Title: Fantasies are Reserved for the Bedroom
Series: Ulysses *9/13*
Author: loozy
Characters: Robin- pov, Billy Cooper, Don/Robin & minor Don/Billy
Rating: R/M due to sexual content
Warming: slash in one scene
Summary: "Would you believe me if I said that Don and I once kissed?"
Word Count: 5751
Spoilers: after 5x23, Angels & Devils
Notes: It might be very obvious that a certain amount of frustration was within me when I wrote the chapter, and thanks to the feeding and encouragement of valeriev84, this chapter came to be :D
A gazillion tons of thanks for out to her and rinkle for the beta and assistance
Prompt: # 61 Object of Affection
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this fic. Numb3rs and everybody associated with it belong to Cheryl Heuton & Nick Fallucci and CBS.
Feedback: Yes, please. I love every kind of review, even the bad ones, as long as they are helpful and constructive.
Fantasies are Reserved for the Bedroom
The vibration of Don's cell phone wakes her.
She does not know why because it usually never rouses her until Don actually has to get up, but now the soft sound invades her consciousness and tears her from the dream she had.
What she dreamt about, she has no recollection of.
She leaves her eyes closed, can hear the sheets rustling as Don awakes, and the weight of his arms leaves her waist. His quiet voice is a soothing sound that just about sends her back into Lala- land when she remembers that this is supposed to be his weekend off, so why would they be calling him in?
A one- eyed glance tells her that it is 9am and that they have slept like the dead after returning from Alan's the night before. The evening had been draining for all of them, but Don in particular, and the way he clung to her when they went to bed, told her more than words ever could.
He will talk about it at some point, he has gotten to that point thanks to Dr Bradford, but to push him would be counterproductive, so she is willing to wait him out. In the end, Robin Brooks has way more patience than Don Eppes.
There is a soft whump as Don falls onto the bed, and the mattress creaks a bit under the abrupt change of pressure. Now, of course, she cannot pretend to be asleep any longer, especially when she suspects that he already knew she was awake.
Otherwise he surely would not have pulled such a rude move that made the sheets move off her body.
Ah well, she will give him whatever little pleasure he can take because it sounds like the caller did not have the best of news.
"What's wrong?"
Don in the morning is a sight to behold.
His hair is still ruffled from sleep and with the current length it is at, the curls are fighting even more than during the day to break out and spring up in random patterns all over the place. She has tried to tame this mass of black, but after five consecutive tries gave up and admitted to her failure.
He should just cut it if he is bothered by it, and from what comes out of the bathroom in the morning he is, but she likes the way it is at the moment. Just not any longer.
Anyways, with the hair a mess, his eyes are still slightly unfocused and soft from sleep and there is soft stubble breaking out on his jaw. The tee he started sleeping in at some point during the night was discarded by her because she likes the feel of his solid chest against her bare skin more than anything when they spoon and the boxers are just riding low enough to give her a glimpse of what lingers below the treasure trail (and how does she hate that expression but at this time in the morning she is too tired still to think of something more adequate or enticing).
He breathes deeply in and out, his chest rising and falling in a hypnotic pattern. Her drool is at the same time collecting in her mouth and her will power is working to its highest capacity to keep aforementioned drool from dribbling out of her mouth at the sight.
Don's chest is something... Oh, it is something.
The things this chest can do. Soothe her, with the beat of the gentle and determined heart that it protects. Shield her when she wants to look away from a horror flick (Don claims to like them, but she suspects that they are really just a means to get her to cuddle up to him).
His chest is strong, and while he does not have a six pack, he is solidly muscled, and just perfect. Not too hard and not soft at all, still.
Just plain perfect with the right amount of chest hair gracing it, the sensitive nipples that are peaking right now as her gaze lingers on them and vaguely she realizes that Don is talking to her, but she cannot tear her gaze away.
And can anyone blame her?
That chest is amazing, and when they are under the shower or taking a bath at her place and there are bubbles and-
"Roooooooooooobin?"
Don has this amused and knowing twinkle in his eyes that she usually hates but cannot really blame him for at the moment. She reckons that the lust in her eyes could have been discovered by Charlie who is as clueless as anyone she has ever met, when it comes to emotions at times.
"Yes?"
Reluctantly she forces herself to focus on Don's face, his eyes, not his chest. It is not like this is a chore, either, his eyes are such a nice deep brown colour that she gets lost in them... She really needs to get a grip.
Or she needs to get some.
Don.
Oh yes, she needs some Don.
"Honey, as much as I'd love to, I've got to go in to work."
She wants to tear off those boxers, drag him under the shower and have her wicked way with him and then back into-
"What?"
"The hearing for the Lutton- case is Monday and the DA wants to meet today to go over some paperwork so that we are all prepared."
No wonder Don is going against his nature and is ignoring the messages she is sending him. The Lutton- case included everything that he hates in cases, child abuse, paedophilia, perverts, hurt children.
She can remember the case well, too well.
She helped prepare the prosecution's case, as did almost every DA in the county, and now hopes that the whole organization goes to jail. Cyber crime usually was not Don's territory but it had been a combined effort of three different departments of the LA- office to bring down the gang that had terrorized children over the course of fourteen months.
"Okay."
"You'll be okay with Coop?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll just chain him up and then wait for you to come back."
She needs to lighten mood, forces herself to send him a saucy grin.
"What is it with you and your fantasies involving me and Coop?"
He is truly curious about this interest of hers.
"Well, it is Coop and you, you know?"
"So?"
He does not see the appeal? How come he does not see the appeal?
"You mean you and Coop really never?"
"Ehm, no. Why?"
She has succeeded in taking his mind off the case, even if it is only for a couple of seconds, but if those seconds are something that he can look upon later and use as a distraction, that is more than fine with her. Plus, there is always Billy that she can needle.
"Coop and me never. Why would you even think that?"
"You should look in the mirror and then maybe think like a woman."
He gets up off the bed, starts grabbing underwear, socks and a black tee from his drawers.
"You think only men fantasize about women doing women? We think about men doing men, too, you know?"
She gets up, saunters over to him, swinging her hips seductively.
"We do it, too, and when you have two such attractive men in the house..."
Oh, his mind is somewhere entirely else, and she slaps herself a bit. It is not nice to try to distract him from such a horrible case by turning him on, but this early in the morning, the only way to get through to Don Eppes when he has not had his coffee yet, are either work or sex.
Work is out, since he is distraught because of it, so sex it is.
And there is nothing more fun than to watch Don Eppes squirm, to reduce him to a ball of discomfort when there is talk about sex and he does not have the upper hand. Oh, do not get her wrong, Don likes her to be in charge, but talk like this?
Definitely out of the box for him, because he is surprisingly conservative, but also fun.
And again, it is such a nice mental image to contemplate.
She really needs to focus on distracting Don who is standing in the middle of his bedroom, clutching his clothes, staring at her with a kind of hungry gaze.
"We love to think of man- on- man action."
He swallows hard and the wheels in his head can practically be heard turning at high speed.
"You want..."
That was more a croak than a voice, so he clears his throat, looks around the room and then turns back to her.
"You want to have a threesome?"
Ah, she can see where his mind is headed, but is sorry to disappoint. This is purely for the fun of needling him about Billy.
"No, not at all. This is about you and Billy."
He looks at his empty wrist in an all too familiar gesture, takes a few steps towards the wall as if trying to escape her and she has to grin.
"I have to go shower."
"Want me to join?"
The tell- tale bulge in his boxers tells her yes, but his voice actually says no, which is for the better, really because they both know that when they shower together, they will not get out any time soon.
"Nope. Thanks."
"Fine by me. I'll just fantasize about you and Coop on my own."
He groans, softly smacks his head against the wall behind him.
"Nothing I can do to stop you?"
"Oh, you know me, Eppes. Takes a lot to get me to stop thinking."
She leers down at his body, slowly tracing it up and down, licks her lips and can see him respond even more.
"Shower. You and me. Now."
She pretends to be shocked.
"But, Don, you have to get into the office."
"Oh, trust me, I'll be quick."
He growls more than says that and she laughs.
Mission accomplished, for now. Once he is back, Billy and her can work him over, make him forget.
Don is long gone by the time Billy rouses from the couch in the tiny guest room that normally is more of a second closet than anything else, and she has read the paper, done the crossword and even did the dishes Don used when he slurped down the cup of coffee she had prepared while he was getting dressed.
When the other man stumbles into the small kitchen, nearly gouging his eyes out as he his rubbing them so hard, hair standing every which way, another pot of coffee is brewing and all the bowl with muesli needs is milk.
"You're gonna make a great housewife, Brooks."
She swats him with the rolled- up issue of Vanity Fair she has been browsing and sips her own cup.
"That coffee?"
"Yep."
"You gonna pour me one?"
"Do I look like your maid or wife?"
Billy grins at her, still a bit bleary- eyed, and gets up to fill his own cup and grab the carton of milk from the fridge.
"Where's Don?"
"Had to go into the office."
"Why?"
More milk than she ever thought possible is poured over the muesli and he is actually filling the bowl to the brim.
"Didn't you have milk as a kid?"
His grin widens.
"But Mommy, you always said that calcium would help me grow. I'm still a little boy."
Sitting there with a puppy- dog look in his eyes, she just knows that he is aware of how his behaviour can be perceived.
"You were a pest as a child, right?"
"Sure was."
He grabs the paper and for a while the only sounds that can be heard is his annoying slurping, which he does just for her, and him munching on the cereal.
"So why did Don go to the office?"
"You heard of the Lutton- case?"
"Who hasn't?"
"Well, the first hearing's tomorrow, and the DA wants to have everything set, so he called in a Saturday meeting."
"Ouch... So it's just us for now?"
"Yeah."
She counters his suggestive gaze with one of her own.
"You got anything in mind?"
"How about going for a run?"
"Burning off any excess energy?"
Billy snorts.
"Nah, just for the heck of it. It's a gorgeous day, why let it go to waste?"
Now it is her who is snorting.
"Please, it's a Saturday. I am not going for a run on a Saturday. It's a law."
"A law?"
"Yes, a law."
"So what do you do on a Saturday?"
"Wouldn't you like to know..."
She sashays out of the kitchen, intent on wriggling her behind for all that she is worth. Billy is fun to banter with, they both know where they stand, so it is always amusing to test the boundaries, see how far they can tread.
"Why yes, I'd love to, darlin'!"
She is changing in the bedroom, but the apartment is small (cosy, Don calls it) enough that he can hear her easily.
"Well, you in a good mood."
"Yes."
Now he sounds just a bit apprehensive, and he has reason to.
"Fine, then you'll come with me, shopping."
The thud she hears is probably from his head hitting the table top. It is a rather hollow sound, she muses to herself before snickering.
"Does Don do that with you, too?"
"Yup."
If she can convince him, which usually involves spending the first half of the day in bed and then dragging him out of it under the pretence of needing something really urgently.
He can probably see through her ruse the minute she starts it, but never calls her on it, for which she loves him.
"He really must love you."
He does, she thinks. He loves her, she loves him, and everything is as perfect as it will probably ever get between the two of them, not counting potential offspring or maybe marriage, even. She knows he wants to have children, and she knows he wants to have those children with her, but what about marriage?
Would she convert to Judaism for him?
She does not know, does not know if he even thought about it. His father would love to have a big wedding, hell, Alan probably already has the Charlie and Amita- wedding all planned out, once it is going to happen.
Would Don ask her to convert or would they just have a small ceremony, go to City Hall?
And why is thinking this now?
Easy. Billy mentioned love, mentioned Don loving her, which still makes her happy, the sound and safe knowledge that they are both in the same place. Besides, she is a woman, she hears love, she is in a steady relationship and she thinks wedding and marriage.
It is a scary place to go.
"You still there, Brooks? He did tell you he loves you, right?"
She realizes she is standing in the middle of the bedroom, her white casual shirt nearly buttoned down, the top button of her skinny jeans undone.
"He did tell me."
There is a blush of delight spreading along her cheeks and she is not even embarrassed about it.
"Good for you."
Billy sounds genuinely happy for her.
"And good for Don. Otherwise I might just have kicked his ass."
With that he turns and heads into the spare room to get ready, too, and being a man he is out just as quickly, having changed into loose jeans and a white shirt that accentuates his upper body perfectly.
"You're staring."
She slips into her flats, grabs her purse and pushes him out of the apartment.
"So? You were doing it earlier, too."
"Yeah, but that's because you were just showing off. You know that's not fair."
"Pfff. Is, too."
"Very mature, Brooks."
She locks the door behind them and slaps him on his butt.
"Don's is better."
"Hah, he wishes! My butt was always firmer than his!"
"Nah, I doubt that but it would be a close race. Yours is hairier, though."
"Never. My butt is not hairy!"
Robin smiles at old Ms Gebrilda from Don's floor who pretends to be deaf at all times instead of those when one wishes she actually could not hear a thing, like right now. Her look of horror and audible gasp makes Robin fear for a second that she is going to have a heart attack but then she just hugs her rat of a dog closer as if Billy and her were predators.
Well, Robin is in a predatory mood, but it has nothing to do with old ladies who flirt with younger men, namely Don. In moments like those, Robin gets very territorial.
Billy is waiting until they are sitting in her car before he picks up the thread of conversation again.
"How would you know about my butt's hairiness anyways?"
"I just took a guess."
"I'll have you know that Don's butt... is actually... No, none of our asses are hairy."
"And how would you know that?"
"Well, I've seen Don naked, so what?"
Oh, this is too good.
"Actually, now that you mention it..."
He gets her, he gets her drift. He always has.
"You hot for us?"
Her mother taught her never to lie when there was no reason to. Why start now?
"Show me a woman who isn't."
"You suggesting a threesome? Don would never go for that."
"Oh no, not a threesome. I'm not into that."
"Been there, done that, eh?"
"There were times when college was actually boring and parties were actually exciting."
"Why, Brooks. I never figured."
She scoffs at that.
"Oh please, that's a lie. Ridiculous."
They both laugh softly.
"So, what I meant, actually, with the two of you..."
"Yes?"
Maybe she is taking this a bit too far.
"You fantasize about Don and me? Just the two of us?"
Thank you for that mental image! And thank you, Billy for actually bringing it up. As wild as Robin can be, there are borders for all friendships, and her actually saying this out loud would have breached that line even if it had been in jest. Kind of.
It is a good thing she is behind the wheel so she does not have to face the look on Billy's face which is most certainly expressing glee to the highest extent possible.
Where she likes to needle Don, he does the same to her, no shame whatsoever.
"You so do!"
Now he is crowing like a little kid and she is turning beet red.
"And?"
"You tell Don?"
"Yes."
"How did he react?"
Pretty much like she is right now.
"What do you think?"
"Like you, right? All blushing and stammer-y and not so cocky any longer."
"There are moments where I don't like you."
He gasps and grabs at his heart.
"Oh no! The pain! The heartache!"
He is mocking her and thoroughly enjoying it. How unfair, she cannot think of retaliation material.
"So you really like to think of Don and me?"
"I'm a woman. I can see the appeal."
"Yeah, it is all very Brokeback Mountain- y."
"Only hotter."
"What? You don't think Jake is and Heath was hot?"
Now it is her turn to be incredulous.
"Way too young for me."
"But they age in the movie."
Robin is now very close to hitting her head on the steering wheel. Repeatedly.
"I don't care about them. I have two hot men right here. Why would I need some out of reach actors?"
"Real life rewards? You sure you're against threesomes?"
"Yes! I want Don to myself, thank you very much."
Thankfully they have arrived at the lot where she wants to park so now that they are in public, surely Billy will stop with the current topic of conversation?
Today is not her lucky day.
"Why're you so uncomfortable now? You brought it up!"
"I never actually thought you'd react to it."
"Want me to leave it alone?"
"For now, yes."
N3 - N3 - N3 - N3
Two pairs of Marc Jacobs- shoes for her and one for Don, three tops and a pair of jeans for Billy later, they have lunch at a small cafe next to her favourite vintage shop when Billy comes back to the topic that she would have loved to contemplate in the privacy of Don's or her place.
"Would you believe me if I said that Don and I once kissed?"
What did he just say?
"What did you just say?"
"I asked if you-"
"You and Don kissed?"
When did her voice reach this funny pitchy note? She has not heard that one since she watched Johnny Depp in Chocolat at a girl's night in with girlfriends.
"Maybe."
"Maybe? There is no maybe to this! Did you or did you not?"
Billy just smiles at her in this infuriating way that he has and she really would like to do mean things to him now. Really mean things, vicious and evil.
"What's that you're reading?"
Don glares at him and Billy has to hold back the chuckle threatening to escape.
"A book, idiot."
He decides to smack the dark- haired man on the head and grabs the thin book from him when Don is distracted.
"Idiot? Lame, Eppes, lame... James Baldwin? He one of the actor brothers?"
Don rips the book out of his hand again, this time smacking him with it.
"He's a famous author. Philistine."
"I know who Baldwin is. Geez, Don, sometimes you are too tightly wound, really."
He sits down on Don's side and nudges the other man with his dirty elbow.
"Why you reading now anyways? Don't you want to, I don't know, shower? There is no law against it, you know."
"Shut up and leave me alone."
Don is usually not brusque with him like this, and Billy frowns at his friend. The lines around his eyes are pronounced by the dirt marring the sides of his face from where he fell into the heap of leaves their perp threw him into. There is a gash along the line of his temple just by his hairline that is bleeding sluggishly but seems to go unnoticed. The hands gripping the book are dirt- streaked, too, as are Billy's and clenched so tightly that the spine is bending dangerously.
"What's wrong?"
Don glares at him but Billy is unperturbed. Too much shit has happened between them for him to back down now.
"I just hate them. They molest children, they rape them, and then they kill them. It's just... They take them from their families, they fuck everyone up and they don't care... I don't get that... It's sick.... I mean, you saw how young some of the kids were... Not even kids, babies..."
He sits up, his hand going up into his hair, gripping it so hard Billy is afraid he'll rip out the strands.
"Just imagine you hear that this pervert had escaped from prison, that she has attacked children again... What fuckin' asshole took her out of isolation anyways? The psychologist at the trial said she was a psycho, that there was no way she'd ever be able to behave normally and then that fucker at the prison takes her out of maximum security, says that she is now behaving normally..."
He paces back and forth, so close to Billy that the other man can feel the brush of his jeans on the stubbled cheeks.
"... and then he is all surprised that she managed to escape. Jesus, what kinda freaks are they training that they don't even recognise a psycho?"
"He was young-"
"No fuckin' excuse, Coop! They never should have brought him in. A newbie! Fresh with his PhD and what does he know? Textbook shit! Fuck!"
Don kicks the side of the bed, making the mattress vibrate.
"So no, Coop, I don't want to shower right now. I want to beat that thing to a pulp, make sure she never sees daylight..."
He comes to a stop in front of Billy, his hands hanging listlessly down his side, his whole body seeming to sag into itself. They both have reached their breaking point during this latest case of theirs, nights with barely any sleep, only catnaps taken because neither could bear the thought of this person free any longer than she already was.
"She killed her own children. How could you even consider that person to be even remotely sane? How could the judge not rule her to be placed into maximum solitary with no consideration? No parole? What kinda justice system is this?"
In moments like these, Billy has learned that it is best to just listen to Don until he has run out of steam.
"And then they put out an alert, tell parents to keep their children safe and what happens? Fuckin' nothing!"
For Don to use the f- word in such rapid succession, he must be more distraught than his hard steps and lax demeanour suggest.
"You saw them. She killed all of them. She killed children and they just... And that one woman, you know the foster mother... Fuck!"
He plops down beside Billy and just stretches out beside him, his filthy shirt riding up to expose a stretch of skin peeking out between the hem and the top of his boxers.
"She didn't..."
The swallow is painfully audible in the silence of the room, and Billy has to look away from the naked hurt in Don's eyes.
"She didn't care. The kids were just ones in a long line."
Don turns around, pressing his face into the duvet covering the queen- sized bed they will have to share for the night.
"We'll have her charged with obstruction of justice because she didn't report the kids missing and because... Well, the DA will think of something."
Right now, Billy's brain is too tired to even attempt to contemplate the intricate ways that the law works. They have done their job, they have gotten their minds, clothes, bodies dirty.
Now they can wash themselves of this job.
They can try, but he doubts that they will ever feel really clean after this.
"I just keep thinking, what if this had happened to my kid? What if I had a daughter that this had happened to? And this monster escaped? I would have gone hunting. Even if they were foster kids. Doesn't make them any less innocent or..."
Don turns onto his side, facing Billy, and he slowly reclines until he is lying down beside Don.
"There is no excuse for their behaviour."
Don nods, the movement leaving a thin trail of blood and dirt on the sheets.
"They will lose their rights to harbour children."
"The kids will be better off anywhere but those houses."
Silence reigns in the room for a bit as the sun descends and darkness settles, only broken when lightning from the coming storm flashes.
"There was this teacher at my high school who was abusing young kids. He had kids himself, at the school even."
Don's eyes are riveted on him now.
"Couple of days before Christmas, one kid comes up to the principal, claims that Mr Harper had touched him inappropriately, that he'd promised the kid good grades in chemistry in exchange for sexual favours... The principal started an investigation, suspended Harper until the allegations were proven true and Harper was fired... His kids continued going to the school, though. The oldest son was in my sister's class."
"Did he abuse his kids?"
"Was never proven. My parents took us out of the school during the summer break. Catherine was in Mr Harper's chemistry class, they were afraid that she had been approached, too, because she just sucked in Chemistry until all of a sudden her grades got better."
"Oh God, Coop."
Don's left hand reaches out to settle on his arm and Billy decides he likes the contact and doesn't protest when the other man keeps his hand there. At the moment, this physical contact is more reassuring to them than enforced intimacy, like with a girl they met in a bar, could ever be.
"Actually, turns out that she got her first boyfriend and he was a tutor so he helped her out."
Billy chuckles weakly while Don just grimaces.
"The tutor was an ass, though, took her to Prom with him and then tried to get her to sleep with him, you know the story."
"And?"
"Well, she is in a convent now, so you can kinda figure out how that turned out."
"Jeez. I always thought it was just because all the virtue had gone to her."
They both laugh a bit too hard at this. It is the kind of hysterical laughter when exhaustion and despair are the two foremost things on your mind, when you can think of nothing else to do but force this kind of scary laughter out of your lungs.
Don's hands is still on his arm, and Billy awkwardly reaches up to touch it, his fingers softly stroking the hand. Later he will claim that he just lost his balance when he tried to free the arm he was lying on when he rolls forward towards Don and his mouth and just kisses him.
It is a kiss, there is nothing too gentle about it at first, though it is not rough, either, bar the stubble they are both sporting. Surprise reigns supreme at that moment and neither of them know what to do for a second but then amazingly enough, Don does not shove him away but kisses him back. Chapped lips work against each other and then Billy feels a tongue tentatively pushing at his lips and he opens them and then Don's tongue is in his mouth, and his is in Don's and he is rolling on top of Don and all that can be heard are soft grunts. Their hands are tangled in each other's hair, softly massaging the scalps. Don's breath tastes sour from lack of food but he is sure that his own breath is nothing to write home about either.
This kiss is more about reassuring each other than about any sexual motif.
They need to know that the other is still there, that the other is still whole. It is a post- case adrenaline breakdown that in the dawn of such a harrowing case always takes on different forms.
This time, apparently, in the form of them kissing each other with a fervour that neither, at least Billy suspects so on Don's behalf, has experienced with any of the half- assed acquaintances they made when going out.
Once they need to catch their breaths, they rest their foreheads against each other, both panting heavily, hands clutching at hair, legs entangled.
There is no awkward moment, really, no looking away, nothing.
Billy just presses a kiss to Don's forehead because it just seems right before getting off him, stripping down on his way to the bathroom.
"Coop?"
He turns in the doorway and Don has come up to him from behind, stealthily as he can be, and just leans in to press a cheek just to the corner of his eye and then to the corner of his mouth before turning around and heading towards the door.
"I'm getting take- out. What you want?"
"I saw a Chinese place. That okay with you?"
"Sounds good."
He is just about to close the door when Don calls his name again.
"What?"
"I'm not escaping. I'm just really hungry."
Coop grins, and the mood lightens.
"So am I, so get your skinny ass moving. I want food on the table when I'm out of the shower."
"Leave me some hot water!"
"Yeahyeah, whatever."
When he comes out of the shower, Don is not back yet and it has started to rain. Billy stands at the window, staring out at the curtain of water and just imagines the string of curses that will come from Don once he is back.
He is not disappointed.
That night, after they have eaten, written their reports and watched a bit of sports on the TV, even though neither of them really concentrate on it, they lie down together and for some reason curl into each other.
Robin can only imagine what she looks like, with her eyes the size of saucers from the way they feel.
"That was you? You were the guys who caught that bitch?"
"Yup."
"Wow. My sister was so scared to actually let her kids out of her sight it was ridiculous. She nearly told her husband to hire a bodyguard for the twins."
She plays with the spoon in her now empty coffee cup, the metal hitting the porcelain in an arrhythmic pattern.
"I expected a macho story, you know, one- upping each other, truth or dare or something like that. Not this."
Billy's mouth quirks up wryly.
"Sorry to disappoint."
"I'm not disappointed. Much better scenario. Shows how much you care about each other. Don wouldn't have done this with just anybody."
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
He looks up at her, surprise evident, as if he did not expect this reaction.
"I thought you'd be all over this, you know, all horny."
He smirks to regain his equilibrium.
"No. How could I? You're a good friend, Billy."
He visibly relaxes and leans back in his chair, smiles.
"Yeah, I try to be, anyways. But he makes it easy."
Robin returns the smile. Don does make it easy to be his friend once he has let you past his numerous walls of defences. He is quick to smile and reassure, he is cocky and can come over as brash and arrogant, but only those he lets in know about the insecurities he still feels at times, when he doubts himself, his actions, everything.
She suspects that Billy and she are the only two people who have this kind of insight into him, that not even his father or brother know this much. Charlie and Alan know a lot, well, Alan does at least; while Charlie has gotten better, apparently, he is still pretty clueless when it comes to his older brother.
So it is up to the two of them to be there when his family cannot.
And that works just fine for them.