#hitmen!au

heeeere we go - thanks to @jackiemerrick @barnbert @jcforsapphics @illbeyourreasonwhy @sugdenfamilycurse and @bartonmatty for the tags and for your fabulous snippets, they have given me life xxx

hitmen chapter 6 hopefully will be up at some point this week (don't hold me to this) so let's have a sneak peak:

Aaron and RJ have had pretty similar timing the whole week, usually arriving within a few minutes of each other. The fact that they've been able to predict each other's plans every day just shows how similar they are - at work, obviously. Aaron doesn't care to know what more they have in common apart from the tidbits he's learned so far. It doesn't matter, because they'll finish this job, whichever of them actually makes the final shot, and they'll move on and this will all be a fond memory.

Today, however, Aaron's been here for nearly two hours, with no sign of RJ anywhere.

Joe has Saturday evening drinks with a bunch of other terrible men at this Home Farm members' club every week. The place used to be a beloved hole-in-the-wall called The Maltshovel, until Tate had bought it up and demolished it, and a few other small businesses around, building a modern monstrosity in its place.

Aaron's been pacing the short path hidden behind the bushes of the park across the road since he arrived. He's not worried. That would be ridiculous. RJ obviously just decided he'd take his shot as Joe leaves, which is his prerogative, and not necessarily a bad strategy, as Joe will have had three whiskeys and a dry martini by then. A drunker, slower target. Ideal, really.

Aaron just… assumed they would have gotten there at the same time. So he's been waiting. And waiting.

And, yes, Aaron technically could have taken a shot earlier when Joe arrived. He had line of sight, and time, and would have made a swift exit. He could have.

But… it's RJ's day. Aaron's not supposed to take a shot on RJ's day.

By the time you see him, it’s already too late.

To go with another Hitmen/Mercenary AU set I did years ago. This time it’s Kai because it suits him greatly.

tagged by @you-whot @illbeyourreasonwhy and @oldmendrivingincircles thank you please give yourselves a little kiss for me (special shout out to callie for being so brave and starting this up this week, we're so proud xxx)

from chapter 4 of hitmen!au which is sooo close to being done i feel it in my bones

Aaron nods a little to himself, looking through the binoculars to inspect the hotel restaurant. “I assume you’ve got one of those little dickie-bows ready to go for the disguise?”

“A clip-on, in my bag.”

“Hey, there was that string of arsenic killings a few years back, was that you?”

“Nah, cyanide’s my preference. It hurts, but it’s quick.”

“Hm,” Aaron hums, dropping the binoculars as RJ sits up and rubs at his eyes. “And you have a plan for the CCTV?”

“V’s got it sorted.”

“V?”

At that, RJ finally looks at him. He looks like he’s trying to figure out if he’s said too much, so Aaron does his best to remain impassive. RJ’s jaw clicks as he clenches it. “Yeah. V.”

“Okay,” Aaron says, not about to push his luck. “So, you don’t have to go in there until a few minutes after Tate arrives, right?”

“Right.”

“And these windows are tinted?” he asks, innocently, as he hands back the binoculars. RJ takes them, a ghost of a smile gracing his face.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Aaron says, pushing himself out of the passenger seat to kneel in the space between the two chairs, “then you’d better keep an eye out.” He pushes RJ’s jaw with two fingers, turning his head to look out the window, then trails those fingers softly down his neck, before slowly starting to pull down the zip of RJ’s worn out black hoodie.

"What the fuck?" Aaron hears himself say, as his hands reach for RJ against his will. "I'm fine," RJ grits out. "I'm fine. Did I miss him?" "Did you- RJ, you're bleeding," Aaron says, steadying RJ when he leans against him, wincing. "Oh, I know, all over my favourite jacket, too," RJ huffs, sounding equal parts pained and irritated. "Little shit knew it as well, that fucker. Double, did I miss him?"

Rated: E

thank you @sebdingle and @capseycartwright for the tags, kisses for you both xxx

finally made a start on hitmen chapter 5, and seriously wondering how i ever thought i could write the whole thing in a few days for the au event...

“Damn, Double,” is the first thing RJ says to him when he sees him, loitering in a back alleyway just down the road from the staff entrance to the venue. “You should wear suits more often.”

Aaron knows he looks good, he can admit that – the well fitted tuxedo shows off the strength in his shoulders, tapers at the waist, makes his legs look long and strong. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel like a penguin whenever he has to wear one. He pulls at his collar in discomfort and tries not to look too closely at RJ, because… well.

Why RJ doesn’t just quit this life and go work as a model for Tom Ford or Tommy Hilfiger or some other man named Tom, Aaron will never understand. He looks like he was born to wear a tux, the black fabric practically moulded to his skin, the near-ever-present cheeky grin giving a sense of mischief and danger to the proceedings. Add the fact that Aaron knows RJ has at least one gun on him, maybe a knife as well, and he’s practically James Bond in the flesh.

If James Bond was an assassin working for a shady underworld and not a member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Obviously.

“You said you needed time to prep?” he says, swallowing and hoping he doesn’t come across too eager. The sparkle in RJ’s eye tells him his eagerness has been noted.

“I do,” RJ digs in his pocket and pulls out an employee ID badge. “I assume you have a method of getting inside.”

Aaron rolls his eyes at him and pulls out a near identical badge of his own. Robert looks pleased. It’s a nice change of pace from yesterday, Aaron thinks, before shoving that thought to the back of his mind. Focus on the objective. It’s what had been written in the memo he’d received from corporate that morning. Usually, a job like this would be done on day 1 for Aaron, so coming up on day 5 with no results is starting to raise some eyebrows from on high.

“Shall we?” RJ says, still sparkling and grinning and looking like that and Aaron huffs and shoulders past him to walk ahead.

The plan tonight is simple. Get close to Joe Tate. Inject him with the slow release poison hidden in the dart up Aaron’s sleeve. Be completely caught up in a different conversation halfway across the room by the time he drops dead.

Simple.

love and kisses to @capseycartwright and @dreamer-of-ships for the tags

there was an outside chance that i would get this hitmen!au finished by today for the au event, but alas it is now longer (and smuttier) than originally intended so instead i will provide this little update

RJ tucks his gun back into the holster strapped tightly around his thigh and sits down by the rifle, looking through the scope at the street below. Aaron’s still got his sights trained on RJ as he stands there confused.

Aaron knows precisely five things about RJ. One, that his father was a legend in their trade, a ruthless guy known as Jack Of All, who had basically kicked RJ out of the family when he was a teenager. Two, that he’d been working closely with the White syndicate for years until being ousted for sleeping with both of Lawrence White’s daughters, as well as the man himself if rumours are to be believed. Three, that, despite all that, he keeps getting hired by the likes of the Kings, and the Thomases, and Mary Goskirk’s got a soft spot for him because, four, he’s very good at this job.

Number five was learned at a black tie event in Switzerland just two months ago, Aaron and RJ each in attendance with separate targets. Aaron’s had fallen asleep quietly in a dark corner, and hadn’t been discovered until the next morning, death ruled as a stroke. RJ’s had had a stunningly dramatic allergic reaction in the middle of the dance floor and had garnered the attention of everyone in attendance, dying spectacularly of asphyxiation. The two of them were staying at the same hotel and had run into each other at the bar afterwards. It had been nice, really, to talk to someone candidly about the pressures of the job, and then one thing led to another…

Five, he’s an excellent lay.

“8.50am, no sign of target,” RJ says, sitting up and relaxing in his chair. He glances up at Aaron again and frowns. “You can put the gun away now, it’s just little old me.”

Aaron blinks, and slowly lowers his weapon. “RJ, you need to leave.”

“What?! Why?” RJ pouts up at him, not bothering to try to disguise the mirth in his eyes. “Because this is the room with the best view of the roughly 15 seconds Joe Tate is going to be visible today? And because it’s close to both the front and rear exits so you have a choice of getaway? Well, too bad Double, I got here first.”

Aaron knows he looks good, he can admit that – the well fitted tuxedo shows off the strength in his shoulders, tapers at the waist, makes his legs look long and strong. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel like a penguin whenever he has to wear one. He pulls at his collar in discomfort and tries not to look too closely at RJ, because… well. Why RJ doesn’t just quit this life and go work as a model for Tom Ford or Tommy Hilfiger or some other man named Tom, Aaron will never understand. He looks like he was born to wear a tux, the black fabric practically moulded to his skin, the near-ever-present cheeky grin giving a sense of mischief and danger to the proceedings. Add the fact that Aaron knows RJ has at least one gun on him, maybe a knife as well, and he’s practically James Bond in the flesh. If James Bond was an assassin working for a shady underworld and not a member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Obviously.

Rated: E

The two main giveaways of RJ’s bad mood are that he hasn’t made eye contact (which Aaron is confused about, not concerned or disappointed) and he hasn’t said anything. Not a word. It’s enough to help distract Aaron from his own angst for a moment, and for that he’s grateful, but a silent RJ can’t possibly be good news, so he’s also a little bit freaked out by it. He waits though. Something they don’t tell you in the job interview for becoming a hitman, 99% of the job is waiting. Waiting for your mark, waiting for the coast to be clear, waiting for the poison to take effect. Aaron’s very good at his job, which means he’s very good at waiting.

Rated: E