Differing Tastes

A Word: I don't know. I started off with one idea and this totally AU idea came out of nowhere. Here be socially inept but mostly functional according to the rules of society Ruben. [No fire] Reading a situation totally wrong.

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It'd been the younger man who caught Ruben's eye first. The cop had stood out among the teeming mess of a crowd that had gathered to become voyeurs to a tragedy. Another body to bag up as another weak willed man succumbed to the pressures of medical school or family.

Suicides always seemed to kick up around the end of the year, and he's not surprised in the least by it.

He stops to join the crowd of students pretending to be solemn to cover their morbid curiosity only because his boss mandated report requires it. The Dean has got it into his head that a faculty driven research paper into the increase of suicide attempts is exactly what the school needs to reduce the number of such incidents. Why is beyond Ruben but he suspects, as always, that Marcello is behind Valerio bending the older man's ear for his own benefit.

"Please," the even tone is the first thing that Ruben really hears after assessing what little of the scene he can see that the cops aren't covering up to the best of their abilities. He follows the voice to a well dressed man who looks to be a good deal more than just the average police officers working behind him. He's got two gloved hands out in a commanding -if useless- gesture as he evenly addresses the students who are not listening to him in the slightest. "There's nothing to see here. I'm going to need you all to leave, and let us-"

His words go right over the gawping heads of people subtly jostling for a look at the body. Much to the officer's obvious annoyance. A faint line creases his forehead and Ruben appreciates what the emotion does for his face. The man's attractive enough as it is, and he wears irritation exceedingly well.

From his well kept hair to the tips of his polished shoes he's exactly the type of man that Ruben likes to take apart. A pretty little face with composed personality. Piece by piece over the course of a night, or a few days if he's lucky. Ruben likes seeing how far he has to go, what he has to do to destroy that composure and have the normally controlled men begging him for more.

It's intriguing enough that Ruben steps close to the line of tape sectioning the area off and raises his own voice. He cuts through the low drone of muttering easily with years of practice of bringing lecture halls of unruly students to order, "The first round of final exams starts in less than twelve hours. I'm sure most of you have better things to do than to ignore orders from a police officer."

A good portion of the crowd startles and runs for it just from the sound of his voice alone. Students who know him well enough to understand the silent threat to their grades and work load under his words, and the fact that Ruben isn't one to make it idly. There's a confused second as others have to actually look to see his face before deciding they do in fact have better things to do. Elsewhere.

It's a significant decrease in numbers as people who haven't had the pleasure of taking one of his classes decide to follow the majority of people trickling away. There's a few stubborn hanger-ons, and Ruben makes note of them to deal with later.

The irritation has increased on the officer's face when Ruben turns back to him, but it's not actually aimed at him as the man adjusts his glasses with an almost inaudible huff. "Thank you-"

"Doctor Ruben Victoriano," Ruben offers in the silence that follows. He smiles charmingly and holds out a hand. "Professor to most of those sight seers."

"I see," the man's sharp eyes rake down Ruben in one glance that's pure assessment and not quite the kind Ruben would welcome. He takes his hand with a firm grip that doesn't linger. Professional, entirely professional. "I'm Detective Joseph Oda. If I were to show you an ID would you be able to answer a few questions for me?"

Work takes priority for Joseph Oda. Understandable, Ruben admires that trait in people more often than not, and now might not be the best time to be thinking about sex. Most people find it off putting given the fact that there is a dead body not ten feet away. At least according to Laura who has an admitably better grasp on social cues than Ruben himself does.

"I would," Ruben responds and allows himself to glance at the cordoned off area for the first time. A copse of trees that has been been used before. Not even a year ago in fact and that is actually something that is probably relevant. "I may have an idea already."

"Really," the detective pauses in the act of opening a small notebook to give him an interested look. "And what would you have an idea about Doctor Victoriano?"

"Perhaps nothing," Ruben smiles as the avoidance gets him a frown. "The Dean of the school has given me the task of collecting data for a report on suicidal incidents in the school. Attempted and, well... May I see that ID, just to be sure before I say anything?"

"There's that high a number of suicides here?" Joseph asks as he pulls out a clear bag from the back of his notebook. A school ID that he hands over carefully, eyes trained on Ruben's face intently.

"This is a medical school, only dental school has a higher rate of death," oddly enough with art schools coming in third. Ruben takes the card and isn't surprised in the least at the face that smiles up at him from the picture. "I thought so."

"Any information you can give us would be greatly appreciated," Joseph prompts, a pen poised over the paper that's angled away from Ruben's gaze. He's attentive and honestly interested in what Ruben has to say. He misses the irritation already, and he thinks about the incident reports he's been charged with to extract data from. It might be worth it to use those to get the officer away from the scene for a bit.

"Robert Pline," Ruben recites because nothing of what he has to say is anything that needs to be kept hidden. "He committed suicide in this area at the beginning of the semester. Hung himself because his lover had broken off a three year relationship with him," Ruben returns the ID to the officer and nods at it. "Daniel Smith here was afraid of coming out to his family from what I understand and Robert had not been satisfied with that. He issued an ultimatum before classes started and was not pleased with the result. I suppose Daniel felt guilty over it. I can't really say, he didn't have any lectures with me this semester."

A sad story, Ruben supposes going by the way Joseph is frowning, but really it's all just a-

"What a fucking waste," the sudden sharp scent of tobacco comes with the rough growl of Ruben's own thoughts. He turns his head enough to eye the man he didn't notice was coming up behind him. He's dressed in a suit with a tie and vest, but somehow still manages to look disheveled despite it all looking clean. The obvious straps of a gun holster under the crisp folds of his coat place him as another officer as he grinds out the ember of a spent cigarette on the bottom of his shoe. Light brown eyes do a quick assessment of Ruben as the detective moves to stand between them. "It's always the stupid shit that people kill themselves over."

"Sebastian!" Joseph snaps, sharp and the irritation is back again. Tempered with exasperation and a familiarity that goes along all too well with the name of the other officer. "It's not stupid to the person suffering through this. For him it was inescapable."

"And rather stupid," Ruben puts in just to see that irritation get turned on him. The detective next to him, Sebastian, barks out a sharp laugh. Ruben frowns as a heavy arm finds its way around his shoulder without his consent and he gets pulled into the warm side of the man.

"Stupid is stupid," Sebastian agrees and reaches out with his other hand to flick at Joseph's notebook. Getting a heated glare for his actions before he turns to look down at Ruben with a smile. Ruben's never actually seen a grin that fit the phrase 'shit eating' so well before. "Hey, doc, don't suppose you have anything about Pline that we can get a copy of, do you?"

Ruben frowns as the man subtly starts to lean his weight on him. Pushing him away from the yellow tape and Joseph.

"I do, yes," Ruvik reaches up and pinches at a nerve hidden in the fleshy part of the human hand. Right between the forefinger and thumb. The officer hisses out a curse and Ruben uses the opportunity to duck out from under the arm. The older detective is still grinning when he puts some breathing space between them. "You should have a great deal more information than I do though."

"Yes," Joseph says readily. Eyes narrowed on Sebastian and looking moments away from a strange sort of violence. "I can-"

"We can use all the assistance we can get," Sebastian interrupts smoothly. He grins when Joseph shoots him an annoyed glare. "You just might have something that never made it into the reports, doc."

Joseph's eyes are rolling and Ruben's interest is cooling fast. The longer he spends in the two detectives' company to more he finds himself getting annoyed by the easy back and forth he sees between the two men. An easy going relationship that just might be more than that of colleagues or friends given the way the older man is edging pointedly between Ruben and Joseph. A nonverbal back off message.

His ability to read social cues like that is usually lacking, and he's learned to back off fast when he does finally see the signs. It's never worth it having to fight through emotional entanglements for a single night. No matter how nicely he thinks Joseph would look on his knees.

"It will take me some time to have the information copied," Ruben takes another large step back and gives a polite smile to them both this time. Small and constrained like he'd always been told to smile growing up. "What email should I send it too?"

"A hard copy would be best if it's not too much trouble," Joseph says with a wry shrug. "It's easier to deal with physical copies in cases, you know?"

"Not really," digital copies are his preferred method whenever possible. It cuts down on unnecessary interactions, and the kind of human error that's enough to drive Ruben insane. "I won't be able to get you anything sooner than tomorrow that way though."

"Tomorrow works," Joseph says after looking at the other man. "Do you have a preferred time? You mentioned finals will be starting."

"I have a TA," Ruben says and finds one of his cards in the briefcase he's carrying. It has his office number and location on it which will be the next inevitable questions. He holds it out and isn't surprised when it gets snatched out of the air by Sebastian before Ruben can even make a move towards Joseph. "Honestly, he will know my own schedule better than I."

And will also be perfectly capable of dealing with the detectives himself which might just be the best option right now.

"If that's all?" Ruben takes another few steps back without waiting for an answer. He nods at them both and smiles again before turning to continue his trek out to his car. "Good day, detectives."

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"I know you've at least heard the word 'subtle' before," Joseph starts because he loves to bitch Sebastian out any chance he's given, and this chance, Sebastian will admit, has been served up on a silver platter. "In fact, I've seen you be downright diabolical about it a time or two."

"Shut it, Joseph," Sebastian says but he knows his grin doesn't make it as angry sounding as he means it. "Jesus, you saw him. I can't help going a little off track for attractive spitfires like that."

"You've managed before," Joseph moves as the coroner comes trudging by them. A formality really but they've been surprised before.

"You know you still owe me for that date with Kidman..." Sebastian trails off suggestively and gets a groan out of his partner for it.

"One," Joseph adjusts his glasses again. The frames are too big for his face but he refuses to get new ones. "That was not a 'date'. That was you locking us in the armory for a day and threatening not to let us out."

"It worked didn't it?"

"Two," Joseph continues as if Sebastian said nothing. "I have no intention of watch you make an even bigger idiot out of yourself than usual. So I was already planning on letting you pick up that info on your own."

"You are the best partner ever," Sebastian declares seriously. Joseph shakes his head in mock disgust that doesn't fool Sebastian one bit. There's a crooked slant to his mouth from a withheld pleased smile. "Much better than that cockblock, Braun."

Dodging the sharp elbow is really second nature by now to Sebastian.

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