wine stains

take a break

Corbyn sits on his desk as his fingers run through his hair in exasperation. It's been a year and a half and still not even a shred of a lead on the serial killer case. The families of the victims haunted him in his sleep every night. Not having an answer for them absolutely is making him spiral.

He can no longer find peace in Daniel's warm embrace. He's plagued with the overwhelming guilt of not solving the case. The killer is always one step ahead. How? How does he do it?

Someone taps on his desk, and he looks up. It is Daniel. He's still in a suit, telling him that he just came back from a broadcast. "Hey there." He greets him.

Corbyn gives him a ghost of a smile and greets him as well. "Hey babe." He stands up.

Daniel slides him a card. "It's here. Like you asked." He looks at the security cameras then back at Corbyn. He nods, understanding. "How long?"

"Depends on when we find the next body." He sighs. "Gosh, I hate this fucking guy."

Daniel rests his hand on top of his. "You've been working hard for two long months. Don't give up just now."

"Not just two months. A year and a half." He corrects as he plops in his chair. "These families have been waiting for my answer."

Daniel rounds up his desk and hugs him from behind. "It's almost over. You'll give them answers in no time." He reassures. Corbyn sighs and rests his head over his arms. "Until then, you have a boyfriend who's been very cold in bed."

Daniel starts massaging his shoulders. "The weather isn't getting hotter... and the poor thing feels so cold in his bed."

Corbyn hums. "You shouldn't be touching me like this... I have a boyfriend, you know?" Daniel feels him relax under his hands. "He's quite famous... really handsome and gives amazing massages."

"Maybe you could introduce me to him... my boyfriend hasn't been home all week."

The lieutenant caves in. "I do have some extra hours to compensate." He hums when Daniel aliviates his tension.

He moves close to Corbyn's ear. "I know just the way to release all this tension."

***
After thoroughly releasing all their tensions, the couple lay in bed, cuddling as a way of aftercare. The lights are off, their bodies being illuminated the soft moonlight.

Daniel breaks the silence. "Why do you need the hair?"

Corbyn's heartbeat fastens a bit. "Just to have a dna sample before we accuse him of anything. You know I can't really disclose much. It would be really suspicious of the department to just ask for his DNA without a valid reason. " He explains, trying to get him to stop asking questions.

His lover nods and makes himself comfortable against him. "Corbyn, sweetie." Daniel calls him. He hums."Let's have a shower together."

Corbyn raises an eyebrow. "Are you saying I stink?" He asks.

"I didn't say that." Daniel says matter-of-factly. "I said that we should jump in the shower."

The blond chuckles and moves to pick up his lover. He walks to their shared bathroom and turns on the light. Both flinch at the bright white light.

Daniel turns on the shower as they discard their briefs. They hop in, and Corbyn hugs him as the water falls on their bodies. "Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever. I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiles softly at his warm embrace. They part the hug and shower together, sharing some fleeting kisses in between.

The couple lay in bed once more, now with a much more pleasant smell as Daniel comforts his lover. For a while, Corbyn forgoes the overwhelming guilt that keeps him up countless nights.

His shoulders truly relax and he feels the first few tears fall. From there on out he sobbed against Daniel's naked chest as all emotions he has been repressing come crashing down. And he's there through it all, not to make him stop crying, but to allow him to let it all out.

You see, holding in your emotions for far too long not only damages your mental health, but it also damages your soul and overall view of the world. Corbyn's emotional investment in the case and succeeded fails of not catching the perpetrator is slowly destroying him.

Daniel first fell in love with his unwavering determination and almost heroic hope of stopping crime. but with time, he realised that it was, in fact, a curse, a burden to be with someone like him. Nevertheless, Daniel stayed. He stays because Corbyn is so much more than unwavering determination.

Corbyn reminds him of specific feelings. The feeling of drinking hot cocoa in a snowy winter morning. The feeling of when a cat sits and purrs on your lap. The feeling of euphoria when you see you passed an exam you were sure you were going to fail. But none of these feelings come close to the feeling of having Corbyn in his chest evokes.

Daniel holds him close until he eventually succumbs to exhaustion. He combs his hair with his fingers and then moves his soft hand to caress his cheek.

His skin was soft and stained with tears. Daniel makes sure to carefully clean them, as his lover is too handsome to be stained by such salty tears.

He kisses his forehead lovingly and covers both of them up until their necks. Corbyn unconsciously pulls him closer, and only then does Daniel close his eyes.

The blond slowly lets the exhaustion put its full weight on his head and falls asleep.

Corbyn's phone vibrates, but Daniel doesn't bother to check who it was at such a late hour. The heavy arm over his torso calms him. Knowing his lover is resting next to him brings him peace of mind.

With their legs intertwined on each other, they were a mess of limbs that couldn't bear a second without skin to skin contact.

Daniel feels a kiss on his collarbone right before he enters a new sleeping state. His lover is always so tender when in comes to him.