Round Zero
Title: Round Zero
Series: To Win His Heart
Chapter: One
Author: FlamingWildflow
Pairing: Ian Edgerton/Don Eppes/Billy Cooper
Rating: PG-13, Fluff, Humor
Summary: Two highly skilled and stubborn agents. One oblivious love interest. This could only spell disaster for the team as they watch the chaos unfold in front of them as two of FBI's finest and notorious lone wolves fight for their boss's attention.
Warnings: None. Ian makes a bit of a forward proposition but that's just it. Unless you count pettiness and absolute stupidity that happens in the name of love.
Links to Previous Chapter:
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Notes: This is a small series that I wrote because of the utter lack of content this ship has so I decided to add my own. I planned to have five rounds, each with three chapters. But that just gives me time to ask YOU guys if you have any suggestions on what to do for this little competition? I mean, I already have ideas, but I want to hear what you guys think. What kind of shenanigans can two of FBI's finest get into in the name of love? That's all from me. Have a nice day!
Ian
Ian Edgerton doesn’t fall in love.
That’s just something about him that everyone knows about. Sure, he had a few dates here and there and certainly slept with plenty of people. But he didn’t do romance. It’s not like he didn’t want to, it was more like he hadn’t found the right person to share aspects of his life with. He was content with having just his family and no one else. Everyone outside of that was nothing more than a colleague to him, a warm body to help the nights feel a little less cold. That’s why people came to him if they wanted a one night stand with no strings attached. Anyone who got into a relationship with him knows that it’s not going to last for more than a few weeks at best and anyone who thought that they were going to be the exception will always end up being disappointed. That’s why his relationships were either strictly professional or strictly physical. His life revolved around his work and his family, nothing more, nothing less.
Whatever part of him that wished for a more romantic partnership has been squashed due to years of distrust in others. Not only that, he was extremely dedicated to his job and would surely choose that over his partner. That’s why he decided that relationships were not for him. And he was fine like this. Did he sometimes wish that he could find someone to share his life with? Sure. But living like he was right now wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. He made sure to keep his emotions out of everything, including his love life. He couldn’t get hurt if he never allowed anything to come into his heart.
But then Don Eppes came into his life and threw everything out of the window.
Ian remembered that day like it was yesterday. He had set up a challenge for his students. Whoever manages to go through the training exercise without getting hit by Ian’s water guns gets to skip out on any aspect of the training that day for a week. To Ian’s amusement, no one had managed to go through. All of his students walked away, completely soaked to the bone. Then a faculty member tried to join in, no doubt trying to outshine Ian. He too ended up being soaked. Soon, almost everyone took on Ian’s impossible challenge, with no one managing to get through without getting hit. Ian was having a lot of fun doing it too. It was nice, popping a few egos here and there. Some of these people needed to be brought down a peg.
Then, an unfamiliar face waltzes in. As soon as he saw the man, Ian remembered that his students and even a few faculty members were talking about how hot the newest instructor was, which piqued his curiosity. He’d been trying to get a look himself but somehow never managed. So, to finally see the man that managed to both gain and evade his attention, Ian found himself agreeing to their assessment.
He took the time to look over the man. The other agent looked younger and was shorter, but he definitely had a really nice body. He also had that confident air that would both irritate but also bring a good challenge for Ian. The younger agent definitely seemed like the stubborn type, which was a plus for him. Ian didn’t like people who bend to the will of others easily. It didn’t hurt that the man was as hot as everyone says he was. Although he wished that they gave him a warning about the damn smile. The way the man’s eyes crinkle in the corners as he gave Ian one of the brightest smiles that he has seen in ages could almost be constituted as a deadly weapon.
“So…you must be the famous Ian Edgerton,” the man said.
“And you’re the newest tactical instructor” he replied, leaning closer, “You’re definitely prettier than they say you are.”
The shorter agent looked taken aback at the sudden flirting, placing a hand on his face to cover the light blush that spread through his face. Oh…I’m going to have so much fun with him. After shaking out the unexpected comment, the man held out his hand, “Thanks…I’m Don Eppes.”
Ian shook it. “And what brings you here?”
Eppes shrugged, “I heard you had a challenge going on. I’d like to take a crack at it”.
Ian almost doubled over laughing. “No offense pretty boy, but I don’t think you have what it takes”.
Eppes bristled, probably annoyed at being underestimated. “Oh really? What makes you say that?”
“No reason” he grinned, taking delight in riling up the other man.
The younger agent got closer to Ian’s face, his head tilted to the side. His smile turned from charming to cocky in seconds, but still as stupidly pretty as the first one, “Tell you what, let’s make a bet. If I pass your challenge, you buy me the most expensive dinner you can afford.”
“And if you lose?”
“I won’t lose.”
“Confident are we?” Ian snorted. “How about this?” Then he pulled the man closer and whispered into his ear, “if you lose, then I get to handcuff you to my bed and have my way with you for a night”.
Eppes spluttered, his face a bright shade of red as tried to look away. Thankfully though, he didn’t run away. “Are you always this shameless?” he asked.
“I find that it’s better to be upfront than to sugarcoat things”
“Upfront is certainly an understatement”, he muttered. Eppes thought for a moment then stood straighter, almost as if he was trying to match Ian’s height. “Fine. You’re on.”
“Be my guest then”. This should be easy Ian thought to himself, already thinking about ways he could make the blush come back. For someone who was a notorious flirt, the man seemed flustered so easily. It was honestly cute. Ian found himself getting excited. He'll get a fresh new toy to play with. Shame it’ll probably go nowhere.
Boy was he dead wrong on all accounts.
Ian watched as the man dashed through the course with zero issues, dodging the streams of water that he shot. Ian used every trick in the book from trying to predict where he would go next to trying to block the other man’s path. Nothing worked. Somehow Eppes was able to evade all of his shots. At the final stretch, Ian decided to shoot at the spot near the finish line, where he knew it would be difficult to avoid. But as he did, to Ian’s surprise, Eppes dropped down and slid on the floor, narrowly dodging the stream of water as it sailed on top of his head, reaching the finish line.
“Holy shit” Ian stood there, stunned for once in his life.
Eppes walked up to him, the cocky smile was wider now. Dusting off imaginary dirt off his shoulder, the man asked, “So? How’s that for a pretty boy?”
“Holy shit” Ian said once again, looking at the other man. “Well colour me impressed. Didn’t really think you were capable of moving like that.”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” the man replied.
“Really? Like what?”
Eppes’s grin turned from cocky to mischievous. “Well, for example, you don’t know that I have THIS!”. Eppes suddenly brought out a water gun from his side and sprayed Ian in the face with it. Ian spluttered, covering his face to keep from getting more water on his face. Wiping the moisture, he heard a loud cackle. Looking up, he saw that the man had already made a break for it, laughing maniacally. “SEE YOU AT DINNER!” he shouted as he ran out the door, his laughter echoing through the halls.
“THIS MEANS WAR!” Ian screamed out, grinning widely. His heart stuttered a bit at being able to have a friendly competition with the other man. Over the course of a few days, they both had decided to prank each other.
During the course of the war, Ian’s heart never failed to beat fast whenever he saw Eppes laugh or smile due to the tricks that they played on each other. He’d always find himself looking forward to whatever shenanigans were going to happen that day just so he could get a glimpse of the other man standing there, a bright and cocky smile on his face. It was some of the most fun that Ian’s had in a while. And when they weren’t playing practical jokes on each other, Ian found himself thinking about the man far more than he’d ever expected. It was only a week later after they called it truce that it had finally managed to hit Ian in the face.
He was in love.
And that feeling never went away. It never left when Ian had to take months off his instructor job for a hunt. It never left even after he slept around with a few people who were objectively just as attractive as Don was (it took a while for him to call the other man Don in his mind). And it didn’t leave when the man left Quantico to get a job in Albuquerque. Throughout the years of absence, Ian’s love for the man never left. In fact, it grew stronger. Everything that reminded Ian of the shorter agent only served to intensify the feelings. A part of him should’ve seen it coming. It seemed like none of them ever did anything by halves.
At first, he rejected the notion of falling in love. It wasn’t his style. He’d always thought of himself as the lone wolf type. But it seemed that the man was the exception. At Quantico, Don had forced himself into Ian’s life. They had lunch together, joked around, even consulted on a few cases together. Their partnership felt natural to Ian, even if it wasn’t an official one. It was the missing piece of the puzzle that was his life, the one that’s needed to feel complete. After a talk with his family, he decided to embrace those feelings and try to shoot his shot if he ever got the chance.
At first he thought that the chance would come in the form of a consulting gig for a sniper case. But after the near miss with Baby Eppes, Ian felt like it wasn’t the best time. The man looked distressed, even if he seemed calm on the outside. So Ian decided to give the other agent his number and left, saying that he should expect Ian to stop by more often.
Now a few months later and the chance came. Ian took a few weeks off the hunt and the instructor job. After a calming day at the lake, he decided to go to LA and take his shot. This should be easy.
After arriving in LA and flashing his badge at the receptionist, he waltzes his way into the office, hoping to find the familiar head of spiky hair. “Eppes!” he shouted, nodding at the man as he walked out of the break room.
“Ian?” Don turned around.
“Who else would it be?”
Don shrugged, “I don’t know, but I certainly didn’t expect you. You got a case?”
Ian let out a small laugh, “Not this time”. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked around, “Had a few weeks off so I decided to stop by. I’m guessing you forgot what I told you last time.”
Don looked surprised. “I remember that, just never thought you were serious about it.”
“When have I ever not been serious about anything?”
Don shot him an unimpressed look, “Riiiiight” he said, unconvinced. Leaning on the wall, he continued “I just hope you both won’t cause me headaches by being here.”
“Both? Someone else coming I don’t know about?”.
“Yeah. My old partner decided to stop by LA for some ungodly reason” the man sighed, shaking his head with both fondnes and worry in his face.
“An old partner? Which one?” Ian was aware that Don had quite a few partners both in the professional and romantic sense.
“Me,” an annoyingly familiar southern accent spoke from behind him. Turning around, Ian felt his irritation rise.
I should really learn to stop underestimating situations he thought to himself as he turned around, looking at the annoyingly smug face of one of the biggest banes of his existence, Billy Cooper.
Looks like getting to Don would be harder than I first expected.