It smelled different.
That was the first thought that entered her mind the next morning.
Tired, brown eyes pulled themselves open to survey the scene, only to study the unfamiliar sheets beneath her. The smell, the gentle hum of the heater, that phone ringtone.
Nathan.
The brunette sprung out of bed with a squeak of embarrassment. Before she could too badly thrust herself into a fit of red cheeks and flustered speech, the previous night flooded back into her mind.
They had been working late; that she remembered. Nathan had ushered her into his room to sleep, and he assured her that he would work. Her shoulders relaxed. Right, everything somehow made sense again. Everything was normal, nothing was weird. For now at least. Hopefully.
Slowly she began to emerge from the room, first hearing the faint voice of her partner mumbling to someone on the other end of the phoneline. It felt so odd sauntering into a different house in the morning. For years she had woken up in her own, lonely apartment. Now, it felt like too big of a thrust into change. But, in a weird way, she didn't mind.
It was somewhat soothing to wake up to someone bustling around instead of the daunting silence she was used to. That, and of course, Lily clawing at her empty food dish. It was nice to be greeted by a smile rather than a crushing reminder every day that her parents were no longer around to wake her. The silence that loomed in her apartment was suffocating.
Nathan's eyes darted up from the phone base to see the awakened brunette take slow steps out of the comfort of his room. He shot her a sweet smile - filling her lungs with air - before hurriedly ending the call and slamming the phone back to its charging station.
"Morning." He cooed happily, spinning into the kitchen and placing his now-empty cup of coffee into the sink.
Hazel's eye scanned the room for any signs of change. The pictures against the coffee table seemed rather shuffled, mixed and matched into a different arrangement then when she first placed them. Everything else seemed to be as it were. The coffee maker rattled with use and groaned with exhaustion. They had been using it constantly for the past 7 hours. The thought snapped her head up to attention. Then to the worn couch. Then to Nathan.
It was obvious he was tired. His messy hair, wrinkled clothes and dry eyes said it all. He had slept on the couch, if he even slept at all, just so she could sleep with ease. So she could drift away knowing her worries were being tended to by someone else. Someone else was taking the weight off of her shoulders for one night and placing them on their own.
He slept on a couch, worked late, exhausted himself, for her.
He turned to her, flashing his normally classy smile with a hint of fatigue glistening in his eyes. If she hadn't been gazing into them for days straight she wouldn't have noticed a difference at all. But today, she did. Maybe that was why his head tilted at her stare. She darted her head away and forcing a small smile.
He smirked. "I have some good news." He said softly, brushing his hands on his pants and starting closer to her. Her gaze slowly fixating back to his orbs. "That was the lab." He smirked, he couldn't seem to help it. He knew she was going to love the news. "The results came back from that DNA test we asked for. Whenever we're ready we can head down there and get a copy."
Her eyes blinked in amazement. Swirling in interest and awe at the excitement he felt in the moment. He seemed genuinely thrilled at the idea of getting closer to their goal. It felt almost as if he was as eager to get answers as she was. That it itself was a genuine thrill for herself. Someone else in the world gave a damn if her parents ever got justice. Everything seemed to be coming together. "That's amazing! Let's get going!"
Before she could take a single step she heard a gentle chuckle from her partner. She turned, studying the humoured gaze of her friend. It hadn't been loud, in fact he seemed more intrigued than humoured. Maybe he was so filled with joy he needed to let a tad slip out so he didn't burst. That's what she told herself anyway.
"Would you like to go home and change first?"
The brunette glanced down to her wrinkled clothing. She probably smelled, the thought alone was enough for heat to kiss her cheeks. Yet again here she was; her heart before her head. She gave a weak grin, turning around and weakly nodding. "Yeah, that would probably be best."
He glanced over to his side, snatching his car keys from the key bowl and swinging them around. "Shall we?"
She blinked. "What about you? Do you want to change?"
He shook his head. "Later," He mumbled. "We have more important things to attend to." Maybe he was being lazy, maybe it was the exhaustion from the night before, or maybe it was just the idea that he wanted to make Hazel as comfortable as possible. He hadn't quite decided yet. It had to be one of those.
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Hazel practically threw herself into her bedroom the moment the door cracked open. Even Lily patiently awaiting her owner's arrival wasn't enough to send her cooing like she would have normally. Instead, she was on a mission. New clothes, clean teeth, fresh hair, DNA results. She had a plan and she was going to get it done ASAP.
Nathan however, decided to spend the time differently. He sautered forwards, removing a hand from one of his pockets to stroke the feline's head, giving her the attention she craved so much of. He straightened his head, rubbing sore neck before spotting the cat food bag peeking out of a nearby closet. Then, her food bowl.
Right, at some point Hazel had told him that Lily only needed to be fed once a day. Taking a wild guess that they wouldn't be returning for a while, Nathan placed a single scoop of food into Lily's bowl and nuzzled her ear before taking a seat on the couch and patiently waiting for his partner.
As per usual, Hazel tumbled out of her room and skidded to a halt as she finished. "I'm ready when you are!"
Nathan grinned, forcing back the giggle rising in his throat. Sometimes her rushing clumsiness was extremely charming. To him anyway.
Rather, a lot about her seemed charming to him. Even right down to them spending the night together. If anyone could really put it that way. Instead of being greeted by a snappy and bitter phone call, he was instead blessed with the presence of someone who cared to please him. Someone positive. Someone he enjoyed. Despite them not speaking a lot in the early hours of the morning, it still felt so real. A room apart and the idea filled his heart with warmth that couldn't be replaced.
It didn't take long before Nathan was guiding her into the lab, the two flashing their cards before being escorted inside. Immediately, all fuzzy thoughts about the night before were dashed upon entering the cold, grey room.
Doctor Harold turned from where he was previously jotting down notes and grinned, nervously brushing his hands against his lab coat. "Hello again. Nice to see you two."
"We could say the same, Doctor." Nathan assured with a professional smile. "Especially considering we're getting an update."
Harold's cheeky grin faded slightly, turning into a nervous lip-bite and weak smile. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say that."
Hazel's eyes turned to her partner, hoping to get a reassuring gaze, even a brief answer that would calm her raging heart. They weren't being driven to yet another dead end were they? They couldn't be. They had found some more information out at the scene. He had to have something for them to go off of. Nathan's gaze, however, didn't shift from the doctor. He didn't want to kick-start anxiety in his partner from the uncertainty in his eyes. "What do you mean? You told me you had results."
"Well, technically I do."
"Technically?"
Harold sighed, tugging out a file folder, a plastic bag of the DNA swab clipped to the front of it. "You can take a look for yourself." He murmured. "We ran this thing under every device we have, but that DNA doesn't register anywhere in our system." As the doctor spoke, Nathan thumbed through the folder, his eyes skimming each page of failed tests.
Hazel's eyes peered over his shoulder, her heart lowering into her stomach after each flip. "So what does that mean?" She finally breathed out, her heart one tap away from shattering like glass.
"It just means that whoever this person is, we have no registration of them. They exist but we don't have any information. No health records, paychecks, card registrations, mailing addresses. Nothing."
"Could it be an illegal immigrant?" Nathan asked, slapping the folder shut and sliding it back across the counter. Harold could take it back for all he cared. Those papers did absolutely nothing for them but crush them even more. That was the last thing either of them needed.
He shrugged. "Could be. It would make sense."
Hazel groaned, throwing her exhausted face into her hands. "There are so many. Without a single lead where are we supposed to begin?"
Nathan placed a hand on her shoulder and turned back to the doctor. "Any advice? We could use it."
He scratched his chin, eyes scanning the ceiling. "I suggest you start by looking at homeless shelters. I can give you the addresses for some. Though our guy could be hiding out in someone's house." He gave a sad shrug, only slightly impacted by the defeat these two emitted. "I wish I could be of more help. But that's all I got."
Nathan nodded, giving a small wave and tugging at the brunette's shoulder to leave. "You've given us a place to start. Thanks Harold."
The walk down to the car felt painful for the both of them, the silence looming between them suffocating the positive air they had shared not even an hour previous. How was it possible that every time things looked up, they only crashed back down? It was starting to feel like the universe was against them.
After pulling out of the parking lot, Nathan glanced over to his partner to see her gloomily staring out the window, as if her very own storm cloud loomed over her. "Hey," He cooed softly, her head moving only slightly to face him. She didn't want him to see the entirety of her depressed expression. As silly as it sounded, she needed him to be as positive as possible. Her face would only bring him down. "Don't worry, we just need to start with the locations we've been given. We can go from there." He gave a small nod to himself. "It may be tough, but it's a place to start. That's better than what we had a few days ago."
Slowly, her body turned to face him.
"I say, right now, let's start by scoping out some areas near where your father worked. Maybe someone there has something for us. At the very least we can go to the nearest homeless shelter in the area and see what we can find there."
Slowly but surely, the brunette nodded, then leaning back and allowing her head to rest against her seat. If Nathan wasn't as cool-headed as he often was, she had no idea how she would remain sane. She had no idea how he remained sane. Regardless, she was thankful for it. She wouldn't have been able to keep her head let alone do anything regarding the case without him.
Maybe that was why she waiting until he worked his way around the car and held the door open for her to get out. Or, maybe, it was because she was too disappointed to find the energy to do anything besides walk.
They walked slowly along the sidewalk, Nathan with his hands in his pockets and Hazel with hers neatly folded in front of her. They could both tell that the other felt at least a little defeated, and yet continued to resume for the sake of the other. Their silent support for one another seemed rather reassuring.
Nathan's eyes peeked around the side of Hazel's father's office before halting and gently touching the brunette's shoulder. Despite stumbling slightly in surprise, her brown eyes shifted and their eyes locked onto the same target. A man sat in a dirtied alleyway, fiddling with a broken yoyo as he attempted to re-tie the string to the plastic toy.
Even though he wanted to consult his partner, he decided it would be best to simply go for it. Hazel could linger behind him if he pleased but, to appease his own curiosity, he moved forwards. "Sir?" He asked softly, rubbing his hands together after removing them from his pockets. He could hear crunching of pavement behind him, knowing that Hazel was close by.
The man looked up, his grey beard revealing its scruffiness to the daylight.
"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"
He chuckled and shrugged. "I'm not exactly in a rush. Go ahead."
Nathan gave a small smile, tugging out some paper from his back pocket and leafing through it. "Did you know Mr. Daniels who happened to work in this building?" Upon noticing the man staring at him blankly he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"He's pretty tall. Brown hair, neatly cut. He always wears suits and glasses?"
The man finally nodded, smiling to himself. "Ah yeah, I know him. He would stop whenever he wasn't in a rush to give me a few dollars."
Hazel smiled, her hands squeezing together as her heart emitted the proud glow it always did whenever she spoke about her dad. "Yeah, that sounds like Dad."
"Whatever you need to know, I'll answer."
Nathan nodded kindly, sorting the papers in his hand. "Do you mind telling us the last time you saw him?"
"He was in a rush to get out of the office. Anniversary I think is what he said - he was talking to someone on the way out that day - taking his wife somewhere. He went right after work."
"Was anyone following him? Did he act odd?"
The man raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "He seemed rushed. I didn't see anybody after him."
Nathan finally flipped through his papers and removed the dirtied clothing photograph and held it out for the man to view. "Are these your clothes?" He finally asked, kneeling down to pass the man the photo.
He took it gingerly, running his smudged fingers over the smooth texture. "People steal my clothes all the time. I wouldn't be able to tell you."
"Where do you keep them?"
He gestured to the dumpster behind him. Large, green, beaten-down, and smelly. Just as Nathan had expected. "That's my closet. It's a walk in."
Nathan gave a weak-smile, pushing himself to his feet using his knees and stuffing the leftover paperwork into his pocket. "Did you see anybody wearing these clothes the last day you saw him?" The more questions Nathan asked the more he could see the man was deteriorating. He seemed to be putting the puzzle pieces together without Nathan needing to explain his reasoning.
"No. Didn't see anybody."
Nathan could feel the negative energy from Hazel smack him in the back, almost pushing him over. Instead, however, he remained composed and slid the photo back into his pocket with the others. "Thanks for your time. It's appreciated."
"Anything for that guy."
Nathan nodded thankfully, Hazel giving a kind wave before turning and starting out of the alleyway and on towards their next destination.
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They had probably searched the entirety of three homeless shelters that night and still came up dry. After hours of crushed hope, the two stumbled back to where they had been a mere day earlier; Nathan's home.
Nathan watched in sorrow as the girl set her bag down by the door, solemnly kicking off her shoes and sauntering to the couch. Her head resting in her palms, allowing them to rub her temples and soothe the aching pain that shot through her brain. Why did this always need to happen whenever they got a lead? It was as if they're dreams were made to be dashed. Just like how her parents had been made to be taken away.
"Just relax, okay?" He called, taking off his suit coat and hanging it up by the door.
Hazel remained silent. The only movement she gave was the lifting of her head as her gaze shifted to the window. Somewhere, out there, under that beautifully starry sky, sat someone they needed to find. Someone who was hiding. Someone who was good at their craft. They didn't deserve to look up at the twinkling stars. They deserved to admire the brick ceiling of a cell. But it felt as if it would be a while before that would come true.
But while her mind was a raging sea of disappointment, Nathan remained up in the clouds, messing around in the kitchen and sorting dirty cups in the sink. He didn't think too much about the case. He couldn't. If he dwelled on how behind they felt he would hardly find the energy let alone the drive to keep going. So instead he let his mind drift to what seemed to make him happiest; the idea of someone relaxing in his home.
The walls no longer seemed to quiet, the silence no longer felt so empty. Everything that had previously made him feel so frustratedly alone had molded into a charm his apartment held. The silence was peaceful. The warmth in the room comforting rather than agitating. The hum of the fridge no longer being the only being humming. Instead it was replaced by Hazel pouring herself a new cup of coffee before going over case notes the night before. The house he used to dread entering now seemed to be his favourite place in the world. It was filled with a type of joy and tenderness he lacked. It now felt like home.
He turned, staring at the dreaming girl as her eyes locked onto the starry sky. The glitter in her eyes almost as magical as the twinkle in the sky. Something about that stare, that half-smile, something about her. It made his home feel like home.
"Hazel," He called, stepping away from the island in his kitchen, allowing his fingers to brush against the surface as he slid past. He waited calmly until her eyes turned to meet his, the wide-eyed mix of longing and interest perfectly molding together. Creating the adventure he so needed in his home. "Move in with me." They had just tumbled out, a mess of words that felt right in his head but sounded foolish aloud. Maybe the thought of how ridiculous his question was hit him as her eyes widened. The larger they grew, the more her sorrow vanished. The quicker that disappointment of the day wore off. The louder her heart grew.
Finding the strength under her legs, she stood. "Really?" She breathed. She was astonished he could even hear her giving the lack of air in her lungs.
He nodded, second guessing himself before speaking. "It may not seem like we're making progress. But we've made more progress here in one night than we've made in an entire week when we're apart." He clenching his palms into fists behind his back, hoping to gain the confidence he needed. "Lily can come, we can move her here too. As well as some of your things." He quickly added. Nathan took a deep breath, letting his hands relax at his sides. "I think this is our next best step."
Hazel could feel her cheeks heat, but in the moment she didn't to care. It didn't matter to her that he could see the fire beneath her skin. It could portray how she was feeling far more than words ever could. He felt whatever it was that drifted in the air between them the past few days. He felt the warmth of company just like she had. He could sense the drive in the air, the determination in both of them. It lived and breathed with them in this home and she, of all people, didn't want to break that. She didn't want to destroy what she had learned to love so much. "Yes."
He blinked twice in succession, his lips pressing together.
"I agree. It, uh, it sounds like a good plan." Leave it to Hazel to take a moment where she could show real compassion and turn it into a flub fest. That didn't nearly portray the giddiness she felt inside. But Nathan didn't seem to care. He picked up on her energy right away. He knew, without her needing to say a clear word, how she was feeling.
As he watched her nervously scratch the back of her head and take a few steps closer he grinned, a joyful pink touching his cheeks. "I'll go start us some coffee."