Cat and Mouse game

Chapter Ten

In the early morning, the smell of freshly brewed coffee woke Elias up. He barely opened his eyes and saw Eric in the kitchen, preparing breakfast at the stove.

Raven turned around to grab a seasoning from the table and their eyes met.

"Morning! You up?" he asked, taking a sip of hot coffee, "Want some breakfast?" 

Elias rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched, getting up from the couch. It wasn't the most comfortable couch, so his back was a little stiff. 

As he went into the kitchen, he saw a pan with eggs and bacon frying in it.

"Ummm, did you slip something in there?" was the first thing Elias said after waking up.

"In this case, I wouldn't dare to eat it," Eric said, picking up a piece of bacon with his fork and popping it into his mouth.

"Makes sense. But anyway, I don't really eat breakfast."

Eric seemed a bit disappointed. After all, he had got up early in order to prepare breakfast for both of them. He wanted to make a goodwill gesture for the benefit of their further partnership.

"I wouldn't mind some coffee, though," Elias said, noticing the change in Raven's expression. Then he added, somewhat hesitantly, "Uh, thanks."

"No problem," Eric nodded briefly and, placing a plate of food in front of him, sat down at the table.

Elias poured coffee into a cup and sat down opposite his partner. He sipped the coffee slowly, hoping it would give him the energy boost he needed. Eric looked up from his plate and gave Elias a strange look. All of a sudden, he laughed softly.

"Huh, what's up with your hair, Elli?"

"What's wrong?" asked Elias, a confused frown on his face.

"Your hair is all messy, like you've got a bird's nest on your head!"

"Eh, it happens sometimes," he shrugged with an indifferent look. "There's not much I can do about it now."

Without saying a word, Eric reached across the table and gently touched Elias' curls. Apparently, he wanted to fix his hair a little. When Elias felt the touch, he froze and stared at the guy in shock. The next moment, he roughly pushed Eric's hand away.

"Uh, I just did it on autopilot. I didn't mean to..." Eric explained as if to apologize.

"Don't you ever do that again," Elias said in a serious tone, giving his partner a stern look. "I don't like it when people touch me."

"Got it. I won't," an awkward smile crossed his face.

After that, their brief conversation came to an end. They spent the rest of breakfast in their usual silence.

Elias quickly finished his coffee and, while Eric was washing the dishes and clearing the table, he began to get dressed. Yesterday, he prepared some clothes that would suit his role as a scientist well. Nothing fancy – just a pair of classic gray pants and a light green shirt.

He also took out a case of glasses from his bag. These were not prescription glasses, but rather an accessory: instead of diopters, they had ordinary glass. As a matter of fact, it was common for people of science to wear glasses, which always added a certain touch of intellectuality to their overall appearance. And Elias kept them specially in case of such a disguise, as they could be really useful for undercover work.

After getting dressed, Elias styled his unruly hair and sat down cross-legged on the couch. He was waiting for his partner to get ready as well.

Raven took off the clothes he had slept in and threw them on the bed. When he approached the closet to take his suit, Elias turned to look at him. His eyes fixed on his partner's half-naked body, examining it.