Promise
Author: wanderingsmith
Started oct 17, 2014 - latest update nov
20, 2014 -
Summary: "Oh, now you're *really* pushing
for that ring on your finger."
ch1: cracky fun, lol
ch2: mental eye-candy
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I ain't got no money, and nobody'd
be daft enough to pay me for this. As it is thought,
so let it be said; you make the toys, I play with
'em..
AN: So I'm frustrated with wandering
characters in another fic (Fireball, namely). So
this bit of nothing but snickers sounded like an
idea to cleanup.
Goto Chapter 2
Chapter
one
oct
17, 2014
AN: Amendment: ..I'm quite sure I checked online
to see if it WAS in Louisiana... but I now see
(dec 4, 2014) that gay marriage is NOT in
Louisiana. They'd have to drive out to South
Carolina (as of oct 6, 2014), before that, it'd be
all the way to Delaware.
"You are aware that you can marry in this state, yes?"
In the middle of ragging Christmas for his choice of
dandified coffee, Barney, caught with his mouth open
by the comment, blinked at Galgo's non-sequitur,
"Yessss... There have been ministers since the first
settlers for people to marry..."
"He means that you and Christmas can get married."
Barney turned his blink on strangely-serious Caesar,
"Is this some weird way of saying Christmas has a new
girlfriend? Because even then *I* don't have one for a
double wedding..."
Lee choked on his laugh, leaning on his bike with his
caramel latte, and aware of the image. "They mean
marry *each other*."
Barney stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then
turned to Galgo with a perfectly casual, "No, I didn't
know gay marriage was in Louisiana." Then an evil
smirk twisted his face as he turned and slowly stalked
toward Christmas.
Lee straightened, reading that look and perfectly able
to picture him getting on one knee. "Don't you dare!
You do that, I'll damn well make you eat it! Just see
if I don't." He'd planned to get married *once* for
what turned out to be worse reasons, after all...
Barney froze, eye widening; and then Lee realized what
he'd said.
About the time the others broke into howls and groans,
Barney grinned, slow and dirty, unable to help running
his eyes over his flustered buddy. "You will, will
you? Could be interesting."
Thorn cried out from among the hyenas, "Hey! Get a
room!"
And Lee rolled his eyes, ignoring the flush riding his
cheeks, grumbling, "Asshole."
"Oh, now you're *really* pushing for a ring on your
finger."
--
Barney glanced up from wiping down his bike when Tool
opened the shop's door, "Hey Tool."
"Barney," Tool nodded, carrying his coffee and danish
to his favourite, junk-covered, table. Sitting back
and taking an anticipated sip, he squinted at the ray
of light suddenly reflecting at him. Well now..!
"..New ring?"
"Uh?"
Tool pointed at the ring in the centre of the table,
ignoring the approaching mercenary in favour of
appraising the jewelry, without touching, of course;
gold, nicely heavy, but with sexy smooth edges that
his eyes liked.
He watched old scarred fingers hesitate for an almost
unnoticeable moment before.. *tenderly* -and didn't
that give Tool a lovely warm reminder of the good
things that the world was still capable of- picking up
the ring to turn the pretty, smooth, embedded skull
face toward his faintly.. ahh, Barney, give that hope
a chance, man, them's are some nice diamonds in them
eye sockets; *someone* thinks you're worth some proper
bling.
He watched, keeping distant-like with his coffee
hiding his lips, as his old hurt friend gently undid
the knot and pulled the blue -silk?- ribbon from the
center of the rolled-up note held in the band.
The world seemed to hold its breath, respectful, for
Barney to read the words; out loud because he didn't
keep secrets from friends, but low, rough, the sound
of years of loneliness having some idea of what he'd
find. "Know you got lots of old shit. Thought you
might need something blue."
And Barney stood there, stroking that smooth skull
-smooth enough that it wouldn't interfere with his
draw-, looking quite nicely gobsmacked.
Tool smiled faintly at the sight, husking quietly,
"Someone knows you good."
Barney looked up at him, probably entirely unaware
that his eyes were as vulnerable as the boy he hadn't
been even when they *were* boys. "Yeah. He does."
--
Barney found him a few feet into the hangar, cleaning
and sorting out gear in the bit of breeze available,
forceful calm in every move, and Lee didn't say
anything as Barney walked up. He listened, unable not
to, as Barney took a deep breath not far behind him;
and he kept himself moving with iron control.
Hyper-aware as Barney stepped up; and put a hand on
Lee's shoulder, fingers flexing.
Lee knew he wasn't fooling anyone with trying to look
cool, knew that Barney knew him more than well enough
to read that his heart was jackhammering in his
ribcage. When that hand settled on his shoulder so
very gently, he froze, the signals feeling too mixed.
He had to glance to be sure those *gentle* fingers
were actually Barney's unapologetic meathooks.
"That's your idea of a proposal?"
He hardly heard the quiet words as his eyes were
blinded by sunlight broken on tiny gem-facets. On his
shoulder. On a finger.
Holy fuck... looked like he was actually getting
married... He cleared his throat before he even tried
to tease, unsurprised to hear his voice too rough to
hold steady, "No big Italian wedding."
Glancing up for the response, Lee just about swallowed
his tongue at the wounded *pout* Barney managed to
pull off. "Aww! Well.. I know someone who's got a
certificate to officiate, anyway."
For some reason, Lee's instincts just did *not* like
that, but he still couldn't resists taking that hand
in both of his as he turned to face his old friend
head-on. "Who?"
He liked that smirk even less.
Though it didn't stop him braving the stiffening arm
attached to the hand he held to sidle up and then
slide hands into thick hair the way he'd wanted to for
too many years. Barney was **wearing his ring**! That
was fucking implicit permission to touch; at least
when Barney was awake to tell him to fuck off.
"Trench."
Oh, I heard the gasp in there, Barney; it was enough
to keep the subject from annoying him. "Trench? Why
does Trench get to officiate weddings???" he was
staring at permanently-crooked lips as he spoke, not
really giving a shit about the subject.
"God only knows."
--
"You may now kiss, the bride."
Barney threw rolled eyes to their 'minister' in an
uncharacteristic show of temper. Though Lee had
learned the hard way already that Barney was going to
need some painful lessons about Lee not being any
different than he was before he'd proposed. And
certainly not needing protection from the likes of
Mauser. Or anyone else.
And this was a prime opportunity.
While Barney was turning his head to glare, Lee
smirked to himself, cupped his jaw before he could
form a snarl, turned the resulting widening eyes to
himself: and kissed him, deep, lush, and dirty -and
fuck but that was good! Why the HELL had they waited
so long??-, for just long enough for Barney to notice
it was happening. Then he pulled back, grinning, and
waited for payback.
And Barney, a silent laugh shaking his chest, fisted
his stupid monkey suit's lapels and jerked him back
close, muttering against his lips as their guests, and
minister, howled with laughter, "Just for that I am
damn well going to fuck you *right* inside our room,"
a biting kiss left Lee panting and reaching to fist
his own hands in the nearest cloth and flesh as a deep
growl vibrated on his lips, "Hard. Right there against
that door to a busy hallway."
Lee's eyes dropped closed on a shiver of pure want,
managing to mutter between kisses, "Gonna hold you to
that."
AN:
This is what I had in mind while describing ring,
though it's too plain:
http://www.nino925.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/r/6/r66d.jpg
I kinda prefer this one,
https://product-images2.therealreal.com/FJR01338_1_enlarged.jpg,
but instead of the diamond chips, this needs to be
smooth gold. with just the eyes diamond.. and that
tooth.. black pearl?
And this one is neat,
https://www.etsy.com/listing/192288775/18k-gold-skull-ring-eskulia-plated,
especially the whole mythology; nice. Though I'd
reverse: silver band, gold skull. And definitely a
diamond in that right eye. Fitting.
eh. very 'biker',
http://www.traxnyc.com/gallery/Raider-Skull-Ring-2328-Mens-Diamond-Rings-12.jpg,
but too many diamonds for barney, lol!
The initial scene had been scribbled some time
ago, when more scenes appeared and asked to be a
thing, I had to lookup in wikia where the
Expendables are based.. and then cross my fingers
that equal marriage rights had actually made it
there! -shakes head at number of places it still
hasn't-.
The caramel latte is a cheers to a fellow writer.
Trench was brought on by a convo about Arnold
officiating weddings.
..Googling for skull rings is far from the
weirdest thing I've done for a fic.. but it did
feel weird to realize that while some folks
accesorize their wardrobes (which I might do once
a year when I'm distracted).. I frequently *do*
accesorize stories... weird, lol
Chapter
two
nov
20, 2014
AN: Mental eye-candy
sometimes it's not the lyrics.. but the actual vid
of a song that makes a connection to the 'ship in my
head. The words don't quite match Lee.. but the
feeling does, for me. and the the vid (more so
starting at 2:48)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWpmnR7n0FY
Barney was aware of the warmth leaving his side, aware
of being gently tugged by familiar hands into a hug
against cool, slick leather. Aware of the whispered
'love you' as he drifted back to sleep.
When he woke for real, he remembered Lee getting out of
their bed and laughed at himself for a damn sap that he
actually closed his eyes to remember it *right*. Wasn't
often Lee woke up before Barney's body forced him out of
bed. It felt weirdly..nice. And maybe just a little...
good for his old heart.
He was a sentimental fool, more like, for enjoying the
touch of that 'married bliss' regular people babbled
about.
The bed smelled of the love they'd made late into the
night, slow and sweaty and full of stupid sweetness and
laughter. Both of them strangely hungry for the simplest
touch after spending a day riding their bikes to this
isolated rental house in nowhere, Texas. He was still
inclined to turn over and sleep some more; perchance to
dream of those hours of on and off pleasure.
But he knew better; he'd spend the day in pain if he
stayed in here any longer and-
The hell? That sounded like... He looked toward his
gear, thrown in the general direction of a dresser near
the door last night. The one thing he knew he'd set down
carefully was his guns. And, yeah, he could see one was
missing. Almost any other day, he'd be rolling for a
weapon and chasing the possible danger. Today, his
instincts said that a single shot plus Lee awake and
presumably armed with one of his guns did *not* equal
attack.
His ears shifted to follow the sound of another single
shot and a shattering 'ping'. The familiar slow speed of
unhurried target practise. Good thing he'd brought extra
ammo.
He got out of bed, still distracted by the faint sounds
from what he'd guess was half a mile away, their echo
bounced by all the nearby rock formations.
Carelessly grabbing a shirt from the messily dumped
saddle bag, and the same old jeans from yesterday, he
wandered toward the bathroom, stretching as he walked,
refusing to care he was acting like a dreamy idiot by
slipping into the pleasant memories attached to some of
those sore muscles. Weird as shit not to have anything
to do, to plan, to worry about.
Still listening for the sound of Lee's entertainments
coming in through all the open windows, he stopped by
one to look out at the postcard-perfect tumbleweed
landscape, looking for signs of his missing lover. It
was still early in the morning, and already he could
feel the warmth riding the breeze that played through
the airy rooms.
He remembered the feel of Lee's leathers against his
bare skin earlier and grinned, knowing he had to be
planning to ride, or he would never have put those
things on in this weather.
And he had to be wanting company, or he'd have gone
while Barney slept rather than hang around playing with
Barney's gun.
Taking his time in a cool shower, Barney's ears
automatically stayed tuned to the .45 rounds until his
attention was pulled by the ring he still wasn't used to
always having on his left hand. He was *almost* used to
the band's presence when he ran his soapy hand over
himself, but nothing would ever make the diamonds' shine
less distracting. It would have to be stashed away with
his lucky ring, and Lee's band was going into his own
hidden pocket. Safety before sentiment.
But outside of actual missions he was damn well keeping
this on. Nothing wrong with some *good* distraction.
And he'd caught Lee smiling helplessly at it more than
once. Barney grinned as he turned off the water, not
bothering to dry off before pulling up the jeans and
grabbing the shirt from the sink where he'd dropped it.
Bringing out Lee's soft side, just for *him* to see, was
worth the continued distraction of sparkles on his
finger.
Idly running a hand through his hair without hope of
taming it, he heard the Ducati being trick-revved out of
the garage as he detoured back to the bedroom before
heading for the door and his boots, smiling at the
thought of Lee in such a good mood that he made like the
greaser he claimed to have once been.
--
A few weeks ago, Lee would never have believed how
amazing his outlook on life could actually get. Waking
up to the sight of Barney sleeping besides him,
completely at ease, all bare skin and muscles -and
bruises *he'd* pressed into that tough hide-, was better
than the best workout. Made his blood warm, made his
pulse race. Made endorphins trip their way through his
system.
Barney had *married* him. *Loved* him!
Wore his ring unhesitantly.
Deliberately reaching out his own now-ringed right hand
to thumb at the golden skull on Barney's hand when that
waitress at Clary's had kept flirting had been... Lee
grinned as the breeze sent his jury-rigged hanging
target spinning. The look of shock and envy on the
woman's face had made him feel on top of the world.
Barney was *his*. Indulgent smile for his ego and all.
Rising from a roll as though avoiding a flurry of shots,
one of his knife-tips buried itself at the top of the
outer ring of the target. Another at the bottom, though
that wobbled a bit. He needed to get used to that band
on his finger.
The arm Barney kept throwing around his waist when they
walked anywhere in public made *him* just as much
Barney's. And made stupid joy echo around inside him.
*Barney*... *His* Barney. Love him!
He scrambled up a lone tree and pulled and took aim with
the pistol he'd borrowed from his sleeping *husband* and
tried to catch the target on its edge as it flicked in
the gusting breeze again.
Eventually having enough of target practise, he gathered
up his knives and reloaded Barney's gun, then looked up
at the sun that had gotten rid of the chill left by the
night in this semi-desert. Time for a ride.
He'd fooled around with the Ducati when he first got it;
not knowing your tools is just not smart. But once he
was satisfied with his skill with it, he just hadn't had
the interest in trick-riding.
But today, he was interested.
He would have howled at the moon, as a matter of fact,
except he was way too fucking busy last night. And the
night before, and.... and he damn well hoped and
intended to be busy every night for the rest of his
life! Even if some days it'd be 'busy' just holding each
other, instead of getting nailed against the door to
their room on their wedding night, or spending hours
practically worshipping each other like last night.
But this morning, Barney was sleeping off a good fuck,
whereas Lee was too jittery to lay still and watch him.
Revving the bike up on its rear wheel sent adrenaline to
mix with the crazy happy fiz in his blood and he headed
down the empty desert road to the equally empty highway
in front of their hideaway, sun and wind screaming sweet
freedom over his bare skull.
By the time he'd worn down his bout of the hypers, he
lost interest in seeing what tricks his body could still
get the bike to do.
Barney was back there somewhere. He could take these
leathers off, have a shower, and... see what appealed
more. They hadn't done breakfast in bed, yet...
He was still doing the odd wheelie as he rode back to
the house, just because he could. Swerving figure-eights
leisurely across the blacktop when he turned the last
corner and saw the stretch of road for home. And started
to smile for real.
Looked like Barney had gotten up.
Lee rode the stretch gently, keeping his attention on
the man smiling around what was left of his cigar -he
must have found an overlook and been watching Lee play
for a while-. Hair whipping with the lightly gusting
breeze along with a nice deep-blue plaid shirt,
wide-open and only staying on him because he had his
arms in the sleeves, but otherwise letting the
desert-bright sun shine off always-tanned abs; cigar
smoke hazing Lee's view of the glint off the aviator
glasses hiding Barney's eyes but not the expression of
pleasure drawing his cheeks and forehead. The same
ragged-ass old jeans he'd worn yesterday, and his dusty
leather riding boots finished the hunger-inciting
picture as he stood, solid as the hills around them, in
the middle of the road watching Lee ride to a few feet
of him.
Then Barney stalked forward slowly, pulling the cigar
stub out and grinding it out as he came level with Lee,
smiling in a way that used to be rare, but that Lee was
glad to be getting familiar with.
Ignoring the shirt whirling gently around them both,
Barney laid a hand on Lee's chest and slid it on the
smooth leather to the other side of his collar. "Had
fun?"
Lee's smile widened, glee coming back to the fore with
Barney's presence, "Hell yeah."
Standing against Lee's side now, still smiling, Barney
raised the hand to Lee's jaw and tugged him up and over
enough to meet him for a smoky kiss.
Lee's glasses didn't hide the great, open, unblemished
joy on his face; and it made Barney *want* to live, and
live long, with a drive he'd only ever felt for the job,
before. Just so he'd get to see this, every day. To
believe he was part of the reason for it. To taste Lee's
skin, warm with rushing blood; breathe Lee's air, and
just *be*.
For now, he settled for a soft, brief kiss, just giving
back the 'good morning' and 'love you' he'd gotten
earlier.
And Lee smiled right back at him when he pulled back,
sheen of sweat on his forehead, fitted leather pants a
pleasure to look at, now that Barney didn't have to jerk
his eyes away from eyeing him up.
Then Barney straightened and reached for the nearest
handlebar, feeling incredibly calm and easy. Happy. He
nodded at the pillion seat, "Scoot up?" Sometimes Lee
tempted him to be deliberately bossy, just to see him
react with a rant, but this was Lee's bike: simple
respect dictated he ask.
Lee's grin changed to a bit of a smirk, but he willingly
kicked his foot back and hitched it on the pillion
footrest, eyes on Barney as he slowly leg-pressed
himself up and back with his other foot still in the
driver's slot, watching Barney's arm muscles stand out
as he took Lee's weight as it shifted on the bike, and
kept it steady.
Then Barney carefully straddled the bike and settled
himself in the rocket's ride position; and waited as Lee
slid down to curve around him, hands wrapping around
Barney's chest. And then, of course, Lee had to tease,
"Sure you can handle this thing, old man?"
Barney snorted a chuckle and teased right back, "You
just hang on to me, pretty boy."
"Always."
The quiet word was anything but a joke and Barney
reached up and squeezed Lee's hands against his heart
for a minute, a finger stroking the band Lee was
probably not nearly used to yet.
And then he gunned it down that dusty highway, grinning
madly with Lee whooping in his ears.
AN:
Where brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with
me to the distant shore
-Rascal Flatts, Life is a highway
Clary's - http://www.galveston.com/clarysseafood/
Ducati pillion rider -
http://www.morebikes.co.uk/go-pillion-randy-mamola
Now I want to DRAW that end shot!
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