Barbells and Badges [Blindspot AU - Jane/Kurt]
Chapter 1 - Black and White ||Sarah starts a new class at the gym, Kurt teeters on the edge at work and Jane has to put up with her best friends and their endless teasing.
Sarah Weller drank the last of her coffee and tossed the paper cup into the trash bin a few steps away from her on the sidewalk. She crossed her arms over her chest and hopped in place, trying to get the blood circulating and generating some heat. But early January mornings in New York showed no mercy to anyone, especially not to those dressed in workout attire and standing out on the street.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" That was her friend, Steph, who at that moment was kneeling next to her tying her shoelaces.
"Because it was our New Year's resolution," Emily, Sarah's other friend, replied as she leaned against the side of the building.
The building in question housed the gym where they were technically supposed to be. But instead of going inside, once they arrived, they were told by a very very good looking guy— the kind of good looking that warranted unabashed staring for hours— that instead of starting their class in the gym, their instructor had requested that they wait for her outside and that they will be starting with a run through a few blocks first.
"Also because after what happened to Nathalie, we agreed we will all be doing this," Sarah reminded them.
That was the main reason they were all there, in this unforgiving weather, and so unbearably early i the morning. A few weeks before, a coworker of theirs at the hospital, Nathalie, had been attacked and mugged and barely escaped anything more brutal. Fortunately for Nathalie, she'd been a wrestling champion as a teenager and managed to get away. But the incident had really affected Sarah and her friends and prompted them to decide to take up a self defense class, hoping they would never find themselves in such a situation, but if they did, they wanted to be ready.
When Sarah had told her brother, Kurt, about their decision he had welcomed it, encouraging her to do so. But then again, as an FBI agent who saw the worst of what their city had to offer on a daily basis, he'd been encouraging her to do so for years.
"But why do we have t logo for a run?" Steph complained as she got up, "I thought the point of this class is to learn to beat the crap out of whatever creep tries to attack us."
"Because, if you're able to outrun the creep, that is always a better option than to engage in hand to hand combat with him," answered the woman who was stepping out of the gym as Steph asked her question. And they all fell dead silent when she did— Sarah, her girlfriends and the seven other women who had been waiting by the side of the road.
Their trainer— who most online reviews had described as the best in New York but absolutely merciless— was tall, gorgeous and had legs for days. Her outfit was a simple black tank top and a black pair of running shorts that showed off her perfectly toned, muscular body. Her short black hair was kept off her face by a black sports band and her face was beautifully clear, high defined cheekbones and big bright green eyes.
Oh, and she was an ex-Navy Seal— at least according to a few of those online reviews.
As the women continued to stare speechless at her, their trainer cracked a small smile and looked around. "I'm Jane," she said, "I believe you've already met my brother and business partner, Roman. We run this gym."
She pointed at the sign above her, the light on most of the letters flickering and in desperate need of a renovation. Phase Two Gym - Brooklyn - Since 1967. It was obvious Jane and her very very handsome brother had not started the gym, but for whatever reasons, they were running it now.
"Sorry, to have kept you waiting," Jane said, "but since we're all here now, let's get going."
Without waiting for their reactions, Jane nodded and started off in a slow jog, and a moment later, the women behind started shuffling their feet as they tried to keep up with her.
Kurt Weller tried to remain as calm as possible while the agent across from him explained the latest obstacle they'd hit in their investigation, but that didn't last long. Just as the other man began to explain how long it would take them to fix the problem, Kurt Weller lost it.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Rich?" He snapped at him, "is this a game to you? Because the lives of five women is on the lin here and—"
"It's not a game," Rich Dotcom— long story behind that name— replied, "I'm just telling you what happened and—"
"I don't care," Weller said, "you get this fixed within the hour or I'm getting someone on this case who actually knows what they're doing!"
"Weller, maybe we should—" the other man in the room, Edgar Reade, one of the agents working under Kurt on the case and one of his very few friends, tried to calm him.
"What we should be doing is saving these women," Kurt turned to him angrily, "not getting in over our heads because some teenager put up a firewall that Rich here can't crack."
Weller did not wait for a reply from either man, instead, he just stormed out of the lab hoping that the other team he had working on another set of evidence had some better news for him. But before he could catch up with Agent Rose and Agent Sloane, Bethany Mayfair, assistant director of the New York office of the FBI and his direct superior, ambushed him as he walked into SIOC.
"Weller, my office, now," she ordered him— the woman was small in stature but mighty in status and commanded the office with an iron fist.
"I just need to—"
"My office," she repeated sternly, walking past him towards her office, "now."
Weller knew not to argue with her, not when she was in such a mood, or ever really. So Weller just sighed and followed her closely.
"Do you need some time off?" Mayfair said as he closed the door, not wasting anytime in cutting to the chase.
"No why would I—"
"Didn't you just lose your shit on Rich and his team?" Mayfair added as she sat down at her desk.
"I didn't lose my shit," Kurt tried to defend himself, "but we're letting this case slip through our fingers—"
"This isn't about this case and we both know it," Mayfair said, her voice calm and considerate. She gestured for Kurt to take a seat, and after a defiant moment, he did.
"I'm fine," he said.
"It's ok not to be," she told him.
Kurt studied her for a moment and then nodded.
"Do you need to take some time off?" She asked him gently.
Kurt shook her head. "No," he said, "I'm better when I'm here, when I'm working. If I take some time off, I'll just… it'll all just keep coming back to me and I—"
"You can talk to someone," Mayfair said and rolled her eyes at the face he made, "doesn't have to be a shrink. You can talk to your sister, to me, to a friend… a girlfriend?"
At that last one, Kurt chuckled and dropped his head back. "Yeah, I absolutely have one of those," he said.
"Seriously though, Kurt, talk to someone. If Sarah's too close to it all, then you know, my door is always open," Mayfair said and Kurt nodded appreciatively.
"Now go back to work," she ordered with a smile and Kurt got up.
"Yes ma'am," he said as he headed towards the door.
Back across town, Sarah dropped down on top of the floor mat at the gym. Their two hour class was finally over and she was well beyond exhausted. She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She had not had such a work out in a very long time and was already feeling the effect of it all on every muscle in her body. When she and her friends had picked this specific class after extensive research it had been because every review had rated it so well while commenting that the trainer and the work out itself were relentless.
Only sign up for this class if you're willing to suffer, one reviewer had said.
I felt like crying that first day but it was the best decision I have ever made, said another.
Of course the mention of the very good looking owner had persuaded them slightly. To be honest, had it not for the excellent reviews of the class and the trainer, Sarah and her friends would have never in a million years considered this gym. When she'd told Kurt about it, he'd almost had a heart attack.
"That's one of the worst neighborhood in all of New York!" Kurt had said, "the crime rate in that neighborhood is insanely high. You cannot be serious about this, Sarah!"
But she'd ignored his concerns, as she had most of her life— he was the world's most overprotective brother after all— and signed up for the class. Fortunately her class was bright and early in the morning, and most crimes happened later during the day, or at least that was the excuse she and her friends had used to persuade them to finally sign up.
Sarah finally her heart beat return to a normal rate and she opened her eyes and pushed herself up just in time to catch Jane before she left.
"Great first session, ladies," Jane said, "I know it was a tough one but you all did great. And I hope to see you all on Friday."
And with that, she left the room. The ladies chatted for a while, mainly talking about how insane that workout was and how crazy fit their trainer is, before they each left for the lockers and showers.
As Sarah, Steph and Emily walked towards the showers, they saw Jane and her brother across the open space of the gym. They were at the horizontal bars engaged in what looked like a pull-up challenge. Roman said something that made Jane kick his leg as she pulled herself up and then laugh when he said something else.
"Oh, wow, she laughs," Steph said sarcastically.
"I was honestly half convinced she's some sort of fitness cyborg," Emily laughed.
"Come on, you guys, that's mean," Sarah said.
"What? You're telling me you've ever met a woman like her before?" Steph replied, "she's terrifying. I'm pretty sure she did not even break a sweat in that work out. And now she's doing pull ups with that god-like creature like it's nothing."
"Well if the rumors are true and she in indeed a Navy Seal then it's just part of her training," Sarah said.
"And what about the whole… no emotions thing?" Emily argued, "how do you explain that?"
"You're only known her for two hours!" Sarah replied, "You cannot judge a person by that! Come on, let's take a shower and go to work."
Kurt walked into Rich's lab with a fresh cup of coffee and a paper bag. "Coffee, extra cream, extra vanilla, two sugars and a sprinkle of cocoa powder," Kurt said as he placed the cup down, "and a chocolate stuffed, chocolate glazed donut."
"What's that?" Rich pouted as he eyed the paper bag and the cup.
"A peace offering," Kurt replied, "I was a jerk earlier and this is—"
"Oh my God, is this a Kurt Weller apology?" Rich's eyes widened and he received an eyeball in return.
"Do you accept it?" Kurt said.
"I'm… I'm just… I'm speechless!" Rich said dramatically.
"Ok, ok, settle down, Rich," Kurt replied, "where are we with the laptop?"
"Straight back to business," Rich said as he took a sip of the drink, "that's why I love you. There's no nonsense with you. So focused all the time. So on top of things. No wonder you're the MVP of this franchise."
"Rich, focus," Weller sighed.
"I'm focused, I'm focused," Rich said, "I'm just saying, I'm always in awe of how in control you are of everything. I wanna be you when I grow up. If only I can—"
"Rich! The laptop?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Rich mumbled, putting the cup down and turning towards his screens.
"So are you seeing anyone these days, boss?"
"Rich, I swear to God—"
"Sorry, sorry, just thought a little small talk while I loaded the—"
"No, small talk," Weller hissed at him, "only shop talk."
Twenty minutes later, Jane was sitting in the boxing ring, stretching in preparation for her next class when the voices of her two favorite people in the world— besides her brother— came ringing through the still relatively empty gym.
"You missed breakfast," Tasha said.
"But don't worry, we got you covered," added Patterson.
Tasha and Patterson were Jane's best friends in the world— or only friends— and her roommates. Even though the three of them came from completely different worlds, they had somehow found each other along the way and forged an unbreakable friendship. They both worked downtown and as they each ran their own company, they had a relatively later start to the day. While Jane left the house daily at 5am, they had the luxury to sleep in longer and not head out until 8am.
"Blueberry bagel and cream cheese," Tasha said as the two women passed through the ropes and dropped a small paper bag next to Jane, "and a black coffee."
"Thanks guys," Jane said with a genuine smile.
Tasha and Patterson sat down on the ground with Jane as she pulled out the contents of the bag.
"So, have you make anyone cry today?" Patterson asked with a smirk.
"Not yet," Jane replied taking a bite from the bagel.
"Well don't feel bad, it's still quite early," Tasha comforted with a chuckle.
"You had your new class today, right?" Patterson asked.
"Yup," Jane said.
"How did it go?"
"Not too bad," Jane said, watching as some of the women from her class made their way towards the exit from the showers.
"Any hot guys?" Patterson wiggled her eyebrows playfully.
"Nope, eight lovely ladies," Jane admitted.
"Dammit," Patterson sighed.
"We really need to get more men to sign up for your classes," Tasha said, "there's no other way for you to meet guys since you refuse to go out and you work twenty four hours a day. Your single-ness is becoming borderline pathetic."
"Nothing borderline about it," Patterson added, "it's just sad at this point."
Jane sighed. This was a conversation they had been having on almost a daily basis now. She knew her friends meant well but she was really uncomfortable talking about it. She honestly was not ready to start dating again. Her previous relationship had hurt her badly and she was happy being on her own for now.
"Guys seriously, I'm not ready to start dating again," Jane said.
"Yes, you are. We know you better than you know yourself and we say you are ready," Tasha said.
Jane shook her head and took another bite. "Thanks for the breakfast," she said as she got up, "but I really need to prepare for my next class. I'll see you guys at lunch, ok?"
Sarah was waiting for Steph and Emily by the treadmills after she'd finished her shower. And she had not meant to eavesdrop, but the gym was relatively empty and the two women who had come to see Jane hadn't kept their voices down exactly.
"Ready to go?" Steph said as she and Emily walked up to Sarah.
The three women were dressed and ready for work. "Yup," Sarah said, "let's go."
She waited until they were outside the gym and across the street before she said what was on her mind.
"So, she's single," she said.
"Who is?" Emily asked.
"Jane, the trainer," Sarah explained.
"So?" Steph wondered, "was that something we were wondering about?"
"No, no, it's not," Sarah said, "but I just accidentally overheard her talking with her friends and apparently she'd single."
"And why should this matter to us?" Emily asked.
"It shouldn't… well, not technically," Sarah said, "but you know who else is single?"
"Half the women in the city? Me? Em? Most of the women we work with?" Steph laughed.
"True," Sarah said, "but I was talking about my brother."
"Kurt?"
"Yes, Kurt. How many brothers do you think I have?" Sarah laughed.
"You want to set Kurt up with Jane?" Emily asked.
"Yes," Sarah replied, "think about it! They would be perfect for each other!"
"She does have a point," Steph said, "they're both extremely hot and more cyborg than human."
"Hey! That's my brother you're talking about," Sarah replied.
"And you're the one who calls him RoboCop," Emily said.
"Only when I'm pissed at him or when he does something stupid," Sarah said, "which is most of the time. But seriously now, I really think they'd be perfect for each other."
"Is your brother looking to date anyone right now?" Emily asked.
"No," Sarah admitted, "but that's not an issue… one way or another, I'm gonna set those two up."
AN: So… that's technically my first attempt at anything so AU and that would be considered romcom-ish. What do you guys think? Should I take this further? And for the record, Sarah's friends won't be so prominent, but they are in this first chapter to get things going. Everyone else of our beloved characters is a far bigger player and they'll have their own storyline as well in this fic... if you guys want me to continue.