Chapter Text
Noel Finley slept slumped over in his office with his forehead to the desk. Cradling his face in arms balanced precariously on a pillow made from various stacks of paperwork. His hair sprawled out around him, having come unfixed from its gel after a day (and half of the night) of the man restlessly running his hands through it.
A finger flicked a stray lock back into place, or as close to a semblance of place that was possible given the disarray, its knuckles were too large. The digit itself was long and far more slender than muscle should be able to account for.
Well manicured nails aimlessly scratched along the back of the sleeping detective’s skull while their owner surveyed the office.
It was only just about large enough to fit the three desks for Noel, his partner and their secretary and was certainly not built for the extra filing cabinets that had been crammed into the space.
A few of the files seemed to have been what the detective had been focusing on before succumbing to his exhaustion. What with at least two draws of the cabinet behind him having been left open and rifled through. A sheet of paper from the mass spilling from the open tray fell to the floor as the being inside the office moved past it.
The deity began to smile, catching a stray giggle before it crept out of a mouth struggling not to tear at the seams.
They hoisted themselves up onto the desk, not caring for the stray sheets of paper and various pens it sent clattering to the floor.
“Hellooooo, Charlieeee” they crooned from above him. How nostalgic.
Noel was tired.
Noel was tired and his back ached more than usual. Falling asleep at his desk would do that to him though.
He grunted as he lifted his head from said desk, half certain he was going to find a pen shaped imprint in his forehead one of these days, and looked into the too-wide eyes of Kayne.
Fuck.
He was not awake enough to deal with Kayne.
He really, really, really didn’t need the god around at the moment. The timing was impeccable, Kayne choosing to show up after a month of silence just as soon as he was finally feeling confident in this case. He was so fucking close to a breakthrough. He could feel it in his teeth.
To make matters worse, by falling asleep in his office, he had inadvertently given the god more ammunition to push his buttons with this evening. He really didn’t need any of the patronising, false reprimands and the unconcealed glee that usually accompanied occasions like this.
He waited, eyelids begging him to let them close, for Kayne to divulge whatever reason he had for visiting him.
Noel felt pinned under the intensity of the gods gaze, which sucked because he desperately wanted to click his back.
Despite his silence (which only served to make him more aware of the stiffness in his spine) nothing came. No laughter or smugness or even hands on his face and a tongue in his eye. Instead, Kayne just smiled slightly while looking down at him from his desk.
He was sat on his paperwork.
Godfuckingdamnit this wasn’t the fucking time. The stains would be hard enough to get out of wood and now Noel was going to have to ask his boss for new prints.
Fuck. He couldn’t think fast enough for this.
The part of his mind that never shut up asked itself what Kayne was doing here anyway? It had a point. He only ever showed up at Noels apartment. Not here. Real, in his actual life…getting blood all over the office.
Noel dragged himself out of his mind and promptly told himself to shut the fuck up.
This was Kayne.
He must be even more tired than he thought if he was trying to look for any sort of logic to his actions.
He’d given up on trying to understand the god over a year ago and wasn’t planning on bringing that rather destructive obsession back thank-you-very-much.
He still had some of the books under his bed…
No. This wasn’t worth it.
He forced his head to move from where it had fallen to look up and into Kayne’s eyes. Sleep must’ve been blurring his eyesight because he could have sworn Kaynes eyes flashed white, lit up like a deer in headlights. He blinked and they returned to their normal drop of charcoal causing ripples the ocean of crimson.
He could get lost in those eyes- he had before. Spending hours staring at the fractal-like shards of his “iris” while Kayne’s words washed over him.
“What do you want Kayne?” He asked, not caring enough to bother with pleasantries.
The god stiffened slightly before returning to where he had been lounging against the small set of drawers on Noel’s partner’s desk (they had pushed the desks together in their first few days of working together in order to save room in the tiny office).
Kayne picked up a pen from Noels collection and twisted it through his fingers.
“Is it so wrong to simply want to see you?” He replied eventually, his mouth forming a thin line.
Noel bit back a laugh, Kayne never “just” wanted his company.
Kayne wanted: to torment him; to revel in his nightmares, or the aftermath; to demand favours and on occasion, simply to fuck. Any given combination of the above were on the cards when Kayne appeared in his life.
Kayne appearing just to see him?
The idea truly was laughable.
If the god even enjoyed Noel’s company (which Noel doubted) it was always secondary to whatever he wanted from him.
Noel, not believing the god’s supposed motive in the slightest, stood and picked up a mug of half drunk coffee before making his way into the main offices of the station.
“Don’t lie to me Kayne, it’s not a good look on you.” He threw the words the god told him so often to him, over his shoulder.
Kayne didn’t take the bait. Not so much as a giggle emanated from the office behind him.
Something was wrong.
He leant over the small sink in the corner of the station and emptied his mug, imagining what Kayne would’ve thrown back in his face.
His voice filled his head even if it did not reach his ears. ‘Oh but it’s such a good look on you Charlie dear. I just had to try it for myself!’
Or some other nonsense.
In return he would reply with something equally snippy about how Kayne didn’t have the good looks to pull it off.
Instead, it was disturbingly quiet. Not something he associated with Kayne’s presence.
He was putting the cup back in its cupboard when he felt arms snaking their way around his waist, he really wasn’t in the mood but that wasn’t what worried him. The act had made him jump.
Noel thought himself rather adept at listening for the sounds of bare feet against floorboards or the crackle of electricity that followed Kayne’s every motion.
It was probably just his sleep addled mind messing with him. Probably.
Having reached a comforting conclusion, he turned around and slowly pushed Kayne away by the shoulder. The god silently abiding by his wishes stood to the side, smiling slightly.
His compliance and small expression concerned Noel. Kayne was not a man to do anything by half. Well, he wasn’t a man either but that wasn’t the point. The point was, Noel was not used to this.
Kayne was too… normal? There was nothing behind his teeth and his eyes were missing something. Kayne’s normal mania seemed lacking, almost as if someone had smoothed out his abrasive, loud, obnoxious bastard of an omnipotent self. It made Noel jittery.
Subconsciously, he began looking for cracks in his vision. Any flash of yellow that might seem out of place. Sometimes the hint of ozone was enough to lead him to the confirmation of his suspicions but Kayne’s constant companion, the smell of both stale and fresh blood accompanied by unsubtle overtones of the aftermath of an electrical explosion, overwhelmed his senses.
Noel sighed, “Fine, don’t tell me why you’re here. Im going home.”
Kayne sprung from where he had leant up against the counter. “Happy to oblige!” He said, moving to click his fingers. Noel caught his hand in his before forefinger and thumb could meet.
Kayne didn’t need to snap to transport them to Noels apartment (or anywhere else he chose) but enjoyed the theatrics. Noel stopping the show lead to him cocking a would-be-regal eyebrow in disapproving confusion.
“I like walking back, it clears my head.” He quickly gave as explanation before going to pack his bag, collecting his coat and hat from the back of the office door on his way.
Any file with excess blood that couldn’t be explained away by a nosebleed (he would work on his cover in the morning) was placed in his satchel to take home and deal with later.
When he had finished Kayne was waiting for him by the door.
He had obtained a greatcoat from somewhere.
While Noel favoured a trench coat for most of the year, even during the warm season they were in now: New York sliding leisurely from spring into summer with the nights growing more and more humid, he felt that the fur trim was more than a little excessive. He couldn’t help but laugh. All his pent up nerves tumbling out alongside his genuine amusement.
The back of his mind busied itself with trying to work out if the light in this part of the station had always let off such a warm glow.
“With that coat and your hair my neighbours are going to be thinking I’ve begun taking ladies home.”
Kayne smiled placidly, slightly bored, a little commanding. Noel in his state of uncertainty felt the need to continue, much to his own distress.
“Agatha downstairs will be overjoyed she’s always telling me that nice young men like myself (young, who is she calling young huh?) shouldn’t be living as bachelors. Apparently it ain’t proper. Although, what with the lack of shoes and all the blood, I think she may find you more improper than my living alone. More concerned by my type, than happy for my success in getting a girl…” He stumbled to a halt, rather embarrassed.
“It’s a good thing that it’s late then isn’t it? No nosy neighbours to bother you.” Kayne smirked at him. Opening the door with a slight flourish he said: “After you Mr Detective.”