Happy birthday to our favourite Captain, Thorne! I did try this with Cresswell but it didn't work out, sorry!
Ask And You Shall Get Arrested
Thorne groans guiltily when he feels the handcuffs around his wrists.
He honestly hadn't been trying to create any trouble but the stupid ex-soldier had been insulting his boyfriend and he wasn't going to stand for it. How was he meant to know a fight would break out and someone would call the authorities?
"How long will you be graced by my presence?" Thorne asks the guard who'd volunteered to ride in the car with him so he didn't escape.
The guard scoffs, not looking at him when he says. "At least a week."
Thorne's face falls; he'd hoped it would just be an overnight detaining and then he could go back to his boyfriend to celebrate his birthday.
He doesn't even pay attention to what anyone says to him about where he's going, zoning out until he's gently shoved into a cell. It's just a small jail cell, empty aside from a bed that he prompts goes and sits next to rather than on because he doesn't feel like he deserves to sit on a bed.
Totally not sulking, he rests his head on his hands and counts the number of straight lines in the pattern on the walls, not even caring that he occasionally loses count and keeps missing some out. He's beginning to hate lines in general when someone walks through and announces that it's time for lights-out and they should all get ready to be plunged into darkness.
He only rolls his eyes and stays where he is, shifting a little so he doesn't get cramps, thinking of how annoyed Kai must be at the thought of him being arrested again. Sleep is hard at the best of times and now, when he's separated from his favourite – yes, favourite, someone he likes more than he likes himself – person, he can't even think of closing his eyes for more than a minute.
It's lucky that he doesn't because it means he's awake when the door of his cell opens and there's a quiet muttering before someone chuckles and the door closes again. His eyes narrow, wondering if he's imagining the familiar tone of voice.
He isn't.
"Carswell?" the voice is soft, hushed, but full of adrenaline.
"Kai?" he exclaims, jumping to his feet in an instant.
Even in the dark, he navigates his way to his boyfriend, their hands meeting just before their lips. Kai gasps and the two of them pull back, Thorne blinking rapidly.
"What…?"
Kai shushes him, grinning. "I'm not letting you spend another birthday alone."
Thorne could swear his heart melts.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"I know," Kai interrupts, "It's okay. It just means that your cake is going to have to wait."
He laughs at the absurdity of that comment. Out of everything he could be annoyed at, Kai chose to be annoyed at a delay in party food? It's ridiculous and unpredictable and Thorne loves him for it.
"How are you here?" Thorne asks as the two of them stumble their way to the bed, erasing personal space as they curl around one another.
Kai shrugs and raises an eyebrow. "What, you don't think I'm capable of being arrested?"
"You had trouble picking a flower because you didn't want to take it away from its family," Thorne reminds him, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation.
"Orchids are crazily sensitive anyway, the last thing they need is for me to go and pick them!" Kai argues, then blushes once he sees Thorne's point.
Snorting in amusement, Thorne chooses to let the argument go, opting to kiss Kai's forehead instead. He lets his eyes fall shut and smiles. "Thank you, love."
"Go to sleep," Kai murmurs, starting to hum. If Thorne had been able to protest before, he certainly can't now. He's drawn into sleep by the comforting sound of Kai's humming and, soon enough, he's out like the lights around them, snoring softly, much to Kai's amusement.
When Thorne wakes, he's met with the sight of Kai stirring next to him. The two of them yawn in unison and Thorne laughs at them, which properly wakes Kai up. Admirably, he's awake and alert in an instant, grinning at Thorne and planting a small kiss on his nose.
"Happy birthday!"
"It is with you here," Thorne admits sincerely.
Kai beams at him and wraps his arms around Thorne as tightly as he can. Thorne gasps at the unprecedented embrace but laughs. "What's this?"
"It's your birthday hug, dimwit," Kai mumbles, his voice muffled because his face is nestled in Thorne's shoulder. And if that's not the cutest thing Thorne has ever head, he doesn't know what is. His birthday had never been important to him but Kai, Kai had changed his opinion on birthdays and made them so much better. Not even a jail cell can make his efforts any less incredible.
"Aces and Spades, I don't think I've ever had a better birthday."
Kai pulls back and frowns. "We're in jail."
Yes, Thorne wants to say, but you sacrificed your perfect record for me and nobody has ever done something so blatantly romantic before. He wants to explain that he can't thank Kai enough for dropping everything and finding a way for them to be together but he can't string such a sentence together so he just shrugs.
"But you're here," he manages.
A gentle smile erupts on Kai's face and he lets his forehead fall onto Thorne's, their noses brushing as they stay still, more than happy with their moment. It's a moment that doesn't last long because the group of people in the cell opposite them start to wake, one of them letting out an unholy groaning noise, but it's a moment in which they experience all the bliss they need to keep them going.
Even when the guard walks past and rolls his eyes at them, Thorne's grin stays intact, one of his hands laced with Kai's as if stuck with glue. So a jail cell might not be the best place to celebrate a birthday but location hardly matters when you have love. And Thorne does. He does and he always will, as Kai never stops reminding him.
Kai winks. "I'm never letting this go. You know that, right?"
Thorne sticks his tongue out. "I'm counting on it, dork."
"Oh yeah? And why is that?" Kai drawls teasingly.
"Because I love you."
The blush that creeps up Kai's face is a force to be reckoned with. He elbows Thorne in annoyance but they both know he doesn't really mean it. Even the group in the cell opposite, now fully awake, could tell you that, not that anyone's going to ask them.
"Seriously, though, what did you do to get arrested?" Thorne asks, his curiosity getting the better of him. He's not even sure what to expect but Kai's answer still manages to surprise him.
"I asked."
He blinks. "You… You asked? To be arrested?"
Kai grins sheepishly. "What else was I meant to do?" he asks as if there's no other way to get arrested and his method was the most obvious. Thorne just shakes his head, amused and frightened at the power Kai holds without actually meaning to have any.
As the two of them mindlessly bicker about the pattern on the wall and argue about what it reminds them of – providing great entertainment to everyone else who can see or hear them – Thorne realises he's never been happier to be in jail for yet another fight, never been happier to accept his birthday as celebration rather than a pointless achievement, never been happier to call Kai his boyfriend.
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