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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Walking Disaster Chapter 4
Fandom: Tigan Detective Original Fic
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos + Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,142
Summary: Zayne Reyes, while not a clumsy man, seems to be an accident magnet. And this is his worst day ever. Luckily, Andrej’s got his back.
Author’s Note: Written for the February bingo challenge at 1_million_words. My bingo card is here. Also an excuse to physically torture Reyes while emotionally torturing Zeklos. To quote Sheldon Cooper: mwah. Hah. Hah.
Prompts used: shooting, surgery, near death experience, I thought I’d lost you. Note – switched up ‘drowning’ for ‘shooting’.
Continued from here.
Sometime during their stint inside the barroom, it had begun to rain. In most places, this wouldn’t be cause for concern, but in Vegas it was a rarity making the residents crazy and the roads dangerous. Just more bok to contend with, Andrej supposed. Not anything they couldn’t deal with after the day they’d been having so far.
“I’m getting wet,” Reyes said, pointing out the obvious.
“You don’t say,” he replied. “It’s only raining on your head, Zayne.”
“Huh,” he said, looking skywards. “So it is. Interesting.”
He blinked as the raindrops fell onto his lush lashes, dripping onto his chiseled cheek bones and skimming down his face. Andrej was entranced by the play of water on his partner’s skin, the muted lighting reflecting off those green orbs. It felt like they’d been transported into a faery realm where nothing was as it should be and yet, everything was eerily the same.
“Zek,” Reyes said, drawing Andrej’s attention from his eyes to his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Quit looking at me like I’m some kind of extinct species brought back to life. It’s creeping me out.”
“Oh,” he said, shaking his head once, twice, to clear the cobwebs. “Sorry. I –” He what? Was staring at the glory that is you, Reyes? Not hardly. Well, okay, completely, but not like he was going to ever say that out loud or anything.
“You what?” Reyes was staring at him now, distracted and more than a little drunk.
“God damned lowlife cops,” a voice growled, taking them both by surprise.
Zayne turned, quicker on the draw than Andrej for once, whipping around to find the source of the insult. “Hey, I know you, don’t?”
Zeklos moved to respond in kind, having recognized him as a petty thief they’d booked a few months back after he’d knocked over a convenience store. He saw the lifted gun, pointed at his partner, before he could utter a single word. Zayne’s name stuck in his throat as he heard the firearm discharge, bullet slamming into Reyes’ shoulder.
“Fuckers,” the jackass shouted. “Teach you to put me away.” He tucked the gun into the back of his pants and took off running. Zeklos hesitated for only a moment, debating whether to stay with his partner or give chase.
“What are you doing,” Zayne asked. “Why aren’t you trying to bring down that piece of shit?”
It was all the encouragement he needed. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed as he ran after the suspect. Requesting EMS and backup, he finished the call and ran full out down the slick sidewalk. Please don’t let me slip and break my neck, he begged. Ahead, he saw a flash of red that he recognized as the perp’s shirt and adjusted his course. Digging deep, he found some forgotten store of energy and gave his legs one last burst of energy. Within minutes, he was an arm’s distance from the piece of shit that had just shot his partner.
“You’re not getting away from me, asshole,” he shouted, lunging at him.
Zeklos landed solidly against the fleeing man’s back, forcing him forward and onto his knees. Outweighing the criminal by a good fifty pounds, Andrej wrestled him to the ground and cuffed him with minimal effort. The he was drunk as hell and terrified for his partner didn’t hurt much. Hauling the runner up by his cuffed wrists, Andrej gave him a good shake.
“What the hell is your problem? You shot my partner.” If you kill him you son of a bitch… no. Can’t think that way. Not now, not ever.
“You fuckers arrested me,” he said, defiant to the last work.
“You robbed a 7-11, of course we arrested you.” Sometimes the stupidity of criminals amazed him. Giving a yank on the man’s wrists, Zeklos began walking towards the scene of the crime. “What else were we supposed to do?”
“Let me go? I was only trying to feed my kid.”
“You’re a lousy liar,” Zek said. “We checked you out and you have no kids.” Apparently the crooks thought the cops were idiots as well.
“What’s going to happen now,” he asked, sounding pathetic and maybe even a little scared.
“You’re going back to lockup,” he said, giving a rough shake to make his point. “If you live long enough anyway. I mean, you did just shoot a cop.”
They came around the corner of the building to find Reyes surrounded by EMS personnel and assorted uniformed officers. Seeing Zeklos dragging the suspect behind him, two unis ran to his side to take him off Zek’s hands.
“Thanks,” he said to the two officers.
“Anytime,” Riley responded with a grin. “Twice in one day, you two have been busy.”
“And Reyes has a bulls eye on his chest,” Matthews added.
“How is he,” Zeklos asked the nearest paramedic, panic flooding him now that the chase was over.
“He’ll live,” she said, a small smile on her face. “They’ll have to remove the bullet at the ER though. You want to ride with us or do you want to meet us there?”
It didn’t take him a second to decide. “I’m riding along.”
“Get the hell in,” her female counterpart ordered. “Or you’re walking.”
Andrej watched them load Reyes into the back of the ambulance before following the stretcher inside. He buckled himself in and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long ride to the hospital.
The paramedics abandoned Zeklos in the waiting room after they’d delivered Reyes into the capable hands of the doctor on duty. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Andrej paced the eerily empty space. It was still early in the day, just on the cusp of dusk, but still, he thought there’d be more people. Scolding himself for wishing more people were in need of emergency assistance, he forced himself to sit.
That lasted all of two and a half minutes before he was up and pacing again. Sixteen times he approached the nurse’s station, and sixteen times he stopped just before reaching it. They all knew who he was and why he was there – the paramedics had made a point to let the staff know so that he would be informed the minute Reyes was out of surgery.
Surgery though. God damn this crazy world.
Andrej prided himself on being a rational, level headed person and he wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if it was Reyes, but he was slowly coming apart at the seams. Although he hadn’t seen exactly where the bullet had hit his partner, he knew it had missed his chest and most likely lodged in his shoulder, which was good news. It meant no vital organs and less chance of any serious consequences. He had zero reason to worry. The medics on scene had assured him that Zayne was going to be okay.
But… the worry still remained. They’d been partners for too long, friends even, if he were pressed to say, and he’d come to care for the jackass. There was even the possibility he more than cared for him, maybe on the verge of loving the self-righteous pain in the ass as unbelievable as it was. This, when you got down to brass tacks, was the reason why he was so fucking freaked out right now.
He wasn’t sure if he could continue on in this line of work without Zayne by his side. Not that that was a possibility, he reminded himself. Reyes was going to be fine, if a bit sore and cranky later, but he was going to be alive and kicking. There were just too many chances of failure on the doctors’ part, no matter how good or skilled they might be. Fate always stuck her pointy nose into everything.
Some habits were hard to shake, and the superstitions that came along with bad mouthing fate were one of them. He made a silent apology to the three sisters and made another attempt at asking a nurse for an update.
“Detective Zeklos?”
He started towards a youngish man in a white coat that stood in the vicinity of the nurse’s station. The doctor looked calm, relaxed, and yet, Andrej’s heart was thudding crazily in his chest. He’s fine, he told himself. He’s fine, fine, fine… oh hell, he’s beyond fine. He’s gorgeous and you’re so screwed. Shaking his head to get himself back on track, he smiled at the doctor. “I’m Andrej Zeklos.”
“Good,” the doctor said, giving him a visual once over. “Your partner, Detective Reyes, is out of surgery and in a recovery room. The wound wasn’t deep and he should be ready to release in a few hours. Do you have the number for his emergency contact so that they can come retrieve him?”
Retrieve him? The doctor made him sound like a corpse. “No, as far as I know all of his family is still in Texas.”
“No wife?” The doctor was studying him now and it was aggravating.
“No,” thank god, “no wife. No girlfriend that I’m aware of either.” If you want a list of recent conquests, however, that I can provide for you.
“I guess that makes you the lucky one,” he stated, shrugging as if it didn’t matter how Reyes left the hospital, just that he did. “Do you want to see him?”
Dear god, yes, you jackass. “Could I?”
“Of course.” The doctor held out an arm pointing the direction they were headed and fell into step beside Zeklos. “He’s in there. A nurse will come by when he’s ready to be discharged.”
“Thanks,” Andrej told the doctor before pushing the curtain back and entering the small space designated as Zayne’s.
Reyes laid on the gurney, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly. “Thank god,” he whispered, defaulting back to his native tongue. The stress of the day forcing him to regress.
“I don’t know what the hell you just said,” Zayne slurred from his prone position, “but I damn near died today.”
Zek couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face. “You came nowhere near dying, Reyes. I called for backup and EMS not sixty seconds after you were shot.”
“Dude, I saw a light, a bright light.” He opened his eyes and fixed them on his partner. “I saw an angel, guiding me.”
“Did she have long blonde hair and big boobs? Because if she did, that was one of the paramedics, not an angel.” Although she was a nice lady, he had to admit.
She’d tended to one or the other of them on a number of occasions. But you had to be into that kind of thing, he supposed.
“You’re making fun of my near death experience and I don’t like it.” His eyes fluttered closed again, the residual anesthesia taking over.
Between the two of them, they’d had quite a few close calls over the years, none of which could be considered anything near death. But he’d let Reyes have his moment – both now and then later, when he returned to work and tried to woo every pretty female within fifty feet with his story. He’d truly had the worst day on record and he deserved bragging rights for surviving it.
So did Andrej, if the truth were to be told. Even though all of the physical trauma had landed on Reyes, Zeklos had taken an emotional beating with every bump, scrape, and bullet wound. It was too much in much too short of a time and it was taking its toll. Sighing, he grabbed the visitor’s chair stationed off to the side of the patient bed and dragged it as near to Zayne’s sleeping form as he could get it. Taking Reyes’ hand into his, he pressed a soft kiss to his bandaged palm. It looked like they’d redressed it after his surgery, cleaning up Andrej’s haphazard attempt at first aid. He was thankful they had, because he knew Zayne wouldn’t have let him doctor him twice.
“You stubborn jackass,” he said, voice low and ragged with exhaustion. “I could have lost you today. Damn near thought I had lost you. You have no idea how damn lucky you are that you survived.”
He stretched his long legs out and rested his head against the side of Reyes’ bed. It had been such a long day, he’d never been so exhausted from a day where he did little to nothing physical. With a snort he conceded that the emotional strain of chasing his partner, trying to keep him from harm, had been the strenuous part. Zek made a mental note not to ever let Reyes off the hook for this one. Closing his eyes, he smiled, giving Zayne’s fingers one last squeeze.
Zeklos was sound asleep when Reyes squeezed back.
xx
Finito. Eventualy, I will finish the story that first brought these two to live in my head. Hopefully. Someday.
Fandom: Tigan Detective Original Fic
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos + Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,142
Summary: Zayne Reyes, while not a clumsy man, seems to be an accident magnet. And this is his worst day ever. Luckily, Andrej’s got his back.
Author’s Note: Written for the February bingo challenge at 1_million_words. My bingo card is here. Also an excuse to physically torture Reyes while emotionally torturing Zeklos. To quote Sheldon Cooper: mwah. Hah. Hah.
Prompts used: shooting, surgery, near death experience, I thought I’d lost you. Note – switched up ‘drowning’ for ‘shooting’.
Continued from here.
Sometime during their stint inside the barroom, it had begun to rain. In most places, this wouldn’t be cause for concern, but in Vegas it was a rarity making the residents crazy and the roads dangerous. Just more bok to contend with, Andrej supposed. Not anything they couldn’t deal with after the day they’d been having so far.
“I’m getting wet,” Reyes said, pointing out the obvious.
“You don’t say,” he replied. “It’s only raining on your head, Zayne.”
“Huh,” he said, looking skywards. “So it is. Interesting.”
He blinked as the raindrops fell onto his lush lashes, dripping onto his chiseled cheek bones and skimming down his face. Andrej was entranced by the play of water on his partner’s skin, the muted lighting reflecting off those green orbs. It felt like they’d been transported into a faery realm where nothing was as it should be and yet, everything was eerily the same.
“Zek,” Reyes said, drawing Andrej’s attention from his eyes to his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Quit looking at me like I’m some kind of extinct species brought back to life. It’s creeping me out.”
“Oh,” he said, shaking his head once, twice, to clear the cobwebs. “Sorry. I –” He what? Was staring at the glory that is you, Reyes? Not hardly. Well, okay, completely, but not like he was going to ever say that out loud or anything.
“You what?” Reyes was staring at him now, distracted and more than a little drunk.
“God damned lowlife cops,” a voice growled, taking them both by surprise.
Zayne turned, quicker on the draw than Andrej for once, whipping around to find the source of the insult. “Hey, I know you, don’t?”
Zeklos moved to respond in kind, having recognized him as a petty thief they’d booked a few months back after he’d knocked over a convenience store. He saw the lifted gun, pointed at his partner, before he could utter a single word. Zayne’s name stuck in his throat as he heard the firearm discharge, bullet slamming into Reyes’ shoulder.
“Fuckers,” the jackass shouted. “Teach you to put me away.” He tucked the gun into the back of his pants and took off running. Zeklos hesitated for only a moment, debating whether to stay with his partner or give chase.
“What are you doing,” Zayne asked. “Why aren’t you trying to bring down that piece of shit?”
It was all the encouragement he needed. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed as he ran after the suspect. Requesting EMS and backup, he finished the call and ran full out down the slick sidewalk. Please don’t let me slip and break my neck, he begged. Ahead, he saw a flash of red that he recognized as the perp’s shirt and adjusted his course. Digging deep, he found some forgotten store of energy and gave his legs one last burst of energy. Within minutes, he was an arm’s distance from the piece of shit that had just shot his partner.
“You’re not getting away from me, asshole,” he shouted, lunging at him.
Zeklos landed solidly against the fleeing man’s back, forcing him forward and onto his knees. Outweighing the criminal by a good fifty pounds, Andrej wrestled him to the ground and cuffed him with minimal effort. The he was drunk as hell and terrified for his partner didn’t hurt much. Hauling the runner up by his cuffed wrists, Andrej gave him a good shake.
“What the hell is your problem? You shot my partner.” If you kill him you son of a bitch… no. Can’t think that way. Not now, not ever.
“You fuckers arrested me,” he said, defiant to the last work.
“You robbed a 7-11, of course we arrested you.” Sometimes the stupidity of criminals amazed him. Giving a yank on the man’s wrists, Zeklos began walking towards the scene of the crime. “What else were we supposed to do?”
“Let me go? I was only trying to feed my kid.”
“You’re a lousy liar,” Zek said. “We checked you out and you have no kids.” Apparently the crooks thought the cops were idiots as well.
“What’s going to happen now,” he asked, sounding pathetic and maybe even a little scared.
“You’re going back to lockup,” he said, giving a rough shake to make his point. “If you live long enough anyway. I mean, you did just shoot a cop.”
They came around the corner of the building to find Reyes surrounded by EMS personnel and assorted uniformed officers. Seeing Zeklos dragging the suspect behind him, two unis ran to his side to take him off Zek’s hands.
“Thanks,” he said to the two officers.
“Anytime,” Riley responded with a grin. “Twice in one day, you two have been busy.”
“And Reyes has a bulls eye on his chest,” Matthews added.
“How is he,” Zeklos asked the nearest paramedic, panic flooding him now that the chase was over.
“He’ll live,” she said, a small smile on her face. “They’ll have to remove the bullet at the ER though. You want to ride with us or do you want to meet us there?”
It didn’t take him a second to decide. “I’m riding along.”
“Get the hell in,” her female counterpart ordered. “Or you’re walking.”
Andrej watched them load Reyes into the back of the ambulance before following the stretcher inside. He buckled himself in and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long ride to the hospital.
The paramedics abandoned Zeklos in the waiting room after they’d delivered Reyes into the capable hands of the doctor on duty. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Andrej paced the eerily empty space. It was still early in the day, just on the cusp of dusk, but still, he thought there’d be more people. Scolding himself for wishing more people were in need of emergency assistance, he forced himself to sit.
That lasted all of two and a half minutes before he was up and pacing again. Sixteen times he approached the nurse’s station, and sixteen times he stopped just before reaching it. They all knew who he was and why he was there – the paramedics had made a point to let the staff know so that he would be informed the minute Reyes was out of surgery.
Surgery though. God damn this crazy world.
Andrej prided himself on being a rational, level headed person and he wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if it was Reyes, but he was slowly coming apart at the seams. Although he hadn’t seen exactly where the bullet had hit his partner, he knew it had missed his chest and most likely lodged in his shoulder, which was good news. It meant no vital organs and less chance of any serious consequences. He had zero reason to worry. The medics on scene had assured him that Zayne was going to be okay.
But… the worry still remained. They’d been partners for too long, friends even, if he were pressed to say, and he’d come to care for the jackass. There was even the possibility he more than cared for him, maybe on the verge of loving the self-righteous pain in the ass as unbelievable as it was. This, when you got down to brass tacks, was the reason why he was so fucking freaked out right now.
He wasn’t sure if he could continue on in this line of work without Zayne by his side. Not that that was a possibility, he reminded himself. Reyes was going to be fine, if a bit sore and cranky later, but he was going to be alive and kicking. There were just too many chances of failure on the doctors’ part, no matter how good or skilled they might be. Fate always stuck her pointy nose into everything.
Some habits were hard to shake, and the superstitions that came along with bad mouthing fate were one of them. He made a silent apology to the three sisters and made another attempt at asking a nurse for an update.
“Detective Zeklos?”
He started towards a youngish man in a white coat that stood in the vicinity of the nurse’s station. The doctor looked calm, relaxed, and yet, Andrej’s heart was thudding crazily in his chest. He’s fine, he told himself. He’s fine, fine, fine… oh hell, he’s beyond fine. He’s gorgeous and you’re so screwed. Shaking his head to get himself back on track, he smiled at the doctor. “I’m Andrej Zeklos.”
“Good,” the doctor said, giving him a visual once over. “Your partner, Detective Reyes, is out of surgery and in a recovery room. The wound wasn’t deep and he should be ready to release in a few hours. Do you have the number for his emergency contact so that they can come retrieve him?”
Retrieve him? The doctor made him sound like a corpse. “No, as far as I know all of his family is still in Texas.”
“No wife?” The doctor was studying him now and it was aggravating.
“No,” thank god, “no wife. No girlfriend that I’m aware of either.” If you want a list of recent conquests, however, that I can provide for you.
“I guess that makes you the lucky one,” he stated, shrugging as if it didn’t matter how Reyes left the hospital, just that he did. “Do you want to see him?”
Dear god, yes, you jackass. “Could I?”
“Of course.” The doctor held out an arm pointing the direction they were headed and fell into step beside Zeklos. “He’s in there. A nurse will come by when he’s ready to be discharged.”
“Thanks,” Andrej told the doctor before pushing the curtain back and entering the small space designated as Zayne’s.
Reyes laid on the gurney, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly. “Thank god,” he whispered, defaulting back to his native tongue. The stress of the day forcing him to regress.
“I don’t know what the hell you just said,” Zayne slurred from his prone position, “but I damn near died today.”
Zek couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face. “You came nowhere near dying, Reyes. I called for backup and EMS not sixty seconds after you were shot.”
“Dude, I saw a light, a bright light.” He opened his eyes and fixed them on his partner. “I saw an angel, guiding me.”
“Did she have long blonde hair and big boobs? Because if she did, that was one of the paramedics, not an angel.” Although she was a nice lady, he had to admit.
She’d tended to one or the other of them on a number of occasions. But you had to be into that kind of thing, he supposed.
“You’re making fun of my near death experience and I don’t like it.” His eyes fluttered closed again, the residual anesthesia taking over.
Between the two of them, they’d had quite a few close calls over the years, none of which could be considered anything near death. But he’d let Reyes have his moment – both now and then later, when he returned to work and tried to woo every pretty female within fifty feet with his story. He’d truly had the worst day on record and he deserved bragging rights for surviving it.
So did Andrej, if the truth were to be told. Even though all of the physical trauma had landed on Reyes, Zeklos had taken an emotional beating with every bump, scrape, and bullet wound. It was too much in much too short of a time and it was taking its toll. Sighing, he grabbed the visitor’s chair stationed off to the side of the patient bed and dragged it as near to Zayne’s sleeping form as he could get it. Taking Reyes’ hand into his, he pressed a soft kiss to his bandaged palm. It looked like they’d redressed it after his surgery, cleaning up Andrej’s haphazard attempt at first aid. He was thankful they had, because he knew Zayne wouldn’t have let him doctor him twice.
“You stubborn jackass,” he said, voice low and ragged with exhaustion. “I could have lost you today. Damn near thought I had lost you. You have no idea how damn lucky you are that you survived.”
He stretched his long legs out and rested his head against the side of Reyes’ bed. It had been such a long day, he’d never been so exhausted from a day where he did little to nothing physical. With a snort he conceded that the emotional strain of chasing his partner, trying to keep him from harm, had been the strenuous part. Zek made a mental note not to ever let Reyes off the hook for this one. Closing his eyes, he smiled, giving Zayne’s fingers one last squeeze.
Zeklos was sound asleep when Reyes squeezed back.
xx
Finito. Eventualy, I will finish the story that first brought these two to live in my head. Hopefully. Someday.
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no subject
Date: 2015-02-26 04:18 pm (UTC)That bad guy caught me completely by surprise, lol. I was totally thinking we were going back to someone's house for a little drunken cuddling before lights out and then BAM! Bullet to the shoulder. :D
Excellent story! I especially love the last line. So sweet. :D
no subject
Date: 2015-02-26 08:57 pm (UTC)Hahaha... they'll get there one day. Poor Andrej deserves something after all of this. Awesome though - I was worried that the bad guy was too predictable so that he caught you off guard is a good thing.
Again, thank you! And thanks for reading, too. :)