Duke parked his car in what seemed to be the only space left in a far corner of the Gull's parking lot. Getting out and slamming the door shut, he wondered irately what situation could possibly need him so badly when he specifically told Billy that he did not want to be bothered tonight under any circumstances.
He walked directly to the bar of his packed establishment and Billy came over immediately.
"I'm really sorry to bother you, boss," the bartender told Duke seriously as he poured another drink, "but I really think the girls need to go home."
"The girls?" Duke asked in confusion.
"Yeah, they've been here for hours. I cut them off a while back but guys have been buying them drinks all night. Audrey's over there." Billy said, pointing to where Audrey seemed to have made friends with an elderly couple. After scanning the bar, Billy hopelessly sighed, "And I seem to have lost track of Julia."
"Great," Duke inwardly groaned. "Did you call Nathan?"
Billy nodded. "He should be here soon." And with that, Duke walked over to Audrey's table.
"And that's why I thi- Duke! This is my friend Duke! He owns the place! He's a little bit of a criminal, but he's still a really good guy," Audrey said, loudly whispering the last part.
Duke chuckled awkwardly. "Well, it's time for us to go." he said, pulling Audrey up by the shoulder. Ignoring Audrey's pleads to stay, Duke apologized to the couple. "Dinner's on the house," he promised, dragging the blonde woman away.
Taking her into a storeroom the size of closet and closing the door behind them, blocking out the sound. The lack of space left them face to face, inches apart.
"Duke, I had no idea you felt this way," she hiccuped, putting her arms around his neck.
He tried to untangle himself from her arms. "No, Audrey-"
She caressed his cheek with one hand. "I'm sorry Duke, but I can't..." Audrey sighed. "I care about someone else."
"Yeah, okay Audrey, that's fine. Now where is Julia?" he asked seriously.
"Julia," Audrey giggled. "She made a friend."
That left a scowl on Duke's face and a pit in his stomach. "Where did she and this friend go?" he asked.
"They were going places, if you know what I mean." She giggled some more.
"Audrey," he snapped and she expression quickly turned serious."Do you know where they were going?" Duke asked, his hands tightly grasping her shoulders in part to keep her standing up straight and in part to keep her attention on him.
"He said something about having some fun in the backseat of a car," she answered with the seriousness that Duke had startled into her.
He nodded and opened the door, letting them out of the storeroom in time to see Nathan scouring the room for Audrey.
"Nathan!" Audrey called out excitedly, running toward him. "Me and Duke just had some alone time in the storeroom!"
Duke groaned inwardly, not even needing to look at the glare that Nathan was surely giving him to know that he was better off getting out of here than engaging in conversation. So he quickly took off to the parking lot in an attempt to stop Julia before she made what would surely be a bad decision.
There was sense of urgency while Duke made his way through the parking lot, looking into car windows, waiting to be greeted by a sight he really didn't want to see.
He told himself it was only because she was too inebriated to be safe about whatever it was that she was doing. There wasn't any other reason he was so worried he told himself.
As he made his way to the next row of cars, there was a noise. Duke froze and stood completely still. There it was again. Was that a... moan?
He followed the noise to a silver Lexus with what looked to be a tangle of limbs in the backseat. Duke took a deep breath before knocking on the window. There was hushed voices from inside of the car before a man's voice called out. "Go away!"
Duke banged on the window again. "Julia!" He yanked the door open impatiently, revealing two half naked people in a cramped position. The man kneeling above Julia wasn't wearing a shirt and Julia's small hand was on his open fly. The woman in question was totally topless and her jeans were pulled down to mid thigh, giving Duke a nice view of her lacy, tan underwear.
Duke averted his eyes awkwardly, as Julia smiled brightly up at him, not at all ashamed about her nudity. "Duke!" she said, happily.
"You know this asshole?" the man asked her.
"Brad, this is Duke. He's my friend, you know, the one I told you about," Julia said, swinging her hand back and out of the car to point at Duke, but she only ended up hitting him in the leg.
"C'mon, Julia. Time to go," Duke ordered.
"Hey buddy, she'll leave when she wants to," Brad said, reaching out to close the car door. Duke knocked his hand away.
"Julia, get dressed," Duke said with a little more force than necessary, but it got the point across because she pulled her jeans back up, fumbling with the button. All he had wanted was one fucking night to himself, Duke thought sullenly as Julia searched the car for her tank top.
She climbed out of the car and smiled at Duke. Duke looked down at her, with her tousled hair and a thin white tank top and dear god she wasn't wearing a bra. The nighttime chill made her nipples hard and he gulped as he felt his pants tighten just a little.
"Ready to go?" Duke asked.
She was about to nod before she dove back into the car and picked something up from the floor. Julia stumbled as she exited the car, grateful to have Duke there, steadying her as she threatening to hit the pavement.
The brunette proudly showed him the matching bra she had recovered from the car before saying, "Let's go."
Duke took another deep breath and followed the staggering woman.
"So where are we headed to, Crocker?" Julia asked, throwing her arm over his shoulders and leaning on him. Duke sighed. She was really in bad shape and Duke suspected that if she would have to walk more than a few feet by herself, she'd fall and not even bother to try to get up until morning.
"We're walking to my car and then I am taking you home."
Julia abruptly halted and Duke looked at her suddenly sad face.
"You're just going to leave me there?" she squeaked. Tears filled her eyes and she looked like the little girl who had skinned her knee on the playground all those years ago.
"You'll be fast asleep in your bed before you know it, Julia," he told her, rubbing her arms in an effort to console her.
"No, I won't be! All my keys are locked in my office and no one can unlock the office until morning so I can't unlock my front door and you're just gonna leave me to sit on my porch all night," Julia went on, a few tears making their way down her cheeks, bottom lip quivering.
"No, Julia. Don't cry, shh. I didn't know. I'll take you to my house. Please don't cry," Duke coaxed. As if the scene in the car hadn't been trying enough. The last thing he wanted was for her to erupt into a full blown sobbing fit.
She seemed to relax a little at his words and by the time they made it to his car, she was cheerful and giggly again.
Duke opened the car door for her and helped her in. He held his breath as he leaned over her to lock her seatbelt in place. He was too close for comfort. Julia's lips for only a couple of inches away and in her drunken state, he doubted she'd mind or, hell, even remember. He did her seatbelt quickly before making his way around the car and hopping into the driver's seat.
"You know Duke, I was having a lot of fun before with Brad," piped Julia. "It was really rude of you to interrupt like that."
Duke kept his eyes on the road. "Just looking out for you."
"You're a good friend, Duke," she told him.
Friend. He didn't have time to mentally deny why being called her friend made his chest ache a little when Julia casually put her hand halfway up his thigh and slowly moved it up.
"Whoa!" Duke shouted when her hand came dangerously close to the bulge in his jeans. He turned to look at her, to find that she had a cheeky smile on her face.
She slyly slid her hand up another inch and the car swerved. Duke's attention snapped back to the road and he narrowly avoided driving onto the sidewalk. Several people on the street shouted angrily at him and the car in the other lane honked.
"Dammit Julia!" he shouted. Duke's heart was beating rather quickly and whether it was because of their near miss or because Julia's hand was about an inch away from where his pants were straining over the problem Julia was causing, he didn't know. "Shit. We almost just bought it," he exhaled, trying to settle his nerves.
"You need to relax, Duke," she said flirtatiously. "I can help with that." And then with one quick, surprisingly coordinated motion, the brunette undid his zipper.
Thankfully they had arrived at the marina and Duke haphazardly parked the car, paying no attention to just how badly he did.
He turned to give Julia, whose hand was blatantly grabbing his dick at this point, an utter flabbergasted look.
"I could've crashed the car," he fumed. The frustration in Duke's voice surprised even himself. Julia slowly pulled her hand away, embarrassed and hurt.
"I d-I didn't mean to yell at you," Duke said in a low voice, but it was too late. Julia had unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her car door. Still hopelessly inebriated, she somehow managed to make it onto the before tripping over some fishing net Duke had left lying around.
Duke grimaced.
"Ow," she whined, pushing herself into sitting position and attempting to untangle her left foot from the net.
Duke kneeled down to help her, but before he could even reach for the net, Julia stopped him.
"Don't touch me." The words were meant to be venomous, but sounded childlike even to Julia. The happy buzz from the countless tequila shots she downed earlier had worn off and now she was just tired and sad and still drunk. All she wanted to do was to curl up in her own bed, but since that wasn't an option, she'd settle for sleeping on an remotely soft surface and not having to deal with Duke.
He sighed. "Julia," he pleaded, before gently removing her foot from the mess that was his fishing net. "You okay?" Duke asked softly.
"Fine," she replied, so low he barely heard it over the waves crashing around the boat.
They slowly stood up, brushing themselves off.
"C'mon, let's get you to bed," he mumbled, neither of them making eye contact.
Walking into his bedroom, Julia immediately collapsed onto the king sized bed in the middle of the room. Duke went over to his dresser, rummaging through one of the bottom drawers in search of something for Julia to wear. Deciding on an old v-neck and a pair of sweats that she'd have to make do with, he closed the drawer and walked over to where Julia had already fallen asleep.
"Hey, Julia. Wake up," he whispered, gently touching her shoulder.
She moaned, but her eyes fluttered open.
"I brought you clothes. You're not gonna be comfortable sleeping in jeans," Duke said, handing her the clothes.
Julia sluggishly sat up, waiting to summon up the energy to get dressed.
"Duke," she called out quietly to his retreating back. He turned around. "Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry about before," Julia said, obviously embarrassed but determined to look him in the eyes. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"No, Julia. It's not- It's not like that," Duke tried to explain. While the incident in the car had been unnerving, it hadn't been unwelcome.
"It's fine, Duke. Really. I get it. You don't have to sugarcoat it for me," she told him. If he didn't see her in that light, it was fine with her. Except that it wasn't and even through the numbness from the alcohol, her heart hurt. All those years ago, he thought of her as just a kid, which she had been, and by the time she grew up, Duke was long gone. Naively, she thought things might be different this time.
"You were drunk off your ass, Julia. If we had done anything in the car, you'd regret it in the morning." And the sad truth of it, Duke thought sadly, was that she would regret doing anything with him in the morning. She had made it painfully clear after they were taken hostage on the Cape Rouge, what she thought of him. Her little middle school crush on him was long gone and he had come crashing down from the pedestal she had put him on. Nothing but a "petty crook" as she had put it. His chest ached a little at the memory.
"You're probably right," she said, mustering up a sad smile. "Thanks for these," Julia gestured to the clothes.
"No problem," Duke said casually. "Bathroom's-" "The last door on the right. I know," she said, getting up. Duke gave her a small smile.
When she came back from the bathroom, Duke was bringing a wastebasket over to the bed.
"Thanks," Julia said, noticing he had also brought her a glass of water and aspirin.
Duke turned around to see her standing in the doorway. She had elected not to wear the heinously big sweatpants and his shirt barely reached mid thigh. He had opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly distracted by the sight of her. Wistfully he thought that was sight he wouldn't mind waking up to every morning.
She stumbled toward the bed, crawling under the sheets. "G'night Duke," she mumbled, already drifting asleep.
"Night Julia," he whispered, flicking the light switch off and giving her one last look before he left the room.
When he woke up the next morning, the first thing Duke noticed was that his back was incredibly sore. Upon opening his eyes and seeing that he wasn't in his own bed, but the lumpy pullout couch in his spare room, the memories of last night came back to him.
He reached over to the small table next to couch and grabbed his phone. It was half past eleven so Julia should be waking up soon, if she hadn't already.
Walking out of the room, he looked into his bedroom where Julia was still fast asleep. Sprawled out on the bed, Duke couldn't help but think about how cute and peaceful she looked when she was asleep.
Smiling to himself, Duke went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Walking out a little more lively than he had walked in, Duke collided with the bleary eyed Julia.
"Sorry," she groaned, pushing past him to get into the bathroom.
Poor girl probably has the hangover from hell, Duke thought idly as he went over to the kitchen to make them some breakfast.
When Julia finally made it to Duke's pseudo-kitchen, he had already put toast on both their plates and was in the process of pouring two glasses of orange juice.
"Hey, how you feeling?" he asked when she took a seat in the booth.
"Like I got hit by a really big truck," she lamented.
Duke chuckled.
"I puked in the trash can you left me like three times last night. Thank for that by the way," Julia spoke, taking a big sip of the juice.
Duke just looked at her. Even with strands of hair going in every which direction and her head being held up by her hand, she still looked good.
He shook his head. "No problem." He took a bite of toast, still watching her.
"Seriously Duke. Thanks for taking care of me last night," Julia told him. Despite the egregious amount of alcohol she had consumed, Julia remembered pretty much everything.
"Well I couldn't leave my best customer to fend for herself." Duke got up to put his empty blue plate in the sink. Julia noticed basically naked, clad in only a pair of black boxer-briefs. She bit her lip as she watched him walk. The boy was built.
Distracted, Julia didn't notice Duke had turned around and was looking at her, until she noticed she was no longer staring at his butt, but directly at his package. Embarrassed, she quickly looked away and went back to her toast.
Duke smiled. "You know, between the two of us, we almost make up one somewhat presentable outfit," he said, sitting down.
Julia looked up from her plate at him and smiled shyly. "I should get going. I'm meeting Audrey at Rosemary's," Julia announced moment later, standing up.
"I'll drive you," Duke offered, doing his best not to stare at her bare thighs, only inches away from his fingers.
"No, really, it's fine. I'll walk. I could use the fresh air," Julia responded. "I'm gonna get dressed." She pointed to the bathroom, where her clothes lay strewn from the night before.
"If you're sure," Duke said quietly, as she turned around and walked away.
When Julia returned, Duke was still sitting at the table, nursing his glass of orange juice. Hearing her footsteps on the wooden floor, he looked up to see her fully dressed, standing awkwardly. Even now that she looked infinitely more put together than she had minutes ago, Duke still thought she looked adorable.
"I'm gonna head out," she said, pointing to the exit. "Thanks for everything, Duke."
"It really wasn't a problem," he said. "That's what friends are for," Duke sighed.
Julia nodded. "Right. Well, see ya around." And with that, she left, the word 'friend' weighing in her mind.
Friend, he thought miserably. This was like the universe's fucked up attempt at karma. Duke imagined that this was how Julia probably felt in high school, when Julia was heels over head for him and he thought nothing more of her than the freshman who sat in front of him in French I. Except they weren't in high school anymore and he was sure his feelings now ran much deeper than her spin-the-bottle-crush.
He was majorly screwed.
So that's my first attempt at a Haven fanfiction. I'm not in love with the ending, but who knows, maybe there'll be a sequel to make up for it. I do intend on writing more Duke/Julia fics, but I'm a terrible person who starts things they never finish, so we'll see what happens.