Work Text:
Locke wasn't a touchy-feely person, even to his wives he was… distant, mostly because work took up most if not all of his mind, especially orchestrating the CRIME.NET hack. He had no need or time for the pack animal craving for touch, it was a waste. Waste of space in his mind, a waste of time that could be put to use elsewhere. When his wives all died he couldn't bring himself to grieve, it was a happy occasion for him, and he never really loved them. Deep down Locke thought he was incapable of love, to want another person, to know the soul behind the dead eyes of a man who saw the worst in a human.
Until he met Vladislav Kozak, or simply “Vlad” if you were a member of the Payday gang, or a regular at his civvie bakery. How Vlad juggled being a crazed drug kingpin and a humble baker making honest money and cookies, was a mystery to Locke. The Ukrainian intrigued Locke, Locke wanted to study him like a bug, see what made him tick, see what was going on in the head of a man who put the goddamn PAYDAY gang on heists such as Meltdown and Stealing Xmas, the kind of heist where even Jimmy, the resident crazy cocaine addict, hesitated.
It was a normal day at Vernon's safe house. It was quiet, he’d almost call it peaceful, then the phone rang. “Vladislav Kozak” the caller id read, Vernon prepared himself to plan a vague intel-laden heist and nearly get the gang killed again , “Vernon Locke speaking” he answered, internally sighing. “Lockey!” Vlad half shouted, Vernon flinched away from the phone, in hindsight, he should have answered it with it away from his ear but oh well, minor ear drum damage. ”Gah!” he exclaimed out of reflex, “Lockey! Hey, do you have any allergies?” Vlad said, rustling could be heard on the other side of the phone, it sounded like paper. “Any what?” Vernon said, bemused, why would Vlad need that information? What was the Ukrainian planning now? “Allergies A-L-E-R-G uh Y-S,” Vlad said slowly and as clearly as he could as if he was talking to a toddler. Vernon didn't know what possessed him to answer “none that I know of, why do you need to know anyways?” Vernon said, but he might have well stopped talking after he gave up the info the Ukrainian wanted “OKAYTHANKSLOVEYOUBYE!” was a quick slur of words Vernon didn’t know if it was fully English Ukrainian or a mix of the two. ‘Love you’, however, was clear as a chiming bell, it made Vernon's insides feel weird. Strange, everything about and around Vlad was so goddamn strange. Vernon pushed any feelings that cropped up down and turned all of his attention to his computer, he had no time for any of this.
A week after the random phone call Vernon got a knock at his door, it was 10 in the morning but Vernon hadn't invited anyone to his safe house, around 7 people knew of its existence, and it wasn't like those people popped by randomly whenever they wanted, they only visited the safehouse for meetings and such. Locke grabbed his pistol and approached the door, he didn't want to be caught off guard by someone and killed after everything he's worked towards with the payday gang, he would not end like this. Locke checked his pistol twice while approaching the door, the safety was off and with a full mag, he was protected. Locke leaned against the door putting an ear to the door, seeing if he could hear any murmurs. Nothing. cautiously, and gun first; Locke opened the door, shoving the barrel of his pistol at the stranger standing there. “Woah!” a familiar accent rang out. Vlad . “Vlad? What in the blerrie hell!” Vernon exclaimed, lowering his gun. “I could say the same! Way to make someone feel welcome, Lockey!” Vlad was holding some sort of basket with both hands, it was unremarkable, just a light brown wicker basket with some light blue cloth covering the top. Vlad had a big handsome lopsided smile- handsome? Did Vernon just think aloud that Vlad was handsome? -like he didn't even mind a gun being pointed at him. “Well, what do you want?” Vernon said, eyeing the slav. “ I want to give you this ” Vlad slightly shook the basket in his arms bringing Vernon's attention to it. Vernon gave him a look that just said ‘what the fuck are you buttering me up for?’. After a second or two Vernon invited Vlad inside, Vlad beelined for the kitchen, putting the basket down with a soft thud on the slightly dusty kitchen table. Admittedly Vernon ate most, if not all, of his meals in his office. Vernon was quick to tail Vlad, distrusting of the Ukrainian being in his safehouse, and curious about what Vlad could have brought him.
Vlad gestured towards the basket, giving Vernon the go-ahead to look inside, as if there was a bomb- knowing Vlad MAYBE there was -Vernon gently lifted the cloth covering the contents of the basket. Instead of what Vernon was expecting, ie drugs, weapons or something more akin to their shared crime affiliation, there were 3 Ziplocs of cookies, all labeled. Vernon must have looked confused “is a thank you for-’ Vlad paused for a second “for everything really, it was my niece's idea” Vlad finished, Vernon was already looking through the Ziplocs, one said “chocolate chip” another “peanut butter” the last was originally labeled “BLOOD” but that was striked out for “red velvet” instead. “Is this why you asked about my allergies?” Vernon asked, maybe he should have said thank you first but this was at the forefront of his mind for some reason. Vlad nodded “didnt want your thank you to kill you, you’re too important to die” Vlad said, Vernon's heart jumped into his throat but he shoved the feeling down, Vlad thought he was important- what was this man doing to him to his damn head, get yourself together Vernon Locke -more importantly, why was Vlad being so nice? The hell did he have planned where he had to be on Locke's good side, it made him suspicious.
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Vlad had left Vernon's safehouse hours ago, Vernon had thrown himself right back into his work. It was 3 am when he checked the clock, he decided it was time to get coffee and pull an all-nighter. Vernon made himself some instant coffee, it didn't taste the best but it had caffeine and that was what was important. He was about to leave the kitchen to go back to his office but he paused seeing the basket still on the table, he hadn't moved it. Vernon shrugged to himself reaching into one of the Ziplocs and taking a cookie. Back in his office, he threw himself back into work, maybe work would get his mind to stop wondering to Vlad every second, why was he thinking about the Ukrainian so much?- Vernon took a bite of the cookie, red velvet apparently, it was nice. There were little heart-shaped sprinkles on the top. Suddenly his mind wandered to Vlad , he wondered what it would feel like to be held by Vlad, would he be naturally warm? Or cold, Vernon thinks Vlad would be warm like a teddy bear- where the hell was his mind going, he should be working not this -maybe Vlad would kiss the top of Vernon's head, nuzzle against him, hold Vernon tight against his chest and say ‘I love y- Vernon, get a damn grip -Vernon dug his nails into the flesh of his thigh to ground himself ”maybe it's time for bed” he sighed out loud, work could wait. His brain was being odd because of lack of sleep, that was it, nothing else. Nothing at all
Vernon lied in bed, but sleep and his brain decided to be difficult, his brain was still thinking about Vlad - how cozy it would be snuggled next to him how warm it’d be -Vernon felt like he was going crazy, why wouldn't the Ukrainian leave his thoughts?. Vernon tossed and turned, trying to will his brain to just shut up, sleep finally took hold of Vernon at 5 in the morning, but only a few hours of sleep was still sleep, hopefully that’d fix whatever weird shit was going on in his brain.