#squigglysky

Michael lets out a shuddering exhale, giving Ray a strained smile.

“I figured. You can smell him coming up the stairs already.” It’s a relief to know Gavin made it to Ray safely. Still. He knows how diligently Gavin takes his suppressants. This shouldn’t have happened. “What’s going-”

A waft of alpha pheromones catches him off-guard. His jaw snaps shut and he tilts his head, carefully scenting the air. The smell is neatly hidden under the heat scent, mixing into it until it’s barely its own note anymore. Michael growls under his breath.

“Relax, dude,” Ray says, fingers digging into his shoulder. “He’s safe.”

“Who-” Michael snarls, struggling with the words. His head snaps around to a closed door, where the scent originates from.

“Michael, don’t-” Ray warns, something sharp in his voice. Michael ignores him, shaking off his hand.

The door opens to a bedroom. The smell of sex and heat that hits him as he enters is almost cloying. And there on the bed lies Gavin, naked except for the sheets twisted around his legs. But he’s not alone. Piercing blue eyes meet his as the stranger curls possessively around Gavin. Michael bares his teeth and takes a step forward. The alpha’s eyes narrow.

“Micool?” Gavin murmurs, voice hoarse. Michael sees red. Did this asshole fuck his friend without caring for his basic needs? How long has this been going on? And what is Ray’s part in all of this?

The alpha tilts his head, glancing past Michael.

“Ray?” he inquires tightly. Michael’s shoulders tense, but he purposely doesn’t look back, eyes on the alpha threat.

“This is Michael,” Ray introduces him, a note of exasperation to his tone. “Don’t worry, he’s a friend.”

The alpha relaxes, lying back down on the bed. Gavin yawns, rubbing his cheek against the alpha’s chest affectionately. Michael frowns, while the alpha’s attention turns to the omega in his arms. Gavin blinks and smiles up at the alpha, before lifting his head to look at Michael.

“Hey boi,” Gavin says quietly.

“Hey,” Michael replies warily. He glances between the alpha, Ray, and then back to Gavin. “What’s up?”

Gavin smiles and holds out a hand towards Michael. He steps forward slowly, sitting down at the edge of the bed. He takes Gavin’s hand, keeping a wary eye on the alpha. Gavin follows his gaze, a soft look to his eyes as he meets the alpha’s eyes.

“This is Ryan, boi,” he offers, tearing his gaze away from the alpha. Ryan. Whatever. “He’s, uh…”

“My boyfriend,” Ray drawls from where he’s leaning in the doorway.

“You always let him fuck your omega friends?” Michael bites out. That cold blue gaze turns back to him, and Ryan arches a brow. Michael swallows down the instinct to bow his head and lifts his chin instead.

“Nah,” Ray responds casually. He straightens and saunters over, sitting down behind Ryan. “Gavin’s an exception.”

From the corner of his eyes he sees Gavin flush a deep red. It spreads all the way down to his chest.

“Yeah about that,” Michael starts, pointedly not looking at his friend. He doesn’t want to know. “What the fuck happened? I thought you were on suppressants and shit, boi.”

“I am!” Gavin protests, dropping Michael’s hand to hide his face behind his palm.

“Oh yes. Those pills.” Michael’s gaze darts sharply up to Ray at the tone of his voice. His face is frighteningly blank of emotions. “Which he gets from his superintendent. Who happens to be an alpha.”

“Son of a-” It doesn’t take long to click. “You’re not going back there, boi.”

“But Micool-”

“No buts.” Michael takes a deep breath. “I looked for you there first, the locks were broken and someone’s gone through your stuff. We’re finding you somewhere else to live, or you can move in with me for a while-”

“You can stay here, if you want,” Ryan offers quietly, exchanging a look with Ray. An entire conversation passes between them, before they expectantly turn to Gavin, who looks a little overwhelmed.

“I-” Gavin bites his lip. “That’d be lovely, actually. If you’re sure…?”

“We’re sure, Vav,” Ray assures him. “You can stay for as long as you need, or want to.”

Michael bites his lip and swallows his protest. He’ll ask Gavin about it once they’re alone and make sure he knows he can always come to Michael, no questions asked. It won’t do any good to bring it up with the alpha present.

“What about my stuff?” Gavin pipes up, snuggling close to the alpha. He hesitates. “I don’t have much of value, but…”

But his only ties back to England are in there. To his family, to Dan. Michael nods his understanding.

“I’ll go pack it up,” he offers. Then he looks up, purposefully ignoring Ryan and directing his next question towards Ray. “Can I drop it all in the living room?”

“Yeah, sure. Actually, I’ll come with you. Should be quicker,” Ray says, reaching out to ruffle Gavin’s hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to grab your sex toys.”

“X-Ray!” Gavin squawks, ducking his head and hiding his blush against Ryan’s shoulder. The alpha chuckles, shifting to get more comfortable.

Michael stands up slowly. The alpha isn’t doing anything untoward, maybe, but that doesn’t mean Ryan can be trusted. Still, there’s nothing he can do about it right now. Gavin seems comfortable enough, content to cuddle with the alpha. Michael follows Ray out of the bedroom.

“Did you bring your car?” Ray inquires blandly, walking up to a cabinet. He opens the doors and pulls out parts of his sniper rifle, assembling it with quick and practiced fingers.

“Yeah, I parked around the corner.”

The shabby little thing blends in well enough in this neighbourhood, if a little on the lower end. He’s not worried that anyone is gonna jack the old thing.

“Good. That’ll save us some time.” Ray slings the hot pink sniper over his shoulder. Michael eyes him incredulously, but doesn’t mention it. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

The drive to the apartment complex Gavin calls home isn’t far. They’re silent for the most part, Ray fiddling with his sniper, and Michael shooting him odd glances. Finally, when he has to stop at another red light, he can’t contain himself anymore.

“Since when are you some fucking alpha’s bitch, Ray?”

Ray glances at him from the corner of his eyes, placidly quirking a brow.

“Why, you need some alpha dick, too? Because I’m afraid I’m fresh out.”

Michael grips the steering wheel harder, knuckles turning white. He takes a deep breath, trying not to think, to shove the memories lurking in the back of his head far away.

“Not funny,” he grits out between clenched teeth.

“No, it’s not,” Ray agrees pointedly. Michael shoots him a glare. Ray rolls his eyes and exhales sharply. “Fine, asshole. We’ve been dating for a while. Only brought him home a month ago. Met on a job.”

Michael hisses out a breath, giving Ray a worried once-over. Ray smiles tiredly.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. He’s not like one of those assholes.”

Michael gives him a disbelieving look. In his experience, alphas are scum, and among criminals it’s even worse - they rarely bother keeping up the polite fiction society forces on them. If you don’t put them in place immediately, they don’t view you as a colleague. Michael knows Ray has similar experiences, it’s why he’s sticking with the sniper shtick despite being equally talented with ARs and shotguns.

“Then maybe, maybe you could tell me what he is like, Ray,” Michael suggests tightly, fingers flexing on the wheel. “Give me something to work with here, because from where I’m standing, it’s not looking good.”

“What? What do you want me to say?” Ray huffs, but relents. “He asked me out, I told him no thanks. He didn’t flip his shit and was pleasant to work with so I got curious. Observed him for a bit. Turned out he’s competent as fuck, and you know what a turn on that is for me. So I went and asked him out.” Ray ducks his head, hiding his smile. “It’s working out great so far.”

“And Gavin?” Michael bites out, not willing to let his suspicions go just because the guy doesn’t sound like a total ass. Ray throws up his hands.

“Would it help you calm the fuck down knowing that he offered to call Ramsey’s escort service first? Or that we gave Gav the option to hole up with my toys, keeping him safe from anyone who comes knocking? He had a choice, Michael.”

“Did he?” Michael shoots back, pulling up at the curb and turning the engine off. He glares at Ray. “Because we both know Gavin. He may be an idiot, but he doesn’t just forget to take his suppressants.”

Ray’s jaw clicks as it moves. “No,” he agrees quietly, a dangerous note to his voice, “He doesn’t.”

Together they turn to look at the apartment building.

“As far as I can tell, Gav was on his way home from a job when the heat hit,” Ray offers darkly. He pushes his glasses back up his nose. “He was lucky my apartment was closer.”

“Lucky,” Michael echoes, lip curling up to show his teeth. “That’s one way to put it.”

The door to Gavin’s hole-in-the-wall apartment is broken, cracked at an angle where it won’t quite close. Ray exchanges a grim look with him, before nodding resolutely. They don’t have any boxes, so Michael grabs a shopping bag stuffed behind the electric kettle and shoves in electronics and valuables haphazardly. Ray finds a duffel bag in the closet and starts packing Gavin’s clothes. It takes them three trips to the car between them and too many tote bags to count, but finally the only things left are the electric kettle and cutlery. With a shrug Michael unplugs that too. Serves the asshole landlord right if it turns out not to be Gavin’s.

“You coming?” Michael calls out when Ray lingers in the door, face inscrutable. He glances at Michael over his shoulder, then picks up his rifle where it’s leaning against the wall. He traces the barrel and shakes his head.

“You go ahead. I have something to take care of, first.”

There’s something dark and threatening in his voice. Michael perks up.

“Oh no, I don’t think so.” Ray sends him a sharp look, and Michael bares his teeth. “If you go asshole hunting, I’m coming with you.”

Ray eyes him for a long moment, before he shrugs languidly. “Fair enough.”

Finding the right door is easy enough, it’s the only one that looks fucking decent in this shabby building. There’s an old sign on it, with the edges gnawed off and the colour washed out, leaving it barely readable. Michael leans against the wall next to the hinges and gives Ray a firm nod. Ray eyes his sniper for a long second, before handing the gun to Michael with a sigh. He watches as Ray pulls off his beanie, messes up his hair, and then nods back.

Ray knocks on the door.

The sound of a crash, grumbling, followed by heavy footsteps, before the door creaks open.

“What do you want?” a rough voice asks. Michael wrinkles his nose as the stench of unwashed alpha hits him.

“I heard you’re selling,” Ray says quietly, arms crossed over his stomach and head lowered, bangs hiding the sharp look in his eyes. Out of the two of them, Ray is way better at playing helpless little omega. (Michael ignores the thought that he could do it, too, if he just put effort into it. He doesn’t ever want to be that helpless again, not even in play pretend.)

“Yeah?” The alpha looks Ray over with a leer, taking in his hunched shoulders and thin stature. Marks him as not a threat, and he’s not the first to make that mistake. The alpha peers past him, down the hall, and Michael presses himself flat against the wall, holding his breath. “Why don’t you come in, pretty boy?”

Ray bites his lips, glances over his shoulder for show. Asks warily, “You got the stuff?”

“I do.” The guy huffs impatiently. “But not in the hallway.”

Ray fidgets with his beanie but nods, slowly stepping inside. He lingers in the doorway, stops the door from closing behind him. Michael carefully grabs the handle, listening to the dull footsteps on carpet. When the low murmur of voices are barely distinguishable, Michael quietly slides the door back open and slips inside. One door is open a crack on the far side, Ray’s voice becoming clearer as Michael sneaks up.

“-are off-brand?”

“Yes.” The alpha is starting to sound annoyed. “That’s the only way you can get ‘em this cheap. The good stuff is expensive.”

Michael’s fingers tighten around the barrel of Ray’s sniper and he takes a deep breath before peeking through the slit. The man’s back is turned to him, leaning forward, arms propped up on the back of a chair. Ray meets his eyes over his shoulder. Michael nods.

“What’s the price, then?” Ray questions the dealer, rocking back on his feet and letting his arms drop to his sides. “For, let’s say, a monthly dose.”

The alpha pushes off the chair, walks around it. Looks Ray over as he steps closer, and Michael can just imagine the leer. His lips curl up into a snarl as he sneaks into the room, sneaks up on the fucker who set Gavin up. Who’s acting so fucking shady with Ray now, is eyeing up his friend like a piece of meat. Must have watched Gavin like that, too, and that his boi thought he had no other option- His blood boils and his vision goes red with rage.

“A month? Normally it’d cost you-”

Ray barely waits long enough for Michael to get into position behind the chair, lashes out and kicks the alpha square in the stomach. He stumbles back, eyes-wide and surprised, knees hitting the chair. Michael tosses the gun in Ray’s direction and lunges forward, putting the alpha into a headlock. The alpha struggles, hands coming up to claw at Michael’s arm, and Michael growls, leaning back to use his weight against him-

Ray catches the gun mid-air and aims, pulling the safety switch. The click echoes through the room, and the alpha freezes.

“Why don’t you relax?” Ray suggests dryly, but his eyes are cold and calculating. He steps up, puts one foot on the chair between the alpha’s legs, pushes the barrel against his chest. “We just want to have a little talk.”

Michael slowly loosens his hold, fumbling through his jacket for the zip ties he keeps there for emergencies. He pulls the alpha’s arms roughly behind the chair, tying each wrist to one wooden leg.

“Who are you?” the alpha asks as the initial shock wears off. He sneers. “Did Roland send you? The turf war must be getting to him more than I thought, if he has to ask a pair of omegas to take care of his business.”

“Shut up,” Michael snarls, grabbing the guy’s hair and ripping his head back to look him in the face. “We’re here for you, asshole.”

“You messed with the wrong people, you see,” Ray explains calmly, and Michael lets go of the slimy hair. “You sold the wrong pills to a friend of ours.”

“I don’t know what you’re ta-”

Ray kicks the chair back, and Michael barely catches it before the guy can bash his head on the dirty floor. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. With a grunt, Michael pulls the chair back up, lets it land with a heavy thud, jarring the alpha. The sound of teeth clicking shut echoes in the quiet room.

“You better remember quick,” Michael growls darkly. Ray takes a step back and levels his sniper rifle with the alpha’s crotch. “Because we’re out of patience.”

“It’s the little British bitch, isn’t it?” the alpha spits, and Michael has to clench his fists before he does anything stupid, his vision swimming from the rage boiling his blood. “Little slutty thing, should have known- your alpha send you? Not good enough to claim the cocksucker himself, is he? Gotta send his bitch harem to-”

A shot rings through the air. The alpha cuts off with a shocked gurgle.

Michael doesn’t realize he’s moved until he’s suddenly next to Ray, palm pressed to his chest and holding the omega back as he strains against him. He glances over his shoulder, sees the blood running down the knee, pooling at the alpha’s feet-

“He’s mine, you fucking asshole!” Ray hisses, and Michael has to strain to keep him from throwing himself at the alpha. “Don’t you ever fucking dare touch him!”

“Ray,” Michael grunts, pushing his friend away. He shoots him a warning look, then turns to face the wide-eyed alpha. He’s sitting hunched over, shaking in his chair and there’s a dark patch on his pants that doesn’t look like blood. Michael wrinkles his nose as the stench hits. “You shot his kneecap out?”

“Should have gone for the dick,” Ray grumbles, shrugging him off. He eyes the alpha darkly and sneers. “Pathetic.”

Michael scoffs. “Let’s finish this already.”

He steps up to the alpha, the asshole who started all this, who went after his boi, and punches him across the jaw, then across the temple. The alpha goes unconscious in just three hits. Michael’s nostrils flare, nails digging into his palm as the protective anger wells up. Grabs the alpha by the hair, pulls up so he can see that stupid face and punches it straight in the middle, breaking his nose.

“Michael,” Ray calls out. Michael turns to him, eyes wild. Ray raises his hands in surrender, sniper safely secured to his back once again. “Breathe.”

Michael sucks in a sharp breath of air, realizing he’s panting heavily. Sweat drips down his brow, and he lets go of the alpha, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. Grits his teeth as he turns his back on the unconscious asshole.

“Let’s rob him blind,” he snarls, and Ray nods.

“I’ll go find the drugs. You look for anything else of interest,” Ray decides, and Michael follows his orders, glad to not have to think for a little longer. He snatches wallets, phones, clears out the kitchen cabinet of non-perishables for good measure. Eyes the TV screen critically before deciding it won’t fit into his cramped car easily. He does empty out the remote and grabs all the spare batteries out of spite, though.

“Let’s go,” he calls out to Ray, who returns with a dark duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

“Let’s,” Ray agrees.

They leave the alpha tied up and bleeding, closing the door behind them.

***

Gavin’s out of bed by the time they return home with his stuff. He’s sitting on the couch in black boxers and one of Ray’s purple hoodies, too small for him to the point of showing a sliver of skin. He’s eating cereal from a bowl, while Ryan is puttering around the kitchen. All the windows are wide open, trying to air out the lingering heatscent from the small apartment.

They both look up as Ray closes the door with a click.

“Hey Vav,” he greets nonchalantly. He holds up one of the tote bags full of electronics. “Went and got your stuff.”

“Most of it is still in the car,” Michael interjects. Ray glances at him from the corner of his eyes, noting the relaxed line of his shoulders. Good.

“I’ll help get it,” Ryan offers, cleaning his hands off with the kitchen towel. Michael hesitates, looking him over for a long second, before nodding decisively.

“Sure. Come on.”

Gavin watches them leave, spoon halfway to his mouth. His brow knits, and he turns towards Ray with a concerned look.

“Is Michael okay?” he asks carefully, dropping the spoon back in the bowl. His eyes dart between Ray and the door. “I mean, with me being here and… everything.”

Being with Ray. With Ryan, more importantly, though he doesn’t say that. Ray understands him either way.

“I think he was just worried,” Ray offers awkwardly, sitting down next to Gavin, who immediately shifts to lean into his side. “He knows you’re safe now, though. That helps.”

Gavin bites his lip, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “It probably reminded him of… you know,” he mumbles, glancing worriedly at the door. Ray doesn’t know, not exactly. Michael doesn’t like to talk about his past. But it isn’t hard to put the pieces together and conclude that something - or someone - happened to him.

“He’ll be fine,” Ray replies instead after an awkward pause, wrapping an arm around Gavin’s waist. “He just needs some time to get to know Ryan. Once he gets that Ryan isn’t like the other assholes, he’ll relax.” A grin slips across his face, and he nudges Gavin with his elbow. “And besides, he worked his frustrations out on your super earlier, that certainly helped.”

“You dealt with him?” Ryan’s voice echoes from the doorway. Ray glances over his shoulder to see his boyfriend laden with bags upon bags.

“Oh yeah,” Michael pipes up gleefully behind him, and Ryan steps further into the apartment to let him pass. The omega’s grin is bloodthirsty. “He won’t be a problem anymore.”

“You didn’t have to,” Gavin mumbles, ducking his head. Ray eyes him sideways, noticing his blush.

“You better believe we did,” he drawls, catching Michael’s gaze across the room. The other omega nods. “‘Sides, that’s what friends do, Vav.”

“Idiot,” Michael adds, but he sounds fond. Ryan hums his agreement. Gavin’s flush deepens, but a smile steals across his lips, the corners curling upwards.

“Thanks, guys.”

Long story short, we have exacto knives at work that only cut when the button is depressed and there’s pressure. So they are suppose to slide back automatically so a person can’t cut themselves.

The one I was using was a bit dull and caught on some cardboard. I pulled, and the blade got caught and didn’t slide back so I hit my thumb.

I didn’t hit any tendons or arteries, just did a decent cut down the side of my thumb. So no terrible damage. Just taking a bit to heal and I’m gonna have a badass scar.

REMEMBER LOVELIES, WHEN USING A BLADE, CUT *AWAY*. Do what Fira says, not what she does. (I know this even, the second I got myself I looked down like ‘sonuva... you dumb fuck’)