2gether AU: Be You, be Mine

Chapter 12: Cut the Crap and Make This Quick

"Fong, I am going to pretend that I see nothing, do what you need to do, justify your actions to whoever they are later."

Sarawat's nostrils flared in anger, his knuckles turned white as he balled his fists tightly against the unidirectional glass panes. Fong nodded and slammed the door shut immediately. The next moment, the door of the interrogation room flung open and Fong pulled Tine away from Mil's iron grip. Tine was taken aback but his expression remained impassive. He should have seen this coming.

///

HOURS AGO

"Sarawat, do you trust me enough?"

"I do, but there's one thing that I need you to promise me."

Sarawat looked at Tine intently, he hardened his gaze intentionally, he couldn't allow his walls to crumble down at this critical moment. Tine agreed wordlessly, this was his job as an investigator, he needed to do this, not for himself, but for Pam who was still lying lifelessly in the morgue. None of her family was willing to take her back.

"One of our team members needs to be present. You could choose if you want them to be in the room with you, or if you want them to be in the observation room observing you. They will intervene in the interrogation if anything goes south."

At the very least, it was a logical demand from Sarawat. After all, Tine was still in his probation period, he was still working hard to score a place in the lab. Tine chewed on his lower lip as he weighed his available options. He needed someone whom he could trust wholeheartedly. Sarawat. However, he didn't want Sarawat to be there, it would mean that he needed to lay his insecurities bare in front of Sarawat entirely. He wasn't prepared for that to happen under such circumstances.

"P'Fong. Is he a good choice for this?"

Sarawat's heart broke a little when Tine didn't choose him. Externally, he was cool with Tine's decision but internally, he was wilting little by little. He wanted to know the reason behind Tine's choice, but he knew once he decided to pry into Tine's decision, he would be acting unprofessionally. That was the last thing he wanted to do, he loved his job too much to be labelled in such a way. He had to respect Tine's decision, as his supervisor, as his friend.

"I will make the necessary arrangements and call Fong in while you prepare yourself mentally. I am telling you honestly, that this will not be an easy task, take all the time you need. I will also make sure that the interrogation room will be available for the entire afternoon."

Sarawat squeezed Tine's bicep as an encouragement as he exited the room quietly. As he walked down to the DNA profiling lab, he smiled at himself mockingly. His rationale self understood why Tine wanted Fong to be there, but his emotional self was clawing from within. Sarawat longed for Tine to choose him, one day. At least, for now, Sarawat was thankful that he could still cling to Tine's promise that his heart was exclusively reserved for him. Tine, such a cute name for someone so cute.

///

"Tine?"

Mil's eyes lit up in excitement as he entered the interrogation room. Tine was alone in the room reading through his notes for the last time while waiting for Mil to arrive. He looked up and straight into Mil's eyes fearlessly. Mil's heart plummeted to the ground after the short-lived excitement, he swore he saw Pam's photo among the scattered papers on the table. He knew the reason why he was called into this room today, he just didn't expect Tine to be the one on the other end.

"Sergeant Mil."

It was a cold exchange of politeness, Tine was into his full-work mode, he couldn't risk flopping this. He knew how important this would be, not only in solving Pam's case, but also in whatever Sarawat was doing. He reminded himself that Fong was watching him like a hawk from the adjacent observation room. Although Tine could only see his reflection on the glass pane, he knew that Fong was there. What he didn't know was that, Sarawat was also there, observing Mil.