Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You’ve heard of the new guy the chief hired recently, haven’t you? The one coming in from Avidya PD? Isn’t today his first day?”

“‘Course I heard, the whole department’s been talking about nothing else! They say he’s a total genius, especially in his field. The kind you only met once in a lifetime.”

“I heard that if he works as a consulting detective for your unit, there’s no need for you to come to work at all. One of the Avidya officers told me. The result’d be the same either way, he says. But he also called that new guy a lunatic. Wonder why?”

The familiar hushed whispers reached Cyno’s ears as he made his way through the hallways of Sumeru Police Department. He didn’t bother sparing a second glance to the pair of officers murmuring in front of the break room, the traditional mugs of coffee clasped tightly in their hands, let alone inform them that they were doing a poor job at keeping their voices down.
Had they been part of Cyno’s team, he would have given them a mouthful for slacking off at work when he knew for a fact that their lunch break had yet to arrive. The urge to reprimand them was definitely present, either way - with all the time that he knew the officers at Sumeru PD had spent gossiping about a certain future colleague this past week, an outsider would assume that they were too short on cases to fill the time.

Which, unfortunately, would have been a blatant misjudgment of the situation. Cyno would know - it was partly due to this attitude that his Detectives’ Unit had been unable to catch a break recently while the rest of the officers were busy lazing around, enjoying an ungodly amount of coffee that Cyno would bet wasn’t included in the department’s budget.
Actually, he might as well address that issue when he met with the chief in a few minutes.

It wasn’t hard to guess the actual reason of why he had been called to his superior’s office - there was little else to talk about other than the topic that had half of the department in a frenzy, especially considering the lack of a breakthrough in any of his team’s most recent cases.

The rumors of the new member meant to join the unit lured with a promise of less future trouble thanks to additional work power, as well as the prospect of Cyno’s team operating on more than three hours of sleep in the future. That was, if the guy was as competent as the rumors made him out to be.

Cyno hadn’t had too much doubt before - he knew the chief to have a good eye for choosing the most competent subordinates. However, there had to be at least some kind of issue, considering where Cyno was currently headed despite the mountain of files waiting for him in his office.

All of these circumstances were, undoubtedly, reason enough for the uneasy feeling that overtook Cyno when he came face to face with Chief Kamisato’s grave expression.

Determined not to reveal his suspicions before receiving confirmation from his superior, Cyno greeted the chief with a polite nod as it had become common practice over their five years of working together. “Chief Kamisato, sir. You have something to discuss with me?”

The sigh the chief heaved in place of his usual reserved smile caused Cyno to frown. The matter seemed to be more dire than he had previously assumed - a bad omen, if Cyno had ever encountered one. While he was not one to believe in superstition, he could tell the concern in his superior’s solemn eyes was not to be taken lightly.

“Cyno. Close the door and have a seat, if you would.” He waited for Cyno to comply before continuing.

Cyno had always appreciated that his boss was not one to waste time with pleasantries - he got straight to the point while somehow managing to be polite all the same. Sometimes, Cyno wondered why the man had chosen to become an officer instead of going into politics. But well, all the better for his department.
Although it would be a lie to claim that Cyno had always agreed with Chief Kamisato’s decisions since they had started working together - while Cyno would never think to prematurely judge the chief because of his high society background, there had been occasions on which he got the feeling the man was a little too used to things going his way. Cyno blamed it on this very attitude just how familiar the sight of officers slacking off had become to him during his time at Sumeru PD.

“As I’m certain you’re aware, I’ve called you here to talk about the consultant who will be joining your team this afternoon. While there has been an official briefing with all of you yesterday, there are some unofficial issues that I believe you, as the Lead Detective, should be informed about,” the chief, predictably enough, began, the crease between his eyebrows becoming notably more prominent as he spoke.

Cyno answered with a solemn nod. Nothing unexpected so far.

“Am I right to assume that this is about the rumors concerning…” What was his name again? “...Alhaitham?”

The concerned frown that pulled on Chief Kamisato’s usually so composed features in return did little to ease Cyno’s mind, in that particular way that clued Cyno in on a complication in the chief’s plans that the man had no control over.

“I’m afraid this matter goes farther than rumors alone. You see, I have discussed this problem with his previous superiors as well and all of them have confirmed that while the consultant is an invaluable asset to any police force who employs him, his genius does come at the cost of great desperation from his teammates. He tends to… take all kinds of tasks into his own hands and works best as his own boss. Not to mention, his methods are a bit… unique.” Hence the unflattering nickname of ‘lunatic’, Cyno assumed.
“While I do by no means doubt your authority as an officer or as a detective and I hope history will not repeat itself for this department, I want you to keep this in mind.”

In other words, it would be on Cyno to play chaperone and try to keep this especially headstrong subordinate in check - to the best of his abilities. Which was a struggle that the chief had effectively pushed onto Cyno instead of personally dealing with the problem - a problem that he had caused by hiring this guy in the first place. And, what was worse, Chief Kamisato’s demeanor made Cyno suspect that even his boss didn’t have high hopes for him, despite Cyno’s status as the most brilliant detective the department had ever seen. A prodigy, as he was called on occasion.

Hardly five minutes ago, Cyno had still believed that this ‘genius consultant’ would be a greatly helpful and necessary addition to the undoubtedly skilled detectives of his team. However, he was becoming less sure by the second and the gods knew he wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of babysitting a grown man, either, especially if said man was apparently difficult enough to get along with to justify such strong reactions from his past and future colleagues. Of all the ways Chief Kamisato could have supplied his team with much needed resources - new equipment, another tech expert to assist their technical analyst, an experienced detective to back up the team - why did it have to be a headstrong consultant who already sounded like more trouble than he was worth?
While Cyno was well aware of his status as an exceptional leader and his ability to intimidate his subordinates into submission, that was as far as his people skills went - with the exception of his team and his close friends. How in the name of the Archons was he supposed to teach a newbie about appropriate social behavior?

He had just opened his mouth to remind Chief Kamisato of this fact and to propose an alternative that he had yet to come up with when a firm knock on the office door made him hesitate.
The chief, notably surprised at the obviously unexpected visit, opened his mouth to answer. However, before he could even produce a noise, the person at the door had invited themselves into the office.

Cyno instinctively shot up from his seat, assuming an undeniably defensive posture as he watched with a mixture of incredulity and anger as the unfamiliar man stepped beside him. One look at the newcomer’s tall and broad stature, casual dark clothes, messy gray hair and attractive features confirmed Cyno’s suspicions concerning his identity - the picture Cyno had briefly glimpsed at when skimming over his application clearly didn’t do the consultant justice.

No matter. First and foremost, the man was an uninvited visitor who displayed an inappropriate amount of impoliteness towards his superiors - in the way he had entered the office and in the way his oddly-colored eyes now scrutinized Cyno’s smaller form, not bothering to address the chief with even a single glance.

Then the man spoke and Cyno absolutely hated the way that smooth voice made his gut shrivel up like a sea slug in the sun. “Detective Cyno, I assume? Your reputation precedes you. My name is Alhaitham, as I’m sure you’re aware, and you will be supervising my work for your unit as of today.”

Still, Alhaitham’s sharp gaze lingered on the police uniform Cyno insisted on wearing on a daily basis, that he took great pride in wearing along with his badge, despite his position not requiring him to. Alhaitham must have his own strong thoughts about Cyno’s clothing choice - or at least that was how Cyno ended up interpreting the unsettling gaze of turquoise and ruby eyes still burning holes into his skull.

It felt like an eternity passed in which Cyno tried his utmost to reciprocate that icy stare in equal measure, hoping to elicit the same discomfort in Alhaitham that those sharp, impassive eyes made him feel - and, very regrettably, failing to as much as rouse a reaction.
Finally, Alhaitham turned his attention to the chief. As he should have all along, considering each of their ranks.

“Chief Kamisato.”
The words, barely a greeting, were followed by a hardly-there nod of acknowledgment.

Finally, with Alhaitham’s attention having left him, Cyno was able to release a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. It was an irksome realization, to say the least: Apart from his position as the consultant’s superior, he was not one to feel intimidated by another person, much less a bulky stranger acting like a spoiled brat. It was supposed to be the other way around.
But Cyno pushed the notion aside - he was just stunned by Alhaitham’s borderline inappropriate behavior. The feeling would pass before he knew it and he would earn himself the respect he deserved - because of both his position and his skill. He always did, even though it was already taking more time than usual in this particular case.

Absorbed in his own grievances as he was, Cyno almost missed the frown dominating Chief Kamisato’s expression once more. “While I do appreciate your enthusiasm, I’m fairly certain that our meeting is not due for the next three hours.”
Cyno couldn’t decide whether it would be more fitting to roll his eyes at the chief’s choice of words - if there were any emotion whatsoever evident in Alhaitham’s casual demeanor and indifferent gaze, enthusiasm most certainly would not be it - or to frown in anger. ‘Fairly certain’, as Cyno was well aware, was Chief Kamisato’s way of expressing a fact. After all, Cyno knew just as well as every other person in this room that Alhaitham had purposely arrived far before his scheduled meeting with the chief.

An assumption that was confirmed by the consultant’s nonchalant answer. “If I had shown up by the scheduled time, could you have guaranteed that all the formalities would have been dealt with by the end of the workday? As established in my contract, I work from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., including an hour of lunch break, five days a week. No overtime, no weekend calls. Try either and you’ll find that I’m unavailable during my free time.”

During Alhaitham’s much less than flattering listing of demands - half of which was just as inappropriate as his demeanor - Cyno had watched with rising unease as Chief Kamisato’s eyebrows slowly disappeared beneath his hairline. This must be the complication to his plans that the man had dreaded.
Meanwhile, Cyno had had to violently grit his teeth to keep himself from reminding Alhaitham of his position right then and there. With the chief present, it was not yet his task to keep the consultant in line - Chief Kamisato must have been planning to push all responsibility for Alhaitham’s behavior onto Cyno the first chance he got. But Cyno would have none of it - not yet, anyway, although he felt like every bit of malicious joy he felt watching the Chief struggle now would soon come back to bite him in the butt.

So this was what the rumors meant when calling Alhaitham an unbearable contemporary of a lunatic. Stalking into his superior’s office uninvited and acting like nobody in the department had the authority to order him around. The audacity.

But just when Cyno had decided that it would be impossible for him to guarantee a peaceful work environment with this man around, no matter what the Chief might have imagined hiring this particular consultant, Alhaitham continued. “Now, if you’re ready, I would like to discuss my conclusions regarding the current case. Judging from your notes, your team has failed to make any progress so far, no?"
He raised his hand as he spoke, lightly tapping the case file he had been holding this entire time - a case file that he was not yet supposed to have access to. Oh, Cyno would definitely investigate its origins the moment this absolute chore of a meeting was over - whatever fool was responsible for Alhaitham getting his hands on that file, there would be hell to pay. Cyno would not stand for a breach of protocol, least of all from a future member of his team. (Although he was starting to doubt he would consider Alhaitham as such.)

“If there’s nothing else, I would like to make use of what remains of this workday. Chief, if you’d excuse me. The Detective and I have a case to discuss,” Alhaitham declared with a brief nod in the direction of the still startled Chief, opening the door without another word and disappearing into the hallway. He obviously expected for Cyno, who remained frozen in place due to shock and outrage alike, to follow after him like an obedient puppy - like that shameless consultant had any authority to order Cyno around. Which would be far from the case even if Cyno hadn’t been his direct superior starting that day.

It was then that Cyno knew working with Alhaitham would be a massive challenge to not only his nerves and his patience. There was absolutely no way the two of them would get along and that any attempt would end in anything other than a disaster.
That was, unless that smartass consultant hit his head and developed a completely new personality.

-

The day after grudgingly welcoming Alhaitham into his team, Cyno had mostly managed to suppress his anger. Lashing out at Alhaitham already would do neither of them any good, considering that Cyno had little hope to get rid of the guy anytime soon - Chief Kamisato’s behavior had indicated as much.
Besides, there were more important matters by far that demanded his attention on a daily basis, such as the meeting he had arranged for his entire team to discuss the information they had gathered on their newest case.
He had chosen to blatantly ignore that they could only focus on this new case now that Alhaitham had solved their previous one - a case that had had them wrecking their brains for days - in mere minutes.

Cyno had never even heard of the supposedly rare disease that Alhaitham had identified on every victim’s body after nothing but a look at the soles of their feet - and apparently, neither had the victims themselves, judging by the medical records of the deceased. It had slipped past the forensic pathologists as well, seeing as it wasn’t mentioned in any of the autopsy reports. (Cyno’s anger knew no bounds - if only they had been able to do their damn job, that cursed consultant wouldn’t even have been needed.)
But even so, it was the very connection they had been missing to solve the case - the one that had made a serial killer chase five victims all across the country after they had visited his hospital in Sumeru City to cut off their legs and leave them with his next victim.

Cyno still didn’t quite know how to feel about the entire situation. Of course he was happy to have arrested a killer and protected his potential future victims but even so, the matter in which it had happened was somehow incredibly irritating, seeing as Alhaitham had been the one to connect the dots all on his own, as though Cyno and his team truly weren’t needed.

But Alhaitham wasn’t here now - only the Archons knew where the consultant had disappeared to after inspecting the crime scene of their latest case - so Cyno refused to waste even a single thought on him.
Instead, he gladly focused his attention on Heizou’s report about his interrogation of the victim’s husband. “I called in with his workplace and his alibi checks out,” Cyno’s trusted colleague finished, the rare frown on his face signaling that he had yet to discover any promising clues, much like the rest of them. “Scara’s analysis of the victim’s online contacts came up empty, too,” Kazuha chimed in, eyes skimming over the text messages on his phone screen that Cyno easily identified as their technical analyst’s investigation results. “Neither of us can find or think of any motive that any of her acquaintances could have had to murder her. Nothing indicates that she had a stalker, either. But considering the amount of violence that the corpse displays and the fact that her home wasn’t broken into, it is unlikely that the killer didn’t know her.”

Cyno nodded in deep contemplation, his thoughts leading him back to the victim’s kitchen, to the amount of blood on the floor, the horrifying state of the corpse… “Twenty-two stab wounds to a victim’s chest suggest that the kill was highly personal. The killer must have had a lot of suppressed hate for this woman, likely combined with repressed sexual urges,” he agreed, “Especially since it isn’t serial, as far as we know - the M.O. doesn’t match any recent killings of note.”

Even Kazuha’s face was darkened by a frown now. “But who could have had a motive that neither of the victim’s family members nor her close friends know about and that hasn’t been discussed online?”
Oh, if Cyno could answer that.

He was about to propose they divide and review the gathered information of their suspect pool once more in search for any leads that they had missed when the office door opened and none other than their lost fifth team member strolled inside. Alhaitham sat in the last vacant chair without question, making himself comfortable as far as his seat allowed it - like he had just returned from a bathroom break and his entry required no commentary from the detectives.

Needless to say, there were three pairs of eyes staring at him in baffled disbelief - a very fitting sentiment in the face of this… this impudence - that Alhaitham dared to reciprocate with something akin to curious expectation. “Please, don’t mind me. Go on.”

While Cyno would have very much liked to let his boiling anger blow up at that shameless bastard for treating both his superior and his team members with such disrespect, doing so would have been highly unprofessional, as well as an easy win for Alhaitham’s obvious provocation. And if there was anything Cyno was famous for, other than being an excellent detective, it was his exceptional skill to keep his composure under any kind of pressure - to remain cool and level-headed no matter the obstacle thrown his way. It didn’t matter if, for some reason, Alhaitham rubbed him the wrong way far more than his average colleague - no way on Celestia would Cyno give up on his impeccable reputation over this. Ever.
(And if he had his hands clenched under the table and his teeth gritted to stop himself from flying off the handle at Alhaitham’s borderline inappropriate display of arrogance, no one ever had to know.)

He could always pull the man aside later to remind him of proper work etiquette and, more importantly, respect and hope that he wouldn’t end up giving Alhaitham a concussion when he slammed him against the wall to prove his point - no, that would be unbecoming of him, even without any witnesses around. But the thought was so damn tempting.

Since Alhaitham made no move to contribute to their investigation this time - which admittedly filled Cyno with malicious triumph - there was no reason for Cyno to acknowledge his presence in any way. Rather, this was his chance to carry on as per usual and prove that he was far more useful in his position as a detective than that damn consultant could ever hope to be. He would have Chief Kamisato eating his words in no time.

“The victim’s sister will arrive for questioning in half an hour. I suggest we try to uncover possible motives until then,” he began, addressing the actual detectives of his team with the most commanding tone he could muster. If his behavior was just the slightest bit affected by Alhaitham’s attitude, nobody would be the wiser. “Kazuha, have Scara look through the victim’s online conversations again - considering how active she was on social media, it is likely that we can at least uncover some sort of lead there. Heizou, you question the husband again about the victim’s behavior over the past days. If she knew about the killer’s intentions, it must have shown in more ways than what he told us the first time - even if he didn’t consider it to be important before. Be thorough, don’t shy away from details. Try a cognitive interview, if necessary. For all we know, his subconscious memory might be the key to solving this case.
As for me… I’ll work through the information of the victim’s acquaintances once more.” Kazuha had already started typing out the message in question by the time Cyno finished, his fingers all but flying across the display, while Heizou had risen from his seat and was on his way to the office door.

Cyno couldn’t help the satisfied smile that pulled at the corner of his lips. This was his team - the best of the best, personally chosen by himself for their exceptional prowess in their field. Together even more so than on their own, the four of them were quick and efficient, their success rate remaining perfect even after years of working together in this constellation - they didn’t need some random fifth member in order to be extraordinary.

He certainly hadn’t expected Alhaitham, who seemed entirely unimpressed by their demonstration, to choose this very moment to speak up.
“Before you jump into pointless questioning and speculation, I figured you’d like to know that the killer is the mailman we briefly ran into at the victim’s house.”

The three detectives simultaneously froze in their movements to stare at the consultant in disbelief. As well as, in Cyno’s case, badly-masked indignation.
He remembered the mailman - a random bystander who obviously had no connection with the victim but had simply happened to be at a suspicious place at a bad time. That was all there was to it, from what Cyno could tell.

So this was Alhaitham’s game, huh? Making baseless claims to deter Cyno? Genius detective, his ass. All that guy did was hinder their investigation by wasting their precious time. Was he trying to reap the glory for himself while the team was distracted chasing false leads?
If Alhaitham’s previous partners had fallen for it, that explained why he was always the first to solve his cases. Wow, he had stooped far lower than Cyno had expected. Yesterday’s case must have just been a fluke, then.

But still, making such a random accusation? Did he take Cyno for that much of a fool? Was he trying to provoke him again?
Too bad that Cyno would have none of it.

“Do you have any proof to back up your claim?” This was Heizou asking the question laying on Cyno’s tongue, his arms crossed over his chest in an obvious challenge to the consultant - although his tone, albeit slightly more aggressive than usual, was more polite than Cyno would have managed.

Alhaitham reciprocated his gaze for a moment, his expression unreadable, before, to Cyno’s great surprise, he rose from his chair and reached inside his pocket. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He actually had solid proof? Yeah, right. Cyno would believe that when he saw it.

When Alhaitham continued, his tone every bit as professional as was fitting for a real detective, his expressionless gaze was glued to Cyno. Archons, the stare of those jewel-like, two-colored eyes was so sharp it seemed to pierce right through him.

“When we talked to him, it seemed to me that the mailman couldn’t get away from us quickly enough.”

He had based his theory off of that? This conversation was growing more pathetic by the second.

“He might just have been in a hurry because he was on the clock, seeing as he was wearing his uniform,” Kazuha pointed out, both his voice and his demeanor radiating his characteristic soothing calmness. Cyno had never appreciated his presence as much as he did in this very moment - which was saying a lot, considering how valuable Kazuha had proven for the team and how much Cyno was fond of him as a person.

The same, however, couldn’t be said about Alhaitham, who had the audacity to ignore Kazuha altogether, in favor of continuing his so-called explanation. Needless to say, the nerve of him had Cyno fuming internally. How could a single person be this impolite? He was definitely giving Alhaitham hell for this later. No one, absolutely no one treated Cyno’s team this way and got away with it.
“It seemed quite unusual for the mailman to call the victim by her first name, don’t you agree? They must have been on rather good terms for that to be appropriate.” Wait… he had? Cyno couldn’t seem to recall.
“Apart from that, I noticed that the letters he was holding had no postage stamps on them, nor were the sender and recipient signed on the envelopes. Furthermore, when I called the post office, I learned that this particular mailman was off duty today.” He had done what?! The last time Cyno had checked, a mere consultant did not have the authority to request such information.

“I asked for his address while I was at it and had myself invited into his house under the pretext of questioning a potential witness.”

So Alhaitham had left behind the team to investigate some trivial hunch, in the process of which he had posed as a police officer twice - without even owning a police badge - in order to gain entry to a potential suspect’s house alone, without even thinking of informing his superior, which additionally made this unauthorized operation of his a breach of protocol, only to return and act like he was the leader of the unit…
Oh, how Cyno wished he had the authority to fire the guy. Too bad that Chief Kamisato would have none of it, as long as the results were to his satisfaction.

What was even worse: It seemed that Alhaitham was far from done.

“When I created an opportunity to slip away and take a look around the house, I noticed that his bathroom door was locked from the outside. This is what I found in the bathtub.”

The object Alhaitham placed on top of Cyno’s desk was his phone, the screen showing a photo of a bloodied kitchen knife on a white surface - it did look like a bathtub, alright.

“You agreed that the victim’s stab wounds were caused by a chef’s knife, likely the one that seemed to be missing from the victim’s kitchen, correct?” Alhaitham continued while the three detectives were busy leaning in to inspect the photo as closely as possible. It didn’t look like a fake. “My visit must have interrupted the killer before he had the chance to clean and dispose of the murder weapon. What’s more…” There was more?! It was bad enough that Cyno couldn’t decide what to believe anymore.

“I checked the locked drawer in the study and discovered the letters that the mailman had been holding earlier, some of them covered in blood. It seems that he had returned to the crime scene to retrieve them when we met earlier. The victim must have kept them in the empty drawer that we found in her bedroom. My guess is that I disturbed the killer before he finished cleaning the knife and he hid the letters in a frenzy before remembering to wash his hands. If you would slide to the next picture now…”

The next photo showed the letters in question - Cyno immediately recognized them as the ones the mailman had been holding. Only the blood stains covering them were new - quite the unflattering addition.
“There are more letters beneath this stack, written on different paper. I didn’t have the time to open them but I assume that the victim and the killer were having an affair and this was their way of communicating in secret. No one would suspect anything if they saw a mailman holding a few letters, unless they took a closer look. It is likely that the victim has angered the killer somehow, possibly by ending their affair. I wasn’t present during the interrogation but I assume the victim has been acting overly passionate in her expressions of love towards her husband lately?” How… how had he known?!

Cyno was feeling strangely wobbly on his feet, overcome by the weight of the truth Alhaitham had discovered - combined with the weight of recognizing his own misjudgments. Disregarding the means the man had utilized to solve this case, his results were flawless and the speed at which they were delivered was completely unheard of.
As much as he hated to admit it, Cyno had been absolutely wrong about Alhaitham’s skill, if nothing else: the rumors he had heard were nothing if not completely understated.

So that was the kind of person Cyno would have to work with. If this case was anything to go by, Alhaitham’s contribution would no doubt triple the speed at which the department had been arresting convicted criminals - and it would rob Cyno of every last bit of patience that he possessed.

Even now, he was still boiling with anger. And Alhaitham was not about to make him feel any better.
“In addition, I have reason to believe that this same mailman is an important suspect for the unsolved double murder in Avidya Park three weeks ago.”

This situation was starting to turn into a dream-like fantasy - more of a nightmare, in Cyno’s opinion. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to feel happy that another killer had been caught by a supposed member of his team, and in record speed, no less. How much time had passed since they had first entered the crime scene? It couldn’t have been more than two hours.

“One of the victims was a brunette in her late twenties, with a height of 5’1, all of which also applies to today’s victim. The first victim from three weeks ago had been out on a late night walk with her best friend but neither of them returned home. When I checked with the mailman’s superior, it was confirmed that he worked in the same area that night.
The autopsy report of the double murder mentioned that the victims were stabbed in the throat with a metal object that had yet to be identified, correct? Well, the drawer in which the letters are hidden also featured a clean nail file that would fit the shape of the stab wounds, as you can see in the next picture.
While none of this proves the mailman guilty of the double murders, I believe this is sufficient reason to further investigate. However, I advise you to act quickly. From my experience with similar cases, I can confirm that the death of the intended target usually doesn’t keep the culprit from killing again, as long as he has a motive. Which, in this case, I would assume to be sexual repression.”

It was too bad that Cyno had nothing to say in return, let alone a reason to object. Like it wasn’t enough for him to have suffered a crushing defeat at the hand of his newest subordinate - his speechlessness simply resembled yet another pair of feet trampling on his pride.

Not that he would allow his feelings to show, lest he dug himself an even deeper hole.

In the end, Cyno just turned to his keyboard to record Alhaitham’s conclusion. He would rather be stabbed to death by that damned mailman than to let Alhaitham finish the case report on his own.

He wished dearly his tasks would have been enough to distract him from the sharp stare burning holes into his temple.
“What’s your verdict, detective? How did I do?”

Cyno was surprised to hear not a hint of mockery in Alhaitham’s voice and even more so, to find nothing but curious expectation on the consultant’s face once he reluctantly turned to look at the man.
Was he really expecting Cyno to answer that? Was he making fun of him? What a dumb question - what else could he possibly be aiming for after humiliating Cyno more than he had ever been humiliated before?
Calling his current emotions embarrassment and shame didn’t even begin to cut it.

“Why didn’t you tell us any of this before?” The words had been spoken by Kazuha, once again asking the very question Cyno hadn’t trusted himself to voice without snapping at last.
Although he feared he had long guessed the answer.

Alhaitham chose this moment, of all times, to let his lips quirk up into the tiniest of smiles, his gaze still lingering on Cyno.
“I was curious to see how long it would take the lot of you to figure it out.”

Cyno reciprocated his stare for another minute, determined to find proof of Alhaitham’s gloat in that unreadable expression, so he could take it as yet another reason to hate him. The fact that he came up empty was nothing but the icing on his cake of defeat.

Turning back to his desk - he refused to spend even another second facing that goddamned bastard - Cyno reached for his phone, already feeling a massive headache coming up. He may or may not be punching the familiar numbers into the screen more violently than was necessary.

“Yes, chief. The consultant has identified the killer, we will be needing a search warrant and a team at a certain address asap. And prepare the arrest warrant, too, while you’re at it.”

-

Cyno could have handled the humiliation with grace and perfect composure as he always did and nobody would be the wiser about the boiling volcano of rage about to erupt behind his unbothered façade. There would have been nothing to it, least of all a problem for himself. (Not when Chief Kamisato was the one pulling the strings, anyway.)
All of that would certainly have been the case - if only the disaster of their last investigation had remained the only occurrence of its kind.

To Cyno’s great irritation, he discovered the very next day that situations like this one were the norm when working with Alhaitham.
Cyno had always solved his cases without much trouble and at a remarkable speed but there was no denying that neither him nor anyone else on his team could hold a candle to that godforsaken consultant. (Oh, and Cyno had tried to deny it. Multiple times.)
Eventually, he had to grudgingly admit that his team’s pace had indeed more than tripled thanks to Alhaitham’s participation. Which became even more annoying when Cyno identified the man’s regular solo trips and breaches of protocol as the habit they were. Well, it wasn’t news to either of them that arrogance and rules didn’t mix well.

Despite knowing as much, Cyno had tried to reprimand Alhaitham, multiple times, had tried to keep the consultant in line in all of the ways he knew how to - first and foremost, intimidation. Used as Cyno was to his harsh glare and sharp criticism being beyond effective on his targets, it was all the more frustrating that with Alhaitham, Cyno only ever seemed to run into the most resilient titanium wall known to mankind. No matter the insistence with which he told Alhaitham not to flout protocol (as much of an understatement of the man’s actions as that was), not to run off on his own, to communicate with his team during cases, Alhaitham only ever returned his angry stare with a leveled, unperturbed look. “I’m simply attempting to put my talents to the best use that I can in order to assist you, Detective,” that cocky, pretentious bastard always responded before excusing himself with a polite nod that was every bit as fake as Alhaitham himself.

To Cyno’s great fury, there wasn’t anything more, let alone anything more effective, that he could do about Alhaitham’s behavior as long as the chief remained satisfied with the unit’s results.

Alhaitham continued to present the team with the most absurd theories that Cyno had ever heard of in this business - all of which, to his utter horror, turned out to be true, be it a disturbing theory about a killer’s identity or the kind of murder weapon that no one in their right mind would have considered.
The interest of the press in the Detectives’ Unit reached an all time high. It turned out objectively good-looking genius consultants attracted the attention of a ludicrous amount of reporters.
Meanwhile, Cyno had become a more frequent visitor to Chief Kamisato’s office than he ever had been. He could be found sitting across from the chief almost daily, begging him to let Alhaitham go for multiple reasons - the most important one being that teamwork with that man was downright impossible. Sadly, the chief had yet to heed Cyno’s desperate cries for help - Cyno was starting to doubt that he ever would.

Alhaitham proved over and over that he was by far the most unbearable asshole Cyno had ever been around and continued to never miss a chance of provoking Cyno.
The consultant did whatever he wanted - be it bringing coffee to a crime scene (he seemed to not only share the department’s coffee addiction but took it to a new level), reading books during case meetings, ignoring any work-related calls when he was out of the office, even during work hours, or leaving work the moment 7 o’clock rolled around, even in the middle of a press conference.
Speaking of the press - Alhaitham readily informed the reporters about his success while never forgetting to bring up Cyno’s ‘great contribution’ to the case, no matter how small said contribution had been. By now, there was no statement that Cyno was more sick of hearing than “You’re giving me too much credit. It was the Lead Detective who discovered most of the evidence that helped us arrest the killer.” Half of the time, it was utter bullshit, considering that Alhaitham had been the one to reach a breakthrough in their case.
In other words, the bastard happily rubbed Cyno’s failures in his face. Like Cyno wasn’t feeling inferior enough as it was. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until he became the laughingstock of the entire department.

He kept telling himself this entire ordeal wouldn’t have irked him even remotely as much if only Alhaitham had had an acceptable personality in any regard.
But this was certainly not the case - as telling as Alhaitham’s every word and action was in terms of condescension and rudeness, there was no better proof for his despicable demeanor than the fact that he openly enjoyed his provocations towards Cyno, seemingly becoming more smug with every passing day, despite that infuriating look of indifference. Flaunting the Lead Detective’s failure to the press was, to Cyno’s great fury, only the tip of the iceberg.

While working together - as little as that definition fit whatever his team and that damn consultant were doing - Cyno felt Alhaitham’s gaze on him more often than not, as though the man was actively waiting for Cyno to slip up so he could mock him for it. Similarly, Cyno was always the person Alhaitham faced when delivering a theory - like it was meant to annoy Cyno specifically. Like Heizou and Kazuha didn’t even exist.
Every once in a while, Alhaitham would end his workday by directing a casual, “Good work today, Detective,” towards Cyno - like he had the authority to judge the quality of Cyno’s performance, no matter how meager it had been compared Alhaitham’s own. It drove him absolutely mad.

Which became even worse when considering that Cyno’s chances to prove himself continued to diminish, now he and Alhaitham always somehow ended up forming a group when the team was forced to split up to investigate - and Cyno, not wanting to burden his colleagues with Alhaitham’s presence and still determined to keep a close eye on the man, didn’t resist the development.
If it was an interrogation, Cyno would ask the suspect several questions only for Alhaitham to successfully end the interrogation with a single sentence of his own and then rub it in Cyno’s face after, with a rare smile and an undoubtedly complacent whisper of, “There you go, Detective.” If it was a search for clues, Alhaitham would be the one to discover whatever it was they needed and then ask Cyno if he had done well. If it was a case report, Alhaitham would be the one to come up with the most precise and on point formulations. If they were missing a significant but highly unknown fact to progress their investigation, Alhaitham was the one to deliver it without fail, no matter how absurd the information was for anyone to know. Due to his participation in a certain case of a murdered zoologist whose killer had fed the murder weapon to their pet, Cyno now knew far more about the diet of flamingos than he had ever cared to. If it was a crying family member of a victim who they had to question as soon as possible, Alhaitham would deliver the words that brought them back to earth and, despite his leveled expression, would somehow look so smug afterwards that Cyno just barely stopped himself from punching the bastard. Cyno didn’t know how he did it - how he suddenly became a being capable of sympathy and comfort when it counted, although Cyno would have previously bet a limb that Alhaitham didn’t know compassion.

And on and on the seemingly endless list went.

There was one particular case that finally made Cyno snap. His team had been handed a case of mass murder that had them travel all the way to Aaru City on short notice. The assumed act of terrorism that had wiped out an entire block of citizens in a matter of minutes. But even after two days of frantic search, the cause of death remained a mystery to even the experts on scene. The tox screen had come up empty and there was no fatal injury to be found on any of the corpses, apart from the rainbow colored bruises on each of their bodies. Cyno had never seen anything like it and apparently, neither had anyone else.
That was, until Alhaitham started talking about a pseudo-scientific group from Snezhnaya that had been disbanded by the Tsaritsa’s forces years ago. “It turned out the group had been developing new types of poison that the Tsaritsa feared would lead to a coup so she went so far as to arrest one of her own subordinates - the leader of the group, a scientist and terrorist who goes by the pseudonym of ‘Il Dottore’. The matter was covered up as quickly as possible afterwards but as it happens, I was stationed in Snezhnaya at the time and was reading their publications out of interest.” Probably illegally, knowing Alhaitham. “The group’s main product had an effect much like what happened to these victims. Since the production process of the poison was never published, I doubt anyone but the group members themselves could have been responsible for this massacre.”

Cyno was used to monologues like this one by now, used to Alhaitham knowing about information that 99 percent of the world population had never even heard of, but that sure didn’t mean he liked it any more than he had the first time. Anyone else would probably view it as a blessing rather than a curse but to Cyno, it was far from that simple.
What was more, he couldn’t help but frown at the absolute certainty in Alhaitham’s tone and word choice, like the consultant had not only held the same speech shortly before but had already verified that his accusation was accurate.

Groaning internally, Cyno pushed his concerns aside to focus on the matter at hand. “Scara, did you catch all of that?” he questioned into the speaker of his phone.
There was some rustling on the other side of the line, followed by the bored voice of his technical analyst. “The data’s already on your devices.”

And indeed, when Cyno checked his phone, there was a copy of a suspicious article (of fucking course that damn consultant knew to speak Snezhnayan), followed by a very necessary translation, along with a dozen other documents that had Cyno raise his eyebrows in slight confusion, as well as a CCTV recording of Sumeru City Airport from a few days ago and a photograph identifying one of the people passing through the gates of the airport.

Scara didn’t need to be prompted to deliver the overdue explanation.
“There was a prison break in Snezhnaya a couple weeks ago during which Il Dottore went missing. Last week, he was caught on camera arriving in Sumeru City, as you can see.”

While all of that was indeed helpful for the case - in fact, those were the very answers to the questions Cyno had been about to ask next - receiving all of this information now was more than Cyno had accounted for. He knew that Scara was a genius in his field, it was the very reason why he was part of Cyno’s team but this was a bit too quick for Cyno not to become suspicious. Especially since that article couldn’t have been easy to find and face recognition usually took hours rather than seconds.

“Great work, Scara. This is exactly what we needed. You investigated in advance to ease our workload, didn’t you?” Kazuha chimed in, his voice sounding even softer than usual. Cyno easily recognized it as the tone Kazuha reserved specifically for his roommate.

The sound of something shattering on the other side of the line - a coffee mug, probably - caused Cyno, Kazuha and Heizou to jump before it was followed by Scara’s angry hiss of “Don’t act like I did this for you, Kazu. The Lead Detective had the Chief ask me for the data this morning. You really think I’d work my ass off so you could relax? Hah, pathetic.”
Cyno could almost hear the huge flush of red that he knew was spread all across Scara’s cheeks right now - and even if he hadn’t known his technical analyst well enough to discern the lie in his words, the use of Kazuha’s nickname would have given him away.
The same went for Kazuha himself, judging from the gentle smile tugging on his lips.

However, none of that really mattered at the moment, not when Cyno was busy frowning at a different part of Scara’s statement. “I didn’t ask you or the Chief for any data this morning,” he clarified, already feeling the anger rise in his gut as his mind immediately came up with the least pleasant but most likely explanation for this chaos of a situation.

And indeed, before Scara could voice his own confusion - and irritation at having been lied to by someone whose orders he ‘didn’t give two shits about’ - Alhaitham spoke up. “The Chief took care of it and informed the locals of our conclusion. This kind of toxin can only be detected in water for about a day so we assume Dottore used the water pipes to poison his victims. His current location has been identified as well - the matter is being taken care of as we speak.”

The gears in Cyno’s head clicked into place with a giant uproar. That was the last straw.

His teeth gritting from the effort of not blowing up at Alhaitham right then and there, he unceremoniously grabbed the consultant by his collar and dragged him out of the room. While Kazuha and Heizou looked reasonably surprised, Alhaitham didn’t even raise an eyebrow in question, let alone resist. The fact only made Cyno more furious as he slammed the door shut behind him and shoved Alhaitham into the next wall with all the force he could muster. The action, sadly, didn’t feel nearly as satisfying as he had imagined and it certainly did nothing to ease his anger.
Cyno didn’t need to see his own face to know that his expression was twisted into the most fearsome glare he could manage - one that normally had most police officers flinch away and hurriedly excuse themselves from the room. But even so, the look on Alhaitham’s face remained one of indifference, maybe a sliver of expectation as he waited for Cyno to calm himself enough to voice his thoughts. He seemed not the least bit intimidated by the harsh grip Cyno still had on his collar.

Eventually, Cyno trusted himself to not shout at the top of his lungs when he opened his mouth. Instead, he opted for a sharp, threatening tone - with meager success. “You made it perfectly clear that you don’t care much about the chain of command but you cannot completely ignore your direct superior and report to the Chief without even informing your team. I should not have to remind you that consulting the Detectives’ Unit is your literal job description. What’s the problem? Do you think too highly of yourself to listen to anyone beneath the head of the department? Do you think I don’t deserve to be respected? Or do you just generally have trouble respecting your colleagues? Is it that much fun for you to humiliate me and my team? Are you truly arrogant enough to think you can keep pulling stunts like this without facing the inevitable consequences?”

Alhaitham didn’t have the decency to even try and act like he was at all perturbed by the threat, even when Cyno’s words and actions would have anyone else shaking in their boots by now. Was there really nothing this bastard was afraid of? Was he so sure everything would go his way, no matter how much he behaved like an insufferable asshole? Gods, the Chief was nothing compared to this.

“You misunderstand me, Detective,” Alhaitham had the nerve to claim, causing Cyno’s eyebrow to arch in skepticism. “I assure you, it was never my intention to disrespect you or make you feel humiliated.” Sure, and Scara was the most honest and upstanding citizen on the planet. “As a matter of fact, it was my goal to take the responsibility of finishing this case off of your shoulders so you wouldn’t keep overworking yourself. I know you’ve hardly slept, let alone had any free time since our arrival in Aaru City yesterday. And even before that, you stayed at the office long after everyone else. You should take a break once in a while, Detective, for your own sake.”
He sounded and looked genuine enough, not that Cyno would ever let himself be fooled by appearances. He didn’t even want to know how Alhaitham had acquired all of that personal information - the man somehow always seemed to know everything. It was beyond unsettling.

“I will be discussing this with the Chief,” Cyno hissed as he pushed Alhaitham back against the wall once more before letting go because there was really nothing else he could say or do about this. It drove him mad to the point he was almost convinced steam was leaking from his ears. “Expect a complaint to be filed against you.” He hated that this was the best he could do unless he decided getting back at Alhaitham was worth the price of his own head.

“Whatever you see fit, Detective,” Alhaitham reciprocated with a nod - wow, now he was pretending to know the meaning of politeness. “But please do consider resting properly as soon as this case is concluded.”

For a minute, he simply stood in front of Cyno, his eyes boring into Cyno’s with a rare intensity that somehow felt everything but indifferent. It made Cyno’s skin prickle uncomfortably. His heart was beating unusually fast, although he blamed it on how worked up this entire situation had left him.
Alhaitham sure is handsome, his mind treacherously supplied but Cyno pushed the thought away as quickly as he could. The tiny pang of self-disgust that followed it, though, wasn’t as easily denied.

As he spun around on his heel and marched back to the meeting room without another word, the only thought on his mind was that he couldn’t wait to give Chief Kamisato another reason to finally get rid of that damn consultant for good, pointless as it likely would be.

-

From that point onwards, Cyno became irritated every time Alhaitham opened his mouth and Alhaitham’s presence alone was enough to ruin his mood completely. How could it be any different, now that Cyno felt like the rumors he had heard in the department and that he had previously laughed off had been proven true? He really did feel useless in his job now that Alhaitham had seemingly stolen all of his work - there was no longer any fun doing what he had used to love.

What bothered him even more than waking up in the morning and feeling none of his previous excitement at the thought of getting up for work was the ugly burning feeling in his gut whenever something reminded him of how insignificant his otherwise admired skill as a detective had become. Even putting on his beloved uniform that he usually took so much pride in wearing, that proudly showed off to everyone he crossed paths with, overjoyed to be part of a whole, an organization created to protect the values he called his destiny - even all of these moments of rightness didn’t feel quite as great anymore.

It simply wasn’t fair - none of it should be happening in the first place. Cyno was supposed to be a prodigy, renowned for assisting several police departments in solving cases since the young age of seventeen and gradually becoming a more and more valuable asset to his superiors as time passed.

He had been the one to deliver the very clue that lead to the imprisonment of the infamous group dubbed ‘the Chasm Killer’, who had roamed free for twenty years, dumping corpses from all over the country into the same canyon in Liyue, with gruesome masks sown to their faces. When Cyno had joined the investigation, the local PD had still been certain that the murders had been committed by a single man.
He had helped clear up the fake murder of Liuye’s president. (The old geezer had simply been trying to get the easy way out by pretending to be murdered.)
He had helped save the Shogun’s daughter during her kidnapping all the way over in Inazuma. They had asked for his assistance specifically. He had returned from that trip with two former Inazuma City PD apprentices - Kaedehara Kazuha and Shikanoin Heizou, the very first members of Cyno’s own team because he had been the first to recognize the potential of two people who would soon become some of the greatest detectives he had ever met.
He had been the one to be called to Inazuma once again in order to arrest an important branch of the Fatui drug cartel, an operation that had been a huge success thanks to his efforts and from which he had walked away with the best technical analyst the world had to offer. It was a decision that neither him nor his superiors had ever regretted, despite Scaramouche’s nasty temper.
Cyno had even been in Mondstadt before to solve a case of mass destruction of city property that had cost many citizens their lives. The number would have undoubtedly become much greater, had it not been for his interference.

All of these successes had made Cyno’s name famous far beyond the boundaries of Sumeru - not that that had ever been his goal. His sole intention had always been to help the innocent by enforcing justice. It was due to all of this that the team that he had formed was in such high demand, working on cases from all over the country and beyond.

Cyno had earned himself this great amount of recognition from all kinds of people for a reason. He had been the one to solve all of these famous and difficult cases, all thanks to his skill as a detective. His worth in his field shouldn’t be made to deteriorate this much just by some asshole consultant who had wedged his way into his team against Cyno’s will.

It was this very train of thought that made Cyno work overtime almost daily, wracking his brain about new and old cases on his own, as he sought to prove that he was as good as Alhaitham. Fruitlessly.
It had been foolish to think the extra time he spent in the office could ever make up for Alhaitham’s raw talent and unprecedented intellect.

-

Tonight as well, Cyno was back in his office, three tall stacks of files spread across his desk - a sign of his desperation to catch up with Alhaitham - and ready to pretend some more that this stubborn and immature sense of competition wasn’t slowly developing into an unhealthy obsession.

He dove into the one-year-old case of three missing girls in the same way that he always did: head first and with a devotion that allowed him to completely forget the world around him. For now.
This was how Cyno worked best, this was the only way he worked, with every bit of the dedication the victims and their families deserved. Which was just another among the many reasons why he should have had no trouble surpassing Alhaitham - the man who treated detective work like a game, like a particularly intriguing source of entertainment. Cyno abhorred him for it.

After all, Cyno was nothing like Alhaitham, who seemed like he had never once given any activity his very best, other than reading. Cyno could tell as much from how the chief had come up to him after a particularly hard case to point out that Alhaitham seemed more serious than usual working with Cyno’s team. As though the consultant hadn’t really been trying before - before better work results meant more opportunities to rile Cyno up.

Unlike him, Cyno always put his all into his work, heart and soul - it was his passion, his calling. He had spent the last decade pouring far more than his blood, sweat and tears into his job and probably losing a few years of his life span in the process. But no matter how hard it had been, it had been necessary to get him to who he was now - the head of the Detectives’ Unit of the most renowned police department in all of Sumeru. In his mid twenties, no less.

It was in this position that he could best see to it that criminals - murderers, the worst scum there was - were brought to justice. As a detective, he sought the truth where others had failed to and discovered the dark side of criminals that others had been unable to see.

His point being that as a known enemy of injustice and unfairness, it was very much justified for him to loathe Alhaitham because of the natural privilege he had been given but failed to take seriously despite the great responsibility that came with it.

But Cyno refused to think of Alhaitham now. And fortunately, he didn’t have to - not within the sanctuary that was his focused mind.

He turned the pages of the case file with a deep frown and narrowed eyes, revisiting the details known of the girls’ abductions, thinking himself back to that cloudy night, the stuffed rabbit lying beneath a bench and a mother breaking apart in front of him. If only he could make sense of…

“Have you considered that this case might not be connected to the other two? That the girl ran away after the fight with her mother and left the toy behind on purpose? Her teachers have been saying that she’s unusually intelligent for a fifth grader and has a particular love of crime novels. Besides, her body was never found.”

Cyno jolted out of his chair like he had been struck by lightning, the shock of hearing a familiar voice so close to his ear effectively snapping him out of his trance. When he spun around, he came face to face with - who else could it be - Alhaitham, standing beside his desk, surrounded by his usual air of indifference.
Cyno wanted to snap at him that yes, he had thought of that possibility. He was a great detective, thank you very much, and one that was far more than capable of noticing the obvious. Then again, if those were Alhaitham’s thoughts on the matter, maybe Cyno should reconsider-
No. There was no reason to trust his consultant’s gut feeling over own just because of some random comment. That would be absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculous ideas… “What are you still doing here? I thought you were so insistent on not working overtime.” It was, after all, way past seven o’clock.

Of all the possible answers Alhaitham could have given - of all the ways he could have mocked Cyno in response - Cyno certainly had not expected Alhaitham to bow his head in a… respectful apology?!
“I forgot my book and while I was searching, I happened to catch an interest in the case you’re working on. I apologize for disturbing you, Detective.”

…Right, like a man of his intellect would forget something without being significantly distracted. It was an excuse, clearly, but to what end? Was Alhaitham not sufficiently satisfied with the chances of annoying Cyno that he got during work hours? What a maniac. Not to mention, what was with that pretentious behavior?

What was more, if Alhaitham had indeed been only after his book - the book in his hand, Cyno strongly assumed - why was he still making no move to stop watching Cyno’s every move and leave? It was becoming more irritating than it had to be.

“And why, pray tell, are you still here if you’re so sorry to disturb me?” He allowed himself to hiss after another minute of silent staring. If only Alhaitham’s face had given away anything at all.

“You’re the detective out of the two of us. You tell me.” Well, Cyno should have expected Alhaitham’s answer to anger him even further.

When Cyno did not, in fact, tell Alhaitham anything - nothing that made its way past the furious hurricane in his mind - the consultant took the silence as his cue to approach the desk and inspect the case file once more. Cyno, watching the man turn the pages, was about to protest when Alhaitham spoke up.
“It was likely the victim’s ex-boyfriend who took the second girl. The dump site of her body indicates a familiarity with the local construction areas, which, in this case, matches his illegal drug deals. You may not have heard of it but an arrest warrant was filed because of a bag of heroin that was discovered in the same construction site half a year ago. Perhaps the girl had seen something she wasn’t supposed to and the killer assumed no one would make the connection?”

How in the name of the Gods had he come up with that theory in a matter of seconds?!

This, too, had become a most infuriating pattern. Somehow, Alhaitham always managed to discover that one connection that even Cyno had missed on first glance - or sometimes on second or, Archons forbid, on third glance - that very clue that almost always led to a major breakthrough in a seemingly hopeless case.

It only reminded Cyno yet again of how unfair it was for this incredible talent to be granted to Alhaitham of all people.

And of course, the douchebag couldn’t help rubbing this fact in Cyno’s face every chance he got. “If you want me to elaborate, you better think of a way to make it worth my time.” Yeah, Cyno would rather not. It would be a piece of cake figuring this one out by himself.

But Alhaitham wasn’t done. “Although assisting you with your case is not the reason why I stayed back at the office today.” No shit, Sherlock.
Speaking of… why had Alhaitham stayed back if not to mock Cyno?

Even still, those two-colored, jewel-like eyes were fixed on Cyno’s own, their almost painfully sharp gaze boring into him and making him squirm in place. It always made him uneasy, being scrutinized by Alhaitham with such intensity. Like he was searching the lines of Cyno’s face for the answer to a question that had yet to be asked.

For the first time since he had met Alhaitham, Cyno believed he saw the man hesitate. Which, imagined or not, was an action so uncharacteristic for him that it left Cyno stunned. Much like Alhaitham’s next words.

“...I was certain you would have figured this one out by now. You’re a great detective, aren’t you? That’s what you take so much pride in. Besides, I haven’t tried even once to be subtle. With this much time and clues on your hands...”

Only then did it occur to Cyno that Alhaitham had stepped closer to him, the case file long forgotten and that solemn stare leaving Cyno unable to tear his own eyes away. Alhaitham had that effect about him, sometimes - like when he was immersed in one of his theories or when he explained the connections he had discovered. Any feelings of anger aside, it drew Cyno in - mesmerized him, even.
Which, in this particular case, only made him more determined to not disappoint in the face of Alhaitham’s obvious challenge. That damn consultant was obviously doing this for his personal enjoyment, to rile Cyno up some more, but even so, Cyno was wracking his brain for the answer like his life depended on it. He was determined to beat Alhaitham this time, to win his stupid game, so he finally had something, anything, ahead of that accursed consultant.

“All of this is a game to you, isn’t it?” he found himself muttering, hoping it would win him some time to think. There was hardly any surprise in the accusing tone his voice had taken.

Alhaitham, of course, didn’t budge. Rather, he looked genuinely startled at Cyno’s words, as much as his unreadable expression could give away such an emotion.
“Oh, not at all. I’ve been nothing but serious ever since I joined your team.” What a bold-faced liar.

To his utter dismay, it must be obvious to Alhaitham what was happening in Cyno’s mind: the remaining confusion at the question he sought to solve, his irritation that he was too distracted to think at his usual capacity. Although he would rather cut off both of his legs than admit that it was Alhaitham’s proximity that distracted him, for whatever unfathomable reason that was.

“Think, Detective. It wouldn’t surprise me if you had long found your answer. Perhaps all you need is a change in perspective - see, there are conclusions that you shouldn’t take for granted as you have been. Don’t you desperately wish to prove your skills to me? Well, now’s your chance.”

What the hell was he talking about? An answer that Cyno was supposed to know? Something he could easily discover if he adjusted his view of something he had unreasonably assumed about?
But there was no such thing. Cyno never simply assumed about anything - he needed concrete proof to make a conclusion. His theories were never anything other than completely solid, both in his job and in his personal life.

Ergo, Alhaitham must be messing with him. Again.

Although, admittedly, Cyno was having trouble thinking any further than that - he was a little… preoccupied.

Alhaitham was too close, much closer than before - so much so that Cyno could feel the man’s body heat radiating off of him. It was making the supposedly simple task of thinking strangely hard. Alhaitham smelled pretty good from this close up, Cyno couldn’t help but notice. His eyelashes were pretty long for a guy, too. Honestly, even his sharp eyes looked really pretty, now that Cyno got a better look at them.
Why was he suddenly thinking all of this? What was wrong with him? He should be paying no mind to the fact that Alhaitham was about to corner him against his desk, at least not like that - he had far more important matters to worry about. He always did.

Alhaitham’s confusing words, for example. What was that about Cyno wanting to prove himself to Alhaitham? Wait, he was aware of even that?!
“How?” Cyno found himself asking before he could stop his tongue from acting on its own. Dammit, this was just him giving Alhaitham exactly what he wanted.

And, predictably, Alhaitham looked a tint more smug than usual when he answered. “I’ve been watching you very closely, Detective. You know that I have been.”

Cyno did know. He knew of Alhaitham’s gaze frequently returning to him as clearly as he knew of Alhaitham’s attempts to catch Cyno on his own, to show off around the Lead Detective and to praise Cyno for his hard work.
This situation, Alhaitham was clearly enjoying it - because this was how he looked when he truly found joy in something. And it was not, in fact, malicious joy that made those sharp eyes glint and the corners of his mouth twitch upward - Cyno recognized it as the kind of fond joy one would feel while watching an angry kitten chasing a speck of light. This was the kind of look reserved for something - or someone - that warmed the onlooker’s heart.
Difficult as Alhaitham was to read, this expression was so clearly different to everything else Cyno had ever seen on him… it couldn’t possibly have been more obvious. So how was it that Cyno had never noticed it before? Just what had he been doing all this time?

But then, if Alhaitham had never looked at Cyno with ill intent, if he had never considered it fun to mock Cyno, if he had never intentionally irritated Cyno, then… what purpose could his actions possibly have served?
According to Alhaitham, this was an answer that Cyno already possessed, yet he couldn’t seem to figure out what the man was referring to.

Alhaitham’s behavior towards Cyno, his attitude and his goals, if Cyno had misinterpreted all of it, then… There was only one other thought that made any remote sense to him when he considered it. It was completely and absolutely ridiculous and probably another testament to Cyno’s lack of skill but… What if Alhaitham had never sought to provoke with his actions but had only ever tried to impress?

With that arguably absurd thought in mind, Cyno focused his full attention on watching Alhaitham at last. He watched the way Alhaitham’s eyes, still devoid of their usual indifferent coldness, trailed across Cyno’s body as he stepped closer still - he watched the way Alhaitham’s gaze lingered on his lips too long for it to be appropriate and finally, at long last, he understood.

It all made complete sense - Cyno had simply been too blinded by his anger to notice. But not anymore. And of course that damn consultant had always been perfectly aware of how obvious he was being - he had never once tried to hide his intentions, had been waiting for Cyno to finally catch on.

Either way, Cyno failed to recognize the connection between this realization and the very inappropriate action of lunging himself at Alhaitham with every bit of force he had to offer. It must have been the rush of feeling superior this one time, of having at least a little semblance of control over Alhaitham, that put him into motion.

Not having expected the action - how could he have - Alhaitham tumbled backwards, just barely catching himself. His eyes widened slightly as Cyno grabbed him by the collar. He must not have been prepared for the burning look of fury on Cyno’s face, either, judging from his satisfyingly dumbfounded expression.
It did little to calm Cyno as he fought the urge to strangle that unabashed asshole. “You… unprofessional, arrogant, despicable piece of… You- You’re impossible! How dare you proposition your superior of all-”

But that was as far as Alhaitham’s surprise went. By now, he was smiling, actually smiling, even though it was a lop-sided, well-hidden little thing - but somehow, for whatever twisted reason, Cyno found himself thinking that it was beautiful. One of the most beautiful sights he had ever come across, even.

When he spoke, it was like Alhaitham had never actually heard Cyno’s broken string of insults.
“I’ve heard you’re rather proud of your skill to react quickly in any kind of situation,” he muttered, dangerously close to Cyno’s ear and somehow, the sound of it made Cyno’s heart race. “So much so, in fact, that I’m sure you don’t mind me putting it to the test.”

Alhaitham was right in his first assumption. Cyno’s reaction speed had always been impeccable - unprecedented, even. He had always made his plan of action and begun to execute it long before his opponent had the chance to move. He was famous for it - and incredibly proud of it, indeed.
But not right now. Right now, possibly for the first time ever, any conscious decision to react as well as his instincts failed him completely.

Otherwise, no way would he have completely missed his opportunity to move away when Alhaitham suddenly leaned in and pressed his lips against Cyno’s.

Alhaitham’s lips were slightly chapped but sweet nonetheless, surprisingly comfortable in their soft, almost careful press against Cyno’s mouth. Which, unfortunately, was a realization that occurred to Cyno before he remembered the obvious: that he should be shoving Alhaitham away with all of his strength, that he should be disgusted at the sudden, not to mention unspeakably intimate touch, that he should be hating it. He should be yelling at Alhaitham right about now, chastising him for good measure. Maybe that would finally put the man in his place.

But strangely, Cyno didn’t want to. Kissing Alhaitham, even just on this one-sided and superficial level, felt good - great, rather. Cyno liked it. No matter how angry the thought made him, there was no denying that he liked it. So much so, in fact, that he hardly even hesitated to kiss Alhaitham back, to softly pull on Alhaitham’s bottom lip, teasing. Half of it was an invitation, the other a challenge. Although Cyno wasn’t quite as curious as he should be about who would emerge victorious.

Alhaitham did not disappoint - when did he ever?
After a hardly noticeable second of shock - had he honestly expected Cyno to refuse him? - Alhaitham responded to Cyno’s ministrations in kind. With more fervor and an underlying hint of desperation, even.
Cyno didn’t mind. He had no reason to complain, either, when Alhaitham’s arms came up to encircle Cyno and hold him close. How come he had never noticed how strong Alhaitham was - how thick his biceps were, how muscled every part of his body was that Cyno now felt on his own? Maybe, in all of his anger, he had not given Alhaitham enough credit for how sexy he was - not that Cyno was usually one to give a damn about this kind of thing.

Then again, everything had always been different with Alhaitham.

Cyno couldn’t bring himself to mind when he felt himself being shoved back against his desk, files straying in all directions, nor when Alhaitham’s tongue pushed past his lips, nor when he felt Alhaitham’s teeth daringly nibbling on his bottom lip.

Cyno decided that being an incredible kisser was yet another skill that Alhaitham definitely deserved more credit for. Honesty, Cyno was getting a growing suspicion that Alhaitham was good at everything - everything other than politeness and flirting.

He soon discovered that Alhaitham also happened to taste really good, even better than he smelled - far better than black coffee had any business tasting. If that was the aspect of that questionable brew that got his coworkers hooked this much, maybe Cyno was beginning to understand the appeal.

At some point it also occurred to Cyno that if he had thought that Alhaitham had finally become inferior to him in at least some aspect, considering that he allowed himself the weakness of physically desiring Cyno, he had been dead wrong. Yes, Alhaitham clearly wanted him to a remarkable extent, judging from the intensity of his kiss, his frantic movements, the hardly-there tremble of his hands.
But if Cyno dared to believe for even a second that he was any less into this than Alhaitham was, there was no one to be fooled but himself. He was no less invested, he too had long rushed past the point of return, as was undoubtedly indicated by his inability to pull away and by the way he had buried his hands in Alhaitham’s hair, his fingertips tingling at the pleasant softness of it. Somewhere in the far back of his focus, there were also the telling smacks that echoed through the room whenever their lips fell apart only to collide again. Cyno’s trusted uniform pants somehow felt tighter than they ever had. Had he forgotten to turn up the air conditioner in the office? It sure was getting hot in here - in more than one way.

Maybe Cyno would not get along with Alhaitham as badly from here on out, after having been introduced to this new perspective. And maybe he should reconsider the hate he had thought he felt for his consultant.

He finally pulled away after what felt like at least fifteen minutes - not because he wished to end their intimacy but because the tightness of his pants was becoming unbearable and he refused to allow himself to rub his crotch against Alhaitham like a horny dog or, Archons forbid, go any further than making out in his office, of all places. (Even though part of him really wanted to comply with both of those insane urges right now.)

He drew great satisfaction from the way Alhaitham mindlessly leaned in, chasing after the sensation, like a hormone-crazed teenager.
It made Cyno feel more powerful than he had in a long time: knowing that he was the only one who got Alhaitham into this vulnerable and desperate state that he never would have imagined he’d get to see. This feeling of triumph was one more added to the many things that made him more than willing to go again, however…

“If we’re doing this, I have a few requests of my own.” If there was a small smirk playing on his lips, he made no effort to suppress it. He deserved this - after everything Alhaitham had put him through in the month since he had joined Cyno’s team.

For the very first time since meeting Alhaitham, Cyno got to watch his features form a small frown of confusion. He seemed disoriented, like he had just woken up from an unbelievable dream and now had trouble adjusting to reality. He really was that attracted to Cyno, wasn’t he?

But like every expression to make its way through Alhaitham’s unreadable façade, this one did not last long. (Then again, was Alhaitham really still unreadable, now that Cyno had begun to figure him out?) It was quickly replaced by the ghost of another smile - a different one this time, oozing with fondness. “Anything for my favorite detective.”
Gods, Cyno was not used to this man being corny.

When Cyno made no move to retreat any further than he had to break their kiss, his smaller body remaining securely tucked into Alhaitham’s hold, Alhaitham’s smile widened into a actual grin. However, Cyno didn’t miss how breathless he sounded when he added, “How about we take this to my place?”

Cyno, hardly even trying to stop his own grin from widening, saw no reason to disagree. This catapulted him closer to his goal of surpassing Alhaitham than he had ever been - and while actually surpassing the genius might be impossible, at least this should somewhat get him under control.

-

The following morning, Cyno had taken up his designated seat in the conference room for an emergency discussion of his team with Chief Kamisato. As it had turned out, the killer they had been investigating had committed several murders before the one about which the Detectives had been consulted - of course, Alhaitham had been the one to discover the connection.
They had reason to believe that the next murder would take place within the next two days, moving this case to the very top of their priority list.

The team had spent the last five minutes briefing the chief about their progress, the victimology of the killer and everything else that could possibly help them identify him before another woman was kidnapped.

“Get to it. I expect nothing but impeccable work from your team, Cyno. Time is ticking,” Chief Kamisato reminded as he rose from his chair and made his way to the door.

Meanwhile, Cyno’s mind was already working at top speed and the same could be said about his colleagues. Alhaitham had risen from his chair at much the same time as the chief and was on his way to the door - no doubt about to disappear on yet another solo mission without bothering to inform the rest of them.
However, he stopped in his tracks halfway, turning back around to face Cyno.

“I suggest we divide into two teams, one to inspect tonight’s crime scene and one that checks the autopsy report,” Alhaitham began, his expression serious and his demeanor almost screaming ‘full work mode’. “In the meantime, Scaramouche should compare the victim’s online activity to those of the previous victims. We will need to find out if the killer could have stalked her online just like the others. Afterwards, it would be best to meet back at the office to question the family members. I have a suspicion that I hope they will be able to confirm.” He hesitated, then, seeming strangely insecure - sheepish, even - as he regarded the Lead Detective. Although Cyno was certain no one else had noticed. “That is… if you agree, Detective?"

Chief Kamisato was beyond impressed. Cyno could see it in the bafflement that had overtaken his features: As soon as this case was solved, Cyno would be invited to the chief’s office and bombarded with questions of how he had made their lunatic consultant behave. No matter one’s competence, this was widely regarded as an impossible feat, after all.

Cyno couldn’t help the triumphant smirk taking over his lips as he rose to his feet to join his consultant by the door. Well, his methods were for him to know and for no one else to ever find out about - least of all his boss. Then again, if anyone noticed the hickey peeking over the collar of Alhaitham’s black turtleneck, his secret wouldn’t be kept for long.

Still, Cyno made sure to wait until he was absolutely certain that no one would notice before he dared to rub his butt. Working sure sucked when even walking stung.

And yet, if a little pain was the price he had to pay to tame Alhaitham, Cyno would be more than willing to do it again. Correction, he thought when his eyes met Alhaitham’s undeniably heated gaze across his desk - he would be doing it again. Soon.