𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒

file 017 | a sense of daily life

"You're saying that you had a civil conversation with Gin?" Hiromitsu repeated blankly, clutching the cup of coffee in his hand in an iron grip. "You have gone insane, Suzume."

She gave him an unimpressed look. "Please," she sighed. "That's not the craziest thing I've ever done."

"No, the craziest thing you've ever done is get involved with the Organization in the first place," Hiromitsu corrected, catching the metal spoon Suzume threw at him in retaliation. "It's true and you know it, dear."

She huffed, ignoring how she felt her cheeks warm up at the nickname. The look he gave her told her he noticed, as well as the cheeky grin on his face.

This was the domestic bliss of the Kudo household when it was just Suzume and Hiromitsu there. When Yusaku and Yukiko are around...well, things get a little more chaotic than they are at the moment. Mainly just Yukiko cooing over how adorable Suzume and Hiromitsu are acting towards each other and how Hiromitsu is acting like a concerned husband towards his wife.

Great, now Suzume's cheeks were burning at the thought of her mother's teasing...

A knuckle knocked against the side of her head, making her blink and look at Hiromitsu with wide eyes.

He gave her a soft smile. "Don't get too lost in that brilliant mind of yours," he told her. "I'd hate to lose you in there. It would be a devastating loss."

She snorted. "Yeah, to the police."

"To everyone who cares about you," Hiromitsu corrected, frowning at her words. "And, yes, that would include the police officers who you have close bonds with."

She stared at him with wide eyes before looking away when his staring got a little too uncomfortable for her. Noticing this, he moved his eyes to where he was looking right next to her and not directly at her, letting her relax. It had almost slipped his mind how uncomfortable she could get with being stared at for too long.

He never knew where the issue first started with her, but she's had it for as long as he's known her. He respected her and looked away whenever she got uncomfortable, sometimes not looking directly at her at all when he knew if she was stressed or something else along those lines.

"How's the nightmares?" he asked randomly.

She raised an eyebrow and avoided eye contact, which was enough of an answer for him.

He sighed. "Have you tried taking the medication?" he tried again.

She nodded. "Worked the first time," she said. "After that, the nightmares were back."

He frowned. Due to Suzume helping out on cases whenever she could, she was prone to having nightmares about the victims and the perpetrators, and sometimes even about her friends and family getting injured or killed because of her. It was one of the reasons why she was such an insomniac.

"Don't push yourself too much today," he requested softly. "Take it easy and try not to take on any cases."

Just as he said that Suzume's phone buzzed in her pocket.

"...500 yen, that's the police?"

"I'm not taking that bet," Suzume shook her head with a snort, pulling out her phone. Her eyes widened. "You would have lost."

"Seriously?" He blinked at her, looking over her shoulder to look at her phone screen. His face went blank as he read the message, giving the teenager a look. "How the hell did he get your number?"

She just sighed, hanging her head.

~ — — — ~

"How'd he manage to get the number from you?" the amused woman asked with a smirk, tilting her head.