Chapter Text
James came up behind Robbie in the kitchen as he was pouring their coffee into travel mugs. He heard James tut as he wrapped his arms around Robbie and ran his hands beneath his open shirt.
"Robbie, you're not even properly dressed yet. We've got to go, we're late."
When he turned around, his first thought was that James looked offensively put together for barely five in the morning, then they yawned in sync and Robbie shook his head and planted a kiss on the side of James' mouth.
Robbie extricated himself from their embrace and handed both mugs to James so he could finish buttoning his shirt and tucking it into his trousers. He looked around for his jacket, sure he'd draped it over something nearby on his way to make coffee.
James cleared his throat, "You left it on the bed." Bloody mind reader.
Robbie frowned and headed back to the bedroom.
"Tie!" He heard James call after him. He repeated it to himself like a mantra as he ducked into the dark bedroom, picked up his jacket and headed to the wardrobe. He saw a black tie dangling from the door knob, that would do. He grabbed it and looped it round his neck, attempting to tighten it and shrug his jacket on at the same time, and making a hash of both in his rush. By the time he'd straightened his clothes out and pulled his coat on, James had already gone downstairs to the car. Robbie patted himself down to make sure he had everything before locking up and making his way out.
When Robbie caught up with him James was leaning against the car, partially lit up by a feeble street light. He was looking at his phone, cigarette in his other hand and coffee balanced precariously on the bonnet next to him. As Robbie reached him, he took one last drag and stubbed his fag end out on the neighbour's wall, then flicked it into their bin. Robbie was pleased to see the effort, but hoped the occupants of the house were still fast asleep, not peeking through their net curtains at them, tutting about young people loitering and smoking under their windows.
James grabbed his coffee and walked around to get into the driver's seat. As soon as Robbie had closed his door James put his mug in his cup holder and started the car. He pulled into the street while Robbie was still trying to get his seatbelt done up with his coat in the way.
"Where's my coffee?" Robbie asked as soon as he was belted in.
"I left it on the hall table for you." James glanced over at him briefly, before looking back at the dark road ahead.
"Bloody hell, I didn't even notice." Robbie rubbed his face with both hands.
"Go on then, you can have half of mine. But you owe me a proper one later." He tossed a cheeky grin at Robbie as he passed his coffee over.
"Very generous of you James." Robbie said sarcastically, but gratefully took a sip from James' mug and reached over to squeeze his knee in thanks.
When they got to the scene Laura came out of a nearby room to meet them in the entryway of the house, having arrived to the call out rather more promptly than the two of them, if Robbie had to guess.
He expected she might be irritated by them keeping her waiting, especially at this ungodly hour, but as she reached them her eyes lit up with something like delight. That couldn't be good.
"Love the tie Robbie, bold choice for you. Have you been getting fashion advice from Hathaway?" She said a little too gleefully for his liking.
"Eh?" Robbie frowned at her.
"Feel free to tell me if I've lost the plot, but I'm pretty sure James wore that one yesterday." Her smile grew and she pointedly tapped his chest where the tie lay with a (thankfully) clean, glove-free finger. "It's one of my favourites."
Robbie's face fell and he looked down, scrabbling to lift the end of the tie up to see it properly. He thought it had been black or maybe dark blue in the bedroom, but in the light of the entryway he could see the little embroidered flowers that were instantly recognisable as one of James' favourite ties.
He glanced at James, waving the end of the tie in his direction. "Did you not notice the whole drive over?"
James looked affronted. "I was watching the road, you're the one who got dressed in the dark." He was trying to keep his voice level, but Robbie could see his error was getting James flustered below the surface, and felt embarrassed and irritated with himself.
"Maybe if you didn't leave your clothes hanging off every piece of furniture in the flat-"
Laura cleared her throat, and pinned them both with a disapproving stare. "Perhaps you can save the domestic for later, gentlemen? I'm sorry I said anything."
James looked down, rubbing an anxious hand at the back of his neck and muttered an apology, while Robbie did his coat up to his chin. They didn't dare look at each other.
Laura rolled her eyes at them.
Robbie squared his shoulders and raised his eyebrows at Laura. "Right, what've we got then?"
She gave them one final concerned glance, then turned and led them further into the house, beginning to list off her findings so far.
-
As they climbed back into the car later, Robbie was uncomfortably aware he was sweating from keeping his coat on the entire time they had been inside the house.
He glanced over at James in the passenger seat. He had been subdued all morning since their conversation with Laura when they arrived. His input into the discussion at the scene had been minimal, and his movements fidgety and distracted. Robbie had caught James staring at him with an unreadable expression on several occasions, and if Laura's murmured parting words of "You'd better go and sort him out." were anything to go by, so had she.
"If you need a smoke before we go, I can wait." He started to awkwardly pull his coat off in the car seat, but James made no move to get out of the car, or even reach for his cigarettes. Robbie took it as a sign that he should be the grown up and try to clear the air between them.
"I really didn't mean to embarrass you in front of Laura, you know she's fine with us, you're the one that insisted we tell her right away."
James looked down at Robbie's chest as he turned to throw his coat in the back seat.
"I'm not worried about Laura." He almost sounded amused.
"I don't think anyone else has noticed. Do you want to swap ties then? I'm sure no one would bat an eyelid if they saw me in that blue one you've got on."
James looked out the windows at the scene crew still bustling around them and made a frustrated noise. He started the car and Robbie frowned as he drove them on a twisty route through the residential area that was definitely not the way back to the nick.
When they pulled up in front of some very nondescript houses several streets away, Robbie was about to ask what they were doing when he felt James' hand on the back of his neck and turned to look at him.
"I'm not embarrassed for people to see you in my tie, I want to show you off, tell people you’re mine."
Robbie felt his face heat at hearing James sound so sincere.
"Likewise." He didn't recognise his own voice in his response. James was watching him intently, eyes dark. He licked his lips.
"I just wasn't expecting it to make me want to do this so badly." James reached over to wrap his other hand around Robbie's tie and gently pulled him into a kiss.
Robbie knew he should pull away, be the sensible one. They were still visible to anyone who might be passing by, and they'd been in agreement to keep a firm boundary between work and home. They didn't want to get separated when Robbie was so close to retirement. It was why James still has his flat, even though he hadn't been there for anything more than checking his mail in over a month. Laura was the only person at work that they'd told.
Robbie lifted his hands to cup James' face, then sighed and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. He felt James moan against him, and scratch his fingers through the hair at his nape. So much for being the mature one.
Eventually Robbie was the one to pull back and put some distance between them. He knew they couldn't stay here in the car seat snogging like teenagers all day. Let alone anything else. Not in the middle of an investigation, when no doubt someone was already wondering what was taking them so long to get back.
James broke the silence "Sorry, I know we said we'd keep it professional at work, but I just can't stop looking at it. I don't know what's gotten into me."
"You're all right man," Robbie squeezed James' hand where it lay on his chest. It was certainly having an effect on Robbie as well.
"Do you think perhaps we should swap ties now so you're capable of getting something done today?"
James smiled, and reluctantly pulled his hand away to try and smooth down his hair.
"Might be for the best, besides we do work with some relatively observant people. Innocent will have us in her office the second she sees you in that."
That got them both laughing, and the urgency of the previous few minutes began to dissipate. Robbie's hand came up to his throat to loosen the tie, but James pushed it away to undo the knot himself. He laid the tie coiled in his lap and removed his own.
"May I?" He asked, holding it up. Robbie turned his collar up and bent his head forward in answer and heard James' breath catch slightly.
James looped the fabric around Robbie's neck then crooked a finger under his chin to tilt his head up again so he could tie it. Their eyes met and the renewed heat in James’ gaze had Robbie casting his eyes back down to resist the urge to start kissing him again.
This tie was definitely narrower than Robbie's usual fair, but not as noticeable as James' more distinctive ones. He liked the thought of having something of James on him all day, something to keep them connected when they had to put on their work faces and pretend they were still just professional partners.
James looked up again as he adjusted the knot snugly at the base of Robbie's throat. He turned the collar back down and brushed his thumb along Robbie's jaw.
"We really have to get back." James's voice was rough, and it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Robbie.
Robbie took a steadying breath and squeezed James’ shoulder.
"We're definitely going to talk about this at home later. Come on, get your tie on and we'll grab something to eat on our way in. We're already late, may as well." He glanced fondly at James, "Pretty sure I owe you a coffee anyway."
James smiled, and even though it took him two tries to get his tie done up (not to mention a litany of complaints about it not matching the suit and shirt he was wearing), they were eventually back on the road.
Robbie helped the shift into work mode by going over the information they had so far on the case. His suspicions were confirmed about James not having been on the ball when he asked several questions about the state of the body that he would have known the answer to if he'd been paying the slightest bit of attention to Laura. He didn't point that out, it had been an unusual morning for them both.
When the conversation lulled he watched James' profile as he drove, morning sunlight catching his hair in a halo, and felt such a rush of love he had to reach out and grip James' hand over the gear stick to ground himself. James smiled and linked their fingers together until he reached the next set of lights.
His thoughts swirled pleasantly for the remainder of the drive, and when they parked outside one of their usual coffee places James gave his hand one last squeeze before getting out of the car and lighting a cigarette.
Robbie went inside to order for them and while he waited, watched James through the large window. One day they wouldn't have to pretend any more, it wouldn't be long now. He made a mental note to schedule a meeting with Innocent about a plan for his retirement after this case.
He handed James a coffee and a bag containing a croissant as he came out, and they climbed back into the car. He knew it would be a different kind of challenge, leaving the job that had been his life for 30 years. He looked at James again, now trying valiantly to sip a too-hot coffee while they waited at the red light, and ran his fingers over the tie on his chest. Robbie realised with a striking sense of calm that he hadn't felt this hopeful for the future in a very long time.