Dull:

Adjective) (of an edge or blade) blunt.

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Detective AU

WARNING(S): Crime scenes, blood, coarse language, mentions of murder

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The knife in his hands shone in the lamplight in the street, even as he turned it back and forth in his hands. Unlike the previous weapon that had been found, this one had a dull edge, something that barely nicked his glove as he ran his thumb across it.

"Didn't I tell you to stop messing up my crime scene?" A familiar voice groused, and policeman Uchiha Sasuke looked up to see an irate woman speedwalking up the sidewalk towards him with a frown pinching her face.

"Detective," he grunted, getting to his feet as he studied the blade yet again.

"I know you're personally invested in this case, but you cannot keep doing this to me," she huffed, the pink-haired woman holding out her hand. "This is evidence. Not a toy."

He glared her way for a second before letting out an exhausted sigh, relinquishing the knife into her gloved hands.

"Thank you," she continued, giving him a tight smile as she stooped to set it back down in the pool of blood he'd retrieved it from. "Listen, Uchiha. My team is doing everything they can to catch this son of a bitch. You don't need to keep doing things on your own."

"Whoever that bastard is killed my cousin," he retorted. "I thought you'd understand."

"I do understand!" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands and inadvertently flicking tiny splatters of blood onto his uniform. "Sasuke, I became a detective because my cousin died in a gang shootout. If anyone would get it, I do."

He remained silent as she poked his chest. "You need to ask for help. I doubt your father would appreciate a report that his younger son is gallivanting out and about trying to get himself killed too."

Sasuke bristled at that, grabbing her wrist and shooting daggers at her. "Don't you ever shut up, Sakura?"

Appalled and angered, her eyes went wide and her mouth opened and closed like a fish's for several long moments before she clamped it shut, glaring at him and taking his fingers in her free hand, the frigid metal of her watch simultaneously biting against his skin in the brisk night air.

Neither let up, stubbornly refusing to look away even as her grip tightened, and his fingers twitched in pain and let go of her. Despite her smaller stature, she sure had one hell of a hold.

"Well?" She questioned hotly. "You shut me up. Are you happy now?"

Rolling his eyes, he heaved an irritated sigh and stepped away.

"Fine," he bit back, and turned to leave. "Call me when you get a DNA match that isn't someone with the last name 'Uchiha'."

He could feel her stiffen up behind him, but he was too angry to care.

"Sasuke." Her voice was tight, making him take pause. "I'm only giving you this one chance, because I empathize with you. Work with me, or I tell the chief to keep you on a tighter leash until we find the murderer. Your choice."

Silence reigned between them.

Sakura's brow furrowed, and she reached for the younger man - but at the last moment, pulled back.

Just as she was about to tell him to forget it, he spoke up. "Fine."

Sakura looked up, slightly startled, as he whirled around and pointed at her. "But you are going to keep quiet until I get to end the bastard's life myself. Am I clear?"

"Who are you to be threatening a homicide detective?" She sassed, folding her arms across her chest. "You, me, my office at six AM. Don't be late or I'm sending you on a coffee run."

"Deal." His hand thrust out, and as she took it he shook firmly. "But just so you know... I am never late."

For the first time, she noticed the mischievous glint in his eye, something that made her heart flutter. She gave him a smirk. "We'll see about that."

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A/N: Let me know what you thought!