Yikes, updates for this story are a little slow. Sorry.
I'm glad you all liked seeing the shier side of Katie, it really doesn't get the chance to be shown in Mischief And Me that much. She doesn't really let her walls down at the DPD – it's a different story when she's off the clock and around those she trusts.
So, we're slowly inching forward to an event I know all of you are eager to see the other side of from Mischief And Me, I'm pretty sure it's going to happen in Ch6, so bear with me until then!
(And hopefully beyond to see how this all ends! There's a lot of gaps to be filled.)
Special thanks for reviews: AnUnorthodoxDecision, lordvaatithewindmage and one Guest.
Prompt: This entry takes place in the immediate aftermath of Ch 18: Kicking Ass, of Mischief And Me.
I'm sure you all remember my personal hc about companion/Traci androids being able to drink, right? You're going to be seeing a lot more of that here. Plus, another cameo!
Chapter 4: Getting To Know You
"So there's this asshole," Tina said dramatically, pointing a thumb over to Gavin, "tearing after a couple of kids, I doubt they'd even be older than 14, when they scale a fence and run across some scaffolding. 'Genius' here decides in his infinite wisdom that his older frame can handle that shit, so he vaults over the fence, very stylishly I might add," she teases, "only to catch his foot on the way over. Boom! Face plants into the metal floor and causes it to collapse."
Chris and Katie both howled in laughter at the story as Gavin scowled. "And that's how this dickhead not only got owned by a couple of kids, but also busted his nose so bad that he's got that beauty of a scar," Tina beamed, elbowing Gavin in the side. "Great way to crown off your first week as a detective, don't you think?"
"No way you did that in your first week of your promotion!" Chris roared, beyond amused at hearing the story of how Gavin got his nose scar for the first time. "I'll bet that got a few laughs for a while."
"Oh yeah, once we'd dug him out of all that debris," Tina added, "he was looking mighty sorry for himself."
"If you are quite done," Gavin grumbled while downing the last of his drink. "Ten years later and you would think you'd get bored of that story."
"Well, after today, I think there's going to be another one of you going around," Katie pointed out chirpily, conveniently taking a sip from her bright green cocktail while staring at it disappearing as Gavin shot her an unimpressed look. She peered over with a wink as Tina beamed.
"Hell yeah! That was a show and a half! Remind me never to get on Connor's bad side, I don't want to get trashed like you did," the female officer pointed out, screaming in horror when Gavin pulled the straw from her drink and flicked it at her. The red colouring showed up horribly against her light blue top. "Oh, you did not!"
"I've seen you get that top covered in all sorts of shit," Gavin pointed out. "If red wine and mayo comes out of it, whatever this crap is will not be an issue." Tina flipped him off, which had Chris and Katie laughing again. "Fuck it, I'm buying another one. You guys wanting?"
Chris and Tina both nodded while slinging Gavin ten bucks each as Katie gave him a smile. "I'll come with, I've no idea what I want this time," she decided merrily, following Gavin up to the bar. After the end of their day, the quartet had decided to go out to a bar to ride out the last of their energy following the sparring competition earlier that afternoon. Chris and Tina were still coasting on the high of their wins (especially in Tina's case, she'd been all too happy to take down her mark a notch or two after his trash talk got a bit too personal), while Gavin was nursing his wounded pride.
Realistically, he'd known he didn't stand much chance against Connor: but losing in quite so pathetic fashion had definitely not been the plan.
Now on his fifth drink, Gavin was feeling a lot less wound up and he couldn't help but stare over at his partner. This was the first time he'd seen her in anything other than what he'd call 'smart' clothing, and the difference was striking. Katie had half-pinned up her dark brown locks while wearing a figure-hugging halter neck red top and flowing black skirt which ended at her knees, with a slit all the way up to her hip. She's also added a tiny amount of make-up, darkening her eyes with some eyeshadow and mascara which made her already unique eyes pop even more.
Stop fucking staring, Gavin!
Chastising himself silently, Gavin finally managed to catch the bartender's attention. "Katie!" She finally looked up from the menu on the bar top with a smile. "You picked yet?"
"Yeah," she answered while sliding the menu over to Gavin. "33, make it a large one."
Gavin chuckled. "You trying to get dead drunk before midnight?"
She scoffed. "I can hold my drink, Gavin. Besides, we're day off tomorrow, I can worry about the after-effects later." As she pulled out a ten, Gavin pushed the bill away. Katie raised an eyebrow at him. "You're buying?" she asked incredulously.
"Loser pays," he said simply in reply. "Besides, seeing you kick Anderson's ass in such style merits something," he added with a definite lilt.
"Well in that case, thank you kind sir," she replied lightly, the pair of them snickering away. "Better be careful, Gavin, or you'll lose your asshole reputation."
He snorted at her. "Why do you think I waited until it was just me and you before I offered?" Katie laughed as the bartender came back with the four drinks. "In all seriousness though, you need to teach me some of that shit. No wonder you take down perps in two seconds flat with moves like that."
"Are you forgetting when I had you flat on your back in the DPD garage?" she teased. "You already knew I had skills."
Gavin just managed to stop himself from flushing at the reminder of being sprawled out on the cement with Katie atop his pinned form. He'd thought back on that moment more than he really should have. "You had the surprise factor there," he grumbled back petulantly, "but I can admit that you'd probably have flattened me regardless of whether I had knowing it was coming." Feeling a bit bolder, he leant in and whispered the next bit right in her ear. "Sure you don't want to teach me how to flip that around?"
Katie pulled back with a decidedly stunned expression before she bit her lip, flustered. Gavin found it a curious, but adorable reaction. He'd not seen Katie as anything other than bold and confident, so this was new. "Umm…" she stuttered.
Taking mild sympathy on her, he picked up Tina and Chris' drinks with a smirk. "Mark me down as interested," he finished with quick flick of his eyebrows, and he could swear that Katie was frozen on the spot.
Does she really get this flustered when someone flirts with her? I've seen her and Connor do it way too damn often though… Huh, maybe there is something to- Hold the fuck up! What am I doing?!
Quickly walking away, Gavin tamped down on his internal argument and handed the drinks over to their companions, Katie only a few steps behind. She handed over Gavin's drink as she stopped around their table again, and while Tina and Chris were still in conversation, Gavin noticed that she didn't let go of it straight away. He looked up to meet her shy gaze, to which Katie's eyes flickered away for a moment before coming back to meet Gavin's own. "Let me know what you want then," she said so quietly that Gavin barely heard her over the music, but the sentiment was unmistakable.
A quick shared smile was interrupted by Tina shouting for Katie's attention, but the conversation wasn't far from either of their minds.
The night slowly wound down – Chris was eager to get back to his family while Tina was on patrol the following morning – leaving Gavin and Katie as the final two out of the quartet. They stayed at the bar for another hour just talking, but they shared things that were a lot more personal. Gavin told Katie about his troublesome family that he had mostly distanced himself from, while Katie shared a few stories about some of her siblings' misadventures. She never got into enough detail to give away their android identities, but she felt a little better now that Gavin was finally getting to know more about her, not just the façade she was growing a little tired of hiding behind.
She almost toyed with coming clean then and there.
Midnight came and Katie was soon alerted to an incoming call. She forwarded it on to her phone, which suddenly had Gavin's interest as he quickly caught sight of the picture set as her background as she picked up. The pang of jealousy was a lot fiercer after having spent so much time in Katie's company tonight, and he couldn't quite get it out of his head.
A selfie taken by Katie with Connor, the pair of them smiling while hugging two dogs.
Gavin recognised Sumo, he'd seen photos of the St Bernard around Connor's desk, but it was the first time he'd seen a close-up of Katie's husky, Dust. Despite not being the biggest fan of dogs, he could appreciate that Dust was beautiful and unusual: so much like her owner.
Fuck, I really need to stop doing that.
He wasn't in denial. Nope. No fucking way. He wasn't slowly falling for his partner, nooooope.
Katie laughed at something the person on the other end of the phone said and Gavin's heart jumped at the excited smile which bloomed on her face.
Ah fuck, she looks gorgeous when she smiles like that.
She hung up not long after and was fairly vibrating with excitement. "Sorry, Gavin, I've got to go!" she giggled happily while grabbing her coat off the back of her chair.
Gavin blinked for a second at the sudden change. "Whoa, what gives?" he asked.
"That was my brother, he's off-duty and he's asking if he can crash round at mine. I've got to go meet him," she told him while throwing her coat on.
Well, that explained it. Only half an hour ago Katie had told Gavin that she was a lot closer to some of her siblings, the brother which was in the FBI – Richard he was sure Katie had said was his name – was one of them. "Sounds fair. Come on, I'll walk you out," he said while standing himself.
Katie looked at Gavin in surprise. "You're in a very chivalrous mood," she pointed out but waiting patiently for her partner to get himself organised.
They walked out together, waiting patiently outside the bar for their autonomous taxis. It was a warm, late spring, night and it made for pleasant waiting conditions. Now away from the loud music of the bar and the atmosphere, the two were a little more cautious around each other. The night had been an education, that was for sure. It was Katie's taxi that arrived first, and she turned to give Gavin a grateful, if shy smile. "Well, thanks, Gavin. Tonight was a lot of fun, I'm glad you guys decided to invite me along," she told him warmly.
He chuckled. "You're good company, Katie, kinda wish we'd done this earlier." An idea hit him (he wouldn't have been quite so forward sober) and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Say, you got any plans for your day off tomorrow, or are you going to be spending the whole day with your brother?"
She blinked for a moment before answering. "Um…I'm sure Rich will be checking in with the FBI at some point. I could let you know? Why, what are you thinking?" she asked slowly.
"Well, I've never met that dog of yours. Why don't you introduce me?"
"You're a cat person, Gavin, you said so yourself," Katie stated, but he could see her pleased smile.
"Just because I prefer cats doesn't mean I don't like dogs, and you've always said that Dust is gentle as anything. She's instantly going to be an improvement on my bitch-ass cat."
Katie giggled at that and bit her lip again in thought. "I'll let you know, okay?" she said timidly, quickly looking back as the taxi beeped at her. Deciding not to think too much on it, Katie quickly wrapped herself around Gavin in a hug. "Thanks."
Before he could really respond in even so much as hugging back, Katie pulled away and jumped in the taxi. It sped away, and Gavin stood in mild shock, barely noticing his own arrive half a minute later. It wasn't until his phone buzzed in his pocket that Gavin moved, going inside and fetching the device as the taxi left for his apartment.
Does 10 sound good, or will your old body need longer to process all the alcohol? ;)
Gavin laughed in the silence of the taxi. "You fucking bitch, stop teasing me about my age! I'm not that old."
"If I'm an old man, what does that day about your taste?"
The memory came back unbidden and Gavin rapidly banished it. He couldn't deal with that right now; he was busy, and it had been a good night. The piss poor timing of his sentimentality could show up some other time. Growling at his mildly drunk brain bringing up other times, he turned his attention back to his screen.
You know im a grumpy shit first thing. And I aint that old!
You're plenty older than me, Gavin. That makes you old.
This game aint fair when I dont know how old you are Katie.
Well, you'll just have to earn that knowledge, Gavin. And I know how to handle your moody ass in the mornings. Why don't we meet for coffee then walk Dust?
Huh I actually know a place that could work. Meet you here?
He sent over the location and waited patiently for Katie to get back to him.
If you sleep in, I'm just going to phone you and pester you. Don't be late!
Fat chance of that with my diva cat shell wake me up.
Now I HAVE to meet this 'diva'. See you tomorrow, Gavin.
Gavin smiled at the messages and was about to put his phone away when one more pinged through, and the expression grew even more.
Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning. I'm buying.
Sounds like a good deal to me. Yeah you too.
He stashed his phone away and watched the Detroit skyline from the window, mulling over the night which had passed. It had been a while since he'd felt so relaxed on a night out, not since…Gavin sighed and banished the errant thoughts away again. He wasn't dealing with that tonight; choosing instead to think about how happy he'd been in Katie's company – and it seemed that the feeling was mutual. Something was starting to blossom between them, but he wasn't entirely sure what to think of it yet.
Fuck, I'm getting attached to her, and I don't even really know her.
Maybe this can be where I start unravelling the woman behind the mystery a little more.
It turned out that Gavin woke up no problem in the morning, despite having drank a fair amount the night before. Combined anticipation and curiosity for the meeting ahead with his partner was spinning around in his head too much for him to really sleep that deeply. He instead went for a short run to burn off some of the energy before quickly showering and meeting Katie just outside the coffee shop he'd sent her the address of.
As usual, both of them arrived early, though Katie was waiting for Gavin when he got there. He was getting used to finding her with different colour hair when he saw her, but this change was striking. Dark brown to a pale magenta overnight? As little as Gavin knew about dying hair, he was sure the amount of bleach and colour she needed couldn't be good for it.
Looks like I'm not the only one who's been for a run this morning.
Katie was in light workout gear, a modest gym top and cropped leggings, but he began to doubt she'd actually been for one yet if the twitching she was doing on the spot was anything to go by. It was almost as if she was nervous.
Well, this is the first time you've actually seen her outside of work besides last night, and you aren't exactly known to be the most sociable of assholes. She's probably waiting for the other shoe to drop. Fuck, why did my drunk-ass brain think was a good idea again? And why here of all places?
He knew why – this place did his favourite coffee. There was just one tiny other problem he was going to have to deal with…
Katie finally turned around and spied Gavin. She greeted him with a warm smile and Gavin couldn't help but reply in kind, though his attention was immediately drawn to the sandy husky at her side. Dust was cowering slightly behind Katie as Gavin came to a stop next to her. "Morning, Gavin," she greeted softly. "How's your head?"
"Fine, you wouldn't know I'd been drinking the night before," he replied honestly while looking down at the dog again. "Is she always this shy?" he asked while seeing Katie side-step around the hound.
Katie nodded while crouching to scratch Dust's ears. "She's fine if people don't take notice of her, but the minute she's the focus of attention, she clams up. I think it's something to do with what happened before I got her, but I don't know for sure," she told him sadly.
"Dust is a rescue?" he realised.
"Yeah, she was the runt of the litter. She was given away to a horrible home and was then abandoned at a shelter. When I moved into my apartment, I knew I wanted a dog. Dust stole my heart the minute I saw her, and I think she must have seen something in me too – she's never been afraid of me. She is undoubtedly getting better, but it's going to take some time."
"Minna's a rescue too," Gavin told her. "The shelter was having to downsize, and the guy who ran it offered me to take one of the cats home since I was sort-of a regular there."
"Minna, huh? Your choice of name?" she wondered.
"Hell no, he picked it. Still, I like the irony behind it: Min ain't exactly the most affectionate cat, so having a name that literally means 'love' is funny as hell."
Katie laughed while standing again and tied Dust's leash to the railing outside the coffee shop. Dust whimpered, but Katie retrieved a treat bone from her backpack and left it for her husky before the pair went inside. Being halfway through the week and past the morning rush, it was almost dead. Only a handful of people were scattered throughout the room, dotted mostly around the handful of booths along the edge of the long wall.
It was a unique coffee shop, somewhat of rarity in the age of chains overtaking almost everything, built around the premise of people coming in to read or socialise. Booths lined the whole left hand wall, tastefully decorated to act as little hollows where the customers could pick out any book to read while they drank, while all the tables had charging points for phones and laptops. On the second floor was a more expansive library of novels: another unusual feature in a words built around digital media. It was popular place with students and older folks – one of those shops which once it gained a following, had a lot of regulars.
Somewhere that Gavin really wouldn't have ever dreamed of entering, but he adored the coffee in here. He was a familiar face amongst all the staff and even a few of the customers for his frequent visits, and Katie looked on in interest as he gave a disinterested wave to a bunch of students who called out to him from one of the booths. Gavin saw how she was taking in the whole shop, smiling at the fascination on her face. It was just that sort of place.
And the reason for him ever coming in at all was standing at the counter, looking bored as hell.
Here we fucking go…
Gavin stepped up to the counter and crossed his arms as the low greeting came out from the figure playing a game on her tablet. "Welcome to Hideaway, what can I get-" She finally looked up, and her face split into a shit-eating grin. "Fuckface! What are you doing in?"
"Do you greet all of your customers like that, Sophie?" Gavin asked in exasperation as he spied Katie looking over the cakes and bakes in the cabinet, very aware of the snickering from the regulars dotted around. This conversation was nothing new, and everyone was well aware that Gavin was Sophie's older brother.
"Nah, just the ones who are twats," she shot back with a smirk. Gavin rolled his eyes as Sophie spied he wasn't alone, and his expression turned from frustrated, but fond, to annoyed when he saw her eyes gleam. "Holy-"
"Oi!" Gavin hissed, pulling her in to whisper in her face. "Stop fucking staring!"
"Damn, Gav, is that your new partner? You could have told me that she was fucking hot!" Sophie giggled.
"Eyes off," he spat at her.
Sophie gave him a look. "Wow, haven't heard you get quite so territorial before," she noted. "I'm guessing she's not caught just my eye then?"
"I swear to fuck, Sophie, I'm-"
"Hi there!" Sophie chirped as she noticed Katie's attention had drifted up to the drinks board behind her. "Welcome to Hideaway! What can I get you?"
Katie smiled over at Sophie slightly and hummed in thought. "Hi. I'm not sure," Katie admitted while looking over at Gavin. "Any recommendations?"
Gavin was about to answer when Sophie jumped in. "Don't trust this idiot, he has the most weird-ass drink. His taste is a little odd."
"Fuck off," Gavin growled, to which Sophie smiled sweetly as Gavin flipped her off.
"I…take it you two are friends then?" Katie wondered.
"Ha!" Sophie laughed. "Nah, we're stuck knowing each other, whether we like it or not."
"I'll remember that the next time you come begging for a place to say," Gavin told her grumpily. Seeing introductions were in order, he sighed before speaking again. "Sophie, this is Katie Marshall, my partner." The two women shook hands. "Katie, this is my pain-in-the-ass baby sister, Sophie."
Katie's eyes widened as she realised who Sophie was. "Wow, I didn't realise your sister was this much younger, Gavin. 21, 22?" she guessed.
Sophie giggled. "I wish. I'm stuck at a lowly 19 right now," she corrected. "Makes it an even bigger gap to this old fuck," she said while poking Gavin's shoulder.
He was about to snap back when Katie unexpectedly jumped in. "I feel sorry for him being surrounded by so many people younger than him, must makes life difficult," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
"When you're both quite done insulting me," he huffed, unable to be truly annoyed when he saw probably the two most important people in his life right now laughing at his expense. "You ever going to get around to ordering something?"
"Impatient as ever in the mornings," Katie told him with a lazy stare, going back to the board behind Sophie. "Okay, let's go for a caramel latte," she decided with a smile.
"You wanting an extra shot of coffee or the caramel?" Sophie asked while starting on her drink.
"Sure, I'll go for some extra caramel."
"Coming right up." Sophie turned to Gavin. "Usual?"
"Nah, just a double espresso today," he said with a smirk as Sophie gave him a look.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my brother and his weird-ass taste?"
"Fuck off." Sophie dodged his deliberately wayward swipe to her shoulder, sticking her tongue out at him while making their drinks.
Gavin chuckled as Katie gave him an amused stare. "Dare I ask what strange drink you have that your sister enjoys teasing you about?" she wondered.
Before he got the chance to tell her, Sophie piped up from behind the counter. "Mint and pumpkin cappuccino. It's fucking awful."
"Hey!" Gavin yelled while flipping her off.
"Huh, that doesn't sound too back, actually," Katie mused.
Sophie stared at Katie as if she'd grown a second head while Gavin laughed triumphantly. "Hah!"
"God, you two are match made in heaven. Seriously, Gav, don't scare her off – I don't know anyone who has as weird taste as you," Sophie told him, but Gavin spied her smile from behind the coffee machine.
The two soon had their drinks and Katie paid (less than expected courtesy of Sophie extending her staff discount), before they left. Sophie asked Katie to try and keep her brother out of trouble, which the female detective informed her she would try with a wink. The younger Reed then eagerly waved them off. "Your sister is quite sweet," Katie surmised while unclipping Dust from the railing.
Gavin chuckled as Dust bounced excitedly around them: she'd evidently warmed to Gavin at seeing Katie so easy around him. "My sister is a fucking handful," he told her with a sigh. "Sophie lands up in almost as much trouble as I did when I was her age – and that's saying something."
"A trouble-maker, were you?" Katie asked him with a giggle.
"Only so much in as I went out of my way to piss my mom off as much as I could once I realised that she was a judgemental bitch. Sadly it seems that Sophie has taken my example a little too close to heart on that one."
Katie's face fell slightly. "I guess I'm lucky that I'm in such a loving family, even if it gets a little hectic with so many siblings. Were things always so bad?"
"Nah, it was fine until my mom realised that I was mostly into guys growing up," Gavin shrugged. "She's a complete homophobe, so taking off and having one-nighters with guys didn't go down well. Got into the academy quick enough that I managed to move out before it became unbearable, but I still barely speak to her. Sophie doesn't have enough cash to move out yet, so she has to put up with Mom's bitching if she comes back with a girl. I think the current count of kick-outs is six."
"That's awful," Katie said sadly. "Do you ever wonder about trying to repair the relationship?"
"Fuck no, I'm better off without it," Gavin told her emphatically as they wandered into a nearby park, to which Katie let Dust off her leash. The husky took off without a backwards glance, enjoying the morning sunshine. "Besides, there's way too much history there now. I can't forgive her and I certainly ain't going to forget a lot of the hatred she spouted after my old man bit the dust."
"But you still look out for your sister," she pointed out.
Gavin sighed. "Yeah…I mean, I never really knew Sophie as she was growing up. I moved out when she was a toddler, having the massive age gap will do that. It wasn't until she was a teenager and I was having a really shit time of it that we kind of reconnected. She called me to admit that she was struggling with her sexuality and asked for some advice. Having been through it all before, I understood pretty fucking well how she felt. She's never really settled into herself though, so I keep an eye on her. Gave her a key to my place so at least I know she has somewhere safe if she needs it."
Katie smiled at him warmly. "Well, well. Who would have thought that behind all the vulgarity and brashness that there was someone who was so devoted?"
"Don't you fucking say anything, I've got a reputation to keep up with," he teased.
"I'm having a sense of déjà vu," she snickered in reply, which set both of them off laughing. They walked around in companionable silence for a few minutes, drinking their coffees, before Katie spoke up again. Gavin could hear the shyness in her tone. "You said…mostly?"
"Hmmm?" Gavin wondered while tossing his cup in the bin they passed.
"Before, you said that you were 'mostly' into guys," Katie repeated softly. "Does that mean you are attracted to women too?"
Oh shit, what a question. "Yeah, but it hasn't happened often," Gavin admitted awkwardly. "I…I haven't been in many relationships, and my only two serious ones were with guys," he finished quietly. Katie mulled this over. "What about you?"
Katie froze for a moment before pointedly looking away, guilt roaring through her at knowing she couldn't say everything. "I've not been in a committed relationship before," she confessed quietly.
Gavin looked at her in shock. "No fucking way. Seriously?"
"Yeah, it's…complicated."
Well, that left Gavin with all sorts of questions, but at that moment Dust came trotting back over to them and barked. It broke the awkwardness descending over them, but Gavin could see that Katie was suddenly shy and withdrawn. She clipped Dust back on to her leash and looked at the time on her phone. "Richard's finished with his check-in, I'd better get back and see him," she told him carefully.
"Oh." Gavin wasn't ready to admit to himself quite how disappointed he was at that. What he didn't like was the sudden discomfort between them. "Sure, I get that. Mid-shift tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'll see you at the precinct at 11 tomorrow." The pair stood in a painful silence for a few seconds before Katie stepped back. "See you, Gavin."
She jogged off with Dust next to her and Gavin hated that it felt like she'd run away. He'd thought he was really making some progress in learning about her, but things had suddenly changed. What he wondered about was why Katie had been so curious about his interest.
And then the thought suddenly hit him like a freight train. Maybe he wasn't the only one noticing that they were getting a lot closer than just work partners, and maybe a little beyond simple friends.
It had been…years since he'd been interested enough in anyone to even think about another relationship. But he couldn't deny that he liked Katie: and not just a platonic like either. He just wasn't sure what to do with that.
Fuck.
