HELP WANTED ¤ harrison osterfield [hiatus]

0.4

Harrison didn't see her again until a little after eight the next day.

He'd heard the crying, of course he'd heard the crying, and he should have gone to check on her. But he hadn't. He'd left her in there alone, left her to deal with her emotions without his aid.

As of then, she was just a case. Someone who needed to be protected because of a wrong doing on his part. Nothing more. Nothing less. He kept reminding himself of that when he heard the door to her room open, and watched as she shuffled out towards the kitchen, fists rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

She was just a case.

Y/N pulled her fists away from her face, and when her eyes opened, revealing the pretty hue of her irises, he realised how red they were.

She was just a case.

She looked up at him. "Um", she whispered, voice cracking from lack of use. Or maybe it was from the sobbing she'd been doing. He bet on the latter. "I, uh..." He did nothing but watch as she looked down at her feet, hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt she had on. "Thank you. For, um, ya know...helping me."

Harrison nodded, and cleared his throat, bringing the cup of coffee he had to his lips, and drinking from it. "Mhm." He rounded the counter, and braced his hands on the edges. "I've got work today, I'll be gone for a while." She whipped her head up, and he saw fear spark in her eyes. "Tom will be here with you."

Y/N visibly relaxed, before wetting her lips and letting her eyes fall shut. "Okay..." He slipped past her as she spoke, and began shrugging his jacket on.

"I've got to go...", Harrison murmured, glancing back at her, a hand already on the door knob. She shrugged, chin wobbling.

For some reason, some weird reason that poked and prodded at his brain, he didn't think he'd be able to watch her cry and do nothing. Not this time.

"Hey..." Her eyes met his, and he gave her something he hadn't given anyone in a while. He gave her a smile. "I'll be back, okay?"

The sight of him showing her something other than coldness seemed to lift a weight off of her shoulders. And as he smiled, so did she.

Harrison pulled the door open, and began walking towards the elevator.
She was just a case.

But maybe she wasn't.
¤¤¤

He was frustrated.

Most of his frustration was caused by work, as every lead Harrison looked into seemed to be a bust. He couldn't find anything, and he expected it to be hard, but he didn't expect all of this. He had nothing.

The worst part was coming home to her, and seeing her hopeful face, because maybe he got something. The worst part was disappointing her. For some reason, Harrison didn't like doing that.

"Goddammit", he cursed, licking his lips and leaning back in his desk chair.

"Still nothing?" He glimpsed up, and sighed. Standing with her hands on her hips was his coworker, Zana. One of the only people he trusted with his life, one of the only people that knew about before.

"Nope." He rubbed his temples, and tugged at the tie around his neck. "I've been searching for days, and everything I get seems to be fucking wrong." When there was no sarcastic retort, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Have you tried check-"

"No. And I won't." The tone of his voice was cold, something he seldom used with his friends. "She made her decision that night, and I..." He snapped his eyes shut.