Hi guys! First of all, thank you so much for being incredibly patient and waiting for updates. Real life has been a little bit crazy lately, and has kind of forced writing to take a backseat. Hopefully, this next chapter will be worth the wait! Please enjoy it and leave a review to let me know what you think!
Second of all, if you are a fan Chibs and Fiona and Kerrianne, or if you are a fan of fucking fantastic writing in general, head over to check out the story I've Nowhere to Stand (And Now Nowhere to Hide) by Jane Kelley. I promise that you will in no way regret it.
Without further ado...onto the story!
"Are you sure that this is okay?" Tess asked for the twelfth time as they stood in the checkout line at the grocery store. "I mean, I don't usually just up and leave a job before it's time to go. I don't want to…"
Kozik rolled his eyes, again, as her voice trailed off. It intrigued him greatly that Tess seemed to be both a badass and an upright, responsible employee at the exact same time. She seemed genuinely concerned about leaving her post at Teller-Morrow, and no matter how many time he told her it was fine, she didn't seem to believe him. He may not have been Opie or Gemma, but he was (kind of, sort of) still her boss, and he wished she would just relax. At the same time, he couldn't help but be at least a little turned on by the type A, anal retentive side of her.
"…don't want to what? Get in trouble?" he taunted, a smirk firmly situated on his lips.
Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at him. "No."
"No?" he continued, loving the tension he could see building up in her eyes. "Because you look worried. Are you afraid I am going to call Gemma and tell her you ditched?"
She huffed at him and turned, staring resolutely in the other direction, which was fine with Kozik, as it allowed him a good view of her ass. She stood, facing forward, arms crossed, resolutely ignoring him for all of about thirty seconds before he sighed heavily.
"Listen, I'm sorry," he said, throwing an arm around her. "I promise not to call Gemma. In fact, I will even pay for the gross Red Vines and Diet Coke."
"First of all, Red Vines are not gross. They are awesome and I can't watch a movie without them. No giving me shit about it. I am not saying anything about the tiny, bite sized, diarrhea inducing pizza rolls, so lay off the Red Vines," she told him, leaving no room for argument. "Second of all, no more making fun of me."
"For what, like an hour?" Kozik asked, knowing that she couldn't be serious.
"No! Like, for forever," Tess insisted, completely sincere.
Kozik burst out laughing, attracting alarmed looks from nearby shoppers. When Tess elbowed him in the ribs, he managed to quiet down, shaking his head. "There is no way that will ever happen. Teasing you is way too much fun." She fumed. "And now I suppose I will have to buy you some other gross candy to make up for that. Do you like Raisinets?"
Her eyes narrowed again as she grabbed the chocolate covered raisins from the stacks of candy piled by the check out and tossed them on the conveyor belt. She could continue with the argument, the constant back and forth that he seemed to thrive on. Or, she could say exactly what she was thinking and play it off as a well timed joke, and it would shut him up for at least a few minutes.
"You really should be careful about how much you tease," Tess told him, one eyebrow raised. "Because I might just start to tease back. And Kozik? I am really, really good at teasing."
She turned to the teenage cashier, who was watching them with interest. "He's paying," she said, before kissing Kozik's cheek and walking out of the store, hips swaying enticingly. She ignored the stir of excitement in her belly and hoped to God he didn't notice her hands shaking as she walked away.
Opie lit another cigarette as he stared out the window of the tow truck. There were a million things to think about as he sat and waited, but he was content to let his mind rest for a while. There would be plenty to consider, think about, and catch up on just as soon as Chibs's plane arrived. Right now, he had no pressing concerns and nothing to occupy his attention. He leaned his head against the back window and allowed his eyes to close for just a moment.
In the past month or so, since the guys had been on the inside, things on the outside had been quiet; almost suspiciously quiet. The transition from random guy at the table to acting president had gone very smoothly; too smoothly, if he was honest. Their allies had been accommodating and supportive, while their enemies had been virtually silent. Aside from the Russians, as far as Opie knew, they were cool with everybody, from the Irish all the way down to the low, street level gangsters. It was the quiet that made Opie nervous. SAMCRO did not do quiet well, and he felt like it was only a matter of time before the other shoe fell.
But right now, he was not thinking about any of that. Right now, he was determined to not focus on anything troubling. He could drive himself crazy harping on the "what ifs" in the world. Instead, he focused on better things, like the sex he and Lila had had last night, the smiles on his kids' faces this morning, and the deep, rough laughter from his dad as they watched Chuckie try to change baby Abel. Things could definitely be much worse for him. His best friend and many of his other brothers were in prison. Gemma and Tara were alone, with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Chibs technically lived on a different continent than the two people he loved most in the world. All things considered, Opie knew that his life was going really well right now.
Op flicked his cigarette out the window and climbed out of the truck as he saw the plane approach for a landing. It had been a long three weeks without Chibs around, and though his brother deserved every last minute he spent in Ireland with his girls, Opie was sure as hell glad to have him back. He had had his dad and Kozik around, along with the Prospects and the Nomads for company, but none of them were Chibs. He sure as hell would be glad to have a solid second in command back, if only to assure him that he was doing the right things and making the right choices.
He waited several long minutes while the plane taxied down the small runway and came to a stop. He watched as the wheels were blocked off and the door opened and the stairs extended. Finally he watched as his much missed friend climbed through the door looking pale, slightly nauseous, and more weary than Opie could ever remember seeing him. Despite all of that, there was a lightness in his eyes that hadn't been there before, and he knew that it could be attributed to the time spent away, and the people it was spent with. Regardless of all that, Chibs sure as hell was a sight for sore eyes and Opie only waited a few seconds before engulfing the ragged Scot in a hug.
"Good to see you too, brother," Chibs muttered as he returned the hug. "How've you been?"
"Same as ever," Opie replied. "Never thought I'd be so glad to see your ugly ass."
He expected Chibs to fire back some sort of witty retort, but instead, he just got a shoulder shrug and a bland, "Aye."
Op was taken aback for a moment, but really, he shouldn't have been. He should have realized that his friend would not take very much joy in being back here in Charming, away from his family. The older man was in a uniquely difficult situation, and it made Opie feel like a jackass for not spending every spare minute with his own old lady and kids.
"You miss them already, huh?" Opie asked grabbing one of his friend's bags and heading back towards the truck.
"I really do," Chibs agreed without much thought at all. Right now, he was trying very hard to not focus on the memory of warm lips pressed to his, wet cheeks, and whispered pleadings to be careful and stay safe and come back soon.
"But at least it was a good trip, right?" Opie asked, trying to find a bright side for his friend to cling to. "You seem whole and happy and all that shit."
"It was a great trip," Chibs corrected swiftly, climbing up into the cab of the truck. "Leaving them behind is the trouble."
"It always is brother," Opie said, handing his friend a smoke and lighting one of his own. "You'll see them again soon."
"I hope so," Chibs said, a small smile on his face. "They might come visit you know, as soon as Kerrianne has some time off of school."
"That will be fun," Opie joked. "Imagine the family dinners with Fiona and Gemma and Lila and pregnant Tara, plus Tess, all I the same room. It will be like a dream come true."
Chibs looked genuinely startled as he breathed out a puff of smoke. "Jesus. Now there's something to look forward to."
Opie laughed as he started the engine. "Speaking of family, Gemma is demanding I bring you over immediately. Sorry."
Chibs sighed, taking a long drag from the cigarette. "Alright. Let's go."
As the two brothers made their way from the airport, neither of them took any notice of the pair of eyes following them as they drove away, nor the sound of a motor starting, intending to follow their lead.
Kozik found himself in a very awkward and uncomfortable place. Sitting on Tess's couch, staring at the surprisingly large and state of the art television ('What? I like TV!' she had said), watching a movie while the girl in question slept on his shoulder was a fucking awesome place to be. He liked it here and could really do with being in that particular position much more often. The awkward and uncomfortable part came from the fact that the bowl of popcorn sitting on his lap was the only thing hiding his incredibly…hard situation. He felt like a fucking middle-schooler.
Everything had started well enough. They had gotten out of the grocery store without any major incident, though her comment about teasing would stick with him for a while. They had arrived at her walk up apartment just before the rain, which made it a perfect afternoon for movie watching. Her apartment had made him smile. Everything was comfortable and colorful and neat and tidy and so very Tess that he just couldn't help himself. She had made popcorn and prepared snacks as he wandered around the place, examining the pictures and the books and the small trinkets here and there. It hadn't lasted long, because she quickly enlisted is help, which he really should have expected.
Soon after, they were side by side on the couch as the movie began. She had surprised him by changing into a pair of old flannel pajama pants and tank top, before settling in next to him and diving into the candy with a vengeance. He had never been accused of being overly intelligent, but even he was smart enough to not comment on the amount of food this girl could pack away. He couldn't quite manage to keep the smirk off his face when she went for his pizza rolls, but she let it go.
About halfway through the film, she had begun yawning, and it didn't take very long for her to end up asleep on his shoulder. Between the boredom from the job and the amount of food she had inhaled, of course she was tired. He had been completely okay with her being so close to him, her body resting, warm and prone against his. This was all fine and normal. Legit outlaw bikers and the hired help probably did this sort of thing all the time; no big deal. It wasn't until he noticed the scent of her hair that the trouble really started. She usually wore it up around the shop, but she was here in her own home, and her hair was down and he could smell it. He had always had a weakness for roses.
As much as he tried to ignore the attraction, it was growing by the minute. She was sleeping, so she probably didn't mind him really, truly looking at her. He noticed the long eyelashes shading her closed eyes. He noticed the sparkly blue toenail polish, generally kept hidden by her sensible shoes. He noticed the pale white patch of skin that was exposed between her pajama pants and the tank top that had ridden up. He noticed the ink on her shoulder blade that barely peeked out from beneath the thin shirt, and he would definitely be asking about it as soon as possible. A man like Kozik was not used to noticing things like this, but he sure as hell noticed now.
The soft scent of her hair was addicting, and it was as if it was begging him to just reach out and touch it. What was the harm, really? She was definitely asleep, and she would probably never even know. Fuck it, he thought.
His fingers tips reached up and connected with her locks, and he knew that the risk was worth it. The hair beneath his fingers was silky and smooth and the rose scent was stronger now. The hair fell through his fingers easily, but he manage to bring a piece closer to his nose as he inhaled. He was so taken and enthralled that he somehow didn't notice the even breathing stop, nor did he see her eyes flutter open.
"Are you smelling my hair?" she asked, startling Kozik so much that he was barely able to keep the popcorn bowl from flying through the air. His hand returned to his side immediately.
"No," he told her firmly, looking straight ahead at the television.
She lifted her head up, but remained close, staring at him. "Yes, you were," she insisted. "Why?"
He turned to look at her, his mind scrambling to figure out how to salvage the situation and tease his way out of it. The look on her face stopped him. Her face still held the last vestiges of sleep, but her eyes were so bright. She was shooting him a look of such remarkable vulnerability that he couldn't bring himself to make a joke out of it. There was nothing he could say that would make this look like anything other than exactly what it was.
So, instead of trying to find a way out of the hole he had dug, he just leaned over and kissed her instead.