Benjamin a place to stay, his penthouse, and although the little rebel had been rather willing to accept the kind gesture, Dan had been a tad less enthusiastic when it came to letting his brother share the bed with the Devil himself. But, even if Benjamin had to drive home each night — or get a cab, or beg for Dan to come and pick him up from Lux — he had developed a tight friendship with Lucifer, the kind where he dropped everything to spend time with him at his request. And Lucifer did the same for Benji.

However, the Espinoza didn't have anything special to keep him preoccupied anyway, whereas the other half of the blossoming bromance was busy being a club owner and a civilian consultant for the LAPD. Luckily, as the two were spending time at Lux on yet another lovely evening, Benji had the most brilliant idea whilst eyeing the bartender mixing a drink for him.

"I should be a bartender", he blurted out suddenly, and in response, Lucifer chuckled whilst sipping on his own drink. "I'm serious!", Benjamin continued, looking over to his friend, "I used to do that in Europe, so I've got experience. Come on, hire me. I could use a job, and besides, you can't say that you don't like the thought of being my boss", defending his idea bravely, and well, he was right. The idea did make Lucifer smirk as he thought about it, and he did trust Benjamin enough to do the job properly, so perhaps it wasn't so crazy, after all.

"Well, we are a bartender short now that Mazikeen is out... bounty hunting", he rolled his eyes at the reminder of his demon's new career choice. "Welcome aboard, Benjamin. Why don't you pour me a drink to make it official?", Lucifer suggested, lifting an eyebrow as he looked over to Benjamin, who smiled in satisfaction and obeyed quickly.

He moved behind the bar and grabbed a glass, and once it was filled to the brim with the alcohol he remembered to be Lucifer's favorite, Benji nudged it across the counter. "Here you go, boss", he presented it smugly, and in return, Lucifer grinned.

"You're right, I do like the sound of that", he winked, and after gulping down the drink, the man grabbed his jacket from the counter and tossed it over his shoulder. "I better head out. My Mum thinks wreaking havoc is a fun little pastime activity, so now I must find the blade before another clueless human decides to go on a homicidal rampage", the Devil sighed wearily before pulling the jacket over his purple vest, and as much as Benjamin tried to understand, he could only chuckle. Lucifer had told him about Azrael's blade though, and how Maze and Amenadiel were also hunting the weapon to avoid more bloodshed, but it was difficult to fathom that it was all real.

"Good luck, Luci. And uh, keep an eye on my brother?", Benjamin responded nervously, hating the idea of Dan getting hurt with the blade out there. And with a simple "As you wish", Lucifer promised to do just that, before walking away from Benjamin and out of the club — and Ben's eyes didn't leave him until he was out of sight.

Sighing, he leaned against the counter and observed the club from the other side for the first time. It felt like his life was finally going in the right direction, with each day making his time in L.A more and more worth it, and frankly, he loved it.

—————

Benjamin turned around with one of the bottles in his hand to find Mazikeen sitting on the other side of the bar counter, Amenadiel by her side, and both of them holding said Pop-Tarts. He wasn't quite sure where this offer was coming from, but Benji would never decline such a good one, and with his priorities in mind, the newest bartender of Lux took the snack from Maze's hand and thanked her in the process.

"So, this is a weird team-up, but I'm kind of digging it", Benjamin spoke with a mouth full of Frosted Strawberry, his finger pointing at Maze and Amenadiel as the two rested against the counter. They glanced at each other silently, their stares cold and stern, but Benjamin elected to ignore that and continued with, "I guess you didn't find Az—whatever's blade?", which surprised the demon and the angel, both of them looking at Benji with wide eyes as he innocently munched on the Pop-Tart.

"No, we didn't—Luci told you? About... us?", Amenadiel was unable to mask his shock as anything else but just that, and all Benjamin could do in response was chuckle at his expression.

Nodding, he shrugged. "Yeah, Amenadude, he told me. Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets. But you know, this is really cool — I'm talking to an actual angel and an actual demon", Benji was unable to hide his smile when he finished the Pop-Tart and looked at the two of them. It was rather amusing — they were forced to work together despite being polar opposites, one a fiery queen from Hell and the other God's soldier from Heaven. "Does Izzy know?", he then looked over to Maze, who licked her lips briefly and shook her head as a reply.

"Not yet. I'm trusting you to keep your mouth shut, Benny", she stared at Benjamin seriously, and although he never intended to do otherwise, he couldn't help but nod in agreement and promise to keep her wild secret.

And with that quiet vow, all three of them fell into a peaceful silence for a while, but after Benjamin had poured the creatures before him drinks — which earned grateful looks from both — he had found a new question to feed them, although this time, it was a tad more basic. "Hey, either one of you have experience of bungee jumping? I almost did that in Barcelona but I ended up flying back here before I could, but now I kinda want to go for it", he wondered whilst leaning against the counter, and lifting her eyebrow curiously, Mazikeen shook her head — although Benjamin didn't doubt that she had been on many other adventures that would his plans to shame.

"No, but I did fall from Heaven, if that counts", Amenadiel spoke bitterly before gulping down his entire drink, and without another word, Benjamin understood to fill the glass again as he lowered it to the counter so harshly it was a miracle it didn't crack. Whether he meant the glass or the counter, he wasn't quite sure.

He said nothing more, just poured the two new drinks to sip on, in the belief that there wasn't really anything that would make the angel feel better about the loss of his divine powers except copious amounts of alcohol.

Just as Benjamin was about to grab the nearby cloth to wipe the bar with, his phone made the sound it always did at the arrival of a new message, and letting his curiosity take over, the bartender whipped out his cracked phone. The sight of Lucifer's name on his screen made him smile — which Mazikeen noticed immediately — but the contents of the text message ended up doing the opposite.

"Situation with Detective Douche. Fancy helping?", it read, with Lucifer's location attached to it, and in an instant, Benjamin's smile faded and his heart sank. Tossing the rag in his hand away, the man stormed away from the bar and left Maze and Amenadiel behind with confused looks in their eyes, and without another word, Benjamin rushed outside and unlocked the doors of his Camaro.

Dan was always there for him, the ideal brother, a real hero to look up to. And whatever trouble Dan had gotten himself into, it was Benjamin's duty to help him out of it, to finally be the sibling he wanted and needed to be.

He had no idea what he was supposed to expect, as knowing Lucifer, it could have very well meant something less dramatic and dangerous, but with the blade that made humans murderous still out there, Benjamin feared the worst. He was usually a rather optimistic dude, but right now, he could not stop his hands from shaking even if he tried to grip the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. The rock tunes playing quietly from the radio, setting the mood in the dark L.A night, they failed to calm the music lover down as he sped down the surprisingly quiet streets with a heart full of concern for the remains of his family.

Luckily, the address that Lucifer had sent him wasn't that far away, and before Benji even realized it, he was sneaking onto a crime scene and climbing over the tall fence leading to the house's backyard. He came quite close to being noticed by the bunch of officers talking by the colorful lights of their shared vehicle, but at last second, Benjamin managed to throw himself over the tall fence, nearly stumbling into the pool he noticed right before it was too late. Luckily, instead of diving in for a quick swim, he regained his balance and let his gaze roam the backyard.

It was rather easy to find Lucifer and Dan — the latter was raging around with a sharp object in his hand, threatening to stab Lucifer with it, and Benjamin quickly put together two and two and figured that it was Azrael's blade. And he had no intentions to let Lucifer die, or let Dan be blinded by the supernatural rage that would only drive him into actions he'd never willingly commit.

"Dan!", he called out his brother's name, and Daniel reacted quickly, turning to face Benjamin from the other side of the lawn with his eyes blown wide with something strange — fury. He was never this angry, never filled with so much hatred, but it seemed that the blade was working its evil magic on him and making him just a bit more homicidal than usual. "Hey, bro, put the blade down, yeah?", Benji panted, just slightly out of breath as he approached Dan with his own hands up in the air to assure he came with good intentions.

"No", Dan defied him, his hand shaking as he turned back to Lucifer. "He ruined my life. My marriage, my career. My snacks. He took everything from me", he continued to growl before jumping towards the Devil, which pulled a yelp from Benji's throat as he watched his brother threaten Lucifer's life. Luckily, he could dodge the incoming attacks, but Benjamin remembered Lucifer telling him that just one stab or scratch could wipe him out of existence, obliterate his soul, and that didn't sound very good.

"Hey, hey, no. I ate your pudding too, remember?", Ben attempted to avert Dan's attention from his target, and whilst he did succeed, he kind of only made things worse.

Dan turned around suddenly, shoving Benjamin down with one violent push, and with a grunt, the youngest Espinoza came in contact with the harsh ground. "You were my brother, but you abandoned me. And now that you're back, you're choosing him?", Dan's voice was dripping with betrayal, nostrils flaring, and eyes brutally blaming Benji, who rolled over to his back only to find his brother pointing the sharp tip of the blade at his face. But even if it was yet to touch him, the words were enough to make Benjamin feel like he had been stabbed in the heart. He had never wanted to turn his back on Dan, he simply wanted to explore the world and embrace who he really was, but it seemed Dan himself didn't see it that way.

Ben was silent and frozen, unable to even blink as he swallowed down the threat of tears, caused by the pain in his heart and in his side, reminding him of his broken rib. Luckily, Lucifer stepped in to save the situation before Dan could smite his own brother, and in the meanwhile, Benjamin rolled over to his knees and tried to climb back up while following the situation from aside. It seemed that Lucifer's attempt to snap Dan out of the blade's spell was actually working, as the detective began to lower the weapon from the Devil's throat with a struggle.

He was resisting, fighting back, and it caused a proud sigh to escape Benjamin's lips as he pushed himself to both feet and prepared to catch his brother if he were to collapse due to the immense power resting heavily on his shoulders. Eventually, Lucifer managed to grab Azrael's blade from Dan's hand and the intense moment seemed to be over — just like that, with a snap of fingers, in a blink of an eye, Dan could breathe again, and only then Benjamin realized that he had been holding in his breath, as well.

Relieved by the softness that reappeared on Daniel's features, Benji stepped forward and pulled his brother into a comforting hug, although Dan's arms never lifted to respond to the hug in the state of panic and confusion. "You're alright, bro. You're good", happy laughter rose from the younger sibling's throat as he patted Dan's back supportively, "you're my hero."

Once their hug was over, Benjamin encouraged him to go back inside and get some water, which Dan hesitantly moved to do. He left Lucifer and Benjamin behind, but not before he had given the Devil a grateful look even if he wasn't quite sure why he did so, and it put a plucky smile onto Ben's face. His brother really was a good man. Even with a magical weapon from Heaven in his hand, telling him to kill and hurt and cause pain, he didn't. He fought back, and that was why Benjamin admired him deeply.

He was snapped back to reality when a pair of large hands cupped his cheeks, and startled by the warmth of Lucifer's skin, Benjamin looked over to the slightly taller man, locking eyes with him. "You quite alright, Benjamin?", Lucifer inquired carefully, his voice low and gentle as he stared into Benji's eyes with a fond gaze. It was strange seeing the Devil so soft and caring, but the man did appreciate the effort, and that was why he nodded and flashed a convincing smile.

"Yeah, my—uh, my side kinda hurts, but I'll be okay, it's nothing" Ben shrugged off the surge of pain that had kicked in due to the large bruise on his body, but Lucifer didn't seem to buy it — however, it hadn't been what he meant.

Nodding, he let go of Benjamin, but his eyes never looked away. "Fair enough. But what about your heart? I could tell Detective Douche hit some sore spots back there", the dark-haired man continued, and looking up at him, Benjamin parted his lips, but nothing came out. "Well, just know that I am here for you. Like you were there for me. Couldn't afford to lose my finest bartender, after all", Lucifer broke into a teasing smile, and chuckling lowly at the lovely title he had earned over the day, Benji nodded in gratitude.

And although he would probably have to stop by Dr. Martin's office sometime soon, his main priority right now was taking care of Dan, and being the brother that he sometimes forgot to be. Just like Dan had told him.

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