Street Signs and Coffee Runs | tagged

[Deleted]

As Mark looked at yet another street sign, once again, not the one he was looking for, he couldn't help but feel a little foolish for not being able to find his way back to his new workplace, especially since he had been there less than two weeks before. You can't lose a school in the middle of a city. It's a school, it doesn't move. But he still couldn't find the right way to get back to it, and he was growing a little unhappy about it. Okay, to be perfectly honest, he hadn't been the one to drive the last time he had been there, and they hadn't been coming from this way either, he couldn't blame himself that much. Chicago was still so very new to him, he still didn't know his way around. Which is why he had taken the day to familiarise himself with the place, find the right path to work and make sure that he knew it. He couldn't afford to be late on the first day. But he had been driving for quite a while now, and he still hadn't found the right street, found the school. Good thing that the first day of his contract was a little shy of a week later.

Slowly, driving maybe a little too slow for the other drivers around him, although there weren't that many of them, he made his way across a few other streets, none of the street signs the one he was looking for. Am I even looking for the right one? Gosh, am I even in the right place? So many little things that suddenly made him a little bit more nervous. And hungry. As another street sign went by he felt his stomach grumble, reminding him that he still hadn't had lunch yet. Maybe he could stop for lunch and go back to looking right after? Well, he didn't even know where he could get food in that part of the city, or any part of the city for that matter. So much for satisfying his hunger. Another street sign. Another disappointment. And this time, however, a stop sign that he failed to see, and ran by accident, still upset about his lack of success in finding the right way. Distracted, as he read once again the list of streets that he had to take held above the steering wheel, slowing down to make sure that he didn't miss one that could possibly be the right one. He really did not want this to take the whole day, he still had boxes to unpack. Oh, Washington wasn't as difficult to drive around. Please Chicago, help me a little here... he pouted at the new street sign that he passed, defeated.

tag: @meriton

[Deleted]

@marklewis
this protective heart
will keep on beating

Traffic duty. Since his return from flying off the banister, that tended to be the assignment. Though he couldn’t complain too much, he was back on the streets and not at a desk. It was his turn in the week to drive and Rachel was in getting them coffee as he was parked on the curb watching the 4 way stop. Might as well work while he was waiting on his partner to return. The line inside was atrocious he knew that much. So he expected her to be a while. If one of them wasn’t at least working, then he was certain that Platt would be on their behind again. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about his boss.

He noticed that the traffic coming through there was mostly mostly taxi’s and what looked like parents taking their kids to school. He had his parking lights on and was mostly visible to oncoming traffic. The traffic slowed down to a halt through the intersection. People always saw a cop and decided that hitting the brakes was ideal. Though to say that Michael didn’t have his laser device running, would be wrong indeed. He very much did and watching some of the cars hit their brakes when they were under the speed limit. Oi… people.

Though the White Audi… it stuck out against the usual traffic. It wasn’t a minivan, taxi, or a school bus. Then it wandered through the stop sign. Michael simply shook his head. There was always one. He chirped the sirens as he put his car in drive and turned out into traffic. He got on the bumper of the white audi and chirped the sirens again once he was behind the car. The first chirp had to alert traffic that he was moving out. The second was to let the Audi know that it was the one being pulled over. His car automatically ran the plates through the system. Tags up to date. Virginia Tags. Insurance up to date. Car registered to a Mark Haworth. He would have to run anything else when he got back to the car. He hadn’t even looked at the screen more than briefly to make sure nothing flagged. He would follow the car until it decided to find a place to pull over.

notes

ulla

[Deleted]

The very second the chirp of the sirens came to his ears he tensed and almost hit the brakes, but that would have been extremely dangerous so instead his hands gripped the steering wheel as hard as they could, and his heart forgot to beat for a second. He could almost feel the sound echoing through his car, his hands against the wheel, now hurting from holding on too tight. There was moment of blankly staring ahead, wondering what had just happened as he slowed down his car even more. As if he wasn't going too slow already. Stunned, struggling to find his breath, he looked up at his back mirror and saw a cop car behind him, sticking it to his bumper. What? But... Where did he come from? More so, why was he behind him? Mark blinked, completely lost, and still very much short of breath. No. It couldn't be because he was speeding. Could it be because he was too slow? That was a thing right? He shook his head, trying to shake away his surprise. If the cop was pulling him over, and even if he did not know why, he had to comply. But as he glanced to his side, he saw no place that he could pull into and leave enough space for the cop to park behind him. Hoping that he wouldn't think that he was trying to avoid being pulled over, he drove a little further down the road, nervously looking up at his mirror. Oh god please, don't think I'm avoiding you...

It took him a minute of driving before he found a spot, and cautiously he finally pulled himself aside, driving a little further just to make sure that there was enough place behind him before he parked. That is only then that he finally took a moment to breath, pushing himself back in his seat. And to release his grip on the wheel. How long had he been clutching at it like that? His hands were hurting a little now. But that aside, he still hadn't entirely come back from the shock of earlier. What was happening? First week in Chicago, officially, and he was pulled over while trying to find his way to work, and he did not know why. To think that he had asked it to help him, and it gave him this... He shut his eyes, tried to calm down a little. He had no idea what the cop would say. Especially after he had driven him around for probably longer than he should have. Please don't let the director hear about this... He sighed, slowly letting his window down, bracing. For what exactly he didn't know, but the moment the officer finally appeared by his door, the stress took over once again. "I... I am sorry, I was trying to find a place where you could park as well. I wasn't..." He held his breath, so very unsure of what would happen next.

[Deleted]

@marklewis
this protective heart
will keep on beating

Michael noticed the car wasn’t stopping. Then again it didn’t really have anywhere to stop. It wasn’t like this intersection was best suited for it, but Michael also knew the roads and he knew there was a place up ahead that would allow him to pull over. He was giving him the benefit of the doubt but had the guy heard of hazard lights to indicate he was pulling over? Clearly not. Oh well he clearly wasn’t from around here either. The Virginia plates were a telltale sign now that he was able to take a look at the registration. Michael situated the things he needed to in the vehicle before he exited and made his walk over to the Audi. Michael was more of a Jeep kind of person but Audi’s were nice cars.

Before Michael could get words out of his mouth the guy was rambling. “New to Chicago?” He asked as he tried to calm the guy down just a little. “Can I see your license and registration?” he asked. Though Michael couldn’t help but take notice of the blonde. ‘Michael you are here to do your job.’ He chastised himself as he waited on a response. Michael didn’t sound local to Chicago either but he had been here long enough that he was familiar enough with the area. “Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?” his voice indicated this was fairly normal procedure for him to follow.

notes

ulla

[Deleted]

Oh, good... He started breathing again. He hadn't known what to expect, but he had expected worse. Worse than what, he didn't know, but worse. He always tried not to expect anything when he found himself in a situation he has never been in before, but this one had been a hard one. Being thrown into it like that hadn't helped either, but that was in no way the cop's fault, and Mark wasn't holding it against him even remotely. He could only blame himself for being so easy to startle, blame himself for not being attentive to the road, to actually driving safely. "Hum..." He blinked, a little puzzled by the question as he looked at the other man. And then he blinked again. He hadn't had a good look of him before he... went on about trying to find a place to pull over and all, but now he did, and he surprised even himself with the thought that hit him. Oh... wow. He had never seen blue eyes as blue has his, and it left him a little dazzled. He had to blink again before he remembered he had been asked a question. "Yes..." He didn't know if he had asked because he was as out of place as the sun up at night and he was mocking him, or he was just trying to quiet his anxiety. Well, he couldn't argue the first one very much. He did feel a little bit like that. But still a little shocked, he kept his answer short, his uncertainty showing in his tone. He had been rambling before, the cop did not need that again, and besides, he probably knew it was the case before he asked. Mark could only look at him, still unsure.

And then he asked about his license and registration, and Mark blinked again. "Oh, of course." He reached out for his wallet, looking at his cards for a moment before he found his license. Pulling it out, he put his wallet back in his pocket and reached out for the glove compartment. He grabbed his registration, but before he gave it to the cop he quickly went through it to make sure he had grabbed the right thing. "Here." He handed them both to the man, with an apologetic smile. He probably should have pulled them out before this, but he really had had a hard time getting over himself. He felt a little ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as when he met the man's eyes again, and he looked at him for maybe a little longer than he should have. But the next question had him snap out of it fairly quickly. Worried, his gaze fell on his steering wheel and fixated on it while he tried to find the reason. Nothing came and after a moment he looked back at him, concerned, and a little afraid. "I... No. No, I do not." He could have hurt someone. He did not know how, but he was sure he could have hurt someone, and that made him feel bad, really bad. And to not know how only made it worse.

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael really was trying to pay attention but the male in the car was… easy on the eyes. Very easy on the eyes. He could tell the guy was hesitant. There was a tell tale sign of people who had never been pulled over by cops before they were nervous. Then again so were people who had things to hide. He was alert but relaxed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had to wonder. The nervousness on the driver, it didn’t feel right to him. “Sir can you please put your hands where I can see them?” he instructed firmly but not angrily. He was getting a gut feeling that maybe he needed to check for his safety around in the car. That would mean he would have to get the guy out of his car.

The guy was just lose but Michael wasn’t willing to take that risk. When the guy reached for the glove compartment after being instructed to do so, Michael could feel the nerves in the back of his head. Michael settled some when he was handed the license he wasn’t comfortable with the situation so he was going to have to take control of it. Though the guy was apologizing and Michael could tell that it was genuine so he was able to relax a bit. He caught the gaze into his eyes and sort of lost focus. Rachel was going to kill him for this.

Michael relaxed a little bit more as the man started to stutter. He really was just afraid of Michael for some reason. “Relax, I’m not going to bite your head off” he assured him a bit forward. “There is a stop sign back there about 2 blocks back. Did you happen to see it?” he inquired quietly. Michael was going to listen before he made any rush to judgement on this. I mean he could just write a ticket and go back to his car, but Michael believed in being fair to find out what was going on.

✄ @marklewis

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

He was still uncertain of everything, looking at the officer with the most genuine expression of confusion, asking questions with his eyes as his gaze fell back into the other man's, locking blue eyes into blue eyes. He had a hard time getting an idea of his intentions, the growing ball of nerves in the pit of his stomach preventing him from concentrating on anything for too long, but he could see his answer had made him uneasy. He had just been trying to prevent another ramble, hoping he wasn't being mocked, but he had only made the cop nervous, and that only made him even more nervous. Had he done something wrong? Well, something other than what had him being pulled over in the first place? Wasn't that the right answer? He winced under his gaze, the weight of it on him so heavy he felt small, so afraid he had been misunderstood. And then he was asked to put his hands in evidence, and his face lost all of its colors as he froze, as if a wave of all kinds of fears had come crashing down into him.

Oh, no, now this was worse. Unexpected as unexpected could be, and so very much worse. He would have blinked but he had lost all of his senses, his whole body as still as a statue for a moment, before he felt his hands shake a little. Okay, he mouthed at the officer, his voice dying in his throat, eyes wide. Slowly, not entirely intended to be that slow but he really had no control over his arms at this point, his hands rose, open and shaking. Was he going to arrest him? Hurt him? Just what was going on? He was just a high school teacher, he had never done anything remotely threatening in his life, but right now he was so anxious he felt he must have done something horrible. Was raising his hands like that something else he shouldn't have done? He still couldn't speak, so he looked at the man, searching in his blue eyes for an explanation, something remotely comforting, a hint of his intentions. He wanted to apologise, but for what exactly he had no idea. Anything that would make it that he wouldn't hurt him. He probably wouldn't, but his brain had stopped working altogether, overcame with irrational fears, so it went there without any given reason.

But a moment later he asked him to relax, and Mark shook his head, as lost as he had ever been. "I don't understand..." His voice cracked, his eyes still searching for an explanation in the officer's own, hands still in evidence. Just a minute before he had felt threatened enough to ask him to show his hands, and now he was asking him to relax? His anxiety had taken such a hold on him that he couldn't process it, barely registering the rest of the sentence. So he wasn't going to hurt him? This should have comforted him, but it took him a minute of repeating it in his head for it to take effect. Slowly he started to breath, just now realising that he had forgotten to. But it didn't last long. As the officer told him about the stop sign, his eyes widened. "Oh God, no. No I-" So now he knew how, and why he was pulled over, but it didn't help to diminish his stress. Immediately his mind was filled with various scenarios, ways in which his mistake could have turned out badly. "I could have hurt someone. I could have..." Now his brain was entirely focused on that, looking at his hands with fear. Normally he wouldn't have been this taken by his mistake, he still would have been, but he wasn't over the shock of everything so in his mind it felt far worse. His hands started shaking again, and he tried to steady them, without success.

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael could tell that this was probably not the best thing for the guys mental state at the moment. Though Michael relaxed a bit and took the license and registration from him. Michael caught the man’s gaze, and his expression softened trying to tell Mark that it was alright to relax. There was a sigh as he scribbled down all the information he needed. In reality, he should be doing this in his car but he was doing as much as he could right here to ease the man’s nerves a bit.

Though that seemed short lived. Michael moved his gaze to the man. “Mark… I need you to look at me okay.” He pause for a moment. “Take a deep breathe” the last thing he needed was someone to have a panic attack on him. Michael wasn’t sure if getting closer was a good idea or not, he didn’t want to freak him out a little more. “Look at me. No one was hurt alright. Calm down and take a breathe.” Sure Michael right now sounded like a broken record. But that is exactly what this was, a broken record when it came to trying to calm people down.

Michael was the protector when it came to others, it was about all he knew how to do almost all of his life. He was trying to protect Mark without thinking about right now. Though Michael didn’t relate well to men sometimes. People took him for brash and angry. Not to say that he didn’t have those, because he very much did; but he was so much more underneath it all.

✄ @marklewis

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

He heard his name, like a vague whisper coming from far away, but loud enough to drag him out of the fog that had settled in his head. It was hard to fight the myriad of awful thoughts that succeeded each other in his mind, fight the irrational fear of himself, of his actions, that crept along with every one of them, but hearing someone call his name, or maybe was it just hearing the cop, he did not know the man's name but he suddenly wished he did, made him want to try harder. His shaking hands and short breaths still held all of his attention, he had very little control over that, but somehow he had enough left of it to slowly do as he had been asked, turning to the cop and meeting his eyes again. Those eyes. He clung unto them, making them his anchor in the reality his brain wouldn't let in, always thickening the fog and pushing more thoughts after another. They were incredible, but unlike what he had imagined earlier, weren't blue. Green, a beautiful shade of green, like he had never seen. Breath, he should breath. He nodded, to signify he understood, but his first attempts were unsuccessful. Short breath stayed short, and a wave of panic threatened to overwhelm him again.

Had the cop stepped forward, drawn nearer, he might have reached out to him, so he wasn't sure if it would have been a good or a bad thing. To him it would have been a way to anchor himself further into the fleeing reality, but he wouldn't have known how the cop would have taken it. He was still trying to catch his breath, but the more he tried the shorter they would become and in another moment of panic he turned back to his hands. Then he heard the voice again, and he turned to meet the eyes on him. The same request. Breath. Another attempt. Slowly, panic subsided, and finally, deep breaths took over the shorter ones. One of his hands had inadvertently reached out, but it hadn't gotten too far with the car's door blocking it. "I still could have..." He whispered as he dragged his hand back in, both changing into fist as to prevent them from shaking any more. Running a stop sign. He could have hit someone. The consequences of that could have been disastrous.

He closed his eyes and sighed. The fog hadn't entirely dissipated and a few of his ideas still couldn't get through, but he knew one thing for sure. The cop had just been doing his job, he hadn't needed any of that. Mark knew panic attacks could happen at any time, and were irrational enough to not need much to be triggered, but as he reconsidered it, he felt ridiculous. "I'm sorry." He wasn't apologising for the stop sign, no that he was responsible for and should have been more careful, it was entirely on him, but more so apologising for this unexpected turn of situation. He blinked at his hands and then turned back to the man, wondering what would happen now. He had wanted to add his name to his apology, make it personal for it was that, but to ask his name, after all of this, not really a good time or place to do so. So he stayed quiet, waited, tentatively looking into the green eyes that had been his anchor ever since this had started.

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael wanted to open the door, but he didn’t want to frighten the man anymore than he already had. “I am going to open the door. Is that okay with you?” He told him more because he didn’t want him to feel like he was just ripping the door open unexpectedly. He waited for a response before opening it. Michael did little more than squat down beside the car. He wasn’t really sure what to do but he cared about people. He wasn’t just some hard ass cop who was out to get people in trouble. Writing tickets and pulling people over was about protecting people, not about trying to make money (even though the higher ups in the budgeting department saw it that way). There was a line that had to be drawn somewhere. Michael liked to draw his own line in the sand somewhere in the grey area.

The he reached out and put a reassuring hand on his back. “Would taking a bit of a walk help? Tell me what you need” he really didn’t know anything about the guy, but Michael was a pacer. When Michael was flustered he paced EVERYWHERE. Though he knew that not everyone was the same. Some people wanted space, others wanted companionship, still others needed to be able to roam freely. Michael was purposefully drawing the conversation away from the reason he got pulled over. “Since I know your name is Mark, I guess I could tell you mine.” He offered trying to make the man feel more comfortable. “You can call me Michael.” He dropped the officer and he dropped the last name despite the badge on his shirt that clearly had M. Meriton scribbled on it.

“Let’s not apologize alright. Right now let’s focus on something different. You moved here from Virginia?” He was going with what he knew, which was very little. All he had was a name and an out of state driver’s license. But hey anything to get him talking. There was little else Michael could do, and he wasn’t really sure of even that, since some people reacted differently.

✄ @marklewis

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

He had hoped he would be fine after all of this, but he still had to concentrate to keep his breaths deeper and keep at bay the shorter ones that only helped to make him even more nervous, and it was harder than he had thought it would be. His attention had been brought back to his hands, now turned into fists. There had been hope that it would help to steady them, stop the shaking that had taken to them, but it had been an unsuccessful attempt. He could feel it on the verge of taking over his whole body, slowly crawling up to his arms, slowly pushing away the calm state he had managed so far. He could feel his breaths growing shorter again, and the panic etching closer at every one of them. He had no reasons to feel like this anymore, why was it still as strong now? And then he heard a voice, the officer, talking to him. Slowly he turned, immediately reassured to find the same green eyes looking at him. It was enough to reduce the shaking in his hands, calm his frantic heart. "Okay." He considered him a moment before he agreed, his voice dying in his throat at the end of his word. It wasn't because he was anxious, although it was a bit of an unusual request, everything was unusual, but more so because he was growing desperate for reassurance, as everything tangible was fleeing him again.

He watched as the man knelt beside him, a little apprehensively, but maybe because he had to stop his hand from reaching out again rather than because he did not know what the officer would do. He couldn't understand why he suddenly felt the need to touch, it had never been like this before. He couldn't say he had ever been in such a state before either, but he wasn't as tactile, usually. He was still watching the man when he felt a hand come to rest on his back, and he did not even have the time to think about it that he was leaning into it. It was warm, oddly so, reassuring, and slowly he saw his hands come to still. He wasn't shaking anymore, and once again he could take deep breaths. It was nice. At the man's words, he shook his head slightly, a faint sigh escaping him. "I don't know..." He did not know if walking would help, or then again what would. "I've never..." He took another long look at his hands before he looked back up at the other man, feeling a little sorry for himself. No, it had never been this bad, he hadn't needed to be helped like this before, but truthfully, he was glad he hadn't been alone. Maybe that was all he needed, company. "Michael." He smiled as he repeated it, glad he could finally put a name on those pretty eyes. "Hum... Hi." The words came out of his mouth a little unexpectedly, and with an unusual shyness, although obvious enough that he knew his cheeks had turned slightly red. That was... the weirdest introduction that had ever happened to him, for sure, but he was glad Michael was still there after everything.

Focus on something different. For a moment he observed Michael's face, knowing for sure that wasn't what he had meant, not entirely knowing why he had done it, but shortly after he shifted his attention back to his hands again. "I... yes. Just... less than a week ago." He weakly smiled at his hands. He knew what Michael was doing, it was very kind of him. It made a wave of warmth course through his body, starting where the hand still rested on his back, but he couldn't shake what had happened. That same question had made of this what it was now, and he still felt like he needed to apologise for it, at least, the stress he had put on Michael's shoulders. He would like to try, would like to answer Michael's questions, but as he looked around the car, he suddenly felt like he had to get out of it. "Walk with me?" He turned back to the officer. He had proposed it, maybe it was what the man did in similar situations, so Mark thought he would give it a try. Unless Michael had somewhere else to be, which was more than likely. He had a job to do, he still had a ticket to give him after all. As the thought hit him Mark turned away, feeling a weird mixture of emotion, emotions strong enough his hands started trembling again.

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael knew what a panic attack looked like. He had seen them over the years. What kind of cop would he be if he walked away to let the man sort things out and let him just go? That wasn't being a very good cop in Michael's head. Not everyone handled stressed the same way. Once Michael had the door open he kept his body language as nonthreatening as possible. Easier said than done when you were tall like Michael but he figured getting a little lower might help. Michael didn't mind squatting down beside the guy. Anything that could help.

Michael could feel that the other man was leaning into the motions of him rubbing his back. Michael was okay with that, he was more than okay with that. At least he appeared to be calming down. Mark didn't seem to know what would help, Michael offered the walk and one thing turned to another into awkward introductions. "Hi" he replied back smiling trying to make Mark smile a little. Ease over the awkwardness. Even though things were still by definition weird. He was fairly certain he was just plagued when it came to meeting people in strange ways. That just seemed to be his thing. Michael wasn't about to abandoned someone that needed help.

Good subject change. It was working for now. "What brings you to Chicago?" okay well start talking about something. Might as well keep him talking. Make him feel as comfortable as he could. Though right now if Michael had to lead that meant asking questions. If he had a chance he might tell him something but he wanted to make Mark feel comfortable not overwhelm him with information.

Mark wanted Michael to walk with him. "I can do that." he offered with a small smile as he let his hand rub his back. Michael couldn't help think but how cute the blonde was. No. Michael put your head back on. "There's a park a few blocks down" he offered. The park would be a nice place to walk and calm down. It was a little calmer than the side of the road. So there was that, but all he could do wsa see if Mark would go along with the idea.

✄ @marklewis

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Deleted]

It was unnerving not to be in control of his mind, of his shaking hands, but he knew it was what happened in such a situation. There was very little he could do about it, except try to calm down as he had been attempting to for the last minutes, but he had been somewhat unsuccessful so far. He did not know what else to do, his attention fully on his breathing, but as he had found it unable to slow down, he grew worried, and even more nervous. He had been nervous before, when he hadn't known what to expect of the cop that had pulled him over, but this was adding to it, and it did not feel any good. He had thought he hadn't expected anything before, but now that he had Michael next to him, trying to help him, he knew he had expected worse. He had feared he would have to face someone that would be rude, someone that wouldn't have cared to understand, or simply cared to know, and that would have given him the ticket and driven away and left him there. It probably would have been the normal way for this to go, not that he knew anything about it, but he was glad Michael hadn't been any of that, even if it meant it was unusual. It was after all, it wasn't in his habits of running any stop signs, or forgetting his way to work...

Unusual... Much like this one of kind introduction. He hummed in answer, drawn in by the smile that was offered to him, but in a sudden moment of realisation his own smile faded and he turned away from Michael. What was he doing? He could feel the hand rubbing his back, could feel himself leaning into it, both of these things, rather odd. It had been strangely reassuring, had greatly helped him to calm down, he wouldn't argue the fact and was grateful for it, and he still was leaning into it even now, but he couldn't say it was... expected. The hand on his back felt strangely personal, uncharacteristic of cop on duty, but maybe more of a man that was flirt-. No. Why was he thinking this way? It wasn't the right place, wasn't the right time, wasn't like him. Not like he would know too much about flirting either... Michael was just trying to help, nothing more, and he needed to stop and think, distance himself because he was seeing too much when there was nothing. Had been since the officer had pulled him over. Maybe it was all because of the stress...

What had brought him to Chicago... The answer was simple, yet he found himself pausing before he replied. The events that had brought him here, that had made him take the leap and move from Virginia, were something he would rather not think about, but he knew he would have moved nonetheless, maybe a little later, but still for the same reason. So after a moment of staring at his hands he sighed and turned back to Michael, a faint smile on his lips. "My daughter. I wanted to be closer to her." Just as he had looked up he went back to staring at his hands, his smile weakening a little. She had been living with her mother for the last two years, and even if they had been in different cities for a short period of time, he had missed her. Now that he was back to a place near her, he did not know just how frequently he would be able to see her. Of course, he would love it if she came back to live with him, but he wouldn't ask that of her, he would let her make that decision on her own. In the meantime, he would take any opportunity he had to be with her. It might be harder at the beginning, now that he had a new workplace to get used to and new students, but after everything that had happened, and the little times they had had before, he would push through the hardest of times.

Still the rubbing on his back. He did not know how to feel about it anymore. It did not mean he wished it to stop, but it was confusing him slightly. Reassuring, yet he wasn't entirely sure of how he should interpret it. It left him a little perplexed, and when Michael replied he took a moment to react. He had agreed. He wasn't sure he would, after all, he was just a stranger he had pulled over... "Can you?" He fidgeted with his hands for a few seconds before he turned to Michael, visibly uncertain. "I mean... you are on duty and... and have a ticket to give me..." He hadn't thought about it when he had asked, and as it dawned upon him he heard himself sigh again. Michael was on the job, he was distracting him and he wasn't sure that was right to do. He did not want the officer to be reprimanded because of him, because of his... issue. He still strongly wanted to get out of his car, and he was sure the park was a nice place and that a walk would be just as nice, but Michael had somewhere else to be, he felt bad for asking that of him.