A/N: Gary and Bill Slash. Strong Language, Adult scenes.
Gary didn't want mean thoughts in his head, but he couldn't help them. He was glad that God or whoever or whatever made people, built people who made pudding pops. He was glad that his mom didn't choose to have lots of kids, which was kinda selfish, and if she met the right person today, as soon as she stepped out of the door she could change her mind, but Gary didn't want to think about that. Most of all he was glad that Bill had been suspended from the FBI. No-one had to tell him that that thought was very bad.
Gary needed him way more than the FBI did. At first Bill was scary. He was this well built guy with a frown on his face. He didn't wanna be a "Team-player" Gary had heard that word a lot. To be a success and solve crimes they had to get along. Gary thought that Bill just wanted to be by himself. Gary understood that, but he didn't get why Bill was so mean about it. Gary wondered if he smelt bad or if Gary used a soap or toothpaste that he hated. Maybe he'd ask his mom when he called her later. As much as Gary saw Bill keep the team at arms length, Gary felt this warm sensation in his stomach when they were alone together or when Bill gave him an order that he said "Only Gary can do"
In the early hours of the morning that warm feeling was replaced by cold irritation when Gary and Bill and to check out an Alpha hangout. "It's cold" Gary said as he rubbed his palms together. Bill, give me your gun" Gary asked. He didn't breathe on his hands, cold oxygen could only do so much and needed to keep up the friction, but he couldn't walk and talk and rub his hands, he wouldn't be able to listen to Bill properly. "Why?" Bill asked. "A gun can't keep you warm" "It's a distraction Bill, if I have the gun I'll think about the gun instead of thinking about being cold" Gary said. After Bill respectfully asked the house Supervisor for the keys Bill opened the door and Gary watched Bill walk in.
Gary wondered if this was what Bill was like when he went into his own home. Did he put music on, could Bill dance? Did Bill work out? Watch Television? Go out to a bar? Gary couldn't imagine Bill going to a bar. It wasn't very professional and he wasn't sure what kind of things Bill drank. Gary looked around the room to see if the room was clean. It wasn't as clean as his room, but there were no bugs on the walls or cockroaches crawling on the floorboards. Bill walked into the bathroom and Gary stepped inside the apartment. "See anything?" Bill asked.
"A table, a couch, a television, a chair and the television remote" Gary said. "Anything unusual?" Bill asked. "There's a cat litter tray...and no cat or kitten or Kittens" Gary said. "Do you have a cat Bill?" Gary asked. "Cause men buying cats has risen by 15 percent Bill. Single men are getting cats Bill. Guys who are on their own, guys like you" Gary said. Bill hadn't told him that, but Gary had checked out Bill's file. Dr Rosen had told Gary not to do it without supervision or permission but Gary had looked at the files of everyone on his team. He'd looked at Bill's the most just in case it changed and he needed the right information in his head.
Gary told himself that if Bill suddenly started smoking cigarettes and dropped one, and had a fire someone would need to call the fire-fighters to Bill's address and Gary would know it, so the fire would be put out quickly. It always handy to know things about your colleagues. "Gary see if there's any mail" Bill said. "Bill you didn't answer my question. Do you have a cat? Or did the cat run away? Or did it die and that's why you don't want to talk about it?" Gary asked looking at the door for any sign of mail. Bill walked out of the bathroom. "Gary I'm not a crazy cat guy okay" Bill said walking into the kitchen. Gary followed Bill and opened a cupboard. "Nothing, Bill" Gary said. "Do you think that Alphas actually eat super-foods Bill?" Gary asked. There are foods that are called super-foods for health reasons...maybe the Alphas that were here had the super-food instead" Gary said.
"Maybe" Bill said taking the lid off of the bin. "Let's name them, I'll go first" Gary said. Apples, beans, Brocoli, you go" He asked Bill, but Bill was looking at brightly coloured circular objects in the bin. "Bill you're not good at this game" Gary said. Come here Gary" Bill said taking the circular balls and holding them out in his palm. "Bill those came from the bin, they're dirty put them down" Gary ordered. Bill looked around and found a stray plastic bag. He put the balls in the bag and said they had to go back to the office. Gary followed Bill out of the apartment and got in the driver's seat of the car.
"You're carrying the bag Bill you can't drive and carry something, it's dangerous for other drivers they could get hurt" Gary said. "Gary we need to go and it's cold remember?" Bill said tapping at the window. Gary paused and moved to the passenger seat. Bill got in the car and put the bag on his lap. "I was on the fourth super-food Bill, so I may as well make it to number ten" Gary said. Bill started the car. Olive oil, seeded bread, Tea..." Gary the balls in the bag are getting hot can you put them in the back?" Bill asked. "No Bill you took them from a bin, you know what lives in bins Bill? Millions of bacteria, E-coli, yeasts, mould, Staphylococcus aureus, your stomach can hurt with that one Bill. I did tell you" Gary said. "Ahhh...god" Bill said as shoved the bag on the floor and gently patted his knee. "Bill, that was the Staphylococcus aureus, wasn't it?" Gary asked.
They got back to the office and Dr Rosen examined the balls that Bill had found. He couldn't open them up and Gary asked Dr Rosen what the balls were. "I don't know Gary, but they contain a lava like substance" Dr Rosen said. "Where's Bill?" Gary asked. "In the men's room" Dr Rosen said. Gary opened the men's room door and called out Bill's name. "I'm good Gary" Bill said. "The dirty balls from the bin, did they hurt?" Gary asked. "Yeah" Bill replied. "There's a rash on my leg" Bill told him "Can I see?" Gary asked. "I can tell you what kind it is, and how to make it go away" Gary told him. "Bill opened the door and Gary stood outside and squinted. Even on Bill's skin the rash was pink and inflamed. "That's yucky Bill, pull your trousers up I don't wanna see it anymore" Gary said. "Thanks for the heart-warming support Gary" Bill said pulling his trousers up. "No problem Bill" Gary said. "I'll bring gloves with me next time for dirty stuff" Gary said as Bill went to the sink.
"Gary don't blame yourself. As soon as I knew they were warm, I shouldn't have touched them" Bill said. "Bill I don't blame myself, I never said that" Gary said. He watched Bill wash his hands and dry them with a paper towel. "Blame goes a hundred percent to me Gary okay?" Bill said."Bill you can't keep blame to yourself and you can't split it in half. Blame's a feeling Bill, you can't chop a feeling into pieces" Gary said watching Bill's hand on the sink and putting his cold palm on top of Bill's freshly dried hand. "I can look up super foods for that rash" Gary said. "I didn't tell you all of them" "It's nothing a nice nurse can't fix" Bill said taking his had away from Gary's hand. He shook his bad leg out then put it on the floor.
"Nurses can be mean Bill. I've read stuff about mean ones. "If I look it up Bill I could do a better job" Gary said. "That's great Gary but..." "I'm nice Bill, I know you know that I'm nice...I can show you Bill" Gary said, putting his hand on Bill's cheek. He leaned forward to kiss him on the mouth, but he didn't know what Bill had eaten today. If he'd eaten anything with onions or garlic he'd have that strong garlic breath for over twenty-four hours. Gary changed directions and kissed Bill on the nose instead. "Gary...no" Bill said taking a step back and getting another paper towel.
"No? What does the "no" in that sentence mean Bill? You can't just say "no" I haven't asked you anything" Gary said.
"Gary I don't have time for your games" Bill said wiping his nose with the paper towel and leaving the bathroom.
"It wasn't a game Bill, that was real" Gary said as went into a cubicle and used the bathroom. He washed his hands and tried to think of ways that could make Bill take him seriously. They were partners. How more serious could they possibly get? Maybe the pain of Bill's rash was affecting his reactions to things. Gary looked up different type of rashes in his break-time. None of the ones he looked at looked like Bill's. Maybe it was a special rash for a special guy. Special ones shouldn't be painful Gary figured but maybe the pain didn't last long. He went back to the office and saw Bill talking to Dr Rosen. He glanced at them before looking away. Bill was an FBI agent he could keep a secret...or was Bill bad at the secret stuff? Gary was looking up different types of objects filled with lava on internet pages keeping himself busy. He told himself that Bill would be in too much pain and shock to tell anyone. Privacy between agency partners was a policy that Gary was sure Bill wouldn't break.