#every time I draw Vince in an open shirt it gets more extra and more open

[renegadeem]

Band!AU - AVALANCHE’s brand new album, Lifestream.

High concept album covers are FUN

Textless version and one with my terrible handwriting listing a fake track list under the cut.

[niksixx]

Patience

~Part 4. This will most likely be your favorite part. I know it was mine!~

Pairing: Axl Rose/Vince Neil x Female Reader 

Warning: Vince holds a knife to Axl’s throat dear Jesus Vinnie

A/N: Reblog and comment! Spread the word about Patience!

*Picture is not mine. Found on Google. Credit to the owner.*

Tag list: @littlemisscare-all @curly-hudson @julessworldd @madamsixx @headlight-queen @metalheartofgold @ginny-baker-sixx @mickmarstookmyheart @gunsngunners @bex-tothe-rescue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You arrive home the next morning to an empty house. Thank God. The boys had another day at the studio you were assuming, which gave you plenty of time and space to turn the kitchen into a full blown bakery.

After a quick shower, you begin to assemble the kitchen into your work space. Cartons of eggs and milk, bags of flour and sugar, tubes and cartons of icing, and multicolor sprinkles litter the kitchen counters. Bowls, pans, and cupcake liners accompany the baking products.

With an apron tied around your waist, you turn on the radio, singing and dancing as you mix up the batter with a smile. This is where you were most happy. In the kitchen, surrounded by loads of treats that would make others happy, too.

“Up next...Guns N’ Roses.”

You freeze, licking the sweet vanilla batter from your fingers, turning your attention to the radio to make sure you’d heard it correctly. A song begins to play, the guitar in the beginning extremely impressive, and you increase the volume, bobbing your head and jumping around to the beat. Holy fuck. Axl can sing.

It’s the first time you’ve ever heard him. He has a raw, raspiness to his voice that’s unlike any voice you’ve ever heard. It’s pleasantly scratchy. It’s unusually rugged. It’s sexy. And not that you would admit it out loud, but Axl’s voice? Ten times better than Vince’s.

There's a knock at your door but you don’t hear it, too focused on the song as you sway your body, feeling the rhythm in your bones. Axl lets himself in, surprised that you’d left the door unlocked, stopping dead in his tracks as he watches you with amusement in his eyes. When he recognizes the song as his own, he quietly shuts the door, leaning against the wall, observing your every motion.

It’s a total contrast from what he saw last night. You’re lively now, freshly showered and clean, grinning from ear to ear, no care in the world. He loves this look on you.

The song comes to an end and you pout, but then your eyes focus on the man standing in your home. He wears a proud smirk, and his lips are inviting.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Axl says, coming into the kitchen. He wraps you in a hug, kissing the top of your head. You notice the kiss lingers a bit longer than usual.

“Axl, you’re amazing,” you say, and his heart soars. Your eyes, your voice, hold nothing but sheer adoration. “What was that song?”

“Sweet Child O’ Mine,” he replies proudly, taking in the sight of your messy kitchen. Oh shit, what was he about to get himself into? “Jeez, did something blow up in here?”

Chuckling, you throw him an extra apron. He raises an eyebrow at first in protest, but then wraps it around his waist after you mentioned that cupcake batter doesn’t come out of jeans. It does, though. But seeing Axl in a bright yellow apron will provide you with comedic relief, so you force him to put it on.

“Well I loved it. I don’t know why Vince won’t let me listen to you guys, but you’re incredible. I hope it comes on again,” you answer. “Now, how much experience do you have with baking cupcakes?”

And as Axl stares back at you blankly, all you can do is laugh. The next three hours were going to be fun. You could just tell.

~~~

“Who in the hell needs fifty fucking cupcakes?” Axl asks as you both scan all the flavors spread out on your counters. Chocolate. Vanilla. Red velvet. Funfetti. And that’s not including the surplus of icing flavors you have yet to douse the cupcakes in.

“My friend Lei, the owner of the restaurant we met in, she’s throwing her son this huge ninth birthday party. The boy has like twenty friends alone, and that doesn’t include all her family members that will be there,” Wiping your hands on the apron, you fish two butter knives from a drawer, handing one to Axl. “She was my first friend when I came to LA. I love her family. I never charge her the full price, but she always tips generously so I don’t mind.”

“So how am I supposed to do this?” Axl asks, picking up a small carton of icing, ripping off the lid. “I don’t wanna screw this up.” While he was there to help, Axl also wanted to impress you, though he barely knew his way around a kitchen. The best he could do, on a good night, was pasta.

“It’s easy. Watch me.” You dig the knife into the chocolate icing, swirling the metal utensil a few times before pulling out a bountiful amount. “So you take this much and then slap it on the top of the cupcake. And then you spread it around. Make sure to get the sides.”

Axl catches on quick. Soon, he’s icing the cupcakes like a pro while the two of you dance along to the radio music. A few songs you’re familiar with, some by Freddie Mercury, Poison, and even Mötley Crüe.

You smile. Axl rolls his eyes as he listens to your boyfriend's screeching voice, but it doesn’t keep him from dancing with you.

He loves this. He loves seeing you so happy, and he loves knowing that he contributes to part of your happiness.

His enthusiasm in the kitchen doesn’t last long, though. After icing fifteen cupcakes, he’s fallen bored. Beside him, you sway your body, eyes focused on the cupcake in front of you, when Axl gets an idea.

He checks to see if you’re watching him before he scoops a dollop of strawberry icing onto his finger. “You have icing on your face,” he says calmly, holding back his laugh.

Glancing toward him, your eyebrows pull together. “Where?”

And your eyes go wide as he spreads the sweet cream across your lips. “Right there.”

For a second, he’s worried you’re upset. You don’t move, you don’t flinch. But then you startle him as you swipe a line of vanilla icing across his cheek. He’s taken aback, and you smile innocently. “Oops.”

Game on.

He dips another finger in the chocolate icing, drawing a horizontal line across your forehead, and you counter with more strawberry icing, two fingers skimming across his nose.

A full on icing war erupts in the kitchen as you and Axl grab the butter knives, flinging the cream at each other. It goes everywhere: Your faces, your aprons, the fridge, the counters, the floor, and somehow gets on the ceiling. The kitchen looks as if a bomb was set off, the poor cupcakes rest on the table, half un-iced. Icing is everywhere it shouldn’t be, but you’re having the time of your life with your best friend. Your heart is full.

“Okay, okay, I surrender!” You beam at Axl who cocks his head curiously, but he stalks toward you when you put your hands up in defeat. He returns to his position beside you, giving you a look before grabbing another cupcake to decorate.

You’re too quick for him as you sneakily dig your finger into the vanilla icing. By the time he sees you and tries to protest, your fingers are brushing the icing across his mouth, a look of triumph on your face. “Gotcha. I win.”

He sets the knife down with a grin, turning back toward you. Grabbing your wrist, his brings your hand to his mouth, eyes dark.

“What are you doing?”

Slowly, his lips wrap around your fingers, tongue swirling around to collect the sweetness. Lips parted, your breath is shaky, just like your legs, as you feel his warm tongue lick the cream from your fingers. He knows what he’s doing. He’s driving you wild while also testing you. To see how far you’re willing to let him go.

You almost whimper when his lips unwrap from your digits. He smirks, dropping your hand, and steps forward. His breath fans over your face, and he’s so close to you, but not close enough. “You still have cream on your lips.”

“Yeah, I…” You swallow slowly, nodding your head. “I know. So uh...do you.”

Another step forward from Axl has your head spinning. There’s a darkness to his eyes, one of pure lust as they flicker to your cream coated mouth. His hand, soft and gentle, grazes the skin of your collarbone before it wraps around the back of your neck. Leaning into his touch, you lick your lips once, hands pressed against the fabric of his cutoff t-shirt. He’s going to kiss you. Fuck, he’s going to kiss you.

“Axl--.”

“Tell me you don’t want this,” his voice is tender and smooth, quiet, almost as if he’s just as nervous as you are. Only on the outside, he’s calm, unflinching.. And he’s ready, but not unless you are too. “Tell me this isn’t what you want.”

But you can’t.

You can’t say anything like that.

Because it’s not true.

Because you do want it.

Because you want him.

And when he dips down to your face, noses touching, lips dusting against lips, you melt. You fall apart under his touch as his lips mold with yours in the sweetest kiss, and not because of the lingering taste of vanilla and strawberry icing.

You shouldn’t, you know you shouldn’t, but you kiss him back, hard, arms wrapping around his neck to pull him against you. He backs you against the counter and you don’t have a chance to draw in a breath, lips working together in passion, in fiery need.

The air around you is buzzing, your head is spinning with thoughts of him, of Axl, of the boy he was and the man he is now. In a kitchen, in a home that you share with your boyfriend, is where you're kissing your best friend and loving every minute of it.

But as you kiss him, you realize that he’s no longer a friend to you. He’s something more. He's always been something more. Something as simple as a kiss has opened your eyes, your heart.

The more you kiss, the more intense it gets. You’re lost within it, and you don’t want to be found. It feels right. Axl feels right.

With each swipe of his tongue against your own, he steals your breath. The kiss feels like lightning as it cracks against the sky, and your heart is just as loud as thunder.

You kiss long, you kiss hard, until the faint sound of an opening door pries your bodies apart. Staring at Axl, you’re breathless. He’s breathing heavy, and his eyes are focused on the man behind you.

You don’t want to turn around. You already know who is standing in the doorway, watching the scene in front of him unfold.

And when you turn around, your fears are confirmed. Vince stands, one hand on the doorknob, the other slack at his side. His eyes are sharp, cutting through you, as he steps inside and slams the door.

It’s eerily silent at first. Axl’s eyes are on Vince, your eyes are on Vince, and Vince’s eyes are somewhere looking between the both of you.

And you whisper, “Vin--.”

But he holds up a hand, silencing you. He stalks into the kitchen, eyes only focusing on Axl as he says in a menacingly low voice, “I don’t want to know why you’re in my goddamn house, but you have three seconds to take yourself outside before I crush your skull with my bare hands.”

“Vince!”

He pins you with a glare, daring you to challenge him.

All you do as a response is release a sigh of relief. He hadn’t seen the kiss.

Axl gives you one last look. Your eyes plead with him not to go, not to leave you alone with Vince. He was sober, luckily, but sometimes, he was scarier that way.

~~~

Not even the second Axl steps foot outside is when he feels himself being slammed, back first, against the side wall of the house. Vince grips the collar of his shirt, lips curled back in a snarl, eyes crazed.

“What do I need to do to get you to stay away from my girl, huh? Do I have to kill you? Huh?”

“You won’t do shit,” Axl replies nonchalantly, rolling his neck. He refuses to let Vince intimidate him. “Me and Y/N are friends. Get the fuck over it.”

The bricks of the wall press harder into Axl’s back, and he bites down on his tongue to keep from making a sound.

“Then you don’t know me.”

Something cool presses against the base of Axl’s throat, and he swallows, breathing through his nose to calm his racing heart. He feels the rough ridges of the blade against his skin, and he shuts his eyes briefly, trying to remain calm.

“You know what that is,” Vince taunts. “One wrong move and you’re done.”

Vince backs away, and Axl can finally breathe.

They stare at each other, eyes calculated, fists clenched, jaw set. There’s no way they’ll ever be able to settle the hatred between them. The animosity they feel, it’s too strong. They’re both fighting for the same girl, but only one of them will win.

“Get off my property,” Vince says gruffly, poking a finger in Axl’s chest. “And stay the hell away from my girl.”

~~~

Axl arrives home in a fury, slamming the door behind him, smashing an open palm against the wall.

He’s never felt so enraged before.

So threatened.

Scared that maybe Vince was actually crazy enough to hurt him.

He mutters a string of curses under his breath, forehead pressed against the wall. He should’ve done something, fought back, but instead he let Vince have the upper hand.

Axl’s heart raced at the thought of you at home with Vince. God, he shouldn’t have fucking left. Vince...the damn bastard had already laid his hands on you once. What if you were fighting right now? What if he hurt you again?

“Fuck!”

He slams his palm against the wall again, ignoring the sting. When he turns around, breathing heavily, he pauses, eyes flickering from one bandmate to another.

“Uh…” Steven trails off, glancing at Izzy, who shrugs his shoulders.

“Are you good?” Slash asks, feet raised on the coffee table.

Duff squints, coming forward, poking Axl’s cheek. “What the hell is on your face? Paint?”

“It’s icing,” Axl says, grabbing a napkin to wipe the residue from his face. He can’t wait to shower, wash off all the icing, the anger.

“Do we want to know?” Izzy asks, shutting off the TV.

Oh, boy, where to start.

“I went to Y/N’s to help her bake cupcakes and then it turned into this big icing war and before either one of us knows what the fuck is going on I kissed her and it was the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life and then the door opens not even a minute later and fucking Vince walks in but I’m positive he didn’t see anything becasue if he did I wouldn’t be standing here right now and--.”

“Wait, stop,” Steven says, brows raised, finger pointed. “You made cupcakes and didn’t even bring any home?”

“Steven!” Izzy shrieks, startling the rest of the band. “How is that the only thing you picked up from the fucking story?”

“And that’s not even the worst fucking part,” Axl groans, hand tugging at his hair. As he swallows he can still feel the pressure of the blade on his jugular. “Vince held me at knifepoint.”

“He what?” Slash stands, eyes blazing.

“And you let him live?” Duff emphasizes, arms crossed.

“Well I wasn’t going to fight the dick,” Axl says, hands thrown in the air. “He had a switchblade on my throat, Duff. The only thing I was thinking about was getting out of there alive.”

“This is war,” Steven says, retrieving his own switchblade from his back pocket, finger gently sliding up the blade.

“Is Y/N okay?” Izzy asks, already have taken a liking to you.

Axl can only hope. “I have no idea. I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to hurt her again.”

“Wait,” Slash pauses. “What do you mean again?”

Fuck.

Pulling up a chair, Axl sits himself down, hands scrubbing over his face. “She came over last night because they got into an argument and he uh...he hit her.”

The atmosphere shifts. It’s more tense now as no one speaks. Jaws are clenched, teeth are bared, mouths are dry.

“I love her, man,” Axl says quietly, breaking the silence. The other four turn to him, faces softening. “I just want to be with her, you know? I want to hold her hand and kiss her cheeks, everything that Vince doesn’t. I want to protect her and love her the way she deserves. I know I can,” Axl sighs dejectedly, palms rubbing his knees. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. She won’t willingly leave him, and at first I didn't understand but now I do.”

“I don’t,” Duff mutters, voice low.  

“I don’t want to give up but I'm out of options,” Axl says, head hanging. He’s defeated. “I mean, I’ve thought about her everyday for the last seven years. She’s been in my heart all this time.”

“Maybe you just have to take it slow,” Izzy suggests, lips in a thin line. “Be patient.”

A slow smile creeps onto Duff’s lips as he grabs the notepad and pencil from the coffee table. He begins to scribble a few words, erasing and rewriting, tuning out the conversation as he concentrates on making the words on the paper flow.

“What are you doing?” Steven directs to Duff, glancing over his shoulder.

Duff throws the pad to Axl before looking at Izzy and Slash. “Grab your acoustics. Hurry.”

They oblige and come back to the sofa quickly, sitting in a circle. Axl silently reads the words to himself, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Patience?”

Duff nods, tapping the guitar with his pick. “You used to write songs about her, man. If you can’t tell her directly how you feel, then sing it. Start slow, soft.” The blonde glances back to the two remaining guitarists. “Follow my lead.”

“Wait, what can I do?” Steven pouts.

“Be quiet and observe,” Izzy commands.

“Ready?” Duff asks, and Axl nods. “One, two, three, four…”

With music, Axl likes to get creative. He’s used to belting his songs, adding in a few wild screams for good measure, but this song in front of him? It’s special. It’s unlike anything he’s sung before.

To add his own twist to the song, he starts by whistling gently, and slowly but surely, the words, the emotions, come together, and with his bandmates, he creates a masterpiece.

~~~

They play it over and over until their fingers are sore, voices tired.

But each time sounds better than the last.

As Axl tosses the pad back on the table, he glances to his bandmates, a new sense of peace washing over him.

“If this doesn't make her fall in love with you, man,” Steven says. “I don’t know what will. It’s perfect.”

It is perfect.

Every lyric, every feeling poured into the song.

You would love it.

You just had to.

Because if not, he wouldn’t know what else to do.

“So, when do you want to perform it for her?” Slash asks excitedly, setting his guitar between his legs.

Axl smirks, leaning forward on his knees. “How fast can we get booked on MTV?”

[smolbeandrabbles]

Love The Way You Love Me - Vince Kovac (Tangle)

Author’s Note: Whilst this will be a part of the ‘Relentless’ series (I say series. It’s more like another multi-part retcon) it’s still  xOC. I love her name too much to not have a really short OC fic to get it out of my system.

Disclaimer: Anything to do with Tangle (so. Vince.) isn’t mine, the OC & writing is mine. This is the one occasion where a Lyric is mine!

Premise: In an attempt to solve his girlfriends architectural problems, Vince Kovac recons there’s only one thing he can do...

Words: 2857

Warnings: Swearing NOT Reader Insert

_____

So come with me and walk for awhile Can I spring you outta here and talk for awhile Gotta know what's the deal with you Mister now I'm really feeling you

If you got a little extra time Then won't you let me have it?

I like how your T-shirt cuts you right And how you melt me deep inside Oh, you're running in a different lane Don't make me chase you, boy, you know I'm game By the way you're rockin' it in them Nike's Won't you let me play on your team tonight We can go one-on-one, you and me That's the way it should be ---

The kitchen work top was cluttered with papers, books and technology. An array of architectural folders and drawings – from simple framework plans to extensive detail – scattered themselves in front of her as she squinted at her Laptop screen again. From easy exercises to the plain absurd, the design project she was currently working on was taking far longer for her to work out in her brain, to commit to paper, than she would like. Which is why she’d turned back to books. Luckily, from the complicated wording, the woman sitting scribbling away knew what they were talking about. Lyric Brennan reached for another book and studied her drawing carefully again skipping a few pages onto the next chapter, lazily she held the book open in one hand and twisted her hair around her pencil in the other – muttering as she did so… “Why would you ask for something so complicated when you already told me to make it simple on our phone call… That’s not simple… Do you have any idea how long this will take for someone to project plan… let alone build…? And they can’t figure that out until I can figure out how to draw it and fit it in here…” Lyric scanned the book, as if it would give her answers she knew it wouldn’t, and began scribbling away again.

 Vince Kovac’s footsteps bounced down the stairs as he hummed some tune Lyric had recently heard on the radio – something catchy, it wasn’t his usual music taste, so far as she remembered…. “Morning!!” – The cheerful greeting was only returned with a mumbled, “Yeah…” “Lyric.” She didn’t look up from her book, staring hard at her drawing and then the computer again, eyebrows furrowing. Vince placed his hands on his hips “Oy! Ms.Brennan!” Lyric lifted her head slowly “What.” “Are you not talking this morning, or what?” She indicated to her computer “Like this isn’t giving me enough of a headache.” He scoffed at her jab “What is it?” “Corporate building…” “Oh, they want a little Lyric-al flair do they?” His pun didn’t even raise a smile, so something was up. “Uh huh. But what they are asking for is about as complicated as it gets, and hasn’t been well thought out at all…” “Long project?” “Will be if I need to oversee it.” “It’s… here right?” “Canada.” “CANADA!?!” “Mm hmmm…” Vince looked to all the books and drawings in front of her; including some building manuals he’d given her as a joke. She clearly wasn’t joking though – this was serious. “Oh.” “Yeah.” Lyric sighed “Sometimes I hate having an in industry name.” “Yeah, when they put those plaques up in the building and people walk in and can automatically tell it’s a Lyric Brennan building it’s just the f**king worst.” She gave a small smile “As long as it’s paying the bills… I suppose.” “Heh…” Vince nodded, then skipped around the table, and wrapped his arms around her; “Well, I can tell you’re busy, and I’ll leave you alone then…” “Oh, thanks.” Lyric closed the book in her hands and tossed it to one side. “Well, you’re not going to talk, when you’re doing... Heck – what even is that!?” “At this point. I can’t even tell you…” She leafed through her sheets to another drawing “This is what it should look like. But this is structural… And drawing it on paper structurally is not gonna…” She studied Vince’s face, and thought he had it on point, a builder’s worst nightmare. Essentially a corkscrew of glass and metal that would run in colours from one corner of the building diagonally to the other, and then up into the sky. Exactly the kind of artistic piece someone would want to hire Lyric for, though. “Don’t, whatever you do give them my business card.” “Shit! Should I ask for it back!?” Vince pushed her shoulder gently and brushed his lips to her cheek “When do you think you’ll be done?” “…Oh… I wouldn’t like to put a time to it…” Lyric bit her lips together as his hands ran down her shoulders to her sides and down her body to her thighs. “Vin.” “Aw, c’mon…” “It’ll take even longer if you pull me out of the zone…” “And how long have you been sitting here!?” “Since 5-?” “FIVE!? You left me alone in bed for 3 hours!?” He grabbed her waist, causing her to laugh as he peppered her with kisses “Oh, now I really need to drag you away from this! I deserve your love!!” “Oh really…” She pushed him back with her elbows “Get off! I have a compass and I’m not afraid to use it.” “How often are you going to threaten to stab me with drawing apparatus?” “Get on with your work and we’ll see what you deserve, Kovac.” He bit his lip at that. She always had a certain flair to the way she said his last name. She always had. And he’d always liked it that little bit more when she did. He straightened up, “I don’t have any sites to be on today, all legal paper work…” She gave a shrug and turned back to her computer “As long as you’re doing it.” Vince gave a tsk and rolled his eyes, for a girl who liked trying to break the laws of gravity, she sure loved nearly every other rule in the book.  “And by the way, the password on your computer – waaaaaaay too easy. And your pin-number. Even easier.” “WHAT!? LYRIC! W-” There was a teasing grin on her face, even though she wasn’t turned to him to use it, with the way she tossed her white blonde hair over her shoulder. He’d always liked that too, the white bleeding into blue; “I’ve only used it once, come on, I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Lyric’s incredibly neat writing flowed across the page as she made further notes. He stared hard at her “…I’m changing them.” “Good. I like a challenge.” Vince narrowed his eyes; “Just f**king make sure the builder can understand those notes okay.” “Alright Kovac, far be it from me to insult the intelligence of any of your builder buddies.” “HA!” She heard him muttering as his footsteps wandered away, but ten minutes later he came back with a load of washing; Lyric gave him a look with a raised eyebrow, Vince, washing!?  She shook her head and continued with her work. “Lyl. Did you wear my shirt to workout in; again!?!” Vince dragged one of his blue T-Shirts from the washing-machine. “Yup.” He sighed “Why??” She gave a smirk; “I like wearing your clothes and nothing much else.” He had to pause his train of thought before he said something he’d regret. For a woman who didn’t want to do anything until she’d finished working, Lyric certainly was going the wrong way about it. Truth was she just liked wearing his shirts to run in; they were way too big for her, but so comfortable. And every so often she’d wear one he’d worn for work earlier in the week – and if he couldn’t run with her that particular that day it was nice to breathe him in instead. Vince got up and came over to the table again, looking at all the stuff that wasn’t architecturally related. A single coffee mug. But nothing else. “Babe, didn’t you even have breakfast!?” “Oh… No…” He could understand why, once Lyric got obsessed over something she couldn’t finish, that became the only thing she could think on until she’d figured it out. He’d watched her in the back room getting frustrated and throwing both screwed up paper and pencils at the wall from time to time. “Do you want me to make you something…!?” She looked up to him slowly; “As long as there’s no banana involved?” “Yeah. Preferably.” “You’re missing out, you know. You should eat one before running. You know they give them out after marathons right?!” “Why do you think I don’t run marathons.” “Sure, it’s all to do with the banana’s…” She leant on her hand for a minute and those blue eyes of hers softened. It was moments like that that he would see those pretty almost violet lines that criss-crossed through them.  “…Go on, surprise me.” “You sound like you need comfort food. Pancakes?” “Pancakes…?” She gave an almost childish smile “…Before running?” “Okay. I’ll make ‘em so you can still run on ‘em…” “Why thank you.” “Well, always got your best interests at heart, don’t I?” “I noticed…” She  scratched the back of her head with her pencil as she looked back to her drawing “…Thank you…” Vince bent down and kissed her on the cheek gently, his unshaved face scratching against her skin and making her scrunch her face with a slight giggle; “Before I do that though - I’m gonna get ready…!” Lyric eyes widened suddenly as she froze, a smile spreading  across her face, she turned quickly in her chair as Vince ascended the stairs, this was important too. “VIN..!!” He stopped and leaned over, “Yes---?” “I love you!!” She always loved that smile; “I love you too!”

 **

 Half an hour later Vince appeared again, in what looked like training gear. Lyric frowned but continued drawing, she had her suspicions but she’d have to wait to see if he proved them right. He was an efficient cook she would give him that. And no sooner was she finished with jotting down notes for the next piece of interior design was she receiving another kiss on the cheek as he placed the pancakes in front of her; “High energy, low sugar. You’ll need it, given how far YOU run.” She shook her head after him, daring him to say it again. He didn’t, just grinned. She ate slowly and placed her attention back on her work, rather than he partner. Even as Vince laced his trainers and attached a step-counter to the waistband of his tracks. Lyric was passed again as he collected his phone and zipped that into his pocket too; it was the one thing she always insisted he take. What did make Lyric prick up her ears, though, was the sound of the front door key – “Vince! What are you doing…?” “Going running!!” She opened her mouth in shock, for all his talk about her running he was going to go early-!? “Without me!?” “You’re working…” “I don’t have to be…” His footsteps echoed down the hallway and Vince appeared again, taking one of her hands, “Well come on then…!” For a second it looked like she might drop everything and stand up, but she hesitated and he knew he’d lost her as soon as he’d got her; “NO! Oh God – all this stuff is due next week and I’m really no better off! I’ve got two days before I-!” Vince waved his hands to calm her down; “Well, you need a break!!!” “N-No!! I need to do this – I’m focused!” He tipped his head and pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, clearly less than impressed; “Can you at least give me a straight answer?” She dropped his hand with a shake of her head; it’s because she didn’t really want to say no to spending time with him. But Lyric knew how much work she had to get done. And how long she’d be out running. The times just didn’t collate properly. Vince tsk’d and ran upstairs again.   Lyric sighed and looked to the scattered papers in front of her – how badly did she want to be with him? Sure, she wanted to finish this, right now, but right now she was more worried that Vince would leave and not come back. Like it or not, she needed him to bounce ideas off, or for advice. A book couldn’t given her answers it didn’t have written. And certainly couldn’t make her laugh with a snarky attitude. She slammed her laptop and book shut – sticking a paper in as a book mark, she lined her pencils up to the side of the drawing she was finishing, and straightened everything else on the table out neatly. Jumping up from the table and taking the stairs two at a time, Lyric rounded the corner into their bedroom and rooted quickly through her dresser, she found a running shirt and a pair of leggings – throwing them onto the bed. Vince appeared and leaned on the door with a grin; “Ah. I see you’ve changed your mind…!” She opened another draw and ran the hair tie around her wrist; “Yeah... urm… Just let me change… Uhhh… Yeah. Right.” He rolled his eyes in mocking; “Oh, come on. I’m not waiting for you now! You’ve got two minutes I’m counting!!!” Vince started his stop watch, (half as a joke) as Lyric gave him a look, then sprinted to the bathroom to change. Vince raised an eyebrow; “What I can’t watch you change now!?” “F**k you!” “You may when we get back if you like?” At least he heard her laughing as she slipped off her shorts and shirt and replaced them with her running gear. Tying her hair back into a high pony tail; maybe that wasn’t always the best idea, she knew he’d make the same joke about pulling her hair. Aw, let him make it. See how he likes it!

“Right I’m going!!!” Vince laughed knocking on the door as he passed to go downstairs. “HUH!?” Lyric thought hard for a second – no way that was two minutes…! She laced her trainers and flung open the door – scrambling down the stairs as Vince closed the front door, “NO!! VIN!! WAIT UP-!!!” She sighed, frustrated, kicking the door, “Aw. C’MON….” Lyric turned, picking up her own phone and fishing her keys from her work bag, just in case she didn’t catch up. Checking she had everything she needed, Lyric opened the door – closing it firmly behind her, she ran after Vince at almost full tilt, who was jogging gently, he was waiting for her…

 She sprinted passed him and turned around; now jogging backwards. He flashed her a smirk; “Was wondering when you’d turn up!!” “Shut up. I was calculating your mistakes. I recon you jumped the gun by at least 12 seconds!!” “Did I?” “No, you know you did!” “Well. C’mon then! We’re doing a round of the block!” She scoffed “You’ll be lucky if you get away with the block. At this rate you’re not even getting away with the running path.” “Oh, don’t make me run all the way to the track and back.” “Ohhh-! Good idea, hope that 12 seconds was worth it.” He let out a groan; “You’ll be the death of me woman.” She laughed; “What a way to go!” Lyric levelled off and jogged next to him, getting as close to him as possible; “Okay, what’s going on...?” “I’m cold…” “Cold, eh?” Vince glanced around, it was autumn sure, but it was hardly cold yet. Plus at the rate she usually ran she’d be hot in no time at all. “What’s wrong with you!?” “What’s so wrong with wanting to be with you…?” That was unnecessarily smooth, Vince frowned for a second “Hm. Nothing, But I feel like if you want to be with me and burn calories we wouldn’t necessarily have to go outside…” She only looked mildly disgusted with him; “I hope you want to end up in the middle of the road with comments like that.” “How are you not used to me by now?” “I am, sometimes I still can’t believe what I’m hearing.” “And yet-!” He turned those smart blue eyes on her and she shook her head; “For some reason I still love you.”

 This continued for about half an hour – until they came to the park in the middle of town, by this time Vince was beginning to slow, no such luck that his other half would be doing the same. Lyric was now slaloming through the piles of fallen leaves and jumping every couple of times she did this – turning and changing pace whenever she could. He couldn’t help but smile at her self-training. But she slowed down and turned, now walking backwards. Vince was grateful that now he could slow right down as well, and pretty soon found himself almost on top of her; given she was walking so slow.

Of course, this was Lyrics’s plan, and she placed her arms around him, almost at a standstill she was now being dragged backwards by Vince’s paces forwards. After realising this would only end up with him tripping, or her on the floor, she decided it best to walk again; but this time it was awkward. Luckily Vince wound his arms around her waist before she fell and slowed down his walk even more, they both eventually stopped – and closed the gap between them. Lyric’s hands moving through his hair slowly and his hands caressing the small of her back as she did so.  Ah! Now that’s much better!

The autumn leaves fell gently around them as they kissed…

---

@dennismitchell @wltz-bby @happyskywhale #MendoTagSquad. @3134045126 @kylo-ren-has-an-8pack Figured I might have got a Vince Kovac crew...?