So, some pancakes and coffee and a few stories later, Ella and Michael entered the precinct, both grinning as Ella chattered on and on about everything, asking questions and such - But Michael shushed her when they got inside, glancing around at all the people and tilting his head toward Ella warningly. The girl, getting the hint, stopped, but her grin never faltered. "There'll be plenty of time for questions later," Michael whispered. "Let's focus on work, okay?"

"Right," Ella responded with a giggle, that sweet, pure grin on her face as she skipped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Michael was quicker to react this time, hugging her right back, but he was still surprised when it gave him that weird, tingling, twisting feeling. Ella headed off, and Michael tilted his head with a smile and watched her go.

And, just like the other day, someone shoved past him - Chloe, he checked - And this time, the girl glanced back. Her eyes hardened as soon as they met his amber ones, and she whipped back around and continued on her way, not breaking stride. Michael let out a low hum, nodding faintly to himself and starting to head back to his desk, only to pause when he saw Lucifer as well. "Sammy!"

Lucifer skidded to a stop, wincing, and turned to face him wordlessly. Michael grinned, adjusting the white suit he'd changed into, and walked forward to stand in front of his brother. "Where's the fire, huh?"

Lucifer hesitated, leaning back as he approached and glancing back over his shoulder, toward Chloe. He seemed extremely uncomfortable, but he didn't answer, mouth shut firmly and his eyes flickering warily as he turned back to look up at his older brother. Michael cocked his head to the side expectantly. "Oookay," the archangel sighed slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly and taking a small step forward. Lucifer stepped back instinctively. "Remember what I told you about ignoring me? That still applies, y'know, Little Lightbringer."

Lucifer just stared back, eyes narrowed now, flickering with anger, fear and frustration all at once. "I'm just trying to work, Michael."

"And I think you've forgotten you work with me now, not your little friend," Michael remarked, once more stepping forward. He glanced over his brother's shoulder, toward Chloe, who hadn't quite noticed the two of them just yet, busy talking to the other detective, Dan. Michael hummed and looked back down at Lucifer, who was still staring at him, eyes hard.

"Well, go ahead," Lucifer snorted, raising his chin slightly and tilting his head at his younger brother. "Throw a punch or something."

Michael rolled his eyes, glancing away. "You know damn well I'm not going to do that here, id-" He cut off with a small grunt when someone else shoved past him, this one more forcefully, enough to make the archangel stagger sideways. He steadied himself quickly and looked up, eyebrows raising slightly as he stared after the man who had pushed past him, and he found himself speaking up before he could stop himself. "Uh, s'cuse me, cunt? Rude."

The man stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. Lucifer simply backed up and headed back to Chloe, but Michael had lost interest in him, his attention focused only on the man at that point. His blue eyes met Michael's unflinchingly. "Excuse me?"

"Now, that would've been the nice thing to say instead of just barging past someone, hm?" Michael held his gaze easily, amber eyes sparking up slightly. But he refrained from punching the man in the face, knowing full well that once he got going, he wouldn't stop, and his Father had specifically told him not to harm any humans. Even rude, disrespectful asshats like this one. "Now, who the Hell do you think you are?"

The man raised an eyebrow and walked forward to stand in front of him. "Lieutenant Marcus Pierce," he responded sharply, and Michael blinked, tilting his head. "And who the Hell do you think you are?" He looked him up and down, narrowing his eyes. "Are you even a cop, or a Cult leader…?"

Michael snorted, rolling his eyes. "Not only Cult leaders can wear white, rude ass," he responded sweetly, putting an innocent grin on his face. "And yeah, I'm a cop. Michael Saint. And you…" He narrowed his eyes. "Well, for one thing, I've just started talking to you and you already seem like a cocky, arrogant dick who uses his title to push around those lower than him. Not that I'm opposed, but something about you just," he sighed, glancing away. "Makes me want to bash your head in."

"Is that a threat?" Pierce growled, lowering his voice slightly and fixing him with a death glare. Michael blinked, turning his gaze back to him curiously.

"Oh, no," he assured. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not allowed, actually. Unfortunately. Just thought I'd put that out there."

"Right." Pierce raised his head slightly, holding his gaze for a moment. "I suggest you get your act together before I report you, Saint," he spoke somewhat sarcastically, but his expression remained cold, and his gaze never moved from Michael's. "Am I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir," Michael replied just as sarcastically, a grin tugging at his lips. Pierce shook his head and turned away, walking off wordlessly, and Michael hummed, watching him go. Well, this should definitely make the month much, much more interesting… The archangel turned his gaze back to Lucifer, who was now talking to Chloe, peering over her shoulder at a file she was holding. But his younger brother's gaze kept flickering up, toward Pierce, Michael noticed, and his expression held just as much loathing as Michael felt for the man.

Which, ironically, changed his opinion of Pierce completely.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, he thought, lips twitching slightly into a smile now. He turned away, running his fingers through his blonde hair and letting out a small laugh. Yeah, interesting indeed.

Michael decided, after a few hours of sitting at his desk going through papers, that this job was boring. You'd think more people would die, but no. There was nothing. No other cases, and nothing for him to do. The archangel was genuinely considering just leaving, honestly. Maybe going to talk to Ella for a while. But the thing that got him most, was that Lucifer, the most restless, rebellious and high-maintenance of his siblings, was sitting on Chloe's desk, not seeming at all bothered that he had nothing to do, and seemed beyond content to just sit there and talk while she worked. On occasion she'd look up in annoyance and glare at him, but it never kept him quiet for long. And even through the irritation, Michael could sense the amusement coming from her in waves.

Pierce would leave his office on occasion, sometimes stopping to speak with Chloe. Lucifer never seemed pleased when he approached, glaring at him when nobody was looking and giving him the most fake sweet little smile Michael had ever seen. Honestly, Michael didn't know who his little brother hated more - Him or Pierce. But either way, it was amusing watching how this man effected his brother, how he seemingly annoyed him to no end, and he was pretty damn sure he knew why.

Chloe looked at Pierce the way Lucifer looked at Chloe. Eyes sparkling, warm smiles and sparing a glance when the other wasn't looking - Sometimes just staring for the Hell of it. Lucifer liked - Or, Hell, it didn't take a genius to see that Lucifer was in love with the Detective, and Chloe… Well, she quite obviously held some feelings for Pierce.

And, amusing as it was, Michael had a hard time rooting for Pierce on this one. Simply because the way he looked at her wasn't like Lucifer did. Yes, there was some kind of longing in his gaze - He wanted something, something he thought Chloe could give. And no, he wasn't lustful, Michael knew that look. He wanted something else, something deeper, something… Personal. But he didn't love her.

Lucifer, he didn't want anything from Chloe. Hell, he didn't even want to get with her, clearly enough. For whatever reason. But he also seemingly didn't want Chloe with Pierce - Probably because he saw what Michael did; Pierce wanted to use her for… Well, whatever it was - Lucifer did not.

And, despite himself, even he had to take his brother's side on that one. Lucifer was probably the better one for Chloe, but, regardless… They couldn't be together. Michael had to make sure of that. A relationship between them could cause definite problems as far as taking Lucifer back to Heaven with, and he couldn't afford for anything to get in the way of that. As much as he disliked Pierce, perhaps pushing Lucifer out of the picture by getting the two of them together would sever that bond.

Though, even he had to admit, it would suck. He saw how attached his brother was to the human. The way he spoke to her, looked at her. The way they interacted… But, still. His Father ordered him to bring Lucifer back to Heaven in a month, and he couldn't let anything… Or anyone, get in the way of that.

Sighing, the archangel started to push his chair back, giving into his boredom and preparing to go talk to Ella. However, when he looked up, he noticed Pierce approaching his desk - And, surprised and faintly amused, he sank right back down and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Aw, I knew you'd be back, babe," he said sarcastically, lowering his chin and narrowing his eyes faintly at the Lieutenant.

Pierce didn't reply at first, dropping a file in front of him and leaning against the desk. "Just noticed you seemed bored and thought I'd bring you some entertainment, that's all," he responded just as sarcastically. Michael hummed, plucking the file up and flipping it open wordlessly, looking down to skim the papers inside.

"Ooh, death. Fun." He glanced up, amber eyes focusing on Pierce, then tilted his head toward Lucifer. "Can I have my partner back for this one?"

"Nope. He's with Chloe. I'll be with you instead," Pierce replied smoothly, and Michael snorted. "Quality bonding time… Babe. Do your research, get me a lead." With that, he straightened up, and turned and walked off. Michael cocked his head to the side, watching him go before letting out a small laugh and setting the file back down, rolling his eyes and letting his head fall back. He looked up again just in time to see Pierce stopping at Chloe's desk, handing over another file to Lucifer, but it was immediately snatched from him by Chloe, much to the Devil's disappointment. Michael tilted his head, watching the Lieutenant disappear into his office.

The archangel was about to relent and start reading, but he paused when someone else approached his desk, this person much, much more favorable than Pierce. "Hey, angel boy!"

"El," Michael said warmly, pushing himself to stand up with a grin. "Wish you were my partner on this case instead, you're a lot less boring than Pierce."

"Too bad I'm a forensic scientist and not a cop, sorry, pal," Ella giggled, flashing him her usual smile. "But, if it helps, I am kind of still working the case! Just running fingerprints and DNA samples and such. A murder weapon would help, but, oh well. I'm just about to head back to the scene of the crime, see if there's anything the other guys missed."

"Good luck with that," Michael told her genuinely, his grin not faltering as he settled himself on the edge of his desk.

"Thanks. Good luck with Pierce." Ella grinned. "He seems really rough around the edges, but trust me, total teddy bear." With that, she turned and bounced off, hugging Chloe, then Lucifer as she passed before continuing on her way. After saying something to Lucifer, Chloe got up and headed after her, pulling her to a stop to say something to her.

And for a while, both brothers just sat in complete silence, Michael's gaze fixed on Ella and Lucifer's gaze fixed on Chloe. When the two looked up again, however, their gazes met from across the room, and the smile that had previously been on Lucifer's face faltered, turning completely confused now. Michael blinked, realizing he'd also been grinning - The smile was wiped from his face in an instant, replaced with his own look of confusion.

He offered a hesitant glance toward Ella before shaking his head and looking away again, this time avoiding Lucifer's gaze.

You are not attached to the human. You are not attached to the human, he told himself firmly. She's just nicer than the others, and - Well, who couldn't like her, yeah? But you're not attached. I am not. Attached. He took a deep breath and stood up once more, heading back around the desk and sitting down in his chair wordlessly, plucking the file up once more. He had a case to focus on, and, boring as it was, he would focus.

He turned his gaze to the file, once more skimming over it, but stopped when he finally registered the name on the papers. Alexander Miles. Michael's eyebrows raised, leaning back and tilting his head in confusion as he gazed down, focusing completely now. They'd just released Alexander yesterday after arresting Zoe. And, apparently, the man had seemingly died from several gunshot wounds to the head, but the gun that had been used to kill him, as Ella had said, hadn't been recovered from the crime scene.

Meaning that the killer was still out there, and armed no less - And who knew who else he planned to kill? That alone made this extremely difficult, and Michael didn't like difficult. Not at all. For a moment, the archangel wondered if this had anything to do with Liorah's case - But there was no way Zoe could have done it, she was in prison…

"Could really use Sammy right about now," he huffed, letting his gaze flicker up toward Lucifer, who had hopped off of Chloe's desk and was now sitting in her chair, file open in front of him as he read. He then glanced toward Pierce's office, annoyed. He knew Pierce already didn't like him, and the warning of making him leave had been enough for Michael to back off, at least a bit. He had to keep an eye on his brother, God's orders, so getting "fired" wasn't exactly on his to-do list.

Meaning he had to suck it up and deal with the fact that he wasn't Lucifer's partner, and that he actually had to do some of the work. The archangel sighed and sat back, looking back down at the file and narrowing his eyes. "Alright, guess I'm doing this solo…"

"Not quite."

"Oh, welcome back, sweetheart." Michael grinned, looking up. But Pierce barely gave him a passing glance, shrugging his jacket on as he walked.

"Got a lead on a suspect, Saint, you coming or what?"

"Of course," Michael snorted, shutting the file and pushing his chair back, standing up. After a moment of consideration, he picked the file back up and followed, falling into step with the Lieutenant easily. "Can I drive?"

Pierce didn't even look at him. "No."