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“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this…” Whistler grumbled as the two men climbed out of the small office window. Skyler watched underneath the beanie - which was part of his disguise - how Whistler almost closed the window, leaving a small bit of space so that he would be able to get the window open again if he had to. As Whistler turned back to Sky, the criminal grinned and adjusted his hat to make sure his hair was hidden with only a few ginger locks of hair showing. His disguise was completed with a hoodie that was large even for him and a thin scarf around his neck.
Whistler glared back as he pulled his own disguise - a large brown overcoat which fit in perfectly in the nearing autumn weather - closer to himself. The coat also had the added benefit of hiding his badge, which he was required to take with him, and his gun.
It was a dumb idea and the fact that Whistler had agreed to it was even dumber. He had only met the criminal mastermind Skyler a few times, which considering that his main objective was to capture said criminal, could be seen as either good or bad depending on how you viewed it. Despite it almost being an honour to get to take on such a large and important case, Whistler didn’t always love it. Sure, clues and police work was what he did best, but it had been such a change of pace to suddenly switch from normal cases to Sky’s case and Whistler had found himself scrambling to keep up.
This was made even worse by the fact that Sky seemed to play games with him. The redheaded criminal would near purposefully leave notes and hints and clues for the policeman to find. Clues that would almost get Sky and his gang caught, only for the ginger and the rest of the criminals to disappear again and leave Whistler feeling like he was back to square one. If Whistler had kept count, he would have known the time he’s been on “The Walker case” had been nearing 5 months. His colleagues called it a two steps forward one step back situation, and Whistler was almost forced to agree.
After semi-declaring that Sky had turned into an arch enemy of some kind, Whistler assumed that Sky would never willingly show his face. However, that assumption had been proven wrong. Multiple times. More often than not, Sky just wanted to taunt him or something similar. This time though, it was different. Sky had shown up in his office wearing full disguise and an idea of how to bring down - or at the very least hinder - a rival gang of his. Then the criminal had gone on to explain that he came to Whistler specifically because he assumed that the cop would be good at things like this since he’s done similar things before and then added as an after thought that Whistler could use the credit. Whistler had begrudgingly agreed to that. He could use a bit of extra credit. He wasn’t exactly getting anywhere on Sky's case. And arresting the criminal while he was right in front of him was somehow out of the question. Whistler was unfortunately just a bit too curious for his own good. The police had agreed, but after exiting his office through the window in an overcoat for a disguise, he suddenly didn’t feel so convinced anymore.
“Are you sure?” Whistler asked quietly as the two men made their way through their town.
“Of course,” Sky said confidently. “We have the routs of the five guards mapped out to a T.” Whistler scoffed and rolled his eyes, pulling the overcoat even closer to himself despite the relatively warm evening air.
The place turned out to be a smaller warehouse on the outskirts of town and Whistler had to resist the urge to roll his eyes again at the sight. Has any building ever looked more cliché? He doubted it. Looking at the slightly rundown walls as they slowly approached, he just shook his head. It was so obvious that a building like this one was used for crime. But maybe that’s why none of his colleagues had checked it. Obviously no one would stash weapons and guns in a warehouse that looked like it stored weapons and drugs! Except these guys, it appeared.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Whistler could see the ridiculously smug grin on Sky’s lips. As if the criminal was insinuating that he and his much smaller gang were so much better than these guys. However, this could all be a trap. Some kind of mind game where Sky helped Whistler discover their own gear. Maybe as a way to get rid of it. Or maybe Sky finally decided to stop being so nice and to finish Whistler off. He had to assume this was some kind of trap, or at least keep the possibility in the back of his head. Then again, Sky had never been hostile or violent towards him. So maybe the redhead was being genuine. Either way, the two men continued to slowly approach the building with Sky in the lead and Whistler close behind.
Suddenly Sky found himself pressed against the old wall of the warehouse. Whistler’s tense body was right in front of him, the cop’s hands at his shoulders, keeping him in place. Behind Whistler, Sky could hint at the dark contour of the neighbouring house, which meant that Sky was in the tiny, damp alleyway between the two houses.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed, focusing back on Whistler with an angry expression. He could accept that Whistler may not trust him, but attempting to arrest him here out of all places was bad style, even for him. Still, Sky wasn’t super scared or worried. He could break out of any sort of grip or hold easily. He didn’t gain his “uncatchable” reputation for nothing.
“Quiet,” Whistler hissed back, his attentive eyes focused somewhere over Sky’s shoulder, around the corner.
Sky attempted to turn his head to look behind him but he was only met with the wall his head was leaning against and the sight of the building across the street.
“What is it?”
“I see… 2 people. Dressed in black.” Whistler squinted as he talked, attempting to make out the outlines better. He must have seen the two guards only a second before Sky would have. The criminal wouldn’t admit it, but this was why he brought Whistler along and not his girls (his gang). Sure, his girls were really good at certain things, but they weren’t as perceptive as Whistler was.
“Shit…” Sky mumbled, his brain finally making the connection that the guards stationed at the warehouse had deviated from their path.
The rest of the street was empty and silent. Not a single person was walking about. The locals in this part of town had long since learnt to stay away from the warehouse, especially at night. Whistler could almost wonder why no one reported anything, but he figured this gang must be ruling this part of town pretty harshly. Sometimes the authorities could not fill all power vacuums, and maybe he should feel a small bit grateful for Sky and his gang for taking care of their part of town far better than these guys seemed to do.
The two men turned like soldiers and began walking towards the corner where Sky and Whistler were standing. Whistler’s shoulders tensed as he pulled his head back around the corner. His eyes met Sky’s and he blinked almost apologetically. Then he pressed their lips firmly together.
Sky’s eyes widened immediately as Whistler pretty much closed in around him. The policeman had moved his hands to Sky’s waist, keeping the criminal from pulling away. His lips moved near expertly against Sky’s, and when it became obvious that Sky wasn’t immediately going to push him away, he carefully loosened his grip on the taller man’s waist and ran his fingers over the area as if apologising for the rough treatment.
Succumbing to the feeling, Sky relaxed into the officer’s grip and parted his lips, returning the kiss. His fingers slowly curled around Whistler in return as well, grabbing the overcoat and pulling the officer closer. All to look believable, he figured. Because that was what this was, right? A way to hopefully not get caught doing anything worse than kissing. Getting spotted here and now, outside of the warehouse, would be much easier to explain than if the two of them had been spotted inside of the warehouse. He felt Whistler pause for a moment, as if surprised, but if he was surprised then he quickly shook it and continued, accepting the criminal’s silent invitation. Slowly, Whistler’s left hand moved up over Sky’s body to stop behind Sky’s head, pushing his fingers up past the edge of Sky’s hat to feel the ginger locks. Just as soft as they had looked.
The feeling of Whistler’s lips on his own made Sky want to forget everything else. He had never been kissed like this before. Whistler moved with a sense of gentle authority. Every touch, every kiss, every brush of his fingers through Sky’s hair was purposeful, and he kissed with a passion that made Sky weak in the knees. Sky had always hated the term "swapping saliva” and he had come across it in the romance books his girls were reading too many times, yet at that moment, the phrase felt like the only correct way to describe what was happening.
The guards approached in a steady pace until they could hear the footsteps, yet Sky kept his eyes closed, forcing himself to only focus on Whistler, which was surprisingly easy all things considered. The two men heard the footsteps of the guards grow louder and louder until they must have been just right next to the kissing pair. And then the sounds stopped. Whistler felt his heart beat violently against his ribcage. He knew the guards were staring at them, probably debating on what to do about the scene in front of them. The policeman just had to really sell the scene. He moved his right hand, which up until this point had been on Sky’s hip, to Sky’s thigh, lifting the criminal up so that it looked like Sky was the shorter of the two. Sky’s legs moved on their own, wrapping around Whistler’s hips in response and pressing their lips firmer together. This had to work. This just had to work. Sky’s heart was racing so fast that he could hear blood pumping in his ears, and he was pretty sure that Whistler could feel it through their clothes from where their chests pressed tightly together.
The two men heard but barely registered a quiet “tsk”. The previous footsteps started again, this time growing steadily more quiet as the guards walked back to where they had come from to finish their round. At that moment, Whistler gave the soft ginger locks a small tug, causing Sky to let out a rather unmanly noise from low in his throat. Shame quickly rose to his cheeks, but the guards weren't paying them any mind anymore.
As the sound of their footsteps slowly disappeared around the corner, Whistler gently set Sky back on the ground. The criminal was once again taller. Shortly after, the two pulled away from each other, Whistler’s hands still lingering on Sky’s thigh and in Sky’s hair while Sky kept his eyes closed and attempted to catch his breath. Once again, Whistler leaned closer to get a better view over Sky’s shoulder.
The criminal slowly opened his eyes and was treated to the sight of Whistler’s exposed collarbone. He must have grabbed the coat much firmer than he had realised. The two of them stood frozen there, both panting quietly as they waited for the coast to be clear. Sky blinked slowly, biting the inside of his cheek to resist the sudden urge to press a gentle kiss against the skin in front of him.
The cop stepped away just as abruptly as he had pulled Sky close and the criminal was left leaning against the wall with unsteady legs.
“There,” Whistler said, not meeting Sky’s eyes as he cleared his throat and straightened his overcoat back into place. Sky nodded slowly, putting on his best poker face as he pretended not to be as affected by the make-out session as he was.
The two men waited there for a few more moments before carefully continuing onward with the plan. This time with Whistler in the lead. Sky, for his part, just kept staring at the back of Whistler’s head. How dared he manhandle Sky like that? But more importantly, how could Sky betray himself by submitting so easily to a short cop? The kiss had just been a cover, a way to blend in and not get caught. Sky knew that just as well as anyone else would have. But in that case, why had Whistler put so much energy into it? Surely, he could have made it look believable without all that tongue and hair pulling? Sky licked his lips absentmindedly.
Whistler’s heart was still beating out of his chest. He quickly dismissed it as nerves over nearly being caught somewhere he really shouldn’t be and nothing else, even though he got far less nervous doing far worse things for his job. It was nothing else. Whistler was just jumpy, is all.