#why do foxes gotta sound like banshees

[mashupgenie]

me, literally about to fall sleep in my own bed:

The friendly neighborhood fox:

[chickensarentcheap]

Sanctuary - Chapter 1

So this can be seen as either a companion piece to I Found (my first and still on going Tyler Rake/OC fan fic) or a sequel. It works either way lol.   I decided to work outside of the box and do more fluffy/soft/cute Tyler mixed in with his edge ;)    So this will be multi chapter and include everything from fluff, angst, drama, love, suspense, you name it. 

If you’d like to be tagged, please just let me know. I love comments, messages, you name it!

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y  @alievans007  @hemmyworthy  @valkyrie-of-the-light

FIVE YEARS LATER

 He listens to the sound of life...his life...drifting up from the floor below. Hands behind  his head, eyes closed, the cotton sheets cool against his skin. Trying to squeeze in that extra bit of sleep despite the noise:  incessant high pitched giggling, some squabbling and name calling, the occasional ear piercing shriek. Outside the dog is whining to be let back in the house; not wanting to miss out on the action and the endless attention and treats the kids toss its way. A two year old German Shepherd that one of his son's had...much to the chagrin of everyone else in the house...named Macaroni. Mac for short. Further back on the property, in a safely fenced off area, chickens cluck and squawk within their pen as two goats tend to making sure their area is free of weeds and any left over food.

 It's a simple existence. A four bedroom farm house in Telluride, Colorado that had taken three years to fully renovate. A mixture of white wood siding and red brick; old fashioned touches like claw foot tables and a storm cellar, along with the newer and more modern amenities: a home gym and fully finished basement with its own entrance, kitchen, living space, bedroom and bathroom. Pushed four hundred meters from the road, there's enough land for a decent sized hobby farm; the chickens and goats, three separate vegetable gardens, an above ground pool and tons of free space for the kids to play. There's a creek at the very back; running horizontally at the edge of their property line, a common meeting ground for deer, fox, and other wildlife. And the one thing that had truly sold them on the place -when it had been nothing more than a rotted old place that looked as if it should be bulldozed to the ground- a view of the snow capped mountains.  A far cry from the sand and surf of Australia, but a paradise in its own right.

 “Okay...boys...boys...you need to take it down a notch...”  his wife's voice, a hint of exasperation in her tone. “..why are you like this? Please just go and sit down and do something quiet for five minutes so I can get breakfast started. Why do you have to act like wild banshees the moment your eyes open?”

 “Maybe daddy's up,” one of the twins-Tyler Junior's voice. Or TJ as he's affectionately known to everyone in his life. He's the taller of the two: sharing his father's height and naturally broad shoulders, along with the same texture and colour of hair and brilliant blue eyes. He's the wilder of the two. Loud and boisterous. Fearless. To a fault.

 “Can we go check?” Tanner now. Smaller and slighter than his older (by a mere six minutes) brother. With slightly darker hair than his siblings, and his mother's build and smile and the freckles splashed across the bridge of his noise. He's the quiet, introspective one. An old soul trapped in such a young body.

 “You two get down from there,” Esme hisses from the bottom of the stairs. “No going up there. Daddy is asleep. He's tired. Do you want me to throw you out there with the chickens and the goats? Because I will. I swear to God I will.”

 He smirks at that.

 “Maybe he's awake,” Millie pipes up. Even more hopeful than her younger brother. She's a daddy's girl. Through and through. Has been since the moment she made her entrance into the world and had been placed in his arms, her entire fist closing around one of his fingers.

 “I said no. Now all three of you get down here right now. Daddy didn't get in until late last night. He's had a very busy two weeks and he needs to sleep. Are any of you even listening to me right now? Are you feral?”

 Tyler actually laughs out loud at that.

 The kids have extremely keen ears, and their mother's patience is already running low, and now he can hear the pounding of little feet against the wooden stairs as they seize the opportunity and make their move. And he's just manage to slip into a pair of sweats and climb back into bed when the door is being thrown open. The twins collide with either side of the door frame; causing the human equivalent of a three car pile up.  And they decide to just throw down right there and then; head locks and elbows to the face as they fight over who actually gets to enter the room first.

 Millie takes charge, and with a roll of the eyes, simply shoves them both out of the way. She's tall and slender for only five. With unruly light brown hair and blue eyes that are always filled with both mischief and curiosity. A healthy mix of tomboy and girly girl: a room filled with both dolls and action figures. She enjoyed both tea parties and dress up but could turn around and climb trees and roll around in the dirt in the blink of an eye.

 All three jump onto the bed to greet him and he finds himself tackled by the lot of them. Letting them push him down onto his back; a tickle fight immediately ensuing, followed by a wrestling match. They all love to rough house. Even Tanner, who is smart and compassionate like his mother but could lay an ass kicking on his bigger twin. They're tough kids. Both physically and mentally.

 “I gotta pee!” Tanner announces, as he slides across the bed on his butt, jumps off and scurries from the room.

 His brother takes it as a chance to catch him unaware, and in less than a minute they're in the middle of the hallway, rolling around on the ground fighting. It will end the way it always does. Tears. Maybe a black eye or a split lip. If left to their own defences, they'd spend a half an hour beating the hell out of each other followed by a quarter of the day declaring they hate one other. Then they'd forget about why they were even mad and once again join forces to wreak havoc.

 ****

Millie crawls across the bed and plops down onto her side, snuggling into him. Nestling her head underneath his chin, one of her hands on his shoulder. And he drops a kiss on her hair and wrapping an arm around her, pulls her close. Once again closing his eyes, enjoying a few extra moments of relaxation. Until she's moving against him and her tiny fingers are attempting to pry his eyes open.

 “Wake up daddy,” her hand moves to his beard, giggling as she rubs her palm against it.  “It's time to get up.”

 “What if I don't want to?”

 “It's breakfast,” she announces, and she's at his eyes again, growing frustrated as he screws them shut even tighter. “Daddy...” she grumbles. “...don't be such a boy.”

 “I am a boy,” he reminds her.

 “It doesn't mean you have to give me a hard time like the rest of them.”

 Tyler grins. “You sounded so much like your mother just now.”

 “Smart like mommy, cute like daddy,” she declares.

 “Atta girl. You know what's up.”  He opens his eyes: bright blue meeting bright blue.

 “Hi!” she chirps, and leans in so they can rub the tips of their noses together. It's their 'special thing'. Something he'd taught her shortly after her second birthday. And she refuses to share it with her brothers.

 “Hi.”

 “I missed you, daddy.”

 He will never grow tired of hearing that word. Or the way it makes him feel. How it fills him with a sense of accomplishment. That someone like him...with all the monsters in his closet and all the battles he's fought ...could both make and deserve something so perfect.

 “How could you miss me? You were still up when I got home. I tucked you in. Read you a story. Five of them to be exact.”

 “I missed you while I was sleeping,” she says, and fiddles with the chain around his neck.

 He'd been gone for two weeks this time; helping Nik with a handful of  simple 'in and out' extractions throughout central and south America. Returning with little more than a couple of bruised ribs, scrapped up knuckles, and a small gash above his right eye. He only takes the easy jobs now. He has way too much to lose. A wife and kids. Even his own side business: home renovations and handyman work.  A way having steady cash flow and being able to get food on the table, the bills paid, and keep a roof of over their heads.

 She is investigating the cut above his eye now. It hadn't been deep enough for stitches, but the skin around it was starting to swell and turn a vivid purple. Millie had lost it when she'd seen his injuries; crying like she'd never cried before. The only thing calming her down had been a bowl of ice cream and those five stories he'd been suckered into.  

 “You were gone a long time,” she pouts.

 “Too long,” he agrees.

 “Did you miss me?”

 “Of course I did. Didn't I call you every night when I was gone? I missed you very much. And your mommy. And your brothers.”

 “But not as much as you missed me, right? Because I'm your favourite.”

 “I love all of you the same. I don't have any favourites.”

 She pulls back, taking his face in her tiny hands. “Just tell me, daddy. I can keep a secret.”

 It feels like a lifetime ago when she was just a tiny baby that he could carry around in one hand. Now she's in kindergarten, taking gymnastics, enrolled in martial arts, and willing try any sport that tickles her fancy. Sometimes he misses the old days. Getting up in the middle of the night to tend to her, feeling that tiny body just melt into his, smelling that powdery, fresh scent that clung to her hair and clothes. She's a daddy's girl. Always has been. And there's no sign of that changing any time soon.

 He hopes it never does.

 “Daddy?”

 His eyes are closed again. Relishing the precious and all too fleeting moments with his first born. His only daughter.  “Yeah?”

 “I love you,” she announces, and it nearly brings tears to Tyler's eyes. She is so innocent and so pure, as is her blind faith and trust in him. She has no clue of what his other job entails. Just that he goes a way a lot and she hates it. And sometimes he comes back with cuts and bruises and the occasional broken bone.

 It's his number one fear: what will happen when she gets older and she learns just what he's been up to all these years. He worries it will change how she looks at him. Right now she adores and idolizes him; there's no problem that daddy can't fix, no toy he can't repair, no monster he can't chase away. Soon that will end. She'll grow out of that and their relationship will be different. And he worries that the truth and the monsters and demons of his past will drive her away.

 He tightens his hold on her. Drops a kiss on the top of her head.

 “I love you too.”

 ****

 His family is gathered in the kitchen. The smell of pancakes, eggs, and sausage hanging heavily in the air as google home mini perched on a nearby counte rtop plays the current and most popular music. Tanner scurries back and forth between cupboards and table as he happily and dutifully finishes setting places for his mother. The baby in his high chair; ten months old, a lock of strawberry blond hair falling across his forehead, brilliant blue eyes focused intently on scooping  the selection of dry cheerios and slices of banana on the tray in front of him. Declan is long and lanky like Millie and TJ. Feisty and mischievous at even such a tender age.  The genes run strong in the Rake family. Never a doubt to strangers on the street that those four came from the same mom and dad. Especially the latter.  Their appearances strikingly similar; both physical and in their mannerisms and facial expressions.

 “Help your brother,” Tyler instructs his daughter, placing her on the ground. “And no fighting over who gets what colour cup or what spoon.” 

They were only eleven months apart and while incredibly close and nine times out of ten the best of friends, they loved to scrap. Their little pissing matches often turning physical. But Mille is strong and clever and never backs down from a challenge.

 He joins his wife at the counter where she stands dishing food out onto plates. His hands coming to rest on her shoulders, then sliding down her arms and coming to rest on her hips. They’re wider now; she’s had four children after all. His children. Yet she is still firm and tone in some places, soft and more curvaceous in others.  Her hair is shorter; skimming the tops of her shoulders, wispy bangs over her forehead. She is beautiful even first thing in the morning; a wide headband holding her hair away from her face, clad in a pair of simple black leggings and one of his t-shirts. And he leans into her, eyes closed as he breathes in the soft scent that lingers in her hair.

 “Good morning,” his lips are against her ear, hands tightening on her hips as she pulls her back against him.

  He feels her shudder against him and he smiles as he presses a kiss to her cheek. He had heard that once children came into the picture, a lot of women lost some, if not all, desire for sex. They were tired. Physically and emotionally. But not his wife. In fact, it had seemed to heighten her need for it even more. She’s always been insatiable; right from the very beginning of their relationship. The only woman he’d ever known -including his first wife- whose sexual appetite almost matched his. Last night she’d been especially in the mood; pouncing on him the second he walked into their bedroom. And then  proceeding to wake him up twice in the middle of the night with no so gentle demands that he make love to her.

 Who was he to say no?”

 “Good morning,” she tilts her head back and smiles up at him “Did you sleep okay? I’m sorry the kids were so loud and woke you up.  They were excited you were home.”

 “They only woke me up once. You woke me up twice,” he teases, grinning when she blushes, and presses a kiss to the tip of her nose. “By the way…” he places his lips against her ear once again, and presses his groin against her ass. “…you were incredible.”

 Her blush deepens, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”

 “You definitely were not complaining,” he chides, and then kisses her cheek. Behind them, TJ makes a very distinct gagging noise.  “One day you’re going like kissing girls,” he informs his son, as he leans back against the counter and accepts a mug of steaming black coffee from his wife.

 “Never,” the little boy declares.  “Girls are gross.”

 “Your mommy isn’t gross,” Tyler points out. “Far from it. Daddy thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the world. One day you’ll find a girl that you feel the same way about.”

 “Nope,” his namesake remains steadfast. “Never. Ever. Girls that aren’t mommy are nasty. And kissing is gross. Just…ughhh…” his nose crinkles in disgusts as he shudders dramatically.  Definitely his mother’s son with that little display.

 “Kissing is where babies come from,” Mille announces, as she scrambles into her seat at the table.

 “Well there’s a little more to it than that,” he says, and Esme digs her elbow into his ribs and shakes her his. “Well there is.”

 “Like what?” Millie inquires. “Kissing and what?”

 “Kissing and things,” her mother replies. “Things you don’t need to know about until you’re older. Much older.”

 “How much older?” the five year old isn’t giving up that easily.

 “When you’re thirty and your father finally lets you go out on a date.”

 “Thirty!” Mille squeals. “That’s old as shit!”

 “”Hey!” Tyler admonishes. “None of that. Only mommy says that word. She invented bad words like that.”

 “Yeah…” Esme snorts.  “…way back when the Pony Express still delivered mail.”

 “I think you made the F word, daddy,” Tanner says, and his twin giggles beside him.

 “Someone needs to watch their language when little ears are around,” Esme scolds, and hands him a cold plate of eggs and pancake for the paper.

 “You might get your mouth washed out with soap,” TJ adds. “That’s what grandma says she used to do to Uncle Mike when he was little and swore like a drunken sailor.”

 “Thirty is really old,” Millie muses dramatically, as she tucks her hair behind her ears.  

 “Your mother was being generous,” Tyler says. “I was thinking more like forty.”

 “Daddy, that’s mean. You can’t boys away from me that long.”

 “Don’t say that him,” Esme pipes up. “He’s going to take that as a challenge.”

 “She can date, but I’m sitting on the front porch with a gun in my lap until she gets home,” he vows, and his wife rolls her eyes and begins carrying plates of food to the table, leaving an extra on the counter.

 The baby squeals happily when Tyler steps up beside the high chair and reaches up for him with dirty hands. Fists repeatedly opening and closing in a request to be picked.

 “Mate…” he sighs, as he takes in the state of his youngest. Banana smashed into oblivious, smeared into his hair.  “…why do you have to do this to me? What kind of mess did you go and make? Your son tried to shampoo his hair with his banana,” he informs his wife. “Look at him. He’s a bloody wreck.”

 “How come he’s only my son when he’s bad?” she smirks, and tosses him a package of baby wipes.

 “Because the bad genes come from you,” he states, and then uses the wipes to clean the baby’s face, hair, and hands before unbuckling him and lifting him from the seat. Little arms curling around his neck, a face nuzzling into his shoulder. “Here we go, mate, here we go,” he says, and then slides into his chair. “Time to eat. Time to get big and strong so that you can kick some ass when you get older.”

 “Really, Tyler?” Esme sighs. “Really?”

 “Daddy said ass,” TJ giggles, and soon he and his brother are dissolving into hysterics and making fart jokes. Their sister rolling her eyes and giving them hell for being so rude.

 Just another day in paradise.

 ****

  “Well…well…well…” Esme grins.  “…it lives. Long enough to emerge from it’s dungeon to eat.”

 There’s a slight blush to Ovi’s cheeks as he enters the room, a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he lays a hand on her shoulder and presses a kiss to his cheek. She may not be the woman that carried him for nine months and given birth to him, but she was very much his mother. Spending the last five years making sure he was well taken care of; nurtured, shown affection, encouraged to enjoy the simple things that came with a quieter existence. And he may not use the word, but he feels it in his heart. And he knows she does too.

 He’s much taller now; half an inch shy of Tyler’s six foot three frame. He’s not as muscular and powerful as the man he considers his father, but is tall and athletic; a sinewy, well toned body from all the hours he’s spent lifting weights,  helping out on their little hobby farm, and accompanying Tyler to his reno and handy man jobs. And while he lives in the apartment in the basement, he never misses a meal with the family. He craves the togetherness; the conversations and the jokes and hearing the kids giggling and playing.

 He snags the plate of food off the counter and heats it in the microwave, then slips into the chair to Tyler’s left. “What time did you get back?” he inquires, as Esme moves to fill his empty glass from a pitcher of orange juice on the table.

 “Around nine.”

 “That was a long one,” he remarks, and Esme nods in agreement.

 She has gotten used to his time away, but still doesn’t like it. It’s cold and lonely in the middle of the night and sleep rarely comes; too many worries about where he is and if he’s okay.

 “What happened here?” Ovi gestures to the area above his own eye.

 “Just a little mix up with someone that wasn’t too happy with me. Nothing serious. Where were you? The car was gone when I got home.”

 He’d been the one that had taught the kid to drive; taking him on back country roads in a beater pick up truck that they’d picked up for cheap.  Ovi’s come a long way in five years; physically and mentally. He’s no longer plagued by the vivid nightmares of what had happened in Dhaka or how’d he’d killed Gaspar to save  Tyler’s life, and essentially, his own.  He had thrived in the public school system and quickly and effortlessly made friends.  Joined the swim team. Ran track and field. Tried his hand at football. He had decided to take a year off from pursuing a higher education; electing to busy himself on the farm and learning how to use power tools, sweating under the weight of hard, manual labour.

 “Ovi had a date,” Millie sing songs. “With a girl.”

 He reaches across the table to tousle her hair, and she gives that musical little giggle.  

 “It wasn’t a date,” he says.  “I was helping her study.”

 “Yeah…” Tyler smirks as the sips his coffee. “…it was studying.”

 “Right…” Esme grins from across the table. “…studying. I was a teenager once. I know what studying is code language for. Tyler and I like to study together. He’s actually an excellent tutor.”

 “Which is why we have four kids,” he adds.

 “I am never going to study,” TJ declares, causing the adults to laugh.

 “Oh boy child…” his mother sighs. “…you are in for one heck of a rude awakening when you get older. No kissing and no studying? Come back and talk to me when you’re fourteen.”

 “You’ll like studying,” Tyler says. “Even by yourself. It’s not as fun as when you study with someone else, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”

 Ovi laughs, nearly choking on a mouthful of orange juice.

 “Excuse me,” Esme directs a kick to his shin under the table. “When was the last time you actually had to study alone?”

 “I was just gone for two weeks,” he reminds her.  “Just because you wanted to study together when I got back doesn’t mean I didn’t have to study by myself while I was away. Go that long without studying? I haven’t gone that long without studying since I was fifteen.”

 She holds a hand up to silence him. “Okay that last part is just way too much information.”

 “Sometimes you have to study alone,” he continues with a shrug. “Because your study partner is tired. Or they feel sick Or they have a headache. Study partners get headaches a lot.”

 She kicks him under the table to get his attention, then mouths: “I will kill you in your sleep.”

 He shoots her a grin and a wink, reaching out with his foot in order to run his toes over her instep, along her shin, and then around to the hell.

 At first she glares at him, glass against her lips, then gives a smirk and places her other foot in his lap. Causing him to clear his throat noisily and shift in his seat when she presses her toes into his crotch. But he doesn’t make her stop.

 “So what’s her name? Esme asks. “This study partner of yours?”

 “Chloe.”

 “Oooo that’s pretty!” Mille gushes. “That’s a princess name. Is she pretty like a princess?”

 “She is,” he confirms, but then reaches across the table to tousle her hair. “But not as pretty as you.”

 “How’d you meet her?”  Tyler asks, his hand slipping below the table to push his wife’s foot out of his crotch. The last thing he needed was to get up from the breakfast table with a raging hard on. He is almost forty one now, but she still has a way of making him feel like a horny teenager.

 Esme pouts dramatically, then goes back to her breakfast. Foot now on his thigh, his fingers massaging at the bases of her toes.

 “The internet,” Ovi sheepishly admits.

 Tyler groans. Jesus , mate. We talked about this. We’ve been talking about this for five years now. No social media. It’s too easy for people to find you on there and track you down.”

 “I’m being really careful,” he insists. “My security settings are really high. I don’t use my real name. Esme has a facebook.”

 “With only her family on it. It’s not the same thing. How’d you end up randomly meeting her online in the first place? Don’t tell me you did something creepy like sending her a message out of nowhere because you thought she looked cute.”

 “It was a group. For single people in Colorado.”

 “Oh for fuck sakes,” Tyler mutters, much to the chagrin of the kids; the twins giggling and telling he was going to get his mouth washed out with soap and Millie who immediately scrambling for the ‘swear jar’ that sits on the counter by the stove. Informing him that he knows five bucks because it was a ‘really, really, really bad word’.   “Why would you go on something like that? I get being lonely and wanting to meet girls, but for Christ sakes, mate.”

 “I wasn’t thinking, I guess. I just wanted to meet new people and talk to them. I wasn’t really planning on meeting anyone. I was just wanting  to talk.”

 He’s had a handful of girlfriends in high school. Nice, down home kind of girls that came from decent families and seemed to have no secrets in their closets. Tyler had made sure of it: giving their names and addresses to Nik so she would do a little digging. Everything had come back clean, thankfully. But it was better to be safe than sorry, especially with kids in the house.

 “How much do you even know about this girl?”

 “Enough.”

 Tyler arches both brows, waiting for a better response.

 “We’ve been talking for a little while,” he admits. “A few weeks now. She lives in Butte. So when we wanted to meet in person, we agreed to drive hallway and meet in the middle.”

 “How old is she?” Tyler presses. “What does she do for a living?”

 “Twenty three.”

 Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the way his wife’s widen at the revelation. There’s almost five full years between them and while that had never stopped them, it seemed a little wrong when it was a nineteen year old boy being pursued by an older woman.

 “She teaches in a day care,” Ovi continues. “So she’d fit in really well around here. She loves kids and you guys have a lot of them, so…”

 “I wanna met her,” Mille decides, and her brothers join in.

 “You can’t just bring strangers to the house,” Esme speaks up.  “You know that’s one of the big rules. We can’t just have anyone and everyone walking through the front door. How much do you really know about her other than her name, age, and what she does for a living? Do you know anything about her friends? Her family? Her background?”

 “I can always get Nik to run a check on her,” Tyler suggests. “I mean, if he really wants to see this girl…”

 “Still doesn’t mean I want a stranger coming to my bouse. Being around my kids.  Wasn’t that we agreed on about five years ago? When we moved here and I was having the twins? That we wouldn’t take the chance of just letting someone walk through the door? There’s always a chance, remember? That someone is looking for us. Those are your exact words.”

 “But if I get Nik to do a background check, we’ll get some answers. If nothing comes up, great. He can see the girl. If someone comes up, then he doesn’t. You wouldn’t, right?” he looks at Ovi. “See her if something came up?”

 “No! I would never do anything like that! I’d never bring someone like that around here.  I just want the chance to get to know her. That’s all. She’s really nice and really pretty and I think you guys would like her.:

 “I’m going to like her,” Millie chimes in. “I already do. If she’s good enough for my Ovi, she’s good enough for me.”

 “Pound it…” he says to her, as he holds out a fist and she enthusiastically responds. “…now blow it up.”

 They’ve always been close. Right from the moment they’d brought her as a baby to the Mahajan house five years ago. It was the first infant he’d ever had contact with and he’d been immediately smitten; mesmerized by the little sounds she made, how she would look up at him with those big blue or wrap her entire fist around one of his fingers. And when he wasn’t holding or begging to hold her, he was playing the piano for her; having her in the car seat on the floor next to him while he entertained her with his favourite songs. As she grew older, she’d always referred to him as ‘my Ovi’. Sometime she’s even called him her brother, and when people tried to point out it wasn’t physically possible that they were related in any way, she’d argue that ‘Christmas presents aren’t always in the same wrapping paper and neither are people’.

 Pretty wise for a five year old.

 “It won’t hurt to take a look at her,” Tyler attempts to reason with his wife “What’s the worst that can happen? We see something we don’t like in her background and he cuts ties with her. That’s it. No harm, no foul.”

 She’s become increasingly paranoid with each baby they’ve brought into the world. Always worried that there was someone out there just waiting to trample on the happiness that they had managed to find. And when he’d gotten back into the job without consulting her first, the worry became obsessive and all consuming.

  And there was also some lingering animosity towards him on her part; that he’d willingly go back into a profession that put a target on not only his back, but hers and the kids as well. He no longer saw it that way; he was more than capable of protecting his family and there were others -like Nik, Yaz, and the rest of the team- that would help them out no questions asked. Besides, the jobs he took were considered low on the scale of risk when it came to severe injury or death.

 “If nothing comes back and she’s totally clean, there’s no reason why she can’t come around,” he adds, and gives her foot a squeeze. “You know I’m not going to just let a stranger walk up in here. I wouldn’t take that chance. So I’ll get Nik to look her up. The kid does deserve to have a life. Isn’t that we brought him along with us in the first place?”

 Sighing heavily, she uses her fork to push the remains of her food around her plate.

 “Nothing is going to happen,” he assures her. “We do things this way, there’s no chance of something going wrong. Let’s at least give the girl a chance, yeah?”

 “As long as you promise to have Nik look into her. And as long as you…” she trains her gaze on Ovi.  “…promise me you won’t bring her here until Tyler find outs about her. I’m serious, Ovi. I can’t have some random off the street getting near my kids. I just can’t.”

 “I won’t,” he vows. “I’d never do something like that.”

 Giving a small smile, she nods and then pushes her chair away from the table and begins tidying up the dirty plates and utensils, instructing the kids to run upstairs and get cleaned up and dressed.

 “Is she okay?” Ovi asks. “She seems a little….mad.”

 “I think she’s a bit pissed at me. I was only supposed to be gone four days and it ended up turning into two weeks. It’s hard on her. Being home alone all that time with the kids. This job was supposed to be easy and it turned into a real shit show instead. Definitely not what I thought I was walking into.”

 “Well at least you’re alive, right? You’re home. At least you’re still here.”

 “That’s all that matters, mate. Dragging myself through that front door. As long as I get home to my wife and my kids, it’s a good day.”

 As long as he wasn’t being brought home in a body bag.

[just-jordie-things]

Flirt - Theo Raeken

warnings: swearing, mentions of sexual activities, lotso alcohol so underaged drinking, very belated request word count: 4535 (THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT I WROTE IT IN 1 DAY) requested by anon! again sorry the request took me forever to get to ya, but i didn’t forget! although I did change some things around... hope you still like it tho

“Kiss me if I’m wrong, but dinosaurs still exist right?”

 You turned from where you stood on the steps of the school, and rose an eyebrow at Theo Raeken.  He winked, bounding up the stairs towards you.  “And how are you this mornings, darling flower?” You rolled your eyes, but let him walk next to you anyways.

 “I am absolutely wonderful now that I have Mr Raeken escorting me into the building.  And you?”

 “Well I do find myself fancying walking with you, flower” He replied.  You laughed to yourself as you headed into the school.

 “Nice chatting as always Raeken.  See you later”

 “Adios Chica”

 He watched you walk off to your locker, and he paused in the hall.  You met up with your friend, Kira, as you always did.  Theo let out a sigh.  Sure, he flirted around, it was like his trademark.  But he didn’t flirt to anyone the way he flirted with you.  He pursued you.  You… the girl unaware of what his past truly was.  Sure, he’d been told by Scott that you knew about the more… supernatural side of Beacon Hills.  Basically that you knew about the McCall pack, but wasn’t involved.  He persisted on knowing more about you, but Scott only cared to share your knowledge on the werewolves banshees and kitsunes.

 But he was aware that you had no clue of his own involvement, including his chimera status.

 You were at your locker with Kira, the girl pushing you into answering her daily questions about your encounters with Theo.

 “Did he use a pickup line? He always does, what’d he say today? Was it cute? Do you think you like him?”

 “Hey hey hey” You said with a chuckle.  “Kye, I love you, but this is getting out of hand.  Theo��s… popular.  You think he’s gonna go for some random girl like me? No.  He’s not” Kira made a pout.

 “I don’t know girly… he seems like he’s really into you” You crinkled your nose and shook your head.

 “No… no I doubt he’s like that”

“Doubt who’s like what?” Lydia asked, having popped out of nowhere.  Already using the mirror on your locker door to fix up her lip gloss.

 “y/n don’t think that Theo likes her” Kira said.  Lydia rolled her eyes.

 “Oh please, I haven’t ever seen a boy salivate that much.  And I’ve taken Stiles to get curly fries” She said with a short laugh.  “Seriously, just go for it.  What’ve you got to lose?”

 “My dignity?” You said sarcastically.  Kira rolled her eyes with Lydia this time.

 “You’re not even gonna take a real chance?” She asked.  You pursed your lips.

 “Maybe if Lyds gets me tipsy enough at her next party” You said.  Your friends sighed.

 “Come on y/n, that’s totally not fair” Kira said in a defeated tone.  “You flirt with hi,, and he flirts back.  You’re both into each other, why not just… you know” Kira began wildly clapping her hands.  Lydia’s brows furrowed.

 “Hatefuck each other?” The banshee guessed.  You slapped a hand over your mouth to stifle your laughter.

 “What!?” Kira asked with wide eyes.  Oh the innocence of this fox would never not be funny to you.  “No- no! I meant- I meant get together!” Kira began to clap again, this time sending you and Lydia into pity giggles and head shakes.

 “No sweetie… no that’s not what that means.  Like at all” Lydia said, wrapping an arm around the kitsune’s shoulders as the three of you began to walk to class.

“Oh my God…. I do that when I’m talking to people all the time…” Kira mumbled, making you both laugh again as you went into class. 

You ended up unable to focus during the entire class.  You were too busy wondering about what the girls had told you about Theo.  Sure, you were kinda interested.  A cute boy who flirts with you? Who wouldn’t be interested.  But you were certain that his intentions weren’t to have a romantic evening at dinner and a movie.  No, Theo Raeken seemed more like a one night stand kind of guy.  

Theo sighed as he sat down at his picnic table outside for lunch.  Yeah, for a ‘popular’ and big flirt, he ate lunch alone.  After his encounters with the McCall pack, Stiles had a thing for glaring him down in the cafeteria.  Or the hallways.  Or class.  And once he accidentally walked into the bathroom while Stiles was already there.  Usually he didn’t mind the alone time, in fact he quite enjoyed it.  He was able to get back into the swing of things.  Focus on classes, raising grades.  As well as keeping his cool and forgetting about the past.

 But he knew you were in the lunchroom.  Laughing and smiling with your friends… who happened to be the McCall pack but Theo would risk getting the evil eye from Stiles to listen in on your giggling.  But then he’d also have to go through the hassle of finding a table and alas, he had no friends.  Hayden was the closest thing to a friend he had… but last he heard she was part of Scott’s pack now and likely wanted nothing to do with him.

 You wandered outside, needing a break from your group of friends.  Well, needing a break from Stiles and Lydia’s clinginess, from Kira’s continued questions, Scott’s check up on your grades, Malia’s… well Malia didn’t do anything you loved Malia, but you needed a break from everyone really.  No one was out there, a nice empty space of picnic tables.  You took in a deep breath and looked over the area…. Your eyes landed on Theo.  Your brows furrowed at the sight.  Theo Raeken ate lunch alone?

 “Hey Raeken” You called, walking down the steps and into the courtyard.  He looked up from a book.  A book.  You never pegged him for a reading guy. 

“Hey l/n” He replied.  You stood in front of his table, next to the bench across from him.  “Well sit down if you like, but if you’re ditching this early I’d get your ass moving” He said with a light hearted chuckle.  You shook your head and sat across from him, setting your bag next to you.

“I don’t ditch.  I don’t want to get in trouble” Theo laughed.  “What? Is there something funny about my wanting to have a good education?” You asked.  You shook his head, pursing his lips and putting his hands up in surrender.

“Oh no, I just don’t expect any less from you lovely y/n” He said.  You raised an eyebrow.

“And what does that mean?” You asked, folding your hands together and setting them on a table.

“It means, toots” He started.  “You wouldn’t ditch, if I gave you all the money in my wallet, right now” You thought about it for a moment.

“Hm” He rolled his eyes.

“Are you seriously contemplating it? Please, I see you getting the bite from Scott before leaving school grounds before the final bell has rung”

You sat in silence for a full minute before Theo realized his mistake.

His eyes widened and jaw slacked, unsure of how to cover for such a colossal screw up.

Before he could even come up with something to say, you were already responding.

“Well at least Scott’s an alpha.  I don’t suppose I’d like to be a part of your sorry ass ‘half animal’ chimera pack” You said with a scoff and a smirk.  Again, leaving him with wide eyes and a hung open mouth.  “Shut the trap dear, you’ll catch flies” You winked, and slung your bag over your shoulder.

“You.. you knew?”

“I gotta go hun” You said, standing from your seat and making your way towards the school again.  “Don’t wanna be late for class” Theo shook his head, left a stunned mute in his lonesome.

 The next morning you were getting out of Stiles’ jeep, and tiredly walking yourself up the steps of the school.  Nothing had happened to make you this tired, it was just one of those mornings.  The kind where you were jeans converse and a sweatshirt, a messy bun on your head and a coffee in your hand.  Well, Stiles did spend the whole drive to the school telling you terrible things about Theo, so that wore you out.  At least all his arguments were things you already knew.  

‘I mean, look at the gel in his hair’

‘He flirts around a lot’

‘He eats lunch all by himself’

‘There’s a reason he’s got no friends’

To be honest, everything he used just made you feel bad for Theo.  He really didn’t have friends… at least not ones you ever saw him hang out with.  You frowned at the thought, and looked to Stiles as you walked towards the school together.

“Did he have friends ever? Like in elementary school or anything?” You asked.  Having been new to Beacon Hills in the eighth grade, you hadn’t known Theo until he had supposedly moved back in the beginning of your senior year.

“Yeah.  Me and Scott” Stiles said, tugging on the strings of his jacket.

“Scott and I” You corrected with a mumble.  But didn’t push the subject any more.  He’d only argue against you.  If you even breathed Theo’s name, you were sure Stiles would pop up with five more text based facts about why you should steer clear of him.  Most of them relating back to ‘because he’s evil’.

Was he? Would you even know? All that Kira had oh so secretly filled you in on was that Theo was a chimera, and for a short while he had a pack of chimeras that consisted of Tracy, Josh, Hayden and Corey.  Hayden and Corey being the only friends you had to talk to about whether or not Theo was a villain.

Josh and Tracy had mysteriously disappeared a few months back… maybe you should be doing some more investigating.

“Kira!” You called, ditching Stiles and rushing over to your petite asian friend.

“Kay bye” Stiles muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment of you leaving him alone by searching for Scott or Lydia.

“Hi” Kira said with a chipper tone but a confused look.  “What…? Did you forget to do the Econ homework cause I did too and I was gonna ask Lydia for help on it-”

“Tell me about Theo” You said bluntly.  Her eyes widened to a round almond shape.

“Um-”

“Tell me Kira, I need to know”

Meanwhile across the hall, Theo perked up at the sound of his name being spoken in a recognizably soft tone.  He looked over from where he was putting his coat in his locker, to where you stood just down the hall with Kira.  Just far enough that he could listen in without getting caught.  His ear perked as he stuffed his bag with books to look busy.

“... I mean Scott wasn’t dead dead, well, he was, but only for a few minutes!” Kira said quickly.  Theo could hear the quickening in your heartbeat.

You were scared.

He shook his head, furrowing his brows as he continued to listen to the conversation against his better judgement.

“He… he k- he killed Scott?” You stuttered over your words, speaking quietly.  Theo looked down the hall now, meeting Kira’s eyes.  Your back was turned to him.

“Yes” She answered, maintaining eye contact with him.

He wanted to glare, he wanted to slam his locker, maybe storm down there and deliver a nice ‘fuck you’ to the thunder kitsune.

But he couldn’t.  He could only stare longingly at the back of your head.  Kira looked at him again, giving a slight frown.  He wondered if she meant it as an apology, or just for pity.  The bell rang, and he heard you and Kira exchange goodbyes.

When you turned around, you began walking down the hallway quickly.  He could see you tightly clutching a binder to your chest.  He turned slightly, making himself more visible to you, and he contemplated saying something, but he didn’t know how, or what to even say 

You saw him before he could finish his thought.  Your eyes widened, and you stepped further away from him, walking closer to the opposite wall of lockers.

“y/n-”

“Don’t” You said in the most serious tone you could muster.  “Don’t talk to me”

 He opened his mouth, but closed it instantly.  He could see the tears in your eyes, and didn’t want to push you anymore than he already had.

“You- how- how dare you” You said with a snarl.  “How dare you”

I’m sorry, he wanted to say.  I’m sorry for everything, I should’ve told you, I should’ve been honest about everything.

“You, Theo Raeken” You looked away for a moment, then shook your head as you stared back at him.  “You’re a terrible person” You told him, voice cracking.  You opened your lips to say something else, but couldn’t bring yourself to do it.  So you settled for shaking your head again.   

You walked off, and Theo was left in an empty hallway. 

“What an asshole! What a total dickwad!” You exclaimed, swigging back a drink of your beer as you sat on Lydia’s sofa.  She sighed, looking over at Kira and Malia, who were curled up on the recliner.  Malia had fallen asleep within the first two hours of the girls night sleepover.

“Look, y/n can I tell you something? Like, some real and solid advice?” You shrugged and nodded, taking a few more drinks.  “I think… I think he’s better now.  Since he’s come back”

“What!?” You exclaimed, and Kira shot you a look, gesturing to her sleeping girlfriend.  “Sorry I just- Lyd” You said her name in a breathy laugh.  “He, he killed Scott, Kira told me everything he did, he hit you too and nearly killed you in EIchen how can-”

“Yes, he did horrid, and awful things” Lydia said.  “But he was literally dragged down, to the pits of hell, for months… I think he’s learned a lesson or two”

 You let this sink in whilst chugging down the rest of your beer.

“Anyways, I invited him to my party tomorrow night.  Well, I invited everyone, but still, he said he’d be there so” Lydia shrugged, pretending to care about her fingernails but she was watching you out of the corner of her eye.  “Maybe you can talk to him, or something”

Maybe you could.

 Theo closed the front door behind him, almost being shoved against it by the mass amount of dancing bodies in Lydia Martin’s living room.  He swiftly moved past them and made his way to the kitchen.  Then double checked his phone.

Lydia Martin: come to the kitchen when you get here Lydia Martin: i’ll put wolfsbane in your drink.  You’ll need it

He ended up pushing a few people aside and promptly apologizing.  When he reached the Martin kitchen, he saw Lydia there, pouring and mixing drinks, handing out beer bottles and red solo cups.  At the dining table some girl was dancing on it and a ring of guys took shots of toxic liquid god knows what 

“Ah Mr Raeken!” Lydia grinned, waving him over.  “Hey, Mal take my spot” She said, Malia instantly trading places with her.  Lydia grabbed two plastic cups and met Theo at the kitchen entrance.  “Come with me” She told him, and he blindly followed her to the backyard.  He was surprised no one was back here.

“Are you gonna kill me-”

“Nope” Lydia handed up one of the cups, and when he took it she drank from hers.

“Okay… and why’d you want me to come tonight? I mean thanks but-”

“Cut the bullshit you only came cause you knew y/n would be here” Theo snapped his mouth shut and Lydia giggled.  “I knew it! Cute” She took another drink, slightly swaying to the loud music inside, muffled out here.

“Yeah.. yeah I did but she doesn’t want to talk to me anyways so..” Theo shrugged, taking a whiff of his drink.  When he smelled the wolfsbane he took a small sip, and was surprised by the old yet familiar sensation of liquor running down his throat.

“Anywho.  She’s dancing with Kira.  You should go ask to talk to her” Theo snorted at that.

“Yeah, thanks sweets, but she’d rather shove a stick up my ass first” Lydia crinkled her nose and cringed at the image in her head, but shook her head to get rid of it.

“Okay… but you’re wrong” Lydia said, using her ‘Sweetie I’m smarter than you so I know what I’m talking about’ voice.

“I’m wrong?” Theo asked, drinking more of whatever it was Lydia had made for him.

“Yeah.  You are.  You don’t think that I explained to her the whole story?” Lydia asked, her tone becoming softer.  Theo looked at her, then looked down at the cup in his hands.  “Because I did” She said, maneuvering her head so their eyes would meet, hoping he’d see her sincerity.  “Listen to my heartbeat am I lying? y/n likes you, and I can see it, and I know it, you think I’d let her just be pissed at you over something she didn’t yet understand-”

“Okay but why do you care? Why are you helping me? Won’t your boyfriend be mad?” Theo asked.  Lydia smiled, and shook her head 

“I’m not here for Stiles.  I’m here for y/n” She said kindly.  “Just go find her” She added, then headed inside.

Theo thought about just standing in the backyard, drinking his liquor and contemplating the strange shit that was his life.  But after a second he knew he couldn’t be this close without trying to talk to you.

He went back inside, and pushed his way through the crowd in the living room.

When he saw you, dancing too cutely for your outfit of choice, his heart melted.

You were wearing a black cocktail dress that fell to your upper thigh, enough that when you jumped as you danced, he could just barely see the smooth curve of your ass.  You spun around, revealing a beer bottle in one hand, the other happily raised as you danced to the EDM music playing.  You were laughing and smiling, eyes closed in euphoria, and if Theo had his scents right, drunkenness.  He frowned slightly, instantly worried for your own well being.

Your eyes fluttered open, instantly landing on him.  The only non moving thing in the crowd, about four feet away.  He was surprised when you didn’t scowl, or frown.  The smallest of smiles still stayed present on your lips.  After a moment, you lowered your arms and looked down at your feet, silently giving yourself reassurance.

Then you walked up to him, somehow managing to balance in your high heels.  He watched you, pretty much ready to hold his arms out to catch you if you were to fall.

“Hey” You managed quietly.  Theo looked dramatically to the left, then the right, before pointing to himself

“Me?” You nodded.  “You’re talking to me?” You giggled this time, nodding, and holding your bottle to your chest.

“Yes, I’m talking to you Theo” You said.  He smiled at you and bowed his head slightly.

“Well then the pleasure is all mine” You laughed again, and nodded your head off to the side 

“You want to go outside?” You asked him, and he nodded.

“Sure” WIth that he followed behind you to the back door, just like he had for Lydia.  When he passed her and Malia in the kitchen handing out drinks like before, the strawberry blonde gave him a hidden thumbs up.  Though he didn’t know if she meant it for him or you.  He opened the door and held it as you walked out, giving him another small smile in thanks.  He closed it when you stepped outside.

He admired you for a moment as you stared up at the inky blue night sky, counting the stars in your head, as many as you could.  After a while he knew he had to say something.

“Look, I figure you wanna talk about the other day, so um, if you have any questions I don’t mind-” You turned around, your beautiful eyes meeting his and Theo found himself trailing off.

“What?” You asked, your innocent voice quiet and soft.  You set your bottle down on the concrete patio with a little clink.  “Why’d you stop?” You asked, walking back to him.

“Sorry I just..” He stopped again, and you raised your eyebrows in impatience.  “I don’t know.  Waiting for you to ask questions I guess” You nodded, pursing your lips as you thought.

“Are you evil?” He snorted a laugh.

“I’d like to think not, but don’t ask Stiles that” he said, making you chuckle as well.  “Is that all you got? Not exactly what I was expecting”

 “Did… did you kill Tracy and Josh?” You asked.  His mouth opened, then closed.  Then opened again…. Then closed again.  You got your answer that way.  “Why?”

 “I can’t… I can’t answer that in a way that will ever make sense to you” He said honestly.  “Or me, quite frankly” You nodded, looking down at the ground and rubbing your shoe on the concrete.  “Look, I did a lot of terrible things, but I want- I need you to know that i regret every moment of it, every single one of them.  And if I could take it back I would in an instant” You looked up, eyes meeting his again.

 “I’ll take your word for it” You said softly.  He half smiled at you.

 “Any other questions?” You thought for a few seconds, taking off your shoes in the meantime and wandering into the grass in your bare and aching feet.

 “Come up with me” You said, pointing off to a tree.  Theo looked up, seeing a tree house in it.

“I never thought Lydia would be a treehouse building kind of girl” Theo chuckled, and you did too, shaking your head.

“No, it’s old.  She’s had it here longer than I’ve been around” You told him, climbing up the trunk to where the ladder was.

“How long have you been around? Did you go to Beacon Hills Elementary? Cause I think I would’ve remembered you” You were thankful he was on the ladder below you, so he wouldn’t see your blush.

“No, I didn’t move here till the middle of eighth grade” You told him, climbing into the box that was once a prized treehouse.  Theo crawled in shortly after you.  “But I didn’t meet Scott and Stiles and Allison till freshmen year, I was friends with just Lydia till then” You said.

“Allison?” You looked over at him, your features falling.

“Yeah.. yeah we uh… we lost her” You said solemnly.  Theo nodded, barely recognizing the name from something Scott had briefly mentioned a while back.  “But she’s in a much better place now, so” You nodded off, looking desperately for a conversation changer.

“So what’s your college future look like?” Theo asked.  You raised an eyebrow, sitting on the planked floor against the wall.

“My college future?” You repeated, and he nodded.

“You get questions, I get questions.  It’s the game” You nodded, smiling at the idea of the game.

“Alright, I’ll play.  I applied for a few places, but I really just want to get into NYC” You said.

“Why so far?”

“Nope, my turn for a question” You said.  “Why’d you come to Lydia’s party?”

“Hoping to find you miss y/n” He stated unashamedly.  “Why do you want to go to NYC?”

“Because it’s far and I want to explore on my own.  Gain a sense of freedom and independence you know?” Theo smiled at that, and nodded.  “Mr Raeken” You began in a deep formal voice, and making him laugh.  “Do you have the hots for moi?” He chuckled at the question.

“I do believe so, miss y/n” He said, shuffling over closer next to you.  For a moment you thought he was going to lean over and kiss you, maybe wrap an arm around you, but he did neither.  “And do you for me?” You looked over and smiled at him, fully aware of the mere two inches between your lips and his.  You nodded your head just barely.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a chimera to begin with?” You asked quietly.

“I didn’t want to scare you off so soon” He replied in the same volume.  You watched his eyes flicker down to your lips for a moment, then back to your own.  “Did you hate me when Kira told you… things?” He asked.  You shook your head, choosing to keep silent in this answer.  He watched you inch closer just a little 

“Do you want to kiss me?” You murmured.  Theo rose a hand, his fingertips dusting lightly over your cheek before cupping it.

“Yes” He said, your eyes trained on his lips as he spoke the single word.

“Then do it”

It only took him half a second before his lips slanted against yours, making you see stars behind your closed eyes.  Your hands slid up behind his neck, into his hair and resting in the soft locks.  You hummed in pleasure, scooting forward and moving your lips in sync with his.  You felt him smile against you, and you parted briefly.

“Wow” You whispered, eyes still shut and nose bumping his.  Theo chuckled, opening his eyes to find yours still closed.

“How would you feel on going out tomorrow night with the bad guy?” He asked you, and you opened your eyes, pressing your cheek against his warm palm.

“I would love to go out tomorrow night with a… a good guy in training” You said with a bright smile and small giggle.  With that answer he leaned back in and kissed you shortly, to which you pulled him right back in for a satisfyingly longer kiss.

“I like the sound of that better” Theo said, and you smiled again.

“Me too” You said, hands resting on his shoulders.  You stared at him for a moment, then moved closer on your knees, and straddled over his lap.  

Theo watched your actions, his arms falling from holding your face gently.  You both looked down as you sat yourself on his thighs, then met eyes again.  You smiled shyly, and leaned down to press your lips to his again.  His hands rested on your hips, then encircled around your waist to embrace you against him.  Your lips moved together in a soft dance.  He did even try to stick his tongue down your throat, showing you nothing but affection and gentleness.  You smiled against his lips, giving him one last, longing kiss.  You both parted slowly.

“I would like to fall in love with you” He told you, making you laugh softly and shake your head.  He brushed back the fallen strands of hair.

“I’d like to fall in love with you as well, Mr Raeken” You responded.

And you very well did.

hope it was everything you dreamed Xx

xoxo ~ jordie

PS: DONT FORGET TO VOTE UR FAV TW GIRL + GUY IN MY ASKS!! XX