Take-Two [ Tragictrees & Annyeong Bunny ]

Austin slipped into the seat across from Lee, leaning back against the cushions as he listened. He was going to agree to the first, because of course he was going to see this through, no matter what his feelings happened to be. He started something, and he was going to finish it, even if it meant stepping over a few legal lines. Then, the second idea came around. He didn't answer right away, taking a sip of his water and thinking it over a moment or two.

"I still have connection to the case, which is the main issue." He said finally, fidgeting with the extra coasters on the table "Like, my dad was still a victim, and I think that's their main beef with me being on the case. When it was a cold case, no big deal, but it's active now, so I think they think I'm about to go absolutely feral and try to kill the guy before attempting to even just bring him in."
 
Lee opened his mouth the respond when the waitress returned to ask for their orders. He ordered a taco bowl and waited for Austin to make his order before she disappeared. He lifted his drink and took a slow sip, his eyes once again searching the crowd. Ever since they caught their stalker, he was sure that the murderer could be on their tails no matter where they might be. Putting that thought aside, though, he turned back to Austin and put himself deep into the back of his mind. Thinking.

"Hmmm...." the sound emanated from deep in Lee's throat as he was lost in thought. Austin wasn't wrong, and it would be a hard argument, but Lee had been doing detective work for years. He was sure that there was something he could find, if nothing at all. "I'm not going to give up on the idea yet, but let me think it through for a bit. I might be able to figure something out." Lee mumbled a bit as he focused back on Austin, swirling his glass slowly.
 
Austin shrugged, glancing into the rest of the restaurant absentmindedly. At first, he was just planning to zone out a bit- because, no offense to Lee, but he was still tired, and casework talk made him even more so -but then, he noticed something. Well, rather, he got a gut feeling. It wasn't that he saw something that scream suspicious, he simply got a bad feeling. He only noticed why moments before something happened, and barely had time to jump up and pull Lee down to the floor with him, barely being missed by a knife flung their way.

"Sorry for tugging you down, but pretty sure you can see why." He said, slowly peaking up at where the knife had hit "That's terrifying. God, I hate that. So, we're being stalked still, right? That confirms it?"
 
Lee didn't even have a chance to say anything as he was suddenly tugged to the ground. He thankfully caught himself by throwing his hand back, but he had the other hand on Austin's arm, eyes wide as he tried to process what the hell just happened. He watched as Austin sat up to peek and Lee followed suite. There was a knife. A goddamn knife sticking in the wall. He turned his eyes at Austin when asked if that meant they were still being stalked.

"Hard to say no after that. Stalked and targeted, that's for sure." Lee finally spoke, surprisingly calm despite the racing of his adrenaline. He slowly moved to stand and luckily, not many customers seemed to react or even know what happened. That would be more embarrassing than anything, he was sure. He held out a hand for Austin to help him up as he glanced around the restaurant once more. No signs of anyone suspicious, which meant he probably fled soon after making his attack.

"This is getting old fast. I'm tired of this hide and seek shit." Lee seethed as he pulled out his phone, taking a picture of the knife in the wall. "Let's just take our food to-go and get back to the office. If he found us in public, that means he can find us almost anywhere. Thankfully, it seems like he hasn't located my flat yet.
 
"Sounds good. Surprisingly, I don't really feel like getting stabbed today." Austin said, eyeing the knife with a frown, accepting Lee's help up. This didn't bode well. That was practically a calculated, yet luckily uneventful, assassination attempt. There went his sleep schedule; even if he was in the same apartment as someone else, having a knife thrown at him made him a little more paranoid.

The next day, he found himself in the office with Lee, Daniel, and Evelyn, looking some things over. He and Evelyn were a bit away, looking at some files they were given for their smaller pieces of work. He glanced up at the other two every now and then, just to check and see if anything was happening. Was he basically keeping tabs? Yes. But he felt it was needed to make sure no one got uncomfortable or snappy. It was obviously in no way affected by him being personally annoyed.


Okay. Maybe it was a little. But not much.
 
Lee found himself busy boring over evidence, his brow furrowed with focus. Everyone had decided to gather up in his office that day to look over case work and to overall just bug Lee... at least, that's how he looked at it. After going into his own work pace, the others being there didn't bother him so much. Except for Daniel. Daniel had already started to work on the detective's last nerve just by stepping into the room. He, however, tried to ignore the pest sitting next to him, but to no avail. It seemed like even though Lee tried to move his legs out of Daniel's reach, the male would still find a way to lock his leg around one of them. Like a toddler with separation anxiety.

However, in that moment, Lee was too focused to notice Daniel's leg locked around his. He was writing in notes quickly against paperwork and lifted the hand with the pen to scratch his temple. A strand of dark hair fell onto his forehead and he pushed at it absentmindedly. Meanwhile, as this was happening, Daniel was watching Lee, a soft smile pulling his lips at the sight. He didn't know why he was so attracted to a cold guy like Lee, but he had already accepted it. Now he just needed to get Lee to accept it too. Looking at Austin, he finally saw the other detective look away for once, as he had been watching, and found his moment to strike.

"Your hair..." Daniel whispered quietly, moving a gentle hand to move the strand of hair from Lee's forehead. As he did so, Lee blinked, completely pulled from his train of thought. He instantly pulled his head back and turned to look at Daniel with a dumbfounded expression. He opened his mouth to tell the lawyer off for trying to touch him yet again, but Daniel only reached for Lee's face again, managing to move the strand back into place. He also placed the same hand against the side of Lee's face, using his thumb to rub against his lower cheek. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

"Are you stupid? Stop." Lee swatted at the hand, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the physical touch and commentary. His heart was racing as Daniel blocked the swatting, locking his eyes with Lee. Now, the detective's eyes were wide and he felt his anger starting build, as well as his anxiety. He was about to push Daniel's face backward for even being so close when the said male decided to take matters into his own hands. He gathered Lee into his arms and gave him a bear hug, to which Lee gasped and put his hands against the other's chest. He was trying to push Daniel away, feeling his anxiety rushing, turning into adrenaline. "Fuck, let go, I'm serious!" Lee voiced in a an irritated and strained tone, closing his eyes to muster up the strength to shove Daniel off.
 
As soon as Austin heard chatter, his eyes snapped over to what was happening nearby, and was unsurprised, yet still annoyed, to find what he hoped would happen to be occurring. He let out a sigh, aggravated, and set down his files, signalling to Evelyn that he would be back in a moment. Then, he got up, walking up to the two and crossing his arms. He wasn't sure, exactly, what he planned to do, but he figured he ought to do something if Lee's prickly attitude towards the situation wasn't helping. So, he spoke up.

"Hey, dude, pretty sure 'let go' means to get the fuck off of him." He sad, eyeing Daniel with a frown "Boundaries are pretty cool. So is reading a room, and I'm pretty sure the rest of us wanna get some work done. Back off, man."
 
At Austin's voice, Lee stopped struggling, but he felt as Daniel's grip only tightened, seeming to not want to let go. The lawyer eyed Austin and frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow. He was confused as to why the other male was bothering them when it had nothing to do with him. Deciding to show his thoughts, Daniel shifted his arms so that one was wrapped around Lee's shoulders and the other wrapped around his waist, pulling him flush against him. "Stop, damn it!" Lee snapped, his voice becoming muffled as his face was pressed against Daniel.

"I don't know why you need to get involved. This doesn't concern you, so I would appreciate it if you went back to your side of the room. We aren't being loud enough to disturb your work." Daniel voiced, holding onto Lee. Lee was freaking out. His face was pressed against Daniel's chest and he felt like he couldn't breath. So much was overwhelming him, and his arms felt like noodles. He slowly raised his hands to push against Daniel, but to no avail. He pressed his lips together into a tight line and pushed hard, only to have Daniel pull him back. The lawyer looked down at Lee before turning back to Austin. "I just have to tell him something and it'll be fine, okay?"
 
Austin was well past annoyed now, frown turning into a scowl. Evelyn, from where she sat, was looking towards them, concerned and seeming ready to step in if needed. He was pretty sure he could handle this, though. Hopefully, at least. "It does concern me, because he's my partner, idiot, and he's obviously uncomfortable with....whatever this is. So, not only are you disturbing his work, which, by the way, is super important, you're distracting me, because now I gotta be over here, which disturbs Evelyn's work. Oh, not to mention, you're not doing work at all, so it looks like none of us are actually working, stemming from you." He said, trying to keep his voice level so he didn't give off how aggravated he was "If you want to tell him something, tell him something. Use your words, not your arms. The fact I gotta tell you this when he has been for the whole time this has been happening is telling. Occupy your own seat, my man, and if you want to take another, there's plenty of room that you could take up where you don't have to invade his personal space."
 
At Austin's words, Daniel grimaced, sensing the tension that seemed to fill the room. "I was working on case work this whole time, so don't make it seem like I've been slacking. You're making everything a bigger deal than it needs to be, damn. Lee knew that I was going to talk to him soon enough anyway, and yes, I was going to take a few moments of his time, but it would have been done by now." Lee was listening to the conversation, and the more he was, the more he felt his eye twitch. His anxiety began to level out with irritation. He slammed a fist against Daniel and managed to push his face off of the other's chest, so he could actually breathe.

"You damn idiot, are you trying to kill me? Get the hell off!" Lee's voice was forced, and Daniel looked at him, frowning a bit.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to smother you." Daniel apologized, and Lee moved to kick the lawyer's shin, his heart racing at the contact. He didn't mean for the other to stop smothering him, he wanted him off. He couldn't even glance at Austin to signal for help like the last time, so he was stuck until Daniel actually let go. It felt like eternity. "Fine, you know what? Fine. We'll leave, and you guys can work in peace, okay? That way I can say what I want to say and you can stop complaining." Daniel snipped as he loosened his grip on Lee. Lee was about to quickly turn away when Daniel reached out and hooked his arm around the detective's shoulders, pulling him back against his side. Lee pushed at him and managed to glance at Austin, anxiety and blazing irritation washing over his features. Like a dam falling down, it overwhelmed him.
 
Austin looked helplessly at Lee for a moment, not sure what to do. Nothing was really working; they were still at square 1, and Lee seemed to be getting more uncomfortable. His one idea, which was a stupid one, might not even work. It might make things worse. However, he couldn't think of anything else, and the longer he waited, the more tense things got. So, he sighed, mouthing a quick 'god I'm so sorry' to Lee, before pulling him forwards, away from Daniel, and kissing him on the lips. He only let it go on a moment, no matter how he felt about it, and tried to act like it was nothing when he looked over at the lawyer, crossing his arms once more.

"Hey, look at that. Now you don't have to talk to him, and I don't gotta complain anymore. I mean, because I kissed him, we obviously have to talk things over before you tell him anything, so I guess the whole situation's on hold! Cheers." Austin said, flashing a brief, fake smile at the other, not looking at Lee in order to avoid acting embarrassed "Stop being handsy and let the man work, dude, he's obviously not loving this. I'm gonna head to my side of the room, and if I hear anything else? I might tell chief about it, if I'm feeling adventurous." He shrugged nonchalantly "Keep it not awkward, man. Seriously. I know I'm touchy at points, but this is like, 5 levels above that. Chill out. Sound good or what?"
 
Time seemed to move in slow motion as Lee read Austin's mouth, confusion crossing his face. Then, he was pulled from Daniel's grip, his eyes wide before he was pulled against Austin. Shock racked his body as the other's lips pressed against his own, sending all kinds of emotions and feeling through his brain. If Austin wouldn't have pulled away, he probably would have fainted in that moment. As he was let go, Lee stumbled to the side and caught himself on the edge of a desk, pressing his wrist against his lips.

Daniel watched in slight horror as the kiss happened in front of him. He felt chills of anger roll down his spine at the sight and grimaced. Sure, Austin made it seem like it wasn't such a big deal, saying he was super touchy so Daniel was being extra, but it didn't change the fact that he had kissed the guy he liked.

"Okay, so maybe I was being touchy, but that doesn't mean you had to fucking kiss him!" Daniel's voice rose slightly, his face showing a bit of hurt at the display. "Like, damn, I apologize for behaving that way, but that was a dick move." the lawyer seethed as he grabbed his jacket. He glanced at Lee, who managed to pull from his stupor fast enough to witness the look of hurt on his face. When Daniel finally left, Lee sucked his lower lip into his lip, still feeling the after-shock of the kiss. He then slowly turned his gaze to Austin, swallowing before standing to his full height once more. The detective cleared his throat and brushed down the front of his shirt. To his surprise, his anxiety had disappeared almost immediately. It was probably the shock, but he didn't think too much about it, just glad that his adrenaline had stopped racing.

"Well. That, um, worked." Lee was very, very awkward. He wiped at his lips again quickly as his ears lit up. Walking back to his seat, he sat down and picked up his pen, going back to work. "Thanks for the help." Lee spoke just loud enough for the other to hear, but not turning to look at him. He was sure if he did his embarrassment would show immediately.
 
"Yea. No problem. Sorry about that." Austin said, looking at the space Daniel vacated. He didn't feel all that bad about what he had done; in fact, he was glad it worked. He was just awkward and embarrassed about kissing Lee like a complete idiot. He paused a moment, before deciding to just leave it at that, nodding his head once as he moved back to where he'd been sitting before, near Evelyn, who was onlooking with both eyebrows raised. As soon as he sat down, she kicked his knee lightly, to which he retaliated with a slightly harder kick back and a shake of his head. She rolled her eyes, but seemed to get what he was saying. The two got back to work, quietly discussing what they had laid out in front of them.
 
Once Austin had returned back to his chair with Evelyn, Lee glanced up and stared at the other's back. He didn't know why, but he felt calm about the entire situation that just happened. However, it still didn't change the fact that he was still embarrassed, enough to make him quiet. He usually would have retorted to such a thing, especially from Austin, but this time, he was silent. Strange.

"Do you guys have any more post-its?" Lee finally spoke to the two across the room, keeping his eyes down on the evidence of his supposed stuffed rabbit. He was more focused on the task at hand, so his embarrassment finally wore off. Lee just figured that he would let what happened, happened. "I think I just ran out." the detective's voice was back to it's original bored, deep tone. He hadn't expected to be okay with that kiss, but there he was.
 
"You probably can't find any more because Austin took them all and stockpiled them for his own use." Evelyn replied, glancing at the stack of different colored post-its that sat to the side of their table, neatly placed and organized by color. Austin scoffed quietly; she hadn't complained about it before, and the fact she was now was insulting. Also, dramatics, he figured, would help him ease back into acting normal.

"I didn't stockpile, they're all different colors for different things. It's organization." He replied, flicking her with a frown "Anyway, yea, we have post-its. Any particular color, or just anything? We have a variety."
 
"Figures." Lee breathed as he moved to stand, making his way to Austin and Evelyn. The post-its were on Austin's side, so he took in a breath, telling himself not to be awkward. The detective stopped next to Austin, maybe a bit closer than he usually would, and looked down at the color-coded organization. "Looks like you've been having a fun time 'working.'" Lee gave a dry tease as he reached to grab a stack of light blue mini ones. As soon as he did, however, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and read with a furrowed brow. It was from Chief, telling him to go to her office in order to discuss his offer on lifting Austin's conflict of interest.

"I'll be back. I'll only be an hour at the most." Lee muttered as he pocketed his phone, looking down at Austin. He knew that the other wouldn't have a clue about what he was going to do, but having Austin on the case really did help Lee out. It took a lot to admit that, but his determination toward his job was stronger than his pride, in some aspects. With his gaze lingering a bit longer than he intended, Lee then looked to Evelyn, giving her a smile smile.

In a matter of minutes, he was walking into Chief's office after giving a light knock.

"I'm assuming you got my message. Could you explain the whole story behind taking Austin off of the case? I know what he told me, but he also said that he didn't see the murderer. I would like to know the stipulations before raising my argument." Lee moved straight into the conversation, not wanting to waste time with mindless chatter. He slowly sat in the armchair closest to Chief's desk, watching for her response.
 
Chief, of course, wasn't surprised to see him. She set down the file in front of her, folding her hands on the desk, letting Lee speak his part. Then, she nodded, leaning back in her chair. "I've known the Gallaghers for a long time, detective." She began, voice seeming to take a stern tone, as if she already knew how she planned to have this conversation end. "I knew Hank when he worked here and before he died, I knew his late wife, and I knew Joanna. Hell, I knew Austin back when his acts of rebellion consisted of faking a cocaine deal to get his dad's attention, and I knew Evie when she first came around Detroit, too. So, I knew 'em when the murder happened. In fact, I was a working officer at the time, and you know what happened, detective?"

She leaned forwards, both eyebrows raised, as if she was telling a secret. "I wasn't put on the case. Best cop in the place, and they didn't put me on the case, because I was friends with the victim. And they were right to do that, because I would've been an idiot. I was too close to the victim to think rationally." She continued, and her tone then softened "Austin might've not seen the the killer, but he did see his father's body, and he was still considered a witness. He was involved in the investigation, and it hit him hard. It still hits him hard, more than he'll ever admit. I've seen him at his low points, detective, and it's something I don't want to start because I felt bad and did something foolish. I can't put him on the case now that it's active, not with a sound mind."
 
Lee listened to the Chief speak, looking down at his clasped hands between his knees. While he wasn't making eye contact, he did glance toward her every once in a while to catch her seriousness of the situation. It made sense, of course. It was a very serious situation. The detective slowly sat back up and released a breath. He had serious amounts of respect for the Chief, so arguing for reassignments was something he wouldn't normally do for just anybody. She must have guessed that already though.

"Yes, I understand, Chief." Lee paused as he felt like he knew where the conversation was headed. Even though he was sure of the outcome, he knew he still had to try and put his two cents in before he left. If anything, it may stick with her and influence the future. Possibly. Lee then gathered his thoughts and lifted his dark eyes to meet the Chief's gaze once more. Though he felt slightly defeated, he didn't let it show on his face. If anything, his features conveyed slight remembrance at the memories of Austin getting him out of risky situations and vice versa.

"I realize after listening to you that I already know what your answer may be. However, I just wanted to try and speak my piece before leaving.." the detective paused to clear his throat before continuing. "You know me, Chief. Out of everybody here, you've had to deal with me the longest. I never speak on anybody's behalf, and I have one of the worst personalities. You know this." Lee adjusted his legs a bit and turned his eyes to the floor instead as he began to speak truthfully. "This is the only time that I've actually been paired with someone that's managed to help me. Not just leave me when I'm being swarmed by thugs, or run off when the case is to bust a drug cartel. Gallagher has been that partner whose been able to be by my side when things got dirty and dangerous. He even got hurt a few times because of helping me. He was passionate about working on this case, and that passion really opened my eyes to the side of detective work I never got to see. Partnership... even now it's weird to say out loud. He may have been affected by this case, but I have too. Together we were pulling ourselves through the anxiety and fear that comes from it."

"Now, I'm facing it all alone. I have to explore these dangerous places alone again, like I used to before Gallagher was partnered with me. I just wanted to say those things before you rejected me, so while I can still save face, I'll take my leave." Lee slowly stood up and brushed off his front. He didn't want to hear anything else, as he heard what she wanted to say, and he spoke his. As he turned back to the Chief, he pulled at his left cuff before speaking one more thing. "Also. If I can't be paired with Gallagher, I'll be working solo. Daniel has proved to be inadequate for detective work, since he's a lawyer, and I would do better on my own than with anybody else. But, you probably already knew that." And with that, Lee headed to the door to return to his work.
 
Austin and Evelyn had gotten back to work, and no words had been spoken about the earlier incident. Austin didn't mention it because he clearly didn't want to bring it up, hoping that if he never spoke about it, it just didn't happen. Evelyn simply didn't bring it up because she didn't want to deal with Austin's denial and deflections, and wanted to actually get the files done and over with. This resulted in a comfortable silence between the two of them, until Lee came back from wherever he had been. The fact Austin didn't know made him curious, and he had never been one to keep quiet about what he was wondering.

"So.....where did you go?" Austin said, a moment after Lee returned, glancing up at him with both eyebrows raised "More case stuff?"
 
When he arrived back to his office, Austin's questions reached his ears and he turned to him. He didn't want Austin to feel like a burden because he was trying his best to get him back on the case. So he lied, sort of, through his teeth. If anything, to keep the other from freaking out. That was the last thing he needed.

"More or less" Lee answered as he sat back down at his desk. He scribbled a few things on the new post-its he had grabbed from Austin earlier, trying to distract his brain from the rejection the Chief had given him. That, and the kiss that was still fresh on his mind. To keep the room from growing quiet, he sighed and continued his explanation. "I told Chief that I wanted to work solo. There's no point trying to work with a new partner on this case when I've done cases alone before." Lee spoke nonchalantly as if the decision he made wasn't that big of a deal. He knew, however, that it was. Being alone meant he had to investigate crime scenes and such on his own, especially now that Austin was off.