title: One Night at The Black Penny (2/2)
pairings: Luke/Gail
author's note: ROOKIE BLUE IS BACK! I'm so excited for the new season...and I'M SO SORRY for making you wait so long. I got sick with some weird allergies/flu combo for a month and then there was school and blah blah blah. You don't want to hear about all that. So here it is, the last POV (with a little of Traci's POV at the end.) It's also a bit of a songfic. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! =)
rating: I'm gonna go with M just in case lol. I don't know why I've been so smutty lately.

DIVISION 15
- 11:57 PM -

can't remember when / my senses were so bent / tell me you're impressed / with my obsessiveness

"Working hard or hardly working?" Luke looks up and sees Jerry standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face as he gestures towards the mountain of files on the desk.

"I've got a lot of paperwork to catch up on." Luke replies simply, looking back down at the open file in his lap. He doesn't notice the worried look Jerry is sending his way.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you leave this room all day." Jerry's voice is laced with concern while his fingers rapidly construct a text message on his phone. Luke shrugs, his eyes still looking over a piece of paper in his hand.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." He says tediously, hoping Jerry will take the hint and leave, which thankfully he does, although Luke suspects it has something to do with the message he just sent (most likely to Nash.)

"Go home Luke. This will all still be here tomorrow." Jerry says and walks across the hall into his own office.

Relieved to find himself alone again, Luke closes the file on his lap with a dejected sigh. He runs a hand over his face, the strain in his eyes foreshadowing a rapidly approaching migraine. He knows Jerry's suggestion is a good one. Hell, if it had been any other day, he'd already be sleeping in his own bed by now. There's just one problem - he can't go home. Not when he's terrified of what might be waiting for him outside the safety of his office.

A couple seconds later, Luke hears Jerry leaving his office with Nash. Discreetly peeking through his blinds, feeling like one of the perverts he arrests, Luke watches as they exit the building. Even without any physical contact, he can see how much they care about each other, sees how happy they are together, and he hates how much he envies them. They know how they feel about each other and they don't play any games.

He on the other hand, has Gail Peck...and honestly, he's not even sure about that anymore.

Officially the most infuriating person he's ever known, which is impressive considering the amount of criminals he deals with on a regular basis, she's also the reason behind his self-imposed isolation for the past twelve hours. Everything had been good between them - great even - until this morning.

Before today they were two single consenting adults both benefiting from a very enjoyable and very sexual arrangement. No questions asked. No complications. Just a simple text message or phone call stating the time and the place. There have been the occasional field trips (all on her list of fantasy sex locations) but usually those consisted of him parking his car in a secluded area and Gail hopping into action seconds after he's put the brakes on. Once she didn't even wait until then, almost causing an accident when he rolled through a stop sign. He never felt more embarrassed than when he was pulled over by a cop (thankfully one he didn't know) and awkwardly fumbled through an explanation, a devilish smirk on Gail's face as she discreetly wiped her mouth clean with her fingers. (He spent the remainder of that night wiping that smirk of her face.)

All in all, it was an arrangement that had been working just fine until she decided to screw it all up.

From the moment he saw her walking out of the locker room with Nash this morning, there was something different about her. There were no flirtatious smiles when no one was looking. No seductive texts during Parade that made him stumble mid-sentence. Instead, he was met with a brief glance and a cold shoulder. Then while he was speaking about his latest case, she continued to make smart-ass comment after smart-ass comment, deliberately making him look ridiculous and incompetent in front of everyone. Not to mention her blatant disregard of their one and only rule - never mention past lovers. A particular "sex vacation" barb she made about two certain suspended coppers stung him like a betrayal, which not only hurt but frustrated him even more. She should not have that kind of power over him. Reprimanding her had been pointless. She just saluted, a mocking "Yes sir" on her lips, before strolling out the room. The change in her behavior was so noticeable that Oliver had even pulled him aside and expressed amused pity that she had chosen him as her next chew toy.

Thankfully, that was their only interaction for the rest of the day. She spent the day patrolling with Diaz while he immersed himself in overdue paperwork...where he might have spent more time trying to figure out what Gail's deal was and less time doing any actual work. Wondering about things like what he did wrong. (Did he even do anything wrong?) Was she dropping him for someone else? (Why did he feel unbridled anger when he thought about another man touching her?) He had spent the entire day over-analyzing their relationship and was now confused about his feelings, real or imagined, about her.

Luke stops himself, not wanting to ride that roller coaster all over again. Especially when he's no closer to an answer than he was a couple hours ago. He decides he just needs to man up and go home. Hopefully get a good night's sleep under his belt before having to deal with the blonde enigma currently driving him nuts.

Closing all the open folders on his desk, Luke attaches his badge and gun to his belt. Grabbing his jacket and briefcase, he shuts off the lights and locks the door behind him. After saying good night to some members of the night shift, Luke walks out to the parking lot. The wintery air is refreshing, and with no Gail in sight, his mood begins to lift and he breathes a bit easier. But fate must have decided it was not done fucking with him yet because inside of his car, courtesy of the spare key she had stolen from him, is Gail. With feet propped up against the dashboard, she's singing along to the radio as if she had not been a total ice queen all day.

Luke hears the passenger side window roll down. "Move it Homicide." She yells out the open window when she notices him come to a stop. The hammering against his skull lets him know that his migraine has arrived.

So yeah, everything had been great before today.

THE BLACK PENNY
(ALSO KNOWN AS LUKE'S OWN SPECIAL CIRCLE OF HELL)
- 12:36 AM -

won't you let me kiss / you're starving me of this / you really have the flair / to suffocate me there

This is the first time they've been to the Black Penny since they started whatever this was, and his anxiety levels are through the roof. They had previously avoided the Penny, opting for bars in nearby cities, hoping to keep themselves out of the rumor mill. Seconds after he entered his car though, Gail more or less ordered him here. He'd like to say he put his foot down and ordered her out of his car but he didn't. Instead he sighed, put on his seat belt and drove out of the parking lot...following her lead like he always did.

Now here they sit across from each other in an agonizing silence. He only bothers to speak when the waitress comes by to take their order, a service reserved only for the collection of booths they are a part of. Luke can feel Gail's growing annoyance with his silence and knows it's only a matter of time before she does something to shock him out of it. Two minutes later he's proved right when he feels her bare foot slide up his leg.

"Can you not do that?" Luke fiercely whispers, looking around the bar in a panic. Gail laughs a bit too loudly, making him wonder if she wants people to notice them.

"Can I not do what?" Gail says from around her straw with an innocent look on her face. She then smiles coyly, happily sipping the rest of her shockingly bright drink. Luke notices this is her second drink within five minutes and knows this night is going to end in either yelling or tears, and honestly, he doesn't know which terrifies him more. Happy to say that they've never needed liquid courage during their moments together, there was only one time he's ever come across an inebriated Peck...and he'd rather not have a repeat of that night. It was a sobering moment when she had become more than just a warm body to him. So considering his own emotional climate, seeing more of that Gail, the vulnerable and sweet woman she tries so hard to hide, would not help him right now.

Breaking through his thoughts, Gail's foot continues its journey upwards, causing Luke to jolt forward, beer sloshing over the rim of his cup. "Cut it out Peck." This time his voice is more of a restrained yell than a fierce whisper as he mops up the mess, his eyes darting around chaotically.

Gail raises an eyebrow. "So formal. I thought we were past last names. You know, considering we've already hugged without shirts on." She bites her straw suggestively but Luke refuses to let her distract him.

"And I thought we were gonna keep this a secret." He snaps back, unable to hold in his frustration. Gail laughs again and he can see a couple confused looks thrown his way. One of those looks belonging to Epstein.

Great.

"Du-u-ude, chill out." The way she drags out dude tells him she's quickly heading into frat boy territory.

"We work with a lot of people in this bar. People who have been staring at us all night." Luke hopes that the reminder of being in public would snap her out of this mood she's in, but all she does is shrug. He can see the cherry red beverage travel up the straw and into her mouth, imagines it staining her tongue. He briefly wonders what the inside of her mouth tastes like. The thought causes the inside of his own mouth to dry up. Luke takes a big gulp of his own drink.

"You worried about your reputation Homicide?" Gail's teasing voice cuts through the sudden and unwanted haze of desire filling him.

"Hardly." He says truthfully, a weary edge to the short chuckle that follows. Luke had to stop caring what other people thought of him in the name of self-preservation. He had enough guilt and shame of his own to deal with without adding to it.

"So what's the problem?" She asks, the straw still attached to her lips.

The Luke he is now, the dick who cheated on his fiancé, feels like he deserves to be played with, treated like merely her sex toy. As odd as it might seem, the thought of this being some sort of masochistic form of self-punishment would have been heartily welcomed. But deep down he knows there is another reason why he's hesitant to voice any complaints...a much bigger reason.

With Jo and Andy, he always felt like he was filling some kind of void in their lives; a void left by their irresponsible parents and a string of ill-matched lovers.

Gail is different.

Unlike the women in his past, he feels like Gail doesn't need him. Actually he knows she doesn't need him, that if it ever came down to it, she could easily walk away from him as if nothing had happened. He's terrified that at the end of all this, he's going to realize just how much he's come to rely on her. After a whole day with nothing but Gail on the brain, he's been able to see just how careless he's been these past three months. Since he believed their relationship was solely based on sex and would eventually fizzle out, he never thought to throw up walls around his heart. The same walls he created after his mother abandoned him for a crack pipe; walls that were reinforced with steel when Jo chose a promotion over him. Andy, while he did love her, was always safe and only managed to put a dent in his pride, not his heart.

Whether she meant to or not, Gail soothed the void in him. With the exception of today, she always managed to keep his mood light and his spirits high. With just a teasing comment or flick of her tongue against his lips, she always managed to wipe his mind clear of all thoughts and worries. Gail made him feel like he would never need those walls again...and that scared the shit out of him.

Having no idea how to even begin answering her question, he tries another tactic.

"Diaz is right over there." He nods towards her ex.

"So? If you have a point Luke," she says his name playfully, "make it."

At this point, the foot which started this particular conversation continues its path up his leg. Luke sucks in a breath, trying to keep a straight face, as if her touching him so intimately isn't affecting him at all. Trying like hell to freeze her out like she had frozen him out. Part of him wants to just leave because she is being purposely irritating, wanting to get a rise out of him for fun. The rest of him, the part slowly winning with each new beer, wants to pull her into his lap and wipe that smirk off her face with a few moves of his own. Beat her at her own game and all that.

Her foot is at his thigh now. He holds his breath, both excited and wary of what she is going to do next.

Gail suddenly removes her foot and he feels let down, his leg still smoldering where she last touched him. Before he can berate himself for feeling slightly disappointed, he feels something a bit higher. When he looks down at his lap, he sees her bare foot hovering over his crotch, giving the occasional brush over so that he knows it's there.

"You wouldn't." He challenges, both dreading and hoping she would.

A perfectly groomed eyebrow arches. "Homicide, is that a dare?"

"It's a fact. The last thing you want is for anyone to find out about our extracurricular activities."

"What if I don't care anymore?" She applies the smallest amount of pressure downward. A smile of satisfaction graces her lips as he squirms. He watches her take one last glance around the room, noticing how her gaze lingers on one person in particular. A small part of him wonders if she's doing this just to mess with Diaz, that none of this has ever been about him...and he's surprised to feel that small part of him flare up with jealousy. When Gail's eyes lock back onto his, the jealously suddenly disappears because he knows what's going to happen next, no 'Celeste: The All-Night Psychic' needed.

He's going to learn what the inside of her mouth tastes like.

In no time at all, she's sliding across the circular booth and cradling his face in her hands. It's so quiet, either he's gone deaf or every person in the bar has stopped talking. Luke thinks he can hear her heart beat if he strains hard enough. The combination of alcohol in his blood and her breath against his lips has him feeling dizzy, his eyelids already starting to lower. Gail peers up at him, her own eyelids appearing as heavy as his own. She runs her thumb across his bottom lip and his mouth opens involuntarily with her touch. The urge to draw her thumb into his mouth is powerful but he holds back. He's not going to give in so easily.

Despite the fact their cover is already blown by her very public display of affection, he still feels the need to say it.

"You're gonna regret this tomorrow." He warns in a whisper across her lips, still unsure as to what he wants himself.

"I'm not the kind of girl that regrets doing anything." She whispers back. Then in front of all their coworkers and friends, she kisses him.

At first their lips press together uncomfortably, both still getting used to the feel of the other and the stress of a million eyes on them. Honestly, it's a really terrible kiss. Too sloppy and wet, too drunk, and he's almost relieved by the loss of connection between them. Maybe now he can get on with the rest of his life.

But then something shifts.

Either by accident or on purpose, Gail bites his lip. Hard. The taste of blood in his mouth and the frustration with her constant dominance finally gets to him. His hands move up her back and he roughly pulls her against him, the move is unexpected and she gasps a little into his mouth, her breath hot and fruity. Her breasts are pressing against his chest and he can feel her arousal through the thin fabric of their clothing. He can feel his pants tighten as his own arousal makes itself known. Noticing it for herself, Gail frees her right hand and begins to rub the growing mound. Slightly pulling back, he flicks his tongue against her upper lip before reclaiming them in a breath stealing kiss. Her entire body suddenly sags against his, the soft curves an alluring contrast to his sharp angles.

The memories of her body moving against his, of his body filling hers, explode in his mind and he suddenly doesn't care about anything. He doesn't care about winning. He doesn't care that he's not supposed to care about the blonde in his arms. The only thing he cares about is disappearing inside of her. Whether he means physically or metaphorically, or maybe even both, he really can't say.

Luke feels Gail's arms suddenly wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer. His left hand slides up the back of her neck and into her hair, his fingers tangling with the rebellious strands that have escaped her ponytail. Feeling the moan before he hears it, inhaling just as she exhales. He gently coaxes her mouth open with his tongue and she complies, their tongues twisting and tangling together in an already perfected harmony. He can feel her heart beat against his chest, the rapid pounding identical to his own.

The kiss itself is actually quite quick, seconds at most, but it feels like everything has changed. He pulls back and is almost afraid of opening his eyes, this kiss being more intimate than any kiss they've ever shared. The kind of kiss that makes him feel foolish for even trying to explain what Gail means to him. The center of his chest starts to feel slightly hollow. It isn't the first time he's felt this particular sensation, the feeling that you've just lost a piece of yourself to someone else, but it's the first time he's felt it with her. Alarm bells ring in his head. This is not supposed to be that. He is not supposed to be feeling those kinds of feelings for Gail. He worries that right as he's thinking it, it's already sinking it's claws into him, the kiss branding it onto his soul.

Forcing his eyes open, he's a bit surprised to see Gail's eyes are still shut. Quite tightly in fact. There's an odd look on her face, the word bliss comes to mind. He worries that she's going to open her eyes, know exactly what he's feeling and laugh.

But most of all, he's terrified of her not laughing and what that would mean for them.

Gail's eyes finally open and his pulse picks up. She doesn't look at all like herself. No cocky smirks or flippant remarks ready on her tongue. Her pupils are blown wide and a blush is starting to creep up her neck, threatening to color her pale cheeks. The only thing remotely familiar about her is that he can see his own feelings reflecting in her eyes.

"Shit." She whispers as she looks down at his lips, the comment echoing his own thoughts.

The bubble of silence that surrounded them the moment their lips met suddenly burst. The noisy bustle of the bar reminding them of where they are. Luke can feel the stares of many eyes on them but he keeps his own eyes trained on her rarely unmasked blue ones. Honestly, it's not that hard to make himself focus on her like she's the only person in the world. He's been at it all day.

Maybe it's a little cowardly, but he doesn't want to deal with reality just yet. Hoping just a tiny bit that this feeling is just a product of his mild obsession with her today and that they'll be back to their regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Thankfully, Gail seems to have the same idea.

"My place or yours?" She asks, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Gail's smile is unnervingly genuine with a touch of fondness. Luke realizes his voice has disappeared on him.

"Yours is closer right?" She asks again. He's almost embarrassed by how quickly and eagerly he nods his head but he can't find the will to care. He also doesn't seem bothered by the fact his voice is still nowhere to be found.

"Let's go then." She says, slightly pushing him out of the booth. Finally regaining some of his basic motor functions, Luke throws down a couple bills to pay for their drinks. Then grabbing their coats with one hand, her hand in the other, he pulls her out of the booth. The two blondes quickly leave the bar, their joined hands seen by all.

Luke was right after all.

The night was going to end with yelling...just not the angry kind.

WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM
(ALSO KNOWN AS THE PLACE A MEAN GREEN MONSTER WAS BORN)
- EARLIER THAT MORNING -

what you do to me / leave puddles at my feet / won't it make me ill / the way you make me feel

"Good morning!" Traci calls out to the locker room's only other occupant.

With Noelle taking a personal day and Andy coming back in a few days, Traci took the rare opportunity to talk to her quasi-friend and find out how she's doing. She was a little worried because even though Chris dumped her, Traci noticed Gail was acting as if nothing happened, like everything was fine. Traci half expected Gail to be extremely mean and bitchy towards everyone and hide behind her perfected mean girl persona but no. Gail was nice and cordial, throwing out the occasional teasing remark that was always more playful than spiteful.

If Traci didn't know any better, she would have thought Gail was happy.

"What's up?" Gail asks, hanging her jacket inside her locker.

"So I hear you're paired up with Chris today." She's trying for subtle but Gail's eye roll tells her she's failing miserably.

"If this is your lame attempt at girl talk, please stop." Gail's rudeness is strangely comforting. It makes Traci feel like things are normal.

"Okay, I'm stopping." Traci says with a laugh and weirdly enough, Gail joins in. Both women go back to putting their uniforms on.

"I guess you'll be glad when Andy comes back in a couple days then huh? You won't have to deal with my lame attempt at girl talk." Traci jokes a couple seconds later. She's prepared for a laugh, smile or even a teasing comment from Gail. So she's confused when she turns to look at Gail and realizes how tense she is. Standing in front of a mirror, lips pressing together in a thin line, Traci can see Gail having trouble with her tie.

"Gail...you okay?" She asks while tucking her shirt in. This is the reaction Traci had been expected when she brought up Chris. But why did Andy's name cause Gail to look like she's been assigned desk duty?

"You going to the Penny tonight?" Traci asks, trying to erase the weird vibe that's filling the room. Maybe Gail would feel more open after a couple drinks in her.

"Maybe." Gail answers, still looking extremely agitated.

"Need a ride?"

After a few moments of silent deliberation, Gail shakes her head as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "No, I've got one."

"Oh really? Who?" Traci asks, separating her hair into three sections for a french braid.

"Luke." Gail says it so easily that it almost sounded normal. Except it totally isn't.

"Andy's Luke?" Traci couldn't hide the surprise in her voice even if she tried.

Gail scoffs while pulling on her weapons belt. "He's not Andy's anymore." Along with the harsh tone in her voice, Traci thinks she sees a small hint of jealously on Gail's face...but that's ridiculous.

"I didn't know you two were friends." Traci comments.

"Who said anything about friends? He's just giving me a ride." Gail slams her locker shut and takes one last glance in the mirror.

"Parade's in five minutes." She says with a nod in Traci's direction before leaving the room.

"Yeah, right behind you." Traci drawls out as she watches Gail saunter out, quickly following behind.

There was no way Traci could have known that this small conversation was going to have some big ramifications.

bubbles in my fizzy love for you

song: Fizzy Love by Catherine Wheel

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