Chapter One: Born To Be Wild

A/N: Hey! Welcome to our Animal Kingdom fanfic. The pairings for this are Craig/OFC and Deran/OMC, and a few minor romances here and there. This story is rated M because obviously due to the nature of the show, there will be a fair bit of swearing, drug references and sex scenes. But of course any chapters with a sex scene will be labelled "M"! Please let us know what you think :)

Millie Reynolds knew that with three assignments and one exam at the end of the week, she should be studying. Instead she was in the kitchen whipping up a banana smoothie while Deran Cody sprawled across one of her couches with a beer. Fitting the plastic purple lid on the cup with a definitive click, Millie headed over to the couch, motioning for Deran to shift his feet as she sat down. The crunching of keys in the door made her check her phone for the time.

"Hey, Alex," Millie called as her roomie entered the apartment, raising his eyebrows as he realised she had company. Alex Wilson was what pretty much every girl in Oceanside would consider an absolute babe. He had curly brown hair, piercing blue eyes and a body to die for.

"The roomie, huh?" Deran slung an arm around Millie's shoulders. It looked casual and comfortable, so there were few who would be able to tell it was actually a very deliberate act.

"Hello." Alex shrugged off his jacket and dumped his bag on the bench. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, Millie noticed out of the corner of her eye that Deran was totally checking Alex out.

"Deran and I went to school together," Millie informed him. The Codys were pretty well known in Oceanside, but Millie and Deran had been friends since they were kids. She was also one of the few people who knew what Deran's secret, the one he refused to admit even to himself.

"Cute." Alex grabbed a beer, raking his hair back as he strode over to sit on the couch across from them. She'd known Alex for a while too – they'd been roomies since Millie had started at university. He was a couple of years older than her and at first she hadn't been sure about sharing an apartment with a guy, but they'd clicked instantly.

"So what do you do?" Deran asked, examining Alex.

"I'm an electrician," Alex responded. It was tough for him, balancing work as a tradie with being a single dad. Millie knew that was where Alex had gone – to drop little Amelie off at his mum's place. Although she loved the kid, it was nice to have a break every now and again.

"Right, I can see why you and Millie get on." Deran nudged the blonde. "You need to come over to a pool party sometime, Mills."

"Maybe." Millie considered her daunting workload, and the fact that she had two shifts at the game store this week. "I got study to do too."

"Fuck study." Deran finished his beer, setting the bottle down. "Alex can come too."

Alex arched an eyebrow. "I get an invite."

Deran shrugged. "Sure, you're Millie's roomie, she talks about you a lot. Plus we have a lot of hot friends."

Despite Deran's nonchalance, Millie knew why he was inviting Alex. He thought her roomie was hot and wanted to spend more time around him. She doubted he was going to admit to his sexuality to a guy he'd only just met if he wouldn't even own up to it with his family, yet Millie had matchmaking on the mind. Alex had been with men and women before, and she was going to suss out if he found Deran attractive.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go surf." Alex eased himself up from the couch, Deran's piercing blue gaze following him with avid curiosity. He was a surfer himself, so it made sense Alex's comment had piqued his interest.

"You surf?"

"From time to time," Alex called over his shoulder as he headed into his room. In his absence, Deran started playing with Millie's long blonde hair as she slurped at her smoothie. She was very much aware of what he was doing, but she wasn't about to stop him.

"Coming, Mills?"

"Sure." Millie brushed Deran's arm off her, getting to her feet. Her friend eased himself up off the couch and caught her by the waist, pulling him close against her and kissing her. She knew he was deliberately making a show of this in front of Alex.

"See you soon, yeah?"

He swaggered out of the apartment without a backward glance. Millie could feel Alex's gaze on her and turned to look at him, not surprised by the raised eyebrows. There was little about her Alex didn't know – living together for over three years meant they didn't really have secrets. Especially not when they'd had sex on multiple occasions over those three years.

"Didn't know you two were a thing."

"It's just casual, why?" Millie couldn't help but grin. "Are you gonna go all protective on me, Alex?"

He laughed. "You can handle him."

Millie slipped out of the front seat of Alex's car, shielding her eyes from the intensity of the sun before reaching into her handbag and sliding on her aviators. She inspected herself in the side-view mirror and had to admit that she looked pretty damn good. She'd bought the little navy blue bikini a few weeks before and had thought it looked absolutely killer. She headed into the backyard to hear the boys splashing around in the pool and offered them all a bright grin and a wave.

"Hey!"

"Hi, Millie," Craig called, busy dunking Deran underwater. Damn, he was hot, and exactly Millie's type. Six foot three and muscular, with shaggy brown hair and a beard. Pair that with tattoos and baby blue eyes and it was a winning combination. He was about five years older than her, and although she'd never interacted with him much, she'd always thought he was delicious. Too bad she was pretending she was screwing Deran.

Alex immediately pulled off his shirt and flopped down on one of the chairs, while Deran got out of the pool to come and greet them. He was dripping wet as he scooped Millie up, sitting down on a chair and popping her in his lap. It didn't escape Millie's attention that Alex had stretched out with a beer, something Deran had certainly noticed too. He was pressing kisses up and down her neck. He always wanted to get hot and heavy when he was turned on by another guy and pretending he wasn't.

"Get a room," Alex drawled.

"Deran, chill." Millie giggled and squirmed her way free of his grasp, taking off her sunnies and putting them back in her bag. "I'm going for a swim."

She slipped into the water, hoping that Alex and Deran would bond in her absence. Barry was in the pool as well and he offered Millie a friendly smile. Now that brother was definitely too old for her, and married with a kid in any case. She noticed Craig's eyes on her, or rather, on her boobs. Not that it was difficult – Millie had big boobs, and the bikini definitely showcased that fact.

"What's up?"

"Not much," he responded with a shrug.

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you staring at my tits?"

"You've got a nice rack," Craig responded, not even bothering to deny it. Millie hauled herself up onto one of the inflatable pool toys, shrieking when he took the opportunity to splash her. She tried to get comfortable on the flamingo pool toy but quickly gave up, sliding back into the water.

Craig caught her by the waist when she slipped back into the water. He started tickling her, making Millie bat at his hands, thoroughly annoyed. As good-looking as Craig was, he could sometimes be a massive pain in the ass. She narrowed her eyes at his smirk, tugging away from him.

"Don't tickle me. My bikini might come undone."

He laughed. "Like that's a bad thing."

Millie hauled herself out of the water, sitting on the ledge. She swirled her toes around in the water, shaking her head slowly at Craig's seedy comment. She knew what he was like with girls – he'd sleep with any woman he deemed hot, and according to Deran, he had a pretty impressive track record.

"Perv."

"You love the attention," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "If I wanted attention, I'd be inside fucking Deran."

"Right." Craig's sarcastic remark made her frown slightly. She could hear the doubt in his voice and wondered why that was. According to Deran, he hadn't told any of his family about his sexuality. Was it possible that Craig suspected? She wasn't going to pry, in case she gave him information that would upset Deran. He was one of her best friends and if he was sensitive about it, it wasn't her place to tell anyone.

"How long you two been living together?" Deran questioned Alex as he sat down beside him, sipping his beer. In the time her and Deran had been pretending to have a relationship, Deran had never heard her mention Alex being her roommate.

Alex shrugged, finishing the beer in his hand. "Few years. Why?"

"Curious, man." Deran told him, finishing his own beer.

Alex stretched out along the chair, glancing sideways at Deran as he felt the other mans eyes looking over him. He could tell he was being checked out, and he could tell Deran was also uncomfortable with being caught out. "Got anymore beer in the house?"

"Sure. Wanna come get some?" Deran asked, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head.

"Hell yeah." Alex grinned, getting to his feet. Deran got to his feet as well, leading Alex inside into the kitchen, opening the fridge as soon as he reached it. Alex watched as Deran searched through the fridge, finding a cold beer and throwing it across the room to him. "What's the deal with you and Millie?"

Deran glanced at him as he opened a new beer for himself, leaning against the bench. "We're sleeping together. Why?"

"Just never hear or see you two going at it." Alex chuckled, knowing just how loud Millie could be in bed. She was notorious for pissing off the neighbours, as well as the two of them breaking things.

"She isn't loud." Deran shrugged, sipping his beer.

Alex raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. Everything he was noticing about Deran definitely pointed him in the direction of believing that the other man was gay. "Then you're not doing it right. First time we had sex she was screaming."

"Wait, what? You and Millie? Aren't you gay?" Deran frowned. As far as he was aware, the other man had no interest in women. At least that's what he had assumed based on the small amount of information Millie had given him.

"Not exactly. I've got a kid and everything." Alex chuckled, taking a sip of his beer. "It's a nice place you got here."

"It's my mum's actually." Deran glanced around. His place definitely wasn't as lavish as this. He looked back at Alex, let his eyes wander over the other male's figure. Alex was definitely well built, and certainly not unattractive.

"Like something you see?" Alex smirked upon noticing how Deran was eyeing him off.

Deran looked away, suddenly finding his beer very interesting. "No."

"You can admit that you think I'm hot." Alex chuckled, sipping his own beer.

"I'm into girls." Deran argued, but Alex could see right through it, not that he was going to push the other man into admitting it though.

"Alright.' Alex sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

"Morning." Alex greeted Millie as she strode into the kitchen in her underwear. The two of them had grown so comfortable with each other, that they were accustomed to seeing each other wandering either naked or almost naked around the house.

"Hey. Did you have a nice time the other day?" She asked him as she poured herself some coffee, leaning against the bench.

Alex shrugged, finishing off cooking his eggs and throwing them on his plate. His usual breakfast contained four eggs and a tonne of baby spinach. Millie didn't know how he could stand to eat it every day. "Yeah it was good."

"You think Deran is hot, huh." She waggled her eyebrows at him, sipping her coffee.

"He is." He wasn't scared to admit that he found the other man attractive. He also wasn't scared to call her out on her bullshit relationship with him. "And you two are totally not a real thing.'

"What?" Millie frowned, setting her empty coffee mug in the sink.

Alex rolled her eyes at her attempt to feign ignorance at what he was saying. He wasn't stupid. "You heard me. There is no way you're together."

"Why do you think that?" She asked, sitting up on the bench as she picked up an apple.

"He is definitely not straight." He told her, wandering over to put his plate in the sink, having downed his food in a few large bites.

"What makes you say that?" She was curious now. She knew there was no point denying it further, simply based on the look Alex was currently giving her. He clearly knew that her and Deran weren't a real thing. She all but gave up denying it, letting out a heavy sigh. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth." Alex thought what he wanted was pretty simple.

"Deran's gay. I'm one of the only people who knows, so I agreed to act like we were having sex." She bit into the apple, chewing slowly. She knew she was betraying her friends trust, but at the same time she knew she could trust Alex with the information.

"Ah. He's one of those guys." Alex nodded in understanding, as he had felt similar to Deran when he was first coming to terms with his sexuality. The difference between them seemed to be that Alex had learnt to embrace it rather than try and hide from it.

Millie frowned at the comment, not understand her friend's words. "One of what guys?"

"Doesn't wanna come out to anyone as gay." Alex explained as he flopped on the lounge, stretching out happily.

"But it complicates things a bit." Millie sat down on his legs, as he had left no other room for her.

Alex nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Means you can't date someone."

"Craig was checking me out." Millie grinned, leaning back against the lounge as she picked up her phone, scrolling through it.

"Go for it. I mean, he seems like an ass, but he's attractive." Alex always encouraged her to pursue the people she was interested in, as he knew he could beat them up if they upset her.

"He's hot, I bet he'd be a good lay. But he's gonna have to work for it." She winked at him, knowing exactly what Craig was like with women. She wasn't going to just be some cheap screw.

"So, what do you think of Alex?"

Millie was sprawled on a beanbag in Deran's room playing the latest Call of Duty game. She took care to keep her tone casual, knowing he was prone to getting defensive if he thought she was trying to make him come out about his sexuality. Millie kept her focus on the screen, smug to discover that she was kicking Deran's ass.

"Why?" Deran's tone was slightly suspicious. In high school, she'd attempted to get him to see other guys, but he'd been too embarrassed. Millie didn't understand it. She was sure his family would understand, and his sexuality didn't invalidate his masculinity, if that was what he was so concerned about.

"Do you think he's hot?" Millie persisted. Considering the fact that Alex was very much aware that Deran was gay, she thought a bit of matchmaking might be in order. Deran had an on-again off-again lover Adrian, but they hadn't spoken in ages, so she thought they might be permanently off this time.

"What does it matter? He thinks I'm with you."

Millie paused the game, peering over her shoulder. "He isn't stupid, Deran. He knows you're gay."

"What?" Deran's blue eyes widened, his tone becoming accusatory. "You tell him?"

"No, Deran." Millie raked a hand through her hair. "Fuck, calm down."

"Look, he is hot," Deran admitted, causing a wicked grin to curve the corners of Millie's lips. She knew that Alex thought Deran was pretty attractive and if there was a mutual interest…well this might go well for both of them. Deran was going to have to come out sooner or later, and there was only so long Millie would be able to pose as his fuck buddy.

"So you'd go there?" she persisted.

"Probably." Deran shrugged, drumming his fingers against his controller. "Why?"

"Talk to him," Millie said, wriggling out of the beanbag and flopping beside him on the bed. She and Deran had made out on several occasions, whether it had been before he'd accepted his sexuality, or in his attempts to prove he was straight. She didn't think about Deran like that. She just wanted to help him. "He's a good guy. Do you at least want his number?"

"I can always just come see you," Deran reminded her. It was always the excuse – when he'd been staying with Adrian, Millie had covered and claimed he was staying at hers. Deran was often graphic about the sex they supposedly had, but Alex had been able to tell he was lying. He'd said that Millie wasn't loud in bed, which was the opposite of the truth – Millie had always been a screamer.

"Why won't you just tell your family you're gay?" Millie asked, watching as Deran finished his beer.

"I just don't want to," Deran replied sharply, indicating that if she continued with this line of conversation he wasn't going to be very happy.

"So you pretend we're screwing." She sighed heavily. Of course, everyone knew the Codys, so everyone respected a girl they thought was with one of them. But eventually, Millie was bound to start dating. She couldn't pretend to be Deran's fuck buddy forever.

"Yep." He popped the 'p'.

Millie groaned and rolled onto her stomach. She knew that it was Deran's choice when he chose to come out, but she hated the fact that he was so bloody stubborn. Alex was openly bisexual and no one had ever cared or judged him for it. Who did Deran think was going to judge him for being gay?

Cameron Lawrence glanced at the door to the club as she heard it swing open. She was in the middle of cleaning glasses as the guy headed over to the bar. He wasn't overly tall, but he was well built, and attractive. "Sorry, the club is closed."

He walked over to where she stood behind the bar, sitting on the stool in front of her. She was fairly sure her words weren't an invitation. "I'm here to talk."

Cam raised an eyebrow, setting the glass down next to the other clean ones on the bar. "Then come back when we are open."

"I'm here to talk business." He told her, and she could tell her wasn't going to leave anytime soon. The bar had been dealing in illegal arms for a few years now, and she assumed that was the type of business he was looking for.

"What kind of business?" Cam leant against the bar, one of her hands moving under it to rest on the gun she concealed under there.

The leant forward, glancing over at the other people who were residing in the bar, clearly not wanting them to overhear. "I need some guns."

"What kind? Automatic, semi-automatic…" She quirked an eyebrow, letting her hand slip from her gun and clasping it with the other on the top of the bar.

"Semi." He told her, watching as she pulled out a book.

Cam glanced at him as she scribbled down his order in the book. She was sure the boys had what he wanted already. "Do I get to know your name first?"

"It's Barry." He answered, watching as she began to calculate the cost.

"I'm Cameron." She smiled at him, grabbing two glasses and setting them down. "So, what do you want?"

"Beer, please." Barry leant back on the stool, watching as she poured the beer and handed it to him, pouring herself a scotch. "Thanks."

Cam went back to the book, sipping her drink. Once she knew exactly how much he needed, "How many do you need?"

"Two. How much?" He asked, sipping his beer and pulling out his wallet.

Cam glanced down at her calculations before taking a quarter off the price, feeling rather generous considering the man in front of her was polite and attractive. "For you? One thousand. Got a place we can deliver them to? We don't keep them on the premises."

"Can I come and pick them up?" He asked, finishing his beer.

Cam hesitated for a moment. In order for him to pick them up, she'd need to give him her address and she didn't know if she trusted the stranger that much, but she couldn't give them to him from the bar. "Alright."

"From here, or someplace else?" Cam wrote down an address for him as she asked the question, sliding the piece of paper across to him.

"Tomorrow morning at 6." She told him before taking his empty glass. "Don't be late, Barry."