“Absolutely not,” Riley had said.

“Go home,” he'd tried.

And yet here he was, unlocking his apartment door with Dash hovering impatiently by his side. 

“Finally!” Dash said, rushing past as soon as the door swung open. “My god, you live far out. Are we even still in the city?”

Technically they were, though only just. Riley liked the quiet of this neighborhood, and it didn’t take that long to get to work.  

“You invited yourself here,” Riley said, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up in the hall closet.  

“Yeah, well I can’t trust you to check your phone, so I have to keep you in my sights,” Dash said, the accusing tone somewhat mitigated by the giant yawn that followed. “These have been the longest goddamn nights. You don’t even wanna know how much caffeine I had to consume today just to keep going.”

“Trouble sleeping?” Riley asked. He really hoped Dash wasn’t about to keep him up all night. Though he already suspected the stress of seeing Adam Volk two days in a row might have him tossing and turning.  

“No, just haven’t slept. As soon as you left yesterday I went downtown to bar hop, trying to figure out where Gabriel had been. I’ve been to like a million of them. What, did you think I just magically wandered into the right bar on my first try?”

Riley hadn’t given any thought at all as to how Dash had tracked down the evidence of the near-encounter between Gabe and Jimmy Kadence. He had to admire the dedication.  

“Sorry,” Dash said, misinterpreting Riley’s silence. “That was kind of bitchy. I’d say it’s the sleep deprivation, but honestly this is just how I am.”

“It’s fine,” Riley said. “You, er, found the right place, that’s what counts.” 

“You believe me now, right?” Dash asked, looking up at Riley. Now that he was paying attention, he could see the dark circles of exhaustion shadowing Dash’s eyes. 

“We’ll find him,” Riley said by way of an answer. Dash’s lip twitched like he wanted to say something else, but he seemed to think better of it. At last he released Riley from his stare, looking around the apartment.  

“Damn, this place is pretty big, huh? You could fit my whole apartment in your living room. Did you just move in?”

“I’ve been here two years.”

Dash let out a startled snort.

“Two-- sorry, um… I guess you’re kind of a minimalist then, huh?”

“I don’t need a lot of stuff,” Riley said. He had spent most of his twenties bouncing around with nothing more than the contents of a few bags; the day he’d purchased a bed frame felt like he was tunneling roots into the concrete floors. His living room even had a small coffee table now.  

“Oh my god, you must have hated my place, right?” Dash asked, his face splitting into a wide smile. “It’s bad, I know, but I’m such a packrat, and Gabriel totally just goes along with it. I’ll pass a rummage sale or a flea market and come home with like three lamps and a box of books I may never read, and he doesn’t even make fun of me, he just helps find a spot for everything. He’s always… he just…”

Dash’s shoulders heaved suddenly, and Riley watched in alarm as the wave of emotion rolled over him.  

“We should get some sleep,” he said, the first thing he could think of. “In the morning we’ll… we’ll know more. We can make a plan.” 

“Right, yeah, of course,” Dash said, shaking it off; his eyes were still too bright. “Um, do you have a blanket I can borrow?” 

“Yeah,” Riley said, fairly certain he had a spare somewhere. “Do you want something to… actually, I don’t think I have anything that would fit you.”

“It’s cool, I can sleep in these. They’re basically leggings,” Dash said, half-spinning in a way that drew Riley’s eyes down. Taysha had been right about the quality of fit.  

“Bathroom’s through there, if you need it,” Riley said, gesturing towards the door. Dash smiled gratefully and slipped inside. 

As Dash prepared for bed, Riley dug around in the closet, finally locating an extra blanket and a towel; he didn’t have a spare pillow, so his uninvited guest would have to make do. He’d just set them on the couch when the door opened and Dash returned.

He still wore his skin-tight bottoms, but he’d removed his shirt, affording Riley an unobstructed view. It was a honeycomb tattooed over his left hip, and now Riley noticed the bee on his bicep. The other tattoos were all natural in theme: flowers, herbs, a mountain range, a beetle. There was a beautiful little jewel-toned koi wrapped about his right wrist. It made perfect sense; elementals were by definition drawn to nature. 

“Like what you see?” Dash said, arching a brow at Riley. He was teasing him, though not with the same flirtatious energy he’d used on the bartender. Dash looked ready to drop.   

“Found you a blanket,” he said, and Dash nodded gratefully. Riley started towards his room, but before he could close the door Dash stopped him. 

“Hey, just… this guy tomorrow, your contact. You really think he’ll have a lead for us on Gabriel?”

“If Saben’s involved, we’ll know tomorrow.”

Dash nodded, but he was still worrying his bottom lip.  

“Hey,” Riley said, trying to gentle his voice. “Gabe’s a resourceful guy, right?” Dash gave a small nod. “If he is in trouble, he’ll probably have figured out a way out of it before we even get to him. You’ll have him back soon.”

Dash laughed softly, but a fraction of the tension seemed to go out of his shoulders. Riley took another step back towards the safety of his room, but Dash pinned him with a look.  

“I believe you when you say you don’t know why Gabriel sent me to you, you know,” he said, studying Riley far too intently. “But… who are you to him?”

Riley paused, not entirely sure how to answer that.

“Nothing, I thought," he said honestly. "We… only knew each other a few days.”

“How’d you meet?”

“At a bar.”

To his surprise, Dash's worried frown morphed into a smirk. “Which of you picked the other up?”

Riley ran his fingers through his hair, wondering how Dash could keep up an interrogation on no sleep.  

“It wasn’t like that,” he said at last. Dash arched a brow, unconvinced. 

“Really? How often do men approach you in bars not trying to sleep with you?”

“About half the time,” Riley said.  

“What happens the other--”

“Dash,” Riley interrupted. “Go to bed.”

“You know I’ll get the story out of you eventually, right?” Dash said, his gray eyes glinting in the dim light. 

“Good night,” Riley said, finally slipping into his bedroom and closing the door. 

He stood there for a moment, listening to the sound of Dash’s annoyed huff, the creak of the couch springs, and wondering if he would always be doomed to repeat the past.