#LAST CHAPTER I'M CRYING

[pemprika]

the beginning

[suchine-toki]

Top 10 Gintaka moments

(Arranged chronologically because it was too difficult to choose. Spoilers ahead.)

1. Takasugi's laugh

After many encounters challenging the dojo, Gintoki sees Takasugi laugh for the first time, which becomes a core memory of his, a symbol of how things used to be and what he wants to preserve (ch. 517).

2. The promise

Surrounded by enemies, Takasugi asks Gintoki why he decided to join the war, to which Gintoki replies that, like him, it was not for a noble cause. At this, Takasugi recognizes that the two are good-for-nothing warriors, but asks Gintoki to take care of their sensei in case he dies. Likewise, Gintoki asks Takasugi to stay alive (ch. 516).

3. Gintoki's tears

Right after their sensei's death, Takasugi furiously runs towards Gintoki until, for a split second, he sees him crying. This becomes the last thing he saw with his left eye, a core memory that reminds him of the pain and grief they experienced (ch. 520).

4. Reunion at the festival

After 10 years of not seeing each other, Takasugi sneaks up behind Gintoki and threatens him with his sword, commenting on how easy it was and that he has become weak. He also tells him about his plan to kill the Shogun, claiming that within him there is a black beast that seeks revenge. At the same time, he confronts Gintoki for looking away from the past, making him unable to understand his feelings. To this, Gintoki responds that it's a shame that he underestimated him, which can be read in both a physical and emotional sense. It's assumed that they separate without another word (chs. 30-31).

5. They were the same

During a conversation with Nobume, Oboro asks her if Gintoki and Takasugi look like their sensei, to which she answers no, that the true resemblance was between them, since both had eyes full of sadness. As she says that, Gintoki and Takasugi can be seen passing each other, but only the former turns around to check that the latter is gone. It's worth mentioning that Gintoki warned Takasugi to be careful if he saw him walking down the street in chapter 97, but in the end he decided to not do anything (ch. 398).

6. Confession and realization

After their fight, with both of them on the floor, tired and full of injuries, Takasugi opens up to Gintoki about his suffering. He confesses to him that his face was the last thing he saw before losing his left eye, how devastating it was to see him cry, and the enormous survivor's guilt he feels, because he understands how much Gintoki loved Shouyo. To this, Gintoki responds that he didn't choose him, but simply knew what was important to theirsensei, thus lifting the burden from Takasugi's shoulders. Not only that, but Gintoki also confesses that, despite everything, he continues to see him as a fellow disciple of the Shouka Sonjuku and a comrade, whose soul he will protect (ch. 520).

7. Sword exchange

After a long coma, Takasugi awakens in Rakuyo and throws his sword to save Bansai. Likewise, Gintoki launches his bokuto to save Shinpachi, leaving them both unarmed. This is when they decide to take each other's sword and protect what is important to the other, reinforcing the message that a sword is made to protect the soul, and on other occasions that it even embodies it. Afterwards, they pass through hordes of enemies in order to see each other again, defending the other from an imminent attack and retrieving their weapon while locking eyes and making snarky remarks (ch. 573).

8. Pep talk

While everyone on Earth seems defeated, Gintoki hears a familiar voice over the radio. Hundreds of kilometers, far up in space, Takasugi tells him that they have everything under control and encourages him to continue fighting. Likewise, Gintoki assures him that on his side they haven't lost yet, and playfully encourages him, asking if he has already been reduced to junk. Despite being injured, Takasugi tells him to be ready when he comes for him, to which Gintoki smiles (ch. 650).

9. Let's rescue sensei

The greatest tragedy in Takasugi's life is not only the death of his teacher, but also that Gintoki had to be the one to kill him. Aware that he has little left to live, he admits that now he can be a little more honest with what he really wants to do. After fighting Gintoki as a way to punish himself, he's now able to recognize that he wishes to fight alongside him, while also wanting to alleviate his suffering by sharing the burden of his actions that day. Upon hearing this, the serious expression on Gintoki's face turns to astonishment at being able to achieve mutual understanding and once again have a common goal that is deeply personal to both of them (ch. 682).

10. Born under the same star

While Gintoki's eyes reflect the despair he feels at having to strike Takasugi's body, he remembers their childhood together. Gintoki fought very hard to protect everyone, but Takasugi fought even harder to protect him, and although Gintoki was definitely not ready to lose him, Takasugi was content with the idea that he had prevented him from killing their sensei once more. Knowing that he has little time left, it's Gintoki's turn to be more sincere. He embraces Takasugi and reassures him, acknowledging that he did indeed manage to protect him and that he wished they could have drunk together more often. But Takasugi tells Gintoki he doesn't want to hear him like this and he asks him not to send him off with a sad face. Mustering willpower, Gintoki smiles and tells him to wait for him in hell, which becomes the last sight from Takasugi's right eye as he smiles back before dying. No longer able to restrain his emotions, Gintoki weeps as he watches the sunset (ch. 703).

Part (1) (2) (3) (4)

[avonne-writes]

Reverie - Chapter 8 of 8

Pairing: Buck x Bucky

Rating, word count (chapter): E, 9.4k

Summary: In a universe where soulmates share dreams, Bucky finds the way to Gale’s soul.

Link to the chapter

Excerpt:

“Stop kissing me.” Bucky put up a token protest, but then he went and dipped down to kiss Gale himself. Yes, the Unicorn was important, but other things drew his attention just as strongly, like the sweet buzz of Gale's hums on his lips or the warmth of Gale's skin where pleasure left it flushed.

“I'm not kissing you.” Gale mumbled and kissed him again.

[silverskye13]

In which there is talk of the tournament.

[buttercupshands]

wait a minute

stop.

stop it.

[the-bi-space-ace]

I'm currently writing the last chapter of The World Tumbles Down and the amount of sadness and pride I feel as I'm going through the motions of a first draft is just.... I started this series two years ago and I am having a lot of trouble thinking about letting it go :'( but it has been so much fun and I am endlessly happy that I've gotten to write it and share it with everyone.

The last chapter is already shaping up to have some of my favorite moments of the series. I know there are a few chapters left to share so we aren't done yet but I'm excited for everyone to see how this all ends!

[dmc-questions-anon]

Dante: What was it the old lady said? Was it "Don't talk to Rock for years and only do so once"? Yeah, that sounds about right.

[leslutdepointedulac]

Do you wanna know what's making me sad today? During the séance in Merrick, even when Claudia's telling Louis to kill himself, and she's hurting him in every way possible (both emotionally and physically), Louis was still more concerned for her than he was for himself.

"Merrick, don't let her go into uncertain darkness. Merrick, guide her!"

Even after he's been ridiculed and stabbed by her, he still can't bear the thought of her suffering. He still wants to protect her and ensure she'll be alright. No matter what Claudia does, no matter what she says, no matter how badly she hurts Louis, she will always be his little girl in his eyes.

And I suppose that's part of the problem, is that he still sees her as a child. But at the same time, he's a parent, and parents will always have an aspect of seeing their children as their babies, no matter how old they are. And they'll always have that instinct to love and protect them. Louis is simply a father loving and grieving for his daughter.

What also breaks me, is later that night after the séance, when Louis' talking to David. At the beginning of the book, it says how Jesse and David have heard the sound of music and bird song, but Louis hasn't, and this upsets him.

"Oh, I know it must be tantalizing," I said, finally. "It's so easy to conclude that we're coming close." "No," he said, turning to me politely. "Don't you see, David? You heard the music. I haven't heard it. Jesse heard the music. I've never heard it. Never. And I've been years waiting to hear it, asking to hear it, wanting to hear it, but I never do." His French accent was sharp and precise, as always happened when he was emotional, and I loved the richness it gave to his speech.

That night, in the middle of a conversation with David, Louis stops and looks likes he's listening to something.

"David, do you hear it?" he asked with mounting excitement. "David, listen!" [. . .] "David, listen to it. It's all around us." He rose to his feet, his left hand still pressed to the pain he felt. "David, it's Claudia, it's the music, it's the harpsichord. I hear it all around us. David, she wants me to come. I know it."

The way he goes from sadness to pure joy and excitement at what he thinks is a sign from Claudia is so sad, especially after everything he's experienced. For so long he's longed to hear the sound of the music, for so long he's been living in his misery, and now this one thing is what makes him happy. He's so deep in his own depression, that even after the events with Claudia, he's convinced this is her doing, and he's joyful about it.

He was gazing off, mesmerized and comforted, and his eyes were glazed and his face was softened and unchallenging. "I know that sonata. I remember it. And yes, she loved it, she loved it because Mozart had written it when he was only a child. You can't hear, can you? But you did once, think back on it. It's so very lovely, and how fast she plays, my Claudia." He made a dazed laugh. The tears thickened; his eyes were veiled in blood.

Louis immediately finds peace and comfort in hearing the ghosts of the past, like he can really feel Claudia right there with him in the flat. He also acknowledges how she loved Mozart so much because he found success at such a young age, and he realises how Claudia found solace in that in a way. She may have felt less alone in knowing that there had been someone else who, despite their young age, had seemed so beyond their years. And the way Louis refers to her as 'my Claudia', shows how he's still so immensely proud of her, and how he still feels nothing but love for her.

"I hear the birds singing. Listen. I hear them in their cage. The others—all our kind who know of her—they think of her as heartless, but she wasn't heartless. She was only aware of things which I didn't learn till so many decades had passed. She knew secrets that only suffering can teach. . . ." His voice trailed off. He pulled back gracefully from my grasp and he walked to the center of the room. He turned about as though the music were truly surrounding him.

Louis is aware of the fact that Claudia did what she did as a result of her suffering and her pain at being trapped, both in her child's body and by her fathers. It's like he can't bring himself to see any wrong in what she did. Louis knows that because of her predicament, it caused her to see the world in a way he wouldn't be able to understand, until he too has experienced great pain in his life.

Claudia was far more experienced in her suffering than he or anyone else could ever give her credit for. What she went through was a very personal and individual experience, that couldn't have been taught by her directly, but through Louis' own journey through life.

"Don't you see what a kindness she's done?" he whispered. "It's going on and on, David, it's getting all the more rapid. Claudia, I'm listening to you." He broke off, and turned again, his eyes moving over everything yet seeing, nothing. "Claudia, I'll be with you very soon."

He's so convinced that what he's hearing is Claudia trying to communicate with him. He genuinely believes that she's doing him a favour by giving him permission to leave this life, and join her in death. He's so desperate and so blinded by his grief and his love for her, that he's willing to do the unthinkable, in the hopes that it might please her and release them both from their hurt.

He stood still with his head bowed. His hands had dropped to his sides. He seemed infinitely sad and infinitely defeated. "Has it stopped?" I asked. "Yes," he whispered. Slowly he looked up, lost for the moment, then getting his bearings.

The second he can't hear the music anymore, Louis feels as though he's lost that connection with Claudia; the one bit of communication from her he felt he had left. The thought that he's lost her all over again brings him back down to the reality of the situation: that Claudia's no longer with him.

As for him, he stood as before, elegant in his faded black, a man dreaming, the blood dried in his eyes and giving him a dreadful look, as he stared off again, distant from my heated compassion, cutting himself off from any solace I could bring. "You'll meet me tomorrow," I said. He nodded. "The birds are gone now," he whispered. "I can't even hum the music inside my head." He seemed unbearably distressed.

There's nothing that David can do to reach Louis at this point. The only thing that can bring him any sort of comfort is Claudia, and having some form of connection with her again. Even after David tries to make him promise they'll meet, to try and convince Louis not to do anything, all Louis can do is vaguely acknowledge it before going back to what he previously heard.

He's heartbroken that after all this time of not hearing anything, he finally had what he thought was communication with Claudia, only for it to disappear again like it never even happened. That music and bird song were the only things bringing him comfort, and now it's gone, along with Claudia, lost to him once again.

[lilliancdoodles]

Week 1 MerMay!! Roughish sketch of Life is like the ocean, it goes up and down (by @tastytoastz) Jaiden and Foolish chilling on the beach before everything goes to shit

[dyaz-stories]

With the latest chapter out, what are your thoughts on it? Other than how they mentioned Gojo. I remember hearing something about a faceless(hidden) character that kind of looks like Kenjaku/Geto at the end.

Spoiler-free opinion is that I generally enjoyed the chapter! It's very in line with what to expect from a shonen epilogue. That's what I thought we were going to get immediately post-Sukuna defeat, mostly because that's usually how that goes.

We're starting to close the curtains on the characters, we see that life goes on, what's changed, etc. It's cute, it's a sweet farewell to the characters. I don't care about some of the ones we see in the chapter, but I love most of them, so I'm happy about that! I'm still really upset with the way Gojo is handled, so I'm going to get a little more in depth with all that under the cut.

We conclude really quickly on Tengen but it's not super clear to me what's going on, nor do I care too much to be frank. We do see Gakuganji telling Utahime and Nitta 'not to worry' because they're still young, so that's a definite shift from the beginning of the manga — less urgency, less responsibility on their sole shoulders, the cycle is broken, all of that.

(peep the really cute panel of Noritoshi with his family — he wasn't my favorite but I thought that was sweet. He's no longer chained to his clan, yet another change from the beginning of the manga.)

Then we close a few plotines with characters I, honestly, didn't care for (the mangaka Hakari fought with, Yuuji's acquaintance who used to be a bully, the sumo/samurai that helped Maki have her awakening), but there is an interesting line about how they've gone public with the existence of curses.

So things have changed, and with the public knowing about it, maybe a future where humans learn to channel their cursed energy, like Yuki Tsukumo hoped for, is an option? There's hope.

(It is quite random since we hadn't heard about that before, but I can accept something like that because clearly a lot of weird stuff had happened and there needed to be some explanation for the non-sorcerers)

I like the Megumi and Angel interactions we get — she was always an interesting character to me and I wish we'd seen more of her. I also like the idea of characters deciding to help each other out. It seems that Megumi does it partially out of guilt, which I'm not a huge fan of, but supporting a character who's lost an arm in battle feels, again, like an evolution from the start of the manga. She's not going to be left to fend for herself like Geto was, and isn't that a great thing?

And I like that the chapter ends up with them taking up a new mission — we know that curses couldn't disappear, so life goes on. Yuuji goes back to helping people, like he's always wanted to do, and honestly I'm quite happy with that. There wasn't a permanent solution to curses unless people were willing to commit a genocide, but there were ways of making things easier. Because non-sorcerers know about curses, they can reach out directly to sorcerers before anyone dies (...well we'll see about that next chapter, but that's what it looks like), which should in turn limit curses' opportunity to get super strong undetected. Ijichi actually starts by talking about a "victim", but then we see everyone's okay and they take the cursed person to get a physical, so they should be fine. Lots of evolution shown in the chapter!

(the trio back togetherrrrr, they're so cute!)

Now, to the things I wasn't a fan of.

Like you said, there is something about Kenjaku. I don't know if you'd read this plotline, but there was this character, Fumihiko Takaba, who was this unfunny comedian. He's the one who fights Kenjaku and distracts him enough for Yuuta to kill him without too much of a struggle. Kenjaku has this whole thing about how this was the first time he'd had this much fun in centuries, being in a 'comedic duo' with that guy. Now it was a really weird couple of chapters, and it looks like he gets someone to join his duo. We don't see his face, but yeah, it looks like Kenjaku in Geto's body.

Now I don't think that's him but it is imo something about... idk, reincarnation, cosmisc alignment, whatever. I'm pretty indifferent to that — I didn't care about that guy nor about Kenjaku. However, to see both of them get a closure that I don't feel we've gotten for Gojo kills me. At this point I feel confident that Gege feels the airport scene was all the closure needed, and I just... yeah I just disagree.

The chapter actually opens on a gravestone — Tsumiki's. Shoko and Megumi are there, paying their respects. But we don't see a headstone for Gojo or a funeral of any king, which I'd been hoping for if it's because he's alive I'll eat literally all of my words but at this point I think there's a 0% chance of that

In fact, we're told that Shoko dealt with Tsumiki's remains, which were cremated. And then this.

...I'm just tired of this at this point. When I was reading the manga, I was talking to a friend and said that it didn't feel like anyone liked Gojo. People can have respect for him, admire him, hate him, etc. but it never felt like anyone liked him. Even the characters that I think would have had the better chance of having some reaction to him (Shoko, Yuuji, Yuta, Megumi), from what we see, just... didn't care for him that much, you know? [I think there are solid arguments against that and I know for sure that's not how I'm going to write them, but imo that is what we are seeing play out at the moment] So, in turn, it's making me feel silly for caring as much as I do. It just... feels like he never mattered. He's been erased from the narrative, and I hate it.

The scene ends with Shoko throwing away her cigarette. It probably has a lot of symbolical significance — we know that she stopped smoking in high school and picked it up again in Shibuya because she was nostalgic of her high school days.

I guess this means those days are fully behind her now. Because there's no one left.

[arlecchno]

mission accomplished [ scaramouche x reader ]

twenty-seven | purple hearts

prev masterlist next

receiving the medal of valor on christmas eve wasn't the only thing you got for christmas.

warnings: gunshots, wounds, blood, hospitals, kind of gory at the start, swearing, angst if you squint, use of childe's, signora's and scaramouche's name, yae miko appearance, pining, therapy talk, my very minimal knowledge on kissing, yes it's a happy ending guys

a/n: wtf this chapter is 11k+ words this is way more than what i had intended to write so i really hope no one minds 😭 this is the very long awaited chapter that everyone's been waiting for so i hope this is up to your expectations... happy reading and merry christmas ☃️ (90% proofread btw pls lmk if i made a mistake)

grammatical errors may occur so please let me know if i've made any mistakes!

you stood there frozen as you heard two gunshots that resonated around the cabin, closing your eyes shut from the loud sound.

you're not dead, are you?

but as you heard the sound of someone collapsing on the floor, you opened your eyes, snapping back to reality.

yun jin was on the floor, hand covering up her chest as she breathed heavily. you were about to question why she'd be doing that, before seeing blood seeping through her shirt, staining both her hands and clothes.

widening your eyes, you stumbled back.

the young woman raised her hand from the fresh gunshot wound to see its condition, before groaning in pain. you were able to see it for yourself, but when you realized it was only one gunshot wound, you froze once again.

you were sure you heard two gunshots.

if she's only got one, then the other one must've hit…

snapping your head to the door, you looked for the other person that could've gotten shot, but when the sight of the only person you had never expected to be at the door greeted you, your heart immediately stopped.

scaramouche held onto his wounded shoulder with one hand, leaning on the doorframe before he finally dropped to the floor, gun already discarded.

before you knew it, you were already on your feet as you ignored yun jin's cries of help, running towards scaramouche. you crouched down, hurriedly looking at the deep wound on his shoulder, blood flowing out quickly.

“shit.” you trembled in your words, looking at the gory scene in front of you. “w–wait here. i'll– i'll get you something to stop your blood from flooding out.”

with shaky legs, you stood up and walked back into the cabin, hurriedly finding a clean cloth. once you did, you went back to scaramouche, before you were stopped in your tracks by yun jin's hand holding your leg.

you snapped your head down to look at her. “let me go.”

“he's... he's gonna die anyway, just give it up already.” she croaked out, groaning in pain as she finished her sentence.

kicking out her hand from your leg, you stepped forward. “go and rot in hell, yun jin.”

you ignored her as you crouched back down beside scaramouche. “this– this is gonna hurt, but hold on to me, yeah?” you said, breathing in before you pushed the cloth onto his wound harshly, causing him to hiss in pain.

“it–it's okay, kuni. you're gonna live, i'll make sure of it.”

the sounds of sirens can be heard from afar, and you let out a few shaky breaths as you continued with your actions, hands already covered in his blood.

“stay with me, please.”

that was the last thing scaramouche heard before he went unconscious.

you were sitting in the waiting hall of the hospital, eyes shut as you rested a hand on your forehead, elbow placed on your knee.

someone touched your shoulder, making you look up to them with red, puffy eyes.

“archons, you look like shit.” childe commented, wrapping himself with a blanket that was given to him by the paramedics earlier. you didn't bother replying to him as he sat down next to you, letting out a sigh.

childe leaned his head back until it hit the wall, and he stared at the ceiling for a while.

the only sound that occupied the silence were the soft footsteps of the hospital staffs walking around on the pristine tiles.

“you know, scaramouche was exactly like this when you were the one on the hospital bed back then.”

you slowly turned your head to look at him. “what… what do you mean?” you asked, voice still shaky.

“looking like this.” child pointed out to your figure, where you looked like someone who hadn't slept in a week, hair all messed up and eyes as red as they can possibly be. “i think he looked way worse though.”

you let out a breath between a scoff and a laugh, neither annoyed nor amused with his statement. “he couldn't have possibly looked this bad, we were still at each other's throats last year.” you remarked, causing childe to perk his head up as he sat properly, looking at you.

“you really should've seen the look on his face.” he chuckled. “guy was raking his hand through his hair and everything, even screamed at me and all.”

his words got you slightly laughing, letting out the smallest giggles. childe smiled at you fondly, relieved that he got your mind off the situation right now, even if it was just for a fleeting second.

the ginger scanned his eyes over your figure, bandages and ointment were littered across your body, the results of your fight with yun jin.

“she, um– she didn't make it, by the way. thought i should tell you that.” he announced.

you averted your eyes to your lap, avoiding his gaze. “i... had always thought viktor was the serial killer ever since i was given the case, i had never expected it to be yun jin, ever.” you said after a beat of silence.

“no one expected it either, y/n. it's not your fault you didn't catch on.”

“why… why didn't you tell me about her sooner?” you asked, referring to when she had revealed that childe and arlecchino were threatened to keep her identity a secret.

childe sighed, looking away. “you heard her earlier. she had eyes on our every move, and i– i really… i seriously didn't want to snitch for the sake of my family's life, especially my siblings. they don't deserve to go through the shit i'm facing at this risky job.”

you lifted your eyes to him, looking at his expression. for a person who had just gotten kidnapped and tied up by a serial killer, and for someone who had his whole family's life threatened, he looked… normal.

for the years you've known childe, this sight wasn't uncommon to you. sure, he's had his moments, but for the most part, he handled his emotions very well. even during stressful times catching criminals, he'd always remain neutral and stayed calm, with a blank expression on his face.

you'd say his eyes were always soulless, even.

“i'm sorry you had to go through that.” you blurted, causing childe to arch a brow as he averted his attention back to you.

“mine's really nothing compared to what you had to go through in that cabin.” he said. “i mean, really. facing off the person you had always thought as the most innocent must not have been easy.”

letting out a breath, you ignored how the chilly atmosphere was nipping at your skin. “it's… it's nothing.” was all you said, not wanting to worry childe even more.

he only furrowed his brows as he stared at your clearly hurt expression, but didn't continue on prying further. he figured the only thing occupying your mind right now was something else, or rather, someone else.

“he's gonna be okay.”

“what if he's not?” your voice cracked, looking back down to your lap to avoid childe seeing you like this.

childe placed a hand on your shoulder. “y/n.” he called out to you, and you hesitantly tilted your head to look at him. “that guy's strong. i'm sure a gunshot wound is nothing to him. don't underestimate a little guy like scaramouche.”

you snorted, bringing up a hand to wipe off the tears that threatened to fall. the ginger next to you sighed, before engulfing you in a hug. he reached his hand to the back of your head, rubbing his thumb over your scalp in a comforting way. his free hand moved to your back to rub circles.

you took a second to react, before hugging him back, resting your forehead on his shoulder. it was evident that you needed this, given the situation.

“you two are going to be okay, i'm sure of it.”

“thank you, ajax.”

childe hummed, hugging you tighter before pulling away after a moment, caressing your cheeks with his hands before he stood up, blanket in his hand.

the tall man draped the blanket over you, and you thanked him once again. childe smiled at you.

“i'm gonna go and check on arlecchino and the others in the other waiting area. i'm guessing you want to stay here until his surgery is over, right?” you nodded at him. “then i'll be on my way. i'll see you later.” he said, turning around to the other end of the hall.

he was already a few steps away when your voice halted him in his tracks.

“ajax.”

childe looked at you from over his shoulder, and you smiled at him.

“thank you for helping me with the case, you helped me a lot. i'll treat you to something once we're back to the usual.” you said.

childe smiled back at you, before turning his head back. “you owe me to fix me up with someone!” he shouted through the empty hall, before he disappeared after going through a door.

you merely shook your head as you let out a few airy chuckles, amused with the fact that he still hasn't let go of the deal you made with him a couple months ago.

sighing, you leaned your head back, shutting your eyes.

this was gonna be a long night.

“how long do you think it'll take for the wound to heal?”

“since it's nothing major, i'd say about a month or so. he'll be able to get back to his usual routine once he's discharged, you needn't worry about him.” the doctor explained to you as you two finally arrived in front of scaramouche's designated hospital room.

you turned to look at the doctor. “thank you, doctor.” you said before letting out a huff.

“you must be tired.” he announced, glancing at you. “being a police officer in this nation must be tough.”

you smiled. “ah, i’m used to that already. being a doctor is not that easy either, no?”

he laughed as he scribbled something on his clipboard. “i've been on this job for decades, kid. nothing ever comes easy in this life.” he said, opening the door for you two to enter.

“i'm just glad i get to save another patient today.” he pointed out to scaramouche, who was still unconscious from the surgery he had earlier.

the tall man walked over to the end of his hospital bed to write something on the clipboard that was placed there, and you slowly made your way towards scaramouche.

once you were at the side of his hospital bed, you averted your eyes to his bare shoulder, all bandaged up. you quickly moved your gaze someplace else, the sight you were seeing reminded you too much of your own incident.

“you're not used to it, huh?”

you glanced towards the doctor's direction, before you chuckled awkwardly. “no, i… i went through the same thing last year, gunshot to my shoulder.” you pointed to your shoulder, the same place that scaramouche had been shot, except that yours were lower and way more major than his.

the doctor hummed, placing back the clipboard at the hospital bed frame. “wow, it's really a miracle you survived. gunshots to that area usually don't end well, you know.”

“yeah, he saved me just in time.” you flickered your eyes back to scaramouche, looking at his unconscious form.

the doctor nodded a couple of times, heading towards the door. “then i'll leave you two be.” he turned his head around just enough to look at you. “i'm sure you two are meant to be.” he remarked, before leaving the room.

his words left you in confusion, but you ignored it as you turned to look at scaramouche once again.

the only injury he had was the gunshot to his shoulder, so the other parts of his body barely had any scratches, except for the litters of healed scars from old cases.

sighing, you brought a chair to the side of the hospital bed to sit. you rested your arm at the edge of the bed, the other reaching out to his face.

you brushed a few strands of his hair away from his forehead, before resting your hand on his cheek.

the sight of a sleeping kunikuzushi was something you barely got to see, the only exception being the times you had shared a bed with him.

and he'd usually be up the second you laid a hand on him, so for the ravenette to still be sound asleep as you rubbed his cheek would be a rare occasion. you slowly retracted your hand from his face, leaning back to your chair.

was this how he felt when i was the one on the bed? you thought to yourself. if it is, then, it really is a hurtful sight to see.

the thought of seeing scaramouche lying there on the bed was both hurting and worrying you.

maybe if you had reacted sooner, you would've prevented him from getting shot.

maybe if you had kicked out the gun from yun jin earlier, you would've given him a chance to walk out the cabin with no injuries.

maybe this is your fault after all.

—

scaramouche shot his eyes open.

the white ceiling was the first thing that greeted him, causing him to quickly realize where he was.

he felt something caressing his arm, and he snapped his head to the side.

you were looking at your phone on a chair with one hand, the other placed around his arm as you played over his skin with the tips of your fingers.

“y/n?”

you tilted your head to look at him, eyes wide. scaramouche had a confused expression on his face as he looked at you, the slight swelling on your eyes with eye bags under them being as visible as it could be.

he scanned his eyes over your figure next, bandages were scattered across your body, with visible and clean cuts greeting him.

“i'm fine, kuni.” you said as you placed your phone on the table beside his bed, as though you had noticed his lingering gaze on you.

scaramouche furrowed his brows. “did yun jin do this to you?”

“yeah.” scaramouche furrowed his brows even more as you confirmed his question. you huffed as you avoided his gaze. “you don't need to worry about her anymore, she's… gone.” you informed him.

scaramouche tried sitting up, but groaned in pain. “shit." he cursed, and you quickly helped him up. “didn't know it'd hurt this bad.” you slightly laughed at his sentence.

“yeah, the next few weeks are gonna be hell for you.”

scaramouche all but rolled his eyes, before looking back at you. “are you… really okay? i don't think either of us had expected her to be the serial killer, but it must be especially hard for you. she was practically your friend.”

“it's– i'm fine, i guess. things happen, and i'm just relieved that this case has finally come to an end.” you said, but your words betrayed your clearly hurt expression.

scaramouche wanted to ask, but he figured it'd be best to save for later.

“i'm... sorry.”

he frowned. “what are you apologizing for?”

“you wouldn't have gotten shot if i had reacted sooner and stopped yun jin.”

“that's not your fault, i was the one who barged in the cabin, it was bound to happen anyway.”

“but i would've–”

scaramouche reached out a hand to grasp yours, holding onto you loosely. “you should stop blaming yourself for everything, y/n.” he said, and you looked up to him, eyes glossy with tears that were threatening to fall. “what's important is that i'm still here by your side.” he continued.

he had a fond smile plastered on his face, one that was only reserved for you.

you blinked, and the tears that were hanging loose had fallen, running down your cheeks. “you're too sappy for someone who throws insults at me on a daily basis.” you chuckled, hand tightening around his.

“only for you.”

scaramouche brought his free hand to wipe the stained tears on your cheeks, and you rolled your eyes.

the three words repeated in your mind, causing you to let out a small smile.

yeah, only for you.

for the duration of scaramouche being treated at the hospital, you've got yourself busy with yun jin's case.

even though everything was over, you still had a couple of things to finish up before you could hand in the case file to the tsaritsa.

and right now, viktor was sitting right beside your desk as you're typing on the computer.

“so… fatui precinct, huh?” he tried breaking the silence.

the usual busy precinct was, well, busy. your colleagues and other police officers were walking around getting their jobs done, and naturally, it was the same for you too.

it's only been a few days since the incident had occurred, yet you were already back to your daily routine. it felt odd at first, arriving at your beloved precinct after being absent for months wasn't exactly the best feeling. but you've gotten used to it quick, and now, you're already better than ever.

“yeah, it's pretty tough here.” you commented, typing on your keyboard for the next few seconds before you turned to look at viktor.

he was, for the most part, nervous. maybe it was the fact that it was his first time being in a police station, or the fact that the reason he's here is because of the charges he may need to face for killing someone.

viktor sweat as you stared at him intensely. you sighed, removing your hands from the keyboard to place them on your lap instead. “i've asked the captain if we could lift off your charges completely.” you started, and viktor was already shaking in fear. “unfortunately, you'll still need to face jail time.”

“but!” you exclaimed by raising a finger, causing him to jump in his seat. “good news is, you'll only need to serve for six months, and it should start once you've graduated. i figured that you'd want to finish your degree first, so i've asked to delay your sentence.” you continued, resulting in viktor to sigh in complete relief.

he suddenly bowed to you in his seat. “thank… thank you so much!” he shouted, albeit a little too loud, as your co-workers looked at him confusedly. “i– i really appreciate your help, uh…” he leaned back, eyeing the long silver name plate at the side of your desk, your name engraved on it. “detective?”

“you can just call me y/n.”

“won't it be weird? you're four years older than me, right?”

you rolled your eyes. “did that stupid ginger tell you that?” he nodded at you, causing you to let out a groan as you snapped your head to childe's desk a few feet beside you.

he was chatting up with another police officer, but as if he had read your mind, he turned to look at you. you were furious, and childe thought there was actual smoke coming out from your hot ears as he squeaked from afar, turning away quickly.

you huffed, looking back at viktor. “it's really fine. we're basically friends now.” you remarked. viktor hummed, head hanging low, as if he was in deep thought.

“still can't get past it, huh?”

“how… how do you do it, y/n?”

you raised a brow. “hm? do what exactly?”

“move on from things like these.” he mumbled. “you're a detective, cases like these aren't exactly rare for you, so how do you cope?” he asked, head perked up to glance at you.

you were taken aback by his question, unable to answer him immediately. it took you a moment to figure out an answer, but it served no use, you had none.

exhaling, you spoke. “i haven't moved on from this case either, if that's the answer you're looking for.” you started, averting your eyes to your computer, the file for yun jin's case opened on the screen. “usually i wouldn't hold on to the people involved in my undercover cases, let alone be close with any of them. but this time, i subconsciously did.”

“because of that, i got attached to yun jin. i really felt like she was a good friend to me, and i had a fleeting thought that she'd be in this precinct one day working under me, she talked a lot about this place. i probably should've seen that as a sign.” you let out an airy chuckle, though no amusement laced your voice.

you looked back to viktor, and he was listening to you intently. “well, naturally it would've been the hardest for you, since she was your girlfriend.”

“we… weren't exactly a couple.” he blurted, causing you to widen your eyes. “it's kind of like, relationship of convenience, i guess. she told me that if i let her use my name for her crimes then she'd help me pay for my tuition fees.” the brunette sighed as he finished his sentence.

you stayed silent for a second, before speaking. “i'm… sorry you had to go through that, viktor. she's gone now, so you don't need to worry anymore. you'll be under the custody of this precinct until you graduate, so there's nothing else that could bother you now.”

“thank you once again, y/n. i'm glad you cracked this case, even if i was your prime suspect for the longest time.”

you smiled at him. “just doing my job.” you replied, before standing up. “well, i'll see you out, then. if there's anything you need, i'm just one call away.” you offered your hand to him, and he reluctantly accepted.

even though this case has taken a toll on you, mentally and physically, you were glad that everything's resolved now.

now the only thing that's in your way is the load of paperwork of the case that you'll need to finalize and submit.

“you wanted to see me, cap’?” you asked as you held the door of the tsaritsa's office open.

she looked up from the piles of paper she was signing. “ah, yes, detective. take a seat.”

sitting down at a chair in front of her, you scratched your head awkwardly. “do you, uh, want to see me because of the paperwork for the case?”

“not precisely.” she propped her arms on her desk as she leaned closer. “i want to ask how you're feeling.” she said.

you raised a brow in confusion. “how i'm... feeling?”

“correct.”

“i think i'm feeling okay? well, the case kinda took a toll on me because of the thing with yun jin, but other than that i don't think–”

“i'm not referring to anything case-related.” she cut you off before you could even finish your sentence.

you blinked. “are you asking me about scaramouche's current condition? well, i do feel kind of bad that he had to take that bullet–”

“i'm not referring to his incident either.” she cut you off once again, causing you to furrow your brows even more.

if not those, then what could she even possibly be talking about?

as she stared at your perplexed expression for the next few seconds, she gave up on leading you on.

the tsaritsa sighed. “your feelings for the balladeer.” she finally revealed, which caused you to jump in your seat. “i'm guessing things happened between the two of you during your time away from the precinct?”

“i…” you trailed off, unable to give her a proper answer.

things did happen between you and scaramouche, which happened quite often, if you may. of course you two are now way far from being enemies, but also too far from being normal colleagues, so, what exactly are you two?

“it's– it's complicated.”

the tsaritsa looked at her watch wrapped around her wrist. “fortunately for you, we have about… all the time in the world.” she commented, averting her attention back to you. “you can tell me everything.” you looked at her with pure shock, baffled with her current mood.

your captain wasn't always the kind of person who'd ever pry on someone's personal business, let alone someone's feelings.

but she had always been the kind of person to purposely pair you up with scaramouche for the sake of her ‘otp plan’, as what you had heard from childe one time. even for this serial killer case, the tsaritsa had been the one to assign you two to solve it.

so for her to outwardly ask about your feelings for the balladeer, it'd seem like she was thinking of getting you two together again.

huffing, you glanced towards the window of her office, the snow continuously falling down from the sky as it decorated the city. you stared at the weather outside for a moment, before speaking, eyes still glued towards the window. “fine. i'll tell you everything.”

and as you turned your head to look back at your captain, she was already smiling with that all knowing look. you wanted to groan at the sight.

“i'll be here to listen.”

—

as you finished your side of the story, the tsaritsa stared at you, blinking once, twice, never faltering.

you groaned. “i know it's stupid and crazy, but yeah.”

“and you still think you have no such feelings for him?”

“well, yeah…? am i not supposed to?”

the tsaritsa slammed hed hand on her desk, causing you to jolt. “of course you're not supposed to! you clearly have feelings for the balladeer!” you winced at the tone of her voice.

if someone were to watch you from outside the tsaritsa's office, they'd think you were getting scolded, or fired, even.

“n–no i don't!” you tried denying, but as you looked at the tsaritsa's furious expression, you trembled in your seat. “o–okay fine! m–maybe i do– but what's even the point? he hates my guts, if anything!” you exclaimed.

she stared at you with a deathly look. “do you seriously think he still despises you?”

“y–yes…?”

“how are you even my best detective?”

you crossed your arms. “hey!” you grumbled. “that guy's unreadable. how am i supposed to know if he could still stand me or not?” you complained.

“him sleeping right beside you on the same bed wasn't clear enough?”

“well– that's– that's different!” your cheeks heated up at the mention. “fine, so what if he doesn't hate me anymore? doesn't mean that he likes me or anything.” you countered.

the tsaritsa suddenly choked, coughing as she looked elsewhere, as if she knew something.

you looked at her suspiciously. “do you know anything?”

she avoided your stare, shooting her eyes everywhere but in your direction as she sweat nervously. “of course i don't know anything. that's absurd.” she had her hand formed into a fist as she covered her mouth.

you stared at her even more, deathly, even.

she groaned. “okay! maybe i do know something!” she blurted out before she could even stop herself, lowly cursing to herself, which was unlike her.

“i knew that you knew something!” you exclaimed as you stood up. “tell me!” you slammed your hands on her desk as you leaned down.

if someone were to look from outside the office, they'd think you're the one who's scolding the tsaritsa, instead of the complete opposite.

“fine! i'll tell you if you take a seat like an obedient person!” at this, you were suddenly back to your chair, leaning back as you crossed your arms.

“start talking, captain.”

—

“what…” you trailed off as you brought up a hand to cover your mouth in shock. “he loves me!?”

he loves you? what? when? how? why?

the tsaritsa cleared her throat. “i'm hoping you could keep this a secret.” she said as she shut her eyes, shaking her head to herself. “but yes, he said he loves you.”

“how do i know you're not lying?” you asked, still in denial.

“i'm your captain, i would never lie to my best detective.” she started, opening her eyes. “and also, if you still don't trust me, you should tell him your feelings, and see what he'll reply.” she said, and you gawked in astonishment.

“that's unbelievable, i'm not gonna do that.”

“then say goodbye to your relationship with him.”

groaning, you flailed your hands in the air in frustration. “okay– whatever! i'll tell him how i feel!” you shouted, covering your face as your cheeks heat up once again, flustered at the thought of the scaramouche to have such feelings for you.

the tsaritsa sighed in relief. “good, years of my hard work is finally paying off.” she mumbled lowky.

“did you say something?" you asked, peeking through the gap between your fingers.

she jumped in her seat. “nothing!”

you looked at her skeptically, before giving up.

how are you even gonna tell him how you've been hopelessly in love with him for the past few months?

before you knew it, a month had passed, and scaramouche had already been discharged.

you had spent your time while he was at the hospital by finishing up the case, occasionally going back and forth from the hospital and the precinct to check up on scaramouche.

sometimes while you were at the hospital, you'd be discussing the paperwork with him. some other times, you'd just spend time with him by talking about your day, the people you've arrested while he was gone, and the silly little things you faced on that day.

scaramouche would always listen to you, and sometimes would jokingly add a snarky comment whenever you did something stupid, just to spite you.

you, of course, didn't mind any of it. if anything, you'd always reply back with an insult or two right back at him.

the ravenette had just been discharged, just a week before christmas eve. he'd only start working after christmas, as what the tsaritsa had informed him earlier, so he didn't exactly know what to do to kill time.

you were at precinct working, and you had already called him the other day to inform him that you wouldn't be able to fetch him from the hospital once he's discharged due to the load of shit you have to finish at work.

scaramouche didn't mind of course, saying that he'd just head back to his apartment after getting discharged.

but instead, there he was, sitting on the all-too-familiar couch, waiting for the person he hadn't seen for the past month.

“ah, scaramouche. you're here early.” someone said as they opened the door to the room to enter.

scaramouche snapped his head to them, and he nodded a couple of times, before moving his gaze back to the coffee table in front of him. “i didn't have anything else to do.”

“what brings you here? if i could recall, you don't have any scheduled meet ups with me until after christmas.” they said as they took a seat on a couch in front of him. “after hearing of your incident, i held off on the therapy appointments for this month.”

he clicked his tongue. “like i said, i didn't have anything else to do.” scaramouche said, tilting his head up to look at his therapist, who was already staring back at him with a worried expression.

“you've been my client for almost a year, scaramouche. i could practically read you like a book by now. and by the look of your face i assume you have something on your mind, else you wouldn't have shown up at my office here on my day off.”

rolling his indigo eyes, scaramouche groaned as he leaned back on the couch, hands coming up to cover his face. “you've really got to stop with that stupid quirk of yours.” he complained.

“is it y/n?” they asked suddenly, causing scaramouche to retract his hands from his face, tilting his head to look at his therapist.

he stared at them for a few seconds before breaking eye contact, scoffing. “maybe.” he mumbled out, before groaning once again. “i… i don't know. she's been on my mind ever since i got this stupid wound on my shoulder, and i don't know why i couldn't stop thinking about her.”

“hasn't she always been on your mind?” they asked, looking at scaramouche's confused look. “if i can remember, the reason you started getting treated here is because of her, too. her incident from last year took a big toll on your life.”

scaramouche looked back at them. “well this… this is different. ever since i said this… this word, i haven't been able to shake it off from my head.”

“what word?”

“love…?” he trailed off, not sure if he was asking or stating his sentence.

his therapist widened their eyes as they jumped in their seat. “you confessed to her!?”

at this, he jumped too, eyes wide in shock. “n–no! not like that!” he exclaimed, quickly denying. “i uh– i told my co-worker that i love her in the midst of um, i'm not really sure how to say this if i haven't told you the whole story.”

“...well, since you've already disturbed me on my day off by barging in my office, then sure, what the hell. tell me everything.” they said as they leaned back to get themselves comfortable.

scaramouche furrowed his brows, flickering his eyes elsewhere to think about it. “...fine. i'll tell you.”

—

to say that his therapist was shocked would be an understatement.

“that's…” they started, unable to form the right words. scaramouche merely rolled his eyes, raking a hand through his hair in frustration.

“what do i do now?”

they cleared their throat, recollecting themself. “well, i've said this a bunch of times already in the many appointments we had, but i'll say this again. you love her, scaramouche. just like you had said earlier during your conversation with your friend.”

“signora is not my friend.” he fought, before sighing. “do i really…?”

they smiled, genuinely. “yes, scaramouche. you're in love with y/n.” his therapist remarked once again, placing the clipboard they've been holding beside them on the couch. “and i think she loves you too.” they continued.

“...why do you think that?”

“what kind of person goes out of their way to go back and forth from their job all the way to the hospital, that takes at least twenty minutes in between?”

“a good friend?”

his therapist chuckled. “you kissed this ‘good friend’ on the forehead as a goodbye gesture, is that what friends really do?”

“does it look like i have friends? how the hell should i know that's not what friends are supposed to do.” he tried countering, but failed when his therapist gave him a sudden cold look.

he groaned. “okay, look. fine, let's say she does love me too.” he brought up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “but what if she's not ready for a relationship? what if i'm not ready for one?”

“by the sound of it, none of you have any experience in this section of romance.”

“no shit.”

they laughed, which earned yet another groan from scaramouche, causing them to bring up a hand to wave him off. “okay– i'm done with teasing you.” scaramouche voiced out a small ‘good’ at their sentence, before they continued. “so what if you two are inexperienced?” they inquired.

“i've known you for quite some time, scaramouche. you've told me various problems you've faced, mostly about your dear y/n.” they said. “every time you talk about her, the way you talk about her, it has always made me think that you couldn't be more in love. and i wasn't wrong at all, you continued on talking about her on our appointments, and as the days go by, your way of talking about her gets more… softer and softer.”

scaramouche listened to them intently as they continued talking. “i'm sure you've realized it yourself at some point that you've gotten soft for her, no?” the ravenette slowly nodded, and his therapist smiled. “i think it was a great idea that you two were assigned for this case, and i have no doubt that your captain thought the same.”

“why would you think it was a great idea?”

“because that case was the push you two needed to break off that rivalry of yours.”

scaramouche widened his eyes at their statement, hands falling to his side.

“the reason you think that neither of you are ready for a relationship is because you two are already in one, if that makes sense.” they commented.

“it really doesn't.”

his therapist narrowed their eyes at him. “look, you two have always treated each other like lovers, as much as you don't want to admit it. and i'm pretty damn sure everyone in your circle sees it except you two. this case was the push you needed to actually realize your true feelings for her, what you really want from this complicated relationship. and now that the case is over, it makes you realize that you wanted what you had with her to last forever.”

“but what about that fight…?” he asked, hesitant. “we've never resolved that, and not that we would be stupid enough to ever do that.” he countered.

the person in front of him sighed. “that's the thing that's straining your relationship. if you figure that out, if you have a real talk with her about it, then there will be nothing that could stop you two from being together.” they said. “you and y/n are the ones that are preventing yourselves from taking the next step.”

“you just need one last push to seal this relationship.”

scaramouche wasn't sure if he should take their words into consideration.

it had been a week since that, and scaramouche is back at the precinct.

well, not exactly for work, no. it was for a special occasion, apparently.

“can't believe we're getting our medals on christmas eve.” he mumbled out as you helped him straighten up his commendation bars on its holder, placed at the top of his left chest.

the two of you were currently getting yourselves ready for the medal award for the contributions you both made during your case. it was snowing out at the precinct, evident from the roof just right out your floor.

and it was christmas eve. scaramouche wasn't exactly fond of the jolly season, for reasons unknown. he had always thought that the tradition was useless, and that it was no use to be celebrating, let alone waste your money on them. but for this christmas, he had done something, and he wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad idea.

given how his therapist had been the one to suggest the idea, then it was probably going to end terribly.

you rolled your eyes. “it's not that bad, kuni. christmas eve is quite fun.” you continued helping him out with the badge holder. “is your shoulder okay though?” you asked.

“mm, it's fine.” he replied as you stepped back, looking at his attire for one last time.

you and scaramouche were both donning your official police uniforms, the dark shade of blue touching up your appearances.

if you had to wear this during the summer, then you probably would've died from both the heat and the layers of clothes. but it was winter, so the heavy layers of your uniform would keep you warm, which is the only time you'll ever be glad to be wearing it.

“hey, guys!” a voice called, and you two turned your heads to look at childe, wearing his official uniform too, in all his glory. “this is really cool, huh? you guys are getting the medal of valor!” he all but exclaimed, patting both of your shoulders.

the medal of valor is one of the highest honors in the police department, and it is given to those who had voluntarily risked themselves in the line of duty. you and scaramouche had been awarded this honor for your contributions and the risks you two have put yourselves in during your long term case.

it was safe to say that the both of you had done a good job closing the case together.

you snickered. “hey, what about this guy over here? he's getting the purple heart too, you know!” you pointed towards scaramouche, who rolled his indigo eyes at your statement.

ah, the purple heart award. it's an award given to the police officers that get injured while in the line of duty. for scaramouche's case, he had risked his life by getting a gunshot wound to his shoulder for saving your life, and he was granted the chance to receive such a high honor.

of course, you were more than happy for him. he deserved the award more than anything, and you couldn't be more proud.

“y/n!” someone called out to you, and you snapped your head to where the voice came from. pulcinella was panting as he was moving something within the precinct. “is it okay if you could come here and help me?”

you smiled. “sure! be there in a sec’!” you shouted, turning your head back to look at scaramouche. “i'll see you later, then?” you asked, and scaramouche nodded, softly smiling at you as you skipped your way towards pulcinella.

“so…” childe started, already grinning at the shorter male. “how are you and y/n? going good?” he asked, raising his eyebrows up and down in a teasing way.

scaramouche groaned at the ginger, walking back to his desk. “you're so nosy.” he complained, before pulling out his drawer. “i bought her something, as um– a christmas gift.”

“i thought you hated christmas?”

“i do.” scaramouche didn't deny, looking at the small black box in his drawer before closing it shut. “but y/n doesn't, so i guess i should indulge in this stupid season for once.” he complained, yet it betrayed his expression as scaramouche had a soft look on his face.

and if childe would look closely, scaramouche was almost, smiling.

childe gawked in awe, bringing up a hand to his clothed chest. “my dearest scaramouche had changed so much.” he said dramatically, which earned an eye roll from the ravenette. “and now he's proposing to my best friend!”

“what!? i'm not proposing, dumbass!” he whisper-shouted, slapping a hand to cover childe's mouth. “and could you lower your stupid voice!? y/n could hear us anytime–”

“hear what?” you suddenly appeared behind both scaramouche and childe, which caused them to startle, hurriedly bringing their hands to their sides.

childe was the one to speak first. “n–nothing!” he squeaked. “we were just boasting at how you're gonna receive such a great award! r–right, scaramouche?” he nudged his elbow to scaramouche's side, eyeing him to follow along.

“yeah.” scaramouche said flatly. although he seemed nonchalant, you could still see the bead of sweat running down his forehead as he avoided your gaze.

you squinted your eyes at them for a moment, before giving up. “well, we better get going now. the ceremony is starting soon and i don't want to be late to get my award!”

walking away, you went ahead of scaramouche and childe. they stayed frozen there for a minute before scaramouche grumbled, glaring at childe.

“i'll kill you if you tell her.”

—

the hall where your ceremony would be held was almost full now, police officers and higher-ups taking their respective seats.

you and scaramouche were standing on the stage behind the curtains, hiding away from the many people.

sighing, you stopped peeking your head out and looked at scaramouche beside you. “i'm kind of nervous.” you huffed, rubbing your gloved hands.

the two of you were fully in your attire now, your police hats were placed nicely on your heads, and you both were wearing your white and silky gloves.

“let's hope you don't trip yourself on stage.”

you glared at him, which earned a small chuckle from him. “i'm kidding. you'll do great, y/n.” he said, reaching out a hand to grab yours.

huffing, you peeked your head to look at everyone from below the stage once again, your gloved fingers interlocking with his.

“well, looks like it'll start soon. everyone's stopped talking–” you cut yourself off when you flickered your eyes to the podium on stage, shocked once you see a familiar woman standing there, her striking pink hair standing out.

you snapped your head to look at scaramouche. “what– why is your mother's wife on stage!?” you whisper-shouted, resulting in scaramouche to roll his eyes as he tugged you by your hand to get you closer and away from the curtain.

“she's the secret head commissioner that everyone's been trying to hide.” he informed, and you left your mouth agape. “she's the one who got the leads for the cabin.”

you blinked. “she helped you?” you asked, in which scaramouche nodded to your question. “what about your mother? is she here too?” you tried turning your head back to continue peeking, but was stopped abruptly when scaramouche pulled you back by your hand.

“yes– she's… here.” scaramouche mumbled, looking elsewhere. “miko called me a few days ago to tell me about it. you don't have to worry, i'm fine.”

you looked at him worryingly for a moment, before sighing. “okay then.”

at the same time you said your sentence, yae miko cleared her throat on the mic. both you and scaramouche quickly stood properly, hands reluctantly retracting to your sides.

“good evening, police officers of snezhnaya.” she started, looking at everyone below the stage. “as you might have noticed, i'm yae miko, the head commissioner of the police department. i've kept my identity a secret for a while, but for this ceremony, i've decided to reveal myself.” she announced.

you anxiously looked at the seating area where your friends and colleagues would be sitting at, reading each and every one of their expressions. some of them were shocked, and some stayed calm.

“we're here on this special day to commemorate the bravery of our two police officers from the fatui precinct.” she said, glancing at the paper placed on the podium. “today, we will honor them for their acts of heroism, for their exceptional acts, and for putting their lives on the line.” flashes of cameras filled her view, taking every moment to take pictures.

she looked at the hundreds of officers before her. “it is my great honor to present the medal of valor to detective l/n y/n, and detective scaramouche.”

yae miko looked at the two of you and nodded, a sign for you to come up from behind the curtains.

gulping, you glanced at scaramouche nervously. he gazed back at you and smiled, tugging you by your clothed arm to make you walk.

you looked at him for a moment before you exhaled heavily, slowly walking to the middle of the stage with scaramouche following along.

hundreds of claps and riotous cheers resonated around the hall, mostly coming from the officers from the fatui precinct. smiling, you stopped a few meters away from yae miko, scaramouche following suit.

an officer came up beside you, holding a tray of two medals of valor, and a badge of the purple heart award. “i would also like to present the purple heart award to detective scaramouche, for getting injured in the line of duty whilst saving detective l/n.”

yae miko stepped down from the podium, walking to your and scaramouche's direction. she stopped beside the officer holding the tray, taking one medal to place it around your neck.

you slightly tilted your head for her, and perked up once the medal's been tucked nicely around your neck. you smiled, thanking her.

she nodded, reaching for yet another medal of valor and the miniature purple heart medal for scaramouche. stepping towards him, she had a soft smile on her face.

once she stopped in front of him, scaramouche had a blank expression plastered on his face. yae miko held the medal of valor as she placed the ribbon of the medal around his head until it hung around his neck.

she then placed the miniature purple heart medal on the top left of his chest, right beside his commendation bar holder. she cleaned up to imaginary dust around his clothes, before she spoke. “i'm proud of you, kunikuzushi. you've done well.” she said, smiling.

scaramouche blinked a couple of times, before looking away shyly. “sure.”

apparently, your co-workers had thrown a special party for the both of you once you've arrived at the precinct after a change of clothes.

well, and also a christmas eve dinner.

“surprise!” everyone said as you and scaramouche stepped inside the briefing room, that was now decorated with a bunch of christmas ornaments and decorations.

you stared in awe as you scanned your eyes around the room, before landing on the tables that were usually placed in front of the podium, now combined together to make a long table, with various foods present before you.

to say that you were both surprised and happy would be an understatement. you were absolutely speechless.

childe shouted in the middle of the room, already holding a glass of wine. “well, what are you waiting for? come and dig in!”

—

the briefing room was full of joy, with officers eating up like there's no tomorrow, the christmas songs playing in the background, people chatting with each other, and so on.

it was exactly a joyful christmas eve dinner, and you couldn't be more happy to be spending it with your colleagues.

now, everyone had long finished dinner, and they were all either dancing to the songs playing on the speaker, or talking.

smiling, you looked around, peering over the many people dancing around. you frowned when you couldn't find the familiar tuft of violet hair.

“looking for someone?” someone came up beside you, and you flickered your eyes to look at them.

“oh, hey rosalyne. i, uh– yeah. i'm trying to look for scaramouche. have you seen him?”

she shrugged as she sipped on her glass of wine. “not sure, to be honest. he disappeared after everyone finished dinner.” she said, looking around.

“you're looking for the balladeer?” a voice suddenly popped up from behind you two, causing you and signora to jump in shock. you both snapped your heads back, looking at the culprit that managed to scare the both of you.

the tsaritsa was sighing as she held an empty glass in her hand. “what?” she looked at you two confusedly.

“you scared us!” you exclaimed, which earned a raised brow from the tsaritsa. rolling your eyes, you ignored her reaction. “you know where scaramouche is?”

the tsaritsa hummed. “i talked with him earlier. he's on the roof of our floor.” she said, and you smiled.

“ah, thank you, cap’!” you turned to look at signora. “i'll see you later, then!”

you were about to walk away when the tsaritsa's voice stopped you in your tracks.

“detective.”

you slowly turned to look at the tsaritsa. “yes?”

“please do remember what i told you a while ago.”

arching an eyebrow, you looked at her in confusion, before you finally remembered.

you should tell him about your feelings.

“oh… i'll um, i'll keep that in mind!” you hurriedly walked away, leaving signora and the tsaritsa.

signora played with the rim of her glass as she looked at her captain. “what did you tell her?”

“nothing important.” she shrugged, leaving a very confused signora as she sauntered away.

the chilly winter wind blew through your skin as you opened the door to the roof from your floor.

scaramouche was standing near the brick railing, propping his arms on it as he stared at the busy night of snezhnaya below.

you walked over the snow-covered floor, until you stopped beside him.

“hey.”

scaramouche glanced at you, before averting his attention back to the busy road. “you should head inside, it's cold out here.” he muttered.

“what are you doing here?” you ignored his comment.

scaramouche breathed out a huff, the action causing his own warm breath to appear in the cold air. “needed some fresh air. the briefing room was too crowded for my liking.”

you hummed, and the atmosphere turned awkward again. it was silent, and you had no idea on how to continue on with the conversation without making a fool of yourself.

the snow had stopped falling now, so the chilly air was the only thing that was in your way on christmas eve.

well, that, and this other thing you have in mind.

or rather, someone.

“i… know it's been a while, and i'm not sure if you'd be up to talk about it, but i'm just gonna go ahead and say it.”

scaramouche looked at you once again. “what?” he asked, confused.

“i want to apologize for everything.” you said as you looked down to the busy streets of snezhnaya from above. “i'm sorry for saying those hurtful words after that grad ball incident. i know i can't change anything to make you feel better about it, but i'm… really sorry. it was wrong of me to say all of that when you were just looking out for me.”

scaramouche eyes went wide, before he turned away. you perked your head to look at your reaction just to see him… chuckling to himself.

“hey! what are you laughing for?” you pouted as you nudged at him.

scaramouche waved you off, the soft laughter of his slowly coming down as he heaved out a breath. “it's just, it's been so long since that. i've already forgiven you, actually.”

“huh? since when?”

“since forever.” he said, looking at you. “it's fine, y/n. i want to apologize too for saying that you were naive and that you were too full of yourself with risking your life to save others.” you blinked up at him as he said those words.

turning away, you tried hiding your heated cheeks. “i– i... forgive you.”

and it was silent once again.

the two of you basked in the cold air for a moment, taking your time to start up a conversation again.

scaramouche was the one to break the silence.

“my mother came to see me while you were busy talking with other people at the ceremony.” he said. “she apologized to me for everything she's done, and told me that she'd do everything to fix our bond.”

you stared at him. “what did you say?”

“i… told her that it'd take some time for me to give out an answer.” he mumbled, playing with the empty can of beer in his hand. “she told me not to worry, and then she hugged me, and said those same words miko said to me on stage.” he continued.

the scene from earlier played back in your mind.

i'm proud of you, kunikuzushi. you've done well.

humming, you propped your arms on the brick railing. “it's good that she has the decency to at least apologize for the things she did, even though it was no use.” you replied, which earned a nod from scaramouche.

“yeah.”

it was silent yet again.

“you know.” you were the one to start the conversation now. “i never got to ask you how you feel about the case.” you said, and scaramouche turned his head to you.

you brushed the nape of your neck sheepishly. “well, since yun jin is gone now, and viktor has to face jail time soon, i thought you might want to talk about it.”

“what about you?”

“hm?”

“don't you want to talk about it?”

you blinked. “why would i?” you asked, which earned a scoff from scaramouche.

“i'm sure yun jin was more than just a stranger to you.” he said, looking at you with his indigo eyes. “and i'm sure finding out that she was the bad guy wasn't as easy as you tried convincing yourself it was.”

eyes wide, you stood there, frozen, before avoiding his gaze. “it's… it's nothing.” you lied.

“you know you can't lie, especially not with me.”

you huffed, resting your cheek on your hand as you continued avoiding his stare. “i'm fine.” you lied once again.

suddenly, scaramouche cupped your other cheek as he tilted your head to look at him, his face mere inches away from yours. his empty can of beer was long discarded from his hand now as he had placed it on the brick railing.

“you can talk about it, okay? i'll be here to listen.”

you stared at him with wide eyes, unable to form a single word.

“...fine.” you said, his hand still cupping your face. “i still get nightmares from it.” you finally said, earning a hum from scaramouche.

“yun jin was a friend to me. she was there whenever i needed her, she was always by my side during our time together, and she always comforted me, even after that fight we had.” you started. “it just– it feels weird that she was the serial killer all along, and that means that all of her time spent with me were all meaningless.”

you exhaled heavily. “i know that getting attached to other people while being undercover is the number one rule you should never do, but i really thought i had that special friendship with her.” you sighed. “she even promised me that we'd get transferred to the fatui precinct one day, even though i'm already here and that she only said that to mess with me.”

“but i guess it's just a lesson for me to never be trustful of people easily, even if they seem innocent.” you referred to yun jin, who used to be the most innocent girl you know, who's now someone that only served you the darkest nightmares.

scaramouche retracted his hand from your cheek, pulling you into a hug instead. you were taken aback for a second, before you reciprocated his hug, wrapping your arms around his figure.

you inhaled deeply, relishing in the familiar scent of his, that was oddly comforting to you. you're not sure if it was because you were already used to the smell or if it was the fact that you had hugged him a bunch of times that you'd remember his scent.

scaramouche rubbed circles over your clothed hips. you two had long discarded your official police uniforms, now wearing ugly christmas sweaters that childe had managed to get you both to wear them.

it was really cold out, but the warmth emitting from scaramouche was enough to warm you up.

you were the first to pull away, your arms still wrapping around his, as he was too.

“well, sad moment aside. we have matching wounds now!” you tried lighting up the mood, but instead, made it worse.

scaramouche stared at you with a perplexed expression, not sure if he was supposed to be disgusted or humored.

“what?” you smiled, grinning at him. “come on, it's funny! it's not always that you see people having matching gunshot wounds!” you winked, earning an eye roll from scaramouche. “well, matching tattoos, sure, very common, very boring, but matching gunshot wounds? that's totally extraordinary!” you continued convincing scaramouche until he too, was laughing along with you.

giggling, you looked at him fondly. “see? if you're laughing then it must be hella funny!” you exclaimed. “we should totally get a world record or something for this, don't you think?”

scaramouche merely shook his head as his laugh died down, until he was only smiling at you.

you brought up a hand to brush through his violet hair, pushing out the strands that were in his way.

the ravenette turned his head away shyly, hiding away his blush, earning a small chuckle for you. he was deep in thought for a few seconds, causing you to raise a brow.

“something on your mind?”

scaramouche snapped to reality at your question, turning around to face the brick railing once again once he fully pulled away from you. you did the same, still looking at him worryingly.

“i, uh– i just remembered that i got you something.” he said as he shoved his hand in the back of his pocket.

“hm? what for?”

“christmas gift.”

you furrowed your brows in confusion. “i thought you hated christmas, let alone the gifts.” you muttered, earning a nod from the ravenette.

“i do.”

“so why go out of your way to get me something?”

scaramouche stopped fiddling with the small box in his pocket. “well– um, just– just take it!” he stammered, and you slightly chuckled at him.

he slowly took out the object from his pocket, bringing it up until it was in your view.

“here. open it.”

in his hand was a small velvety black box, which earned a small gasp from you at the sight.

you hesitantly took the box in his hand, slowly opening it. a necklace with an amethyst pendant shaped into a small heart greeted you.

“kuni, this is… beautiful.” you stared at it in awe, before shaking your head. “no, um, i can't accept this. it must've been expensive, you should return it.” you closed the box back, handing it back to him.

“take it.”

“i can't accept something that must have costed a fortune–”

“they said no refunds.” he cut you off, and you huffed.

scaramouche opened the box instead, taking out the necklace from it as he stepped towards you. he opened the clasp as he put the necklace on you himself, closing it once the necklace was wrapped around your neck nicely.

he stepped back to look at you, smiling to himself.

you fiddled with the heart pendant in your hand, looking at it for a moment before you sighed. scaramouche turned away to continue looking at the building surrounding the fatui precinct.

“i didn't get you anything because you've always hated christmas gifts.” you said. “tell me what you want for christmas, i'll get it for you as a thank you for getting me this.”

scaramouche was silent, and you were worried he didn't want anything from the beat of silence. he, however, hid his face from your view to hide the blush that was creeping up his cheeks and ears as he said his next words.

“i want you.” he whispered, only enough for him to hear.

well, it was enough for you to hear. “what?” you stood there frozen, unable to wrap those words around your head.

were you really sure you heard the right thing?

was it just a figment of your imagination?

scaramouche was hesitant on saying it once again, still contemplating whether he should do it or not.

you just need one last push to seal this relationship.

his therapist's words played back in his mind, and he sighed.

fine, he thought to himself. this is the only chance you got.

“i want you.” he said it once again, this time more loud and clear for you to hear.

you stopped fiddling with the necklace he had given you earlier, hand falling to your side as you stood there, completely frozen.

it was comical, the winter air was nipping at your skin, and you really thought you were already frozen up from the cold if it weren't for scaramouche tugging at your sleeve.

“you've been quiet for the past minute.” he said, slightly pouting. “do you… not like me?”

“n–no! it's not that!” you quickly denied, hands coming up to make gestures. “it's– it's just um– i– i don't know!” you squeaked, turning to hide your flustered face. “i didn't think you would uh– have a thing for someone like me.” you mumbled lowly, hoping that scaramouche wouldn't hear your incoherent words.

“i only have a thing for you.” he replied, causing you to jolt. scaramouche didn't mind as he continued talking. “i… love you, y/n. seriously. i want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

you stopped, snapping your head to look at him.

“h–huh!?”

scaramouche cleared his throat, looking away to avoid your gaze. “i– i know we've been enemies for the longest time, but this case changed my views on you. now, i can't even stop thinking about–”

the ravenette was swiftly cut off from his words when you suddenly cupped his face in your hands, leaning in until your lips slotted into his.

scaramouche stood there, still in shock as you continued kissing him with your lips, that were really warm and soft to him.

it only lasted for a second before you pulled away. you inhaled and exhaled heavily, suddenly out of breath.

clearing your throat, you looked at him with flushed cheeks. “i–”

your words were cut off when scaramouche pulled you back into the kiss, one hand resting at the back of your neck, the other resting on your back.

you closed your eyes in content, bringing down your hands from his cheeks to wrap your arms around his neck instead, sighing into the kiss.

the kiss felt like heaven. it was gentle, yet filled with so much passion. the soft lips of his touching yours was something you had never expected to experience, yet you had no complaints.

if anything, you hoped this kiss would last forever.

you pulled away, breathless, once again. taking a moment to recollect yourself, you exhaled. “as i was saying–”

you were cut off once again as scaramouche kissed you, yet again. it seemed like he was still not satisfied.

grumbling, you pulled away, this time cupping his cheeks with your hands to prevent him from leaning in again to take your breath away.

“l–let me breathe and finish my sentence!” you huffed, breathing in and out as you stared at him.

scaramouche, was, well, pouting at you with that puppy eyes of his. he broke eye contact as he looked away, sulking. “s… sorry. i just wanted to do that for a while now that i got ahead of myself.”

his confession caused you to sputter into a nervous wreck, the words you intended to say died in your throat almost immediately. groaning, you retracted your hands from his face, falling to your side as you nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

“you're so bold when it comes to things like these.” your words were muffled from the skin of his neck, your warm breath fanning his bare skin.

scaramouche sighed, circling his arms around your figure as he pulled you close. he didn't bother replying to you as you two stayed like that for a moment, relishing in each other's presence.

“i love you too, kunikuzushi.”

you pulled back to look at him, and giggled as you witness the sight of his red cheeks that were forming from both the cold and your small confession.

scaramouche looked away quickly, turning his head sideways as he avoided your loving gaze. you brought up a hand to make him turn back to look at you, thumb caressing his warm cheek.

“so, that time when you were drunk and said that you were in love with me was true after all?” you teased, earning a groan from the ravenette.

“yes... i meant that.” he huffed as he looked at you grinning.

you suddenly frowned. “is your shoulder really okay though? will it be fine if i touch you around here?”

“it's really fine, y/n. don't worry about it.” he said, before smiling to himself, in which you slowly did the same.

you raised a brow. “what?” you asked, amused, grinning from cheek to cheek.

“i love you.”

you smacked his cheek lightly, flustered as your cheeks flared. “you can't say that out of nowhere! those words are still new to me!” you complained, causing scaramouche to chuckle.

“aren't you gonna say it back?”

“no.”

scaramouche pouted, giving you those cute puppy eyes once again, brows furrowing and all. “o–okay, fine! i love you too, happy?” you rolled your eyes.

“mhm, more than happy.” he whispered, leaning in to kiss you once again.

you took a second to react, before kissing him back, thumb continuing on caressing his red cheek as he smiled into the kiss, pulling you closer.

as if the archons have heard of your new relationship, it suddenly snowed, the snowflakes coming down from the sky as it landed around the two of you, tufts of white landing on yours and scaramouche's hair and clothes, but you both paid no mind as you continued on kissing, relishing in the moment on christmas eve, just a few minutes away from christmas.

—

far from your view, the whole squad was squeezing by the window to look at the scene in front of them, unable to prevent themselves from being nosy.

out of nowhere, a sniffle came, then, a loud cry.

everyone turned to look at childe as he wiped his tears with a tissue.

“dude, what the hell are you doing?” arlecchino asked from beside him, nudging at his shoulder. “you're embarrassing yourself.”

at this, he sniffled even louder. “they– they finally kissed! you have absolutely no idea– how long i've been waiting for this moment to happen!” his words were slightly slurred from his current situation, crying his eyeballs out as he looked at his two friends finally together.

“you've really got to find yourself a new hobby…” she muttered, before she ignored him as she continued looking at the two of you outside.

“aren't they gonna get cold?” pierro asked.

dottore snorted. “they're too busy making out to even think about that.” he curtly replied, eyes glued to the window. “probably won't even budge if i call them.” he waved his phone in the air, causing everyone to groan and grumble at him.

“you're gonna startle them, idiot.”

“go back home!”

“who even invited him?”

he frowned. “stop it, guys! i'm just kidding, let me stay here, please! i don't want to be left out!” he pleaded.

the sounds of everyone bickering went unperceived by the tsaritsa as she looked at you two from the corner of the room, eyes slightly tearing up.

looks like her years of hard work trying to get you two together had finally paid off.

sorry for edging you guys lmao it was fun while it lasted!

since this is the last chapter before the epilogue, i would like to give out my sincerest gratitude to everyone who've gotten this far into this series. it's been a long journey writing for ma, and the countless amount of support everyone has given me throughout this whole process will never be forgotten. i hope this chapter was something that everyone had expected and hoped for, even if it's long as hell. next chapter will be the epilogue, and i hope everyone would still be there as we come to an end with mission accomplished. thank you once again and have a joyous christmas celebration!

taglist; @beriiov @hopesandlegacy @cloudsandrenoswife @salamiwrites @thenightsflower @bleedingwhiteroses222 @lisiastak021 @yuuki4646 @lez-zuha @ryhie @sleepy-waffle @yoursockstinks @shizunxie @kunikame @kunikuzushiit @anonwhocried @vqqrii @luminesuprrmacy @calxb-do @sixscara @xooya @mobiussdarling @mafukissu @antri13 @ireallylikehamsters @hejtorii @moatsnow @sinnersbyfear @cloudxemoji @yashimeto @kaoyamamegami @brokensmileandtears @chuuyaswifeeee @oasis888 @periwinklesbaby @justranella @percyval-archives @scaraslutt @talledale @tynan404 @asterifiic @sweatyexpertdeputyduck @key2yourheart @everangela @crystal-reality

want to be added to the taglist? (i'm gonna sob this is gonna be the last time i have my taglist form opened)

[hermitw]

Usually I forgive gege/sukuna for his crimes bc gege gives us so many beautiful images of true form sukuna and it takes me an hour to read a chapter bc I just. Keep looking at him. And he's one of my favorite characters.

But he's in time out rn!! Both sukuna and gege ughhhhh that was........ No.....

It can't be Chosover.

[masterofiodine]

Chapters: 13/13 Fandom: Ghosts (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: The Captain/Lieutenant Havers (Ghosts TV 2019)

CAPVERS FANS READ THIS FIC!!! IT'S SO GOOD

[jangmi-latte]

rook ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

[thebirdandhersong]

btw in case you're wondering if, after reaching adulthood, you finally escape the horrible pain of always being picked last for sports/games: unfortunately, it does still happen, and it still hurts as much as it did when you were a kid

[inafieldofdaisies]

Last Line Paragraph Tag | Tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton

Dropping by with a little treat from John's AU where Oliver is grilling the shite out of Leslie. I couldn't bring myself to cut out any of his jokes, so you're getting an extended last line. ❤️

"Coffee run, boys. Anyone want something?", Oliver hollered, stiring up the rest of the detectives that were in at the early hour, "No? Byyyyeee." He sing-songed the rest as he threw on his jacket and Leslie did the same, rushing to leave before both could get wrapped up in actual orders. "Aye, you fuck, I wanted-", Ross' yell was cut off as McKenzie slammed the door to their division shut, whistling to himself on their way to the stairs. "Graham will retaliate, you know that, right?" "I promised Maxie I'd get him a coffee, there's only so much I can carry.", he explained while Leslie followed closely, "Plus, Ross has legs and cheated me out of my poker win last week. So… he can suck it." Parish chuckled, but it felt more forced than anything with his mind still racing with questions, "Weren't you also cheating?" "Beside the point." "Mhm.", he hummed as they hit the ground floor and made their way out the precinct. "You know, my jokes are only good if people are paying attention to them…", Oliver began while the two set on their usual route to a small bakery nearby. "I was listening, it just wasn't funny." The deadpan answer did little to convince him of the lie based on the snort he replied with, "Sure. Repeat it back to me, will ya? Then I can decide if it sounded funny or not."

"Fuck off.", Leslie remarked, pulling his coat closed against the sudden gust of wind that blew in. "That's what I thought.", McKenzie sent him a cocky smirk over his shoulder as they navigated the crowd moving down the street, "What did Rina do this time?" "Nothing." "And you've been looking like I kicked you in the nuts the whole morning over nothing. How long have we known each other to think this would work with me? Hell, I think even Vaughn would pick up on your lie, and he is as oblivious as they come." A groan left Leslie, but deep down he was thankful someone cared enough to notice the mood he was in and try to get him out of it, "I have no idea how we're still friends, you don't ever let up." "Why my ma said I'd make a great detective, and how right she was…" In ways Oliver truly was like a K9 that had caught a perp's scent, refusing to let go until getting an answer, on top of it all he was competitive as hell. The bakery's sign finally came into view, making him wonder if he could actually get away with not providing any details for once. Doubtful. "Well?", McKenzie asked again, swinging the door open and entering the shop first with Leslie close on his heels. "Coffee first." "Fine, but you try to dodge my questions, I'm locking you in the interrogation room until you start singing like a canary. I have all the time and patience in the world." "Buchanan will have your balls." He rolled his eyes as they took their place in line, "Think I care about what old Jerry will do?" Doubtful again.

Parish occupied his time by mindlessly watching the people seated at the tables in the back of the bakery, wishing his heart would skip a beat the same way it did for Sabrina when his gaze was met on accident by a woman sitting on her own. The little smile she gave him only darkened his mood as he forced his eyes back ahead and Oliver's hand landed on his back in silent support. "Jesus. It's bad." "I'm absolutely fine." "Sure, Sabrina. You're picking up all her sad habits.", Oliver grumbled, "Lying you're okay, going through life deep sighing over somebody you can't have for some stupid ass reason." He rattled out an order when their turn came and paid for everything, giving Leslie a much needed break from arguing over the ugly truth. "Just ask her out. You have to start somewhere.", his fellow detective insisted as they set on waiting to the side, "Who cares if she went on a date yesterday? Like, fuck, you sure won't be sending 100 roses to her and panic-calling her over a little bat paying you a friendly visit. You already have an advantage - you know what she likes and what she wants before she even figures it out." "60." "Huh?", McKenzie gave him a dumbfounded look. "60 roses is what Bruce sent." A snort left him at the choice of nickname, "Batman ain't cheap, I'd give him that. Though, I'd argue blowing your hotshot lawyer money on a bouquet is kinda idiotic." "Hotshot?" "Oh, yeah.", Oliver nodded at his raised eyebrow, "I looked him up myself, too. Fucker's a new partner in Atlanta. Has his name on the plaque and everything. I wanted to barf at his fancy photoshoot on their website, haven't seen anyone looking so sure of themselves while holding scales. Lady Justice is shakin'."

"Not making me feel any better about this." "I wasn't trying to.", a playful slap landed on his shoulder, "I'm trying to kick your ass into action. Get your girl. Getting laid will fix you both, I promise." "We've been over this." Thanfully, the woman out front waved Oliver over to pick up his bag, stopping the conversation they've had plenty of times before in its tracks. Or so Leslie thought until he was dragged back into it the moment they were back outside. "Spill, Parish and I don't mean my coffee.", McKenzie instructed him with narrowed eyes as they set towards the precinct and he passed him the takeaway to light up a cigarette, "You can even tell Rina you bought her the croissant. My treat." "We talked like we do every night yesterday…", the storm clouds above them certainly matched his mood, "and she let it slip that she's invited him over because his neighbors were annoying the shit out of him with loud sex." Oliver laughed way too loudly at that, startling a woman walking ahead of them and getting a dark look from her he met with a wink, "Batman wishes he was gettin' some." "I asked her to keep me posted, so I know she and Sav are safe." "Reasonable.", he agreed, "Considering they just met." Leslie sighed, "I expected a text, you know, 'We're all good, he left. Goodnight.' She called me instead… sounded completely off, mind you, I was close to jumping on my bike and driving there." "Don't tell me-" "No! Nothing of sorts."

"Good, because it would suck to get arrested for murdering one of Maxie's case victims." "After dancing around the subject, Rina announced that Bruce is stayin' over." "Uh-oh.", Oliver let out a whistle, "She actually went for it. Damn, I-" "In the guest bedroom.", Parish interjected before he could go on a tangent about Sabrina getting laid. He suspected he'd get an extra detailed version of possible events as punishment. The detective's eyes shone with a devilish gleam at the news, "Poor Batman. But… wait… why the fuck did she call you?" "She wanted me to convince her sleeping with him was a bad idea." The two came to a halt in front of their building, not exactly rushing to go back inside despite the subject. Oliver took a long drag from his cigarette, gaze running over his face before he exhaled some of the smoke and muttered, "And you did just that. Cockblocked him, six ways from Sunday." "No." The rest of the vapor left him at once, making him choke at the confession. "God-fucking-damn.", McKenzie croaked out between coughs as he hit his chest dramatically, "This ain't how I want to die. Especially before seeing you get laid for good." Leslie said nothing and tightened his grip on the bag in his hands, focusing his attention on the street, watching each passing car, instead of meeting what he knew would be his fellow detective's disapproving gaze. "You're an idiot, you know that?" "Thanks."

"It's accepted you look a person in the eye when they speak…", he gritted out, taking another pull of nicotine. "What do you want me to say?" "That you didn't actually encourage her to sleep with him and are now in this shit mood because of it? I'd start with that." "I told her the truth.", Leslie replied flatly, "You saw how she was after their lunch. I don't even want to ask how close they were at it…" "I didn't give them the chance to. For you." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, skipping over the part where he had mentioned protection, because Oliver wouldn't let him live that one down, "I reminded her it's rare she ever feels so strongly about anyone, that she shouldn't worry about the rules of dating or how soon it is." McKenzie dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomping on it with way too much force before throwing it in the nearest trashcan, "You basically shoved her in his bed, gotcha. How the fuck aren't you day-drinking? I'd be spiking my coffee right now." "Rina didn't say she would. In fact she made it a point to say how he's probably already asleep." Just shut up, Parish. His reply received a humorless laugh, "Oh, definitely. You hearin' yourself?" "Sadly, yes." "Good, because currently I feel like walking into traffic to put myself out of this misery…", Oliver pointed ahead of him and clicked his tongue, "but knowing my luck, the closest I'd get is getting run over by a kid biking to school, scarring us both in the process." "Dramatic." McKenzie blinked slowly, "I'm dead serious. And your phone?"

"My phone?", Parish felt his pockets with his free hand, wondering if he had managed to swipe it with another 'magic trick'. Certainly wasn't uncommon for him to pickpocket for kicks, even their Chief, Buchanan. "Yes. Why were you staring at it like it held the solution to all of our cases, and then some?" He produced the device to Oliver, his screen still on Sabrina's open message that he had reread an embarassing amount of times and tried to convince himself it had nothing to do with her late night guest. "I will be in a little bit later today.", McKenzie read her text that wasn't anything unusual to receive from any of the other detectives in Missing Persons, for Sabrina though, it felt out of character, monumental. Both of them were aware of that. "Leslie 'God-how-much-I-wish-you-had-a-middle-name-right-now-so-I-can-scold-you-like-a-mother-would' Parish.", the first part flew past his lips in record speed, "You got this from her and are still thinking she hadn't followed your advice to grab the handsome egomaniac by his horns?" Leslie hoped his shrug was nonchalant enough, "There could be another explanation. Many, in fact." Based on the 'Are you kidding me' look he received, his partner in crime wasn't buying it, "You sweet summer child."

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