All Shook Up (Greg, Casual)

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“I know you’re not lying, I just don’t see it your way. I’m entitled to my own opinion, to my own thoughts," Peter said, and suddenly Gregory realized he might really be crossing a line here; that Peter was more serious about this than Greg had intended for him to be. “Listen, I appreciate that you’re nice about everything. I appreciate that you think you’re right, and for all I know you are, but you have to respect me as a person with my own ideas and beliefs, especially about myself.”

Oh... stupid man. Stupid, stupid man. Gregory ought to punch himself. He hadn't meant to sound so... controlling. But he certainly had been, and still was, and now he just felt... bad. Incredibly so. He went back to staring at his knees as he said, embarrassed, "Yes, that's also completely true." He forced himself to look back up at Peter, guilty as he felt, and added, "I'm sorry. I didn'tmean to... you can tell me when I'm being too much of a... whatever, you know."[/color]

A whatever. Control freak? Or just plain annoying? He wished Peter would tell him things earlier, before they managed to escalate to whatever mush of misunderstanding they always seemed to become. And there he was, controlling even in though. Maybe he was the one who should change! He hadn't even considered, because he was oh so sure of himself. For someone who was self-conscious, Gregory certainly managed to stuff in a certainly considerable amount of bossiness when he got comfortable with anyone. He considered himself a fastidious man, which in some ways was good and others was a downfall. He tried not to step over boundaries, but in doing so his precautions became so regular they also become unimportant. Gregory had always been the kind of person who still thought about and regretted things he'd been chastised for long ago, and he felt an infinite growing guilt in his stomach now. He had half a mind to apologize to Peter again, though he knew that people didn't like that.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter was sure that what he had just said had ended everything. He was prepared for Greg to either tell him to leave or to tell him that he had over stepped it and he’d better shut up. He’d deserve either response.

So of course, Greg surprised him and said the last thing Peter expected.

"Yes, that's also completely true. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... you can tell me when I'm being too much of a... whatever, you know."

No, he really couldn’t. He was lucky enough to get the apology, let alone to do something stupid like tell Greg he was being a...whatever.

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to be so...short,” Peter apologised.

It was the best that he could do to try and fix this. He definitely wouldn’t have blamed Greg if he still wanted to drop him after that. He didn’t have to put up with that on top of everything else with Peter.

“You’re fine, I’m just making things awkward. Again.”

Because that was what he did. He made things awkward.

“So, uh, what song is this one?”

He didn’t recognize it and he was hoping to turn Greg’s attention on something else. Maybe then he’d manage to get through this date.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to be so...short," Peter said. Gregory refrained from commenting, this time. It was rather hard not to. And anyways, insecurity was really unattractive. “You’re fine, I’m just making things awkward. Again."

Awkward silence. Gregory wanted to tell Peter it was fine really, but it sort of wasn't; he felt pretty bad, and at the same time wanted to yell at Peter for thinking everything was always his fault. At that particular moment, he was especially glad they did not work in the same department. It was a sour thought that Gregory wished he didn't have, but it was a bit easier to avoid Peter during the day when they weren't on the same floor. He didn't want to distract Peter at work, at the very least.

Was that what he was? Just a distraction? He could tell, he was really screwing Peter up. He should've listened when Peter originally said it probably wasn't a good idea to try. He enjoyed being with Peter, he really did - the man was fantastic - but somehow, being in a relationship made him different in a way Gregory didn't like. It made him feel guilty and Peter's complex was agitating.

“So, uh, what song is this one?”

Gregory listened for a second before he said, "I don't know. It doesn't really matter, though. They're all the same, remember?" He hadn't meant to sound as put out as it ended up being, and he quickly added, "Let's just... enjoy it."[/b]

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter, though. They're all the same, remember? Let's just... enjoy it."

Greg sounded...annoyed or put upon or even both. Peter didn’t like that he’d been the one to put the man in this mood, but he couldn’t very well take back whatever it was that he’d said. Half the time he didn’t even know what he’d done wrong to put Greg into that tone of voice. That tone often ended all the conversation between them until they either parted or went back to Greg’s and didn’t leave the bedroom until the next morning to get ready for work.

Was that how these kinds of things were supposed to go? Sometimes Peter knew he was just better off on his own if this was what ended up happening every time they tried to talk. It was kind of sad because before they were like this they talked about a lot without ever ending up in these awkward standstills. Peter wasn’t sure what changed or how, but it was probably him, which made him feel even worse about things. But he wasn’t going to let this one get ruined.

“I’m enjoying it,” Peter said, taking a chance and shifting closer to Greg.

The man was much more at ease with the physicality of dating than Peter was, but he’d been watching the other couples and he knew that being as far away from Greg as he was wasn’t couple-ish.

“I, uh, gotta be honest here – I’m not much of a music fan. It’s all just noise to me,” Peter told him.

Angelique swore he was tone deaf and Peter was sure she was right. All music was just noise.

“I don’t mind this, though,” he added, leaning a bit so he could rest his head on Greg’s shoulder.

He really didn’t. Being outside was fantastic, and after watching the crowd, he could tell that they really weren’t interested in him or Greg, so there was really no reason to worry. It all made Peter wonder how much of his anxiety about dating was just in his head and how much was reality.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“I’m enjoying it,” Peter said, and Greg wasn't sure if he actually meant that or if he was just trying to make Greg feel better; Peter didn't seem like he was enjoying it. In fact, Greg thought he didn't seem like he was enjoying himself far too little. Maybe he really ought to just let Peter go, stop playing with his mind. Peter was really young, too, he had his whole life to experiment. It wasn't like he thought either of them thought this was permanent. But then, Greg was a romantic.

Peter moved a little closer to Greg, and Greg smiled weakly at him. “I, uh, gotta be honest here – I’m not much of a music fan. It’s all just noise to me,” Peter admitted, and Greg was honestly, surprised by this confession. Who didn't like music? This, in particular, wasn't exactly an exciting concert or anything, but still, to not like music? That was rare, Greg thought.

“I don’t mind this, though,” Peter said, and put his head on Greg's shoulder. Greg decided patting Peter on the head might seem a bit degrading so held off. But Peter had really soft hair. Greg turned his head and gently kissed the top of Peter's head. Peter had a certain scent to him that Greg loved, because it was Peter's smell; he'd always identified a person by their smell, ever since he was young.

"Well, that's good,"[/b] Greg said softly, turning back to look at the musicians in the distance. "Though, if you get bored, we can go somewhere else. I mean... there's not a whole lot to do at a concert if you don't like music,"[/b] Greg chuckled, though he did still find it interesting that someone could not like music. "You eaten yet?"[/b]

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter tried not to shift uncomfortably when Greg seemed to lean into the contact between them, smelling his hair before kissing the top of his head. Peter was well aware that Greg liked to smell him, even if he thought it was a bit weird. It was why he showered so obsessively before they had a date planned. He didn’t want Greg to think he was some sweaty guy who never showered, even if Greg had seen him sweat over and over again playing with the kids and even touched him when he was just dripping with it. New York was stiflingly hot six months out of the year, after all, or at least it was in Peter’s opinion. If it wasn’t too hot to breathe, then it was too cold to move. Boy would that be a bad time to be dating, worse than summer even. He wasn’t even good for night time activities when he hurt too much to move, then what would he be good for. Maybe Greg would come to his senses then, but winter was a long ways off.

"Well, that's good. Though, if you get bored, we can go somewhere else. I mean... there's not a whole lot to do at a concert if you don't like music."

It wasn’t that he didn’t like music. He wasn’t a fan, no, but it really was all noise to him. He thought the words were poetic, but how often did he get the chance to read lyrics? Greg kind of chuckled and Peter again wondered what was so funny, but let it go. If he asked, Greg would just try and reassure him again. He didn’t need that. So he just shrugged a bit, not committing. Besides, Greg was enjoying himself.

"You eaten yet?"

Sort of. He’d managed half an orange and a couple potato chips between his shower and dashing out the door, but that was about it. If he was lucky, the other half of the orange and the half a bag of chips on the table would be there when he got home. Baze was notorious from taking things off the counters and he knew better than to leave things on them, but he’d been in a hurry to meet Greg on time.

“Yeah, a bit,” Peter replied, not sharing what he’d considered to be dinner. He’d just get one of those looks from Greg that he hated. “I could eat again.”

But he could always eat, so that wasn’t saying much.

“We should stay until it’s over, though,” Peter replied, knowing Greg had planned it and he probably wanted to stay. And he didn’t know if it would be rude to leave or not. “I really don’t mind.”

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“Yeah, a bit. I could eat again. We should stay until it’s over, though, I really don’t mind.”

"Okay," Gregory replied easily. He didn't care what they were doing really, he mostly just liked to be in Peter's company. This had seemed like a good idea for a date, because it was just a park thing - you could do whatever and listen to music. He knew most people talked with friends and little kids ran around and played while the music was a comfortable, atmospheric buzz in the background.

He tried to think of something to talk about that wouldn't be strange or uncomfortable. He always knew that Peter thought it was uncomfortable when he commented about Peter's own appearance - or, smell, and yeah, Gregory understood that was kind of unusual. "So, um,"[/b] Gregory started, searching for a topic and landing on work, because work was usually safe - their professions were the same but different, and Gregory laughed at the funny things Peter told him, about either his coworkers or his interesting tales of drunker bar-goers. "How's work going? People still interesting?"[/b]

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"Okay. So, um, how's work going? People still interesting?"

Peter chuckled a bit at that. This was where most of their conversations ended up – work. Not that Peter minded. Greg was a fellow officer, so he could tell him about his day without omitting things that were considered to be classified until the case was closed. Also, he understood the procedures, protocols and what went on when Peter talked. He even knew most of the people, so that always made it easier to talk about them without explaining their odd quirks and personalities. The bar was also easy to talk about. He had dozens of customers he could just talk about because they had done something amusing or memorable.

“Fortunately, people will always be interesting,” Peter replied. “Otherwise I’d be out of work as a detective.”

It was true. If people weren’t interesting, then there would be no crime or disturbances to keep him busy. It would have been better for mankind if there was no crime, but Peter had to eat, and seeing as how he was terrible at keeping himself fed when he had money...well, it was better to have both his paychecks coming in.

“Work’s good. Nothing really interesting has been going on, unless you consider Louise put Gerry on a diet.”

That highly amused Peter to no end. Gerry wasn’t out of shape, nor was he gaining weight. He didn’t even have bad cholesterol levels. The whole diet thing was Louise’s way of having company on her own diet. She was a good looking woman, but she was also the type who thought she had five extra pounds to lose and no matter what she did, they never left her hips. So she was a serial dieter. Gerry went along with it, but even he had his limits.

“He ate spinach and some ginger tea for lunch all week, but yesterday I caught him with two double cheeseburgers and a large Coke,” Peter chuckled. “You should have seen the look on his face.”

The muttered ‘don’t judge me’ had really made Peter laugh at the time, especially since Gerry hadn’t even paused to stop eating to tell him that much. Peter’d kept his mouth shut, seeing as how Gerry had waved a takeout bag under his nose and he’d been ravenous at the time. That was one thing Peter lucked out on – Gerry and Louise both wanted him to eat himself into an early grave, claiming he was too thin, so he got a lot of his daily nutrition out of whatever they’d decided to feed him that day, even if it was spinach and ginger tea. Unfortunately , Peter suffered along with the diets, too.

“As for the bar, just the usual drunk stories. I did get a proposal out of one starry-eyed kid after his fifth shot of tequila. I had to tell him that my boyfriend would be pretty putout and he sulked for a while, but after his next shot he kind of passed out on the counter, so it wasn’t a long period of disappointment.”

Peter always felt very flattered when drunk people asked him out or skipped right to proposals like that. They were sweet, amusing, and they left him thinking that maybe he might end up married or something one day, even if it was for all the wrong reasons. One day was the key word. Out of all the married people he knew, only Gerry and Louise had a good marriage. Well, his parents did alright, but he hadn’t spoken to them in eight years, so he didn’t see a lot of what went on with them. Everyone else was divorced, like Greg, or cheating on their spouse, like a certain unnamed woman he’d helped out in that sin. The point was, he wasn’t rushing himself into anything.

“How about you? How ’s work?”

Peter often liked hearing about Greg’s day. He was upstairs so Peter didn’t often get to see him and missed out on a lot of what he did, seeing as how their work only ever overlapped when Greg had a case involving one of his kids. He supposed the separation did give them more to talk about, though.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

Peter finally chuckled, and while Gregory didn't exactly know why that was, he was pleased, hearing it. The light-heartedness when they started talking about work was somewhat ironic, seeing as the stories they told each they could easily be considered horror to the general public. But to Peter and Greg, it was work, and it was a connecting - a professional one that couldn't be botched up because they were on different floors anyways.

“Fortunately, people will always be interesting,” Peter said, and Gregory smiled. Yes, that was true. “Otherwise I’d be out of work as a detective.”

Peter went on to say work was good, which was good. He chuckled when he heard Gerry was on a diet though - he wasn't on any real personal level with Gerry, except through Peter, but he knew him well enough that surely he didn't need to diet. He was a fit enough man. But women were women, and he wouldn't be arguing against Louise if he were paid to.

“He ate spinach and some ginger tea for lunch all week, but yesterday I caught him with two double cheeseburgers and a large Coke. You should have seen the look on his face," Peter laughed, and Gregory laughed with him. It was nice - he liked when they had stories to tell; stories together. They were nice, sharing was nice. It was a basic principal that went back to some kind of inherent childhood need, but with certain people, like Peter, it seemed like it meant more, at the moment. It seemed like being let part of something that most people weren't privy to, in a simply but gracious way.

“As for the bar, just the usual drunk stories," Peter started, and Gregory kept grinning - he liked to hear Peter's drunk stories the best sometimes, they were hilarious. People, though people did not include him (though sometimes he wished it might), really could be amusing when drinking. "I did get a proposal out of one starry-eyed kid after his fifth shot of tequila. I had to tell him that my boyfriend would be pretty putout and he sulked for a while, but after his next shot he kind of passed out on the counter, so it wasn’t a long period of disappointment.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow, amused. "Nice that his feelings were spared,"[/b] Gregory chuckled, though he knew really, it was more amusing that Peter had been asked and refused the kid's advances.

“How about you? How ’s work?”

"Mm, good, too,"[/b] Gregory decided, "Not nearly as interesting as yours though. Besides, you know, the regular murders. They're not exactly as funny,"[/b] he said, though he laughed while saying it anyways. "The guys have a new thing, where they've decided I'm Scottish, not Irish. Which it odd, because half of their parents have got to be Irish, but I don't know,"[/b] He shrugged. He though while they were warming up to him, they were still a bit wary - he did sort of come out of nowhere last year, scoop up a good position he was sure one of his subordinates had been dying to fill.

"Oh, I've got a drunk story for you!"[/b] Gregory remembered suddenly, and he sounded quite pleased with himself, that he might match up with Peter a bit, "I was covering, for Julie, ya know, on regular patrol, and I arrested a man so drunk off his ass, and high, that he was standing on his balcony yelling at his neighbor across the way, all the while wanking his heart off stark naked. Needless to say he almost died of embarrassment once he sobered up the next day."[/b] Gregory shook his head, still laughing weeks later at the event. That had made his week, really. It was just the right combination of drugs, ones the guy had never taken, and bam, total weirdo out of a common, middle class banker.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter was glad that Greg laughed through his stories. He was hoping that would be the case, seeing as how he had picked the most amusing ones from his week just for that very reason. He liked it when he could make Greg laugh. It usually didn’t take a lot of work, but the reward was always worth it.

"Nice that his feelings were spared.”

Peter shrugged a bit, knowing that Greg understood how it went. He got proposals quite often and he often told Greg about them. The only proposals he’d never talked about were from his University roommate. Those were too serious and far too tempting to bring up convincingly. He wasn’t even sure that there was any reason that he should ever talk to a current boyfriend about those.

He was glad when Greg started talking about something else – mainly his own job.

"Mm, good, too. Not nearly as interesting as yours though. Besides, you know, the regular murders. They're not exactly as funny."

Greg seemed to find that amusing, but Peter didn’t join in. It was fact – Greg dealt with the people in society who scared him. The ones who raped and murdered each other because they didn’t think that a human life was worth more than the current aggravations or upsets in their lives. At least when kids killed each other, you could see why and you could change them before they really got going on a bad path.

"The guys have a new thing, where they've decided I'm Scottish, not Irish. Which it odd, because half of their parents have got to be Irish, but I don't know.”

Ah yes, the guys loved to hassle Greg. They found it hilarious to get his Irish up, but most of the time he was pretty placid, so they were forced to be more inventive. Peter thought it was good for them, but he also thought that they’d probably get more out of Greg if they left him alone to do his own thing.

"Oh, I've got a drunk story for you! I was covering, for Julie, ya know, on regular patrol, and I arrested a man so drunk off his ass, and high, that he was standing on his balcony yelling at his neighbor across the way, all the while wanking his heart off stark naked. Needless to say he almost died of embarrassment once he sobered up the next day."

“Umm...wow,” Peter offered, not sure what else to say. Even in his worst moments, he’d never quite gone that public just to get an orgasm. “That is why some people really shouldn’t drink.”

He was one of those people, but he would have probably skipped the show and climbed right into bed with the neighbor, which probably wouldn’t have been any better. Alcohol was just chaos waiting to happen for some.

“You’ll have to tell that one to the kids – I can’t think of a better way to keep them from turning into alcoholics.”

In their neighborhood, nothing would keep a few of them from that path, but he was game to try any trick in the book.

“A least your work week sounds interesting,” Peter added, thankful Greg hadn’t gone into detail about his gory cases. Peter could handle it, but he just wanted something light for the night. “I have to admit, most of mine was sorting out domestic disturbances and going to Juvi trials.”

It was true. Because most of the trouble kids in the city knew Peter, he was often at their trials to give character witness and recommendations. He didn’t mind going to bat for the boys, but he sure hated having to wear a suit, especially since his was a browny-purple and from goodwill. He liked it, but he sure got some looks.

“The uh, the...judge asked me not to wear my purple suit anymore.”

And that had been embarrassing, but something Peter could accept. He’d have to just ask someone with taste to go shopping with him in the future. He smiled and shrugged a bit, waiting for comments about how awful the suit was anyways.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“Umm...wow? Peter looked a bit more disturbed than amused at this. Greg had meant for it to be funny, but Peter also didn't find murders funny at all, even if they were in silly circumstances. Not that murder was really funny, but Greg had found over the years that if you couldn't be at least a bit lighthearted about it - if you were serious at the other times that mattered - then you'd go a bit mad. Sometimes he forgot Peter didn't exactly have the same outlook.

“You’ll have to tell that one to the kids – I can’t think of a better way to keep them from turning into alcoholics," Peter said, and Greg smiled and nodded. He hadn't seen the kids in a while, he'd found it a little weird to see them while he and Peter were dating sometimes. Like he was defiling their father, or something guilt-worthy like that. He still wasn't exactly sure which ones of them had figured it out, if any.

“A least your work week sounds interesting." Peter sounded a little down about this, and Greg wasn't sure what to say, so he kept quiet until Pete added quietly, “The uh, the...judge asked me not to wear my purple suit anymore.”

Greg found himself giggling, though he wasn't sure he was actually supposed to - a lot of the times he got Peter's fake pout and actually put out faces mixed up. But the purple suit was... well, it was a very bad example of clothing in general. Gregory had legitimately thought Peter'd been joking the first time he wore it, which had resulted in a not-so-good thing. "But," Greg started, though he was still laughing and had to pause before he managed to saw in fake disappointment, grinning, "You were just so sexy in it the judge couldn't stand it, obviously. Hmm?"[/b] He smiled warmly, so that Peter would know - hopefully - that he was joking. Just in case, he pecked Peter quickly on the lips.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter felt like rolling his eyes at Greg’s giggle. He could see where it was amusing, but still, he had personal attachments to that suit. For the judge to ask him not to wear it was...wait, could the judge actually do that? Regardless, he was sure he’d have to change his suit for that judge if he wanted the guy to do anything for him in the future, so he’d probably have to change it for every judge. They got to wear robes and he couldn’t wear his purple suit. It was definitely not fair, but it was what it was.

"But," Greg continued, still laughing. Peter frowned at him, watching as grinned. "You were just so sexy in it the judge couldn't stand it, obviously. Hmm?"

Peter groaned at that statement, but Greg was smiling and pecking him on the lips a moment later. He was glad that Greg wasn’t serious. Judge Harrod was sixty-something and often looked at Peter like he was something scraped off the bottom of his shoe. Having the man interested in him was something that he didn’t want to even think of. Just the idea...

“Right,” Peter huffed. “That’s a mental image I’m not getting out of my mind any time soon.”

He liked older men for the most part, but he just couldn’t see himself with someone that old. Well, there would be perks of dating a judge, it just wasn’t worth his self-respect. Still, Greg didn’t need to know that.

“But dating a judge could be awesome. Search warrants, big offices to screw around in, lots of leeway on cases...” he drawled, tilting his head up to grin at Greg. “I’m starting to see the perks here.”

Of course he would make an even worse boyfriend for a grouchy old judge, but it was just a joke, so he didn't have to get worried. He'd learned that it was ok to joke around like this.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

Peter groaned, taking the joke as it was, but still looking horribly put off by the idea of the judge being attracted to him. Which made sense. Because most of the judges were uptight old men who hardly had any sense of humor, considering themselves Gods of the courtroom. Which they kind of were, but they didn't need to act it up so much.

“Right, that’s a mental image I’m not getting out of my mind any time soon," Peter said crossly.

"Any time,"[/b] Greg teased.

“But," Peter continued thoughtfully, "Dating a judge could be awesome. Search warrants, big offices to screw around in, lots of leeway on cases... I’m starting to see the perks here.”

Greg laughed, looking down at Peter happily. This is what he liked - when they joked around, when Peter wasn't apologizing every other sentence, and he didn't feel the need to punish himself for every other sentence he replied with. "Perks indeed,"[/b] He said warmly, "If,"[/b] he tilted his head back and forth, his hand flat and tilting side to side, "If you can get over the pure downside of them being a judge."[/b]

He suddenly had a thought, and asked, "There aren't many female judges, are there? It's too bad, women are nicer."[/b] It was a bit - okay, a lot - sexist, but it was Greg's personal opinion that the whole 'womanly touch' thing was true. Women were always softer, literally and in speech, the downside being they were far too emotional. Still, sometimes he just wanted a woman in his life to keep order and keep him honest. Not that a guy, or Peter, couldn't do that, it just wasn't in his basic, somewhat outdated view on the sexes.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

“Perks indeed, if...If you can get over the pure downside of them being a judge."

Peter shrugged. There was nothing wrong with being a judge. They made good money. They had an ethical position in the world of justice, which was great. He respected that. It was the whole robe thing that got him. He just couldn’t understand why anyone, anywhere, had ever thought that men got more respect when they dressed up as women. If they did, the transsexual hookers he was constantly busting would be much more popular.

"There aren't many female judges, are there? It's too bad, women are nicer."

“You don’t make it to family court very often,” Peter pointed out.

Because judges who presided over civil courts in his district were elected in, women did better there. Criminal courts where people were concerned with suing each other or putting away criminals wasn’t where a lot of them ended up. Women were a bit softer and didn’t seem to have that kind of patience.

“But women judges are nicer,” he agreed. “Softer and...curvy.”

He used his hands to empathise the curvy aspect, thinking they weren’t that curvy in those robes. That was a shame – he liked the aesthetics of women. They were pleasing. And yes, even if he picked men nine times out of ten, he still dated women, still slept with women.

“Maybe I should shack up with a lady judge.”

Only they never hit on him like the male ones did. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong there, but he supposed it didn’t matter. He was kind of committed here - something that scared the crap out of him when he actually thought about it - so he wasn't going to be sleeping with any lady judges.

“How did we even get on this topic?”

Honestly, he often wondered how they ended up where they did when they talked. It seemed like they just seemed to go to strange places when they started out with mundane things, like work. Not that he minded, but it was still weird.

[GREGORY LESTRADE]

“You don’t make it to family court very often,” Peter pointed out, and Greg nodded back and forth, because yeah, that was true. He was aware through word that family courts were full of women - they must be awfully dramatic. It was easier to deal with grouchy old men. “But women judges are nicer," admitted Peter, "Softer and...curvy.”

Greg agreed, chuckling when Peter made an hour glass outline with his hands. Maybe it was weird, to be talking about girls with your boyfriend, but Greg didn't mind. It was a common interest. “Maybe I should shack up with a lady judge.”

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Bit out of our league, professionally,"[/b] he said as if he were breaking bad news to Peter. He smiled afterwards.

“How did we even get on this topic?” Peter asked awkwardly.

"Oh, I don't know,"[/b] Greg said offhand, "Something about you shacking up with Judge Harrod."[/b] He grinned mischievously, before leaning back on his hands.

The music was nice, wafting up in pockets of sound, between the calming chatter of other people, level but for the occasional shriek of a child. He noticed ice cream being sold at a little cart a bit away, in front of the bridge that led into a little path people were walking by. Greg pointed, "Fancy a treat? Dessert before dinner."[/b]