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asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2016-12-05 03:48 pm
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2016-12-05 03:48 pm
Entry tags:
My Mistake Chapter 1 (Romani Detective Original Fiction)
Title: My Mistake
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,358
Summary: Zayne and James are at it again. Andy puts the proverbial foot down and gives the boys an ultimatum.
Author’s Note: I got this prompt in my email this morning: "I will fight for you but I will not compete." I thought it perfect for James and Zayne. I meant to keep it short but I don’t even know what happened. It got out of hand and rather angsty… maybe the next part will get better? *wiggles eyebrows*
“I’m going to kill him, Andy,” James fumed, storming into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him. “If he doesn’t shut his damn mouth, I swear to god, I’m going to shoot him in his smug face! And no, I don’t actually care how good looking that face is either.”
Breathing deeply, Andrej focused on the shirt he’d been folding when James barged in. “What has he done this time, Jay?” He hated asking this question, mostly because Zayne had a penchant for baiting James and James had a nasty habit of falling for it. Every time.
“I reminded him that we’re going out tonight,” James said, watching as Andrej folded another shirt, one of Zayne’s. “Why are you doing his laundry?”
Looking up from the pile, Andrej pointed towards the left side of the bed. “For the same reason I am doing yours, Jay. Because they were all in my laundry basket.”
“Oh,” James said, making a face. “Sorry about that.”
If Jay and Zayne would pick their clothes up off his floor, Andrej wouldn’t constantly be doing their laundry. But then, he guessed a long time ago that that was how they got out of having to do their own wash in the first place. “Did he not respond well to your declaration, Jay,” he asked, trying to get back to whatever had brought James in here. Laundry was not Andrej’s favorite chore, but it was one that always got him a few moments of quiet time. Neither detective was willing to risk being asked to help fold so they let him be anytime he announced he was doing laundry.
“He asked where we were going,” James said, laughing harshly. “We. As if he’s invited on our date night.”
Ah, this he understood. Zayne’s favorite game was to try and insert himself into any situation he wasn’t invited. He took it an added step further any night that James stayed over, if only to irritate the redhead. Reaching for a pair of sage green boxers adorned with a cartoon moose and the words ‘gluteus maxiMOOSE’, Andrej continued to fold. “What did you tell him, Jay? That he was not invited?”
“I told him to go to hell,” James muttered, folding his arms across his chest angrily. “Why does he automatically think he gets to tag along?”
“He is accustomed to having me to himself,” Andrej said. Even though he and Jay had been dating for a little over a year now, Zayne still clung to old habits. “Sometimes you must remind him that he does not have a monopoly on my time.”
“I tried,” James growled, causing Andrej to look up.
“And?” He held up another pair of humorous boxers, waiting.
“And he told me he’d fight me for you.”
Zayne was incorrigible, always pushing James to the edge of his patience. Oftentimes, it could lead to a few laughs and, if they were all lucky, a bit of intense, intimate retaliation mingled with reconciliation. However, tonight it seemed as if it were going to end in bloodshed. “Zayne is teasing you,” Andrej said, setting the neatly folded underwear on top of the others. “He is – how do you say it? Pulling your chain.”
“I don’t care,” James said, flopping down onto an empty patch of comforter. “I have no problem fighting for a night alone with you, but I will not compete with that asshole cowboy.”
“No one asked you to,” Andrej said quietly. “He’s pushing you to get you riled in hopes that you’ll leave, even if for an hour or two. I do not believe he wants you to leave permanently, but getting you to run away for a little while only feeds his ego. Trish told me so and I trust her opinion on this.”
Thank the gods he had the girls. Hilary had become a wealth of knowledge as far as Zayne’s behavior went while Trish seemed to have all the nuances of James’ personality pegged. Between the two of them, they could usually figure out whatever had ‘the boys’ wound up.
James allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed, head landing on top of a stack of t-shirts. “But why does he do this?”
Shrugging, Andrej tossed a sock at his boyfriend. “Because he can,” he said. “It’s the only reason Zayne does anything.”
“Hey,” Zayne said, letting himself into the bedroom. He collapsed onto the comforter beside James. “That’s not very nice.”
“But it’s accurate,” Andrej smiled. “Please stop antagonizing Jay, Zayne.”
“He needs to stop being such an easy target,” Zayne huffed. “Why would I want to go on your stupid date anyway? You always eat weird food and go to boring places. The two of you never do anything exciting.”
Zayne was sulking. Andrej gave a mental eye roll and tossed a pair of balled socks at Zayne’s head. “Behave,” he said, trying not to laugh. “Jay does not always enjoy the things you and I do on our date night either.” Because James professed to be too old for paintball or bowling although Andrej often believed James was fibbing. “It is why we have one night each.” An idea fluttered at the back of his mind. “I do have a suggestion.”
“Oh?” James lifted himself up onto his elbows, eyes trained on Andy’s face. “And what’s that?”
“He’s gonna suggest you get out of my line of sight,” Zayne teased, poking the redhead in the ribcage.
James slipped off his elbows and onto the bed. “Asshole,” he grunted. “That tickles, stop it.”
“Would you like to hear my suggestion?” Andrej watched as they both stilled, then nodded. “Good. I think you two need your own date night.”
“What?” Zayne sat up, resting his hands on his thighs. “We already have our own date nights.”
“With me,” Andrej agreed. “But not with each other.”
“Hold up,” Zayne said, rising to his feet. “You want me and the narco to have a date night?”
Andrej shrugged and made a face. “Why not? I think it would be a good way for you to iron out your differences.”
“No,” James said, sitting up. He shook his head vehemently. “Not a chance in hell.”
“I’m with gingerbread here,” Zayne said, moving in front of Andrej. “Not happening, baby.”
Looking from the redhead to the Texan, Andrej sighed. “Okay if that is that then you need to go back to your room.”
“Wait, what? Zek baby –”
“Hah,” James laughed. “You got the boot.”
“And you need to go home,” Andrej finished.
“Now wait a minute,” James fumed. “Why do I have to go home? We have a date tonight.”
“Not as long as you two are not getting along. Remember that was part of the bargain we struck?” He hadn’t liked attaching that caveat to their little arrangement, but with the way that James and Zayne tended to fight, it had been more useful than any other stipulation in their verbal agreement. Even more, Andrej hated using it as a threat, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“If I apologize,” James said, voice barely audible, “will you change your mind?”
“Who are you apologizing to, Jay?” He knew how James operated, the redhead would try and apologize to him, instead of Zayne, in an attempt to get around the rules. Zayne wasn’t any better. “Me or Zayne?”
Frustrated, James blew out a harsh breath. “Both of you.”
Reaching around Zayne’s body, Andrej retrieved another shirt from the pile on the bed. Giving it a good shake, he laid it on the ironing board behind him for later. He had to put off ironing until he was truly alone, otherwise he found an irresistible urge to press something delicate on the highest setting. “Go ahead, we’re waiting.”
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, James said, “I’m sorry. I’m not exactly what for but –”
“James,” Andrej rumbled, “you know why you’re apologizing, just as Zayne knows why he’ll be apologizing next. I love you both but I cannot with all this arguing!”
James and Zayne stared at Andrej, shocked into silence by Zeklos’ rare show of intensity. He hated raising his voice, hated being angry at the two men he loved so dearly, but sometimes they pushed him to his utter limit.
“Maybe one of us should leave,” Zayne muttered.
“Don’t look at me, cowboy,” James spat. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I wasn’t meaning you,” Zayne replied, reaching for a pile of his clothes. “I’ll just take these and be out of your hair.”
“Stop,” Andrej said before Zayne could get out of the bedroom. “I do not want either of you to leave. As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to get James to come live with us permanently.” He stopped, shook his head, started again. “I want you both here, in my home and in my life, but you must learn to get along. The little, teasing fights are fine. But this,” and he waved a hand in the air, indicating nothing. “This insane competition for my affections must stop.”
As flattering as it was to think that these two amazing, gorgeous, virile men were willing to fight for his time, in reality, it was exhausting. James and Zayne were going to have their arguments, same as any couple might, but for one to pick a fight with the other so that they could prove who the alpha truly was wasn’t going to fly any longer.
“It bothers you that much,” Zayne asked, sheepish.
“It does,” James confirmed. “He’s chewed my ear off enough about it.”
“Mine too,” Zayne admitted. “Never thought that he meant any of it though.”
And yet… they still fought. Constantly.
“It is a very big deal,” Andrej said, suddenly drained. “I do not like fighting and I especially do not like it when my boyfriends shout at one another.” It hurt his heart to hear them sound so angry with one another, even if he knew they weren’t serious about it. “Can you please try to behave for my sake?”
“No promises,” Zayne said, predictably. “But I’ll give it my best shot.”
“Ditto,” James echoed. “So, when do you want our first date night to be? Me and the cowboy, that is.”
“Tonight,” Andrej said to their astonished faces. “Take him wherever you were planning to take me.”
“But…”
“But nothing, Jay.” Andrej added a sweater to the pile of clothes to be hung up and smiled at the redhead. “Take him out and behave like he’s your boyfriend. If you both behave, we can revisit this discussion when you return later.”
Zayne swallowed hard. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means you will find out when you return home,” Andrej said. “If you are not fighting and if I do not get any mean texts while you’re out, maybe you can both stay the night.”
“I don’t know about you, cowboy, but that’s enough incentive for me,” James chuckled. “What do you say?”
Zayne shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Where were you taking him to dinner?”
“Some hibachi place Hansen told me about.” Seeing the look crossing Zayne’s face, James held a hand out. “Hear me out, it’s good food. Things you’re used to eating. Chicken, beef, shrimp, veggies – this is a mainstream kind of place, you won’t be eating stinky tofu, I swear.”
A grin lit up Zayne’s face. “That shit smelled, man. But okay. Let’s go have dinner, but we are not going to the natural history museum afterwards.” Zayne slapped a hand against James’ arm as he left the room. “Gimme ten minutes, narco, and I’ll be ready to roll.”
James waited until Zayne was out of earshot before he moved into Andrej’s personal space. “I don’t like this, but I’ll do it if it makes you happy.”
“It’s not about what makes me happy,” Andrej said, exasperated that they couldn’t grasp that this relationship wasn’t all about him. “It’s about what makes us happy, all three of us. Do you not see that?”
Pulling back, James stared at Andrej for a long moment. “No,” he whispered. “I can’t say that ever occurred to me. I keep thinking that if you’re happy, I’ll be happy. It makes sense that if we’re all happy, or at least content, that maybe we’ll be that much better off.”
Smiling, Andrej continued to fold clothes. A racy pair of red underwear that he didn’t recognize slipped between his fingers. “Who do these belong to, Jay?”
He leaned in closer, studying them. “I don’t have a clue.”
“Those,” Zayne said from right behind them. “Are Hilary’s. I’ve had them for about six years but I can’t even begin to know why they’re in the laundry, Zek.”
With an involuntary shudder, Andrej dropped the panties back onto the bed. Zayne grabbed them and stuffed the bit of silk into a pocket. “Forget you saw that. You ready, narco?”
“Yeah,” James said. “But you’re not bringing those things with us.”
“Aw,” Zayne teased, leading the way out of the bedroom. “You’re not going to try them on for me later? And here I had my hopes up.”
“You are one sick puppy, Reyes,” James quipped back.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Zayne joked. “But if you’re nice to me tonight, maybe I’ll show you.”
James’ response was lost as they moved farther down the hallway. Shaking his head, Andrej reached for the last item of clothing on the bed. It was an old hoodie of Zayne’s that he’d had forever. James had taken to wearing it lately and it looked good on him, too. It never failed to make Andrej’s heart soar a little whenever Zayne told James as much. The affection and respect was there, all they had to do was find a way to channel their competitiveness into something more constructive. Currently, Andrej was at a loss, but it’d come in time.
Checking the clock, he figured he had at least two hours of blissful quiet before they returned. Grabbing a paperback off the nightstand, he figured he was due a nice, hot bath. He’d had a long day after all.
Continues here.
End note: the title is inspired by this song by Cam called "My Mistake". From the moment I first heard it, I knew that this was how Andrej felt about Zayne.
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,358
Summary: Zayne and James are at it again. Andy puts the proverbial foot down and gives the boys an ultimatum.
Author’s Note: I got this prompt in my email this morning: "I will fight for you but I will not compete." I thought it perfect for James and Zayne. I meant to keep it short but I don’t even know what happened. It got out of hand and rather angsty… maybe the next part will get better? *wiggles eyebrows*
“I’m going to kill him, Andy,” James fumed, storming into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him. “If he doesn’t shut his damn mouth, I swear to god, I’m going to shoot him in his smug face! And no, I don’t actually care how good looking that face is either.”
Breathing deeply, Andrej focused on the shirt he’d been folding when James barged in. “What has he done this time, Jay?” He hated asking this question, mostly because Zayne had a penchant for baiting James and James had a nasty habit of falling for it. Every time.
“I reminded him that we’re going out tonight,” James said, watching as Andrej folded another shirt, one of Zayne’s. “Why are you doing his laundry?”
Looking up from the pile, Andrej pointed towards the left side of the bed. “For the same reason I am doing yours, Jay. Because they were all in my laundry basket.”
“Oh,” James said, making a face. “Sorry about that.”
If Jay and Zayne would pick their clothes up off his floor, Andrej wouldn’t constantly be doing their laundry. But then, he guessed a long time ago that that was how they got out of having to do their own wash in the first place. “Did he not respond well to your declaration, Jay,” he asked, trying to get back to whatever had brought James in here. Laundry was not Andrej’s favorite chore, but it was one that always got him a few moments of quiet time. Neither detective was willing to risk being asked to help fold so they let him be anytime he announced he was doing laundry.
“He asked where we were going,” James said, laughing harshly. “We. As if he’s invited on our date night.”
Ah, this he understood. Zayne’s favorite game was to try and insert himself into any situation he wasn’t invited. He took it an added step further any night that James stayed over, if only to irritate the redhead. Reaching for a pair of sage green boxers adorned with a cartoon moose and the words ‘gluteus maxiMOOSE’, Andrej continued to fold. “What did you tell him, Jay? That he was not invited?”
“I told him to go to hell,” James muttered, folding his arms across his chest angrily. “Why does he automatically think he gets to tag along?”
“He is accustomed to having me to himself,” Andrej said. Even though he and Jay had been dating for a little over a year now, Zayne still clung to old habits. “Sometimes you must remind him that he does not have a monopoly on my time.”
“I tried,” James growled, causing Andrej to look up.
“And?” He held up another pair of humorous boxers, waiting.
“And he told me he’d fight me for you.”
Zayne was incorrigible, always pushing James to the edge of his patience. Oftentimes, it could lead to a few laughs and, if they were all lucky, a bit of intense, intimate retaliation mingled with reconciliation. However, tonight it seemed as if it were going to end in bloodshed. “Zayne is teasing you,” Andrej said, setting the neatly folded underwear on top of the others. “He is – how do you say it? Pulling your chain.”
“I don’t care,” James said, flopping down onto an empty patch of comforter. “I have no problem fighting for a night alone with you, but I will not compete with that asshole cowboy.”
“No one asked you to,” Andrej said quietly. “He’s pushing you to get you riled in hopes that you’ll leave, even if for an hour or two. I do not believe he wants you to leave permanently, but getting you to run away for a little while only feeds his ego. Trish told me so and I trust her opinion on this.”
Thank the gods he had the girls. Hilary had become a wealth of knowledge as far as Zayne’s behavior went while Trish seemed to have all the nuances of James’ personality pegged. Between the two of them, they could usually figure out whatever had ‘the boys’ wound up.
James allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed, head landing on top of a stack of t-shirts. “But why does he do this?”
Shrugging, Andrej tossed a sock at his boyfriend. “Because he can,” he said. “It’s the only reason Zayne does anything.”
“Hey,” Zayne said, letting himself into the bedroom. He collapsed onto the comforter beside James. “That’s not very nice.”
“But it’s accurate,” Andrej smiled. “Please stop antagonizing Jay, Zayne.”
“He needs to stop being such an easy target,” Zayne huffed. “Why would I want to go on your stupid date anyway? You always eat weird food and go to boring places. The two of you never do anything exciting.”
Zayne was sulking. Andrej gave a mental eye roll and tossed a pair of balled socks at Zayne’s head. “Behave,” he said, trying not to laugh. “Jay does not always enjoy the things you and I do on our date night either.” Because James professed to be too old for paintball or bowling although Andrej often believed James was fibbing. “It is why we have one night each.” An idea fluttered at the back of his mind. “I do have a suggestion.”
“Oh?” James lifted himself up onto his elbows, eyes trained on Andy’s face. “And what’s that?”
“He’s gonna suggest you get out of my line of sight,” Zayne teased, poking the redhead in the ribcage.
James slipped off his elbows and onto the bed. “Asshole,” he grunted. “That tickles, stop it.”
“Would you like to hear my suggestion?” Andrej watched as they both stilled, then nodded. “Good. I think you two need your own date night.”
“What?” Zayne sat up, resting his hands on his thighs. “We already have our own date nights.”
“With me,” Andrej agreed. “But not with each other.”
“Hold up,” Zayne said, rising to his feet. “You want me and the narco to have a date night?”
Andrej shrugged and made a face. “Why not? I think it would be a good way for you to iron out your differences.”
“No,” James said, sitting up. He shook his head vehemently. “Not a chance in hell.”
“I’m with gingerbread here,” Zayne said, moving in front of Andrej. “Not happening, baby.”
Looking from the redhead to the Texan, Andrej sighed. “Okay if that is that then you need to go back to your room.”
“Wait, what? Zek baby –”
“Hah,” James laughed. “You got the boot.”
“And you need to go home,” Andrej finished.
“Now wait a minute,” James fumed. “Why do I have to go home? We have a date tonight.”
“Not as long as you two are not getting along. Remember that was part of the bargain we struck?” He hadn’t liked attaching that caveat to their little arrangement, but with the way that James and Zayne tended to fight, it had been more useful than any other stipulation in their verbal agreement. Even more, Andrej hated using it as a threat, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“If I apologize,” James said, voice barely audible, “will you change your mind?”
“Who are you apologizing to, Jay?” He knew how James operated, the redhead would try and apologize to him, instead of Zayne, in an attempt to get around the rules. Zayne wasn’t any better. “Me or Zayne?”
Frustrated, James blew out a harsh breath. “Both of you.”
Reaching around Zayne’s body, Andrej retrieved another shirt from the pile on the bed. Giving it a good shake, he laid it on the ironing board behind him for later. He had to put off ironing until he was truly alone, otherwise he found an irresistible urge to press something delicate on the highest setting. “Go ahead, we’re waiting.”
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, James said, “I’m sorry. I’m not exactly what for but –”
“James,” Andrej rumbled, “you know why you’re apologizing, just as Zayne knows why he’ll be apologizing next. I love you both but I cannot with all this arguing!”
James and Zayne stared at Andrej, shocked into silence by Zeklos’ rare show of intensity. He hated raising his voice, hated being angry at the two men he loved so dearly, but sometimes they pushed him to his utter limit.
“Maybe one of us should leave,” Zayne muttered.
“Don’t look at me, cowboy,” James spat. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I wasn’t meaning you,” Zayne replied, reaching for a pile of his clothes. “I’ll just take these and be out of your hair.”
“Stop,” Andrej said before Zayne could get out of the bedroom. “I do not want either of you to leave. As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to get James to come live with us permanently.” He stopped, shook his head, started again. “I want you both here, in my home and in my life, but you must learn to get along. The little, teasing fights are fine. But this,” and he waved a hand in the air, indicating nothing. “This insane competition for my affections must stop.”
As flattering as it was to think that these two amazing, gorgeous, virile men were willing to fight for his time, in reality, it was exhausting. James and Zayne were going to have their arguments, same as any couple might, but for one to pick a fight with the other so that they could prove who the alpha truly was wasn’t going to fly any longer.
“It bothers you that much,” Zayne asked, sheepish.
“It does,” James confirmed. “He’s chewed my ear off enough about it.”
“Mine too,” Zayne admitted. “Never thought that he meant any of it though.”
And yet… they still fought. Constantly.
“It is a very big deal,” Andrej said, suddenly drained. “I do not like fighting and I especially do not like it when my boyfriends shout at one another.” It hurt his heart to hear them sound so angry with one another, even if he knew they weren’t serious about it. “Can you please try to behave for my sake?”
“No promises,” Zayne said, predictably. “But I’ll give it my best shot.”
“Ditto,” James echoed. “So, when do you want our first date night to be? Me and the cowboy, that is.”
“Tonight,” Andrej said to their astonished faces. “Take him wherever you were planning to take me.”
“But…”
“But nothing, Jay.” Andrej added a sweater to the pile of clothes to be hung up and smiled at the redhead. “Take him out and behave like he’s your boyfriend. If you both behave, we can revisit this discussion when you return later.”
Zayne swallowed hard. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means you will find out when you return home,” Andrej said. “If you are not fighting and if I do not get any mean texts while you’re out, maybe you can both stay the night.”
“I don’t know about you, cowboy, but that’s enough incentive for me,” James chuckled. “What do you say?”
Zayne shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Where were you taking him to dinner?”
“Some hibachi place Hansen told me about.” Seeing the look crossing Zayne’s face, James held a hand out. “Hear me out, it’s good food. Things you’re used to eating. Chicken, beef, shrimp, veggies – this is a mainstream kind of place, you won’t be eating stinky tofu, I swear.”
A grin lit up Zayne’s face. “That shit smelled, man. But okay. Let’s go have dinner, but we are not going to the natural history museum afterwards.” Zayne slapped a hand against James’ arm as he left the room. “Gimme ten minutes, narco, and I’ll be ready to roll.”
James waited until Zayne was out of earshot before he moved into Andrej’s personal space. “I don’t like this, but I’ll do it if it makes you happy.”
“It’s not about what makes me happy,” Andrej said, exasperated that they couldn’t grasp that this relationship wasn’t all about him. “It’s about what makes us happy, all three of us. Do you not see that?”
Pulling back, James stared at Andrej for a long moment. “No,” he whispered. “I can’t say that ever occurred to me. I keep thinking that if you’re happy, I’ll be happy. It makes sense that if we’re all happy, or at least content, that maybe we’ll be that much better off.”
Smiling, Andrej continued to fold clothes. A racy pair of red underwear that he didn’t recognize slipped between his fingers. “Who do these belong to, Jay?”
He leaned in closer, studying them. “I don’t have a clue.”
“Those,” Zayne said from right behind them. “Are Hilary’s. I’ve had them for about six years but I can’t even begin to know why they’re in the laundry, Zek.”
With an involuntary shudder, Andrej dropped the panties back onto the bed. Zayne grabbed them and stuffed the bit of silk into a pocket. “Forget you saw that. You ready, narco?”
“Yeah,” James said. “But you’re not bringing those things with us.”
“Aw,” Zayne teased, leading the way out of the bedroom. “You’re not going to try them on for me later? And here I had my hopes up.”
“You are one sick puppy, Reyes,” James quipped back.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Zayne joked. “But if you’re nice to me tonight, maybe I’ll show you.”
James’ response was lost as they moved farther down the hallway. Shaking his head, Andrej reached for the last item of clothing on the bed. It was an old hoodie of Zayne’s that he’d had forever. James had taken to wearing it lately and it looked good on him, too. It never failed to make Andrej’s heart soar a little whenever Zayne told James as much. The affection and respect was there, all they had to do was find a way to channel their competitiveness into something more constructive. Currently, Andrej was at a loss, but it’d come in time.
Checking the clock, he figured he had at least two hours of blissful quiet before they returned. Grabbing a paperback off the nightstand, he figured he was due a nice, hot bath. He’d had a long day after all.
Continues here.
End note: the title is inspired by this song by Cam called "My Mistake". From the moment I first heard it, I knew that this was how Andrej felt about Zayne.
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