Author's Note: A quick one shot that I came up with out of nowhere and threw onto a page. I may extend this at a later date if there is interest. xo!
Phryne
The man staring at me from across the dance floor was delectably handsome. A small voice in my head hinted that the reason I might find him so handsome was his striking resemblance to a certain Detective Inspector. I brushed that thought away with annoyance as I remembered how that very same Policeman had just gone and gotten himself engaged to a certain Italian Mobsters daughter. She had given me a bottle of wine when they told me and had asked me to be involved in the wedding as I was one of 'Gianni's best friends'.Friends. The word had stabbed into me like a knife.
The man who had been staring at me made his way to my side and bowed slightly.
"A dance, fair lady." Shit. Even his voice sounded like…no.
"I would be honored." I said with a quick flip of my hair, taking his hand in mine. We made our way out onto the dancefloor and instantly, he pulled me close and spun me around.
"I must admit, my dear. I was veritably shocked when I realized a prize like you was here alone."
"Well if I indeed shine so brightly, then it shouldn't shock you that I would chose to spend my time dazzling the masses rather than hiding away in a single prince's tower." He laughed heartily and his hand dropped happily to my lower back.
"Well put…" he began, "Might I know what to call the gem that has captivated my very soul?" he said with mock seriousness. I laughed.
"Whatever would the fun be in that?"
"Two ships passing in the night then?" he asked.
"Passing closely I hope." I suggested, running a single finger across his chest. He smiled appreciatively.
"So what shall we call one another then? For I do believe that we shall need something to call out." He said slyly. The excitement of anticipation flowed through me and I smiled at him.
"Just for tonight?"
"Just for tonight." He confirmed.
"Serena." I said nodding my head.
"Beck."
An hour later I was pressed up against an ally wall, his hands gripping the back on my head and cupping the curvature of my derriere. One of my hands was gripping his lapels, pulling him closer and the other was trialing down his chest, lower and lower. I made my way purposely down, finding his left pocket and slipping my hand inside. I felt around, the tips of my fingers skimming his cock, reveling in his shivers.
"Fuck." His voice was low and gravely and I smiled at how affected it was by my actions. I moved my hands to the front of his pants and quickly unbuttoned the waistband. Sliding my hands in, beneath his cotton underwear I gripped his cock tightly sliding my hand up and down its length. I gripped him tightly and closed my eyes, imagining for a minute that it was a different man with a four letter name. It was in these moments, my head clouded with drink, my blood boiling with the heat of sex, that I admitted it to myself. I was in love with Jack Robinson. Only he had made it very clear that we were nothing more than friends, colleagues, and that he would never be for me what I wanted. I would have given up everything for him, but he wouldn't ever ask for me. So I went out. I got drunk. I found a man as close to him as I could. And I took what small joy I could from that. I hadn't had sex in an age. I could never do that, not anymore. I didn't want them to come back to my home. That was where Jack and I shared nightcaps, where we discussed cases, where we played checkers. I couldn't bring another man there. Not anymore. Then again, I didn't want to go to their homes either. It made them too real. Too different from the man I desperately hoped that they were. So it was the alley for us. A passionate make out session followed by a quick wank for him. They never left unsatisfied. But I couldn't bring myself to sleep with another man.
"Serena." His voice moaned out as he gripped my arms tightly. He was close I could tell. I leaned forward and bit the lobe of his ears as one hand massaged his balls, the other gripping tightly around his cock. With a groan he spilled himself in my hand and gripped my shoulders tightly. Screaming out my "name".
"Jesus." He swore. "That was…" he shook his head in awe. "I do believe it's your turn." I smiled suggestively, with no plan to follow through.
"Perhaps another night, it's late."
"Oh come now, Serena! You can't just do a man like that and expect to leave without so much as a reciprocal thank you?"
"I do indeed." He grabbed me and kissed me passionately.
"Don't ever let it be said that I pushed a woman too far, but know this, my goddess. If you change your mind, I would always be happy to make amends." I let him kiss me, ignoring the fact that his pants were still halfway down his legs and simply melted into it. (He was, after all, a good kisser.)
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Damn. A stream of light suddenly shined into our eyes, and I did my best to block it out. A police officer stood at the entrance of the alley, staring at us with a smirk. "First time a call in about public indecency led to something like this!" he said. "Alright lovebirds. Come on then. I'm going to have to take you in." I held in a groan. Shit. Shitting, shitting, shit. Please God, if you do exist, do not let that police officer be from City South. "We're on our way to City Central. You can call someone to come bail you out when we get there, eh?" I sighed in relief and reluctantly followed Beck to the car. He grinned at me sheepishly.
"Don't worry, love. I know someone who will bail us out and get this whole situation fixed. We won't be in trouble for long." The Police Officer chortled, clearly not too upset by what he had found.
"Kids these days." He laughed good naturedly as we pulled away from the curve, towards the City Central station.
LINE
We were booked separately and I didn't see him again until after he got back from making a phone call to his brother who would, evidently, take care of this. When he got back, he was put in the cell beside me. The officer who had brought us in laughed about it, saying he was sorry for our sakes that he couldn't give us the same cell, but it was, after all, the policy.
"I'm sorry about this my dear." He said with a wink through the iron bars. "But to be fair, I did invite you back to my place and you were the one who suggested we parley in public." I laughed.
"I won't tell if you won't." He nodded.
"Fair enough." After a moment's hesitation he eyed me appraisingly. "So now that we've been arrested together, do I get to learn your name?" I leaned in with a wink.
"What would be the fun in that?" He chortled and we continued on with small talk for nearly 15 minutes as we waited for Beck's brother to arrive. Finally he came. The officer returned to our cells and unlocked the bars.
"The man of the hour has come!" He responded cheerfully. "Say, you never mentioned you were so well connected!" He said, patting Beck on the shoulder. "Anyway, he has requested the release of Mr. Lucas Robinson and whatever floozy he's managed to seduce this time, immediately." I couldn't be bothered to blush at the description of myself, rather giggling slightly at the accusation. We stumbled out after each other, both of us still well into our cups as we made our way out into the station.
"Say, Jackie boy. That was quite rude of you. I'll have you know that my lovely partner for the evening is a well-respected young lady!" Beck called out to his brother. I laughed, heartily before turning to face the gentleman who had just bailed me out of prison.
I sobered instantly.
No.
"My dear. May I present to you the wonderful man who has just bailed us out of jail, my brother? Jack Robinson."
Jack
Three in the morning. My brother had telephoned at three in the morning to ask me to bail him and some girl out of jail. According to the arresting office, they'd been caught in some alley with her hand down his smalls, his pants somewhere around his knees. Well at the very least he could claim consistency. I could have been doing far better things with my time right now. Phryne had invited me over for a nightcap. As had my fiancé. I had told Phryne that I was on my way to Concetta's place. I had told Concetta I was working. Then I had gone home and stewed in solitude ruminating over the fact that where I wanted to be, and where I was supposed to want to be, were two very different places. Concetta had proposed. She was offering to be my wife. To bear my children. She was offering the life I wanted. And I had said yes. I knew that the girl I wanted would never be part of my life in that way and I did love Concetta, in a different way. So I chose the reality over the fantasy, and I convinced myself that I would forget Phryne as soon as I was getting laid as regularly as she was.
After all, she would certainly forget about me.
As I filled out the paperwork to release my brother, my mind drifted off to my partner in crime, or rather, my partner in solving crimes. Phryne had been acting oddly since Concetta and I had told her our news. A small part of me hoped that it had something to do with her being jealous, with her wanting me the way I wanted her but I knew that was a pipe dream I'd have to give up. I'd find her a good murder tomorrow and she would be back to her usual self.
I heard their giggling long before I saw them. My brother and whatever girl I had just paid to get out of prison. I sighed. It was far too early in the morning for this shit. The duo came around the corner, his back to me, facing her. I froze. No. My brother was saying something but I wasn't paying the slightest attention. I had just bailed Phryne Fisher out of jail. For public indecency. With my brother. A green eyed monster roared in my chest and it took everything I had to keep a straight face and not hit something. (Someone. Lucas, most likely.) Damn. She had seen me too.
"Jack..." She spoke my name, her voice filled with guilt and hazy with the drink.
"Come on." I said gruffly, trying to hide the pain that was filling the hole in my chest. "I've got to get you two back to City South so we can get these charges dropped."
"I knew you'd come through for me, Jack!"
"Shut it, Lucas." After a lot of finagling, the pair of them were situated in the back of my car and we were driving down the road, Luke chatting up a storm, Phryne and I silent as the grave. Descriptions of how they were found filled my head. Her pressed up against an alley wall. Him with his pants around his knees. Her with her hand in his smalls. How was I supposed to get that image out of my head?
"So when did you two lovebirds meet?" I asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
"It's not what you think, Jack." She said softly. I glanced back at her and was shocked to find a tear dripping down her face.
"We met at the bar. Tonight." Luke said jovially. "Danced, flirted, and I was a perfect gentleman!" He declared drunkenly. "Invited her home with me and everything. It was her idea to rendezvous in the alley so don't put this all on me, Jackie." A soft sob came from the back seat and I watched, the pain in my chest ever growing as she burst into tears. I slowed the car down as we pulled up in front of the station. I unlatched Luke's door, letting him stumble out of my car on his own, before rushing to Phryne's side and pulling open her door. She sat firmly within, her hands covering her face. I held out my hand.
"Come on." I said as quietly as I could, not wanting to alarm her. "If you're lucky, I may even take a few mugshots. If I recall correctly, you quite enjoyed that the last time." She didn't so much as look at me as she took my hand, out held to help her out of the car. She moved to walk up the steps on her own but I gripped her hand tightly and refused to let go. She held onto me as she and Luke stumbled in through the front door. I led them into my office and she sat on a chair, off to the side, her legs pulled up to her chest. It felt wrong, her not perched on the corner of my desk. She stared at that space too.
"Serena, don't be upset, doll. Jack's going to take care of everything."
"Serena?" I asked, feeling my brow furrow heavily.
"We didn't tell each other our real names." She finally spoke. "It was only to be a brief assignation. Two ships passing in the night and all. I had absolutely no idea who he was." Her voice was begging now. It was odd. I hadn't actually thought of that, but I was suddenly very much so relieved that she hadn't known he was my brother, that she hadn't known his last name was Robinson.
"Of course." I nodded. "Excuse me, I'll need to ask a few questions for the paperwork now." They both nodded but as I began filling in the blanks, I realized that I knew most of the answers. For Phryne anyway. "Lucas, where are you actually living now. Mother never forwarded me your new address."
"451 Beckinsdale." I nodded and continued to write.
"Don't you need to know the lady's address?"
"221B The Esplanade." I said without thinking. There was a moment of silence as I continued to write. I set down the first sheet of paper and picked up the next, just as Luke snatched the filled in documents off my desk.
"These are very personal questions, Jack." I shrugged.
"Not really. They're fairly run of the mill."
"You misunderstand me. These are questions that would only be known by close friends and family."
"Well then I suppose it's a good thing we're family as I suspect you are too far gone to remember a few of these things yourself."
"And Serena? You've gone ahead and filled in the lot of this for her." He paused. "Including her name." He glanced at Phryne. "Phryne Fisher, then."
"Phryne Fisher, Lady Detective." She said, her voice sounding quite dull. "I work with your brother." Luke let out a shout of laughter.
"The two of you work together?" He laughed some more. "What are the chances of that?"
"You would be surprised." I muttered under my breath.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Phryne asked loudly.
"Only that you and your old friends seem to continually pop up in my life and it was only a matter of time before one of your old friends was one of mine."
"Weren't you listening Jack?" My brother cut in, still not fully understanding the scope of what was afoot. "We just met tonight!"
"My old friends popping up?!" Phryne cut Luke off angrily. "At least I haven't gone and gotten myself engaged to one of my old friends!"
"No. Yours just cycle through your boudoir like dirty laundry. I have the respect to be honorable about my interactions."
"Yes! Jack Robinson! The man who always does the honorable thing!" She said, with derision. "Never impulsively leaving a bar with someone solely because they remind him of the person he's so desperately in love with!" I stilled. She was drunk. Her words were...confusing. I didn't understand, I must just have this all wrong...and yet it seemed like she was saying... "So shoot me Jack! A man who looked and talked like the only person who has ever made me fall head over heels in love flirted with me at a bar. And I was miserable, and lonely, so I flirted back. Then we went into an alley and hooked up. All because the love of my life went and got himself engaged to another woman without so much as a moment's notice. I'm impulsive and emotional and certainly not honorable! I get it! But at the end of the day, it really isn't my fault, is it? No that privilege belongs to the jackass who broke my heart so congratulations Jack, it looks like you're not quite so honorable after all!" She was on her feet by the end of her speech and the look in her eyes chilled me to my very core. Spinning on her heel she stalked out of my office and I jumped as the front door slammed soundly behind her.
What the hell had I done?