Work Text:
The Bird Bath was a local bar that served as neutral ground. After Kevin had taken over the Evermore Ravens, he had made sure to change some things, like opening up the city for other gangs.
That, of course, needed a lot of negotiation and planning, so Kevin had created multiple establishments that were strictly neutral. No conflict allowed.
This bar was the only place where you would find Baltimores drinking with Evermores and Snakes. The most recent addition were the Foxes, who tried to establish some business on Kevin’s turf.
Neil had worked himself up to be the right-hand man of the Foxes’ leader, alongside with Renee Walker who was the executioner of the small, upcoming group.
Tonight, though, he wasn’t here to negotiate anything. He just wanted to relax for once.
But it seemed like he wouldn’t get an evening off. He wasn’t allowed a moment to breathe, because the bartender was clearly scheming something. That guy had guts to try anything right in front of him and it would probably have worked if Neil hadn’t been Neil.
But he was, so he noticed the small tells, like the increased wiping of the bartenders hands on a towel or the slightly more clean working place or the higher rate of sipping on his water.
It was obvious to Neil, but most people wouldn’t have noticed.
While he was sure that the bartender was planning something, Neil wasn’t sure what exactly it was. Was whatever it was directed at him? Directed at another customer? Not knowing was a problem, because this was neutral ground and if he did something here without a very, very good reason, he would destroy everything the Foxes had built here in the past year and maybe give Kevin a reason to kill him. So he waited for the right moment, just sipping on his drink, his hand not even near the pistole he carried and only slightly closer to one of his throwing knives.
When Kevin entered the Bird Bath he immediately knew that something was wrong. The atmosphere was different, but he couldn’t say why.
He stopped for a second at the entrance and scanned his surroundings. Nothing looked off.
His gaze zeroed in on Neil for a moment, but he wasn’t his priority today. Kevin was just on his rounds to see if everything was as it should be. His stay here seemed to become longer than he had anticipated.
An attempt to make eye contact with his bartender turned out to be futile. The guy didn’t seem to have noticed him yet, which was odd. His personnel was usually well-trained and attentive in those places where the peace was delicate and easily disturbed by the tiniest thing.
Maybe this one was better at another of his establishments.
Kevin took another step forward, but stopped again. The bartender had grabbed for something, flicking his eyes to Neil, like he wanted to make sure that the man hadn’t moved.
Neil did nothing. He just took a sip from what looked like whiskey and kept calm.
He couldn’t be that blind, right? Right?
If the right-hand man of the Foxes died on his turf, there would be a war and he had the Baltimores to deal with already.
On the other hand, if he just shot someone in the middle of a neutral ground, that could end up in a gang war, too.
But Neil fucking didn’t move.
When the bartender’s shoulder twitched, Kevin drew his gun and shot.
No one should ever fire a gun without ear protection inside a room, but they all were gangsters, they all had done it a couple of times.
That fact, sadly, didn’t stop his ears from ringing. He didn’t hear the bartender fall to the floor, he only saw it.
The surrounding silence, though, wasn’t caused by his tortured ears. Every person in that room looked at him.
Good, they had to see that the owner of the Bird Bath had shot his own staff, it would prevent a panic.
Kevin gestured to one of his men to clean the place up, before he stepped to Neil.
“You jumped the gun”, the Fox said, grinning that dangerous smile of his. “Literally.”
“No one is allowed to threaten my guests. And I thought you might enjoy some brains for dinner.”
“Ugh”, Neil made, but laughed lowly. It was rare and it filled Kevin with warm satisfaction that he had managed to land a good joke. “Don’t think the guy had any. He was far too obvious.”
So he had known. Maybe Kevin should have waited longer, let Neil handle it himself. But maybe it was good that Kevin had been here, after all. Neil could have gotten in serious trouble if he killed his bartender.
While his men still tried to scrub the space behind the bar clean again, Kevin reached over and grabbed a bottle of tequila.
The room seemed to breath out a collective sigh of relief and went to their business again. No one was here for trouble, most of them just wanted to relax. Kevin needed to make sure that it stayed that way, he wouldn’t go anywhere in the next hours. Which didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a bit of fun, too.
“My treat”, he said, grabbed two glasses and filled them. “It’s the least I can do.”
Neil took the shot and grinned at him: “Don’t worry, Kev. I know you wouldn’t want to kill me. Or at least you would do it yourself. You are honorable like that.”
Neil didn’t know how it happened. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the fact that Kevin had risked the fragile peace this place provided. But Neil felt warm and comfortable and for the first time in his life he wanted to touch someone.
Would Kevin’s skin feel as smooth as it looked? How rough would the light shadow on his face feel?
It was stupid just thinking about it. They were business partners at best, enemies at worst. Kevin didn’t even know who he was.
Still, Neil’s heart pounded in his chest like it searched for it’s equal. Kevin was a brilliant man and while Neil knew he never wanted to be the crime lord he had had to become, Kevin Day engulfed his title with pride and determination.
Him killing Riko had been the most unexpected move in the history of gangs that Neil knew of. Everyone had thought Kevin was not more than a pet, someone who was held small, a trophy. No one had expected him to be the genius he was. Kevin had overthrown Riko with just one man as help: Jean Moreau. His right-hand man, his confident, probably his boyfriend, if Kevin even swung that way.
There were rumors that Kevin was forging a connection to the heiress of the Muldanis. But rumors most often were just that.
Neil had been rumored to share his bed with Allison Reynolds, a member of the Foxes and the Princess of the Reynolds empire.
People were just stupid like that.
“I think I want to kiss you”, Neil blurted, while Kevin was mid rant about the gang history in this city. Kevin froze, the whole bar seemed to freeze, although that might only be Neil’s imagination, because there weren’t very many customers left.
Neil had half a mind to take the words back, when Kevin surged forward and pressed their lips together.
From there on, everything felt like a fever dream. Kevin’s lips were hot against his, tasting faintly of tequila, his stubble lightly scratching against Neil’s face.
They both forgot about where they were for a moment, too caught up in each other. The fire that grew in Neil’s stomach clearly asked for more, even though he didn’t exactly know what ‘more’ meant. More skin — yes, definitely. More kisses, more touches. He wanted to feel every inch of Kevin and the sudden image of their naked bodies sliding against each other made him shudder.
It was overwhelming in a good and a bad way. Neil had those thoughts for the first time in his life and didn’t know what to do with them.
He was always competent and sure in what he was doing, but this… he whined lowly into Kevin’s mouth and again when he leaned back.
Neil’s body automatically chased the lips, but he made it stop. He had to get his shit together.
Easier said than done, though, because Kevin looked as wrecked as he felt and it was such a delicious look on the man that was usually so composed.
“Your place or mine?” The raspy, out of breath sound of Kevin’s voice made Neil’s skin tingle and he was so encompassed in the other man, when he blinked they were suddenly in a dimly lit room, rolling through the covers. If anyone ever asked him, he couldn’t tell how they ended up there.
The alcohol still buzzed inside his veins, but he felt more clear and focused than ever in his life.
His whole body was on high alert, soaking up every little touch and skin contact he could get. It was like eating for the first time in his life, drinking clear, cool water after walking a day through the desert.
He couldn’t get enough of it. He didn’t want it to stop.
This was such a bad idea. Technically he was compromised now. But no one had to know. They all knew he and Kevin were close no one would suspect that he actually fell for a gang boss.
His colleagues would probably think it was a trick to get closer to him, to secure the deal with the Foxes. Maybe they would suspect it was a scheme to get enough information on Kevin to drag him down together with the Baltimores. But that wasn’t Neil’s plan. Not his intention at all.
All he wanted was to bring down his father and his men. Maybe kill him himself if he got a chance. He wasn’t interested in the other gangs, he wouldn’t give his colleagues enough to imprison Kevin. Or any of the Foxes.
This was so fucked up on so many levels, but his own moan drowned his thoughts and for once in his life he just let himself feel.
Kevin woke with a pounding head and something warm in his arms. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind, but while he felt the sun slowly creep through the windows, he wondered what he had thought. Probably nothing.
After everything that had happened in his life, he seemed to still be just a young man, with a crush on the most dangerous person currently existing in their circles.
Kevin had known who Neil really was, the moment he had seen his startling blue eyes. Nathaniel Wesninski was an old childhood friend and the son of his biggest problem at the moment.
He only trusted Neil because he knew how much he hated his father. It was the only reason he had agreed to the negotiations with the Foxes, the most flimsy and unpredictable group of criminals he had ever seen.
It was insane to start something with them, but he trusted Neil, even if no one had a clue where Nathaniel had disappeared to and what he had done since he ran with his mother.
Neil was a wild card and Kevin kept his knowledge about him a well-kept secret. If something went south, this was the kind of information he needed to save his skin and that of his people.
Sleeping with him was the stupidest thing Kevin could have done. And he regretted nothing about it. He had a crush on him since Neil had leveled his cold, dead stare at him the first time.
Kevin had never thought to be able to seduce him, though. ‘The Foxes’ Ace’ was a very tasteless street name Neil had acquired not only because he was the secret weapon of the Foxes. It was also a petty and ridiculous dig at the fact that Neil never showed interest in anyone. It was a toxic thought that a person who wasn’t distracted by a pretty face had to be asexual and the attempts to make Neil swing had been ridiculous in the beginning.
Sex was a very useful weapon, so people got very frustrated when nothing of it worked. And it hadn’t been like Neil had seemed even tempted. His poker face so perfect it had been uncanny. There were no lingering looks on breasts or asses. No appreciation of flexing muscles or a quick-witted mind. Nothing.
Last night hadn’t been the first time they had a drink together. Their negotiations always ended in a friendly conversation and one time Neil had told him that he, in fact, was ace and that he was impressed that people had just pressed the label on him.
Neil had told him every single story of people trying to approach him and that it had taken him far too long to realize what was happening. He had shot down the competition on who seduced him first, when he had drawn a gun on two of his ‘dates’ and had pinned another’s hand to a bar with a knife.
So Neil hadn’t been available until last night.
The man in his arms turned around and pressed until Kevin rolled over on his back.
He let himself be pulled in a heated kiss that felt a lot like goodbye. They both knew that this had to end the second the sun had risen completely. Kevin felt like part of a twisted version of Westside Story.
“I think I love you”, Neil mumbled and Kevin kissed him again before he could say something equally stupid.
Neil had left soon after his confession and Kevin had woken up from the dream that had been the silent hours in his apartment. Back to business, back to being professional criminals. He wouldn’t let this ruin everything he had worked for in the last years.
All good intention he threw out of the window when he settled down on the same stool at Bird Bath’s bar as yesterday. He tried to convince himself that he wanted to make sure that he hadn’t another crooked bartender under his people, but the truth was, that he was lovesick.
He swirled the tequila in the glass, making sure to keep his gaze uninterested and bored.
He looked up lazily when the door opened but stopped when he found Neil standing there, his gaze already on him and a dangerous smirk playing around his lips.
Ah, Kevin thought, here we go again…