Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy, but I do have two wonderful charters of MC men at my back

Happy swallowed hard, looking to Bear one last time before pushing the door open. They'd stopped at a diner on the outskirts of town where he'd gotten the assurances of Tacoma's SAA that this side trip was going to go unspoken of back North. He'd always made these visits alone, but Kozik had dimed him out before he'd hit the road and his President had told him he had to bring someone. Initially he considered just taking Kozik, but opted for the older, married Bear instead. Bear didn't need to fill the silence the way Kozik did, and right now, Happy needed the quiet.

The bell above the door was louder than he remembered, and he glanced up at it before his eyes went right to her. Ace was working on someone, but she was facing toward and the door and had looked up as soon as he'd crossed the threshold. He watched her face go from that crazy, open grin he was looking for to horror when she took in his wounds. Happy shook his head at her a little so she'd know he was fine, but she'd turned back to her client, sending him off to stretch for a few minutes.

Happy glanced behind him, but Bear wasn't showing any interest in doing anything other than holding up the wall next to the door. He stepped forward to meet Ace, holding out the bottle of Jack he'd picked up on the way. He'd taped a bow to it, but it was mostly squashed.

"Happy birthday." He croaked and immediately wished he'd kept his fucking mouth shut.

"Jesus, Hap." Ace breathed, her eyes huge as she took in the damage. It'd been over a week, but fuck if his neck didn't look worse than it had the first couple of days. He'd debated putting it off, but he needed Ace's magic touch more than he ever had before. The thoughts and plans and extrapolations weren't a buzz in the back of his mind, they were a roar that reverberated off the inside of his skull.

"I'm fine, baby girl." Happy told her, wincing at the gravel scraping sound of his own voice. In a move that he didn't pause to think about, he reach a hand out and traced the curve of her cheekbone with his thumb, his fingers disappearing into the brilliant red curls. Ace pressed a hand over his firmly, holding on even as he started to pull away. She squeezed once and dropped it.

"I'm guessing you're going to need some work?" Ace asked him, taking the bottle from his other hand. He'd forgotten he was still holding it. Happy nodded, not bothering to say anything. He reached in his cut and pulled out a drawing he'd been working on. Ace studied it and nodded, then looked back to where her client was tapping his foot impatiently. "I need to finish this up, give me half an hour?"

Happy nodded again and dropped onto the worn leather couch in the little lobby area. He let his head fall back, the burn in his neck screaming at him. He wished he'd gotten his own bottle of Jack. The sound of Ace's gun was like a lullaby, its buzz predictable and soothing. He cracked an eye open, but Bear was still beside the door, eyes moving restlessly around the place. Happy wanted to tell him that he could relax there, but it was beyond him to turn down the SAA's vigilance. It gave him a minute to wind the fuck down a little before getting into his girl's chair.

When the sound of her gun died, Happy sat up and rubbed his face hard, pressing the heels of his hands into his tired eyes. He stood up to watch the guy Ace had been working on walk out the door, and he wondered if she knew that the guy had a hard on for her. Ace locked the door behind him, and flipped off the outside lights, and he dogged her steps, wanting to get close enough to catch some peace. Bear took up the spot Happy had vacated on the couch.

"Are we starting with the usual?" Ace questioned him as he pulled off his cut and shirt. He held up three fingers and flopped back in the familiar chair. Her eyebrows raised a little, but she nodded. "Good."

Happy wondered how much she really knew about their business together, and whether she'd run and hide if he told her all the dirty details. It was tempting to just unload it all and ease himself, but he never wanted to change the way Ace looked at him, so he wouldn't. He wished he could have kept her fourteen and innocent.

It was always the same, and always profound. Happy could take a real breath as soon as her needle hit his skin, and their eyes met, and Ace smiled, all proud of herself. She was fully aware that he got more than ink out of their time together, and he was glad of that. Happy let his eyes fall shut, wallowing in the empty space in his head. He didn't open them, just soaked in the feel of her gloved left hand pressed against his skin and the bite of the needle in her right.

"I'm going to make a stencil for the other piece, make sure the spacing is right." Ace murmured half to herself. "And the placement, too."

"Whatever you think." Happy said, and cleared his throat painfully. Her hand flexed the tiniest bit on his stomach and he wouldn't have opened his eyes to see the look on her face for a million dollars. He kept still through her completion of his smiley faces and through the wipe down. He only opened them again when she'd rolled away and the distinct sound of glass on glass drew his attention.

"You look like you could use a drink." Ace said, handing him a highball after sucking off the overfill. She kicked the drawer shut that she must have taken the glass out of, and Hap snorted quietly. She tapped the neck of the bottle against the glass in his hand and took a healthy swig before closing it up. He drank the Jack in one burning swig, twirling the empty glass in his hand and watching her through it as she prepped for his next piece.

No Other Man Alive

Happy had opted to move to a regular chair for his next piece, he was sure that if he laid flat out, he'd probably end up snoring. Ace had lowered her stool so that she was eye level with his chest, and was tucked right between his knees. With her head bent, he could feel her breathing on his skin and her hair was right in his face. He took a deep breath in through his nose, wondering if she'd still smell the way she had as a baby.

"Did you just smell me?" Ace asked without looking away from the mantra marching across his skin. She sounded very amused by the prospect.

"No." Happy told her, and this time she did look up at him through her lashes, eyebrows raised. "Maybe." He admitted and he could feel her trying not to laugh. She even stopped inking him for a minute, waiting until her hands were steady again. He rolled his eyes at her and let his head roll back so he was staring at the ceiling. She was moving steadily from his right shoulder to his left, the phrase spilling out on his skin in nine words. Short and to the point.

"You doing alright?" She asked him, not looking away from his chest.

"Yeah." His voice came out as a thin whisper and he coughed hard to loosen his throat. Ace looked up at him, alarmed, pulling back a little to give him room to breathe. The more he tried to catch his breath, the harder he coughed. Ace finally got up and filled the empty tumbler with water, waiting until he'd caught his breath to hand it to him and sit back down.

"Thanks." He croaked carefully. Ace looked up at him for a long moment and then moving slowly, leaned forward and very gently pressed her lips to the discolored skin of his neck. Happy barely registered the featherlight kiss before she'd gone back to work finishing up his piece. His chest was tight and he was a little thrown by the affection. Ace had always been an island, they almost never touched if she wasn't inking him. He made up his mind not to dwell on it, opting instead to close his eyes and keep just breathing her in, riding the endorphins.

All too soon, she was finished, and she led the way to the floor length mirror. Even backwards he could read the words. I live, I die, I kill for my family. Inflamed and reddened, it still looked right in his skin, and Happy nodded once to acknowledge this outward expression of what he'd been feeling all his life.

"Thanks, Ace, it looks perfect." He rasped, carefully to keep his throat loose so he didn't choke on the words like an asshole.

"Anytime, Hap." She answered, smiling at him in the mirror from just behind his right shoulder. He watched her face go hesitant and then outright worried. "You look exhausted." She said quietly. "Why don't you two stay at my place tonight. I'd feel better knowing you weren't out on the road."

Happy looked at her sharply. He hadn't been staying with her recently, Tony made it very clear that he wasn't really welcome and Hap had made it very clear in turn that he didn't fucking care. He only ever came to see Ace and he didn't give two shits how Tony felt about it, just as long as he kept taking care of his girl.

"Tony's not going to mind?" He questioned, rubbing his face as she dressed the new ink. He was running on fumes, but didn't want to cause her any grief if he didn't have to.

"He's in the field for the next few weeks, so he won't be there." Ace told him, and met his eyes straight on. If she'd avoided his gaze or looked the least bit uncertain he'd have told her no.

No Other Man Alive

Happy was in Ace's shower, letting the hot water trickle down over him. He was tired, but still a little restless. He popped the lid on the shampoo bottle and took a whiff and found himself suddenly and inexplicably hard. He looked down at his dick stupidly for a minute, but the fastest way to get rid of a hard on was to go ahead and jerk off. He'd hit his stride, thinking about the chick tattoo artist he fucked regularly up in Tacoma, when a light tap on the door of the bathroom froze him.

"Hey Hap?" Ace called, cracking the door open. "Do you mind if I quick wash my face? I'll be outta here I a second."

"Go for it." He called back, cursing himself and tiny fucking apartments with only one bathroom. He stroked himself slowly, not wanting to alert her to the fact that he was the asshole jerking off in her shower. He heard the water splash and the sound of her brushing her teeth, and figured she couldn't hear him anyway. He cracked the shower curtain open a sliver to make sure she wasn't paying any attention to him. She wasn't, she was leaning over the sink, wearing grey leggings. Happy cocked his head to the side to get a better look and as his eyes traveled up her legs he realized that she wasn't wearing any panties and bent over the way she was, he could definitely make out-and that was the end of him. He came hard, and bit down on his hand to avoid making any kind of noise.

"Let me know when you're done." She said, her voice muffled by the towel she was drying her face with. "I'll redress your ink for the night. After that, it's all yours."

"Yep." Happy anwered, looking down at his dick in disbelief as the door clicked shut behind Ace.

No Other Man Alive

It wasn't quite light out when Happy got up the next morning. He'd taken the couch and sent Bear to the futon in the other bedroom. His plan to slip out undetected before Ace woke up was derailed when he saw the light spilling out under her door on his way to the bathroom. Sure enough, when he came out, Ace poked her head out of her room.

"Hey." She whispered, smiling. Her hair was a riot, just an absolute mess, and he smirked at her. She rolled her eyes and he followed her into the small kitchen, sitting on the counter while she made coffee. She pressed a hot mug into his hands and leaned against the counter next to him.

"Listen, Ace." Happy started, then paused to choke down some of the coffee to lubricate his voice. "If you ever need me, all you gotta do is call, alright?" He told her, reaching behind her to grab a pen and some random scrap of paper. He scrawled the number for his prepay down and pressed it into her hand.

"Alright." Ace agreed quietly, looking at it for a second before tucking the paper into the kangaroo pocket of the pull over hoodie that was way too big on her. Bear walked into the kitchen without a word and Ace hurried to get him a mug. It was quiet in the room, all three sipping their caffeine without needing to fill the space up with words. Finally Happy pushed off from the counter, landing heavily on his boots and nodding to Bear. Ace grabbed her keys from the mess on the counter and followed the pair.

Happy turned and lifted a hand to her when he reached the Harleys. She'd stopped on the sidewalk, shifting from foot to foot, the pavement probably cold on her bare feet. She'd pulled the hood up, her red hair spilling out on both sides, and her eyes in shadow, but he could see her smile when she waved back. When he rocked the Harley off it's kickstand and headed out of the lot, he finally felt like he could look forward and not back over his shoulder.

No Other Man Alive

Ace heard the number not in service message and hit end, staring at the phone in disbelief. He'd only been gone for a few weeks, but the number he'd given her definitely didn't work. After the days of internal war she'd waged on herself to even get up the nerve to call him, and the fear of what he was going to think when she asked him to take her away from here, all for nothing. He'd already ditched the phone he'd given her the number for, without even a second thought. Feeling very small and defeated, Ace slipped the phone back into her pocket and crumpled the slip of paper up, dropping it into the trash can at her desk.

"Everything alright, Ace?" Bill asked her from his cubicle across the way. He was kicked back in his own chair, with his laptop on his knees, probably working on payroll. Ace couldn't help but smile reassuringly at him.

"Fine, Bill. Just had a bad number for someone, that's all." Ace explained and put it out of her head. It had been a stupid plan, and poor Hector would have been disappointed in her for even thinking it.