This really sucks.

I know we all have to take our turn on stakeouts but I did one two weeks ago before the snowstorm. My thoughts skate off into la-la land when I remember being apartment bound for three days. With Peter.

"I'm glad you're pleased with this assignment." Captain Simms quirks an eyebrow at me and I wonder what expression I'm wearing. "I expected a protest after the last one. At least this time, you won't be trapped in a van with Briggs. I know his smoking can be obnoxious."

"Whatever." I toss out, hoping for a few more details.

"We've got a room on the fifth floor, right across from Rycard's apartment. 70 feet away max. We're trying to get a bug in place so you'll be in stereo. Eyes and ears both. Your partner will be Andrews out of Vice. A nonsmoker, I believe."

"When do I report?" *Please, not tonight.*

"Right now while he's at the gym. Andrews is over there setting things up. I suggest you take your laptop with you so you can keep in touch. Once you're there, we can't take the chance that he'd catch you coming in or out. Any questions?" She gifted me with a look that said I'd better not have any.

"On my way." I went straight to my office, past Peter's empty chair. There was no way I could leave him a note. Too obvious among this sharp-eyed crew. We were playing it cool among them. As far as I knew, his father and the Ancient were the only ones who knew about us.

I packed up my laptop and loaded my pockets with the last of my candy bars. I slipped the mystery I was reading in the side pocket and hoped we would at least have a light so I could get some reading in. Sketching a salute to Chief Strenlich, I headed for my car and the address the Captain had handed me. Warehouse district. Not far from Caine's actually.

On the off chance that Peter's cell phone was on, I punched in his number. Two rings later, he picked up.

"Peter, its Kermit. Something's come up and I won't be able to make the game tonight. Maybe you have time to find somebody else." I don't trust cell phones. Anybody can listen in.

"Damn. I know you were looking forward to the ... game."

Oh, yeah. The hot sweaty game that the two of us played.

"Well, their chances don't look too good against the Bulldogs. They've lost both of the last home games."

"Yeah. But that's because we weren't there to cheer them on. You going to be free this weekend?"

"I don't think so. Just a repeat of two weeks ago." I can hear him thinking about what had happened then and knew he'd made the connection when I heard him sigh.

"Well, take care. I hope you've got somebody good to watch your back."

"I hope so too. I don't know him personally. Andrews was the name."

"From Vice?" His voice raised an octave. "You watch your own back. Or better yet, I'll come along and watch it for you."

"I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years. You've got me curious now. I'll e-mail you later." I'm in range of the address and I don't want someone picking this up. "Take care of yourself. 'Bye."

I park in the back alongside an old beat up Chevy Nova about twenty years old. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Peter's voice had been jealous. Like I had anything to worry about. I loosened my gun in my holster and made my way inside. It only took me a second to pick the lock to the basement. I prowl through the dismal place, making sure there weren't any surprises lurking.

I like knowing what's behind and beside me. I'm too old to enjoy surprises. As I've said before, there are old mercenaries and bold mercenaries but no old bold mercenaries. I left bold behind years ago. I canvas each floor from end to end, listening in at each door to see which rooms had people and which didn't. The ones with no movement, I use the sniff test on. Nobody lives in a place without the smell giving them away.

Nobody lived above the third floor, which meant we had a layer between them and us. At least we wouldn't have to walk around in our stocking feet. I hate that. I had to pick the lock on the roof door as well and I took a careful tour around, being careful not to show myself to the other building. It was the same height as ours and I pulled out my binoculars to check out the roofs that had a line of sight with ours. Old assassins trick. If I could use it for a base then they could too.

It looked serene and after brushing out my tracks in the snow that remained, I went back down to check in with my temporary partner. I knocked and waited for him to come to the door.

"Yeah?"

"Captain Simms sent me."

"Kermit?" The door opened and one of the most handsome men I've ever seen beckoned me in with a wide smile. A quick glance told me he was just under six-foot of blond beauty with a body built just right in all the right places. "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Detective. I've been looking forward to working with you for some time now."

"Thanks." I don't talk much usually and his enthusiastic welcome was a little disconcerting. He still hadn't let go of my hand and it had gone long past a normal handshake. I used a little force and he shut the door behind me and moved up close. He didn't seem to have been told about personal space and he was definitely in mine. "Is everything set up?"

"Yeah, we got the bug in and the listening post is right over here. I've got the telescopic lens by this window." His gestures kept invading my space and I moved towards the window just to get away from him. He followed me.

"Is that the only plug-in?" The listening equipment was using both plugs and my first sweep hadn't shown another.

"There's one in this room but I don't think it's working." He'd finally stopped and just followed me with his eyes while I took a turn around the space. At least we had a bathroom, although we'd have to be careful about flushing noises. The cot in the bedroom had the minimum of comfort but at least there were a couple of warm blankets and a pillow. And blackout curtains on the window so we wouldn't have to be so careful with the bathroom light.

If I have to, I can just go without sleep and at the moment I wasn't too sure that I wanted to give Andrews that kind of an advantage over me. I couldn't figure him out. Aside from being absolutely beautiful and smelling subtly like something wholesome like vanilla, he was way too eager to be working with me. I have a reputation of being a hard ass and normally there are groans instead of long handshakes when others get assigned to me.

"This is a real honor, Detective Griffin. Sorry about the Kermit earlier. I guess I just got excited. You probably only let your friends use that name." He looked so woebegone that I couldn't help a smile.

"Kermit's fine. I can rig up something for my laptop. Have you got the file on this case?" I figured if I gave him something to do, he'd settle down.

So he sat at the table with the listening equipment and read me the file on the alleged drug dealer living across the street, while I sat on the floor and rewired the outlet to allow more than three items to plug in. I could feel his eyes on me while he spoke of why Vice was involved instead of Substance Abuse. Rycard was also rumored to be running a snuff film operation with young men off the street.

"So, until they can figure a way to get me into his stable of regulars, I'm here to keep an eye on him. That way, he won't know me when it comes time for me to go undercover. I'm so new to the department that very few people know me." He shrugged and ran a slender hand through his long blond hair. The gold hoop in his left ear caught my eye.

"Met a Detective Caine, yet?" I wondered why Peter's reaction had been so immediate and when I looked up, I surprised a blush on the young detective's face.

"Um, yeah. We had a little misunderstanding in the locker room my first day here. He asked me what I was doing in his locker." Andrews looked absolutely miserable. "The Captain had told me the third locker on the left and I got turned around when I went in. Caine's locker is the third one on the right. It wasn't locked or anything but I knew right away that it couldn't be right since there was stuff there. But he'd already seen me. I tried to apologize but he really flew off the handle. I've kind of been avoiding him since."

I kept my chuckle silent with a supreme act of control. Peter can be a little quick on the trigger although he's calmed down a lot since he's been studying with his father. "I wouldn't worry about it. There, that's done." I stood up and brushed down my pants. "We're going to need another chair."

He sprang up as if I'd applied electricity to his ass. And a nice tight ass it was. I shook my head. What the hell was I doing even noticing that? He was babbling something about sitting on the floor and I shushed him when my cell phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Change of plan. Replacement coming. Put Andrews on." Captain Simms voice held suppressed excitement.

"Here you go." I handed over the cell and watched his face go from wary to excited to disappointed.

"Yes ... yes ... okay." He tapped off and handed the phone back, his long fingers brushing against mine.

"They've got a chance to get me noticed by him. Entree to the gym where he works out." The excitement was back but his eyes watched me move to the table with regret. I hadn't been eyed like that in years. Good for the ego even while I was telling myself that he was way too young for me to be cruising.

"Good luck, Andrews. Be careful and watch your back around him. We can't afford to lose any good cops to scum like him." I nodded and tried to sound judicial but a note of worry must have crept in. He was just so damn young.

He heard it and lit up like a Christmas tree, stepping towards me to do I don't know what but a knock at the door stopped him and I moved around him to answer.

"Yo, Kermit, let me in."

Peter? How the hell had he managed that? I opened the door to a rather grim faced lover who swept in and eyed the place like he expected to see an orgy taking place. Andrews just sighed and picked up his backpack from under the table and nodded to Peter before crossing to where I was standing by the door.

He patted me on the shoulder and sighed again. "It was nice working with you, Kermit. Even for just an hour. Take care. I'll remember what you said."

I kept my mouth shut with an effort, just waving him out of the door and closing it behind him. Turning to greet Peter, I was surprised to see him standing with his arms folded and one-foot tapping nervously on the floorboards. He looked pissed. What the hell alternative universe had I gotten into?

"Just an hour? I knew he was a fast worker but that's Olympic record territory." He was breathing fire and I hadn't a clue why.

"Why did you warn me about him? He just seemed to be an overeager kid to me." There had to be more about the locker incident then Andrews had mentioned.

"I don't supposed he mentioned that I caught him in my locker and when I called him on it, he groped me." Peter's voice was tight.

"Well, at least he has good taste."

Peter just snorted and looked hard at me from head to toe. "You saying he didn't hit on you like within five minutes of you walking in the door?"

"Of course not. Peter, if you appeal to him, this worn out old body isn't going to do anything for him. Besides, I'm taken." And I cocked my head and waited for him.

He was across the room in two seconds hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe but that's an over-rated pastime compared to being held by Peter. "Sorry. I guess I just assumed that he'd find you as sexy as I do."

A young lover plays hell with your ego. Mine was about five times larger than it had been just moments ago. I found his mouth with mine and tried to absorb him through his lips. Impossible but fun. We finally broke apart to breathe and I found his sheepish look rather endearing but knew better than to say so.

"Okay, I believe you. Damn it, he should have groped me." I paused and listened to him laugh. "But sorry to say, all he did was shake hands and read me the file while I rewired the outlet so I could plug in my laptop."

"Bad eyesight. That's got to be it. He's probably blind as a bat without his glasses." Peter was joking naturally now and taking a look around our temporary home away from home. I let him go prowling the place and went to the table to turn on the listening equipment. Just because the head honcho wasn't there didn't mean we might not hear something interesting.

I heard the water running and shook my head. Only Peter would be thinking ahead to showers. He returned in time to watch me check out the telescope. High powered but the glass had been treated so it wouldn't reflect. Shiny flashes have ruined more surveillance than I care to think about.

He came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. Right then and there, I resigned myself to a permanent hard-on. Professionally speaking, we should never have been assigned together but since no one knew we were in a relationship, I was in for a very hard time.

"I know what you're going to say and I promise to be good." His voice whispered in my ear and it was all I could do to keep hold of the telescope. "Very, very good." I felt my zipper sliding south and his long clever fingers delving into my pants. "Just keep your eyes on the apartment and let me know if anyone comes."

Coming wasn't going to be the problem, I decided and held on for dear life. He warmed me from my neck down and now one of his legs was between mine and between it and his hand, I was about to go stark raving mad. He was tongue washing my neck, including that little spot behind my ear that always made me whimper. I kept my eyes open with sheer force of will.

"Oh look, something's come up." He hummed and I felt his answering bulge between my cheeks through too many layers of cloth. His hands slid my pants and boxers down to fall to the ground. I don't wear mine skintight like he does. The air floated across my groin like a soft caress and he moved so quickly I didn't have time to even realize it before his mouth engulfed me while his hands held my hips tightly.

I was panting now and the view blurred before me while I risked a look down. He was cross legged on the floor at my feet, his jeans open and his lovely cock sticking straight out of the little slit in his briefs while my shaft moved in and out of his mouth like a Popsicle. I went back to watching the apartment because I wouldn't last a minute if I kept watching him.

He made it last a long time; pressing on the nerve at the base of my cock at least twice before I moaned and he grinned and let me come. He always needs me to tell him when I've had enough and that particular little moan is the signal that I can't take much more. It's a fine line between pleasure and pain.

Peter drank me down and sucked me dry while I held on to the telescope and thanked god for tripods. Sturdy tripods. When I got my breath back, I tugged him up to take my place. He brought my pants up with him and tucked my limp cock in. He was so hard at this point that I could have breathed on him and made him come but I took him deep into my mouth so I could savor him. He drinks a lot of herbal tea and tastes of ambrosia to my taste buds.

I tucked him back into his jeans and carefully zipped him up. He pulled me the rest of the way up and into his arms. Peter is a natural born cuddler and I'd grown used to waking up with him snuggled as close as he could get. It should have been claustrophobic but I'd begun to miss him when we had to be apart. The bed was too damn big without him sprawled across it.

"Damn, we've got company." Peter swore, his eyes back at the telescope lens.

I crossed over to flip on the recording equipment. If we were very lucky, there'd be a phone call or visitor that would give us what we needed so we could go home. The more of Peter I have, the more I want and the little snack we'd just shared had only whetted my appetite.

*************

Three days later, I was about ready to go over to Rycard's apartment and plant some evidence on him. The guy was so squeaky clean it was nauseating. Also, suspicious. Nobody was that good. I'd gotten a modem connection from a satellite feed on the roof and I decided to take a little walk through the web into his finances. Nothing legal, mind you, nothing that would stand up in court but even a hint could give us something to begin unraveling his operation. So far, all I'd found was some suspicious income tax deductions and I'd already routed them to a friend in the IRS.

Andrews had visited the apartment the night before and his wide-eyed ingenue act had gone over really well. Especially the blush when Rycard had made a subtle pass at him. The kid was a natural at the innocent look. His little gasp at Rycard's kiss had made me grin while Peter just shook his head in disgust. My lover was still holding a grudge.

We'd been good too, except for a kiss or three. Too much chance to get caught with our pants down. Literally. So we were feeling just a little desperate when the Captain called and told me Rycard had just left for New York with Andrews for a little shopping spree and we were off the hook. Peter was at the telescope when I took the call and I contemplated his slightly bent over position with his ass pushed towards me and absolutely no underwear line visible.

Moving quietly, I hung up on the Captain and moved up behind my unaware lover. "So, Peter. Guess what?" My hands went around his waist and began to stroke the soft denim over his crotch. The swelling was immediate and I fondled him slowly while pressing up against the curves of his ass.

"Ker-r-r-mit. That's not funny." He panted slightly. The three days had been harder on him because of his youthful energy. But I wasn't far behind.

"You've got that right." I unbuttoned his metal fastener and inched the zipper down very slowly while I moved my hips back and forth over his backside. He was trembling now and when he'd sprung free with a whimper, I pushed his jeans down over his hips and all the way down past his knees. From this position, I could see the heavy sacs between his legs and the thick cock jutting forward in the pale afternoon light.

"I love it when you go commando on me."

My hands moved up his legs to cup and spread his cheeks. I blew across his puckered opening and felt him shake. Moving in for an intimate kiss, I heard him moan my name while my tongue tasted him. Richly flavored as he is everywhere else, this musk was stronger and just more 'Peter' than the rest of him. I stabbed the tight muscle with my rolled up tongue and felt him shake harder.

We hadn't done this before and I really hoped I wasn't grossing him out. I let go with one hand so I could free myself from my suddenly too tight pants. My name was being hoarsely whispered in a chanted mantra of desperate feeling and when he felt my shaft between his cheeks, he pushed back immediately, changing the chant to 'now'.

He was leaking precum and I used that to loosen him up a little more. I didn't want to take him dry and I was wondering why I didn't just carry lube around in my pocket when he turned in my arms and went to his knees to mouth me into wet steel. A few moments of torture and I pulled him back up, kissing him senseless before turning him back around.

"Assume the position, kid. I never realized how erotic this telescope was."

"Fuck the telescope, Kermit." Peter groaned.

"Nope. Rather fuck you." And I slid into his tight hot depths in one long push. I rested against his back, my hands sliding over his hips to grasp his cock and give it an encouraging rub. He relaxed around me and I brought my hands back to his hips so I could begin the slow thrusting that would bring us both release. We've only done this twice before and I have to say that third time was definitely the charm.

The friction was greater because of the absence of lube but the angle was perfect for hitting his prostate and he was panting in between his moans. One of his hands came down to give his cock some relief and I sped up my thrusts until I was almost battering him. My whole world shrank to a very small place and he was all I could feel, pulsing around me like a living glove.

I swear I could feel his heartbeat through my cock and when I exploded, that beat was all that kept me conscious and on my feet. Slowly, I came back to full awareness of the room and Peter. I could smell him so I knew he'd come too. I was finally beginning to shrink a bit and I very slowly rocked back and forth a bit.

"Ow!" His murmur was uncomfortable but not pain stricken. Still, I stopped moving and waited. Stroking the soft skin at his waist, I tried again and managed a bit more before the tension stopped me.

"Peter, relax for me. I don't want to hurt you now. Pretend that I'm not there and you want me to come in. Relax those muscles for me." I whispered into his ear and licked the sweat from his neck. It's as salty sweet as the rest of him.

He laughed then moaned when I slipped all the way out. I bent to take a look. Reddened but not too bad. No blood for which I was profoundly grateful. I kissed him gently and tasted myself on his sweat slick skin. He shivered and I pulled up his jeans part way. He straightened with a hiss and tucked himself back in before zipping up. I'd already tidied myself away before he turned to look at me.

He was blushing and I wondered why for a moment before he leaned over and kissed me. I pulled him into my arms and soaked in the lovely warm heat of him while his tongue scoured my mouth of every last drop of saliva.

"Kermit? Why?" He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.

"There is no part of you that I don't find sexy, Peter. I never felt the urge to do that to another man before but with you," I shrugged and kissed his chin, "it was the most natural thing in the world."

"I love you. Was that Captain Simms letting us off the hook?" He smiled shyly and I could see him file away my answer into the back of this mind for study later. "Because if it was, I want to go home and take you to bed for about eight hours of sleep and cuddling."

"Yes, it was the Captain and yes we can pack up and go home."

"Thank God. Do we leave the stuff or take it back?" He groaned.

"Leave it. Rycard will be back but then Vice gets the job of watching him."

Peter grabbed his pack and I unplugged my laptop and stowed it away. I grabbed the sack of trash to take with us while Peter gathered our stuff from the bathroom. I hurriedly cleaned the tripod and wall of Peter's offering and cracked the window to let the cold fresh air in. By the time Vice took over, the smell of our lovemaking would be gone. Locking the door behind us, we left our assignment behind.

Peter unlocked his car and looked over at me. "My place or yours?"

"Do you have any food in?"

"Uh, no. Haven't had a chance to shop lately."

"My place. I'd set in supplies for the weekend we missed."

A slow smile crossed his face. "Oh, I don't know. I enjoyed this weekend. Even if I do have to sit on a cushion for a couple of days."

I didn't even have to stop and think about it. "This time, you can take me."

His eyes lit up and he gulped once. "I'll race you home."

I just laughed at him and followed him in my car. What a nice word that was. Home. And home was wherever he was. My body tingled in anticipation. Especially when I had him deep inside of me where no one had been in twenty-five years.

Oh yeah!

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The end for now