Intuition
Chapter Nine
The Final Bet
He had come home, sighing as he leaned his head against their front door.
He had forgotten what 'well-rested' felt like and as he opened the lock, he pushed open the door with his head, stumbling inside a bit.
She was inside, the radio was on, ever so slightly. Still up, too.
He shook his head a bit as he glanced at his watch, taking off his coat.
As he entered the living room, he saw her sitting at the dining table, her head resting on her keyboard of her laptop, unmoving as her hands lay limply on the table.
"Kairi?"
She didn't respond, but as he went to check on her, he could hear her soft breathing. She was asleep. Just asleep. He breathed out a sigh of relief; she really had looked like she was dead for a second there.
"You stubborn woman," he muttered under his breath as he gently shoved the laptop away, replacing it with his arm so she wouldn't fall face-first into the table.
He then shoved her chair away with his foot and tried to lift her up.
It would normally not have been so hard, but he was tired too and he could barely keep himself standing.
It might've been because of that reason that she woke up in the end.
"Roxas?"
At least he had tried.
"Yeah," he grunted a little, hating his trembling arms. "What's up?"
"Oh my gosh, I fell asleep!" she cried out, immediately struggling against his grip. "No, let me go! I'm not finished."
"Oh, heck no," he said sternly, clenching his teeth as he was losing balance. "You're going to bed!"
"No!" she complained. "I have so much work to do!"
"Then get up early tomorrow," he instructed her, kicking the bedroom door shut behind them.
"There's no persuading you?" she asked with a smirk as he had put her down on the edge of the bed.
"Nope," he said, dropping face first onto the bed, though he kept a hold on her wrist to keep her from escaping.
She rolled him over and planted a kiss on his lips.
He sighed a little at the warm sensation, kissing her back as he rested his free hand on the back of her head.
As her kiss started to imply more than just 'hey, I'm going to sleep, good night', he grunted again. "Kairi, I'm tired."
"Then let me go," she whispered, her breath haunting over his face as she kissed him gently on the tip of his nose.
"Never," he said, mustering a little playfulness from within the depths of his soul.
"So be it," she chanted, getting on top of him quite determinedly and he couldn't help but laugh.
"How dare you resort to something so low?" he said as he closed his eyes, though he honestly didn't even think about stopping her whatsoever.
"Well, it depends on how you look at it," she said teasingly, her hands already roaming over his chest. "It all depends on what circumstances are present in the current case."
"I hate your law studies," he grunted. "Stop them at once and just become a dog owner for the sake of my sanity."
She simply giggled, strangely awake for someone who had been so sleepy before.
He, too, was soon swept up in the heat of the moment, one of his hands cupping her cheek, the other one running up and down her back as she moved against him, the soft sounds barely audible as he was very occupied with her lips, following them as she arched her back against him, her fingers digging into his skin.
He had originally thought he'd tire of it. He was tired of it; just not whenever it was with her.
It was different whenever he slept with her.
He loved her so much it still scared him at times, her figure moving against his was almost sacred and he cherished her more than he had ever cherished something before.
He only dropped his head ever so slightly to press heated kisses on the skin of her neck and he could hear her voice say his name, the sound vibrating against his lips.
It made him clench his teeth as he suppressed the need to go faster; he wanted to take his time as these moments had become so rare, so precious.
The movements were slow, deliberate and so warm, so overwhelming at the same time.
As always, right at the end, however, he lost it as he became desperate, his fingers becoming demanding as she parted her lips against his.
He wanted it, he wanted her, he wanted her love, he wanted everything she had to offer and he always got much more than what he had asked for.
She gasped his name as he could feel her nails dig into the skin of his back, her legs trembling as she clenched so hard around him that she tipped him off the edge, too, with so much power that his eyes rolled back as he tightened his grip on her as if he was afraid she'd vanish if he didn't hold on as much as he did.
They caught their breath as they slumped against each other, his weariness coming back in full force as they fell back on the bed. He couldn't even open his eyes anymore.
"Love you," she whispered somewhat underneath his ear.
"Love you too," he muttered, almost slurring in his drowsiness.
He barely felt her slip off of him and wasn't really aware of her pulling the covers over him.
He should've known she would have her way, in the end, her lips brushing over his forehead just for the tiniest of seconds before she had gotten back into the living room to finish her work, after all.
His stupid, precious, stubborn, wonderful girl.
He wouldn't find out until morning though, because the next time he woke up, a few hours later, she was tucked underneath his chin, her cheek pressed against his chest and his arms around her as if she had never left in the first place, just as it should be.
"Excuse me, young lady?"
She glanced around, a bit startled by the voice so close to her.
She didn't really recognise it and she wondered who it was calling out for. Is he asking for me?
"Yes, you," the voice sounded amused and belonged to —
Her heart stopped.
Something about the man behind her, smiling a bit, was so familiar that she could only think of — Roxas!—
It wasn't her boyfriend, though.
The man was clearly years and years and years older, grey streaks through the blonde hair, lines having carved his face through time.
"Hello?" she said a bit warily.
Something about the coldness in the blue eyes seemed off and it made her feel uncomfortable, almost… alarmed.
The way he moved, the way she could see the muscles connecting from his neck to his shoulders tense… this was bad news.
She automatically took a step back as her eyes started to flash through the street.
There were a couple of cafeterias here, she might be able to get inside one if she really had to.
There were not a lot of people outside who could help her out, but there were always a few staff members inside to help out if she needed them to.
They might call the police, too.
She slipped her hand into the pocket of her jacket, gently grazing her phone.
Roxas had insisted she'd install an 'SOS'- function on it. It would direct her current location with an alarm signal straight to the nearest police station and to his phone, too.
If she really didn't have much time, she could always press that and pray for the best. Where was that stupid little button?
"Please don't run," the man said, readjusting his scarf around his neck, hiding a bit in the red fabric. "I won't do anything to you, I promise. I just want to talk. Just for a little bit."
"Who are you?" she demanded, her thumb still hovering above the button on her phone. "What do you want from me?"
The scarf only made him look more suspicious, if she was honest. Yet… he looked so much like — how could such a man remind her so much of Roxas?—
When he smiled again, the similarities struck her so hard she couldn't help but wonder if the two were related. "You are acquainted with someone I know, too."
She almost asked him whether it was Roxas, but she kept her mouth shut, almost as if mentioning his name would be a fierce form of betrayal of the guy she loved so dearly. "So?"
The man took another step closer and she backed one more away, more into the direction of the nearest cafeteria, ready to run for it. "You're very cautious, indeed," the man said thoughtfully. "I see. You have beautiful eyes, though."
She shuddered at the compliment. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Then, the man softened and the smile on his face seemed more genuine. "You do remind me of her, how strange."
"Her?"
His smile turned almost sad. "My wife. She died, years ago."
"Oh," she said, biting on the inside of her cheek as her compassion got the better of her. "I'm sorry."
"Yes, she's gone," the man said, glancing up at the sky momentarily. "Yet he picks you. How strange indeed."
"Who are you talking about?"
The man stuffed his hands in the pockets of his long, black coat. "I'm not supposed to tell you. I really don't wish to get too involved, either. It's all an inconvenience. He has always been."
Her heart turned to ice when the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. Roxas's locked jaw whenever she'd bring up his childhood, the look in his eyes when he once explained why he didn't want her to meet his father. The cold words the man just spoke… Could this man be, indeed, his father?
It seemed odd; Roxas turned out to be so warm and caring, yet this man's presence felt so icy cold, so threatening. Yet the similarities were crystal clear at this point.
"You're his father," she stated quietly, taking out her hands from her pockets. Why had this man searched her out? She didn't think he'd hurt her and she thought she could outrun him anyway. He seemed to move a bit slow, after all. Besides, she had something to say to him, too, now.
He nodded. "Don't tell him."
"How dare you call him an inconvenience," she automatically breathed angrily. "He's your son!"
The man smiled again. "You don't know him as well as you should."
"At least I'm giving him the chance to introduce himself to me," she said firmly. "You've clearly given up on him a long time ago."
"From the start," the man said quietly. "That might've been a mistake."
"It was," she said with a nod. "Your loss. He's a great guy."
The man now grinned. "You'll take care of him, won't you?"
"I will," she said firmly.
"Good," the man said, starting to walk, though he clearly intended to move past her. "Then we probably won't meet again."
She didn't move, but as he passed her, he gently patted her head with his hand. "It was good to meet you, Kairi."
She turned as she watched him go, feeling a bit unsettled.
Should she tell Roxas? He'd be upset, she knew for sure. But to keep secrets from him was not her style. She took out her phone, eyeing it thoughtfully.
Then, she smiled as she put it away again. She had stood up for him against his own father. She had done what she should've done for him.
She decided not to tell him about this; she would have to repeat the shameful things his father had said about his own son and she didn't think it was necessary to do so.
After all, they would become their own family very soon; he could be whoever he wanted to be. Just two more months to go.
"This is fun," the brown haired girl said, twirling a strand of her hair around her slim fingertips. "We should do this more often," she said to him, smiling broadly. "We never do double dates."
"Yeah, you're right," he said, strangely euphoric.
Vanitas raised his brow at him and he shrugged as the black haired girl started chatting with his brown haired one. It was the easiest way to keep them entertained without actually having to interact.
He was in a very good mood, with good reason.
This was his final month.
Next month, he was free as a bird and hopefully engaged by the end of it.
That was a whole lot to look forward to. He'd also be starting at Twilight Corporation Group next month, he had already signed his contract.
Indeed, he would almost be normal.
One very specific Saturday next month was also mancave-day, as his brother-in-law called it - only Axel could've come up with such a phrase -, in which the guys from Kairi's family (basically her dad and her brother) got together for something… manly.
He didn't trust Axel all that much whenever he sprouted terms like that, but he was looking forward to it, especially because his own brother could come, too.
It was almost too good to be true and he felt… almost giddy about it, as if it was going to be Christmas in a couple of days and he was a regular six-year-old. He finally… belonged somewhere, finally belonged to someone.
"What are you grinning so stupidly about?" Vanitas said, breaking his happy train of thoughts.
"Well, gee, excuse me for being happy," he said to his soon-to-be ex-colleague, raising his brow.
The girl next to him, Yuna, gave him a smile as she probably thought it was because of her.
Well, he wasn't opposed to her thinking that, it would be the easiest way.
Then, however, his eye was automatically drawn to the other corner of the cafeteria over the edge of their booth, to a flash of auburn hair—
Shit.
He ducked, automatically, pretending he had dropped his phone, though he kept kneeling on the ground, eyes wide, as he thought about what he should do—
Not now, not now, not now, I'm so close! What do I do, what do I do?
"Dude, are you okay?" Vanitas said, leaning to the side so he could see the blonde sitting there on the floor. "What's going on?"
Shit. Of course; he should have remembered the small cafeteria she had mentioned earlier this week.
Of course, this was her night out with some of her old friends and he, stupid, stupid, stupid, had forgotten.
As he shook his head in response to the question he barely heard, too busy trying to form an escape-plan in his head, he didn't notice the black haired guy sitting up straight, casting his eye around until it landed on the red-haired girl from the bet the guy had not forgotten about.
Vanitas glanced down at the older guy on the floor, panic clear on his features and back at the girl.
What was she doing here, being so carefree as she seemed to be if Roxas had already wrapped things up with her? Why was he hiding, anyway? Had he lied?
He studied the face of the blonde again and thought back to when Roxas had said he had slept with her.
Nah, he hadn't lied.
He just hadn't told the whole story, as both of them were particularly skilled at.
He frowned a little as he gazed at the red-head again.
Was this the reason why the guy he looked up to so much was quitting?
Oh, he knew, all right, he had volunteered in taking over most of the girls. He thought the guy wanted to start up his own company or whatever since the big boss and Roxas weren't exactly good friends, but this?
Could this be the real reason why Roxas was quitting? A freaking woman?
Such a spiteful, pitiful, stupid creature?
Well, goddamnit, not on his watch.
Get in, never get out.
Not even his idol should escape.
Roxas could not escape, he would make sure of that.
Oh, all right, he would make sure of that.
He had closed off the door of his 'work apartment', leaving his key under the doormat, where he had told his father it would be.
He was officially done.
He was done.
Free.
Finally free.
He couldn't help the stupid grin on his face, no matter how tired and worn-down he was. Hell, he could barely think through his headache and the dizziness, but it was all worth it. It was still worth it.
He had actually managed to be done before Kairi's final feedback talk with her tutor, it would be published next week.
He was barely in time, but still on time.
If his father's company got rolled up, it would not bother him anymore.
All of his records there had been destroyed, Sora wouldn't tell on him and neither would his father, who took the secrecy clause as serious as he was about it to others.
The only one, or rather, the only one he was a bit concerned about was Vanitas, but that guy took their job seriously, too.
He probably wouldn't tell anyone either and the others were too scared of his dad to try and betray him by telling the police.
He couldn't have dreamed of this going as smooth as it did.
Even so, as he was going up the stairs to their floor, he heard something that made his blood run ice-cold.
A loud scream that rung in his ears and sounded familiar, way too familiar—
He started to sprint, his vision blurry around the edges as he prayed to every God that could possibly exist that it wasn't her, please don't let it be her.
However, the door to their apartment was open (it looked kicked in, which was not good at all, not good at all — please don't let it be her —) and he burst in.
There was too much to consider at that point: furniture had been thrown around, he could see her at once, hiding behind a sitting chair, Vanitas standing in the middle of the room, kicking a table over as he held a gun in his hand.
He locked eyes with Kairi, a strange mix of fear, panic and the will to fight, the will to live so clear on her face as if it had been written there. Not her. Not his girl, not her.
"Get out!" she mouthed at him before she covered her head as the table shattered, pieces of wood falling to the floor like rain. He could see her lips move, almost in slow motion, yet the words didn't get across. He couldn't do this, he couldn't lose her. That was the one thing he absolutely couldn't do.
He didn't move, for a moment paralysed by the scene which seemed so familiar.
For a second, he was standing there again when he was eleven years old, Sora behind him, crying. Vanitas turning into Sephiroth—
She broke his trance.
"Roxas, get out!" she shrieked as Vanitas fired a bullet directed at the chair, just above her head.
No.
Vanitas turned, but he had begun to move, barely able of his own movements as he was blinded with a rage that was too much to be contained with reason.
At that point, he regretted not having his gun on him anymore - after all, he had to leave that in the work apartment which did not belong to him anymore after his leaving-procedure - but he was angry enough to be able to battle it out without.
He used the element of surprise to give a firm kick against Van's shin, turning the guy's arm a little too fast. As the bone broke, Vanitas let out a pained grunt and he yanked the piece of black metal from the guy's grip.
Vanitas dropped to the ground as the sounds of sirens started to surround the building; the neighbours must've heard Kairi's screams.
He immediately backed away, keeping his gaze firmly on the shaking guy on the ground as he searched blindly for Kairi behind his back with trembling fingers.
He felt her slim fingers reach up to him and he pulled her up, pressing her close to his side.
Vanitas looked up, an angry scowl on his face. "You'll regret this, leaving for that bitch," he spat. "You really think she'll stay when she finds out what you are? You're fucking delusional."
He could hear the echoing footsteps and loud shouts of the cops outside and there were only two options here.
The first one, of course, would be to let the cops take Vanitas in.
He gently covered Kairi's eyes with his free hand.
Van would tell the police everything, having nothing else to lose and Kairi would find out his entire past, she'd be up to date on the most gruesome details.
The second option was to let it end here.
His fingers steadied on the trigger.
There really weren't two options at all.
There hadn't been two options, to begin with.
He raised the gun without much hesitation.
After all, he might not be a law student, but he knew he had a case now: he could tell the police he had been so emotionally rattled by the attack that he couldn't stop at the necessary defence, that he went overboard, but it could be justified.
No, he really couldn't lose her now.
He pulled the trigger.
The interrogations took forever and they required every ounce of theatrical abilities that he had learned throughout the years.
He even managed to force himself to cry, which could only help his case at this point.
His father had already sent in one of the best attorneys to defend him on the case and all he could hope for was for the prosecutor to drop the case because the outcome would be excessive use of self-defence, which did not justify his actions but justified him as a person for the judges.
Besides, he had other things to worry about.
As soon as he got out of the interrogation room, with the remark he might have to come back in tomorrow for more questioning, he hurried towards the small waiting area, where she had already been seated.
She had been interrogated as well, he'd figured, but she had very clearly nothing to do with the gunshot, so they would probably let her off the hook without further questioning, unlike him.
She had been given a plastic cup with water, but her hands were shaking and she could barely contain the liquid in the glass. Her indigo eyes were trained on her knees, the look they carried within them glassy and almost… dead, somehow.
"Kairi," he breathed out, his heart clenched in horror, rushing to her side and sitting down on his knees. "Kairi, are you—"
"You shot," she croaked at once, her eyes wide as she gazed down at him. "You shot him."
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice high and unnatural as a strange buzzing sound started to echo in his brain. "I'm so sorry—"
"No, that's wrong," she said as her eyes started to water, though her voice lowered to such a soft volume that only he could hear her. "You deliberately shot him after he threatened you. You covered my eyes. You were calm."
"I know," he said, a strange hiccup in his voice as he reached out to her. "I'm so sorry. Please—"
She started to cry again, heavy sobs shaking through her body and he sat up, pulling her close to him.
"I'm so sorry," he breathed out, his heart beating in a panicked manner, his own body shaking along with hers.
He was about to lose her anyway.
Oh, God, he would lose her, forever.
After all this, he'd still lose her, he'd lose her, he'd lose her, he'd lose her—
"Don't go," he pleaded her, his arms trembling as he pressed her even closer to his chest.
He knew his request was selfish and wrong to ask such a thing of her, but he couldn't help repeating it over and over.
He knew he had placed her in this position, but he couldn't let go, not now. "Please, I beg of you—"
"Let's go home, please," she whispered, her slim fingers holding onto the fabric of his sweater. "Please, let's just go home."
That calmed him down a little; she wasn't running yet, she didn't say she wanted to go alone, after all.
"Y-yeah-Yeah, of course," he said, his voice a bit hoarse as he carefully released her, holding out his hand to help her stand up.
His hand started to shake when she didn't initially take it, but when he was about to drop it, she took it, although a bit hesitantly.
"Let's go home," he repeated in a murmur, to which she nodded.
And then she smiled, very, very faintly.
He had not believed it to be over. They didn't return to the apartment but went straight to her parents.
He figured he'd rather have her safe with her family if she would, after all, kick him out.
Besides, the apartment was still in shambles and there would still be cops all over the place.
After they'd spent a good three hours talking with her parents, he noticed some very crucial discrepancies in the way Kairi told the story.
She had shown him at the police station that she knew enough as a witness to completely take down his credibility.
She knew he had been calm after he had made his decision.
She knew he had very deliberately shot his ex-colleague, even though she didn't know it was an ex-colleague.
And she figured that he had covered her eyes because he didn't want her to see.
Even so, as she re-told the story to her parents and her older brother, she made it seem as if he had pulled the trigger in the 'heat of battle'.
So much so that her mother, crying, embraced him and thanked him for saving her daughter. She backed him up… why?
Later, when they went up to her room under the guise of trying to catch some sleep early, he knew he had some explaining to do.
His steps had never felt so heavy before.
She closed the door behind him of her old bedroom and after a minute or so, she finally sat down on the edge of her bed, looking down at her hands, waiting.
"I'm sorry," he immediately started again.
"He was that guy," she said quietly, almost thoughtfully. "When we first met… he was there with you, right?"
"Yeah," he whispered, not daring to move. "He was."
"What was he talking about? Why did he come to our apartment?" she asked, looking up at him. "I mean, I could tell back then that he was bad news and that you were, too, when you were with him. Was he mad that you had severed ties with him? He kept blaming me, saying you left because of me."
She had in cornering him also created an escape. Nobody would be able to say otherwise. The only one who would've been able to discredit him was dead. The look in her eyes was hopeful, almost pleading.
He kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in his and took a deep breath, letting it out shakily.
"Kairi," he said quietly, looking up to meet her gaze. "I'm not a good person. I've never been. I… I honestly can't tell you what I've done," he said, gently reaching up to stop her from interrupting him.
"It'll… upset you, greatly. Ever since I met you, I've honestly tried everything I could to become a better person for you, to be even slightly worthy of you. I won't…" he added, averting his gaze as he feared he might cry for real if he had to look her in the eye. "I won't blame you if you still decide to go, however. I just… I've placed my bet on you once… can I please ask you to place your bet on me, no matter how unreasonable and selfish that request is?"
"You do… ask a lot of me," she said after a while, her indigo gaze a few shades lighter as she had been crying so much today, but at least the glassy look had been replaced by something else.
This determination that was the worst punishment for everything he had done. He didn't deserve this.
"I… have to know… this, at least," she added, glancing at him. "Would he have killed me? Us both?"
He thought about it. Sephiroth had killed Aerith. Vanitas would've killed Kairi if he had gotten the chance.
He was very sure about it; these things happened a lot and Vanitas really took the policy of 'once you get in, you never go out' seriously.
Vanitas would've tried to eliminate the reason why he was quitting in the fond hope to bring him back. "Yeah," he said quietly. "He would've."
"Would he still have wanted to kill me or you if he had gotten out of prison?"
"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Probably."
She nodded, to herself. "Right."
"Kairi?"
She smiled a little, glancing at the window, at the first stars and the moon visible through the thin curtains in the room. "Let me think for a bit."
He did, though he didn't let go of her hands, terrified he'd never get to touch them or even see them again after tonight.
He raised them a little and pressed them against his forehead.
They were cool to his burning skin as the feverish thought kept repeating through his head, almost like a mantra.
Almost like a prayer.
Please don't go, please don't go, please don't go.
"Roxas," she finally said, pulling her hands free from his grip. "I've come to this… conclusion. Please do not correct me if I'm wrong," she added quietly.
"I won't," he mouthed as he held his breath, waiting for the only verdict that could wound him.
"I honestly… really love you," she said, taking short breaths as she tried not to cry, biting her lip. "I don't want to know what you've done in your past as I'll focus on how you are now and who you'll become. I'll see today… as you saving both our lives and I'll t-take your deliberate and calm action as a result of your quick thinking. I… I won't be able to forget, I'm afraid," she added in a slight murmur as she gently cupped his face in her hands. "But I might be able to forgive. Eventually."
He glanced up at her, not able to believe what he heard. "You… you'll stay?"
She nodded, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. "Thank you for saving my life," she said, and he could see the tears stick to her lashes as she closed her eyes.
"And I'll… I'll p-place my final bet on you… so, don't d-disappoint me, all right?" she finally said, hiccuping once as she smiled another very faint smile.
For a moment, he did not know what to do. He had not seen this coming and he had definitely not expected a second chance.
He was barely aware of the tears leaking down his face, slowly dripping onto his jeans as they fell from his chin as he kept staring back at her.
"You're sure?" he asked, his voice strange and hoarse, creaking halfway through and barely audible at the end.
"It's never too late to start all over again, is it?" she said quietly as she lowered herself from the bed onto his lap, burying her face in his neck. "I'm sure we'll do a great job at that, just you and me, right?"
"I love you," he whispered as he could finally smile again, too. "So much."
They would begin all over, a clean slate.
He could finally be free and be with this amazing woman who had given him a second chance at everything.
Everyone deserves a second chance if they are willing to take it
Brothels closed in the Twilight Town District
Twilight Town - The police have rolled up another criminal organisation in the early morning of the twentieth of October. Most of the members have been taken into custody for further questioning. Thanks to this mass arrest, four illegal brothels have been closed in the last three days, the prostitutes were taken into victim care and the owners of the buildings have been fined. A spokesman for the police station has stated that further investigation might lead to other members of the organisation, who might have fled during the investigation process earlier. They also hope for some of the prostitutes to testify against their offenders or at least help out finding unknown offenders. The leading detective of the Twilight Town District is optimistic about closing this case successfully. He mentioned in the press conference last night that the crime rates would finally go down with most of the offenders behind the bars before the end of March next year.
The end
Thank you so much, dear reader, for sticking by this story for as long as you have.I hope I haven't disappointed any of you. I think this was the best possible ending, with Kairi's initial forgiveness (bless her pure heart). Sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger, haha. This story just called for an open ending and I gave it all I had for this last year. Besides, maybe it would have been better for her to not forgive him, I wonder... even so, I wouldn't have been able to pull that trick on Roxas. I've toyed with it, but his heartbreak became mine and well... I think this is for the best. What did you guys think? Again, honestly, thank you. I hope to see you soon in another story :) Lots of love, Your author Oh, P.S. Vanitas had to die. Vanitas has even less of a moral compass than Roxas and Roxas did not lie when he said he'd come back to try and kill both of them. I do think Roxas would've rather had that Kairi hadn't been around when he had to pull the trigger, but at that moment, there was no time. In a way, he was overwhelmed by the fear of loss. Man, sorry for the many judicial references. I have been working too hard lately and it's seeped into my writing, too, hahaha. To the point where I really think it's funny. I actually laughed. I'll repent now.