Chapter Text
The girl next door was probably going through a heartbreak.
Loid Forger felt like a miserable boyfriend who had done his partner wrong and was doing the stand of shame outside her apartment. He couldn’t help but deadpan at the thought. He would never let himself end up in such a pathetic state.
But all reservations aside, he had heard the girl next door sobbing incessantly for the past two hours. How could he have missed the crying when her door was already left slightly ajar? Surely she had flung herself in dramatically after a tragic end with her partner (or should he say "ex-partner"?) without a care for whether she had locked her door in place behind her.
Yup, totally understandable.
He wasn’t expecting a welcome party for him when he moved into his new apartment but he couldn’t help but to be awfully concerned that his neighbour seemed to be in a terribly bad state and couldn’t care for her own safety either. That did make her pretty vulnerable and who knows what could happen if he left her be.
And that was why Loid Forger, who had just finished a laborious mission of unloading all his boxes into his new apartment, was now standing outside of his neighbour’s apartment, torn between whether he should just subtly help his neighbour close the door at the very least or do the charitable deed of comforting her.
Loid sighed. No person was going to think well of their new neighbour if they just waltzed right into their apartment to comfort them, and he really didn’t want to risk getting into trouble if his neighbour happened to be difficult. That would most certainly derail his plan of moving into a new apartment to get away from all sorts of distractions he didn’t need in his life.
So close the door it shall be.
Loid’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest when the door in front of him was suddenly flung in the opposite direction, only to reveal his neighbour…
… who looked like an absolute mess.
He was positive that on any other day, she would have looked pretty, at least. She evidently had stunning features that any other girl would envy, with fair white skin that glowed and contrasted against the brightest ruby orbs he had ever laid his eyes on. He just couldn’t help but be distracted by the popping ends of her messy raven hair that were sticking out of her bun and the worn, red skin along the rims of her eyes from excessive crying were in fact, an amusing contradiction in his opinion.
"Y-You’ve been… *sniff* standing outside my house for a while now… *sniff*… d-d-do you need something?"
Loid was snapped back to reality when she spoke. Her voice, though shaky, made him wonder how she would sound like if she sang, because surely it’d sound like angels singing with how sweet her voice was. No wait, he was supposed to be back to reality—
"Ah! S-sorry, no, I just moved in today, and I couldn’t help but notice that your door was left open. I was concerned that someone uninvited might intrude while you are… unpacking your emotional baggages."
The angel neighbour turned beet red, before giving another sniff and roughly wiping her tears away. "I-I-I see… ah, welcome! S-s-sorry you had to see such a sorry state of your neighbour, a-a-and thank you for looking out for me." She seemed increasingly embarrassed of herself with every moment she stumbled over her words. Loid was certain that she would crawl right into a hole if one opened right before her then.
And he thought it was actually pretty darn adorable.
"It’s fine. Are you alright? If… if you’d like to share, that is."
At this point in time, Loid didn’t recognise himself. A key reason why he moved was to start afresh and alone, but here he was, being drawn by an unknown force towards his crying neighbour, and trying to know more about her.
Seriously, what was coming over him?
"I-I-I’m fine! I was just… it’s just kind of embarrassing to admit it," her voice faded away as she cast her gaze aside shamefully, though Loid couldn’t imagine just what could have warranted her to feel ashamed.
"I wouldn’t judge," he found himself promising before his mind could even process anything else.
His neighbour bit her lip (cutely, if he could interject) as she turned her gaze to a spot on the ground, before taking a deep breath and peering up at him with the most adorable and innocent eyes he ever laid off.
"I… I… I’ve been feeding a stray cat around the neighbourhood, a-a-and it’s just the cutest ever! B-b-but I saw a missing poster a few days ago, a-a-and… I just… I just had to—"
Before she could even finish her story, she had already burst out bawling again. Loid always appreciated his natural flair to be a gentleman, but never did he realise how that rendered him incapable of consoling a person he didn’t see as his patient. He frantically reached into his pocket, whipping out his napkin and handing it over urgently to his neighbour.
His neighbour took the napkin into her hands, before gingerly blowing into the limp cloth. Loid couldn’t help but to settle for a sheepish smile as he watched his neighbour adamantly took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. Surely an independent lady - a striking contrast to so many ladies he had seen trying to make use of the opportunity to fall into his embrace as needy damsels in distress.
"… thank you," she sniffed again before tearing the napkin away from her nose. She flushed at the limp and soggy state of the snot-covered cloth, before interjecting in embarrassment. "I-I-I’m sorry, I-I’ll wash it and return you!"
Loid chuckled and nodded in response. He had no idea why he was drawn and fascinated by her every action. Perhaps because she was a breath of fresh air, not like anyone else who he met.
She was like glass - clear, pure, no pretences. Just her and herself.
And he liked that.
"Ah, my name is Yor Briar by the way. Sorry that you had to see such a sorry state of myself on your first day of moving, b-b-but I promise… I promise I’m not always like this! I’ll be a good neighbour!" She said indignantly as she held up her fists and nodded with as much determination as she could muster.
Loid was losing count of how many times he was calling his neighbour cute in his head. The blonde chuckled once again, before holding out his hand to formally lock in his introduction.
"I’m Loid Forger. I look forward to being neighbours too.”