30 - Future Complications

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Hey my little mobsters <3

"Again," Ray breathed. He should have been panting by now, his skin glistening with sweat and his heart thumping, but instead he was completely cool and he moved with a casualness that almost made him seem bored.

Danny on the other hand, was teetering on the edge of exhaustion and it was a wonder that she'd even made it this far. She found her fist forward and pain sliced through her as Ray caught her movements. He side stepped her punch easily, caged her wrist within his grasp, and in one swift movement he had her legs ripped from under her and her back slammed hard against the mat beneath them.

A mat, that was not helping to cushion her falls at all.

"You're to predictable Danny. Your eyes give you away before you even make your move."

If she had the energy too, Danny would have protested that he couldn't have expected much more from someone with absolutely no fighting skills and his way of training was border line abusive and cruel and unusual punishment, but all she could muster was a pathetic little whimper as she rolled over onto her stomach.

After being gone for two days setting things in place and making sure once this was all over the people Ray cared about would be protected and secured, Ray had come back to Rico's with yet another realization.

He couldn't be by Danny's side every waking moment.

"Come on Danny, a few more times."

"Ray," Danny panted, pushing clumps of damp bangs from her face, "I have literally fought and gotten my ass kicked by every man down here. Rico almost broke my bones, Freddy tossed me around like a rag doll, and now you're laying me on my back. Can't we stop?"

The room they'd been using to train was a wide open space with gym equipment scattered around sparsely. There were just a few mats on the floor and off to the far right wall there was a stack of towels and a fridge filled with energy drinks and Gatorade. With a soft sigh, Ray grabbed Danny a towel and Gatorade as well as a bag of ice. Coming back to the center of the room, he sat down on the floor next to her and set the ice pack on the small of her exposed back.

"It's not like I'm enjoying this, babe," he mumbled, sliding her shoes off her feet and unwrapping the gauze covering her knuckles. Danny could only mewl in response as he did with her limp body as he pleased. He set the towel under her head like a pillow and forced her to sit up just long enough to take a drink. Capping the bottle back up, he moved down her body and grabbed her legs first, making Danny moan softly as he began to knead and massage all the worn muscles in her legs.

"Then why are you torturing me?" Danny asked, her voice a hoarse whisper as she sucked on an ice cube. She was pouting and even though Ray knew past her chubby cheeks and doe eyes she really was mad, he couldn't help but chuckle softly, his fingers pressing into the heel of her foot.

"What's gonna happen if you get cornered one day and I'm not there? If someone attacks and I'm already occupied fighting someone else off? Hmm?"

"Then Rico will be there."

"And if he's not?"

"Freddy?"

"Nope."

"God?"

Ray made a sound between a laugh and a scoff and Danny pouted even more. "I don't expect you to become some world class fighter overnight, Danny. Hell, I really don't even plan for you to be in a situation where you have to fight, but if worse comes to worse I need to know you can at least hold someone off until I can get to you. I need you to be able to defend yourself."

Finishing off the massage on her legs and feet, Ray moved up her body and towards her hips. Danny was silent as his fingers worked, brushing parts of her that she knew would be bruises by the morning and working out muscles she didn't even realized had tensed up. For him to be so brutal in fights and so quick to pull triggers, his fingers were gentle in their caress of her body.

"Ray?" Danny asked after a while of nothing more than the steady beat of her heart.

"Hmm?" Ray hummed, his hands on her upper back and arms.

"Do you think I'll ever have to kill anyone?"

Ray's fingers stopped and his lips parted but no words slipped out. No sounds even echoed. He didn't know how to answer Danny's question. Not because he wanted to spare her feelings, but because he really didn't know. His intentions were to keep her as far away from the fight as possible but he'd been on this earth too long to live by fairy tales and happy ever afters. He knew what he had to do and he was confident with his plan, but he was just as confident that something was bound to go wrong.

Sensing his silence, Danny swallowed softly and closed her eyes, his answer coming through loud and clear. The fact of the matter was Ray could train her and work her body until she was a solider ready for battle. But mentally, mentally and emotionally, she never would be. She may be accepting of Ray and who he was and all he did and she may not be the innocent little flower people used to think she was, but she wasn't a killer. She couldn't imagine that she ever would be ready for something like that and she was afraid if it came down to it, she never would be able to pull the trigger. Did that make her weak?

"Hey," Ray whispered softly, grabbing her by her hips and turning her body so that she was on her back beneath him. Her skin was still flushed from all the exercising and her hair was frizzed and matted with sweat, but Ray smiled softly at the vision beneath him, stroking her cheek as if he could wash away her unshed tears of doubt.

"Do you believe me when I say I love you?"

"Yes."

"Then believe me when I say I'll protect you. I like that you're untouched by my kind of world Danny," Ray muttered. He lifted her hand and kissed her clean knuckles before pressing his lips to her unstained palms as well. Unlike him, there was no blood on Danny's hands and maybe that's what made her so precious to him. "You let me carry your sins and my sins and all the sins of everyone around us. Let me protect you from the bad."

"And when your shoulders get heavy from carrying all those sins?" Pulling her hand back, Danny sat up so that she could look Ray in his eyes, smiling softly at the love and lust there. "I wanna protect you too Ray. I'm small and weak and to be completely honest if I see too much blood I might just pass out. If someone dies in front of me I'm gonna cry like a baby and even too much cursing makes me uncomfortable. To be the greatest hitman in Chicago, you probably have got the most unprepared and un-badass girlfriend," Danny chuckled weakly and Ray grinned, "but I promise I'll do my best alright? I'll fight for you too. Ya dig?"

If there were words that could have described how off the walls Ray felt in that moment, he couldn't remember them. At least none km the English vocabulary played the part and of the little Spanish he knew nothing there could explain it either. All his life he knew there was better out there, that his life wasn't the only option, but he never hoped for anything. Never asked for anything more than he got and never envied or craved what others had. To anyone looking at him, they'd assume he was just indifferent. That he was a hard man who just knew how to deal the hand he was given. But the reality of the situation was Ray didn't feel like he deserved any better. He was the son of a deadbeat thief and a crack-whore. What good was he supposed to get?

So he lived his life never asking for any.

And yet here he was, filled to the rim with more happiness than he could ever imagine. He still didn't think he deserved it, but he'd be damned if he gave any of it up.

"I love you, Daniela Grant."

"Yeah, I know. Just stop beating me okay? I'd really appreciate that."

Chuckling softly, Ray nodded and touched his lips to Danny's before placing his hands on her shoulders. He hoovered over her slim gram as he pushed her back until her back was pressed against the mat.

"Okay," he whispered, fingers toying with the drawstrings of her pants. Danny's face flushed and she licked her lips, her mouth open in a half 'o' as Ray kissed down the length of her neck before traveling the expanse of her exposed flat stomach. "I won't beat you anymore-" he whispered, teeth nibbling at the flesh of her hips and making her moan. He slipped his hands inside her pants and just as she arched her back and opened her kitty to call out his name, he caught her lips with his own and kissed her with enough passion to make her toes curl and her heart thud. "-but that doesn't mean I'm done bullying you."

************************************

"Are you sure you want me to do this?"

After an intense workout in Rico's gym, a few extra activities, a shower, and a few more activities in said shower, Ray and Danny were finally winding down for the day.

They sat in the main room of Rico's warehouse-turned-home. Rowan and Rico were in the kitchen not speaking and pretending they didn't want to jump each others bones, Freddy was speaking in hushed tones with Antonio on the couch off to the side, and Gage was on the floor with the kids all dog piled on top of him while they watched a Ghost.

Yeah, the one with Patrick Swayze

Danny sat on the couch in front of the TV and Ray sat on the floor between her legs. Danny had already dyed, cut, and restyled her hair and the new look was inspiring Ray too. There wasn't much he could really do though besides cut it all off.

"It'll grow back eventually. It's just hair."

"I know but....all of it? Not everyone can rock a buzz cut babe."

"You saying you're gonna break up with me if I come out ugly?"

"Hey, you said it, not me."

Ray scoffed and turned his head, nipping at the hand resting on his shoulder. Danny drew her hand back quickly and giggled as Ray continued trying to attack from his position on the ground.

"So shallow," he grumbled, mocking offense.

"I was only teasing. Now be still before I cut off an ear or something instead."

The sound of the clippers buzzed in his ear and despite saying it was only hair just a moment ago, Ray couldn't help but tense.

Not that long later, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, Rays head felt significantly colder and Danny told him he could go look. So he stood in the bathroom mirror trying to decide if he liked it or not. She hadn't cut it too low, so you could still see the hair there. Overall it didn't look bad on him, it actually made him edgier even. If that was possible.

"You like?" Danny asked, coming up behind him in the mirror and wrapping her arms around his waist. He ran his fingers over his head, getting used to the cropped cut, and shrugged.

"Yeah."

"I mean if you don't we could always dye it purple. I'm sure that would be a stunning color on you."

"Don't push, baby girl."

"Turn?"

Ray and Danny both looked down to see a little Jimi standing there with the clippers in his hand, the bottom end pressed against his head as he made a 'vrring' sound with his lips.

"Hey, put that shit down," Ray said, grabbing the clippers from his hands while Danny just smiled and lifted him up. The one year old glared at Ray and threw his chubby little arms around Danny's neck, making it obvious that he liked her much better. "Jimi hair sort too," he said, pulling on his blonde locks which were sickly straight compared to Elvis' tight curls. Besides their hair pattern and maybe nose, Elvis and Jimi looked so much alike Danny forgot sometimes that they had different fathers. Elvis' being a rapist Ray killed, and Jimi's being a politician who couldn't risk a scandal.

"Give him to me," Ray rolled his eyes, picking the naked baby up and placing him on the counter. He turned Jimi so his back was to the mirror and his feet were swinging off the counter before he turned the clippers on. He never touched Jimi's hair, just held it close to his ear and moved his hands around a little and then said he was done.

Jimi, who'd been grinning like the Cheshire cat, stood up on the counter and turned around to see his new haircut in excitement before glaring. Clearly, Rays little trick didn't work and instead the toddler began to cry.

"Why Ray no do it?! Jimi no stupid!" He bawled, looking at Ray with so much betrayal the hitman almost felt bad. Danny bit the inside of her cheek to try to keep from laughing.

"Here, why don't I try something?"

Sniffling, Jimi sat back down and Ray shrunk under the kids glare. Sheesh.

After a few more minutes of playing around with water and some hair lotion Danny and found in the cabinet, she had Jimi's hair styled and cleaned up. It wasn't cut, but it was different than it had been before and really that's all he wanted. Grinning once again, he slipped off the counter and ran to go show off his new look.

"Ugh," Ray groaned once he was gone, "I can't believe you want a whole team of them."

"I don't really want a whole team," Danny laughed as Ray pulled her into the space between his legs and he hid his face in her stomach, his hands wrapped around her waist as he relaxed, "I just think one or two kids would be nice. You seriously don't want any?"

"Nope. I already feel like I've got three and besides, having a kids means things would have to be like....different. I wouldn't wanna bring a kid into the world knowing we could wake up one day and be in the same situation we're in now. On the run and being hunted."

Danny couldn't do anything but listen as he spoke, her fingers running softly across his new hair. The truth was it stung to know Ray wasn't looking forward to the future like she was, that he couldn't imagine things ever being different than they were now, but it's not like she was ready for a kid anyway. It's just that, when she was ready, it'd be nice to think Ray would be the one by her side.

Was it naive of her to think they would last that long? Who was to say they would make it out of this. And even if they did, who's to say Ray would still want to be with her?

"What is it?" Ray asked, drawing her back to reality.

Danny looked down and raised her brows in question as if everything was fine but Ray could see the gears shifting in her head and sighed. He'd never said anything before because it was actually something he liked about her, but Danny had this habit of making plans and imagining a perfect future where everything went as she wanted and everything was okay. A future Ray couldn't see happening. Not because he didn't love her, but because he knew better.

"Danny," he groaned, "can we not do this right now?"

"I haven't done anything. Why are you getting so annoyed all of a sudden?"

"Because you're giving me that look. That look where you want me to change and see things from your perspective and, I'm sorry, but I'm not going too."

Stepping around her, Ray opened the bathroom door and stepped out only for Danny to follow. Which only irked him more. He knew this day has been too good to be true.

"Um, excuse me, but do you mind clarifying what my perspective is? I haven't pushed you to feel or see anything you don't see yourself."

"Everytime you bring up something regarding the future you do that shit. Whether you're talking about college, kids, or some fairy tale marriage you always give me this 'one day' look and after a while it gets tiring Danny. You told me your plan and no matter how many times you keep telling it to me, I'm not gonna suddenly wake up one day and be on the same page."

Ray really hoped that this would be the end of the argument and Danny wouldn't follow him downstairs to the room they shared, but she did and, as much as he didn't want her too, he couldn't say he was surprised.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Danny screamed, grabbing him by his arm and forcing him to stop walking. "Is it such a bad thing that I have hopes and aspirations? That I'm a girl who likes to think about a future with the asshole she loves? That, unlike some people, I'm not a pessimistic prick who can't focus on anything but guns and fighting?"

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it. What I'm saying is you keep trying to subtly change me and it's not working Danny. This is me and you can either take it, or you can leave it."

"I have been taking it! I'm in a fucking warehouse for Christ sake Ray! You murder people and I'm still sticking by your side. People want me dead because of you and I'm still by your side. And you're seriously gonna get mad at me because I'm a little hopeful sometimes? Seriously Ray?"

"For fucks sake Danny yes! Yes I seriously get annoyed with that shit! I'm not Thomas or any of the other well educated college boys in your league. I don't have a good education or proper manners at the dinner table and, sorry not sorry, but I hardly have time to think about the future when there are bullets raining down on me. You think I don't know you're in this because of me? You think that doesn't make me sick to stomach? I'm trying my fucking hardest to keep you safe, to keep you alive and healthy, and it doesn't help that when I come back from busting my ass I have to deal with you trying to force this master plan you have onto me. Trying to fit me into a mold that isn't meant for me. So pick. You either get me the way I am now and the way I always will be, or you keep day dreaming about happily ever afters that don't exist in the real world. We're two different people Danny. While you get to sit back and plan your future, I have to go out and fight for mine. So go ahead, keep dreaming big and trying to follow your plans, just scratch me out of it."

He didn't mean it, especially not the last part, but as soon as Ray saw the horror and rejection in her eyes he knew the damage had already been done. It was one thing to become frustrated but he'd gone over the line this time. He didn't want Danny to scratch him out of her future, he didn't want to yell at her or lash out the way he did, he he definitely didn't want her to look at him the way she was now.

"Danny I-"

"I haven't asked you to give up anything for me. I haven't asked you to stop killing, to leave the mob, anything. But I've given up everything for you. I'm not in school, I'm lying to my family and best friend, given up my morals and turning a blind eye to all the bodies you leave in your wake, and now you want me to give up my future too? What's gonna be next? My lungs? My heart?! You want me to snatch that out my chest and hand that over too?!"

"Danny," Ray tried when he felt a panging in his chest at the sight of tears running down her cheeks. He tried to step closer but she just wiped her eyes and slammed her fist against his chest, pushing him away.

"Im sorry I made the mistake of thinking we'd last past all of this. I won't make it again. You've made it very clear there isn't ever going to be a future for us."

With one last glare and another pain filled tear, Danny turned and fled up the steps and as far away from Ray as she could get.








Important Read:
Hey guys, so obviously this update was a little late. There are A LOT of things going on in my personal life as well as a big move, my computer being broken, and currently me being sick. I'll still be updating as frequently as possible, I just wanted to let you know that if I don't make the update by Friday, it's because I just couldn't. I WILL be updating at least once a week still though I just don't know how scheduled

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