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Lucifer Morningstar usually didn’t pay much attention to Valentine’s Day.
True, it was a day for lovers, but on every February 14th, his paramours would wander off for parts unknown and he’d spend the day alone at the penthouse. It had never really concerned him, since he didn’t have a significant other to speak of. After all, he was the Devil! The Devil was footloose and fancy-free!
But this year, there was the detective. Lucifer’s eyes grew soft as he thought of his partner at the LAPD. Chloe Decker was perfect in every way -- smart, courageous, compassionate, beautiful -- and he couldn’t seem to stay away from her. He had started developing these pesky... feelings ever since he had died by Malcolm Graham’s hand, and now... now he lived just to see her smile.
Although they weren’t in a romantic entanglement, they were in a relationship -- albeit a professional one. But a relationship was a relationship, was it not? And he wanted to make an impression on her... make her notice him, and not in a “seriously, Lucifer?” roll-of-the-eyes kind of way. Maybe she would be impressed and it might end up... well, who knew where it might end up? Although he hoped it would end up in bed. Or on the couch. Or the kitchen table. Even against a wall would do!
So he asked the little spawn what her mother might like.
“Flowers. Chocolates. Chocolate cake! A nice dinner... you know, mushy stuff,” Trixie said.
Well, those things were easily procured, but were somewhat boring. Lucifer wanted something special. “What else? Come, child, there must be something special your mother might like.”
Trixie scrunched her face as she thought, then brightened. “She loves the beach! I know because her favorite song is Seaside Ron Day Voo by Queen.” She squinted at Lucifer. “What’s a Day Voo?”
“That’s rendezvous, child.” Could he use this information? The fallen angel thought hard, then nodded to himself. He could take her to the beach, ply her with some food and wine.... Yes. This could work. “Thank you, child.”
________________________________________
On Valentine’s Day, Lucifer loaded the boot of his car with beach things, then went to Chloe’s apartment early. He was surprised to see Linda Martin on the landing, already knocking on the door. His eyebrows went up when he noticed the little shopping bag in her hand.
“Hello, Doctor! Fancy meeting you here!” he said with a smile as he sauntered up.
The therapist jumped at the sound of his voice and pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh! You startled me. I didn’t see you there, Lucifer.”
“What brings you here on this fine Valentine’s Day?” He leaned over and tried to peer into her shopping bag. “Oooh, what kind of goodies do you have?”
With a laugh, Linda pushed him away. “Nothing for you. This is for Maze.”
Lucifer’s eyebrows shot to the top of his head. “Maze?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s Valentine’s Day, so I’m bringing a present for my friend.”
The idea boggled his mind. “But... But I thought Valentine’s Day is for romantic love.” His face brightened. “Oh! Are you two --”
“No!” Linda glared at the Devil. “Valentine’s Day is for any kind of love -- including love between friends -- so behave.”
The therapist ran a hand down her skirt then pressed the doorbell once again. When the door finally opened, Maze stood there. Her face lit up when she saw Linda.
“Linda! What are you doing here?” Then the demon noticed Lucifer. “Oh. What are you doing here?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Linda said, handing the bag to Maze.
The demon beamed. “For me? Really?” Ripping open the bag, she pulled out two hefty steaks that were so well-marbled with fat they were pink instead of red. “Oh-oh-oh! Miyazaki beef!” Her eyes shot up to the therapist’s. “Where did you find this? It’s hideously expensive and so hard to find --”
Linda’s face grew pink with pleasure. “Oh, I have my contacts. Nothing’s too good for my friend.”
Maze gazed at Linda with overbright eyes before pulling her into a tight hug that had Linda squeaking in pain. “You rock, Linda. You really rock.” She ripped open one of the packages and took a bite of the raw steak. Her eyes rolled to the top of her head in bliss. “Oh, it’s like butter!” She shoved the steak at the therapist. “You want a bite? It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten! If we had this in Hell, I never would have left.”
Linda laughed nervously and held up her hands. “Uh, no. As much as I’ve heard how good that steak is, I’ll eat it when it’s cooked.”
“Your loss,” Maze said as she held it out to Lucifer. “You?”
“No, thank you.” Lucifer’s mouth quirked upwards. “As much as I’d like to join your mutual admiration society for fine beef, I’m looking for the detective. Is she in, by chance?”
Maze took another bite of the steak and chewed with her mouth open. “Nah, she got called in early today. Something about some training module. I get to watch over the little human until noon, and then I have to take her to school.” She turned to Linda. “Why don’t you come in?”
Lucifer watched as his therapist stepped into the apartment. He heard Maze say, “Hey, do you think the little human might like some raw steak?” as she closed the door on his face.
The Devil frowned. Chloe had to work? Well, this put a crimp in his style. He had planned to take her out to the beach, but he knew his detective -- if there was work to be done, she’d never take time off. Sighing, he realized he’d have to go with Plan B.
________________________________________
Lucifer entered the precinct with a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand and a box of chocolates under his arm. It wasn’t as good as spending time at the beach, but it would have to do. He could still salvage the day if he could just get Chloe to agree to go out with him....
When he reached her desk, he saw with dismay that Dan had already arrived with flowers and chocolates in hand. Bloody hell, why was the douche giving his detective gifts? They were divorced! Clenching his teeth, he approached warily and listened in on the conversation.
“...know we’re divorced, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be my Valentine,” the douche was saying.
“Aww, thank you, Dan. That’s really sweet of you.” Chloe took the flowers and the box of chocolates from him. Lucifer was glad to see that his gifts were much larger than the douche’s, but frowned when his partner sniffed the flowers and smiled. “Oh, they’re lovely. Thanks.”
The fallen angel watched Dan strut away and felt irritation in his stomach. Probably IBS caused by the douche, he reflected. Turning back to Chloe, he straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and approached.
“Hello, Detective!”
She smiled when she saw him. “Hey.”
That was when Lucifer noticed that her desk was littered with chocolates and flowers. The smile fell from his face as he gawked at all of the gifts. “What... what is all this?”
She followed his gaze and gave a little laugh. “Oh, people have been dropping things off since early this morning. I think a lot of them felt bad about the whole Palmetto and Malcolm incident, so....” She shrugged. “Nice, isn’t it?”
“Charming,” he ground out as his heart clenched. How could he give Chloe his presents now? He started to hide them behind his back, but she had already seen them.
“Are those for me?”
“Er...”
Chloe’s face lit up like the sun breaking through clouds. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought she hadn’t gotten a single present all day. She held out her hands for them. “Oh, thank you!”
She admired the big, heart-shaped box of See’s Candies, her eyes shining like a little human’s at Christmas. Lucifer’s breath caught at her expression, and the tightness in his chest eased. Quickly opening the box, she oohed and ahhed over all of the chocolates.
“Oooh, Bordeaux! My favorite! And the butterscotch square! I love these!” Chloe popped them into her mouth and munched away. Lucifer was a little surprised. If he had known how much she loved those particular chocolates, he would have bought her a pound each of them.
Holding out the box, she asked, “Would you like one?”
“Why, thank you.” He started to reach for one, but she shook her head.
“Not that one. That’s mocha. And not that one either -- it’s scotchmallow.”
He chuckled. “Greedy little minx, aren’t you?”
She grinned at him. “When it comes to See’s Candies, yes.”
When she didn’t say anything as his hand paused over a strawberry cream, he picked up the confection and bit into it. “Divine.”
Dan came by just then with a file, and his face lit up at the sight of the chocolates. “Hey, See’s! You opened my -- oh.” His face fell. “You opened his box.”
As Lucifer stood straighter and gave the other man a triumphant look, Chloe held the box out to Dan. “Would you like one?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” he said and took a caramel. “Here’s the Kwon file.”
“Thanks, Dan.” Chloe took the file from him and set it on her desk. Lucifer expected the douche to leave, but he didn’t -- he hovered like a protective mama bear. The Devil lifted an eyebrow at him, annoyed at his continued presence.
Setting the box down, Chloe picked up Lucifer’s big bouquet. Burying her nose in the flowers, she took a big whiff of their lovely fragrance -- and promptly sneezed. Then sneezed again.
Lucifer stared in horror. Surely... surely she wasn’t allergic?
Dan laughed so hard he started to wheeze. “Oh man, you must have given her some mums in that bouquet!”
“It’s okay, I’m okay,” Chloe said, then sneezed again.
Heat burned the fallen angel’s cheeks as he looked on in dismay. “Detective, I didn’t know! I’m sorry --”
She waved at him and sneezed again. Lucifer reached over to take the bouquet away from her, but she wouldn’t let go.
“What are you doing?” she cried as she clutched the flowers -- and promptly sneezed again.
“They’re making you ill, Detective. I’m going to dispose of them.”
“Lucifer, no -- they’re mine!”
“You have plenty of flowers from others,” he said firmly.
Her face was a picture of distress. “But not from you --”
They got into a tug of war before he had to use his angelic strength to rip them away from her. Striding over to the other end of the bullpen, he deposited them in the trash can furthest from the detective. Staring down at the flowers, his shoulders slumped. It seemed symbolic of his efforts, which all appeared to be going awry.
Well, he still had a chance to salvage the day. He could get the detective to go to dinner with him! He strode back to her desk, to see her looking forlorn. He sighed as Dan snickered.
“Epic fail right there, Lucifer,” he chortled.
“Right -- well, she ate my chocolates, not yours,” Lucifer replied.
“But your flowers gave her hives.”
“Douche.”
The amused expression fell from Dan’s face. “Dick.”
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “I’d rather be a dick than a douche. At least I can give the detective pleasure -- lots and lots of pleasure.”
“Oh yeah?! Well --”
“Children!” Chloe’s yell silenced both of them, although the effect was ruined by her blowing her nose. “Stop it. I appreciate both your gifts. Now go away -- you’re giving me a headache.”
The fallen angel and Dan exchanged angry glances before walking in opposite directions. Lucifer took a few steps, then paused. He still had to ask Chloe out to dinner. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he could see her still suffering from the ill-effects of the flowers... but maybe she would be receptive?
Ambling back over to her desk, he tried his best to look nonchalant. “Detective....”
Chloe glanced up, her eyes red and watery. She gave him a little smile. “Hey.”
He shifted from foot to foot, unsure how to ask her. He could just come out and ask, but... what if she said no? She never seemed affected by his angelic charm, so he couldn’t be sure of a positive response. Perhaps subtlety would be better.
“Do you have plans for tonight?” He winced at his own question. Not very subtle at all.
She didn’t seem surprised at his inquiry. Not looking up from the file before her, she said, “Yes.”
Lucifer’s heart dropped down to his toes before his stomach twisted into knots and his blood pressure shot up so high he thought his head was going to explode. Who was taking his detective out? Who?! Was it the bloody douche? He’d tear off his arms and legs --
“I have to work late tonight.” She scribbled something in a file, then closed it before grabbing another file and flipping it open. “That training module this morning threw my whole schedule off.”
Relief flooded Lucifer before he realized what she had said. Work?! He frowned. “Detective, you can’t possibly be thinking of work on this fine day. Why not take a break for once?”
“I can’t. I’m swamped, Lucifer.” She finally looked up and gave him a teasing gaze. “You could help me with all of this paperwork.”
“But it’s so boring!” He shuddered. Imagine the Devil doing bloody paperwork!
Chuckling, she shook her head. “Of course. I should have known. Well, I have to get back to work, so shoo.” When he didn’t move, she waved a dismissive hand at him. “Go on.”
Breathing a sigh of relief at the easy escape, Lucifer started to walk way, then faltered. Turning, he stood there for a moment, watching her lovely head bent over her files. A hollow feeling worked its way into his chest, but he didn’t understand why. She had a lot of work to do, but that wasn’t his problem, was it? It wasn’t his fault that she worked in a job loaded down with bureaucracy and bloody paperwork. And yet...
She did need help, and it was Valentine’s Day... and if he helped her, perhaps he’d be able to take her out at night....
But it was paperwork.... Boring paperwork!
“Bloody hell!” He was a fool... and a glutton for punishment. Rolling his eyes at himself, he strode back to her desk, removing his suit jacket as he did so.
“What must I do?” He hung his jacket on the backrest of the chair next to her desk and sat down. Chloe’s head whipped up, her eyes wide and stunned, before she gave him a blinding grin full of gratefulness. He was so struck by the beauty of her expression that he couldn’t move. His heart thumped faster at the sight and a strange giddiness filled his insides. He felt lighter than air! Only after she turned away to reach for some files was he released from her spell. His face softened as he studied her. He’d do anything to make her look at him like that again. Anything. Suddenly determined to make that happen, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
________________________________________
The paperwork was overwhelming. And there was so much of it!
When they finally finished, it was well after nine o’clock. They had had to order Chinese food for dinner -- not ideal food for Valentine’s Day, to be sure. Disappointment swamped Lucifer. So much for his many plans! All his high hopes were now dashed against the rocks of reality, and he’d have to wait until next year to try again.
“I’m sorry that took so long,” Chloe said as he walked her to her car. “I really appreciate your help. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d still be working on those reports.”
“Yes, well....” He sighed. “Bloody boring, but it had to be done.”
She stopped him with a light touch on his arm. “I really appreciate it, Lucifer. Really. That’s the best Valentine’s Day gift anyone could have given me.”
He gaped at her. “But... it wasn’t flowers or dinner, or even cake...!”
A chuckle escaped Chloe. “It was far better. You gave me your time, your hard work. Your thoughtfulness means so much more to me than something material.”
Warmth radiated through the fallen angel’s chest, and he beamed. Well! He certainly hadn’t expected her to say that! Perhaps... the day wasn’t completely wasted... and maybe he could still salvage a part of it...?
“Detective, I know it’s late, but... could you come with me for a drive?” he asked.
Please say yes, Detective. Please say yes....
“Now?”
He nodded. “Now.”
She frowned as she raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s kind of late.”
“I know, but... please, Detective.”
Sighing, she smiled up at him and nodded. “Okay, but it’s against my better judgement.”
Lucifer grinned as his heart gave a leap before beating in triple-time. “You won’t be disappointed.”
________________________________________
After Lucifer assured Chloe he’d drive her to work the next morning, they left her car in the parking structure. Pulling a thick blanket out of the boot of the Corvette, he wrapped her up warmly before he drove them to a beach in Malibu. It was February, so the nights were chilly, and he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable as they tooled around with the top down.
The beach was deserted, which was exactly how Lucifer wanted it. The giant, luminescent orb that was the moon hung in the sky over the crashing waves as they walked along the beach. The air was a little crisp, so he draped his jacket over Chloe’s shoulders and endured the cold. She looked radiant as she pulled it on completely -- so sexy and... well... just beautiful. There were no words.
They walked in silence along the strand before he finally said, “I wanted to take you out for a day at the beach.” He paused as he glanced down at her. With her skin resembling alabaster in the moonlight and the aqua of her eyes muted to a fine shade of gray, she looked like a marble statue of a Greek goddess, come to life. She was... magnificent. Just the sight of her face, staring up at him with a slight smile, made his heart beat faster. “I... I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“Well, we’re here now,” she said with a chuckle.
He beamed at her. “We are at that.”
He started humming, then began to sing her favorite Queen song, “Seaside Rendezvous.” As his beautiful voice filled the quiet night air, he swept her into his arms and started to dance.
“Seaside...
“Whenever you stroll along with me I'm merely contemplating what you feel inside
“Meanwhile
“I ask you to be my Clementine....”
Chloe laughed with delight as he swung her around and twirled her in the sand. Lucifer laughed with her, thoroughly enjoying himself. He hummed some parts, but kept singing. It was a fast-paced song, which suited his little jig as they danced in each other’s arms on the beach.
“Underneath the moonlight
“Together we'll sail across the sea reminiscing every night
“Meantime
“I ask you to be my Valentine....”
He faltered to a stop at that, staring down at her joyful face in the moonlight. Chloe beamed up at him, and he felt his heart clench.
“Will you?” he asked.
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
“Be my Valentine?” He steeled himself for rejection, already cringing inwardly.
But she gazed up at him with shining eyes and tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “I would love to.”
Heat rose up Lucifer’s neck and burned his cheeks as giddiness welled up within him. A sudden urge to jump up and down and yell, “Yes!” overcame him, but he resisted with angelic willpower and managed to just smile. “L-lovely.”
Arm in arm they walked down the strand in the moonlight, oblivious to anything but each other -- two lovers lost in their own little world.