Len side-eyed him as he took over the bed in two seconds, blowing out a breath through his nose. He pulled his goggles down and set down his gun. He needed to charge it, but he didn't have the equipment with him. That would have to wait until tomorrow.
"I'm not finicky, I just don't want to get crabs from a dirty carpet," he said with a wry smile. He shrugged out of his parka and hung it up. "You planning on sharing that bed with me, or do I have to arm wrestle you for it?" He would lose arm-wrestling Mick straight, but he wasn't above cheating.
"Arm wrestling. Sounds fun," Mick rumbled, not moving to shrug out of his jacket, or kick off his boots, not even moving an inch. ...for a few seconds. Then he rolled back to his feet, with the accompanying groan, and let his jacket lay where it landed on the questionable carpet, and sat again to unlace his boots.
"But I wouldn't wanna hurt'cha," he added with a little grin, and flopped back again, this time with a little more space on the other side. A little more. Not half.
Len bent to unlace his own boots and kicked them off. "Thanks," he said sarcastically. "Lucky me, I won't sprain an elbow."
He eyed the space, then laid down next to him, still dressed as well. He used elbows liberally to get comfortable, shifting until there was pretty much half of the bed allotted to him.
He deserved it for not just giving up half the bed to begin with, but Mick still let out a complaining outright growl as Len systematically jabbed him backward and laid claim to his portion.
"Could've asked, instead of bullying to get what you want," he said without much heat behind it, because it was far from the first time and wouldn't be the last time. But what was having a partner for if you couldn't lay into him a little?
Like all good friends, Mick and Len gave each other grief out of affection. Len rolled onto his side and rested his head on his arm. "You were asking for it. Forgive me?" he purred.
"Not sure yet," Mick shot back immediately, spreading one hand out over his ribs as if feeling for the damage Len had definitely not managed to do. "You might have ground to make up."
"Oh yeah?" Len rolled his eyes, suppressing a smile. "And what do you want me to do to make it up to you? Assuming I'm willing... which I'm not saying I am."
"Thought you were supposed to be the planner," Mick said with a shrug that effectively proved he wasn't hurt at all. He stayed on his back, still on the bed but tucked up close to the edge.
There was a solution to this space issue, but he wasn't going to point it out first. He never pointed it out first. He knew a lot about his partner and it was better, he thought, to let Len take the lead. "So plan."
Len was aware of Mick's strange recalcitrance. Then again, while Len trusted his oldest friend to call the shots in the bedroom, he tended to react better to it if he made the first move. It made him feel more in control of the situation, even if Mick was on top.
He watched Mick for a few moments, then got up from the bed again. He moved to the air conditioning unit and turned the dial. It began to rumble softly.
Then he began to undress, folding his clothes and setting them aside. He watched Mick as he did it, to gauge his reaction. At the very least, it'd be more comfortable to sleep this way.
Mick let out a neutral grunt and shifted to sit up without any real protest, yanking his shirt up over his head and letting it fall, followed in short order by everything else and Mick dropping heavily back onto the bed, on his back, un-self-conscious and relaxed. He could relax like this. This was familiar.
The sheets were still hot, he hadn't been gone from them long enough for them to cool off, but he was taking up more than his share of room again, on purpose this time. He'd object to the heat being turned down, if he wasn't going to get a blanket.
Len finished stripping down to his underwear. Only in here was he unselfconscious about his scars. He was more than familiar with Mick's as well.
He crossed the room and climbed onto the bed, sliding on top of Mick and flopping down. His knees fell to the mattress on either side of Mick's thighs and he squirmed downwards, pillowing his head on the broad chest. "That better?" he murmured.
"Good enough," and the answer was almost more felt than heard as Mick laced his fingers loosely across Len's back. He didn't pay special attention to Len's scars, but he never avoided them either. He'd been there for a few of them, knew enough about the rest to know they were just a part of the whole.
The sprint from the cops hadn't taken much out of him, but it had been a long day. As Len's warmth spread into him, the temptation to drift off to sleep followed close behind, but he held it off a little longer. "See, plenty of room."
Len was cool and comfortable, warmed enough by Mick's body that he didn't need a blanket. He smiled and played fingertips down Mick's bicep, appreciating the chance to touch without barriers between them.
"Yeah, turns out neither of us have to sleep on the floor."
"I wasn't planning on sleeping on the floor." He kept still, nothing moving but a slow dragging of his thumbs across a few inches of Len's back. His partner's fingers had always been long and graceful, and Mick could appreciate how they went from deadly purpose to idle elegance like this.
"Would've liked to see you try and make me, though. Could've used the laugh."
"You were already complaining about my elbows, you big baby. Want another round?" Len teased, mock-threateningly. He pressed a brief kiss to the underside of Mick's jaw and settled down, content.
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"I'm not finicky, I just don't want to get crabs from a dirty carpet," he said with a wry smile. He shrugged out of his parka and hung it up. "You planning on sharing that bed with me, or do I have to arm wrestle you for it?" He would lose arm-wrestling Mick straight, but he wasn't above cheating.
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"But I wouldn't wanna hurt'cha," he added with a little grin, and flopped back again, this time with a little more space on the other side. A little more. Not half.
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He eyed the space, then laid down next to him, still dressed as well. He used elbows liberally to get comfortable, shifting until there was pretty much half of the bed allotted to him.
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"Could've asked, instead of bullying to get what you want," he said without much heat behind it, because it was far from the first time and wouldn't be the last time. But what was having a partner for if you couldn't lay into him a little?
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There was a solution to this space issue, but he wasn't going to point it out first. He never pointed it out first. He knew a lot about his partner and it was better, he thought, to let Len take the lead. "So plan."
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He watched Mick for a few moments, then got up from the bed again. He moved to the air conditioning unit and turned the dial. It began to rumble softly.
Then he began to undress, folding his clothes and setting them aside. He watched Mick as he did it, to gauge his reaction. At the very least, it'd be more comfortable to sleep this way.
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The sheets were still hot, he hadn't been gone from them long enough for them to cool off, but he was taking up more than his share of room again, on purpose this time. He'd object to the heat being turned down, if he wasn't going to get a blanket.
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He crossed the room and climbed onto the bed, sliding on top of Mick and flopping down. His knees fell to the mattress on either side of Mick's thighs and he squirmed downwards, pillowing his head on the broad chest. "That better?" he murmured.
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The sprint from the cops hadn't taken much out of him, but it had been a long day. As Len's warmth spread into him, the temptation to drift off to sleep followed close behind, but he held it off a little longer. "See, plenty of room."
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"Yeah, turns out neither of us have to sleep on the floor."
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"Would've liked to see you try and make me, though. Could've used the laugh."
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