Murder In The Cityu

"Oh... Well. He's sometimes like that." Shay looked a bit ashamed of his lover's behavior. "I'm sorry about it though. I'm sure he'll warm up to you.. But he really is quite nice when that happens.." He remembered when he had first met Tom, it was the cynical charm and sarcasm that had drawn him, but in an actual relationship... Well, it started to get old.

"Cases.. Well, I'm not at liberty to say exactly, but he is working on a few," Shay said. "Maybe if you ask him, he'll share some of the information? Are you interested in police work?"
 
Sam nodded with a slight smile.
"Yes, I am. My father was an officer," half true. His father was a crooked cop, but a cop nonetheless. He got up to start putting his clothes away as they talked, also unfolding and hooking up his birds actual cage, putting her in the corner.
"So... do you have anything you want to know about me? Maybe we could get to know each other a little?"
 
Shay's eyes lit up. "That's great! I'm sure you'll be able to talk to Tom all about that. If you're comfortable with it, of course." He flashed a bright smile at the younger man, happy that he would have some connection with Tom to base a friendship off of. It was much easier to get Tom talking about work than anything else.

"Sure we can! When you're done setting up, we can go have some tea and talk, how does that sound? I'm sure we both have questions for each other. But don't worry, I won't get too personal." He winked and smiled good-naturedly.
 
Sam smiled kindly, finishing unpacking and put his suitcase under the bed.
"What kinds of tea do you have?" he asked as they walked out. He shut the door quietly, not wanting Mari to freak out from anything. He looked at the office door, sighing lightly.
"I do hope he wont hate me."
 
"Oh, all kinds.. Different mints, orange, chamomille, jasmine.." He listed off a few more random ones, having quite an extensive collecton of teas as it was rather a hobby of his to collect ones from any new store he went or city he went, as every place seemed to have their own unique blends.

He frowned a bit at the door, sighing with him. "He doesn't hate you, Daniel. He's just... He's Tom. He can be rather closed off. But I promise if you get talking about police work, he'll love you." Shay smiled at him reassuringly before gently taking him by the arm to lead him into the kitchen.

"Now, what kind of tea do you want?"
 
Sam couldn't help a smile smile at how easy this man was falling for his lies. It was all so amusing.
"Oh, okay. The I'll be sure to talk about that when he's done," he said, walking into the kitchen and looking around. It was nice and clean, just as he had thought. He moved to sit at the table, thinking about the teas.
"Could I have Jasmine?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"Also, when does he usually finish up in there?"
 
"Of course," Shay said, flashing a smile before he moved to the kitchen and made the tea. The apartment was fairly open so he could still see and speak to Sam as he worked on pouring two steaming cups of hot water and steeping the tea in them.

"Mm.." Shay thought a moment. Usually, if it was a case that was keeping him, he was in there until they went to bed, but with dinner being in two hours or so, he would probably come out sooner than that to have a smoke break. "Well.. Maybe half an hour? Until then, you don't mind talking to me, do you? I know I don't do anything nearly so exciting as police work, but I do have my charms."
 
"I don't mind talking with you at all, I was just curious," he responded kindly, drumming his fingers to a tune. He waited a few minutes, and when Shay came back, he thanked him.
"So, what do you do for work? I heard it allows you to be home a lot?" he asked curiously, tasting the tea. He smiled happily, and this wasn't fake. The tea was very good.
"Also, how long have you two been together?"
 
Shay settled across from him, happily sipping the mint tea he had chosen for himself. He set it down briefly so he could answer Sam's questions.

"Well.. I manage a few websites where I help people auction or sell some of their antiques and I sometimes go to auctions and purchase things myself to sell. I'm a bit of an amateur historian, if I do say so myself. I got my degree in History and I was going to also get my liscense to teach, but one week with children and... Well, I couldn't exactly handle it. None seemed very attentive when learning history, though I can't imagine why." He looked seriously perplexed as to why children disliked learning about events from a country's past or even about their own family history.

"Anyway, after that, I got into the business of antiques and I enjoyed it, so I decided to make my own websites and such. I make a fair profit off of it when I find something worth selling, but it helps that I also do odd jobs in my uncle's antique store and such, so I can contribute to the household as much as Tom does."

Shay had to think a moment about the next question. "Mm.. Well, we've lived together for a bit under a year.. and we were together a year before that, though we hardly saw each other as he was working on loads of cases and I was still deciding what I wanted to do with my life. But I'd say we've been together nearly two years.. He asked me to move in with him on the anniversary of the day we met." He sighed a bit happily as he thought to the day. Tom hadn't exactly asked, simply told him to move in with him, but it had been sweet nonetheless.
 
Sam nodded and listened. The guy wasn't rich, obviously, so that was good.
"That sounds kind of fun, actually. I happen to love history," he stated calmly, sipping more from his tea. He smiled when Shay explained the romantic way Tom asked him to move in.
"That's very... cute. I wish I had a partner like that, it sounds nice," he complimented, finally setting his drink down.
"So, do you have any questions?"
 
"Well, maybe I can get you some work with my uncle some time? He's the real history buff in the family, very smart about things. Plus, his shop is always full of cool things." Shay smiled at him.

"Yes.. Tom's.. He's wonderful. I'm sure you'll find someone just as wonderful someday." He was most definitely cut from the cloth of hopeless romantics, making a very odd counterpart to Tom's surly views on romance and love.

"Let me see.." Shay thought a moment about what he wanted to know. "Well.. How old are you? What do you like to do?"
 
"I would love to work with your uncle. It sounds fun!" Sam said, listening as Shay talked about Tom. For the questions, it didn't take long for him to answer.
"Well, I am 25, I like to sped some time online, go out at night for long walks... sing to Mari, and read," he said. He was a relatively simple person, but was also smart. He was very smart actually, since he managed to kill two people without a single lead for them to follow, so far as he knew.
 
"I'll call him tomorrow then and see if he won't swing by and meet you," Shay said, smiling.

"Oh good, you're my age! Tom is two years older, but I swear he acts like he's fifty..."

"Who acts like their fifty?" Tom had walked in just in time from the office to hear the tail end of the conversation, raising an eyebrow at his lover. He wasn't as annoyed now that he had some time to sit down and work on his case and such. It would be difficult, he thought, to really work with another person in the house, but he would just have to make sure that boundaries were very clear.

"Oh, no one.." Shay quiped, smiling conspiratorily at Sam. "Why don't you sit down and talk with Daniel here? His father was a cop and he's interested in police work, so I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about. I'm just going to go start dinner..." He stood and leant down to give Tom a quick kiss, murmuring a soft reminder for him to be nice before going into the kitchen to start. It was a good thing that he could keep an eye on them from there, in case Tom got too mean or prying.
 
Sam smiled shyly, chuckling at him. He sipped the rest of his tea, finishing it off and looking at Tom.
"He's really nice, you know." he said, scratching his cheek nervously. He rest his head in his hand on the table, looking at Tom for a moment.
"So, are you working on anything exciting?" he asked curiously, hoping the man was at least dumb enough to tell him at least a little.
 
"Yes," Tom agreed, glancing back at his lover with a fond look before his attention snaps back to Sam.

"I'm not under the liberty to tell you about any case that I work on, so tell me about yourself instead. How old are you? How long have you been living in poverty? Where are your parents? Do you have any siblings? If so, why are you not with them? In that order please." Tom leaned back in his chair and fixed him with a calculating stare as he awaited answers.
 
Sam felt his eye twitch slightly at how commanding the man seemed. He thought a minute, acting as if he was going over the questions in his mind.
"Well... I'm 25, I've been this way since my parents died, when I about... 16. That should answer your other question, no I do not have any siblings." he answered, as Daniel would answer. The turth was his father killed his mother, and he violently slaughtered the man in return. His sister had no idea of his existence, or of her real family at all and he wanted to keep it that way.
"What about you?"
 
"27. I've never lived in 'poverty'. My parents are dead. I have three sisters. Tell me about your parents." Tom never...demanded things, per se. He simply asked for them in an intimidating tone and people broke. He was hailed as one of the best interrogaters--and was one of the only ones who never had to use dirty tricks to do so.
 
"Well... I would say I had very hallmark card parents. My mother stayed home, my father worked and they were both very kind people," he said, smiling lightly. He knew what Tom was trying to do, and it wouldn't work. Although, despite what he said being a lie, Tom wouldn't be able to tell. He wouldn't know that his mother was a whore, but her son loved her anyway, and his father was a crooked cop.
"So... sisters? What are they like?"
 
"Sounds fascinating. What did they both do?" Tom circumvented the question about his sisters. There was no doubt he loved them, but they were all very...different. One was a crazy, bible-thumping, 'God-shall-smite-thee' Christian who hated him and his lover. The other was the complete opposite, to the point where it was extremely scary just how supportive she was. The last was the youngest who just didn't care about much of anything and was a doctor, already married with kids. He rarely talked to any of them.
 
Sam noted that he avoided the topic of his sisters, but he didn't have any reason to continue with it.
"Well, as I already said, my mother stayed home, and my father was an officer, like you." he informed, resting his head on one hand.
"What about your parents? Did they do anything?" he asked curiously, drumming his fingers on his cheek.