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𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞

֍ 𝐋 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐞𝐭 - 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐆𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐚

֍ 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐮 - 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚’𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫

֍ 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐮 - 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐰/ 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚

~ 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐰/ 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 ~

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 '𝟕:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌’. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚, 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.

“𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲?“ 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨. 𝐀𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐮𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚’𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞.

“𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬?“ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚. 𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐬.

“𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤“ 𝐇𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡.

𝐀𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.

“𝐨𝐡 𝐦𝐲...“ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬.

𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?“ 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐬.

“𝐡𝐦?“ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, “𝐨𝐡, 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭“ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡.

𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

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𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭.

"𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞." 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.

“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚! 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭!“ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚’𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐧.

~𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬~

The common area of the Cleaners' headquarters was a absolute disaster zone. Rudo was yelling about something that had been misplaced, Zanka was shouting back twice as loud to prove that he was in control of this situation, and Riyo was laughing maniacally in the background, fueling the fire. A stray cushion sailed through the air, missing your head by a hair.

Between the shouting and all the stomping around, a suffocating wave of sensory overload hit you. You wrapped your arms tightly around yourself, staring down at a scuff on the floor, and wishing you could just blend into the wall and disappear. Your chest felt tight, the noise ringing in your ears.

Suddenly, a tall, lean shadow fell over you, blocking out the sight of the chaotic room in front of you.

Before you could look up, a large, warm hand loosely wrapped around your wrist. The grip wasn't tight or aggressive - it was incredibly gentle, light tug.

You blinked confusingly looking up to see Tamsy. His half-lidded eyes scanned your face, noticing the tetension in your jaw and the way your shoulders were hunched. He didn't say a word to the rest of the room. He just turned, his lazy smile not falling, and gently guided you through the shouting crowd, acting as a human shield against the flying couch cushions and lamp shades.

He led you down a winding hallways of the headquarters, the shouting fading into a muffled buzz behind the think walls, until he pushed open a heavy, rusted door leading to an old supply room on the edge of the building.

As soon as you stepped inside the dim lit room, he shut the door behind you with a soft click. The sudden, profound silence was so heavy it made your ears ring, but your chest instantly loosened.

Tamsy didn't crowd you. He casually slid his hands back into his pockets and strolled over to a stack of crates, leaning his back against them. The cold room was decorated in old graffiti, probably drawn by Gob. Tamsy tilted his head back, letting out a long exhale that puffed that stray stands of hair out of his face.

"Man, they are awfully loud today, huh?" he murmured, his voice a low, soothing drawl that felt like a warm blanket. "Honestly, I think Rudo's veins were about to pop. It's exhausting just watching them." He grinned.

He looked over at you, his grin softening into something incredibly fond and grounded. He didn't press you about what was wrong, and didn't force you to explain your panic. He just reached out, grabbed a clean, turned-over crate, and pushed it over to you with his foot.

"Sit," he instructed gently.

You slumped onto the crate, letting your head drop into your hands as the last of the adrenaline began to leave your exhausted body. The room smelled faintly of old dust and engine oil, but it was safe. You wondered how he knew of this little safe haven and if he would come here often to decompress of his high maintenance lifestyle.

"Hey," he said softly, catching your gaze. "Take a breath. You're completely fine. Let's just hide out here for a while. They won't find us, and even if they do, I'll just tell 'em the door's jammed." He winked.

You let out a shaky breath, a small, weak smile finally breaking through your tension. Seeing you relax even a fraction made Tamsy’s eyes crinkle at the corners. He reached up, his long fingers gently catching your chin, tilting your face up just a fraction. His thumb brushed lightly against your cheekbone, a surprisingly tender gesture for someone who usually acted so unbothered.

"There's that pretty face," he teased softly, his voice smoothly flowing like a river currents. "Much better. You stay in that loud room any longer and you're gonna end up with a scowl like Zanka's, and trust me, that look does not suit you."

You let out a genuine laugh this time, the tightness in your chest had completely vanished. Tamsy chuckled, letting his hand drop from your face, but he didn't make any distance from the two of your bodies. He just sat back next to you, keeping you company in the quiet room, perfectly content to waste the afternoon away in this little room just making sure you felt safe.

~ Styling Zanka’s Hair ~

You lay in Zanka’s bed reading a book you picked up from the library a couple days ago. Meanwhile Zanka was winding down from a mission his team had completed earlier that day, he paced around the room disassembling his gear and getting ready for the much needed nap that awaited him. Now all that needed to be done was to tame his messy hair, so he makes his way to the bathroom mirror.

———

A loud and frustrated grunt disrupts your reading. You look up to see Zanka still gone in the bathroom.

“Damn, it’s been like 13 minutes. What is he doing in there?” You mumble to yourself before tossing your book aside and crawling out of his bed.

You peek around the bathrooms doorframe to see Zanka combing through his hair furiously with a fed up look of his face. You smile to yourself before making your presence known.

“Zanka…” You call out, stepping into the doorway.

His eyes dart to you in the mirror before turning around to face you. “Yeah?”

“Do you need help? You seem pretty mad at your hair brush right now.” You giggle.

He rolls his eyes, “I’m only saying yes because I am extremely exhausted…don’t make it a habit.” He hands you his hairbrush before following you back into the room.

Zanka sits on the floor in-front of you and relaxes in between your knees, grumbling the entire time about how "a warrior doesn't need to be pampered." But as you gently brush through his hair, detangling all the knots, he slowly melts, leaning back against you and falling asleep.

A few minutes later you realize he had fallen asleep, you bend down and kiss the top of his head. Trying not to wake him up, you grab the blanket beside you and drape it over his body. A huge smile comes across your face has you tie back his hair into a little cute ponytail.

Time had passed before Zanka had actually woken up. A sleepy little confused look masked his face has he heard your sweet giggles.

“Hm?” Zanka turns and looks up at you.

“You know you should wear a pony tail more often.” You say as you brush his bangs back out of his eyes.

“What?” He pats his head before huffing and shooting you a glare but a blush covers his cheeks. “You ruined my intimidating aura.”

He refuses to take the hairstyle out for the rest of the day. 🩵

~Sugar and Solace~

‘2:14’ is the time the clock read when you were jolted wake by a nightmare about the case you’ve been working on with the task force. You weren’t a detective, not a police officer, just a quiet and reserved data analyst that was hired for the job.

Practically living at headquarters you took a much needed nap on a couch. You sit up, the nightmare leaving you in a sweat, craving caffeine. The hallways are quiet, the only sounds to be heard was the buzzing of the lights and your pumps clicking against the ground as you make your way to the coffee pot. Walking past the main computer room something, or someone, caught your eye. It was L, both of his feet were flat on the chairs cushion, knees pulled to his chest, and his hand delicately holding an empty tea cup which he placed back down with a clink. His desk was littered with candy wrappers and empty plates from his pastries.

You debate in your head making yourself known to the insomniac sitting in-front of you or to just carry on with your restless night. With hesitation you knock on the doorframe…

“Ryuzaki?” You call out.

He doesn’t turn to acknowledge the voice, just freezes, staring blankly at the computer screen.

“Do you need anything?”

“Another cup of tea would be nice.” His nonchalant voice filled up the empty room and a without taking his eyes off the screen he holds out his empty cup.

You walk into the room and grab the cup from his hand without saying a word, retreating from the room to go pour him another cup.

———

Over the next couple of days when you would pull an all nighter at the headquarters you were L’s little waiter, silently refilling his tea, printing files, and bringing him treats. …you weren’t opposed.

One night you even brought in some foreign candy’s from Sweden for the two of you to try while doing case work. It gave your long nights something to look forward to. Plus you and L had gained silent respect for each other.

“These are quite pleasant.” L states as he absolutely demolishes the sweets.

You nod with a smile, “I saw them in a food blog. I thought you’d like them because of the strawberry jam-“

L pauses typing, “thought of me?” He tries to play down this foreign ache he had in his chest. “That is quite nice of you, [ reader ]…Thank you.”

“Oh, no problem at all. You make these all nighters bearable.”

He hums in agreement and continues to type, engrossed in the computer screen.

——————

The screens turns black…the system crashes. L lets out a grunt before staring off into space.

You are forced to wait out the reboot together. Sitting on the floor against the server racks, L stares at you…which made you a little uncomfortable but before you question he cuts you off.

“Why did you join the task force, [reader]?” The question struck you in a different way. You don’t know the straight answer, but you answer as honestly as you could.

“I guess I just wanted to show people that I’m good enough to work in a high profile case…it’s not a good reason but it’s the only one I can think of right now.” You chuckle in embarrassment, looking up to meet L’s eyes just to see them analyzing yours.

“Proofing self worth is a tricky thing, huh?”

L doesn't give a grand speech in return but he shifts a few inches closer, his knees tucked to his chest, letting his shoulder lightly brush against yours. You look away hiding a light blush, you didn’t have feelings for him, right? There were no times for feeling or relationships, people were dying and it was on the task force shoulders to figure the fck out. You couldn’t muster up the strength to pull away from the touch, you were disappointed in yourself for catching these feelings for the detective. L slides his plate of strawberry’s towards you without a word.

“…t-thanks.” You stutter out, your mind filled with an anxious fuzz.

“I don’t mind sharing.” He replied, staring back at you with a small smile. A smile you’ve could have missed if you blinked.

——————

Over the next couple of weeks the case got more and more intense, people dropping like flies left and right, with no definite answers to the cause.

L grew more anxious inside. Nights without sleep turned into days. More sugar and caffeine. The headquarters filled with tension.

L sits in-front of the computer screen, twiddling with a sugar cube between his fingers before popping the grainy cube in his mouth. He freezes, a loud and piercing ring was to be heard, he collapses out of the chair and onto the cold tiled floor. Your eyes jolt open.

“Shit, it was just a dream.”, you take a deep breath before rubbing your eyes. “Well there goes getting full 8 hours.”, grumbling to yourself, you sit up from your makeshift bed, (the break room couch), and go check on the progress made.

As you walk down the narrow halls you couldn’t help but wonder why? Why did L appear in your dream? Was he dying?

You shake your head clear of those thoughts, but you couldn’t shake the worry that laid heavy on your heart.

As you walk down the narrow halls you see the light of the computer room spill into the hall.

“What time even is it?”, you check your watch.

‘1:36 am’….That’s definitely L still up.

You peak into the room, L’s silhouette casts a shadow over the wall. He’s….he’s not moving? Your chest tightens, heart races, is your dream coming true? No it can’t be. You run to his side, “L!” His still body comes into your sight.

He was asleep. The man was asleep sitting upright.

“Mh?”, He opens his eyes to see you, kneeling at his side, one hand clutching his shoulder the other his knee. “What’s wrong, [reader]?” He was in udder confusion. Heat ran to your cheeks. He was just trying to get some rest and you just barged in yelling at him! You felt so embarrassed.

“I- I ’m sorry, I just thought-“, you stutter out, losing your thought when your eyes meet his. Your voice softened “…thought you were dead.”, you finished.

“Well that is a possibility but no….I had fallen asleep while logging this evidence.”, he hummed, “Why did you think I was dying?”, L shifted his hand so his pinky rested on yours, but his touch was so light it could be taken as just an accidental touch.

“Nothing-“ You pull your hands away. “I just had a bad dream that put me on edge. I’m sorry for disrupting your sleep, I know it doesn’t come easy to you.” You stand up slowly, his eyes never leave yours.

He nodded and stood up with you. “I should lay down and rest.” Turning off the computer, the room now only lit by a small lamp that sat at the corner of the desk.

“Yeah that would be better than sleeping right side up.”, you joke, trying to ease some of the tension between you two. He scratches his left ankle with his foot nervously. “I’ve been awake for 94 hours and 28 minutes without rest. But-“ You cut him off in disbelief, you knew he was an insomniac but not this bad of one. “You need to rest. Now, I’m not going to lecture you on how bad no sleep can be on a human, I’m fully aware you know. But I am going to take you to my favorite spot to sleep in headquarters.”

You lead him to the couch, a blanket still draped across the back from your previous nap. He lays down, his dark eyes wide open, and his hyper-active brain still working overtime. “Close your eyes, L.”, he huffs softly and obeys. You drape the soft throw blanket over him.

“Thank you, [reader].” L mumbles.

You sit next to him on the edge on the couch. Trying to coax him into sleep, using a trick your mother had done to you during restless nights. Your index finger lightly traces the arch of his nose repeatedly. L lets out a sigh of contempt as he leans into your touch.

Sorry for any grammatical errors ❤️ 🪽