Chapter Text
Erling checks his watch, almost eleven. Fuckers better hurry.
“You think they’re gonna show?” Julian, on his right, asks while lighting his quizillionth cigarette of the evening. Erling wouldn’t be surprised if he got diagnosed with second hand lung cancer within the next year.
“They better, or there’s gonna be trouble.” Martin grumbles. Erling stays quiet while the three of them watch as cold blue smoke dances through the chilly night air towards the street lamp above. Beyond the dry hills surrounding the abandoned gas station the sun is nowhere to be seen, only a faint red hue clings to the sky where it set nearly two hours ago.
The stillness is broken by the sound of two engines coughing their way over the mountain pass close by. Erling sighs, here we go. Soon the two beat up Harley Davidsons stop on the turning point, creating huge dust clouds as they do. He watches through the smoke and dust as the two figures jump off their respective bikes and head towards them.
“Haaland”, the bearded one greets dryly as they stop in front of the trio.
“Harry” he greets just as dryly, taking the outstretched hand and giving it a firm shake before cutting to the chase, “So this is the culprit then I suppose?” He turns to the other man, or rather boy, honestly Erling hadn’t expected anything else from Harry Kane's little rat pack of followers.
“Yes it is” Harry sighs tiredly and pulls the young man forward by his arm. He’s tall, scrawnier than a radio antenna, with short dark hair that is skillfully cut along the edges and a pair of defiant brown eyes peering up at Erling. He would probably look handsome if his entire face wasn’t scrunched up in a deep snarl.
Erling straightens up, looks down at the other while crossing his arms, “We are waiting.”
When nothing happens Kane smacks the guy in the back of the head.
“Just tell them you’re sorry for fucks sake, Bellingham!” he hisses. The radio antenna smiles then, something sickly sweet and false all the way through. Showing off two rows of perfect white teeth.
“I’m sorry….” He says in a thick accent. But Erling isn’t content just yet.
“For what?”
The smile grows wider.
“For not cuttin’ your front tires as well to match ‘em up-”
“You little shit!” Julian spits, jabbing a finger in the smirking man’s face while Martin does his best to calm him down, “do you know how much those things cost?!”
"Come on man, behave" Erling tries before resolving to simply yanking Julian away with a hand in the back of his shirt. Then he turns back to Harry and the other man, Bellingham, while trying to ignore the curses and shouts from his friend now furiously smoking a cigarette over by the bikes.
“We are unfortunately a little low on cash to pay off the damage” Kane explains when the curses have died down enough to talk over, “so we do this the old fashioned way.”
The young man hisses as the grip on his arm visibly tightens.
“He’ll work for you until the debt is settled, isn’t that right Jude?” All they get in response is a turned away head.
“-if you’ll have him that is”
Looking at the snarling boy Erling isn’t so sure anymore, what could he do for them? More than slice tires that is.
“Does he bite?” Martin asks jokingly, looking the man up and down.
“Only if you want me to, handsome” Bellingham smirks, licking his full lips theatrically. The gesture reminds Erling of a hyena.
Julian throws his hands in the air where he is pacing around a few meters away, “AMAZING YOU GOT THE GAY ONE!!!” He shouts before continuing to curse to himself into the night.
Erling ignores him. “Yeah we take him”
______
After what feels like an eternity they are finally back and Erling can’t wait to just sink into his rackety bed and rest his aching brain for a couple of hours. He has certainly deserved it.
They park their bikes before heading for the porch which is still illuminated by the lights inside. Erling hadn’t asked the boys to wait up but knew the feeling of having parts of your crew out and about was almost impossible to fall asleep with. Or maybe that was just him.
“Don’t touch anything” Erling warns while stepping in front of Bellingham and into the house.
The giant building they called home was situated right on the outskirts of town, away from prying eyes and the awfully long fingers of the law. Not that what they did was illegal, it was just the fact that the house, grand as it may be, would never pass any inspection ever carried out within its walls. Schjelderup might be handy with a toolbox but after being electrocuted five times trying to fix the light fixtures in Julian and Nyland’s rooms on the second floor, Erling and the others collectively decided to just cut the power to that part of the house. To keep at least half of the young man's fingernails intact that is. Not to mention the many boarded up windows they had yet to fix., and the odd buckets scattered around the rooms and corridors. Nowadays it is almost impossible for Erling to fall asleep if something isn't dripping water somewhere close by. Anyways, it was their home, and he would take a leaking roof above his head over no roof every day of the week.
“Hold on cowboy” Martin stops Bellingham with a hand on his chest as he is about to step further into the house, “weapons.”
“‘avent got any”.
Erling still orders a pat down under supervision of himself and a very amused Julian. With a huff Bellingham holds out his arms while Martin starts patting down his sides and along his arms. During the whole ordeal Erling can feel the gaze of their guest on him the entire time, he meets it defiantly, trying his best to look as bored and unbothered by the whole thing as he can. But Bellingham doesn't let up and by the time Martin starts making his way up the others legs, the eye contact has almost taken physical form.
“Careful now” Bellingham warns, still coyly staring Erling down, as Martin starts feeling through the deep back pockets of his jeans, “you continue like this and I’m gonna have to charge you for it”
“I’ll pay you later sweetheart, don’t worry” Martin says flatly, pulling out a pocket knife and a lighter before swiftly moving on.
Bellingham lets out a sharp laugh, “Oh I like this one! Can I have your phone number when we’re done here?”
Erling can’t help but rub his eyes, hard, while letting out a tired groan, he was starting to regret the decision to take this idiot in by the minute.
Bellingham smirks,
“What? You wanna feel through my back pockets too, big guy? Is that why you’re so grumpy?”
Oh you wish. Erling thinks, but doesn't say anything about it. Instead he calmly asks Martin to show Bellingham to one of the unoccupied rooms of the house before slinking into the forgiving darkness of the house. Finally having a couple of hours to himself.
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That night Erling dreams, of soft skin, lean arms and defiant brown eyes looking up at him from the floor.
(To be Continued......)