❝WE STAND AND WE WON'T FALL.❞
In which Kai Nolan, a human disaster in the form of a clever detective, gets transferred to the LAPD, making things difficult not only for him, but everyone around him.
[LUCIFER SEASON 3]
BOOK THREE IN THE ❝ CHILDREN OF...
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THE PROM JITTERS that Kai had never had back in high school were now in full swing, twisting his stomach and leaving his palms sweating as he stood in Ella's lab while the woman fixed his bowtie. He wasn't sure what he was the most nervous about — going undercover as Chloe's date or exposing himself to former popular kids who probably wouldn't hesitate to pick on an easy target like himself. He liked to think that his esteemed career and the loved ones he had surrounded himself with over the years had built on his confidence, but there was no telling how the tormented boy in him would react under the right circumstances.
"I can tell you're nervous", Ella pointed out knowingly, indirectly asking Kai if he wanted to talk about it. And, well, he wasn't too good at keeping his feelings secret, meaning that within seconds he was breathing out in defeat and giving the Lopez an appreciative look for listening to him.
"My reunion was arranged a few years ago, but I never went. And this officially marks the first dance I've ever had a date to since I'm guessing sisters don't count", Kai chuckled quietly, taking his usual humorous approach even if the faint memories twisted his lips upside down. He considered himself a good guy, funny too, and yet everyone had avoided him like the plague. Some had taken pity on him, but when the most influential kids had turned against him, most had done the same in the fear of being next in line. It had been better some years, but then worse the next, and no matter how much he insisted on being fine, it was obvious that the treatment he had gone through, had left him scarred for life.
"Their loss! You're awesome, and pretty good-looking, too. I think, as long as you maintain your cover, you should take all the fun out of tonight, get a little braggy and all", Ella defended him with a look that balanced sympathy and support perfectly — not making him feel pathetic, but not skipping the encouragement entirely. And when she placed a consoling pat on Kai's shoulder and adjusted his bowtie one last time, he fell into a comforted smile.
Shrugging at the idea, Kai supposed he had a point. "It's not the worst idea. At least I'll have Chloe to keep me in check if I start to get out of control", he contemplated out loud, missing the smirk on Ella's lips as she turned to her table to pick out one last piece for his outfit.
"You two make a legit team, Kai. A dynamic duo, even", she noted sneakily while whipping out the round glasses she had found from the lost and found just for him. He was no Superman — he couldn't hide his identity with a pair of spectacles, but she had defended her decision by explaining that he needed to assume the new role and there was no reason he couldn't look dashing doing so.
Nevertheless, Kai mustered a stare at both the words and the way she snuck the glasses onto his nose. "Subtle, Lopez. Keep it in your pants, will you?" he commented disapprovingly, the assumptions at him and Chloe becoming glaringly obvious. It seemed that everyone presumed there to be something between them, something other than rivalry, that was. But Kai refused to acknowledge it, even when he had come to the conclusion that she was great at her job, a force to be reckoned with. That astonishment, however, wasn't going to get in his way.
