Slash, Fag and a Bottle of Scotch - Chapter 7
Fic: Slash, Fag and a Bottle of Scotch
Author: jitterfly
Pairings/Characters: Chandler, Kent, Miles
Rating: 15+
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine ....
Warnings: Slash
Summary: Chandler gets a shocking call ... and the rest is what follows. :)
Chandler walked sluggishly back into the incident room.
Several expectant faces looked up, apprehensively waiting for news on their youngest. But Chandler couldn't talk. He felt like he was about to collapse. The room was practically spinning now and it was all he could do to stagger to his office.
The faces of concerned colleagues watched him as he went by, each in turn looking to each other for advice.
It was Miles who stood up, taking the role as alpha in his stride. Chandler had barely shut the door when Miles stride in after him.
The DI was exhausted. Physically, mentally, that much was obvious. He almost thought about calling the station medic when it looked like Joe had actually collapsed. But, closed eyes opened and barely focusing, stared up at Miles.
"I couldn't… "
His words were sluggish and he looked like he was about to drift off. If Miles hadn't known better, he would have sworn he could see Chandler's eyes slightly welling.
He couldn't be angry. He was frustrated, that was aloud, but after seeing the day take its toll on his boss like that, he knew all that was left was to be there. Tomorrow wasn't far off, 'till then Joe needed them more.
Chandler's silence daunted Miles. It wasn't that it was an unfamiliar occurrence, far from it, but now Miles had to choose the best course of action for himself. Asking questions could be a really stupid thing to do right now, but he was sure talking would help him, if only a little.
As he looked at the DI, totally spent, he remembered how much harder this must be on him. He was acting like a friend, a concerned colleague desperate to bring justice to the wronged young'n, but Chandler had so much more to contend with. His boyfriend had been attacked, raped even and Joe couldn't even talk about it. Fair enough, the others probably did know by now, but Joe would never announce their intimacy. Whether it was for his or Kent's benefit, he wasn't sure but Chandler just wasn't ready to come out yet. At least he could do something though.
"I know how hard on you this must be." Miles spotted a slight scoff from the DI but carried on, determined to get him to talk.
"I do. And it might not seem like it but talking could actually help." Silence still. Miles pressed on. "What happened when you picked Kent up, 'cause you weren't like this when you left. Nearly, but not quite." He'd hoped a touch of humour would put his friend at ease, but Chandler stayed slumped, eyes firmly fixed on the floor.
…
"I love him."
The sudden declaration surprised Miles so much, he couldn't hide the expression quickly enough.
As Joe looked up, he saw Miles, bewildered. That was the first time he'd said those words about Kent to anyone, including the person in question. He was sure Miles knew this, but the next comment confirmed it. Apparently Miles knew him better than expected.
"Then what are you doing sitting here for? Go and tell 'im that! I'm sure he'd rather hear it than some old man and your lamp."
He shook his head. "It's different. Back… back at his house. I could see it. Our past, sitting on the sofa. Laughing. It's different now. All I can see when I look at him is what happened. I feel… enraged that I wasn't there to stop it."
Miles took his usual seat, across from Chandler and looked into his eyes. "You need time. This has all happened so quickly. Anyone would need time to process things. Come to terms with it. I know you think you think differently to us, but no one here would handle this any better. The difference is, you're forced to confront it. We need you to lead this investigation. Order, defer, we don't mind but we need you. And so does Kent.
..Look, go home. Get some sleep. You can't do anything in this state. But we will catch him and it will be over."
Miles didn't need to wait for a reply. He knew one probably wouldn't come anyway, but he'd made his point.
Everyone had left and the station was settling in for the night… as was the DI, still slouched on the chair.
'Kent is home', he thought as closed his eyes and let the exhaustion win.
Author: jitterfly
Pairings/Characters: Chandler, Kent, Miles
Rating: 15+
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine ....
Warnings: Slash
Summary: Chandler gets a shocking call ... and the rest is what follows. :)
Chandler walked sluggishly back into the incident room.
Several expectant faces looked up, apprehensively waiting for news on their youngest. But Chandler couldn't talk. He felt like he was about to collapse. The room was practically spinning now and it was all he could do to stagger to his office.
The faces of concerned colleagues watched him as he went by, each in turn looking to each other for advice.
It was Miles who stood up, taking the role as alpha in his stride. Chandler had barely shut the door when Miles stride in after him.
The DI was exhausted. Physically, mentally, that much was obvious. He almost thought about calling the station medic when it looked like Joe had actually collapsed. But, closed eyes opened and barely focusing, stared up at Miles.
"I couldn't… "
His words were sluggish and he looked like he was about to drift off. If Miles hadn't known better, he would have sworn he could see Chandler's eyes slightly welling.
He couldn't be angry. He was frustrated, that was aloud, but after seeing the day take its toll on his boss like that, he knew all that was left was to be there. Tomorrow wasn't far off, 'till then Joe needed them more.
Chandler's silence daunted Miles. It wasn't that it was an unfamiliar occurrence, far from it, but now Miles had to choose the best course of action for himself. Asking questions could be a really stupid thing to do right now, but he was sure talking would help him, if only a little.
As he looked at the DI, totally spent, he remembered how much harder this must be on him. He was acting like a friend, a concerned colleague desperate to bring justice to the wronged young'n, but Chandler had so much more to contend with. His boyfriend had been attacked, raped even and Joe couldn't even talk about it. Fair enough, the others probably did know by now, but Joe would never announce their intimacy. Whether it was for his or Kent's benefit, he wasn't sure but Chandler just wasn't ready to come out yet. At least he could do something though.
"I know how hard on you this must be." Miles spotted a slight scoff from the DI but carried on, determined to get him to talk.
"I do. And it might not seem like it but talking could actually help." Silence still. Miles pressed on. "What happened when you picked Kent up, 'cause you weren't like this when you left. Nearly, but not quite." He'd hoped a touch of humour would put his friend at ease, but Chandler stayed slumped, eyes firmly fixed on the floor.
…
"I love him."
The sudden declaration surprised Miles so much, he couldn't hide the expression quickly enough.
As Joe looked up, he saw Miles, bewildered. That was the first time he'd said those words about Kent to anyone, including the person in question. He was sure Miles knew this, but the next comment confirmed it. Apparently Miles knew him better than expected.
"Then what are you doing sitting here for? Go and tell 'im that! I'm sure he'd rather hear it than some old man and your lamp."
He shook his head. "It's different. Back… back at his house. I could see it. Our past, sitting on the sofa. Laughing. It's different now. All I can see when I look at him is what happened. I feel… enraged that I wasn't there to stop it."
Miles took his usual seat, across from Chandler and looked into his eyes. "You need time. This has all happened so quickly. Anyone would need time to process things. Come to terms with it. I know you think you think differently to us, but no one here would handle this any better. The difference is, you're forced to confront it. We need you to lead this investigation. Order, defer, we don't mind but we need you. And so does Kent.
..Look, go home. Get some sleep. You can't do anything in this state. But we will catch him and it will be over."
Miles didn't need to wait for a reply. He knew one probably wouldn't come anyway, but he'd made his point.
Everyone had left and the station was settling in for the night… as was the DI, still slouched on the chair.
'Kent is home', he thought as closed his eyes and let the exhaustion win.