Title: Scotch and licorice
Author: Aydin Suzanna K.
Pairing: John Constantine/Chas.
Rating: PG-13 for strong language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding the characters or the film.
Summary: Bad things just keep happening when John is around Chas, mostly kinda bad for Chas. Maybe there's a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Chastine slash.

"Stop here," John muttered as he looked out the window.

Chas pulled over and hit the breaks abrubtly. 'Take me to this and that place, Chas. Stop the car, Chas. Chas, let me out of the car.'
He snickered, that was a very amusing day, locking John in the car. The less funny part was that Chas locked himself in there too. Constantine had confiscated all Chas' licorice in the cab, and he would remove anything else Chas brought into the cab for the 3 days that followed after that. He just wanted to get John to listen and let him help out.
The young man sighed and turned around to face the man sitting in the back. At least his licorice was returned to him. Might not have been all of it, Chas was convinced that his boss had stolen one or two, how ever ridiculous the thought.

"This isn't fair, John," he fussed when the eerie man motioned to open the door of the cab and not seeming very interested in asking for backup.

John froze before his hand even reached the door and looked up, raising an eyebrow as if it were the first time he listened to Chas complain about wanting to help out - well, 'listen' to a certain extent.
He seldom listened to the exact words when his apprentice would kick off the subject again, John had learned by now how to recognize the context without having to identify the words that were spoken. To John it was more like a disturbance in the frequency where he would then move along to find a spot where everything was sound. This time was slightly different. John took the time to argue longer than necessary.

"Let me guess," Constantine shot back as he opened the door. "You want to tag along."

Surprised at hearing something else than 'Stay in the cab,' Chas got his hopes up and stared expectantly at John, who had already placed one foot on the street, and even though that was a very strong indication for this conversation to be aborted very soon, Chas was all too eager to jump out of the vehicle and hug the big scary man if this time Constantine would only let him come with.

"Really, John? Can I?" Chas inquired, deliriously buoyant and toying with the idea of acting out the fantasy that certainly did not involve trespassing John's personal space that could result in all sorts of lethal repercussions. None of them beneficial to Chas' health.
While Chas scrutinized John, waiting for an answer, he caught himself admiring the man's dark and ruffled hair. It was so close, within his reach, John hair. Chas had to resist the urge to touch it, as he was quite attached to his hand. And licorice.

John just sneered and Chas started to realize Constantine was not going to let him come along and help with this case.
'Pull his hair, Chas, not only will it make him feel your wrath but you get to touch it too. Two flies, one stone.'
"You're the spitting image of the asshole that got in the cab earlier today, John," Chas blurted out instead.

"And, you want to help," John went on smugly and completely ignoring the remark, now visibly taunting the youth. "You're tired of just waiting in the cab."

"John, how'd you get so smart," the aggravated Chas uttered and demonstratively turned to face away from John. Arms folded.

John frowned and briefly he considered taking the kid with him, he would never admit it, but somehow he found Chas' admiration and enthusiasm flattering, acknowledgment that John didn't receive anywhere else. And he never really tested it out, if Chas could .. -

As if he sensed John's thoughts, and also brutally interrupting them, Chas turned around again, not ready to give up. "John, you know I can do more besides driving your ass back and forth."

"You mastered the skill of shutting up for 10 seconds?"

"Thank you, John, I bet you have some hidden charms, too," Chas snapped, chewing his licorice. "John, please," he then tried to reason. "I don't even have to do anything, I could just watch and pick my nose, I won't get in your way."

John glared back at Chas, staring into the big bright eyes that were as hopeful as ever. No, his presence would only distract. He couldn't do his job right if he had to worry about the safety of his apprentice. Of course that's not what he was going to tell Chas, he might get licorice thrown in his face, but what was he going to say? Let's try not to be such a prick for once.
He looked away for a minute while he rehearsed in his mind, and he couldn't do that while he's being looked in the eye.

'How about, 'I like you better alive.' No, too sappy. 'You're too good a kid to risk losing.' Too emotional. John, you don't get emotional, you're an asshole.'

"John?"

Constantine looked up at the sound of Chas' voice.

"You okay, John?"

"I'm an asshole," John finally said, his voice stifled. As though realization had just struck him, he tried to hide the expression of disgust. Quite possibly not aware of the fact he was thinking out loud.

Chas glared at him, looking kind of bored and not at all shocked by this notion. "If this is the part where I have to say 'No, John, don't say that, you're a very nice man. Don't do anything stupid,' I'm gettin' out of this car and put you in front of a bus for making me tell a lie."

There was a silence and their gazes met for a few moments until they both looked away. But Chas was curious what the man was getting at, since it wasn't particularly shocking news that John lacked the necessary consideration and sympathy for his fellow humans to function properly. Maybe he'd had too much whiskey this morning. Chas chewed his licorice and studied the lines on Constantine's face when ever John looked the other way and increasingly admiring the hair, the eyebrow that looked so cool when he would raise it in skepticism, the dark, deep eyes that sometimes seemed to be able to fry your brain or set other thoughts in motion.

At the same time John would watch on as Chas chewed on that rubbery thing and wasn't looking, not letting on his fascination but couldn't help to let his eyes trail off to the smooth skin, and the tense muscle in his neck when he would turn his head. The chair regrettably blocked John's view. It was time to get out of the car.

"John," Chas broke the silence. "What are you doing checking out my neck?"

'Thinking it's a nice neck,' John thought to himself. "I'm not fucking looking at your neck, Chas," he snapped, trying to hide his embarrassment. Most definitely time to get out of the car. "I'm late."

Chas nodded as his eyes followed John out of the car. "Tell yourself what ever you want to, John. But I saw what I saw."

"You stay put," John ordered as he popped his head back in the car.

"Why can't I come?" Chas insisted. "John, please, come on." 'I feel useless, John.'

John sighed. He knew the kid would never drop it unless he gave him an answer, but knowing Chas, he wouldn't settle for anything that meant he couldn't come along. "I don't want to risk your life, Chas."

"John, I might die in a car accident and that doesn't keep you from putting me behind the wheel," Chas countered. "Besides, it's just an exorcism, you always return with a smile and a giggle."

"You stay in the car, if you're looking to have a picnic I'll show you some ants another time." John looked at him, intense. His tone wasn't mocking in the least.

"John, what if something -"

"You're a distraction, Chas," Constantine broke him off mid-sentence, sounding much more pungent than he intended. He took a breath upon seeing the hurt in the boy's eyes. "You watch the car," he tried, knowing that it wasn't convincing or showed any confidence in the boy at all.

"Yeah, John, the world's a much safer place with me watching the cab. Because you know who I am? I'm Chas Kramer, underestimated 'apprentice' of Constantine, John Constantine, asshole," he stirred.

"Chas."

"Have another drink, John," he foiled, pointedly avoiding eye contact with the man.

That actually stung. Normally, John would've already closed the door and be on his way, because he was an inconsiderate bastard after all, but he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to say what he wanted to say. Yet he couldn't admit to the feelings, they fucked up his balance and his stoicism.
He looked at Chas, who was still sulking behind the wheel, seemingly waiting for John to leave, to apologize, to bring him along or to just talk to him and John didn't exactly know which, he felt more like kissing the guy, Chas looked like he needed it, well, that or a drink, it was hard to tell the difference. John could do with both.

'John, just shut the door and walk away. If you don't know how to fucking handle it, don't handle it.'

"Chas, I need you out here," he said and countered his thoughts as it was very tempting to actually shut the door. He tried to sound sympathetic, and he succeeded to the point where it didn't sound as a plea nor did it reflect an order. He waited for Chas to turn around before he continued, their gazes met for a moment and John knew the tone of his voice was more appropriate this time. "If something happens in there and we both get our sorry asses killed, we might as well stay both in the car."

"You protecting me, John? That's kinda sweet," Chas smiled tauntingly. He appreciated the serious look on John's face, but it was too good to let it lie there. This must be how John always felt, beating around the bush for his own amusement. He knew what John was saying, and in all probability John always knew what Chas was saying but not acknowledging it.

A sigh escaped John's lips and an eyebrow went up. Chas loved that facial expression. "Could you do that again?" he let out excitedly before he even realized that he was practically begging John to raise his eyebrow again. Chas swallowed when he fathomed he actually said that instead of thinking it.

"Do what?" John sighed and cocked an eyebrow once again, not understanding the strange plea and at the same time he gave the kid exactly what he wanted.

Chas smiled sheepishly. "Nothing."

"Look, Chas," John started over. "I don't want to get my friends killed."

This felt like the right moment to end the conversation. John slammed the door shut and reached inside the pocket of his jacket for his pack of smokes. He put a cigarette between his lips and lit it as he started to walk across the street, but stopped in his tracks upon hearing Chas opening the door, closing it and running after John.

Constantine glanced over his shoulder in frustration. He took a long drag of his cigarette and turned around when Chas had almost caught up with him.
"Didn't you just hear me," the exorcist lashed out and then realized they were only separated by 2 inches. A little shocked, John took a step back. "Stay in the fucking car, Chas."

Chas smiled. "Yeah, John, whatever," he disregarded and continued without a moment's pause. "I didn't know that we're friends, John. I thought we were just pretending to like each other in silence."

"I'm not pretending, Chas. I'm just -"

"An asshole, right?" Chas finished for him with a grin from ear to ear.

John chuckled and took a drag from his cigarette. "Sure," he spoke with a lopsided grin, blowing the smoke in a direction other than Chas'.

Without saying anything further, John moved away from Chas and headed for the house where he was supposed to exorcise a demon 20 minutes ago, assuming Chas would return to the car without having to be told again. Once he arrived at the door, he found Chas standing next to him. A little annoyed, he looked at the boy who didn't seem to want to leave his side.

John didn't even need to say anything, Chas knew what he was thinking because 'fuck off' was written all over the man's face. "Just walking you to the door, John," he grinned with a shrug.

"Could you ring the doorbell for me, there's always a possibility it'll eat my finger," he responded dryly and tossed his cigarette into a direction he didn't care for.

Before John realized what happened, Chas grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him against the door as hard as he possibly could. It didn't take as much strength as he had thought, it always seemed kind of difficult to move John, in every sense of the word. But it was considerably easy since he caught John completely off guard. After a second, he pressed his lips against Constantine's for a deep kiss, forcing his tongue inside when John relaxed under his touch. John quickly recovered from the surprise and leaned in, eager to return the kiss.
When Chas pulled away, it was John who pushed him into the door and kissed him hard. Chas didn't object and finally found the courage to run his hand through John's hair while John explored his mouth, almost swallowing him, until Chas broke it off to catch a breath.

"You ring the doorbell yourself, assho.. -" Chas started with a grin until the door was suddenly jerked open from the inside by an anxious parent, waiting for that one man who could fix her son.
Both John and Chas clumsily crashed inside and landed on the floor. The lady jumped aside just on time to avoid the impact of the pile of men that were at her feet. John lay on top of Chas, looking quite uncomfortable trying to collect his thoughts but failed to jump to his feet right away. 'Welcome to the life of Chas,' it flashed through John's thoughts as it didn't feel like normal stoic and alert John-behavior.