'Witness' - The White Bridge Crime Series 3 - LGBT, manXman

21

Tom knocked on Freddie's front door, and was greeted with a volley of sharp barks.

The door opened, and Murphy's large head immediately poked out and nuzzled Tom's knee.

"Hi, pup."

With an effort, Tom managed to pick Murphy up.

In the six days Murphy had been home with Fred, he'd grown substantially.

The puppy enthusiastically licked Tom's ears for a moment, before squirming for release. Tom put him down, and the pup raced back down the hallway; Freddie had returned to the living room to continue packing, and Murphy immediately thrust his head into the box and started licking one of Fred's decanters.

"Hey, hey, hey," Fred protested, shoving the dog away. "That's not for you. Go and find your treat. It's on your bed."

Grinning, Tom picked up the small rawhide stick Fred had left of Murphy's bed and waved it enticingly.

The puppy came over and snatched it from his hand, before settling down on his bed with a huff.

Fred smiled at Tom over the box.

"He's quite well behaved, really," he said. "Well, he is only twelve weeks old."

"Exactly. He hasn't been to training yet, so obviously there are some things he hasn't learnt yet."

"He already knows sit," Fred said. "And lie down, occasionally."

Tom smiled at the pup for a moment, before turning to Fred.

"Do you... need any help?" He asked finally.

"Erm... I suppose. You can start packing the books up, if you like."

They worked on in silence, carefully stacking books, glasses, bottles and knick-knacks into boxes.

Fred ordered a takeaway for dinner, and they ate together in the kitchen, before carrying on with the packing. Once the bookshelves were empty, they dismantled them and stacked the pieces carefully against the wall, ready to pack into larger boxes in the morning.

"Let's call it a night," Tom said finally, standing up and stretching with a wide yawn. "It's nearly midnight."

Fred wearily nodded his agreement.

"New Year soon." He muttered. "It's going to be a rubbish year."

"Yeah, it is." Tom replied. "Isn't there... anything you can do?"

"No. Unless the police find Elliot in the next three days. Then I might be able to stay here."

Tom sighed.

"I wish you didn't have to go. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too."

Fred glanced at Tom sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I got mad at you." He murmured. "I think... I think I blew everything out of proportion. I overreacted."

Tom stared at him.

"So you..."

"Still love you? Of course I do, Tommy. After the fight, I just... I guess my pride wouldn't let me come back and tell you I was sorry."

"So why do it now?" Tom asked bitterly. "When you're leaving, what's the point of telling me you're sorry, and you still love me?"

"I thought it might make us both feel better to hear the truth, but it doesn't. Nothing can make me feel better about this."

Tom glanced at Fred and saw tears forming in his eyes.

"Sorry," Tom said guiltily. "I didn't mean to snap and upset you."

"You didn't," Fred whispered. "I just feel so... helpless."

"I know."

Tom hesitated for a moment, before he went over to hug Freddie. They were both comforted when Fred automatically snuggled closer to Tom's body, nuzzling his face against Tom's neck.

Tom tightened his grip on Fred's body, loathe to let him go.

"Do you think... just for tonight...?" Fred asked tentatively.

"We've got three days until you leave, right?"

Fred glanced at the clock.

"Actually, only really two. It's the first of January now."

"Two days... that's plenty of time." Tom smiled, trying to buoy Fred's spirits. He could tell immediately that it didn't work.

"Let's just go to bed, alright?" Fred said wearily.

They put a fresh bowl of water down for Murphy, laid some newspaper on the kitchen floor beside his bed, and went upstairs.

"This place is bigger than it looks from outside," Tom said, looking around with interest.

"Yeah, it's a nice little place." Fred agreed.

He motioned the bathroom at the top of the stairs, and stepped aside to let Tom go first.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the cupboard under the sink."

"Thanks." Tom stepped inside and quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face, before going to find Freddie.

Fred pointed him in the direction of the master bedroom and stepped into the bathroom.

Tom went down the hallway to Fred's room and went inside. He looked around curiously for a moment, before a picture frame on the bedside table caught his eye.

He went over and picked up the picture, and smiled.

He and Freddie were in the garden at Dom and Adrian's. Snow was thick on the ground, and both he and Fred were pink-cheeked with cold. Fred had a dusting of snow flakes in his dark hair, and he was laughing. Tom's arms were wrapped around Freddie's shoulders, his lips pressed to Freddie's cheek.

Tom couldn't remember the taking of the photograph; it looked like a very intimate shot, and he wondered if Eli or Adrian had snapped the photo when they weren't paying attention.

"I love that picture."

Tom jumped when Fred's voice came from the doorway. He glanced over at Fred and nodded.

"We look happy."

"We were happy. We were always happy," Fred muttered.

"Yeah."

Tom put the picture back down and turned to face Fred.

"So..."

"So..." Fred watched Tom for a moment longer, before he started undressing.

Following his lead, Tom stripped down to his underwear, and slid beneath the duvet with Freddie.

Immediately, Fred snuggled against Tom, resting his head on Tom's shoulder and wrapped his arm around Tom's waist.

Tom brought his arms up and around Fred's shoulders and held him close.

Moments later, they were asleep.