Maybe, Yes, A Little

by lipstickdisaster

The only puzzle Detective Gabriella Montez hasn't solved is how she feels about Troy Bolton. Or, someone prompted me to write Troy and Gabriella as Jake and Amy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and they unleashed a beast.

A/N: I just realized I've never posted this to fanfiction net, even though I've published this since on AO3 over a year ago. Since it's one of my favourite fics I've ever written, I figured I'd post it here as well, even if it's way too late!

The summary pretty much says it all; I was sent this prompt over two years ago by a lovely Tumblr anon and I liked the one scene I'd written so much that I decided to continue. As you can see, it got out of hand and I didn't really know where I should have cut it off to make it multi-chapter, so it will remain an entirely too long one-shot.

Also, it's actually not a lot like B99 at all; I took several liberties to accommodate it to the HSM characters and to make it original, but it is chockful of B99 references and does globally follow a lot of Jake and Amy's storyline up to when they get together. You don't need to have watched B99 to understand the story, though, but I do recommend watching it, because I think it will definitely add something if you get the references and B99 is just very, very great and I love Amy Santiago with my whole heart.

Please enjoy and leave a comment if you can! Also, please find me on Tumblr at bisexualsharpay (my HSM sideblog; I would love to discuss this fic and HSM in general there as well!) and gabriellabolton (my main blog).

---

"So, where should we go on our date?"

"Huh?"

Gabriella looked up from her case file to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at her with mirth. As she blinked in confusion, her co-worker's mouth curled up into a satisfied smirk as he gestured behind him.

"Scoreboard."

Gabriella grimaced as she took a look at the whiteboard he was pointing at.

Bolton – 59. Montez – 52.

She didn't even know how she got roped into doing this bet, but at this point, she didn't really want to lose. It had all started when Danforth had been enthusiastically (but slightly creepily) boasting about how great a detective Bolton was. McKessie – bless her heart… or not – had disagreed profusely, believing that Gabriella was clearly the best detective in the precinct, nay, the entire NYPD. Somehow, their argument had ended in Gabriella and Bolton agreeing to a year-long bet. Whoever would make the most arrests in a year, would win. If Bolton won, they would go on a date, and if Gabriella won, she would get his pick-up truck.

The pick-up truck wasn't that great. It was old and broke down often – Bolton claimed he once went on a road trip from his hometown Albuquerque to California in it, though, but Gabriella didn't believe him –, but on the other hand, anything was better than public transport.

However, the final month of the bet was approaching and at the moment, she was losing, so she wouldn't get the truck anyway. But a date with Bolton was much worse.

Not that she hated Bolton, though. She just couldn't figure him out. When around Danforth, Baylor and Cross, Bolton was always loud and cocky. However, he was always sweet to her despite his constant teasing. He even often told her about his problems with his father, sharing details he claimed Danforth, his best friend, didn't even know about.

Despite the cockiness and the teasing, he wasn't all that bad, really. Besides, Captain Darbus seemed to have taken a liking to him and he was close friends with Kelsi Nielsen, the mousy, shy civil administrator, so there must have been something about him and Gabriella was curious what it was.

That absolutely did not mean she wanted to go on a date with him, though.

"So?"

Gabriella blinked twice as she was snapped from her thoughts, feeling slightly embarrassed as she realized Bolton had been speaking to her and that some of the other detectives were now paying attention to their conversation as well.

"Sorry, I zoned out," she admitted sheepishly, "What were you saying?"

Bolton merely chuckled.

"You're cute," he said with a fond, amused grin and she had a sudden urge to strangle him. "I was asking you if you wanted to go to karaoke night at Shaw's for our date or to Bouche Manger."

"Oh, Bouche Manger! Small plates, casual chic ambience and no free soda refills. That's a good place for a date!" Baylor, ever the foodie, interjected, his eyes shifting unsubtly to Sharpay Evans, who was sitting on top of his desk, smirking at Gabriella.

Sharpay Evans was the daughter of Vance Evans, the Police Commissioner. She was an aspiring Broadway actress, although rumour had it that Broadway producers tended to be more interested in her dog Boi than in her. Her constant presence at the precinct was confusing, because she had no business there and while Sharpay was always around, her twin brother Ryan stayed as far away from NYPD business as possible – Danforth had actually once started a rumour that Ryan didn't even exist because Sharpay had eaten him in the womb, which neither the Commissioner nor Sharpay had appreciated much.

Gabriella suspected Sharpay was always at the precinct because she had a crush on Officer Leverett – she asked about him a little too often – but if that were the case, Gabriella felt bad for Baylor, whose blind adoration Sharpay definitely seemed to use to her advantage.

Either way, Gabriella wasn't entirely sure why Sharpay was always around, but she was certain that the blonde's current smirk meant that she was up to no good.

Shooting Sharpay a quick glare, Gabriella focused her attention back on Bolton, who was now leaning on her desk and almost hovering over her, giving her a seductive smile.

"Well, Montez deserves the best for our first date," he said, his voice low and husky and his grin wide. The sound of his voice sent a chill down her spine, which she chose to ignore.

Was he flirting with her? And was she enjoying it?

Before she could reply, though, she was saved by the bell as McKessie entered the bullpen after a coffee run.

"Ha!" McKessie cried as she all but pushed Bolton away – Gabriella quite enjoyed the yelp he let out in response – and put Gabriella's order on the desk. "She's not going on a date with you, lunkhead. She's going to win this bet."

"Really?" Danforth, who had been uncharacteristically quiet until now, bellowed from his desk, "Because the way I see it, Troy is winning."

Gabriella was pretty sure she saw McKessie's nostrils flare up as she marched over to Danforth's desk and slammed down his cup. "Montez can't help it if Darbus gave her the biggest case the precinct has seen in years. The way I see it, the fact that she's even on this case proves that she's the more competent detective!"

Danforth just smiled and held up three fingers. "Three things, McKessie. One, the bet is about the combined total of arrests, not about the quality of the cases. Two, Troy is on this case, too. Three, she could have just not taken the case."

McKessie looked so angry that Gabriella was slightly scared she was about to lunge at Danforth.

"This is a major step in her career, she's not going to give it up for a juvenile bet. Besides, Troy's her secondary, which, in my humble opinion, says more than enough. Either way, there's forty-seven days left of this bet, which means anything can happen. Or did you forget how to measure time?"

"From what I could tell, you were a willing participant in this juvenile bet. And Montez is still losing, so I'm actually not sure whether you can count."

Everyone was now watching the quarrel between the two detectives, one of them increasingly angry and the other increasingly amused. However, it was quickly over when the captain barged out of her office to bark out an order to be quiet and get back to work.

The looks of horror on both Danforth and McKessie's faces were priceless.

Bolton, who was still standing by Gabriella's desk, rubbed his neck awkwardly as they locked eyes. She thought she saw something apologetic pass through his eyes, but it was gone after a second, his uneasy expression replaced with the usual arrogant smirk as he patted her on the shoulder, his large hand warm and calloused.

"Well, let me know where you want to go, Brie," he said, drawing out the nickname and adding a flirty wink as emphasis, before going over to Baylor's desk to help the other detective with work.

She let out a sigh as she returned to her own case file. She hated that nickname – Danforth had come up with it after learning Darbus's dog was named after the cheese –, but something about the way Bolton said it was actually quite nice.

Which brought her thoughts back to another problem – why didn't she really mind it that much that he was flirting with her?

You know why, a voice that sounded a lot like Sharpay nagged inside her head.

Great, now Sharpay Evans was her subconscious.

"So, when are you two going to bone?"

That was definitely not inside her head.

"Excuse me?"

Sharpay had now moved to Bolton's desk, which was opposite Gabriella's, and was filing her nails, the scary, slightly crazy smirk still on her face.

"You and Bolton," she simply stated, "Your sexual tension is getting annoying."

Gabriella closed her file with a frown, simultaneously annoyed by the continuous interruptions and confused and offended by Sharpay's words.

"Sharpay, that's never going to happen."

Sharpay's attention shifted from her nails to Gabriella. She stared Gabriella down with narrowed, cat-like eyes and Gabriella felt mildly jeopardized by the woman's intense gaze.

"Are you sure you've never thought about having sex with Bolton?" Sharpay asked slowly, and Gabriella winced at the pitch of the blonde's insinuating voice, which reminded her a little too much of Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia.

"Not so loud," she hissed, "And no, never."

It was the truth. Sure, Bolton was objectively attractive. With floppy brown hair falling into his bright blue eyes, a light stubble decorating his defined jaw and a lop-sided smile ever present on his face, he set many hearts aflutter and made many people – men, women, cops, criminals, witnesses, victims – feel weak in the knees. She had watched it happen many times during the five years they had been working together and she would be a fool not to acknowledge his natural charm. However, that did not mean that she was attracted to him or that there was sexual tension between them.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Don't think I didn't catch you blush when he touched your shoulder just now."

"I did not blush!" Gabriella exclaimed undignified, cursing herself inwardly as she felt blood rush to her face.

Sharpay sighed exasperatedly, murmured something about clueless idiots under her breath and threw her arms up in the air dramatically, but before she could say anything, McKessie popped up next to Gabriella and intervened.

"Leave her alone, Sharpay," she stated calmly, "Nothing is going on between her and Bolton. She deserves better, anyway."

Gabriella had never felt as grateful for McKessie as she did in this moment.

Sharpay tutted condescendingly, her nail file now replaced with her smartphone. "Someone hasn't been paying attention to Bolton and Montez's body language and the way they look at each other. They're like a freaking porn movie half the time. What do you do here, McKessie?"

"Work," McKessie deadpanned, "And you're crazy."

Gabriella nodded fervently in agreement, quickly glancing around her to see if they'd attracted attention, which they fortunately hadn't, while Sharpay shrugged in response as she refocused her attention on Gabriella. "I don't see the big problem here. You're hot. He's hot. Just go to the evidence locker and fuck him. That's what I would do if I were in your position."

Sharpay gasped suddenly, quickly glancing at Gabriella before putting her hand over her chest dramatically. "Actually, I'd fuck you both."

Gabriella choked on her coffee and McKessie rolled her eyes as she patted her friend's back, opening her mouth to retort when Gabriella put up a finger to stop her, trying to regain her composure.

"Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I'm not going to have casual sex with my co-worker. And I prefer relationships over casual sex, anyway," she replied meekly, feeling increasingly flustered due to this situation.

"And Bolton and his buddies are definitely not capable of relationships. They're too immature," McKessie added, grimacing as she looked over to Danforth, who was eating gummy bears in a fruit roll-up.

Sharpay shook her head and pursed her lips, eyes still trained on her phone. "You underestimate him, McKessie. Plus, judging from the way he constantly stares at you like a lost puppy, I'd say he's in love with you, Montez."

He stared at her?

Not being able to help herself, Gabriella glanced over to where Bolton and Baylor were working, only for her brown eyes to come into contact with Bolton's blue ones, his gaze curious and a little sad. Bolton blinked in shock at being caught and quickly averted his eyes and Gabriella did the same, shyly tucking a dark curl behind her ear as she gazed down at her desk, ignoring Sharpay's knowing smirk.

McKessie, who had definitely not caught Gabriella like Sharpay did, chuckled, "He's really not."

"Actually, she is right," Kelsi piped up, earning a glare from McKessie, a frown from Gabriella and a satisfied nod from Sharpay.

"I've known Troy for forever," Kelsi continued, cocking her head – she spoke the truth; Bolton and Kelsi had been friends for fifteen years and he had gotten her a job at the precinct. "And I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you, Gabriella."

Gabriella bit her lip uneasily, resisting the urge to turn around to Bolton again, and shook her head after a moment. "No. He's just my colleague."

Sharpay groaned in frustration. "God, you two are stubborn."

Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows. Had Sharpay talked to Bolton about this?

Before she could inquire further, Sharpay stretched out, releasing an annoyed whine. "Whatever, I'm bored. Do you know when Peyton's returning from patrol?"

And that was the end of that conversation. Relieved, Gabriella let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

Still, she couldn't resist and turned around to Bolton again and surely, he was staring at her. This time, he nodded at her politely, a ghost of a smile on his face, and scratched his neck as he broke eye contact. After a few seconds, though, his gaze shifted to her again and he bit his lip and winked, before being elbowed by Baylor and refocusing his attention on the computer screen before him, a sly grin slowly growing on his face.

With a small chuckle, she opened the closed file on her desk and finally got back to work, ignoring her own grin and the hotness in her cheeks.

---

The Academy had prepared Gabriella for a lot of things. It had prepared her for the nitty and gritty of police work, for the fights and the chases, for the kicks and the punches.

However, the Academy had not prepared her for having a partner who liked to climb trees.

"Why do I always end up sitting in trees with you?" Gabriella grumbled as she pulled a leaf out of her hair. Bolton ignored her complaints, staying quiet as he pulled a small package from the pocket of his leather jacket, handing it out to her.

"Peanut?"

Gabriella just stared at him incredulously.

"Are you being serious right now?"

Bolton merely shrugged as he pulled the package away from her and popped a few nuts into his mouth. "You know I get snacky."

Gabriella could see the logic in that. She rolled her eyes to signal that she still thought he was ridiculous, but reached over to snag a few peanuts for herself anyway. Bolton, however, pulled the packet away as she reached for it, holding up a finger and wiggling it in her face.

"Nope, no peanuts for you, Montez. You've had your chance," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners with self-satisfaction and his grin reaching from ear to ear. Gabriella glared at him and huffed, before trying to reach to where he was holding the package away from her.

"Come on, Bolton, don't be a dick," she snapped as he tried to hold the package even further away from her, snickering softly as she failed to reach for it.

However, his laughter faded quickly as Gabriella lost her balance, almost toppling out of the tree before Bolton grabbed her arm tightly to hold her in place.

"Wow, be careful," Bolton said, his voice soft yet tinged with fear and concern as his wide eyes watched her. Gabriella silently cursed Sharpay as a spark shot up her arm, which Bolton was still holding, and a blush rose to her cheeks under his caring gaze. Gabriella hadn't been able to shake the blonde diva's words about Bolton's supposed feelings for her; ever since Sharpay had confronted her that day at the precinct, every interaction she had with Bolton, every shared glance, every touch, every word, seemed to hold new meaning and Gabriella was starting to believe that there was some truth to Bolton having feelings for her.

She just wasn't sure what her own feelings entailed.

Realizing that they had been staring at each other for too long, Gabriella quickly averted her gaze and pulled her arm away from his tight, warm grip, running a hand through her hair bashfully as she looked out to the empty warehouse they were supposed to keep surveillance of, Bolton letting out a sigh beside her.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them, both of them attempting to keep their attention on the warehouse instead of on each other until Bolton playfully nudged her with his elbow.

"We wouldn't want your clumsiness to arouse suspicion," he teased her, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and even though she might have found him attractive in general, she was not amused.

"Yes, because there's nothing weird about two people sitting in a tree in the middle of the night in Brooklyn," she shot back with an eye roll, before curiously inquiring, "But seriously, what is it with you and trees?"

Bolton looked at her for a second, a rare trace of vulnerability in his gaze, before looking back at the view before them, smiling wistfully.

"I guess I can see things clearly from up here."

Gabriella could sense there was more to it, but she decided not to pry and let him tell the story on his own account if he pleased.

He did.

"When I was younger, my dad and I built a treehouse in our backyard," he told her after a minute, his voice soft and sad. "I always went up there to clear my mind when things get tough."

"I fell from the tree once," he continued, holding out his hand for her to inspect the scar on his wrist. "I broke my wrist. My dad was there when it happened. He was so worried."

This broke Gabriella's heart a little. Bolton had told her about his father many times before. The two of them had been two peas in a pod when Bolton was a kid, but as Bolton got older, his father become stricter and started putting more pressure on him. At eighteen, Bolton had had enough and decided to go to college in New York instead of at the University of Albuquerque like he had agreed upon with his parents. While Bolton was still close with his mother – he often joked that he was a total mama's boy –, his father had broken off all contact.

Not knowing what to say to make him feel better, Gabriella nudged him like he did to her earlier. "I thought you broke your wrist petting a horse too hard."

Troy threw his head back and let out a quiet infectious laugh and Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"You're so funny, Montez," he said, sticking out his tongue and she let out a giggle before returning her attention to the warehouse. She could feel Bolton still watching her, but she chose to ignore it.

"You don't have to go on a date with me," he suddenly spoke up. Gabriella shot him a confused look and he shrugged as he explained, "For the bet, I mean. Neither of us wanted to do this bet in the first place and I don't want you to feel like you owe me something. We could just pretend we went, but actually not go."

She would be lying if she didn't find it slightly touching that he put her comfort before his desire to win and she felt a warmth course through her veins that she found he often caused lately. However, she still shook her head firmly to decline. Despite her appreciation, a bet was a bet and she didn't want him to let her win, no matter whether he let her win the actual bet or he didn't collect his winnings. However, she wasn't going to admit that she was also a little curious about the possibility of going on a date with him.

"First of all, I doubt Danforth and McKessie would buy it. Second of all, what makes you think you're going to win?"

Bolton chuckled. "Come on, Montez, you know I'm going to win. You're too far behind."

He just gave her a pointed look and she rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit that he was right. She hadn't been able to close the gap between them in the past two weeks and things weren't looking good for her, which Danforth was euphoric about, while McKessie was annoyed to no end. She had been nagging Gabriella so much that she had almost given up just to spite her friend, but she also didn't want to hand Bolton the victory on a silver platter.

"Don't get too confident, Bolton. I might just catch up with you after all," she replied with an amused hum.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Bolton answered truthfully after a moment of silence, the teasing gone from his voice, replaced with earnestness. "You're the best detective I know."

The look he gave her as he told her this shook her. His eyes were bright, sincere, full of admiration, and under any other circumstances, she would gloat about the compliment, but right now, she felt bashful and uncertain how to react.

"You're not a bad detective either," she replied quietly after a moment, her words carrying the same honesty and appreciation as his and she hoped that her eyes conveyed the sentiment, too. She glanced at the warehouse quickly to make sure that nothing was happening and then turned her attention back to Bolton.

"Why did we agree to this bet?" she sighed exasperatedly, "It's so… stupid."

Bolton laughed and nodded. "It is. But we also deserve to have some shameless, stupid fun sometimes, especially considering how gruesome our job is."

He paused, appearing in thought, and Gabriella had an urge to interject and comment on how not fun the bet had been, but she knew that it was a lie. She enjoyed the challenge way too much and she had to admit it had been fun to compete with Bolton, even if she was losing badly.

Bolton narrowed his eyes at her slightly, appearing as if he was trying to figure something out, and rubbed his neck.

"Also...," he started, his voice soft and slightly nervous, but he couldn't finish his sentence, for Gabriella saw something move out of the corner of her eye.

"Shit, they're moving!" she exclaimed, pointing to the warehouse, where two trucks were leaving. The moment ruined, both of them immediately sprang to attention and moved to climb down the tree.

While climbing down the tree, they locked eyes and even though she knew that it didn't matter at the moment, Gabriella couldn't help but ask, "What were you going to say?"

"It's nothing," Bolton replied nonchalantly, offering her a reassuring smile, but she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes.

And while it only lasted a second, Gabriella had a hunch that she would not stop wondering about that look for a while.

---

She had lost the bet.

While she had done everything in her might this past week to catch up with Bolton, the Matsui case had led to a disadvantage that she couldn't make up for.

She glanced at her watch grimly, noting that there was one hour left until the bet officially ended and she was still down five perps. The only way she'd still win the bet is if a miracle happened, and Gabriella might have believed in those when she was a teenager, but she didn't anymore. She was not a teenager. She was a detective in the NYPD.

The second best in her precinct, a voice nagged in her head.

If she had to be honest, there was a slight chance that she could have won the bet if she'd put more effort into catching up with him sooner, but after that night in the tree, something had changed. The discomfort that Sharpay had instilled in her had only grown since then, as had her attraction to Bolton's idiotic face, but there was another layer – something new, something different.

Her hunch had been right. She had been wondering about that look that he had given her. And she was... curious. About what would happen if they did go on that date, about how it would be to be in a relationship with Troy Bolton.

She would never actually engage in a romantic relationship with him – she shuddered at the very thought of having to involve Fulton from HR in her dating life –, but she just couldn't help but wonder and the idea of coming home to Bolton after a long, hard day at work honestly wasn't so bad.

God, she was even thinking about living with him now.

Sometimes, she just wanted to slam her head against her desk and throw a hissy fit Sharpay Evans would be envious of and go home to write herself an eight-page essay, double-sided and single-spaced, about why she should not have a crush on Troy Bolton and scream into her pillow and just have some peace to sort her thoughts out and–

"Wow, this really is so cool. I've never been in a police car before!"

The talkative perp in the back of her car was not helping.

"It's not something to be proud of," Gabriella replied wryly, offering him a chuckle which displayed a mixture of irritation and amusement as she glanced back at him in the mirror. His eyes were wandering around the car in excitement, his tongue almost sticking out like a dog, and if he wasn't so annoying, she would have found his behaviour oddly endearing.

"Well, unless you're a cop," he replied with a shrug, before wiggling his eyebrows at her and continuing in a seductive fashion, "I wouldn't mind being a cop if I got to hang out with women like you."

"Shut up, Jimmie."

Jimmie pouted at her rejection, before exasperatedly bursting out, "I told you to call me Rocketman!"

"Jimmie," she repeated loudly in a stern voice, raising an eyebrow as she kept staring at the road ahead, wishing that McKessie was with her. She always knew what to do with creepy perps like this one.

She smirked as Jimmie sighed in defeat, but the smirk was quickly wiped off of her face as she remembered the bet and that they were not far away from the precinct now.

Her confusing feelings for Bolton aside, Danforth had apparently been planning a surprise for her to commemorate the bet's end and Bolton's victory. Baylor had already warned her this morning and she was absolutely dreading the humiliation that was surely to come.

And the date. Oh god, she was going to go on a date with Bolton. This was really happening.

She let out a deep sigh when the precinct came in sight. Let's get this over with.

---

Danforth's surprise was worse than she could have ever imagined.

The entire precinct was filled with pictures of Bolton and heart-shaped balloons. Danforth was standing off to the side as Gabriella and Jimmie entered the bullpen from the elevator and he immediately jumped in front of them, smirking at them evilly.

"Ah, there you are!" he exclaimed, before snapping his fingers. When nothing happened, Danforth frowned and turned to Cross.

"Jason, that was the signal!"

Cross's eyes widened and he quickly pressed play on the boom box located on his desk, the sounds of Kool and the Gang's Celebration filling the air. Gabriella briefly wondered how Danforth managed to set this all up in the short time she was gone and how Darbus had not stormed into the bullpen in a fit of rage yet. Then Danforth starting jumping around like a little child and Gabriella felt her grip on Jimmie's arm tightening as her embarrassment grew.

She wasn't the only one who was displeased at Danforth's display, though. McKessie was sitting at her desk, her face bright red with anger as she tried to ignore what was happening around her. She and Gabriella locked eyes for a brief second and Gabriella knew that if looks could kill, she would be very, very dead.

Meanwhile, Baylor seemed concerned as he kept sending Gabriella awkward smiles, while Cross just looked around in confusion. In the back of the bullpen, Kelsi was rubbing her temples and shaking her head in aggravation.

Bolton was standing next to his desk, looking at something he was holding in his palm, while Sharpay sat on his desk, watching the scene unfold with her ever-present smirk. She raised her eyebrows suggestively as she caught Gabriella's gaze, before leaning up to whisper something in Bolton's ear and giggling as she pulled away and Bolton narrowed his eyes at her.

Gabriella tried to ignore the little rush of jealousy that coursed through her as Bolton reached down to hiss a response in Sharpay's ear, reminding herself that Bolton shouldn't make her feel jealous and that Sharpay didn't seem to be interested in Troy anyway.

As the music stopped, Gabriella took a deep breath, raising her eyebrows at Danforth confrontationally, but before he could say anything, Jimmie interrupted. He seemed to have enjoyed Danforth's surprise, whooping, "Wow, I can't believe you did all of this for me!"

Gabriella and Danforth simultaneously turned to glare at him. Before either of them could retort, though, Leverett had appeared at Gabriella's side, mouthing a quick apology to Gabriella for Danforth's extravaganza as he ushered Jimmie away from her.

Now refocusing his attention on Gabriella, Danforth grinned wickedly as he simply stated, "Bolton wins, Montez loses."

He then turned to McKessie, who was still furiously typing away at her desk. "You hear that, McKessie?"

"Loud and clear," McKessie grumbled, not looking up from her work and Danforth turned back to Gabriella, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he waved his phone in her face.

"I made her say that Troy is an amazing detective slash genius and I recorded it," he told her and she couldn't help but snort in amusement. Even though she was angry at him for humiliating her like this, Gabriella had to admit that it was amusing how Danforth knew exactly how to piss off McKessie.

"Speaking of Troy, I think he has something to ask you."

As Danforth rubbed his hands together gleefully and Sharpay let out a delighted cackle, Gabriella secretly wished both of them would die a slow, excruciating death. However, her homicidal thoughts quickly vanished as Bolton approached her tentatively, his usual smirk on his face, but his eyes betraying vulnerability.

As he stopped in front of her, he showed her the object in his palm. It was a necklace, the pendant being the letter T with a ruby in the centre.

"T as in Troy?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow and Bolton shrugged casually in response.

"It was the most embarrassing thing I could think of."

Then, he dropped to his knees and grabbed her hand with his free one. She ignored the rush of warmth she felt due to his touch and she couldn't help a small taunting smirk forming on her face to match his own.

"Will you go on a date with me?" he asked, and while she knew that all of it – the bet, Danforth's surprise, the date – was just in jest, she could see genuine nerves in his eyes and she didn't quite know how to deal with it. Therefore, she feigned annoyance as she pulled her hand away from his, shoving both her hands in her pockets.

"Well, I have to," she sighed, rolling her eyes, and Bolton's smirk turned into a gentle smile as he chuckled.

"Yeah, you do," he said softly, before springing back up and moving to stand behind her, brushing her hair away from her neck gently to put the necklace on as the rest of the precinct sans McKessie applauded awkwardly.

"You don't have to wear it," he whispered in her ear as he let go of her hair and she rolled her eyes playfully, ignoring Danforth and Sharpay's gazes drilling into her as they continued to watch her and Bolton's every move intensively.

Bolton moved to stand before her again and rubbed his neck as he told her, "Saturday. Shaw's. 8pm sharp."

"I can't wait."

And although her response was intended to be sarcastic, she knew deep down that it was the truth.

---

The date hadn't been that bad so far.

Although she had secretly been kind of excited, Gabriella was also fearful of what the evening may bring and of the feelings that had been bubbling in her chest.

However, as she watched Bolton – Troy; he'd insisted they use first names tonight – warble his way through a Taylor Swift song while flailing aimlessly around the small stage that had been set up at Shaw's for karaoke night, she felt an airy lightness in her chest that she quite enjoyed.

She whooped and cheered loudly as he finished the song and put her chin in her hand, raising an eyebrow at him as he returned to their table and took a swing of his beer with a content sigh.

"What?" he asked, his eyes not meeting hers as he focused on the stage where the next contestant was getting ready to embarrass themselves.

"Taylor Swift, huh?" she replied, barely able to hide her amusement and a small, embarrassed smile grew on his face as he turned to her and leaned close to her as if he was about to tell her a big secret.

"She makes me feel things," he husked, and Gabriella rolled her eyes at his flirty tone, sitting back and smirking as she took a sip of her own beer.

"She makes all of us feeling things, Bolton," she responded, rolling her eyes again as Troy shot her a pointed look. "Sorry, Troy."

She tried not to notice the way his eyes lit up every time she used his first name, but she couldn't help but feel delighted at the fact that she could make him look like he just won the lottery with one small word. However, the knowledge that she had this power over him also scared her, so after a moment of silence as they studied each other, she coughed and averted her gaze.

"You're a really good singer, though," she uttered awkwardly and Troy's cheeks tinged pink as his hand moved up to rub his neck and he smiled at her bashfully and earnestly.

"Thanks. I actually majored in vocal performance in college. It's how I met Kels," he admitted. This information surprised Gabriella. Troy had indulged in many stories from his college time during stake-outs and she knew about Kelsi being a pianist, but not once had she actually heard about Troy being a singer. And while it was surprising, Gabriella thought it made sense as she thought about all the times she'd caught him humming or drumming his fingers against his desk. She always thought it was strangely endearing and her fondness for his antics was now multiplied tenfold.

"You learn new things every day," she mused, impressed. "So, how did you end up becoming a cop then?"

Troy smirked and raised his eyebrows at her. "Die Hard."

He chuckled as Gabriella pulled a face. "I'm kidding. Although I'm pretty sure that's why Danforth signed up for the Academy."

"Figures," Gabriella replied, shaking her head in amusement. "So, why did you sign up?"

Troy shrugged and sighed. "I guess I just like helping people and I thought becoming a cop would give me an opportunity to do that. There's nothing like the feeling of knowing you've helped someone in need."

Gabriella watched him as he paused and frowned as he looked down at his beer bottle, before zoning out and staring into space for a minute and shaking his head. "I don't think we always help, though, but… you know."

Gabriella nodded as a silence fell upon them, knowing exactly what he was talking about. No matter how much she loved her job, there was always a voice in her head nagging about the wrongdoings of the police, about the racism and the sexism she had endured herself and had watched civilians endure, sometimes from afar and sometimes from up close.

"I know what you mean," she replied solemnly as she traced the label of her own bottle absentmindedly. "I hate injustice. I actually studied pre-law for a while because of that before I realized I could actually help criminals get away if I became a defence attorney."

Troy narrowed his eyes at her and smirked as he studied her. "I could really see you as a defence attorney."

She blushed under his piercing gaze and she inwardly cursed him and herself as his smirk grew in recognition of the effect he had upon her.

"I actually dated a lawyer once," he confessed, his smile a mixture of wistfulness and bitterness as he took a swig of his beer. "She was my first real love. Too bad the shop talk ruined it."

Gabriella frowned as she felt a heaviness settle in her chest at the thought of Troy with another woman. The heaviness in her chest was emboldened by the uneasy feeling in her stomach when she realized that she was feeling… jealous. Again.

"Well, dating cops isn't all that great either," she replied weakly – she wasn't sure whether she was trying to console him or to remind herself why she shouldn't be interested in him or jealous of other women –, "I dated another cop once and everything was shop talk with us. It was so boring."

"Oh, Chucky, right? He was the one who really liked pilsners?" Troy inquired and Gabriella blinked, startled, before nodding. It had been a few years since she and Chucky had dated and the relationship had been brief; how the hell did Troy remember him?

Before she could voice her curiosity, however, Troy continued, "For what it's worth, though, he was probably just boring. I'm sure you could date a cop and not be bored to death. You just need to find your right match."

He was gazing at her intensely again and she wondered if he really was implying what she thought he was implying.

Did he think he was her right match? Did he think she was his?

And did she agree?

The very thought made a feeling of simultaneous uneasiness and warmth spread through her body, and out of instinct, she tucked her hair behind both ears, shooting Troy a confused look when he gasped quietly. Before she could ask why he was gasping, the song stopped and she blinked, before applauding the karaoke contestant.

"Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?" Troy asked her as he got up from his chair and she shook her head firmly, letting out a small, affectionate laugh as he pouted in response.

"Stage fright," she explained, "I nearly fainted during a solo for church choir once. One moment, I was looking at all the people staring at me and next thing I knew, I was staring at the ceiling."

"I was staring at the ceiling," Troy repeated, amused, "That would be a great title for your sex tape."

Troy's eyes doubled in size as he realized what he'd just said, while Gabriella starting coughing vehemently, blushing a deep scarlet for what was surely the twentieth time in the last hour. Troy brought his hand up to his neck and scratched nervously as he shot her awkward, tight-lipped smile.

"I'm going to go pick a song."

"Good idea," she agreed with a weak nod. "Can't wait to see which Taylor Swift hit you're going to butcher next."

Troy rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her, before making his way through the crowd, Gabriella unable to help herself from checking out his ass and flushing as she realized what she was doing.

When he indeed picked out a Taylor Swift song, she couldn't help but fondly roll her eyes and sing along quietly and when he winked at her when their eyes met when he was singing a particularly romantic lyric, she couldn't help but feel strong affection for him.

And as the effect of the alcohol settled in her bloodstream and tinged her cheeks a permanent shade of pink, her affection for him grew even stronger and she decided that even though her feelings scared her, she didn't want to let go of them.

---

Having four drinks was a bad idea.

Yes, she felt more confident in her current state and she enjoyed the feelings of careless affection she allowed herself to harbour, but she also really didn't trust herself.

Not when they were walking down the street giggling loudly to themselves and his hair was dishevelled from dancing around on the stage at Shaw's so much and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up casually and the top buttons of his shirt were undone and he was jumping on a lamppost as if he were Gene Kelly.

If she were sober and if he were anyone else, she probably would have arrested him for public intoxication, but right now, she wanted to just grab his ass. Or something like that. She didn't really know what it was she wanted to do exactly, but she knew that whatever it was, it was heavily inappropriate considering their relationship as co-workers.

She didn't want to dwell on those thoughts, while the small part of rationality she had left told her to not act upon them under any circumstance.

"You know, I actually had fun tonight," she slurred, feeling lightheaded as he shot her a euphoric, child-like grin. "You're not bad company, Bolton."

This time, he didn't correct her as she used his last name – somewhere, a voice inside her head berated her for the overly flirtatious tone she had used, though –, instead shooting her a satisfied smirk.

"You're not bad company either, Montez," he flirted back with a small, slightly seductive wink, to which she beamed in response, the bashfulness long having left her body, probably along with her dignity. "Maybe we should do this again."

He blinked, pausing after the words left his mouth, and gestured frenetically between them. "You know, as friends."

"Sure!" she exclaimed and although her nod was a little too enthusiastic, she mentally awarded her drunk self for not making a comment about how she wouldn't mind it being a date.

Because that would mean that this was a legit first date and it wasn't. It was just a bet. It was nothing serious. It was not real.

But maybe part of her wanted it to be.

"Maybe I'll actually convince you to join me on stage next time," he mused, shooting her a taunting smirk and she let out a loud laugh.

"Ha, never!" she exclaimed, raising her hand to slap his shoulder playfully, but he caught it and swatted it away before slinging his arm around her shoulder.

She felt a pleasurable flush start at the tip of her ears at his touch and how casual he made it seem. She knew that Troy was touchy-feely when he was inebriated – she had seen him drunk at outings with the squad often enough to know how he acted in this state – and that it was probably meant to be a friendly gesture – the distance between their bodies was certainly large enough to justify this reasoning –, but there was still something about the action that made her feel jittery.

Her instincts told her to pull away or push his arm off of her shoulder. She knew it was the right thing to do, but she couldn't bring herself to remove herself from his embrace; his touch was unfairly soft and warm and comforting.

She let her gaze wander down to where his large hand rested on her petite shoulder and she felt butterflies settle in her stomach as she decided his arm fit around her shoulder a little too well, and she smiled to herself as her mind ran back to his earlier words about dating and right matches.

She still wasn't convinced that he was her right match as he'd implied he thought he was, but at least their bodies melded together well. Not that this meant anything, but she still thought it was nice.

She was so enthralled by the feeling of his touch that she didn't watch where she was walking and suddenly, she felt herself almost lose balance as she made a wrong step.

She shouldn't have worn those damn high heels, she berated herself as she vaguely felt a strong pull on her shoulder and a new, foreign touch land on her waist. Why had she picked these shoes? She knew the heels were too high for her and it was not like there was a serious need to impress anyone tonight.

She murmured a curse under her breath as she glared down at the stilettos, before looking back up to Troy and then the air was knocked out of her.

He was close. Really close.

The city was bustling around them, pedestrians passing them and cars driving by, but all Gabriella could see was Troy's wide eyes and all she could feel was his tightened grip on her shoulder and his other arm around her waist.

She had instinctively placed her hand on his chest during the fall as well, she realized, and she felt her entire body heat up as she felt his heart race under her palm.

A small, ever-shrinking voice in her head told her to stop, to pull away, to say something, anything to end the moment, but she was frozen, only able to open her mouth slightly to let out a ragged breath.

Troy seemed just as frozen as her, his eyes unfaltering as the hand on her shoulder slowly moved down to her hip, the flutter of his fingers on her back sending a pleasurable shiver through her body, butterflies entering her stomach as she felt his heartbeat pick up even more and the rate of her own heart began to match his.

He gulped as his other hand settled on her other hip and his eyes flickered down to her lips, her own eyes following his and landing on his own lips. Their eyes locked again and she felt weak in the knees as she noticed how his eyes had darkened with an unspoken, but evident desire that she felt, too.

Their faces were slowly leaning closer to each other and her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation of what was to come, her fingers grabbing onto the fabric of his shirt and clutching it tightly in her hand while the other settled on his forearm as she pushed her body closer to his.

Their noses brushed tentatively, their lips only an inch apart when her clarity of mind suddenly returned and her eyes flew open in terror and she pushed him away from her, the moment ruined.

They both gasped for breath and they stared at each other in silent shock, Troy's eyes still stormy, but now the storm didn't seem to be caused by desire, but by agony.

Her body still exhibited the signs of the moment they had shared, from the ragged breathing to her high body heat to the accelerated pace of her heart, serving as a relentless reminder of what had just happened.

She had almost kissed Troy Bolton.

Oh, fuck.

Troy muttered a curse under his breath as he ran a trembling hand through his hair as his other one clasped on his mouth as he shook his head fervently.

"I knew this was a bad idea," he said, "I knew it. I never should have agreed to this."

Gabriella watched him in confusion as he looked around frantically, not daring to meet her eyes, shaking his head over and over.

What shouldn't have he agreed to? The bet?

Although she felt slightly disappointed at the thought, she knew that it didn't matter if he regretted the bet or the date or their almost-kiss, because she regretted it at this moment, too.

At least, that's what she told herself.

"What?"

It was the only word she could utter and it brought Troy out of his state, their eyes locking again. The pain still present on his face, he rubbed his neck and frowned deeply.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, lifting his hands to her shoulders, but he reconsidered this action, moving away before he could touch her. "I completely misread the situation and I got ahead of myself and I shouldn't have done that. You don't like me like that and that's completely fine, I get it, and I shouldn't have assumed that you returned my feelings."

Gabriella blinked in shock as his words registered and she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating.

Did he just confess that he had feelings for her?

This was really screwed up.

Troy shook his head again as he let out a sound of desperate agony. "I'm sorry that I tried to kiss you while you obviously didn't want me to."

He stared at her with wild eyes, heartache and anxiety and an apology shining in his eyes, and she felt a flash of pity washing over her. For a brief second, she wanted to take his hand in hers and comfort him and tell him that everything would be okay.

She wasn't sure whether it would be, though. Because in her sober, more rational state, she didn't know what the feelings she had felt earlier that night really meant.

There was one thing she was sure of, though; she didn't want him to beat himself up over this. Not when she had been caught up in the moment, too.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before gazing up at him. Softly, shyly, she spoke, "Troy, I wanted to kiss you, too."

She expected him to ask why she had pulled away, she saw the query dancing in his eyes, but she couldn't find an appropriate answer and he didn't voice his confusion.

However, there was something that she needed to ask.

"Troy," she uttered weakly, curiously, "Do you… Do you like me?"

She saw the panic in his eyes as he silently stared at her for a moment, and then he let out a high-pitched laugh. "Of course I like you. You're awesome and a good partner. Why wouldn't I like you?"

Gabriella just gave him a pointed, unimpressed look – she didn't know how she was capable of being exasperated with him at this moment – and Troy sighed as his eyes wandered away from hers again.

"Y-Yes," he stuttered, his voice breaking slightly, his eyes still not meeting hers. "I like you. Romantic stylez. With a z."

His eyes met hers again when he uttered his reply and if she wasn't already in a state of complete panic due to his confirmation yet, she would have fainted due to the way he looked at her through the forced smile that accompanied the joke in his last phrase.

The storm had disappeared from his eyes, replaced with a strikingly light blue, intense emotions swimming in his irises, emotions of deep affection, as he looked at her as if she hung the moon.

Despite her suspicions, the knowledge that everything was real – the glances, the touches, the flirting – was entirely too much to process.

"How long?"

She didn't want to know. She shouldn't have wanted to know. Yet her curiosity got the best of her.

"A while," Troy admitted meekly, his hand flying up to rub his neck in embarrassment as Gabriella shut her eyes in agony. "I don't know how it happened. I guess I've always admired you and thought you were pretty and smart and really cool and there's always been something there, but it was never serious."

He paused to let out a tense chuckle. "And then suddenly it was."

Gabriella couldn't stop a small, sad smile from growing on her face. She knew how that felt, to suddenly feel something that had never been there before, at least not in that manner.

However, she still wasn't sure what her something was and she wasn't ready to confront it, not in the same way Troy seemed to have confronted his something.

This wasn't serious for her. Not yet, at least.

She just didn't know how to tell him that.

Before she could figure out what she could say to him, Troy spoke again, "Can I tell you something?"

She nodded – it couldn't be worse than what he'd already told her – and as he smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, she couldn't help but want to do something, anything to make his distress vanish.

"I only agreed to the bet because of the prospect of a date with you," Troy admitted, a sharp, bitter chuckle rumbling deep within his chest. "That was so stupid of me. Why should you suddenly have feelings for me if you were forced to go on a date with me? I can't make a woman's choice for her, I stand with Wendy!"

Gabriella couldn't help but snort in amusement at his outburst and reached out to touch his arm to calm him down, but like he did earlier when the roles were reversed, she quickly retracted her hand when she realized what she was doing.

"That's not what standing with Wendy means," she told him through a weak giggle, and then she bit her lip and awkwardly crossed her arms across her chest as she realized she couldn't avoid offering him a response.

"I don't know how I feel, Troy," she admitted and Troy nodded in understanding, his gaze still apologetic and agonized, but she didn't miss the small spark of hope that lit up his features as she didn't completely deny it.

"That something you were talking about, I feel it, too," she continued, averting her gaze as she nervously tucked her hair behind both ears. "I just don't know what it means for me and it's frightening."

She gazed down at her feet, clad in those stupid stilettos that had betrayed her, and furrowed her eyebrows contemplatively. "I guess I'm just scared of what would happen if we were to do this. We're such a great team and we were work so well together and I just don't want that to change."

She looked back up again, but still avoided his watchful gaze. "I'm sorry, too, you know. I shouldn't have gotten drunk and I shouldn't have let myself get caught in the moment and lead you on."

When she found the courage to lock eyes with him again, the panic was gone from his eyes, replaced with a familiar amusement and fondness as he smirked at her.

The new knowledge of the extent of his fondness for her made her stomach flip.

"Well, from what I've heard, Four-Drink-Gabriella tends to get herself into sexual situations more often, so I won't judge you too harshly."

Gabriella scoffed and shot him a playful glare, giggling in an attempt to hide the embarrassment about the drunkenness scale that Danforth had composed after she'd gotten uncharacteristically drunk at a detectives-only weekend get-away.

She ignored the voice in her head that reminded her that she had definitely had been checking Troy out when she'd reached Four-Drink-Gabriella during that particular outing.

The quick moment of joy quickly dissipated, though, as Troy's smirk turned into a serious frown.

"I get what you mean, though. About not wanting everything to change," Troy admitted with a sad tug at his lips, his eyebrows still furrowed with worry. "It was one of the reasons why I was afraid to tell you how I felt. Because I was afraid that you would reject me and hate me."

Gabriella smiled back apologetically, aware that one of these fears had just come true. Softly, she spoke, "I don't hate you, Troy. Not even close. I'm glad you told me and that you didn't hold anything back. Honesty is important, too."

Troy nodded slowly in agreement and Gabriella managed a weak grin as she continued, "And now that we've talked about it, everything can go back to normal."

"Normal," Troy repeated, blinking dazedly, the tone of his voice unsteady. "I can do that. I can totally be normal. Of course. Nothing will change."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes at him, not convinced that he was being truthful, but then he stuck out his hand. She quirked an eyebrow and Troy shrugged. She shook her head fondly yet exasperatedly, before she placed her hand in his and shook it firmly.

She ignored the shock it sent down her arm and the memory of his hand on her waist earlier that the shock set off in her brain. And she could see in his eyes that the same memory was replaying in his mind, too.

"Wow, your handshake is quite firm," Troy said as he retracted his hand and rubbed it with a wince.

Gabriella smirked proudly. "McKessie and I took a seminar once."

"Where?!"

Gabriella just shrugged smugly, and Troy rolled his eyes as he let out a disbelieving laugh, before looking down at the ground, biting his lip. His eyes shot up again after a moment, watching her from under his eyelashes.

"Hey, do you mind if I walked you home?" he asked timidly. Gabriella frowned dubiously and he quickly continued, "I mean, I know you are a badass woman and cop and you can take care of yourself and you live close-by, but I just don't feel comfortable letting a woman walking home alone on a Saturday night in Brooklyn. Not after I worked that murder case of that girl whose ears were cut off."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at his worry for her, the warm affection for him returning to her veins, as she nodded slowly. "Sure."

Troy grinned back, his grin wider and more joyous than it probably should be, as they finally moved from their position – how long had they stood there and how strange would they have seemed to the strangers passing by? –, Gabriella watching carefully where she stepped.

"So, tell me more about this handshaking seminar," Troy inquired in an attempt to break the ice and she laughed gratefully, uproariously, as she started telling him the story of how McKessie had been so persistent that even the instructor had been terrified of her.

And as they fell back into comfortable conversation, she couldn't help but replay the words he had spoken earlier in her head.

Nothing will change.

She hoped that would be true.

---

Of course, it wasn't true.

They had tried to act normal when their co-workers asked how the date had gone when they came in Monday. Gabriella had teased Troy about his Taylor Swift obsession and he had mocked Three-Drink-Gabriella's dancing.

When Cross had asked them how the sex had been, Troy had called him gross and Gabriella had explained – too quickly, too loudly – that nothing had happened between them. Gabriella was fairly sure that Sharpay had not believed a word out of her mouth, but the rest of the squad seemed to have bought it.

And that would have been the end of it.

But it hadn't been. Everything had changed.

Gabriella definitely sarcastically thanked Taylor Swift inwardly once or twice in the next few months.

There was a new tension between them. Stolen glances were suddenly filled with a mixture of agonized heartbreak and fiery desire, otherwise innocent touches now set her skin ablaze, their banter was more flirtatious than ever.

Both of them were acutely aware of the change in the nature of their relationship, but neither had dared to address it or speak of that night again.

And then, one day, FBI Agent Martha Cox had walked into the bullpen, with a pristine smile and a mission to take Troy away.

A case Troy had been working on had turned out to be part of a larger federal investigation into one of New York's most ruthless mafia families, the Barsocchini family, and the FBI had seen potential in Troy.

Agent Cox had proposed to send him undercover with the Barsocchini family for the next six months.

Six months. He would be gone, constantly a touch away from danger, for six months.

Besides Gabriella, only Darbus, Danforth, McKessie and Baylor were in the know and Gabriella had been secretly amused at how differently each of them had reacted.

Darbus had acted like a proud mother hen – her own words –, tears swimming in her eyes as she told Troy words of encouragement, her poetic style putting Shakespeare to shame. Baylor had urged him to take good care of himself and to nourish himself and shampoo his hair. Danforth had been excited, imagining grotesque heroic scenarios with Troy in the leading role. McKessie had grumbled that she would have loved this opportunity, but had reluctantly shaken Troy's hand as she told him she was jealous, but happy for him.

And while he had laughed and smiled at his co-workers' antics and had seemed genuinely excited, he couldn't hide his true feelings from Gabriella. She had seen the anxiety and worry in his eyes, the slight frown tugging at his lips, the facial expressions not unlike the ones he had worn that night when they almost kissed, and she couldn't do anything but hug him and hold onto him as tightly as she could, enjoying the pleasurable sparks that shot down her spine one last time.

As she pulled away after staying in his embrace a beat too long, she wanted to tell him so many things; to stay safe, to come back to her, to not forget her.

But she stayed silent, unable to utter a single word.

But it was okay. Because as Troy gazed at her, she could see the agony quickly dissipate and a beautiful smile blossomed in thanks.

That beautiful smile had been the last thing she'd seen before Troy had stormed out of Darbus's office – Cox had asked Darbus to pretend to fire him –, screaming profanities as he made his way out of the bullpen.

---

That night, Gabriella felt alone. The walls of her apartment were closing in on her, the space hollow and empty. She had felt this feeling before, when she was a teenager and her father had just died and her mother had to constantly move for work. Back then, she hadn't had a home, but now she had found one, in the bustle of the big city, in the odd comradery of the precinct and its members.

But now everything was different. One of them was gone. The one who had always made her feel welcome, who had always been warm and kind to her, who had always had her back despite their teasing and their banter.

The one who held affection for her. The one she held affection for, even though she wasn't sure the extent of that affection was.

She couldn't be here, she thought as she sat lifelessly on her sofa, the TV playing some crappy, factually incorrect police procedural series. She remembered that time when Troy had come over to work on a case and they had ended up eating Chinese take-out and making fun of these kind of TV shows and their inaccuracies.

She needed to get out of here. She needed to talk to someone about him.

She just didn't know where to go, who to call.

She knew none of her friends outside of work would understand and her colleagues wouldn't be of any help either. Baylor would probably make her a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, but she knew he'd go on about his worries for Troy, which would only intensify her own concerns. McKessie was her closest friend, but Gabriella wasn't sure whether she could handle McKessie's anger with regard to Troy being chosen over her. Danforth and Gabriella weren't particularly close, and she wasn't willing to pour her heart out to him. Cross would just be confused, unaware of the operation and generally unaware of a lot of things, and Darbus would send her away, adamant of keeping a boss-employee relationship strictly professional.

She honestly wanted to just go to Troy's apartment, share a drink with him and talk about unimportant things such as what was the best cop movie – Fargo, Lethal Weapon and Training Day, obviously –, but she couldn't just go and visit his empty apartment. What would she do, sit there, hands over her knees, on the cold, hard floor in front of his closed door?

There was someone who would understand, though, someone who would never judge.

So, after making a rash decision, she ended up on Kelsi Nielsen's doorstep.

However, Kelsi wasn't the one to answer the door.

Quickly standing straight and stopping her anxious fidgeting as the door opened, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

She had never seen the man at the opposite side of the door before, but his face was startlingly familiar. With his blond hair, his thin lips, the peculiar shape of his nose and the tenacity in his blue eyes, there was no question as to who he was.

"Ryan."

Ryan Evans's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and distrust as he grabbed onto the door with both hands.

"Who are you?" he inquired warily and Gabriella let out a little gasp as she snapped out her surprised daze, quickly sticking out her hand to him.

"I'm Gabriella Montez. I work with Kelsi and I know your sister."

Now it was Ryan's turn to be surprised. The caution immediately melted away from his face, a sparkle in his eyes as he broke out into a small, mischievous grin, taking her hand in his and shaking it enthusiastically.

"So you're the famous Gabriella," he mused, his face contorting in discomfort before Gabriella could ask what he meant by that. "Wow, you have a strong handshake."

Gabriella froze for a moment as she was brought back to the night when Troy had commented on her handshake and the reason why she wanted to see Kelsi returned to her in all its painful intensity. She recovered quickly, though, gratefully shooting Ryan a shy smile as she moved into the warm apartment.

Gabriella had never been to Kelsi's apartment, so curiosity got the best of her as she let her gaze wander, smiling at the warm atmosphere the space emulated and the quaint decorations on the walls and the charming furniture.

Gabriella felt a lump form in her throat as she took notice of a particular picture on the wall. A younger Troy was smiling back at her, his face more youthful and his hair hanging over his forehead in bangs, as he hugged Kelsi from behind, both of them bundled up in thick winter coats as snow flurried around them.

There was something lovely about the picture, something that sent a surge of warmth through her veins, but it also left a feeling of dread in her stomach as she realized she wouldn't see that smile again for a long time, if not ever.

She couldn't bear that thought.

Quickly recomposing herself, she turned to Ryan, who had been watching her looking around, and smiled at him politely. "So, how do you know Kelsi?"

"We all go way back," a new voice spoke and Ryan and Gabriella both turned to the doorway to the living room, where Kelsi and Sharpay Evans sat together before a keyboard, Kelsi with a pencil in her hand and Sharpay holding her phone as they both stared at Gabriella.

"Hi, Sharpay," Gabriella mumbled hesitantly, waving awkwardly. Sharpay opened her mouth to respond, her eyes narrowed suspiciously, when Kelsi quickly got up, a big, enthusiastic grin on her face, although Gabriella could see that she was faking her glee.

"Hi, Gabriella," Kelsi piped up cheerfully, "I'm so glad you're here! Would you like some tea?"

"Tea would be great, thanks," Gabriella responded quietly, smiling at Ryan as he offered to take her coat.

Gabriella walked into the living room, Sharpay's gaze following her like a hawk, and sat down on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the wooden floor as she placed her hands neatly in her lap. She felt Ryan sit down next to her on the sofa and she could feel both twins' eyes on her, their gazes inquisitive as they stayed silent despite their obvious curiosity.

Before anyone could break the awkward silence that had been created, Kelsi returned, setting a cup of tea on the table, Gabriella muttering thanks as Kelsi wiggled herself between her and Ryan on the sofa, smiling softly at her new company.

"So, what brings you here?"

It was the question that was burning on everyone's minds and Gabriella didn't know to answer it. Had it just been Kelsi, she might have told the whole truth, but with the presence of Sharpay, who was still weirdly insistent that Gabriella should sleep with Troy, and Ryan, whom Gabriella had just met, Gabriella just didn't feel comfortable with sharing.

"I just wanted to see you how you were doing after… you know, after what happened today."

It was closest to the truth she could get without oversharing to the Evans twins, and Ryan and Kelsi both seemed to buy it, Ryan's eyes quickly shifting to Kelsi pitifully as she nodded slowly in understanding, her eyes clouding with worry. Sharpay, however, was still glaring at Gabriella wordlessly, curiously, her phone long forgotten, and Gabriella knew that she wasn't fooling her.

"That's nice of you," Kelsi said, and again, her smile was feigned. "I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be. I'm worried about him, though. He was so… angry when he got out of there. That's so unlike him. He rarely gets angry and definitely not like that."

Tears sprang to Kelsi's eyes as she shook her head. "He texted me that he was on his way to Albuquerque, to visit his parents. That's not like him either. He and his dad don't talk. Why would he just leave without saying goodbye to visit his father?"

Gabriella winced inwardly, both at the thought of Troy's relationship with his father and the thought of him having to make up this obvious lie. A lie that she had to play along with. It killed her to see this poor, sweet, innocent woman in so much pain for her best friend and that she had to keep such a big secret from her.

But she had to, for the sake of the investigation and to ensure Troy's safety and to not inflict more worry upon Kelsi.

"I'm sure he'll be okay," she whispered, rubbing Kelsi's shoulder comfortingly.

He needed to be okay.

"Do you know what happened, Gabriella?"

It was Sharpay who spoke up and Gabriella felt her resolve to keep up the lie crumble slightly as she noticed a change in the blonde's demeanour. Her shoulders were stiff with tension and her gaze no longer curious and suspicious of Gabriella's presence, but rather filled with concern and desperation.

Gabriella gulped, before responding, "Apparently, he was investigating someone the higher-ups didn't want him to investigate and he didn't back down when they told them to let it go."

It was true. Troy had been investigating a local business owner who had a lot of sway in the community. He just hadn't been fired for it, but rather been sent undercover to figure out if the suspect was tied to the mob.

"Of course," Ryan scoffed as he shook his head disapprovingly. "He always wanted to put away bad guys no matter the cost. Of course he'd get his ass kicked over police corruption."

He sighed and turned to his sister. "Do you remember when we first introduced him to Dad? He was so excited at the prospect of joining the force and now he throws it all away like that?!"

Gabriella perked up at the mention of Police Commissioner Evans. Troy had known him before he became a cop?

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping here," she spoke up hesitantly, "But how do you know Troy?"

"Well, you know Troy and I met in our freshmen year of college," Kelsi started and Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the mental image of a younger Troy and Kelsi meeting for the first time.

Ryan nodded as he continued, "And then Kelsi and I met when we were partners for an assignment in our junior year and she introduced me to Troy and I introduced them to Sharpay and well, the rest was history."

Gabriella blinked dazedly as she glanced at Sharpay, who was still silently watching her. Sharpay had known Troy for years and Gabriella hadn't known. It made sense now why Sharpay had chosen this particular precinct to hang out at, but Gabriella still didn't feel at ease with the idea of Troy and Sharpay being so close, gulping as she remembered Sharpay letting it slip that she'd talked to Troy about his feelings when she first brought up the subject to Gabriella. Troy had kept up appearances well at work, but what if he had told Sharpay and Kelsi and Ryan about what happened at the date?

"Wow, I had no idea," Gabriella replied weakly, and Sharpay raised her eyebrows at her.

"So, now that you know our life story," she spoke up, twirling a strand of blond hair around her finger. "Why don't you tell us why you're really here? I mean, I'm sure you were truly worried about Kelsi, and you may have fooled my brother and our sawed-off Sondheim right there into believing that's the only reason, but you're not fooling me."

Ryan winced as he muttered his sister's name in warning, while Kelsi burned a mortified bright red.

Gabriella, on the other hand, just let out a high, squeaky laugh. "You would be great at interrogation. Have you ever thought about becoming a cop?"

"No, Broadway's my calling. Or bull fighter, but that's such a boy's club," Sharpay replied, rolling her eyes as Ryan glared at Gabriella for making such an absurd suggestion. "And stop skirting the issue."

Sharpay was now scowling, her gaze sparkling with a fiery determination, but it was the benign spark of encouragement that was hidden in the brown depths that cracked Gabriella.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about what happened this afternoon, about… him," Gabriella sighed, averting her gaze from Sharpay as she tucked her hair behind both her ears. "I just thought that Kelsi would be able to understand."

Now it was Kelsi's turn to squeeze Gabriella's shoulder in comfort, both women smiling at each other warmly. When Gabriella locked eyes with Sharpay again, that hidden encouragement was now distinctly visible, a smirk on her face, not smug or taunting, but rather affectionate.

"Aww, you double tucked," she cooed, giggling as Gabriella raised a confused eyebrow. "When you really like someone, you always tuck your hair behind both ears. You did it with that Chucky guy, too."

Gabriella felt herself go bright red, getting the implications and now understanding why Troy had been so shocked when she had tucked her hair during their date. She felt her stomach drop as she thought of the possibility of this encouraging him to almost kiss her. Her stomach dropped even further as she realized she didn't regret giving him that sign.

Still, she wasn't going to agree with Sharpay's implications, so she quickly exclaimed, "I don't like him!"

She expected Sharpay to start protesting again, but the blonde had returned her attention to her phone, waving dismissively. "Well, that's too bad, because he definitely likes you."

She glanced up from her phone again with a taunting smirk, obviously expecting Gabriella to deny it as she usually would. However, Gabriella just smiled sadly. "I know."

Sharpay's smirk grew into a wicked, self-righteous grin. "I'm glad you're finally reading his signs, Montez."

"He told me," Gabriella admitted, "On our date."

Sharpay's grin was immediately wiped off her face as she, Kelsi and Ryan all turned to Gabriella, whose stomach flipped as she took in the shock on their faces and realized Troy had never told them about what happened.

Ryan was the first to recover, replying hesitantly, "You know, he never told us about the date. All he said was that it was fun."

Sharpay scoffed in annoyance as she nodded. "He always refused to tell me anything more, even when I used my signature Sharpay charm."

"Well, that's because he knows you too well to fall for your manipulation," Kelsi laughed, ignoring Sharpay's glare and pout as she turned to Gabriella. "If I may ask, what happened?"

Gabriella blushed under Troy's friends' expectant gazes as she looked down at her hands in her lap. "We got a little drunk and we almost kissed. And then I asked him if he liked me and he said yes."

"And what did you say back?"

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at Sharpay's poorly disguised excitement as she shrugged. "I told him that I don't know how I feel. I mean, there is a spark, but I don't know what it means."

"God, you're even more stubborn than him," Sharpay grumbled, her excitement gone. "At least he admitted that he was pining when you started dating that Chucky guy. But Troy's gone now and you're here because you can't stop thinking about him and you say there's a spark and you're still denying it."

Gabriella gulped as she envisioned Troy in this very position, being interrogated by Sharpay about his feelings for her, and frowned as she turned to Kelsi, who shrugged apologetically as she met Gabriella's gaze.

Sharpay was right, though, Gabriella realized as the image of Troy's smile before he left sprang up again. Of course there were butterflies and romantic feelings. It was just so scary to admit it, but she couldn't fight it anymore. Not when she was so worried for him that it felt like the devil was dancing on her chest. Not when everything had changed.

"Do you like him, Gabriella?"

Sharpay's voice was forceful and her eyes serious and Gabriella just couldn't do it anymore.

She stopped fighting.

"Maybe? Yes. A little."

Sharpay smiled earnestly, before quickly growing smug again. "See, that wasn't so hard. Now go text him and have him come over to yours so you can finally bone."

Gabriella laughed nervously as she shook her head. "I can't. He's und– underway to Albuquerque."

Sharpay frowned for a second as that realization dawned upon her, before shrugging. "Whatever. Kelsi, what movie are we watching?"

As they settled and watched Something's Gotta Give – Sharpay enjoyed the movie a little too much, which amused Gabriella –, Gabriella felt like she should be relieved that she had finally come to terms with her feelings. However, she couldn't help but still feel anxious, because now she had to worry about him and mull over her feelings for six months.

She had to wait six months for him to come home.

---

As the days bled into weeks and the weeks turned into months, the dread regarding Troy's absence was felt throughout the precinct, but the hardship also brought the squad closer together, as they worked harder and closer together to fill the hole Troy had left. Gabriella had founded unlikely friendships with Baylor and Danforth, the latter more subdued without Troy at his side, and even McKessie had swallowed her pride and had put her differences with the male detectives aside in favour of doing her job to the best of her abilities.

Gabriella also found herself at Kelsi's apartment often, for a cup of tea or to join her and the Evans twins for a movie night, and she had also grown close with both Evans twins, cheering Ryan on at his performances with his dance troupe Floorgasm and helping Sharpay run lines for auditions.

It was nice. And it was a welcome distraction from having to deal with her feelings – even if Sharpay did bring those up a little too often for Gabriella's liking.

And then he came back and she couldn't avoid it anymore.

He was still as charming and kind and funny as she remembered him to be half a year ago, but there had been a definite change in him, in the way he carried himself. He was quieter, his eyes worn and she was sure that the small, faint scar above his eyebrow had not been there before he left.

She felt nauseous at the thought of what he had probably gone through.

She also felt nauseous at the thought that this experience had changed more than his demeanour. What if he didn't feel the same way about her anymore? That would be just her luck.

So, despite Sharpay's constant unsubtle remarks and nudges, and despite the shy glances and swift touches she still shared with him, she couldn't bring herself to bring it up. Not when they were alone in the evidence room, not when they were on a stake-out together, not when they shared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over a casefile. Not even when he had found out – and had been delighted – that she had become a part of his friend group outside of work.

However, after a few long months of pining, the inevitable could no longer be delayed.

It had started with Darbus assigning Gabriella and Troy the case of Tiara Gold, a prolific identity thief. They had devised a plan to catch her handing off a laptop with stolen information to a buyer. The deal would take place in a park at night. Danforth and Baylor would be their back-up. Their plan was air tight.

However, the night did not go according to their plan.

---

"I guess the hand-off is happening here," Gabriella said as she watched Tiara Gold exit the Audi that the squad had been trailing, handing off her keys to the porter.

"I guess you'll have to go in," Danforth mused as he took in the restaurant that Tiara was entering, before turning to Troy and Gabriella, who were sitting in the back in the car, letting his gaze roam their respective appearances. "It's a good thing you were already in undercover-appropriate attire."

As Troy and Gabriella locked eyes, she felt a sudden anxiety wash over her. It's just an undercover operation, she told herself, there's nothing out of the ordinary about it.

However, she couldn't help but feel a rush of butterflies in her stomach as she thought of dining with Troy at this fancy restaurant.

Baylor's gushing about the restaurant's supposed excellence was not calming her nerves either.

"Please try the crème brûlée! I've heard they make a great one. Not that there's ever bad crème brûlée!"

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at Baylor's obvious excitement, his dark eyes wide and alight with enthusiasm and his grin threatening to break his face.

"Sure," she agreed with a laugh as Troy merely snorted in amusement.

Danforth, however, was less amused, just staring at Baylor incredulously for a second, before turning back to Troy and Gabriella. "We'll stay here. If you need back-up, text us."

Both nodding as they exited the van, Troy and Gabriella walked up to the restaurant in silence. Gabriella could feel his presence next to her and as she glanced up at him, she could see the tension in his jaw and shoulders. With a flip of her stomach, she realized that he was probably feeling the same awkwardness that she felt at having to dine together.

She just hoped it wasn't awkwardness that accompanied memories of a forgone crush.

As luck would have it, they were right behind Tiara as they joined the line for the host. As she heard them come in behind her, Tiara immediately turned and part of Gabriella expected her to immediately see through their cover and make a run for it due to the awkwardness that still sat between them.

However, Tiara just smiled at them, the sinister glint in her eyes barely noticeable as she motioned for them to skip ahead. "I'm waiting for my date."

Troy and Gabriella shared a quick glance in understanding – the date was likely the buyer – and then smiled back at her politely as she made way for them.

Aware of Tiara's gaze on them, Gabriella took a deep breath as she inched closer to Troy so their arms were brushing against each other, smiling up at him weakly, to which he responded with a quiet chuckle and a playful nudge.

"Good evening, welcome to Ortega's!"

Gabriella smiled at the host, whose nametag read Javier, as Troy spoke, "Table for two, please."

Javier frowned apologetically as he looked down at the screen in front of him. "I'm sorry, we're completely booked."

Shit.

As Troy glanced at her helplessly, Gabriella could feel Tiara's scrutiny still focused on them, and she knew she had to act fast if they didn't want to blow the operation and piss off Darbus.

So, on instinct, she looped her arm through Troy's and grabbed onto his hand tightly, ignoring how warm his touch was and how perfectly his hand intertwined with hers. "Oh no, that's terrible. Arnold and I just got engaged and we had our first date here!"

Troy caught on quickly, offering Javier an elated smile as he nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I hadn't made a reservation, because I didn't know if Minnie would say yes."

Gabriella giggled as she smiled at him adoringly, feeling a tingle run down her spine at how easy it was to act like he was her lover. Before she knew what she was doing, she had leant up and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheeks, cooing, "Oh, you were so nervous, Wildcat!"

She ignored the look of shock that quickly passed over Troy's face as she turned back to Javier with pleading eyes. Javier seemed to have bought their act, smiling at them fondly before looking back to his screen.

"You two are adorable. I'll see what I can do for you."

As Troy squeezed her hand and sent her a quick, subtle wink, she couldn't help but smile bashfully and nervously tuck her hair behind her ear.

---

"Sorry for springing the engagement stuff on you," Gabriella apologized as they waited for their table. "I panicked and it was the only thing I could think of."

"No, it was great. I mean, we're in," Troy responded, as he gestured around, before he smiled at her mischievously, eyebrow quirked. "The cheek kiss was probably a bit too much, though. I didn't imagine you being a sloppy kisser."

His eyes widened as the words left his mouth, and Gabriella felt herself go red at the implications, although she attempted to hide it by shrugging casually.

"Your table is ready."

Troy and Gabriella both smiled and thanked Javier, who had appeared behind Gabriella and had saved them from the impending awkwardness.

As Javier led them to their table, Troy whispered to Gabriella, "Well, back to being cops. Do you see Tiara?"

Nodding at the reminder, Gabriella subtly let her eyes wander the large room, but not noticing Tiara anywhere, until they heard a familiar voice, the British accent and nasal tone unmistakable.

"Aren't you that couple that just got engaged?"

Gabriella froze as she saw Tiara and her date sitting at the table next to theirs. She felt grateful as Troy grabbed her hand and nodded. "Yes, that's us. Arnold and Minnie. Just engaged."

Gabriella smiled at Tiara as Troy pulled out her chair, locking eyes with her for a moment and smiling at her lopsidedly in apology.

It seemed like they were not going back to being cops just yet.

---

Dinner had gone surprisingly well so far. Troy had been a little too excited about playing pretend, devising an entire backstory for Arnold and Minnie, which he had told Gabriella through subtle hints woven into their casual conversation. Arnold was a high school music teacher and Minnie was a paediatrician with a PhD and they had had somewhat of a whirlwind romance after meeting at karaoke.

Gabriella had to admit she had liked the throwback to their first fake date, despite the jitters that the memories still caused.

Tiara had surprisingly not struck up a conversation with them beyond congratulating them on the engagement, but Gabriella had definitely felt her suspicious gaze on her all night.

Tiara's gaze was reminiscent of Sharpay's, Gabriella thought, filled with the same intensity and cynicism. However, while being under Sharpay's gaze was undoubtedly an awkward experience, Tiara's eyes revealed something different, something malign. While Sharpay generally didn't mean any harm, there was something dangerous about Tiara's gaze that made Gabriella feel restless.

While Tiara had definitely been listening to their conversation, Troy and Gabriella had also been listening to hers. While the conversation had revealed no evidence of the imminent hand-off, Gabriella had been able to profile Tiara's date, a short man named Donny Martin. Troy had texted the name to Danforth and McKessie had later e-mailed them Donny's full record from the system.

They knew everything there was to know about their perps. Now they had to wait for the hand-off.

"So, you're not wearing a ring."

Blinking as she snapped out of her daze, Gabriella realized that she had been eyeing Tiara a little too unsubtly and the blonde had definitely caught on.

Fortunately, Troy immediately replied, "I ordered a ring and the jeweller messed up and it wasn't ready in time. But I couldn't wait any longer, so I popped the question anyway."

As Gabriella nodded vigorously, Tiara hummed thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes at Gabriella as she pressed on, "Tell me how you two met! I love a good love story."

"Well, we met five years ago–"

"Wait, I thought I heard you say earlier that you met a year ago."

Gabriella's eyes widened as she locked eyes with Troy, pleading with him for help as she realized Troy had indeed mentioned something of the kind earlier while she was too focused on replying to Danforth's query for an update.

"We did meet five years ago," Troy explained, his voice calm as he made up a quick excuse. "But nothing happened back then, but then we met again a year ago and it's just been orgasm city."

Gabriella scowled at the end of sentence, to which Troy smirked in delight as he lifted her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it, the kiss as sloppy as the one she had pressed onto his cheek earlier that night. Gabriella suppressed the deep scarlet that was threatening to colour her cheeks as the touch of his lips sent a chill down her spine.

"Oh, I get it," Donny said with a nod as he eyed Gabriella, who suppressed a shudder at the suggestive tone of his voice and his leering gaze.

Troy wasn't impressed either, clenching his jaw in anger as he shot Donny a warning glare.

Gabriella just shook her head and rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it in reassurance, smiling at him softly as he turned back to her, his eyes softening and lighting up as she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand.

And for a small moment, it felt like there was nothing in the world but Troy's sparkling eyes and the calloused yet warm flesh of his hand.

"And what made you fall in love with each other?"

Gabriella couldn't help but glower at Tiara slightly as the moment was broken, while Troy blinked dazedly and let out a sound of confusion as he turned to the blonde as well.

As both of them stayed silent, Tiara just raised an expectant eyebrow and Gabriella felt her eyes narrow further. She was definitely interrogating them.

Troy coughed as he turned back to Gabriella, the frenzy in his eyes as he searched for an appropriate answer disconcerting her.

"Just… her face," he answered lamely as a blush rose to his cheeks and he sat back in his chair despondently.

Somehow, his answer disappointed Gabriella. She knew it was pretend, she knew Arnold and Minnie weren't real. So why did it matter what Arnold found attractive about Minnie? And what would have been a satisfying answer anyway?

She honestly didn't know. But she did know she wasn't going to pretend anymore. The only way they would convince Tiara of their relationship was if their answers to her persistent questions came across as real.

And, with a rush of warmth, Gabriella realized that for her, it was.

Therefore, she bit her lip before she gazed into Troy's eyes and answered Tiara's question honestly. "He's funny. And kind. And just all around wonderful."

A small, bashful smile grew on Troy's face as he averted his gaze from Gabriella and turned to Tiara and shrugged with a nervous chuckle. "And she makes me want to be a better person."

Gabriella's heart skipped a beat at this admission. She didn't know how to interpret his words, whether he had intended them to be platonic or romantic, but as he glimpsed at her with a nervous smirk, she knew that he had meant his words just as much as she had meant hers.

And it had worked. After their confessions, Tiara left him alone for the remainder of the dinner. However, something had changed. There was a hopeful spark in Troy's eyes whenever he looked at her and he had touched her a little more, the gentle strokes of his thumb against her hand or her cheek a little more gentle and intimate.

She had also found herself laughing and blushing a little harder at his jokes and smiling a little more coyly and tucking her hair behind her ears far too often for her own liking.

She knew they were just doing it to maintain their cover, but they had never flirted so obviously, so openly.

And she could see it in his eyes. He still liked her. And she liked him back. And while that still scared her, the concept brought an uncontainable flutter to her stomach.

While Troy and Gabriella were finishing up their crème brûlée – Gabriella had to admit that it was divine, although she also thought Troy feeding her for show was a bit over the top –, Tiara suddenly whispered to Donny, "Let's go say hi to the chef."

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other, both immediately understanding what that meant – the hand-off was about to happen.

Tiara turned to Troy and Gabriella with a sweet yet sinister smile as Donny grabbed her hand to help her out of her chair. "Have fun on your honeymoon!"

Gabriella grinned back, her smile just as fake and insincere. "Thanks! We're going snowboarding in Colorado!"

"Bye!" Troy drawled as he shook Donny's hand, watching Tiara and Donny until they disappeared out of sight, before turning to Gabriella with an amused smirk.

"What?" Gabriella asked, frowning in confusion as he sat and stared at her. "Do I have something on my face?"

"So, you think I'm wonderful, huh?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but her heartbeat accelerated slightly; he had read her signs. It was really in the open now – he knew she liked him and she knew he liked her.

She didn't want to think about what would happen next.

However, the quiet revelation of her feelings and all its implications didn't mean she couldn't return his teasing.

"Shut up," she responded, laughing at the wiggle of his eyebrows before she quirked an eyebrow herself. "And you think I make you a better person, then?"

Troy's eyes widened as he suddenly hurried out of his seat with a nervous laugh. "I think we should go check out the kitchen before we miss the hand-off."

Gabriella giggled as she nodded and followed him, a mixture of giddiness and anxiety swirling inside her stomach.

She guessed they would have to have a little talk soon.

---

"They're actually saying hi to the chef," Troy said incredulously as he watched Tiara and Donny converse with the chef in the back of the kitchen.

However, the briefcase in Tiara's hand unmistakably contained the stolen identity information. Why wasn't the hand-off happening?

And then suddenly, everything came crashing down as Tiara's eyes locked with Gabriella's, her eyes widening for a second and then narrowing in a dangerous, suspicious glare.

"Shit," Gabriella whispered, "She saw us."

What to do? The hand-off hadn't happened yet. They couldn't arrest them yet – that time Cross had arrested someone with insufficient evidence and the squad had had only 48 hours to fix his mistake still haunted Gabriella's nightmares – and their cover had been blown.

Darbus was going to be so angry.

And then all thoughts of Tiara's escape and Darbus's wrath left her mind as a pair of soft lips landed on hers, a warm body pulling her close as her hands helplessly fluttered up to a sturdy neck.

Troy Bolton was kissing her.

For a moment, time stood still and Gabriella could feel nothing but the taste of his lips and the sparks that were exploding behind her eyelids as they fluttered closed. His grip on her waist tightened as she returned the kiss and her hand dove into the soft hair on top of his head.

Vaguely, she felt her back hit a hard surface as his hands pushed at her and she gasped in response and let out a quiet whimper as she felt his tongue enter her mouth and entangle with hers.

She had never felt like this before. Never had she felt this desire course through her veins, never had she felt this need to be close to someone, never had she felt a kiss like this.

And in that minute, she forgot why she was here in this hallway with Troy Bolton and why he was kissing her.

Of course, that minute didn't last nearly long enough.

"Excuse me."

Troy and Gabriella broke away from each other with a gasp as Tiara Gold stared at them with a raised eyebrow and a dangerous glare in her eyes, Donny lingering behind her with a frown.

Gabriella felt herself flush bright red at everything that was going on – being caught spying on Tiara, being caught kissing Troy, kissing Troy to begin with –, giggling nervously as she offered Tiara an apologetic grin. "Sorry, we were just looking for a place to… boink."

She felt Troy shift beside her, his hands returning to their position on her waist, and she spared a quick glimpse at him, before blushing even heavier as she saw the evidence of their kiss hidden beneath his exasperation at her choice of words – in her defence, though, she considered her ability to speak English after what just occurred a victory.

His hair was tousled from her fingers running through it, his lips were swollen, his cheeks rosy with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure and his eyes were a dark shade she had only seen once before.

She realized, with a startling chill down her spine, that it was a shade of desire; it was the same way he had looked at her when they had almost kissed so long ago.

Tiara's eyes switched back and forth between Troy and Gabriella as she scowled and Gabriella felt herself holding in her breath as she silently hoped Tiara and Donny had believed their excuse.

And while the doubt did not dissipate from Tiara's eyes – and Donny still frowned silently –, she seemed to let it slide, likely not wanting to attract attention. She simply huffed, before pushing Troy and Gabriella apart and leaving the hallway.

Donny, on the other hand, smiled politely and nodded at them, before winking at Troy. "Enjoy!"

Both Troy and Gabriella mustered fake smiles as Troy thanked Donny and Gabriella waved at him as he followed Tiara and eventually disappeared from view.

Troy kept his hands on her waist until they were sure Tiara and Donny weren't returning or watching them and his fingertips burned against the skin hidden underneath her shirt. The coldness that arose when his hands left her body startled her and she felt herself craving the return of his touch.

She gulped as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously, unable to tear her gaze away from Troy as he texted Danforth an update on Tiara and Donny's escape, seemingly unaware of her fixation on him.

The ever-present tension between them had changed, she noticed. It was awkward and strained and it suffocated her.

"Great thinking out there!" she suddenly burst out in a desperate attempt to quash this tension, managing a weak, barely visible smile as Troy finally turned to look at her, his face betraying the same anxiety she was feeling. "Very quick, very professional!"

Troy bit his lip before he offered a similarly meek smile in return, nodding furiously. "Yes, professional. That's what this was. This was a work event."

"Yes, of course. We're police colleagues."

For a minute, they just stared at each other, unable to form words. She could see the longing in his gaze, could feel her own craving for his touch and all she wanted to do was act on it. To finish what they had started earlier. To change their status as just colleagues, as just friends, into something else.

But she couldn't. She couldn't afford to be that careless, even though she wanted to throw caution to the wind so badly.

She was still too scared to take that leap. And he seemed to be, too.

Troy was the first to break the stare, blinking out of his daze as he suddenly stuck out his hand to her. "Detective Montez."

Gabriella quickly shook his hand, a memory of being in this very same position, with this same uneasiness sitting between them flashing before her eyes as she nodded firmly. "Detective Bolton."

And after a quick spark down her arm, his touch disappeared again and the coldness and the desire for his touch, even in the most innocent capacity, returned as they simultaneously moved away and their minds shifted back to the case.

The rest of the night was a blur. The arrest of Tiara and Donny after they had handed off in a nearby park, Tiara's taunts in interrogation about how she knew Arnold and Minnie hadn't been legit and about how she thought Troy and Gabriella had some obvious unresolved tension they needed to work on, the continued awkwardness with Troy as they worked on the arrest report… It all flashed by and she could only think about Troy's lips and embrace and how much she craved to experience it all again.

She really did need to talk to him. As soon as possible.

---

She hadn't slept that night. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had seen his hopeful eyes again, had felt his lips, his touch. She considered calling Sharpay or Kelsi or Ryan, but she was certain that any of them would blow this out of proportion; after all, they only had kissed to keep their cover from being blown and it was supposed to have meant nothing.

Even if it had not meant nothing to her, she couldn't pretend that this was the way she wanted to kiss him for the first time.

And then there was the fact that this kiss had made everything real. She had accepted her feelings, she had longed for him, but in all that time that had passed between the night he went undercover and now, she had not thought about the logistics of it all anymore.

He was still her colleague and she was still scared of what would happen if they dated and their relationship crashed and burned. She was still scared of what would happen if she got hurt.

Was he worth taking that risk for?

Everything that had transpired between them, everything that he was, had pointed to an affirmative, but there was still a hint of doubt clouding her mind.

And even though she knew that her fears were beyond irrational at this point, she couldn't let herself truly go if she was still hesitant.

So, she had made the decision to take the professional approach; she would tell him that she hadn't changed her mind and that she hoped they would continue to be great partners and that nothing would change. She had even written down what she was going to say, the product resembling a break-up speech a tad too much, when she gave on trying to sleep at 3 am.

Now she just had to gather the courage to give this speech.

She had felt his eyes on her all morning, watching her every move intently, and she hadn't been able to stop herself from following every trace of his steps, too, as they worked around each other silently. He had looked just as tired as her, just as fearful, and it made her want to just hug him and tell everything was okay.

God, she hoped everything would be okay.

As their gazes met across the precinct for the umpteenth time, she decided that she couldn't do this anymore. She hated this strain between them and she knew she couldn't avoid talking to him any longer if she wanted to relieve the tension.

So, after taking a deep sigh and downing the coffee on her desk, she walked over to McKessie's desk, where Bolton was seated to discuss a case.

"McKessie, can I borrow Bolton for a second?" Gabriella asked loudly, wincing at how awkward she sounded, while Troy's face contorted in agony.

McKessie eyed the open case file in front of her in contemplation. "Well, this is really important…"

"It will only take a few minutes. It's about the Tiara Gold case."

Gabriella's lips curled downward into a frown as she silently pleaded with McKessie, ignoring how Troy's eyes closed briefly in pain when she mentioned the case. McKessie stared at the case file for a second, before looking back at her friend and sighing, her hands flying up in surrender.

"Fine, but I want him back in ten minutes."

They walked over to the evidence locker in silence, their bodies at a large distance from one another as to avoid any accidental touching.

As they entered the room and Troy closed the door behind them, the loud noise startling them slightly, Gabriella took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

But then he looked at her, his face expectant and anxious and shy, and she could only register how his eyes were shining, how sweet the freckles across his face were, how his eyelashes fluttered as he blinked, how there was hope and affection hidden in his blue depths.

And suddenly, all her fears, every doubt she had mulled over after Sharpay had insinuated their feelings all those months ago, everything… It all fell away.

And all she could do was pull him to her and kiss him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him towards her before pressing her lips to his forcefully. She felt him stiffen for a second, before he returned the kiss with just as much fervour, his hands latching onto her waist as he pulled her even closer if that were possible.

The kiss was everything their first kiss should have been. The same feelings flowed through her – she felt the same desire, the same fluttering of her heart, the same warmth coursing through her veins – but it was even better knowing that it was real. They were kissing because they wanted to kiss and they wanted to be with each other.

She sighed in pleasure as her hand buried itself in his hair and the kiss slowed down, the intense passion shifting into something more tender, more gentle.

As they pulled away for air, she kept her eyes shut for a few seconds as she revelled in the moment and how perfect it felt.

Then, her eyes fluttered open and she almost gasped as her eyes locked with his. His mouth was slightly agape, his features displaying a large array of emotions, ranging from surprise and confusion to disbelief and utter happiness. It was the way his eyes shone with a mixture of a bright elation and a stormy passion that made her heart skip a beat and her knees nearly give away beneath her.

They just stared at each other for a moment, bewildered and amazed, both unable to form words.

"I like you," Gabriella finally broke the silence, surprised at how solid her voice sounded. She bit her lip, almost losing her nerve as she felt Troy freeze beneath her palms as she fiddled with the hairs at the back of his neck. "I like you a lot. And it scares me. And it still scares me that everything will change if we date."

She paused and lifted one of her hands from his neck, gesturing around as she let out a soft laugh. "But everything has changed. And my feelings are still here. And if they're still here after everything that's happened, that must mean something, right? So, maybe we should give this a try."

She sighed shakily as she grabbed his hand and lifted it from her waist and squeezed it, watching their hands clasped together in wonderment. She looked back up and smiled timidly. "I want to be with you. For real. None of that light and breezy stuff."

A heaviness settled in her chest as she stared at him as he stayed in his frozen, astonished, dazed state, blinking a few times, and she felt her nerves heightening as she just wished he would say something, anything.

She had just poured out her heart to him. The least he could do was respond.

"Am I dreaming?" Troy eventually asked himself, his eyes fixating at a spot behind her before he let go of her hand, inspecting his own palm thoughtfully. "No, I'm not holding a golf club."

Gabriella's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

His gaze met hers again and the wind was knocked out her again as he shook his head, whispering breathlessly, "Never mind."

Then he clutched her neck, capturing her lips again and entangling his tongue with hers. The kiss was just as passionate, but it was equal amounts slow and leisurely.

It was perfect.

"I like you, too," he breathed as he pulled away, both grinning madly as Gabriella felt her heart jump in her ribcage. "And I want to be with you, too."

She felt herself beaming even brighter. "That's the best thing anyone's ever said to me."

He let out an elated chuckle as he pulled her back into him and buried his face in her dark curls as he embraced her tightly, Gabriella giggling softly in response as she snuggled into him and sighed in ecstasy.

She closed her eyes and prayed that she could stay in this moment, in this position forever.

However, she knew that was impossible.

"We should go back," she whispered after a while, laughing lightly as Troy groaned in response. "McKessie will start looking for you."

"I don't wanna go," Troy whined, his voice no louder than a murmur, as he lifted his head from her hair and locked their lips again, his hands lowering from her waist to her ass, squeezing the flesh softly.

He pulled away after a few seconds to pepper soft kisses across her cheek and down her neck, sucking as he found her weak spot, Gabriella sighing in pleasure and her eyes fluttering closed as all thoughts of McKessie and appropriate workplace behaviour leaving her mind.

However, leaving all rationality behind turned out to be a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.

The sound of a doorknob turning followed by the clicking of heels and a squeal was all that was a necessary for the moment to come tumbling down around them.

"What, nothing!" Gabriella squeaked as she pushed Troy away from her so forcefully that he stumbled backwards and fell into a pile of boxes.

If the circumstances were any different, she would have giggled at the bewildered and embarrassed look on his face, but Sharpay was standing in the door opening, mouth agape and eyes widened, Leverett trailing behind her with raised eyebrows.

A deafening silence fell upon them as both couples stared at each other in shock, until Sharpay's eyes narrowed as a murderous scowl formed on her face.

"I can't believe you!" she burst out, Gabriella jumping slightly as her eyes found Troy, who looked just as confused as she felt. "You two are together and you didn't think to tell me? Do you not trust me? Is that what this is? Unbelievable! I've been at the end of both of your angsty love confessions and this is how you repay me. The disrespect! You'd think I'd be the first person you'd tell, but no, of course you had to–"

"Shut up, Evans!" Troy roared, glaring at Sharpay viciously as he finally got up. Sharpay obliged, but not before huffing undignified and stomping her foot childishly with a pout.

"We literally got together minutes ago," he explained and Gabriella felt a warmth course through her veins at his words. This was really happening. They really were together.

Sharpay apparently had liked his answer, too, as the outrage disappeared and was replaced with excitement as her eyes lit up and an enormous grin grew on her face.

"Finally!" she squealed as she stepped forward, pulling both Troy and Gabriella into a group hug, which both of them returned with awkward pats on her back.

Sharpay winked at Gabriella as she let them go with a happy sigh.

"I want details later," she said, smirking suggestively, before she jumped up and down excitedly, her body trembling with excitement. "But right now, I'm going to get everyone here. And a camera. Oh, and I bet Baylor will let me watch the security footage. God, this is better than that time I found Danforth undressing McKessie in Darbus's secret bathroom!"

"Wait, what?"

Sharpay merely smirked at Troy's shock and Gabriella's pure mortification, waving sweetly before grabbing Leverett's hand and dragging him out of the room, Leverett shrugging and smiling apologetically as he followed.

"This is crazy," Troy exclaimed as the door shut, leaving them alone again. "Is everyone hooking up at this precinct? I mean, Danforth and McKessie, me and you, Sharpay and Leverett, I guess… What's next? Baylor and Kelsi? Darbus and Cross?"

Gabriella couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly, although an all too familiar panic settled in her stomach again.

This was real now. People were going to know. And as much as she was sure she'd made the right decision, she didn't know if she was ready to go public yet.

"So, I guess we'll have to tell Fulton now," she said quietly, interrupting Troy's ongoing rant – Gabriella suspected that he was not quite upset over Danforth and McKessie as much as he was terrified of Sharpay and the situation they'd found themselves in –, his eyes falling on her and widening in horror.

Gabriella smiled. "You haven't really thought this through, have you?"

Apparently, Troy could see the fear reappear in her eyes – everything that just happened between them was so impulsive, that couldn't be a good thing, that shouldn't be a good thing –, his own eyes softening as he moved closer to her and grabbed her hands, kissing her knuckles one by one, before dropping a sweet peck on her lips.

"I don't care," he spoke softly as he pulled away. "I don't care if I have to go to Fulton. I don't care that he'll make sure I'll get demoted. I just care about being with you."

"You won't be demoted, Troy," she said with a small giggle. "If anything, I will. Fulton has a strange vendetta against me."

She smiled as she noticed a hint of anxiety in his eyes as his hands squeezed hers a little tighter, as if he was fearing she would disappear or run away at any moment and she couldn't blame him. She had run from this, from him, for so long.

But she had run from this for long enough. She was going to stay now.

"I just want to be with you, too," she whispered, running a hand through his hair as both of their faces broke into large grins, Troy moving forward to nuzzle their noses together.

He quickly stepped back as they heard boisterous voices yelling down the hall, the sound amplifying as their colleagues approached the evidence room, but the smile and wink he sent her set her heart aflutter and painted her skin red with delight.

It was full of promise of a future. And even though she wasn't sure what that future was going to bring exactly, she was more than ready for it.

As long as he was her partner through it all.