Subtext? We don't need no stinkin' subtext!
A Pound of Pennies by Moosesal
Rated PG13
Sequel to Secondhand
Frustration
Note: Written for the Gunn Ficathon. I wrote for rebeccashf
who requested Gunn/Lindsey friendship (or more). She wanted at least one reference
to "Twelve Angry Men" as well as country music. A big thank you
to knotted_rose for her wonderful suggestions and a few great lines. :)
Lindsey stood outside Gunn's door wondering if he could go through
with this. He'd done a lot over the years to get ahead. He wasn't going back
to being nobody. He hadn't come this far to fall. After a few months of punishment
-- he shivered at the memories -- the Senior Partners had finally let him
go. Of course, they'd seen to it that he wouldn't be able to hide from them
ever again.
His wounds had barely healed before he found himself standing here ready to
propose a partnership with Charles Gunn. He was prepared to do whatever was
necessary to get Gunn on his side. He knew the guy was on the outs with Angel
and the others, but he also knew that Angel wouldn't turn his back on the
guy forever. If Lindsey wanted to survive he needed protection from Angel.
So he'd come to Gunn.
***
Gunn was laying on the sofa watching Twelve Angry Men when he heard
the knock at his door. He wondered who would be visiting him at such an early
hour. A few months ago it might have been Angel or Wesley, but not these days.
He hadn't exactly been fired, but he'd certainly been shown the door and told
not to come back to the office anytime soon.
The knocking persisted and Gunn figured whoever it was wasn't going to leave
until they’d spoken to him. As soon as he opened the door he remembered why
peepholes had been invented.
“No,” he said. “Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying.” He went to close
the door but was stopped by a foot in the way.
“Aw, come on Charles, don't be like that. We're in the same club now.”
“I don't know what kind of game you're playing, Lindsey, but I don't want
any part of it.”
Lindsey entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. “I can help
you if you let me. We're both on the outside now, but I've been doing it a
lot longer than you have.”
Gunn ignored him and went to the kitchen to make coffee. It was too early
to deal with this crap. Lindsey? Knocking on the door at what? 6:30 in the
morning? He'd seen a lot in his years with Angel and had learned to expect
the unexpected, but this? Nothing could have prepared him for this.
As he stared at the coffee dripping into the pot, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey man, I'm not trying to cause trouble. I just thought we might be able
to help each other out, ya know? Two lawyers, both out of a job, both with
experience working with evil, knowledge of human and demonic laws. We could
start our own firm.”
“I'm not out of a job, Lindsey.”
“Right. And I'm the Senior Partners' favorite staff member.” Lindsey rolled
his eyes then smiled that good ol' boy smile of his. “Give me break, Charles.
You know they're not going to treat you the same ever again.”
“Maybe not, but pairing up with you? That sure as hell ain't gonna get me
back in their good graces.”
***
Lindsey woke with the setting sun and slipped out of Gunn's bed with a smirk
on his face. Gunn had been so resistant to the idea of even talking
about working with him. He didn't seem to mind letting Lindsey suck him off,
though. Lindsey wasn't sure sex would work with Gunn, but apparently Wesley
wasn't the only one in Angel's little family who didn't mind sleeping with
the enemy. He entered the bathroom with a grin on his face.
Gunn woke to the sound of the shower running. He sat up and took in the tangled
bedding, the lube on the night table, the extra clothes on the floor. “Shit,”
he sighed as fell back onto his pillow. “What the fuck was I thinking?”
He scrubbed his face with his hands, hoisted himself out of the bed, and slid
on the jeans next to the bed. “Shit,” he muttered again as he realized the
pants he'd grabbed weren't his. He shucked them off and grabbed a pair of
sweats out of the dresser. Coffee. He needed coffee. Of course, as he headed
to the kitchen and noticed the clothes strewn along the way, he was reminded
that it was coffee that had got him in this mess to begin with.
As he walked through the living room he realized he'd left on the television.
He leaned over to turn it off, smirking at the program--The Dukes of Hazzard.
He continued into the kitchen softly singing to himself, “Just the good ol'
boys, never meanin’ no harm...” And now he had a good old boy in his shower.
*grin*
“Beats all you ever saw, been in trouble with the law, since the day they
was born.”
Gunn thought back to the sudden kiss Lindsey had pressed to his lips when
he'd offered the man a cup of coffee that morning. The sex had been great
-- incredible in fact -- but there was no way it was going to happen
again. And there was even less chance that he was going to work with the man.
“Makin’ their waaaayyyy, the only way they know how--“
“That’s just a little bit more, than the law will allow.”
Gunn spun around to find Lindsey smiling in the doorway, a towel wrapped around
his waist and a few drops of water running down his chest. Damn. Gunn couldn't
help but stare at a drop of water at the edge of Lindsey's nipple. “Waylon
Jennings? I never would have guessed. You don’t strike me as the country music
type, no offense.”
“TV,” Gunn answered, as if that were the answer to everything. He was too
distracted by the muscles across Lindsey’s chest to say much more.
“Right. Got a cup for me?” Lindsey nodded at the coffee.
“Umm... sure.” Gunn turned back to the counter and poured a cup. Get a
grip, he thought. When he turned around to give it to Lindsey he found
the man standing right behind him -- a sly grin on his face and a twinkle
in his eye. The whole image was so surreal Gunn thought he must be dreaming.
This shit just didn't happen in real life.
“Thanks,” Lindsey whispered as he dropped a soft kiss to Gunn's mouth. He
moved to deepen the kiss, but Gunn stepped away. Lindsey wasn't going to be
denied, however, and stepped in again, pinning Gunn to the counter, trapping
the taller man’s hips. Deja vu.
“Umm... morning.” Gunn found himself floundering for words.
“Evening, actually.” Lindsey sipped his coffee. “So, about this partnership
thing? You ready to listen or do I need to suck your brains out through your
cock again?” He emphasized his words by rocking his hips against Gunn’s.
Maybe Gunn should give the guy a chance. Who knew, maybe he had something
legitimate in mind? And, hey, why pass up a good blowjob? After all, in for
a penny, in for a pound. Right?
Later, Gunn would wonder if perhaps that mind enhancement procedure he'd had
had relocated his brains to his dick. Lindsey would smile and wonder if Gunn
had had the dick enhancement procedure he himself had considered a few years
earlier. But for now, they were both happy to go along for the ride.
.End
Disclaimer: The characters/concepts of Angel belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, et al. No infringement is intended and no profit is made. All fic and essay are copyrighted to their authors.