When Sebastian had woken up the next morning, he was a bit surprised to find that he hadn't set an alarm to wake him up. Grumbling under his breath, knowing he would get shit for this at the department, he opened his eyes. He blinked. Something pink was covering his covering one eye completely while the other was only partially covered. He was confused at first, before picking his head up to see Cotton Candy under his head. Then he remembered that he had taken the bunny to bed with him to help him sleep. He felt a pang to his manly pride but got over it quickly. This was his daughter's toy, he shouldn't be ashamed of taking what little comfort he could from her, even if she had passed away.
The raven could only assume that Cotton was under his head because he was using him, her? He couldn't remember what gender Lily gave the bunny. Anyway, she was under his head because he was using her as a pillow it would seem, and her ears had fallen to cover his eyes. Or maybe he positioned them like that to block out the light that was still on above him. That was just as likely as the former. Although, he was never really told he put things over his eyes except for his arm when he wanted to block out light while he slept. Myra often complained of him burying his head into her neck or back but that was it.
Getting out of bed since he wasn't one to lounge around like a lazy person, he quickly got dressed in his detective attire of slacks, white button up shirt, black vest and, this time, a black tie. He couldn't remember where he threw the red one when he took it off last night, unable to find it in the five seconds he took to locate it. He did find his belt though, which was in front of the bathroom door apparently. After he was all set, he walked into his living room, flinching at the sunlight that was filtering through his window. Covering his eyes with his hands as he let them adjust, he looked at the clock that was mounted on the wall above the television. It was one – twenty seven in the afternoon.
The man couldn't help but groan as he scrubbed at his face. He was definitely late for work. When he located his phone however, still in the pockets of his trench coat, he saw that the captain hadn't called him. The older man was probably letting Sebastian have some time off after Beacon most likely. Even if Sebastian had requested to carry on his work like normal. Obviously the others in the department were worried for him, not exactly knowing what had happened to him but they could assume it was bad if Sebastian was becoming paranoid. Two cops were presumed dead after all, even if Joseph's body wasn't found with the other dead cop in the tub, Sebastian had confirmed his death. Kidman was missing and was being searched for by the higher ups. Although, the raven just knew that they wouldn't be able to find anything about her. He didn't know who she was working for but they covered their tracks. Considering that when he woke up finally after STEM there was little evidence that left any sign of who set up everything, they cleaned up after themselves. All Sebastian knew was the name given to him from STEM: Mobius. He had never heard of such an organization, but apparently they were into some pretty shady shit, if Ruvik's mind was any constellation to go off of.
Slipping his trench coat on, Sebastian put his phone into one of the pockets before picking up his keys. This time, on his way out, Sebastian turned off all the lights, no longer needing them to keep the darkness at bay. Once he was out of his apartment, the detective locked the door, having to jiggle the key a bit to make it work. "Damned thing needs to be replaced," he grumbled to himself before slipping his keys into his pocket, making his way back to the ground floor. He was set on edge just a bit, since the building seemed to more quiet than what he was used to. It was early into the afternoon so most people would be at work or school if they were students. He was just used to late night noise or early morning happenings of getting ready for work. He had never left his own apartment this late into the day before and if he had, then he was with Joseph most likely so they were talking about a case. He never noticed just how abandoned the building seemed to get in the afternoon. It was unsettling. He couldn't seem to keep his heart from pounding in his ears, just waiting for the impending doom that was to befall him. Once he was outside though, he could finally breathe without expecting trouble. Outside was full of noise: people going on their lunch breaks, cars going down the street, and others talking on their phones about whatever had their attention at the moment. Now that he was outside, feeling a bit triumphant in keeping his panic at bay, Sebastian pulled out a cigarette to light. Placing the filter between his lips, he fished for his lighter in his pockets.
"Need a light?" Someone from beside him asked. When Sebastian looked over, he noticed a teen leaning against the building, holding out a lighter for the older man to take. He was wearing some blue jeans, sneakers and a band teeshirt, a name on it he had never heard of nor recognized. He was smoking a cigarette himself, honestly looking too young to be starting such an addiction. Not to mention he looked like he should be in school at this time.
"Thanks." Sebastian took the lighter and cupped the flame as he lit his cigarette. Handing it back to the boy without looking at him, he took a long puff of his own addiction. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"Called out sick." There were only a few reasons a high school student would do that.
"Test you didn't study for?" After blowing out a column of smoke, he took another long drag.
The teen beside him laughed a bit. "Yeah, I forgot about it while I was trying to catch up on my homework. Just needed an extra day to cover the material." Sebastian just hummed a response to that. He could remember a time where school work overwhelmed him. That was years ago, almost lifetimes. How things were so much simpler back then.
Feeling as if he had put off going to work long enough, Sebastian turned his head as he flicked the ash of his cigarette to the ground. When he opened his mouth to say something, eyes landing on the teenager, he froze. The face he was looking at wasn't the face he was just talking to. Pale hair reflected in the sunlight, skin looking sickly and drained of color, eyes that were absent from the real world but could still focus on a subject. It was Leslie again. Sebastian started to sweat, unable to move in his shock. His limbs locked up and he could feel himself starting to shake. "Move god dammit!" He demanded of his limbs but they just wouldn't listen. Leslie just stared back at him, still wearing his patient robes.
The spell broke when he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. Amber eyes blinked, finally seeing the real world again for what it was. The teenager was standing before him again, concern laced over his young features. "Old guy! Hey old guy! Don't seize up on me, I don't know how to handle those!" Sebastian was confused at first over what the young man was talking about before a pain erupted in his mind. Clutching his head, the detective had to find something to put his weight against. He couldn't find anything immediately and the world started to tip a bit. "Whoa there. Here, sit down." The teenager eased Sebastian onto the front steps of the apartment building so he could sit.
The raven had dropped his cigarette at this point, both hand clutching at his head to help ease the pain in his head. He must be going insane or something. He was seeing Leslie when he wasn't even around. Was that his guilt? His remorse for not saving the kid even when he tried? He knew that he could sometimes hear Lily's voice when she passed but it was never something like this. No, this was a new level of insanity for him. Maybe he should go to the doctor to get this checked out. "You alright there buddy?" And like that, the pain was gone. Blinking way the black spots of his vision after suffering from such a mental attack, the detective shakily got to his feet. "I don't think you should be standing up yet. Want me to call someone? The hospital maybe?"
Shaking a black head of hair, Sebastian stepped on his half-finished cigarette to put it out. "I'm fine." His voice was strained still. Before anything else could be said, Sebastian started to move towards his car to get to work. He was still shaking when he was seated in the driver's seat. Reaching into the glove box, he pulled out a flask of whiskey from it. Taking a quick swig, the burn was enough to ground him, the familiar taste helped him stop shaking. Letting out a breath, the detective took one more swig before placing the flask into his back pants' pocket. It was going to be one of those days it would seem.
Oddly enough, when he walked into the precinct, the people around seemed surprised to see him. Did they think he just wasn't going to come in today? Casting them a stoic expression, he made his way to his office to get to work. He was in the middle of taking off his coat when the door opened behind him. "Castellanos, I thought you weren't coming in today." His captain was checking up on him again. Sebastian felt a bit irritated, he was a grown man. He didn't need babysitting, despite what Joseph believed sometimes.
"I never agreed to that. I still have to write up my report," he informed his superior.
"Sebastian." The raven looked over his shoulder to the older man. "If you need time off –" He started.
"I'm fine Captain. I just need to get back into a routine. That's all," Sebastian assured, moving to his desk now that his coat was on the hanger. Taking out the paperwork he had started for the Beacon incident, he started to scribble on the paper, making it seem like he was working. He left no room for argument so the older man left, closing the door behind him. Amber eyes followed the man as he left before dropping his pen to lean back into his chair. Digging his thumb and index fingers into his eyes, he left them that way until he saw spots. It helped bring him some relief, just not much. Once he could finally see once more, he looked down at the scribbling he had put down just to appear busy.
My partner Joseph and I, with my charge Kidman were responding to a call for a possible multiple homicide on our way back from finishing a case. Officer Connelly turned the car toward the direction of Beacon
That's where he seemed to have stopped. It wasn't a bad start but after that, things just got crazy really fast. It was going to be a long day it seemed.
Author's Notes: Chapter three. I know it's still building up but I promise it'll kick up in the next chapter. Just be patient with me please! Thank you!
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