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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Book Lovers Wanted Chapter 6
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction Crossover
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,171
Summary: The boys have a final dinner to end a crazy weekend.
Author’s Note: Last chapter guys! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this. I’ll have to find a way to get them all back together again soon.
“We have a problem,” Andrej said, stepping out of his office.
“What’s the matter, baby,” Zayne asked. He put the television remote on the arm of the chair he was occupying. “The narco been giving you shit again?”
Andrej narrowed his eyes at Zayne. “No, no he is not.”
“Then what’s up, duck,” James asked from the couch.
“Because of the convention, I cannot get a reservation at any of the restaurants we usually frequent,” Andrej said. “I do not know what to do.”
He’d offered to make the reservations when they’d spoken with Travis and Ethan earlier. It only made sense since they knew the town, but none of them had taken the convention into account.
“Well, shit,” James said. “What do we do now?”
“Bring them here,” Zayne suggested. “Zek can make some of his amazing noodles and we can go get some beer and dessert.”
A bolt of panic shot through Andrej at the thought of someone he looked up to as much as he did Travis Murphy being in his home.
“Stop freaking out,” Zayne said, picking up the remote and changing the station. “Your house is immaculate and your cooking is amazing. Besides,” he looked at James and grinned, “Ethan says neither he nor Travis can cook for shit so I doubt either would complain.”
“I do not know,” he said, old fears crowing into his brain. “What if they do not like our home?”
“Then they can get the hell outta here,” Zayne said. Rising from his chair, he crossed the distance between himself and Andrej. Zayne rested one hand on Andrej’s shoulder. “Look, Ethan was very forthcoming about their lives together. Travis comes from humble stock, he’s not going to give a damn.”
“Their cabin is nice though,” James added.
“You are not helping, gingerbread.”
James shrugged. “Sorry. It’s an older cabin though. Ethan says he thinks it’s as old as Utah, but it’s still nice.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Zayne said, drawing Andrej’s attention back to him. “It’ll be fine. This house is gorgeous, I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t like it. I mean, how much time did I spend here even before we got together?”
“You only came around because you were hungry,” Andrej teased. He leaned in kissed Zayne’s cheek. “But thank you. I will call Travis and see if it is okay with him.”
“Let me,” Zayne said, holding out his hand for Andrej’s phone. “I need to apologize to him for what I did yesterday.”
“It was unorthodox,” Andrej agreed. “But it had the desired results.”
“Yeah, you might want to talk to someone about that, Reyes,” James said. He tossed the book he’d been reading onto the coffee table. “You seem to have a habit of kissing men in tense situations.”
“It shut your father the hell up though, didn’t it?” Zayne watched the redhead for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“My father deserved that,” James pointed out. “Not sure poor Travis did. Or Ethan either.”
“Whatever,” Zayne said, sticking his tongue out at James. “I’m going to call Travis. What do you think, six o’clock, Zek?”
Andrej looked at his watch and did some mental calculations. “Yes, that sounds acceptable. Please ask if anyone has any food allergies or extreme aversions to any foods. Once I have an idea, I will make a list and go to the grocery store.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Zayne said, finding Travis’ number in Andrej’s phone. “The narco and I can hit the bakery while you’re shopping for food.”
“Are you sure you want to do this,” Ethan asked as he pulled to the curb. He double checked the address on the house against what was on his phone. “We can still tell them we got lost or you were too tired.”
“What?” Travis tore his eyes off the house and stared at Ethan. “Why would I do that, especially after all the help they gave us yesterday?”
Ethan leaned across the console and gave Travis a quick kiss. “Because I know you and I know how uncomfortable you can get around people you don’t know all that well. And, because I also love you, I wanted to give you one last chance to bail.”
“I appreciate it,” he said, returning Ethan’s kiss with one of his own. “But we’re here and I’m starving.”
“Same,” Ethan said, turning the engine off. “I’m kind of excited, actually. Both Zayne and James raved about Andrej’s cooking skills.”
Travis snorted. “Like either of us can complain, right? I doubt he’s as good as my mama, but he’s got to be better than we are.”
“Are you two going to sit in the car and canoodle or are you going to come inside?”
Laughing, Ethan pulled back from Travis. “I think we got caught.”
“Not like it’s the first time we’ve been caught doing something stupid,” Travis reminded him fondly. “Come on, let’s go.”
They got out of the car and headed up the driveway, greeting Zayne halfway up the walk. “We weren’t canoodling, either,” Ethan said, shaking Zayne’s hand.
“You were trying to talk Travis out of dinner?”
“Not exactly,” Ethan said. “But giving him one last chance in case he needed an out.”
Zayne’s eyes landed on Travis and he shrugged. “I have a bad reputation of being a hermit. Things like this can be too much for me. But I have a feeling that I’m going to be fine.”
“You’re in good hands with Zek,” Zayne assured him. “I mean, he’s kept me from going off the rails for years now.”
“And let me tell you,” James said, stepping through the doorway. “That in itself is an impressive accomplishment.”
“Oh shut the hell up, gingerbread,” Zayne growled. “I’m going to see if Zek needs any help. Come with me, Travis. He’ll be excited to see you again.”
“He will,” James agreed. He turned to Travis and Ethan. “Sorry about that, but it’s true. Zayne is a piece of work.”
Ethan watched Travis disappear into the house. “I have to ask – Zayne’s not part Irish is he? Because he reminds me a hell of a lot of my father-in-law. Ornery, but loveable.”
“Not that I know,” James said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. He is a handful.”
Travis was standing in the middle of the living room when they entered. “Oh my god, E, look at his bookshelves.”
“They’re gorgeous,” Ethan said, nodding in Andrej’s direction. “Oak?”
“Maple,” Andrej corrected, “and thank you.”
“That’s not what I was talking about,” Travis sighed. “Look at his book collection!”
Ethan directed his eyes to the volumes lining the shelves and felt a rush of pride. Each shelf was filled with names as familiar to him as his own – Patterson, Reichs, Christie, and right there in the middle, Murphy. “Proof that he wasn’t lying to you,” Ethan chuckled.
“Oh shut up,” Travis growled. “I was startled to see them there, okay? Anyone have a pen?”
“I do,” Andrej said, retrieving the one he always carried in his shirt pocket. “But why do you need it?”
“So I can wreck the rest of your books like I did the one I gave you yesterday.”
“I do not know what to say,” Andrej muttered, hand with the pen outstretched.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Travis said, taking the pen from between his fingers. He reached for one of the hardbacks bearing his name. “Just feed me and we’re even.”
“I can feed you, all of you,” Andrej said, turning back towards the kitchen. “It is what I do, it seems.”
“He’s not very good at accepting gifts or acts of gratitude,” Zayne said once Andrej was out of earshot. “I don’t get it because he’s always the first person to help someone in need, but it’s true.”
“But he’s more than happy to feed anyone who shows up on his doorstep,” James said, eyeing Zayne openly.
“Stuff it, narco,” Zayne said. “He’s my partner and he told me from the very beginning that his door was always open.”
“Whatever, cowboy,” James laughed.
“Dinner is ready,” Andrej called, carrying a large bowl of steaming meat and veggies out of the kitchen. “Zayne will you bring the bowls of rice and noodles to the table, te rog?”
“Da,” Zayne replied, teasing Andrej for slipping back into his native tongue, even if ever so slightly.
James snorted. “I pray that Reyes never learns how to say ‘fuck you’ in Romanian or we’re all in trouble.”
“It’s official,” Travis said, setting his fork into his bowl and leaning back. “I suck as a cook.”
Laughter erupted around the table. Ethan shook his head, grinning. “You don’t suck, Murph,” he said. “You’re just not as good as Andy is.”
“Okay,” Travis said. “I can live with that.”
“None of us can cook like Andy,” James said, rising to take his and Ethan’s plates from the table. “I always thought I was pretty good until he showed me up.”
Andrej stared at the table cloth for a moment. “I have spent too many years alone,” he finally said. “And it was too expensive to eat takeaway –”
“TakeOUT,” Zayne and James interrupted at the same time.
“Yes, takeout, takeaway, however you say it, it was too expensive to do every night.”
“So you taught yourself how to cook,” Ethan finished.
“Along with learning English and French,” James added. “And attending college.”
Shrugging, Andrej let the compliment go. “I was living in Paris. It was sacrilege not to learn something while I was there.”
“You learned how to cook Chinese food in Paris,” Travis asked, genuinely curious.
“No,” Andrej said, putting his fork into his bowl and handing it to James. “I did not master that skill until I moved to America, but I learned the basics of cooking in Paris.”
“Nice,” Travis said, grinning. “Maybe you could teach me something other than how to make a grilled cheese.”
“Or heat up your mother’s leftovers,” Ethan laughed.
“Hey, my mother’s food is amazing,” Travis defended.
“It is,” Ethan agreed, squeezing his husband’s knee under the table, “but I’m sure she’d love to stop cooking for us once in a while.”
“You’d have to Skype,” Zayne said, rubbing a hand across his chin as he thought it through. “But Zek could give you some good pointers that way.”
“And you could pump him for information while he taught you,” Ethan suggested.
Andrej sat in his chair, stunned. “I would be happy to help you although I do not know how much help I could be.”
“Trust me,” Ethan said. “Anything would help the two of us. Not sure how we could pay you back, but we’d find a way.”
Rising to his feet, Andrej waved the offer away. “Nothing would be owed in return. I would be happy to help. But first, we have dessert. I believe it is a chocolate cake?”
“It is,” James said, carrying the dessert into the dining room. “You want me to get that other shit?”
“No,” Andrej said, sneaking behind James. “I will get it myself.”
“I don’t know if I like the sound of ‘that other shit’ or not,” Ethan said.
“It’s alcohol,” Zayne said. “You can relax.”
Returning to the table with a bottle and several small glasses, Andrej addressed the table. “It is called țuică and it is a plum brandy from my homeland. It is rather strong –”
“Which is a fucking understatement,” James interrupted.
Andrej glared at him for a moment. “It is rather strong, but it is very delicious as well. Normally, you would have it before the meal, but I did not want to have everyone on the floor before we ate.”
“Nah,” Zayne laughed, passing the small shot sized glasses around the table. “He’d rather we all passed out after the meal.”
“Well, hell,” Travis said, lifting his glass and sniffing it. “I’m half Irish, I can drink anything or so my father tells me.”
“You’re half Mexican, too,” Zayne pointed out. “And my father says that means we have stomachs of iron. I’m thinking you’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to leave in the morning,” Travis said abruptly. “Sorry, but this got me thinking.”
“You will have to come back,” Andrej offered. “Stay a few days when you do not have something planned. We would be happy to have you back.”
“Agreed,” James said. He was slicing into the cake and putting little plates of chocolate goodness in front of everyone.
“Consider it in the works,” Ethan said. “Do we shoot this crap or what?”
“You only shoot this shit if you want to wake up in the morning not remembering your name,” Zayne said. He pointed at Ethan. “Otherwise, you might want to sip it.”
“Well then,” Ethan said, lifting his glass. “I’ll sip it. Cheers.”
“Sláinte,” Travis added.
“And in my country,” Andrej said, looking around the table, “we say noroc.”
“I just drink,” Zayne laughed.
“Good damn idea,” James agreed.
So they did.
Fandom: Romani Detective/White Pine Original Fiction Crossover
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes + Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,171
Summary: The boys have a final dinner to end a crazy weekend.
Author’s Note: Last chapter guys! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this. I’ll have to find a way to get them all back together again soon.
“We have a problem,” Andrej said, stepping out of his office.
“What’s the matter, baby,” Zayne asked. He put the television remote on the arm of the chair he was occupying. “The narco been giving you shit again?”
Andrej narrowed his eyes at Zayne. “No, no he is not.”
“Then what’s up, duck,” James asked from the couch.
“Because of the convention, I cannot get a reservation at any of the restaurants we usually frequent,” Andrej said. “I do not know what to do.”
He’d offered to make the reservations when they’d spoken with Travis and Ethan earlier. It only made sense since they knew the town, but none of them had taken the convention into account.
“Well, shit,” James said. “What do we do now?”
“Bring them here,” Zayne suggested. “Zek can make some of his amazing noodles and we can go get some beer and dessert.”
A bolt of panic shot through Andrej at the thought of someone he looked up to as much as he did Travis Murphy being in his home.
“Stop freaking out,” Zayne said, picking up the remote and changing the station. “Your house is immaculate and your cooking is amazing. Besides,” he looked at James and grinned, “Ethan says neither he nor Travis can cook for shit so I doubt either would complain.”
“I do not know,” he said, old fears crowing into his brain. “What if they do not like our home?”
“Then they can get the hell outta here,” Zayne said. Rising from his chair, he crossed the distance between himself and Andrej. Zayne rested one hand on Andrej’s shoulder. “Look, Ethan was very forthcoming about their lives together. Travis comes from humble stock, he’s not going to give a damn.”
“Their cabin is nice though,” James added.
“You are not helping, gingerbread.”
James shrugged. “Sorry. It’s an older cabin though. Ethan says he thinks it’s as old as Utah, but it’s still nice.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Zayne said, drawing Andrej’s attention back to him. “It’ll be fine. This house is gorgeous, I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t like it. I mean, how much time did I spend here even before we got together?”
“You only came around because you were hungry,” Andrej teased. He leaned in kissed Zayne’s cheek. “But thank you. I will call Travis and see if it is okay with him.”
“Let me,” Zayne said, holding out his hand for Andrej’s phone. “I need to apologize to him for what I did yesterday.”
“It was unorthodox,” Andrej agreed. “But it had the desired results.”
“Yeah, you might want to talk to someone about that, Reyes,” James said. He tossed the book he’d been reading onto the coffee table. “You seem to have a habit of kissing men in tense situations.”
“It shut your father the hell up though, didn’t it?” Zayne watched the redhead for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“My father deserved that,” James pointed out. “Not sure poor Travis did. Or Ethan either.”
“Whatever,” Zayne said, sticking his tongue out at James. “I’m going to call Travis. What do you think, six o’clock, Zek?”
Andrej looked at his watch and did some mental calculations. “Yes, that sounds acceptable. Please ask if anyone has any food allergies or extreme aversions to any foods. Once I have an idea, I will make a list and go to the grocery store.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Zayne said, finding Travis’ number in Andrej’s phone. “The narco and I can hit the bakery while you’re shopping for food.”
“Are you sure you want to do this,” Ethan asked as he pulled to the curb. He double checked the address on the house against what was on his phone. “We can still tell them we got lost or you were too tired.”
“What?” Travis tore his eyes off the house and stared at Ethan. “Why would I do that, especially after all the help they gave us yesterday?”
Ethan leaned across the console and gave Travis a quick kiss. “Because I know you and I know how uncomfortable you can get around people you don’t know all that well. And, because I also love you, I wanted to give you one last chance to bail.”
“I appreciate it,” he said, returning Ethan’s kiss with one of his own. “But we’re here and I’m starving.”
“Same,” Ethan said, turning the engine off. “I’m kind of excited, actually. Both Zayne and James raved about Andrej’s cooking skills.”
Travis snorted. “Like either of us can complain, right? I doubt he’s as good as my mama, but he’s got to be better than we are.”
“Are you two going to sit in the car and canoodle or are you going to come inside?”
Laughing, Ethan pulled back from Travis. “I think we got caught.”
“Not like it’s the first time we’ve been caught doing something stupid,” Travis reminded him fondly. “Come on, let’s go.”
They got out of the car and headed up the driveway, greeting Zayne halfway up the walk. “We weren’t canoodling, either,” Ethan said, shaking Zayne’s hand.
“You were trying to talk Travis out of dinner?”
“Not exactly,” Ethan said. “But giving him one last chance in case he needed an out.”
Zayne’s eyes landed on Travis and he shrugged. “I have a bad reputation of being a hermit. Things like this can be too much for me. But I have a feeling that I’m going to be fine.”
“You’re in good hands with Zek,” Zayne assured him. “I mean, he’s kept me from going off the rails for years now.”
“And let me tell you,” James said, stepping through the doorway. “That in itself is an impressive accomplishment.”
“Oh shut the hell up, gingerbread,” Zayne growled. “I’m going to see if Zek needs any help. Come with me, Travis. He’ll be excited to see you again.”
“He will,” James agreed. He turned to Travis and Ethan. “Sorry about that, but it’s true. Zayne is a piece of work.”
Ethan watched Travis disappear into the house. “I have to ask – Zayne’s not part Irish is he? Because he reminds me a hell of a lot of my father-in-law. Ornery, but loveable.”
“Not that I know,” James said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly. He is a handful.”
Travis was standing in the middle of the living room when they entered. “Oh my god, E, look at his bookshelves.”
“They’re gorgeous,” Ethan said, nodding in Andrej’s direction. “Oak?”
“Maple,” Andrej corrected, “and thank you.”
“That’s not what I was talking about,” Travis sighed. “Look at his book collection!”
Ethan directed his eyes to the volumes lining the shelves and felt a rush of pride. Each shelf was filled with names as familiar to him as his own – Patterson, Reichs, Christie, and right there in the middle, Murphy. “Proof that he wasn’t lying to you,” Ethan chuckled.
“Oh shut up,” Travis growled. “I was startled to see them there, okay? Anyone have a pen?”
“I do,” Andrej said, retrieving the one he always carried in his shirt pocket. “But why do you need it?”
“So I can wreck the rest of your books like I did the one I gave you yesterday.”
“I do not know what to say,” Andrej muttered, hand with the pen outstretched.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Travis said, taking the pen from between his fingers. He reached for one of the hardbacks bearing his name. “Just feed me and we’re even.”
“I can feed you, all of you,” Andrej said, turning back towards the kitchen. “It is what I do, it seems.”
“He’s not very good at accepting gifts or acts of gratitude,” Zayne said once Andrej was out of earshot. “I don’t get it because he’s always the first person to help someone in need, but it’s true.”
“But he’s more than happy to feed anyone who shows up on his doorstep,” James said, eyeing Zayne openly.
“Stuff it, narco,” Zayne said. “He’s my partner and he told me from the very beginning that his door was always open.”
“Whatever, cowboy,” James laughed.
“Dinner is ready,” Andrej called, carrying a large bowl of steaming meat and veggies out of the kitchen. “Zayne will you bring the bowls of rice and noodles to the table, te rog?”
“Da,” Zayne replied, teasing Andrej for slipping back into his native tongue, even if ever so slightly.
James snorted. “I pray that Reyes never learns how to say ‘fuck you’ in Romanian or we’re all in trouble.”
“It’s official,” Travis said, setting his fork into his bowl and leaning back. “I suck as a cook.”
Laughter erupted around the table. Ethan shook his head, grinning. “You don’t suck, Murph,” he said. “You’re just not as good as Andy is.”
“Okay,” Travis said. “I can live with that.”
“None of us can cook like Andy,” James said, rising to take his and Ethan’s plates from the table. “I always thought I was pretty good until he showed me up.”
Andrej stared at the table cloth for a moment. “I have spent too many years alone,” he finally said. “And it was too expensive to eat takeaway –”
“TakeOUT,” Zayne and James interrupted at the same time.
“Yes, takeout, takeaway, however you say it, it was too expensive to do every night.”
“So you taught yourself how to cook,” Ethan finished.
“Along with learning English and French,” James added. “And attending college.”
Shrugging, Andrej let the compliment go. “I was living in Paris. It was sacrilege not to learn something while I was there.”
“You learned how to cook Chinese food in Paris,” Travis asked, genuinely curious.
“No,” Andrej said, putting his fork into his bowl and handing it to James. “I did not master that skill until I moved to America, but I learned the basics of cooking in Paris.”
“Nice,” Travis said, grinning. “Maybe you could teach me something other than how to make a grilled cheese.”
“Or heat up your mother’s leftovers,” Ethan laughed.
“Hey, my mother’s food is amazing,” Travis defended.
“It is,” Ethan agreed, squeezing his husband’s knee under the table, “but I’m sure she’d love to stop cooking for us once in a while.”
“You’d have to Skype,” Zayne said, rubbing a hand across his chin as he thought it through. “But Zek could give you some good pointers that way.”
“And you could pump him for information while he taught you,” Ethan suggested.
Andrej sat in his chair, stunned. “I would be happy to help you although I do not know how much help I could be.”
“Trust me,” Ethan said. “Anything would help the two of us. Not sure how we could pay you back, but we’d find a way.”
Rising to his feet, Andrej waved the offer away. “Nothing would be owed in return. I would be happy to help. But first, we have dessert. I believe it is a chocolate cake?”
“It is,” James said, carrying the dessert into the dining room. “You want me to get that other shit?”
“No,” Andrej said, sneaking behind James. “I will get it myself.”
“I don’t know if I like the sound of ‘that other shit’ or not,” Ethan said.
“It’s alcohol,” Zayne said. “You can relax.”
Returning to the table with a bottle and several small glasses, Andrej addressed the table. “It is called țuică and it is a plum brandy from my homeland. It is rather strong –”
“Which is a fucking understatement,” James interrupted.
Andrej glared at him for a moment. “It is rather strong, but it is very delicious as well. Normally, you would have it before the meal, but I did not want to have everyone on the floor before we ate.”
“Nah,” Zayne laughed, passing the small shot sized glasses around the table. “He’d rather we all passed out after the meal.”
“Well, hell,” Travis said, lifting his glass and sniffing it. “I’m half Irish, I can drink anything or so my father tells me.”
“You’re half Mexican, too,” Zayne pointed out. “And my father says that means we have stomachs of iron. I’m thinking you’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to leave in the morning,” Travis said abruptly. “Sorry, but this got me thinking.”
“You will have to come back,” Andrej offered. “Stay a few days when you do not have something planned. We would be happy to have you back.”
“Agreed,” James said. He was slicing into the cake and putting little plates of chocolate goodness in front of everyone.
“Consider it in the works,” Ethan said. “Do we shoot this crap or what?”
“You only shoot this shit if you want to wake up in the morning not remembering your name,” Zayne said. He pointed at Ethan. “Otherwise, you might want to sip it.”
“Well then,” Ethan said, lifting his glass. “I’ll sip it. Cheers.”
“Sláinte,” Travis added.
“And in my country,” Andrej said, looking around the table, “we say noroc.”
“I just drink,” Zayne laughed.
“Good damn idea,” James agreed.
So they did.
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no subject
Date: 2018-06-12 04:40 am (UTC)Nice tie up to the series, and you know a sequel will be require once you finish your bingo card. ;)
no subject
Date: 2018-06-12 01:15 pm (UTC)Hahaha - I'll have to find a way to get our trio into Utah maybe. :D
And now... BINGO!