A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

XXVIII | The Smirk™ Is Immortal

MINI

The bar was mostly quiet, two or three small groups of people in their booths, talking, laughing and drinking.

It was for the better, probably. She wouldn't have been able to concentrate with the noise.

Rudy slid into the booth, sitting opposite her, as he asked, "What were you talking about?"

"Um." She clenched her fists, summoning some courage. "I— I lied."

"You told me that."

"The truth is, Rudy..." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I do care about you. So, so much. And— I think I fucked up by calling whatever you did for me a favour— but, I do appreciate it. I didn't know how to say it..." she paused. Steadied herself. "But I hurt you. And— for that, I wanted to apologise."

His face was almost unreadable. She waited, as the seconds stretched by, and she drowned out the noises of the bar, and the silence between them grew thick and cloying. Uncomfortable.

"It's— it's fine," he said, awkwardly.

"Huh?"

He ran a hand through his hair, "It's just that— this case ended so terribly." His voice shook, too.

"So many people got hurt. You got hurt." He looked pained. "And I couldn't bear it. We were trying our best, and it still ended like this." His fingers twitched. "And now we can't try. We can't do anything, 'cause we got dismissed."

She let out a breath. "Maybe it was for the best. People got hurt because our best wasn't good enough. Maybe we did deserve to be dismissed."

He tilted his head. "This case ended horribly, but... the only good thing that came out of it was that I got to meet you." He offered her a weak smile, the edges of his eyes crinkling up.

...Oh. It took her a few seconds to register what he was saying, and she froze. Her heart skipped a beat. She snuck a look at him, to see his smile. His expression was unguarded, a small smile lighting up his face.

Heat filled her cheeks, as her breath shook. She felt a smile of her own twitch on her lips, as she said, quietly, "I'm glad I met you, too."

————

As it turned out, Rudy was a lightweight. His face was flushed, his hair mussed, and his gaze unfocused.

"Alright, I think it's time to go," she said, softly, as the bar approached closing time.

He simply hiccupped.

She paid the bill, and offered her hand. "C'mon,"

He took it, stumbling slightly, as she threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Lean on me," she said.

"You'll fall," His words were slurred, but he seemed conscious enough.

"But if I let you go, you'll fall," she countered. "Come on."

He sighed, leaning slightly against her, and she put an arm around his waist to steady him, and, holding each other like that, they shuffled out of the bar into the night.

They were greeted by a bitingly cold breeze, as Rudy blew out a breath, shivering slightly.

"Are you cold?"

"Kind of— it's fine?" He ended the sentence as a question.

"I checked, there are no Ubers— or cabs around here," she explained. "If you want, you can come over to my place—"

"It's fine!" he said, sounding panicked. Was it just her, or did his cheeks seem redder than before?

Another frost-laden gust of wind blew past them, as Rudy shivered slightly, the stray strands of hair touching his forehead ruffling in the wind.

"It's cold," he murmured.

"Let's sit down on the bench."

She gently set him down, and sat down beside him. "Are you sick? It's not supposed to be cold when you've had alcohol,"

"In case—" he hiccupped, "In case you didn't notice, I didn't consume much alcohol,"

"Yeah, you're just a lightweight,"

He frowned, his lips tugging downwards in an exaggerated fashion. "Meanie,"

"Are you five?"

"Yes, on a scale of one to five,"

He began to giggle at his own joke. His fit of giggles was interrupted by another hiccup, which only succeeded in making her burst out laughing.

"I think we're being too loud," she said, between fits of giggles.

"Sorry," he said, his laughter dying down.

He sighed, and, without warning, dropped his head on her shoulder.

"...What are you doing?" Her heart skipped a beat. This was all too familiar. She was reminded of the couch in her apartment, their fingers interlocked—

"My head hurts," he groaned.

She sighed. "Please don't fall asleep, I still need to book a cab for you."

"Mm," he hummed, probably only half-listening, his eyes fluttering shut, the smallest of smiles curving his lips.

Frowning at her phone, she said, "I'm not getting any service. Gimme your phone?"

Wordlessly, he handed her his phone, his eyes still shut, his head still resting on her shoulder, and said, "130794."

"Uh-huh,"

Silence fell between them, as she ordered the cab. Then—

"This is nice," he said, softly. The barest of whispers.

It was a strange, off-handed statement to make, but she found herself saying, "It is." Before silence could fall between them again, she said, "And especially because I'm with you,"

"Oh?" There it was. That teasing glint in his eye. His voice had risen by an octave.

She elbowed him. "You seem sober enough."

"Maybe I am. But let's not ignore what you just said,"

"Your cab has been ordered," she continued, waving her phone in his face.

"Way to change the topic,"

"It's arriving in less than a minute."

He only offered a self-satisfied grin, his face alight with laughter.

Sure enough, they saw the cab at the end of the lane, its headlights faint pinpricks in the distance.

"Can you walk?" She asked.

"I'm good." He got up. "Bye."

She was about to wave back in response, when an idea hit her— it was extremely stupid, but before she could forget or chicken out, she grabbed him by the wrist, and blurted out, "Can I take you as my date for Aru and Aiden's wedding?"

At first, he looked slightly shocked and confused, but then, his features crumpled into a grin. Cheeks flushed, the corners of his eyes creasing, eyes alight. His expression settled into one of delight— and, of course, joking.

That smirk of his did not fade. It was one of the annoyingly endearing qualities about his face— not that she had stared long enough to note his features.

"I would be honoured, my lady," he paused, and said, "I would bow, but I'm scared I'll fall over."

She rolled her eyes, and said, "Good choice." The cab pulled up.

His smirk melted into a smile— somehow, she could tell the difference when he was being teasing or true— and he said, "See ya later."

He winked at her.

She smiled back at him.

"See ya!"

"See you!"

————