Work Text:
“Franziska, can you hear me?” Miles asked, surreptitiously pressing a finger to his ear to activate his earpiece. He glanced over at Phoenix in the passenger seat, and surveyed the area around the car to confirm they were still alone. It was dark out. They were parked around back behind a warehouse some ways outside the city.
“Copy. No sign of him,” came Franziska’s quick reply, slightly muffled by the loud rock music going on inside.
“Do you have eyes on Maya?” Miles asked.
Phoenix chuckled. “She’s always got eyes on Maya,” he chided. Miles shot him a dirty look before checking his watch. 11:38pm.
“I do. Maya, give me a status signal.” Franziska had a good view of the crowd from her current vantage point on an upper catwalk, hidden behind stage lights and rigging. She surveyed the mass of people below her, eyes fixed on Maya. She wasn’t terribly hard to find, as she was wearing a sparkly silver minidress that acted like its own disco ball. As she danced, she clapped her hands over her head three times in quick succession: everything was OK for the time being. “We’re good. All is going to plan at the moment,” Franziska relayed back.
“Copy that. Now we wait,” Miles exhaled.
“How long do you think it’s gonna be?” Phoenix asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Unclear. The doors opened an hour ago, but the Gavinners don’t go on until midnight. He could show up anytime between now and then. Or even later.”
“Lovely,” Phoenix huffed, slouching in the passenger seat. “You know, babe, as much as I love doing exciting things with you, a stakeout and ambush of a known criminal at a rock concert is not exactly my idea of a fun Saturday night date. Aren’t we a little old for this?”
Miles looked at him. “We’ve been trying to catch Reagan Angere for months now. This is the closest we’ve been able to get to him. It should hopefully be over in only a few hours, and then we can go home and do whatever you’d like.”
“I just don’t understand why we have to be the ones doing this. The LAPD is trained to do this kind of stuff. We’re...we’re lawyers, Miles.”
“You know why. Angere knows everyone in the LAPD. It has to be someone from outside. Maya volunteered herself.”
“I know, I just...I don’t like putting Maya in danger. It happens often enough by accident when she’s around me, and now I’m doing it on purpose.”
Miles’ gaze turned sympathetic. “I’m aware. But everything she’s gone through has made her uniquely prepared for this type of situation. She’s fearless.” He placed a comforting hand on Phoenix’s shoulder. “Plus, my sister is in there watching diligently over her, and I have it on good authority that she has a vested interest in not letting anything happen to Maya. And if things go south--which is highly unlikely--the two of us are here, as well as Gumshoe and the LAPD on the other end of the building.”
Phoenix sighed. “I just hope this is over with as soon as possible.”
Miles nodded, then cleared his throat. “Also, I’d like to request that you refrain from calling me ‘babe’ at the moment. We’re working.”
Phoenix chuckled. “Is that so?” He turned to face his husband and placed a hand gently on his thigh. “Because we’re just waiting here right now, and I couldn’t help but notice that this is an awfully dark and secluded spot…”
Miles huffed, but didn’t swat away Phoenix’s hand. “Need I remind you this is a high-stakes law enforcement situation, not some sort of lovers’ lane?”
Phoenix leaned in closer. “Come on, you said so yourself that he might not show up for, like, what, an hour?”
“Twenty minutes,” Miles corrected under his breath. Their faces were so close, they were breathing the same air.
“Can’t I enjoy a nice night all alone with my husband?”
Miles rolled his eyes in a loving way. He knew there were only two ways to get out of this situation: he could flat-out deny it, but his refusal to do anything about Phoenix’s advances up to this point made that unlikely. That left...fulfillment. “Fine,” he whispered. “But keep your hands to yourself.” He closed the gap between their lips and kissed his husband sweetly, giving himself a rare moment of indulgence. It felt nice to kiss Phoenix, as it always had, and he had to admit that there was something about the element of potential danger that heightened the sensation.
Miles was about to run his hands through Phoenix’s hair--the way he knew would elicit a moan--when static in both of their ears stopped him. Franziska’s voice followed: “Eyes on Angere. He’s here.”
Phoenix pulled away from Miles and took a deep breath. It’s happening.
“Copy that. We’re standing by outside,” Miles responded. “It’s going to be okay, Phoenix,” he soothed, giving Phoenix’s hand a small squeeze.
From inside, Franziska had spotted Angere as soon as he entered the room. Despite the concert lighting, she could see his bald head with its tiger tattoo snaking around his neck and scalp. “Maya, he’s coming up the left side. Remember the plan: get in his line of vision, wait for him to notice you, then lead him into the crowd. Keep him occupied until we can bring in the squad. Give me a signal if you copy.”
Maya gave three quick overhead claps once again and continued dancing. “All good,” Franziska reported back. “And not a moment too soon. Looks like the Gavinners are taking the stage.”
The crowd erupted in cheers as Klavier Gavin and his band appeared. It’s showtime, Franziska thought, steeling her nerves and honing her focus. She checked to make sure her whip was still holstered at her hip--all set there.
Static crackled once again through the earpieces. “Uh, there’s a bit of a situation outside the front door,” Gumshoe’s voice followed. “We’ve got it handled, but you may need to stall inside until we can spare people to help with Angere.”
“Copy that,” Miles replied. In the car, Phoenix put his head in his hands. “It’s going to be okay, Phoenix,” Miles repeated. “These kinds of things happen all the time. It’s a rough area of town. Gumshoe and his guys will have it covered, and then the plan will continue as normal. Just a small delay.”
“I have a very bad feeling about this, Miles,” Phoenix breathed.
“Just try to relax. Everything’s going according to plan.”
Phoenix nodded.
Back inside the warehouse, Franziska watched as Maya made her way over to Angere. She spun around, light catching the sparkles of her silver dress. She made eye contact with Angere and moved her hips suggestively, reaching an arm out to him. He took the bait, and she led him deep into the crowd.
“Good,” Franziska whispered to herself, before relaying the information through her earpiece. “He’s dancing with Maya in the crowd. Maya, keep him there as long as you can. If he moves to leave, follow him. Give me a signal.” Three claps above Maya’s head confirmed the plan.
The Gavinners finished their first song and the crowd cheered. Angere went to exit the dance floor, but Maya placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Suddenly, Angere grabbed her wrist and began forcefully leading her in another direction, out of the crowd and away from the bar. Franziska watched as Maya put a single fist in the air--uh oh.
“We’ve got trouble,” Franziska shouted above the noise of the crowd into her earpiece. “I’m coming down.”
“Shit,” Phoenix breathed, still out in the car. “We’ve got to go in.” He immediately moved to open the door.
“Phoenix, wait. Let Franziska--” Miles started, but Phoenix was already gone. Miles exhaled and exited the car as well, running after his husband into the warehouse.
“Where are they?” Phoenix asked into the earpiece. “We’re coming in.”
“Towards the right side. I’m on the floor, heading towards them,” Franziska responded.
An electric guitar boomed through the speakers as the Gavinners began their second song, and the crowd roared as they recognized the opening riff. “Damen und herren! Los Angeles!” Klavier yelled into the mic. “Are you ready to get supermassive??”
What the fuck does he mean by that? Phoenix wondered as he searched the crowd for any sign of Maya. He caught a flash of ice-blue hair flying by him and pushing into the throng of people. Franziska. I should go around the other side in case Angere changes direction.
A few paces behind him, Miles struggled to keep track of his husband as he weaved throughout the crowd. Splitting up. Triangulate our approach. Good plan, Miles thought. He headed the opposite direction from Phoenix.
“Ooh, baby, don’t you know I suffer? Ooh, baby, can’t you hear me moan?” Klavier crooned in falsetto into the microphone. Franziska elbowed her way through the crowd until she reached where Maya was struggling with Angere. Maya was digging her heels into the ground, but Angere’s iron grip wouldn’t let up. Franziska came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him around. Surprised, he let go of Maya’s wrist and turned his gaze on Franziska.
“Maya, leave!” Franziska yelled over the music.
Maya made eye contact with her. “I can’t leave you here!” she responded.
Angere lunged for Franziska’s arms, and she recoiled, reflexively reaching for her whip at her hip. It’s too crowded to use it here, she realized. Hands it is. She ducked and elbowed him in the stomach. Angere stumbled backwards, bumping into someone else.
Phoenix reached them at that point. He reached around and put Angere in a headlock. The criminal was larger and stronger than Phoenix, but he was caught off guard. He flailed for a moment, before regaining his orientation and stepping on the inside of Phoenix’s foot, hard. Phoenix released him and let out a pained yelp.
Somewhere else in the crowd, Miles looked around, struggling to find Franziska and Maya. Suddenly, he heard a noise he recognized instantly, coming from a bit to his left. Phoenix, he realized. He’s hurt! He spun around on his heel and caught a silhouette of spiky hair through the flashing lights. He pushed past a few dancing concertgoers and reached his husband.
Miles’ attention was divided: he saw Phoenix standing uneasily on one foot, grunting in pain. Maya ran to Phoenix’s side, searching his face for a sign he was okay. Franziska lunged for Angere, intending to push him and knock him off balance. But Angere was quick on his feet and dodged her, instead wrapping two strong arms around Franziska’s middle.
Miles’ temper flared as he saw the fear in his sister’s eyes. He scrambled to get a hold on Franziska’s shoulders, prying her away from Angere. Upon seeing Miles, Angere let go of Franziska, and she stumbled forward and tried to catch her breath. Angere turned his attention to Miles, pulling a fist back in preparation to throw a punch.
Miles froze. He felt he couldn’t react in time, and steeled himself for the punch. But right as he saw Angere’s fist about to connect with his face, he felt Phoenix’s strong hand pulling him out of the way. Angere swung and pitched forward, and Maya took the opportunity to step forward and slap the criminal across the face.
“Don’t provoke him!” Phoenix yelled. “He’s stronger than you!”
“Too late!” Franziska snapped back, eyes on Angere feeling his stinging cheek.
This is bad. This is very, very bad, Miles thought. He could see the rage building in Angere’s face, as the criminal realized that this wasn’t just a brawl with some girl and her boyfriend; this was much more serious. “Gumshoe,” Miles huffed into his earpiece, “we could really use some backup right about now!”
“I’ll try my best, sir, but it’s gotten messy out here as well,” came Gumshoe’s quick response. “We can maybe get someone there in a few minutes. Can you hold him off until then?”
“We can try,” Franziska responded. By that point, the crowd surrounding them had moved back a bit, not wanting to get involved in the fight. Franziska sensed the newfound space and reached for her whip.
Angere trained his gaze on Phoenix, who had reached forward to try to grab his hands. Angere winded up and delivered a powerful punch to Phoenix’s face. Phoenix fell backwards onto Miles, who caught him quickly. He brought a hand up to his face, fingers coming away bloody. But his nose didn’t feel broken, thankfully.
“You bastard!” Miles spat, readying a punch of his own. His fist connected with Angere’s jaw with a large crack as the criminal let out a loud groan.
“Franzy, the whip!” Maya called out to her girlfriend, who nodded in response. With expert precision, she struck Angere across the back with her whip, causing him to fall to his knees. He swiped for the whip and pulled it down, forcing her to stumble as well.
“There must be a hell of a diversion outside,” Miles commented under his breath to Phoenix, wiping sweat off his brow.
Phoenix felt Angere looking at them, readying his next blow. Diversion! He thought. That’s it! He quickly reached for his husband’s face and pressed their lips together, catching Miles--and Angere--off guard.
Miles scrambled to pull away-- what the HELL are you doing, Phoenix?!-- but Phoenix’s hands were like iron gripping the back of his head. Klavier’s electric guitar wailed through the speakers and made him feel a bit dizzy. He tasted the salt from the sweat dripping down both their faces mixed in with the metallic tang of blood from Phoenix’s nose. If the situation hadn’t been so immediately dangerous, Miles would have found Phoenix’s urgency quite arousing.
However out of left field it was, though, Phoenix’s distraction strategy seemed to work. Angere was unsure of what he should do and faltered for a moment, presenting a window of opportunity for Maya to come up and deliver a swift kick between his legs. Angere doubled over in pain, allowing Franziska to wrap her whip around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides.
“Supermassive black hole!” Klavier rasped into the mic, and the crowd yelled the words back, loud enough to drown out Angere’s shouts.
“Grab the cuffs!” Franziska called out to Maya, gesturing with her head to indicate her back pocket. Maya nodded and reached for the pair of handcuffs, working together with Franziska to wrestle Angere’s arms behind him and bind his wrists. Thank God for her, Franziska thought, flashing a smile at her girlfriend.
The song ended with loud cheers from the audience. Suddenly, bright lights flooded the room from overhead. Everyone looked around confusedly. “Damen und herren,” Klavier spoke calmly into the microphone, “please remain calm and stay where you are. There has been an incident, but everything is under the control of law enforcement.”
Just then, Detective Gumshoe burst through the crowd to where they had subdued Angere, a few officers with guns drawn following suit. “LAPD!” Gumshoe barked, grabbing one of Angere’s cuffed arms. “You’re coming with us!” He dragged the criminal out of the warehouse and into a waiting squad car.
Franziska and Maya exhaled, turning their attention to Phoenix and Miles. “Uh, Nick?” Maya asked, trying to get his attention. “You don’t have to...do that...anymore.” Franziska rolled her eyes.
Phoenix quickly snapped his head around and let go of Miles. “Huh?” he replied. “Oh, s-sorry,” he stuttered as he realized his little “diversion” had gone on for longer than it needed to. Both he and Miles averted their eyes, faces as red as the dried blood on Phoenix’s face.
The lights dimmed once more, and Klavier strummed his guitar to loud cheering from the audience. “Now that that’s settled,” he boomed, “let’s rock!” The crowd went wild as the Gavinners launched into their next song.
“We should get out of here,” Miles commented to the group, and everyone nodded in response. They headed out the back entrance and regrouped around Miles’ car. “Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?” he asked, eyes full of concern.
“Nick, your face!” Maya gasped, noticing the dried blood.
“I’m fine, Maya, really,” Phoenix sighed. “Probably only bruised.”
“We should get that looked at,” Miles remarked, gently bringing his hand to his husband’s cheek and nose and lightly brushing over them with his fingers. “Or at the very least, some ice.”
“Maya, are you alright? What happened before we got there?” Phoenix asked.
Franziska shook her head. “He grabbed her wrist and started leading her away. She gave me the distress signal. That’s when I called for you.”
Phoenix started, rushing to grab Maya’s shoulders. “Did he hurt you? That bastard--”
“Nick, I’m okay. I knew you guys would have my back,” she smiled.
“We did,” Franziska responded. “Except some of us were focused on subduing Angere, and others had their own plans they were more interested in.” She narrowed her eyes at Phoenix and Miles.
Miles crossed his arms over his chest and brought one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Phoenix’s hands balled into fists at his side. “Hey, it was a diversion!” he quipped back, feeling Franziska’s smirk searing through him. “And it worked!”
“Lay off ‘em, Franzy,” Maya laughed, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend. “I’d have done the same if our positions were reversed.” It was then Franziska’s turn to redden.
“Let’s get home. We can debrief with Gumshoe in the morning,” Miles sighed, ushering everyone into his car. “It’s late.”
They arrived home not long after. Phoenix rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “God, that was so close to being an absolute disaster,” he remarked. “I knew it wouldn’t go well.”
Miles sighed. “It was tense.” He moved behind Phoenix and began gently rubbing his shoulders. Phoenix leaned his head to the side in appreciation. “But it’s all over now. It’s okay.”
“Can we please go on a normal date next week?” Phoenix chuckled softly, taking his husband’s hand and leading him to the bedroom. “Dinner, movie, museum, something that doesn’t involve rock concerts and criminals?”
“What, you didn’t like Klavier’s music? I thought it was quite enjoyable.”
Phoenix stopped and turned around to face him. “Very funny, Miles.”
“I’m not kidding.”
Phoenix’s brows knitted in confusion. “You’re serious? You like the Gavinners?”
“Why is that surprising to you?”
“I just figured that anything that came after Beethoven would be too vulgar for you.”
Miles laughed as he began getting ready for bed. “I’m just full of surprises, then.”
Phoenix thought back to the concert, watching in the flashing lights as Miles called Angere a bastard and punched him in the jaw. All because the criminal had hit him...he had never seen Miles act like that. “Indeed you are, babe,” he whispered, climbing into bed and turning off the light.
Miles pressed a soft kiss to Phoenix’s injured nose, careful not to put too much pressure. He brought their foreheads together in the darkness.
Indeed you are.