by
by DevilChild
Fandom: The Black Dahlia
Rating: R
Pairing: Bucky Bleichert/Kay Lake/Lee Blanchard
Author's Note: Okay, crucify me. I'm not one tenth the writer James Ellroy is, but the idea of the Bucky/Kay/Lee triangle grabbed me and would not let go. Consider this a "what if". What if the triangle had reached the other logical conclusion? What if Lee and Bucky had not become embroiled in, obsessed with, and destroyed by the Black Dahlia case? What if a James Ellroy novel had a happy ending — well, there wouldn't be a novel, now would there? Anyhow, this story is written in an effort to explore and comment upon some of the novel's themes.
Copyright Notice and Disclaimer: The novel The Black Dahlia and the characters of Lee Blanchard, Bucky Bleichert and Kay Lake are creations of James Ellroy. I make no claims to ownership or creation. This bit of modern folklore (thank you Prof. Jenkins) is mine.
Lee dropped his fork, stormed out of the house and fired up his Harley for another run at Mulholland drive. He was going to kill himself one of these days, I mused. With a heavy sigh I put my fork down into Kay's garlic mashed potatoes. Her cooking, as always, had been excellent, but this evening I just hadn't had the heart. Neither had Lee — his plate was barely touched, and I could see that Kay was just pushing her pot roast around and making little art deco-like designs with her peas and potatoes. Clearing my throat, I pushed back from my plate and said, "Why don't you go into the front room, Kay? I'll clean up in here."
"You sure?" She asked, lighting a cigarette.
"Yep. In fact," I said, thinking of my mother and the way she waited hand and foot on my father, "I'm starting a new tradition: the cook does not clean."
She sighed happily and blew a smoke ring.
I made such a botched job of negotiating her kitchen that she pitched in and helped anyway, but next time, I promised, I would do this solo — or with Lee helping.
We ended up on the sofa together, listening to a concert live from the Hollywood Bowl on the radio. We talked about a variety of things as the hands on the clock crept forward: history, literature, art, Dior's new look and how I'd love to see her in a couple of smartly tailored suits of his. She laughed and asked if I knew how much Dior cost. I winced when she told me but vowed to myself to talk to Lee about buying her one of them. Eventually, in the course of our conversation, I drew her into my arms, and a soft peck on her auburn waves turned into more —I kissed her gently all over her face.
What I wanted more than anything was to take her into her bedroom and make love to her.
"It's all right," she said, standing, taking my hand, leading me down the hall past Lee's spartan bedroom to her room. It wasn't pinks and frills, but blonde woods and sleek lines, creams and silver blues. Elegant,understated, and modern, just like her.
Laying her gently down on the bed I asked, "Lee won't mind?"
"No." Her voice was throaty with repressed need. I wondered how long it had been since she had been with a man — scum likeBobby DeWitt didn't count. I resolved to make it extra good for her.
Later she told me that she and Lee had discussed the matter beforehand and that he had given her his blessing. At the time though, the uncertainty about Lee's reaction gave my first encounter with Kay a certain edge. It was like losing my virginity all over again — the slightly naughty feeling of nervous excitement was the same. We were about half way through when Lee came home. I froze in shock and fear, feeling guilty, and almost pulled out, but Kay's slender arms were deceptively strong and her tender kisses encouraged me to keep going. I paused as I heard the footsteps coming down the hall. Lee studied us from the doorway for a few moments then quietly sat in a chair in the corner of the room for the rest of it. I had gone "the eleventh round" with a woman many times after a boxing match, so having a set of eyes, actually several sets of eyes on me was nothing new, and strangely, having Lee in the room made everything feel right. Lee was my partner, my mentor, my best friend, and between work and the time spent here at the house with him and Kay we did everything together, so why not this?
When Kay climaxed for the second time, I couldn't hold back any longer. I closed my eyes and came, holding Kay's slender body in my arms, wishing I could stay inside her forever. Eventually the moment came where I was faced with the decision that all men have to make: pull out or fall out, and I chose the former. Kay got up to get a washcloth and I watched as Lee undressed down to his boxers and climbed on to the bed. We fell asleep with Kay between us. The next morning I woke to find he had thrown an arm around both Kay and I. He smiled in his sleep,looking more relaxed and happy than I had ever seen him look.
The second time happened a lot like the first, except Lee didn't storm away from the table and hop on his motorcycle. We had dinner, spent a pleasant evening socializing, and somehow without speaking a word knew that it was time to head for Kay's bedroom.
Except this time, I wasn't going to let Lee sit in a chair in the corner. This wasn't about me and Kay, it was about the three of us, and I wanted him in the bed, too. I understood his problems, but really this wasn't about sex. It was about love. It was about sharing tenderness and intimacy with the people I cared about more than anything else. I refused to go ahead with this if he sat in the corner and told him so. Kay agreed. Lee stripped down to his boxers and climbed on the bed. He surprised all of us, I think, by gently stroking our heads, carding his fingers through our hair, and tracing the lines of our faces with his massive hands as we climaxed. I wondered if anybody else on the force had any idea of the tenderness of which "Mr. Fire" was capable, that those massive, scarred hands could deliver such delicate, butterfly touches.
Once again, Kay and I woke beneath his powerful arm.
Several weeks passed before the three of us made love again, the demands of the job, I suppose. Working warrants wasn't the easy cake walk that so many supposed. It was a lot of hard work, and dangerous, too. Somewhere in the midst of those weeks Asst. DA Loew and Chief Green gave Lee a long talk — lecture really — about how his shacking with "that Lake woman" was against departmental regulations and was the only thing really holding him back from being promoted, and that less understanding supervisors would bring charges of "moral turpitude". Lee nodded in all the right places but didn't really agree to anything. He'd heard it all before, and in typical Lee Blanchard fashion, he didn't give a shit what others thought about him and his relationship with Kay.
Lee never told them he wasn't sleeping with Kay. Not only would Lowe and Green not understand his exact relationship with her, they never would have believed him. Idiots. Actually it was none of their business. It was none of anybody else's business. Kay Lake did not affect our ability to perform our job. Our relationship was our relationship, and needed no approval from anybody. The three of us were happy, and that's what mattered.
Most days I pretty much came back to my apartment to collect my mail and change suits and not much more.
We went out for an expensive steak dinner at the Pacific Dining Car. Lee's on-the-side repo man work had gone quite well, and that day Lee and I had served a big warrant, and it was also Kay's birthday. She wore the new Dior suit Lee and I had bought for her, cutting quite a figure in it, as I knew she would. A lot of eyes were on us as we ate steak and caroused. The Pacific Dining Car was a regular meeting place for a lot of the big fish in the LAPD pond. I noticed Chief Green, the DA, Asst. DA Loew, and legendary former detective (now construction king) Preston Exley, and others looking our way. They probably couldn't believe that Lee was flaunting his "in violation of departmental regulations" relationship with Kay so publicly, especially after having gotten yet another repremand for it. They were baffled trying to figure out how I fit into the picture. I particularly liked the mixture of disapproval and lust on Lt. Dudley Smith's face, and smirked at him as I cozied up to Kay and lit her cigarette. Lee seized my arm and warned me not to egg him on. "Smith's a bastard if ever one walked the earth. Don't get on his bad side, ever. I mean it, Bucky. Even I can't protect you from him." His voice was low and urgent. I sensed there was some history between Lee and Lt. Smith, but now wasn't the time and place to get into it, besides, I didn't want to put a black cloud over such a great day.
I won't bore you with the particulars of how we ended up in bed, but we did. Lee was naked this time, and aroused, but Kay and I did not push him to do anything more than what he was comfortable with He caressed our moving bodies as I gently rocked in and out of Kay, his hands stroking my flanks and as much of Kay as he could reach. I rolled so she was on top and he could have better access to her. It only seemed right, after all, she was his first love and they had been together for years before I came into the picture. With a strangled groan he seized both of us in a bear hug — the massive strength of it startling even me a bit. I was no longer in strict boxing trim, but even still I must have weighed over 180 pounds. Kay and I kept rocking; I could feel him grinding on the edge of my hipbone, hard and hot, getting the friction he needed. It wasn't elegant, but it worked. Both of us kissed Kay as we edged closer and closer. I had her mouth most of the time, but I wasn't selfish, and I liked to watch as she turned her head and kissed him. Just as we were all on the brink of coming, Lee tore his lips from hers and ...
... I kissed him. He started a bit at my tongue in his mouth, and his eyes flew open from shock, but he returned the kiss and at that moment (that perfect moment of union) I came hard, deep inside of Kay while Lee shot hot and wet between us.
Not a word was said as we cleaned up, turned out the lights and slept our usual way, with Kay in the middle. I stayed awake for hours agonizing, trying to figure out why I had kissed Lee. I didn't feel attracted to men in general or to Lee in particular. I worried about what he would think in the morning — what if I had damaged US somehow. I dreaded the inevitable confrontation over the breakfast table.
I got all worked up over nothing.
Kay and I woke the usual way on the morning after, snuggled in Lee's arms. That morning as he poured himself a cup of coffee, Lee announced that he was going to put this house on the market and look for a new one — with three bedrooms.
Last Updated: 12/29/08