Benjamin couldn't quite put his finger on it, but as he sat in Lucifer's Corvette in silence and looked at the bright lights of the city, he was somewhat... nervous. Lucifer tried to relieve the tension with a few of his usual jokes and sassy comments, which did pull chuckles from the Espinoza, but even when they finally arrived at Lux, there was a sense of awkwardness in the air as they both reached for the door, only to stumble into one another, leaving Lucifer with his large hands gripping Benji's biceps to keep him steady. And on the outside, it did work, but on the inside, it only made matters worse.

However, he was truly glad to see the club still standing. "I love this place", Benjamin admitted as they walked towards the elevator, his eyes looking around the surroundings, for which he now had a far greater appreciation than before. It was true that sometimes it took losing things and people to realize their value, and now that Lux's future had been at risk and Lucifer had nearly been evicted, there was an undeniable warm shade of relief in Benjamin's rapidly beating heart.

The elevator ride up to Lucifer's penthouse was just as painful, with both of them staring at the doors in silence, overwhelmed by the hot air they were surronded by, their aftershaves colliding in the middle as they waited for the right floor to arrive. And when the doors finally parted, they both headed for the exit, only to run into each other once again, which made the men laugh quietly.

"My apologies, I'm not quite sure what's got me so tongue-tied", Lucifer shook his head, and offering a smile, Benji reassured that it was alright. "Perhaps we just need some liquid courage. It has been a long day, after all", the Devil sighed, before turning to Benjamin, "especially for you."

Laughing, Benjamin shrugged. "It's no big deal, really. Not my first night in a holding cell", he gulped whilst he wandered around Lucifer's penthouse, always so impressed by the sophisticated sight, from the grand bedroom to the shiny piano, and the large bookshelves adorning the walls. Once Lucifer had poured them drinks, though, Benji settled for the leather couch where he proceeded to sip on the delicious alcohol — which he definitely needed in his system to break the ice. Although, he wasn't quite sure why breaking the ice was even necessary, in the first place.

"I think it is a big deal, though. Thank you, Benjamin, truly. You've shown nothing but support for me and everything I stand for, and that's—that's more than I can say about most people. And you defending Lux, my home... well, let's just say that I greatly appreciate the lengths you've gone to. Bailing you out was the least I could do", Lucifer breathed out while his eyes remained stuck on Benji, who pursed his lips in a sheepish smile. It did warm his heart — it made him feel less like a disappointment to everyone around him, to know that someone didn't see him like that. Of course, Dan was always there for Benjamin, but what he had with Lucifer... It was a different kind of connection.

"Thank you for that, by the way", he commented, grateful that he didn't have to spend the night in the holding cell that had began to seem more and more dreary with each slowly passing hour. "So, Chloe saved Lux, huh?", Ben let his gaze roam the apartment whilst he remembered the mention of his sister-in-law, but eventually, his soft blue eyes landed back onto Lucifer, who was seated on the opposite couch, looking irresistible as always.

With a simple nod, Lucifer confirmed what Benjamin had said. "Yes, with the detective's help, Lux has been declared a heritage site. It's quite lovely — to be honest, I'm not used to people being so... good to me. Without wanting anything in return. It's strange", he laughed, and although Benjamin chuckled as well, he couldn't help but feel bad for Lucifer. He deserved so much better than what he got.

"Well, you deserve it. Even if you are the Devil... I do think you're a good man, Lucifer. And, uh, truthfully, you've gotten under my skin. I'm used to just quick flings and then moving on, but for some reason, I can't move on from you. I know we're just friends, but even if we weren't, I'm pretty sure I'd just come back to you", Benji huffed softly while his gaze dropped from Lucifer to the glass in his hand, his finger tapping against it nervously, causing the alcohol to move in waves inside it.

It became silent in the penthouse, and for a moment, Benjamin was already regretting speaking up — obviously, it wasn't something he was good at. Like he had said, he didn't do feelings, relationships, attachments. He had never even actually dated someone, so to confess his feelings, even if it was in a cryptic, disputable manner, was unfamiliar and scary. And when Lucifer said nothing, he was certain that he had screwed up.

But then he looked back up at Lucifer, only to find the man's dark eyes looking intently into his, something about them so soft and fond, it was messing with Ben's heart. And before he could say anything, take back his words, apologize for ruining the moment, Lucifer had done what he did best — made a move, taken matters into his own hands, and with that in his mind, he had lowered the glass in his hand and leaned over the coffee table separating him from Benjamin, to grab him by the face and finally push their lips together.

And although Benji was startled by this at first, he eventually understood that he had said something right, and things were going in the direction he had been secretly hoping for. Thankful for whatever had helped him go in the right way, Benjamin put his glass down onto the table only for Lucifer to knock it down as he climbed over and joined Benji on the other couch, his hands already quickly ripping open his flannel, causing buttons to fly all over the living room. Benjamin responded in similar manner and yanked Lucifer's jacket over his shoulders, only to work on the vest next, and at the feeling of his hands all over his chest, Lucifer ended up breaking the kiss with a warm chuckle, his breath heating up Ben's lips as he rested their foreheads together.

"I must admit that I've been waiting for this moment for quite the while", he whispered, and without another word, Benjamin connected their lips yet again. As they continued to kiss, Lucifer stood up from the couch and pulled Benji with him without ever disconnecting their lips, and blindly, they proceeded to stumble towards the bedroom. It took a few stubbed toes and multiple unexpected lip bites, but eventually, they found the right direction and in no time, Benjamin's back came in touch with the bouncy mattress.

And merely a second later, the Devil landed right on top of him, and excluding a few rushes of confidence and dominance from Benjamin, that was how the rest of the night went.

——————

Benjamin woke up with a radiant, wide smile on his lips before he could even open his eyes, but he didn't need to do that to remember whose bed he was in. The warm duvet over his toned body and the soft pillow were far too comfortable to be Dan's, but the biggest giveaway was the muscular arm tightly around Benji's waist. The more he thought about the moment he found himself in, never wanting it to end, the more his smile widened, the quicker his heart ran. Obviously it wasn't his first morning after a heated night, but something was different this time — perhaps because he had slept with the Devil himself, and loved it. But, on top of that, just like Benjamin had admitted the previous night, he couldn't move on from Lucifer, and he didn't want to. Maybe this didn't need to be their first and final time together.

"Good morning, Benjamin", a warm huff of air tickled his neck as Lucifer's husky whisper reached his ear, followed by a cold but soft kiss against his shoulder. In an attempt to hide his smile, Benji let his teeth sink into his bottom lip, but he couldn't lie to Lucifer, who returned the wide grin as soon as Ben had flipped around to meet the Devil's intent gaze. However, the smile on his lips quickly faded as he realized he had landed on his bruised side, earning a sharp hiss of pain from the bartender. "I didn't do that", Lucifer was quick to defend himself, and chuckling, Benjamin nodded in agreement. Though Lucifer had left quite a few marks on the man, but it was only fair, as Benji had shamelessly done the same for him.

It became silent for a while as the two just stared into each other's eyes, but he couldn't help it — Lucifer was too beautiful not to admire like he was some heaven-sent treasure. And maybe that was actually rather accurate. He did look like it, with his tousled hair, tired eyes, a genuine smile on his soft lips, no shirt on.

But eventually, Benji pushed himself to sit up and stretched carefully. "We should get up, huh? Pretty sure you've got a club to take care of, and I have a worried brother ready to interrogate me as soon as I step indoors", he shook his head at the mere idea, but Lucifer broke into a proud grin as he stood up from the mattress, following Benjamin's lead — even if he was reluctant to leave at first.

"Ah, I will have plenty of fun teasing Daniel about that", Lucifer winked before reaching down for his red button-up, and Benjamin laughed in response, although it was cut short when he looked over to the man's back and noticed the two large scars standing out from amidst the otherwise flawless skin.

Gulping, Benjamin threw his own shirt over his head while pondering whether or not he should say something, but eventually, he decided to go for it. "Are those— uh...", he began, all of the words he had quickly prepared vaporizing as soon as he parted his lips, but when Lucifer turned to look at him and saw the surprised stare in Benjamin's eyes, he figured what he was talking about.

"My wings, yes. Or, where Maze cut them off, at least", the fallen angel was quick to explain, and as he pulled on his shirt and started doing the buttons, Benjamin tore his gaze away from his body — which Lucifer sadly proceeded to hide with clothes — and looked deep into his eyes. He wasn't quite sure how he hadn't noticed the scars last night, but admittedly, perhaps he had been a tad too busy. Nevertheless, now that he knew, he could not even imagine what kind of pain Lucifer had been through, and the sympathy kicked in automatically.

Benjamin wasn't sure what was the right thing to say, but he still whispered, "I'm sorry", and offered a comforting nod, before getting dressed. Lucifer smiled softly at the man, unable to hide the happiness in his heart as he eyed him — quite frankly, he felt like a very lucky Devil, as he had found someone like Benji. Someone so similar to himself. Confident, handsome, funny, but also a little bit broken and in need of someone to rely on. Although it wasn't easy for Lucifer to recognize feelings, he did realize that maybe he wanted more than just a casual fling with him.

Eventually, the two parted ways after one last heated kiss, with Lucifer opening the club despite the early hours, and Benjamin heading home to Dan, who was probably freaking out — not because he didn't know where Benji was, but because he knew exactly where he had spent the night. The thought of his big brother's reaction was making Ben just slightly nervous, but despite the hint of worry for himself, he was feeling good. Just utterly, undoubtedly happy, free, warm and fuzzy on the inside.

When he had decided to fly back to Los Angeles, he certainly didn't expect finding something this epic, nor meeting the actual Devil only for him to steal Benjamin's heart — but he didn't even mind. If anything, he was truly enjoying his return to home, and how things were better than before. Maybe he had even found what he had come looking for.

Benjamin tried to be as quiet as possible when he entered Dan's apartment, but the effort went unappreciated, as he had barely gotten a foot in when all the attention was turned to him, like a spotlight on the star of the show. And with that, he couldn't really argue.

"Did you have fun?", Benji was greeted with Izzy Holt's pleased voice, clearly satisfied with the sight that walked through the front door, but he didn't have to say anything to answer her. The love bites all over his neck were enough, and in an instant, both Izzy and Dan yelped out, "Oh my God!", with the difference that the woman was rather excited, whereas Dan looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

However, the older Espinoza did have some unexpected news of his own.

"Okay, I'll let this slide, but only because I actually had a guest over, too", he flashed a happy grin, and shocked by the wonderful announcement, Benjamin lifted his hand for Dan to high-five. The homicide detective was clearly hesitant, but ended up giving his brother's hand a casual slap nonetheless — after all, both siblings had had a great night.

Sighing, Izzy shook her head. "Am I the only one not having sex?", the redhead complained, and snorting at the disappointment on her features, Benjamin threw his arm over the deputy's shoulders and gave her a reassuring smirk.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Mazikeen will make a move soon enough", he teased, but before Izzy could slap his shoulder or reply with a snarky comment, Benjamin noticed how gloomy the two of them were, neither of them in their usual cheerful moods, with Dan's only whiskey bottle resting on the living room table. And suddenly certain that he had forgotten or missed something important, Benjamin began to panic. "Wait, what's going on? Did someone die?", he rambled, and the worry within him only doubled when Dan offered a sad nod in response.

"Yeah. John Decker, 16 years ago. Today is the first day of his killer's trial", he looked over to Benjamin, placing a hand on his shoulder, "better suit up, bro."

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