yansadracan

Title: Best Interest At Heart
Author: YanzaDracan
Artist: Tiggeratl1
Fandom: RPS (KANE & SPN), Person of Interest, SWAT, Law & Order: LA, The Bourne Legacy
Rating: R
Warning: Implied torture; language
Word Count: 19,265
Summary: The Machine always protected The Creator, but when numbers began to appear in other parts of the country, The Creator and The Human Protector could not be in these other places so The Machine found a solution. It found The Sorcerer and The Guardian.

The next morning, Dean was already in the kitchen when I got to the restaurant. I was pissed and a little hurt that he'd left the party after Steve's and now my friends arrived.

"You and Jeff run off for hot monkey sex last night?"

Dean's head snapped up. I admit my tone had more bite than humor.

"No…no sex. I had therapy around three. Left me kind of wiped. Did I do something wrong?"

Well now I just felt like a prick.

"You left awful quick after the guitars came out."

Damn. Thought I had the lizard contained.

"Sorry."

He turned on the mixer making talking impossible. We worked in silence while I tried to figure out where all the resentment was coming from, and how to stuff if back in its box before Dean left-maybe for good.

He'd finished his last dessert for the day and was cleaning up. I walked over and scooped a fingerful of mousse from the bowl.

"I wished you'd try to get know our friends. They're good people."

Fuck if that didn't sound whiny.

"I know their good people. They're all nice kids and we have jack in common. We can't exactly have discussion about the 'six best ways to kill a Columbian drug lord'. Just because we're 'brothers' doesn't mean we're going to have the same friends."

I was glad the snark and the sass were back. He'd been too quiet since he was shot, but he wasn't finished.

"I tried to convince Jeff I wasn't a good a person-not that he listened-and I know I have more in common with Steve's cop buddies than the teen queens you know, I've killed people-they've killed people-gives us a little common ground so we can talk."

I grabbed his arms and shook him.

"Shut. Up. Just stop. That's bullshit and you know it."

"No, Christian, it's truth. I've lied to everyone else in the fucking world, but I try never to lie to myself, and I refuse to lie to you. Our paths are diverging. Brothers grow up and sometimes they grow apart, but they're still brothers."

He hugged me like he was storing up memories then walked away before I could find the words to refute what he'd said.

Dean threw himself into his physical training like he was still with the agency. I don't know who he was using for sparring partners, I only saw him at The Black Rooster, and he stopped seeing Jeff. Steve and I had him to supper one night to talk about Dean. He wasn't hurt, but Dean's image of himself made him sad.

Six weeks after the shooting there was another number. I only found out when Steve saw Dean come out of Lt. Gonzalez office in Homicide. When I asked Dean, he blew it off as simple surveillance to get a murderer off the streets.

It was strange how our lives seemed to draw a line in the sand when Dean was shot. Every day he seemed to move a little further from me and our old life. A week after New Year's Dean came to the house to tell us he was going out of town, and wasn't sure when he'd be back.

My heart caught in my throat.

"Are you coming back?" I asked.

"Yeah. I came by to ask you to keep an eye on the church." He handed me a key-texted me his alarm code.

"Oh."

It was my turn to hold on tight.

"Take care of yourself. Don't make The Machine look for a new Sorcerer."

He caught his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Dean?"

"The Machine found me another Guardian."

Instead of feeling outrage or jealousy at being replaced-I felt relieved. Steve and I were becoming very popular on the club scene, and had been talking about doing a CD with a friend of his that owned a recording studio. If things went well, Steve was going to leave the police department. We'd make music and great food together.

"Good. I hated the thought of your out there alone."

I pulled him into one more hug. He kissed me on the cheek. Steve came through the door as Dean was going out. The expression on his face was priceless when Dean hugged and kissed him, too.

"What was that?"

"Dean's going to find his new Guardian."

J2 _ KANE

It had been a month since Dean left. We checked the church every few days to let the neighbors see people around…kept the yard tidy and the junk mail collected. We'd started having potluck suppers on Mondays, rotating whose house we used. Tonight had been Jeff and his new girlfriend, Hilarie. Since we had to go by the church we decided to stop to save a trip out tomorrow.

I paused at the door. There was a light on I didn't remember turning on when I stopped by two days ago. Steve tensed when I went back to truck for our guns. Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I'm not still dangerous. I moved left, Steve went right and we came face to face with the business end of pistol held by a handsome man with the strangest eyes I've ever seen. He was lying on the couch, Dean protectively tucked behind him. The movement must have jostled Dean.

"Aaron?"

"Lay still. We have company."

"Christian and Steve?"

"Yeah."

"'k."

We put the guns away as Dean levered himself upright. I was moving toward the couch, as he stood with Aaron's help. I reached out to pull him into a hug.

"Watch his ribs." Aaron growled.

"Dean?"

"Little disagreement while protecting a number."

"Where was your Guardian."

I glared into eyes that were a swirl of color. Grey, green and blue flashed before settling on blue as he glared back.

"Protecting the number. Stop glaring, Christian. They're just bruised."

He let me go to hug, Steve.

"You quit being a cop yet?"

"Yeah. I'm dessert chef at this cool place called The Black Rooster."

"That's great. Glad things worked out."

He stepped back and Aaron moved against his side.

"This is Aaron Cross, my Guardian. Found him on a slow boat near China."

We exchanged pleasantries and small talk. Steve offered to run to the store for fresh supplies.

"Don't bother. We've got the necessities to hold us until tomorrow. I'd have called, but didn't think we'd get home this soon."

"Come by the Rooster Friday. Christian and I are doing a couple sets. Everyone'll be glad to see you."

The smile Dean gave us was one I hadn't seen since before the Samantha Smith debacle. Whoever this Aaron Cross was he seemed to be a perfect fit for Dean.

"We will. Thanks, Steve. Thanks for keeping an eye on the place while I was gone."

"No worries, dude. It's what brothers do."

"Yeah. It's good to be home. We'll see you Friday."

He leaned into Aaron as Steve and I headed to the door. I turned and handed him back his key.

"Keep it. You never know when you might need it." The smile was still in place and a twinkle filled the green eyes.

As we walked down the path I could hear Aaron chastising Dean for being on his feet. The ribs must have been a lot worse than he let on when he hugged us. Steve was chuckling as we got in the truck.

"Dean may have met his match in that one."

I chuckled.

"It's been a long time since I've seen that expression on Dean's face."

It was with a lighter heart that I looked forward to Friday.

We used the house for a backdrop as we set up in the courtyard. I peeked out the window to see Dean and Aaron sitting at the table we reserved for friends and family. Steve's mom and dad came out from the bar and sat with them taking to the two men like they'd know each other for years.

Then it was time. Steve followed me out to a round of applause when people saw us. We settled on our stools, and while we checked our tuning and settled our microphones, Steve started introducing our first song. I looked over at the family sitting around the table. Dean had let his hair grow, the blond and red streaks from the Indonesian sun reflecting the light from the torches. The expression on his and Aaron's face when Dean leaned over to hear what he was saying relaxed something inside my chest. The only fear I had in this new life was that I had lost Dean not only as a lover, but as a friend. Now thanks to a computer that was strangely attached to Dean, and a man that could keep up with both of them-I had Dean back in my life. Eliot Spencer finally rested in peace, and Christian Kane was content.

Sometimes even spies get happily ever after.

~ Fini ~