"Yo, you finish the report on the G-Park Lords bust?"

Kate had just taken a mouthful of coffee when she heard Kevin's voice from across the bullpen and, without turning to face him, she slid a manilla folder from her desk and waved it above her head, waiting for him to come and collect it.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Kate quirked an eyebrow with a wry grin as he plucked the file from her fingers, a look of relief on his handsome face as he flicked through the papers, noting that they were all scribed, signed and ready for the DA.

"You have…usually when I pull your sorry ass out from under a mountain of paperwork."

Kim snorted as she looked at the two from her place at the desk opposite Kate's.

"Nothing's changed there, huh Kev?"

He merely eyeballed the two women before returning to his desk to finish off his paperwork. Kate and Kim sharing a knowing smile, having both been partnered with Kevin for an extended period of time.

It was a rare quiet afternoon for the Intelligence Team, all of the detectives and officers using the time to catch up on paperwork before the next case landed. Kate was particularly keen to clear her in-tray as she and Hank were due to catch a flight to New York in the morning to spend a few days with Erin and her brother.

Shortly after they closed the Stone case, the two of them headed over to HQ to hand-deliver the Relationship Disclosure form to Sam Miller who simply raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow at the two of them and gave Kate a very pointed look that said they would be talking about this in detail in the very near future.

After they had filed the HR paperwork declaring their relationship, the two of them decided not to tell the team outright that they were together, instead they made a friendly wager on who would figure it out first.

"My money's on Kim." Kate said, her socked feet resting in Hank's lap as they reclined on Kate's sofa one evening after work.

He ran a warm palm over her shin, attention divided between Kate and the Blackhawks game on TV but the mention of the newest member of the team had him flicking his eyes away from the flatscreen to Kate's face.

"Really? You think Burgess will be the first one to figure it out?"

Kate nodded, popping a slice of orange into her mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing the sweet segment before answering.

"She's way more perceptive than you give her credit for…plus she's already asked me if I'm seeing anyone."

Hank raised an eyebrow and Kate hummed, a wry smirk on her face.

"Yeah, a few weeks ago. Said something along the lines of 'good sex suits you.'"

"Oh, that so?"

Hank shifted his body towards Kate, planting his hands on the sofa either side of her hips as he captured her lips with his, his tongue immediately requesting access to her mouth, savouring the sweet taste of her and the fruit she'd been eating.

Breaking his mouth away from hers, he latched his lips onto her earlobe, nudging her head sideways with his nose to create enough space to trace a damp path down her neck, his tongue dipping in to the exposed hollow of her throat before moving back up the other side.

"Perhaps I need to work a bit harder if the sex is just 'good'."

Kate dropped her head back against the cushion at his grumbled words, eyes fluttering closed as he laved her skin with attention. Running her fingers through his hair, she scratched his scalp in the way she knew he loved and, sure enough, his answering moan vibrated against the flesh of her neck.

"Who do you think will catch on first?"

He was in the process of pressing open-mouthed kisses to the soft skin behind her ear when, without pausing his ministrations, she heard a mumbled 'Halstead' in response.

"Hmm. Well I think we can agree on who won't be the first one to figure it out."

"Ruzek." They both said at the same time and she could feel Hank smile against her skin, a laugh bubbling in her chest.

"Poor guy is totally oblivious to anything and everything that is not Kim Burgess."

Hank's lips stilled against her skin and Kate immediately closed her eyes at her error.

Shit.

He pulled back just enough to look her in the face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Adam and Kim had recently rekindled their on-again, off-again relationship but they were keeping it on the down-low now that Kim was formally a part of the Intelligence Team. Kim had confided in Kate how Hank had chosen Kevin over her the first time around because of her relationship with Adam so she wanted to keep it quiet until she'd proven herself.

Kate placed her hands on Hank's shoulders, running her palms over the cotton of his t-shirt as she took a breath.

"They've started seeing each other again but Kim didn't want to make a huge deal of it…given how she was overlooked the first time a spot in Intelligence came up."

Hank merely looked at her but she could see the wheels were turning in his mind. It wasn't like he had a leg to stand on anymore when it came to his 'no in-house romance' rule so, this time, he was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.

"When did you find out?"

Kate hiked her shoulders, her fingers toying with the hem of his collar.

"Not long after she joined. I kinda caught them in the locker room."

Hank raised both eyebrows this time, an incredulous look on his face.

"Don't worry, I gave them the propriety speech but, given what we did in your office…" She tailed off as a blush rose high on her cheeks, the memory of looking up at Hank from her position on her knees sending a shiver down her spine. He too seemed to be reliving the experience as his eyes darkened with lust.

"Guess we don't really have a right to give them a hard time, hmm?"

Kate pulled him back towards her, peppering his cheeks, nose, eyes and lips with little kisses.

"Nope. But speaking of hard…"

Within a week of that conversation, Kate, Hank and Alvin were the only remaining members of Intelligence still in the bullpen. It was after ten and they were finishing up their paperwork following a recent drug buy-bust. Kate had just finished the last sentence of her report when Hank appeared behind her, dropping his hands onto the arms of her chair so that his face was level with her ear.

"You nearly ready to head home?"

He pressed his nose to her cheek, planting a soft kiss to the line of her jaw and her eyes dropped closed at the contact. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to take a long, hot bath and cocoon the two of them in the sheets until the morning.

"Hmm-mmm. Just need to file this and I'm done."

Kate turned her head to look at him, leaning forwards to peck his lips gently.

At this point, Al was used to their displays of affection when they weren't in the company of the rest of the unit so he wasn't paying them any attention. What they hadn't noticed was that Adam had returned to the bullpen just as Kate placed her lips on Hank's. He stopped dead at the top of the stairs, eyes wide as they flicked between his boss, his colleague and his mentor, the latter sipping his coffee, eyes alight with amusement at the uncomfortable situation unfolding before him. When it became clear that he had indeed seen what he thought he saw, Adam cleared his throat and mumbled something about forgetting his phone, pulling the drawer open and pocketing the device before he backed away towards the stairs, a cute blush forming on his cheeks.

Before he could leave, Hank called out to him and he froze in place.

"Yes boss?"

"This doesn't mean you and Burgess have free rein to do whatever the hell you want around here."

"No, sir. Copy that."

"Bye Adam!"

Kate called in a sing-song voice, struggling to contain a laugh at her colleague's discomfort. She kissed Hank's cheek before getting to her feet, shuffling the papers on her desk into a pile before she folded them all into a file, strolling to Hank's office and placing them on his desk.

"Wonder how long it'll be until he's blabbed to everyone else?" Kate mused, pulling on her coat and picking up her purse as both Alvin and Hank got to their feet to leave for the night.

It was Alvin who snorted, knowing that his protege was worse than an old woman when it came to gossip.

"Oh, I give it an hour, tops."

Sure enough, by the time everyone arrived the next day, they were all casting odd looks towards them until Hank eventually snapped, confirmed that he and Kate were together and they should mind their own damn business. Since then, no-one had mentioned the subject of their relationship and Kate couldn't work out if it was because they truly respected their privacy or because they were terrified that Hank would kick them out of the unit. Either way, it was business as usual for the most part.

"So what time are you heading out tomorrow?"

Kim's doe-like eyes appeared over the top of her computer monitor and Kate leaned back into her chair, taking a well-deserved break from the paperwork on her desk.

"Got the 7am flight out of O'Hare so we get in to JFK at just after 10."

Kim nodded, taking a sip of coffee as she too pushed herself back from her desk slightly.

"That's good, at least you get the most out of the time you have."

When her shift was over, Kate went back to her apartment to finish packing her things before heading over to Hank's place, the two of them deciding to take Hank's SUV to the airport. After polishing off some Chinese take-out and a bottle of wine, the two curled up in their usual positions on the sofa, Hank flipping through various sports channels while Kate lost herself in a book, tucked against his side.

"You mind if we make a stop by the 16th precinct at some point over the weekend?"

Kate tilted her head backwards, eyes leaving the page she was reading to look at him.

"Sure. The 16th is SVU right?"

"Yeah, you know it?"

Kate huffed a laugh, returning her eyes to the book in her lap.

"You forget I worked in the city for five years. Know it like the back of my hand."

He hummed in response, his hand resuming its previous activity of tracing a path up and down Kate's flank from shoulder to thigh and back again.

"You ever cross paths with Benson?"

"Olivia Benson? Yeah, once or twice. I liked her, she's good police."

At his silence, she tucked her bookmark securely into the page and closed the book, placing it on the coffee table before sitting up slightly in his arms so she could face him properly.

"Why'd you ask?"

"No reason. CPD worked with her unit on a few cases, mainly the Greg Yates case."

Kate nodded, she'd heard about that case through a few colleagues who worked out of the same precinct as the SVU team. It was a high profile case that made the national news but she didn't recall hearing that CPD had been involved.

He still had an unreadable expression on his face and Kate couldn't help but feel there was more to the story than he was letting on.

"Anything else I should know?"

Hank looked down at her and, after a second, he sighed and switched the TV off, dropping the remote onto the couch next to him.

"Benson and I, we had a bit of a…thing."

Kate raised her eyebrows at his admission, giving him a look that said 'now you've opened that box, you better elaborate'.

"Not a thing, thing but…there was a bit of…tension."

Kate was fighting a losing battle to keep a straight face, relishing in his obvious discomfort.

"Tension, huh?"

Before he had the chance to respond, Kate had shifted to her knees and climbed over his body, throwing one knee across his lap so that she was straddling his hips, thighs bracketing his lean waist as her hands slid from his chest to his shoulders, his own hands immediately coming to rest on the curve of her ass.

"You mean, this kind of tension?"

She nuzzled her nose into the soft skin behind his ear, latching her lips to his neck as her tongue darted out to taste him. Hank lifted his chin to give her the access she wanted, a lazy hum leaving him as she worked her way down the column of his throat, nipping and laving the skin around the semi-circle of fabric. His fingertips pressed firmly into the skin of her waist, pulling her hips down to his in search of delicious friction.

Kate could feel him swelling rapidly beneath her, the bulge in his sweatpants making his need for her abundantly clear. Grabbing the hem of his T-shirt, she tugged the cotton up and over his head, pressing her chest firmly against his, leaning in close and taking the lobe of his ear between her teeth before whispering.

"Hmm, well maybe you should ask Olivia to relieve some of that tension for you."

With that, she shifted her weight back and away from his body, her intention to leave him wanting all too clear. But before she could fully dismount, his hands darted out to grasp her waist, spinning them so that he had her back pinned to the couch, his weight pressed firmly between her thighs he stared down at her, eyes ablaze with desire.

Without a word, he harshly slammed his mouth to hers, nipping at the flesh of her lips as their tongues battled for dominance. Kate wrapped her legs around his waist, back arching into his touch as one rough palm slid up under her t-shirt to caress her bare breast. Deciding there was way too much fabric between them, he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and wrenched it over her head, baring her to his gaze. A flush of arousal was forming on her chest, tracking its way up her throat and onto her cheeks, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of amusement and lust.

"You're so fucking gorgeous."

Kate gripped the back of his head as he dropped his mouth to her chest, taking one tight peak between his lips and sucking lightly whilst the hand not supporting his weight cupped the flesh of her other breast in his palm, rolling the bud between his fingers. The thin fabric of his sweatpants did nothing to hide is obvious arousal and Kate couldn't hold in the long groan of pleasure that left her when he ground his hips against her core.

He took his time making his way down her body, running his tongue down the valley between her breasts, nipping at the flesh over her rib cage, soothing the sting with his lips. When he eventually arrived at the waistband of her leggings, he drew the fabric down her legs sharply, throwing them and her underwear haphazardly across the room to join their discarded t-shirts, his desire to taste her becoming all-consuming.

Placing both of her thighs over his shoulders, he used his palms to pin her hips still before blowing a stream of cool air against her sex, watching intently as she threw her head back and writhed under him. He repeated the motion a few more times before giving in to her needy demands, swiping his tongue through her already-saturated folds, smirking as she cried out in pleasure.

The hand in his hair tightened almost painfully when he created a vacuum around her clit with his lips, tongue flicking the sensitive bundle of nerves and he inserted first one, then two thick fingers inside of her, pumping a steady rhythm, a thin sheen of sweat making her stomach and chest glow in the dim light.

Soon enough, her back was arching from the couch, his name tumbling from her lips as he coaxed her through her orgasm, her inner walls clenching around his probing digits. The muscles of her stomach and thighs were still twitching sporadically when he released her from his mouth and withdrew his fingers from her body, moving over her so that he could drop a languid kiss to her lips. When they parted, he looked deeply into her eyes and tenderly brushed a stray hair away from her sweaty forehead.

"You have no idea what you do to me."

Tracing his damp chin and jaw with her thumb, she let out a breathy whisper against his lips.

"Show me."

Eyes blazing with heat, he took command of her lips with his own, the taste of her still heavy on his tongue as he shoved his sweatpants down his legs, just enough so that he could free himself from the fabric and push inside of her.

He immediately withdrew and began a ruthless pace, drawing out so that only the tip remained inside before plunging back in as deep as her body would allow. Kate wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling his body down towards her as her thighs lifted to wrap around his waist, creating an even deeper angle that had white light flashing behind her eyelids.

"So good, Hank. More."

Her whispered commands had him doubling his efforts, the sound of flesh slapping flesh spurring him on as he pounded into her body. Placing his hands either side of her head, Hank pulled himself away just enough so that he could watch her breasts bounce in time with each thrust, her chest heaving with exertion as she took everything he gave her. The visual itself was enough to have him balancing on the precipice but when her fingers tracked down the rippling muscles of his bicep to grip his forearm, dragging his hand to settle at the base of her throat, he almost lost it.

From the look in her eyes, he knew exactly what she wanted.

Not missing a beat, Hank leaned his bodyweight forwards slightly, his hips never faltering as he applied a bit more pressure, gently constricting her airway and Kate's eyes rolled back into her head, ecstasy written clearly on her face.

"This want you want, hmm?"

"God yes!"

Increasing the pace of his thrusts, he dropped his free hand between their bodies to apply pressure to her throbbing nub and within a matter of seconds, Kate was flying over the edge, her body shuddering under his as she reached her peak.

After a few more thrusts, he reluctantly jerked himself free from her warm body and took himself in hand, covering her stomach with his release as he followed her into oblivion. Not caring for the sticky mess between them, Hank lowered his body onto Kate's, his lips gently peppering her chin and lips with kisses as their hammering hearts slowly began to return to their usual rhythm.

"You okay?"

His mumbled words drew a hum from Kate who was absentmindedly running her fingertips up and down his sweaty back, enjoying the afterglow of one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever had.

"Never better. Can't have you all tense when you visit Benson now, can I?"

A loud laugh erupted in his chest as he pulled back to look at her, realisation dawning on his face.

"You're jealous!"

Rolling her eyes, she slapped his bare chest and lightly shoved him backwards, the two of them moving into a sitting position on the couch.

"Of course I'm not jealous. Are you kidding me?"

The look in his eyes told her he didn't believe her but he wisely stayed quiet anyway. Eventually the chill in the room became too much and they abandoned the living room in favour of a hot shower, both of them slipping into bed with a sigh once they'd finished their nighttime routines.

"You don't have to worry, you've completely ruined for me other women."

Kate was tucked comfortably in Hank's arms, dozing in and out of consciousness when she heard him speak, a smile spreading onto her face at his words. Dropping a kiss to the nearest piece of skin, she shuffled ever closer to the warmth of his body.

"Then my work here is done."