A/N: Like so many of you, my heart is broken about Graceland being cancelled. It's been a long time since I've been this invested/obsessed with a show. Even though I've been writing fanfic for years, I mainly wrote about General Hospital and rarely strayed into another fandom with the exception of the occasional crossover. Then I started watching Graceland and immediately connected with the characters. I feel emotionally attached to the characters, especially Mike and Paige. And while it makes me happy that Jeff Eastin says they would've made it, it's bittersweet because we never got to see it play out onscreen.
Which leaves us with fanfic.
I have every intention to keep writing as long as I have ideas, and a few of you know how long my idea doc is, so trust me when I say that I have no shortage of ideas. And I'll continue posting as long as people want to read.
Never take my lack of posting as a lack of interest, I'm constantly writing, but sometimes I'm working on several things at once leaving me with nothing ready to post because I've started five things and finished none of them. I never mind questions from readers, wondering what I'm working on. Feel free to message me here or tumblr (same username as here), but note that I can only respond to you on here if you have an account. I'll try to update my bio page regularly if I'm not posting new things.
Sorry for the long author's note, didn't realize I had this much to say. Enjoy the fic...and as usual, I'm always curious what you think. I decided to keep this one light and I have to confess I wrote most of this at least 6 months ago and only finished it today. But if you've read anything else I've written, you know how much I love angst so I'm sure I'll be working on something angsty soon.
"You're such a baby," Paige teased as she knelt behind Mike on her bed, rubbing his sore shoulder. After taking out some of his frustration about the case on a bus with a crowbar, his shoulder was definitely paying the price. Both of them were frustrated about the case. She had no clue where her girls were and Mike kept coming up empty in finding that final link between the drugs and the buses.
"You should see the bus," Mike joked.
"Maybe you're getting old," Paige said, applying a little more pressure. She smiled in satisfaction as Mike's head rolled to the side and he moaned. He was so tense, both of them were. She could feel all the stress he was carrying in his shoulders. Her goal was to make all of that go away. At least for tonight.
"I'm younger than you, so if I'm old, you're - "
Not appreciating the implication that she was old, Paige jabbed her fingers in his tender shoulder, hard.
Mike winced in pain and pulled away from her. "Hey!"
Paige laughed and kissed his neck, pulling him back to her. "Sorry." Paige ran her fingers through his hair. His hair was still DC short, not as long as it had gotten last summer, but it was definitely getting longer. She wasn't sure if he liked it longer or was just lazy about cutting it if he didn't have to cut it.
There were so many things she didn't know about him.
Mike reached for her hand and kissed it, "It's fine," Mike said, brushing off her concern. "I'm just sick of hitting dead ends all the time. None of it makes sense. I - "
"I don't want to talk about the case," Paige suggestively whispered, brushing her lips against the back of his neck as she ran her hands down his chest. "Not tonight."
Mike turned around to look at her, his eyes darkening with lust, "Yeah? I was going to give you a massage, but..."
"There are other ways for you to take care of me," Paige murmured, playfully nipping at his ear, her breath warm against his skin. She definitely wanted Mike's hands on her, just not through a layer of clothes. She wasn't sure what this thing was between them. Wasn't sure what it meant. If they were just a summer fling. Or the start of something. She didn't know. She didn't want to figure all of that out right now. They had the whole summer to figure things out. Tonight, she just wanted to be. She wanted to forget about the case that was consuming all of their time and just have one night where she could pretend that they were just like any other couple, not that they were actually a couple.
Paige leaned back, propping herself on her elbows as Mike crawled between her legs. She playfully kicked him away. "Shut the door and lock it." She wasn't ashamed to be seen with Mike. But she really didn't want to give everyone a free show. Everyone was home. Briggs, Charlie and Johnny were all upstairs so they would have to be quiet. She was really sick of being quiet. Even though the secrecy of it all, gave both of them a thrill, she wanted to be loud for once and not have to worry about coming up with a cover story if someone came home early like they had to do the other night.
After locking the door and turning off the light, Mike rejoined her on the bed, but first he pulled off his shirt. She appreciatively looked him up and down, looking forward to the night ahead of them. She had the whole night to explore his body, but she was content to let him be in control for now.
He kissed her ankle and lightly brushed the back of his hands up her legs. "These need to come off." Paige pushed down her leggings, laughing as Mike struggled to pull them off. He once told her that he loved how she looked in leggings, but that they were a pain to get off. Finally succeeding, he threw them on the floor.
"Need more help?" Paige teased.
"For an old guy, I think I have things under control." He kissed her knee, noting the subtle differences in her breathing as he dragged his lips along her thighs. He switched to her other leg and Paige squirmed in anticipation, groaning in frustration when he placed one kiss on her hip. That was definitely not where she wanted his mouth. Mike shook his head when he caught sight of her mock glare. "Be patient." He slipped his fingers underneath the hem of her tshirt and pulled it off her.
Paige shivered in anticipation as Mike slowly looked her up and down with a predatory gaze as he took off his jeans. It was still hard for her to believe they were actually together. That he was actually back at Graceland. She honestly thought after he went back to DC she would never see him again and that any chance they had of being together had passed. She had chalked it up to poor timing, but then Briggs found out about the hit on Mike and the next day he was back and they picked things up right where they left off. They tested the waters for the first few days he was back, but it wasn't long before he found his way to her bed and she was looking to keep him here as long as possible.
Mike settled himself on top of her, lazily kissing her, as she bent one of her knees and wrapped her other leg around him. "Tell me what you want," Mike whispered between kisses. He fumbled behind her to unhook her bra as he trailed kisses along her collarbone.
Her eyes fluttered closed as he settled his lips on the pulse point in her neck and gently palmed her breasts. She loved it when he kissed her there. "Fuck..." she whispered, tugging on his hair, encouraging him to continue.
"We can do that," Mike promised between kisses. "A lot of that, but later. First, I'm supposed to take care of you."
"Later." Paige deeply kissed Mike, letting him know she wanted to speed things along. She had barely seen him today and the dirty voicemail he left her earlier had her all worked up, but when she saw how sore his shoulder was, she wanted to take care of that first.
Mike rocked his hips into hers and she arched up into him, impatiently pushing down his boxers. He stilled her hands, before grabbing them and pinning them down near the headboard. "Be patient," Mike whispered in her ear as he settled his lips on her neck.
Paige closed her eyes, unable to stop the soft moans falling from her lips as he slowly kissed and licked his way down her body. His tongue traced patterns along her breasts, but to her frustration he didn't linger. He kissed her a few times before continuing his path downwards. Her eyes fluttered open and the smug look on his face confirmed her suspicions.
"You're supposed to be taking care of me, not teasing me." She broke her hands free from his to grip his hair, encouraging him to kiss and nibble her more.
Mike traced his tongue along her hip bone, pushing down the lace edge of her panties as his fingers teased the skin beneath. "The two don't have to be mutually exclusive."
Paige playfully pushed him away, "Later, okay? I need you." Normally, she wouldn't mind Mike focusing on her, but that wasn't what she wanted right now. "Condom?"
Mike slowly lifted his head and frowned slightly. "You said you were going to pick some up, so I didn't stop anywhere."
"You didn't get my text?" She meant to pick up a box earlier, but Johnny ran in the drug store after her and she didn't want to explain anything to him. Not that she owed him an explanation. She didn't really care if he knew, it wasn't breaking a house rule or anything. Both she and Mike were single. The only thing it would do was put them under a microscope for the rest of the house to talk about and she would rather keep what was going on between her and Mike private while they were figuring things out. Besides, she kinda loved that they had this secret together, It made things more exciting.
"I'm still having issues getting my text messages. The time lag? Remember?"
Paige closed her eyes, collapsing back on the bed. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember. He received his text messages so sporadically over the past week that she pretty much stopped texting him. She had been with Johnny nearly every second today and hadn't had a minute to herself to call him, so she sent him a text instead, forgetting that he wasn't getting his messages. This explained why he never texted her back. "Now I do."
"There are other things we can do. Lots of things." Mike leaned over her and quickly kissed her, tracing his fingers down her abdomen, suggestively toying with seam of her panties.
As pleasurable as those other things were and as much as she loved Mike kissing her everywhere, she wanted more. She had just gotten back on the pill, but it was still within that time frame where having unprotected sex wasn't the best idea, and as much as she trusted Mike and wanted him, she wasn't willing to take that risk for one night of fun. Even if Mike had every intention of pulling out, there was a good chance they would be too caught up in the moment for that to actually happen. "It's not the same." Disappointed, Paige lightly patted his chest and he rolled off her.
"I could always ask someone," Mike offered, trying to salvage their night.
"Is that what you want?" Paige asked. Mike wanted to keep things a secret just as much as she did. They both realized he would get a bulk of the teasing and he said he could handle it, but he didn't want everyone knowing every intimate detail of their personal life. And she agreed with him. If Mike asked someone for a condom, there was a good chance everyone would be knocking on her bedroom door all night. That was the last thing she wanted.
If they were outed, they'd need to go to a hotel to get some privacy, which was ridiculous considering they each had their own bedroom.
"Just so we're clear, part of me wants the whole world to know we're together."
"But..."
Mike traced his finger along her lower lip. "I like that it's just us." Mike brushed his lips over hers and she deepened their kiss, groaning when he pulled away. "I'll just head out to the store. Unless you think Charlie..."
Charlie was the person least likely to say something, but she was in her room with Briggs and going to Charlie meant Briggs would know. Not that he couldn't keep a secret, he was pretty good at it when it served his own purposes, but she didn't need him getting involved. "I'd rather not." She grabbed her shirt and pulled it on and turned on the nearest lamp, leaving her room mostly dark.
Mike ran his hand through his hair, "Okay, the store it is." Mike kissed her again, "I'll be back soon." He grabbed his clothes, quickly getting dressed.
"Hurry back or I'll start without you."
"Are you sure - "
She nudged him towards the door. "Go."
"But we - "
"I might finish without you too if you don't hurry back. Twenty minutes. Go."
Mike stole another kiss before exiting her room. Paige heard him running down the stairs and she shook her head when she heard the front door slam. She wouldn't really start without him and she definitely wouldn't finish. She wasn't opposed to it, but why should she when Mike would be back soon.
She wondered how many traffic laws he was going to break speeding to the nearest store. With their luck tonight, he was probably going to get pulled over. Paige laughed softly to herself as she pictured Mike trying to explain to the police officer that he was an FBI Agent in the middle of a time sensitive mission, because she put him on a twenty minute time limit.
Paige closed her eyes and touched her neck, if she concentrated she could still feel Mike's lips on her skin. She tilted her head back and brushed her fingertips over her lower lip, pulling it down as she slowly moved her hand down her face, leaving a wet trail glistening on her skin, mimicking the path of kisses Mike made earlier.
Her eyes shot open when someone knocked on her door. Startled, Paige hastily grabbed a towel and opened the door. "What?" Paige asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice as she opened the door.
Johnny stepped past her as he entered her room, "Everything okay? Mike nearly knocked me down on his way downstairs."
"Everything's fine. I'm just about to take a shower," Paige explained, holding up the towel.
Johnny looked at her carefully and grinned before sitting down on her bed. "Are you and Mike fighting?"
"Fighting? What? No. No, we're not fighting."
Johnny nodded and he glanced at Mike's hoodie on the back of her desk chair before looking at the leggings Mike had thrown across the room earlier.
Paige fidgeted as Johnny didn't even try to hide that he was casing her room.
"I saw him in the hall, he practically ran out of here and stormed off. And you look flushed."
Of course she was flushed. Mike got her all hot and bothered and like an idiot she kicked him out of her bed so he could go buy condoms, a decision she was seriously questioning right now because she was standing here talking to Johnny and not in bed with Mike.
Paige narrowed her eyes at Johnny, he was clearly fishing for information but there was no way he could know. She and Mike were careful. Every few nights, she made sure to leave music on in her room set to a timer when she spent the night in Mike's room. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to fall asleep with music on, leaving the music off would draw attention to the fact she wasn't in her room. Even when she showered with Mike, she always made sure leave her towel in the main bathroom. "He got a call about the case," Paige vaguely explained.
Johnny leaned back on her bed, "So what are you up to tonight? Maybe we could watch a movie since you're not hanging out with Mike. It's been awhile since we hung out. I've been so wrapped up with this Solano case that I haven't even had a chance to talk to Zelanski. Have you seen him?"
He had to play that card. Johnny and Zelanski had been close and had developed a strong friendship in the short time Zelanski had lived here. Not that they still couldn't be friends, but things were just different with people that didn't live at Graceland. Relationships changed and so many of the things they did flirted with being illegal that they didn't often discuss them with other people.
As close as she and Mike had been last summer, they barely talked once he moved back to DC. It wasn't like Zelanski was moving across the country, but Johnny and Zelanski would have to work at their friendship.
Paige sighed and wandered over to her closet and kept her back to Johnny as she slipped off her tshirt and put on her robe. Cinching the tie around her waist, she moved to go sit next to Johnny. "I haven't talked to him. He took some time off and he was going to head up the coast before starting a new case."
"He didn't even say goodbye."
Paige sympathetically squeezed Johnny's shoulder. "Zelanski knew you were going to that party at the Solano house, he didn't want to distract you."
"He still could've said goodbye."
"You can call him, make plans for when he gets back. I think he's back in a few days."
"Yeah, I guess. You sure you don't want to watch a movie?"
"I'm good. I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed." She really hadn't planned on taking a shower before Mike got back, but if it got Johnny out of her room, she'd do it. Although, kicking Johnny out of her room when he was feeling lonely made her feel horrible. She promised herself she would spend more time with him.
Starting tomorrow.
Johnny nodded slowly, but took the hint and stood up. He pulled her bedroom door open and leaned against it from the inside. "Okay, I'll let you get to that."
She followed him across the room and grabbed her towel. "Let's go to Hector's for lunch tomorrow. Maybe we can catch a matinee or something." The odds of Carlito needing Johnny in the middle of the day were slim, he should be free for the two of them to hang out.
"Sounds good, P."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mike sprinting upstairs and he glanced around the hallway before heading straight to her room. "Mission accomplished!" Mike held up a foil packet and glanced at his watch. "With almost ten minutes to spare. I got a few blocks away before I remembered I - "
Realizing that the lack of light and the door were hiding Johnny from sight, Paige tried to get Mike to stop talking. Taking advantage of the darkness, she grabbed the condom from his hand and shoved it in her robe pocket before Johnny opened her bedroom door wider, revealing himself to Mike.
"What mission?" Johnny suspiciously asked.
"Warrants," Paige quickly said. Mike had gotten approval for his warrants earlier in the day so it wasn't a complete lie.
"Gym bag. I found my gym bag," Mike hastily answered at the same time she offered her explanation.
"You need a warrant for your gym bag?" Johnny asked.
"Not for my gym bag. It was in my gym bag," Mike weakly explained.
"The warrant was in your gym bag? That's an interesting place to keep it."
"Yeah, I didn't want to misplace it."
"That's great, Mike. I'm just going to take a shower. Johnny we're on for lunch tomorrow, right?" Paige said, trying to shift the conversation away from Mike's gym bag to tacos.
"But you still misplaced it," Johnny mused.
"I'm going to get going. I need to work on a few things. I have a long day tomorrow."
"You lie for a living and that's the best you can come up with?" Johnny laughed, shaking his head.
"I'm not lying," Mike insisted. "I found what I needed in my gym bag."
"What is it that you needed exactly? A warrant? Mike needs a warrant to strip search you? I don't know what freaky role play you two are into, but if you two are trying to keep it a secret that you're sleeping together, you might want to try a hotel."
Mike looked at her quickly, gauging how they should proceed.
MIght as well deny.
Mike turned to Johnny, "Look, we're not - "
"The walls are thin, and Mikey, you're louder than Paige."
Paige tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and looked at the ground, because that was her fault. That was the night they thought they had the house to themselves and she had fun keeping him on edge for the longest time until he was practically sobbing as he begged her for release. She finally gave in and the payoff was explosive. And loud. Very loud. Mike had freaked out once he found out Jakes and Johnny had come back early from The Drop. When they asked him what the noise was, he claimed he was moving furniture and dropped a book on his foot.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Paige said.
"There's a hickey on your neck that wasn't there earlier and you haven't left since dinner."
Paige's hand darted to her neck, and Mike gave her a sheepish grin as Johnny walked away.
"This is your fault," Paige insisted, as Mike backed her into her room. He locked the door behind them as they made their way toward the bed.
"Because I was loud? That was your fault. Also your fault that I can't keep my hands off you."
"You marked me!"
"He already knew." Mike untied her robe and playfully tossed her on the bed, before kicking off his shoes and getting undressed.
She slipped off her robe, relieved to finally be alone with Mike. Paige closed her eyes when she heard a knock on the door. They hadn't even gotten five minutes alone without someone knocking on her door. They really would have to go to a hotel until everyone got sick of teasing them.
"Hey, Mikey, I know it's late but since you found your gym bag, I was wondering if you want to hit the gym," Johnny called through the door.
Mike groaned, "Can I shoot him?"
"Ignore him. You're supposed to be paying attention to me, remember?"
Mike knelt over her, letting his intense gaze answer her question.
A few moments passed and the silence confirmed that Johnny left. She wrapped her arms around Mike's neck, deeply kissing him, eager to get back in the mood despite the countless interruptions to their night.
"Or are you hitting something else?" Johnny asked, his laughter echoing through the loft area as he laughed at his own joke.
THE END
