Love, in Progress

Heart to heart

Tinsley loved the pasta at Da Vinci's. Okay, that wasn't the only reason he chose that venue in particular. It was a little quieter, more intimate than some of the bigger restaurants in town.

It wasn't that he was trying to hide the nature of his relationship with Ricky, he just didn't want the attention. Didn't want to become the 'star crossed lovers', the 'Romeo and Juliet'- they were both respectable(ish) men, and Tinsley wanted to keep it that way. He also wanted to keep his job- being in cahoots with a notorious crime family could get him fired, or even arrested.

Tinsley realised that it was probably already too late for that. Too many coffee shop "meetings", too much prolonged eye contact, and when everyone noticed them both missing from Ricky's party- the final nail was in the coffin. If he was going to get serious with Ricky (not that Ricky was ever serious), he would have to make things public. Yikes.

But would that have to mean going morally corrupt- letting the Goldsworths, and people like them, get acquitted? He wasn't sure he could do that. The whole reason he joined the force was so that he could help people. If he joined Ricky, would that make him part of the problem?

Speaking of the force, Tinsley realised it would also mean having to abandon Banjo- he loved the quirky interactions, cowboy hat, and Banjo was just too good of a friend to go through with that. Oh god, Holly, how could he forget?! He still had to figure out who tried to kill Holly! What if it was a cover-up? The lack of any witnesses or even a suspect would make sense. If he joined Ricky, would he become part of the cover-up of Holly's attacker?!

Tinsley quickly shoved his thoughts aside as the car pulled to a stop.
"Well, we're here!" Ricky commented with a smile.
"Definitely looks like it!", Tinsley tried to imitate Ricky's upbeat tone, although his previous thoughts had definitely put a damper on his mood.
"Okay, what's wrong? You were quiet for the whole ride over here so don't even try to deny that something's the matter." Ricky questioned expectantly.

Tinsley sighed, trying to figure out a way to say how he was feeling without upsetting Ricky, "I- I just... if you and I are dating, does that make me part of the problem?"
"What?", Ricky asked quietly.
"My whole life has been dedicated to taking down bad people, if I join you, will that make me a bad person too?"

"Oh, Charlie", Ricky sighed, his expression softening, "You're a good person, and I don't think anything could ever change that. I would be more worried if you just blindly became another 'yes man'- a lot of people do, they just take the bribe and move along. I'm glad you're not one of them, because I don't like them, I like you. I could never force you to accept my family and I, and our wrongdoings. I don't ever want to involve you in any of it."

Ricky finished, pulling Tinsley into a hug and whispering quietly, "I love you, Tinman."
"I love you too, Goldie" he smiled softly.