Relationship Matters by InSilva

Disclaimer: I didn't create the boys.

A/N: for Zaira who was kind enough to ask, *waves*, for otherhawk (who never has to) and for anyone else still followng this. I'm hoping to update more regularly now "The Benedict Job" is finished. :)

Chapter Fifty-three: Welcome


It was dawnlight. Saturday. Danny had woken up feeling a little lost and a little empty and he wasn't sure why. There'd been no nightmare that he could remember. When they came, they were technicolour and close-up and he was powerless to stop the violence and violation and it was all terrifyingly real.

No. No nightmare.

In fact, his waking thoughts had been of Rusty.

that first meeting in front of Doug Quentin, looking at insouciance and beneath the devil-may-care, the edge of something…

…getting to know the magic and the intelligence and the fire that flourished underneath the grace and the beauty and Danny had never felt so alive…

…the beach and their mutual promise to keep in touch when faced with the impossible…

…Rusty staying with him through near-death…Rusty, here in the hospital with him and conversations without words…Rusty…Rusty…

Rusty hadn't been anywhere near him for days. Weeks. Oh, there'd been that text to Carter about wanting time on his own. Danny understood that grief affected people in different ways. But if their roles had been reversed…well, he'd have stayed with Rusty, willing him to get well again, wanting him to get well again so that vengeance could be theirs.

It hurt. He didn't want to admit it but it hurt. Like going on a date with someone amazing that you thought you really connected with and then they didn't get in touch. Rusty hadn't called him. Rusty hadn't texted him. Rusty hadn't asked after him. Danny's chin lifted a little. He sure as fuck wasn't going to call Rusty.


It was early. Rusty lay in Alex's arms and stared at the ceiling, his mind drifting.

Three months ago and he and Ed had been in Vienna and Ed had been waltzing with a fat dowager duchess while he himself swapped the paste pearls for the real thing.

Three months ago and Ed had been alive.

Three months ago and he'd never heard of Danny Ocean.

Three months ago and he hadn't been caught up in this…this…

"Morning," Alex murmured sleepily.

"Morning," James smiled up at him and the act began again.


Felix Heston buttered some toast and thought about the call from the cop in Vermont. There was no need to trouble Bobby with this lead on the Ocean case, Felix decided. Callahan had been all things serious and keen down the phone and Felix had made plenty of notes.

No. Bobby had enough on his plate with Milton Stuart. Felix would look into this. Who knew? By the time Bobby came back to the department, maybe there'd be a breakthrough.

This guy, Tony, had said the shipment was arriving on Thursday. Felix picked up the phone, made a few calls and pulled in a few favours. He sat back in his chair, satisfied. If the information was faulty, there'd be no harm done. And if the information was sound…


Carter looked round at his handiwork. The groundfloor now functioned as a self-contained flat. A kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet, a bed and a living area. A little cramped in places, maybe, but perfectly functional, perfectly serviceable.

Reuben had called and told him that Danny's arm was out of plaster and that his legs were due to follow suit on Monday. That meant Danny could leave the hospital and Carter knew he would be desperate to do so. He'd redoubled his efforts to give Danny a breath of freedom and independence.

There was another reason he was burying himself in the work. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and looked for the text message that wasn't there. Rusty hadn't been in touch since he'd told Carter not to worry, that he needed time on his own.

But Carter did worry. This was both Saul Bloom's boy and also Rusty Ryan, brilliant and intuitive and capable of magic and there were two reasons in one right there to want him safe.

And it wasn't like there wasn't precedent. Rusty had seen death up close before and it had been personal and he'd gone it alone. Carter could still remember the feeling of horror creeping through him as he realised Rusty had disappeared from Fat Joe's in search of vengeance. Really, was there any reason he wouldn't do so again?

The answer came to him as quickly as the question. Danny. Rusty was planning revenge but he was waiting for Danny to heal. Rusty might have been insistent that Carter not get involved with this but he'd said that he was waiting for Danny. As long as Carter made sure Danny was getting better as fast as he could, then Rusty wouldn't get impatient and foolish and reckless.

Regretfully, Carter put his phone away. Next week was six weeks. Carter was certain they'd hear from Rusty then.


Rusty stood at the side of the packed hall, watching the Saturday auction unfold. Alex was behind the auctioneer, supervising the porters as they brought the lots on stage. Constantine and Tony were opposite him, scanning the crowd, looking for trouble.

There was no trouble to be found. Everything was running smoothly. And why wouldn't it be? No leech, no interference, no con…(no Ed, no Danny…)

Rusty dragged his thoughts back to the moment and let his gaze drift around the room, casually studying the audience. He thought he had it now.

Here in the room were the men who had money to launder. Rocco and half a dozen or more. Constantine dealt with them. That ledger that Constantine had been so quick to hide? Had to be a record of the money in and the source. Further down the line and far away from Larner's, Rocco and co would be accountable for their contribution.

Alex's black book was all about the other line of illegality: the movement of goods inward and outward, sitting alongside the record of the legitimate purchases. A slick operation run by the Taylor brothers and supported by Tony.

Tony was in charge of the courier pick-ups. Rusty's eyes lingered on him as he stood at Constantine's side. Right-hand man. Enforcer. Someone he needed to get closer to.


"Feels weird, I bet," Elaine observed, plumping up the pillows behind Danny. "I remember breaking my ankle when I was a kid. Ended up with plaster all the way up to my knee. And when that came off, it felt like my leg was lifting off the ground like it was attached to balloons."

Danny nodded.

"It's going to get weirder," Elaine continued sympathetically as she handed him a lemon drink with a straw. "Your other casts come off on Monday and you're going to have one hell of a recuperation period. Don't try and do everything at once, Danny. We'll schedule you some time in the hospital pool. Shallow end. Spot of hydrotherapy should do wonders to help build your muscles up."

Somewhere Danny could hear Rick making a comment about Speedos.


Post-auction and by some miracle, Rusty had avoided Alex and ended up in the auction hall with Tony, tidying up.

"Glad that's over," James smiled, stacking a row of chairs.

"Yeah." Said with feeling.

"Any news on Wes?"

Tony put down the stack of chairs he was carrying and sighed.

"It's not looking good. He's still out of it. I called in with Mr Constantine yesterday and…" Tony paused and looked like he was struggling with the words. "And there were all these wires and tubes…"

The image of Danny lying comatose and pale floated through Rusty's head. James nodded sympathetically.

"Sounds like you're close."

"S'pose we are," Tony admitted gruffly. "There's five guys I work with and they're stand-up guys."

Rusty reeled them off in his head: the late Mason, Wes, Nelson, Lloyd and Brady.

"We've had some adventures together," Tony chuckled and Rusty hated him impossibly more. "They're all cool heads in a tight spot. Well, Nelson has his moments…"

"A man named Nelson took Teresa upstairs."

"He can get a bit carried away sometimes. Lloyd, on the other hand, he's very good at following orders. He's very thorough."

Taking teeth as trophies. Nausea rose up within Rusty.

"You OK?" Tony frowned.

"Fine," Rusty lied.

Tony nodded slowly and then went on, "Brady's good at recon. Observation. Detail."

Brady with the tattoos. Following him and making even his limited sanctuary violate, stopping him from seeing Danny.

"Wes and Mason? Tough. Guy could throw a hundred punches at them and they'd still be standing."

And then they'd throw the punches back again. Wes and Mason working Danny over. Danny fighting futilely. Ed walking in on it all and not standing a chance.

"You're sure you're OK?"

"Sure." Rusty blinked hard. "They sound great."

The sarcasm flowed over the top of Tony's head.

"Yeah." Pride and affection.

"Davey too?" Wondering. Testing.

Tony made a vowelless noise that was full of scorn. "Davey has his uses."

Not Davey. Davey wasn't part of the gang.

The conversation was flowing so smoothly and it was on his lips to ask about the courier schedule. He could feel Rick urging him on, he wasn't too sure Danny wouldn't be urging him on. But instinct held the question back. It would be clumsy and obvious and he was neither of those things. Besides. Courtesy of Tony, he now had other indirect lines of enquiry.


Lloyd was working out the back with some of the others, packaging up the shipments. With immense difficulty, Rusty kept his gaze away from the earring with the teeth.

"You need a hand?" James offered brightly.

"Thanks," Lloyd grunted. "More people, the better."

Ten minutes and the crates were loaded and labelled and Lloyd clapped a hand on James's shoulder.

"You want, you can join us in the bar. Me and some of the lads are heading over there."

A few drinks, a loose tongue and answers to casual questions. The answer had to be yes.


"Hey," Alex smiled as James walked back into the empty hall. "All tidy again."

"Do you always show up when the work's finished?" James teased and then smiled back. "Auction was a success."

"Yes. I was holding my breath till the very last item," Alex confessed. "Shall we go somewhere nice to celebrate?" He looked at James and added quickly, "Or we can stay in again. I don't mind."

He didn't. If last night was a measure, he might never want to go out again.

"Going out would be nice," James told him. "I'll go make sure everything's shut down on my desk."

Alex watched him leave and frowned. He'd come to know James's face so well. He'd seen the flicker of hesitation when he'd suggested going out. And that wasn't going to be about spending time with him so it had to be about…about the money. Alex's brow cleared. Damn. Ever since he'd got a better idea of James's circumstances, he'd tried so hard always to pick up the tab wherever they went but somehow James still managed to pay his way.

Pride. Alex could understand that. Even though it was stupid and meaningless when he, Alex, was rich enough to look after both of them. James, living in that room… And OK, it wasn't a hovel but it was hardly…

Alex's thoughts stopped dead in their tracks.


With a degree of irrationality that surprised him, Rusty resented the change of plan. He wanted to follow through the conversation with Lloyd and then maybe, maybe have some time to himself. Seemed there was precious little of that these days. Alex seemed like he couldn't get enough of James. He shook himself. He ought to be pleased. It meant he'd done a good job. Succeeded. Made James irresistible.

They'd walked past the bar on the corner and Rusty had shot a regretful glance through the window at the group from Larner's before James turned a dazzling smile in Alex's direction and walking with him to the French restaurant.

Later and James smiled across the restaurant table at Alex and Rusty didn't want to think about easy it was getting to wear James like a second skin.

"James, we get on OK, don't we?"

Inside, Rusty frowned. He could hear the underlying hesitation and he didn't understand it. Where was this going?

Popping a piece of bread in his mouth, James looked up under his lashes. "I'd say so."

"James, don't take this the wrong way." Alex's words fell out of him in a rush. "But I've been thinking how stupid it is that you're paying out for that hotel. I mean a lot of nights, you're not even staying there."

Oh…that was where this was going. Rusty exploded into coughs.

"Bread…" he wheezed. "Went down the wrong way. 'Scuse me."

Rusty left a startled and concerned Alex and disappeared into the men's room. It was empty, thank God. He pulled out his phone and his fingertips hovered, ready to dial Danny's number.

Damn it, he would. He punched in the digits. All this was going to take some explaining and he wasn't even sure what he was going to say but he needed to find the words, because enough was enough and this wasn't weakness, it wasn't, he wasn't seeking absolution and he wasn't asking for Danny to save him (was he?) but Danny needed to know what was-

"Hello?"

Rusty blinked.

"Hello?" Again and there was impatience and a little anger and the next step was the line going dead.

"Hello, Rick," Rusty said at last. "I was looking for Danny."

"Danny can't come to the phone," Rick said shortly. "What is it, hotshot?"

Rusty screwed his eyes shut and thought about not sharing. Reluctantly, he decided that Rick had to know.

"I think Alex is about to ask me to move in with him."

There was silence. A long, long silence. And then…

"Well, you'd better do what you think is right. I gotta go."


Alex half-stood up as James walked back to the table.

"You OK?"

"Fine, fine," James reassured with a smile.

Alex caught hold of James's hand impulsively and the predicted words fell out of him. "I was about to say…move in with me?"

Rusty's thoughts tumbled through him like coloured glass in a kaleidoscope.

Move in with Alex. Work at Larner's, live at Larner's. 24/7. Move in with Alex and by default with Constantine, Tony, Lloyd… Move in and suffocate with the cloying and the inescapable…


SomeWhere…SomeTime…

The roulette wheel was spinning and the silver ball was racing round the edge of it.

Silver eyes followed its progress.

The ball dropped.


Move in and be truly on the inside. Free access to the inside track, the black book, the heart of operations. Move in and live underneath the surface.

Rusty took a breath and then James looked at Alex with fondness and a smile.

"I'd love to."


"There we go," Elaine pushed the wheelchair carrying Danny back through the doors of his room.

Rick looked up from his paper. "That pool look good? Any hot babes?"

"Mrs McIntyre," Elaine told him. "Eighty if she's a day." She pulled back the covers on Danny's bed.

"Thanks, Elaine," Danny murmured through his wired jaws. The tour down to the pool had been her suggestion, impromptu and spontaneous and he'd been grateful. Time out of the room and recovery felt that bit closer.

"Here, let me help you." Rick's arms were around his body and lifting him back into the bed.

"Did I miss anything?" Danny tried to smile. Damn wires wouldn't let him.

There was a pause and then a snort. "Like what? Liberace calling?"


Packing up the hotel room took even less time than Rusty had anticipated. He always travelled light and so had James Gallagher. A holdall and a couple of suit carriers and James gave a waiting Alex a smile.

"That's me done," James said softly.

Back at Larner's, Tony saw them step out of the elevator and looked at the baggage James was carrying without saying a word. Rusty felt Tony's eyes following them as they walked down the corridor.

Alex opened the door to the suite and looked at him fondly. "Welcome home…"


Sunday morning. It was Sunday and he'd almost lost count of the number of days since James had walked back into Alex's life. Days of living dangerously. Days of playing this game.

Once again, Rusty lay wide-awake in Alex's arms as he had done so many times before and stared at the ceiling. This had to be the right move. It was going to open up even more doors and that was sensible. A practical thing to do because what would Alex have said if he'd refused? Rusty could see the look of hurt and rejection that Alex would unsuccessfully try to hide. The distance in the relationship that would set him back, that he would need to close...

No. It was right and sensible and it shouldn't feel so fucking-

The door opened and Rusty started, waking Alex. They both sat up in bed. Constantine was stood in the doorway, dressed in a green silk dressing-gown.

"Damn it, Constantine!" Alex snapped. "Can't you knock? We could have been…" He tailed off, flushing, his arms tightening around Rusty.

Constantine's lips twitched. "Were you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he moved further into the room, nudging the holdall on the floor with his toe.

"I see you've moved in, James."

"Yes. He has," Alex told him defiantly. "Don't even think of-"

"So," Constantine cut across him, "I came to invite you to breakfast. My place. Fifteen minutes."


Constantine had dressed by the time they arrived at his suite. Lloyd was waiting with him.

"James. Why don't you and Lloyd go and grab us some coffee and pastries?" Constantine brandished a couple of twenty dollar bills. "There's a shop a block over that I really rate."

James glanced at Alex and then took the money with a smile. "Of course."

Constantine waited until the door had closed behind them before turning to Alex.

"Can I ask how much you know about the young man you've invited to live with us? Apart from the fact that he is obviously a fantastic fuck."

His voice was calm and civilised and dangerous and another time, maybe Alex would have picked up on that. As it was, Alex was full of the scowl and defensive.

"See, this is why I didn't talk it over with you first. I knew you'd-"

"How much?" Constantine rapped out with a snarl and that got Alex's attention.

Alex was silent for a moment. Then he said in a low voice, "I know he's the most amazing man. He's beautiful, intelligent… He's funny and sexy and tender and loving. I know he cares for me. I know I want him in my life."

Constantine's mouth twisted. "You know nothing."

"I-"

"Start thinking with a different part of your body, Alex," Constantine snapped. "James living here throws the spotlight on us."

"I don't see why," Alex muttered sulkily.

Constantine bared his teeth. "Let me explain."


Out on the streets and Rusty was taking advantage of the time with Lloyd.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the bar last night," James apologised.

Lloyd grinned. "You should be sorry. It was a good night."

"That's what it's like at Larner's, right? Work hard, play hard."

"Oh, yeah. I remember a few weeks back, Tony and me and the boys got back from a job in Vermont and we hit the town. Can't even remember getting to bed that night."

Somewhere there was howling and pain and fury. Rusty kept the smile on James's face.

"Tony speaks very highly of you. You help him with the pick-ups, don't you?"

"The couriers? Yeah," Lloyd nodded. "S'usually me or Brady. We get some travel time in."

"Straightforward enough, though?"

"Sure, sure. It goes like this…"


"Luckily for you, one of us is thinking clearly. I've looked into his background," Constantine said. "As far as he goes, James Gallagher checks out."

"Well, of course he does-"

"Alex! Haven't you been listening?"

"Haven't you?" Alex glared at him. "This man is special to me, Constantine. Get used to him being around."

There was a knock on the door and the conversation was put on hold as breakfast arrived.


As they ate and drank, Constantine was polite and civil and Rusty's senses were on high alert. Something was coming; he just wasn't sure what.

"Alex, you should run along and get James sorted with an entry key and an elevator card," Constantine suggested.

Alex looked as if he really didn't want to leave but the look Constantine was giving him didn't leave much room for discussion.

"I'll be right back," Alex promised as he left.

"My brother," Constantine smiled at Rusty. "He worries too much."

James smiled back at Constantine. "I'm sure he doesn't need to."

The smile dropped away from Constantine's face and he leaned forward, his eyes on Rusty's. "You remember the conversation we had? About Alex?"

As if Rusty could forget. He nodded.

"Good. Well, now things are getting a little more serious, aren't they, James? Moving in. That's a big step. You want to tell me you're ready for it?"

"I'm ready for it," James shot back.

"This is where you want to be."

"Yes-"

"Alex is the person you want to be with."

"Yes-"

Constantine's eyes were gimlet-sharp. "You are not going to hurt him."

Rusty looked at him and delivered the truthlies straight.

"I want to get as close as possible to Alex. I want us to have the sort of relationship where he feels he can tell me anything and everything. And believe me, Constantine, James Gallagher is never going to do anything to jeopardise what he has with your brother."

"Alright, James." Constantine sat back, apparently satisfied. The smile was back on his face. "In which case, welcome to the family."