(A/n)
This story is about to be longer than Little Wolf and that makes me so happy. I haven't gotten around to fully editing that story because it makes me cringe. It was the first full story I wrote on here and I feel like it shows. I'm hoping this one's does better than it and I think it will~

Also, I'm taking longer to write solely because I've been playing animal crossing. Sorry not sorry 😂

"Am I a bad person Killer?" You stood a short distance off from the main group with Killer behind you.

"No." He answered simply, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your head. "You've never been a bad person."

"I should've visited her more often."

"You did what you could (Y/n), we've been busy."

"I could've called."

"You had a lot on your mind."

"That's not an excuse."

He sighed. "I'm not good at this (Y/n) but I'm trying."

Bodies clad in all black stood between you two and the casket. The plethora of colorful flowers surrounding it were slowly getting pulled apart by the wind. It wasn't a good day for a funeral but no one was willing to reschedule. Dresses billowed out, ties refused to stay put, soft cries were carried away. All you could think was this was a lot of people. A lot more than you ever saw around the apartment. Most of these people hadn't come around to see Delilah in life even once while you lived there.

Many of them claimed to be family, brothers, sister, kids, grandkids. And it made you feel for her. Delilah talked about them all the time, how she wished they'd come around more often or how it would've been nice if they had time for her to visit them. Time was the common theme. She wished they had more and they were probably glad they claimed theirs was always full. Her family always had one excuse or another. You didn't want to be like them and make up one lie or another for why you didn't visit her more often.

You had to be honest with yourself, you just didn't make the time. Killer could try to justify your choices but you couldn't. Delilah did so much for you but you felt like you weren't much better than the rest of her family. Funnily enough, they were sending the occasional disapproving glare over their shoulders. Your sweet older neighbor never knew what you were up to but pretty much everyone else could tell at this point. News of you had spread fast and even some of the average people of the city could point you out as a member of the Kid gang. You may have kept your distance from the gathering but you doubted it'd be long until someone asked you to leave.

"(Y/n)." Killer murmured, brushing his lips along the top of your head. "I'm no good with sadness or guilt so I won't try acting like I am. I can't comfort you the way I'd like to, but I can tell you what I saw."

You frowned and craned your head back to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Everytime I saw you with Delilah, she seemed happy. You visited her more than anyone else, even more than the rest of the neighbors and I know she enjoyed your company. She loved hearing your stories and when you'd listen to hers. When others chose to forget her, you were always there for her. Maybe you didn't see or hear from her for the last bit of her life, but you made sure she was taken care of. That's more than anyone else here can say."

That earned a few more glares from those that could hear over the wind but you weren't paying attention to them. Your eyes were still glued to Killer's.

"I miss her. So much." You whispered.

"I know." He kissed your forehead and the two of you returned your attention to the front, listening to one person after another drone on and on. It was going to be a long day.

----

You left before anyone could chase you away. As soon as everything that could be said was said, the crowds eyes fell to you like a pack of starved wolves and you retreated to the car. Either they were very brave in insisting on kicking you out or they didn't quite draw the connection that you could crispy critter them if the urge hit. You weren't in the mood to start something though, and tugged Killer away with you. He followed begrudgingly, almost wanting to stay simply because they didn't want you to. It was nice that he wanted to defend you but it wasn't a good time for that.

The ride home was silent. Killer pulled at his tie the first half of the drive, trying to get it undone while watching the road. You got tired of watching him struggle and leaned over to take care of it, removing it while he muttered a quiet thanks. The tie stayed balled up in your hands until you got to the common area of the apartment complex. The building was empty, everyone else off doing one job or another for Kid. So you slipped out of your shoes and curled up on one of the couches, tucking the skirt of your dress for the sake of modesty.

Your partner plopped down by you, pinning you between his body and the arm of the couch. He slung his arms over the back and looked at you with a frown, a few locks of blonde hair falling out of his ponytail and into his eyes.

"Funerals suck."

"Yeah they do." You agreed.

It was quiet all over again. If Killer planned on you breaking into tears he was wasting his time. You'd cried enough over the past week and had gotten it all out of your system. Going to the funeral was you just getting the last bit of closure you needed. Now you felt tired and a little numb. Dealing with so much emotion in such a short period of time does that to you.

"Would it be bad to suggest buying a bunch of alcohol and getting shit faced with everyone when they get back?" You asked, smoothing out his tie across your lap. It was covered in wrinkles now but you doubted he'd care.

"Depends. Are you wanting to mope or party?"

"Do you really think Delilah would be happy if I spent any more time moping?"

He smirked and you couldn't help but smile a little yourself. "Party it is. If we order enough, one of the closer liquor stores delivers without a fee."

"That sounds amazing."

"I figured you didn't want to go anywhere else today." He pointed down to your shoes with his phone, already getting ready to pick a bunch of drinks.

"I'm debating taking off the bra too." You giggled. This was definitely what you needed. When the guys came back, it'd be even better to be surrounded by them and their ever contagious good moods.

"Do it." Killer encouraged, amused. "And we'll get a head start on the drinking while we're at it. Someone else can sign for the delivery."

----

You weren't sure if everyone was working later or you hit the drinks a little too fast. The gang filled the complex and were immediately greeted with blaring music and your laughter. A few braved peeking into the common room to see you and Killer had cleared a space and were dancing around, a few opened bottles resting on a nearby pool table. You never put your shoes on so you were barefoot and Killer had taken his jacket off a while ago, showing off his pale grey dress shirt.

"Wire!" You gasped when you saw the tall man. "I was going to tell you something."

"Are you guys....okay?" He asked, eyes flicking between you and Killer.

"And did you order all this alcohol?" Hayate added, carrying a heavy looking box of bottles. Heat and a few others stood by him with more in hand. They'd intercepted the delivery person.

"(Y/n) wanted to have a fun evening with everyone." Killer explained as he spun you around, making you erupt into a new fit of laughter. "We just got a head start."

"So everything went well with the, uh..." Heat trailed off, afraid it'd be a touchy subject.

"As good as it could've gone. What'd you want to tell Wire (Y/n)?" Killer reminded you of the thought burning away at you in your tipsy state.

"I was just thinking," You broke away from Killer to catch your breath and lean against a pool table as people started to fill the room, picking drinks and settling in to hang out. "about the time you asked if Delilah was single."

Wire blushed. "I didn't know she was old."

"No, I know." You fell into giggles as you tried to talk. "But I was thinking, she would've never gone for you anyway. She said if she was gay she would've liked me though."

"A straight woman would've picked another woman over you Wire, that's harsh." Hayate said with a chuckle.

Wire somehow looked slightly offended by that but he didn't say anything, choosing to drink straight from a bottle of jäger instead. He shuddered from the sensation and sauntered off to join some of the other guys, shaking his head the whole way.

"You never told me about that." Killer pulled himself up to sit on the pool table beside you.

"I don't think I told you she's the one who encouraged me to give you a chance either." You felt sober for a second, reminiscing about your original hesitance to be with Killer and her words that gave you the courage to connect with him.

I think you should let whatever is going to happen with him happen. If that means a real relationship, give it a try. If it fails in the end, you can leave it knowing you tried and say you learned a few new things along the way.

"Really?" He smiled. "She was a good woman, I guess I have something to be thankful to her for."

Heat came by, offering both of you shot glasses full of a clear liquid that smelled suspiciously of rubbing alcohol. It had to be vodka.

"For Delilah." He said, taking a shot himself.

He was quiet, in his usual somber way, but those nearby still heard. They raised glasses and bottles in response, repeating what your blue haired friend just said. It travelled through the room until everyone had taken a drink in her honor. It brought tears to your eyes, and here you thought you were done crying.

"You guys never got to meet her..."

Killer knocked back his shot and licked his lips. "They didn't. But from the sounds of it, if it wasn't for her, things wouldn't be how they are now."

"And I guess we're all dandy with that." Kid growled. You never saw him come in but there he was, standing in front of you with a drink of his own in hand. He nodded to you before tipping it back. "Never thought I'd be grateful to some old broad."

Even Kid had the grace to say something nice about her, in his own gruff way. You stared down at your shot glass for a moment, watching the ripples play across the liquid surface inside until you downed it. Definitely vodka. It burned going down and made you shudder from the strength of it.

"Kid?" You caught your boss as he was getting ready to mingle.

"Hmm?"

"I wanna get back to work." You'd been staying home this past week and now you felt ready to put yourself to use again.

"Good." He grinned, delighted. "I've got just the work I need your help with. We'll get on it tomorrow."

"Sounds good." And damnit, it did.

You were excited to get back to being productive. Wallowing in your emotions for so long left you feeling antsy. You still felt the lingering sadness that came with death, and you would for some time. Things like this didn't disappear, ever. But they got easier. What was painful to think about now you'd be able to look back on fondly in the future. Delilah's name wouldn't always bring you sorrow. There'd come a day when you could talk about her and laugh for real, about all the happy times, the embarrassing ones, and everything in between.

For now, you were content to celebrate her memory with men who never knew her but still found something to be thankful for because of her.