Last Night With Halle?

by The Cookie Cutter World

He was not really a firm believer of horoscopes and zodiac signs, but to assure himself for that night, he actually flipped open the entertainment page of that day's newspaper and browsed through the astrology section. Basically, his horoscope for that day mentioned:

Virgo:
You need to chill! When feeling tense, take a deep breath and count to ten.

So he breathed in deeply and started to count from 1 to 10. When he reached 8, he got distracted when he heard his mobile phone's message alert tone. He was surprised. He never expected that... or did he? After all, he has been anticipating that text message ever since that morning.

After he checked the time on the digital clock sitting on top of the bedside table of his hotel room, he went over to the dresser where he left his mobile phone.

It was a message that prompted him to smile--an uneasy, embarrassed, yet thrilled smile.

Quickly, he took one last look at the mirror and raked his fingers through his hair. After practicing a smile to stretch the tense and stiff muscles on his face, he leaves his hotel room.

He arrived in the lobby and walked wide-eyed with stiff shoulders. His gaze was basically focused entirely on the tall blonde woman who sat comfortably inside the lobby lounge with her back to him. As he came closer, he felt his mouth getter dryer, his throat getting itchy, and the muscles on his jaw stiffening.

As for her, she must have sensed that somebody was approaching her from behind because she basically turned her head to the side to check who it was. She failed to recognize him at first because of the way he was dressed. It was very different from his usual black suit, which is a typical uniform for special agents like them. Instead, he wore a simple pair of jeans, blue Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers a black Incubus band shirt, and a brown corduroy blazer over it.

He had an uneasy smile on his face as he swallowed hard and greeted her with a shaky, "H..hi." His head seemed to have subtly bobbed forward as he did so, as if he did that to force the greeting out of his system.

She got up and he discreetly examined the way she looked as he kept his gaze glued to her face. She still wore the same clothes--the black blazer, black slacks, black shoes, and white polo shirt. He wondered why she never bothered to change into a more comfortable attire especially since it was their official day-off from their duties as SPK members. Still, he never bothered to ask. Maybe it was just her style--classic, formal... yet elegant. It does have a nice ring to it, right? After all, he fancied women like her rather than the typical ladies who liked to dress provocatively or those who followed the current fashion trends.

She looked at him dully at first and then shook her head. "If I had known that you were serious about this date, I would have worn something different." she said.

Date. She just said date. His heart began to race. Well yes, that was originally intended to be a date but the way he asked her out was rather indirect--at least for him. Some 38 hours ago, he asked, "Want to hang out? I mean, I think we've been working too hard in this Kira case. I could ask Lester to come with us, too, but he's taking care of Near."
And she agreed. Early dinner. They arranged to meet at 5:30pm. She said she'd meet him in the lobby of his hotel room instead of having him fetch her from her hotel.

He just laughed out uneasily as he unconsciously reached a hand at the back of his head and massaged it to relieve the sudden tension and stiffness he felt. "Well you still look good in that. No need to feel insecure about what you're wearing." he said while trying to sound like he was joking.

She did not smile. She just shrugged. "Alright. Where are we going?"

His smile froze. Was it just him or she sounded really nonchalant? Maybe she was just stressed out and really tired from work, he thought.

"Uh... where do you want to eat?" he asked.
"...wherever." she answered while looking around in a seemingly bored manner that made him feel more insecure about being around her.

"Since we're in Tokyo, would you like to... have some Japanese food or we'll look for a McDonald's or something..." he rambled.

"Really, Gevanni, I don't mind. You decide. Just as long as we get some coffee afterwards, I'll be fine." she said. He noticed the way she spoke: she slurred, she sounded very tired, and she sounded like she just wanted to get the evening over with.

It was time for him to breathe in again and count to 10 as they began to walk together out of the hotel lobby and in the streets of Tokyo. As they walked, he could not help but notice her body language. Her arms were crossed, she kept her gaze away from him, she kept looking at the other direction where she could not see him, and she had a stoic look on her face.

He slowly breathed out and breathed in again as he focused his gaze ahead of them. He mentally noted the number of times when her arm would accidentally brush against his as they continued to walk together. By the time they reached the first Japanese restaurant he saw down the block, he came to a final number: 7.

She looked up at the name of the restaurant and quickly surveyed the inside as he spoke to the person in charge of assigning seats in that restaurant. She looked at him uncomfortably. "Are you sure about this place?" she asked.
He wondered why she asked that but he just said, "Yes."
"But this place is expensive! I thought you said we're just going to hang out?" she asked.

Hey wait a minute, didn't she imply earlier that this was a date? But then again, maybe she was just joking when she said that. He mentally kicked himself as he smiled reassuringly at her. "Come on, I think we should celebrate. Tomorrow's our big day. We're even lucky that Near gave us the day off." he said.

The manager led them to their table and she whispered, "Big day? Gevanni, tomorrow, Near is going to confront Kira."

They sat down and he thanked the manager before the Kimono-clad waitress handed them the menu booklets.

"Aren't you the least bit nervous?" she asked.
He looked up from his menu and examined the look on her face. He realized that maybe the timing to ask her out was very wrong. He could have just planned this after the confrontation scheduled for tomorrow. But what if Near failed? The would get killed and he won't get that chance to spend time with her at all.

"Of course I'm nervous. I'm concerned that my handwriting would be distinguished from Mikami's but..."

She shook her head and leaned back on the chair. She let out a dry laugh and settled the menu on the table so she could cover her face for a moment. Gevanni wondered what was going on. Could it be that lack of sleep and the past events have finally taken their toll into her sanity?

She removed her hands from her face and smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry, Gevanni. I'm just... tired. I didn't mean to sound like you have no right to relax. ...and I'm actually nervous about tomorrow." she said before picking up the menu again. It took her only a few seconds before she turned to the waitress and cited her orders. Gevanni followed.

After the waitress left, he leaned closer to the table and asked, "What's bothering you, Halle?"

She looked away and examined the other diners. "You know, just in case we ever get back to the US, maybe we could do this again..." she said. She did not answer the question.

As he examined the uneasiness on her face, he finally realized what was bothering her. "Are you mad because of Mihael?"

Her eyes widened when she heard that. She immediately looked at him.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I'm not an FBI agent for nothing. But Near and Lester do not know anything about it, so don't worry." he ensured.

She quietly observed the look on his face. He seemed distraught yet relieved at the same time—probably because he knew about Mello all along. He even knew the boy's real name. But Mello is dead so it should not be such a big deal already for her… except for Gevanni who suddenly asked, "What I don't know is, who was he in your life?"

The way he sounded was uncertain and insecure. It made her chuckle. "So much for a 'good' FBI agent." She tossed a lock of her hair from her shoulders and leaned towards the table while keeping her gaze at him. "We just shared… a bond." The way she said it had no malice or pun but it made him even more confused. What bond? It could be anything. He squinted as he thought out loud, "Is he related to you?"

Her smile froze "Let's leave it at that." she decided before leaning away from the table when she saw that the waitress was approaching with a tray of the sushi that she ordered.

They were quiet for the rest of their meal but once in a while, they would glance at each other in silence. They both had a lot of things to say to each other but nobody knew how or when to start talking. Maybe it was not really the best time to talk—not when there was a possibility for them to fail tomorrow afternoon at the warehouse.

After dinner, they went to the nearest Starbucks branch. As Gevanni ordered their drinks, Halle could not help but glance at the newspapers scattered on one of the couches with dates that ranged from 2 days ago up to the present. The security guard busily gathered them just as she read the headline from a tabloid that said, "Broadcaster Kiyomi Takada burned herself to death after kidnapping."

Images from that event entered her mind in quick yet clear flashes. She knew Mello was there and she could not save him. There was no chance.

"Halle," she came back to her senses when she heard him calling her name. He had reserved seats for the two of them in a secluded area near the bathroom. Her brewed coffee was already on their table together with his Green Tea Frappuccino and 2 servings of Banoffee pie. She looked away from the newspapers, walked over to him and took her seat. "Thank you." She said.

"You okay?" he asked as he handed her a fork.

She breathed in and nodded. "…okay." She answered uneasily.

Gevanni could not deny it: he could sense her sadness and the fact that she was grieving deeply inside. He wished she could trust him and tell him everything she felt, but who was he in her life anyway? A colleague trying to become friends… maybe even more—although the last one seemed like wishful thinking.

He breathed in, counted up to 10, and slowly exhaled before he began to eat his pie. As for her, she just sat there and made sure to keep her gaze away from him in fear that he would read her thoughts through the look in her eyes.

Again, the two sat in silence as they consumed their food and beverages. For the third time that evening, Gevanni told himself that it was bad timing for him to ask her out.

And just when he was about to accept the fact that he made a mistake, she softly spoke up, "You're very lucky."

He looked at her. She had her gaze fixed on a light fixture above two customers sitting together in another corner: an teenage girl and her little brother. Gevanni and Halle watched as the girl wiped the mouth of her little brother after he took in a small piece of chocolate cake with his bare hands. They overheard her say something in Japanese which they understood as, "Okay, you can eat with your hands. Just make sure you start using the fork when daddy comes in to pick us up." And the boy cheerfully replied, "Okay, big sis!"

They both looked happy.

As she watched the siblings and observed their behavior, she pouted and took a deep breath as memories from the last time that she had ever spoken to Mello flooded her mind. "You know, I really hope that we can nail Kira tomorrow. He and his… sorry ass." She said bitterly. Gevanni wondered why she suddenly said that but before he could ask, she looked at him and explained something that made his heart want to break for her… not to mention, give her a comforting hug—which would probably be too much, so he just decided to imagine it.

"So far, Kira has managed to kill 2 people who are very close to me." She said while forking a piece of pie. She brought it close to her face and examined the caramel and chocolate contents oozing from it. "If I should die tomorrow, well, I won't complain." And she ate it.

"You'll be fine." He said sternly as he looked away. He got hold of his drink and took a few sips as he kept his gaze on his food. "Kira doesn't deserve to win and I'm sure you've known that since you joined the team."

She just looked at him in silence. She had a lot of things to say to him but she could not find the right words to use and say out loud. He had been nice, accommodating, and patient with her since the evening began. She knew his purpose for taking her out and she knew that he must have been thinking that his timing to do so was very wrong. She silently scolded herself for that.

After finishing their drinks and food, they walked around for a while, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city in fear that it could be the last time they could ever experience it. Gevanni checked his watch and it read 11:30pm. He knew they should get back to work by 5 in the morning tomorrow but he still did not want to part ways with her. In his mind, he had a lot of things to say to her that probably would have to wait until the success of Near's plans. With that, he breathed in and sighed. "I guess we should… go back to our respective hotels now. We have to report to work by 5 tomorrow." He stammered as he stopped walking.

She stopped walking and just nodded without even looking at him.

"Well uh… I'll just… uh…see you." He said hesitantly before he turned to leave.

"Stephen,"

Did she just refer to him by his real name? He looked at her and she had a soft smile on her face. "Thanks for the evening." She said.

There it was again: the tense feeling in his chest and his nerves. All he could do was take a deep breath and smile uneasily at her as he nodded his head. He waved goodbye and he turned to walk away.

The smile on her face faded as she watched him walk away from her. She wanted to go after him but for what reason? She was not sure. She had to admit she felt a little better just having him around her even for a short period of time.

Just then, the sound of their mobile phones ringing resonated in the street where they were at.

He stopped walking and picked up his mobile phone from one of his pockets to check the caller ID. She did the same and both of them received the same alert from Lester.

Gevanni looked back at her and saw her looking at him with the mobile phone in her hand. She ran to him and as soon as she got to his side, she had a smug look on her face. "Looks like you have to change into your uniform now." She said. "I'll wait for you in the lobby and we can go back to the HQ together."

He smiled before they began to walk together back to his hotel.

The End.

Author's Note: I don't like rushing things so basically, I'll leave it like this for now. It's just an attempt for a GevannixHalle. I was browsing around for fics about them but found nothing so I took that as an opportunity to attempt to make one.