HOLDING ONTO ELLA, high as a kite and too incoherent for Mariah to decipher where exactly she lived, the Rose had come to the reluctant conclusion she was taking her to her own apartment, instead. She wasn't particularly happy about it but considering Ella had specifically asked Eve to guide her to Mariah's company, she wasn't going to let the woman down. She took that responsibility seriously, and considering her lack of contribution to the events of the night, the least she could do was make sure the Lopez could safely get some sleep and drink enough water.

         "Did I tell you I disarmed a bomb? I mean, a freaking bomb!" Ella rambled, and rolling her eyes while supporting the woman through the doorway, Mariah nodded. It had been a thrilling story the first two times, but by the fifth mention, it had turned into a bitter memory of how horribly the night could have gone. Most of their friends had been trapped inside with a murderer, and it was a miracle they had all made it out alive — Mariah could have, admittedly, gone without the constant reminder of it.

          "You did. And that was pretty awesome of you", Mariah grunted while heaving the door shut behind them. Giggling, completely oblivious to her friend's struggle to keep her upright, Ella hung onto her neck and nodded in agreement.

        "It was scary, too. But you know, I asked myself, what would Mariah Rose do?" she blabbered, earning a snort from the detective as she guided Ella towards the bed across the studio apartment she was still trying to get used to. Sleep didn't come too easy for her, so letting Ella take the bed was an easy decision to settle on, her boots shuffling against the floorboards as she dragged her along. "Because, you know, you're a total badass. You could probably survive any situation", Ella added on, and with a weak huff, Mariah shrugged.

        Any situation but this, sure.

        Softly pushing Ella to the edge of the mattress, Mariah stood back and gestured at the woman's shoes. "Take those off and get comfortable", she instructed and turned on her heel, but before she could slip to the kitchen, Ella was grabbing her wrist with pleading eyes. Sighing, Mariah wrung her fingertips away from her skin and gave her a reassuring look, "I'll just get you some water."

        With that promise, she was stepping away and leaving Ella to do as planned and get the woman something to drink. Even when she was hardly a few feet away, she couldn't help but keep glancing over her shoulder, like she was watching a helpless baby not to be left on her own, and the thought made her shake her head.

         It had been a long night for all of them, and she doubted it would be too easy to brush away, even when she had only been standing outside waiting for the flammable situation to fizzle out.

        "You should get some sleep", Mariah pointed out when she was back to hovering over Ella, her arms folded over her chest as she watched the Lopez gulp down all of the water and then dig under the covers. She almost made the bed look comfortable, as if Mariah hadn't struggled to sleep through the night for weeks now, and right on cue, Ella lifted a curious eyebrow at her.

       "Where will you sleep?" she pouted, her faded lipgloss and glittery eyeshadow glistening under the soft lights as she tilted her head at Mariah. Between that and the tousled dark hair, Mariah couldn't help but exhale heavily, unable to stop her mind from wandering to the kiss Lucifer had mentioned. She wasn't sure if it was still as vivid in Ella's mind, but even when her heart threatened to tip to an uneasy burn at the thought, Mariah was mostly just strangely relieved. Maybe it was the ecstacy, but Ella had kissed a woman and it gave her unexplainable solace.

        Clearing her throat, Mariah turned her back on Ella to reach for the closet and dig out an extra pillow from one of the shelves. "I'll take the couch. But I'll be watching over you, anyway, so it's alright. I'll wake you up to check up on you at some point", she planned before tossing the pillow onto the couch and shedding her leather jacket off of her shoulders, all the while Ella observed her with an enthralled gaze.

       "You're so cool", the scientist sighed before curling under the blankets with an involuntary yawn, "even though the watching-over-me is some Edward Cullen type of—", her train of thought interrupted by Mariah's snort.

       "Go to sleep, Ella", she interjected, although she couldn't stop a smile from curling to her lips as she got settled on the couch.

          A few more bad jokes and song renditions later, Ella was successfully snoring against Mariah's sheets, and after catching up on the phone with Kai, she was doing the same on the couch cushions. True to her promise, she woke Ella up for water once she automatically stirred out of her own sleep throughout the night, and by taking care of the drowsily grinning woman, it didn't take long for the sun to peek through her curtains again.

        She was fully expecting the air in the apartment to be uncomfortable to a point where she and Ella wouldn't be able to look each other in the eyes anymore, but instead, by the time the geek was on her way out, she was giving Mariah a grateful smile.

       "Thank you", she emphasized at the Rose's doorway, her eyes twinkling with something unapologetically sincere as she placed a gentle hand on Mariah's shoulder, "I owe you one."

       Shaking her head, Mariah glanced at where Ella's fingertips gripped her arm, and then returned to the woman with a bud of a smile. "Nah, what are friends for, right?" she shrugged it off, and with a flattered stare, Ella's hand flew to her chest as she beamed up at Mariah.

       "Friends it is", she confirmed before stepping into the hallway and disappearing into the elevator, earning a heavy sigh from Mariah as she sealed the door and leaned her forehead against the wooden panels. Even with Ella gone, the apartment still felt exceptionally warm, and with her perfume lingering in the air, Mariah's head pounded with the certainty that no matter how hard she'd try to be friends with Ella, it was simply not meant to work out.

        The difference was, this time, she wanted more rather than less.

—————

          WITH A GLARE, Mariah joined Kai at his desk, earning only a pleased chuckle in return. Days had passed since the bomb at Lux, and the Nolan, as well as the rest, had bounced back with some emotional support and mandatory counseling from the department. Somewhere between those days of both physical and mental recovery, Mariah had begrudgingly admitted to Kai that he had been right about Ella being... likable. She sure did like her now, but not quite in the sense she had prepared for.

         "Hey, just because I said it out loud, it ain't my fault!" Kai defended as if he hadn't been grinning at Mariah all week, all the more whenever Ella was in the same room as them. That didn't seem to be the case right now, earning a relieved sigh from the Rose as she sat on the corner of Kai's desk and kicked his ankle softly. "Ow, ow, that's the leg I was shot in, remember? Shot leg. You're kicking me in my shot leg", he gasped dramatically, his usual daredevil behavior certainly not earning the same sort of concern as the nudge of Mariah's boot.

         "That was months ago. Mateo told me you were a pain in the ass then. I don't know why I thought that would go away with physical therapy", Mariah huffed with a fond roll of her eyes, and laughing to himself, Kai leaned back in his seat while recalling the times he had had with her cousin.

          "Oh, right. That was the time we were on Izzy's balcony and— oh wait, that reminds me!" the man erupted into a another gasp, followed by a gentle swat on Mariah's thigh. "It's Izzy's birthday tomorrow. We've got everything covered except for your signature on the card, and she also wanted to ask me if you'd come to her party. At her apartment, nothing too big", the Nolan went on, no pause in sight as he began to ramble about cake and what he'd want for his own birthday in the winter.

        Normally, a party was far from Mariah's ideal plans for the evening, but supposing that Izzy had done her fair share to earn her trust, she agreed with a slow nod. Not to mention, between building a friendship with Ella through listening to her favorite songs in the lab and playing Operation on their lunch break — and trying to catch Edwards with no success, she guessed some downtime would be good for her.

       There was a lot on her mind, and while she doubted this specific party would help her think about something other than Ella, it had to be better than sitting home alone in silence with the same thoughts.

       "Where is she, anyway?" Mariah cut in when Kai seemed to be forgetting his own train of thought, and with his doe eyes lighting up, the Nolan smiled up at his friend.

       "You probably don't mean Izzy, but if you do, she's talking to one of the kids I've been helping", he gestured at the breakroom, his wholesome side business of supporting bullied kids warming Mariah's heart with every mention — but he was right, the Holt hadn't been the woman on her mind. "Lopez, on the other hand, is working a case with Chlo and Lucifer. They're at a nudist colony, believe it or not", Kai snorted then, the look on Mariah's face priceless as his words sank in.

      "Sounds like a hell of a time", the Rose muttered, an awkward cough rising up her throat as she avoided Kai's smirk. When he opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly snarky, though, Mariah faced him with a stern stare, one that left the humor in her words up for debate. "One word, and you'll have to limp your way into Izzy's apartment for the second time", she hushed, only amusing the man who backed up in defense, but made sure to give her arm a teasing shove.

       Nevertheless, she couldn't help but break into a soft smile, too. Even when everything with Ella was going so differently than she had thought, it didn't feel wrong. If anything, with everything constantly so tiring and difficult in her life, she was the thing that felt peaceful and right.

—————

         KAI HADN'T LIED when he had promised that Izzy's party was going to be very low-key, although the man certainly tried to make it the opposite with his tireless dancing back and forth the apartment. Mateo and Chloe were trying to keep up with him, but the Decker was seconds away from giving up, amusing Mariah greatly as she sipped on a soda on the couch where Maze lounged beside her. The birthday girl herself was chatting with Ella and Linda, and while that group's company tempted Mariah, she was yet to move.

        "I heard you've been spending time with Linda", Maze piped up from behind Mariah, her dark eyes trained on the therapist despite addressing the Rose with her gruff tone. It wasn't until her stare fell over to Mariah that the woman realized it wasn't a friendly icebreaker — it was a potential warning, the need to protect written all over her face as she seemed to review Mariah.

       "Well, I pay her to", she countered, and at that, Maze chuckled. Simply as that, some of the tension in the air was alleviated, and Mariah broke into half a grin as she finished her soda and shrugged. "She's good at her job. Are you a patient, too?"

       Shaking her head, Maze leaned back on her side of the couch and threw one leather-clad leg over the other. "Nah. She's my best friend, though. So, even though I appreciate what you did for Izzy back at Lux... I'm keeping an eye on you", the bounty hunter pointed out, so casual about it, Mariah had no choice but to agree.

        "For what it's worth, I appreciate you looking after Mateo but I'm keeping an eye on you, too", Mariah returned the favor, and with that, the two women observed each other with hesitant but approving nods. Even if they didn't plan on braiding each other's hairs, it was safe to say they had something of a mutual understanding — and that was quite enough for Mariah. She had enough friends, anyway.

       As if on cue, a familiar British accent was joining the conversation from behind the couch Mariah was seated on. "Oh, are we getting in our dramatic threats? The what-are-your-intentions speech, if you will? If so, I'd like to participate", Lucifer cheered, smoothly circling the sofa before descending next to Mariah and snaking an arm across the back of the couch. "In all seriousness, Ms. Lopez cares a great deal about you, Miss Rose. You're an idol of hers, as I'm sure you're aware", he went on, and with her heart warming up at the words she no longer hated to hear so much, Mariah couldn't help but glance over her shoulder to steal a look at Ella. Unsurprisingly, the woman was in the middle of laughing with her friends, her ponytail bouncing in the air as she cackled at whatever Linda had said, and the sight made Mariah huff fondly.

       "Yes, well, as I was saying— if you hurt Ms. Lopez... I'm afraid I'll have no other choice but to smite you", Lucifer added, and at that, Mariah's eyes snapped back over to him. "I'd hate to resort to such drastic methods, but see, I also care a great deal about her. I'm sure you'd feel the same way if someone tried to hurt Kai, eh?" he elaborated, and against all odds, Mariah wound up almost cracking a smile at the man — but not quite.

       Gently, she pushed him away from her, creating more personal space even if she nodded at his words. "I guess we have something in common, after all", she noted, still admittedly on edge around the alleged Devil, but maybe all they needed was some common ground.

       And as Mariah glanced at Ella again, only to find the woman gazing back at her with a fond smile, she wasn't so sure if common ground meant being concerned for a friend, or caring about Ella Lopez.

»»»

Author's note

One step closer to canon (': Took me a hot minute to finish this chapter but I hope you guys liked it! And I dare say the next one will definitely be worth the wait.

I write this story so irregularly that I forget what I told you last time and now I feel like I always say the same things in my notes omg, but one thing that will not get old is THANK YOU. Your support is so so appreciated ❤️

I've also come to the conclusion that this book might be around 15 chapters or so, so we're like halfway through! Wild (: And it will only get wilder from here on out!

Thank you so much for reading ❤️