We need each other.

This 'will they won't they' thing

Chloe walked down the staircase to the precinct with her partner following not far behind. She had a spring in her step, which seemed to catch Lucifer's attention rather quickly; after all, he never really looked at anything or anyone else other than her. And while it was wonderful to see her this way, he was also confused. Considering their almost-moment had been annoyingly interrupted by Chloe's alarm clock that morning, he'd expected her to have been a tad more disheartened.

But Chloe sprung down the stairs, a faint smile across her face as she greeted her fellow co-workers.

Lucifer had now fully caught up to her, and stretched out a long arm in front of her as she reached the bottom step.

Chloe stopped in her tracks and averted her gaze towards Lucifer.

"What are you doing?" she said, puzzled.

He furrowed his brows in confusion and slowly lowered his arm as he began to talk.

"You seem... upbeat. I thought you'd be more" he paused, searching for the right word.

"...frustrated?"

It was Chloe's turn to scrunch up her face in confusion. She leaned in closer to him, suddenly making the conversation more intimate in only seconds.

"Why would I be frustrated?" Chloe said with curiosity, the same gentle smile now returning to her face as before.

"Well, you know. This morning, and..."

Chloe cut him off as soon as she realised what he was getting at.

"Lucifer..." her eyes were filled with sincerity, and she looked at him as if they were the only two people in the precinct, or the world, even. "I'm not upset about this morning" she continued.

Lucifer's expression remained just as baffled as it had been when this conversation began. "You're not?" he said after a long pause, now worried that she didn't feel the same way he did.

"No, Lucifer, because even if whatever was about to happen was interrupted, I'm just glad we could be there for one another in the first place."

He stood before her, his expression transitioning from clueless to content.

He understood now, and the fact that they had been so typically interrupted made it even more, well... them.

Chloe saw his change in expression and her heart almost melted as she noticed him finally beginning to understand.

"I couldn't agree more, Detective" he whispered.

"Plus, this will they won't they thing is really the key to our relationship" he added with a grin. She giggled, satisfied that they were both on the same page.

The two stood at the bottom stair of the precinct, chaos surrounding them, but it somehow felt like the world had paused as they gazed into one anothers eyes.

They became lost in each other for a single moment before hearing a small shriek come from a short distance away.

"Gahh! You guys are so freaking adorable!" Ella exclaimed, pouting exaggeratively.

The pair jumped at her sudden arrival, looking back at one another briefly as they smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"and Lucifer, you're back! I've missed ya pal." Ella said quickly, changing the subject. She could see that she had made them uncomfortable.

"That I am, Miss Lopez" he replied, with a charming grin "and I must say, I've missed you too."

"Aww" Ella tilted her head as a smile spread across her face. "Well that's great! I'm sure you guys wanna get started on the new case straight away, follow me into the lab and I'll give you the info on our new vic." Ella said in her usual cheerful manner.

The two did as she said, trying to ignore the obvious atmosphere between them, and began to piece together all the information they had so far.

-

Many hours had passed of paperwork and lab results, all of which Lucifer found overwhelmingly boring, and Chloe sat at her desk with her partner to her right as she looked into a warrant for their investigation.

Lucifer opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe caught him out of the corner of her eye and raised her hand to stop him without taking her eyes off of her computer screen.

"Whether it's a comment about your overwhelming boredom, or some sexual joke you just made up, I'm afraid I need to focus on this" she said impatiently.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, not expecting to be so predictable. He stood up, a smug look on his face, supposedly looking to find someone else to annoy.

But he felt a small hand grab his as he rose from his seat (the same seat he'd been spinning and making himself dizzy on for the last 10 minutes).

Chloe was clutching onto him as she spoke with adorable curiosity.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to the vending machine, Detective. You said you needed to concentrate, and I don't want to distract you" he said gently, careful not to come across dismissively.

Chloe looked into his eyes with delicacy and sincerity, taking a moment to appreciate his statement. She honestly hadn't expected him to be so considerate, at least not without any complaints to follow up.

"Oh, okay. Just..." She hesitated, trying not to seem too desperate.

"Don't take too long please."

She still had a tight grip on his hand, and her eyes had not left his since their conversation began.

"Because you'd miss me?" he responded cheekily.

"What? No-" Chloe giggled and her grip on his hand loosened. Her fingertips brushed against his as she let her arm fall by her side. Lucifer frowned at the loss, now regretting his previous joke.

Her cheeks grew red and she smiled up at him "because I need my partner..." (Chloe made sure to emphasise the word 'partner', making sure Lucifer understood that this was not the time to flirt nor tease her) "to help me with this case because I'm getting tired, and for the past 10 minutes he's been making himself dizzy on a wheely chair and not helping me whatsoever."

Lucifer averted his gaze down to the floor and bit his lip in guilt, realising that it was probably best to help his partner before she either got any sassier or fell asleep on her desk.

"Point taken, Detective." She smiled, glad that he wasn't trying to defend himself by joking about how boring paperwork was, because she really wasn't in the mood.

"You know what, never mind the vending machine. Why don't you go and take a break for a few minutes, and I'll get this done."

This surprised Chloe. It wasn't like Lucifer to offer to do an eternity of tedious paperwork for no reason.

"Wait, really? But you hate this kind of stuff" she said in disbelief.

"Well- yes. I do, but..."

Lucifer hesitated, feeling as if he was about to say something very sweet but also very stupid, and instead opted for humour. Typical of him.

"You're taking forever and I could probably just get this done in 2 minutes" he teased, suddenly grinning at the unintended innuendo.

Chloe laughed, hitting him lightly on the forearm, just as she'd done in the apartment that morning. Her eyes locked with his as her hand lingered. She felt his muscles tense beneath her touch and she could swear it took everything she had to drop her hand from his arm in that moment.

"Thanks, Lucifer." she responded, awkwardly but genuinely. She stood up to walk towards the coffee machiene, but heard him quickly add "Oh! And don't eat anything from that ghastly kitchen"

"What? Why?" she turned around in confusion, her glossy hair falling behind her shoulder. 

"Because I'd like to take you to dinner, Detective"