From the soft sentence starters: “I like this, being so close to you.” for Mason and Dom? If you feel it works better for another pairing, that's fine too, of course
Thank you so much for the prompt, and sorry for the delay!! This was a lot of fun, just took a while to pin down! 💛
Reaching (ao3)
G | Mason/M!Detective (Dom Traore)
The night is never quiet, this far into town - but it’s soft, in its own way. The occasional car passing by on the empty roads, lazily flicking lights across the far wall for a stretch before it turns away again. Bright stars glint against a dark, clear sky, and every once in a while he hears the shuffle of footsteps in the apartments around them.
The night air is cool against his flushed skin, and he catches the moment the breathing behind him speeds to wakefulness - a catch to his throat that Mason regrets instantly, even if Dom’s caught sight of him well before it could lead to actual panic.
When he looks back, Dom is stretching beautifully - pushing aside the comforter in favor of splaying across the sheets in a way that immediately has Mason’s throat going dry, all dark skin and a soft smile. There’s a glint to his eyes when he settles back down, like he knows exactly the effect he has on Mason - probably does, for all Mason never shuts the hell up about it. “What’re you doing up?” He asks, voice raspy still with sleep.
He shrugs, dragging a hand through his hair and sparing a glance out the window again, “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Mm…come here?” Mason’s across the room before the question’s out, all too easily swayed by that reaching hand. Dom catches his hand as soon as he’s close, threading their fingers together and tugging him that last little way back onto the bed. Why had Mason left again?
Settling back down next to Dom, tangling their legs together, it’s hard not to notice the absolute fascination Dom holds his hand with, both hands cradling his one, touch feather light and sending shivers down Mason’s spine. “What’s on your mind, handsome?” he asks, voice low and melting into the narrow space between them.
A yawn is almost all he gets - “It’s nothing.” But he keeps ahold of his hand, curling into Mason’s space - and though sleep doesn’t find Mason the rest of the night, he finds he doesn’t want to get back up until the morning chases them both out of bed.
–
It takes a while for Mason to notice - or at least, to notice this specifically. They’re always in each other’s space these days, he feels justified in not necessarily picking up on one thing in particular. But everytime they’re together, Dom’s hand finds his, using it to gently tug him this way and that, or to just…hold. If they’re sitting together, his hand is threaded in Dom’s, where it’s hanging over his shoulder. If they’re walking close, without fail their hands are together and Mason can’t remember when that happened. Hell, even in passing, if his hand’s on Dom, Dom’s hand is on his, even if only for a moment.
–
Another quiet night in Dom’s apartment - but he hadn’t made it to the window this time, hand caught as it was between Dom’s - and he hadn’t felt right, pulling away. So, instead, he sits on the edge of the bed, watching the stars pass by and wonders.
“I can hear you thinking.” Is the muttered reaction he gets, just as the sky starts to bruise purple and pink.
“No you can’t.” Dom squeezes his hand for that and Mason glances down at their entwined fingers - remembers he’s the one who grabbed Dom’s hand tonight - wonders when he started reaching back.
“I can hear you glaring?”
“That makes even less sense.”
“You gonna make me ask?”
“You gonna say what you mean?” He gets a huffed laugh for that, even as Dom pushes himself up to sit next to him, cradling his hand in his lap now and leaning against his shoulder.
“Okay, I deserved that. What’s wrong?”
Mason frowns, reaching up with his free hand to brush Dom’s hair away from his face. Wrong’s not the right word. “It’s not wrong just…” he growls softly, shuffling it over in his head. Dom stays quiet, just watching him out of the corners of his eyes, running his thumb over Mason’s knuckles. “Just. That. You do that a lot. Why?” He finally spits out, gesturing to where their hands are, but making no move to get his back.
Dom frowns slightly, glancing down - piecing together what Mason’s saying and what he’s not. “Holding your hand?”
“Yes, that.” That, and everything else - he knows his face is doing something from the way Dom’s eyes suddenly light up, and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth - an infuriating, knowing smile that Mason wants to kiss so, so badly.
“I like it - being so close to you. And getting to be the one who gets to hold your hand.” It’s a dumb answer - the butterflies in his stomach can knock it off. “Is that alright?”
Mason eyes him for a long moment, mulling it over - before using the hand still wrapped in Dom’s to push him back on the bed, chasing after him to finally steal that kiss, “Yeah, handsome - that’s just fine.”
3, 4, 5, 24, 25, 30,34 for your detectives! all or one or none.
thank you!! this was a lot of fun 💛chose Dom and Dex to keep this from getting too long lol
3. weapon of choice? any particular reason they chose their weapon?
outside of what they get as a detective/agent... hm I don't think either are particularly interested in weapons, but Dex would be handy enough with a baseball bat if we're in a world where he's not a werewolf with claws - easier to make an impact. Dom would prefer hand-to-hand if at all possible - easier to control.
4. how crafty/resourceful are they?
Dex is very resourceful without really noticing that he is - hasn't found anything he can't fix with a roll of duct tape, much to Adam's horror. Dom doesn't trust his skills that much and would much rather someone who knows how to get something done does it. He is very good about knowing how and who to go to to get things fixed though! He's got a friend, a reference, or a bribe waiting.
5. how do they typically dress? does their wardrobe lean more towards practicality or aesthetics?
Dex has four leather jackets, three pairs of jeans and a pair of boots and that is It. He had five jackets. One currently lives in Nate's closet. Practicality and laziness all the way.
Dom did love to get dressed up - loved looking his best and taking care in his appearance. It was never loud, but definitely Noticeable. We're at a point in the books though where he's a little more practical right now, and more understated, with hoodies and jeans and trauma about standing out but we'll get back to fashionable eventually.
24. do they have any creative hobbies? (art, writing, music, etc)
Dex I think would like music if he ever thought to pick it up, but for what he actively does...does gardening count?
Dom writes - little things, here and there. He hasn't thought about it seriously since he was a teenager, but the interest is still there!
25. how good/bad is their hearing? what about their eyesight?
Dex is good with both - probably some lingering hearing damage from being a teenager at concerts, but nothing he really notices. Dom doesn't "need" glasses, and gets very confused as to why he has so many headaches without them.
30. do they smell like anything notable?
Dex smells like leather and bad coffee, courtesy of the jackets and burning every coffee he's ever touched, and still drinking too much of it.
Dom at one point had a large collection of cologne to change with the seasons - now though, no, he tries to keep the scents to a minimum.
34. how would your character describe themselves? it doesn't have to line up with how they really are.
Dex wouldn't.
Dom would say he's quiet, calm, methodical, and not boring, thank you. (He's not entirely wrong at least).
Finally got these looking how I wanted so! My four main detectives right now (.......there will probably be more, eventually, but I’m already really attached to these. A lot.)
5 for dom/mason?? 😳😳 (this is possumsunshine btw fbhfbf)
5. a kiss...where it doesn’t hurt
Thank you so much for the prompt!! I might’ve gone at an angle again, but I had a lot of fun with this, and I hope you like it!
Having to be Useless
(read on ao3)
Words: ~550 Rating: G
There's a soft knock at the door, and if Mason didn't recognize the heartbeat behind it, he might've cursed at it.
As it was, even in the fog, he could admit it wasn't even a knock so much as a firm tap.
He doesn't bother answering either way, instead shoving his pounding head under the pillow. Sure enough, the person on the other side of the door takes the silence as the permission it was, and the door creaks open just long enough to let them in before it's closing again.
"Hey...heard from Nate." Dom says, low enough that human ears would struggle to pick it up.
Figures Nate would tell him. Not like Mason was going to. As much as he wanted to see Dom when they got back, he'd had the beginnings of this migraine even yesterday and he just...hadn't wanted…
Hadn't wanted what? Dom's seen him like this. Hell, Dom's seen him much worse.
Maybe it was the type of worse? Dom had seen him bruised and bloody plenty of times. Had even seen him over sensitized once or twice - hours if not days long headaches that made him irritable and set his senses on fire if he wasn't able to go find some place to hole up and hide for a little while from the bright and loud and wrong.
Maybe it wasn't so much he didn't want Dom to see, as he didn't want to deal with the time he needed.
If Dom didn't know - didn't come looking - then he could pretend he was still out on the job, and not wasting time being useless in bed. Not having to be useless in bed.
"You need anything?" Dom asks, gentle, and sweet, and too damn much right now, even in the quiet and the dark. And Mason hates how he winces, even as Dom is clearly trying to be as quiet as possible.
Mason can't quite make his tongue work like he wants, so he settles for a negative grunt, hopes Dom gets the answer he needs from that.
There's a muted hum, "Okay, I'll leave you be. But, hey, look at me for a second?" And Mason knows the room is dark enough that Dom has no way to tell if Mason does or not.
Finds he wants to anyway.
When he does, Dom's smiling at him so, so softly in the dark, before raising a hand to his lips to press a kiss there and blowing it Mason's way.
And it should be stupid and cheesy. It is stupid and cheesy.
And it makes Mason feel better than he has in two days, even if the laugh he lets out sounds like sandpaper and rocks.
"When you're ready for some company, you know where I'll be. Close your eyes." And Mason does as he's told, just as he hears the door open again to let Dom out - the light from the hallway is low but as it is, he's glad of the warning.
He buries himself back into the pillows, more relaxed than he'd been even ten minutes ago. In two hours - he can feel better all he likes, but aches like this don't just go away - he'll see if he's up for a shower, then go see if he can convince Dom to hang out in bed with him for a little while.
*slides back into your inbox* #30: kisses…as comfort, for dom/mason? (I am SOFT for these two okay) :D
I am so glad you like them! 💛 And thank you so much for the prompt!! I might’ve gone a little at an angle to it, but I had a lot of fun with it!
Familiar
(read on ao3)
Words: ~600 Rating: G
There's something to be said for familiarity, Mason decides. Something to be said for routine.
It’s what he misses (almost) the most while Dom’s away. The problem is - and the thing that is actually making him slightly aggravated, no matter what Felix says - is he can’t figure out what’s off about his routine.
They slept at the warehouse more days than not. Dom came back after work and stole half of the biggest table in the library to work on research or paperwork most nights, while Mason kicked up on the couch behind him and enjoyed the quiet, unobtrusive rhythm of a muted keyboard and even breathing. If it was Dom’s day off, and nothing from the agency was pressing, Mason could normally convince him that they should make use of the lock at his apartment, even if it was just to watch movies and do even more reading or whatever they decided to for the night, in the privacy of their own space.
Point was, even with Dom away - some stupid long conference upstate with Verda - there wasn’t a whole lot that Mason was doing that was different. He was still hanging around the warehouse, still escaping to Dom’s apartment if everyone else got too loud (or when Felix started insisting he was moping or some stupid shit like that), and still...just waiting for something to happen that actually needed attention.
Whatever Felix and Nate liked to suggest, him and Dom were not attached at the hip. The fact that they liked to be that close was irrelevant - they could function completely fine on their own, thank you.
But there was still this...this itch, at the back of Mason’s mind that he couldn’t put a name to. Something was missing, and it wasn’t as easy to pinpoint as just missing Dom.
He still hasn’t figured it out by the time he hears that godawful car struggling it’s way up the drive, or by the time those sure footsteps bring Dom back into the warehouse - back to Mason with that small smile that makes him want to be as close as possible. That beautiful smile that tells Mason he’s wanted just as close.
The kiss is perhaps a little melodramatic, but when Felix gags at them, Dom just laughs into it, and it’s still such a new feeling, that delight while they’re this close, that Mason can’t even be mad Felix interrupted.
Well, mostly.
---
It takes another two days for things to finally click into place. And, of all things that did it? It was Dom dropping a kiss to his temple as he slipped past the couch to go grab another cup of tea from the kitchen. It was thoughtless - literally, Mason’s pretty sure Dom wasn’t thinking about it at all. It was a reflex at this point - one he indulged in almost anytime Mason was in his orbit, which, to give at least a little bit of credit to Felix and Nate’s teasing, was pretty much constantly.
And that was it.
The week Dom was gone, there hadn’t been that easy, familiar, comfortable affection that said they were both happy to be right where they were, in that moment.
Dom laughs at him when he sneaks up behind him in the kitchen to wrap his arms around his middle and bury his face in the crook of his neck. “I missed you,” he mumbles, instead of answering the question Dom doesn’t even ask. Never asks - doesn’t need to ask.
And Dom hums softly, reaching back to twist a finger in a loose curl, tilting back enough to press another soft kiss to his temple - one that makes Mason melt, for its simplicity, “I missed you too.”
Thank you so much for the prompt! And I am sorry this is so late!!
Melt
(read on ao3)
Words: ~500 Rating: G
Dom really, really hated...what?
Really hated what? It was a long day, sure, but there was nothing really that...that made it bad. Just. Long. And tiring.
And you know what, maybe that was it - maybe he hated not having something to focus his annoyance on. Instead taking, and taking, and having nowhere to really direct that energy, and just being stuck with it building and building under his skin as the hours dragged on and the sun dipped below the horizon. Yeah, that might be it.
When he pulls up to the warehouse, he's about two seconds from just...falling asleep in his car. He's not particularly tired, but the thought of having to get out, get up, and go even farther is just not that appealing.
At least, until he gets a text from Mason asking if he's finally trying to put his car out of its misery by idling it until the engine gives. That at least gets a small, weak laugh from him, and gives him enough energy to get up, get out, and go find him.
Mason's not hard to find - these days, if there's no pressing business, it's not all that uncommon to find their four resident vampires in the rec room. Mason's already claimed their couch for the night, and honestly, Dom could catalogue what the others are doing - he knows they're there, and has at least enough wherewithal to wave when he hears his name - but honestly?
He sees Mason and that is all he wants right now. Not even in a...in any kind of way. Just wants. Wants to be next to him, be there with him.
Mason tips his head back on the couch as Dom comes closer, a lazy, lovely smile slowly spreading as Dom gets closer, and wouldn't you know it? That's incredibly convenient.
The kiss is at an awkward angle, both because of one of them being upside down, and because by now, Mason's laughing at him - this low, warm rumble that tingles all the way down to Dom's fingertips. And Dom just...just gives into it, because this...this is all he ever wants.
"You pull me over the couch again, I'm not responsible for my elbows," he mutters against Mason's mouth, grinning slightly when previously intent hands splay against the couch again, totally innocent.
He doesn't want to pull away just yet - the thought of it like pulling teeth, even if he knows he's being ridiculous, and even if the kiss is little more than smiles pressed close, and-
"C'mere Dom…" Mason murmurs so, so soft, Dom knows it's for his ears only.
And Dom is only so strong.
So he takes that last breath, that last taste, before finally, finally pulling away, just enough (too much) to slip around the couch, and drop heavily into Mason's waiting arms.
And there's that rich rumble again, echoing low in Mason's chest, and the last of the day just melts away.
