LONGEST DAY EVER. Mariah had heard those words from Kai on several occasions, sometimes when he ran out of gummy bears during a stakeout, sometimes when there was tons of paperwork to get through. He spoke it at the smallest inconveniences and at real problems, whereas Mariah never did, but today, as she stood in the precinct with her attention span trying to reach her two fathers and the open case driving her more and more mad by the second... she came damn close.

Lucifer's ex-girlfriend was certainly not making it any easier. "You're, like, a big deal, right? That's so cool", Eve was gushing at Mariah's desk while the latter was attempting to glance past the woman's arm and into Ella's lab. Hours had ticked by and the Lopez was still not tired of hearing Andrew and Grayson's stories about New York, which she supposed she should have been grateful for. But at some point, one of them would surely make a move to go somewhere and that was what Mariah needed to see, not Eve's arms flailing in enthusiasm.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm not big on the whole celebrity thing", Mariah pointed out curtly before sucking in a frustrated breath — usually, she would make an effort to get along with co-workers, but the stress piling on her shoulders squeezed all the potential kindness out of her. Not to mention, Eve wasn't a co-worker but a civilian she was unsure even belonged in the bullpen.

"Oh, no, I was actually gonna say, I think it's so awesome how you're this... powerful woman on your own. I was always associated with my husband, you know, so that's something I want to be seen as, too", Eve continued, nevertheless, and at that, Mariah finally looked up with the annoyance in her eyebrows melting away. The frown washed away as she pursed her lips at Eve and nodded in silent understanding, suddenly not quite so opposed to hearing her out.

"I respect that", she shrugged, "and sounds to me like you're plenty powerful."

When she finally leaned back in her chair to steal another glimpse of the lab, she noticed Ella stepping out — as expected — with both Mariah's fathers following behind. Rather than making a run for it, though, they were headed straight for Mariah's desk, and Eve took the opportunity to sneak away while they wandered over to the detective with soft smiles.

"Ella here made it very clear that you guys are taking it slow, but regardless, I think you've found someone wonderful", Andrew piped up with pride evident on his face, and after shooting the scientist a grateful look for not blowing their blossoming feelings out of proportion, Mariah stood up with a soft hand landing on his dad's arm.

"I appreciate that. We haven't really... we're figuring things out, I guess. Work is just hectic right now", she struggled to find the right words; true enough, but not too much to concern her fathers who could have been in danger right there and then. "I wish we could have really spent time today, too. But once this case is done...", she went on, the void in her chest sucking in all the guilt, fear, and anger only humanly possible.

Shaking his head, Grayson grasped Mariah's shoulder gently and huffed. "Don't worry about it. We dropped in unannounced, after all. Silver lining is, we get to see what a wonderful, dedicated detective you are", he promised with a smile, one that was far too contagious for her to resist.

"Well, I am desperate to try that ice cream parlor you hyped up so much. If Mariah doesn't find the time, then I will come to visit you two by myself", Ella cut in with a grin, and suffocating a chuckle at the mental image she could already picture, Mariah glanced at her boots with a shake of her head.

With a clap of his hands, Grayson wrapped an arm around Ella's shoulders and squeezed her. "See, what a treasure! I'll hold you to that", he mimicked the Lopez's pleased expression. Mariah couldn't help but smile — had these words been coming from anyone else, she would have been grimacing at the idea of future plans and such grave commitment before they had even had a first date. But with her parents, it was like the encouragement she needed to take a leap of faith. With Ella, it didn't feel so difficult, anyway.

"Alright, it was an absolute delight to meet you, Ella. I think we should head to the airport now, though", Andrew proposed then, and with her stomach immediately swinging in relief at the idea, Mariah was breaking into a vehement nod. Edwards may have still been out there, but she was working on alerting all authorities of his identity, meaning that at the very least he wouldn't be able to follow them to New York. Undoubtedly, his reach extended the limits of California, but Mariah was still going to breathe a little easier with her parents safely at home.

On cue, Kai was rounding the corner with his arms full of candy and his usual boyish smile on his lips. "I'm ready to roll!" he announced, and with sheer agreement, Mariah grabbed her leather jacket.

Maybe, the day could still end well.

—————

          FEELING SO RELIEVED at watching her parents board the plane felt so wrong, but Mariah couldn't help it from spreading in her tightening chest, regardless. She had always had a wonderful relationship with Andrew and Grayson, and she already missed them, yet she had to gratefully clutch her cross necklace in her fist as she turned on her heel to leave them. The sticky L.A air, which she usually despised, was warm enough to remind her of the big hugs she had gotten before they had picked up their things and walked away, and it felt more bitter than sweet as she trailed back to her car. She had promised to visit them soon, but she was realistic enough to admit there was no telling how the situation with Edwards would unfold.

"You okay?" Kai asked automatically when Mariah swung open the door and sank behind the wheel, her grip tightening around the leather as she took in a deep breath. Pausing the music — which he was used to being in charge of — Kai observed his friend warily, but with the kind of softness that encouraged Mariah to be truthful.

"Yeah", she cleared her throat, "I just hope that wasn't the last time I see them." With that, she turned the keys in the ignition, the sputter of the engine nearly drowning out the dry laugh Kai reacted with.

"Come on, it wasn't. We're going to figure this all out, I promise. Tomorrow is a new day, alright? Even supervillains need sleep", he insisted, his stern stare never leaving Mariah even when her eyes were trained on the illuminated streets she was slowly cruising down. "You can bunk with me and Mateo if you feel like it. I know my dogs would love to see you again", he continued, hoping to find the right words to say — unfortunately, there was nothing to comfort Mariah until her enemy would be behind bars.

Nevertheless, she cracked a weak smile at that. "It's okay. I'll just drop you off", she brushed his concerns off, and true to her promise, she steered the car in the direction of his apartment building in peace and quiet. Even Kai, against his nature, remained mostly quiet with only a few comments or song lyrics, but it was never an uncomfortable silence between the two of them; rather one built on absolute trust and understanding.

Only when Mariah was pulling the car up at the parking lot and turning off the engine to walk Kai up, the man spoke again. "You know, they really seemed to like Ella", he hummed innocently at the memory of how fond Andrew and Grayson had already become over the Lopez. His words got a snort from Mariah who, despite her reluctance, couldn't argue — they had certainly given their approval, and while it was no dealbreaker to Mariah, it did hold a special place in her heart.

"Yeah, well, so do I. Maybe when all of this is over...", she trailed off, not sure what she wanted with Ella. Still, she distinctly remembered the woman proposing a date before Mariah had slapped the creepy photos in her face, and the thought made her palms sweat with excitement.

Laughing victoriously, Kai swung open the building door to let Mariah in with his dashing grin directed at her. "See, my optimism is rubbing off on you", he flaunted, only to earn a disgusted grimace in response to his wording. "What would you do without me?" he continued, either way, and with a chuckle, Mariah shook her head while following him upstairs to the right floor.

"Hopefully I never have to find out", she offered while watching his decorated set of keys dangle back and forth as he forcefully shoved the right one in the lock of the front door.

As soon as they were inside, Kai was shrugging off his leather jacket and calling out to his dogs, only for both Rutt and Tuke to bark from his bedroom. Grumbling something about locking up the poor boys, the Nolan wandered down the hallway while Mariah swiveled towards the kitchen with a quiet laugh at Kai's antics.

"I'll just get some water and I'll be on my—", she began, but before she could finish the sentence, she nearly slipped on the floor. Catching her breath and grasping the countertop for balance, Mariah prepared to swear but every word died in the back of her throat when she realized what her boot had landed on — blood.

Lots of it.

With her heart sinking all the way to her stomach, Mariah didn't manage to push herself up to both feet when she saw Mateo lying on the kitchen floor, stained hands weakly splayed across his bleeding stomach and his eyes shut. Scrambling forward, careless of the blood getting to her knees, the Rose lunged for Mateo's neck to feel his pulse, trembling fingertips digging into his skin to find any hope of life.

When she felt a weak beat against her hands, she cried out in relief but proceeded to panic further with her palm colliding against her forehead. A mere second later, though, she was working on autopilot, her voice calling out to Kai in a way that sounded distant to even herself while she stood up and dug out her phone to dial 911.

Completely unsuspecting of what he was going to find in his kitchen, Kai wandered out of his bedroom, rolling up his sleeves and with a smile on his face — one that faded away immediately when Mariah turned to him with teary eyes and bloodstained hands, the phone barely balanced against her ear as she waited for the call go through. With similar terror now raging in his heart, Kai stormed over to Mariah, only for his knees to buckle at the sight that awaited, nausea climbing up his throat while he froze next to the Rose.

"My friend was—was stabbed, I think. He's unconscious but he's still alive", Mariah uttered out into the phone when she heard the operator's voice greet her, any experience of protocol slinking away from her as she gently nudged Kai. "You need to pressure the wound", she continued, and at first, the man didn't even realize who was being spoken to. Only when Mariah gripped his shoulder and colored the blue of his flannel with red, he turned to her with widening eyes.

Softly shaking his head, he gave her a horrified look. "Please don't make me do this", he pleaded quietly, scared and unable to stop thinking about his past losses as he stared at Mariah.

With an understanding nod, she passed the phone over to Kai who began stammering out his address while Mariah fell back to her knees and firmly forced her hand on the wounds on Mateo's stomach. Determined to stay put together until he'd be safe in the hospital and Edwards would be in handcuffs, the Rose swallowed down every tear and hint of despair, refusing to give in as she observed her cousin's blank face.

"You're going to be fine", she whispered, her forehead meeting his as she sucked in a breath, "I swear on my life I'm going to make sure of it."

»»»

Author's note

DUNDUNDUNNNN. I've been planning this baby right from the beginning and FINALLY I GET TO SHARE IT. My poor babies omg, the angst is about to go through the roof my friends. But at least Mariah has Ella (': and Kai has Chloe!! He certainly needs the loving, y'all I just keep putting my boy through so much huh.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed! Thank you very much for reading ❤️