...
Busca--The Search
Sequel to Once upon a time in Mexico
Notes: I started this story two years ago, right after I watched the movie for the first time. I couldn't make it work properly until recently when I changed the tense and made El's lover look differently then he was originally looking in my mind. The story is sappy and romantic. It's my personal happy end for the movie. It is also the longest fanfic I have ever written on my own and I'd say the hardest one as well. The self-invented character of Kevin Harrison is inspired by the hot looks and the brilliant acting of Michael Shanks.
HUGE thanks go to Jillie and Cimmie for the beta!!
Somewhere in Mexico
I will never fall in love again...
The Mariachi stroked the strings of his guitar very thoughtfully and slowly, a grieving, crying melody.
...never give life to a child.
He'd been in this mood for almost three years now, not knowing if he should live or die, rather wanting to die than live. But he couldn't die, not yet. A thought was nagging in the back of his mind since he gave himself permission to see his memories more clearly, after saving the President of Mexico.
His hand stopped playing and took the little doll, lying beside him on the pillow.
The doll of his beloved daughter.
Was she really dead?
A tear stole its way over the stubble of the Mariachi's cheek.
"Mi hija," he murmured, letting the melody come out again, making it a bit lighter.
His thoughts seemed to be in chaos since that suspicious agent Sands showed up and hired him to kill General Marquez.
Marquez.
The man who killed his wife and child.
The man who destroyed his entire life.
Again.
There was no doubt that his beloved Carolina died, he had reached her in the last second, felt her breathing stop. But after that everything around him became a blur.
It was a miracle that they brought him back to life in the hospital. The scars on his stomach where he was hit by Marquez's bullets still ached sometimes.
And now he wondered if his little daughter survived the attack since he luckily didn't see her die.
She'd be 6 years old by now.
The Mariachi wiped across his nose with the back of his hand, stifling a sob.
If she was still alive, how could he find her?
Could what he'd been told be true? Could she have really survived? And if she was, how could he find her?
Why wouldn't they have told him sooner that she might be alive?
Maybe they didn't know...
Agent Sands' hacienda
"Sands." His voice sounded bored to death.
"I want to meet you," a husky whisper told him.
"Who the fuck is this?" Sands snarled back into his cell phone while he turned lazily on his towel to get more sun for his back.
"It doesn't matter, but you know me," the voice was calm but somehow dangerous.
"How, for fucks sake, did you get my number?" The ex-agent slowly grew suspicious and sat up. He could end the call, but somehow the player in him became curious.
"Connections."
"What do you want?"
"I'll tell you when we meet."
"Why should I come?"
"Because a gun is aimed at your head right now," that was just a growl.
"Wha...what?" Sands became really nervous, and turned his head in all directions, trying to see something with his newly implanted eyes. Unfortunately, they didn't function very well and he couldn't see what was happening in the distance.
The order was snarled through the phone. "Open your front door."
"Fuck, okay." Sands took his gun and got up from his lounge chair.
"Leave the gun alone," the voice murmured.
"Shit," Sands couldn't believe that he was being watched.
"Open that damn door. NOW!"
Out on the street
The Mariachi was satisfied after the visit to Sands' hacienda.
He had at least gotten an address out of him.
An address where is little daughter might now live.
ALIVE!!
That stupid motherfucker admitted that finally, while two pistols were pressed to each side of his head.
Why didn't he think of Sands earlier?
El wanted to send himself to hell for waiting so long to question those terrible events.
His poor baby! Who knew what she was going through?
The Mariachi was determined. He'd get his little girl back, no matter what.
He'd find her.
He'd always gotten what he wanted, just not the women he loved so much.
On the roads of Mexico
The journey took him several weeks on foot.
Finally he arrived at the town in which the man, named Kevin Harrison lived. And, according to Sands, his little Francisca, too.
El couldn't believe that she was given away so fast. How could the Mexican government do such a terrible thing? Why didn't they search for him first?
He was still reeling from both the knowledge she was alive, and the government's haste and lack of consideration.
Once he finally found the house, it was almost dark. He searched for an appropriate place to hide and wait for the morning, when a car suddenly pulled into the driveway and stopped before the front door of the large house.
El was close enough to see that the man in the photo he had acquired from Sands, and the one who just got out of the car, looked alike.
Tall, slender build, short brownish hair.
Normally El would have been more calm and careful in a situation like this, but this was about his stolen daughter and he couldn't think straight. He jumped over the bush he was hiding behind, and aimed his gun directly at the man's forehead, his eyes fierce and cold.
El's voice was just a snarl. "You stole my daughter!"
"No, I didn't." The stranger pulled a gun too in the blink of an eye. He had it hidden beneath his leather jacket and now he mirrored El's position exactly, not a hint of fear in his expression.
The Mariachi was puzzled about that fact but didn't flinch in the slightest.
They stared at each other, eyes locked in determination.
"Daddy!!"
The confused cry of a little girl rang in the air.
El's heart skipped several beats and he dropped his gun, his head spinning in the direction where the sound came from, forgetting the pistol that was aimed at him.
But it wasn't any longer. The stranger had covered his weapon underneath his clothes as soon as he heard the scared voice.
Now he bent down to the girl clinging to his thigh.
"It's okay, baby, don't be scared," he soothed, stroking her brown braids.
"But what does this stranger want?" The amber eyes of the girl observed El.
And he thought he was going to die.
This was, without any doubt, HIS daughter. HIS beloved peque�a.
The only reason he lived for in the last year, since it occurred to him, that she might be still alive.
The reason he'd traveled through the whole country by foot.
Now he'd found her and she...she didn't recognize him!
In the meantime, a pretty blonde woman got out of the car, running towards the girl and the taller man.
"Get her inside!" the tall man ordered.
This man had to be Kevin Harrison.
Kevin's eyes never left the Mariachi's face, trying to read his thoughts. When the door closed loudly behind the girl and the woman, he grabbed El by the lapels and nearly pulled him off his feet.
"Yeah, what DO you want?" he snarled.
"I want my daughter!" With that El used all his strength and managed to shove the thief of his daughter to the ground, his hand firmly around Kevin's throat, choking him.
"How did you get her?"
Kevin rolled them around, breaking the hold, and then El was beneath him, struggling. "That's NONE of your business..."
"Daddy!" Kevin's fist stopped in mid-air and he turned slightly. Francisca must have escaped through the backdoor again.
El used the chance and tried to break free.
"Daddy, don't hit him!" The tiny voice started crying. "He...he's my Daddy too..." Francisca knelt down before the men on the ground; she suddenly embraced El and sobbed against his shoulder.
"Querida, mi amor..." He kissed her on the top of her head, holding her close to his chest.
Kevin couldn't believe what was happening; puzzled he got up from El's knees, where he had pinned him down.
Francisca broke down. She was talking, crying, laughing and clutching her small hands into the dirty, white shirt of her real father.
"Mi hija," El sobbed.
Finally she'd remembered him! His heartbeat was a thunderstorm in his ears. He completely forgot the fight with Kevin, the danger he was in.
His girl didn't see him as stranger any longer.
After a while, when she had calmed down a little, El shifted them into a sitting position against the trunk of a tree. "Mama was beautiful, wasn't she?" she asked.
He pulled her even closer, sighing heavily.
"Si..."
"She had long, black, curly hair, like a princess."
"Si...just like yours," El murmured, stroking lovingly over the little girl's head.
Kevin cleared his throat, interrupting them, feeling very embarrassed suddenly.
"Let's go inside and I'll tell you how I got to know Franci." Kevin questioned his suspicion of the longhaired stranger, after he saw the little girl's reaction towards him.
Once inside, Francisca didn't leave her real father's lap after they sat down on the huge leather couch.
Kevin poured himself a glass of Jack Daniels, offering one to El, who rejected it and then knelt in front of both of them. "You don't want to go upstairs, Franci?" He watched as she only shook her head, holding El's hand.
"Okay then." The taller man got up from the floor and started pacing; giving the woman that had waited at the doorstep a sign to leave. "Six years ago, I lost my wife and daughter in a terrible accident." He swallowed and continued, his English accent now clearly coming through. "I swore to never marry nor have a child again," his free hand rubbed tightly over his face. "But then, two years ago, when I had business to do in an orphanage, I saw Francisca." Kevin's gaze lay lovingly on the girl and he knelt down again, taking her hand. "And she looked so lost and almost exactly like my lost child," he cleared his throat since his voice almost failed him. "I just had to adopt her�"
El closed his eyes, feeling Francisca cuddling against him. "An orphanage�they must have thought I was dead too..." How could that happen?
"They knew nothing about her," Kevin explained further. "They found her on the streets, mute�"
Francisca's little body suddenly started shaking violently and her tiny voice interrupted the tall man. "I just kept running, Papa, I�I ran and ran and ran when I couldn't help you and Mama," her little hands grasped Kevin's and El's fingers simultaneously. "Those men�they�they didn't want to c� catch m�me�they...," the words got lost in a terrible sobbing.
"What?" Kevin's eyes grew huge with disbelief. "I never heard�what was going on?" Kevin asked, frowning severely.
"I cannot tell you." El's own tears mingled with those of his daughter. "I don't remember."
Kevin stroked her cheek lightly, speaking very low now, "I managed to adopt her, and�and we were so lucky." He swallowed hard. "One day, after many doctors failed attempts, we heard one of our favourite CDs and�she�she started to...to sing," he shook his head, thinking of it. "Just like that, out of the blue." Kevin had a tear glistening in the corner of his eye.
"You are my Daddy, too," Francisca repeated, and caressed his cheek suddenly with her hand. "The music was so beautiful that my voice wanted to come out again," she managed between tears.
"Jesus."
The three of them sat there in silence, overwhelmed with this information. After a few awkward minutes Francisca jumped off El's lap and tiptoed over to the stereo. "Daddy," she looked at Kevin, "can I put it in for�" a quick frown appeared on her forehead and then she said with a smile, "Papa?"
"Sure, go ahead." Kevin, suddenly aware of his position at El's feet, got up and helped the little one turn the stereo on.
When the fast, rhythmic, Spanish melody started, the Mariachi froze in mid-move and slumped back on the sofa.
Francisca and Kevin looked at him in confusion. "You don't like it?" she asked in surprise.
"I�I do like it, pequena," he murmured so lowly the other two almost didn't understand him.
"Isn't it wonderful?" the girl inquired again while climbing back on El's lap. He only nodded, not able to say one word because it was a very familiar song.
Kevin, in the corner of the room, stared at them, feeling his heartbeat in his throat, suddenly completely lost.
What was going to happen now?
He didn't want to lose his little girl.
He loved her with his whole heart, but seeing her with her real father had already convinced him that he never could separate those two again.
A sigh escaped him and he closed his eyes, letting the powerful guitar music wash over him, numbing his brain for a while.
The next afternoon
"Open that goddamn door or I will break it!" Kevin pounded against the door of the Mariachi's motel room, yelling in utter frustration, not caring if the other guests could hear him.
No answer.
With his ear against the door, he listened to the sounds in El's room, when it suddenly cracked open.
"What do you want?" El asked in wonder and somewhat angrily.
"You...you son of a bitch...let me in!" Kevin shoved the door open with his shoulder and simultaneously gripped the lapels of El's jacket, shaking him.
"Where is she?" His eyes glared at the smaller man with unbelievable anger.
The Mariachi was truly shocked by this attack, but didn't give in. He put one hand beneath Kevin's chin and the other one against his chest, shoving him backwards against the closet.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The men stared at each other; neither was letting go.
"You, you kidnapped her! Admit it!" Kevin was furious, his blue eyes cold as ice. He still shook the Mariachi.
"What?" El lost the tight grip on Kevin's throat.
Kevin suddenly realized something was wrong since El's glance was totally puzzled and not cold like the one of a kidnapper. The men released each other and the intruder let himself fall into a nearby chair, burying his face in his hands.
"Francisca..." he mumbled between his fingers, "someone took her from school."
"Jesus Christ." El combed his hair away from his face with a lost gesture.
"He told them he was a friend of mine and was allowed to take her with him." Kevin sighed heavily. "They said he had dark, longer hair, slender build." He looked up at the Mariachi, "So I thought it was you."
"Damn him." El instantly had a guess who it was. "But why did she go with him?" The Mexican started to pace through the apartment.
"Maybe he told her that I sent him because I couldn't come myself." Kevin checked his pistol for ammunition carefully. "So what do we do?"
"I have a guess who took her," El murmured to himself, checking his gun.
"Who?" Kevin ruffled his short hair in a very nervous gesture, "And why?" He still glared wildly at El, who took his guitar case out of the closet and slammed the door shut.
"Listen." He looked sharply down at the sitting man. "He wants me, not you or her." El's voice was a growl and his eyes were almost black from the anger he felt towards himself and the man he thought kidnapped Francisca. "I will hunt him down."
He was almost out the door when a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back in the room.
"Just WAIT!" Kevin put himself between El and the door, barring the way, and turned the key in the lock, so that the other man had no choice but to face his opponent again.
El's first reaction was to pull his pistol, but something in the blue eyes stopped him from doing just that. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath.
"I think we have to make something clear, here," Kevin started, trying to sound diplomatic and taking his hand away from El's shoulder, but continuing to lean on the door. "You want her safe and I want that, too." He stared into the dark eyes of the Mariachi, trying to read his thoughts. "We need to work together!" El was holding the taller man's gaze, not a bit impressed by the fierceness in his eyes. "And first of all, I need to know your name."
"No." El threw his long hair out of his face with a swift movement.
Kevin sighed in frustration, but he wasn't going to give up so fast. "Okay, fine. Now YOU listen to me! Francisca is in danger now - AGAIN! And that's YOUR DAMN FAULT!"
El flinched at those words and without thought hit the taller man in the stomach with one fist and right on the nose with the other. Kevin went down, not unconscious but cringing with a hell of a nosebleed. As fast as he could, the Mariachi unlocked the door and left the room, leaving his guitar case behind.
Three days later
�I knew it', El thought when he was back at Sands' hacienda, hidden in the same place he had several weeks before.
The false agent had Francisca with him and she was tied to a chair.
El really had no clue how to get her without getting Sands' attention. She sat in the middle of the veranda, right in front of the swimming pool, facing in his direction.
He observed them for almost an hour, his heart thudding in his chest like a wild animal. How could that idiot DARE kidnap an innocent child! El felt his hand shaking, which never happened before. The fear that something terrible could happen to her almost drove him crazy.
�Damn, I could use the help of that Kevin now,' he thought. He wasn't such a bad fighter after all�
Sands' doorbell rang.
Thank god!
Luckily El knew how far it was from the veranda to the entrance, so he jumped the over the fence like a cat, ran the few steps to his girl while holding one finger up to his lips then grabbed the whole chair, Francisca still tied to it, and carried her around the corner.
And that was where Sands stood gun in hand.
El almost dropped her. He'd never felt so helpless in his life.
"El," Sands started to speak, a lopsided grin on his face. But it suddenly turned into a grimace as a determined voice growled from behind the Mariachi.
"Drop the gun."
Without turning, he knew exactly whom the voice belonged to. Francisca's face lost even more of her fear, and El slipped away with her through an open door, starting to untie her, calming her. "Everything is gonna be okay, baby." She nodded shakily.
"But the bad man will kill my daddy, Papa." She started to sob.
"No, he won't. Stay right in here, sweetie; I'll go and help him." He looked through the little window in that door. Sands and Kevin stood, guns aimed at each other. Neither of them moved.
"El won't get far with the precious little one, Mister Harrison," Sands grinned fiercely, talking English now. "You just HAVE to get him out of there and hand him over to me�" Sands hadn't finished his sentence before El jumped onto him from the balcony right above them, taking him down, throwing his gun out of the way and hitting his head on the tiles.
Sands was out cold.
"Gracias." Kevin looked somewhat embarrassed and so did El.
"Si, from me too�" He held out his hand and they shook. Francisca came running out of the room, hugging one, then the other man.
"What are we gonna do with him?" El asked in fluent English, surprising Kevin.
"You speak�"
The Mariachi just gave him a tiny smile and nodded, "You speak Spanish."
Kevin grinned and pointed to Sands, "Um�police?"
"I'm not sure." El started to tie Sands up. "I think there...DOWN!!"
All of a sudden EL dropped to the floor, pulling Kevin down and shoving Francisca back into the little storage room. Bullets flew towards them from all sides.
"Mierda," Kevin heard El swear while they both struggled to get behind some cover, but there wasn't much.
Three Mexican pistoleros came running through the backyard, firing constantly but aiming badly.
El took one down with his first shot, but a bullet hit the ground near his head blasting sand into his face blinding him. While blinking violently to clear his eyes, he heard Kevin fire twice beside him and then there was complete silence.
El didn't have much time to investigate when he saw a glint out of the corner of his eye and Sands, who had regained consciousness, tried to stab him with a dagger. The corrupt agent had no luck and El killed him in an instant by breaking his neck. "Fuck you," he swore under his breath and then they lay silent for several minutes, waiting to see if more killers would show up.
The sobbing behind the door that grew louder and louder finally got their attention.
"Go to her," Kevin whispered. "I'll hold watch."
The Mariachi nodded and slid to the door, opening it very carefully and slipping inside.
"Lo siento, lo siento..." he started to murmur and pulled Francisca into his arms. She just couldn't stop crying but asked between sobs, and in English without noticing, "Is my Daddy all right?"
"Si, si...it's okay." El was at a loss for words but he knew they couldn't stay there.
Kevin entered the room, joining them. "There doesn't seem to be anyone else out there."
Francisca turned towards him and hugged him tightly, "I want to go away, Daddy, please." She sniffed wildly. "You...you promised we'd go to Canada one day..."
El's heart seemed to skip several horrific beats when he heard that.
"Shh, querida, si," Kevin answered, "but first we have to get out of this house. Come on." He turned to El who was hardly able to hide his utter frustration, but started to look for a way out of Sands' hacienda without meeting any other henchmen.
Kevin's car was parked around some corners and he headed straight towards it with Francisca on his arm, when he noticed the Mariachi was walking slower and slower.
"Come on!" Kevin waved, "You wanna get stuck here?"
"PAPA RUN!" Francisca's scream broke El from his mind numbing thoughts and he turned, seeing more pistoleros in a military jeep driving in their direction. Beginning to run, El quickly caught up with the others.
All three jumped into the car and Kevin drove away as fast as he could. His mind was racing. It wasn't too far to the American border and he had his and Francisca's passports with him. But what would happen to El?
"You're driving to the border?" El asked, ready to defend the car through the back window as soon as the killers came too close.
"Yeah," Kevin replied, sweat running down his neck. He hadn't had to pull a stunt like this in an eternity and he sure wasn't used to it anymore, but neither had he had such a goal to strive for.
"I can't..." El started to explain, but was interrupted by the Canadian.
"You can, you hide in the trunk." Kevin was willing to try if only for Francisca, knowing she'd not be able to live without her beloved Papa.
"They won't search us."
The Mariachi wasn't used to taking orders, but since this one was in his favour, he overlooked that fact.
Kevin confused him, but he'd think about that later. First they had to escape the killers and the country.
For some unknown reason, he trusted this stranger.
There were some awkward moments when they passed the checkpoint from Mexico to the United States. Francisca sat in the backseat, pretending to sleep; Kevin tried to appear very calm, looking like a tourist.
After out running the bandits, they stopped in a little town to buy new clothes and change. Kevin didn't waste time to pack their bags when El had escaped him in the motel room.
He'd take care of the rented house in Mexico later.
El didn't know how much longer he'd be able to survive in the humid trunk of the car. When its lid finally opened Francisca held out her little hand to help him out. All his muscles were sore and he stretched luxuriously when he realized where they were. They'd just pulled into a deserted rest area on the US side of the border.
Kevin stood a bit further away, looking thoughtfully out over the landscape. For the first time, as something other than an opponent, El watched him closely, unsure what to expect next. He was well aware that he had trusted this stranger completely with his life, throwing all caution to the wind. But since he found Francisca, everything had changed drastically and he didn't want to lose her again, even though there were some big barriers in the way, or rather, a tall man. That man approached him now, squinting against the sun.
"Everything okay with you?" Kevin asked warmly.
"Si, gracias," El nodded, still rubbing his arms to get some feeling back into them. "I think we need to talk." He looked Kevin straight into his eyes even though he didn't really know what he wanted to say.
"Yeah. We do."
"Oh, we do!" Francisca was dancing between them, losing her constant fear for the first time in days, "But can we please get something to eat first? I'm starving," the little lady demanded in clear English. Both men smiled and followed her outstretched arm with their gaze. "There's a McDonalds sign." She grinned and the men groaned simultaneously but nodded anyway.
While they were driving the last few miles, to the restaurant, El couldn't help but ask, "How did you find me?"
Kevin didn't answer immediately then said without looking at El, "Old cop skills."
El's head jerked sideways, and he cursed himself for his own stupidity. That guy was a COP! El wanted to jump out of the car, but then Kevin did something totally unexpected. He laid his hand on the Mariachi's arm in a calming gesture, adding instantly, "Don't worry, I quit."
El still felt tense. They REALLY needed to talk. There was so much going on here. This whole situation was getting more and more uncomfortable. He was out of his country, which was good in one way, but totally frustrating another way. He had to leave his guitar and weapons behind and was now totally dependant on this complete stranger who used to be a cop AND had adopted HIS very own daughter.
How much worse could a situation get? All of it felt like a really bad B-movie right now and on top of it, there was McDonalds.
"I'll stay in the car," El murmured.
"Ah, come on, buddy." Kevin gave his shoulder a light punch, "It isn't THAT bad." He even winked wickedly. His blue eyes sparkled mischievously.
El got a very unfamiliar but somehow pleasant feeling in his guts, when looking at him, so much so that he gave in. And besides, he WAS hungry.
"So where are we going?" The Mariachi was the driver now, feeling much better with a full tummy.
"To California, to my parent's house. Just drive north." With that Kevin settled into the passenger seat and was snoring within a few minutes.
El tried to study him out of the corner of his eye. The tall man wore only a short-sleeved T-shirt now, his biceps clearly visible. The material stretched tightly over his chest and there were muscles there, too. His fine features were relaxed now, the frown of concentration gone. Kevin's long legs didn't fit very well into the small space where he sat.
El swallowed, he just couldn't get the tingling out of his stomach. He shoved strands of hair behind his ear and out of his face nervously, trying to concentrate on the road.
There weren't many cars around and he was able to wonder why this guy beside him quit being a cop and why in hell he was allowed to adopt a child without a wife.
"Do you know why he quit?" El asked his daughter, his curiosity getting the better of him. When he didn't get an answer, he looked in the rear view mirror and saw her asleep, too.
The Mariachi drove for about an hour, enjoying the quiet, wondering what his life would bring now, glancing sideways at Kevin from time to time. The other man had started to frown and seemed to be dreaming of something.
He sensed somehow that they couldn't really talk when Franci (as Kevin called her) was with them. He prayed that they'd arrive at their destination soon, and would be able to sort everything out as much as possible for the moment. He really wanted to know the truth.
A big street sign got his attention, and now he had to wake the man beside him.
"Kevin." The name sounded odd coming from his lips, but it came out without thought.
Shouldn't Senor have been more natural, El wondered?
The guy didn't wake. El grabbed his shoulder and shook firmly, feeling the muscles work underneath his hand.
Kevin scrunched up his face when he finally woke and it looked like he didn't immediately recognize his surroundings.
"What direction?" El pointed to the sign, which came closer and closer.
"What�?" Kevin rubbed himself more awake with his hands over his face. "Oh�left," he murmured, trying to get rid of the VERY confusing pictures of his vivid dream.
"Damn it," he unconsciously swore, looking at EL sideways, groaning in frustration.
"What?" El asked in confusion, without taking his eyes from the now heavier traffic.
"It's�it's nothing." Kevin had to pull his jacket from the backseat, covering his lap with it, being very grateful that El didn't have a chance to look.
Kevin had a goddamn hard-on because of his dream. That meant his subconscious had discovered something already, which his normally functioning brain didn't allow to be true.
El turned him on.
And looking at the guy in the evening sun, his long dark hair and tanned skin almost glowing, his white shirt open, revealing some curls of chest hair, didn't do Kevin any good.
In his dream they'd just screwed each other's brains out.
His head started to ache.
What a mess.
Kevin cursed himself. He thought his gay inclinations had disappeared over the years since he hadn't felt anything like that towards a real man since his youth. His fantasies didn't count somehow.
Now El came along and happened to be the real father of his beloved child.
And happened to be utterly sexy and beautiful.
And strong.
And smart.
And everything good Kevin could think of, from knowing him for that short time.
With a deep sigh he turned and concentrated on the roads, telling El what directions to drive, willing his damn, aching erection away.
They arrived at the house after half an hour. It was outside the town and El didn't trust his eyes when they entered the door of a very expensive looking townhouse. Kevin found the keys hidden in a certain place since his parents were on vacation.
Franci didn't seem very surprised so El guessed she'd been here before.
He got even more quiet then usual. If Kevin's house looked nearly as expensive as this one, he surely couldn't take his beloved child away from him, since he, himself, had nothing to offer, nothing remotely close to this, for which he could care for her with.
El suddenly felt a very heavy stone in his stomach.
"Daddyyyy! Can I go swimming? Please? The pool looks okay!" Franci pulled the two men into the backyard.
"Yeah, sure," Kevin nodded, "I need a shower, I'll come later."
"Papa, what about you?"
El smiled, dismissing the churning of his guts for a moment, and joined Franci, who was in the water already. And yes, he could still swim; something he learned an eternity ago.
++++++++++++++
When Kevin turned the shower off, he heard a familiar guitar melody ring through the house. He just LOVED that music. It gave him goose bumps, made him feel hot and cold all at once. And he still had a partial hard on from his earlier dream, but he couldn't give in to his strange feelings right now. Two people were waiting for him. He threw a fresh shirt over his head and considered briefly, sweat pants or jeans. He put the jeans on and walked with bare feet back downstairs, "Sounds like grandma has managed to�"
He stopped in mid step when he entered the living room. He was about to say, "�buy our favourite CD too," but instead he said, "Oh my god."
He'd have turned around and run, if not for Francisca, who beamed with sheer joy and happiness.
Her Papa was playing their favourite song, on the VERY expensive black guitar Kevin had purchased. In that moment he just KNEW that THAT black guitar belonged to THIS man in black, they had just escaped with. He'd only imagined before that this guitar might have been the one their songs were played with. They'd never had a cover for their CD. He never knew the name or the appearance of the man with the incredible sexy, hoarse voice.
The voice that gave him wet dreams.
He turned bright red and covered his face.
El was unaware of the other man's reaction to his playing. He was just so overjoyed to have his beloved guitar back, and couldn't believe such a coincidence.
"Daddy, Daddy! Here! Look!" Francisca was so happy, she tried to pull her daddy to the sofa, where El sat and played with closed eyes, not yet singing.
"Franci�" Kevin didn't know what to do.
"Papa is the Mariachi who plays our favourite music! I had just forgotten," she added lowly.
El suddenly looked up at Kevin, not stopping his playing.
"Where did you get the CD?"
"A gift from a friend," Kevin almost didn't get the words out.
"Lo siento, Daddy�Papa," Franci apologized. "I really didn't remember," she sobbed again, "but I �I �.we listened to the music always, didn't we, Daddy?"
"Yeah, we did�" Kevin didn't know where to go.
"And it was Mama's favourite song, too�" Franci considered, frowning. "We won't forget Mama, will we?" She looked very hopefully at the Mariachi.
"Of course we won't forget Carolina." He swallowed. He didn't know how he felt right now. Happy or sad, everything was messed up in his head, so he did the only thing he always did when he was confused. He started to sing, looking at his daughter, forgetting all about the other man who had been in the room.
But Kevin wasn't anymore�
Kevin had always felt the power of that particular guitar music violently in his guts. Now he knew exactly why. The Mariachi who played and sang it was the most incredible man he'd ever met. Kevin cursed his feelings; he didn't want to be gay because he was raised that it was wrong. But he couldn't help it. Without knowing it, the Mariachi had an unbelievable power over him, and he'd just met him a week ago!
He didn't even know his name, didn't know if he was too dangerous for him and Franci, if it was the right thing to do to take him along.
But in this moment none of that mattered. His brain stopped working, and once he was safely in the bathroom again, he pulled, caressed and stroked himself into oblivion, while listening to El play and sing downstairs.
Kevin wasn't even able to watch El stroke the strings of the guitar; he wanted those slender fingers on his cock so badly. And he didn't know what to do. He had to get a grip, find a solution, but for now, there was only the bathroom.
The powerful music had changed into a low, slow melody. Kevin couldn't hear the singing anymore and finally found the strength to face El again. They REALLY had important things to discuss. And he just had to leave his feelings out of it. He groaned and pulled the door of the bathroom shut behind him, heading downstairs again.
"Why did you quit being a cop?" El asked immediately when Kevin entered the living room again. Franci lay on his thigh, sleeping safe and sound.
"Oh, right." Kevin walked over to the bar and took a bottle out, showing it to the Mariachi, who nodded. Yes, Tequila wasn't such a bad idea.
Kevin cleared his throat and started to explain while pacing. "Years ago I was working undercover in Mexico. We wanted to take down a drug dealer." Kevin rubbed nervously over his face. "It isn't good to have a wife and child when you are a cop; I know that now," he added, considering the fact. "Anyway, they were killed in an explosion meant for me."
"Jesus." El couldn't get rid of the pictures suddenly rushing over him. His first dear wife shot, his beloved Carolina shot�
"I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and after a few vigilante acts that went against what my job stands for, I couldn't bear to be a cop anymore." Kevin swallowed his Tequila in one shot. "But what about you, you're�you killed that Sands by breaking his neck."
He looked directly at the Mariachi for the first time.
"It's almost the same with me, I hunted drug dealers, but have never been a cop. I was a musician." He sipped thoughtfully at his Tequila. "My first wife was shot," he whispered. "I was hunting her murderer when I met Franci's mother." El didn't take his eyes off of Kevin, who stood in front of him, seeming even taller now.
Finally Kevin sat down in the opposite chair, "Shot, too?"
"Si." El wondered briefly why the memories suddenly came back from the minutes before they all got shot by Marquez. He set his guitar down and stood carefully, laying Francisca down on the sofa. He poured himself another Tequila and walked over to the balcony door.
"I suddenly became rich, you know," he heard Kevin say from behind him. "That's why I got to adopt Franci."
El turned and looked at him with a deep frown.
"I'm sure you want to know why I was allowed to adopt her, si?"
"Yes, of course." El was searching for honesty in the blue eyes because that sounded like a joke to him.
"I�believe it or not," Kevin tried not to flinch while the amber eyes were trying to read his soul, "I won the lottery�lots of money."
"I don't believe you." El shook his head and walked out onto the balcony.
"It's true." Kevin approached him, his own glass refilled again. "I sorta�bought her out of the orphanage."
El thought that must be a lie or something. He didn't think one word of that was true. And on top of that, the closeness of the taller man made him nervous.
He walked away again, his hands combing through his long hair.
Kevin didn't say anything for a very long time. He didn't know how to make El believe that what he said was the truth. After all, he hadn't believed it himself when it happened years ago. It was his secret. No one knew, not even Franci.
He didn't know why he just told El, he suddenly thought he must be insane to say it out loud.
Something in El's behaviour made Kevin trust this guy, and there was something else.
Kevin left the room abruptly.
When he came back, holding an old newspaper in his hand, the Mariachi was kneeling in front of his daughter, stroking her hair.
"What do we do now?" he asked very lowly. "I can't�she's everything I have�" He felt so weak; he couldn't believe it and he just COULDN'T leave her after finding her again.
"You saved the President of Mexico, didn't you?"
El's head jerked around when he heard that question.
Kevin was holding a photograph in front of his nose. Him and his little band and the President.
The former cop KNEW he had forgotten something and it was nagging in the back of his mind until he found the old newspaper in the cellar of the house.
"That's you, right?"
El only nodded. If it weren't for those damn pistoleros from Marquez, who wanted revenge, everything would have been fine. He wasn't wanted for murder.
"So," Kevin started to speak, "we could go to Canada."
"We?" El thought he didn't hear right.
"Well," Kevin had thought about it while he was searching for the newspaper, "you ARE Francisca's real father." He sat down beside the Mariachi on the carpet, his long legs entwined Indian style, his heart fluttering in anticipation of El saying yes to his idea. "She loves you with all her heart and I don't want her to get hurt again." He reached out and stroked her hair, too. "And I �" He looked at El very openly, and El could even see moisture in the other man's eyes, "I can't give her away," he admitted weakly.
"Don't give me away," a little sleepy voice whispered, holding her arms out to both men. "I need two fathers since I don't have my Mama anymore." She pulled them both closer and they ended up in an awkward group hug.
El felt himself shake, not sure if it was because of the life changing things that were going on, or because of Kevin's body pressed against his side.
Pulling away, he started to speak first, feeling relieved but confused as hell, "By the way, my name is Alejandro�Alejandro Vega." He lifted his chin and looked at Kevin with a careful smile, holding his hand out.
"Thanks." Kevin took the warm hand and nodded. "Kevin Harrison, but I think you know that already," he answered with a shy smile.
"Yes, I do." El chuckled. Their gazes locked and neither seemed able to look away until Franci said, "Papa could make a new CD and become a star." She smiled broadly.
Both men looked at her in surprise. "Really good idea, honey." Kevin gave her a wicked grin, "But let's start with some vacation first, after all those adventures."
"S�!" was the simultaneous reply from father and daughter.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The vacation meant a lot of swimming, guitar playing, which even Kevin tried, McDonalds, Mexican cooking, walking through the town, shopping for the little lady and lots of talking.
And without knowing it, the men admired each other secretly and from afar.
Kevin couldn't help but stare at all the scars he saw on El's stomach and chest when he took his shirt off to go swimming. He wanted to run his hands over it, wanted to make the man feel much better again. He had no clue how he ever could, though.
He also wondered what the leather thing on his hand meant.
El on the other hand, caught himself watching Kevin more and more as well. The smooth, flawless chest got his attention first, then the muscles in his back, and his really long legs. He also noticed the way his biceps moved, when Kevin lifted Franci over his head and threw her into the water, followed by her delighted burst of laughter each time he did so.
El shook his head. He'd never desired a man, but this one was different. He didn't know why but slowly came to the conclusion that he just couldn't help it. He loved to see Kevin all wet, his blue eyes sparkling even more with joy.
Of course he'd never act on it. That would just be too odd, so instead he enjoyed the view and the fact that they really were becoming friends. They had a lot in common and even when they didn't talk there was never an awkward silence.
And Franci made them smile a lot and so they started to smile at each other, too.
**********************
After two weeks, Francisca was just taking her afternoon nap; and Kevin glanced now and again at his friend from the corner of his eye. They sat beside each other at the pool, legs lazily cooling in the water.
God, El looked terrific.
"You are beautiful." The words slipped out of Kevin's mouth after he'd held them back for so long. He almost reached out to brush the long strands of dark, wet hair away from the Mariachi's face.
El looked up and turned to look at Kevin, the surprise at the statement clearly written in his eyes.
Kevin suddenly regretted what he said. He shouldn't have said it. This was going to ruin everything they had built between them; it was going to ruin their newly founded friendship.
While Kevin searched frantically for the words to apologize, a shy smile crossed the Mariachi's lips. He lowered his head, his long hair covering his eyes. He didn't have the courage to look his friend straight in the eyes because he wasn't sure what the sentence really meant.
Men didn't say things like that to each other, did they?
But El felt surprisingly good. It sounded special when Kevin said it and besides, El had thought the same thing about the other man for a long while. The tall man with the broad chest, the light brown hair and the charismatic, blue eyes had had the smaller man's admiration since the day they met; it had just taken a while for him to admit it to himself.
Kevin's stomach churned in anticipation.
The smile.
Oh that smile!
It meant at last that the Mariachi didn't mind his compliment.
Kevin moved his legs out of the water; turning to face his friend and El did the same. He felt the thick tension in the air. Not only the summer heat, but the heat that somehow was building between the two men.
Kevin wondered what he should do next. He'd never made the first move before. When he was a teen, it was his partner who seduced him into his one and only homosexual relationship.
So this was new. And Kevin wasn't even sure if it was the right thing to do. Would the Mariachi accept such a big step, a step that would turn all their entire lives upside down?
Despite these thoughts, Kevin's gentle fingers slid beneath Alejandro's chin, and almost of their own accord, lifted his face toward him. The Mariachi had to close his eyes because of the sun.
That was it for Kevin. All rational thoughts escaped his mind and he took advantage of the situation. He leaned forward and brushed the luscious lips in front of him with his own.
El's eyes flew open and he abruptly drew back.
So did Kevin.
Both men gasped, but their gazes remained locked. The tension was incredible. Kevin felt as though he was going to die because he wasn't able to see what was going on inside of El. His facial expression was unreadable.
The Mariachi was really puzzled. He'd never ever expected an action like that from the man sitting in front of him. The ex-cop, who was so strong, never showing any sign of weakness, who couldn't be anything else but 100 percent straight, kissed him.
Kissed.
A man had kissed him, had told him that he was beautiful.
He cleared his throat, thanking God that Franci was in the house.
"Um," El put strands of his hair back behind his ear in a nervous gesture. "Do you think this is the right thing to do?"
"No," Kevin was sure of that, "but�I want to do it anyway." He looked down shyly.
"How should that work out?" Now El made Kevin look up and into his eyes by putting his own fingers beneath Kevin's chin. "I don't want to be�an experiment, you know."
"You won't be." Kevin enjoyed the other man's fingers on his skin and suddenly it occurred to him that El hadn't rejected him. "You, you are not upset?"
El shook his head, feeling something in his stomach turning somersaults. "But how should it work out?" he asked again. "You can't walk around with a�with a male partner here." El found himself touching the other man's chest carefully. Kevin groaned immediately.
"Well, as I said," he swallowed when El brushed his erect nipples lightly, "we can go to Canada and you can get a flat by my house, be our neighbor." The caressing hands were on his thighs now and he found it increasingly difficult to speak.
"I don't want to live off your money." El looked carefully around to make sure Franci wasn't in sight, then moved his hands slowly onto Kevin's visibly growing cock and tightening balls, very well shown in the bathing briefs.
Kevin was so startled by that movement that he almost came immediately.
"Oh, shit." He grabbed El's chin and pulled him in for their first deep and passionate kiss. Neither of them hesitated. It was a wet, opened mouthed kiss, speaking of desire and hunger and love all the same. El felt the moisture on his fingers. Kevin wasn't able to hold back his orgasm. It just overwhelmed him too fast beneath El's expertly massaging fingers.
It felt like heaven.
While kissing, Kevin got one hand on El's cock. Satisfyingly hard, it told him everything he needed to know. Even though he didn't want to ruin El's favorite black pants, which he didn't even take off to go swimming, he wrapped his long fingers around the bulge and started a slow up and down rhythm. His other hand entwined in the slowly drying strands of El's hair. The Mariachi's deep groan was swallowed by the kiss, echoed in Kevin's chest.
Kevin stopped the kiss and murmured into El's ear, his voice full of emotion, "You don't have to live off my money, you can record more CDs, you'll earn lots of money yourself with those." Kevin nipped at El's luscious lips to make his point, "Your voice is worth committing a crime for."
El chuckled and moved slowly against Kevin's strong hand, feeling overcome with pleasure and unbelievable happiness for the first time in an eternity. He couldn't grasp Kevin's words yet; he was too lost in his closeness and the magic of his fingers. He just leaned against his shoulder and gave a low, throaty "Hmmm" and then grasped Kevin's biceps with his own vise like grip and came with a violent shudder.
After that shared experience, they sat there for a little while longer, looking at each other, caressing each other.
El thought to himself, what an inappropriate thing to do with a guy, but stroked his thumb over Kevin's smooth jaw anyway, drowning in the blue eyes. At the same time, he enjoyed Kevin's hands on his chest, smiling when the other man got lost in curling hair.
"We should change," El slowly drew his thoughts back to reality. "Our little lady may wake soon."
"Yeah." Kevin gave him another light kiss, "We need to practice this more thoroughly later."
El gave him a nod and a dirty grin when they got up.
"And later," Kevin took El's left hand into his, "I want to kiss better what is beneath that piece of leather." He held El's hand against his heart. He knew there must be a story to this scar as well as to the others.
*******************************
"So, I have two daddies now?" Francisca looked proudly from one man to the other.
They lifted her up, entwining their hands so both could hold her between them.
"If it is okay with you..." They smiled warmly at her.
"Oh yes!" She put her little arms around each man's neck.
"And I want to live with the both of you in a BIG house in Spain!"
"In Spain?" the men asked simultaneously.
"Si," she answered. "Because any bad guys from over here can't come over there and shoot Papa and me."
Kevin and El were stunned by the little girl's logic.
"I think that can be arranged, little lady," Kevin answered after giving it a little thought and El nodded.
"And I want the both of you to kiss," she giggled.
Her Daddies kissed her on the cheeks.
She smiled mischievously. "No, I mean each other. Parents kiss, don't they?"
The men gasped but kissed briefly anyway, happy that their little daughter didn't mind the unique situation, and not wanting to hide their feelings for each other in front of her.
Then they put her down and she ran away to play with her toys.
El cleared his throat, there was one thing he wanted to do before they flew off to their happily ever after.
"You know, when I met Carolina, she was trying to save money to build a school for kids in her hometown. She never got the chance." He looked hopefully at Kevin. "Do you think something could be arranged?"
Kevin didn't have to give that a second thought. "Sure," he replied and they just couldn't help it, and had to kiss again properly, every inch of their bodies pressed together as close as possible.
After some minutes they separated, looked at each other and said again, "Spain?"
Index
