Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Damnit.”

Rodger flopped onto his bed, feeling his entire body ache. Maybe he should have listened to Tisha about the whole “not overstraining” yourself thing. Since before the sun rose, he’d been awake collecting research during runs, and solving cases in his off time. He usually felt quite exhausted in general, as pushing 33 would do, but he hadn’t noticed anyone else experiencing the same at all. Then again, he hadn’t really ever explored getting all glammed up like the other toons do.

He was too busy taking care of Toodles and making sure she didn’t get in trouble or get hurt. Would he want to? Not really, as he believed his suit and tie was enough. But he did believe it wouldn’t hurt to do so once in a while. His job also posed an issue since there was a certain dress code he gave himself so he could be as productive as possible, which didn’t include any makeup or cover-up.

As he reminisced and grumbled to himself, Rodger heard a knock on his door, which was quite strange, considering the time. He grumbled and got out of bed quickly, feeling his bones crack as he got up. He reached for the door, opening it to...Glisten?

Glisten looked like a mess. His head leaned down to the floor and bow was undone. Even his mirror was all stained and smudged, which Rodger had never seen before. His entire body shook when he stood there, leaning against the doorframe. He looked like he was about to cry when he looked up at Rodger. He didn’t speak, but you could tell by his eyes he was pleading. Rodger quickly let him in–not wanting to irritate Glisten more than he already seemed to be.

Glisten slammed the door behind him and sat down onto the floor, bringing his knees up to his face and tucking his head in. Rodger stood there for a moment. Why’d he come here of all places?

Rodger and Glisten were never close. While, yes, they shared classes back in school and had mutual friends, Glisten always was a bit better. His parents were quite rich and, in quite a few industries, so since a young age, Glisten had been popular in those fields, even becoming a model for a while. He was incredibly lucky that way, not having to deal with all these problems in the true world. Then again, what a pity he had to face them headfirst without guidance after his parents passed. Poor Glisten.

Rodger pretty much came from opposite roots. His family was poor and living off of stamps. He was taught from a young age that he would have to work for everything he wanted, so he did so all throughout his life, and even to this day. He had a few friends which he kept so he wasn’t nagged by his parents about not having a social life, but other than that, he was quite lonely as a kid. He kept to himself and was always trying to find something to solve. He was incredibly lucky he had the opportunity to become a detective and fight against new generations of crime. Then again, what a pity he had his entire life, fighting for what he had. Poor Rodger.

Rodger stepped forward, sitting down next to Glisten. He could hear the faint sobs and breaths he took in-between. Rodger gently placed his hand on his shoulder, trying not to frighten him. He looked over to Glisten and asked him a question.
“What happened?”

Glisten looked over to the side, still trying to breathe between breaths. He leaned into the touch, shifting his body weight and head to the side Rodger was on. His breathing shook for a little longer while Rodger scooted closer, right to his side. Rodger pulled his hand away, and Glisten put his head there instead. When his sobbing stopped for a moment, still able to hear a few sniffles, Glisten spoke in a trembling and shaking voice.

“I-I don’t know! I just– I just came home from my runs today and-” He took a breath, starting to feel the tears running down his cheeks again. “And I just started doing this as soon as I closed my door!” Glisten felt ashamed in what he had just admitted. Shoving his head with force back in between his arms.

Rodger sighed, crossing his arms. “That just…happens sometimes, I guess. It’s something you can’t really control, can you? It could be anything. Built up stress, long days, or you just need some sort of a break. I mean, have you been overworking yourself again?” Rodger asked out of curiosity.

Glisten sighed. “Maybe…I mean- not as bad as I used to, I think.” Glisten looked over at Rodger again, who was listening, staring at the floor. He looked back at Glisten. You could tell he was disappointed. Rodger always told Glisten to stop, and offered to help him do so. Glisten always declined and kept doing so.

Glisten tried to position himself against Rodger, placing his head against his chest and putting his legs in between his. It felt oddly comfortable. Rodger sighed. Glisten knew he probably didn’t want to deal with him, and it felt like he was practically forcing him to do so. He didn’t try breaking the silence, out of fear Rodger would snap at him and tell him to leave, and he wasn’t worth it. Was he ever in the first place?

“Why’d you come here?”

“Hm?”

“Why’d you come here and not go to someone like...Teagan for example? She’d probably understand your whole background more, and-” Rodger was quickly interrupted.

“I don’t really…something told me to come here, I guess.” Glisten scrunched his face, not sure of how to explain why he's here, when he didn’t even know himself. “Saw your room first, I think.” Glisten slurred his words, yawning at the end of his sentence. The late hour and the entire breakdown had made him exhausted, unsurprisingly. Rodger was visibly amused from the answer but focused on taking care of Glisten. He held Glisten’s head in his hands before speaking.

“If you’d like, you can stay for the night. As long as you don’t say anything to anyone, and you leave before anyone notices, got it?” Rodger looked down at Glisten, who was already half asleep. He nodded.

Rodger smiled and set him down on his bed and tucked him under. He sat on the bed on the edge, across from where Glisten’s legs were. Glisten rustled around for a second, before speaking, with lots of fatigue in his voice.

“Stay, please.”

Rodger snapped his head back, processing what Glisten just said. Well, he could just leave him alone here and sleep on the bench back in the lobby and forget about this whole interaction. Maybe then, they could go back to strangers.

Him and Glisten never really had a typical relationship. When they first met back in high school, it was for some shitty project. They didn’t grow too close, besides the occasional hangout whenever their parents weren’t home, and staring at each other in the halls. After graduation, they failed to stay in touch while they went their separate ways. When Rodger finally graduated from his police academy, and Glisten retired from modelling to look for a separate job, they both decided to stay and work at Gardenview for convenience of their jobs being in the same building. Rodger didn’t want to get close to Glisten like this. It was dangerous and unprofessional. While the occasional party invitation or dinner offer happened, they didn’t talk much personally, much unlike this, where Glisten laid on top of Rodger, tucking his head to his shoulder, breathing hot air into his neck.

“This feels…nice.” Glisten spoke softly, yawning after he spoke. Rodger squinted. What was the last time he felt this warm? Cleary ages. “It really does, huh?” He tried to keep it together, not wanting to get anything out of this. Glisten spoke again. “Can we just stay like this? Please? Even for just a little while.”

Rodger paused and tightened his grip on Glisten. He knew he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be good for anyone. Especially Toodles. Could she handle someone else taking the place of Teagan? He didn’t want to think about that right now. It was dangerous.

Yes, He was quite charming and pretty. But he was dangerously clumsy, and always was daring to take unnecessary risks that could kill him if he made a single wrong move. Would he want to deal with that? But, if he was really honest, he wouldn’t mind much, if he kept himself safe. Toodles could use an extra caretaker, and he could get some responsibilities off his mind. He’d think about it later. For now, he has to deal with Glisten being a wreck.

“Are you going to respond?” Glisten spoke quietly.

“Oh? Uhm- Well…” Rodger thought about it for a few more moments. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“Decisions like this take time.”

“Aren’t you ready for something new?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“You’re never sure, Rog.”

“I guess that’s the truth.”

“So, will you let me stay?”

Rodger paused again for a moment.

“You’re not in the right headspace to be making decisions like this.”

“Fair, I guess.”

Glisten didn’t fall asleep too long after that. Rodger was also close to doing so too, which made him start to close his eyes and let his mind wander. He sat in his own silence, thinking about him.

Did Glisten really mean what he was saying?

He was playing a dangerous game, saying all this stuff about how he would rather stay, which Rodger knew was a bad idea. Glisten usually stayed with Toodles whenever he was busy, but could he manage her full time? Could he trust someone enough like that?

Adding on that, Glisten didn’t seem to know that Rodger was the same one he knew in high school, as Rodger transitioned back in the police academy (which was incredibly awkward, by the way.) years ago. Was Glisten really that ignorant? To be fair, he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone and preferred to keep it that way.

Rodger fell asleep quickly, still holding Glisten in his hands. He knew he couldn’t keep this, so why not enjoy it while it lasted?
_____________________________________

Shit, he overslept again.

Glisten groaned as he got up, now understanding why Rodger was always complaining about his back. Rodger had already left for runs and work which was unfortunate but expected. He wished Rodger wasn’t so consumed in his job, then maybe Rodger wouldn’t have to make him take care of Toodles whenever he stayed at work late, which was the regular.

Glisten checked the desk, seeing a note left there by Rodger. He grabbed it, squinting and trying to make out the cursive.

“Dear Glisten,

I hope this finds you well.

We don’t have to talk about last night if you wouldn’t like to.”

What even happened last night again?

The last thing he recalled was him slamming the door to his room and looking in the mirror. He was all scarred up and dirty from the run. Not perfect. Tears started falling, which made him make a quick decision.

Oh yeah.

He spent the night with Rodger.

Why?

Well, it could’ve been a quick decision, but his room was quite far. He didn’t talk to him much either way, but every moment with him felt like he met heaven early. His curiosity always got the best of him, constantly trying to figure out the answers to his own questions. The way he sparked up whenever someone mentioned a problem or mystery he couldn’t solve, scrambling to find clues whenever he could find.

Was he in love?

No. With him? Why not someone like Vee? They matched so well, adding on to their already perfect selves. Rodger was…not like him at all. Along with those two traits, he also was quite grumpy. They said he would get pretty upset if you bothered him during work. But, he had never acted like that to him?

He started reading the letter again.

“Sorry for leaving, runs have already started. I left this note after the first few; so if you just saw this, Good afternoon.
I called off sick for you, so you don’t have to worry about anything.

I don’t expect you to stay, so don’t worry about seeming rude.

I’ll see you later.
Love, Rodger.”

Fuck.

Glisten liked Rodger.

And Rodger liked Glisten.

This couldn’t be good.

Chapter Text

Glisten and Rodger didn’t speak for a while after Rodger left that note. The only times they saw each other was on runs, but they didn’t seem to want to talk with each other, or even acknowledge one another.

Rodger was worried that he had ruined the whole thing between him and Glisten. With anyone else, he’d just shrug it off and keep going with his life, not looking back at the past.

But Glisten?

He wasn’t one to just leave like that.

If he did, then he must’ve done something horribly wrong. Did he really screw up their entire relationship by one word? Couldn’t he just be normal? Rodger sighed. He looked up from his self pity for a moment, noticing the emptiness of the kitchen around him. He looked out of the window, and realized it was quite late. He decided it was best to start heading in for the night, as people would start asking about him.

Rodger sighed, picking up the mug filled with coffee he had set on the table earlier. He quickly adjusted his jacket, reminding him of all the times Glisten smiled and nagged him to make sure his jacket was on right, even giving him a small peck one time. (Glisten swears it wasn’t on purpose, but Rodger thinks otherwise.) He quickly started his commute to his room, not wanting to let thoughts come to him. He had work to do, after all.

His room was quite far from the kitchen, taking a whole 10 minutes to walk there. When he opened the door, Rodger took his jacket off and hung it up, doing the same with his tie, leaving him with only his button-up and dress pants. He changed out of it into his much more comfortable pajamas.

Rodger sat down, resting his back on the side of his bed. He started to wipe off the stains on his glass so it didn’t bother Glisten when he woke up. He wondered how he was doing? It’s been ages since they last chatted. Rodger started to get lost in his thoughts.

Everything he had done had been about Glisten. Glisten was the only one (besides Toodles) he cared about enough to even consider when making decisions. He cared about him so much. It was such a chore to do anything without him. He needed him.

Scratch that, why was he thinking that way? He was THE detective of Gardenview. He was doing fine by himself, and he didn’t need anyone else to come and ruin that for him. He had a job to do and he was going to do it right. An entire kid to raise, too. What would Toodles think about it? He couldn’t deal with that right now. For once, the detective questioned himself.

Perhaps he should knock on his door?

It was worth a shot.

Everything to lose.

__________________________________________________________

Glisten was startled awake by Rodger entering his room swiftly. He shot up, looking around. Once he saw the detective standing there, he locked eyes with him.

“Rodger.”

“Glisten.”

“What are you doing here?”

Rodger didn’t answer the question. Instead, he stepped closer, sitting down on the bed next to him. He kept his hands together in his lap, fidgeting with them and staring out. He cleared his throat and squeezed his hands.

“Why haven’t you said anything since the last time you slept over?”

Glisten blinked. Oh. This is what this is about.

Glisten looked obviously nervous, looking away and sweating a little.

“I’ve been…busy, I guess.”

“Was it what I wrote?” Rodger sighed.

Glisten perked up.

“Would you be mad if I said it was?”

“No, I completely understand. I know it was sudden and all, but something kept telling me to-”

Rodger was quickly shut up by Glisten pulling him in for a kiss.

Neither of them let go, with Rodger wrapping his arms around Glisten’s waist. When Glisten pulled away, he smiled and laughed, which was the first time he’s done so in weeks.

Rodger blushed, turning his head away. He tufted his jacket, sighing. He couldn’t be seen like this. He was a man of detective work, after all. Glisten patted his back and scooted closer to him, putting his hand on his lap.

“Does that answer your question?” Glisten leaned closer to him, making Rodger snap back into reality. He still was looking away when he answered the question, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

“Gives a pretty clear answer, but—” Rodger paused, tapping his finger and placing it on top of Glisten’s, squeezing it tight. “What are we going to do? What will everyone think? And Toodles, oh goodness, Toodles would be shocked to say the least, wouldn’t she?”

Glisten patted his back. “Rod, I think she’d be fine with me. Besides, I could take care of Toodles whenever you’re working. On that note, you’ve got to fix up that schedule of yours.” Glisten laid down on his bed, Rodger proceeding to lay next to him. Glisten wrapped his arms around him, his fingers tracing shapes on him. Rodger sighed and let his shoulders fall, getting closer to Glisten. He could just lie there for a few more moments.

“Maybe I should.” Rodger yawned, laying his head on Glisten. Glisten affectionately squeezed his wrist tight, before dozing off.

_____________________________________

Rodger blinked as soon as he got up in the morning. He looked around, realizing this wasn’t his room at all. He looked over beside him where he saw Glisten. His eyes were shut as he held onto him as tight as he could.

Ah, right.

Rodger slowly turned over so his body could face him. He was beautiful, even while asleep. How did he get the chance to be with a guy like this? Rodger rathered to not question it. He was too busy admiring Glisten. His golden frame really seemed to glow nicely in the morning sun. He decided not to linger long on it. What time was it anyway? It seemed pretty close to morning runs, which both of them had signed up for.

He gave Glisten a quick kiss on his glass, making his eyes slowly open and yawn. Rodger laid beside him as Glisten rolled over to see who was laying there. When Glisten looked to see Rodger, a side of his lip curled up.

“Morning…”

Rodger blinked, looking over at Glisten.

“Morning to you too.”

“I don’t want to get up…like, at all.” Glisten let out a breathy chuckle, laying on Rodger’s chest and mumbling words under his breath. Rodger tried to figure out what he was saying, but gave up after a third attempt. He’d ask later, though.

“I feel the same, we’ve got runs though.”

“And if we didn’t show up?”

“Dandy would give us an earful.”

“Would be worth it.”

Both of them laughed, Glisten hugging Rodger tightly. Rodger placed his head on Glistens shoulder, squeezing him tight. Glisten embraced him. Rodger smiled and spoke.

“So…are we together now or..?”

“Only if you’d like to be.”

“Of course.

“I love you Rodger.”

“I love you too, Glisten.”