Letters Never Sent

Spring had arrived, and of course with spring, that meant spring cleaning as well. A clean environment meant a clean mind which of course was important for a detective. Sherry told Hanna to leave it to good old Sherry, the brilliant cute genius to take care of things at home while she went out on some errands!

And that’s how Sherry found herself, dust cloth in hand, bandana wrapped around her forehead, wiping and cleaning their bedroom. The floor had been scrubbed thoroughly thanks to Sherry’s attention to detail (and strength). Now all that remained was… Sherry looked at their shared desk that was covered with various notes, knick knacks, and photos.

Well, a messy desk wouldn’t do either, Sherry thought to herself. Hanna hadn’t explicitly asked her to clean their desk but taking the initiative to do things before being asked was another sign of a great detective! Sherry began by collecting the notes, smiling at Hanna’s increasingly frustrated handwriting as she replied to some of the notes that Sherry had left her.

Since Sherry had to often work awkward hours because of the requests she received, there were times where she’d either have to wake up before Hanna, or get home long after Hanna went to sleep. She wouldn’t want to wake Hanna either so she instead decided on the age old technique of leaving a note for Hanna to read in the morning, or when she got back from work.

‘We have cellphones idiot.’ Was the first response that Sherry had gotten. To which Sherry had of course replied that there was a romance to using old fashioned hand written notes, and thus their correspondence had started. Despite Hanna’s complaints and misgivings, she still humored Sherry.

Of course, Sherry wished they could talk in person more often, and they do when they can, but this helped. Sherry smiled as she picked up a note she left for Hanna saying ‘I love you!’. Hanna didn’t respond to these notes but seeing how they were moved, Sherry knew that Hanna saw all of them.

With the stack of notes in her hand, Sherry thought about where to put them. Throwing them out was obviously out of the question so… Ah! There was a drawer, right!

“Hm?”

That was strange. Sherry tugged at the drawer but it wouldn’t budge. Was it stuck on something?

“Hrrngh!”

Sherry exerted more effort, and more, until finally it gave loose with a loud CRACK.

“…Oops!” It was only after the drawer had been pulled free from its hold that Sherry realized that the drawer was locked. Strange that they would have a locked drawer though, though she supposed that it wouldn’t be locked anymore given the state of the lock.

Well that’s awkward… Sherry scratched at her head. She supposed she’d leave a note of apology to Hanna but- huh? There was a stack of papers in the drawer. What were those? Her detective mind burned with curiosity. Picking up the papers would surely douse those flames right?

Sherry picked up the a random paper in the stack and unfolded it. It was handwritten, and in Hanna’s writing too! She began reading it.

' Idiot. Gorilla Woman. No delicacy having brute.

And yet, I love you all the same. '

Sherry laughed and opened another piece of paper.

' How can one woman be so frustrating and yet cute?! Damn it Sherry! You’re lucky that you are who you are! '

Oops. That must’ve been when Sherry told Hanna that she accidentally spilled the milk in the fridge. Sherry flipped through a few more, and smiled realizing that all those times she didn’t get a response, Hanna was actually responding.

She wondered what the most recent letter was. Sherry had written a note apologizing for coming back home so late so often this past week, and that it sucked the one day Sherry was free Hanna had to go to an appointment. This response was longer than the others though. Sherry started from the top.

' Dear Sherry,

Sometimes I wonder if you’re pushing yourself too hard. You’ve been coming home later and later and sometimes I don’t even see you in the morning either. If it wasn’t for your notes I wouldn’t even know that you came back some nights.

What if you didn’t make that promise? Would you even- No, I know that’s not true. I know you care about me but sometimes I selfishly wish we could spend more time together. Stupid right? We already spend most of our free time together. Yet it never feels like it’s enough for me. I’ve been getting greedier and greedier haha.

Ugh I feel so silly writing this. You’re not even going to read this! I guess it makes me feel better though writing this out. Maybe the feelings in this letter will reach out to you without knowing exactly what I wrote like magic! Or something.

I miss you, you muscle brained detective. '

Sherry paused after she finished reading the letter. Her mind was a mix of emotions.

The door to their apartment opened. “I’m home.” Hanna called out. She slipped out of her shoes. “Sherry? Where are you- Oh, there you are. What are you doing-”

The two stared at each other. Splinters of wood and a drawer pulled recklessly out of its slot would shock anyone. But what froze Hanna more were the pieces of paper Sherry was holding.

Before Hanna could say anything Sherry stood up and walked over. “Let’s go on a trip!” She grabbed Hanna’s hands.

“B-b-but your job!” Hanna wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Sherry didn’t read through the letters she had wrote. She winced thinking about all the embarassing things she wrote. Things she didn’t have the courage to say but wanted to convey in some way. Right now she wanted to scream and run.

Sherry shook her head. “I finished my last request yesterday! And I can wait until I take more!”

“Don’t be silly!” As much as Hanna wanted to be with Sherry, she also didn’t want that at the sacrifice of what she wanted to do either. “You’re an adult now, you can’t just abandon the things you need to do!”

“Of course!” Sherry nodded her head. “That’s exactly why we should go on a trip!”

“…Hah?”

“Because I need to do you-”

“WHA-”

“the service of being escorted by me!”

“…”

Hanna blushed a furious red. Sherry hugged her. “I love my job Hanna, but I love you more!”

How could she say that so easily? Hanna wished that she had Sherry’s straightforwardness, and then maybe she wouldn’t have a broken drawer to clean up.

“I… I love you too…” She whispered under her breath, just barely loud enough for Sherry to hear.

“Ehehe!” Sherry giggled with delight. “Now come on! Let’s think of a place to go!”