From the Files of The Callahardy Detective Agency… case number #1

"Till Seth Do Us Part"

"Seven a.m." Tom Hardy looked at the dashboard clock. "Why does it always come so early? He asked no one in particular.

He pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall about five miles off the main Las Vegas drive. Always the first one of the staff to arrive, Tom used the early morning hours to take care of the day-to-day paperwork of the office before things started heating up. In Vegas, that meant almost anything could happen at any time and it usually did.

Nestled between a pawn shop and a vacant restaurant, the Callahardy detective agency had started out as a joke between Tom and his partner Sara after their previous employer had filed for bankruptcy in early 2016. One year later, things were good. They had enough work to make a living from it. Most of it was run of the mill cheating cases or trying to find a lost relative, but there was enough variety to make every day different.

"Home sweet home." Tom sighed. "Hopefully no psychos waiting for me today."

Tom unlocked the door to the office and walked inside. Flicking on the lights with one hand, he petted Beaker, the office cat, with the other.

"Anybody call while I was out?" He joked

Beaker walked over to his almost empty food dish and sat down beside it.

"I guess not." Tom shrugged and filled Beaker's food and water before the stray black and white cat made an international incident out of it. "Let me know when Sara gets here. I'll be in my office."

The cat just looked at Tom.

"Whatever." Tom tossed the stack of mail onto the receptionist's desk on the way into his own office. Once Alicia, or Ms. Fox as she preferred to be called, arrived, she could go through it all.

He groaned at the stack of photos on his desk. The surveillance work on his most recent case had come back just as the agency was closing the night before. The case itself was nothing much to talk about at first, but things were gradually getting more heated and definitely weirder. What had started out as a possible embezzlement by an employee of a large company that specialized in adult entertainment was turning into something else. Already there were hints of dark magic, serial killings, incest, and a couple other things that Tom had never even heard of. He was definitely going to need Sara's help on this one.

He had just started cataloguing the photos when the door slammed open, startling Tom, the cat, and several sparrows on a nearby window ledge.

"Morning, Sara." He called out. There was only one person who made that kind of entrance.

Sara grumbled a response to Tom knowing he couldn't hear her in the other room. The only downside to this job was having to be in the office at such an ungodly hour and most days they worked late into the night. Other than that, this job couldn't be a better match for her. She loved it though, the cases she got to solve, her office and the staff she worked with, and the best perk of all was her partner. She and Tom had clicked from the moment they had met years ago and since then they had made a great team no matter what they got themselves into.

Sara opened the blinds to let some light into the room and picked up Beaker to give him a snuggle. The cat meowed in protest, as he was not done with his breakfast yet. Sara put him back down in front of his dish and huffed as she made her way into Tom's office.

"Hey Tommy. What's on the agenda for today?" Sara asked, plopping down in the chair against the wall and taking a sip of her coffee.

Tom picked up a file and opened it, proceeding to tell Sara about the strange case he had been working on. Sara was going over the papers when the phone rang.

"Callahardy detective agency, this is Tom, how can I help you?"

"Hey, man, it's Dean." a familiar voice said on the other line

"Hey buddy, how are you?" Tom leaned against his desk

"Uhm..I've been better actually. I think Seth is cheating on me and I was wondering if I could use your services to find out for sure."

"Oh damn." Tom sighed into the receiver "Of course we'll help."

Sara looked up at that moment and waved her hand at Tom

"What's going on?" she asked

"Let me put you on speaker so Sara can hear, that ok?"

"Sure" Dean replied

"Cool, go ahead." Tom instructed as he pressed the speaker button.

"Hey Sara." Dean's gruff voice came from the phone

"Hey Deano. Everything ok?" Sara tossed the file onto Tom's desk and leaned in closer to the phone

"Not really. I have a bad feeling about Seth. He's been acting off for the last few weeks. He's always working late, missing dates we've planned, his nose is always in his phone, and he doesn't seem interested in being with me anymore. He's had a real attitude lately."

Dean explained his story as Tom and Sara listened intently. Tom shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair and Sara's brow furrowed. A lot of their cases were pertaining to cheating spouses or partners, so this was nothing new to them. However Dean and Seth were their friends. It's always difficult to work on a case when it's someone that you are close with.

"We'll definitely check into it, babe." Sara assured "I really hope it isn't true, but we will call you if we find something."

"Thanks guys. I appreciate it." Dean said

"Hang in there, man." Tom offered as he hung up the phone.

"Well this day just got interesting." he looked at Sara

"Yeah." She answered "Fuckin' interesting is right."

"I guess we better open a file." Tom sat down at his desk and started taking notes. He preferred to write things down first, and then he usually passed it over to Alicia to type. Not because he wanted to, but he couldn't type very well and Sara usually couldn't be bothered.

"Do we have to?" Sara demanded, sitting on the edge of Tom's desk. "I mean, they're our friends… can't we keep this off the record?"

Tom pushed his reading glasses down his nose and stared at his partner. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time we didn't do proper due diligence? I do not want to risk my license because some old bitty catches me watching Seth's apartment. Fuck babe, if Adam and Jay hadn't worked things out, I'd probably still be tits-deep in court filings."

Sara waved her hand. "Pfft… minor details."

"To you maybe. You have a rich Daddy. Mine is dead." Tom replied, continuing to take notes based on the brief conversation he'd had with Dean. "This will go into the locked file, though. This case does not exist as far as the rest of the team goes."

Sara nodded, and then opened her mouth to speak.

"We can black out the names for Ms. Fox if necessary. Speaking of which…"

Their secretary had finally arrived for the day and was already going through the mail.

"Close the door." Tom said

Sara did as she was asked.

"I know where Seth hangs out. I'll take the van tonight and do a little snooping. You keep Deano occupied."

Sara nodded again.

"Good. For friendship's sake, I hope Dean is wrong."

…

The next afternoon, Sara was busy with one of her cases when a thick file was slammed down on her desk. She jumped and looked up. Tom was staring at her with an expression somewhere between disgust and anger.

"His name is Fergal Devitt. He's a blackjack dealer at Caesar's palace."

Sara opened the file. "That was fast."

"Babe, how long have we known Seth? That guy is a subtle as a fart in church. Check out the file and let me know what you want to do next."

Sara nodded and began to look over the file. She was silent as she read page after page, and intently stared at the photographs Tom had taken. It was right there in black and white, Seth sitting at the blackjack table at the casino, this Fergal guy leaning over the table to give him a kiss on the lips while the other players were busy studying their cards. There were photos of them talking quietly and what looked like flirting by the expression on their faces.

"Disgusting isn't it?" Tom asked, noting Sara's expression as she flipped through the file.

"I'm in shock." Sara shook her head and stared up at Tom "But I have to give you your due diligence. You're damn good."

"I know." Tom grinned for a brief second before returning to a more serious expression.n "There's one more thing."

"Oh?" Sara raised an eyebrow, watching as Tom pulled out his surveillance camera. He focused it on the desk and leaned down so Sara could get a good view. He pressed play and a very intimate scene played out before the two detective's eyes. A few moments in, Sara was done. She pushed the camera away and made a gagging noise before looking up at Tom.

"How the hell did you get that without getting caught? You never cease to amaze me."

"Like you said, I'm that damn good. So what do we do now?" Tom asked

"We gotta tell Dean." Sara sighed and buried her head in her hands. "This is going to suck."

"You're telling me." Tom ran his hand through his hair and stared out the window.

"I'll tell him if you want." Sara offered

Tom nodded, appearing to be lost in thought. Sara called Dean and arranged a meeting with him later that afternoon to discuss the case. She tried to sound as normal as possible without tipping him off that his assumptions had been right. After getting off the phone with Dean, she put her feet up on the desk and leaned back in her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers. She could already feel a headache coming on, and she needed to think about how she was going to handle the situation as delicately as possible. Tom left her to think while he went to go back to one of the many cases he was working on, although he was too distracted to think about it for too long. His heart went out to his friend, and he hated that this was happening to him and that they would be the ones to have to break the news.

That afternoon, Sara met Dean at a diner on the outskirts of Las Vegas. She arranged the location to be away from the city so that she could take her Harley for a drive to help clear her mind, and she was afraid of what would happen if Dean was anywhere near either of the two men that were currently ruining his life.

"Ok, Sara, let me have it." Dean asked as soon as he sat down in the booth.

"Hello to you too." Sara winked at the older man.

"Sara... please." Dean sighed

He looked exhausted, like he hadn't been sleeping. His hair was dirty and a mess, there were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and he just looked awful. Sara knew this was going to be hard on both of them, but she figured that putting it off any longer would just make matters worse. She sighed before reaching out and taking Dean's hand into hers and giving it a squeeze.

"Tommy followed Seth last night for several hours. You were right." She said softly

Dean didn't say anything. He just stared at her as if she had grown a second head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he was trying to process the words.

"Please tell me this is a joke." Dean finally managed to say.

"I'm sorry, but it isn't. We have the proof."

Sara pulled the file out of her backpack and pushed it across the table to Dean. He stared at it for a long while before finally opening it. He picked up the small stack of printed photographs that Tom had taken. Dean didn't say anything as he looked at them, his heart sinking as he saw his boyfriend, the man he loved with all of his heart, embracing in a kiss with another man. Dean felt as if his heart was being slowly ripped from his chest and he had to choke back the tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, honey." Sara said as she gave his hand another squeeze

"What do I do now?" Dean looked up at the girl with sad eyes.

"That's up to you. As far as Tom and I are concerned, our job is done, but we will be more than happy to be by your side through whatever you do as a friend."

"I want to talk to him; I just can't do it alone." Dean stared out the window, his eyes not really fixing onto anything in particular.

"I'll go with you. You need the support."

"Thanks. He's supposed to be working late tonight." Dean gave a small sarcastic laugh before shaking his head.

"Then let's go."

Sara finished her coffee and they paid their tabs. Dean jumped in his truck and followed Sara's bike back into the city. They arrived at the Crossfit center Seth worked at and parked. Dean paced back and forth in the parking lot, his fists clinched with anger. Sara watched him, not sure what to say to help him, if anything.

"Okay, let's do this." Dean stormed toward the door, yanking it open and walking inside. Sara followed, nervous about what was going to happen. She didn't do well with emotions and confrontations, and she didn't know if it would get physical between the two men. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her leather riding jacket and followed Dean through the gym, searching for Seth. They made their way to the back toward the showers, where Dean stopped suddenly, causing Sara to run right into his back.

"Listen." Dean whispered

Sara put her hand over her mouth and grabbed onto Dean's arm. The sounds of sex could be heard coming from the showers, and they both knew who it had to be, as the gym was empty. Dean was shaking with fury, and Sara tightened her grip on his arm.

"Dean, take a deep breath. You don't know for sure that it's him." Sara tried to be helpful but Dean just shook his head.

"I'd know that moan anywhere. It's him." Dean stormed into the locker room, kicking open the door. Sara hesitated for a brief second before deciding that she really wanted to see the look on Seth's face when they caught him red handed. She hurried behind Dean and waited for the impending explosion to happen.

Dean rounded the corner and walked straight into the shower, grabbing Seth by his hair and yanking him away from his secret lover and out into the locker area. Fergal stood there in shock, but decided it was best if he just stayed where he was.

"What the fuck?" A startled Seth shouted as he tried to cover his junk with his hands.

"That's what I'm wondering"

"Shit. Dean!" Seth's eyes went wide and he glanced between his boyfriend and Sara, knowing he'd been made. "Dean, it isn't what it looks like."

"It's never what it looks like is it, Seth? If I had a penny for every time someone said that to me, I'd own a private island by now." Sara rolled her eyes

"What are you even doing here?" Seth glared at her

"What are YOU doing here?" Dean yelled, his blue eyes filled with anger.

"Dean, please." Seth pleaded, grabbing for a towel to wrap around his waist.

"Please what, Seth? How long have you been fucking him behind my back? Why didn't you just tell me you weren't happy? Why couldn't I be enough for you?" Dean rambled on, his voice cracking the more he yelled, his eyes filling with tears.

"Dean, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby, please." Seth tried to reach out for Dean's hand but the older man just jerked it away.

"Was he worth it? Was he worth losing everything we worked our asses off for? Was he worth losing the best thing that ever happened to you?" Dean gave Seth a hard shove, knocking the long haired man backward.

"You know what? Fergal is the best thing that's ever happened to me." Seth screamed, pushing Dean back.

"Jesus..." Sara muttered to herself, watching the altercation.

Dean stood in stunned silence. He just stared at Seth, his face an expression of rage but his eyes looked as if he were lost and broken.

"Fine. That's it then. Goodbye Seth" Dean swallowed hard before pushing past Seth and making his way out of the locker room.

"Dean." Seth called after him

"Don't bother dude. You fucked up big time. Enjoy your new plaything."

Sara ran out after Dean, leaving behind a torn Seth and a very stunned Fergal. She exited the gym just in time to hear the squeal of tires on asphalt as Dean burned rubber.

"Shit." Sara swore, kicking her bike's fender. "Fuck. Shit. Damn."

She tooled out moments later, not wanting to risk another encounter with Seth or his fuck buddy. She rode the back roads until her rage subsided enough that she could think clearly. She called Dean, but only got his voice mail.

"Dean, please call me when you got a second. I am worried about you. Like I said, Tom and I are still your friends and we'll do everything we can to help." Sara knew it sounded decidedly un-Saralike, but she felt a little guilty about the whole situation. It was she who had introduced Dean to Seth over a year ago.

She called Tom with a brief report on the confrontation. As usual, he was sympathetic.

"Right now, there's nothing else we can do." He answered

"I know… I just feel shitty."

"Take the rest of the day off." Tom suggested "God knows I wish I was at a casino right now."

"Thanks… I'll see you tomorrow." Sara drove off into the desert; her favorite place to go when she needed to think.

Tom spent the rest of the night at the poker table. He won a couple grand, but in his heart he felt like a loser.

…

Tom was in for a surprise when he arrived at work the next morning. A familiar truck was parked in front of the office.

"What the fuck?" Tom asked, swerving to avoid it since the owner had parked it in his spot.

He killed the Porsche's engine and got out. The cab was empty, but Tom sound found the driver. Dean was asleep against the wall of the building and it looked like he had spent the night there.

"Fuck, Dean." Tom's heart went out to his friend even more. Finding him here meant that Dean literally had no other place to go. "Why didn't you call me or Sara? We both would've taken you in."

"Dean?" Tom squatted on the pavement. "Deano?"

No response. He truly seemed dead to the world.

"Ambrose? Wakey-wakey." Tom grabbed Dean's shoulder and shook him gently.

Dean finally awoke with a start. He instinctively raised his fists.

"Whoa, bro. It's just me."

"Tommy?" Dean sighed, lowering his hands.

"Yeah, man."

"What time is it?"

"A bit before seven. Did you sleep here all night?"

Dean shook his head. "Drove, man. I couldn't go home."

"C'mon, let's go inside. I'll put the coffee on and we can talk if you need to." Tom helped Dean up and they went into the agency.

After feeding Beaker, Tom started the coffeemaker in reception while Dean looked around.

"There's a couch in my office… go make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks. Black, please."

Tom understood. He also drank his coffee that way. When it was ready, he poured two cups of the steaming beverage and followed. Dean had shed his jacket and boots and was sitting on the middle cushion.

"Here."

Dean took the cup and took a deep gulp of the steaming beverage.

"Thanks again, man." He sighed, and then set the cup down. Almost immediately, his shoulders began to shake.

Tom set his own drink on his desk, and sat down next to Dean.

"Dude, I know they call you the Lunatic Fringe, but you will go crazy if you keep this shit to yourself." The shoulder shaking was Dean's way of trying not to show any emotion.

"I just need to think." Dean answered "He… I mean Seth… he was everything to me. From the minute Sara introduced us, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of…" Dean broke down into harsh sobs that made not just his shoulders shake.

"Been there, man." Tom whispered "You were our friend before we even heard of Seth fuckin' Rollins. We will do everything we can to get you over this. Right now, I suggest you get some sleep. Use my office."

Dean nodded, wiping his eyes with the tail of his black muscle shirt.

"I'll grab a couple blankets for you."

"You keep blankets here?" Dean seemed surprised.

"I've slept here more times than I care to discuss." Tom grabbed two thick blankets from supply. By the time he returned, Dean had stripped off his jeans, socks, and shirt. Tom suddenly realized that his friend was really put together, and that was before Dean turned around.

"If you need anything, I'll be in Sara's office." He said.

"I'll be okay." Dean climbed under the blankets. "Thanks to you guys."

Tom nodded. At that exact moment, nodding was all he could do since the rest of his energy was focused on thinking unsexy thoughts about Dean.

He hung the 'do not disturb' sign on the office door and quietly closed it.

"Wow…" he thought "It's gunna be another one of those days."