Steph POV
December 31st, 15h30
"Not even a week and my pain in the ass cousin is already trying to steal you away from me. Again."
I laughed as Ranger grumbled his complaints into my ear. We were stretched out on his bed, spooned together close enough that a paper wouldn't fit between us. His grip on my hips tightened almost imperceptibly and he pressed soft kisses along my neck. I groaned in appreciation when he reached the sensitive spot just below my ear and his tongue darted out to lick my earlobe. I shuddered with desire and struggled against him.
"Stop," I moaned, trying to retain some sense. "I have to leave in 4 hours…"
"I'm not going to stop if you keep wriggling around like that, Babe," he warned me huskily. I immediately ceased my movements and giggled when he sighed in frustration. "That wasn't intended to make you stop," he complained again.
"Aren't we just full of complaints today?" I cooed teasingly, as I would with my nieces, as I turned around to peck him on the lips. "And Lester," I put emphasis on his name to reprimand Ranger for calling him a pain in the ass, "is my best friend, and your brother. He would never try to 'steal' me. At least, not for real." He snorted and I took advantage of his momentary distraction to steal out of bed.
"Babe," he sat up and cast me a wounded look.
"Oh, don't look at me like I kicked your puppy," I giggled, somewhat pleased by the fact that someone like Ranger truly wanted me around. "I'll be back before midnight."
"But it's our first New Year as an official item," he called after me as I walked to the bathroom.
"I know, but I promised him on Christmas that I'd go with him to this concert," I replied over my shoulder. "I can't go back on it now."
"Sure you can, Babe," he disagreed. "If he has a problem with it, it could be resolved on the mats."
"Gee, I don't think I'd be able to take him on, Ranger."
"Babe."
"Batman."
"Don't go."
"I promised."
"Babe."
"Batman!" I giggled at the circle we'd gone around and his lips quirked upwards as though he were thinking of smiling. I cocked my head to the side and smiled mischievously at him. "How about we discuss the rest of your complaints in the shower?"
Probably not our most productive discussion, but I would personally consider it to have been very…rewarding. But that's just me.
###
After a two hour shower, I shooed Ranger out of the walk-in closet so I could get ready. We were at the Batcave, where we'd been since Christmas, and had it not been for the promise I'd made Les, I'm sure we would have stayed here, uninterrupted, until after the New Year. He had clothes for me here, and on seven as well, which made me feel all warm inside. Until a week ago, I hadn't been certain, so knowing now that he felt the same way was more than I could comprehend. I dressed in a pair of low rise jeans that hugged all my curves and made my ass look sexy as hell, and paired it with a blue shimmery halter neck top that clung to my cleavage before flowing out in subtle waves of organza, hitting just at the waistband of my jeans. I went light with my make-up, simply lining my eyes in midnight blue and coating my lashes with mascara after putting a light pink gloss over my lips. I teased my hair into less wild curls and pinned it all up, leaving only one or two strategically falling to frame my face. Putting on my black stilettos and grabbing my blue leather bomber jacket, I was ready, only with a few minutes to spare. When I got downstairs, Ranger was in the lounge and he turned as he heard me come down the staircase.
"Have you seen my clutch?" I asked him, casting my eyes around to check if it were there. I spotted it on the side table in the hallway, and I sighed in relief. "Never mind, there it is," I told him, pointing. I met his eyes, wondering about his lack of reaction, and I inhaled sharply when I realised the reason.
His eyes, drinking me in, were black as night with desire and heavily lidded. He stalked towards me and I felt for a second more like I was his prey, than his girlfriend.
"Oh, no," I held up a warning hand and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Not now, Buster, or I'll never leave."
"That's the plan, Babe," he returned with a cheeky grin. My focus was only on him and vice versa, so when a figure in black streaked toward us, it took us both by surprise. I shrieked and Ranger, reacting far better than I, snapped to awareness and side-stepped the figure that could have ploughed him over, catching him by the arm and spinning him around to pin him against the wall.
"Go Beautiful! Get out now, while he's distracted!" Les shouted in mock horror. I clutched my chest and giggled slightly, breathing heavily.
"Give a girl a heart attack before the New Year comes, why don't ya?" I took deep breaths trying to compose myself.
"Remind me again why I gave you clearance to my house?" Ranger asked him tightly, not loosening his grip.
"Because I'm your cousin and Beautiful loves me too much for you to kill me," he supplied easily. "You know, Beautiful, once you get bored of my unimaginative brother here, I could show you a much more interesting time."
"Mats, tomorrow, 0400," Ranger barked out and I grinned.
"What a way to stat the new year, Les," I teased. "Now let's go before you do something that'll land you getting killed before said New Year even begins."
""Yes, Ma'am," he smirked at me and saluted Ranger. "Later, cuz!"
I stayed behind to land a steamy, lingering kiss on his lips, filled with promises. By the time we broke away, his hands were under my top and mine were tangled in his hair.
"See you later, Batman," I murmured breathlessly. "I'll be back before a quarter to midnight. Love you."
"Love you Babe," he replied huskily. "Hurry home."
"Home," I repeated with a slow smile, rolling the word over my tongue. "I like the sound of that." He replied by pressing his lips once more, firmly against my own, and I lost myself in his strong arms.
###
December 31st, 20h00
"Damn, Beautiful, I love you," Les sighed as we made our way backstage. Surrounding us were women in very, very revealing outfits, all ogling and drooling over the man standing next to me. I laughed.
"You're welcome, Les," I smiled. "It was the least I could do." Lester had, a week prior to this, concocted the most daring plan that included taking me out on a date, that later resulted in his cousin, Ranger, the only man I love, finally stepping up and making me his. It had almost backfired, since both of them had been slightly inclined to jackass-ery, but what can I say? I'm a very forgiving person when you factor in the Cuban Sex God and his equally sexy and sweet cousin!
I cast my eyes around the arena, taking in the scene in front of me. When my eyes fell on a certain square-jawed, green-eyed face, I cursed loudly and skittered behind Les.
"What?" Les demanded, ghosting his hand over his gun hidden in its holster inside his jacket.
"Remember I told you once that I dated this guy who never got over me?" I hissed into his ear.
"Bruce Gartener, yeah," he nodded, his eyes searching the place for threats.
"He's here!" I groaned. "I swear, Murphy and his laws are out to get me."
"Calm down, Beautiful," he smiled. "I mean, the guy's not going to try to win you back, or something? He probably didn't even see you."
"Hmm…" I bit my lip. I guess it was possible…
"Look," Les tried to pacify me, "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. And if I know my cousin, which I do, he'll be watching the live coverage of this concert to make sure nothing goes wrong. You'll be okay."
"Alright," I agreed uneasily. "You're probably right." Les chuckled and I looked over his shoulder. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised that Bruce wasn't there anymore. Maybe he really hadn't seen me.
"Feel better?" Les asked, hugging me.
'Much," I nodded. I saw someone else I knew as I did this; someone I was significantly happier to see. "Yas!" I hollered excitedly, tearing out of Les's arms. Yasmeen was my old college roommate and we had gotten along like a house on fire. Of everyone I had known back at Rutgers, she was the one I felt worst losing contact with.
"OHMIGOSH, STEPHANIE!" she screamed, her face lighting up when she saw me. We raced toward each other and I grabbed her in a bear hug, jumping up and down as we did so.
"It's been so long!" I exclaimed. "How are you?"
"I'm great," she laughed. "What have you been up to?"
"Kicking ass and taking names," I winked. "What about you?"
"Oh, honey, breaking hearts and forgetting names, as always," she laughed. I giggled and shook my head.
"In that case, there's someone here I think you should meet," I waggled my eyebrows, gesturing to Les. "This is my best friend, Lester Santos."
I looked at Les and was surprised to see him pale when he looked at Yas. His blank face quickly came down and his jaw tensed.
"Pleasure to meet you," Yas batted her eyes flirtatiously. "I'm Yasmeen, but you can call me Yas."
"Hi Yasmeen," Les said monotonously, shaking her hand quickly before letting it go as though it scalded him. My eyebrows lifted in surprise. Was the notorious ladies' man, Lester Santos, passing up the opportunity to charm the pants off a beautiful single woman?
"Meet you back there, Beautiful," he muttered, jerking his head in the direction we came from.
"Well, either your friend has a thing for you, or he's gay," Yas observed with a grin. "Either way, not my most productive introduction!"
"He doesn't like me," I denied absently, gazing at Lester's retreating back, wondering what was wrong. "I'm dating his cousin, he loves me like a sister."
"Oooh," Yas intoned, eyes bright with mischief, "who's the cousin?"
"Batman," I laughed.
"Batman?" She looked confused.
"It's a long story," I wound my arm around her shoulders. "So tell me how the breaking hearts thing is working out for you…"
###
Ranger POV
I sat on the sofa, beer in hand, feeling disgruntled and wishing that I could send my idiot of a cousin to third world country without bringing the wrath of Mama, Tia Lola, Tia Ella and Stephanie raining down on me. I flicked through the channels until I got to the live coverage of this Maraya singer that Babe was taking Santos to see. At least this way, I would be able to see if anything happened.
The past week with my Babe has been nothing short of magical. I could scarcely believe that only a week had gone past since I had admitted to her that I loved her. We had come further in seven days than we had in the past few years; it was amazing how much three little words could accomplish. I thought about my house- the Batcave, to Babe- and how empty it now seemed without her here. I had lived here for such a long time and it had felt like the closest thing to a home, but now it was like, I had seen what a home really was and how this house could be, and going back to how it was pre-Babe? It was nothing more than four walls on a piece of land. I hadn't really known what I was missing until I saw my life now, with her, from the outside looking in.
As clichéd as I always thought the saying was, I now understood its deeper meaning;
She completed me.
So here I was, sitting on the sofa and hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman I love, counting the seconds till ten before midnight, which was the latest she said she'd be back.
14400 seconds and counting.
When my phone buzzed I reached for it quickly, hoping it was her. When the screen flashed Santos, my heart rate spiked. Was something wrong?
"Report!" I barked.
"We have a small problem," he yelled over the noise. "Beautiful met her friend here…"
"So, what's the problem?" I snapped when he hesitated, taking the stairs two at a time to get to our bedroom to get dressed.
"She's that crazy chick you banged when we came back from basic training," he told me grimly. "The one with the voice messages about how you ruined her life? She's Beautiful's best friend."
"Shit!" I cursed, grabbing two guns and holstering them. "Keep her away from Steph. There in 20," I told him shortly, pocketing my phone and grabbing my keys. I was about to switch off the TV when the sight that met my eyes on the screen in front of me sent my blood boiling at a temperature that was far from healthy…
###
Lester POV
"There in 20," my cousin said evenly before hanging up. I shoved my hand through my hair, biting back a sigh as I saw Beautiful carry happily on with Yasmeen. This night could not get more complicated.
Shit. Famous last words.
No sooner had I realised this before a guy with shaggy blond hair and green eyes came on to the stage and yelled into the microphone;
"Stephanie Plum!"
Ahhh, shit.
###
Steph POV
"I don't know how to describe him to you, Yas! He's patient and sweet and strong and caring, but he's also such a badass. He's loving, more so than I ever thought possible, because he's such a private, closed off man, but that just makes it more special, ya know? That he decided to share himself and his life with me even though it goes against his nature. He knows me better than anyone Yas, and he's really my superhero! He's really my Batman."
"Oh, honey, he sounds absolutely amazing! What's his name?"
"His name is…" I was chatting animatedly with Yas when my worst fear came true.
"Stephanie Plum!"
Oh, God, no.
Bruce was standing on the stage, hollering into the mike, looking as "love-struck" and loony as the day I got my restraining order against him. He looked as though he would die from happiness.
"Stephie, oh, baby, I finally found you!" he cried. "Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention, please! That woman right there," he pointed imperiously to me and I looked down, mortified, covering my face with my hand, "that woman, is the woman of my dreams. She is the love of my life! The peanut butter to my jam! The yin to my yang! She has my heart, and forever and always will!" Cue the audience's inexplicable "Awww."
"Shit, Yas, I gotta go," I told my friend urgently. "My boyfriend is probably watching the live coverage of this event and if I know him, and he saw this, Ranger's going to be out for blood."
"Wait, your boyfriend's name is what?" Yas shrieked, paling visibly.
"Ranger," I repeated, puzzled. Was it really that odd a name? Surely not.
"Ohmigosh, hon, tell me you're joking," she stared at me in disbelief.
"Serious as death," I replied, confused. "What's the matter?"
"Ranger is…"
"BEAUTIFUL!" Les's booming voice interrupted Yas. He threw an arm around my shoulders and I staggered a little under the force. "Is that Bruce?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed, distracted again. "I told you this was bad!"
"We gotta go," he said hastily, starting to drag me away.
"Hold on," I tugged back. "Yas, what were you saying?"
"Nothing," Les butted in quickly. "She wasn't saying anything, I was. That we should be going. Right?" he began to tug me away again, but this time, Yas caught hold of my other arm.
"Hold on a sec," she narrowed her eyes at Les. "You know, don't you?"
"Know what?" I asked, beginning to get suspicious. I checked quickly over my shoulder; Bruce was still spouting some crap about our "epic love story" so I figured I was safe another few minutes.
"You said that he was your boyfriend's cousin," Yas jerked her head toward Les accusingly.
"Yes," I nodded impatiently. "So?"
"He's covering for his cousin!" she snapped at Les.
"Why, what did Ranger do?" I asked angrily. A small seed of doubt rooted in my stomach. Had Ranger done something?
"Beautiful, let's go." Les pleaded with me with his eyes. In that moment, I knew that, best friend or not, Les was covering something up for Ranger. I jerked my arm away from him, hurt.
"Beautiful," he started, seeing the pain in my eyes.
"Leave her alone!" Yas shouted. "I'll tell her what happened." She linked her arm through mine.
"I think you've done enough," Les refuted evenly, his green eyes flashing.
"I was about to tell you the very same thing, bucko!" she jabbed Lester in the chest. I growled under my breath; fine. Just fine. If they were being too childish to tell me, I would go straight to the source. I flipped open my phone and held down on speed dial two, slipping away from an arguing Lester and Yas; so immersed were they in arguing about which one of them I should go with, that they didn't even see me slip away.
"Ranger what are you and Les hiding from me?" I demanded, before he could even greet.
"Babe," his frustrated huff came over the phone. "Who's that asshole who keeps saying that you're his long lost love?"
"Shit," I cursed, closing my eyes. "Long story. But don't you change the topic, mister! What are you hiding from me?"
"Damnit…Look, Babe, I'm on my way, I'll be there soon. Just wait for me, okay? Can you do that for me, Babe?" his voice turned infinitely gentler, softer. "Please, Babe. I promise I'll explain everything when I get there." I softened by the love in his tone.
"Fine," I agreed softly. "I'll wait for you."
"Thanks, Babe."
"Love you," I sighed. Despite the drama, I did. Always have, always would.
"I love you, too, Ba…" Before he could finish his sentence, my phone got snatched right from my hands. I whirled around in surprise.
"Whoever this is, stop calling my fiancé or I'll kill you myself!" Bruce snarled into the phone before throwing it to the ground and smashing it. Shit.
"Bruce, leave me alone," I warned him steadily, calmly. "I have a restraining order, Bruce, so just walk away."
"Baby, we belong together," he told me frantically. "I love you, why can't you see that?"
"Bruce, just don't…" before the words were even out of my mouth, he grabbed my wrist and twisted it around my back, his other arm coming down like a bar over my throat.
"I love you," he repeated desperately. "I'm gonna sing to you in front of the whole arena. I'm gonna show you we belong together and you'll forget all about the other guy!"
"Let her the hell ago, or I will shoot you," Lester's furious snarl came from behind us and I almost cried out in relief. "If you've hurt her, I swear to God…"
"Oh, don't worry, kind Sir," Bruce called merrily, turning us around. Yas looked at me fearfully from behind Les. "She's my fiancé, and we're just having a little lover's quarrel, aren't we baby?"
"Beautiful, are you okay?" Les asked me, keeping his gun trained on us.
"Yes," I whispered, while his grip tightened on me.
"You're the low-life who's been stalking my girl!" Bruce hollered, going 180 degrees from the pleasant façade a minute ago. "Stay the hell away from her, you creep!"
"Bruce let go of me!" I pleaded. "You're hurting me!"
"Let her go, or I will shoot you," Les threatened lividly. His grip loosened slightly and I took the opportunity to grab his arm and twist it away from me, stamping his foot and kicking him in the groin to cap it off. I stumbled to Les and he caught me in a hug before turning his attention back to Bruce, who…
…wasn't there anymore.
He took off into the arena. Les cursed as he reholstered his gun. He checked me over for injuries and seemed relieved when he found none.
"Where did you go, Beautiful?" he burst out. "I nearly had an aneurism."
"You two wouldn't tell me what was going on so I phoned Ranger," I told him petulantly.
"So now you know that your boyfriend was the scumbag I told you about when we were in college who I gave my virginity to and who never called me back afterwards?" Yas asked surprised.
"He did WHAT?!" I staggered back almost as though she had struck me. Yas had told me about him; we had dubbed the guy Jackass, and I had vowed to Gibbs smack him if ever I had the displeasure of meeting him.
"Oh, so he didn't tell you…" she chuckled slightly, uneasily. "Shit, Steph, I mean…"
"Don't," I held up a hand. "Just don't." I was furious, to say the least. "And you!" I turned to Les. "You knew all about this, didn't you? You knew from the minute you saw Yas, didn't you?!"
"Beautiful, I…" Les looked flustered.
"I cannot believe this!" I fumed. "Are you two going to make it a habit to screw with me on a weekly basis?"
"Steph, no…"
"Just leave me alone, Lester," I said coldly. "I need to be alone a little before I can even begin to think about forgiving you."
"You can't be alone," he cut in, looking torn between upset and worried.
"Yas will be with me," I said shortly, turning on my heel and walking back into the arena.
###
December 31st, 21h00
Ranger POV
Killing a civilian had never been my thing, but so help me, I was ready to shoot that SOB when he told me to stay away from his fiancé. Who was this asshat?
I parked the Turbo quickly, not even bothering to check whether it was locked before I sprinted to the arena. What I hadn't told Steph was that I had expended a monstrously large amount of money to make sure that Rangeman was taking over the security for tonight's event, so when I went to the entrance, I was immediately sent through. I ran inside and scanned the huge place for any sign of my Babe, Santos, or Crazy Yasmeen. My phone buzzed in my pocket.
"Where are you?" I asked sharply, by way of greeting.
"Third exit from the main. Beautiful just found it, that crazy chick blurted it out," he told me grimly.
"God damnit, where is she?" I asked in frustration, weaving my way through the ridiculous crowd.
"She left with the girl, back into the arena," he told me. "There's this guy…"
"I assume you mean the guy who announced on the stage that they were star-crossed lovers," I spat. "The guy you neglected to mention earlier."
"He's the one," my cousin laughed weakly. "See, he's kind of got it in his head that he's going to prove to her that they belong together…"
"I am going to kill you, Lester Santos."
"…and when Steph found out I knew, she went off, and I lost track of them both."
"I'm going to kill you, then I'm going to resuscitate you, so that I can kill you again."
"Love you too, cuz."
I hung up, annoyed. That idiot was of no help right now, unless he was intending on helping me lose my temper. Casting my eyes over the large expanse of people and bright, pulsating colours, I tried to search out the curly brunette that I loved to a fault. I tried her cell again, but it was still going straight to voicemail. I had a bad feeling Babe's "star-crossed Romeo" had something to do with that. My agitation grew when he stepped on to the stage and began to sing, dedicating the performance to MY Babe! What the hell, why were my men letting him in? I phoned Raphael, my point guy with Rangeman's Boston crew. I had arranged for them to take this gig, because Steph would have recognised my Trenton and Miami crew, and she probably would have iced me for a week.
"Why has that glorified clown been allowed past security?" I growled when he answered.
"He's one of the opening acts for Miss Maraya, Sir," Raphael answered surprised.
I cursed inwardly. "Thanks, Rapha," I huffed, snapping the phone shut. Trying to shut out his droning voice singing some country tune about how heartbroken he is and how she should come back because he's lost without her, I searched for Steph.
"Cuz!" I heard Lester's holler, I realised, because the idiot had stopped crooning. I turned around and glared at my cousin. He was dragging a petite girl with him that had black hair and a pixie face. I recognised her immediately as Yasmeen- unfortunately, she recognised me too.
"You!" she shrieked, running past Lester and launching herself at me. I side-stepped her and held on to her wrist so she wouldn't fall or run over someone else. I wasn't in any mood to deal with her with sugar-coated words and actions. My Babe wasn't with her, and she was now my number-one priority.
"Where is Stephanie?" I asked her monotonously.
"I told her all about you and your little tricks, and I warned her!" she spat triumphantly. "I warned her to stay away from you because you were only going to lead her on then break her heart!"
"I never led you on," I refuted coldly. "I told you from the get go that I was in it for the sex." I knew I was being harsh, but I couldn't care less. Fear and worry quickly built in me; where was my Babe?
"You were supposed to be my movie hero!" she cried. "You were supposed to say that and not mean it after you found out, like I did, that we BELONG TOGETHER!"
"Where. Is. Stephanie?" I enunciated, my panic rising.
"I told her not to waste her time and she listened to me!" she sniffed. "She's gone."
"Lester picked her up, she has no ride home, where could she have gone?" I ground my teeth in frustration.
"Ranger, man, we don't have a visual on Bruce," Santos broke in, his brow creased in part frustration, part worry.
"Who's Bruce?" I asked irritably.
"Beautiful's ex," he explained quickly. "He never got over her and stalked her a while back. She even took out a restraining order. He's the one that's trying to win her back."
"Shit!" I cursed. Could this night get any worse?
"Excuse me, are you security?" a woman tugged frantically on my shirt. Seeing the Rangeman logo as I turned around, her eyes flooded with relief. "I think a woman may have just been kidnapped by that singer that was performing a minute ago! She has curly hair and was wearing a sheer blue shirt. They went into the elevator and she looked scared!"
Shit. I guess it could.
###
December 31st, 22h00
Steph POV
I struggled against Bruce but he held me fast. We were going up to the roof and nothing I was saying was getting through to him. He dragged me up the stairs leading to the roof and I elbowed him in the stomach and tried to wrench myself from his iron grasp, but he just grunted and held on tighter. I bit my lip, forcing down a gasp of pain as his grip bruised my wrist and arm. I fought harder, tramping him and kicking him, and I even managed to bite his arm, but eventually, he backhanded me so hard I was dizzy with the impact.
"I'm sorry," his voice throbbed with regret and panic. "I didn't mean to, but you keep fighting me!"
"I will always fight you" I spat belligerently. "We don't belong together Bruce, I'm sorry that you haven't moved on yet, but you can and you must!" I turned my voice reasoning. "Let me go now, and nothing has to come from this. Just walk away Bruce. Walk away and start anew."
"I only want to a new life with you," he whispered.
"God damnit, Bruce, aren't you listening? I don't love you!" I snapped.
"Come look at the pretty scenery from the roof, Stephanie," he said instead. "Maybe it'll change your mind."
Oh, boy.
###
December 31st, 22h30
Ranger POV
"Ok, Sir, we have a perimeter set up and all the people in the concert have been contained. No-one knows of any situation, they're blissfully oblivious," Raphael reported.
"Good work," I responded in a clipped voice. I pulled my gun out of my waistband. "Cell number?" he rattled off a series of numbers and I pressed them into my phone and pressed call.
"Hello?"
"Is this Bruce?" I asked darkly.
"Speaking."
"My name is Ranger Manoso…"
"I'm not interested in whatever you're selling," he cut in.
"Keep listening,"I heard Stephanie call out irritably. "Maybe they're having a special on a working brain where they throw in some common sense for free."
I chuckled inwardly. At least I knew Babe was with him, and fine.
"I'm not selling," I told him coldly. "I need to speak with Miss Stephanie Plum."
"See, Baby, people already know they can get hold of you through your fiancé!" I heard him exclaim happily. I growled. "Hold on just a minute," he told me. "Who's Ranger Manoso?" I head him ask Steph, suspicion in his voice.
"He's my boss," I heard her reply quickly. "He's gay." I bit back a smile; way to think on your feet, Babe.
"Good evening, Sir," she came on the line, sounding relieved.
"Babe. You okay?"
"Yes, Sir, yes I am," she reassured me.
"He took you to the roof?" I asked for confirmation.
"That's correct," she supplied.
"You're not anywhere near the edge of the roof, are you, Babe?"
"Oh, no, around maybe the middle of the document should be perfectly fine, Sir."
"I love you, Babe. I'll be there in 5," I told her softly.
"Same to you, Sir," she said, only slightly hesitant. Did she believe Crazy Yasmeen?
There would be time enough later to figure that out.
"Santos, you're with me," I barked. "Raphael, you and your men come only as back-up and only on my signal. Clear?"
"Crystal, Sir," he nodded.
I'm coming, Babe.
###
December 31st, 23h00
Ranger POV
I stood at the door to the roof, poised to break through. I could hear Bruce and Stephanie and I was ready to get my woman back; this charade had gone on long enough.
I crashed my boot through the door and stormed the roof. Reacting instinctively, he grabbed on to Babe's wrist and yanked her next to him. I pointed my gun at him, inching slowly closer to them.
"Let her go, man," I told him calmly, "and we can all walk out of this unscathed."
"You're her boss," he said wildly, looking equal parts frantic and confused. "What are you doing here?"
I was about to respond and inch agonisingly slowly forward, when Babe decided she had had enough. Taking full advantage of his momentary distraction, she elbowed the side of his head. He let go of her in surprise and, linking her hands together to form a sort of double-fist, she pounded her clasped hands on the base of his neck, just as Lester had taught her in their self-defence classes, and he was out like a light. I shoved my gun back into my waistband and rushed towards her. She melted into me as I wrapped my arms around her and I relaxed knowing she was safe in my arms, and that Santos was cuffing him.
"Dios, Babe, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she answered in a muffled voice. "Bruce is crazy, but harmless. I just want to go home."
"Your wish, my command, Babe."
###
December 31st, 23h45
Steph POV
"Told you I would be home at latest a quarter before midnight," I told Ranger triumphantly as I stepped over the dark threshold. Ranger flicked on the lights with a half-smile and looked me over properly. He growled and his muscles tightened when he saw the bruise that had blossomed over my jaw. I put my hand over his as he skittered lightly over it. "It's okay. I'm okay."
"Babe…" he looked at me, uncertainty and worry in his eyes. "Why did you leave Yasmeen? Did you…I mean…do you believe what she said?"
I chose my words carefully.
"I heard Yas talking about you; what a player you were, how you drew women in with words and your general smoulder, and I realised that she was pretty much describing you to the Tee." He pulled away from me a little and started to protest. I held up my index finger to indicate he should let me finish. "I felt sad when I realised that, but then I ran the past week through my head, and I realised that the man I have seen over the past 7 days was the polar opposite to the Ranger Yas was describing. Then it hit me; you were that man, Ranger. But you gave it all up, changed all of that, for me. You're no less charming or smoking hot, but you're different nonetheless. I guess I got so caught up in how much our relationship dynamic has changed, that I forgot to thank you for the parts of you that you changed in order to give me this. Thank you." My eyes blazed with tears and sincerity.
"No price, Babe," he told me, gathering me close and nuzzling my neck. "In truth, what I gave up, is nothing compared to what I got in return. Your heart. Your love."
"They're yours forever."
December 31st, 23h59
"Come out to the roof, Babe, there's something I want you to see."
"Don't you think we've have enough of roofs, Ranger?" I giggled.
"Smartass."
We went to the roof and Ranger wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his back.
"Look at the skies for the countdown, Babe," he whispered into my ear.
Ten seconds to midnight
"Ten…" I whispered.
"Nine…" he took turns counting with me, kissing the side of my neck with each number.
"Eight…"
"Seven…"
"Six…"
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
"Happy New Year," I murmured as fireworks lit up the night above me. I stood, enraptured at the sheer beauty of it. The final, huge firework let out a resounding BOOM, and the blue sparks that erupted from it, spelt out unmistakably in the night sky:
MY BABE
I stared at it, slack-jawed and awestruck.
"Happy New Year," he murmured, turning me around and kissing me deeply. "I love you, Babe."
"Te amo, Batman."
###
January 1st, 10h15
Ranger POV
"Yes. Of course! Without a shadow of a doubt, YES!"
My heart leaped at her shriek. I got up and spun her around in my arms.
"What's the commotion?" My front door opened and Santos walked in, grinning at us.
"Stephanie agreed to move in with me," I revealed with a small smile. My badass was having a break today; I was too happy to scare Santos.
"That's great!" he enthused happily. "Does that mean I'm forgiven too, Beautiful?" he asked sheepishly.
"Depends," she grinned, rolling her eyes.
"I'm here to take you and my undeserving cousin to brunch," he poked.
"Les, old buddy, old pal!" she laughed, hugging him.
"Love you too, Beautiful," he laughed. "Especially since my date to this brunch is none other than Arianna Maraya herself!"
"Damn, Les," Babe laughed. "You're incorrigible. Let me go get changed."
"Congratulations, cuz," Santos smirked at me, hugging me quickly before releasing me with a thump to my back. "When are we telling Tia Maria?"
"Next week," I shuddered with a grin. "Mama will kill me for not introducing her to the family sooner and I want to enjoy the week with Stephanie before that happens."
"Smart man," Lester laughed. "I'll meet you guys at Café Rocca, okay?"
"Okay," I nodded. He left, and I waited downstairs for Babe.
When she came bounding elegantly down the stairs, my breath caught in my chest. She was wearing a simple, halter neck sundress that hit at her knee and a grey high heel sandal that had ribbons that tied around her leg all the way up to her calf.
It was a white sundress.
In that moment, I saw her walking down an aisle to me, just like that. She smiled radiantly at me and I saw a whole future in those sparkling blue eyes.
And I couldn't wait for it.
"This is going to be a great year, huh Batman?" Babe tilted her head and smiled angelically up at me. I leaned down and caught her lips in a passionate kiss.
"The best, Babe. The best."
###