3rd Person, Limited, Lin Koujo
A sigh escaped the Chinese man's lips, a hand going to his head. The day's events have been much more energetic than usual. Considering his job was a mixture of babysitting and 'ghost hunting', as the one he was watching called it, he knew that it was saying something. Despite Noll usually not saying much, and always going right to the point, there were the occasions of other, outside factors coming in. It seems that this time, it was a teenage girl that managed to gain the boss's sympathy which was the outside factor.
Momentarily, he had pondered over the possibility of Noll having gained some connection with the female, as it seemed as if he went out of his way to likely obtain the information he did. However, that was easily discarded, as his points were logical. The decision he made, however, wasn't what he would usually do.
And he was sure that Luella would be ecstatic, however, Martin… That would be a different story. He loathed the call he would be forced to make to BSPR about the situation. The male could hear Madoka already… Trying to hold back a laugh as he explained. A sigh escaped his lips before a small smile formed.
Perhaps this would give enough of a reason for Madoka to come by, at some point, which would be nice. She was peppy, but a good person. Perhaps too energetic and accidentally slipping up, but still retained a good heart and a want to help others when she can. That much he was more than aware of, and it was partly why he grew attached to her over the years.
Things recently, however… Went downhill with Eugene's disappearance. He expected it to take a blow to the woman, it affected everyone that knew him directly. Oliver, Martin, Luella, the other BSPR workers were always excited to see him at the start of the day before work began. Other than the direct family members, however, it felt like Madoka was the one to take the largest blow.
After all, she had been the one to not only suggest the trip to the twin, but she was also the one to convince Luella to let him go on his own, without anyone else. That, along with the consideration of having children themselves, as the twins were growing up and Madoka craved more children in her life, really hurt her and he knew it. Since then, there was barely any talk regarding their relationship, and all he knew he could do was wait patiently. Even if it hurt himself knowing there was little he could do other than continue what he was doing now, in Japan.
Perhaps Gene was indeed alive, somewhere…
He had the same hopes as everyone else regarding his status. However, much like Martin, he was also aware of the chances of Noll's abilities failing him were. It wasn't very likely, especially when he was deeply connected with Gene. So hopes were high but the reality was obvious in its own ways…
Moving his chair away from his budgeting of the SPR Lin took a moment to clear his thoughts, knowing the time in London meant that he would be able to call Madoka and she would answer without issue. After a deep breath and letting his muscles relax, he reached for the cellphone on the desk. Taking the phone off sleep mode, the lock screen held a photo of himself and Madoka. Perhaps he was a bit on the stoic side, but he recalled how happy he was that day.
The memories almost made him lose track of thought, however, he unlocked the phone and went to his contacts. It took a bit of scrolling to reach the name he was searching for, and he hesitated for a moment. Was he really ready to deal with what was going to happen on the other side of the line? It would end up happening either way, for if he were to tell anyone else, they would tell her, then she'd call him instead.
Huffing through his nose at the thought, he pressed call and put the phone to his ear. After the automated rant regarding international calls ended, the ringing began. He wondered how many pauses it would take for the woman to answer the phone. Perhaps it would just a few, or more. Lin assumed it would depend on what she was doing at the moment. She should be getting ready to go into BSPR, so he hoped it wouldn't be too much of a wait.
He didn't realize the amount of time that passed before he heard noise on the other side of the line. He assumed it wasn't that long, considering that Madoka wasn't instantly apologizing.
"Lin!" A cheerful voice screeched.
The male moved the phone away for just a moment, before putting it back to his ear. "You don't have to yell, Madoka."
"I know, but it's been so long! You should've video called me!" She exclaimed, a sense of disappointment threaded in her words.
"I'm a bit busy at the moment," Lin smirked as he spoke, "But next time I'll be sure to do that." If he were to be fair, there was more of a reason why he didn't do that this time… Not that he would ever admit it to anyone.
"You better…" The older female pouted for a moment, before continuing. "Oh, we conducted a new experiment with one of the mediums the other day, I wish you were here to see it! We managed to get some really great data, Noll would've loved it."
"I'm sure he would've," He responded, "He always enjoys more data. The more, the better."
"How is that going over there, anyway? Are you getting anything new compared to previous results so far?" Madoka asked.
"A bit, yes. All the data is unique compared to the west, it had captured Noll's interest much more than I expected it to." He was spending a good amount of time researching the data, as well as looking for ideal locations to search. Lin was more than glad that he was falling back on something else than the hyper fixation of finding his brother. It would let him remain more stable about the situation in the long run, he felt.
"That's great." Lin could've sworn he saw Madoka smile before her as she spoke. She truly did seem relieved regarding Noll. He knew she was worried about him, and hated that she couldn't come along. Or, at least, come to stay. "It's good that he's found more to focus on…"
Lin instinctively nodded at the comment, aware that Madoka couldn't actually see him. "I agree, it's a good thing…"
His gaze slowly moved to his laptop, the file he created for the new budget sitting on the screen. He knew that Madoka needed to see it before it could be accepted into the system. And she was going to ask about the change… Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he leaned forwards, starting to send it to the woman's fax.
"I need you to approve something for me when you get to the office, as quickly as possible."
"Oh?," The interest in her voice instantly sparked, and Lin prepared himself for the questioning. "What needs to be approved?
He paused for a moment, in thought of how to respond. "Some budget reconstruction. It isn't much, however, Noll would prefer it to be completed soon. Within the next few days, at the latest. But it would be wise to simply get it out of the way early instead of letting it wait."
"I'll take a look as soon as I get to the office. Afterward, I'll let Martin take a look, too." Then there was the sudden noise of confusion. "Hold on, why do you need something like that, Lin? I thought the budget was fine. We even left a good portion of it for tea, too."
Running a hand through his hair, Lin sighed loudly enough for it to go through the call. "Noll made a decision I question heavily."
"A decision, what kind?"
"He intends to hire someone fairly soon," Lin spoke, "And I don't believe there is no way to change his mind regarding it."
"Eh?" There was a bit where nothing seemed to happen before Madoka continued. "What kind of person managed to get him to decide to do something like that? That's gotta be someone pretty amazing."
"Apparently, she's an orphan," He was sure that was all that needed to be said, however, he continued, "With a visual impairment. My assumption is that he felt pity for her and wanted to assist her in some way."
"I see, poor thing… Wait," There was a sudden sense of excitement in her voice, "He took interest in a girl?! Oh my god, Luella is gonna freak when she finds out about this! He actually looked at a female in some new light, that's amazing!"
Lin found himself chuckling, tilting his head. "Please make sure Luella doesn't rant to Noll about it, or else I'll never hear the end of it."
"But a girl, Lin! A girl! There's no way she would be able to keep quiet about that!"
"I thought so…" Lin tapped at his keyboard for a moment, before moving the mouse on screen and clicking. "I sent the suggestion, it'd be wonderful if you could have it done by tomorrow."
"I'll get it done by this afternoon! Martin can't say no if it's for something like this, even if it is a little risky." He swore she was bouncing in place from the happiness in her system. He thought this would cheer her up.
Not only would it be helpful to Madoka to know Noll is alright for now, but he was sure it would help Luella and Martin as well. Luella, certainly. She has been patiently waiting for Noll to notice a female for quite some time. Martin was harder to realize, as he was one of science and research, but it could be said that he cared about his children. He was sure he'll be somewhat relieved as well that he would get some human interaction that wasn't silence.
"Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate it as well."
"Of course," Madoka cheered happily, "Alright, I'm ready to go! I better hurry over so I can get this done early, then I can call Luella and let out all the details!"
He expected as such… "Alright… And, Madoka?"
"Yeah?"
Lin smiled as he responded, "I love you."
"I love you too, dear." She said those words with such a gentle tone, Lin thought that he might've actually flustered due to it for a moment. "I'm hanging up now, bye!"
"Bye."
The next thing he knew, the call had ended, and the automated voice returned. Ending the call on his side as well, the first thing he did was place the phone down, in order to shut the laptop. His gaze moved to the clock in the room, and he pondered over his next choice for the time being.
There was nothing else for him to do for the day. He was certain he would get more tomorrow, along with the post-case details once the current one was over, but for the time being, he found that he had some extra time on his hands. Moving away from the desk, he stood and stretched.
There were few choices on what he could actually do. He didn't want to leave the room, however, there was little he could do in the room itself. Other than reading off his tablet, watching the television, or conducting his own, personal research, he didn't have much that only he could do. He knew that meditation was a must, as per usual, but what else was there to entertain him? A long moment of thought passed until he came to the conclusion.
Perhaps, instead of doing anything, he would simply rest, instead.
Hellohello! Here I be with exactly what I promised. A new chapter with a new perspective. Lin here is stuck with the task of telling Madoka of the change happening within SPR's walls, while also dealing with their relationship issues. Poor Lin, honestly. At least he gets to relax without injury, right?
LinxMadoka is a ship I personally enjoy and something I don't see all that often? So I hope to write it out a bit here with phonecall segments on occasion involving these two. It also helps flesh out Lin as a person and I really enjoy doing that. This just barely hit my word goal of 2k per chapter, so sorry about the lack of words. But I do hope it's something that everyone can enjoy!
