what to expect, but he certainly couldn't pass the opportunity to meet the infamous Mazikeen, who he was imagining as a kickass queen and Izzy Holt's girlfriend — although he didn't know if it was official yet, it was bound to happen. Of course, he had seen the demon briefly at Lux before ladies' night, but they were yet to meet more or less officially, and that was why Benjamin was nearly shaking with excitement. Sure, he had sworn that this day would not revolve around Lucifer like the rest seemed to, but Maze wasn't the same thing as Lucifer, right? Even if she was his supernatural best friend from literal Hell.

But, at the very least, he was going there for Chloe and Trixie, too. He missed his niece, and things had been too hectic for him and Chloe to get a chance to talk, so it seemed like an overall perfect plan.

"Uncle Benji!", Trixie was gushing by her breakfast when she heard the familiar growl of Benjamin's Camaro on the yard of their new apartment, and forgetting all about her sandwich, the girl jumped off of her seat and rushed to the front door, exactly on time, as her uncle then bravely stepped in without knocking. He couldn't get a single word uttered out when Trixie had wrapped her eager, tiny arms around his waist and squealed in joy, and in return, Benji broke into a smile and ruffled his niece's dark curls.

"Missed you, nugget", he teased, and flashing her missing teeth in a wide grin, the girl went for a high-five, which the man gladly accepted.

"I missed you too! Are you still hurting because of the accident?", she wondered in curiosity while eyeing Benjamin's side, and although beneath his flannel, there was a terrifyingly purple, large bruise to remind him of what happened, and all the pain hadn't faded away yet, he shook his head and forced a smile to reassure Beatrice he was all good.

"Nah, I'm like a superhero. I heal fast. Now, I can see you haven't finished your breakfast, so if you want this chocolate cake I brought you, better hurry", Benji revealed his other hand, which was holding a little plastic container with Trixie's favorite dessert hidden within. And obviously, the girl was unable to resist such a tempting offer, and soon enough she was already gone and along with her, the cake.

And as Trixie left, Chloe appeared. "How are you doing, Ben? Sorry I haven't stopped by", the blonde sighed as she very gently and carefully pulled her brother-in-law into a hug, and rested her jaw on his shoulder while holding him. Breathing out, Benjamin smiled and hugged her in relief, utterly happy to see that she was in one piece. It was obvious that he had suffered the most damage, and somehow, he was glad — he didn't want Chloe to go through the same. Especially when she had a lot more people caring about her than he did.

"How are you? I was going to bring you flowers but I kind of forgot them on top of the car and realized only after I had run them over. And no—it's okay, I haven't really, uh, been home lately, kind of wandered around for a while", the man smiled sheepishly as he rambled, trying to find a way to leave Lucifer out of it, especially because he knew how close Chloe was with him — even if she would have loved to fight on that.

But, even if Benjamin was discreet, someone else refused to be.

"Oh! So you're Lucifer's latest boyfriend, the infamous Benjamin, huh?", a sultry voice spoke from behind Chloe, and with eyes blown wide, the man stepped aside and found a stunning woman, dressed in leather from head to toe, staring at him with a teasing smirk on her perfectly painted red lips and her strong arms crossed over her chest. And whilst Benjamin could only be impressed by her bold comment, he didn't wonder why Izzy was head over heels for this woman. In fact, it felt like Mazikeen was almost like the female version of Lucifer.

Of course, that would have meant that Benjamin was head over heels for...

"Not his boyfriend, just a friend", he flashed a smile, before tilting his head to the side and crossing his arms, "and you must be Isadora's girlfriend then?", the sassy comment earning an approving smile from Maze.

"It's a work in progress", she shrugged lightly, which widened Benjamin's smile as the demon began to walk away. "I like you, Benny", Mazikeen added before disappearing behind the corner, and with laughter slipping from between his lips, the man turned back to Chloe, who was staring at her brother-in-law in shock and surprise. He wasn't quite sure which part of his conversation with Maze had her gawking like that, but as they both stood in silence, Benjamin couldn't help but wonder if Chloe knew the truth — about demons and angels and how her civilian consultant was actually the Devil. For sure, neither Lucifer or Maze tried to hide their true personas, but whether or not Chloe believed... Benji couldn't tell.

"So, anyway", he cleared his throat to break the awkwardness between them while his arm swung over Chloe's shoulders. "I just want you to know, I'm here for you. Dan told me about everything that's going on with your father's— well, you know. Just remember, you're not alone", Ben tried to comfort the grieving daughter of a cop that had been brutally murdered years ago — but despite the fact that time had passed, it was still a touchy subject for Chloe, and he didn't blame her. Especially when today was the day that her father's alleged killer was going to be let out of jail.

With a look of gratitude brewing within her eyes, Chloe nodded and smiled whilst leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Thanks, Benjamin. And I want you to know that too — that you're not alone. I know it's been tough for you lately, but you're the strongest person I've met, okay? If you ever want to talk... I'm here. Or, you could always make an appointment with Dr. Martin", the blonde offered some wise advice, and promising to keep that in mind, Benjamin patted her shoulder.

"Thank you, Chlo. Anyway, I better leave now. I have a fun day planned for myself. Best of luck with the case", the Espinoza placed a gentle kiss on his sister's cheek before stepping towards the door — though obviously he didn't get to leave without a squeezing hug from Trixie.

Lifting an eyebrow, Chloe crossed her arms and eyed him curiously, clearly dying to ask. "What are you going to do?", she inquired, and opening the front door, Benjamin flashed an irresistible grin at her.

"Whatever I want to."

—————

realized how much he missed the old Ben, not until he was living the life he had left behind slowly but surely. He had promised Dan to be responsible and mature, and that had slowed down the reckless path he was known for speeding up and down, but now that he had deserved a moment of wild, pure freedom, he was driving the streets of L.A with a wide grin on his face, sunglasses on his blue eyes and his hand tapping the wheel along the beat of the music that was playing loud enough to turn the heads of many passerbys.

He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he had time to do anything and anyone. Quite frankly, he was looking for a challenge, and luckily, he was good at getting into trouble — all he needed to do, after stopping for some ice cream, was go over the speed limit to get a police car behind him with the sirens signalling for him to pull over. Praying that he wouldn't find Dan glaring at him, Benji took off his sunglasses and put on his most flawless smirk as the cop approached his vehicle — and needless to say, he wasn't disappointed, as a rather handsome man ended up standing before his impressed eyes.

"Do you have any idea why I pulled you over?", the cop sighed as he looked over to Benjamin, clearly tired with having to stop these foolish, rebellious idiots far too often. However, Benji could see the tempted look in the man's eyes, and it was causing his smirk to widen with confidence.

"I was going hard and fast — though people usually don't complain about that. So, handcuffs?", was all Benjamin had to say to charm the pants off of the cop, quite literally. Luckily, it was a slow day for the rookie, or else the two wouldn't have had the lovely opportunity to make out in the back of the police car.

Unfortunately, something did intervene. Or more like someone — in fact, the worst possible person.

"We've caught Rodney Lam, taking him to the station for interrogation right now", Dan's familiar voice broke through the police radio, and groaning, Benjamin instantly pulled away from the cop and tossed away the hat that he had been proudly wearing until now.

"Well, that's definitely the last thing I want to hear in a situation like this. Sorry, but you better head back to work", the youngest Espinoza ruffled his hair and started to button his flannel, while the man whose name remained unknown to Benji, regained his dignity and hopped into the front seat as if nothing had happened. Right before leaving, Benjamin turned to him once more, biting his lip as he gave him his best innocent look, "I'm not getting a ticket, am I?", and of course, he was let off the hook.

Which was good, since Dan would have had to pay for it, anyway.

And, speaking of the Devil's new best friend, just as Benjamin was walking back to his abandoned Camaro, his phone made a familiar ping to inform him of a new text message. He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, but getting one from Dan during work could not be good, and frankly, it didn't sound very promising either.

"I need a favor. Come to the station?", it read, and sighing heavily, Benjamin couldn't help but expect the worst. However, he had promised to be there for his brother this time around, and he did like taking risks and challenges.

Therefore, he made his way to the LAPD, and quicker than expected, he was grabbing Dan's pudding from the precinct fridge and wandering around the place, only to be caught by the real owner of the snack merely seconds later.

Glaring at his brother, Dan grabbed the pudding and shook his head in utter disappointment. "My snacks are not for everyone, Ben. Apparently, everyone here seems to think so, because this isn't the first time you know, even though it's labeled and— is your shirt unbuttoned?", he explained, only to end up staring at Benjamin's desperately put on shirt with narrowed eyes. But, instead of being ashamed, all Benji did was snort and nod towards the cop that entered the room nervously.

"Lucifer isn't the only charming rebel in Los Angeles", he simply shrugged, and laughing quietly, Dan shook his head, only to then remember what he had texted his brother about in the first place.

"Right, about Lucifer... I kind of need you to watch him. He grew some weird obsession with me and now he's following me everywhere, man. For whatever reason I'd rather not know, you two get along so maybe keep him distracted while I work this case?", Dan directed a pleading look to his younger sibling, but instead of accepting the suggestion with open arms, Benjamin immediately shook his head rapidly, smacking the idea down and setting all shreds of hope to fire with his mocking laughter.

"Sorry bro, but I'm kind of trying to avoid him. He's messing with my head, dude, I can't deal with that. That isn't me. I'm sorry, but I can't be the Devil's babysitter today—", he began ranting, but before he got to finish, Lucifer himself appeared from behind the corner, and in an instant, all the words on Benjamin's sharp tongue melted away and so did his heart — an effect that he always refused to have, but something about the sight that widened his eyes was far too incredible to not appreciate.

Not only was Lucifer's hair perfectly styled back with so much gel you could see it shine under the bright lights of the precinct, but he was wearing skinny jeans that fit his tall body perfectly and a leather jacket that probably smelled like him in the most flawless way. And frankly, it was tugging on Benjamin's heartstrings — until he realized who Lucifer was resembling.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me", Benji ended up groaning, and smacking his shoulder briefly, Dan grinned.

"I think you meant he's messing with you heart. Thanks bro, I really appreciate it", was the last thing he said before disappearing like smoke into air, leaving Benjamin alone with Lucifer. Alone with his quickly beating heart, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.

Well, it seemed that no matter how he tried to avoid Lucifer, there was something beyond magnetic about him, and resisting him was impossible. And Benjamin figured, that was exactly what made him the Devil.

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