We Speak Together

Before they were roommates, they were close friends, and before that, they were partners, assigned together despite all odds. It worked out though, for them, they worked well together, unlike Phillip and Murphy down the hall. They were stuck on filing duty again, for some stupid mistake both could have prevented.

Lucas and Levi were different though, the cases were solved quicker and easier, and they never missed a beat. They went from coffee breaks to house visits in the span of a month. Levi lived in a small run-down house on the edge of town, the only thing he could get for cheap, Lucas had an apartment with two rooms and an attached bathroom that could easily fit in Levi's kitchen. They'd been working together for six months when their pay was suddenly cut in half. Couldn't keep that many people on hand at the station in this small of a town, budget cuts were necessary. Levi was already scraping by on the original cash flow but when it was cut in half he was doomed, and he knew it. Lucas butted in then, like a breath of fresh air.

"We can share my apartment," he said, "it has two rooms anyway, we can move my desk into the hall. It's not like I ever use it anyhow." Levi had barely given it a second thought before he said yes.

Living in the apartment had an easy rhythm between the two of them, nothing ever seemed odd or foreboding, they hardly even fought. It was almost too good to be true.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye and suddenly Levi came down with something. He'd hardly ever been sick before; hell Lucas had never seen the other man even come down with a cold. But this, this was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Levi locked himself in his bedroom, refusing to let anyone in, "I don't want you to get it too, then we'll both be in trouble. Besides who'll pay the bills?" he had joked, voice raspy and often broken up by heart-wrenching coughs.

What was Lucas supposed to say to that? Levi wouldn't even go to the hospital. It was maddening! But Lucas abided by his wishes and stayed away, leaving whatever meal he had warmed up or cooked right outside his door every night, trying in vain to coerce him to come out for a moment, to eat something. It never worked. Months passed and Lucas fell into a routine while Levi was still silent behind his door, an occasional cough or two or a rasping breath the only thing letting Lucas know his roommate was still in there. It was at the end of October, six months after Levi had gotten sick, that it happened. Lucas pushed his key through the rusting lock and fought with it for a moment, like always, before the door gave way. He couldn't stop the grin from overtaking his face as he saw Levi sitting at their tiny table nursing a cup of Joe.

"Levi! You alright? Do we need to go to the hospital? Do you want anything to eat? I can run down to the grocer and grab something-"

The questions tumbled out of his mouth like an avalanche he just couldn't stop them. He'd been worried, and he knew it showed on his face as Levi just gave him a small grin.

"Thanks for being patient with me, I didn't want to drag you into my mess, ya know? Don't worry about the food, I'd rather we just stayed here and caught up, yeah?"

Their 'catching up' lasted for days. Lucas ignored calls from the station and stayed home, both in worry and relief. What if whatever Levi was sick with came back and he wasn't around? He'd never forgive himself. He was in the middle of telling Levi a story of Murphy's last case that involved a literal chocolate waterfall and an allergic reaction turned murder when he heard a knocking on the door. Frowning, he got up to see who it was. An unfamiliar face greeted him but with the station's uniform on, pressed clean and a new gray-blue color.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently, they didn't need to send someone; it'd only been a couple of days after all.

"Lucas Miller?"

"Obviously, now what do you want?" He knew he was being short with him but seriously, it was already around dinnertime, why come so late?

"Ah good, I got the right apartment then." The other man gave a sheepish smile before continuing, "I'm Joey- Joseph, sorry, Joseph Lindbur, I'm your new partner? I was supposed to check in earlier, but I got a little lost. They said you haven't been coming in for a couple of days so the boss couldn't tell you. Sorry about that. Can I come in?"

New partner? What the hell was the boss thinking? Levi had just been sick is all, he was recovering now, and he'd be back to normal in no time. The boss had no right to just- assign him a new partner out of the blue like this! Still, Lucas grit his teeth and opened the door further, letting the other officer in. It was a little dirty, or well... very dirty. He hadn't had time to clean; he was so focused on Levi. It didn't matter though; he'd go back to work tomorrow morning and clear this whole new partner thing up.

He turned back to Levi with an annoyed look, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of the other officer just standing around shuffling his feet, looking nervous. Lucas wasn't going to eat him for crying out loud.

"The boss has lost his mind I swear. Apparently, Greenling over here is my 'new' partner. Can you believe that? I'll pop in tomorrow and set him straight. Hey, maybe you should go with me? If you're feeling alright that is." Lucas responded to Levi's questioning eyebrow raise, shaking his head mournfully. The stupidity of other people was astounding, Lucas could hardly believe it.

"And you, Joseph, was it? Grab a chair we're not going to eat you, you know." Lucas continued before plopping down in his own discarded chair, looking at the other expectantly.

"Um, sir?" Joseph looked around like a startled rabbit, he looked ready to flee. What the hell was up with him?

"What?" he snapped.

"Who-who are you talking to? And um what's that smell? I-I don't mean to be rude but maybe if you've got rotting meat in the fridge you should clean it out. T-though that's not really any of my business, is it? Sorry, sir." His eyes were downcast, and he was shifting from foot to foot like he was getting ready to run for it.

"Who am I talking to? Levi, of course, we're roommates and partners. Your assignment with me must have been a mistake. I'll talk to the boss tomorrow about it, so relax."

"Um, sir? Th-there's no one here with us, other than the bugs but they might be your pets I don't really know…. but um Levi.... if you're talking about Levi Kerry, he's not been seen or heard from in months. The boss has an open file on him; we think he may have been murdered. His family had a closed casket funeral weeks ago. Didn't you know that?"

Liar, Lucas's mind screamed, he had to be lying. There was no way that was true, a funeral? An open case? Levi was right there-

Lucas froze when he turned back to Levi to see his take on this prank, only to find an empty, dust-covered chair, a stone cold, aging cup of Joe on the table in front of it. That was- that was impossible- he'd just been right there-

"Sir maybe you have a dead animal or something in your walls, I think I'll call the boss or someone…." Lucas barely paid him any attention as Joseph edged out the door and went to make a phone call. Levi- he'd just been- he was right there a few seconds ago.

Lucas still hadn't moved when his fellow officers pulled up, didn't even blink as they shoved the door open and recoiled at the stench that filled the dust-covered apartment, he remained unmoved, still at a stone, as they searched the apartment as the cries of shock reached his ears when they broke down the door to Levi's room. That… this couldn't be true. He was imagining things obviously, hadn't gotten enough sleep…. right?