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"My love?" Fabien parroted Safia's words as soon as he and Phyre entered the elevator. The detective couldn't hide his surprise, this was an unexpected turn he didn't see coming. While he could understand where she was coming from, he was not particularly fond of the idea. A surprise in itself, he liked Safia. Not in the way he liked Phyre but enough that he considered her a friend. At least as much as you can be friends with someone in their circumstances. And friends don't steal each other's boyfriends. Not that Phyre was his boyfriend, not yet at least. He was working on it, though. Safia should have read the room and respected that.
"Shush", Phyre said fondly. There was a small smile curling up his lips and his eyes shone in amusement. Fabien would have preferred it if he would have been the reason for it. Did Phyre like Safia like that? Did it please him? Was he more interested in Safia than him? Should he have done more? If the detective was honest to himself, he recognized he was a bit rusty when it came to matters of the heart. Though, he had the impression that it didn't matter much - Phyre wasn't a paragon of perfection when it came to flirting either. It took Fabien way too long to interpret the elders rambling about interest as any kind of romantic interest and not the friendship kind of one. Maybe he misread the situation?
"My love", he said again, this time in a carefully neutral tone. "Huh, I didn't see that one coming." Given that Phyre's smile did grow, he did miss neutral by a mile. Was seeing him struggling so amusing? Did Phyre think of him as a fool? His mind was turning in circles as they did leave the elevator and left the building.
"I am sure she meant no harm", Phyre mentioned, still looking like this was the best day he had for a long while. "It is a term of endearment that can be used for friends, yes?" In theory the elder was not wrong but they both knew it wasn't meant in that way. "Was it used that way?", Fabien asked. "Because it sure didn't feel like it." There he said it. The truth laid like an open wound between them. Phyre just so easily could have pried his fingers through it and ripped his heart out. Figuratively spoken of course. Not that Phyre wasn't physically capable of doing so.
"Well, you are the detective...", Phyre turned towards him and invaded his personal space, "...so you tell me." Smug looked good on the Nomad, Fabien had to admit that to himself. For a moment he thought about throwing caution to the wind, it would have been so easy to lean in, crossing the minimal distance between them and pressing their lips briefly together. Preferably with Safia watching so that she knew Phyre was off-limits. Yet, Fabien didn't do it. There might have been flirting in the past, a declaration of interest but neither of them had tipped over the point of no return. While Fabien did entertain the idea in the past, he was sure doing it now would leave a foul aftertaste. He wanted to do it on his own terms and not only to stake a, maybe not even existent, claim. "I think I can see why she said it", he admitted. Phyre was easy on the eyes. More importantly he had a way to make you feel seen. Understood even. A rare quality among kindred. "I would have preferred if she hadn't."
"You know I am not interested in her like that." Phyre stared at him with this weird look in his eyes he sometimes got. Fabien wasn't entirely sure what it meant. As old as Phyre was, his intentional non verbal communication skills shouldn't be that bad. "You aren't?" Fabien's mouth was faster than his brain. The other didn't seem to mind, a soft laughter escaping his throat as he did shake his head. A sound the detective would love to hear more often. "Safia does not interest me", Phyre repeated, "there's only one person I am interested in." Phyres' fingers gently caressed his cheek. Fabien was sure he was about to meet his final death. "And we both know who this person is...my love." In one moment Fabien was staring into Phyre's eyes - it was like they transfixed him-, the next he saw him walking away like nothing happened. His laughter carried through the night, while Fabien was left to wonder what just happened.