Chapter Text
As the sun finally rose to start the day of many- a door creaked and swung open into an empty booth, a heavy sigh escaping the stationed guard that decided to take this job.
"God, I need coffee."
Any older resident in the building would've chided them for drinking something so strong, so early in the morning.
But as their pop always said,
it's not really a crime if nobody's seeing you do it.
In this case however, it's not a problem if nobody makes it out to be. And right now? Barely anybody was awake.
"Unless Francis comes down.." They mumbled, fumbling around with the coffee maker in their booth- half-awake.
Their mind drifted to all the potential residents who'd be out today.
It was a Tuesday, so probably Anastacha.. Elenois and Selenne mentioned a photo shoot too, so maybe both of them would be out. Unless they got lucky.
Alf mentioned something about an important court case..
They couldn't remember the date, despite their impeccable memorization of everybody's file that one day, but something told them it wasn't today.
Wait. Why were they thinking about this when the DDD was going to send a list over?
The realization sunk in slightly too late, as a tired sigh escaped them.
"Just gotta hope that nobody who lives alone is on it.."
Angus. They hoped Angus wasn't on that list.
Caprianni was a pleasant fellow, sure, but he looked more 'mob boss' than 'businessman', so they kept their distance.
They always joked about it to the other residents, mostly of how the mustache gave it away.
Speaking of them..
Their eyes drifted to the photo on their desk, putting down the still-hot coffee as they picked up the frame and looked at it, closely.
A photo for their first week as a successful guard. Much better than Henry, they said. They hadn't killed anyone, was pretty competent, and everyone seemed to have a positive opinion on them.
So, they threw a small little party for them.
They smiled at the memory, immortalized via the photo in front of them now.
Maybe they should put it in a time capsule. The doppelgangers would get a kick out of that once they take over, they bet.
They shook their head and took a deep breath.. Before taking a swig of coffee along with it, 'hah-hah'-ing away the burning sensation of the hot liquid on their tongue.
".. Ow."
Typically the day started out with their standard routine.
Cleaning up their booth, reorganizing files, re-reading files if they had the time, checking up on their neighbors as a precaution, and seeing off those who leave for today with a smile and friendly wave.
The moment they were gone, their smiley demeanor dropped and turned into that of a war veteran. If they used that analogy in front of anyone else they were sure to get socked or something.
The list was short today. Shorter than usual they supposed. Francis, Roman, Lois, Afton, Mia, Anastacha and..
Fuck.
Ciprianni.
They read the paper again and sunk their head down, it's not bad. It's just a not good thing either. Francis was here too so they guessed it could've been worse had Izaack been here too.
They were just glad the twins weren't out. At least they hoped so. Selenne and Elenois gave them a headache sometimes.
They routinely sketched their faces just to make sure they knew what twin looked which way. All they could do now was simply hope no doppelganger was good enough to get past them.
Surprisingly enough, Francis came home first. Usually they'd see him later in the day but he was quite early this time around. Perhaps a work emergency.
"ID, entry request please." Their monotone voice came out, hearing only the slight hum of Francis' murmuring. Poor guy, must be tired.
Carefully studying and cross referencing his ID from the one in his file, and calling his apartment just in case, the guard finally offered him a smile as they checked off every item in the list.
"Welcome back, Francis."
The day dragged on, and surprisingly, Afton and Stone had come back together, so they could both vouch for each other.
.. Just to be sure however, they had them processed separately. They didn't want to ruin what could've been a healthy marriage now would they?
Afton was alright, though he seemed exhausted. He assured the doorman that it was the real Mia behind him, and they could only mutter underneath their breath that he might not even be right.
Turns out, he wasn't.
Her ID was wrong, and somehow Afton missed the way 'Mia's' eyes were larger. Pressing the alarm with breakneck speed, they didn't have to hesitate to call the D.D.D.
Hopefully Afton wasn't mad at them.
Their eyes lazily wandered the files of the Stilnsky's and Mikaelys, until a slight knocking was at their window.
It was just Ciprianni- wait.
"Angus! My apologies, ID, entry request?"
They tried their best to calm their composure as he laughed, their face burning as the blood rushed to their cheeks in embarrassment.
"I fear I should be the one apologizing, you were very clearly busy."
"Nonsense. I take my work seriously, you of all people should know."
They vividly remember rambling about their job to him on an off-day, how he stayed silent and effectively let them rant until they were too tired to.
"Naturally. No rest for the wicked, yes?"
"Truly." They responded, checking off all items on the checklist before giving him a bright smile.
"Welcome home, Mister Ciprianni."
"And a good day to you, doorman." And with that, he waltzed right through the open door and back into the safety of his home.
The Stilnsky's came by already, with Lois taking much more time than possibly needed to search through her purse for her ID.
And with Roman somehow forgetting his hat. Now they wondered how the two of them functioned if this was how they went home.
Today was slow, and god they couldn't wait for it to be over. All they needed was Anastacha and they'd be all set.
And as if God heard their nonexistent prayers, the teenager came walking in with her papers in one hand and a bottle in the other.
"Hi. Or whatever."
They rolled their eyes and checked her ID and entry request, the reasoning having as much attitude as she herself did.
Everything was all set, then.
"Alright ya little rascal, get back to your mom."
They didn't need eyes to tell that Anastacha rolled hers at that sentiment.
"Whatever. Bye, I guess."
And with the last of it done, they were finished with work.
To celebrate their not-so-grandiose feat, they closed down their booth for the night and grabbed their keys and journal, swinging the ring around on their finger.
They passed by a couple of apartments on the way to their own, and the moment they hit that bed, they fell asleep.
At least tomorrow's water will feel cold on them.