Cats and Dogs Ch. 05

Sam laughed. 'I can certainly relate to that.'

'I'm not asking you to spy on them or report back to me. I would like to think they could feel secure enough to come and say it if there is something to tell. If being around the two of you doesn't make a difference, then please ask Tilly to get a feel for the situation. I have the greatest respect for her talents as an empath and she might help. The only other cat I know who has such a strong talent is Sandra, but as you will have gathered from her comments earlier she really isn't going to be a help in this situation. Sorry about that, I would have warned you if I knew there was anything to tell.'

'It's okay,' replied Tom. 'We were afraid of the kind of reaction she gave but we should have known you wouldn't think like that. And we will do anything we can with Peter and Michael, and I'm sure Tilly won't mind helping out if necessary.' He turned to Sam and continued. 'It's gonna get pretty crowded even at your place love!'

'I'm sure we can find room for another couple of guests. Your room is free for starters, and there's always Tilly's house if things get really bad.'

'Tilly has a house? I didn't know that.' Tom smiled then, amused at the thought that sprang into his mind. 'We can always tell Dill he has to share with Cal for a while!' Both Sam and Tom started laughing, both picturing the look that would be on Dill's face.

Mark interrupted. 'I assume I'm missing a private joke here?'

'Sorry boss.' said Tom. 'It's just we have our suspicions about where Dill sleeps, and I think Tilly makes a far better bedmate in his opinion than Cal would.'

'Tilly's taken up with that boy? I remember him always being so cocky. Good at his job definitely, but you wouldn't dare tell him that for fear of his head swelling.'

'Nothing's been said, not even to me as her brother, but there's certainly something going on. And it seems to be helping with his feline pride as well, so its all to the good. We'll try and look surprised when they do admit it!'

There was a knock at the door then, and at Mark's instruction to enter, two men in their early twenties entered the room, looking rather nervous. It was obvious which one was Mark's son Peter as the resemblance was strong. Sam and Tom introduced themselves and all shook hands before Mark gave his instructions to the young men.

'I have explained to Sam and Tom what your role will be and how much you are to be involved in matters. You will follow their orders as if they came from me, and the same goes for their Seconds and other members of their teams.' He turned to Sam and continued. 'They know about the merging of your teams and the basics of the mission so you don't need to fill them in on background.They don't know about you two, or my other motives for this assignment, and I'd appreciate them not knowing of my involvement on that front.'His last words were for Sam and Tom alone and they nodded.

'Right. Good luck to you and your teams. And take care.'

Sam took an armful of the paperwork and indicated the others should do the same, speaking to Peter and Michael as they did. 'We had thought to spend the night here and head back tomorrow, but having heard what this is about we don't want to waste the time. Can you drive?' Both nodded. 'Then we can change over if anyone gets tired, and the others can grab some sleep. Let's get this lot in the car and then you two can grab your bags. Welcome to the team.'

The boot was quickly filled with the folders and maps, and Sam and Tom stood by the car waiting for the two young men to return. Tom started their conversation.

'How are we going to deal with them? Do you want to make some dramatic declaration or shall we take it slow?'

'Given that they are scared perhaps slow would be better. We'll have to see how it goes. I'm not up for drama. It'll be interesting to see how they are together as well, if Mark is right. I kind of wish Tilly was here now, it'd help knowing what they are thinking.'

Whatever Tom might have said in response was stopped as they saw Peter and Michael returning to the car, each with a small bag. They climbed into the back seats straight away and Sam took first turn at the driving with Tom in the passenger seat. He wanted to find out more about the new boys and started asking questions before they had even left the drive.

'So, we hear you two are the best students in your year. I take it you haven't been out with a fully trained team yet though?'

'No, but we hope to learn a lot from this, even if we are just observing. Dad has spoken very highly of you two and your teams as well.'

'I'm glad to hear it. I don't think he'd have given this job to us otherwise, or made our teams join forces.'

Michael seemed happy just to sit and listen, but Peter was chatty and clearly interested. 'I hope you don't mind me asking, but how does that work? Two Alphas, two Seconds, and cats and dogs together sounds like a recipe for disaster.'

Tom smiled at him. 'You'd have thought so. Sam and I did before we started. Day one wasn't perfect, but we've worked everything out and you'd be amazed how well cats and dogs can get on.' Sam spluttered slightly, knowing Tom was deliberately dropping hints, but managed to stay silent and concentrate on driving as he continued talking. 'Two Alphas works okay as well. Sam and I haven't disagreed about anything. Well, not about work, and I've only had to countermand one of his orders so far!'

'Tom' growled Sam, warning him not to go any further into what they had disagreed about or his orders to Tilly. Peter wisely decided to change the subject.

'I can't wait to see the house, or meet the rest of the teams. Dad's told us all about you guys.'

Tom couldn't resist. 'I doubt he's told you everything about us.'

'Tom,' came the warning again. Tom looked across at Sam.

'You do realise there's no real point keeping it from them. What happens when we get back to the house and one of the others mentions something, or they notice we share a bedroom, or any number of other ways they could find out?'

'Don't tease them. We've got hours before we get home, and we can work up to it slowly. You have to remember Mark told us they are worried, and we don't know for a fact they even are gay.'

'Fine, I'll take it slow. Just like I had to with you.'There was no response from Sam so Tom knew his point was made. He suddenly realised they had been silent for some time, although he doubted that the others would have missed the fact that they were having a private conversation.

'Sorry about that. I'm sure the others will be pleased to meet you when we get back. It gets a bit boring seeing the same faces every day. Tilly would probably have preferred we bring back some female company, but she's used to being stuck with a load of guys.'

Michael sounded a little worried when he finally spoke. 'Mark says that she is highly empathic and can work someone out very quickly.'

Sam replied to that. 'He is right to a certain extent, but you don't have to worry about her sticking her nose in or anything like that. The only person she ever does that to is me!'

Tom laughed. 'And that's a good thing sometimes! Seriously though Michael, she only senses feelings, she can't read your mind. And even if she does discover something about a person, she won't judge them, and she doesn't deliberately do it. I think sometimes she'd like rather more control over her gift to be honest.'

Michael seemed to relax a little. Tom wondered what exactly he was worried about, and wished that he could ask Tilly to do some digging and find out, but it was true that she wouldn't use her abilities to spy on a colleague.

Silence fell for a while, each deep in their own thoughts, and tired since it was late and everyone had been up early. The sound of the radio lulled Peter and Michael to sleep, but Tom tried to stay awake to keep Sam company. He lost the fight eventually, but woke with a start when the car suddenly pulled to a stop. Sam looked at the sleepy faces around him and laughed. 'I needed a quick break so I stopped at the services. I figure we all need a quick walk, some fresh air, and maybe some coffee before we continue. Meet back here in half an hour?'

The others nodded and they all got out of the car, heading first for the toilets after hours cooped up in the car. Tom grabbed a coffee to take out and Peter and Michael seemed to want to sit in for a bit and have a snack as well. Sam suggested that Tom and he return to the car, wanting some time alone. They walked back together, discussing the day.

'They seem like nice boys. I wasn't expecting to get lumbered with more people right now though. I get the point of it, but I wish we had this time alone really.' Sam looked at Tom with a mixture of sadness and want.

Tom smiled. 'I know babe, but it's not like we'd have time for much loving anyway. If you'd let me tell them it might be a little easier?'

'I'm not saying we can't, it's just all of a sudden we've gone from lovers to mates to telling our teams, then the Council, and now we are expected to be poster boys for gay relationships. We don't even know what's going on with those lads. Mark has his suspicions, and he may well be right, but I don't want to scare them if they aren't.'

Tom reached the car and leaned back against it. 'I don't think they'd be scared. Even if Mark is wrong, which I doubt at least in Michael's case, they must be open minded enough not to bother about it or he wouldn't have sent them with us. I know it all seems a bit quick, but on the other hand, we've got everything over with. Now all we have to concern ourselves with is ourselves.'

'And the rather important mission we've been given, in case you forgot.'

'I'm not forgetting that, I was just talking about the personal side of things. And lets face it, once we get back there won't be much time for that until we get this mission over with, can't I just concentrate on us for a moment first?'

Sam smiled at him, liking the look of Tom leaning on the car and feeling the urge to press him to it with his own body. 'Of course you can.'

Tom saw a look in Sam's eyes that made him quiver. Whatever he was thinking was definitely not about the mission. He relaxed a little more, giving Sam a good look up and down and finally focussing on his face with his best fuck-me look in his eyes. He heard Sam growl softly, but he didn't make a move.

'What are you waiting for? Because if I give you a more blatant invitation we might get arrested.'

'The others will be back soon, and we're in a public carpark.'

'I'm not suggesting we strip naked and do it on the bonnet Sam. But I can tell you want to kiss me, and I'd love you to. Come here,' he said sexily, crooking his finger at Sam.

It almost seemed as if Sam was connected to it in some way, because he did move towards him then, and stopped resisting the urge to press his body to Tom's.

Almost as soon as their bodies made contact, Tom put his arms around Sam and pulled him even closer. Although there were other cars about it was the early hours of the morning and fairly dark where they had parked, and it wasn't likely they would be seen. Tom didn't see any problem with them taking a moment to kiss and pressed his lips to Sam's, both of them moaning softly. Neither had any awareness of the world around them as they kissed as though it had been days rather than hours since they had last had any contact, but the stress of the day certainly made it feel longer.

Meanwhile, Peter and Michael were in the cafe, talking quietly. Peter was a little concerned about Michael, especially his obvious worry about Tilly and her abilities.

'Why are you so concerned about meeting Tilly? You heard them, she can't read your mind.'

'She can feel what I do though. Even if I keep a tight lid on it she's bound to find out.'

'It's not like being at Council headquarters, we don't have to watch ourselves all the time. There'll only be eleven people there, and from what I've heard there is plenty of space. We should be able to get away when we need to.'

Michael smiled. 'I like the sound of that! But I'm worried she will find out about us. They said she doesn't judge, but what if she's like Sandra. She's made it very clear that she doesn't like me, and we can only thank luck that she doesn't know more.'

'Not everyone is like Sandra you know. It's worrying not knowing what people's views are, but we can always sound her out, and if she really doesn't judge then it won't be a problem at all. In any event, this is going to be pretty intense from the mission point of view. I doubt she'll have time to worry about what two horny boys might be getting up to when they find out what they have to do.'

Michael laughed. 'You horny again?'

Peter blushed. 'I wasn't talking about right now, but I suspect it's going to happen at some point!'

'Perhaps we should get back to the car and head off as soon as possible. I could do with a bed right now. And not for what you're thinking about either,' Michael added quickly when he saw the look in Peter's eyes. 'Come on.'

They walked out of the service building, heading in the direction of the dark corner they had left the car. As they got closer they could tell Sam and Tom were already there, and Peter thought it was odd that they were outside rather than in the car, right up until the moment he noticed Tom's arms were around Sam, and as they got closer still it became apparent the two men were in a very passionate clinch. Peter stopped in his tracks, this being just about the last thing he was expecting.

Michael had been so lost in his own thoughts and worries he hadn't been paying attention to where they were walking, and only noticed when Peter came to a stop. He looked up and couldn't stop the gasp of surprise at seeing Sam and Tom lip-locked up against the side of the car. It was loud enough that they broke apart fast, Sam turning to see who was there. Michael couldn't find any words. He'd just been worrying himself into a state about someone finding out he and Peter were involved, and it seemed their new Alphas were doing something very similar. Sam looked slightly embarrassed as far as he could tell in the half light, but Tom stood up straight and did not seem bothered by the intrusion.

Tom was slightly annoyed that the kisses had ended. On the other hand, that idea of stripping naked and doing it on the bonnet had started to seem very appealing, and perhaps it was for the best that they had to get themselves under control. He knew Sam was embarrassed though and decided it would be up to him to break the silence. At least he didn't have to worry about making much of an announcement, the others had seen more than enough to work out he and Sam were more than just friends.

'Hi guys. We were just passing the time until you returned,' he grinned at Sam who had definitely gone red and was staring intently at the ground. 'I said you'd be surprised how well cats and dogs can get on! Sorry if we've shocked you, but you should probably know Sam and I are mates. It's not a secret from our teams, so you were bound to find out sooner or later. Hopefully you don't have a problem with it.' He looked at them expectantly.

Michael shook his head no. Peter was still slightly in shock. 'Mates?' he asked.

'Yep. Bit of a surprise to most people. Including us for a while, but we managed to work it out.'

'Does my dad know?' he couldn't stop himself asking, wanting to know what Mark thought.

Tom knew he had to answer more than the question asked if they were going to get anywhere with their other mission. 'Yes, and he told us in front of the Council he's glad for us. Bit of a relief actually, after that Sandra woman outed us in front of everyone. He's known we were gay for years, but I think he was a little surprised to hear we were together.'

'He really doesn't mind?' asked Peter, wanting more confirmation, but feeling Michael dig his elbow in his side to warn him to shut up.

'No, of course not. When has your father ever been prejudiced? He wouldn't have let us end up as team leaders if it was a problem.'

Sam had recovered enough to decide that they didn't need to push this any further right now, especially having seen Michael's attempt to stop Peter talking. It seemed like a good moment to leave them to think things over. 'Now that that's over, shall we get back on the road so we get home sometime before dawn?'

'Of course babe. Shall I drive for a bit and let you sleep?' asked Tom, and when he got a nod, dropping a light kiss on Sam's lips before heading round to the drivers side and getting in, which finally prompted Peter and Michael to move. The four set off again, Sam soon drifting to sleep and Tom concentrating on the drive, glad that they had had an opportunity to discuss things and hoping that this would be a good start with Peter and Michael. He would have been pleased if he could hear the conversation they were now having between themselves.

'Are you going to stop worrying now?'Peter asked, laughter in his head.'I don't think there's going to be any problem if they find out about us.'

'I can't believe they were doing that. Out in the open.'

'We've spent too much time sneaking around to be together babe. It could be like that for us if we told people. You heard what Tom said, dad knows about them and doesn't mind. That's a weight off me, I was just scared he'd disown me or something.'

'I don't feel ready to tell everyone. It makes things easier, at least while we are with the teams, but what about when we get back to HQ?'

'We'll work that out when we get to that stage. We don't have to say anything right away, let's just see what things are like and get the feel of the teams first. Plus we'll have plenty of other things to do over the next few days.'

'Yep. Let's concentrate on the mission and everything else can wait.'

Agreed, they both leaned back and drifted off to sleep. They weren't aware of it, but as they slipped into unconsciousness they linked their hands together, a subconscious comfort for them, and a movement duly noted by Tom when he looked in the rearview mirror at his sleeping passengers.'Seems Mark was right.'he thought to himself.

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