Your Writing Is So Genuine! And So Brilliant. And I Love That Youve Taken Up Writing For Kate! I Hope

Your writing is so genuine! And so brilliant. And I love that you’ve taken up writing for Kate! I hope you’ll do more! Perhaps like the fake marriage thing, but the reader asks Kate in a rush to be her fake girlfriend at this reunion she’s going to, and like the fake marriage fic, she’s kind of desperate? Because her old classmates thought she’d be nothing?

Thank you! I hope you like this one too!

“Shit.”

“Problem?”

You looked up from your phone, the email on the screen glaring up at you like an omen you hadn’t prepared for. With a look of concern, Kate was looking at you over the top of her computer. You’d paused on your way out when the notification had come up on your phone, juggling with your bag to not drop the phone. Now, you were frozen, looking at her, not wanting to admit to your boss what a loser you were.

“Kind of,” you said, “not really. It’s fine.”

“You don’t sound very sure about that,” she said.

“My school reunion is tonight and I forgot. I’ve been so focused on that project with the lasers that it slipped my mind,” you said, hoping that would end there.

“Do you have time to get there?” she asked.

“I do. Unless you need me to stay late,” you said, seeing a perfectly acceptable way to get out of it.

“No, no, you go have fun.”

She must have seen something in your face because she stood, approaching you with a raised eyebrow. You’d spent enough time with her over the years to know she was seeing more than you wanted her to. Sometimes being friends with your boss had its downsides.

“Unless you don’t want to go,” she said.

“It’s not that,” you said, “it’s just always a bit awkward to go to these things alone. And I can’t talk about my job because.” You gestured at the whole building as the concept of confidentiality, “so it’s not exactly conducive to these sorts of things.”

“But you want to go?” she asked.

You didn’t want to outright lie to her. Which might explain why the most insane thing came out of your mouth next.

“I don’t suppose you want to come with me, do you? Just pretend to be my girlfriend for the night?”

You immediately felt your skin heat and you shook your head. Embarrassment was a heavy drug and you felt the need to just turn around and walk away rather than deal with the consequences of your request. Running away was always an option. 

“Never mind, that’s stupid. Ignore me,” you said, immediately trying to move past the moment. 

“I’m confused why you want me to go with you,” she said, “unless it’s just the fact I’m the only one here.”

You squeezed your eyes closed, not wanting to face her. Your heart was fluttering in your chest and your stomach was roiling with panic. It had all gone wrong so quickly, and you hadn’t even shown up to the reunion yet. 

“Because if I could pull a woman like you then I would have proved them all wrong,” you answered. 

You hadn’t wanted to tell her exactly how the other students had thought of you in school. The absolute derision you’d faced on a daily basis. The way the opinion of your classmates had sunk into you until you’d begun to believe it. 

“Wrong about what?” she asked.

“Let’s just say that the other students didn’t think much of me,” you replied, not willing to go into all the nuances of your time at school.

She considered you a moment, those dark eyes sweeping over your body before settling on your face once again. You shivered, not wanting to admit what it did to your already turbulent heart. 

“Alright then, but we’ll have to stop by the wardrobe department on the way out,” she said.

“What?” You couldn’t quite let yourself believe what she was saying.

“I’ll go with you but I think we could both use an outfit change. No one will be impressed by either of us dressed like this,” she said. 

You trailed her into the lift, still not quite able to believe what was happening. Kate was going as your date to your school reunion. The woman you had spent too much time fantasising about to be professional was going to pretend to be your girlfriend for the night just to get back at your classmates for being mean to you when you were a teenager. 

Pushing into the wardrobe department, set up after one too many undercover operations had ended in disaster due to bad shoes, Kate turned to look over you again. She strode off, expecting you to follow. You did, unable to do anything else.

She handed you a dress from a rack, eyes sweeping over you again. You took it, unsure what you should do. 

“Go on,” she prompted, hands gently nudging you towards one of the changing rooms at the back of the room. 

You did, slipping the silk over your body. Staring in the mirror, your eyes travelled over your body. The dress clung to your curves, highlighting you in a way you were unused to. Just the feeling of the material against your skin felt decadent, more expensive than your usual clothes. 

“Are you dressed?” she asked.

“I’m not sure about this,” you called to her. 

“Just let me look at you,” she said.

You stepped out of the tiny room, staring at your bare feet. You couldn’t meet her eyes, not needing to see the censure in her gaze. 

“I don’t know what you were talking about. It’s beautiful on you.”

You looked up, finding her focused solely on you. Your cheeks heated as you shifted your weight from foot to foot. Abruptly, she nodded, passing over a pair of heels to you. 

“You’ll do very nicely,” she said.

“Aren’t you-” 

Your words cut off as you looked at her properly. Gone were the navy slacks and the military inspired blazer. In their place was black trousers, black jacket, a white button up that was unbuttoned daringly low. Cleary you’d spent more time staring in the mirror in disbelief than you’d thought. And clearly she was trying to kill you. 

“Come on, you can return the clothes on Monday,” she said.

She grasped you around the elbow, offering you stability as you balanced while putting on the heels. Your hand grasped her shoulder, her warmth seeping through the layers of her clothes. If you didn’t look at her, she couldn’t turn your brain to mush. But then her hand came up, unclipping your hair until it fell around your face. 

“Much better,” she said.

She was so close to you, those brown eyes softening as they traced over your features. Your breath left your chest and you were frozen under that gaze. Her fingertips brushed over the apple of your cheek before she stepped away. 

“You look lovely. Now shall we get out of here?” 

“Okay,” you said, trying to ignore the swoop in your stomach. 

Her hand on your lower back led you away, to her car, opening the door for you like a proper gentleman. You slid into the dark interior, doing your best to settle your heart. It had been a stupid idea to ask her to do this for you, a moment of desperation asking for a fantasy you’d never allowed yourself to voice. 

Tonight was going to destroy you in one way or another. 

Sitting in the darkened cab of her car, the air felt too close, the walls pressing in. You were trying not to look at her, staring out the window, but you were so aware of her. In your peripheral vision, you could see her toss her blonde hair out of her eyes, not wanting to stare at her. It would be so easy when she looked that good. 

She parked the car before you had the chance to come to terms with the situation you’d found yourself in. You stared out the windshield. The silence stretched. 

“We could always turn around and get dinner somewhere instead,” she said.

“What?” You turned to look at her.

“You don’t have to go in there,” she said, “nothing is stopping you from leaving now.”

“It’s not that simple,” you said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because,” you said, knowing you had to say it so she could understand, even if you hadn’t ever wanted her to know this about you, “I need to prove them wrong.”

Her hand reached out, resting against yours clasped in your lap, fingers twisting together almost painfully. You let them relax under her touch, trying not to do any damage before you’d even got started. 

“I know I shouldn’t care about what a bunch of pricks said when we were teenagers but I can’t let it go. They made my life hell and I want to show them they were all wrong. That I’m something now. That my life is worth something,” you said, your words spilling out your shame into the silence for her to consume. 

“Of course your life is worth something. Anyone who made you feel otherwise is so very wrong,” she said, sounding fierce enough to have you flushing.

“You have to say that. You’re my fake girlfriend,” you said.

She smiled at your weak joke, her pity unwelcome when you were trying to lighten the mood. Her hand squeezed yours, leaving you feeling like you should have kept your mouth shut. 

“Just forget I said anything,” you said, tugging your hands out from under hers. 

“No. Hang on.” Her fingers curled around your arm, keeping you from pulling completely away, “what just happened here?” 

“Nothing. Sorry. I’m all over the place tonight,” you said.

She considered you for a moment. You couldn’t look her in the eye, just needing the night to be over. Then you could slink away and curl up in bed and wallow until your self pity turned you into a disgusting heap of viscera. 

“Come on, let’s go show everyone what an amazing person you’ve grown up to be,” she said.

You slid out of the car, the cool night air enveloping you. Her palm slid along yours, fingers tangling with yours as she fell into step beside you. It was so warm and steady, and yet just that touch was making your knees feel like jelly. 

You had to get a grip on yourself. 

The hall was lit like a dimly lit wine bar, the kind of trendy place you’d never found yourself in. Although, you could easily imagine Kate there, sharing a drink with someone, leaning into them in the intimate atmosphere. You stopped imagining that scenario pretty quickly. 

“Wine?” she asked.

“What?” There was no way she could read your mind, was there?

“There appears to be an open bar,” she said, “red?”

“Well, if there’s an open bar, I might have something a bit stronger,” you said. 

You ignored the people around you, making a beeline for the bar, your hand still firmly in Kate’s. You passed Kate a glass of wine, fingers brushing together. Without thinking about it, you took a drink from your double whiskey, the burn of alcohol going through you. 

“Right, is there anyone you were hoping to talk to?” she asked, turning to look at the room.

You’d mostly ignored everyone in the room as you’d hightailed it to the bar. Turning now, you wished you still could. Just the thought of approaching someone made you want to throw up. 

“Let’s do a lap,” you said.

Her fingers tightened around yours, surprisingly making your heart calm a little. You looked up at her, finding her eyes so kind when they gazed down at you. You found yourself leaning into her, her warmth giving you comfort as you took a turn about the room. 

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’ll let you know once I have an answer,” you replied.

Her smile was soft and for the first time you didn’t feel silly for your anxiety. You let out a long breath, turning back to look at the faces around the room. They were familiar, if different. Time had changed everyone, and yet it was like being a teenager again, going to assembly, surrounded by your peers. 

“No way.”

You cringed at the voice, loud and jarring in the space. Turning, you almost flinched back at the blonde woman looking at you, a grin on her face. Perfectly curled hair, makeup that had definitely been applied by a knowledgeable hand, clothes that cost more than your entire wardrobe put together, you knew exactly who was looking at you. 

Elizabeth Hartmore had made your life a living hell. 

Your name sounded venomous on her tongue, the delight she took activating your flight or fight response. Kate’s hand squeezed yours but you had no words for her. You regretted ever coming.

“Diane and I had a bet going about whether you’d show up. She thought you’d never show your face here but I know you better than that,” she said, those knowing eyes practically seeing inside your soul, finding every weakness you had, “looking for a handout? Or are you hoping to use one of us to give you a leg up after failing on your own?” 

“I haven’t,” you tried to say before the words died on your lips. So much for proving them wrong. You couldn’t even get a sentence out.

“What was that?” Diane asked.

“She’s hardly a failure,” Kate said, helping where you couldn’t, “if anything, she’s rather successful.”

“And you are?” Elizabeth asked.

“Kate Stewart, Commander in Chief of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce,” she replied, “and the very lucky woman who gets to call this one mine.” 

She untangled her fingers from yours, holding her hand out to Elizabeth to shake. She did so, her eyes sweeping over Kate, presumably taking in her entire being, the easy confidence which she inhabited her own skin. Kate slipped an arm around your waist rather than return to holding your hand, warm and heavy and so present. Her hand rested on the swell of your hip, almost proprietary. Your heart tripped over itself. Having her so close was doing all kinds of funny things to you. 

This had been such a bad idea.

“I’ve never heard of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce,” Elizabeth said.

“No, I don’t suppose you would have,” she replied.

You had to bite down on your lower lip to keep from smiling. The absolute disdain Kate had managed to infuse in those seven words was a thing of beauty. Her arm tightened around you until you were nestled against her. 

“I hope you know she’s just trying to ride your coattails,” Elizabeth said when she had no other comeback. 

“She stands rather well on her own two feet,” Kate said, still so calm.

Her lips brushed your temple and you startled, not having expected it. Her chuckle was warm, fond, familiar from late nights and shared car rides. 

“Don’t you, darling?” she asked, looking down at you, warm brown eyes sparkling as her lips pulled up into a smile.

“I do alright,” you replied, finding yourself breathless.

“They’d be lost without you,” she said and you knew she was putting how she felt as your boss into words. Your cheeks heated, the praise doing something funny to your stomach. Her lips tipped up into a smirk and you cursed her for being too good at this.

“Kate,” you said, not really sure where you were going with it.

“I’d be lost without you,” she said, her voice low enough to make the conversation feel intimate. It was like she’d forgotten the other two were even listening, but surely she couldn’t have. The whole point of her being there was to prove them wrong about you. It had to be fake. 

But the way she was looking at you felt all too real.

“What do you even do?” Elizabeth asked, breaking the moment. 

“I’m a scientist,” you said, barely thinking of the words, still caught in the way Kate was looking at you. Like you were something precious. Something to be coveted, “a physicist.” 

She scoffed. 

“A rather bloody good one, too,” Kate said.

Your lips curled up into a smile. Her hand squeezed your hip and a shiver went through your body. You watched as her gaze dipped down to your smile, lingering longer than was necessary before making its way back up to your eyes. Your breath caught and you felt her go still, her body pressed against yours from how tight her arm was around you. 

In that moment it stopped mattering if she was pretending to be your girlfriend. It stopped mattering that this was all meant to be making a point. It stopped mattering what those girls thought about you.

You knew who you were and those girls didn’t matter to you at all. But Kate did. Kate mattered a whole lot.

“Come on,” you said, “let’s go.”

She quirked an eyebrow at you, but didn’t argue. You placed your glass down on the closest surface after draining it, sliding your hand back into hers, and leading her back out the door you’d come in. Twenty minutes in there had been enough. You had your answers, and they were that it didn’t matter anymore. You were happy, and you loved your life, and it didn’t matter what a couple of sad women thought about you. 

Besides, Kate thought highly enough of you for all the rest of them not to matter.

“That was rather quick,” she said as you stepped out into the cool night air.

“How about that dinner now?” you asked.

She stopped, forcing you to follow suit lest your hand pull out of hers. The warmth of it was the only thing tethering you right now and you liked the feel of it in yours. The way she was looking at you was full of confusion.

“What has gotten into you?” she asked.

“You were right. I don’t have to be in there and defend my existence to those people. They don’t matter to me, so why should their opinions? I’d rather go have dinner with a beautiful woman who likes my company and cares about me enough to go through this charade,” you answered. 

“You think I’m beautiful?” In the dark, you couldn’t be sure but you thought you saw a flush on her cheeks.

“Of course,” you said, “you’re one of the most beautiful people I know.”

Sometimes stating the truth was more simple than avoiding it. And in that moment you felt fearless. Your earlier epiphany was still buzzing in your veins and you felt invincible. 

“That’s rather flattering,” she said.

“Some facts are fundamental truths of the universe. That’s one of them,” you said.

“Bloody hell,” she laughed, “what are you doing to me?” 

“Sorry, I thought I was being clear. I’m asking you on a date,” you said, “for tonight, somewhere nicer than my school reunion.”

She blinked, as if you’d said something completely out of turn. You tugged her closer, your hand still connected to hers. She went easily, approaching you even as she seemed to not understand what you were saying.

“Kate, I think you’re wonderful. If you don’t want to go on a date with me, that’s fine. But cards on the table, I like you. Quite a lot in fact. And maybe I’m ruining our friendship, but all night I’ve been going out of mind because it turns out I quite like being your fake girlfriend,” you said.

“You do?” she asked, voice faint as if you were overwhelming her with information.

“I like you touching me. I like people thinking I’m yours. I want to be yours,” you said.

“Oh fuck it.”

With her hand in yours she pulled you to her. Her free hand curled around the back of your neck and then she was kissing you with a desperation that had you breathless. You melted against her, submitting. Her teeth nipped at your lower lip, tongue soothing over it before you opened to her, tasting wine and something that was specific to her. You moaned, your hand sliding around her waist, pressing closer. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of your neck, tugging until you were nothing but a puddle of desire. 

Someone in the distance wolf whistled and you were sharply reminded that you were in the parking lot of your old high school, snogging like a teenager with your boss. You drew away, not far from her, still sharing air as you tried to catch your breath. Her eyes were molten, gazing on you, the flush obvious on her cheeks from so close.

She’d managed to kiss the words away from you. Your teeth sunk into your lower lip, uncertainty filling your chest as the silence dragged on. Her eyes slipped down, focusing on your mouth, eyes darkening as the moment stretched. 

“Kate?” you whispered.

“Yes, darling?” she asked, voice deep, almost raspy.

“Is that a yes to dinner?” you asked.

“It’s a yes to all of it,” she said, “it’s a yes to you.”

Your lips brushed hers in another kiss, softer, sweeter, lingering when you knew she wasn’t going to push you away any second. Her warm hand cupped your cheek, holding you close, gentle with you. You let out a long breath once you pulled back, almost a sigh, eyes fluttering open.

“I’m yours,” you whispered.

“Then shall we get out of here?” she asked.

“Please,” you said.

And take you out of there, she did. 

I'm tired of being a girl kisser with no girl to kiss 😠

okay, if you're ready for angst, i got a prompt for ya:

kate x reader, reader sacrifices the self for kate in some manner and BARELY makes it out alive, kate is angry and terrified and Feelings emerge.

make me huuuurrrrt 🫠

Sacrifice

Pairing: Kate Lethbridge-Stewart x fem!Reader

Word Count: 1668

Warning: near death, angst

Summary: You push Kate out of the way to save her and get hurt

A/n: This took long! So sorry! I had it nearly finished, but then I hated the end. So I changed it and I'm still not too happy. The end was a bit if a shuffle. Hope you still like it!!! Would love a repost, like or comment!!! Ly <3

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It had been a hell of a day. And on top of that it was your birthday. Not the greatest birthday you'd had. It had started as a slow day, lots of paperwork for Kate. A few meetings you had to usher her to and remind her to eat in between them. She always managed to forget that somehow.

She had promised you a short day, to go home earlier and celebrate a bit. You didn't tell her that you didn't really have anyone to celebrate with and would rather stay by her side. Instead, you smile thankfully. But all that was forgotten the second Osgood came rushing out of her lab with unusual readings just out of London, a little into the countryside.

From that moment on it was pure chaos and stress. Different readings, all unusual and unfamiliar. All scientists trying to make something of it and failing, even Osgood. Kate was calm and collected, but you saw that it took a toll on her. She'd again failed to eat, and you were rushing after her with a sandwich in hand. It took you an hour to get it into her completely.

At some point Osgood had isolated the signal and had a location for you. Kate put together a team of scientists and soldiers to get out there and look at it. The drive was excruciatingly long, the rush hour on the streets not helping at all. For a second your mind drifted to the bottle of wine and take out you could have right now. At home, on your couch.

All in all, everything went well. No one had died in the field, only a few were injured. But every attempt of Kate's at diplomacy had been shut off and failed. So in the end you had used sheer force and a lot of bullets.

Osgood was disappointed that you hadn't found out what species the aliens had been. That you hadn't learned more about them, but Kate promised her to take one of the dead bodies back to HQ for studying. That at least made her beam.

Everyone was clearing up, injured soldiers being brought to the Doctors. The alien, whatever it was had some sort of venom in its system that paralysed humans. Apparently it was in its tongue, as some soldiers had been practically licked by the creatures. But nothing much happened besides being temporarily paralysed, so it didn't seem too bad. Until it suddenly seemed very bad.

You'd been talking with Kate, going over some logistics of taking a dead creature back unnoticed to HQ when you heard a sizzling somewhere very close. It was unmistakably the sound all the aliens had made when ready to attack. Mere second later you see it run right towards you. You had obviously missed it when clearing the area, and it had hid. Until now.

You couldn't even think as quickly as you acted. You stepped in front of Kate and pushed her away. In the corner of your eye you saw her tumbling to the ground and in the next second you cried out in pain. Sharp teeth sinking into the flesh of your shoulder and tearing your shirt apart. You were thrown to the floor and a second later you heard what felt like a thousand shots all directed at the creature.

Apparently the venom was stronger in its teeth. At least that's what you assumed cause unlike the others who'd just been licked you felt numb and paralysed all over. Not just in the arm. Your view got foggy and the shouts and words around you sounded like they were spoken from behind a thick door. You faintly registered someone kneeling over you. A pretty sight with blonde hair falling into her face. A bit like an angel.

"Kate..." you whispered, and then you were gone. You didn't register one bit of all the fuss around you. You didn't register Kate's nearly hysterical cry for a medic. You didn't register Sam and Josh guarding you in case more creatures came. You didn't register Osgood having half of an asthma attack and Kate being too out of it to remind her of her inhaler. You didn't register the medics coming and taking you with them. Nothing.

The first thing you did register was beeping and light. Really bright light. You groaned slightly, a sharp pain shooting through your shoulder as you tried to move. You settled back into the pillow and cleared your sight a bit, by blinking a few times.

Slowly the bright light turns into a white ceiling, a few lamps and a few monitors in the corner of your eye. You figured that's where the beeping came from. You looked around a bit, seeing a big window showing the blue sky on your left. Ahead of you was a TV and a door, supposedly leading to the bathroom. On your right was a door that led out of the room and a chair. In that chair was Kate. She looked awful, tired and worn out. But mostly she looked angry.

You tried to sit up a bit but groaned when your shoulder hurt again. Kate stood up from her seat, looking at you, arms crossed. "Lie back, don't move."

You frowned a bit at her sharp tone, but complied. Slowly sinking back into the pillow, you settled in a way that would make your shoulder hurt as little as possible.

"Are you insane?" She asked you in a way she usually scolded soldiers who didn't follow her orders. A tone that made you question your own decision immediately and showed you she was more disappointed in you than anything else. It was a good tone, very useful. Usually. Not now. You looked at her a bit perplexed.

"Saved your life. A thank you would be nice." You mumbled under your breath and immediately regretted it. Kate's eyebrows shot up, and she looked at you like she was ready to catapult you back into the hospital herself the second you could leave.

"You risked your life unnecessarily, that's what you did. It was irresponsible and frankly idiotic." She scoffed in disbelief. She threw her hands up into the air and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You can be happy I'm not putting you on desk duty for the next few field missions." At that you looked not just confused but offended. Again you tried to sit up, but a sharp look from Kate made you lie back down immediately.

"Desk Duty? What the hell for?" You asked in disbelief and stared at her dumbfounded.

"You acted irresponsible. What tells me you won't disobey orders the next time?" She spoke, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face. She wasn't joking and it confused you.

"You're being ridiculous, Kate. You know I always obey your orders." It was true. You always obeyed every order. You trusted her, completely. And you trusted her judgement, even in a seemingly dire situation. She just huffed and turned away from you. But not completely, just enough, so she wouldn't have to look at you anymore. You studied her, her side profile never seized to take your breath away. Just like every thing else about her.

You snapped out of your trance when you see Kate's hand reach up and wipe her cheek angrily. You focused on her a bit more, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Kate, are you crying?" You asked surprised, but softer. She turned away from you a bit further, trying to hide her face completely. You contemplated getting up, but that might be a stupid idea. Kate would probably kill you. "Kate?"

She huffed angrily and looked at you, now looking more in pain than anything else. "You nearly died!" She snapped at you. For a second, you weren't sure what to say.

"Kate, come here." You said softly and held up a hand for her. She looked down at your hand and back up at you. For a moment, she didn't move an inch. Then, slowly, she approached you and sat down at the side of your bed.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Kate. I know that can't have been easy. But please, don't be angry at me for trying to save you." You softly spoke, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. She still wasn't looking at you. You let go of her hand and reached up to turn her head in your direction. Her eyes were shining with tears that she stubbornly refused to let fall.

"I'd do it all again if it meant saving the woman I love." You spoke softly, merely more than a gentle whisper. Like a warm blanket wrapping itself around Kate's heart. Her eyes widened slightly, and finally she let a few of those tears fall down. Slowly rolling down her cheeks. You caught them with your thumb, lovingly wiping them away.

"I thought I'd lost you." She said, voice shaky and broken but still so strong. Still so stubbornly put together. So uniquely Kate. You looked at her fondly, fingers still brushing over her cheek.

"But you haven't. I'm here. Alive and breathing. And so very much in love with you." You softly reassure her and grabbed her hand again. Pulling it up to your mouth you gently kissed her knuckles. Her breath got caught for a moment as she looked at you. Eyes wide and nearly confused.

"Was I that good at hiding it?" You chuckle as you saw her confused expression. She was fishing for words, highly unusual for Kate. You chuckled again.

"Just kiss me." You whispered. Her eyes widening comically. When she didn't move a millimetre, you reached up and put your hand in her neck, simply pulling her down to you. Her lips are soft on yours, the kiss tender and cautious. And for a moment to forget what had happened. You forgot the pain in your shoulder. You forgot the world even existed outside of this kiss.

Decadent Desires Ch 20

Emily Prentiss x reader warning: language, alcohol, smut mentioned. i think thats about it? 4.7k

Salt Lake City was boring, tedious even with little to nothing to keep your brain occupied as you sat through meeting after meeting, several interviews, and public statements. It was a walk in the park type of excursion for Heather, supporters already wooed, state governors already in her pocket, it was as if she was just visiting a bunch of old friends and family. You honestly weren’t even sure what she needed you there for, Cynthia was there, her PA had tagged along now that they were back from vacation, you easily could have done your job through the internet from the comfort of your couch and not had to cancel on Emily. Your phone ended up holding your attention for most of the day and most of that wasn’t actually work related. After exhausting all your brain power on what she could possibly want you on there was only one thing left on your mind.

Which is why when you got back from dinner you stepped out of your heels and wandered through the adjoining door to her hotel room.

“That was practically torture.” You grumbled as you padded through her room.

Heather had her back to you, her phone in her hands as she shot of a couple of texts, a small laugh escaping her lips, “and here I was thinking you would enjoy that caviar flight.”

“I’ve had fresher.” You replied with a huff, “and I meant the whole day not just dinner.”

She chuckled again, removing her earrings, placing them down for safe keeping, “no wonder you were so distracted, you spent more than half of it on your phone.” She finally turned to face you.

“I was simply killing time.” You stated with a shrug, the strap of your dress falling past your shoulder, “and now we’re here…” you cocked a brow in her direction and her lips pursed for a moment.

“Wait.” Her fingers reached out, neatly pulling the strap of your dress back over your shoulder, smoothing the fabric over your skin and she could feel the way you nearly tensed under her touch.

“Wait, what?” You dropped down onto the edge of her bed, suddenly feeling rather self conscious, “you need to take a call or something?”

“No, but I think you might have some thinking to do.”

“I’m confused.”

“We don’t need to do this.”

“We always do this,” you replied, your brows furrowing. It wasn’t that you were hurt or even disappointed, honestly you were a little too tired for her usual level of exertion. You were just incredibly perplexed, “it’s almost like a …tradition or something by now.”

“Sweetheart, know that I am definitely not turning you down,” she started, her hand gently pinching at your chin, “but are you sure you even want to fuck me right now? Or is this purely out of habit?”

Your lips parted as if you had something ready to say to her when your head tilted and your mouth shut once again, your lips pressed against each other tightly as you thought it over. You looked back up at her, your head still tilted as you surveyed her.

“Have you finally hit menopause?”

Heather gawked, barking out a laugh as she stepped towards the mini bar, plucking two of the mini goblets of wine and passing one to you. “Why on earth would you assume that?”

“I ‘ve known you over twenty years and you don’t turn down sex.”

A small grin took over her lips as she stepped back towards you, “I do when the other person is taken.”

“I’m not”—

She cut you off with a look and you were even more confused when her fingers slipped into the neckline of your dress, knuckles brushing your chest as she tugged it down and a sudden blush took over your cheeks.

“Maybe not by a label, but you are covered in possessive marks. Three that I can see on your tits, one that you’ve done a decent job covering up on your neck and I’m not even sure I want to know what I’ll find on your thighs.” She let the fabric spring back into its proper place, and you felt a little less exposed, shifting in your seat you could still feel the ache between your thighs.

“You’re over thinking things Heat, we had a rough session. I told her to be rough, to bite harder, she was just doing what I asked.”

“Possibly.” She unscrewed the wine, taking a sip, “but I think when it comes down to it, Emily Prentiss isn’t an idiot. She’s a profiler no matter what situation she’s in, it’s what comes naturally. She saw that bracelet, heard the teasing and jokes about how much it cost and your winter bonus after we’d been out of town and put two and two together that we fucked that week.”

You let out a tired sigh, your hand brushing over your face before you cracked your own drink to take a swig, “the literal teeth marks you left on my leg probably didn’t help.”

“Those should have healed by the weekend.”

“I saw her the night we got back.” You looked up to her with another groan, “and she knows I had blood taken that day…”

“And now she knew that we were travelling again and wanted to leave a little reminder. Whether for you or me, that’s still up for debate.” She chuckled, “it might not be jealousy, but I know how to read a situation and that’s what’s coming off right now. I highly doubt she wants to share anymore.”

“She always said she never wanted strings.” You shrugged, “I was just playing by the rules of the contract.”

“Contracts can always be ripped up,” she noted, “but that’s not important. What is, is what do you want.”

Looking up at her you were surprised when nothing instantly came to your mouth, instead gaping at her as your brain tried to unscramble all of the wires. You knew you enjoyed sex with Emily, that you enjoyed your time with her and certainly wouldn’t complain about more. Tony’s arguments had already been lingering in your brain all week, hell, you’d spent most of the day smiling at your phone like an idiot texting Emily about how bored you were.

Heather burst you out of your bubble back to reality when she tapped her finger to the tip of your nose, a knowing grin on her lips.

“My point exactly. You don’t spend a week and a half in the Maldives with someone and not fall for them. Especially with how incredibly sappy you get over the damn ocean. What I find puerile she likely finds endearing.”

“Sorry, what?”

This time the gentle poke landed on your forehead, “you’re smart. Now use that brain of yours to figure it out. You’ve been doing this arrangement for a while now, maybe it’s time to pull the plug. What direction you choose to go in after that is up to you and I think you already know. I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you at this point.” Her fingers fiddled with your earlobe, “you’ve been wearing those since you came back.”

“Huh…” you clucked your tongue, your own fingers replacing hers as you toyed with the starfish earring.

“Now go,” she swatted at your side, handing you the mini wine she’d taken a sip out of, “rack up a mini bar charge and do some thinking. Lord knows you didn’t use your brain for anything today but texting.”

You let out a mock scoff as you shuffled from the room, knowing that the comment was in jest, but made sure to swipe another drink from her fridge before you stepped back into your own room. Before you could even circle back and ask the original question, she was already a step ahead of you.

“And I brought you on this trip because we have brunch with the governor tomorrow and she’s got a soft spot for you. Thinks I’m too harsh or something, thought maybe you could warm her up.”

Right. There it was.

**

Over in DC, Emily was nearly in the same boat as you, although she’d already done her thinking about how she felt, it didn’t take a mastermind to realize that she had feelings. Feelings that were more than just sexual. If she had still been struggling with that last week, it was made pretty clear to her when the rage of jealousy surged through her at even the thought of DiNozzo managing to sleep with you. As the days crept by, she had finally accepted that the trip to the Maldives had been to get one up on Heather, to prove that something like that and the quality time that came along with it was worth far more than a stupid bracelet. A bracelet she hadn’t seen since, and on top of that, in every cute picture you’d sent her since coming home you’d been wearing the earrings she bought for you. Earrings that meant a hell of a lot more than a price tag.

Still, there shouldn’t have been any reason for her to still be closed in her office when it was pushing eleven pm.

Except that she didn’t want to go home. Home meant quiet, too quiet, too personal, too much space for her thoughts to start to get lost in. That meant seeing the toothbrush that belonged to you next to hers when she went to wash her face, the mini bottle of skin care tucked in a corner of her basin. It meant noticing that you’d left a sweater strewn over the back of her couch, a novel you were halfway through forgotten on her coffee table that would bring back the memory of you curled up on a chilly Sunday morning with a cup of coffee completely engrossed in the story while she slept in. It meant tossing and turning when she couldn’t sleep and ending up grabbing the other pillow only for the scent of your shampoo to invade her nose and keep her up all night until she spewed off some sappy revealing middle of the night text to you.

All things considered; work sounded like the safer option.

She was going back and fourth between a handful of casefiles, trying to figure out which one deemed priority once they wrapped their current one (or NCIS decided they could oversee the closing on their own). Take out sat relatively untouched to her side, at the very least she’d eaten the spring rolls and fortune cookie and there was no way she was getting through tonight without sneaking a coffee mug full of wine. The building was relatively quiet, and she thought she was alone until there was a knock on her door and she jolted upright, looking across the room to find DiNozzo lingering in the doorway.

He muttered an apology, crossing the room to add another file to her inbox as he ran through what he’d found. Emily could have sworn she was listening, she could hear his voice, she was processing the information, her brain already figuring out how to approach everything with the rest of the team in the morning, what kind of homework it likely meant for her and Garcia. Tony watched as she scribbled something down on a post it, sticking it to her computer monitor and started to step out of the room, half wondering if she was listening at all. She kept glancing towards her phone, poking the screen as if she was expecting a call, like phantom vibrations were going off and pulling her attention. He mumbled something about leaving, that she should probably head home soon too and she made a noise in his direction as her eyes fell to her phone again, this time swiping it open to her messenger app before letting out a soft sigh. He had made it all the way to the door by the time her voice rang through the office clear as day.

“Hey, what time is it in Salt Lake right now?”

“Uh…” He pulled his wrist up, studying his watch, “they’re two hours behind us so… eight fifty three?”

Emily let out a hum of sorts, her fingers prodding at her phone again as if she expected it to jump to life out of nowhere. As much as Tony wanted to get out of there, a movie and a cold beer calling his name, he knew that look of longing too much, hand faltering on the doorjamb as he pulled himself back into her office.

“You know, those political dinners, they’re insane, entire theatre productions from start to finish.” He waved his hand for exaggeration, “it doesn’t matter how fast anyone wants them done with, someone’s gonna order every single course and one of every dessert, they drag on for hours.” He glanced down to her phone screen, “she’s probably out rubbing elbows pretending she knows how to smoke a cigar.”

“Huh?” Emily’s attention was finally pulled from her thoughts and she looked up at the man, a near concerned look written across her face and he sighed softly, daring to step further into her office.

“Listen, I know this isn’t exactly my place, and I’m definitely not a profiler, but I’m still an investigator…”

“Go on…” She folded her arms in front of her, elbows propped on her desk.

“This is about Walton and Heather being out of town together again, right?”

“She’s out of town, that doesn’t bother me.”

“But you found out about their… extracurriculars…” He offered, cautiously sitting down in a chair across from her desk and she let out a small huff, her eyes darting over to her phone for a second to avoid the question.

“Yeah.”

Tony’s head nodded, biting his lip for a second as he debated just how much of a verbal lashing he could get for something like this, “and you’re not a fan of that, so you’re sitting here still pretending to work rather than going home to relax because you know once you do you won’t be able to think of anything except that and that sounds even worse.”

Emily’s eyes snapped from her phone up to Tony as she jumped back into the conversation that was actually happening rather than the thoughts flying around in her head and her eyes narrowed, casting him a look so hard that he nearly gulped.

“I’m in my office late all the time.” She attempted to justify, “maybe you wouldn’t get it but as a team leader there is literally always something to do, another problem to solve another case to dwell over.”

“Yeah but it isn’t all about work, you’ve gotta have something to distract yourself.”

“I did—I- ac- do!” She tried to hide her flub but the smirk on his lips was telling that he already caught it and she groaned, praying her cheeks weren’t visibly heated, “c’mon. What does Gibbs do?”

“Builds boats in his garage.”

“Miniatures?”

“Full sized. In sailable condition.”

“Huh…” Emily’s head titled, her brow furrowing as her gaze drifted out the window, silence taking over the room for a moment before she spoke again, “how does he get them out?”

“No one knows.” He shrugged.

“Huh…”

Tony chuckled, letting her try to figure it out for a minute before shoving his nose back into her business, “listen, I know it’s not my place at all, but I do know her pretty well and I know she really likes spending time with you. She can be a bit of an enigma and that’s only gotten more intense the longer she’s worked the job she has, having to play pretend and like she’s best friends with half those douchebags when in reality she doesn’t let a lot of people in… ever.”

“And what? I’m ‘the one who’s different’?” Emily nearly scoffed as her fingers made air quotes around the words, pulling a small laugh out of DiNozzo.

“Considering the amount of crap you have lying around her apartment, yeah.” His lips curved up into a grin at her surprised reaction, “she likes you. And she’s reasonable. You wanna change whatever agreement you have, I’m sure she’ll be up for it.”

“Yeah?” She raised a brow, an unsettling feeling in her gut as her eyes dropped to her phone once again, still utterly void of notifications, “and if she comes home with teeth marks again?”

“From what I’ve heard you left some pretty impressive bruises yourself.” It slipped out of his mouth before he even realized and Emily made an unintelligible noise before blushing, sinking deeper into her chair. “Besides, Heather is the last of your worries, okay? She’s never going to be a threat, she’s married, always will be and always has a string of other mistresses, that isn’t long term for anyone and it was always incredibly casual between them. But that doesn’t mean that someone else won’t come along, take it from me, you’re gonna wanna say something before it’s too late.”

A sparkle flashed through Emily’s eyes, a sneaky grin taking over her lips as she shifted gears, “yeah? Ziva get a boyfriend?”

“Arrrhhhh!” Tony let out a frustrated groan as he pulled himself up from the chair, stomping his feet in a little tantrum, pouting when he turned back to her, “she went on a daaaaaate.”

“Then buck up and take your own advice DiNozzo.” She laughed and he huffed.

“Fine.” Grumbling he made his way back to the door before he suddenly turned back, “can I ask one last thing?”

“Sure.”  She figured the least she could do was humour him at this point.

“Do you guys have some kinda Pretty Woman rule going on?”

“What?” Her brow furrowed as she let out a laugh, “DiNozzo come on, I thought you of all people would have put t together by now. Yeah, I take her on dates, gift her cash, she… compensates otherwise.”

“No.” He chuckled, “have you seen the movie?”

“Not in about a million years.”

“Julia Roberts character has this thing, she doesn’t kiss her clients, especially on the lips, it’s too intimate, too personal.”

“Okay…” The confused expression remained on her face, having no clue what he was getting at.

“Think about it. When you greet each other, or say good bye, is it an actual kiss greeting, one of the more casual cheek kisses? Are there those longing goodbye kisses where you can’t let go of the other person because you don’t want to leave, or is it brief and that lingering feeling’s like, tickling away under your skin instead?”

“I…” Emily’s gaze dropped, thinking through as many of your interactions as she could. It made sense that any greetings were impersonal, they were usually in public, everything had been kept on a strict business level of communication when you’d first started. You barely kissed on the mouth in more intimate moments. “Huh…”

“See?” Tony stepped backwards toward the door, “movie magic, always a truth to it. Next time you see her? Kiss her. Really kiss her. Because if anything it’ll help you realize that you never want to let her go.”

“I think you might spend a little bit too much time watching romance movies.” She laughed.

“Really?” He raised a brow, “then prove me wrong.”

**

You were sitting on your hotel bed, phone twirling around between your hands as you stared at whatever the television was playing. You’d spent far too long in the shower trying to clear your head, using every single toiletry they had before drying yourself off with the fluffiest towel and putting on your pyjamas. Sinking against the headboard you’d drifted off to a field of memories, the visions replaying in your mind as you ignored the television. When those weren’t enough you’d opened the photo gallery on your phone, scrolling through the assortment of pictures, mainly ones from the Maldives, too many of the ocean to even count.

The door between your rooms remained unlocked, cracked open so you could still bother each other. Heather had assumedly gotten an email or update about the morning, knocking briefly before swinging the door open. She stayed perched in the doorway, letting you have your space while she rambled on. She stopped suddenly, looking up from her phone to catch you staring into space, your eyes completely unfocused.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” You looked up, blinking a few times as you returned to earth.

“What is going on in that pretty little head?” Heather asked, relaxing against the doorjamb as her arms crossed over her chest, “I leave you for a couple of hours and your zonked out? Talk to me.”

You let out a tired huff, swiping the mini wine bottle from the nightstand and draining it in one go, “how am I supposed to do this?”

“Do what?” Her voice was softer than you’d expected it, the more maternal side of her beginning to come out.

“Shift from being a sugar baby to… more…” When you looked up at her there was a level of hesitancy she had never seen behind your eyes.

“Just tell her you want to end the arrangement, gauge her response, readjust and go from there.” She replied, as if it was easy as placing a coffee order.

“I dunno…” your eyes dropped, “I mean, all I’ve heard are the horror stories of girls crying on your doorstep being nearly pathetic cause they want more. Hell, I’ve witnessed that Heather. It doesn’t exactly look like a fun time.”

“You’re overthinking. And you’re worried.” The other woman’s face fell at the way you started picking at your cuticles.

“Obviously.” You let out an unsure laugh before looking up at her, “I mean, c’mon. She’s a fucking profiler, there’s no way that she hasn’t figured me out yet, even if it took me longer. She reads body language for a living and if she wanted to have more she would have said something already.” You took another swig of wine, “I let you and Tony get under my skin, let you plant ideas in my head and now it’s all I can think about. I can’t focus, I haven’t gotten a single piece of work done and I…”

“Oh sweetheart…” Heather’s voice softened once again, moving through the room to perch on the foot of the bed.

“What?” You asked dryly, looking up at her.

“You’re not just worried, you’re scared.”

“Well…” you gestured vaguely and let out a huff, “it all seems kind of ridiculous. I mean, have you ever felt like this? Been this confused?”

“Of course.” She chuckled.

“But you’re so… distant, cold even. You’ve got all these rules and they’re strict.”

“What a pleasant way of calling me a bitch.” She teased with a smirk and you rolled your eyes, “I had those kind of feelings and internal panic when I first started dating my husband.” She let that sink in, “which is why you shouldn’t think about or compare anything that has ever happened with me and a sugar baby, because its not the same.”

“What’d you mean?”

“They’re never long term.” Her head shook, “It’s all about the business, the transaction and as you said, I keep extremely strict lines. Yours have started to blur. Emily’s not married, she’s not committed to anyone else and neither are you, it’s easy to start to slip out of whatever boundaries you previously set, especially if you like each other. What started out as an arrangement sometimes does turn into something real, and while I haven’t really seen the two of you together I can definitely understand why it would work out so I think it’s worth a shot.”

You sighed, and Heather frowned at how dejected you looked in that moment, “I dunno….”

She squeezed at your hand, “you’re all caught up in your head thinking about all the things that could go terribly wrong, but hear me out… what if they go right?”

Heather didn’t give you time to reply, rather she leant in, pressing a soft kiss to the side of your head before sweeping from the room, the adjoining door swinging shut behind her and you heard the click of the lock shutting.

**

Emily finally dragged herself out of the office after DiNozzo’s visit, try as she might to get a little bit more work done, she now found that his words kept repeating themselves through her brain. If she couldn’t focus on anything, she may as well be able to do it in the comfort of her own home and definitely without her bra digging into her ribcage.

She poured a glass of wine, taking her first sip as she stared out the windows, sweeping across the view and let out a soft sigh. It felt like not that long ago she was standing in the same spot trying to figure out what was missing from her life. Now she knew exactly what she was missing, she missed you, missed your weekly dates that had become more frequent over time. Spending time with you made her happy, you made her happy, wasn’t that what she had wanted in the first place? Happiness? Someone to spend time with that made her heart sing? She huffed out a laugh, maybe that was a little too over the top. She’d wanted someone to spend her time with that made it enjoyable, that brought out a different side to her than the one who worked constantly. You just so happened to be that for her. You also just happened to be the one who was across the country not thinking about her at all while you were the only thing she could think of.

“Fuck..” She whispered softly, dropping her gaze from the window as she sulked towards the living room to drop down on the couch.

She was jealous.

And she absolutely hated that.

You weren’t technically hers, you had both agreed on your limitations, on what was okay outside of your agreement and until the two of you had time to revisit that, she had no real right to be feeling like this. Her free hand twitched and her eyes darted back to the kitchen cupboard she had a pack of cigarette’s stashed for times just like this. She took another swig of wine, nearly draining the glass in an attempt to clog her thoughts, about to stand up when her phone buzzed on the coffee table.

She was genuinely surprised to see a message from you flash across the screen. While you had been texting pretty regularly throughout the afternoon, the moment dinner time hit had been nothing but radio silence. She picked it up, swiping open the thread.

‘God, remind me to never take a SLC trip again. I’ve never been so bored in my life. We’ve got a pit stop in Kansas City on the way but I should be back in DC in time for a late dinner tomorrow… if you’re interested?’

Her heart leapt in her throat and she had to try to resist immediately typing out every little feeling that was flying through her brain in the moment. Instead, she took a breath, finished the last of her wine and replied with something easy.

‘I’d love that.’

She got up, moving toward the kitchen, though the thought of a smoke was far gone from her brain now, she just figured another glass of wine wouldn’t hurt.

‘You better not still be at the office.’

The warning text came through with a playful emoji to make sure she knew you were teasing. She smiled softly, snapping a picture of the wine glass with the view in the background and sending it back to you. It didn’t take long for your next message to come through.

‘Good. But it’s late. Make sure you get some rest tonight.’

‘You too.’

Emily felt her shoulders drop as she let out a breath, moving back to the couch sans cigarettes to finish her wine with a feeling of hope resting in her chest.

_________________

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THE X-FILES — 6.19: The Unnatural

PeriodT.

sorry for finding it hot when people's hair goes grey. as if im wrong