hunger ; detroit: become human

one

Valeria

Night of November 5th, 2038 - 11:36 PM

It had been a long night. One of the longest Valeria could remember. November nights were already bitter enough with the cold, but the sting of failure was like a stiff whip against bare skin. She trudged back into the station, her body aching and legs burning with exertion, each step like a chore. Her cheeks were raw, but despite the warmth of the station, she remained cold. She could feel eyes on her, staring burning holes into her back, but she paid them no mind. Instead, she found her way to an empty office, shut the door behind her, and screamed. The sound was muffled only slightly by the door, yet she didn't care. Nothing could make her care at the moment. Not even the sound of the door opening.

"The fuck's going on in here?" Gavin Reed's voice snapped her out of her fog, and she lifted her head to look at him.

"Fuck off, Reed. Don't have time for your shit tonight," she muttered, storming over to him. She pressed the heels of her gloved palms against his chest in an attempt to shove him from the office, but he stood firm against her assault. Instead, he grabbed her wrists and pushed her back inside, then shut the door behind him.

"I'm gonna ask again. The fuck's going on in here?" He looked down at her, folding his arms over his chest.

"What makes you think it's any of your business?" she snapped back, then turned away from him.

"Last I checked, we're partners. So that makes it my business by default," he said, leaning against the desk. He watched her closely, then stepped forward to catch her as her legs gave out. Carefully, he lowered the both of them to the floor, holding Valeria as she began to sob drly. They sat there for a while, until she calmed down enough to talk.

"Now, you wanna walk me through what happened?" he asked her quietly, leaning against the desk as she turned to look at him.

"A deviant self destructed," she said, hugging herself gently. Absentmindedly, her left thumb traced over where the android's blue blood, the thirium, hit and dried on the sleeve of her right arm. "Thought I was gonna die."

"But you didn't. You're here, giving me shit," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't get it." She got to her feet, a hand running through her hair. "This is the fifth one I've let get away. Any other failures and Fowler'll have my badge for sure."

"Hey, you're not the only one fucking up. If you were, then maybe I'd agree."

"Gee, thanks."

Gavin got up from the floor and leaned against the desk again, arms folded over his chest. He watched as she paced back and forth, his brow arched and a small smirk on his lips.

"Does this mean I have to go hunting for a new partner, then?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as she whipped around to face him.

"Are you really trying to make jokes at a time like this? When my job could be on the line?" she demanded, storming over to grab the front of his jacket.

"Easy, easy," he said, holding her wrists gently. "If your job was really on the line, Fowler would've called you into his office and read you the riot act by now. And besides, you know I'd go to bat for you any day. Don't think I haven't forgotten—"

"All right, all right." She released his jacket from her grip. "You're so annoying."

"Takes one to know one, doesn't it? C'mon, you look like you could use a coffee."