Heine just let a beat of silence pass between them, crossing his arms and giving Badou time to stare. To evaluate him. He knew his partner needed at least that much. Though he was never someone to just let things go.
“Enjoying the view?”
If nothing else, he’d learned that avoiding dwelling on the other’s neuroses. Drawing it out just made it worse. Acting like things were normal forced the ginger to do as much as well. In the best case scenario at least.
Badou blinked a bit, licking his lips and looking up at Heine properly for a long moment before he nodded, bringing a hand up and resting it lightly against the other man’s stomach, curling his fingers lightly against that pale, smooth skin. He could feel Heine’s muscles shifting under that flesh as he shifted his weight…it was comforting. Heine was built more compactly than he was…more solidly. It was good to have the reminder from time to time.
“Yeah…yeah, I like what I see.”
Glancing down at Badou’s hand, Heine laughed and smiled crookedly. His partner had the oddest habits. Only this lanky idiot and Nill ever had it in themselves to worry about his state-of-being. Only they worried that he wouldn’t come back in one piece. And even Nill dealt better than this moron most of the time.
That was why he came here first. This was why he’d all but moved in with the information broker.
“Good. It’d be a shame if you lost any taste for me while I was gone.” He stole the cigarette from Badou’s lips, taking a draw because he could and huffing the smoke out shortly. “Even if I’ve been gone longer than usual.”
