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“I didn’t know you’d be here.”
There Jeff stands, his head cocking a bit to the left as he tries to comprehend why on earth Brian is opening Britta’s door at three in the morning after Jeff has given the thing a tap, three times in a row per his usual ritual at this time of night.
His eyes widen as Brian’s eyes widen and then shift back to a more discerning gaze. Jeff wonders if he’s figured it out and of course he has because why else would Jeff be here at this hour? And yet Brian quickly composes himself to a more innocent and curious stare, his usual laid back openness something Jeff wants to punch whenever he sees him at The Vatican.
Come to think of it, he realizes he saw him there earlier this evening, sometime around 11 or so he figures. They played a few rounds of darts with Duncan and Frankie, Jeff being very cool about the whole thing and knowing full well he was good at the game. Brian sucked even worse than Duncan but didn’t seem to care and Frankie had trounced them all before saying she was tired and going home.
He realizes he had been staring so he says again, “You’re here?” And raises a brow.
Brian runs his hand over his face and nods, his eyebrows also lifting a bit, and he takes a noticeable breath before he says, “Yeah, and I’m thinking you might need to go home.”
Jeff nods at this and bites his lip, taking a moment to consider his reply. Up until this point, he’s been aware Brian has been hanging about at the bar, something about working at the animal shelter and he and Britta have gotten friendly during her volunteer hours. Jeff of course suspected Brian was interested, but up until now whenever he made a snarky comment about it in feigned indifference as he and Britta hooked up on occasion after hours, Britta had merely rolled her eyes and told him she wasn’t interested.
Well, clearly that was a lie.
Jeff smiles tightly and says, “Maybe I left something here? Maybe a shirt or something?”
Before he can gauge if Brian’s up for a tussle, Britta is there looking angry and shoving Brian to the side so she can jab a finger into Jeff’s chest.
“Oh my god! Go home! Can’t you see we’re busy?”
“I’ll say. So where do I fit in your new rotation?”
She’s bright red now and yup, she’s livid. Jeff stumbles a little to the right as he’s a little drunk maybe.
“You do not get to talk to me like that.”
Now Brian is gently stepping in between them, his hands on both of their respective shoulders in what Jeff suspects is some effort to keep them from starting a tussle.
“Hey guys, let’s just revisit this tomorrow. Jeff, go home. Britta, I know he’s drunk and I can check on Mister Walter Whiskers tomorrow. His tummy seems better since he stopped throwing up.”
Of course Britta has some vomiting creature from the shelter in her home, thinks Jeff. And of course Brian is checking on it at three in the fucking morning. Of course.
“Don’t give me that crap. Britta, how could you?”
At this Britta turns from regarding Brian to Jeff, her face scrunched up in that way that only happens when she’s about to stick it to The Man. Jeff might be a little scared and he instinctively steps back.
It gets worse when she gives Brian a knowing look and then proceeds to step into the hallway and close the door behind her.
She hisses in an almost whisper, “How could I what?!? We are not a thing Jeff,” she gestures in between them and continues, “we were maybe a thing years ago, but even that lacked…depth.”ˆ
“Yeah, oookay.” He rolls his eyes and tries to seem nonchalant. He tells himself he is, he doesn’t care. But then his petty nature takes over and he finds himself saying, “But you still dig me, right? Or you wouldn’t keep coming back for The Winger.” He wiggles his eyebrows and wonders if she’ll hit him. Maybe then he’ll feel something besides the pain that's been in his chest since he got here.
But suddenly she seems to go cold, her fury now becoming eerily calm and she merely folds her arms across her chest and stares at the floor for a moment before bringing her gaze back up to his.
“You need to go home.”
And then she goes back inside and closes the door.