Hard Boiled was alone.

He didn't know when the thought occurred to him, only that it did. Silence. Solitude. There was no one - nopony around save for himself and Juniper the next cubicle over. The sun went down a good while ago and Telly had stepped out to run an errand, one that would take well over an hour. The rest of the skeleton crew were outside their area, the faint sounds of their work too easily ignored unless looked out for...for those that were awake. They may as well not have been around. After all, you only need one pony to pick up a phone.

Which left the frankly endless task of sorting through the effective infinity of the File Cloud.

Hardy glanced aside at the clock on the wall. It read half past nine. It's ticking echoed in his ear like the growing hum of tinnitus. In fact, it was actually giving him tinnitus. A hoof reached up to loosen his tie, only forgetting that he'd done so much earlier and set it aside. He hated neckwear, but the monotony must've been getting to him if he could forget an action he took as soon as he arrived.

He looked over at Juniper's desk - the stallion was rearranging files like a zombie - he looked ready to sleep any minute. Normally he'd allow it, but his own eyelids were feeling heavy, and he knew both of them were heavy sleepers.

If Telly were here he'd let Juni sleep, and at the very least he'd have someone to talk to. Sadly that wasn't looking like an option. Didn't help that the File Cloud was a literal white noise machine.

The grey stallion took the completed half of his stack and put it in the ‘Out’ tray. The magical enchantments sent the papers flying page by page up into the dull grey rumbly above.

There would always be more, but staying awake was more important for the moment. Hardy left his coat hanging on the back of his chair.

“Hey, Juni.” He tapped his partner on the shoulder. The green stallion snorted, jerking upright and wiping away some drool. A small puddle had formed on his shirt. “Telly still isn't back yet, coffee?”

Juniper glanced at the clock, first bleary-eyed, then incredulous. He grimaced downwards at the damp spot on his shirt. “Ugh...its only been that long? Sure, kiddo.”

He yawned and stood to follow him, bomber jacket left hanging on the wall. He loosened his tie - it wasn't like anypony would be around to care anytime soon.

The Castle break room was like a sanctuary from paperwork - a title it notably shared with the bathrooms and several storage closets. Easily the best thing about the place no one on the force would dispute was the coffee machine. Donated long ago after some post-war declassification of a bureau of magical artifacts, it was an old reliable dispensing the best temperature-adjusted joe a cop could ever ask for…as long as it was fresh.

Which, thankfully, wouldn't be an issue this time. Hard Boiled and Juniper Shores had steaming mugs in their hooves within a minute, both enjoying the other's quiet company and earthy aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The stallions looked considerably livelier once they got halfway through.

Hardy turned to grab a second round when the sound of ceramic being set on the table drew his attention. A pair of strong hooves wrapped around his waist and a securing warmth filled his back. Juniper's breath was warm on his cheek as his voice came low and husky.

“Wanna fool around Hardy?” He whispered. The stallion's scruff tickled his face as his hooves began roaming over his shirt.

“Oh come on Juni,” Hardy's ears folded back even as blood rushed to his face. “I know we're alone, but Telly could be back anytime. Anypony else in the building could walk in here too. The rumours are wild enough already. Can't it wait till we leave?”

“It's quiet enough outside to hear a pin drop, and Telly hasn't been gone that long…” The older stallion nipped at his ear tip as he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of his partner's mane. He was still using that hops-scented shampoo. “I can wait, your bed's comfier anyhow. But you'll understand if I just…stay like this…”

Juniper's roaming hooves never dipped past Hardy's hips, but the chaste kisses along his neck weren't good at keeping things tame. As was the bite on the shoulder strap of his gun harness that pulled right on the thigh loops.

“You smell nice tonight. Still using that soap I got you?” He murmured.

“All I can smell is coffee…” Hardy grumbled, but a sidelong nuzzle and a faceful of Juniper's mane brought a sound that sounded suspiciously like a whimper. Or maybe that was the leg rubbing the inside of his thigh.

At any rate, it was getting warmer than coffee had any right to make him. And from how things felt Juniper was getting as…warm, as he was.

Hard Boiled didn't often last long against Juniper's ministrations, his only consolation that their years together meant he knew how to get his own back soon enough. He signalled his intentions with a grey hoof wrapped around the other's green muzzle, as Hardy brought the roaming head up for him to plant a kiss on the cheek.

“Broom closet?”

“Broom closet. Race you there.”

Storage closets were an underappreciated part of architecture. They weren't always big and rarely spacious, but they kept things out of the way, made decent hiding space, and when necessary - a private space secluded away from the crowd, or in case one wanted to be extra sure they wouldn't be disturbed.

It was barely a second after he entered that the door clicked shut, barred by a kick of Juniper's leg skidding a mop bucket against it. Not enough to truly deny entry, but what were the chances?

The green stallion was surprisingly eager compared to his earlier efforts. Juniper planted his hooves around his sides, practically picking Hardy up and roughly planting him on an empty section of shelf, sandwiched between cardboard boxes. Juniper planted his forehooves on the wall beside and leaned in to clash tongues once more, grinding their hips together. He tasted like coffee.

“Whatever happened to waiting?” Hardy murmured between kisses. Not that he was complaining much. Juniper's embrace made him appreciated, comfortable, safe. He'd rather have that feeling over physical stress release any day, if it came down to it.

But in the meantime, he was happy to have both.

“I'm not the one who got here first.” the stallion grinned, before continuing his affectionate assault. He leaned in to undo the buttons of Hardy's shirt. “Still say we've got plenty of time. And since I've got you all to myself…alone...right under Iris Jade's metaphorical nose…”

“Thinking of moving over to her office?” He couldn't deny the offer was tempting, with her absence guaranteed…a literal ‘fuck you’ to their bad boss.

“I'd love to mess up the chief's desk, but I like not being caught more. Who knows what kinda surveillance she has?” Juniper paused to massage little circles down Hardy's torso, teeth releasing his shirt buttons one by one. “I'm good with just making my partner knows just how much I...appreciate him.”

“Well I appreciate you too, if you wanna call it that,” Hardy's heatbeat quickened as Juniper sent tingles through his belly. “what are ya planning, Juni?”

Upon reaching the last button and exposing his chest, Juniper merely smiled, rubbing a hoof over the bulge going down his partner's thigh. “I'd say this is a gun you've got in your pocket, but I'm betting you're just happy to see me.”

“Only one way to find out.” Hardy scooted his hips forward, bracing himself against a nearby box, which conveniently only spread his legs wider.

Juniper planted a final smooch on Hardy's belly before kneeling down and dragging the zipper of his pants with his teeth. The mild smell of Hard Boiled entered his nose and maybe it was just the zip, but he became acutely aware of how dry his mouth was.

“Decent caliber you got here…heh, mine's bigger.” It took some effort to pry his trousers down far enough, but Juniper's efforts to rile him up worked exceptionally well. Hardy's splotched shaft was ready and raring to go, he could feel the heat wafting off it as it throbbed in time with his pulse.

“Slightly. As if that makes much of a difference.” Hardy nudged Juniper with a free leg, folding it over his shoulder.

Juniper got straight to the point, engulfing half of Hardy's cock down near the medial ring. He withdrew slowly, leaving a glistening sheen of saliva behind with a wet squelch. At the tip he held on with his lips, tongue dancing around the edges of its head.

“Woah there, Juni…” Hardy hummed his approval. “Don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm not complaining…”

He only winked once, bobbing his head up and down, a little deeper every round. Hardy was content to lay back and let Juniper do the work, muttering soft assurances and running his hooves through his messy mane.

The other stallion took his time on his knees, never really taking Hardy past the back of the throat. The stallion’s member felt heavy on his tongue, the faint hint of precum whenever it scraped forward when he pulled back. Resting one hoof on Hardy's thigh and the other cradling the sack underneath. He couldn’t say he was too big a fan of being on the giving end of a blowjob, but it was worth it for the adorably pleasured look on his partner's face.

It took a while to get there, but Juniper's throat felt amazing. The smooth muscle contracting around his shaft, the way the stallion teased the crown of his tip with his tongue, before going down deeper, swallowing, and back again. But most arousing of all Juniper’s dusky eyes looking straight back at him - a very smug look for a stallion with a mouthful of cock. “Mmf...k-keep at it…”

It wasn't much longer before Hardy reached his peak Juniper could tell it was time when his leg began to quiver, member twitching in his mouth. He barely had time for one last breath before Hardy’s hooves forced his head forward. Muzzle buried in the groin of Hardy's pants, the flaring head meant there was only one way things could go. The mottled shaft twitched and spasmed as it emptied its load down the back of Juniper's throat - he could smell nothing else but the stallion’s scent with his nose buried in Hardy’s groin.

Hardy groaned out Juniper's name softly as he came, stifling it behind a hoof. The green stallion pulled it back out in one swift movement, coughing. It came out clean, covered in nothing but the cool sensation of stallion spit. A string of which still connected him to Juniper's lips, his face a little more red than before.

“Urgh, I think some of it came back up.” Juniper gagged. “Don't see how some ponies enjoy that kinda taste.”

“Hey, you're the one that went down on me first.” Hardy panted. “If you can't handle the taste-”

The bitter tinge of his own seed was what Hardy tasted next. Juniper had pounced on him once more, grabbing him by the collar for another sloppy kiss. He moaned into his mouth. Despite the taste, he found the act undeniably…hot.

“How about a taste of your own medicine?”

“Bleh. Okay, it's bad, I get it.” Hardy scraped his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “Is this your way of saying I leave a bad taste in your mouth?”

“It's me saying you should give me some warning first before trying to choke me out.” The other stallion wiped a string of fluid off his mouth with a hoof.

“Yeah, and last time you told me ‘Detain me harder, officer’.”

Juniper's brows furrowed, ear twitching backwards. An expression that only made Hardy smile more.

“I'll deal with that later.” Juniper nudged his partner off the shelf and gestured toward the floor. “As for now, I don't hear anyone yet so if you don't mind…”

Hard Boiled followed along, laying on the ground, discarding his pants when prompted. His eyes widened slightly when he looked between his legs to see Juniper moving to stand above him, his own rod stiff and ready.

“...I've still got this to take care of.” He rubbed his warm flesh against his belly, relishing the soft feeling as he smeared beads of wetness around. He looked down at the other pony between his legs, shirt opened, mane messy and damp with sweat, and bright yellow eyes looking right back at him. “You look real sexy like that, kid.” Juniper whispered.

“So would you in this position…” Hardy's ears folded back, a tinge of redness forming. “Don't know if you noticed Juni, but a closet of cleaning supplies probably isn't gonna have anything useful for you right now…”

“Don't worry about that, I have an idea.” The stallion grabbed his thighs and moved them up, squeezing his meat between them and in line with his own spent member. Juniper planted his forehooves on either side of Hardy and leaned over. “Just let me do the work.”

Juniper started slow, grinding away at his partner while his lips placed a soft kiss on Hardy's own before moving onto attend to other erogenous zones. Hardy squeezed his thighs as Juniper's cock slid between them, rubbing every so often against his own still-sensitive shaft. Soft groans came from both of them as they closed their eyes, focusing only on the sensation of each other.

The smouldering attention wouldn't last much longer, Hardy could feel Juniper's pulse picking speed, his attentions growing more passionate. He tensed up upon feeling the stallion nibble at a very specific spot on his collarbone, wrapping his forelegs around Juniper's neck to stop his head from hitting the floor.

Steady pumps turned into frantic thrusts as Juniper grew closer to his peak. Both softly moaned the other's name as Juniper nuzzled and kissed and nibbled at Hardy's face and neck, himself returning the favour by leaving his own kisses and love bites on Juniper's neck. His stubble brushed against his cheek with every movement. The fact he was effectively being dry-bumped essentially became an afterthought.

Juniper ended surprisingly quietly, thrusting a few more times before grinding down - hard. The sensation was enough that Hardy was sure he'd have cum himself if he didn't already do so earlier. Nether were particularly pent up, but a decent volume still spurted out onto Hardy's chest and belly. He exhaled sharply, holding himself up by the forelegs.

“That was...amazing, Juni.“ Hardy could feel the warmth radiating off his partner as he lay down beside him, wrapping his hooves around his torso but taking care to avoid the minor mess on Hardy's chest. “You're amazing.”

“What can I say...? You're…the best. Making sure you know it...is the least I can do.” Juniper planted a smooch on his forehead before burying his face in the crook of his neck and inhaling. The air heavy with their combined scent.

“Could've…would've preferred not to have to clean up, though…”

“Don't sweat it, bathrooms are right next door. Besides-”

The sound of sharp hoofsteps going right past the door made them freeze. The voice of Radiophonic Telegraphica was like a crack of thunder in the silence.

“Hardy! Shores! I'm back! Where did you two go!? I know you're in here somewhere, you left the coffee machine on…”

Author's Note

A 'prequel' chapter, based off of some old ideas I had. This is something I'd most definitely call 'non-canon'. Still a nice idea to think about, though.