Work Text:
Adam, Stephens, Sasha and Ingrid were pouring over documents in the bullpen to solve their latest case.
At first, they didn't notice a man walk in. But Ingrid did and looked up, "Who are you?" She asked him, her tone of voice tinged threateningly.
Her voice alerted the attention of the rest of her colleagues. Adam, Stephens and Sasha looked up. Sasha and Stephens looked lightly alarmed at a man having just walked into their area of work, but Adam looked surprised.
"Casey?"
The man - Casey - looked at Adam. "Hey, Adam." He greeted, taking a few steps further into the room.
Stephens turned to look at Adam, "Casey?" He mouthed to his brother, thinking of a Casey that his brother had known and wondering if this was the same one. Adam briefly glanced from Casey to Stephens, giving him a look. A look that indicated this was the Casey Adam had known. Stephens turned back to Casey.
"Adam, can we... Talk?" Casey asked.
Adam closed his folder. "Of course." He said, un-crossing his legs and hopping off of his desk.
He followed Casey out into the hallway so they could talk.
Stephens, Sasha and Ingrid turned to them, watching Adam and Casey's friendly body language.
Sasha and Ingrid immediately turned back to Stephens.
"Are they - ?" Ingrid started.
"I got a vibe." Sasha said.
Stephens sighed but turned toward his two colleagues. "I never met him until right now. I hadn't realized Casey was... A man. I didn't know - Adam never - " He fought for the right words while processing what he had just learned. He briefly glanced out into the hallway at his brother. He could tell there was a closeness between Adam and Casey from their body language. Not that straight men couldn't have the same body language though. They could. He turned back to Sasha and Ingrid. "Adam never told me he was also into men." There was a hurt tone in his voice.
"I'm sorry he never confided that part of himself in you." Sasha emphasized.
Ingrid briefly looked out into the hallway at Adam. "I mean, now that I think about it. The bisexual vibe is there." She turned back to Sasha and Stephens, who were staring at her. "What?" She asked, point blank. "I'm just saying. I can recognize." She huffed.
"Thank you. Sasha." Stephens said. "I didn't not notice his... Vibe." He adjusted his glasses. "I just... Figured if he was he'd talk to me about it when or if he was ready."
Sasha nodded understandingly.
"Well, not everyone opens up to others." Ingrid commented.
"But, sometimes people do." Sasha said, trying to be comforting. She glanced briefly out into the hall. "Maybe there's a good reason."
Stephens contemplated it. "Maybe." He watched Adam walk back into the room while Casey turned and walked out of view.
Adam saw everyone was staring at him and abruptly stopped. "What?" He continued waking again and went back to his desk.
Sasha and Ingrid just glanced over at Stephens, who looked from his two colleagues to his twin brother.
Adam looked between the three of them. "What?"
Stephens paused before speaking, adjusting his glasses again. "Not that it's any of my business. Because it's not." He assured Adam. Adam leaned closer towards his brother's direction. "I just... " He moved his hands. "I know it shouldn't... Because this is about you and not about me... But, I'm just wondering... Why you didn't tell me."
Adam grinned. "Tell you what?" He asked, genuinely not knowing what Stephens was talking about. He briefly glanced at Sasha and Ingrid before looking back at his brother. The look on his face indicating they should be asking him questions and Stephens.
Stephens blinked. "Why you didn't tell me that you like both women and men slash people?" He said it like it was obvious.
It was Adam's turn to blink. He looked at Sasha and Ingrid who had looks on their faces like they were wondering too. Though Sasha had a look of sympathy too while Ingrid had a look of that she didn't care if Adam had said anything or not because it was his business not hers.
Adam turned back to his brother. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "You knew. I thought you knew." His voice was sincere and honest.
"You... Thought I knew?" Stephens asked.
"Because I told you about the people I dated." Adam said.
Stephens thought for a second. "You did." Thinking back to school and university and onward.
Adam was staring at his brother like it was painfully obvious.
Stephens blinked. He thought back to Adam telling him about the people he had dated - Albeit somewhat briefly enough that Stephens never actually met any of the people, except a few women. And his own ex-girlfriend, Lauren.
He thought of the times Adam went on about his love life. The ups and downs. With Casey and Ashley and Jamie and Blake...
Wait.
The look of realization crossed Stephens' face.
They were gender neutral names.
Stephens had just assumed they were girls and women.
Sasha saw the look on Stephens' face. "What?"
But Ingrid had figured it out. She smirked. "He always told you their names but you never actually met them."
Stephens nodded.
"And their names are gender neutral." Sasha surmised.
Stephens nodded again.
Sasha looked between Stephens, Adam and Ingrid. "Oh!" As she processed the information with a smile on her face.
Adam looked like he was going through the last however many years of what he'd told his brother about his love life. He looked at his brother. "You thought I was dating women this entire time because you thought everyone I mentioned was a woman?"
"You only said their names!" Stephens shot back.
"I - " Adam started, but thought back to his conversations with his brother about the men he had dated. "... I guess there's a chance I mostly used only their first names. I mean, you technically never met any of them."
"I didn't." Stephens said.
A few seconds of silence went by.
"You thought I wouldn't tell you something like that?" Adam said, referring to what Stephens had said early. His voice was gentle. "That I wouldn't confide something as important as liking men - as being Bisexual - to you?"
Stephens shrugged. "I thought maybe... You weren't comfortable. Or you weren't sure. Or - Something." His voice was small.
Adam stood up from the table and walked over to his brother. Stephens stood up to stand in front of Adam. Adam put his hands on either side of Stephens' shoulders. His eyes bore into his brother's with care. "I will always confide in you. You're my brother." Stephens smiled. Adam took his hands off of his brother's shoulders and continued. "We're brothers. And I love you. If we have no one else - " Sasha cleared her throat. Adam glanced at her. "- Which we do. Obviously." He turned back to Stephens. "We have each other. Siblings don't always get along - And I know we have our moments - But I care about you. And I know you care about me too. And I wouldn't keep something like that from you. I'm not ashamed of being Bi. Just like you shouldn't - And aren't - Be afraid of people knowing you had a thing with a Camgirl." He paused. "Which I get why you didn't tell me about Portia - Annie - You were embarrassed. But you generally don't have anything to be embarrassed about."
"I know." Stephens said gently. "I know now." He corrected, referring to what he had learned during their time solving that case and what Watson had said to him.
Adam smiled. "I know you know. We're all just people. And people are messy and complicated but we shouldn't be embarrassed about things like Camgirls and being bisexual. Love in all its forms is love. People are people. And people are complicated and have layers."
Stephens smiled warmly at Adam who smile the same back.
"I really thought you knew." Adam said.
"Well, it only took me how many years to know." Stephens commented.
Adam grinned.
Sasha and even Ingrid couldn't help but smile at the exchange between the two brothers.
"What did - Casey, was it - want?" Sasha asked.
Adam turned to her. "Oh, he has a case for us."
"I'll text Watson and ask." Sasha said, getting the phone out.
"Great." Ingrid commented about there being a new case.
The team got back to work.