Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kieran’s mind wandered between waking and sleeping when the first dim light of the pale sun slipped from behind the curtains. He clung to the last vestiges of sleep, content in warm, delicious comfort as he felt its source shift slightly in her position tucked into his side.

After a few moments, the last tendrils of sleep drifted away and Kieran took in a long breath. He rolled and pressed up onto his side to look at his sleeping companion.

Mornings were their respite from the ghosts haunting their past, the morning sun somehow chasing them away more thoroughly than at any other time. This was his favorite time to take in her unhindered beauty. Awake, Lauren was a fierce wind, sweeping across life with purpose, gathering everyone in her contagious momentum, and he loved watching her take the world on headlong. But here, resting next to him, she was the storm calmed, willingly coming to be clasped gently in his hands. He would never stop being humbled by her acceptance of his affections.

His fingers softly brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead and he pressed a kiss in its place, placing a hand lightly on her side.

Lauren shifted again, eyes starting to open slightly, but Kieran pressed his hand a bit more firmly into her side and whispered, “Shh, go back to sleep.”

Rising slowly, he padded barefoot to the kitchen and started the coffee maker. He glanced out the window, seeing the sun beginning to peek through the city buildings. It was going to be a beautiful day, wasn’t it? he thought with a smile. Indeed, it already had been.

Chapter Text

“Hey! Stop it. You’re doing The Thing,” Lauren protested as she flicked a finger between Kieran’s brows, causing him to start with surprise.

“What? What on earth is The Thing?” Kieran grumbled back at her.

He was laying with his head nestled in her lap on the sofa in the back sunroom of their home.

“The Thing. Where you brood over all your regrets and ruin a perfectly peaceful afternoon,” Lauren replied, looking down at him archly.

Kieran sighed and dragged a hand across his face. He sat up, keeping his back to her as he tried to shake the shadows from his mind.

She pulled on his arm, coaxing him to turn around and face her. She considered his sorrow-burdened blue eyes and softened. “We both have regrets, love.”

“Okay, but yours are hardly-“ he interjected, but she interrupted before he could finish.

“Hush. I only mean that we both have our demons, but agonizing over them like this leads nowhere,” she continued. This was a conversation they had repeated in some form countless times, the well-trod patterns of it worn and familiar. She placed a hand on his cheek. “I know that part of you will never truly leave you. You will always have regret - your compassionate heart is what makes me love you so. But…” she paused, willing him to take her words seriously. “Don’t let it take you from me,” she finished with a small smile.

He folded to rest his forehead on her shoulder. “I know, I know,” he murmured.

Lauren sighed. “Alright, you. Up, up, up. We’re taking a walk.”

He let her tug him towards the door, putty in her hands as usual. They opened the door to meet the brilliant afternoon light hand in hand.

Chapter Text

Kieran and Lauren stood next to each other regarding the view before them quietly. A cool night breeze whisked across their faces. Their arms were lightly touching where they leaned onto the side of the bridge, looking out at the city they had fought so hard for. The last week and a half had been a maelstrom of emotion and they had finally been able to steal away a moment alone to take inventory of all that had happened.

After passing the leader of Phantom Scythe over to the APD, calls for reforms had swept across the city as a thundering voice, and this time, they believed the crown would hear. A clandestine deal had also afforded them a miraculous freedom from prosecution, though authorities remained in the dark about Kieran’s history as the Purple Hyacinth. The pair knew that no amount of “help” they had provided would keep him out of prison (or worse) if they ever discovered his true past. No one would know of Lune’s true identity, but in exchange they would walk freely. Honestly it didn’t seem possible that everything had come to pass in such a manner.

Lauren nudged Kieran lightly with an elbow, glancing over at him with a small smile. “So, subordinate. What will you do next?”

Kieran let out a short laugh. “I’m not sure. Honestly, I never thought I’d make it out alive.”

“Will you leave Ardhalis?” Lauren asked, unwilling to meet his eyes.

Kieran turned so that he was leaning up against the railing facing her. They were close, now, and he thought for a moment before replying, “No, I don’t think I will. I don’t think you could live without me. ” He smiled, but Lauren continued to look out at the city instead of meeting his gaze, not acknowledging the lie.

He let out a small sigh and turned back to face the water. “The times between assignments were always what I preferred. Quiet. Steady. No murdering, that sort of thing,” he said with a wry smile.

Lauren gave a small “hmm” in response. “So, Kieran the archivist?” she finally said.

“Ha, well, why not? At least for now. I need a little mundane in my life right now. Though…it might be best to move along after all if I were really trying to lay low. There are likely still a few people from Phantom Scythe who recognize my face. Let’s just hope my reputation scares them into silence, shall we?”

Lauren looked at him sharply, then schooled her features back into a blank look.

“Alright, darling, if you’re going to continue thrilling me with riveting conversation, we should probably just head home,” Kieran drawled with a frown. He was trying to keep the hurt from his voice, but some of it must have shown through despite his efforts, because Lauren suddenly spun around with a quick hand shooting out to grab his elbow as he turned to leave.

“No, please don’t- please don’t go,” Lauren burst out. She felt her gut twisting with an anxious dread at the thought of him leaving her here to face life alone. She put an hand to her forehead, slightly covering her eyes. “I don’t want you to go.”

Kieran searched her face as she brought her hand down to meet his eyes. “You don’t want me to go tonight, or you don’t want me to leave the city?”

Lauren’s voice was filled with a quiet urgency. “Either. Both. I don’t want you to go at all.” She hesitated, mouth slightly open as she tried to form the words screaming in her chest. “Kieran, I-“ she swallowed. “I think I’m in love with you.” She could hardly believe she’d said it, but she knew it was true as soon as the phrase formed on her tongue. “Do you- would you consider…?” She trailed off, all confidence vanishing in an instant. 

Kieran tilted his head back and laughed, taking her hands in his. Lauren recoiled in embarrassment, but he quickly ended her distress by saying, “Oh, detective. If haven’t noticed my blatant adoration for you yet, let me be the one to officially tell you this. If you would have me, I would never be parted from you again.” He met her eyes with a sweet smile, still holding her small hands in his calloused ones.

“Oh,” Lauren said blankly, her mind having a difficult time keeping up in its surprise.

Kieran laughed once more and tucked her arm into his elbow, starting down the street with her. “Don’t worry, love, I’m sure we’ll figure it out. We’re the perfect team, after all.”

Chapter Text

Lauren slunk into the cave quietly, head spinning. Kieran looked up from his seated position, marking his place and closing his book with a snap.

“Good evening, officer. You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” Kieran commented, slightly annoyed with her tardiness.

“Sorry,” was the low response.

Kieran looked a bit more closely at her. She had her police uniform on, coat pulled tightly around her. Her eyes had a somewhat glazed look, and she gave a congested cough as she approached him.

“You’re ill,” he said flatly. “Why didn’t you say something when I asked you to meet tonight?” He felt a twinge of concern as he watched her tread slightly unsteadily across the cave.

“Because there’s too much to do. We have to talk about how we’re going to get close to the meeting with the Messenger next week.” Lauren sat heavily in a chair and stared absently at the fire.

Kieran felt his irritation dissipate as he watched her. A quiet worry crept up in its place, and Kieran was reluctant to admit that it wasn’t just worry about how they were going to get everything done before their infiltration mission. She clearly wasn’t up to any real work tonight.

He sighed, setting his book aside. “Lauren, go lay down. You look miserable.”

“I can’t, there’s so much to do! I’m fine,” she shot back anxiously. She stood quickly and felt a wave of lightheadedness sweep over her. She gripped the back of the chair she’d just vacated, knuckles white with the strain of remaining upright.

Kieran caught her elbow as she sagged again, and pushed her toward the small cot along the wall. “Give me your coat.” It wasn’t a request. She struggled with one of the sleeves then handed it to him with a glare.

“Boots,” Kieran directed her next. She huffed but compliantly removed her boots and flopped down onto the bed. Somehow the thin mattress felt like heaven, and she could hardly keep her eyes open.

Kieran dragged the blanket up over her and stoked the fire. “You need to rest. You shouldn’t have even left your house tonight,” he said without looking at her.

She grumbled under her breath but found she didn’t have the energy to muster any real rebuttal.

“Just take a break and we’ll get you home later. I’m not sending you back out there like this,” he continued. He glanced over at her and noticed with a small chuckle that she was already asleep.

Sighing, he retreated to his chair and picked up his book to pass the time. After a few minutes, he realized he’d been on the same page since he first sat down. He exhaled sharply and tossed it restlessly onto the table next to him.

Lauren’s hand was hanging loosely off the bed. He paced over and slid it back to her side, tucking it under the blanket.

The glow from the fire highlighted her pale features, and he found that he had trouble dragging his eyes away from the sight. She shifted slightly and a lock of scarlet hair drifted onto her face. Gently, he pushed it back up, fingertips grazing her skin lightly.

Kieran swallowed, throat tightening with an unfamiliar emotion. He felt a magnetic need to be near her. Standing quickly, a rapid thought raced rampantly through his mind. Uh oh.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t the sound of heavy boots pounding on the concrete in the adjoining corridor. It wasn’t the smell of sweat or the metallic tang of the blood in her mouth. It wasn’t hearing the pair of Phantom Scythe members mutter to each other, trying to find her. It wasn’t the darkness, pressing in on her all around like a sentient creature. It wasn’t the fact that their late-night endeavor had once again ended up entangled in complications.

No, none of these things were causing Lauren’s heart to feel as though it were beating a path through her ribcage.

That would be a result of having been jerked suddenly into a small closet with a hand clamped over her mouth, then pulled tightly against her partner as he breathed out a “be silent” in her ear.

Lauren told herself it was just the abruptness of the motion that had done it. It had nothing to do with the fact that she could feel nearly every inch of her form pressed into his. It could not have been from the ghost of his breath across her neck as he held her still, waiting on the pursuers to pass by. It didn’t matter that they’d been spending so much time together that all of Lauren’s opinions and emotions were hopelessly and irrevocably tangled in a mire of confusion.

No, it was definitely just the adrenaline of the evening making her feel this way as he slowly released her when they heard their opponents leave the building altogether. And she certainly couldn’t be feeling disappointed when he pulled away.

They crept out the back entrance, the pre-dawn sky dark and utterly quiet. And when Kieran took her hand to help guide them back toward the rest of the city, she told herself it was only because of the lack of light and the importance of making it home quickly.

It was only when he gently kissed her knuckles when they said goodbye that Lauren reluctantly decided that perhaps she might have a bit of a problem seeing their relationship as purely professional from here forward.

But it was just a bit, she thought absently as she smiled, touching the place on her hand where his lips had rested so briefly.

Chapter Text

Lauren smiled from her seat at the kitchen table as Kieran placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. A ray of late afternoon sunlight dappled across their faces with the motion, warming them both briefly.

He stepped aside and finished pulling on his shirt, fumbling slightly with the buttons. He was freshly showered, and this was one of Lauren’s favorite versions of him. The scent of his soap filled the space, and she loved the cool damp strands of hair curling around his neck. She stood, interrupting his actions by twining her hands around to the nape of his neck and leaning in to press a kiss to his clean shaven jaw.

Kieran gave a low laugh, hands gently on her waist. “We’ll never make it on time if you keep this up, love,” he said with a mock warning tone.

Lauren pressed another kiss just under his ear. “That wouldn’t be the end of the world, now would it?” she murmured back to him.

“Alright, you little minx. We’re not going to be late to dinner with your uncle. He already doesn’t like me,” Kieran continued. His tone was light, but Lauren knew from the tension in his face that he was anxious about the dinner tonight.

She drew back, taking in his expression. He avoided her gaze and resumed trying to button his shirt. His fingers fumbled once more and he gave a frustrated jerk of his hands and sighed.

Lauren brought her hands down to cover his. “Hey,” she said looking up at him softly. “It’s going to be fine. He just wants to know I’m happy and loved, and anyone can see that I’m both when I’m with you.”

He sighed again, finally meeting her gaze. The sweet look on her face made him want to grab a pencil so he could keep it forever. He didn’t know how he’d become so fortunate. He knew he certainly didn’t deserve it.

Lauren could always read him like a book, and she knew the direction his thoughts would turn anytime she praised him. She opted for distraction and brushed his hands away playfully so she could fasten the buttons on his shirt. Reaching the collar, she straightened it thoughtfully. “There,” she said as she patted him lightly on the shoulders. “We’re ready, don’t you think?”

Kieran gave a short, genuine laugh. “Oh my dear, you might want to change out of your nightgown first.”

Lauren looked down at herself in surprise then laughed sheepishly and disappeared to the bedroom to finish preparing.

Kieran took a deep breath and smiled as he took her place at the table to wait. His nerves were calmed for now. He knew that with his partner by his side, they could face anything.

Chapter Text

Kieran leaned into the room, slightly suspended by one hand gripping the doorframe. “Are you coming to bed any time soon, love?” he asked, smiling slightly.

Lauren flicked a rapid glance up at him from her desk, head resting against her fingertips as she studied the documents in front of her. “Yes, just a few more minutes,” she replied absently.

“Mmhmm, that’s what you told me an hour ago,” Kieran said skeptically. He crept over the carpeted floor, steps still quieter than an average person’s even after the lack of practice throughout the last few years of his “normal” life with Lauren. He wrapped his arms loosely around her neck, pressing his lips to the soft skin there.

“Lauren,” he murmured, trailing kisses lightly down her neck. “You should come to bed.”

Lauren sighed heavily and placed her hands over his. “I can’t, Kieran. Detective March has to have this report first thing in the morning,” she said, tone frustrated.

“Yes, that’s what you said last night,” he said, the whisper of his breath still warming her skin. “And the night before that, and the night before that, and-“

“Yes, yes, I know,” she interrupted with a wry smile. “I’ll be there soon. I mean it this time.”

Kieran sighed in defeat, resting his forehead against her shoulder. “Okay, darling,” he said reluctantly as he slid away from her.

The next time Lauren looked at the clock she realized it had been another hour. A pang of remorse struck her. She had been neglecting her husband lately. She never expected to be so consumed by work. She rubbed her eyes with one hand, trying to construct a plan for how she could set more appropriate boundaries.

After a moment, she decided those ruminations were far more productive when she’d actually had a full night’s sleep.

She could see a crack of light through the bedroom door as she approached, so she turned for the bathroom instead and changed into a thin nightgown. She opened the bedroom door quietly, hoping to find Kieran still awake. He often had great difficulty sleeping, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to wait on her even at this hour.

Upon entering, she found Kieran propped up on their pillows, hand draped across his stomach, fast asleep. His dark hair spilled across the pillow, and his breathing was slow and deep.

With a soft laugh, Lauren sighed regretfully and clicked the lamp off, moving over to her side of their bed. She was loath to disturb his rarely obtained rest, so she slipped under the sheets as gently as she could so as to not wake him.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she turned over to face him. The moonlight cast a muted glow over his features and she savored the chance to let her eyes rest on him uninterrupted, unabashed.

While he played a cheerful role for the rest of the world, Lauren was finely attuned to his small tells; a slight tension in his jaw, his subtle nervous habit of tapping an index finger against his leg, the faint line of a frown creasing his forehead when others had turned away their direct attention. He lived with a constant remnant of guilt hanging in his chest, and Lauren’s goal was to chip away at it one day at a time. Seeing him here, face relaxed into peaceful sleep, was a balm to her own soul.

She settled in next to him and he shifted, unconsciously reaching for her. She nestled into his chest, his heartbeat giving her the sense of safety she had never known she needed.

She felt a surge of tender warmth toward him, and she tilted her head to place a kiss on his jaw. She had to make it clear that he was her priority. March could have her report, but she thought she might just be ill tomorrow. She had some mending to do.

Chapter Text

They were sparring in the cave, testing the stiff joints that had remained unused in this way during the few weeks following the factory explosion.

The air was chilled, but both combatants were damp with sweat as they moved from stance to stance, neither gaining an edge at first. Slowly, Kieran began to overpower her. He swept her feet from under her and she hit the ground, cold stone under her back.

He tried to set his weight on top of her, holding her down but was taken aback when she grabbed him by the collar and brought her lips an inch from his. He could feel the warmth of her breath, fatigued from the exercise, and knew she had him when he saw the smirking glint in her eyes.

Lauren used his moment of hesitation to flip him over and pin him down, knife resting just above his throat.

Kieran laughed, closing his eyes briefly and trying to catch his breath from his position on the ground. “Alright, you win this time, Sinclair. But that was a dirty trick and you know it,” he laughed again, thoroughly amused.

“It’s only a dirty trick when it works so easily,” she retorted triumphantly. She paused, studying his laughing features for a moment. The light reflecting off the water was dancing a pattern across his dark hair as it pooled around his head. She could see the edge of a scar in the ribbon of skin exposed from where his shirt had ridden up.

She swallowed and stood. Though she’d never admit it, she needed more than just the physical distance put back between them.

Chapter Text

A ringing telephone woke them both from sleep. Lauren started to drag herself groggily out of bed, but Kieran placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t,” he said, voice gravelly with sleep. “It’s not your night.”

Lauren sighed heavily and rose anyway, answering the phone in a hushed tone.

“Sinclair…yes, I understand…tonight? I know…If you think so, sir.” She hung the phone back on the stand and flopped limply down on top of the sheets.

She gave a loud groan. “I have to go in. Detective March had better let me come home after this. It’s the third time this week .”

Kieran propped up onto one elbow and looked down at her, frowning. Her eyes were heavy with the remnants of sleep, and she tilted her face toward him to see him better in the low light from the moon streaming through the window.

“You know, they’d stop calling you if you could just be a little worse at your job,” he said wryly. “Overachiever,” he added as he brushed some of her hair back behind her ear.

After she showed no imminent signs of rising, he rose stiffly and took her by the hand, pulling her upright.

“Not you too,” she complained, letting gravity pull against him as he tugged her into a standing position. “Lay back down and go to sleep.”

“You’ll thank me later. And you know I barely sleep anyway. I’ll be in my study when you get home.” He drew her into his arms, both of them basking for a moment in the warm and languid feeling brought on by their sleep-addled minds. Kissing her lightly on the top of her head, he released her to get ready.

Once she had dressed, she stopped by the door of his study with a small smile. “See you soon?”

Kieran chuckled somewhat doubtfully. “If you’re lucky,” he said with a wink as she strode toward the door. Instead of his own work, he turned to a sketch to capture her sleepy expression for a moment longer.

Chapter Text

The dry leaves crunched underfoot as they made their way away from the cave. The evening wind, one of the first chilled breezes of the year, whispered across their faces, carrying with it the musty yet comforting scent of the decaying foliage.

They both walked slowly through the near darkness, sky illuminated by a bright moon. Neither of them were ready for their time together to end. Kieran’s arm bumped lightly against Lauren’s, and she leaned into the touch rather than shying away. He glanced down at her face, studying the small smile that spread across her lips.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked softly, mouth turning up into his a smile of his own, his soul inexplicably mirroring her contentment.

“I can’t tell you,” she told him, smile spreading across her face and then sliding away.

He barked out a short laugh. “And why not?” he asked brightly, but then paused, noting the change in her expression.

“Because then nothing will be the same,” she whispered quietly. She pushed her hands down onto her pockets, eyes toward the ground as they stepped carefully through the trees.

He halted, touching her elbow lightly to entreat her to turn and look at him. She raised her eyes reluctantly to his, gauging his reaction.

“And what if it makes things even better?” he countered after a second, fixing her with his gaze.

They stood with eyes locked for a long moment. Then, “It’s not a good idea,” Lauren muttered without looking away.

“Most of mine aren’t,” Kieran retorted stubbornly. He slid a hand up her arm to the side of her face. “Lauren,” he murmured. “Tell me I’m not the only one who-“ he stopped, suddenly uncertain.

She studied his face for a moment, mesmerized by the hazy shade of blue the moonlight cast upon it. “You’re not the only one,” she finally said, slowly reaching her hand forward to grasp his free one lightly in her fingertips.

His heart sighed in relief, and he leaned forward, chest tightening at her closeness. He wondered if she felt as scared as he did. He faltered, hesitating once again as his mind screamed that he would never be good enough, that he didn’t deserve to have this feeling.

But Lauren did what she did best in their partnership: she compensated for his shortcomings, even as he did the same for hers. She reached her hands around his neck and sank them into his hair, pressing a warm kiss to his lips. He returned the kiss fervently, reveling in the feel of her.

After a moment he drew back and rested his forehead against hers. He wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close in the semi-darkness of the woods.  Lauren breathed out a shaky laugh, and Kieran pulled pack with a puzzled smile.

“What is it now?” he asked her, arms still encircling her waist.

“Kym is going to lose it,” Lauren replied with another laugh as she brought her lips to his once more.

Chapter Text

“I just can’t believe it,” Lauren breathed, a dazed smile spreading across her face.

Kieran chuckled in response, sitting down next to her on their bed and leaned over to kiss her sweetly on the lips. “Well, I can,” he intoned wryly.

He reached over her, his form hovering above hers as she continued staring forward distractedly. He switched off the bedside lamp and retreated back to his side of the bed. He sank down into the mattress, body and mind exhausted. His head felt like it was being magnetically pulled down to the soft fabric of his pillow, and he let out a long sigh of contentment as he settled in.

Lauren laid down next to him, eyes adjusting to the dark as she took in his tired features, hair spilling across the pillow, still damp from a shower. She felt light, a fluttering on the inside, and pressed a palm into his chest lightly as she leaned over and trailed kisses along his jaw then down to the cool skin of his neck.

Kieran gave her a low laugh. “Lauren,” he said warningly. “Go to sleep .”

“Fine, fine,” she said with an amused huff. She laid down against her own pillow for a moment, tossing and turning, then sat up again in the bed. “Kieran! It’s just been so long! I thought it would never happen!”

Through his weary haze he could feel her practically humming with excitement next to him. He let out a noncommittal grunt, keeping his eyes closed.

Just as he was on the brink of reaching a deliciously enticing state of sleep, Lauren moved sharply next to him and flipped the lamp back on.

He winced at the sudden glaring brightness. “Darling,” he drawled, “if you don’t turn that light off and go to sleep, I am going to wake you up to spar every - single - morning - this week with me.” He grumbled the words out, jaw clenching. “And you know I’m not lying.”

When she didn’t respond, he cracked open an eyelid and took in her faintly delighted countenance. The warm orange glow of the lamp lit her golden eyes like fire, glinting with a light wholly unique to Lauren. He had drawn her eyes dozens of times but never felt that he truly captured the way they danced with life , with the messy, beautiful chaos that was humanity.

She turned her head to look down at him as he watched her. His eyes softened as they met hers, and her smile widened even further. “Just think about all the times I’ll get to say ‘I told you so’ to Will,” she grinned.

Kieran raised up onto an elbow, drawing his face close to hers, eyes flitting down to her mouth. She could feel his breath ghost over her skin as he stopped just short of her lips. “Lauren, I might actually kill you if you don’t let me get some sleep right now, ” he growled, mixing paradoxically with a syrupy sweet smile as he drew back before completing the motion to kiss her.

Lauren rolled her eyes and flipped the lamp off once more, nestling into his side in the darkness. He gently wrapped her fingers into his hand, silently urging her to rest. Lauren wondered if he could feel her rapidly beating heart.

She sat back up abruptly. “Okay, but I knew they would be perfect for each other and it’s finally happening! ” she squealed breathlessly.

Kieran groaned loudly. “You should be more worried about your own rapidly disintegrating love life instead of Will and Kym’s. Now go to sleep!”

Lauren settled back down for what must have been the tenth time with a contented wiggle. She softly pressed her lips against Kieran’s cheek and finally relaxed, curling into him. She listened as the sound of his breathing slowed and deepened, the cadence of the steady motion lulling her to sleep as well, further elation to be postponed until the morning sun broke through the windows.

Chapter Text

It was early, most of the officers not having arrived yet when Kieran stepped silently into the patrol unit’s offices to get started with his day’s tasks. Insomnia had a way of creating a somewhat haphazard schedule, and he hoped to finish a little early today in light of his recently sleepless nights.

He paused, seeing that the room was empty except for a certain scarlet haired patrol officer. The first tendrils of the morning sun were seeping in through the large windows, giving Lauren a backlit halo of golden light.

Kieran snickered quietly. She was sound asleep.

He crept over to her, effortlessly silent as he placed a chair on the opposite side of her desk. Her face was pressed on top of a report, pen making a slight indention under her cheek. How on earth was she sleeping like this? She breathed deeply, and a few strands of hair were falling over her eyes.

He leaned in, smiling mischievously as he took in her dozing form.  “Lauren,” he whispered.

Nothing.

His grin widened. “Lauren,” he murmured again, a bit louder this time.

At this iteration, she sucked in a deep breath and sat up quickly, the pen sticking to her face for a brief second before clattering to the desk’s surface. Her position had left lines pressed into her cheek. She pushed her her mussed hair out of her face and sat back, wide-eyed as she stared blankly at Kieran.

He put his chin on his fists with a teasing smile. “Sleep well, officer?”

She glared at him, then glanced around the room in confusion, brain still addled with sleep. “You’re lucky I didn’t punch you,” she finally grumbled, voice slightly raspy from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“You know,” Kieran intoned brightly as he half stood to lean across the desk toward her. “If you had just stayed at my place last night instead of insisting on going home after midnight, maybe you wouldn’t be quite so tired right now,” he finished smugly.

She gave him a flat look, face only a few inches from his. “Kieran White, you don’t want to see what I do to you if you don’t go back to your hole in the archives.”

He laughed and pressed a light kiss to the tip of her nose. “Your wish is my command, love.”

She rolled her eyes with a reluctant smile and pushed him playfully away. He turned back toward the stack of files he was to collect and then paused, calling over his shoulder, “You could come join me in that hole of an archive if you need a break from your beauty sleep.”

She tossed her pen at him with a groan. “Later, the others will be here any minute, and the last thing we need is Kym or Will busting in on us again. I will never live that down.”

Kieran held his hands up in surrender, strolling out the door with a contented laugh. “Later, then,” he promised.

Chapter Text

Kieran laughed as he toasted his glass to Kym’s. The twinkling Christmas lights surrounded them, providing a shimmering glow against the darkness of the night outside the busy cafe.

“We told you we’d win,” Kym called over the hum of conversation filling the busy pub. She nodded at Kieran triumphantly.

Will leaned his head back with a groan as Lauren folded over onto the table, head flopping down onto her crossed arms. Raising her head once more, Lauren complained, “How was I supposed to know he’d been getting to work an hour early with only Lila there to keep him company? You had an unfair advantage.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Kieran chided with a smug shake of his head. “Will is in the patrol room every day! Just because you’re off in the IU’s offices doesn’t mean we had the advantage.”

“Since you’re paying, I think I’ll order another dessert.” Kym gestured to a server, asking kindly for another serving of the chocolate trifle. She pressed her hands to her heart, a wistful expression overtaking her features. “Don’t their names sound wonderful together? Lukas and Lila,” she sighed. 

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Too bad Lukas is the most surly man I’ve ever met. I never thought they would end up together so soon.” Will nodded his agreement, staring blankly at the surface of the table that was covered in numerous dishes. He silently added up the tab thus far, knowing that he and Lauren would have to split the bill due to their loss.

As the night wore on, they finished their meal and Kym and Kieran waited near the doorway for Lauren and Will to settle their tab. As they approached, Kym asked brightly, “Where to next? It’s Christmas Eve! I’m not quite ready to call it a night.”

Will sighed heavily. “How do you still have this much energy? You ate half their kitchen.”

Kym laughed, bumping her shoulder into Will’s playfully. Lauren slid closer to Kieran, shaking her head tiredly at her friend. Kym’s eyes suddenly grew wide, and her eyes flew to Lauren’s. 

“Oh, Laaauren,” she crooned. “Look who’s standing under the mistletoe?”

Both Kieran and Lauren’s eyes shot up simultaneously, seeing the bundle of green above them. Lauren closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Honestly, Kym, if you don’t stop trying to get us to-”

She was abruptly interrupted by a hand cupping her face and the warm press of lips to hers. The kiss only lasted for a flash of a moment, and afterwards all of them stared at each other in shock. 

Kieran seemed the most surprised out of all of them, drawing back quickly with a strangled laugh tearing its way out of his throat. His normal smooth confidence having vanished, he promptly brushed past Kym and Will, pushing the door open with a slightly excessive amount of force as he rushed out into the cold Ardhalis night. 

Lauren’s eyes were fixed on his retreating form as the door swung shut once more. She slowly turned her gaze over toward Kym and Will once more. “Alcohol,” Lauren said absently. “Definitely the alcohol.”

Kym leaned forward with an impish glee clear on her face. “Lauren,” she said, “Kieran didn’t have anything to drink tonight.”

Lauren snapped her head back towards the door, baffled by the thudding of her heart in her chest. “Excuse me,” she said suddenly, and burst out the door, jogging lightly to catch up to the one who had been her partner for the last year. 

Sensing her approach, Kieran slowed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Headshot this time or only face smashed into the concrete?” he asked with a pained expression. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without asking you.”

“Did you mean it?” Lauren asked, heart still pounding in her ears. 

Kieran blinked at her in surprise. Swallowing, he answered truthfully, “Yes.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Good,” she replied, and she tugged him down by the front of his coat to press her own kiss to his lips. 

Definitely the best Christmas I can remember, Kieran thought with a stifled laugh. 

Chapter Text

“Ladell, what on earth are you doing?” Will asked, pinching the bridge of his nose as he watched his sergeant.

Kym finished a looping “m” at the end of her name on the sticky paper label and slapped it onto her cup of pens. “I’m just letting everyone know once and for all that these are mine.”

Will stared at her incredulously but was prevented from speaking by Lukas’ voice chiming in from the back of the room. “For the last time, no one is taking your pens, Ladell. You’re the one leaving them all over the precinct.”

Kym stuck the tip of her tongue out at him as she rounded her desk to grab another sticky label. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so grumpy if you had a label to be sure your coffee cup stayed where you wanted it,” she suggested archly as she strode over and placed the label saying “Grumpy Cat” onto his coffee mug.

At his fuming death glare, Kym gave a small squeak and retreated, bumping into Lauren as she stood from her desk.

“You’re just asking for trouble now, Kym,” Lauren said dryly to her, leaning over to pluck a pen out of Kym’s freshly labeled cup.

Jaw dropping, Kym let out a noise of indignation and stood up on her desk chair. “Lauren! I thought you were my friend! My best friend!”

She threw her hand up to her head as though in a false swoon but managed to hit the overhead light, casting the wavering rays of light back and forth across her face. “Ouch,” she muttered, hopping down immediately with a disgruntled expression.

Lauren scrunched up her nose in an overly sweet smile. “That was before you hid your watermelon in my desk from Will and then forgot about it, leaving me to find a rotten piece of watermelon crawling with ants this morning.”

“Hey! You told me you got rid of that!” Will exclaimed, and Kym’s sheepish expression deepened.

“I did, just not exactly how you wanted me to get rid of it.” She smiled tentatively at him and scribbled his name onto another label. “Here,” she said, affixing the label to a clipboard on his desk. “I know this one’s your favorite.”

“A favorite clipboard, Lieutenant?” asked Kieran with a grin as he strolled into the room with a stack of files on the small cart.

Will puffed out an exasperated sigh, and Kym flitted over to Kieran, attempting to stick a label on the cart before Kieran deftly took Kym’s outstretched hand and twirled her promptly back around.

“Please, sergeant, someone in this room needs to stay on Hermann’s good side, and defacing precinct property probably isn’t the best way for me to accomplish that,” Kieran said with an amiable smile. He tentatively raised his eyes toward Lauren’s. “Especially since Officer Sinclair seems to be particularly at odds with him this week.”

Lauren’s eye roll was practically audible. “Yes, let’s do dwell on that, please. Just how I wanted to spend my Tuesday,” she deadpanned.

Kym hung onto Lauren’s shoulders and patted her on the back. “There, there, Lauren. It’s okay. Someday Hermann will see your brilliance!” she cried with a flourish of hands punctuating her sentence.

Lauren hummed skeptically and made for the door leading to the hallway, offering a little wave over her shoulder to her coworkers. “I’ll be right back.”

Seeing Kym’s snickering, Kieran jerkily followed her gaze to see Lauren’s retreating form. He was abruptly grateful for his training as he reined in his look of amusement and trailed out the door after her.

Reaching her in the hallway, Kieran’s fingertips lightly touched Lauren’s back, and her gaze whipped up toward him immediately.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing?” she asked in confusion at his closeness to her.

Kieran smirked and tapped the back of her shoulder pointedly. “I’m just making sure something of mine ends up back where it should be,” he said jauntily.

Baffled, Lauren craned her neck over her shoulder to see that he was pointing to a white paper label marked “Kieran.”

Snapping her eyes back up to his, Lauren went rigid and then spun back toward the patrol unit’s offices.

“KYM!” she bellowed as the sound of Kieran’s laughter rang in her ears.

Chapter Text

“I’m only saying that you should have let me put sunscreen on you,” Kieran intoned dryly from across the room. The sea breeze swept through the open windows, gossamer curtains flowing inward from time to time. 

Lauren stepped out of the shower and eyed herself in the mirror, clutching a towel to her chest as she stared aghast at the bright red color blossoming across her back. She took in a deep breath, the scent of the salty air now overshadowed by that of her shampoo. 

“You’re going to be absolutely insufferable, aren’t you?” she muttered, not meaning for him to hear. 

Of course, he picked up her words anyway as he drifted over toward her. “Yes, yes I am,” he replied with a smirk. Watching her face in the glassy surface, he heaved a sun-weary sigh and drew her hair back over her shoulder, pressing a kiss just below her ear. 

Her skin was cool there, and he lingered for a moment, arms coming to rest around her waist. He slowly trailed his lips along her jaw and neck, then back up to her face before whispering in her ear, “I told you so,” with a widening grin.

Lauren groaned and tugged herself away, slipping on a loose dress with a wince as it touched her blistered skin. 

“What about you, then, hmm? You didn’t wear any either,” she complained. “Yet I’m the one over here looking like I belong on a plate with a lemon and melted butter.”

Kieran chuckled as he picked up his glass of ice water and took a long sip. “Though you would make a delicious lobster, I have no desire to join you.” He leaned against the dresser of their temporary lodgings, smirk still firmly in place. “I don’t get sunburned. It’s another one of my special talents.”

Lauren leveled him with a flat stare. “We still have a week here,” she reminded him.

Setting the drink behind him, he pushed off the dresser and lightly ran his hands down her arms to her wrists. “Yes, thank heavens, we do.”

Shaking her head slightly in mock exasperation, Lauren turned her head to smile at him out of the corner of her eye as he drew closer. “We have to go to dinner,” she suggested. 

Kieran pulled her to his chest and pressed a kiss on the freckles dusted across her shoulder, the skin hot to the touch from the insult of the burning sun. “Sure we do,” he answered.

— 

“May I just say once again how wonderful it is to know absolutely no one else here?” Kieran murmured as he bent to hand her a cool drink before sitting in his own chair by the sea. 

“We needed the time away together, didn’t we?” she answered with a smile, her wedding ring tapping against the cold glass. 

Her hand moistened by the gleaming condensation on the drink glass, she pressed her chilled fingers to the heated skin under her gauzy cover-up on her upper back. She hissed at the contact, firmly ignoring Kieran’s side-eyed glance. “Hush,” she chided as he opened his mouth. 

Holding his hands up in surrender, Kieran let out a small laugh and settled back in his chair, legs out long in front of him. “Your wish is my command,” he answered, leaning back and closing his eyes. 

A few minutes later, Lauren noted with a small degree of surprise that he was truly asleep. It was such a difficult feat even when at home together in their own bed that she knew he must have been truly exhausted. 

She should let him rest. 

Crossing her legs, she eyed his bare chest speculatively for a moment. 

It would be utterly petty to leave him there to get sunburned.

Utterly petty, she thought with a smirk of her own as sipped her drink calmly and watched the waves as they kissed the shore again and again.

—

“You did this on purpose,” Kieran grumbled as he looked down at his torso with a look of disgust on his face. 

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean,” Lauren protested as she smoothed some lotion onto her arms. 

He watched her hands glide over her arms and then her legs distractedly for a moment before the tight discomfort of his own skin pulled his attention back to the present. “Mhmm, I’m sure you don’t.” 

She looked at him coyly as she finished applying the lotion to her calves and stretched out languidly on the bed. “Well, you know what they say,” she said with a grin. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, you little pest! Come back here!” Lauren cried, running in a half-crouch toward her giggling raven-haired toddler.

Sophia let out a shrill squeal of glee as Lauren made a grab for her and pretended to miss. Her little feet thundered across the wooden floor of the house as she ran to hide behind the armchair.

“Kieran, aren’t you going to help me catch our little troublemaker?” Lauren called with a grin as he walked in the door. She puffed a breath of air upwards to push the hair away from her forehead. 

“No, no, no Daddy! He catch me!” Sophia said, still giggling.

Lauren straightened with mock offense. “Excuse me, ma’am, are you telling me that you don’t think Mommy can catch you?”

Shaping her lips into a tiny “o,” Sophia clapped one hand to her mouth and nodded.

Lauren let out a surprised laugh as Kieran’s voice sounded from the doorway, “That’s okay, Peanut, she could never catch me either.”

He shook off the excess water from his umbrella and trailed into the living room behind Lauren, ignoring her good-natured eye roll.

“Daddy! Come get me!” Sophia called excitedly, still ducked behind the chair.

Kieran locked eyes with Lauren for a moment and they made an instant plan without speaking. Lauren crept around one side of the chair and Kieran the other, both converging on Sophia with a loud “Boo!” before Kieran picked her up and swung her lightly into the air.

Sophia squealed in delight once again, her small pearly teeth shining as she grinned openly.

Kieran settled her against his chest, and brushed her nose with his in their own little ritual of affection.

The lamp near the sofa bathed the room in a rosy glow that matched the flushed cheeks of their little girl, and Lauren felt that if she could only stop time, she would have just to see them both so happy.

It had taken years for Kieran’s smile to lose its edge: its edge of secrecy, then its edge of regret, then its edge of brooding melancholy.  But here, with their daughter wrapped blissfully in his arms, it was completely genuine.

Glancing over at her, Kieran’s arm snaked out and tugged her sharply toward them, wrapping her in his embrace as well.

“Droup hug!” Sophia called out, her way of saying “group hug.”

“Droup hug,” Kieran agreed softly, giving both his girls a light squeeze.

“Alright, you two, it’s bedtime,” Lauren chided after a moment. “Let’s get your pajamas on.”

Tilting his head down to meet Sophia eye-to-eye in his arms, Kieran stage-whispered, “Mommy ends all the fun, doesn’t she?”

Lauren let out an exasperated sigh and pulled away, preparing everything for bed in the small lavender bedroom.

Soon enough, Sophia was settled into bed with a book and her stuffed animal, politely demanding that the covers be put on the right way: white on top, purple underneath.

“Come here, moonbeam, sit with me,” Lauren said, perching on the edge of the mattress as she flipped the lamp on.

She pulled Sophia into her lap, who immediately began squirming, wallowing around on her legs until Lauren finally gave up.

“I want Daddy!” she said plaintively.

Kieran couldn’t help the small smirk that rose to his lips as he flopped down onto the bed in an exaggerated fashion and snatched the child up, rolling over to rise with her sitting tucked under his arm.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine, it’s not like I wasn’t sick every single day for nine months when I grew you myself or anything,” Lauren teased wryly.

Sophia deigned to allow Lauren to read the story, some small book about ducklings that Kieran couldn’t stand; Lauren chose it especially for him, and he knew it judging the flat look he gave her when she opened it.

Slowly, Sophia’s eyelids drooped and drooped to finally remain closed at last. Lauren took in every tiny detail of her face, knowing these times would be behind them far too soon. She loved her perfect pink mouth and the thick dark lashes that fanned out over her cheeks as she breathed softly.

“She’s beautiful,” Kieran whispered, echoing Lauren’s thoughts. He glanced up at her, features softening even further as he studied her face in the glow from the lamp. “And so is her mother.”

“But of course,” Lauren teased in a low voice as Kieran rose to take her hand and pull her from the room.

They both made their way toward the kitchen and set in on various small tasks, cleaning up the few straggling dishes, pausing to pen down a grocery list, tidying the couch cushions.

Kieran felt her eyes watching him from across the room, and he finally turned toward her. “What’s on your mind, love?”

Lauren bit her lip, straightening from where she had replaced a book onto a low shelf. He drew near and leaned his side against the wall, quietly facing her with a patient expression.

“You seem happy, that’s all,” she said after a moment.

Kieran huffed out a soft laugh and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s probably because I am, darling.”

And Lauren was relieved to see no shadow of self doubt crossing his face, no ghosts from the past haunting him and stealing away the purity of the moment. “As it should be,” she answered softly, leaning in for a soft kiss. 

Chapter Text

Will glanced up at the sky to note that the clouds above were a dense pale grey, full of the promise of another heaping of snow later that afternoon.

He glanced over at Kym, smiling inwardly at the way she scrutinized each table at the street market. People filled the streets around them, a warm buzz of conversation filling the frozen winter air. 

How did they end up here again? Will spied a couple on a bench locked in an amorous kiss, and shook his head. Right. That’s how. Lauren and Kieran were too busy making eyes at each other to join them, which meant that Will found himself inviting Kym before he had a chance to really consider the words. 

“Why are there so many vegetables, Will?” Kym almost whined, throwing one hand toward a table with baskets full of carrots, beans, onions, and other various wares. 

Will smiled sheepishly at the vendor, who, having heard Kym’s little outburst, appeared personally affronted. 

“Kym, watermelons aren’t in season. We’ve talked about this,” he explained, striving to keep his voice from sounding as exasperated as he felt. 

“If they can drive all the way across the continent to get those,” she retorted, gesturing at a stand full of a myriad of exotic spices, “then they can find me some measly watermelons.” 

Kym did a small double-take toward him then stopped, spinning around to face him with determination in her eyes. “Will, do you even own a mirror? You’re a mess right now,” she said as she straightened out his collar. The starched white cotton was stiff under her fingertips, but she bent it until it lay in its proper position. 

As her fingers grazed his skin, Will swallowed, fixing his eyes anywhere but at her face so close to his in an attempt to prevent the brilliant flush he knew would be creeping up his neck. 

As she finished, he cleared his throat roughly and glanced down at the plainclothes outfit hiding underneath her olive green coat and scarf. “Yes, says the one who has never worn her uniform properly in her life,” he remarked dryly as they resumed their progress through the winding street. 

“Don’t try to smother my personal expression, Will,” she shot back brightly, and did a little spin on her toes to angle herself toward him. 

The motion unknowingly sent her lurching from a small patch of hidden ice, and she nearly went tumbling. Will’s arms immediately shot out and grabbed her, steadying her in what felt entirely too much like an embrace. 

Even with the dim sunlight from the overcast sky, Will was able to see the subdued sparkle of light from a snowflake caught in her hair, and the sight had him almost mesmerized for an instant. 

Until Kym began flailing wildly, windmilling her arms in an effort to push him off. 

“Gah! Stop it! Stop it, stop making me feel all warm and squirmy inside!” she burst out, the ice making her slide even further in her attempt to flee. “Why did you even ask me here? I know Lauren is constantly holed up in Kieran’s apartment but you are messing with my head and making me feel things and I need you to stop it, Willame,” she said hotly in one long stream of speech.

Finally straightening, she caught sight of Will’s stricken stare, and heat crawled up Kym’s neck as she realized what she had said aloud. 

“Not that- I meant- oh, brother.” Kym’s features took on a look of sheer panic as she flapped her hands in denial. “And now I’ve said it out loud and made it all weird, and everything will be awkward at work, and-”

Her ramblings were quickly interrupted by Will as he all but snatched her hand back into his, eyes widening as he blurted out, “Yes, it will be very awkward.”

Kym stared at him as though he had suddenly been possessed, her hand frozen in his grasp. 

“Very awkward when they find out that I asked you on a date,” he finished, gaze still locked in hers. 

“Wait, what?” Kym replied in a daze. 

She could see his Adam’s apple bob as Will gulped. 

“I’m asking you on a date, Ladell,” he reiterated, beginning to rethink his rash boldness the longer she gaped at him in confusion.

Suddenly Kym shut her mouth and tightened her grip on his hand, tugging him along the street as she turned her eyes back to the vendors. “Well, it’s a good thing, because we’re basically already on one.”

Will was practically beaming as she led him along, mind still somehow baffled by the turn of the events. 

“Oh, look! I think they have a watermelon!” she exclaimed in a near shriek, dragging him along to his great pleasure. 

It was all about perspective, wasn’t it? And just who you had holding your hand. 

Chapter Text

The first time was manageable. He was overcome with the dregs of adrenaline running through his veins like syrup, drained by chronic fatigue and dull pain from injuries of his own. The first time, there was too much blood and horror over the sight to leave room for any other thoughts in his mind as he tended to her. 

The second time was…less manageable. None of those same demands were present in quite the same manner. The injuries that had been so striking were healing as they should. The second time, there was far too much clarity for him to be unaware of the inadvertently intimate position he found himself in with his partner. 

The first time, the harsh light in his bathroom had revealed Lauren trembling violently as she all but fell onto a stool in front of the sink. He had helped steady her, his gaze fixed steadfastly on the floor as she removed her tattered shirt and held it to her chest so that he could see the extent of the wounds on her back. 

The second time, that same revealing light seemed to expose a gaping vulnerability in Kieran’s mind instead as Lauren opened the bathroom door to allow him admittance. His hands hovered over her hesitatingly as she sat with her shirt gathered to her chest again, and he met her eyes in the mirror in an accidental collision that sent both of their gazes skittering away instantaneously.  

The wounds that glared up at him in reproach the first time were raw, red, ragged slashes that tightened his throat with empathetic pain. Three long slices arcing down her back clearly needed suturing. 

These very sutures were what brought them to that fateful second time, where shiny pink skin laced with black stitches met his gaze instead. 

The first time, his chest had ached with subconscious guilt over what he had done by dragging Lauren into his schemes as he soaked a cloth in warm water. His hands worked gently to remove the blood that had turned her back to a cascade of varying shades of crimson as rivulets had begun to dry and crack, and then reopened into fresh trails of scarlet. His touch was careful but firm, focused only on the task before him.

The second time, his chest ached from something else entirely. A rising swell of fear and yearning ricocheted through his mind, and the effort to tamp it down was almost frantic. His touch as he slowly snipped away each suture was featherlight as he fled inwardly from the temptation to feel more of her skin beneath his fingertips. 

“I’m sorry,” he had murmured behind her ear the first time. 

“Don’t be a fool, Kieran,” she had answered, weary from the night’s endeavor and loss of blood. “This isn’t your fault.”

When he had merely hummed his tentative disagreement, she replied so softly that he almost missed it. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For this.”

Their exchange the second time was quite different. Gone was the heavy atmosphere of concern and exhaustion. Instead, the weight of renewed closeness left a tension that was almost palpable. 

Kieran tried to break it at all costs. 

“I’ve already seen everything. After the factory. If that makes it any better,” he reminded her glibly with feigned lightness. 

The glare that met his eyes in the mirror at this drew a nervous chuckle from his throat. 

“I guess not, then?”

With that, they fell into an uneasy silence once more. 

The first time, he could tell that Lauren was stubbornly biting back a cry of pain with each pass of the needle as he mended her torn skin. 

As he removed those same sutures, he himself was biting back a desperate longing with each snip of the scissors. 

The first time, he had bid her to wait while he fetched one of his shirts. After she slipped it on, he had taken Lauren’s hand to help her rise shakily to her feet. She turned toward him with a long sigh and leaned into his chest without a word. Her hands had come to rest on his sides, the action of putting her arms all the way around him being restricted by the pull of the wounds on her back. He had gently grasped her hips for the same reason, and they lingered there in the respite that was each other’s company. 

The second time, there was no such restful feeling. Kieran’s nerves felt as though they had been set alight as he stepped out of the room so Lauren could dress again. He was still standing outside the door, deliberating his next move, when she suddenly burst out and nearly collided with him. She grabbed his shirt to steady herself, and his hands came to rest where they had before on her hips. Instead of a calm embrace, their eyes had met with a degree of friction, and his heart was pounding so loudly he thought it must have been audible. 

When it was time for her to leave the first time, they had murmured goodbyes and Kieran had seen her to the door like a gentleman. Inwardly, he had wondered vaguely if the feeling he was experiencing was anything close to love. She declined his offer to accompany her home, offering him a weary but reassuring smile that she would be fine. 

The second time, she stumbled over her words as she made for the door, and Kieran wondered if his own cheeks were as red as hers were. This time, his inner musings were centered more on the fact that he feared he was too in love with her to hide it for much longer. She similarly declined his offer to be accompanied home and shut the door with a hurried word of thanks.

The first time, Kieran had busied himself cleaning up the detritus of caring for their wounds until at last he fell into bed with a sigh. 

The second time, Kieran was staring at the closed door with his heart thudding in his chest. He was not a man to scare easily, but when the door suddenly flew back open, he jumped slightly in surprise. 

“Lauren? What are you—”

His words were cut off by a kiss, and he rocked back on his heels as Lauren all but crashed into him. Before he even had time to react, she had pulled away, her mouth still poised in a small “O” of surprise even though she had initiated the action. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile,” she said, slightly out of breath. 

She smiled uncertainly, and Kieran watched as her boldness began to fade into concern that she had read him wrongly.  

A short laugh of amazement slipped past Kieran’s lips and he grinned at her reassuringly. He held his arms out wide, saying in a teasing tone, “Well, do feel free to act on any other impulses you’ve had, love.”

The crease of worry disappeared from her brow as Lauren rolled her eyes with a slow smile. “Those mainly involve shooting you, so I’ll probably pass on that for now.”

Kieran sucked air through his teeth with a grimace. “Yes, you’d better.”

Gently grabbing his shirt to pull him closer, Lauren drew near and murmured mere inches from his lips, “Still, I can think of some other ideas for later.” 

Pressing a softer, slower kiss to his mouth this time, she waited until Kieran was well and truly dazed before releasing him. 

She brushed some imaginary lint off his shoulders, smirked at him like the fox she was, and flitted back out the door without another word. 

All in all, Kieran found this second time infinitely superior to the first.