AUTHORS NOTE: So this is another cheese chapter off me with my ultimate NUMB3Rs pairing. This authors note really is just to warn you about how corny it is... I hope you enjoy it anyway :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters.

[Sleeping Arrangements]

Ian wasn't the type of person to cuddle but thankfully the same went for his partner, Colby.

Colby preferred to sleep on his stomach on the left hand side of the body. One leg would be straight and the other one in a right angle degree with one hand under the pillow, his head resting in the nook and his other hand half covered his face. Ian had always believed that Colby was the cutest thing ever when he was asleep. He remembered telling Colby and the man had blushed beet red, denying it and saying that it was impossible for men to be cute, even when they were asleep. Ian had stopped teasing him about it but had never erased the thought from his mind.

Ian, however, rarely slept so he stayed on his back staring up at the ceiling. He'd sleep for approximately three hours and then would wake up where he'd watch Colby sleep. Due to his lover faced away from him, he couldn't see his face but he could hear the slight noises that his partner made. They made him realise that he was lucky to have the blonde haired agent because he knew that Colby got a lot of attention but never had he strayed from Ian.

Even though Ian didn't like to cuddle, he still liked to know that his lover was beside him when they slept. He always rested one hand against the man's hip where he could feel the smooth muscle that rested their and the warmth of his skin. One of his ankles would wrap around Colby's so that for if any reason Colby woke first, Ian would know about it and wake as well.

That was different today though. They'd had a tough case and Ian had ended up shooting the wrong man because their informant had given them the wrong information. They knew that he hadn't done it on purpose but that hadn't stopped Ian from beating himself up about it. Eventually Don demanded for Ian to go home and sleep it off. Ian had tried to argue but had immediately decided that was a good idea.

Several hours later, Colby came home and saw the house in complete darkness. He knew that wasn't a good sign. He let himself in and quietly called his lover's name. There was no reply so he decided to look for him and found him slumped on the living room couch, an empty bottle of whiskey in his hands and a smashed glass at the other wall. He knelt down beside his partner and stroked the man's cheek, not surprised when he flinched.

"Don't do this," he whispered reaching out for the bottle.

"Don't do what, Colby?" He grumbled sitting up gently looking over at his lover. "You're not the one that put a bullet through an innocent man's brain..."

"The guy was going to shoot at one of us even if he wasn't the guy we were after!" Colby shouted angrily knowing that the man was going to go in a downward spiral. Everyone seemed to think that Ian was some sort of tough guy because he never showed the stress when with the team but when they got back to the apartment, Colby could always see when something was bothering his partner.

"That's bullshit and you know it!" He said angrily. "I could lose everything for that one mistake."

Colby was silent for a few moments before reaching up and looking at Ian, "you'd never lose me." He said seriously and Ian looked at him with a look that he didn't recognise on the other man. He was waiting for a cheesy comeback when Ian's hand wrapped around the other man's neck and pulled his lips down to his. The kiss was aggressive for the first few moments but then eventually it calmed down to gentle passion where they both knew that they actually did have each other.

When the kiss came to an end, Ian pressed his forehead against Colby's and sighed. "What would I do without you keeping my feet firmly on the ground?" He said thoughtfully and Colby chuckled at the statement.

"Come on, let's sleep this alcohol off." Ian nodded in agreement and allowed for Colby to pull him up off the couch and help him towards the bedroom.

They were stripped down to their boxers in no time and got underneath the covers. Colby went to turn away into his normal position but froze as Ian took hold of his wrist. "What's wrong?" He asked gently turning to look at his partner.

"Can we..." he stopped talking and even without finishing his sentence, Colby knew what the man was going to ask. He turned round and moved closer to Colby, his hand pressed against the man's chest where he could feel the beat of the man's heart under the flesh of his hand. Ian's arm wrapped around the man and he pulled him even closer so that his chin could rest on the top of his head.

"Ian, you're a softie at heart," Colby started to tease laughing as Ian started to tickle his way up his side where he knew that Colby was ticklish. "That's cheating," he said in mock complaint because he enjoyed knowing that Ian knew him inside out.

"There are no fair rules in life," Ian reminded him before closing his eyes.

He now realised that sometimes changing the sleeping arrangements were a good thing because he did enjoy like cuddling close to his partner. Some little bit of skin contact might be good but feeling that complete warmth over him, he found himself falling asleep for longer with a massive smile on a face, the pain of the day completely forgotten knowing that no matter what mistakes he did, Colby would always love him.