Title: Tension Makes A Tangle
By: angstytimelord
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Michael Cutter/Jack McCoy
Table: Drabble Tree, 5_prompts
Prompt: Go inside and get warm
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Michael Cutter or Jack McCoy, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Mike shivered in the cold as he stood outside on the steps of the courthouse, waiting for the media circus to draw away so he could feel that it was safe to leave. He hated scenes like that; and he'd discovered quite a while ago that he didn't handle them well.

He could still remember the first time he'd been faced with a microphone shoved into his face and a camera focused on him. He'd just lost a case, one that he had worked hard to win, and he'd been incensed that a criminal had been allowed to go free on a technicality.

He had said far too many things that he shouldn't have said on that day, he thought regretfully. And it had almost cost him his job, when it had barely started. He was just glad that Jack had given him the chance to prove himself and put that unfortunate incident behind him.

Yes, it was best to let Jack handle things like the media. His boss had much more experience with things like that -- and besides, Jack was good at it. He wasn't, and never would be. He'd learned that the hard way, much to his own chagrin.

What was taking Jack so long? Mike thought, a frown on his handsome features. This hadn't been a case that he would have thought would attract so much media attention. Yet Jack seemed to be having a hard time extricating himself from the myriad of questions that were being aimed at him like bullets from a handgun.

Ah, there he was now. He'd broken away from the crowd of reporters, letting them hound someone else as he headed towards Mike. He looked like a thundercloud; Mike knew that whatever had been said, it couldn't be anything good.

Jack was silent as he approached, shaking his head and shooting Mike a cautionary look. Without a word, the two of them turned and headed back inside, both hoping that they could make it to the office without being stopped. Tension seemed to make a tangle in the air around Jack; Mike knew that there would be an explosion once they got into the office behind closed doors.

"Let's get inside and get warm," Jack muttered. "I think we've got a lot to talk about."

***