Last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!
The Galaxy came to a gentle stop on the steep road leading down to Steve's apartment, its two occupants remaining silent for many long moments, relishing a day that ended in a closed case, justice served, and a form of righteousness returned to the City by the Bay.
On paper, things were looking decidedly respectable, and yet Steve couldn't shake a certain sense of melancholy filling his senses as the events of the past few weeks rolled past his inner eye, dragging along a slew of mixed feelings, misguided romance and even a tiny bit of regret for not seeing Kammers in the office the next morning.
Mike had been relatively quiet himself, trading his deep brooding for the occasional frustrated grunt at the dense rush hour traffic on their way home.
And there they sat in mutual silence, as the unlikely duo stared straight ahead at the churning Bay, a fitting metaphor for the evolution of departmental changes headed their way in the not-too-distant future.
"You never told me what came out of your discussion with Beverly Landau. She about disappeared off the face of the earth after dropping the charges against Audrey."
The words, no matter how non-judgmental they were meant to be, cut deep into his soul that evening and Steve clenched his jaws for a moment, fighting the heat rising up on either side of his neck.
"Yeah, I am sure she'll come around again in a few years. Not anytime soon though, I think."
"You two had a fight?"
Turning around to face his partner, Mike rested one hand on the steering wheel, the other one on top of the seat bench, ready to reach over to pat his shoulder if need be.
Instead, Steve shook his head faintly, then drew in a deep breath in hopes of coming up with the right words that seemed so utterly out of his reach tonight.
"No. Not a fight. I think we were just…we were looking for something completely different. And it wasn't going to work out."
With his eyebrows raised, body language open and welcoming, Mike glanced down at the floor boards, before clearing his throat.
"Well, if past actions are an indicator of future choices, you were looking for companionship. What didn't she like about that?"
Under any other circumstance, talking to Mike about his love life would feel bizarre, way too intimate for his liking, an intrusion of his carefully guarded privacy. But since they both knew Beverly and had come to appreciate the strong-willed lady over the past few years, it actually felt like relief.
"In some strange, guilt-ridden sort of way, she was looking for somebody to save."
Letting the words and their underlying meaning sit out there for a while, Steve shifted in the passenger bench, just enough to meet the caring blue eyes peeking out from underneath the fedora.
"Mhm.", the Lieutenant countered eventually, when a faint smile spread on his face, "And you didn't think you were in any need of saving?"
Returning the smile with a cheeky grin, Steve shook his head, then reached forward to grasp his best friend's shoulder.
"Nope. As a matter of fact, I feel perfectly safe and protected right now.", the young Inspector countered, his eyes sparkling in amicable companionship, as he reached for the door handle, "But should that ever change, I'll hold you to your word, Lieutenant. You said it yourself, if I need saving, you'll take care of it."
With an addictive chuckle, Steve got out of the Galaxy, tapping the roof one last time and bending down to wave at him through the passenger window.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Michael."
"See you tomorrow, Smiley.", Mike countered with a headshake and slowly turned the large sedan around on what little room densely parked-up Union Street offered.
Halfway up the stairs, Steve watched the taillights of the Galaxy disappear over the hump on Montgomery Street, the warmth in his heart drowning out all his worries on that beautiful evening.