Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Other Stories
Rating:	NC17
Pairing:	Joe/Levon
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Found
Author:	Starwinder
e-mail:	starwinder2of7@gmail.com
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Found
By Starwinder

LaFiamma sat at the counter in Chicken's pretending to ignore his partner and Jamie Kincaid, sitting at a table less than ten feet away. He didn't know why he insisted on torturing himself like this. He'd known before he came that they'd be here. This date with Jamie was all Lundy had talked about today.

He stared at the bottle of water in his hand. Water! It wasn't what he wanted tonight but he knew better than to start on the hard stuff. Knew himself too well. Had sworn he'd never do that again. Drown his troubles in a bottle. Nobody was worth that. Especially not a straight arrow cowboy, who was blind and deaf to the pure, selfless love that Joe wanted so to give him.

So, he sat here, just close enough to hear them, just far enough away to pretend he didn't ... and tortured himself with their soft, loving voices. Voices that were like a knife in his heart, a knife he twisted by insisting on being here and listening.

Maybe if the pain grew strong enough it could kill his love for Lundy, destroy it, and set him free from the trap he'd built himself by letting his heart fixate on his partner. He'd known better. He'd known nothing would ever come of it but his partner had been all he had when he first came down here. He'd told himself that he'd just hold on to Lundy until he found someone else, someone who could love him back.

He'd never found anyone else, but Lundy had. Since Lundy didn't have a clue how LaFiamma felt about him and, if Joe were honest with himself, wouldn't care if he did know, he didn't have any reason not to reach out for her.

Lost in thought he sat like a statue, staring blankly at the wall behind the bar. He was so lost in his thoughts that he never saw Lundy get up from the table and come over to the bar to get another beer, never noticed him stopping to stare at him, never even heard Lundy call his name.

"LaFiamma." Lundy regarded his partner with concerned eyes. The man looked like he was frozen. He was staring off in space. His eyes were blank. He hadn't touched his food. He reached out and caught hold of his partner's arm giving him a shake. "LaFiamma! Are you all right?"

Joe jerked at his touch, yanking his arm away. "I ... I'm fine! Lemme alone!"

Lundy let his hand drop away, confused but didn't back off, "You don't look fine, Boy."

"Well, I am. And I ain't your damn boy!" LaFiamma snarled and turned away from him. Digging in his pocket he tossed money on the counter and shoved past Lundy, heading for the door. "Just lemme alone!"

Lundy scowled, not certain what-the-hell was going on, he stood and watched helplessly while LaFiamma stormed out. Something was wrong. They'd never been the best of friends. Hell, every time he thought that they were going to work things out LaFiamma would pick a fight ... but he knew when the man was lying to him ... always had, right from the start ... and the man was lying. Something was definitely going on with him.

He got his beer and headed back to the table where Jamie was waiting.

She looked up, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, sure." Lundy said with a distracted smile. "LaFiamma's just a mite antsy tonight." He tried to pay attention to her but his mind wouldn't let go of the worry about his partner.

It kept going back to the feeling that Joe was lying to him. But he hadn't said that much. What part of it was a lie? What had he said? ['I'm fine.'] A patented lie if Lundy'd ever heard one. ['Lemme alone!'] Didn't ring true. ['I ain't your boy!']

Lundy stared at the beer in his hand. ['I ain't your boy!'] not ['I ain't a boy!']. He sat the beer down without drinking. ['I ain't your boy!'] It echoed in his mind ... and it was a lie ... which meant ... that what LaFiamma had actually said was just the opposite. ['I am your boy!'] The opposite of ['Lemme alone.'] would be ['Don't leave me alone!'] and the opposite of ['I'm fine.'] would be '[I'm not fine.']

A sudden dread went through him.

Jamie saw the change of expression on his face, the flash of fear that went through his eyes. "Levon, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I ... " He stood up. "Jamie, I'm sorry. I hav'ta go. I ..." He broke off then went on. "I've gotta check on LaFiamma. Something's wrong. Something's bad wrong." He tossed money on the table and headed for the Jimmy.

She followed him out. "Levon, Please, what is it?"

He turned back to her not wanting to tell her, but needing to try to explain. "Bout a year ago, right after he came down here, I ... I walked in on LaFiamma at his apartment and he had his gun in his mouth." He stopped, looking at her with desperate eyes. "I'm afraid, Jamie. I've got the awfulest feelin'. I ... I ain't ever lost a partner. I couldn't take it if he ... if he--" He broke off and climbed into the Jimmy cranking it and spinning out of the parking lot, leaving her standing there.

He wove through the late evening traffic, taking the fastest route to LaFiamma's apartment, his mind racing even faster than the Jimmy was traveling. It hadn't been a complete lie. He hadn't ever lost a partner and he was afraid. He couldn't take it if LaFiamma-- his mind skimmed over the words-- refusing to think them, but not because he was his partner. Because he was LaFiamma, because he was his. His boy.

He swallowed hard. He'd always been bisexual, hadn't ever mentioned it to LaFiamma though. After all, the man had women falling all over him, could have a different one every night of the week if he wanted them. Never occurred to him that Joe might be bi.

Never occurred to him that Joe's hanging with him was anything other than just friendship. After all, all they ever did were guy things, hang out at Chicken's, watch football on TV, and go to the games. Baseball, football, basketball, hell he'd even go to hockey games to be with Joe, but he'd never thought that Joe was going just to be with him.

Reckon he'd been so busy trying to hide his feelings from Joe that he'd been blind to any hints that Joe might've dropped. Of course when Joe'd first come down, there'd been hints. But Joe'd been alone then and he'd passed off the occasional teasing remark or overly friendly touch to Joe's loneliness; refusing to believe that it could be anything else, refusing to hope, refusing to get close enough to get hurt.

Only he had. He was hurting now. Just the thought of losing Joe was agony. The fear that he was too late, that Joe might already be gone was tearing him apart. He slung the Jimmy sideways into the parking spot in front of LaFiamma's place, jumped out and charged up the sidewalk, leaving the truck half in the street, door hanging open.

He took the stairs two at a time. When he reached LaFiamma's apartment he twisted the knob and hit the door with his shoulder. Even if it had been locked, it would have opened. He skidded to a stop.

LaFiamma was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. His guns were on the table, all of them. The twin automatics, the regulation .38, the back up colt .45 auto, the hide out that he carried in a ankle holster, even the throw away that Levon had finally talked him out of carrying but not out of keeping. He was just sitting there staring at them.

He looked up at Lundy. "You didn't have to come. I couldn't do it then and I can't do it now." His voice was dull, dead.

Lundy swallowed hard, advancing slowly; he went to sit on the couch facing his partner. "Why?" he finally managed to croak.

LaFiamma shrugged, "Why what? Why do I want to? Or why can't I?"

"Both. Neither. I ... don't know. But don't. Please, don't." He slid off the couch onto the floor, sitting, facing his partner. Terrified to say it, terrified not to, he stumbled over the words. "I ... I love-- I love you. Don't leave me. Please, don't leave me." He couldn't believe how desperate he sounded, how scared.

LaFiamma looked at him with sorrow filled eyes; "You don't have to say that, Lundy. I told you I can't do it. I know you can't handle losing anyone else. That's why I stopped that day. I knew you'd be the one that found me and you couldn't deal with it. If I'd done it, it would have been the same as killing you, too. But you don't have to lie to me. You don't gotta say you love me when I know that you're in love with Jamie." His voice broke on the words. "I can handle it. I'll be all right. You don't gotta lie." The tears welled up, began to slide down his cheeks.

"It ain't no lie!" Not knowing what else to do, Levon leaned across the table and grabbed Joe's face in his hands, pulling his toward him. He kissed him, kissed him hard, deep and long, a fierce, possessive kiss, hot and fiery, burning through all the half truths and jokes and teasing that they had used to hide from each other.

For just a second, LaFiamma froze then with a sobbing gasp he came across the table, into Levon's arms. Scattering the guns off the table, turning it over, shoving it out of the way as he pushed Levon back on the floor between the table and the couch then rolled over to put Levon on top. He spread his legs, letting Levon slide between them.

Lundy drove his tongue deep into LaFiamma's mouth, then sucked Joe's tongue back into his. He began to hump between Joe's legs, rubbing their cocks together through their clothes.

He broke the kiss and began kissing and nipping his way along Joe's jaw to his ear, chanting half under his breath as he humped faster and faster between Joe's legs, "Mine, mine, mine."

Joe moaned and chanted back, "Yes, yes, yes."

"Mine!"

"Yours!"

"Nobody else's!"

"Nobody else's!"

"Forever!"

"Forever!" Joe sobbed as he came.

Lundy thrust harder against him, once, twice, three times then he exploded, too. "Mine!" He pronounced the fierce, possessive fire in his eyes burned into Joe's branding him to the soul.

"Yours." He affirmed. "Forever."

Lundy didn't know how he'd tell Jamie. He still cared about her but he knew now that he would never feel for her what he felt for Joe. He looked down at his lover. This was what he wanted. This was what he needed.

JoeandLevon. LundyandLaFiamma. Together. Forever.

He almost laughed; remembering that people at the station had been saying their names like it was one word almost from the start. Funny that it'd took him so long to realize what everybody else already knew. They were meant to be together. Forever.

The End