A Bid For Love

passed him a Styrofoam cup, then gave one to Scott. "Holly, I want you in the van. Scott, the old guy at the newsstand is more than happy to let you hang out nearby. Asher, in the car with me." Not a flicker of emotion crossed Noah's face at the statements. Then again, Noah only had five facial expressions anyway, so Poker Face--Expression Two-point-One--didn't surprise Asher at all. The startled concern in Scott's did, however.
    "Fine." He sent the acknowledgment more for Scott than Noah. He managed to catch Scott's eye as Noah outlined who they were looking for and what they expected would happen. It's all right, lover. I'm quite capable of handling Noah being a prick. It's rather standard for my relationship with him. He could imagine the grin if he found a way to say it out loud.
    "Okay, let's do it. Surveillance says they're on their way. If they pick a different spot for breakfast, we wait for Surveillance to tell us." Noah headed for his car.
    Scott caught Asher by the arm as he moved to follow. "Whatever Noah says, don't let him get to you. We'll hash it out later because I want every detail. This has gone far enough."
    Asher turned his head so the others couldn't see, only Scott. "It's all right, dearest. I love you, and he can't do anything to change that. And I promise to injure him only a little if he gets too out of line."
    Lord, he hated Noah's car. Bureau-issued, that little weasel in charge of disbursement had decided that "inconspicuous sedan" in Noah's case meant "compact." So they were stuck in a Honda Civic barely fitting Noah's six-foot-nothing standards for head and leg-room. At six-three, Asher felt like he'd been exiled to a damn sardine can. He could only hope the marks decided to eat fast and conduct brief business.
    The minutes dragged as he tried to find some position for his legs that didn't make him feel like a contortionist. The tension radiating from Noah didn't help. Luckily it took only five minutes for Noah to work himself up to the point of speaking, saving Asher from prolonged anticipation.
    "Ahm, Asher? We've been teammates a long time and I know what the job means to you. You're a damned good agent and you shouldn't let Scott mess it up for you."
    "I'm sorry?" It didn't come as a surprise, but Asher had expected a far harder opening line of conversation than this. And expected the focus of it to be himself, not Scott. He kept his voice even. "And what is it you think Scott's done or doing to jeopardize my career?"
    Noah's hands gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. "He has no self-control; you know that. Last night made it more than obvious. I've seen him get like this, all jazzed on adrenaline and emotion. He just doesn't think." Noah's lips thinned, settling into a hard line. "He's going to say something stupid or do something stupid and out both of you." Dark eyes swung to face Asher. "And I know we're all supposed to be protectors of rights for everyone, but you know as well as I do being gay will hit your career hard."
    "Excuse me?" God, Asher hated to brush it under the rug. It felt like betraying Scott. But his personal life was none of Noah's business, and he already knew the risks involved, so the subject was off-limits here as well. "Are you implying something, Noah? If so, skip the implication and just spit it out. I assume this has something to do with last night's cover." Just say it and get it over with so I can endure the rest of this stakeout in mere discomfort instead of agony .
    "I'm not implying anything. I'm telling you straight. You need to get a handle on Scott before he outs you both." Noah drew another long breath. "He doesn't care about advancing in the Bureau. In fact, he'd rather not. But I know you'd love to have my job. Hell, you'd love to be director. Neither's going to happen if..." He couldn't seem to make the rest of the sentence come. "I mean, last night was bad enough. He was one blink away from undressing you in front of everyone."
    Aside from the fact Noah didn't have a clue about what Asher had in mind for the rest of his life, in or out of the Bureau, the whole conversation was ludicrous. He managed to contain his laugh to a single huff. "It was a cover, Noah. We were playing a couple in a gay bar. I saw at least three other couples in far more states of passion than we managed. I hardly think we were in danger of being arrested."
    Accusation danced in Noah's eyes. "Please, Asher. I'm not blind. And I've known you and Scott