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It took Miles an embarrassing length of time to realize he wasn’t alone in the house.
He noticed the lights in the living room, of course, but he simply dismissed it as a case of having forgotten to turn them off in the first place. He’d been in something of a hurry in the morning, having promised Blackquill to review some documents before a trial, so it wasn’t at all unthinkable that he might have missed such a thing. As such, he’d managed to shed his briefcase, coat and suit jacket before it occurred to him that he had not even entered the living room before leaving for work.
In his defense, he had no reason to expect anyone to be inside. His security system was state of the art, enough so that even Kay had given it her grudging approval. If the second Great Yatagarasu thought the place was safe enough for him, there was no reason for Miles to even entertain the possibility of uninvited guests.
Of course, that still left the sort of guests who weren’t uninvited in the strictest sense of the word, yet did not always bother to announce their arrival ahead of time. Which was precisely why Miles did not let himself get out of sorts even when he realized he had not, in fact, left the living room lights on when he left the house that morning.
“Kay?” She was the most logical person, after all. There were a only few people who knew the security codes, and out of the ones currently in the country, Sebastian at least was polite enough to warn him before coming over. Franziska was always a possibility, of course, seeing how she did not find it necessary to ask for permission before taking over his guest room, but she would have already made her presence known by now.
“Try again.” The voice very nearly made his heart skip a beat, except he was not in fact a heartsick teenager. It did, however, coax a smile on his lips as he strode over to the living room, finally facing the reason for the unexpected illumination.
“Agent.” Of course it was Lang, lounging on Miles’s best couch as though he owned the place, ridiculous leather jacket and all. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Didn’t feel like dealing with everyone I’d have run into if I’d come to greet you at the office, mostly.” Lang gave a small shrug. “Wasn’t sure when you’d get home, so I made myself comfortable.”
“I can see that.” Miles allowed his lips a small twitch. “Though I think you have dodged my actual question. It wasn’t your presence in my living room that I was questioning, but rather the fact that you are in the country at all.”
“What, a wolf can’t visit his mate without getting questioned?” Lang grinned, and for all that Miles should have just rolled his eyes at the ridiculous description he found himself feeling oddly warm instead.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t. However, I seem to recall that you are supposed to be in Thailand with Franziska at the moment.”
“Ah, right, about that. We wrapped things up sooner than I expected, so Sis told me to get lost. Apparently she was sick of watching me pace around with our prey already in chains.”
“That’s Franziska for you.” Though knowing his dear sister, being annoyed at Lang’s frustration was likely only half the truth. She probably took some amusement in having a part in surprising Miles. Not that he could complain, really, not when he could sit on the couch and feel Lang’s arm reaching around his shoulders, easy as he pleased. “So how long are you going to stay this time?”
“That depends.” Lang tilted his head. “How long do you think you can tolerate me?”
Miles lifted his eyebrows. “That is not an answer.”
“Really? I thought it was pretty clear.” Lang flashed him a grin. “I’m here until you tell me to get lost.”
“I think Interpol might have thing or two to say about that.”
“Right. Ah. About that.” All of a sudden Lang wasn’t grinning anymore. “I really don’t think they’ll come knocking any time soon.”
“Shi-Long.” If there ever was a situation that warranted the first name, this was it. “What happened?” Miles turned to face the agent, studying his now serious face. “You aren’t here early just because Franziska got tired of you, are you.”
“Never could fool you for long, could I.” Lang shook his head. “I, ah. I might have gotten ever so slightly injured?”
“What?” Miles sat up straight, then immediately started raking Lang over with his gaze. He didn’t see anything immediately amiss, but then Lang had always been far too good at hiding his injuries. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“Relax, Mr. Prosecutor. It’s not that bad.” Apparently Lang at least acknowledged Miles’s concern, as he stood up, finally shedding his ever-present jacket. He opened his shirt next, and Miles might have allowed himself a moment of enjoying the sight if he hadn’t now seen the wide swath of bandages. “A bullet wound, some cracked ribs. I’ve walked off worse, you know that.”
“You are not exactly reassuring me, you know.” Miles got up to his feet as well, reaching out yet leaving his hand hovering just short of touching the bandages. “One of these days you’re not just going to walk away.”
“Apparently, the Interpol agrees with you.” Lang made a face. “They were going to use this as an excuse to pull me off the field. Offered me a promotion with a nice, cushy desk to go with it.”
“Except of course you didn’t accept it.” He knew better than to expect that. Not Lang, not his tireless wolf.
“I didn’t.” Lang shook his head. “Told them that if they were going to take me out of the action, I’d just as soon not go back at all. There’s plenty of people who can push papers for them, but it’d kill me sooner than any bullet.”
“So… what are you going to do now?” Miles finally gave in and reached closer, though instead of the bandaged wound he reached his hand up to brush along the side of Lang’s face. "I doubt sitting in my living room is all you have in mind for your future.”
“What, being your kept man isn’t enough of a career?” Lang smirked, leaning into Miles’s touch. The teasing comment drew a chuckle out of Miles.
“Not that I’d be opposed, but I somehow think you’d get bored of it eventually.” Miles lifted an eyebrow. “Though I should probably inform you that I will not accept any plan that does not start with waiting for the proper recovery of your injuries.”
“Don’t worry, Sis already made it very clear that if I don’t give myself time to heal she’ll just tie me to a bed. Possibly yours, knowing her.”
“No, she wouldn’t. She knows you’d just take that as an incentive.” Miles found himself continuing to stroke the side of Lang’s face. But, well, Lang didn’t seem to be complaining. “Anyway, let’s assume you actually manage to lie low until you’ve healed. What then?”
“You want my honest answer?” Lang was smirking, but his eyes were nothing but sincere. “I was hoping I might be able to use some connections to get an investigative position somewhere more local.”
“Hm. I think I know some people who could be persuaded to put in a good word for you.” Miles moved a bit closer, curling his hand behind Lang’s neck. “You think you could handle that, then? Sticking to a smaller hunting ground?”
“If I can trade the territory for pack? I think I’ll manage.”
“Oh, Shi-Long.” Miles leaned in, stealing a brief kiss. “You know you could always claim me as your pack, however far apart we may be.”
“I know. But there’s also something to be said about curling up in a warm den.” Lang chuckled. “Maybe I’m getting old after all.”
“Well, we’re certainly not getting any younger.” Miles stroked his hand over the hint of silver in Lang’s hair, felt terribly aware of the glasses on his own face. They weren’t quite old, though, not yet. If anything, standing here with Lang made him feel young. “My home is yours. If this is where you choose to make your den, I will be nothing but happy to have you by my side.”
“Careful with your promises, there. When I get my claws on something I’m loathe to let go.”
“Oh, please.” Miles snorted. “You told me years ago that a wolf mates for life. I’ve held no hope of truly leaving you behind in all our time together.”
“Most people would not call it being together when we haven’t even been in the same country for the last year or so.”
“We never were like most people, though.” This, Miles decided, demanded another kiss stolen. Kay would have been proud of him tonight. “When I accepted the position here, we both knew it would take us apart for a long while. And yet, you didn’t tell me not to accept.”
“I couldn’t.” Lang leaned closer, nuzzling him in a way that reminded Miles of an affectionate puppy. Appropriate, really. “I know this is the battle you were meant to fight. I could never keep you from it.”
“Well, now you can help me in that fight.” Miles smiled a little. “We always did work well together.”
“You just get me on the scent.” Lang grinned. “So. Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Not really, no.” Miles shook his head, slightly surprised at the sudden change of subject. “I was thinking of making myself a sandwich and tea.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” Lang clicked his tongue. “I picked up some groceries before I came here. Couldn’t just show up empty-handed, after all. I’m going to make you some proper dinner, goodness knows you probably don’t take proper care of yourself.”
“You clearly have been spending too much time around Franziska.” Not that he could truly deny the charge, though. He didn’t always have the time or energy to worry about full meals, after all. “I’m not sure how I feel about putting my guest to work on his first evening here.”
“Well, if I plan to stay, I’m not a guest, am I?” And oh, that certainly made Miles feel awfully warm. “Besides, don’t think of it as you making me cook for you, think of it as me enjoying the opportunity to make use of a full kitchen. It’s not exactly an everyday occurrence out on the road.”
“I suppose I can make that little concession, at least.” This time it was Miles who found his lips caught in a quick kiss before Lang finally drew away from him. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I would tell you to simply stand around and look pretty, but you would call me ridiculous.”
“Indeed I would.” Miles smirked, a hint of michief entering his mind. “Perhaps I should ask whether I need to set up the guest room.”
“Now, that would depend entirely on you.” Lang was smirking, yet Miles thought he caught a hint of uncertainty in the sharp eyes. “I wouldn’t want to be too presumptuous.”
“Agent, we are both adults, and it seems we are going to be living together on a permanent basis. I see no reason for us to pretend we aren’t going to end up in the same bed either way.”
Lang laughed, his usual barking laugh, and oh, Miles had very much missed that sound. “Can’t say I disagree with you there. Not that people like Kay or Sis would believe us even if we tried to pretend such.”
“Indeed not.” Miles smiled. “In that case, I would be quite happy to simply keep you company while you work on dinner, if you don’t mind.”
“I would like nothing more.” And really, how could he ever resist that grin?
Miles should probably make a couple of calls. He was fairly sure he was due a day off by now.