𝖒𝖎𝖉𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗

and what ryker wasn't saying -- the implications -- only made ryder more wary. he folded his arms across his chest, inadvertently squeezing his pecs together nice and close. "guessing you're not gonna make an exception for me then?" it was worth a shot, right? "well, you know who my dad is." his dad was sheriff reynolds. everybody knew that, for better or worse. "do this for me and i could let you pick out something to take home from the evidence room."

a smirk plays at his lips, leaning over the edge of his seat.

" you can do me one better. i need a record erased from your daddy's lil' system. think you can manage that? " he had his own personal reasons, not that he'd elaborate too much. " do that n' you got yourself a deal. "

the fact that he stayed this late was still a mystery, even to him. the office had already thinned around them. even the most hardcore grunts had punched out by now—except janitorial staff, the legal skeleton crew, and dante. he'd already assumed the night would end at some rooftop party, drained by the usual crowd of legacy kids and faded influencers. as it did most weeknights, no reason for today wouldn't follow a similar routine. but tonight he stayed, avoiding the crowds. a decision he blamed purely on dante's orbit. a gravitational field that drew in every fragment of his attention and patience.

"i'd rather be here," he added, looking at dante, sizing him up just as the man had done a moment ago, mirroring the gesture. "eating your snacks and making you talk to me," he finished, drifting his gaze along the ruins of their workspace. "are you disappointed?"

leaning against the adjacent desk, he scans the other male's expression, nose flaring at the obvious once-over.

" i usually pay a high fee for my time, you should consider yourself fortunate that i enjoy your company. " the corners of his lips tug upward into a smile, perhaps a bit fond of their back and forth.

" there are worse fates, you're much better company than most. " a moment of silence falls between them, as if dante is mulling over his next words carefully.

" you know the receptionists are going to chat up a storm if they find out we were alone in here after hours, right ? "

Wiping off some of the ice, he gave the other a warm smile. "Accepted it or not, it's no reason for them to do something so rude. If I caught who it was I'd teach them a lesson."

Stepping back slightly, he sighed. "I live nearby. Do you want to come and I can get you a change of clothes? Something a bit less... slushie."

my hero. he thinks, shaking his head. perhaps he was feeling a bit annoyed that his pristine appearance was tainted against his own will, let alone in front of an audience.

chewing the inside of his cheek, the pride within him wants to decline immediately, save whatever face he could. but he couldn't risk heading home covered in red food dye.

" i- ... fine. " rubs at the bridge of his nose. " thank you, lead the way. "

" besides, not every part of you is... well, you. it's like taking a bunch of different puzzles and mashing them together. " pulling his head up from the thick leather-bound book before him, he beckons the taller male over.

he presses the offending digit into his mouth, humming as he slowly (perhaps lewdly so) pulls it from between his lips. the thumb in question looks brand new, fixed up nicely.

" you know i'll always take care of you. "

"you must have a hell of a time at weddings," he muttered, resisting the urge to laugh. he leaned in, nudging his own glass forward at their encouragement, tapping the rim against dante's. "to," he began, stealing half a beat before filling in the silence, "to the golden child of legal, and his uncanny ability to be an unrelenting pain in senior management's collective ass." his tone carried just enough bite to couch the compliment, adding in a wink at the end before tossing back the rest in a single swallow. it burned sweetly. vintage, probably from a case his father bought out of boredom rather than for any fetishization of bubbles. he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, not caring that whatever liquid escaped landed on a legal brief.

"seriously, though. top work. the fact that i don't outright hate you is probably the greatest compliment i could give. and that's… not nothing."

there's a reason people feared the mouse.

" you've got a silver tongue, york. that's dangerous. " the gift of gab was impressive, sizing the other male up with a flickering gaze. " but thank you, i rather enjoy riling up sales when they realize they're waist-deep in legal shit. " senior management tended to underestimate him, he was always glad to prove them wrong.

" i'm surprised you're here, shouldn't you be off celebrating with the board? " it piqued his curiosity, certainly. " never really took you as a lone wolf type. "

xavier pushed a flute of bubbles into dante's hand, uninvited, then sat at the edge of the desk. the chaos of paper towers and branded pens beneath did not register to him as a disruption, merely a backdrop for the fanfare he expected from this moment.

"details, details. there's a reason they keep you in the glass case," xavier said, not easily swayed by the cynicism. it only emboldened him, wanting to be the one to crack the impossible case. "come on. drink. it's a thursday in hell. we're both getting paid enough to feign joy." he actually wasn't so sure how much he was getting paid, but it didn't matter. the company card was the company card, and champagne wasn't going to drink itself.

"toast with me," he encouraged, and held his glass sagging from two fingers, waiting.

" i could always use a fat bonus, but i'm fine with my compensation at the moment. " he hums softly, taking the flute and taking a healthy swig of its contents. not bad, the guy had good taste.

" ah, right. toast. " smirking, he was acutely aware of what he was doing.

" to... ? " he looks on, expectantly.

" if the rest of your staff wasn't busy fawning over you, they would've caught that error. " the charm was undeniable, sure, but dante wasn't so easily swayed.

" but i suppose a congratulations is an order, keeps my lights on after all. "

CHARLES MELTON