Mutual Worry: A TGSC Short

Coffee Shop

Tokyo, Japan

August 2015

“Do you think we’re better friends?”

“I can tolerate you more, if that’s what you’re wondering,” A laughed. She took a long sip from her coffee and exhaled, “What’s with this, Peters? You’ve been weird the entire day,” she said, quirking a brow at him. Across her, the American flashed a grin and stretched. The two of them had chosen to have a small session at the local coffee shop; A had brought her laptop and Peters had his tablet. They would talk and work on their other matters, exchanging ideas back and forth.

On some days, they would talk about work and nothing but work. On other days, one of them would go personal and the other would listen. On the rare few, both of them would end up sharing with each other. It was an odd arrangement, granted that they had started off roughly with each other, but they managed and were able to make their friendship work.

“Don’t assume anything.”

“I’m not. I’m just asking.”

“Well…” Peters cut his cinnamon roll and eventually set down the utensils, “It just came to mind and all. How Squad Alpha was able to come up and all that shit,” he shrugged, “Seeing as it’s been what – three years?”

“…it’s really been a long time.”

Personality Tests: Arianne Maxwell

Inspired by: [x]

Worth: A TGSC Short

Mack's Apartment

Tokyo, Japan

August 2015

9:42 PM

"This is fucking bullshit."

"Aren't you supposed to be used to this?" A joked. Mack scowled and A patted his shoulder, setting a steaming cup of green tea down. "What's wrong this time?" 

"I don't know why we always get shitty data and information," he complained. "I can't fucking work with this. This shit is weak and doesn't have anything I can link to any of your theories. They're all so goddamn plausible but no one can fucking prove it because of this shit!" The Englishman gave the small collection of samples a crazed shake. "Shitty data. Shitty samples. Shitty proof–"

 "And maybe shitty theories, too," A interrupted. She crossed her arms, "Mack. Even my theories and Touta's can be wrong. If data can't support it, then it's okay. We can work with the angle your data supports."

"But that's the thing!" the curly-haired man threw up his hands in frustration, "Data points nowhere! It points to bumfuck nowhere!" A tried not to laugh at his rants, pressing her lips tightly together. "You – why the hell are you laughing, woman? This is a case!"

"You're usually so calm and collected, Mack," she explained after letting a few laughs pass her lips. "You're the only person who I know remains calm after a pot of coffee, instead of turning into a twitchy piece of shit like myself or Peters." Mack made a face.

Morality Alignment: Lawful Good

"A lawful good character will keep her word if she gives it and will never lie." 

inspired by: [x]

Empathy: A TGSC Short

Edogawa

Tokyo, Japan
August 2015

“This is horrible,” A muttered.

“It really is.” Touta and A watched as the rest of their assigned group apprehended and dragged the criminals to the car. To the side was an ambulance about to take off back to the hospital. It had been one of their usual nights out – assigned on a sudden scene, taking part, and then watching as the events died down from there.

One of their co-workers caught Touta’s eye and made a gesture. The Japanese blinked and looked to where the other had pointed, and he immediately grabbed A’s hand in response. She blinked. “Touta?”

“Come with me,” he urged. A could only nod as he brought her to a bench, where a small child sat wrapped in a blanket and hugging her knees. One of the attending nurses was trying to coax her into talk. Touta tapped her shoulder and upon seeing him, launched into talk which A strained to understand.

She could see how the twosome’s facial expressions and body language worked, however. The young nurse looked tired, almost sheepish. Her hands moved jerkily and she kept glancing at the small child, and A caught a few stumbles and stammers in her voice. From the looks and sounds of it, she was fairly new and didn’t quite know what to do.

Touta’s brow was quirked and his voice was low, calm. She could tell that it was his ‘calming’ voice. He tended to use that whenever speaking to someone either stressed or panicked; it usually worked in his favor. He seemed to coax the nurse into telling what was wrong, to which the other did. His face melted into one of concern upon hearing what the young lady had to say.

Character Graphics: Arianne Maxwell

"I have to be strong."
i can't break in front of them

Stress Relief: A TGSC Short

HQ – Fitness Floor
Tokyo, Japan
August 2015

“Your form is tenser than usual. Locked around the shoulder area,” Peters noted. He approached A and gently adjusted her figure to the right form, “There. What’s been eating you lately?”

“Work. You know how it gets,” she replied. Peters studied her before asking her to form a punch, which she did. He moved her arm to the right angle, “Too high?”

“Too stiff. You need to relax or you’ll end up splitting your arm and not your opponent’s face,” the other man explained. She gave a huff and nodded, attempting to relax her arm the best way she could. “You never had trouble with simple positioning, A.”

“I know. Shit, right?” she relaxed and stretched, Peters flexing his fingers before starting to stretch his arms in preparation for the next exercise. “When work gets too much, I get tense. Really goddamn tense. Particularly around the shoulder, back, and arm area,” she told him. “Getting massages is a pain in the wallet so I try to calm myself down. But that never really happens.”

“Hence the stiffness.”

“Yeah.” A took a swig from her water bottle, “I thought doing sports would somehow able to lessen the stress.”

“It does if you do it right.” She made a face at him and Peters chuckled, moving into position onto the mat. “Come on. Let’s try that again.”

He attempted to guide her into a quick and easy spar, which A ended up following. Throughout the duration of it, he noticed that she really was tenser than usual – her limbs wouldn’t be as flexible, she’d cringe a little more when throwing a punch – it was like her body wasn’t able to get all the heaviness of work completely out.

They stopped roughly twenty minutes later and A was wiping the sweat off her brow, panting. Peters hardly looked exhausted.

“Tell me something. Is this mental or physical?”

“What?”

“Your stress. Is it mental or physical?”

Quiet Company: A TGSC Short

Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
August 2015

“Are you and A mad at each other or something?”

“What?” Mack looked up at Peters, who was holding two mugs. “What – no, no. We’re not mad. Why? Is she mad?”

“Nah, man.” The American set down the first mug on Mack’s coaster, “Touta and I just noticed after passing by the office yesterday. Or was it the coffee shop?”

“Coffee shop,” Mack replied. He glanced into the microscope and scribbled something on the paper to his left, “A and I were in the coffee shop and we were just hanging out while we could. It was the only time we were free. You and Touta were out rounding someone up, I think.”

“Yeah. And then we got there,” Peters took a drink from his mug of coffee, “Well. We passed there. But we saw you and A doing your own shit. A was busy on her laptop while you were reading your biochemistry books while also reading the shit for the investigation. You were ignoring each other. Touta was about to come in and ask if you two were arguing.”

Mack blinked and thought to the previous day; upon remembering, he merely laughed and shook his head slowly. “Okay. I think I know what you’re talking about. See,” he closed the notebook and set down the pen, “A and I just need…time off sometimes. And we understand each other’s mutual need for peace. So every week or two, we go out and do our shit while not minding the other. It’s something we agreed on doing,” he explained.

At that, Peters looked relieved. “Shit, okay. That makes sense.”

Deep Breath: A TGSC Short

Yamada Warehouse
Tokyo, Japan
October 2012

That was the thing: no one knew.

No one knew why A had stilled completely in front of the burning building or why her eyes widened and her form went slack. No one knew why the agent who was capable of shooting a man and interrogating a criminal had suddenly lost all nerve at the sight of flame licking a building to ash. No one knew why she just stared at the sight, fists trembling as she balled them tightly.

When Peters slowly put a hand on her shoulder, it was like he had broken a trance. “Earth to A – what’s going on with you?”

“I – shit, it’s nothing. We need to check the building,” she answered hastily. A blinked and straightened her form, “Has someone called the fire department?”

“They’re on their way,” one of the nearby agents replied. She nodded and made a signal with her fingers to move forward, but even from afar Touta could see the tenseness return to her form and how she swallowed nervously.

“Let’s go.”

Someone had set the building on fire to cover their tracks – based on reports; the person or group had allegedly stored something (illegal) inside. What they had to do was attempt to collect the materials and at the same, apprehend the people involved.

“What do you think it is?” Peters asked. He had his gun out and was cautiously looking around him. Beside the American, Touta kept his eyes on A, who was looking as well yet keeping her distance from the flame even though they were many feet away from it. “T?”

Doubt: An OTP Short

Matt and A’s Home
Tokyo, Japan
July 2015

“You keep exhausting yourself over work.”

“I can’t help it.” Green eyes gazed tiredly at the screen of the laptop, “At this point, it’s practically part of the job description to obsess over work and take it home.” Matt gave a quiet sigh and squeezed her shoulder; A bit her lip. “Sorry…I know you wanted to go out today and watch a movie, but the report can’t wait and Touta needs it by tomorrow so he can present on Monday,” she rambled.

Matt pressed a kiss against the woman’s temple. “Don’t worry about it. We can always move our date to next week.”

“Not tomorrow?”

“You’re going to be tired tomorrow,” he said gently. “It’s already eleven, A. Knowing you, you’re going to end up waking up early because of work stress.” She looked away and Matt then proceeded to ruffle her hair. “Don’t stress on it too much, alright? Get that done and come to bed. Can’t afford to have my girl miss out on some cuddling.” That made her smile a bit and she nodded, going back to her typing quickly. Matt watched for a few more seconds before leaving, kicking off his shoes and taking his place on the left side of the bed.

Taking out his phone, Matt watched her occasionally while texting. Kenichi updated him on the week’s plans (another goddamn meeting with Sakahibara, when were they going to give up?) and what they had to accomplish. Kenichi eventually ended the conversation, asking for him to send his greetings to his girlfriend.

A little past midnight, he heard her shut down the laptop and close it with a tired sigh. His ears perked, “Are you finished?”

“Finished and exhausted.” A mumbled. The ginger watched as she got up, soon walking to the bed with a defeated expression on her face. “I’m tired.”

“Do you want to sleep early tonight?” he offered. “We can skip out. I’m fine with that.”

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. What’s wrong?” A stayed quiet and climbed into the bed, “Did something happen at HQ? Something go wrong?”

“It’s just an energy crash.” She slid under the covers and pulled them over her head, Matt watching with a semi-worried expression. “Another…another crash. I’ll be alright.”

Stranded: A Squad Alpha Short

Matt and A’s Home
Tokyo, Japan
July 2015

7:42PM

“Coming out was a terrible idea.”

“Aren’t you comfortable in your own sexuality?”

“Fucking sod off,” Mack groaned. “I didn’t mean it like that. By that, I mean deciding to drive all the way to A’s was a terrible idea. Because look – none of us can go out because of the shite weather.” At that, the twosome’s eyes glanced at the windows. The outside was drenched – the rains suddenly decided to crash hard, and even from the inside they could hear the intense fall of rain. Peters, who was merely messing with the available game console, shrugged.

“Doesn’t really matter to me. It’s not like A’s place is some kind of abandoned warehouse or something, we’ll survive here.” At that, Mack sighed and glanced at his phone. There was still no response from Jian, who chose to overtime at the Keiji on that night.

“If you say so.”

In the kitchen was A and Touta, A talking quietly on her phone while Touta prepared hot drinks for the four of them. He listened her speak to Matt and set the four mugs on a tray, waiting for her to finish before moving back into the living room. “Stay safe, love,” she murmured. “I think it’s best if you stay with Kenichi over there first.”

“I know. What a pain in the ass. Is your squad there?”

“Mhm. They came over since it’s holiday and they didn’t really have anything much to do, but the rains decided to bitch on us,” she explained.

“Ahh. That’s alright – we’ve got enough blankets in case they need to stay the night.” This made her smile and they talked for a minute more until A got off the phone, tucking the mobile device into her pocket. Touta gave a smile.

“Matt stranded, too?”

“Apparently so…he’s got Kenichi as company, though, and they’re still at the office. Kenichi isn’t sure if the rain’s going to let out.” She took her mint green mug and took a sip, the warm coffee making her feel a tinge better. “Thanks, T – you still know how I take my coffee.”

Impulse: A Relationship Short

Hospital
Tokyo, Japan
June 2015
(Matsumoto, Kenichi)

“You are such a fucking idiot.”

“You’re welcome,” Matt croaked. Kenichi rolled his eyes at him and folded his arms over his chest. “Ow, shit – did they get him? I hope they got him,” the ginger managed as his nerves began to cooperate again. “And that you didn’t get yourself get banged up like the first time.”

“Yes, well – we’ve clearly changed positions this time,” Kenichi grumbled. It took Matt a number of seconds to focus on Kenichi’s face. The businessman had a few scratches and a healing bruise, nothing too bad. He briefly remembered pushing him away before the big, searing pain in his chest. “Don’t be so reckless next time. You know we swore to clean up our act.”

“Can’t exactly clean it up if you’re dead, can you?” he gave Matt a hard look and the ginger glanced away. “Instinct, asshole. I’ve been doing this for a few years and you expect me to get used to not being that guy who guards your ass all day?”

“Yes, I do expect that!” the other snapped, “I’m not the only one you’re guarding, Matt. You’re my right hand, not my shot or my conman. We’re better than that. You’re better than that. Don’t argue,” Kenichi added with a glare. “We agreed, remember? No more shady deals in the underground or using you as a meat shield. Those times are over.” He stood up and straightened his tie, proceeding to look away from him. “You’re getting time off.”

“The company–”

“The company can live without you for the next few weeks or month.” At the other’s offended look, Kenichi rolled his eyes. “Get over it. I’m not having you bleed all over your table and the carpet. I just got it cleaned.”

Aesthetic Closer: Death Note AU

"Just a bunch of people who want to change the world."

Character Aesthetics: Arianne Maxwell

"You can't take me down."

Appetite: An OTP Short (2/2)

Matt and A’s House
Tokyo, Japan
April 2015

“Sweetheart…can we talk?”

A felt his hand squeezing hers, yet she didn’t squeeze back. Not yet. A didn’t want to squeeze his hand. All he would do was reassure her things would be okay, then leave the room and bring her something to eat in hopes that she would consume anything. Just the mere thought of Matt’s Hayashi rice made her stomach twist uncomfortably.

“…what do you want to talk about?”

“It’s about you. You know. Your eating habits,” he admitted. “I want you to tell me, A – do you want me to try something else? I understand that eating Japanese all the time can get tiring because we live in fucking Tokyo. Or does my cooking suck now?”

She muttered something.

“What?”

“It’s…not your cooking,” A repeated. “It definitely isn’t. If it was, I’d be eating more than I have been, right?” she joked. But even that was enough to make him frown, and A gave a defeated sigh. “You already know, Matt. You already know – why ask me what’s wrong if you already know what it is?”

“Because I don’t want to assume.”

“Assuming. Okay.” She sat up straighter and pulled her hand away from his, a few fingers running through her hair. “You know how I was a few years ago…”

He did.

Appetite: An OTP Short (1/2)

Matt and A’s House
Tokyo, Japan
April 2015

After a few years of living with his girlfriend, Matt wasn’t quite sure how A had been able to fend for herself. She had told him before that in the beginning, Touta would be there to do the cooking for her. He’d cooked a storm, stocking her fridge to the brim and telling her to just microwave the other dishes. His own homemade sushi could be eaten cold.

It had been that way for a few months, she explained to him over a dinner of delivered pizza and wine. Finally, A grew tired of having to rely on Touta and purchased a few cookbooks for her to try out. It took her a long time to reassure the older man, but he soon relented. The food stopped.

Her first cooking attempt was a disaster.

In other words, the dish she had made (katsudon) wasn’t exactly the most edible. The pork wasn’t cooked well, the egg wasn’t great, and the rice turned out to be overcooked. A had felt a pang of guilt when thinking of throwing it out and attempted to remedy it through cooking it again. However, that nearly caused the kitchen to burn down.

(The katsudon was burned to a crisp.)

Not wanting to be a burden to Touta, she instead drove to the nearest grocery store and bought foods ranging from cereals to packs of instant noodles. Bottles of water, cartons of milk, and different vegetables as well as salad dressings filled the shopping cart. A bottle or two of cheap wine was thrown in. Fruits joined the mix. She avoided looking the cashier in the eye upon paying.

With that, A lived on ridiculously simple meals. She would toss vegetables together and make her own salad. She would blend fruits together and create decent-tasting smoothies. Empty packs of instant meals filled the trash.

Somehow, she managed to survive.

Ephiphany: A Friendship Short

Matsumoto Residence
Tokyo, Japan
May 2014

“A plays well.”

“She does,” Matt agreed. The guests had gathered around to hear a woman playing on the piano, watching in both awe and surprise as her fingers flew off the keys. “She was nervous about playing tonight, you know. It’s been a long time since she’s played the piano and actually immersed into it.” Kenichi glanced at Matt, taking note of the proud smile which came onto his face.

“When was the last time?”

“England.” Kenichi mouthed a soft oh and nodded to himself. “That’s always been her special talent. Even before she was known as one of the smartest. There were skilled painters, skilled athletes, geniuses…and there was A, who adored the piano. She told me that her mum taught her the basics when she was younger. She’s been hooked ever since.”

“You told me that she has a marvelous voice too.” At that, Matt’s smile grew a little bigger. “Very?”

“Very. She can carry a tune and she can bloody well sing. If she didn’t work for the police, then I bet she’d be making it in the music industry,” he mused quietly. Both men fell quiet as A continued playing, Kenichi recognizing the tune as Yiruma’s Love Me. “She’s been practicing.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She’s been trying out different pianists until she came across that one. It’s her favorite to play now.” Matt explained, watching as his girlfriend became one with the music. “That and a few others. We might be able to hear them later if she wants to keep playing.”

“With that skill, she can take the stage for the whole evening,” Kenichi chuckled. This made Matt smile more and the Japanese took a sip from his glass, humming the tune of the song quietly to himself. “She has wonderful taste.”

“That she does.” Silence fell between them again, but it wasn’t as comfortable any longer. Matt gained the impression that Kenichi wanted to talk and cleared his throat, taking a new bottle of beer from a passing waiter. “Do you want to talk?”

Skeletons in the Closet: A Friendship Short

Matsumoto Residence
Tokyo, Japan
May 2014

“Are you enjoying yourself, A?”

“Definitely,” the woman replied. She took a sip from her glass of champagne, “You always pull out all the stops to make your parties as amazing as possible,” she complimented him, glancing at the rest of the guests as they interacted. Kenichi gave his trademark smirk.

“Of course. Anything for my guests, friends and associates.” Kenichi stopped a wandering waiter and took a bottle of beer, “Would you like some more champagne, A?” the black-haired lady nodded and the waiter poured more into her glass, soon leaving the pair alone. “I’m sorry for taking Matt away. He didn’t want to leave you, but he’s the best negotiator I’ve got.”

With that, both of them looked towards the corner of the room, where the ginger was chatting up a young businessman in a suit. By the looks of it, the meeting was going well – Matt seemed to be hitting all the right points, as the other was looking genuinely interested in what Kenichi’s right hand man offered.

“No, it’s alright. He needs to do his job too.” A smiled. Kenichi gave his own smile and both of them stayed silent for a moment, the Japanese then straightening up his figure and fixing his tie. A blinked. “What is it?”

“I’ll ask Matt something for a bit and come back to you,” he promised. She nodded and watched as he walked to Matt, greeting both Matt and the other guest. He whispered something to the ginger, who blinked, looked at A and then gave a short nod before going back to the conversation.

Returning to A, Kenichi offered his arm, his other hand holding on to the beer. “Would you come with me, A? I’d like to talk to you about certain matters.” She blinked and looked at him for a moment, the businessman then giving her a cryptic smile. “Matt knows. I’d just…like to take this somewhere a little more private.”

She took his arm. “Of course. Where would you like to go?”

Ablaze: An OTP Fanmix

and i'll always choose to burn with you

[listen] [download]

YBC Challenge: The Last Day -- Black and White

They completed each other in many different ways.

Matt acted as the heart to her mind; there were times in which the black-haired woman remained too cold and logical when the moment called for her to be considerate. He made sure to somehow ‘melt’ her when she had to be melted, when the ice she used to build walls around herself got too thick. When she started to isolate herself from him and the rest of the world, he managed to take her out and remind her that she wasn’t made to handle things alone.

It went the same for A, who acted as the ice to cool him down when he got too into things. Matt’s irritability could skyrocket if too many things rubbed him the wrong way all at once and she knew that. So when he was about to spit profanities which burned like hellfire, A always made sure to use the right words to calm him down and mellow him out. It worked most of the time – but when his fire was getting harder to control, she had to put her foot down and go ice against flame.

There were times wherein the ice could bring frostbite and the fire could leave nasty burns. Both of them knew that – it couldn’t be perfect hundred percent of the time.

When that happened, either of them had to give.

It was usually Matt who regained his senses; the one whose emotions would flare up and then disappear as quickly as they came. Due to this, it was him who tried to defrost A when both of them had an argument or a fight.

Cold reason and a passionate heart were never thought of to work out. People usually thought that the cold could suffocate and the passion would burn too deep and burn out. But the two of them proved wrong, showing that it could be beneficial instead of painful; something that was worth negotiating over and trying for.

Fire and ice.

Light and dark.