Round One

[flamingwildflow]

Title: Round One

Series: To Win His Heart

Chapter: One

Author: FlamingWildflow

Pairing: Ian Edgerton/Don Eppes/Billy Cooper

Rating: PG-13, Fluff, Humor

Summary: After closing the case courtesy of extra help, everyone decided to drag Don into karaoke. Revelations were made, Ian has a dastardly plan to gain the upper hand, Billy and Ian aggressively out sing each other to block the other from confessing, and Don continues to be the clueless sweetheart he is.

God help us all...

Warnings: None.

Links to Previous Chapter:

Chapter Two

Chapter Three



Megan

Megan had to be honest. If getting two highly skilled agents to fight for the affections of her boss is what they needed to do in order to get cases done at record speeds, she would’ve arranged a Hunger Games style competition with Don as the prize ages ago. Considering the amount of admirers the man had, she was sure she could have an entire system going. She wouldn’t even need to pay them overtime.

Unfortunately, she had missed the opportunity so she was only stuck with these two instead. But she didn’t mind it too much. Seeing those two scramble and shove each other around while eagerly showing off the clues they found to a confused Don more than made up for it. Even Merrick was stunned at the speed at which they finished. In the end, they were given a week of vacation due to the hectic work they were doing for months on end. Never let it be said that the FBI doesn’t award their agents (it doesn’t…).

Anyways, she figured that that’s what led them to this predicament.

“You’re kidding…” Don said, his tone bewildered, “You want us to go where?”

“C’mon Don, it’ll be fun” Colby replied, grinning widely. “We did just earn us some time off. Why don’t we use that to blow off some steam.”

“With karaoke?”

David snorted, “Well, we have been running around all this time. It’ll be nice to unwind by doing something that isn’t physically demanding”.

“Plus, you always say that we should hang out more” Megan joined in, delighted at seeing him look so uncomfortable at the thought.

“I was thinking more along the lines of dinner at Charlie’s or drinking at a bar, not singing”. Megan almost cracked at the annoyed tone he had at the end. It seemed like Don really didn’t like karaoke.

Billy slung a hand around his former partner’s shoulder, “Well your protesting makes it seem like you have a problem with singing” he grinned, “What’s wrong, can’t hold a tune? Scared you’ll embarrass yourself?” he teased.

Don bristled, “Shut up Coop! That’s not the case.”

Then Ian placed his arm around Don’s shoulder, leaning closely into his ear “You know the more you protest, the more we think you have something to hide”.

Megan could see Don’s eye twitch as he started weighing down the pros and the cons. The little hamster in his brain is running on overdrive. She knew that they were intentionally poking at his pride, giving the man an unwritten challenge.

Don’s shoulder slumped as he sighed in defeat, “Fine!”

“Aww…that wasn’t so difficult was it?” She cooed.

Don rolled his eyes, “I’m still in charge of your performance evaluations Reeves, don’t test me.”

Megan laughed, “Promises, promises”. Don gave a light scoff, but the amused light in his eyes said otherwise. Megan then turned to Colby and David, “By the way, since you two were the ones who suggested, do you have a place in mind?”

They both grinned. “Yep! There’s a really nice place that’s private and serves good food. David and I go there once in a while.”

“Didn’t peg you as karaoke veterans” Billy said, looking impressed.

“Yeah well, that kind of thing doesn’t tend to come up in conversation” David replied, looking sheepish.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Ian said, gesturing towards the exit, “Let’s go have some fun.”

Judging by the mysterious mischievous grin that was on Ian’s face, Megan had a feeling that the man is up to something devious. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see…

The karaoke place proved to be nicer than Megan previously thought. The place was clean, the rooms were mostly coloured red and black, and sofas were far more comfortable than the other ones she’s been in. The system itself looked sleek and updated with the usual two microphones to go around. All in all, everything looked nice.

Megan had earlier asked if they should give Larry a call and ask if he, Charlie, and Amita would like to join them on their little excursion since those three were in a way an extension of their team. Don was supremely displeased at that (probably because he doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Charlie), but everyone else was on board so he was outvoted. She called and Larry agreed and said that they’ll be meeting them at the place. When they reached the place, she wasn’t surprised to see Larry and the rest already there.

“You guys came here quickly,” Ian commented.

Charlie grinned, “Well I heard karaoke and my brother in the same sentence and had to rush here”. Then he shook the hands of both Ian and Billy, “I didn’t realize you guys were here as well. Why did you come?”.

Billy shrugged, “Had a few weeks off so I decided to stop by”.

“Same here” Ian replied, “Nothing big really”.

“Right…” she said as she let out a small snort of laughter. Ian and Billy glared at her while the rest looked at them in confusion.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Charlie asked.

Megan shook her head, “Nothing!” she said while still grinning maniacally. She knew she wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Is she always like this?” Billy pointed at her, his expression annoyed.

“Far more than you’d think” Don replied, shrugging. Megan just laughed, taking delight in the disgruntled look on Don’s face.

Amita excitedly reached for the microphone, “Come one, someone come sing with me first!”

Charlie raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t know you like karaoke”.

“Well, it’s an old thing I used to do with my friends” she smiled, “So going here brings back memories”. Then she looked over to them and gave a sly grin, “Plus, I’ve always been curious about everyone's singing voices”.

Megan could see Don wince in her peripheral vision, still looking displeased. She placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry boss, we won’t make you sing first”.

“Gee…thanks” he answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Actually, since I’m such a nice second in command, I’ll sing with Amita,” Megan smiled as she grabbed the other microphone. Everyone else had sat at their own seats. The room itself was thankfully big with three sofas that fit three people each. David and Colby sat together on the right couch with the remaining empty seat for her. Larry and Charlie sat together on the left couch with an empty seat remaining for Amita. That left the middle seat for the three men who were still standing up. Don had already taken a seat at the left side of the couch, which left both Ian and Billy standing up. They both glared at each other, gripping the other’s shoulder tightly while trying to subtly push them back.

“What are you boys waiting for?” Megan asked, knowing full well what they were doing.

“Nothing” Ian gave a sharp smile. “I was just thinking that since I am the oldest, I should sit first”.

Billy scoffed. “I have the better reputation, I should sit first”.

“In your dreams maybe. I have more achievements.”

“Oh your sociopathic self would have many achievements in that department” Billy replied, growling.

“Those are some big words” Ian mocked, “Did you brain fizzle out trying to comprehend them?”

Billy clenched his fist. “You think you’re so smart huh?” he snarled, “Maybe you’re smart enough to comprehend TH-” but before he could wind up his fist to punch, Don instantly stepped in.

“Enough!” he ordered, squeezing in between them while he held his hands up. “What’s with you two?” he asked.

Both tensed, clearly unwilling to spill the truth that they were obviously fighting for the seat next to him. Instead, Ian crossed his arms and said, “I don’t want to be caught dead sitting next to him”.

Don rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “For the love of…You could’ve just said so!” he shouted, throwing his arms up. “You’re both grown men for crying out loud” he admonished as he turned around to sit in the middle, glaring at them.

They both coughed into their hands, acting innocent as they took their seat on either side of the man, giving him an apologetic smile. Megan had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at their childish antics. Looking around, she could see that the academics were looking at them with confusion on their faces, not used to seeing those two be openly hostile. Colby and David just shook their heads, both looking extremely exasperated. Megan turned to Amita, “So, do you have a song in mind?”

Amita looked excited. “Yep. I hope you can catch up” she teased.

Megan remembered the hours of choir she had to do back at school. “Oh you have no idea” she responded as Amita typed in the song and a title filled the screen. Megan whistled appreciatively. “Nice choice”.

“Didn’t peg you two as Britney Spears fans,” Charlie commented, raising his eyebrows.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about us” Megan replied, dropping them a conspiratorial wink. Everyone chuckled good-naturedly as Don rolled his eyes, looking amused. Soon, a familiar violin tune filled the air and they both got ready to sing.

Megan had to admit, but she was rusty. It’s been awhile since she had to use her voice for things other than screaming at criminals. But she was glad to find out that she and Amita were in harmony together, both of their voices were smooth and with similar pitches and vocal ranges. Although Megan was a bit surprised that Amita’s voice could go that high. That was something she didn’t expect from the academic. Once they were done, everyone clapped enthusiastically.

“Looks like we know who to send if we ever need to have someone undercover as a singer” Don grinned.

“Not so fast” Megan said, “We still haven’t heard the others”. Then she pointed the mic to the pair of agents sitting on her right. “It’s only fair to have one of the two people who invited us to this whole thing to come next, right?”

Colby grinned as he got up, lightly pushing Megan. “Step aside, there’s a new superstar in town”.

Megan punched his arm, smiling widely. “We’ll be the judge of that” then went to sit down in the middle of the sofa, next to David.

“Get ready to be amazed” Colby announced as he started to type the song in. As the title popped out of the screen, everyone collectively raised their eyebrows.

“Colby’s rapping? Now I’ve truly seen everything” Charlie quipped.

“This should be interesting,” Ian muttered, sitting up as Eminem popped up on the screen in big bold letters.

There were plenty of revelations that Megan was ready to have, but knowing that Colby was capable of rapping was NOT one of them. She stared as he managed to catch up with the fast paced lyrics, not missing a single tempo. While his accent made the entire song sound hilarious, the fact that he was able to smoothly say all those words without missing a beat? She begrudgingly had to hand it to him, the man knew what he was doing.

Colby finished with a flourish, bowing down deeply. “Thank you” he announced as everyone clapped, “I’ll be here all week”.

“That was honestly impressive” Billy said, his expression almost blank with shock.

“I can’t believe we just saw that,” Don wondered, looking stunned.

“Well all I can say is that we’re blessed to be on a timeline where we can witness such a historic event” Larry spoke up.

Charlie snorted, “Historic is one way to put it”.

Colby gave him the stink eye. “If you’re so cocky, why don’t you go ahead and sing next. I’ll even let you drag Professor Fleinhardt with you”.

Charlie shook his head, raising his hands up. “Uh…no thanks” he said nervously, “I was just here to tag along, I didn’t expect to sing”.

Amita got up, grabbed the microphone from Colby then proceeded to grab Charlie by the arm and pull. “You can’t tap out now Charlie” she pouted, “We all have to do it”.

Charlie still looks conflicted while Larry had already gotten up, microphone in hand. “I don’t know…” he mumbled under his breath. Amita rolled her eyes and leaned over to him, whispering something in his ears. Charlie leaned back, looking at her in shock. “You’re kidding”.

Amita shook her head, “Nope!”

Charlie groaned, “You don’t play fair”.

Amita gave him a kiss on the cheek and handed him the microphone before sitting down, “Absolutely not” she grinned. A part of Megan wondered what she said, but a bigger part of her would rather not find out, mostly out of self preservation really.

Charlie begrudgingly took to Larry’s side. “We don’t even know what to sing,” Charlie complained.

Amita sighed before she went to the screen, typing down a song she probably had in mind. As soon as the title and artist came up on the screen, Don laughed.

“Good luck Chuck” he grinned.

Charlie glared at his brother, “You’re so going to get this” he growled.

Don snorted, “I’d like to see you try”.

Maroon 5 wasn’t the first band that Megan would’ve chosen for the two professors, but clearly Amita had vengeance in mind when she put that as the input.

As soon as the music started, Megan had to fight hard not to suppress a wince. Both professors were wildly different. Charlie was definitely in tune for the most part (his voice cracked a bit on some of the high notes), but he sounded lifeless. His technique was good, but there was nothing there. Larry on the other hand... Megan loved the man, she really did. But a part of her had to fight not covering her ears whenever he sang. The man had a surprising amount of emotion in his voice, but unfortunately that was about it. His was so wildly off pitch he could’ve been singing a different song for all they knew. Megan could definitely sympathize with Charlie whenever he scooted away from the man when he sang, it was probably way worse up close.

When the song ended, Ian looked at Larry seriously in the eyes and said, “Professor, with all due respect, never sing again”.

Colby winced as he started poking at his ears, “I second that. You’re talented at a lot of things Professor Fleinhardt, but singing aint one of them”.

“I do agree with your assessment” Larry replied, “Unfortunately since I find myself having difficulty grasping the basic concepts of music itself, the techniques needed to master skills like singing have eluded me”. Then Larry turned to pat Charlie on the shoulder, “Although I am quite surprised that you were able to keep on pitch”.

“The professor’s right” Billy spoke up, “You don’t sound half bad, just a little too technical”.

Charlie sighed, “Unfortunately, I always had trouble grasping the emotional part of music. I understand the technical aspects like notes all the same, but I never knew how to inject emotion into it so everything I play doesn’t sound quite right”.

“Well firstly, you’re being too rigid with your voice,” David said, standing up. “It sounds like you’re trying too hard to be on pitch”. He took the microphone from Charlie and flashed them a grin. “Now it’s time to hear what a real superstar sounds like”.

Colby raised an eyebrow, “You trying to take the title away from me?” he asked.

“Oh we both know I will.”

Colby grinned, leaning back, “Bring it on then”.

David entered his song into the system. When the name and title popped up, Don let out an impressed whistle. “Should’ve known you liked the slower songs”.

“What can I say? I like to ease my way into the music”. And ease his way he did. His deep voice was as smooth as a rock, mixing well with the jazzy tunes coming from the musical version of Michael Buble’s rendition of the song. His voice was calm and soothing, just like David himself. Megan was happy that she wasn’t surprised at this hidden talent. David did strike her as the singing type. Once he was done, they all clapped enthusiastically, louder than they did with Colby. David bowed down. “What did you say about bringing it on?” he teased.

Colby rolled his eyes, knowing he lost. “Showoff…” he muttered under his breath. David gave him a playful shove as he sat down, his expression smug. “Now, who's next?”

They all looked towards the middle chair since none of the occupants had gotten up. “I vote that Don goes first,” Ian said, smiling.

“What?!” Don almost shot out of his seat, an expression of betrayed outrage was clear on his face.

“I second that,” Billy replied almost instantly. Megan had to fight back a smile at that. Looks like the first sign of the apocalypse has started.

“Whoever thinks that my brother should come next, raise their hands”. All the hands in the room were raised, save for the subject.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Don protested.

Charlie had a maniacal smile on his face as he handed the microphone to Don, “Nope!”

Then both Ian and Billy forcibly shoved him off the chair, making him land on the floor. “Hey! What the fuck was that for?”

Ian grinned, “So you would get your pretty ass up and sing us a tune. We won’t let you out of this room if you don’t”.

Don glared, “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Don twitched before letting out a long groan. He got up and slowly made his way to the front, near the television. His arms were crossed as he looked uncomfortably at them. “I don’t even have a song in mind”.

Charlie had an evil grin on his face, “I think I might have something”.

Don narrowed his eyes, “If it’s something embarrassing, I will throw this microphone into your face” he threatened.

“Of course not” he said unconvincingly, “Only the best for my brother”. Don gave Charlie the stink eye before groaning again at the name of the song and the singer that popped up on the screen. The song from the Titanic huh? You’re really out for revenge Megan thought, amused.

“You have to be kidding me” he complained, “Are you trying to destroy my vocal chords?”

“Hey, if I have to sing a song with a ridiculously high pitch, then so do you”.

“She’s a woman and she belts!”

“Hush! Less complaining, more singing” Megan cuts in, not letting Don complain further.

“I swear you’re all out to get me,” Don muttered under his breath. Megan sat forward, interested in how this is going to go. Unlike David, Don doesn’t strike her as the type to sing and judging by his reluctance and embarrassment, he was probably just as bad a singer as Larry was.

Holy shit was she wrong on that assessment.

She sat there, slack jawed as her stoic and uptight boss delivered one of the most impressive performances she’s ever seen in her life. Don’s voice was surprisingly sweet like honey, less rough around the edges and more smooth. He clearly had a tight control of his voice, something that Megan wasn’t surprised to see from the control freak. That wasn’t the thing that completely caught her off guard.

No, what caught her off guard was when he reached the climax of the song, belting out the lyrics. His voice now rich and filled with emotion without losing tune. She could feel all the emotions in his voice, including…longing? As he stole a glance at the two men on the chair, a glance that didn’t escape her eyes. That’s interesting. That emotion seemed to be too raw to be fake. She leaned back, looks like this isn’t as one sided as I first thought. Looking around, she could see various expressions of amazed and shock, everyone seemingly mesmerized. No one saw what she saw. As soon as he was done, he looked around, uncomfortable.

“What’s with the looks?” he asked.

“Donnie…what the fuck?” Billy whispered, looking even more smitten than before.

“Huh?”

David took a deep breath, “What Agent Cooper meant to say was, why didn’t you tell us you could sing?”

Don shrugged, “It’s not important information”.

“Would’ve been nice to know either way” Billy grumbled.

“When did you have time to learn?” Charlie asked.

“I mostly do it in my spare time,” he replied casually.

Remembering the fact that Don barely takes a break, she wanted to poke further. But judging by the look on Don’s face, she might be stuck with traffic duty for a year if she did. So Megan wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.

“It’s good to know who we can throw under the bus if we need someone to go undercover as a singer” Megan grinned, mirroring the statement Don made to her earlier.

Don glared, “Shut up”.

Ian reached over to ruffle Don’s hair, “Careful Eppes. If you sing like that, you might gain some crazy superfans”.

Don forcefully shoved the mic into Ian’s hands, pouting. “See if I ever cover for you guys ever again”.

Ian laughed as he got up, “You love us too much to do that” he said as he typed in his song. As soon as the title popped up, everyone raised their eyebrows again.

“Backstreet boys?” Don asked incredulously.

Ian shrugged, unembarrassed. “I’m not really a fan, but I’m dedicating this song to a pretty little Agent in this room”. Ian winked at Don, “This one’s for you baby”.

Megan almost snorted out her drink as she heard that. Looking over, she could see that Billy looked furious, gripping the sofa in a white knuckled grip. Don on the other hand looked confused, tilting his head to the side blankly.

So this was his plan she thought as she remembered the mischievous grin on Ian’s face earlier. This should be really interesting…