Los Angeles, and the somewhat bittersweet nostalgia that kicked in when he drove down the familiar streets and looked around the surroundings he still vividly remembered. Sure, he had been away for a long time, but some things never changed, and one of those was the fact that the City of Angels still felt like home — even if Benji was nowhere near to being one of those.

Still, everything wasn't precisely as he had left it, for example, Dan and Chloe's happy marriage had crashed and burned. Dan insisted on using some other term, but Benjamin found it fitting. They still hadn't divorced, but the word had been mentioned a fair amount of times. However, something positive had come out of their relationship as well, as Benjamin could now proudly carry the title of an uncle, to Trixie Decker who had just turned eight years old. Frankly, the youngest Espinoza couldn't wait to spoil the little princess and be the kind of uncle who got judging glares from the parents.

Luckily, Dan hadn't changed entirely, even if he now lived alone in an apartment. He was still the good-hearted, kind brother Benjamin had left behind, and that was why he agreed to not give him a ticket for going over the speed limit — which was why Benjamin could happily drive over to his brother's new house, where he was supposed to crash for what he insisted on being only a few nights, but Dan knew to be forever if he'd only allow it. His brother had never been the responsible type, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to scolding Benji about it — he was just truly glad he was back, even if he was most likely bringing a ton of immaturity and trouble with him. Nonetheless, they were brothers, and it had been too long since they had seen each other.

"Isn't this just adorable?", Benjamin nodded approvingly as he pushed his keys into the pocket of his leather jacket and walked around the small apartment that Dan had let him in to. The oldest of the siblings had just ended his shift at the precinct, giving them the opportunity to catch up, and whereas Daniel was expecting a nice, cozy evening at home, Benji's mind was already stirring with wonderful, more adventurous and wild ideas, but he wasn't quite ready to share any of them yet.

Instead, he found himself standing by the drawer in the living room, his eyes looking down at the framed photos on top of it. There was one with Dan, Chloe and Trixie, and one of their parents, but in the middle rested a photo of the two brothers, both smiling with their arms thrown over each other's shoulders. They had always been close, but Benjamin could remember the day of the photo better than most days — they had a tendency to blur together, with all the alcohol and partying and the similarity of each day, but this one was a special one.

It was the day Benji had come out to Dan, admitted to being gay, and even though he was generally rather proud of himself, he had been scared as hell. Nowadays, Benjamin didn't bother to hide his true self, and was lucky that most people accepted him the way he was, but Dan had been the first one to find out about his sexuality. It hadn't been easy for Benjamin, but eventually, he had gotten the words out of his mouth, and all the fear within him vanished like smoke in the air when Dan had pulled him into a hug and assured that nothing could ever make him love his brother any less. He said he was proud of Benji, and ever since, he had been too. Even though he could be a bit of a jerk towards Dan, he did love him and saw him as some kind of hero — he just never admitted it to him.

"You okay?", Dan then broke the silence that had landed into the apartment, and snapping out of his thoughts, Benjamin set back the photo in his hands and flashed a genuine, charming smile at his brother.

"Awesome", he confirmed, before wandering around the place more and taking in all the details. However, when Dan began to kick off his shoes and shrug away his jacket, the younger brother lifted his hands and shook his head in disagreement, "Now, hold on. We're going to go out and celebrate my long overdue return, so don't undress just yet. Save that for the club." His words caused Dan to roll his eyes, but Benji simply offered a dashing grin whilst gesturing for Dan to put the shoes and jacket back on — which he unwillingly did, eventually.

"Clubbing? Seriously?", the older Espinoza gave a look to Benjamin, but the lack of enthusiasm in his voice didn't discourage the blue-eyed boy. It merely convinced him that Dan was in a need of a drink and some fun — with the divorce and demotion and whatnot.

Opening the door, Benji then nodded into the dark night to get Dan out of the house, which he reluctantly agreed to. "Come on, it's Friday night, I'm finally back, and I'm pretty you haven't had a drink in the entire time I was gone. So yes, clubbing. You can't say my return isn't worth some champagne", Benjamin tried to cheer Dan up, and despite his usually gloomy attitude towards parties in general, he ended up chuckling and nodding his head in agreement. It was great that his brother was back, so perhaps he could give in this one time.

"I have work tomorrow, though", Daniel then pointed out, but the glare he earned from his younger brother meant that he needed to stop complaining. "Fine! But we're not going to Lux, I mean, literally any other club—", he still continued, but before he could finish the sentence, Benjamin broke into mischievous laughter whilst unlocking the doors of his Camaro and sitting in.

"You know, I probably wouldn't even have considered it, but now that you said that, we're definitely going to Lux", Benjamin grinned like the childish idiot he could be, earning a groan from Dan, who, despite his disagreements ended up taking a seat in the Camaro.

Frankly, Benjamin didn't know what was so special about Lux, except that it was a rather popular club, but he was definitely going to find out.

—————

an impeccable mood lingered, completing the experience, which many seemed to be enjoying. As someone who had been to dozens, maybe even hundreds of clubs, Benjamin looked around the surroundings warily and with a judgmental eye, but he couldn't help but come to the conclusion that there was nothing to complain about — there was an equal amount of men and women entertaining the guests, who were bouncing up and down to the beat of the hypnotizing music or sipping on fancy drinks.

In fact, the more Benjamin eyed Lux, the more he began to fall in love with the place. Even with the shamelessly moving dancers and the wasted people making out in the darkest corners of the club, the place managed to maintain some level of class. There was a grand piano in the room, which especially caught Benji's eyes — he, too, had a little talent in him. Over the years he had spent traveling, he had learned how to play the piano, and now, his fingers danced on the keys effortlessly. However, once his gaze wandered around again, he found something equally tempting, and let his lips curve upwards when his piercing blue eyes met the green ones of a man walking past him.

"How did I not know about this place? I mean— if I had known, I would have come home a lot sooner", Benjamin wondered out loud after he had turned away from the stranger who had eyed him just as hungrily as Benji had eyed him. But since he was there to catch up with his brother and have some bonding time with his only sibling, Benjamin turned down what he recognized as a very potential opportunity to get laid.

Rolling his eyes behind Benjamin, Dan followed his brother as he began to walk around the club with his usual curiosity shining in his stare. "Great to know you would have returned for a club but not me", the detective jokingly pointed out, earning a fake gasp from Benji who turned around briefly to direct Dan a look.

"I did return for you, though, so... Hey, what does a guy have to do to get a drink around here? And some abs in front of me, maybe?", the younger Espinoza then sighed whilst his eyes scanned the room for some waiters, but none happened to be nearby. However, whilst he was excitedly preparing their upcoming night, Dan narrowed his eyes at Benjamin and shook his head, knowing very well what kind of a party animal his brother was — it would be easy for Benji to actually ditch him and end up hooking up with someone, or get wasted and challenge someone into a dance-off.

"I thought we were here to have a brotherly bonding moment", Dan reminded, and this time, it was Benjamin's turn to sigh.

Nodding, he turned around and placed his hands on Dan's shoulders before flashing a reassuring smile at him. "We are. But I also said we're here to celebrate. I mean, why else would we be at a club? Besides, who says we can't enjoy the incredible view here whilst we bond, huh?", Benjamin elaborated, before dropping his hold on Dan and directing a smile at the shirtless male dancer behind him. "You know, I really don't know why you hate this place. It's perfect!", the Espinoza then continued when his eyes returned to Dan, who clenched his jaw and pushed his hands into his pockets.

As if on cue, a voice suddenly spoke up over the music, loud enough to catch Benjamin's attention as it split the thick atmosphere in half — however, whereas his eyes lit up with interest, Dan let out a groan at the words that rang through the air.

"Detective Douche!"

The charming British accent caused Benji to look up from his brother instantly, and he could feel his heart pound harder against his chest when his eyes met a tall, lanky man, dressed in a smooth, luxurious suit with a drink in his hand and a cocky smile twisting his pink lips in the most irresistible way. Frankly, Benjamin wasn't sure what about him was the best part — the deep, alluring eyes, the rough stubble he could already imagine against his own, the dark hair styled perfectly that was just screaming for Benjamin's fingers to rake through... Or the fact that Detective Douche was his nickname for Dan.

Benjamin's eyes widened as the handsome man walked over to Benji's brother and teasingly nudged him, confirming that they definitely knew each other. In that moment, Benji supposed he forgot how to breathe — he was used to being the confident, sassy guy loved by everyone, but in this attractive stranger's presence, he felt disoriented and completely and utterly undone. Even worse — for his sanity, at the very least — when he stepped into their company, a wave of his strong, tempting aftershave kicked in and Benjamin thought his legs were going to give in any moment now.

"Seeing you here is a surprise, Dan. Come to threaten me, eh? Intimidate me? Rant about my irresponsibility?", the man then questioned before drawing a sip from his drink and smirking at Dan. He carried himself with so much pride and confidence, it was shaking Benji to his core, as was the fact that he and Dan didn't get along. Which, honestly, wasn't such a surprise. If Benji wasn't Daniel's brother, they probably wouldn't get along, either. "And who might this be, hm?", the British accent filled the tension between them again, and somehow, that caused Benjamin to snap out of his trance.

Get it together, Benjamin scolded himself, you don't crush. This isn't you.

"I'm Benjamin. Dan's brother", he then cleared his throat before flashing an irresistible smile and offering his hand for the handsome stranger to shake. Hopefully, he wouldn't be a stranger for long — Benji did remember that he had come there to be the uncle, brother and friend he had forgotten to be, and at least try to be responsible, but right now, the thought of being a little reckless was a tempting one.

The word brother caused the tall man's eyes to blow wide whilst a teasing smirk followed his gaze when it landed on Dan, who simply scoffed and then grabbed Benjamin's arm with a tight grip. This was why he had tried to avoid Lux — because he knew that his brother was a lot like his enemy, and the worst case scenario was that the two of them would get too close and team up, causing mischief and more wrinkles on Dan's forehead, together. But he also wanted to protect his brother, which was why Daniel didn't hesitate to head towards towards the exit and tugging Benjamin along, insisting that the party was over and they were going home.

There was a sadness and disappointment in Benjamin's eyes, but he knew than even if he was the brother with the immature, stubborn behavior, Dan could be bull-headed too. If he set his mind on something, he didn't back down, and that was why Benji didn't try to squirm or fight when Dan continued to drag him away.

However, before they could leave, Benjamin felt another hand around his arm, but instead of determined and tight, it was gentle and it caused Benjamin's eyes to snap to the other direction, where they locked with a perfectly dark, tempting shade of brown.

"I'm Lucifer", the already familiar, smooth accent caused Benjamin's lips to curve upwards into a smile. "Lucifer Morningstar."

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