*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Walking out of the kitchen, Kazimir opens his front door, groaning as Pierre gave him a big grin.
"You just woke up or something?"
"What do you want?" Kazimir asks, crossing his arms.
"I got assigned to a mission with some other detectives a few cities over. I'll be gone for about a week or so and I need someone to watch Bon Bon while I'm gone."
"Celeste couldn't do this?"
"Nah, she doesn't like fur on the furniture. And Aria supposedly needs to rest with the baby." Pierre replies, placing Bon Bon's belongings in Kazimir's living room. "I was going to give her to Dréy, but his kitten Chantelle tends to go on hunger strikes and gets a little violent when another female animal comes in the picture, so you were my last option."
Pierre sets Bon Bon down and gives her a small hug.
"Listen, daddy's gonna be gone for a while, so you'll have to stay with Kazimir. He even has a little hedgehog you can befriend! Try not to destroy his place, okay?"
The little bunny blinks and nods.
"That's my good Bon Bon." Pierre says, standing up. "Alright Kazimir, here's a list of things I've written down. I'll catch ya in a week, thanks again. Oh, that's a pretty cool scar you got on your back, too!"
Turning to leave, Pierre stops and looks over at a red dress, before pointing down at a pair of stilettos.
"Whose are these?"
"They're not mine if that's what you were wondering."
Pierre's jaw drops.
"You mean to tell me you actually got laid last night?!"
"No, idiot. Nia lives in one of those communities where you have to show identification to get into the neighborhood and the fucking thing was malfunctioning last night, so I let her stay with me." Kazimir explains.
Pierre shakes his head, rolling his eyes.
"Excuses, excuses. Did you pull out? Personally, I wouldn't be able to 'cause damn she got some pretty eyes. Honestly, I can't even blame Caio for hanging around her so much."
"Will you get the hell out of my apartment?" Kazimir asks, pushing Pierre out.
He closes the door behind him and sighs, before walking back into the kitchen to finish breakfast.
"Good morning, Kazimir." Nia says, making her way into the kitchen. "I'd like to thank you for letting me stay the night."
The young man chuckles and shrugs.
"It's no problem. Uh, I made you a plate of breakfast."
"Why thank you, Kazimir." the young woman says. "I have to pay you back somehow; what's your favorite food?"
"It's fine, you don't have to do anything."
"No, really, I insist!" Nia says, giggling.
"Well, in that case, I do have a thing onigiri."
"Onigiri? I'll keep that in mind! Aw, I'm sorry if this is intruding, but I'm curious to know; how'd you get the scar on your back?"
"Oh, my parents house caught fire and while I was helping them walk out, a tree branch caught flame and fell on me. Now, it's here to stay."
"I think it's quite adorable. Your scar even has a heroic backstory to it, so you should be proud of it." Nia says, taking a bite of her toast. "It shows you're a brave, young man with a respectable personality, Kazimir. Not many people are like you in this world."
The young detective smiles.
"Thanks, Nia. Uh, about the picnic for Khristina–do you think we can hold it this Friday?"
"Certainly, I don't think I'm doing anything."
"Okay, good. Well, I should get ready for work. You're welcome to have anymore breakfast if you'd like." Kazimir says, standing up.
The young woman giggles.
"Thank you, Kazimir, but I really should get going, I don't want to burden you any longer."
"No, I'll drop you off at your place, it's fine."
"Are you sure?" Nia asks, tilting her head a little.
"I'm sure. Sorry, I just want to make sure you're safe."
Nia smiles and gives the young man a kiss on the forehead, before picking up both of their plates.
"Aren't you a gentleman? I'll clean everything up while I wait for you to get dressed."
He watches as she made her way over to the sink and sighs, facepalming.
"She probably thinks I'm too young, anyway."
------
"You sure you don't want me to wait for you?" Kazimir asks, as Nia steps out of his car.
"For the 1000th time, Kazimir; I can drive myself, it's fine. You've already done so much!" she replies, smiling. "I'll see you later!"
The young detective watches as she made her way inside the house before driving off.
Turning into a small neighborhood, Kazimir parks in a driveway, looking up at the well-kept house.
As he walks to the front door, Kazimir stops and turns around, hearing the light rumble of another car behind him.
The young detective watches as Aria gets out of her own car, closing the door behind her.
"Aria?"
The young woman turns to Kazimir and jingles her keys.
"Let's talk inside, please."
She unlocks the door and lets Kazimir in, before closing it.
"Care for a drink?" Aria asks, putting her purse down.
"Sure." Kazimir replies.
"It's in the kitchen. I have water and juice in the refrigerator; coffee's still in the pot. If you want, you can have one of my smoothies, too. Just get whatever you want while I change into some more comfortable clothes."
The young detective watches as she heads upstairs.
"Uh, okay. Thanks."
Walking into the kitchen, Kazimir grabs a glass from a cabinet and fills it with water, before heading back into the airy living room.
"Nice place you got here." Kazimir says, looking around the room as Aria takes a seat on her sectional.
The young woman softly smiles.
"Thank you so much. I'll be honest, Pierre bought it for me since my parents kept giving me hell about my pregnancy. Now, what can I do for you, Kazimir?"
"Yeah, I'd like to ask you when was the last time you talked to Naydine."
Aria sighs and looks down at the floor.
"It was about two weeks ago. We were video calling each other as she was on her way to pick up some cough medicine for Kale since her parents were still at work. It was around 7 in the evening, I think."
"Was she walking alone?" Kazimir asks, fiddling his thumbs.
"She was driving, actually. She told me she was going to stop for gas and would call me back, but she never did. I tried calling her back, but she never answered. That's when I called her parents and the next day she was reported as missing."
The young detective writes the information down and looks back up at Aria.
"Did she seem uneasy before she got out the car to pump gas?"
Aria shakes her head no and Kazimir mentally sighs.
"Okay, that's all I needed to ask. Thank you for your time."
"Oh, wait! I don't know if this helps or not, but she did tell me she noticed a couple of drones flying above her whenever she'd make trips to the store or picking up her little siblings from school." Aria says, as she takes a sip from her cup.
"Drones? Thanks for the extra information, I think that may help actually." Kazimir says, taking note.
"You're welcome. Won't you stay for lunch?"
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Kazimir shrugs.
"It's around that time, anyway. I guess I will."
Aria smiles and motions for the young man to follow her into the kitchen.
"Naydine's told me so much about you. She said you and another boy were the first two people that talked to her when she switched schools."
"Yeah, we were." Kazimir says, as he holds a plate of sliced turkey.
"I promised Naydine I wouldn't say this, but I'll have to break it because honestly I want to see this work; she has a crush on you!"
"Me?"
Aria nods, handing Kazimir his sandwich, a bag of chips, and an apple.
"Mhm! Naydine told me she was happy when the two of you reconciled that one night and even got butterflies in her stomach. She talked about you almost everyday before her disappearance."
"I'm flattered." Kazimir says, opening the bag of chips.
Aria raises a brow.
"Um, is that sarcasm?"
"No, I really am. No one around my age has ever had a crush on me, so it's kinda strange."
Aria giggles, walking back into her living room.
"Are you sure? You're fairly attractive, Kazimir."
"Oh, uh, thanks." the young detective replies, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Aria bites into her apple, sighing down at her phone.
"Have you gotten into contact with Pierre recently? I tried to call him on my way back home from the doctor, but he's not picking up."
"He's on a road trip to meet with some other detectives I think. I'm sure he'll call you back soon." Kazimir says.
"I hope he does. It's about my pregnancy."
"Is something wrong with the baby?"
"No, not at all." Aria says. "I just found out we're having triplets and wanted to tell him."
*AHEM!*
The young detective chokes a little on his water.
"Congratulations. I'm sure they'll be adorable."
"Thank you." Aria says. "I hope they're all girls, I really want to name them!"
Kazimir smiles and stands up, throwing his trash away.
"I hope they are, Pierre could use a bit of humbling. I gotta go now, goodbye and thanks for the food."
Aria waves, opening the door for Kazimir.
"Bye! You're welcome back anytime!"
--- 9:45 P.M. ---
Sighing, the tired detective walks in the room, taking a seat next to Nia.
"Goodness, you've been gone all day."
"Sorry about that, I just had to run some errands. From city to city." Kazimir says, opening his briefcase.
Nia shakes her head.
"It's fine, I was just joking. Found anything out related to Naydine's disappearance?"
"She was on her way to buy medicine for her little brother, before stopping at a gas station where she allegedly went missing. I also had to interrogate a few of her friends from other cities, too."
"My, that has to be scary. I do hope she's found alive." Nia replies, pushing up her glasses. "It's sad how one can just go missing when doing everyday things."
The young man nods and looks down at his notepad.
"Yeah, I hope she's found alive, too."