Chapter Text
Lucifer sat on his balcony, looking out over the city. The club below was closed early, thanks to Amenadiel and Pierce, and it was unsettlingly quiet, especially in the wake of the argument with his brother. Amenadiel’s decision to stand in the way of his deal with Pierce was disappointing, but not surprising. It left him with the dilemma of whether to keep his word or listen to his family. Really, not much of a dilemma at all – his word was his bond and his family… was a mess.
His thoughts drifted to Pierce. His quiet desperation was intriguing, and there was a lot of emotion hiding under that stoic exterior. They’d connected on that undercover assignment, even if Pierce wasn’t acknowledging it. There’d been that instant at the end of the kiss where Pierce had started to respond before he caught himself and pulled away, but even more telling was the first night they’d spent in bed together. Pierce had been uncomfortable with it until Lucifer promised they would just sleep – nothing more – and all but challenged him to man up. He’d finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep and, within the first hour, had migrated to Lucifer’s side of the bed and pulled him close. The first impulse had been to pull free and mock, but there was something so possessive, so needy about it that he’d just laid there, relaxing against Pierce and trying to be whatever it was he needed.
It really wasn’t like him to be so introspective, but Lucifer found himself contemplating his next move instead of just jumping in with both feet. There was a strange vulnerability about Pierce that made him wonder what it would be like to penetrate the man’s protective armor and whether it would be worth the challenge. He couldn’t imagine Pierce being open to a one-night stand – if that was the case, then he wouldn’t have gone so long without so much as a kiss. Normally that wouldn’t matter. Normally it would be enough to take what he wanted while providing pleasure for the other party, of course. No strings, no second thoughts – that was his way. For some reason though, he was caught up in what Pierce would want... no, what he needed, but maybe wasn’t willing to ask for. So really, if he was reading the situation right, what he had to decide was whether a relationship with a suicidal immortal was worth giving up his current lifestyle and, if the answer was yes, he’d need a way to talk Pierce into it.
Marcus Pierce was at his desk by 8am, shuffling through papers and monitoring his detectives with periodic glances through the window in front of him. He was definitely monitoring the team when he looked up every few minutes. It absolutely didn’t have anything to do with the whereabouts of a certain consultant. It also had nothing to do with the kiss that they’d shared during a recent undercover operation. Realizing that Lucifer was in his thoughts again, Marcus forced his eyes back to the report in his hand. He might owe the other man an apology, he mused, and was immediately disgusted with the thought. Sure, he and Amenadiel had done quite a number on the club, but he shouldn’t care. It wasn’t like him to waste emotions. Hell, it wasn’t like him to have emotions. Besides, Amenadiel was Lucifer’s family. If anyone should apologize, it should be him.
He leaned back in his chair, absently rubbing his chest. The wounds from last night’s fight were healing, but there was still a dull ache. He’d developed a high threshold for pain over the centuries and was only subconsciously aware of it.
Even with his focus redirected to work, he was aware of Decker’s arrival and of Lucifer’s continued absence, but he refused to get up and ask about it until the stack of files in his inbox was reviewed. About an hour later he tossed the last file aside and stood up but froze behind his desk as the subject of his fixation arrived and, unprompted, made a beeline for his office.
“Good morning, Lieutenant,” Lucifer trilled, almost bouncing with excitement.
“Lucifer.” Pierce was impassive, as always.
In spite of the cold reception, Lucifer smiled broadly at him. “Lieutenant, I’ve had an epiphany!”
It was the smile that threw him off. He’d fully expected anger – coming home to find his business trashed and his brother beaten up, Lucifer shouldn’t be so friendly this morning. Pierce couldn’t find the words to answer him, instead just staring at him in confusion.
Ignoring the look, Lucifer continued, “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection sooner. When we were undercover, we talked about how much my father would hate our relationship. Then Amenadiel threatened to stand in the way of our deal. But what does Amenadiel want more than anything? To get back in good with our father, which isn’t likely to happen while I’m still walking around up here. So, you and I need to set up house together, like a real couple, and Amenadiel will have to change his mind and help us, or we could potentially be here, together, for eternity. Plus, we’d both be thumbing our noses at dear old Dad the whole time. Oh, and it will be easier to try to kill you if you’re always close by.” All of this was said in a single, rapid exhalation, and Pierce found himself struggling to catch up.
“You want me to move in with you and pretend we’re in a relationship? Because it will piss off your father?” Pierce scowled at him like he was the biggest idiot on the planet.
“And make my brother help us, once he pulls his head out of his ass.” Lucifer was oblivious to his reaction, or maybe just indifferent.
Pierce shook his head. “Based on the number of partners you’ve had in the last year alone, no one is going to buy it.”
Lucifer took a step toward him, looking him in the eye. “No other partners while we do this. Whatever it takes to deliver on my promise. As I told you, I’m a man of my word. And there’s one more thing. It occurred to me that we may be able to break your curse another way. It’s punishment – you’re supposed to be miserable. If we can at least give the appearance that you’re happy, then it will look like the curse has stopped being effective and perhaps it will be removed.”
“I’ve been happy before.”
“I’m sure, centuries ago, you weren’t the bitter, emotionally-stunted man in front of me today. That’s the point though, you’d find happiness and lose it - curse. Have you tried it with another immortal? Happiness without loss – curse broken.”
Meeting Lucifer’s eyes, he could see sincerity and warmth… desire… and, against his better judgement, Pierce was intrigued. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had surprised him like this with their actions. He’d expected the chainsaws and blades, but not this kind of thoughtful analysis and certainly not the poorly concealed lust that was lurking just under the surface. Well, maybe the lust. After all he’d quickly identified Lucifer as hedonistic, as well as petulant, self-involved, impulsive, irrational, an idiot… but he’d also come to see that the man could be honest, loyal, surprisingly sensitive and vulnerable, and so damned sexy that sometimes it was hard to think of anything else.
Pierce shook his head again, trying to dislodge that last errant thought. There was more to his interest than just another pretty face. He’d seen more than his share of pretty faces over the centuries. The idea of sharing time with an immortal, even one as mercurial as Lucifer, after so many years alone – that wasn’t something he could just dismiss out of hand. However, the potential complications made him reluctant to take a chance. There definitely had been a connection between them, almost from the beginning, but was Lucifer really looking for a relationship, or was it just a sham to try to piss off his family? And with that mercurial nature, how committed would he really be? How long could his attention span last?
“What about Decker? What if she came to you and…” he couldn’t finish the thought. Was that jealousy? How long had it been since he’d felt that?
“Why, Lieutenant, I had no idea how concerned you were about my social calendar,” Lucifer smirked .
Okay, so it was jealousy, and the bastard had picked up on it. Pierce sighed. There was a time when he’d embraced the game and enjoyed the chase, but that was too many lifetimes ago. He was tired; too tired and jaded to derive any pleasure from a drawn out courtship or even just a clever round of flirting.
“Just tell me what you’re talking about. What are the terms you’re after for this relationship – this deal?” He sighed again, wishing he could close his eyes and be away from this conversation and the turbulent swirl of emotions it was causing. Instead, he continued to meet Lucifer’s eyes, fully aware of the irony – of all the people walking the earth, the devil was the one he was looking to for honesty, and he knew he’d get it.
Lucifer seemed to sense his inner turmoil, or maybe he was caught up in his own emotions. He took another step forward and his hand started to come up, as if to caress Pierce’s face, before he caught himself and let it drop back to his side.
“My terms are whatever you are willing to give, Marcus. No distractions or dalliances. Just two lonely immortals looking for a friend, and maybe something more, at least until I can give you what you desire most.”
The words were serious, but there was also tenderness there and maybe even hope. They stood, staring at each other for a long moment while Pierce considered all the ways that this plan could go wrong. He decided it didn’t matter – for the first time in years, with the potential for a relationship, he felt something besides resignation – he wasn’t going to give that up. Nodding, he extended his hand.
“Now, now, Lieutenant,” the glib Lucifer was back, “I think a deal of this magnitude is worthy of more than a simple handshake.” His eyes were dancing with mirth, challenging Pierce.
Pierce gestured at the open blinds. “Lucifer, I work here. These people report to me.”
“And since when do you care what anyone thinks? So what if they see you snogging your consultant?”
“Fair point.” Pierce shrugged, then reached out, grabbing Lucifer by the back of the neck, and yanking him forward until their lips met. The kiss was harsh and punishing, giving vent to the long-forgotten feelings that he’d been fighting since… well, since the last time they’d kissed. Off balance, Lucifer’s hands scrabbled up Pierce’s chest, finally finding purchase on his shoulders. Center regained, he poured himself into the kiss, fighting back, demanding more, as lips were crushed against teeth and tongues battled for dominance. It continued – neither one willing to surrender to the other – until the need for air broke them apart.
He wouldn’t admit to anyone how difficult it was, but Pierce schooled his face into a mask of indifference. “You should be getting to work.”
Lucifer grinned. “But honey,” he teased, “we’ve got so many details to iron out.”
“Tonight, at your place. I’ll come by after work. Now get out of my office.”
Still smiling, Lucifer turned and sauntered out the door, closing it behind him. Pierce did not watch him walk out; was certainly not checking out his… dammit. He shook his head and sat back behind his desk. A quick look around the bullpen revealed only a couple detectives staring at him and Espinoza staring at Lucifer. Of course, it would be all around the squad before lunch but Lucifer was right. He was too old to give a shit about what any of them thought.
Chloe didn’t bother to pretend that she hadn’t seen anything. She was too shocked to do anything but stare at Lucifer as he crossed the room to her desk.
After Lucifer had arrived and made a beeline for Pierce’s office, she’d kept plugging away at a report, glancing up regularly to make sure things weren’t getting out of hand in there. Pierce seemed to have a limited tolerance for anyone, but Lucifer in particular was able to push his buttons with almost no effort. Christ, the two of them had bickered through that undercover assignment and almost blown it when they fought in front of the neighborhood, and there had been that heated discussion in the surveillance van. No question, the two of them were like oil and water. With that in mind, she decided to go check in on them and make sure no one got punched… or shot. There was definitely a lot of tension – both men were on their feet and postures were stiff, maybe even threatening. She came to her feet, pushing her chair back as Pierce reached out and grabbed Lucifer. She was pretty sure that Lucifer would fight back if hit, and she opened her mouth to yell to Dan, who was closer to the office, when Pierce pulled Lucifer in and kissed him and her voice died in her throat.
Now the recipient of that kiss was standing in front of her with hair mussed, lips swollen, and a mild case of stubble burn around his mouth. Lucifer being who he was, she expected to hear the story of his conquest of Pierce, but he was uncharacteristically quiet and instead of a glow of success, his expression was pensive, almost melancholy.
“Are you okay?” It wasn’t where she’d expected to start the conversation, but she was moving from shocked to worried, as he seemed to be lost in thought. Lucifer was all about big emotions and loud proclamations – he was rarely quietly introspective.
He seemed to physically shake off his thoughts and finally looked at her. “I’m fine, Detective. Do we have a new case?”
“Not until you do better than that. You’re not fine, you’re distracted, and with good reason. Did he hurt you? What the hell happened in there?”
He laughed out loud. “He definitely did not hurt me.”
She wasn’t sure why he found that funny but the laugh was an improvement over brooding. “Well, tell me what’s going on then and I’ll help you deal with it. You seemed upset by… what happened.”
Lucifer seemed to have regained his equilibrium and answered with his usual line of nonsense. “There’s nothing to tell, Detective. The lieutenant just struck a bargain with the devil and that was to seal the deal.”
“A deal with the devil? What kind of deal?” Really, this devil thing was getting a little out of control but challenging it while trying to get information wouldn’t be the best approach to take.
“Sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say. Devil/client privilege and all that. You understand.”
Chloe threw her hands up in frustration. “I really don’t at all. But, if you don’t want to talk about it now, that’s fine. You’ll tell me eventually. And if you’re okay then we need to get to work.” She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and stalked out, assuming that he would follow. With a quick glance in the direction of Pierce’s office, he did.
She’d expected that he would loosen up over the course of the day and fill her in on what had happened. He had a tendency to share things with her, even when she’d rather not hear them. Today, though, he was laser-focused on the work, with little interest in idle chatter. She was almost relieved when he asked her to drop him off at his car a couple hours before the end of the shift.
As she drove into the parking garage, she made one more attempt. “You haven’t been yourself all day. Are you sure there isn’t anything I can help you with?”
Lucifer paused for a second, halfway out of the car, before standing up with his usual fluid grace. “No, thank you. There’s nothing to be done, Detective. Sometimes a game is worth playing, even when you’re sure you can’t win.” He looked back, catching her eye. “That doesn’t mean it’s always fun to play, though.”
Before she could respond he closed the door and turned away.