2gether AU: Be You, be Mine

Chapter 2: Only if You Knew How Much I Liked You

Mil's thoughts grew murky as he saw a familiar figure crouching over the reception counter. He thought his sight and mind tricked him into seeing an illusion. It was not until he saw Fong and Ohm hugging the figure, that he confirmed that the figure was real. It was really Tine standing over the counter, but what was he doing in a place like the federal crime lab, where civilians weren't allowed in. A plan was formed in his mind rapidly, he quickly joined the line forming in front of the instant coffee machine. Time to meet an old friend of mine.

The smell of cheap instant coffee invaded his senses and he frowned annoyingly, the coffee machine should've been replaced. Cheap coffees weren't good for his expensive taste buds. Mil had to admit that he has good taste, in terms of clothing fashion, which the entire crime lab could tell with him wearing tailor-made suits around, which made him stand out among average government servants in the lab, and in terms of choosing his type, in which he was extremely confident when he fell in love with the bunny-like person standing inches away from him now. He was quite an asshole when he first met Tine, but even with Tine keeping a distance away from him, it didn't necessarily mean that he needed to stay out. Of course, he felt bad for cornering Tine, but when Tine refused to give in to his requests, he no longer felt bad for wrecking Tine's life into a traumatising nightmare. Tine was a nice man, and it wouldn't hurt to have one more friend in this boring lab.

Mil calculated the exact timing when Fong and Ohm left the counter, and started his approach, tilting his coffee cup slightly, making sure to spill the coffee onto Tine, yet avoiding splashing the hot liquid all over Tine. Tine was his friend, to begin with.

"I'm so sorry! Tine? Is that you?"

He was pretentious, carefully concealing his motive under the naïve smile as he apologised to Tine insincerely. His ego didn't allow him to admit his mistakes from the past, he was only apologising to Tine because Mil wanted Tine to let his guard down. How would I trick him if he couldn't trust me anymore? Mil was almost certain that Tine would panic, just like the good old days. However, surprisingly, Tine kept his cool and presented the fakest smile he could to Mil. Tine's acting was so smooth that even Mil thought Tine had lost his old memories from university.

"Yes, that's me. What a nice way to meet a new friend. It's my pleasure to meet you, uhm, how should I address you?"

The cogs in Mil's mind stopped turning for a moment, Mil couldn't keep up with Tine's acts. Still immersed in his headspace, he stared at Tine's extended right palm blankly, not knowing how he should act now.

"Sergeant Mil?"

Mae Godji called out experimentally. Poor Tine had coffee all over his white sneakers yet he didn't care to clean them up immediately. She would've freaked out if someone split coffee on her, even when she was wearing a pair of black shoes. Her heart grew fonder for the young man in front of her. No wonder he is Ohm's and Fong's favourite nong! Sergeant Mil was putting Tine in a very difficult situation. She didn't like how almost everyone surrounding the counter froze at the turn of events, some were even judging the two of them. The crime lab wasn't exactly a place for secrets, she was certain that by lunch break later, everyone would've known what had happened in the morning.

Tine counted to 5 in his heart quietly and retracted his right hand before Mil could offer him the same hospitality. They weren't even friends, to begin with, he was just an asshole whom Tine didn't want to spend time talking with. He overheard Mae Godji calling Mil 'Sergeant Mil'. Great, now, Mil was going to be his supervisor, he supposed, and there was no way for Tine to run away from talking to Mil. He needed to handle this situation more calmly. He took a mental note about this new knowledge and wondered why Fong didn't say anything about Mil beforehand. He would, at least, appreciate a warning.