Archive of Our Own ^beta

#1: Loss

Cecil stormed into the small room, slamming the door behind her. She glanced over the scattered belongings, and a fresh pang of regret and anger washed over her. With a deep sigh, she began sorting through the items, angrily muttering to herself as she went.

“I shouldn't have run, I just left her there alone to die. I know she said to, but even she couldn't handle them all on her own, especially since Kalo already ran off. Or… fuck, she should've just bought more bullets. I know they're expensive, but she's been using even fewer than normal. Maybe then she wouldn't have… have…”

Cecil’s voice trailed off, using her sleeve to wipe away the angry tears spilling from her eyes. “No, don't fucking blame her. It was the Library's fault, they're the ones that actually killed her. Once I'm done here, I'll round up my friends, and maybe go link up with Kalo… he probably went to go talk to Consta and all of them. Then we can all go after the Library together.”

She resumed organizing the belongings in silence, putting aside things that would still be useful, while boxing the rest up to be sold. Her expression was still devastated, but there was also an element of grim determination to it. She bent over to pick up a spent bullet casing, before noticing a small box hidden under the bed. She reached under the bed to grab it, before sitting on the bed to open it and see what was inside. As soon as she lifted the lid, her eyes widened in surprise.

“What- are these genuine Liu gloves!? Not, like, high quality ones, but these would still cost a lot, how could she afford…” Her voice trailed off as she put the pieces together, her expression unreadable. She lifted the gloves out of the box and slipped them on. Flexing her hands, she found the gloves to be a perfect fit. She glanced back down at the box and noticed a small piece of paper in the bottom. Brow furrowing, she grabbed it and unfolded it to read it. As her eyes skimmed over the words, her expression changed rapidly, from confusion to sorrow to full-on rage. She dropped the note and whirled around, yanking the door open, her gloves emitting sparks of flame. As she ran out the door, the paper fluttered through the air as it slowly fell to the bed.

Hey Cecil My Love Ceci~,
I know you've always wanted gloves like these but couldn't afford them, so I saved up bought them for you as a gift. I've enjoyed our time together in this office, going from allies friends to girlfriends, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in going further? ^{this sucks, think of something else}

Love, Tamaki