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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: In Case You Didn’t Know
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,060
Summary: Andrej and Zayne are on their way home from Phoenix when they get hit by a monsoon.
Author’s Note: Written for the prompt ‘shelter’ for the slashthedrabble community. However… this wound up being a lot more than a drabble, so I’m also calling it for the songfic challenge at 1_million_words. I needed about 1k words to hit my February goal, and this did the trick. Oh, and I know I've done this theme before, but it was the only thing that came to mind for the prompt.
Video for the song mentioned in the title and in the fic is here.
“Those clouds look ominous,” Zayne said, leaning forward to get a better look at the sky. “I wonder if we should find somewhere to stop before we get dumped on.”
Andrej looked through the windshield and studied the clouds. They were on I-93, halfway between Wickenburg and Kingman. “I am not sure we need to do anything so drastic quite yet.” He glanced at Zayne briefly. “However, keep an eye out for a spot if need be. If there is one thing I have learned from living here is that monsoon storms are unpredictable.”
“That is the damn truth,” Zayne said, fiddling with the radio, trying to get something other than static to come through. “Do you mind if I connect my phone? There’s nothing out here.”
“Go ahead,” Andrej said. “However, please make your musical choices wisely.”
Zayne grinned. The last time he’d been allowed to connect his phone with Andrej’s car, he’d nearly caused his partner to drive off the road when the music started. “Okay, so no death metal today. Got it.”
“Not ever,” Andrej added.
“Okay, I don’t think you’ll hate this,” he said, music filling the car. “It’s country, but not quite.” Andrej gave him a confused look and Zayne shrugged. “When your country artists come from California, they rarely sound like they’re playing country.”
“I see,” Andrej said. “I think.”
Zayne laughed. “Stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy it. He’s cute, too, you’d like him.”
Andrej shook his head and drove. Halfway through the second song, raindrops started to splatter against the windshield, causing Andrej to mutter something unintelligible.
“I have zero idea what you just said,” Zayne teased, leaning forward again, trying to see through the increasingly intense rain. “But I fully concur with the sentiment.”
“How is it we always manage to be in the middle of nowhere when a monsoon hits,” Andrej grumbled.
“You need to trade this prissy ass sedan in for an SUV,” Zayne suggested, eyes peeled for the first place to pull off. “Wouldn’t do much to stop the rain, but at least you’d have decent traction on these crappy roads.”
“I do not need a lecture about my taste in vehicles,” Andrej scolded. “What I do need is a place to pull over.”
“Up ahead,” Zayne said, pointing forward and to the right. “See it?”
“No,” Andrej said. “Wait, yes, I do.”
Carefully, he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, hitting his hazards so that they weren’t accidentally rear-ended on the off chance someone else came along needing the area. Pulling up the parking brake, Andrej let out a tense breath.
“I hate these damn storms,” Zayne grumbled. “Unless I’m at home, then they’re fine. But they’re a bitch when you’re out here like this.”
Andrej nodded his agreement. The only upside was that the monsoons tended to blow over quickly, so they weren’t likely to be stuck for too long. He hoped. Closing his eyes, Andrej rested his head against the seat and listened to the rain. A new song started, and Zayne sang along, surprising Andrej with how well he knew the lyrics.
“I thought you disliked country music, Zayne.”
“Eh, you know,” Zayne said, deflecting. “It’s not all bad.”
“That is not what I have heard you say over and over again,” Andrej gently reminded him.
Shrugging, Zayne leaned over and kissed Andrej’s nose. “What can I say, this song makes me think about you.”
Andrej opened his mouth to ask why, but Zayne started singing again.
“Baby, I'm crazy 'bout you, and I would be lyin' if I said that I could live this life without you,” he sang softly, winking at Andrej. “Even though I don't tell you all the time, you had my heart a long, long time ago. In case you didn't know.”
His mouth slammed shut, the lyrics of the song rendering him speechless. Zayne chuckled and leaned over the center console again. This time, he pressed his lips against Andrej’s, and Andrej allowed himself to sink into the kiss, and the music surrounding them.
“You got all of me, I belong to you. Yeah, you're my everything.”
Something welled inside him, something as strong as the rain pouring down on the roof of the car. He’d been loved before, but never like this.
“I never knew,” he whispered. “Not until much later, but I had always, always hoped.”
Zayne chuckled softly, one hand cupping the side of Andrej’s face. “Yeah, you and me both, baby.”
“I thought I was obvious in my affection,” Andrej said. “It is what you and Trish have always told me.”
“No,” Zayne said, smiling. “That’s not what I mean.” He kissed the curve of Andrej’s cheek, a heartbreaking expression on his face. “I wish I had known that I loved you all those years. Wish that I hadn’t wasted them looking for someone who had always been right in front of me.”
“I cannot agree that time spent with Hilary was wasted,” Andrej said, even though he knew he’d have rather had Zayne with him.
“No, of course not,” Zayne agreed. “I love that woman, too. But all the others. They were the waste of time. Time I could have been happy. With you.”
Zayne frowned.
“Are you okay? What is wrong, Zayne?”
“I was just thinking about the narco,” he said, a smile creeping onto his face. “I’d have had to deal with his crap longer, too, but I think it would have been worth it.”
Laughing, Andrej fell back into his seat, pulling Zayne halfway into the driver’s side. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Zayne replied. “However, if you don’t want to be getting naked on the side of the road, I suggest you let me go.”
Andrej bit his bottom lip. “How much longer do you think this storm will last?”
Zayne flicked his eyes to the windshield and grinned. “Long enough.”
“Is the back seat big enough for us,” Andrej asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Zayne said. He planted a kiss on Andrej’s mouth and climbed over the seat into the back.
Shaking his head, Andrej followed. “You have to promise not to tell anyone, Zayne. Ever.”
“Why would I ever want anyone else to intrude on this memory?”
Andrej had no answer for that, so he kissed Zayne instead.
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,060
Summary: Andrej and Zayne are on their way home from Phoenix when they get hit by a monsoon.
Author’s Note: Written for the prompt ‘shelter’ for the slashthedrabble community. However… this wound up being a lot more than a drabble, so I’m also calling it for the songfic challenge at 1_million_words. I needed about 1k words to hit my February goal, and this did the trick. Oh, and I know I've done this theme before, but it was the only thing that came to mind for the prompt.
Video for the song mentioned in the title and in the fic is here.
“Those clouds look ominous,” Zayne said, leaning forward to get a better look at the sky. “I wonder if we should find somewhere to stop before we get dumped on.”
Andrej looked through the windshield and studied the clouds. They were on I-93, halfway between Wickenburg and Kingman. “I am not sure we need to do anything so drastic quite yet.” He glanced at Zayne briefly. “However, keep an eye out for a spot if need be. If there is one thing I have learned from living here is that monsoon storms are unpredictable.”
“That is the damn truth,” Zayne said, fiddling with the radio, trying to get something other than static to come through. “Do you mind if I connect my phone? There’s nothing out here.”
“Go ahead,” Andrej said. “However, please make your musical choices wisely.”
Zayne grinned. The last time he’d been allowed to connect his phone with Andrej’s car, he’d nearly caused his partner to drive off the road when the music started. “Okay, so no death metal today. Got it.”
“Not ever,” Andrej added.
“Okay, I don’t think you’ll hate this,” he said, music filling the car. “It’s country, but not quite.” Andrej gave him a confused look and Zayne shrugged. “When your country artists come from California, they rarely sound like they’re playing country.”
“I see,” Andrej said. “I think.”
Zayne laughed. “Stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy it. He’s cute, too, you’d like him.”
Andrej shook his head and drove. Halfway through the second song, raindrops started to splatter against the windshield, causing Andrej to mutter something unintelligible.
“I have zero idea what you just said,” Zayne teased, leaning forward again, trying to see through the increasingly intense rain. “But I fully concur with the sentiment.”
“How is it we always manage to be in the middle of nowhere when a monsoon hits,” Andrej grumbled.
“You need to trade this prissy ass sedan in for an SUV,” Zayne suggested, eyes peeled for the first place to pull off. “Wouldn’t do much to stop the rain, but at least you’d have decent traction on these crappy roads.”
“I do not need a lecture about my taste in vehicles,” Andrej scolded. “What I do need is a place to pull over.”
“Up ahead,” Zayne said, pointing forward and to the right. “See it?”
“No,” Andrej said. “Wait, yes, I do.”
Carefully, he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, hitting his hazards so that they weren’t accidentally rear-ended on the off chance someone else came along needing the area. Pulling up the parking brake, Andrej let out a tense breath.
“I hate these damn storms,” Zayne grumbled. “Unless I’m at home, then they’re fine. But they’re a bitch when you’re out here like this.”
Andrej nodded his agreement. The only upside was that the monsoons tended to blow over quickly, so they weren’t likely to be stuck for too long. He hoped. Closing his eyes, Andrej rested his head against the seat and listened to the rain. A new song started, and Zayne sang along, surprising Andrej with how well he knew the lyrics.
“I thought you disliked country music, Zayne.”
“Eh, you know,” Zayne said, deflecting. “It’s not all bad.”
“That is not what I have heard you say over and over again,” Andrej gently reminded him.
Shrugging, Zayne leaned over and kissed Andrej’s nose. “What can I say, this song makes me think about you.”
Andrej opened his mouth to ask why, but Zayne started singing again.
“Baby, I'm crazy 'bout you, and I would be lyin' if I said that I could live this life without you,” he sang softly, winking at Andrej. “Even though I don't tell you all the time, you had my heart a long, long time ago. In case you didn't know.”
His mouth slammed shut, the lyrics of the song rendering him speechless. Zayne chuckled and leaned over the center console again. This time, he pressed his lips against Andrej’s, and Andrej allowed himself to sink into the kiss, and the music surrounding them.
“You got all of me, I belong to you. Yeah, you're my everything.”
Something welled inside him, something as strong as the rain pouring down on the roof of the car. He’d been loved before, but never like this.
“I never knew,” he whispered. “Not until much later, but I had always, always hoped.”
Zayne chuckled softly, one hand cupping the side of Andrej’s face. “Yeah, you and me both, baby.”
“I thought I was obvious in my affection,” Andrej said. “It is what you and Trish have always told me.”
“No,” Zayne said, smiling. “That’s not what I mean.” He kissed the curve of Andrej’s cheek, a heartbreaking expression on his face. “I wish I had known that I loved you all those years. Wish that I hadn’t wasted them looking for someone who had always been right in front of me.”
“I cannot agree that time spent with Hilary was wasted,” Andrej said, even though he knew he’d have rather had Zayne with him.
“No, of course not,” Zayne agreed. “I love that woman, too. But all the others. They were the waste of time. Time I could have been happy. With you.”
Zayne frowned.
“Are you okay? What is wrong, Zayne?”
“I was just thinking about the narco,” he said, a smile creeping onto his face. “I’d have had to deal with his crap longer, too, but I think it would have been worth it.”
Laughing, Andrej fell back into his seat, pulling Zayne halfway into the driver’s side. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Zayne replied. “However, if you don’t want to be getting naked on the side of the road, I suggest you let me go.”
Andrej bit his bottom lip. “How much longer do you think this storm will last?”
Zayne flicked his eyes to the windshield and grinned. “Long enough.”
“Is the back seat big enough for us,” Andrej asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Zayne said. He planted a kiss on Andrej’s mouth and climbed over the seat into the back.
Shaking his head, Andrej followed. “You have to promise not to tell anyone, Zayne. Ever.”
“Why would I ever want anyone else to intrude on this memory?”
Andrej had no answer for that, so he kissed Zayne instead.
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