A/N Drake's player on LJ's Fake2ndChance inspired this one when he made a post about wondering about flirting among gays while watching Dee during an under cover gig. He made a mental note to ask JJ. This begged for a fic, which cervine and lil-1337 decided I should write. I am unable to say no, apparently(although I think we should have held out for gracie-musica).

In retrospect, Drake thinks as he hastily jumps from his seat to pound a choking JJ on the back, he probably should have waited until his partner had swallowed that bite of hamburger before broaching this particular topic. He's just not used to there being something he can bring up in their conversations that could shock the other man. Agreement yes, amusement most of the time, and startle occasionally, but never shock.

And then JJ regains his breath, which he promptly uses to laugh so hard he nearly falls out of his chair. Back on familiar ground, Drake deems it safe to return to his chair and own food.

"You want to know how gays flirt?" JJ manages eventually, although between the gasps for air and the wiping of tears it comes out more like "You (gasp) want to (wipe wipe) know (gasp again) how gays flirt (small chuckle)?"

Drake tries to work up a scowl, adding an "it wasn't that funny" for emphasis. It might have worked if his face didn't match the ketchup dripping from the burger in his hands. Annoyed, he takes a bite. JJ's still amused, he can tell, although now it's coming through in his big blue eyes and sparkling smile.

"Coming from you? It's hilarious."

Drake can feel his eyebrow raising. "Because I have such a horrible dating record, right?"

The sparkling smile seems to grow wider, something Drake hadn't thought was possible.

"I was going to say because you're the straightest man I know, but there's that too."

Drake has to admit that he walked right into that, as he often does when it comes to his partner. Across the desk, JJ moves his lunch aside so he can lean forward towards the blonde in front of him.

"But I guess I can answer your question, since you did come to me and all. I must admit, though, I'm curious what brought this on."

Drake wants to comment that since JJ is his only gay friend currently not undercover coming to him was a forgone conclusion, but figures he shouldn't walk any deeper into the hole then he already has. So he explains about Dee and the undercover work and the strangeness (at least to him) of a club full of men who preferred to flirt with each other over any woman that could be brought forth. As he talks, JJ lowers his head to rest his chin on his hands. Afterwards, he doesn't speak for a moment.

"Well, it depends."

"On what."

"On what you want from the person in question."

There's still a sparkle in those blue eyes, but there's a sort of seriousness in them now too, and Drake can't help but push his own unfinished burger out of the way because this promises to be one of those ""the secret of life" moments that he and JJ tend to have once or twice a week.

"Look at it this way. Sometimes when you meet someone, it's about the body. You see them across the room and then you look again because maybe they're really in shape or have pretty eyes. They may or may not have the personality to match, but that's not really a concern because you don't want to do naughty things to their personality. You know what I mean?"

Drake nods.

"In a case like that, it's playful. Lot's of touching, lots of sexual innuendo, lots of pointing out how good they look so they know that you've noticed and you want to do something about it."

There's something in the way he says it that leaves Drake to believe his partner's had personal experience, and not all of it good. He can relate to that.

"And then there's the others." JJ continues. "The ones who you meet and something about them just clicks with you. Something you admire, something you see in yourself that you haven't seen in others until now, or maybe a little of both. You can just enjoy being with them, and if that leads to the naughty stuff then all the better."

Again, that undercurrent of personal experience. Drake's had a few of those as well, although not recently.

"That's usually a little trickier, because there you want them around for a lot longer then just the one night stand. So you chat them up, talk about things you have in common so they so they can see the connection or push the things you admire to show them you've noticed, all the while hoping that if you give them enough they'll give enough back to form some sort of tie you can work with."

Silence reigns over the office at the end of his speech, broken only by the chewing of two men who have gone back to their burgers while lost in thought.

"So what you're saying is that gay people flirt a lot like straight people."

"Why shouldn't they?"

Drake really doesn't have an answer for that. He often doesn't when it comes to his partner.