Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy or their recognizable characters. I do own NOMA and my characters, though. I'm also incredibly, insanely, out of my mind jealous of all the Harleys en route to Sturgis.
Ace burst into the room she was using to find Kozik sitting in the chair in the corner. She looked at him for a long minute and then back at the door that she'd just unlocked. He didn't say anything, just held a key up in explanation.
"Lovely. I don't even get to lock my own door now?" Ace snapped at him, then abruptly sat down on the floor, putting her back to the door.
"Shit, are you alright?" Kozik asked, getting to his feet. He hunkered down in front of her, close, but not touching.
"Do I look alright to you, Kozik?" She mumbled from under her arms, which were curled around her head like she was bracing for impact.
"It didn't seem like it was going that badly." Kozik said, and finally gave into the impulse to hug her, pulling her against his chest and patting her back awkwardly. She allowed the contact for a minute, then pushed him off of her.
"Give me like, ten minutes to shower and then you are taking me to work." She informed him, her eyes wide with anxiety.
"Ace…" He sighed, warningly.
"No. I stuck around, I saw him, and now I'm going to work. If you won't take me, then I'm calling a cab." Ace didn't give him a chance to reply, she put the bathroom door between them and turned the shower on. She left her wet clothes in a heap on the floor, feeling like she was in a race to get out before the door of the trap swung shut.
When she'd washed the sweat from her body and done at least a halfway job of getting her hair clean, she stuck her head out of the bathroom to make sure Kozik had left. Not wanting to risk the time it would take to dry her hair, she pulled it up into a sleek bun, and dressed as fast as she could. She was still pulling her shirt down with one hand while throwing her bag over her shoulder when she spilled into the hall.
Looking over her shoulder like a convict, Ace pounded on Kozik's door. She was shifting her weight from foot to foot like a toddler who needed to pee.
"Get me out of here, Kozik, please!" She begged him, and she could tell that he really wanted to tell her no. "I have to go to work either way."
"Fine, but I'm telling him where you are, so don't be surprised when he shows up." Kozik warned her, and pulled out his keys. "And we're taking the car."
No Other Man Alive
It was over two hours before Bowie released him from the Chapel, and Happy felt like it had been more like a couples counseling session with Tig than anything else. Bowie had forced them to come to an accord on what the exact parameters of their partnership were. The one thing they never spoke about was Ace. Happy couldn't even begin to sort through the noise enough to ask Tig a coherent question about her, so he just stayed silent, but Tig didn't offer him anything, either.
"If you want to take a swing at me, I'd get it." Happy finally told him as they exited.
"I'm waiting to punch you in the back of your head until both your fucking hands work." Tig told him.
"That's fair." Happy acknowledged. "How bad was she?"
"Had to call Donut that night because she tried to drown herself in Jack." Tig shrugged, like it wasn't really a big deal. He figured it would be best not to mention that she'd also been curled up with Happy's throwaway.
"Is she still drinking like that?" Happy asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"No." And based on the tone of his voice, Tig wasn't telling the whole story.
"Thanks for looking out for her." Happy said, putting his hand out. Tig just looked at it and shook his head.
"Either take care of your shit or cut her loose, I'm tired of dragging your weight." He called over his shoulder as he left Happy behind.
"Fuck." Happy groaned, the start of what felt like a massive headache pounding in his temples. It didn't improve his mood when Kozik intercepted him on his way to find Ace. All he wanted was to get her to talk to him.
"What's Tigger pissed off about?" Kozik asked him, blocking his route to the dorm rooms.
"He's tired of carrying my weight, I don't really blame him." Happy shrugged. "How pissed are you?"
"I'm angry, but there's no point in acting like a bitch about it." Kozik purposely left out the fact that he figured Happy was going to be twice as angry when he figured out who had been helping Ace get independent. "Don't bother looking for Ace, she left for work a while ago."
"Wait, she's working?" Happy was surprised, because that was the last thing he'd expected from her, given that so far all anyone had told him was how wrecked she'd been over him skipping town.
"Yeah, I made sure she went to Eddie's place. Figured that was the safest place for her, man." Kozik watched as Happy was trying to rearrange the pieces of the puzzle into something that made sense, and coming up short.
"Yeah, I guess it would be." Happy answered, but he was still in his own head, and it wasn't doing much good, because it was getting clearer that he didn't know everything that was going on.
"I'm glad you're back. How much hell did you raise in Fallbrook?" Kozik changed the subject, slapping Happy's chest.
"Not much, just recon and one body." Happy grinned. "I left a huge fucking calling card on their wall, though. They know I'm coming, just not when."
"Was the body Rivera's?" Kozik asked excitedly.
"Nah, Juice is tracking him down somewhere on the East Coast. This was just the banger unlucky enough to pull guard duty that night. I wish that asshole had shown his face while I was there, I'd be a much happier man. Neither he or the gash were anywhere to be found, I figure she's probably still with him." Happy said easily, he knew Juice was the best tracker they had, and if he could find him, he'd know who would.
"Yeah, Juice will figure it out." Kozik said, looking toward Tig, who was currently doing his best to get loaded as fast as possible.
"What time is my wife gonna be done tonight?" Happy asked Kozik finally, and his voice was cold. Having to ask someone else anything about his old lady really made his skin crawl. He didn't think he'd ever been at a disadvantage where she'd been concerned. Even when she'd been married, he'd always felt like he had more of an in with her than Tony had. She was loyal to a fault, no doubt about that, but even though he hadn't been fucking her, he'd always felt like she'd been his, first. That douchebag hadn't ever known what was in front of him or how to handle her.
"She usually closes, you have plenty of time before you need to go pick her up." Kozik told him and Happy just raised a brow and waited. "I've been giving her rides, but I'm done playing taxi driver. At the very least she won't be able to walk away from you while the truck is moving."
"Where's she staying at? None of her shit is in my room." Happy questioned him, the pile of shit he didn't know getting bigger and bigger. Kozik pulled a key from his cut and tossed it to him.
"Two doors down from me. It was either let her do that or she would've taken a page outta your playbook and split entirely." Kozik pacified him. "You're not gonna like the way things played out while you disappeared, but Tig and I kept her here. Remember that."
No Other Man Alive
"Hey Ace." Eddie nodded as she stepped into his office.
"Hey Eddie." Ace sat in one of his extra chairs, and grabbed his portfolio, flipping through it.
"You have a couple appointments tonight. One in an hour, the other at nine." Eddie told her, watching her. "You alright?"
"Fine, Eddie. You're pretty good." She said, still flipping through the book. "Have you done a lot of cover ups, Eddie?"
"Who hasn't?" Eddie laughed. "Whatcha got?"
Ace stood, and pulled her shirt up, revealing not only the ink on her stomach, but the scar on her side, too. Eddie stared at it for a long time and then looked up at her.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" He asked seriously.
"No."
"I'd recognize Happy's work anywhere and there's not a chance in hell that I'll be the one to cover it." Eddie shook his head, not even wanting to contemplate what Happy would do to him.
"I won't ask you to, I just wanted to see if it could be covered." Ace told him, starting to pull her shirt back into place.
"What happened to your side there?" Eddie asked while she gathered up her bag.
"I got stabbed." Ace looked over her shoulder at him. "It sucked. End of story."
"Let me see the ink again." Eddie sighed. "I'm not gonna cover it, but I'll draw something up for you so you know whether it would even work."
"Thanks, Eddie." Ace smiled tightly, and pulled her shirt up far enough that he could get a picture of the tattoo.
No Other Man Alive
Since Kozik assured him he had plenty of time to kill, Happy went down to the room Ace was staying in. He hesitated outside the door, feeling guilty about invading her space, but his need to surround himself with her was stronger than the guilt. He unlocked the door and closed it behind him. This room didn't smell like her, either, which had him wondering how long she'd been living in it. Her bag was on the bed, and he unzipped it. Either she was planning on leaving now, or she'd just moved out of his room this morning. He chose to believe that she wasn't trying to run. He felt a little better that she'd been in his bed the whole time he'd been gone.
Pacing the room, Happy went to the bathroom, breathing in the familiar smell of the soap she used. He closed his eyes for a moment and just let it fill him up. Her wet clothes were on the floor, and he couldn't stop himself from picking them up, and hanging them over the shower doors to dry. The black lace panties gave him an immediate hard on.
There was a stack of drawings on the bed next to her bag, and Happy went back to investigate. He was glad that she was drawing and inking again, it meant that she was in a better headspace with the rape than she'd been when he'd left. He lay back, propping the pillows up behind him and lit a cigarette, pulling an ashtray out of the top drawer of the nightstand. The relief over Ace's art evaporated the second he picked up the stack. It felt like being under attack. Page after page of what had been done to her, all from her point of view. They were drawn in hard lines, mostly black and grey, with random, saturated pops of color. The last dozen or so were of him, and it was uncanny the way she had guessed what had transpired after he'd given himself up. It was also intriguing the way she'd been able to draw him perfectly from memory, it was like looking in a mirror. She knew every line and shadow and scar, could reproduce all his ink perfectly in proportion.
Happy looked up at the sound of the door.
"Some sick shit, isn't it?" Tig asked, nodding toward the drawings in his hand. "We all thought we had a fucking clue what they did to her, but once she started drawing those, man we didn't even know. She had em hung up all over your room until this morning."
"That's…really fucking disturbing." Happy scratched his head. "Is she at least sleeping at night?"
"She is now." Tig said, the silent implication being that she hadn't been sleeping at first.
"That's good. Eating? She still looks too skinny." Happy continued his questioning.
"Getting better about it. Eddie makes her eat at work. I force breakfast and lunch down her throat." Tig shrugged, like it wasn't a big thing, but since Happy had mostly failed in getting Ace to eat on a regular schedule, he understood.
"How'd you manage to get her eating?" He asked, and stood up, looking at the clock. It was too early, but he didn't have any fucks left to give. He wanted to be wherever she was.
"I told you I forced it down her throat, I wasn't joking." Tig told him, folding his arms. "I'm only telling you all this so that you can harness your balls back on and make a fucking decision. She didn't fuck Shark. She thinks that everything that's happened since you hooked up is her fault. And while you've fucked up a lot, the worst thing you could've done was leave. I don't give a fuck whether you keep her, lose her, or kill her, but for fucks sake do something."
"Thanks for the update." Happy rasped, and Tig didn't answer, just left the room.
No Other Man Alive
Happy sat in the parking lot for a long time before he could make himself go inside. He went around to the back door, near where Eddie's office was, hoping to find the man before Ace spotted him. He was in luck, Eddie was at his desk, obviously working on a drawing. He looked up when he heard Happy's boots, and his face was panicked. Happy put a finger to his lips, and closed Eddie's door.
"How're you treating my girl, Eddie?" Happy asked, and pulled the man into a hug.
"Good, good. She's amazingly talented, man. Better than you, even." Eddie laughed.
"No argument from me." Happy told him, and sat down.
"Do you want me to go get Ace for you?" Eddie offered, going for the door, but Happy shook his head.
"Nah, I just wanted to see if you'd cut her loose early since I just got back in town." Happy was watching Eddie shuffle papers around on his desk nervously.
"Uh, she's got a client at nine, but she could leave after that. Would that work for ya?" Eddie said, dropping his calendar over whatever he'd been working on.
"It'll have to." Happy mused. "What are you working on that's got you so jumpy, Eddie?"
"Nothing I would have actually inked, I swear!" Eddie told him, passing the sketches over. Happy flipped through them, shaking his head.
"No one touches her but me. You know that, right?" Happy asked calmly, handing them back.
"Of course, Happy. I told her that I wasn't gonna do it, she just wanted to know if it could be done." Eddie was sweating, he had a very healthy fear of finding himself on Happy's bad side.
"Well, tell her it can't." Happy told him, getting to his feet. He opened the door, checking to make sure Ace wasn't in eyesight.
"Should I tell her you were here?" Eddie asked, trailing behind him.
"No. She knows I'm in town, that's enough." Happy said, and headed out into the lot to wait.
No Other Man Alive
"Alright, wash it with Dial, apply the A&D at least twice a day, and come back to see me in a few weeks if it needs to be touched up. Keep it out of the sun." Ace told the frat boy sporting a large tribal piece on his shoulder that she just knew he wasn't going to take care of. The whole time she'd been working on him, he'd been trying to look down her shirt, and she was glad that she'd worn a shirt that covered up her tits. She was also relieved that Happy hadn't shown up while she was working on the kid, he would have taken the brat's head off.
Ace stripped her gloves off, tossing them in the general direction of the trash can. She rolled her head, stretching her neck. It was sore from leaning over the guy's shoulder and trying to block his leering. It didn't take her long to finish cleaning up her space. As far as work spaces went, it was pretty alright. The shop was much newer and sleeker than what she was used to from Fallbrook, but the harsh lighting, while great for visibility, felt cold to her. And given the fact that she'd put her hair up and left without putting on a speck of makeup, it probably made her look like death, too.
"Listen, I've been working on this drawing, Ace, I really just don't think you'd be able to get decent coverage on it." Eddie told her, hovering awkwardly.
"I didn't think you would." Ace muttered cynically. "Thanks for looking at it anyway."
"Sure, sure." Eddie answered. "Listen, you don't have anyone else scheduled tonight and it's been dead all day, why don't you just head home and I'll close up tonight."
Ace narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Eddie was nervous and he'd never, ever offered to close alone. That all added right up to Happy being involved. It didn't seem worth calling Eddie out on it, though, she didn't know anyone who could turn Happy from what he wanted.
"Yeah." She snorted, and packed her book away in her bag. "Thanks, Eddie."
Ace didn't even bother trying to call Kozik, he'd warned her when he dropped her off that she was on her own for rides now. Besides, if she knew Happy, he'd be right outside the back door waiting for her. Delaying the inevitable, Ace stopped in the employee bathroom to assess the face situation. She didn't look as badly as she thought, which was a blessing. She considered taking her hair down, but the thought of him touching it, running his hand through it, tugging it to get her attention made her weak, so she left it, even though it looked severe on her. Out of things to stall herself with, Ace finally gave in and left the bathroom, calling herself a coward with every step.
Happy was exactly where she'd expected him to be, leaning against the truck, right across from the door. When he saw her, he flicked away the cigarette he'd been smoking and pushed away, coming to meet her halfway.
"How long did it take Kozik to tell you where I was?" She asked him, stopping shy of his reach again.
"About seventeen seconds after I got done with Tig and Bowie." Happy admitted, glad that she was at least talking this time. "Did you think he wouldn't?"
"No, I knew he would. How long have you been waiting out here?" She folded her arms across her chest, shifting her weight.
"A little over three hours. Felt like fucking forever." The second the words were out of his mouth, Happy knew he couldn't have said anything worse. Her face got hard, and she stepped around him to go to the truck. "That's not what I meant." He called, right on her heels. He deliberately trapped her against the door, in between his arms.
"Seems to be your theme song these days, Killah." She snapped, and turned her back to him. "Unlock the doors or I'm going inside to call a cab."
Without a word, Happy unlocked the door and held it open for her. He'd known that coming back to her wasn't going to be easy, but he couldn't seem to figure out where she was at with it. At the clubhouse she'd been so distant, one second cold, the next hurt. Now she was pissed and ready to use the sharp side of her tongue. He couldn't decide which was worse, since it didn't seem that she was going to actually listen to anything he said.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Happy asked, getting in the truck and firing it up. "You've called me a lot of things, but that's a new one."
"It's what everyone else calls you, isn't it?" Ace pointed out, staring out the passenger window. Happy reached over, trailing his fingertips down the seam of her jeans. She looked down at his hand like she couldn't figure out where it had come from, and shifted closer to the door. He sighed and rubbed his temple, trying to will the headache and fatigue away.
"Yeah, doesn't mean I like it from you." He told her, heading back to the clubhouse.
"That's nice. Killah." She still refused to look at him, and his hand tightened on the wheel. It was dead silent in the cab the entire ride, and when he got to the clubhouse, instead of turning in, he kept driving. If he let her out of the truck she was going to lock him out and he had to make her understand.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ace sighed, like she was trying to hold onto her last vestiges of patience.
"I'm trying to get you to talk to me!" He yelled, feeling like he was losing her, even though she was right there. This time she did turn to him, and her cheeks were splotched red.
"Seriously? You're trying to kidnap me into talking to you? Grow the fuck up. You were gone for almost three weeks with no word to anyone, and you've been back what? A few hours? And you're already all over me to talk? Unbelievable." She shook her head.
"That's not-"
"I swear to God if you say that's not what you meant, I am going to make sure to drive us both off the nearest bridge." Ace cut him off. "I'm really tired. Take me home."
"Yeah, sorry." Happy rubbed his own eyes. "Stupid idea. I've been driving since midnight, guess I'm not thinking straight."
More silence as Happy circled back around and put the truck in park. He turned to pull his bag from behind the seat, and Ace started to get out. Happy put a hand on her shoulder, lightly to not startle her. "I know I deserve it, but could you at least stop walking away from me?"
Ace's face softened for half a heartbeat, and she nodded wordlessly. Happy was surprised that she even waited for him to come around and open her door. He helped her down and tried not to be offended when she shook his hand loose. He followed her up the stairs and through the clubhouse, ignoring the look she shot him when he continued straight to her door.
"Can I at least ask why you moved all your shit out?" He asked quietly, and she turned to him, leaning back against the door frame. He leaned into her, one hand on the wall, not daring to actually touch her, though.
"The idea of being there, with you, after everything…" Ace shook her head, but looked back up at him. "It hurts too much, that's all."
"Ace…" Happy breathed, unable to say anything else, and his arms broke out in gooseflesh. He traced the curve of her cheek with the back of his fingers, careful to keep the rough plaster off of her skin.
"Don't. I'm really tired and so are you. I can't do this tonight." This time she didn't sound pissed, just really tired and broken.
"Yeah, we'll talk tomorrow. I'm beat, and so are you." Happy told her, and moving slowly, he kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, baby."
Ace watched him walk back down the hall to his own room. Her whole body screamed at her to just go to him, and let him make everything better, but she knew that wouldn't change anything. She waited until he closed his door before she traced his path, knocking quietly on Tig's door. He opened it with a sheet wrapped around his hips, and a croweater tied facedown on the bed.
"Seriously, Tig?" She hissed, rolling her eyes.
"Where's Hap?" Tig asked, not even acknowledging the bondage situation going on in his bed.
"Went to bed. Which is what I'm trying to do, come on." Ace really wanted to be back in her room and alone.
"Yeah. You want to come in while I get your drugs?" He offered, stepping back.
"Ew, no, Tig. Hurry up, please." Ace spoke through gritted teeth, and Tig retreated to the bathroom, giving Ace a clear view of the ass end of the croweater. Ace wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Open." Tig demanded and shoved the pill in her mouth and handed her an unopened bottle of water. Ace toasted him with it and swallowed her drugs on her way back to the room.
Tig waited, counting down from ten in his head. Right on schedule, Happy's door opened.
"What was that about?" He demanded, and Tig tossed the prescription bottle at him.
"Sleeping pills from Donut." Tig said. "Now you can feed em to her every night." Then he shut the door, leaving Happy standing in the hallway.
No Other Man Alive
Happy came awake on a gasp, already reaching for his gun. It only took him a second to place where he was, but it was disorienting. The clock told him that it was close to three, but he couldn't process trying to lay back down and go to sleep, not without reassuring himself that Ace was alright. For a second he worried about how she would react if he showed up in her room, but the need to watch over her and keep her safe was too overwhelming.
He pulled on yesterday's jeans and dug out the key for Ace's room, and padded barefoot down the hall. The scrape of the key in the lock sounded explosive to him, but no one stirred. He opened the door an few inches, looking in on her, intending to go once he saw her, but he'd been lying to himself. She was curled up on one side of the bed, her hair across her face, and one hand reaching across the empty space.
Happy glanced up and down the hall before giving in and pushing through her door, closing it quietly behind him. He watched Ace closely for any sign of reaction to the noise, but her breathing didn't even change. He glanced over at the chair, but decided not to kid himself about his willpower. Prowling carefully, he climbed onto the bed next to her. When she still didn't stir, he gathered her gently against him, pushing her hair off of her face so he could see her. He kissed her lips once, twice, and then settled back, promising himself that he'd only stay for an hour. Holding her in the quiet dark, he was filled with gratitude that he had an opportunity to even try to make things right with her.
The sound of boots outside the door woke Happy for the second time, two hours later. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the hours of lost sleep had evidently caught up to him. He knew he needed to leave before she woke up and found him there, but she'd wrapped herself around him, her leg curled over his, and it broke something in him that he couldn't just stay. Closing his eyes for a moment to hold onto the feeling, he tried to memorize the way she felt against him, in case it was a while before he got to hold her again. Before he could lose his nerve, he slid out from underneath her, easing her back down against the pillows.
Happy locked her door, and pulled it closed very slowly, wincing at the click of the lock.
"Walk of shame?" Kozik was out in the hall, ready for work.
"Nothing like that, man. And you tell her you saw me this morning, I'll break your face." He growled.
"I wasn't going to tell her. I get it, you need to see that she's safe. Just be careful with her, she's still pretty fragile." Kozik told him, and then left without waiting for a reply.
No Other Man Alive
The alarm blasted Ace straight out of a delicious dream about being wrapped up with Happy, enjoying one of those slow, sweaty morning sack sessions that always left her ready to go right back to sleep. Groaning, she rolled until she could reach the alarm clock, turning the sound off. She buried her face in the pillow, thinking about going back to the dream, but then she picked her head up, looking around. The room was empty, but unless she was going very crazy, Happy had been there.
Ace ran her hand across the empty space, but the sheets were cool to the touch. Grabbing the other pillow, she pulled it to her face and breathed in. The scent of him was all over the pillow, and probably her skin, too. She thought that she should probably be pissed that he'd let himself into her room, but it felt right that he'd been there. Caught completely off guard, Ace found herself crying quietly into the pillow, torn between how badly she wanted him and the anger and pain and distrust that twisted her up inside.
When the tears finally stopped, Ace forced herself out of bed. She needed a shower and some coffee before she could face the day, and face Happy. She couldn't avoid him today, it wasn't fair to either of them to leave so many things unsaid.
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