Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Other Authors
Rating:	NC17
Pairing:	Joe/Levon
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Once a Hit Man, Always a...
Author:	Glo
e-mail:	Goglow@mailcity.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.

Once a Hit Man, Always a...
By Glo

While he'd always thought of his partner as a bit peculiar, even foreign in some ways, Levon Lundy had never really seriously considered him to be anything except what he was supposed to be - a good cop. A northern, Chicago - city-style cop, but a cop. And a beautiful, spirited friend. This was new, this remote look. The veiled eyes that usually sparked with emotions, often angry but always clear and open. The still, waiting look. Joseph LaFiamma had never seemed to have a truly quiet bone in his body, not only was he loud-voiced, but he could never seem to stop moving. He would pace, he would gesture, he would jump up or thump down. Levon had always guessed it was LaFiamma's Italian blood that made him so full of drama and life.

For the cowboy, who had been in grieving for his dead wife, who had practically chosen to estrange himself from those around him, this boisterous, vibrant being was like a tonic. Suddenly, he was yelling back, striking out, engaging in life again, even if only in self-defense.

But now it had all changed, in the answering of a telephone call. At his desk, Joe had answered with his usual gruff, "LaFiamma."

Then he had listened. It was the silence that had attracted Levon's attention. Joey had not said another word. His eyes had gone out of focus and his knuckles had gone white gripping the receiver. He had ceased to shift in his seat. His free hand had come to rest flat on the desk surface. Levon watched wordlessly. When Joe hung up, Levon tried.

"Uh, Joe? What was that all about?"

"Umm? Nothing, Lundy. Old business." Joe's tone was casually dismissive. It hurt to have this sudden stranger talking to him after all this time. Levon looked down.

And so everything changed. LaFiamma had closed some internal curtain and Lundy couldn't see past it. He only knew that he had lost something important.

*******************

Joey LaFiamma sat on his couch in the dark. He stared out through the plate-glass window of his living room at the lights of Houston. He fingered the long gun in his lap. He hadn't assembled it in two years now. Hadn't had it out in almost that long. The sight slipped between his fingers as he rubbed it thoughtfully. This was not something he wanted to do, but unless he was very good and very careful, it was something he was going to have to do. Because he had something very special starting down here and he was not going to lose it. He closed his eyes and leaned back, hands loosely holding the rifle. Levon, I don't want you to know about this, but I don't want to hurt you either and I am, I know it. Joe tightened his hold on the weapon.

*******************

This was not the way it was supposed to happen, Levon Lundy decided. If a partnership was gonna break up, it should go out in a blazing firefight, a final clash, not like this. Not in silence and a stillness that didn't explain itself. He had tried to get his partner to talk to him, even tried threats but it was as if the man couldn't be bothered to respond. Levon had been worried, but now he was getting angry. Dammit, LaFiamma, you owe me more than this. I thought we wuz getting closer. Going somewhere I've been wanting to go for a long spell. Now?

The other detectives, even Joanne Beaumont, their lieutenant, had noticed. No one would say anything to the dark, northern detective, but they all found ways to quiz Lundy. And Levon didn't have any answers.

*******************

There was a sudden pounding at his door that roused Joey from his introspective mood. He felt drugged, slow. He stood and realized he had the rifle in his hands again. He didn't even remember taking it out of the cabinet under the bar.

Putting it on the coffee table, Joe moved to the door, almost like he was walking through a heavy fog, feet pulled down into invisible mud, dragging at them, sucking at them. The pounding was alternating now with sharp raps. "LaFiamma, I figure yore in there, now open up!" Lundy's voice, harsh and angry.

Joe stopped on his side of the door and rested a hand against the wood. Maybe Levon will go away. The rapping began again. Guess not.

He unlocked the door, the snicking of the locking mechanism silencing the noises on the other side. He had barely started to twist the knob to open the door when a whirlwind was shouldering past him, stalking into the small entryway. "It's about time. You figure I was goin' to go away or what?"

Joe just looked at his partner vaguely. His eyes began to cloud over and he felt chill.

Levon got a good look at LaFiamma now and stopped in mid-rant. Oh, Joey. He gentled and reached out softly to touch the man's cheek. He slid a knuckle up and down the scratchy jawbone, then waited. Joe's eyes were downcast and he started to tremble.

"Joey?" Levon moved closer, right up against his partner. "What is it? Tell me what's wrong."

LaFiamma's eyes came up to meet his partner's. The eyes were burning in dark hollows, his cheekbones stood out sharply against the shadows of his face. Levon had been worried when he arrived but now he was truly scared. This was not Joe being contrary. This man was hurting. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Levon's hand traveled down that face to the back of Joe's neck and he pulled the taller man against him. There was no protest. Joe seemed to melt, his head coming to rest against Levon's shoulder, his arms sliding slowly around Levon's waist. Lundy circled his friend with both arms now, hugging and stroking up and down the rounded back.

"Whatever it is, Joe, we'll take care of it. Together. That's what partners are for, you know."

"Ain't that easy, Levon." A whisper of sound, almost a choking. The arms around Lundy began to tighten.

"Yeah, it is. Friends do for each other. Now, tell me about it."

Silence.

"Joe, I'm here for you, man. I...I love you, buddy. I'll do whatever needs doing."

"Love?" The whisper was a little stronger. "Levon, I care about you, too. But you don't know what love means in my world."

"Yore world? You in some 'nother place I ain't seen?"

"Lundy...never mind." A sigh and the head tucked in tighter by Levon's neck.

Without meaning to, one of the cowboy's hands crept up and into the dark waves of Joe's hair. As the strands slipped between his fingers, Lundy felt as if he was moving into some dark secret place where his friend was waiting, had been waiting for some time.

"Joey. Tell me about yore world?"

There was another silence, then, "Lundy, you don't want to know. I ... I've been things, done things, that don't have nothin' to do with being a cop. You'll hate me, if I tell you."

Levon Lundy straightened and faced this truth with one of his own. "Joe, LaFiamma, man, you are important to me. I won't hate you. Whatever it is, we'll work through it. I promise."

Joe's whole body seemed to exhale then inhale deeply against the blonde's form. Then the ex-Chicago cop pulled back out of his friend's arms and turned away. "Come on, if we're gonna talk, might as well sit down." He led the way into the living area, toward the low leather couch facing the skyline view. Seeing Lundy follow, he stopped briefly by the bar. Forced himself to make an effort at normal hospitality. "You want something? A beer?"

Lundy shook his head negatively. "Nah, nothin' for now."

Joe nodded and continued in to the room. He sank into the center of the couch. Levon, following, hesitated for a moment, then sat beside him. As he settled in, he could feel the heat of Joe through their touching legs. He felt strangely comforted by this.

LaFiamma leaned forward now and touched the coffee table in front of them. Eyes drawn by the action, Lundy's opened wide at the sight of the long, elegant shooting rifle resting there. It was a high-powered long-range weapon with a telescopic sight. It lay there, a deadly presence.

"Whoo-ee, LaFiamma, how long you had that thing?"

"Seems like all my life, Lundy. Haven't had reason to have it out since I got down here. I've been grateful for that."

"And now?" Lundy suddenly realized this was all connected somehow. The changes in his partner, this new intimacy, there was something going on.

"I got a call."

"Yeah, I know. I think I was there when you got it. You've been actin' strange ever since."

LaFiamma's face was pale and shadowed and the small smile was almost scary sitting on it. "I guess I should have realized I was causing a scene."

"Naw, yore always acting weird, LaFiamma," Lundy stated cryptically, leaning back now and letting his arms lay across the back of the sofa, one hand coming to a rest just behind his partner's thick head. Time to talk. "Jest this time, you gone so quiet, none of us could figger out what spur had got in yore side."

Joe's face broke into a wry grin for a moment before the stillness returned, as if he couldn't sustain anything except this dark mood. "Lundy, I was an assassin. Not for the mob, mind you, but for Uncle Sam. Sometimes felt like the same thing, though."

"You mean a hit man? You mean you shot folks? Dead?" Levon's voice had a stunned quality even as the rifle in front of him screamed that this was a truth he was hearing.

"Yeah. Dead. They called it termination with extreme prejudice." LaFiamma shifted slightly and his shoulders seemed to round even more as if he was pulling himself in, away from his partner. Levon responded instantly by letting his arm slide down from the back of the sofa onto his partner's curved spine where Joe leaned forward. Leaving the warm hand there, Levon waited.

Joe felt the hand on his back. It sent a peculiar sense of reassurance through him. Lundy wasn't getting up and charging out in disgust...yet. But, he hadn't told him everything yet.

"I served in the Corps for a couple of years." He shrugged. "Was an expert marksman. Word went up the chain and I got seconded to some heavy-duty stuff. Real secret, classified. Still is. With the Company."

"The CIA?"

"Yeah." Joe snuck a look at the blonde then went back to staring at the rifle. "Thought I'd put that all behind me when I left the service and started being a cop up in Chicago. But, then the calls would come in. Once they got you, they never let you be."

"And since you got down here?" Levon asked doubtfully.

"None. Until now."

"What do they want you to do?"

Joe sighed and turned to face his friend. Levon didn't drop his arm so his hand now lay on Joe's near shoulder where he gripped it encouragingly. "It really doesn't matter 'cause I am not gonna do it."

"Will that be a problem?"

Joe closed his eyes. His voice sank to a whisper of sound. "Could be. They don't know yet."

"When they gonna find out?"

"Right about now. I'm supposed to be somewhere doing the hit right now." Joe was talking to Levon's belt by now, head down so low.

Levon studied the unhappy figure for a moment, then followed his heart and pulled Joey back into his arms. His partner resisted for a moment then relaxed against him. "So, if'n yore not shooting someone right now, that mean someone is gonna come by and act right unfriendly?"

There was a tremor beneath his arms and a muffled sound that Levon realized was a watery chuckle. He slid in closer so that they were glued together and held on tight, a slight smile on his own face. Joe pushed his head up from between them and laid it back on Levon's shoulder.

"Levon, they threatened me. When my contact delivered the name of the mark and the timing, he said that they thought I might need some persuading since it had been a while. Said that he'd hate for something bad to happen to my partner." Joe raised his head now and looked into Levon's eyes from only inches away.

"Guess I better be a sight careful, then."

"Levon, this is serious."

"I know," Lundy said and ran a curled finger down the side of Joe's face. He tipped his head to the side and moved forward until their lips were nearly touching. "I'm serious now, too, Joe. You want me to back off?"

Joe's eyes glittered briefly with what looked like amusement in the midst of all the deep shadows. For an answer, he closed the distance, his lips soft against Levon's. They sat there, neither moving further, just sitting still. Their lips pressed together. Then Levon opened his and Joe was thrusting a tongue in to investigate, sliding around teeth and toying with Levon's answering tongue.

With a moan that sounded frustrated, Joe was suddenly lifting and pulling and Levon found himself dragged onto his partner's thighs, on a hot swelling bulge. Levon grinned and let his hands begin to roam. As skin met skin, his hands exploring under Joe's open necked shirt, Levon found himself groaning in his turn. Finding the hard nipple under his hand, Levon pinched and was gratified at the electric response jerked from Joe. Almost frantic, Joe burrowed into Levon's shirt with his face and Levon was looking down at the dark, thick hair of the top of Joe's head. He took advantage of this to thrust both hands through the waves, combing his fingers back and forth with greedy speed.

When Joe began to suckle on one of Levon's nipples, the reaction was overwhelming. Levon arched up and cried out, coming through his jeans. So soon! He'd wanted to ...something, didn't know what, couldn't seem to think, but couldn't hold back his excitement. He felt hot moisture against his buttocks at almost the same moment as Joe came with him. They clutched at each other, panting breathlessly. Then Levon started to chuckle and Joe began to laugh. Within moments they were both helplessly overcome, laughing. Levon slid off of Joe's lap on to the floor where he wiped his eyes and leaned back against the sofa, one arm still casually draped over Joe's legs which sprawled open. The damp patch at Joe's crotch matched Levon's and that set him off again. Joe finally seemed to calm, laying his head back on the sofa's tall pillows, he played with Levon's curly hair with one hand while he breathed deeply. Levon grinned up at Joe. "Guess we both needed that."

"You said it."

"Joe, are you okay with this?" Levon asked soberly now, pressing his hand on Joe's knee.

"You mean 'us'? Yeah. If you want the whole truth, cowboy, I've been wanting to do something like that for a while now." He continued to toy with the blonde hair beneath his hand.

Levon looked surprised. "Yeah? Me, too. Guess we done wasted some time, partner."

Joe smiled and let his hand curl down under the blonde's chin, lifting it towards him. He leaned down and applied a satisfying kiss. "Mmmm. Tastes good."

"Ah, Joe, this is great and I'd like to plan on us maintaining our partnership this way, but what about yore problem with the Company?" Levon hated to put any water on this fire, but the rifle still sat there in front of them like a silent witness.

Joe looked over at it now, releasing Levon. "Don't know but guess I'll be hearing soon. It won't be good news. We'll have to be extra careful, watch our backs."

"Nothing new there, but I may can hep out a bit," Levon confided. "See, my granddaddy was a Ranger. They's separate from most other folks, as you know."

Joe nodded, wondering where this was going. He sat up straight and pulled Lundy up off the floor and onto the sofa again, holding him close as he listened.

"I still got connections pretty high up, Joe," Levon continued, taking time to taste those luscious lips in front of him again, "I can see what I can do about getting them offen your back."

"Now that would impress me, Levon, when my own family couldn't do nothing."

"They knew about it?"

"Yeah, man, and they wasn't real pleased that I wouldn't work for them the same way."

"Umm, I can imagine."

It was quiet now as they both thoughtfully turned over possibilities. The touching, the sex, it had all come so naturally that neither questioned it. They had simply reached a new level in their relationship, closer, more intimate. It felt so right that neither wanted to leave exploring it just yet, even though real life might intrude at any time.

Adjourning to the bedroom was done without comment and most of the rest of the night was spent in simple holding and stroking. When they finally moved on to second climaxes, the loving was tender and new, the passion spent in a few explosive minutes. They just affirmed their new link. "Lover?" Joe spoke softly in the early morning light.

"Yeah?" Levon answered, his heart expanding like a balloon at the new endearment from Joe.

"We're gonna stay together now?"

"Forever, far as I'm concerned, boy. Yore my heart, you know. Don't know when it happened but it did. Next to you is the only place I want to be now." Levon kissed Joe on the forehead as they snuggled close under the covers.

Joe kissed the closest part of Levon, which happened to be his chin at that moment. "Hear you, babe, me too. Heart and soul, like the music says."

The end?