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T.C carefully landed the chopper and flipped off the power. Rick and T.C had just finished helping Magnum with another of his dangerous P.I cases. This one involved a blind girl and her missing dad that ended up being a part of a secret crime ring.
There had been ups and downs but the tension between Rick and T.C started when Rick decided to risk his life to save the girl from a few criminals during the case. Leading to T.C being angry that he did something like that when Higgins and Magnum were on their way to help.
----------------------------------
“Look, I know you’re angry but I’m fine-” Rick began.
“Are you, Orville?” T.C spat and crossed his arms “Because something must be wrong with you if you think that stunt you pulled was a good idea!”
Rick stared at him. Surely T.C wasn’t going to actually make him apologize and make such a complete fool of himself. Rick’s ears felt hot, the back of his neck burned. he dropped his gaze.
“No, really,” T.C pressed. “You’re always so sure that I’ll be okay with your recklessness, aren’t you? Must be nice. Because I don’t have the first goddamn clue what you got going on in that head of yours, so tell me.”
Rick spluttered. He didn’t have the first clue how to even begin wrapping his head around that, because T.C knew that Rick’s trust in him went beyond their friendship. There was no way he didn’t know, with how foolishly obvious Rick must already make himself. Everyone had to know, even Higgins and Magnum.
He felt he could burst with the longing of it, the knowledge of it, it was impossible not to know because Rick’s bones hummed with every second they even spent in the same room.
“Look,” Rick started again, a little hoarsely. “I know you have a problem with what I did. I know you don’t like that. No - no that’s wrong.” God, and he’d been nervous before. T.C’s gaze bore into him, blank and without mercy. Rick looked down. It wasn’t that T.C didn’t like him, dislike would take far more effort than T.C was willing to spare him. “But you can’t just expect me to be safe all of the time.” Rick could feel his voice growing damningly smaller with each word. “I can’t handle you being pissed at me, we have to take risks,” Rick finished, feebly. “For the team.”
” I know I can be a problem-”
Rick glanced up and startled.
Anger.
T.C was angry. He’d never seen T.C angry, He’d never seen T.C much of anything other than cool. Cool and confident and aloof and chill, except for those few moments when T.C wasn’t aloof at all and Rick fell all over again. He’d think he was fine, then T.C would smile, and boom! He was screwed again.
T.C was angry. It seemed impossible. It seemed like such a pale, useless statement to cover the way that T.C’s stare burned into him, every inch of his body gritted like a gun cocked back ready to blow. T.C’s nails dug into fists hard enough to draw a speck of blood.
Rick frowned at him. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for now?” T.C bit out. “Being a problem? What kind of problem are you supposed to be man?”
“You’re angry…”
“Of course I’m angry!” T.C closed his eyes. “If anyone talked about you the way you talked about you, I’d deck them, God, a problem! You’re not a problem. You’re the opposite of a problem.”
“But you’ve been-” Had he missed something? Rick’s stomach twisted. “You seemed like you were pissed at me.”
“I am. For all the good it’s done.”
Rick swallowed and resisted the urge to wilt. “Why?” If I weren’t a problem, why?
T.C looked down now, arms folded across his chest. “I…” his jaw flexed. “I…find it…tough. To be around you. To control myself around you. I thought it was obvious. You’re so-” T.C gestured at him, a helpless expression on his face. “So you.”
Rick had no idea what he was supposed to say to that either. His mouth had gone dry. The smallest hope sneaked in past all of his defenses, despite his best efforts. His heart quivered. “I thought you didn’t care about this.” Rick gestured between the both of them
“I tried not to. I thought it might protect me from caring all too much.” T.C’s voice was hoarse now too. “God. You thought I didn’t care about us? But you said that you knew I didn’t feel the same way about-” T.C froze.
Rick’s ears went hot again.
“Oh,” T.C said, very softly. “Oh.” The anger melted away, replaced by something else. It was so close to his normal calm expression, and yet it couldn’t be any further away. T.C leaned forward, eyes shining. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, man, tell me to go.” It was almost a plea, of sorts.
Rick’s stomach bottomed out.
Oh, Oh!
He grabbed T.C by the nape of his neck and reeled him in.