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“Those two are definitely fucking. You know how Mullen and Vic used to be heterosexual life partners… well…” Chester begins, ruffling his red hair as he leans back against his chair.
“Partner-partners.” Mack nods, perching on the side of Chester’s desk and giving him a knowing look. “You know Mullen gives Kitsuragi that same look he always used to have whenever he talked about Dora… man…”
“Fucking Dora.” Chester snorts, rolling his eyes. “Really did a number on old Mullen. So he ran off and joined the homosexual underground, it’s… typical of the old bastard really. A girl broke his heart so bad he decided he’s a fag now. That bender changed him.”
Before he can stop himself, Mack finds himself wincing at the word. It’s not like he hadn’t heard it before, this is C-Wing, this is the RCM, the word gets thrown around as often as pleasantries. So why did he react like that?
Why indeed. Mack had definitely noticed the dynamic between Du Bois and Kitsuragi. The fleeting glances, the coffee breaks that went on a little too long, gestures that were out of character for the Lieutenant double-yefreitor.
RCM officers got paired up as standard. His partner was Chester McLaine. They got on well, they goofed around together, and they mostly spent their days winding up Du Bois and Vicquemare (Kitsuragi never did seem to take the bait). But recently he’d started to wonder… that maybe…
Mack realises he’s hesitated a little too long and clears his throat before turning back to his own partner, nodding a little too enthusiastically, trying to dismiss his train of thought. He needed to get his shit together.
“Yeah… crazy. Dick Mullen does the craziest things.” Mack responds, though there’s a little shakiness to his voice.
Chester raises his eyebrow. “What’s up with you? You reached your caffeine intake for the day or something? You’re shaking all over the place… I can feel you fucking vibrating on my desk.”
“Fuck off.” Mack snaps, a little too defensively, springing up from the desk and folding his arms across his broad chest.
“Ooh you’re touchy today, eh Torson?” Chester gets up from his seat and walks over to his partner, eyeing him up and down. “What’s the matter? You got something stuffed down your pants? You got a vibrator in there or are you just--”
“I said fuck off Chester!” He yelled, a little too loudly, causing his partner to be visibly taken aback.
“Alright. Alright… I’m fucking off Mack. Jesus, what’s gotten into you today? You’re acting like a little bitch.” Chester replied, taking a few steps back and holding his hands up in mock surrender.
That hurt, but Mack let it slide. Chester had said worse things to him, he’d said worse things to Chester too. They were known for being an iconic duo, a couple of clowns, not fit to run C-Wing. They were close, but was there a possibility they could get closer?
No. That was fucking stupid. Chester wasn’t a fag. Even if Mack had been struggling with his identity, he had no evidence to prove that the feelings were reciprocated. This was a stupid little workplace infatuation, a fleeting thing, that’s all there was to it.
“Sorry man,” Mack grumbled, awkwardly shifting from side to side. “I didn’t mean to… snap at you like that, not over Mullen’s fucking love life.”
“It’s fine.” Chester shrugged, though he still looked a little awkward. “Never seen you like that, it was weird, seems like I struck a nerve or somethin’.”
The pause that follows is awkward, tense, and embarrassing for them both. All they do is look at each other, their body language reflecting how uncomfortable they both felt. Chester ran a hand through his hair, Mack kept his arms folded tightly across his chest.
“You kinda did.” That is all Mack says after a few agonising moments.
“What? By calling Mullen a fag? But he is …” Chester responded, shrugging again, confused about why that had bothered Mack all of a sudden.
“Good for him, y’know. Him and Kitsuragi. I don’t give a fuck what they do. It’s nice to see the grumpy bastard finally happy. He’s less annoying when he’s not drunk and crying over girls.”
Chester laughs, eyebrow raised. “Well… look at you, Mr Sentimental. What’s this all about eh? I never said I cared about those two, yeah, they can do whatever man… I was just goofin’ around Mack. Like we always do. Something’s up, I can tell.”
“It got me thinking. If those two can be happy, then, maybe…” His voice trails off, awkwardly, realising he’s gone too far now.
“Maybe what? You’re starting to piss me off, you’re acting weird, you’re--”
Chester is cut off by an unfamiliar sensation against his lips. He realises that Mack had taken a few steps closer to him, physically grabbed him by the shoulders, and pressed his big lips against his.
It shocked them both, but neither of them pulled away. Neither of them said “Get off me, fucking faggot”, neither of them punched the other, and neither of them looked at the other in horror.
Instead, they stood there in the middle of C-Wing kissing. It was risky, it was reckless, it was probably something Du Bois and Kitsuragi had done as well. But they didn’t care about any of that, not right now. All that mattered was this weird, wonderful moment.
“What the fuck…?” Chester says after an impossibly long time, staring at his partner. He doesn’t know what else to say.
“I…” Mack starts, flushed red, realising there’s no going back from this. “Fuck, man, I’m sorry… that was stupid.”
“No,” Chester replies, shaking his head. “No, it’s… Mack, I just, why didn’t you tell me, you stupid bastard? How long have you been sitting on this?”
“Dunno.” He responds, with a shrug, being typically avoidant and not willing to show much emotion.
“That’s it? Dunno. Fuck you, man, you… you fucking …”
The two of them are beyond confused. They’re overwhelmed, they don’t quite know how to process this. So instead of using their words, they kiss, for the second time that day, deciding to let their actions do the talking.
Their second kiss is much more passionate, a power struggle, they grip each other tightly and kiss like they need each other to live. The mutual desire is palpable, neither of them wants it to stop, and so it doesn't. They keep on kissing, grabbing, both of them lost in the moment. This is out of character for them both, at least, so they thought anyway.
When it breaks off, they’re both as flushed as the other. They just stare at each other with a mix of raw desire and utter bewilderment. Where do they go from here? You can’t just undo a kiss, it’s happened, they need to figure out how to move on.
“I’m hungry,” Mack says suddenly, bluntly, still looking at Chester. “You wanna go get somethin’ to eat? I’ll pay.”
“Is this a date, Torson?” Chester replies, giving him an exaggerated flirtatious look. “You gonna take me to the finest kebab stand in all of Revachol?”
“Maybe it is a date, McLaine. Do you want me to buy you a kebab or not? I’ll go with or without you, I’m wastin’ away over here.”
Chester just nods, giving him a little smile. “Yeah… yeah I’d like you to do that.”
He gestures for his partner to lead the way, out of Precinct 41, towards their stupid little date to the finest kebab stand in all of Revachol.