𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝗵. 𝗮𝗸𝗶) ✓

14

The cafe was reasonably quiet in the hushed cold of the early afternoon. Probably because it could barely even be called afternoon, and the vast majority of people hadn't left their workplaces for lunch break yet. Hanasaki and Aki sat opposite each other on a small, windowside table, watching pedestrians and vehicles pass by.

"Uh, you're not going to eat anything?"

His voice slightly startled Hanasaki, and she twitched out of her trance upon hearing it. Her eyes flickered towards him, and she realised she had become phenomenally adept at recognising his distressed face.

"Hm," she mused. Aki's concern was beginning to peeve her, but he himself wasn't wholly the reason. The more she pondered on it, the more she couldn't get what was compelling her to abandon all sense of self-preservation. Was it really that hard for her to take care of herself? Was she just being pathetic, or was it something worse?

Either way, she didn't really care. Her mental health hadn't exactly been the best for a while now, so its deterioration wasn't of much importance. In her opinion, anyway.

"Hm," she repeated, trying to drag herself back out of her thoughts again. "No, I think just coffee will do. Keeps you awake, you know?"

Lifting the paper coffee cup her thin fingers were wrapped around, she took a sip of the black liquid. The waitress had looked at her oddly when she asked for seven shots of espresso, and Hanasaki suspected she hadn't actually put that many. Probably because it violated some sort of health guideline.

"Isn't that too strong?" Aki's constant questioning wasn't exactly helping how she felt about herself, so she shot him an irritated glance without quite meaning to. Then her expression changed to one of disbelief as she squinted at his own cup of coffee.

"You can't talk, you have coffee too," Hanasaki retorted, seeming to have missed the point of his sentence completely. "Hypocrisy is a sin."

She took another judgmental sip of her bitter coffee, still squinting at Aki, while he sighed and drank from his own cup.

"Do you think those two will be alright on their own?" He was keen to change the topic, as he had already given up trying to argue with Hanasaki about her caffeine intake.

"Hm?"

"Denji and Power. We sort of left them there. What if they aren't under any supervision?"

She blinked repeatedly as she thought of an answer.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," she replied, the end of her sentence trailing off as she stifled a yawn. Now it was Aki's turn to narrow his eyes. He was struggling to understand how an amount of caffeine as substantial as that hadn't taken effect yet.

He gazed out the cafe window. "They probably are. It's unlikely anyone would've let them escape the scene after they caused the whole fiasco."

"I guess."

For a little while, they sat in comfortable silence. No noise between, but only the distant swoop of cars rushing past outside the glass pane.

The door closed with a quiet jingle as Hanasaki and Aki left the homely little café. Moments after they stepped from the warmth of the indoors, Hanasaki winced and shielded her eyes as they were greeted by the blinding glare of white light. The sun was still high in the clear, wintry sky, but was beginning its curved descent to below the horizon. And after the soft, yellowish glow of the cafe — although it was mostly lit by the sun through the tall windows — it was quite an unpleasant surprise.

After she'd adapted to the way her vision flashed red whenever she blinked, Hanasaki lowered her hand from her brow and turned to glance up at Aki. "Um, thank you for getting me coffee. I owe you one."

"No need to thank me," Aki answered almost instantly, giving her a strange look, as if her thanking him was the last thing he'd expected. "You looked like you needed one."

"Eh? Well.. if you say so."

She turned her gaze back to the pavement, and that familiar chill she had come to know so well over the past year settled back into her bones. Hanasaki sighed, the steam of her breath barely more than a faint ghost in the bright air.

Aki, uneased by her switch in tone, sought to comfort her immediately. "C'mon. Let's get back to the car, hm?"

Her greyish eyes flickered back up to him, her expression unreadable. She faintly registered the tenderness in his voice, but it had already become something so commonplace, so natural. For a moment or two, her gaze remained fixed on his face, before she lowered it and gave a small nod.

Aki smiled. She didn't see it, though.

They headed to the car without conversation. It was as if they'd made some sort of unspoken agreement that no further exchange was needed.

A while after they began walking, Aki felt something cold brush against his hand. Hanasaki had absentmindedly made an attempt to hold it, and a few moments later her fingers interlinked with his. He couldn't help but be flustered at the sudden contact, but didn't shy away from it. She, however, still seemed to have no knowledge of her doing so. Her eyes were staring down at the concrete. She was quite lost in her own world, but holding Aki's hand appeared to make a good anchor to reality, so she didn't wander off accidentally.

When they reached the car, she snapped out of her trance. She vaguely recalled Aki's touch, but didn't remember when or why. All she knew that their little outing had allowed her to, for some time, forget about her troubles. Troubles like the many sleepless nights that were responsible for the dark circles that hung stubbornly under her eyes. The nightmares. The fact that she found it easier to feed Lawliet than herself. Oh, and her job. The job that not only was very important, but also constantly put her at risk of a presumably excruciating death.

She swallowed. The aftertaste of coffee still lingered at the back of her mouth, and seemed more bitter than it had before.

As if that reminder of her predicament wasn't enough, as soon as Hanasaki climbed into her seat, before even the rumble of the engine had started up beneath her, something buzzed in her pocket. She pulled out her cellphone, reluctantly accepting that the caller was named 'Headquarters', and picked up.

It only lasted about half a minute, which Hanasaki spent in absolute silence, apart from one or two mumbled responses. Her gaze was blank, and her frown deepened as the person on the other end rambled on. When she hung up, Aki turned in his seat to look back at her questioningly.

When she spoke, her tone was plain, but her words were foreboding.

"Hayakawa, call for backup. We're going to need it."