late, and quite frankly, Benjamin had no clue what he was going to find in Lux, but that was the first place that he went for — or more specifically, Lucifer's penthouse, where he expected to find the Devil somberly playing the grand piano and sipping on his millionth drink of the night. Or, at least Benji hoped so, because it was obvious that Lucifer was heartbroken, and to make matters worse, he was also incapable of handling all those negative feelings piling up on his heart, which could only take so much. Benjamin still hadn't learned all there was to Lucifer and what it meant to be the Devil, but he suspected that he wasn't a professional when it came to emotions — which was one of the reasons why they had connected so well. And although Benjamin was more the type to procrastinate when it came to his own feelings, he couldn't let Lucifer dwell in his own dark thoughts, all alone and lost in the bottomless void.

He actually had no idea if Lucifer could even die, but trying to get shot sounded rather serious. Then again, he was Lucifer Morningstar — who knew if he had simply done it for the fun of it? But, a voice of concern was loud enough in Benjamin's head to convince him that it was about something less lovely, and even though he was uncertain if bullets could do any actual damage to the Devil, he was determined to save his friend from this pit of despair that he had seemingly fallen into. And with no wings to fly out with, Benjamin was going to extend a hand for the former angel to hold onto.

Nervously, the man was tapping his finger against his jean-clad thigh while impatiently standing in the frustratingly slowly moving elevator, barely not bursting through the doors before they had even opened. Luckily, when a time that felt unreasonable had finally passed, Benjamin could enter Lucifer's penthouse, his lips already parted to call out his name or ask if he was okay, his steps quick and worried as he dived out of the lift.

"Luci—oh—oh", he didn't make it very far, when he found himself staring into the stunning doe eyes of a very naked lady, holding a fluffy towel around her tall frame whilst her wet hair rested on her other shoulder, and her lips curved into a curious smile.

"Can I help you?", she questioned, her voice sweet as honey — in fact, it was almost too sweet. Something about it seemed unreliable, but perhaps that was just the disappointment kicking into Benjamin's heart. He wasn't sure why, but somehow he had not expected to find him in company like this, but then again, maybe that was exactly the Lucifer Morningstar approach to problems and situations that he wished to squirm out of. Maybe, this was exactly predictable. Maybe, the pang that Benji felt in his heart was insane and stupid, and he really needed to get a grip and remind himself of what was true and what was just silly dreams planted into the back of his head by situations that could be read in many ways.

Unable to blame this woman for the kick that had stolen his breath for a second there, Benjamin pursed his lips in a similar, kind smile. "I was just looking for Lucifer, I was kind of worried. But, I can see that he's not alone, so... I'll just... go back home now", he chuckled, although his voice was void of amusement. After offering the woman a curt nod as a silent goodbye, Benjamin had clapped his hands together and stepped back into the elevator, which luckily took him downstairs quickly.

And although the worry in his heart still burned, some kind of new emotions had lit up as well — emotions he wasn't used to. But, in the belief that Lucifer didn't need him tonight, Benjamin hopped into his Camaro and headed back to Dan's apartment, trying to cool off even if the flames of jealousy were impossible to suffocate.

—————

Izzy a reassuring text, where he insisted that everything was okay and Lucifer was dealing with stuff the only way he knew how to. The redhead had questioned if her support was needed tonight, but Benjamin had simply thanked her for the help and then closed his phone before stepping inside and getting pulled into a relieved hug from Dan, whose strong arms held his brother as tightly as always.

"You know, I didn't know you were this much of a hugger, bro", Benjamin coughed out and twisted uncomfortably when his cracked rib reminded him of its existence, and shaking his head apologetically, Dan stepped away, but not before he had given his brother a supportive squeeze on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, there's this girl at work...", he snorted, before giving a more serious look to Benji. "Did you find Lucifer? Did you talk to him?", he bombarded the youngest Espinoza with questions, and as much as Ben wanted to point out his half-brother's new-found fondness for the Devil, he settled for shaking his head and swallowing down the sarcastic jokes.

"I didn't, but don't worry, he's not alone. I just hope he's okay", Benjamin patted Dan's shoulder softly, and with that, he walked past the man and headed for the room he had settled into. He could feel his brother's worried gaze burn through the back of his head, but instead of turning around and explaining everything, Benji merely decided to call it a day, and let the need and desire for several hours of sleep take over.

But despite the exhaustion, he was unable to push the thought of Lucifer out of his head. And there and then, shirtless and staring at the ceiling, he realized that although he had sworn it wouldn't happen to him, Lucifer had put his spell on him too, and he wasn't quite sure how to break out of it.

—————

up, Benjamin Espinoza was determined to make the upcoming day as Lucifer-less as possible. Just because he refused to have a crush on him, he refused to spend his time daydreaming about one guy, he refused to be that person whose world revolved around the handsome, charming Devil of the neighbourhood. He didn't do that, ever, and with that in mind, he decided to return to his old self, be the happy, awesome, sarcastic and fun-loving Benjamin that he had once been. He had spent too much time worrying and crying and hurting, and it was time for that to end.

Needless to say, Dan had been more or less suspicious when he had woken up to the sound of his younger brother making pancakes and singing Billy Idol in the kitchen, with the spatula as his greasy microphone. Although, he couldn't deny that Benjamin was flawlessly hitting the notes in all the right parts as Rebel Yell played from his small speaker, and the sight was quickly putting a smile on his face, even if he had expected a more silent, broody atmosphere in the house after the events of last night.

"Someone's in a good mood", Dan pointed out, snapping Benji out of his thoughts as he pushed the final pancake onto one of two plates, and grinning at his older brother, the man nodded and then proceeded to lower the volume of the music.

While gesturing for the other plate, which Dan gladly accepted, Benjamin shrugged and took a deep inhale before filling his mug to the brim with steaming coffee. "I feel good. Today is gonna be a great day, I can feel it. It's going to be exactly what you expected when I came back home. I feel like all I've done, is obsess over Lucifer and then cry about my problems, so it is time I have some fun and do whatever I want to", he explained, and obviously, Dan had to question his intentions.

"You do realize I expected something like a building burning to the ground. Chaos. Getting arrested. Sex on this kitchen counter. Reckless pool parties in a pool that you don't even own", the detective pointed out, and unable to hold back laughter, Benjamin nodded — perhaps that sounded about right. "Well, I say go for it, as long as you keep it legal. And make sure you don't hurt yourself. You know, staying away from Lucifer doesn't sound like such a bad idea anyway", he then added a bitter mutter as he munched on his pancakes, and smiling, Benjamin couldn't agree more.

He did feel kind of worried, regarding Lucifer's state of mind, but he expected the man to find support and comfort in his one night stands, Dr. Linda or Chloe. Or even Amenadiel, who, apparently, was Lucifer's angel brother. So, he tried to push away the desire to rush to him with open arms, and concentrated on something else.

"What are you going to do first?", Dan wondered out loud then, with his eyes looking over to Benjamin curiously. Frankly, the oldest Espinoza was expecting something radical, possibly even dangerous, but that wasn't what Ben had in mind, at all. In fact, the smile that appeared on his lips was rather sweet and innocent, and so were the plans that he had in mind.

"Well, before the real fun can begin, I'm gonna do something responsible and caring. And that is visiting my favorite niece and my favorite sister-in-law. Especially because I still haven't talked with Chloe after the accident. I've been so overwhelmed and busy with everything else, but I really do need to see how she's doing and all that", Benji sighed, resting against the counter while sipping on his coffee, and once he realized that it was actually a very lovely idea, Dan couldn't stop himself from smiling. Which, obviously, Benjamin didn't take lightly. "What's so funny?", he narrowed his eyes at his brother teasingly, and shrugging, Dan finished his own coffee.

"It's just— you always act like you're this tough guy who doesn't do feelings. But in reality, you're just a big soft teddy bear, and that's why we all love you. Because you have so much love for others too", Dan nodded approvingly at his little brother, and in response, Benjamin merely snorted — but he did not disagree. There was truth to Daniel's words.

"Anyway", Dan then cleared his throat, "Chloe's got a new roommate so, you know... I don't know, beware", his eyes forced to roll around.

Meanwhile, Benjamin's eyes widened in curiosity. "A new roommate? Who?", he demanded to know while he casually threw the dishes in the sink — preparing breakfast was one thing, but cleaning up afterwards... That was for someone more responsible and interested than Ben.

And as Dan shrugged on his leather jacket, he turned to his brother once more and pursed his lips in something that looked like a smile, but probably wasn't at all. "Maze", he simply said, and almost choking on the last swig of his coffee, Benjamin covered his mouth as his cheeks filled with the hot liquid.

Well, now he absolutely needed to rush to the Decker residence, to finally meet the infamous demon torturer from Hell.

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