browngirl

(with hopes I won't have to repost this after the LJ outage...)

Title: Least Himself
Fandom: Numb3rs
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: David Sinclair / Colby Granger
Warnings/Spoilers: Slash, het mentioned. A little kink. Set after 5.03 Blowback. Written for the

numb3rs100 March Rewind Challenge; sequel to "In His Own Person," two sequels to follow.
All Thanks To: / Acknowledgements:

lomedet and

tigerbright. *waves*
Disclaimer: None of these characters or their settings belong to me.

"Man, what am I going to do with you?" David leans against his kitchen wall; Colby faces him, six inches away, headband askew, smile soft. They could get to it already, they could be in bed, but David has something to say first. "I half thought I'd see that Lynn Potter girl behind you."

David winces. That wasn't it. He doesn't mean to keep busting on Colby for one mistake, but… Colby just shrugs, steadily meeting his eyes. "No, I really told her goodbye."

"I know, I know." David waves it off, his hand skimming by Colby's shoulder. "I'm not trying to give you grief. I just… thought all that noise you made about not getting dates was misdirection."

Colby laughs, light eyes gone dark. "Laying down a false trail."

David has to laugh, too, and let his hand settle. Colby's whole body tenses a little towards him, but neither of them closes the distance, not yet. "Sometimes," David says slowly, rubbing his thumb over thin cotton, feeling skin-heat bleeding through, "I think you're still hiding your light under a bushel. Sometimes I just don't know what's going on with you."

Colby nods easily, but his gaze turns inward; after a few seconds he straightens up, stepping away. For a jolting moment David thinks he's pushed it too far, but Colby reaches over, pulls out one of the kitchen chairs, and sits down. Deliberately, he tugs the tie off his head, unknots it, and holds it out.

It's warm in David's hand, damp with sweat, and Colby takes a deep breath and tucks his hands behind him. The memory flashes through David's mind of Colby slumped in a folding chair, but he's breathing now, looking just fine as he squares his shoulders and tips his chin up, his voice gravelly. "Ask me and find out."