this?"

Lucifer turned his head to find Benjamin gesturing at his outfit, and chuckling quietly, the Devil tilted his head to the side proudly. "I may not be your brother's biggest fan, but I see that people like him. For some reason, he's the right kind of person. So I decided to walk a mile in these incredibly tight skinny fit jeans and see what makes Detective Douche... well, a douche", he commented, but when Benjamin didn't laugh at the nickname for his brother, Lucifer's smile faded away as well. "I think now is the time to show what I've learned. Is there something wrong, Benjamin?", he questioned softly, his tall frame leaning down to stare into the man's eyes gently.

And for a second, it felt like there was no one else but them in the precinct. However, Benjamin quickly remembered that there was, so he looked away and offered a dry smile in response. "What? The women and the booze didn't work their magic?", his snide comment surprised Lucifer, who wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to be offended or flattered by the tone in Benji's voice — but he did quickly lean towards the latter.

"Benjamin Espinoza, are you jealous?", he inquired with a wide, confident smirk twisting his lips, and a part of Benjamin wanted to slap it off, but a part also wanted to kiss it away.

Facing him with narrowed eyes, Benjamin shook his head. "Lucifer Morningstar, I don't get jealous", he mocked the Devil's accent, but despite his attempts to deny his feelings, Lucifer had seen enough women and men yearn after him to know that look in Benji's eyes — even if he tried to avoid looking at Lucifer. But, surprisingly, he didn't push that particular button any more.

"Well, for what it's worth, I haven't had any female, or male guests over lately. As for the booze... Who doesn't love a good drink?", he smiled yet again, although this time it wasn't as enthusiastic and proud. Perhaps, because he truly believed to have a friend, and something more, in Benjamin. Even in hard times, even after finding out the truth, Benji had stuck by his side, but now it seemed he was faltering. And Lucifer really didn't wish for that to happen.

"Oh?", Benjamin crossed his arms, "I stopped by last night only to meet some woman in a towel instead of you. I was worried, but I obviously didn't want to interrupt anything so I left", licking his lips briefly while giving Lucifer a doubtful look. Frankly, the words "I was worried" were threatening to put a fond smile on his face, but before he let that happen, he chose to let out profoundly amused laughter.

"I think it's time we finally talk about this whole Devil thing, Benjamin. That woman you saw, is my Mum. In a disturbingly hot human body. Now, what else would you like to know?", he was unable to hold back a grin as he nudged Benjamin, whose eyes widened at the unexpected twist — Lucifer's Mother? An actual goddess?

Breaking into a smile of his own, Benji turned on Dan's chair and faced Lucifer bravely now, deciding that perhaps this whole avoiding thing was silly and useless. Maybe, he just needed to find the perfect balance — give in to the desire to spend time with Lucifer, but also be himself. Not some lovesick puppy.

"I have a lot of questions. But, just so you know, as much as I love that leather jacket on you, you don't need to be my brother to be a good person", Benjamin sighed, placing his hand on top of Lucifer's. "I guess you still feel guilty about what happened with your brother, but one action doesn't define you. And I just hope that one day, you won't have a heart full of darkness. You deserve better than that", he radiated with hope and comfort, and it warmed the Devil's heart in an unexpected way.

And although they both refused to admit their feelings, it was obvious that Benjamin wasn't the only one whose soul lit up around the other.

—————

Ben had with Lucifer was quite... illuminating. He saw many things in a drastically different point of view now, and somehow, God no longer seemed like a benevolent figure to turn to in a time of despair. He had never been much of the type to lean on religion, but after the things Lucifer had told him, he found himself sympathizing with the Devil — which, admittedly, was slightly alarming, but it was impossible to see him as someone thoroughly rotten and evil now. If anything, Benjamin felt like Lucifer had been treated unfairly his whole life and people were too quick to judge and assume things about him. Perhaps he needed to become the Devil's advocate.

He also learned that so far, the only human who knew of Lucifer's true nature was Linda Martin, which kind of made sense. Sadly, he had mentioned that the therapist now seemed borderline broken, shaken by the truth that had been revealed to her. It did make Benji wonder why he was able to handle the divinity so well, instead of running away screaming — truthfully, he wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to be proud, or troubled by the fact that the Devil didn't scare him, that the existence and presence of actual angels and one particularly fierce demon didn't terrify him and shake him to the core.

In a way, it was also comforting him, because he had been so worked up about being under Lucifer's spell, when in reality he was one of the few people who could snap out of it. Being able to deal with all this supernatural stuff that had somehow forced its way into his already messy life, it made his undeniable attraction to Lucifer seem like a slight, irrelevant side effect.

Nevertheless, it had been lovely finding out all these things, until Lucifer flew out of the precinct — not literally, as he no longer had his wings, which was another thing Benjamin had learned — to assist Dan on the case. Benji didn't try to argue on that, as he had spent plenty of time with the man already, and truthfully, the idea of Lucifer joining his brother at a spa was an idea that sparked both amusement and thirst within the Espinoza man. He was just sad that he didn't get to stand by Lucifer in the humid, hot room and admire the art that his body undoubtedly was.

"How's my favorite couch potato?", a familiar voice spoke from behind Benjamin suddenly, startling him back to reality and causing him to jump slightly before he twirled on the chair beneath him and looked over to the redhead in front of him. It was a sight that always caused him to smile, and this time was no exception.

"I'm... okay, actually. For once, I just have nothing to worry about, I suppose", he shrugged, his leather jacket shuffling as he eyed Izzy, and wondered if she'd ever find out about Mazikeen. And how would she react? Could she handle the truth like Benjamin? "What about you? Hey, I met Maze today", the man continued eventually, and broke into a grin whilst Izzy's cheeks grew visibly red under his stare.

"You did?", she was all flustered at the mention of the demon, and it was making Benjamin smile widely — though it wasn't mocking in the slightest, if anything, it was fond and warm. He quite admired the relationship that Izzy had with Mazikeen, and truth be told, the thought of them being together was one that Benji supported wholeheartedly.

Standing up from Dan's chair, Benjamin chuckled. "She called me Lucifer's boyfriend. I called her your girlfriend. I think we're gonna be great friends", he recalled before patting Izzy's shoulder briefly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading over to Lux to get a drink or ten. I'm supposed to be having fun, and so far, that's the best place I've found for that", his explanation was simple when he took out his sunglasses and car keys, and well, Izzy couldn't disagree. Lux was a beacon of pleasure and entertainment.

They parted ways, and after Benjamin had peeked from behind his sunglasses to send a wink to the officer he had been making out with earlier that night, he strutted out of the building and back to his Camaro. The ride to Lux was a quick one, and it didn't take long for him to find himself within the wild atmosphere, a smile plastered across his face and a drink in hand.

It felt like a whole other world inside the club. Outside, remained all the troubles and worries that Benjamin had spent his entire adulthood running from, and the brutal reality that was life. Inside Lux, it felt like he could fly and do whatever he desired — after all, the club was known for its ways with desire in general. The rock music playing from the speakers around the dance floor was loud and hypnotizing to the people swaying from one side to another, and the colorful lights all over the room were finishing off the flawless vibe that Benjamin had yearned for. It was carefree and fun, and no one judged him, or anyone else, for that matter.

All that was missing, was the rather charming owner of the club.

However, with all the dancing and drinking — only alcohol-free drinks, of course, since Benji was driving — he lost track of time and the lack of Lucifer's accent in his ear and bad jokes to make him laugh quickly left his mind. But once a few hours had passed and Benjamin was back at the bar, loudly laughing as some guy was keeping things interesting for him, it was time for Lucifer to return home, and as soon as he did, he noticed the youngest Espinoza having the time of his life in his nightclub.

And frankly, merely the sight of him caused Lucifer's lips to curve upwards in a pleased smile while he straightened his jacket and began to stride over to the bar. "Benjamin", he greeted the man, who instantly turned around at the mention of his name. "Glad you're here. I'd like to have a word with you, if possible?", his thick accent tickled Benjamin's heart as the two stared into each other's eyes, and with a smile on his lips, Benji nodded to confirm that it was more than okay. The guy in his company got the hint, and without another word, he left the bar stool, which Lucifer was quick to jump on.

"How did the case go?", Benjamin was curious, after all they had been going after John Decker's killer, and he wanted nothing but justice for the man who had been unfairly murdered. Nevertheless, he also noticed something about Lucifer's appearance, and nodded approvingly at the familiar suit hugging his body perfectly, "I see you're back to your old self. I do like this Lucifer more", which earned a soft chuckle from the Devil.

"Quite well, actually. We caught the killer, and hopefully the detective will rest easy now that she herself got to lock away the murderer of his father", Lucifer explained, and Benjamin was quite pleased to hear that. "And as for this Lucifer... well, a rather smart man once told me that one action doesn't define who I am. And although I am a long way from healing, I have learned to live with scars, as you know", he continued then, and with his undying attention, Benjamin looked at the man fondly and listened to each word patiently. Whilst he did feel flattered to be called a smart man, he didn't say anything snarky, simply remained silent and let Lucifer talk.

"So, I want to thank you, Benjamin. Because you've reminded me who I am, and I think I will try to be more myself now. I'm done wallowing in hatred for myself, when I could be here, drinking with you. And since I heard from a certain douche that you've made it your mission to have fun, I was wondering if you'd let this handsome Devil join you?", he suggested, his usual grin finally landing back onto his face as he looked at Benjamin, who couldn't help but do the same in utter joy.

Covering Lucifer's hand with his own, which caused the Devil to part his lips and look over to where they met, Benjamin nodded. "Hell yeah. Welcome back, Mr. Morningstar", he grinned, and with that, he grabbed the glass he had been drinking from, bringing it together with the one that Lucifer had ordered.

And as they gulped them down together, Benjamin felt like he had found the perfect path to walk on — a little bit of recklessness, acting like himself again, and the Devil by his side.

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