A/N: I decided to try my hand at writing a longer story. I have no idea how this will go or how often it will be updated but once again the talented SaoirseConnelly has inspired me to give it a try.
I am forever indebted to the wonderful Matt Nix and the USA Network for bringing this incredible show to us.
The door to the loft flew open. Before I could turn to see who was there Fiona came storming in. Her hair was a mess, she was angry, and her lip was bruised and bloody.
"Fi, what hap—" I started, but was cut off by Sam entering the loft and slamming the door shut behind him. His hair was also a mess and he had a black eye.
"Mikey, I know she's your girl and all but sometimes—"
"Don't you DARE blame this on me, Sam! If you would have just let me—"
I felt like I was watching a tennis match.
"Let you what, Fi? Shoot up a room full of innocent bystanders?"
"Let me take care of the miserable scumbag who doesn't care about ruining the lives of vulnerable women and CHILDREN!"
I put my hands up. "GUYS!"
They both stopped yelling and looked at me. If looks could kill… I was probably taking my life in my hands by standing between them.
"Fi, what happened?" I asked. Sam was my buddy and I'd always have his back but I knew there would be a very high price to pay if I didn't start with Fi. I valued my life. And certain parts of my body.
"Jimmy, the no-good, manipulative scumbag, was bragging—BRAGGING, Michael—about how he was taking advantage of women all over Miami. He was going on and on and I couldn't stand it anymore."
She paused and slipped off her heels. Sam jumped in to continue the story. I watched Fi to make sure she didn't send one of her shoes flying towards Sam's head.
"Yeah Mike, so Annie Oakley here gets ready to pull out her gun and dispense some immediate justice right there in front of dozens of witnesses. So I had to stop her…"
"Stop her, Sam?" I asked. "Is that how you guys ended up bruised?"
"He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall Michael!" Fi exclaimed, reaching up to touch her lip, which was swelling more by the minute.
I turned to Sam, shooting a questioning look his way. I knew he'd never intentionally injure Fiona but I also knew the two of them were like oil and water sometimes.
"No way Mikey, that was an accident! I was trying to lead her out of the party without anyone noticing that she was packing and she kicked me in the shin. I tripped and she accidentally hit the wall."
"And your black eye, Sam?" I asked.
"Ask your girl there."
"I punched him when we got to the car," Fiona said proudly, a small smile creeping across her face.
"You punched him? Really, Fi?" I said before walking to the fridge and tossing Sam a beer. He nodded his head before pressing it to his black eye.
I found a washcloth, wet it in the sink, and walked over to Fiona. She looked at me and I braced myself for a slap. Or something worse.
To my surprise Fiona allowed me to raise the washcloth to her lip. She flinched a bit when it touched her bruised lip.
"Sorry, Fi," I whispered. I gently wiped the blood from her lip and inspected the damage. There was a small cut and lots of swelling but it didn't look serious. I tucked her hair behind her ear as I continued my inspection. As I did she sighed and pressed her cheek against my hand. I paused and gave her a small smile. There was anger mixed with weariness in her eyes. And maybe a little worry.
I turned to Sam. "How's your eye Sam?"
"It's fine Mike. I'm gonna go, I have to meet with Barry to find out where Mr. Wonderful's money is hidden." He looked at Fiona, "Fi, it's not that I don't want to get this guy—I do—but tonight wasn't the right situation. Let's regroup and we'll get him tomorrow."
It wasn't an apology but it was as good as it was going to get. I felt Fiona stiffen next to me for a few seconds before she looked at Sam and nodded. He nodded back and left.
I turned my attention back to Fiona's injuries. "Does anything else hurt, Fi?" I asked as I quickly surveyed the rest of her head. I was happy to find no other bruises.
"It's fine, Michael," she replied, looking up at me.
I guided her over to my favorite chair. "Here Fi, sit here and let me get you some ice. We need to get that swelling down."
She took my hand in hers and held it as I made one last inspection of her lip. I understood why Sam had restrained her but the sight of an ugly bruise on those beautiful lips made me want to hurt the person responsible. But Sam and I had fought each other, and we got along far better than Sam and Fiona had. So I forgave him for causing Fiona pain.
I must have been standing there for a long time because when I looked up Fiona had an amused expression on her face. I looked into her eyes and she blinked once and turned her head slightly, leaning in so she was closer to me.
I lightly passed my thumb over the darkening bruise before cupping her chin with my hand. My nostrils filled with the scents that were uniquely Fiona. Gun oil mixed with vanilla and—was that oranges? We hovered like that for what seemed to be an hour, our lips centimeters apart.
I was about to lean in and gently press my lips against hers when she brought her hand to my cheek. She didn't move as she said, "Michael, I want to change out of these clothes."
She smiled and batted her eyes at me, pressing her hand tighter against my cheek. I smiled back and lingered a few seconds longer before pulling back. "And I need to get that ice," I said.
Fiona turned and headed upstairs to where she knew her shorts and tank top were. I stood watching her walk up the steps before retrieving a clean washcloth and getting some ice from the freezer. I wrapped the ice in the washcloth and waited for Fiona to come back downstairs.
She returned and took a seat on the bed. I walked over and sat next to her. I held the ice up to her lip, my arm around her shoulder.
"Sorry, Fi," I whispered in her ear when she gasped as the cold ice first touched her lip. I pressed a small kiss to her temple as she leaned into my chest.
"We have to get this scumbag, Michael," she said.
"We will Fi. Now tell me what happened tonight. You and Sam haven't been fighting like that lately, so something big must have happened. It seemed like old times in here tonight."
She laughed and began to tell me about the night's events.
A/N: OK, not much happened in this first chapter but I had to start somewhere, right? I'm going to try to update this at least weekly, hopefully more often. But I'm leaving for vacation in a few hours so I don't know when I'll get the next update up.
I know there's not much to go on here so if you want to wait to review I understand.
