things have been going surprisingly well since their reunion in dc. they donât live together yet, but abby spends several nights a week at mikeâs small apartment in the city. she says itâs because it makes the commute nearly nonexistent, but mike secretly thinks she just likes waking up with his arms wrapped around her. theyâve even talked about finding a place together once their leases are both up, somewhere large enough for the two of them and maybe even a dog.
she usually gets home before he does. itâs just how she is â she likes to leave relatively on time, gets all of her work done in the eight hours she has a day. mike, though, tends to stay at work longer, focusing on open ended cases that arenât as open and shut, coming home when abbyâs just finished cooking dinner (or sometimes even after, having to reheat a plate from the fridge).Â
this time, though, when abby gets home, mikeâs on the couch. the television is on, a western playing on low volume. the look on mikeâs face is strange - a mix between confusion and sadness.
when abby approaches him, because why wouldnât she? something is clearly off, for him to be home this early. and the look on his face â she finds out why almost immediately.
as soon as he hears her footsteps, he looks up, sees her, and speaks, voice nearly deadpan with just a hint of emotion. ââŚbello is dead. murdered in prison by someone from caza. iâm surprised it took this long.â
heâd told her about jeremiah bello, about him and the other casualties of graceland, as soon as heâd ascertained that she didnât absolutely hate him for lying to her about being a bureau agent. it felt good to get it all off his chest, to tell somebody who hadnât been right there with him in the thick of it, covered in blood and lies up to their elbows.Â
so she understands that bello is different from the rest for mike. heâd been mikeâs first real case, and was someone that mike had always thought was just a man of circumstance. a murderer, a drug dealer yes, but⌠still a man that mike couldnât help but hold a niggling sense of respect for. he knows it makes no sense, knows he should hate the man with everything he has, but⌠he canât.
and so here, in the tiny one bedroom dc apartment, abby shifts to wrap her arms around mike. he falls into it as though all of the energy has gone out of him, going boneless and pliable in her arms. he exhales slowly, tension seeping out of him, eyes shutting as he relaxes, sinking into her embrace.
@absinclair /Â [ embrace ] Â for your muse to hold mine