Chapter Text
The only light in your apartment comes from the monitor sitting on your desk.
The pale glow paints a light shade of blue across your face, your cramped bedroom and an almost empty coffee mug standing on a pile of unopened mail. You quickly glance to your right, where Maru, your pet corgi, is sleeping soundly on the dog bed tucked beside your own bed.
You glance back at the monitor as a yawn escapes you before you can stop it.
You blink a few times, trying to focus on the spreadsheet staring back at you. Rows of reports, insurance claims, and hero incident records blur together until every line looks the same. Irritation gets to you when you start to wonder whether working as a digital records coordinator really was for you…oh well, working remotely definitely had its perks like no commute or comfortable clothes all day if you want, not to mention the not too bad of a paycheck.
Rubbing at your tired eyes, you glance at the clock in the corner of your screen.
11:48 p.m.
“…Almost done with this shitty report.” you mumble to nobody in particular.
Your apartment isn’t much. Just enough space for two residents, that being you and Maru. It was also seemingly cheap considering the apartment costs in Yokohama, so you aren’t really displeased with the narrowness. It wasn’t even your apartment to begin with. Your now ex-boyfriend had planned to stay with you here and adopt a pet, which resulted in getting Maru 5 years ago.
The relationship hadn’t lasted for even a year when that fucker packed his things and left, leaving a then one year old Maru, curled up against your legs.
You liked to joke that she was a child of divorced parents. Thankfully, she’d picked her favorite. Having Maru around is what made you happy and active.
A sudden paw against your calf and the sound of scratching and whining pulls you from your thoughts.
You glance down. Maru sits beside your chair, ears perked, tail giving impatient little thumps against the floor as she stares up at you with wide brown eyes. The stare at this hour could only mean a bathroom emergency. At least she’s a good girl and is potty-trained.
“Seriously, you little fuzz ball…” You chuckle lightly as you save your work and push yourself away from the desk.
Maru seems to know what that means and instantly runs to the door with her tongue out.
You quickly change out of your pyjamas and grab some simple sweatpants and a hoodie, you couldn’t give two fucks about your appearance in the middle of the night.
As you pass the hallway mirror, your eyes seemingly look towards your face and pause. “Yikes…I haven’t looked in a mirror for hours.” You scrunch your nose as you get closer to your reflection, noticing your now visible eye bags. You weren’t exactly supermodel stunning on your best days, not ugly either. You’d like to think that you’re kinda ordinary, occasionally pretty. Tonight though, you looked your worst. A quiet snort escapes you. “Should’ve seen this wreck coming.” You mutter to yourself in the mirror.
Maru gives a tiny bark from the front door as if disagreeing…Or maybe she just really needs to fucking pee.
“Yeah yeah, just- let me get your leash.”
You grab her leash from the hook by the entrance. Squatting down to clasp it to her collar, you slip into that soft, baby voice people tend to use for dogs, cooing “who’s a good girl, huh? Maru-chan is!” as you scruff the top of her head, Maru practically shaking in excitement and trying to lick your hand.
You grab your keys and open the apartment door, letting the cool night air slip inside as you lock the door behind and begin walking down the stairs, using your phone’s flashlight to see where the hell you’re stepping in the dark.
Pulling the front door of the complex, you look around. Your neighborhood is quiet at this hour, the only sounds coming from distant traffic and the occasional buzz of a streetlamp. It isn’t the nicest part of the city, but you don’t really mind as long as creeps aren’t wandering about.
Maru trots around with her tail wagging, nose glued to the ground until she finds the same particular patch of bushes she insists on using every time she needs to go. You yawn yet again, scrolling absentmindedly through your phone while she does her business.
“Maru-chan, you done..?” You whine a little. Instead of coming back to you, Maru’s ears suddenly perk up. Before you can react, she takes off. “H-hey—!?” The retractable leash slips through your fingers as the corgi happily bolts towards the only person here besides you, a lone hooded figure seemingly walking farther down the sidewalk.
The stranger barely has time to react before Maru circles around the person’s legs, the leash wrapping around his ankles once, then twice. He stumbles to a stop. You’re screaming internally as he grumbles something in annoyance, just as he’s about to touch Maru, “I’m so, so sorry—!” he stops.
You rush over, nearly tripping over yourself. Heat rushes to your face in embarrassment as you hurriedly circle the stranger, carefully unwinding the leash from around his legs. “Fuck- I’m really sorry, she never does this, I don’t know what’s got into her.”
Maru, completely oblivious to the tension, happily wags against the man’s legs, tail wagging as if she’d just reunited with an old friend overseas. You finally free the leash and straighten up in front of the person, offering an embarrassed smile. “Really, i’m sorry for bothering you, she just got excited..” You don’t know why you’re apologising so much.
Now you finally take a good, quick “look” at the stranger’s face who says nothing in return. His face is hidden beneath the hood and a black mask, making him impossible to read. The only thing distinct about him is his crimson eyes glaring at you, alongside whiteish blue locks dangling out of the hood. What’s this guy going undercover for?
For a long moment, the two of you simply stare at one another. “..Keep a better hold on your dog.” His voice is rough, tired, scratching at your eardrums. You blink, your smile faltering as a drop of sweat pours down your forehead. “Right, i will, uhm.”
You quickly clip the leash shorter before giving the stubborn corgi a gentle tug. “Come on, Maru..” You want to get to your apartment faster. She doesn’t budge; instead, she sits at the strangers feet, staring up at him expectantly with that sideways tongue out. You cough slightly, tugging lightly again. Nothing.
The stranger looks down at the stubborn little dog. You can’t tell what emotion he’s conveying as he grumbles something in what seems like irritation. To your surprise, he crouches down just enough to give her a brief scratch behind the ears, seemingly careful not to let his bare fingers touch her. Maru’s tail immediately starts thumping against the pavement. You can’t process fully what’s happening at this hour, so you just let him scratch her. “Her name’s Maru, I guess she likes you.” You say out of nowhere, even surprising yourself a bit. He scoffs faintly as he stands up straight again.
With one final, flustered apology, you gently tug on Maru’s leash until she finally gives in, casting one last puppy-eyed glance over her shoulder at the stranger. You don’t dare look back yourself. Instead, you quicken your pace, embarrassment flooding your face, cheeks burning as you make your way toward your apartment complex. Of all people she could’ve run to, of course she fucking chose the most mysterious, shady person standing outside at midnight. Fantastic. Thank god nothing bad happened.
By the time you climbed the stairs back to your floor, your embarrassment had settled into nothing more than a tired sigh. You fished your keys from your hoodie pocket, unlocked the apartment door, and Maru hurriedly made her way inside first as you followed along. She sat near the entrance as you locked the door behind you. The leash came off first, followed by Maru’s collar. The little corgi gave herself a vigorous shake before padding straight toward your bedroom.
You changed into an old pair of pajamas, barely bothering to fold the hoodie before letting it drape over the back of a chair. Flopping down on the mattress, and the moment your head hit the pillow, every ounce of exhaustion from the day seemed to catch up with you.
Maru hopped onto your bed a second later, despite her own doggy bed being right beside yours, circling twice before curling up against your side with a content little sigh. “Goodnight you little troublemaker.” You murmured, absentmindedly scratching behind her fluffy ears.
For some reason, the image of the hooded stranger lingered in your mind. Those crimson eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hood and that low, rough screeching voice telling you to keep a better hold on your dog. You snort. “What a weird guy.” You’ve really lost it and you must be super tired by now.
With one last sleepy grumble, you pulled the blanket a little higher, Maru seemingly snuggling up close to your sides.