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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Book Lovers Wanted Chapter 5
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Crossover
Pairings: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,491
Summary: The boys make plans to meet up again when all hell breaks loose. Sorta.
Author’s Note: I bet you thought I forgot about this. Should be able to wrap it up in one more chapter. Oh, and I suck when it comes to physical conflict. But I’m trying. :D
“So, that was an exciting day,” James joked as they left the bar and headed towards the exit.
Andrej looked at the redhead sideways. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing,” James said, shrugging it off. “Just that I never expected any of what happened today.”
“He’s jealous, baby,” Zayne said, slipping his arm around Andrej’s waist and pulling him close. “Neither of us like to see you freak out over another man. Especially not one as good looking and charming as that Travis guy is.”
A small smile found Andrej’s face. “I still believe Jay means something more, but I will let it go for now.”
“Good idea,” Zayne said, giving James a look.
A shout drew their attention back towards the convention floor. The following rush of people moving away from the exits made the trio stop in their tracks.
“That is not a good sign,” Andrej said, watching a large group of people run past them.
“No, it’s not,” Zayne agreed. “This can mean only one thing.”
“A fight,” James said, nodding his head once. “Suppose we ought to go check it out?”
“Yeah,” Zayne drawled. “As much as I want to get the hell out of here, I have a feeling we’ll get our asses in a sling if we don’t at least try to help.”
Zayne’s arm dropped from around Andrej’s body and the three of them jogged after the current of bodies moving towards the sea of signing booths. They hit a logjam halfway there and, although they could hear the raised voices of several females, they couldn’t get past the blockade of bodies.
“Hold up,” Zayne said, reaching his hand into his pocket. “I’ve got this.” He pulled his wallet out and flipped it open so that his badge was visible. “Metro. Out of my way assholes. Now.”
“That was a bit excessive,” James laughed as the waters parted and they squeezed through the narrow opening the spectators made for them. “But effective.”
“Thank you,” Zayne said, nodding in the narco’s direction. “Aw, shit.”
“Oh hell no,” James cackled. “Andy?”
“I see it,” he said, frowning. “We need to help him.”
“They trapped him as he was coming back to the booth,” Ethan said from Zayne’s left side. “I tried to get between them but since I’m not a cop in this state…”
“You didn’t want to make it worse,” James finished. “Smart thinking.”
All eyes turned to where Travis Murphy stood surrounded by three overeager, angry women. His eyes landed on the four officers and begged one of them, any of them, to help.
“You goddamned bitch,” one of the women, a strawberry blonde, shouted. “How can you even think he’d want you?” The sneer that followed the last word was enough to turn anyone’s stomach.
“I never thought I’d say this,” James sighed, “but I wish the girls hadn’t bailed.”
“Trish would have all three of them begging for mercy by now,” Zayne said. He pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and turned to James. “Ready to stop this insanity?”
“On your go,” the redhead replied.
“Wait,” Ethan began.
“We’ve got this,” Zayne said. “Stay here with Zek and let us defuse the situation. You shouldn’t get involved and it’s better if he stays out as well.”
“Reyes and I have a penchant for getting into trouble as it is,” James laughed. “But Andy’s a good boy.”
“Enough, gingerbread, let’s go save Zek’s boy.” He cut his eyes to Ethan and winced. “Sorry.”
“So long as you save Trav from being ripped to shreds by those women, he can be Andy’s boy for a minute.”
“Like you have any room to talk, you heifer,” a second woman, this one a bleach blonde, snarled. “Either of you. He’d never want anyone like you two.”
“Yeah, time to intervene,” James said, stepping into the fray.
Up until that moment, the third woman, a brunette, had been quiet. “Oh hell no, you are not comparing me with her!” She lunged at the bleach blonde, arms outstretched, hands formed into claws.
Sighing, Rosewood lunged forward, grabbing her before those deadly acrylic nails could find their target. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he swiveled her into another direction. “Easy there, lady. No gouging of the eyeballs is allowed.”
“Get your nasty hands off of me,” she spat, clawing at James’ arms. “I’ll call the police!”
“Reyes, a little help here?”
“We are the police.” Zayne produced his badge and shoved it in the face of the struggling woman. “Calm the hell down before I break out the cuffs, okay?” She stopped struggling against James’ grip, but her eyes continued to spark with hellfire.
“What the hell is going on here,” James demanded. He released his grip on the crazy brunette but kept his eye on her. “Travis, are you okay?”
Murphy nodded. “I’m fine, thank you for coming to my rescue, detectives.” He gave them each a dazzling smile, one James thought might be more for show than anything.
“It’s our job,” Zayne said. “Wanna tell us what happened?”
“I – um, well, Ethan called me so I stepped outside the booth to get as much privacy as I can in this place and –”
James raised his eyebrows. “And you got ambushed?”
Travis looked at the three angry women and nodded again. “Basically. It seems like they were already in an argument when I came around to return to my spot.” He looked from one detective to the other. “They were fighting over me,” he whispered.
“We love you, Travis,” the strabwerry blonde shouted. “We know you’re single and this is Vegas! We can get married!”
“Oh my god,” Travis whimpered. “Help me, please.”
“Ladies,” Zayne said, patting the air, trying to calm them down. “He’s not single, he’s married. Has been for what? A year now? Two? So, you might want to back off a bit.”
“Bullshit,” the brunette said, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. “I’m not buying it.”
“It’s true,” Zayne said. He lifted Travis’ left hand into the air and angled his wedding band at the women. “And here’s the proof.”
“No,” the blondes said in unison.
“Yes,” James said. “And he married a really nice guy, too.”
“What?”
James turned his gaze onto the brunette. “Got a problem with that?”
“No,” she lied. “But while I can believe that someone as wonderful as Travis is married, I’m not buying that he’s gay, too.”
“Ditto,” the woman with the straw colored hair said. The other blonde nodded in solidarity.
“Oh for the love of all that’s shiny,” Zayne sighed. “Sorry Travis, but there’s no other way.”
“No other way to what,” Travis began.
He wasn’t able to get the rest of his question out before Zayne locked his mouth onto Travis’. A chorus of gasps – and one ‘for fuck’s sake’ – echoed through the group of bystanders. Travis’ hand found the center of Zayne’s chest, rested there.
“Okay, cowboy,” James cut in, giving Zayne’s shirt a tug. “We get the point. But you might want to remove your lips before Travis’ actual husband belts you.”
Chuckling, Zayne backed up. “Sorry,” he said.
Travis grinned. “Don’t worry about it.” He patted Zayne’s chest and looked at the women. “Can you please stop fighting now?”
The brunette made a face. “Yeah, this is so not worth the angst.”
“Um, thanks?” Travis looked around the group, one hand on the back of his neck.
Zayne elbowed Travis in the side and gave him a look. “Great. So y’all can just mosey on out of here now…”
“But what about our books,” the first blonde asked.
“Books?”
“Yeah,” the other blonde chimed in. “You’re supposed to be signing books, aren’t you? I want mine before I leave!”
“Dios ayúdame,” Travis muttered, eliciting a laugh out of Zayne.
“Hey, narco, looks like we aren’t the only one with a partner who mutters in other languages.”
“Welcome to my life,” Ethan joked. “Andrej does this to you, too?”
“All the time,” Zayne said.
“And he speaks four languages,” James added. “So it’s always interesting to see what language we’re going to get scolded in. At least Travis only speaks Spanish.”
“Is fuath liom tú uile,” Murphy muttered.
“And Irish,” Ethan pointed out. “I blame that one on his father.”
“Is everything settled now,” Andrej interjected before the guys could go any farther in on Travis and himself. “Can we go home?”
“Yeah, baby,” Zayne said. “You’ll still call later, right?”
Travis nodded. “Of course. Expect to hear from us either tonight or in the morning.”
“Perfect,” James said, giving Ethan one last look. “You’ve got this?”
“We’ll be fine,” he assured them. “Trav will sign their books and then I’ll get security to escort them out of here.”
“Until tomorrow then,” Andrej said, taking each of his boyfriends by the arm. With a tug, he led them towards the exits for hopefully the last time that day.
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Crossover
Pairings: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,491
Summary: The boys make plans to meet up again when all hell breaks loose. Sorta.
Author’s Note: I bet you thought I forgot about this. Should be able to wrap it up in one more chapter. Oh, and I suck when it comes to physical conflict. But I’m trying. :D
“So, that was an exciting day,” James joked as they left the bar and headed towards the exit.
Andrej looked at the redhead sideways. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing,” James said, shrugging it off. “Just that I never expected any of what happened today.”
“He’s jealous, baby,” Zayne said, slipping his arm around Andrej’s waist and pulling him close. “Neither of us like to see you freak out over another man. Especially not one as good looking and charming as that Travis guy is.”
A small smile found Andrej’s face. “I still believe Jay means something more, but I will let it go for now.”
“Good idea,” Zayne said, giving James a look.
A shout drew their attention back towards the convention floor. The following rush of people moving away from the exits made the trio stop in their tracks.
“That is not a good sign,” Andrej said, watching a large group of people run past them.
“No, it’s not,” Zayne agreed. “This can mean only one thing.”
“A fight,” James said, nodding his head once. “Suppose we ought to go check it out?”
“Yeah,” Zayne drawled. “As much as I want to get the hell out of here, I have a feeling we’ll get our asses in a sling if we don’t at least try to help.”
Zayne’s arm dropped from around Andrej’s body and the three of them jogged after the current of bodies moving towards the sea of signing booths. They hit a logjam halfway there and, although they could hear the raised voices of several females, they couldn’t get past the blockade of bodies.
“Hold up,” Zayne said, reaching his hand into his pocket. “I’ve got this.” He pulled his wallet out and flipped it open so that his badge was visible. “Metro. Out of my way assholes. Now.”
“That was a bit excessive,” James laughed as the waters parted and they squeezed through the narrow opening the spectators made for them. “But effective.”
“Thank you,” Zayne said, nodding in the narco’s direction. “Aw, shit.”
“Oh hell no,” James cackled. “Andy?”
“I see it,” he said, frowning. “We need to help him.”
“They trapped him as he was coming back to the booth,” Ethan said from Zayne’s left side. “I tried to get between them but since I’m not a cop in this state…”
“You didn’t want to make it worse,” James finished. “Smart thinking.”
All eyes turned to where Travis Murphy stood surrounded by three overeager, angry women. His eyes landed on the four officers and begged one of them, any of them, to help.
“You goddamned bitch,” one of the women, a strawberry blonde, shouted. “How can you even think he’d want you?” The sneer that followed the last word was enough to turn anyone’s stomach.
“I never thought I’d say this,” James sighed, “but I wish the girls hadn’t bailed.”
“Trish would have all three of them begging for mercy by now,” Zayne said. He pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and turned to James. “Ready to stop this insanity?”
“On your go,” the redhead replied.
“Wait,” Ethan began.
“We’ve got this,” Zayne said. “Stay here with Zek and let us defuse the situation. You shouldn’t get involved and it’s better if he stays out as well.”
“Reyes and I have a penchant for getting into trouble as it is,” James laughed. “But Andy’s a good boy.”
“Enough, gingerbread, let’s go save Zek’s boy.” He cut his eyes to Ethan and winced. “Sorry.”
“So long as you save Trav from being ripped to shreds by those women, he can be Andy’s boy for a minute.”
“Like you have any room to talk, you heifer,” a second woman, this one a bleach blonde, snarled. “Either of you. He’d never want anyone like you two.”
“Yeah, time to intervene,” James said, stepping into the fray.
Up until that moment, the third woman, a brunette, had been quiet. “Oh hell no, you are not comparing me with her!” She lunged at the bleach blonde, arms outstretched, hands formed into claws.
Sighing, Rosewood lunged forward, grabbing her before those deadly acrylic nails could find their target. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he swiveled her into another direction. “Easy there, lady. No gouging of the eyeballs is allowed.”
“Get your nasty hands off of me,” she spat, clawing at James’ arms. “I’ll call the police!”
“Reyes, a little help here?”
“We are the police.” Zayne produced his badge and shoved it in the face of the struggling woman. “Calm the hell down before I break out the cuffs, okay?” She stopped struggling against James’ grip, but her eyes continued to spark with hellfire.
“What the hell is going on here,” James demanded. He released his grip on the crazy brunette but kept his eye on her. “Travis, are you okay?”
Murphy nodded. “I’m fine, thank you for coming to my rescue, detectives.” He gave them each a dazzling smile, one James thought might be more for show than anything.
“It’s our job,” Zayne said. “Wanna tell us what happened?”
“I – um, well, Ethan called me so I stepped outside the booth to get as much privacy as I can in this place and –”
James raised his eyebrows. “And you got ambushed?”
Travis looked at the three angry women and nodded again. “Basically. It seems like they were already in an argument when I came around to return to my spot.” He looked from one detective to the other. “They were fighting over me,” he whispered.
“We love you, Travis,” the strabwerry blonde shouted. “We know you’re single and this is Vegas! We can get married!”
“Oh my god,” Travis whimpered. “Help me, please.”
“Ladies,” Zayne said, patting the air, trying to calm them down. “He’s not single, he’s married. Has been for what? A year now? Two? So, you might want to back off a bit.”
“Bullshit,” the brunette said, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. “I’m not buying it.”
“It’s true,” Zayne said. He lifted Travis’ left hand into the air and angled his wedding band at the women. “And here’s the proof.”
“No,” the blondes said in unison.
“Yes,” James said. “And he married a really nice guy, too.”
“What?”
James turned his gaze onto the brunette. “Got a problem with that?”
“No,” she lied. “But while I can believe that someone as wonderful as Travis is married, I’m not buying that he’s gay, too.”
“Ditto,” the woman with the straw colored hair said. The other blonde nodded in solidarity.
“Oh for the love of all that’s shiny,” Zayne sighed. “Sorry Travis, but there’s no other way.”
“No other way to what,” Travis began.
He wasn’t able to get the rest of his question out before Zayne locked his mouth onto Travis’. A chorus of gasps – and one ‘for fuck’s sake’ – echoed through the group of bystanders. Travis’ hand found the center of Zayne’s chest, rested there.
“Okay, cowboy,” James cut in, giving Zayne’s shirt a tug. “We get the point. But you might want to remove your lips before Travis’ actual husband belts you.”
Chuckling, Zayne backed up. “Sorry,” he said.
Travis grinned. “Don’t worry about it.” He patted Zayne’s chest and looked at the women. “Can you please stop fighting now?”
The brunette made a face. “Yeah, this is so not worth the angst.”
“Um, thanks?” Travis looked around the group, one hand on the back of his neck.
Zayne elbowed Travis in the side and gave him a look. “Great. So y’all can just mosey on out of here now…”
“But what about our books,” the first blonde asked.
“Books?”
“Yeah,” the other blonde chimed in. “You’re supposed to be signing books, aren’t you? I want mine before I leave!”
“Dios ayúdame,” Travis muttered, eliciting a laugh out of Zayne.
“Hey, narco, looks like we aren’t the only one with a partner who mutters in other languages.”
“Welcome to my life,” Ethan joked. “Andrej does this to you, too?”
“All the time,” Zayne said.
“And he speaks four languages,” James added. “So it’s always interesting to see what language we’re going to get scolded in. At least Travis only speaks Spanish.”
“Is fuath liom tú uile,” Murphy muttered.
“And Irish,” Ethan pointed out. “I blame that one on his father.”
“Is everything settled now,” Andrej interjected before the guys could go any farther in on Travis and himself. “Can we go home?”
“Yeah, baby,” Zayne said. “You’ll still call later, right?”
Travis nodded. “Of course. Expect to hear from us either tonight or in the morning.”
“Perfect,” James said, giving Ethan one last look. “You’ve got this?”
“We’ll be fine,” he assured them. “Trav will sign their books and then I’ll get security to escort them out of here.”
“Until tomorrow then,” Andrej said, taking each of his boyfriends by the arm. With a tug, he led them towards the exits for hopefully the last time that day.
