𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

☑ ᵖᵃʳᵗⁱᶜⁱᵖᵃᵗᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵃ ᶠᵉᵗᵉ

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｓｉｘｔｅｅｎ

♟

The timid orange-yellow hued lights of the resting sun stroked the untouched surface of the earth's ground. It was almost thirty minutes after 5 in the afternoon and the streets of Japan has never been this busy.

A certain young woman picked her pace up since she has something that she needs to submit in the police department's office. She received some greetings from the staffs that knew her to which she all responded with a giddy wave. Daisuke wasn't able to go to the department today due to the fact that something very important came up that's why it was (Y/N)'s responsibility to leave the case reports for the day in his desk.

Her hands clutched on the knob before turning it for her to get inside the headquarters. A view of red, pink and white themed cutouts evaded every part of the room. The girl blinked her eyes to process what was happening but later on shrugged it off. She shifted her sight from left to right to check if someone was in the place but nobody was present. It was really understandable since it was past the working hours. 

She placed her bag on the table and took out the folders that Daisuke instructed her to pass, putting it on his desk afterwards. A satisfied sigh crawled out its way of her slightly chapped lips because her work for the day is finally done.

Just as she was about to exit the place, a sudden realization hit her. By the looks of the poorly made cut-outs and hanging worn-out disco ball, the department must have held an event earlier; and when there's an event, food is definitely involved.

A mischievous grin was sewn in her face as she turned her heels away from the door and strained her sight on the snack lobby. Although she's not an employee here nor is she a part of the police department, she still has the rights to feast on the food because eating is legit her life-long hobby.

She tiptoed her way to the lobby, occasionally checking if there was some kind of a CCTV or spy cam that would immediately grant her a free vacation in prison. Her feet continued to bring her to the room and finally she saw a long table where half-eaten pastries and opened packs of large-sized junk foods were present. 

(Y/N) mentally screamed in pure bliss as she approached the unattended station of food. Even if people might judge her for eating leftovers, no one is still gonna stop her from getting her hands on the mouthwatering treats as long as it's free.

Her eyes scanned for any glucose-free bonbons and to her luck, she found some. Her fingers wrapped around a can of sugarless whipped cream, spraying an enormous portion in her mouth. She gobbled on the creamy fondant as she started to form  a beard out of the cream on her chin, looking like a sleep-deprived Santa Claus later on.

While she immersed herself to the food haven that she cornered herself with, she never noticed a certain joy-wrecker lurking behind her. 

Haru, who was just abruptly interrupted in his bathroom session because of a loud ruckus in the snack lobby, checked on the source of the sound. A scowl was formed in his face after observing that it was none other than the real-life Swiper, also known for her name (L/N) (Y/N).

He grabbed the nearest plant spray bottle filled with water and made his way to the female without letting her know. As he was just a feet away from her, he abruptly sprayed the back of her hair.

The (h/c) haired girl jolted from the sudden sensation of water dripping on the back of her neck before hissing like a scared cat. She turned around to see who did the certain action, only to be dismayed by seeing the brunette.

"Sup." Haru raised his eyebrow in disbelief with the simplicity of her greeting, him placing the sprayer on the table afterwards.

"What do you mean Sup? You infiltrated the inner room of the division without any permission. You could've get in trouble if someone else caught you. What if I wasn't-"

"But it was you who caught me, right? And I wasn't harmed. End of discussion." (Y/N) smiled childishly while ruffling the male's fluffy hair. A sigh slipped out his throat as he calmed his self with her reassurance. He pursed his lips before sitting on the chair placed conveniently near him.

(Y/N) grabbed a bitten kebab and shove it in her face, sitting on the ground beside the boy since she was still very lazy to get a chair from the other side of the room. She rested her cheek on the brunette's lap as she continued to chew on the food.

Haru panicked internally while witnessing the girl's act. He wanted to excuse his self and move his lap away but he doesn't have the heart to disturb her comfortable eating. All he could do was to awkwardly clear his throat and strain his eyes in front of him.

"Hey, I noticed your office getting even more cringey with those hanging heart cutouts. What's up with that?" Without disregarding her resting position on his lap, she asked the male out of nowhere.

"Oh uh.. we had Cupid Conundrum today. The department holds various shenanigans in a random day every year to have some kind of a group bonding and this year, that theme is what the committee agreed on." He straightforwardly answered, aiming to make the slightest movement to avoid disrupting the young woman.

"What is it about?" Haru tensed after sensing the girl's interest towards the topic that they were talking about.

"Well.. we were given a chance to give flowers to a certain person that we consider as special."

(Y/N) is now resting her chin on his lap as she looked up at him with a teasing smile. The brunette tried to ignore her playful grin while attempting to keep in the embarrassment that was bubbling deep within him.

"Sooo? How did my little boy do?" He rolled his eyes on the nickname given to him by the young woman, observing her scrunching her nose like a lunatic.

"I...I already gave mine.. but.. but I wasn't... I wasn't able to see her reaction when she received it." The timid male struggled to cover up his flustered expression by bashfully scratching his cheeks, his golden hued orbs looking at almost every direction.

"Don't worry! I'm pretty sure she's very happy to receive flowers, especially that it came from you." The (h/c) haired girl teasingly winked, her sight never leaving his eyes that was gazing at her as well. 

Haru's embarrassed reaction was still clear as he etched a small genuine smile in his lips. He shakily extended his arm towards the young woman that still has her chin resting on his lap before patting the top of her head ever so gently, earning a satisfied close-eyed beam from her.

"I.. I sure hope so.."

•••

(Y/N) thanked the cab driver as she handed him the payment, setting her feet out of the vehicle and stepping unto her yard afterwards. A relieved sigh shot out of her while she checked the contents of her paper bag.

She grabbed ahold of the small pack of pellets for her beloved pet, aiming to surprise it as she enters her house. Ever since that incident in one of the buildings of the Kambe's happened, she started training Melvin on how to survive on being alone at home when it's time for her work and it was quite successful; as long as she reassures that she readies a lot of food and water for it.

As she approached her front door, a certain object immediately caught her sight. Her tantalizing (e/c) orbs blinked in surprise after witnessing a basket of breathtaking carnations and tulips. She crouched down to inspect on it, her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"What in the world?"