The afternoon shift at the café passed in quiet routine. She greeted customers with polite smiles, steamed milk with practiced hands, and wiped counters until they shone. To strangers, she was just another barista. But beneath the apron and nametag, she was something else entirely—an undercover agent.
She wasn’t alone in that charade.
When the bell above the door rang, she didn’t need to look to know who it was. Amuro Tooru, her colleague and long before that, her academy mate. The two of them had trained side by side, one pair in a larger circle of friends whose laughter once filled the police dorms. Most of those faces were gone now. Only they remained.
Amuro wore his usual dazzling smile as he clocked in, tying his apron with easy grace. Customers saw a charming barista. She saw the slight drag in his left shoulder, the stiffness in his movements, and the faint, dark mark just under his cuff.
“Injured?” she murmured as she passed him a tray.
“Clumsy,” he replied smoothly, never breaking his smile. Anyone else would believe it. She didn’t.
Their shared apartment was dim that night, the city a low hum through the window. Amuro- no, Furuya at the moment, sat on the edge of the couch, jacket tossed aside, sleeve rolled up to reveal the half-wrapped bandage on his arm. It was rushed, messy, the kind of patch job done between missions.
She stood in front of him, gauze in hand.
“Clumsy, huh?” Her voice carried the same edge she used in academy drills years ago
She leaned in, bracing the new bandage between her teeth as her hands worked quickly and firmly. The gesture was practical, but familiar. Back in training, she’d patched him up a hundred times after sparring matches, teasing him about reckless moves while doing the same herself.
Now, the silence between them was heavier; full of the ghosts of friends who weren’t here to laugh at them anymore.
When she tied the knot, their eyes met for a breath longer than necessary. His smile was faint, tired, but sincere.
“Thanks, likewise”
"You..."
"Never changed, huh?" he said quietly, almost to himself