A/N: Mid-Season 1 Jeller. Maybe this is a weird one, idk. It's also a bit longer with not much dialogue, but their thoughts will do the job.


"Hidden Clues"

Her heart almost skipped a beat when she realized what had to be done. They needed one last key in order to unlock the next door inside this insane labyrinth of luxury and stolen art and her tattoos were once again the answer. There was no way out of this, she was perfectly aware; and that was the reason she was about to lose it. Silently.

She had to play it cool. For his sake.

Even if her fingers were already feeling numb, even if her body was refusing to follow any of her brain's commands, she had to keep it together and act as if they were about to pull any other of their normal crazy stunts. A typical day at the office with her field partner, that's what it was. No need to panic. This was strict procedure. For the case.

Kurt couldn't remember the last time he felt the need to focus on anything with such eagerness. He was staring at his phone's screen as if the entire mission was depending on working this application out. He had no idea what he was watching -he simply had to follow Patterson's instructions- everybody knew that, but he had to somehow keep himself occupied for things to look at least normal. She didn't seem to have any problem with the situation, so if he could maybe seem absorbed enough in the procedural details, then she could perhaps not see the distress in his eyes…

God, why was she being such a coward? This was nothing compared to the things she'd done in the past; difficult or painful or life threatening even stuff that she'd gladly attempt without even blinking. Not to mention the full-body nudes that was the new form of update for dozens of strangers working in the bureau.

This now was about a photograph. One single photograph taken by her field partner and she was already searching among all the excuses in the world to avoid it. Don't be a chicken, she thought before taking a camouflaged deep breath and started removing her gear.

The steps were easy. They had to find a specific numeric sequence between the tattoos and photograph it from the correct angle, using this 3D/IR lens filter, so that the hidden key-code would be revealed for them to open the next labyrinth gate. Piece of cake.

So what if the tattoo was at the inside of her upper thigh? They were professionals.

Had she kissed her 'field partner' two days ago? Yes. And yes, she had been avoiding him ever since; but this was a whole different situation. This was about the case. No need to get weird.

But soon his hands were on her leg, trying to find the needed tattoo.

And soon… had she stopped breathing?

He was tracing her skin, giving the chills in every single inch he was touching. He was going higher and higher and her mind was melting. Some slight added pressure here and there during his scavenger hunt and she almost had to remind her heart to be quiet.

Sorry? Did he just apologize_

"I think I found it." He added, interrupting her thoughts.

It was a mixture of feel and eyesight her understanding of the exact location, but it was his guilt that mostly caught her attention. He was handling her skin like a piece of paper, trying his best to avoid looking at her; trying his best for this to not suggest any intimacy. She was biting her lip thinking about their kiss, she couldn't focus on anything other than his fingertips on her skin and he was avoiding even accepting participation.

And it was all her fault.

Because if she had made it clear since day one that kissing him was not a mistake, this would have been some sort of accidental foreplay. Hell, this could have even been an actual déjà vu. But no, out of all the people in the world, she'd chosen textbook-Kurt Weller to play the "I think I regret it" game with…

Or maybe, he had truly regretted kissing her. Maybe she had forced herself on him. Maybe_

"I… Sorry. I... need some room to…" He left the rest unspoken, the circumstances already being awkward enough without him directly asking for a wider access between her legs.


"I didn't change my mind." She stated first thing he was off her body and her trousers were back on.

"Kissing you the other night I mean," replying to the confused look on his face. "I never regretted about it." Her timing sucked, but this needed to be said.

"I'm sorry if I made things weird between us," she kept going when he refused to form any verbal reply, "and it's OK if you want to forget it ever happened, but I wanted you to know that_"

His lips prevented her from saying anything more. He had no idea what had gotten into him -maybe it was the sadistic exploring of her body that did the job- but he was all of a sudden... kissing a partner; deeply, during an op and he was enjoying it.

Relief.

That was the feeling that could better describe his inner world. Relief and excitement. And he almost forgot to care about catching the bad guy of this mission...


A/N: Was this chapter a terrible idea? In any case, thank you to the people who took the time to read these and double thank you to those who made me smile and kept me writing with their comments.