Unbalanced

As the day had worn on Dayz and Twozy had hung around with the guys playing pool and kicking back a few beers. Dayz' ease with them relieved some of the tension in Twozy and slowly she felt herself enjoying the interactions.

She still had her front, the chipper, playful persona in place, but she'd find herself answering questions rather then evading them or distracting from the answer. Her guard slipped just a bit as she absorbed information about each man; married, divorced, kids, no kids, favorite women, favorite position. They were open in a way most men, much less criminals, never were. On a personal level at least, one-on-one, they all spoke plainly, blunt and crude. They seemed to have no filter or shame in each other's presence. No topic or action was off limits between them.

Happy was the odd man out. In his manner he accepted a ribbing, with a flippant 'fuck you' or black stares, but he was not prone to talking. He listened, he missed nothing. She'd found his eyes trained in her direction more then once as the day wore on. His gaze each time caught her off kilter, shifted her a bit in her head. She'd feel his body wrapped around her, holding her in place while she lost her shit and each glance seemed to make her more contained. The random burst of fear she felt most days collecting but not expanding.

"Kid c'mere." Hap's voice always seemed to sneak up on her, a rolling rumble that she felt first and then heard. Twozy turned from the bar to see Happy seated on the sofa, his arm slung across the back beer held in hand, his other on the arm rest held a smoke. His long lean body was at ease, one leg bent foot flat to the floor, his other stretched out.

Twozy picked up her own beer from the bar top and made her way over. She didn't slide onto the sofa at his side. She stood in front of him, silent, looking at him. She waited for him to speak; but he didn't, he just looked at her, his head tilting, eyes directing her to the space under his outstretched arm as if to say 'sit'.

She looked at the vacant space then back at him, shrugged with a smile and moved in. She turned in sideways, her shoulder up the back of the sofa. She leaned her head into the crook of his arm and tilted her head back, perching her legs over his bent knee. She had an inner moment of giddy laughter as he seemed to take in what she was doing. His eye followed her bending legs, paused at her turned out hip, and followed the side curve of her body up to her breasts, to her mouth, to her eyes. Once she had eye contact she let the giggle loose, a big smile spreading across her face.

"Jailbait Happy. Jailbait." Her tone was teasing. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Paperwork's what counts, yours makes you legal ….girl." Happy said as he reached up and held her chin, lifting her gaze, his thumb sliding along her lower lip for emphasis.

She got the sense that Happy was always piecing things together, that he collected and sorted events, actions, words and manners of the people around him and stored them until he had all the pieces to create a full picture. With her, he was always looking for more pieces. Happy's actions with her had made them connect in some indefinable way in her brain, making his digging looks for all her pieces acceptable. It was something she had never tolerated from anyone other then Dayz. It was a tenuous threaded of trust between them, but now there none-the-less.

In her own head she accepted that part of it was her own attraction to the raw, hard predator that was Happy. Her fucked up, abused child craved the violence she felt emanating from just below his inked skin; it appealed to the dark, shattered fragments in her.

The only question she didn't have an answer to yet was: did she want him to unleash it at her or shelter her with it? Happy put his hand on her knee, squeezing, pulling her wandering thoughts back. She looked at him again, seeing him focused on her, trying to decipher what it was she had going on in her head.

"You driving shit now or what?" His hand still rested at her knee, his thumb sliding back and forth, a momentary distraction to his words. Her eyes looked at his long-fingered hand, connecting the sensation he was causing in her body. A deep slow warmth seemed to spread up her leg, to fill her abdomen and chest with an unnamed heat of want that slammed straight to her head, causing her breath to catch. She looked at hap as she answered.

"Yah. I got the wheel." Her voice was breathy and his hand shifted, sliding up and over to her inner thigh, the heat increased. Happy pulled her closer, yet pulled them out of the intimate position. His eyes never left hers as he placed her back to the sofa while he shifted her off his legs.

The contradicting feelings to his actions left her unbalanced. Her body was humming with lust and head was scrambling to figure out if the heat she felt was all her want. She was positive Happy was interested, but something had changed in the last ten seconds. As he pulled her into his side, his arm draped around her shoulders, she was looking out across the club room at the various men and women. Some men in cuts, others just hang arounds. The women were what pulled her back. There were some who had seen better days, but most were pretty and dressed in the usual slutty gear; but they all seemed to be on-hold, paused until a man stepped into their path. The same vacant look was held by most of the girls, it was the same look her mother had. She leaned forwards on her knees, pushing up slowly.

She walked away saying. "I'll see you in the morning Hap."

"Kid." She'd guarantee that she'd heard regret in his tone.

The truck was in the garage. The guns were already stashed in long fishing coolers, loaded ready to go. Twozy and Hap would drive in as far Seattle in the truck. She'd drop him off there to meet up with Shalyn's brothers, Reggi and Travis, who would take him across with the guns by water in their war canoe tour.

Twozy would continue on and drive into Canada over land and meet Hap in the reservation. If all went well she would be in North Vancouver waiting on the reserve for him, but that left her with the problem of getting back to the house tonight.

She found Dayz sitting with Knuckles having a slurred and mumbled conversation, as best as she could guess about his bike, as they shared a joint. Her brother had gotten himself good and fucked up. His words were slurred and he kept shaking his head as if he hoped that it would clear his obvious case of bleary eyes.

"Dayz, time to go home bro. Come on, I'll call a cab."

Dayz nodded at her, but slouched back into his chair, his head rolling back, his arm reached out pointing his figure at her.

"K. Two-zee."

"Hey lilbit." Knuckles was just a little less bleary eyed then Dayz.

Twozy was still illogically pissed with him, but right then he looked a little sad some how, that is till he bellowed. "BONES! BOOONNNEEESSSSY!"

Knuckles was squinting around the room looking for the prospect who came running out from behind the bar at the other end of the room, cutting in and out between the milling crowd who had all turned to see what the ruckus was about.

"Take Fixit an' lilbit home in the tow truck." He barked out with a drunken wave in her direction.

"Thanks Knuckles." Twozy said as the old man leaned on the table, his bleary eyes looked at Dayz and she saw longing in them.

"I'll bring the truck. Think you can get him out the front door on your own?" Bones asked as he headed out, not waiting for her answer.

"Lilbit?" Knuckles was still focused on Dayz who seemed to be passed out in his chair.

"I had a boy once, he…. Well, he's gone now. But Dayz here, he's what I hoped my boy would have become. That's why I asked him you know? He told me how that's not on the cards so you can relax alright? Just…. just let him off the hook.

Rips him up to think you feel like you're not enough because you are you know. I just wanted to bring him into the family. That's what we are, these are my brothers, the reason I breathe. I just wanted to include him in that breath."

Knuckles eyes had shifted as he spoke, his voice was whisky rough but strong and full and Twozy felt it. Her heart swelled with pride for her brother who managed to reach this rough, hard man; who saw him as a good man, worthy of his respect, loyalty, trust and love.

"Knuckles, the way we are, the way I am; it's complicated. But we'll fix it. It's what me and him do, we fix each other. Always have, always will, old man."

Bones came in and hoisted Dayz up, drag walking Dayz out towards the door. Twozy skipped ahead of them to the club house door and held it open for Bones. She looked back at Knuckles, he was half turned watching them leave.

"Good night old man." Her anger was less, but now she felt a keen sense of want. She wanted what was being offered to Dayz: Family.