Aiden knew that he was completely fucked. After all, what sort of an idiot developed romantic feelings for Jordi-fucking-Chin of all people? The man was a psychopath, more inclined towards violence and mayhem than sweet domestic bliss.
Aiden didn't even know what it was about the other man that had him so confused. Jordi's voice was irritating, as were his stupid designer suits and his awful sense of humour. Perhaps it was the way the other man moved. When fighting hand to hand or taking out a target Jordi was a thing of beauty; each movement calculated precisely to do as much damage as physically possible. But it had been a while since they had worked together, each of them busy with their own jobs and neither of them really calling on the other for backup. If anything they spent more time together either fucking or just hanging out, which logically should have made Aiden like Jordi less rather than more.
Perhaps it's just hormones, Aiden told himself. After all, it had been two years since I'd had sex with anyone when the first Incident with Jordi happened. Sex produces all of the hormones associated with falling in love. All of these feelings that are confusing me; they're just chemicals in the body. I can ignore them if I want to.
On some days Aiden could even make himself believe it.
At first he was worried about how his interactions with Jordi would go now that he was aware of the true nature of his feelings. Surely the other man would be able to notice, and as soon as Jordi noticed everything would undoubtedly go to hell.
The first couple of times they met up after The Realisation Aiden was a nervous wreck. Jordi didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong though, and after a little bit of teasing and a few prompts to 'relax Pearce, this is supposed to be enjoyable, and for fuck's sake tell me if there's anything about what I'm doing that you actually don't like' they settled into what, for them, now passed as normal interactions. Jordi would fuck him into blissful oblivion, each and every time bringing out a needy, desperate part of Aiden that Aiden barely recognised as part of himself.
He clung to Jordi, his hands scraping down the other man's back, or he rode him, legs clenching tightly around Jordi's waist or legs, or they took each other in their mouths, their mutual moans of pleasure vibrating through each other, and all the while Aiden nursed what felt like a great and terrible secret.
He found himself craving the other man's kisses, the soft touch of Jordi's hands running down his skin, even just the sight of the other man's stupid smirk, just as much as the sex itself. It was infuriating. Aiden could deal with the lust by losing himself in Jordi's arms, but the love refused to dissipate, no matter how desperately Aiden wished that it would.
He tried to lose himself in his vigilante work, but that only did so much. He still helped out where he could, taking down street gangs and corrupt police officers, but after the sprawling, all-encompassing shit-show that had been Damien Brenks walking back into his life it all seemed so straight-forward by comparison, and it was a far cry from the stimulating distraction that he so desperately needed. He knew that he probably took his anger out a little too much on a few of the criminals and assholes he took down over those months. He didn't regret it; they had all deserved everything he had given them and probably more besides, but he was a little worried for himself and for what this lack of control meant for his relationship with Jordi.
What the fuck am I going to do? Aiden asked himself. I can't keep going on like this. Something has to give in eventually. I should stop. I need to stop.
Several times Aiden tried to distance himself from Jordi, but he only ever made it a week or two. Either Jordi would contact him and Aiden would give in nearly as soon as he heard the rich purr of Jordi's voice, or the longing to see Jordi again would grow too great and Aiden would find himself dialling the fixer's number, and Jordi would always agree to whatever hook-up Aiden suggested.
Aiden Pearce soon realised that he had become an addict.
He was right about one thing though; eventually something had to break.
"Are you busy?" Jordi asked. The tone of his voice made Aiden suspect that this particular call was not in relation to a potential job, but something a lot more personal.
Be cool, he told himself. The trick was to act as normal as possible. If Jordi had any suspicion of how far Aiden had let his feelings get away from him then he would undoubtedly bring their arrangement to a swift and decisive end.
"Jordi?" he said, unable to stop the smile on his face from making itself known in the tone of his voice. Be cool, he reminded himself. Hell, better yet, be sexy. Sweep Jordi off his fucking feet.
Why not, right? He was sure that he could seduce Jordi if he wanted to.
"Is this a booty call?" Aiden asked, pleased with how confident he had managed to sound.
Jordi's voice when he replied was deep and rich, liquid honey that did far more to Aiden then he was willing to admit.
"You know it is Pearce," the fixer purred.
Be cool. Be confident. Be sexy. Knock the fucking fixer's stupid designer socks right off.
"I er…" Aiden began, not sure whether he was feeling confident or just plain stupid, "might be able to squeeze you in."
He cringed, but the laughter and delight that echoed back to him over the phone told him that the line had been more successful than he had predicted.
"Holy shit Pearce!" Jordi practically screamed. "Was that a fucking sex joke?"
Aiden scoffed. Damn it; Jordi could make his voice sound seductive even when he was laughing.
"You know it was," Aiden replied.
He wasn't sure how seductive he had managed to sound that time, but Jordi was pleased with it regardless if the humming noise he made over the phone was any indication.
"Where are you?" Jordi asked, his voice once more a deep purr.
"On Ashland, heading north," Aiden answered. "I swear, if you ask me what I'm wearing next then I'm hanging up on you."
"No need," Jordi replied. "It'll be the same shitty hobo-chic jacket as usual I'm guessing. Oh, you know your stupid fucking jackets always get me so hard Aiden."
Aiden considered defending his wardrobe but knew it was pointless.
"Meet at our usual penthouse?" Aiden asked.
The penthouse that they had borrowed from Jordi's dead client had become a regular hook-up location for them. It was neutral ground. Aiden didn't have to worry about giving away the location of any of his hideouts, or what might happen if he let Jordi pick their location. No-one connected to the building seemed to notice that the owner of the penthouse suite was dead either.
The third time Aiden had met Jordi there he had nearly jumped out of his skin when the woman at the front desk had greeted him politely. He had been expecting her to challenge him or tell him that the security cameras had identified them, but instead she just passed him what appeared to be some sort of community newsletter for the building and gave him an extremely cheery grin.
This time Aiden found Jordi waiting for him in the foyer, leaning against the wall right by the elevator and looking for all the world as though he belonged there. He smiled when he caught sight of Aiden and pushed himself up off the wall. Aiden found himself returning the other man's smile, despite the not-insignificant part of himself that told him he should suppress it.
I'm going to get caught, he found himself thinking. Damn it. If Jordi realises how happy I always am to see him then he's going to work out how I feel. If he works out how I feel then it's going to be over between the two of us. I can't let that happen.
"Hey Pearce," Jordi said as he swaggered over to Aiden, all smooth lines and confidence.
Aiden found himself staring at Jordi's hands, imagining what they might be doing in a few minutes when the two of them retired to the penthouse, and then he couldn't help but smile.
The two of them moved to the elevator, Aiden hacking open the door as he had every time the two of them had met up there, and before long they were on their way, standing side by side, leaning against the back of the elevator.
It wasn't always like this. There had been at least one occasion when the two of them had locked lips almost as soon as the elevator doors had closed. By the time they had made it to the penthouse they had both been almost naked. This time however their clothes remained on, at least for the time being.
"You know, we're probably pushing our luck by meeting up here so often," Aiden pointed out to the fixer.
Jordi just shrugged.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said, folding his arms in front of his chest and looking quite comfortable in his place. "Everyone here probably just thinks you own the place. Have you ever met the cleaner? Little old lady nearly shit herself when she entered the room to find me there."
"When was this?" Aiden asked. He hadn't realised that Jordi had been visiting the penthouse without him.
"I don't know. About a week ago."
"You got up here without me?" Aiden asked. "How?"
"Give me some credit Pearce," Jordi said, and Aiden wondered whether the other man was going to claim he had actually picked up enough hacking knowledge from watching Aiden (which did not seem at all likely) or whether he was going to say he had somehow charmed the woman at the front bench into giving him a copy of the access card (and Aiden didn't want to admit how much more likely that option was. They really had been spending too much time there.)
"I went back to where I hid the real Raymond Bisson's body and grabbed the card," Jordi explained, and Aiden couldn't help but groan. "Stole a couple of credit cards, a library card and a passport at the same time. Figure if we're going to steal the guy's identity then we might as well go all the way."
"You had a key card for the hotel?" Aiden asked. "But today you were just waiting for me in the lobby, and you just stood there while I hacked us up. Jordi…"
Sometimes Aiden really wasn't sure why he put up with the other man's bullshit.
Jordi leaned over towards Aiden, one of his hands sliding around Aiden's waist and pulling him closer. Aiden was frustrated enough that for a moment he considered pushing Jordi away, but then the fixer's mouth pressed against his own and Aiden was melting against the other man.
Their lips stayed locked until they reached the penthouse floor and the chiming of the elevator and the swishing open of the doors brought them out of their mutual reverie.
Jordi pulled away from Aiden first, stepping into the middle of the penthouse with his usual amount of grace and confidence.
"I was waiting for you," Jordi said, a wide grin on his face, and Aiden couldn't help but feel as though somehow the other man was teasing him. "I wanted to see you as soon as possible Pearce."
Oh, Jordi was definitely teasing him. There was no way that he would spew out such sappy bullshit otherwise.
Aiden stormed out of the elevator, even more pissed off at himself and at Jordi that he had been before. He was so sick of being in love with the other man. He hated every second of it. Jordi's words just then, as insincere as they had been, had been enough to make Aiden's heart dance for a few seconds in a way that made Aiden extremely uncomfortable. He wanted to shout at Jordi, to tell Jordi how much of an insufferable idiot he was, to tell him just how pretentious Aiden thought his suits were, how every time Jordi smiled Aiden wanted to punch him right in the middle of his stupid, smug face.
Jordi had been leaning against the side of the apartment's couch, a large, plush thing covered in pure white leather. Aiden practically charged right into him, his lips slamming against Jordi's own in a kiss that was more of an attack than any display of affection, and the two of them went tumbling down onto the couch, Aiden on top of Jordi, a tangle of limbs and locked lips.
When they pulled apart for air Jordi looked up at Aiden with a look on his face that could only be described as hunger. Aiden's mouth descended upon Jordi's again, pinning him against the couch. Jordi welcomed Aiden with open arms, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss as soon as Aiden would allow it.
Before long Jordi was bucking up against Aiden as they both struggled to remove their clothing. Neither of them said anything with actual words. It was all teeth and tongues, hands desperately scrabbling at each other's bodies.
This time, when Aiden climbed atop Jordi's waiting body and rode him into oblivion, it was Aiden's idea, and Aiden who took the lead, although Jordi certainly didn't seem to have any objections.
Eventually they ended up lying on the couch together, their legs entwined and Aiden's head resting on Jordi's chest. He listened to the too-fast beating of Jordi's heart as they both recovered from what had been a desperate and frantic round of sex.
"Shit…" Jordi muttered as he stared at the ceiling. It was the first thing to even approach coherency that either of them had said since Aiden had sent them both tumbling onto the couch.
Jordi shifted a little so that he was halfway towards sitting up and therefore better able to observe Aiden. The hacker had been quite comfortable where he was, curled up on top of the other man and half wrapped around him, and let out a small noise of complaint as Jordi shifted. Jordi was skinny, but he was warm, and the feeling of the other man's chest slowly shifting as he breathed in and out had been oddly comforting.
It had occurred to Aiden more than once since he had started sleeping with Jordi that he might have been a little touch-starved. Now, lying on top of the other man, his lust freshly sated and his skin touching Jordi's in almost as many places as was physically possible, Aiden found himself wrapped up in pure, unadulterated bliss.
"How are you doing Pearce?" Jordi asked as one of his hands threaded through Aiden's hair. Aiden realised it was probably getting too long if Jordi could do that so easily. He needed to get it cut again soon. For now though he was just going to enjoy Jordi's touch and stay right where he was for as long as the other man would let him.
"Pearce…" Jordi prompted in a soft, lyrical voice, and Aiden realised he hadn't answered the other man's question.
"I'm fine," Aiden tried to say, but it came out as little more than a muffled 'mmph'.
"Well, now that we've gotten the most important part of this meeting out of the way," Jordi said, "by which, of course, I obviously mean the sex (which we're still absolutely fucking amazing at by the way) I have something I need to confess."
That woke Aiden out of his bliss-filled daze quicker than anything else Jordi could have said. For just a moment he was actually deluded enough to think that Jordi might be going to say that he was in love with Aiden, but then he got over it. Jordi didn't love him. This was nothing but sex to Jordi, and Aiden knew that was all it ever would be to him.
"This wasn't just a booty call," Jordi continued.
"Really?" Aiden asked, careful to look disinterested.
"Really," Jordi said. "Actually, I was kind of hoping we could work together on another job."
"You need my help," Aiden translated.
"Your assistance would make this a hell of a lot easier," Jordi conceded. "So, I've got a contract…"
"I'm not helping you kill somebody," Aiden argued. It wasn't as though he necessarily had anything against killing, although he did sometimes find Jordi's methods to be unsavoury and needlessly violent. It was just that part of him was sore that Jordi hadn't confessed his undying love to Aiden and probably never would. Aiden knew he was being foolish and petty, but he couldn't help it.
"You're not," Jordi continued. "You're helping me track someone down. My current target is an elusive fucker. I have a lead though. My guy has done a few jobs lately for a member of the Russian mafia; one Eugene Golobev."
"Come on Jordi," Aiden prompted him with a sharp poke to the side. "Get to the point."
"I'm getting there," Jordi complained. "Sheesh Pearce. You really could learn how to be a bit more patient, you asshole."
He paused to poke Aiden in retaliation before continuing.
"So yeah, Golobev and my guy are pretty close. Pretty sure I'm going to be able to get the information off his private servers. Thing is Golobev usually has pretty tight security, and he lives in this big old fuck-off mansion."
"You want me to sneak in and get the data?" Aiden guessed. He was already wondering how much Jordi would be willing to pay him for the job, and whether it would truly be enough for Aiden to risk going up against the Bratva.
That brought a grin to Jordi's face. Not only that but he began to run a hand up and down Aiden's back, caressing it in a way which Aiden guessed was supposed to be comforting, but which was just getting him all revved up again and ready for a second round of sex.
"It's easier than that actually," Jordi said before leaning down and placing a kiss on Aiden's forehead. "Golobev is holding a huge party at his place in a couple of days' time. Hundreds of people are going to be there, and our old friend Raymond Bisson received an invite. I've got some of Bisson's ID on hand already, so I figure I rock up to the party as Bisson, you come as my plus one, we stay just long enough for you to get the data from Golobev's system and then we slip back out again."
"And hope no-one asks after the real Bisson," Aiden muttered. All in all it was a pretty solid plan. He was trying to come up with some sort of reason to reject the job offer, but it was pretty hard.
"What if someone recognizes me?" Aiden asked.
"They won't," Jordi said as he gently ruffled Aiden's hair. "Not once we get you all suited up. Half of your identity is the mask and cap and jacket and shit. We get you in a nice suit with an expensive watch and actually do something about your god damn hair and no-one is going to have any idea that the gorgeous man on my arm is actually Chicago's most wanted vigilante."
Jordi continued to run one of his hands through Aiden's hair and the other over the skin of Aiden's back. Aiden continued trying to think of any reason at all to avoid helping Jordi out. He really didn't do parties. He hadn't really been good at socializing even before he had become a wanted criminal.
"All right," Aiden finally conceded, earning himself another kiss on the forehead from Jordi.
"Hey there sexy," Jordi said as he stepped out of a very expensive-looking car. He grinned at Aiden with one of the widest Cheshire-cat grins Aiden had ever seen on the other man's face.
At Jordi's insistence Aiden had donned a dark blue suit, dress shirt and shoes, as well as a watch and necklace, purely because Jordi had insisted that any fake boyfriend of his was 'damn well going to be wearing at least a little bit of bling. I take care of what's mine, right Pearce?' Aiden still hadn't worked out whether Jordi had meant the fictional him or the real him, but Jordi hadn't really expected an answer from Aiden either way, and so Aiden had said nothing in exchange.
When Aiden had caught a glimpse of the price tag attached to the shirt Jordi planned to buy for him he had been stunned, and had tried to argue over it.
"Jesus Christ," Jordi just replied, rolling his eyes at Aiden. "Consider it a fucking perk or something; part of your payment for helping me do this job. You want to sneak in to Golobev's, you're going to need to look the part. Seriously Pearce, chill. It's not that big a deal."
They had both gotten dressed in the penthouse apartment that was beginning to feel more like home than Aiden thought it should have. Aiden had stared at himself in the apartment's full length mirror for a long time after getting dressed, barely able to recognise himself.
Aiden felt like somehow Jordi had marked Aiden as his property. He was covered in clothing that Jordi had paid for, was slipping into an expensive car that Jordi had either hired or stolen for the evening (Aiden refused to believe that the man had actually paid for a sports car this classy with actual money) and would probably be spending the entire evening on the other man's arm.
He was sure that Jordi wouldn't view anything about the arrangement as possessive. Jordi was nothing if not practical and professional. He had only paid for everything because it was all necessary for completing his current contract. He didn't care about Aiden enough to try and claim him.
The car ride to Golobev's ended up being fairly tense, at least for Aiden. Jordi seemed happy enough, but the suit that he was wearing wasn't all that different from what he chose to wear on most days, and the fixer undoubtedly didn't have to worry about potentially giving away the fact that he was in love with his partner.
Aiden found his eyes drifting over to Jordi as they travelled, to the way the other man's long, talented fingers caressed the gear stick and the steering wheel in front of him, or to the cut of Jordi's suit as it hugged his body perfectly. Jordi always managed to look so effortlessly stylish and sleek, just like the sports car he was currently driving. He'd undoubtedly be at his most charming that night as well, full of wit and humour and all the stupid, god-forsaken things that Aiden was now beginning to suspect were what had made him fall in love with Jordi in the first place.
Usually he wasn't too worried about giving himself away, but tonight was undoubtedly going to be a problem.
"So this is the place," Jordi said, pulling Aiden out of his reverie.
He hadn't even realized that the car had stopped until Jordi spoke. That was not a good sign. His relationship with Jordi really was messing him up if he was becoming so unaware of his surroundings.
Jordi had pulled the car up in front of the largest house in a street full of abnormally large houses. It was already night, but plenty of spotlights had been placed around the driveway, garden, and the enormous fountain that they had pulled up right alongside, so that Aiden and Jordi and all of the other, more legitimate guests could tell exactly how well the house and grounds had been taken care of.
Aiden stepped out of the car and glanced around the garden.
"How far outside of Chicago are we?" he asked.
"Not as far as you'd think," Jordi answered, closing his own door behind him and passing the keys to a rather young-looking valet that was standing nearby.
Aiden silently tried to calculate how many millions Golobev had paid for his home. Whatever the answer was, Aiden was beginning to feel glad that Jordi had forced him to get dressed up. There was no way they would have been allowed inside otherwise.
Aiden stayed close to Jordi's side as they walked towards the front of the house. He could already hear loud music coming from somewhere near the back of Golobev's enormous three-storey mansion. Aiden tucked his arm into Jordi's, doing his best to look like they were doing nothing more than engaging in the level of intimacy a normal couple usually would, and leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"How many people are going to be at this thing?" Aiden asked, beginning to worry that the two of them might stand out more than he had anticipated. He felt so fake walking up to the doors of this enormous house like he actually belonged there, and not only because he and Jordi were planning to get in using a dead man's invitation.
Jordi didn't respond for a moment, and Aiden saw a flash of worry pass over the other man's face.
"Come on," Jordi said, not bothering to whisper as Aiden had. "Big important guy like Golobev? He's going to want to show off for all of his Bratva friends. The way I hear it they're trying to get in bed with the Chinese as well. There's bound to be a tonne of people here, right? No-one's going to notice the two of us."
Aiden wasn't completely convinced, but he forced himself to swallow his fear as they approached the doorman at the front of the building. The man looked completely bored as he asked for their invitation. Jordi handed over Bisson's personal invite, and Aiden found himself wishing that he hadn't allowed Jordi to talk him into leaving most of his weaponry at the penthouse. As it was he had only managed to sneak his baton beneath his jacket when Jordi's back had been turned. The tip of it dug into his stomach when he moved the wrong way, but the feeling of it in that moment was more comforting than he could have put into words.
Of course he always had his phone. Jordi and the Bratva couldn't take that from him.
"Good evening Mister Bisson," the doorman replied with a deep, drawling voice. "Please enjoy yourself."
He gestured for the two of them to step inside the house. Between a couple of carefully placed security guards and some equally carefully placed decorations, the two of them were successfully shepherded through the mansion's foyer, and towards the back of the building. As they passed through Aiden took the chance to survey Golobev's mansion, trying to pick up on anything that might their job a little easier.
There was no sign of a server or personal computer, but that wasn't saying much. The building was enormous, and Aiden was sure that he and Jordi had not seen even a tenth of the rooms while being led through it.
The sound of music grew louder as they approached the back of the house. As they stepped through the back door they were greeted with a wave of noise, and any fears that Aiden had that they would be too conspicuous were immediately put to rest.
Golobev had spared no expense. Half of his back yard was taken up by a big concreted entertainment area as large as any nightclub in Chicago. A DJ had set up in one corner, and was playing lo-fi hip-hop at a volume that sent the beat of the song thrumming through Aiden's entire body. Dozens of people were already dancing or mingling in small groups around the edge of the dance floor or in different corners of the garden. The whole thing was lit by a mixture of soft red and blue lanterns and a handful of spotlights which were in theory directed at the dancefloor, but which roamed freely to nearly every corner of the party.
Jordi leaned in close to Aiden again.
"See?" he said, having to yell over the sound of the party, despite how close together they were. "Told you we'd be fine."
"Golobev's definitely trying to impress somebody," Aiden replied.
He glanced around the area, already trying to work out how the two of them might be able to sneak back inside the house. It would be easy enough to lose themselves in the crowd, but the house itself seemed pretty closely guarded.
Aiden's hand itched to grab his phone and scan the house. There would undoubtedly be a security camera or two somewhere inside that he would be able to exploit, and he would be very surprised if, in a house this size, there wasn't at least one window or door somewhere that had been left open.
"So, should we split up?" Aiden asked.
Jordi shrugged.
"I guess we'll cover more ground that way," the fixer conceded.
"Well, whatever we do, we should at least start scouting the area," Aiden said. "I don't want to spend any longer here than I have to."
"Jesus Christ Pearce," Jordi said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a caterer who was passing by with a large platter of them. "Try to relax, okay?"
Jordi had a point, but Aiden knew that he would not be able to relax. The longer they were here, the more likely it would be that either or both of them would be forced to mingle and socialize, and the greater the chance was that someone would actually recognize Aiden Pearce. Jordi was lucky in that regard; his name was infamous in certain circles, but no-one really knew his face. Aiden's had been plastered on every screen in Chicago, and unlike Jordi he was far from convinced that the suit would be enough of a disguise to protect him.
"Just don't create too much of a scene," Aiden said as he took his first hesitant step away from Jordi's side. He had suddenly been gripped with horrible mental images of Jordi scarring half the guests and making himself far, far too memorable. After all, it was hard to imagine Jordi keeping a low profile.
"Seriously Pearce," Jordi said, waving the still mostly full glass of champagne around as though it was one of his many guns. "Believe it or not, I can actually behave myself when the situation calls for it. I am a professional, you know."
Aiden didn't know what he was supposed to say in response to that, so he said nothing at all. He just rolled his eyes and let Jordi walk off, although it didn't escape his attention that Jordi's hand lingered on his own for a moment just before parting, the fixer's fingertips leaving a gentle caress as he parted.
Aiden shuddered. It was just a simple touch, but even those were often enough to cause him no end of distraction of late if they came from Jordi. He almost called out to the other man and asked him to stay. His hand suddenly felt cold without Jordi's to warm it.
He allowed himself to watch Jordi for a moment before he got down to business, admiring the seemingly effortless way Jordi slid up to a group of guests and introduced himself. Jordi hadn't been lying when he said that he was a professional. He had been an annoying asshole around Aiden for a long time now, but when Aiden had first contacted him with a job the fixer had been so charming and charismatic that it had almost disarmed Aiden. It had only taken a single job together for Jordi to start relaxing in Aiden's presence and begin teasing Aiden, and so he had forgotten exactly how charming Jordi could be when he could actually be bothered to put the effort in.
Jordi grinned at a woman who had to be at least ten years older than himself, leaning in to say something that had her blushing like a schoolgirl and laughing loudly, despite the fact that there was a man on her other arm who had to be her husband, or at least a significant other of some description. The man didn't even look all that put out, and all the while Jordi's eyes were subtly casting about the place, looking, Aiden knew, for gaps in security or anything that might help the two of them complete their mission.
Aiden had absolutely no idea how Jordi did it. He made it look so effortless that Aiden already felt awkward and clumsy in comparison, and he hadn't even begun to talk to people.
Nevertheless, Aiden swallowed, cast his eyes around the rest of the party, and then back at the house. He was sure he wouldn't be able to blend in half as well as Jordi did. Better for him to play the wallflower; to make himself appear just as anti-social and unapproachable as he was feeling.
He found a relatively empty spot to lean against; not against the house itself; that was far too well lit; but against some garden edging; close enough to the party that it wouldn't raise too much suspicion. He got his phone out and brought it up in front of him, not bothering to hide the action as he usually would. A man on his phone at such a party might look unsocial and a poor guest, but certainly not suspicious.
A subtle scowl would, with any luck, deter any who might wish to come up and talk to him. Not too much of a scowl, otherwise someone might try to approach him and comfort him; just enough to say that he didn't want to be disturbed.
It was easy enough to hack into the mansion's security cameras. They didn't give him any idea as to how he and Jordi would infiltrate the house unspotted, but they did give him a good idea as to the layout of the house.
They also let him get a sneak peek of the house's basement, which was far more sprawling than Aiden would have initially suspected, and which had clearly been set up as a base of operation for Golobev's Bratva friends. The rooms were unoccupied and fairly dark, but Aiden spotted a weapons cache, what looked like some sort of office (a strange thing to keep locked away in your basement unless it was for illegal purposes) and, tucked away in one shadowy corner, the server that he would undoubtedly need to access to get the info Jordi was after.
Aiden tried to quickly memorise the layout of the house, particularly the basement floor, and then tucked his phone away. The rest of the plan, including the all-important matter of how they were going to get into the basement itself, would have to be worked out some other way.
The song changed, the beat of the music suddenly thrumming through Aiden's entire body, and Aiden could feel his heart speed up just a tiny bit to match the music. It spread out from his heart and down his arms and legs, filling every inch of his body.
The lighting was hypnotic. They hadn't gone overboard like in some of the clubs Aiden had seen, and weren't flashing or moving in time to the music so much as softly pulsing, pale blue and gold lighting seemingly random patches of the party. Aiden wasn't one to usually think in poetic terms, but it made the whole event seem somewhat magical, like something out of a half-remembered fever dream.
His steps seemed too light, and for a moment he wondered whether someone had slipped him something, but he hadn't even had anything to drink yet.
He caught Jordi's eyes from across the other side of the gathering. Jordi was flowing through the crowded space effortlessly, just as frustratingly elegant as he always was, a beautiful, spectral being that took Aiden's breath away.
Aiden swallowed nervously. Suddenly his suit seemed too tight and he felt every bit the imposter he knew that he was. Surely at any moment someone would recognise him and call him out.
He managed to grab a glass of champagne from a passing caterer, knocking the alcohol back in one go and placing the empty glass back on the server's tray before she had moved more than a few feet. He wasn't sure that the alcohol had been such a smart idea, but he needed something to still his nerves, and the small amount that he had ingested would not be nearly enough to get him drunk.
He pushed through the crowd, not finding it nearly as effortless as Jordi made it look.
Fuck Jordi, Aiden found himself thinking as he scanned the room, tracking the path that the data cables probably made around the walls and beneath the floors. Fuck comparing myself to him. Fuck staring at him and getting caught up by him, no matter how fucking gorgeous and natural he looks in this sort of setting. Jordi always used to say that emotion makes you weak. He was right. I'm acting like a complete idiot. I need to focus.
Aiden had been focussing perhaps a little too much. When he felt the touch of a hand on his arm he jumped, whirled around and discovered that it was Jordi himself standing by his side.
"Hey," Jordi said, grinning and leaning close, so that he was whispering directly in Aiden's ear. "You spot a way in yet?"
The fixer's arm wrapped in a mildly possessive manner around Aiden's waist.
"Not really," Aiden replied. "Got a good look inside the house though, and I have a feeling I know where we'll find Golobev's server. Basement floor, back right corner."
He nodded in the vague direction he suspected, but Jordi wasn't paying him any attention. Instead Jordi was leaning in closer, his lips hovering right above the skin of Aiden's neck, his warm breath and the gentle sway of his body in time to the music making it very hard for Aiden to concentrate.
He wasn't quite kissing Aiden's neck, but he was close enough to it that when he smiled Aiden felt the curve of the other man's mouth against his skin.
"Jesus Christ Pearce," Jordi said, his tone seemingly bypassing the smile on his face. "We're supposed to be a happy couple having fun at our friend's party. Try to relax a bit and at least look like you're happy to be here."
"Maybe we're having a fight," Aiden suggested.
Jordi chuckled, leaned in, and did actually press a kiss to Aiden's neck.
"Or maybe we're just so fucking wrapped up in one another that we can't really focus on anything else?" Jordi suggested.
Aiden tried to object, but at that moment Jordi pressed another kiss to his neck and all that emerged from Aiden's mouth in response was a small groan of pleasure.
"As far as I can tell we've got two guards patrolling the rest of the house," Jordi whispered into Aiden's ear. "Probably some sort of security system barring the way into the basement, but you can take of that, right babe?"
Aiden nodded and wrapped his arms loosely around Jordi's waist.
There can't be any harm in this. I'm just playing along with Jordi's rouse after all. We're just a happy couple.
Aiden couldn't even convince himself of that fact. It was nice though, to allow himself the delusion, if only for a few moments.
"It should be easy enough to distract the guards too, right?" he murmured.
"Sure," Jordi replied, and Aiden felt him shrug. "I'm not sure we even need to though. Golobev and his guards are probably way more concerned with protecting his precious moolah. There's probably a few very expensive little trophies on the top floors of this place. Doubt he's going to care so much about one measly server."
"So when do we slip away?" Aiden asked. "Is anybody even watching us right now?"
"Probably not," Jordi replied, starting to sway gently with Aiden once more. "Public displays of affection tend to make most people at least a little uncomfortable. Ideally what we should do is give people enough time to have another drink or two and then get really cozy in front of them."
Jordi reached down and grabbed Aiden's rear for emphasis. Aiden gasped and then glared at the other man. The glare was wasted however, considering Jordi's face was still mostly buried in Aiden's neck and shoulder.
Aiden wasn't sure whether Jordi had just been teasing him or not, at least not until Jordi began mouthing at the skin on Aiden's neck. Aiden let out a strangled cry and glanced around nervously. He caught one older woman's eye, but she immediately glanced away, the blush on her face just as red as Aiden thought his own must be.
As comfortable as Jordi had managed to make him where physical intimacy was concerned, Aiden wasn't sure how he felt being this affectionate with Jordi in front of other people. In fact, he was surprised that Jordi was so willing to let himself get so lost. They were on a job, weren't they?
But this was for the job. Wasn't it? Aiden didn't even know anymore.
Jordi bit down gently, his hands kneading Aiden's rear. There was nothing for it now. Aiden was glad that they were pressed so closely together, because otherwise there would be absolutely no disguising the erection that was starting to strain against the fabric of the very expensive pants that Jordi had purchased for him.
"Damn it Pearce," Jordi murmured, pausing his attack on Aiden's neck to whisper the words right in Aiden's ear. "You look so fucking sexy tonight. It's not fair."
"Jordi…" Aiden murmured. It was supposed to be an objection, but even Aiden could tell that he had made the other man's name sound more like a plea. "We can't… You're going to draw too much attention to us."
Jordi glanced around for a moment.
"It's not like we're the only ones," he said, gesturing over to the centre of the dance floor, where a few of Golobev's younger guests had already started to make out with or grind against potential bed partners for the night.
Jordi had a point, and even when he moved to press his lips against Aiden's own, Aiden couldn't think of a single reason why he shouldn't just let the other man kiss him senseless.
They stood there, swaying gently to the music, trading kisses and the occasional caress for what was probably an inappropriately long amount of time. Aiden felt the beat thrumming through him change at least a few times, heard the sounds around him grow louder and more chaotic as the night progressed, but dimly, as though through a fog. He was vaguely aware that there was something important demanding his attention, but he couldn't really care; not at that moment.
When Jordi eventually pulled back, Aiden let him breathe for only a few minutes, before he chased after the other man's lips, pulling him back into the kiss.
"Fuck," he heard Jordi gasp between heated kisses.
Jordi pulled back again, panting heavily this time. Aiden tried to lean in for another kiss, but Jordi's hands gripped his hips tightly; so tightly that they knocked Aiden out of his haze, if only for a moment.
"We need to cool down for a moment," Jordi said, resting his forehead against Aiden's own. "Can't do the rest of this with our dicks sticking up where everyone can see them, can we?"
It was a terrible thing to say. Aiden should not laugh in response to that. To be fair, what emerged from his throat was more of a snort than actual laughter, but he still felt like that was more than Jordi deserved.
Aiden ground against Jordi, just to feel how hard Jordi was in that moment.
"Holy fuck Pearce," Jordi hissed, his fingers digging into Aiden's hips again. "That is not helping, you ass."
They continued to sway gently to the music, even though the deep, heavy bass that was now thundering through throughout the garden was not particularly conducive to slow dancing.
"Sure. Get cozy, he says," Aiden drawled as they both moved slowly and tried to think about anything but the heat between them. "People are disturbed by displays of affection, he says."
"Oh my god, Pearce you brat; shut up," Jordi said, giving Aiden's hip another squeeze. It was probably not as helpful as Jordi had intended it to be, not if Jordi had intended for it to calm Aiden down. "I didn't see you coming up with any plans."
Aiden glanced around at the rest of the party attendees, and at Golobev's house. Half of the guests were busy whispering into each other's ears, shaking hands, and trading information. There had to be at least a dozen dirty deals happening in the shadows of Golobev's gathering at that moment, and Aiden itched to pull his phone out and maybe listen in on a few of them. The other half of the guests were halfway to oblivion, some of them lost thanks to more than just alcohol. One of Golobev's guards was trying to break up some sort of fight that had started further down the back of the garden, and at least one younger couple on the dance floor was getting even more intimate than Aiden and Jordi had been, much to the embarrassment of some of the people around them, who had moved aside to give them some space.
"It looks to me like people have had those couple of extra drinks you suggested we should wait for," Aiden told Jordi. "So any idea how we're going to sneak into the house?"
He whispered this into Jordi's ear. Anyone nearby who happened to glance at them would undoubtedly think he was just whispering sweet nothings, or more likely dirty suggestions, into his lover's ear.
"So the door to the basement is on that side of the house," Jordi said, nodding in a vague direction. Like Aiden, he was communicating by whispering directly into Aiden's ear, and he did it with a wide grin on his face. Just more sweet nothings. "I noticed that the room in the corner there is pretty poorly lit, and those trees give us enough cover that no-one should really be able to spot us unless they're already looking for us, in which case we've probably already fucked it up."
Aiden took a moment to glance over at the room Jordi had indicated. There was a decent sized window facing them, which looked easily large enough to sneak through, and there weren't any lights on inside.
"Is the window unlocked?" he asked Jordi.
"Only one way to find out," Jordi said, pulling back and finally lifting his hands off Aiden's hips.
Aiden's arousal had not completely faded, but at least it wasn't so visibly obvious anymore.
It was easy enough to slip away from the rest of the party and duck into the shadows. Very few people wanted to make eye contact with them after their display, let alone actually talk to them. Jordi's hand, still holding Aiden's tightly as the fixer dragged him towards the window, probably made everyone think that they were simply sneaking away for a bit of privacy. It wasn't a terrible cover story, but if Aiden wasn't so horny and taken in with everything about Jordi in that moment he probably would have been embarrassed.
They ducked behind a small copse of trees and sidled up to the window. Aiden kept glancing behind them, still sure that someone was going to spot them and call them out on their illicit behavior, but no-one cared or wanted to know what two gay forty-something year old men were doing in the shadows.
The house was old. If it had been one of the newer, state-of-the-art smart houses that had started to make their way onto the market then maybe Aiden would have been able to hack the window open. As it was he just stood there and kept watch as Jordi fiddled with the window, trying not to look too conspicuous as he did.
"Damn it," Jordi cursed. "Just… Just a moment."
"It's locked, isn't it?" Aiden muttered. Of course it was locked. Nothing could ever be easy.
"Guess Golobev doesn't want his guests…"
"Doing exactly what we're doing," Aiden interrupted.
"Yeah. That," Jordi replied, before cursing beneath his breath. "Damn it. Kind of want to just smash the fucking thing open."
"We can't," Aiden objected. "The music's loud, but probably not loud enough to cover that much noise."
"Yeah, I worked that much out for myself," Jordi snapped, clearly annoyed. "You know what? Maybe if I just…"
He fiddled around with the bottom of the window for a moment before holding a hand out to Aiden.
"Pass me a credit card or something," he said.
Aiden rolled his eyes and reached into his wallet. He didn't have a credit card or any sort of bank card at all for that matter. He passed Jordi a membership card for a coffee place he didn't visit anymore, not trusting him with anything more important.
It was only after Jordi had already taken it with a quick murmur of 'thanks' and gotten to work on the window that Aiden thought to wonder why Jordi couldn't just use a card of his own.
Aiden heard the window rattling, and then a sharp 'crack' as something broke. Aiden hoped that it hadn't been the card.
"Hey, is someone there?" a voice called out from inside the house.
"Oh shit!" Aiden yelled, grabbing Jordi and pulling them both down below the windowsill.
After a couple of seconds Aiden risked a glance through the window. Light streamed into the room from the hallway beyond, revealing a large but apparently unoccupied bedroom. Aiden would have guessed that it usually served as a guest room of sorts.
One of the security guards flipped on the bedroom's light switch and walked inside. Aiden ducked back down.
"Security guard?" Jordi whispered across to him.
Aiden nodded 'yes.'
"Shit," Jordi cursed.
Aiden hacked into the mansion's security cameras again, hoping that he might be able to get a good view of the hallway beyond the guest bedroom, so that he might be able to monitor the guard's movements or at least tell when he had left the room behind them, but he had no such luck.
Jordi pressed his ear against the wall of the house, although Aiden wasn't sure how exactly how much he would be able to hear, or what he was waiting for; possibly the sound of the door closing or some other sign that the guard had left. They would have to be careful when entering the mansion regardless. The nearest guard clearly had excellent hearing if he had heard the window latch snap from out in the hall.
Aiden frowned as he turned his attention back to his phone and to the security cameras inside Golobev's mansion. He tried to work out some sort of plan that wasn't just sitting there and waiting for the guard to disappear, but he had no idea what they could do.
For once luck was on their side. While Aiden and Jordi were still crouched beneath the window, they heard the security guard's comm buzz into static-filled life. Aiden couldn't catch much of the conversation that passed between the guard and his colleague, but it was clear that there was some sort of disturbance.
Aiden switched back to the security cameras, and after a little bit of jumping around between them, he spotted one of the other guards escorting a half-dressed man and woman out of the mansion. The young woman in particular was wielding her high heels like weapons and did not look at all happy to have been disturbed.
"Our friend just left his post," Jordi told Aiden.
"Now's our chance," Aiden said. "He got called away to deal with a young couple doing pretty much exactly what we've been pretending we're planning to do."
"You sure they aren't trying to steal something from Golobev too?"
Aiden rolled his eyes at Jordi's attempt at a joke.
"Just open the fucking window," he said.
Jordi got back to work while Aiden kept an eye on the feed from the security cameras. When he jumped back to the action he realized that he recognized one of the couples that he had spotted earlier on the dance floor. The guy seemed to be objecting quite loudly to the guards that were now quite forcibly attempting to remove him and his high-heel-wielding lady friend from the premises.
Aiden heard the window let out a tortured whine as Jordi forced it open. Clearly it hadn't been opened in quite some time.
"We have an entrance," Jordi announced.
"The guards should be distracted for at least a little while longer," Aiden told Jordi. "The couple they interrupted isn't leaving peacefully."
"Thank the heavens for young love, right?" Jordi said, waggling his eyebrows rather suggestively at Aiden, before climbing in through the window.
Aiden rolled his eyes at the other man and then started to climb in after him. Jordi offered Aiden his hand. Aiden paused, halfway through the window, and glared down at it. He certainly did not need anyone's help climbing through a fucking window, least of all Jordi's.
He did not say as much, but apparently the glare he directed at Jordi's face got the message across pretty well.
"Hey, I'm just sticking with the cover story we've already established," Jordi said. "We're just a horny, slightly drunk couple looking for a nice, out of the way broom closet where we can fuck in private, right?"
"The exact same thing that the last couple got in trouble for," Aiden objected, although he allowed Jordi to keep a hold of his hand as he finished climbing into the room.
"Yeah, but they won't catch us with our pants literally down and our dicks hanging out," Jordi said. "So there's less trauma there. Also, we will be so much more polite about the whole thing than those other jerks, right?"
"Well, we'll take the guards down a lot quicker," Aiden conceded.
"Yeah. Nicer."
Aiden still wasn't sure that such an excuse would work, but nevertheless allowed Jordi to lead him out of the room and into the rest of the mansion with his hand still entwined tightly with Aiden's own.
It was only a short distance from the guest bedroom to the door that led to the basement, and Aiden and Jordi passed by mostly unnoticed. They did bump into one caterer on the way, but after a smile and a wink from Jordi and a quick glance down at their entwined hands she simply carried on her way with a knowing grin on her face.
They soon made it to the basement door. Aiden soon discovered it had been fastened with an old-fashioned, non-electronic lock, but luckily it proved much easier for Jordi to pick than the window they had entered through, and before long they found themselves heading downstairs.
There was, as far as Aiden could see, only one slight complication. They had needed to leave the door unlocked and take the padlock with them so that they didn't get locked in the basement. If anyone passed by the basement door it would be fairly easy to tell that someone had broken in.
Aiden tried to remember the layout of the basement' security cameras. They would be able to sneak past one of them, but the other had been pointing straight at the server.
He froze the camera's feed, which should give them a few minutes, assuming that no-one was really paying any attention to them.
"We'll have to be quick," Aiden told Jordi.
"Yeah, yeah," the fixer whispered in reply as Aiden turned on his phone's torch and began scanning the basement in an attempt to find the server.
"It should be around there somewhere," he said, dragging Jordi through the dark.
Aiden realized that they were still holding each other's hand, despite the fact that there was absolutely no reason to do so anymore; no pretense to keep up or watchful eyes to fool. He didn't let go though, enjoying the simple, harmless intimacy while he could, at least until the two of them reached the server and he was forced to get to work.
"All right," Aiden said, getting to his knees in front of the tower, which was surprisingly large and a little more sophisticated than he had been expecting after seeing the rest of Golobev's house.
Jordi stood by Aiden as he worked, glancing around at the basement, keeping watch, or what passed for it.
"Come on Pearce," Jordi snapped, breaking Aiden's much-needed concentration for a moment. "I don't know how much time we've got until they realize something's wrong."
"Damn it. Give me a second," Aiden said. "This is more complicated than I was anticipating. I'm running a decryption program right now. Should just be a few more seconds and then… All right. I'm in. It's going to take a while to download and search through all the data on this thing."
"What the hell is this?" Jordi asked as he glanced over Aiden's shoulder.
Aiden was absolutely sure that Jordi wouldn't know what any of the scrolling text that was currently displaying on his phone screen meant, but that didn't stop him from sneering at it.
"The hell?" Jordi asked. "Has Golobev got backup data for the entire Russian mob in this place or what?"
Aiden couldn't say for sure. All that he knew was that Golobev's operation was looking far more complicated than either he or Jordi would have expected, and consequently the hack was taking too much time.
That became abundantly clear when he heard the sound of footsteps entering the basement.
"Hello?" someone called out. "Is anyone down here?"
Aiden and Jordi looked at one another.
"Shit," Jordi cursed.
A flashlight appeared at the other end of the basement. Aiden glanced around them but there was nowhere that he and Jordi could easily hide.
"Quick, look horny," Jordi said.
"I don't think that excuse is going to…" Aiden didn't make it any further before Jordi was pushing him up against the nearest wall and kissing him senseless.
Aiden moaned, all objections immediately forgotten as Jordi's tongue invaded his mouth. Aiden wrapped his arms tightly around Jordi's shoulders and pulled him closer, one of his legs hooking up over Jordi's hip and drawing him in. He was almost able to forget that the two of them were in trouble.
"Damn it," Aiden heard the guard say, the closer than anticipated voice suddenly yanking Aiden out of his pleasant reverie. "Down here? Really?"
Aiden pulled back and, with eyes that couldn't quite focus, glanced over at the nearby guard, who was sending the two of them a very definite frown.
"And just what the fuck do the two of you think you're doing down here?" the guard asked.
"Oh come on," Jordi said, flashing the guard one of his widest grins. "Don't mind us. We just snuck off for a bit of privacy. I think we might have been making some of the people out there a little uncomfortable."
Well, their earlier make out session in front of hundreds of Golobev's guests would certainly lend some veracity to that particular claim. If Aiden looked as flushed and dazed as he felt then that was probably going to help as well.
The guard didn't look particularly convinced. Probably because they had been caught in an area that was very obviously off-limits. If he looked at the server just behind Aiden and Jordi then he would see Aiden's phone still connected to it as well; clear evidence that the two of them were guilty of more than just sneaking off in search of some private time.
"We're in love," Jordi said, glancing at Aiden and then back at the guard with a wicked grin on his face.
And those three simple words were enough to make Aiden's brain stop working completely. He knew that it was just part of the façade; that Jordi could never and would never be in love with Aiden, and even if he did then he would never admit it, but hearing him say the word 'love' so casually when Aiden was still struggling to even think it was enough to break Aiden's mind completely.
The security guard rolled his eyes.
"Come on you two," he said. "That's enough…"
He then broke off as both his flashlight and his gaze landed on the server, and on Aiden's phone still connected to it.
"What the fuck?" the guard said.
That was all he managed to get out before Jordi was pouncing on him and manipulating the guard into a stranglehold. As the guard struggled and tried to remove Jordi's arm, Jordi reached down and grabbed the man's gun from his hip. He smacked it over the guard's head, and the guard immediately went limp in Jordi's arms.
Jordi lowered the guard to the floor, before removing the man's tie in one swift move and using it to tie the guard's hands behind his back.
Aiden could only stare at Jordi in wonder. His movements were flawless, and he was done with the guard in only a few seconds.
Meanwhile the words that Jordi had said earlier were still rattling around in Aiden's head, taunting him mercilessly.
'We're in love… We're in love…'
"Hey Pearce," Jordi said, already back on his feet and standing right in front of Aiden. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Snap out of it."
Aiden grabbed Jordi and pulled him in for another long, passionate kiss. He heard a loud, desperate moan, and couldn't bring himself to care that the noise had emerged from his own throat.
The kiss only went on for a few seconds. It was far too short.
"All right Pearce," Jordi said, pulling back a little. Aiden missed his lips already. "How are we doing?"
"What?" Aiden murmured.
He couldn't think straight. His heart still felt as though it was missing too many beats in a row thanks to what Jordi had said. He knew that it meant nothing, or even worse than nothing. It was probably nothing more than a joke as far as Jordi was concerned. Ha ha ha, oh, wasn't the thought of the two of them actually falling in love with one another absolutely hilarious?
"The download," Jordi prompted.
"Oh," Aiden muttered. "Right."
He swallowed deeply. That's right. That's why they were there. The data.
He pulled his phone up and examined the display.
"Seventy-eight per cent," he confirmed. "Shouldn't be too much longer."
"Seventy-eight per cent," Jordi repeated. "Damn it."
The other man's words echoed in his mind, 'we're in love… we're in love…', a constant taunting that he couldn't seem to shut off, no matter how hard he tried. One of them was in love, and it wasn't Jordi.
Aiden knew that he was in too deep, that he was far more reliant on Jordi's kisses and touches than was healthy or safe. God, this was all such a disaster. He was such an idiot. There was no way that this relationship wasn't going to blow up in his face. His relationship with Damien had been so much less volatile and passionate than this, and that had almost resulted in the destruction of an entire city. Aiden wasn't sure whether it would be possible for him to get out of his relationship with Jordi alive.
"Pearce? Hey. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
Aiden couldn't bring himself to meet Jordi's eyes.
Jordi took a step back and stared at Aiden for what felt like the longest time. He didn't have the usual, shit-eating grin that he adopted when talking to Aiden, and Aiden felt like he should probably feel grateful for that, but he didn't. He wasn't used to seeing this serious, thoughtful side of Jordi. The couple of other times that Aiden remembered seeing it had always preluded disaster.
"Holy shit," Jordi said, giving Aiden a suspicious look that did not promise anything good. "Holy fucking shit, Aiden-fucking-Pearce you fucking impossible…"
Aiden couldn't quite work out whether the other man was angry at him or found something about the whole situation amusing. He was chuckling, but it was a sound without humor; a sound that triggered something inside Aiden and told him to run; a sound that Aiden had heard several times right before a bullet had entered someone else's brain thanks to Jordi's keen skills as a sniper.
"You're actually in love with me, aren't you?" Jordi accused him. There was no other word for it. The words were an accusation, if Aiden had ever heard one. They had every right to be as well.
"I told you not to fucking fall in love with me, didn't I?" Jordi continued. "And despite that you… Aiden-fucking-Pearce, walking emotional disaster, despite everything that you are and everything we both said…"
Jordi was completely lost in laughter now; close to hysterics in fact.
"You fucking fell in love with me!" Jordi said, roaring with laughter as though it was the best joke he had heard in years. "What the fuck!?"
Aiden just stood there, feeling as though his heart was being pulled further and further out of his chest with every second of Jordi's laughter. Aiden had already known that he was being stupid. Jordi didn't need to rub it in so much.
Luckily it was at that moment that Aiden's phone vibrated. When Aiden checked the screen he discovered that the download had finished.
"The download is complete," he said, trying to ignore the fact that Jordi was still laughing. "I'll transfer all the files over to you. I'm sure you can sort through them to find whatever it is you need."
He pushed past Jordi. The fixer tried to grab Aiden's sleeve as he passed, but Aiden shrugged off the other man's touch, glaring back at him as he did.
"Hey Pearce," Jordi said, the laughter starting to fade from his voice. "Look, it's not…"
Aiden wasn't willing to listen to him. He knew what the other man was undoubtedly going to say. 'It's not a good idea. You know that right?' Or maybe even 'Look, it's not that big a deal. Get back here so we can make out some more and we'll both just pretend that this is just sex.'
He didn't know which would be worse. Either way, he couldn't take it anymore; couldn't take what would happen now that Jordi knew how much sway he held over Aiden.
Aiden stormed up the basement stairs, pushed open the door and stormed through Golobev's mansion, heading straight for the exit. He ignored Jordi's attempts to call out after him, which disappeared as soon as he left the basement. Clearly the fixer had no intent of running after him.
He couldn't ignore the calls of one of the security guards that had been patrolling Golobev's mansion however. The larger man grabbed hold of Aiden's arm as he attempted to pass.
"Hey, where are you…?"
"I'm leaving," he snapped at the much larger man, wrenching his arm out the guard's hold as he did. "All right?"
He wasn't all right. Nothing about this was all right.
The security guard didn't challenge him further, and so Aiden Pearce walked out of Golobev's mansion, leaving Jordi Chin behind in the basement.