Prelude: Another Day

The sound of a motorcycle roaring outside their home made him smile. Matt sat on the couch, cigarette in his mouth and game in his hand, setting it down and removing the cigarette before blowing smoke in the air. Rats. His girlfriend would chew him out for smoking again –

“Do we have dinner – and why the hell does it smell like nicotine?” the ginger could hear the exasperation in her voice and he quickly disposed of the cigarette, A removing her coat and hanging it by the door. A warm pair of arms wrapped around him, and after she kissed his cheek, she frowned and gave his cheek a poke.

“Sorry, darling. Couldn’t help it…Matsumoto was being hard today. There’s dinner on the table, I made some pasta for us.” She walked to the kitchen to get some, and Matt switched the channel from comedy central to the news. When he heard her coming back, he moved for her and she sat down, setting her glass of OJ on the glass table. Once he heard her start to eat, he began.

“Too much work, I swear. Even I admit, I need a break. He made me do a lot, and…” he bit his lip, “You don’t have to do that.”

She shrugged, having just set her plate down and put her hands on his shoulders. “I want to.”

“Okay. So he,” he sucked in a breath once she started massaging, “is being a big prick. Doesn’t know the meaning of rest. I’ve been running on less sleep, and – please continue, darling – his solution for that is to chug down a mug of coffee or two and continue. Bloody hell. It makes me want to tear my hair out.”

“Can you ask him to bog off a little?” that made him chuckle.

“I’d lose my job if I did. We’re friends, yeah, and we joke around…but this month hasn’t been good for him. Stocks going down a bit. He’s trying to get it back up. You might have noticed the lack of Gatsby-esque parties.” She nodded, and he made a little noise when she got to the more tense areas. “Enough about me. It’s nothing. What happened with you?”

“Finished the report on the last case, pretty much. I had to organize some files, though. They’re a mess.” She held back a shudder and worked on his back, “From 2010 to 2014. If they don’t get someone good sometime soon, I might have to file them myself. I hope I get paid double,” she added, and he grinned.

“You deserve it – and should eat.” She finished up and he kissed her cheek, watching as she picked up her plate and continued eating. “Does it taste good? Tried new spices, lessened the pepper because I know you hate it – and that you like white sauce more than red.”

“You’re sweet.” She smirked and took a sip, “I prefer salty more than sour or whatever.”

“So, more salt?”

“Nah. This is just right.” 

A turned her attention to the TV and frowned, Matt wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she watched. “I had an interesting discussion with Touta and Peters a while ago…want to hear about it?”

“I’d love to.”

“Okay. So Wammy’s didn’t really raise us on religion, so this is a matter of personal belief.” He nodded, “You know the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“I do – there was a movie about that, I think.”

“Right. So you’ve got your sins, you’ve got the whole word at your fingertips and all the wrongdoings that come out of it…of the seven, which is the worst?”

This made him pause.

“The root of sin?”

“You can look at it that way, yes.”

He closed his eyes, thinking deeply. “All of them are as bad, babe, and as interrelated as the next one. Like the virtues, but they inspire goodness instead of evil. However, since you are asking me about the worst one – in my own personal opinion, that is – I’d have to go with envy.”

She nodded slowly, and he explained. “Envy is a terrible thing, love. It corrupts the best of us. It’s probably second to wrath or pride. When people get that envy, when they really don’t feel satisfied…they’ll stop at nothing to get it. You’ll constantly combat with others just to get it, and it’s never going to stop. At all. So when you’re dissatisfied…you take and take. Greed or gluttony overcomes. Your ego inflates.” A wry smile came to his lips. “Happy?”

“Very.” She put her plate back and planted kisses all over his jaw, giving a soft sigh. “You know how much I love conversations like these.”

“The intellectually stimulating. They have a term for those.”

“Sapiosexual.”

“Mm.” and he kissed her again, this time on her lips, making her flush with joy. “Aren’t I intelligent enough for you.”

“We are of equal intelligence,” she breathed after pulling away, “And of equal exhaustion. I’ll wash dishes and head on to sleep.”

“No.” he stood up, taking the used plate and glass, “I’ll do it for you. You should change and sleep, I’ll handle the washing.”

“Are you sure–”

“Darling, you gave me a massage.” His blue eyes twinkled at her. “Now go. I’ll cuddle with in a few minutes.”

She eventually relented. Matt frequently washed anyway, so there was no point in complaining. A had changed and climbed into bed, hearing him lock the door and soon walking inside, closing the door and soon hugging her from behind, smiling and kissing her jaw down to her neck.

“You work yourself too hard.”

“So do you,” she reminded him.

“I’ll tell him to lay off.” A’s eyes grew heavy and she cuddled into him, his own eyes growing soft at the sight of her. “Rest, love. You need the sleep.”

A soft kiss on the forehead sent her away.