The kid was pretty quiet that day.

Bobby couldn't help noticing that something seemed to be bothering his partner. Darien Fawkes had a lot of moods, but none of those entailed him being quiet and pensive. Not until now.

Something must have been wrong, but Bobby was aware of the boundaries of their partnership; he couldn't come out and ask. Well, he could, but it'd have to be in that half-joking male way they usually dealt with each other's problems. 'Hey, Darien, is something wrong or did someone stick that syringe of counteragent up your ass?' That kind of thing.

He'd rather keep quiet and watch. That was something Bobby Hobbes was good at.

So when they got back after an unsuccessful stakeout and made it to the boss's office, Bobby was for once paying more attention to his partner than he was to the Official.

"You two have tomorrow off. Don't waste it."

That did catch Bobby's attention. "Off? But we're close to catching these guys. Why have it off?"

"You're not going to catch anyone tomorrow, Hobbes. Give us all a chance to enjoy the day. If you go out and do something stupid that ends up with me having to come into work to bail you out in some way, I'm not going to be happy."

Bobby frowned, but his eyes, and his attention, went to Darien when the kid stayed quiet. Silence was too unlike him. So was that frown on his face.

Huh. Maybe whatever it was would get sorted out tomorrow. Maybe Darien just needed some off time.

"All right, you're dismissed."

Bobby stood and waited for Darien to start moving. "Come on, pal. We're dismissed."

Darien looked up, his eyes somewhere distant. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks, boss." He stood and moved for the door.

Bobby was right on his tail, and as soon as the door was shut, he reached his partner's side.

"Hey, Bobby?" Darien kept moving, didn't even look over at him.

"What's up?"

"You got plans for tomorrow?"

Bobby's eyebrows rose, surprised. The two of them were friends and partners and everything, but they hadn't quite reached the point where they spent off days together. Which was too bad, because Bobby wouldn't mind having…

Oh, yeah. Darien. "Not really. Why?"

"You wanna come by? Have some dinner?"

Bobby jumped on the offer a little too readily. "Sure. What time?"

Darien looked over at him, and his mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Glad I don't have to twist your arm. Make it seven."

"Got ya. See you then, kid." Bobby stopped matching his partner's slow stride and headed for the door with new energy.

****

Darien greeted him at the door dressed in a robe, holding some dried-up looking flower in his hand.

Bobby raised his eyebrows. "Am I early?"

Darien smiled, a slow grin that looked a little strange coming from him. "Just in time," he replied, his voice deeper than normal. His eyes shined as he held out the flower.

Bobby took it reflexively, his eyebrows up near his hairline. No mean feat. "Uh. Thanks. I didn't bring you anything." His smirk rose to his rescue, keeping him from showing his confusion.

Darien reached out and hooked his arm, leading him into the apartment. "You came. That's all I want." He released Bobby to shut the door.

Bobby stood where he was, his eyes round as they took in the dinner Darien had set up.

The lights in the apartment were dim, making the long candles on the table seem even brighter. There was a bottle of something chilling in a bucket, and some soft music coming from somewhere.

Darien moved past him a little too closely, brushing against his side as he went to the table and made sure everything was in place.

"Uh." Bobby prided himself on intellectual responses to strange situations. Tonight was no exception. "Um."

"You gonna sit down, Bobby?"

"Yeah. Look, kid, where you…you know, asked me to dinner…I wasn't expecting…I mean…"

Darien's smile grew even wider, and he left the table to close the distance between them, getting right up into Bobby's personal space. "Yes?"

Geez, he could make his voice deep. It kinda made something in Bobby's stomach flip. "I didn't know you intended…this."

"Oh, it's not all I intend, Bobby."

Bobby swallowed, looking up into soft brown eyes that were gleaming with a look Bobby had never seen directed at him before. "What--"

Darien cut him off by grabbing him and hauling him close, forcing their lips together almost roughly.

Bobby's eyes widened in surprise, but his reflexes were slow to act for once, and he just stood there for a long moment as Darien's hands played like tentacles all over his body.

His eyes shut slowly under the assault, and he groaned against Darien's mouth uncontrollably.

Darien pulled back long enough to grin. "That's right, Bobby. You're gonna enjoy this."

Bobby's eyes were wide, and he couldn't help thinking that his partner still wasn't acting at all normal.

A second later it didn't matter how Darien was acting, as long as he kept that hand moving south.

Bobby took the initiative this time, leaning in and capturing Darien's grinning mouth forcefully.

Darien's hand found the now aching bulge between Bobby's legs, and Bobby let out another groan as long fingers began caressing through the cotton of his slacks.

Darien broke away from his mouth, moving down to lick and kiss at his throat and neck. "Yeah, Bobby," he spoke in between laps at Bobby's skin. "Time to stop denying what you feel."

Bobby's hand came up and ran through the thick hair brushing into his neck. His hips jerked uncontrollably as Darien began rubbing him harder through his pants.

Jesus, it felt good. He hadn't done this in too long. He hadn't wanted to do it with anyone until now.

Until Darien.

His eyes opened at the thought, and he looked at the long body bending to reach him. Yeah, it was Darien all right. His cocky, annoying, whiney, not to mention male, partner.

But the thought didn't bother him. Only thing that would have bothered him is if Darien stopped.

He relaxed into Darien's more than capable hands again, letting his eyes shut and his mind drift.

"That's right, Bobby. You do want this as much as I do. Come for me, Bobby. Show me how much you want it."

Bobby's breathing was growing labored, his hips moving steadily against the hand caressing him. He realized with a start that he was going to do what Darien asked. He was going to come in his pants, like some horny sixteen-year-old.

"Come on, Bobby," Darien kept urging in his soft voice. "Stop lying to yourself. Stop living in a dream world. It's time to wake up."

Suddenly the hand was gone, and Darien was pulling back.

Bobby's body cried out in protest, but it took a moment for his mouth to be able to voice it. "What…what are you doing?"

"Sorry, pal." Darien's grin was suddenly casual and cocky and exactly the grin Bobby saw every day at work. "Like I said, time to wake up."

Bobby woke up.

He nearly sat upright as consciousness came over him, and when he realized where he was, when he realized the dream was just a dream, he fell back against the pillows, shutting his eyes with a groan.

God, he must be losing his mind. He must be too damned lonely. He needed to get out more, that's all. There was only one person he saw almost every single day, and sure he was gonna end up having dreams about that person. He was just under-sexed. He had to get laid.

His mind kept offering the words of reassurance, but Bobby didn't really buy them. Not for a minute. He was sporting a throbbing erection under the covers, and he could still see Darien's seductive smile in his head when he shut his eyes.

He let his eyes open, and he gazed up at the ceiling for a long time.

So he had something for Darien? Or was he just wondering what it would be like?

Dammit, he shouldn't be thinking about it. He shouldn't be thinking about a guy, the guy he happened to work with, that way.

He liked Darien. It was hard not to. The guy had a good heart, a good mind. He had a whacked-out sense of humor that was more in tune with Bobby's than most people. He was brave. He was a good person.

He was a looker. Bobby could see that. Sure. He had that thick hair and those twinkling eyes, big lovable grins and that tall, muscular body. He was good looking. Great looking.

Oh, Jesus.

Bobby shifted slightly where he lay, and felt the near-pain of his unresolved arousal. A hand snaked down reflexively and grasped the hard flesh under the sheet, and he shut his eyes again.

Darien's face floated there, smiling and happy and wanting him.

Bobby's eyes snapped open, and his hand jerked up. This was ridiculous. He couldn't go around jerking off thinking of his partner.

Why? Because it wasn't that easy for Bobby. Bobby, for ten years of his life, had had very few wet dreams, and they'd all been about the same person. Viv. His wife.

He wasn't the type to fantasize. He had often wondered why he couldn't just jerk off to Playboys like the other guys he knew.

But he couldn't. His fantasies didn't begin and end with him getting off on some well-formed body and a pretty face. No, his fantasies included talking and flowers and love and all the other things guys weren't supposed to care about.

So why Darien? Why now? He couldn't just lust after someone. Not unless there was already a fair amount of love involved.

He groaned to himself. Just what he needed. Another crush on some pretty, young thing who would probably laugh in his face.

He glanced over and read the clock beside his bed.

Seven o'clock. Great. He had twelve hours before he had to be at Darien's for dinner. Why the hell had he agreed to it?

Twelve hours really didn't seem like a whole lot of time, all of the sudden.

****

Darien opened the door with a smile. "Hey, Bobby. Come on in."

Bobby looked around almost suspiciously as he came in, and Darien almost laughed. "What's wrong?"

"Uh. Nothing."

"You didn't think I invited you here to kill you, did ya?"

Bobby laughed that off, but it was forced. "Nah. Even you're too smart to kill someone in your own apartment."

"Gee, thanks." Darien rolled his eyes. After a minute his smile faded, and they stood there awkwardly. "Uh. Look. Bobby. I appreciate you coming over. I guess this'll be the first time I go through a holiday without anyone around. Even in prison…you know, Kevin would visit, or my aunt and uncle. I don't really have that anymore. Guess I didn't want to be alone for Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving?" Bobby's eyes went wide suddenly. "Oh, shit. Is that why we have the day off?"

"I'd guess so. You didn't know what today was?"

Bobby shrugged it off casually. Too casually. "Nah. Don't pay much attention to stuff like that."

Darien recognized the look on Bobby's face. Whatever his partner was feeling, he wasn't going to let Darien in on it.

Bobby came in further, taking his jacket off and dropping it over the back of a chair. "So what's the plan? I guess I would have brought something if I realized this was some kind of big holiday."

Darien grimaced, moving to the kitchen. "I was gonna cook, but then I remembered that I can't cook. So I got these real yummy-looking turkey and dressing microwave dinners." He opened the freezer and pulled out two boxes, dropping them on the counter. "I figured as long as this year's gonna be a pathetic, lonely version of the holiday, why not go all the way, you know?"

"Sounds like the story of my life." Bobby drifted into the kitchen. "Can I help the chef in any way?"

Darien smiled back at him. "Nah. These should be done in four to six minutes. Go relax."

"How 'bout I set the table? I'd feel bad if you do all this hard work."

Darien laughed. "Whatever."

Bobby drifted out again.

Once he was gone, Darien's smile faded. He turned to the microwave and absently looked at the directions on the box he held.

A minute later he was still standing there, but his mind wasn't on frozen turkey.

Why had he called Bobby to come over? Why hadn't he taken the day off and gone to see his aunt? It would have been a long trip, and probably not worth the drive for the ten minutes he could have spent there before he had to turn around and go back, but it was better than nothing.

Why Bobby? Sure, he liked the guy. As weeks passed, they were getting closer and closer, and Darien had revised most of his original opinions about the guy. In fact, there was something almost…lovable…about Bobby Hobbes.

He shook his head with a wry grin. If he was going to get on that train of thought again, he'd better watch himself.

Darien wasn't that surprised by his growing interest in his partner. Bobby pressed every button Darien had towards the male species. He was caring, protective, loyal. Strong, brave.

Knight in shining armor type. Darien had always respected that kind of guy. As much as he tried to be one himself, there were times, especially when he was dating men, that he just wanted to let go and let someone else be the strong hero.

Wonder what Bobby would say if he knew what I was thinking right now.

Darien's smile faded. Bobby would kick his ass, most likely. No…no, Bobby wouldn't hurt his partner. He's most likely freak out. Stammer that he was flattered, then run home and take a heavy dose of lithium to stop the panic attack.

"You okay in here, Darien?"

Darien jerked into reality. "What? Oh. Yeah, I'm good. Why?"

Bobby cocked a crooked smile. "You've been holding that box for a couple of minutes. The directions on those things aren't all that complicated. Even for you."

"Yeah, yeah." Darien quickly opened the box and shoved the tray into the microwave. "Don't insult the chef, pal."

****

"Well, chef, that was some feast." Bobby grimaced as he scooted his chair out.

Darien looked up at him, his eyes going wide. "You leaving?"

"Nah. Where's your bathroom?"

"You have to ask? You've skulked around in here before."

Bobby turned affronted eyes back to his partner. "I do not 'skulk', Fawkes. I sneak. I lurk. I creep. There's a difference." He turned with some dignity and headed directly for the bathroom door.

Darien grinned after him. Okay, so maybe this was one of the more pathetic holidays he could remember, but it didn't seem so bad with Bobby there.

He got up from the table and his nearly empty tray, and moved to the couch, dropping into the cushions with a sigh. Tonight had gone well, considering. He wasn't walking around with a ten-foot hard-on like he thought he would, and hadn't said any of those things he kept meaning to say to Bobby. He hadn't slipped up. Which meant he would live to see Christmas.

After a few minutes of silence, the cushions beside him dropped under someone's weight. He glanced over to see Bobby sitting at the other side of the couch, his expression reflecting a sudden pensiveness.

"What's wrong?" Darien asked quietly.

Bobby shrugged. "Thanksgiving."

Darien nodded. "I know what you mean. I've never been this…alone. You know, always had Kevin out there somewhere, or Casey. Somebody. It's strange."

Bobby gave a faint smile. "I grew up in Brooklyn. Middle kid. There were six of us boys growing up. I ever tell you that?"

Darien looked over, shaking his head.

"Yeah. We never did much for the holidays. My mom died after my youngest brother was born, and dad wasn't really the sentimental type." He smiled slightly, sitting back. "First time I had a real Thanksgiving was with Viv and her family. I didn't know what the hell to make of it. After that we'd mostly be by ourselves for the holidays. Those were nice. Quiet, just the two of us." He shrugged. "When she left, I guess I didn't see the point anymore."

Darien studied his profile. "What about your family?"

"Pop's dead. Everyone else is back in New York. Maybe they do something. I don't know. They, uh, they don't talk to me much. I'm the bad kid, 'cause I left. You know?"

Darien frowned, seeing that same forced stoicism on Bobby's face. Whatever pain was behind that statement went deep, and it wasn't about to be shared with Darien.

Darien moved closer to his partner automatically, dropping a hand on his arm. "Maybe we can…you know…do it together from now on."

Bobby looked over, surprised. "What do you mean?"

Darien met his eyes, sincere, hoping Bobby could see some of the genuine affection he had. "I mean, if you need a family, I'm here."

Bobby froze. For a long moment, he just studied his partner, searching his face carefully. His mouth opened, then shut again.

Darien looked down, suddenly self-conscious. His hand dropped from Bobby's arm onto his own lap. Had that been too forward? Had he been revealing too much in his expression? Bobby could read him like a book. Could he see those things Darien had tried to hide?

A warm hand appeared over his, and Darien looked up, surprised.

Bobby's eyes glittered with something Darien had never seen on his partner before. "You shouldn't have to be alone anymore," he said quietly.

Darien breathed in shakily. "That makes two of us."

They fell quiet again, just searching each other's expressions.

Darien desperately wanted to find some clue that what he was feeling wasn't just him. The lonely part of him wanted nothing more than to know that Bobby could maybe feel something for him in return.

Bobby looked away abruptly. "I should go."

Darien stood with him, his heart sinking into his chest, but not feeling very surprised. "Yeah. Well, thanks for coming."

Bobby didn't move. He stood wracked with indecision for a moment, and let himself look into Darien's eyes.

He could see the disappointment, the loneliness, the acceptance of Bobby's retreat. And those emotions in the younger man's eyes did something to him. It chased away most of the inhibitions holding Bobby from saying something.

His hands tightened into fists, and he let out a breath. "Fuck it."

Darien saw him coming and his eyes widened. He felt Bobby's hands on his shirt, pulling him down, and felt a brief, warm pressure on his lips that was gone way too fast.

Bobby let him go and stepped back, meeting Darien's eyes bravely. "Well. There it is."

Darien's hand came up, his fingers almost touching his lips again, blinking his shock.

And then a wide grin split his face, more sincere and flashy than any of his smiles the last two days. And he reached out before he could stop himself, grabbing Bobby and forcing him back to where he was, planting a long, hard kiss on his partner.

Bobby was tense for a split second, then he loosed up and seemed to curl into Darien's embrace, returning the kiss with a tenderness that surprised Darien.

For a long, quiet moment the earth around them stopped existing. Everything seemed to stop, except for the feel of lips pressed together, opening to each other slowly. The feel of wet tongues sliding together in an intimate caress. The feel of hands running over shirts and slacks and digging to feel warm skin.

The feel of two lonely people finding exactly what it was they needed to fill in that hole in their lives.

Darien broke away, forced to breathe. He opened his eyes and looked down in shocked wonder at his partner's face.

Bobby's expression must have mirrored his own, and Darien reached up a hand to brush over those lips that was usually twisted in a smirk. They were now curved in what was maybe the first genuinely happy smile Darien had ever seen on Bobby.

Bobby broke the silence. "So," he asked breathlessly. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

Darien grinned in return. "I have a few ideas. Want me to show you?"

Bobby's eyes darkened in desire and he nodded.

Darien almost laughed. He had rendered the agent speechless. That had to be a good thing.

He took Bobby's hand and pulled him towards the bed that fit against a wall in his apartment. He pushed gently until Bobby was sitting on the mattress, and smiled down at him happily.

Bobby's face reflected a sudden change. His smile dropped, and he met Darien's eyes. "Darien. I love you."

Darien's heart twisted inside of him, making his body tingle under the warm glow of happiness. He could see the fear in his partner's normally fearless eyes -- fear that the confession would drive Darien away. Fear that Bobby's intensity would scare his partner off.

Darien was quick to banish that fear. "I love you, too."

Bobby's eyes flashed with relief and some more primitive emotion, and he reached up and yanked Darien to him quickly.

Darien was forced to succumb to his partner's will, and found he didn't mind at all. In fact, he reflected in the moment before rational thought left his brain, I should have invited him to dinner a long time ago.