Please read for context:
This is a scene that was in the now non-existent Chapter 5 of "Hello Past". I didn't want to let it go to waste and I've heard a couple people say they'd like to read the Thievyrie portion. If you haven't read "Hello Past", then you might be really lost with some of the content. If you have read it, you only need to know that there was a scene between Chapter 4 and the following scene in which the Ash and Morrigan basically wag their fingers at Tamsin for doing something stupid.
If you had the chance to read Chapter 5 before I took it down, it's all the same except for the last bit that I added to up the cuteness factor of Thievyrie.
As Tamsin slid her key into the lock at the crackshack, she shouldn't have been surprised when the key turned without resistance or a click. "Why do we even have locks?" she grumbled. Normally Kenzi's innocent refusal to lock doors didn't bother her, but this day proved to be one of the worst she'd had in months. First, Bo then Evony's absurd orders.
After pushing open the second door, she barely made it through the doorway before a small body rammed into hers and legs locked around her waist. Kenzi wrapped her arms around the valkyrie's neck with a vice-like grip. With her face nuzzled in blonde hair, she exclaimed, "I thought you were never coming home."
With her keys hanging from one finger, Tamsin tucked her arms under her girlfriend's thighs to steady the girl. She pecked the woman's exposed pale skin and replied, "Sorry, the Morrigan was being—"
"A bitch," Kenzi concluded.
Shuffling into the kitchen with the shifter in tow, the blonde chuckled, "That sums it up." Coming to a halt in front of the refrigerator, Tamsin noted, "Alright monkey, I can't get to the beer like this." Kenzi suddenly squeezed her body closer as she tightened her legs and arms. "Okay," the valkyrie squeaked through her squished lungs and windpipe, "Now this just hurts."
"Tams..."
"Sorry, Kenz," she ran one hand from the woman's leg to her back and brushed her fingers up and down her spine. She asked, "Do you want to talk about the succuslut? The literal clinginess is giving me 'we need to talk' vibes. I already punched her in the face if that helps."
With her voice losing a bit of vulnerability, Kenzi asked, "Do you have any clue why she's pulling the prodigal son routine? Minus happiness, throwing of a feast and slaughtering of animals part?"
Tamsin slid the girl onto the nearby counter and answered, "Because she's Bo the idiot with a conscience that's going crazy."
Reluctantly unlocking her ankles and arms, Kenzi allowed her girlfriend to breathe while still keeping her wrapped between her thighs. "She's a dick and a half," Kenzi commented conclusively.
"Truth," the blonde tossed her keys next to Kenzi as she stretched a sweet and obnoxiously innocent smile across her face and asked, "May I please get a beer?"
"She had the balls to walk right up to the house," Kenzi ignored Tamsin's request and expressed her dismay. "Like she fucking belonged!"
Gently tracing circles on the flustered woman's lower back, the valkyrie acknowledged, "Like I said- idiot. I know I asked you earlier on the phone, but are you okay?"
"I don't know."
"Fortunately, you don't have to figure it out right now. I know you pride yourself on being Miss Decisive, but in this clusterfuck on an instance, I think you can let your cute brain churn a little slower."
The other woman sighed, "Is she staying?"
"Yeaahhh. I'm afraid so. We're pretty much stuck with her."
"You're right. I can't deal with this shit right now," Kenzi admitted. Her concern for Lauren and Ethan bogged down her own emotions. Ethan's inexplicable desire to "know" Bo frustrated the woman to no end. Regardless of the fogginess of her feelings toward Bo and Bo's intentions, she decisively concluded that for good or ill, Bo was back and soon to be involved in everyone's lives.
"Beer?" the single word escaped Tamsin's lips as a plea.
Kenzi released the woman in a huff and said, "You better get your priorities straight, woman."
Quickly snatching a beer from the fridge, Tamsin defended herself, "I just listened to the Ash and the Morrigan ream me for being incompetent." She tapped a finger against the glass bottle and said, "I deserve this." Kenzi handed her the bottle opener and her face crinkled with curiosity. In her exhausted state, the blonde forgot that her girlfriend knew nothing of her job of keeping tabs on Bo throughout the years.
In general, Tamsin was open about any slip ups at work. She didn't hide anything from Kenzi. With that in mind, the shifter immediately perked up when the Ash was mentioned. Pursing her lips, she inquired, "What does the Ash have to do with anything?"
The blonde's malfunctioning brain walked her right off a cliff. As she popped off the lid, she complained, "I left out one tiny detail about our favorite succubus' thrill ride and it blew up in my face. That's what I get for enabling." She took a swig and grumbled.
Kenzi froze and with a lowered voice, she asked, "Why would you know any details?"
Tamsin smacked the cold bottle on her forehead and hissed, "Shit. Shit. Shit."
"Tamsin."
"Fucking shit," the blonde could only curse as she knew the truth was about to come out. She'd lied all these years out of necessity and now it was coming back to bite her in the ass. There was no use in hiding anymore. "God dammit. Mother fucker."
"Stop swearing and give me an answer," Kenzi demanded. She clenched her hands around the edge of the counter.
"Oh gooodddd." Tamsin tipped her head back and groaned before explaining cautiously, "When Bo left, I was assigned by the Morrigan to keep an eye on her. If Bo left a trail of bodies, she'd get caught and that would fucking suck for the Fae."
Kenzi's jaw dropped in disbelief, "You've been cleaning up her shit."
The valkyrie clenched her jaw and made no move to agree or disagree. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she cleared her throat and drummed her fingers on the beer bottle.
'"You?" Kenzi slid off the counter and took a few steps to the right, "You've been helping her."
"Whoa, whoa," Tamsin stopped her girlfriend's assumption. "That's not true. I did what I had to do to keep humans from finding random bodies. They'd kinda wonder what's going on after twenty or fifty or a hundred."
The shifter didn't even comment on the mention of "hundred". She'd rather stay in the dark about the exact number of Bo's kills. Instead, she logically laid out what her girlfriend had done, "So. You watched her kill people, cleaned up after her, then watched her kill more people and cleaned them up too. You didn't try and stop her?"
The phrases "not my job" and "I don't care" popped into Tamsin's mind instinctively, but her common sense overruled her personal opinions of Bo's actions. Unfortunately for the valkyrie, Kenzi easily read the words in her eyes and scoffed, "You think it's none of your business, right?"
The blonde's harsh deflections and smart ass comments never surfaced during disagreements with her girlfriend. Not only did she know better, but her respect and often debilitating feelings for Kenzi silenced any desire to spur on an argument. She replied, "It really isn't. The Morrigan gave me a job. You know I didn't have a choice." Kenzi's crossed arms and matching frown reflected her disappointment in Tamsin. "I didn't know she was coming back. I don't want her to be here," Tamsin offered as some sort of reassurance.
"This I know." With anger and confusion boiling within her, Kenzi said, "I'm going to bed. We can talk tomorrow."
"Talking now is fine."
"No. Tomorrow sounds way more awesome."
Tamsin plopped the beer down on the island and replied, "Yeah. That's not happening. You're never this evasive. It's weird."
"Tamsin. No."
"Kenzi. No," the valkyrie snagged her girlfriend's wrist and held her still and insisted, "Tell me why you're mad. Get it out and we'll deal."
"You lied to me!" Kenzi finally exploded yanking her hand free. "I asked you a bagillion times if you knew where Bo was or what she was doing or who she was doing. You looked me right in the eye and did your stupid shrug and that so not cute face and said, 'I dunno'."
"We weren't dating then!" Tamsin threw back but immediately regretted it. "Shit. No. That's not right."
Struggling to not respond to the blonde's verbal misstep and quick realization with a smile, Kenzi said, "I'll skim past your very stupid assumption that honesty only has a home in dating situations. Why did you do it?"
Completely at a loss as to the "right" answer, the valkyrie stumbled, "I just. God. I didn't think you really wanted to know. Plus, I've always cared about you. I didn't wanna hurt you just to say, 'Hey, your ex-best friend is doing a lot of shitty things. Here are some details. Have a nice day'."
"That's not a good excuse."
"I'm being honest here. I don't see why that isn't an awesome reason."
Frustrated, Kenzi grumbled and answered, "Because I'm an adult and can handle my own shit."
"Fine!" The word sounded more abrasive than Tamsin intended. She tried again, "Okay. I made a crap decision. I'm sorry."
"Couch."
"What?" Tamsin blurted. "Why do I have to sleep on the couch?"
"You want me to not be mad at you?"
"Well, duh."
"Then couch."
Cocking an eyebrow, the blonde pointed out, "There's another bed down here if you're just trying to kick me out of our room."
"What kind of punishment is that?" Kenzi replied less irritated.
Close enough to tuck her fingers underneath the woman's shirt, latch onto the material and pull her close, Tamsin suggested, "I think you should reconsider this whole 'punishment' idea. Sounds lame."
Tugging at the valkyrie's hand, Kenzi noted, "You're avoiding."
"No, I think you were done."
With Tamsin's lips hovering a couple of inches above her own, Kenzi's tongue wet her lips as she relented, "Fine. I was." Before craning her head upward, she said seriously, "You can't lie to me."
"I really am sorry, Kenz."
The petite woman tangled her fingers in Tamsin's hair and pulled her mouth to hers. As they kissed, the valkyrie assured her girlfriend of her acknowledgment of her mistake and offered a promise of future transparency with each second that passed. Their tender kiss turned to one of need as Tamsin realized all of the secrets she'd buried concerning Bo. Her hands cradled Kenzi's face and she murmured with fervor, "I kinda like you."
Kenzi smiled and planted one last kiss and replied, "I love you too."
Smiling from ear to ear, Tamsin ran her hands down her girlfriend's arms. She pulled back, gave the loose top a tug and asked, "Isn't this my t-shirt?" Her eyes fell to the shifter's legs. "And my sweatpants?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that couples can share clothes?" The woman smiled and added, "It's supposed to cuddly and cute."
Tamsin snorted as returned to her abandoned beer and noted, "Well, I can't fit into any of your clothes because you're pint sized."
"Fun sized."
"Pint sized."
"Fun sized," Kenzi's bottom lip rolled out in a pout.
The blonde paused and then enunciated, "Pint. Sized."
Kenzi snatched the bottle away from her girlfriend, hopped onto the island and tucked the beer behind her back. Tamsin rushed in between the girl's legs and snaked her long arms behind the woman's back as she protested, "Kenz. I need my beer. Pleaseee."
Tamsin's fingers curled around the neck of the glass bottle, but Kenzi obstinately clung to the bottom. "Seriously, priorities," Kenzi said as she clamped her legs around the blonde. "You want this beer more than me?"
Finally jerking the beer from the shifter's grip, Tamsin guided the bottle to her lips and mumbled, "As I said before, I deserve this shit."
"You're such a dude, sometimes," Kenzi groaned.
"I resent that!" the blonde teased as she settled her free hand on Kenzi's right thigh. "Just let me drink this and I'm all yours."
The shifter cocked an eyebrow, "So beer first? One thing at a time?"
"Maybe two beers," Tamsin replied thoughtfully.
"Alright, fine," Kenzi grasped her girlfriend by the hips and spun her one hundred and eighty degrees. With her legs still tight around Tamsin's waist, the woman replied, "You don't get me while you have your beer."
"Kenz," Tamsin sighed with playful annoyance, "don't be a baby."
Kenzi's right hand pulled the hair on Tamsin's right shoulder toward her to expose the valkyrie's pale skin on her neck. As she teased two fingertips from the blonde's ear down to her shoulder, Kenzi whispered, "Just enjoy your beer." She felt Tamsin tremble at her words. With a sly smile, the shifter slid both hands around the top of the blonde's jeans and tucked both thumbs right above her zipper.
"Don't you dare," Tamsin warned. Determined to stick to her two beer plan, she took a swig of the hoppy liquid and plotted her escape for her second beer retrieval.
After placing two light kisses on the blonde's neck, Kenzi asked, "Still not interested?"
"This beer is pretty awesome," Tamsin insisted without missing a beat. Both women were stubborn and they'd just set into motion a game of chicken. Although the winner was obvious, the valkyrie loved being teased.
"Oh, is it?" the shifter nibbled on her neck and slithered her hands up Tamsin's shirt.
The blonde winced with pleasure into the bottle opening between her lips as her left hand flew to block her girlfriend's progress. "Let's say no hands," Tamsin offered. She'd like to hold out a little while longer, but with Kenzi's hands exploring her abdomen and chest, she wouldn't stand a chance.
Without protest, Kenzi's hands disappeared. Her teeth tugged at the blonde's right earlobe. As Tamsin shuddered at the sensation of teeth clamping down on the dangling flesh, the woman chuckled. She didn't need her hands. The shifter planted small kisses behind her ear and along her jaw line. As she approached her chin, Tamsin's head whipped to the right trying to catch Kenzi's lips between her own.
"No ma'am!" Kenzi's mouth darted back behind the blonde's head. "Finish your beer," she admonished. Smirking, the woman opted to go for the kill rather than tiptoe around her impending victory. Tamsin had especially sensitive ears and Kenzi played that to her advantage. "Hey Tams," the woman purred as she leaned toward her girlfriend, "I still need to think of a punishment for you."
As Kenzi's tongue traced the shell of her ear, Tamsin cleared her throat and commented, "I think this is an appropriate punishment." She smacked the glass bottle against her teeth as she hurriedly finished off the beer. When Kenzi's lips and tongue suddenly retreated, Tamsin snickered, "I didn't think you'd give up that easily."
"Who's given up?" Kenzi murmured in Tamsin's ear. With the tip of her tongue, she nicked the woman's tragus and then licked around the curves of her ear.
"Holy shit!" the blonde exclaimed. "I'm done with the beer," she whirled around with the intention of grabbing the girl by the back of the neck and yanking her mouth to hers. Instead, the bottle slipped from her fingers when she was greeted by Kenzi's bare chest. Neither of them paid attention to the breaking of glass.
As Kenzi leaned back and planted both palms behind her, she asked, "Did you want that second beer?"
Tamsin licked her lips and shook her head violently, "No, no. I want those."
