Work Text:
Words
by duointherain
Disclaimer: I do not own The Sentinel or Words by F.R. David.
"Words don't come easy to me," Jim sang, softly, badly. He was better with the guitar. The lyrics were an understatement.
He was an ex-army ranger, an undercover Vice cop, a detective with major crimes. He had not invited Blair Sandburg into his life, certainly not in the way Blair had come into it. Of course, yes, he had brought Blair home to his loft after the student's own apartment had exploded. Yes, he'd let Blair make him a research project, but that wasn't what he was wanting to confess now.
"Cuz words don't come easy to me, how can I find a way to make you see I love you," he sang along with the phone playing the song from 1983. It wasn't a physical thing. Yes, of course, Blair was physically beautiful, with wild brown curls and blue eyes, like some time in history the first person with blue eyes had been born and romance had been born! That wasn't true at all, and Jim knew it. If Blair had brown eyes or green eyes, or red devil eyes they'd be the sexiest eyes to ever have existed!
Blair was expressive! Like Jim had known know that faces could make that many expressions. Maybe Blair had more muscles in his face than a normal man. It was possible. And he wanted to kiss those lips, to feel expression being made under his own lips. He wanted to see what kind of sounds he could get out of his sweet research partner with licks and touches.
Then a phone call interrupted his practice. "Ellison."
"Jim," Captain Banks started. "Are you watching the news?"
"Uh," Jim said, because he wasn't going to explain that he had been practicing confessing his romantic love to Blair. "Should I be?"
"Probably," Simon said.
Jim rolled the stool he was on over towards the couch and the TV remote.
"That kid you run around with, he's a Jew, right?"
"He's not a child," Jim said, defensive.
"Are you fucking him?"
"I would like to," Jim admitted.
"Well, don't tell me officially. He can't be your partner if you're a couple."
"Yeah," Jim said, "Copy that. Oh. Shit."
When he'd turned on the TV and the news came right up. It was the last thing Blair had watched before leaving for the campus. He had three classes to teach today. "Where are the fucking cops," Jim growled. The remote cracked under the grip he held it with.
"As I understand it," Simon said. "The activists said they'd kill their main hostage if they saw police."
"Simon, Blair is standing on a gallows with a rope around his neck and a yellow star of David pinned to his chest. You understand I'm going to shoot them, right?"
"They claim to have a bomb on campus." Simon cautioned. "That's how they forced three Jewish professors to step forward."
"They're lying," Jim said firmly.
"You can't know that," Simon cautioned. "I just wanted you to know something is going on. Swat is looking through the campus to find and disarm any possible bombs. Do not go there."
"Uh uh," Jim said as he set his guitar down and pulled his shoes out from under the couch.
He knew the fastest routes to the college and his truck was content to just nearly break the speed limit. He was not going to get pulled over! He went straight to the student parking and the automated gate let him right through because Blair had put a student parking sticker on the windshield.
Jim had on runners. He sat in the truck completely calmly as he put his side arm on his belt. Words were not his best skills, but he could smell bombs. Even from here, he could hear Blair's heart racing. He'd gotten good enough with his skills, thanks to Blair's help, that he could pick Blair's heart beat out even on the campus. He knew Blair couldn't hear him coming, but thought Blair would feel him coming. Blair also had special talents that emerged the more they worked together. Blair knew he was coming. He would hold on.
Jim slipped out of the truck, gave his old faithful a pat on the door, promising to be back, then ran off into the campus. He had not thought it possible for the campus to smell empty, but it did. He was on campus enough to have an expectation for the scent of the place. It was like a quilt of perfumes, soaps, bodies that wasn't unpleasant, but was certainly not easy to ignore either. Now, the campus smelled like fear and C4. Jogging lightly, he fiddled with getting a head phone in so he could call Simon.
He tracked the scent of the bomb to the library, the most obscene place for it. Blair's new office was in the basement of the library. "Finally!"
Except, it wasn't Simon, just his voice mail. "There is a bomb. It's in the library."
Jim slipped into the library. There were people in here and it stunk of fear and piss. He crept in slowly. The two librarians that he was familiar with were taped to chairs at the checkout desk. He put a finger over his lips, but tried to give them the idea that he would get them out of this situation. The woman motioned with her head, trying to get his attention to look under the counter. He crept forward, staying low to the ground.
And there it was, the bomb, big enough to take out the whole campus. Great. Lovely. That would be bad for Blair's career. How hard could it be. Oh it had anti tampering sensors. Great. At least the bad guys knew what they were doing. Now what would Blair say he should do?
"Words don't come easy to me," Jim sang, very, very quietly, "How can I find a way to make you see I love you?"
Defusing a bomb! So much easier than saying, "I love you!"
Of the wires on the bomb, only one had any temperature, so it must be the only live one. He picked up a pair of scissors from the counter and cut it. When the bomb went quiet it took his own heart a moment to remember how to beat. Okay. Not dead! Only then did he realize how much sweat was dripping down his spine. He forced a deep breath, called Simon back. "Bomb found, bomb defused. If they kill Blair before I can get to him, I'm going to resign!" He didn't know if he'd left that on the vm or snarled it directly into his boss' ear, but it really did not matter.
He turned then and cut the two librarians free from the tape and whispered, "Which way to the main quad, in front of the cafeteria?"
The woman pointed towards a door on the opposite side of the building that he'd come in, then motioned for him to wait and got a printed map that they had for freshmen.
He nodded, folded it fast and put it into his pocket as he ran towards the exit door. He leaped over the railing just outside the library and kept going. He made it to the quad and Blair's heart was going so fast he worried his roommate might be near a heart attack, but the noose around his neck wasn't helping things.
There was a man on the gallows next to his little professor, screaming some bigoted bullshit. Of course the people of Gaza should be protected and Jim knew that Blair supported and worked towards that. A squad of SWAT entered the quad from the other direction.
Big Mouth on the gallows pointed at them, totally focused on them, threatening to pull the lever and drop Blair. Jim ran faster if that was even possible. He got a hand on the gallows and sort of boosted himself without slowing down at all. He drew his pistol, which freaked SWAT all the way out. Big Mouth jerked the lever and Blair dropped.
Fortunately how to tie a hangman's knot was not a class Rainer offered and Blair choked. Jim drew a knife long enough to be almost a short sword and swung it through the rope, dropping Blair to the paving stones before. Jim sort of just slid into the opening, dropping down next to Blair as bullets flew from SWAT. He lay over his professor, pulling him into his arms, holding him tight. "Words don't come easy to me," he said softly.
"I love you too, Jim," Blair said, struggling to try to get his bound hands free. Jim still had the knife and cut Blair free.
"We need to stay down. SWAT is going to go all burn and salt the ground."
"You're here. I'm not afraid anymore."
Blair's heart was calm now and Jim smiled contentedly holding Blair with both arms. "Are you hurt?"
"Never been better," Blair said, as he wiggled around and kissed Jim's lips.
Jim gasped. "You're not gay!"
"I'm pan sexual, Jim. If I were super straight, one moment in your arms would convert me."