Author's Note: This is just a fun and slightly silly little doodle. Set after Ruth's return from exile when Ruth is living with Beth.
It wasn't like Ruth, Beth thought. In all honesty she was surprised, given the amount of tension between Ruth and Harry on the Grid and everything she'd heard about them. Then again, maybe that was precisely why she needed a bit of fun, although her flatmate might have warned her she was going out on the pull tonight and Beth would have made plans to be elsewhere.
But there was no mistaking it. The giggling on the landing. The fumbling of the key in the lock. The usual tipsy knocking over stuff in the hallway and muffled voices that were trying and failing to be quiet.
"Shhh!" Ruth hushed her lover who, by the sounds of things, was getting a bit handsy.
Beth turned over and threw one of the pillows over her head. When Ruth started getting a bit screechy, Beth picked up her ipod and put her headphones in, turning the volume up. Half an hour later when she tentatively took them out she was met with the rhythmic thumping of bedsprings along with primal grunting and moaning that Beth would be quite happy never to hear again.
At some point she must have drifted off, only to be woken before it was even light by the sound of Ruth and her beau having another quickie. Honestly, Ruth came across as so buttoned up sometimes she hadn't known Ruth had it in her. Quite how Beth would be able to look Harry in the eye at that morning's briefing after knowing what Ruth had been up to under his nose all night Beth had no idea, but there was no point going back to sleep now. She got up and went to the bathroom, using the toilet and having a quick shower and then decided to go to the kitchen to pop the kettle on to boil while she got dressed.
Having done nothing more than scrub her hair dry and then wrapped the towel around her body with the corner tucked in between her breasts, Beth padded barefoot across the hall to the kitchen where she opened the door and screamed loud enough to wake all the neighbours, leaping so far out of her skin that the towel fell apart and she had to snatch it to preserve some remnant of her dignity.
Standing in her kitchen in only a tight-fitting pair of trunks that left horrifyingly little to the imagination was her boss, Sir Harry Pearce, looking decided sweaty and post-coital.
Oh God, she'd just listened to her boss hump her flatmate all night! If the ground could just open up and swallow her whole right at this precise moment it would not be too soon. As it was, Beth slapped a hand over her eyes and peered out between the crack.
"Beth."
"Harry."
"I, er...I was looking for the tea."
"The tea?" Beth parroted.
"I said I'd make Ruth a cup of tea," He explained. The fact that Ruth liked a cup of tea to go with her morning sex was not something that Beth ever needed to know. Showing her boss where Ruth kept her tea so a sweaty, post-coital, knight of the Realm could make said cup of tea was even lower down the list, along with the fact that Harry was apparently very well hung. Well lucky for Ruth but Beth would never be able to look her boss in the eye ever again now she'd seen him nearly naked. The whole 'picture your audience naked' thing was supposed to be purely hypothetical.
"Cupboard over the sink," Beth informed him.
Harry found a mug and the tea and pulled some milk out of the fridge. "Would you like a cup?"
"Yes," Beth found herself saying and then regretted it when she realised she would have to continue standing in a wet towel in front of a nearly-nude Harry while he made her a cup of tea. Harry looked rather awkward. "I might just go and-" Beth indicated across the hall to her room.
"Of course. Look, Beth I'm, um, I'm sorry if last night, or indeed this morning, or at any point in between, if we kept you up at all I would like to apologise. I realise we were probably somewhat indiscreet and if at any point we were a bit..."
"Loud? Nope, didn't hear a thing," Beth insisted rather too earnestly at which point she turned around rapidly making her retreat as quickly as possible only to slam straight into the small, slim body of a female. Or more precisely, a female flatmate. Ruth stood in the doorway wearing nothing more than Harry's shirt and reached out to grasp Ruth's body to stop herself falling over, narrowly avoiding accidentally groping Ruth's breasts and as if the situation was not mortifying enough, judging from what Beth had felt when she'd slammed straight into her, Ruth was wearing nothing underneath. "Ruth. Harry. I'll just go and crawl under a rock. Excuse me."
"Oh dear..." Harry muttered, watching Beth go, but as soon as she was gone Ruth slid into his side and his arm went around her hand he forgot everything else. "What are you doing up?"
"You were taking too long," Ruth said and then leaned up for a kiss. She watched, quite happily clinging to Harry as he fixed three cups of tea. "Do you think we've scarred her for life?"
"Believe me, Ruth, the feeling's mutual. You're in the red mug," He said pointing at one of the two mugs now sitting by the kettle. "I'm just going to take Beth her tea. I think its the least I can do after scaring her half to death."
Ruth watched from the kitchen as Harry left it at the door of Beth's bedroom and tentatively knocked on the door. Harry was halfway back to the kitchen when the door opened a crack and a hand sneaked out to steal the steaming hot suger-laden offering.
Half an hour later, Beth emerged from her room dressed for the day, hair and make-up done, to find Harry and Ruth dawdling at the door like any other couple. Harry was insisting his tie wasn't quite right. Ruth was insisting Mike was outside and he was going to be late and he could fix it in the car.
"Beth," Harry said seeing her over Ruth's shoulder.
Ruth, when she turned around, was all but scarlet, looking very embarrassed at the whole situation. "Beth," She started.
"No apology necessary. I'm very happy for you both and hopefully none of us ever have to speak of it ever again."
Beth could have sworn she heard an, 'Oh thank God!' from Harry's direction muttered under the breath. The hasty agreement from Ruth only confirmed what Beth already suspected, that all three of them would rather forget the whole embarrassing episode.
"Erm," Harry glanced at his watch, "You're right, Ruth, I really must be going. Can I offer either of you a lift?"
"I'll get the bus."
"I'll get the tube."
Ruth and Beth both answered over each other.
"Suit yourselves," Harry shrugged but at once bent towards Ruth and shared a peck on the cheek. It was the briefest of kisses but the way Harry's hand rested on top of Ruth's arm and the way Ruth's hand brushed Harry's chest spoke of a very loving sort of intimacy that made Beth feel once more like the third wheel of the party. "I'll see you on the Grid," Harry asked Ruth hopefully.
Ruth sent him a small, slightly embarrassed smile. Harry's smile back was doting and besotted and he left to go down the stairs to the front door while whistling happily to himself.
Beth and Ruth looked at each other, the most slighting of glances before Ruth said, 'Bus' and Beth said 'Tube' and they both left the flat at the same time, locking it behind them and walking in opposite directions for their chosen commute to work.