“I Love Museums” - N Sewell

Adam spoke with a strict and unwavering voice, its pitch cutting through the distance between himself and the detective with near surgical precision.

Ethan's hazy grey eyes lifted to him, returning his icy stare before quickly setting back onto the half emptied glass he held, his narrow fingers grasping at the chilled surface. His heartbeat had grown restlessly hurried as it nearly always did whenever they met alone. The detective simply sat there, suddenly much tenser than he must've been few minutes prior.

"That is a fact..." Ethan had replied, his mind seemingly still sharp enough to muster a semblance of professionalism, yet not enough to dull the obvious discontentment weighting down his tone.

"I think I am allowed to drink on my off days, Mr. du Mortain." he added, the use of honorifics typical from their occasional arguments. It was a term he never employed otherwise, hints of sarcasm dripping from the word, something he reserved only for when he wished to suscitate a reaction... And while Adam could tolerate many things, insubordination was not one of them.

"And yet, you seem to forget that those who so persistently attempt to capture you do not take off days." He stated, crossing his arms across his taut chest, towering before the other man as he settled by the side of his seat, severely eyeing the liquor bottle his teammate had indulged in and reaching for it without a warning. "This is the last time you'll indulge in such things while you reside at the warehouse."

He remembered well how explicit about Ethan's previous addiction Agent Ulrich had been before assigning Unit Bravo to her son's wellfare. His safety was their first and only objective, a job Adam had taken more than seriously. He knew too well how easily the man could be tempted by any poison that offered a semblance of an escape, a liability he needed to consider at all time in addition to every circumstantial dangers out there that threatened Ethan's life.

He wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself.

With unshakable decisiveness, the vampire had sealed back the liquor, his broad hands tightening so strongly around the neck of the bottle it could've easily cracked, drawing a mildly offended gasp from the detective by his side.

"Excuse me..?" Ethan scoffed at his gesture, his frigid stare planted so intensely within his side he could almost feel the grey marble of his irises claw through him.

"You are excused." he replied sharply, patience already thin from Ethan's wordless defiance. Any other thoughts he might've had on the issue didn't matter, and if he was required to become the target of the detective's frustration to keep him safe, he would.

"I have the right to indulge the way I please on my days off, Adam. You can't just... boss me around whenever you disagree with my choices!" the man had protested, getting up much faster then either of them had expected and ever so faintly stumbling to the side, his tired features suddenly twisting into an alerted grimace.

It only took a second for Adam to wrap one of his large arms around Ethan's narrow middle, steadying him and allowing him to find his balance once more, the gesture only seeming to ignite a reciprocated desire inside them both, hearts hammering in near perfect sync as their bodies pressed close... So close he could feel Ethan's fluttering breath brushing across his jaw in a dangerous and addictive sensation he simply had to resist...

"Let me be clear..." Adam nearly growled as he subtly cleared the back of his throat. "As the Commanding Agent of this unit and as your handler, a decision you made of your own will, I am allowed to 'boss you around' as much as necessary. Am I being clear, detective Ulrich?" he practically sneered as he desperately attempted to swallow back the urge to reach for Ethan's hand, the frailer man's hazy eyes darting to his pale lips before quickly locking into his pale green own once more, a heavy frown twisting his brow.

The detective's pale complexion had flushed to a darker shade as his heartbeat noticeably picked up, something about the reaction making the vampire's ego swell with sheer satisfaction.

"You can't-- You can't possibly be serious..." Ethan muttered, voice calm but venomous as he attempted to look away from him.

Adam however, couldn't. The last few weeks had been so very demanding, filled with endless patrols, more frequent kidnappings, and incessant trapper encounters... Now that he finally had a minute to spare and the excuse to linger by his side, the occasion to use his protection as pretext to remain so close to him, how could he have possibly taken his eyes away from Ethan? And for a moment, Adam wondered if it had always been so difficult to resist the need for his affection.

"Oh but I am." the Commanding Agent replied, his voice much more sultry than he'd anticipated, cautiously glancing at the doorway before ever so slightly leaning in, his hold onto the detective's slander hips growing if only a little more possessive. "I will not tolerate you endangering yourself recklessly, Ethan." he'd confessed in half a whisper, his voice a little hoarse as if confessing to a fault.

The silence felt tense, this damned magnetism pulling both of them closer to the other despite all his best efforts, something addictive in the way Ethan's narrow hands pressed onto his chest and sank against him, ready to push himself away but never actually doing so... The way he always seemed to unconsciously expose his soft and pulsing neck when he turned away to hide his face, cheeks flushed and red.

Adam had never in his life desired to be so weak, wished for his reason to crumble and finally allow him to fully give in to Ethan. To say something... anything.

"You don't need to be cruel..." the detective weakly stammered, his profound grey eyes locking within Adam's frozen own, exchanging a longing stare even as he frowned.

"If you learn to behave, I might give you what you want." Adam had spoken before he could even reflect on his choice of words, swallowing a thick gulp as Ethan's entire body lit ablaze from his touch alone, his scent now carrying the tingling heaviness of arousal.

Ethan's breath hitched, something in Adam's reply worsening the unease inhabiting his body and that already twisted his brow, and before Adam could even anticipate it, the detective's hand had coiled around the knot of his necktie and pulled his face about only an inch apart of his own reddened lips.

"Don't be ridiculous Adam. You never give me what I want..." Ethan hissed, desperation seeping through each words as his free hand slithered along Adam's chest intently, gripping at his shirt before offering the vampire a desperate and yearning glance, sending shivers rippling through the vampire's entire body as he so direly attempted to remain in control. The detective's palm hesitantly ventured against the hem of his trousers, fingers cautiously teasing at the edge of his hardening bulge, rendering Adam momentarily breathless with need.

He couldn't.

He so very desperately wanted to, but he couldn't.

"Ethan..." he protested, feeling the weight of his self consciousness creep in, the sudden realization of how intensely his own needs could carry him away felt much more than disconcerting. Adam kept the other man close, but a certain resistance had already built back within his touch.

"I know." the detective sighed defeatedly, pushing himself away from where he'd been nestled within Adam's arms, and taking with him the feeling of wholeness in his chest before leaving the room.

Adam had not called out to him. it was better this way...

He knew it would be better this way.

He simply needed to endure.