WITH THE RISK of sounding morbid, Mariah quite liked cemeteries. She didn't like the grief always associated with them, but she liked the unspoken rule of peace and calm, and how even the busiest people were finally allowed to rest. As a child, she had found comfort in one of her father's bedtime stories about ghosts and how they didn't have to be evil — while her other parent had insisted that Mariah was bound to have nightmares, it had done exactly the opposite, and so, with a sense of final serenity, she took in a deep breath of the foggy graveyard's cool air. 

          She didn't usually have a reason to step through the stereotypical rusty gates, but now, with Kai back in her life, she was making room for his new habits — whether it meant a new favorite pizza topping or visiting Charlotte Richards' decorated grave every week. He was hardly a man of routine, but Mariah relied on exactly that, turning the tables for a change as she shuffled to sit down on the grass beside him by a sturdy maple tree.

          "Thank you for coming", Kai acknowledged once they had been stewing in the silence that was deeply uncharacteristic for him, his usual smirks long gone as he glanced between Mariah and the beautifully etched headstone. The abundance of renewed candles and roses suggested that Charlotte had been loved, and while curious about how they had come to be friends, Mariah didn't ask, but only placed a hand on Kai's back.

        "I think you would have liked her", Kai contemplated out loud, surprising Mariah with a frown. There weren't many people that sentence applied to her — she was very finicky like that — but when the Nolan didn't seem to carry any sarcasm in his words, she trusted his judgment and nodded solemnly at the thought.

       Visits like these also put things into a new perspective. Her problems suddenly seemed so minuscule in the grand scheme of things, and she supposed that while one of the criminals she had plotted to catch was still somewhere out there... She still had the life she needed to find him.

        By the time they were trekking past the rows of gray and back to Kai's trusted car, he was snapping out of his haze and nudging Mariah with a familiar grin. "Are you excited to get back to working cases?" he inquired with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "with me, specifically?"

        A dry chuckle rose from her throat at that. "Have you given up the gummy bears?" Mariah wondered tauntingly, and when he, as expected, shook his head, she snorted at the memory of the wrappers all over her desk. "Then, no." Despite the teasing, though, she couldn't deny that she had missed teaming up with Kai, putting their two smart heads together to solve crimes side by side — it had been like that for years before she had been sent undercover.

        "I guess it's the second-best option while waiting for Lopez and her lab results", she voiced then, undeniably burdened by the footage from the crime scene that was yet to get them anywhere, but choosing to see the good, Kai swung an arm over her shoulders and nodded.

        "That's the spirit! I know you're worried, and understandably so, but this is gonna be just like old times", he assured in a way that got a weak smile out of Mariah. She did love recalling the past in its simplicity, always tense about change.

        Change was always there, but some things were an unavoidable constant, and that was the last thought she paid to the cemetery before following Kai's lead towards the day ahead of them.

—————

           IF THERE WAS one thing Mariah had gotten used to during her time undercover, it was being by herself — the solitude. At times, it could get a little too much and she had spent long nights thinking about what it would be like to see her family again, but she was reclusive by nature, meaning it hadn't been too hard to grow accustomed to. She had almost enjoyed the lack of chatting co-workers and a constant stream of noise around her, stopping her from focusing on her job, and for a moment there, she had almost forgotten what it was like.

       But Ella Lopez made sure to remind her.

         "Hi, good morning! How was your first night back? Well, kind of back", Ella contemplated as she swooped over to Mariah's desk with a colorful container in her hands. "I baked you cupcakes. They can be either celebratory or comforting, based on how you're feeling today. Either way, they're my abuelita's recipe and a guaranteed smile", she went on, confirming her own words with a bright grin, whereas Mariah simply stared back with an unimpressed look brewing in her dark eyes.

         Licking her lips, she looked between the Lopez's urging hands and the empty space on her neatly arranged desk before reluctantly grabbing the container. "It really isn't that big of a deal. I've been living here for months already", Mariah pointed out while leaning back in her swiveling seat and silently wondering how she was supposed to eat all of the baked goods Ella was delivering to her arms. One look over her shoulder and at Kai was reassurance enough, though.

        "Yeah, yeah, but you're like... free now! It's a new chapter of your life, you know", Ella insisted eagerly, a hand on her heart as she got sucked into the metaphor that Mariah was quick to shoot down.

         "Not until I find the guy that got away", she interjected before frowning at the cupcakes and then turning back to Ella with a stare so piercing it sent a shiver down the Lopez's spine. "Are these bad news-cupcakes?" she demanded to know, her arms crossing over her chest as she paid a dark thought to Ella's lab results coming out useless, all their hard work done for nothing.

        Shaking her head, Ella sighed. "Still waiting. But for now, no news is good news", she assured, much to Mariah's chagrin.

       "Well, I'm helping Kai out on his case so I've got something to keep me busy", the Rose shrugged before grabbing her coffee mug and getting up from her seat. She had barely slinked past Ella's small figure and towards the break room when she could feel her following like an excited puppy, and immediately, she turned back to the scientist to give her a silent lift of her eyebrow — the kind that without actual words convinced Ella to cut her losses and head back to her lab, instead.

       Nevertheless, Mariah's intention to get a breather from all the people around her failed miserably, as she had hardly gotten to grab the coffee pot when the Devil himself was entering the room with a tall redhead at his heel.

       For what it was worth, they didn't acknowledge her — at first.

        "I'm sure it's going to be okay", the woman was patting at Lucifer's shoulder, "she went through something jarring, it's understandable it's going to take her a while to adjust." The sympathy in her voice sounded like it belonged there, and even for someone who rarely cared about gossip, Mariah couldn't help but glance over her shoulder to look at the two friends eyeing each other softly.

          Sighing, Lucifer looked around, just in time to catch Mariah's gaze, and at the sight, his face seemed to light up in realization. "Well, Miss Rose! Worry not, you're not on the spotlight here, although I'm sure the Devil's personal advisor would surely have the right words for your situation, as well", he broke into a grin while gesturing at the redhead who, at his words, rolled her eyes but wound up smiling, nonetheless.

        "In normal terms, hello, I'm Izzy Holt", the woman stepped in with a hand extended for Mariah, "and you must be Kai's friend."

        Hesitant but oddly consoled by the warm smile directed at her, Mariah sucked in a breath and held her coffee mug with one hand while the other enveloped around Izzy's. "Mariah", she confirmed before sipping her coffee and giving a look to Lucifer. She struggled to trust the man, and in the process, those associated with him — but once she remembered how that involved Kai, too, and how he had praised Izzy to her, she looked back to the woman with a curt nod. "Nice to meet you."

        "You too. I'm kind of the resident mom friend here, and uh, it's my job too, so, if you need anything, I'm your woman", Izzy promised, evidently meaning well only for Lucifer to interrupt with a cheeky smirk.

        "Not literally, of course. Miss Holt here happened to find a girlfriend in my dear soul-torturing demon, Mazikeen. I set them up, so I must brag whenever the opportunity arises", he boasted with a hand on Izzy's shoulder, before gasping and pointing at Mariah. "Ooh, I think you would get along great, actually!"

        Narrowing her eyes with wonder whether or not he was joking, Mariah exhaled and settled for a nod. Demons? And here she had come looking for a cup of coffee.

       Needless to say, being by herself didn't sound too bad, as of right now.

—————

           MAKING AN ARREST, not to mention a successful one, was a rush Mariah had missed more than she had realized. Seeing Kai's victorious grin was only an added bonus, making it hard for her to resist one of her own as they strolled back into the precinct with the perp in handcuffs and a mountain of paperwork undoubtedly waiting for them.

         "We still got it, huh?" Kai hummed proudly while another officer stepped in to process the man they had caught, his tone easily recognized as pleased. "Nolan and Rose, back to solving crimes", he added with a dramatic hand gesture, eager giggles following his own words as he nudged Mariah. His enthusiasm was often contagious, leaving Mariah laughing and shaking her head at his antics. She took her job very seriously, but Kai was always a little flicker of light amidst all the heavy hours that usually followed them home, too.

         "Yeah, I guess we do", she caved in with her fist bumping into Kai's arm, "even though you've gotten slow. Made Decker do all the running for you, hm?"

        Rolling his eyes, the man stuck out his tongue before digging through his pocket for some bubblegum and then heading over to his own desk. He had been sad about sitting at a distance from her, but sure that they'd get no work done if he was too close, Mariah didn't complain when she got to sink into her own seat without his jokes haunting him relentlessly.

        "Is that a smile I see?"

        The already familiar voice of Ella Lopez appeared behind her soon enough, though, and against all odds, the fondness in her voice only deepened the rare smile on Mariah's face. "Don't get used to it, Lopez", she chuckled before throwing her feet onto her desk and leaning back in her chair with a satisfied sigh.

         Feeling the warmth in the air, Ella nodded with a laugh before glancing down at the files in her hands, well-aware that the news she had come bearing was only going to wipe the smile away. She hated to be the one to do it, and instinctively, her mind ran through all the classic lines of comfort and reassurance before clearing her throat to bring the uncomfortable topic up.

        "So, look, I got the results from the crime scene you asked me to investigate", Ella began, and at that, Mariah was automatically straightening her back to promise her undivided attention was on the forensic scientist. "And you know, no matter what, I'm sure you'll find the right guy and—and I'll help you, alright? It could be worse", she tried, but the Rose saw right through it with a grimace on her face.

        "That's enough sugarcoating. You got nothing, right?" Mariah read her expression flawlessly, and reluctantly, Ella sighed to confirm her suspicions.

       "Inconclusive. No new leads", she admitted before tossing the thin files onto Mariah's desk, and as the detective began skimming through the vaguely filled-in papers, Ella tried to remain hopeful. "But, it's okay! There must be something else—", she began, but Mariah cut her off by standing up from her desk and staring down at Ella in a way that silenced her effectively.

       Mariah, on the other hand, was hardly bothered by the lack of space between them as she loomed over the woman with her heavy breaths practically tickling Ella's nose. "There's nothing wrong with being an optimist, but you can't pretend everything's alright when it's not. Sometimes we need to face reality", she huffed in her face, sucking in a defeated breath before licking her lips. "The reality is, this didn't work out and that's it."

        For a moment, Ella stared back at her, the softness in her eyes gradually fading away as she nodded her head in what resembled agreement. And then, it became exactly like that, frustration tearing through the edges of her excessive kindness as she took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest.

        "Fine, you know what? Honestly, I've been struggling with my faith a lot lately and it's hard to find any sort of rhyme or reason or meaning in what I do every day. It sort of feels like my whole life is falling apart", the Lopez began ranting, her usually delicate voice firm with resentment, and it surprised Mariah — positively so.

       With an impressed tilt of her head, she nodded approvingly at Ella. "I'm sorry to hear that", she acknowledged, appreciative of the woman being real with her for a moment. Surely, good vibes were real with Ella, but she had to have bad days, too, and anyone who pretended otherwise rarely made it to Mariah's list of friends.

        "Thank you", Ella exhaled in some sort of relief, a weak smile crawling back up to her lips in a way that had Mariah faintly mirroring the expression.

       "Thank you for the cupcakes", she returned the gratitude with a careful hand landing on Ella's shoulder, "I owe you one, so if there's anything I can do for you, say the word."

        She didn't admit it out loud, but a little bit of Ella's optimism snuck into her heart then, making her believe that despite their first lead falling short, something good was coming her way, eventually.

»»»

Author's note

Lordy, it took me so long to finish this omg. Exams and other deadlines are keeping me busy but I'm already working on the next one so hopefully it won't take me as long to complete!!

Honestly, I'm having a lot of fun writing Mariah and Ella's dynamic, especially because personally I'm more of an Ella. But in the next chapter, Mariah is going to meet a kindred tough spirit, if you catch my drift. Hint hint.

I did not expect this book to get as much attention as it already did, so thank you so much for reading and for all your sweet comments!! You are all truly appreciated ❤️