FIC: The Tricks of Fate, Part 4 (Coop/Lt. Gary Walker, Coop/Don, mention of Don/Colby, PG-13)
Written for the 4th Annual Numb3rs Slash Ficathon.
Title: The Tricks of Fate, Part 4
Characters: Coop/Lt. Gary Walker, Coop/Don, mention of Don/Colby.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: 1.13 - Man Hunt.
Warnings: None, but this is a weird pairing, so read at your own risk. ;)
Summary: Coop and Walker are not ok.
Feedback: I'm all for feedback, since this is all new to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The Tricks of Fate
Part 4
“So, is that any good?” Billy asked as he watched Lt. Walker drink his fifth scotch.
“Yeah…”
After driving for a while, they had ended up at a bar. Walker seemed to be so devastated by his officer’s death that Billy had thought a couple of drinks would maybe erase his pain.
“You know, Kotler was like a son to me,” the older man said, after a moment staring at the little glass in his hand. “I can’t believe he’s…”
“I understand.”
Walker raised his gaze, met Billy’s and held it for a moment. “Have you lost someone like that, Agent Cooper?”
“A lot of people, actually… so I get what you’re feeling. I used to drink… In fact, Don and I used to do it together so we could forget…”
“Your job’s pretty tough, huh?”
Billy nodded, tilting his head. “Sometimes it was too much for us. The things we saw, the people we had to catch… Fugitive Recovery has a lot of adrenaline, but it also messes with your head.”
“Mhm.”
They remained in silence, looking at the table or looking at the hundreds of bottles the barman had behind him in shelves.
“So you and Eppes,” Walker suddenly said, “You were together back then.”
Billy cleared his throat. There was no way the lieutenant could know about them. “What do you mean, ‘together?’”
“Together… like together. I saw you’re really close to each other.”
“I, um…”
With his silence and his awkwardness, Billy knew he was giving a positive answer. Still, he didn’t blame himself. He wasn’t waiting for the question, plus he was sure Walker wasn’t exactly aware of what he was saying right now.
“Why don’t I take you to your place, lieutenant?” he ended up suggesting.
Walker looked at his empty glass, then at the barman, as if he was considering whether he should have one more drink or not. Finally he got up and nodded.
It wasn’t necessary for Billy to hold him as they walked to his car. The lieutenant was a little drunk, but not as much as he couldn’t stand on his own feet. He was still clearly conscious, even if he did seem to be a little bit clumsy. And it was weird, considering every single time Billy had shared a moment with him, the man had projected an image of great confidence and experience.
Once in the car, Billy asked Walker if he was alright. When the other answered, “Sure, this is nothing,” even if nothing indicated it was that way, the agent started the engine and asked the lieutenant for an address.
As he drove, he couldn’t stop thinking about Don. Walker’s words had made him remember his last conversation with him. So I said I was ok with you and Granger. Damn - I lied, Donnie.
He had missed his former partner for a long time after Don had moved to LA. After working with him again a few years ago in a case, it had killed him to know that he’d have to keep waiting, hoping someday things would go back to the way they were before.
Sometimes he thought he was crazy and stupid, that Don had moved on and that it was impossible for him to get him back, but an unexpected energy and a persistent voice inside his head always told him to keep the faith.
Well, faith is useless now.
Billy knew him so well that he could find in Don’s voice real interest in Granger. His smile was genuine and pleased, and if there was something Billy wanted more than recovering what he had with Don, it was to see him happy again.
And now you’re happy, just not with me.
Deep down inside, he knew that this was the end of his silly fantasy. He and Don could remain friends, but nothing more than that could even be taken into consideration…
“Can you put on the radio?” Walker asked, startling Billy a bit.
He turned on the radio. There was someone talking about the newest car models of 2008. “I’d love to go to one of those fairs someday.”
“Are you a big car fanatic, agent?”
“Let’s say I’ve developed a certain preference for them,” Billy answered, smiling.
“Then you should come to my place. I have this… sweet, perfect SUV that’s my treasure…” The lieutenant was smiling, probably thinking of his beauty.
“Maybe some other time…”
“Nah, come with me, tonight. I could use some good company, if you don’t mind. I mean, if you are already taking me home, agent, what harm could half an hour more do?”
Smiling, Billy thought that alcohol was definitely starting to hit Walker’s system. Imagining that society needed the leader of the Gang Impact Team to be in one piece the next day, he decided to please the man and spend a couple of minutes in his house until he fell asleep.
Lt. Walker lived in a big house in a nice neighborhood, which surprised Billy. As he got out of the car and looked at the solid construction, he said, “Wow, lieutenant. I wasn’t expecting you to have a family life.”
“I don’t,” the other man responded, laughing, and he proceeded to open the garage. “I really want you to see this, agent. I think you’ll like it.”
When the garage door was open, they went in. There wasn’t enough light to see anything, so Walker went to turn on a little light bulb that hung from the roof. “We wanted to keep this house pretty traditional,” he said, when the things in the garage could be finally seen.
Billy frowned when he saw how big the place was. It was really well built, and what he immediately assumed were vehicles were hidden under grey covers.
“’We?’” he asked, imagining what was underneath them.
“Yeah… my last wife and I. She was a sergeant. We never got to have any kids, we divorced before that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” Billy say, because he felt that it was some kind of obligation.
“Ah, it’s nothing. After all, I’ve been married and divorced three times. I’m not looking for marriages anymore.” This time the lieutenant laughed and went towards one of the hidden figures. Billy couldn’t help laughing too, as if he was his reflection on a mirror, even if he didn’t know why he was acting that way.
Walker got closer to the vehicle and slowly started to pull off the cover as he smiled with confidence…
Billy’s mouth hung open. There it was, the absolutely amazing, impressive reflection of by the light that was bathing the smooth, black classic SUV. Wonderful traction, reliable engine; strong wheels, all ready to rumble, shining as though the vehicle had just been washed.
Still smiling, Walker added, “Just so you know, I’ve changed the engine for fuel economy and higher performance. Efficiency comes first here.”
Walker looked exhausted, then he unexpectedly said he was really tired and that he needed to sit down. He ended up seated on the floor of the garage, his back against the side of the vehicle.
And he fell silent. When Billy went to see how he felt, he found him devastated again. His entire cocky, confident character had faded and now all that remained in him was pain.
In a sign of support, Billy sat beside him. He and Don had been through several times like this - coming from man hunts usually left a mark in their souls, especially if they had had to kill someone.
But Walker’s problem was that a criminal had taken from him someone he considered to be his son.
“Wow, this is a real beauty,” Billy muttered, caressing his chin. He was trying to make the lieutenant’s mind go to other places but Kotler’s death. “Oh, how I’d love to ride this machine…” he added, pointing at the SUV.
“Which one - the SUV or Eppes?” Walker answered, turning to him.
Again, Billy’s mouth opened, but this time he took a deep breath and smiled. He knew it was a joke and ended up laughing at it. The other man laughed, too, and when they were both done, they looked at each other in silence.
“You know, this SUV is part of a memory of mine,” Walker explained. “My wife was supposed to take our future kids to school in it. Now I don’t want to use it, even if it’s a perfect ride for when it comes the time to bust some heads.”
That dragged an honest smile from Billy. He remembered using that expression thousands of times. He also remembered that one time it had been the reason for a fight between him and Don.
“Kotler and I had already agreed that I’d sell it to him.”
It was terrible for Billy to hear those words. He knew what the lieutenant was actually saying - that passing on his favorite car to Kotler was something he would have done with his real son. His voice had been about to break when he had said it, and now Billy really didn’t know how to respond.
“Damn, how I miss having someone I can turn to when I need to talk about these cases,” Walker whispered, and he cursed.
“I know what you mean,” Billy agreed, still caressing his chin. He missed Don so much. He hadn’t found anyone else like him, he hadn’t been able to have a real, good conversation with anyone for a long time…
Until this moment. He was there, sharing a nice moment with Walker, who ironically was someone he didn’t know at all.
Yet, he felt so close to him now. So close as he’d feel to a true friend, even if they had only said a few words and confessed just a couple of secrets.
He turned to Walker and found that the man was looking back at him. He felt himself getting nervous without knowing why, and he smiled awkwardly, as if he had been strangely flattered. “Lieutenant, why are you staring at me?”
Suddenly, he could feel the policeman’s hand on his thigh, traveling up his leg, until it settled on his hip. Billy followed the line those fingers were tracing, and watched them stop there.
And he didn’t want that. Unexpectedly, he wanted them to go further.
When he raised his gaze, he could see Lt. Walker’s face very close to his, his eyes on his face, his breath on his ear.
Billy swallowed, getting even more nervous. Arousal hit him and he didn’t have any defense system now. Memories are capable of destroying the limits between right and wrong.
He took a really deep breath and turned to the other man. They breathed on each other’s faces, searching for the right angle for their mouths to meet.
Dragged along by the situation and the atmosphere that surrounded him, Billy thought that would be it. Only a little kiss. But when their lips touched and the fire of arousal burnt his insides, he knew it was going to be a lot more than that.
Title: The Tricks of Fate, Part 4
Characters: Coop/Lt. Gary Walker, Coop/Don, mention of Don/Colby.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: 1.13 - Man Hunt.
Warnings: None, but this is a weird pairing, so read at your own risk. ;)
Summary: Coop and Walker are not ok.
Feedback: I'm all for feedback, since this is all new to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The Tricks of Fate
Part 4
“So, is that any good?” Billy asked as he watched Lt. Walker drink his fifth scotch.
“Yeah…”
After driving for a while, they had ended up at a bar. Walker seemed to be so devastated by his officer’s death that Billy had thought a couple of drinks would maybe erase his pain.
“You know, Kotler was like a son to me,” the older man said, after a moment staring at the little glass in his hand. “I can’t believe he’s…”
“I understand.”
Walker raised his gaze, met Billy’s and held it for a moment. “Have you lost someone like that, Agent Cooper?”
“A lot of people, actually… so I get what you’re feeling. I used to drink… In fact, Don and I used to do it together so we could forget…”
“Your job’s pretty tough, huh?”
Billy nodded, tilting his head. “Sometimes it was too much for us. The things we saw, the people we had to catch… Fugitive Recovery has a lot of adrenaline, but it also messes with your head.”
“Mhm.”
They remained in silence, looking at the table or looking at the hundreds of bottles the barman had behind him in shelves.
“So you and Eppes,” Walker suddenly said, “You were together back then.”
Billy cleared his throat. There was no way the lieutenant could know about them. “What do you mean, ‘together?’”
“Together… like together. I saw you’re really close to each other.”
“I, um…”
With his silence and his awkwardness, Billy knew he was giving a positive answer. Still, he didn’t blame himself. He wasn’t waiting for the question, plus he was sure Walker wasn’t exactly aware of what he was saying right now.
“Why don’t I take you to your place, lieutenant?” he ended up suggesting.
Walker looked at his empty glass, then at the barman, as if he was considering whether he should have one more drink or not. Finally he got up and nodded.
It wasn’t necessary for Billy to hold him as they walked to his car. The lieutenant was a little drunk, but not as much as he couldn’t stand on his own feet. He was still clearly conscious, even if he did seem to be a little bit clumsy. And it was weird, considering every single time Billy had shared a moment with him, the man had projected an image of great confidence and experience.
Once in the car, Billy asked Walker if he was alright. When the other answered, “Sure, this is nothing,” even if nothing indicated it was that way, the agent started the engine and asked the lieutenant for an address.
As he drove, he couldn’t stop thinking about Don. Walker’s words had made him remember his last conversation with him. So I said I was ok with you and Granger. Damn - I lied, Donnie.
He had missed his former partner for a long time after Don had moved to LA. After working with him again a few years ago in a case, it had killed him to know that he’d have to keep waiting, hoping someday things would go back to the way they were before.
Sometimes he thought he was crazy and stupid, that Don had moved on and that it was impossible for him to get him back, but an unexpected energy and a persistent voice inside his head always told him to keep the faith.
Well, faith is useless now.
Billy knew him so well that he could find in Don’s voice real interest in Granger. His smile was genuine and pleased, and if there was something Billy wanted more than recovering what he had with Don, it was to see him happy again.
And now you’re happy, just not with me.
Deep down inside, he knew that this was the end of his silly fantasy. He and Don could remain friends, but nothing more than that could even be taken into consideration…
“Can you put on the radio?” Walker asked, startling Billy a bit.
He turned on the radio. There was someone talking about the newest car models of 2008. “I’d love to go to one of those fairs someday.”
“Are you a big car fanatic, agent?”
“Let’s say I’ve developed a certain preference for them,” Billy answered, smiling.
“Then you should come to my place. I have this… sweet, perfect SUV that’s my treasure…” The lieutenant was smiling, probably thinking of his beauty.
“Maybe some other time…”
“Nah, come with me, tonight. I could use some good company, if you don’t mind. I mean, if you are already taking me home, agent, what harm could half an hour more do?”
Smiling, Billy thought that alcohol was definitely starting to hit Walker’s system. Imagining that society needed the leader of the Gang Impact Team to be in one piece the next day, he decided to please the man and spend a couple of minutes in his house until he fell asleep.
Lt. Walker lived in a big house in a nice neighborhood, which surprised Billy. As he got out of the car and looked at the solid construction, he said, “Wow, lieutenant. I wasn’t expecting you to have a family life.”
“I don’t,” the other man responded, laughing, and he proceeded to open the garage. “I really want you to see this, agent. I think you’ll like it.”
When the garage door was open, they went in. There wasn’t enough light to see anything, so Walker went to turn on a little light bulb that hung from the roof. “We wanted to keep this house pretty traditional,” he said, when the things in the garage could be finally seen.
Billy frowned when he saw how big the place was. It was really well built, and what he immediately assumed were vehicles were hidden under grey covers.
“’We?’” he asked, imagining what was underneath them.
“Yeah… my last wife and I. She was a sergeant. We never got to have any kids, we divorced before that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” Billy say, because he felt that it was some kind of obligation.
“Ah, it’s nothing. After all, I’ve been married and divorced three times. I’m not looking for marriages anymore.” This time the lieutenant laughed and went towards one of the hidden figures. Billy couldn’t help laughing too, as if he was his reflection on a mirror, even if he didn’t know why he was acting that way.
Walker got closer to the vehicle and slowly started to pull off the cover as he smiled with confidence…
Billy’s mouth hung open. There it was, the absolutely amazing, impressive reflection of by the light that was bathing the smooth, black classic SUV. Wonderful traction, reliable engine; strong wheels, all ready to rumble, shining as though the vehicle had just been washed.
Still smiling, Walker added, “Just so you know, I’ve changed the engine for fuel economy and higher performance. Efficiency comes first here.”
Walker looked exhausted, then he unexpectedly said he was really tired and that he needed to sit down. He ended up seated on the floor of the garage, his back against the side of the vehicle.
And he fell silent. When Billy went to see how he felt, he found him devastated again. His entire cocky, confident character had faded and now all that remained in him was pain.
In a sign of support, Billy sat beside him. He and Don had been through several times like this - coming from man hunts usually left a mark in their souls, especially if they had had to kill someone.
But Walker’s problem was that a criminal had taken from him someone he considered to be his son.
“Wow, this is a real beauty,” Billy muttered, caressing his chin. He was trying to make the lieutenant’s mind go to other places but Kotler’s death. “Oh, how I’d love to ride this machine…” he added, pointing at the SUV.
“Which one - the SUV or Eppes?” Walker answered, turning to him.
Again, Billy’s mouth opened, but this time he took a deep breath and smiled. He knew it was a joke and ended up laughing at it. The other man laughed, too, and when they were both done, they looked at each other in silence.
“You know, this SUV is part of a memory of mine,” Walker explained. “My wife was supposed to take our future kids to school in it. Now I don’t want to use it, even if it’s a perfect ride for when it comes the time to bust some heads.”
That dragged an honest smile from Billy. He remembered using that expression thousands of times. He also remembered that one time it had been the reason for a fight between him and Don.
“Kotler and I had already agreed that I’d sell it to him.”
It was terrible for Billy to hear those words. He knew what the lieutenant was actually saying - that passing on his favorite car to Kotler was something he would have done with his real son. His voice had been about to break when he had said it, and now Billy really didn’t know how to respond.
“Damn, how I miss having someone I can turn to when I need to talk about these cases,” Walker whispered, and he cursed.
“I know what you mean,” Billy agreed, still caressing his chin. He missed Don so much. He hadn’t found anyone else like him, he hadn’t been able to have a real, good conversation with anyone for a long time…
Until this moment. He was there, sharing a nice moment with Walker, who ironically was someone he didn’t know at all.
Yet, he felt so close to him now. So close as he’d feel to a true friend, even if they had only said a few words and confessed just a couple of secrets.
He turned to Walker and found that the man was looking back at him. He felt himself getting nervous without knowing why, and he smiled awkwardly, as if he had been strangely flattered. “Lieutenant, why are you staring at me?”
Suddenly, he could feel the policeman’s hand on his thigh, traveling up his leg, until it settled on his hip. Billy followed the line those fingers were tracing, and watched them stop there.
And he didn’t want that. Unexpectedly, he wanted them to go further.
When he raised his gaze, he could see Lt. Walker’s face very close to his, his eyes on his face, his breath on his ear.
Billy swallowed, getting even more nervous. Arousal hit him and he didn’t have any defense system now. Memories are capable of destroying the limits between right and wrong.
He took a really deep breath and turned to the other man. They breathed on each other’s faces, searching for the right angle for their mouths to meet.
Dragged along by the situation and the atmosphere that surrounded him, Billy thought that would be it. Only a little kiss. But when their lips touched and the fire of arousal burnt his insides, he knew it was going to be a lot more than that.