Disclaimer-Had a dream that I owned the Sons of Anarchy, but then I woke up. What isn't a dream is having the incredible privilege of owning this story, my original characters, and a fantastic vintage inspired polka dot dress.
Happy woke completely content, and resolved to stay still for as long as he could manage. He was stretched out across his wife's tight little body, pinning her underneath him. When he managed to peel his eyes open, he was happy to find her face turned toward him. She was still dead to the world, her face open and peaceful in a way he hadn't seen for too long a time. She was breathing evenly, her lips just barely parted, and it took incredible will power not to bite the bottom one.
Watching her sleep, he thought about all the ways he'd railroaded her into where she was right now. Even when he'd first told her that he would let her go start over somewhere new, he knew he'd been manipulating her, using her inexperience and their history to guarantee she'd go the way he wanted. He'd also known that fucking her would cement her not inconsiderable loyalty to him, and frankly, that single minded, fierce focus of hers was likely the only reason she was still sticking it out with him. Most women as strong and smart as she was would have put him in the past and left him there, but somehow their history and her fealty outweighed her need to run.
Happy had so far been content to let her instincts work to his benefit, but he felt unexpectedly remorseful for binding her so completely to him. When she'd said that she was done, he'd feared that she might actually try to walk, but with a little time and distance he could see that she wouldn't; not unless he opened the door for her. It was a sick feeling to consider giving her an opening to leave him, but he felt a little bit like he owed it to her to give her a real chance if she wanted it.
He forced himself to think about what shit would look like if they weren't together. He figured keeping her in Tacoma was the way to go, he came through here enough to keep an eye on her, and Kozik could handle shit when he wasn't. His mind was already on the night in Fallbrook, and adding Kozik to the mix had him remembering telling Kozik that he knew Ace would land in someone's bed if it wasn't his. He didn't know if he could take that call from a brother and not come back to kick someone's teeth in. Even worse if his replacement ended up actually being a Son, an all too real possibility given her reputation.
Unable to stand the thought and remain still, Happy gave in to the earlier temptation and took her bottom lip gently between his teeth, then sucked it into his mouth, running his tongue along it. She was beginning to stir beneath him, and he slid his hand under the hem of her tank top, spreading it across her ribs, feeling her breathing change as she grew more aware of him. He knew she was awake when he felt her lips curve into a small smile.
"Hi there." She said, her voice thick and raspy from sleep.
"Hey." He opened his eyes to find her eyes semi open and studying him. He rolled further onto her, sliding a knee between her legs. He watched her face cautiously, kneading her side with the hand under her shirt, and went for her mouth again. She shifted under him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. He went willingly, all thoughts of letting her go fleeing his mind. All his attention was on the woman in bed with him, and what it would take to get her naked.
In true Ace fashion, she shocked the shit out of him by pushing him back far enough that she could pull her tank off, tossing it off of the bed. He was certain that he had a dumbstruck look on his face, and he felt like maybe he should be checking in with her to make sure that they had the same end game, but she was pulling herself up to meet his mouth and he was lost. He had a hand buried in her hair, trying desperately not to treat her as roughly as he wanted.
Even though she was under him, Ace still managed to completely overwhelm him. She'd torn her mouth from his, moving to bite and suck on his shoulder. One of her hands had snaked between them, cupping his balls through the insubstantial fabric of his boxers. Her hand was hot on him, and he was suddenly and completely incapable of holding his head up any longer, just letting it fall on the pillow. He groaned, and tried not to think about how long it had been since he'd cum inside her. He wanted to just be grateful if all he got was a handjob, but his dick had definite opinions that included nothing less than getting balls deep inside her.
He was disappointed when she pulled her hands away, but only for an instant, because she was shoving at the waistband of his boxers. He picked his head up to look at her face and started to open his mouth, intending to make sure she was good with where this was heading, but she covered his mouth with her hand.
"I miss being with you." She told him, her voice still rough. "I'm turned on and I want you, don't fucking complicate it."
Happy nodded solemnly, and she removed her hand, but not fast enough to keep him from biting down on her pinkie. He was scrambling to kick his boxers off while tongue fucking her mouth. The leash on his self control was barely holding on and he was desperate to get inside her. He slid down her body, their skin beginning to turn slick between them, and paid appropriate homage to her tits. When she moaned, he took the opening and shoved two fingers into her mouth. She sucked them hard and the sensation went straight to his cock. When he could manage to drag his face away from her rack, he looked up to see her smiling smugly around his fingers. She bit down on his fingers before she let him pull his hand back.
He sat back, peeling the panties down her legs, always with the black lace. It drove him insane. He eased her knees open and slid a single finger inside her. She was wet and hot and he couldn't help licking his lips, knowing how good she tasted when she was this soaked and needy. It was almost a disappointment that he couldn't check himself long enough to bury his face in her pussy, but he would lost his fucking mind if he didn't get his cock in her soon.
"Hap…" Ace moaned, watching him, her eyes half lidded. "Come on."
Not needing to be told twice, Happy covered her with his body, sucking the taste of her off of his finger before pulling her mouth back to his. Ace was the one who reached between them to line him up, and she was even tighter than he expected. He kept perfectly still, both to make sure that she was alright and also because he was afraid he might cum too soon otherwise. She wasn't having any of it, though, the heel of her right foot dug into his ass and she arched underneath him.
"Jesus, Ace, how quick do you want this to be over?" He growled, clamping a hand down on her hip to keep her still. A flash of amusement crossed her eyes before she pushed herself up and bit his lip, stretching it before releasing it and kissing him.
"But I'm so close already." She hummed against his mouth, and she wasn't lying, barely a minute after he began to carefully move in her, Ace was cumming on a gasp.
"Shit." Happy cursed, watching her face. As loudly as his dick was demanding to slam into her until he came, too, he kept an iron grasp on himself, wanting to draw this out for as long as he could. He didn't know what the aftermath was going to look like, and even if it meant that worst case of blue balls in the history of fucking, he just wanted to keep making her look at him like she was right now. He took advantage of her temporary languid state to pull her leg up higher, wrapping it around his waist, opening her up further for him. He'd had the briefest illusion of being in control until her hand on the back of his neck drew his attention back to her face.
"More." Ace demanded, pulling him down to her, and he went willingly, knowing he was completely and utterly fucked.
No Other Man Alive
He'd held out for as long as he could, but when Ace had asked him to fuck her harder he'd been lost, burying his face in her hair when he came. The sheets were a tangled, sweaty mess, but he couldn't be bothered to sort it out, just collapsed on her, still breathing hard.
"Sorry." He groaned into the mess of hair covering his face. He felt the waves of her laughter underneath him, and gathered the last dregs of strength he had to roll them so he was on his back and she was against his side.
"Just because I'm curious, what are you apologizing for?" She asked, rolling her head back on his shoulder so she could see his face.
"You sounded like you were ready to keep going." He said, gathering her hair up and starting to work through the tangles. She snorted and trailed a finger down the center of his abs, making the sensitive skin on his pelvis twitch.
"You did me just fine, big man." She told him, yawning.
"Yeah?" He asked, giant smile on his face.
"Cocky fucking bastard." She laughed, and patted around blindly until she came up with a blanket, tucking it over her shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Hey." He waited until she opened them again. "Are you good with this?" He asked her seriously, not wanting to delay the storm if it was coming.
"S'far so good." She mumbled, already dozing off.
Happy watched her sleep for a long time, returning to his earlier train of thought. It made him want to tear something apart to consider giving her an opening to leave, but he couldn't make himself keep bullying her into going his way, either. Checking to make sure she was out, he rolled her gently onto her back and drew the blanket down to study the ink spanning her stomach. He'd never had to cover one of his own pieces before, and he hated considering it now. Admittedly, it wouldn't be a difficult prospect, since he'd done the original in smoky grey, but anything he put over that would still look like a cover. Not quite touching her, he sketched design ideas in the air, trying to picture what would blend the best with her current ink, and also take into account that she was still under her normal weight.
"Hey!" Tig's voice came from the other side of the door as he pounded on it. Happy pulled the blanket back over Ace and dug through the covers until he came up with his boxers, pulling them on as he tried to get to the door before Tig woke her up.
"Shut the fuck up." He growled, opening the door a few inches. Tig arched a brow and deliberately leaned to his left to peer around Happy.
"Is she passed out or did you finally get tired of her?" Tig asked, smirking, because if he hadn't already known exactly what they'd been up to, the bite mark on the Killah's shoulder would have clued him in.
"Why are you at my old lady's door, Tig?" Happy asked, stepping out in the hall and pulling the door closed behind him, cutting off any glimpse of Ace.
"I wanted to watch her choke on some meat." Tig shrugged, holding a piece of bacon up. "I made bacon."
"Asshole." Happy commented, and leaned back against the doorjamb. Tig wasn't showing any signs of leaving, so there had to be something more to this little visit, and there wasn't any rushing Tig into talking if he wasn't into it.
"So you guys are fucking." Tig commented, nodding toward the door.
"Is there a fucking point to this?" Happy asked, getting impatient.
"Just wanted to know where shit stood, I'm getting fucking tired of Tacoma." Tig said, like they both didn't know that he was actually asking how Ace was holding up.
"I'll have an answer for you when we finish shit in Fallbrook." Happy told him, not willing to divulge his plan to give her an out to Tig. He thought that Kozik would probably understand, but Tig would only see it as a betrayal.
"You told her that you're moving on that, yet?" Tig asked, but he had a shrewd idea that he wouldn't be crawling out of his old lady's bed if she'd known he was leaving again.
"Nah, I'll talk to her when she gets up. Are the Charming boys set?" Happy asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah, you're gonna have more bodies than you could throw at these bangers." Tig grinned. "It's gonna fucking rain bullets on these douchebags."
"Who's coming down with us?" Happy asked, even though he was itching to get back in bed with Ace and enjoy whatever time he had left before he had to tell her that he was leaving her here while he finished doling out some retribution.
"Koz and Lorca, probably Bowie, too." Tig told him, already starting to back down the hallway. He knew that Happy's patience wouldn't hold out much longer. "Quit fucking around and tell her, she'll take it better straight."
No Other Man Alive
"It's yours." Ace was shoving the phone at him across the bed, trying to hide her head under a pillow. Disoriented from being woken when he didn't remember falling asleep, Happy stared at it until it stopped ringing.
"Shit." He commented, and dragged himself into a sitting position. Clock read a few minutes after noon, and he was shocked as hell that Ace was still asleep. Of course, he'd done his humble best to wear her ass out this morning, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised. Grinning, he reached behind him to palm one of her asscheeks while he flipped the phone open with his other hand. Juice. He rang him back, and wasn't surprised when Juice picked up on the first ring.
"Hey brother, what's happening?" He pitched his voice low, not wanting to disturb his old lady before he had to, because once she was awake he'd have to let her in on his plan. He listened to Juice's rambling about Redwood's prep for the Fallbrook invasion, entertaining himself by brushing her hair off of her back so he could see her ink. He wondered if Juice was likewise occupied with his own old lady or their baby.
"Where are we at with Rivera and that useless fucking cunt he's running with?" Happy broke in, and tapped his forefinger on Ace's nose when she surfaced from under the pillow, squinting up at him.
"Yeah?" He asked, refocusing on what Juice was saying. "You're sure you got a bead on him and he's not going anywhere?" Ace was fully awake now, and sitting up, watching him. He thought she looked a little nervous, so he rubbed her knee reassuringly and leaned over to kiss her temple. "Good work, Juice. What about the gash?" He was only half listening to Juice, though, because Ace had gone a sick shade of pale.
"Uh, Hap?" She was biting her lip, and he rubbed his thumb over her lip to get her to let it go.
"Seattle? But nothing since then?" He was still trying to follow what Juice was telling him, but getting increasingly worried about Ace, her eyes were huge and she looked ready to either bolt or barf.
"Hap." She said, a little more forcefully, and he was torn because he really wanted to hear the rest of what Juice was telling him about how the blond cunt had vanished a week or so ago, cold trail. "Hap, hang up the phone."
Shooting her a weird look he broke in on Juice's lecture about all the ways someone could hide in a city the size of Seattle. "Hey man, let me call you back." He shut the phone and turned to Ace, who was tucking the sheet around her. "What's the problem, crazy Ace?"
"You're not going to find her." Ace mumbled and he cocked his head and stared at her, trying to figure out her angle.
"What do ya mean?" He leaned over, trying to put himself in her line of sight, since she was avoiding his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but he was getting a really bad feeling about this.
"You're not going to find her." Ace repeated, and boldly met his stare. "She's already dead."
"How?" He barked at her, not able to force words to come out of his mouth that made any more sense than that.
"Uh, a gunshot wound to the head?" Ace offered, starting to scoot backwards, away from him, which had his nerves on high alert.
"You're gonna tell me right the fuck now how you know that." His voice was low and eerily calm, and he grabbed her wrist in his hand to prevent her from retreating any farther. He could feel her pulse hammering against his thumb, but she squared her shoulders and kept her eyes on his.
"Because I killed her, Hap." She told him calmly. He stared at her uncomprehendingly, literally not understanding the words that had just come out of her mouth. He blinked twice and let go of her wrist.
"What?" He asked, because he was sure that he hadn't hear d her.
"I killed her, Happy. While you were off in Fallbrook doing whatever." She waved her hand at him, indicating the whatever and that there was a lot they hadn't talked about, yet. His mouth moved, but no actual words came out. He took a really deep breath and blew it out his nose, his jaw clenched hard.
"I know you didn't do that shit yourself." He was trying to keep his voice ever, sure that if he raised it even an iota, he'd be screaming at her in no time and sure as shit, she'd shut down.
"Doesn't matter." Ace tried to shake his question off, but he caught her face in one hand, forcing her to look at him. He started to back off when he saw the fear in her eyes, but before he could react it was replaced with fury. "Get your fucking hand off of me."
He let go of her carefully, and got off of the bed, figuring that distance was a good plan. He grabbed his jeans off of the floor and pulled them on, putting himself between her and the door.
"Running again?" She spat cynically, getting off of the bed, too.
"No, but fuck if I'm going to let you out of this room before you tell me exactly what the fuck happened." He told her and put his back to her door, crossing his arms.
"You're being an asshole." She pointed out, sitting back down, visibly trying to calm herself.
"Yeah, well you're not exactly being cooperative yourself." He grunted. "Would you fucking talk?"
"It was my idea." She told him, still trying to avoid telling him the rest of it.
"How'd you find her? Juice only just figured out where she was." Happy asked, trying to at least lay off of her, even though the rage was racing through his veins like fire. He wasn't really pissed at her, but he had a pretty good idea of who had helped her on this little adventure and the shit had been rising between him and Tig since he'd been back and if he was right, he was prepared to deliver a beating Tig wouldn't forget.
"Uh, Tig figured it out, I don't really know the details." Ace winced, knowing that this was headed into rocky territory.
"Tig doesn't have a bitch seat." Happy pointed out, unconsciously beginning to loosen up his shoulders and flex his hands. He only noticed when Ace started to look even more worried.
"Kozik went, too." She blurted. "He really, really didn't want to, though, and Tig only took me because I told him if he didn't I'd go alone." She was backpedalling, trying to cover for them, which only served to piss him off more.
"And if you'd gotten caught?" He yelled, not meaning to, but his temper had slipped its leash. "Jesus fucking Christ, do you ever think shit through, Ace?"
"You weren't here; you really don't get to have an opinion." Her voice was quiet, but not cowed, and he had to admit that he respected her for that, at least.
"Did it help?" He finally asked.
"Yeah." She admitted, relaxing now that she thought his anger was spent. It wasn't though, if anything it was worse as he considered all the million ways that shit could have gotten fucked. He stomped his boots on and pulled his wedding band off, dropping it into Ace's hand. "Hap, what are you doing?" She asked, grabbing hold of his hand, but he shook her off. "What are you going to do, Hap?"
"If you have any shred of respect for me, you'll stay put and let me handle this the way I have to." He told her seriously.
"No, please don't. This is my fault, be mad at me." She begged him, and he crushed his mouth to hers to cut off the protest.
"Tig knew what he was doing, don't defend him." He growled. "Or I might start to get the wrong idea. You ain't that worried about my well-being, are ya?"
"Because I know you're the better fighter." She pointed out. "Happy, he helped me."
"Doesn't matter, he put you in fucking danger, and that's not acceptable. Stay your ass right there." He warned for the last time and stomped out the door, slamming it hard enough that it bounced back open a few inches.
It was enough to hear the shouting and smashing, and Ace winced each time a piece of furniture scraped across the floor and every time either of them grunted. When minutes passed and there didn't seem to be any reprieve, Ace gathered her sheet around her and pushed the door closed, muffling the sound. She could still hear them, though, so gritting her teeth, she barricaded herself in the bathroom, turning the water on full blast and stepping under, literally trying to drown out the battle that was certainly still raging out in the clubhouse.
It could have been minutes or hours when Happy finally climbed into the shower behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. She knew that that was as close to an apology as she was going to get for what he obviously felt he had no choice about.
"I can't stomach the idea of anything else happening to you." He told her quietly and she nodded wordlessly. She took each of his hands in hers, rinsing them in the water and studying each one, first the left and then the scarred and bloody right. She used her thumbs to feel along the bones of his hand, testing for weak or sore spots. "My hand is fine."
"Good." She said, and let him pull her back against him. He rubbed his thumbs across her hipbones, and dragged his nose from her shoulder up to her ear.
"You pissed at me?" He asked carefully.
"Are you?" She smirked, and turned her face up to him, and tried not to let the horror she felt at the sight of his face show on hers.
"Nah." He told her, and after a moment realized that it was the truth. "I'm proud of you for handling it, but don't you fucking do that again."
It was so typical of him to wrap up a compliment with a threat that for the first time in months, shit felt completely normal between them. He turned her, backing her against the shower wall. He ran his hands up her arms, and instead of pinning them to wall like she clearly expected, he laced his fingers through hers, holding their joined hands in place over her head. He ducked his head to kiss her and she met his lips, careful of the bruising on his face.
"Are you ok?" She asked, pulling a hand free to tentatively touch his face.
"I'm fine. Had a lot to answer for." He grinned, and she could see the blood on his teeth. His face sobered, then, and he dropped her other hand. He splashed water on his face and rinsed the blood from his mouth. "I gotta leave soon."
"For what?" Ace asked sharply, crossing her arms across her stomach.
"I gotta finish the job in Fallbrook, and I'm chasing down Rivera next." Happy told her, backing her under the water. He poured that girly shampoo shit she used into his hand and worked it through her dark hair. She was staring up at him, a little dumbfounded, both by his tenderness and the sudden confession.
"Do you think you're leaving me here?" She asked, leaning her head back so he could rinse her hair.
"Well you're not going to Fallbrook." He told her and she arched a brow at him. "I'm not being an asshole. It's not safe, and I'll be distracted as fuck worrying about you."
"Where is Rivera? That's what Juice was calling about, wasn't it?" She was allowing Happy to move her out of the water. He set to work washing her, pouring body wash directly into his hand and running the subs over her skin meticulously.
"Juice thinks he's hiding out in Miami. We've got a charter there, Juice is gonna get in touch with their IO, Viva, to try and really nail him down." Happy told her, and finished his soaping job by making real sure her tits were clean, which had the added bonus of making her laugh.
"So am I banned from that, too?" She asked, and the laughter was gone from her voice.
"No. Whether you come or not is really up to you. You ain't exactly been forthcoming with where you're at." He pointed out. "What the fuck are we doing?"
"I want to say that I'm all in, big man, I really do." She hedged, and swiped at her face.
"But?" He prompted, holding her face between his hands, preventing her from looking away.
"I don't know if I trust you." She said, flinching from her own words.
"So let me prove it." He persuaded. "Come on, Ace, you've been trusting me practically your entire life. Weigh that against a few months of idiocy, and I still come out on top, don't I?"
"When are you leaving?" She sighed, pushing his hands off of her face in a bid for a little space.
"Day after tomorrow."
"And how long are you going to be gone?" She was holding him off with a hand on his abs, and for all his thoughts about giving her an out; he could practically taste her surrender, unconsciously leaning into her.
"Five days, tops. Gonna meet up in Charming and roll from there, same thing on the way back." He told her, spinning a lock of her hair around his finger, tugging on it lightly. "How long are you going to keep your hair dark like this?" He asked, distracted again by the contrast.
"I hadn't really thought about it, why?" She unwound the hair from his hand, pushing it back over her shoulders.
"I don't like it." He frowned. "I mean, it looks fine, just reminds me too much of when you were younger. And not mine."
"Can you give me a few days to sort through some stuff?" She asked him, returning to the earlier topic.
"How long do you really need, Ace?" He asked, a little harshly. "I know you. You're not going to let me fuck you all morning and then pretend that shit doesn't mean anything to you."
"I never said that, Happy." Ace pushed past him and was out of the shower before he knew what was happening.
"Jesus Christ, you're driving me fucking crazy." He called after her, then turned the water off and followed. She was already half dressed, digging in her bag for a shirt. "Why are you dressed?" He asked, a little disconcerted since his plans hadn't included any clothing.
"I still have to go to work." Ace pointed out, dragging one of the halter tops on. He knew she would have to put something over it, but he liked the unobstructed view of her ink for as long as it lasted.
"Let me take you?" He asked, pulling on his jeans to head down the hall.
"Sure, big man." She acquiesced, and headed to the bathroom to finish getting herself together, as he left to get clean clothes.
No Other Man Alive
The best part of taking Ace to work was that he got to pick her up, too. He liked riding with her when she was tired; she leaned all her weight against his back and trusted him to keep her safe. She was definitely tired tonight. When he'd gone into Evil Ink to get her, she'd been curled up in her own chair, a drawing half finished and abandoned in her lap. He'd been surprised to find that she'd taken her hoodie off and put her hair up.
"Hey." She smiled, and rubbed her eyes, smudging her eye makeup a little. It made her look like she was fresh out of his bed.
"Sorry if I'm being an asshole." He grunted. "I really fucking hate this shit between us, and it makes me twitchy as fuck not having it handled when I know I'm going away."
"Ok." She shrugged and slid off the chair, stretching hard enough to give herself a head rush. He steadied her and sat her back down, piling her stuff into her bag for her.
"Come on, let's get you to bed." He laughed a little at her yawning hugely like a child.
"Don't laugh at me, I'm tired." She protested, waving to Eddie as Happy towed her out the door.
She'd settled in against him just like he'd hoped, and she hadn't protested when he'd taken them for a ride before heading back to the clubhouse. He'd forced himself to let her go to her own room when they got back, not wanting to pressure her, especially since she was obviously exhausted.
It was twenty minutes or so later, Happy was laying on the bed, drink in hand when he heard her voice. His temper flared when he realized she was checking on Tig. He didn't have time to get off the bed, though, before she slid into his room, closing the door behind her. She dropped her duffle bag on his dresser, along with an armful of her shower shit. He sat up fast, heart thudding in his chest.
"There's a lot of shit we need to figure out." She warned coming around to the side of the bed, sliding her jeans down and kicking them off. "But I'm sure about you. Is that enough for now?"
"Yeah." He choked out, afraid to touch her and potentially send her fleeing. "Yeah, that's enough."
Moving carefully because he wasn't looking away from her, Happy set his glass down on the night stand, not noticing that he spilled whiskey on the drawing he'd spent hours working on. He trailed a finger down her wrist to her ring finger.
"If I ask now are you going to shoot me down again?" He rasped, and watched her shake her head slowly. He leaned over the side of the bed and snagged her jeans off the floor, hunting through her pockets until he pulled the ring out. She stayed perfectly still in the darkness, watching him. "Come here." He ordered, pulling her onto the bed, and rolling her underneath him. He grabbed her wrist and dropped the ring into her hand, closing her fist around it. He kissed her, not mindful at all of his split lip. "Put it on, Ace." He breathed against her mouth, and without breaking eye contact she did. It was a powerful rush when she laced her fingers through his and he could feel the band between his fingers. He shut his eyes against the sensation and brought his mouth down to hers again, because he didn't have any words to give her.
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