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It isn’t until the third ring that Kim picks up the phone. He had been in the middle of washing dishes when he heard the familiar chiming from the other room. Sitting on the end of the sofa, he reached over to the end table that housed the rotary dial phone to bring the handset to his ear.
“This is Kitsuragi.”
“Hi Kim!”
The familiar voice brought upon a small smile. “Good evening, Alice. You seem to be in high spirits.”
He hears a delighted hum from the other end of the line. “Oh I had the most wonderful day today! I found 8 reál on the ground this morning on my way to work, then the owner of my favorite coffee shop gave me a free pastry just because I go there all the time, and then upon arrival at the precinct my father surprised me by saying he and my mother are taking me out to dinner for my birthday this weekend.”
Kim brought his free hand to his chin. “That is quite the surprise. He always buried himself so deep in his work that I don’t believe I ever saw him take a day off.”
“It’s maddening! I keep telling him it’s time to retire but the RCM is practically his second marriage. It’s a mystery as to how my mother even puts up with it, but she keeps telling me she’s proud of us and doesn’t let it get to her.”
“She may very well also be frightened,” Kim replied. “Especially for your father. I’m sure she’s grateful that the two of you return home every night.”
Alice laughed. “I’m convinced at this point that nothing could ever kill my father except old age. Or perhaps he’s secretly immortal. Did he ever tell you the story about how someone had shot him in the stomach and he was lying in an alleyway bleeding out for 3 hours and somehow still survived?”
A memory. Kim could see the senior officer’s face in his mind as he recalled Alice’s father recounting the near-death experience to the Lieutenant with a wide smile on his weathered face. Her father didn’t appear shaken up at all from the ordeal, rather he made the claim that it made him more fearless than anything. Kim still remembered the slight twinge he felt in his chest as he listened to him tell the story.
“He did. His partner eventually apprehended the shooter if I recall. Your mother was making frequent visits to the precinct at the time to make sure he was staying at his desk and away from field work until the doctor gave him the go-ahead.”
“He just loves telling that story to everyone, I just know he’s going to tell it to my future children someday,” Alice said. “Oh, listen to me go on and on about myself and my parents when I’m the one who called you! How have you been? How’s everything at Precinct 41?”
Kim leaned back into the sofa. The real question was what HASN’T been going on in his life since his transfer. The details would keep Alice on the phone well into the break of dawn. So the Lieutenant keeps it brief.
“I haven’t been sleeping well. I’ve been stuck on a case for a week now that hasn’t gone anywhere. Leads ending up dead ends. The only suspect we had wound up having an airtight alibi. And so it goes.”
“Don’t let it bring you down Kim,” Alice reassured the older man. “Have you been having any tea before bed? Can’t solve murder cases if you’re not getting any rest!”
It was more than just casework that was keeping Kim up late at night, but that was a detail he kept to himself. There were some things Alice was best not knowing about. “I’ll be fine, though the sooner we have a break in the case the better.”
“You know I’m always rooting for you, Lieutenant! You’re the hardest working guy I know next to my father and you’re very smart. I’ll be waiting for that phone call when you tell me you booked the criminal!”
Kim huffed in amusement. “The positivity is appreciated. Well, if you want me to work on my sleeping habits I think it’s best I turn in for the night.”
“Oh yes! Please get some sleep Kim. We’ll talk again soon.”
Alice unwound the phone cord from around her once more. Her rapid movements around the kitchen while the handset was squeezed between her cheek and shoulder led to her constantly being caught up in the cord. She sighed into the receiver as she threw another stack of papers into the box on the floor.
“I really hate being an adult, Kim. I really, really do.”
“As someone who’s been doing this longer than you, these things will eventually come second nature to you,” Kim replied on the other end. “Being saddled down with responsibilities is just a part of life.”
Alice rolled her eyes. Another opened envelope housing a bill made its way into the box. “10-4, Lieutenant,” she said sarcastically. “Really, It’s a miracle I can still afford rent right now. Can’t the RCM just hurry up and convince some very wealthy socialite to leave us a hefty donation so I don’t have to micromanage my monthly spending for once?”
She heard Kim clear his throat. “It would be beneficial, yes. But we have to prove that we deserve them in the first place. An overhaul of our performance reviews would be a better start. I wouldn’t want for us to come into a large sum of money only to have it irresponsibly distributed.”
The younger woman groaned as she looked down at the remaining bills scattered on the table. “I don’t know how many times I can be told my work is ‘proficient’ before they can finally give me a raise,” Alice responded, feeling dejected. “I know I’m just Communications but I work hard too, you know! Being the daughter of a senior officer isn’t exactly putting extra money in my wallet, either.”
Silence fell between the two officers. Kim was at a loss for what to say in order to cheer up Alice. Alice on the other hand began to worry that her complaints were making Kim uncomfortable. She could whine and bitch and moan about their shared predicament in the RCM for hours on end, but she needed to steer the conversation elsewhere before the negativity put a damper on the remainder of their day.
Alice glanced over at the newspaper on the corner of the table. Making sure the phone cord wasn’t going to entrap her a seventeenth time, she sat down and placed her hand over the newspaper to slide it towards her and look over the text. There her eyes scanned the print until they spotted the local movie theatre directory. With a smile she reignited the conversation.
“Hey Kim?”
“Yes?”
“Any chance you have any wiggle room in your very tiny RCM salary to see the recent Dick Mullen adaptation with me?”
She was still laughing to herself as she climbed the stairs, holding onto the railings for support. When she finally made it to her front door, Alice reached into her purse to clumsily wrestle for her keys. Eventually her keys made it into her hand, and after her hand slipped a couple of times they made their way into the lock. Alice stumbled into her apartment, laughter still wracking her drunken frame. Alice shut the door with a slam; she was so drunk she pushed the door closed with her entire body weight rather than with a gentle lean of the hand. She could have woken the neighbors. She didn’t care. She was leaning her back against the door and she was still laughing.
He was just sooo funny, Alice thought to herself. I gotta hurry and tell Kim how funny he was before I forget.
Her hands eventually made contact with the wall where the phone was. She flicked on the light switch, pulled the handset from off the wall and stared at the dial. Her vision was slightly blurred from the alcohol, so she found herself muttering swears under her breath while having to redial on the rotary a number of times. Eventually she successfully pulled Kim’s number and waited for him to pick up.
No response.
Alice started to get annoyed. It’s not that late , she thought. C’mon Kimmy, pick up so I can tell you about this funny guy. You like funny guys. Your partner is a funny guy. Your funny partner might even like this funny guy.
She hung up and dialed again. Got Kim’s number wrong again. Shit. Got it wrong again. Fuck. And again. Goddammit. And again. Fucking shit. Got it. Beautiful. It’s ringing. He finally picks up.
“This is Kitsuragi,” an exhausted voice says.
“Kiiiiiim, Kim you’re not gonna believe it, I met a guy!” Alice slurred. “And he was just sooooo funny Kim. You need to hear how funny he is.”
“...Alice? Are you aware what time it is right now?”
Alice turned her head towards the other side of the kitchen and squinted her eyes to look for the wall clock. When she found it she leaned forward to get a better look at the clock face. The short arm was on the 1 and the long arm was on the 7.
Oops.
“Ohhhhhh whoopsies, silly me. But whiiiiiile I got you on the phone I just HAVE to tell about the-”
Kim sighed. “You are drunk and it’s the middle of the night. Drink water and head to bed, Alice.” He was definitely not in the mood to hear about this so-called funny guy.
“What. What are you, m-my dad?” Alice replied. “Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do. I’m a grown woman. I can do grown-up things. Grown-ups drink in the middle of the night.”
“We can talk tomorrow, Alice. When you’re sober. And it’s not at an ungodly hour at night.”
“But I wanna talk noooooow !” Alice whined into the receiver. “Quit being so boring ! We always talk about work and I don’t wanna talk about work I wanna talk about-”
“Good night, Alice.”
“Oh fuck off, old man-”
“I said good night , officer.”
Alice’s body tensed once she heard a click. The room went quiet. Her hand stayed gripped on the handset, but it lingered next to her face. Even in her inebriated state, Kim ending the phone call with that tone caught her off-guard. It was the first time since he had transferred that he addressed her that way. It was practically sobering, with how she was shocked into thinking somewhat clearly. Realizing what exactly she had done. Perhaps he was also right about her needing to go to bed.
But she could only stare at the wall.
She wouldn’t be able to reach him for the next three days, but when she finally did she apologized profusely until she was out of breath.
“Must we have 3 officers that go by Ace? It makes conversation around the precinct very confusing to follow, but the other officers look back at me like I’m supposed to just know which ‘Ace’ it was that backed into the captain’s car.”
Kim shifted in his corner of the sofa. “RCM officers are just like everyone else. They are influenced by the world around them, in this case by the things they see on television.”
He was dressed down in his usual “home” outfit for the end of the day. His white shirt stayed on but his orange bomber jacket had made its way into the closet and he swapped his pants for a more comfortable pair of sweats.
What was out of the ordinary however, was that the Lieutenant was not alone tonight. On the other end of the sofa was the slumped body of Harrier DuBois, who currently had his elbow against the armrest so he could rest a furry cheek against his palm as he slept. Harry had also ditched his blazer and footwear, and had slung his other arm to the back of the sofa. Kim could hear him snoring, but thankfully it wasn’t loud enough to distract him from hearing Alice on the other line.
“Maybe it’s just a man-thing,” Alice replied. “I don’t recall any female officers that gave themselves a nickname based on something silly they heard on television or the radio.”
“Your father definitely had one for you whenever he talked about you. I believe it had to do with dessert.”
Kim heard Alice groan in embarrassment. “Oh God, don’t bring that up please. I keep telling him to stop calling me that! Maybe it was cute when I was seven, but I’m not a child anymore!”
While Alice continued to rant over the phone, Kim had realized he couldn’t hear Harry snoring anymore. He glanced over where the detective was seated, only to be met with a now-awake Harry looking back at him.
“I think you should be a little nicer to your co-workers Kim,” Harry teased. “Especially to the one you happen to be ignoring for a phone call.”
Kim raised a brow at the other man, but said nothing. Alice on the other hand had somehow pivoted to telling Kim about her mother pestering her about marriage.
“Not that I’m trying to call you old Kim, but do people still ask YOU when you plan on settling down? It’s as if that’s all she thinks about whenever she sees me!”
Harry’s hand made its way onto Kim’s thigh. He pretends to ignore it.
“I can’t say that’s been asked of me in recent conversation.”
Almost in an instant, Harry made his way off the sofa and knelt in front of Kim. Both his hands rested on his legs as he looked up at the Lieutenant. Waiting. Asking for permission.
On one hand, it was rather rude and inappropriate of Harry to be doing this in the middle of a phone call of all things. But on the other hand…
Don’t forget Kitsuragi, went a voice in his head. Alice did call you boring that one time.
So he spreads his legs open. Permission granted.
Harry wasted no time reaching for the waistband of Kim’s pants. Kim lifted his hips so the other man could pull his sweats and boxers down to his ankles. The anticipation appeared to be having an effect on him as he realized he was already at half-mast.
Kim’s breathing hitched once Harry got a hand around him, but he didn’t pull the handset away from his mouth in time. Alice paused mid-sentence when she heard him let out a small gasp.
“ Kim?” Alice sounded slightly worried. “What was that sound just now? Are you alright?”
“I’m afraid I’ve been coming down with a cold,” Kim lied. “I’m fairly certain that Detective DuBois gave it to me.”
“Oh I’m gonna give it to you alright,” he heard Harry mutter into his inner thigh.
Alice huffed. “Ooh, I’ll be sure to scold him the next time I visit! He could get your entire precinct sick! I would smack him but then he might get ME sick, so-”
With Harry’s face now up against Kim’s erection, he could feel the man’s body shaking from holding in a laugh. Kim needed to hurry and find a way to end the phone call before Alice heard him do anything else.
“I-I’m going to turn in for the night. Before the. Cold gets any worse.”
Alice seemed to buy it. “Have a good night Kim, I hope you feel better!”
As soon as the handset made its way back atop the phone’s body, Kim yelped as he felt his body being pulled down the sofa. He had assumed Harry was just going to suck him off, but it would seem the detective had other plans. With one hand still stroking Kim, Harry used the other to keep Kim’s thigh opened while he dove further down.
Kim’s hands shot down and grasped the top of Harry’s head when he felt facial hair against his skin and wet muscle circling his entrance. He hated coming off eager, but at that point he was already too far gone to care. He bucked his hips urging Harry to hurry up and take the plunge, and Harry was more than happy to oblige. Once that fat tongue pushed inside, Kim tugged on Harry’s hair with a low moan. The hair-pulling earned him a muffled sound out of Harry; Kim knew how to give it as well as he could take it.
He was breaking into a sweat now. The stimulation from his cock being touched while Harry’s tongue slid obscenely in his ass was overwhelming. Kim was getting close.
Right as he felt himself about to tip over the edge, Kim felt Harry pull his head away and release him from his grasp. He flopped his head back feeling frustrated, but this was merely how Harry liked to play. This was just the beginning.
From between Kim’s legs, Harry slid upwards until they were eye-level while the other man regained his composure. He leaned forward to give the other man a kiss, only to find himself denied by a hand in front of his face.
“It would be wise for you to rinse your mouth before we proceed,” the Lieutenant said with a grimace. “Don’t forget where it was just now.”
Harry merely chuckled in response.
Later, with his legs hiked up over Harry’s shoulders and head against the arm rest, Kim was promptly plowed into the sofa cushions.
Elsewhere, Alice was making a mental note to bring the Lieutenant a canister of soup in hopes that it would help him feel better. Perhaps a hearty chicken noodle was in order.
They were side by side now. Neither a police radio nor landline was currently separating the two. Kim and Alice spoke very little; the moment instead called for sitting quietly next to each other on the park bench and taking in the warm spring weather. They were alone amongst the shaking trees and long stretches of grass, save for the occasional jogger and group of children on bikes passing by. After weeks of being buried under reports and field work and the like, it was nice to finally get away from it all and play civilian for a day.
It would be another minute or so until Alice broke the silence. She leaned forward and turned to Kim with a smile. “I hope this isn’t too forward of me,” she began. “But there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for awhile now.”
Kim kept looking ahead, but acknowledged Alice with a small nod.
“Go ahead.”
“Kim, are you happy?”
A forward question, indeed. It was one the Lieutenant definitely had to think about. But despite his discomfort he didn’t wish to keep Alice waiting either; the longer he hesitated to answer the more likely she would become concerned. She definitely caught sight of him slightly fidgeting where he was seated as soon as she asked.
Was he happy? Kim looked back on all that’s happened since his departure from his former precinct. Not much changed in terms of murder cases and public behavior, but his experience in Martinaise and the change of scenery has brought a little light into his world, if only just a glimmer.
Getting to meet Captain Pryce. Officers McLaine and Torson leaving crude drawings on his desk. Officer Minot offering him a cup of tea every morning. Smoke breaks with Pidieu when they both had to work late. Officer Vicquemare constantly sucking up to him. Discussing history with Heidelstam.
And then, there was Harry…
Almost as if she could read his mind, Alice decided not to wait for an answer. She leaned back against the bench and gently placed her left hand on his right shoulder. “Well I certainly think so,” she said. “To this day I’m surprised you decided to call me all those months ago! I had assumed you would probably throw out my phone number and forget about me the second you transferred and started a new life.”
If anything, Kim had actually surprised himself. He still remembered sitting at home later that night, after they said their final goodbyes in-person as colleagues. He sat there alone, peering down at the handwritten note in his gloved hand with numbers scrawled at the very bottom. Thinking about what he should do. Wondering what would be the right choice.
Alice continued. “I know you weren’t always treated the best back at 57. And don’t have the fondest of memories of it. But my father and I always thought very highly of you and the work you did. You might not always show it, but we know you really care about Revachol.”
A recent conversation with her father was reeling in her mind. For this next part she knew she needed to tread carefully and delicately. She removed her hand from Kim’s shoulder and placed it on top of the hand resting on his knee. He didn’t flinch.
“And…I just know that he would be rooting for you, too.”
Kim still wasn’t looking back at her, but Alice noticed his expression had shifted slightly. He was now looking down at their hands. That was her indication that she had said enough on the subject.
She gave his hand a pat and then retracted her own to push herself upwards to stand. “Well I don’t know about you, but all this sentimental talk has me craving something sweet. How does a walk to the bakery sound?”
Kim looked upwards at the younger woman, finally meeting her eyes. “Why not. I suppose it’s a nice day to indulge.”
Alice beamed. Once Kim stood up to meet her they made their way down the path. As they walked together, she leaned towards the older man with a mischievous smirk.
“If I buy you a danish, will you tell me what Harry was doing over at your apartment the other night?”
She let out a gasp when the Lieutenant suddenly began walking faster.