Colby makes his claim when one of Don's exes turns up.
Colby was not happy when AUSA Robin Brooks returned to LA, and in such style. She played the damsel in distressed so well, he thought as he watched her virtually drape herself over his Don, and found himself growling quietly into his coffee mug. Megan, clever, clever Megan looked up at the noise and spotted what, or rather who he was glaring at and frowned, but then smiled slightly. "You need to make your claim known, Col," she told him quietly. "And quickly too."
He looked over at her and nodded. "I'll ask you how you figured it out soon enough," he told her grimly, and lightened up when she smiled at him. He then stood and quickly walked over to the pair standing over by one of the interrogation rooms. "Don," he said to him when he got close. "Can I have a word?"
His lover looked over at him and nodded, and he looked relieved when he did so. "Sure," he agreed easily, and flashed Robin a smile before he walked away from her, leaving her alone. "Col?" he asked as he followed him. "What…?"
"Just…" Col said quickly. "I need to do something, okay?" he asked and turned to face him. "Can we get out of here for a few moments, to the car?"
Don frowned and nodded. "Sure," he agreed. "Are you okay? Col?"
Col nodded and glanced over his shoulder at the woman watching them, her arms folded across her chest, giving him her classy version of stink eye. "I know the rules about work," he said to Don quietly and stood close to him so he could hear him. "But I'm not going to watch while your ex tries it on again with you, here."
Don glanced back over his shoulder at Robin and nodded. "I don't like it either," he assured him. "What's in the car?"
Col smiled, relieved. "Come on," he told him, and lead him quickly away, his hand on Don's back, flanking him as he normally did. No one looked twice at them, the pair had been walking like this for four years now, even David who walked past them going back into the office just lifted a hand in their direction and carried on to his destination. The car, Don's SUV, was parked in its usual spot and they both climbed in, Don waiting for him patiently as he pulled a small bag out of the glove compartment. He opened it and pulled out a leather wrist cuff, about a couple of inches wide, with a buckle to fasten it. He handed it over to Don who took it with a smile and studied it closely. The leather was dark brown, butter soft, and he rubbed his fingers over it and smiled a little wider as he looked up at Col. "It's nice," he told him.
Colby nodded. "It is," he agreed and paused for a moment as he studied him. "I love you, Don," he told him firmly. "I know we've just started, but I want this, and I want it for a long time."
Don leant close to him and laid his hand on Colby's chest, over his heart, his favourite place to rest it. "I love you," he assured him. "And I want this so much, you have no idea." He smiled and looked down at the cuff in his other hand. "Do you want me to wear this?" he asked him, and he smiled, his eyes warm and bright with it when Col nodded.
"Would you?" the other man asked him. "You don't have to, I just…"
Don moved across and breached the gap to kiss him. "Of course I will," he agreed, and pulled back so he could pull up his right sleeve. Col grinned and took the cuff from him and put it on his wrist, making sure it wasn't too tight for him. "How's that?" he asked him, and looked up at him to make sure it was okay. They had been going slow, the sex; mostly vanilla but sometimes with a little more D and S, and he had been saving the cuff for a little further down the line, but Robin Brooks turning up as their next case had pushed up his plans. He had been concerned that Don wouldn't want to wear this, but he was wrong on that one obviously; his lover was studying his new accessory with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Colby," he said to him and looked up at him, using his other hand to rub over the leather on his wrist. 'For this, for everything."
Col grinned at him. "My pleasure," he assured him, and pulled him forward for a kiss Don was very willing to participate in.
Megan was talking to Robin when the boys returned, and she smiled to herself at the slightly ruffled look they were both sporting. Don looked flustered, but in a good way, and he was fingering a new leather cuff on his right wrist. She walked over to Col when he got to the cubicle too and grinned at him. "At least he won't be looking at his watch all the time," she commented dryly. "You just make sure you know what you're doing, Grainger," she cautioned when he looked at her. "He's not known for commitment."
Colby watched as Don went over to speak to Robin again, and he grinned at Megan. "I know a little bit of what he needs, what he wants." He shrugged. "We'll work it out," he told her. "And if he thinks about stepping out on me, I'll just cuff him to the bed until he gets over it."
Megan snorted with laughter and nudged him with her sharp elbow. "I'd like to see that," she told him. "That would be worth the crap he'd give us both to see it. Wanna sell tickets?"
Colby didn't reply, just watched as Don kept his left hand on his right wrist, holding onto the cuff as he spoke to Brooks some more. He felt reassured, especially as his lover kept looked over at him with a smile every so often – Don was his and he could cope with anything because of it.
End