Done for another prompt at the kmeme! Had a bit of fun with it too. Takes place in that lovely blank space between SR2 and the Third.

She had no idea how to deal with events like this. Before now the number of formal events she had suffered through had been a grand number of two – a failed homecoming, and an even more abysmal prom – and now she was attempting to schmooze it up at a ball. A Policeman's Ball, of all things.

Troy's invitation had come a couple of months after they had finalized their agreement, and when Johnny had torn it open he'd given her quite the look.

Then he'd very bluntly told her there was no way in hell he was putting on a monkey suit for that.

"Fair enough," she'd said, but on the day of he was standing downstairs with Shaundi and Pierce, and V smiled wide and pushed down any anxious thoughts concerning the evening.

This was the Saints' first outing with the police in their neutral zone. It was guaranteed to be tense as hell, and when they had all wandered in it had gone silent enough to hear a pin drop. Then she'd grabbed two glasses of champagne and shotgunned them, raising an empty glass to the stunned crowd before heading straight towards the bar.

Johnny had stalked after her while Pierce tried to loudly diffuse the situation, and V knew this was going to be a long one.

"Not bad," Pierce said at their table later, making sure his hat was angled right. "Aside from the little snag at the start, this is going to look good for us, boss."

"Schmoozing with the boys in blue? Sure." Johnny refilled her glass with the bottle he had borrowed from the bartender, and she ran a finger around the rim. "If we keep the property damage down to a minimum, right?"

Pierce took the bottle away from them and V pouted. "Yeah, because a nice hotel like this doesn't need any of us puking into the bushes due to drinking the bar under. No offense, boss."

"Spoilsport."

Johnny smirked and gave her the rest of his drink. "No misbehaving tonight? You know who we're talking about here."

She punched him in the arm. "Fuck you, and you too, Pierce. I can play nice."

"Right..."

"Give the boss a break, guys. Maybe we can relax for once. I know I am after that last fucking shift," Shaundi groused. "I'm having serious regrets about the applicant list."

"Thinking about redoing the questionnaire?" V asked.

"I'm thinking of redoing a lot of things..."

They all continued to talk and stay occupied, and they actually almost resembled normal attendees. Aside from the purple and the wide berth the room tried to give them. It eased as the evening wore on and no one appeared to be in a combative mood.

She had yet to really see Troy, however. This had to be a calculated move on his part, and she was practically scanning the room for any sign of him.

When he did make his appearance, it was with the commissioner by his side, and V didn't have any time to check him out before they were on the stage. They went through what she assumed was the usual spiel and Johnny stole the bottle back from Pierce to tilt it back. She clapped when she was supposed to, they went through the acknowledgments that Pierce pointed out on the flier, and they were generally well-behaved. Even when the commissioner had to take a good hard look at them.

Johnny leaned close once they started going into the silent auction and she felt her eyes beginning to droop. "I don't see how these fuckers can do this every year. I'm this close to throwing something just to get out of this damn chair."

"Give it time, man. It's one shitty evening, and I owe you big time for even coming," V told him, yawning. "Hell, maybe you'll win a kick ass door prize while we're here. Wouldn't it be worth it just to see them have to work around the fact that you won something of theirs? Legitimately?"

"Maybe."

Gat leaned back in his chair, and V put her chin in her hand for lack of anything better to do. Troy glanced over briefly, and she raised her eyebrows up. It didn't earn much of a reaction from him, but she did notice him purse his lips a bit as they went through the end of the acknowledgments.

A quick dinner was served after that, something with chicken, vegetables and a dessert vaguely resembling cheesecake, and then they were all freed again to do something anyone who had attended a ceremony dreaded.

Dancing.

V eyed the open floor and decided she was nowhere near drunk enough to tackle that yet, and stole another champagne flute from a server wandering around. Johnny had abandoned her at this point to avoid any chance of hitting it, while Pierce had actually begun to make the circuit, using his time wisely. She was decidedly not, and Shaundi found her while she was doing this, and coincidentally enough, staring over at Troy.

He was talking with a few other officers and V didn't think she was zoning out that bad until Shaundi poked her in the shoulder. "Boss?"

"Shit, since when are you the stealthy one?" V asked, jumping. "Nearly made me lose my drink."

"Never underestimate a good pair of heels. Are you okay? You look like you're trying to burn a hole in Troy's back."

"Great. Is that how it looks? If anything I'm just cursing the fact that moustaches exist again."

"Really?" Shaundi put a hand on her hip. "Do tell."

"Seriously. The fact that it's a cop thing doesn't help any, but it's just not right."

"What is?"

"How he had to get rid of it."

Shaundi definitely appeared confused now. "...What?"

"Every time I see him I wonder why he thought that damn thing was ever a good idea. The goatee probably wasn't ideal for the uniform, but it could've worked. Maybe," V sighed.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Shaundi laughed. "Boss, you're waxing poetic over the Chief of Police's facial hair."

V waited, then took another large drink of her champagne. "It was a really nice goatee."

Something dawned on Shaundi's face, and V felt alarms start to go off in the back of her head. "Holy shit. I can't believe it."

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You had a crush on him. You seriously had a crush on him back when he was with us," Shaundi said, triumphantly.

"Fuck no," V sputtered, "I mean, he was something else, but..."

"Liar."

She frowned at Shaundi's large smile. "You're pretty fucking amused by this."

"You don't really date, so it's weird to actually have something to go off of, and older guys in positions of authority is a bit of a whopper, boss."

"Don't even go there."

"What? I can see how that would be pretty hot-"

"Shaundi," V said, her voice low. "I am not going to go into the finer details of this. Especially when you're pointing it out like that."

Shaundi sighed. "I'm just trying to have some girl talk." V tipped her glass back again only to notice it was empty. "Okay, I was hoping you would make a face at that, but I'm serious. I'm just trying to have some fun and gossip a bit. No harm, right?"

"Nope, of course not." She spotted Pierce and Johnny on the edge of the dance floor, and she pawned her empty glass off on another server as she quickly made her retreat. "I'm going to see if the boys need anything. Haven't seen them in a while, and you can never be sure, eh?"

"Sure, boss," Shaundi said, giving her a knowing look. "Sure."

Johnny appeared nothing short of miserable once she got close enough to greet them. His eyes might have been hidden, but V had a feeling they were watching everything. Pierce had been cheerful, but as she got closer she could hear the beginning of an argument that she wasn't sure Pierce would win.

"Yo," she said, putting her hands on Pierce's shoulders. To his credit, he did not jump. "I think one of you needs a break, while the other needs to help me cut up the dance floor."

"You remember those suits that showed up a month ago that wanted us to go over that fucking movie deal?" Johnny asked. "They're back at the HQ right now demanding to talk to someone in charge."

V let Pierce go. "The fuck? Couldn't they have called first? We're a little occupied."

"Apparently they did, but no one picked up," Pierce told her. "I'd call bullshit, but it's a decent investment. If they're crashing our place this late, then it has to be important."

"Shit. Got to take care of business then." She gestured towards Johnny. "Take Shaundi and see what the problem is. If it's important, talk. If not, kick them out on their ass. We're not at their beck and call."

He frowned. "You sure, boss?"

"Hell yeah. I'll be fine, and if I manage to royally fuck things up, Pierce's got me." She slapped Pierce on the back and he cringed. "Right?"

"Right, completely," he said quickly.

Johnny's frown didn't ease, but he did try to give her a weak smile. "Whatever. If they go, I'm making them take the express way to the bottom."

"At least let them talk first!" she replied, earning a real grin as he walked off. "I mean it, Gat!"

"Half of these cops are going to be parked outside of our place in an hour, aren't they?" Pierce asked, watching Shaundi and Gat head out.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, you owe me a dance. Want to get on that?"

He sighed, but still held out his hand for her to take. "You sure are dedicated to this tonight."

"I'm being responsible for once. Give me a break," she fussed, following him as he pulled her into a formal slow dance to fit the music.

"Yeah, I know, but you sure do pick some weird-ass times to do it." He spun her and she mock bowed to the jittery couple she was left facing before spinning back. "Still, not a bad idea at all, boss. Getting tight with the police does make things easier and if we're tight with the Chief as well then we might be able to get a few other things off the ground. Think we could start talking parade floats? It's never too early to talk Thanksgiving."

"Oh, no. We're not tight with the Chief," V said, nailing the transition back. "He's a few notches short of okay with us. Big difference."

"Maybe he's just okay with you then?" She dug her nails into his shoulder and Pierce winced. "Shit, he isn't?"

"You are all so fucking lucky I like you," she muttered.

"You two in the middle of something?"

Pierce skidded to a stop and V nearly tripped over his feet. Troy watched them with amusement and her face went red.

"Yes!"

"No?"

Troy let his eyes drift between them as Pierce mouthed an apology to her, and V knew she was stuck. "No, we're not."

"Then you won't mind me borrowing you for a bit?" he asked, looking sharp as hell.

V eased the death-grip she had on Pierce's hand and let go. "No, I guess not."

Pierce groaned. "Now you're leaving me too?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a nice lady cop to keep you busy. Or maybe a fancy gentleman. You've got those here, right?"

"If you know where to look," Troy said wryly, offering his hand to her.

She rolled her eyes hard as they walked away from an exasperated Pierce. "Maybe they can swoop in to save me then. Wasn't sure that touching me in public was kosher, Chief."

Troy snorted. "You're a sponsor. I think I can dance with you once and not worry about getting struck by lightning."

"Don't be too sure about that," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

Their slow dance did draw a couple of curious looks, but Troy's formal stance made Pierce's seem sloppy. Every step out of bounds that V took he corrected, and she noticed that he maintained a careful distance between them. A smile crept onto her face as he continued to be obsessively proper, and he tried not to smile himself.

"Can you quit it?"

"Quit what?" she asked, her innocent tone falling short.

"Being your usual charming self."

She was ready to retort when he pulled her close and went for a dip, making her squeak. Her short dress was not suited for any of it, and her face was burning when she came back up to his level. "You asshole."

His indifferent expression didn't match the mischievous look in his eyes one bit. "Guess we're both a couple of charmers then."

Her mouth stayed shut for a good five minutes after that.

She'd never had a chance to dance with him before. The old parties and celebrations at the clubs were a whole different beast, something which she enjoyed greatly, but not once had she caught him taking part. It didn't surprise her, but now it almost seemed to make perfect sense.

Fucking cops, she cursed, following him closely. Fucking cops and their bullshit rules.

She'd play along for now, but if he dipped her again, she was kissing him. PR be damned.

The ball cut in before she could deliver on her promise, however. He was being waved away, and she took the opportunity to put her lips by his ear. "Meet me once you're done?" Her mouth was running, and she didn't feel like stopping it.

She expected him to shoot her down right there, but he didn't say anything right away. Then he squeezed her hand. "The fountain work?"

There had been an obnoxious fountain on the way to the main ballroom, some golden thing that might've been a mermaid. "Sure. Don't take too long."

He left and she wandered off in the opposite direction.

Her lipstick was smudged. She tried to fix what she could in the mirror she'd snagged from Shaundi, but it didn't seem good enough. That she was nervous over something as simple as lipstick made her want to slap herself silly, but she didn't leave. No, she wanted to see how this could play out, even if it meant smoothing her hair down and checking her teeth.

Stupid things, but old habits were old habits.

Pierce had ended up cutting out early after all, the cops he'd found to be agreeable had wanted to crash a club or two, but she'd joked that the show had to go on somehow, even if she had to be the frontrunner. That got her a critical look, but he didn't argue or try to twist her arm into leaving. He had also wisely kept his opinions on the matter to himself, and the minute he walked out the door she was left only with her questions and herself. And Troy, but he had yet to show, leaving her pacing around in the large space.

She had finally settled down on one side of the gaudy fountain to flick pennies into it when he showed up. He appeared both ready to sleep and ready to drink, so it was no real surprise when the first words out of his mouth involved alcohol. "I need a fucking drink. Let's head up."

She grabbed her heels off of the stone next to her and followed in her bare feet. "Not enough booze at the party?"

"There's never enough when it comes to politics."

On their trip up only one other couple entered the elevators and V leaned her shoulder against his as she yawned loudly. When his floor came up he put a hand on her lower back to guide her forward. She let him do so, liking the contact too much to end it, and it stayed until he had to get his door open.

It wasn't a large room at all, but it was comfortable. It also didn't seem like he'd only rented it for the night. "Is this your little home away from home?"

He put his hat on the small desk to the left of the television and went straight for the bottle of bourbon resting by it. "Sort of. It's private, and sometimes privacy's hard to get. I'm sure you know what that's like."

"Between Shaundi's dating show and Pierce's schemes? Yeah, it gets a bit weird from time to time." She left her shoes and clutch by the door and took the glass he offered, swirling what was inside once before downing it. Bourbon wasn't her usual by any means, but it went down smooth enough. "I think a photographer tried to climb in through my balcony once."

"You think?"

"I wasn't exactly awake at the time, but Johnny had been outside taking one of our cars for a spin. He caught the guy trying to scale the front and...that didn't end well for him or our security staff."

Troy lowered his glass and rubbed his lips. "Fuck. I think I remember seeing that cross my desk, and by the end of the day the guy wasn't even thinking of pressing charges."

"Johnny's kind of terrifying like that. Can I?" He poured her another and she decided to sip it slowly this time around. "Good stuff."

"Eh, it's all right," Troy said, taking his time with his own. "Takes the edge off."

"You threw us all, you know. When you sent that invite." She leaned back against the desk and tapped her nails on the wood. "I think Johnny had been seconds away from ripping it up before I'd walked in."

"You could've called for a replacement."

"Troy." She gave him a look and he took a longer drink in response. "You know it's not good for your health to intentionally piss him off, right?"

"So's smoking and drinking, but you're probably right. Don't need Gat pointing another gun at my head so soon, but if it'd been tonight at least it would've added something to the party. Almost fell asleep on my feet twice."

V sighed. "Idiots. All of you, I swear."

He chuckled and put his glass down to unbutton his coat. It went on the back of the chair, and when he started messing with his tie she reached over to tug at it.

Her glass joined his on the desk and she smoothed the tie down as she ran her fingers along the knot. "I'm starting to think I have a thing for uniforms."

It came loose and his hands touched her elbows, holding them gently. "Why's that?"

"You look good, and seeing you all dressed to the nines is kind of impressive. ...For a cop."

"For a cop?"

"Yeah, but you might be the exception here." Her fingers ran over a button or two on his shirt, picking at them slightly. "Just saying, Chief."

His hands slid up her arms and he leaned forward, covering her mouth with his.

It made her halt for a second, but the light touch made her heart pound, and she'd missed that. Missed him. Maybe he'd missed it too.

When his palms moved over her shoulders she shivered and kissed him back, opening her mouth enough to trace her tongue over his lips. It made him swallow, and she did it again until he opened his mouth in return. She deepened the kiss slowly, taking in the gradual change in his breathing, and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close.

His hands continued to travel over her, and she moaned when they moved over her breasts. The strapless dress left just enough skin exposed for him to graze it with his fingertips, and she rested her forehead against his as he touched the skin under the edge of the fabric. One of her hands drifted behind her, and dropped the zipper, kissing him hard as her dress hit the ground.

He let her have the lead after that, pulling him towards the bed to sit him down at the edge. V tilted his chin up to kiss him again as she climbed onto his lap, and he touched her sides lightly before she placed his hands directly over her chest.

"No need to be shy," she whispered against his mouth, and he squeezed her carefully in response. "Troy, please."

His eyes moved over her as she let go, and he wrapped an arm around her lower back to lift and push her against the bed. A gasp left her, then a sharper one when his tongue ran over a nipple, and as he sucked it into his mouth she tried to fumble at the buttons on his shirt. Somehow she made it through two as he moved to her other breast, and she eventually gave up to run her hands through his hair. His hands ran down her stomach, every inch of her wanting more of that warmth, and when he rubbed her through her underwear she rocked up against him with a whine.

Instead of moving lower, he came back up, pushing his tongue into her mouth as she ground harder against his hand. One finger traced along her, and she gripped him tight as he repeated the motion until she was shaking.

"You're that damn wet, eh? Fuck." He moved her underwear to the side and she heard his breath grow ragged. "God, V."

Hearing him moan her name made her flush, and he eased a finger into her as she tried to reach for his shirt again. The easy pace made her want to move her hips in time, but she forced herself to focus on the buttons only. When she finished half he added another finger, and she started rocking with him, gasping when his slick fingers moved over her clit.

She grit her teeth and made her way to the bottom button, getting it open just as he pressed down hard, and she writhed against him as her body tensed and tipped over that invisible line. It hit her hard, making her legs curl up around him as she bucked up, and when she was left nothing but a breathy mess, he pressed a hungry kiss to her mouth.

The bite she gave to his bottom lip wasn't too gentle, and after she stripped him of his shirts, she sucked hard on his neck, staining him red with her lipstick.

It wasn't enough, though. She pushed Troy over onto his back and got his belt open in record time, giving him next to no warning before he was in her mouth. He swore loudly and she went fast, wanting to hear him groan as she tightened the seal of her lips.

He moaned her name again, and she withdrew to lick him slowly, drawing her tongue around the tip. She did this twice before he pulled her up and tried to yank her panties down. V helped him slip them over her thighs and watched as he tried to calm himself long enough to think.

"Missing something?" she asked, trailing her nails down his chest.

He shimmied his pants the rest of the way off, and sat up, drawing her onto his lap. "No. Just...working on it."

Having him that hard against her was cruel, and she stroked him as he tried to grab for his pants. He hissed when she helped him roll the condom on, and she used his shoulders to push herself up to sink onto him.

She held on tight as she eased up and down, and she felt his hands dig into her thighs as she took him in deeper and deeper. Her eyes slid closed as he rested inside of her, and she felt him start to shift his hips up. She moved up as well, forcing him to push her back down and she gave him a wicked grin as she moved with him, but not entirely.

It didn't take as long for him to lose his patience this time, and he pushed her onto her back, taking in her coy smile before pushing deep into her. Her legs wrapped around him tight, and she knew she was scratching him a bit harder than intended, but it was difficult not to with the way he rolled his hips against her.

The steady rhythm brought back memories as he slid in and out, and she couldn't help but feel content. She kissed him wherever she could, her mouth rambling when she wasn't, and he moved faster when she spoke to him directly, telling him three words over and over.

He groaned his response against her lips when she felt him go, and she held him tighter. Rocked with him as he buried his face in her neck, and her fingers threaded through his hair.

Then it was just the two of them again, wrapped up together in a place where no one could find them.

As his breathing relaxed, Troy pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and brushed her bangs out of the way, glancing down at her.

"Is this going to be a regular thing now?" she asked, warm and comfortable in his arms. "Just like the good old days?"

His eyes drifted away from her, and his mouth drew into something close to a frown.

"Troy?" He still didn't look at her, and V put a hand on his chin to gently turn it. "Hey. Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Think too much. You always think and think and think and this doesn't have to be that complicated. Not this time around," she said.

He ran a finger over the back of her hand. "Simplify it for me then."

"I've lost a lot of things. Time, friends, family. It hasn't been easy, but it's helped me realize something." She swallowed the lump in her throat and made herself continue. "I know what I am doesn't make this easy, and what you are sure as hell doesn't, but I'm sick of letting it rule me. This is me and you. and if this is what we want why shouldn't we have it?"

"For what it is?"

"Yeah. It's not exactly normal, but we're not exactly normal either. I don't know what I'd do with that, honestly."

"And anyone else who'd tell you to do otherwise? Just fuck them?" he asked, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"Fuck them. Simple as that."

"Simple, huh?" He cracked a smile and she let out a sigh of relief. "...Simple enough for me. But you know we can't exactly parade this around, right?"

"I know, and I'm willing to work with that. Besides, we've already got some experience with that behind our belts. Shouldn't be too difficult to get back into the swing of things if we want, eh?"

"Nah, shouldn't be too bad," he said, looking at her fondly. "And I do want it. Want you."

V actually had to break eye contact then, but that was more to hide the stupid grin on her face than anything else. "Good, because I'm not very good at handling the walk of shame bit."

"And I'm not very good at taking directed shots to the balls either, so I think we've saved each other some trouble."

She laughed and hugged him, her forehead resting against his. He held her just as tight.