Careless, Careless Almond

Almond cut through the crowd at an inhumane speed. The people look at him in awe. Despite having seen him be this fast many times before, they still wondered how a cookie could move that quickly. And yet, they still knew why. Chasing criminals for a living can do things to your body, good and bad.

And Almond was feeling horrible.

His whole body felt hot and cold at the same time and he could barely stay awake. He was sure this was a fever, but like he says, "justice never tolerates negligence." But maybe this motto will be his downfall...

He arrives on the scene, sloppier than usual, and walks up to an officer, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"What's the problem now?" He said, his voice sounding more tired than he wanted it to be.

"Another jewel robbery. No footprints, no nothing, but we did find this."

The officer holds up a plastic bag with a mold in it. A mold of cheese. Almond squints and whispers under his breath.

"Them again..."

He hands the bag over to the officer and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for your service. I'll take it from here."

The officer nods and Almond makes a break for it down another street. He looks around before spotting a figure on one of the rooftops.

Yep, it was them. That holed tophat and the Dracula-Esque cape was all the silhouette needed to show to tell him.

Almond jumps on another rooftop and begins to chase the figure. He feels his body growing hotter by the second, painting a very familiar image in his head. He jumps on a hotel rooftop and stops as the figure did. Finally, the moonlight drove the shadows away to show the figure's identity.

"Roquefort!" Almond said in his surprisingly raspy, fever-laid voice. "You're under arrest for the theft of the Parfedia museum jewels! The tenth offense this month."

"Well, you're fast, aren't you, Detective?" The lad giggled before his eyes widened by just a small margin. "You look redder than usual. Did I exhaust you?"

"Long before today. This is the tenth time I've dealt with you, all within a month."

Roquefort chuckled, trying to contain themselves from bursting into a fit of laughter, before focusing a little more on the detective's hands. They were shaking and sweaty.

"Have you been taking care of yourself, Detective?"

"H-Huh..?"

"You're looking horrible today. Well- not in the looks sense, but have you been resting well?"

"Why should that matter to you?" Almond pulled out a pair of handcuffs and braced himself for another chase.

"Ah, well I suppose the concern I express shouldn't matter."

And so, the chase begins. Alternating between the rooftops and the ground, all were on foot. While Roquefort was on their feet and full of energy, Almond started to get exhausted. Nearly loosing his footing, only dodging by an inch, he was sloppy today, so much so that Roquefort almost wanted to pick him up and carry his tired ass back to his home. But he knew the poor detective would only take that opportunity to handcuff them.

Almost missing the hint, Roquefort sensed the new silence in the air. The lack of a separate pair of feet banging on the concrete, the lack of a faraway frenzy of disturbed air, and a pursuer on their tail. They stopped and turned around before their eyes laid on the detective's figure, on his knees, panting heavily. Sweat from his forehead hit the dry concrete below.

"Almond!" Roquefort drops to his side in a heartbeat. The detective almost reached for his handcuffs before he fell into Roquefort's arms. Catching him, the thief finally felt the epitome of exhaustion. An aggressive fever, one that overtook the poor cookie by storm during the chase. And despite feeling so damn hot, the man shivered like he was cold.

Roquefort takes off their cape and wraps it around Almond's surprisingly frail body, ignoring the man's efforts to push him away, which were, of course, futile. Sliding a hand under his waist and another behind his back, hoisting him up.

"...Put me down..."

"No can do, friend. You're sick. I have no clue what was going on in your head to work on such a heavy fever, but it was an awful choice, especially for someone who carries the weight of Parfaedia on their shoulders, so," he jumps up from the ground on top of a building, "I'll watch over you as you rest!"

"..You'll stalk me..?"

"Of course not! And to make your recovery easier, I'll...control myself." Roquefort said with a small hint of sadness on his face.

"E-Eh..?" Almond yawned, already sleepy. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"You heard me right, dear friend. There will be no incidents concerning me for the time when you're at rest! Isn't that nice of me?"

...

"Almond? A-Ah..."

The cookie in question was fast asleep, the exhaustion of today's works wallowing him up in a deep slumber. Roquefort smiled, his eyes almost locked with Almond's peaceful face. He felt blood running through his cheeks, feeling them turn into a cute shade of red.

"Tsk, tsk...careless, careless Almond..."