50. frown/pout

"You're pouting"

"… Am not"

"Are too"

"Am not!"

Karen Tehama looked up from her work and glanced at her partner, trying to keep from grinning. "Yes, you are. You're lower lip is protruding. Clearly a pout".

Anza immediately pulled his lip back. Only for it to stick back out a second later. His whole form was rigid, tense and he radiated a sullenness; from his crossed arms, hunched body leaning against the table and…. The Pout.

She bit her lip, to show any outward amusement would only worsen his mood; but she couldn't help it. He looked so cute!

"I'm sure Vallejo didn't mean anything by it." She said, leaning back down at the set of fingerprints. One lifted from a scene of a case Fillmore and Ingrid were working on, the other on a card from a perp.

His only response was a snort.

She frowned, going back to the first set of prints. An island around the outer most whorl… Interesting.

Five minutes later, and a huff of air sounding from somewhere in her left vicinity reminded her that she wasn't alone. "You're getting tired of bodyguard work anyway, you said so yourself" she said still absorbed in her work.

"Yeah.. Well, he didn't have to replace me this soon. And with Meyers? Really? Guy couldn't find his way out of a wet cardboard box." Anza responded, irritated. "You know how long it took me to get the Editor to trust me and relax? And now, to be replaced by Meyers… Makes it look like I'm incompetent at doing a job I've been doing since middle school!"

She stopped what she was doing, standing straight up and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her back hurt and her eyes were beginning to burn. She was pretty sure the fingerprints weren't a match and wanted to double check a few more things before calling Fillmore, but hearing the anger and underneath that, bitter resentment, in her partner's voice gave her pause.

She walked over to him, he wouldn't look at her. Pout in full force. She blew pink fringe out of her eyes and leaned against the countertop next to him, poking him in the ribs.

"Joseph, you know that's not true. Andy Miles specifically requested you to act as bodyguard until he felt positive that the bully would leave him alone. He has and now he can relax enough that he only needs someone to check on him a couple days a week. It only makes sense that you'd be pulled in favor of something more pressing" Karen said.

He was quiet, mulling over what she'd said. She could tell she'd gotten through to him though; his posture was already relaxing, unwinding. She vaguely noticed that he was a full head taller than her now. When had that happened? It seemed like not too long ago, they'd been the same height.

"Still… Meyers?"

"Better than Danny"

He sighed, "You're right. I'm letting this get to me. It's just this case has lasted so much longer than anyone expected it to". He ran a hand over his face and smiled, "Ever the rational one, Kare" he nudged her with his shoulder affectionately.

She grinned at him, "One of us has to be", and nudged him back. "Besides", she said walking back to her work, "I couldn't let you pout the rest of the day" she said teasingly.

"I was not pouting!"