Ellisandre

Ellisandre shrugged out of their heavy overcoat, something that could have come from an army surplus store.

The professionals at Linda’s office wouldn’t recognize them with their hair hidden under a maroon beanie, brown contacts obstructing their usual eye color, and a bronze ear cuff on one side.

Their shirt was floppy, gray, and from the athletic section of a store that probably closed twenty years ago, the hem barely tucked into wide-legged jeans that skimmed the tops of heavy Timberland brown boots.

There wasn’t a question in the place about their gender.

Male as they came is what they looked like.

It fit the vibe of the day. After breakfast, they were going to the shooting range with Alice for one of their twice a week training sessions and then they were going to do street practice, with Alice spotting for stalkers and learning to ditch them in urban environments.

Linda was taking the morning off to stay with Dana.

Even though it was Monday, Ellisandre had made time for Alice’s training.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and most Saturday afternoons both Dana and Alice were meeting with their hand-to-hand self-defense instructor.

Never mind that Ellisandre had paid to bring over one of their own favorite teachers from the UK just to train them.

No one needed to know that. It felt like there was no time to waste.

Sevastyan’s face registered recognition of them as soon as he stepped through the doors of the greasy spoon breakfast spot.

Like them, he’d altered his appearance. His hair was dyed a mid-tone brown.

He had hazel-brown contacts covering his light eyes, and he hadn’t shaved in at least two days, giving him a scruff that Ellisandre wanted to brush their fingers against to see how rough it might be.

There was a leather bag over his shoulder and a rolling suitcase beside him.

He pushed through to the table at the back of the shop, apologizing for the size of his larger bag to the few other customers present.

Ellisandre stood and helped pull the bags to the wall. “You made it.”

Sevastyan gave a crooked smile, a line appearing beside his mouth. “I said I’d come.”

“Tell me how long you have.”

“An hour before I have to call a ride to O’Hare.”

“I’m glad you came.”

Sevastyan sagged down into a seat. “Wanted to see you.”

“Didn’t think you’d be leaving the city, not right now.”

“Unfortunately, I have a reliable informant, which makes me deployable.”

Ellisandre let a huff of laughter slip out. “Reliable, indeed.”

“Very.” Sevastyan leaned forward on his elbow and smiled. “The best.”

“I hope you’re taking care of them.”

Sevastyan mock grimaced. “No, I’m very much in their debt.”

“I doubt they believe that.” Ellisandre brought their mug of coffee to their mouth and smirked through the steam.

He blushed.

Ellisandre pushed the second mug of coffee towards him. “Drink. Food’s coming. I ordered.”

“Thank you.” Sevastyan wrapped both of his beautiful hands around the mug, dwarfing it with his strong, long fingers. Ellisandre indulged in watching the flex of the skin sliding over his knuckles, showcasing blue veins and defined tendons.

“Show me the cuts,” Ellisandre murmured.

Sevastyan’s back was to the door. It was an honor he was trusting them to watch the entrance on his behalf.

He couldn’t seem to utter his secret, but he readily placed his life in their keeping.

It spoke to something deep and primal. And it was enough—for now.

Sevastyan opened his coat and his jacket.

He glanced right and left but no one was at the nearby tables this early in the morning.

The crowd was almost all in the front grabbing coffee and baked goods to go.

He pulled up his shirt, the sides of his great winter coat creating a veneer of privacy. “They’re almost healed.”

If only the situation were less public, they would reach out and stroke the lines they’d left in his skin. “Tell me how you feel now. Bruises, cuts, sleep.”

Sevastyan lowered his shirt. “Nothing to report. I’m fully operational. Sleep has been broken but not because of . . . us.”

Ellisandre tilted their head. Whoever had needed the saline had probably been in Sevastyan’s direct care, then.

“Next time, tell me if you’re going to be caretaking directly after we do more than a date.”

Sevastyan dropped his eyes, aware that part of his mystery had been sussed out. “I will.” An honorific was on his lips, but he wisely did not use it.

Ellisandre lounged back in their seat, just drinking in their boy. Sevastyan looked up, catching them at it, and blushed deeper. “I’m going to be gone for a few days. All my phones will be off for periods. I’ll be back on the seventeenth.”

“Noted.” Ellisandre grinned. This was domestic. Even if their boy was probably referring to a trip to go commit crimes, possibly international crimes, this meeting for food, discussion of schedules, all of it, was better than a declaration. It was attention, thoughtfulness, time.

“You’ll have to come back. I hear your informant will become unreliable if left unattended.”

Sevastyan’s eyes crinkled up in a grin. “I’ll make sure that’s taken under advisement.”

The cook slapped two plates down in the window and yelled out their order number.

Ellisandre stood. “Food. Be right back.” Hopefully Sevastyan still liked pancakes.