DELIGHTFUL ➴ Chrollo x Reader

XIV. Proof

Chrollo's smile widened, he did speak for a while and his eyes moved from mine to the officers standing in front of him. "Can't really answer that question here in front of the officers... then they could catch us committing public indecency-"

"Pussy." I whispered before lightly slapping his chest. I laughed and cleared my throat, speaking louder, "Such a funny priest he is... Well shall we move along? I have old churches to be in now that I've got a good sacrificial lamb."

"Please, Y/N-" He scoffed, and it almost seemed natural. Falling back to the banter and the jokes, it was familiar and comfortable. "If one of us had to be sacrificed it'd have to be you... I'm rather impure of acts."

The two officers exchanged looks, eyes large and fidgety feet, one of them coughed to signal their will to join the conversation. "I don't mean to ruin your adventurous glory Y/N, but even with company you should be sure to be safe. Both of you. Wouldn't want you both on the hospital just because you're researching for your new book."

I gripped Chrollo's arm tighter, "Don't worry, Officer Cawthorn, while he does look like a failed priest turned stripper... He's actually reliable enough to protect... I'd say... at least four of me."

"Is that so?" The policeman looked doubtful, Chrollo just smiled confidently and didn't elaborate. "Maybe he should come along to one of the self defence classes today, weren't you going anyway, Y/N?"

"You're taking self defence classes?" The criminal standing next to me seemed to ignore the invite, I nodded in response. "With your ankle like that?"

"Just the basics that don't strain it." Officer Cawthorn added before I could answer. "Do come along, the station is just around the corner, and it'd give me some piece of mind if I knew you were both safe..."

Dark grey eyes moved to meet mine, dark eyebrow arched in confusion. I simply tilted my head and he sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with then."

The walk to the police station was mostly silent, the policemen were chatting excitedly, so we just followed behind, Chrollo had slowed down to be able to adapt to my current pace.

The white building with blue stripes appeared in sight and soon we were walking through the narrow white halls to the large training room. Several policemen and civilians trained in a mostly focused silence, some chatter echoed from the small groups that were taking a break.

Chrollo slowly unravelled his arm from mine, ensuring I had a decent footing to stand without his support. The two officers looked at him and he simply shrugged, "So... Pick your strongest and let's just prove that I'm not absolute garbage?"

"Our strongest?" Cawthorn chuckled, Chrollo didn't follow the laughter, so it soon faded into awkward silence. "Alright then." He signalled a large man to come forth and inspected Chrollo from head to toe. "Want to warm up? Take off the jacket?"

"No need. So best of 10?" His opponent stopped nearby and nodded, rolling his ankles and extending his arms for a while. "Whenever you feel like starting just go for it then. No need for warnings either."

I heard Mills whisper rather loudly to Cawthorn, "Trying to show off for Y/N? Owen has a short fuse maybe this isn't a good idea."

I rolled my eyes, Chrollo just stood there, hands in his pockets, I'd say relaxed even. I held in my excitement, this could be super entertaining to watch, a criminal hiding in plain sight. The man they had called Owen, Chrollo's opponent, finished warming up and swung his fist straight for the priest's face.

He dodged with a single step to the left and my eyes barely registered his leg, that is until it hit the policeman's torso and he rolled several meters away. People stopped their exercise to watch from a distance and the chatter grew louder in volume.

"How are we defining points? Are they K.O.s?" Chrollo suddenly spoke, looking at Cawthorn with the most bored look.

"No, no. Clean hits are enough." Cawthorn's eyes seemed to be wanting to pop out of their sockets, Owen groaned as he got up, coughed several times before jumping for a while and shaking his head. Chrollo waited patiently for the next attack. Which ended up with the same result.

Cawthorn approached me, "Who's this man, Y/N?"

"Someone whose abs aren't just for show, thank goodness. Imagine if he didn't have the strength to keep up with his horrible ego." I said loud enough for Chrollo to look back at me.

"You should keep that foul mouth for yourself Y/N."

"What? Can't fight a policeman and find a snarky reply for me at the same time?" He dodged the next kick, eyes locked on mine and his elbow moved just enough to hit Owen's throat. The policeman fell down with a loud thud.

"I can keep up with your quips yes, but I'd rather have my full focus on you when we banter, dear. You deserve better than a half assed burn."

I broke down laughing, supporting my weight on Cawthorn. "Ah, well... That's three, isn't it? It doesn't look like your opponent wants to get up. Should we call that a win for you? Come here and tell Officer Cawthorn about yourself."

"Middle aged men aren't my type." He mumbled as he walked closer.

"What do you do for a living? What's your name?"

"I'm Damien Redthorne, I own a beautiful library in Aeclos. It happens to be Y/N's favourite-" I coughed, how come he knew the fake identity I had created to own Chiaroscuro? "I mainly invest my wealth, but I've had my rebellious phase... hung out with some dangerous people and learnt how to fight. Lately I've been focusing on the martial arts, gathering black belts and providing good input for my friend over there."

"That doesn't sound believable at all." Cawthorn's eyes left Chrollo to question me instead.

"Yeah, he does look homeless most of the time. Damien is rather wealthy, a good friend. You can try and check the registry for him..."

"No... He proved he can keep both himself and you safe, I shouldn't doubt his good intentions." He seemed resigned to accept that that was all. We said our goodbyes and left the station.

> Author's Note: Hello~ How are you doing? Hopefully you're enjoying this fic, any feedback or guesses for what is to come?