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Thomas Nightingale, Detective Chief Inspector and head of the Folly, woke to the sound of claws and paws on tile floor as the dog began to nose around the apartment. He reached to pick his watch up from the beside table and glanced at the time. He had time to get up, shower and make his way back to the Folly before he was due to start his practice with Peter. As he began to move, the arms around him tightened, keeping him firmly where he was. Thomas let out a huffed laugh.
“Stay…” mumbled a still sleepy Alexander, his grip tightening. He was always like this in the morning. Most people only saw the gruff, no-nonsense DCI with a sharp mind, very few noticed how much he cared for those in his team and how gentle he was. One only had to see him with those he considered his favourites to see his true nature. Thomas found himself amongst the privileged few who got to see Alexander at his most vulnerable, when he felt he could express himself without having his guard up. He felt the gentle brush of lips against his shoulder and shifted in Alexander’s arms to face him. He was met with a fond smile and eyes still bleary with sleep. With a gentle touch he traced down the side of Alexander’s cheek, pressing a loving kiss to his lips as he did so. They didn’t often spend their mornings like this… work being what it was and Thomas having an apprentice to watch over and all.
“I should really go, I have practice with Peter this morning. If I leave him alone too long he’ll start experimenting again,” he said, not making a move to leave. Alexander rolled his eyes, a soft ‘ha’ escaping his lips.
“No offense, Thomas, but Peter will experiment regardless of you being there,” Alexander as right, of course, but Thomas liked to have his little delusion. It didn’t help that Abdul liked to encourage Peter like some kind of indulgent uncle, despite being more than willing to lecture on the dangers of irresponsible magic use for hours. This time, Alexander initiated the kiss and they spent a few minutes kissing and allowing their hands to explore. It ended when the dog wandered into the room and demanded to be taken outside. Alexander got out of bed, pulling on clothing before fetching the dog’s lead and asking Thomas to put on the kettle. The dog, a rather sweet German Shephard cross, snuffled Thomas’ face before following her owner to the door.
He got out of bed slowly, stretching before making use of the shower and dressing in one of the spare suits he kept at Alexander’s apartment. He was pouring hot water into the tea-pot that was present solely for Thomas’ use when Alexander stomped into the kitchen. The dog, Gretchen, ambled in behind her owner, padding over to Thomas for pets and affection.
“There’s been a murder in Covent Garden. Miriam’s already on the scene checking it out, but apparently your lad has done his thing and it involves your kind of weird bollocks,” Alexander sounded grouchy, but that may have been because he hated having to work with Thomas. Their relationship was strictly private, no one in the Met knew save for Miriam, but she’d figured it out early on and went to Thomas when she needed to complain about her boss. They kept things professional when they did work together on a case, but Alexander preferred to keep their working lives separate. Losing Lesley May to the Folly had made that hard, as did the possible poaching of Sahra Guleed, although both men doubted she would become a new apprentice. Thomas poured tea for them both and passed the cup to Alexander.
“Do you want me to go over and confirm his findings?” he asked. The other man shook his head, sighing.
“No… just thought you should know before I head off,” he replied. Thomas nodded, crossing the short distance to press a kiss to Alexander’s cheek.
“Have I mentioned how much I fucking hate weird bollocks?’ Alexander asked. Thomas chuckled, brushing a hand over Alexander’s broad shoulders.
“So you keep saying,” he said. Alexander chuckled softly, hands resting lightly on Thomas’ slim waist. Thomas wrapped his arms lightly around Alexander’s torso, smiling at him.
“Go, I’ll see you later. Maybe we can have lunch, with Miriam of course?” he asked. Alexander chuckled, lifting a hand to run his fingers through Thomas’ hair.
“Sounds good.”