*Robbie*

Earlier in the day, Robbie hadn't been so satisfied. His conversation with Garrett was interesting, and almost everything the man had said was practical, but a time had come in his life where practicality ceased to rule Robbie's world. It had crept up on him so gradually he hadn't even noticed when, all of a sudden, the thought of being separated from his lover for any amount of time longer than a day seemed irrationally painful.

It was irrational. He had occasionally longed for Garrett while he was in the field, a desire for his easy company and the amazing sex that came with him. But that was momentary, gone in the next rush of duty and responsibility. It was different with Wyl. He’d changed Robbie, somehow.

Robbie wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. He had cultivated a certain demeanor in his professional self, and Wyl shook that to the core, provoking him into actions he would never have considered taking before. The whole mess that had landed him in the hot seat now was a perfect example, but there were other, more subtle ones that had resulted from six months of living with Wyl. Robbie had never taken a day off before. When he was told to go on leave, he went; otherwise he kept working. Once Wyl had come into his life, he suddenly found himself using up all the leave he had accumulated and then some, just so they could spend more time together.

He wasn't sure what he wanted. He knew it would be a great move for his career to take Miles's offer, and there was no denying that he would probably love the work. It was only six months. Wyl probably would be fine. Hell, he might even enjoy having some space to himself for a while. They had moved in together as soon as Wyl got out of the infirmary.

Robbie decided to table the decision for now. He had some time to figure things out, and he was surprisingly tired. Not so surprising really; he hadn't slept much last night. Wyl was undoubtedly still working with T, and he had already missed lunch. He would head over for the opening. Until then, it was food and rest that he needed most.

Robbie slept for a couple of hours, killed some time working out in the living room and showered off, letting activity soothe his indecision. He needed to work it out with other people. He needed to talk to Jane. She was off duty now and would give him some perspective on the whole thing.

She was in the gym. "Come and tell me all about it,” she said over the comm.

"I am not going to be your punching doll again,” he warned her.

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"I'm working off my lunch, not sparring. God damn, T is an amazing cook. You missed a great meal."

"I'll be there for dinner, so I didn't miss much. And since when have you been such a connoisseur?"

"I've been cultivating my palate ever since I got out of the service. Being a marine was fun, but let's face it, the food was fucking lousy."

"It built character."

"It built something, but I don't know that I'd call it character. Guts of steel, maybe. Now get your ass in here, sir, and tell me about the meeting."

Robbie took a moment to dress for dinner, then left to find Jane. She was playing tennis against a virtual opponent, and the match seemed fierce, but she was barely breathing hard. "You look nice! Now spill. I assume you aren't going to be reprimanded."

He told her about General Caractacus's offer. She put the game on pause and turned to look at him incredulously. "Are you serious? Holy fuck, I'd give my right tit to get back into the service that way."

"Even with the lousy food?"

“Leesie could send me care packages. Wow. What did you tell him?"

"Basic noncommittals. He told me to think it over and that he'd need an answer before he leaves the station. I have about twenty-four hours left to consider it."

"What's there to think about?" Jane asked, then blinked and smacked her head with one hand. "Stupid. Sorry. Wyl, of course."

"Yeah. His contract runs out in six months, and I could probably swing moving him to whatever home base I would get into, but..."

She shook her head. "Ooh, that does suck. I would die without sex for six months."

"It's not the sex."

"Not entirely the sex," Jane corrected him. "Plenty of interpersonal relationships need a certain level of physical intimacy to stay healthy, and Wyl is one of the biggest hedonists I've ever met. I mean that in a good way," she added with a grin. "There's nothing wrong with being a sensualist. But you love each other, and that makes separation more difficult. And let’s be honest, with a project like this, you probably wouldn't get to come back very often to visit him even if he was at your home base, not if things are still in their infancy. There's a lot of work to be done, I'd guess." She sighed wistfully. "It's an organizational wet dream. I fucking love logistics."

"What do I do?"

"What do you want to do?" she countered. "If you want the job badly enough, you should take it. If you don't want it that badly, don't take it. If you're somewhere in the middle, work out the pros and cons of each situation and talk it over with Wyl. Communication, boss man. Communication is key. In fact, you must have talked already, right? What did he say?"

Robbie startled. "He's still working with T."

"No, he isn't. He finished up by lunchtime; Leesie sent him home to meet you."

"He didn't come in while I was there, and I finished with the general just before we were supposed to meet for lunch."

"You must have just missed each other," Jane said with a shrug. "He'll be there for dinner, you can hook up then. Sure you don't want to play a set?"

"And muss my pretty self?" Robbie grinned.

"We can't have that, can we? Give me a couple minutes to change and we can head to T's together. They're saving us a table. Have you ever had café brûlot before?"

"I have no idea what that is."

"Oh, you're going to enjoy it. It's quite the show. Be right out."