Thirds, tome 2 : A feu et à sang

– Non. Tu ne ressembles à rien.
– J’avais l’impression que c’était le cas, considérant que je me sens comme tel, marmonna Dex. Merci de me le confirmer, cependant.
Ash tendit les bras et fit la moue.
– Tu as besoin d’un câlin ?
– Je suis trop fatigué maintenant pour te donner une réponse appropriée, alors je vais te programmer dans mon agenda un peu plus tard dans la semaine. Est-ce que jeudi te conviendrait ? Je pourrais convenablement t’envoyer te faire foutre à ce moment-là.
Il bailla à s’en décrocher la mâchoire et Ash rigola.
– Ma semaine est assez remplie, mais puisque c’est toi, je peux déplacer quelques rendez-vous.
– J’apprécie. Maintenant, si tu veux bien m’excuser, j’aimerais aller me morfondre un peu. Dis à Taylor que je sais que c’est lui qui a mangé mon beignet au sirop d’érable, et que s’il recommence, je vais le tailler en pièce avec une cuillère à dents en plastique.
– Waouh, c’est cette période du mois, Daley ?
Juste sa chance, Rosa et Letty passaient par là.
– Rosa, Ash me traite de femme qui a ses règles. Écrase-le.
Il tourna les talons au son de Rosa maudissant Ash en deux langues. Puis, Ash fit l’erreur de l’accuser d’avoir ses règles, et Dex se sentit un peu mieux en sachant que le gars souffrirait bientôt physiquement. 

–– Si tu devais choisir entre le café et…
–– Le café.
–– Tu ne sais même pas ce que j’allais dire, dit Sloane en rigolant.
Dex secoua la tête.
–– Aucune importance. Le café.
–– Le café ou moi.
–– Le café.
–– Waouh. D’accord, le sexe ou le café.
–– Le café.
–– Ton frère ou…
–– Le café. J’échangerais totalement mon frère contre une bonne tasse de café.
Il prit une gorgée avec un soupir de contentement, son regard se déplaçant vers Sloane.
–– D’accord, peut-être que je ne l’échangerais pas contre du café. Bien que…
Il pinça les lèvres, songeur, puis secoua la tête.
–– Non, tu as raison, ce serait mal.

"Lesson number one: If your 240-pound Felid partner with a jaw strong enough to pierce your skull with his fangs in one bite wants to rub up against your leg, you take it and you like it.

"Lesson number two. Don't piss off your Felid partner and then think you're safe by jumping in Sparta's Olympic sized swimming pool. Jaguar Therians love swimming, and they're better at it than you. No good can come of it, and you'll end up losing your swim trunks in the process and have to walk to the locker room naked, covering your boy bits, and nearly giving the janitorial staff a heart attack. Your fellow agents will take pictures of you, and by the time your shift is over, your ass has gone viral, and it's seen more action than you ever will.

"Lesson number three. Jaguar Therians are patient, crafty, and you will never see them coming. They're masters of skulking and pouncing Just because you think you've gotten away with something doesn't mean you have. Your partner will wait months if he has to for the perfect moment to strike. He will get his revenge. So you thought attaching a cheesy 1980s Dionne Warwick song to one of his case files and disabling the audio function on his desk so he couldn't stop the hellish harmonica would be funny? Think again. Because five months later, while you're in the middle of field training, surrounded by scores of Felid Therian agents in their Therian form, you'll nearly faint from the fear of having all of them charge you at once. You'll try to run, but you won't escape. They'll knock you over, and you'll suddenly realize that your partner has stuffed catnip into every pocket, every piece of equipment, even your socks, and then you'll be rolled up in a fetal position while you're being pawed and rubbed up against by over a dozen Felids, before you get passed around like a giant Felid doobie. It's not fun."

Everyone broke into laughter, and Dex shook his head, putting a hand up. "Laugh all you want, but I'm telling you, if you have a Felid partner, you are screwed. You thought your neighbor's cat was the devil incarnate? Guess what? He ain't got nothin' on your partner. And remember, just because your partner can't maim or kill you, doesn't mean he won't make you suffer. Oh and your Felid partner will not be scared off by the rustling of a plastic bag. All it will do is piss him off Shiny things, laser pointers, and a giant box may occasionally distract him. They love boxes."

"Mm.... Gabe."

What the...? Dex sat back on his heels and ran a hand over his face. Well, that was certainly one way to kill the mood. He climbed off the bed with care and made his way downstairs, where he turned on the TV, the glow helping him locate his boxer briefs that he slipped back on. Guess he couldn't be too surprised it had happened. If he were honest with himself, he would admit he'd expected it sooner, especially since things had quieted down.

(...)

Two episodes into some weird but entertaining cartoon about a kid with rabbit ears, his dog, and some pink princess, and Dex was running through a list of excuses to give his partner if he fell asleep down here when he heard Sloane's sleepy, gravelly voice.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Watching TV. Couldn't sleep."

Sloane came around and sat on the robust coffee table across from Dex, but not blocking his view of the TV Dex could tell Sloane was studying him, and Dex just didn't have the energy. He was too exhausted, physically and emotionally. In a few hours, he'd have to be at work with a full day of training exercises awaiting him.

"What's wrong?" Sloane leaned in to take his hand. "Talk to me, Daley."

Funny how that street didn't run both ways. Dex thought about it, thought about every time he'd swallowed down a jab to his heart. It was getting more painful each time. He kept telling himself to pull back, not to make the same mistake he always made of falling too hard, too fast. He could see himself getting deep, but unable to get off the path to ruin "You have any nice dreams lately?"

Sloane's endearing puzzled look made it worse.

"I was uh, giving you an impromptu hand job, and you called me Gabe." Dex pulled his hand out of Sloane's, watching his partner's brows draw together in confusion before realization dawned on him.

It wasn't as if Dex hadn't been in this situation before. He was always moving too quickly, but he'd never had a problem with it. Now, things felt... different. He felt different. Something about the guy had Dex wishing for things he'd never even thought about before. Was it because when he looked into Sloane's bright amber eyes, all he saw was a world of pain and heartache? Did he really think he could change that? Even if they had a lifetime together, would those eyes ever be filled with something... more? Not liking where his thoughts were heading, he pulled back and ran a thumb over Sloane's brow, speaking quietly. "Get some sleep."

"Dex...."

Dex put his finger to Sloane's lips, giving him as much of a smile as he could muster. "It's okay. Really. One day at a time, right?"

Sloane nodded, though his uncertainty was clear. Despite that, he closed his eyes as Dex continued to stroke his face, enjoying the feel of Sloane's stubble, the rugged line of his jaw, the way his hair fell over his eyes. His partner was always letting it grow out until Tony threatened to take a pair of scissors to it. Dex liked when it curled around Sloane's ears, softening his features. It was a long time before Dex fell asleep, and when he did, it was restless and filled with unpleasant dreams of a madman chasing him and a lover he could never reach.