One Can Only Ring Twice (noir-style AU)

Family is Blood, Friends are Not

WARNING: 9x10 ship, I'm sorry ;-;

Ten has always dreamed of being an astronaut. Nine wanted to help Ten pursue her dreams, but he didn't knew how to help.

And together, they got married and held their vows. From being rich to poor, from good health to bad, even from bad to worse. They still held their vows and prepared for the worst.

Ten was worried about Nine's continuous sneezing, so instead of a doctor, Ten decided to go see a psychic. It turns out that Twelve was their psychic. 

Past:

"Is there something wrong with Nine?" Ten watched Twelve flip out some cards.

"Forget it, Ten! Psychics aren't real, people just come here for reassurance or whatever," Nine continued to tug Ten's hand but she wouldn't budge.

"Oh! Um..." Twelve paused. Ten and Nine leaned in for the result, "It turns out Nine's gonna have to keep sneezing and eventually he'll have a major injury from his sneezing."

"I knew it! This whole psychic thing is to just scare people or just reassure them. There is no way anyone got some kind of concussion from a sneeze. This is nonsense! Nonsense!" Nine was in absolute rage.

"Sorry about Nine," Ten shyly chuckles and pulls Nine away.

And that's why they've become so poor. As soon as Ten has become an astronaut and finished her first mission, she put herself on a long hiatus, people assumed she had already retired. This was all just to take care of Nine. Ten now works as a mechanic, sending her savings to research for Nine's sneezing. Nine continued to lay in bed, watching Ten fix cars, feeling guilt.

Well, just because they're poor doesn't mean all the joys in their life are gone.

"Hi, Nine! Hi, Ten!" Because there was One.

"Phew! Hi, One!" Ten slid herself out of the car to give One a hug. Ten and Nine decided to raise One as their child after a few weeks into their marriage. Plus One was a nice mix of Ten and Nine. Ten and One wore a lot of red, and Nine and One were both square numbers.

"Do we have a Thesaurus here?" One threw off her detective hat and started scavenging around the messy home.

"Well, I don't think so. Nine, would you mind helping One find a Thesaurus dictionary?" Ten asks then slid back in under the car, ignoring Nine's answer whether he accepts or not.

"Yes please! I'd like to stretch my legs," Nine immediately jumped out of the bed. He started walking around rather than helping One find the dictionary.

"Is Ten still crazy over the psychic thing?"

"Yup. But she's giving me some freedom at least. Yesterday she allowed me to go back to Square Club just because I was sneezing less. But I was actually holding in my sneeze," Nine shrugged and actually started helping.

"You know you might break your eardrums or damage your blood vessels if you keep doing that," One also enjoyed trivias.

"But it's better than having to stay in bed forever. But don't worry, One, the square club is discussing other alternatives," Nine smiled at One's brightness. Suddenly, the atmosphere became dark. One saw the color on Nine's face drain and harden as he muttered."Honestly, I'm a little glad that Twelve got assaulted. If it wasn't for her, Ten would be on the moon by now."

One felt her stomach twist and turn by hearing Nine's serious tone. Could he be the one who assaulted Twelve? Of course jumping to conclusions was a bad idea, but she did make a mental note that Nine could be a suspect.

...

Two was the oldest child from the triplets, the second child if it includes Twenty. His Family had a bad history with this town. Twenty "unintentionally" trying to steal at the museum twice, and the Terrible Two's had many many attempts. The town would blame it on Two rather than Twenty about the Terrible Two's behaviors. One thought it was under Octonaughty's influence. Two knew that they were just built like that.

Two didn't like to sleep at home unless Twenty is there, so he usually makes himself a bed out of boxes. Now that One actually bought Two a bed. Now often Two does visit Twenty but mostly he sleeps in One's office. While One is gone home, Two usually takes over. Today, he got a call.

"Hello, hello! This is Detective One's assistant Two!" Two often loved to intimidate Twenty's double hellos.

"Hello," a distorted voice entered Two's ears. Two flinched by a very deep voice. Scared him so much that his stutters came in.

"Wh- who i-is this?"

"This is Agent 'Tungy-Flinb.' And we'd like you to postpone your investigation."

"Wh-wha-?"

"Now."

"I- we'll- One-" Two tried so hard to push the sentence out of my mouth, but he couldn't. Something felt like he was being watched.

"Well?"

"I'll- I- I- I'll- I'll go tell One as soon as I can!" Then the phone call ended with a click. Two was shaking so much. Was he just scared from the voice? Was it the feeling that feels like someone's watching him. Was it the fear of the consequences he's gonna face if he doesn't listen. He didn't know when he should tell One. He was too scared to even look at the curtains. Feeling the need of isolation, Two gathered all of One's empty box and surrounded it around his bed.

Under his blanket, he saw silhouettes of people passing by behind the curtains. Many stopped in front of the window, laughed, and continued walking. Every single person that passed laughed. Maybe the consequences have already started. He slowly crawled out of the cover and dialed on One's rotary phone.

"W- One.."