"OH MY GOD, I'm not late, am I?"
The rush of words, drenched in panic and worry, caught Detective Dan Espinoza's attention as the soft voice of a woman rang throughout the room, causing the man to look up from the file in his hands and kick his feet off of the edge of his desk before his eyes traveled up and met the nervous gaze of a surprisingly tall, redheaded woman. He was speechless for a matter of seconds as he stared at the new deputy dressed in blue and standing in front of his desk with an apologetic look brewing in her light brown eyes, but eventually, his eyes darted from the woman to the clock resting around his wrist.
Pursing his lips approvingly as he nodded, Dan offered a soft, reassuring smile at her when he looked back up at her. "Right on time, actually", he comforted, and in response, the redhead broke into a wide grin whilst her shy, meek posture shifted into something more confident, her hands finding their way to her hips.
Of course she was punctual — it was her first day, one that she had been preparing for all her life, and there was no way in hell she'd ever show up late for that. Then there was the fact that struggling and sharing most of her mindspace with OCD hardly allowed her to be late. Ever.
"I know, just wanted you to notice", she winked, and as Dan let out a surprised but impressed chuckle, she extended out a hand for him to shake. "Deputy Izzy Holt. I've been assigned to help you with anything and everything, be your shadow basically— but, not to bother you, obviously. I'm also hoping to pick up some cool tricks... and helpful advice", the young woman stammered out a lame excuse of an introduction, while shaking hands with Dan firmly, still mirroring the smile wide and alive on his lips, as well.
Knitting his eyebrows together, Dan reminded himself of the meeting he had had with his superior, and surely enough, from amidst the bitter reminder of a demotion, he could remember mentions of a new deputy whose job is to help you in any way she can or you require her to. Frankly, he found it surprising that he was worthy of any help, considering he had pretty much done what any cop should never do, and stolen evidence. Yet, here he was, standing up and about to leave for a crime scene, with his new protege.
"Well, I don't know about cool tricks, but I think we'll make a nice team. It's nice to meet you. Detective Dan Espinoza", the man introduced himself, before patting his hand against the file he had been inspecting and nodding towards the elevator. "I'm actually about to head to a crime scene right now. I wasn't supposed to be back just yet, but I'm pretty much in the same situation as you are — stuck helping others", he grinned, and snorting, Izzy shrugged.
"It's not so bad. I've been kinda waiting for this since I was a kid", she flashed a smile after throwing her cap onto her short, red hair. "But hey, it's nice to meet you too, Dan."
And as they walked to the elevator together, he had a feeling she was going to be the most wonderful deputy he had ever mentored.
—————
AS MUCH AS Izzy knew that she was about to enter a horrifying crime scene with an actual murder victim and a bunch of serious detectives investigating the death, she couldn't help but be just a little bit excited. However, even if she was bubbling with the first day jitters that Dan could still vividly remember in his own heart, Izzy carried herself with a healthy mixture of solemnity and intrepidity, which Detective Espinoza noted — the happiness and pride in her heart didn't bleed over to her face, where an excited smile had danced only moments ago. Indeed, while Dan had driven their shared vehicle to the right location, he had also asked a couple of casual questions to get to know the woman better, and she had been more than happy to speak of her thoughts and dreams and how amazing it was to be doing this job at last.
But as they sneaked beneath the yellow tape separating the civilians from the police officers, Izzy was calm and austere while pulling gloves on to make sure she wouldn't get her fingerprints all over the evidence.
"Okay, where do you want me, boss?", she then questioned, facing Dan as the other glove snapped against her wrist and her fingers wiggled into the empty slots. Looking at a dark-haired woman taking photos of the victim for further inspecting, Dan parted his lips to give out instructions, but he didn't have the time when he had spotted his boss coming from the same direction, eyes stern and surprised to see the man standing there, with help by his side, no less.
Dan muttered something that sounded a lot like profanities, but Izzy couldn't catch the quiet whisper when a blonde woman had already stepped over the street to the two of them, her sharp eyebrows knitted together unhappily while her arms instinctively crossed over her chest.
"What are you doing here?", was the first thing she said to Dan, and eyes blown wide as she turned to look at the detective in their company, Izzy couldn't help but sense tension between the two of them, causing her to direct a glance towards her boss, only for it to be cut short when the woman actually talked to her next. "And who are you?", she wondered, and although her voice was soft and curious instead of judging, Isadora couldn't help but jump slightly as she faced the detective with parting lips and fearful eyes — something about her was just too intimidating for her to handle.
"I've been reinstated", Dan took the turn to speak, saving Izzy from the spotlight, "and this is the new deputy, Izzy Holt. She's been assigned to help me — and well, I've been assigned to help you, so if there's anything we can do...", his shoulders lifted in a quick shrug, and in response, the blonde nodded before turning to the newest member of their crew with a careful smile.
"Okay, sure. I'm Chloe. Decker. You, uh, you could get caught up with Ella over there, hm?", she introduced herself, and as Izzy returned the kind smile, Chloe lifted her finger to point at the same woman Dan had already eyed in the belief that she'd have some useful information.
Once Izzy had responded with a curt nod, as if to silently say "I'm on it", she let her determined steps lead her to the girl with a jacket that read Forensics on the back, all the whilst hoping she'd be slightly less professional and serious. However, even if the deputy couldn't help but be somewhat terrified of Chloe Decker, she also kind of admired the passion she obviously had for her work. But, luckily, Ella Lopez was every bit as sweet and lovable as Izzy was hoping for.
"Uh, Ella?", she began carefully, fearing that she had misheard the name or approached the wrong woman, but at the mention of her name, the forensic scientist turned around with a radiating smile on her lips, which earned a relieved sigh from Izzy.
"Oh, hi! Yeah, Ella Lopez, so nice to meet you!", the shorter woman gushed whilst she happily threw her arms around the deputy and pulled her into a quick, but tight hug. It was rather unexpected, but despite being taken aback by the embrace, she didn't pull away — instead, she cracked a genuine smile back at Ella and wrapped her own arms around her to return the warm gesture.
"Izzy Holt, great to meet you too", Isadora beamed, and once she had let go, her gaze dropped down to the camera Ella had been packing. "So, uh, what's the deal here?", she continued, clearing her throat to regain a professional posture whilst crossing her arms and eyeing the crime scene — little further away, was a carousel and in one of the carts sat the corpse of a young girl, with two metal rods driven through her skull. It was a ghastly sight for sure, and Izzy instinctively shivered whilst looking away, a hint of disgust twisting her face and a twinge of pain poking at her heart.
Sighing, Ella looked at the dead girl before bringing her gaze back to Izzy, who was significantly taller — in fact, the height difference between them was rather adorable. "Creepy, right? Well, surprisingly, the cause of death wasn't the metal sticking out of her head. She was strangled, and the body was moved here. Poor girl. So far, that's all I've got", the scientist explained with a nod, and mirroring the movement, the redhead looked back at the dead body and grimaced. She knew what kind of a world she had stepped into, and no doubt she was going to face lots of grim death and gross crime scenes, but this was far worse than she had expected to come across on her first day. Frankly, she wasn't sure what kind of a monster would resort to something like that.
As if on cue, a tall man suddenly appeared next to Izzy, and both her and Ella turned to face the grand sight that blocked the sunshine from their faces. "You're newbies, aren't you?", a dashing accent wondered with a smile tugging on the man's lips, and in an instant, Ella had greeted him the same way she had greeted Isadora — with a big hug, but whereas Izzy had gladly accepted the sweet gesture, he flinched and cringed when a pair of arms was wrapped around him briefly. Still, his writhing didn't stop her from introducing herself with, Ella Lopez, just transferred from Detroit a few days ago.
Holding back a smile, Izzy licked her pink lips before offering the man her hand, taking a more professional route herself. "Izzy Holt. New deputy at the LAPD", she formally introduced herself, realizing only then that she'd probably have to do that a lot for the first couple of days. Instead of shaking her hand like she had expected, the stranger kissed the back of it and let his lips curve higher when their eyes locked, surprising the woman, but although impressed by the man's charming ways, she wasn't sold. "Sorry", she let a sarcastic smile tug on her own lips, "I don't swing that way." Luckily, he seemed to get the hint and simply directed an approving nod at her, before turning to Ella, who had spoken up again.
"You must be Detective Decker's Civilian Consultant", Ella flashed an adorable smile of her own, and nodding, he confirmed it to be true.
"Lucifer Morningstar", he shared his name proudly, and turning over to the lanky guy who had officially claimed the title of the Devil, Izzy let her eyes widen. Whereas she was visibly surprised, Ella didn't seem that startled, but Izzy for one couldn't stop staring at him. He did carry some devilish features with him, from the fancy suit to the enchanting voice, and there was something about him. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Wait— as in, the Devil? Are you being serious?", the deputy ended up laughing, her dimples showing and eyes crinkling as she flashed her bright teeth at Lucifer, struggling to believe him, but the seriousness on his face caused her laughter to fade away. "Oh— you—you are serious. Really? The Devil?", she stammered, the shock within her heart only expanding as she took a step back and warily eyed the man, but before he could elaborate, Ella had interjected.
"I think the Devil gets a bad rep. I mean, what did he really do that was so bad? What, rebel against his dad? Ask some naked lady if she wanted an apple?", she began to defend the man with horns and a tail, and turning to her with a look that clearly questioned if she was being serious, Izzy was unable to grasp the situation at hand. However, although she stared at Ella in disbelief, Lucifer was clearly flattered and the look on his face had twisted back into the proud smirk. "I suppose he does run Hell", Ella then continued, shrugging, "that's not so great, you know, with the torture and eternal damnation."
"I'm retired. And besides, I didn't create Hell. I just worked there", Lucifer pointed out, and snorting, Izzy crossed her arms again and stared at the two with a doubtful look in her hazel eyes.
Shaking her head, Isadora refused to believe that they were actually having this conversation — in fact, she had a strong feeling Ella and Lucifer were messing with her. "Are you two pulling some kind of a prank on me? You know, make fun of the new girl? Is your name even Lucifer? Did you even transfer a few days ago?", she questioned, but in response, they both just insisted that they weren't doing any pranks — they were being quite serious.
And frankly, Izzy wasn't sure which idea she preferred. That they were lying to her, or that she had signed up for some seriously messed up stuff.
»»»
okay so, a bit of a slow start but izzy is getting to know everyone, it's her first day after all (: it will take a few chapters before she actually meets maze, it's gonna be more bonding with dan, lucifer and ella first, but don't worry, i have lots of izzykeen (??? what) coming your way! i'm really excited for this izzy / dan brotp though (:
also, i hope you guys noticed the mention of izzy's ocd, because it's an important part of her character. i've done a lot of research and i obviously don't plan on writing about something i'm completely clueless about, but i do not have ocd, so if you feel that my writing offends or doesn't do justice to it, please let me know. however, from what i've gathered, what it's like really depends on the person, too.
anyway, i hope you liked the first chapter of some kind of heaven, i'm very excited to share more with you guys! x