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The headquarters hadn't changed much since he had last been here.
David wasn't sure exactly what he had expected. After all, he had only been in DC for two years, a third of the time he had been in LA before. Nevertheless, it felt strange to be walking in the same old office again, with the same desks and walls and people.
People. A few acquaintances greeted him in the corridor, surprised to see him, but so far he had seen none of his old teammates. They were probably out on a case, as usual. Consulting with Charlie, perhaps, or investigating a scene, or out on some other errand.
Nothing to do with him. Not anymore.
It was easy enough to find Colby's desk. It was still the same as ever, with all those little mementos from his past, mixed with files and notes and other little knickknacks. His fishing lure was there, as it had been ever since David had given it back after the whole spy incident. There was the baseball he held onto, and the picture of his old army friends stuck next to the computer screen, and —
David paused, his eyes stuck on the picture on the table on the other side of the computer screen. It wasn't very big, set in a simple frame, special in no way except that he couldn't recall having seen it before. Furthermore, he certainly couldn't recall having the picture taken.
Carefully, David reached out a hand to pick the frame up and give the photo a closer look. Someone had snapped the picture without his knowledge, in front of the headquarters apparently, speaking on his cell phone. Nothing noteworthy about it, except for the fact that Colby had chosen to put the picture on his desk, mirroring the position of the picture of his army friends.
"Nikki gave him that." The sudden voice from behind him startled David. "A peace offering of sorts, as I understood, after yet another of their quarrels. Colby was wary at first. He thought she just wanted yet another reason to tease him about you, but surprisingly she's kept herself pretty well in check about the picture."
Setting the picture back down, David turned around. "Megan." He shook his head. "I've got to say, of all the people I thought I'd see here, you weren't on top of my list."
"Well, someone had to fill the void after you left, so Don contacted me." Megan smiled, walking to what was apparently her desk, setting down some documents. "I wasn't entirely sure about it at first, but finally decided I'd rather be back with my friends again."
"And your reasons for leaving?" Now, he knew he hadn't been in that close a contact with the people back in LA, but surely at least one of them might have mentioned that Megan had returned? "I take it things didn't really work out back in DC?"
"Well, they did. Once I got my doctorate finished, though, I thought about my priorities, and decided that my family was here." Her smile faded for a bit before returning. "So, are you just visiting, or are there some ulterior motives?"
"I suppose you could say that." He allowed himself a grin. "As soon as I was done with my two years in DC, I asked for a transfer. I'm taking over a team here in LA starting next week."
"So we'll be seeing you around, then." Megan chuckled. "I have to say, there are quite a few people who will be happy to hear that."
"What, so you're not kicking me right back to east coast? I suppose that's a good thing, or something." He paused. "So... how's Colby?" Because everyone else could wait just a bit more.
"What do you think?" Megan gave him an inquisitive gaze. "I would have thought you'd keep in touch with him."
"I have." To a degree. "He rarely says much of importance, though. Mainly complaining about Nikki and how she's just no fun on stakeouts."
"Well, that's mainly what he tells us, too. It's not often that he actually reveals anything personal." Megan paused. "He misses you, though."
"I've missed him, too." That much he could admit. "All of you, but him most of all."
"Doesn't surprise me. I've rarely seen partners as close as you two were, and that's saying something." Megan's eyes fell down to David's hand. Following her gaze, he realised he was still touching the frame. "Does he know you're coming back?"
"Not yet." Which probably was a bad move on his part, but it was what he had chosen to do. "I wasn't quite sure how to tell him."
"I suppose he will find out soon enough." Megan shrugged. "We'll just have to see if he thinks it's better or worse to have you back in LA but in another team."
"Knowing Colby, he'll probably punch me once for going, again for coming back, and a third time for not coming back to partner up with him." Not literally, though. Probably. Sometimes Colby could be hard to predict, though David certainly hoped he wouldn't be in the receiving end of his fists.
"Maybe. Only one way to find out, hmm?" There was a momentary silence. "How was DC for you?"
"Tolerable." And that was about it. "Some great people over there, but nothing like here. Certainly no geniuses to consult with on a regular basis."
"Yeah, it's not exactly standard procedure." Megan's lips twitched into a smile. "Larry seems to have gotten quite hooked in the year that he was filling in for Amita and Charlie. He's now around at least as much as either of those two."
"Yeah, well, he's just as smart as the young ones." David certainly noticed the special smile. "So. You and Larry a thing again?"
"Hmm, maybe." Megan gave him a sly gaze. "As much as we've ever been, considering his rather peculiar view on life."
"Fair enough." David chuckled. "Larry really is unique, even among our geniuses."
"That he is." Megan started arranging the documents on her desk. "And what about you? Did you find anyone special in DC?"
David paused, not quite sure how to answer. His mind flashed back to the dates he'd had, the relationships he had attempted. The beautiful, intelligent, interesting women who had all left him feeling empty and disconnected. He opened his mouth to talk, then closed it again, shaking his head.
"Fair enough." Megan glanced at him before turning back to her files. "Colby hasn't found anyone, either."
"I didn't ask."
"I know you didn't." Her expression was perfectly neutral. "It's true, though. I think he's only mentioned having a date a couple of times since I came back, and we've never heard of them past some complaints when he's had to cancel his plans for the evening."
"Yeah, well, Colby's never been very forthcoming in that respect." David found his fingers again tracing the frame. Feeling Megan's eyes on himself, he drew his hand away as though burned, hiding it deep in his pocket.
"So we've come to notice, now that he doesn't spend the majority of his time with you. Nikki actually tried to set him up with a friend of hers once."
"She did?" David raised his eyebrows. "How did that go?"
"Well, she intended it as a gesture of amends after one of their constant fights. Don told her to lay off when he caught wind of it, though."
"And why'd Don do that?" Because last he knew, Colby definitely hadn't told Don a thing.
"Oh, he didn't elaborate. Just said that Colby is a grown man and he can take care of his love life all by himself. Why do you ask?"
"Well, that's just somewhat strange. I mean, if Colby's really been lazy about dating."
"Has Colby ever been that eager about dating?" Megan waited for his answer for a while, then, as he gave none, spoke again. "Has he ever been eager to find a girlfriend?"
David's shoulders tensed. "Megan, if you're implying something…"
"I can ask you directly if that's what you want." Megan gave him a surprisingly serious look. "David, is Colby gay?"
David looked away. "It's not my place to answer that question either way. If you want to know, you can ask Colby."
"Fair enough. You can answer a question about yourself, though, can't you?" Suddenly he got a bad feeling. "How much of a role did Colby play in your decision to return?"
David drew a deep breath, turning back to look at her. "I was never planning to stay longer than the two years I had to," he told her quietly. "It was always my intention to return. Go there, get my management credentials, come back to have a team of my own."
"You didn't answer my question."
"Actually, Megan, yes I did." Perhaps it was time he was open up about this to someone at least. "If all I want is to be around my friends, why do you think I'd leave everyone behind for two years just so I can come back to have another team?"
Of course, Megan had never been stupid. "You're not in the same team as Colby anymore."
"Yeah." He shook his head. "Don can get away with sleeping with one of his agents. Us… people likely wouldn't be quite as forgiving." Which wasn't any manner of fair, but it was reality.
"You did it for him." Her voice was quiet, but he heard it well enough. "So you can be with him without breaking the rules."
"He's had to worry about enough." The army hadn't been the best environment for a gay man in Colby's time. "Sure, I wanted to advance my career anyway, but… he's the reason my ambitions were for getting another team right here in LA."
"And now you've got it." Megan smiled. "You do realise everyone is going to tease the two of you even more, don't you?"
"Yeah, well, I'd rather appreciate if you kept quiet about it. At least until I get the chance to talk with Colby."
"Well, that hopefully shouldn't take too long." It took him a second to realise Megan's eyes were on something behind him.
Turning around, David found himself looking at his former partner. Colby's expression was unreadable, his eyes steady as they met David's. "Uh… how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough." Colby reached past him to set a folder on his desk. "Megan, here's the records you wanted. Anything else right now?"
"No, nothing else." Her smile was now more of a grin. "There's fresh coffee in the break room. Maybe you and David should go get some? He's been talking a lot."
"Yeah, so I noticed." Colby looked at David, his expression still betraying nothing. "Come on, man."
"Right. Yeah." Suddenly all the words, all the plans he'd made fled his head, leaving him with nothing but the knowledge that at last, at long last, he was back with Colby.
Well. Anything other than that, he could improvise.