ace of spades ..

[micah david orsino]

<sup>Micah was going green today and walking. He had no idea why it seemed like a good idea for today, but when he had finally pried himself out of bed and decided on what he was doing, he had just taken off walking. It wasn’t like it was that big of a deal in a town like this, though. It wasn’t very big and you could walk to just about anywhere you wanted to go without it taking you very long unless you lived more along the outskirts. Micah Orsino’s houseboat was just down at the docks, and this little beach town thrived on the business the docks and marina brought in. So, Micah was actually pretty close to all the important things, and today he had decided to head to the coffee shop where his youngest sister worked. Micah and Amy had visited with each other for a while before he was off again to go handle some…business, at another local establishment. People often wondered how Micah made a living, and some speculated, some had reasonable guesses, but none of them could ever prove a thing. He was sneaky and clever, and he made dealing look easy. Or, he would if anyone ever caught him which they didn’t. That item of business had been taken care of in no time, without a hitch, and it wasn’t long before Micah was walking back down the main street of town, hands in his pockets as he smiled and greeted townspeople that he knew. Most thought he was harmless, some thought he was a bit touched from his days served in Iraq, but all knew that there was just something about the young man that told them not to rub him the wrong way. But, it was Micah, and he kept going along the sidewalk without a care in the world in that moment until his light colored eyes caught sight of a young man that he had been meaning to catch up with for some time now. Brody Whitter was dating Amy, and although Amy had warmed her oldest brother to play nice, Micah just couldn’t help himself. After looking down the street, he crossed it to the other sidewalk so that when if they kept walking, Brody would run right into him when he rounded that next corner and that was exact what happened. Micah just smiled, stopping and forcing the younger man to stop in his tracks or else collide with him. “Hey, brother, what’s up?” Micah asked, friendly as could be and acting like this was nothing at all. He clapped Brody’s shoulder a little forcefully with his hand. “I should have paid you a visit sooner.”


closed.</sup>

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

brody had been living high on life, after his night with amy it had been bliss. yes, he had made mistakes so many times in his life, but this was no mistake. brody whitter had fallen head over heels in love with the one and only amy orsino, and that was bound to get out. after all one of the main stipulations his girlfriend had made was that she tell her brother what was going on with them. that had been a while ago, and the fact that micah had not already bust down his door to give him a scare had to mean something, right? at least he figured the threat had passed and there would no longer be a bounty on his head, or that he had to worry about dying in the near future. today had been such a beautiful day that he found himself leaving the truck where it was and walking amy to work. it was nice to wake up with her beside him, and as they walked to the coffee shop he held her hand and was the typical little brody self. there had been a few times that he had to nudge her to get her attention back on the story that was coming from his lips. it was amy, so it was typical of her, but it was soon enough that he had to kiss her goodbye and start the walk back home. brody wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, knowing the route he always took home, but damn lainey and her incessant texting to know where he was at and when he was coming home. she seriously could be a pain in the ass, and that was when he felt two hands on him to keep from colliding into whomever it was. when brody’s eyes lifted he was doing all he could but let his jaw drop and mouth hang wide as he stared at micah orsino. he heard his voice and had been dreading this run in for as long as he could remember, but brody smiled. even though his touch made him nervous. “umm, just dropped amy off at work and headed back to my house.” this had only been a matter of time before the run in, but brody had been thankful for the delay. “don’t take it the wrong way, but i’m glad that you didn’t visit earlier. i don’t know if i could handle a little chat with you on top of everything else that had happened a few weeks ago.” and by that he meant the fight with mykayla and her now husband. his ribs were still sore in certain places, and he really didn’t need a poke at them like the man beside him sister was prone to doing. “so, what brings you out today?”

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 485 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3

[micah david orsino]

^{Everyone knew about the Trent and Orsino families. They had all grown up together, and considered themselves to be one big family rather than two separate ones. When you messed with one of them, you got all of them, and that was just the way things had always been. Micah was easily the more threatening one despite his naturally easy going ways and his hippie like tendencies, and he made sure that he always took care of his own. This boy that was standing before him now had been on Micah’s list for a long time, ever since he had inserted himself into the family unit by dating Mykayla Trent. However, Micah hadn’t been around a lot then and Brody had gotten a lot of free passes as far as Micah was concerned; the Trent’s had looked out for Kay back then, and they were still looking out for Amy now just as Micah had been since the day she had told him about her new boyfriend. To say that they were all protective over each other was a slight understatement, and if this boy thought that he had been in the clear just because he hadn’t heard from Micah yet, well, he was wrong. There were certain choices that Brody had made recently that hadn’t set well with the oldest Orsino, but he had let it slide knowing that there had to be some room for human error but Micah didn’t allow for a lot when it came to his family. But, for right now he was just amused because he knew he made Brody uncomfortable, and he would take advantage of that every chance he got. He still wore a smile as the younger man spoke, an eyebrow arching slightly as he said he was glad this little meeting had been postponed until now after everything else that had happened. “Yeah, I heard that you got your ass handed to you. You probably should have seen that one coming.” If not from Greyson, then from Kade, Jared, or Hunter when they had realized that their sister had been so broken by this man. Hell, even Tyler, Micah’s younger brother, would have put his fist in Brody’s face for something like that. “It’s a nice day,” was Micah’s enthusiastic reply to Brody’s question of what brought him out. Of course the mention of drug dealing wouldn’t happen. “And, you know, other things. Can’t stay on the houseboat forever or I would probably have to kill Evie to get any peace.” He grinned a bit, really trying to contain his amusement as the word “kill” rolled off his lips. “But I’ll walk with you for a bit. It seems to me that I really don’t know much about you yet.” And the way that Micah said it was friendly enough, but there was also that tone that said that this was not up for debate. He stepped out of the way, letting Brody continue forward and Micah fell in step beside of him. “Actually, that’s a lie. I probably know plenty about you, but I’ll let you tell me all about it. You’re in school, right?” If there was anything to be said about Micah it was that he was not shy and that he was not afraid to let people know that he knew exactly who they were, but at least he was easy going about it. For now.}

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

brody should have had known that this confrontation was bound to happen, but as soon as he saw this was going to happen he had no choice but to go along with it. micah was his girlfriend’s older brother, and as much as he made brody uncomfortable he would talk to him. even if he didn’t like it. this conversation was not going well, but he was glad that it was coming after most of his body had healed. he laughed lightly, scoffing at the idea of him getting his ass handed to him. sure, grey had gotten the better end of the deal with a black eye and a few bruises, where brody had been on the mend with a few broken ribs and the likes. “yeah, well he got lucky. it wasn’t like i was completely aware that he was going to show up when i was expecting your sister. i got a few good hits in there too.” he was proud of the damage he had done, but it was just how it was. he knew that things were bound to have hit the fan after his poor decisions with mykayla. it was a mistake that he had made, and if it had not have been her fiance it was bound to be her brothers. though he managed to stay in semi-good graces with the trent brothers. hearing him say about having to get out, brody had completely forgotten about his little houseguest. evie garland was bound to be a handful, and a smile tugged at his lips, though he was definitely sure that the way he said kill was meant strictly for him. brody was aware that micah could do some damage whenever he really wanted to. “i forgot about your houseguest. how’s that going for you? other than lack of peace? but i’m sure you could use a break from her.” it was something that was bound to happen, especially since brody was aware about living with a female. lainey was the same way, and constantly up his ass when he wasn’t home. brody’s face fell as soon as micah said he would walk with him and that he didn’t know that much about him. the young man was trying to keep it that way. he wasn’t exactly enjoying the fact that he was going to be telling micah about his life. “yeah, i would guess you wouldn’t. though i’m sure you know enough about me from kay and amy.” he was really just trying not to get disheartened by this conversation. “yeah i’m in school. studying criminology, but i’m thinking about law school. amy isn’t too fond of that idea since it will be a lot of long hours in school, not enough time for her. so i’m not sure about what i’m going to do.” he let his feet walk the familiar road and then glanced back at micah wondering what the next question was going to be, and he hoped and prayed to god that it wouldn’t be about aislinn and ben.

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 527 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3

[micah david orsino]

^{Why was Micah purposefully trying to torment Brody like this? Well, because he could, of course. Micah knew that Brody would be hesitant, and he knew that if Micah so much as made a threat that Brody would be flinching. Micah wasn’t a mean person by nature, and he really did want to like Brody because Amy seemed so damn fond of him. He was just going to have his bit of fun with him first and get a feel for the kind of person that he was. Micah listened to the younger man say how Greyson had gotten lucky in that fight, and it was enough to take the smile away from his lips completely. Micah didn’t have much of a liking for authority figures, but Grey was okay and the way Micah saw it he was also part of the family now. Brody had yet to earn that kind of status. “No. I’m going to say that you’re the one that got lucky that Grey was the one that showed up at your door before any of us got to you. He let you off easy. Don’t forget it.” There was hard look in Micah’s eye suggested that he was in no way amused with Brody’s easy tone when it came to that situation. There was nothing good or okay about what he had done, but Micah was willing to let it go with that little warning and then he was smiling again like nothing had ever happened. And then they were walking, Micah talking like he and Brody were completely comfortable in this conversation, and Micah really was. “It’s going. And I have no complaints. Evie can be a pain in the ass, but I know I annoy her just as much and sometimes on purpose. It is good to get a break, though.” But that was understandable and it happens anytime people live together. Micah had had enough roommates to know that it was pretty well unavoidable no matter how much you like someone. However, he didn’t really care to talk about himself right now and wanted to talk about Brody, and yeah, he knew most of what he knew about the other man from what he had heard from Mykayla and Amy, but it was small town. Everyone talked. Micah nodded as Brody talked about school and his major and not knowing what he was going to do with it. “Law school? Huh…” Micah considered that, but said nothing more about it. Brody could draw his own conclusions. “And what do you do other than school? You got a job?” Micah was pretty sure that even his father wouldn’t put Brody through this kind of interrogation when the boy got to meet the rest of the family, but these were legit questions and Micah still had a few good ones up his sleeve that he was saving for when the basic stuff had been covered.}

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

there was a sure fired way to make brody whitter uncomfortable: stick him in close proximity to micah orsino and the other is to turn a spotlight on him. it was against his nature to like these kinds of things, and brody had an excellent deflection mechanism built into him. when he felt like too much was being asked of hit he was always able to turn the conversation around and get him out of the limelight. mykayla had learned all about that whenever the two had dated, and amy seemed to have no issue with it in the least. it seemed that the eldest of the orsino clan did have an issue with this and wanted to keep the spotlight on brody no matter what he tried. hearing the tone in micah’s voice, while discussing the whole situation with mykayla and grey, brody let it drop. he nodded his head, knowing full well that if it had been kade or micah on his doorstep he would have been dead already. when brody looked over at him, it was hard to imagine that micah was all smiles again. it was too difficult to figure out what his game was, so for now brody just had to endure. he let a hand raise to his messy blonde hair and let it rest against his neck. he was obviously nervous about all of this and it only got worse as the conversation ensued. he should have known that talking about evie would get him no where in ways of getting him out of the limelight, but it also seemed the his companion was dead set on keeping it on him. “yeah, i can imagine. lainey drives me up a wall everyday, and she’s my sister. i’m stuck with her.” it was true, though their technical relationship was half siblings, brody could not imagine his life without lainey. moving in with her had been a blessing, and one that he could not afford to lose. talking about school was a little easier, but he just shrugged. law school was definitely an option, but he always wanted to be a detective or a police officer. law school was a recent development and he raised an eyebrow at micah, but didn’t really think anything of it. he could ponder and dissect this conversation later, right now he had to concentrate on getting through it. brody shook his head, and tried to find the right words to describe his situation and what he did. “nah, no job. apparently everything gets taken care of and i’m supposed to concentrate on school.” his parents were wealthy, no doubt about it. he just couldn’t stand his father, one thing that brody and lainey had in common. “and outside of school, i try to run everyday but your sister likes to take up a lot of my time. not that i would have it any other way.” the one thing he would enjoy though, seemed to be so far from what would ever happen. what he really wanted was some quality time to get to know his son, but his mother seemed to have other ideas. ones that brody was trying to break down, slowly but surely.

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 549 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3

[micah david orsino]

^{Micah could already see the expression that would come to Amy’s face when it got back to her that this conversation had gone down. While all the guys would smile and give Micah a good high five for it, Amy was sure to be horrified as to what Micah actually said or did, but she already knew that she had little to no control over it. She had just asked that he be nice, and Micah was only ever a nice person unless you did something to cross him. Wasn’t everyone like that, though? He grinned at his own reasoning, knowing that Amy probably wouldn’t find it quite as amusing but she would understand. Micah was protective, and he was simply doing what he saw as his job to look out for her and to make sure that this guy knew where he stood. He had seen Amy hurt too many times to just let some punk ass kid like Brody come in and do it again like it was nothing. Not that Micah was hoping that Brody would give him a reason to punch his lights out or to threaten him within inches of his life. Micah wanted to like this guy, but it wouldn’t happen without this little conversation happening first. So far, he had learned what Brody’s major was and that he had no job, but those were things that he pretty well knew to begin with. Micah knew about their family situation, and again nodded his head. Running wasn’t a bad thing, either. It seemed to be one of the only things a person could do around here, anyway. Micah did hear the way that Brody talked about Amy, too, and it did seem that Brody genuinely cared about her. “Yeah, she sure does like to be the center of attention. It made for some interesting family time.” Amy was not at all conceited or anything like that, but it seemed that Micah, Tyler, and Amy were all apt to be the ones in the spotlight, doing crazy ass, random things. Their house had never been short on entertainment, to say the least. “And just how long were you screwing around with her before you decided she was good enough for you?” Yep, there was one of those questions that most other people would think too awkward or too personal to ask, but Micah didn’t feel that way at all. He knew how Brody used to be before Mykayla got her hands on him, and he knew that guys had certain tendencies. Hell, Micah could be found guilty of some of that himself as he was no kind of fucking saint, but it wasn’t okay to just use his sister and that was the point to be made.}

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

so this conversation was not as awful as he thought it may be initially. brody should have figured that micah would want to know the basics about his life, but in the same token he figured the man already knew everything there was to know. he knew that the eldest orsino was more than capable of finding out anything that he wanted to know. the younger man knew that his reputation preceded him and it should do nothing but leave the possibility of amy getting hurt. any brother would be protective, especially if their little sister was going to take an interest in him. things with brody whitter had definitely changed after dating mykayla trent, but talking about amy always brought a smile to his face. “yeah, she is quite the little entertainer and center of attention. but i can only imagine what your family time is like. amy keeps trying to get me to go to that family dinner of yours.” it was something that brody had been trying to wrap his head around that idea, but taking on the whole family at one time made things a little more complicated in his head. having this one on one with micah was enough to scare him to death, so taking on the family at once would be another crazy feet. brody listened as micah spoke again, and he couldn’t believe what he had just asked. brody had never thought that amy wasn’t good enough; that thought never once crossed his mind. the screwing around was something that just happened and he couldn’t help that he had been scared to actually ask her. “she never wasn’t good enough for me, micah. it was more that she had just had to deal with manny being a douche, and me dealing with ash up and leaving. i waited to make sure it was what we both wanted, and it was a few months. it just kind of happened.” he shrugged his shoulders, casting his eyes downward. “besides it was will always be that i’m not good enough for her, and until she says that she doesn’t want me i’m not going anywhere. i love her micah, and it isn’t going to change.”

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 382 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3

[micah david orsino]

^{Micah knew that he was making Brody uncomfortable, as that had basically been the point all along, but he did have to give the kid some credit. Brody was one of those people that were put on edge instantly at just the thought of a confrontation like this with Micah Orsino, yet he seemed to be handling very well. Or, at least he was doing well in comparison to some of the other idiotic assholes that Micah had taken upon himself to interrogate. Some guys got defensive and ended up landing their asses in a whole lot of trouble when Micah didn’t like how things were going. Others clammed up and didn’t do anything at all, which made the oldest Orsino brother even more suspicious than before. Brody was going with the flow of things, knowing when Micah was making a point and not arguing but also staying conversational, which Micah liked. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy, but it would take a lot more than one little conversation to get Micah to trust him to any extent. He grinned over the thought of having Brody to one of their family dinners. Just dealing with Micah and Amy was one thing, but at a family dinner there were both parents and four more siblings to try and get to know without becoming overwhelmed. Bethany would be kind to him, of course, but the twins were hyperactive like Amy, and Tyler, well, he tended to follow Micah’s lead when it came to new guys dating their sister. That dinner would most likely be a living hell for Brody, and it was almost entertaining to think about. But, Micah didn’t comment. Instead his mind went to his next question, and comprehending this response of Brody’s. He was damn straight that he wasn’t good enough for Amy; no one ever would be in Micah’s opinion. She was a special girl and she deserved the best, but no one was that flawless. Micah cast another glance Brody’s way as they continued walking down the sidewalk. “Yeah, and is that the story you told Aislinn before you up and left her with a baby to raise on her own?” Another tough question, but Micah was leaving nothing uncovered.}

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

the mention of attending a family dinner should have sparked some kind of interest, but confessing his love about amy had not been on the agenda. yes he had finally understood where his emotions lie and he was glad to have that with amy. she was a wonderful girl, and yes he loved her too much that he would want to do anything in the world for her. but he was never deserving of her, and he knew why. his past was nothing to be proud of, how he had manipulated girls and treated them like they were nothing. he had always been willing to get in a girls pants and take advantage of her. before he had dated mykayla trent that was never an issue, but it was because of her that brody learned why everything he had done was wrong. he didn’t want to be that man, and he tried so desperately to change that image. the words that slipped from micah’s mouth next had cut brody to the very core of his being. he had used and abused aislinn and hadn’t bothered to own up to the mistake that he had made four years ago. he was scared, and it was no reason to leave her alone to deal with a mistake that they had made together. brody whitter had been wrong about that on so many levels, but hearing those words broke his heart. he stopped dead in his tracks, trying to piece the right words together to explain what it was to micah. knowing without a doubt that he had already known, because who would micah orsino be if he didn’t already know everything about him. “i’m not proud of what i did to aislinn, or for making her have to deal with our son on her own. believe me if i could go back and change how i responded to that i would. hell, i try to make things right and that gets blown up in my face.” which was no understatement. anytime brody tried to talk to ais, she always screamed and hung up on him. all he wanted was to spend time with his son to get to know him and try to make up for something he did whenever he was a child. an immature, irresponsible child. he looked at micah and spoke truthfully, knowing honesty would go far with the older man. “yes, it is the same story i told her. the difference is ais meant nothing to me in high school, and the only reason she continues to mean anything to me is because she is the mother of my son. with amy, things are so very different. even different than the love i felt for mykayla, and i would spend the rest of my life with amy if she would let me. there’s just something about her, and i know i don’t deserve her and that you probably hate me. but i pick her every time and i always will.” brody had never thought he would be able to stand his ground with micah, but here he was and he had no intention of backing down. not when it came to how much he loved amy.

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 546 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3

[micah david orsino]

^{It really was a wonder that anyone even tried to date Amy or Beth, or even Michelle when she got older. Forget worrying about their father; Micah was the one that the guys had to worry about. Whether they realized why they feared him or not, they all did eventually if not right away as there were some morons out there that thought that they could just blow Micah off as nothing to worry about. Micah was as protective as big brothers came, and it should surprise no one at this point. Micah knew that it must seem pretty raw of him to ask some of these questions with this only being the first time that he and Brody had met, but he didn’t care. He was letting Brody know that he was serious, and that there were things that he had done in his past that would not fly if they happened to repeat with Amy as the new victim. It might have even seemed cruel with how Micah approached these things almost nonchalantly but all the while both men knowing that one wrong answer or just a smidge of the wrong kind of attitude would end very poorly for Brody. But, it was what it was. Brody stopped, causing Micah to stop short as well as he looked at the younger man, listening once again to another long winded answer. Brody seemed to be going with honesty here, and Micah nodded his head slightly. At the end of this answer, Micah paused for only a moment. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t trust you yet, but your honesty is appreciated. Mistakes aren’t easy to own up to, and admitting that you made one is usually the hardest part. So no, I don’t hate you for whatever fucked up shit you’ve done. Just don’t press your luck and give me a reason to hate you now and we’ll be good.” Micah was all for second chances and letting people show that they were capable of change, but a second chance was all you got with him and this was Brody’s. But, Micah was still friendly as he started walking again, this time not pushing with another question because he knew how brutal the last few had been.}

[brody michael whitter]

nobody runs or makes it out alive

brody knew from the beginning that his best bet was to be honest with micah. no matter how hard hitting his questions were, it was a big brother looking out for his little sister. the younger man knew that he did not deserve any kindness that micah or amy would offer him, but that was simply who he was. he had never been a good man, and the fact that amy was able to love him through all of his shortcomings was amazing to him. brody was still a little stunned with how completely and wholeheartedly he had answered micah’s last question, that whenever the older man spoke he was caught off guard. brody was still trying to process that answer, and he felt so awful for putting aislinn through everything that he did. but the words slipping from micah’s mouth were encouraging. if he could make it through this conversation there was some hope for brody, and that was all he wanted. he wanted to make it out of this conversation alive and mostly unscathed. he nodded his head, relieved that micah did not completely hate him. it was a lot to get anyone not to hate him for what he had done. “i wouldn’t trust me either, if i were you. i wasn’t some great guy, and i know that. but thanks for not hating me.” it gave him hope that things with amy would be somewhat stable. he nodded his head and smiled slightly. “believe me, the last person i ever want to hurt is amy, so there won’t be a reason to hate me. i’m not going to hurt her.” brody’s feet started to move and he was relieved that no more questions were slipping from micah’s mouth, but he figured this was going to be short lived and it was only a matter of time before a new onslaught began. he looked over at his companion and spoke. “so are you all done asking questions, or is something else on your mind?”

tagged for: micah david orsino // word count: 349 // notes: uh oh! // credit: to luna love bug <3