Title: Thick as Thieves
Pairing(s): Leonardo da Vinci/Girolamo Riario, some mentions of da Vinci/Lucrezia and da Vinci/Ima
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I am making no profit from this fic, and I own nothing. I don't even really own the plot—such that it is—because I feel like I've read it/seen it elsewhere. It serves only as a framework for the UST and porn.
Warnings: Violence, fighting as foreplay, blood, criminal activity, explicit m/m sex
Summary: Leonardo isn't sure how he can juggle the Medici job and his own work on the key project when The Count is chasing him around the globe and threatening his friends. No one ever said being a genius con man/forger/thief would be easy.
Author's notes: Modern AU.
I had to heavily edit this chapter to drop it down to an M rating in order to post it here. If you want to read the entire scene with explicit sex, please visit my page on archiveofourown dot org. My username is zeph317 and the story title is the same. Thanks!
Chapter Four
Leo took advantage of the quiet in the next few weeks while everyone healed and adjusted to the major changes in their worlds. The police and feds rounded up the rest of the Pazzis, and Clarice rooted out the Pazzi supporters left in the Medici Bank and made sure their shares were bought out.
Although there was speculation in the media about why the FBI was investigating the Medicis in the first place, the authorities would confirm nothing and no one could provide evidence against them. Lorenzo hired many high-powered attorneys—Leo rolled his eyes when he saw his father's name in print—to make sure nothing came of the allegations and threatened slander on those news outlets who printed suspicions and opinions.
It meant Leo had no commitments to any Medici work, including his portrait of Lucrezia. When Leo had escorted Vanessa to the hospital to visit Giuliano, he'd specifically requested that Leo make copies of the unfinished sketch and turn them into targets for his archery practice.
Leo had also visited Lorenzo who was recovering at home and already making plans to continue the family's legitimate business, under Clarice's watchful eye. He'd been furious about Lucrezia's spying and betrayal, and he'd somehow also found out her involvement with Leo and that made him curse Leo and kick him out of the house.
For his part, Leo was doing his best to forget Lucrezia. He doodled and sketched, nothing that resembled her. He hacked. He built prototypes of his designs. He conducted experiments, but after the second time one blew up and filled the loft with black smoke, Vanessa ordered him out of the loft.
He wandered the city with his ears ringing, no clear direction in mind, occasionally stopping to sketch something or someone that drew his interest.
Zo had been disappointed that Leo was going to obey the FBI's order and remain in the city for a while. Then he and Nico took off working one of his own projects. It kept them occupied, and, at least in Zo's case, brought in enough money to buy him and his ladies plenty to drink.
It had been the perfect chance for Leo to continue productive work on the Key. It was too bad that he was completely blocked. He'd hit a point that he couldn't engineer around, and there were long nights of smoking and hitting a bottle but he couldn't figure it out. And those were the nights his thoughts turned to the Count.
Riario had been too quiet. It made Leo more nervous. He hadn't arrested innocent families. He hadn't kidnapped Nico or thrown any of them into a holding cell. He hadn't sneaked into the loft to harass or assault Leo. He hadn't seen hide or hair of the man.
It only served to make Leo think about him more. He had too much time to think about what Riario had argued. Leo had to admit that he was every bit as passionate in what he believed as Leo was; and Leo thought it was a very attractive quality even though he was convinced Riario was wrong. He refused to give in to the pressure, no matter what Riario threatened. While he was sure that Riario thought he was being persuasive, Leo couldn't imagine that their encounters had been Riario trying to physically seduce him to his side. While the experience with Lucrezia had proved Riario would go to any lengths to gather information, it only spurred Leo to be more convinced he would not join anything Riario supported.
Although… Leo could agree that Riario had a point to some of his arguments. Or Leo could at least see his point even if he vehemently disagreed. It only meant he would need to build more safeguards into the Key. The whirling thoughts were the main reasons why he figured his creativity was blocked. Leo's mind raced, and it was a case that more drinking or smoking or drawing couldn't get it to slow down or turn off his brain.
And it brought him back to Riario. He'd spent more time than he would admit to examining the Count, looking at him like a puzzle or cipher. He had a reluctant respect for him as a man. He was good at what he did and passionate about what he believed in. He was certainly attractive physically. He was also a mystery that Leo wasn't sure he wanted to solve. While there was unmistakable attraction, Leo didn't respect what he did and there was no way in hell he was going to trust him.
It was probably because he was thinking about Riario again that he ended up outside the hotel that his hacking had found Riario was staying in. Leo stared up at the façade, knowing it was a terrible, bad idea. But he'd never let that stop him before. Perhaps if he confronted the man again, cleared the air and offered his new comebacks to Riario's old arguments, then he'd be able to get back to work.
Leo strolled across the lobby and debated with himself whether he should just head up to Riario's room and knock on the door. If he'd planned ahead, he could have created a diversion that would draw Riario down to the lobby where he could arrange a "chance" meeting.
He was waiting at the elevators when the door opened and the woman Riario had attended the Medici party with looked up at him. Her smile was immediate and wide. "Good afternoon. How are you?" she said as she stepped out beside Leo.
"Er, well, I'm fine, actually," he resisted the urge to rub his ear because his hearing was not quite back to normal.
"Are you here to speak with Girolamo?"
"I … could be, yes. Is he in?"
"I'm not his secretary."
Leo stammered, "No, I'm sure you're not. I'm sorry to assume."
She smiled at his discomfort. "I'm his partner."
"Oh. I see. His partner. I wasn't aware he had a partner." Now Leo started to feel the unfamiliar tendrils of an emotion that might be guilt. He'd fucked around with the man twice, and his partner was back at the hotel waiting.
"Not that kind of partner," Zita clarified after watching Leo's face closely. She seemed satisfied by what she saw. "I work with him as an agent, and I'm about to give you some classified information. He's having a workout, down in the fitness center, if you should happen to run into him." She leaned closer to Leo and met his eyes. "If you do anything to hurt him, in any way, you will answer to me. And the Count has taught me everything I know."
Leo read between the lines that she had guessed what had happened between him and Riario, but he admired her protectiveness even if he thought it wildly unjustified. "Got it," he said. Zita nodded and walked off. Leo headed for the hotel's fitness center.
It wasn't much: two connected rooms, one full of treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes. Leo stopped in the doorway to the other, watching Riario pound the shit out of the heavy bag. His fighting style was unique; Leo couldn't name the martial art it resembled, maybe krav maga or a combination of styles that were violent and wild. It seemed more like something picked up from experience on the streets, which was much like Leo had learned. Riario switched smoothly from a round of punches to a series of kicks.
Leo's fingers flexed, not wanting to engage but wishing for his pencils to draw the figure before him.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the slope of Riario's neck as he worked out. Riario was always so fully dressed, looked Puritanical and proper in dark suits, dress shirts and ties. The only bare flesh Leo had seen was his cock. It felt illicit now to watch the back of his neck, glimpsing more skin as his shirt moved with his kicks.
His musculature was beautiful, yes, but there was something more about seeing the unseen, the usually covered, and Leo finally understood why Victorian gentlemen got all hot and bothered by women's ankles, because they were modestly hidden all the time. He watched Riario's neck, wishing the T-shirt's neck was wider, until Riario stopped the bag and knelt down to pick up a towel. Leo could see his back flex under the shirt, and he wanted it.
Riario paused, almost as though he'd heard Leo's lascivious thoughts, then wiped his face as he turned. "Artista," he rasped, picking up a bottle and squeezing out a drink of water.
"Count." Leo took another look around the room to stop staring as Riario slung the towel around the back of his neck and stood.
After a longer drink, Riario gestured toward the bag. "Would you like a try?"
"What? Oh, no thanks, I get most of my training in pub brawls."
"Ah," Riario gave a dry laugh, even though Leo knew he knew it was true. "If you didn't come here to train, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I was … in the neighborhood?" Leo grinned, watching Riario smile then try to hide it.
"And how did you find me down here?"
"Your assistant was kind enough to point the way."
"I see. I'll have to speak with her about giving up private information to dangerous suspects." Riario started to strip the training tape off his fingers, and Leo watched, enthralled as the tape unwound to reveal the long, lithe fingers he'd felt on his body. When Riario caught him looking, Leo scratched at his beard and made a show of walking around the room toward the weights lined up against the mirrored wall.
"You'd better go easy on her. She already threatened me," he said, picking up a free weight and watching himself do a couple curls, eyes actually on Riario in the mirror.
"Zita has a strong protective streak. It's one of her finest qualities."
"I'm sure it is. She looks like she has many fine qualities."
Riario approached him, eyes meeting his in the mirror, until Leo thought he'd better return the weight to the rack. "Are you interested in Zita?" Riario asked. Leo shook his head, and Riario stepped closer. "Did you come here to fight again?"
Leo laughed. "No, I'm actually getting a little tired of fighting all the time."
"Why do you smell like something burning? It's not your usual cigarette smoke."
The change in subject made Leo tilt his head in confusion, then he sniffed himself. "Oh, that's probably from the project I was working on earlier. It sort of blew up. I can't really smell anymore. And my ears are still ringing. There's probably no permanent damage."
Riario took a deep breath, stepping a little closer. "No permanent damage," he repeated in a soft voice, sounding like he was going to laugh. "Is this anything I should alert the authorities about? Any plans for exploding anyone else?"
"Oh, fuck no, no terrorist plots or anything, you know I don't do that. I just get bored, I start experimenting and occasionally things explode. Sometimes even when I'm in them or on them. Sometimes merely around them."
Riario smiled at him then, the smile that creased his face and eyes and wasn't smirking in the least. Leo watched toss his tape and towel to the ground, showing off that expanse of neck again. Objectively, Riario had a very nice body to look at.
If only he weren't so black and white, Leo thought. Leo lived not just in shades of gray, but yellows, vermilions and blues a plenty. Sometimes he didn't understand why everyone couldn't see the world as he did, although he wondered if Riario sometimes came close. From all his research into Riario's history, he knew the Count had a brilliant, analytical mind, had reverse-engineered many of the things Leo had done that he still couldn't believe he'd somehow pulled off. Riario wasn't a step behind, he was on a different track altogether, but Leo wondered if the two parallel courses could ever be made to intersect.
When Riario looked back to him, he wondered if it was worth a shot. It certainly wasn't the worst or most impulsive choice he'd ever made. Leo stepped up to Riario and shoved him back to the mirror with one hand on his shoulder. Riario moved to defend himself, but Leo was already kissing him. Riario inhaled sharply, and Leo took advantage to tongue right into his mouth, his other hand coming up to run through the side of Riario's hair.
He felt the strength in Riario's forearms as he grabbed Leo's waist and brought their bodies together from knees to chests. Leo tasted the salt of the sweat from Riario's work out, and he broke away from his mouth to tongue at his neck, licking more of the flavor. Riario bucked against him, letting Leo feel the growing hardness in his track pants. Leo crowded him back against the mirror, thrusting in return, crushing his mouth to Riario's to get closer, taste more.
There was a blast of loud voices as someone turned on a TV in the front room of the fitness center. Riario wrenched his mouth away to look at the door, and Leo took the opportunity to tongue at his ear, licking the whorl then biting hard at the tender spot right behind the earlobe. Riario moaned and turned his head, allowing Leo more access. Leo bit his way down and glanced in the mirror where the reflection of Riario's neck was nothing but temptation. He thrust his cock against Riario again.
"Artista, we are about to have company," Riario breathed out as Leo licked at his Adam's apple then up to his mouth for another kiss. Riario broke it again a moment later. "Da Vinci, unless you want to face charges for indecent exposure, we need to stop this now."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Leo mumbled against his neck, this time intent on biting his way down to shoulder. He wasn't expecting to be shoved away so hard he fell backwards to his ass on the mat. Riario was standing above him, still holding the pose of pushing him away, panting hard, his lips red and swollen from kissing, a spot of his neck now marked and red. "Fuck," Leo said, having to adjust himself in his jeans.
"Yes, quite. Would you like to take this upstairs?" Riario stepped forward and extended his hand.
Leo accepted without a second thought. Riario pulled him to his feet then let go to pick up his things. Leo stood there, willing his inner critic to shut the fuck up, until Riario turned to him and quirked a half-smile. Leo made a grand gesture to indicate Riario should go first, and he did, leading the way through the outer room where two young women were on the elliptical machines. Leo followed to the elevator and up to the 14th floor in silence, Riario seeming to be in no mood to talk either.
Leo wondered if Riario was having second thoughts about having a suspect in his room when he entered the room and found himself with an armful of Count. Leo's head thumped against the closed door, but he kissed Riario just as deeply. He slipped his hand down to the hem of Riario's T-shirt and then under it, finally touching the slick skin of his waist and then back. He slid his hand up the stretch of Riario's spine, feeling the muscles clench and release under the bare skin.
"I need a shower," Riario breathed against his mouth.
"You feel just fine."
"You smell like a long day at a fireworks factory."
"Thanks. I don't care," Leo kissed him again, dragging his fingertips down Riario's back, making him shiver. Riario pulled away from the kiss and back far enough to meet Leo's eyes. Whatever he saw there must have satisfied him because he reached for the neck of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head in one smooth motion. Leo bit his lip and shrugged off his jacket, not caring where it landed on the floor. He started to unbutton his shirt until his fingers met Riario's working on them as well. Leo yanked the shirttail from his jeans then pulled the shirt off his shoulders.
Riario was walking toward the bed that dominated the far wall of the room, but Leo paused with his hand on his belt buckle, Riario's naked back captivating him. He caught up to him, stopping Riario with a firm arm around his waist, pulling him back against Leo's chest. He buried his forehead in the short hair at the nape of Riario's neck then breathed out slowly. He felt goosebumps rise on Riario's skin, unable to stop the automatic reaction, then he kissed his nape, trailing more kisses down the neck until he came to the sharply defined muscle and couldn't resist sinking his teeth in. Riario groaned and tried to pull away.
"Are you always this eager?"
"I can't help it. I'm finally getting you naked," Leo breathed moistly in his ear.
"I'm sure you see naked men all the time."
"But not you. It's so alluring. You dress like a prim maiden all buttoned-up tightly, but now I've got you bare and I'm quite taken with this spot." Leo sucked another kiss into his nape, this time with teeth.
"Is that why you're so interested in biting me?"
"That and other carnal reasons, yes."
"I'd thought perhaps you were adding vampirism to your impressive list of crimes."
"Come on, if I wanted to suck you, it would be other things, not your blood."
Riario huffed a laugh, and Leo nuzzled the back of his ear, oddly pleased that he could make the Count crack a smile so often. He'd made him laugh, and now he was holding all that barely controlled power in his arms. He breathed in deeply and was exhaling when Riario casually twisted and somehow tossed him onto the bed. Leo bounced once before he'd even registered the movement.
"Damn, you're fast," he started to sit up, but Riario guided him back down with a hand on his shoulder as he knelt over him.
"Really, Artista, I believe you're the one considered fast." Then he was kissing Leo again, and all rational thought fled, allowing him to just feel without thinking for once. He raked his fingers up and down Riario's back as he leaned over him, then followed the waist of his pants and dipped his fingertips inside. Riario's hand wasted no time cupping the bulge in Leo's jeans.
"Come on. You want to?" Leo wasn't even sure what he was asking, but Riario seemed to agree, working feverishly to open Leo's belt then fly then slide undershorts and jeans down his legs, Leo lifting his hips to help. He lay on the bed, letting Riario look his fill, but Riario was quick to lean up and kiss him again, stroking his chest, tracing the muscles in his arm, brushing through the hair on his chest.
The feel of Riario's pants against his cock reminded Leo of what he'd been doing before he got distracted. He grabbed Riario's ass, pulling him closer, then slid his hands down the back of his pants, grabbing flesh that time. Riario laughed against his lips, but Leo ordered as best he could, "Naked. Now."
"Always trying to be the one in charge," Riario spoke, lips brushing Leo's. He reached down to untie his pants, and Leo didn't waste any time pushing down the back while Riario guided the waistband and briefs gently over his cock. After he'd kicked them off, Leo pulled him back down, and they both moaned at the first feeling of entire body contact, flesh against flesh.
Leo rolled them over, running his hands over every inch he could reach. But when Leo thrust down, his hard cock butting against Riario's hip before sliding along next to his cock, Riario grabbed his waist, pulling them together but slowing his kisses. He stroked Leo's back in long, smooth motions, almost like petting, and wrapped a leg around one of Leo's to tangle them even closer.
It was something Leo had noticed about each encounter with Riario. He grew gentler just when they were really getting into it, like he was trying to hold off and make it last. As Leo kissed him more slowly, he palmed Riario's abs, dragging his hand down, but not to touch his dick, instead holding his hip and stroking his thumb along the deep V that led to his groin. Riario breathed deeply and moaned into the kiss. Leo wondered if the only touches Riario had ever enjoyed were made to hurt, and not arouse.
It spurred Leo to take his time, teasing and kissing his way down Riario's chest, mouthing over to a nipple to bite gently. Riario's chest heaved under his lips when he suckled then blew over the tiny peak. He lavished the other with the same attention until Riario finally wound his fingers into Leo's spiky hair and pushed. Leo continued his leisurely exploration down his abdomen and licked into his belly button.
He felt Riario pant even faster when he breathed out over his dick, dropping a kiss to the shaft then licking up and over the head. Riario moaned his name and sat up, pulling Leo's head out of his lap and kissing him fiercely. Maybe he'd finally gotten the Count to let loose, and he wondered how far he could take it.
"Do you have anything?" For once Riario looked unsure, so Leo pecked another kiss to his lips. "Slick? Condom?" Riario leaned for the bedside table but said, "I have no condoms," so Leo dove for his jeans on the floor. He might have felt like a ridiculous cliché but he always kept a couple in his wallet, forever optimistic. He took the opportunity to strip off his socks and noticed Riario had the same idea. Leo took advantage of his distraction and tackled him back onto the bed.
"How do you want to do this?" Leo asked between nips to his lips. Riario opened his mouth but hesitated. His hand, though, stroked down to Leo's ass, his fingers softly brushing against the crack, making Leo shudder. "You want to do me?" Leo's voice was huskier as he offered.
"We'll be doing it together, won't we, Artista?" Leo was ridiculously pleased by the notion and leaned down to give him another kiss to hide his smile.
"Sure, you can take top this time. You know what to do?" Riario's look was withering, but it was worth it. Leo pushed the slick and condom into his hands and rolled over onto his back, spreading his legs and tucking his hands behind his head, knowing he made the very picture of insolence. "Then get on with it."
Riario took up the challenge, as Leo knew he would, and he more than mastered it.
"That was fantastic," Leo mumbled as Riario carefully pulled out and he was allowed to slump forward onto the bed. He let out a huge yawn and stretched while Riario took care of the condom, too blissed out and relaxed to give a fuck about anything.
He was a little surprised that Riario lay down again next to him while he caught his breath. They lay in comfortable silence until even Leo started to get disgusted by the feel of his sweat mixed with the old smoke and he craved a shower. Just then Riario sighed. "So was this your way of saying goodbye?"
"What? What're you talking about?"
"The American law enforcement agencies are convinced that the Medici family have turned over a new leaf. My informants have told me that Lorenzo had you physically removed from his house after he found out about your affair with Lucrezia. Since he will no longer be needing your services, it seems that it is time for you to move on."
"I don't know," Leo said after a moment. He lay on his back and stared at the stark white ceiling. He was always moving on, looking for the next score, staying one step ahead. But he hadn't decided his next move, and the realization scared him a little. The whole scene was getting a little too domestic and comfortable for him.
Leo sat up slowly, feeling the burn and pull of muscles that hadn't been used in a while. He reached for his jeans to find a cigarette and lit up.
"This is a non-smoking room," Riario said, but he didn't move to stop him. "It's a filthy habit."
"No more than you're getting to be," Leo retorted, and they both froze at the silent implication. Leo smoked the rest of his cigarette in silence, tipping the ashes into an empty water bottle Riario handed him without a word.
"So you haven't decided where you're going next then?" Riario finally asked.
"I haven't thought about it," Leo admitted. "All the cops told me to stay here until they got the Medicis sorted, but if I'm free to go… well, I'll go."
"I've had some of our most advanced software dedicated to finding the patterns of your movements and predicting where you'll turn up next." Leo snorted, and Riario smiled. "The program has been terribly unreliable. It can't find any rhyme or reason to you."
"That's because we blindfold Nico and make him point on a map."
Riario laughed, and Leo risked a glance at him. He looked a little more relaxed, a little more open, but still reserved and warily eyeing Leo.
"I thought perhaps you would go back to Florence for a while. That was quite the scheme you devised to forge the Botticelli then sell it here in the U.S. while giving the original to that convent. I believe they made enough to provide for themselves for generations."
Leo shrugged and decided it was time to get dressed. "That would be a pretty amazing coup for someone to pull off and not get caught."
"Yes, especially when the buyer of the forgery was embroiled in another art scandal and got caught last week. It seems he was quite angry about being duped, and has been talking to a number of interested parties who might have some very difficult questions for you regarding theft, forgery, fraud."
"It seems to me that someone smart enough to come up with a scheme like that would be smart enough not to leave evidence behind." Leo jerked his jeans up and fastened them, looking around for the rest of his clothes and carefully not looking at Riario.
"That's usually the downfall of geniuses. They always believe they're the smartest so eventually they get arrogant and slip up. It only takes one mistake and snap," Riario clapped his hands and Leo jerked, "the trap is sprung."
"This has been a really informative lesson, thanks so much." Leo closed a couple buttons of his shirt and picked up his jacket.
"So we're going back to our usual cat and mouse game, then?" Leo finally looked at Riario who seemed not to feel awkward about his nudity but sat on the bed watching Leo intently.
"If that's what you want," Leo said.
"But what do you want, Artista?"
And there was the problem, Leo thought. For once in his life, he didn't know exactly what he wanted. "Thanks for the fuck," he said, hand on the doorknob. "If I don't see you again, good luck."
Riario's soft laugh followed him out the door. "You'll see me again, da Vinci. This is not the end."