It was just over a quarter past seven when Connor made it to the door of Becker's flat. He gave himself a minute to catch his breath when he did; Becker lived on the fifth floor of the building, and Connor hadn't wanted to wait for the elevator. He was already running late.

He would've been on time, in his defence. Only he'd made it nearly to Becker's street and realized he'd forgotten the beer and had to double back to the store on the corner. Now, he was armed with a pack of cider, which was mostly the same thing, and it wouldn't have to compete with all the top-notch IPA's and porters and stouts Becker kept his fridge stocked with. The man fancied himself a connoisseur, Connor thought, even if he'd never say as much. And he did have a knack for it. The man knew what he was talking about when it came to his beers. Going with him to the corner store was like watching Da Vinci in an art gallery.

Why he still offered to bring drinks, even he didn't know. He and Becker had different tastes in drink, yeah – Becker went more for the bitters and the darks, and Connor preferred something light and sweet; this the cider – but Becker always kept something in the fridge for him to try out. It was like a hobby for him, he guessed, one that didn't involve bullets or heavy artillery. It was sort of sweet he wanted to share it, so Connor played along, and wasn't usually disappointed.

Once he'd got his breath back and wouldn't walk in looking like the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow Becker's flat down, he switched the cider to his other hand and knocked. "Housekeeping," he called. A bit of a running joke, since Connor was like a whirlwind, and Becker kept his place bloody near spotless.

There was no answer from the other side of the door for a second, but then he heard Becker call back, "Let yourself in!"

It had been a strange sort of day, the day Becker had given him the key to his flat. He'd gotten splattered with egg and plastered with gastornis feathers – don't ask – and Becker's flat had happened to be a block down. Becker'd had someplace to be. Security stuff. But he'd tossed Connor his keys, told him the shower was his, so long as he wouldn't leave too big a mess, and that'd been that. Run of the mill exchange. Ordinary.

It was when he'd gone to give the keys back that things had gotten interesting. He caught him as he was leaving the lockers, started to hand them over, but Becker had waved him off. He told him to keep them, that they were a spare pair. Told him he was welcome to use them anytime he liked, so long as Becker wouldn't come home to a burned down flat or a pissed off landlord. He'd stared at Connor like he'd grown a second head when he grinned, and looked downright baffled when Connor laid one on him right there in the locker room.

And people said he was bloody clueless. Abby'd actually had to explain it to him, the whole 'spare key' bit, and Connor'd spent the whole day avoiding him lest he change his mind and try to get it back. Which was stupid, in hindsight. Becker was a trained soldier, as he unnecessarily reminded them almost weekly; if he wanted his keys back, Connor didn't expect there would be a lot he could do to stop him. Cry, maybe. Becker never could cope with tears.

Good job for Connor's manhood and Becker's peace of mind it didn't come to that. Becker finally cornered him that afternoon in his lab, right between the freezers and the centrifuge, and told him he got it, he realized what it meant, and yes, for Christ's sake, he still wanted Connor to keep the key. He could have the bloody deed, he said – because Becker apparently didn't believe in renting – so long as he'd stop dodging him.

Naturally, Connor had agreed to those terms. Avoiding Becker sucked anyhow. And it was hard.

So, after all that, there Connor was, letting himself into Becker's apartment like he had done a hundred times before. "Oi, where are you?" he called as he made his way into the kitchen to get a few bottles of cider chilling. He stopped to browse the night's Becker Brews – patent pending – and smiled when he saw something tangerine, and so what if Becker didn't do much of the PDA stuff at work, and didn't profess his love every hour on the hour like some puppy love couples did. Actually, that'd get a bit old a bit fast.

It was the little things he did that mattered. Remembering Connor said the last time he'd like just once to see something with 'tangerine notes' instead of all the bloody toffees and coffees and limes. Remembering he hated mushrooms on his pizza, but loved them in his stir fry. Keeping creamer in the refrigerator, even though he took his own coffee black as his uniform. Little things, but they meant the world to Connor.

He cleared his throat. "Marco?" he tried when Becker didn't answer.

"I'm in the bathroom, Connor." The sound of water shutting off punctuated the call, and Connor didn't even try not to imagine a dripping wet Becker behind the door. Life was too short, and Becker was too hot.

"That's not how the game works, mate," he said, turning back to take the menus of f the fridge door and start sorting through to find the Thai place. "When I say Marco, you're supposed to say Polo. Marco."

"Polo."

Connor swore, and he must've jumped a metre in the air, whipping around to find a very amused, very damp, very shirtless Hilary Becker standing not even a foot behind him. "Bloody hell, are you trying to give me a heart attack? Nearly scared me out of me skin."

Becker looked decidedly unapologetic. "You said say polo."

"And since when do you listen to what I say?" He paused and frowned. Bit whiney, that. Still, "Oh, stop looking so pleased with yourself. And get some bloody trousers."

An eyebrow rose.

Connor realized his mistake. "On second thought, y'know, nix that last bit, the one about the trousers. You're fine as you are."

But Becker was shaking his head already, stepping back towards the bathroom. "No," he said. "Too late." He wasn't having a laugh on the outside, but his eyes were practically roaring, the bastard. He was taking the piss.

Ah, well. At least he seemed to be feeling better. He'd been acting pretty off earlier that day. Like he was sick or something. Connor really should've known better; Becker didn't get sick. Viruses and bacteria probably avoided him for sheer terror. They'd probably heard stories from the dinosaurs.

Besides, much as Connor hated to see him go, towel slung low on his hips and muscles rolling under his skin like some sort of soft-core porn star – not that he knew anything about that…and absolutely nothing about Becker was soft-core – he did love to watch him leave.

"I'll just order the food then, shall I?" he called.

"You do that."

Connor turned back to the menus, "You do that," he mocked, but it was all in good fun. "Curry, yeah? Red?" He was no Becker, but he remembered things, too. Like how Becker hated green curry, and only liked the yellow from the other Thai place they ordered into work sometimes.

"Right," Becker said through the door.

"And how hot?"

Becker actually stuck his head out the door at that. Still shirtless. There was a God. "You going to want any?"

Which was code for 'do I need to get it hot as I like, or cool enough you can eat it?' He'd told Connor once that he'd spent a lot of time in Trinidad when he was younger, then a stint in India; apparently, he could take the heat. Abs of steel and an iron stomach to boot. Some blokes just had all the luck.

It was harder to be jealous, though, when Becker sneezed. He had a funny sort of sneeze, Becker did. Nearly silent, but his face twisted and his whole body sort of seized up a second, like he'd been shocked or something. Usually, they came in threes, but this time, it was just the one.

All the same, "Have at it, mate. Not really feeling the curry myself." And on the increasingly not-so-off chance Becker was coming down with something, sharing food sounded like a bad plan. This way, everybody won: Becker got his food how he liked, and Connor didn't risk catching the first bug big and bad enough to brave infecting Becker in all the years Connor had known him.

Becker didn't seem to think anything of it. "Suit yourself," he said, shrugging once then ducking back into the bathroom. He didn't close the door this time around. "Five."

The Thai place ranked heat on a scale of one to five, five being the hottest, and one being the one that got the workers sniggering at you behind your back for being a pansy. There was a "Thai' level spice, but even Becker said once that was just masochism.

"Gotcha." Pulling out his mobile, Connor placed the order, gave Becker's since they had his information already, and put the menu up. He'd just hung up when Becker padded back out, this time in jeans and a t-shirt. "What, no tac vest? Not even a little thigh holster?" He always gave him a hard time when he saw him in civvies, even though he saw a lot more of it lately. He just spent so much time in that tactical gear. It was still a bit odd seeing him out of it.

Becker walked over to the fridge, opening it up. Probably deciding where to start. "Will I need them?"

"Not unless the delivery man's packing heat, I'd say," Connor said. "Or an anomaly."

"Let's hope not."

"What, you don't want a cryolophosaurus with your curry?" Connor smiled and caught the bottle Becker tossed to him. Not the tangerine. He never started with the best ones. "Thanks."

Becker nodded and twisted the cap off his own beer. "I dunno," he said, leaning back against the counter. "Do they taste like chicken?"

Connor choked back a laugh. "For both our sakes, I won't tell Abby you said that."

"Appreciate it."

"What are friends for?" Connor said. "Or, y'know. Boyfriends. Or whatever." Smooth. Very smooth. He flushed when Becker raised an eyebrow at him. That man and his eyebrows, though. Really. It just wasn't fair.

"Or whatever?"

"You know what I meant."

"Sure I did."

Glaring, Connor chucked the cap of his beer at Becker's head. And tried not to be too terribly bothered when Becker caught it like it was nothing. "I don't know if you know this," Connor told him, "but sometimes, you're very difficult to live with." He narrowed his eyes playfully.

Becker's answer was to bump his shoulder as he passed on his way to the main room. "That makes two of us, then," he called over his shoulder.

For a moment, Connor stared after him indignantly. But then, he shrugged. "He has a point," he said, mostly to himself, before following Becker into the main room and joining him on the sofa.

It was a good night. The game was on at eight instead of a quarter to, but Connor already knew it would be. Becker always moved things up. His way of trying to get Connor to be on time, he supposed. Connor would complain about being manipulated, only, well, it worked. So where was the harm, really?

Their food got there just before it started, and they got it paid for and dished out just in time for the coin toss. Becker's team – Connor didn't really have a horse in this particular race; he was mostly there for moral support and company – lost the toss, but they scored the first goal, and the game was a good one. The second half, especially. With full stomachs, they settled down. Becker had his usual spot, propped between the arm and the back, and Connor was propped against him. He was on his second beer of the night, and he'd been pleased to find he was right: the tangerine was his, and it was good. Not too sweet, not too bitter, and the aftertaste didn't linger on a full ten minutes after he'd taken the last sip.

He didn't actually see the end of the game. One second, Becker was muttering about poor defence and a litany of unkind things about the referee's mother, the next, his phone alarm was going off.

It took a second of batting around—

"Connor, that's my—"

—before he finally managed to get his phone and hit the snooze. Behind him, Becker groaned, pulling his arm out from Connor's shoulders to rub at his eyes.

"What time is it?" he muttered.

Connor checked his phone. "Four-thirty."

"Four-thirty? Since when do you have an alarm for four-thirty?" Becker was still moving, albeit sluggishly, trying to push himself up on the couch. Which probably would've been easier if Connor wasn't still lying on him.

He was a bit preoccupied, though. "You sound horrible, mate." Shifting, he turned around to get a better look at Becker. In the light of the TV, some infomercial about storage bins, he studied his face. Dishevelled hair, flushed cheeks, bloodshot and watery eyes, and then he coughed, and Connor knew. "I think you might've come down with something."

Becker actually narrowed his eyes. He didn't, however, argue. Instead, he sort of half-climbed, half-crawled out from behind Connor on the sofa, groaning again as he straightened. Although that could've been the effect of sleeping on a couch, being used as a pillow all night. He wondered how much longer Becker had lasted than he had. The extra bottles on the table said at least an hour; how he'd managed to get up, get them, and get back without waking Connor was a mystery, though. The man was a bloody ninja.

Connor didn't get up, but watched Becker pad off towards the bathroom. He heard him sneeze on the way, sniffle, then cough, all in succession, and winced for him. Definitely sick, he thought. "Maybe you should just stay home today," he tried hopefully, but not optimistically.

The toilet flushed, but it wasn't enough to cover the sound of Becker blowing his nose. And coughing. Again. "I'm fine," Becker said.

"Think so?" He kept his tone conversation, if only because a defensive Becker was a particularly unpleasant one. Combine that with whatever cruds he had, and Connor was walking on eggshells that morning. "Because you seem a bit...congested?"

Cue perfectly – or poorly, depending on whose perspective, he guessed – timed sneeze. And when Becker reappeared, toothbrush in his mouth, his nose was red.

"I feel fine, Connor," he insisted. "And even if I didn't, I can't just beg off work. I have responsibilities."

"So does everybody else," Connor said.

He must've come off as a bit miffed-sounding, because Becker sighed. "I didn't mean it like that." He pinched the bridge of his nose, and Connor tacked "headache" to his growing list of symptoms. Things were not looking good for his Action Man.

He decided to take pity on him. "I know. But you get sick days the same as the rest of us, don't you?" He knew he did. He'd taken one, once, on Matt's insistence, after the incursion at the school that day. Apparently, poisoning and near death were grounds for a bit of encouraged R&R. "You've probably got loads saved up; taking one's not going to kill you or anybody else."

'It's just a cold, Connor. If it's even that."

"I don't think it's an 'if' anymore, mate."

"Regardless. If everyone took off when they had the sniffles, we'd have whole departments out every other day."

Connor wanted to argue. Clearly, what Becker had was more than the sniffles. He was dragging his feet, something Becker never did. His eyes were squinted like his head was pounding, and when he coughed, it sounded like he'd breathed in a marsh or something. Definitely more than the sniffles.

But Becker was stubborn, and nothing Connor did short of sitting on him would keep him someplace he didn't want to be. Maybe not even that. So, instead, he pushed himself up off the sofa as well and went to start getting ready. He had some troubleshooting he needed to do before regular personnel showed up. Thus the ridiculously early morning. In hindsight, maybe he should've told Becker he could sleep in. He didn't have to go in at the same time. It was too late now, though. Once Becker was up, he was up. It was just the way he was.

"I would just like to go on record as saying this is a terrible idea, and you're going to regret it."

"Noted."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Connor gave him until lunch.