large amount of gratitude for saving her.
“I guess we both have our mysteries,” Chloe replied.
Lucifer’s smile returned as he leaned slightly closer.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said.
Before Chloe could answer, her phone began ringing inside her purse.
"Oh, not again," Lucifer said, looking slightly disappointed. 'Darn it! That paparazzi case? Well, I'll know soon enough.'
Chloe pulled out her phone and answered immediately. “Decker speaking.”
She listened while the nightclub continued moving around them. Her expression sharpened as the person on the other end explained something, and she quickly reached for a pen.
“Are you sure about that?” Chloe asked. “Yes. Yes, um, please send me the address. I… I owe you one." She cut the call and sighed in relief. "Oh, finally."
Lucifer watched her as she put the phone back in her jacket's pocket. “Leaving so soon, Detective? I assume you’ve caught the scent of another case, though..." He pointed at her. "Shouldn’t you be medically cleared before returning to active duty? It's been barely two weeks since you got shot.”
Chloe started walking toward the exit, but she stopped after several steps and looked back at him.
“One way or another, I’m gonna find out everything about you,” she said.
Lucifer smiled while watching her walk away.
Lucifer remained beside the piano, still staring toward the entrance long after she had left.
Maze approached him, carrying two glasses of whiskey.
She handed one to Lucifer before settling comfortably onto his lap without caring about the people watching them. One of her arms rested around his shoulders while she followed his gaze toward the closed doors.
“You like her, don’t you?” Maze asked.
Lucifer looked toward Maze with a faint smile.
“And you don’t like her, do you?” he replied.
Maze held his gaze while the music continued around them, though neither of them offered an answer.
The silence between them said enough.
--
[So, about the cases: 1 OC case, 1 OG case. I'll keep it like that.]
[Lucifer Membership chapter count:-
Silver tier: 15 chs for now
Gold tier: 25 chs
Platinum & above: 30 chs]
> This count is only valid during the Early Access Phase. After Public release, it'll be approx.> Silver: 8-10 chs. Gold: 17 chs. Platinum & above: 25 chs.