My Pet Peeve 04

"Be nice," Chris said looking back at Leon and glaring. They were standing in front of his door thanks to his promise that he'd let Leon meet the Semi. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if Piers was even still here. The kid could have left by now, disappeared completely out of Chris's life. Even if they'd only know each other for a day, the thought wasn't something Chris wanted to think about. He actually liked Piers. The kid amused him in a way he hadn't felt in a long time, especially waking up to the sight of the other snuggling against him this morning. "The kid's already been through a lot."

"Don't worry so much," Leon said sighing behind him and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just here to observe him." Granted he knew that Leon didn't really trust Piers. He'd had enough dealing with Ada so the thought of Semi at all wasn't in the highest regard. He just figured that Piers would be the same way. But Chris knew better. Piers was differently in every regard, from his taste for medium well steak to his enjoying the taste of apples while talking with that sassy personality.

"Just…don't get him agitated." If he's here…. Taking out his keys, he reached down unlocking the door and pushed it open. The first thing he saw was that the pile of junk he'd had gathered by the door was completely gone. His eyes followed the trail of the hallway that was completely clear of the garbage he normally just tossed aside as he walked in. For a moment he thought that maybe he was in the wrong house. But then he could smell the fresh pine of the cleaning products that had been used here recently.

Grumbling, he took his time going inside, letting his eyes wander around. "Piers!" Nothing. He didn't hear anything in response and started to rub behind his head as he glanced around. The kitchen was completely spotless. Dirty dishes that originally had been piled up on the counters and in the sink were now cleaned and put away as if they'd never been. There were two dishes simmering on low on the stove that smelled delicious to his nose. Spaghetti? That's what it smelled like.

His study had been tidied up, papers piled up in stacks on his desk for easy access. He grunted walking over expecting everything to be mixed up only to be surprised by how each thing was separated into categories, much like how his disorganized system had been before. Important cases, incomplete cases, cases he wanted to look more into, cases that were completed. Chris glanced back at Leon watching the other looking around in awe before he gave a whistle.

"I haven't even met the guy yet and I think I already like him," Leon said grinning at him.

"Shut up, he probably just got bored," Chris said grumbling really wanting to grab a smoke. But after all the work that had been put into cleaning this place, he'd feel bad for smoking inside right now. He headed upstairs, not having to struggle past magazines and pizza boxes since they were all missing. He checked inside the guest room seeing it empty before he frowned. Had Piers cleaned everything then left? Maybe it was his way of saying thanks? "I don't think he's here."

"…No, I doubt he'd have left food cooking on the stove if he was going to leave." Leon was right. It meant that Piers was somewhere in the house. Chris checked the bathroom next. It was empty…but man was it clean. He couldn't see a speck of dirty on it. So there was only one place left that he could be at.

"Wait downstairs for me," he told Leon. "I'll be down in just a second." Leon lifted a brow but he didn't question it as he walked off heading down the steps. Chris turned his attention towards his bedroom door before he forced his feet to walk. He moved quietly, pushing the door open slowly as he slipped inside. His suspicion was right, but it wasn't the way he expected to find the kid.

The poor guy had collapsed on his bed and fallen asleep from exhaustion. He was half lying on it, a mask around his face to help block out the dust and a feather duster in hand that looked ready to fall to the floor from lose fingers. He was wearing Chris's old fatigues and military shirt, his butt outlined perfectly in those pants making Chris clear his throat and look away. Had the guy cleaned up the whole day? He was still healing right? He'd literally worn himself out.

The tail flickered slightly behind him before settling down on the bed again. Chris walked over to the bed quietly, his hand reaching down and gently rubbing behind the other's puppy ears, listening to the sigh that escaped plush lips as Piers slide his head closer into the fingers.

"Piers, wake up." Maybe it was the sound of his voice or maybe it was the fact that Piers was already starting to awaken, but hazel eyes finally opened up as they flickered up to Chris tiredly. He slowly pushed himself to sit up, his eyes glancing around tiredly before finally settling on Chris in front of him.

"Did I…fall asleep?" He asked, rubbing at an eye sleepily. He looked worn. Chris didn't blame him. He didn't even like cleaning his own house. Hence, why it'd looked like a dump pile before.

"Yeah, you did," Chris said finding himself smiling down at him. "Looks like you've been busy while I was gone."

"…I didn't want to freeload. I wanted to help somehow." Piers frowned looking up at him before slowly sliding out of the bed. "If I intruded on your privacy then I'm sorry. But you said you were too busy to clean so I figured I could help in doing that since I wasn't doing anything else. Besides, you told me I had free reign of anything I needed to use so…."

"No, you did well," Chris said watching Piers's eyes slide closed as he rubbed behind his ears again. "Come downstairs. I have a friend who wants to meet you."

Piers frowned slightly before he slowly nodded his head. He didn't look too happy about there being a guest there, but he didn't voice any complaint. Walking to the door, Chris paused to wait on Piers to move before he headed down the steps. Leon was busy looking around the living room at the pictures and antique furniture he probably never got to see before because of the area being nothing but a clutter.

Leon's eyes turned to them as they came in, widening slightly when he saw Piers standing behind Chris. Piers seemed to feel the eyes and frowned looking over at Leon, his ears twitching already with agitation.

"You must be Piers," Leon said holding his hand out to him. Piers just let his eyes look down at the hand before his hazel eyes traveled back up. Leon just chuckled pulling the hand back not looking offended by the action. Semi were known not to be very trusting of new people. So why did Piers seem to grow on Chris so quickly? "So you cleaned up this big lug's place huh? You have no idea how long it's looked like that!"

"It wasn't a big deal," Piers said shrugging his shoulders. The nonchalant attitude towards Chris's living habits made the big lug smile slightly. "By the way," and the attention of those hazel eyes were on him again. "I made dinner. It's just spaghetti. I hope that's fine."

"That's good," Chris said smiling bigger as he reached out rubbing behind Piers's ears again missing the redness that seemed to grow in Piers's cheeks. "Want to go check on it while I talk to Leon?" Piers nodded his head, glancing at Leon suspiciously before he left from the room, his tail swaying behind him.

"He is…something," Leon said watching the young male walking out of the living room.

"He's a good kid." Chris turned his head looking at his partner.

"He's something," Leon repeated again with a smirk. "But seeing him cleaning up your dirty house is a good thing."

"Hey…"

"But…can he be trusted?" The look on Leon's face turned serious as he stared at him. "You hardly know him. I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"It's not like we're dating or anything," Chris said frowning at him. "He's just staying here until he can figure out what to do."

Leon stared at him for a moment before he gave a laugh. "You're right. Guess I just get paranoid when you start acting nice to people so suddenly. I mean…after what happened with Jill-"

"That's in the past," Chris said quickly. He didn't like talking about it, about her. It was still a touchy subject to him, something he blamed himself for since he could have prevented her leaving if he'd only cleaned himself up. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now, man or woman. So relax." Yeah, Leon knew his preferences lied with both sexes. He didn't have a problem with it though. Chris did have a boyfriend before he'd met Jill. Though that obviously hadn't worked out either.

"Alright, Alright." Leon held his hands up in defeat. "I know when I need to stay out of it. So how long is he staying here for?"

"…I'm not sure. He's having memory issues right now."

"…And yet he knows how to cook and clean like it's second nature." At the look Chris gave him, Leon just shook his head. "Anyway, are we eating dinner or what?"

"I don't remember inviting you in to eat," Chris said before he smirked. "But if Piers is willing to give you some, then that's ok."

"Well it smells good so I hope he doesn't mind," Leon said laughing. "I just better not find any fur in my food."

"He's not shedding…I think," Chris said frowning. He wondered if Semi used special types of shampoo or was just regular shampoo good enough. Well he didn't seem to be having any problems with regular shampoo just yet. "Besides, I talked to Ada today. She said I need to get to know him more. I guess I shouldn't look at him as a Semi but as just another person…just a different type of person."

"I'd take everything Ada said with a grain of salt. That woman can lie her way around a veteran attorney and still get her way."

Chris laughed at the words. "Just because she doesn't like you doesn't mean she doesn't like the rest of us." He sobered staring towards the kitchen, a frown lifting to his lips again. "She told me something interesting. About a case she's working on involving the killing of Semi. It seems like someone's been targeting them lately…and I'm wondering if maybe Piers had been one of them."

"…It means you'll need to be careful. Maybe it'd be a good idea to keep him monitored with protection." Chris nodded though he was only half listening. He didn't want just anyone taking care of Piers. The boy was starting to become an important part of his life. He did want to know more about him, to learn about the things he liked and those he hated. But he didn't want to leave him alone if there was a chance of someone breaking in and trying to kill him.

He led them from the living room to the kitchen watching as Piers put the last plate on the table. His ears flickered as he looked up seeing the two of them before he walked back into the kitchen. "You guys are welcome to sit and start eating. I'm just getting the garlic bread out of the oven."

"…It's like he's your little house wife," Leon said laughing out loud. It probably didn't help that Piers was wearing one of Chris's old aprons around his waist like he was a chef. It was even worse with the whole "kiss the chef," on the front of it that made Chris redden slightly at the thought. Those lips just seemed to beg to be kissed, though he didn't even know if Piers liked men. But he wasn't trying to get into a relationship, even if he did find Piers to be somewhat irresistible.

"If you're going to eat, then sit," Piers said, his eyes mostly on Leon when he said that as he frowned. He didn't look happy to see Leon still there but he didn't complain or tell him to go away. Semi were known to be somewhat territorial. It seemed to be the case for Piers anyway as he seemed to frown the closer that Leon stood to him. So considering that Chris was part of the territory, it was obvious that Piers was becoming very protective of him. At least that's how he saw it anyway. "Otherwise you're free to leave."

"Whoa whoa, take it easy. I'll sit." Leon took a seat at one of the chairs at the table, his eyes staying focused on Piers. "Though I didn't realize this was your house."

"It…it's not," Piers said frowning, his ears wilting slightly to show his frustration. "However, I don't need you trying to mock me just because I'm a Semi." He seemed to stare at Leon in challenge. Chris swore the fangs were probably out. "Otherwise, we can take this outside."

"Calm down, Piers," Chris said. Instantly the angry look in Piers's eyes disappeared as he looked at Chris before glancing away and walking into the kitchen to get the bread. "And you." He looked at Leon when he said that getting an innocent look in surprise. "Quit trying to get a rise out of him."

"Sorry," Leon said chuckling as he smirked. "Just realizing that he's…cute as you put it. I can't help it." Chris looked over to where he watched Piers pulling the break out, his face twisted up at the smoke hitting his face. He smiled watching him catching the eyes that glanced up at him and looked away quickly in surprise before he looked at Chris again out the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah…he is." Leon looked at him with lifted brows but he didn't ask him anything else that night.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Chris found an old heater in the hallway closet remembering buying one when the heater went out one winter. Not just that but he also got extra blankets for Piers just in case the other woke up in the middle of the night still cold. All of these were taken to the guest room, the blankets piled up on the bed and the heater plugged in and sitting on the desk next to the bed.

Piers was watching him from the chair, his eyes staring out of curiosity and amusement at the four blankets and the heater. Getting it hooked up, Chris looked at him before clearing his throat and just rubbing behind his neck. "Just in case you get cold," he said looking up at Piers. "I hear Semi get really cold."

"Yeah, I guess that one is actually true," Piers said shoving his hands into the fatigues as he stood. "Maybe I'll stop sneaking into your room and interrupting your sleep." He glanced at Chris when he said that. Chris just cleared his throat glancing away from the watching eyes.

"It's not a problem," Chris said looking at him. "Wherever you feel comfortable sleeping. It doesn't matter."

"I saw a bit about the place you work for while I was cleaning," Piers said sitting down on the bed fluffing the pillow. "You work for the BSAA right?"

"Yeah," Chris said glancing around the room, anything for a distraction from those eyes. "I'm the captain for Alpha team. We investigate where things get weird and out of the ordinary. Basically, men using bioterrorism to try and bring chaos to the world."

"It sounds like it would be fun," Piers said leaning forward on the bed and staring up at him. "Can I come with you tomorrow?"

Chris blinked turning his head to stare at him. "Uh well…it's not really…I don't know if…." But he paused in thinking about what Ada had said about someone coming around trying to kill Semi. He remembered Leon mentioning getting someone to protect him. Well…what if he just took him to the office? The team wouldn't mind helping keep an eye on him. "That's fine. If you don't mind waking up early."

"I don't mind," Piers said quickly, looking more excited than Chris thought he should be. "Just come wake me up!" That's if he didn't end up in his bed again by morning.

"Alright. First thing in the morning."

TBC….