“I was aiming for the cat and missed,” Park said, walking away from him. Cooper looked behind him and saw Boogie on the floor, staring up at him with a pretty judgmental expression for someone who often stood around with dead things in her mouth just for shits and giggles.

“Are you a paid critic or is it just sort of a side hobby?” he asked her. In response she stood and walked past him huffily to twine between Park’s legs. He watched them for a moment and felt such a surge of fondness it nearly bowled him over.

“If you want to leave, I’d support you,” Cooper said abruptly. Or about as abruptly as a declaration that you’d spent the entire night obsessing over could be.

Park was staring at him, a little alarmed looking but mostly confused. “What?” He glanced down at Boogie. “What the cat and I had is a passing fling. No need to be the bigger man and step aside quite yet.”

Cooper rolled his eyes. “I mean, I was thinking about what you said last night.”

Park flinched a little and looked away, staring down at his coffee, loosely holding a spoon in the cup, frozen midstir.

Cooper went on, trying to tread gently. “After everything that’s happened, well, I’d understand if you don’t want to work there anymore. I’d miss being your partner, of course, but I—I know this was never your dream job. And I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck doing this forever just because it’s...our thing.” He forced a laugh out over the sick feeling he got imagining going on cases without Park. “I think it’s safe to say we share plenty of other things, by now.”

Park was quiet. Then, “You’d work with someone else?” He sounded unusually tentative and confused.

“I’d rather work with you,” Cooper said hurriedly. “But not if it makes you miserable. And if there’s something else you’d rather do not around here, teach somewhere or go back to Canada, I’d, you know—” He took a deep breath. “Follow you. Leave.”

“You love working for the Trust,” Park said, still not looking at Cooper.

“Yeah,” Cooper admitted. “But obviously I love you more.”

Park looked up at him, face soft, and put his spoon down. “Come here. Please.”

Cooper walked toward him and Park pulled him close, tucking his face behind Cooper’s ear. “I was frustrated last night. Scared, too,” he said quietly. “Maybe I still am. But never miserable. Not once since the day I picked your awkward ass up at the airport and watched you fidget and check me out and mumble to yourself, lost in the case file the whole drive to Florence. It makes me happy, working with you.”