that giving a testimony would merely do harm to the case due to his personality and past — after all, just yesterday he had been arrested — Benjamin was going to sit this one out, as much as he would have loved to charm the jury and make some convincing points. But, luckily, Lucifer was there to do that in his place, even though the idea didn't particularly reassure Chloe. However, everyone knew that whenever Lucifer set his mind on something, he went for it, and whilst it did leave Chloe a nervous mess, at least she had her brother-in-law by her side. That was Benjamin's mission and job for the next couple of days — being emotional support for the girl who had to look into the eyes of his own father's murderer, and although just sitting there and holding her hand sounded simple, he knew that it meant a lot to her.

It was lovely to see Penelope Decker again too, although they had only met twice in the past, but it was quite enough to make her love him and his outgoing personality. As they were reunited, the former actress had questioned if Benji had met Lucifer Morningstar yet, pointing out what a good team they would make — and all Benjamin could do in return, was smile mischievously.

"It'll be alright", the man comforted Chloe with a soft whisper as their fingers interlocked, and looking like a kicked puppy, the blonde directed him a grateful smile. Although they were two completely different people with entirely different stories, he couldn't help but relate. After all, he had no father either, but he could have been still alive. In fact, it kind of made Benjamin wonder if he could try more — if he was supposed to reach out and look for his father.

As his train of thought continued to move forward, his gaze wandered around the small room they were seated in, only for it to land a pair of shiny black heels stepping through the doorway, and as Benjamin looked up at the long legs and met the incoming attorney's piercing stare for a split second, he quickly realized who she was. As the woman continued to strut to her respective place in the courtroom, a thick file in hand and a briefcase in the other, Benji turned to Lucifer with shock.

"Isn't that—", he began, but the Devil was way ahead of him, already fuming at the wicked witch masked like a stunning, successful lawyer named Charlotte Richards — representing the murderer, naturally.

"My Mother."

—————

that Boris, the most important witness to prove Perry Smith's guilt on the John Decker case, had turned up at the LAPD — or, at the very least, his severed head did. Benjamin nearly burst out laughing at the idea of Dan getting a mystery package, only to find that inside, but for the sake of the solemnity of the situation, he remained cool and calm. But he had to admit, it wasn't looking too good, especially with the Goddess of All Creation getting ready to make their case crash and burn with her fierce defending, and Benjamin was growing worried that John Decker would never get to rest in peace. He had never met him, but he was certain that he had been a good cop and an even better man.

Luckily, as he tended to do, Lucifer Morningstar was swooping in to save the situation.

"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", he raised his hand proudly while standing in the witness stand, "so help me Dad."

Once again, Benjamin had to hide his amusement at the joke that most people in the room didn't get, but as soon as he glanced at Chloe and saw the fear written all over her features, he regained his strength and made a silent promise to be mature. But obviously, Lucifer didn't make it too easy for him.

"Mr. Morningstar, you were there when Boris was arrested, right? Working with Detective Espinoza", the lawyer defending the Decker family stood up from his seat and took slow steps towards the stand, where Lucifer sat patiently. The mention of a name he was carry to proud, even if it wasn't entirely his own, made Ben smile while his hand squeezed Chloe's supportively and his eyes remained stuck on Lucifer and his impossibly beautiful face, along with the charming smile that twisted his lips mischievously.

"That is correct. Except I call him Detective Douche", Lucifer explained, making Benjamin chuckle quietly at the iconic nickname as his hand went for the flask he had snuck in. However, taking a sip right before Lucifer continued was a grave mistake. "Not to be mistaken with his brother, Not-Douche, who is quite the lovely, generous man. In bed, as well", the Devil added on, and squeezing the bottle whilst choking on the contents, Benjamin was quick to cover his mouth with his hand to avoid spitting all over the floor.

As he proceeded to cough desperately, Chloe turned to look at Benjamin in shock, unsure how to handle the unexpected news — then again, was it really that unexpected? "You slept with Lucifer?", the detective hissed in disbelief, although it wasn't so much disappointed, just plain surprised of how their relationship had developed.

With an innocent smile on his lips, Benjamin shrugged his shoulders, before pointing towards Lucifer. "Oh, he's going to tell us what happened now, better pay attention", he averted the attention back to the man, who took the floor and began to downright perform for the people in the room, explaining the whole story profoundly, with each and every detail.

It was quite entertaining, and it seemed that Benjamin wasn't the only one who enjoyed it — once Lucifer was finished, the entire jury erupted into applause and loud cheers, clearly satisfied with Lucifer's testimony. In that moment, Benji began to have hope that things could turn out alright after the session, and the flicker of pure affection was obvious in his eyes, even to Chloe who couldn't help but smile at the sight she had never seen before — a sight that not even he himself could possibly recognize.

Benjamin in love.

—————

ended after Charlotte had sneakily trapped Lucifer and used his own words against him, leaving him out of the matter and proving that the goddess was actually a little hellion in disguise. Clearly, the eons she had spent locked up in Hell had strengthened all the cruel traits she had already carried within her heart, and it was driving Dan and Benjamin to a point where they just left the building and headed to a nearby bar for drinks to soften the blow.

"Justice for John Decker", Benji simply sighed as they clinked their beer bottles together. Nodding in agreement, Dan exhaled in a similar, heavy manner after taking a sip of his drink, one that he desperately needed. After today, it was impossible to tell how the case would end, but one thing was for certain — the threat of a loss was real, and whenever troubles came his way, Benjamin was known to have a drink or a dozen to relieve his stress and anxiety. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol was almost too easy.

"Can I talk to you about something?", Dan suddenly spoke up, running his hand across his face before the fingers dug into his gelled hair, giving off a rather nervous vibe. With his eyebrows knitted together, Benjamin lowered the bottle in his hand and nodded to reassure that whatever it was, he'd listen.

"Anything, man. Always", Benji confirmed, his hand landing on Dan's shoulder to give it a quick squeeze, which seemed to encourage him enough to part his lips. However, he could only get out the words, "I slept with—", when he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing, and although his groan convinced that he wasn't really feeling like it, Dan couldn't risk the possibility of it being someone from work. And well, that wasn't entirely false.

Scoffing in amusement, Dan shook his head but answered the call nonetheless. "Lucifer", he greeted the caller tiredly, and with wide eyes, Benji's head snapped to his brother's direction as he instinctively leaned closer to hear the charming accent on the other side of the line. He could not figure out all the words, but he could hear Lucifer's flamboyant voice through the incoherent mumbles Dan offered in response to confirm he was still listening. The sound of Lucifer's voice forced a smile onto Benjamin's lips, which luckily went unnoticed by Daniel, who eventually ended the call and licked his lips briefly.

"He needs my help with something, apparently he wants to investigate Boris' death more. Which is good, because I've already gotten started", Dan explained, and after eagerly clapping his hands together, Benjamin gulped down the remains of his beer.

"Shall we?", he jumped off of the bar stool, his leather jacket thrown over his shoulder as he gestured towards the door.

Dan just tilted his head to the side disapprovingly, though. "He needs my help. You don't even work for the LAPD, Benny", he pointed out with a slightly amused smile on his lips, but that wasn't going to stop the younger sibling — much like Lucifer, he rarely backed away from a challenge or turned away from his goals.

"The Espinoza brothers are a package deal. At least today. Come on, Detective Douche. I'm your new partner, Detective Chiseled Chin", Benjamin flashed an irresistible grin while lifting his arm for Dan to take, but although he snorted at the nicknames, the only real cop of the two refused to walk out of the bar hand in hand.

But he did accept that, for today, they were a team of two.

With Benji's Camaro being the speedster it was, they got to Lux rather quickly, of which he was glad. He couldn't explain it, but a part of him was already aching due to the lack of Lucifer, though he refused to acknowledge the yearning in his heart. Talking about feelings, it wasn't his thing — he much preferred pushing them down until they'd burst up with one big explosion, just like had happened the other night with his confession to Lucifer. Perhaps it wasn't a half-bad method, at least in his opinion.

"Benny!", Maze greeted the youngest Espinoza with a high-five, and glad that they had moved to this level of friendship, the man instantly responded by smacking their hands together. Needless to say, Lucifer's reaction was slightly different.

"Well, hello", he spoke in his signature tone, his voice smooth and sweet like honey as he bit on his lower lip and looked down at the somewhat shorter man while his arm snaked around Benji's waist. Unable to hold back a smile, Benjamin began to lean closer, but they didn't have enough time to meet in the middle, when Dan had interjected by literally stepping between the two and nudging his little brother back to Mazikeen. "Right", Lucifer cleared his throat while an innocent smile appeared on his lips, "what do you have so far, Daniel?"

Eyeing Lucifer suspiciously, Dan was clearly still struggling to fathom that he had charmed his brother, but nevertheless, he decided to focus on the case. "Well, uh, the guy who chopped Boris's head off had this scar. It's actually a brand. Signature of the Alhambra Triads, they're a Chinese crime syndicate. Lots of them were in the prison that Perry ran. Triads hate the Russians, so makes sense to pit them against each other", he began explaining, going through the file he had brought along and showing a few pictures to Lucifer, and his partner, as Benjamin had put it. Of course, he'd never try to take Izzy's precious place.

"Yeah", Maze intervened, pursing her lips together as she looked at Dan curiously, "you should definitely probe this angle", her tone was mischievous, and although Benjamin didn't really understand why Mazikeen was speaking like that, the words she chose made him giggle.

After Dan had given Maze a weird look, he turned back to Lucifer, electing to simply ignore the demon. "Rumors are they use a Chinese cultural center as a front", he added then, and nodding as a sign of understanding, the Devil quickly put together a plan.

"Right. Well, let's start there then, shall we?", he suggested, and as the four of them started to walk towards the elevator, Lucifer intentionally stayed behind with Benjamin. And once he was sure Dan couldn't see, he wrapped his arm around Ben's hips again and pulled him closer, temptation evident in his eyes as they stared at each other. But, it didn't work.

"Away from my brother."

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