T/W: Foul Language

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Just something to keep in mind for the future,” I stated, waving my free hand. I wasn’t sure why I was talking with such a superior tone of voice, but something about him made me want to tease him. 

“I will not let the public down,” he cheered to himself. I snorted. Was he going to make it as an officer? Just by the fact fact he kept longer hair, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to last long in the uniform. 

“You do you,” I chuckled. We finally came to a stop, and I looked up at the blurry building in front of me, squinting my eyes. “We there?”

“Yes,” he responded, guiding me to the steps and helping me sit down. “It’s still a little bit before they open, so I’ll wait with you.”

“You don’t need to do that,” I replied, frowning. I felt uncomfortable holding back an officer. I felt him sit next to me.

“I’m not leaving someone in a crisis alone. It’s fine,” he reiterated. I sighed, shaking my head. I decided to lean back against the steps and rested my eyes. This guy was pretty weird. I rolled my eyes open to look at his blob and could make out hints of red.

“Ginger?” I asked, reaching out to touch a strand of his hair. It was surprisingly more silky and softer than I expected. His chuckle snapped me out of it and I dropped my hm wiping it on my jeans. 

“Wow, am I covered in cooties?” he laughed at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Could be. Can’t see shit.”

“You know, your mouth matches your sense of style,” he replied. His amused voice pissed me off.

“What? Never seen alternative fashion before?” I scoffed. He chuckled. Was he laughing at me? He laughed again, which made me contemplate once more if I should hit him.

“That’s not it. Though I can’t show you right now, I do have tattoos.”

“Whoopie doo,” I pursed my lips. Small talk was exhausting. Before I could even tell him to fuck off nicely, he yapping continued.

“Oh, dear civilian. I should have asked you some standard questions to confirm nothing else is wrong.”

“Oh,” I replied. The noobie was slacking. The police in this city are doomed. “What questions? Speak fast, I’m tired.”

“Do you know where you are?” he asked. I scoffed.

“I’m…” and I stopped. Where was I again? I heard him shift beside me.

“Do you not know?” his concerned voice snapped back to reality.

“I do. Downtown Toronto, in front of Union Station, crossing to the Royal York,” I replied slowly.

“May I ask why you paused then?” he pressed. I clenched my jaw.

“I just couldn’t remember what I was or what I was doing before I was crossing the road.”

“But you know who you are?” he asked me with a doubtful voice. I don’t blame him, I sounded crazy to me.

“Yeah. I just… don’t remember what day it is…” I replied in annoyance, scratching the back of my neck.

“It’s Thursday,” he told me matter-of-factly. Was that supposed to be helpful? Can I smack him? I heard him laugh suddenly. “You know... Your face doesn’t hide what you’re feeling.”

“It’s gotten me into trouble more than a few times,” I shrugged with nonchalance. “How much longer till this shindig opens?”

“Hmm,” he murmured as I heard shuffling. From the look of his arm raising, he must have been checking his watch. “Around seven more minutes?”

“You’re quite free, aren’t you?” I clicked my tongue. He laughed. It was loud enough to make me wince. 

“Life of the new hire, I guess,” he replied. Then he leaned toward me. “Actually, I didn’t think of this earlier. I should probably check your eyes to make sure nothing's in them.”

“Oh,” I replied, like an idiot. Why didn’t I think of that either? Grunting, I leaned forward with my eyes as wide as I could make them. I saw his body shake. Seemed like he was holding back another laugh. I started to lean back. “If you’re just teasing me, fuck off.”

“No, that’s not it,” his muffled laugh came through his hand covering his mouth. “Come back, I promise to be serious.”

“If you aren’t, I have free range to one solid hit,” I reply, making my desires known. He cleared his throat but said nothing. Good. I kept my eyes wide as I felt his cool hands touch my cheekbones. His rough thumbs glided along the waterlines before he tilted his head up more. My brows knitted, but I bit my tongue. 

“Good boy,” he replied. I almost bit my tongue off. 

“What the hell?” I asked, clenching my teeth. “Didn’t you say you were a new hire? I bet I‘m older than you, so you should be more respectful.”

“Yes, dear senior citizen, I’ll keep that in mind,” his voice came out smoothly, focused on inspecting my eyes. His gaze and fingers lingered a little longer than I was comfortable with. Suddenly I heard the door open behind us.

“Are you here for the after-hours clinic?”

“Yes, for this guy,” the rookie cop called out to whoever opened the door. He helped me stand up, and make my way up the stairs. “He’s having some aura problems, temporary vision loss. He didn’t think it was worth going to the ER over it.”

“We’ll get him checked out, Officer. Will you require an update?” the female voice called as she took my arm from the cop and helped me through the door.

“No, I just wanted to make sure he got here safely.”

“Alright then. Thank you and have a good shift.”

“I will, thanks for helping August,” he replied as he turned and jogged away without a single goodbye. 

“August, huh? What a lovely name,” the lady said as she closed the door behind us. I stopped in my tracks, body turning to look at the door. I never told that fucker my name.