I Own Nothing
AN: I got this idea by watching episode where Luca's searching for a place to stay near end season 1. I am redoing where he ends up even though I did love the neighborhood he got on the show.
Summary: One has been in love with the other for years. Tried to hide it and succeeded. A misunderstanding led to the end of best friends and a love that was about to be declared. Four years later Luca's in need of a place to live and Rocker's offering that. Luca's just got a question, why did Rocker run before?
Title: If You Answer Why
Luca looked at the note that had been left on his locker for the third time. He wasn't sure who had left it there since it was typed and no name on it. He had asked the others if they'd left it, but they hadn't. It was an address with 'meet me here if you need a place to stay. He had looked up the address and the place faced west where he could see the sunsetting. It had all his other qualifications that he needed for the place to be close to his liking. The only thing was he didn't know who had left it. He was curious though, extremely curious.
It was why he had driven over to the place. There was a two-car garage that had the door raised. He noticed one of the chargers that S.W.A.T. members would take home at times. It was raised up on jack stands with someone under it at the moment. There was also a truck parked in the yard as if it had been moved there so he could park. He got out of the bronco and walked up to the garage. There was music playing on low. He heard two barks and then a voice from under the car that he knew all two well. It belonged to the person that he'd once considered his best friend. He missed that friendship so much. The dog in question stopped barking and came around the side of the car.
Luca knew the dog, but he hadn't seen her in weeks. He squatted down rubbing Storm as she wagged her tail licking his face with excitement. He laughed before finding himself off balance when she jumped with excitement pushing him backwards until he was laying. Storm had been training to be a police dog, but she'd been so overly excited and hadn't been able to settle. They had also discovered loud noises scared her. He smiled rubbing her and talking to her. He was happy to see her too. He'd heard that someone adopted her, but he hadn't known who had. When he'd tried finding out, even got Chris involved it had been a mystery. For some reason, the person had asked to remain anonymous. The second person that had adopted Storm that was. Chris had been upset about the first person. She'd removed the sweet girl herself. He was starting to think Chris had known, she just hadn't said anything because of who adopted Storm. It wasn't a bad thing at all.
"Storm, sweetheart, you can't lick our guest to death. That would be a bad thing. Come here baby girl. Let him get up." A voice called and Storm backed up running over to her owner sitting down wagging her tail like crazy and giving them the same attention.
Luca let out a laugh before he got up going over to the other person. "So you're the one that adopted Storm." He said taking a picture because he couldn't pass up this chance watching him being licked and held down by Storm. It was kind of sweet and adorable. "I will be sending these to all of HQ. I'm sorry, but Sergeant your going to loose a little bit of the mystery of is he always the strong silent type who likes to at times play pranks."
He laughed, but he pocked his phone without sending the picture, except for Chris. He couldn't help it. Seeing Rocker being like this was not what he'd expected. Sure, he knew he wasn't a cold-hearted jerk. He knew more about Rocker than some of the others on 50 squad. Except for Mumford, some thought Rocker was his son from one his earlier marriages. They were joined at the hip at times. Mumford and Rocker had been known to have this weird thing like reading the other without saying anything. Someone had also said Rocker had been staying with Mumford.
"Storm, get Luca, he's being a jerk to us when we offered him a place to stay." Rocker said carefully backing Storm up so he could stand up. So far it wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. Luca being here, it felt like it hadn't been four years since they'd had any real time together.
"Who did you hijack the house from?" Luca asked looking around because he knew it wasn't Rocker's. At least the last time he'd been to his place months ago it hadn't been. That had been a very weird day. It had felt like ice in the room, not between them, but Rocker's wife. He really didn't like her, especially after what had recently gone down.
"LAPD. It was up for auction for the tenth time, but no one wanted it again. The location, fact it use to be a gang house. I couldn't stay with Jack anymore. I did not need to hear Nikki and him having sex and those walls were thin." Rocker explained. "One thing to know it's happening, but to hear it, nope." He shivered before he picked up the creeper moving it under the work bench.
"So, you were living with Mumford, it wasn't a rumor, then again I thought it was years back after you moved?" Luca asked looking around the garage. The walls had a fresh coat of paint on them, the outside of the garage did too. He'd also seen boards on windows. "What happened, I mean I know about earlier this year, but most go to counseling try to work it out." Lucas said.
He'd been shocked like the rest of S.W.A.T. when they'd found out who had threatened Cortez. He had noticed some others giving Rocker hell afterwards too. He'd told them to back the fuck off one day when Rocker hadn't been on duty. He figured he already had to deal with the fallout at home, he didn't need it at work too. He'd learned from the mistake and Luca knew that Mumford had some of that blame too. He had hoped deep down that Rocker might see that Val wasn't good enough and leave. He was kind of happy about it. His friend didn't deserve that.
"She gave me a choice quit S.W.A.T. or her." Rocker said. That wasn't the full truth, but he couldn't tell Luca. It had already hurt thinking he'd hate him. He hadn't, but he still hurt from four years ago. "If she betrayed me once she'd do it again. I wasn't wrong either. So, I left because I wasn't giving up what I've wanted since I was a kid. S.W.A.T. never stabbed me in the back or slept with her ex to try and piss me off. You want a beer? I got food that's not frozen or pizza." He offered. "Got a guest room with bed and it's own bathroom across the hall. The master bedroom has an in-suit bathroom. You'd have the other to yourself." He grinned. "There is also Storm, you know she'd love to have you here."
"You cook, when the hell did that happen?" Luca asked before he followed Rocker and Storm inside the house through the garage entrance. It led to a nice kitchen that you could also see the living room with the open floor plan. The place needed some more work, but it didn't look too bad. The windows were boarded up on the inside like the outside though. "You used to suck at cooking. Mumford teased the hell out of you over it at those S.W.A.T. dinners we all had. He told Hicks not to put you down for anything or we might all die. I lived with you so I know how bad your cooking was too. Emergency room visit." He groaned at the memory.
"He's the one that taught me how to cook. That was the first year I was on his team that he said that. I'm the one that's been bringing the baked mac and cheese you always take an entire plate of. Last month you nearly took my head off when I was eating the taco casserole I brought and you tried hiding it so no one would find it since it's your favorite." Rocker reminded him. "I shared it with you though. Figured it was easier than losing a body part." He grinned before taking a pan out of the oven.
This wasn't so bad, he hadn't done anything stupid yet, or shouted I love you, please love me too. He'd loved seeing how happy the food made Luca. He got Mumford to put it in the fridge so no one would know. Chris knew and she'd called him on it once. Making Luca the food he loved and passing it off as someone else's. She'd tried convincing him to talk to Luca, but he'd been too damn scared. So he watched him enjoy the food and it gave him some joy even though he was miserable.
Luca looked at the pan as the smell of the taco casserole hit him. He couldn't help the moan he let out. He had not expected this revelation, but the casserole was the best. He'd tried making one himself, but it never had the right taste. There was something missing and he'd tried figuring out who brought it, but no one ever talked. He'd even tried looking at the cameras, but he'd never seen any footage with Rocker bringing anything in. He really did love the casserole, and he did need a place to stay.
"What's the catch, if I stay?" Luca asked looking around noticing there wasn't a kitchen table or chairs. There was the kitchen island that had two bar stools though. They were going to need to get some furniture that was one thing. He didn't see a couch or anything in the living room.
"I don't got any catches. Figured you needed a place to stay since Street's kicking you out. You've hated all the places that your squad offered you. You hate living alone and love the food." Rocker said putting a plate down. "You didn't give me hell for what she did. Most people glared at me or went the other way those weeks when it was fresh. I heard about you going off on Xander and Randel. Made this big speech in the locker room in front of everyone there. Might not have been working, but I still heard about it."
He hadn't said anything because he wanted it to be over. Put it behind him and thank god he hadn't lost his job. He still remembered that feeling when he'd been told what his ex-wife had done. The thought for hours he was going to to lose his job. It was a night he still regrated and wished he could take back. Don't go out drinking then go home. Think for himself instead of what Jack had been thinking. He'd taken the glares, cold shoulders and the words because he'd deserved it. One slip up of rational thinking which was why he'd left, filed for divorce and stayed with Jack. Okay, it wasn't the only reason. Being given the ultimatum had sucked too. That had been a no brainer though. He wasn't even happy, he hadn't been able to fake it anymore.
"You could have gotten Mumford to make this." Lucas said taking a bite. He closed his eyes letting out a moan. The flavors were perfect, and it was indeed the taco casserole he'd been eating for years.
"Whatever you want to tell yourself." Rocker laughed getting his own plate before going over to Storm. He put food out and gave her a hug before going back to eat.
He hadn't planned on adopting her, but Chris had talked him into it. He never could tell her no and he hadn't been able to say no when he'd seen Storm. Chris had been the only person besides Jack until now that knew he got divorced. He'd changed his paperwork in personnel but didn't know if his bosses knew. Chris had said it was for his sanity to have Storm. Neither one of them could sit still for long and were both loveable. Besides at work he really did hate sitting still unless he was watching movies. He loved books, but it was more audio ones he listened to so he could do something else. Audiobooks had been easier so no one knew he was listening to best friends to lovers romance dying slowly because he couldn't have that. He tortured himself constantly and was now too. What he wanted so much was sitting across from him. He had been painting more now that he was single again. He use to draw Luca a lot, but it got to be too hard to do that.
Luca ate the food while he watched Rocker. He tried doing it without being noticed, but he was caught more than once. It was a silence that wasn't uncomfortable, kind of peaceful. They ate and he could hear Storm eating too. Then she came over and he watched her jump up putting her front paws on Rocker's leg. She laid her head down and he rubbed her. He could tell that Storm was happy and loved. She was spoiled that was for sure.
"Chris knew you had adopted her when I tried getting her to find out who had taken her." Luca said. He should have known that she would have known.
"Knew, Chris gave me no choice in the matter. You know how Chris is. When she has her mind made up, there is no telling her no. Storm's a sweetheart, its not her fault she's scared of loud noises and can't stay still." Rocker said. "We go for a run before and after work. The backyard lets her play, plus it's fenced in, so I don't have to worry. Though I did have to dog proof the place." He was glad he'd taken Storm even if she'd had the pillows shredded the first time he'd come home. "She had hidden under the bed thinking I was going to yell at her. Chris said the person that had first adopted her had seemed a good fit, but turned out wasn't."
He had crawled under the bed with her and laid there rubbing her until she knew he wasn't going to be mad. It was pillows, not the end of the world. He had been training her and she hadn't shredded anything in the last week. He did tell Luca to put his S.W.A.T. gear on the high shelf in the closet. He finished off the food before putting the plate in the sink. He still needed to finish working on the car. He knew he could let the ones at the garage do it, but it was an oil change. He knew what went in the car so he'd done it himself, he just hadn't put the oil back in yet. He needed something to do right now. He had to before he ruined this by trying to kiss Luca. He wanted to so much. He'd thought about it a lot when they use to live together.
"You know we tried this once before, living together. I never got why you left. We got along great, but then you said you had to move out when I said Danielle was moving in. Why on earth did you leave?" Luca asked. "That's my catch for moving in here. I have to know why you left when it was perfect. You were the best roommate I'd had, and we had this perfect thing. You were my best friend, Rocker. It felt like a part of me died when you left the way you did. I don't get what I did wrong. You gotta tell me so I don't do it this time." Luca said.
He had to know what happened because it had been weird. Like a break-up which made no sense. Rocker had avoided him as much as possible for weeks. First it was Rocker going to some training stuff in Virginia that Mumford had said he needed. It would be helpful. That week had turned into two when Rocker had been assigned to some special thing. Then when he had been back at S.W.A.T. their schedules hadn't matched for over a month. It had been like Mumford had pulled some strings with Hicks to make sure 50 and 20 squad hadn't worked the same days.
Rocker had asked him to leave it alone when he'd cornered him that day he'd seen him back. He'd about tackled him with a hug, but he'd felt Rocker almost freeze before he'd given him a half hug back. It had been months before Rocker hung out with him. Though it was always with others around. He really hadn't liked Val either, he'd thought she wasn't good enough. He'd told Chris what he'd thought. She'd told him he should say something, act on it. He hadn't gotten what she'd meant and then he found out that Rocker married her. He didn't say anything after that.
They were friends, but it hadn't been what it used to be with them. He hadn't thought that his now ex-wife would have pulled the move she had. He had been right; she wasn't good for him. He should have checked in more, maybe he could have seen something before she nearly ruined things. He hadn't said anything, but he'd also gone to Hicks, he'd asked him not to throw Rocker under the bus. He hadn't known that Cortez had already talked their boss down. He was waiting on Rocker to say something now, but he had this look in his eyes before he went back to the garage. There was so much in that one look as if he was fighting something.
He sighed before going and putting his plate in the sink. He figured he could crash for the night and then figure something out tomorrow. He had his duffle in the bronco so he went out got it and went back inside the front door. He found the guest room tossing the bag on the bed before getting stuff from it to shower. He didn't know which door had the bathroom, but they were all closed. He figured it was to keep Storm from going in while Rocker wasn't in them. He tried the first one finding a closet. He did get a towel that was sitting there. Then he tried the next door finding it was apparently Rocker's room. It was also Storm's room too cause she ran in jumping on the bed. She laid down rolling over and over on the bed before burying her nose in the pillows.
He called her name because he didn't want to leave her alone to do some damage. She jumped from the bed carrying a stuffed toy with her. He reached to turn the light back off when he saw a picture hanging on the wall. It was one from years ago when the two of them had lived together the first time. He'd taken it when Rocker had fallen asleep against his shoulder after a long shift. They'd supposed to have been watching a movie, but Rocker had fallen asleep before the thing started. He'd taken the picture just cause. Like he'd taken the picture in the kitchen of Rocker hugging Storm when he'd fed her. He hadn't sent that one to Chris.
The frame he'd found when he'd been with Rocker looking for art supplies one day. He'd given it to him with the picture inside for his birthday. He moved his thumb over the frame that was in great condition. He figured the paint might have faded, but Rocker had probably repainted it. The one time he'd been over after he'd got married he'd remembered his ex glaring at him before she'd looked towards the picture. He'd been able to tell she wasn't thrilled he was there. She'd tried hiding it, but it was probably another reason he hadn't liked her. The way she'd acted with him being there. Rocker hadn't suggested he come over after it either. That had been a month before everything happened months back. He'd thought they were finally getting back to being best friends.
He sighed turning out the light and trying the next door which was the bathroom. He closed the door before he stripped getting in the shower. The water was the perfect temperature. He stood there hoping that Rocker would say something because he didn't want to have to look somewhere else. He wanted to stay here. It wasn't because of Storm or the food either. Rocker had improved since they'd lived together. Mumford had done a damn good job at teaching him to cook that was for sure.
He'd tried teaching Rocker, but it had always ended with them teasing each other and Rocker tickling him before he'd begged for mercy. Then he'd shooed him out of the kitchen to go sit because he knew it would end with burnt food. There had been a couple of times they'd chased each other with water guns. The ice war was his favorite though. He had gotten Rocker good in the end winning the war even if he'd lost the battle to start with. He'd figure out why things became distant with Rocker and him. He was good at figuring things out.
~TBC~
EN: Okay so I have changed things from my original plan of just having them end up together for the first time here. So did you figure out which one is clueless and which one has been pining for years? Thanks for reviews and kudos in advance.