Tig finally manages to break through some of the safeguarded walls around the princess who has managed to break through his safeguarded heart. But will his efforts be enough to overtake the one who built the walls around her in the first place?
General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.
FINALLY what you've all been asking for! A glimpse of Sydney's past, and some more background on her relationship with Happy 👀
Be sure to follow aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask & submissions are open), and m. s. alexis on Instagram (tracking #aravenamongcrows), for exclusive photos, updates, and more!
CHAPTER 15: THE PRINCESS AND THE KILLER
;
Sydney awoke the next morning, still wrapped tightly in Tig's arms while he laid on his back, snoring lighting. She savored the warmth of his body against her skin as the ceiling fan whirled cold air around them, her chest bubbling with giddy excitement as she watched his rise and fall.
As if he knew that she was looking at him, Tig's eyes fluttered open. "Mornin'." He grinned when the first sight that he was met with was Sydney biting her lip as she admired him.
Sydney couldn't contain herself any longer, throwing an arm over him and placing sloppy kisses all over his face. "Morning." She greeted with a grin of her own.
"You sure I'm not dreamin'?" He groaned as he rolled onto his side and pulled her against his buzzing chest.
"I don't know, Tiggy..." She looked up at him innocently. "Do I feel real to you?" She ran her hands down his chest, ghosting her palm over his morning erection.
A sigh of satisfaction left his dry lips before he ran his tongue over them, leaning down to kiss her softly - rolling her over so that her back was against his chest as he pulled her even tighter against him.
"Oh, I'm definitely dreaming." He chuckled while his hand ghosted up and down her side, caressing her sensitive skin from the top of her breast, down to her thigh.
Sydney could feel the aching of bruises from the punishment that she endured the night before as she ground her ass back against him - a sickly sweet pain that made her smile as the erotic memories fluttered between her legs.
Tig began slowly massaging her clit, lazily attaching his lips to the skin in the crook of her neck before swiftly lifting her leg and sliding into her.
Sydney almost choked on the breathy gasp that came barrelling from the back of her throat as her hand flew behind her and to the side of his neck, but her body instantly relaxed when instead of the pounding that she had quickly tried to prepare her sore and oversensitive body for, she got something slow; languid. It was the kind of sex that turned grips to grazes, and scratches to softness. She felt her chest decompressing as her body melted into his, lazily meeting his gentle thrusts as their soft moans mingled together and filled the room around them.
;
"SAMCRO has been in this town since I was a kid." Hale explained with an upturned lip as he sat back in his chair, looking over the impressive case that Kohn had built against his favorite bad guys. "My old man was a county judge - saw some of them catch their due, but for the most part Clay and the others keep slipping through the legal cracks."
"I've been chatting folks up since I got here... Most of em' get pretty quiet when I ask about Sons of Anarchy." Kohn squinted curiously.
"Yeah." Hale sighed regretfully. "Clay has quite a few of the locals convinced that his brand of outlaw justice keeps away the corporate bogeyman."
"I'd say he's right..." Kohn nodded. "Franchise development in Charming is pretty much nonexistent - I've been jonesing for a Starbucks since I got here." He chuckled.
Hale glanced at the open door, getting to his feet where he peered out into the station house before quickly pulling it shut. "SAMCRO isn't stonewalling growth by themselves - they get a lot of help... Some of it from inside this department." He sneered.
"Well..." Kohn grinned. "Maybe it's time that this department starts helping each other." He pulled a stack of photos out of his suit pocket - a stack of photos that, after he'd completed his morning field trip, he knew would start the investigation that they both needed.
;
"Mmm, can I wake up like that every morning." Tig hummed against Sydney's neck once their morning tryst had concluded.
Sydney chuckled as he laced his fingers with hers, pulling her in tighter. "Why does everyone think you're incapable of this shit?" She asked incredulously - in a way that was almost organic, had she not been plagued with the ideas from the day prior. But she pushed her subconscious away, choosing to live in this moment as she rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up onto her elbows.
"Never really seen me do it, I guess." He shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head. "Only see me do the dirty work... Guess it's easy to assume that after all this time, I'm just incapable of feeling."
"Well, are you?" She prodded with a playful smirk.
"Thought I was for a bit." He nodded honestly. "I mean, I feel shit for my daughters, for my brothers - but that's about it. Until you came along... Made me remember what it's like to feel somethin' for someone more than a couple times a year." He chuckled humourlessly.
Sydney couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face as the sincere words left his lips in that raspy morning voice that she loved so much - successfully putting her worries to bed for another day.
Tig's lips turned up as he watched the stars circle her dreamy eyes, a sight that made his heart throb instead of his dick - but he wasn't going to forget about the praise kink that he'd inadvertently uncovered. He leaned back against his arms, allowing himself to fall back into the tenderness of the moment. "You make me feel like I'm not a freak…" He shook his head slowly as the words fell from his unrestricted tongue, his eyes hollowing as he stared at the spinning fan above his head. "The type of shit I do? Women don't understand it - can't be okay with it, and I can't hide what I am." He blinked a few times as he came back to earth. "But you... I don't feel like I gotta change to be with you, because you do the same shit. I don't gotta worry about scarin' you away, because you'll be standing right next to me."
Sydney zoned out as she listened to the words that held more reassurance that he ever could've known. She supposed that she'd never thought of it that way before. In the much more family-friendly club that she'd come from, she had watched the SAMDINO men find women without a problem - all that they had to worry about in regards to women was pussy - and they had plenty of that to go around.
"You take care of yourself, you don't rely on everyone else..." He continued, finding it hard to stop once he'd started with the girl that had made him comfortable enough to talk about all of the feelings that he'd been taught to bury. "And you actually make me fuckin' laugh." He added with a smile. "You're nothin' short of perfect, darlin'; beautiful, sexy as hell, and don't even get me started on that pussy." He groaned while Sydney laughed. "You're what every outlaw dreams of finding."
Sydney tried to remain modest as she revelled in his compliments, her newfound insecurities unable to pierce the veil of flattery, no matter how hard they tried. Her eyes continued to sparkle as she grinned like an idiot - an expression that he mirrored before he rolled on top of her and assaulted her entire upper half with kisses.
She giggled, burying her face in his soft chest - in what laid under the bulletproof exterior. "I'm gonna marry you one day." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.
Sydney felt every nerve in her body short out. Tig Trager? Sydney Harding? Marriage?
"Trust me, darlin'. I never thought I'd hear those words come outta my mouth again, either." He chuckled into her coconut-scented hair.
"Damn, Sergeant... A week with me and you're already talking about marriage? I wonder what else I can milk ya for..." She teased, shooting him her shit-eating grin for a change.
"Yeah, yeah... Whatever." He groaned as he tickled her ribs, eliciting an unexpectedly loud shriek with a fit of hysterical laughter to follow before she ended up bucking out of his grip and rolling off of the bed with a thud. "Oh, pussycat..." He tutted his tongue as he shook his head evilly after inadvertently uncovering one of her biggest weaknesses. "You are in big trouble."
"You better not." She tried to warn through her heavy breathing. "Don't think that I won't stay here all morning." He shot her a discerning smile, daring to call her bluff. She shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest before yanking the blanket off of him in one swift pull and beginning to make herself comfortable on the floor.
"Babe." He whined, shrinking into the fetal position once he was hit by the cold air. She raised an eyebrow as she stayed completely still, waiting for his surrender. "Come back, I promise I won't." He pleaded.
She wearily got up and crawled back onto the bed towards his outstretched arms, wrapping the blanket around herself and laying down with her back to him as she bit her lip, fighting a grin. Suddenly her body jolted and another shriek left her lips as his fingers jabbed into her sides - immediately releasing her grip on the blanket where he pulled it over himself. She glared at him over her shoulder, shaking her head with a discerning smile before she begrudgingly rolled back into his arms.
The fluttering in Tig's heart continued even after the playful struggle was over. She made him feel more alive than he had ever felt in his entire life - like he was more than a dead man walking, like he had something to live for again.
Sydney looked up at him as he sat with the permanent smile on his face, biting her lip as she captured his hands in hers and rolled on top of him - pinning them above his head. "You know..." She drawled as she looked him over. "I couldn't help myself from falling in love with you even if I wanted to." She nodded softly, sincerely - an exciting contrast to the seductive tone of her voice and commanding movements of her body. "So you better get used to bein' tied down like this, Sergeant. Cause you ain't gettin rid of me." Her lips ghosted over her before they found his neck.
"Wouldn't dream of it, baby." He choked out as his eyes rolled back, and her mouth closed around his pulse.
;
Half-Sack moved around the garage with Lowell, the heavy scent of bleach burning the back of his throat as he dropped the bucket that he'd been holding. "Shit." He cursed, looking up to see Gemma narrowing her eyes at him.
"Uh, sorry ma'am!" He thrusted his hand into the air in an apologetic wave - hoping that the grand job he'd done of cleaning the musty work room on their off day would make up for it, but Clay's narrowing eyes from across the lot as the younger man stumbled over his words in front of his wife, only reminded him that his apologies meant nothing here, and he still had to pay for the last one.
Gemma rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Lowell as he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck while he avoided her eyes. "So yeah, uh... Moby's doin' real good... He likes school." He nodded, tapping his foot furiously against the freshly scrubbed pavement. "Yeah. He likes to draw a lot. I don't see Emily too much, but..."
"She taking good care of him?" She raised a brow.
"Yeah!" He nodded rapidly. "Oh yeah, she's great..." He trailed off. "Hey, uh... I'm real happy that Jax's kid is gonna be okay." He finally pushed himself to address the sore subject now that he was in need of a subject change. "I mean..." He shoved his thumbnail between his teeth. "That's a blessing."
"Mhmm." Gemma nodded as she watched the ex-junkie fidget like there was no tomorrow - but this was an ex-junkie that she had a soft spot for. "What happened to Wendy should be a lesson to you, Lowell."
"It is." Lowell shifted his reddened eyes out of her penetrating gaze, shifting them back quickly where he recognized the look that he had spent a majority of his teenage years cowering under; it was the look of concern, the look of a mother - the look that he had never known until he'd met Gemma. "No, I know, I know it is." He nodded sincerely. "I've been doing real good with all that, Gemma. I mean, you know, ask Clay."
Gemma's gaze didn't falter as she regretfully looked for any signs of dishonesty in the troubled man; signs that the junkie that she didn't have a soft spot for, may have sent him spiralling back down, but she found nothing - nothing out of the ordinary, at least.
;
After spending the better part of their morning in bed, the pair finally peeled themselves off of each other to shower for the day that they had free to spend together before any club business was to take place later in the evening.
Sydney glanced around the small bathroom as Tig got the water started, glad that she had known to bring her own toiletries - growing up around men, she knew that he would undoubtedly have a bottle of cheap two-in-one men's shampoo and conditioner, and that would simply not do the job.
She stepped under the stream of warm water first, closing her eyes as it cascaded down her body before she decided that it wasn't hot enough to upkeep her zen - twisting the tap further to the left and sighing when she finally found the right temperature.
Tig stood still for a few minutes. Seeing her so relaxed and focused put a small smile on his face, which quickly turned into a cocky smirk and a twitch in his dick when she turned around and he caught sight of the dark handprints on her ass.
"What do you think about in there?" He asked amusedly as he stepped over the edge of the tub to join her.
Sydney had let herself get so deep into her head in the few short minutes, that she'd completely forgotten he was there as his voice startled her a bit. At least it wasn't the toilet.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She smirked.
"Think about me?"
"Mmm... Baby, you have no idea..." She purred seductively, trailing her hand down her stomach, towards her mound before pulling it away and turning back to the hot water with a playful smile.
Tig shook his head, making his move to get in on at least some of the water before she could hog all of it. "Jesus!" He jumped back the second that the scalding liquid touched his skin. "Are you showering with fuckin' Satan?"
"Don't be a pussy." She laughed, motioning for him to come closer.
"You're used to showering with Hap." He snorted, holding his stance.
"The devil himself." She mused, adjusting the temperature with a roll of her eyes, dramatically motioning to the now lukewarm stream.
Tig chuckled nervously when she didn't deny his claim, stepping forward into the spray that any civilized human being would've still considered to be far too hot. "You sure that nothing's ever happened with Hap?" His tone was more inquisitive than accusatory. It wasn't that he didn't believe her - it was that he couldn't wrap his mind around how his fellow nymphomaniac of a brother could be in constant close proximity to her, and keep his hands off.
The question made Sydney realize for the first time that maybe part of the reason that she'd never sought out a boyfriend, was because deep down, she knew that it would likely compromise her relationship with Happy. She knew that what they had wasn't normal or conventional, and it would never surpass potential lovers.
"Yes." She replied meekly, willing herself to keep eye contact - trying to hide her flustered frustration with exaggerated innocence in hopes that he would just take her word for it and drop the subject.
"I'm not accusing you, baby. It's just-"
"I need you to understand something." She cut him off, her tone going cold as her patience revealed itself to be even thinner than she'd thought. "Me and Hap aren't like that. The way that he is with me, it's not…" She inhaled deep into her chest as she tried to find the words that she'd never felt the need to find before. "It's not that kind of love." His expression remained sympathetic, but it was clear that she would have to elaborate if she wanted him to really understand.
"Besides my dad, he was the only family that I had growing up... And my dad was gone a lot, which meant that Happy was around. Since I was three years old, he was there. Always there. He was the one who made my lunches for school and helped me with my homework. He was the one who gave me baths and read me bedtime stories. He was the one who slept in my bed when I would have nightmares." She paused as she felt herself getting worked up over the sensitive subject. "Tig, I'm not good with..." She took another breath of frustration, forcing herself to open the gates of vulnerability for the sake of the man that she'd fallen in love with. "Look, I know that I seem like I'm not scared of anything. For the most part, I'm not. But Happy is the reason why. He taught me how not to be afraid. He's the only person who has ever seen me be... " Her teeth clenched around the exposing words. "Not what I am today." She looked away. "It was something that I never grew out of, because it was the only thing that I've ever found safety in, that I didn't have to provide for myself."
"Okay." Tig nodded understandingly, not knowing what else to say other than to voice his acceptance of her words with as much compassion as he could.
Sydney's eyes fell closed under the single syllable that she knew wasn't enough. If she wanted him to really understand, she had to give him more, and now was the time to get out as much as possible while the floodgates were already open.
"I'm not gonna say this more than once..." She inhaled deeply, not opening her eyes to see Tig's soft nod. "When I was sixteen, I made a... Stupid mistake." She spoke bitterly as she recounted the event - one of the very few times that she had stupidly let her guard down. "I'd just gotten my first car - piece of shit junker truck - and the engine died on my way home from the beach one night. I was in Huntington, so my dad sent some of the Nomads who were close by. Bikes rolled up behind me a few minutes later, I got out thinking that it was them." She felt her throat beginning to lock up. "It wasn't."
"BTT." Tig recalled, his own jaw tightening.
"You know?" Her question came out like more of a statement.
"Heard about it..." He nodded at the vague memory he'd had of Clay mentioning the attack from the San Bernardino gang before a run into Southern Cali, years ago. "All they said was that it was close to home..." He bit his lip. "Didn't know how close..."
"The lights were bright in the dark, I couldn't see who it was but it seemed too right to be a coincidence." She shook her head, still trying to explain herself, even all these years later.
"They didn't..." He winced, not wanting finish the question.
"No." She said quickly. "Quinn and Hopper showed up before it could get that far, but it was close enough..." She shook her head as the familiar tears of embarrassment bit at her eyes.
Tig felt his fists balling at his sides, looking down at the water circling the drain as a painful rage filled him - not the kind of rage that had him excited to shed blood, but the kind of rage that had him wishing that he'd just kept his mouth shut in the first place.
"Hap killed them." She halted his anger before it boiled over - watching as the pressure slowly faded from his face. "I was a fucking mess that night." She chuckled humourlessly. "You think I'm feisty now? Imagine me as a teenager." She gave a small smirk, trying to bring some lightness to the sorrowful tale. "I was in so much pain, mad at myself for letting it happen, angry that the club didn't let me kill them myself." She shook her head. "Happy was the only one who knew how to make it better..."
Happy slammed his phone shut without saying a word to the newest prospect who shuffled down the hallway, his arms grazing his leather-covered sides as he propelled himself forward rapidly, anxiety rising in his chest after calling the only man that he knew would be able to handle the job that he had been tasked with. He squeezed the plastic device in a death grip that would've cracked it had he held on not two seconds longer - shoving it back into the pocket of his kutte as he ground his teeth while making his way back to his bike.
"Uh... Hap?" He heard a meek voice when he stepped into the clubhouse after what his speedometer had made sure was a very short journey, turning to see the useless prospect that had pulled him from the manhunt. Deep down, he knew that Sydney was a force to be reckoned with - one that caused him great difficulty on the best of days - but he was too angry over the entire ordeal to accept anything other than the fact that the prospect hadn't been able to do what should've been a simple job.
"Where is she?" He demanded from the younger man that was supposed to be with Sydney - the younger man that was already on thin ice, and had now not only failed one order, but two.
"She locked me out of her room, man. I tried everything..."
"So you left her alone after you were told not to?" He seethed as his anger only continued to build at the thought of the young girl alone after what she had just endured.
"She put a gun in my face, man!" He pleaded the weak case that, on any other day, Happy probably would've found amusing, but right now he had no humour to spare. "Get out, leave your kutte."
"W-what?" The blonde too-pretty-to-be-a-biker stuttered as bewilderment coated his smooth-as-a-baby's-butt complexion. "Y-you can't do that." He shook his head. "Yates is my sponsor, you're not even a SAMDINO patch, they have to vote on it-" His protests were cut short as the taller man yanked him closer by his shirt collar, ripping the leather from his body.
"Yates will understand." He threw the kid out of his grip like a ragdoll, tossing the spent vest onto the bartop before hurrying to Sydney's room at the back of the clubhouse.
He lifted his fist as he approached her door, hesitating just before his knuckles were about to make contact with the thick oak - lowering them as he took a deep breath before lightly tapping them against the barrier. He waited a few seconds for some kind of response - a sign that she'd heard him, a sign that she was even in the room, but he got nothing. He knocked again, just loud enough that he would know for sure that she had heard him - still nothing. Eventually the modest rapping of his knuckles turned to full blown fist pounding when his efforts continued to go unanswered - knowing that it wasn't going to get him a good result under the circumstances, but at least he would know that she was okay.
"Syd!" He yelled, finally kicking the door in as his worry became overwhelming, and rightfully so as the sight that he was met with sent his heart plummeting into the bottom of his chest. "Sydney..." His voice cracked as he looked over the battered teenage girl, sobbing into her pillow. Apart from when he'd found out that his mom was sick, this was one of the only times in his life where he actually felt like he could cry.
Sydney looked up at him pitifully, her eyes red as tears poured down her face in a never-ending stream as he noted each and every mark visible to his rage-filled eyes - each place on her body where their hands had been. He shook his head, letting his blackened eyes fall closed as he sat himself on the edge of the bed where she choked on a sob and crawled over to him, letting him pull her into his arms where he willed himself to stay strong for her.
"It's gonna be okay." He tried to tell her through his gritted teeth as he managed to harness his emotions, but he knew that it wasn't. Not yet. "Gotta get cleaned up." He decided as he gently scooped her up into his arms and brought her into the bathroom where he placed her onto the closed toilet seat, figuring that sitting caked in blood and filth wasn't going to help her calm down.
He let her sit for a few minutes while she processed what was happening, but his worry only continued to grow as she continued to hyperventilate. He crouched down to where she had hugged her knees up to her aching chest, brushing a piece of reddened blonde hair out of her marred face. "Hey..." He whispered, bringing her eyes to his where the beautiful jade swam in a sea of red. "I'm gonna fix it." He told her, nodding gently in time with her breathing that finally began to regulate.
Sydney didn't say anything as she looked over the hardened face that had brought her so much comfort over the years, a fresh batch of tears springing to her eyes - but these ones didn't sting as badly. She nodded her understanding, slowly easing her throbbing body up while he drew her a bath. She took a deep breath in, a jolt of pain ripping through her. Broken ribs. She bit the inside of her split lip, returning to the shallow breathing that had previously masked the pain as the adrenaline began to wear off - carefully shedding her clothes where another splice of pain sent a yelp shooting up her throat as she tried to lift her shirt over her head. Collarbone.
Happy's heart clenched as he heard her cry of pain, quickly taking over where he shrugged her gently out of her clothing. He winced as he took in the sight; the beautiful girl covered in purple welts and dried blood. He took her hands, guiding her towards the mirror when she immediately started shaking her head.
"Hap, I can't look." She became hysterical again, yanking herself out of his grip without any regard for the agony that it caused.
"You need to." He urged. He had never seen her so scared before, and he was determined to make this situation one that she would learn from, not break from.
"No, no I can't." She sobbed, crossing her arms over her bare chest where he could see their teeth had been. "Please, Hap. I-"
"You need to." He whispered, gently pulling her back into his arms where he rocked her back and forth until she finally let him slowly guide her closer to the mirror where she worked up enough courage to open her eyes, snapping them shut with a painful wince when she caught sight of the state of her body.
"Hap..." The tears came harder as the pain that she felt was no longer from her injuries.
Happy turned her away from the mirror once he was satisfied that she'd gotten a good look, settling her into the bathtub where he gently cleaned her tender body. Her sobs eventually reduced to sniffles as she closed her eyes, trying to focus on the comfort that the water usually brought her, but a gasp caught in her throat as she opened them back up to see the muddied water rippled with her blood.
"Shhh." Happy placed his hand over her eyes as he pulled the plug and drained the poignant remnants, quickly refilling the tub with fresh water. "Okay." He nodded, removing her makeshift blindfold once he was sure that the water would remain clear. "Bruises fade, bones heal." He reminded her as she stared down at her scraped knees. "Ain't nothing that could ruin that pretty face."
Sydney gave a weak smile. But the bruises on her body weren't what she was worried about as far as long-term damage went - it was the bruise on her ego.
Happy wrapped her up snugly in a fluffy pink towel once she was clean, carrying her back to her bed where he set her down onto the leopard print duvet before heading to the closet in search of some soft clothing.
"We need to go..." He spoke softly after helping her into the velvety sweatsuit that he'd always made fun of her for wearing - teasing her for trying to dress like the middle-aged women from her reality shows who were so desperate for youth.
"No!" Sydney's eyes widened. "No, Hap." She shook her head rapidly. "I can't go to the hospital! There are lots of people there, and-"
"Once the shock wears off you're gonna need those pain meds." He told her with a shake of his head. "I'll get you a private room. Only a few hours, I promise." He nodded firmly.
"Okay..." She relented as her brain focused on the ever-increasing pain, and not on combatting his regretful orders.
Happy drove them in silence, the guilt settling into his chest as he thought about what he was about to do, but he shook the thought away as he pulled into the crowded lot of the big city hospital, it was what he had to do. He gave her a nod as he stepped out of the vehicle, extra sure to lock the doors behind him as he made his way inside where he arranged her a room, and made sure that the doctors were very clear on what had happened, and what they were to do - and not do - about it.
Once her room was ready and the medical staff had been paid off, he returned to the car where he opened her door open gently, pulling her velvety pink hood overtop of the mass of blonde waves before ushering her through the waiting room - avoiding the eyes of as many people as possible. He helped her into her hospital gown before he tucked her into bed, turning on the TV where he flipped through the channels until he landed on one of her trashy reality shows that he wished he hadn't been able to recognize.
"What gives..." Sydney choked out as she watched his muscles ripple under his skin as he mashed his fingers violently into the buttons.
"What do you mean?" His strained voice came out in a growl, his jaw tightening as he kept his eyes affixed to the TV.
"You paid for a room..." The usual smug raise of her brow that he expected when she made fun of his frugalnessnever came.
"You really need to ask why I did that?" He tried to keep the bite out of his tone as he contemplated what would be worse - a lie, or the truth.
"When you're standing there vibrating so fucking hard that I can feel the bed shaking? Yeah, I do." She snarked, the relieviatingly familiar reaction almost putting a smile on his face. "I know what that look means, Hap..." She whispered as her sad green eyes pooled with another bout of tears.
Happy looked at her for a few seconds, pain behind his own eyes. This was the first time that he wished she hadn'tknown that look - that she lived a normal life, away from all of this shit. "I gotta go..." He told her with a regrettable nod, a wince instinctively coming to his face as he awaited her reaction.
"What?" She shrieked, thrashing against the blankets that he had been sure to pin her under. "Hap, you can't leave me here alone!" She began hyperventilating as her strength against the restraints betrayed her, ignoring the excruciating pain in her chest as an excruciating pain in her heart took over. She couldn't believe that he had convinced her to come here, just so that he could leave her. She would have expected that from anyone else - prospects, the guys, even her own father, but never from him.
"I called Donut." He shook his head, his eyes falling closed to block out the sight that broke his heart. He hadn't wanted to make this any harder on her, but he couldn't bear the thought of letting those monsters live even a second longer, thinking that they'd gotten away with laying a hand on his princess. "You won't be alone..." He whispered as he wrapped his arm around her, winding his hand into her hair where he brought her into him - hoping to mitigate her anger in the only way that he knew how.
Sydney melted against his touch - the touch that she was so often denied. But even that kind of reward wasn't enough to diminish the wealth of misery that plagued every tainted cell in her body - nor was a visit from her northern best friend. "I don't want him to see me like this." She wailed, her shaky words barely intelligible against his chest.
"I'll be back soon." He nodded as he stroked her hair.
Sydney shook her head against his hand, balling her fists into his shirt and shoving him away from her. "You lied to me." She sniffled, wiping the tears that suddenly felt much hotter on her face.
"Little girl..." He crouched down, narrowing his eyes. "I need to fix this."
Sydney felt her chest heaving as she looked at him, her jaw tightening painfully with each blink of her blurry eyes until her anger eventually boiled over, lifting her hand to strike him before she froze - bringing it crashing down to the stiff mattress where she completely broke down. She knew that Happy was doing everything that he could to make this easy on her while still doing what he needed to do; but right now, what she needed was him.
Happy felt the broken pieces of his blackened heart being stomped on behind his chest. He never thought that her not hitting him would upset him, but it only added to the damage that he could see had been done to the usually feisty girl in front of him, and that only fuelled his rage.
"I need to go, and I don't trust anyone else." He sucked in a breath in an attempt to hide the crack in his voice. The Tacoma Road Captain was much more sensitive than the stoic Nomad - one of the only people that Sydney had taken a strong liking to, other than himself. He knew that he was the only one that would be able to comfort her in his absence.
"Please don't go..." She pleaded with a squeak as her pain-filled eyes glistened up at him- the eyes that he couldn't say no to, at the best of times.
"I'll be back." He told her again, shaking his head as he stood from the bed before she took his arm into a death grip. "Girl..." He tried to warn as calmly as possible, surprised by the amount of strength that she still had as she clung to his arm. "You know that I can't let them get away with this..." He sneered through gritted teeth, pushing her off of him gently as his mind was retaken by the thoughts of what he was going to do them.
"W-what are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna fix it." He assured her with a pointed nod.
"Well damn, Princess... I'd hate to see the other guys." A smooth voice carried across the room from the doorway where Sydney looked up to see Donut standing with an obnoxiously giant bouquet of sunflowers.
The short-haired man willed the sly grin on his face not to falter as he witnessed the apple of his honey-coloured eyes in such a state. As soon as he'd gotten the call from his former Tacoma brother, he'd sped off in the direction of San Bernardino without a second thought. He was on a mission to help cheer her up while Happy found the scumbags who did this to her, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
"I'll be back to get you outta here when I'm done." Happy promised, taking her small hand in his where he squeezed it tightly, leaning down where he rested her forehead against hers. "Te amo." He whispered.
Sydney's eyes fell closed as she soaked up the sincerity that managed to dull the panic in her chest, finally giving him a small nod.
Happy sprung to his feet as the adrenaline that he'd been waiting to feel was finally granted, nodding to his longtime Tacoma pal before he stalked out of the hospital with murder buzzing beneath his skin.
"When he came back he took me for a drive, got me to eat, and let me burn their bodies." She smirked a little. "He was the only one who didn't look at me differently after that... Like I was helpless or like I needed protecting... I didn't feel like I had something to prove to him that way that I did with the others." She felt a confusing spike in her heart as she, for the first time, found herself looking back on the horrible memory that she tried so hard to bury, with a sliver of fondness - all because of him. "I know it's complicated, but I can't let go of the way that I feel with him, Tig. It's one of the only things that keeps me human." She tried to explain. "I know that there are things that cross the line, and I know where that line is if I'm going to be with you. But if you want to be with me, then I need you to know where it is, too... Because no matter what, no matter how much I love you, I will always choose Happy."
Tig had to admit that the words did sting a little, but he understood them. He knew that his tattooed brother was just as loyal, if not more so than he was - he wouldn't risk his patch to tap a brother's old lady.
"I, uh-" He rubbed the back of his neck as he willed himself to dig deeper beneath the top layer of insecurity, realizing that the situation only presented another way in which they were perfect for each other. "I feel that way with Clay and Gem." He nodded. "For the longest time they were the only ones who I felt I could talk to... Trust... Show myself to." He had endured his fair share of accusations from Colleen regarding his relationship with Gemma, and he had always chosen his good friend over women who couldn't understand that it was all that she was to him - a good friend.
"I wouldn't ever take that away from you." Sydney shook her head. "I know how important that is to have in this life... With what we do." She nodded, the slightly dissociative look still on her face as she came back from the trying divulgence, locking up those damned gates. "Thank you." She looked properly into his eyes. "Not just for understanding... But for letting me say all of that..."
"You're a hell of a lot better with words than I am, angel." He chuckled, reaching out and trailing his fingers up her arm. "I don't mind, as long as I'm the only one who gets to do this." He whispered as he ran his hands up her body, descending his mouth onto hers.
Sydney wound her arms around his neck, curling her fingers into his damp hair as she sighed against his mouth. "I'm all for you, Tiggy." She whispered, brushing her nose against his.
The two showered together tenderly - more tenderly than Sydney would've ever imagined as he washed her hair, turning her to face him so that he could rinse the suds out once he was satisfied that it had been lathered up enough.
She closed her eyes, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck - letting him guide her completely. He tugged at her hair gently, bringing her head back just far enough before he rested his forehead against hers, kissing her nose. She smiled at the cute gesture as he moved down to kiss her lips, arching her back as she pressed body against him completely.
"Baby." She whined when his arm wrapped around her waist and his lips moved to her neck, enjoying the intimacy far too much as he moved his hands up and down her back, his fingers tracing along her spine.
"Does my princess like this?" He mumbled against her neck.
She looked up into his eyes, nodding innocently as he stroked her hair and reattached his lips to hers, continuing his soft and gentle movements - taking his time worshipping her as she stood in front of him, her body curling at his gentle touch. There was some component of the embrace that wasn't sexual, just appreciative, but she knew that there was a hint of possession in the way that he was babying her - and she didn't mind one bit.
;
Song for this chapter
Enemy Fire - Bea Miller