IZZY TOOK ADVANTAGE of the lack of work, and spent her free time jogging, spoiling Thor, playing board games with Diane and even video chatting with Ella, who was knee-deep in evidence and insisted on having the company due to the loneliness of her lab. It had been a fun hour or two, as Lucifer and Dan had stopped by to greet the redhead as well and after the call, there was an indestructible smile on her lips. Isadora had elected to rise from the disappointment and frustration and mixture of other equally gnawing, negative emotions and take Linda's advice — appreciate herself, keep in mind that she wasn't perfect but she was pretty damn amazing.

However, as the sun went down it started to quiet down in the Holt house, with Diane and Thor cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie, and Izzy hid in her room, her legs crossed as she sat on her large bed and stared down at the open notebook on the mattress. At the very top of the page read Lucifer, and beneath rested a pen and a bunch of highlighters she planned on using to list all the things she knew about the guy and the people around him. He was an enigma, and the way he had dug the truth out of Izzy's system so effortlessly was still an untenable itch in the back of her head — but she was determined to solve the mystery. And with her heart yearning for more time with Mazikeen, she needed to know the truth before naively signing up for a great deal of pain and struggle.

Earphones were blasting music as Izzy started to write everything down, the tune of Born to Be Wild causing her to hum quietly while she recalled her conversations with Lucifer. He was charming, for sure, but perhaps it was on a more sublime level than was natural. He had a way of doing, saying and getting whatever he wanted. He was cocky, confident... Trailing from the notebook to the laptop Isadora had also taken out, she typed the devil into the search engine and started to curiously scroll through the hits. Of course, she knew a thing or two about the Devil beforehand — she was pretty sure the close-minded janitor at her old high school had even called her that once. She just tended to not believe in all that stuff, as she wasn't too religious, but there had to be some kind of an explanation to Lucifer's incredible skill of persuasion. Then again, perhaps he was just a hypnotist or something.

After scribbling down a list of the man's quirks and habits, she wrote Amenadiel's name, followed by God with a question mark in the end, and once she remembered the mention of Lucifer's mother, Goddess also found its way onto the white pages. Once Izzy added Mazikeen into the mix, heat crept up to her cheeks and she tried her damnest to ignore the hint of pink but there was no denying the stretch of her lips as she thought about the one-of-a-kind woman and what she was like. Demon. Well, she had the leather and the badass attitude and the carefree way to live, but could she really be one? If anything, she looked like an angel. Maybe that was exactly what made her a demon — the temptation, the dangerous attraction that had undoubtedly been her secret weapon on many occasions.

Staring down at everything she had written, along with a bunch of questions, Izzy leaned her back into the large pillows behind her and sighed. It was like she had all the pieces there, but this puzzle was far too extreme to solve on her own.

So maybe, she needed to approach this in a more straightforward manner. Lucifer didn't seem like he had anything to hide, if anything he took pride in who he was, and the same went for Mazikeen, both of them always announcing their true natures without shame. They insisted on speaking the truth — whether or not people believed them wasn't their responsibility. But it did give Izzy an idea, maybe she could use that — and maybe, she could spend some more time with Maze, which was an undeniable plus.

Grabbing her blue coat, the deputy suddenly yanked her earphones out and shut the notebook before hiding both under her pillow, and with that, she was stepping out of the bedroom and hoping that the late exit wouldn't alert Diane too much. "I'm gonna head out for a while, get some food. Cheeseburger with no pickles, right?", the woman grinned at her mother, and as Thor jumped from the couch and eagerly ran to her owner, Diane directed her daughter a smile and a confirming nod.

"Drive safe, Iz."

Yes, drive safe, Izzy's thoughts were impossible to silence, and tread carefully.

—————

THE MUSIC PLAYING at Lux made Izzy gulp as she reminded herself to be careful around the booze, not desiring another painful hangover, but luckily, this time she wasn't there to drown her sorrows in whiskey, which made for a promising start. She had messaged Maze to meet her there — she had no memory of getting her number, and she wasn't quite sure if she had drunkenly begged for it, or if the demon had taken the right to insert it into her phone herself, but it was there anyway, and Izzy had nervously suggested shared time in the club, to which Mazikeen had agreed rather quickly.

Still, that didn't remove the swarm of butterflies in her stomach, and it wasn't just a shy buzz to keep her on high alert — it was like they were on an acid trip and Isadora felt like throwing up, but she hoped that the colorful lights in the club were making her face seem less pale as she carefully walked around the place with her curious gaze seeking a particular woman from the crowd. It wasn't until a muscular arm was thrown over her shoulders that Izzy was yanked from her haze and she was already reacting to the unwanted contact, but before she could pull some handy moves she had picked up at the police academy, a familiar voice spoke up and her insides were damn near to spontaneously combusting.

"So, where are the handcuffs?", Maze teased, looking up at the taller woman — who only then understood to question her ability to reach her shoulders — while using her free hand to sip on a drink she had already fetched. "Also, next time, I'm picking out the place, because I don't like to spend all my time here", the soldier of Hell grumbled while looking around, and all the disgust towards a person who had approached her without permission dissolved within Izzy, causing a sigh of relief to escape her lips before she realized just what had been said to her.

"The cuffs are at home— wait—Next time?", the cop's eyes flew wide open, "and why not? This place is awesome", she nodded towards the dancing women on the tables, and chuckling at the fair point, Maze shrugged, still standing close enough for Izzy to take in her mind-numbing scent with each breath and to feel her body heat radiate against her own.

Without a word, Mazikeen was sneakily taking Isadora's hand and leading her to one of the booths where both women could sit down and enjoy the flexible movements of a dancer in front of them — though Izzy was the only one enthralled by the sight, and when she finally turned back to the Hell-sent woman in her company, she found Maze's eyes keenly pinned on her, causing a small smile to touch her lips. "I've been trying to put some distance between me and Lucifer. And Amenadiel, too", the former resident of Hell finally explained, rolling her eyes before gulping down the rest of her drink. "But, that just means more space for me to catch up with you. So, officer, why did you text me? If you don't got your handcuffs with you, I'm guessing it's not for a hook-up."

Looking down to hide the grin crossing her face, a pathetic attempt really, Izzy shook her head. "Yeah, not for a hook-up. Sorry to disappoint", her eyes met Maze's again, but instead of being discouraged, the dark-haired woman simply let her stare melt into one of pure interest and lust.

"Oh, I haven't given up yet."

Silence landed between the two of them momentarily, but eventually, Izzy remembered to speak and cleared her throat to break the thick tension lingering in the air. Even the dancer could tell that they were too lost in one another's eyes to remember anyone else around them. "You owe me a favor, remember?", the cop brought their deal up, "I want to know more about you. And—and Lucifer, too. You guys keep saying you're the Devil, you're a demon, angels are real and whatnot and I... I want to understand", her voice quiet and careful while she inspected Maze, everything from her posture to her facial expression, and luckily, she didn't seem that taken aback by the question.

Yet, she didn't answer for what felt like the longest time, and Izzy wanted to be swallowed by the ground just to escape the embarrassment that was starting to dawn on her, but before she could get up and run outside, Mazikeen had finally parted those perfectly painted, flawless lips that were gaining far too much attention from her. "Sure", she drawled the word, licking her lips, "what do you want to know?" Needless to say, Izzy was surprised — of course, she had hoped for this particular outcome, but it still caused an amazed twinkle in her innocent eyes as she parted her lips and tried to remember any of the burning questions she had had.

"Do you have super-strength? Are you kind of like a superhero? 'Cause you know I love those", Izzy laughed nervously, but once the gravity of her remark weighed in and she understood the double meaning of what she had said, she cleared her throat and tried to shrug it off. Concluding from Maze's wicked smile, however, she had heard and understood quite well.

"Not a superhero, Iz. But super-strength, speed, immortality, no soul — the whole demon thing isn't just a metaphor", she elaborated, and in an instant, Isadora was intrigued by every single word slipping from her silver tongue, not to mention the nickname that people rarely used, and without even realizing it, she was leaning closer to Maze — who definitely noticed, the very reason behind her smug smile as she gestured for a nearby bartender to deliver them both drinks.

"No soul? Woah. And immortality? So if I were to, I don't know, shoot you, choke you, you just... wouldn't die?", the deputy wondered out loud, already going over the pros and cons of being immortal. Sure, it would be cool for a while, but wouldn't it get boring? Unless, of course, you happened to find someone to share that eternity with. Izzy supposed that was what Lucifer was to Maze, the two of them hellish best friends who had literally gone through fire and brimstone together.

Lifting an eyebrow, Mazikeen took a sip of the drink given to her before handing one to Izzy. "Kinky. But trust me, if you were to choke me, I'd do anything but die. Actually, sounds like a great way to come alive", she leaned in, her lips inches away from the tempting pair in front of her, and it caused her tongue to sweep across her mouth while her eyes slowly moved back to Isadora's, the latter woman borderline trembling and staring at Maze wide-eyed and most definitely turned on. But, she had other things in mind, too.

"What about that weird mind-control trick Lucifer does? I mean, he just asked me about what I want and I straight up told him. Not that it's some big secret, but what's up with that?", she blurted out suddenly, and that was all it took for Maze to back off while the attraction in her eyes faded into anger, her jaw clenching and her hand harshly smacking the glass against the table. And for a second there, Izzy was worried that she had caused this unexpected frustration to bubble up, but it was the very opposite.

"He did that to you?", Maze seethed through gritted teeth, and her narrowed eyes caused Izzy to lean back slightly, the gears in her head shifting and trying to come up with any reasonable explanations for this reaction. No doubt Lucifer was far more important to Mazikeen than some random cop, who was probably supposed to be just a one night stand — instead, she had become a curious, nosy detective who was yet to submit into the demon's love spell.

"Yeah—yeah, but it's okay, really. I'm just wondering if he's a magician or something", Izzy snorted nervously, and at this, Mazikeen's hardened expression did falter, but only for a split second.

Shrugging, Maze rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he does that. He's no magician, though, but desire is kind of his thing. But, promise me something?", she looked back to Isadora, who was already nodding her head without giving further thought to the suggestion. "If he does that again, or anything to you at all, let me know", Mazikeen proposed, and although Izzy had a feeling that Lucifer was going to tease her a lot in many ways in the future, she nodded once more to silently seal the promise. This seemed to matter to the demon, for whatever reason, and that was a cause that Izzy was unexpectedly willing to contribute to in any way she could.

"Okay, well, thank you for answering my questions. I—I have more, but I think we can talk about something else now", she flashed a careful smile at her companion, and with a second's hesitance, the redhead lowered her hand atop Maze's, earning her dark gaze on her immediately.

And silently, they could both agree that coming here had been a brilliant idea.

Later that night, they had talked quite a bit about everything, from the best self-defense moves to their favorite drinks while Mazikeen had continued to down them and Izzy watched from aside, intending to remain sober for now. The wittier of the two had even coaxed a few sex-related questions from the cop, who had finally given in to the atmosphere and let loose. Although they possibly had more differences than things in common, they were bonding easily and effortlessly and neither could stop smiling.

Frankly, that continued even when Izzy was driving back home and stopping by a fast food restaurant to pick up something to eat for Diane, the everlasting grin shining like eternal sunshine, pure gold and mirroring the feelings in her heart. And when she finally opened the front door and greeted her mother and dog, it was evident that she had a big, fat crush, and there was no way of getting it out of her head.

»»»

okay that ending was kinda rushed, but i didn't want this to be another stupidly long chapter, so i wrapped it up with a revelation that's probably not a surprise, but still, IZZY'S GOT A CRUUUUSHHHHHHH

it's not "love at first sight" though, figuring out their feelings will be a struggle for both of them but yeah. there it is. boom.

anyway, this was a pretty izzykeen-heavy chapter, but i'm not even sorry. still, the main point here was dora trying to get to the bottom of everything: she's a cop, she loves cases and mysteries, so obviously she's gonna try and solve this one. don't worry though, she's not some evil mastermind who's going to plot some cruel heartbreaking plan, she's just curious 🤷🏻‍♀️

well, as always, i hope you liked it, thank you for reading! oh and also, thank you for 3k ❤️