vaqueros: (Default)
"ꜰɪʀsᴛ ɴᴀᴍᴇs ᴀʀᴇ sᴛᴜᴘɪᴅ" ᴠᴀsǫᴜᴇᴢ. ([personal profile] vaqueros) wrote in [community profile] cowbabes2020-03-22 08:55 pm
peacemakers: (021)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 07:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Faraday returns Vasquez's gaze with a flat look, as if to ask, Seriously? As if Vasquez couldn't tell just by looking at Faraday, how he still hasn't quite caught his breath, how he's hardly moved a finger, not even in his own favor, how his neck and hips are covered in bright red marks that promise to be vivid bruises.

Flatly, ]


No, Vasquez. I'll be fresh as a goddamn daisy tomorrow.

[ There is, at least, the barest hint of humor in his voice, and he shuts his eyes, focusing in on the lazy designs Vasquez is tracing over his chest.

Easier than holding Vasquez's gaze and staring at that warm goddamn smile. ]


Smug bastard.

[ Somehow, the insult comes out almost fondly. ]
peacemakers: (052)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 08:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ Faraday lets out a snort that tries to be unkind, but doesn't quite meet the mark.

And then for the hundredth time tonight, Vasquez catches him fully off-guard by curling in close instead of kicking him out of the bed, as Faraday had expected, as Faraday had been slowly steeling himself for. The distance between the bed and the couch in the living space, which Faraday had claimed for his own the past few nights, seemed interminable, but he could manage it. God knows he's been able to drag himself much further distances after missions had left him half-dead – sometimes literally.

And even with Vasquez cozying up to him like he were doing his best impression of a koala, Faraday thinks maybe he should extricate himself to avoid the conversation lying in wait around the corner. The awkward laughs and reassurances that A.) this was a one-time thing, with no strings attached and no expectations for the future, or B.) that this was fun, and they should do it again the next time either or both of them are keyed-up on a battle high, or C.) this night never happened, and they'd both be best to forget it, or else ask for reassignments to avoid any conflicts of interest in the future.

It would take a goddamn miracle for Faraday to be the one to bring it up, which means it'll have to be Vasquez – and Vasquez is too drunk on post-orgasm bliss to bring it up at the moment, which makes now the perfect time for Faraday to stage his escape.

Good Lord. Maybe Faraday is a coward.

Except Vasquez, God damn him, was absolutely right – the bastard had basically fucked Faraday within an inch of his life, and he's too goddamn spent to move. And the sheets are soft beneath them, and Vasquez is so goddamn warm, so refreshingly free with his touch—

God dammit.

Just five minutes, he tells himself as he takes a shuddering breath. Five minutes to commit this to memory, then he'll banish himself to the living room.

He knows the chances of him just passing the hell out are pretty high, especially with the shaky, boneless quality of his limbs, the thick, prickly wave of exhaustion tugging at him, but he decides he'll risk it. ]
peacemakers: (085)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah.

... Well.

... ... Shit.

Faraday huffs out a breath – a sigh that tries to sound exasperated but mostly comes out affectionate, God damn his traitorous voice.

Well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. He waits a few minutes, trying his best to ignore the warm, gentle brush of Vasquez's breath on his skin, to ignore the way sleep smooths out Vasquez's features – just long enough to ensure Vasquez is actually asleep, and not just sort of asleep.

He steels himself, willing his tired, shaky limbs to move as he slowly, carefully, tries to extricate himself from Vasquez's grasp. ]
peacemakers: (087)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He stops when Vasquez snorts, worried that his movements woke the other man up.

He lets out a breath when Vasquez seems to readjust, but then the bastard just grabs hold of him again, and Faraday freezes.

Faraday grits out, ]


Goddamn barnacle.

[ before exhaling a defeated sigh, settling back into place.

Maybe later he'll be willing to admit to himself that he didn't try very hard at all. He's a goddamn spy, for crying out loud, trained in so many forms of close-quarters combat that he has an easier time of disarming a man than he does of remembering the street names on his way to work. He knows how to worm his way out of an opponent's stranglehold; escaping from a sleeping man is a cakewalk in comparison.

But Faraday isn't a very honest man, and he scrubs at his face, resigned.

He spends a few moments berating himself for this bit of selfish weakness before finally drifting off. ]
peacemakers: (083)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Unlike Vasquez, Faraday is absolutely a light sleeper – a consequence, maybe, of a handful of years as a stupid teenager spent sleeping in alleys and doorways or on stoops

He's not sure what wakes him up – the shift in breathing, the rock of the bed, the tensing of Vasquez's grip – but wake up he does, sleepy-eyed but alert.

He blinks at the ceiling, then turns his head to see Vasquez, equally awake.

... God, he can't begin to process this.

So he makes, in his mind, what constitutes a wise decision: He doesn't.

Instead, he scrubs at his eyes, grumbles out, ]


What time is it?

[ Because whatever hour it is, it feels ungodly. ]
peacemakers: (031)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Even with his hands still covering his eyes, Faraday still manages to twist his face into an expression of absolute disgust at that bit of news. ]

Jesus.

[ If Faraday can help it, he's never awake before the sun rises, unless he's coming at it from the wrong way.

But unfortunately for him, he's awake now, and he pushes himself to sit up, hissing a little when the soreness of his body makes itself known. It calls to mind the wild fucking night they just had, and— he might be starting to feel a little queasy again, with all the unspoken questions still lying between them.

Faraday refuses to call himself a coward – he just knows the value of a tactical retreat.

Which is why he gruffly announces, ]


I need a shower.
peacemakers: (052)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-23 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He grumbles something unintelligible before he sucks in a breath, holding it as he pushes himself to his feet to guard against the protest of his limbs.

God, he's sore, and if the circumstances were different, he'd feel more pleased by that.

As it is, he's hyper-aware of Vasquez at his back, of the cum dried on his stomach and down his legs, of the lingering hint of Vasquez's cologne on his own skin, and shit, he needs to get all this off him before he can even consider starting to think straight. ]


Oughta report back to HQ. Let 'em know the tracker's in place.
peacemakers: (052)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-24 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ Emphatically, ]

God, yes.

[ This, at least, feels deceptively routine. After all these years, Faraday has never gotten the hang of mornings; he hasn't got the faintest idea how Vasquez manages it.

He stumbles off into the bathroom after that, cranking the water as hot as he can stand as he starts to scrub off the mess. He examines himself – the suspiciously finger-shaped bruises on his hips, the scratch marks from Vasquez's nails on his thighs. The quiet sting of the bruises on his neck. The way his ass aches from the stretch and brutal treatment.

He lets his brow fall against the cool tile on the wall.

Jesus goddamn Christ.

Leave it to fucking Vasquez to exceed his every expectation. Part of Faraday wishes it had been awful, wishes that it had been more awkward fumbling instead of goddamn mind blowing – because it wouldn't put Faraday in the frankly naive position of wanting more but expecting absolutely nothing.

To his credit, he doesn't take any more time than he needs, drying himself off and keeping himself modest with a towel wrapped around his waist – stupid, maybe, considering Vasquez fucked his brains out last night, but it feels necessary to maintain that bit of distance.

He steps out of the bathroom, and a quick grunt stands in place of the actual words: All yours. ]
peacemakers: (082)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-24 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ He nods in acknowledgment, letting Vasquez step around him into the bathroom.

Once the door shuts behind him, Faraday lets out a slow breath, grabbing up the coffee. He pauses as he's drinking it, eyeing the bottle of pills a little dubiously.

But after a second of shifting his weight from one leg to another, he grunts out an aggravated sound and frees a couple of pills, swallowing them dry before chasing them with the coffee.

He returns to the living room, picking up the pieces of his suit from the floor and, after fishing his glasses out of his breast pocket, tossing them over the arm of the couch to be dealt with later. He rummages through his bag for a loose-fitting shirt and a pair of sweats, pulling them on a little hastily before plopping down on the couch. He pulls on his glasses, tapping the arm until he finds their tracking program.

The tracking chip is still in the building, it seems, though the auction was surely last night. Faraday frowns a little, sipping his coffee contemplatively. He hopes that just means the buyer wanted to enjoy the rest of the party without having to worry about fucking around with a biochemical weapon, and plans on moving the nerve gas today – and not that they switched containers.

Or, worse – that Faraday tagged the totally wrong crate. ]
peacemakers: (045)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-24 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
Still here.

[ Just to be sure, he runs a quick diagnostic on the chip, and when it all comes back green, he sips at his coffee again. ]

The winner probably didn't want a box of nerve gas in the trunk on the way home.
peacemakers: (091)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-24 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ He watches Vasquez move from the corner of his eye, though he keeps his gaze mostly fixed on the crude map and its blinking red dot. ]

Could be fewer guards to contend with now.

[ The thing with Faraday is, most folks think he's an idiot.

And, admittedly, he can be, more often than not.

Other times, when it matters, he has a good eye for alternatives – not to be argumentative or contrarian, but in an effort to cover all their bases. It meant he butt heads with some of the other agents, especially when they got a little too precious about their plans, but Cognac always seemed to appreciate it. ]


Waiting till it's on the move means we'd be dealin' with both the buyers' and the sellers' people.
peacemakers: (012)

[personal profile] peacemakers 2020-05-24 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ He tips his head to one side. ]

Which would be a pro for trying to get it once the exchange is made. Could wait till they've got it nice and safe and loaded up and steal the transport.

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