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It was just another day at the NXX headquarters. Each of them were in their own little corner, doing their own share of investigation, or reading, or whatever the hell they were up to. And everything was awfully quiet. Sure, they were doing their own thing, but Rosa kind of expected them to make comments about it, which would then elicit a few rounds of bickering. After trying to make small talk a few times, Rosa gave up on it and just went back to reading her files in silence.
Artem, sitting on the couch right beside her, seemed to be having trouble with something, as he was staring down at his tablet like he could blow it up. Not only that, his shoulders were stiff , and that was noticeable from miles away. Even Vyn made a comment about it once he walked in, something along the lines of “your spine is going to break with all the tension it is carrying”. Rosa had tried asking him about it, but he just shrugged it off and kept reading his files. You know, as one usually does.
Artem suddenly stood up and headed to the kitchen. Rosa sighed deeply. She was fed up with the men around her constantly hiding whatever the hell was wrong with them. She stood up and followed him.
Vyn, Marius and Luke shot her curious stares, but didn’t go after her. That is, until a few minutes passed and none of them returned. They stared at each other as if silently agreeing that they should check up on whatever the hell those two were up to in the kitchen.
So they did, but nothing could’ve prepared them for what they heard.
“Well… Is this position okay for you?” they heard Artem’s low voice, and it sounded somewhat shy. “Or am I too tall?”
“It’s fine…” Rosa agreed with a distant voice, as if she was distracted by something.
A few seconds passed in which neither of them said anything. Vyn, Luke and Marius briefly exchanged incredulous stares.
“What were you thinking?” Artem asked, as if amused by something.
“I was thinking that you look quite different now, so I can’t stop looking at you…” Rosa rambles.
“Ahem…” Artem coughs, shyness now back to his voice. “You can look as much as you want…” he says, then immediately adds. “But… Do I look strange in it?”
Rosa laughs. The sound is heavenly.
“No, it’s just different.” she says in an amused tone. “I’m not used to having you leaning down like this.”
If Vyn, Luke and Marius were in a manga or cartoon, several interrogation marks would’ve showed up above their heads at this moment.
“Do you feel… Weird? Or uncomfortable?” Artem asked with urgency in his voice.
“Not at all! It’s kind of exciting, actually.” Rosa adds.
More silence. Marius felt like biting down on his own fist. Luke was ready to walk in on them and yell “what are you doing to my childhood friend?!”. Vyn was just blankly staring at nowhere, looking like he was plotting bloody murder (and he probably was).
“Hmm…” they heard Rosa humming, which brought them back down to Earth. “This is hard.” she declares.
“I-I’m sorry.” Artem stutters.
“It’s okay! Just hang in there for a little longer…” she asks gently.
“Okay…” Artem agrees, sounding like he’d rather disappear into thin air.
“Do you feel uncomfortable? Does your back hurt?” Rosa asks with worry in her voice. “We could try and switch positions a bit, if it’s too much…”
If interrogation marks showed up before, now it definitely would be exclamation marks. Marius almost, almost stormed into the kitchen. He was stopped by both Vyn and Luke, who probably had joined telepathic forces into plotting a murder. Despite their surprise, their eyes were dark, as if ready to walk into them and mentally torture Artem for what he was doing to their innocent little Rosa-
“It’s fine, I’m fine.” Artem reassures.
“You could try opening your legs a bit if it gets too uncomfortable…” Rosa muses. “Oh, wait, that might be more uncomfortable…”
“I’m fine, really…” Artem insists.
“You also said you were fine back in the main room.” Rosa points out. “Stop shouldering your problems alone! I’m your partner, aren’t I?”
Marius had officially joined Luke and Vyn in their telepathic plot to murder Artem. The three of them were intensely staring at each other, as if that was a link to transfer thoughts. They could never think that Artem was this-!!! How could he-! In the kitchen, even-!
“It’s… Nothing serious, really.” Artem says.
“If it’s not serious, why were you so stiff, then?” Rosa counters.
Artem goes silent.
“Move this way a bit… I’m almost there.” Rosa gently asks.
Artem sighs deeply, so deeply that Vyn, Marius and Luke can almost feel it, all the way from where they were-
“Okay.” Artem agrees in that low and shy tone of his. How dare he!!! Act shy in a moment like that when he was basically-! With Rosa-! In the kitchen!!!
“Ah!” Artem suddenly exclaims.
“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” Rosa asks with worry.
“No, it was just surprising.”
“I might have to tug a little harder… Bear with it for a while…” Rosa says in a thinking voice, like she was trying to solve a puzzle, or put pieces of evidence together.
Vyn, Marius and Luke had probably completed their plot already. They were just waiting for the right moment to strike… The corner of the room in which they were in even seemed to be a bit darker than usual, with how hard they were thinking…
“Is this all that’s bothering you?” Rosa suddenly asks. “Aside, you know, the uncomfortable position…”
“I’m not uncomfortable…” Artem insists. “And yeah, it’s been like this since this morning…” he confesses.
“That’s no good!” Rosa reprimands. “Were you like this the whole day? What if you got hurt?”
Artem chuckles.
“It’s not the first time this happens…” he says, trailing off. “It’s happened before… But I didn’t have any help…” he kept saying something else, but it was inteligible from where they were. He didn’t have any help with what??? What were they doing in the kitchen??? They were all so close to walking into them to scold Artem for corrupting their innocent Rosa like that with sweet talks in the kitchen!!!
“Well, come to me next time. I’ll make sure to help you out of it.” Rosa says in that gentle, angelic tone of hers. She’s too good for this world. Artem doesn’t deserve her-
“Okay.” Artem agrees, voice now gentle. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing!” Rosa says cheerfully. “Can you move a bit closer, please…”
They can’t do this anymore. Vyn power walks into the kitchen, Luke and Marius right after him.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” he says as soon as he sets foot inside. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Yeah.” Rosa says, not even sparing him a glance. “I’m almost done with this.”
When they finally look into the room and take in the scene, they feel like three idiots. Artem is awkwardly leaning against the counter, and Rosa is right in front of him. He is leaning forward a bit, just enough to give Rosa access to his neck… Because Rosa is, apparently, trying to undo the knot of his tie.
“Why would they make ties out of this fabric if it’s so hard to untie?” she asks, as if annoyed at the universe for allowing that to happen.
“I don’t know.” Artem sighs. “But I keep forgetting about it and wearing them.”
Vyn stares at them, thoughts cooling off. Luke’s soul has already ascended to heaven and came back, so he just stands there, swaying on his feet like he’s a paper doll. Marius still hasn’t recovered, so he feels like he’s too tiny for the hotness on his face.
“There!” Rosa announces in a relieved voice. “I’m done!” and she gently pulls the knot of Artem’s tie apart.
Artem finally sighs out in relief, shoulders sagging.
“Thank you. This has been bothering me all day.” he thanks as Rosa hands him the tie again.
“No problem!” Rosa says with a smile, then looks at the door’s general direction “Ah, Dr. Richter, Luke, Marius… You’re here.”
“Yeah.” Luke says, voice devoid of any emotion.
“Yeah, uh. I. I need some water. My throat is dry.” Marius stutters, walking into the kitchen mechanically like he’s a wind-up toy.
“I’ll make myself some tea.” Vyn declares, walking in as well. Luke follows him like a lost puppy. “Would anyone like some?”
“Sure.” Artem agrees nonchalantly, looking way more relaxed than he was before. “I need something to help me relax after being stressed over my tie being too tight…” he comments.
“Oh, I’d like some, too!” Rosa adds, as she walks away from Artem (for the eavesdroppers’ relief). “Huh? Is something wrong with you guys? You all look tense…” she points out, noticing how the other three are acting… Rather differently.
“N-No! Everything’s fine!” Luke immediately blurts out. “You know what, I might drink some tea too!”
“Yeah! Tea sounds great!” Marius agrees, although he has already downed half a cup of water.
Rosa doesn’t say anything else, just stares at them as if she’s trying to collect evidence on a suspect.