Chloe (deckc) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2022-12-12 17:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, chloe decker (deckc), sam winchester (agentpage), ~2022 december, ~~~lucifer morningstar (_lightbringer_) |
Who: Chloe Decker, Sam Winchester & Lucifer Morningstar
Where: Crescent Moon Bayou
When: Early December
Warnings: none
With the appearance of Lucifer, things had become a little more complicated, and she had yet to tell Lucifer about her relationship with Sam. However, Lucifer didn’t seem all that interested in her, and given what he had told her, she wondered if they were still together back home. But, at the moment, none of that was important. She was on a date with Sam, and he had her full attention. Chloe reached across the table to take Sam’s hand in her own, smiling as her thumb brushed along his palm. They had already ordered and were currently waiting on their food to arrive at the table. “I was thinking that maybe you and DJ could come over when it’s closer to Christmas, and we could bake cookies together. If you think he’d like that sort of thing.” Chloe planned to have the girls as well, but she wasn’t sure if they would be interested, especially Trixie. “We could even do some arts and crafts. Make paper snowflakes, string popcorn, decorate stockings….” “DJ would definitely be into that kind of thing. We didn’t really do Christmas stuff much at home, but here he’s completely into all the things. I bet he’d love baking too, or at least eating the products of the baking.” He was kind of grateful that DJ was still so young that he could get into and appreciate things like that without having jaded feelings about it. He knew he’d made a mistake raising him not to think of the holidays as special days, but back home they didn’t have family. They barely had friends, and certainly none that they could celebrate with, and he thought it would just be easier that way. But here was different. They had people to celebrate with, people to make things feel cozy and happy like a holiday should feel. “We got some shiny red wrapping paper and made our front door look like a gift. DJ did the bow by himself, and he seemed very proud.” Sam twined their fingers together lightly when she took his hand and offered her a smile. While he wasn’t a complete idiot, Sam hadn’t really had Christmas with the women he was seeing. There was Jess, who had gone home and on a ski trip with her family their first December together. And Eileen who had treated the holidays like any other day, maybe she had worn a festive sweater once with a snowman on it, but usually, she did nothing either. The idea of gift buying kind of terrified him. “Do you usually do stuff like that with your girls? Stockings and popcorn and stuff like that?” Lucifer was adjusting to life in Madison Valley as best he could, with the help of the good Dr. Linda. He might seem carefree and his usual self, but the truth was the King of Hell was just very good at hiding what he was feeling. Things were a bit better since Rory had actually called him “Dad” but Lucifer still didn’t know where he stood with Chloe. She just seemed so angry with him. It was difficult to show interest when one wasn’t certain if one was going to get shot for doing so. To pass the time he actually took Dr. Linda’s advice and obtained employment as the piano singer at the casino. It certainly wasn’t anywhere near the amount of money he had at his disposal back in LA, but he was working on that. Slowly. Methodically. So as not to draw too much attention. A long con, if you will. However, when not scheming for better accommodations or serenading the drunk and broke, he sought out other things: such as a fine if lonely dinner. Could he have obtained company? Absolutely! Male or female. However, none of them were Chloe Decker so Lucifer had no interest in their idle and tedious company. Tonight, he was checking out another restaurant. Lucifer didn’t have a reservation, but he never let such a trifle detail like that stand in his way. He simply showed up at the restaurant and asked to be sat. The hostess was quite accommodating. As he followed her, Lucifer noticed a familiar face in the crowd. He smiled and was about to ask to be sat with the Detective only to notice quickly after that she wasn’t alone. Lucifer felt a whole host of emotions surge through him: rage, jealousy and hurt being primary. He didn’t even let the hostess know when he broke away from her to approach Chloe and her oh so obvious date. “Well,” he said with that Devil-May-Care smile on his face. “Hello.” Why yes, Chloe. The Devil DOES care. “Oh, that’s so sweet. I bet he did a great job on it. I’ll have to remember to tell him when I see him next.” Chloe was already thinking about all the things they could do together for fun, and she only hoped that Trixie would want to join in on the fun. “Back home, I did it to an extent. I didn’t always have the time like I do now.” Hearing someone approach, she turned her head, expecting to see the waitress, only to be surprised when she saw Lucifer standing there. There was a slight hesitation before she pulled her hand from Sam’s and looked between the two men repeatedly. “Lucifer…what are you doing here?” She questioned stupidly, unsure of what to do next. “Sam, this is Lucifer. Lucifer, this is Sam…my boyfriend.” Chloe now regretted not telling him sooner, but it was a conversation she had been avoiding. Anything Chloe was planning for them to do together was already ten thousand times better than anything Sam would have planned. The door thing was just something he remembered a kid in his class in one of the twenty elementary schools he had been in had done with his mom. His Christmases weren’t exactly traditional, but oddly he did cherish the ones he did celebrate with his brother, and even the two or three that Dad was able to be there with them. They weren’t bad, they were just - different. But he wanted better and more for his son. He was about to say something else when Chloe suddenly dropped his hand and looked away like she was suddenly… nervous? “Oh,” he muttered when he looked over and up at the new arrival at their table. Lucifer. He recognized him from the network postings he had made and from the subtle flirting he and Chloe did when they spoke there. To Sam, Lucifer already had numerous strikes against him simply because he was Lucifer, and Sam had a really bad history with Lucifer. At least Chloe had been open and honest with Sam about him and Sam wasn’t surprised, but it was a little clear by the look on his face that Lucifer didn’t know a thing about him. Sam smirked a little. Sure, he couldn’t stand that this guy was standing at their table, interrupting their date, but at least he knew that it was a possibility. And he wasn’t sure how any of this made him feel yet, but as the evening went on, with or without Lucifer’s presence, Sam knew some emotion aside from the jealousy he felt at this moment would dawn on him. “The ex Lucifer,” Sam looked up at him, not bothering to offer him his hand as he had done with Dan and Rory. He actually did like Rory, and while he didn’t know how their relationship was, he felt like he should be at least decent to be in her good books and in Chloe’s. “Good to meet you.” Was it? And there were the words. My boyfriend. Lucifer felt as if his heart had turned to crystal and someone just whapped it with a sledgehammer. Still, the King of Hell had long practice in hiding his emotions. Chloe would have seen the moment Lucifer knew that any chance at them being together here went up in flames. It was a brief detail in his eyes. There for an eyeblink then gone, leaving behind hollow rage. The ex. Those words, and the small little smirk on Sam’s face threw petrol onto the anger that accompanied Lucifer’s hopes being dashed. He might have been mistaken in interpreting that smirk as smugness, but at this point he didn’t really care if he was wrong. “Is it,” he said to Sam in response to the greeting. “I rather wonder.” A pinpoint of red light formed in the back of his pupils for a moment before Lucifer turned his empty smile to Chloe. “To answer your question, I’m here for dinner.” Lucifer clasped his hands behind his back. “But if having your…ex...dining in the same building that you’re patronizing on your date makes you uncomfortable then I can certainly seek my sustenance elsewhere.” It sounded like a really good idea, actually. “Hang on,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I just remembered. I’m the bloody devil. I don’t need to eat.” He locked eyes with Chloe. “I don’t need anything.” Was he still talking about dinner? To say that this was beyond awkward would be an understatement. “Lucifer, I’m-” Now would be an ideal time for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Sam was less than pleased with the situation, and Lucifer was hurt, leaving her torn between a rock and a hard place. “I’m sorry. I should have told you about Sam, but it never really came up. Given what you told me about back home, I just-” Chloe paused a moment to take a deep breath, her focus on Lucifer. “No. There’s absolutely no excuse here. I’m sorry.” She reached out to brush her hand over Lucifer’s arm, genuinely feeling horrible for him. Of course, now it was clear that he still had feelings for her, and at this point, there was nothing she could do to ease the pain. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just surprised to see you here, that’s all. There’s no need for you to leave. Right, Sam?” She turned to look at her date with a half-hearted smile, hopeful that he wouldn’t walk out on her. Sorry. She was sorry. Chloe was sorry for being angry with him, telling him off for things that hadn’t happened to her yet. All the while she was keeping this dating someone thing a secret. Lucifer never thought she would do something like this to him. Then again, she had betrayed him before. He jerked his arm away when Chloe made to touch him. Lucifer didn’t want to be patronized or pitied. Especially not by the detective. “No, I truly think it would be for the best.” Even though he smiled there was an edge to his voice. “Good night, Detective.” His eyes slid to her boyfriend. “Samuel.” He managed to insinuate a whole lot into those two syllables. It mean watch your step and if you hurt her you will know pain. She pulled her hand away with a frown, never having known Lucifer to shy away from her touch. "Sam, I am so sorry. Please, just give me a few minutes. I'll be right back." Chloe assured him as she got up from the chair. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene, but she couldn't let him go like that. Even though he had pulled away earlier, she moved towards him and placed her hand against his back to lead him away from the table. "Lucifer, please. Talk to me. Don't just go off like this." “Talk to you?” Lucifer turned back around with an incredulous look on his face. “Talk. To you.” He let out with a mocking chuckle. Lucifer could be a cruel bastard when he was hurt. “Tell me, Detective. Was there any time when you were venting your spleen on me about not being there for you and Rory that it occurred to you to talk to me about a boyfriend, or have you embraced the subtle art of hypocrisy?” Even looking at Chloe hurt. Her strength. Conviction. The beauty of mind, body, and spirit that had been out of his reach for so long standing before him and now was offered to another. She was his weakness. She was what made him bleed. Quite literally. And he had loved her for it. He loved her still. Dad had made her for him. Not some mortal with a bastardization of one of his own names. “No, Detective. I don’t think I shall be talking to you for some time.” His expression went cold as he met her eyes for the length of a heart beat. Then, his hands smoothed over the lapels of his suit coat before he turned to stride away with as much of his dignity as he had left. "I have been here for two years, Lucifer, and not once did you ask me about anything that had happened over that time." Chloe replied simply, deciding to let him go this time. She stood there in silence for a bit, her hand coming up to brush over her face to wipe away the tears, watching him walk away. He hadn't even been this hurt when he found out she had gone to Italy after seeing his devil face. She turned back to walk to the table, fully expecting Sam to be just as displeased with her. "I'm sorry, Sam. Do you want to just go now? I understand if you're angry with me as well." Chloe moved to reach out and brush her hand over his shoulder, looking down at him apologetically. "Just in case you're worried, please know that Lucifer would never hurt you. He may come off formidable, but that's just his way of dealing with things." Sam watched them walk away from the table and made no move to stop them, or even watch them. What else was he supposed to do in this situation? Taunt Lucifer back and make this harder on Chloe? Follow them and challenge Luifer to a swordfight in the parking lot? Any options he had were limited, and he chose to remain seated, to ignore the flash of Lucifer’s terribly skeery red eyes or his not so thinly veiled threats, and continue on like he had been before Satan had stood at their table and disturbed their evening. Oh yeah, and the evening was over. He flagged down their waitress, paid their check and had them box up their food to take with them. “I’m not angry,” Sam said when Chloe returned. He could see that she had been crying, and that made him want to follow Lucifer and be the pumped up yelling boyfriend that he really wasn’t, but he knew he had made the right decision about the evening being over. “And I’m definitely not scared of Lucifer. But,” he dragged the last word out a little as he gestured for Chloe to sit back down for a minute. “I got them to box up our food, I didn’t think you’d be in the mood to stay.” He glanced over and still didn’t see their waitress coming. “I need to know why you didn’t tell him about me. Are you embarrassed to be with me? Were you waiting to see if I came back? I just don’t get it. My wife’s ghost was here, and after I talked up her son to her the second thing I did was tell her about you.” She moved to take her seat and grabbed her glass of wine, finishing the rest off in one gulp. “Yes, thank you. I appreciate that.” Chloe smiled faintly, relieved that she wouldn’t have to spend the night alone. Or, at least, she hoped they were returning to his place and he wasn’t dropping her off at home. “What? No, Sam. Why would I be embarrassed to be with you? When Lucifer first arrived, you were gone. Things were already awkward between us, as it were, given what happened back home, and I didn’t see a reason to bring you up. I still don’t understand what happened between us because I haven’t been through it myself, and he was reluctant to elaborate. All I know is that I was pregnant with Rory, and he wasn’t there for our daughter.” Chloe paused a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. “He said that he was busy in hell, playing therapist to help send the damned souls to heaven. In our world, your guilt about something is what sends you down below, regardless of the life you’ve lived. Lucifer has never lied to me, he always tells the truth, but he does sometimes omit important details. He was so upset with his own father for never being there for him, so the fact that he would do the same thing to his daughter doesn’t make any sense to me. That’s the part I don’t understand. Why he wasn’t there for her at all.” It wasn’t something she had really talked about to anyone in detail, and it felt good to let it out. “Lucifer has been here for over a month, and that is the second time I have seen him since his arrival. I should have told him, but I didn’t, and that’s on me.” “I’m just not sure, not since I saw that tonight. I just want you to be certain it’s me you want and it’s not an obligation thing.” He wasn’t going to make her go home if she didn’t want to, he wasn’t upset really except at the way Lucifer had thrown a tantrum and been an unconcerned jerk and had Chloe crying. Sam listened to her, finishing off his ice water and moving his napkin and utensils to the side so that he could lean in a little closer to her. “If he hasn’t told you everything by now, like what was going through his head about leaving you and Rory and Trixie and not coming back for years, he’s probably not going to. He probably could have gotten an underling to work as a therapist. Or several actual therapists to do that for him, he’s the boss.” Sam knew that’s how it went down in his world anyway, and he was sure it was universal for all bosses everywhere. His Lucifer had controlled hell from a cage, there was no reason that he could see that it couldn’t have been the same for the other Lucifer. But, he also didn’t know that world well enough to say for sure. “Do you want some more wine? Water?” He saw the waitress coming out with their bag, and he knew Chloe wasn’t going to miraculously feel better, but he didn’t want to make any of this harder on her. “Or we can just go back to my place and I’ll run you a hot bath and you can try to relax some.” "No, Sam. I’m here with you because it’s where I want to be.” Chloe leaned forward and reached out to take his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “I’m sorry that I made you feel otherwise.” She assured him confidently, eager to leave the restaurant so she could be in his arms instead. At the suggestion of Lucifer using his underlings, Chloe laughed and shook her head. “Maybe it’s different where you’re from, but I don’t think the demons would be capable of providing therapy. From what I have seen, they aren’t very bright and they know nothing about being human.” She turned her attention to the waitress when she approached the table and gave her a warm smile, looking back at Sam. “A hot bath would be amazing, but only if you’re planning to join me. I am definitely ready to get out of here and into your arms. We can indulge in some more wine back at your place.” Chloe stood from her chair and walked over to him, feeling better now, and very appreciative of Sam. “Let’s get out of here, Romeo.” She whispered, leaning down to press a quick kiss to his lips. “I just wasn’t sure. You have history and a kid together, it didn’t sound too good for me.” Sam smiled, and let out a chuckle when she explained the demon mind from her world. “Demons are minions, not too bright in my world either. I don’t know if you know him, but Crowley is a pretty good example.” Any time he could take a dig at Crowley was a good time for Sam. They were only half hearted now though, not venom filled like they were before. Maybe one day he would tell her about his being known as the boy king of hell, or some of his other stories, stuff that wasn’t in the theater show they had last year. Maybe not. He was pretty much done with hell. Unless Rowena came here. At Chloe’s kiss, he stood and grabbed the handles of their go-bag, and put an arm around her waist to hold her close as they left. “The bathtub might not be able to handle all nearly 6’5 of me,” he laughed, feeling more assured now that questions on his mind for weeks had been answered. “But we can give it a try. If not… we’ll figure something else out.” |