Lucas paced outside of the hospital room, eyes piercing as he kept an eye up and down the corridor. He had not been pleased when he’d been assigned to this case. A stalker? Really? He’d been a detective for ten years, and they had him playing babysitter to some elementary school teacher.

Granted, that elementary school teacher had been shot in the back, but even still. This was a job for someone with experience, but someone who was still new enough to get low jobs. Not him. A low groan escaped his lips as he glanced down at his watch, his bosses voice echoing in his head.

"Jones. I got a job for you. Since you refuse to take a vacation like I’ve been telling you to, I’m going to make you. You’re going to take this man to a safe house and protect him. I don’t care what story you come up with to explain your aliases while there, just keep him safe until we catch the guy who tried to kill him. Got it?”

How fucking hard could it be to catch someone who’s name they had in full? And yet.. the man and his daughter had vanished. Even that should have been enough, but Lucas’ boss had a bad feeling about it, and so here he was, stuck waiting as the nurses filled out the release forms, ready to scoop some stranger away to a place they would both be stuck in, for God knows how long.

Twenty minutes later, they were in a car, silently driving down the road, Lucas sparing glances every now and again at the man beside him, as though he were scrutinizing every detail, trying to memorize everything about him.

“So uh… tell me about yourself…” He broke the silence awkwardly, unused to situations like this, his fingers gripping the wheel a little tighter. “You ever been out of the state before?” Even his tone was tense, it was clear he was irritated, and even though it wasn’t at Diederich himself, it was hard to hide it. “You’re a teacher, yeah?”

Diederich was nervous around the man, he couldn’t deny that. At six foot two, with jet black hair and blue eyes that Diederich could only compare to ice, who wouldn’t be intimidated? In a way, it reassured the blonde. After all, who would be crazy enough to get on this man’s bad side? Lucas, he had said his name was. Even still, he offered a small, nervous smile.

“Yeah… I teach kindergarten. This is only my third year doing it.” A sigh fell from his lips as he stabbed his fingers through his hair, staring straight ahead. “Thought by teaching elementary, I would be exempt from unsavory situations. Guess I learned my lesson, huh?”

Wasn’t that the truth though. Pain rippled through his back under the firm bandages, causing his body to tense. “Worst I thought would happen even with high schoolers was some obnoxious know it alls. I love kids though, so I was.. happy. I never imagined something like this happening.”

Scared eyes flickered to meet Lucas’s momentarily.

“...They’ll get him, right?”

Lucas sighed, gripping the wheel a bit tighter.

“They’ll get him.” He agreed. “And until they do, they’ve told me to keep you safe. I take my job seriously, nothing is going to hurt you. Not while I’m around anyhow.” He told him firmly, fingers brushing through dark locks, tugging lightly before falling back into silence.

If he put aside his irritation, he had to confess that he felt bad for Diederich. He seemed like a nice guy, just too innocent, naive. That was likely what had put him in this situation in the first place. Attractive enough- and genuinely scared looking. He intended to keep his word. Nothing was going to get to Diederich without going through him.

The rest of the drive was relatively silent, until finally, they pulled up into the hotel. Turning to Diederich, Lucas narrowed his eyes, voice serious. “Okay kid, I need you to listen to me, and listen damn good. No one can know who you are here. No using your real name, nor mentioning what you do. Especially no mentioning what’s been going on. Anything like that is going to compromise your safety, and piss me off. I don’t know why the fuck they’re having such a hard time catching some stupid fucker they already know everything about, but he seems to have vanished into thin air. However, that doesn’t mean that you are out of danger. So follow my orders, got it?”

“Got it!” The teacher agreed, a little too quickly. It didn’t seem a good idea to argue. Not only was this man terrifying, but he was putting his life on hold to protect Diederich as well. “So uh… what… is my name?” He questioned cautiously.

“That’s a good question. Your new name is Jakob Bailey, and I’m Lucas Bailey, ok? Our cover story is that we’re married. We’ve been together for six years, but only recently married with the law changes. You got injured at work, and so I got overly worried and decided to take you away for a change in scenery while you heal. That should be excuse enough for you to stay close to me, and for no one to really try anything with you.”

It was a solid enough plan to him, the cover story made sense. It was a good way to ensure that they didn’t gain any extra problems in the form of even more creeps attracted to Diederich’s trusting nature. It was going to be a little awkward pretending to be married, something Lucas had avoided adamantly but… it was the most effective way to do his job.

“W-wait what?” Diederich protested, clearly flustered. “Married? Why do we have to pretend to be married, won’t it seem a little strange if we’re married and don’t kiss or show one another affection?” There was no way he could do this, how could Lucas seem so calm!? Diederich was having a hard enough time being calm and collected around the stern, big man, and now he was supposed to pretend to be newlyweds with him?

“So we’ll kiss and show affection.” Lucas shrugged nonchalantly, head cocking towards the other man. “It’s not that big a deal. This is the best cover story we got, kid. So think about it this way- it’s that and be safe, or be stubborn and risk that fucking idiot getting near you. Your choice.” As though he was really giving him a choice. This was what was happening, that was the long and the short of it. Diederich would just have to suck it up and deal, Lucas was the one in charge here.

He scooped the blonde man out of the car slowly, cradling him bridal style, extra careful of his back as he carried him inside. Might as well make the best of this, right? “Come on, darling.” He huffed, opening the hotel door. And just like that, it was like a switch flipped. It happened so fast that Diederich almost had to do a double take as the smile, soft and loving, tugged at Lucas’s lips as they reached the desk.

“Hello. Lucas Bailey, I’m renting a single room with my husband here? I booked online, so it should all be there for you. My husband here has had a very bad accident at work, so I’ll have to ask that we be given a do not disturb sign for the room, and that no calls be sent to us, thank you. He needs lots of rest so he can heal up.”

“Oh, of course, Sir! I’ll jot down your preference.” The woman at the desk agreed, handing over the keys, and offering Diederich a sympathetic smile. “Feel better, Sir. If it helps, the rooms are equipped with hot tubs. They’re a godsend for pain.”

The blonde perked up at the mention of the tub, a look of almost childish delight crossing his face. Admittedly, that sounded amazing. He’d wanted a hot tub for as long as he could remember, and if there was one in their suite, be damned if he wasn’t taking advantage of it. He let Lucas carry him up to the room, burying his face in the raven haired man’s throat as he held on tightly, arms around his neck to keep from falling.

A small gasp escaped him as the door swung open to reveal their room.

“Whoa… it’s gorgeous.” He murmured, trying to squirm down from Lucas’s arms, protesting slightly when the arms tightened around him slightly.

“Uh-uh. You’re going to bed and resting.” The older man ordered firmly. “You’re still hurt. I wasn’t kidding about you needing rest. I’ll run a bath for you later, but for now, try to have a little sleep. I’m going to check the perimeter and the security here. I’m going to lock the door on my way out, alright?”

Strong arms lay the blonde man down in the bed carefully, making sure he was well cushioned and tucked in before turning for the door.

“P-promise you’ll come back?” Diederich questioned, reaching out to grip the man’s sleeve anxiously. Lucas was all he had here, the only protection, and he was a bit worried about being alone still.

Sighing softly, Lucas found himself softening, turning back around and leaning down to press an idle kiss to the younger man’s head. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back, I promise. Go to sleep now.”

Taking comfort in the fact that Lucas was sincere, Diederich finally slipped into a fitful sleep.