Author's Note: Sons of Anarchy is owned by Kurt Sutter. I do not take ownership of Mr. Sutter's work, and all of the characters are his, except for Briar Page. This story is rated M for bad language and sexual situations. This story is based off of events that occurred in seasons 4 and 5, so please beware of spoilers. This is AU. The beginning is kind of a prologue, in case it doesn't make sense at first. I hope you enjoy!
Juice had never taken anything seriously. Well, besides the whole being half-black shit storm he'd dealt with a couple months back. He didn't feel the need to be serious anymore. After almost committing suicide, twice, he had a new-found respect for freedom and living life to the fullest. And since Juice was such a comedian, being serious wasn't on his agenda.
And yet, he still found himself thinking about the past, and what happened with Miles, and he felt a huge amount of guilt wash over him. He tried to drown himself in pussy, porn, and weed after everything happened, but that never seemed to work. And then he met her; the game changer. She turned his life from broken and miserable into a world filled with love and happiness. Never in a million years did the intelligence officer think that he'd be tied down to one woman, and actually caring about someone. But when he met her, he knew she was it for him.
Back when his spa first opened, he remembered interviewing several deadbeats who just wanted the opportunity to work with weed, and he was getting frustrated. He had found two, maybe three people, and that was being optimistic. He was gathering his things to quit for the day when he heard a voice behind him speak up.
"Still have time for one more?" The woman's voice asked, filling his ears with a sultry voice. He turned to face her, and drank in the site of a young woman in a tight pencil skirt with a revealing button-up shirt.
"Uh, sure," Juice replied coolly, sitting back down.
Twenty minutes later, Juice was convinced that this woman had fallen from Heaven itself. After not only hiring her, but putting her in charge of the place when he was unavailable, the woman seemed satisfied with her interview.
He'd learned that her name was Briar. And despite the fact that the woman could've been another ATF bitch for all he knew, he couldn't give two shits because she was gorgeous, had an actual resume that was actually impressive, and she was fucking gorgeous. But Juice couldn't find it in him to ask her out…
At least, not until he came into the shop one day after closing to find everyone gone, with the exception of Briar. He'd stopped by to work on some paperwork and look over the numbers for the month, when he noticed her, already doing the work for him.
"You know, you don't have to waste your time with that junk. I'm sure you have someone waiting for you at home," Juice started, sitting on the corner of her desk as he watched her look over the stack of paperwork, a puzzled look on her face as she read what was in front of her.
"For your information, I don't have anyone to get home to," she stated with an attitude, a grin on her face. "And furthermore, if you're trying to find out about my dating life, you could just ask."
Juice, who was completely taken aback, gaped as he stuttered to find the words on his tongue. "I-I-…I'll be in my office if you need me," he quickly replied before making a beeline for his office, making sure to leave the door open in case she needed him.
Briar knew that Juice had a thing for her. Hell, half of Charming had a thing for her. But there was something about the sexy geeky-ness of Juice that appealed to her. She noticed how his black shirts would cling to his muscular frame, or how his jeans accentuated strong, muscular thighs that had years of experience straddling his motorcycle. And yet, it was as if Juice was clueless to his devilishly good looks. Whenever he came around her, he flirted, and was his usual kind self, but he never once asked her out. And quite frankly, Briar was starting to get a little pissed. After all, a girl can only take so much teasing. So, deciding she'd had enough, she locked the front door of the weed shop, making sure no one could get in while she wasn't looking, and marched off to Juice's office, sans paperwork.
Once she got to the door, she knocked before entering, and then sat on the corner of Juice's desk.
"What's up?" Juice asked, turning towards her and giving her his undivided attention.
"I need some…advice," Briar started.
"…Okay," Juice pressed, waiting for her to finish.
"So, there's this guy that I like…" Briar started, drifting off before Juice interrupted her.
"This sounds like high school all over again," he stated with a chuckle, laughing when she rolled her eyes at him.
"Anyway, I can't tell if he likes me or not. Should I just go for it and see what happens?"
"Yeah, I mean, you're gorgeous, so-," Briar cut him off mid-sentence, leaning down and pressing her lips against his, melting into the kiss.
To say that Juice was surprised would've been an understatement. He'd almost pissed his pants with excitement after the initial shock wore off and he'd taken control of the kiss. This tiny girl was in his lap, controlling their kiss, which was soft and explorative. When Juice finally got his footing, he pulled Briar closer to him, wrapping his arms around her, as he kissed her hungrily. They seemed to get caught up in the kiss, taking their time to explore one another, before Briar pulled away.
"Damn, that was better than I thought it'd be," she admitted, getting up from Juice's lap and walking out of the office, her lips still swollen from their kiss.
"Whoa, wait a minute! What the fuck was that?" Juice asked as he followed her out of the office, not about to let her just push everything aside. He wasn't sure he could forget a kiss as epic as the one he'd just shared with her.
"I don't know?" Briar answered honestly before turning around. "I thought it'd be nice to finally get rid of the sexual tension, but I feel like I just made it worse, and that it's never going to go away."
"Well, we'll see about that," Juice replied, his voice husky as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall of the reception area, making her moan as he kissed her hungrily.
They'd spent the rest of the day at Juice's home after their bumps and bruises from fucking against the wall had gotten the best of them. The ride to Juice's house had almost been too much for him; several times he'd wanted to pull the car over and take her on the side of the road. But he knew they'd have more fun in his bedroom than they would in Briar's tiny car, so he'd gritted his teeth as he drove. But he'd made sure she knew just how bad she wanted him, and as soon as they were inside the door, Juice had no more than locked it before easily lifting her up and carrying her upstairs, kissing her lips so hard he was sure they'd have bruises later.
And when he'd asked her to dinner the next night, he knew it was it for him. They started dating, and went on the first of many dates. He couldn't help but to get caught up in the woman he'd almost let slip through his fingers and right into the arms of another man. But now? Now, he wasn't going to let her get away. So, not long after they'd started dating (so soon that even he had surprised himself), he put a ring on her finger and a crow on her lower hipbone, making sure everyone knew that Briar Page was his property, and if anyone so much as touched a hair on her head, he'd make sure no one found their body after he was through with them.
"Damn you, Woman! You have this…this hold over me!" Juice exclaimed, looking in the mirror as he grimaced, wanting so badly to complain about the shirt he was wearing.
"Juice," Briar yelled, making sure he knew who was in control, "You'll wear that fucking shirt with a fucking smile on your face, or so help me God I'll withhold sex for the next year."
Juice grinned into the mirror, thinking about how sexy it was when he made his old lady angry, and how he loved it when she threatened him. For most people, they were intimidated by the small woman. But he knew better, and every time she tried to get angry or threaten him, he just laughed at her. More times than not, he'd made her angry, but it hadn't lasted long.
"Babe, I can promise you that I'm going to be the most overdressed person at this Christmas party," Juice warned, standing in front of the mirror in his black dress pants and dark gray button up dress shirt. He wasn't used to wearing a collar, so the top few buttons of his shirt were undone so he wouldn't feel choked by it. His cut was hanging in his closet, and every time he looked at it, he swore it was begging to be put back on. He knew better, though. Briar had been talking about Gemma's Christmas party since the day she opened the damn envelope, and now that it was finally here, nothing would stop her from making it perfect.
The Gemma Teller-Morrow Christmas Party was infamous amongst the club, as well as some of the locals. Bobby cooked all day with the women, Tig dressed up as Santa for the kids, and there was a gift exchange, set up by the Old Lady's of the club, no doubt. This year, Juice had gotten Jax and Briar had gotten Gemma, which meant that, yet again, everything had to be perfect, especially for the Prince and the Queen of SAMCRO.
Briar had gone all out this year. She'd slaved over the oven the whole day before, pre-making all of the dishes she'd been expected to bring, and dropping them off early so that they'd be sure to make it onto the table in time for dinner. Since she was still new, having only been with Juice for three months, she wanted to make sure she didn't piss anyone off, especially the Queen herself.
"Juice," Briar called from within her closet. "How do I look?" She asked as she stepped out in a tight red dress that clung to her every curve. A pair of strappy black pumps adorned her feet, and he almost remembered the designer name she'd tried so hard to make him remember the last time she'd worn them.
His Old Lady was popular amongst the club; her good looks mixed with her curvy body and kind personality made all the guys swoon. Somehow, though, she'd chosen his dumb ass to date. Why, he'd never know. But looking at her standing in front of him, her dress adhered dangerously to every delicious curve of her body; he was thanking everyone he could think of for bringing her to him.
"Fuck yes," he growled, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. It crossed his mind to try to convince her to stay at home with him instead of going to the party, but he knew Briar would rather cut off her own arm than miss Gemma's party. "Now let's go before I change my mind about going to the Christmas party and we have our own party here."
Briar laughed, stepping out of his hold and starting towards the stairs, a small clutch in her hands. "As long as you don't go caveman when we get there, the party is the only place I want to be tonight."
Juice stopped mid-step, thinking back to all of the times when he'd gone "caveman" at the club. He grimaced, remembering that, more than once, he'd had to beat his brothers off of Briar. The first time he'd introduced her to his brothers, he'd invited her to the garage for drinks after work. She'd driven herself over, since he was already at work, and had shown up when he was in the garage working on a car, clueless that she was even there. Jax had been the first to see her bare legs as they stepped out of the black '65 Mustang, eyeing her body all the way up her legs, over her short denim skirt and extremely low cut shirt, and then to her face, whistling as he dropped the rag in his hands and made his way over to her. Juice knew that whistle, and his body tensed before he stood up to see Jax already talking to his woman, a smirk on his face as he hit on her. Juice had jogged over, slung an arm around her shoulders, and introduced her to Jax, whom was surprised to say the least. Every chance he and the other guys got, they'd spent them hitting on his woman. He'd once gone totally postal on Tig and had actually punched him in the face for making one-too-many lewd comments about Briar. Since then, Briar referred to those moments as him going "caveman", something she wasn't all too fond of.
"It's Christmas, Babe. I'm going to be on my best fucking behavior." Or so he'd hoped.
After arriving one hour early to help the Queen and the other old lady's finish preparing the meal, Juice and the other guys were in their president's man cave, beers in their hands.
"Dude, Briar looks fucking hot in that red dress," Tig said, gazing at her from the doorway.
"You're one lucky sonofabitch," Jax declared, catching a glimpse of her as well. "Why she picked your dumbass I'll never know."
"Fuck you guys," Juice said, shaking his head before taking a long drink from his beer. "Tig, you're old enough to be her dad."
"I could get into the whole daddy thing," Tig admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, making Juice choke on his beer.
"Alright, that's enough," Clay warned. "You're gonna piss him off again, Tigger. We don't need a repeat of last time."
Thank fucking God, Juice thought.
The rest of the evening went without a hitch; Juice hadn't hit anyone and Briar was convinced she had it in with Gemma after the Queen gushed over the ankle boots Briar had given her in the gift exchange. Juice had given Jax a new set of pipes for his bike, and he had been pleased to see Jax's fingers running over the smooth chrome, a huge smile on his face. They'd both scored with their gifts, racking up huge points with the Queen, which had been important to Briar. Juice had been reluctant to introduce the two when they'd first started dating, but after realizing that Briar could hold her own, he'd brought Briar with him to a Sunday family dinner at the Queen's house and had gently thrown her in with the lions. Luckily, they all had been on their best behavior, and after realizing Gemma was trying to get a feel for Briar, he'd backed off and let the two of them really get to know each other. Now, he was grateful that they'd gotten to know each other a little over the course of their three month relationship, because Gemma had really taken a liking to Briar, and Juice was planning on bringing her to every SAMCRO party for the rest of his patched in years.
"I'd like to make a toast," Clay announced once everyone had finished exchanging their gifts, a glass of whiskey in his arthritic hand, raised above his head. "To the women, for putting on such a great party and dragging all of our asses out here tonight," he started, pausing when he heard cheering from the men. "And to my brothers, you're all family, and I couldn't imagine spending the holiday with an uglier bunch. I love all of you," Clay finished, raising his glass a little higher before downing the whiskey in his glass. The men and women in the room cheered before downing the alcohol in their glasses, and then returning to their small talk.
Briar had been discussing the New Year's party that Gemma was throwing at the clubhouse for all of the charters when Juice's prepay began to vibrate in his pocket. He'd jumped, surprised to be getting a phone call, and had caught Briar's attention from beside him, making her stop mid-sentence. Gemma's eyebrows narrowed together as she tried to figure out why Juice was getting a phone call when every one of his brothers were currently crammed inside her house.
"Yeah?" Juice asked, holding his free hand over his ear as he stepped into the kitchen for a little privacy.
"Dude, it's your shop," Filthy Phil, a Prospect, wheezed out, his breathing heavy and labored as he continued. "Someone just broke in, set off the alarms on your computer. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but the place has been ransacked."
"Fuck, I'm coming," Juice said, slamming his phone closed and making his way for the door, catching the attention from several of his brothers. Jax and Clay stood from their chairs, walking to Juice as he grabbed his leather jacket from the coat rack.
"What's going on?" Clay asked, noticing how tense Juice was as he shrugged the jacket over his shoulders, zipping it up quickly.
"Fucking Phil just called, said someone broke into the weed shop. Don't know how anyone would get in there, but he said someone's been inside. He didn't get there in time to catch them," Juice announced to everyone before opening the door and making his way out to his bike. Briar watched as he sped off into the night, Jax and Tig taking off after him. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Gemma's face, watching as her son started to fade away into the distance.
"It'll be okay, Baby," the Queen reassured her, patting her once on the shoulder before closing the door. Trouble like this always worried Briar; Juice had filled her in on most of the details of the club once they'd really gotten to know each other. She'd been lucky, though, because in the three months that they'd been together, things had been relatively quiet. The boys had gone off on a couple of runs, but nothing major, and hadn't left for more than a couple of days. Now, she didn't know what to expect, but she knew that she had to keep a straight face for the sake of her spot as Juice's old lady. She'd worked hard to get Gemma to like her, and if the Queen thought that Briar was scared, even for a second, she'd think Briar was too soft for club life, no doubt.
Briar spent the rest of her evening talking amongst the remaining club members, as well as their old lady's. Every once in a while, she'd catch herself staring in the direction of the front door, hoping that she'd see her old man walking through it, but it was going on midnight and she still hadn't heard word from anyone.
As if on cue, she heard the distinct sound of motorcycles rumbling in the near distance, and excused herself to the kitchen to grab another drink, as well as a peek outside. She felt her whole body relax as she saw her old man pull into the driveway, taking off his helmet and heading towards the door. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the look on Juice's face had Briar tense once again. Leaning over the counter to fill her glass with water, she felt a warm, hard body pressing against her from behind, and melted into the gentle touch of her old man as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck.
"Is everything okay?" Briar asked, rubbing his arms.
"Baby, I don't know who could've gotten into the shop. That place was locked down, the alarm was set up to signal the police station immediately if someone set it off…the police were never notified on their end that someone had broken in. The only reason my computer alerted Phil that someone was in the shop was because they'd tripped the alarm trying to punch in the security code and entered it in wrong. They must've known what it was beforehand, because they typed it in, bypassed the system, and then tore the place apart. I guess, whoever it was, heard Phil's bike and took off, because we couldn't find anyone."
Briar turned around, wrapping Juice in a hug. "You guys will find whoever did this, and they'll get the payback that they deserve. I'm sure it's just some pothead who broke in and got lucky."
"They won't be lucky when I get a hold of them," Juice growled. Her old man may have been one of the sweetest guys she'd ever met, but he knew how to keep his temper in check. When he was angry, and he lost control, he had the worst temper she'd ever seen. And somehow, Briar knew that once Juice and the rest of SAMCRO figured out who'd broken into his shop and torn the place apart, Juice would lose control over his anger and the person in question would indeed be lucky if they lived to see another day after her old man got a hold of him.
Briar chuckled to herself, awkwardly, trying to diffuse the situation. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, and with her old man getting angry, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to reel him back in if he lost his temper at the Christmas party. "Baby, as much as I love it when you're angry, I don't think Gemma would appreciate you breaking all of her nice plates." The last time Juice had gotten angry, he'd found out that Briar's ex had been trying to make amends with her. He'd gotten into a fight with the guy over the phone, and had proceeded to get angry at Briar. During their argument, he'd taken his anger out on a stack of plates that were sitting on the kitchen counter, knocking them onto the floor and shattering each and every one of them into a million tiny fragments. And Briar wasn't about to let Juice do the same to Gemma's precious designer dinnerware.
"Let's go home, Baby. You look exhausted, and my family is coming over tomorrow for Christmas dinner. You deserve a day to relax, so let the police handle it for now, and after Christmas, we can start investigating on our own," Briar promised before kissing Juice on the lips. He smiled at her before nodding his head and making his way to the living room, saying his goodbyes to his brother's. And as she watched him hug each brother, one by one, she couldn't help but wonder whether the incident with the weed shop was going to get worse before it'd get better. She had a strange feeling that things in Charming were about to get interesting, and not in the good way. SAMCRO had an unidentified enemy, and her old man was about to find out just who they were dealing with.
Thank you for reading the first chapter of 'Smoke and Mirrors'! I hope you enjoyed it! This is currently a work in progress, but I'll try to get at least once chapter posted a week. As a new writer to Sons of Anarchy fiction, I would love to hear what you have to say about my work, so please review! –Harlowe and Co.