setwd("/users/ACE/")

The problem with Ace was that he was never trying to get her to swoon and yet more often than not it was exactly the reaction he gained from her. Not that it was a difficult one for either man to pull from the hitter all too often they had to only bat their eyelashes towards her and she was a puddle for them. She wasn’t too prideful when it came to letting them know just the kind of reaction they earned from her, but especially when it came to Ace. She knew that being with herself and Dallas couldn’t be easy for someone as loving and open as their hacker was. Being with two people that often struggled to voice how they felt had to put at least some kind of insecurity in their head, but it’s why Rhiannon never shied away from the physical side to make sure he understood that while she couldn’t say how much she loved him didn’t mean that she didn’t. “That’s because you don’t know what’s in the works for you tonight, and if you did you’d be rushing us to the room.”

That fateful night that became so much more than any of them could have dreamed about. It was meant to be one night of mind blowing sex that she would walk away from the moment it ended or once the boys were asleep. Somehow, she knew exactly how whenever she looked at them, it became so much more. They became her life and more importantly the pair of them had become her family. Rhiannon struggled though in figuring out where she fit in with them, and if she was ever fully honest with either of them there were still moments that she wasn’t sure that she did fit in with them. In those moments though she simply clung a little tighter to them and perhaps tended to leave her physical mark a little more often on those days. She wasn’t sure if they noticed, but if they did they never mentioned it to her.

“You mean how extra you are about everything?” She asked him curiously running her nose along his neck wishing that she had him alone in their room. It seemed as though the elevator had to be the slowest moving one she had ever been on or perhaps she was just being more impatient than usual. “I love how you though. I want you to be extra about every single thing in your life, but especially when it comes to us and how you are with me at the very least.”

Rhiannon’s eyes drift closed as she slowly brushed their lips together as she let out a perfectly content hum. “Only something I would hope you already know, but if you don’t I plan on making sure that everything is clear once we’re in our room locked away from the rest of the world so that it can’t ruin our night together.”

Ace had plenty of patience-- he had to, considering the people he was in love with and the people he worked with. More often than not, he was the quiet sound of order and reason in a room full of maniacs, trusted to keep his cool and remain objective-- and above all, patient.

But, as Rhiannon and Dallas had so frequently demonstrated, it was entirely possible for his patience to snap as though it had never existed in the first place, leaving him a messy puddle of want and now and please please please. Dallas had perfected dancing on that bit of thread years ago and Rhiannon was an avid student, holding him together by the seams as she stood there, purring in his ear and making promises he knew she intended to keep, but he still wanted her to keep them right goddamn now.

“Rhiannon,” he whined in her ear, the air leaving his lungs in a woosh as she ran her nose up his neck and it felt like she was unzipping his skin, turning him inside out, laying him bare for the world to see. The fingers on her hips trembled and he gripped her just a little harder, holding on as though she’d dance away from him and leave him wanting. Which, that was more Dallas’ game than Rhia’s, but they both were known to switch it up sometimes. Ace didn’t like it. (He loved it so very much, loved them so very much, when does this elevator finally reach the damned floor--)

“Baby, if you want to tell me things and you want me to actually hear them, y’gotta let me breathe,” he begged, even though his arms tightened around her and he dipped his head to nibble at her neck-- only to let out a sound of relief as the elevator doors opened and they were revealed to a thankfully empty hallway. “Jesus Christ, thank you,” he whispered, now moving to manhandle Rhiannon out the elevator and blindly into the direction of the room-- of course, taking the wrong side for all about five steps, before letting out a yelp of surprise and rushing the other direction. 

He all but stumbled into the room and kicked the door closed behind them, before leaning against the door itself and pulling her to him, hands slowly drifting lower than was strictly polite. A chuckle vibrated in his chest and he eyed Rhiannon with a warm look. “Y’had something to tell me, pretty lady?”

Sabina knew that she had to pick herself up out of the depressing state that had become her life after the failure that was the last job. It was absolutely unacceptable even to her that she would continue the way that she had been. It took a solid hour for her to lock up the alcohol that had found it’s way spread through out her apartment, but once it was finally accomplished it felt as if a small weight had found it’s way off of her shoulders. This was no way for any mastermind to continue living when she needed to be the example for those in the crew especially when considering that leverage was paying attention to all of them. 

Instead of focusing on the past the young Russian was ready to focus instead on the next job. She knew that she needed to make sure it was something that they could pull off maybe a simple win could be good for the morale of the crew, but it never hurt having the financial gain either. It was just a matter of figuring out what they needed to do next probably something that would require to use Ace’s abilities. He needed the boost more than anyone else did.

Deciding to use the afternoon to focus on figuring something out she settled in with her usual array of her laptop along with several notebooks that she often took physical notes in that would later find their way into a fire that Katya would handle. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t notice the door bell ringing for several moments until Yulia found her way beside her owner smacking her side. Sighing heavily the woman stood up stretching out her taunt muscles she figured the person could wait several more moments while she took her time. 

Ace probably knew better than to not announce himself and just waltz into the apartment of a mildly annoyed Russian woman, but in all reality, he was done moping and ready to go back to kicking ass-- hence the laptop under his arm and the tray of coffee in his other hand. (He knew to appease Sabina by heart now-- she really was someone he shouldn’t piss off. Woman had the I’m disappointed in you look down to boot, Ace was in awe). Using his elbow to ring the doorbell had not been the most efficient way of doing it, but he spilled nothing which was a miracle in itself honestly.

Hence, he bounced a little on his feet, plenty proud of himself, as Sabina opened the door and he held out the coffee in front of her, smiling from ear to ear. “Hey! I got coffee,” he said as a way of greeting, walking right past Sabina as he did, opening his laptop as he walked all the while taking off his shoes and cooing a hello to Yulia.

It was entirely possible he had had three coffees already. And also very very little sleep.

“So, I’m not sure why Vincent thinks he’s hot shit, but, we’re so gonna win this thief-off, it’s not even funny. I looked into the restorer, which, so far didn’t yield much, but-- but-- I’ll find something.”

Rhiannon was all too use to Dallas using his smooth words and gliding touch to gain a reaction from her, but to have the same being used by Ace? It sent her body into a confusion, but she had to admit that she liked it. It was something different from the usual awkwardness that he usually exuded, something that she personally loved and found to be just as equally a turn on as this side of him, but it was working for her. He was getting the exact reaction that she knew he was looking for as she nuzzled along his neck while he laughed soundlessly against her. There was something comforting about it mixed with this different side of him that she was enjoying. He was still her Ace, but seeing him actually confident made her heart swell with joy along with a few other bodily functions.

“Hmmm?” she hummed happily against his skin unable to hide the own tug of her lips enjoying the fact that she was getting a reaction from him even with the simplest touch against his body. “I only ever said that you had to behave yourself. I said nothing about myself. I just don’t want you to ruin tonight for yourself before you get to know what I have in mind.”

Rhiannon listened to what Ace had running through his mind as she always did with either of her boys always enjoying the fact that he never hid anything from her, but also enjoying the small tidbits that Dallas would give to her. Each moment was something new that she could learn about them, and she never took them for granted. Of course though his focus was on her which brought up a different side of her. No one besides her adoptive mom ever felt like she was deserving of anything, much less everything, at least until the boys came along and wanted to give her the entire world much she knew it easily went both ways though. All she ever wanted was to give as much as she could to them. “You already give me the world, Ace. As long as I have you and Dallas I have the entire world everything else is just a blessing even though I know you two will do whatever it takes to give me more,” She promised him earnestly as she moved to press him against the wall of the elevator once they were alone needing him to know that she was being serious in the moment. “My mind?” She asked him curiously tipping her head with a full blown smirk now, “My feelings about you. It’s all that’s been on my mind for the last few days.”

Ace laughed soundlessly, his gentle fingers moving to pinch a little bit of skin above the waist of Rhiannon’s pants. “Cheeky,” he reprimanded without meaning it in the slightest, the grin on his lips entirely disarming and warm. “I’ve got you right here, how on earth would I ruin this night for myself? Pretty damn sure that’s impossible,” Ace said, laying it on a bit thick and fluttering with his eyelashes-- a compliment not aimed to make her swoon, but one to make her laugh.

Endlessly fond, he regarded her as the doors of the elevator closed, knowing that she meant every word-- Rhiannon was never one to demand much, always seemingly content as long as there was proof of their affection for her there; which, Ace understood. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to get thrown into an already existing relationship, having to carve out her space between them in a way that satisfied all three of them. Ace thought they had been pretty accommodating, but communication, if anything, had always been the weak point in their relationship.

What with Dallas and Rhiannon sharing their disdain for honest emotional conversations and Ace loving them too much. 

“You know how extra we can be about these things,” he said then, eyes warm as he let himself be manhandled against the wall of the elevator. Ace was not new to letting himself be arranged to the liking of either one of his lovers-- he had long ago learned that going along with them was only for his benefit.

“Is that right?,” he asked then, throat a little dry as his hands found their way to her hips, squeezing for barely a moment-- he dipped his head to brush his lips against hers, already only half-listening. “Something I should know there?,” he wondered, mind already moved on to different things as he traced the bit of skin between the hem of her shirt and her waistband.

There was something about the ease, and the level of intimacy, in which Ace pressed kisses into her skin that lit her entire body up. It may have only been to her cheek and temple now, but every bit of her skin knew what those lucious lips felt like being pressed against her. Physical affection came with being with Ace whether it was the way he would lift her wrist to his lips as she made coffee, or that he would press the faintest kiss along her shoulders. That wasn’t to say that Dallas wasn’t just as physical with his affection his just tended to be much more passionate and deep while Ace’s was absentmindedly as if it was just natural that he gravitated to being near the people he cared about.

Rhiannon’s lips twisted up into a wicked smile as she turned her head in order to meet those dark brown eyes that instantly warmed her heart, “You’ve been a good boy much more than only ten times, but that’s not the kind of behaving I need from you for at least ten minutes.” She reached up resting a hand just underneath his shirt on the small of his back so that she was able to rub small warm circles against his skin. If everything went according to her plan there would be more than enough time for him to prove just what a good boy he was for her.

There were very few moments in her life that she was actually thankful for her darker complexion hiding just how fiercely she knew that she was blushing but this moment would be one of them. Having a drunk Ace was never a bad thing though. His level of affection just went up even more, not that she thought it was possible before she witnessed it for herself, she just reveled in his attention. “What’s going on in that incredible mind of yours?” She asked curiously as they entered the hotel she had found.

Laughter rumbled in his chest a little, vibrating his entire torso as he chuckled into her hair soundlessly-- it was a thing he did sometimes, his shoulders would shake and he would laugh without a sound, content and happy and warm like the sun. “Hm, well, whatever you want from me, baby, you got it,” he promised then, sincerity in his words as he eyed her with amusement, already knowing that for all her talk of behaving, he’d be pushed flat on his back not before long. Patience, Rhiannon had in spades-- but Ace knew which buttons to push, which looks to give. 

Dallas was the grifter, but Ace too knew to tease.

The warm circles her fingers drew against his back had tingles rush up his spine and his skin erupted into goosebumps. “Mixed signals, sweetheart,” he muttered, the fingers laying against her arm, from where he had his arm around her shoulders skill, gently brushed against her skin-- mimicking her own touch. 

The hotel stretched out before them and soon the two of them were back inside the cool building, the foyer wide and gorgeous and of course-- nothing but the best. As though Rhiannon deserved anything less. “I’m thinking you deserve everything in this world you could ever want,” he answered earnestly, waving to the man behind the reception in hello before leading Rhiannon over to the elevator, his free hand stuck in the pockets of his pants. “What are you thinking about, pretty lady?”

It was hard to take Ace sulking. He was the natural ray of sunshine that seemed to fill their lives, and when he was anything less it fell to her shoulders to pull him back up. Not that she ever minded. Not when it was truly the least that she could do in order to help him when all he ever seemed to do was hold her up. It was also idiotic for Rhiannon to expect anyone, especially him, to be happy all the time. After the night that they had though it was hard to keep certain words to herself any longer. Not when she knew that they were true or how much happier he would be to hear them.

“Oh could you now?” Rhiannon couldn’t help but practically purr to him as she leaned in close enough to just barely brush her lips against his. She knew just how charming Ace could be but it wasn’t the charms he thought of that made her heart race against her chest. It wasn’t the smooth moves that came second nature to Dallas, or even the purposeful flirting that Ace attempted with them. It was always the moments of awkward flailing that tended to come out often with him or when she was able to render him speechless that sent the butterflies fluttering about her rib cage.

The hitter liked to believe that she tended to have a solid head on her shoulders, but even she knew there was no doubt that she could easily bend either boy into doing at least almost anything for her. Ace was the exception though because she knew he’d do anything for her especially if it meant making her happy. Maybe she was exploiting that tendency, but at the end of the day it was truly for his own good that she was. Rhia would make it up to him fully as she always did.

“Now once we’re in the hotel room you’re going to have to behave yourself,” Rhiannon knew that shew as toying with him, but his reaction was going to be priceless. It was something that she even had dreams about witnessing and now she was only minutes away from actually seeing how it would come to be. Something about that terrified her, but at the same time with Ace’s presence she was instantly soothed. 

Ace wiggled his eyebrows theatrically, a grin stretching slowly on his face as he regarded his girlfriend (yes, girlfriend, damn it, even if both her and Dallas avoided such specifications as though they’d break out in hives if they didn’t)-- this teasing, it felt natural, real in a way that Ace could never describe. Love, his brain supplied helpfully and he moved to brush an affectionate kiss against her cheekbone. You’re in love with her.

Well, it wasn’t like that was news.

Her words had Ace squawk in indignation, pointing at himself, flabbergasted. “Me? Behave myself? I’m exceptionally well-behaved. You’ve told me I’m a good boy no less than ten times,” he insisted, eyes sparkling-- the reminder of when exactly she had told him that and what they had been doing in those moments caused a faint blush on his cheeks; thankfully, she couldn’t tell.

His arm snaked around her shoulders and Ace briskly moved down the streets-- he wasn’t drunk by any means, merely felt a little tingle on the back of his neck; he hadn’t had much to drink anyway, more like stared at his drink as though it was the root and solution for all of his problems. (He had been drunk plenty of times, but drinking to forget never helped-- he merely got more melancholic, more sad, more tired of everything. Well, it didn’t help.)

In a surge of affection, he pressed a kiss against her temple, a warm rumble in his chest-- he was like a content cat in that moment.

It wasn’t much but the tender brush of his lips against her fingers filled her with the tiniest bit of happiness. She just wished that it could give him the same sense of contentment as her, but she knew better than to ask too much of the universe at the moment. The small moment would just have to be between herself she would have to find another one for him, and she was determined that she would. It was all too easy for Rhiannon to push her own emotions to the side and put her focus on him, exactly where her attention should be when he very clearly needed the support she could give him.

Whatever the moment was though at least brought him down somewhat as she shifted to stand up again leaning against her sturdy boyfriend before resting her head against his. Nothing could be wrong as long as she could go home to him after a job.

“And none of us are blaming you,” Rhiannon reminded him quietly as she turned her head in order to kiss the top of his head tenderly for a moment before she sighed wishing that she could take his pain from him. “You found someone that will make you better is all, because you will do this.” her hands reached down rubbing along the tense muscles in his back tenderly wishing she was able to fully relax him. He deserved it after all.

The smallest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she watched the way his brain seemed to be accepting what she was saying. For her it wasn’t a question. She knew for a fact that he would become the best hacker there was, because he wouldn’t rest until it was the truth no matter how much she would beg for him to return to bed with her. “See? Sulking in a bar isn’t going to get you there though,” She reminded him hoping for the slightest budge in getting him to the hotel.

It felt as if her entire heart was on fire the moment he laid his lips on hers. They shared thousands of kisses before, but for whatever reason this one, this one was different. She blinked slowly as she pulled back from him finally allowing herself to smile as brightly as she could possibly manage because she knew exactly what words he was about to say. It wasn’t the place though. “I know. Do you think I can drag you away now I have something I’d like to say myself,” She admitted.

Ace was prone to sulking-- it was rare that he got upset to the point that he needed to sulk, but once he was in the mindset, it was difficult to dig him out of it. It seemed that Rhiannon had a talent to do just that though, grabbing him by the scruff and pulling him right out of his misery-- all the while making him feel as though it was his idea in the first place. It was genuine too-- that was the whole thing, she was just so genuine about it all, Ace couldn’t help but gaze into her eyes and wonder what the hell he did to deserve both her and Dallas. 

But really, he wasn’t gonna complain about it.

For a moment, he looked at her, barely-there mischief in his eyes as he leaned forward and muttered “You sure? I can think of something better than talking--”. Oh, Ace could be charming-- for all but five seconds. Shy he was not, but once the incredible charm of Dallas and/or Rhiannon were directed at him-- then he tripped over his words like a school boy, fidgeted and tried to wave them off.

He himself could very well put out a few lines-- and they worked, on occasion.

But readily enough, he got to his feet, a mild smile on his face. “Whatever you want baby.” For the rest of this evening, he’d try to forget about the day-- the hacker that had bested him with little to no effort, the con that had gone completely awry if not for the mild success of getting back Fitz (who they shouldn’t have lost in the first place).

Rhiannon tried to not take it too personally that her favorite human hadn’t been aware enough to make sure that it was her that even approached him. It would have been all too easy for it to be someone else, more importantly someone with a knife to his neck rather than her tender arms. There was already too much on that precious mind of his though for her to hold it against him. It only added to her reasons for keeping him under lock and key in a room with her while Dallas was away getting the air that he needed.

Seemingly with an absent mind the hitter ran her hands along the bulging muscles of Ace’s arm. She enjoyed the way the tight material grabbed his body, but as much as she wanted to openly appreciate just how incredible he looked there was something much more important that needed her attention. Him. “Never apologize to me, babe. I don’t need them what I need is to have my Ace. What do you need from me?” Rhia asked him quietly allowing her hand to drop from his arm.

There was no hiding from the fact that if a job went side ways on his side Ace was going to shoulder the blame. Never mind the fact that it wasn’t always entirely on his shoulders there were two other hackers that could just as easily be blamed if you asked her, but she supposed seeing him hurting and angry made her protective over him no matter how much she loved Scout and didn’t truly blame her either. “I wish you would have just brought me with you rather than me having to chase after you,” the words were meant as a joke but she was sure they wouldn’t be picked up. Not tonight. “You didn’t screw up this badly. Not every job is going to go to plan. Would you blame me if something went wrong?”

Making Ace feel stupid wasn’t an easy feat. This mysterious hacker seemed to have dug their way under his skin, something that was completely unacceptable to her. “I know you, Ace. You’ll get back at whoever this asshole is even if it isn’t tonight. They’re going to regret ever crossing you, because you’re going to become a better hacker because of this job,” Rhiannon was passionate as she leaned in whispering to him, because for her it was obviously so true. There was no way that he would ever back down from proving himself.

“You didn’t disappoint me,” Rhiannon assured him fiercely, “You didn’t let me down in the slightest. You’re carrying the entire world on those shoulders of yours when you weren’t the only one in that job. I’m sure even that Russian princess can’t blame you for how things went.”

Rubbing his hands over his face, Ace could do little but bask in his misery-- it felt like he had been dragged through the mud and left there, unable to pick himself up from this. Failure was an unexpected taste on his tongue and it tasted like bitter poison, that kind that made him rigid and unable to move. “Rhi--,” he began than, voice quiet but rough around the edges-- he would not cry, not because of this. Clearing his throat roughly, Ace moved forward and placed his hands on the table for a moment before taking Rhiannon’s between his own, pushing barely-there kisses on her knuckles.

It felt grounding, warm, like he’d feel better if he only stayed this way with her. How Rhiannon managed to hang the sun back into the sky during the deepest night, he’d never understand-- but he would always be grateful.

“I’d never blame you,” he muttered, his thumbs mapping out the rough skin on top of her knuckles, proof of her strength, proof of her skill. “But... baby, I have never had... this. I can hack my way out of anything. At least I thought I could.” Shaking his head, he pushed his forehead against her hands, still captured in his own. Ace had always prided himself on his intelligence. What use am I if I’m not even that anymore?

Her words seemed so... filled with conviction, as though they were true, inevitable facts that he couldn’t even talk himself out of if he tried. He would get that hacker, he would improve-- at least in Rhiannon’s eyes, that seemed to be the truth. He looked up then, holding her gaze with something like wonder in his own, before he nodded. “Yeah,” he croaked then, not sure if it was a question or a statement or a bit of both. Yeah, he’d get them back. Yeah, he’d get better-- next time he’d run a circle around them.

At least, that was all he could do.

Rhiannon knew that there was no way that Ace was handling the end of the con well. He often carried too much responsibility on his shoulders, and while she completely knew that she was a hypocrite since she did the same thing herself, all she wanted was to take that from him so he could relax. No one in their right mind could blame him, or even Madi, for the way the job ended. There was only so much certain people are capable of doing, but knowing the stubbornness that ran through his body there was no way that he would see that easily.

She knew that he had told her he was alright, but Rhia knew him better than he seemed to know himself and read between the lines. He was struggling, and he might not think it or believe he deserved it but she knew she could help him. Especially when there was something on the tip of her tongue that she wanted to say to him.

Spotting a gorgeous hacker in a seedy bar wasn’t difficult to do even if he was slumped over focused on a spot in front of him. It was all too easy to ignore the stares or words that seemed to follow her as she walked up behind him before she draped her arms around his neck from behind him. “I hear your girlfriend misses you,” Rhiannon whispered quietly in his ear hoping that even in his state that he would pick up on the fact that she gave herself a title. Something that often frightened her even with him.

Rhiannon slowly moved to take the stool beside him crossing her long exposed legs once she was seated facing him. There was no smile, just simple concern for the man that had her heart (or at least a portion of it). “You don’t have to hide from me. If you want to mope there’s a rather large bathtub at the hotel I reserved for us and we can order all the alcohol you want.”

He didn’t flinch-- even though he had the spatial awareness of a newborn and hadn’t known that it was Rhiannon who approached him, Ace didn’t flinch when her arms closed around him, enveloping him in warmth and the familiarity of a scent that almost had him sobbing in relief. Or guilt. It was hard to tell right now.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, fingers clenching and unclenching as he nudged the glass of luke-warm (Whiskey? Hell if he knew, he hadn’t paid much attention, it really could be anything right now) away from him, shaking his head as though to shake off his thoughts. Ace had barely had time to change out of his clothes-- he was reasonably certain he was wearing Dallas’ shirt right now; it was a bit snug. Rubbing both hands over his face, it took him a moment to look at Rhiannon-- it took him another to not start crying when he did.

Failure was a taste Ace wasn’t accustomed to-- especially not in a field where he thought he ruled supreme. “I should’ve... been more specific about where I was, I’m just--” A moment of silence and he huffed out a bit of laughter. It was not the amused kind. “Hiding, I guess. God damn it, Rhiannon, how the hell could I have messed up this badly?” Huffing again, he looked at the glass with an urge to either empty it or toss it against the wall. Ace did neither-- he was never one to lash out in anger.

“Nothing I did worked. Nothing. Whoever that person was, they were ten steps ahead of me. It was like they were running marathons and I was barely past the crawling stage. I’ve never had that and-- we lost. Sure, we got Fitz back, but we lost. They played us for fools.” And wasn’t that the worst part? Ace had never been stupid his entire life, but sitting in that basement fighting tooth and nail to not be tossed out of his own goddamn system-- he had felt dumber than ever before. 

“I’ve disappointed everyone-- I mean, I lied to my friends, my crew, the people that I love and now? It was all for nothing.” Swallowing hard, he looked up at Rhiannon, exhaling slightly. It was rare that the façade cracked as much as it did now-- it was rare Ace wasn’t the one smiling. “Rhiannon, I’m sorry.” For his failure, his lie. All of it.