Title: Can't Let You Go
By: angstytimelord
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Michael Cutter/Jack McCoy
Table: 5_prompts, Three Days Only challenge
Prompt: 40:2, Can't let you go
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Michael Cutter or Jack McCoy, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.***
"So, you actually gave leaving the DA's office some serious thought?" Jack asked, leaning back in his chair and regarding Mike across the expanse of his desk. "It's a good offer, Mike. You could advance your career a lot more there then you ever could here."
"That's not the point." Michael ran his hand through his hair, closing his eyes and leaning back in his own chair. "You know I couldn't leave. This place is too much a part of me. It's in my blood, Jack .Just like it's in yours, and always will be."
Jack nodded, looking thoughtful. "But that's not the only reason you chose to stay, is it?" His voice was very soft, and Mike was sure that he could hear an underlying question in his tone that Jack didn't want to ask aloud, a question that he had to answer.
"No, it isn't," he said, his own voice equally soft. "I'm staying because I can't leave you, and you know it. I can't just walk away from everything we've built together. It's nothing to do with our working partnership. It's what we are to each other outside of work."
Jack nodded, his gaze not leaving Michael's. The younger man felt as though he was being pinned to the chair, like a butterfly that had been etherized and pinned to a wall. Jack's gaze seemed to pierce through him, to the core of his being.
"I'm glad you made that decision," he said softly, a small smile quirking the corners of his lips. "And I'm glad that our personal relationship was just as much of a reason as our professional one. Because the truth is, Mike, I can't let you go."
Michael could feel his heart leap into his throat; he almost thought that he'd imagined Jack saying those words, that they hadn't really been uttered. But they had; he was sure of it. And they were words that Jack couldn't take back.
"Does that mean that I'm more to you than just a colleague and a .... friend?" he asked, keeping his own voice low-pitched and soft. He wanted to hear three words from Jack, more than he'd ever wanted to hear anything. But he didn't think he would.
Jack wasn't the kind of guy to say those words, not here in the office. But he would say them at night, when they were locked in a passionate embrace in Jack's bedroom, when all barriers were down and their bodies and hearts were bared.
"I can't let you go, Mike," Jack said, standing up and moving around the desk. "Not in any way." He laid a hand on Mike's shoulder as he passed, squeezing gently, making the younger man smile. It might not a declaration of love -- but for now, it was close enough.***