none quite made Benjamin's heart race like Los Angeles did. Maybe it was because of all the memories, all the attachments that gave him something worth returning for, but when he stood at the entrance of his favorite nightclub, it might as well have been his first time there. It took his breath away all the same, a wide grin on his face as he leaned on the railing and took in the sight of intoxicated dancers and unreasonably attractive bartenders — not that he had eyes for anyone but one man.

With his heart thudding practically to the beat of the music he was easily drawn to, Benji scanned the surroundings but supposed that even if he was intending on heading for the penthouse, he could enjoy the party for a minute or two first. He had attended more than enough in his lifetime, but this... felt like home. That was why he had decided to come back in the first place, knowing that besides the place, there was one person who felt like home, too.

Not that he had told him, though. Or anyone but Izzy, for that matter — he did love a surprise, after all.

Benjamin barely made it halfway through the stairs, his dazzled eyes still stuck on the dancefloor when his chest thumped into another and he staggered backwards. Acting on instinct, his hands flew out to balance the other man walking into him, just as the stranger copied his movements to make sure neither of them would be shoved over the railing. They were left in panicked silence, then, holding one another with an apology brewing in the back of Benji's throat, only for it to die out when he looked up and saw the confused stare directed at him.

It was a handsome guy, no doubt, but the scrutinizing gaze he found himself receiving was never anything good, even if the fluffy hair and doe eyes almost got Benjamin under their spell. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" the man questioned, both of them forgetting to let go of each other while reviewing each other and the similar leather jackets they were donning.

Lifting an eyebrow, Benji glanced down at the stranger's hip only for a chuckle to burst from his lips when he acknowledged the shiny badge resting on his belt. "Are you a cop?" he asked carelessly, almost amused by the odds of this happening to him again. When the man nodded at him, he repeated the gesture with a grin and shrugged innocently, sure that even if he couldn't place the guy, it was more than plausible for them to have crossed paths before. "In that case, it's very possible."

"Alright, let's see some ID", the cop sighed in defeat, his hold finally relenting as he dropped his hands to his hips and stood in Benjamin's way to stop him from disappearing further into the club.

Caving in without a fight, Ben dug through his pocket and whipped out his ID to present it to the cop with a knowing look. It was a familiar routine, and it seemed to pull an almost amused smile from the man as he glanced at his information — at the sight of his name, though, the amusement evaporated and his mouth fell open as he glanced between the card and the real thing in front of him. Tempted to tell him to take a picture, Benji flashed another smile, one hoping to get on with his day, especially now that he was devoted to one man only and flirting with the cop wouldn't make things any interesting for him.

"Oh, holy moly", the man breathed out before handing the ID back over to Benji and smacking a hand against his back in a friendly manner. "I think there's some people at the precinct who'd like to see you", he continued, and for once, Benjamin received those words with excitement rather than a threat, and it made his heart leap.

Of course, how else would he make his grand return to L.A if not through a police precinct?

—————

Benjamin was almost devoid of witty one-liners as he sat in the passenger seat of his new detective friend's car and bobbed his head to the music playing from the radio. He could feel the man's eyes on him, but uncaring of the attention — if anything, he basked in it — Benji simply entertained the thought of finally being reunited with Lucifer. It had been his own decision to leave, but that didn't mean he hadn't missed the Morningstar, at all. And he still didn't regret taking time to figure out his place in the world and his feelings about everything that had been dug up before walking out, but it had led him to the conclusion that he belonged in L.A; with his brother as well as with the Devil.

Before he could get emotional thinking about winding back up in Lucifer's arms, though, he cleared his throat and peeked from under his sunglasses to give the detective a knowing look. "So, you weren't here last time I checked. A newbie?" he took the opportunity to speak and dissolve the tension that was growing in the car by the second with each curious look that he got from the cop.

"New to L.A, sure. New to law enforcement, not by a long shot", he flashed a grin at Benji, "I worked for the NYPD for years. Detective Kai Nolan."

At that, Benji gasped and fully took off his sunglasses just as Kai pulled up at the LAPD's parking lot. "Oh, damn, are you the guy who gets on Chlo's nerves?" he laughed boldly, fully aware of all the gossip he had heard from Izzy, Dan and Chloe herself. In fact, if he tried hard enough, he could probably vaguely remember the fateful cop-con that had driven a wedge between the Decker and Kai.

When he nodded in response, Benjamin suppressed a snort while unbuckling his belt and swinging the car door open. "In that case, my dear friend Izzy has already told me so much about you", he continued with a smile, one that Kai wound up returning while turning off the car and following Ben's lead towards the building.

"For what it's worth, I've heard a lot about you, too", he noted while they walked side by side, and despite the potentially worrisome words, the Espinoza simply flashed a taunting smirk at him.

"I'm sure you have. Nothing like the real deal, though", he clarified with a lavish gesture at himself.

As much was confirmed when the two entered the bullpen and Kai's presence went completely ignored, all their closest friends dashing to Benjamin's side with gasps and disbelieving eyes. Reminded of just how much he loved attention, he couldn't stop smiling, especially when Dan was stomping over to him with an expression that was relieved yet upset he hadn't known about his return. Izzy, however, settled for smiling smugly from aside while watching Dan wring his strong arms around Benjamin and squeeze.

"It''s about damn time", he huffed quietly while holding onto his brother as long as he was allowed to. Only when Benji gently pushed him away with his fist against his shoulder, they looked at each other with happy grins, the kind that only expanded when Dan went on. "Need a place to stay?"

Shrugging, Benjamin glanced around the bullpen, and after giving Chloe and Ella delighted waves, he faced Dan with a wink. "I guess we'll see in a moment", he pointed out, and as if on cue, Lucifer was appearing from the hallway and stopping in his tracks at the sight of his darling, his casual stroll freezing and his confident aura evaporating on the spot. Instinctively, Dan moved away, leaving Benji widening his arms to Lucifer with a cheeky grin on his face, even if his eyes were shining with emotion.

"I considered calling ahead, but I wanted to see the look on your face", he was the first one to speak, unbelievably full of joy as he reviewed Lucifer from head to toe. He was handsome as always, beyond charming and irresistible, but the stunned, touched look in his eyes was what got Benji to nearly choke up. "And it's so much better than I imagined", he added, partly joking but partly also struggling to believe that he was there again. He had, indeed, pictured this moment many times, almost nonstop for the past 24 hours, but even his wild imagination hadn't done it justice.

The air grew heavy and charged with feeling, one that didn't quite reach its peak until Lucifer was striding across the room with determination to pull Benjamin into an embrace and kiss him deeply. That was exactly what he did, eyes instinctively falling shut as he held onto the man's face gently but with no intention of letting go. Even with most of the officers around them going about their day as usual, their little group was reveling in the sweet, sweet reunion they had all awaited impatiently — none quite as much as Lucifer, though.

They had called regularly, never ceasing to stay in touch, but the Devil was rarely one to speak about his emotions with candor. There was much longing and sadness he had left out, bottled up so much that it was spilling past the seams and letting all his co-workers and friends see just how tortured he was by Benji's absence. Yet, he had never been been selfish enough to beg him to come back.

So, Izzy had done it for him. She had planned just a visit for him, but her timing had been impeccable — Benji had been sitting on it for a while already, and getting the call from the Holt had only been the final nail in the coffin to confirm that it was time he came back.

For good.

"I missed you dearly", Lucifer whispered when he finally parted from Benjamin enough to stare into his eyes, a soft smile drawing his lips up as he tilted his head to the side and brushed a curious thumb across the Espinoza's cheek. "Tell me you've come to stay", he added quietly, the look in his eyes hopeful as he dropped one hand to Benjamin's waist to keep him close.

"I have", Benji confirmed with a nod, leaning up to give Lucifer another, brief kiss before straightening out the lapels of his suit jacket and smiling. "Next time I leave town, it'll be to go somewhere with you. Together", he promised, and utterly relieved to hear those words, the Devil folded his arms around him in a hug so tight, somewhere in the distance they could hear Ella sigh in disappointment.

"Well, I'm putting all my plans here on hold. Shall I go start the car and reintroduce you to the penthouse?" Lucifer inquired then, his usual sass finally bleeding back into his tone as he lifted a taunting eyebrow at Ben. There was no doubt of how they'd be spending the rest of the night, and it made his heart skip a beat as he agreed with an intrigued nod. Surely, there was a lot of memory-jogging to do.

As Lucifer slinked away with his hand reluctant to drop from Benji's, the latter turned over to Izzy who approached the man with a joyous smile. "For the record, I'm taking full credit for this", the Holt announced proudly, and unwilling to argue, Benjamin simply chuckled before pulling the redhead into a hug.

"As you should, Iz. We'll catch up tomorrow, yeah?" he planned, and with a nod, Izzy agreed before placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You bet. Go on, now, you've got a boyfriend to enjoy!" she insisted, and well, who was he to argue?

—————

a gasp from Hell's most formidable soul-torturer, but that was exactly the reaction he got when he and Lucifer waltzed into Lux together. The crowd was as loud and boisterous as before, but this time, Mazikeen had found her way in it, too, leaving Benji no choice but to rush over to her with excitement.

"Get outta here! You're back?" Maze swatted his chest with disbelief, and while surprised that Izzy hadn't cracked and told her girlfriend, Benjamin couldn't help but feel flattered that everyone had missed him so much. He had missed them, too, and even though hugs weren't on the table with Mazikeen, he made sure she knew by bumping his fist against hers in a delighted greeting.

"Back and here to stay", Lucifer noted while appearing by Benji's side, his arm snaking around his waist to gently steer him away from Maze. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we have some catching up to do."

One wink from Maze later, the two were rushing towards the elevator — which still made Benjamin's heartrate pick up, but with Lucifer's fingers curling around his leather jacket and his aftershave invading his personal space, he felt far from anxious. He was far too occupied gazing into Lucifer's eyes and breathing him in with his back meeting the wall of the elevator, the Devil's hand landing next to his head to stop him from hiding.

Sooner than they would have liked, they arrived at the penthouse with a ding, and Benjamin was taking the lead with his hand wrapping around Lucifer's neck to reel him in while stumbling backwards. As they bumped into each other, chest to chest, lips colliding in the middle with much less affection and much more despair, Benji knew that coming back had been exactly the right decision to do.

"We're going to have a Devil of a time", Lucifer laughed breathlessly while Benjamin kissed his jaw, and chuckling, the Espinoza gave him a look.

"We always do."

»»»

Surprise!! A little extra Benjifer content for you guys after all these years (: I've been working on my other Lucifer fics with Benjamin as a minor character, and I brought him back in "Youth Gone Wild" but I understand not everyone will read that. Therefore, I turned his scenes into a bonus chapter for you guys to enjoy!

(And, as much as I stand by my decision to make Benji run, I know I broke some hearts so consider this my apology.)

This is officially the last part of this book, if you want more Benji, he's involved in the rest of my Lucifer series (: I hope whoever still reads this book enjoyed though!! Thank you for all the support ❤️