The rest of the day had gone with little incident and Clark had left feeling optimistic. The current case was disturbing, of course, but he'd known that going in. The next morning, Clark was ready and rearing to go. He was there early, drinking coffee at his desk and trying to familiarize himself with some of the paperwork.

Ally was running late, which left him cranky and irritable. He was sitting on the bus, trying not to get angry, though he was well on his way there. Usually he just played his gameboy to keep himself busy while he went along toward the closest stop to quantico. Today he was sitting on the edge of the seat, anxious as he made his way there. He had texted Wyatt to let him know he was going to be a little late, but he was growing increasingly anxious. When the bus stop he jumped off and just went running in the direction of the headquarters. By the time he got into the office he was out of breath and justl ooking around, trying to figure out if he'd missed the meeting or anything like that. Everyone was off doing their own thing so he dropped down at his desk and he got his laptop out to set it up.

Everyone was in their own world, focused on their role in the case at hand. Wyatt had done his best to learn sign language when Ally had joined the team and he went to his desk when he saw him arrive. "All okay?" he signed a bit awkwardly. He learned fast, but asl was a complicated language. He could effectively communicate with Ally though. Clark looked up and was johnny on the spot when he saw someone trying to talk to the boy. He stood next to Wyatt and smiled.

"I missed the first bus and then the second bus wasn't coming here, so I had to find another stop." Ally signed back to him. When he saw Clark move up to stand next to Wyatt he watned to tell him not to bother, but he didn't. He had decided to try and give this guy a chance and he didn't want to yell at him the first full day of work. Especially over something that wasn't a big deal at all.

Clark repeated what Ally had said and Wyatt listened politely. "I notice you sign as well?" Clark spoke and used his hands. Wyatt regarded Clark. "Yes, some. Fluency in many languages suggests a highly sensitive left temporal lobe. But not sign language--it's fascinating that once the hands get into it the brain outsources the function. It's why babies can use sign long before vocal speech." Translating Wyatt was going to be tiring, but Clark kept up perfectly.

Ally was trying not to smile at that. That was one of the reasons he'd gotten so aggravated by the last translator. Wyatt was one of the only members of the time that he felt any sort of connection to and so the fact that he hadn't been able to communicate with him very well had been a big deal to Ally. "The other translator couldn't keep up with Wyatt. It's one of the reasons he had to go."

Wyatt felt guilty about that. "I tried to slow down, but my thoughts take over. Urgency. It's a sign of anxiety--though I don't think I have severe anxiety, just moderate." Clark laughed a little, but kept himself as a tool in the conversation rather than the focus so they could go back to talking. When Wyatt realized this, he turned back to Ally. "Liam would like you to stay in the office and work on locations. Overlap the crime locations and come up with some possibilities for the unsub's headquarters." Wyatt tried to sign most of that, but Clark picked up the slack.

Ally nodded. That was no problem for him. That was the sort of thing that he was really good at. Coming to the BAU had given him a lot of anxiety. It was hard to tell if anyone here actually wanted him here or if they were humoring him. He knew that Wyatt liked spending time with him, but he had a feeling it was mostly for the stuff they had in common and for the fact that they were the two youngest members of the team. When Wyatt slipped up with one of the signs Ally smiled though and he showed him how to do it.

Clark was used to observing and he was used to that role. Rarely did he allow himself to get too inolved in the conversation. Wyatt repeated the sign and it was certain he'd never forget it once it was shown to him. "Thank you," he smiled. Clark thought it was terribly cute, but he wouldn't dare tell Ally that. When Wyatt went to continue his own work, Clark went to pull a chair up to sit next to Ally. "My hands are tired," he joked.

"Sometimes Wyatt has a lot to say. And by sometimes, I mean always." Ally liked him though, he liked him a lot. Of course, he didn't really think that meant anything considering the way that Wyatt looked at Micah and how the two of them reacted to one another. "I have a lot of computer work to do but when I get on this thing I get kind of in the zone, so if you need something or someone does will you just kind of wave me off before talking?"

"I'll help you," he offered. It was more of a hope than a help, but Clark scooted closer as if he could convince Ally to let him stick around. "I was very good at maps when my family went on vacation." He paused a little and then went ahead and said what was on his mind. "You like him a lot, don't you. It's nice he learned sign language for you. That's a big endeavor."

"Yeah." Ally said softly, wondering if it was so obvious to everyone else as it was to Clark, or if Clark was just able to better read him because of their common language. "He likes Micah." he signed out the name for him. "The one with the very blue eyes. They like each other, I think, but they don't see it. I don't think anyone around here but Wyatt and maybe Jude like me."

Part of learning asl was body language. It was easy to read Ally, especially when he had resolved himself to be tuned to him. "I doubt that's true. You're clearly passionate about your work. Perhaps they're scared of your whippersnapper quality. I think that's what's going to be hard for me. You're so young."

"Did you really just call me a whippersnapper?" Ally smiled a little bit and he shook his head. "I was going to ask Wyatt out when I first got here but then when I met Micah I knew I'd only end up disappointed." He signed. "I don't know why I am telling you this."

"You are a whippersnapper," Clark defended his assessment. "And I want you to be able to talk to me, I don't get the opportunity to focus on just one person very often. I want to be like a second skin, if that makes sense." He meant that professionally. "How long have you been here? Maybe next time you get that feeling about someone you should go for it."

"I've been here for a few months. They brought me on at the start of this case because they needed an extra person. I've been bouncing around from department to department but after work I did on another case they brought me over here because I am pretty good at reading behavior. They've taken me with them to interview family members and I've sat in on a few interrogations. I can pick up things they can't."

Clark nodded and peered over the maps Wyatt had left on Ally's desk. "Wyatt seems like a squirelly one," he noted as he started to look for the kidnapping locations. "And what makes you think no one else likes you?"

"He kind of is, but I really like it." He took the mapers and started spreading them out on the desk so that they could go over the locations together. "I don't know. A lot of people are stand offish with me, I think that really it's just that no one feels that comfortable with me because they can't talk to me.'

"So that's the type you're into? Anxious, smart?" Why was he asking that? He'd noted Ally's attractiveness, but it hadn't gone farther than a footnote in his brain--this was just curiosity, he told himself. He was the epitome of opposite to Wyatt. Older, bigger, calmer. It didn't bother him, perse, but he noticed Ally's interest and what that interest entailed.

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe it's just Wyatt." Ally shrugged a little bit, not entirely sure what his type was because he really didn't have a type. There were just certain qualities that some people had that he liked.

"Maybe," he repeated and then sat back to watch Ally work. He didn't know much about what was going on with Micah and Wyatt because he hadn't much chance to observe them. "Hopefully I'll be able to help with the communication bit."

"That would be nice." he looked around the maps, making little marks as he tried to find some sort of central location to all of the kidnappings. He'd pinned down all of the locations and he was using a compass and a ruler to try and find some sort of connection between all of the places.

Clark's experience was with national security and so he looked at the collection of places that way. Touching Ally's shoulder with a warm, heavy hand, Clark got his attention. "You know, many terrorist cells start out with targets near their base of operation. Is it similar with this, do you suppose? Virginia?"

"I think so. Maybe. If he started here in Virginia and branched out..." He followed Clark's train of thought and he tried to follow a pattern through the cities from that way. "Maybe after he took the first boy and started to get comfortable he felt like he could go even farther."

"Still all within reasonable driving distance." He'd driven to these places himself before. "Have you lived in this area or did you move here for the academy?"

"I moved here. I'm from Wisconsin." Ally studied Clark's face for a moment. "I don't know much about Virginia and I don't drive, so I'm not entirely sure about the area. But if the closest city was the first, where Parker went missing, then he would have to be within reasonable driving distance of that one and all the others, so it would put him somewhere in this area."

Enjoying briefly Ally's intelligent gaze against his features, Clark locked eyes with him. When he started moving his hands again, Clark snapped out of it. "I grew up here. Just far enough away from DC to keep my parents sane." He looked at the map. "He's keeping them, maybe? How much room would someone need to keep five men? He'd need land I would think. No place in the city."

"That's true. There is no doubt about that. If he needed place to keep five men it would have to be something with a large basement or maybe a barn or some sort of second house... and if that were the case it would need to be isolated to ensure that no one saw him taking the men to the house. It would be hard to disguise five prisoners if you had neighbors breathing down your neck."

"That narrows it down a little, but still lots of area to cover. Lots," he said with a distinct downturn in his demeanor. It was frustrating to not have all the pieces of the puzzle. "Do you ever have nightmares?"

"Sometimes." There was no doubt about that, but he'd had them long before he started working with the FBI, so it wasn't really that big of a deal with him. "I worked with counter terror for a while, and I worked with another unit before that, so I have all sorts of dreams about all sorts of things."

"They told me this particular unit was the worst for those. I've never had problems with nightmares. I think I always understood the kinds of criminals I used to deal with." He was support staff, but he was there for interrogations. "I understand blowing something up for your beliefs, but kidnapping men and keeping them like pets or killing them? I don't get it."

"I don't either." He shook his head. "All of these people? They are my age or a little older. I don't know what I would do if I was in a situation like that." He really had no idea. "It bothers me a little bit to think about all of it but I just try not to think about it and usually if I play videogames before I sleep it's not a big deal"

"Video games? Wow, holding to my whippersnapper comment. You can call me gramps--I've never played a video game in my life. Doubt my reflexes could keep up. Probably why they don't give me a gun."

"They won't give you a gun? They gave me a gun." And he was really good with it too but he hated it. "I don't use it. I don't even like taking it out of the holder and I never turn the safety off. And if you want I can show you how to play videogames."

Suddenly he felt embarrassed by the no gun thing. "I'm not an actual agent. More like a specialist--support staff. Linguists don't pack heat." The offer of showing him vvideo games made him grin. "Would you really? I'd like that."

"You can take my gun if you want. Liam took me to the shooting range and I am a pretty good shot but the gun makes me so nervous." He let out a very soft, uncertain laugh. "But yeah. You can come over to my place or I can bring my xbox with me and we can set it up in the conference room."

"Conference room after hours?" He suggested with the slightest bit of delight. It sounded fun, and he was sure this place could use some fun. Maybe it was because he didn't know Liam very well, but Reagan's kidnapping wasn't hitting him as hard as it was everyone else. He'd only started yesterday. "And I while I wouldn't mind handling your gun, I think the bureau would be upset."

"I know, they are so uptight about safety." He smirked a little bit. "I think that the xbox after hours would be good. Sometimes I miss the last bus because I am working late and I sleep on the sofa in there. I never want to ask for a ride because I can't give directions to my place."

"Do you have any speech at all?" Sometimes, when hearing was lost at birth, no speaking was possible. But if hearing was lost after speech was acquired, then the person could continue to communicate verbally.

"I do, but I don't know what my voice sounds like so I don't use it." He frowned a little. "I yelled at the last translator and everyone looked at me like I grew a second head so I just don't use it."

"Probably because you were yelling, not because your voice is bad." He wanted to hear it, but he knew better than to ask. It was just plain rude, but maybe he could earn it in the long run. "How did you lose your hearing?" A touchy subject for some, but he felt it was within his range of job duties to ask.

"Prolonged exposure to cold and hypothermia." He wasn't afraid to say how he lost his hearing. It had been so long and he barely remembered anything about it. "I fell under the ice at the lake back home."

"How old?" He asked, not feeling bad about taking some time away from the mapping to build a working rapport with Ally.

"I was five." So he could talk and he knew what things sounded like but it had been a long time. "I was down at the lake with my brothers and we were rough housing and I wiped out and slid across the ice to the thin ice and fell in."

"Do my questions bother you?" He didn't think that they did, but he wanted to check just to be sure. "It's personal, but I'm curious. My mother was born deaf, genetic. I still loved her voice. She learned a little through touch." He reached out to touch Ally's throat to illustrate.

"No." They didn't. When Clark touched his throat he blushed a little bit but didn't tell him to stop. "How does that work?" Because he didn't know a lot about the ways to learn to speak. He already knew how, he just didn't like to.

He pulled his hand back when he noticed the blush. "Sorry, I'm handsy." He put his hand on his own throat instead. "She used to put her hands on her dad's throat to feel the vibrations and then try and match them. It was hard to understand but me and my brother managed. She'd read to us sometimes. Here, try it," he tilted his chin up to invite Ally's hand to it.

Reaching his hand up, he let his fingers rest against Clark's throat. He was kind of scruffy but he didn't mind. In fact he really liked it and the way he felt when he touched him. Without realizing it, he brushed his fingers up and down a little.

He hadn't meant it as an advance, but now it felt like that and he felt a spark to go along with it. He paused, the sightest hesitation before he swallowed, causing his adam's apple to bob beneath Ally's hand. "She would watch his mouth and feel the way the throat worked as he signed."

Ally could feel the vibrations and he let his fingers stay resting against his skin. Later, when he was home and alone, he'd try to mimic it. But he wouldn't do that in the office where other people could hear.

Clark indulged his immediate fancy to put his hand over Ally's, touching his knuckles gently. "She was self conscious too though. Only me, my brother, and my dad heard her voice."

Ally nodded and he tried not to smile at the touch but he couldn't manage to keep it off of his face. With Clark's hand over his he kept his hand in place but he brushed his thumb over his neck because he could and he wanted to and he hadn't ever had the most self control.

The brush made him swallow again but he didn't pull away. There was definitely something there and he felt guilty for invoking it. "Anyway," he said. "Lunchtime yet? I'll go get us something and you can keep mapping."

Ally nodded and he let his hand slide away. He felt sort of weird and fluttery now and he didn't know what to do about it. "Anuything is good, I will eat anything. I like dessert too though."

"Would you eat a spider?" That's what people would say to him, some ludicrous food challenge when he claimed he'd eat anything.

"Humans swallow like eleven spiders a year by sleeping with their mouths open." He paused. "Last Christmas my dad sent me a piece of candy with a scorpion in it. I ate that. I can't imagine it is that different."

Clark looked horrified. "You did not just tell me that." In his life, he'd managed to avoid that choice bit of trivia until now. "I owe you a gross out." Even though the spider fact was awful, he found the fact that Ally had a snappy comeback and an adventurous spirit to be endearing.

"Did you know that no matter where you are you are generally never more than six feet away from a spider?" Ally smiled at him because he knew that he was being a brat but he liked the look of horror on his face at that comment.

"I'm going to lick all of your food before I give it to you," he signed with mock fury. With that, he left. Upon returning, he had two giant sandwiches from down the street and two sundaes. Clark knew how to eat. Setting the food down on the desk, he smiled at Ally and stuck out his tongue to remind him of his promise.

"I don't care. I eat food off of the ground sometimes so I doubt that your mouth is much dirtier than that." He smiled and unwrapped his sandwich, spreading the paper out in case he made a mess. "Thanks for lunch."

"You have no idea where my mouth has been," he noted . But he knew he wouldn't be able to get Ally's goat. Wyatt had been working with Jude in the computer room and when he came out he was surprised to see Ally acting so casual with Clark already. "You're already better than the last. Ally hasn't exiled you to your desk yet?" He glanced back at Ally with a pleased smile. "I thought I saw the sign for lick."

"He threatened to lick my food because I told him facts about spiders that you told me." Ally smiled and shrugged a little bit. "I told him it didn't matter because I am sure I have had dirtier things in my mouth. Like floor food."

Wyatt glanced between the two of them, obviously surprised. "The human mouth is the filthiest thing, so much bacteria. That's why kissing is such a strange phenomenon and probably related to the evolutionary building of an immune system." Clark liked Wyatt well enough, but damn if he wouldn't like him to go away.

Ally wrinkled his nose and just took a bite of his sandwich before signing to him. "Mhmm. Right. Well then I guess I just don't care about bacteria."

"You probably have an excellent immune system," Wyatt signed himself this time, having picked up the sign from Clark. Clark was impressed and maybe a little bit jealous that Wyatt could speak with Ally mostly without his help. After a second, Wyatt left to go get lunch and Clark raised his eyebrows at Ally. "I'll ask him out for you."

"No!" Ally nearly dropped his sandwich in his rush to decline the offer. "He doesn't like me, he really likes Micah and I don't want him to even know." He shook his head. "Please just don't say anything."

Clark smiled. "Revenge is sweet," he laughed, feeling satisfied that he'd properly retaliated for the spider facts. Clark dug into his ice cream first in true childish manner.

Ally made a disgruntled face at him and then he went back to eating his sandwich. It took him less than two minutes to get the whole thing down and then he started in on the sundae. Ally was an eater. It would be obvious from the first second he dug into his sandwich.

Clark had to pause and admire the way Ally ate. "Where does it go?" He asked as he reached forward to wrap his hand around Ally's upper arm; it nearly went all the way around. "You're skinny as a rail."

Ally looked down to see Clark's hand wrapped nearly entirely around his arm and he just sort of made a face at him before flexing his arm to show him that there was some muscle there. "I am still hungry."

When Ally flexed Clark squeezed back. It was just instinct and he let his thumb glide over Ally's bicep before dropping his hand. "Don't look at my sandwich," he laughed and took a big bite.

"I will just go get chips from the vending machine or something." He finished his sundae and dropped it into the trash before going back to his map.

Finishing his sandwich, he let Ally get back to work. He peered over his shoulder every once in awhile, giving his input when necessary.

Ally worked through the afternoon and then when he couldn't do it anymore he got up and stretched out. "I am going to go and get something from the vending machine. Would you like something?"

"I'll go with you." He was like a puppy, or a loyal watchdog. He wanted to be sure to stick to Ally in case he was needed. "Can we do the xboy thing thing tonight?" He misspelled it, not remembering the name. "I'll drive you so we can pick it up?"

That made him smirk and he spelled it again. "Xbox. We can, yes." Ally was down with that idea. "I can tell you the address to my place but I can't give you directions because I don't know how to get there. Just which bus to take."

"What if you were stranded with no bus?" He felt the urge to sweep in and protect even though Ally had clearly gotten along fine without him to this point. "An address is fine, I've got a navigator." At the vending machine Clark bought two bags of animal crackers and a coke.

"I just sleep here if that happens." Ally paid for two bags of chips and a twix and a dr. pepper before heading back towards the office with Clark.

"Well I'll drive you home if you miss the bus now," he said firmly. Even though he said he wouldn't be a lackey, he was falling easily into the role of chauffer. But he hardly minded now.

"You don't have to. I don't miss the bus very often. Just occasionally." he smiled over at him and then put the food down on his desk. "I am going to school you in video games. What do you want to play? I can let you pick when we get there."

"I suspect you're good at all of them?" It was like choosing the weapon for ones own execution. He followed him back and sighed. "I've gotten myself into it this time, haven't I."

"Yep." Ally smirked and opened one of the bags of chips so he could eat again. The rest of his day was spent working on Liam's project and sending the information he had gathered to The rest of the time. They were out in the field working and so he didn't think it was a big deal that they play xbox.

Clark found himself excited for the end of the day. When it rolled around, he led Ally out to his car, a neatly kept VW Passat in black. He punched in the address and headed there. Once they arrived, he was pleased to have the excuse to go inside.

Ally took Clark up to his apartment and he let himself inside. It was a nicely sized apartment though it was decorated in such a way that it looked almost like he had duplicated pages out of an ikea catalogue. There was a large tv on one wall though and he had five different game systems hooked up to it. "We could always stay here and play too, if you don't want to have to bring me back later."

That was a tempting option. It was cold outside, but he felt more comfortable with the idea of being on neutral territory with Ally. "We should head back to the office, he finally decided upon. Peering through the games he pulled out the wrong gaming system title.

"That's for my nintendo wii." He walked over and took one of the xbox games down and he showed him what the cases looked like. "One of these."

"Wii?" He repeated the word, saying it outloud with a quirk of his brow. "Sounds kind of dirty." He limited his choices to the green trimmed boxes and came up with Left 4 Dead 2. "Are these zombies?" He signed excitedly.

"Yes! I love that game." He nodded and then went to unplug the machine to get it all packed up to take. He had a bag that was big enough to hold each of the game systems in turn. "We can play that one."

He had an affinity for scifi and horror movies, so he figured he at least had some kind of experience with games like that if he'd watched enough films like it. He glanced around the apartment. "Seems like you miss home," he commented. The room said he'd just decorated rather than made it is own, as if he didn't want to settle here.

"I don't know, kind of." He shrugged a little bit. "I miss my brothers and my dad." And it was hard living so far from them but he loved his job. "I think they are coming here for Christmas though and that will be nice."

Clark thought about his own brother and frowned a little, looking down at his feet briefly. They probably wouldn't be spending it together. The man always found a way to conveniently be unable to come down for the holidays.

"I hope I don't have to work over Christmas." he shook his head and when he noticed that Clark wasn't looking at him he nudged him with his elbow.

His head darted up at that. "Sorry," he said quickly. He didn't like being caught off guard with emotion. "We should head back over to the office."

"It's all right." He looked up at him, studying his face for a moment. "Are you all right? You look really sad right now." And he really didn't like the idea that he was so upset.

It was probably pointless to deny it, given Ally's job and how good he was at reading people. "I was just thinking about my brother. We don't really get along and I was a little jealous to think about your family all coming to visit."

"Well if you want to come and spend Christmas here with us you are welcome to. I don't think it would be the same thing but then you won't have time to think about being sad that he isn't there because you will wonder what kind of chaos and hell you have come into by agreeing to meet my family.

That invitation genuinely surprised Clark and he didn't know what to say. "Let's see if I keep my job until Christmas." He decided to joke it off instead of face the invite seriously.

"All right, fair enough." He smiled. "Oh, hey, while there is no one around can we do the throat thing? Where I touch your throat and then mine to make a sound?"

He smiled a little, pleased that Ally wanted to try. He'd always thought it was pretty cool. "Of course," he took a step closer feeling his heart pick up with anticipation.

Ally put all the gaming stuff down and walked over to Clark. He was afraid of letting other people hear his voice but he supposed that it wouldn't be such a big deal in front of Clark.

Clasping his hand around Ally's wrist, he brought it up to his throat, resting it over his voicebox. Leaning over slightly, he brought his mouth closer to Ally so he could make out the movements of his jaw and tongue. "Clark," he signed his name and said it, wanting to hear Ally say it.

Ally kept his hand in place and he watched Clark say and sign his name. "Say it again, please." he signed and then put his hand back into place on his throat. He liked the way it felt to be touching him.

The slight chill of Ally's hand from the cold outside made Clark want to warm him up. "Clark," he said, throat vibrating. He knew Ally would know how to say it already, but this showed him what it had been like for his mother.

Ally pulled his hand back and he put it against his own throat. "Clark." he said out loud, his voice still soft because he was nervous about Clark hearing him out loud because he was really attracted to him.

"See how it can feel the same?" He smiled, eager for Ally to appreciate the method. Ally's voice felt like a secret and he liked it very much. "You shouldn't be embarassed by your voice. I'd like to hear it more often."

"Okay. But just around you." He didn't want anyone else hearing him talk. Ally smiled a little bit and he reached back up to let his hand rest against Clark's throat. "Say my name." He wanted to feel the way Clark said it.

"Ally," he said and his voice wrapped around that word, a rumble coming from his throat. He wanted to make the boy really feel it because this felt like a moment and he wanted to savor it.

The smile got bigger and Ally moved forward to stand a little bit closer to Clark. Everything about this moment was making his heart race. His cheeks were red and he was getting a little anxious. "I like that."

"You're pink," he said, looking down at the shorter man. His hand came up to Ally's hand. That flush was a prize to Clark. He felt like he had the upper hand and he hadn't ever expected that to happen.

Ally was trying not to make a big deal out of it but he was really ridiculously attracted to Clark and ever since they had touched earlier he couldn't help but sense some sort of spark. His hand came up to his face and he felt the heat there. "I guess I am."

"It's cute." He didn't move, wanting to stay in this position for longer. At first, Ally had been a challenge, someone difficult to tame, but it had rapidly gone farther than that.

Ally wrinkled his nose at the cute comment and he let his fingers tighten ever so slight against Clark's throat, just so that he could feel the gentle pressure as to enhance his displeasure at being called cute, even though he secretly liked it.

The laugh that escaped Clark's throat went a bit breathy and normally he wouldn't be worried about Ally picking up on that, but with his hand there it was easier to tell. "Don't like being called cute? I'm sorry but you are," he needled calmly.

"I am no such thing. Do you really think you should antagonize me? I might start having a fight or something, like some whippersnapper." he had a little trouble saying that word and it came out kind of funny.

"I think I could handle that," he said, hands carefully expressing each word. "Being your elder I would have no problem taking you over my knee."

"Oh?" Ally let his eyebrows raise and he flushed a little more at the idea that Clark would spank him. "well..." His fingers tightened a little more and he threatened to really squeeze, but he didn't plan on hurting him. "Maybe you should keep antagonizing me."

Clark swallowed, working it past Ally's fingers. He leaned in a little bit closer, pushing against Ally's hand and making it seem like he was going in for a kiss, but he stopped and pulled back. "Or maybe we should go and play that game?"

Ally let out a strangled noise. He didn't want Clark to pull away. That was really unfair. He had even pushed up to his toes to try and get closer to him. "no."

The word never sat right with him, but in this case it was perfect. "No?" he repeated and watched his reaction. "Ally," he said quietly now, no sign.

"No, I don't wanna go play the game right now." He shook his head and he stepped closer again so his body was nearly brushing against his and his hand was still on his throat.

With Ally able to feel what he could only imagine was a tremble in his voice, Clark felt exposed. He'd taken too many steps forward and now he'd gotten himself into hot water. "Maybe I should head home then; we can do it later."

That was clearly not the answer he wanted and he felt thoroughly rejected. "Okay." He pulled his hand away from him, and he turned to start unpacking his xbox. He felt like an idiot for even assuming that anything would happen.

Standing there, Clark watched him unpack and he took a few steps toward him until he could put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't make that face at me," he said after Ally turned around so he could see what he was saying. "All I can say to that face is that you're cute when you're frustrated." Just to keep pushing, not sure where he was pushing him to.

"Don't." Ally looked mad now and he shoved Clark's hand away from him. He didn't want to play some back and forth game where he made a fool out of himself only to have cClark rejecting his advances.

Instinctively, he caught Ally's hand as it pushed his away. His hand clasped the boy's wrist almost to firmly. "I'll go," he said finally with his free hand as he released Ally's.

"You might as well." He tried tugging his hand free from his grasp, though it was fairly exhilarating to have him holding onto him so tightly. "If you don't want to play the game then there is nothing left for you to do but patronize me and tease me, so you might as well just leave."

He had to let go of Ally's hand to say all he wanted to say, but he missed the feel of it immediately. "I'm not teasing you. Something happened and I'm trying to be professional." Deep down he knew he couldn't fairly claim that after dancing this close to it and then pulling back. Little about his conduct had been professional since he'd felt that draw between them.

"What's the point in being professional now? I'm pretty sure..." He was going to keep going but he just shook his head and waved his hand. Since Clark had pulled back he had only been signing to him, refusing to speak.

Catching his shoulder this time, Clark made sure Ally was paying attention. "Pretty sure what?" His motions were sharp, commanding. His intensely dominant side came out in conflict. He wanted control and he wanted an answer.

Ally tried to shove his hand away again, he didn't like being grabbed when he was angry. "It doesn't matter. Just go home and I'll see you tomorrow and don't worry, I'll keep it professional." His signs were just as sharp as Clark's.

He let his hand linger on Ally. Judging from the way the conversation was going, this would be the last time touch was possible. The fight in Ally was remarkable and it made Clark a little breathless. He stared for too long, wheels turning in his head before he dropped his hand and turned to go as instructed.

Ally was so mad at this point and he watched as Clark got all the way to the door. Without even thinking he just picked up one of the remotes off of the coffee table and he threw it at Clark. It whizzed over his shoulder and hit the door and Ally didn't stay long enough to see a reaction. He just stalked off and slammed his bedroom door. He figured that Clark would be resigning the same way the last one had after this.

Clark very nearly followed after him, both anger and desire rising up in him. But for now he left.