Requested by @Goodboy26242 
___

It was a cold winter day. The sky was dark grey colour, thick clouds hiding away the sun. It was growing late, leaving everything dim and dark. Cold and miserable.

Beacontown's usually active streets were quiet, all the citizens hiding away in their homes from the cold. Nobody really felt the desire to go out and face the world.

Inside the Order Hall, it was equally quiet and dark. Lights were turned off, the empty halls as silent as it could get.

Heavily contrasting against the thin stream of light that came out of one of the rooms, barely seeping through a crack where the door was left ajar.

The office's light was turned on, shining a pale glow down onto the desk and the papers scattered about it. A young man sat at the desk, bent over the stacks of paperwork. Expression grim and eyes dark.

Radar groaned, dropping his pen and laying his head on the paper he was writing. He used to love the endless hours of work. Being the workaholic he was, sitting at a desk for hours on end might as well have been listed as one of his hobbies.

But not that day.

Sinking back into the office chair, Radar stared up at the wooden roof, allowing his eyes to trace the patterns in the wood. It was something he's seen Jesse do countless times over the years he's worked for her.

Growing tired of her work, leaning back in that same office chair and stare up at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

He could never understand why she did it, yet he found himself doing the same thing. Just letting himself get caught in the patterns above him, his thoughts wandering miles off.

Sighing, Radar sat up properly again. He took off his glasses, rubbing his tired eyes. While it was tempting to just call it a day and head home, he knew that wasn't going to happen.

Radar picked up the pen again, looking down at it. He ran his fingers along the small object, wondering exactly how many hours that same pen had spent in Jesse's hands.

He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the paper. All the tiny words were starting to bleed together, but Radar simply shook his head, blinked his eyes a few times and continued to write.

Barely three words in, Radar stopped again. He raised his head, frowning. He could have sworn he heard a door close somewhere.

Radar shook his head again, deciding that it was exhaustion getting the best of him. But before he could continue writing, he heard it. Footsteps.

Slowly placing the pen down, Radar got up from his seat. He crept towards the door, pushing it open and staring out into the dark hall. The placed seemed as deserted as when he last strode through it.

But Radar knew he wasn't imagining things any more, he knew he heard something. Gulping, he walked out into the darkness. Feeling along the wall as he felt his way over to the nearest light switch.

Suddenly he froze in his tracks, Radar's breath catching in his throat. If the person hadn't reached up to scratch their head, he probably wouldn't have seen them standing there. Barely a silhouette.

Radar's eyes narrowed. He didn't know how they got into the Order Hall in the first place, but he was not about to allow them to go about any business they had there. They were probably going to hit the treasure hall, knowing Jesse wasn't there to protect all the valuables!

Radar bolted forward, ready to barrel straight into the person. Hearing his footsteps, they swung around at the last second, somersaulting out of his way expertly. Radar had barely slammed on the breaks when a fist met him square in the back, sending him flying onto the wooden floor.

Before Radar could even think about getting up, he stiffened. Gulping as he felt the cold blade of a sword pressing to his neck.

Slowly he looked up, meeting the two large blue eyes of the person who had him pinned to the ground.

"Radar? The hell man!" Petra breathed, sheathing Miss Butter again.

"P-Petra ma'am!" Radar stuttered, quickly staggering to his feet.

"Drop the formality already, it's just Petra." She growled at him, stepping away to switch on the light.

Radar blinked a few times as his eyes grew used to the light and he finally got a good look at Petra. She looked like somebody who's been on the road for a few days, her winter clothes covered in wet patches from melting snowflakes. Her red hair was considerably longer than when Radar had last seen her, pulled back in a short ponytail.

There was a tired look in a blue eyes, her skin almost looking a few shades paler than normal and making the few light freckles she had stand out more.

"I uh, didn't expect you to be back so soon." Radar said, adjusting his glasses. "I thought it'd be a few days at least."

"I move quick when I want to be somewhere." Petra replied bitterly as she tugged off her jacket and hat, revealing to be wearing her signature bandanna underneath.

Leaning with her with back against the wall, Petra looked at Radar with a cold, stoned expression on her face. "After all, did you really expect me to miss tomorrow? I'm not that terrible of a friend, even if some might think so."

Her words caught Radar so off guard, he couldn't find his words for a reply. Pushing herself off the wall, Petra walked past Radar into the Order Hall. For a second he stood there in the hallway, alone.

Radar sighed softly as he turned around to follow Petra, wanting to apologise to her for his reaction to her arrival. Otherwise it was probably going to hang over his head for the rest of the evening.

He frowned, seeing the backdoor hanging open. Did Petra seriously just come in the one door to go out the next?

Sure enough, Petra was standing on the porch with her arms leaning on the wooden railing. Radar couldn't help but think of Jesse again, remembering how she always came out there as well when she was upset. He guessed the two girls really did share a lot of similarities.

"What are you doing here?" Petra asked, not even looking back to face Radar. "Don't you have a home of your own to get back to?"

"I uh, was just finishing up some paperwork." Radar said nervously, gulping slightly. "Listen m- uh Petra, I jut want to say sorry-"

"Save it."

Radar's shoulders slumped slightly, sighing. Well, there wasn't much he could say if she didn't want the apology. He was about to turn away and leave, when Petra spoke again.

"The rest coming tomorrow?"

"What?" Radar asked as he turned around.

"The other three." Petra said, her back still facing him. "They coming as well?"

"It's like you said." Radar replied softly. "I'd be incredibly disrespecting to Jesse if any of her friends didn't come. In other words, yes. They'll be here."

Petra nodded slightly, continuing to stare off into the distance. Radar hesitated, before walking up beside her. He too placed he arms on the railing, leaning against it. Hopefully his attempt at support didn't get him killed by Petra.

"I'm guessing that's a sign that you're not leaving." Petra muttered, her eyes still fixed in front of her.

"I'm just... trying to follow in her footsteps, you know?" Radar said softly. "Jesse wouldn't leave right now, knowing your in pain."

Petra clenched her jaw lightly at Radar's words. Pulling her gaze away, she turned her head to look at him. Glare at him.

"I'm sorry." Radar said, looking down in shame. "I shouldn't have said that, not this close to her..." He trailed off.

"-funeral." Petra finished coldly, turning to face forwards again. "You can say it. I won't start bawling my eyes out, if that's what you're afraid of."

"It must still hurt." Radar said softly, looking up at Petra again. Even though she was doing a pretty good job of hiding her feelings at that moment, Radar could see a barely visible tint of red in her eyes.

"Of course it does." Petra's whisper was nearly inaudible.

"I miss her too." Radar said softly, placing a hand on Petra's arm. She pulled away.

"I'll leave if you want me to." Radar said with a soft sigh, pulling away from the railing and beginning to turn around.

"Radar, wait." He turned around to see Petra looking over her shoulder at him. She shrugged lightly. "I'm not chasing you away. I'm just not big on mush, ya know?"

Radar hesitantly took his place at the railing again, both him and Petra returning to stare out in front of them. It was her turn to sigh and look slightly down.

"What exactly happened?"

"What do you mean?" Radar asked softly.

"All the letter said, was that Jesse died on a mission outside of beacontown." Petra said grimly. "As her intern, I'm guessing you know a little more." She looked over at him. "And as one of Jesse's oldest friends, I feel like I at least deserve to know how her story came to an end."

Radar gulped slightly, hearing something he's never heard before. A crack in Petra's voice. He took a deep, shaky breath.

"I don't know as much as you probably would want me to. I was back in Beacontown-"

"Tell me what you know." Petra said desperately. "Jesse's strong, I need to know what managed to take her down so... so unexpectedly."

"Okay." Radar softly, looking down at the railing. "I'll tell you what I know.

It was a clear day, fresh snow having just fallen the previous day. Jesse, she refused to stay inside and work with such amazing weather and insisted to go out." He gulped slightly, the memory beginning to replay in his head. "She got on a horse, an iron axe in hand. Said she was collect some wood for a new construction in town square herself."

"That's Jesse." Petra said softly, smiling faintly.

"She never came back." Radar went on, feeling tears prick his eyes. "It was getting late, I was panicking. I happened to run into Jack at the local stables, and all I had to do was ask for him to help me go look for her."

He took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around himself. "We found the horse she took, roaming around outside town, tack and all. We searched for hours. It wasn't until nearly sundown that we... found her body."

A lump had formed in Radar's throat, feeling himself relive that terrible moment that he spot Jesse in the distance. The snow around her stained with her blood.

"She was stabbed." He explained softly, eyes fixed on the railing in front of him. Clothes torn, skin bruised, she looked like somebody who came out of battle. A knife wound in stomach, was the only injury we found, severe enough that it could have been the cause.

"God." Petra breathed, lowering her head into her hands.

"I don't know who could possibly have done it." Radar whispered, biting his trembling lip. "She was such a kind person, I mean, who could possibly-"

"For as many people who love Jesse, she does have her enemies." Petra said softly, shaking her head. "And here I thought she would have been safe here in Beacontown... If I was here, the attacker would have been mince." Despite the anger boiling in Petra's voice, her chest was tight with sobs and cries that she'd never let free in the company of another person.

She turned her head, seeing Radar with his head leaned on his arms on the railing. Almost feeling a smidge of guilt for having him relive the memory.

"If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that there's always clues." Petra said to Radar, putting a hand on his back. "I won't stop until I find the person who took her life, you hear me?"

"It won't bring Jesse back." Radar said softly, looking up at Petra.

"But I will avenge her." Petra responded firmly. "Jesse's death will not be in vain, I refuse to let it."

There was something about the firm reassurance in Petra's voice, that made Radar feel better. And without really thinking about it, he hugged her.

Petra froze to the spot, looking down at Radar with a slightly bewildered expression on her face. While a part of her want to push him off, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not with the way his hands were gripping her clothes, his body trembling slightly.

Instead, Petra cautiously hugged him back. It felt a lot different than any hug Jesse had ever given him. Petra so was much taller, her grip more firm, yet gentle in her own way.

Still there was something about the hug that made it possible for Radar to imagine, just for a moment, that it was Jesse holding him.

And he knew, even without her there – everything was going to turn out okay.

___

Ahh, I really liked writing this! At first I wasn't quite sure what to write for your request, until I got the idea of casually killing Jesse off. Everything evolved from there xD
Honestly, I sometimes feel like the one shots I have no idea for at first, end up becoming my favourites-

But yeah, this was a ton of fun to write! I hope it doesn't disappoint! 

I actually don't have much to say today, so!

New requests are still on hold till after February, due to the one shot challenge I'll be doing (I'm super excited, but also nervous xD)

Remaining requests pending: 1

Holy crap, now that isn't a number I ever thought I would see there-

(Not counting the new requests I have gotten for after my challenge. Then it would already be back up to 3)