Author's Note: I'm sorry! It's hard to find motivation for these stories anymore (Including/Especially White Flag). Season 3 still seems far away (And I find myself dreading it after the crap that was Season 2) and there aren't that many new fanfictions or articles to get me in the mood. I promise I'm working on it slowly. Until then... Here's the beginning of a new short story.
He knew she'd hate him being here.
Maybe that was why he was doing it.
Recently, it seemed like nothing gave Mike pleasure except watching her tight smile and the flash of anger in her green eyes. He told himself he didn't care what she thought of him anymore, that he was over her, but it didn't explain why he would go out of his way to get a rise out of her. Johnny said they were acting like children. Maybe they were, but when it was Johnny pointing it out, perhaps there was a problem.
Still, Mike couldn't stop.
Maybe Johnny was right. Living in Graceland did seem like a delayed adolescence. The Solano case was done. Sid was dead. Mike should head back to DC, like a grown up, but it never seemed like quite the right time. Plus his presence in Graceland seemed to be the one thing that annoyed Paige most. How is he supposed to continue punishing her for what she did, if he's across the country?
And he needed to punish her. God knows she had punished him. Right up to the moment of actually sending Sid Markum, the one man he hated most in the world, to his bedside to kill him. He almost succeeded. Technically, he did succeed if you went by the doctor's chart. Mike was legally dead for a full two minutes before his heart was started again. Ironically, Mike's "death" was the turning point needed for him to get ahead of Markum.
It was also the turning point for Mike and Paige's relationship. Up until that point, Paige had held all the power. All the cards. Even when Mike was technically her boss, she had control over him. Mike would do anything to please her, and always was falling short of her approval. But nothing he could have done compared to the betrayal of Paige giving him up to Sid.
Now the tables were turned. Mike was no longer groveling to Paige, trying again and again to be worthy of her love. Now she had screwed up, and she knew it. Sure, she had apologized. Since he'd come back, she'd been contrite. She'd tried to avoid fighting with him, and Mike sincerely believed she regretted her decision. Mike could have been gracious, but finally having the higher moral ground (not through any achievement of his own) he refused to forgive her.
He wanted her to suffer the way he had. So he bitterly let her take the blame for more than her share. Part of him did it because of the way she'd been unable to forgive him for so long. Part of him did it because fighting seemed the only way he knew how to interact with her anymore. Part of him didn't know why he did it.
The one nice thing about having your enemy being the person you once loved most, is you know all the right buttons to press. Mike knows her. He knows all of her pet peeves and all her tells. She hated the way he'd check up on her cases. The way he'd always find some way to tie them in with his. At home she could choose to ignore or confront his passive aggressiveness, but at work she had no choice but to remain professional. She hated it.
It brought Mike undeniable pleasure to watch her squirm, her fist clenched at her side, knowing she wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.
Which is why he was here now at this club. He knew she was already here. Mike held up his arms with a smarmy smile as he was patted down before entering beyond the velvet rope of the VIP room. He saw her laughing, lounging on a couch surrounded by men fawning over her. If only they knew how deadly she was. Mike's eyes travel up her long legs to the tight velvet of her red dress. She played the part of bait so well. How could these men look at anything but her?
When his eyes reach her laughing face, she looks right at him and smiles broadly. This catches him off guard. This is not the tight lipped what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-here smile he normally receives these days. This smile is warm and radiating, like there's genuinely no one in the world she would rather see than Mike right now.
Mike stands frozen for a moment. He forgot the effect that look had on him. His mouth feels suddenly dry and his palms sweaty. He is instantly on guard.
"Yo! Ricky? Who's this pretty boy you let in here? You queer?" One of the men, the leader of the group, stands up and Mike sees the gun tucked into the back of his pants.
"He says he was invited." The bouncer, presumably Ricky, shrugs.
This is not good. Mike may not need Paige's help in getting himself killed tonight. The two large men look ready to cause him bodily harm, and there's at least six other armed men in this room alone.
"He's with me." Before a fight can break out, Paige stands up and slinks across the room towards him. Mike eyes her nervously. Something about her tonight seems more dangerous than all the armed criminals in the room combined.
"I don't know P, he looks kind of square." The leader addresses Paige, but is still looking at Mike doubtfully.
"No. He's cool." Paige assures the leader, leaning in closer and putting her hands on his shoulder as she too apraises Mike.
"So he's down to party?"
"Oh yeah…" Paige's purr would melt Mike if he weren't so worried he was going to get himself shot.
"Fine. Welcome to our friend." The guy hands Paige something small, and she takes it in her hand, walking forward to where Mike stands.
"Thanks." Mike says to the leader. He's finally beginning to relax a bit, but not fully, because Paige is approaching and looks like she might devour him.
"Ready for some fun, Tiger?" She wraps one hand around Mike's neck and whispers in his ear.
"I'm ready for anything." Mike says back cockily. If she can play a character, so can he. He doesn't know what her angle is tonight, but she's obviously deep under cover. She's playing the part to perfection, and Mike forgot what an amazing actress the girl was.
"Perfect."
Mike said he was ready for anything, but he was not ready for her to bring her hand up to wrap her lips around her index finger, slowly sucking as she pulls it out seductively. Mike's throat goes dry as he watches entranced. The only thing that could surprise him more is when she then uses the hand around his neck to pull him forward where she kisses him passionately, replacing her finger with his tongue. She kisses him deeply, and Mike is so shocked he can't help but melt into her kiss. His brain barely notices the pill that transfers from her tongue to his, and easily slides down his throat.
The room of criminals seems to slip away, as Mike is flooded with the memories that accompany the taste and feel of her lips on his. After a moment, she finally pulls away. Giving him a cocky grin, she turns and walks back to her seat on the couch, holding him by the hand to easily lead him behind her.
"Welcome to the party my man." The banger grins as everyone settles back in making room for Mike in the circle.
"What did I just take?" Mike asks the group as he sits down next to Paige who is reclining with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.
"Just a little Trail Mix my friend. Relax. You'll feel it in a couple minutes." The leader says with a knowing grin. Mike mentally tries to remember what Trail Mix is slang for so he can know what symptoms he'll need to fake. He tries to visual the slang manual, but it's the memory of a condescending lecture from Johnny and Paige that reminds him of the drug concoction he just took. He almost laughs aloud when he remembers. Trail Mix is slang for a mix of MDMA (also known as Ecstacy) and Viagra to combat the impotence issues caused by the Ecstacy.
The Ecstacy symptoms shouldn't be too hard to fake. The darkness of the room should help his pupils dilate naturally and he can grind his teeth. He can fake the other symptoms of the high. He can become euphorically happy, hyper, loving and obsessed with touch. There may be difficulty faking the effects of the Viagra... Then again Mike thinks, looking at Paige's long legs stretched out to brush against his, maybe not.
Mike relaxes back in the plush seat. Ecstacy normally takes about half an hour to kick in, so he can still act normal for now. Everyone around him seems to be rolling already, so no one's watching him to closely. He looks at the beautiful blonde next to him who is running her fingers over the velvet couch with her eyes closed. She's so good.
"What did I really take?" Mike leans in to whisper in Paige's ear.
Her eyes slowly flutter open to lock with his and he sees for the first time the intense dilation of her eyes. She doesn't need to say anything for Mike to know the answer.
"Oh shit."