#Kamal even waited until he knew Boris would be heading home to tell him you were there

[sapphire-strikes]

Could your write something about Boris trying to cheer up a FK who just isn't having it. They're in the middle of working on something and keep politely brushing him off when he tries anything despite obviously being very tired and fed up with whatever they're focusing on. (Perhaps with a guest appearance by tickle monster Boris to help them come around?)

Just a whole bunch of fluff.

Kamal: {Hey, bud, you home yet?}

Boris: {Nopey nope! I was just closing up shop! :-D }

Kamal: {Alright, just thought I'd tell you the kid is gonna be there when you get back. Their wi-fi's down so they asked if they could come over and use ours}

Boris: {That is great news thank you, Kamal!}

Kamal: {I'm assuming you don't mean great that their internet's down, lol}

{I'm sure you're happy to have them over but they're there to work on something so try not to distract them too much okay?}

{...}

{Boris?}

{Boris!}

{Well it's not like I didn't try}

Quickly tucking away his phone, Boris made haste to finish his closing duties. You'd mentioned not being able to walk him home from the shop today so whatever you were working on must have been the "business" that you had to take care of. It seemed your friendship really was meant to be because even on the days you didn't plan on seeing each other fate found a way to bring you back to him and Kamal; that's what Boris thought to himself at least as he untied his apron and hung it on the rack by the door.

Busy at work or not, it probably wasn't any fun sitting in their home all alone so he was quick to flip the sign to closed and skip out the door.

By the time home was within view he couldn't contain his excitement anymore and dashed to the front door.

You sat crossed legged on the couch, hunched over the laptop that sat in your lap. The sound of the door smacking against the wall as he burst inside made you jump considerably, almost dropping your computer in the process.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

It took you a moment to register who was standing in the door after their sudden entrance but the scared look on your face disappeared when he took a few steps closer.

"Oh hey, Boris." You readjusted your sitting position into something more comfortable after almost jumping off the couch a second ago. "You're good, I wasn't really waiting after all." You mentioned.

He stepped behind you and rested his hands on the back of the couch, bending over a bit to get a better look at what was on your screen.

"I see you are hard at work, yes?"

"Yeah, and I've...still got a good bit to work on. Kamal said it was alright for me to hang out today so I hope I'm not in your way or anything."

"Of course not, it is no trouble at all! We are always happy to have you!" Something about the excited way he spoke told you he didn't really understand your situation.

"That's great, thanks Boris. Don't mind me then." You turned to give him one final grin before focusing back on your laptop.

There was a noticeable moment of silence from Boris as he seemed to be processing that that was the end of the conversation. Unfortunately, he didn't come to any kind of worth while conclusion because his wide smile returned.

"Alrighty! I'm going to go get changed, be back soon!

As promised, it wasn't long before you heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming back down the stairs. Doing your best to keep your eyes focused on your keyboard you finally looked up when you felt someone leer over you.

"What's up?"

"I'm going to go take care of my lilies out back, would you like to come?"

"I'm sorry, Boris, but I'm still going to be at this for a while yet. I'd work at home but that storm last night took out some of the lines by my house."

"Oh..." His face fell for a second "That's all right! Do come out and find me if you find yourself in need of some fresh air!"

"Sure thing, if I can finish up in time I'll be right out", you agreed.

However, an hour passed and you stayed where you were. Somewhere around the 30 minute mark Boris had come back inside, looking noticeably disappointed when he saw you in the same position he'd left you in. But Instead of interrupting you again he busied himself with finishing little things inside the house, all of which happened to be in the livingroom, and you weren't blind to the way he seemed to be constantly looking up from whatever he was doing to see if you were done.

At one point he even feigned reading beside you. You could only assume he was faking it at least, unless he had a preference for reading books upside down. Admittedly, you did feel the slightest bit bad for "ignoring" him but the both of you knew why you were there in the first place.

It really was almost exactly and hour before he seemed to reach his breaking point and you once again felt someone approach you. The next second you were lifted up from behind as Boris moved to sit where you had been just a moment before, placing you back down in front of him.

"Soooo... what are you working on?" He asked, draping his arms over your shoulders and resting his chin on the top of your head.

Letting out a defeated chuckle, you decided to humor him a bit.

"I'm writing an email right now actually."

"Ooh, email!" He clapped his hands together happily. "Who are we emailing?"

"People..." You joked.

"Are they nice people?"

You shrugged, wiggling your hand in a so-so motion then the sound of typing pulled your attention back down to your keyboard.

Boris had reached forward, typing out a :-) at the end of your last paragraph. When you cocked your head up to look at him he just grinned widely, thankfully not taking too much offence when you moved to erase his playful work.

Without another word you turned your attention away from him and hunched back over your laptop, returning to work as if you weren't sitting in the lap of someone else and hoping said person would get the hint that you had other things to focus on.

But as diligent as your efforts to stay focused were, so was the obliviousness of the attention hungry giant behind you and he followed your movement, once again closing the space between your back and his chest has he hunched over you as well, this time wrapping his arms around your midsection and intertwining his fingers for good measure.

This position wasn't actually that bad, if even a bit cozy and part of you hoped he would be content enough to let you work while he watched tv or something. You were gifted a few more minutes of peace but before you were able to fall back into a comfortable state of work, your attention was once again pulled back to Boris as he began drumming his fingers against your stomach and humming quietly.

As though he was waiting for you to acknowledge him; when you finally moved your eyes off your screen he leaned forward and rested his head on your shoulder.

"You need something, bud?" You asked dryly, turning to look at him.

"Oh, not really..." He answered, letting out an exaggerated sigh of boredom and keeping his eyes staring off to the side. It didn't give the effect he was going for though as his face was still squished snugly beside yours and the act only lasted a moment before he was smiling again. "Do you want to watch tv? :-)"

You had to wonder if the exasperated look on your face was really that hard to recognize.

"....No."

"No?"

"No."

"Okee."

After that Boris finally released you, leaning back and tapping his fingers against the arm of the couch.

Despite your almost salty attitude you had to admit you weren't really annoyed with him. In fact the only thing weighing on your mood right now was all the work you still had ahead of you.

Slowly running your hand over your mouth, you let out a long sigh, the stone face you'd been holding finally sinking to a small frown when you weren't paying attention.

Boris leaned forward once again, this time much more slowly, his signature grin replaced with a look of concern as he cocked himself around your shoulder to get a better look at your face.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"I got here a little after 8 this morning." You groaned, rubbing your eyes.

"Oh, that was shortly after I left!"

"Yeah, and now I see why Kamal advised me to wait until after you'd went to work." You whispered with a tired smile, too quiet for him to hear.

"That was quite a few hours ago...aren't you tired?"

"I'm not not tired... BUT!" You continued "It's kind of my own fault for waiting until the last minute to get all my work done, so I'll be okay."

At a much more startling pace this time he reached around you and pulled you back against his chest in a tight hug.

"I think that's long enough for today, don't you? You should take a break! You don't have to go home though, I can make snacks and we can watch a movie!"

You did your best to collect yourself, your shirt ridding up and your hair getting ruffled as he lifted up your torso and snuggled you from behind. You probably looked akin to a stuffed animal being squeezed by a small child.

"Thanks, but I'd really rather get it done today." You managed to wiggle yourself a bit of slack in his grip but as soon as he felt you start to pull away you were squished back against his chest and he gave you an extra tight squeeze as if to send the message that he wasn't ready to let go yet.

The sudden movement shifted your laptop and you lurched forward to reach for it, your fingers coming up just an inch short as it teetered over the edge of your leg. Thankfully, Boris reached for it right on time, slapping it shut and lifting it from its place in front of you.

"Looking at that screen for so long is no good for you anyway... :-(" He commented with a frown, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. The computer almost looked to be the size of a tablet in his large hand.

"Not really my concern right now." You reached for it but on cue he lifted it up out of your reach and despite only hugging you with one arm now, his grip was still unmovable. "Come on, give it back!"

You thought he may have actually been listening when he lowered his arm, only for him to raise it back up out of your reach when you moved to grab it.

"Ой, так близко!"

The audacity of that little tease actually surprised you coming from him, but if he was going to play dirty then so could you.

"Boris, give it back or I'm going home." Despite the playfulness in your voice his smug smile vanished and he quickly released both you and your laptop.

"Thank you!" You jumped to your feet proudly, making a show to tuck your laptop under your arm as a sign of victory.

"Ты не весел ..." Boris crossed his arms and pouted, slouching down into the couch as you moved to sit on the other side from him.

You felt his gaze linger on you for a while, then felt the couch shift as he moved to sit facing you on his knees. "Может, мы сможем это изменить?"

Still feeling contented with yourself, you refused to look up at him, he was probably making some kind of stupid face in an attempt to make you smile. After a moment he scooted closer and you finally gave in.

"Yes, Boris?"

He didn't respond, staring at you with the biggest grin. It was like he expected you to know what he ...oh.

"Boris, I know what you're thinking but not right now." You quickly pulled your feet up off the ground and held you legs close to yourself. While you knew you'd have a better chance of getting away if you ran now, you knew playing into it right away would erase any chance you had of talking yourself out of your current situation.

Your acknowledgement of the situation only seemed to make him smile wider as he leaned closer to you.

"Boris, I'm serious I have work to do." Your serious composure failed you and you scrambled backwards as he got closer, almost falling off the arm of the couch as you leaped over it. "We can hang out once I'm done, I promise."

"Hmmm.." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Nah, I think..." He leaped over the back of the couch, getting closer each time you moved away. "I think I want to see you smile!"

With that final statement he rushed forward, arms extended and just barely missed you as you jumped to the side.

The two of you ended up running in circles around the couch. Boris held his arms out, staring you down when you came to a momentary stand still on either sides of the couch, ready to move in whatever direction you would and cut you off.

"Boris, stop this right now, I'm not in the mood!" You were doing your best to sound serious but the giggles of anticipation seeped through.

"You will be once I put some butterflies in your tummy! Come now, do not make this harder than it has to be, you'll feel right as rain after a good giggle~" His teasing voice sent chills down your spine and the nervous look on your face seemed to be exactly what he was looking for as his smile turned to a more mischievous one as well. A split second later he caught you off guard, climbing over the couch to meet you head on. "The smile doctor is in and you're his first appointment!

Luckily he stumbled a bit on the cushions, giving you a second to change course and break away from the endless cycle of circling the couch.

"Boris, please, I'm too tired for this!" You whined, running towards the kitchen.

"That works out great then! We can take a nap afterwards, it will be so nice!" He stopped in the door way of the kitchen to clasp his hands by his face and smile. He seemed to return to his usual wholesome self, which you preferred to the mischievous one, but what made it worse was the way he spoke like a man who knew he wasn't going to loose. "Now if you would just stop running away. :-("

Your chase in the kitchen was short lived, at one point you even considered running out the back door only to change your mind when you decided you didn't need half the neighborhood to hear you laughing like a madman if he had managed to catch you outside, so you ended up rushing back out into the living room and towards the hall.

On your way there, you noticed Kamal who had just gotten home.

"Hi, Kamal!" You yelled, almost crashing into him. Thinking quickly, you hid behind him as Boris came clamoring back into the living room after you.

"Oh, Hello, Kamal! Y/n and were just in the middle of something." He spoke calmly attempting to circle around Kamal and grab you.

"Don't let me interrupt." Kamal insisted, letting you spin him around with you as you used him as a shield. "Hey, kid, you gonna be able to stay for dinner tonight?"

"No I can't, I've still got work to do and please, please do interrupt!" You begged.

"Yeah, thought so." Kamal shrugged, ducking in unison with you as Boris attempted to reach over him.

This went on for a minute before he turned back to you and smirked "You're gonna have to finish this on your own, kid, I gotta get cookin'." And with that he stepped out from in front of you and headed for the kitchen, leaving you completely exposed.

"I tried to warn ya, little buddy!" He yelled over his shoulder as Boris chased you down the hall.

You knew you were running out of options as the end of the hall wasn't far ahead of you. If you were going to do something you had to do it now or you were a goner. Taking your only other option you skidded to a halt, throwing open the door to your left and running inside, locking it just in time to hear Boris collide with the other side.

While you didn't open the door back up you pressed your ear to it and spoke, worried he may have actually gotten hurt.

"Oh, crap, Boris are you okay?!"

"To think..." He responded quietly.

"To think you'd hide from me in my own dojo!" His volume returned with a happy vigor as he wiggled the knob of his bedroom door. "You can not stay in there forever you know!"

On one hand you were glad he was okay, on the other hand, a little part of you was sad the impact didn't knock him out as he cooed to you though the door. Still, you felt rather satisfied with yourself, the chase usually never lasts long enough for you to find somewhere to hide like this.

"Watch me!" You fired back with a new sense of confidence.

"If you unlock the door...I will give you a-no, two- no...three hugs!"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass." You commented, finally stepping away from the door to look around his room.

"Fine, four hugs, but you have to hug me back! Final offer!" You heard the door squeak as he pressed all his weight up against it and then a sad whine from the other side when you didn't respond.

Actually ignoring him this time, you sat down on the side of his bed, finally giving yourself a second to rest. As much as you hated to admit it, you were almost grateful that you weren't still glued to your laptop. You were really tired, Boris got that much right at least.

Whipping your head around, a heavy thump on the floor behind you had you right back on guard.

Worried that Boris might have somehow found a way in, you jumped to your feet, looking around and finally catching sight of the stack of books that had toppled off of his dresser.

When you realized the truth of the situation you let out a sigh of relief, sitting back down.

"Hi, Pabit."

And just like that the dead eyes of the puppet that was sitting where the books once were lit up as a smile crossed its face.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The little guy finished his journey across the dresser, jumping onto the nightstand and then onto the bed beside you.

"What was with the inanimate act?" You asked, wondering why the puppet hadn't jumped you as soon as you got in.

"I's was waiTin 4 my Q!"

"Ah, of course." You laughed, propping your elbow on your knee and resting your head on your hand.

"What're U doin, Y/n?"

"Hiding from your maker, he thinks I'm in dire need of a good laugh."

"Ooh, R yous twos havin' a tickle fight? Eye wAnt to plaY too!" The puppet exclaimed, bouncing over to hug your side.

"Uh uh, last thing I need is two of you on my back." You cut him off, pulling him off by the scruff of his little jacket and setting him back down beside you.

"You's just like, Karmel; kno fun at alL! EvEn when u jyust kneed a little chyeering up!"

"I don't really need cheering up, I just wanted to get my work done."

"Yes u due, ur sparkle's all fAded..."

"My what?"

"Ur sparkle, dummy!" He jumped up and bonked you on the head, his little felt hand probably not giving the impact he was hoping for.

"Whatever." You rolled your eyes.

"Is that Pabit?" Boris finally spoke up again from outside the door. "Pabit, unlock the door, please!"

"Ah! Don't you dare!" You reached forward catching the puppet before it had successfully jumped off the bed to follow his orders. "Who's side are you on?" You asked, tucking the puppet under your arm to hold it securely.

"Whichever syide gets u 2 smile!" Pabit retorted quickly, pointing to the sides of its face as it demonstrated a big smile.

Just as you were about to chew him out, you saw something black out of the corner of your eye.

The small shadows that were visible from the light shining in under the door stretched into the room without someone to cast them. If you hadn't been used to sights like this by now you might have been terrified as after a moment it formed into a familiar silhouette and picked itself up off the ground.

Unfamiliar though was the scowl he bore as he turned back to normal.

"How did you-"

"That was a nasty little trick to pull, you know, Y/n?" Boris cut you off, taking several long strides towards you.

"I..." You froze, looking down to Pabit for help. He only offered you a sympathetic smile then a sinister looking smirk.

"Yous gonna get it now..."

Quickly dropping him in favor of backing away, you didn't get too far before you backed into the foot of his bed, and before you were given a chance to look for another way out he had already closed the distance between you.

It wasn't too often that you took into consideration just how much bigger Boris was than...well everything. But you were given just enough time to take it in as he stopped right in front of you, still staring down at you with that serious expression and you began to worry that you actually had upset him.

"Boris, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He raised a hand to shush you, lifting an eyebrow.

"You're sorry?!" Crap, his voice was intimidating when he used it right. "The only thing you have to be sorry for..."

"Is for being so darn cu-uute!" You squeaked as you were thrown up into the air and then caught under your arms. Boris held you at arms length, lifting you to his eye level and pulling you closer to rub his nose against yours. "You had me really scared back there, I thought you were going to lock yourself in here aalllll night! Now that wouldn't have been any fun would it? Even with Pabit keeping you company. " Adding on to your disorientation, he spun around with you to face the door. "Let's get going then shall we?"

Halfway out the door it finally registered what just happened; you'd been caught.

"Boris, do not!"

"Don't what? I haven't done anything yet?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled at you innocently. You kicked your legs a bit, knowing full well it wouldn't get you anywhere but still did so out of spite.

"Oh? Are you not comfy? How about this?" He tossed you up one last time, throwing you over his shoulder potato sack style after catching you. "Better?"

"Noho!" You did your best to sound mad with no luck.

Boris managed to make even the walk out to the livingroom interesting; spinning around every other step, jumping up and down with you, letting you go for a second then catching you by the knees before you fell off his shoulder.

By the time the two of you actually made it to the livingroom you were just barely keeping your laugher in just because of the absurdity of the situation.

"Put me down!" You yelled, but there was no masking the smile in your voice.

"If you say so!" He pulled you off of his shoulder fast, catching you in a dip before letting you drop gently onto the couch.

As soon as you were released you turned and tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped as he looped one of his arms around your torso and pulled you back again his chest.

"Deja vu, yes?" He joked. "So..." he started only to stop when you both focused on something at the same time. Your laptop still sat on the coffee table and you turned to glare at him, deciding to be challenging one final time.

"So..." he continued, "Do you want to watch some tv? :-)"

"..."

"..."

"No."

~

"Your laugh is so pretty! Why would you make me wait so long to hear it?" He cooed happily, continuing to try to poke through the ball you'd curdled into on his lap like he had been the last few minutes

"You're so mean!" you managed to whine through your suppressed giggles.

"You are the mean one! I'm just trying to help you relax a little. It will be over quicker if you give in and show me that smile~"

He reached his hands forward, giving both your sides a quick squeeze and making a little roar. "The tickle monster is getting hungry and the hungrier he gets the longer he has to tickle you, you know!"

"Let's see...." He thought to himself, looking you over for a week spot and eventually finding one as he shoved both his hands into the crooks of your neck, causing you to shriek and uncurl yourself.

"Ooh, it worked!" He cheered, taking the opportunity to flip you onto you back, holding you down firmly with one hand and sitting on your legs. "Now we can get to work! Are you ready? Cause here comes the tickle monster!"

He raised his hands up for dramatic effect and lowered them down to your torso quickly with a growl. Before he made contact however he stopped, his wide smile slowly fading as he focused on your face.

Your eyes were squeezed shut and you were holding onto yourself tight. When you didn't feel anything you peaked an eye open to see Boris looking down at you curiously.

"Get it over with!" You said, closing your eyes again and reluctantly lifting your arms up.

"Hmm..."

"'Hmm' what do you mean 'Hmm'?"

"Ooone sec, something's not right..."

"I'd say so!" You sneered, making one final effort to try and squirm out from underneath him but to no avail.

"I know!" He snapped his fingers. "I need you to say 'hi' to someone first!" And just like that he pulled Pabit out from behind himself and once again, it was seemingly out of thin air.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The puppet greeted you once again.

"You little traitor."

"Can't bee a twaitor if I's was nyever on ur syide!" He spoke proudly, resting his hands on what would have been his hips.

"Anyway, "Boris cut in, "there's something really special you need to know about Pabit; he loves to eat smiles, they're his favorite food!

"..."

":-D and yours is just the kind he's been looking for!" Without further explanation the puppet was thrust in front of you, making exaggerated "nom nom nom" sounds as it pretended to chomp on your face.

Part of you would have insisted it was just the fabric tickling your face but you finally started to laugh, if for any reason just because of how silly he was being.

"Yhohu are suuch a dhorork!" You spat out, reaching up to try to push his arm away but it refused to so much as budge.

"Yep, a smile just like that!" Boris cheered you on, finally using his free hand to scribble at your stomach.

Mostly out of reflex, you managed you reach up and pull the puppet off of Boris's arm, realizing your mistake shortly after as Pabit glared down at you from his place in your hands.

"Shoot, I'm sorry-" before you could finish your apology, Pabit reached forward and gripped your face, pulling himself closer and nuzzling your face on his own.

"Eet's okee!"

You soon realized you'd made a mistake for a different reason as Pabit held tight to your face and kept his snuggling up, taking extra care to nuzzle your neck and nose as Boris was given back use of his hand to further scribble your stomach and sides. Their own excited smiles telling you you weren't getting out of this any time soon.

In the kitchen, Kamal jumped, almost dropping his pan at the sudden flurry of laughter that sounded in the next room.

"Eh, they had it comin'." He huffed to himself fondly.

[pedal-mail]

@kiingcorobo got an ask last night for an absolutely beautiful au idea, and through a series of anon, the See No Evil au was made! And,,,,I couldn’t not write something for it. So! Here you go lads! 

TW: Graphic descriptions of violence, murder, lots of mentions of child abuse, there’s a suggestive part, and a really dumb ending.

“Shh...shh, you’re alright now. It’s okay. You are safe. You never have to see her again. You are safe.”

“Th-thank you...thank you!”

“Of course. You never have to see her again Putunia.”

“When are the cops gonna be here?”

“Soon...I have to take you back to my apartment.”

“Why?”

“Cops are very unfair. They might try to make you do things you don’t want to.”

“Oh…”

“Would you like to come with me?”

“You promise I’ll be safe?”

“Yes. Pinkie promise?”

“Pinkie promise.”

***

“Kamal, we’ve got a case for you.” Kamal looked up excitedly from his paperwork. Even something as simple as petty theft would be better than this. His boss put a file on his desk, and he quickly flipped through it. “First degree murder. Some sicko murdered a woman in her home, and her daughter is missing. It’s...it’s pretty safe to assume the kid didn’t make it.” Kamal bit his lip. He felt a little bad about being excited for this.

“Alright. Well...I’ll need to get to the scene of the crime and-”

“Not so fast Bora.” Kamal bristled. It was never a good thing when his boss used his last name. “We’re putting you with a partner for this.”

“What?!?” Kamal yelped, almost falling out of his chair. “I work alone, you know that!”

“Kamal, please. You say it like you’re some lone wolf. We all know you’re just terrified of interacting with new people,” his boss said, chuckling. Kamal frowned, but stood up. 

“Fine. Where are they?” He asked. His boss gestured to him to follow him, and he led his through the station to the front.

Kamal’s eyes widened as he spotted his partner for the case. He was a ridiculously tall man, he looked absolutely cramped in the shitty plastic chairs they had in the lobby. Kamal swallowed. He’d never been the tallest guy, and he was easily intimidated. Well, he was when he wasn’t in the field. His boss led him right over to the guy.

“Boris Habit, meet Kamal Bora. He’s our top investigator.” Kamal held his hand out, and Habit shook it excitedly.

“It is good to meet you Kamal! I look forward to working with you!” He said. Kamal frowned.

“Look, just call me Bora,” he said. Habit’s smile faltered, but he nodded. “So...what exactly do you do?” 

“I’m a dentist!” Habit said, grinning at Kamal. Kamal just stared for a moment, before turning to his boss. 

“You wanna run that by me again?” He asked, sort of to both of them.

“Habit is a forensic odontologist. There were several bite marks at the scene of the crime and on the victim’s body. He can help you out with those.” Kamal nodded and turned back to Habit.

“Well...just don’t get in the way,” Kamal said. He gripped the file tightly and made his way towards the door.

“O-oh! Okay!” Habit said, hopping up to follow him. Kamal’s boss shook his head, but smiled.

“Those two sure are a pair…” he muttered.

***

“Alright, there’s gonna be a lot of blood. Along with bite marks there were also plenty of bash wounds and…” Kamal swallowed. “Oh god. One of her arms was removed with excessive force.” Habit winced and Kamal swallowed again. “Okay...that’s terrifying. I’m gonna have to be very careful when we track down someone…”

“We will have to be careful,” Habit corrected. Kamal frowned. 

“Wait, I thought you were just working from a lab?” He asked. Habit smiled again.

“I will do more of my work from there, but I have also been told to help you in the field! I can tell someone’s dental history from a quick glance, you probably cannot tell a molar from an incisor!” Habit said, chuckling slightly. Kamal frowned.

“Well, I certainly can’t tell someone’s dental history from a mile away, but I know my way around teeth. This isn’t the first case I’ve done that involved them,” he said. Habit nodded absentmindedly.

“Then perhaps you should take care of your own teeth better,” he mumbled. Kamal glared at him as he pulled up in front of the apartment building that was the scene of the crime. 

“Well, coffee and cigarettes does that to you,” he said, before getting out of the car.

He chuckled as he watched Habit struggle to get out of the car. Habit was a big enough guy that even an average sized car like Kamal’s was hard for him to navigate. He watched as Habit tried a couple different angles, before finally managing to pry himself from the car. “Real graceful Habit,” Kamal teased. 

“Yes...thank you,” Habit said. He seemed distracted by the apartment building. “This...this is my building.” Kamal jumped.

“Wait, seriously?” Kamal asked. “Where do you live?”

“Fifth floor, room 506,” Habit replied. Kamal nodded.

“Crime was on the second floor. It makes sense you didn’t know about it in progress. Did you not notice the police on the way out this morning?” The whole apartment building was crawling with police officers. 

“Of course I did! I just...well, this isn’t the nicest neighborhood,” Habit said. Kamal nodded, and started making his way through the police tape. Most of the other cops recognized him, so he just had to explain that Habit was with him before they let them through.

Kamal opened the door to the apartment, 211, and stepped inside. The front room didn’t look so bad, but he immediately smelled something like copper. Habit was right behind him, and he seemed to also smell it. Neither of them said anything as they made their way into the living room. Kamal felt his stomach roil at the sight before him.

A woman was lying face down on the carpeted floor. Almost the entire carpet was stained red, only the tail corners the beige it had originally been. The woman’s arm was lying next to her, completely severed. Not cleanly with a weapon either, jagged and violent with force. Her body was covered in bite marks, all of them large. Kamal took a small step forward, looking around the room.

“Okay. I’m gonna look around the room for evidence. You get to work on the bite marks on the body,” Kamal said. Habit nodded and went over to crouch beside the body. Kamal watched for a moment as he pulled some tools from his pockets, which Kamal hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying. He only watched for a moment, before setting about looking around.

About half the blood had dried, and all of it would have if there hadn’t been so damn much of it. Kamal looked around for potential weapons that could’ve been used, since the body had bash wounds as well. He looked around the room, and his eyes landed on a modern looking brass desk lamp. It was bent slightly. Kamal went over to it and looked it over. The lightbulb was shattered. “Habit, are there any cuts around any of the bash wounds?” He asked. There was a moment of silence before Habit spoke.

“Yes! How did you figure it out?” Habit voice was filled with awe, and Kamal had to force down a smile. 

“The lightbulb in this lamp is shattered, and the lamp itself is bent. Only slightly though, this must be a pretty sturdy thing.” Kamal leaned in to get a closer look at the lamp. “Oh...shit…” he muttered.

“What?” Habit asked, standing. 

“It’s not brass. It’s gold. I...I can’t tell if it’s gold finish or solid gold. Gold finish would be better, and more likely. I hope it’s that…”

“Why does it matter?” Habit asked. Kamal turned to look at him, unamused.

“Have you ever done this before?” He asked. Habit looked nervous for a moment.

“Only once. I usually work for morgues.” Kamal nodded. “And the other guy I worked with wasn’t anywhere near as smart as you.” Kamal tried not to blush.

“Well...thanks…” he muttered. Habit just grinned. “Anything coming with the body?”

“The bite marks are too shallow for a good model of the teeth. But the perpetrator is missing a few teeth on their right side. But...they oddly have more teeth than average,” Habit said. Kamal nodded. 

“At least that’s incredibly specific. Both good and bad.”

“How so?”

“Well, when we find them, there probably won’t be much doubt about if we’re right. But...it’s probably gonna take a while to find them,” Kamal said. Habit nodded. “Did you look at the arm?”

“Excessive force,” Habit said. “Whoever this was, they were very very strong. Possibly inhumanly so.” They both shuddered. “Is there anything else?”

“Well, we’ve got to find out if this is actually gold or not. And...I want to see the little girl’s room,” Kamal said. 

“Little girl?” Habit asked.

“Yeah. The woman’s daughter is missing. She’s...she’s assumed dead.” Kamal shook his head. “But I’m not giving up. She isn’t legally dead until twenty years from now, and even if the odds aren’t good, I’m holding on to that.” Habit nodded.

The two of them looked through the rooms in the apartment. Kamal stepped inside each one and had a quick look around. They stopped in a room that was decorated with tons of cartoon posters and action figures. They both stepped inside and looked around. Kamal looked through the closet, and under the bed. He frowned at what he found under the bed. A little nook filled with toys and a small diary. 

“Oh god...Putunia…” Habit whispered. Kamal stood, the diary in hand, and turned to Habit. Habit was holding a superhero’s mask, running his thumb over it. “Not Putunia…”

“You knew her?” Kamal asked. Habit nodded. “I...I’m sorry.”

“She was so full of energy…”

“She is.” Habit turned to Kamal, and Kamal realized there were tears in his eyes. “Don’t cry. She’s not dead.”

“But-”

“Most people like to look on the down side of things with cases like this. So they can be pleasantly surprised. I’d rather keep my optimism, and then be disappointed,” Kamal said. “Believe what you’d like, but in my books, she isn’t dead til we find a body. Okay?” Habit nodded and smiled slightly, even as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. “I found a diary. I’m guessing it’s hers. Wanna tell me a little about her?”

“Well...she has just turned eight,” Habit said, as the two of them exited the apartment. “She invited me to her birthday party. I didn’t want to interrupt her and her friends though.” He chuckled. “I do not know why she latched onto me so tightly. Perhaps it is because she does not have a father?” Habit shrugged. “All I know is that she was full of energy and always so excited about everything. I...I really hope she’s okay.”

“We’re going to help her Habit,” Kamal said. He reached up and pat Habit’s arm. “We’re gonna help her as best as we can. We’ll find her. I’m sure of it.”

***

“I have looked through all my medical records. I cannot find anyone with teeth who fit the bite mark,” Habit said as he entered Kamal’s office. Kamal nodded.

It’d been two days since they’d looked through the apartment. Kamal hated not being able to do anything, especially when there was a little girl in danger, but he had to give Habit time to go over his medical records. And...apparently, that hadn’t led to anything. “I know doctor patient confidentiality is important, but I believe the police overcome that. We can ask other dentists in the area.” Kamal nodded again. “Are you alright?”

“I read the diary,” he said. Habit nodded. “She...god, I hope she’s alive.”

“She is a sweet girl, yes.”

“No, not just that.” Habit looked at him, confused. “Half the pages had little bloody fingerprints. She wrote about how her ‘mommy’ would hit her or cut her or burn her or…”

“Stop!” Kamal turned to Habit quickly, and found that he was hyperventilating and gripping his hair tightly. “Please, stop!”

“Shit, are you okay?” Kamal hopped up and went to stand in front of Habit. Habit flinched away from him and he took a small step back. “Hey...hey, it’s okay. You’re okay Boris. You’re safe.” He held his hands in front of him. “Can you take my hands?” Habit shakily moved his hands so they were resting on top of Kamal’s. Kamal tried not to blush at how big Habit’s hands were compared to his. “Can you breathe with me?” Habit nodded.

The two of them stood in Kamal’s office, holding hands and breathing together steadily. Kamal watched as Habit’s eyes stopped darting around and he stopped shaking. His breathing evened out in a more natural way, and he slowly gripped Kamal’s hands instead of just putting them limply on top of them. “Feel better?” Habit nodded. “Do...do you wanna talk about it?” Habit shook his head. “Okay...well...there wasn’t anything of any use in the diary. Just...just that stuff. And normal kid stuff.” Habit nodded. “You...can we go ask some other dentists about who we’re after?”

“Y-yes,” Habit muttered, and Kamal relaxed when he realized that Habit was talking again.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

***

Kamal sat in the waiting room of the dentist, his leg bouncing. Around now was when his smoke break was on a paperwork day, so he was a little jittery. He’d learned that Habit had asthma though, and he wasn’t an asshole, so he hadn’t smoked on the job for a few days. It was starting to grate on him, but he could handle it. If anything, it was a good thing. He needed to quit.

Point was, he couldn’t smoke in a dentist’s waiting room. Habit was in the back, explaining the situation. He’d only had to flash his badge to the woman at the desk when he’d entered, and Habit had full clearance to see their medical files. Kamal didn’t understand a word of what it all meant, so he was stuck out here. He kept catching the woman behind the desk staring, and he inwardly groaned. He didn’t need someone hitting on him on top of everything.

“Kamal! We have progress!” Habit said, bursting in from the back. Kamal jumped up and grinned. “Hunter White. He’s missing the appropriate teeth, and while he doesn’t have the excess teeth, it’s only because he got them removed last night. So, he still would have had them at the time of the murder!” Kamal shushed Habit, not wanting to make people waiting afraid by talking loudly about a murder. “We just have to go find his address!” 

“Great job Boris!” Kamal said. They both blushed and looked away when they realized Kamal had used Habit’s first name. “So uh...I can get that for us, and then we can….we can get in there and arrest him!”

***

“You need more proof.” Kamal held back an annoyed groan and nodded at what his boss was saying. “You can’t just arrest because of some dental records that point in that direction. I mean, yeah, it’s sound evidence, and I’m proud of you both for getting it, but it’s not enough to arrest on. You’ve gotta find something else.”

“Can’t we search his place?”

“We don’t even have enough for a warrant.” Kamal really did groan this time. “I know you want to find that girl Kamal, but you can’t just ignore the law.” Kamal nodded. 

“What should we do then?” Habit asked. Kamal grinned as an idea came to mind.

“We could do a stake out,” he suggested. His boss rolled his eyes, but nodded.

“Yeah, I was gonna suggest that. I know how much you love them Kamal, but you’ve gotta stay professional for this,” he said. Kamal nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

***

“Did you bring snacks?” Habit asked, sliding into the car beside Kamal. Kamal chuckled.

“Trust me Boris, if we’re out here for hours, we’re gonna want these.” The first name thing had kind of become normal. “Besides! I figured this could kinda...I dunno, be a chance to get to know each other more?” Kamal rubbed the back of his neck, trying hard not to blush.

He wouldn’t be lying if he said that he’d found Boris pretty attractive the moment he saw him. And then he’d been so kind and sweet about Putunia. And then he’d been vulnerable with Kamal. And then he’d been really smart about the teeth. And then….well. Kamal was interested. Boris just grinned at him though.

“I would like that!” He said. Kamal smiled back, but faltered slightly.

How had he never noticed the missing teeth?

“Okay, well, he’s been spotted at this bar pretty frequently, so we’re starting here. Hopefully we won’t have to follow him for a while,” Kamal said. Boris nodded. They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, before Kamal decided to break the silence. “So...uh...do you like working as a dentist?” Boris hummed.

“Not really.” Kamal turned to look at him fully. “I have always wanted to be a botanist. But my parents wanted me to be a dentist, and I am good at it, so I thought I might as well. I moved up to forensic odontologist because it was at least more interesting than just being a normal dentist.” Kamal nodded. “What about you? Did you see yourself becoming an investigator?”

“Honestly? No.” Kamal chuckled. “When I was a teen I was totally into the whole anarchy thing. And...okay, small world and all, but I always wanted to be a dental assistant.” Boris laughed, and Kamal grinned at him. “But...well, I was no good at it. And I’ve got a pretty deductive mind. So...here we are.”

“Best dentist in New York, and the best investigator in New York. What an odd couple we are…” Boris said. Kamal blushed at the phrasing, but nodded. “Speaking of couples...you have never told me about any of your personal life! Is there someone special?” Boris nudged him with his shoulder, and Kamal laughed. He got quiet after a moment though.

“Um...no. No one, not really. I mean...I have my family but...y’know, that’s it. And I don’t really see them that often anymore. They’ve all got lives and stuff now, y’know?” Kamal said. Boris nodded.

“I am sorry you don’t see them as often as you’d like.” Kamal shrugged. 

“It’s alright. I’ve got cases and paperwork to keep me company,” he said. Boris nodded. “What about you? Anyone special in your life?” 

Boris opened his mouth to say something, before clicking it shut again. He seemed to fumble over his words for almost a whole minute. “You...you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.” Boris shook his head.

“No, sorry, I just...never mind.” He cleared his throat. “There is no one.” Kamal nodded. He remembered the breakdown Habit had had in his office, and decided to not ask about family. They sat in silence for a while, just staring at the bar across the street. “Do...Kamal, do you ever wonder if...if you’re doing what you were put on this earth to be doing?” Kamal turned to look at Boris with a surprised expression.

“Where did that come from?” Boris shrugged. “Well...I’m not a religious man. And I don’t really believe in fate either. So...I don’t think there’s really a specific thing that we’re put on the earth to do. So...I guess I don’t think about that. Sorry, that’s not exactly helpful.” Kamal smiled apologetically at Boris. “You know what I do think?”

“What?”

“I think we make our own purpose to be on this earth. I think we make our own version of what we’re supposed to do,” Kamal said. “I think...as long as you think what you’re doing is what you’re supposed to be doing, then you’re doing just fine.” Boris nodded. “Why? Is...is there something going on?”

“Yes but...it is personal. I am sorry,” Boris said. Kamal put a hand on his arm.

“Don’t be. You’ve only known me for a couple weeks, you don’t have to share your whole life story with me,” Kamal replied. Boris smiled down at him, and Kamal felt his face flush. He removed his arm, and put his eyes back on the bar in front of them. 

Kamal kept glancing at Boris out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t help it, Boris was absolutely gorgeous. His hair looked so soft, and his eyes were so welcoming. His smile was adorable, and even though he had scars on his face, Kamal just wanted to run his fingers along them, or kiss them. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold Boris’s face gently in his hands. At one point when he glanced over, Boris’s eyes were on him. They both quickly looked away, blushing. 

They sat there for hours. Sometimes talking, sometimes not. Brushing fingers against each other, stealing looks. As wonderful and sweet and torturous as it was, Kamal couldn’t help an anxious feeling in his gut. Something about this didn’t feel right. Their perp hadn’t shown up at the bar. This bar, and his apartment, weren’t anywhere close to the scene of the crime. None of this felt right, but he was too distracted by the way Boris’s pinkie was now hooked with his. 

He shook his head. No. He needed to be professional above all else.

“I think we might want to call it a night. This is...the more I think about it, the more I think we may need to go back to the drawing board. Something about this all isn’t right, I-” He was cut off very suddenly by Boris crashing their lips together.

Fuck profesanilsm. 

Kamal gripped Boris’s shirt tightly and kissed him with everything he had. Boris quickly moved his hands so they were resting on Kamal’s hips, and squeezed them tightly. Kamal gasped quietly, and Boris used the opportunity to use some tongue. When Boris pulled away, Kamal was panting.

“How...how close is your place?” Boris asked. Kamal was bright red. 

“Not far,” he answered, and quickly started the car. “Not far at all.”

***

Kamal woke up the next morning with a sour taste in his mouth. Not a real taste, something much worse, something emotional. He quickly hopped out of his bed and got dressed again, dressed for work. There was still a little girl out there who needed him, and he’d spent the night doing something that wasn’t helping anyone.

Still, when he looked over at Boris, who was still fast asleep, he couldn’t say he regretted it. He walked around the bed to brush some of Boris’s hair out of his face. Boris didn’t wake up, just pressed himself against Kamal’s hand. Kamal felt his heart melt, and he knelt down to kiss Boris’s temple. He carefully left the room, and went to go make some coffee.

As the pot was brewing, Kamal noticed something sitting on his kitchen table. A simple manila folder. He picked it up and looked at the label. “Hunter White”. He recognized it as the perp’s medical records. He realized he’d never actually seen them. Boris seemed to always keep them on his person. That’s how they must have ended up here. Even though he was starting to highly doubt this was their man, he still flicked through the pages. He knew how to read dental charts from that short time he had spent in medical school.

And this wasn’t right. 

Hunter White was missing the teeth that had been missing in the bite marks, but he’d never had any extra teeth. They hadn’t been pulled, they were just never there.

“Boris...lied?” Kamal muttered to himself. He felt his heartbeat quicken.

Doing what you’re meant to on this earth...the missing teeth...the odd feel of his mouth the night before...the complete lack of reaction to the dead body despite only doing this once before…it being in his building...faking evidence...

“Oh god…” Kamal whispered. “Boris did it.”

“Shit.” Kamal turned around quickly, and found Boris standing in the doorway. “I...Kamal, please, you have to listen to me, I-”

“Boris…” Kamal felt tears in his eyes, and he tried to fight them off. “No…”

“Kamal, please, you have to listen-”

“What is wrong with you?” Kamal asked. Boris stepped towards him, and he stepped back quickly. “You...you’re sick!”

“She was in danger! I had to help Putunia, she-”

“You ripped that woman’s arm off! Oh god, how the hell did you even do that?!?” 

“Kamal please!” Boris took another step forward, and Kamal thanked his lucky stars that he’d gotten dressed for work, because he pulled out his taser. Boris froze. “Kamal…”

“Boris Habit, you are under arrest,” Kamal said, his voice shaking. “You...you have the right to remain silent.”

“No! Kamal, please!” Tears were streaming down Boris’s face. “You can’t do this to me!”

“Anything you say can be used against you in court.” Kamal stuck to his speech like a mantra, trying to use it like a crutch. “You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning.”

“What I did was right!” Boris screamed. “She was hurting Putunia! I saved that girl’s life!”

“If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish!” Kamal was screaming back now, he couldn’t keep his voice level. “If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time!” 

“I thought you loved me!” Boris yelled. Kamal lowered his taser, and sobbed quietly. 

“I thought I did too,” he whispered. He pulled out his handcuffs. “Are you going to resist arrest?” Boris didn’t answer. Kamal stepped forward and snapped the handcuffs on his wrists.

Boris pulled his arms apart and they snapped in half.

“Holy shit!”

“Kamal…” Boris whispered. “Please, don’t take me in. Her mother was abusive. I was doing the right thing. I was saving her life…”

“Where is she?” Kamal asked. The levelness in his voice was back, and he’d managed to stop crying. His sadness had been replaced with numbing rage. “Where is she Boris?”

“My place…” Kamal nodded. “I...I’m sorry I broke your handcuffs.”

“We’ll have to use zip ties. They’re way comfortable.” Boris nodded.

“I’m sorry…”

Kamal didn’t answer.

***

Kamal opened the door to Boris’s apartment, and carefully stepped in. It looked completely normal, exactly how he expected it to look only a few days ago. But since this morning, he was expecting something very different. 

But it was just...normal. Completely normal. 

 He heard an excited gasp from deeper in the apartment, and soon a little girl came barreling into his chest. He held her tightly, squeezing her.

“Dad! You’re…” when she pulled away from him, her face lost its color. “No...no, no, no!”

“I don’t know what Habit told you about cops, but whatever it was, he’s wrong,” Kamal said. “I’m here to help you.” She struggled to get away from him, but he kept a tight grip on her. 

“No!” She screamed. “No, I don’t want to go with you! Let me go!”

“Habit’s in the car. He wants to see you,” Kamal said, changing tactics. The girl calmed down enough for him to scoop her up and carry her out of the apartment. She began to scream again as he carried her down the hallway, but he had plenty of practice carrying struggling people. 

He stepped out of the building and went over to his car. He opened the backseat and set Putunia down in it, closing the door before she could run. He got in the driver’s seat, and tried not to listen to the way she sobbed, or the way Bor...Habit whispered to her. He couldn’t stop himself from hearing.

“Dad’s going away for a while, okay? I...I’ll try to find you when I get out. I love you so much ‘Nia. You’re going to be okay. I promise you would be safe, and I’m not going to break that promise. You’ll be safe with Kamal. 

“I love you.”

***

“A full confession. Don’t know how you did it Bora!” Kamal hummed at his boss’s words. “Well, you’ve got to go talk to the girl today. Good luck with that.” Kamal nodded. His boss was quiet for a moment. “Uh...hey. I know...I know you and Habit got along well. I’m really sorry it turned out like this…” 

“Don’t be. He meant nothing to me. I’m a lone wolf.” Just saying the words made him want to sob, but Kamal tried to believe them. His boss pat his shoulder.

“Well...if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here,” he said. Kamal just nodded, and waved him off. He watched as his boss left. 

He glanced at a clock in his office. Two. He had until four until he had to leave to see Putunia.

Yeah. That was enough time.

***

“Kamal? This certainly is a surprise…” Trencil said. He stepped aside, letting Kamal in. 

“Sorry Trencil, I’m in a hurry. This is gonna be an advice only visit,” Kamal said. Trencil nodded.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do,” he said. He went into the living room and sat down heavily on the couch. Kamal sat next to him. “Now...tell me, what’s the matter?”

“I did something, and I don’t know if it was wrong or not…” Kamal said. Trencil nodded, and gestured for him to continue. “I had a partner for my latest case. I...I fell in love with him. Turns out, he did the crime. I turned him in. Was that right?”

“I think that depends on what he did,” Trencil said.

“First degree murder.” Trencil opened his mouth, but Kamal kept speaking. “She was abusing her kid though. Boris took the kid in, so she was listed as missing. I...I picked the kid up. That���s why I’m in a hurry. I have to go see her at four thirty.” Trencil was silent for a moment. “Did I do the right thing?”

“Well...in the eyes of the law, yes,” Trencil said. Kamal nodded.

“I feel like there's a ‘but’ here.”

“There is. Look Kamal, I don’t know the whole situation. But...from what you’re describing, it sounds, to me, like you’ve done the wrong thing.” Kamal’s heart sank. “I mean...Jimothan did what he was accused of, and I think turning him in was the wrong thing.”

“Yeah, but he was doing that in self defence!” Kamal said. 

Jimothan had “assaulted” someone who had come into his bar and was harassing other patrons. Trencil had been set on his case, before he had injured his knee. The two of them had a very similar situation to him and Boris, which is why he’d come to Trencil for advice. The difference was, Jimothan was doing something heroic but technically illegal while Boris had…

Had…

“He saved a child’s life…” Kamal said. “We...there are so many times we’ve been too late. There are so many times we never knew at all. Boris...he saved a child’s life.”

“It is up to you Kamal. You are the only one who can decide if you think what you did is wrong or right. But...I think we both know the answer.” Kamal nodded at Trencil’s words. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Something...something rash and stupid and very against the law.”

“Well...I see I’ve done something right in mentoring you.”

***

“Hey kid,” Kamal said, sitting down across from Putunia. 

“Go away,” she mumbled. He smiled softly at her. 

“I know you don’t want to see me, but I’ve got a surprise for you. If you’ll come with me, I can show you something really awesome.” Putunia looked at him skeptically. “Pinkie promise.” Kamal held his pinkie out to her. She looked thoughtful for a moment, before hooking her finger with his. 

“Pinkie promise.”

***

“He’s being transferred across town. It’s better security over there, and less crowded. It’ll be safer for everyone.” Boris winced at the voice. It was impossible not to recognize. Sure, this was New York, but Kamal’s accent was very very thick. 

“Alright Kamal, if you say so. I wanna see the paperwork on my desk tomorrow though.” 

“Of course sir.” Boris heard footsteps approaching his cell. He looked up as they stopped in front of it. He looked at Kamal, and he knew he looked like a broken man. “On your feet Habit. You’re moving across town.”

Habit stood, and let Kamal put the handcuffs on him. He let himself be led out of the prison he was being held in. He let himself be shoved into the familiar backseat of Kamal’s squad car. He didn’t let himself cry, no matter how much he wanted to. The car was silent as Kamal drove for a while. “Okay ‘Nia. Show time.” Kamal suddenly said. 

“Dad!” A small lump that had been on the floor suddenly threw the cover off itself and launched itself at Boris. 

“I...what?” Boris asked as he realized that Putunia was clinging to him. “What the hell?”

“Break through those cuffs big guy, I know you can,” Kamal said. 

“Is...is this some kind of trap? I already confessed!” Boris asked.

“No, it’s me apologizing,” Kamal said. “You were right Boris. You did the right thing. You saved Putunia. It’s my turn to save you.” Kamal turned to look at the backseat when he reached a red light. “We’ve got about an hour before I’m supposed to have Putunia back, and I can do about another hour of stalling, so we’ve got about two hours to get as far out of the city as possible.”

“Kamal, you...what?”

“I love you Boris. And if that means a life on the run, then so be it.”

“You’ve known me for two weeks!”

“Think of it as a horrible rom com! We run off at the end, and we’re a happy family with our wonderful daughter Putunia!”

“That’s me!” Putunia yelled, jumping up and down slightly.

“Kamal, this is insane!” Boris yelled.

“And you killed a lady! I think we’re both a little insane!” Kamal yelled back. 

Boris snapped the cuffs and lunged forward to kiss Kamal. Kamal reached back with one arm and buried his hand in Boris’s hair. They kissed until someone behind them blared their horn and Kamal had to face the front to drive again. “I love you Boris.”

“I love you too Kamal.” Boris scooped Putunia up and held her close. “I love you so much.”

[sapphire-strikes]

if you want more angsty prompts: how about some for a flower kid that puts everyone else's needs ahead of their own? it wasn't such a big deal in the habitat, but now that things have settled down Habit and Kamal + the other habiticians are starting to notice something's off...

I thought these two would go together nicely! And, oh honey, you've got a big storm coming if you think your new friends are going to let you off the hook with that kind of mentality.

• Everything was going great. Boris had his flower shop set up, Kamal was working towards becoming a proper dentist and the ex habiticians all went back to they're daily routines with a better outlook on life, explicably all thanks to you.

• Everyone was aware of that fact as well. Everyone except the guilty party themself.

• Before the events of the Habitat you remained pretty illusive around town. I guess all it takes to make friends is to be admitted to the same self help retreat. (And later save said friends from the true purpose of said self help retreat)

• Helping came naturally to you. Maybe it was out of goodwill or even just boredom, whatever your reason it certainly garnered more attention than you were planning. It wasn't a big deal, if anything you'd more then expected everyone to move on with their lives and forget that you'd ever even existed.

• The recognition you received afterwards was almost overwhelming.

• For the first few months after the big event you were constantly checked in on by Kamal, Parsley often stopped you on the street to offer you a ride, Questionette and Mirphy would send you letters until you agreed to meet up, the kids wouldn't leave you alone, Nat expected you to show up for her sleepovers and Trencil wasn’t shy about how much he approved of your friendship, you received friendly greeting wherever you went and Jimothen would proudly announce your arrival when you walked into his lounge. You wouldn't be able to go back to your illusive lifestyle now if you'd wanted to.

• It was most notably your relationship with Boris and Kamal that took center stage. You saw the two of them almost everyday. Boris's overwhelmingly love for his friends and Kamal's anxious but level headed maturity had you cornered into a inescapable friendship.

• What started out as what you thought was just aftershock became comfortably routine and you kept up your reputation for being incredibly helpful. It was the least you could do to thank them all for putting up with you being your friends!

• You were fine! You had your problems but they were just that. Your problems. Unfortunately, if whatever your problems were kept getting worse, then even you couldn't hold a straight face forever.

(Putting this one under the cut as well because it gets long!)

• It started out slow. You'd just spend less time on unimportant things, that's all.

• You'd have to cancel going camping with Nat and Trencil but you promised you'd be there to help Nat with her science project!

• You couldn't stop to eat at Jimothan's, you were just there to pick something up for Parsley. Poor guy was in a bit of a slump again over work.

• Of course you're showing up to Randy's book signing, what kind of friend would you be if you didn't? You'd just have to tell him you didn't have time to join him and Gillis for lunch later.

• And of course you're always going to show up to walk Boris home from his shop. He always expected you and you knew he'd even wait to head home if you were late. It still managed to be the most relaxing part of these last few weeks.

"Why don't you stay for dinner tonight? Kamal is teaching me how to make Lasaganana :-D." He held the door open for you, excitedly bouncing on his heels.

You snort at his pronunciation and almost instinctively follow him inside but are quick to stop yourself, "Oh shoot, I'd love to, Boris but I kind of have to get home." Lasagna sounded amazing right now but you really didn't have the time.

"Aww, are you sure :-(" he made an exaggerated sad face in an attempt to convince you but a slight smile crept through when he saw you contemplate changing your mind.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. Thank you though! Next time okay? Tell me how it turned out!" You playfully nudged him and turned to start walking home. You make it a few steps away before you hear him speak.

"You said that last time..." You turn around ,not having completely caught what he said.

"Hmm?"

"You...you said that last time...and the time before. That you'd stay over 'next time' I-I mean." He really was frowning now and wringing his hands together nervously

Now you felt bad. You didn't think it would upset him this much. "Really? Crap, Boris, I'm sorry. I've just been a little, uh, busy lately, that's all. I promise once I get things cleared up we can go back to hanging out every day."

He perked back up again but you could still see some uncertainty in his smile.

"Same time tomorrow then? Ooof!" You're pulled into a bear hug, your arms pinned to your side as he lifts you up off the ground

"Alrighty! Same time tomorrow!" He gave you a squeeze. "But make sure you get something to eat tonight, promise?"

"Yeah, yeah , I promise, bud." He gaves you another tight squeeze for good measure before setting you back down.

"Okee! See you tomorrow!"

Kamal popped around the corner when he heard the door open, "Hey hey, Everybody! Who's ready for Kamal Bora’s special four cheese-" abruptly stoping his little introduction when he saw that Boris had entered the house alone. "Ah...no luck again tonight?"

Boris stood on the doorstep, happily waving until you're out of sight then his own smile drops again and he makes his way back inside.

Boris didn't answer, making his way to the kitchen to begin dismally putting away one of the three plates they had setting out. "I-I see. Hey it'll be okay, you can try again tomorrow! I'm-I'm sure they'll come around."

Still staying silent,  he turned his head to look back at him, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes.

"Uh..Mirphy called today. Asked if we knew if they were feeling alright... Guess they bailed on going along to some film festival and she hasn't heard much from them since. Jimothen too; said they haven't been stopping by to eat nothin'. Came by to deliver something for Tiff though.

He placed a hand on Boris' arm, "So...it's not just us, Boris and I'm sure it's nothin' you did..."

Boris began fidgeting  with his hands again then lifted one to wipe his tears, "I-I'm worried about them, Kamal"

"Yeah, me too, bud."

• After that everyone began to acknowledge your strange behavior. You became the subject of conversation one night at the lounge and as soon as one person brought up their concern for you, everyone else piped up as well.

• Maybe you weren't doing as good of a job hiding it as you'd thought because people started to ask questions. Are you okay? Have you been eating enough? Are you sure you're okay? You did your best to brush them off and insist you were fine but no one was convinced and they actually began to catch onto the pattern of when you would and wouldn't show up.

• You rushed to Parsley's house one day after he'd called you in a state of panic asking you to get there as soon as you could as it was an emergency.

Not bothering to knock you kicked in their door only seeing the two of them out of the corner of your eye before you got to work unpacking the first aid kit you'd brought. "Alright, Jimothen, bring him over here and support his leg while I get that thing off of him!"

There's no response and you look over frantically, "What are you waiting for we have to act fast! Parsley, can you still feel you-" You finally focus on them and everything seemed to be fine, besides the nervous glances they were giving each other.

"Are you okay? Did you manage to get it off?"

"Uh yeah, about that..." Parsley was the first one to speak up between his nervous laughter.

"Parsley, you said you got your leg caught in a bear trap and needed help getting it off!"

"Oh, did-did I say that? What I meant to say was; my dad got an extra ticket to some football game-"

"Baseball", Jimothen corrected him.

"Uh yeah, that. And we were wondering if you wanted to come! Ha ha, stupid autocorrect, am I right?" He was sweating bullets as he did his best to come up with an excuse.

"Parsley, you called me..."

"Oh, oh yeah, my bad. But while you're here you might as well-" You were already packing up your bag to leave.

On your way out you heard what you could only guess was Jimothen smacking him upside the head.

"I told you that wouldn't work!"

• Things only got worse from there. Your phone was blowing up with not at all subtle messages offering not so subtle attempts to cheer you up that you didn't ask for.

{Mirphy: Heya, pal! I'm doing a shoot tonight, you should stop by! I could use a model with your kind of flare!}

{Questionette: ♡♡♡}

{Nat: U had better not be dead, I'm serious 👿}

{Dallas: *Attached was a photo of a painting of the two of you*}

{Randy: Dearest Y/N, I would be most pleased to have your company this evening as Gillis and I will be attending the art exhibit that's taken the time to stop in our humble little town! Please reply with your 'RSVP' as they say and we will look forward to seeing you! Your aromatic ally, Randy Hapukurk}

{Jerafina: Patsy. Go to sleep.} You could only assume Tim Tam had stolen her phone again.

{Tiff: Hope you're having a good week, sunflower. Stop by the lounge again soon and the first song goes out to you 🎶}

• Reading through them made your chest hurt. It was all getting to be too much. You were fine. You were always fine. You've always been able to handle yourself.

• The only thing that hurt more than the string of hopeful messages was the lack of one particular message. That same cheery "Gwoood Mormning!!! :-D" that you'd gotten every day since showing Boris the tooth lily. You knew why it was missing too. Things didn't exactly go down smoothly last night.

• Cut to yesterday evening:

• You were late, you were really late. By the time you finally reached his shop your lungs were burning and soon so was the guilt in you stomach. The sign had already been flipped to 'closed' and the lights were out. Two hours ago, you were supposed to be here two hours ago to walk him home but you crashed at your desk.

• Maybe he waited up at least a little and you could still catch him on his way back. You took another deep breath as you paced yourself and took off in the direction of his house.

• You weren't to far off. By the time their house was within view you could just barely make out the figure of Boris opening the door so you began waving your arm and calling out his name.

• You barley made it to their walkway before your body had finally had it and you tripped over your own feet. Boris dashed from his place at the doorstep to catch your heaving body and kneeled down to help hold you at eye level.

"Boris!", you strained to speak between your panting, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to to-"

He cut you off, "Don't apologize, not for that! I got scared when you didn't show up! Kamal and I were going to go looking for you."

When you looked up at him pitifully his worry only grew and he scooped you up to carry you inside. You might have protested but you were still struggling to catch your breath.

You were set on the couch and a glass of water was held up to your mouth. It all happened so fast you attempted to push it away only for a large hand to start rubbing your back as he tried to coax you into drinking it. As soon as you took a sip your dehydration caught up to you and you were quick to grab the glass and chug it down a bit to fast.

• Boris was watching you with great concern. Rubbing large circles on your back and taking the glass back once you'd emptied it. "There there, deep breathes."

His voice pulled you back to reality and you remembered why you were here. Once again looking up at him with that pitiful expression to apologize. He couldn't focus on your words though, finally getting his first good look at you in a couple days. The dark blue around your eyes was more noticeable than before and you looked pale and tired.

Oh, now you were frowning. Did you ask him a question? He didn't really care right now, you need to rest. You were about to repeat what you said but he spoke first, holding both your hands in his, "Are-are you okay, Y/n?"

Your mouth twitched hesitantly then you smiled at him. Damnit, you were smiling at him, "I'm sorry I was late, I fell asleep and didn't wake up in time. I'll be there tomorrow, I promise!"

"I don't care that you were late!" He raised his voice and you flinched. "I-I'm not talking about tonight. I'm talking about the last few weeks, you're worrying me and Kamal and everyone...."

You looked like you were desperately searching for something to say so he kept going, "No one can get in contact with you anymore, you haven't even talked to Kamal since you stopped coming over and you look like you haven't slept in days. Is...is it something that I did."

Boris was starting to cry now and you jumped to comfort him, "No no no, Boris of course not! It's nothing you did! I've just, I've just been busy. I'll be okay I promise!" You moved to stand up but he held onto you hands and followed you.

He was still crying but he looked determined as he spoke, "Then let me help you, whatever it is we can do it together!"

That made it sound so simple. You were just busy? Was that a lie? You weren't totally sure, but your problems were your own. You couldn't put that baggage on anyone, especially not Boris. He'd been through enough and had finally gotten his happy ending. This was your problem, if you were struggling you'd have to keep it to yourself, for everyone's sake.

• "I don't need your help." Had those words come out colder than you'd intended or were you trying to scare him away? "Listen, like I said I'm fine. I don't know what more I can tell you, if you don't believe me there's not much I can do."

• Boris was taken aback by your shift in tone and the look on his face only caused your guilt to grow stronger. You looked past him and noticed how dark it had gotten outside. Pulling your hands back you were surprised at how easily he released them.

Collecting yourself you let out a long sigh. "It's getting late", you spoke quietly, "I should probably head back home. I'll...see you soon." You went to step around him, internally regretting how things had gone but pressed forward none the less...only to be blocked. Boris had stepped in front of you but you decided to ignore him and keep going, only for him to move to stand in front of you yet again. "Boris?"

The look on his face was a perfect mixture of fear and conviction but he refused to make eye contact with you. He took a few steps backwards to stand in front of the door, nervously playing with the lock behind him, "I- I don't think you should be alone right now, Y/n."

"Very funny, Boris, now come on, please let me through". You moved to reach past him for the doorknob only for him to gently stop your hand and push it back to you. "Boris..."

"Just, just wait until Kamal gets back, please? I can't...I want him to talk to you, since I...."

You couldn't do this. You couldn't just talk about it. You didn't want to talk about it. "Habit, get out of the way." He finally looked at you. You called him 'Habit'? You hadn't called him that since back when all he was to you was Dr. Habit.

Now you were the one averting eye contact. You knew how he was looking at you and you couldn't stand to see it. He stepped forward and reached out to you. It seemed like he was about to saying something but you took your chance to push past him and out the door. 

“Подождите!”

You didn't stop there though and kept running, squeezing your eyes tightly shut to stop the tears and running into someone in the process. The impact was enough to knock you back but whomever it was was quick enough to reach forward and catch you, "Woah there, little buddy, where's the fire? Hey, long time no see, huh?"

You opened your eyes just enough to see Kamal smiling down at you, still holding your shoulders to keep you steady. His expression immediately shifted to worry when he noticed your tears. "Hey now, what's with the water works?", he asked, gently wiping one of your eyes with the sleeve of his scrubs.

Then you heard Boris's voice yell your name as he burst through the front door after you and you were snapped back into your situation. Pulling yourself from Kamal’s grip you went back to running home. The sound of both their voices calling you name vaguely registered in the back of your mind as you ran farther and farther from the warm light of their house.

• So now here you were. Laying in your bed the next morning, scrolling the pages of worried messages and dreading how things could go wrong next. Even you knew you could only avoid this for so long, but after the way you'd been avoiding everyone and the way you talked to Hab-to Boris...you figured they'd give up eventually.

• Maybe that was for the best. All you had to do was wait.

Okay so this got real long and I can never decided if I want to write in drabble style or headcanon style so it ends up as a mixture of both.

Anyway, I hate to end this on a sad note so please send in suggestion on how you want to see this continued! I'd love to continue it!

[sapphire-strikes]

oh wow... that response was really good. It kinda seems like FK is heading straight for a breakdown but doesn’t want anyone seeing; least of all their news friends who started out thinking they have everything together emotionally. I think a big group intervention is in order... and possibly some well-intentioned snooping, considering that’s how FK got through to Boris in the first place

Writing this as a part two to this post! Thank you all so much for the follow up requests! This dragged on longer than I had expected sooo...there's gonna be a part three!

• It had been about three days since the incident with Boris and Kamal and you hadn't left your house. On the bright side, as of this morning, no one had messaged you!

• Maybe going completely silent wasn't the best idea, you just...weren't in the right place to respond or even open their messages right now. What could you tell them that you hadn't already said a hundred times; you were fine.

• This morning was the first time you'd woken up to no new messages in the last few days. The last few you'd managed to get glimpses of weren't even trying to be subtle anymore with their concerns for your wellbeing. You actually questioned it for a moment; was is weird that they'd stop cold turkey? Maybe they all just finally got the right idea.

• You didn't want any of this. More than anything you just wanted things to go back to normal. You wanted to apologize to Boris but you couldn't even face him after what went down. He'd never let up after seeing you almost lose it. It was your own fault, you couldn't handle yourself and now you were paying the price.

• Maybe those few days alone did you some good because you were finally calm enough to think rationally, well, almost rationally. Maybe you could fix this. If you got back out there and showed them that you were fine, then they'd stop asking questions and things could go back to the way the used to be! You could fix this just like you always did.

• How would you explain your radio silence though? You'd just went out of town for the last few days! No, that didn't make much sense. Your phone was broken? Yeah, that could work. You just dropped it during a run and had to send it in, you weren't avoiding anyone.

• Speaking of running....what about Boris and Kamal? Boris almost saw you lose it and they both saw you literally running away from them. Boris' worried expression plagued your mind. He was so worried about you. Was there even a way to fix that? To make up for the way you'd talked to him...to get him to stop worrying. If you could just get things to go back to normal than maybe he'd finally believe you and believe that you were okay, that you'd be okay soon enough if you could just work through this alone. There was nothing he could do for you anyway, nothing you couldn't do for yourself right? And even if he could help you, he shouldn't have too. He shouldn't need to help you. If you weren't strong enough to help yourself how were you supposed to help anyone else.

• Maybe it was the guilt or just the cabin fever but your hand was suddenly hovering over the doorknob. This was just a quick food run. Not to Jimothan's though! Why? No reason... You just needed some stuff to stock your fridge. Starving yourself out wasn't exactly your intention, eating had just been the last thing on your mind and here you were with not much left to hold yourself over.

• You'd even go the back way just to be more discreet. Kamal would be at work and Boris would be at his shop so you didn't have to worry about them. Anyone else would just need a little bit of convincing!

• Just show them that you're okay.

• It was oddly quiet. Actually, it was usually pretty quiet around here and the fact that you were avoiding the main part of town just didn't help. So far, your mission was successful. You made it to the store, bought some groceries and now all that was left was to head home.

• Staring down the street ahead of you you were plagued with a sense of unease. All that was left now was to head home. So you didn't get to run into anyone but as soon as you got home you could work on getting back to people.

• For the first time in the last few days you were feeling good about this. All you needed was a few days to calm yourself down and you were already feeling better. If things were ever going to return to normal than you'd have to start somewhere. You'd reply to some messages when you got home, explain that your phone was "broken" for the last couple days and things could go back to normal! Smiling in satisfaction to yourself, you gripped your groceries with pride and strode forward.

"Y/N?!"

• You jumped, looking about more frantically then you would have liked to admit. You were so busy thinking you hadn't realized you were walking through the main part of town. No biggie, this was all part of the plan, whoever it was just be cool and explain yourself.

Putting on a smile you turn around, "Hi, hello! What's-" Then you recognized the figure that had called your name.

Having just exited the passenger side of a car, stood Boris Habit staring you down from across the street.

Another voice spoke up, "What'd you say, Boris?" Following suit was Kamal, exiting the drivers side to look at him quizzically. When he looked in the direction he was staring his own eyes widened.

Boris spoke out again more shakily, "Y/n!"

• All the confidence you had up until this point had vanished. You were wrong, you were very wrong, you weren't ready for this. You didn't know what to say to them. What were they doing out here together in the middle of a business day. But you couldn't just run again, that would make everything worse. So you turned around and kept walking, trying to pretend like you hadn’t seen them.

You could deal with everyone else right now, anyone else, but seeing Boris and Kamal hit you where it hurt. You'd make things up to them in time but you just couldn't right now.

"Y/n, please wait!" You heard the sound of a car door shut and to your dismay, he followed you. You were pretty sure you heard Kamal shout something but neither you or Boris were paying attention.

• Why was he following you now? Was he that determined to get some kind of closure? You wanted to make things right with him but you couldn't, not right now. If he started talking to you again, asking you what's wrong, looking at you like he cared so deeply; then you knew you wouldn't be able to hold it together. You'd fall apart and you wouldn't be able to explain yourself.

• Even now just hearing the desperation in his voice was hurting your heart. Why was he still trying? Why did he care so much? It hurt you just to think about it, he had his own problems, everyone in this town did, they shouldn't be concerned about you.

• Rounding the corner you picked up your speed and rushed into the first door on your right. Slamming the door behind you you let out a long sigh and leaned up against it, sinking down a few inches as you caught your breath.

"Well speak of the devil..."

Quickly straightening yourself and doing your best to appear calm you tried to get a grasp on the situation. At least a dozen of your friends were all crowded around the counter. When you said you could deal with everyone else you weren't being literal...

• Your eyes snapped open and you were met with the surprised gazes of your friends. You'd run right into Jimothan's lounge.

Why were there so many people here, it wasn't karaoke night was it? No, Jerafina wasn't here so probably not and there's no way you'd lost track of time that badly.

Jimohthen looked like he was about to speak up but you panicked and unceremoniously yelled, "MY-MY PHONE WAS OUT OF TOWN!"

• There was another long moment of silence as they looked between each other. You rubbed the back of your neck in embarrassment, pulled yourself together and tired again. "Uh hey, everybody...long time no see! Sorry about the radio silence, still been kind of busy, y'know? Anyway, how's everybody doing?" You said, clasping your hands together and smiling hopefully as you stepped forward.

They looked between themselves for a moment then they all nodded in agreement. The first person to speak up was Parsley, "Uh, were all doing fine, buddy" He seemed nervous at first but it faded as he smiled softly and got up to wrap an arm around your shoulder and lead you deeper into the lounge, "You've had everybody real worried, you know. We were just talking about you actually..."

"T-talking about me?" Your feet dug into the floor to stop yourself from moving forward any farther.

"Nothing bad, don't worry about it!", he quickly corrected himself.

Mirphy leaned forward to ruffle your hair, "Heya, we've all missed you, and I miss hanging with the only other normal person around here!", she joked

You were suddenly hugged by Dallas, "Yeaaah, don't be a stranger, little pal. We're all like, here for you, y'know?. He pulled away, keeping both hands on your shoulders for a moment as he gave you a relaxed smile.

• You had shrunken up at all this attention, suddenly having trouble finding your words. Parsley looked down at you with a bit of a cocky but kind smile, patting your shoulder and directing you towards the counter.

Jimothen leaned over the counter. "C'mon, Champ, why don't you sit and relax for a spell. I'll get you something to eat on the house!"

"I-I guess I could st-," you were pulled into another hug. This one much stronger and from behind.

"D-don't just go around disappearing on people, it's-it's totally a baby move!" Gillis was holding you up off the ground from behind, almost crushing you in his hug.

"Alright, big guy, give them some air how about it?" Jimothen laughed at your predicament and you were placed on the bar stool. Gillis crossed his arms and looked away red faced, trying to pretend he hadn't just done that.

Randy soon appeared from behind him, patting his arm. He then reached forward and grabbed one of your hands, holding it in both if his, "Yes, please sit a moment and share your woes! Your absence has left a gaping hole that can't be filled by another, and as our dear friend, we can't see you off until your mind is clear of worries!"

"Really, guys, I'm fine.." You finally spoke up again. Fiddling with the hem of your jacket you went back to averting eye contact, "I-I was just stopping by to say 'hi' anyway, I should probably get going." Their friendliness, for the most part, had sucked all the fight out of you but there was still that little voice nagging at the back of your mind that you didn't deserve to be indulging like this. But you couldn't deny that you really did miss everyone.

Parsley moved to sit on the stool to the left of you, "Aw, c'mon, you sure you can't stay for a little while? Questionette brought cookies. 

He motioned to the end of the counter and Questionette excitedly stood up to hold the tray out to you. “Ce sont des pépites de chocolat, s’il vous plaît profiter!”

"Yeah, Pars, I-I'm sure..."

-SLAM-

"Будьте добры"

"Стоп"

"Убегать!"

The door was thrown open and in stumbled Boris, yelling something in exasperation.

This immediately caused you to jump off your stool. His eyes darted around the room for a minute before they focused on you then his face softened and he tired closing the distance between you, "Please, please, stop running away..." He said in defeat, "I just want to talk to you!" This wish wasn't granted however as you backed away the closer he got.

"There's nothing to talk about, Boris. I'm fine.

"No no, you're not!" Boris raised his voice and stepped towards you faster, "You are not fine and you know it! Please just talk to me!"

In your hurry to put some distance between you you stumbled over a chair and hit the floor. Everyone quickly rose to come make sure you were okay. From your place on the floor all the negative thoughts from the last few weeks came flooding back. They were all looking at you with such genuine compassion, it felt like they were burning holes through your body. You had them all so worried about you...this wasn't right and it needed to stop.

Boris immediately lost his previous fire and reached down to help you up, "I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" You couldn't take it anymore. All this attention made your heart feel like it was going to explode.

"Stay away from me!" you yelled and actually swung at him, doing your best to crawl backwards. "P-please...

Boris and everyone else was quick to step back when you yelled as if your words had physically staggered them.

Pulling yourself up you kept your eyes on the ground, not wanting anyone to see your face. "....I told you...I'm fine"

"I'm...I'm sorry, Y/n", The regret in his voice was painful to listen to.

"Don't apologize, Boris..."You walked with your back to the wall, making your way around Boris and the group. Denial and anger were out the window so maybe bargaining would work. "Just give me a bit more time. I'm going to be fine..."

You finally looked at them, putting on a shaky smile, "I'm-I'm sorry I made you all worry, but I'll be okay. Just give me some time and I'll be okay... I want to fix this, I-I just want things to go back to normal! So...don't worry too much, okay?"

Your eyes were starting to burn, you really couldn't take this anymore. You were going to cry if you had to stand here any longer.

Boris seemed to have noticed as well and instinctively stepped forward to try to comfort you again. "It'll be okay, I promise! We can head back to Kamal's house, get you some-

Why couldn't he just get the idea. You clenched you fists and started shaking. Keep it together, damnit.

"I told you; I don't want your-!"

A gentle hand was placed on your shoulder from behind and you froze. Standing in the doorway behind you was Kamal, holding the bags of groceries you had dropped earlier. "Hey, kiddo, deep breath now, it'll be alright."

Your heart stopped and there was nothing but silence. You turned to face Kamal and he smiled patiently. Boris had also moved to stand closer behind you. You looked between the two of them for a moment then Kamal spoke up again, "So, you need a ride?"

• Then you booked it out the door.

"Oh, c'mon!"

"дрисня!"

You regret even setting foot outside this morning because you didn't make it far before you were grabbed from behind and held up securely from underneath the arms, "I'm sorry, Y/n, but you leave me no choice now!"

As you were carried in the opposite direction you began searching for a last stitch effort to find a way out. Finally finding one when you saw the familiar little red girl on the other side of the street using a tree as a punching bag.

You knew were going to feel really bad about this later.

"Petunia help!", you yelled, doing your best to wave her over.

She turned to look in the direction of your voice and jumped up in alarm when she saw your out of context predicament. "FLOWER POWER, THE GREEN MENACE HAS GOT YOU!"

Boris looked at you in confusion when he heard you yell then his face contorted in fear when on queue, he saw Petunia rushing him full force.

The small girl flew forward and gripped onto his head. There was a small struggle as he did his best to hold onto you but eventually lost his grip when she slid down his arm to bite one of his hands. "RUN FOR IT, FLOWER! I'LL KEEP HIM DISTRACTED!"

Yeah, you were going to feel bad for this later but at least for now you were home free. Thats what you thought before you were cut off by Kamal jumping in front of you, "Okay, that's enough, kid", he held his arms out, ready to stop you if you tried anything else.

The sound of the struggle behind you had changed to laughter and Boris was now cradling a helpless Petunia in one arm as he gently tickled her into submission. "KEEP-KEEP RUNNING, I CAN TAKE BOTH OF THEM!" Boris looked up from her, not stopping his playful assault, to offer you what could only be described as a glare and you felt chill run up your spine.

• It kind of felt like you were being arrested. Kamal opened the car door for you, arms crossed and motioning with his eyes for you to get in. You sat alone for a while as they talked out of earshot. You could see him saying something to Jimothen as Parsley worked to get Petunia off of Boris's leg. You were half debating making another run for it but eventually decided not to. Kamal was kind of scary when he was mad. Not mad, disappointed, he'd say. Either way you felt like it would only make things worse at this point.

• The car ride back their house was agonizingly long. You sat ashamed in the back seat occasionally looking up to see Kamal watching you in the rearview mirror. Boris sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with the window switch, looking back every few seconds but quickly looking away when he saw you notice him.

Thinking back now, when you were cornered between the two of them, running into traffic seemed like the more favorable option. You gazed out the window at the scenery speeding by and then at the door handle, but before you even got the idea yourself, the sound of the door lock clicked and Kamal gave you a glare that implied, "Don't you fricking dare"

When the car finally stopped Kamal took a deep breath before stepping out. Boris also exited wordlessly already making his way to the front door.

Kamal stayed back to open your door, leaning down to look in at you and finally smiling again, "You coming in, kid? Cause if you're sleeping out here tonight than so am I."

Despite the growing hole in your chest, you smiled slightly, shaking your head and stepping out to follow him inside.

Boris hung his coat up and nervously went to take yours only for you to dismiss him by pulling the hood up over your head and turning your back to him. This caused him to deflate a bit but he got to work watering the flowers around the house.

"Alright!" Kamal, clasped his hand together, "I'm going to go start making dinner. Kid, you can stay here for the night and we'll talk about all this tomorrow, sound good?" Neither you or Boris answered but Kamal took your silence as compliance, "Okay, good!" He turned heel and went to the kitchen. You knew his enthusiasm was forced but he was doing his best to lighten the mood.

You resigned to curling up in the corner of their couch. Holding your knees to your chest and feeling more numb than anything. You were so tired but you doubted you'd be able to sleep if you'd wanted. A few minutes later you ended up comfortably zoned out, choosing to ignore Boris as he at down on the couch beside you.

[sapphire-strikes]

How do you think Kamal and Boris would react to fk being scared of the dark?

So sorry again for the late reply and thank you for the request! I had alot of fun with this and may have gotten a bit carried away.

(Also, like I always say; this is meant to be considered platonic/familial)

•Kamal probaby already knew just by watching you. He's a pretty perceptive guy but also isn't the kind of person to care much about the stuff he figures out. Sure it's kind of a silly fear, but hey, he's afraid of stairwells so who's he to judge.

• Boris on the other hand is pretty oblivious and that plays to your detriment at first.

• One day Boris had gotten a new shipment of seeds and had been working non-stop to get them planted. He had a late night but you waited up to walk him home like you usually did, despite the growing unease in your gut as the sky got darker.

• By the time he had finally finished up the moon was out and the street lights were aglow. You had fallen alseep in the back room and were awoken by him gently shaking you, "Wakey wakey, sleepyhead, sorry for the wait. It's time to head home!"

• As soon as the two of you stepped out the door your breath hitched and you backed into him. He quickly raised his hands to catch you, gently holding you by your shoulders and lightly shepherding you onto the street for a couple steps before letting go.

• The only light that was offered came from the street lamps above, creating ominous looking paths down the sidewalks on either side of you. It was almost more unnerving than complete darkness.

• He didn't seem to notice your discomfort at all but did comment on how late it. He even asked if you just wanted to head back to your place instead of staying out any longer and walking him home.

• You're quick to object, almost frantically grabbing his hand when he began to step away. No way were you walking home alone, or at least you'd try to avoid it as long as you could.

• Boris jumps in surprise when you cling to his hand so suddenly and looks down at you with concern. When you realise what you're doing you quickly apologize and attempt to back away only for him to grab your hand in return and begin walking happily. "Okee! Let's get going then, shall we? Kamal's going to be worried if we take to much longer."

• If he had thought anything about your little freak out it seemed to have already left his mind.

• Despite the darkness that surrounded you, you had to admit having Boris there was quite the comfort. You were walking slower than usual as you cautiously took in your surroundings and Boris adjusted his speed accordingly.

• He hadn't let go of your hand since you started walking and he seemed to quite enjoy the activity, even attempting to intertwine your fingers at one point but couldn't do it comfortably with the size difference. He instead just opted to wrapping his thumb around your wrist while his fourfingers easily encompassed the rest of your hand.

• His grip was firm but gentle and during moments of silence he would hum softly. For a little while you completely forgot about your fear and just took in his presence as he walked with a smile.

• You're snapped back into reality when your hand was released so Boris could begin fiddling with his keys. You had finally arrived back at Kamal's place and once it was unlocked, he held the door open for you to step inside.

• The two of you are greeted by a tired looking Kamal as he lethagically mulled over some paperwork.

• After a bit of conversation and Boris explaining why you got back so late, Kamal stands, stretches and turns to you. "It is pretty late ain't it? Maybe it would be best for you to crash here for the night, pal? No point in sending you out by yourself at this hour and I think I'm a little too tired to drive right now."

• Before you can respond Borsi stands up excitedly and clapped his hand together.

"We can have a sleepover!"

"Yeah sure, that." Kamal snickers and looks to you sympathetically, "You up for it, little buddy?"

Thinking it over for a second you nodded happily, "I think I'll take you up on that, thank you, Kamal."

• Boris squeals excitedly and lifts you off the ground for a second before his face flashes with an idea and he quickly puts you down. "I'm gonna go make snacks! Don't go anywhere! Okee?" You can tell he's joking about that last part but he still peeks back around the corner after heading to the kitchen, pretending to make sure you're still there.

• You and Kamal share a look and he wordlessly points down the hall with both hands. You get the message and give him a wave goodnight that he returns before heading to bed.

• If it's really late, Boris won't keep you up for long. Just long enough for the two of you to eat and watch some tv.

• After that, he'll offer to let you stay in his bed while he sleeps on the couch. You firmly deny his offer, insisting that you couldn't do that but you appreciate the thought, he really was a sweetheart. After a small back and forth Boris eventually relents when you insisting you'll be fine.

• Boy were you wrong. It hadn't even occurred to you until now that you didn't have your usual set up. Would it be rude to keep their living room light on all night? It was bright enough to be seen on from both of their rooms, even from under the doors. You eventually settle on leaving the tv running. It's not quite bright enough to comfort you but it's better than nothing.

• You spent the next two hours curled up on the couch, trying to keep your gaze focused on the tv. Normally the sight of Kamal's house brought you comfort, but right now it felt like you were floating in some sort of void with the dim light of the tv that illuminated the couch acting as your lifeboat.

• A few more minutes passed and you were spooked out of you already anxious trance by the sound of footsteps. "Flower, still watching teevee? It's no good for u this late you kno!" When you turned around you saw Boris standing at the end of the hall rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was also slurring his words a bit, something he did when he was angry, upset or tired. He walked up to the couch and leaned over you to grab the remote. "U can watch all u want in the morning I promisee".

• You panicked and grabbed it before he could, holding it tight to you chest, "N-no! I-I mean, just let me finish this episode, it's getting really good--I'll get some sleep right after!" Boris glanced at the tv then back at you with an eyebrow raised. You looked back to the tv and finally remembered what you had been watching for the last hour...the shopping channel. "There's...there's uh...a really good deal for...nonstick skillets coming up.."

• Your strange behavior seems to have woken him up a bit and and he looks down at you sadly, "Is everything okay, y/n? Was...was the sleepover too much?"

• You're quick to sit up and assure him that that isnt the problem, everything would be fine it's just that, well...

• "Oooh, so you do not like the dark?". You nodded, looking down in shame, it was such a stupid fear. "Well that makes sense! I--!" Before he even finishes speaking a look of realization crosses his face and he scrambles over the couch to the other side of the living room to flick the light on. As soon as he does he turns to you with worry, "Is--is that better? I'm sorry for turning it off :-("

• You stand up and assure him that it wasn't his fault There's no way he could have known and even if he did, it'd be silly of you to expect him to keep all his lights on just so you can sleep. You laugh a little bit, "I do miss my night light though."

He tilts his head in confusion, "Night-light?"

"Yeah, you know. Those little lights you plug into a wall socket. Not bright enough to bother you but enough to see in the dark. They're...usually used for little kids". You rub the back of your neck in embarrassment.

Boris's face light up, "Oh, I know what you are talking about! C'mere!" He grabs you by the hand, pulling you up off the couch and leading you down the hall to a door adorned in art of flowers and smiles. You can only assume it's his bedroom.

• He looks at you expectantly, motioning to his door and you take that as your queue to open it. When you do, you're met with what looks a bit like a kids bedroom, in the colorfullnes of it at least. The lights are off but there is a warm glow that leaves everything clearly visible.

• His bed is huuuge, but that's to be expected. To the right of it on the wall he has two night lights, one of a smiling tooth and one of a flower. On the left side of his bed was a night stand with a dimly lit lamp. Not only that, but looking up at the ceiling he had to have at least two-hundred of those glow in the dark stars.

"I do not mind the dark, but I like to read at night." You're once again snapped out of a trance and you look at him a bit baffled but smile anyway.

"Your room's pretty cool, Boris."

He seems pleased by your approval, "Thank you! It can be your room for tonight too!" Before you can protest, he shushes you. "It'll be like a real sleepover this time! I'm gonna pick out a bedtime story to help you fall alseep, go get comfy."

• You don't get another chance to protest since he's already looking through the large bookshelf that's sitting up against the wall to the left. You don't move from your spot near the door but you can make out some of the book titles that rest in it. Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and even a few by H.P Lovecraft. He wasn't a fan of horror persay, not horror movies at least, but he enjoyed the older novels. There were also quite a few books on flowers and even some on farming odly enough. It was all very Boris.

• After pulling out what he thought was an acceptable choice, he walked over to his bed and climbed in. His smiles at you expectantly again and patted the spot beside him, signaling you to come sit with him.

• After a moment of hesitation as you process the silliness of this situation, you relent and climb in beside him.

• He pulls the blanket up over the two of you and takes extra care to tuck you both in properly. It really seemed like he knew what he was doing as he went through the motions with a determined look on his face. This earns a laugh from you and a confused look from Boris. After he was satisfied with his work, he setted back down in his spot and began to read out loud.

• You forgot how nice it was to just listen to someone read as you drifted off, or maybe you never new in the first place. Either way, you were out like a light in less than thirty minutes.