Jun nodded as though this was no surprise, every line of his body tight with impatience as Theo continued.
“The real giddypony of it is that even once I have translated a passage, it still appears to be in some sort of code.”
Jun’s forehead scrunched as he mouthed giddypony, then waved his hand for Theo to go on—something that had so rarely happened to him that he did a little wriggle of excitement.
“Yes, so, as I said, there’s a secondary code. But luckily, it was the work of a few hours for me to open it up and begin to parse my way through—”
He made an indignant sound as Jun seized the pad and proceeded to scroll furiously. He then stopped and frowned at Theo menacingly.
Which, really, ought not to have the tightening effect upon his trousers that it did, but, alas.
“You cracked the code?”
Theo fell back a step as Jun advanced, wielding the pad like a weapon. “Well, yes. It was quite a twister, but I muddled my way through, which, you’ll be pleased to know, should help me accelerate the rest of the translation.”
Jun did not appear particularly pleased to know that. He appeared irate. Volatile. Dangerous. “There is no way you cracked this code in a few hours.”
Despite the flat, even delivery, Theo still heard a familiar and unwelcome emphasis on the word “you.” He drew himself up to the same posture he used when confronted with skeptics in his field. “There is one particular manner in which I cracked this code, and it was the method that I used. You’re welcome, by the way.”
The expression on Jun’s face was not particularly thankful as he tucked the pad in his pocket and stepped toe-to-toe with Theo, using his extra inches of height to his advantage. “Who are you?”
Offering a smile didn’t seem to have any effect on Jun’s intimidating stance, but Theo gave his best effort anyway. “I believe we have already been introduced, Captain Park. And made each other’s acquaintance. Quite well, as a matter of fact.”
The breath shot from his lungs as Jun grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him up on his toes with a snarl. “Who do you work for?”
Slowly, carefully, Theo wrapped his hands around Jun’s fist, lightly tracing the spill of ink across his knuckles as he blinked up into his face. “Technically, I’m still employed by the Department of Linguistics, but in actuality, I appear to be working for you.”
He gasped, tilting his head with the motion as Jun shot one hand out to lightly circle his throat, two fingers pressed to his pulse.
This close, Theo could see that his irises weren’t black, not really. They were closer to the swirling dark of space, lit by the burning wreckage of stars all around them. Not flat black at all, but limitless. Drawing Theo irresistibly in as Jun growled low in his chest, “Are you lying?”
Theo swallowed against the hand over his throat, rubbed his thumb softly across the knob of bone at Jun’s thick wrist. There was no pressure on his air supply, but his voice rasped nonetheless. “I speak only the truth, Captain.”
Jun’s face struggled through anger and confusion before finally settling upon astonishment.
He lowered Theo’s heels to the floor. Flattening his grip on his shirtfront, he slid a palm across his chest and cupped his shoulder. “You’re not lying.”
Theo would have shaken his head were it not still held in place by the gentle grasp of Jun’s rough, warm hand gliding up his jaw to frame his face. “No. I’m not.”
Jun’s lips parted as if to speak, but nothing came. His gaze fell to Theo’s lips instead, his nostrils flaring as his brows drew together. “You cracked the code I’ve been working on for two years.” His growl had fallen away, leaving his voice soft and low. “By yourself. In a day.”
Theo squirmed a bit under his scrutiny, accustomed to the irritation of his peers when he sailed ahead on some project they seemed to struggle with. “Yes. It would appear so. I’m terribly sorry if—”
Shaking his head slowly, Jun grazed the broad pad of his thumb just below Theo’s bottom lip and whispered softly, “You’re astonishing.”
Oh.
That.
Well.
Something rattled loose in Theo’s chest beneath Jun’s honest regard, thumping madly against his ribs, bounding free and unfettered for the first time.
His skin burned with the force of his blush, sneaking down his hairline all the way to his chest, surely radiating heat beneath Jun’s hand. “Oh, no. I simply worked out the pattern through cross-analyzing the languages chosen, and—”
Jun cupped the back of Theo’s head, fingers gentle in his hair, and angled his face up to meet dark, thoughtful eyes. “Theo. Stop.”
With a click of his teeth, Theo shut his mouth, his skin still burning as his hands fluttered in the scant space between their bodies.
Gently massaging Theo’s scalp, Jun pressed their foreheads together for a brief, endless moment. His warm breath battered Theo’s parted lips with a heavy sigh, and then he released him and stepped back. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”
If Theo’s chin had lifted, just a little, they could have kissed. Easy, simple.
Impossible.
He burned with the absence of it. The heavy weight of longing held him captive in Jun’s arms.
Without Jun to hold him up, Theo slumped back against the wall. “It was nothing, really. I—”
Some of the growl came back into June voice as he stared him down, stars still burning in his deep-space eyes. “No. It was not nothing.”
He pulled the pad out of his pocket and tapped on the deactivated screen insistently, his face as youthful and open as Theo had ever seen it. “Theo, this could—you could be saving countless lives with this. You have no idea.”
Theo brushed the tips of his fingers over Jun’s tight knuckles as he gestured at the pad. “Then, tell me, Jun. I could have plenty of ideas if you would
