Your ennemies to lovers prompts make me think so much about kacy during S1. I appreciate all of your Kacy fics and love the emotions you manage to create with your writing. I was wondering if you would be interested in writing a story that combines prompt 4 and 6?
It is an unspoken rule that when the DIA is involved in a case, Lucy needs to be kept far, far away.
At least, thatâs how Jesse rationalizes trying to keep Lucy away from DIA Officer Whistler. He cites repeated complaints to Tennant (undeserved ones), numerous whisper-shouting matches in the halls (all Whistlerâs fault), and ending in the middle of tense stare-downs more often than not (obviously biased). So really, itâs a no-brainer that Lucy indignantly ignores Jesseâs pleas and makes it her mission to give as good as she gets.
âGood morning, DIA Officer Whistler,â Lucy tells her sweetly this morning, having been waiting outside the elevator just to catch the briefly-perplexed, then immediately-annoyed expression on Whistlerâs face.
âSpecial Agent Tara,â Whistler says curtly. âI was told I would be speaking with Agent Boone today.â
âHeâs busy,â Lucy says. âSmall mishap with his car.â (Sheâd let the air out of his tires, actually, just in preparation for today).
Whistlerâs expression does not waver. âIâll speak with Special Agent Tennant, then,â she says.
âOr,â Lucy says, following as Whistler begins to stalk through the bullpen, âyou can discuss the case with me. I havenât actually been briefed on why youâre here, but if you give me two minutesâŚâ
Whistler comes to an abrupt stop, and Lucy nearly knocks them both over; Whistler has to grip Lucyâs arm just to keep her from falling on her face, and when Lucy meets Whistlerâs gaze, she seesâstrangelyâa kind of uncharacteristic apprehension that Whistler never has. Whistler drops Lucyâs arm like she has been burned, and her voice goes quiet when she says,Â
âIt really would make more sense to discuss clearance with your boss. Itâs a time-sensitive matter.â
âOh.â Lucy tries to hide her confusion, but itâs a halfhearted attempt at best; usually, the back-and-forth with Whistler is inevitable (and maybe even slightly thrilling). Whistler never justâŚgives up. âIs everything okay?â
âOf course,â Whistler says, already heading towards Janeâs office with renewed intensity. âExcuse me.â
Lucy is practically rooted in her spot, bewildered, and she watches as Tennant beckons Whistler inside before shutting the door. âHuh,â she says aloud. âWeird.â
âWhatâs weird?â Kai comes in carrying coffee, and he freezes in place as he, too, realizes what Lucy is looking at. âDamn. DIAâs here already? We havenât even been briefed on the case yet.â
âApparently itâs âtime-sensitiveâ,â Lucy says, complete with air quotes and everything. âThink this means Whistler will actually give us something for once?â
âIâm not holding my breath,â Kai yawns, offering Lucy her cup before he wanders over to his desk. âHey, whereâs Jesse?â
(Lucy decides not to incriminate herself by answering that).
By the time Whistler and Jane emerge, both Kai and Lucy are pretending to be working and Jesse is just barely bursting through the doors. Jane doesnât comment on either; instead, she waves her arms to get everyone together and begins her spiel about how they need to work with DIA and be a happy team or whatever. Honestly, Lucy is kind of tuning out the pep talk and is instead studying Whistlerâeverything about her body language screams discomfort, from the stiffness of her shoulders to the sharpness of her set mouth. And when she catches Lucy staring, all she does is quickly look away.
Weird.
Later, after they've been fully briefed and Jane dismisses them to do boring grunt work, Lucy tries to edge closer to Whistler and ask what exactly DIA needs to be here for. But when Whistler sees her coming, she makes a beeline towards Jesse instead, and Lucy is left frowning at their backs.
At first Lucy doesn't think too much of it. Jesse is probably handling the precious, redacted DIA files that point them to the possible suspects in this abduction case. But then, after Lucy is tasked with talking to their kidnapping victim's husband, she tries to be polite and ask Whistler if she wants to sit in. A gesture of goodwill, really, to make Whistler feel like sheâs part of the investigation.Â
âHey Whistler, do you want to get in on this?â Lucy waves her case file enticingly when Whistler emerges from the break room. âWe can do a good cop/bad cop routine. Obviously we know who's who in that scenario, but if you ask nicely I might consider flipping you for bad cop.â
Whistler blinks at her. âWhat?â
âI'm going to interview Sergeant Nguyenâs husband,â Lucy clarifies. âWant to help?â
âThat's not in my job description,â Whistler says, brow crinkling in deeper confusion. âAnd I have to go talk to Tennant.â
âAgain?â Lucy asks this question to the empty space where Whistler used to be. Except this time, Whistler is not being invited into Janeâs office. No, Whistler is just walking away, and pretending to get a call so she has an excuse to exit the hallway.
In an instant, Lucy is pissed off. Here she is, extending an olive branch, and Whistler is acting like she's too good for it. Fineâif Whistler wants to avoid her, then two can play at that game.
Ernie patiently listens to Lucy explain all of this once the interview with the Sergeant's husband gets them nothing. âSo thatâs why you're hiding in here,â he guesses. âBecause Whistler doesnât want to fight with you like usual.â
âI'm not hiding,â Lucy scoffs. âI actually came here to discussâŚâ She lamely grabs the top file on his desk, flipping it open to the first page. âTimothy Summers. Hm. Yeah, I think he's our guy.â
âGreat,â Ernie says. âSo an arrest is imminent, then?â
âOh, definitely. That's why I'm hereâŚwith youâŚfor our next move.â
âAnd how does the fact that he's been dead for six months fit into this?â
Lucy pauses. âYou couldnât have just told me that?â
âItâs literally underneath his picture. Deceased.â Ernie jabs at the file with his finger, and Lucy smacks him with it. âOw! God, youâre mean when you fight with your girlfriend.â
âGirlfriend?â Lucyâs voice comes out several octaves higher than it should. âWhy would you say that?â
âUh, lots of reasons.â Ernie pops open a box of candy on his desk, offering Lucy a sympathetic red vine which she numbly accepts. âEveryone can see it. Honestly, I thought you two were going to start going at it on Kaiâs desk the other day when Whistler broke the news that we were off the Dominguez case.â
Lucyâs jaw drops. âBecause we were arguing?â
âIntensely arguing,â Ernie corrects. âKai and I placed bets on who would kiss who first.â
âAre you serious? She hates me.âÂ
âDoes she?â Ernie continues chewing on his red vine before whispering conspiringly, âOr does she secretly burn for you?â
Horrified, Lucy ditches the candy; surely, that must be the reason she suddenly feels sick to her stomach. âForget it. Iâm going to hide somewhere else.â
âSo you are hiding. I knew it! Hey, can youââ
Whatever Ernie wants, Lucy doesnât stick around to find out. She decides sheâs going to find Kai instead, see if he has any actual leads in the case.
Except she ends up bumping into Whistler again. Full-on body contact this time, evenâWhistler jerks backwards, Lucy tries to jump into the wall, and really it's a wonder it doesn't end in catastrophe.
âI'm sorry, IâŚâ Whistler trails off when she sees Lucy. âUm, Tennant said I had to talk to Ernie about Sergeant Nguyenâs finances. Is he here?â
âYeah, he's in there.â Lucy gestures vaguely over her shoulder. âThe tech-nerd talk is all yours. I need to go talk to...other people. About things.â
Whistler nods awkwardly, still waiting, and Lucy belatedly steps out of the doorway in order to head back to the bullpen. Okay, so, Operation Avoid Whistler is officially off to a bad start.
But when she catches up to Kai, he has a much better idea of how to spend their time, and it also guarantees Lucy can avoid Whistler perfectly.
âSergeant Nguyen was last seen at a Vietnamese restaurant two blocks from here,â Kai says. âDo you want to go check it out? Maybe we'll get something the police didn't.â
Lucyâs spirits are immediately lifted. âYes. I could go for a banh mi,â she says dreamily. âOoh, and some spring rolls.â
âI'mâŚpretty sure we're not allowed to order food from our suspects.â
âWe don't know if they're our suspects,â Lucy reminds him. âAnd besides, spring rolls never kidnapped anyone.â She pats him on the shoulder reassuringly. âGive me five minutes and Iâll meet you in the parking lot.â
It ends up being closer to twenty minutes to update Jane on their next move, but Jane does give her blessing to investigate (and bring back lunch). Lucy has a pep in her step the entire way out to the parking lot, whereâŚWhistler is standing.
Lucy notices her first; Whistler is facing the ocean, hand cupped above her forehead and frowning at something. She looks so seriousâand out of placeâthat Lucy almost considers asking whatâs wrong. Key word almost, because she is still on avoid-Kate-Whistler-mode, and she makes a mad dash to Kaiâs car before Whistler can spot her.
Kai yelps when Lucy yanks the door open with, admittedly, a sense of urgency that is a tad unwarranted. âWhatâ?â
âDrive, Kai,â Lucy demands, and he immediately starts up the engine, but he eyes her warily all the same.
(Unfortunately, Lucy makes eye contact with Whistler through the window as the car peels out of the lot, and she groans and sinks low in her seat.)
âWhat was that?â Kai ventures to ask. âAre you and Whistler fighting?â
âFor once, no,â Lucy says. âSheâs been avoiding me. So now Iâm the one avoiding her.â
âWell did something happen?â The drive is quick, and before they know it, Kai is easing the car into a parking spot. âI know you two getâŚuh. Really passionate sometimes.â
âBecause she hates me,â Lucy reiterates, feeling like a broken record at this point. âSo I hate to break it to you, but you and Ernie are not going to collect on any bets related to kissing.â
Kai winces. âYou know about that?â
âYes, Kai, what the hell? I expect this from Ernie, but from you?â
âAny way I can make it up to you?â Kai asks weakly.
âBuy me lunch and weâll talk,â Lucy says, and Kaiânewfound meddler that he has proved to beâcan at least follow instructions beautifully.
The restaurant turns out to be a dead-end case wise, but their menu is grand; they order too much food and bring enough lunch for everyone. (Even Whistler).
But when Lucy ever-so-casually mentions this, Jane just shrugs and says,
âI told her to stick around for you two, but she said she had to finalize some reports.â
âWow,â Ernie says around a mouthful of noodles, âthatâs dedication. Turning down free food just for work.â He pointedly raises his eyebrows at Lucy, who in turn tries very hard to glower at him with just her eyes.
âGood for her,â is all Lucy has to say about that. Jane gives her a curious look for the comment, but thankfully doesnât ask.
âHey, Lucy,â Ernie says suddenly. âI left my tea in the lair. Can you do me a favor and bring it to me?â
Lucyâstill cradling her precious, half-eaten banh miâhas to do an actual double-take. âWhy canât you get it?â
âBecause I have a crampâŚin my legâŚand you love me,â Ernie says. When Lucy stares back at him, unimpressed, he tries again with: âAnd Iâll owe you?â
âFine,â Lucy sighs. âBut youâre being so weird.â Suspiciously weird, even, but his scheming doesnât click until Lucy is actually opening Ernieâs door andââOh.â
Whistler lifts her head at the intrusion, her stunned expression likely a mirror of Lucyâs. âSpecial Agent Tara,â she says.
âWhistler,â Lucy says slowly. âWhat are you doing in here?â
âErnie said I could borrow his computer,â Whistler says. âDIA wants me here until we get a ransom demand, and I wanted to get some work done.â
âErnie let you borrow his computer,â Lucy echoes. âWillingly?â
âYes?â Whistler tilts her head questioningly. âSorry, did you need something?â
Lucy knows she should be looking for Ernieâs tea. She also knows she should probably ask Whistler about it. But all that comes out is: âYou know, we brought lunch for everyone.â
âThank you, but I had lunch already.â Whistler glances back down at the computer screen, tapping away at its keys in a silent dismissal, and in an instant Lucy has had enough.
âWhy are you avoiding me?â
The mechanical typing falters. âIâm not.â
âYouâre working with everyone else on my team but me,â Lucy says. âThat kind of feels like youâre avoiding me.â
âMaybe I felt like getting actual work done for once.â Whistler looks up again, this time with a deep-set frown on her lips. âAnd I wasnât in the mood to fight.â
âHey, youâre the one who fights with me!â Lucy argues. âLiterally, from day one. You yelled at Jane about me in front of everyone.â
âBecause you stole a sensitive report which you had no clearance for!â
âActually, I read it upside down while you were talking about how I didnât have clearance for it,â Lucy counters. âNo stealing required.â
Whistlerâs jaw clenches. âThat is not any better.â
âBut it means Iâm not a thief. Iâm justâŚyou know, crafty,â Lucy says. âCome on, havenât you ever bent the rules a little to break a case?â
âI don't break cases,â Whistler says flatly. âI protect intel.â
Lucy rolls her eyes. âFine,â she snaps, exasperated, âyouâre a saint and a better person than I am. Is that what you want to hear?â
âAre youâwhat is your problem? That is not what Iâm saying.â
âThen what are you saying?â Lucy lets the words hang between them in the ensuing silence. She doesnât even realize that she has placed her hands on the desk in challengeâbarely any space between them nowâuntil Whistler is hastily standing up.
Even as tall as she is, Whistlerâs voice comes out incredibly small. âNothing,â she says finally. âPlease forgive myâŚgross unprofessionalism. Clearly, I have overstayed my welcome.â She steps out from behind the desk without even bothering to close whatever sheâd been working on, and Lucy sees red.
âOh sure, just run away,â Lucy huffs. âGo ahead! Prove youâve been avoiding me.â
âI havenât beenââ
âIâm sick of playing this game with you!â Lucy cuts her off.
Whistler doesnât move an inch. âWhat game?âÂ
Dammit. Ernie is most definitely in her head. What the hell; itâs not like Lucy has anything to lose. âThe game where we pretend we don't like each other,â she says firmly. âYouâre an asshole and I like to piss you off, but obviously there is something else here and Iâm not crazy. This isââ
Honestly, in the back of her mind, the most Lucy expects is more denial. At worst, she expects Whistler to march out of the room and report her to Jane again. She certainly does not anticipate Whistler yanking Lucy in to kiss her breathlessâjust for a brief, dizzying momentâbefore pulling away.
Whistler tries to apologize, but Lucy doesnât let her; she is once again determined to give as good as she gets (in a very different context). Lucy pulls Whistler right back in, grasping desperately at her face and stretching as fall as the tips of her toes will allow.Â
It seems to reassure Whistler in any case, who eagerly slides her hands along Lucyâs back and melts against her. Maybe it's the months of pent-up aggression between the two of them, or maybe it's the knowledge that Whistler is an actual human being, or maybe it's just the ghost of the faint touch of Whistler's fingertips underneath the hem of Lucyâs shirt, but the kiss gets really intense really fast.
Lucy debates sliding her own hand under Whistler's shirtâsee if she is as serious in her bra choices as she is in pantsuitsâbut then Whistler flicks her tongue into Lucyâs mouth and she cannot possibly be expected to focus. It's intoxicating and exhilarating andâŚ
âWait, wait,â Lucy regretfully manages to twist away. âWe can't do this.â
âRight,â Whistler says, nodding rapidly. âIt would be a mistake.â She's clearly trying to school her features into her usual stoic demeanor, but her efforts are completely undermined by her kiss-swollen lips and the obvious flush on her cheeks.
âWhat? No, I meant, we can't do this here,â Lucy says. âYou think it would be a mistake?â
âNot ifâŚyou don't,â Kate says, almost like a question.
âAre you seriously going to throw yourself at me but not even say what you feel out loud? I think you're addicted to fighting with me,â Lucy decides.
âI didn't throw myself at you, andâif anything, you're the one trying to fight with me!â Kate exclaims. âEvery day I come in, and you're there trying to undermine me. I've been trying to keep my distance for both our sakes. Obviously our working dynamic isâŚless than ideal, most of the time.â
âI'm not trying to undermine you. I'm just trying to get you to loosen up a little maybe,â Lucy says. âWhichâŚokay, might be annoying. So I get why you're an uptight asshole sometimes. No offense!â
Whistler frowns. âSome offense taken.â
âOh, it's fine,â Lucy says. âThe asshole thing is unfortunately very hot. Ernie may or may not have had a point.â
âWhat does Ernie have to do with this?â Whistler looks horrified now.
âNot likeâErnie and I don't sit around discussing how hot you are,â Lucy tries to save face. âHe just suggested that we mightâŚyou knowâŚjump each other at some point.â
âYou're not making this any better.â
âThen forget Ernie,â Lucy says. âTake him out of the equation entirely. Do you also find me unfortunately hot?â
âI wouldnât call it unfortunate,â Whistler says. âBut. Yes?â
âOkay, soâŚâ Lucy trails off. âWhat are we doing here, Whistler? Do you want to walk out of here and pretend this never happened?â
âNo.â Whistler steps forward hesitantly. âThatâs not what I want. IâŚI like you, Lucy. And I know this would completely ruin our working relationship, butââ
âShut up about work,â Lucy says, dragging Whistler back in for another fervorous kiss, delighting in the fact that Whistler certainly isnât fighting her now.
(Lucyâs phone buzzing, however, does effectively kill the mood.)
âWhat is that?â Whistler is instantly back into work mode, smoothing her hair haphazardly as if someone is about to walk in any second. âIs it about the case?â
Lucy unlocks her phone with bated breath. âMaybe we finally have a ransom call,â she says, before the familiar face in her text messages proves otherwise. â...nevermind, itâs just Ernie. He wants to know if weâve âkissed and made upâ. Iâm going to tell him weâre going to have sex in his chair.â
Whistler half-coughs, half-chokes. âAre we?â
âObviously not,â Lucy says. Then, thoughtfully: âBut Iâm technically still on lunch. Did you drive here?â
âYeah, I have a company car,â Whistler says. âDo you have another lead?â
âNo, but I do have thirty minutes to spare,â Lucy says cheerfully. âGet your keys. Weâre totally going to have sex in your company car.â
Whistler turns very, very red. âIâŚdonât think my boss would like that.â
âFine, then we can make out in your company car,â Lucy amends. âBut youâre going to have to leave first. Kai and Ernie have a bet going about us, and I donât want either of them to win.â
âYour team has a strange obsession with your love life,â Whistler tells her matter-of-factly.
âEh, could be worse,â Lucy says. âJane could get involved.â
Whistlerâmarginally disheveledâmanages to crack a smile. âLetâs not let it get that far,â she suggests, brushing one final kiss against Lucyâs mouth with a resigned sigh. âSoâŚare we keeping this between us for now?â
âI guess so,â Lucy says begrudgingly. âThink you can keep on fighting me in front of everyone?â
Whistler shrugs. âAre you going to keep being an asshole?â
âWhaâhey, no fair! Youâre the asshole. Iâm the good-meaning, happy-go-lucky agent who just wants to keep you human,â Lucy says, poking at Whistlerâs cheek until her smile grows even more.
âChallenge accepted,â Whistler says, smoothly tucking a strand of hair behind Lucyâs cheek before casually making her exit.Â
Lucy places her hands on her hips and wistfully watches her go. This day has gone absolutely nowhere she expected it to, but dammit, she canât be mad.
(Especially when her phone buzzes again with another text from Ernie. All it says is: NOOOOOO đ).
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