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Almond marched through the dark hallway, holding onto the wall for support. Finally, he made it to the room he was looking for, knocking with one hand meanwhile his other clutched his side. “Come in.” Spoke the cookie on the other end of the door.
Almond opened the door hastily, pushing himself inside. “Greetings, Cappuccino,” he heaved out, using the wall to support himself so his legs wouldn’t give out. “If my memory serves me right, you wanted to discuss a case?” He spoke while coughing into his hand, though keeping his eyes set on Cappuccino. The other had noticed Almond’s injury immediately, immediately springing up and speed-walking towards Almond. “By the witches, Almond! What had even — why aren’t you at the clinic?!” Cappuccino’s tone was one of panic laced with concern, he pulled Almond’s arm over his shoulder, allowing him to lean on him. Almond accepted this, using Cappuccino as a support as he had led him over to his chair. “Just some criminal. You don’t need to worry about me, I had already patched myself up before coming here.” Cappuccino scoffed, looking at Almond with a deadpan expression before jogging to his desk, frantically searching for the first-aid kit. “Did you patch yourself up well?” Silence followed that question.. “That’s what I thought.” Cappuccino followed that with a grumble punctuated in a relieved sigh as he finally retrieved the kit. “Cappuccino, you don’t need to—“ “Shut up. Take your shirt off.” The abruptness of that question caused Almond to raise his brows, followed by a small snicker (followed by a coughing fit, of course.) Cappuccino had almost looked a little offended at that, “What are you laughing at?” he asked, looking at Almond with an expression that faintly resembled disappointment. “Sorry, sorry you just— Usually you don’t hear your friend demanding that you take your shirt off.” Almond punctuated his sentence with a barely noticeable smirk, averting his eyes a little before starting to unbutton his white dress-shirt. Cappuccino’s face now donned a bright red hue powdered across it. He made himself look away, covering his mouth before speaking once more. “I told you to shut up, hurry and get it over with.” Almond’s smirk grew at that, knowing he had successfully teased his closest friend. “Alright, alright. I’m not the one who’s redfaced right now though.” Cappuccino immediately pushed a hand over Almond’s mouth after he had finished his sentence, making Almond appear taken-aback once more. “Quiet.” He hissed.
Finally, Almond had completely unbuttoned his shirt and revealed the—very poorly wrapped—blood-covered bandage around his waist. Cappuccino flashed an unimpressed look at Almond who had only raised a brow, causing Cappuccino to roll his eyes, rubbing his temple. He grumbled, positioning himself in-between Almond’s legs in front of the chair in order to work easier. This gesture caused Almond’s face to redden as well, it now being his turn to get flustered.
“Look who’s redfaced now.” Cappuccino muttered under his breath, resulting in a grumble from Almond. “Oh, so I’m not allowed to tease, but you can?” “Precisely. Lean back.” Cappuccino commanded, pressing down on the back of the chair which caused it to recline slightly. Almond obeyed, finally—reluctantly—allowing himself to be treated. Cappuccino grabbed a small handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Almond, “Bite down on this.” the other took it with caution, placing it in his mouth with an expression that could be read as confusion. Cappuccino noticed, raising his eyebrow. “Do you really not— It’s to relieve the pain.” Almond finally realized that, giving a grumble of approval from behind the handkerchief. Cappuccino shook his head, rubbing his temple once more before focusing on the injury.
“This is going to hurt, Almond.” Cappuccino said in hopes of preparing his friend for the worst. Almond only nodded, putting his thumb up as a non-verbal way to say ‘I understand, do what you need to do.’ Cappuccino exhaled before reaching for the end of the bandage that Almond had wrapped, carefully undoing it. Almond winced, biting the handkerchief tighter than he was and gripping down on the chair’s arm rest. Due to that, Cappuccino paused for a moment, glancing up at Almond apologetically. “Tap my back if you need to stop and take a breather.” He said, his voice laced with care and sympathy. Almond nodded in response, allowing himself to calm down for a moment before putting his thumb up again, letting Cappuccino know that it is okay to continue.
Cappuccino quickly got back to work, slowly unraveling the bandage completely. Once he had gotten it all the way off, he took a second to look at the severity of the wound, “Witches, Almond! I thought you said it was just some criminal?! This looks like you were struck down by one of the guardians themselves..!” Almond looked away, taking the handkerchief out of his mouth for a moment. “I underestimated the individual. They are locked up now though, thanks to reinforcements.” Cappuccino nodded, standing up for a moment. Almond missed the warmth he provided, though he’d never admit that to his face. “Stay here, I need to go find a towel or something.. I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t move.” Cappuccino’s gaze lingered a moment longer before he began walking to the door. “I don’t really know where I could go, ‘Ccino. I’m bloody and shirtless.” Almond retorted, crossing his arms over his chest even though his smile still remained. “Whatever, you know what I meant.” Cappuccino waved off, finally walking through the door and looking away from Almond to avoid him noticing the very obvious red hue that has spread across his face once more.
Cappuccino covered his reddened face with one hand, leaning against his office door. Witches, he was utterly hopeless.
Cappuccino was now the one marching through the hallway, quickly trying to find the place where they store the towels. As he sprinted past people frantically trying to find his destination, he definitely got a few weird looks due to the redness of his face and the urgency in his pace.. as well as the fact that practically the whole office acknowledged the fact that the prosecutor and detective definitely have a thing for each other.
Eventually, Cappuccino finally found it. He exhaled a sigh of relief before he grabbed a few towels and lightly coated them in warm water, though making sure that they wouldn’t drip through the entire building, he made sure to wring them out enough so they wouldn’t do exactly that. Just for good measure, he had also grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol that was kept in the break room for emergencies.
He sprinted back to his office, hastily opening the door and returning back to Almond’s side. “Sorry if I took too long, I have some towels.” He said, out of breath and pointing out the obvious. “As I’ve noticed—“ “Don’t sass me right now.” Almond started laughing because of that before finally leaning back in the chair again. Cappuccino returned to his previous position, setting down the towels on his desk away from the papers, though keeping one in his grasp. He used that towel to clean the surrounding area of the wound before grabbing the bottle of rubbing alcohol he kept on his side. Almond cringed at the sight of it, knowing what was coming. “Put the handkerchief back in your mouth. You know the deal, if it gets too painful then tap my back and I’ll give you a break.” Cappuccino stared at Almond with sincerity, secretly, he was incredibly grateful that Almond trusted him enough to tend to his wounds.. He knows that kind of trust isn’t easy to earn, especially by Almond. “I know, ‘Ccino.” Almond placed the handkerchief back into his mouth, leaning his head back and exhaling, attempting to relax. Cappuccino almost felt bad, he knew he had to in order to help Almond but it didn’t make it any easier for either of them.
Cappuccino placed a hand on his thigh as his best attempt to soothe him, looking at him for any kind of sign to start. Once again, Almond held up his thumb with a smile behind the handkerchief. Cappuccino nodded, coating the towel in rubbing alcohol and quickly pressing it to Almond’s side, making him suck in a deep breath followed by a strained groan. He bit down tighter on the handkerchief, restraining the urge to tap Cappuccino’s shoulder. Cappuccino paused, making sure Almond was okay before continuing, trying his hardest to clean the wound the best he could without giving Almond any more pain than necessary.
Finally, he was done. Cappuccino set the bloody towel down and tapped Almond’s thigh, nodding once Almond had opened his eyes as confirmation that he was done. Almond took the handkerchief out of his mouth, lightly panting before sighing out of relief. Cappuccino dusted his hands off and looked into Almond’s eyes, “Are you ready for me to rewrap your wound or would you like to take a quick breather?” he asked before lifting himself off the ground, immediately noticing the pain in his knees and wincing. Almond thought for a moment before answering, “I’d rather get it over with as soon as possible.. I’m sure Walnut is worried about me by now.” Cappuccino nodded at that, understanding his position. “Alright, give me just a moment then. This shouldn’t hurt..” He grabbed a roll of gauze from the first-aid kit near him, grabbing the start of the roll and tugging on it, grabbing Almond’s waist and lifting it up slightly so he could wrap it easier. Almond noticed this gesture, causing his cheeks to get a little redder. He placed a hand over his face and looked away, alerting Cappuccino of his movement. “Are you okay, Al’?” Cappuccino asked, looking at Almond’s face once more. Almond nodded a little stiffly, keeping his eyes averted from the shorter of the two. “Yes, do not worry about me, friend.” Cappuccino raised his brow before snickering, “What’s with the formalities? You’re acting like I haven’t been inside your house before.” Almond chuckled a little at that, letting down his hand ever so slightly. “I suppose you’re right.. continue what you were doing, ‘Ccino.” Cappuccino hummed at that, massaging Almond’s waist with his thumb before finally wrapping the gauze around it. Almond subconsciously leaned into the touch a little, getting a little embarrassed at himself for that. Cappuccino stifled a laugh under his breath, otherwise keeping his focus on Almond’s waist and wrapping it.
“Alright, we’re done.” Cappuccino returned to his desk, putting the kit back inside the drawer he found it in.
Almond almost missed Cappuccino’s hands on him—more specifically his waist—though he ignored that, finally putting his shirt back on (even though it was covered in jam on one side..) and bringing the gun holster back over his chest. He found the coat he had tossed aside earlier subconsciously and tugged it over his shoulders, this time fastening the buttons and buckles on it.
…
“Say, would you want to come over tonight?” Almond asked, looking back to Cappuccino for a moment. The latter’s head shot up at the question, “Huh? I— Uh— Sure! Sure. I don’t any plans tonight.” Cappuccino adorned a warm—albeit nervous—smile. “Why exactly?” He asked, pausing for a moment. Almond also paused, refusing to admit that he had just wanted him to come over.. “Oh, you asked to discuss that case this morning. Plus I w— I think Walnut would be excited to see you, don’t you?” Almond stumbled over his own words at the end, Cappuccino chuckled at that, collecting his things and putting them in his satchel. “Alright, hadn’t realized the little detective enjoyed having me over so much though.” Cappuccino said in a slightly teasing tone, elbowing Almond in the arm and catching him by surprise. “Of course she does, I don’t see why she wouldn’t.” Almond said matter-of-factly, holding the door open for Cappuccino who walked through, stopping and waiting for Almond to follow suit.
The two continued their conversation out of the firm, both having a slight flush to their cheeks that was a little too intense to be passed by as the cold.