AN: So I wrote By any Means fanfic… A little oneshot. Pre-ship Tomtom/Charlie. Takes place maybe the evening after the events of episode 4 I guess… because I don't think Tomtom was saying that in the way Jessica thought he was, y'know? *Note that the slip from 'tomtom' to 'tom' is done on purpose.
TomTom clumped down the stairs, sighing as he scrubbed his hands over his face. Charlie leaned forwards slightly, frowning.
"You look like you haven't slept in days." Charlie commented, smiling when pulled his hands away from his face and saw him sitting in the room. TomTom headed over to the table and flopped into a chair one down and across from him - his foot brushed against Charlie's knee as he put both feet up on the chair opposite. They ignored the moment, whatever it meant.
"Eh, might've caught a few winks." TomTom said, shrugging. "Ten minutes, max?"Charlie raised both eyebrows.
"That all?"
"Not like you've done any better, 'ave you?" TomTom huffed, crossing his arms behind his head and tilting his chair back slightly. Charlie shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess not. That one was bit of a doozy." He said; 'bit of a doozy' was a broad understatement to that debacle. TomTom leaned further back in his chair, clearly tilting the legs off the ground. Rolling his eyes, Charlie nudged the chair beside him so that TomTom's feet slid off the seat, causing him to sit back up in his chair rather than recline, receiving a glare from the other man. "What?" He asked, smiling innocently. Tom just kept glaring, but there wasn't any real heat in the expression. "Glad we're done with it, yeah?" Charlie asked, returning to the topic. They could all rest easy now, at least until their next…. assignment, for lack of a better word. Hopefully it wouldn't involve kidnapping people and getting arrested, though.
Tom gave up the glare and nodded. Definitely. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out his mobile, and became engrossed in something or other. Possibly hacking, or gaming - Charlie couldn't be sure. They sat in silence for a while, feeling comfort in the companionship, as it were, of being in the same room. Charlie closed his eyes and let his mind wander. It drifted onto wondering about Tom, and how he felt about him. He was glad the other man seemed to count him as a friend, instead of just a coworker or some such, and they were closer now than either had expected they would be. And sitting quietly in the same room together was just as comfortable as talking. The problem wasn't even that Charlie had any issue with the possibility of liking his friend, but more that he had no idea if Tom would be - if he was - interested in return. There was also the not so little problem of the no romantic (or, presumably, sexual) relationships within the team rule.
Sighing, Charlie opened his eyes and leaned on the table top. Tom copied him by putting down the mobile and meeting his gaze evenly.
"What was all that, anyway?" Charlie asked suddenly, a moment coming to mind that had seemed….off. Tom looked blank. Understandably confused, because he'd made no lead in to that question.
"What?"
"With the… not wanting to be 'bested by the old bird'? And what you said…?" The confusion in Tom's eyes cleared, but he looked away quickly. If Charlie was any good at reading body language, he'd say Tom was tense, uncomfortable with the topic. "Come on, you c'n tell me anything, yeah?" He said gently. Tom sighed, and moved his chair in, still slouching.
"I - well, I'm the best, yeah? Can't let meself be beat by anyone, really. Let Jessica think whatever she wants, doesn't hurt 'nyone, does it?" Tom said brightly, shrugging. His knee bumped Charlie's. The ex-cop waited; there was more to this than TomTom not wanting his hacking skills to be beat. The cocky attitude was more of an act than anything else.
He was patient, and it paid off, because his friend eventually continued.
"To be honest, though… Just couldn't bear the thought of those two getting away with hurtin' people who'd never done a thing to 'em. I mean, I've stolen money, sure, but… fancied meself a bit of a Robin Hood, dinni? Helpin' someone 'oo needed it when she'd helped others for years…. Couldn't let it go." Tom admitted, finally meeting Charlie's eyes.
A long moment, and then Charlie offered a grin.
"Well, it all worked out in the end."
Tom nodded, the movement quick and sharp, and smiled hesitantly. It felt like something had happened, a shift in perspective, perhaps; he wasn't sure, and neither was Charlie, but something was different after that. He bumped his knee into Tom's. The moment held, almost too long but not long enough, as Jess and Jack finally joined them, bringing dinner and (presumably) less meaningful conversation with them.
Over a container of lo mein, Tom caught Charlie's eye, and smiled warmly at him. Maybe he'd wanted to tell someone the truth just as badly as I'd wanted to hear the answer.