#wayne jackson

So here he was, driving Wayne and Dale to the one place that he hadn’t ever wanted to bring them, ignoring all the questions that were coming his way. 

“Just….shut it. For a few minutes. You wanted a safe house that they didn't know about, and that's where I'm bringing us all.” The edge to his voice was far more firm than usual.

You hadn't been expecting any company. A nice quiet afternoon, spending reading and cleaning up the house a bit since it was your day off. It came as a surprise when the back door rattled. It had been locked, and there wasn't any sound of glass breaking before the familiar thud of the door hitting the wall could be heard. 

There were only two people that had keys to your house, and you didn't think that you would be seeing either of them any time soon. 

“Well, shit, you been holding out on us, Norman?”

“Nice place. Doesn't seem like a safe house.”

The two voices were unfamiliar, but the name uttered by the first was. Setting aside the book that you had been planning on starting, deciding to investigate what was going on. Did Norman bring people here if he thought that you weren't home? Your gut feeling told you that wasn't it, but anything with the Tyrus brothers was possible. 

“Norman?” You had just caught sight of the familiar blonde head of hair and lanky frame through the doorway that led to the kitchen and the backdoor. A heavy sigh could be heard even from where you stood. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted as he made himself appear back in your line of vision. He looked tired, a little haggard. Oh, something was most definitely wrong. 

“Sweetheart?” Your eyes jumped to the others in the room as you inched forward. A rowdy, motley looking duo of guys. But they were hanging back, respecyfully, even if the younger man was poking around in one of the drawers beside him. These weren't two that you had ever met. You could see the tension filling Norman's form and decided that perhaps it was best to try and defuse the situation. As quickly as possible. A brawl in the middle of your kitchen was not something that you wanted. 

“Well, you're all here now, and I figure I'll know why soon enough. Come on and make yourselves at home. Anyone hungry?”

“Oh, I could eat!” The enthusiasm brought a smile to your face in spite of the circumstances that you had a feeling you wouldn't particularly like. 

“All right. Living room is that way. Feel free to turn whatever you want to watch. I'll whip something up real quick.” You moved further into the kitchen. The men shifted, followed by the sound of a smack echoing out. 

“Fuck! All right.” Norman was glowering at the man in the denim jacket. You had most certainly missed something but the two wandered off towards the living room while Norman hung back. 

“Gonna cue me into what's going on?” You asked, tone light but demanding an answer from the man that you had known for the better part of half of your life. He leaned against the counter beside you, causing you to absently reach into the fridge and hand off a beer. 

“We need a place to lay low for a few days, possibly two weeks…” He opened the beer and took a long pull. Two weeks. It must be bad if this was where he ended up. You wanted to press for more information, but another part of you didn't want to know what the hell it was that had them needing to hunker down like this. Norman had always been careful to try to keep that part of his life away from you and yours. Something that you appreciated. 

“Okay. Guess that means I'm gonna have to do a bit of shopping. You guys need anything specific? And any food restrictions I gotta know about?” The itch on the back of your neck was intense as you grabbed out some ingredients to throw together a quick meal for the men. Norman was staring at you. You could tell from the feeling without having to look at him. 

“No, think we're good. Got some bags in the car with clothes. I'll give ya some money so you can get groceries.” At that moment, you knew better than to argue. Besides, it would help given how tight money has been for you over the last few weeks. Cut hours at work due to slow business were finally starting to catch up. “You know I wouldn't have brought this to your door if I coulda helped it.” 

“I know, Norman. It's okay.” As much worry as it caused, you knew better than to let that on, and honestly, you would prefer not to see him locked away. So, if staying at your place with his crew for however long this would take was what was needed, then so be it. 

“Dale and Wayne are harmless. Mostly. They’ll behave as long as they are here. They give you any trouble, you let me know. Okay?” You nodded absently as you chopped some veggies. 

“Got it.” Pausing long enough to look up, you gave him a smile. “I'm sure everything will be fine, Norman. Don't worry. Any issues, I'll come to you right away.” That seemed to ease the concern as he relaxed further and took another pull from his beer. After a second, he nodded and headed off to the living room, leaving you alone to cook and process everything that had happened. 

*********

A few days in, and things were actually going far more smoothly than you have imagined. Sure, having three men in your house created a sort of chaos that you weren't used to, but there was an odd routine to fall into among them. With Norman there, you were less worried about leaving them alone in your home when you headed out for your scheduled shifts. Dale and Wayne were nosy at best. Especially since it seemed that Norman hadn't let anyone know about you. Which, made sense and didn't bother you the way that they seemed to think it would have. It was an extra protection. 

Dale was easy enough to keep occupied. Food, movies, some sort of distraction, and he was less destructive. Not entirely so, as could be seen in the broken lamp, chair, and picture frame but less than what he could have been. At the same time, he was willing to help around the house, surprisingly easy to direct. And the job was done about ninety-five percent correctly. The tasks were mainly things that you hadn't had a chance to get to and ones that he couldn't mess up too badly. Dale seemed to be happy to do something and receive praise. 

Norman did what he always did when he was around. Genuinely relax to some degree. He refused to let you spend money on groceries and had given enough money to replace what Dale had broken with something that was actually nicer than what had been destroyed in the first place. No matter what you had to say about it. He did his best to keep the other two in line and from crawling up the walls. You had serious doubts that they stuck in one place, inside, for this long and they had a while still to go. There was only so much to do in your home. The rest of the time? He actually would read with you. Quiet shared moments that reminded you of when you were much younger and he snuck away from his older brother for so much needed peace. 

Wayne? Now, he was a bit of a different story. Wayne was pretty much always around unless Norman was spending time with you. A near constant presence that was admittedly a little difficult to adjust to since you were so used to being on your own. Not in the shared space sense but more in the sense of a constant presence around you. And oddly enough, as difficult as it was to adjust to, it wasn't something that bothered you. Once or twice, you had caught Norman telling him off. Thought wasn't really given to those instances. Wayne liked to talk, and he was far more handsy than just about anyone you had ever dealt with in life. Something that occurred more and more after the first two days, and mainly when he knew Norman wasn't around to catch him. It was almost as if it was a game. Were you encouraging it? Maybe a little since, after the first few times, you stopped slapping his hands away and almost leaned into the touches.

A war raged within you, trying to make the determination if letting him continue to pursue something was smart or not. The answer really was no. It wasn't like he would be the sort to come home every night and sit at a table with you. They were out days at a time, various acts of violence and illegal activities filling his day. It just complicated life for you more if you let that in further than what you already had with Norman. And what would he think? Besides being none too happy. 

You couldn't remember the last time that you had made a bad decision in life. Everything was so carefully thought and planned out. With the exception of the occasional blip in the radar, thanks to Norman. There was probably more harm in good with the choice of letting go and seeing where things took you, but for once, that was exactly what you wanted. It was going to be able keeping it hidden from Norman for the time being simply to avoid the hassle and headache. 

Wayne had taken the lack of resistance as a green light to ramp things up. Murmured teasing seemed to be one of his favorite things to do. Not only would he get handsy when he could, but now there were dirty little comments for your ears only. Careful utterances of just what had entered his mind that day, devolving into less wholesome territory the longer you allowed it to happen. 

Norman had been called up by Lyle and needed to handle something for his older brother. He had decided to take Dale before something else in your house broke and had tried to get Wayne to come as well but the argument had been made that it would be better for less people to go, since they were laying low. In case they did end up pulled over or in trouble. A sound argument and one that he couldn't really fight against. 

The door had barely closed, and Wayne was right at your side. There was no doubt that he had been lurking in anticipation of the very moment. Biding time until he had you all to himself. Now, there wasn't any hiding, any need for whispered words. Who knew how long you had but whatever it was, to him it was enough to at least progress what had been flirted with the past few days. All secrets could be out in the open. Freedom often brought a further sense of daring, and Wayne seemed to be no exception to that rule. Act first, think later. Consequences be damned. 

“Seems we got the place to ourselves.” He didn't waste any time. His arm was almost instantly around your waist, tugging you close to his side. The soft, worn fabric of the t-shirt still held strong to whatever cologne he had bothered with that morning. The grin could practically be heard in the words. All the confidence in the world that you weren't about to turn him down. And you weren't. But did he need to know that right now? Not a chance. 

“Brilliant powers of observation. I thought I might just take a nap since I might get lucky and have a little peace and quiet.” Playfully, you pulled away, though it seemed even the slightest hint had the man on edge and his arm tightened further. 

“Just where do you think you're going, huh?” The chuckle that reverberated in your ear was low, and before you knew it, Wayne was nearly pinning you to the doorway. The position put him just slightly behind you. There wasn't a chance that you were going to escape the grasp that he had on you. A dangerous position, and your eyes strayed to the door for just a moment, almost as if anticipating Norman and Dale walking right back in. But they didn't. You two were truly on your own. Just a hint of nerves hit right then. “Aww, don't go tensing on me now, sweetheart.” You took a second to breathe before relaxing, turning and tipping your head just a bit to try and see him. 

“Well, I guess I could be persuaded to change my afternoon plans.” The grin that spread across his features happened in a flash. His eyes dipped lower before finding yours once more. 

“Yeah? And what will make you change your mind?” There was both an underlying promise there if you wanted to look at it deep enough. With a smile, you shifted just enough to turn towards him. While you were ready for some risk, it had to be tampered just a little bit here. Because clearly, the man was thinking with a one track mind. Were you looking for any commitment? No. Even you knew that was likely a terrible idea until proven otherwise. But a hit and quit was definitely not what you were looking for either and giving in so easily? It would probably make that door far too easy to walk through. 

“Slow your roll a bit there, Wayne.” The pinch of his brow was rather adorable, a thought that you were not going to say to his face. Not yet. Besides, you didn't think he would appreciate the term adorable just yet. The change in position allowed you to settle your hands against his chest, trying to ease the disgruntled reaction that was surely coming. “I'm not saying no. Just….not yet, okay? Why don't you go get settled on the couch? I'll grab us some beers, and we can go from there.” For a moment, it seemed like he might just protest before his body relaxed and the smile eased. 

“All right.” The hold relented after another moment, and he finally stepped back. “Don't keep me waiting, sweetheart.”

“Don't plan on it.” You only slipped away to grab the promised beers after planting a quick kiss to his cheek. The small laugh that came from him made you smile. If his life was anything like Norman's, well, you knew that he probably didn't get a load of comfort or time to properly relax. What better place to start?

Finding him sprawled out on the couch, you were the one giving a soft chuckle this time. He gave a look as if to say what. 

“Ya told me to settle down.”

“I did.” Before anything else could be said, he was yanking you down into his lap. It was a good thing that the beers were closed or they would have been all over the place. 

“There, that's better.” Both arms were tightly wrapped around your waist, once again leaving you with little chance to get out of his grasp. The position was more than anticipated, but you decided to settle and not think too much. You held up the beer that you had grabbed for him, a silent question of if he wanted it or not. Instead of grabbing the beer, his fingers brushed over your cheek before grasping your chin to turn your head. The kiss should have been anticipated but still caught you off guard. Unsurprisingly demanding, but there was a hint of softness. Like he could drag this out for as long as he wanted. Frankly, he could if you were honest. And he probably knew that by the way that you responded. 

Like a couple of teenagers, you were content to hang out on the couch and make out. At some point, his hands had made their way under your shirt and slid up under your back and chesf. Calloused and warm. Perhaps you should have stopped their exploration, but really, you were enjoying the attention and the touch a little too much. A couple of movies passed without all that much attention paid to them before the sounds of a car door slamming and the rattle of the backdoor sounded out. It shook you out of the little world you were in, and almost immediately, like a guilty party, you slipped from the man's lap and settled onto the couch. The disgruntled sound that came from Wayne let you know his displeasure. But he had been just as quick to get hands off when Norman had been around before now. So why would that change? It didn't bother you in the least. The last thing that was needed was Norman getting on your case about something or tension caused in the house. The men still had to be here for who knew how long. Fighting was not something that you wanted to do or have to deal with between them. Norman was protective, a track record proven a few times over the last several years, so it wasn't worth testing the limit. Just in line with the thoughts that you had when debating if it was worth it or not in the first place. 

Norman and Dale appeared from around the corner. Dale looked a little roughed up, a split lip new compared to when they had left. Your head cocked and eyes jumped to Norman, a silent question that likely would go unanswered but worth asking all the same. He subtly shook his head. Right. He glanced between the two of you, which you ignored to the best of your ability and instead took a sip of the second beer that you had grabbed not too long ago. Thankfully. It would be hard to play it off as nothing happening between you if the beers are warm and untouched. Wayne was far less subtle than you were.

“You get your ass handed to you, Dale?” Norman rolled his eyes and flopped down into the chair with a groan while Dale settled his ass right between you and Wayne. Chuckling softly, unable to help the amusement, you decided that getting beer for the other two was probably a smart idea. So, you got yourself up and headed to the kitchen, just as Dale was beginning to mutter and bemoan whatever it was that caused the split lip. You could feel Wayne's eyes on you as you walked to the kitchen, causing you to shake your head to yourself. Before grabbing the beers, you decided to order a few pizzas for dinner for you all. Might as well since you didn't feel like cooking.