Disclaimer-I don't own the rights to the Sons of Anarchy. I do, however, own No Other Man Alive, Ace, Slick, Shark, Starla, and all my other OCs. And since Mr. Sutter killed off Kozik in season four, I'm claiming him, too.
It took until they were somewhere in Oregon, and after they'd all stopped to eat for Happy to ask the question he'd been mulling over he'd first lain eyes on the damage done to Ace's face. She'd curled up to him for this leg, her bruised left cheek on his chest, his chin resting on top of her head. He knew that part of his courage came from the darkening sky and the fact that he couldn't see her face in this position.
"How much of your face was from me?" Happy grunted into the silent cab. He felt Ace shift under his arm, but he tightened his hold on her, and she stilled.
"I'm not totally sure, everything happened pretty quickly after that." Ace answered, but he knew she was avoiding the question.
"Best guess."
"I know you split my lip. There might have been a bruise on my cheek, but the rest happened…later." She finally admitted, after a minute of silence. Happy cleared his throat loudly.
"I, uh, I told you that wouldn't happen."
"Yep. More than once." She agreed, and he was vaguely proud that she was herself enough to not let him off the hook.
"It won't happen again." He said, kissing the top of her head. "I swear."
"Why should I believe that?" Ace asked him, and this time when she pushed against his arm, he forced himself to let her go. She didn't move far, but she sat cross-legged facing him, which put a little distance between them. She let him rest his cast across her lap, though, and he rubbed her knee with his thumb.
"Because I mean it. It shouldn't've happened the first time."
"So why did it?" She shot back, and he smiled, her feistiness felt right to him.
"I fucked up the job Tig and I were on. It got done, so it shouldn't have been a big fucking deal, but Tig let it slip and my priorities were called into question. I was pissed off at myself, and since everyone else was blaming it on you, I guess I was trying to, too. I got pretty 'faced on Jack."
"And?"
"And I pushed back against everything the guys were saying, and then you showed up, and I was so goddamn pissed at everything, and shitty drunk, it all happened before I knew what the fuck I was doing. I am sorry it happened, Ace." Happy leaned over, and kissed her cheekbone and then her split top lip.
"I know." She whispered, and she turned away from him, studying the formation in front of the truck.
"I won't let it happen again." He told her, glancing across the cab to see her face. "Do you believe me?"
"No." Her voice was matter-of-fact and without animosity, and hit him like a fist to the gut. "And next time, I swear to God, I will shoot you. Do you believe me?"
"Yeah." Happy barked a laugh. "I really fucking do."
Ace smiled weakly, then dug in the white paper pharmacy bag for her painkillers and dry swallowed two. She brushed his casted hand off of her knee, and turned to face the window, tucking her feet under her. She could see him studying her in the reflection on the window, but closed her eyes, locking him out.
It was another hour before either of them spoke again. Happy was growing more claustrophobic by the minute, and even having the window rolled all the way down wasn't helping. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spent this much time in a cage. Ace hadn't moved since she'd shut him out, but he didn't think she was asleep, though.
Happy had been zoning out to the sound of the wind and the monotony of the taillights ahead of him when he thought he heard Ace sniff. His head shot around, but she didn't seem to have moved. Turning his eyes back to the road, he kept his head cocked in her direction, listening hard. When it came again, he inwardly cursed his useless hand and tried to lean over to reach her, but she'd tucked herself so far into the door that he couldn't.
"Hey." Happy broke the silence. "Come here."
He wasn't sure she was going to budge, the set of her shoulders was rigid. She very slowly uncurled herself, though, and he saw her wipe her eyes before she lay back across the seat. Her cheek rested on his leg, so that she faced the back of the seat. He reached awkwardly across his body to brush her hair back from her face.
"You hurtin'?" Happy asked when she wasn't forthcoming with any information on what was doing.
"Not terrible." She answered readily enough, but she was still trembling. He waited for her to elaborate, but it was apparent that she wasn't going to.
"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" He pushed.
"You really don't want to hear it." Ace warned, and closed her eyes. Happy was really starting to get tired of being shut down.
"Yeah, there's a lot of shit that I really don't want to deal with, but we've got a long fucking ride, so you may as well let me in that pretty little head of yours." Hap looked down at her right when she rolled to look up at him, all big eyed. He shifted a little in his seat, certain that catching wood right now wouldn't help loosen her lips. Shit, that didn't help either.
"I could at least understand it if you'd fucked around after everything happened. You've made it more than clear how you feel about being the only man in my pussy." She started, and then sat back up. Happy took a deep breath, blowing it out his nose, trying not to get too pissed at the distance she kept putting between them. He looked down and realized that Jax's fucking truck needed gas again, so he flashed his lights twice so Bowie would know to stop.
"I'm not exactly fucking thrilled that someone else was inside you, but I'll put that to rights soon enough." Happy cranked down on the wheel with his one hand, jaw tight. Ace flipped a hand in the air, waving his retribution off.
"I'm not worried about that." She said, and he shot her a confused look, not sure where she was going with this, then turned his attention back to following Bowie's crew down into the truck stop. "You told me I'd never have to face some little bitch telling me she'd had you, and then I had to see one with your dick in her mouth."
"You weren't supposed to be there." He answered absentmindedly as he put the truck in park and killed the engine, scanning the pavement for issues. Happy looked up at the sound of her door, just in time to see it get slammed as she took off for the truck stop. He didn't like her taking off like that, especially in that dress with those bitch heels, and her hair covering all her ink.
"Hey! That's not what I fucking meant." He yelled, climbing down from the cab.
"We should probably hurry, brother. Northern Oregon is still War Boy territory and we're not over the border, yet." Lorca said, swiping his own credit card to expedite the process. Happy couldn't let another man pump his gas, though, so he took over.
"You guys on alright terms with the War Boys?" Happy asked, turning to take in more of the lot.
"Neutral, I guess. We brawl a lot, but there's no war." Lorca answered. Happy's throat closed up as soon as he spotted three Harleys parked deep in the shadows on the far side of the truck stop.
"Fuck." He abandoned the gas and the truck and took off toward the door. Tig, Kozik, and Lorca all followed.
No Other Man Alive
Ace was fuming as she locked the Ladies Room door to prevent Happy from following her in if he had a mind to. When she was finished in the bathroom, she washed her hands, and pulled her dress up to get a look at the staples in her side. She could hear men's voices coming out of the door opposite the Ladies Room, and figured that if she didn't quit stalling one of the Sons was going to try to break down the door. Bitch face in place, she flung the door open and stepped out into a group of three men in cuts.
"Well hey there, sugar." One of them leaned an arm across the little hallway, blocking her progress. She looked up at him impassively and waited.
"Your old man do that to your face?" Another one asked her, and his tone was genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine." Ace answered coldly, and gathered her hair up into a messy knot on her head, flashing her ink intentionally. It got the reaction she was hoping for, the arm in front of her dropped and she sailed past them, hoping to brazen it out until she could get out the front door, but they followed her.
"You belong to the Tacoma Killer?" The voice was incredulous. "He did this to your face."
"Yes I do, and no he didn't." Ace shot over her shoulder, pushing through the door, one hand against the cut in her side. She saw Happy and the rest of Tacoma coming toward her, and if she could have broken into a run, she would have. Ace settled for keeping her head high, despite the pack following her and the one approaching.
"Happy!" One of the War Boys yelled. "You got a nice, tight little old lady, huh?"
"Get in the truck." Happy ordered her, cracking his neck. Tig stepped in behind her, herding her away.
"You always talk to her like that?" Another one called, and the three War Boys laughed. "Hey sweetheart, I'll at least say please!"
"Is she mouthy? Bet that's why you broke your hand on her face."
"Don't you fucking talk to her. Not gonna happen, bro." Happy took another step toward the War Boys, and the mood changed dangerously.
"Bet I could do more than talk to her, bro."
With a roar, Happy dropped his shoulder and rushed the group, knocking the last one flat on his back.
"Left hand! Left hand!" Kozik yelled as he threw himself into the fray, and Happy did everything he could to obey.
The brawl was fast and bloody, the Sons' greater numbers giving them an easy advantage. Tig was the one who finally came and pulled Happy off of the War Boy.
"Come on, Killah, I think he's had enough." Tig said, catching Happy under his arms and hauling him upright. Happy rocked back and kicked the man's side before shaking Tig off and strutting back to the truck, pulling his bloody shirt over his head with one hand.
When Happy reached the truck, he ripped open the passenger door, and launched himself onto the truck's running boards, hanging onto the roof with his bloody left hand. He kissed her hard for the first time since he'd left her in that motel room, and she didn't resist, even met him halfway, opening her mouth to him. He broke it off and jumped down, shutting her in.
"I've done some stupid shit." He growled, getting in and getting the truck in drive. The tires squealed as he punched it, falling into the formation, watching in the rearview to make sure the rest of the Tacoma brothers made it safely out. "That slut probably tops the list. It never happened before and it won't happen again. It ain't worth it. You want to be pissed off at me, then be pissed, I can take it, but quit shutting me out."
"Never again?" Ace asked. "Not just where it can bite you in the ass?"
"Never again. That's the deal. Now come here." He held his right arm out, and waited while she studied him. Finally she slid herself across the seat, and pressed herself into his side, resting her face against his bare chest. He wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her even closer and kissed the top of her head. "We'll find the other side of this shit, you hear?"
"Yeah." Ace tilted her face up to him and let him kiss her again. "Feel better?"
"Yeah." He laughed for the second time. "I really fucking do."
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