Here we are people, last chapter. I loved this first story, and I know I'm leaning towards writing a second. Read on and enjoy.
As Wes leaned against the cabinet, across from him Travis leant back against his bed. The partners regarded one another. Their gaze met and held; the air was charged, but silent, as each waited for the other to start their much-needed conversation.
"You know that if you keep staring at me, I'm going to jump you, right?" Travis muttered, tilting his left hand to look at his watch before returning his gaze to his partner. Wes stayed silent, but smirked and winked at Travis before folding his arms over his chest.
"That's just mean, man," Travis groaned, leaning forward to rest his arms on his thighs. He cradled his head in his hands.
"No," Wes countered. "Mean would be me trying to have this conversation with you with my shirt off." Travis covered his face with his hands. The bed dipped as Wes sat down as close as humanly possible to him.
"You know what?" Travis asked, sitting upright once more. "Can we just talk tomorrow? I can't even think straight and-" He turned towards Wes as he spoke before he was cut off.
Wes leaned in and kissed him, his lips warm and comforting. Travis laid his hand on Wes' thigh as they kissed. With his free hand, he cupped Wes' face to keep him in place. Wes put his hand over Travis' on his thigh and leaned into him, taking solace in the warmth of his body seeping through his shirt. Wes smiled into the kiss. After a few moments, they had to break away for air because they were both laughing.
"You did that on purpose," Travis accused Wes teasingly, flipping his hand over to thread their fingers together.
"Maybe. Or maybe I couldn't resist," Wes said, running his free hand through his hair. The admission made Travis sit up straighter and his eyes light up. Travis knew it must have been hard for Wes to admit something so freely, and it made him feel better that they were close enough for Wes to trust him this way.
"Wes, you know nothing's gonna change right?" Wes froze for a moment before attempting to pull his hand from Travis' grasp. Travis, however, had anticipated the movement and held on that much tighter, using the hand on his face to keep Wes from looking away.
"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that we're still going to argue, throw things, and be complete assholes, but don't think that I don't mean all of this."
"Alright, I believe you," Wes said. Travis wasn't entirely convinced.
"Well I guess one thing will change; when we fight at work, can we just find a closet and resolve it rather than you tackling me onto tile again? That shit hurt like a motherfucker, my bruises are still fading." Wes laughed wholeheartedly, earning himself a glare. Travis' frown eventually softened because he liked the way Wes' eyes got bright when he was genuinely happy. It made Travis want to jump him again. As if Wes could read his mind, he stopped laughing and looked at Travis for a minute.
"You were right, this time you need to stop looking at me like that," Wes murmured, their faces moving closer until their breath mingled.
"You know, I think we've talked enough," Travis stated. He moved slightly closer, close enough to see the different flecks of blue in Wes' eyes.
"I disagree, I think there're a few things that still need to be decided," Wes replied. He bumped his nose against Travis' teasingly before pulling back slightly. Travis sighed and nodded, but moved closer to Wes.
"You have one minute to make your case counselor," Travis teased, kissing the corner of Wes' mouth. Wes took a deep breath and started rattling things off.
"First, we tell no one at the precinct except the Captain." Travis kissed the other side of his mouth and nodded, murmuring his approval.
"Second, we tell Dr. Ryan, so they're both aware we can still function and do our jobs together."
"Definitely," Travis agreed, holding Wes' head in place as he kissed right below his left ear. He felt the way Wes trembled and his pulse jumped under his lips as he made his way down his neck.
"And…uh…shit, third..." Wes trailed off when he felt the way Travis was moving his collar to gain access to the spot between his neck and shoulder, sucking lightly on the skin there. Wes knew there were more things they had to cover, but none of them seemed to matter at the moment.
"Time's up, Wes. You good?" Travis asked, moving back up his neck to catch his earlobe between his teeth and give it a little nip that made Wes grip his hand tighter.
"Oh I'm sure there's more, but it can wait until tomorrow."
Travis paused in his attention to Wes' neck for a second, backing away as he untangled their fingers and took off his shirt. Wes' eyes immediately dropped to his chest, roaming the smooth skin as Travis threw his shirt on the floor.
"Wes, I'm tired as hell and we have to see Dr. Ryan on our one day off…We need sleep."
Wes immediately stood up, running his hands over his shirt and pants, feeling for his keys. Travis stood too and grabbed Wes' arm to turn him back towards him. Wes almost bumped heads with him, but froze when Travis began pushing his blazer off and unbuttoning his shirt again.
"I thought you said-"
"I know what I said; it doesn't mean you have to leave, though. I'd bet my bike that you have a change of clothes in your car. So, stay. We can either talk some more in the morning or not, but I want you to stay." Travis carefully pushed the shirt off his partner's shoulders, watching the way Wes let it fall right over his arms and onto the floor.
"This is insane," Wes said. He shut up when Travis unzipped his pants on his way to his bathroom.
"You can change in there, I'll change in here, sweetheart. I know how you are about your figure," Travis teased from behind the door. Wes just shook his head as he went through the nearest drawer, finding a pair of blood red, drawstring pajama pants. He changed quickly, foregoing a shirt out of habit. Just as he was finishing up tying the pants so they hung right on his hips, Travis stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of hunter green pajama pants. He looked Wes over for a minute, devouring the sight of Wes in his clothing.
"Not sure I thought this through…" Travis commented, coming to stand a few feet from Wes.
"Well, too late now. We're sleeping and then seeing Dr. Ryan in the morning. What we do after that," Wes said, suppressing a smile at the wicked grin on Travis' face, "is up to us. I have a feeling you won't be thinking what you're thinking now after we talk this to death with Dr. Ryan" Travis nodded slightly, aware that their therapist had a tendency to be quite nosy.
"Alright, well on that note, get in" Travis motioned to his bed, and Wes just looked at him. Travis gave him a look but he didn't budge. Finally, Travis huffed and climbed in, holding the blanket open for Wes. "If you don't get in bed in the next ten seconds, you're sleeping in a lawn chair outside," he said threateningly.
Wes immediately got into bed, careful to keep some distance between them as he kept his back to Travis. He gradually began to relax. When he felt Travis shift, he turned over to see Travis lying on his back with his right arm behind his head and the other resting on his abs.
"I thought you said we needed to sleep," Wes mumbled, propping his head on his fist as he stared at Travis. Travis didn't say anything for some time, but continued to stare at the ceiling of the trailer, almost as if he were looking for something.
"Travis talk to me," Wes sighed, turning over completely to lie on his stomach, his head resting on his arms on the pillow.
"If someone would have told me last week that you'd be in bed with me, I would have fucked them up for screwing with me. I guess what I want to know is how you got to this point." Travis admitted, looking over at him with genuine curiosity. Wes took a deep breath and told him the truth.
"Honestly, I think I've known for a while. I just didn't face it until Alex basically beat me over the head with the idea." Travis smiled and nodded, satisfied with that answer for now.
"Remind me to thank Alex," Travis muttered some time later when Wes was almost ready to fall asleep.
"Yeah sure, now go to bed," Wes said drowsily, throwing an arm over Travis' stomach and settling in against his left shoulder. Travis shifted to get comfortable and took a deep breath, enjoying Wes' weight against his side. He dozed off almost immediately.
A sharp knock on the door of his trailer jolted Travis from his pleasant dreams. He all but growled, irritated by the interruption to his sleep. He began to throw off his blanket so he could go and rip his guest a new one, but paused at the warm weight of Wes' arm over his stomach. It brought a smile to his face to know that the events of yesterday had indeed taken place. Wes slept on, undisturbed by the noise of their unwanted guest. Travis tried to climb gingerly over Wes, but had to straddle his waist in order to get around him in such a small space. Just as he was about to climb over Wes and off the bed, the person at the door knocked particularly hard. The unexpected sound made Travis jump and slam his hands down on either side of Wes, waking him. He froze above the blonde, watching the way his eyes fluttered open momentarily. Wes gave him a goofy grin as he placed his warm hands on Travis' hips.
"Not a bad way to wake up," he stated, still half asleep. Travis smiled down at him.
"Someone's banging on the door, so you have to let me go sometime," he pointed out. Wes ignored the statement in favor of pulling Travis down to him and kissing him heatedly. Travis struggled to ignore the repeated knocking on his door. He pulled away from Wes after a few more blissful seconds; a contented look crossing Wes' face.
"Hold that thought," Travis said, kissing Wes again quickly before getting off the bed. He tripped over his shoes as he went to throw the door open. The sight that greeted him made him squeak and jump, looking between his bed and the door rapidly before settling his eyes on his guest. His right hand kneaded his neck in embarrassment, and he made a multitude of faces before settling on a charming smile as Dr. Ryan looked at him oddly.
"Dr. Ryan," Travis said, loudly enough to get Wes' attention. He saw panic in Wes' eyes before his expression turned indifferent. "How are you? What, uh, what are you doing here?" He made some vague motion with his hands and she smiled politely at his peculiar behavior.
"You mean aside from checking on you since you and Wes missed your session," she paused to look at her watch, "3 hours ago? Not a lot I suppose," she retorted. Travis just kept smiling.
"Yeah, about that…Wes and I were working a case and had to wrap it up-"
"Oh, I'm aware of your case, and the fact that it was done early in the afternoon yesterday. What I don't know is why you missed your session and why Wes won't pick up his phone." She dialed the number. Travis made a face and put his hand over his eyes when the stupid ringtone could be heard from his bed. Dr. Ryan looked at him in surprise before stepping onto the stairs of his trailer, forcing Travis to back inside. When she saw Wes sitting in bed checking his phone, she looked back and forth between the two of them. She wondered silently if and when they would have filled her in.
"You see, Doc, we forgot to set our alarms last night. That's why we missed our session this morning," Wes said calmly. He kept his eyes on his Blackberry.
"Alright, but that doesn't explain why the both of you weren't there…" she looked pointedly at Travis, who looked everywhere but at her. He groaned when Wes stood up and walked over to them in the doorway.
"Well, you see Dr. Ryan-" Wes was silenced by the cool hand that she laid on the right side of his neck. Her thumb touched the opposite side of his chin and tilted his head back so she could examine the left side of his neck. Travis' face grew hot as Dr. Ryan ran a manicured finger over the light bruise just under Wes' ear. Wes could feel his face and neck flame with embarrassment at the thought of being caught red handed. Dr. Ryan hummed quietly, but her eyes held a faint spark of amusement when she finally released Wes.
"I think I know exactly why both of you were missing and what you were doing…" She smiled and looked between the two partners, trying to hold back her laughter. They both looked like guilty school children. Wes stared down at his bare feet and turned his phone over in his hands while Travis leant against his sink and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Look Dr. Ryan-" She held up her hand to keep Wes from speaking and moved towards the door.
"I assume both of you are aware that I need to tell Capt. Sutton about your…" she trailed off purposefully, waiting for a classification of their status.
"Relationship," they both claimed. They shared an intimate look while she watched.
"Right, I'll make sure he's aware. Do keep in mind that now you both have to participate in all of the activities in therapy since you no longer can claim you're 'just partners,'" she stated, walking out of the trailer with a grin on her face. Standing in the doorway next to each other, they watched her go. They were confused by how easy she was making it on them.
"If I'd known that was all she had to say, I would have let her wait outside awhile," Travis commented, his eyes running over Wes as Wes laughed.
Well, that's my first completed Common Law fic. I hope you all enjoyed it and let me know what you think. I'd like to write more for this pair, so any and all suggestions would be helpful. Either leave it in a comment, a message, or on my Tumblr Fading-into-you.