A Sniper's Sketchbook
Summary: Ian Edgerton on draws things that are important to him. Other people think that means that he only draws his targets. And while that's true to some extent, that's not the entire story.
Warning: None
Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters. Unfortunately...
A/N: Hey! This little story kind of popped out of my skull and would not let go, so here it is. I am not really that great at romance, so hopefully I didn't botch this too much. Since I've always had Don/Ian as a more background thing in all of my stories, I've decided to dedicate a whole story for them. Chapter 10 of MBD is coming soon sometime this weekend. But until then, here's a little fluff after the hell I have and will put Don in. The man deserves a little happiness...for now. That's all for now and have a nice day!
Ian Edgerton only draws things that are important to him.
Whenever anyone finds out he can draw, the inevitable question of "can you draw me?" always comes next. No matter who asks, his answer is always the same.
"No, I only draw things I think are important."
He knows that whenever he says that, the next inevitable thought they have would be that he only drew pictures of the suspects he was chasing.
And it's true...to a degree. During a hunt, he'll draw his target and any associates they might have or come across. It always comes in handy when he needs to show someone what his mark looks like and he doesn't have a picture on hand. But in reality, it's more than just that.
The people that ask tend to never look beyond what he said and he liked that. He knew he tended to scare the shit out of them, so they would usually back off after. No one really did figure out the underlying message behind his words.
A sketch of a park, a drawing of a seedy bar, a landscape art of a beautiful forest, a portrait of people at a party. All of these might not seem like they're critical to anything, but they are important to him. All these are parts of his life, memories now stored into the blank papers by his own hand. Innocuous things that seem small but are always a part of a larger picture in his mind. His first ever beer, his first gun, the tree he sat under to calm his racing heart after his first kill. Everything always has meaning in his sketchbook. And now, he had a new subject in his collection of important things. One that has an entire sketchbook dedicated to them.
Because one does not simply come across a man like Don Eppes and then forget about him.
Even though the last time he saw the younger agent was at Quantico, his memory of him has never faded. Ian noticed every single minute detail. From small adorable quirks like the way he keeps putting whatever long and straight object that he has in his mouth, the constant watch-checking, and the constant gum chewing to bigger things like the way he will constantly flirt with everyone confidently but then blush and stutter whenever anyone flirts back (or maybe that was just with him).
And sure, he knew that it could come off as somewhat obsessive, but it does come with the job description. Being obsessed and focused is what makes him good at what he does. Plus, he had a feeling that it wasn't completely one-sided. Not with the constant touches and lingering gazes from the other man, or the way Don would stare at him and then turn away red-faced when Ian turned around, not realizing that Ian had known that the younger agent was staring at him. Ian could tell that Don liked him too. So Ian decided to push things a little bit, flirt a little more obviously just to show the man that he was interested. But it seemed that Don was denser than he first thought, because he never picked up on anything. Sure he flirted back, but that was about it.
And then Don transferred away, and Ian was left feeling disappointed about the missed opportunity. He slept around and had a few partners here and there, but none of them compared to the firecracker that was Don Eppes. So now, every single aspect that he had known about Don during those times has been immortalized inside his sketchbook. The book was now so full of pictures of him that Ian had bought a separate one that's dedicated to sketches of him. Whenever he gets reminded of an aspect of Don, he would take out the book from his bag and draw it down. While he usually worked in the realm of black and white, Don was important enough to him to have a few coloured drawings as well. Drawing the man came easy to him, far easier than drawing anything else.
No one else had seen these books. The only one who did was his family. They teased him relentlessly about acting like a schoolboy with a crush. His mother had even pulled him to the side and urged him to find the man and tell him how he really felt. Ian just shrugged at that. Sure he was pretty shameless, but it had been years and he wasn't really sure if Don still felt the same way. Ian didn't really want to go out of his way to find him, only to realize that his feelings aren't reciprocated. He'd rather wait for an opportunity to come by. He was a sniper after all, it's what he does.
So, he waited some more. It took a few more years before the opportunity that he was waiting for quite literally fell on his lap.
His handler had given him an assignment, and said that his assistance was required in a sniper case. As soon as he saw the name that requested it, his heart sped up. This is it, this is what he was waiting for. Don Eppes is now in his reach, and he would be damned if he let the man get away this time.
Ian never really understands the term "absence makes the heart grow fonder". The only people he was close with was with his family. And with them, he was in constant contact whenever he could. He's just never felt that strongly with anyone. But when he saw Don standing there, the bright smile on his face so reminiscent of how he was back in Quantico, Ian instantly understood.
The sniper case was solved easily enough. With the help of baby brother, the case gets wrapped up faster than any other case he's ever had. During the entire case, Ian had observed Don, checking to see if he was still interested. He even asked his partner Terry about if Don was dating anyone. She only took one look at him and said, "go for him. He won't do it if you won't". That was the only confirmation he needed. So he invited Don to stop by his hotel room before he left. Don agreed.
Ian had just finished setting everything up before the doorbell rang. Don walked in, carrying a case of beer in his hand. "Hey, where should I put this?"
Ian took the beer from his hand and placed it on the table. "We'll put this aside for now, we have other things to talk about."
Don gave him an adorably confused look, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. "Huh? What are you-"
Ian grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. He felt Don still for a moment before he reciprocated. Ian grinned and pushed the man to the wall, deepening the kiss with the same amount of intensity he had when he was on the hunt. Pulling apart, Ian grinned as he saw the surprised and somewhat dazed look on the other man's face.
"Wow…" Don muttered, "I never really thought you felt the same way"
"You kidding?" Ian laughed, "I've been flirting with you since our Quantico days. I've been so obvious about my feelings to the point where the whole faculty knew about it. How can you not notice?"
Don's face flushed in embarrassment as he looked down in a poor attempt to hide it. "I thought you were being you."
Ian rolled his eyes, "You are both one of the most observant and densest man I have ever met in my life". Without warning, he turned Don around and shoved him towards the bed. Don fell backwards with a surprised yelp. Then Ian grabbed both of the Don's wrists and pushed them down on either side of the man's head. A slow smirk spread across his face as he managed to trap the shorter agent beneath him. "Since you've been so clueless this whole time, let me show you how I really feel".
The blush that spread across Don's cheeks was definitely something for the sketchbook.
Ian woke up and stretched his limbs, his body tired from the night before. Looking over beside him, he grinned when he saw Don sleeping beside him, his face calm and serene. It was something Ian had never really seen before. He'd seen him smile and laugh, but he's never seen him relaxed. He placed a kiss on his cheek before getting out of the bed. Ian grabbed one of his sketchbooks and sat down, drawing down the scene across him. The way the sunlight hit him just right, highlighting his disheveled dark hair and long eyelashes and the way his relaxed face just seemed to look ten years younger was one of the best things he's ever seen.
The drawing surprisingly didn't take too long, even with the colouring. He was just putting on the finishing touches when Don roused, one eye cracked open. "Ian?" he rasped out, his voice rough from sleep and their earlier 'activities'. "What are you doing?"
Ian grinned. "You just looked so pretty sleeping, so I decided to draw you."
Don looked more awake as he looked at Ian in confusion. "Draw? I thought you only draw important things"
Ian grinned, shaking his head. "That's where you're wrong, Eppes. I never said that I only draw important things, I said 'I draw things I think are important'". He got up leaned forward, placing a kiss on Don's lips.
"And you...you are the most important thing in the world to me."