Two weeks after they meet at Pino's…

Vaughn sighed contentedly into his pillow. He was boneless, sated and content after greeting his boyfriend at his front door wearing only a towel. They'd made love twice before they even reached the bedroom and Vaughn speculated he'd never again dine at his breakfast bar without thinking of Hector sprawled across it, naked and gloriously sweaty.

With that thought, he chuckled and rolled over as Hector pulled him into his chiseled chest. They laid in the quiet, reassuring one another with feather-soft touches and gentle kisses, each drawing strength and fulfillment from the other. With a quick squeeze, Vaughn hopped out of bed and sauntered, nude, to his refrigerator and retrieved two bottles of water. He returned to the bedroom, tossed one to Hector and flopped onto the bed next to him.

"I'm so glad you came up for the weekend; remind me to send Lester a bouquet for covering your monitors shift." Vaughn said.

Hector snorted. "Better make it a stripper gram for Santos. Besides, he owed me. I had him on video eating Stephanie's Chocolate Belles that she thinks no one knows about. I deleted it with the understanding that he owed me a favor."

"Speaking of favors…"Vaughn murmured as he kissed Hec's exposed skin, "If you're free next week any time, I wanted you to join us for dinner. Gia got the job she was after and I wanted to celebrate with her. And see if you might be interested in helping her look for a place; I figured you'd know the area and what to look for as far as safety goes."

Hector slowly sat upright and sighed quietly; he'd been hoping to delay this part of the conversation. "I'm going to be out of touch the next two weeks. I wanted to talk to you about that this weekend."

Vaughn sat still, processing the words said aloud and those unspoken. "'Out of touch'. What exactly does that mean? And why would you be out of touch? Does that mean we can't talk on the phone?"

Hector motioned Vaughn to follow him. Vaughn stood and immediately pulled on a pair of gym shorts; Hec groaned internally at the clear barrier set before him. He wordlessly dressed and followed his lover into the living room, noting smugly the entryway rug that sat skewed and bunched up from their first bout of lovemaking. He had known he'd have to work at communicating if he wanted this relationship to work, and he really wanted this to work. They sat across from each other and Hector steeled himself; he silently prayed to a God he wasn't sure listened to him anymore that Vaughn would understand.

"You know I was in a gang. Was. I'm not anymore." He began.

"We, Rangeman, spend a lot of time looking for high dollar skips. To find these people, we need a network of business associates to feed us information. Gang informants are a big part of that network, and because gangs are multi-state organizations, they're usually a fast way to find someone when we have a limited amount of time."

He took a deep breath and continued. "There's also a more…private side to what we do. The people we sometimes need to locate aren't always in an…official capacity. We…" Shit, this was harder than he'd expected. He wanted to be as honest as possible without revealing secrets that might get Vaughn in trouble. "We are sometimes hired by different people, different official people to find a person or persons who maybe aren't in the legal system yet. Gangs don't talk to cops, they don't talk to investigators. They talk to each other." Hector leveled his intense gaze at Vaughn's equally intense one. "They talk to me because I'm still considered 'in', even though I'm out."

He leaned back and waited silently to give Vaughn a few minutes to process. Outwardly, he was calm and relaxed. Inside he was cringing. This moment was what he'd feared since he first realized he liked the man sitting across from him. That he'd tell Vaughn a bit about his involvement and be unceremoniously let go by the man he was now wondering if he'd be able to be happy without. As the seconds ticked by, Hector felt his stomach tightening and, to his utter horror, the ball of emotion that had been welling in his throat was manifesting tears in his eyes. Finally, finally, Vaughn released a shuddering breath and nodded.

"Okay. So you're still involved in some respect to your former gang and you've got to…finesse, nurture, I don't know, I can't think of a more badass word for it, your relationship with them to ensure they feed you information so you can catch bad guys, sometimes in an unsanctioned capacity. Like Liam Neeson in that movie where everyone quoted the 'I've got a special skill set' speech, right?"

Hector nodded wordlessly.

"And now you're telling me you're going to be incommunicado so you can…what, exactly?" he asked quietly.

Hector had debated telling him this part earlier. He thought the man seated before him was of a strong moral fiber and that he'd understand Hec's need to parlay with his former gang members. This next part wasn't pretty.

"I need to spend some time immersing myself. To put it simply, I've got to hang out with them."

"Try putting it less simply." Vaughn said, blank face in place.

"I spend time in gangland. I ride along, I lookout while they commit whatever petty crime bullshit robbery or lift a few cars. I might fight a few members from opposing gangs, I hear shit that, if repeated, could get a hit put on me. I don't participate in any killings and I don't condone the exploitation of women. Everyone I roll with knows this. They also know where I work and that my loyalty is to Ranger now. I work to keep lines of communication open and to make sure the respect I earned is remembered and honored." Hector finished. He was met with silence, and in an uncharacteristic move, opened his mouth and let it run.

"I'm telling you this because I want this, you and me, to work. You make me so fucking happy, better….I feel like a better man when you're here. I look at you and I see acceptance and forgiveness and I've never had that before. My family disowned me at 13 because I was gay and I never thought I'd ever find anyone who would want me if my own family didn't; I've never felt like I deserved someone to want me, to love me like you do – " He stopped abruptly, realizing what had just come out of his mouth. Neither of them had mentioned love yet and Hector had just put his foot in his mouth in a huge way.

Except he hadn't. Vaughn's anger stemmed from his fear that Hector was in danger and he was gearing up to argue that risking his life to keep some business contacts, for Christ's sake, happy was ridiculous, but then he heard Hector reference love and he saw Hec freeze when he realized what he'd said and none of that mattered at the moment. Vaughn rose from his seat and slid next to Hector, wrapped his arms around him and kissed him with all the passion and ardor and emotion he could muster, and when he pulled away he was pleased to see Hector's eyes dilated almost completely black. Cupping the man's face, Vaughn brushed his lips across Hector's once, twice, and ended by pressing his forehead against Hec's.

"I do love you. I love every minute we're together and I spend every minute we're apart counting down to when I can see you again. I love you and I'm scared for you. This whole thing scares me fucking witless, Gutierrez, so you're going to have to baby me through this a little."

Hector covered Vaughn's pale, smooth hands in his own brown, scarred ones. "I love you, too." He whispered against his lover's mouth. Then he snorted, chuckled, and laughed freely in quick succession. He met Vaughn's amused eyes and said, "I always thought that phrase was so heavy, so serious. I've never felt lighter or more free than I do loving you." They kissed, tenderly at first, then with increasing passion as they continuously broke apart to whisper "I love you." to each other. Hector positioned Vaughn so he straddled his lap and they continued to kiss and grind against each other on the couch. It occurred to Hector at some point that they were making out, something he'd never done in his 23 years. Every sexual encounter Hector had before this man, this man he loved, had been full of sexual heat and lacking any tenderness. This lovemaking healed him, filled holes in his soul he didn't know existed. It was, in a word, perfect.

"So you know we're not finished with that conversation." Vaughn intoned, pointing a finger at Hector's chest. After they'd showered together – mmmm, the shower, Hector thought – they moved to the kitchen to make dinner. Hector had been tasked with chopping peppers while Vaughn sliced chicken and steak for fajitas.

Hector nodded and said, "What would you like to know." A statement, not a question.

Vaughn considered that; what did he want to know? He wanted to know this man would be safe, that he'd be okay after he was finished with this little field trip. Not just in body, but in mind and spirit. He needed Hector whole. He wanted to know why Hector went from holding an allegiance to a gang, to owing allegiance to Ranger Manoso, why he was willing to risk serious injury or jail time for the man. He shared these thoughts with Hector and waited patiently while Hec considered them.

"I owe Ranger a debt of gratitude." Hector began. "When I met him, I was a 17 year old punk-ass gang member. I was running H for my Leader and I was in charge of account keeping because I was good with technology. I was also hacking. I had a pretty good reputation for being able to bypass almost any online security system and not get caught. I was teaching myself to write software that would enable me to insert multiple fake I.P. addresses to anyone trying to track me. Multiple, as in thousands, simultaneously." V nodded silently and gestured for Hector to continue.

"So one day I was out with some BGs, making the rounds and Ranger Manoso stopped us. He wasn't as big a presence in Jersey as he is now, but we still knew who he was and knew not to get on his bad side. He shocked the shit out of me by asking to talk with me privately, so to cover it I mouthed off. He had me, face down with my hands behind my back, in less than 3 seconds. He said it would 'behoove me' – that's the word he used, 'behoove' – to listen to what he had to say. I agreed, and he laid it out. That I was a 17 year old kid in M-18 and my life expectancy was for shit, that he understood having joined at 13 because I had nowhere else to go but now, I had options. I asked what options, and he offered me a job. Just like that. Told me about his company, that it was legit and that he needed someone smart and tough like me to help him with the tech stuff." Hector couldn't keep the proud inflection in his voice at this admission.

He stopped chopping and raised his eyes to Vaughn's, noting the tender expression on the man's face. "There is no question in my mind I'd be dead if it weren't for Ranger. He helped me bleed out of the gang, taught me to fight so they wouldn't kill me when I left it. He gave me a place to live while I got some additional training, and he gave me a sense of pride in myself. I'd never had that, much less acceptance. So helping him by doing something I'm already good at doesn't seem like a sacrifice; it seems like gratitude for keeping me alive."

Vaughn considered everything Hector said while the fajitas cooked, and Hector left the kitchen to give him a few moments alone. After checking the food and covering the skillet, he made his way to the living room where Hector was assembling his surround sound system. He sat next to him and threaded his fingers through Hector's, then cautiously spoke.

"I understand your loyalty to Ranger. I had no idea he was so instrumental in pulling you out of that lifestyle, and I'm grateful to him. More than I can even try to convey right now. I get your desire to help him like this, and if it's what you want to do, I'll support you. I just can't help but be concerned for your safety, baby. I'm scared you're going to get caught in the middle of some kind of fucking gang war and get killed."

Hector's relief was so immense his shoulders slumped drastically; he hadn't even realized how much Vaughn's acceptance meant to him. He placed a hand on V's thigh and said, "I understand that; you don't know the kind of influence Ranger has. No one, no one, would dare to fuck with him or with me by extension. It's signing your own death warrant." Vaughn's eyes widened, and Hector nodded. "It's a very serious and very dangerous line of work, but we take every precaution we can. We train, we partner up, and we track one another. I've got a tracking chip implanted under my skin that's only accessible from Rangemen's HQ in Trenton. Ranger's reputation, his influence is unmatched. I'm smart, I'm tough and I don't take chances with my life. Not anymore. Not since I've got a man I love calling me 'baby'." He smiled and nudged Vaughn playfully. "Did you think I missed that?"

Vaughn grinned and blushed. "If it makes a difference, I've never called anyone else 'baby'."

Hector's eyes darkened and he leaned forward to lick Vaughn's bottom lip. "I like that. Fuck, I like that a lot."

"Stop! You can't…oh, god...you can't start this now…you're so good at that, right there…the fajitas…"

"I'll buy takeout later. Now take it off. Slowly."

A/n:

For those who don't know what a Chocolate Belle is, hang your head in shame. It's a TastyKake, reminiscent of a Ho-Ho but it kicks serious Hostess ass.

A 'BG' is slang for Baby Gangsta, a new young gang member. 'H' is the street name for heroin, and M-18 is a gang (Mara 18) on the East Coast with mostly Hispanic members. The term 'he helped me bleed out' is a method used when one wants to leave a gang; they're beaten by other gang members for a preset amount of time. If they survive, they're allowed to leave without retribution from the gang. While I did research that a bit, I want to give credit where it's due and tell you I first heard that phrase from FanFiction author veiland's story, 'A Change in the Wind'. If you haven't read it, you need to.