the tides were getting higher , declan

i'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a lego house, when things go wrong we can knock it down.

even though declan had promised he'd start taking things easier on himself where work was concerned, he found it extremely hard to sit tight at home, especially when valencia was still at work, filing and doing whatever else she had to do before she was able to come home. dec had told her she could come home earlier if she'd like, mainly because he was getting anxious for many reasons. he didn't like her being alone anymore. at least not ever since that freak that they interrogated one day decided to take his obsession with her a little too seriously. declan could not and would not ever forget what happened that night. his parents were visiting, and she came to his doorstep, battered, sobbing and half dressed. he was right, like he had suspected he would have been. of course, that night was also the night that things between the two of them changed drastically, but that wasn't why he remembered it so vividly. something inside of him sparked that night. came alive. an animalistic side to him that in all twenty five years of his life, he had never seen before. he wanted nothing more than to rip that perv's throat out and do his face in a couple times on the concrete sidewalk. so, ever since that night, he had found he was protective over valencia. in fact, "protective" might have been a bit of a drastic understatement. he'd do anything to protect her. and whenever he knew she was alone in a public place, he freaked out a little bit. but could you really blame him? after everything the both of them had been through, the last thing they both needed was for something bad to happen to either of them. which was why he was home early from work, anyways. but that wouldn't really last all that long, because as soon as he received his last text from her, he decided to drop by the firm one last time and do a couple things around the office before going back home. well, i decided there's some more paperwork i need to fill out. so sit tight. ;] it wasn't long after sending that text that he was in his car and on his way to the office firm, which was conveniently short five minute drive from his house, even with rush hour traffic plaguing the highway.

declan possessed a leisurely stroll as he made his way down the many corridors and hallways of the building the law firm was in. his keys dangled precariously on the tips of his index finger and thumb, jingling every so often with every step he took. a smile was planted on his face, and he looked like an utterly happy fool, for no particular reason at all. of course, here, at work, he was in his kingdom. his domain. this law firm was his. it started small, and he built it up to what it is today. this firm built him up to who he was today. some would argue that it was a bad thing, but declan could not disagree more. he had met valencia. he had become something he had always wanted to be as a kid. he was destined for greatness in the lawyer world the minute he could speak as a little toddler. anyone that said that he wasn't up for the job obviously didn't no declan, because a statement such as that could never be more wrong than that. and that's why he loved his work so much. it was the firm, the office building, especially. he had watched it grow from something so little it wasn't even in the phone book, into something much more greater than what he had ever thought it could be. if the walls could talk, they would tell a story of a man who got himself into something too big for his own expertise, and grew and grew and grew, and made something that no one would believe came from such small and humble beginnings. yeah, he loved his work. but that wasn't why he enjoyed being at the office so much. it held so much value to him, not a whole lot of people would ever be able to understand that.

he was about to turn another corner to the hallway that his office was located on before he noticed a mess of disorganized papers t hat looked like they had been dropped and forgotten right where they were. he arched a brow and bent down to pick them up, shuffling them in his hand so all the papers and files were even. he looked through the papers for a moment before biting the inside of his cheek. these looked like the papers that he had handed over to valencia earlier today, but then again, so many papers passed through that man's hands, it was hard for him to keep track what all that he had touched during the day. he was about to continue walking when he heard something. it was very faint, and if he hadn't taken the moment to look at the papers, he probably never would have noticed the sounds. from what he could tell, they were coming from one of the many interrogation rooms in the law firm. declan slowly walked over to the door, opening it just slightly so he could see into the room. and, naturally, what he saw caused a whirlwind of emotions to pass through him. it didn't take long for him to drop the papers in his hand and swing the door completely open, which in turn slammed the doorknob into the wall, causing the door to rattle and shake. "what the fuck is going on!?" he roared, although it was painfully obvious that the attacker he had been worrying about over the last few months was at it yet again, and it looked like declan had made it just in time. "i thought the first lesson i taught you was painful enough," he warned, taking his suit jacket off and rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. "guess i have to be a little louder, don't i?"

he flung himself at the creep, who in turn flailed his fists around, succeeding in punching declan a few times, but that was short lived, because as quickly as declan got a hold of the man, he was on the ground, and declan was straddling him, gripping tightly on the lapels of his shirt. "you'll be lucky if you even make it to court," he growled, using the grip he had on the man's shirt to lift his head up off the ground, only to slam it back down with much more force than he had intended. the sick, thud sound that resonated from the attack only egged declan on further. he threw his fists left and right until the other man's face was bright red, both from the blood that was spilling from his nose and mouth and from the repeated contact of fist to skin. but declan was far from over, even though he should have stopped. something inside of him was on fire, though. he couldn't. he wouldn't walk out of that office tonight knowing that valencia was still in danger of getting attacked by this man. he looked over at her quickly, his face tightening up as he looked her over. "call the cops before i kill this sorry sonuva bitch."

haley with valencia // 1247 words // suit & tie // declan to the rescueee~

i'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a lego house, when things go wrong we can knock it down.

it felt like it took ages for declan to finally calm his racing heart. but even once it had finally climbed down to an acceptable speed, he could still feel it throbbing quickly against his chest, threatening to burst at any moment. his entire body was on fire - from what, he wasn't exactly sure. it was now that his body was starting to registering the pain that was pretty much... everywhere in his body. was it normal to feel like this? declan hadn't remembered getting hit by the man. had he? was he bleeding? he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and, sure enough, the rich, red liquid seeped onto his knuckles. he dropped his hands to his sides and clenched his fists. he looked back at valencia momentarily, only catching part of what she was saying. he wasn't, by any means, purposefully ignoring her, but.. he had other things on his mind at the moment. half of which had something to do with the unconscious, sorry man on the floor at his feet. declan couldn't help but feed the growing, roaring fire in the pit of his stomach. just looking at the man's stupid face made him want to drag him across the whole tri state area with a chain around his neck and bricks tied to his ankles. it may have seemed harsh, but he didn't understand - no one laid a finger on something of his. and that's exactly what valencia was - his. he had almost forgotten about her presence in the room before the thought of her puffy face and smeared makeup resurfaced in his mind, causing him to turn on his heal so that he was facing her. his blue eyes looked sad and defeated as he cupped her delicately sculpted face in his rough hands. "don't you dare say that this is okay," he mumbled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "don't you dare.." he admonished in a soft, wavering tone. he pulled back a strand of her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear before shifting his hands from her face to her waist, which promptly allowed him to tug her body closer to his. despite her attempts to make her dress seem whole again, it just hadn't worked out too keenly for her, and at the end of it all, she still looked like a mess - and that was coming from someone who thought she couldn't possibly ever have a bad hair day or anything of the sort.

"i love you too," he replied, voice wavering ever so slightly. "i love you so, so, so much, valencia," he repeated, his grip getting a tad bit tighter, but as soon as he had felt the building pressure in his fingers, he released her altogether and stepped back, breathing in a sharp breath. he shed his suit jacket and turned it around so he could effectively drape it over her trembling shoulders. so many questions were swarming in declan's mind, but the only thing he could muster up was silence. he couldn't believe this had actually happened. and it had all been his fault - if he hadn't made her sell herself to this man all those months ago, then none of this would've happened. declan had never thought of himself capable of ever endangering someone - let alone someone he had cared so much about. he was a lawyer, after all; his goal in life was to help save the innocent and put the dangerous people away in prison, but that was the exact opposite of what he had done. instead of going with the flow and putting his reputation at stake, he had made valencia do something she should have never agreed to in the first place, and now all of this was happening. so what if he could've lost all his credibility for defending a dangerous criminal in the court room? at least he wouldn't be in this interrogation room right now, staring at the battered woman that he loves while god knows what on his body was broken, bleeding or bruised.

declan knew that it was only a matter of time before the police got there. but he just wanted to sit in the dark room with val for just a moment longer. he wanted to do nothing more than to hold her close and never, ever, ever let anything bad happen to her again. it was his own childish thoughts taking hold of him again, but who knows? maybe the thoughts weren't so childish after all. maybe utter peace and protection was something he could attain, if he was careful and determined enough.

finally, the burning question he had been dying to ask. he stepped closer to her once wrapping both his arms around her and hugging her body close to his. "he didn't.. god, val, please tell me he didn't..." even though he had finally managed to speak again, it wasn't what he had wanted to say. well, it was, but that wasn't how he had wanted to ask her - at this point, however, the clipped, somewhat obscure question was all that he could muster up.

haley with valencia // 1247 words // suit & tie // declan to the rescueee~