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Balancing the Equation	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 1775 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own NUMB3RS, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
�I spoke with David today,� Don said without preamble.

�Oh?�� Charlie looked
up at Don and his face went pale.� �Oh.�

Charlie stared at Don and Don realized how he must look, his
face battered, his clothes streaked with blood and motor oil.

They were standing in Charlie�s kitchen.� Charlie had been holding a spaghetti fork
when Don walked in unannounced.� Don had
checked first that his father�s car was gone.�
This was not something his father wanted to know about.�

�Is that how you got ...?��
Charlie gestured at Don�s state.

�Yeah,� Don shrugged. �But David is worse.�

Charlie clutched the edge of the table.� �You didn�t shoot him, did you?�

Don gave a sharp laugh.�
�No, I didn�t shoot him.� It was a
close thing, though.�

Charlie�s shoulders relaxed and Don realized that Charlie
was seriously worried about Don taking his gun and shooting his own agent.� Okay,
so maybe I hadn�t been that close to shooting David.� But I�d certainly planned to grind him into
the concrete then bust his ass back to Quantico.

�Don, I approached him,� Charlie said urgently.

�That�s what he said.�

�I did, and he turned me down multiple times.� It wasn�t until I showed up on his doorstep
in the middle of the night that he gave in.�

Don stared at Charlie.�
How had he forgotten this side of his brother?� The side that said �I want what I want and I
don�t care who gets hurt?�

�You just can�t take no for an answer, can you?� Don snapped.

Charlie looked sheepish.�
�David called me a selfish bastard.�
And greedy.�

�Good for him,� Don said, then eyed Charlie.� �Was that before � or after?�

Charlie grinned.� �Before.� Afterwards
he called me lots of other things, want to hear?�

�No, no,� Don waved his hands.� �Way too much information.�

Charlie nodded and finished pouring the spaghetti into the
strainer.�

Don got an uneasy thought.�
�Charlie ��

�What?�

�Are you going to go after everyone I sleep with?�

Charlie laughed and shook his head.� �I guess I deserve that.�

�And?�

�Of course not,� Charlie replied.� �Unless they�re particularly cute ��

Don groaned.�
�Great.� As if I don�t have enough
trouble getting dates.� Now I have to
warn them they might get hit on by my little brother.� I don�t usually have to share my lovers.�

Charlie blinked, turning slightly green.� �Does that mean ��

Don stared at him, then realized
what he was asking.� �No.� Hell
no.� Just because you and I have had sex
with the same person does not mean �
we have with each other.�

Charlie looked relieved, his color returning to normal.�

Don had to laugh.�
�There is no transitive property with lovers.�

�Good,� Charlie said.�
�I never know about people things.�

�Charlie,� Don said quietly.�
�All you need to know is that I�m still your brother and I�m going to
watch out for you.� If David, or anyone,
ever hurts you, I will kill them.�

Don couldn�t resist adding, �I�ve had some sniper training,
you know.�

Charlie laughed.

Don looked at Charlie, not smiling.

Charlie�s laugh died as he saw the serious look on Don�s
face.� Charlie�s eyes grew wide, alarmed.

Don held on to his serious expression for another moment
then broke out laughing.�

Relieved, Charlie laughed with him.

�You are so easy.��
Don grinned.

�I�m not easy,� Charlie protested.

Don teased, �That�s not what David said.�

�What does that make you?��
Charlie responded.� �David said he
had to put you in handcuffs, twice.�

�Yeah, well, I was a little conflicted,� Don muttered.

�Just a little?�

Don shrugged, embarrassed.�
He pointed to the spaghetti.� �Got
enough to share?�

�As if anyone in this house wouldn�t make
enough spaghetti.�

Don nodded and went to get the plates.

They set the table for lunch in companionable silence.� Don wasn�t sure how comfortable it was going
to be to eat with his sore lip, but he welcomed the familiarity of a meal at
home.�

They ate and Don complimented Charlie on his slowly
improving spaghetti sauce.� �Don listened with only half an ear as Charlie
talked about proportional spices and ratios of tomato chunks to sauce.�

Don watched Charlie�s face, trying to really see him, not
just what he expected to see.� At some
point, when Don wasn�t paying attention, Charlie had grown up.� He wasn�t a baby any more, but had become a
man, someone who could make his own decisions about life and lovers.� Yeah,
but he�ll always be my little brother.

Carefully wiping his sore mouth, Don sat back in his
chair.� Charlie was staring off into
space and Don smiled.� Charlie was
wearing that same distracted, dreamy expression that had tipped Don off in the
first place.� This time it hadn�t
bothered Don that Charlie had slept with David, once he�d gotten past the shock
and weirdness of it.� Now if it had been
Kim or someone that Don was interested in romantically � that was a whole other
issue.� He�d just have to be extremely
clear to his envious little brother who was off limits.� Hmm,
maybe I should chase someone that Charlie has slept with � Though that�s a pretty limited set�

�You know,� Don said, as if he was continuing an earlier
conversation. ��Doesn�t
mean we can�t swap stories.�

Charlie shook his hair back from his face and said snootily,
�I don�t kiss and tell.�

Don snorted.� �Since when?�

�Since Jennifer Swanson.�

Don rolled his eyes.�
�Oh, come on.�

�You told her I had a crush on her.�

�Charlie, you were ten and she was sixteen!�

�I was only two grades behind her and I was already her intellectual
equal. ...� Charlie paused.� �Though that's not saying much.�

�No,� Don agreed. �But when she lay out in the backyard
with that pink bathing suit?�

Charlie grinned.� �Oh yeah ...�

�Ohh yeah.�

Charlie held up his drinking glass.� �To Jennifer Swanson and to anyone else we
might share on the way.�

Don laughed and held up his glass. �To my
greedy little brother.� May he
always get to them second.�

Charlie laughed and they clinked glasses and drank.
- 7
- 8
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Balancing the Equation