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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: The Romanian and the Reporter
Fandom: Țigan Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Zayne Reyes + Andrej Zeklos
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Word Count: 2,101
Summary: Andrej sneaks a peek at Zayne’s incoming call and lives to regret it.
Author’s Notes: Written for the Rainy Days and Mondays challenge at 1_million_words. Prompt of: wish I hadn’t looked at your phone.
“I’ll be right back,” Zayne announced, pushing his desk chair back and vacating the area occupied by the robbery homicide division.
Andrej looked up from the mound of paperwork he’d spread before him and frowned. It never ceased to amaze him that Reyes always managed to find a way out of doing his share of the pencil pushing. Giving his missing partner an eye roll, he focused back on the report currently in need of completing.
Zayne hadn’t been gone ten minutes when strains of Right Said Fred floated through the air.
I’m too sexy for my shirt
Too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it huuuuurts…
With another eye roll for Reyes’ choice of ringtones, Andrej bent to the paperwork again. A single beep let him know that his partner’s mysterious caller had left a message. Interesting, but not any of his business. Four minutes after the first chorus of I’m Too Sexy, it started in again. However, this time it ended before voice mail kicked in.
That got Andrej’s attention.
He looked over at Zayne’s desk and hesitated. Flashing a look in the direction the detective had departed he saw no signs of his imminent return. Looking back over at Reyes’ desk, Andrej reached across and slid his phone towards him.
The missed call had an area code of 775, meaning anywhere outside of the Las Vegas valley area, but still within the Nevada state line. Curious, as Reyes didn’t actually know anyone outside of the metro area except…
Oh hell no.
Reyes’ voice floated across the room, addressing fellow detective Hilary Maxwell. Hurriedly, Zeklos pushed the phone back to where it had been and busied himself with the report that should have been done by now. But he couldn’t concentrate.
Why was she calling him?
“Anything noteworthy happen while I was gone, Zek?” Reyes rolled his chair back and dropped heavily into it.
“Your phone rang,” he said, trying to keep his emotions to himself.
“Who was it?” Zayne had tipped his chair back and was revolving from side to side, his eyes glued to Zeklos’ face.
“Don’t know, didn’t answer it.” It was a good thing, too. If he had, and had heard her voice, the results wouldn’t have been pretty. And that would even be before Reyes had anything to say about his behavior.
Reyes stopped his sideways motion and returned his chair to its proper position. Picking up his phone, he glanced at the screen. “I have a voicemail.”
“She left you a message the first time, but not the second time.”
“She?” Zayne leaned forward, resting his forearms against the edge of his desk. “How do you know it was a she?”
Shit. “Process of elimination,” he suggested, praying it sounded more certain than it felt. “Don’t ninety percent of your phone calls come from females?” It sounded like a legitimate save.
Reyes narrowed those mesmerizing green eyes at him and swiped the face of his phone. He continued to glare as he lifted it to his ear and listened to his voicemail. Andrej groaned inwardly as he heard the sound of her voice squeaking out of the earpiece. It was too muffled to distinguish actual words, but he knew that tone all too well.
Mallory Moretti.
The message ended and Reyes turned his full fury on his partner. “You knew it was Mal calling, didn’t you? Of course you did, it’s the only thing that explains your attitude right now. So, that means you looked at my phone. I’d have never pegged you for a snoop, Zek.”
He’d had about as much as he could handle. “Why are you angry at me for looking at your phone? Didn’t you imply that I should have answered it a minute ago? Or was that before you realized it was her on the other end?”
Mallory Moretti was a reporter up in Carson City, the state’s capital. They’d met her last year when she’d come down south following a possible serial murderer. Although he’d known better, Zayne had been charmed by her big, brown eyes and perky breasts. It had almost cost them the case, but somehow, they’d managed to pull the collar out of their collective asses. No thanks to Miss Moretti. Out of some sort of misguided loyalty, Zeklos had covered for Reyes and the dressing down he’d taken for his partner still burned.
Reyes hadn’t even as much as said thank you.
“What the hell is your problem with her anyway?”
He seriously couldn’t be asking that, could he? “You mean, other than the time she jeopardized our case by sharing privileged information on the nightly news? Gosh, maybe you’re right and I am overreacting.”
Andrej pushed back from his desk and stood, sending his chair rolling away from him. Without another word, he stormed off towards the break room, praying there was something stronger than coffee within it. A shot or three of palinca would be nice, but he knew that was a pipe dream. It was a shame that everything he could get his hands on in the states was too weak to do the job he needed it for. It wasn’t often that he missed his homeland, but those rare times when he needed a stiff drink, the longing became unbearable.
The familiar weight of Reyes’ hand landed on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. “Now why are you pissed at me, Andrej? I swear to god, when I walked out of the room twenty minutes ago, you were fine. I come back and you’re shooting daggers at me with your eyes.”
Taking a deep breath, Zeklos turned to face the questioning gaze of his partner. “You cannot get involved with her again, Zayne. If you do, you’ll have to find yourself a new partner.”
“Jealous much?” Reyes shook his head, laughing. “You want her for yourself don’t you?”
Not quite. “Don’t kid yourself, Reyes,” he said, punctuating the statement with a sigh. “She’s not even close to my type.”
“What? How can she not be your type? That woman is a goddess.” Reyes shook his head in disbelief. “You confuse me, Zeklos.”
It wasn’t the time to inform his partner that he was more into the gods than the goddesses, so he opted for something equally as honest and more to the point. “Let’s just say that I’m not willing to take the blame for her screwing up our investigation again.”
“She didn’t –”
“Oh yes she did, and if you’re going to take back up with her, I’m not going to be party to any of the fallout.” Reyes was seething, but Zeklos stood his ground. He had to, he wasn’t willing to walk away from his partner, but he would do it if pushed. As much as this meant to him, he would not watch Reyes’ self-destruction. “Have you forgotten that I nearly got myself suspended covering your ass last year?”
Zayne’s mouth snapped closed. “You did what? Why didn’t you say anything?” He got quiet for exactly seven point four seconds. “I thought that we’d managed to slip that one past the Cap.”
“You’re such an idiot sometimes. She must be one hell of a –” god, what was the word? Whore was the only thing coming to mind, and he knew that wouldn’t go over well. “Whatever I was trying to say, she had to have been marvelous at it in order to fry your brain so much that you thought the captain wouldn’t notice what happened.”
“That’s not fair,” Reyes spluttered. “And no one asked you to do anything for me or my career.”
“No, you sure didn’t because you didn’t see that you’d done anything wrong. But how could I not step in? You were two inches from getting your badge taken away. No one else would get between the captain and the DA on your behalf, so it had to be me.” This conversation was giving him a headache. And a bit of heartache, too, but he’d brought this on himself, he might as well see it out. His partner was so damn oblivious, he hadn’t even thought that someone had come to his defense. “I put myself on the line for you and you can’t even be bothered to notice.”
“Are you done yet?” Zayne’s green eyes flashed with something akin to anger, but with a spark of something else, too. When Andrej did nothing but cross his arms over his chest and lean on the counter, he continued. “I had no idea you took the heat for what I did. What I let happen, I should say. I was careless and I admit it.”
“Not willingly,” Zek contributed.
“That’s not the point,” he growled. “I’m not getting back together with her. If you must know – it became glaringly obvious later that she’d been using me.”
Really?” Andrej dropped his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Because I remember telling you exactly that. Several times.”
“Okay, I get it. I’m a stubborn asshole who doesn’t know how to listen. You’re not the first to tell me that either, mom.” He rubbed the back of his neck roughly with a hand. “But I did figure it out, don’t I get credit for that? On second thought, don’t answer, I don’t want to hear it.”
“So why was she calling?” He’d relaxed his posture a bit, but he wasn’t quite ready to forgive his partner just yet.
Zayne sighed. “Trolling for information on the case Maxwell and Rollins are working.”
He couldn’t help it, Zeklos laughed. Loud and hearty and insane at its core.
“What’s so funny?” A frown creased his handsome face.
“Did you direct her to Trish? Because that’s a conversation I’d love to be in on.”
Despite himself, Reyes laughed, too. “No doubt. And once Hil gets into it, Mal doesn’t stand a chance. Cat fight to end all cat fights.”
It took a few minutes for the laughter to fade and when it did, the animosity had dissipated. “I’m sorry for getting uh sensibil –”
“How long have you been in this country again,” Zayne teased. “Because you’re English really fails you when you get angry.”
“I still remember how to tell you to fuck off,” he said, scowling.
“I get it, she’s a touchy subject.”
“Touchy, right. English is a strange language. You use ‘touchy’ to describe a feeling when you really don’t want to be touched at all.” He shook his head. “And maybe I did get a bit jealous when I saw her number appear on your screen. But not because I want her. Never that.”
“Because you were afraid I was going to get myself into trouble again.” Zayne’s face became thoughtful, almost as if Andrej’s words were sinking in finally.
“Exactly.”
“It might be too little, too late, but I’ve learned my lesson with that one at least.” He stuck out his hand. “Are we friends again?”
The word struck him like a knife to the gut, but he swallowed his pride and took Reyes’ hand firmly into his own. He gave Zayne’s fingers a good squeeze and a hearty pump. It was all he could hope for, so it had to be enough. “Always.”
“Good,” Zayne said, releasing Zeklos’ hand. “So, does that mean you’ll tackle my half of the reports when you’re done with yours?”
“Am de gând să te omor,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?” Reyes’ laughter filled the break room. “I don’t have any idea what you just said, but it sounded threatening as hell.”
“It should have,” he said, eyes narrowed, mouth turned down. “I said I was going to kill you.”
Zayne cackled again. “You’re too much, Zeklos. Seriously.” He shook his head and headed off towards the pair of desks they shared.
“Hey,” he shouted at his partner’s back. Zayne slowed and turned to face him. “De asemenea, doresc să te sărut.”
Reyes’ face creased in contemplation. “No, can’t say that sounds any less mafia-like. What’s that mean?”
Zeklos grinned, a satisfying rush of heat filling his insides. “I’m guessing you’ll never know, will you?”
Because there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to admit to what he’d just uttered. Truth or not, Reyes did not need to know that Zek wanted to kiss him. Badly. Some things truly were better left unsaid. And then, when you did have to say them? Announce them in a language no one in the precinct could understand and make it sound as menacing as you possibly could.
Reyes wouldn’t ever suspect a thing.
xx
End Note: Obviously, I don't speak Romanian. So, if there are any mistakes, blame it on Google Translate.
Fandom: Țigan Detective Original Fiction
Pairing: Zayne Reyes + Andrej Zeklos
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Word Count: 2,101
Summary: Andrej sneaks a peek at Zayne’s incoming call and lives to regret it.
Author’s Notes: Written for the Rainy Days and Mondays challenge at 1_million_words. Prompt of: wish I hadn’t looked at your phone.
“I’ll be right back,” Zayne announced, pushing his desk chair back and vacating the area occupied by the robbery homicide division.
Andrej looked up from the mound of paperwork he’d spread before him and frowned. It never ceased to amaze him that Reyes always managed to find a way out of doing his share of the pencil pushing. Giving his missing partner an eye roll, he focused back on the report currently in need of completing.
Zayne hadn’t been gone ten minutes when strains of Right Said Fred floated through the air.
I’m too sexy for my shirt
Too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it huuuuurts…
With another eye roll for Reyes’ choice of ringtones, Andrej bent to the paperwork again. A single beep let him know that his partner’s mysterious caller had left a message. Interesting, but not any of his business. Four minutes after the first chorus of I’m Too Sexy, it started in again. However, this time it ended before voice mail kicked in.
That got Andrej’s attention.
He looked over at Zayne’s desk and hesitated. Flashing a look in the direction the detective had departed he saw no signs of his imminent return. Looking back over at Reyes’ desk, Andrej reached across and slid his phone towards him.
The missed call had an area code of 775, meaning anywhere outside of the Las Vegas valley area, but still within the Nevada state line. Curious, as Reyes didn’t actually know anyone outside of the metro area except…
Oh hell no.
Reyes’ voice floated across the room, addressing fellow detective Hilary Maxwell. Hurriedly, Zeklos pushed the phone back to where it had been and busied himself with the report that should have been done by now. But he couldn’t concentrate.
Why was she calling him?
“Anything noteworthy happen while I was gone, Zek?” Reyes rolled his chair back and dropped heavily into it.
“Your phone rang,” he said, trying to keep his emotions to himself.
“Who was it?” Zayne had tipped his chair back and was revolving from side to side, his eyes glued to Zeklos’ face.
“Don’t know, didn’t answer it.” It was a good thing, too. If he had, and had heard her voice, the results wouldn’t have been pretty. And that would even be before Reyes had anything to say about his behavior.
Reyes stopped his sideways motion and returned his chair to its proper position. Picking up his phone, he glanced at the screen. “I have a voicemail.”
“She left you a message the first time, but not the second time.”
“She?” Zayne leaned forward, resting his forearms against the edge of his desk. “How do you know it was a she?”
Shit. “Process of elimination,” he suggested, praying it sounded more certain than it felt. “Don’t ninety percent of your phone calls come from females?” It sounded like a legitimate save.
Reyes narrowed those mesmerizing green eyes at him and swiped the face of his phone. He continued to glare as he lifted it to his ear and listened to his voicemail. Andrej groaned inwardly as he heard the sound of her voice squeaking out of the earpiece. It was too muffled to distinguish actual words, but he knew that tone all too well.
Mallory Moretti.
The message ended and Reyes turned his full fury on his partner. “You knew it was Mal calling, didn’t you? Of course you did, it’s the only thing that explains your attitude right now. So, that means you looked at my phone. I’d have never pegged you for a snoop, Zek.”
He’d had about as much as he could handle. “Why are you angry at me for looking at your phone? Didn’t you imply that I should have answered it a minute ago? Or was that before you realized it was her on the other end?”
Mallory Moretti was a reporter up in Carson City, the state’s capital. They’d met her last year when she’d come down south following a possible serial murderer. Although he’d known better, Zayne had been charmed by her big, brown eyes and perky breasts. It had almost cost them the case, but somehow, they’d managed to pull the collar out of their collective asses. No thanks to Miss Moretti. Out of some sort of misguided loyalty, Zeklos had covered for Reyes and the dressing down he’d taken for his partner still burned.
Reyes hadn’t even as much as said thank you.
“What the hell is your problem with her anyway?”
He seriously couldn’t be asking that, could he? “You mean, other than the time she jeopardized our case by sharing privileged information on the nightly news? Gosh, maybe you’re right and I am overreacting.”
Andrej pushed back from his desk and stood, sending his chair rolling away from him. Without another word, he stormed off towards the break room, praying there was something stronger than coffee within it. A shot or three of palinca would be nice, but he knew that was a pipe dream. It was a shame that everything he could get his hands on in the states was too weak to do the job he needed it for. It wasn’t often that he missed his homeland, but those rare times when he needed a stiff drink, the longing became unbearable.
The familiar weight of Reyes’ hand landed on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. “Now why are you pissed at me, Andrej? I swear to god, when I walked out of the room twenty minutes ago, you were fine. I come back and you’re shooting daggers at me with your eyes.”
Taking a deep breath, Zeklos turned to face the questioning gaze of his partner. “You cannot get involved with her again, Zayne. If you do, you’ll have to find yourself a new partner.”
“Jealous much?” Reyes shook his head, laughing. “You want her for yourself don’t you?”
Not quite. “Don’t kid yourself, Reyes,” he said, punctuating the statement with a sigh. “She’s not even close to my type.”
“What? How can she not be your type? That woman is a goddess.” Reyes shook his head in disbelief. “You confuse me, Zeklos.”
It wasn’t the time to inform his partner that he was more into the gods than the goddesses, so he opted for something equally as honest and more to the point. “Let’s just say that I’m not willing to take the blame for her screwing up our investigation again.”
“She didn’t –”
“Oh yes she did, and if you’re going to take back up with her, I’m not going to be party to any of the fallout.” Reyes was seething, but Zeklos stood his ground. He had to, he wasn’t willing to walk away from his partner, but he would do it if pushed. As much as this meant to him, he would not watch Reyes’ self-destruction. “Have you forgotten that I nearly got myself suspended covering your ass last year?”
Zayne’s mouth snapped closed. “You did what? Why didn’t you say anything?” He got quiet for exactly seven point four seconds. “I thought that we’d managed to slip that one past the Cap.”
“You’re such an idiot sometimes. She must be one hell of a –” god, what was the word? Whore was the only thing coming to mind, and he knew that wouldn’t go over well. “Whatever I was trying to say, she had to have been marvelous at it in order to fry your brain so much that you thought the captain wouldn’t notice what happened.”
“That’s not fair,” Reyes spluttered. “And no one asked you to do anything for me or my career.”
“No, you sure didn’t because you didn’t see that you’d done anything wrong. But how could I not step in? You were two inches from getting your badge taken away. No one else would get between the captain and the DA on your behalf, so it had to be me.” This conversation was giving him a headache. And a bit of heartache, too, but he’d brought this on himself, he might as well see it out. His partner was so damn oblivious, he hadn’t even thought that someone had come to his defense. “I put myself on the line for you and you can’t even be bothered to notice.”
“Are you done yet?” Zayne’s green eyes flashed with something akin to anger, but with a spark of something else, too. When Andrej did nothing but cross his arms over his chest and lean on the counter, he continued. “I had no idea you took the heat for what I did. What I let happen, I should say. I was careless and I admit it.”
“Not willingly,” Zek contributed.
“That’s not the point,” he growled. “I’m not getting back together with her. If you must know – it became glaringly obvious later that she’d been using me.”
Really?” Andrej dropped his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Because I remember telling you exactly that. Several times.”
“Okay, I get it. I’m a stubborn asshole who doesn’t know how to listen. You’re not the first to tell me that either, mom.” He rubbed the back of his neck roughly with a hand. “But I did figure it out, don’t I get credit for that? On second thought, don’t answer, I don’t want to hear it.”
“So why was she calling?” He’d relaxed his posture a bit, but he wasn’t quite ready to forgive his partner just yet.
Zayne sighed. “Trolling for information on the case Maxwell and Rollins are working.”
He couldn’t help it, Zeklos laughed. Loud and hearty and insane at its core.
“What’s so funny?” A frown creased his handsome face.
“Did you direct her to Trish? Because that’s a conversation I’d love to be in on.”
Despite himself, Reyes laughed, too. “No doubt. And once Hil gets into it, Mal doesn’t stand a chance. Cat fight to end all cat fights.”
It took a few minutes for the laughter to fade and when it did, the animosity had dissipated. “I’m sorry for getting uh sensibil –”
“How long have you been in this country again,” Zayne teased. “Because you’re English really fails you when you get angry.”
“I still remember how to tell you to fuck off,” he said, scowling.
“I get it, she’s a touchy subject.”
“Touchy, right. English is a strange language. You use ‘touchy’ to describe a feeling when you really don’t want to be touched at all.” He shook his head. “And maybe I did get a bit jealous when I saw her number appear on your screen. But not because I want her. Never that.”
“Because you were afraid I was going to get myself into trouble again.” Zayne’s face became thoughtful, almost as if Andrej’s words were sinking in finally.
“Exactly.”
“It might be too little, too late, but I’ve learned my lesson with that one at least.” He stuck out his hand. “Are we friends again?”
The word struck him like a knife to the gut, but he swallowed his pride and took Reyes’ hand firmly into his own. He gave Zayne’s fingers a good squeeze and a hearty pump. It was all he could hope for, so it had to be enough. “Always.”
“Good,” Zayne said, releasing Zeklos’ hand. “So, does that mean you’ll tackle my half of the reports when you’re done with yours?”
“Am de gând să te omor,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?” Reyes’ laughter filled the break room. “I don’t have any idea what you just said, but it sounded threatening as hell.”
“It should have,” he said, eyes narrowed, mouth turned down. “I said I was going to kill you.”
Zayne cackled again. “You’re too much, Zeklos. Seriously.” He shook his head and headed off towards the pair of desks they shared.
“Hey,” he shouted at his partner’s back. Zayne slowed and turned to face him. “De asemenea, doresc să te sărut.”
Reyes’ face creased in contemplation. “No, can’t say that sounds any less mafia-like. What’s that mean?”
Zeklos grinned, a satisfying rush of heat filling his insides. “I’m guessing you’ll never know, will you?”
Because there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to admit to what he’d just uttered. Truth or not, Reyes did not need to know that Zek wanted to kiss him. Badly. Some things truly were better left unsaid. And then, when you did have to say them? Announce them in a language no one in the precinct could understand and make it sound as menacing as you possibly could.
Reyes wouldn’t ever suspect a thing.
xx
End Note: Obviously, I don't speak Romanian. So, if there are any mistakes, blame it on Google Translate.
