WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ↠ Mazikeen [2]

00 | BEGINNING OF SOMETHING GOOD

SHE WAS RUNNING. Like your life depends on it. That's what people always said, and in this moment, Izzy felt the weight of the words in her bones as she bolted as fast as she could. Her gun was heavy in her trembling hands and every other step was made uneven by the limp of her leg where she had been kicked and hit – no doubt she would find a purple blossom of bruises underneath her grimy jeans when she got home. If she got home.

She certainly hadn't expected to find herself here a month ago. No, a month ago she had been sitting at her mother's dinner table, the love of her life by her side and her dog asleep at her feet. A month ago, she had been at a hand's reach from happiness.

See, in the Holt household, Sundays were for family dinners. The glorious responsibility of a parent kept Diane Holt occupied all day long, numerous pots full of homemade food lined up on the counters just for her darling daughter and whoever she brought along with her – more often than not, it was her girlfriend, but all were welcome. It had become an accidental tradition and habit, the perfect opportunity for Diane to catch up with her only child and the leather-clad bounty hunter that stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the quaint, domestic setting.

"You outdo yourself every time, mama", Mazikeen hummed, pleased as she leaned back in her chair and huffed, taken to calling Diane with honorary mom titles – as any daughter-in-law would, she had insisted. It made Izzy smile every time, giving Maze yet another reason to keep it up.

Diane herself was more than pleased, too. "Thank you, Maze", she smiled, "there's plenty of leftovers for you to take to work next week."

Izzy couldn't help but snort at the image of her girlfriend hunting down criminals with a Tupperware full of mashed potatoes stashed in her bag of weapons. She was, however, given no chance to comment on the amusing idea when the doorbell rang and Diane was making a gesture from the kitchen where she was preparing the dessert.

"Izzy, would you?" she requested, opening the cabinets to find an extra plate for whoever was joining them – every now and then, Lucifer would pop by at the very last minute with a bottle from his bar, sometimes Dan appeared with a kiss for Izzy's cheek and occasionally Chloe and her boyfriend came to hear Diane's tales about the late John Decker.

This time, it was none of the people they expected, but rather, as soon as Izzy strode to the foyer to peep through the hole and open the door, her eyes widened with surprise at the sight of her aunt grinning up at her, bags in tow and her arms opening in greeting.

"There's my favorite niece!" the brunette gushed before wrapping her arms around Izzy and squeezing tight, placing a kiss on her cheek before whispering, "don't tell your other aunt I said that."

Stunned speechless, Isadora managed a laugh as she pulled back from the hug with her hands still resting on her aunt's arms, her eyes still blown wide as she called back into the kitchen. "Mom, I don't think you're ready for this guest", she announced before initiating another tight hug.