Fic: Couples & Their Plans (Numb3rs, Charlie / Colby, David / Ian)
Title: Couples & Their Plans
Pair: Charlie Eppes / Colby Granger,
David Sinclair / Ian Edgerton,
Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
“Big plans?” Colby asked and continued packing his backbag.
“Nope.” David lifted his feet on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “Caroline’s having a slumber party with Pamela, so I’ll spend an entertaining evening with the TV.”
“When’s Ian coming back?”
“No idea. He said he would be back sometime this week, but I haven’t reached him for two days. I think he’s screening his calls.”
“Come on, he just lost his kid. Give him some space.”
“He’s not even in the same State and I should give him more space?”
“Okay, that was a bad expression.” Colby picked up his cell phone and scanned the messages. He glanced quickly at David.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you didn’t just get a message from Charlie.”
“How did you know?”
“You still get that mushy look on your face. And you don’t need to keep that stuff from me. You got your guy waiting for you, I can handle it. You two got plans?”
“We’re going to this French place, Charlie’s buddy owns it so we got a good table.”
“Have fun.”
“Have fun where?” Megan walked to her desk pulling her coat on.
“Colby’s facing a moral dilemma." David deadpanned. "His very own private benefactor is taking him out for a pricey dinner in a French restaurant and that means he has to put out.”
“So what’s the dilemma?” Megan grinned. “It’s in the Rule book. If the guy buys you dinner that costs more than twenty bucks, you have to make it up to him. Of course that’s the limit for women.”
“What’s the limit for men?”
“Ten bucks in a real restaurant or a cheeseburger.”
“Sounds about right.” Colby laughed. “Anyway, I gotta go. Coquilles Saint-Jacques is calling my name.”
”Say that again.” Megan demanded.
”What? Coquilles Saint-Jacques?”
”Never thought I would hear that from the Idaho farm boy…..”
”I know, couple years ago I didn’t even know how to pronounce it.”
”My little cowboy’s moving up in the world.” Megan grinned.
”But remember, he has to work for it when they get home.” David added.
“Oh yeah….” Colby confirmed with a goofy smirk. “See you tomorrow.”
“Have fun.” Megan sat down on the edge of her desk and watched Colby bounce across the bullpen to the elevators. She let out a deep sigh. “I can’t believe those two still act like that.”
“Is that your shrink-side wondering?” David asked.
“No, just curiosity. Remember what I said when we first heard about them?”
“No….”
“I said something like: Math genius from L.A. and a Lutheran farm boy from Idaho is such a weird combination that it will probably work.”
“Well, you were right.”
“It’s nice to know it works for some people. Keeps up the hope.”
“I guess. Have you seen Don?”
“He left half an hour ago, he had some plans with Martin.”
“There’s another odd couple.”
“Look who’s talking…..”
“Don in a happy, working relationship? That’s weird beyond belief.”
“True.” Megan agreed. She looked around the half empty bullpen. “You want to go get some food? Matthew’s coming too.”
“Are you two back together?”
“Not exactly. We’re testing the waters.” She grabbed her bag from the desk and got up. “So are you coming? It’s nothing fancy, we can’t all snatch a well-paid doctor or a lawyer.”
“Tempting, but I think I’ll pass. I don’t wanna be the third wheel.”
“You’re not-”
“Megan.” David snatched his stapler from the desk to give his restless hands something to fiddle with. “Ian’s been gone for weeks. Colby and Don don’t wanna talk about how well their lives are going because I’m stuck here in the waiting circle. This whole thing is awkward enough without crashing your date.”
“It’s not a date.”
“You’re trying to rekindle your old cougar fantasy with a young paramedic. That’s sounds like a date.”
“I’m not old enough to be a cougar.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“I can still twist your nose to meet your backside.”
“I have to agree, you’re way too young to be a cougar.”
------------------------------------------
David was aware of a vague presence as soon as he stepped into the apartment. He snapped the lights on and walked into the living room. It was empty. His hand wandered down to grab his gun. There was no obvious signs of a break-in. TV and the laptop were in their places, and nothing seemed to be out of place.
A pair of hands grabbed him from behind and snatched the gun from his hand before he could react. One hand was pressed on his mouth while another one pulled him against the body behind him.
“That’s really not the homecoming I imagined.” Familiar voice hummed to his ear.
“Ian?” David mumbled into the hand covering his mouth.
“Expecting somebody else?” Ian’s lips traced the lines of David’s ear. “You got some new lover coming over?” He pulled David around and pinned him against the nearest wall.
“No.” David wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and pulled him close for a kiss. He heard a click and a loud clunk. Ian had switched on the safety of his gun and dumped it on the coffee table.
“David….“ Ian pulled away long enough to let the other man breathe. “Have I ever told you how hot it is when point at me with a gun?”