[Mousen]

It had been over a month since Alexander had died, and he wasn't feeling particularly thrilled about it. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, of course, these things always did insofar as he'd thought of it, and the idea brought him a modicum of amusement. Laureth had played the grieving partner with a certain je ne sais quoi he was unlikely to forget anytime soon, and their detective seemed to have fallen for it hook line and sinker. He supposed the headstone was a nice touch. Alexander Louis Pothier, beloved son. Somehow he wasn't sure about that.

So, his death had solved their immediate problems, or rather one singular problem who wore cashmere cardigans and floral patterned day dresses: Gertrude James, private eye at for the Cynthia Brodnax Detective Agency. She had the tenacity of a bull terrier and was infinitely more dangerous to their criminal enterprises. She was smart, and had even managed to get one over on them from time to time. A fact Xander was particularly loath to admit. The solution had seemed obvious: throw her off the trail. The best way to do that was to stop the trail entirely, and there was nothing quite so final as death.

What Xander hadn't accounted for, in his infinite wisdom, was boredom. The safehouse, a grubby little attic on the outskirts of the city, was driving him out of his mind. The blinds were drawn, letting through only slivers of light, giving the whole apartment a grey-ish tinge the peeling wallpaper and water-stained ceiling didn't benefit from. He'd gotten through the novels Laureth had brought for him some days ago, and had started working on a contraption for catching fruit flies that he'd since abandoned in a fit of pique. Pinned to the walls were various schemes: con at the Medicai Casino, stealing the Sa'fir Emeralds, how to break through the security system at the Mayor of Jawan's house. All of them useless while he was stuck in this damn place.

He laid spread-eagled across the bed, legs dangled over the edge and an arm over his face. He barely shifted as he heard the door unlock. "Have you come to do the decent thing and put me out of my misery?"


((I am very sorry about the title but regret nothing))

[MythicDusk]

Laureth felt his heart do a soft tumble in his chest at the sight of Xander. Maybe it shouldn't. After all, he had been practically insufferable lately. He kept his face stoic and still as he kicked the door shut behind him, swapping the bags of groceries to the other hand as he locked the door, giving the lock a habitual knock with hairy, tattoed fingers.

He carefully placed down the shopping. Food that would keep for a while and also prevent the other man from developing scurvy. Laureth knew for a fact that if he didn't do something to prevent it, Xander would develop something akin to super rickets. He hadn't even heard of a case of rickets for years. But knowing Zander, he would find the one way to develop the extreme kind. Even if it was only because his ego demanded it.

Laureth was not a man for bedside manner. The very thought of having to nurse Xander through any kind of illness made him shudder. He loved the man, loved him more than life itself, but he viscerally hated vomit, shit and piss. His mother was a nurse, he remembered the horror stories. That was probably why he never went into nursing himself. That, and the face like a shovel. Or, as more polite society would put it, an 'unfortunate' face.

He was methodical as he unpacked the shopping, placing down the groceries on the table one by one, picking up the stack of books that he had brought for Xander and dumping them on the end of the bed, humming lightly as he sat on it besides him. "Its lovely to see you too, Xander. Why yes, I did miss you. And no, nobody is paying attention, and no, I wasn't followed. You're welcome for the books, by the way."

[Mousen]

Maybe the corner of his mouth tilted up as he heard Laureth come in, but he wasn't in the mood to admit to anything other than wretchedness. He scooted to he side a little as Laureth sat down. Xander was all sharp angles and long legs in comparison to his partner's bulk. "I really was hoping for an assassin," he said. "Would have brightened my day."

He let his bad mood hang in the air a moment longer before he relented, looking at him from underneath his lashes. "No sign of the she-wolf, then?" He knew the answer already, but couldn't help but ask. If Gertie caught wind of their plan they were finished, and this month of horrors had been for nothing.

"Thank you," he said eventually. Xander knew how dependant he was at the minute, how much he was relying on Laureth for just about everything. He sat up, leaning against Laureth's shoulder. He was Xander's closest confidant, the only person he truly trusted, his partner. "It's good to see you. Even if my life is over and all joy has drained from the world and very shortly I shall be in the mood to become and honest man and fling myself from the balcony for lack of anything better to do. My mind is rotting, Laureth. I'm not built for this endless mire of inactivity. For the love of all that is interesting and worthwhile, let me do something. Gertrude bloody James be damned."

[MythicDusk]

Laureth wrapped his arm around Xander's ashoulder, almost habitually. It had felt like half an eternity since life hadn't been so hectic as to allow him to simply hold the other man. He closed his eyes, satisfied for just a moment to have Xander pulled against his side.

Then the other man had to ruin it by speaking.

"You truly are insufferable." He grumbled, reaching over to the stack of books to give Xander a book of puzzles and a pen. "I love you, more than my heart should allow, but if you throw yourself off the balcony, I'm following." He let a smile quirk at his lips, a sign of mirth, the only indication that Xander would ever get that he was teasing. "Not out of heartbreak, mind you. Simply because I, Laureth Dugger Samson, cannot let you have anything to yourself."

He tried not to grin, a small flash of broken teeth in the front, evidence of his most recent fight. It was a showfight more than anything, to keep up pretenses. Someone said something about it being good that the 'whippet bastard Alexander Pothier was dead', and so Laureth, playing the role of the mourning and suffering partner, picked a fight, using a glass, a pool queue and a piece of table leg.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that he meant every blow. Especially not to Xander of all people. He could only imagine the heights his ego would take him if he found out that Laureth loved him enough to break his teeth for him.

[Mousen]

Xander sighed, taking the puzzles to stick by his bedside table. Laureth was doing his best, despite the circumstances and it wasn't fair on either of them for Xander to continually make things worse. He was starting to find it impossible, he was sure he was wearing a hole through the rug with his constant pacing. He felt like a caged animal.

Laureth still managed to make him smile though, and he snorted. "Love you too. I won't take any swan dives off the balcony if you're not right there behind me." Xander wondered if there might possibly benefits to be gained from all of this, maybe Laureth deserved a rest. The past year had been amazing, but non-stop, and Gertrude James had been nothing short of a menace. He'd promised, hadn't he? After the next heist, we'll head out into the country for a bit, see the sights. Let James cool off. But then it had become personal, a competition to prove that he could do one better than that ridiculous, self-righteous little bit--

"Laureth, have you been fighting again? We talked about this." He could recognise a broken tooth when he saw Laureth hiding one. "What happened to quiet? To 'why don't we just do nothing for awhile, Xander? We've never tried it before.'" He looked over to him, and sighed, and reached for Laureth's hand.. He felt suddenly powerless, it was difficult enough being stuck here, without knowing that he might be getting himself into all kinds of trouble. They were a team for a reason. "I .. are you hurt? If you're keeping anything more serious than a chipped tooth from me I swear to god."

[MythicDusk]

Laureth immediatley closed his mouth, looking away with a frown. Of course Xander would notice. Xander always noticed these kinds of things. With the touch to his hand, tension that he didn't even realise he'd been holding in his shoulders slowly relaxed. He looked back to his partner, to the man he loved, huffing lightly with a laugh, moving his hand to getly grip Xander's.

"I'm fine, I have a few broken toes and a pulled ligament in my shoulder. The toes have already been bandaged and the shoulder just needs some rest and painkillers when its sore." He let himself relax further, let the strength he usually held bleed from him. "I want quiet, Xander. I want quiet for the rest of our lives, I want a little cottage in the middle of the moors where no fucker will ever bother us and we can live how we want to live." He sucked on his broken tooth, his lips pulling into a tight line. "But that would rot you."

[Mousen]

Xander looked pained, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. "That's not fine, Laur. That's a good few fucking degrees away from fine." He could feel a shrillness creeping into his voice, somewhere between anger and concern. "I'm sorry, but this is--" he stopped himself, and exhaled slowly.

He knew he wasn't being fair, that he was expecting too much that he always expected too much but here he was again gently cupping the side of Laureth's face and looking up at him, his honey-brown eyes like amber in the light. "It'd kill me, a little cottage out on the moors, but don't fool yourself either. Its been six weeks and you've already abandoned the quiet life? I've seen you when we're out on a job looking like its Christmas. When we're together no one can touch us. I pushed it too far with Gertie and I'm sorry about that, but the Medicai Casino heist? The last job in Sa'fir? We were outnumbered three to one and you came out of it without so much as a scratch." He grinned, and then as if catching himself turned serious again.

"I love you and we won't be able to do this forever. But we've still got a good few years left if we play our cards right, after that, then, then I'll go wherever you want, I'll follow you to the ends of the god damn earth. Hell, I'd do it now if you asked me, but I know we've got good things ahead of us."

[MythicDusk]

Laureth chewed at the inside of his cheek, he glanced away from the face of the man he loved more than anything. He knew he was right, he knew it made sense. He loved doing this, he loved the thrill, he loved the feeling of being better than anyone else at what they did, at what he did for Xander.

All his life, he had been lesser, and now he was larger than life. It was an incredible feeling that lit him up like the sun.

He tilted his head softly, leaning into Xander's touch. "We should both shave." He stated simply, a quiet acknowledgement that Xander was right. If he didn't think Xander was, he would have fought with his everything. But, even so, he didn't like admitting that he was right. "You don't look right with scrub." Laureth teased, smiling as he rose a careful hand to run a thumb down Xander's cheek.

[Mousen]

Xander smiled, he loved being right. Sometimes he worried that Laureth would get bored, if such a thing were possible. Bored of this life, or worse, just bored of him. It took a certain kind of person to put up with his moods, his ideas, his obsessions. He felt some of his bad mood from earlier lift and he pressed a small kiss into the corner of Laureth's mouth.

"Sure. Stay the night?" Laureth had refused every invitation so far, citing his worry about their detective problems. "I'd rather have you here and in pain than on your own."

He cast a look over to some of the sheets of paper scattered across the bedside table. "Besides, I want your imput on some ideas. If the job's worrying you, we can pick something small for when this stupid hiatus is over." He always said that.

[MythicDusk]

He smiled softly. He loved this man, more than should ever be allowed. He reached out to run his fingers through Xander's hair. "I'll stay the night. But no work talk." His smile was something soft, gentle, and loving. "I missed you too much for work talk."

He moved his own head closer carefully, his fingers moving to rest on the other man's shoulder. "Do I get a kiss for staying the night?" He joked, tilting his head in the playful way that he could have sworn made xander fall for him. Never mind the fact that it was only after they were really an item that he had ever really shown it to Xander.

[Mousen]

Xander felt some of the tension in his shoulders relax, he hadn't realised just how long he'd been waiting to hear that. He nodded at Laureth's insistence about not talking shop, and an expression that was almost vulnerable settled onto his features. He suddenly looked much younger than he did a moment ago, too young perhaps, for the kind of life he was leading. "Thank you," he said. "I've missed you too."

At Laureth's request he smiled, cat-like and shifted so he was almost sprawled across Laureth's lap. "Well," he said softly, reaching up a hand to trail the tips of his fingers across Laureth's neck, and across his jaw. He tilted Laureth's chin up and leaned in, their lips almost touching. "I suppose."