Agent X

Sleepovers and preparations

He declared. Sheaf looked at him with wide eyes. X knew why he did that. The first and only time Sheaf had come over was when he was shot and was losing a lot of blood after an encounter.

X's house had been the closest place then, and Sheaf would probably not be standing here if it wasn't for X's quick decision making. But he knew that once X wanted something, he was a stubborn mule to the core. He would ensure that things went his way, especially if it was in his control.

So Sheaf only sighed slightly in defeat and nodded his head. X grinned and placed a step forward, still supporting Sheaf. He got the message and took a step of his own. Then they started walking together, their feet in sync to avoid tripping and falling. Hacker stepped aside to let them walk first, then walked out behind them.

They took the public transport again, because of course Sheaf couldn't walk that much, even with support.

It so happened that X was sitting with Sheaf when a small girl waddled over to X. Both of them immediately turned their attention to the girl. X in particular looked pleasantly surprised. The girl smiled shyly and pulled out a flower from one of her jacket pockets.

As shy as the adorable girl seemed, X seemed just as much or even twice as shy as he blinked cutely and started at the girl, not knowing what to do. He genuinely seemed lost at the unexpected gift, so Sheaf gave him a hard nudge with his elbow.

That seemed to bring X back to his senses. His face slowly spread into a genuine smile and he accepted the flower with a soft thank you. The girl laughed back. Just then, her stop must have come because two adults were beckoning and calling her.

She ran to them, her two pigtails swinging childishly. She caught her parents' arms and turned to leave. When they reached the door, though, she looked back and waved brightly at X. His eyes widened, but he smiled and waved back at her bashfully.

Sheaf stared at X. He was deliberately looking everywhere but at Sheaf, so Sheaf decided to let it go and not embarrass the guy further.

The rest of the journey passed in a peaceful silence till they reached home. X helped Sheaf once again. He felt slightly bad because he knew Sheaf was embarrassed to have to depend on X like this, but there was no way X was going to leave him like this.

Huffing and puffing, they entered the dark house. X switched on the lights and carefully seated Sheaf on the sofa.

'I'll go and make dinner. You can sit here and call me if you need anything.' X said gently, then left Sheaf to his own devices. He didn't exactly have anything to do, but it was kind of awkward to just sit there, so he pulled out his phone and started fiddling around with it until dinnertime.

X set the steaming food on the coffee table and sat down in an opposite chair. Sheaf gratefully picked it up and started eating. It was just as well that X insisted he come home. If he had gone to his own home, he would probably have eaten either leftover or frozen and microwaved food. Sad, but true.

In between bites, X inquired about Sheaf's leg and his overall wellbeing. Sheaf couldn't be more grateful for a friend like X. The guy might seem tough on the outside, but he was actually a big softie.

'You can sleep on my bed. I'll take the couch.' X offered, putting down his now empty plate. Sheaf put his down as well with a frown.

'Come on man. You've got to be kidding me. You offered to take me home, helped me a lot throughout the journey, and gave me hot and homecooked food. I... it's more than what I could've ever hoped for. But I can't possibly take your bed as well.'