The metro car hummed softly as we settled into the worn seats, the city blurring past the windows in streaks of light and shadow.
Lior leaned back, running a hand through his hair, a thoughtful expression clouding his usually easy smile.
"I'll be on vacation for two months after 2 weeks from today," he said quietly. "I haven't found a place to stay yet."
I glanced at him, surprised. "Two months? That's a long break. Any plans?"
He shrugged. "Just... thought I'd take time to figure things out. Maybe reconnect with people I lost touch with."
I smiled, feeling warmth rise in my chest. "Well, you know, I have an extra room if you want. No rent, just company."
His eyes widened slightly, then softened. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," I said, reaching out to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's time we stopped losing each other."
Lior's smile was small but real—a promise hanging between us as the metro carried us home, together at last.
The metro stopped at its last stoppage 'Verdenne' station and they both bid farewell to each other with a smile.
---
The morning after our zoo trip felt oddly still.
I woke before my alarm, the dim light of dawn leaking through my blinds. For a moment, the quiet reminded me of the warm breeze from yesterday — the tang of orange juice, Lior's easy smile — but my phone buzzed, snapping me back into routine.
The coffee in my cup steamed like a small storm. I sipped it while skimming the day's case files, my badge cool against my chest. Being a forensic officer meant most mornings began with paperwork and lab reports, but some days… the unexpected called.
At 9:42 a.m., it did.
"Officer Kaein?" Detective Varela's voice was clipped, rushed. "We've got something at Dockside. Unusual scene. The locals want your insight before they touch anything."
I glanced at my half-finished coffee. "On my way."
The Dockside warehouse sat under a blanket of gull cries and brine. Inside, the air was stale — but not with the usual rot of neglected cargo. A shipping container's door was half open, as if someone had been in a hurry… or interrupted.
Bloodstains marked the concrete in a pattern that didn't match any struggle I'd seen. Thin arcs, almost deliberate. A box of tools sat near the stains, untouched. No fingerprints on the handles.
"What do you think?" Varela asked, her eyes searching mine.
I crouched, tracing the edge of a crimson arc with my gaze. "Not random. Whoever did this… wanted it to be seen this way."
There was more, but my mind kept circling one odd detail — a torn piece of boarding pass wedged under the container's hinge. The corner showed only part of a flight number: LX3—. My pen hovered over my notebook. LX3… something.
The case wasn't going to solve itself here. I bagged the scrap, knowing it would end up on my desk again soon enough.
By the time I returned to the department, the city had sunk into late afternoon. I filed my report, though the details felt like puzzle pieces scattered on the floor. My body ached from standing, my thoughts buzzing like static.
Somewhere in the middle of typing, my phone rang. I didn't have to check the screen — the slight hitch in my heartbeat gave him away.
"Kaein," Lior's voice came, warm and threaded with travel fatigue. "Back in the city. Flight LX317, landed just an hour ago. How's the day been?"
"Messy," I admitted, leaning back in my chair. I didn't tell him about Dockside — not yet. Instead, I let his voice stretch across the miles I'd walked today, quieting the leftover noise in my head.
He chuckled. "Messy? Then let's fix it. When's our next… friend date?"
I smirked at his choice of words. "Two days from now. I'll pick the spot this time."
"Deal. I was thinking… amusement park?"
I could almost see him, smiling that half-grin that could melt the sharpest of my moods. "Done," I said.
We talked for a few more minutes — small things, weather, coffee preferences — nothing that mattered on paper but everything that mattered in the way my chest felt lighter.
After the call ended, I sat there a moment, the hum of the office settling into something softer. The blood arcs, the boarding pass fragment, the unanswered questions — they would all be waiting for me tomorrow. But tonight, the thought of Lior at an amusement park, probably winning some ridiculous stuffed toy, was enough to keep me still.
Enough to make the day feel… human again.