AN: Oh hey, my first time writing a oneshot involving Amuro, and I very nearly kill the guy. Although I suppose in a way, this is almost par for the course for me, really. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys! Until next time!
Only Just Coworkers
Characters: Azusa Enomoto, Amuro Tooru
Summary: As vivid colors brilliantly lit up the sky, Azusa began to wish she had taken that first aid course.
If she had known that she was going to get held up like this, she wouldn't have picked something as difficult to run in as a faux fur-lined kimono and a pair of wooden sandals. While her attire of choice was just right for that evening's firework festival, it wasn't exactly suited for dashing through the streets, hoping that she would manage to make it to the place where she had promised to meet up with her friends before the fireworks started. If only she hadn't gotten caught up in talking to her landlady, something like this wouldn't have happened- but once that old woman got started talking, it was very hard to make her stop.
With no real time to spare- she barely even had five minutes left!- she wasn't sure what it was that had made her stop in her tracks. A glimmer of gold, caught out of the faint corner of her eye, reflected underneath the dim lights of the alley that she had just passed, perhaps. The familiar tug that the sight of it gave her, even without knowing why. Hesitating only for a second, Enomoto Azusa spared one long look towards the shrine up ahead, before she turned around on her heel, backtracking in her steps to see what it was that had caught her eye so.
Not glimmering gold, as it turned out, not that she thought it would be- but rather a pale blonde color, of a rather familiar hue. While she didn't see him every day, it would be hard put for her to miss the likes of Cafe Poirot's newest part timer, given the way that he stood out from a crowd. She had asked him if it were bleached that color once before, and was a bit embarrassed when he had told her that it was his natural color.
"A-Amuro-san!"
The main cause of the alarm in her voice was not wholly due to the way that he was slumped over, seeming to fight for each breath that he took, though it was certainly a factor. Rather, it was the bright red color that was staining his otherwise black clothes- not a friendly substance such as paint, but something that brought with it a faint scent of iron, one that made her gut churn, even as she knelt down by his side, trying to get a better look at what was wrong. The blood seemed to be seeping out from his right side, where had pressed his hand, trying in vain to stop the flow of blood.
A million thoughts flooded her mind all at once. What was Amuro even doing here? He had called off work that morning, as he sometimes had in the past. She hadn't thought anything strange about it at the time, but what if he had been mixed up in some kind of trouble? How did he end up like this? Who did such a thing to him? She knew full well that he was a detective, had seen him work to solve cases before. Had something happened on a case of his? How had it managed to come to this? What about the culprit?
"Wait just a second, I'll call an ambulance!"
It was a natural response to such a scene, but as she reached in her purse for her cellphone, she found Amuro's hand on her wrist, finally meeting her eyes. As he gripped her wrist as tight as he dared, leaving behind a hand print of sticky, red blood, he slowly shook his head, giving her that same smile that he always wore, no matter the situation.
It was less effective when there was a faint trail of blood running down from his lips.
"It's fine, Azusa-san." Amuro croaked out after a moment. Frankly, she was the last person in the world that he expected to find her here, in this state- he still didn't fully understand how things had turned out this way, only that his cover had been blown in the worst way possible. He couldn't even contact any of his fellow public security bureau employees, since he'd needed to break his cellphone, to prevent it from being used to track him, from it being used against him. "You have that fireworks show to get to, don't you? You won't make it if you spend any longer here with me."
If she stayed here any longer, there was a chance that she might get mixed up in this. He was pretty sure he had given the slip for the moment, but who knew when they would catch up with him. Especially not with the likes of Gin gunning for his head.
"There's no way I can just leave you here!" Azusa protested. "And there's no way it's fine! Look at all the blood you've lost, Amuro-san! We have to hurry up and get you to a hospital, or else-!"
"I'm afraid I can't afford to go to a hospital just now." Amuro told her, his fake smile not leaving his lips, even as he released her wrist, using his hand to push himself up into a standing position. The bullet had missed any of his vitals- but that was the only good thing about this situation. He knew full well that he wasn't in good shape, and without medical attention, he didn't think he would be able to make it. If he showed up at a hospital, there was a chance that he would just get everyone there mixed up in this mess.
"I'm sorry," he said, glancing down at the still kneeling Azusa, internally scolding himself for staining her with his own blood. Faintly, in the background, he could make out the telltale sound of a firework working it's way up into the sky, illuminating the darkness with a bright orange glow as it exploded outwards, creating a shining flower in the sky. "...but I don't think I'll be able to come into work for awhile, Azusa-san. You should inform the manager that he'll need to hire another part timer."
"Now's not the time to worry about something like that!" Azusa once more protested, jolting to her feet, her eyes narrowing sharply. "Not when you're..."
"There are various things that I haven't told you about myself, Azusa-san." Amuro told her, pressing his hand against his wound again, feeling blood seep out through his fingertips. He wasn't in much condition to fight back, much less run away- but he was pretty sure he could still escape from a simple cafe waitress if pressed. "It's better if you don't get involved with me any further. I appreciate your concern, though."
"I can tell that much already!" Azusa said, leaning down to take off her wooden sandals, tossing them to the side- they would only get in the way now. She was no detective herself, but one didn't need to be one to know that there was obviously something more to Amuro Tooru- otherwise he wouldn't be in state like this, refusing medical assistance, pushing her away in the manner that he was. From the start, he had always been that way- there had always been a wall put up between the two of them, that was more than just being simple coworkers. "Whatever secrets that you might be hiding, there's no way I can just abandon a person in need. You're not the one who gets to decide if I'm going to get involved with you or not! That's my decision!"
"Now, come on! If you can't go to the hospital, you can at least come home with me. My apartment isn't that far from here." Wrapping her arm around his waist, she outright ignored the small noise of protest that he made, instead shooting him a look, silently informing him that there was nothing on heaven nor on earth that he could say to change her mind, not when she had already made it up. "I won't take no for an answer, just so you know!"
Ah, but why hadn't she taken that first aid course when she had the chance to? Even if she brought him home, she wasn't sure if there was much she could even do for him.
"It's dangerous." Amuro warned her, his own gaze narrowing, even as taking a step forward sent a surge of pain through him. Nothing that he couldn't handle, really- and it wasn't the pain that caused his usual business-like smile to disappear. "There's some dangerous people after me right now. If they spot you with me, they won't let you of that easily."
"That's fine." Azusa insisted, flicking her gaze towards him, just as another brilliant firework lit up the night sky, causing the gold of his hair to glitter once more. "Regardless of what circumstances they're in, I can't just abandon someone that I know when they're this badly hurt!"
"We're only just coworkers. There's no need to go that far for me." Amuro told her, even as he took another step forward, falling into step beside the insistent young woman, who in spite of being shorter and weaker than him, had taken it upon herself to support him. It was something he had fundamentally realized from the moment that he had taken up his job at the cafe- that Enomoto Azusa was a good person.
Much different from himself.
"Even if we're only just coworkers, that's still an important connection." Azusa told him, moving forward with him, one step at a time. "Now stop talking already, you're only going to make your injury worse."
Although it seemed as if there was more that he wanted to say, instead Amuro simply shut his eyes for a moment, shaking his head. There was nothing he could do to change her mind- that much was clear from the resolve reflected in her eyes. Instead, he simply allowed himself to be lead back towards her apartment, the sound of fireworks blossoming in the sky behind them the only sound shared between the two of them, not even looking back to see the vivid colors illuminating the darkened night sky.
As it turned out, Azusa didn't need to know any first aid at all, as she watched Amuro's deft hands sew up his own wound, only assisting him in cleaning it as best as she could. It hadn't been until he had fallen asleep, perhaps against his own will, given how much he seemed to be resisting it, that Azusa allowed herself to finally relax, slumping down next to the couch that he had drifted off on. At the very least, he wasn't bleeding anymore, so she could only hope that he would make it through to the morning.
Although she fought it herself, sleep eventually came for her, leaving her to drift off where she was, at the foot of the couch where Amuro slept, a thick blanket around him to keep him warm. She hadn't even had a chance to wash the blood off of her hands- and she doubted she would ever be able to get it out of her kimono. Her thoughts were dwelling on the fact that she would have to get a new one, when sleep finally claimed her.
When she woke, and felt a soft pressure around her shoulders that hadn't been there before, she already knew that she didn't need to check to see if he was still there. Grasping at the blanket that she had lent him, one that was now draped over her own body, Azusa's brows furrowed together, holding the fabric tight as she laid eyes towards her bloodstained, empty couch.
In the end, he didn't even leave behind so much as a note. Slowly rising to her feet, Azusa clutched the blanket tighter to her chest, wondering what was going to happen to him from now on. Even if he had been right, and even if they hadn't known each other that well, that didn't erase the time the two of them had worked together at the same cafe.
She, at the very least, would probably never forget.
