Previously – Jason talks to a Not-Quite-Spinelli; Jason comes home and Spinelli is sad when he immediately goes to see Elizabeth; Elizabeth talks to an Almost-Nerd.
Note – Thank you for the lovely feedback. My plan right now is to finish this story as fast as I can, and then move on to How To Fix Everything, the sequel to the Battle of Who Could Care Less, which is almost done (and a Solo Ensemble Exclusive Fic). And then I plan to finish up the rest of my stories one by one til I have none left. Then I probably won't start anymore, but we'll see what happens.
Hack | 37Sonny and Spinelli watched as Jason crammed the last of his ice cream crepe into his mouth and almost broke the dish when he smacked it down onto the table. Then it was time for his late night cup of coffee, and the enforcer almost spilled a bunch on the ivory tablecloth when he wrenched the carafe off the rack and sloshed some into his black mug.
"He's pissed."
"He's in a bad mood," Sonny whispered back. "Try to ignore it. He just needs to stew a little."
"But when he's in a bad mood, he doesn't like to be ignored," Spinelli hissed as Jason drew closer. "It makes him feel like we're trivializing his anger."
"Then what should we do?"
"Hide? Maybe behind the sofa? He'd never see us."
Sonny rolled his eyes impatiently. "I'm not hiding from Jason."
"It's always worked well for me."
"Well, you have reason to hide: you're annoying."
Spinelli's jaw dropped. "The Jackal resents that remark!"
"Mm," Sonny murmured, taking a sip of his coffee. "He resembles it, too."
"The fuck are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing," Sonny and Spinelli answered in perfect unison. And then they went about trying to ignore Jason without trivializing his anger the best they knew how. And while they did this, Jason sat on the couch with his coffee and scowled at the wall, clearly savoring his foul mood. In any event, Spinelli thought he wore it well.
And maybe this bad mood was just what was needed for Samson to free himself from the cunning Delilah.
The boy was just delighting in those wonderful thoughts when there was a bit of a commotion in the hall and before he knew it, the door to Penthouse IV was practically kicked open by a tired but beaming Elizabeth.
"We're home!"
Sonny dumped his paper on the table and shot out of his seat, crossing the room in long strides to sweep the brunette up in a bear hug. "Hey, sweetheart. How was your trip? Where did you go? Are you hungry?"
"Our trip was great," she smiled back, her arms still around him. "It was really fun – we had a great time together. We stayed in New York for the most part, and Ritchie showed me some of the really cool towns way up in the northeast area that he knows. One of them was a nineteenth century historic town, which was pretty cool."
She peeked over Sonny's shoulder and smiled at Spinelli. "Hey, nerd."
The boy offered her a mock two-finger salute. "Gulliver has returned at long last. How were the Lilliputians?"
"Little," she joked, playing along. "Did I miss anything these past few days?"
"Well, Stone Cold came back," Spinelli said unnecessarily, tipping his head at the surly man standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
"So he did," Elizabeth replied lightly. She smiled when Ritchie gestured to the door, letting her know he was going to get going, and kissed his cheek before he left. Then, slipping her hands casually into her pockets, she walked past Jason and sat down on the armchair right across from his seat on the couch.
"So, Jason, how was your trip?"
His lips thinned, but Jason knew that two could play her game. In fact, this was what they did best: the stop and go, push and pull. The simple retaliation.
"Fine. How was yours?"
Elizabeth offered him a tight smile. "Pretty nice. Where'd you end up going?"
He rolled his shoulders. "Around. You?"
"Same." She whisked her bangs out of her face and gave him what she hoped passed for an innocent look. "Heard you got into a little scrape and were short on funds."
His lips twisted, but Jason nodded. "Yeah. Happened at a bar across the border."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." A muscle in his jaw ticked, making Spinelli gulp. "A few guys started hassling a couple of women and things got heated. I jumped in along with a couple of the locals and we ended up causing some damage."
Her expression softened. "Oh."
And then whatever he had seen flickered away and she blinked, breaking the spell. "So where else did you go?"
"Around."
"I hear it's nice there this time of year."
Sonny coughed and tried to disappear behind his paper. This would not end well, and it didn't appear that either Jason or Elizabeth was prepared to give an inch. Wonderful. As if the neighbors didn't complain enough…
"Well, Ritchie and I went to a bar."
Jason arched a sandy brow. "Ah."
She pursed her lips. "Yeah. It was nice enough. Did you end up going to any other bars?"
"A couple."
"You'd have liked this one," she replied flippantly. "It would have been just your scene – just the kind of place you'd like to haunt."
"Yeah?"
Elizabeth nodded primly. "Oh, yeah. Low-key. Dim. Local joint."
"Hm."
"You should check it out. It's about eight hours outside of town."
It couldn't be. "…Eight hours."
"Yup. It's the kind of bar where they…know your name."
His eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh."
"I especially liked the barkeep."
"Really."
"Yeah. He reminded me of someone I know."
A muscle in Jason's jaw ticked. "Huh. Perceptive guy, I bet."
This time, her eyes narrowed. "Oh, he definitely was."
Spinelli had been watching all this with rapt fascination, and now he cleared his throat and hesitantly stuck his toe into the water. "…Are you guys fighting?"
"No," Jason and Elizabeth both barked at the same time.
Still scowling, Jason stood up and cracked his knuckles, glaring at Spinelli as he jerked his head toward the door. "Come on, get up, we should get back."
He waited until Spinelli got up and ambled out the door, then turned over his shoulder and gave Elizabeth a look. "See you at breakfast," he mocked before stepping out into the hall and softly shutting the door behind him.
It was only then that Sonny dared to peek out from behind his paper. Imagine the odds: He'd actually ended up hiding from Jason after all.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you ever going to tell me what's wrong?"
Elizabeth scowled at the cobwebs she was currently dusting off the mantle. "Nothing's wrong."
"Okay, now you're just insulting my intelligence."
"Hm, I thought you'd be used to that by now."
"You know, for a prince, I sure have to put with a lot of abuse from the commoners."
"It's the start of the revolution, your Highness."
He rolled his dark brown eyes and followed her around her living room as Elizabeth dusted off her end tables. Dust made Spinelli sneeze, and he was always hacking and wheezing away whenever he came to her penthouse if the room was the least bit dusty, and she was fed up with it. And that meant dusting so that the stupid nerd could actually breathe when he came over.
"Alright, Elizabeth, level with me. You've been in a disagreeable mood these past few days, and everyone's noticed it. So what's wrong? Is Sonny riding your case about something?"
"No, he's fine."
"Did you lose another challenge to Spinelli?"
"No, I'm ahead by two now. Just won one yesterday."
"Oh. Congratulations. So are you annoyed with me or the guys?"
"No, you're all wonderful."
Nikolas let out an exasperated sigh. "What, then?"
She paused in the middle of her dusting and actually fiddled with the duster. Elizabeth rarely fiddled with anything, so that was cause enough for Nikolas to pay attention. "I'm kind of…in a fight with Jason."
A short pause and then, "Ah."
Elizabeth glared at him. "Don't sound so surprised."
Her old friend just shrugged. "It's not that, I was just thinking that I should have guessed."
"Gee, thanks."
"No, I meant that you said everything else was fine – us, Sonny, the challenges. I should have figured out what the next most logical answer was. So what are you two fighting about, if I might ask?"
"I don't know."
He arched a dark brow at her turned back. "When did you start fighting?"
"I don't know."
He tilted his head to the side as she flopped down on the couch, then walked past her and behind it. "What's stopping you from talking it out and making up?"
Another sigh. "I don't know."
A small smile made his lips twitch, and Nikolas did his best not to laugh at his dejected friend as she sat slumped over on the couch. Instead, he coughed right into his fist – a cough that sounded suspiciously like the word 'relationship.'
Elizabeth must have thought so, too, because that was when the young woman got up from the couch and did something she had never done to Nikolas before: she leapt over the back of the sofa and tackled him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Jason couldn't remember the last time a woman had him in this bad a mood for this many days.
And the worst part was that he couldn't even blame it on her because it wasn't her fault: it was his. These were his issues that were causing him to be such a damn grouch, and she was just responding with anger of her own, which was the only way she knew how to respond at all.
God, he was fucked.
He had been puttering around the penthouse in a huff for several days now. He hadn't taken Elizabeth out on a bike ride since he got back. He hadn't spent the night at her penthouse. He hadn't taken any of his meals at her place. And the lack of sex was only enhancing his supremely grumpy mood.
He had no idea what to do with his feelings for her. If he was any kind of man at all, with any dignity and self-respect at all, he would have marched his ass over to her penthouse and told her they needed to end this. Breaking up would be the best option if he wanted to nip this where it was without hurting either one of them any more. It wasn't her fault that his needs had changed; hell, she didn't even have any idea. And for a commitment-phobe to continue seeing the hopeful family man was just a disaster waiting to happen.
But as it turned out, Jason was realizing that he wasn't 'any kind of man at all,' and that 'dignity and self-respect' had been the first things to go when he fell in love with Elizabeth. Was it like that with all men? He remembered back to when Sonny was happily engaged to Brenda and reflected that it probably was. God, it was like his best friend had been replaced by a Pod Person.
Jason started and practically hopped off the couch at the thought. Spinelli, who was sitting over by the pool table, noticed his unease and questioned him silently with his eyes, and Jason almost opened his mouth right then and there and asked Spinelli if he thought a Pod Person had replaced him, too.
God damn, this was insane.
Jason scowled at the boy, who quickly went back to his assignment for his challenges with Elizabeth, then flopped back down on the couch. A long time passed in silence, and then Spinelli hesitantly spoke up.
"Stone Cold?"
"What?"
"The Jackal was thinking that since it's still early and we haven't had any dinner yet-"
"There's food in the fridge."
Spinelli stopped and glared at the back of his beloved mentor's head. "There so isn't."
Jason scowled. "Fine. We'll order in."
"Actually, that brings me to my point," the boy interjected. "The Jackal was thinking that since he and the Stone Cold one are both hungry and in desperate need of distract- er, entertainment, we could maybe go out and shoot pool at Jake's and then head over to Eli's and get some honey-barbequed ribs and see what happens from there. What do you say?"
"I hate honey-barbequed ribs."
"Don't get them, then," he shrugged. "I'll get those, and you get your normal ribs. What do you say? We could take the bike out and-"
"I'm not taking the bike out. It needs repairs."
"Fine, then we'll take the car, and-"
"You're not eating ribs in my car."
"I'd let you eat ribs on my segueway."
"Spinelli, I'd never eat ribs on your segueway."
Of all the things he never thought he'd hear himself say…
"But I'd still let you," the boy insisted.
"The two of us wouldn't even fit on your segueway."
Spinelli's lips settled into a peevish line. "You're being difficult on purpose."
"I'm not."
"Look, Stone Cold, just because you're in a pissy mood that the Dragon is showing her immature colors doesn't mean that you get to-"
"Jason."
They both looked over as the door to Penthouse II was practically kicked down (they'd all gotten into the worst habit of not knocking) and saw Elizabeth standing framed in the doorway with her hands planted on her hips.
Jason arched a brow, prompting her to scowl and stalk forward.
"You need to get something straight," she informed him primly. "I don't know what you're PMS-ing about here, but you need to get over it."
Spinelli's face contorted in disgust. What kind of thing was that for an almost-girlfriend to say? The Dragon knew that Stone Cold was upset, and she should have known that Stone Cold wasn't the sort to get upset over nothing, and so it followed that she should at least treat him with a modicum of understanding and consideration, to say nothing of how he always treated her that way.
Jesus, his mentor sure knew how to pick 'em. And Spinelli was beginning to profoundly regret accidentally scaring away that Belgian supermodel because, really, anything was better for Stone Cold than this.
Jason seemed to think the same thing as he glared up at her. "Excuse me?"
"You need to get over it," she replied simply, shrugging her shoulder. "And so do I. Because this was supposed to be fun, remember? And right now, it's not fun. Not at all."
And then to the boys' mild surprise, she leaned down and cupped Jason's rough cheek, her voice becoming softer and gentler. "Didn't we have fun?"
Spinelli rolled his eyes, wondering how stupid a man would have to be to fall for a line like that.
As it turned out, there was no need to wonder because much to Spinelli's shock and dismay, Jason let out a gruff sigh and nodded. "Yeah. We did."
Elizabeth smiled and straightened, confident that she'd swayed him back to her side. And really, that was all that mattered. Or that was what she told herself, at any rate. But as she looked down at Jason, glad that they'd sorted this out, she couldn't help but notice the tense, dejected set of his shoulders and the grim look in his eyes. He was still troubled by something, and she'd bet good money he wasn't anywhere close to telling her.
Surprising no one more than herself, she leaned down and took one of his large hands in hers. "Hey."
He looked up at her in surprise, obviously not expecting the gentle gesture at all, and Elizabeth tried not to feel a flicker of hurt that he hadn't.
"You eaten yet?" She tugged on his hand when he shook his head, succeeding in pulling him to his feet. Flashing him a small smile, she turned and held hands with him behind her back, leading him to the door. "Come on, I'll make you dinner."
Jason appeared stunned but quickly got over it and followed her out, pulling the door shut with the toe of his boot. Spinelli, still over by the pool table, watched this exchange and bristled at the ease with which the Dragon kept Stone Cold wrapped around her finger.
Really, it was getting to be a bit too much.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Penthouse VI, down the hall from Spinelli's bad mojo…She'd set out a little bowl of stuffed olives for him to munch on while she made dinner, and Jason popped two in his mouth at once as he watched her fuss with the tray of lasagna she'd loaded into the oven thirty minutes ago. He had a good feeling that the tray had been heavier than even she was, it was so laden down with every last ingredient he ever thought could be included in lasagna. Hell, she'd even sliced up a fat eggplant and layered it over the ground beef. And now she was working on the rolls, making sure to bake a few extra because she knew how he practically inhaled them.
And for some reason, this pleased him.
She set the oven timer for ten more minutes and wiped her hands on the dishtowel, her back toward him. She hadn't said much over the past half hour, which was okay because he hadn't said anything at all. All Jason had done was sit there and watch her and wonder just what the hell he was going to do.
He already knew that being away from her made him miserable, and no matter how much breaking up seemed like the smart thing to do, he doubted he could actually get those words out.
Maybe he'd have Spinelli do it for him.
Jason almost laughed at that. He had no doubt that Spinelli would get on that immediately and tell Elizabeth six ways to Sunday that the Stone Cold one was done dealing with the fire-breathing Dragon, or however it was that the kid would have phrased it. In fact, he had the distinct feeling that Spinelli would enjoy that.
But Jason also knew that this was his life, his decision, and he couldn't pawn it off on Spinelli no matter how appealing the idea was. Elizabeth cared about him, he was sure of it. She listened to him when he was stressed about something, she always waited up for him when he came home late from a hit, she tried her best to help him with his problems in her own, secret way like she had when Spinelli's birthday crept up on him, and even now she was making him dinner because she sensed that something was bothering him and she wanted to make him feel better.
She did care about him. But the fact remained that she didn't love him, and she probably wouldn't ever love him the way he loved her. The chance that she'd change her mind about their situation was a very small one and frankly, Jason wasn't willing to stake anything on it. Elizabeth liked to be in very firm control of her own life – just like him – and he couldn't see her willing to merge hers seamlessly with his.
So he'd have to tell her that he cared about her a great deal and that he really had a great time when he was with her, but this wasn't working and they should probably call it off and go back to the way their lives were before that hot summer day when the AC broke down and prompted them to broker this ridiculous deal.
Yeah. That was exactly how he'd say it.
Maybe he'd leave out the part about the 'ridiculous deal,' but the rest of it was good.
He watched her wistfully as she set about cleaning up the mess she'd made and disinfecting the counters. It seemed such a shame to end this, in all honesty. He knew he had to, but that didn't mean that he was okay with it. In time he'd accept it, and he hoped that in time he'd move on. He'd just have to, because there was nothing for him here.
She raised her hand to tuck a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, and Jason noticed for the first time the large clip she wore to pull back her chestnut waves. An ornate design in blackened silver that boasted an amulet-style adornment in the center: his red glass.
Something warm and mysterious began to spread through his chest as Jason watched her through narrowed eyes. Mere minutes ago, he'd been willing to bet that she'd never change her mind about wanting more with him.
But…
…If she gave him any small signal, any little sign at all, that maybe she one day might, he'd call off the imminent breakup.
Jesus Christ, now he was bargaining with himself.
But the sight of that red glass, still fully intact, holding back her thick hair was enough for Jason to excuse his ridiculous sentimentality – just for this evening – and wonder a little. If she gave him any small signal, any little sign at all…
She turned over his shoulder, as if hearing his thoughts, and gave him a small smile. "Hey."
Jason lifted his chin. "Hm?"
Her eyes narrowed, but the smile remained. "You sure you're okay?"
He nodded, not trusting himself to answer, and popped two more olives in his mouth.
"Because you're very quiet," she noted, slowly making her way closer until she was standing next to the tall wooden chair abutting her kitchen island.
"I'm always quiet."
"Not always," Elizabeth teased. "But more than you usually are."
"Just thinking," he replied quietly.
Her eyes softened and she looked for a minute as if she wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but Jason didn't think she'd take that leap. And she didn't. Instead, Elizabeth nibbled on her lip and touched his chin lightly, then dipped her head down until her lips brushed his.
She kissed him slowly, softly, not seeming to need much of a response from him at all. Her nose bumped into his as their lips coupled, and Jason fought the urge to reach out and pull her close. Something told him that she needed to do this, and that he needed to let her.
Something also told him that this was the sign he'd been hoping for.
Elizabeth pulled back slowly, the corner of her mouth hooking up when she saw that his eyes were still closed.
There. She'd done it.
She'd kissed him just for the sake of kissing him, and the world hadn't come to an end. She'd kissed him just because she felt like it, just because she wanted to make him feel better, just because she thought he needed a little comforting, and not because she expected something – ahem – to follow, and they were both still here. And they were both okay.
Elizabeth tried to keep her smug smile in check. Oh, yeah, she could definitely do this.
"I'm fine," he murmured in a rusty voice, his breath fanning over her lips because she had yet to straighten. "I am."
She nodded and their noses rubbed together lightly. "Good."
Jason smiled softly when he felt her trace his lower lip with her thumbnail. She had the oddest fascination with his mouth – probably like he did with her hair.
Her voice dropped to a whisper, hardly more than a breath. "I missed you when you were gone."
Jason stilled, and then she stilled, and he knew she would have dropped her hand and backed away right then if he hadn't slipped an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her chastely on the mouth just because he thought she'd let him.
"I missed you, too."
The simple admission alleviated the unease that had radiated off her just seconds ago, and Elizabeth smiled bashfully and cleared her throat. "Next time you want to leave, could you at least call me?"
He nodded sincerely. "I will," he promised. "I…I really didn't plan on leaving town, you know."
Elizabeth turned questioning sapphire eyes up to his.
"I didn't," he felt compelled to repeat. "I was at home, about to go to bed and I just…had to go. So I did."
His grip around her waist tightened just a little. "I don't plan to make a habit out of it."
That got a smile out of her, and Elizabeth nodded again. "Good."
That same feeling from earlier, all warm and unfamiliar, began to spread through him again, through his chest and his stomach and right out to the tips of his fingers as Jason brushed his lips against hers again. She actually let him, but that was ceasing to be such a surprise to him anymore.
He'd gotten his sign.
And though he'd never been a believer in signs and omens and horoscopes and wishes, Jason was more than willing to believe this one. Because something had just shifted between them, he was sure of it, and something told him that after whatever had transpired just now, he needed to hang in there. If things worked out the way he wanted, it would all be more than worth it.
He could both hear and feel her breath at the same time as he held her loosely between his legs, and Jason nudged her with his nose. "Elizabeth."
Her name fanned out across her lips, and all she could do was respond with a dreamy, "Mm?"
The corner of Jason's mouth twitched. "Something's burning."
Elizabeth's eyes shot open. "Oh!" she yelped, spinning around so fast that she nearly banged her elbow on the edge of the island. Jason smiled to himself as he watched her dart over to the oven and rescue her lasagna, and popped two more victory olives into his mouth.
He could definitely get used to this.