Title: An Anniversary Plea

Author: Python

Fandom: Law & Order

Pairing: Briscoe/Green

Series: In the same universe as Under Pressure, the Family Strife Trilogy, and This Is Good.

I'm being nice to them again. No angst warnings for this one. I blame this on a friend who told me I should put them in an exotic location.

Disclaimer: These guys don't belong to me. This is just for fun. Please don't sue me.

any feedback is appreciated, in fact, I'm begging for it.

An Anniversary Plea
By Python

"I'm not even sure how to bring it up," Ed said in the middle of a phone conversation with his mother.

Denise was in her late seventies, but her mind was still as sharp as a razor blade. She laughed and replied, "You and Lennie have been together five years and have one of the closest relationships that I've ever seen between two people. You two say, I love you, and actually mean it more often than some couples that I know who've been married twenty years. I didn't
think there was anything that you couldn't say to him if you thought he needed to hear it."

Ed smiled and answered, "It's easy for me to say, I love you. This is different. Being a cop is an important part of who Lennie is and I want to ask him to retire."

"There's more to him than his job."

"I know that, mom, but I think he has trouble remembering it."

"You'll just have to remind him won't you?" Denise responded. "Don't feel bad about it, Ed. He's sixty-six years old. There's a good chance that it's time to move on. Besides, he may already have been thinking about it."

"That's true," Ed allowed. "Lennie hasn't been happy since they chained him to a desk last year." That desk job was part of the reason he hadn't brought up the idea of retirement before. Lennie wasn't on the street anymore and that hurt the older man's pride because he could still do the job and Ed didn't want to make it worse.

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think," Denise assured her son.

"You're probably right."

"I know I am," Denise stated as if the thought that she could be wrong never entered her mind.

Ed laughed. "And Lennie wonders where I get my self-assurance from.""It runs in the family," Denise responded and then asked, "Is everything set for your trip?"

"Yes. Jeremy made the reservations for us. He knows the owner of the hotel."

"I wish my boss would've helped your father and I take a trip to Egypt for our five year anniversary...but then again, my boss was stingy and we had your brother, Jeff, by then," Denise said.

"Your boss wasn't the producer of a successful television show either," Ed added. He looked at his watch. "Speaking of which, I have to meet with Linda tonight to finish the current script. I've got to go or I'm going to be late."

"All right. Talk to you later."

"Bye, mom."

Lennie looked at the paperwork in disgust. Now that he was assigned to a desk permanently, there was a lot more or it. He hated it. Most of it was bullshit, designed for the express purpose of driving him crazy.

"Hey, Lennie."

Lennie glanced up to see his last partner. "Hey Grady. What's on your mind?" he asked as the younger man sat next to him.

"Nothing. I was just passing by and thought I'd say hello."

"How's the new partner working out?"

"He almost got himself shot today because he wouldn't keep his head down," Grady answered.

"Ah, an over-eager partner. I have no idea what that's like," Lennie responded sarcastically.

Grady laughed. "Was I really that bad? I don't recall almost getting us shot."

"Then, your memory is short, but you got better. Thank God, it was before you got us both killed," Lennie said with a smile. In the three years that he worked with Grady, he watched the young man become a good detective.

"What are you working on?" the younger man asked.

"Nothing important," Lennie stated in frustration.

Grady nodded in sympathy. "It's bad."

"I know. I"m beginning to think that it's not worth it."

"You thinking of retiring?"

"Yes. I don't feel like I'm doing anything important any more," Lennie said.

Grady patted the other man's shoulder and then asked, "You ready for the trip?"

Lennie smiled again. "Whether I am or not, we're going. Ed's put a lot of work and planning into this."

"Well, have fun. I've gotta get going."

"See you later," Lennie said. He finished his work and headed home. He let himself into the empty apartment that he shared with Ed. He remembered his lover had a dinner meeting with Linda.

The older man fixed himself a sandwich and sat in front of the tv. He couldn't find anything good to watch, but that wasn't unusual. Ed always said that he was too picky but he always responded that Ed shouldn't talk because the younger man watched basketball at every opportunity.

When Lennie finished eating, he put the plate on the table and stretched out on the couch. He channel surfed some more. He stopped on AMC, which had just started The Bride of Frankenstein. He loved the old horror movies and thought they were much better than modern remakes. The old movies relied on story, setting, and acting, not the blood, guts, and shock value of modern films. He'd seen enough gore in real life. He didn't need any more in his
entertainment.

Ed came home in the middle of the movie. He took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie, while walking into the living room. He grinned when he saw Lennie watching one of those old horror flicks.

"How did it go?" the older man asked, without looking at his lover.

"Good. We finally got that script done," Ed answered. He walked over to the couch. "Sit up for a second."

Lennie sat up to give Ed room to sit down. "How's Linda?"

"Fine. She sends her love," Ed replied. He had Lennie put his head down in his lap. Then Ed rested his hands on his lover's chest. "How was work?"

"Same old grind," Lennie answered warily. Before the desk job, he'd actually felt good about work, that he was doing something useful, making a difference. Now, work was just a physical and mental drain, with no feelings of accomplishment.

Ed knew that Lennie was very unhappy. He hoped that would make it easier when he brought up retirement. "At least you won't have to deal with it for three weeks," he said lightly.

"I hate planes, Ed."

"That's the fastest way to get to Cairo Lennie," Ed responded with a hint of amusement.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

Ed chuckled. "You're right."

When the movie was over, Lennie was going to get up but Ed's hands kept him in place. "Can I help you?" he asked with a small smile.

"I'm comfortable like this," Ed stated.

"Oh, you are?"

"Yes," Ed answered. Then he leaned down to softly kiss the older man.

The second their lips touched, the atmosphere grew more heated. Ed slid his arm under Lennie's head when the older man lifted his mouth to meet Ed's tongue. The younger man felt Lennie grab his shirt and pull him closer. Then he broke away briefly to say, "Never mind. I think we'd be more comfortable in the bedroom."

Ed slept for most of the plane ride. He counted himself lucky that he could sleep on planes. Lennie, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. He felt so confined. After having to sit through the movie, The Loser, he was ready to jump out the nearest window. To help pass the time, he began playing cards with the woman across the aisle from him.

After a while, cards got boring to. Lennie couldn't describe the relief that flooded through him when the plane finally landed. He looked over at Ed, who was still asleep. How does he do that, the older man asked himself.

He elbowed Ed lightly. "Hey, sleeping beauty. We're here."

Ed yawned, popping his ears, and stretched as much as the cramped space would allow. He put the shade on his window up, letting bright sunshine filter in. "We're here already," he said, partly to tease his lover.

Lennie wasn't going to dignify that with an answer. Instead he poked the younger man again and Ed tried to give him an innocent look. He couldn't help but smile when Ed laughed as almost everyone in the plane got up and tried to get out at the same time.

"Let's wait a few minutes," Ed said.

Lennie nodded in agreement despite the fact that he wanted to get off just as much or more than the others.

"There's a bus to the hotel," Ed stated an hour and a half later when they finally got out of the airport.

It was still early in the afternoon. The sun was bright and it was already hot. The streets were jammed with people, but that didn't impede the speed of most drivers. And I thought New Yorkers were crazy drivers, Ed thought.

The ride to the hotel didn't take too long. A young woman showed the two men to their room. She looked from one to the other and chuckled softly before leaving.

Ed laughed after she was gone. "We've gotten a lot worse reactions."

"Have you ever noticed that it's the women that are ok with it?"

"It's not really that surprising," Ed replied. He pulled Lennie into a hug and kissed the other man intensely. He felt Lennie's arms around his neck. He loved it when the older man totally responded to him. When they were forced to break for air, he stated, "Most straight guys would freak-out if they saw that."

"They don't know what they're missing."

"That's good because I don't like to share," Ed said with a smile. He released Lennie to step out onto the balcony. The view was breathtaking and he was at a loss for words. He'd never seen the Giza Plateau in person. Of course, he'd seen photos of the pyramids, but they couldn't compare to the real thing.

Lennie came out and stood beside Ed. "Oh, my God," he said quietly in total awe.

The noise in the street below drew Ed's attention. He pointed to the people down there. "Isn't it weird? You can have all this noise and bustle right here and, just a few miles away, you can have that," he said, gesturing to the pyramids.

Lennie smiled. "They balance each other." Sort of like us, he thought.

Ed nodded and went back inside. A moment later, he heard his lover sigh and follow. He turned to see Lennie sit on the bed and asked, "What do you want to do now?"

"Actually, I want to catch a nap," Lennie answered. The jet lag was already beginning catch up with him and he was exhausted.

"Oh, come on. We just got here," Ed replied, in what could only be described as a whine.

"Yeah, we just got here. We've got three weeks."

Ed slept on the plane but remembered that Lennie couldn't. He shrugged.

"Ok." He tried his best to hide his disappointment.

"You sure?" Lennie asked. He expected more of a fight that he would lose.

He almost always let Ed have his way.

"Yeah, but I'm going to that market we saw from the balcony, just to look around. I'll wake you in a few hours." Ed went to the bizarre to explore and get a feel for his surroundings. He didn't want to buy anything yet. He had a lot of fun watching the people and how they interacted, especially when haggling over prices. "And I thought people back home were loud," he
observed in amusement.

Ed went back to the hotel at four o'clock. He found Lennie still asleep and decided to take a long shower to wash off all the dust and sweat covering his body. Then he got dressed, but left his shirt off.

Then Ed lay on the bed next ot his lover. He propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at Lennie, while unbuttoning the other man's shirt.

Lennie's chest was far from perfect. The older man had been an alcoholic and age was taking its toll, but Ed didn't mind all that. He knew Lennie did his best to stay in good shape and Ed liked his lover's body. He was far from twenty himself and the perfect body didn't matter anymore.

Ed followed his usual practice of tracing Lennie's bullet scar. It always helped remind him of what was important. Then he shook the older man lightly. "Hey. It's time to wake up."

Lennie grunted. "No, it isn't."

Ed responded by leaning down and kissing the other man's stomach. He felt Lennie shift slightly under his tongue as he left a wet trail from his lover's stomach to chest.

Lennie moaned deep in his throat when the younger man's tongue went to his neck. He loved it when Ed seemed to feed on the flesh at the nape of it. Too soon, Ed's mouth withdrew.

"Are you awake now?" Ed asked.

"Yes, you big tease."

Ed laughed at the frustration evident in his lover's voice. "Come on. It's almost five-thirty and I want to eat."

Lennie opened his eyes to Ed's grin. "Did you buy anything today?"

Ed shook his head. "No, I just wanted to look around, get a feel for the place."

"And hit on all the exotic women in sight."

"In the past five years, the only one I've hit on is you," Ed replied and stood up, pulling Lennie with him.

Lennie ran his hands over Ed's bare chest and handed the younger man a shirt. "Put this on if you want to leave this room."

Ed's stomach growled and he reluctantly pulled the shirt on.

The next few days, Ed kept them busy doing everything he could find.

Lennie didn't mind letting him make the plans because he enjoyed it. He took Lennie back to the bizarre that he went to the first day. After catching a thief trying to pick his pocket, he said, "I wish we didn't look like tourists."

"But we are tourists, Ed," Lennie answered, trying for an innocent look but failing.

"No kidding," Ed replied sarcastically.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I think our guy was an equal opportunity pickpocket, preying on natives and tourists alike," Lennie state and won a laugh from Ed. Later that night, he went into their room. The first thing he saw was his lover on the balcony. Ed's back was to him. He was silent to avoid disturbing the beautiful scene in front of him. Even with the younger man's back to him, Ed cut quite a silhouette, with the moonlight shining in the room all around him.

A slight breeze blew past Ed. He closed his eyes and smiled. He felt his lover's presence and turned around.

Lennie thought the sight was even more beautiful when Ed turned to face him. The older man couldn't think of anything to say. Not for the first time, he wondered what this young, handsome person was doing with an old street dog like him. He couldn't figure out how he even attracted Ed in the first place, let alone keep the younger man.

Ed knew what Lennie was thinking. He shook his head. He didn't know why Lennie never thought that he was good enough. Why does he think he doesn't deserve me, the younger man thought, he knows that he's the only one I want. He stepped off the balcony and back into the room. Then he walked up to Lennie to stare in the other man's face.

Lennie saw te lover in Ed's dark eyes. "You're beautiful Ed."

Ed smiled. He saw his feelings reflected in the older man's blue eyes. He pulled Lennie closer and kissed the older man deeply. He pulled away and grinned. "That's not the only thing I am."

Lennie felt Ed's growing erection against his leg. He briefly looked down and then into the younger man's face. "I hope I don't disappoint you."

"You never have in that department," Ed replied. A second later, he teasingly added, "And for a man your age, that's quite an accomplishment."

"Will you please just shut-up and make love to me?"

"If you insist."

The next morning, Ed woke up alone. He sat up and caught sight of Lennie standing outside on the balcony in the bright morning light. He stared for a few minutes and smiled. His Lennie almost seemed to be glowing.

The older man was totally engrossed in what he was seeing. Even after seeing it every day for a week and a half, the view still inspired him. Back home, he usually dealt with the worst in people, but this sight helped remind him of the great things that people were capable of. There was proof of that in New York, but when you lived with something every day, it was easy to take it for granted. He'd seen great things in New York, but they always seemed to get overshadowed by the bad. And you're just an old cynic, a voice in his head added.

Ed wordlessly got up, walked over to Lennie, and put his arms around the older man's waist. He planted a quick kiss on his lover's neck. Then he rested his chin on Lennie's shoulder.

"Good morning," Lennie said.

"Morning," Ed answered. He sensed that the other man was totally relaxed and decided to bring up the topic he'd been avoiding. This is as good a time as any, he thought. "Lennie, we have to talk."

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" the older man asked lightly. Ed took his arm and pulled him back into the room. Then he watched his young lover shift his weight from one foot to the other. "What is it Ed?"

"Well, I want to talk to you about something, but I don't want to make you mad."

Lennie couldn't think of anything Ed could say that would make him angry.

He sat on the bed and gestured for Ed to sit next to him. "Just tell me. I've never known you to be quiet."

What's the best way to say this, Ed asked himself. "First off, I want you to know that I'm only saying this because I love you."

"Ok."

Just spit it out, Ed, a voice in the younger man's head ordered. "I've been thinking that maybe it's time for you to think about retirement," he said and added quickly, "It's not that I don't think you can't do it anymore, but you're a year past retirement age and I hate seeing you unhappy
stuck behind that desk."

Lennie took his lover's hand. "Is that what you were so afraid to tell me?" When the younger man nodded, he said, "I've been thinking about it to."

"Really?"

Lennie chuckled. "Yes. Like you said, I'm sixty-six and a year past retirement."

"Being a cop is so important to you. I thought you'd want to keep doing it until they made you leave," Ed said with a smile, although he meant every word of it.

"Two years ago, you would've been right, but now it's time for me to move on. It's not the same any more, Ed. I don't feel like I'm doing something important. This desk job is taking all I have left to give and not giving any satisfaction in return." Lennie hadn't meant to say that much. There
were some things that he didn't even feel comfortable telling Ed.

Ed gave Lennie a sympathetic look. He squeezed the other man's hand.

"Leave it then. You've given enough. I'm sure we can find other things for you to do with your time." He smiled and added, "I won't let you get old and decrepit."

Lennie just didn't want to end up like those people whose lives seemed to stop when they retired and sat around all day sleeping in front of the tv.

But with Ed around, there wasn't much chance of that happening. He knew what the best thing for him was, but it felt odd saying it. "All right then. I'll retire."

Ed sighed. That was a lot easier than he thought. He rubbed his hands on his knees and jumped up. "Let's go. There's a lot I want to do today." He kept them both busy up until the last day of the trip. The last night, he said, "I'm gonna miss this place."

"Me to, but it'll still be nice to go home," Lennie answered. "But I'm no looking forward to the plane ride back."

Ed ran his hand lightly up the older man's spine. He felt the shiver of anticipation that ran through his lover's body at his touch. "Maybe I can wear you out enough that even you'll sleep on a plane."

Lennie grinned. "You're welcome to try."

They were both tired the next morning. Ed knew he'd be able to sleep, but Lennie was a different story. The older man hated the enclosed space of a plane with a fiery passion.

Ed waited until the plane took off to start reading a book he bought during the trip. He wasn't going to sleep yet. He wanted to provide Lennie with some company.

"What are you reading?" Lennie asked.

Ed glanced over at the other man, who was playing solitaire. "A book about Cairo." He lost track of time. He hadn't noticed his lover's silence and said, "Hey, Lennie. Did you know that they used the limestone casing of the great pyramids to build most of medieval Cairo?" When he didn't get an answer, he turned to Lennie, who had his head back, facing the shaded window, and fast asleep.

Ed chuckled. He took the other man's hand and interlaced their fingers.

Now, I know what to do the next time we have to take a plane, he thought.

When the stewardess came by later, she found both men asleep. Ed's head was resting on Lennie's shoulder. She smiled, leaned in, and turned off the reading light above Ed's seat.

END