After the fires before the flood, my sweet baby, I need fresh blood

[47redbirds]

Mike is a number of things. Secretive, oddly retentive about the chore wheel, Brigg's second-in-command, and smart as a whip. He also trusts Billy. Maybe not implicitly, but he does. It's been a while since Billy's first task, and while he still stays by Mike's side for the most part, the crew's beginning to respect him, too. Not just Johnny--Jakes had made a point to shake his hand after a particularly hairy getaway between him and the Chechens.

Mike starts drinking with Billy after a good run. He's damn good at pool and can hold his beer for someone who looks so straight-laced, even with scruff. Boy-band or not, the only personal thing that wound up causing a stir outside what they do is Mike punching someone in The Drop because they were harassing a girl. For a criminal, he's oddly well put together.

It's one o'clock in the morning when Mike texts him. It's nothing but an address to a motel and a room number, but when Mike texts it's mandatory Billy shows up. Another exercise, maybe. Another deal. The whole Graceland group had been very careful with Mike--most of the stuff he was a part in he either never got to actually see the transaction or it was far too minor. Not all the heat is off of him, it seems, but he's trusted. Mike trusts him enough to send him the text. It's the room to the corner, and it's run down and shitty. When Mike opens the door, it looks like he hasn't slept in days despite the fact that Billy was asked to get him out of bed since Paige wasn't there. He's also smoking, which is both disconcerting and never seen before.

There's something else, though, and it's not just his hair pushed back from his face. The white tank top he's wearing is spattered with red liquid, as is his chin. His hands are covered, even the one holding the cigarette while he exhales and lets the other in. It's blood.

Once Mike closes the door, it's immediately apparent why: there's a girl in the bathtub, the tiles covered as someone stabbed her more than a few times, and on the bed a man. What is probably a man judging from the fact that he's naked--his face has been mangled, it seems, by a rather large number of bullets to the face as well as a champagne bottle.

Mike takes another drag of the cigarette.

"Thanks for meeting me here."

Comments

[47redbirds]

"I don't know but he sure as hell warmed up to you. If Paige leaves I'm the only girl and if you leave I'm the only common sense, and you can't leave me with Tuturro and Jakes to deal with."

There it was, a small smile. "I'll be a few hours, so you can take chauffeur duty and cram it for today. Seriously." She pauses, reaches over to stroke his cheek with her thumb.

"And you tell anyone I'm being this nice to you I kick you in the balls, Scotty. Especially Johnny." A quick kiss on the cheek, a strangely motherly and particularly New-York-Italian thing to do, and smiles.

"Don't forget to talk to someone, you can't keep secrets bottled in forever, Billy." And with that, she opens the door and heads to her day.

(Hope this is okay. Over ride him going back if you had other plans)

[heroeswork]

Charlie's words sunk in deeper than he'd expected. He thanked her as she scooted out and he promised that he'd talk to someone. He found himself incredibly grateful for her gesture, knowing what such small signs of affection meant from someone like her.

He didn't go back to his team. Nor did he return to the house. Instead, he drove. Aimlessly. Thinking. He shouldn't be so conflicted. This was a job. These were bad people. They were to be taken down from the inside, locked up, people saved. And yet...he felt twisted up inside. Even more than the night before. Now it was his turn to feel guilty. Was there a way he could have pulled Mike out of that strange state? Was it just a shield, like the wall he himself had put up? He kept returning to one simple fact: were these the people who needed to be saved?

And there was that kiss. The one thing that haunted him more than the blood. How had he missed that? How had he been so wrong?

Eventually, he found his way to a coffee shop where he was able to pull his laptop from the trunk and make a report. A straight-forward, clinical assessment of the night's events and the confirmation that he'd finally advanced within the group. He phrased it as having just received the news and had not had time to explore the upper level of the house.

He remained there until he got notice from Charlie to pick her up. He hadn't made good on his promise to talk to someone, but he didn't need to. He didn't bottle these things up. He knew better. He just needed to let them go. But there were a few things he couldn't let go until he spoke to Mike again. So he waited for Charlie, right where he'd dropped her off, anxious to get back home. Hoping Mike would be there.

It's perfect!

[47redbirds]

The house, as it normally is in the middle of the day, is empty. Each member of the group had their specialties, after all--as much as they were a family, they were a well run organization, too. Extremely well run. Most of that was thanks to Mike.

The man in question is in the living room, the TV on and playing some oprah-like daytime talk show. The coffee table had been cleared out, specifically because of the large map of what looks like The city over a map of southern United States and Mexico. There's a few other sheets--what looks like a strangely official police report on Whistler and a few others.

No. Those are real. Mike managed to get a hold of them, somehow. He's got a red marker in his mouth like a cigarette, a green one between his fingers that he's tapping against the table. Glance up once the door opens, but once he sees it's Billy his attention is tersely back to whatever project he's doing.

"Hey."

In the background, the audience member gets a free copy of the guest speakers book. The crowd goes wild.

[heroeswork]

The entire ride back, there one thing that really started to nag at him. It wasn't the blood, it wasn't the kiss, it wasn't even Charlie's words specifically. It was the simple fact that Billy had misread everything. First the fact that Mike had that cold, twisted side, and the fact that Billy had assumed to that to be the "real" Mike. The fact that he had been genuinely terrified of the guy. Billy had faced mobsters and drug kings and all manner of awful and terrifying people. He'd been held captive by the enemy and didn't even know if his team could get there in time. And still he hadn't been afraid. Not like he'd been when Mike asked if he was going to run.

In forcing himself to look at it that way, look at himself, he was able to see it. See that it wasn't just that he was opening up to this strange family. See why it was so very hard to put the lid back on the box he kept his heart in, and why this had all hit him so hard. This had happened once before. Only instead of an ex-Quantico second in command, it had been a Harvard-bound boss's daughter. It wasn't an easy realization to come to or to handle. But now he knew what he was dealing with.

Billy was glad to find Mike alone in the house. He moved into the room, hands in his pockets, taking it all in. The map, the reports, even the TV. But for once, his mind wasn't on the job.

"Hey..." He said, softly.

With Charlie's words ringing in his head, he acted. He moved to the couch and in one move plucked the pen from Mike's lips and sat beside him. His fingers went into the other's hair and pulled him close for the kiss he'd refused last night.

[47redbirds]

He's not sure what he's expecting. Another talk, maybe, but mainly a stilted, forced conversation that ended with Billy either using the TV or heading into his room. He tries to focus on his work, tries to focus on something that's not Billy's presence. It doesn't work.

But Billy sits down and Mike doesn't even want to look at him, for fear he'll ruin whatever's happening. That's when Billy touched him, drew him in.

Mike's eyes widened, but only briefly before they fluttered closed. He immediately leaned forward, not only into the kiss but into Billy, and the marker in his hand was dropped as he shifts. He doesn't want to think about what this means, but his hands start running up Billy's arms and to his shoulders, soft and exploratory.

They shouldn't be doing this.

[heroeswork]

Billy put everything he had into that kiss. All of his skill and experience. His passion, his fear, his regret. For that brief moment, his entire focus was Mike and Mike alone. And in feeling those hands on his arms, feeling Mike lean into him, he was at last able to truly relax. And let everything go.

Slowly, he pulled back. His thumbs caressing Mike's cheeks as he did. He searched the other's eyes, quiet and almost content. He didn't say anything, because for a moment, he didn't know what to say. There were things he knew that should be said, but for just that moment, he couldn't think of what they were.

[47redbirds]

Billy may look content, but Mike was not. He was confused, now, and it showed. For someone who's an alarmingly good liar and incredibly good with tactics, he seems to wear his heart on his sleeve an awful lot. Especially around Billy.

Now he wants this though. Is it because Mike had given him space? No. It was something else--because Billy stated that he was going to be professional and not... This.

That thumb across his cheek, though. Mike looks down at it, reaches up to grab it. Touch. Touch was comforting, something he enjoyed.

"...Thank you," He says eventually, fingers running over the other's knuckles. "Whatever changed your mind, thank you."

[heroeswork]

"Chuck can be very...persuasive," Billy said with a soft smile. "I just needed a different perspective."

His hands slipped down to Mike's shoulders, holding them tight. "And you've no reason to fret. I'm far more resilient than you give me credit for. But should I find you in a state like I did last night in that hotel, I'll not let it stand." He tilted his head forward, looking Mike straight in the eye, his eyebrows raised. "I'm not gonna be afraid of anything you say." A smile brightened his face, before he added, "I can be incredibly stubborn when I need to be."

[47redbirds]

"Charlie knew." Of course Charlie knew, and Mike seemed to need that bit to snap back into reality, to reel himself in. He clears his throat, shifting away. Not out of spite, but rather because he knows they shouldn't be doing this even if he wants to. He still hasn't even apologized for that kiss.

"Have you seen this house? I think we all have issues with stubbornness." Because that's easier than talking about this, talking about his feelings. It wasn't a mistake, and it was reciprocated, but..Now what? Mike still felt guilty for doing that to Billy, even if it was completely necessary and he was in a state. His gaze returns to the map.

"Help me get this guy, Billy. For Charlie."

[heroeswork]

"I will, but first..." Billy reached over to fold the map, so Mike couldn't look at it anymore. "...you're gonna clear your head. You'll just be spinning your wheels if you keep pushing yourself."

He was so accustomed to consoling the frightened and encouraging the uncertain that in seeing Mike's state he'd assumed it was the opposite. That Mike was beyond that. But he saw now that it was no different. That Mike needed that same push, that same comfort.

"Besides." He looked at Mike. "If I've been promoted as it were, doesn't that mean I'm due a tour of the upstairs?" Another smile. He had plans. Obvious plans.

[47redbirds]

Mike immediately protested the moment those hands were over the map. No, he needed to figure it out now. This shit couldn't wait, it was important. It all was. The team before himself, the objective before anything else, and Billy just casually telling him he needs to rest?

Hungover or not (though thankfully gravol and tylenol helped that), Mike still needed to push through this. It was his job, and...

Oh.

Well.

"I'm trying to convince Briggs to give you Lauren's old room," Lauren, who hadn't even been mentioned once, but Mike didn't seem to notice that. He's slamming back the glass of water he has and putting it on the table next to the police file. Rising out of the couch to head upstairs. "So far he's not going for it."

[heroeswork]

Billy just shrugged as he gathered up the map and reports. The last thing they needed was Charlie finding it and wanting to know what Whistler had to do with anything. It also gave him a chance to glance over them. They were the real deal. Mike had contacts, it seemed.

Tucking all of it under his arm, Billy got to his feet, and offered his hand to Mike. "Guess he doesn't trust me all that much," he said casually. "Down here's better, anyway. Closer to the kitchen."

[47redbirds]

"Oh, he trusts you plenty. It's me that didn't. Consider that shit that happened as a shitty form of initiation or something," he says offhandedly. Easier to deal with if it's a joke. Still, he heads upstairs and opens his rooms door.

It's blue. Blue and standard, and alarmingly neat, just like the rest if Mikes personality. No posters, but a picture of him and the gang. Quite a few actually--there's also one with Briggs and they look about 19, sitting on a stoop with a bottle of alcohol, both of them grinning.

There's also a picture of a crime scene, body covered by a sheet. Evidence markers. The photographer caught in a cracked window.

There's quite a lot of books, though. Ornithology, a surprising amount of law books, some crime thrillers. One that was about the Buddhist center of philosophy, no doubt Briggs' gift. DVDs, all of them Oscar winners, most of them drama or thrillers. A guitar. More pictures of Paige and him, mostly. A laptop--the regulars.

"My room, next to Paige and Jakes. Briggs is down the hall. Bathrooms first door on your left."

He lets the door close with a soft click. Staring straight at billy.

[heroeswork]

Billy stepped into the room, looking it over what a rather bland expression. There wasn't much to look at, but he didn't expect anything lavish from someone like Mike. Not much in the way of personal effects. The photo of the crime scene was a draw, though. As he dropped the map and papers somewhere that seemed suitable, he leaned closer to look at it. Rather morbid, even for Mike.

As the door shut, Billy stood up properly, looking to Mike. An eyebrow lifted and he smiled. "So much for the tour?"

[47redbirds]

Mikes brow raises, too, and he almost matches that smile. Not quite as jovial, but certainly mischievous.

"Maybe later," he states. Takes a few steps towards Billy, smile turning into a smirk. This? This he can do. This means Billy's back. Billy's trusting him again. Currently? His shoulders are broad and he's closing the gap between them, hand moving up to touch the side if the other's face, leaning in to kiss him again.

[heroeswork]

Billy returned the kiss, far more gently than before. His hand slid around to Mike's lower back, pulling him closer. His head tilted and he melted against Mike. He was still exhausted, propped up by too much coffee. But it didn't drag so hard against him as it did earlier. Because he'd been wrong. He'd never been so very glad to be wrong. It meant his initial read on Mike hadn't be wrong. It meant there might still be a chance to save Mike from this grizzly lifestyle.

Slowly, he guided Mike toward the bed. Moving and nudging him. It was all for the wholesome goal of getting Mike to lay down. So he could rest. Since it appeared as though he'd slept even less than Billy.

[47redbirds]

Mike had other plans. The moment they were near the bed, Mike pushed him down onto the mattress, looking at the other with that same smirk on his face.

"It's more Johnny's thing, anyway," he says. Casually, like he isn't staring at Billy longingly. He bits the edge of his lip before deciding to just plunge in. He takes a few steps forward, watching the other on the bed, and begins to undo his belt. His fingers are nimble, but his expression is still relatively the same--trying desperately to be neutral. He needs this. He needs Billy. He needs to feel normal.

[heroeswork]

Billy let himself be pushed back onto the bed, sitting down easily. He smiles up at Mike, watching him. And seeing the other go for his belt, that smile faltered. Just twelve hours before he'd been so utterly convinced that Mike was straight. And then Mike's words from the last night flit through his mind. When they were on the dock. And Billy worried suddenly that Mike wasn't doing this for himself.

So Billy reached out and took Mike by the hands. To stop him before he could undo anything more than his belt. His smile returned and he tugged Mike closer. "You need to rest," was all he said.

[47redbirds]

Mike's face didn't exactly fall, but he certainly looked confused. Not uncertain, but confused.

"That's the last thing I need to do," He states, still smiling, now uncertain of himself but trying not to show it. What did Billy mean, rest? It was bad enough he was taking time out of what he was doing to help relieve some stress, so to speak, between the two of them.

"Did I.. Say something?"

[heroeswork]

Billy shook his head, drawing Mike closer. He slid his hands over the other's hips, gazing up at him looking a little worried. It felt strange, after the last twelve or so hours, to be doing this. To be so close and so comfortable. For Mike to worry that mere words would put Billy off.

"You didn't sleep at all last night," he said, "You need rest far more than you need strenuous activities."

[47redbirds]

"I slept fine," He protests, still looking confused more than anything. For some reason, someone noticing that seems to genuinely puzzle him.

"I'm fine," He repeated, because he knows that look. It's the same look Paige gives him when he's got his head too far into something. His shoulders slacken, not quite defeated but not exactly ready to give up. "If I wanted someone to mom me I would have called Briggs."

[heroeswork]

Billy fixed Mike with a firm look. Had he paid attention to nothing? The way Billy was always willing to jump in and lend a hand? Always stepping in to take care of others? If anyone was "momming" anyone in this house it was him. Truly and without hesitation. Mike should have expected this. Besides, he wasn't buying for a second that Mike slept at all. He'd seen the way he and Briggs dragged themselves into the kitchen that morning. They looked like they'd been run over.

He grabbed a firmer hold of Mike's hips to drag him down onto the bed beside him. And in the same move twisted so he would straddle the other's lap so he couldn't get up again.

"Just try to rest," Billy suggested, his hands moving over Mike's shoulders. "Give it fifteen, twenty minutes. Then we'll see where we go from there." He fixed Mike with a pleading, imploring look.

[47redbirds]

This is nice. Someone's weight is on top of him, and it's a different kind of weight from Paige--and yeah, maybe Mike's aware that Billy mothers everyone, but he chooses to believe he can change that. Or was going to, until those hands move to his shoulders.

They haven't even decided what to do. Or if this is a bad idea. Mike purposely avoids that topic, too, and firm, rough hands that betray what he really is rest on Billy's hips, thumbs finding the other's hip bone and stroking, curious.

"You really know how to box someone in," He comments, not exactly protesting but still getting used to this. Billy and Mike were so hot and cold lately that it seemed like forever ago that the incident had happened.

"I'll do what you want, but you gotta help me take down the guys that killed Whistler."

[heroeswork]

"I will," Billy promised. His hands moved up over Mike's neck, fingers curling around the back. His thumbs caressed over the other's jaw, leaning so close their foreheads nearly touched. "After you get some sleep."

Billy had a ploy in mind that went beyond just getting Mike to rest. His first was that he knew what that exhaustion was like. Mike might not think he was tired because he was pushing himself away from it. But the moment he let himself relax, it was like to claim him completely. The second was what happened when two people slept together. Genuinely fell asleep beside each other, holding each other. The subtle and warm trust that was created in such a state.

[47redbirds]

"Fine," He says softly. "Ten minutes." Ten minutes and Billy would either leave him alone or they could do... Whatever.

The problem is, as Mike adjusted and tried to gently push Billy off of him so he could lay down, is that Mike wasn't really sure what he wanted from all of this. Billy was attractive, competent. But was this still his own guilt? Did he genuinely like the guy?

...And what about that nagging voice that tells him that Billy's somehow wrong? That he has to be careful, especially around him?

"Ten," He repeats, trying to push that voice away. He doesn't need it. Not bothering him, not now. Not now that he's with Billy. He'll fill Paige in, but Mike has the feeling Paige will just laugh and ask if she can join in.