Lauren let out a sated sigh and fell back onto her pillows, running a hand through her dampened, sweat-covered hair. She rolled onto her side to admire the contours of Tamsin's bare back as the Fae woman took her customary gulps from the glass of water the doctor had taken to leaving on the nightstand for the Valkyrie. This…whatever they were doing had been going on for months. It had become routine at this point. They would meet at the Dal whenever Lauren was allowed out on her very short leash, ignore each other for a few drinks except through surreptitious glances and then Tamsin would usually be the one to slide up to the bar with a "Whatcha drinkin, doc?" followed by a round bought by her. Then they would leave separately and meet in the alley next to the Dal to confirm they were going to Lauren's (it was always Lauren's).
Then, in a final step in the charade, they would meet back at Lauren's where all pretenses were dropped as soon as they started up the walkway. Lauren's shirt was usually halfway off and Tamsin's pants unbuttoned and unzipped by the time the doctor was able to close the door behind them. What followed was always rough and desperate and left them both sore, though Tamsin would never admit that. But the last three times in a row, it had been different. It had still been insistent, but slower, even gentle. Whatever it was, it had been more than the animalistic rutting they'd done on nearly every surface in Lauren's apartment.
The human stared at the other blonde's back as Tamsin sat on the edge of the bed, now holding her glass but not drinking from it. Lauren had already mentally prepared herself for what came next, the inevitable "Well, I have to get up early so I should probably get going, see ya, doc." Because that's how it always ended, but Tamsin seemed frozen to the spot. Lauren reached out a hand as if to touch the other woman's back, to break her out of her reverie, but at the last minute decided against it.
It was hard telling when it was okay to be physical with the Valkyrie. Where Bo had been tactile to the point of near clinging, Tamsin was not very physical except when they were in the throws of passion or the moments leading up to it. As she was contemplating the Nordic woman's back, Lauren heard Tamsin sigh as if she had been defeated and watched as she placed the glass back on the nightstand. Instead of giving the human the line she had uttered countless times already and leaving the Light Fae's doctor alone, she leaned back onto the bed, resting her head against the pillows and facing Lauren.
"So…whaddya got in the way of breakfast?" Tamsin said finally after Lauren had been searching her gaze for several minutes in confusion.
"Breakfast?" the blonde human returned instead. Her tone was more confused than she had intended it to sound, more hopeful too and it made her cringe internally.
"Yeah…you seem the type that eats it, so I figured that's what's up for tomorrow morning. Am I wrong?"
"…Tomorrow morning…" she echoed as if trying to get her mind to process the phrase. She shook her head and rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, sure, of course I do. I mean I can make something."
Tamsin smirked a little at the other woman's confusion but nodded once and closed her eyes.
"Tamsin?" Lauren asked after several minutes of silence. The Valkyrie didn't respond, but her breathing indicated she wasn't sleeping so the doctor decided to continue. "Are you sure you want to…"
"Doc." The cop interrupted, opening her eyes. "Don't."
Lauren couldn't help herself. "But you never…"
"I never do anything I don't want to." She finished for her with finality, closing her eyes again. "Go to sleep."
Lauren felt the edges of her mouth tug up slightly even though the other blonde couldn't see her expression and she rolled over on her other side. Her face widened into a full-blown smile when she felt the arm thrown casually over her waist.
"Night, doc."