Be Around Forever • •

[alexei cole rosewood]

Alexei was fairly sure that he scared quite a few of the kids on the college campus. It wasn’t a new feeling to him though. He was used to being the man most people crossed the street to avoid. He knew his tattoos – particularly the ones on his face – made him look more than intimidating to most people. Maybe he didn’t think straight when he walked into a tattoo studio and asked for them to be inked onto his skin, but that was kind of his deal. He made rash, permanent decisions about things he didn’t want to forget. Hell, people needed to only look at him when his hair wasn’t hanging in his face to see that there was a war inside his head – he had it printed on his forehead in black ink! He was a mess, had been since he was a kid, but he had worked hard to straighten himself out as best as he could ever do, and somehow, it had landed him the heart of Adele Clearwater. He still didn’t know how the hell he had done that. Even more baffling to him was how she was still with him when he had done plenty of things to indicate to her that he was still royally screwed up inside.

He was waiting in the parking lot for the redhead in question. Alexei leaned against his Harley, idly passing the time pulling at the skin around his nails. He winced when it started to bleed, but that didn’t stop him. He was a creature of messed up habits, but surprised many people by being clean and sober for the most part. He would have a single beer – two at most – if he was with Camden, or back at the MC club, but Alexei didn’t drink and he had never touched drugs. Strangers took one look at him and assumed he was the type, but he was the opposite. His dad had been a mess of a man who would use just about anything to get himself wasted. Alexei found all of that triggering now, so when his eyes landed on a subtle exchange happening between two preppy looking college kids it took him a long moment to shake it off. He did a lot better now than a few years ago, and he had Adele to thank for that. Having her in his life had been incredible for him, even if he couldn’t shout it from the rooftops; not that he was the type to do anything quite like that.

Alexei was a quiet man mostly. It took a while for him to break out of his shell. Even Camden and Adele still didn’t know quite everything about his life. He hadn’t been able to tell Adele that he had been under the bed the night his mother had been murdered. He had also kept some of the stories about his father from her, too. Alexei wanted to protect Adele, not upset her. Seeing students start to pour from the buildings, he looked up, craning his neck and peering to see if he could spy his girlfriend anywhere amongst them. He noticed the looks coming his way, but he paid no mind to them. He was used to them and had been for a good few years already. Unless someone pissed him off or threatened Adele, he would be no threat to anyone in this parking lot. When he finally saw her his lips instantly quirked upwards into a smile and he stepped away from his bike to greet her with a hungry kiss. It was the one thing he loved about New York; they didn’t have to sneak around unless someone was visiting. They could be open about their relationship and he could show her how much she meant to him without having to drive somewhere private, or steal moments behind locked doors. “God, I missed you.” He’d seen her that morning, but some days Alexei hated to be apart from Adele. Today was one of those days.

• • •

TAGGED! Adelaide Harley Clearwater
WORDS! 676!
OUTFIT! Loved Up Loser!
LYRICS! I Don’t Wanna Lose, Lose You - - ZZ Top
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Adelaide Harley Clearwater]

Adele had always been a bit of a rebel, even more so than her brothers combined. Then again, there had been more rules put on her than they'd ever had because she was a girl. She was never raised to be one of those "seen and not heard" types, she had been able to voice her opinions and a damn good thing, too. She already went behind her father's back when he told her she couldn't do something and did it anyway! She could only imagine how she would have turned out if she'd had those rules forced upon her as well! Adele had always felt that need to prove herself, prove she could play with the big boys with the big toys, even if daddy dearest wanted her to stay that six year old little girl who wore floral sun dresses, played with dolls and forced MC members into tea parties with her. Dating Alexei wasn't some sort of piss off to her father or anything like that. Sure, he'd told her he didn't want her dating within the MC but it had been a mostly useless request. Most of the guys were around the same age as her father, having joined the club about the same time as him, some were even older and there were some who were the ages of her brother's. Most of them however, saw her as some sort of mascot and definitely Phoenix's baby girl and Nathan's and Camden's little sister. She'd been off limits long before she'd known the rules. And most of them were a decade older than her anyway and she was not one of those girls in her classes who found men twice their age attractive.

Alexei was different from the rest. Aside from the fact that he took his job of taking care of the Prez's baby seriously, and she had been a little demon and made that job a difficult one, he wasn't strict about it. Adele loved her uncle Brody but he had a one track mind when it came to watching Adele; to school and home again or to the tattoo parlour where uncle Silas would take over the babysitting duties and would then bring her home again when they closed the shop down. If Adele was having a bad day and wanted to be away from a clubhouse full of men willing to solve her problems for her, Alexei brought her to the park and talked to her about it all, helped her sort it out for herself. They'd become friends and he'd become someone she could talk to. She was unbelievably thrilled when he finally said fuck it and kissed her back. She understood why she'd had to wear him down, of course, he was grateful to Nix for giving him a shot and he didn't want to fuck it up. And it didn't matter how many times Adele told him he wouldn't, that he would still be welcomed in the MC. They'd spent so much time together, talking and getting to know each other that she felt she knew Alexei. Not everything, of course, but enough to know Alexei., And she loved him, ever single bit of him. It may have been his job to take care of her but she also felt like it was her job to take care of him. Someone needed to show him he was worth a fight or two and that she was willing to throw the first punch.

Life since leaving California had been great. At least, Adele thought so. They could finally stop sneaking around, claiming they were off to the mall or this place or that one so she could paint. She could fall asleep on the couch in Alexei's arms and know that whenever he was ready to go to bed, he'd carry her in and she would wake up in his arms. Mostly she loved that they didn't have hide their relationship, that she could introduce Alexei as her boyfriend. It was very freeing. When the professor dismissed them for the day, Adele packed her things back up slowly so she could talk to the few friends she had in the class about the next assignment. She was always full of ideas but it was still nice to bounce them around on other artists, get their take on things. She saw Alexei before he spotted her and was ready for the searing kiss, that would have left some of the friends surrounding them with blushes brighter than her hair when he reached her. Adele chuckled, shaking her head before pulling the chopsticks out of her hair to free the shiny red locks. "I missed you, too, my latest subject." She said with a brilliant, overly innocent smile.

Tag || alexei cole rosewood
Words || 796
Clothes || Ravishing Redhead
Music || I'll Be There For You --Bon Jovi
Notes || <3!

[alexei cole rosewood]

Alexei was worried about what would happen once Adele’s family found out about their relationship. It was definitely a question of when and not if. It had been a miracle that they’d been together for these few years already without being caught out. Close calls had happened, but it was Adele’s quick thinking that had saved them then. Alexei could not lie in the spur of the moment, and he hated it when he had to lie to Camden more than anything else. Before Adele it was Camden who had pulled him away from the edge by befriending him and bringing him into the Saints. He didn’t like feeling he was betraying that friendship by sneaking around with his best friend’s sister. No matter what Adele said to him, there was still that underlying sense of guilt. It wasn’t as strong with the miles between them and the rest of the MC now, but whenever her family came to visit it hit him like a freight train all over again. He often used the excuse of giving them all time to catch up to go out and clear his head before he blurted out the truth in front of them all. No one minded if he came back late. They didn’t need to fuss and worry about him in the way they did about Adele. He wasn’t their baby after all.

He did mean it when he promised to look after Adele though. It was one thing he had never lied to them about. As long as he was around no harm would come to her. Alexei would give his life for the redhead who had his heart. Hell, he wouldn’t need to think twice about it. She was worth ten of him, at least. Even if she woke up tomorrow morning and told him it was over, and that he should start sleeping in his own bedroom and not the one they shared, he would still take a bullet for her. For Alexei, there was no one else and he doubted that there ever would be. He was fucked up, and she had been patient enough to hold him through the bad times and let him have his space when he needed to be in his own dark, corrupted mind. He didn’t want to burden her with his demons, but he knew she tried to take on as much as she could with him even though he held so much back. Adele was too good to him, for him. He wondered what the hell he had done for cupid to aim his arrow their way.

He grinned at her, squeezing her tight in his arms. She was one of only a handful of people to make him smile. The others being Camden and his aunt. “Do you have anything you need to do today?” He asked first, always wanting to be sure she didn’t have anything to do for school before he suggested otherwise. He wasn’t academically gifted, nor did he consider himself talented in any way, but Alexei encouraged and was proud of Adele. He never let her slack off, not that she was prone to skipping out on class like he had been. “Do you want to grab some food? Anything you fancy doing tonight?” He followed up with. It was always lady’s choice for them. Not only was Alexei not fussy, he had spent his childhood not allowed a choice, and that had ultimately affected him in later years. Sometimes he found himself confused by the very notion that he could choose and make those decisions himself. By all means he could take charge, but give him options and he was indecisive and preferred anyone else but himself to make the choice. He may not look like it, but a large part of him was broken – possible beyond repair.

• • •

TAGGED! Adelaide Harley Clearwater
WORDS! 647!
OUTFIT! Loved Up Loser!
LYRICS! I Don’t Wanna Lose, Lose You - - ZZ Top
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Adelaide Harley Clearwater]

Adele knew her relationship with Alexei confused some people and looking at the pair of them, she couldn't really blame them. To the world, they didn't make a bit of sense, she looked like she might have been some sort of preacher's daughter and Alexei was covered head to toe in tattoos. Of course, if they knew where Adele really came from, the pieces would start to reveal the real picture. Except they let her classmates and co-workers believe whatever story they'd created on their own. Adele didn't care what people thought, she loved Alexei and that's all that mattered. No one needed to know how they met, how they fell in love or how they worked; they just did. The day would come when they would have to explain of course, neither of them were stupid but Adele had a plan. She always had a plan. And besides that, it was rare for anyone to actually visit them. They'd gone home for Christmas and though her parents and a few others surprised the young couple for Thanksgiving, they had only stayed for the weekend and went back to California again. Other than that though, they had only had the family show up when they'd first moved to the city and had so much to bring with them.

The feisty redhead wasn't worried about her family finding out about her relationship with Alexei but she knew it was something he constantly worried about. Just like she knew he somehow managed to believe he was worth so much less than she was. Adele didn't believe it for a second but it was like talking to a brick wall getting him to see it though. So much so, she had given up on trying to talk to him about it and instead decided to just show him how much he meant to her. She loved him so much. Her only wish for them was that she wanted him to talk to her more. Bit that was something that would either take a lot of time, and she was more than willing to put in the hours, or it would never happen at all. And that was okay, too. Adele didn't know much from before Alexei became a damn near permanent fixture around her household and became a prospect but what she did know showed her an awful picture. Adele couldn't fix what had happened to him but she could make the life he had now, shared with her now, better. It was the little things that made the biggest difference, like making a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Adele couldn't cook to save her life, she burned pots of water dry but she had burned thousands of chocolate chip cookies until they actually came out right. Now, it was the only thing she could make!

The art's student tilted her head to the side the smallest bit, wondering how to answer that question; if she would tease him a little bit or the easy truth. And then she decided to see what his reaction would be because well, she did love that possessive nature of his. "Well, I have to do auditions for the next human form piece but that's easy. You can just take your clothes off when we get home and show me why I should pick you." She said with a devilish smirk gracing her red painted lips. It didn't matter anyway; they both knew Alexei was her only model. Why would she ever pick a stranger when it was her choice when she had her favourite pick within reach? They said variety was the spice of life but Adele figured she got enough variety in her classes whenever they brought models in. Bouncing on her toes, Adele quickly lost her interest in teasing. "Can we do Chinese? Those sweet dumplings have been calling my name all day." She told him with a chuckle. "We could take it home, curl up and watch that show you mentioned last night. Unless you had something else in mind?" She asked him, taking his hand and starting back the few feet to his gorgeous Harley.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || alexei cole rosewood
Words || 693
Clothes || Ravishing Redhead
Music || I'll Be There For You --Bon Jovi
Notes || <3

[alexei cole rosewood]

Alexei was used to people thinking the worst of him. He was a no good boy who was the son of a no good man. For as long as he could remember people had stared at him and looked down their noses. There was always a story, a rumour, some piece of gossip about who he was or why he acted like he did. It was the one thing that didn’t change, even after he found acceptance with the MC. Strangers liked their chatter. They liked to make up questions and find answers in the strangest of places. In New York it was no different. Alexei didn’t have his past around to haunt him as much here, but people still stared and he still heard whispers when he waited in line or stood about when he was picking up Adele from class or work. He never dignified them with a response; he knew it never helped matters. Plus, acknowledging them only added to his twitching fingers, or the habit he had of cracking his neck when he was tense. He was a mess, and knew he always would be. He would never understand what Adele saw that made her want to be with him. It wasn’t like she could fix him, and it wasn’t like she ever seemed to try to either. It baffled him, but he liked what they had and Alexei wasn’t the type to question things. He knew from bad experiences that questions only led to dark places and scars like the ones on his arms, hidden amongst his tattoos.

Words didn’t come easy for Alexei. He had grown up understanding that talking only caused people to get angry at him. It was one of the few things his Aunt hadn’t been able to shake out of him. Even Camden only got him to talk by pushing his buttons and then the two of them scrapped until there was blood and bruises and they both felt oddly good about it. Alexei didn’t think it was the healthiest solution, but it worked for them, and they were best friends no matter how many times they knocked each other round. He had told Camden plenty more than he thought he could tell anyone – even more than he planned to tell Adele. There were just parts of his past that were too dark to reveal to her. He knew she wasn’t stupid and that she was aware he’d had it rough, but he wanted to spare her some of the worst memories he had. His own life had been changed forever because of them and he didn’t want to ruin hers with them, too. Alexei could never forgive himself if he opened those doors for her and guided her inside. He wanted to keep her safe, protected from all harm and that included safe from himself.

He met her eyes with a dark look in his own, his jaw tight. Alexei tried not to be so possessive, but he couldn’t always help it. He gave Adele the freedom she wanted - the freedom she had craved when she was younger and wasn’t supposed to have – but at the same time he didn’t like the idea of other men looking at her, or being given the chance to show her just how better they were for her. He knew he was awful, but while she would have him in her life he wanted to stay there! The only problem was that her words left him faltering; he had no list of reasons why she should pick him for anything. “Hmph.” He responded, pushing his hands into his pockets, ignoring the cracking of his knuckles as they protested against the tight denim. “If it’s Chinese you want, then Chinese you’ll have.” All the menus were on the door of the fridge, simple to reach for when they got hungry. Alexei could not cook a thing, no matter how much he tried. “No, nothing else in mind.” He answered with a small shake of his head as he ran his hand over his bike in a habitual check, as though he worried something might be out of place, even though it never was.

• • •

TAGGED! Adelaide Harley Clearwater
WORDS! 706!
OUTFIT! Loved Up Loser!
LYRICS! I Don’t Wanna Lose, Lose You - - ZZ Top
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Adelaide Harley Clearwater]

Adele had lived quite the sheltered life. And though it was a lot of trouble trying to do anything, especially being the Prez's only daughter, it had also been a ton of fun. Who else could have big, gruff looking grown men sitting around a children's table plastered with Barbie's face, sitting on little chairs much the same and pretending to sip tea out of tiny little cups on the smallest little saucers and eating imaginary cakes and cookies? And not without the customary brightly coloured feather boas and plastic tiaras. There were so many pictures in the family albums back home of various higher members of the Saints sitting at her table with her, dolled up because it was what she wanted and she got what she wanted; within reason. And in some cases that meant the play makeup her mother gave her for Christmas, tiaras, boas and at least for her bright tutus. She knew they all wished she was still that young and their biggest fear for her was falling off the swing set out back. Unfortunately for them she was all grown up and expecting to do different things because she wasn't that six year old obsessed with tea parties anymore.

These days she was more interested in her classes and going dancing on Friday nights than she was those childhood games. But really, what did they expect? She wasn't going to stay a child forever, despite nearly every man in that club hoping she would; Alexei being the only exception, obviously. Everyone considered her to be off-limits and for a while so had he. But she knew what she had wanted and that had been a particularly troubled but unbelievably sweet biker who was thought to have more tattoos than sense but thoughts like those came from those prissy people who didn't have a single one and didn't understand them at all. Adele knew better and loved everything about Alexei. Yes, he was troubled and she would help him through whatever presented itself but she had also grown up around a lot of troubled men so she knew that everything that needed to be said would be in it's own time. It helped that the club had a habit of forgetting she was around and would speak freely even though she was just in the corner doing homework or something. So she knew a lot more than she was ever meant to. Her childhood might have been something completely ridiculous to the outside world but it had been filled with unconditional love and people who were so fiercely protective, they would do anything for anyone.

Adele knew she could be a terrible minx but after years of being kept in a protective bubble, it was hard to tone it down. She wanted to run wild, have a bit of fun. But at the same time she knew exactly what loyalty meant and love. She loved Alexei and even if he hadn't promised her father he'd watch over her in the big city and let her go out on her own, she probably wouldn't have anyway. Once sure, she wanted to know what it was like but she already knew without Alexei there, she would have missed him and spent the night messaging him. Or he would be her one phone call because some idiot wouldn't take no for an answer and she punched him in the face. Just because her father expected her to be watched at all times didn't mean she didn't know how to protect herself, more than a few of her uncles had given her lessons, especially Sy who wanted her to know how to handle the idiots that could stumble into the shop. It didn't matter that there was a baseball bat under the counter or that Sy carried, no one expected a little red head like Adele to be able to haul her weight around. The red head grinned up at her boyfriend but she didn't say anything, knowing she didn't need to. She liked doing nice things for Alexei but they pretty much began and stopped in the artistic department. She couldn't cook worth a damn, burned water as the joke went but she wished she did. Sadly, her culinary skills went as far as dialing a number and occasionally pouring a bowl of cereal. "Come on then, let's go home." She said, leaning up to press her lips to his in a quick kiss.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || alexei cole rosewood
Words || 746
Clothes || Ravishing Redhead
Music || I'll Be There For You --Bon Jovi
Notes || <3

[alexei cole rosewood]

Alexei had missed out on a childhood. There was no innocence in his life. His world had been darkness and fire for as long as he could remember. He didn’t have monsters under the bed; the tiny space beneath his mattress was his safe space to hide from the monsters that came in his house. It saved him the night his mother was killed, and his dad never could reach him if he curled up just right under there. Alexei just had to hope that the violent thug forgot he had been mad at his son when he woke up from the latest binge. He wasn’t always so lucky, but the times he was he was thankful. Alexei didn’t have a bedroom full of toys, or a world of imaginary friends. Toys he had were broken and tossed to the curb when his monstrous father decided his pathetic excuse of a son needed to be punished. There was no escape from the painful reality for Alexei. It haunted him even to this day, the scars hiding between his tattoos, or beneath the heavy ink that marked his body. His dad was long gone from his life, but the ghost still lingered, and the memories would never go away.

He was a stronger man now, or so he had been told. He had made it through high school by some damn miracle, but Alexei would never be in college classes like Adele. He didn’t have that commitment to academia. In class he had been this numb student who could barely focus, listen, or settle in for an hour at a time. It had taken all of his willpower to get the grades to graduate back in high school, but since then he hadn’t been much more than a member of the MC. Looking after Adele was his primary concern and it was all he cared about. He’d take a bullet for her. His life could be tossed away with the rest of the trash, but he wouldn’t let anyone touch a single hair on her head. She was his world, and his heart, and while no one back home could know that, he didn’t hide it in New York. Men might look at Adele like they were thinking about making their move and playing their best cards, but Alexei was at her side in seconds, his arm around her waist, letting the world know that she was off limits. He would die for her, and he was fairly sure he would kill for her, too.

New York was a city of endless opportunities, but in all honestly Alexei was happiest at home with Adele. He went out when she wanted to, but hearing her say ‘let’s go home’ was up there with his favourite things. Sitting on the couch with take out and whatever show was on television made him relax. He got out of his head for a few hours and just switched off. The voices telling him he wasn’t good enough vanished, and he was able to just enjoy the time with his gorgeous girlfriend. There was no worry about being found out, about someone tearing them apart, he just got to let down his guard for a brief period while the rest of the world carried on turning outside of their windows. “Best thing I’ve heard all day.” He murmured, turning her quick kiss into something a little more as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

• • •

TAGGED! Adelaide Harley Clearwater
WORDS! 584!
OUTFIT! Loved Up Loser!
LYRICS! I Don’t Wanna Lose, Lose You - - ZZ Top
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Adelaide Harley Clearwater]

Adele had been extremely lucky growing, able to play tea party with the big "scary" bikers she called uncles along with all their kids, go on class trips with at least one of them. One of her fondest memories of school was a trip to the pumpkin patch. She couldn't have been higher than second grade at the time and so much smaller than anyone else in her class. She was a tiny little thing, still was, and she had this trip she was so excited to go on. Her father had said he wouldn't be able to make it and she hadn't been expecting her mom to go since she had her shop to run. So off she went to school the day of the trip with the bodyguard she'd grown up with at her side; a big, burly man with a grizzled beard, tattoos and more than a few piercings. Just to get there and find nearly every member of the club sitting around on their bikes, waiting for the school bus. It had been a sight to see. Her teachers had always been pleased to see the badass bikers.

As she got older their presence was something she tried to get away from. Her version of rebelling was to slip her tails and she became good at it; too good for any of their liking. Needing someone around practically twenty four seven didn't make sense to Adele. The club had been clean for years and in her lifetime there had been no troubles, that she was aware of. But apparently the men in her life thought there would always be trouble and to get to the Pres, they'd go after her. Adele was sure by the time Alexei took over the job, Brody hated her. He was the best and she was constantly slipping by him, it had to have been frustrating for the man. Adele at least knew she was being difficult and would on occasion, let him catch her and offer up burgers and fries and the diner as enticement to get him to go out. She needed social interaction outside of the club kids. She was at an odd age where the older kids were old enough to be in the club as proper members and the younger ones were still figuring out how to spell their damn names or just learning what algebra was.

Nothing has felt as good as being able to get out of California and go to school. She had craved that freedom to breathe without someone hovering. Yeah, she had Alexei with her but he didn't suffocate her, he didn't make her feel like she couldn't live her own life. He was there to support her and share in that life that they could create together. Most importantly, they didn't have to hide away at the cabin or long trips around to "draw". Adele loved being able to walk down the street holding Alexei's hand and knowing that the simple action wouldn't get back to anyone. She could have stayed right there all day with Alexei but she also couldn't wait to get on the back of his motorcycle and wrap herself around him as he drove them through the busy streets back to their apartment. Grinning against his lips, she slowly pulled away a couple of inches. "Keep that up and we'll never make it home. Think of the scandal." She teased, leaning up with a wicked grin on her lips to reach Alexei's ear. "Besides, I really want to get out of these shorts." She whispered, nipping at his ear before taking a step back and grinning up at him.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || alexei cole rosewood
Words || 613
Clothes || Ravishing Redhead
Music || I'll Be There For You --Bon Jovi
Notes || <3