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 Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2026 11:41 pm
The Meteor Shower (3) : It wouldn't be a star festival without a meteor shower! Right on time, a beautiful array of shooting stars graces the night sky. This time of year is unnaturally clear and it's incredibly easy to see the stars. Most meteor fragments appear to be little white or yellow lights streaming across the sky, but if you watch closely enough you may find that some of them seem to be a whole rainbow of colors. The scientists have reported that it's just different components burning up as they enter the atmosphere, but there's something undeniably magical about it.
Or hell, even just on her own while visiting a favorite restaurant or something.
But no. The closest she'd gotten to any festivities was finding yet another charm on her way to the scene, which had cheered her up a bit until the scene forced the smile off of her face. Tonight was a night of paperwork for her, as she managed to get roped into a major case because she happened to be the lucky candidate on call. She'd spent the last several hours at a crime scene, and now here she was at the station starting to sort through at least two boxes worth of evidence.
"Hell of a night to draw the short straw," she went on, leaning as far out as she could without actually tipping herself out of the window for a few seconds. "And you know I don't usually mind overtime. But look at what we're missing! And imagine it's the first one for this summer!" She let out another sulky groan as she straightened herself out so she was properly standing in the room again.
"I could be out with Lulu at a food truck or something."
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2026 3:58 pm
Jeremy was on his eighth cup of coffee, in just as many hours. He had dark circles under his eyes, and looked unamused as he squinted at her. He’d had the pleasure to be out on patrol and responding to calls a few hours ago, but now he was desk-bound and restless.
Out of necessity, really. If he stayed at his desk for too long without getting up, he’d have absolutely fallen asleep there. He’d almost dozed off an hour ago, and now he’d convinced himself he still had a few hours left in him, if he only just got up and walked around for a bit.
He leaned against the door frame and ignored how even that was starting to feel comfortable.
“You know,” he said slowly, “You can just go outside for a few minutes. I’ve seen four people on ‘smoke breaks’ in the last hour.” He didn’t think any of them smoked, and he was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to be out there for more than fifteen minutes even if they did.
But there was far worse corruption in this office than time theft, and if Jeremy was going to make waves, it wasn’t going to be for tatting about who got a breath of fresh air. Hell, he could use it. These fluorescent lights were putting him to sleep, and this place was so stuffy.
…Actually, he hadn’t taken a break in four cups of coffee. He was probably due, himself.
“Can you see anything from here? We could go up to the roof for a minute.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2026 12:47 am
"I know, but a few minutes won't make up for a whole evening, Jer," she said, eyeing her friend and briefly wondering how much coffee he'd had today compared to actual hours of sleep. Not that she was one to talk, but she only ever needed a handful of hours every night to feel fully rested in the morning. She wasn't sure when that started, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about having less time awake. Life was busy; the more time she had to use, the better.
Mel stepped toward the boxes on her designated desk for tonight, glancing down at the bags of evidence and accompanying paperwork that she still had to get through. A few hours of work at the very least, if not more since she wasn't a robot and would likely take a few breaks in between.
"But actually no," she went on, and was suddenly smiling. In those few seconds she had reconsidered his idea and decided that it was better than absolutely nothing, and was as quick to bounce back as ever. "It's hard to see anything from down here. Let's go!"
She bounded toward him, soon slipping her arm through his and leading the way to the elevator. "How much longer is your shift, anyway? You look like you've been working all day. And how many coffees have you had? I can get the next round for us 'cause I need some soon myself, but like. Too much of a good thing, y'know?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2026 10:31 am
Jeremy let himself be tugged along with very little complaint, though he grumbled on the way. He’d spent most of his life looking like Myles, who made sure to destroy Jeremy’s concept of ‘personal boundaries’ from a very young age.
The truth was, he had been working all day. And he lost count of however many coffees he’d had. He was well beyond ‘too much of a good thing’; the coffee didn’t even have flavor anymore, it was just fuel.
“I’ve got a little while left in me,” he answered instead. “I’ll probably head out in the next hour or two. We’ll see if someone else decides to call out. Myles hasn’t blown up my phone or stopped in to nag about going home, so I haven’t made it a priority.”
And there was always paperwork to do. Might as well get that bag.
“What about you, are you here all night?” he asked, trudging along with her. “Gonna be real lonely after I leave, everyone else keeps ditching early.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 7:30 pm
She let him go just before hitting the up button for the elevator.
"Even if someone does call out, you should still go home when your normal shift is over," she said, slipping her hands into her back pockets while they waited. It was coming from the top floor, probably bringing down others who were on their way back from some kind of break. Smoke break, if she had to guess. Or maybe dinner? "You can't always be the one to cover. Plus, if they really need you, you know they're gonna call."
Which was true enough. It's how she got roped in for the night.
She kept her eyes mainly on the little floor indicator above the elevator doors, though whenever it paused she glanced sideways at her friend. "Maybe. Definitely gonna be a late one. Cataloguing a pretty nasty scene. Bet you heard the radio for it—the body in a car parked on the roof of a long-term parking garage? ME said it'd been about a week, but with the summer heat..."
She sighed and shook her head slightly. It wasn't the first time she'd worked a scene like it—it wasn't even the worst scene she'd ever worked—but it never really got any easier. She didn't get queasy anymore, but that didn't mean it stopped affecting her. Pushing the thoughts aside with another sigh, she glanced at him just as the elevator dinged, the usual smile slipping back into place.
"Anyway, I don't mind 'lonely,' so..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 11:29 pm
Jeremy grumbled and shrugged, but it was at everything and nothing. His lip twitched at the mention of a parking garage, and his expression had soured greatly when she mentioned a week in summer heat.
He could imagine.
At least a hundred and forty of a hundred and sixty eight hours.
Six walls closing in. Dark. Cold and hot, never the one you needed, and as empty as it was suffocating.
Alone.
Jeremy never made a big deal of the near-week he'd gone missing, and by now it was old news.
Didn't mean old problems didn't still crop up once in a blue moon.
"I mind lonely," he said, for very different reasons than she meant.
It was one thing to be alone in the office. A totally other thing to be alone in--
The roof had a slight breeze, for which he was immediately grateful. He hadn't even taken one step out when the first meteor arced above them--and a second immediately after.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2026 8:17 pm
She followed him out, her brow arched at his emphasis on minding loneliness. The meteors overhead stole her attention away from him for a second though, and she stepped out in some random direction as she admired the night sky. I mind lonely, he had said; the words still lingered in her thoughts even as she kept her gaze skyward.
There was a small part of her that wanted to pick at it. They were friends, right? Enough that she could ask about stuff? Though something about it felt weirdly...private? Like it was the sort of question that maybe called for drinks instead of coffee.
"I mean," she eventually said, deciding not to indulge her curiosity at his expense. Mel glanced toward him again when there seemed to be a pause in the meteor shower. From where she stood she could just barely see him with what little light the rooftop offered.
"If you're seriously worried about it, I won't force you to go home." Her tone was one of soft resignation, because choosing between exhaustion or restlessness wasn't really much of a choice. Peace of mind was needed for someone to get properly rested, so.
"I might ask for some help with the cataloguing though, and maybe force a meal on you. Have you eaten at all, between all the coffees?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2026 7:59 pm
“I’m gonna guess what counts as food for me might not pass what you have in mind,” he huffed, because Jeremy rarely ever brought in anything that wasn’t a frozen meal, and it wasn’t ever anything to write home about. When he’d first started working here, he’d only ever brought the absolute cheapest meals, and it had taken a few months for him to upgrade to the cheapest meals that didn’t taste like cardboard slop.
Jeremy was frugal, and conscientious of every penny, but back then he’d been budgeting for a hell of a lot more than he was now.
He was in a house, now–fully paid off. Myles’s business was more successful than not, and there were fewer college bills these days.
He could have eaten better meals. And yet, every now and then, some garbage wound up in his lunchbox.
Jeremy looked up at the sky and scratched his chin. “Cataloging doesn't sound too bad. Sort of sounds like the kind of thing that puts a guy to sleep, though,” he said, but suspicion crept into his voice and had squinted her inquisitively.
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