Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏' 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌..

If Kyle Austen had any idea that Samuel Drake was alive, he would've come for him.

He would've sacrificed everything just to run his fingers over his skin and feel him again. To breathe his scent in and hold him closer than ever before, but now all Kyle felt was anger.

2 Hours Before...

The violet and scarlet luminescent lights of the strip club hurt Kyle's eyes. Exhausted and merely hanging on by a thread, he made way back to the bar after grabbing dirty glasses off the table that just left and stacked them onto the tray in his hand. The lighter the day got, the quieter it seemed in Lust & Lounge.

Kyle yawned at the thought of climbing back to a warm bed. Polishing new freshly clean glassware with a white cloth, he wondered how inappropriate it would be to ditch work to go home.

"You look a bit delirious, wanna take a break?" offered Sylvie who passed by him grabbing a handful of ice for a cocktail.

"You sure you won't need me?" he mocked.

"You've been here longer than I have today," she insisted, giving him a sincere smile, "Just go."

"Rosa's coming in later right?"

Nodding her head, Sylvie walked up behind him and reassured all would be okay.

Leaving the bar area he made way for the staff door, paying attention not to knock anything over which he always had a special skill for. Clumsy, always so clumsy. Nathan would laugh if he saw him right now. Stepping outside into the fresh air, the sun began to rise, Kyle muttered under his breath rubbing his eyes.

"I'm like a vampire." giggled Kyle to himself tiredly.

Rummaging in his pockets, he pulled out a lighter and a packet of cheap worn cigarettes. If insomnia doesn't kill me, this will he thought to himself, as he put one between his lips and lit it, taking a deep drag. A habit he had indulged in by an old friend. Taking his sweet old time he leaned against the red brick wall and sighed.

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson started playing, signaling that someone was calling him. Grabbing his phone, he looked at the caller ID but nothing came to his mind as he answered, preparing himself for the storm of bad news (if any).

"Who's this?" stated Kyle quietly but firmly, turning around while watching the road and the passersby to identify a threat to him or his life. He'd taken plenty of odd jobs to say the least, whether they were legal or not he would never admit.

"Will you quit it," said the person on the line, "It's me Sullivan."

"Sully, hey," responded Kyle, relief flooding his body at the now familiar voice, "What's up?"

Careful is never careful enough.

Although he adored Sully, he'd gotten progressively more tired of taking on tasks that passed the meter of legality. He'd simply lost too much and gained too little out of it. Did he love the thrill? The adrenaline coursing through his veins at risky situations? Hell yeah, but sometimes too much really was too much.

"I got a little thing going on right now," he spoke quickly and almost hesitantly proceeded on to say, "You heard from Drake yet?"

"No, why?" Kyle scrunched his nose thinking hard.

"I thought you were on the plan."

"What plan?" Kyle racked his brain searching through the pile of excuses he could use on Sully, "What is going on?"

"Look, I need you to stay put," communicated Sully, inhaling a puff of a blunt, assumed Kyle, "I'll be with you soon."

Kyle was ready to argue and disagree like a child but something told him there was more to this than Sully was letting on. Nate was probably in trouble again, no doubt.

"You okay?" voiced Kyle with a tone of concern.

"All good, see you soon."

Weird.

Ending the call, Kyle looked around to make sure he wasn't being watched and returned inside in a calm fashion.

Grabbing his crossbody black bag from his locker, he passed by a dozen of performers who he couldn't help but stare at and into the bar area. Telling Sylvie he was leaving early because of an emergency, he tossed her a late birthday gift he was supposed to give ages ago and blew her a kiss as he left.

"That's that." he muttered while walking through a crowd of people.

To shield himself from the sun, he pulled up his dark red hood and made a short stop at the local bakery. The aroma of sweetness filled the air as Kyle stood in line. An array of cupcakes was placed at the front ranging from chocolate chip to bitter walnut.

Departing the little bakery with a brown paper bag, he made way towards his rundown apartment complex. Marching up the stairs two at a time, ecstatic to eat food as he imagined a dark black coffee in his hands. Clutching the door knob, he took a yellow tinted key out of his bag pocket and pressed it into the hole, turning.

Eager to get inside he shoved the door open, stepping into the darkness as he dropped his belongings onto the tile floor.

"Damn it, I forgot to leave the blinds open again." he said to himself.

Taking his hoodie and shirt off, he tossed them to the floor and palmed the light switch in desperation forcing the light on.

What he saw next in broad daylight, made his soul leave his body as he stared at no other than Samuel Drake in the flesh, quite literally. Sam Drake sitting on his couch, flaunting an amused cocky grin as he peered up at him.

God forgive me for what I'm about to do Kyle thought.

Chapter Text

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏'

𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰'𝒎 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒚 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒕

Kyle unlocked the car door and stepped out. Wearing a brightly coloured floral shirt and black formal pants, he grabbed his sunrays to block out the bleeding sun of Italy.

“You think this'll work?” questioned Kyle as he adjusted his eyes to the sunshine and scanned the front driveway as a precaution.

“If you let me do the talking,” grumbled Sully to his right as he made his way around to him.

Kyle could only hope that what they had planned would be enough.

Presenting themselves on a silver platter at the Rossi Estate for a black market auction without guns was a calling for trouble but Kyle knew better than to voice that concern. Besides it wasn't his idea, it was Nathan's and Kyle trusted him enough to let that slide. So had Sam.

Sam.

Kyle pushed away his thoughts and concentrated with the task at hand.

Peering up at the building he gulped in fresh air. Its greying bricks and cinder blocks with elegant architecture made the place look seminal. Red flags stood at the top making the entrance stand out. Following Sullivan’s footsteps, Kyle walked with his hands stowed in his pockets before reaching the door. Chatter and whispers of conversations floated but Kyle paid little attention until Sully spoke in his ear.

“They're gonna pat us down now kid, don't freak out,” stated Sully as he looked him up and down.

Touch wasn't necessarily his favourite so Kyle silently thanked Sully in his head and awaited his turn. Closing his eyes in response to the pair of hands on him, Kyle recited the lies in his head that he'd be expected to follow through with as the bodyguard
started speaking.

“Name and ID?”

“Cole Stevens,” said Kyle rather quickly, “Here you go.”

Sully studied him from the corner of his peripheral vision. Kyle took that as a hint that he wasn't selling himself well enough.

“Nice place you've got here.”

The guard sent him a questioning look with an accusatory tone, “You do anything that causes suspicion and we will arrest you,”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” said Kyle, giving a tight smile.

“That's both you done, go ahead.”

Ignoring the various waiters and staff, Sully led them upstairs passing by rooms and rooms of unused furniture and old statues.

Kyle wasn't exactly the best con man and would've preferred to have snuck his way into the estate but Sam had insisted upon him keeping an eye on Sully and so Kyle had obliged. He had laughed at the idea at first but watching Sam's piercing eyes and determined expression, he understood why. Sully was unpredictable and Sam had too much on the line but Kyle trusted Sully. He knew Nathan had good judgement of character but Sam didn't seem so certain.

Kyle had almost commented that being extremely suspicious of someone was reflective of another but he felt as though Sam wouldn't have liked that and so Kyle shut his mouth. He was simply too observant for his own good.

“How long do you think it'll take them?”

“Could be an hour, get settled,” said Sully as he flashed the nearest lamp on and off as a signal to both Nathan and Sam.

Inhaling the heavy stench of Sully’s cigar filling the room, Kyle traced the chipped wood of the windowsill he was leaning on with his fingernails. Searching his mind for a distraction, Kyle pondered over a distant memory that didn't seem so distant.

3 days ago...

Gripping the handle of the apartment door, Kyle felt throbbing pain shoot up his arm as he stared at his assailant. Moving one foot in front of the other, Kyle got a distinct look at him. Fifteen years may have passed but Sam looked no different except for the wrinkles around his eyes and the dullness of them as if the joy’s of the world had escaped him. He could only imagine what his life had resulted in the Panamanian prison.

“Kyle?”

The whisper was soft, almost careful not to scare him but Kyle shook his head. His brain swimming with confusion. This was unreal. He was imagining this, Sam couldn't really be here. His mind was playing cruel tricks, it wouldn't be the first time.

Sam moved from the corner of his eye and could tell something was deeply wrong. Kyle from fifteen years ago would've rushed to him but the past was buried with a dead Sam and a vague memory of what they had. Perhaps I'm developing schizophrenia or not eating enough again thought Kyle. Regaining his balance, Kyle grabbed the nearest knife.

“Explain to me why I shouldn't stab you if you really are real?”

“Look, I get what this looks like.” spoke Samuel, scratching his neck in search of a proper answer.

“You haven't answered my question,”

“I'm here, I promise, it's me. It's really me, not some chalked up version.” Sam said, coming closer but almost too afraid to hold him.

“Sam?”

“Kyle?”

Gently prying Kyle's palm open, Sam grabbed the knife and placed it on the counter besides them both.

“I can't do this a second time, you know,” confessed Kyle.

He was afraid he was already losing Drake despite him being there.

“I won’t break you,” teased Sam.

“How are you so sure?” questioned Kyle in a mocking tone.

“If you don’t put a shirt on, I just might,”

It was just then that Kyle realised he was half naked. Rolling his eyes at the suggestion, he lightly brushed past Sam before grabbing the shirt off the ground and tugged it on in a hasty fashion.

“How’d you find me? How are you out?”

“I’m in trouble,”

“How so?” scoffed Kyle, the idea seemed almost ridiculous unless Sam owed someone.

“Getting out of Panama didn’t come for free,”

“What do you need me to do?” asked Kyle, the tensions in his muscles had eased but his nerves were increasing. He could already tell what Sam was expecting of him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t for something,”

The silence was almost deafening. Neither of them had uttered a word about their failed relationship that had been blurred by crime and money. Kyle had attempted to move on but what couldn’t be fixed was salvaged into who he had become without Samuel. He couldn’t trust again.

“What do you need me to do?” repeated Kyle quietly, avoiding Sam’s watchful gaze.

“I need you to help me recover Henry Avery’s treasure,” confessed Sam, “Otherwise I am as good as dead.”

“Got it.” It was then and there that Kyle decided he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

Chapter Text

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓, 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

“Bad news kiddo,”

“What’s new?” replied Kyle, re-adjusting the few top buttons of his shirt by hand.

Although they were sheltered by walls and fresh AC, Kyle felt himself sweating profusely. Maybe it was the nerves or the hot weather but they impatiently waited for the Drake brothers to arrive. The black market auction tempted those not already swooned by the cluster of jewels presented in the gallery, situated outside the room Kyle and Sully found themselves in. Kyle wondered what the outcome of the issue would come to be.

“Avery’s cross is gonna be up for bid soon,”

That got Kyle’s attention.

“Did you recognise anyone?” analysing Sully who met his gaze and shook his head.

“I suppose we’ll worry about that when they get here,” muttered Sully, already lighting another cigar and perching himself up on the couch next to Kyle.

“Talk about the devil,” said Kyle observing the window that just moved.

Bringing his hands to his sides, Kyle lightly pushed himself off the soft lily green sofa and made way to greet Nathan who stood by the red velvet curtains that swayed lightly by the breeze pulling through the open air.

“Kyle,”

“Nathan, long time no see,” Kyle gave him a warm smile and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re here,” spoke Nate, lightly punching him on the shoulder and pushing past towards Sully. A sense of nostalgia tugged at Kyle’s stomach.

Dragging his attention away, Kyle peered at Sam. Wearing a flawless black tuxedo with shoes to match and a pristine white shirt underneath, Kyle felt slightly underdressed and very much hot as he felt his heartbeat speeding up at his ex boyfriend.

“You like what you see?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” coughed Kyle, masking his embarrassment at being caught.

“Good to see you alive, Sam,” said Sully, extending his hand in the form of a handshake.

“Let’s uh..try keeping him alive by getting this cross, huh?” piped up Nathan clearly focused on the task.

“Yeah, uh, about that..”

“What? What about that?”

“There’s an issue we’ve come across,” started Kyle beckoning them to follow towards the gallery's fancy balcony that showcased the oncoming event.

“That’s Avery’s cross,” voiced Nathan, “how long before they start the bidding?”

“Ten, fifteen minutes tops and that took a whole pile of cash to make happen,” spoke Kyle watching the crowd in anticipation to see if he could recognise anyone. Something like this wasn’t infrequent but it meant they weren’t alone tonight.

People below them chatted away idly unaware of the scrutiny held by the four thieves above them. Expensive catering was being provided and the dimly lit lights shone sharply as a middle aged woman spoke, outlining the process of the auction. Kyle could already tell this would be a tight job to do.

“There’s gotta be some way we can grab it,” Observing Nate’s features, Kyle could tell the clock was ticking on whether or not this was possible.

“There is just the small matter of a few hundred eyewitnesses down there.” Taking a puff of his blunt Sully spoke once more in a hushed manner, “If the guards see us making for that cross..”

“What if they don’t see us? Jesus, you guys act like you’ve never spent time in prison,” mocked Sam waving his hand in annoyance, “If you want something dirty done… then you wait for..”

“Lights out.” they said in union.

“Where’s that electrical panel for this place?”

A question they all had in mind as Nate grabbed for his pant pocket. Kyle had no idea where Nate had produced a map of the building from but he was thankful.

“This means someone’s gonna have to climb up there and kill the electricity,” he grumbled watching Nate trace the path to the electric panel.

“And someone else will have to grab the cross in the dark,” Sam finished Kyle’s sentence for him gazing into his hazy green eyes with a mischievous smile.

“Except there’s no way we can get that close without being noticed,” continued Sam turning his face away causing Kyle to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. Just then, worlds collided as a timid waitress approached them holding a palette of sorts. Nathan recoiled, hiding the map out of view.

“Scusate, signori..Antipasti?”

Kyle had no idea what she’d asked because he’d never bothered to learn any silly Italian, however he intently watched the interaction unfold, paranoia setting in.

“I’m all set,” murmured Nate dismissing her.

“Hi,” smirked Sam, lightly grabbing an appetiser, “How are you?”

A familiar pang of jealousy blossomed in Kyle’s chest. He had no idea where he and Sam stood in their relationship.

Observing the slim and tanned waitress, Kyle thought of his previous lovers. Kyle Austen had been with many but no one compared to Samuel. He couldn’t bring himself to think of letting Sam slip so easily through his fingers again and he could only hope that was mutual.

Noticing Kyle’s disdained look, Nathan shifted Sam’s gaze by prodding him in the shoulder, “Would you focus?”

“A waiter wouldn’t get noticed,” stated Sam, happily munching on the fresh appetiser as they watched the waitress walk away.

“That could work,”

“That will work.”

Every word of conversation went in one ear and out the next as Kyle casted his eyes on the crowd below, ignoring his reddening cheeks. He could feel Sam’s stare upon him but he chose to disregard that as well.

“Ready?”

Nodding their heads, they headed towards the lower level of the ballroom.

“Hey uh, if you need me to kick his ass I will,” started Nathan.

“Tempting offer,” chuckled Kyle as he weighed his options.

As if by instinct, Sam turned slightly to peer back at them as he walked with Sully. Kyle gave him a tight smile in reassurance. The distant aroma of aged wood drifted in the atmosphere and the polished surfaces showed off elegant stone sculptures, Kyle was impressed by.

Approaching the back of the fancy ballroom he squinted his eyes, noticing the electronic lock.

“Someone's gotta take care of this,” insinuated Kyle.

“I got it.”

A minute or two passed by the time Nathan made it back with the card in hand.

“Pleasure to watch professionals at work,” said Sully with a smug smile, taking a puff of his lit cigar, “Alright let’s try this again.”

They each were handed an earpiece of sorts.

“Good luck,”

“We’ll be in touch.” spoke Nate as Sam nodded humming.

The two thieves slipped away in silence as Sully and Kyle stood together side by side.