Code Of Family

Summary: Marcus is suspicious of Chris’ intentions. Next in the Code Of… series
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the movie Triple 9; AU; references to violence and drug abuse

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“Hey, Marcus.”

Marcus glanced up from his computer with a frown at the familiar voice. He arched his eyebrows when he saw Gabriel standing there, the younger man dressed in his old uniform and fidgeting with the buttons and the hem of his shirt. He looked the younger man up and down slowly and then shook his head before saying, slowly, “No. You shouldn’t be here.”

Gabriel took a step back, narrowing his eyes before shaking his head and dropping his gaze. “Chris put in a good word for me.” He spoke the words to the ground.

Shit. Marcus groaned and shook his head. He glanced around, noticing the other officers glancing curiously in their direction, and lowered his voice. “Gabe, you can’t be here. Not after everything that happened.”

“You don’t think I belong here,” the younger man whispered.

“I think there was a reason you went down the dark path of drugs and alcohol you did the first time round,” Marcus stated. “And I think you’re too sensitive to be back here.” What was Chris thinking, encouraging the sensitive younger man to come back to the precinct? Gabriel didn’t belong here. Of course, if Marcus was entirely honest with himself…he probably didn’t belong here any more than Gabriel did.

And damn if that knowledge didn’t hurt on some level.

“I’m not….” Gabe took a deep breath. “I know how bad things were before, Marcus. But they won’t be like that again. I promise.” An earnest note filled his voice as he stared into Marcus’ eyes, like he was trying to push his sincerity through.

Snortingly softly, Marcus was the first to look away. “Who am I to argue with your big brother?” he muttered.

Gabriel’s smile was wide, but he didn’t try to hug Marcus or anything like that. Instead, he said, softly, “I always wanted to help people. I can do that again now. And you can too. Chris forgave us both and gave us second chances, so we can do what we were always meant to.”

Marcus opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, the younger man was moving over to the coffee machine. Another officer, a grey-haired, grizzled old veteran was there already, Officer Draco Peterson, and he nodded to Gabriel. “Welcome back, kid.”

Even though he looked away, Marcus could still see the wide smile that spread across Gabriel’s face. He winced. It hurt, seeing how happy and excited the younger man was about coming back to work. It reminded Marcus of his own history. At one point, he’d been exactly like the kid. So eager to do the right thing.

Before everything had gone to hell.

Marcus stood up, noticing Chris entering the main room with his uncle. The man who’d stepped in with him and Gabe was talking casually enough, laughing at something his uncle said. Then, when the older man touched his shoulder, Chris turned round and locked eyes with Marcus.

The two stared at each other for a few moments and then Chris turned back to his uncle, saying quietly, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Hold that thought.” When the older man nodded, Chris turned and walked over to Marcus. “Something you want to say to me?”

“Yeah.” Marcus swallowed down the sharper tone in his voice and nodded towards interrogation. “Not here.”

Chris arched his eyebrows, but instead of speaking, he only motioned for Marcus to lead the way, following him into the corridor and towards the interrogation room.

It was empty, so they had privacy; and all of the officers were in the main office, so Marcus didn’t have any worry about being overheard. As soon as the door was closed behind them, he was speaking, his voice rough and harsh. “You need to stop this.”

“Stop what?”

“You’ve given Gabe hope.” Marcus took a step closer to him. “I know that look on his face. He thinks you hung the moon. He doesn’t realise what I do.”

Chris stood his ground, squared his shoulders and asked, “And what do you realise?”

“That this whole ‘big brother’ thing you’ve got going on? It’ll only last for as long as he’s in your shadow. Soon as he’s standing on his own two feet, you’ll cut him loose.” Marcus paused, realising he was raising his voice. He breathed in deep and made a supreme effort to lower his voice once more. “It’s beyond cruel to let him hope for something, let him hope for a family, and then rip that away from him.”

Chris slowly leaned against the table. “You think you know me so well,” he said quietly. “Are you accusing me of this because you’d do what you’re saying?”

Marcus stared at him. Stared into his eyes. He tried not to notice that Chris was pale; that the other man was favouring his right arm. That there were dark shadows under the other man’s eyes. His focus was on Gabe. Had to be on the younger man. Because Gabe needed him in his corner. Needed him to pick up the pieces. “I’d never turn my back on him.”

“What makes you think I ever would?” Chris asked.

“Because you don’t want him.”

Chris drew in a deep breath and let it out in a pained laugh. “You a mind reader now, Marcus? You don’t know what’s going through my mind. Why I do the things I do.”

“Then why don’t you tell me?” Marcus returned. “Why don’t you tell me exactly why you’ve decided Gabe’s your little brother? Convince me that he’ll be safe with you. That he’ll thrive under your care.”

Chris laughed. It still sounded pained, but nothing of that showed through in his voice as he asked, “What can I possibly tell you that you can’t see for yourself? He’s not taking any drugs. He’s in no physical danger. And he’s come back to do a job he loves. A job he was fired from because of mistakes he made.” He paused and then lowered his voice as he added, “Making a mistake shouldn’t ruin your life.”

Marcus knew they weren’t talking about Gabe anymore. He swallowed hard and looked away, muttering, “I don’t need a big brother.”

“No, but maybe you need a brother. An equal. Someone to call you on your shit.”

Marcus kept his face turned away, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris push himself away from the desk. Felt the other man rest his hand on his shoulder. He swallowed again and couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the touch. “And you need someone to call you on yours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Turning to look fully at Chris, careful not to let the other man’s hand slide from his shoulder, Marcus said pointedly, “You’re in pain.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Really? Is that what you’d tell Gabe?”

Chris dropped his hand. “That’s different.”

“Yeah. It is.” Marcus nodded. “Gabe wouldn’t dare call you on it. He lost one big brother already, Chris. You can’t risk taking yourself from him. It would fully break him this time.”

Cocking his head to one side, Chris stared at him for several long moments before saying, “You’ve quickly changed your tune. Weren’t you just telling me I’d drop him like a sack of potatoes?”

“You love him.”

The other man didn’t try to deny it. Didn’t pretend he didn’t know what Marcus was talking about. Instead, he nodded. “Yeah. I’m just wondering what convinced you of that.”

“It doesn’t really matter.” Marcus lifted his hand and put it over Chris’. “Have you seen a doctor?”

“No. Not yet.”

Marcus nodded. “When we’re done here, I’ll take you.”

Chris eyed him for a few moments and then nodded slowly. “You’ve accepted it, then? That I’m Gabe’s big brother. That in my eyes, we’re brothers too?”

“And in mine too.” Marcus nodded. He slid his hand down Chris’ arm, gripping it firmly, and led the other man towards the table, circling round it to take a seat and then drawing Chris down and settling him across his lap.

The other man settled in place and just wrapped his arms around Marcus’ ankle. He didn’t struggle and he didn’t tense up. He just waited, accepting what was about to happen.

This was the first time Marcus had been on the giving end of this type of discipline and he stared at the back of Chris’ head. The other man was placing an enormous amount of trust in him and he suddenly felt unsure of whether he was worthy of it or not. Finally, he lifted his hand and let it land in a solid smack on the seat of Chris’ pants.

The other man didn’t react to that first smack, or to the few that followed. So Marcus began to smack a bit harder and a bit faster…and after about five smacks, Chris let out a quiet grunt.

Marcus continued to smack, slow and steady and at the same force. He felt it when Chris began to squirm and wriggle over his lap, letting out soft gasps and whimpers when Marcus’ hand delivered smacks to the tops of his thighs.

“You’re going to get checked out by a doctor as soon as we’re done here,” Marcus reiterated. He covered Chris’ entire bottom with the firm smacks a third time and then paused to tug the other man’s pants down. “You owe it to Gabe, to little brother, to keep yourself healthy and safe for his sake. Do you understand?”

“I understand, brother,” Chris answered, his voice slightly strained, as he lifted his hips enough to allow Marcus to tug his pants down.

Marcus paused and something lanced his heart. Some pain that had never fully gone away fled; a weight he’d never realised he carried disappeared. He swallowed, tears filling his own eyes, and took a few moments to regain control over his emotions. He then began to smack firmly, covering every inch of Chris’ backside with stinging smacks.

The other man’s quiet sobs reached Marcus’ ears and he paused, wincing, affected by the tears more than he’d expected. He rubbed Chris’ back softly and said, quietly, “I know I haven’t made things easy on you, but that’s changing now. I’m here for you, my brother.”

Chris slumped and his sobs increased a little in force. Marcus rubbed his back for a few more moments and then pulled his pants back into place. He helped Chris to stand and then wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight hug.

The response was immediate, Chris hugging Marcus back tightly. They stayed like that for a few long moments, both resting in the comfortable new relationship, and then Chris took a step back, wiping at his eyes. “Are you going to come with me to the hospital?”

“Yeah.” Marcus nodded. “We’ll grab Gabe on the way too.” He slung his arm companionably around Chris’ shoulders and the two of them left the interrogation room.

The End