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Title: Of Mice and Men
Fandoms: Castle, Fables
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Fantasy, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Slash, genre!crack, AU, crack, unsolicited crossover, fairy tales, talking animals, author insanity, shades of "omfg what did I just write?", unbetad.
Characters/Pairings: Castle—Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan. Fables—Frau Totenkinder, Rose Red, Clara, Bagheera, Stinky, others.
Wordcount: 3,175
Chapter One: Curiouser and Curiouser
(In which Javier experiences guilt, denial and car trouble, and a black panther is poorly substituted for a white rabbit.)
12th Precinct—Manhattan, New York
2011
Even focused on his call as he was, Javier had only to hear his partner's voice to know something was seriously wrong. The case which the call concerned being mostly wrapped up anyway, Javier let the speaker fall away from his ear. Unfortunately, Kevin was too far down the hallway for him to make out the words of his partner's conversation with any clarity, but Javier's instinct was supported by the slope of his shoulders and the pain written in the lines of his forehead. Javier watched as his partner closed his cellphone, eyes roaming the hallway for a moment as though he didn't know where he was before he ran a hand over his face and returned to the bullpen.
Javier ended his call as quickly as he could, trying to keep the meaninglessness of the "hmms" and "uh-huhs" from being obvious to either the officer on the other end or his partner. Setting the phone on its hook, Javier watched his partner discreetly, trying to assess the damage. Kevin had his attention on the paperwork in front of him, but the way he was moving the sheets around had distraction written all over it. Bad news, but not news that his partner felt merited interrupting his work day. Something personal, then, painful but not devastating.
Javier decided to risk it.
"What's up?" he asked, unsurprised when his partner looked up with an expression of confusion.
It constantly amazed him that Kevin could be so oblivious of how transparent he really was. Kevin claimed that wasn't the case with everyone, but sometimes he was so easy to read that Javier had a hard time believing it. Even the stories he heard about his partner's time undercover in Narcotics had always been met with a healthy dose skepticism. It was just difficult for him to imagine Kevin keeping a secret from anybody.
"Was that Jenny again?" Javier asked when it seemed no more information was forthcoming. "Because I told you, dude, it is still harassment when—"
Given the spectacularly ugly break-up and his ex-fiance's unwillingness to let it die it was usually a good bet, but Kevin gave a startled blink, finally pulling out of his subdued silence.
"What? No. Javi..." Kevin took a deep breath, closing the file in front of him and resting his weight against his elbows on the desk in front of him. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he released the breath slowly. "It's not about Jenny."
For a moment an odd expression of concentration crossed his face, as though he were considering his words very carefully.
"I just got a call from my cousin back home," Kevin admitted slowly, and Javier thought it strange that he seemed reluctant to part with even that much. "He— My old partner..."
While he was caught off guard by Kevin's unusual struggle for words, Javier easily understood the pain his partner felt behind it.
"Shit," Javier managed softly. "I'm... Shit. I'm sorry, bro."
Relief crossed Kevin's face briefly and he nodded, eyes searching his desk emptily. They both knew Javier had been there. Seconds passed quietly between them before Javier spoke again.
"When's the funeral?"
Again, Kevin's expression seemed oddly conflicted.
"This weekend," he answered reluctantly, a few empty beats passing before he sat back, not meeting Javier's eyes as he added. "I probably won't go, though."
"Why not?" Javier asked, surprised. "You're from, what, Albany?"
"Uh, near Albany, yeah..." Kevin answered slowly.
"That's not that far," Javier argued. "I'm sure Gates would give you the time."
"I don't know..." Kevin said, trailing off uncertainly. There was a pause in which he seemed to wrestle with some decision. Finally, in a low voice, he admitted uncomfortably, "I just... I didn't leave under the best circumstances. I don't know if I'd still be welcome."
The plea in his partner's eyes just then was as clear as if it were written down in front of him, practically begging him not to push for details. If Kevin wasn't ready to talk about it, Javier wouldn't. Still, that couldn't stop him from making an observation.
"But you want to go," he said, certain of it as he spoke, though the way Kevin's head dipped slightly soon confirmed it.
"I...yeah. Kind of. It's been—" Kevin cut himself off, blowing out a slow breath. "It's been a long time since I've been up there. I've got family I haven't seen in ages..."
"Then go," Javier told him firmly. "Visit your family, say goodbye to your partner. Screw what anyone else thinks."
And that was really the end of that, though it took Kevin another few hours to commit to the decision strongly enough to approach Gates. While their new Captain wasn't quite a poster-girl for the milk of human kindness, it was a simple enough request to honor.
"You might as well take that time off too, Esposito," she called out archly as Kevin was leaving her office. "Having just one of you is like having only half a cop anyway."
That evening, they met Kate and Castle at the Old Haunt for a quiet drink. Kevin never spoke of his old partner, and none of them asked even though they all knew the topic weighted heavily on his mind. At one point, Castle managed to drag his partner away for what Javier would later be forced to admit was some surprisingly effective cheering up. While they were gone, Kate approached him discreetly with a question.
"Are you planning on going with him?"
The first thought that entered Javier's mind was that Kate was joking with him, the kind of familial ribbing they frequently resorted to to break the tension. It would have even been a good time for it. But there was a certain element of playfulness lacking in her tone, and when he met her eye she seemed quite serious in a way she never put on for show. His second thought was to deny it, of course. Only, the words died on his lips before he could speak them as he confronted the fact that it had indeed been in his head to do just that.
"You've been treating him like he's made of glass ever since his engagement fell apart," she said, by way of explanation. "As if he's about to break and you've got to be the one to put him back together."
Still frozen in the process of shifting gears, something like confusion must have shown in his face.
"I won't make any awkward accusations for you to deny," Kate told him directly, eyes locked on his with certainty despite the faint line creasing the space between her eyebrows. "Just... Whatever you're thinking of doing, make sure you do it."
And it didn't even take a detective to see what that was. Though, how Kate of all people could have wound up projecting her constant hit and miss with Castle on him and his partner... That just didn't make any sense. Because he and Kevin...weren't. And he had never—
His mind stuttered over the idea far longer than was probably a good sign. Too long in any case, for just as he was finally—maybe, almost—about to respond, or demand just where the hell it had come from, Castle had chosen to return with his partner. Javier wound up drinking a lot more than he had originally planned when he first entered the bar—and more than was strictly proper given the reason they were there. His only dubious consolation was that, for the most part, Kevin had been too distracted to notice.
As he pushed himself through work the next day, Javier found himself wishing he had indulged a little more, because the sweet mercy of a hangover might almost have been enough to drive other thoughts from his mind.
If the observation had come from almost anyone else, Javier would have been a lot more comfortable dismissing it. From Castle, he never would have given it a second thought. From Lanie— Well, Lanie liked to pretend she knew a lot of things she really didn't. Kate was another animal altogether. She wasn't the sort of person who normally made other people's private business her business, and she had never been the type to speculate idly.
Apparently Kate thought she saw something, and he knew she wouldn't have spoken up about it if there hadn't been some pretty damning evidence...
Looking back over the weeks that had passed since things had died with Jenny, he had to admit that, on the surface, her first accusation had a point. It had been so painful seeing his partner hurt like that—a hurt he had simply done his best to try to fix. Javier didn't see how anyone with a soul could not. It was possible that some of his efforts might have driven straight past supportive and right into solicitous, but in Kevin's case he knew it had been necessary. After all, a lot of people went through bad break ups, bad divorces, bad whatevers, but Javier had never met anyone so sure that they had found the One.
Not that Javier had ever believed in happily ever after, but Kevin certainly had.
Javier still didn't know the circumstances of the argument that had brought everything crashing down. He could only imagine that Kevin had been asked to make some compromise on something that hit close enough to the root of who he was that he finally had been unwilling to budge. That alone wouldn't have been enough, of course, but having become personally acquainted with Jenny's unholy lust to control every little thing, he couldn't imagine that she'd have let it go without a fight...
Javier pulled reign on that thought process quickly. Kevin had loved her with all his heart, and just because it was over didn't mean it was fair for him to think those things about her. Not that he had never had those thoughts while she and his partner were together—and perhaps voiced a couple of them. While he was being honest with himself, he supposed he had to admit that a few of the things he had said about Jenny in the past might have sounded a bit catty. Though Javier didn't think he had been completely out of line with some of it...
What had been up with that best-man crap anyway? Just because Kevin had planned to marry the woman didn't grant her dominion over his entire life...
While the topic ricocheted back and forth through his brain for most of the day, it was only later, in the privacy of his own home that he really took the time to examine things close up. He was glad that he had waited. Left quietly holding his head in his hands, he didn't think he could have handled answering anyone's questions. Though if he tried, the conclusions he had come to might best be expressed by a shift in vocabulary.
The deeper he dug, and the farther back he looked, the more he saw catty being replaced by words like jealous, and solicitous by words like clingy. And smitten. And lovesick.
And doomed.
Waking up Saturday morning, Javier weighed the merits of never getting out of bed again. Unfortunately, his resolve only lasted until around 8:30. That was roughly the time he remembered that all that time he had spent feeling sorry for himself, Kevin had been mourning a friend.
Once he got through letting guilt over that lapse bludgeon him in the face, Javier also remembered that his partner was set to leave later that day. The funeral wouldn't be until tomorrow, but Kevin had always been the type to plan things out in detail. An early start today would get him there ahead of most of the traffic, he had said during one of the few moments Javier's mind had been still enough to listen, and any time he had to spare could be spent visiting family and friends.
It was all very sound reasoning, but it didn't give Javier much time to figure out what happened next.
Since he had so far failed so badly at it, Javier decided he had to tell Kevin how he felt, if for no other reason than to prove to himself he still knew how to handle things like a goddamned adult. It wasn't like he had to declare his undying love, just...interest. It was there. Javier had never tried very hard to hide the fact that he was bi. It had never been an issue with is partner before, and if he knew Kevin at all this wouldn't make it one now. Even if his partner wanted nothing to do with that kind of relationship, at least it would settle things. Then he could try to put the whole awkward thing behind him.
Javier wasn't even sure he wanted to acknowledge the tiny little sliver of himself that hoped for another answer entirely.
Around ten o'clock—after a shower, a pathetic attempt at breakfast, and a number of false starts far more numerous than he would have liked—Javier pushed himself to string together the necessary, agonizing steps of grabbing his keys and heading out, hoping to catch his partner before he had a chance to leave.
Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be on his side. When Javier reached his apartment, Kevin's car was gone from it's usual space, and when he called his cell, just to make sure, his phone went straight to voice-mail. Later, he would look back on that simple fact as a warning from the universe that he had foolishly failed to heed. Kevin was addicted to that damned phone—probably worse than anyone else Javier had ever known, except for Castle. If nothing else, the failure to reach Kevin before his departure should have signaled him it was time to pack it in and admit defeat, at least for the time being.
But strategic withdrawal was for sane people, and after one stunning realization and two sleepless nights, Javier was running on only about half a tank of that anyway. And as he contemplated getting in his car and driving home, Javier was forced to face two unmistakeable truths.
The first was fairly simple: He was enough basketcase already. Sitting on the issue over the weekend until Kevin returned home would be nothing short of torture. The second, while no less simple, was one that he easily might have pretended not to see. Every hour Javier waited was another chance to second guess himself. Another chance to lose his nerve.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, make sure you do it."
While he hadn't been thinking much of anything before Kate had said it, Javier thought it was excellent advice. One of these days, she might even follow it herself.
In the mean time...
"Near Albany", his partner had said. He could do that. Guessing the greater portion of Kevin's route wouldn't be that hard, and weekend traffic being what it was, he might even have a chance to catch him up.
It was a little crazy, but it was a start.
Apparently, though, fortune favored the truly pathetic, because after almost a full hour of driving (convinced the whole time that this was one of the stupidest things he had ever done) Javier hit a lull in which he actually managed to spot Kevin's sedan several cars ahead of him. Keeping a good shadow on a suspect always had been one of Javier's better skills, so after that things got easy quick. Though the realization that in less than forty-eight hours he had managed to move straight from cluelessly crushing into legitimate crazy stalker territory was a little troubling all on its own.
He hadn't been trying to avoid notice, but the main roads were moderately crowded and in a sane world,
his partner had no reason to suspect he was being followed. Though, given the odd turns both their lives had taken ever since Castle had come on board, Javier thought that perhaps Kevin should have been looking. Just in case. He had hoped that once they turned off the highway and away from the main flow of traffic his partner might notice his presence, but once they veered off the route heading into Albany the road quickly gained more bends and turns, and even Javier had difficulty maintaining line-of-sight with his partner's car. When he passed a crumbling stone wall bearing a sign designating private land Javier was relieved, since obviously wherever Kevin was headed he would likely be there soon.
Though those high hopes lasted all of about three seconds.
Just as he passed his engine made an odd chugging sound, only to die moments later. As the car rolled to a stop, Javier thought he heard the faint ticking of cooling metal as if the car had overheated, but the dials on the dash said otherwise. Hopping out of the car, he ran a hand over the hood...which was warm, but not more so than it should have been. Passing a frustrated hand over his face, Javier did the obvious and pulled out his phone. As if to make up for his earlier luck in finding Kevin on the highway, there was absolutely no reception to be had.
His options were clearly few. Javier decided that his is best bet was to simply take off up the road on foot and hope that his earlier guess had been right about how close they had to be...
At least the weather wasn't terrible. Though it was past noon, the air was still cool, but he had been smart enough to bring a jacket at least, and once he was walking things warmed up quickly. After following the road for nearly a mile the thick forest that loomed on both sides started to thin a little, just enough so that he thought he could make out fields and what was possibly a barn on the other side. The way the road angled it looked like it doubled back on itself just a little—which wouldn't be the first time, and Javier was just about fed up with that shit. Even if the farm he saw wasn't where Kevin was headed, the owners might be able to point the way—or at least let him use their phone to call a tow.
It was cooler still under the trees as Javier cut through the woods. Leaves and damp earth slid under his feet. It crossed his mind that if by some impossible insight he had known he was going to wind up hiking, he would definitely have chosen better shoes... As he approached through the trees, Javier could make out the barn more clearly, and the large house beyond it. He thought he saw Kevin's car parked there. Before he could get close enough to get a better look, however, he heard a soft nose behind him.
Turning around, Javier's eyes took a moment to adjust from the brighter view of the light beyond the trees. That was only part of why he found himself staring, however. Once his mind managed to appropriately process what his eyes were seeing, all rational thought abruptly fled.
Surprise, confusion, and terror were all that was left behind as Javier found himself practically nose to nose with a very large black panther.
Chapter Two
Fandoms: Castle, Fables
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Fantasy, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Slash, genre!crack, AU, crack, unsolicited crossover, fairy tales, talking animals, author insanity, shades of "omfg what did I just write?", unbetad.
Characters/Pairings: Castle—Javier Esposito/Kevin Ryan. Fables—Frau Totenkinder, Rose Red, Clara, Bagheera, Stinky, others.
Wordcount: 3,175
Chapter One: Curiouser and Curiouser
(In which Javier experiences guilt, denial and car trouble, and a black panther is poorly substituted for a white rabbit.)
12th Precinct—Manhattan, New York
2011
Even focused on his call as he was, Javier had only to hear his partner's voice to know something was seriously wrong. The case which the call concerned being mostly wrapped up anyway, Javier let the speaker fall away from his ear. Unfortunately, Kevin was too far down the hallway for him to make out the words of his partner's conversation with any clarity, but Javier's instinct was supported by the slope of his shoulders and the pain written in the lines of his forehead. Javier watched as his partner closed his cellphone, eyes roaming the hallway for a moment as though he didn't know where he was before he ran a hand over his face and returned to the bullpen.
Javier ended his call as quickly as he could, trying to keep the meaninglessness of the "hmms" and "uh-huhs" from being obvious to either the officer on the other end or his partner. Setting the phone on its hook, Javier watched his partner discreetly, trying to assess the damage. Kevin had his attention on the paperwork in front of him, but the way he was moving the sheets around had distraction written all over it. Bad news, but not news that his partner felt merited interrupting his work day. Something personal, then, painful but not devastating.
Javier decided to risk it.
"What's up?" he asked, unsurprised when his partner looked up with an expression of confusion.
It constantly amazed him that Kevin could be so oblivious of how transparent he really was. Kevin claimed that wasn't the case with everyone, but sometimes he was so easy to read that Javier had a hard time believing it. Even the stories he heard about his partner's time undercover in Narcotics had always been met with a healthy dose skepticism. It was just difficult for him to imagine Kevin keeping a secret from anybody.
"Was that Jenny again?" Javier asked when it seemed no more information was forthcoming. "Because I told you, dude, it is still harassment when—"
Given the spectacularly ugly break-up and his ex-fiance's unwillingness to let it die it was usually a good bet, but Kevin gave a startled blink, finally pulling out of his subdued silence.
"What? No. Javi..." Kevin took a deep breath, closing the file in front of him and resting his weight against his elbows on the desk in front of him. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he released the breath slowly. "It's not about Jenny."
For a moment an odd expression of concentration crossed his face, as though he were considering his words very carefully.
"I just got a call from my cousin back home," Kevin admitted slowly, and Javier thought it strange that he seemed reluctant to part with even that much. "He— My old partner..."
While he was caught off guard by Kevin's unusual struggle for words, Javier easily understood the pain his partner felt behind it.
"Shit," Javier managed softly. "I'm... Shit. I'm sorry, bro."
Relief crossed Kevin's face briefly and he nodded, eyes searching his desk emptily. They both knew Javier had been there. Seconds passed quietly between them before Javier spoke again.
"When's the funeral?"
Again, Kevin's expression seemed oddly conflicted.
"This weekend," he answered reluctantly, a few empty beats passing before he sat back, not meeting Javier's eyes as he added. "I probably won't go, though."
"Why not?" Javier asked, surprised. "You're from, what, Albany?"
"Uh, near Albany, yeah..." Kevin answered slowly.
"That's not that far," Javier argued. "I'm sure Gates would give you the time."
"I don't know..." Kevin said, trailing off uncertainly. There was a pause in which he seemed to wrestle with some decision. Finally, in a low voice, he admitted uncomfortably, "I just... I didn't leave under the best circumstances. I don't know if I'd still be welcome."
The plea in his partner's eyes just then was as clear as if it were written down in front of him, practically begging him not to push for details. If Kevin wasn't ready to talk about it, Javier wouldn't. Still, that couldn't stop him from making an observation.
"But you want to go," he said, certain of it as he spoke, though the way Kevin's head dipped slightly soon confirmed it.
"I...yeah. Kind of. It's been—" Kevin cut himself off, blowing out a slow breath. "It's been a long time since I've been up there. I've got family I haven't seen in ages..."
"Then go," Javier told him firmly. "Visit your family, say goodbye to your partner. Screw what anyone else thinks."
And that was really the end of that, though it took Kevin another few hours to commit to the decision strongly enough to approach Gates. While their new Captain wasn't quite a poster-girl for the milk of human kindness, it was a simple enough request to honor.
"You might as well take that time off too, Esposito," she called out archly as Kevin was leaving her office. "Having just one of you is like having only half a cop anyway."
That evening, they met Kate and Castle at the Old Haunt for a quiet drink. Kevin never spoke of his old partner, and none of them asked even though they all knew the topic weighted heavily on his mind. At one point, Castle managed to drag his partner away for what Javier would later be forced to admit was some surprisingly effective cheering up. While they were gone, Kate approached him discreetly with a question.
"Are you planning on going with him?"
The first thought that entered Javier's mind was that Kate was joking with him, the kind of familial ribbing they frequently resorted to to break the tension. It would have even been a good time for it. But there was a certain element of playfulness lacking in her tone, and when he met her eye she seemed quite serious in a way she never put on for show. His second thought was to deny it, of course. Only, the words died on his lips before he could speak them as he confronted the fact that it had indeed been in his head to do just that.
"You've been treating him like he's made of glass ever since his engagement fell apart," she said, by way of explanation. "As if he's about to break and you've got to be the one to put him back together."
Still frozen in the process of shifting gears, something like confusion must have shown in his face.
"I won't make any awkward accusations for you to deny," Kate told him directly, eyes locked on his with certainty despite the faint line creasing the space between her eyebrows. "Just... Whatever you're thinking of doing, make sure you do it."
And it didn't even take a detective to see what that was. Though, how Kate of all people could have wound up projecting her constant hit and miss with Castle on him and his partner... That just didn't make any sense. Because he and Kevin...weren't. And he had never—
His mind stuttered over the idea far longer than was probably a good sign. Too long in any case, for just as he was finally—maybe, almost—about to respond, or demand just where the hell it had come from, Castle had chosen to return with his partner. Javier wound up drinking a lot more than he had originally planned when he first entered the bar—and more than was strictly proper given the reason they were there. His only dubious consolation was that, for the most part, Kevin had been too distracted to notice.
As he pushed himself through work the next day, Javier found himself wishing he had indulged a little more, because the sweet mercy of a hangover might almost have been enough to drive other thoughts from his mind.
If the observation had come from almost anyone else, Javier would have been a lot more comfortable dismissing it. From Castle, he never would have given it a second thought. From Lanie— Well, Lanie liked to pretend she knew a lot of things she really didn't. Kate was another animal altogether. She wasn't the sort of person who normally made other people's private business her business, and she had never been the type to speculate idly.
Apparently Kate thought she saw something, and he knew she wouldn't have spoken up about it if there hadn't been some pretty damning evidence...
Looking back over the weeks that had passed since things had died with Jenny, he had to admit that, on the surface, her first accusation had a point. It had been so painful seeing his partner hurt like that—a hurt he had simply done his best to try to fix. Javier didn't see how anyone with a soul could not. It was possible that some of his efforts might have driven straight past supportive and right into solicitous, but in Kevin's case he knew it had been necessary. After all, a lot of people went through bad break ups, bad divorces, bad whatevers, but Javier had never met anyone so sure that they had found the One.
Not that Javier had ever believed in happily ever after, but Kevin certainly had.
Javier still didn't know the circumstances of the argument that had brought everything crashing down. He could only imagine that Kevin had been asked to make some compromise on something that hit close enough to the root of who he was that he finally had been unwilling to budge. That alone wouldn't have been enough, of course, but having become personally acquainted with Jenny's unholy lust to control every little thing, he couldn't imagine that she'd have let it go without a fight...
Javier pulled reign on that thought process quickly. Kevin had loved her with all his heart, and just because it was over didn't mean it was fair for him to think those things about her. Not that he had never had those thoughts while she and his partner were together—and perhaps voiced a couple of them. While he was being honest with himself, he supposed he had to admit that a few of the things he had said about Jenny in the past might have sounded a bit catty. Though Javier didn't think he had been completely out of line with some of it...
What had been up with that best-man crap anyway? Just because Kevin had planned to marry the woman didn't grant her dominion over his entire life...
While the topic ricocheted back and forth through his brain for most of the day, it was only later, in the privacy of his own home that he really took the time to examine things close up. He was glad that he had waited. Left quietly holding his head in his hands, he didn't think he could have handled answering anyone's questions. Though if he tried, the conclusions he had come to might best be expressed by a shift in vocabulary.
The deeper he dug, and the farther back he looked, the more he saw catty being replaced by words like jealous, and solicitous by words like clingy. And smitten. And lovesick.
And doomed.
Waking up Saturday morning, Javier weighed the merits of never getting out of bed again. Unfortunately, his resolve only lasted until around 8:30. That was roughly the time he remembered that all that time he had spent feeling sorry for himself, Kevin had been mourning a friend.
Once he got through letting guilt over that lapse bludgeon him in the face, Javier also remembered that his partner was set to leave later that day. The funeral wouldn't be until tomorrow, but Kevin had always been the type to plan things out in detail. An early start today would get him there ahead of most of the traffic, he had said during one of the few moments Javier's mind had been still enough to listen, and any time he had to spare could be spent visiting family and friends.
It was all very sound reasoning, but it didn't give Javier much time to figure out what happened next.
Since he had so far failed so badly at it, Javier decided he had to tell Kevin how he felt, if for no other reason than to prove to himself he still knew how to handle things like a goddamned adult. It wasn't like he had to declare his undying love, just...interest. It was there. Javier had never tried very hard to hide the fact that he was bi. It had never been an issue with is partner before, and if he knew Kevin at all this wouldn't make it one now. Even if his partner wanted nothing to do with that kind of relationship, at least it would settle things. Then he could try to put the whole awkward thing behind him.
Javier wasn't even sure he wanted to acknowledge the tiny little sliver of himself that hoped for another answer entirely.
Around ten o'clock—after a shower, a pathetic attempt at breakfast, and a number of false starts far more numerous than he would have liked—Javier pushed himself to string together the necessary, agonizing steps of grabbing his keys and heading out, hoping to catch his partner before he had a chance to leave.
Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be on his side. When Javier reached his apartment, Kevin's car was gone from it's usual space, and when he called his cell, just to make sure, his phone went straight to voice-mail. Later, he would look back on that simple fact as a warning from the universe that he had foolishly failed to heed. Kevin was addicted to that damned phone—probably worse than anyone else Javier had ever known, except for Castle. If nothing else, the failure to reach Kevin before his departure should have signaled him it was time to pack it in and admit defeat, at least for the time being.
But strategic withdrawal was for sane people, and after one stunning realization and two sleepless nights, Javier was running on only about half a tank of that anyway. And as he contemplated getting in his car and driving home, Javier was forced to face two unmistakeable truths.
The first was fairly simple: He was enough basketcase already. Sitting on the issue over the weekend until Kevin returned home would be nothing short of torture. The second, while no less simple, was one that he easily might have pretended not to see. Every hour Javier waited was another chance to second guess himself. Another chance to lose his nerve.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, make sure you do it."While he hadn't been thinking much of anything before Kate had said it, Javier thought it was excellent advice. One of these days, she might even follow it herself.
In the mean time...
"Near Albany", his partner had said. He could do that. Guessing the greater portion of Kevin's route wouldn't be that hard, and weekend traffic being what it was, he might even have a chance to catch him up.
It was a little crazy, but it was a start.
Apparently, though, fortune favored the truly pathetic, because after almost a full hour of driving (convinced the whole time that this was one of the stupidest things he had ever done) Javier hit a lull in which he actually managed to spot Kevin's sedan several cars ahead of him. Keeping a good shadow on a suspect always had been one of Javier's better skills, so after that things got easy quick. Though the realization that in less than forty-eight hours he had managed to move straight from cluelessly crushing into legitimate crazy stalker territory was a little troubling all on its own.
He hadn't been trying to avoid notice, but the main roads were moderately crowded and in a sane world,
his partner had no reason to suspect he was being followed. Though, given the odd turns both their lives had taken ever since Castle had come on board, Javier thought that perhaps Kevin should have been looking. Just in case. He had hoped that once they turned off the highway and away from the main flow of traffic his partner might notice his presence, but once they veered off the route heading into Albany the road quickly gained more bends and turns, and even Javier had difficulty maintaining line-of-sight with his partner's car. When he passed a crumbling stone wall bearing a sign designating private land Javier was relieved, since obviously wherever Kevin was headed he would likely be there soon.Though those high hopes lasted all of about three seconds.
Just as he passed his engine made an odd chugging sound, only to die moments later. As the car rolled to a stop, Javier thought he heard the faint ticking of cooling metal as if the car had overheated, but the dials on the dash said otherwise. Hopping out of the car, he ran a hand over the hood...which was warm, but not more so than it should have been. Passing a frustrated hand over his face, Javier did the obvious and pulled out his phone. As if to make up for his earlier luck in finding Kevin on the highway, there was absolutely no reception to be had.
His options were clearly few. Javier decided that his is best bet was to simply take off up the road on foot and hope that his earlier guess had been right about how close they had to be...
At least the weather wasn't terrible. Though it was past noon, the air was still cool, but he had been smart enough to bring a jacket at least, and once he was walking things warmed up quickly. After following the road for nearly a mile the thick forest that loomed on both sides started to thin a little, just enough so that he thought he could make out fields and what was possibly a barn on the other side. The way the road angled it looked like it doubled back on itself just a little—which wouldn't be the first time, and Javier was just about fed up with that shit. Even if the farm he saw wasn't where Kevin was headed, the owners might be able to point the way—or at least let him use their phone to call a tow.It was cooler still under the trees as Javier cut through the woods. Leaves and damp earth slid under his feet. It crossed his mind that if by some impossible insight he had known he was going to wind up hiking, he would definitely have chosen better shoes... As he approached through the trees, Javier could make out the barn more clearly, and the large house beyond it. He thought he saw Kevin's car parked there. Before he could get close enough to get a better look, however, he heard a soft nose behind him.
Turning around, Javier's eyes took a moment to adjust from the brighter view of the light beyond the trees. That was only part of why he found himself staring, however. Once his mind managed to appropriately process what his eyes were seeing, all rational thought abruptly fled.
Surprise, confusion, and terror were all that was left behind as Javier found himself practically nose to nose with a very large black panther.
Chapter Two
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Date: Monday, 2 January 2012 10:59 am (UTC)From:But strategic withdrawal was for sane people Oh, true that.
None of them are really sane.
Though the realization that in less than forty-eight hours he'd managed to move straight from cluelessly crushing into legitimate crazy stalker territory was a little troubling all on its own.
...lil' bit.
But, on the other hand, Kevin's such a romantic he might find it cute.
Maybe.
A panther... Whoops. I hope it's not hungry. :S
Fables is an actual fandom? I've never heard of the comics, but it sounds real interesting. I doubt it's available in France though, because the comic scene just sucks out here.
Anyway, I don't mind that you mixed it up in here. You made it clear enough and... its the kind of crazy I like. :P
Can't wait for more!
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Date: Monday, 2 January 2012 09:22 pm (UTC)From: