Keep him safe

Chapter 1

Logan straightened his back in an attempt to ease the growing ache at the base of his spine. It had been a long night shift and he was ready to fall into bed. The case had taken its toll on him and his partner, Roman, but it was finally solved and the burglars terrorizing the neighbourhood were caught. Both detectives were now on their way to celebrate the closed case in their customary fashion, with hot chocolate at the cafe around the corner of the precinct.

Roman bumped into him as they walked. He tended to forget to keep up his tough guy persona when he was tired and thus became even more affectionate.

Before becoming friends with the dramatic man, Logan had not considered himself the type for friendly cuddles, since any invasion of his personal space had made him uncomfortable and awkward. The fact that he allowed the close contact now was even more surprising, considering how badly things between Roman and him had started.

***

They had met almost three years ago. Logan had made detective about a year previously and had quickly gained a reputation for being both thorough and effective.

His former classmates had laughed at him when they found out about his career choice, but he had never given their opinion much consideration. After all, they had never given him reason to do so, since they had rarely interacted with him aside from doling out ridicule. He had gotten used to being alone and working alone, and this had served him well as a detective.

His partner had been all but retired and left most of the work to Logan. It had been fine. He loved puzzles and mysteries and did not mind the mountains of paperwork at all. Thorough documentation was one of the most important aspects of his occupation after all.

Unfortunately, his routine was shattered quite abruptly as his colleague broke his leg trying to fix the Christmas decoration and chose to retire early. He had been forced to get a new partner.

The detective remembered the day quite clearly. Though he had tried to appear aloof and unworried, he had felt that it only made him sit straighter, give even more precise answers and act even colder than usual. He knew all this but had never figured out how to appear more welcoming toward strangers.

He had been yanked out of his thoughts quite rudely by a slap on the back that almost triggered his well trained defensive reflexes.

Looking at Logan, few would guess how well he did at hand to hand combat. He had never considered himself the most physical of people, but had easily recognised close combat as just another form of logical thinking and a question of acting accordingly. Take in the situation, determine strengths and weaknesses, choose a course of action most likely to afford the desired outcome and act according to his training. Easy.

His mother had sent him to martial arts classes after he had jumped his first class and thus had to deal with even older and stronger bullies.

The repetitive motions had appealed to him and he had seen the logic behind using your opponents weaknesses against them. While not especially strong or looking particularly threatening, Logan had become quite precise and quick and a force to be reckoned with.

However, he still vastly preferred solving problems with words rather than violence. He had never enjoyed hurting people, even the ones who deserved it.

Not knowing how close the other man had come to flying over Logan's shoulder and ending pinned on the floor with the detective's knee pressed against his throat, the newcomer rounded the chair and sat down right on Logan's well organized paperwork.

Already feeling irritated at the mess, Logan only had a short moment to take in the tall man, leather jacket, green eyes and broad smirk, to determine that he most dearly hoped this man had just gotten lost and was, in fact, NOT his new partner.