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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Fits and Starts
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: Andrej/James/Zayne
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,763
Summary: James drops his surprise which leads Andrej to start thinking about the future.
Author’s Note: Follow up to Flirts and Little White Lies. I don’t even know what I’m doing any more.
Continued from here.
“He’s late,” Reyes stated, giving Zeklos a pointed look.
“James is a detective just like we are,” Andrej said, looking at the Texan from the corner of his eye. He’d just pulled a bottle of wine out of the chiller and uncorked it in anticipation of James’ arrival. “There’s every chance he’s gotten caught up at work.”
“Least he could do is call,” Zayne muttered, flopping into one of the dining room chairs.
“Because you always remember to call me when you’re going to be late,” Zeklos replied, his words a statement.
Reyes opened his mouth to respond when the front door opened and they heard James rustling around in the foyer. He looked towards the noise and grinned. “Guess he found his way after all.”
“Why don’t you see if he needs any help,” Andrej suggested, reaching for a trio of wine glasses he’d put out earlier.
“Yes, mother dear,” Zayne retorted, pushing to his feet and striding off into the living room.
Shaking his head, Andrej poured a measure of wine into each glass. Zek wasn’t sure what James had up his sleeve currently, but he figured they could start with wine and move up the ladder if his proclamations warranted something harder. Glancing at the glasses, he winced. He really was starting to drink a lot whenever these two were around. Making a mental note to clear all the alcohol out of his house, he arranged the three glasses on the counter and waited.
The slow, southern drawl of his partner mixed and mingled with James’ less fluid, more proper manner of speaking. Where once the sound of their voices twining would have set his nerves on edge, it now gave him a measure of peace. Although, he was still ever on his guard, Zayne was much too good at lobbing insults to leave things be for any length of time.
When the redhead entered the dining room with the cowboy in tow, his tension eased. Both men were smiling and joking about something unknown to him, but Andrej didn’t care – all he wanted was for them to get along and be happy. “Nice to see you enjoying yourselves,” he said, grinning despite his nerves.
“Yeah, well, he came in carrying this,” Reyes said, holding up a giant, stuffed lavender elephant. “You can’t blame me for giving him a load of crap for that.” Zayne gave the odd stuffed animal a wary glance before dumping it on the kitchen table.
Zeklos flicked his glance onto his boyfriend and frowned. “Is this why you wanted us here tonight?” Because if it was, he wasn’t sure what it all meant.
“What?” James looked at Andrej’s confused face and laughed. “No, no of course not. It just happened to catch my eye when I stopped to pick up the pizza.”
“Where the fuck did you get pizza from,” Reyes spluttered. “And a better question, where’s the damn pizza?”
“Hold your horses, cowboy,” James said, holding a hand up and asking for patience. “The pizza’s in the car still. I only have two hands and there’s a lot of food. Zayne, help me get it and then I’ll tell you both why we’re all here.”
Andrej watched them disappear out the front door again and made his way over the purple elephant. Zayne had once told him about something called a pink elephant, but he thought maybe he might be able to live with a purple one. It was cute in a fuzzy, oversized baby toy sort of way. He was petting its trunk when James and Zayne returned.
“Getting a little fresh with the elephant are we?”
“What kind of pizza did you bring,” Zek asked James, pointedly ignoring Reyes. “It smells amazing and I’m hungry.”
“One pepperoni and cheese, one mushroom, olive, and green pepper for the veg head among us.” James winked at Zeklos and Andrej gave him a half smile in return. “But there are also garlic knots, zeppoli and –”
“Please say there’s a salad in there after all this grease, cheese, and bread.”
“And a salad, baby,” James finished. “Because I know how you work.”
Grumbling, Zeklos turned and removed plates from the cupboards and retrieved flatware from its drawer. Setting them both onto the counter in front of him, he gave his boyfriend and his lover the evil eye. “If you wish for me to stay the entire meal, you both had better start being nicer.”
“Well, that just sucks,” Zayne quipped, reaching across the breakfast counter and ruffling Zeklos’ hair with his fingers.
“Yeah,” James agreed, “it does. He’s so much more fun when we can harass him.”
“Didn’t you have a reason for all of us being here tonight,” Andrej said, trying to change the subject and get them all back on track. “The pizza’s getting cold.” He hoped that his frustration didn’t show, it would only egg the other two on and they’d never get their dinner. Or James’ news. Or… well, anything else that the night might bring.
“Okay, okay,” Rosewood conceded. “You have a point. Let’s get our food and then we’ll talk.”
“What about the elephant,” Zayne asked, a snarky grin on his handsome face. “Does he get pepperoni or veggie?”
“The elephant goes into the spare room,” Andrej said, sighing. “And if you don’t stop, he can sleep in your room. With you.”
Reyes gave a slight wince at the insinuation he’d be sleeping by himself tonight if he didn’t change his ways. “Shit, sorry, Zek. What’s eating at you tonight?”
Closing his eyes, Andrej took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “No Zayne, I’m sorry. James arranged for us to all meet and it’s been bothering me all day, not knowing why.”
Zayne looked at the ginger and then back at Zek. “Hmm, he’s not been very forthcoming so far either and it’s making you crazy.”
“Not crazy,” he clarified, since they both already thought he was a little bit nuts, “just worried. Concerned.”
“Aw,” James cooed, holding his arms out towards Zeklos. “I’m sorry. It’s good news, I promise. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Coming out of the kitchen and into the dining room, Andrej approached James’ outstretched arms. Stumbling from Zayne’s not-so-subtle push to the back, he stutter stepped right into his boyfriend’s embrace. He allowed James to hug him tightly and only relaxed when he felt Reyes’ cheek pressed to his shoulder. “I shouldn’t worry so much,” he said. “But sometimes, it’s unavoidable.”
“In this line of work, it’s often unavoidable,” James agreed. “Next time say something. I don’t like it when you get this upset.”
Andrej promised he would and they broke apart, Zayne tearing into the pizza and zeppoli while James moved for his glass of wine. Waiting until he was certain both of his men had filled their plates and were settled at the table – a rarity in itself, they normally gravitated towards the living room couch – Zeklos filled his own plate and followed them to the table. Pulling a sliver of mushroom off his pizza, Andrej popped into his mouth and chewed. “Now is as good a time as any, Jay.”
“In other words,” Zayne said, pausing to lick powdered sugar off his fingers, “spill it, baby.”
With a sigh, Rosewood set his pizza back on his plate and forced a smile. “Because of this last case,” and here he paused to give Zeklos a long, heated look before smiling at Reyes beside him, “I’ve been promoted. Both Jake and I, that is.”
“Hell yeah,” Zayne shouted, slapping the narco heartily on the back. “Good work.”
“Congratulations,” Andrej agreed, smiling broadly. “I’m proud of you.”
His face fell. “I almost wish I hadn’t been promoted.”
“Why,” Zayne asked, chewing a garlic knot. “It’s almost impossible to move up in this damn job, why wouldn’t you jump at the chance?”
“Because I’m afraid the only reason either of us got a pay bump is because of what happened to Andy.” He flashed those pale blue eyes in his boyfriend’s direction, Zeklos hating the sadness building in them.
“None of that was your fault,” Andrej assured him.
“He’s right,” Zayne agreed, resting a hand on James’ arm. “It could have happened to either of us if we’d gone undercover like you had. Not like Zek and I haven’t had our fair share of close calls while not working undercover.”
“Yeah, the two of you really are danger magnets sometimes,” Rosewood laughed.
“So enjoy the damn promotion,” Zayne chided him. “While we lowly pheasants grovel at your feet.”
Zeklos chuckled. “You’re on equal footing with him, Zayne. I’m the only lowly pheasant in this group.”
“Too bad you’re smarter than the both of us combined,” Zayne teased. “And cuter, too.”
“Cuter I’ll agree with,” James said, going back to eating his pizza. “But I call foul on the smarter part.”
Although he’d been worried that James would circle back to his anxiety surrounding his promotion, it was apparent that his and Reyes’ assurances had been enough. As soon as they’d stuffed themselves full of pizza and trimmings, James suggested they curl up on the couch and crash for the night. More and more they’d been doing this, either by design or by accident Zeklos wasn’t complaining, far from it, but he had begun to wonder if he should ask one or the other to move in, if only to make things less difficult to coordinate.
James was the obvious choice seeing as they’d been in a relationship for an extended period of time. But there was Zayne, too, and they’d known each other longer. Reyes already had his own room and that would make moving him much easier. Andrej rested his head against James’ shoulder and toyed with Zayne’s hair, the Texan’s head pillowed on his lap. There wasn’t any right way to go about this, he knew, because someone would end up hurt in the end unless…
Well hell, he had the room.
Andrej looked towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. There was the master plus three smaller rooms. He already had his office set up in the den, leaving one of the spare rooms to become an additional office for James but… would he accept? Was it too early in their relationship? With Zayne, he didn’t have to worry, the idiot practically lived here as it was, even before his kidnapping and subsequent rescue party. He was going to have to give it some thought before he said anything. There wasn’t any way he could lose either of them now.
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: Andrej/James/Zayne
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,763
Summary: James drops his surprise which leads Andrej to start thinking about the future.
Author’s Note: Follow up to Flirts and Little White Lies. I don’t even know what I’m doing any more.
Continued from here.
“He’s late,” Reyes stated, giving Zeklos a pointed look.
“James is a detective just like we are,” Andrej said, looking at the Texan from the corner of his eye. He’d just pulled a bottle of wine out of the chiller and uncorked it in anticipation of James’ arrival. “There’s every chance he’s gotten caught up at work.”
“Least he could do is call,” Zayne muttered, flopping into one of the dining room chairs.
“Because you always remember to call me when you’re going to be late,” Zeklos replied, his words a statement.
Reyes opened his mouth to respond when the front door opened and they heard James rustling around in the foyer. He looked towards the noise and grinned. “Guess he found his way after all.”
“Why don’t you see if he needs any help,” Andrej suggested, reaching for a trio of wine glasses he’d put out earlier.
“Yes, mother dear,” Zayne retorted, pushing to his feet and striding off into the living room.
Shaking his head, Andrej poured a measure of wine into each glass. Zek wasn’t sure what James had up his sleeve currently, but he figured they could start with wine and move up the ladder if his proclamations warranted something harder. Glancing at the glasses, he winced. He really was starting to drink a lot whenever these two were around. Making a mental note to clear all the alcohol out of his house, he arranged the three glasses on the counter and waited.
The slow, southern drawl of his partner mixed and mingled with James’ less fluid, more proper manner of speaking. Where once the sound of their voices twining would have set his nerves on edge, it now gave him a measure of peace. Although, he was still ever on his guard, Zayne was much too good at lobbing insults to leave things be for any length of time.
When the redhead entered the dining room with the cowboy in tow, his tension eased. Both men were smiling and joking about something unknown to him, but Andrej didn’t care – all he wanted was for them to get along and be happy. “Nice to see you enjoying yourselves,” he said, grinning despite his nerves.
“Yeah, well, he came in carrying this,” Reyes said, holding up a giant, stuffed lavender elephant. “You can’t blame me for giving him a load of crap for that.” Zayne gave the odd stuffed animal a wary glance before dumping it on the kitchen table.
Zeklos flicked his glance onto his boyfriend and frowned. “Is this why you wanted us here tonight?” Because if it was, he wasn’t sure what it all meant.
“What?” James looked at Andrej’s confused face and laughed. “No, no of course not. It just happened to catch my eye when I stopped to pick up the pizza.”
“Where the fuck did you get pizza from,” Reyes spluttered. “And a better question, where’s the damn pizza?”
“Hold your horses, cowboy,” James said, holding a hand up and asking for patience. “The pizza’s in the car still. I only have two hands and there’s a lot of food. Zayne, help me get it and then I’ll tell you both why we’re all here.”
Andrej watched them disappear out the front door again and made his way over the purple elephant. Zayne had once told him about something called a pink elephant, but he thought maybe he might be able to live with a purple one. It was cute in a fuzzy, oversized baby toy sort of way. He was petting its trunk when James and Zayne returned.
“Getting a little fresh with the elephant are we?”
“What kind of pizza did you bring,” Zek asked James, pointedly ignoring Reyes. “It smells amazing and I’m hungry.”
“One pepperoni and cheese, one mushroom, olive, and green pepper for the veg head among us.” James winked at Zeklos and Andrej gave him a half smile in return. “But there are also garlic knots, zeppoli and –”
“Please say there’s a salad in there after all this grease, cheese, and bread.”
“And a salad, baby,” James finished. “Because I know how you work.”
Grumbling, Zeklos turned and removed plates from the cupboards and retrieved flatware from its drawer. Setting them both onto the counter in front of him, he gave his boyfriend and his lover the evil eye. “If you wish for me to stay the entire meal, you both had better start being nicer.”
“Well, that just sucks,” Zayne quipped, reaching across the breakfast counter and ruffling Zeklos’ hair with his fingers.
“Yeah,” James agreed, “it does. He’s so much more fun when we can harass him.”
“Didn’t you have a reason for all of us being here tonight,” Andrej said, trying to change the subject and get them all back on track. “The pizza’s getting cold.” He hoped that his frustration didn’t show, it would only egg the other two on and they’d never get their dinner. Or James’ news. Or… well, anything else that the night might bring.
“Okay, okay,” Rosewood conceded. “You have a point. Let’s get our food and then we’ll talk.”
“What about the elephant,” Zayne asked, a snarky grin on his handsome face. “Does he get pepperoni or veggie?”
“The elephant goes into the spare room,” Andrej said, sighing. “And if you don’t stop, he can sleep in your room. With you.”
Reyes gave a slight wince at the insinuation he’d be sleeping by himself tonight if he didn’t change his ways. “Shit, sorry, Zek. What’s eating at you tonight?”
Closing his eyes, Andrej took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “No Zayne, I’m sorry. James arranged for us to all meet and it’s been bothering me all day, not knowing why.”
Zayne looked at the ginger and then back at Zek. “Hmm, he’s not been very forthcoming so far either and it’s making you crazy.”
“Not crazy,” he clarified, since they both already thought he was a little bit nuts, “just worried. Concerned.”
“Aw,” James cooed, holding his arms out towards Zeklos. “I’m sorry. It’s good news, I promise. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Coming out of the kitchen and into the dining room, Andrej approached James’ outstretched arms. Stumbling from Zayne’s not-so-subtle push to the back, he stutter stepped right into his boyfriend’s embrace. He allowed James to hug him tightly and only relaxed when he felt Reyes’ cheek pressed to his shoulder. “I shouldn’t worry so much,” he said. “But sometimes, it’s unavoidable.”
“In this line of work, it’s often unavoidable,” James agreed. “Next time say something. I don’t like it when you get this upset.”
Andrej promised he would and they broke apart, Zayne tearing into the pizza and zeppoli while James moved for his glass of wine. Waiting until he was certain both of his men had filled their plates and were settled at the table – a rarity in itself, they normally gravitated towards the living room couch – Zeklos filled his own plate and followed them to the table. Pulling a sliver of mushroom off his pizza, Andrej popped into his mouth and chewed. “Now is as good a time as any, Jay.”
“In other words,” Zayne said, pausing to lick powdered sugar off his fingers, “spill it, baby.”
With a sigh, Rosewood set his pizza back on his plate and forced a smile. “Because of this last case,” and here he paused to give Zeklos a long, heated look before smiling at Reyes beside him, “I’ve been promoted. Both Jake and I, that is.”
“Hell yeah,” Zayne shouted, slapping the narco heartily on the back. “Good work.”
“Congratulations,” Andrej agreed, smiling broadly. “I’m proud of you.”
His face fell. “I almost wish I hadn’t been promoted.”
“Why,” Zayne asked, chewing a garlic knot. “It’s almost impossible to move up in this damn job, why wouldn’t you jump at the chance?”
“Because I’m afraid the only reason either of us got a pay bump is because of what happened to Andy.” He flashed those pale blue eyes in his boyfriend’s direction, Zeklos hating the sadness building in them.
“None of that was your fault,” Andrej assured him.
“He’s right,” Zayne agreed, resting a hand on James’ arm. “It could have happened to either of us if we’d gone undercover like you had. Not like Zek and I haven’t had our fair share of close calls while not working undercover.”
“Yeah, the two of you really are danger magnets sometimes,” Rosewood laughed.
“So enjoy the damn promotion,” Zayne chided him. “While we lowly pheasants grovel at your feet.”
Zeklos chuckled. “You’re on equal footing with him, Zayne. I’m the only lowly pheasant in this group.”
“Too bad you’re smarter than the both of us combined,” Zayne teased. “And cuter, too.”
“Cuter I’ll agree with,” James said, going back to eating his pizza. “But I call foul on the smarter part.”
Although he’d been worried that James would circle back to his anxiety surrounding his promotion, it was apparent that his and Reyes’ assurances had been enough. As soon as they’d stuffed themselves full of pizza and trimmings, James suggested they curl up on the couch and crash for the night. More and more they’d been doing this, either by design or by accident Zeklos wasn’t complaining, far from it, but he had begun to wonder if he should ask one or the other to move in, if only to make things less difficult to coordinate.
James was the obvious choice seeing as they’d been in a relationship for an extended period of time. But there was Zayne, too, and they’d known each other longer. Reyes already had his own room and that would make moving him much easier. Andrej rested his head against James’ shoulder and toyed with Zayne’s hair, the Texan’s head pillowed on his lap. There wasn’t any right way to go about this, he knew, because someone would end up hurt in the end unless…
Well hell, he had the room.
Andrej looked towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. There was the master plus three smaller rooms. He already had his office set up in the den, leaving one of the spare rooms to become an additional office for James but… would he accept? Was it too early in their relationship? With Zayne, he didn’t have to worry, the idiot practically lived here as it was, even before his kidnapping and subsequent rescue party. He was going to have to give it some thought before he said anything. There wasn’t any way he could lose either of them now.
