ONCE AT HOME, Izzy had devoured a hearty night snack while her mother coaxed her into speaking up about the events of her shift. Truth be told, she hadn't given much thought to the gory sight she had seen at the crime scene, but once the words were encouraged out of her system, she realized that if she were to bottle up all those feelings, they'd explode within her eventually.

        The two had a close relationship anyway. Ever since her parents had separated, Izzy had been determined to maintain a loving bond with both her mother and father, although the latter no longer lived in the same house. And then, when Diane had gotten shot and was forced to retire, Izzy had further put off plans of moving out and chose to stay with her aging mother in the belief that life was too short to avoid the people you loved. Any day could be their last, especially now that Izzy was a police officer, and she truly didn't want to unexpectedly die in the knowledge that she could have tried harder. And she most definitely didn't want to wake up one day to the news of her parents' death.

       Even if her father was struggling to approve of the person she was.

       So they talked. Every night, Izzy and Diane talked and laughed and continued to feed their blossoming relationship, until a wave of exhaustion eventually washed over them, forcing their eyes to slip closed and making their muscles feel heavy.

       In the morning, Izzy woke up to eager licks on her face, and scrunching her nose at the wet feeling, she wrapped her arm around Thor without ever parting her eyes and allowed her body to roll over to one side. The silence in the room was broken by the deep growl rumbling in Thor's throat as he refused to submit to the tight hug, and all Izzy could do was sigh in defeat and let go of the black dog while opening one eye only to find him quickly hopping off of the bed and running away from more cuddles — sometimes he was relentlessly shoving himself into embraces, and other times he hated them more than anything. There was never a perfect balance, but being used to that by now, Izzy just chuckled to herself while tossing the covers over her body and accepting the fact that she needed to get up.

       Sure, her alarm was a couple of minutes away, but in the belief that the annoying sound would only flatten her mood, Izzy didn't hesitate to turn it off before tiptoeing out of the room as her fingers ran through the tangled red mess on her head.

       The house was quiet and empty, although the pleasant smell of fresh coffee lingered in the air, and the woman chose to assume that Diane had left early for either her book club or yoga class — retirement had proved to be rather boring after so many years, and still hanging onto her youth and health, the older Holt had picked up several hobbies upon Izzy's request, which made the deputy quite happy. She hated the idea of her mother spending all her time inside the house, worried about her daughter and upset because she couldn't do the job anymore. So, at the realization that she was all alone, Isadora broke into a smile and glanced down at Thor.

       "Got lonely, huh?", she wondered as she crouched to give the dog a couple of scratches he accepted gladly, his small body sinking down to the floor immediately with his legs sticking up and his tongue hanging out while his mom showed him some love — as always. Before Izzy could suggest getting some breakfast from the kitchen, the doorbell rang and alerted by the sound, Thor jumped up and stiffened while his eyes remained on the front door, his barks filling the quiet house. The reaction that visitors always got earned a roll of eyes from Izzy while the woman headed for the door, unsure who she would find on the other side — she wasn't expecting any company, her mother would unlikely be back just yet, and her father...

        Well, ever since Izzy had come out as gay, her father had forgotten how to support and love his only daughter.

        The person standing on their doorstep was a positive surprise though, and when Izzy realized she was staring into the eyes of Dan Espinoza, a radiant smile twitched on her lips again. "Dan! Good morning", she greeted him happily and stepped to the side to grant him access to the house, and nodding in response, the man walked indoors, only to be attacked with excitement and affection by Thor, whose barks had turned into lovesick whines.

        "Morning to you too, Izzy. Thought I'd pick you up for work today — no rush yet, though", Dan shot his right-hand woman a grin before turning back to Thor and scratching him behind his large ears — they had earned him the nickname Dumbo — while mumbling sweet little greetings and compliments to the dog. "Actually, I was hoping for a cup of coffee before we go? You know, for giving you a ride", the detective added with a shrug suddenly, and clasping her hands together, Izzy gestured towards the kitchen.

       "Of course, help yourself to anything. I gotta get dressed. Hardly think people will take me seriously if I show up in my Spider-Man PJs", the redhead gestured at her clothes, and after thanking her, Dan chuckled and disappeared deeper into the house, Thor eagerly following right behind his new friend.

       With a smile on her own lips, Izzy went in the opposite direction, her heart full of happiness. Her time in police academy hadn't really allowed for any relationships or friendships, but she was already convinced that she and Dan were going to form a great example of the latter.

—————

        DAN AND IZZY had entered the precinct together, but whereas the man disappeared with Chloe to interrogate their eight-year-old child about mutilating her doll, Isadora made herself comfortable at his desk with a file splayed over her crossed legs and last night's paperwork staring at her next to the pens she had already arranged by color. She had tried to work on the stuff she had left undone like Dan had suggested, but it had merely led to counting the papers over and over again and fearing that she had forgotten something vital, so she had elected to wait for the man to return and help her calm her anxious thoughts.

        Living with OCD wasn't easy by any means, and it had a nasty tendency to keep Izzy occupied with thoughts that sometimes made no sense, but it had become easier to control over the years — she had been diagnosed in her teenage years, and now, with a healthy amount of medication and some of her own tricks, she was keeping the disorder on a leash. However, it was impossible to tame for good, and sometimes, the excessive urge to act just washed over her, leaving her organizing pens and files in the knowledge that it would eat her alive if she didn't.

       In her defense, Dan's desk had looked like a pile of garbage before she got her hands on it.

        "Ah, Izzy!", a familiar accent vibrated through the room, and already aware of who was approaching, the redhead twirled on the chair until she was facing Lucifer who straightened his jacket, the usual dashing smile dancing on his lips all the while. "Where is the detective? I'm fairly certain we have another riveting murder to solve", he questioned while looking around the precinct, and doing the same, Izzy dropped the file onto the desk and offered a shrug.

        "Uh, Dan or Chloe?"

         Lifting an eyebrow, Lucifer turned to the deputy with a hint of disbelief painted over his features, but when she met the gaze with a confused one, he raised a hand and sighed. "Right, let's get you up to speed, shall we? Detective Decker is the Detective, as I call her. As for Dan, well, he's Detective Douche", a proud grin spread over Lucifer's lips as he pushed his hands into his pockets, and in an instant, Izzy snorted at the brilliant nickname. She wasn't quite sure why Dan had earned such a title, but she did like the sound of it — besides, he had called her kid, so no doubt this would only be the payback he deserved.

        "Ah, got it", Izzy winked and put up a thumb to confirm her agreement. "Well, doesn't really matter though because they're both in the interrogation room, you'll find them there", she then pointed in the right direction, and placing a grateful hand on her shoulder for a split second, Lucifer was quickly moving away — evidently, he was in a rush, but instead of trying to decipher the enigma he undoubtedly was, Izzy settled for rolling her eyes and looking back at the desk.

        The damn keyboard was too much to the left.

        The peace in the precinct lasted for a whole two minutes when it was abruptly broken, again, by Lucifer's complaints as he keenly followed Detective Decker, who, from the looks of it, had zero time for his childish whining. However, eventually, the woman declared that they had a new case, and Lucifer didn't hesitate to deem it fantastic news and then storm off with his heart yearning for this particular murder. It didn't take long for Dan to appear by Izzy's side too, his eyes soft, as was the smile he directed at her.

          "Don't worry about that stuff. I'll make Markowitz wrap it up", he gestured towards the unfinished papers, before encouraging Isadora to stand up. "We have a crime scene to go to", Dan pursed his lips together, and ignoring the worry that Markowitz wouldn't be able to do the paperwork right, she was happy to oblige, and jumped up and grabbed her blue jacket — it wasn't even cold outside, but she was determined to wear it nonetheless.

         "Should I get a leather jacket like you?", Izzy teased when she noticed Dan eyeing her in amusement, "learn how to douche?", and in an instant, he broke into a displeased groan, eyes rolling around and head shaking — exactly the response she had been hoping for. And yet, as they walked to the elevator together, they both ended up smiling, and Dan had to admit that this whole demotion thing wasn't half-bad when he had Izzy.

         The murder had happened at a hotel, where Lucifer was keeping Chloe both alerted and annoyed with his unique ways and Ella was following them with her camera, while Izzy and Dan scoped the hallways and surroundings for more evidence or more victims. They were both hoping they wouldn't come across the latter, but instead of vocalizing their fears and worries, they remained silent, until the more inexperienced cop of the two decided to speak up in an attempt to get to know his boss better. And someone else in the process, too.

         "Sooo...", the redhead began with a cough, "you don't really like Lucifer, huh?", and her eyes carefully peeked at Dan from under the cap resting on her head and as expected, the man scoffed in return, with a hint of amusement but just enough to confirm Izzy's words.

         "That's one way to put it. He's a pain in the ass, but I guess I'm the same for him", Dan shrugged while his gaze followed the spotlight of his flashlight. "I don't think he's a bad guy. Just... immature, irresponsible, impulsive, maybe a little bit dangerous and self-absorbed— Hey, what's that?", the detective explained, a sarcastic smile on his lips until the focus of his flashlight caught something behind the corner, and Izzy chuckled by his side — it sounded like Lucifer, alright — but once she saw the same thing as him, the laughter ceased and her hand instinctively went to the gun strapped to her waist, which Dan noted. Good reflexes. Smart woman.

        However, there was no threat anymore, even if there was a dead body lying on the floor, the skin discolored and the eyes still and blank. Sighing at the sight at her feet, Izzy dropped the hold on her gun and crouched down to inspect the corpse — without touching it, of course — and shook her head in disappointment, though she wasn't quite sure who it was directed at. "Yeah, sure. Why kill just one person when you can go for double homicide?", she gave a look to Dan, who frowned and lifted his hands to his hips, something she had already noticed him doing a lot. She wasn't complaining though, it gave him a sense of authority and it caused her lips to quirk up slightly, but luckily not enough for him to see.

         "Yeah, right. I'll let Chloe and the others know", he ran his hand across his mouth before turning on his heel and walking away. Izzy stood back up, although her eyes didn't leave the dead body of who seemed a lot like a maid at the hotel, and in an instant, more sympathy flooded her heart. Poor woman, just trying to make a living, maybe keep her family fed, and it got her here. Strangled and left in the hallway of some seemingly classy hotel as if she meant nothing. Well, as long as Izzy had the power to do something about it, she intended to bring justice to this lady and the deceased kid in the other room. That was why she had become a cop, after all.

         For justice.

»»»

oookay this kinda sucks, i've been so busy and unmotivated to write lately but i really wanted to finish this chapter so here it is (: it's a little lame, i know, but it's also a look at izzy's life now — because it will change. in fact, i think you guys will be happy to hear that she's going to meet a certain demon for the first time in the next chapter (:

i hope you guys liked it + thank you tons for 1k!! i really appreciate it ❤️ i know this book has had a bit of a slow start but hopefully i'll have more time and ideas soon x