Rodger’s office was always a haven of low light and quiet. The blinds were drawn halfway, letting in only a sliver of the outside world, and the only sound was the slow hum of his ancient computer and the scratch of his pen against paper. His desk was a fortress of case files, coffee mugs, and yellowed maps of the city’s underbelly.

Across that sea of darkness sat Glisten—a vision in shimmering pink satin pajamas, glitter still dusted across his cheekbones from whatever he’d been doing earlier. He had draped a soft rose-colored blanket over both himself and Rodger, cocooning them into a single warm mass on the detective’s chair.

Glisten sat sideways on Rodger’s lap, legs curled up and head resting lazily against Rodger’s shoulder. One manicured hand idly toyed with the edge of Rodger’s tie, while the other held his phone, scrolling absentmindedly. “You know,” Glisten murmured, “for someone who’s supposed to be working, you sure don’t mind me being all over you.”

Rodger’s eye flicked from the crime scene photos to his boyfriend. He reached for his coffee and took a sip before replying in his low, gravelly voice. “Keeps me sane,” he said simply. “You’re… grounding.”

Glisten smirked, a tiny sparkle catching the dim light. “Grounding? Sweetheart, I’m blinding. I’m a disco ball in your cave.”

Rodger gave the ghost of a smile and squeezed Glisten’s hip under the blanket. “That too.” He shifted a case file closer, scribbling a note while Glisten leaned over to peek at it.

“You’re looking at this all wrong,” Glisten said, tapping a manicured nail against a photo. “See that smudge? That’s lipstick. And not just any lipstick—that’s ‘Magenta Mirage’ by Lushkiss.”

Rodger raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’d know that how?”

Glisten gasped in mock offense. “Excuse me, I own that shade. It’s discontinued. Only the exclusive boutiques still carry it. Your perp has expensive taste.”

Rodger actually chuckled—quiet and rare. “You never stop surprising me.”

“That’s why you keep me around, sugar,” Glisten teased, leaning in to press a kiss against Rodger’s cheek. Glitter dusted onto his stubble like stars in midnight.

Rodger shifted the files aside and let his hand rest fully on Glisten’s waist. The warmth between them under the blanket was better than any heater, the weight of Glisten against him steady and soft. In the glow of the desk lamp, it almost looked like light and dark had found a way to fit together—his world of shadows and Glisten’s world of sparkle blending into something uniquely theirs.