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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Book Lovers Wanted Chapter 2
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction crossover
Pairings: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy + Trish Rollins+Hilary Maxwell
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,830
Summary: The day of the convention has arrived and both Travis and Andrej are nervous.
Author’s Note: Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to this. Life has definitely gotten in the way. And I broke my promise – I thought I was going to be able to get Andy and Travis together this chapter, but that’s definitely going to happen first thing next chapter.
Travis stood in front of the mirror, fidgeting with his collar. Ethan smiled sadly, coming up behind Travis and wrapping an arm around his waist. He stared at their reflections in the mirror, his fair skin and auburn hair next to Travis’ much swarthier appearance. They made for an odd couple, to be sure, but he was certain there were odder combinations out there.
“You look amazing,” Ethan said. “Stop fussing.”
“Is it fancy enough,” Travis asked. “I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m a bum.”
“I doubt anyone will think that,” Ethan assured him. “Besides, comfort over style any day.”
“Truth,” Travis said, finally giving up on his collar. “I’m just nervous.”
“I know you are,” Ethan said, moving so that he was facing Travis. “Now, let’s unbutton this here and maybe you won’t feel like you’re suffocating.”
“Yeah,” Travis grunted. “Because that’s going to help.”
Chuckling, Ethan pressed a kiss to Travis’ neck. “You need to relax,” he said, coming around to face his husband. “I know it’s scary, but as soon as you start talking to people, you’ll be fine. All that Irish charm you inherited from your father will start pouring out and everyone will love you.”
“And you’ll be there with me,” he said, sounding unsure.
“I will be,” Ethan reassured him. “I’ll be scoping out the competition.”
“Hopefully just the literary competition,” Travis teased. “I don’t think I can handle seeing you even consider another man.”
“That wouldn’t ever happen,” Ethan said, smiling at his husband.
“I know,” Travis said, kissing Ethan lightly. “But I still worry.”
“You have an overactive imagination,” Ethan pointed out. “Which can be wonderful at times and frustrating at others. Come on, Murph, you’re going to be late.”
Travis glanced back at the mirror one last time. He must have liked what he saw because he shrugged and followed Ethan out into the hall.
**
“I still don’t get why you made me come with you two,” Zayne grouched.
He slipped an old flannel over his t-shirt, attempting to hide the firearm he was carrying. The shirt wouldn’t fool the metal detector, but his badge would cover that little stumble. Andrej had opted out of carrying for the day, leaving Zayne and James to decide which one of them should.
“I like this one,” Andrej said, running the hem of the worn shirt between his fingers.
“I know,” Zayne grinned. “It’s why I picked it.” He gave his partner a flirty wink. “Where’s the narco?”
“Still getting ready,” Andrej said. He pointed to Zayne’s side. “Do you really need to bring that?”
Zayne shrugged. “I feel naked without it,” he said. Andrej could understand that sentiment. “Besides, the ginger and I both felt like at least one of us should be prepared for the worst.”
“I let the cowboy have the honors,” James said, smiling at his boyfriends. “Figured he’d be skirting the edges of the convention looking for a way out anyway. He might as well make himself useful.”
“Ha, ha, asshole,” Zayne joked. “But he’s right. One of us should be on duty while you get to let your guard down for once.”
Not that letting his guard down was ever possible, but he got where Zayne was coming from. “Are we ready?”
“As we’ll ever be,” James said, giving Zayne’s arm a tug. “Come along lil’ doggie.”
“Woof.”
“Why me,” Andrej muttered.
“Holy shit,” Zayne said, stopping two feet from the entrance to the convention. “There are really this many people who write books?”
James crinkled his face into a look of disbelief. “Do you think they’re all written by the same person, Reyes?”
“What?” Zayne dragged his gaze away from all the author booths and frowned at James. “No, of course not. But damn, I didn’t know that there were this many either.”
“This is mainly a venue for mystery and thriller authors,” Andrej said, eyes never wavering from the directory he held in his hand. He was looking for one name in particular but making mental notes of the others he’d like to visit after he located his main objective. “You might find the odd romance or fantasy author here, but it is not very common.”
“So, this is only a small sampling then. Huh.” Zayne grabbed the list out of Andrej’s hand and scoured it. “None of these names are familiar,” he said. “Wait, I recognize this one. James Patterson.”
“That’s only because he was on an episode of Castle,” James laughed. “Part of Castle’s poker group.”
“As was Michael Connelly,” Andrej added distractedly. “But I also have a number of Mr. Patterson’s books on my bookshelf at home. That is probably where you have seen them.”
“Maybe,” Zayne said, continuing to read the list. “Okay, I give up. Who are you looking for?”
A smile lit Andrej’s face. “I see him.”
“Shit,” James spluttered as Andrej set off on an unknown mission. “Follow him, Reyes.”
“On it, gingerbread.” Zayne took off after his partner. Although Andrej wasn’t uncouth enough to actually run, his long legs made quick work of the open floor. “Slow the hell down!”
Andrej shot a look over his shoulder and pointed in the direction I was headed. “I am going here,” he said. “You said you did not want to tag along.”
“James told me to follow you!”
Coming to a stop, Andrej crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Zayne to catch up. “You are out of shape,” he scolded. “You should come running with Jay and me.”
“The only way I’m going to run,” Zayne said, huffing to catch his breath. “Is if something’s chasing me or I’m forced to chase something. And I don’t care how cute your ass might be, I’m not chasing it.”
Smiling, Andrej shook his head. “Are you going to survive, Zayne?”
“Yeah,” he said, slipping his arm through Andrej’s. “Just as long as you don’t take off on me like that again.”
“I can’t do this,” Andrej said, stopping abruptly. “I can’t.”
“Can’t do what, baby?” Zayne looked from Andrej’s face to the three booths directly in front of them.
“He can’t talk to whoever it is he came here to see,” Trish said, appearing from behind a stack of books. “Can’t you see he’s freaking out?”
“Zek doesn’t freak out, Rollins.”
“I’d have said the same thing five minutes ago, Reyes,” Hilary said. “But look at him. I’ve never seen him so pale.”
“I think maybe you need to go find the narco,” Trish said, shooing Zayne off. “Now.”
“Yeah,” Zayne said, turning back to where he’d left James. “Sure.”
“Are you going to be okay,” Hil asked Andrej, guiding him off to the side of the room, out of the way of foot traffic.
“Yes,” he said, taking a seat in an empty chair. “I am sorry. I do not know what happened.”
“You panicked,” Hilary said, sitting in a folding chair beside him. “I did the same thing that time we met that magician.”
“Right,” Trish snorted. “Until he made a comment about your boobs anyway.”
“Yup, that pretty much snapped me out of fangirl mode.”
Trish turned to Andrej, grinning. “You’d have been so impressed with her, Andy. She got in his face, told him that wasn’t how you talked to a lady, and then she slapped the cuffs on him. Idiot.”
“Thank you,” he said, feeling slightly better and much less embarrassed.
“No biggie, honey,” Hilary said, squeezing his hand. “It happens to the best of us.”
“So, which one of them were you approaching,” Trish asked, looking back towards where they’d been. “The one on the left looks like a serial killer masquerading as an author. That chick on the right is kinda plain, but pretty, too.”
“And that Hispanic guy in the middle is adorable,” Hilary added. “But I might have a type.”
“Ya think, Maxwell,” Trish said, causing them all to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. “Oh, but Andy has a type, too.”
Hilary’s eyes lit up. “So you’re saying it is the middle one?”
“I think it is,” Trish said, sneaking a glance and Andrej. “And his cheeks just went strawberry colored, I think I’m right.”
“Are you nervous because he’s so cute, Andy? Because if that’s it, we can work with that.”
“No,” Andrej said, shaking his head. That Travis Murphy was damn attractive was only part of his problem. “Not entirely. He is very handsome, but his books are some of the first I ever read in English. I kind of have a – what do you call it?”
“A connection,” Trish supplied, nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense. You get attached to the things you’re reading or watching or listening to at turning points in your life. I get it. And I think he’d love knowing that.”
“I know you are right but…”
“What the hell are you two doing here,” James’ voice asked.
Andrej looked up in time to see Trish flip him off.
“Zayne told us about what you were doing today and we thought it might be interesting,” Hilary said.
“Thought maybe we could offer our special skill set to any struggling author,” Trish added.
“I know about your special skill set, Rollins,” Zayne joked. “Not sure there’s anyone in the room that would take you up on it.”
“There are two,” Andrej muttered. “A blonde and a brunette. I can give you names if you would like.”
“No,” Trish giggled. “I’m good, but thank you for your thorough research.”
“Besides,” Hilary said, bringing the conversation back to where it had started, “we figured since we actually know how to read –”
“Unlike you two heathens,” Trish put in.
“Maybe we could help Andy more than you guys could.” She glared at Zayne and James for a long moment. “Why don’t you go find a bar or something?”
James looked at Zayne and grinned. “Does she always instigate trouble like this?”
“Yeah,” Zayne said. “And she usually regrets it later, too. But she never learns.”
“I do not think sending them to the bar this early in the day is a good idea, Trish,” Andrej said.
“We’ll behave,” James said, kissing Andrej’s cheek.
“Promise,” Zayne said, kissing his other cheek. “Just don’t go running off with that cutie pie I saw over there. We all know how you like this.” Zayne made a sweeping motion down the length of his body with a hand.
“Just get lost,” Hilary said. “Please!”
“Yes ma’am,” James mocked. “There’s a bar near the front of the convention center. We’ll meet you there at noon for some lunch.”
Andrej nodded. “Thank you, Jay.”
“Don’t get him arrested,” James said, giving the girls a look.
As the cowboy and the narco walked away, Andrej heard Zayne’s laughter. “It’s not Zek you have to worry about getting arrested, gingerbread. It’s Rollins.”
“Asshole,” Trish huffed.
“But you’ve got to admit,” Hilary said, standing and offering her hand to Andrej. “He’s not wrong.”
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction crossover
Pairings: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy + Trish Rollins+Hilary Maxwell
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,830
Summary: The day of the convention has arrived and both Travis and Andrej are nervous.
Author’s Note: Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to this. Life has definitely gotten in the way. And I broke my promise – I thought I was going to be able to get Andy and Travis together this chapter, but that’s definitely going to happen first thing next chapter.
Travis stood in front of the mirror, fidgeting with his collar. Ethan smiled sadly, coming up behind Travis and wrapping an arm around his waist. He stared at their reflections in the mirror, his fair skin and auburn hair next to Travis’ much swarthier appearance. They made for an odd couple, to be sure, but he was certain there were odder combinations out there.
“You look amazing,” Ethan said. “Stop fussing.”
“Is it fancy enough,” Travis asked. “I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m a bum.”
“I doubt anyone will think that,” Ethan assured him. “Besides, comfort over style any day.”
“Truth,” Travis said, finally giving up on his collar. “I’m just nervous.”
“I know you are,” Ethan said, moving so that he was facing Travis. “Now, let’s unbutton this here and maybe you won’t feel like you’re suffocating.”
“Yeah,” Travis grunted. “Because that’s going to help.”
Chuckling, Ethan pressed a kiss to Travis’ neck. “You need to relax,” he said, coming around to face his husband. “I know it’s scary, but as soon as you start talking to people, you’ll be fine. All that Irish charm you inherited from your father will start pouring out and everyone will love you.”
“And you’ll be there with me,” he said, sounding unsure.
“I will be,” Ethan reassured him. “I’ll be scoping out the competition.”
“Hopefully just the literary competition,” Travis teased. “I don’t think I can handle seeing you even consider another man.”
“That wouldn’t ever happen,” Ethan said, smiling at his husband.
“I know,” Travis said, kissing Ethan lightly. “But I still worry.”
“You have an overactive imagination,” Ethan pointed out. “Which can be wonderful at times and frustrating at others. Come on, Murph, you’re going to be late.”
Travis glanced back at the mirror one last time. He must have liked what he saw because he shrugged and followed Ethan out into the hall.
**
“I still don’t get why you made me come with you two,” Zayne grouched.
He slipped an old flannel over his t-shirt, attempting to hide the firearm he was carrying. The shirt wouldn’t fool the metal detector, but his badge would cover that little stumble. Andrej had opted out of carrying for the day, leaving Zayne and James to decide which one of them should.
“I like this one,” Andrej said, running the hem of the worn shirt between his fingers.
“I know,” Zayne grinned. “It’s why I picked it.” He gave his partner a flirty wink. “Where’s the narco?”
“Still getting ready,” Andrej said. He pointed to Zayne’s side. “Do you really need to bring that?”
Zayne shrugged. “I feel naked without it,” he said. Andrej could understand that sentiment. “Besides, the ginger and I both felt like at least one of us should be prepared for the worst.”
“I let the cowboy have the honors,” James said, smiling at his boyfriends. “Figured he’d be skirting the edges of the convention looking for a way out anyway. He might as well make himself useful.”
“Ha, ha, asshole,” Zayne joked. “But he’s right. One of us should be on duty while you get to let your guard down for once.”
Not that letting his guard down was ever possible, but he got where Zayne was coming from. “Are we ready?”
“As we’ll ever be,” James said, giving Zayne’s arm a tug. “Come along lil’ doggie.”
“Woof.”
“Why me,” Andrej muttered.
“Holy shit,” Zayne said, stopping two feet from the entrance to the convention. “There are really this many people who write books?”
James crinkled his face into a look of disbelief. “Do you think they’re all written by the same person, Reyes?”
“What?” Zayne dragged his gaze away from all the author booths and frowned at James. “No, of course not. But damn, I didn’t know that there were this many either.”
“This is mainly a venue for mystery and thriller authors,” Andrej said, eyes never wavering from the directory he held in his hand. He was looking for one name in particular but making mental notes of the others he’d like to visit after he located his main objective. “You might find the odd romance or fantasy author here, but it is not very common.”
“So, this is only a small sampling then. Huh.” Zayne grabbed the list out of Andrej’s hand and scoured it. “None of these names are familiar,” he said. “Wait, I recognize this one. James Patterson.”
“That’s only because he was on an episode of Castle,” James laughed. “Part of Castle’s poker group.”
“As was Michael Connelly,” Andrej added distractedly. “But I also have a number of Mr. Patterson’s books on my bookshelf at home. That is probably where you have seen them.”
“Maybe,” Zayne said, continuing to read the list. “Okay, I give up. Who are you looking for?”
A smile lit Andrej’s face. “I see him.”
“Shit,” James spluttered as Andrej set off on an unknown mission. “Follow him, Reyes.”
“On it, gingerbread.” Zayne took off after his partner. Although Andrej wasn’t uncouth enough to actually run, his long legs made quick work of the open floor. “Slow the hell down!”
Andrej shot a look over his shoulder and pointed in the direction I was headed. “I am going here,” he said. “You said you did not want to tag along.”
“James told me to follow you!”
Coming to a stop, Andrej crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Zayne to catch up. “You are out of shape,” he scolded. “You should come running with Jay and me.”
“The only way I’m going to run,” Zayne said, huffing to catch his breath. “Is if something’s chasing me or I’m forced to chase something. And I don’t care how cute your ass might be, I’m not chasing it.”
Smiling, Andrej shook his head. “Are you going to survive, Zayne?”
“Yeah,” he said, slipping his arm through Andrej’s. “Just as long as you don’t take off on me like that again.”
“I can’t do this,” Andrej said, stopping abruptly. “I can’t.”
“Can’t do what, baby?” Zayne looked from Andrej’s face to the three booths directly in front of them.
“He can’t talk to whoever it is he came here to see,” Trish said, appearing from behind a stack of books. “Can’t you see he’s freaking out?”
“Zek doesn’t freak out, Rollins.”
“I’d have said the same thing five minutes ago, Reyes,” Hilary said. “But look at him. I’ve never seen him so pale.”
“I think maybe you need to go find the narco,” Trish said, shooing Zayne off. “Now.”
“Yeah,” Zayne said, turning back to where he’d left James. “Sure.”
“Are you going to be okay,” Hil asked Andrej, guiding him off to the side of the room, out of the way of foot traffic.
“Yes,” he said, taking a seat in an empty chair. “I am sorry. I do not know what happened.”
“You panicked,” Hilary said, sitting in a folding chair beside him. “I did the same thing that time we met that magician.”
“Right,” Trish snorted. “Until he made a comment about your boobs anyway.”
“Yup, that pretty much snapped me out of fangirl mode.”
Trish turned to Andrej, grinning. “You’d have been so impressed with her, Andy. She got in his face, told him that wasn’t how you talked to a lady, and then she slapped the cuffs on him. Idiot.”
“Thank you,” he said, feeling slightly better and much less embarrassed.
“No biggie, honey,” Hilary said, squeezing his hand. “It happens to the best of us.”
“So, which one of them were you approaching,” Trish asked, looking back towards where they’d been. “The one on the left looks like a serial killer masquerading as an author. That chick on the right is kinda plain, but pretty, too.”
“And that Hispanic guy in the middle is adorable,” Hilary added. “But I might have a type.”
“Ya think, Maxwell,” Trish said, causing them all to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. “Oh, but Andy has a type, too.”
Hilary’s eyes lit up. “So you’re saying it is the middle one?”
“I think it is,” Trish said, sneaking a glance and Andrej. “And his cheeks just went strawberry colored, I think I’m right.”
“Are you nervous because he’s so cute, Andy? Because if that’s it, we can work with that.”
“No,” Andrej said, shaking his head. That Travis Murphy was damn attractive was only part of his problem. “Not entirely. He is very handsome, but his books are some of the first I ever read in English. I kind of have a – what do you call it?”
“A connection,” Trish supplied, nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense. You get attached to the things you’re reading or watching or listening to at turning points in your life. I get it. And I think he’d love knowing that.”
“I know you are right but…”
“What the hell are you two doing here,” James’ voice asked.
Andrej looked up in time to see Trish flip him off.
“Zayne told us about what you were doing today and we thought it might be interesting,” Hilary said.
“Thought maybe we could offer our special skill set to any struggling author,” Trish added.
“I know about your special skill set, Rollins,” Zayne joked. “Not sure there’s anyone in the room that would take you up on it.”
“There are two,” Andrej muttered. “A blonde and a brunette. I can give you names if you would like.”
“No,” Trish giggled. “I’m good, but thank you for your thorough research.”
“Besides,” Hilary said, bringing the conversation back to where it had started, “we figured since we actually know how to read –”
“Unlike you two heathens,” Trish put in.
“Maybe we could help Andy more than you guys could.” She glared at Zayne and James for a long moment. “Why don’t you go find a bar or something?”
James looked at Zayne and grinned. “Does she always instigate trouble like this?”
“Yeah,” Zayne said. “And she usually regrets it later, too. But she never learns.”
“I do not think sending them to the bar this early in the day is a good idea, Trish,” Andrej said.
“We’ll behave,” James said, kissing Andrej’s cheek.
“Promise,” Zayne said, kissing his other cheek. “Just don’t go running off with that cutie pie I saw over there. We all know how you like this.” Zayne made a sweeping motion down the length of his body with a hand.
“Just get lost,” Hilary said. “Please!”
“Yes ma’am,” James mocked. “There’s a bar near the front of the convention center. We’ll meet you there at noon for some lunch.”
Andrej nodded. “Thank you, Jay.”
“Don’t get him arrested,” James said, giving the girls a look.
As the cowboy and the narco walked away, Andrej heard Zayne’s laughter. “It’s not Zek you have to worry about getting arrested, gingerbread. It’s Rollins.”
“Asshole,” Trish huffed.
“But you’ve got to admit,” Hilary said, standing and offering her hand to Andrej. “He’s not wrong.”
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no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 12:37 am (UTC)I've been where Andy was many a time. ;)
The boys can have the bar, and the girls will take good care of Andy.
Next chapter will be intetesting, but no rush. I know how RL can interfere with the fun stuff.
Was Connelly really on that ep of Castle? Because, if so, I'm gonna have to find and watch it. :)
no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 12:59 am (UTC)I know, right? I've met quite a few authors and I'm always struck dumb. Hah.
Right? And I'm guessing the girls are more fun in this case.
I hope so. And yeah, things can really snowball and get out of hand before you know it.
HE WAS! He, James Patterson, and Stephen J. Cannell were all part of Castle's poker group on two or three episodes. I screamed when I saw JP. LOL If you look Connelly up on IMDB and check his actor credentials, you can find the eps he was in. I know this because I double checked - it's been a few years since I've seen an episode of Castle. LOL
no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-30 02:32 am (UTC)