| Under Arrest | ~ Turkey x Reader

    One appeared quiet and unfriendly, despite the fact that his true personality was the opposite. A white keffiyeh covered most of his head, leaving only his face visible. You happened to glance at him right as the light hit his features, which revealed forest green eyes and tanned skin. “…Chief. I don’t believe we should discuss this any longer.” He spoke politely, and with an unmistakable Egyptian dialect as well.

    Before you could answer, Heracles interrupted—for perhaps the third time during this meeting. “No… not over. I still don’t trust this Adnan guy. Shouldn’t let him near Chief.” He yawned, causing him to seem less serious.

    He simply wouldn’t let this go. Normally he would comply with whatever you said, but this case was different. It seemed Heracles was even more against the criminal than usual and this caused a debate. “Heracles…” You sighed, and pressed your elbows to the table. “You’re normally not like this. Why are you being so critical of this one? And Gupta…” You chuckled, and continued. “You don’t usually talk this much.” In the past, it almost seemed like he didn’t have an opinion. Ever.

    Trying to lighten the mood, Cyprus gave an easy-going laugh. “Haha, that’s true. Anyway, we should just reach an agreement already. The four of us are normally in peace with each other, aren’t we?” He gave you, Gupta, and Heracles a nice-guy smile. Or, more like a ‘good cop’ smile.

    The apparent ‘bad cop’ was not amused. A scowl fell on his lips, which was rare due to his usual lack of emotions. “No way. That μαλάκας is up to no good. I don’t like him. I wouldn’t even feed him to my cats.” He huffed lightly, crossing his arms in distaste at the thought of Sadiq Adnan.

    You held up a pointer finger and firmly stated, “Hey, we may not be American, but, ‘innocent until proven guilty’. You can’t just go around calling him a jerk; that’s not professional.” You almost added ‘you’re a police officer’ to further prove your point, but held back in hopes of not delving any deeper into the conflict.

    “Not even if I call him a jerk in Greek?”

    “Anyway,” Cyprus nervously scratched his cheek, disliking the possibility of arguments between his partners, “let’s go over his record one more time.”

    And so, the four of you skimmed over pages in which you’d already read about twelve times before. It seemed no one could reach an exact conclusion about him, decipher his motives, or even rate his threat of danger.

    Sadiq Adnan was the leader of a large political party that was out to annex countries for the Turkish government. They’d been gaining power, and even though most favored his leadership and expansion, citizens were terrified across the globe. His ordeal was similar to how the Second World War had begun, after all.

    So, the police force was sent to capture him, and… he was locked in a cell on the floor beneath you.

    “…He needs the death penalty.” Heracles mumbled bluntly.

    Gupta turned to him, “He was trying to expand our country. I don’t see him as evil.”

    “Yeah, he was trying to expand it, but by force!” You added.

    Cyprus sweatdropped, “Can you all just listen to me for a sec? Please?”

    Noticing the desperation in his voice, his three comrades turned to him. You happened to give your non-superior a ‘you-better-get-on-with-it’ look.

    He sighed, and began his preach. “…He deserves to be jailed, not killed. There’s no need to argue, everyone. I can see why people are afraid—they assume his political group has the same ambitions that Nazi Germany did. Well there’s no proof of that! We’re not Nazi Germany; we’re just the Middle East. Adnan was only doing it out of nationalism.”

    Gupta broke the silence following Cyprus’s reasoning. “…But this isn’t our choice.”

    You moved away from the table and began to pace, “Enough with the debates. I can handle this, gentlemen.”

    Heracles stood up straight and suppressed another yawn. You stared at him, waiting for his reaction. You knew he wouldn’t go down easy; he’d been against your next assignment since the very beginning.

    “…Fine then. Good luck, Chief. I need a nap.” Before you could reply, he trudged over to a chair, got comfortable, and fluttered his eyelids closed. Seconds later, he was snoring lightly.

    And thus cue the simultaneous shouts of, “He fell asleep again?!”

    Okay, seriously, you and the rest of your partners should really be used to his crazy sleeping habits by now.

    You felt a hand plop down on your shoulder, so you turned away from Heracles and eventually came to face Cyprus. He smiled and told you, “We believe in you, Chief. You’ll get him there. Just… be careful, okay?”

    You nodded confidently, “Okay. And of course—I’m the Chief of Police, aren’t I?” You were assigned to personally transport Sadiq Adnan to the capital for this court order.

    With that, you began to leave.

    However, Gupta stopped you on the way out. “Hey, Chief. Look, I…” He paused, and lowered his voice to a near whisper. You took the hint and stepped closer, so he could discreetly let you know of a secret. “…I actually knew this guy as a kid. He’s no threat. You’ll be fine, Chief.”

    Once he whispered the words into your ear, he waved you off. You nodded again—already deciding on which items to pack for the road trip. “Okay. See you guys in a week.” And thus you bid your partners one more goodbye.

    He can’t be that bad, you thought to yourself as you headed downstairs. Twirling a small ring of keys around your finger, you casually walked over to the prison chambers. “Cell number twenty-nine, eh?” You stopped at the right place, and glanced beyond the steel bars. “Hey, Adnan? You back there?”

    Shrouded in shadows, you could detect a male slouched against the very back cement walls. His wrists were chained up, and silver shackles were locked around his ankles. Due to the lack of light, you could only see that he was wearing a long green coat, a ragged tan scarf, and a green fez hat.

    After a few seconds, he looked up. “…Oh, hey! Are you here to lemme go? Great, thanks! Y’know, I’ve been dyin’ for some good food since the day I got in here!” He laughed cheerily, much to your utter shock.

    “Um… Mr. Adnan?” He knew that he still had to go through court, didn’t he?

    “No, no, don’t worry, the food here is fine, except,” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, “…except, it ain’t. Yeah. If I wasn’t so busy, I’d offer to assist the cook, eh?”

    Another moment passed, and you sighed. Trying not to roll your eyes, you wordlessly unlocked the cell and stepped in. He was obviously playing dumb; he knew his trial was far from over.

    As soon as you got inside, you could have sworn you saw his eyes widen. “Oh… you’re a girl?”

    You momentarily paused your search for the right key and stared at him.

    “I mean… you’re a girl!” He winked flirtatiously, “…H’lo there, Miss Officer. Pleasure seeing ya here~!”

    This time, you rolled your eyes. Obviously, you weren’t amused. Once you found the right key for his cuffs and shackles, you quickly released him.

    He practically sprang back to life. Jumping up, he stretched his legs and rubbed his sore wrists. “Thank Tanrı I’m outta there! Thank ya so much, Miss Officer! Hahaha!”

    You kept on an all-business expression. “Very funny, Adnan. We’ve already packed you some supplies,” You turned and began walking out of the prison cell, “Follow me. We’re going to Ankara for your court order.”

    An hour later, you were already on the road. Singing along quietly to Tarkan, you let the Turkish pop music tune out the annoying complaints of Sadiq.

    He was in the backseat of your police car, chained up nearly as much as he was while in the cell back at the station. Needless to say, he was not happy about this. “I am bein’ held hostage! It ain’t fair that I can’t move. My arm fell asleep and I desperately needa stretch again-!” He was whining like a child. It was almost cute. Almost.

    “Hush. I can’t hear the music.” You replied back remorselessly.

    He stopped wriggling for a moment to stare at you via the car’s rearview mirror. “…Youse the weirdest cop I’ve ever met!”

    You chuckled, but kept your eyes on the road. “I’m not just a cop; I’m the Chief of Police.” You then forced yourself to stop smiling. He was in trouble with the law—you shouldn’t be talking so casually with him.

    Strangely enough, you heard him start laughing. “Ahh, really kid? Nice nice, so where the hell are we goin’ again? ‘Cause I think you mighta passed my house already.”

    With a groan, you tightened your hands on the steering wheel. To be honest, now you understood what Gupta had meant. This Adnan guy didn’t seem like a threat at all. Was he really who they said he was?

    It would take a week to get to your destination, and then the court trial was scheduled the morning after arriving. Could you really handle traveling with Sadiq for seven days?

    You were responsible for dropping him off at police stations along the way to spend the nights, while you stayed in hotels. It would be much different than your usual job—that was for sure.

    Another hour later, you noticed that you had to stop at a gas station. By then, Sadiq had quieted down, but he practically started bouncing off the car walls again when he saw you pull into a fueling lot. “Yayyy, break time! Can I get out? Pretty please? I can get out, right? Why wouldn’t you let me get out? Oh, and can ya buy me some ashure or rakı from the store?”

    You closed your eyes and sighed. Deep breath. Finally, you told him in a calm voice, “Sadiq. You may get out, but only to stretch, you hear me?”

    He nodded vigorously, “Only to stretch, got it!”

    With that, you stepped out and walked over to the police car’s backdoor. Opening it up, you quickly unlocked his handcuffs. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.” You warned quietly as you stepped back and crossed your arms.

    He must have thought you sounded funny. “Oh look at you, acting all I’m-the-Chief-of-Police-I-should-act-high-and-mighty!” He’d tried to imitate your voice and failed miserably (at least in your opinion).

    “I don’t sound anything like that,” You hissed.

    This caused him to laugh a bit more. As you waited for him to calm down, you realized this was the first time you’d seen him in proper light. Since he wasn’t in a dark cell of any sorts, the daytime sun revealed that his skin was a pretty shade of olive and that his eyes were a sparkly light brown. There was even a strange hair curl down by his neck, which curved into two strands. Like the rest of his hair, it was a dark brunette, as well as the slight stubble on his chin.

    “Oh, whaddaya gonna do? Sue me?” He chuckled at his own joke, and snatched up your police hat.

    “Hey, give that back—”

    Ignoring you, he placed it on his head and made pretend guns with his fingers. Striking an inaccurate cop pose, he stated firmly, “HALT. This is the police; you’re under arrest for being too cute. Now shut up and put your hands where I can hold them.~”

    Scoffing, you grabbed the hat back. “That wasn’t funny.”

    It was evening now. You couldn’t handle being stuck in a car with Sadiq any longer.

    “Come onnnnn ______! Do I really have to stay at the police station? Why can’t I stay in the hotel with youuu?!” Practically in chibi mode, he continued to beg, “I am terrified of jails! Don’t make me spend another night in one!”

    You continued signing him into the station, “Nope. And I told you to call me Officer, not by my name.”

    He waved his arms around in comedic anger, “No fair! And I could have given you a hell of a massage too!”

    As he was brought into a cell by a different police officer, you couldn’t help but watch them leave. For the second time that day, you couldn’t help but think Sadiq seemed a little cute. Even for being a grown man, he could act like a kid sometimes.

    Or… all the time, actually.

    It was charming in a way, but—

    No.

    You shook it off.

    ...

    For the next few days, Sadiq talked all throughout the road trip. He brought up cooking a lot, as well as his friendship with Gupta, and his younger ‘wilder’ days. “Ah, but Gupta was never wild! He’s still quiet, ain’t he? I bet’cha didn’t know that he’s actually very talkative and smiles a lot when people aren’t looking! Ain’t that funny? Haha… and me? When we were kids? Sheesh, I was the school bully! The little ones even nicknamed me ‘the Ottoman Empire’. These days, though, I wish I coulda been their friend, maybe…”

    For all he knew, his chatter fell on deaf ears. You hardly replied to him; you tried to look too busy with driving.

    Sadiq was able to run his mouth a lot. And yet, you were left wondering if this was really the person trying to take control of Europe. That was kind of being a bully, too. Maybe his so-called ‘wilder days’ never actually ended.

    Over those past few days, he was… generally friendly. By now, it almost seemed impossible that he was the infamous Sadiq Adnan. He almost felt like… an old friend, even if you’d only known him less than a week and besides the fact that you were the cop and he was the ‘criminal’.

    No matter how hard you tried to ignore him, you just couldn’t. You had to admit that his personality made you flustered and that he’d said a thing or two to make you blush.

    …Possibly without even trying to.

    It was the last night before arriving in Ankara. “Well Adnan, it seems our journey is close to an end.” You commented as you saw the green _{150 Miles to Ankara} road sign.

    He was sitting in the backseat before he leaned forward and pressed his chin to your shoulder. “Great! Since we’re best friends now, do I really hafta stay at a police station t’night?” He whined.

    “Get off me—I’m driving. And no, we’re not friends; where did you get that from? Secondly, of course not. You have to stay at a station. Your court trial is tomorrow, Adnan.”

    “How many times do I have to tell ya to call me Sadiq? And nooo—you’re so mean!”

    You were a bit cranky since it was so late at night. It seemed as if you were driving in the middle of nowhere, and the dark sky only made it more difficult to find a hotel.

    Using a road map, you saw that you were close to an isolated motel. It was many miles from the nearest station, and frankly, you were too tired to drive all the way to the city and then back again just to drop off Sadiq.

    You tuned back in to him for a moment.

    “…-and I told you everything, and I thought we coulda been friends, but no, ya think I deserve to stay another night in a police station, and everyone there is so RUDE, and it’s just the last night, we could stay in separate rooms if ya want, and I wouldn’t even—”

    “-OKAY.” You finally cracked.

    He stopped rambling to lean forward and stare at your face again. “…Wait, whaaat?” Question marks were practically dancing around his head.

    You took in a deep breath and responded, “Fine. You can stay in a hotel with me. But try anything funny, and I won’t hesitate to Taser you.”

    You knew that you should be cautious around him. You understood that he wasn’t dangerous, especially when he wasn’t armed, but you needed to make sure he wouldn’t escape. After all, he was only in trouble because of politics…

    “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S ONLY ONE ROOM LEFT?!”

    The person at the motel’s front desk was nearly blown over by your volume. “I-I’m sorry ma’am, but all of our rooms are taken except for one. W-We were close to putting up the ‘no vacancy’ sign before you walked in…”

    Once you processed that bit of information, you covered your face with your hands and groaned. From behind you, Sadiq was dancing carelessly to the lobby music.

    “And, ma’am…”

    Peeking out from between your fingers, you gave the petrified staff member the evil-eye. “…What is it.” You spat grimly.

    He hesitantly informed you, “Th-The last room only has one bed…”

    You were many miles from civilization; it was late at night. You had to attend Sadiq’s court trial in the early morning—dressed prim and perfect to meet the judge and catch up with your non-superior partners. How would it look if you came in late? The judge would be irritated, plus Heracles, Gupta, and Cyprus would lose respect for their Chief…

    “Sadiq.”

    No answer.

    You weren’t used to people not following your orders. “God dammit Sadiq, QUIT DANCING AND GET OVER HERE.”

    Nearly tripping over himself (several times), he stumbled over towards you. “Y-Yes Officer!?” He saluted, afraid that you’d yell at him as well.

    You glared straight at him, your arms crossed stubbornly. “…You’re sleeping on the floor tonight.”

    …

    Once you checked into your room, Sadiq was still trying to claim the already-claimed bed. “Ah, how about if I cook for you, then can I have the bed?”

    “No.”

    “What about if I pick out a stylish outfit for ya to wear tomorrow? Then can I have the—”

    “-No.”

    “Wha’bout if I—”

    “-NO, YOU CAN’T HAVE THE BED, AND THAT’S FINAL.” You were done, done, and done with people tonight.

    After you unpacked a few of your things, you got ready to go to sleep.

    You’d already taken a shower and changed into pajamas when you walked out of the bathroom and saw Sadiq cooking a meal as casually as if he were in his own house. “Uh, Sadiq…”

    Noticing your presence, he stopped whistling and glanced over at you. “Oh hey _____! You have no idea how hard it was to prepare a gourmet dinner with such peasant ingredients!”

    …You’d picked up stuff from a 7-Eleven. How had he managed to make something that smelled this good?!

    You pouted and looked away from him, grumbling: “…You’re still sleeping on the floor.”

    But now that you thought of it, he was still a prisoner. As Chief of Police, you had easy doubts when it came to ‘bad guys’. What if he poisoned the food or something? You still couldn’t allow yourself to fully trust him. “You try it first,” You said without thinking.

    Sitting at the table in the chair directly next to you, he leaned close to your face and teased, “Only if you feed me~”

    “…Sadiq.”

    “Alrighty, fine then.” And thus he started shoveling food into his mouth. After a few moments, you saw how it was. “You better hurry your ass up or else you ain’t gonna get any!” He warned.

    So basically, you’d just given him a head start. He was devouring it! “Hey asshole, save some for me!” You knew he probably hadn’t received a good meal all week, especially while staying in a police station.

    After dinner, you were reading a magazine on the bed; Sadiq had just finished cleaning up the kitchen mess. It felt… almost as if you two were married.

    “Hey _____, tell me a bedtime story.” He suggested from the floor. You’d only given him one pillow and a blanket.

    Eyes not leaving the paragraph you were on, you replied, “I’m busy.”

    He pouted. “You’re so cold.”

    He sounded like a child. You couldn’t take the uncertainty anymore—how could this guy be Sadiq Adnan? The person your police force had been searching for all this time? “You know what’s cold? Annexing already-independent countries to make a part of your own. Even if you’re a nationalist, that’s a pretty cold thing to do.” You wouldn’t allow yourself to grow close to him. You couldn’t. No matter what, he’d be sentenced to a long while in jail for his actions.

    “Ah… it wasn’t me. I’m actually innocent. I’m just takin’ the blame for my friend; he doesn’t deserve to go to jail.”

    …It took you a few moments to process that statement.

    Once you recovered from your shock (and closed your gaping mouth), you set down your magazine and stood up. “Sadiq…” Even if he was a so-called ‘criminal’, what he’d just said explained so much.

    He shrugged, “I’m not the greatest person. I’ve done a few illegal things here and there; nothin’ major but enough to feel the guilt. I could handle jail, I deserve it—my friend though? He can’t. He’d probably shoot ‘imself if he couldn’t achieve his dream.”

    “…What’s his dream?”

    Sadiq shifted a bit—obviously uncomfortable with lying on the floor, but knew it would be improper to lay in the same bed as you. “He wants to put an end to the Arab—Israeli conflict. He thinks that givin’ them equal amounts of land and borders that he’s conquered will settle their disagreement; ‘specially since they had eyes on some of those places too.”

    “That’s… stupid, but really nice of him.”

    “I know. So when he started makin’ headlines, I let him use my name. Now that they’re trying to capture him, they got me. The wrong guy—but that’s okay! I’ll put up with it as long as it’s for him. I just…” He stared up at the ceiling, a distant look in his eye. His voice softened: “…I just wanna see him achieve his dream. And the rest of the world would like to see Israel and Palestine stop fighting too, y’know?”

    Too many things were rushing up to your mind. Firstly, Sadiq was innocent. Secondly, the leader of the political party was still out there, and he didn’t have malicious intentions. The countries he’d annexed hadn’t put up much of a fight; in fact a number of them hadn’t protested at all. Perhaps they’d like to be united as one Arabic-speaking country that could fix their weak governments and bad economies. Maybe they’d wanted to be annexed.

    Your heart was pounding; you could barely breathe. Sadiq was about to be severely punished—and for no reason. The European police were wrong to go after him. Your whole government was wrong. And… many different ones as well.

    The trial was tomorrow.

    You couldn’t allow Sadiq to be jailed, much less be given the death penalty if that’s what the court called for.

    You had slept in. You knew you had. And frankly, you were too scared to look at the clock for a moment. It was too dark to see and you’d have to squint. The curtains were closed, but you could detect thin streams of daylight pouring in through cracks of the blue fabric. Yeah… you could wait a few seconds before checking the time.

    …Maybe it had been a bad idea to stay up all night, trying to think of ways to save Sadiq. All the while, he slept quite peacefully on the floor, drooling on his single pillow and small blanket sprawled awkwardly across his torso.

    After another minute or two, realization hit you like a smack on the cheek. You were most definitely late for the trial. How would the court react to the Chief of Police’s tardiness and lack of professionalism?! You knew you wouldn’t have enough time to get ready.

    Just as you sprung up from the mattress and landed on all fours at the foot of the bed, a loud banging from the door caused you to inhale sharply.

    The violent knocking lasted only a second longer before the door was knocked down. “This is the police! Put your hands where we can see them!”

    The extreme shock—along with the darkness of the room—caused you to shriek, fall off the bed and then land on Sadiq.

    “…ouCH! YOU ELBOWED MY SPLEEN!”

    The lights were instantly flicked on. “Both of you—hands up!”

    You would raise your hands if only they weren’t tangled up in the fallen sheets and Sadiq’s blanket. You’d face-planted into the carpet, but you could feel body parts. From the smoothness of the skin pressed around your head, you guessed your face was somewhere between Sadiq’s neck and his right shoulder.

    “Your body is crushing meee!” He whined, nearly oblivious to the chaos surrounding him. After all, you were still pretty groggy from having just woken up.

    “I’m trying to get off—”

    “Aghh-! Y-You juST KNEE’D ME IN THE BALLS!”

    “I can’t—” Of course, you’d gotten tangled up in the blankets entirely.

    “Uhhhh… Chief?”

    You’d recognized their voices. “It’s me!” You finally managed to unwrap yourself from Sadiq and stood up, “I’m fine—”

    They didn’t even give you another glance. Heracles, Gupta, and Cyprus instantly swarmed around Sadiq, pointing their large guns at his face. Within seconds, they had him trapped—each with a firearm nearly pressed to his head. “…Whoa whoa, easy there.” He put up his hands in surrender.

    You couldn’t help but admire their work. They looked so… professional. You normally didn’t see Heracles this active, or Gupta this angry, or even Cyprus this serious. “What did you do to our Chief?”

    “Why hasn’t she arrived in court yet?”

    “Was it your fault, Adnan?”

    You stepped forward and shook your head, “Guys, guys, it’s okay! He didn’t do anything to me—he didn’t do anything to anyone! He’s innocent, I swear!”

    They lowered their guns and stared at you, extreme puzzlement and surprise written in their expressions. “Chief… what are you talking about?” It was Heracles who spoke.

    “Can I just—” Sadiq cut in.

    “-You shut up.” Heracles pointed his gun back at him.

    “Ummm… Chief, why were you and Sadiq sleeping on the floor together?” Gupta blurted.

    “Yeah, I thought you only slept with Heracles?!” Cyprus interjected.

    “I-I didn’t do anything with Sadiq!” Blushing furiously, you then turned towards Cyprus. “And I NEVER SLEPT WITH HERACLES, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!”

    Heracles blankly held up a finger and commented without emotion, “Well there was that one time—”

    Flustered, you covered his mouth with your hand. With gritted teeth, you stated, “-Anyway, I need you three to pay attention…”

    After you explained Sadiq’s situation, your partners agreed to help you find a way to save him.

    You didn’t have much time, but the four of you managed to find enough evidence to prove Sadiq was innocent. The judge wasn’t pleased by your tardiness, but he wound up hearing you out when you tried to explain Sadiq’s predicament.

    You also described how the political group wasn’t ‘evil’, and that the police needn’t go after the true leader.

    Some hours later, Sadiq was taken into another room for interrogation.

    At the same time, you and your partners were waiting in a different room for the final solution. “…So do you think they’ll let that κόπανο go?” Heracles mused from the chair next to you.

    “I don’t know, but you don’t have to call him stupidly ego-centric…” You mumbled, pushing his elbow off your side of the arm rest.

    You kept your head looking forward, but Heracles slowly turned his face to yours. “…Okay. He’s a zώο.”

    “You can’t call him a moron either.”

    He crept his face closer to yours, “So then what can I call him…?” His voice was chilling. It was as slow and toneless as usual, but something was off this time…

    From the chair across from you, Cyprus tossed you a baffled look. “…And you wonder why I thought you and Heracles secretly had a thing?! How did you learn so much Greek?”

    You shrugged and looked away—eyebrows furrowed and cheeks lightly tinted pink. “It’s not that much.”

    A few seconds after your retort, the door opened up. It was a cop of the Ankara police force.

    “…He’s free to go.”

    “Ahhhh man it feels good to be outta that place!” Sadiq stretched as he stepped out of the police department, energetic as always.

    Heracles was still sulking. “…Can we send him back?”

    You led the way down the large stone steps—Gupta and Cyprus in tow. “Nope. They said he’s completely innocent. The case is closed; everything’s been taken care of.”

    Cyprus managed an easy-going smile, “I’m glad everything worked out.”

    “Ya got that right! …Oh, oh! An’ hey guys, since we’re in Ankara, let’s do some exploring! I wanna get a souvenir for my little buddy—let’s just call him ‘the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’. Don’t ask why. Whaddaya think, eh Cyprus?” Sadiq nudged the said male playfully.

    Cyprus wasn’t amused. “Why are you calling him that?”

    “Well first off, he looks like ya, Mr. Cyprus!”

    “…So what did you have in mind?” Gupta asked calmly.

    Heracles threw him a look, “Don’t encourage him.”

    Sadiq clenched his teeth and glared at Heracles, “What’d you say?! Youse wanna start a fight? Eh?!”

    “He doesn’t….” You added with a warning voice.

    Shrugging, Sadiq continued, “Anyway, I was thinkin’ one of those masks you saw rulers of the Ottoman Empire wear back in the day! Cool heh?”

    Heracles sighed and turned to you—an agitated expression on his face. “…We don’t have to drive him back home, do we?” Obviously the Greek would’ve been perfectly content with abandoning Sadiq in the middle of Ankara.

    You smiled. “We do.”

    “A police escort?” Sadiq must have heard the exchange, “I’mma so special!” You couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

    To Heracles’s dismay, the group took a look around the city before heading home. He clearly wasn’t comfortable with hanging out with Sadiq.

    As if trying to fix their awkward tensions, Sadiq had offered to go into a hot springs and share a room with him, but Heracles had declined. The other probably would’ve insisted further if you hadn’t stopped him.

    At around lunchtime, the group decided to eat at a restaurant with live performing belly dancers. It was chosen by Sadiq, who claimed he could belly-dance ‘way better than any of them posers’.

    “…I’ve got a phone call. I’ll be right back.” Gupta got up from the table and walked away.

    “And the waiter forgot to give me a menu. Hold on.” Cyprus unknowingly left you to your doom.

    Before you could shout at him ‘Don’t leave me alone with Sadiq and Heracles’, he was gone. “Cyprus no…” You murmured under your breath.

    The tension between the Turk and the Greek was dark and heavy. It didn’t help that they were sitting on either side of you. “…Why is he following us around.” Heracles mumbled with a pout.

    Sadiq slurped on his drink, straw in mouth as he sang, “’Cause _____ said I could be here~”

    Heracles glared over your shoulder towards Sadiq and grumbled, “Άντε χάσου, μαλάκα!” [get lost, jerk!]

    “…Guys,” You slammed your first on the table. “Seriously. Both of you—shut up.”

    “Wha? I haven’t done anything!”

    “…Τενεκέ.”

    “Was that for me? God damn you—quit swearin’ at me in yer dumb language!” Sadiq was practically in chibi-anger mode again.

    You snorted, and fist-bumped Heracles. “…Sadiq, all he really called you was a trash can.”

    “Ye—oh look, a cat…” Heracles spotted a wild cat sauntering around the restaurant’s outside fence. As if in a trance, he got up and instinctively went over to pet it.

    “…That bastard’s hopeless.” Sadiq mentioned as you both watched Heracles cuddle the small feline.

    Turning around, you shrugged. “Well, he may be a bastard, but he’s my cat-loving bastard.”

    Sadiq slurped on his drink once more and grumbled, “Man, my luck blows…”

    “Huh?” You hadn’t heard much but a mumble. “What’d you say?”

    “I uh, said…” He suddenly looked a bit nervous. “that… er, n-never mind!”

    You tilted your head, “…Sadiq?” He was acting strange all of a sudden. He almost looked flustered at the moment and from your time with him—that wasn’t normal.

    “What? Why you got that worried look on yer face?”

    “…I don’t!”

    He huffed, “Good… But,” He looked away, nearly pouting. “…you shoulda told me before.”

    “Hm? Told you what before?”

    He gave you a ‘duh!’ look. “That you’re dating that stupid Heracles?!”

    Ugh, not again. “…Okay, how many times do I have to tell people that Heracles and I aren—”

    “-Hey everyone! I got the menu. Has someone taken your orders yet?” Cyprus plopped back down at the table, oblivious to the prior conversation. “…Oh? Where’d Heracles go?”

    “I just saw him by the gate. Sorry I had to take that call, guys.” Gupta politely slid back into his seat.

    “No problem…” You murmured to him. Your thoughts were still on what Sadiq had said. Why would it matter if you were dating someone, anyway? He’d said ‘you should have told me before’…

    At the end of the day, you were packing up to leave. Your car was loaded up with all your luggage from the hotel, and your partners were waiting in the parking lot. “I think that’s all of it.” You told them as you shut the car’s trunk.

    “Okay. I’ll drive Sadiq home since you’ve probably had enough of the guy, haha.” Cyprus patted your head.

    Gupta nodded, “Agreed. Chief needs a break.”

    You couldn’t argue with them. One more day with Sadiq and you knew you’d probably go insane. He made you feel things that you weren’t used to—almost like… intense emotions. You couldn’t deny that you’d developed a small affection for him, with his lively personality and charismatic demeanor. After all… how could you not grow fond of him after being with him almost twenty-four/seven for a whole week?

    And… to top it off, you’d learned that he was actually a really, really good guy.

    Ever since you found out what he’d done to protect his friend, you’d seen him differently—and not just the night-and-day that went from being a criminal-turned-innocent, but as a man. He was dependable, loyal, and true to his word.

    In other words… he was making you fall for him and it made you so freakin’ angry.

    ‘I can’t believe this…’ you thought to yourself after feeling your rapid heartbeat. You literally wanted to tell your heart to stop throbbing so fast due to stupid Sadiq.

    And he was… skipping right over to you. “Hey Miss Officer! So I guess this is goodbye, heh?”

    You gazed at him, trying to read into him—but it was useless. You had no idea how he felt. You also had no idea as to when you started to like him.

    …Perhaps it was when you learned of how kind he truly was. “Yeah. It’s been… a fun week.” It took all of your courage just to admit that to him. You’d almost carelessly spit out, ‘Yeah, whatever’, but only this man so far could break through your cold exterior.

    He laughed, “I know right?! So… er, I was gonna ask—”

    “-Hey Adnan, get in the car already.” Heracles called out to him from his car. Cyprus was still waiting for him, and Gupta was packing his own vehicle to leave.

    “Alright, I’m comin’! …And besides, I’m ridin’ with Cyprus and not you!” He pointed accusingly towards Heracles.

    You groaned, “I don’t see how you two hate each other so much… you’ve only just met…”

    Sadiq turned back to face you, and leaned slightly on your police car. “I dunno. But, I forgot… is he your boyfriend?”

    Your face instantly flushed, “H-He’s not! Heracles is just my partner and that’s it. S-Same with Cyprus and Gupta…”

    Sadiq tilted his head slightly and crossed his arms. With a shy grin, he asked, “S-So… are we gonna try somethin’…?”

    “Hm? What do you mean by that?”

    “I mean… are we gonna do the thing?”

    “…Sadiq. What ‘thing’?”

    He glared, “D-Don’t make me say it, you bastard!”

    “You have to if you want me to know what you’re talking about.”

    He looked down and fiddled with his scruffy tan scarf, _{“…The thing with the hand holding’n the shy kisses and the eventual unlimited D-access an’ stuffs.”}

    Was he asking you out? ….He was asking you out. Probably the most awkward way to ask someone out… ever. Once you caught on, you stated with a cheeky grin, “Well, cops aren’t supposed to date criminals…”

    “B-But I’m not a criminal, damn you-!” Offended, he clenched his teeth and glared at you.

    You chuckled, “Fine then. You have to ask me properly.”

    His expression softened, “But… I-I can’t say the actual words…. I’m really shy ‘bout this sorta thing okay…”

    You covered your grin with your hands. “Oh my god… Sadiq, you’re adorable.”

    “Shuddup.”

    “So are you gonna say the thing or…?”

    “I’M TRYING!” Agitated, he rubbed the back of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. With a groan, he mumbled quietly, “Fine do ya wanna fucking go on a date with me or something you jerk? I dunno, like when we get home and you’re not chasing down bad guys like the Miss Chief of Police that you kinda are…-”

    —HOOOOOOOONK.

    You whipped around and glared daggers at the nearby police car, “GOD DAMN IT HERACLES—WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT! I KNOW YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE YOU ASSWIPE!”

    Quietly, Heracles slid down in his seat and rolled up his window.

    As you turned, Sadiq whipped out a mask from his pocket and put it on so you wouldn’t see his face. “S-So…” He waited for your answer.

    You composed yourself and coolly stated, “…Okay. Only if you let me handcuff you first.”