Chapter Text
The fire started slowly.
If, let’s say, someone happened to walk down the street where notary Albert Blithe lived a few minutes before midnight, they would not have seen a big, enormous fire, eating away Blithe’s building right away.
Not at first.
What they would have seen, instead, was a long silhouette, walking fast and turning their head every few minutes to see if somebody followed them. Then, the mysterious figure, arriving at Blithe’s address, a small apartment complex, in the cozy part of town. The silhouette stopped, and listened. All they could hear was the rumors of the cars on the streets a few blocks from where they were.
The stranger then took a small can of what looked and smelled like petroleum, and quickly emptied the can’s content on the concrete, and on the stairs leading inside the building’s lobby. Then, out of their pocket, they would have taken out a small device, that looked strangely like a small bomb, and placed it just out front of Blithe’s apartment complex. The silhouette then repeated the same motion at the back of the building. The stranger came back at the front of the stairs.
If somebody was walking down the street at that exact moment, they maybe would have caught the deranged smiled of the stranger, only lit by the moonlight. If somebody was out that night, they would have seen the stranger running away while a small detonation, followed by a bigger one, suddenly tore apart the relative silence of the night.
The building was suddenly collapsing on itself, the detonations clean and precise only affecting Blithe’s building. The flames started licking the side of the concrete walls. After a few minutes, the fire began to be more aggressive, sending waves and waves of flames up the walls, nourished by the gas and the propane laid on the ground. Again, if somebody was there at that moment, they would have thought that the heat and the warmth coming from the fire was enough to cook an egg in a frying pan, even at a respectable distance.
But no one was there. Nobody saw the stranger disappear at the corner of the street. Nobody saw anything.
It took the firemen five hours to quell the fire.
It took less than five seconds for Albert Blithe to die in the explosion.
The guy was looking at the cat food display with such a serious expression that, if the situation was different, Edward Heffron might have find it amazingly funny. The way his eyebrows were down with concern, his hands twisting with anxiety…
In a normal situation, Babe would have definitely texted Bill about the poor guy.
But this was hardly a normal situation.
In fact, this was a trainwreck of a situation.
Here he was, minding his own business at the grocery store, choosing fruits (candy) and vegetables (potato chips), when suddenly, at the other side of the aisle, his ex-boyfriend showed up, tight pants and all. Dave was stunning, as usual, and Babe…
Babe hadn’t showered for three days now. He was marathoning Grey’s Anatomy and all he had for dinner were Doritos and diet Coke.
Babe’s eyes grew wide and his heart pumped faster, waiting for the inevitable, for his ex to see him. Babe could see the scene in his panicking brain, the humiliation already burning his skin.By some sort of miracle, the other man didn’t see him. Babe, closied his eyes for a small prayer to whomever was listening, slowly put his basket down, already planning his escape.
As Babe turned around and started his silent walk, he sighed, stopping dead in his tracks. It didn’t matter if he escaped now. He was in a tiny grocery store. He would, with a good 99.9 percent chance, bump into his ex sooner or later… unless he left the store altogether.
This is ridiculous. I can’t leave now. I haven’t gone to the Poptarts yet, he thought, cursing under his breath.
It was not a lousy breakup that would make Babe Heffron run away, no sir, not today. He needed his Poptarts. And also to maybe, just maybe, show his ex boyfriend that their breakup wasn’t so hard on him after all, (yeah right) and that he was doing fine without him (keep telling yourself that, buddy!).
That was when Babe saw him, the most focused-on-cat-food man he’d ever seen in his life.
Babe figured he looked like a decent human being. Or at least, not a sociopath. A plan started taking form in his hysterical mind. Let’s try that, and if it doesn’t work, Babe thought, I’ll run and get my Poptarts tomorrow.
Babe looked over his shoulder one last time to make sure that his ex boyfriend still hadn’t seen him, and with his palms sweating profusely, he walked over the cat-food guy, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"Hi, I know this is a very weird situation," he started, whispering, "but I need you to kiss me, or laugh with me and pretend to be my boyfriend, because you see the guy coming over? He’s my ex, Dave, and he is a great dumb guy who will make me feel miserable, so please, please , be my boyfriend for half a minute?" continued Babe, really, really, really fast.
The other guy looked at him, startled. Babe felt his face burn up even more as the other guy stood there, immobile, clearly still processing Babe’s request. Babe couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. Babe was also feeling sorry for himself, and that was just the saddest part, really.
While the seconds ticked away, Babe took a better look at the man, and nearly regretted his decision to come bother him. The man, as it turned out, was beautiful. Meanwhile here was Babe, all red, sweaty, and desperate. The guy had jet black hair, almost blue, and the most thoughtful eyes Babe had ever seen. His skin was pale, and his lips were full and looked soft to the touch. He was also wearing dark blue scrubs, and Babe couldn’t help but notice that even though he looked exhausted, he still looked great. Heffron almost wanted to tell him to forget everything and just run for it.
"Heffron?"
Babe cringed and turned around, facing his ex, Dave. He put on a brave face, but his heart beat hard in his ribcage. His ex boyfriend walked calmly towards him, smiling like he had win something.
"Hey Babe! It is you!” Dave grinned. "Almost didn’t recognize you with your hair like that…"
His ex gave him a smug look, and Babe wanted to punch him in the face. He heard the guy behind him move, and Babe was almost glad that the stranger was going away. At least he wouldn't be witness of his humiliation.
"Anyway," his ex continued. "I’ve been doing fine, you know, hitting the gym, which I see you haven’t in awhile…" he trailed off, eyeing Babe up and down.
Babe shivered, but Dave was completely oblivious of Babe’s discomfort.
“You should come down, it would do you some good, and you could see me in my gym clothes!" Dave winked and Babe wanted to vomit. “I know you always liked that, right? It would be just like old times!"
Babe wanted to disappear. He was so humiliated, he couldn't even think straight. Babe wanted to say something, he wanted to run away, and he was just about to do that when his ex-boyfriend looked over Babe’s shoulder.
"Oh, sorry didn’t see you there…Who are you?" his ex said, trying to sound polite.
Babe almost fainted when the stranger he thought was gone put an arm firmly around his waist and tugged him closer to him. Babe took a deep breath, stunned. He felt the world around him spinning out of control. The stranger smelled like a clear winter day with a hint of citrus.
"I’m his boyfriend," said the stranger firmly, like it was the only thing that made sense in the world.
His voice has an accent that Babe couldn't really tell the origin, but it was really… Endearing, to say the least. The stranger smiled at Babe, who smiled back, like they had been going out together for weeks. The stranger caressed his arm, and for good measure, he kissed Babe right on his burning cheek, sending a wave of fluttering butterflies down Babe’s stomach. Babe looked nervously at his ex. Dave looked baffled.
"Who is that, honey?" asked the stranger, drawing small circles on Babe’s hip with his thumb.
The motion was hypnotizing. Heffron wanted the stranger to keep doing that, to keep touching him, forever.
"He’s uh… It’s Dave, you know, the guy that…" Babe started, feeling dizzy as the stranger’s fingers then grabbed a hold on his hips, sending goosebumps down his spine.
"Oh! Dave ! The guy with an obsession over his own muscles? The Dave that you were talking about, the one with the small penis?" the stranger asked, completely oblivious of Babe’s ex’s face turning bright red.
"The one with the small penis, pumpkin’," Babe answered, looking over his pretend boyfriend, not believing what he just said. Babe felt close to having an out of body experience. "That’s the one."
The stranger looked at him in the eye and Babe felt something deep in his stomach tickle. The other man looked so serious, with his perfect hair and lips, and he was coming to his rescue, hewas saving Babe.
Babe wanted to kiss him or break down and cry, he wasn't sure which option sounded more acceptable.
Dave took a step forward, trembling, breaking the tension between the pretend boyfriends.
"What did you say? " he whispered furiously, and Babe couldn’t help but feel tense as his ex loomed over them.
His pretend boyfriend stepped forward. “Listen, Dave , you will take your things right now and leave, understand? Leave him alone and don’t give me the pleasure of kicking your ass, is that clear?"
Even if he was a few inches shorter than Dave, in that moment, the stranger looked dangerous . His eyes were a shade darker than they were a moment before, and Babe couldn't help but to find that disturbingly hot. There’s something so wrong with me , he thought as his ex miraculously backed up.
"Whatever! " Dave shouted. He glared at the two of them. "Heffron, get lost. Also, go fuck yourselves!" Dave added behind his shoulder, and he stomped away, looking angry as hell.
The stranger waited for him to disappear at the end of the alley to sigh in relief. He turned over Heffron, looking concerned.
"Are you okay?" he asked, now all soft and kind, and Babe definetly wanted to cry, now.
"That… was amazing ," he said instead.
The other guy smiled a little, but he looked more worried than anything else.
"That guy was such a douchebag… Are you sure you are okay?" His accent resonated in Babe’s ears like it was music.
"I’m fine now," said Heffron, smiling widely as the other man nodded hesitantly, still not entirely convinced.
There was a silence between them, and Heffron realized he didn’t even know the guy’s name.
"I’m Edward, by the way, Edward Heffron," he said, extending his arm to shake the other guy’s hand. "But everybody calls me Babe.''
"Hi, Edward, I’m Eugene, nice to officially meet you," said Eugene, shaking his hand.
They let go of each other’s hands, almost with regret on Babe’s part, and they stood there, not willing to part just yet. Eugene smoothed over his scrubs and looked over his shoulder with a sigh. Babe followed his stare to the cat food display. His heart jumped as Eugene faced him once more, looking lost.
"You wouldn’t know about cat food, would ya?"
Babe smiled. "Actually, I am the master connaisseur in cat food. Can’t get enough of that stuff. Full of protein."
Eugene laughed and Babe forgot all about Dave in an instant. He just couldn't get over how handsome Eugene looked, even in old scrubs, even if he was tired, and even if the lighting in the grocery store was shit.
"I just adopted a cat and I’m having a hard time figuring stuff out," Eugene said, and Babe put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don’t worry, I’ll help you figure it out. You saved me back there, it’s the least I could do."
Eugene smiled at him once more, and Babe was so glad he ran into his ex tonight he was inclined to text him later to say thank you.
They ended up buying a bunch of different cat food. Eugene just shrugged and said whatever his cat - who was named Bullet- would like best, he would buy again. They stopped by the Poptarts and Babe took a few into his basket.
They talked while they finished their grocery shopping. Babe noticed that Eugene had a lot of vegetables and fruits in his basket, while he had… nothing like that at all in his own. He was a bit ashamed of his eating habits, and grabbed some baby carrots on his way to the cashier. Just for good measure.
"So, you’re a doctor, or a nurse, or…" asked Babe, pointing at Eugene’s scrubs.
"Yeah, I’m a trauma surgeon, actually," Eugene answered quietly. “It’s a demanding job and the hours are weird…" Eugene raised an eyebrow. "That’s why I’m at the grocery store at this hour."
Babe looked at him, smiling widely. "I think that’s an awesome job! You must see all kinds of freaky stuff!"
Eugene looked amused and taken aback by that remark. Babe coughed and tried to calm down. He was, after all, well into season 8 of Grey’s .
“Uhm… I’m a… I’m a journalist’...’ Babe stuttered, "So… S-so I know all about the weird hours,” he then said, a bit embarrassed.
Eugene relaxed and shook his head. "The number of times my neighbours have given me a funny look because I’m drinking beer at nine in the morning after a night shift…"
Babe laughed, and Eugene smiled.
Eugene’s eyes seemed to follow Babe everywhere. When he bent over to look at the expiration date on some cereal, when he reached for some chips.
Babe couldn't seem to pull his eyes off Eugene either. There was something pulling them together, like a powerful current, and Heffron was letting himself get carried away.
Their situation seemed unbelievable. Babe felt like he was in another dimension. After all, he was in a grocery store after nine o'clock at night, where time seemed to freeze, and reality sort of shifted. Babe met a man. A nice, handsome doctor with kind eyes and a mesmerizing laugh. In the cat food section.
What a night.
When they got out of the store, it was well past ten, almost eleven. The moon shined upon them, and Babe couldn't help but stare at Eugene has he walked towards the parking lot.
The night was calm and only a few cars drove past them as they continued chatting. The air was crisp, but still pleasant. It was a perfect August night.
They stopped a few steps from Babe’s car -an old, blue civic that had seen better days. "This is me," he said.
Eugene pointed a green Jeep towards the end of the parking lot. "I’m over there."
There was a silence, and Babe couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Thank you so much again for the… Well, you know." Babe smiled, remembering his ex’s angry face. "You really helped me back there."
Babe couldn’t quite make out Eugene’s features, but with the help of the lampposts, he could see a smile playing on the doctor’s lips.
’Anytime, Edward, anytime," Eugene said, and there was definitely a hint of amusement in his tone.
Babe didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay with Eugene in that poorly lit parking lot. He wanted to keep talking to him, about everything and nothing at all.
Eugene was still looking at him. He seemed to be thinking, his head slightly bent to the left. Then, Eugene took a step forward. Babe’s heart stopped for a few seconds in his ribcage.
“I need to do something,” Eugene said softly.
Eugene then leaned towards Heffron slowly, getting even closer, and Babe couldn’t help his breath catching in his throat. Eugene was so close, now, Babe could see all the nuances in his hazel and green eyes. Babe could feel Eugene’s hand on his hips, he could feel it slide down his lower back, going even lower, finding his back pocket, grazing his ass, and-
Eugene took Heffron’s phone from his pocket.
He turned it on, took in the ridiculous wallpaper, smiled, and slid his finger to unlock it.
Before Heffron could say anything, he punched in a few keys. Babe was sweating.
“I’m having a stroke," he thought, as Gene locked his phone and smiled at him once more. “ This can’t be real. ”
Eugene then put his phone back into place, at the same speed he took it. He lingered at Babe’s hips while he retracted his hand. Slowly, deliberately, he squeezed Heffron’s hips with his long and delicate fingers. Heffron realized that he was a little bit taller than Eugene, just so that Eugene had to look at him between dark and long eyelashes.
Time seemed to freeze as Eugene then removed his hand from Babe’s hips, licked his lips, and Babe knew he was completely fucked at this very moment when Eugene walked away, still smiling mischievously, and Babe was definitely hard in his khakis shorts.
"Until next time, Edward!" Eugene said as he reached his car.
Babe still hadn’t moved, the ghost of Eugene’s fingers still lingering on his hips, on his lower back, everywhere .
It was only when Eugene drove away that Babe snapped out of his reverie and looked down at his phone.
Eugene Roe (cat emoji)
555-456-7890
‘‘Shit," Babe breathed. He unlocked his car.
He was completely fucked.
"So, chief! A big fire, right? How hot was it?"
"Luz, that fire was as hot as Dick’s ass, let me tell you-"
Captain Richard Winters, chief of the city’s most influential precinct in the city, rolled his eyes.
"Lieutenant Nixon," he said abruptly before his best friend and colleague, Lewis Nixon, could find other colorful analogies. "Please stop talking about my assets when they are not relevant to the investigation."
Luz snickered from his desk, the piles and piles of open investigations all around him almost covering up his goofy grin. Lewis winked at Luz as they walked past him, towards the end of the room where Winters’ office was.
"I actually texted him in advance so he would say that, don’t be so mad," said Lewis as he slumped down on his usual chair.
Winters went to sit at his desk, but stayed up instead. He felt restless. Winters smelled like smoke and dirt.
It has been a few hours since the fire was under control and died down. Even on their night off, the two men were called to assist. Winters couldn't seem to forget the heavy air surrounding the building. When it was clear that they were not needed anymore, they headed back to the precinct, waiting for more details about the case. He left Joe Toye there, to gather up clues and to keep them updated when he had detailed pictures of the location.
"Do you think it was an accident? The fire?" he asked, pacing slowly behind Lewis, hands behind his back.
Nixon lazily picked up a photograph on his desk, suddenly pensive. "I don’t know… It sure looked like it."
Winters couldn’t help but smile. He always loved Lewis’ dedication to his job. He didn’t seem like it, acting all careless and all, but as soon as Winters wanted his help, or his advice on something, he always dropped the act and made sure Dick got his answers, or his backup, or whatever else he needed at that moment.
Few men were as dedicated to the job as Lewis Nixon was, and Winters was very grateful to have such a strong partner.
"What a trip, right?" Lewis suddenly asked, smiling down at the picture he had picked up.
Winters looked quickly at the picture and was sent back in time for a few seconds.
It was them, much younger, on a camping trip at the beginning of their first year at the police academy. It was a bonding trip for all the classmates to learn to know each other. Winters was paired off with Lewis.
Upon Dick’s arrival at the camping site, he found the other man lounging on what seemed to be their unmade tent. The sun was out and everybody else was making acquaintance, building up their tents and starting small fires. Winters remembers vividly the silhouette of his now best friend, all relaxed and his face covered up by his huge sunglasses.
Nixon had looked up to him, smiling lazily. "Hi. I don’t do camping."
Winters had responded just as quickly. "Sure you do. At least, you do now."
Nixon had taken down his sunglasses with his index and middle finger, one for each arm, to really look at him. Winters was tall and lean, his bright red hair clashing with the Academy’s dark green shirt. His freckles seemed to map his body, even on his legs, tracing mysterious patterns.
When he saw that Winters had already started to unpack the tent’s structure without waiting for him, Nixon’s smile grew even larger.
"Alright then. Where should we start?"
"Captain Winters?" a gravely voice asked, breaking the moment between the two men.
Winters cleared his throat and Nixon hastily replaced the picture on the desk. Dick turned around to see detective Joe Toye was standing at the door.
"Yes, detective?" he asked, making his way to his chair, sliding down to sit.
Nixon nodded at Joe nonchalantly.
Joe Toye sat down in the other chair facing Dick’s desk and slid an envelope towards his chief.
"Development on the fire case," he said, uneasy. "It looks like something criminal, after all."
Winters took the envelope and opened it. Inside, new pictures of the building, from the fire to the aftermath, where crumbling ruins were left in its place. The next few pictures made him look more carefully at the little details, as he saw something out of the ordinary between the gravel in a few pictures.
"Is that… Is that a bomb ?" asked Lewis, who was looking at the pictures from the other side of the desk.
"Yeah," answered Joe Toye. "And you know what else?" he added, his grave voice resonating in the tiny office. "In the building, there was only one victim. All the other people were out because somebody called them a few days before offering them either fake job interviews, or fake show tickets… "
He paused, Winters though, probably for dramatic effect. "Only one person didn’t receive a call, and that person is dead right now because of the fire."
Nixon made a small surprised noise, as his eyebrows rose to his forehead. Dick took out another picture of the envelope, this one smaller. It was a copy of a driver’s license.
"Albert Blithe," Winters read out loud.
On the picture, just an average looking guy. If Winters ever crossed path with him, he sure wouldn't have thought anything about him. There was nothing suspicious looking about the guy. And yet…
"Any idea why he was the only one left?"
Lewis clapped his hands on his thighs. Winters followed the motion, not knowing exactly why his eyes were suddenly attracted to his friend’s hands.
"Well, for whatever reason, we have a sensible killer on our hands,” Nixon said. “Maybe the person that put those bombs there only wanted to kill Blithe, and not some innocent bystanders."
Killer . Winters shuddered. That word was his least favorite. His job was already full with thieves and drug dealers.
But killers… That was a whole different story.
"We don’t have enough proof for that yet," he answered, giving the envelope back to Joe Toye. "Good digging, Toye. Keep us updated. Take Luz, or Speirs with you on this one."
The tall man got up and nodded. "Aye aye, sir."
Joe hesitated at the door.
"With all due respect, I think I’ll go with Luz," he said slowly. "Speirs is nice, but he scares me a little."
Winters tried not to smile, while Nixon barked laughter. "No problem, detective."
When he returned to his desk, Nixon slouched down even more on his chair, sighing. "Looks like we have a lot to do now. So much for the accident theory."
Winters looked at him, his messy dark brown hair, his soft brown eyes underlined by two dark circles, and his pale skin, all clues of his level of exhaustion, and Dick realized he must looks pretty much the same. It was, after all, their night off, and it was well past their bedtime.
Dick looked at his watch. It was now four in the morning. They would have to be back here in only a few hours.
"Want to crash at my place?" he offered, knowing his best friend lived very far from the precinct. "We’ll need the rest for tomorrow if we want to crack this case."
Lewis smiled at him, the same smile he gave Winters when they finally finished building up their tent and started their fire, all those years ago. He smiled like someone who was very glad to have finally figured out something that was bothering them before.
"Well, when you offer it like that, how can a gentleman refuse?"
Winters slept in his bed and Nixon on the couch. Winters fell asleep listening to Nixon moving around in his sleep, and, as per usual when Nixon came to sleep at his apartment, Winters slept way better than the night before. In fact, he slept just like he did their first night together, all those years ago in their little tent in the middle of the forest. Winters fell asleep just like he would have under the stars.