Work Text:
"Hey Juno"
"Whassup Brian?" Juno groans, her voice deep in morning as she fumbles for her phone on the bedside table. Her head is pounding from exhaustion working on investigations; after all, cases aren’t going to write themselves right.
"Could you pick up this Harry Brown case files at my place" Of course, Brian calls her first thing in the morning on a weekend for work-related business. Typical. Lately Brian have been making his detectives coming fetch case files at his home, differ with his usual just work on the office
Juno's eyes light up, she's the Sgt's biggest fan, she looks up to and adores him. Even though it’s the weekend, spending time off duty with one of her favorite people in the PD feels like a victory "Sure! Want something I could pick up from uwu?" she replies, a playful lilt in her tone. She didn’t have any plans for the weekend anyway, so this was an easy decision.
"Yeah sure, I'm fine with anything. As long as it's not human meat" Juno chuckles; this isn’t the first time, she been hanging around his home lately. Brian doesn't mind having company—he just don't invite people over; they tend to invite themselves instead.
"I'll buy you some mochis, you have to try the peanut filled one oh my god Brian, it's so good~" Juno can practically taste it now, her mouth watering at the thought of her favorite treat. She recently discovered it and hasn’t stopped raving about it since
"Alright, I've unlocked the front door, you can just let yourself in, see you" Juno hears Brian's breath hitch slightly and a faint clacking lock on the background.
"Okay I'll be there soon" Juno walks around her apartment getting ready to go out.
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"Briannn~" Juno calls out playfully as she barges into Brian's front door, kicking off her shoes and slipping into the cozy slippers he always leaves out for his guests. His place is surprisingly spacious—almost as if it were meant for more than one person. But she knows better; Brian lives with Baas, the Deputy Commissioner and his closest confidant, who passed away recently. If Brian have more than an inch of emotion exists, they might even be married by now—they're a well-known power couple in the precinct.
"I'm at the dining table" Brian's voice calls from somewhere deep within the house. Juno has been here countless times before; usually, Bass is the one who invites her over never Brian, but things changed since his passing. As she walks toward the dining room, she notices some photos are missing from their usual spots—a subtle change that tugs at her heartstrings and further her concern for Brian's well-being.
When she finally enters the dining room, she’s greeted by a sight of a casually dressed Brian surrounded by a mountain of files and papers strewn across the table. His hair is tousled and dark circles on his weary eyes—nothing out of the ordinary honestly these days with endless paperwork piling up on his plate.
“Have you had breakfast yet?” Juno asks softly, a warm smile spreading across her face. She can’t help but feel that cooking him a meal is the least she can do given how worn down he looks lately. Putting her mochi treats and backpack on the table, a furball hop up to the table and purrs on the sight of Juno, friends already with the cat “Oh hey Meow, you cutie” Juno pets her, and she purrs even more loudly.
“...uhhh...” Brian stares blankly, his eyes drifting to the empty spaces around him as he struggles to dig through his memory.
“Brian…” Juno scowls, frustration knitting her brow. She should have known better than to ask that question.
"Does coffee counts?" Brian replies with a deadpan sincerity.
"Naur, you'll upset your stomach if you don't fill it with food. Gah, I'm beating myself, I should've bought food from uwu." Juno rolls her eyes. “I’ll whip up some sunny-side-ups and toast. Sound good?” She strides into the kitchen, opening the fridge and scanning for at least an edible food.
“Yep.” His response is curt as he immediately returns to his paperwork and case files.
The room settles into a comfortable silence, just the sizzle of oil, the smell of food, and paper shuffles. Brian would never admit it, but Juno’s occasional presence helps fill the wide gap in his home (no offsense Meow), but no one can ever replace him, not in this lifetime. Brian would purposely leave case files at his house to make his detectives come and fetch it, and most of the time make them stay for lunch or dinner. "Briann, it's ready"
“What we having today?” he asks without looking up, his focus locked on the case files before him.
“I told you—sunny-side-ups and toast! Anything not case-related just doesn’t stick in your brain, does it?” Juno teases him.
Brian doesn't reply, he knows it's true.
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The room hums with background noise—no chatter, bird chirps, muffled traffic and car engine, clacking keyboards and shuffling papers. Juno is used to this dynamic; it’s how hanging out with Brian usually goes. She doesn’t think much of it as she grabs Harry's phone subpoena and settles beside him eating his fill of breakfast.
Unprompted, Brian begins to speak "Juno… you know, I used to clean up his mess. Being command under him is a headache, other command are also a headache, but I'll never get tired of it, not his mess."
“....?” Juno furrows her brow in confusion, unsure where he’s going with this. She assumes he’s talking about Baas—Brian often fixing, well tried, to fix his boss's messes. Now fully attentive, she watches him closely as he gazes off into the distance, lost in thought. Juno's silence prompts Brian to continue.
“It’s chaos,” he continues. “Not that I’m not used to it. Self-induced… sometimes it’s not even police matters—just useless squabbles. It’s exhausting, but I don’t mind…” His voice trails off, his chest tightens in pain. Struggling to talk, his pain seeps slightly to his expressions.
Juno is realizing that he is opening up to her, she's trying to be as delicate as possible, she wants him to feel comfortable sharing his grief "Brian… I miss him too, but I know you're the closest to him, I can't imagine…. I can't imagine losing half… half of your soul" she tries to meet him on the same level
She carefully studies his emotions for any shifts, waiting for either a continuation or a full stop. To her surprise, he presses on. “I thought I lost my emotions, but my chest feels tight right now.” He sounds vulnerable—more than she has ever seen him.
“.....” Juno is at a loss for words; she doesn’t know how to respond to this raw honesty. Brian is her mentor, she's used to seeing him strong and seeing him like this got her shaken. Trying to think what to do, she chooses to give him space instead of forcing a response.
“Why is he so selfish, Juno? Always changing plans, questioning my loyalty… and now he’s left us. Didn’t I do enough? I warned him! He chose to stay on that rooftop. Juno... I hate him” Brian's voice grows bitter as anger seeps through his words.
Juno hates seeing her mentor beat himself up like this, lying to himself about feelings that don’t exist. “No you don’t,” she insists firmly. “You can’t lie to me, Brian. I've never seen someone who loved that man as much as you. I've seen people sweet talk, snakes, fakes, but you Brian, you were there beside him when everyone was trying to get his throat, beside him.... through thick and thin. I know we had a different relationship in the past, but in retrospective I've realized your actions were an actions of a true friend” Her voice trembles slightly as tears threaten to spill; she doesn’t want Brian spiraling into despair like she once did.
Brian snaps back to reality, hesitantly meeting her gaze before letting out a deep sigh. Though she may not be in agony right now, Juno feels every bit of his pain as if it were her own. They both take a moment to calm their nerves in silence.
After several long minutes, Brian breaks the stillness: “They’re going to pay.”
“I know,” she replies softly but firmly. “I’ll be here for you. You know I’ll support you.” Juno reassures Brian. After reading the atmosphere she finishes her breakfast, grateful that the intense moment has passed.
“Thanks,” Brian says more relaxed now; she can sense a new vigor in his tone as he returns to his paperwork. Despite his fatigue riddled face, there’s a flicker of energy and motivation igniting within him.
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Hours passes by, productivity is off the roof like never before. Brian completes the paperwork for the MRPD explosion investigation while Juno wraps up noting the phone subpoena. Stretching his arms and legs at last, he registers his surroundings and gently pets Meow, who’s curled up on the sofa. “Hey Juno?”
"Yes Brian?" Her eyes remain focused on the subpoena.
"Thanks" He sinks onto the sofa beside Meow.
"You're welcome and the mochi is crying, you better eat that, I morning queued that" she chuckles, she's glad he feels much better.