OOM: Kate's room again.

[the_gene_genie]

It's been a few weeks since he last saw her. The first one, he spent making up for not being able to drink the week before. The few after that - well. He's well aware that their last conversation didn't go too well. It seemed sensible to steer clear, and he wasn't all that happy with her either, was he?

But the awkwardness of the thing with Guppy has ebbed away a bit now, and he's been wondering what she's up to. Even if their last conversation was a bit crap, that's no reason not to see where they're at. So, in typical Gene Hunt style, he decides to take the bull by the horns. He still wants to go to Texas, and he still wants to see her. If that means another awkward conversation - well, so be it.

After checking she's not in the bar, and not in the stables, he heads up to her room. His knock is as bold as ever, no sign of nerves.

'You in there?'

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

She's surprised to hear someone knocking at this hour, and that surprise doesn't go away when he announces who it is with his gruff Mancunian accent. She hesitates to answer, wondering if he'll go away should she make it seem like she's not in.





"Just a minute."

She knocks Guildenstern from her lap with a sigh, and sets her book down. It takes her a little time to get to the door. She isn't going to be answering it in her undergarments or her robe, so she slips on a dress and pulls her damp braid free of the collar, draping it over one shoulder.

The door only opens a crack.

"Hello."

[the_gene_genie]

'Hello.'


Beat.





'You gonna let me in, or what?'

[ikissdhimbck]

"Depends on what y'want."

[the_gene_genie]

He huffs out a breath, and looks away.



'To talk to you, obviously.'

[ikissdhimbck]

She eyes him silently.






"Fine. Do come in."

She permits the door to swing a little wider, scooping up Roz in the process. The cat wriggles, sniffing suspiciously in Gene's general direction.

[the_gene_genie]

'Ta.'


Seeing as she's being polite, he might as well make the effort. He stalks in, and stands in the middle of the room, hands on his hips. The dampness of her hair doesn't go unnoticed. he has to quash the sudden mental image of her in the bath.

'Got any Scotch?'

[ikissdhimbck]

"Help yourself."

She nods toward the table in the corner of the room, where there are a few different bottles of liquor.

The cat gets deposited on her bed so she can cross her arms, waiting for him to get to the point.

[the_gene_genie]

He nods briefly, and goes to pour them both a glass. She seems...put out. Maybe a drink'll soften her up.

'You were pissed off with me,' he says, turning and holding out a glass.

'Even after I said it wasn't anythin' t'do with you. Wanted t'see if you still were.'

Looks like it.

[ikissdhimbck]

She eyes the proffered glass.

"I'm not 'pissed off' with you."

She takes the drink, but immediately sets it down behind her.

"You said your piece an' I accepted it."

[the_gene_genie]

'You seem pissed off, though.'

She's doing that that thing birds do, isn't she? When they say one thing, and mean something completely different.

'But if you're not, I s'pose we can move on, no trouble.'

Right?

[ikissdhimbck]

"Well, no, I'm not particularly happy, Gene. But I see no reason t'make a spectacle outta things."

[the_gene_genie]

'Well, that'd be a first.'

He says it in the offhand way he has when he's just chucking insults around for the sake of it. There's no heat behind it.

'So, is this the kind of 'not happy' that's gonna ruin us goin' to Texas, or are you gonna get over it by then?'

[ikissdhimbck]

Her eyes snap back to his face.

She can't believe he asked that. Except, she can, because it's the only thing he ever seems to talk about. She chose not to mind. It was all part of the deal; that way, they'd both get something out of this 'relationship'. But at this moment, she's realizing just how stupid she's let herself be.



"No. Because you're not goin' t'Texas, Gene."

[the_gene_genie]

He frowns, turns his head to the side and eyes her sideways.

'Thought it was all agreed?'

[ikissdhimbck]

"It was."

She moves around him, heading back toward the armchair to pick up her things.

"An' I typically keep my word. But I can't trust you out there, so you're not goin'."

[the_gene_genie]

'...can't trust me?'


That's one he doesn't hear every day.

[ikissdhimbck]

"I take it y'haven't gone deaf recently?"

That is what she said. She doesn't think further explanation is really necessary.

[the_gene_genie]

'I heard what you said. I jus' don't understand why you said it.'

He thinks over their past interactions.

'When have I ever been untrustworthy?'

[ikissdhimbck]

"You're the most capricious man I know. What happens if I git you out t'Texas an' you suddenly decide you're angry with me? An' you go off an' get snatched up by a gang, or walk my pony plumb into a snake hole? Y'can be as fitful as y'want here, but I can't risk your quicksilver temper out my door."

[the_gene_genie]

'Capri-what?'

Moving on.

'I've already told you - more than once - that I get it's your world out there. What the bloody hell d'you think I am, a kid or somethin'?'

He takes a deep breath, to stop his voice rising to a yell. It's a measure of control not often utilised.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Yes," she says, simply and bluntly. "On occasion."

Rosencrantz swipes at the swath of silk acting as a bookmark for the story Kate's reading, snatching it cleanly from between the pages. She sighs, and shoves the book back inside the bookcase, abandoning the marker to the cat.

"Your childlike enthusiasm t'see Texas ain't no bother t'me. It's even kinda sweet. But, when it's coupled with the fact that we can't seem t'get along, an' I have no idea how else t'make you happy, warnin' bells start ringin'."

[the_gene_genie]

'We do get on sometimes.'

He illustustrates the point by stepping forward into her space, looking down on her with an expression part confused, part defiant.

'An' I reckon we'll get on better out there.'

Because he does realise that he's different - a little - when he's away from people who know him as the Guv. Plus, he reckons all the shagging will help too.

'You don' need to worry abou' makin' me happy. You're not me wife, or me best mate. I'm not a kid that needs entertainin'. I just wanna see it, and I thought you an' me were...y'know.'

[ikissdhimbck]

"Don't."

She holds out her hands, keeping a little distance between them.

"Y'get t'touchin' me an' I'll lose my nerve. Again."

It's pathetic, really, just how much the quietest whisper of intimacy makes her weak. How desperate and lonely she's been, how sad, since she lost Doc. She promised herself that she wouldn't let her heart lead her head around again. She promised.

"'Sometimes' isn't good enough. I spent two years of my life holdin' onto 'sometimes'. I don't wanna do it again. I don't wanna fight an' argue, I don't wanna wonder what I've done t'make you reticent an' distant, I don't wanna worry 'bout the things you're not sayin', the things you're hidin', an' spend all my time waitin' for it t'get better. An' I don't wanna be used, neither. I don't wanna be convenient."

[the_gene_genie]

'You're not. Bloody hell, you're a complete pain in the soddin' arse. No way anyone could think you were convenient.'

It's said affectionately. Or amusedly, one of the two. And there's a moment when he pouts, thinking, weighing up how much pushing is overstepping the mark.

Then he steps into her space again. He does want her to lose her nerve, and while he may be a gentleman when he makes the effort, he's also famous for being a complete bastard. So one hand takes one of those hands she's holding out, and pulls her into him, and the other goes to her waist.

'If I'm reticent, you can be sure it's nothin' t'do with you, luv. Because you should know by now, if you piss me off, I will tell you about it.'

Loudly.

'An' I'm not usin' you. You should know better than that, an' all.'

[ikissdhimbck]

She tenses up so much when he pulls her to him she could be mistaken for solid stone.

"Should I?"

Her words are addressed to the folds in his shirt. She's not looking at him. She hasn't been, all this while.