Edited by: Waning_Crescents

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In just about half an hour, a pleasing scent traveled through the whole apartment, making Cal, curiously, take a sneak peek at what Sigal was cooking. He caught a glimpse of some thin meat and vegetables and cream-like sauce before he sat back on the couch.

“You don’t have to go through all the trouble, you know?”

Cal’s tummy rumbled noisily as he finished the sentence, causing him to blush in embarrassment. He hadn't been eating well in the hospital, mainly because he had been too weak and didn’t have a big appetite, but also because they had served him light, healthy food which tasted rather bland with barely any flavors. Thus, his stomach started to revolt.

“Sounds like you are hungry, though,” Sigal commented, quite amused as he prepared the plates and put the food on it. Then he carried them to the table and sat down beside Cal. “Dig in.”

“Thank you.” Cal stared at the dish for a moment before he took one bite, his eyes widening in surprise. The taste was magnificent even though it had a lot of vegetables in it, but in combination with the meat and the sauce, the flavor just mixed well. “T-This is really good.”

“Did you doubt me?” Sigal grinned satisfied.

Cal shrugged while he shoved the food in his mouth like a hungry tiger that hadn’t had a good meal in a long time. Sigal glanced at him through the corner of his eyes, just relieved that this young man sat there alive and conscious.

All the stress and tension the last few days had reached its peak. He barely slept, his brain working around the clock. Whenever he left the hospital, he felt uneasy, afraid that something would happen in his absence or that someone would show up and take Cal away again. Only when he had brought Cal to his home, he kind of managed to relax, allowing himself to take a break.

 “I am grateful.” Cal broke the short silence. “I really am…I just…” He sighed. “It’s just too much to take in right now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sigal responded in understanding before he got up, putting his plate away. “On another note. For the sleeping arrangements, you can have the bed and I will sleep on the couch.”

Cal stopped his movements for a moment, thinking about all the times when he had drifted off into a peaceful slumber in the hospital. Sigal had been present every time, giving him a feeling of security, making it possible for him to relax without worrying. He hadn’t even thought about what it would be to fall asleep alone again, but now that Sigal mentioned it, Cal rather wanted him close by. “You don’t have to sleep on the couch, though.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t mind sharing the bed.”

Sigal froze, gauging at Cal’s expression. For a moment he thought his ears deceived him. Last time when Cal thought they had slept in the same bed he had freaked out and now he suggested it on his own accord. Even if the situation was different now, it still took him by surprise. “If you don’t mind, sure.”

Cal let out an inaudible sigh of relief at Sigal’s reaction, then finished the meal before he placed the plate on the counter.

Sigal turned to him, gazing into his bloodshot eyes, the fatigue clearly visible. “You should rest up.”

With exhausted eyes Cal nodded. His body was still in the process of recovering, his wounds were still fresh and needed time to heal, let alone the effects of the substances which still faintly lingered in his system. While his overall condition improved by the day, his energy still depleted rather quickly.

He tottered after Sigal, who showed him to the bathroom to change as well as where everything he would need was, before leaving Cal alone in the room. Cal closed the door and leaned against it while a dragging sigh escaped his lips. It hurts! The burning sensation from the wounds on his chest coursed through his entire body, causing slight dizziness and nausea. Just what happened? He had only seen how his torso looked like when the nurse changed his bandages, but he hadn’t expected that, beside the fresh wounds, several old scars marked his body. This left him even more confused and shocked.

He took a deep breath to steady himself while his eyes wandered around the room. The bathroom was relatively spacious with a bathtub, two wash basins and cabinets to store towels and other useful utensils. The room is bigger than mine.

Afterwards, his eyes fell onto the neatly folded clothes on the wash drawer which Sigal had prepared for him. He didn’t even need to try them on to see that those were way too big in size. “Guess for now that has to do.” He took off his shirt and pants before he grabbed Sigal’s oversized tee-shirt and threw it on. As expected, the sleeves left a lot of space, and it also reached all the way down to his knees. He gazed at the big mirror on the wall, turning slowly from one side to the other. Am I really that small? He frowned. No, must be his ridiculous muscular body! He nodded, agreeing with himself before he grabbed the pants which just were a death-trap when he wore them, let alone that they would even stay on. He sighed, took them off and settled only for the monster shirt.

 

After a little while Cal walked out of the bathroom and back into the living room, quite unhappy about his get-up as he glanced at his partner who raised his eyebrows. “What happened to the pants?”

“It’s impossible!”

Sigal stifled a laugh with difficulty, before he reacted. “I’m sorry, I picked out the smallest ones I could find. I will grab some clothes from your apartment tomorrow.”

“I can do that my—” Spotting Sigal lifting one eyebrow, pursing his lips with a gaze ready to hail down all kinds of rebukes, Cal immediately understood and corrected himself. “I mean, thank you.”

“Anyway, don’t forget to take your medicine.” Sigal put a glass of water and a pill on the counter.

“Oh.” Cal indeed almost forgot about it. “Right.”

Sigal watched as his partner walked over unsteadily as well as noticing the trembling hands when he grabbed the glass to wash the pill down. “You are in pain, aren’t you?”

“Like I said, it’s fine.”

Sigal narrowed his eyes in discontent.

As soon as Cal put down the glass, Sigal put one arm below his knees and one around his back, lifting him up.

“H-Hey, what are you doing this for again?” Cal let out, startled.

“Hm.” Sigal creased his brows while he subtly raised his arms up and down in full concentration.

“Woah!” Cal called out flustered, quickly wrapping his arms around Sigal’s neck in fear of falling down. “Stop that!” He squeezed his eyes shut as these moves caused his wounds to sting a little. “It hurts, please stop.”

Sigal steadied him in his arms, tilted his head a bit downwards towards Cal’s face, the corner of his mouth slightly lifting. “Keep lying to me and you will have to deal with this more often.”

Cal blinked, an intense heat washing over him as their faces almost touched. “S-Sorry.”

 “Besides, you really need to gain more weight,” Sigal said as he drew back, walking into the direction of the bedroom.

“You shouldn’t tease the sick.” Cal mumbled.

“Then the sick should behave accordingly.”

Before Sigal even reached their destination, something bumped lightly against his shoulder and as he looked, he found a sound asleep Cal leaning with his head on him while his arms were still loosely slung around his neck.

Sigal’s lips curved into a soft smile before he stepped into the bedroom, placing him carefully onto the bed.

 

***

 

“That’s the last of them?” Elena walked into the observation room, glancing through the one-way-mirror at the young man on the other side.

“Yeah.” Vergil gulped down the rest of his coffee and set the mug on the table. The interrogation had started in the afternoon and continued into late evening. The exhaustion became visible on Elena and Vergil's face, who had questioned the dealers for hours, but so far, none of the suspects had slipped any useful information to them.

“For small fries they are really stubborn.” Elena sighed. “They all claim they don’t know anything.”

“I’m not buying it.” Vergil walked up to the mirror. “Even if they are not closely connected with the cartel from three years ago, they still need to have a supplier.”

Elena nodded. “Let’s change tactics.”

A grin spread over Vergil’s lips as he noticed her expression. No more words were needed for him to understand what she had in mind. “Let’s do it.”

 

They both walked into the interrogation room, where a man in his twenties sat on a chair in front of a little table. Vergil took a seat opposite the man, putting a glass of water in front of him. “What is your name?”

“Lee Higston,” the man answered, quite shaken up. “Listen! I am sorry I—"

“Who gives a fuck if you are sorry.” Elena crossed her arms, gazing at the man with a condescending and intimidating expression. “You scums are all the same, apologizing after committing the crime. The world would be better off without you guys.”

The man drew back as he looked up at her. “I-I am really sorry. I didn’t want to do that, but I had no other choice.”

“That’s what they all say.” Elena scowled. “You think we are stupid?”

“No, mam.”

What a wuss, Vergil thought amused.

Elena slammed one hand on the table. “Now tell us, why did you start dealing?”

The man’s eyes flickered in fear as he looked at Vergil for help.

“Sorry, my partner is a bit in a bad mood. It would be good for you if you wouldn’t irritate her or tell lies.” Vergil smiled at him. “Not even I can stop her when she is like that.”

“But she isn’t allowed to hurt me, is she?”

Vergil shrugged. “I would be lying if I said it hasn’t happened before.”

“You are bluffing! That’s against the law!”

“Depends on the situation.”

Elena grabbed Lee`s collar, pressing him into the chair. “I asked you a question.”

“Answer her.” Vergil leisurely propped one elbow on the table, resting his cheek in his palm.

“I-I got dragged in through my buddy.”

Elena let go and took a step back. “And?”

“He said if I am looking for easy money, I should join in. It’s an easy job; distribute some drugs and get paid,” the man explained. “You see, I got fired from my job and almost lost my home. I was desperate. I also have a family to feed. I didn’t know what to do.”

Vergil readjusted his position. “Is one of the others your friend?”

Lee shook his head. “No, he…he disappeared.” He clasped his pants, looking down.

“Disappeared?” Vergil narrowed his eyes.

The man nodded. “I know he wanted out as things became quite heated lately. He told me he is going to quit, but after that day I have never seen or heard of him again.”

“Maybe he just got sick of you and left without notice,” Elena chimed in.

Lee shook his head. “No, I am sure it was them. He wouldn’t just leave like that.”

Vergil glanced briefly at Elena before he said, “There is no missing person report, though. Wouldn’t someone be looking for him?”

“No, he had no one, no family, no relatives. No one would know he was gone but me. But how was I supposed to go to the police to report a missing person? Drugs aside, they would have killed me and my family as soon as they would have gotten notice of that. I couldn’t take that risk.”

“Makes sense.” Vergil leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Who are ‘they’?”

The man fell into silence.

“Hey.” Elena slammed her hand once again on the table. “Answer him.”

Lee gritted his teeth. “I don’t know…some small organization in the east, probably. I’ve never been to their base and the transfers always happen at different locations as well.”

“I see.” Vergil bent forward as he continued, “When is the next transfer planned?”

“I-in two days.”

Vergil thought for a moment. “You will go there.”

“What?”

“If you help, not only will we reduce your sentence but also make sure your family is safe, what do you say?”

The man stared down for a few minutes but then he slowly nodded.