Okay, I had the scene of Ethan carting Kai in my head yesterday and it spawned this. Please enjoy!
Ethan followed Chernov’s gesture to see Kai face-planted on the table. He snorted and sipped from his champagne glass. He didn’t think Kai had been drinking that much but by the way he was muttering into the table, it’s clear he’d done a number on himself.
Ethan patted Kai on the back, chuckling when the other man lifted his head up wearily, squinting.
“Having fun down there?” Ethan asked.
Kai made a noise and planted his face back on the table. “Spinny.”
“Suppose I can’t blame him for wanting to be drunk; he does work for Xerynn,” Chernov stated. He lifted his coffee cup. “That’s probably been pent up for months,” he added.
Ethan laughed at that. When he’d first learned Kai worked for the that lawyer, Xerynn, he’d been shocked and fully expected to discover that Kai was as cutthroat and duplicitous as the black-eyed bastard. Instead, he’d met a nervous man with no filter who spent most of his time bad-mouthing his own boss. A welcome surprise, for sure.
That even Chernov tolerated him and his antics spoke volumes. The lieutenant hated Xerynn and typically avoided anything to do with him. Kai, however, managed to fracture that quite quickly, becoming an oddly common occurrence at the precinct. Even now, celebrating Ethan’s promotion to Grade 2, Kai was a welcome addition to their little shindig.
Jess had already called it quits an hour earlier and Lisa, a few hours before that. Now, it was simply he, Chernov, and the drunken Kai at the bar. Ethan, honestly, wouldn’t have complained if it ended up just being him and Kai. Both of them had opted to get a room at the hotel so as not to worry about their drive home. And Ethan might have entertained some steamy fantasies earlier in the night. Fantasies now firmly squashed given how out of it Kai appeared.
He’d been surprised by plenty in relation to Kai over the year. Kai had a tendency to speak his mind, accidentally, which had been only one of the many charming things Ethan discovered about the other man. He was clever and more than once, he’d found information that helped out the squad on several occasions. He had the oddest roommate and he still hadn’t quite figured out what he did for Xerynn. Kai himself only stated he collected things; so, a messenger? Not that it made sense and Ethan was aware enough to know that Kai was keeping something back.
As he sipped his glass, he watched Kai as he mumbled into the bar top. As a cop, he knew better than to rely on face value. The fact that he knew Kai kept things back should have been a warning sign. Should have kept him firmly on the side of acquaintance. There were times when he felt he’d nearly seen beyond whatever barrier Kai kept up but he never was able to fully rationalize what he thought he was seeing. But, Kai himself had wormed his squirrely way into Ethan’s resolve and at this point, he didn’t quite know where he stood.
Chernov yawned and set his mug down. “You should get him up to his room.”
Given Kai was now singing a mumbled, off-key version of “Evacuate the Dance Floor” to the bar top, Ethan had to agree. He set down his glass and patted Kai on the shoulder. “C’mon, Hot Stuff; time for bed.”
Kai propped his chin on the bar, blinking slow at Ethan. And then smiled.
“Okay. You know, you’re too pretty to be a cop.” He blinked and shot Ethan a set of finger guns. “Pretty Cop Man.”
Chernov barked a sharp laugh. “Confirmed: he’s smashed.” He pulled out his wallet, fishing for his credit card. “Get him to his room before he does something really stupid.” He wagged his card. “I’ll settle the tab and call it a night.” He rose and patted Ethan on the shoulder. “Well done, Ethan. You deserve it.”
Ethan smiled weakly at the thanks before turning back to Kai who still blinked at him, deep in his drunkenness.
Pretty Cop Man. That had to be the worst part of all of this. Kai was . . . downright adorable on a good day. He’d been fully prepared to distrust Kai when he’d learned of his connection to Xerynn. Instead, as he’d gotten to know the other man, he’d developed more than bit of a crush on him. Kai was shorter than he was, with shaggy brown hair and wide brown eyes. And for as much as he grumbled about his job, he was quick to laugh and joke, often pulling Ethan along into his misadventures. Which meant he spent a lot of time with Kai and spent a lot of time thinking about Kai.
Years of work as a police detective had given him fine skills at maintaining a poker face. And while Ethan was typically able to keep such thoughts to himself given their odd working relationship, that didn’t mean he didn’t ponder things. A lot. Possibly more than was healthy. And while he’d never asked, he’d always assumed Kai was straight. Possibly less straight when drunk?
“That sucks,” he muttered, getting off his stool. He tugged on Kai’s arm, coaxing the same. “C’mon. Pretty Cop Man wants you to go to bed.”
Kai blew a raspberry in response but complied. Sort of. Mostly he fell off the stool, colliding with Ethan in the process.
“Easy there,” Ethan murmured, righting him. “Just got to get you upstairs and let you sleep it off.”
Grumbling and rubbing his forehead, Kai stumbled along beside him, frequently colliding with Ethan in the process. Eventually, in an effort to save himself from further bruising, Ethan latched a hand to Kai’s collar, attempting to keep him walking a fairly straight line.
They made it to the elevator and Kai leaned against the back, staring up at the lighted panels above. “Hey, Ethan?”
No more Pretty Cop Man, I guess. He turned slightly. Kai was still leaning his head against the elevator wall but he’d angled his head enough to meet Ethan’s gaze.
“Thanks for inviting me,” he murmured. He shut his eyes, rolling his head back. “And good job, Detective Policeman!” he added, holding up a thumb. He dropped his hand and pushed away from the wall. He stood for about a second before teetering forward.
Ethan lunged and caught him, pushing him upright. “You don’t drink this much that often, do you?” he asked with a laugh.
Kai squinched his eyes shut. “No,” he moaned. “My head hurts.”
Ethan looked at the elevator dial. He and Kai both had rooms on the twelfth floor. Five more to go. He let go of Kai and immediately grabbed him a second time when he nearly crumpled. “Okay, gonna do this the hard way.” He turned around and squatted down a bit, sliding his hands under Kai’s thighs. “I don’t trust you not the end up on the floor.”
Kai flopped against his back, his arms draped over Ethan’s shoulders and down his chest.
“M’yank you,” he mumbled into Ethan’s hair. “It’s all spinny,” he whined.
Ethan hiked him up a bit, settling Kai a bit more comfortably against his back. “I’ll bet. Maybe don’t try to drink an entire bottle of rum?”
“Not rum, tequila,” Kai corrected. He sighed, blowing air against Ethan’s neck, which unfortunately left Ethan shivering. “Tequila, tequila, tequila,” he babbled, soon singing the word over and over until it slurred into nonsense.
“I have to admit, you’re pretty entertaining when drunk,” Ethan stated as the elevator arrived to their floor. He stepped out, grunting under Kai’s weight.
Kai’s singing faded and he sighed, wrapping his arms loose around Ethan’s neck, and nuzzling him. “Comfy,” he murmured.
Ethan swallowed, his face reddening. “So, uh, Kai?” he prodded as the headed down the hall. “Question for you.” He took the babbled noise in response as an affirmative. “You, uh, you seeing anyone?”
“Nuhuh.” He hummed a new song for a few steps and then sighed. “I wanna though.”
What am I doing? Ethan licked his lips as he rounded the corner to the corridor where their rooms sat. “What’s your choice? Women?” He cleared his throat. “Men?”
Kai shifted and propped his chin on Ethan’s shoulder. “Women are pretty,” he sighed.
Well, that answered that.
Or not? He considered. “So, you’re bi?”
“Bi, bi, bi!” Kai sang, mimicking N’SYNC this time.
Ethan rolled his eyes, mouth quirking. “I think that’s an answer then.” And so damn heartening that Ethan nearly whooped. Until the last second when he recalled he was carting a drunken man on his back. That would probably not have earned me points, he thought.
He reached Kai’s room and halted, letting him slide off his back. Kai wobbled again and Ethan held him up by the shoulder before digging into Kai’s back pocket.
“That’s . . . my ass,” Kai intoned.
Ethan snorted, coming up with Kai’s wallet. “Sure is.” He plucked Kai’s room key from its confines. “And this is your key.”
“Key!” Kai exclaimed. He took back his wallet and beamed at Ethan. “My knight in shining armor.” He tried to tuck his wallet back in his pocket but it thumped to the floor instead. He turned clumsily, staring down at it. “Aww.”
Ethan burst out laughing. When Kai turned to look at him, he shook his head. “Sorry, Kai. You’re a bit of a mess right now.”
Kai yawned and shrugged. “I’m a bit of a mess most of the time,” he said. He rubbed his eyes. “I am sorry to have thrust my mess on you,” he stated, holding his arms out. “It travels.” He leaned in, cupping a hand around his mouth even though his volume didn’t change. “Blame Xerynn; he started it.”
“That, I can believe,” he replied. But he sobered quickly. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re a mess, Kai. Far from it.” He bent down and picked up Kai’s wallet before returning to the door and swiping the key card. Not risking a glance back, he added, “And if you are a mess, I like your mess.” He pushed the door open after the beep, holding it for Kai to walk through.
After a second’s hesitation, his eyes unfocused but direct, Kai shuffled his way in, swatting at the wall to flick on the light. “Bed!” he exclaimed. “Oh, bed; I love you.” He trotted forward and flopped face-first onto the neatly made bed. “Bed!” he repeated, voice muffled.
Ethan dropped Kai’s key and wallet on the dresser and leaned against it. He couldn’t stop grinning. Even though Kai was about a second from passing out, he lay prostrate, his legs kicking behind him as he repeated “bed” over and over again.
Shit, I never stood a chance, did I? He cleared his throat and stood. “Kai, get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He reached out and grabbed one flailing foot, shaking it once. “Try not to overdo it next time.”
Kai stopped kicking and turned his head, cheek against the pale blue quilt, hair a complete mess and eyes bloodshot. He smiled at Ethan. “Thank you, Sir Knight,” he mumbled. He yawned again, eyes drooping shut. He burrowed into his bed before adding, “I like your mess, too,” he mumbled.
He’d nearly missed the words, honestly. But Kai had cracked open one eye, once again direct, if bloodshot. “Good night,” Ethan husked, turning to go.
He stepped out into the hall, letting out a sharp breath. He didn’t know if Kai was so drunk that he’d forget their conversation but Ethan, at least, wasn’t about to. If anything, it gave him a bit of encouragement that maybe there was something more there. That, friendship aside, Kai might see a bit more between them like Ethan was beginning to.
He paced to the end of the corridor and swiped the key to his room. It had been a long day and an even longer night. He’d received a promotion, free dinner and drinks, and a hint that he had a chance at something with a man he was fast falling for.
All in all, not a bad day, as most things went.
