las vegas lights // oxo // closed

Felix leans into the touch with a small smile, almost like a cat in his fashion. When the stroking stops, Felix turns his head to press a kiss to the back of Damian's hand. They've both had a day. It seems like the visit to Abel's stupid little botany shop was ages ago and not just hours. The day has been nothing short of a whirlwind of emotions and confessions, but Felix doubts he'd have it any other way.

"Go to sleep, darlin'," Felix musters quietly, feeling his own draw towards unconsciousness. For the first time in years, Felix has felt comfortable sleeping next to another, just simple sleep without expectation or guilt. Damian will be there in the morning. He'll be there for the days afterwards. They'll see each other and Felix decides he'll treat the detective to an actual date. A place with real Mexican food and not just thrown together quesadillas from assorted ingredients in Damian's kitchen. Yeah. Yeah, Felix wouldn't be opposed to a life like that. With a sigh, Felix feels himself relax into the mattress.

(should we do a timeskip to the morning? i can write one if it's cool with you)

(yeah that's good w me!)

Sleep was as much as blur as yesterday had been. One moment Damian was asleep then the next, he was awake once again. The detective was not one to have dreams anymore. If that was a good or bad thing, he didn't know. But reality was much better anyways. His eyes opened to see Felix fast asleep. Gradually, he turned over to reach for his phone. The time read half past eight.

While rubbing his eyes, his sleeve lowered, revealing a scar. The sunken feeling in his chest deepened. Damian stared at it for a couple of seconds before pulling it back up. After sitting up, he looked over to Felix then gently gave him a kiss on the forehead. As much as he would love to stay in bed all day with this man, he has to start making breakfast, especially for the little friends.

The little friends were already awake for an hour. More or less. While Damian walked to the kitchen, he saw Adonis asleep on the sofa with his stuffed axolotl and Mina at the coffee table, drawing and watching a cartoon. Since the two were busy with their schedules, he decided to start making breakfast. His mind had already figured out what to make: kimchi eggs. He hoped that he'd have it ready by the time Felix woke up.

Felix is a night person. He always has been, which is why it surprises him that he fell asleep so early and so little into the night. He usually sleeps through his mornings, both he and Rhyda not bothering to roll out of their respective beds until at least 11 o'clock. Nobody hosts poker matches at seven am for God's sake, so why would he even bother with morning songbirds and cereal.

Except, it's not the smell of cereal thar awakes him at just a little past nine. No, it's eggs and spices and a little bit of giggling coming from outside the room. Felix's first thought is why is Rhyda making eggs, quickly followed by why are there children in my apartment. And then he finally takes a look around and realizes that he isn't in his apartment. This wasn’t a one night stand. If it were, Felix would've been back home by this time while whatever partner he had would still be sleeping.

No, he's in Damian's home. "Oh," he says to himself, voice groggy. He slowly slides out of bed and decides to change into his pants from yesterday because basketball shorts are atrocious. However, he does keep on Damian's shirt. Wiping the last bits of sleep from his eyes, Felix steps out of the bedroom and makes his way down the small hall to the kitchen. "Good morning," he yawns, approaching Damian over the stove and encircling his arms around his waist. He drops his bedridden head onto Damians shoulder as he suppresses another yawn.

Cooking was what finally brought Damian out of the sleepy groggy feeling he was in. It was mostly thanks to the smell of eggs, kimchi, and the toaster. The twins were both watching the television. Their eyes were glued to their screen everytime he looked over from the oven. Everytime he blinked, he glanced over to see if they had teleported beside him. They didn't. They were more fascinated by a human boy and magical dog going on adventures. Anytime the magical dog's rainbow unicorn girlfriend appeared on screen, they both giggled in glee as she spoke.

The rice cooker dinged. He leaned over to press the stop button before going back to the oven. "Good morning," He hummed. As he went to turn the stove temperature, he felt Felix wrapping him in an embrace. His face turned pink when Felix rested his head on his shoulder. Placing the cover on the pan, he sighed, "Breakfast will be ready in a little bit, Sleeping Beauty."

Mina was the first to look over at the two adults. She didn't say anything to Adonis at first because she was trying to piece together what was going on. Adonis, on the other hand, had noticed Felix hugged their dad. He leaned over to whisper, "Do you think they like each other?" The twins looked each other, shrugging then giggled. They went back to watching their show.

"Hng, you think I'm pretty?" Felix smiles and moves so it's his chin instead of his forehead atop Damian's shoulder. He's too tired to truly comprehend that they have a small audience of two very small people, but it's a sweet, sleepy moment, so he really doesn't mind all too much. He hears their short interaction, but doesn't say anything of it. Yeah. We do like each other. The thought alone nearly puts another stupid, fond smirk on his face.

"It smells good," Felix notes, standing a little taller to peer over his shoulder at the skillet. The eggs are cooked well, seasoned nicely, and Felix frankly cannot wait to eat another meal made by the detective. He still has Damian's tupperwares from last time. Rhyda has already used them multiple times for cereal; Felix cannot understand for the life of him how the woman eats cereal from plastic containers instead of actual ceramic bowls. Sighing, Felix turns his head to briefly plant a kiss on the small stretch of exposed skin on his neck.

Damian hummed whike his head had slightly moved side to side. "Well, I guess so…" He shrugged, smiling. "Don't flatter yourself, chico. There's plenty of words I think of when I think of you." He could hear the twins talking about him and Felix. The conversation was amusing to say the least. They were trying to figure out what Damian and Felix were doing. At this point, neither of the children was watching the television. Anytime he made eye contact with one of them, they pretended that they were watching the cartoon playing only to watch their dad and his "friend" again.

Softly, he laughed to himself. "Really? It does?" With his spatula, he began to lift up the fried kimchi eggs then slide them onto the pieces of toast. Then he used a knife to cut two of them into pieces of four. "I hope so. I-" The knife was inches above the food. His heart almost jumped of his throat. He gazed back over at Felix. "Yah! You-…I-…The kids-" Damian was smiling despite trying to appear angry. It was impossible. He was recovering from being awestruck. When he looked at Adonis and Mina, they were scribbling on pieces of paper. He mumbled while turning the stove off, "I am going to get you when you least expect it."

"Mm, I can think of a few," Felix replies smoothly, his morning voice still not entirely gone yet. He keeps his volume low, the kids not needing to overhear the private little moment. Of course there's nothing wrong with the moment, Felix has audacity but not nearly enough to try anything risque with children literally twenty feet away from him.

He finds Damian's short rambling about the food adorable and his reaction even more so. Felix laughs against Damian's shoulder and squeezes around his ribs one last time before stepping away to look in the fridge. "Oh, lo espero con ansias," he says with a smile as he pours himself a glass of orange juice. He leans against the counter with the cold glass in hand, head leaning against the tall appliance as Damian finishes breakfast and steps away from the stove. Felix looks to the twins, talking quietly and expressively amongst each other and scribbling. Cute.

"Ya verás," He replied, "Ya verás!" Damian continued with preparing breakfast with his face all pink. His lips were in a pout. While there is kimchi in the kimchi eggs, he still had a made a little light blue bowl of it since Adonis is obsessed with it. Also, he put the rice in a bigger matching blue bowl. He would've asked the little monsters if they wanted to help set up the table. When he placed the side dishes on the table, he could see that Mina was really getting into whatever her and her brother were talking about. Damian placed plates and utensils at each seat. He returned back to the kitchen to fill two sippy cups with water.

Adonis and Mina walked over to the kitchen together. Mina was holding a piece of paper while Adonis sort of skipped beside her. They stopped in front of Felix. Mina held up the paper to her dad's special friend. It was a drawing with lines of different colors all over the place. There was a bunch of flowers on the bottom left corner and something that kind of looked like a star on the upper right. "We made this," She said. Adonis pointed to the four smiley flowers on the bottom right, "I did that." Mina got on her tippy toes, holding it up higher to hand to Felix.

Felix practically drains his glass in a few gulps, setting the empty cup back on the counter as he wipes his upper lip with the back of his hand. He watches Damian cook, dish it up and set the table. At one point, Felix thought it would be kind of him to offer to help, but he thought the better of it, instead just enjoying watching the domestic little scene that plays out in front of him. His concentration, however, is broken when a pair of children bustle their way up to him. Felix raises an eyebrow, tipping his head to the side.

A small smile grows as he stares at the drawing they did. Their polite energy is a vast (and welcome) difference from his trio of nephews. Andreas, Diego, and Ishmael just like to tackle their only uncle and try to force him to play catch with them. (And Felix's wonderful, traitorous sister, does absolutely nothing to restrain her wild children.) "You made that?" Felix echoes, crouching down to be more at eye-level with the kids. He takes the offered drawing and studies it with a hand stroking his chin. "My, my, this has to be one of the finest works I've ever laid eyes on. In fact, I believe that it belongs in the Louvre." He has no idea if children know what the Louvre is. Maybe after he gets his ledger cleared and he's safe to fly, he'd love to visit France.

The twins both nodded, but Adonis was the one to say, "We made it….We uh..umm..made it for you." Mina relaxed her feet, then nudged her brother in the arm with her elbow. She walked to the side then pointed at the drawing. "There's some gold on it because that's your favorite color." When she went back to stand by her brother, they giggled. Neither of them knew what the Louvre is, but Mina told Adonis that it was a fancy place for drawings in Boston or something. The two stared back at Felix with wide eyes.

Damian went to put on the same Animal Crossing background music as he did last night. He placed the remote down then sighrd to himself. The sight of crayons, color pencils, and papers made him want to stop everything and take care of the mess, but he looked over his shoulder at the three. He wanted to say something yet he enjoyed seeing the twins talking to Felix. It was adorable. So instead, he decided to tidy the coffee table up a bit.

Mina shook her head, "We made it for you. Not for the Louvie, silly." The twins laughed for a few seconds before each took a deep breath. Adonis asked, "Do you like it, Felix?"

Felix raises his eyebrows. He may be a master at hiding his own emotion, but he can't just stare at these children with his practiced, smug, poker face. "For me?" he echoes again because he is just physically impossible of forming a coherent thought at the moment. (Did he take enough Adderall yesterday? Probably not.) He laughs a little, letting his head drop before he picks it up again to stare at the kids. "This is the first gift I've gotten in a very long time." That's the truth. "Thank you very much. I'll be sure to hang it right on my fridge where everyone can see it!" The only person he ever has in his apartment is Rhyda, and she can't even see, but it's really the thought that counts.

"I love it," he says, startled at the amount of genuine sentiment that seeps into his voice. Is he losing his touch because of a duo of five year olds? "I'm gonna set it right here on the counter so I don't forget it when I go home." He stands, careful not to stand too fast and obtain a headrush. He leaves it beside the fridge and makes his way over to the dining table. He takes his orange juice with him and places it down at the same seat he had the night before. Damn, dinner and breakfast? When was the last time he was treated this well? He checks his phone, swiping away the abundance of notifications from the group chat Shea forced them all into. Rhyda mentioned something about his night over at Damian's and now everybody wants answers but it is far too early for Felix to face his friends like an adult so he just mutes them all.

(sorry for the wait!)

Mina and Adonis had no idea what was going on. They just nodded their heads again. "Unless you're a clone…it's for the real Felix," Adonis laughed. The boy squinted his eyes though. Maybe this person in front of them is an evil clone of Felix. There's no way for the four year old to be sure.

Their eyes followed the drawing as it was placed on the counter. There was a small twinkle in them as the twins smiled. Adonis hummed an "okay" before running to his seat. Mina, on the other hand, said, "Okay. I will make sure you don't." The little one skipped off to sit next to her brother. She wiggled in her seat, watching as her dad was putting rice into the mini bowl in front of her.

Damian only placed so much for his two little monsters. Adonis could eat the whole bowl if he wanted to, but he didn't trust the kid with getting his own food yet. Mina liked to observe. She normally eats little then goes to sit on her dad's lap and eat from his plate.

He sat down in the chair beside Felix's. "Vamos, siéntate." Damian leaned over to start putting rice in the bowl for Felix. In the corner of his eye, he watched as Adonis was making a mess with the kimchi toast. He shook his head then sat the spoon down on top of a napkin.

(youre good dw!!)

"Oh wouldn't it just be terrible if I were just a Felix clone?" Felix puts a hand to his chest as he mock faints into his chair. He has to fight the stupid grin that wants to form on his face. He needs to be deathly serious and melodramatic for the children. The Animal Crossing music only adds to the fantastic ambiance. "The real Felix lost and forgotten? Who would feed my poor ferret?" 

He appreciates the twins' determination to ensure he doesn't forget his custom art piece. Knowing him, it's very likely. It's not his fault that he forgets things and never forgets a face. His mind just likes to remember information that isn't always entirely useful. He smiles and shakes his head at Damian's call. "Ya vengo, ya vengo," he sighs. An eyebrow raises when Damian wordlessly starts dishing Felix up, but he doesn't say anything. There's no need to call out his fatherly instincts. When his bowl is full, he drags it towards himself with a thankful smile. 

The twins, like most children, are making a small mess out of their meal. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them because compared to the other three small toddlers Felix has in his life, the twins are angels. Miranda's triplets enjoy throwing their foot across the table and clearly learn nothing when their father (stupid Patrick) tries to discipline them. Hopefully they'll grow out of it.

Adonis placed the piece of toast down. "I can feed him! I am a good cook!" He assured. "I can make uh…uh…I can make…" The chair creaked as he shifted to look at his sister. "Mina, what do ferrets eat?" His sister could not respond as she was in the middle of chewing her food. A grain of rice was stuck on her left cheek. She shrugged.

Damian didn't mind the mess. Odd enough, the twins were always "clean" when it came to playing with their food. Nothing ever spilled or wound up on the ceiling. By the end of meal time, there was little to no food on their plates, but two percent of it would be on their faces or staining their clothes. He didn't mind messes. In fact, he always encouraged the two little monsters to make them, but they just ate and had their little conversations about whatever popped into their minds. Their conversations always enlisted random phrases and words in Korean, fits of laughter, and the two of them asking questions before they get themselves off track. Listening to them is like sitting front row for a talk show.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 were babbling to each other about Disney princesses. The corners of his lips tugged into a faint smile. Only when he looked down at his own food did he realize that his hands were resting underneath his chin. That was when he removed them and began to eat his breakfast. He was still listening to whatever his children were talking about now, yet his ears started to tune everything out. His eyes became unfocused while he chewed on a corner of toast.

Moments went by where he didn't blink. No thoughts, head empty. Damian sat his food down, leaning back into his chair. In the corner of his eye, he gazed over at Felix. "So, what do you think?" He asked. His head tilted back. "Is it good? My two main food critics keep saying the same things. I'd like a third opinion on my cooking."

"Ferrets are actually strict carnivores," Felix informs with a smug smile, but then it hits him that the kids likely don't know what carnivore means, so he squabbles to elaborate. "They only eat meat. They're lucky because they don't have to eat vegetables." On the topic of eating, Felix takes a few bites of his breakfast. He's never had the meal before, thankful to be pleasantly surprised at Damian's cooking. Well, he's had Damian's cooking before and shared it with Rhyda and she then told Felix to marry Damian right on the spot and the memory makes him laugh a little.

He watches the twins interact, lost in their own little world of babbling to each other and getting right off track. They sort of remind Felix of his youngest sister, Ana Luis. Ana had always been the high-energy one of the family, and that's saying something compared to Felix. She was always talking to herself or to a friend on the phone or trying to get an overly-angsty teenage Felix to crack a smile. Their oldest sister was constantly annoyed by her chattering ways, but their second oldest sister always watched them with a fond smile. After Felix left, she went and got herself expelled from her Catholic Girls School for starting a fight and ripping a girl's hair out. To be fair, Ana is usually much nicer, but–according to Ana–the girl had it coming for a long time. Felix makes a mental note to call his sister soon. He should probably talk to all of them soon.

Felix looks to Damian, a little lost in his head, but he eventually snaps out of it. Felix smiles. "Food's delightful, doll. I look forward to more of your cooking.

"The rest of breakfast passes without much note. Felix grabs his dish and then Damian's empty one before heading to the sink to quickly wash them. It's only when the dishes are clean does Felix finally check all one-hundred and eight unread messages from the six-person group chat he was forced into. He should probably meet up with all of them and explain exactly where he went and what happened to him.

The conversation between Mina and Adonis switched from Disney princesses to thirty different topics. It was like the two were being timed for how long they talked about something. When they learned about carnivores, the little beasties talked about that for a minute or so before going on to their favorite meat dishes. They tried to think of other carnivores, but could only think of lions and tigers.

Damian kept silent for the rest of breakfast. He zoned out again before he was going to collect all the dishes and take them to the sink. When he stood up from his seat, he realized that they were all already taken by Felix. The twins were off in their rooms; he could hear the sounds of drawers being pushed and pulled. After pushing his chair in, he went around the table, picking up any lonely pieces of rice or toast lying around the table.

While walking to the kitchen, he said, "Thanks for doing the dishes." He went over to the oven. Grabbing some tupperware, he started to put leftovers in then place them in the fridge. When going to close the cupboard, he realized that some of his tupperware wasn't there. He shrugged at it. At least he didn't have any leftovers to give to Felix; maybe next time.

Turning around, he leaned against the counter. Damian looked over at Felix checking his phone. "Everything alright over there?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Felix says with a shrug. Dishes are easy. He's never been bothered by damp and mushy food, plus it's nothing that a good soap won't fix. "You alright?" He shuts off the faucet and flicks most of the remaining water from his hands. He then grabs the towel and dries his own hands with them. "You were kind of spacey throughout breakfast." Felix noticed. Of course he noticed, it's literally what he gets paid to do. 

Felix also raises an eyebrow before smiling when Damian directs the same question right back at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just my friends. They found out I was spending the night somewhere from Rhyda, and now they're demanding answers. Nosy bastards," he adds quietly, checking over his shoulder to ensure two tiny twins weren't eavesdropping. Rhyda, Felix's closest comrade and ride-or-die best friend, is quite the traitor. Nothing in his life is private anymore and now it's being exploited in the group chat. His phone pings again with yet another group chat notification. From what Shea seems to be rambling about, they've moved on from Felix's love life and onto what the hell Shea should be buying her wife for her birthday. Rhyda says brass knuckles, Grace says a bundle of flowers, Abel says a succulent, Pazia says a nice notepad. Shea tells them they all suck and then takes Grace's suggestion. "Oh, thank god, they've moved on from gossiping about my love life," Felix sighs and sets his phone down, leaning back against the counter to just stare at Damian's face.

Damian bit the inside of his cheek. If he weren't so sluggish, he would've zoomed over to the sink first; he's not keen on letting others do things for him. "I'm alright." His eyes lingered on the floor for a couple of seconds. When they glanced up at Felix, he smiled. "It happens often, usually when my mind's not in fight or flight mode….It's okay." Frankly, Damian was never completely sure why it happens to him. It tends to happen when he's alone in the office or when he sits down after putting the twins to sleep. When his brain isn't wired, he tends to zone out.

With a tilt of his head, he laughed. Felix's gone for one night and it's news. As he crossed his arms, he looked in the same direction Felix was. Faintly, Damian could hear Mina in her room. He still heard sounds of drawers opening and closing, probably from Adonis's room. "You're fine," He assured, "They're in their rooms." Adonis likes to go through all of his clothes and put on a fashion show for himself before picking out something to wear for the day. His dad could only guess how many piles of clothes are on the floor. Mina has been weary about drawers and closets so she waits for her dad. In the time that she waits, she plays with her toys.

As Damian uncrossed his arms, he couldn't resist laughing a little at what Felix said. His hands grabbed the edge of the counter. He stared back at Felix. A soft smile settled on his face. His gaze only lasted for so long before he was staring at the floor. The color of his face was gradually turning pink.

"Brain fog?" Felix asks, tilting his head to the side. He's never had it himself, so it feels wrong to say he understands. The closest thing he can offer is his time blindness that always seems to hit when he's focusing real hard on something. Some poker matches go by in blinks, others feel to drag on for hours and hours on end. Maybe that's why he finds himself subconsciously stealing watches. He checks his own wrist to ensure he hasn't stolen one from Damian. Knowing Felix, it won't be long before at least one of Damian's watches wind up in his possession. He'll have to buy the detective a real nice one to make up for it. (Or just regift one of his old ones and politely claim he bought it.)

"Kids are weird," Felix notes, following Damian's gaze to their rooms down the hall. "I've never really been around them. Always scared I'll say something stupid and then scar them for life." He didn't even like kids too much when he was a kid himself. Maybe it was his father's expectations or his own arrogance, but he always thought himself a little better than his average peer. 

After sighing a little bit, Felix looks back to Damian, just barely catching his gaze before the detective is looking away and blushing like a schoolgirl. That brings a short laugh from Felix as he reaches out to redirect Damian's gaze to meet his. "You're handsome in the morning," he notes quietly, briefly looking down at his pajamas, then to his tired face. "Wouldn't mind seeing you like this every morning." A smirk crawls across Felix's lips, but his stupid idiot friends cause his phone to buzz and break Felix's little moment. He deflates a little and checks his phone. Instead of the stupid group chat, it's actually just a text from Abel. The jacket alterations are done. Their last message from the night before glares at Felix.

"And um." Felix bites his lip. "Abel wanted to apologize, y'know, for yesterday. And that's pretty huge coming from somebody like Abel." The guy who didn't house an ounce of remorse after initiating a knife fight the day before Felix met them in the county jail. "And also the jacket is done." For the undercover mission Felix has sent Damian to meet Braxton Dane, a kid who could potentially have a lead on who Crystal Valentine's murderer is.

Damian bit down on the corner of his lip. His eyes squinted as he hummed. He shook his hand in a so-so way. "Kind of. It like recalibration or having a safety mechanism," He shrugged. There probably is a more official term for whatever his brain does. He wouldn't know or recall.

For some reason, listening to Felix made him smile softly. It made him laugh a little. For the longest time, Damian was not keen towards kids. He didn't even want one till him and Areum talked about it years ago. He understood what Felix said; he shared the same fear too. From Mina's room, Damian could hear the two babbling in another one of their infamous conversations. He sighed, "I hope you like those two. They're really weird, even for four year-olds, but they like you."

"Oh-" His eyes widened as they gazed back at Felix's. Although he wasn't able to see what he looked like at the moment, he knew that his whole face was rosy. That's all his face is good for. Damian rolled his eyes as he gently shook his head. "Oh Felix…" He breathed before jokingly adding, "You use that with all the boys, don't you?" The smile of his face lowered as he heard the phone buzz. His gaze returned back to the floor. In his head, he began counting all of the squares until he heard Felix speak.

His head snapped up, turning in his direction. Brain fog…All he could remember from being in Abel's shop ended a second after what happened. It wasn't Abel's fault. It just happened. Damian wished his brain was better programmed to react differently than how seventeen year old Damian had. "It's alright," He reassured. "Good, good. Thank you." The undercover mission, clearly he had forgotten about it. He just hoped that they'll get the murderer soon. He hoped that with whatever they were doing that it'll be worth something.

Felix has never been a people pleaser before, but something about the two kids liking him is absolutely thrilling. Good to know if hes going to stick around a little longer. "What other guys, doll?" Felix raises an eyebrow playfully, swiping his thumb across Damian's cheek before stepping away. There have been guys and girls in the past that have caught Felix's eye, but nothing like this. He can only think of one other relationship that has gone this well before, and well, knowing how that ended, Felix is determined to change his luck. "Haven't been talking to anybody since I've met you."

 He hates that his stupid attention span caused Damian's smile to droop, but he supposes it was at least a little necessary. Damian doesn't nearly know the magnitude of an Abel Apology. Felix has only ever seen, like, three of those in the entire eight years he's known the other guy. Felix leans back against the counter with a tilted head.

 "The jacket," he exhales with a whistle. "You're going undercover soon at a very loud concert to try and weasel any information you can out of Braxton Dane." Felix's mind wanders to Samuel Dane, the elderly man with a face of stone that sits beside him during their games. And then the woman who was killed and the woman who was nearly. "Anything from Daphne Clyde recently? I think she'll be released from the hospital sometime soon." He hates to divert this tender morning to more serious matters, but something is itching at the back of Felix's mind. First Valentine, then Clyde–it could easily be any of the remaining players next. Rivers, Dane, Blake, Harima, Herrera– Felix exhales sharply. He should figure this out soon. He has another game in two days. There should be at least a small break in the case.

Damian laughed while shaking his head. "I don't know, Felix," He breathed. He wasn't the best at being flirtatious and playful because he always ended up awestruck. Staring at Felix, he remained still while biting the inside of his cheek. He crossed his arms, "Really? Wow, I believe you must have fallen from me then, Mister Herrera."

He continued to laugh a little, even as he thought about this little "mission" that he's going to have to take. If he could be honest, he was unsure if he would be any good at it. Most of his interviews were in an interrogation room or in a calm quiet setting. Most of the time, he'd interview others as Detective Mae and not some made up weirdo in a leather jacket.

"Going undercover," Damian mumbled to himself. The whole thing sounded like the plot to some Korean drama. A serious detective like himself going undercover to some comcert in order to get information for a case he is working on. He still couldn't believe it. "Sounds like something a spy would be doing," He mumbled. "I am not a movie spy." Sighing again, he crossed his arms. Daphne Clyde. All this morning, he hadn't checked his phone. "No. I'm sure I'd given her my card, but I haven't heard from her since." He hoped that she was alright. Part of him wondered if the suspect is going to go after another player. If only he had some sort of way to make a prediction or two.

"Well maybe I have," Felix answers with a sly smile, finding that admitting it out loud makes his stomach drop. He had a suspicion. Well, he knew that the feelings hadn't been strictly platonic. He knew that since the beginning. God, he wants to lean forward and kiss Damian again. And then maybe again. 

Felix goes quiet as he thinks about the mission. He'll be in the venue the same time as Damian, just not in any real position to help. He'll be with his friends–not playing any music, God no–but he'll be there. He hopes that he'll be able to find Damian in the crowd. Being able to find him easily will at least put his own bubbling nerves at peace. When has he ever had nerves? Felix can't remember having them since… since, well, probably the beginning of his last big relationship. His heart does a quick flip. His nerves must believe this relationship will be lasting a while. 

He laughs and drops his head. With an inhale, he straightens his posture again and drops any sort of smile he could have. "Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to infiltrate the venue, gather information and then disappear into the night like a trashy romance spy love interest–" He breaks off laughing. "Don't worry doll, I'll be watching your back through all of it. And I'll check in with Blake when I play next. She at least seems to be close to Miss Clyde." 

"Really?" With his arms crossed, he lowered his head while shaking it. Then he leaned over to give Felix a kiss on the cheek. "You and that damn smile of yours," He chuckled. Damian gave him another kiss. His heart felt all warm and fuzzy as he stared at him. "The more I stare at it…at you…the more I fall for you."

The fuzziness in his heart stalled the more he thought about the mission. Then the more he thought about it, the more his hand began to shook. He wasn't sure if he was the best person for it, even though they decided that it would be best for him to do it. Will he be able to advance in the case? Will he be able to catch the suspect after talking to Braxton Dane? Damian wasn't able to answer these questions himself, but he didn't want to ask them out loud.

It was difficult go get out of that head space. Not only was it an abyss, but it was familiar and even bitterly nostalgic. Usually, it was impossible for him to get out of it quickly, even when he barely dipped his toes into it. He barely managed to. His eyes looked over to Felix. They stared at him while Damian's ears were filled with a ringing sound. He almost missed what was being said to him. He was relieved knowing that Felix would be at the venue.

Damain found himself laughing again. He was still anxious yet he was okay at the same time. "Okay. I accept this mission, but as the trashy romance spy love interest, shouldn't I be going home that night with someone by the side?"

"My smile?" Felix repeats, unable to keep his smile from growing. His heart swells as Damian compliments it. "I can't believe you've become this sappy about my smile–" he laughs. Felix finds that if Damian likes his smile enough, he'll always find a reason to. "And falling for me?" He leans into the brief cheek kiss and smiles through the next. "Wow, I hope it didn't hurt when you faceplanted right into your undying love for me." He laughs again.

And the mission. Damn. The mission. God. Why couldn't they have met in a situation that doesn't involve murder, sabotage, and way too much poker money? What if it was a meet-cute at some supermarket? A cafe? Hell, he would even take a classic literally-run-into-each-other-and-papers-and-coffee-go-flying-everywhere. But no. Apparently the universe doesn't want Felix to have nice things.

The venue won't be too large, the band still mostly underground. Felix's friends have already slipped Braxton Dane an invite, something the entrepreneur/influencer couldn't dare turn down. Braxton will be there "Doll, I think you would implode if I left you alone in a loud place full of louder strangers." Felix knocks his head against Damian's shoulder. "And I'd be more than happy to let you take me home after." He says the next part in a whisper, right next to Damian's ear.

"You better believe it," Damian laughed. "Oh dear, the more you spend time with me, the more you'll realize how sappy I really am. Very sappy and sentimental." When he stopped to take a breath, he looked over to get a glimpse of Felix grinning. The sight of it was more than enough to make him smile. Maybe he should've said something about his laughter instead. The detective liked the sound of it. It was difficult to not laugh along with him. He shook his head, "Me and my undying love for you…You're making it sound like we're in some 19th century romance novel."

He wouldn't be lying if he said that he hadn't expected any of this to happen. Damian thought that this would be a normal case where the worst part was the amount of time it took to find and catch the suspect. When he learned about Felix, he did not imagine having the guy in his house and kissing his cheek. He never imagined everything that happened within the last twenty-four hours. It's insane.

The mission is insane. Everything about it was unbelievable to him. Damian rolled his eyes. "I think I will implode either way," He pointed out. His flow of focus changed when he felt Felix whispers. God, he couldn't avoid being taken aback. He smirked, "Good, it'll be just me and you then."

Felix laughs again. "I'm very grateful for your sappiness. I need a walking Hallmark Card in my life. A real Austen novel." He tilts his head as he stares at Damian, trying not to marvel at how absurd the entire situation suddenly seems to him. A detective and a crook. A gambler and a father. He checks his phone to ensure that the date of the concert has not changed and then looks back to Damian. "I'm sure your imploded guts would look just lovely scattered around the warehouse."  He cracks himself up thinking of intestines as streamers and organs as balloons. 

His phone blips and Felix quickly checks the text coming in from Rhyda. She rarely texts him unprompted, so of course there's a sense of unease brewing in his chest. She needs to talk. Apparently it's quite urgent. Not something she feels like she should speak about over the phone. Sighing, Felix pockets his phone and turns back to Damian. "Doll, as much as I'd love to stay for a few more hours, I have some matters to deal with, unfortunately." He pushes away from the counter and takes a step towards the detective. "I'll be back later to drop off your jacket. If you want, I could get you a layout of the concert hall." That might make him more comfortable than going in blind. 

(askldfj as much as i love these idiots we should probably get the scene moving on…)

The detective was stuck in between thinking about Felix and thinking about this little mission they're doing. "An Austen novel? Do you take me for a Mister Darcy or something?" Damian chuckled. Either his nerves were all jittery from looking at and talking to Felix or they were all bunched up because of the mission. He couldn't even imagine himself being dressed differently to fit in with everyone else at a venue he's never stepped a foot into. Just thinking about it made him dread having to do it, even if it is for the case. But he'll have Felix there which shouldn't be terrible.

"Sure, that'd be great. It'd help prevent my guts from imploding," He laughed, "And you should get going before the little beasts drag you into playing princess or vampire hunter." All the way from his bedroom, he heard Everybody Wants to Rule The World playing from his phone. Not a second later, Mina and Adonis ran from their rooms to theirs. The song stopped playing as soon as the twins started babbling. Damian looked over at the drawing that was laying on the counter. "Here, before the British Museum steal this," He picked the fine art piece up and handed it to Felix.