Chapter Text
Since Boyd had taken up with Raylan, living in Lexington weekdays, Harlan on weekends, nothing had really surprised Raylan about the man's behavior. Restless since his last stint in prison, since his daddy’s death, since his brush with the Lord, Boyd poured his energy into full-time community college. It gave Raylan peace of mind knowing Boyd was not getting bored and doing something he would later regret. And at the end of the day, Raylan came home to him. Home being a small apartment above a bar, but home nonetheless.
This morning, though, Boyd seems a little fidgetier than usual. Raylan clocking it a mile away because he knows his boy. He watches as Boyd tucks a paperback into his bag.
"Thought you didn't have any classes today."
Boyd glances up and warmly smiles, “I don't - I'm headed to a coffee shop to do a little studying."
This surprises him as Boyd seemed to be dressed to the nines for studying. Jeans, vest, shirt—all black. A classic Boyd look known to rile Raylan up when the mood strikes. Nothing that says guilty, just stylish.
Feeling ridiculous the whole time, Raylan half-heartedly trails Boyd across town when he leaves for the day. Maintaining distance and discreetness.
He spies Boyd parking his rambling truck in front of the trendy coffee boutique known for its student and young professional hangout. Raylan parks behind the building. He waits about fifteen extra minutes, planning to “accidentally” run into Boyd and buy him an extra coffee and one of those maple scones he likes. Maybe even drag him into the one-person bathroom to get a quickie before he heads off to work. No better way to start a Friday.
Raylan doesn’t feel ridiculous anymore when he pushes open the coffee shop door and spots Boyd Crowder sitting at a little table, grinning across at Winona Hawkins.
Raylan freezes before plastering on a smile and speaking through gritted teeth: “Well, hello you two. What the hell is this?”
Boyd looks up, smile easy as ever. Not shaken by Raylan's sudden intrusion. Bastard.
"Long time no see, baby." His eyes glitter, which Raylan does not appreciate in that moment. "This, Raylan, is coffee with a classmate.”
Winona raises her eyebrows, clearly not in the mood to deal with Raylan’s shit today. He doesn’t blame her. When Raylan finally levies her more than just a cursory glance he watches her brush an impeccable strand of hair out of her face while taking a deliberate sip of coffee.
"Classmate?" Raylan questions.
"Winona is in my legal research and writing class. As of last week."
Winona has yet to say anything, she doesn't need to; annoyance radiating off her like heat lines on asphalt.
A whirling dervish of emotion courses through him with startling intensity. Betrayal. Anger. Possessiveness. Not sure who or what he is possessive of. Mostly he felt ridiculous, again.
Raylan’s brief flash of hysteria continues, prompting him to consider reaching over to touch Boyd. A possessive arm around him, a squeeze of his shoulders. An act to show something to Winona, he's not sure what, just something that will prove a point. He thinks about dropping a hand on her shoulder instead. Boyd wouldn't be affected, as Boyd knows Raylan would rather be touching him.
"We weren't sure how to tell you, because, well, we assumed you would fly off the handle," Winona says, mirroring his fake smile. "It's a good thing you're being such a mature adult about this."
Boyd gestures to the open chair at their table, offering Raylan a seat. Winona rolls her eyes.
Raylan sits stiffly, trying not to harrumph like a child.
"Raylan, did you follow me here on purpose?"
“Figured you were up to somethin’.” God, he sounds annoying to his own ears.
“Congratulations. You found us… having a study session and a book club,” Winona says, not holding back her exasperation.
Raylan blinks. “Book club?”
Boyd taps the book on the table. The paperback he saw him pack earlier.
“How long’s this been goin’ on?”
“This here’s only our second meeting."
“Second?" Raylan’s eyes snap to Winona. “How the hell did this even start?”
“Raylan we aren't sneaking behind your back. We genuinely have a class together. Everyone else in our class is dumber than a box of rocks." Winona nods to Boyd. "Turns out we get along. Turns out we have a lot in common."
Raylan mutters under his breath, "I bet you do."
“And Miss Winona was gracious enough to invite me to her book club.”
“Can you even call it a book club with just two people in it?" Raylan narrows his eyes and feels the last of his childish jealousy roll off of him like an ebbing tide. Far away enough to allow a glimmer of reasonableness, but still close enough to return at any moment. "And is it just an excuse to talk about me?"
Winona and Boyd exchange a glance—hers sharp with annoyance, his apologetic but not without amusement.
“Actually, Raylan… we don’t talk about you much. Or like, at all," Winona offers with a shrug, finishing off her coffee.
Raylan doesn't know if he should be relieved or put out. "Seriously?"
“Seriously.” Winona raises an arched brow. “Are you pouting because we don't talk about you behind your back? You know not everything has to be about you, Raylan."
Raylan opens his mouth to throw out something biting but instead Boyd plops the book in front of him.
“We talk about this. Rather riveting, if you ask me. Winona has excellent taste." Raylan isn't sure if Boyd means anything additional by that statement.
The book is Gone Girl. Raylan had heard about it in passing from Rachel. A wife taking revenge on her no-good husband. Perfect. Of course Winona would suggest it.
Raylan picks up the book and thumbs through it. His jaw ticks. He really is being silly. They are both adults, and so what if they share a class? He had no idea Winona was even taking legal classes, not sure what for. After her divorce from Gary was finalized Raylan figured she was looking at ways to broaden her horizons. Raylan didn't have enough curiosity in him to ask her.
It still rubbed him the wrong way, his former and current lovers buddying up. It felt like a joke, like something that could come crashing down around him at any moment.
He stands up to leave after checking the time. "Shit, I'm gonna be late."
He didn't even offer a goodbye, he just stalks out, leaving them in his wake.
The Marshal’s office is quiet when he walks through the double doors. Not even Art is there to berate him for his tardiness, which would be a nice change of pace considering Art berates him routinely about his ex-felon boyfriend.
Rachel sits at her desk, poring over an older case file while Tim sorts through who knows what in their filing cabinet.
Nelson is nowhere to be seen.
Raylan slumps into his chair with an audible sigh, tossing his hat onto his desk in the process.
Rachel catches his eyes and she seems to read something on his face, a quizzical expression passes over her like a cloud.
"What?"
Rachel shrugs. "I understand that annoyed is your default factory setting, but you look like you just spent seven hours in the DMV and it’s not even ten.”
Tim turns his head to join the unsolicited assessment. “What’s a matter? Boyd forgot Lucky Charms while grocery shopping?”
Raylan opens his mouth to respond, while glowering, but stops, leaving a signature frown on his lips in its place.
The silence stretches, filling the room, before Raylan finally unloads the coffee shop scene down to every minute detail.
Rachel’s eyebrows have reached her hairline. Tim has on his pensive thinking face as he takes a seat at his own desk.
“So Boyd never told you Winona was in his class,” Tim offers. It’s not a question, per se, just him summarizing out loud.
“It’s been a week since they started the same class? Makes sense, spring semester just began.”
“Don’t go all technical. So, it’s bullshit, right?” Raylan has his hands over his eyes and his elbows glued to his desk.
“Bullshit? No, just unfortunate placement. You can’t choose who is in your class. Especially a specialized one that has limited availability,” Rachel supplies. “However, the hanging out after class seems a little… “ she trails off as if trying to pull the right word from the air.
“So what? They have stuff in common. They both have seen you naked,” Tim offers with a shrug.
Rachel laughs. “Well if we’re playing by those rules then they’ve got something in common with a lot of people.”
Raylan glares in response. This isn’t helping.
“It’s not like they’re sleeping together,” Tim drawls, without looking from his computer monitor. “The day Crowder cheats on you is the day I shave my head and become a Tibetan monk.”
It was quiet for a moment, Raylan’s thoughts went places he didn’t want them to.
“Be a hell of a threesome though,” Tim states, shattering the silence to smithereens.
Rachel clicks her tongue. “Don’t give the man ideas.”
Holy shit. Tim is correct on that. His mind quickly supplies the varying array of imagery the three of them could produce. His skin is suddenly feverish, a sliver of unbidden desire jagging through him. His mouth goes dry as he shifts in his chair. The vision alone of Boyd fucking Winona nearly makes him swallow his tongue.
Tim looks around his monitor and catches Raylan mid-daydream. “Distracted?”
The answer is a resounding yes. A couple hours drag on and it’s such a slow day, it doesn’t help Raylan focus on anything else but the love of his life and his ex-wife and their budding friendship.
He tells Rachel and Tim he’s cutting out early and to call him if they need him, they don’t even bother to respond other than Rachel’s “Mmm-hmm.”
Raylan makes it back to the apartment, and Boyd’s truck isn’t in his usual spot. A small wave of discontent flutters through him.
Not even the cute bartender’s flirtatious greeting breaks him from his reverie.
Upstairs he undoes his tie and kicks off his boots before laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Thinking and trying not to think about Boyd and Winona being intimate, and how it is such a damn turn on and how much he should also hate it.
Boyd spots Raylan’s car immediately; he’s home early. A gnawing guilt settles in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t texted Raylan at all today, figuring their next conversation should be in person where Boyd can rightfully apologize.
Winona had stayed longer at the coffee shop than she had originally meant to. All of their planned studying was left on the back burner as talking about her life post-divorce took precedence. Poor girl seemed like she didn’t have many people to talk to. And it didn’t hurt that she and Boyd clicked instantly, getting along like a house on fire.
But Boyd did not want to hurt Raylan. In any way, shape, or form. His man took priority, always.
Lost in his thoughts while climbing the stairs to their apartment left him little room to react when he feels himself forcibly pushed into a wall.
Boyd finally registers Raylan’s mouth on his, licking any sounds or words of surprise right off of his tongue. Raylan is more or less rubbing against Boyd like a cat marking its territory. No doubt removing any trace of Winona to replace it with his own.
Raylan pulls Boyd from the wall and walks him backward toward the bed, throwing him unceremoniously onto it while simultaneously climbing over him, caging him in with his arms and body.
Boyd stares up at him, waiting for him to speak. Eventually he reaches up to cup Raylan’s face and brush a thumb over his cheekbone and beauty mark.
“I’m sorry, Raylan,” Boyd murmurs as Raylan finally leans into the touch.
“What the fuck, Boyd,” Raylan starts, letting out a sound that could almost be mistaken for a laugh. Boyd removes his hand and runs it down the length of Raylan’s arm.
“I know, baby, I know … I shoulda told you.”
Raylan shakes his head. “It’s funny, I keep thinking about it and really it’s okay, you’re studying in a public place with your classmate. There ain’t nothing wrong with that.” He finally lets out a genuine, if strained, laugh. “Except it’s my goddamn ex-wife. And you guys are … what do the kids say? Besties?”
Boyd snorts. “We ain’t besties.”
Raylan is quiet for a beat too long.
“… If you want to leave me for Winona … I swear …”
“Jesus Christ, Raylan!” Now it’s Boyd’s turn to laugh. “Sometimes it feels like you don’t know me at all. There is no one on God’s green earth I would rather be with. There ain’t no one for me Raylan, but you, and it’s the honest truth.”
Raylan heaves a sigh, momentarily calmed by Boyd’s words and lowers himself down on top of him, chest to chest, tucking his head just under Boyd’s chin. Boyd wastes no time running his fingers through Raylan’s hair, scratching at his scalp, feeling him shiver at the sensation.
“Even if she is prettier than me…” Raylan mutters into Boyd’s shirt.
“Not to me, she’s not.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Raylan there ain’t anyone prettier out there, I tell you everyday how beautiful you are.”
Raylan shakes his head, Boyd feels his hair tickle along his jaw. “No, you don’t.”
“Well I think it. You really want me to say it? Give you a bigger head than you already have?”
He feels a nod against his chest. Boyd snorts.
“You’re merciless.”
Raylan leans up, his face now within inches from his own. “You love it.”
“I love you.”
They reach a conclusion by kissing each other senseless for the next couple of minutes.
After they break apart for some much needed air, Raylan smiles at him. “You really get along with Winona that well?”
“Truly, I do. We have a well-matched, easy camaraderie. She reminds me a lot of myself, in some instances. She reminds me a lot of you mostly.”
“Hmm… how interesting.”
Boyd’s face turns serious, “But baby, if it makes you uncomfortable, I have no qualms informing her that I can only be cordial at school, and nothing more.”
Raylan shakes his head while tracing the outline of Boyd’s face with his index finger. “Nah, don’t do that. She needs friends. And you would be a good friend to her.”
“I’m truly shocked, both you and Winona are two of the most attractive people I’ve ever laid eyes on and yet how come neither of you have any real friends?”
Raylan knits his eyebrows together as if trying to sus out if Boyd was complimenting him or insulting him. “Is it because we’re both assholes? And hey, you’re my real friend.”
“Baby, we were forged from the same minerals of the earth. Friendship with me was inevitable.”
“Well, now use your minerals on Winona.”
For whatever reason this makes Boyd laughs so hard, it’s contagious, and now he and Raylan can hardly breathe. After a few minutes of recovery, Boyd finally manages to say: “Okay, Raylan, I was worried I would have to cancel my lunch plans and book club with her tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!”
“I’m kidding. It’s next week.”
Raylan narrows his eyes at him and responds with giving him a forgiving kiss square on the lips. The kiss starts as one, but becomes two, three, four … until Raylan is rutting again him like a beast, running and thrusting his tongue along Boyd’s own with such intensity, it’s like Boyd will disappear in his arms if he doesn’t.
Boyd manages to break free for a moment, gasping and catching his breath. Raylan lets out a discontented sound due to loss of proximity.
“Baby I need to get my nice jeans off, last time I had a hell of a time getting come out of them. And your dry cleaner charges an arm and a leg and although he says nothing he is judgmental as all hell.”
“First world problems,” Raylan says as he manages to get Boyd’s jeans and underwear down and off his legs in two hearty tugs.
Boyd opens his mouth to retort but the words are lost to time and space as Raylan swallows Boyd down in one singular motion.
“Fuck, Raylan,” Boyd gasps, threading his fingers into Raylan’s hair to steady himself.
Raylan pulls off. “Before I forget… would you ever consider a threesome between me and you and Winona?”
“What?!”