Piece It Together - Gavin Reed

27

Waking up ten minutes before his alarm, he opened his sleep-sealed eyes to see the girl still clinging to him. Listening to the sound of her quiet snores that were barely audible, he took in the reality of their situation. Thinking that this could be the last time they would ever be like this, he tightened his grip around her. Planting a soft kiss in her hair, he waited until the alarm went off, stirring the girl from her sleep. Both sat up, the h/c shivering from the cold November morning.

"It's freezing..."

"Yeah, I'm aware. Make sure to wear something warm."

"I'll see what I've got."

Going off to do their own things, both found themselves in the warm car on their way to work. Y/n cradled a portable coffee cup in her hands, hoping to warm her up. Gavin listened to her nails tapping against the metal of the cup, watching her leg bounce out of the corner of his eye.

"Y/n, we can get this asshole another way-"

"Gavin, we can do this. I'm just..." Moving his hand to hers, he held it and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "Jesus, Gavin, your hands are freezing!"

"Fuck you!"

The drive was filled with laughs, although they knew it was in vain. Shaky hands held her phone as she wrote a text to Tommy, telling him the time and place of their meetup: noon at her house.

"Hey, look at me." Reluctantly turning her head to look at his, he saw the tears in her eyes, "I'm not gonna let that bastard hurt you. You know that I won't."

"Y-Yeah, I know, it's just that I... never mind." Not wanting to prod any further, the two exited the car. Finding their way to their desks, they sat down and began working. Nines was already there and sat at his desk that was situated beside Gavin's. Looking up from his computer, he raised an eyebrow at Gavin's expression.

"Detective Reed, you seem to be anxious." Nines blatantly pointed out, watching as Gavin nearly burst a blood vessel.

"Shut the fuck up, asshole!" The brunette yelled, catching the attention of everyone in the precinct. Groaning, he ordered the robot to follow him as he stormed into the empty interrogation room, "For fucks sake, can you not keep your mouth closed for two fucking minutes?"

"Detective Reed, as your partner in these investigations I find that it is vital I have an understanding of how you're doing and coping with things. Your heart rate is 120 bpm and you haven't sipped coffee."

Gavin was pacing the room, running his trembling hands through his unkempt hair. "We... We made a breakthrough in the case."

"What?"

"It was late last night when it all came to me: Tommy is the killer. It all leads to him. We have a plan but we're both super anxious about things."

"Explain the plan. I could give some insight into it.

"I don't want shit from you, you intrusive piece of crap!"

"Gavin, I refuse to stand idly and watch you possibly put your and Y/n's life at risk when I am programmed to help you!"

"Well, you're programmed to obey my orders!"

"I'm programmed to aid you in the case!"

"FOLLOW MY DAMN ORDERS, TIN CAN!"

"I REFUSE!" The room fell silent. Nines' LED flashed between red and yellow rapidly as his grey eyes were wide and fear was laced through his features. Gavin gave him a worried look, hesitantly reaching for his arm.

"Nines?"

"I'm... I'm a deviant..."

"Well, isn't that a good thing? You care about your partners enough to... y'know."

"Yes, I... I suppose so." Regaining his composure, he looked at Gavin, "Please, let me know what you're going to do in this plan. I want to help keep you and Detective L/n safe."

"Fine..."

Noon had approached her in the form of a loud knock on her door. Her heart was sinking but she put on a smile for Tommy as soon as she opened the door. "Tommy, hi!"

"It's lovely to see you again!" Wrapping his arms around her, he quickly let go and entered the house, "Wow, so you live here with Gavin?"

"Yeah, it's his place but I'm staying until I can get back on my feet. He's been a real lifesaver." Her laugh fades out as the room goes quiet.

"I remember high school and how he fucked up your life. Are things not awkward between you two?"

"Fucked up my life? He-he didn't fuck up my life Tommy." She laughs uncomfortably, "If anything, it was you that fucked up my life."

His eyes went dark, his smile not faltering, "What was that?"

"Well, if you think about it, you were the one that spread that you and I were dating. You also spread rumours about me and bullied me and even tried to manipulate me into forgiving you!" Her laughter died down, "Whereas, Gavin... I had feelings for him - mutual feelings - that I never had with you."

He began to laugh instead, reaching into his pocket, "I hope you make Gavin happy, Y/n..."

Carefully, she began taking steps backwards, edging herself into the kitchen, "Why?"

"Because it'll make his heartache even greater."

"Tommy?-" Everything had blacked out for her then. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as if attempting to escape from her body, white noise filling her senses as she struggled to make sense of her situation. It took her some shaking from Nines to come to her senses, gasping for air.

"Y/N? Y/n, please, say something!" Stirring, her blurry vision looked up at the ceiling to see Nines standing over her. Her eyes were wide with panic as she tried to take in her surroundings.

"Did-did we get him?" Nines helped her sit up as she locked eyes with Gavin who had Tommy pinned to the ground with his hands behind his back, chained by cuffs. Her heart settled slightly, Nines helping her stand up while other police officers entered the house and dragged Tommy out while he screamed and writhed in their grip.

"LET ME GO! FUCKING LET ME GO! YOU'LL FUCKING DIE, Y/N L/N! MARK MY FUCKING WORDS!" Gavin rolled his eyes, rushing to check the girl was okay. The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her unaware of the pain that was in the back of her head, reaching behind her and touching her head to see that blood was on her fingers.

"Shit, you must've hit your head on the way down." Gavin's hands were shaky as he held her wrists, looking at the blood on her fingertips.

"Detective L/n, we'll escort you to the hospital."