they're harder to hold [bay!]

[CALLEN MICHAEL O'CONNOR]

COWBOYS AIN'T EASY TO LOVE AND THEY'RE HARDER TO HOLD THEY'D RATHER GIVE YOU
A SONG THAN DIAMONDS OR GOLD LONESTAR BELT BUCKS AND

It had been a busy day in the Flower Bay, and Callen was quite happy. He'd been kept busy all day, really, while Dmitri had been handling some ex-CIA business, and he hated slow days, so the day had been perfect. It was close to closing, and he couldn't wait to close up and go upstairs and be lazy. He was sure that there was something on TV that he could watch, pop popcorn and do nothing for the rest of the night until Dmitri came home. He'd probably be tired. Maybe Callen could get Bay on his side and they could force him to get some sleep. He didn't know why the older man couldn't understand that he couldn't run on fumes all the time, and he had to recharge his energy. That being said, Callen found sleep enjoyable. Sure, he didn't get as much of it as he liked, but he thought that sleeping was actually a good thing. His best friend, on the other hand, probably thought of it as a waste of time. He wouldn't be getting anything done by sleeping in his eyes, and so he didn't want to do it as much as he needed to. That's why Callen and Bay were the ones to send him to bed, make sure he got enough rest, and things like that.

Right now, life seemed almost simple. The ex-CIA was doing good, nothing too crazy was going on right now, school was out for the summer which meant that all of the science-y kids needed something to do and the weather was beautiful, so they came in and out of the shop often. Dmitri had even gotten himself a boyfriend. Life was good. He found a bit of wood and knocked three times. He didn't want to jinx anything. Even though he liked to be busy, he didn't do chaos. Things, as they were, were nice. He did shifts in the shop, handled whatever ex-CIA business came his way, made sure that all of the 'tenants' were happy, kept everything in order as best as he could, trying to help Dmitri. He knew the man would rather do everything himself, just because that was the way he was, but he trusted Callen enough to handle the things he couldn't or the things he didn't have the time to, and Cal kept everything in running order. He was actually pretty capable, when he set his mind to it.

Closing time! Callen practically bounced out from behind the counter, switching the sign on the door to "Yes, we're open!" to "Sorry, we're closed!" with a bit too much flourish. He had a bit of cleaning up to do, and he had to water the plants, something he hadn't gotten a chance to do earlier, and then he had the rest of the night to be lazy. Cleaning up was absent-minded, keep-your-hands-busy type of work. Sweeping, dusting, simple things like that. Watering the plants was another thing that was quite simple. He just had to remember which ones to water, how much they needed, and which ones he didn't need to touch. He had a pretty good memory, and by now everything was basically instinct, things that he'd done so many times that he didn't really need to think about it. That's why the broom in his hand moved seamlessly as he hummed some random song under his breath. He didn't know what it was, but he had it stuck in his head. That was either Bay's fault, or the radio's. He didn't know which to blame, so he ended up blaming the radio, probably because of all the catchy crap it played and how he was always too lazy to turn it off, and hated silence more than he hated bubblegum pop. Dust pan in hand, and broom away, the cleaning was getting done as quick as he'd thought it would. TV, here he comes.

T A G G E D ? ! bay
W O R D C O U N T ? ! six ninety one!
M U S E ? ! it's way too hyper
N O T E S ? ! hope this is okay!
C R E D I T ? ! graphic credit goes to bittersweetworldxo of caution two point oh. lyric credit goes to waylon jennings with the song mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.

[BAYLEE ANASTASIA GREY]

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Now that school was out for the summer holidays, Bay had a lot of free time to do just whatever she wanted. So far, she'd spent the majority of time with her friends - going to the beach, going to the carnival, going to the movies, having sleepovers, going to birthday parties. To say that she'd been a busy girl may have been something of an understatement. If anyone had asked her if it was possible to have too much fun, she would have laughed and told them no. But after two weeks of extensive 'fun' having, Baylee was starting to think that, yes, it was possible to have too much fun. As much as she had enjoyed doing all of those things, she was starting to feel a little worn out from it all. Which was why, when she'd woke that morning to a text from one of her girlfriends, asking her if she wanted to go shopping, she declined. Today she had every intention of chilling out with Cal or her brother, hopefully both. She'd been so busy with her friends that she hadn't really seen much of either of them lately and it kind of sucked.

Climbing out of bed, she turned on her radio and fiddled with the buttons until it to her favorite station. A smile lit up her face when one of her favorite songs began to play. She moved the volume dial up so that it was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire apartment she shared with Dmitri, and then disappeared into the small en-suite. Twenty minutes later she emerged wrapped up in her dressing gown, fresh from her shower. The radio was playing another of her favorite songs so she danced her way over to her dresser, grabbing her hairbrush and singing into it as she went. Vaguely, she wondered if Dmitri was home, but figured he wasn't because he'd have been knocking on her door asking her to turn the music down if he was. A glance at her clock told her that it was only 8:49 am so her brother must have left for work early. Shrugging, she pulled the towel from her head and, still singing at the top of her lungs, began to brush through her wet locks. After another fifteen minutes, dry and dressed.

Plucking her cell from her pillow, Baylee turned off her radio and left her bedroom. Dmitri? she called out, just in case he was here. No answer. Shrugging, she headed for the door, deciding to go see if Cal was home, but stopped midway when she remembered that today was his shift in the shop. She was still for a moment as she weighed up her choices. She could go down and spend some time with Cal in the shop, she could watch some tv, or - a smile pulled at her lips as another idea popped into her head. Decided, she nodded her head to herself and then headed into the kitchen area to go about her plan. Baylee didn't think she was much of a cook. She could make simple meals, like spag bol, mac n cheese, steak and chips. But one thing she knew she was brilliant at, was baking. The last time she had baked anything, was for Dmitri's birthday. She and Cal had made a cake that had taken two hours longer to make than it should have because she had started a flour fight with Cal. Dmitri had come home to find the pair covered head to toe in flour and icing, holding out a chocolate cake with silly grins on their faces. Baylee smiled fondly at the memory as she moved with familiarity around the kitchen, pulling out the items she'd need. Deciding to bake had been a spontaneous decision but luckily they had everything she'd need to make some chocolate muffins and and choc chip cookies. It was going to take a while to make both but she figured she'd be done in time for Cal finishing.

Baylee glanced at the clock on the wall as she was placing the last muffin onto the plate. The shop would be closing up now. Grabbing her phone, she sent Cal a text, asking him if he wanted to watch a movie. Once that was taken care of, she gabbed the two plates filled to the brim with cookies and muffins (she'd gone a little OTT with the cookies.) and then carried them into the living room and placed them on the coffee table. She dusted off her hands and then disappeared back into the kitchen to make the hot chocolates. It was a miracle she wasn't fat, she ate so much chocolate (Good metabolism her brother said.) but you couldn't have cookies without hot chocolate. That was like having pizza without the pizza sauce.

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STATUS: incomplete
TAGGING: callen
NOTE: finally!
MUSIC: good time - owl city ft. carly rae jepson
LYRICS: demi lovato - two worlds collide
CREDIT: itslikewhoa of CAUTION 2.0 for the code and the images

[CALLEN MICHAEL O'CONNOR]

COWBOYS AIN'T EASY TO LOVE AND THEY'RE HARDER TO HOLD THEY'D RATHER GIVE YOU
A SONG THAN DIAMONDS OR GOLD LONESTAR BELT BUCKS AND

Callen hadn't been surprised when Bay had turned out to be constantly busy in the summer. He expected it, really. Bay was popular at school, that much was obvious. She had a lot of friends. When it came to being in school, year round, she was layered down with schoolwork, rehearsals, and all sorts of other things that took away from her having actual free time to just do nothing, relax, and hang out with friends. Callen had never understood any of that, if he was being honest. He had Dmitri. He'd always had Dmitri. The two of them were inseparable - and that was it. For all the fact that people were drawn to him like bees were to flowers, he'd never really had any other friends that stuck. He had no need for them, really. However, he was glad that Bay didn't have the need to be co-dependent, the way he and Dmitri were. He was glad that she could rely on them for anything, and then go out and have other friends that could do whatever it was that teenage girls did, for fun. He was sure that Dmitri felt the same, but sometimes, it was a bit of a slap in the face. That she was a civilian. That she hadn't dealt what they had dealt with. That's what Dmitri had worked towards, really, keeping her innocent and safe, but sometimes it was just a really weird previously known surprise. He couldn't explain it. He didn't think he really wanted to, truth be told.

When he received the text from Bay, he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. His lazy afternoon would be better with her around, anyway. He wished that Dmitri could be there with them, but he knew that his best friend had a lot that needed to get done, and so he wouldn't push it, this time around. The three of them hadn't spent a lot of time together, though, since the start of summer. Callen wasn't the one that was ever busy - it was something that bothered him, actually. He had the shop, and he helped out with anything the ex-CIA needed of course, and he did small things for the ex-CIA now and again, but it was more like he was waiting for Dmitri to delegate something to him, than actually getting things done on his own. He knew that Dmitri liked to do things himself, and so he didn't push on that, either. At some point, he would, but not at the very moment. He let Dmitri have his moments. Then there was Bay, who was out all the time. Really, it was Callen doing everything that other people didn't do, and laying down on the couch watching daytime television like a bum, or bothering one of the other people in the ex-CIA to entertain him in some way. Or heading over to the pizza place across the street. The eccentric owner, Misha, was entertaining enough to keep Callen occupied for a few hours.

He headed to the elevator, and was soon bursting through the apartment door. Well, not exactly bursting, so much as letting himself in with the key that Dmitri'd made him. Sometimes, he was a bit more dramatic in his head than he was in his behaviors. Most of the time, however, it was the other way around. Callen had a natural flair for the dramatic arts, something that Dmitri made fun of him for all the time. Callen kept things interesting, however, and that had to be appreciated at times. The first thing Callen smelled as he closed the door and slipped off his shoes was chocolate, and his mouth watered. Had Bay been baking? He spotted the plate of cookies and muffins, and grabbed a muffin and two cookies before calling out to Bay. "Well if you're trying to win over my heart, you're doing an A+ job of it so far," he said, as he chewed on one of the cookies, quickly swallowing before stuffing the other one in as well. He made a noise of approval as he plopped down on the couch. A bite of the muffin told him that it was just as delicious as the cookies. "Wait - you've baked, you're home, and we're watching a movie for the first time this whole month. Did my birthday come early?" He asked, taking another bite of the muffin. His birthday was in a week or so, but when it came to his birthday, Callen liked to ignore it as much as possible. He didn't like summer, he didn't like his birthday, so having a summer birthday didn't exactly make him the happiest of campers. He shrugged the thought of easily, however, and took another bite of the muffin.

T A G G E D ? ! bay
W O R D C O U N T ? ! eight twenty five
M U S E ? ! definitely here at the mention of food
N O T E S ? ! he's so greedy, i don't even understand xD
C R E D I T ? ! graphic credit goes to bittersweetworldxo of caution two point oh. lyric credit goes to waylon jennings with the song mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.

[BAYLEE ANASTASIA GREY]

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Bay was dropping the last few marshmallows into the hot chocolates she'd whipped up for herself and Cal when she heard a familiar voice in the next room. Grinning widely at his words, she quickly put away the bag of marshmallows and picked up the warm mugs. Walking back into the main room, she felt her smile slowly drop at his next words. A pang of guilt went through her. She knew he was only playing but she felt bad that she hadn't spent much time with Cal so far. Usually, whenever she had holidays, she spent the majority of her time with Cal and her brother. She was so busy with school that it was the only time she really got to do anything fun with them. But this Summer she'd been so busy with her school friends that Cal had been put on the back burner - her brother too. And that bothered her more than she liked. "I'm sorry I haven't been around." she frowned, putting down the hot chocolates besides the plates of cookies and cupcakes. She was definitely going to have to make more time for her brother and Cal over the remainder of the Summer. "I hope this helps make up for it though?" she nodded at the table and then shrugged her shoulders, a hopeful smile pulling at her lips. She knew he couldn't resist her baking, who could? Bay didn't like to toot her own horn but she had awesome baking skills. If she wasn't set on having a career in the performing arts then she'd open up a bakery or a small cafe for sure. Maybe she still would, one day, when she had kids and had settled down.

"Anyway, your birthday is going to be way better than this." Even though she'd been ridiculously busy with her friends, she hadn't forgotten his birthday and had been planning things to do for the big day wherever she could squeeze in the time. Cal wasn't a huge fan of his birthday. In fact, she was pretty sure that if he could forget about the day altogether, he would. Bay on the other hand was the exact opposite - she insisted on celebrating his birthday. Birthdays were important, you were celebrating the life of that person. Not celebrating was like saying you didn't appreciate that they'd been born. At least, that was the argument she gave whenever Cal protested too much. Last year she'd thrown a party and had invited the whole apartment block. It had been fun but this year she hadn't planned anything too crazy or big. She wanted to do something small with just the three of them - Cal, Dmitri and herself. It was kind of selfish on her part, wanting to keep them both to herself on his birthday, but she hadn't spent quality time with either of them in what felt like forever and his birthday was the perfect opportunity. Besides, she knew that Cal would probably appreciate something like that over another big party anyway. At least, she hoped he would.

"So! What do you want to watch?" she scooted past him, over to the pile of dvds she'd picked at random from the crazy collection she and Dmitri shared. Really, they had way too many dvds. "Anything you want, it's your pick." Of course the majority of the dvds she'd chosen were her favorites but she'd thrown some of Cal's favorites in the mix too. Grabbing a cookie, she dropped back onto the couch and waited for Cal to pick a movie.

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STATUS: incomplete
TAGGING: callen
NOTE: omg, i'm sorry i haven't been on!
MUSIC: good time - owl city ft. carly rae jepson
LYRICS: demi lovato - two worlds collide
CREDIT: itslikewhoa of CAUTION 2.0 for the code and the images