open ; we need to face our demons

[walkingheroin]

Who: Lucifer Morningstar and anyone else who likes to party.
Where: Deux Lux
When: July Catch-All
Rating: TBD
Summary: Come hang out with the Devil you know you want to.
The Story:

[Lucifer continues to be here almost every night. Perhaps he doesn't need to be; he doesn't care who takes what from behind the bar and the place nearly runs itself, but he enjoys it here. He likes to noise and the presence of others. He likes to watch and learn and exist in a space that occupies more than just himself.

So in the aftermath of some not so pleasant moments in Wonderland, he's doing what he does best; getting other people drunk and doing whatever he feels like doing in any particular moment.

Feel free to stop by and have a drink with him. Or bother him upstairs in his penthouse suite after hours. He's fine with either.]

Comments

[dramatic]

( m.j. sashays her way into the deux lux, wearing a sharp dress suit and tall boots, red hair flowing down her shoulders. she's carrying a briefcase, despite the fact there isn't anything in it. it just makes her look more professional ok. she sets the briefcase on the counter, and leans forward with clasped hands. )

Good afternoon, Mr. Morningstar.

( is he really the devil? she's about to find out. ) I've been told you run this joint. I'm M.J., and you don't know it yet, but you need me.

[walkingheroin]

I do hope that stands for something other than Michael Jackson, because otherwise I'll feel the need to apologize on you parents' behalf.

[But he's certainly intrigued. She's attractive, to say the least, and spunky. Perhaps he can have a bit of fun, in one way or another.]

But do go on. How is it that I need you?

[dramatic]

( mj considers this for a moment. ) I could pull it off.

( but then, if lucifer is compelled to apologize for her parents, then her name is the least of it. her father was a real bag of dicks. )

I've worked in the night club business. ( as a dancer which totally counts ok. ) I know a good one when I see one. You've got the music, the drinks, the well-designed interiors. Wonderland doesn't have a currency, so you never have to worry about people skimmin' on you. The fact you look like you were chiseled out of clay isn't hurting, either. But there is one thing missing, and that's a feminine touch.

[walkingheroin]

I'll take your word on that.

[His father is pretty bad too. They should make a club.]

You're free to touch all you like. [He sticks his tongue into the inside of his cheek with amusement before he grows a bit more serious.] What is it you think you'd do, if I were to give you the opportunity?

[theothermrgray]

[Guess who's back at Deux Lux?]

[He's dressed to party, and he's gonna try to order absinthe. If that's not available,
he'll take whatever the devil recommends. After all, he is a decent enough acquaintance.]

Hello, again. I trust the last event treated you well?

[walkingheroin]

I've certainly been through worse.

[Tabletop games weren't exactly his bag of tea, but it was certainly better than the previous mess where the mirrors crossed over and his best friend nearly tore him apart.

Anything was better than that, really.]

What can I get you?

[theothermrgray]

Understandable.

[If nobody ever brought up those horrid mirrors again, that would be great.]

Hm... I'm not so sure. What would you reccomend?

[walkingheroin]

[He'd prefer if they never gave him cause to be brought up again.

He's not counting on it.]

Something that packs a punch. [He grins as he simply starts to pour things into a shaker filled with ice.] Here, I'll share one with you.

Penthouse, Early July

[thevulnerability]

[ It had been put off as long as it could be. Longer than it should have been.

Chloe was shaking by the time she got to his floor, her fingers absentmindedly tugging at the sleeves of her light sweater. The hallway lay out in front of her like the last two months; deceptively endless. The longer she walked, the further from any kind of truth she felt.

It was fairly late into the night; at least, by Chloe standards, though she knew Lucifer didn't exactly keep the same hours. Just thirty minutes ago she had been asleep, tossing around the bed in her stark apartment. It continued to be unfurnished as possible, although even Chloe wasn't sure if it was still out of respect, mourning, or pure pig-headedness. Chloe hadn't mentioned the nightmares to anyone; not even Seth, her closest confidant since she arrived, not Elena, certainly not Lucifer.

What would there be to tell? The vicious account of watching Klaus tear Lucifer's body from limb to limb every night, the way he yelled her name echoing in her ears, the smell and taste of his blood on her. It always ended in the room, the feather in her hand, it's ethereal glow hypnotic. It is almost as bright as the red reflecting in his eyes as his features shift, unclear in her mind and never quite actualized, but she can sense the change in the air, like pressure breaking before a storm. Only then she would awaken with a gasp in the darkness of her room, sweat clinging her clothes to her body and dotting her face.

Her conversation with Freya had been the breaking point, although it was the most recent dream that had launched her to action. Chloe had hoped when she cleared the air with Freya and Klaus the dreams would stop, but it took her too long to realize the dreams weren't about her new friends or the trauma of (unwitting, unintended) betrayals. What happened with the mirror was simply a catalyst for the festering doubt that had nestled in her since the moment she and Lucifer met, ignited when she healed Lucifer with the feather and believed, if just for a fleeting second, that he might be telling the truth.

For some reason, tonight's dream pissed her off as much as it scared her. Chloe was tired of the doubt and the games, tired of the lies by omission and most of all, she was tired of not trusting Lucifer anymore. She had meant what she said to Klaus - that she didn't think Lucifer cared about anyone but himself - but that didn't stop her from caring about him.

She had to get her answers before she could figure out how to move on. She had to find out if he was telling the truth, and why he hadn't proved it to her, why he hadn't protected her, why he left.

She had to know if she ever had a hope of getting a decent night's sleep again.

Lux was empty, no sign of Lucifer holding court around the piano as he often did. Chloe felt a wave of relief followed by her stomach tightening, as she realized he was probably upstairs which meant she couldn't use the atmosphere of the bar to distract from her true motivations for being there. She only had to hope he didn't have company, or hope he did, and lay yet more blame on him for the reasons she continued to distance herself from him.

Once she reached the penthouse she slipped in, clearing her throat as loudly as she could. ]

Lucifer? [ A pause, a breath. It was too late to turn back now. ] Are you here? We need to talk.

[walkingheroin]

[Lucifer hadn't entirely been himself since that day, either. He didn't have nightmares, he'd seen far too much for that, but he knew that things were different now. He knew that Chloe was accepting certain things that she would have never previously believed, that what she considered supernatural had confronted her face to face and that it would inevitably change the way she looked at him.

She'd never believed him before. He'd taken some comfort in that, because it meant that he'd been truthful without terrifying her away.

He needed her in ways he didn't quite understand and he feared her loss. It was something he hadn't quite figured out how to either cope with or approach.

It seemed that she was going to do it first.

He'd closed down a little early that evening, by sheer coincidence. He's still in his slacks, though his white shirt is unbuttoned a few buttons and his tie is laid out over his desk chair. As for himself, that's sitting in one of his plush chairs, a glass of bourbon nestled between his hands.

He speaks without looking up, his entire posture apprehensive at the sound of her voice.]

Come in, Detective. Door's open.

[thevulnerability]

[ She did as directed, an automated response as she moved through the door and stood in front of it. She could tell his body language was different; lacking that casual indifference to everything around him. Chloe cleared her throat and stared at the floor for a few seconds, palming the hair from her face thoughtfully.

He knew what she was there for. The only thing left was to see if she could actually do it. ]

We need to talk. [ She repeats herself as if she thinks he didn't hear her the first time. Mostly she's stalling, trying to build up her nerve for the honesty that was incoming. Some of what happened he didn't even have any reference for; it wasn't his fault things had gone so south back home, it wasn't his fault he didn't remember. After her talk with Seth, she was even starting to forgive him for that. Just a little.

But he was at fault for more, and she wanted him to take responsibility for what he could. Maybe if he was honest with her now, it would soften the anger she still felt for everything else. ]

I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending what is happening here, and the things I've seen, aren't somehow related to you. I know that things I never thought could be possible are in this place but I can't... [ Her breath catches in her throat. It was easier when it was just Klaus or Freya. It was easier when it wasn't him who was the question, the question she had been avoiding answering for almost two years. ]

I need the truth, Lucifer.

[walkingheroin]

I imagine we probably do.

[He lifts his glass to his lips, finishing off the contents as if that's going to help.

It isn't. It won't.

There's an extra glass next to the decanter that he refills his glass with as he gestures for her to have a seat across from him. There's always an extra, in case he ends up having company. He wonders if she'll realize that she's going to need it.

He doesn't want to have this conversation, but he's rather certain he doesn't have a choice. It's simply a matter of if she's ever going to want to even look at him again, if he's going to haunt her nightmares for the rest of her days instead of being her friend, her partner.]

I never asked you to pretend, Detective. I always thought I was quite honest with you. [He leans forward, elbows against his knees, glass cradled in his hands.] But you're mistaken if you believe I have anything to do with Wonderland and its madness.

[morethan084]

[There are a lot of places Daisy has yet to really check out, this place just happens to be one of them. Taking a seat at the bar, Daisy is a bit surprised to see no one tending the bar. Or maybe they just stepped away for a minute. There is someone sitting next to her and she looks over at them as she speaks up.]

This looks like the place classy strippers work at, only there's no pole.

[It took her a second but she realizes she's spoken to this guy before. He called himself the Devil, which was still weird and not something she really believed. Whatever, people give themselves weird names. Or have them thrust upon them, like the one the media had given her. Quake.]

[walkingheroin]

[He takes a sip out of his drink, the looks on his face a little distant.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks.]

Well, the original in Los Angeles has poles and hired dancers, though they're certainly not strippers. Unless they decide they'd like to do that in private after hours, of course.

[morethan084]

Same thing isn't it?

[When her beer arrives, Daisy takes a good swig of it before speaking up again.]

You said the original. Did you build this place?

[walkingheroin]

[He shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't particularly care what she calls it. His girls are well paid and they certainly have no complaints. They enjoy their work, they're there because they want to be, so the rest is details.]

Well, in the case of this place, I imagined it, but yes, this is my establishment.

[screwedontight]

[Seth is nearly sober when he heads for Deux Lux one evening. Not that he's been sober since the last day of the snow storm. Not since Kate went missing and never came back. Not so drunk though that he hasn't entirely remembered talks he's had with others. Including Chloe.

He's trying to sober up though, at least for the day. He could do it for one day without wanting to break someone's face, maybe he could dry up. Maybe. He's not real sure.

So he's had maybe two shots that day, up only a short time that evening before he came through the door of the club. Wearing a black suit as usual, his hair done, but there's signs he's not all together. His tie isn't knotted tight to his throat, there's dark circles under his eyes. and his shoes could definitely use a buff or two.

Hitting up the bar first, he makes a circuit of the club, keeping his eyes open for the man behind the place. This was stupid as shit but he'd woken up that evening really wanting to talk to Lucifer.]

[walkingheroin]

[Lucifer sitting with his back to the bar on one of the stools, sipping at his own drink and watching the other people at least try to enjoy themselves if it isn't genuine, which he's sure it is in some cases.

His expression isn't quite as bright as it usually is, as if something might be weighing on him. He's never been all that great at hiding how he felt, not unless he was actively attempting to convince people otherwise.]

[screwedontight]

[Spying a familiar face, Seth changes course and heads over to where Lucifer is sitting. He is sober enough not to just force his company on the other man though, pausing there as he toys with his glass.]

Just the man I was looking for. Mind some company?

[walkingheroin]

I never mind company.

[He gestures to the stool beside him.]

Join me. What can I do for you?

[easily]

[Rebekah doesn't really know Lucifer well, not the way Freya or Klaus does. She met him during an event once and of course saw the awful fight between him and Klaus, but she doesn't know him beyond it. And it's about time she changes that because if he's important to her siblings than he's worth getting to know. Which is why she ends up at the Deux Lux one night dressed up to party.

Well, that and she just likes to party in general but.

Details.

When she spots him she makes her way over to him, a glass of bourbon in her hand.]

This is quite the impressive place you have here.

[walkingheroin]

[Lucifer is always perfectly happy to acquaint himself further with the Mikaelsons. For as complicated as his friendship with Klaus has been, he's also found a sort of kinship that he doesn't remember ever having experienced before. It's what he wished it were like with his brothers.

Regardless, he recognizes Rebekah easily, giving her a smile as she walks over.]

It does have its charms, doesn't it?

[easily]

[kinship is important, as much as rebekah has been the first to be like peace i'm out (no, the first is usually kol, but details) something always brings her back to her siblings, even klaus. their relationship with always be complicated but it is better than it has been in years. for the first time in centuries rebekah sees the brother she loved so dearly, the one she protected from their father. he laughs. he gives her gifts.]

I've been meaning to check it out for a while but time flies in Wonderland sometimes.

back dated to like??? earlier in july, like july 5th or so

[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

[It's a good bit before Napstablook's normal shift starts, and they arrive earlier than normal. They spot the man at the bar and float up to it, far more confidently than the first time months ago.]

hello, mr. morningstar....

they seem a little nervous, but determined.]

[walkingheroin]

Ah, hello Napstablook.

[His greeting in genial; the ghost monster has been nothing but reliable and they've done their job well.]

Is there something I can do for you?