ear.
Alex mmmed, relaxing and kissing him again quite a
bit more thoroughly. “I do seem to remember something like that,” he
said, hands going up under Julian’s shirt. “But you could always remind
me.”
Julian chuckled and let himself be disarrayed,
shedding his jacket over the back of the couch and starting on Alex’s pyjama
shirt buttons. “Was it so unmemorable as all that?”
“Every moment you let me touch you is
memorable, love,” said Alex, in that way he had of going all sincere when
he didn’t know what else to say. It never failed to melt Julian’s heart, and
he’d long accepted that this was probably the one thing that made him fall in
love, more than anything else about Alex.
“Cheating,” said Julian anyway, voice low
and rough. He kissed Alex thoroughly, then sat up. “Your penalty is to
take me to bed.”
“That,” said Alex, sitting up and kissing
him, “is not a penalty.”
Julian made a face when Alex’s phone rang, and
sighed. “You’d better get it, you know how tetchy Murielle gets when we
ignore her for sex.”
Alex laughed. “Only because she hasn’t let
MacLean follow her home yet,” he said, grabbing his phone off the table
and checking the number. “This is Alex,” he said, but he sounded more
guarded than usual. There was a pause, and then, “Agent Fischer, what an unpleasant
surprise.”
Julian snuggled up and listened, feeling his
general dislike of Fischer growing by the second.
“It is unfortunate that Julian was asleep
during the time of death, but so was I,” said Alex, “so I’m not sure
how that’s relevant.”
Not midnight after all, then. Fischer must have
cheered when the coroner’s report came back.
“Well, my wards keep a record of who goes in
and out of my flat, you’re welcome to… Yes, I know you can’t use me to
consult on my own wards, I was going to suggest…” There was a long
pause, and Julian tensed up. “No, absolutely not.” Alex’s voice was
tight with anger, and the tone was final.
Julian pressed a kiss to his chin, and nuzzled
comfortingly, pleased when Alex relaxed a little and began to stroke his hair.
“Have you considered a career in Internal
Affairs? Your mistrust of your fellow agents would fit right in,” said
Alex, using the full force of his most unpleasant tone. Julian winced, though
Fischer deserved every bit of the icy sarcasm he was getting. Alex continued
talking, even though Julian could hear Fischer attempting to get a word in
edgewise, his voice a faint noise with the phone pressed to Alex’s ear.
“Of course I’m acquainted with all of the mages on staff at the Agency,
you only have two besides Dr. Tamlinson, it’s not exactly hard.”
Alex paused, presumably to let Fischer talk, though
it only made him look more thunderous. “No. I absolutely refuse to let
some stranger poke around in my wards. You can call the Temple and ask for my
former Guardians to help, which I was going to suggest previously, or you can
get a warrant.” Alex hung up, then bonked his forehead against Julian’s
hair. “God, he’s an asshole.”
Julian giggled, then leaned up to kiss him.
“Call Murielle and tell her, because if he won’t trust the sanctity of the
Temple Guardians to reinforce the alibi of their own consultant, then Fischer
doesn’t belong on the case because of his bias against you.”
“Good idea,” said Alex, rewarding him
with a kiss. “And after, I promise we’ll ignore our phones for sex and
then go to dinner somewhere fancy.”
“We do deserve a reward for dealing with
Fischer,” said Julian, pleased. He claimed another kiss, then cuddled back
up. “Go on, call Murielle so she’s forewarned.”
Alex did, and the conversation was much shorter and
more cheering. “She said she’s going to point out to their boss that if I
stop consulting over Fischer’s behaviour, they’re stuck with the new kids that
have applied since you made me infamous,” said Alex, after he hung
Alex mmmed, relaxing and kissing him again quite a
bit more thoroughly. “I do seem to remember something like that,” he
said, hands going up under Julian’s shirt. “But you could always remind
me.”
Julian chuckled and let himself be disarrayed,
shedding his jacket over the back of the couch and starting on Alex’s pyjama
shirt buttons. “Was it so unmemorable as all that?”
“Every moment you let me touch you is
memorable, love,” said Alex, in that way he had of going all sincere when
he didn’t know what else to say. It never failed to melt Julian’s heart, and
he’d long accepted that this was probably the one thing that made him fall in
love, more than anything else about Alex.
“Cheating,” said Julian anyway, voice low
and rough. He kissed Alex thoroughly, then sat up. “Your penalty is to
take me to bed.”
“That,” said Alex, sitting up and kissing
him, “is not a penalty.”
Julian made a face when Alex’s phone rang, and
sighed. “You’d better get it, you know how tetchy Murielle gets when we
ignore her for sex.”
Alex laughed. “Only because she hasn’t let
MacLean follow her home yet,” he said, grabbing his phone off the table
and checking the number. “This is Alex,” he said, but he sounded more
guarded than usual. There was a pause, and then, “Agent Fischer, what an unpleasant
surprise.”
Julian snuggled up and listened, feeling his
general dislike of Fischer growing by the second.
“It is unfortunate that Julian was asleep
during the time of death, but so was I,” said Alex, “so I’m not sure
how that’s relevant.”
Not midnight after all, then. Fischer must have
cheered when the coroner’s report came back.
“Well, my wards keep a record of who goes in
and out of my flat, you’re welcome to… Yes, I know you can’t use me to
consult on my own wards, I was going to suggest…” There was a long
pause, and Julian tensed up. “No, absolutely not.” Alex’s voice was
tight with anger, and the tone was final.
Julian pressed a kiss to his chin, and nuzzled
comfortingly, pleased when Alex relaxed a little and began to stroke his hair.
“Have you considered a career in Internal
Affairs? Your mistrust of your fellow agents would fit right in,” said
Alex, using the full force of his most unpleasant tone. Julian winced, though
Fischer deserved every bit of the icy sarcasm he was getting. Alex continued
talking, even though Julian could hear Fischer attempting to get a word in
edgewise, his voice a faint noise with the phone pressed to Alex’s ear.
“Of course I’m acquainted with all of the mages on staff at the Agency,
you only have two besides Dr. Tamlinson, it’s not exactly hard.”
Alex paused, presumably to let Fischer talk, though
it only made him look more thunderous. “No. I absolutely refuse to let
some stranger poke around in my wards. You can call the Temple and ask for my
former Guardians to help, which I was going to suggest previously, or you can
get a warrant.” Alex hung up, then bonked his forehead against Julian’s
hair. “God, he’s an asshole.”
Julian giggled, then leaned up to kiss him.
“Call Murielle and tell her, because if he won’t trust the sanctity of the
Temple Guardians to reinforce the alibi of their own consultant, then Fischer
doesn’t belong on the case because of his bias against you.”
“Good idea,” said Alex, rewarding him
with a kiss. “And after, I promise we’ll ignore our phones for sex and
then go to dinner somewhere fancy.”
“We do deserve a reward for dealing with
Fischer,” said Julian, pleased. He claimed another kiss, then cuddled back
up. “Go on, call Murielle so she’s forewarned.”
Alex did, and the conversation was much shorter and
more cheering. “She said she’s going to point out to their boss that if I
stop consulting over Fischer’s behaviour, they’re stuck with the new kids that
have applied since you made me infamous,” said Alex, after he hung
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