asphaltcowgrrl (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2022-06-05 05:17 pm
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2022-06-05 05:17 pm
Another Day, Another Crisis (Romani Detective Original Fiction)
Title: Another Day Another Crisis
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,134
Summary: Andrej has left Zayne and James alone to have a quiet lunch with Trish and Hilary. He should have known better.
Author’s Note: Written for the weekend challenge at 1_million_words. My three prompts were: a pair of handcuffs, a letter opener, and a car. And of course, this is exactly where my mind went. Damnit, Zayne. I mean, I think this is twice, cowboy.
His phone rang just as he pulled into the guest parking spot outside of Hilary’s apartment. Frowning, Andrej flicked his eyes to the display in the middle of his car’s console. Zayne’s name appeared. With a silent shake of his head, he answered.
“Zayne, I am at Hilary’s, can this wait?”
There was some muffled scuffling before he heard Zayne shush someone – most likely James – before he answered. “Um, unfortunately, the narco and I are in a – what did you call it?”
“A quandary, cowboy,” James snapped. “Might want to pick up a book now and then and you’d know these words.”
Zayne let out a string of what Andrej instinctively knew to be profanity in fluent Spanish. “That enough words for you, gingerbread?”
“Can you stop arguing long enough to tell me what it is that cannot wait until after I have had lunch?”
The passenger door opened, and Trish stuck her head in. “You okay in here, Andy?”
“Aw, shit,” Zayne muttered. “Rollins, can you go back inside for a minute? I need to talk to Zek.”
“Oh hell no,” Hilary said, poking her head in beside Trish’s. “If you don’t want anyone to hear this, it’s got to be good.”
James snorted. “They know you too well, Reyes.”
“Both of you,” Trish pointed out. “It has to be bad if you’re laughing at him.”
“I don’t know why the hell he’s laughing either,” Zayne shot back. “He’s mixed up in this mess with me.”
Andrej rubbed his forehead. “Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“We’re um…” Zayne began.
“We’re at my place,” James finished. “Please hurry.”
The call disconnected. Andrej rested his head on the steering wheel, wondering not for the first time why he decided to get involved with either of the men, let alone both of them.
“Well, this sounds like it’s going to be juicy,” Trish said, sliding into the front passenger seat. She patted Andrej on the leg. “You okay to drive?”
He lifted his head and looked at her, shrugging. “I will be fine.”
“He says that now,” Hilary said, climbing into the backseat behind Trish. “But I have a feeling we won’t know for sure until we know what Reyes and Rosewood have gotten themselves into this time.”
--
“Which apartment is the narco’s,” Trish asked, looking at the four buildings facing them.
“It is number one three three seven,” Andrej said. He pointed to the building directly in front of them. “This is his building, but the apartment is on the other side.”
The girls followed Andrej as he led the way to James’ apartment, waiting while Andrej found the key James had given him long ago and fitted it into the lock.
“Why isn’t he living with you and Reyes,” Trish asked.
“My guess would be because of Zayne,” Hilary said, only half joking.
“You are not completely wrong,” Andrej sighed, turning the handle and opening the door. “The biggest part of it, as I have come to understand, is not so much living with Zayne, but losing his freedom.”
“Freedom to see other guys,” Hilary asked, drawing Andrej’s attention.
He frowned and thought for a moment. “I do not think that is his intention,” he said. “I believe he is worried that if things do not work out, he will not have anywhere to go.”
“That’s understandable,” Hilary agreed. “But the two of you have been together for several years.”
“And wasn’t he the one who invited Reyes into your relationship in the first place,” Trish added.
That wasn’t exactly what had happened, but he let it go. “I think he is still battling demons from the way he was raised. I am fine with him having his own place, especially while he allows me to still have his key.” He held it up for a second before pocketing it.
“Zek,” he heard Zayne yell. “Is that you?”
“It is,” he called back. “As well as Hilary and Trish.”
“Fuck me,” he heard James splutter. “Why us?”
“Why not,” Zayne cackled. “Isn’t this how it always ends with us?”
Andrej pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Are you okay?” This time it was Hilary asking.
“I – I think they are in Jay’s bedroom.”
A deliciously evil laugh escaped Trish. “Oh, this is going to be worth the price of admission, isn’t it?”
He looked at Hilary who shrugged. It was obvious that she agreed with her partner.
“I am coming in,” he announced as he pushed the door to James’ bedroom open.
“Tell the girls to close their eyes,” James called out.
“As if,” Hilary muttered, nudging Trish.
Zayne was fully naked, one arm stretched over his head, the other resting on his thigh. James was flat on his back, also fully naked, with one leg bent, the other in the air not far from where Zayne’s arm was.
“Wait,” Trish said, laughter spilling out into the room. “Is your arm handcuffed to his fucking ankle, Reyes?”
Zayne glared at her. “Very good, Rollins,” he drawled. “Five bonus points to you, Miss Smarty Pants.”
James looked at Hilary. “I’m not sure it’s that funny, Maxwell,” he said. “You might need to call 911 for her, I’m not sure she’s breathing, Andy.”
Andrej looked at Hilary who was holding her hand out in front of her, the other over her mouth as tears silently streamed from her eyes. The sight of her mirth made him chuckle. “I am certain that she will be okay. The two of you, however, do I even want to know what happened here today?”
Zayne looked down at James who looked back at him. “Probably not,” Zayne said.
“Okay,” Andrej said, scratching the back of his neck. He knew he’d get the full story – complete with reenactment – later, so he wouldn’t press for details now.
“Please get us out of this mess,” James begged.
“Where are the keys to your handcuffs, Jay?” He glanced at any flat surface nearby and saw nothing. “I am assuming they are yours?”
“They are,” he said with a sad sigh. “However, they’re an old pair and Zayne lost the key.”
Andrej pressed his lips together. He didn’t have his on him since it was the weekend, and he had no use for them. Obviously, unlike his partner and his boyfriend. A glance at the girls confirmed that neither of them had theirs – or their key – on them.
“I am not sure what you want me to do if you do not know where your key is.”
James gave Andrej a pleading look. “Can’t you pick the lock?”
“That is Zayne’s specialty, not mine,” Andrej replied dryly.
“I told you, I had too much time on my hands as a kid,” Zayne protested.
“I can do it,” Trish offered up. “However, I need something to work the lock with. Any ideas, narco?”
“The spare bedroom is my office. If there’s anything in here that will work, it’d be in there.”
Trish ducked out of the room and returned an agonizingly long ten minutes later. “You have a very sad stash of office supplies, Rosewood,” she said when she returned.
“Did you find anything?” James sounded hopeful.
“Just this,” she said, holding up a long, thin letter opener. “I hope it works. Who the hell doesn’t even have a damn paperclip in his office?”
Shaking her head, she came to stand beside the bed. Looking down, she immediately turned and faced the wall. “Why does it have to be two naked men?”
“And one of them is Zayne,” Hilary giggled.
“You are not making this any easier,” she shot back.
“There’s a spare blanket in my closet, Andy,” James said. “Grab it and cover us if that will help her.”
“Anything to not have to see your pasty white –”
“Okay,” Andrej interrupted, not wanting to hear what Trish thought of his boyfriend’s pasty anything. “Is it still where you used to keep it?”
“It is,” he confirmed. “Top left side of the shelf.”
Andrej returned a minute later with the blanket. Carefully, he draped it over Zayne’s and James’ bodies, trying not to cover the redhead’s face.
“Much better,” Trish said, resting a knee on the mattress. “Who do I free first? Who started this mess?”
“He did,” James and Zayne said in unison.
“Of course, he did,” Hilary laughed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Heads or tails, Rosewood?”
“Why does he get to call it,” Zayne asked, sounding bitter.
“His house,” Trish offered.
“They’re also his sketchy ass cuffs, too,” Zayne shot back.
Hilary shrugged. “Not debating that point, Reyes.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “Call it narco.”
James turned his head so he could see Hilary. “Tails.”
Trish snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Please,” Andrej said, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. “Just flip the coin and let them loose.”
Hilary flipped and it came up heads, eliciting a shout of triumph from Zayne.
“Stop gloating, cowboy,” James muttered.
Trish climbed fully onto the bed, throwing one leg over Zayne’s waist. “This is as close to a naked man as I ever want to be,” she said.
Zayne lifted his free arm and smacked her hip playfully. “Close as I ever want to be to you while naked, so we’re even.”
Cackling, Trish went to work on the lock. She felt the tension go out of Zayne’s body when the lock clicked, and the cuff popped open. Removing the letter opener, she fully opened the cuff and released Zayne’s wrist.
He held it close to his chest, rubbing it. “Thank you,” he said, sounding more sincere than any of them had ever heard him.
“Your turn, red,” she said.
James tugged his leg and the half of the handcuffs that had been attached to Zayne came free from around the bedpost. “There, that might make it easier for you.”
Trish nodded her thanks and sat on the mattress beside Zayne. She grabbed James’ large foot and put it in her lap while she worked at the lock.
“He’s got some big feet,” Hilary muttered to Andrej.
Andrej felt himself blush. “They both do,” he said.
“And now we know the truth,” Hilary muttered so that only Andrej could hear. “Since they were exposed to God and country when we got here.”
Snickering, Andrej covered his mouth with a hand. Neither of his boyfriends were going to live this down anytime soon it seemed.
A click and a snap sounded, and James whooped in excitement. “Thank you,” he said to her. “And thank you for coming without asking, Andy.”
Shrugging, Andrej gathered James’ and Zayne’s clothes off the floor and dumped them on the bed. “You can either get dressed and join us for lunch or…” He wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence.
“Or,” Trish jumped in, grinning. “You can continue what you were doing before and see if you don’t get stuck again.”
James looked at Zayne. “Food,” they agreed in a resounding chorus.
“We almost had a lunch date without them,” Hilary sighed.
“Next week,” Andrej promised. “And if they do this,” he waved aimlessly at the bed, “again, they can wait until after we’ve had lunch.”
“And a few cocktails,” Trish added. “It’s going to take some serious therapy to get that image out of my head.”
Trish left the room; Andrej and Hilary followed. They were joined by James and Zayne a few moments later, finally, blissfully, clothed.
“We’re um, sorry about all of that,” James said, unable to look Andrej in the eye.
“No you aren’t,” Trish said. “You two live to one up each other and it’s always getting you into situations like this.”
“She’s right,” Hilary said. “Competition is fine, just keep it out of the damn bedroom, boys. It’s a hell of a lot safer when the two of you are involved.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zayne said, amping up his natural drawl for her benefit.
“We’ll try,” James said, more genuinely. “Lunch?”
“Lunch,” Zayne agreed.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” Trish moaned. “So much hair. So many… never mind.”
Hilary howled, and Andrej laughed. Zayne plucked the keys out of Andrej’s hands and headed for the car. James called shotgun and Trish moaned.
“Look at it this way,” Hilary said. “We’ll be stuck in the back with Andy at least. He’s never exposed us to…” she held her hands up, unable to put it into words. “Any of that.”
“Good point,” Trish said, sliding her arm through Andrej’s. “And if he ever does, we’ll know something is very seriously wrong.”
“Are we going to eat or not,” Zayne yelled.
“Hold your horses, Reyes,” Hilary shot back. “We’re on our way.”
Andrej held the car door open for Trish and sighed. It was going to be a long, interesting lunch.
Fandom: Romani Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,134
Summary: Andrej has left Zayne and James alone to have a quiet lunch with Trish and Hilary. He should have known better.
Author’s Note: Written for the weekend challenge at 1_million_words. My three prompts were: a pair of handcuffs, a letter opener, and a car. And of course, this is exactly where my mind went. Damnit, Zayne. I mean, I think this is twice, cowboy.
His phone rang just as he pulled into the guest parking spot outside of Hilary’s apartment. Frowning, Andrej flicked his eyes to the display in the middle of his car’s console. Zayne’s name appeared. With a silent shake of his head, he answered.
“Zayne, I am at Hilary’s, can this wait?”
There was some muffled scuffling before he heard Zayne shush someone – most likely James – before he answered. “Um, unfortunately, the narco and I are in a – what did you call it?”
“A quandary, cowboy,” James snapped. “Might want to pick up a book now and then and you’d know these words.”
Zayne let out a string of what Andrej instinctively knew to be profanity in fluent Spanish. “That enough words for you, gingerbread?”
“Can you stop arguing long enough to tell me what it is that cannot wait until after I have had lunch?”
The passenger door opened, and Trish stuck her head in. “You okay in here, Andy?”
“Aw, shit,” Zayne muttered. “Rollins, can you go back inside for a minute? I need to talk to Zek.”
“Oh hell no,” Hilary said, poking her head in beside Trish’s. “If you don’t want anyone to hear this, it’s got to be good.”
James snorted. “They know you too well, Reyes.”
“Both of you,” Trish pointed out. “It has to be bad if you’re laughing at him.”
“I don’t know why the hell he’s laughing either,” Zayne shot back. “He’s mixed up in this mess with me.”
Andrej rubbed his forehead. “Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“We’re um…” Zayne began.
“We’re at my place,” James finished. “Please hurry.”
The call disconnected. Andrej rested his head on the steering wheel, wondering not for the first time why he decided to get involved with either of the men, let alone both of them.
“Well, this sounds like it’s going to be juicy,” Trish said, sliding into the front passenger seat. She patted Andrej on the leg. “You okay to drive?”
He lifted his head and looked at her, shrugging. “I will be fine.”
“He says that now,” Hilary said, climbing into the backseat behind Trish. “But I have a feeling we won’t know for sure until we know what Reyes and Rosewood have gotten themselves into this time.”
--
“Which apartment is the narco’s,” Trish asked, looking at the four buildings facing them.
“It is number one three three seven,” Andrej said. He pointed to the building directly in front of them. “This is his building, but the apartment is on the other side.”
The girls followed Andrej as he led the way to James’ apartment, waiting while Andrej found the key James had given him long ago and fitted it into the lock.
“Why isn’t he living with you and Reyes,” Trish asked.
“My guess would be because of Zayne,” Hilary said, only half joking.
“You are not completely wrong,” Andrej sighed, turning the handle and opening the door. “The biggest part of it, as I have come to understand, is not so much living with Zayne, but losing his freedom.”
“Freedom to see other guys,” Hilary asked, drawing Andrej’s attention.
He frowned and thought for a moment. “I do not think that is his intention,” he said. “I believe he is worried that if things do not work out, he will not have anywhere to go.”
“That’s understandable,” Hilary agreed. “But the two of you have been together for several years.”
“And wasn’t he the one who invited Reyes into your relationship in the first place,” Trish added.
That wasn’t exactly what had happened, but he let it go. “I think he is still battling demons from the way he was raised. I am fine with him having his own place, especially while he allows me to still have his key.” He held it up for a second before pocketing it.
“Zek,” he heard Zayne yell. “Is that you?”
“It is,” he called back. “As well as Hilary and Trish.”
“Fuck me,” he heard James splutter. “Why us?”
“Why not,” Zayne cackled. “Isn’t this how it always ends with us?”
Andrej pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Are you okay?” This time it was Hilary asking.
“I – I think they are in Jay’s bedroom.”
A deliciously evil laugh escaped Trish. “Oh, this is going to be worth the price of admission, isn’t it?”
He looked at Hilary who shrugged. It was obvious that she agreed with her partner.
“I am coming in,” he announced as he pushed the door to James’ bedroom open.
“Tell the girls to close their eyes,” James called out.
“As if,” Hilary muttered, nudging Trish.
Zayne was fully naked, one arm stretched over his head, the other resting on his thigh. James was flat on his back, also fully naked, with one leg bent, the other in the air not far from where Zayne’s arm was.
“Wait,” Trish said, laughter spilling out into the room. “Is your arm handcuffed to his fucking ankle, Reyes?”
Zayne glared at her. “Very good, Rollins,” he drawled. “Five bonus points to you, Miss Smarty Pants.”
James looked at Hilary. “I’m not sure it’s that funny, Maxwell,” he said. “You might need to call 911 for her, I’m not sure she’s breathing, Andy.”
Andrej looked at Hilary who was holding her hand out in front of her, the other over her mouth as tears silently streamed from her eyes. The sight of her mirth made him chuckle. “I am certain that she will be okay. The two of you, however, do I even want to know what happened here today?”
Zayne looked down at James who looked back at him. “Probably not,” Zayne said.
“Okay,” Andrej said, scratching the back of his neck. He knew he’d get the full story – complete with reenactment – later, so he wouldn’t press for details now.
“Please get us out of this mess,” James begged.
“Where are the keys to your handcuffs, Jay?” He glanced at any flat surface nearby and saw nothing. “I am assuming they are yours?”
“They are,” he said with a sad sigh. “However, they’re an old pair and Zayne lost the key.”
Andrej pressed his lips together. He didn’t have his on him since it was the weekend, and he had no use for them. Obviously, unlike his partner and his boyfriend. A glance at the girls confirmed that neither of them had theirs – or their key – on them.
“I am not sure what you want me to do if you do not know where your key is.”
James gave Andrej a pleading look. “Can’t you pick the lock?”
“That is Zayne’s specialty, not mine,” Andrej replied dryly.
“I told you, I had too much time on my hands as a kid,” Zayne protested.
“I can do it,” Trish offered up. “However, I need something to work the lock with. Any ideas, narco?”
“The spare bedroom is my office. If there’s anything in here that will work, it’d be in there.”
Trish ducked out of the room and returned an agonizingly long ten minutes later. “You have a very sad stash of office supplies, Rosewood,” she said when she returned.
“Did you find anything?” James sounded hopeful.
“Just this,” she said, holding up a long, thin letter opener. “I hope it works. Who the hell doesn’t even have a damn paperclip in his office?”
Shaking her head, she came to stand beside the bed. Looking down, she immediately turned and faced the wall. “Why does it have to be two naked men?”
“And one of them is Zayne,” Hilary giggled.
“You are not making this any easier,” she shot back.
“There’s a spare blanket in my closet, Andy,” James said. “Grab it and cover us if that will help her.”
“Anything to not have to see your pasty white –”
“Okay,” Andrej interrupted, not wanting to hear what Trish thought of his boyfriend’s pasty anything. “Is it still where you used to keep it?”
“It is,” he confirmed. “Top left side of the shelf.”
Andrej returned a minute later with the blanket. Carefully, he draped it over Zayne’s and James’ bodies, trying not to cover the redhead’s face.
“Much better,” Trish said, resting a knee on the mattress. “Who do I free first? Who started this mess?”
“He did,” James and Zayne said in unison.
“Of course, he did,” Hilary laughed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. “Heads or tails, Rosewood?”
“Why does he get to call it,” Zayne asked, sounding bitter.
“His house,” Trish offered.
“They’re also his sketchy ass cuffs, too,” Zayne shot back.
Hilary shrugged. “Not debating that point, Reyes.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “Call it narco.”
James turned his head so he could see Hilary. “Tails.”
Trish snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Please,” Andrej said, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. “Just flip the coin and let them loose.”
Hilary flipped and it came up heads, eliciting a shout of triumph from Zayne.
“Stop gloating, cowboy,” James muttered.
Trish climbed fully onto the bed, throwing one leg over Zayne’s waist. “This is as close to a naked man as I ever want to be,” she said.
Zayne lifted his free arm and smacked her hip playfully. “Close as I ever want to be to you while naked, so we’re even.”
Cackling, Trish went to work on the lock. She felt the tension go out of Zayne’s body when the lock clicked, and the cuff popped open. Removing the letter opener, she fully opened the cuff and released Zayne’s wrist.
He held it close to his chest, rubbing it. “Thank you,” he said, sounding more sincere than any of them had ever heard him.
“Your turn, red,” she said.
James tugged his leg and the half of the handcuffs that had been attached to Zayne came free from around the bedpost. “There, that might make it easier for you.”
Trish nodded her thanks and sat on the mattress beside Zayne. She grabbed James’ large foot and put it in her lap while she worked at the lock.
“He’s got some big feet,” Hilary muttered to Andrej.
Andrej felt himself blush. “They both do,” he said.
“And now we know the truth,” Hilary muttered so that only Andrej could hear. “Since they were exposed to God and country when we got here.”
Snickering, Andrej covered his mouth with a hand. Neither of his boyfriends were going to live this down anytime soon it seemed.
A click and a snap sounded, and James whooped in excitement. “Thank you,” he said to her. “And thank you for coming without asking, Andy.”
Shrugging, Andrej gathered James’ and Zayne’s clothes off the floor and dumped them on the bed. “You can either get dressed and join us for lunch or…” He wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence.
“Or,” Trish jumped in, grinning. “You can continue what you were doing before and see if you don’t get stuck again.”
James looked at Zayne. “Food,” they agreed in a resounding chorus.
“We almost had a lunch date without them,” Hilary sighed.
“Next week,” Andrej promised. “And if they do this,” he waved aimlessly at the bed, “again, they can wait until after we’ve had lunch.”
“And a few cocktails,” Trish added. “It’s going to take some serious therapy to get that image out of my head.”
Trish left the room; Andrej and Hilary followed. They were joined by James and Zayne a few moments later, finally, blissfully, clothed.
“We’re um, sorry about all of that,” James said, unable to look Andrej in the eye.
“No you aren’t,” Trish said. “You two live to one up each other and it’s always getting you into situations like this.”
“She’s right,” Hilary said. “Competition is fine, just keep it out of the damn bedroom, boys. It’s a hell of a lot safer when the two of you are involved.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zayne said, amping up his natural drawl for her benefit.
“We’ll try,” James said, more genuinely. “Lunch?”
“Lunch,” Zayne agreed.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” Trish moaned. “So much hair. So many… never mind.”
Hilary howled, and Andrej laughed. Zayne plucked the keys out of Andrej’s hands and headed for the car. James called shotgun and Trish moaned.
“Look at it this way,” Hilary said. “We’ll be stuck in the back with Andy at least. He’s never exposed us to…” she held her hands up, unable to put it into words. “Any of that.”
“Good point,” Trish said, sliding her arm through Andrej’s. “And if he ever does, we’ll know something is very seriously wrong.”
“Are we going to eat or not,” Zayne yelled.
“Hold your horses, Reyes,” Hilary shot back. “We’re on our way.”
Andrej held the car door open for Trish and sighed. It was going to be a long, interesting lunch.
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
ROFLMAO.
Those two fucking idiots.
I sense a sequel with Andy threatening and possibly turfing their sorry asses because they can't stop sniping at each other for five seconds.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)