He was frustrated. Which wouldn't bode well for anyone at the moment.
"Alex, just … just don't."
He'd said, he couldn't even find the words that told her exactly how much she'd meant, what the last eight years had meant, what she'd given up, and for him. It was all for him. Yet, here he was still in his apartment sitting at his kitchen table eating two day old takeaway and drinking cold coffee. The truth was, it had been warm when he started holding it in his hand, in fact when he started holding it in his hand, it had been too hot. Oh, the irony. He let out a soft sigh. That was it, this was it, it was over, he was no longer a cop, no longer had he the safety of a badge, the knowledge that Eames had his back. There was no Eames anymore, just Alex. Alex was a friend, and he had to earn the right to remain in the relationship now, his smarts wouldn't serve him superior anymore, now she had to judge him on personality. He sighed again. That was the problem, he'd been a cop so long, worked so many hours, he wasn't sure he had a personality that was, well, him anymore. He took the tin foiled food containers to the bin, stood and our the spent food into the garbage bag and watched as the last drips of sweet and sour finally left the facility of anything he could pick at. He just wanted to go back, not to the beginning, where she questioned his every move, even if half of that was in her head, and not towards the end where she'd realised what she'd missed out on, or he'd screwed her up on an emotional level. No, he wanted to go back to before Frank, before hi mother had got drastically ill, before things really started to go downhill. He was thinking to much, it was the trouble he had when he was alone, he was constantly thinking, constantly judging, criticising himself.
The knock at the door broke his concentration. So much so the coffee mug now replaced in his palm tilted spilling the spent energy boost down his shirt and jeans.
"Ahhh crap." he groaned. After a few seconds of successfully ingraining the caffine for life into the fibres of the clothes he made his way to the door, opening it while still trying to dry his crotch his bent form looked up.
"Ea-Alex" he corrected. Half a smile making it's way across his face he added "I was just thinking about you" Eames raised an eyebrow, in the manor that he'd long grown used to as an 'oh, really?' expression. He let out a soft chuckle as his brain pieced together what It was she might be imagining right about now, and pushed the door aside further to allow her access to his home.
"What are you-"
"I just came to-"
They both laughed as their voices intermingled into each other at the same time. Bobby held a hand forward,
"You first" he said politely. Eames smiled softly,
"I just came over to see how you were" Bobby decided he was just about done with the unsuccessful attempt at drying himself off.
"Bored out. Of. My. Mind." he informed her, she laughed making her way into his kitchen and pulling out a chair.
"Yeah, me to." And then it went quiet, the type of quiet that was unnervingly real, and drastically unneeded.
"So…" he started, and she looked across at him from his kitchen table and laughed.
"We've been working together for eight year Bobby, I think you should be past the shy and awkward phase with me." He laughed, running a hand behind his neck he unthinkingly blurted out his true response.
"You're the longest relationship I've had then." Eames' laughed suddenly stopped; and out of interest to the quiet again his ears seemed to make his gaze round to her, where he let out a sheepishly embarrassed smile before he pulled out the chair closet to him and sat down.
"I wouldn't know, but you can't be that bad with the opposite sex. Your always going on about your ex's." He let out a scoff.
"Hardly always." he protested
"Ok, well maybe twice, but you know." He laughed softly, something that rung in her ears as 'old Bobby' and warmed her heart.
"You've gone on about your dates more than I have, and pregnant too!" he waved a finger to her tutting out a no-no action and she batted it down with a flick of the wrist and laugh.
"Ok ok detective I already corrected myself." They suddenly fell quiet to the realisation of the wrong use of title and between them they managed a hefty sigh.
"Yeah-" he cleared his throat "-well…" His hand found itself gripping away the guilty coffee mug and his head raised as Eames' hand wrapped itself over his large digits.
"So what do you plan on doing now?" she said softly. In the three weeks that they'd both technically been 'unemployed' this question had never been brought up. In truth, she thought he blamed her for his loss of job, in truth he blamed no-one but himself, and that includes the reason she was now left jobless. In his mind if not for him, she'd be captain of major case, with more reasonable job hours for a deserving personal life and a pay rise. She sighed softly. Before he interrupted quickly.
"I've always liked Egypt." She laughed full out amused at this,
"You? Egypt, hardly."
"Oh come on Eames, it has pyramids, ancient history buried in its sand, and I hear the best pickpockets in the world." he looked up at her catching her gaze briefly and laughed.
"Oh yeah, from the man who was 'dying' when the air con went out in spring. I can totally see you bare footing it Egypt with your flabby tummy in the scorching heat."
"I don't think your allowed to walk barefoot." it took a moment for his brain to register her insult, and this showed in the fact that a few long seconds after his reply he finally went.
"Hey! I'll have you know its cushiony teddy goodness." They laughed in unison and she finally moved her hand but only to take the cup from him, taking a sip she immediately regretted her actions and cringed pulling a face.
"God Bobby, what's that 3 weeks old?" her tongue darted in and out to get rid of the taste. "It's vile and disgusting, and-"
"-and thirty dollars a pack of the finest Turkish grind" he corrected. She arched her eyebrow again and simply stated putting the cup on the table.
"I think your being ripped off." she pushed the cup towards him to avoid any future temptations to try and see if it had improved and leaned back folding her arms.
"I was thinking of going camping or something-" she paused for a moment "something out of the city." Bobby laughed softly, and at her raised eyebrow he simply added.
"Oh nothing, it's just … very you." She smiled,
"You could always come with me, I'd only take my sister, and since she's had Max…. lets just say, not a lot of love for the outdoors with a six year old complaining about having to go outdoors." Bobby raised his eyebrows.
"Your asking me to go camping … with you, in autumn?" he replied just confirming that he'd grabbed the right end of the stick.
"Well maybe, I'm not sure if I'm going yet." She said getting up and flicking on the kettle. He'd always imposed on her that she was not a guest in his house, and should she want anything she should just take, or do it herself. She mostly ignored this, except for the making of coffee.
"But if I do, your more than welcome to come and stretch your legs." She leaned forward over the table and grasped the cup not realising his hand had again taken place around its perimeter, she smiled sheepishly as he let go and merely turned her back as she made coffee. Who knows, perhaps being alone in a tent, in the middle of nowhere would do their friendship some good.