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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: The Hand You’re Dealt Chapter 3
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,181
Summary: Andrej’s card reading is beginning to manifest itself and he’s not very happy about it.
Author’s Note: Written for the September bingo challenge at 1_million_words and I kind of neglected to put any of my prompts into this. Hahaha. So, I’m calling the free space card reading because it’s something I do to help settle my mind and give me a direction to focus on when I feel like the wheels are coming off my life.
Something tugged at Andrej’s consciousness, pulling him towards wakefulness. He rolled onto his side, the solid wall that was Zayne’s body stopping him from going any farther. Sighing, he tried to settle back into sleep.
That’s when his phone started ringing and Andrej realized that was what had dragged him out of his slumber in the first place. With a groan, he reached for his cell.
“Zeklos,” he asked more than stated.
“Hey,” a tired voice said from the other end of the line. “It’s Hansen, sorry to wake you.”
Every last vestige of sleep dropped away at the sound of Jake’s voice. “Jake? Are you okay? Is Jay okay?” Andrej sat upright in bed, hands clutching his phone.
“He’s… he’s had better nights,” Jake chuckled. “He’s okay but we’re at the ER right now.”
“What,” he shouted, causing Zayne to stir beside him. A warm hand rested on his back, comforting. “What happened to Jay?”
“We were chasing the guy we were staking out,” Jake said, sounding as exhausted as Andrej felt. “Jackass dropped his backpack in the dark, Rosewood didn’t see it, and he tripped over it. Busted his wrist, I think, but he’s still with the doc so I don’t know for sure yet.”
“Oh thank god,” Andrej muttered. “I was so worried that –”
“Believe me, I know,” Jake said. “And I’m sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean to do that. It’s been a long night and –”
“And you are in the emergency room and not thinking clearly,” Andrej finished for him. “I understand. Do we – do we need to come down?”
“It would be helpful,” Jake said. “One of you can take James home and the other can come with me to get his car from the station.”
“Okay,” Andrej said. “I will wake Zayne. Which hospital are you at?”
Jake told him and Andrej disconnected the call. “Zayne, wake up.”
“I’m awake,” he mumbled. “Kind of.”
“Jay has had an accident,” he said, throwing the covers off of him and getting out of bed.
“Shit,” Zayne said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “The narco okay?”
“As far as Jake knows, yes,” Andrej said. He pulled on his jeans and looked at Zayne. “He tripped and fell and Jake believes he might have broken his wrist.”
“Whew,” Zayne said, putting his feet on the floor and stretching. “That’s not as bad as it could have been.”
“I know,” Andrej said, thinking back to the dire warning he’d gotten from the cards only a few hours earlier. “But I am still unsettled.”
“Because of what you told me earlier?”
“Yes,” Andrej said. “I am afraid that this is only the beginning. Please, be careful, Zayne. I cannot stand it when either of you are injured.”
“Always, baby,” Zayne said. He came over and wrapped Andrej in his arms. “I promise. Now, let’s go get the gingerbread and bring him home.”
The nurse let them into the exam room as the doctor was finishing up with James. Andrej felt his heart drop at the sight of his boyfriend, paler than usual, being tended by the doctor.
“Ah, your ride has arrived, I see,” the pretty young doctor said, smiling.
James looked and them and slumped a little. “Hooray.”
“Don’t look so excited, red,” Zayne teased. “I only came back to make sure you’re still in one piece and get your keys. Hansen’s going to take me back to get your car.”
“Oh, good idea,” James said, sounding beat. “They’re in my pocket, can you get them?” James pointed to his pocket, forearm in a brace.
Zayne got them out with as little physical interaction as he could manage. “Okay, take care of him, Zek, I’ll meet you both at home.”
“Thank you,” James called to Zayne’s retreating back. “And thank you, too, Andy.”
Andrej shrugged, reaching out to touch James and quickly drawing his hand back. With the kind of night he’d been having, touching Jay would likely drag him into the moment when James had fallen and hurt himself. Better to save that for when they were alone. Neither of them needed the doctor getting suspicious. Drugs would be her assumption even though it wasn’t close to the truth.
“Are you okay?”
“I have had a rough night myself,” Andrej confessed. “But we will speak of that on the way home. Is he okay to leave?”
The doctor nodded and handed Andrej a clipboard. “Since he is right handed, could you sign these for me?”
He took the clipboard and added his name, signature, date and relationship to the patient in the appropriate spots. She took it back from him, added a few notes, and nodded. “You are good to go, detective.”
“Thank you,” James said, rising unsteadily to his feet.
Andrej quickly assessed James and, taking a chance, wrapped his arm around James’ middle. Tensing, he waited for that familiar wave of energy to hit him and, when it didn’t, he relaxed and helped James to the car. Any other night, even the thinnest barrier of clothing helped dispel the psychic whatever it was that caused his visions. However, tonight had more than proved itself to be unlike any other night.
Buckling the redhead in, Andrej got behind the wheel and sighed. “Home?”
“I have nowhere else to go if that’s what you’re asking,” James snapped.
“I am sorry,” Andrej apologized. “I’m tired and I did not mean – “
“You’re tired?” He huffed out an angry breath. “I’m the one who’s been up since five this morning, damn near twenty-four hours now. I’m the one who has been working while you and the damn cowboy have been doing… whatever it is you two get up to when I’m not around. And you think you’re fucking tired.”
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Andrej knew that James was not only worn-out but also in pain, not to mention that he was probably a bit mortified by his accident as well. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he accepted James’ rantings. “Of course,” he said, trying not to let his hurt show. “You are correct, Jay. I am sorry.”
Starting the car, he pulled out of the hospital’s parking lot. They were halfway home before James spoke again.
“What was so rough about your night,” James asked. “Reyes come home smelling like a woman?”
Although there wasn’t as much edge to James’ words now, Andrej could still feel the hostility behind them. Sighing, he shook his head. No point in trying to explain any of this to the redhead while he was so angry, it would only complicate things. “It was nothing, Jay. Forget I ever said anything.”
“What the hell is your problem?” James tried to cross his arms over his chest and remembered the brace on his broken wrist. Frustrated, he let them drop into his lap.
Anger. Strife. Misfortune. Peril.
The words rolled through his brain, stumbling into his conscious mind like a drunken sailor.
“Can we not fight, please?” He was desperate to calm James down, whatever it took. The warnings from his earlier reading were screaming in his head now, begging to be heard. Unwilling to let any of it manifest any further, Andrej forced himself to be calm. “I am only happy that you are safe.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he grumbled.
Zayne was standing in the garage when they arrived home. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and he’d been pacing. It was unusual for Zayne to let anything affect him this much and that worried Andrej. Maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so honest with his partner? It was possible that his own worries and superstitions were rubbing off.
“It’s about time you two got here,” Zayne said, exasperated. “I made it all the way to the station and back before you. And I even stopped to chat with the graveyard desk sergeant.”
“Zayne, please,” Andrej started.
“Oh boo-hoo,” James interrupted. “You poor baby. What a tough time you’ve had tonight.”
Zayne narrowed his eyes at the redhead before giving Andrej a questioning look. “I thought painkillers were supposed to make you happy. What the fuck did they give him?”
“Let it go, Zayne,” Andrej begged.
“Sure, whatever,” Zayne said, letting James pass by into the house. “I’m too tired to give a damn right now,” he said, watching the redhead disappear into the house. Zayne grabbed Andrej as he tried to do the same. “You don’t get so lucky. What’s up his ass?”
“I have no idea,” Andrej admitted. “He snapped at me in the car and only got angrier the more I talked.”
“You think your predictions are coming true?”
He shook his head. “It does not work that way,” Andrej said. “When you read the cards, sometimes you can make the things you see come true, either consciously or unconsciously. By antagonizing Jay, we would be consciously making that warning of strife come true.”
Zayne made a face but nodded. “I see what you mean. He might just be hurting and not angry at all and by picking at him, I’ll make him actually angry?”
“Yes, that is what I am saying, although it is not just you, but me as well.” He rested a hand on Zayne’s arm. “My very presence seems to be upsetting him. Do you mind staying in your room tonight?”
“Yeah, actually I do,” Zayne admitted, letting go of Andrej’s arm. “Just because he’s being pissy doesn’t mean I should have to sleep by myself.”
“Zayne, please,” Andrej begged, hating the sound of betrayal he heard in Zayne’s voice. “I have a feeling I will be sleeping alone as well if he is not any happier with me by the time I get back to my room. You are not the only one suffering tonight.”
“This is so much bullshit,” he spat into the empty garage. “But if it’s what you think is best, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Zayne,” Andrej said, reaching for him.
“Just don’t touch me or I might change my mind.”
He pulled his hand back quickly, wishing that he’d never touched those damn cards in the first place. Although, honestly, he couldn’t pin the blame solely on the cards. Something else was at work here. Their long hours, living too closely together, maybe. Whatever it was, they needed to fix it and fast. Andrej made a mental note to sneak into his office and drag out the cards again. Maybe they’d give him a more hopeful picture this time around. Or, if nothing else, some hint as to how to fix this mess.
“Are you sleeping in here or are you staying in your room tonight,” Andrej asked James who was sitting on the foot of the bed, staring at the floor.
“I should probably sleep in my room,” he said, giving Andrej a sad look. “But I can’t get my shirt off by myself. Haven’t even tried my pants but I’m sure that’s going to be a laugh riot.”
“I will help you undress,” Andrej offered. “And I will not chase you out if you want to share my bed tonight.”
“Won’t that piss off Reyes?” He glanced at the empty doorway as if expecting Zayne to be there, glowering.
It already has he thought, but he kept that to himself. “If you tell him you’d like to not be alone but do not think your wrist can handle being crowded, he might not get angry.” Andrej could only pray that conversation they’d had in the garage had sunk into that hard head of Zayne’s.
“I’m too tired to deal with it,” James said, sounding exhausted. “I’ll go sleep in my room if you help me change.”
“You are not angry any longer?”
James shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and I’m in a lot of pain. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you earlier. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course,” Andrej said, relief flooding his body. He bent down and kissed the top of James’ head. “Stand up and I will help you.”
James did as he was told and Andrej helped him out of his work clothes and into clean pajamas. Once James was settled in his room, he stopped to let Zayne know.
“Your room is closer to his than mine,” he said. “If he needs anything he might come to you first.”
“Knowing his stubborn ass, he’d make a point to bypass me and go to you,” Zayne said, only half joking.
“Sadly, you may be right,” Andrej said, kissing Zayne’s cheek. “But he may surprise you.”
“Good night, Zek,” Zayne said, closing his door behind him.
“Noapte bună,” he muttered to the empty hallway. He started towards his bedroom, wondering how he was going to manage to sleep without Jay’s arm around his middle or the sound of Zayne snoring in his ear when he made an abrupt turn and headed for his office.
“I wasn’t going go get any sleep anyway,” he muttered. “I might as well do something about this mess.”
--
End note: don’t be surprised if Andy breaks out a smudging stick next chapter. I think he’s about four seconds away from fully reverting to the old ways.
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,181
Summary: Andrej’s card reading is beginning to manifest itself and he’s not very happy about it.
Author’s Note: Written for the September bingo challenge at 1_million_words and I kind of neglected to put any of my prompts into this. Hahaha. So, I’m calling the free space card reading because it’s something I do to help settle my mind and give me a direction to focus on when I feel like the wheels are coming off my life.
Something tugged at Andrej’s consciousness, pulling him towards wakefulness. He rolled onto his side, the solid wall that was Zayne’s body stopping him from going any farther. Sighing, he tried to settle back into sleep.
That’s when his phone started ringing and Andrej realized that was what had dragged him out of his slumber in the first place. With a groan, he reached for his cell.
“Zeklos,” he asked more than stated.
“Hey,” a tired voice said from the other end of the line. “It’s Hansen, sorry to wake you.”
Every last vestige of sleep dropped away at the sound of Jake’s voice. “Jake? Are you okay? Is Jay okay?” Andrej sat upright in bed, hands clutching his phone.
“He’s… he’s had better nights,” Jake chuckled. “He’s okay but we’re at the ER right now.”
“What,” he shouted, causing Zayne to stir beside him. A warm hand rested on his back, comforting. “What happened to Jay?”
“We were chasing the guy we were staking out,” Jake said, sounding as exhausted as Andrej felt. “Jackass dropped his backpack in the dark, Rosewood didn’t see it, and he tripped over it. Busted his wrist, I think, but he’s still with the doc so I don’t know for sure yet.”
“Oh thank god,” Andrej muttered. “I was so worried that –”
“Believe me, I know,” Jake said. “And I’m sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean to do that. It’s been a long night and –”
“And you are in the emergency room and not thinking clearly,” Andrej finished for him. “I understand. Do we – do we need to come down?”
“It would be helpful,” Jake said. “One of you can take James home and the other can come with me to get his car from the station.”
“Okay,” Andrej said. “I will wake Zayne. Which hospital are you at?”
Jake told him and Andrej disconnected the call. “Zayne, wake up.”
“I’m awake,” he mumbled. “Kind of.”
“Jay has had an accident,” he said, throwing the covers off of him and getting out of bed.
“Shit,” Zayne said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “The narco okay?”
“As far as Jake knows, yes,” Andrej said. He pulled on his jeans and looked at Zayne. “He tripped and fell and Jake believes he might have broken his wrist.”
“Whew,” Zayne said, putting his feet on the floor and stretching. “That’s not as bad as it could have been.”
“I know,” Andrej said, thinking back to the dire warning he’d gotten from the cards only a few hours earlier. “But I am still unsettled.”
“Because of what you told me earlier?”
“Yes,” Andrej said. “I am afraid that this is only the beginning. Please, be careful, Zayne. I cannot stand it when either of you are injured.”
“Always, baby,” Zayne said. He came over and wrapped Andrej in his arms. “I promise. Now, let’s go get the gingerbread and bring him home.”
The nurse let them into the exam room as the doctor was finishing up with James. Andrej felt his heart drop at the sight of his boyfriend, paler than usual, being tended by the doctor.
“Ah, your ride has arrived, I see,” the pretty young doctor said, smiling.
James looked and them and slumped a little. “Hooray.”
“Don’t look so excited, red,” Zayne teased. “I only came back to make sure you’re still in one piece and get your keys. Hansen’s going to take me back to get your car.”
“Oh, good idea,” James said, sounding beat. “They’re in my pocket, can you get them?” James pointed to his pocket, forearm in a brace.
Zayne got them out with as little physical interaction as he could manage. “Okay, take care of him, Zek, I’ll meet you both at home.”
“Thank you,” James called to Zayne’s retreating back. “And thank you, too, Andy.”
Andrej shrugged, reaching out to touch James and quickly drawing his hand back. With the kind of night he’d been having, touching Jay would likely drag him into the moment when James had fallen and hurt himself. Better to save that for when they were alone. Neither of them needed the doctor getting suspicious. Drugs would be her assumption even though it wasn’t close to the truth.
“Are you okay?”
“I have had a rough night myself,” Andrej confessed. “But we will speak of that on the way home. Is he okay to leave?”
The doctor nodded and handed Andrej a clipboard. “Since he is right handed, could you sign these for me?”
He took the clipboard and added his name, signature, date and relationship to the patient in the appropriate spots. She took it back from him, added a few notes, and nodded. “You are good to go, detective.”
“Thank you,” James said, rising unsteadily to his feet.
Andrej quickly assessed James and, taking a chance, wrapped his arm around James’ middle. Tensing, he waited for that familiar wave of energy to hit him and, when it didn’t, he relaxed and helped James to the car. Any other night, even the thinnest barrier of clothing helped dispel the psychic whatever it was that caused his visions. However, tonight had more than proved itself to be unlike any other night.
Buckling the redhead in, Andrej got behind the wheel and sighed. “Home?”
“I have nowhere else to go if that’s what you’re asking,” James snapped.
“I am sorry,” Andrej apologized. “I’m tired and I did not mean – “
“You’re tired?” He huffed out an angry breath. “I’m the one who’s been up since five this morning, damn near twenty-four hours now. I’m the one who has been working while you and the damn cowboy have been doing… whatever it is you two get up to when I’m not around. And you think you’re fucking tired.”
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Andrej knew that James was not only worn-out but also in pain, not to mention that he was probably a bit mortified by his accident as well. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he accepted James’ rantings. “Of course,” he said, trying not to let his hurt show. “You are correct, Jay. I am sorry.”
Starting the car, he pulled out of the hospital’s parking lot. They were halfway home before James spoke again.
“What was so rough about your night,” James asked. “Reyes come home smelling like a woman?”
Although there wasn’t as much edge to James’ words now, Andrej could still feel the hostility behind them. Sighing, he shook his head. No point in trying to explain any of this to the redhead while he was so angry, it would only complicate things. “It was nothing, Jay. Forget I ever said anything.”
“What the hell is your problem?” James tried to cross his arms over his chest and remembered the brace on his broken wrist. Frustrated, he let them drop into his lap.
Anger. Strife. Misfortune. Peril.
The words rolled through his brain, stumbling into his conscious mind like a drunken sailor.
“Can we not fight, please?” He was desperate to calm James down, whatever it took. The warnings from his earlier reading were screaming in his head now, begging to be heard. Unwilling to let any of it manifest any further, Andrej forced himself to be calm. “I am only happy that you are safe.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he grumbled.
Zayne was standing in the garage when they arrived home. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and he’d been pacing. It was unusual for Zayne to let anything affect him this much and that worried Andrej. Maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so honest with his partner? It was possible that his own worries and superstitions were rubbing off.
“It’s about time you two got here,” Zayne said, exasperated. “I made it all the way to the station and back before you. And I even stopped to chat with the graveyard desk sergeant.”
“Zayne, please,” Andrej started.
“Oh boo-hoo,” James interrupted. “You poor baby. What a tough time you’ve had tonight.”
Zayne narrowed his eyes at the redhead before giving Andrej a questioning look. “I thought painkillers were supposed to make you happy. What the fuck did they give him?”
“Let it go, Zayne,” Andrej begged.
“Sure, whatever,” Zayne said, letting James pass by into the house. “I’m too tired to give a damn right now,” he said, watching the redhead disappear into the house. Zayne grabbed Andrej as he tried to do the same. “You don’t get so lucky. What’s up his ass?”
“I have no idea,” Andrej admitted. “He snapped at me in the car and only got angrier the more I talked.”
“You think your predictions are coming true?”
He shook his head. “It does not work that way,” Andrej said. “When you read the cards, sometimes you can make the things you see come true, either consciously or unconsciously. By antagonizing Jay, we would be consciously making that warning of strife come true.”
Zayne made a face but nodded. “I see what you mean. He might just be hurting and not angry at all and by picking at him, I’ll make him actually angry?”
“Yes, that is what I am saying, although it is not just you, but me as well.” He rested a hand on Zayne’s arm. “My very presence seems to be upsetting him. Do you mind staying in your room tonight?”
“Yeah, actually I do,” Zayne admitted, letting go of Andrej’s arm. “Just because he’s being pissy doesn’t mean I should have to sleep by myself.”
“Zayne, please,” Andrej begged, hating the sound of betrayal he heard in Zayne’s voice. “I have a feeling I will be sleeping alone as well if he is not any happier with me by the time I get back to my room. You are not the only one suffering tonight.”
“This is so much bullshit,” he spat into the empty garage. “But if it’s what you think is best, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Zayne,” Andrej said, reaching for him.
“Just don’t touch me or I might change my mind.”
He pulled his hand back quickly, wishing that he’d never touched those damn cards in the first place. Although, honestly, he couldn’t pin the blame solely on the cards. Something else was at work here. Their long hours, living too closely together, maybe. Whatever it was, they needed to fix it and fast. Andrej made a mental note to sneak into his office and drag out the cards again. Maybe they’d give him a more hopeful picture this time around. Or, if nothing else, some hint as to how to fix this mess.
“Are you sleeping in here or are you staying in your room tonight,” Andrej asked James who was sitting on the foot of the bed, staring at the floor.
“I should probably sleep in my room,” he said, giving Andrej a sad look. “But I can’t get my shirt off by myself. Haven’t even tried my pants but I’m sure that’s going to be a laugh riot.”
“I will help you undress,” Andrej offered. “And I will not chase you out if you want to share my bed tonight.”
“Won’t that piss off Reyes?” He glanced at the empty doorway as if expecting Zayne to be there, glowering.
It already has he thought, but he kept that to himself. “If you tell him you’d like to not be alone but do not think your wrist can handle being crowded, he might not get angry.” Andrej could only pray that conversation they’d had in the garage had sunk into that hard head of Zayne’s.
“I’m too tired to deal with it,” James said, sounding exhausted. “I’ll go sleep in my room if you help me change.”
“You are not angry any longer?”
James shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and I’m in a lot of pain. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you earlier. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course,” Andrej said, relief flooding his body. He bent down and kissed the top of James’ head. “Stand up and I will help you.”
James did as he was told and Andrej helped him out of his work clothes and into clean pajamas. Once James was settled in his room, he stopped to let Zayne know.
“Your room is closer to his than mine,” he said. “If he needs anything he might come to you first.”
“Knowing his stubborn ass, he’d make a point to bypass me and go to you,” Zayne said, only half joking.
“Sadly, you may be right,” Andrej said, kissing Zayne’s cheek. “But he may surprise you.”
“Good night, Zek,” Zayne said, closing his door behind him.
“Noapte bună,” he muttered to the empty hallway. He started towards his bedroom, wondering how he was going to manage to sleep without Jay’s arm around his middle or the sound of Zayne snoring in his ear when he made an abrupt turn and headed for his office.
“I wasn’t going go get any sleep anyway,” he muttered. “I might as well do something about this mess.”
--
End note: don’t be surprised if Andy breaks out a smudging stick next chapter. I think he’s about four seconds away from fully reverting to the old ways.
