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"You think he'll still be here?" Carter asks as he follows Lee down the corridor, checking the apartment numbers as they go. "He must know we'd find out where he lives."
"It is worth checking," Lee answers. "People often return to their homes to get their belongings."
"He can't seriously be that stupid though, right?"
"Is it stupid to try to save your most treasured possessions?" Lee says, turning a corner and continuing down another hallway. Carter keeps track of the numbers as they go. They must be getting close now.
"It is when the cops are after you," he responds, almost walking into Lee when he suddenly stops in front of him. "Hey, man! A little warning!"
"Sorry." Lee checks the scrap of paper in his hand once more and then gestures at the next door along. "This is it."
"Alright, let's see if anyone's home," Carter says, pulling his gun from his holster and creeping closer to the door. He knocks with his spare hand, keeping his gun up and ready, just in case. "LAPD! Open up!"
For a moment there is silence but then he hears hurried movements and rushing footsteps.
"So maybe he is that stupid," he says to Lee incredulously.
"I told you," Lee replies, looking far too happy with himself and if Carter didn't want to kiss that smile so much, he might have throttled him for it. Instead he takes a step back while Lee kicks the door open with a quick snap of his leg and darts inside.
Carter is quick to follow, dashing in behind him, gun up and poised to shoot if necessary. He spares a quick glance around at the room but while there is clear evidence of hasty packing, clothes scattered around and a series of open suitcases on the floor by the couch, there is no sign of the man they are looking for.
Lee has stopped in front of him again, looking around the room himself as he stands in the center of it.
"There," he says a moment later, one hand pointing at the open window that leads out onto the fire escape. And then he is moving again, running towards the window and throwing himself through it with the kind of neat precision that Carter often envies about him.
"Why do they always run?" Carter asks in frustration before heading after him, clambering out of the window with decidedly less grace. Once he is out, he leans over the railing and spots their man hurrying down the fire escape. Now that he is outside, he can hear the clanging sounds that come with each of his steps.
Lee is already running after him and Carter sets of in pursuit, leaping down each flight of steps and throwing himself around corners as he tries to catch up. The sound of the ladder at the bottom being lowered tells him the man they are chasing has almost made it down into the alley and moments later, the sound of running footsteps on concrete confirm he has made it.
Carter glances over the side as he keeps running down, sees him sprinting down the alley away from them. He can see Lee racing down the steps ahead of him, quick and agile on his feet as always. They are almost at the bottom and although Carter loses sight of him for a moment, the sudden thud of feet on concrete tells him that Lee has skipped the ladder entirely and jumped to the ground.
He reaches the ladder himself and starts to scramble down it, keeping his gun in one hand as he hurries down, hands gripping at cold metal. His feet touch the ground and he spins to look for both Lee and their suspect. Lee is stood in the middle of the alleyway, looking in both directions, clearly having lost sight of him.
"He went that way!" Carter calls to him, gesturing wildly in the direction he had seen their suspect run when he had checked just now. Lee grins at him in acknowledgement and sets off with Carter close on his heels.
They sprint past dumpsters and discarded boxes but skid to a halt when they reach a junction with another alleyway that runs across in front of them. Carter looks one way but sees no sign of their suspect and wonders where the hell he went.
The screech of tires provides the answer to that question and he whirls around to see a car roaring towards them from the other direction, the man they are chasing at the wheel. He doesn't have more than a second to think but his reaction is automatic anyway. He hurls himself at Lee and they fall together, hitting the ground with force that knocks the breath from his lungs as they roll towards the side of the alley.
He is very aware of the way the car only just misses them and he feels the rush of air as it shoots past. Then it is gone and he is lying winded on the ground with Lee on top of him. Lee's head is tipped up to watch the car with wide eyes but neither of them even bother trying to scramble up after it as it disappears around the corner; it will be long gone in moments.
"Damn it!" Carter exclaims, letting his arms flop to the ground as he catches his breath. "I can't believe he got away!"
Lee doesn't seem to be listening though because he sits up with a sudden smile on his face and Carter is suddenly aware that his partner is basically sat in his lap, his knees bracketing Carter's hips as he looks down at him. That realization brings with it a flood of inappropriate thoughts that he has been trying to keep tamped down and it is enough to make him feel hot all over.
"You save me again!" Lee says, looking pleased and Carter is suddenly reminded of the first case they worked together, when he had saved Lee's life with a conveniently placed drape. He remembers the relief he had felt as he saw Lee hit the fabric and slide towards him, relief that he was going to be okay, shortly followed by the sharp realization that he was going far too fast for the upcoming impact to be anything but painful for both of them.
They had ended up in a pile on the floor and Carter had been far too bruised and sore to really enjoy the moment. He had even pushed Lee away when he pressed a grateful kiss to his cheek, feeling embarrassed at the public setting and flustered by the wave of warmth that action inspired in him. But afterwards, when he was rested and everything ached a lot less, he couldn't help thinking about the touch of Lee's lips on his cheek and the look on his face as he sat on top of him.
Lee was looking down at him now in the same way that he had then, sat comfortably in his lap and overwhelmingly grateful to be alive. And that's how Carter knows exactly what is coming next before Lee even starts to move.
"Thank you. Thank you," Lee says enthusiastically and then ducks his head quickly to kiss Carter's cheek.
Carter yelps and swats at him ineffectually but it is more for show than anything else and there is laughter tucked away in that yelp. He has no real desire to push him away and if the pleased look on Lee's face when he pulls back is anything to go by, he knows that too.
"Thank you," Lee says again and then he has the sheer audacity to lean in to kiss him again, this time aiming for the other cheek. Carter lets out a surprised laugh and tips his head to the side in joking avoidance. Lee adjusts his target, moving slightly to find his cheek but Carter starts to turn his head back in the same moment and somehow Lee's mouth ends up on Carter's.
They both freeze for a moment and Carter feels the brief sensation of Lee's lips against his, soft and warm, but then he is pulling away, sitting back and looking down at him again. There's something in his expression but Carter is having trouble deciding what it is. He is too busy struggling with the sudden heat in his chest and the overwhelming desire to reach out and touch.
He's wanted Lee for a while now. That part hadn't been hard to accept, even if it had caused some entirely inconvenient reactions any time Lee had been too close to him. What had been more difficult to admit to was the warm affection that built up in him when Lee smiled. Carter had never been quiet about pursuing a pretty face but this was something else entirely, something that made him want to share not only his bed but his life.
He had never been good at sharing his feelings. It was almost automatic to push people away and hide behind a show of brashness and loud bravado but something about Lee made him want to push past all of that, made him want to take those feelings and do something about it.
He looks up at Lee now, the lingering feel of those lips on his still fresh in his memory. Lee is watching him cautiously, waiting for a reaction, and Carter wonders if he is expecting to be unceremoniously shoved off of him. That's what he would have done any time prior to this but somehow Carter can't bring himself to do that anymore.
Instead he looks up at Lee and thinks about how he wants to trace his fingers across that mouth, how he wants to bury his hands in that hair, how he wants to grab him by the front of his shirt and...
"Oh hell," he says unthinkingly, casting all reservations to the wind. He reaches up to curl his hands in the front of Lee's shirt and hauls him down into a proper kiss.
Lee makes a startled sound in the back of his throat, his hands shooting out to brace himself on the ground, but his mouth opens easily against Carter's and that's all the reassurance he needs. He licks into Lee's mouth, sliding their tongues together and kissing him deeply, his hands still gripping his shirt.
When Lee makes a small sound of want into the kiss, he releases that hold to grasp at him instead, hands finding his sides and holding him close. He has wanted this for so long that it feels almost like a dream to have it finally happening and he is half convinced that he will wake up any minute.
But they carry on kissing, hard and needy, and Carter doesn't wake up. When they finally pull apart, their breaths are harsh and fast, their chests heaving as they gasp for air. Lee's lips are slick and wet, and Carter wants more with a sudden intensity that knocks away the breath he had just been regaining.
His hands find Lee's hips and he rolls them suddenly, going for the element of surprise, but the amused look in Lee's eyes when they land suggests that he allowed the movement rather than being taken off guard.
Carter almost pouts at that and decides to see if he can kiss that look away. He ducks his head and kisses him hard, mouth demanding as he presses him into the ground, his hands sliding into Lee's hair. Lee seems to practically melt underneath him, his mouth going pliant as he follows Carter's every move, letting Carter's tongue explore his mouth greedily, letting him take and take and take, in a desperate kiss.
When Carter finally pulls away, panting for breath with his heart racing in his chest, Lee looks thoroughly dazed, a vague smile starting to curl across his mouth. He looks completely debauched, his hair a wild mess and his lips kiss swollen and red.
Carter can't help the surge of pride at the fact that he did this to him. He watches as Lee blinks up at him slowly and then reaches up a hand to curl around the back of his neck.
"Why you stop?" Lee asks hazily, his hand tugging gently in an attempt to pull Carter back down. Carter goes happily, ignoring Lee's question in favor of pressing their lips together again.
He kisses him slower this time because as much as he wants to carry on with their previous frantic kisses, he knows exactly where that was leading and this really isn't the place for it. He is conscious of the fact that they are lying together in an alley and he would much rather have Lee spread out under him in an actual bed.
That thought really doesn't help though, given the jolt of desire it sends through him and he has to pull back for a moment and take a deep breath through his nose to calm himself somewhat. Lee doesn't help matters either, lying there looking like that, his body warm and solid against Carter's.
He takes a few seconds to breath, feeling his control start to come back to him. Then he dips his head to press a gentle kiss to Lee's mouth, keeping it unhurried and soft as his racing heart starts to slow. Lee sighs happily into the kiss and he curls his arms loosely around Carter's shoulders as their lips move together.
They kiss for what seems like an age but Carter eventually pulls away, becoming increasingly aware of their public location as his mind regains the ability to think of things that aren't to do with Lee and the taste of his mouth and the heat of his body.
He sits back reluctantly, watching the way Lee looks up at him and absently licks his lips. Carter's eyes track that movement and he has to restrain himself from leaning forward to kiss him again.
"Man, I should save your life more often," he says with a grin. Lee looks pleased for a moment but then his expression turns to a frown.
"He got away," he says, sounding like he has only just remembered what brought them here and Carter experiences that flash of pride again at the idea that he made his workaholic partner forget all about the case they were working on.
"We need to find him," Lee adds, pushing himself up to sitting. Carter regards him for a moment but then stands up with a sigh and reaches a hand down towards him. Lee clasps it in his own and lets Carter pull him up, their hands lingering for a moment before they let go.
"Okay, we're gonna get right on that," Carter agrees and then leans in close. "But I'm thinking, tonight you come back to mine and I promise I'll rock your world."
"You make very big promise," Lee tells him but his expression says he likes the idea and his eyes dart to Carter's lips.
"Yeah, and I intend to keep it," Carter replies, his voice turning honey smooth and his mouth curling into a smirk. He sees Lee swallow at that, hears him take a shuddering breath, and steps away feeling very satisfied with himself. "Now c'mon! We got a bad guy to catch!"
He turns on his heel and walks away jauntily, happy with the sudden turn his day had taken. A moment later Lee's footsteps sound behind him and he falls in beside Carter without a word.
As they step out onto the street, Carter can't help the smile that pulls at his mouth and when he chances a look at Lee, he sees a ridiculous grin on his face that doesn't abate at all when he catches Carter watching. It makes something warm and affectionate coil through him because Lee looks outrageously adorable when he's grinning like that and it's almost enough to make Carter drag him back into the alley and kiss him senseless.
He tears his thoughts away from that temptation though because they do still have a job to do. They're cops after all and they have a bad guy to catch together. Damn he loves his life.