The words 'home sweet home' were ones that Theo took to heart as he opened the door to his and Cyrus's apartment. It was a decent sized place, big enough for a large living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. They could afford much better, but that wasn't the point. They loved their little apartment. It was cozy, and it had space for everything they needed it to. Cyrus was already home, as Theo had expected him to be. Wanted gangsters didn't get out much, after all. Theo still wasn't sure how his husband managed to go from their apartment to his Headquarters everyday. He half thought there was a hidden tunnel under their apartment building that led to the place.

Theo set down his bag with a sigh, and an assault of spices hit his nose as he inhaled. Sure enough, Cyrus was cooking in his usual wild fashion. The gang leader wasn't much of a chef, but watching him dance around the kitchen was definitely entertaining enough to suffer through days of leftover burnt chicken. He wasn't quite sure what Cyrus was cooking, but it smelled just as good as coffee had that morning, so it definitely wasn't a dish Cyrus had tried before. He had a habit of picking up recipes from Benny and trying them out at home, and it was just one of the many things Theo loved about him. Spiro may have dedicated his life to hunting Cyrus down as if he were Ahab and Cyrus was his Moby Dick, but Theo just couldn't understand why. He knew Cyrus had broken several laws. He knew that his job, however well paying, was illegal, but Cyrus was a good man. He didn't want to break the laws, but they just... got in the way sometimes. The drugs were a different story, yes, but he still had morals. He still felt guilty when they hurt someone, rare as it was, and he still wished he had a job that didn't mean he and Theo had to keep their relationship secret. Cyrus had problems, yes, but Theo saw passed them. They just lived in a sort of 'it's only illegal if you get caught' mentality. Spiro may have seen a criminal when he looked in Cyrus's face, but Theo just couldn't see that side of him. Especially as Cyrus turned to gaze at him, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"Hey," He said. "How was work?"

"Oh, you know," Theo replied, shrugging. "Same old job, same old gangsters. How about you?"

"Oh, you know," Cyrus's grin widened. "Same old work, same old gangsters."

"What are you cooking?" Theo headed for their bedroom, itching to ditch his dignified work clothes for one of Cyrus's ratty t-shirts. Home was a place for comfy clothes, and the starchy button downs he wore to work were the exact opposite of that.

"Some weird Italian dish Benny told me about. He made it for the guys a few weeks back, and they've been begging for it again ever since. I'd figured I'd see what the fuss is about."

"Maybe it's something Benny puts in the food. I bet he has some sort of secret ingredient that makes everything taste heavenly." Cyrus paused.

"I can't tell if that was a compliment to Benny or a dig at my own cooking."

"Can't it be both?" Theo asked, slipping up behind him. Cyrus scoffed, continuing to stir whatever mystery dish he was making. Theo wrapped his arms around his husband's waist, breathing in the scent of leather and smoke that was stronger than any food's aroma. "Spiro finally deduced that you're married." Cyrus stopped stirring and set the spoon down.

"Took him long enough. How'd he figure it out?" Theo reached forward, grabbing Cyrus's hand.

"Wedding ring." He fiddled with the piece of jewelry, frowning slightly. Spiro always had theories about Cyrus and his life, but it always made Theo a bit more worried whenever he actually got something right.

"That's nothing. Plenty of people have wedding rings. I bet he doesn't have a lead on it."

"Not even close. He thinks you're married to some girl and that we'll be able to get her to talk." Cyrus burst out laughing, but Theo kept talking before a joke could be made about how Cyrus was straight as a hula hoop or something. "He is getting frustrated though, since we've hit such a dead end. I think a new lead would do him some good, make him not wound up so tight."

"I could stir up some trouble for you, if you want. Give him plenty of leads. I've been meaning to break Marcus in a bit more— maybe I'll send him on a job, let Spiro find him, see what happens."

"No," Theo rejected immediately. "The further away from you Spiro is, the happier I am, and that means no sending your gang cronies to antagonize him."

"I think they'd be more offended that you called them gang cronies than anything else."

"Cyrus,"

"I know," Cyrus held up his hands innocently. "I won't start anything I can't finish, you know I don't pick fights." He was right. Theo did know. Cyrus wasn't in the habit of picking fights. He only ended them, sometimes before they could even begin. The Hunters were clean like that, whereas other gangs were messy. If they weren't so involved in the drug business, Theo was pretty sure the only crime the gang was guilty of was light loitering. Cyrus crossed the room, picking through the small stack of mail Theo had brought in with him. Cyrus didn't get any gang information sent to the apartment, just in case, but he still liked flipping through the magazines and newspapers, seeing what bills they had to pay next. He stopped at a formal looking letter addressed to Theo, sent from the police station. He opened it up, his eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas as he noticed what it was.

"What's this?" He questioned teasingly, holding up the paper. Theo glanced at it, recognizing the fancy invitation from a mile away. It was the one piece of mail he dreaded every year.

"Oh no," He whined as Cyrus proceeded to read the card out loud in a dramatic voice.

"You and one guest are cordially invited to the eighth annual Policeman's Ball, to be held at the Smith Entertainment Hall at seven pm sharp, next Friday. A black tie dress code is in effect, so please dress accordingly. Dinner, drinks, and music will be provided for the evening." Theo groaned. The Policeman's Ball was the single event he hated most in his life. He and Spiro had been forced to attend two years ago, and it had been an awkward disaster from start to finish. Theo hated most social events to begin with. One of the perks, he supposed, of being in a secret relationship, was that he did not have to attend very many of them. Cyrus had no family, so there were no in-laws to suffer through. They had very few friends outside the Hunters, and most of the time their friends could not interact with both of them at the same time. It was a blessing in disguise, Theo thought. He was grateful to avoid social events anyway it was possible to.

"You should totally go," Cyrus said.

"Absolutely not," Theo objected. "Those balls are pretentious and boring, and I'm completely awkward, you know that. Besides, it says to bring a guest, and you know I'd be going alone, which would only make people pity me or whisper about me the whole time, which, frankly, is not something I want to listen to. Those things are torture, so no thank you."

"Aw, but you'd find a way to have fun and you know it. Besides, it's a black tie event, so you'd have to get dressed up, and you look pretty damn good in a suit."

"And while it would be hilarious to see the reaction, it's probably not a good idea to bring a wanted criminal as my date to the Policeman's Ball," Theo went on.

"True. Spiro would piss his pants."

"And the department knows I'm married, so it would be even weirder if I showed up alone and you know it. It would raise too many questions."

"Then bring Benny," Cyrus suggested. Theo sighed, although he knew it was a good idea. Benny, as the other part of his job in the Hunters, was a ruse. Since everyone knew Theo was married, there were sometimes occasions where he was expected to bring his husband, and seeing as it was impossible to bring Cyrus, Theo brought Benny instead. He was trustworthy enough that Cyrus let him go, and he knew enough about their relationship that a limited number of lies was required to keep track of. It was a convenient ploy, and while they both hated it, it was a necessary element. That way, Theo insisted, if anyone did put together the pieces and figure out that he and Cyrus were married, it wouldn't make sense to the police because they thought Theo was married to Benny instead. Benny was a third wheel they used to their advantage, and he was sweet enough that he played along, and smart enough to know that it was all staged. The idea of being with anyone but Cyrus made Theo want to shiver in disgust, but he played along with Benny because it covered their tracks and it was easy. It was a game they played, nothing more.

"I'll think about it," Theo offered, and Cyrus accepted it as a win. As much as he hated the idea of going to the Ball like some fraud, gender swapped Cinderella, Theo knew he'd probably be forced to go no matter what, especially if Spiro was roped into going. Cyrus seemed to know that just as well as Theo did, so he wandered over to the small speakers in the apartment, putting on some music.

"What are you doing?" Theo asked, narrowing his eyes as Cyrus smiled and held out his hand, waving him forward.

"If you're going to a Ball, you're going to need to practice your steps," He insisted. "Come on." Theo snorted, rolling his eyes with a smile, but he walked over and took Cyrus's hand, his husband leading him into a dance as they grinned at each other.

"Maybe I should skip the Ball," Theo said. "And we have one of our own right here."

"Fine by me," Cyrus declared. "But I'd still make you wear a suit. It's really not fair how good you look in them."

"Or you're just biased."

"I'm not biased; it's called I have eyes." They swayed around the living room of their apartment, and Theo found himself thinking that if all Policeman's Balls were like this, then he'd attend them all in a heartbeat.