Hold on tight
My little contribution to the @wayhavenficexchange for this year. My lovely giftee was @doulyeah, with a request for Mason and F!detective, including funny twilight references and banter. I hope you like what I've come up with. Your detective sounds so fun!
Mason was halfway out the window when he heard her heartbeat.
Well - honestly, he had been hearing it more and more recently. It was like a little part of his mind was always honed in on the steady thump thump thump of the detective’s pulse, his ears straining for the sound no matter the distance. He heard it so often that it had become a gentle background noise; a calming beat that seemed to blend into the jumble of sounds that Wayhaven had to offer.
Tonight, with the heavy sounds of wind through the forest trees and the mile wide circle of nocturnal wildlife cavorting around, her heartbeat was still a gentle echo that grew louder the closer to the roof he got. Mason cursed under his breath and considered whether he should just slip back into the building and find somewhere else to dull the pounding in his head. When had his rooftop perch become their meeting place? Now where the fuck was he supposed to go?
“Mason? Why are you hanging off the gutter like a spider monkey?”
“Spider what?” Mason snapped back, head popping over the roof edge to shoot the detective an indignant look.
Fuck, she looked good in the moon light.
All that soft beige skin; skin he knew shivered when he stood too close, or blushed russet when he murmured in her ear; it looked bronzed in the silver light. Far too much of it was visible for such cool weather, and goosebumps were clearly visible all the way from the sleeves of her tank top down her arms. Her legs swung down over the edge, bare feet kicking in the empty air. That heartbeat of hers picked up slightly as she met his gaze, and for a moment he forgot to be annoyed. But only for a moment.
“Is that another of your sparkle vamp tropes Sweetheart?” he asked, dropping down to sit shoulder to shoulder with her. When had he crossed the roof? He didn’t even remember choosing to sit down.
But the moment his shoulder brushed hers, a little of his headache faded. He supposed it was easier to focus on her, than on the racket of his senses. She took up a good amount of space, as far as distractions went.
The laugh she sent up into the sky held his attention far better than any of the forest noises. The flash of her grin seemed to defuse the bright moonlight, and his clothes didn’t feel so damn scratchy when he could feel the heat of her through it.
“Ah HA! You do remember!” She pointed her finger at him, and Mason caught her wrist on instinct.
“How could I not,” he grumbled, “those damn films are akin to torture. I cannot believe you convinced Felix that they were fun.”
“Because they are!”
“Nothing about watching a couple of blue tinted morons angst at each other could possibly be fun.”
“Admit it, you’re team Jacob and you’re just mad he didn’t get the girl.”
“I ain’t on the dog’s side!”
Again, her laughter bubbled out of her. Mason wasn’t used to making someone laugh this much. That must be why it made his chest tight. He had to acclimate to it. Yeah, that’s it.
Mason did not pout. But he did change the topic. “How did you know I was there?”
She shook her head at him with a smirk. “I could see the smoke.”
“Smoke?”
A faint orange glow reflected back at him from her dark eyes, and Mason remembered he had a lit cigarette between his lips. The burn of the nicotine, the acrid smell; he’d barely noticed it since he saw her. Without questioning it, Mason reached up and stubbed out the smoke beside him, flicking the butt off into the woods as he watched the shadows soften on the detective’s face now that only the moonlight lit her.
“Well aren’t you observant?”
“Yeah, not like that’s my job or anything.”
He shook his head. “Or maybe you just know this is my spot. “
“I mean, was I wrong?”
It was Mason’s turn to tease. “Aww,” he crooned, “did you miss me? Have a bad dream?”
He expected a glib comeback. Something sarcastic to get him all worked up. Instead, the detective snapped away from him, spine ramrod straight. She tore her gaze from his, and it stung behind his own eyes. A stiff breeze picked up, catching her dark curls and whipping them around her face. Pushing the scent of her toward him.
The salty tang of fear mixed with her usual scent and Mason froze. She sighed, shoving her hair back with a shaky hand.
Without the sharper shadows from his cigarette, he could clearly see the tired circles under the detective’s eyes. What he had thought were only goosebumps were actually a mild tremor. Holding her wrist, he could feel the warped texture of her scar, raised and tight. He stroked his thumb over it, and felt her pulse skitter under his touch. Maybe her heartbeat hadn’t picked up when he’d appeared. Maybe it had already been pounding. Maybe there was a reason she was out here in the freezing night air, still in her sleep clothes, alert to anything as small as a tendril of smoke.
“Hey” Mason started, but she cut him off.
“You’re right. I should go. This is your spot, I shouldn’t have come…”
“Wait Sweetheart-” But she was already pulling away, and the world was rushing back in. His clothes felt like sandpaper, the wind stung as it whipped at his face. Animals skitters, birds hollered. Somewhere downstairs, Nate and Adam were talking quietly in the study. His own heart was beating a tattoo behind his eyes. It matched her own.
Don’t go.
She froze and he yanked. The grip he had on her wrist tightened just enough to pull her closer, she fell more securely against him. Shoulders, hips, thighs, all aligned now. The world receded away as she whirled to look at him, shocked eyes wide. But she didn’t try to get up again.
Slowly, like he was trying not to startle her, Mason lifted her scarred wrist to his own lips and, whilst still holding her gaze, he pressed a soft kiss to the raised skin. He felt her tremble. Her heartbeat was the only thing he could hear, fluttering and erratic for a different reason now.
He should do something. Say something. Apologise.
Fuck it.
Mason curled his other arm around her and pulled her in tight. He felt it as her tensed muscles slowly relaxed, until she melted down. Her head dropped onto his shoulder and her other hand reached up to grip his shirt, tightly at first, then looser as she took in deep breaths. Normally, it was her who initiated their hugs. She, who wrapped him up in her arms.
“Just for tonight.” he murmured into the top of her head. A weak chuckle puffed out of her.
He could hold on tight. Just for tonight.
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