When Duke heard knocking on his apartment door at around 8:35, he was thrilled. He had a bunch of new songs he had started to work on and couldn't wait for a night of him and (Y/N) bouncing ideas off of each other for hours on end.

When he opened the door, though, his smile dropped, and the scent of cigarettes flooded his nostrils.

"(Y/N)..." he sighed. The girl only continued to stare at her feet, her hood pulled over her head.

"I thought you were serious about quitting this time, you were doing so well." He lightly scolded. 'What happened?'

The girl sighed and kicked at the pavement. "I don't know, I just-" she paused to clear her throat.

"I think I messed up." She said weakly, her voice cracking halfway through the sentence. She looked up from the ground to meet Duke's gaze.

He finally took notice of her puffy eyes and red nose.

"Oh, come in." Duke said, gently taking (Y/N) by the hand and leading her into his home and to the couch. He lightly pushed her down so she sat down and he took a seat next to her.

"Tell me what happened." He encouraged, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Huo and I had a job a-and everybody saw me doing some work stuff." She explained with a sniffle. "I didn't know what to do, they looked so... so- I don't even know how to explain it. But it felt horrible."

Her bottom lip began to tremble again and she roughly wiped at her eyes. She fucking hated crying.

"I just don't want them to hate me. I hope they don't hate me now."

Duke frowned. "If those three hate you for what you do, then they're a bunch of goddamn hypocrites. Vasco is literally the leader of a gang."

(Y/N) hesitantly nodded. That little group wasn't exactly perfect, they shouldn't judge her.

"And I'm sure the rest would believe you if you said it was self defense." Duke said, even though he knew it was a bit of a stretch.

"But (Y/N)..." Duke started. "Living like this is going to kill you."

"Which part, the cigarettes or the organized crime?" (Y/N) asked with a dry laugh.

"I don't enjoy this lifestyle, you know. Barely anybody does this because they like it. They do it because they have to."

Duke gave her a tight lipped smile. "Baby steps, okay? Let's start with some healthier coping mechanisms."

(Y/N) hummed, a small smile twitching on her lips. "Or, we can just run away to the Philippines together. You, me, Minseok and Huo. Living it up in a little shack by the ocean and start up a fishing business."

"Let's stick to baby steps for now." Duke chuckled.

(Y/N) flopped back onto the couch.

"For now." She repeated with a smile which Duke returned.

"How about we wind down a bit, hm? Put on a movie and eat some snacks." Duke suggested.

"That sounds great, but I've actually got to go back to work in like, 20 minutes."

"What? Really? (Y/N), you need to rest." Duke scolded.

"I know I should, but I can't. I have to make sure I have enough cash to refill Minseok's prescription tomorrow." She explained as she looked down at the cheap watch she wore.

"l should probably leave now, actually." She said, getting up from the couch. Duke watched her unsurely.

(Y/N) fondly rolled her eyes. "I'm just delivering pizzas. I'll be fine."

"See you tomorrow." She called over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

"See ya."

________________________________

It was 3am, and Daniel wanted to go home. He was particularly tired tonight, and guilt continued to gnaw at his, conscience.

'I can't believe I just stood there when she was being trapped. (Y/N) would never abandon me like that. Ahh, I can't focus, I want to go home!'

'I swear to everything that's holy, if one more customer walks in, I swear to god I'll-'

The bell on the door jingled.

"Good evening." A voice called.

"Welcome." Daniel practically groaned, unable to lift his head from where it rested on the counter. He didn't even bother to look up when he heard the customer's footsteps grow close.

"Long night, huh?" A familiar voice asked.

Daniel jolted up, "(Y/N)!"

The girl huffed a small laugh. "Hello."

"H-Hi."

"So, rough night?" (Y/N) asked again.

"Yeah, you could say that." Daniel sighed.

"What's up?"

"The graveyard shift sucks, and I've got some stuff on my mind." Daniel admitted.

"I feel that. I've got some stuff on my mind too." (Y/N) said, a small bitter smile on her lips.

"Like what?" Daniel asked. 'She must be scarred from today. Because I just stood there like an idiot.'

"Some of my friends saw something that I'd rather they didn't."

Daniel paled, '(Y/N), everyone gets scared sometimes.'

"They didn't walk in on me changing or anything, don't worry." (Y/N) reassured. "I'm just worried I scared them off, I guess."

"I'm sure you didn't. It takes a lot to scare a good friend off. If they're worth keeping around, I'm sure they won't be bothered." Daniel said.

'You can't get rid of us so easily, (Y/N).'

The girl was silent for a moment, thoughtfully staring down at Daniel for a few moments. After a few seconds, her face relaxed and she looked almost... relieved?

"I like the way you put that. Honestly, I think I really needed to hear that tonight." She gave him a soft smile. "Thanks."

Daniel's cheeks flushed, 'She should smile like that more often, it's... cute.'

"Y-Yeah, no p-problem." He stuttered.

"Welp, I'm gonna head out. See you around, yeah?"

"Wait, you're not gonna buy anything?" Daniel asked.

(Y/N) frowned, lips almost pulled into a pout but not quite. "What, am I not allowed to stop by to see a friend?"

"N-No! It's just that- I- You-!"

"I'm kidding." (Y/N) snickered.

Daniel huffed, 'This girl! Stop teasing me!!' "You're mean."

"Sure." (Y/N) said with a half smile. "Until next time."

Daniel watched her walk out of the store and back into the night.

"Until next time."