"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SAY THAT, BASTARD?!" The ferocious blond's shout drowned out the echoing slam of the door. He'd screwed up. Badly. That much was obvious from the way she'd stormed out.

She had every right too. They'd kept her in the dark about this suspect. He wasn't even sure why. It just hadn't felt right to tell her. She was the one seeing the results of the creep's crimes up close and personal but an actual suspect made this more real. She shouldn't have to know that there was really someone out there who could and would deface every value she lived her life by. He also knew how absurdly ridiculous that train of thought was.

"Shut up Idiot! Even a moron like you had to be able to see how pissed she is! The last thing we need is for her to catch your stupidity and run off after him!"

Her earlier words bounced around his head. I'm gonna make that sick son of a bitch pay. He knew from the first time they were partnered that she could be prone to reckless impulsivity. This Sakura was angrier than the one he knew. And anger and reckless impulsivity were not a good combo. He knew from experience.

"God you really are a prick! Just what do you take her for anyway? She trained with Grandma Tsunade!"

"No shit! Clearly she's a brilliant Doctor! In 3 years and 10 months she went from 0 medical knowledge and the inability to be in a 30 meter radius of a corpse, to running a fucking hospital and dissecting a failed human experiment! But skills and calm in an ER do NOT translate to skills and calm on the field!" Sasuke growled, before he even processed what was coming out of his mouth.

Naruto reeled back in shock. He wasn't sure what surprised him more, the blatant praise of his pink haired sister-not sister, or that Sasuke didn't know. Thinking back to what Sasuke had confessed at the Ramen bar, it was starting to seem more and more like his and Sakura's relationship was more complicated than he had thought. He decided now was not the time to tease him about that, so he focused on the other part that surprised him.

"You mean you don't know, Asshole?"

"Know what?"

"Granny didn't just teach Sakura-chan medicine. She also was training her in hand to hand combat. And like—it's Granny's training. So that included that monster strength she's got…Bushier brow Sensei was crying over how many new sandbags he had to order for his gym. It wasn't pretty…"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to be shocked. How could he have known…and he'd essentially just told her she was weak. In actuality he was finding it very hard to believe Naruto. He probably wouldn't until he saw it for himself. There was no way that tiny woman would be able to destroy a sandbag—let alone several. Underneath the shock and disbelief was the ever growing rage at himself for having hurt her. Again. He'd sworn he'd fix their relationship and here he was imploding it.

"That's—"

"Sakura-chan's not weak. She can take care of herself. And everyone around her."

"Then why didn't you say something before?" Sasuke ground out, channeling his rage at himself on the blonde. "Why didn't you tell her we had a suspect? Why didn't you shut me up earlier?"

Naruto looked like he'd been slapped. "Well…I—that's because—"

"It's because you agreed! You also think it's too dangerous for her too! So where the hell do you get off lecturing me—"

"Well if you'd stopped being such a grade-A asshole for a minute—"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Kakashi said with so much authority that they actually stopped and looked over at him. They had been so caught up in their fight, they almost forgot he was there. This argument had gone on long enough and it was time he intervened before they started trading blows.

"Of course you're both protective of her and don't want her in danger. That was why she was initially placed on this squad. It's no accident that the three of you were made a team. We create squads to balance each other out."

"What are you talking about?" "You thought this was a balanced squad?" Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously interrupted.

Kakashi let out an exasperated sigh. Deciding Naruto's question would be answered with further explanation, he decided to focus on Sasuke's. "Sasuke," he said, focusing his lazy but experienced gaze on Sasuke's calculating blank one, "You had the highest test scores in the academy, ranking at the top both academically and in combat. But you failed in cooperation and working with others. You also had a genetic advantage in your unbelievable eye sight, and strange immunity to fire."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. It had been a long time since their academy test reviews—he'd forgotten about his scores entirely. It had also been a long time since anyone had actually talked about his genetic advantages.

"Naruto," Kakashi said turning to focus on the loud mouth blonde who still looked confused, "You failed everything. Ranked in last place for every subject. Except cooperation. You had an uncanny ability to get everyone on board with you. No matter who, it was only a matter of time before you could get them to open up. On top of that thanks to your heritage, you have an unending amount of stamina and incredibly fast recovery time as well as overall durability." At this the blonde broke into a proud grin. "It was only natural that you two balanced each other out."

"Where does Sakura fit into that?" Sasuke demanded, still not seeing how any of this was related.

"Sakura was as middle class as they come. She excelled at academics but she wasn't the smartest in the class. She was poor at hand to hand combat though not the absolute worst. She was normal from a normal background.

She didn't have the trauma and real life experience that you two had, of being alone to fend for yourself. Of having no one. Nor did she have the lineage that you or any of your classmates shared. She didn't have a family trade, skill, or genetic advantage like you two."

"You better not be calling Sakura-chan useless!" Naruto yelled pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi.

"Far from it. She was the only one with pure motives in joining the police force. Your ultimate goal, Sasuke, was for revenge. And you needed police clearance to get access to your case. And Naruto, at first you wanted glory and acknowledgement from others. Sakura joined because she believed in the value of human life and dignity. And she wanted to protect and bring justice to those who lost it. She was the only one of you with actual moral grounding as her motivation. And her inexperience with how dark the world could be, elicited in both of you the instinct to protect her. No matter how deep in your own bullshit you two were or how intense your rivalry became, the need to protect her normalcy and moral compass acted as a glue that kept you three functioning as an abnormally close knit team."

It hadn't even occurred to either of them but now that they thought back on it, the axis of the team had always been to protect Sakura. She was the first thing that had gotten him and the blonde idiot to really work together. At Kakashi's word, Naruto and he'd put their fighting on pause. At Sakura's, they'd stop the fight altogether. The one thing they'd both always agreed on was that no one hurts Sakura, and anyone who does, pays.

"She gave you two a taste of what it was to be normal, and as a result you two did everything in your power to protect that."

Normal. Sakura had made them feel normal. Naruto, who'd never known what it was like to celebrate his birthday until Sakura. Sasuke, who hadn't had a single relationship to another person that wasn't laced with anger, bitterness, jealousy, or hatred until Sakura. She made them feel normal. That wasn't something either of them could have afforded losing.

"But that was more than four years ago. Sasuke, you're more willing to work with others—especially Naruto. You're working here isn't just about tracking down your brother. You want to be here to actually do good. And Naruto, you trained so hard that calling you KPD's finest isn't a blatant lie anymore. You really are one of the strongest people here. You got your recognition, but it stopped being about that a while ago. You genuinely want to protect this city and everyone in it. You both changed. So why wouldn't Sakura? You're never going to stop wanting to protect her. But you need to acknowledge that she's far from the inexperienced middle ground girl that needs protecting. Trust in her."

There was no sense arguing. They both knew he was right.

"You didn't defend her either…" Naruto grumbled.

Kakashi sighed, his head tipping back a little, hand going to cover his already masked left eye. "Yeah, well, I never said this lecture was just for you two."

Before anyone could say anything in response, the door flew open and in waltzed Sakura, her aura frigid. He hadn't expected her to come back, and based on Naruto and Kakashi's reactions, neither had they. He thought he had accidentally dealt her irreparable damage in his earlier verbal attack. When she had stormed off, he figured she'd be too overwhelmed with her emotions to focus on the case anymore that day. She went directly to the board, looking at none of them, and began writing out and listing off all their possible leads in her small tight looped writing, her tone all business with a sharp undercurrent of seething rage.

"I'll check with Konoha University and the Hospital for records on Orochimaru. If he was in the training program with Lade Tsunade, they'll have some records of him, but only high ranking hospital officials will have clearance to look."

She capped her marker, turned around and cast a frozen look at each of them. When her jade irises met his, he was struck with the distinct image of frost bit grass. As she stormed out the door for the second time that day, he felt a surge of dread and again wondered how he'd already managed to break things more after just having sworn to fix them.

Naruto had gone out to ask around about Shiin. That was where he excelled as a detective. He could get anyone and everyone to trust and talk to him. One interrogation with Naruto saw even the hardest of criminals turning over a new leaf. Everyone kept their eyes and ears out for him. Victim's families, witnesses, ex-cons, homeless people, orphans, cops in other departments, even cops in other cities were always willing to help Naruto. As such he always got all the information he needed through his network of connections. Sasuke would never admit it to him, but he was a little jealous. Naruto could connect with others in a way he could never dream of.

They had decided to divide up the leads they would follow. Naruto was looking into Shiin and Hinata would notify him if any potentially related cases came up in missing persons. Sakura took the CRSPR lead and was checking with the Hospital for Orochimaru's records. That just left the power and geographic lead, which Sasuke took on.

He'd been pouring over power usage reports and terrain maps for the last three hours with nothing useful coming up so far. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. It was already 8pm and his headache from the morning had been attacking with a vengeance. In the reflection on his computer screen, he could see Sakura's tense back. She was sitting too straight—obviously still furious.

Very suddenly all of her tension dropped. Her head slumped forward into her waiting hands, her fingers covered by her bangs, but he could see them massaging against her temples. Apparently, he wasn't the only one with a headache.

Thinking back on it now, she had looked worn out in the meeting with Tsunade too. She had come in still in her hospital scrubs—which she had yet to change out of—indicating that she had come directly from a shift. Her resolute gaze had carried traces of exhaustion she seemed determined to hide. She hadn't come out for ramen with them earlier for lunch and when he had gotten back, she was already at her desk preparing for the autopsy. She needed to eat something and take a break but it was clear she had no intention of doing that any time soon. He didn't care how pissed she was at him, she was a doctor and she should know better. Working like that wasn't healthy. If she wasn't going to take a break, he'd make her. He crossed to her desk and towered over her. At the shadow now covering her desk, she looked up at him in surprise.

"Find something?"

"Go home." The second it left his mouth he knew he'd made the wrong choice of words. Even without her piercing glare, he could tell that was the wrong thing to say. Maybe Naruto was right and he really was a grade-A bastard.

"I'm working." She replied cooly, turning away from him.

"You need a break."

"What? Am I so helpless and frail now, I can't even do desk work?" She whipped sarcasm like shuriken.

This wasn't going anywhere. He had to change tactics. Placing one hand on her desk and one on the back of her chair, he leaned close enough into her face to see his reflection in her large green eyes. The sudden move startled her and making her turn back to face him, their faces only 7 centimeters apart.

"What time did your shift start today?"

Sakura seemed surprised by the sudden line of questioning, her already huge eyes widening in shock. As he had hoped, she was caught off guard enough by the tactic change to answer without her cutting sass.

"6am."

Early, though not unreasonable. But as he scanned over every detail of her face, he noted the slight bags and shadow underneath her eyes. Barely noticeable unless you were exceedingly close to her, which the back of his mind hoped no one ever was.

"Then you didn't sleep well last night…?"

"I was on call. Emergency surgery at 2am."

"Did you go home after?"
"It took a while. My shift had pretty much started by the time I was done."

"Did you take a break?"

"Busy morning."

"After we talked earlier, where'd you go?"

"To get supplies from my office."

"Then what?"

"Came back here and did the autopsy. If you need someone to corroborate my alibi you can go glare in a mirror." She shot back, her eyes narrowing slightly. She'd caught on to the interrogation approach once she overcame the shock and clearly wasn't a fan.

Sasuke continued to hold her steely gaze, staring at his reflection in her eyes. They were remarkably clear. Were all eyes as clear as hers? He could see his reflection perfectly in them, even smaller details and hints of color. He didn't think he'd ever seen such reflective eyes before—thanks to his Uchiha genes, his eyesight could pick up and retain even the smallest of details, so he would have remembered if he had. He'd never cared much for mirrors but he found himself mesmerized by the reflective surface of her irises. And the color…he was positive he'd never seen that gentle spring shade of green on anyone else. The dark tangle of her long lashes obscured his view for a second, snapping him out of his daze. He realized he'd been silent too long—her look of hostile challenge had changed to confused concern.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"At—" She stopped short, her head shifting slightly to the left, eyebrows lightly furrowing and mouth open slightly as she tried to recall. He pulled away from her which he found to be frustratingly difficult.

"I shouldn't have to tell a doctor how bad it is to forget to eat. Take a break."

"I'm not leaving if you're not."

This was frustrating. When had she become this stubborn? He opened his mouth to tell her how annoying she was being, but never got the chance as she continued.

"You've been fighting a losing battle with that migraine for the last two hours. You need a break just as much as I do."

That stopped him cold. How did she notice? He thought he hadn't given any indication of the hammering pain pounding his skull from the inside out. She turned her back to him, clearly dead set on continuing to work. Not if he had anything to say about it. She said he needed a break just as much as she did? Fine then. He'd take one. He grabbed his jacket and stuffed the maps he'd been pouring over into his bag. The flurry of movement caused Sakura to turn back to him. He stared down at her, watching her eyes go wide in surprise. She hadn't expected him to listen to her.

"Let's go." He turned and started towards the exit. Her resigned sigh and the shuffling of materials signaled her intention to follow. Sure enough, her quiet steps confirmed his suspicion. Now to make sure she ate something…

It turned out Sakura didn't own a car as she still commuted to work. This played to Sasuke's advantage. She was clearly exhausted and it was written on her face that the prospect of commuting was not a pleasant one. That was probably the only reason she'd accepted his offer of a ride so easily.

Heavy silence permeated the car, both inhabitance focused dead set on the road in front of them. Silence had never bothered Sasuke in the past, but he found this one pissed him off, largely because it shouldn't be there. There was way too much that had to be said between the two of them, and the fact that neither of them were saying any of it filled the confined space with more tension than it could hold. He'd never been one for starting conversations—but he was aware that if he owed it to anyone, it was Sakura. He messed up and he needed to do something that the Uchiha never did. Apologize. Steeling his resolve he was about to speak when Sakura beat him to it.

"I'm not mad at you for earlier." That was the last thing he expected her to say. She was letting him off the hook, which was the last thing he deserved and felt the need to point that out.

"You should be."

"No." She returned placidly.

"Why?"

"I can't fault you for thinking I can't handle myself. Clearly you didn't know what Lady Tsunade's training entailed and you haven't seen me fight recently. My past showings were pathetic at best. You'd have no reason to assume that wouldn't still apply."

"Nothing never changes. It was dumb of me to think that you wouldn't have gotten stronger during those three years." As soon as it left his mouth it occurred to him that explicitly bringing up the time of his absence was a mistake. He could tell by the way she tensed in his peripheral vision that he'd set her on edge. Again, she surprised him with startlingly calm logic.

"Why wouldn't you jump to that conclusion? As far as you were aware, I wasn't even on the force anymore. I'm a doctor, who managed to not only score residency but become the unofficial head of the hospital within three and a half years. The natural assumption is that I wouldn't have time or reason for combat field training."

"Then why'd you get so angry earlier?"

For the first time since they got in the car, Sakura turned to look at him armed with an expression that clearly communicated her belief that he must have only one functional braincell.

"Just because I get it doesn't mean I appreciate having my weaknesses—alleged or real—thrown against me by my own teammates. I also wasn't too happy that neither Naruto nor Kakashi-sensei defended me. Also not thrilled with you two withholding your suspect from me, but even that I kinda get…I had my suspicions about the autopsy that I didn't want to share unless they were confirmed. It's part of the job so as much as it pisses me off, I get it."

She sighed and leaned back in her seat, looking up at the sky through the moonroof. "Just…Just stop leaving me out of shit. I'm part of this team too. Always have been and always will be. So just stop leaving me out…"

It was shocking to him how clearly she knew herself. The way her mind was able to analyze exactly what pissed her off, separate and contextualize it, and process it in a way that allowed her to move forward was truly admirable. If it had been him, he'd just have gotten angrier the more he thought about it, until he exploded in an impulsive fit. She was someone so fully governed by her emotions and yet the amount of control she had over them was flawless. Her emotions were her tools, navigators, and guides where as his weaponized themselves against him, ripping him into shreds from the inside out and submerging him so he couldn't think straight.

He looked over at her fully and found he couldn't look away. The way the moonlight caught her made her look unreal. Her pale hair shimmered a silvery pink, her fair skin glowed, and her spring green eyes shined like polished jade. With her petite size, gymnast's grace, and unusual coloring, he might actually have believed her if she told him she was a fairy. In the far recesses of his mind, he absently wondered if he should send her in as a case study for The Implausibility Factor.

Sakura slowly blinked before turning to meet his eyes, locking him in her gaze. After a few seconds of charged eye contact, she murmured, "why aren't we moving?"

It made him uncomfortable how much conscious effort was required in looking away from her, but with a surge of willpower he managed to tear his eyes from her to the dumpling restaurant out her window. He hadn't forgotten his primary mission in offering her this ride was to get her to eat. She followed his gaze out the window to the homey looking restaurant before practically jumping out of the car.

"Oh thank god! I'm so fucking hungry."

Sasuke almost laughed.

Apparently "so fucking hungry" had been a gross understatement. She wolfed down an entire plate of appetizers, her whole plate of shrimp tempura and had just ordered another plate of dumplings. He couldn't blame her, after all it had to have been over 24 hours since she last ate. He was mildly impressed by how she was still able to eat gracefully at that rate of consumption. Her table manners were still in check and she managed not to spill or drop anything. He'd always wondered where she got her flawless etiquette from. She rivaled all the heiresses at the boring formal functions he'd been forced to attend as the only representative of his family.

He was snapped out of his pondering when her small hand deposited an orange pill bottle next to his plate. Upon further examination he noted that it was a prescription migraine medicine—his name was on the label and Sakura was listed as the prescribing doctor. He blinked at the bottle of medication. She must have prepared it while she was getting her stuff from the hospital, which meant she'd made her diagnosis while they were getting their case assignment from Tsunade…

"You should take two now since it's your first dose, but you generally it's one in the morning and one at night. Make sure you take it with food."

"How'd you know?"

"You turned off your computer monitor to do a digital job the analog way. You'd wince whenever you looked up, and you were resting your head in your hand, covering one eye."

"You prescribed this before that."

"Your right eye twitched a little when I opened the door, Lady Tsunade opened the window shade, or she and Naruto got too loud."

"You got that I'm suffering migraines from an eye twitch." There was no way that was it. If that's all she was going on to formulate her diagnosis, it was incredibly reckless.

"That coupled with your eyesight. Your genetics are a double edged sword, Sasuke-kun. The heightened range of your sight, amount of detail your eyes can pick up and retain, abnormally wide peripheral vision, and nearly perfect night vision all place strain on your optic nerves and occipital lobe. You're genetically adapted to handle it, but over exertion and lack of proper rest and care will cause damage. I know you have trouble sleeping at night, but even if you're just resting your eyes with a cold compress, that'll help. You should also increase your B-vitamin, Lutein and Omega-3 intake."

Sasuke blinked at her, before slowly dropping his eyes to the bottle in his hands. His emotions were one huge torrent of confusion. For her to have that much knowledge of his unique genetic trait meant that she must have really studied it hard while he was gone. Her words earlier about being unable to throw him away rang in his head. No matter how emotionally wounded I was, neither could I. He knew how much he hurt her, how all he seemed to keep doing was hurt her. He deserved her hate, anger, and acidity. Part of him wanted for her to punch him in the face, tell him to fuck off and to never come near her again. That's what he deserved.

But the rest of him desperately just wanted her to look at him and smile again. To fall into their easy way of conversing, to not be tense or question every time they were alone together. Her unbelievable kindness, attentiveness to him, and every time she said his name with the honorific all gave him hope that they could get back to that place. But the strange guarded, calculating energy she kept giving off, and the tension she held in his presence filled him with uncertainty. He wasn't sure what the right choice was in this situation.

But he did know that his head was pounding, and his eyes had been growing more sensitive to light recently. Clearly now was not the time to be disregarding a skilled medical professional's advice just because of messy personal reasons. He uncapped the bottle, popping two pills into his mouth before chasing it with water.

The waiter had brought Sakura her dumplings, which she was already half way through consuming. "It's later," she said, regarding him curiously. His brows furrowed in question, unclear about where this was headed with the randomness of the statement.

"Delicate and breakable. What's the difference?"

"Hn…"

"Knew you were lying."

"Lying?"

"About there being a difference."

"There is a difference."

"I'll believe that when you tell it to me."

"And I will…Later."

She let out a bemused huff. "Sasuke-kun, you have to actually be good at talking if you want to talk your way out of a situation."

"I'm not trying to talk my way out of a situation. It's late. You're tired. That conversation's long. I'll tell you later."

"You're not telling me because I'm tired but I'm the one who asked so my exhaustion shouldn't factor into not having this conversation."

"Who said this was just about your exhaustion? A medical professional recently informed me I need to be resting more for the sake of my eyes."

Sakura actually did let out a small laugh this time. "Well at least you're not arguing. I was expecting you to be stubborn about it."

Sasuke paid the bill. He was uncertain if her financial situation had gotten better or not, but he was loaded and was responsible for dragging her out to eat so he figured it was the least he could do. Sakura clearly didn't look thrilled about it but she also didn't argue, which lead him to believe that her finances had not gotten better.

...An idea that was further reinforced when he dropped her off at her tiny apartment—the same place she had lived in before he left— in a shitty neighborhood. He remembered the first time he'd dropped her off and asked her about it:

They were in the middle of a rough case. Garra, a boy their age, visiting from Suna, had a psychotic break and went on a rampage, shooting people with specialty crafted sand bullets. Luckily no one had died, but several were severely injured. His older brother, Kankuro, was hiding him, while KPD questioned his older sister, Temari. She had revealed Garra's tragic upbringing. Their mother having died in child birth and suffering from abuse, neglect and isolation enforced on him by their father, who blamed Garra for her death. Neither of his siblings felt the same way but their father kept them away from him. Alone and constantly being told he was a monster, Garra started having violent outbursts.

After explaining his past, Temari didn't give them anything else, determined to protect her little brother whom she felt she failed growing up. The three of them had been deeply effected by his story. Both Sasuke and Naruto found parts of the story unnervingly similar to their own lives, and Sakura hurt for him and her team, just imagining it. The likelihood that Garra had recognized and might target squad 7 was high as they'd had two interactions with him prior to his mental breakdown. As such, they had decided it was best to avoid traveling alone or using public transport as much as possible. But Sakura didn't have a car.

Naruto was too riled up about Garra, and Kakashi was working on calming him down. So it was up to Sasuke to take Sakura home.

The ride had been a quiet one, both still lost in thought about Garra. They only talked when Sakura would give him directions. Until Sasuke registered that they were heading towards South Konoha—the district with the second highest crime rate.

"Sakura, where are we going?"

"To my apartment…?"

"We're headed towards South Konoha."

"Where my apartment is…" She said clearly confused by his confusion.

"It's not safe there."

"It's ok. I'm armed." Her tone was light and unbothered, which bothered him more.

"You can't shoot for shit."

"I'm working on it." She laughed awkwardly, looking out the window.

The conversation died there, until they reached her apartment. A sketchy rundown seven story building with graffiti on the sides and a light blinking in and out in the lobby. The area around it wasn't any better. Further down the block, he could see a park where he was sure less than legal activities took place.

"Why do you live here?"

"Because it's cheap."

"Cheap shouldn't rank higher than safety."

She shrugged. "It's not just that it's cheap, I really can't afford anything better."

It had never occurred to him that Sakura had financial issues before. He assumed that someone who looked as put together as her had money to back it. She must have read the question in his face.

"My parents both had minimum wage jobs since I was little. My mom actually has two, she's a maid and a preschool teacher and my dad's a waiter. And I started working when I was fifteen to help with bills and stuff. The police academy tuition was more than they could easily afford but it was my dream so they worked their asses off to send me. It was selfish of me…police work doesn't pay that well. I should have aimed for a higher money making industry so I could support them, the way they always supported me."

"They don't help you with rent." It was an observation more than a question.

"They can't really. They try to but I turn them down. I could live somewhere nicer than this, but I wouldn't have enough left over to pay off some of their debts."

"That's why you use public transit."

"Yup. Can't afford a car." She laughed at whatever his disapproving expression must have been. "Don't worry I'm not going hungry or anything."

"Hn."

She got out of the car, the door snapping shut behind her. He watched her cross to his window, knocking lightly. The window lazily rolled down and she smiled cheerfully, leaning against the open frame. "Thanks for the ride, Sasuke-kun. Goodnight!"

Before she could turn to go he grabbed her wrist. "I'm driving you to work tomorrow."

She blinked in surprise and for a second he thought she looked a bit flushed, but then she smiled and it was gone. "Ok. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks for the ride, Sasuke-kun." She said, unbuckling her seat belt.

"Doesn't being a doctor pay more?" He muttered eyeing the rundown shit hole she called an apartment with distaste. Her eyes trailed to her building, before falling back to him.

"It does. But medical school, and textbooks cost more…and I can send more money back to my parents this way."

"Hn."

She shook her head and pushed the car door open. Before she could get out he grabbed her wrist. "I'm driving you to work tomorrow."

He tried not to focus on how his spirit sank at her guarded expression. "What if I don't want you to?"

"I don't give a shit." He could see her mind calculating her response, so he decided not to give her the opportunity. "We're a team. What kind of teammate would I be if I let you commute to work alone."

"Didn't stop you before." She shot back, her tone carefully measured.

"It will now."

There was another tense pause, their eyes locked on each other. She broke it abruptly, getting out of the car. "Rest your eyes with a cold compress." She instructed before snapping the door shut. He watched her cross to her building and waited until he saw the light of her fifth floor apartment turn on, before driving away.