Never Leave Me

By Kachimoochi

Chapter V

We'll Do This Forever

2 Years Ago

Revin and RJ had a day unlike any other. Their day began simply, with Captain Vikeni ordering them to report to a drug den to collect an informant and transport him back to the HQ. Then they had to interview said informant for information concerning a trafficking ring in the local area. They both hoped the CLED would need a day or so to confirm the information, but the lack of bureaucracy both confirmed the intel, and issued a warrant within 3 hours, during which the pair spent responding to a drunk and disorderly.

They suited up in armor and weaponry alongside a strike team unit, and drove in a convoy towards a freight yard which transported the trafficked civilians in appliance crates. Revin summoned an idea to have the informant leak info that the strike team was going to another of the trafficker's fronts, leaving the freight yard slightly less protected. Her intuition paid off handsomely, as only a half dozen guards supervised the slaves, leading to a swift takedown of the operation. Not a single cop or criminal lost their life.

The duo, Revin especially, was greeted to a roaring fanfare after their return to HQ. All except Vikeni gave them a standing ovation for their hard police work, to which they facetiously took a bow alongside each other. Over 30 slaves had been liberated from the bust, some as young as 5 years old, and much of the evidence gathered at the crime scene implicated the involvement of multiple suspects and figures in C-Sec, which would no doubt cause a shakedown of corruption all throughout the Citadel. Some of the other detectives insisted that they all celebrate at a local restaurant, which for whatever reason Revin refused. When RJ and Revin ended their shift, the detectives joked that the two lovebirds had other ways of celebrating their victories.

They weren't necessarily wrong, as Revin and RJ had their own ritual of celebrating their ritual, though it didn't involve romantic escapades as their co-workers thought. Ever since their years as beat cops, they'd frequent a small restaurant on the wealthy side of The Citadel. It wasn't well known, and was very cramped in accommodations, though had generous proportions and served food for all species. The duo would frequent the restaurant at least once a week, and the manager saw to it that they had a private table all to themselves. RJ of course was grateful that his intestines were spared the suffering of a rotten spicy chicken sandwich, and Revin could indulge in high-class Turian dining, at a discount of course.

Neither of the beings ever noticed the subtle hints of starting a relationship both the manager and their co-workers desperately tried to shove in their faces. It was as if the entire universe was trying to get them to be together, but their own insecurities and personalities outweighed such a force.

They arrived at the restaurant at the end of their shift to little fanfare, as they preferred it, their successes piled on after a while anyhow. The Female Drell manager still kept giving them subtle hints, such as placing a rose at their hidden table, and hiring a band to play slow, romantic music as they ate. She'd be disappointed by the results, as neither of them could take a hint, and their incessant talking would drown out the music anyhow.

At any rate, they were both seated and went through the irrelevant motions of perusing the menu for at least ten minutes, before ordering the same food they ordered every week they came there: Tuvic stomach with grilled Cinet sprouts, and Chicken a la Carbonara. The Drell manager would make a final gambit, by intentionally stalling their order to get them to chat with one another, and it was the only endeavor she'd succeed in.

"Dear God, the day we had to day. It's a wonder we're still standing" RJ commented, taking off his suit jacket and resting it against the back of his chair.

"We're the best of the best, a little trafficking and interviewing is nothing to us, after all, I taught you everything you know" Revin joked, sticking her tongue out at her partner.

"Christ! You'll never let me live that down, will you? You graduate the CLED training 5 minutes before me and suddenly you're the authority in my entire career" RJ complained, feigning self-pity.

"Please, I rule your entire life, I'm like the big sister from hell to you" Revin responded, self-aggrandizingly.

The two silently chuckled to each other, not even bothering to pay attention to the band, playing romantic music only a dozen or so feet away. After fiddling with their silverware for a minute or two, Revin looked back up at her companion. She was frightened about what she was about to ask, but she couldn't think of a less awkward time to present such a question.

"RJ?

"Hmm?"

"Do you regret never getting together with someone?" She asked, eyes glued to RJ.

"What do you mean together?" RJ asked, taking a sip of water, after nearly spitting his last sip out.

"Well I've known you for almost 8 years, and in that time, I've never seen you with a girlfriend or anything" She explained, blood rushing to her face, but not visible to RJ.

"Neither have you too" RJ retorted, realizing that the both of them had been single for as long as they could remember. "What brings this up?" RJ asked.

"Yesterday I got a call from one of my friends in the military, she's getting married to someone she's known for 5 years, and it got me thinking. Do you think there's love out there for people like us?" Revin said, revealing the circumstances that caused her question.

"Ah I get you. You're seeing all your school friends getting hitched and it's making you feel jealous, hah hah" RJ joked, not realizing that Revin was taking this topic so seriously.

A single look at Revin's face proved to him how wrong that final comment was. Her face wasn't contorted in anger, as her face would usually be if RJ said something foolish, but rather it was hurt. Revin didn't reveal her emotions so easily, this only served to make RJ feel more like a jackass than he already did.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that" RJ apologized, losing his grin swiftly.

"You said the truth, don't apologize or patronize me, that's one of the only rules I have" She said, taking a sip of the brandy she ordered, RJ was usually the designated driver.

They both sat in silence for a while longer, taking turns staring at the other, and listening to the band start to play a more upbeat tune, giving up hope on a romantic evening for their guests of honor. Revin started to fold her napkin again and again, wondering how long it took to prepare the stomach of a Tuvic. RJ couldn't take the guilt any longer, he thought that by answering her question he'd redeem himself for his insult, it was worth a shot.

"No, I don't" He said.

"What?" She asked, remembering her last question, honestly not expecting an honest answer.

"Think about everyone you've met at C-Sec and CLED, how many of them are either in relationships, or are happy in their present relationships" RJ presented.

Revin spent a minute racking her memory in search of an answer, but as well RJ knew, she'd couldn't find a single example.

"I guess none"

"You know why?"

"Oh boy, let's hear this" She said, leaning her hand upon her hand,

"We live lives where we could die at any time, either in the line of duty, or by a hit from a mob boss. We dedicate every minute of every day to our job, catching bad guys so the good guys can sleep peacefully at night. Even if that means missing our children's births, their dance recitals, and even our anniversaries. Most cops don't like to admit it but I do, this job is my life, and I know this job is your life, we're both in too deep to give up any ground" RJ spoke, absentmindedly, swirling the water in his glass around.

Revin thought about his statement for a good, long while, searching her entire memory for but a single example in which to prove him wrong, but as RJ expected she couldn't. The reason she'd even presented the question was in effort to become closer to her partner, which she'd felt feelings for ever since the day she'd met him.

Ever since they met one another when they were paired up to study at the C-Sec training academy, they'd been inseparable. They'd study together, train together, even go on ride-alongs together. She'd tried to deny the feelings she felt for him, thinking such emotions towards another species to be unnatural, but the more they got to know about each other, she realized that they were more similar than any Human or Turian they'd ever met before.

She then imagined that she presented the question because of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ever since the day they both arrived at the CLED HQ, they'd be bombarded with cracks about their relationship by the staff and detectives. They both simply laughed at the thought, never believing that they were serious, both comfortable just staying friends forever. Neither of the beings were aware that the other harbored feelings of the other, it would be comical if not for the cosmic tragedy that would follow.

"It's kinda funny don't ya think?" Revin spoke chuckling, coming out of her stupor.

"What is?" RJ asked, returning his attention to Revin instead of burying his secret love for his partner in another glass of water.

"Everybody at the HQ says we're in a secret relationship or some such, and according to them they've never seen partners as close as us. Couple that with the fact that you're so close to my family, and we basically spend every minute of every day with each other, its kind of like we are in a relationship, right?"

"Heh…yeah" RJ spoke awkwardly. "Maybe we found the secret to a having a relationship and being a cop at the same time. Maybe just not focusing on lovey dovey stuff helps keep our focus on our work and each other, we should file a patent or something" RJ said, now equally chuckling with Revin.

They both began to laugh awkwardly with each other, and soon broke out into hysterical cackling, nearly drawing the attention of the entire small restaurant to their table. The female Drell began to smile at hearing the laughter even through the kitchen, could her plan be working?

Soon after their food arrived, after nearly a half hour of stalling by the Drell manager, she gave them a knowing smile as she personally delivered the food to the, though neither of them understood the hint. This was also the point in which Revin began to pound the liquor, hard. She ordered glass after glass of every Dextro Drink available in the restaurant, not paying any attention to her surroundings or caring that she had work in the morning.

RJ would have stopped her, but he was too preoccupied with deciphering the reasoning Revin had introduced the topic they'd been discussing before their food arrived. Why had she asked such a weird question? And why did she imply that they were in a faux-relationship? Was she trying to hint that she liked him? Was he thinking too much into it? Why in the hell is she drinking so much?

"Y'know, I think we'll do this forever!" Revin yelled, eyes darting back and forth, and beginning to slosh her body across the table, trying to get closer to RJ.

"What do you mean?" RJ said, beginning to be scared by the now obviously drunk Revin, he'd never seen her drunk in his life, the warmness of her drunk self was foreign.

"I mean you and me, against the entire world, against kingpins, against slavers, against drug dealers, even against that ass-kisser Vikeni. I think our co-workers are right, we are in a relationship, but one more powerful than love, something even closer" Revin now whispered into her Human partner's ear, breathing alcoholic breath into his canal.

"You're drunk Revin" RJ said as he lightly pushed Revin back into her seat, only for her to spring back up, now almost knocking the table over, and finally collapsing into RJ's seat, her head pressed against her chest"

"I'm serious RJ, it's like we're…I don't know…kindred spirits or something. I've never felt closer to anyone in my entire life, especially my family, it's like we complete each other" She said, staring up at the ceiling of the restaurant, not registering her words to her inebriated brain.

In truth, she drank so much in effort to distract her secret love from her awkward line of questioning. She'd never gotten drunk before in her life, always prioritizing her self-control, but she knew she could trust RJ, and she also imagined he'd chalk up her weirdness to her intoxication. She'd promise herself that she'd reveal her feelings someday, but she had to figure out if she valued her dominant personality more than her love for her partner, neither would be easy to sacrifice, but in was now evident in her mind, both couldn't co-exist.

After her would-be confession to the Human, she fell to the ground in a cascade of hysterical cackling, eventually leading her into unconsciousness. RJ was confused on what had just occurred, he'd never seen Revin drink into unconsciousness, and was worried that something had driven her to it, but he decided to rest on those concerns for the time being, his brain was beside itself with analyzing every minute of the encounter.

He hailed the Drell for the check, which she replied by giving them their customary discount: tearing the bill in half and throwing it in the trash.

"Don't get into too much trouble young ones" The Drell said, as RJ carried Revin to his car.

RJ drove to her apartment, listening to his Turian partner mumble in her sleep, he'd never seen her asleep before either, it was as if after 6 years of friendship, he was seeing a whole different side of his partner, one she'd buried to save face in front of merciless criminals they faced on a day to day basis.

Just as Revin had anticipated, RJ assumed her strange questions had been inspired by the alcohol, thanking god that it was her than him, not imagining what stupid things he'd have said if he were the one drinking. He arrived to her apartment without incident, using his spare key to enter her home and placed her down on her bed. He covered her body with a blanket and exited the house, then driving back to his own penthouse.

RJ didn't sleep a wink that night, too dedicated to deciphering Revin's intentions. Did she love him? Did she know he loved her? Did the constant romantic hazing by their co-workers inspire her to make a move? He didn't know, and he imagined that even though they'd known one another for almost a decade, they were no closer to a relationship then they'd been the day they met. He decided to keep the night's events to himself, imagining that Revin chose the liquor out of embarrassment, even if it met putting off their being together for a time, that is what friends do.

No matter if they would ever be in a relationship, they would always remain friends. Both agreed within their own minds.

RJ arrived at Revin's apartment the next morning to pick her up for work, arriving ten minutes early to make sure she was alright from last night's escapade. Revin stumbled out of her house, with a rag tied to her head, and chugging a canister of water. Evidently the liquor had expected a payment for her emotional escape, and the price to be paid was her first hangover.

She insisted that she was still well enough to work, and RJ knew better than to argue with her when it came to their crime-fighting work. She let herself into his car, and made their way to the CLED HQ.

"I don't remember a thing last night; I must have gotten pretty drunk. The last thing I remember was…uh…something about Vikeni's ass?" Revin moaned, as she closed her eyes, the rapid movement of the skycars in the air make her motion sick.

"You mentioned something about this being our 400th bust, and you wanted to celebrate by getting drunk…I tried to talk you out of it but you wouldn't listen…That should teach you a lesson: Always Listen To RJ" RJ joked, purposely leaving out her semi-confession from the night before.

"Yeah, message received…that's the last time I drink Bocuin Cider with Tuvic stomach, it's a recipe for disaster" Revin decided, closing her eyes and pushing through the massive head ache.

"Oh yeah…we'll do this forever all right" RJ muttered under his breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we get to the HQ"

"Thanks?"

"Sweet dreams featherhead"

"Up yours roundskull"