castle fic; criminal of desire
criminal of desire | Castle; kate beckett/serena kaye | 5550 words | r (for language) | au. serena's an art thief; kate's in private security.
author's note: so basically this is what happens when niuxita21 and I agree that there was a vibe between beckett and serena at the end of eye of the beholder. just go with it. don't look for logic or any kind of reality (i seriously did no research here. i just made crap up okay) cos there is none. this is purely for fun. and to satisfy our fantasies of pretty women making out. and being awesome. the end.
The first time Kate Beckett catches a glimpse of Serena Kaye it's as she's being pulled up a zipline into an airduct.
The thing is though - and she's embarrassed to admit it, trained as she is to be focussed at all times - she doesn't even see Serena's face. It's not that she's wearing a mask or any kind of disguise, and the art gallery is certainly well lit so she can't blame it on that, but what she is wearing is a very short black dress and all Kate Beckett seems able to focus on is her legs.
Until of course she remembers that the whole reason she's even at the art gallery is that she's part of the private security team hired to make sure nothing happens to the newly donated piece of modern sculpture that is now most definitely not where it should be.
And with that she doesn't have time to think about legs or the woman potentially belonging to the legs because someone has just managed to put the first blemish on her impeccable security record in years and she's bloody annoyed about it.
Later she's supposed to be giving her colleagues a description of the thief and she fumbles her way through it, trying to find an excuse for not getting a look at her face that won't make her look like a total and utter fool. The guys make jokes - “Blinded by the art huh, Beckett?” and she nods and laughs with them.
But in her head she's thinking, “Yeah, just not quite the kind you're imagining.”
It's months before they cross paths again and she's almost lived down the embarrassment of their first encounter when she's monitoring a gallery opening in France and as her eyes sweep the room she finds herself distracted (again) by the sight of a woman's legs, just barely covered by a very short red dress.
This time Beckett makes a point to look at her face as well and as she does the blonde women glances her way and their eyes lock for just a second. She raises her glass - and an eyebrow - to Beckett and walks away, weaving in an out of the crowd with elegance and grace.
Beckett follows with slightly less elegance and grace. (Okay, there's none. She just barges straight through the crowd.)
She's not entirely sure why she's following her mind you, but there's just something about the woman's acknowledgement of her from across the room, and maybe a little something to do with the way her legs look in that dress that makes Kate really want to meet her.
As she rounds a corner she suddenly feels someone close behind her and a woman's voice purrs “Have we met?” in her ear, making her jump slightly at the surprise.
“I don't think so,” Beckett answers turning to face her.
“Would you like to?” Serena asks, leaning in close enough for Beckett to smell the faint scent of...cherries? It smells like her own body wash and for some reason that thought sends a shiver down her spine.
“Kate Beckett,” she tells her, relaxing slightly into their close proximity. (She can't help it. There's just something about her. There's a pull between them.)
“Serena,” smiles the blonde, as she holds out her hand. “Serena Kaye. Are you sure we haven't met? You look familiar.”
“I work in private security, we cater to a lot of museums, galleries and private collections, so I guess it's possible we've moved in the same circles before.”
“Shame we haven't bumped into each other sooner,” Serena says and Kate's certain now that she's flirting with her. It feels good.
“Yes it is,” Kate smiles in return, thinking that this is suddenly shaping up to be an excellent night.
Except now the radio on her belt comes to life and the moment is broken by the sound of her colleague's voice.
“Yo, Beckett where are you? Curator wants us to do a perimeter sweep before they unveil... whatever the hell it is they're unveiling.”
Serena looks at her, amusement written all over her face and Kate can't help grinning in return. Despite a long career in professional security, Esposito still knows next to nothing about art.
“Seriously? You can't even take the time to read up on what we've been hired to keep secure?” they can both hear Ryan say in the background, and then Esposito's terse reply, “Come on bro, I don't need to know what it is to do my job.”
“Yeah but it wouldn't kill you to immerse yourself in a bit of culture for once,” Ryan grumbles.
“Hey, I am plenty cultured thank you very much -”
“Cool it boys,” Beckett interrupts, rolling her eyes at Serena. “I'm on my way.”
“Guess you gotta go huh?” Serena says and there's a quirk to her lips that Kate doesn't quite understand, but the truth is she doesn't really care because there's practically no space left between them now and damn if she doesn't want to just kiss her.
But she doesn't and instead clears her throat and says “Yeah, probably should since I'm you know, supposed to be working.” ("Not flirting with beautiful women," she thinks to herself.)
“Me too. But maybe I'll see you later?” Serena says stepping past Kate and brushing her hand against Kate's wrist as she does.
She's still smiling when she walks back into the main foyer and Ryan and Esposito are definitely giving her an odd look but she doesn't really care -
- and then suddenly the alarm sounds and the room goes into lockdown and the rest of her night is thrown into chaos.
It's nearly 2am when they're finally reviewing the security footage and Ryan gives her a sideways glance as Kate's conversation with Serena comes into view and he's not exactly subtle in his tone when he asks, “So who's that?”
But Kate doesn't answer because she's just witnessed herself walk back through the corridor and right after she turns to leave, Serena winks at the camera.
“Fuck,” she exclaims loudly, turning to the boys. “That's our thief!”
("Fuck" she silently says in her head. "She's the thief." Her disappointment has nothing at all to do with the fact she failed to do her job and everything to do with the fact she had planned on using her connection with the gallery to track down Serena's phone number.)
“Seriously?” Esposito deadpans. “You were flirting with the thief?”
“Just. Shut up. Okay?” she mutters bitterly as she starts to connect the dots and comes to the embarrassing realisation that the first time she saw Serena, she might have been too distracted by her legs to look at her face, but Serena certainly hadn't had the same problem. She'd seen Kate's face. And whether they happened to end up at the same event by chance or by design, there's no doubt Serena knew exactly who Kate was when she decided to flirt with her.
(In any other instance that would be a flattering thought to entertain. In this instance though, she has no idea what the hell it means.)
The boys seem to sense that there's something up and ease off on the jokes, while Kate tries to tell herself that there's really nothing to be upset about. It's just her professional pride that's been hurt.
That's all.
(It's really not though.)
Three weeks later Kate gets significantly more than just a glimpse of her legs or a brief flirtation.
This time she's working security for an upscale society dinner. This kind of work is much simpler than museums or galleries because there's no single item being publicly touted as 'priceless' to attract the attention of master thieves. They're usually held in private residences and attended by the same people. Still, there are always unknowns and in any private home there are valuables to be secured so it's not uncommon for anxious hostesses to buy themselves a little extra comfort.
It's all gone smoothly and dessert is being served when out of the corner of her eye she sees a flash of blonde hair whip past the dining room door and her stomach twists as she tries to surreptitiously walk out of the room with haste.
As soon as she's out she runs, weighing up the various places Serena (if it is Serena - and she's not above admitting that on this occasion she really hopes she's being paranoid) could be and quickly decides the home's private office is the most pertinent place to check first.
And she's right of course. Serena's just closing the door on the wall safe when Beckett runs in.
“Don't move,” she says.
“Wouldn't dream of it,” Serena answers in a low voice as she turns to face her. “I'm perfectly happy letting you come to me.”
Kate edges closer and her hand hovers over the radio at her waist while Serena seems far too calm for a thief who's just been caught red handed.
“You gonna call your team now?” she asks eyes locked on Kate's.
“In a second,” Kate responds coldly. “But first I want to know why you keep showing up at the events I'm working.”
“You're a smart girl Kate, you really can't figure that one out for yourself?” Serena smirks at her, stepping forward and closing that last bit of distance between them, continuing in almost a whisper, “So I'd have the chance to do this of course.”
She leans forward, brushing her lips softly against Kate's. Except then she stops being soft and Kate doesn't push her away; it's hands in hair and Kate biting at her lip and Serena's hands snaking round to the back of Kate's thighs and both are breathless when they pull apart.
But it doesn't stop Serena from saying, “Sorry Kate, gotta go,” as she turns quickly and dives out a window Kate hadn't even realised was open behind them.
Kate licks her lips. “Fuck.”
She's really never going to live this one down.
(It's a strange thing though because later, once they've alerted their host of the breach and she's done a thorough inventory of her valuables, it turns out there's nothing at all missing. Serena left empty handed.)
They meet for the fourth time in a bar.
It's a place Kate goes to after work, usually with the boys, but sometimes alone when she just wants a quiet drink. She's alone (naturally) when a woman slides onto the barstool beside her and orders a Martini.
“We meet again,” she says casually, without even turning to look at her and for a moment Kate doesn't even know what to say.
(I mean really, what do you say an art thief who's twice now interfered with your job and who you've engaged in an unexpected but passionate makeout session with sits next to you in a bar and start a casual conversation?)
“Did you follow me here?” is what she finds herself saying, and even as the words leave her mouth she wants to swallow them.
But Serena doesn't bat an eyelid and answers with a simple, “Yes.”
Kate wasn't expecting that.
“Why?”
“Because I find you interesting,” Serena tells her and it sounds so honest that Kate wants to believe it's that simple. But she doesn't because the woman's a thief and that doesn't exactly go hand in hand with honesty and Kate isn't interested in being lied to. So, despite the knot (or is it butterflies?) in her stomach she puts on false bravado and coolly says, “Yeah? Well do you find it interesting that I'm just seconds away from calling the police on you?”
Serena just laughs. “No you're not. You find me interesting too.”
Kate doesn't exactly want to admit that but she doesn't think it would really make much difference even if she did. Serena seems like the kind of person who lives solely in her own reality; she believes what she believes and nothing else. Besides, Kate has never been good at lying. So she says nothing and silently fiddles with her glass instead, waiting for Serena to pick up the conversation.
“So, you seeing someone?” Serena asks and it sounds oh so casual but somehow there's something there, the slightest catch in her voice that suggests it's not really casual at all and that catches Kate off guard.
“Sort of,” she says awkwardly.
Serena doesn't say another word, just takes a sip of her Martini and waits, so Kate continues because she really has no idea what to make of this random encounter and figures she might as well be honest.
“His name's Rick. I worked security at a party of his mother's. Broadway Diva,” she adds, as if that somehow adds clarity or something. “It's just casual,” she shrugs.
“I've never really been good at casual,” Serena muses thoughtfully, fingers playing with the hem of her dress while Kate tries to remember that a good conversationalist should always look at the other persons eyes. Not their thighs.
“Really? You don't strike me as the kind of girl who has serious longterm relationships,” Kate comments as she drags her eyes back up to Serena's face.
“And why's that?” Serena asks, turning back to her drink.
“Gee, I dunno. The fact that you're an art thief. I can't imagine that provides much stability.”
“Yeah, I don't think that's the problem,” Serena says and her face is a perfect mask of nonchalance.
Kate laughs and says, “Of course not, why would it be?” (Because honestly? She is a thief. How could that not be the problem?)
Serena doesn't respond though, just keeps sipping her drink, and suddenly Kate feels like she's crossed a line somehow and Serena's shoulders are tense and her fingers grip the stem of her glass more tightly than necessary. But more troubling to Kate is that Serena keeps her gaze fixed straight ahead, where previously she'd looked Kate straight in the eyes.
“I'm sorry,” she says and she finds herself leaning toward her and resting a hand on Serena's thigh. “I shouldn't make assumptions like that.”
“I understand why you would. It's fine,” she shrugs and her fingers brush lightly across Kate's hand before she turns on her stool and leans in to kiss her lightly.
“I should go,” she says as she pulls back and she doesn't wait for Kate to respond, just slides gracefully off her stool and walks away.
Kate doesn't stop her. But the second she's gone she wishes she had.
Over the next six months, almost half the jobs Beckett takes leads her to some kind of brush with Serena.
She's not always there as a thief. Sometimes Beckett spots her with a glass of champagne in hand, casually chatting to the other guests and by the time she's worked her way through the crowd there's usually an empty seat and a napkin with a lipstick kiss waiting for her.
Those nights everything goes smoothly and there are no alarms and no running and no feeling of failure at not having done her job well enough.
Sometimes Serena will casually follow her to the bathroom, or some secluded corner of the venue and whisper “It's good to see you,” or “Nice dress,” as she slides her hands over Kate's hips and kisses her softly.
Those nights Kate willingly forgets that Serena's a thief. She knows she shouldn't but it's so easy to just enjoy the way it feels to have Serena look at her the way she does.
Sometimes though, their meetings will happen like this:
She hears a voice across the room, a laugh, or a flirty comment and the sound of it sends a shiver down her back. She knows Serena's there. She'll scan the room quickly and find no trace of her and that's when the bloods starts to pound in her ears and she makes a move to wherever the art or valuables are supposed to be being kept safe.
(She never remembers to radio Ryan or Esposito first. As a professional, it's a mistake she always regrets. And yet it keeps happening. She refuses to ask herself why.)
And there Serena will be, diving out a window or shimmying up an air duct, leaving Kate with explanations to make to her clients.
Once or twice, they brush paths outside of work. Serena finds her again at the bar and they sit side by side pretending that there's no conflict between them, and instead talk about everything but their jobs. Well. Maybe not quite everything. Kate learns quickly that Serena doesn't like to talk about family; and when Serena asks Kate about Rick she finds that Kate would rather kiss her than talk about her 'relationship'.
But they do talk. And sometimes they even forget that they're anything but two women in a bar who like each other.
Of course, the forgetting only ever lasts until the next time they meet on a job.
The boys think it's cool.
“It's like you've got your own personal nemesis!” Esposito quips.
“We should give her a cool nickname,” says Ryan. “Like 'The Wind.' Or you know, something cooler.”
Once he actually refers to her as 'The one that got away' and Beckett snaps at him to shut it with much more venom than she means to.
That frivolous phrase stings in a way it really has no right to.
Serena's interference in Beckett's work quickly becomes a point of contention with her bosses and they make it clear that if she has any opportunity to apprehend Serena, they expect her to do just that. And then call in the appropriate authorities.
At first she simply sets about trying to outsmart Serena as far as her own work is concerned, make sure she can't even get anywhere near any job she's working. But when that doesn't work (because the truth is, Serena is good) she takes a different approach.
Kate Beckett starts trying to think like a thief. She starts trying to get ahead of Serena, predict what kind of jobs she'll go for - other than whatever it is Kate's working because they can't be the only ones Serena hits. She goes over every piece of security footage they have of Serena; she researches lock picking and safe cracking; she analyses every piece of art she knows Serena has ever stolen to find patterns or themes.
It becomes an obsession that creeps into her work and oddly enough, her bosses couldn't be happier. They have complete faith that Kate Beckett will find a way to put Serena Kaye behind bars where she'll be out of their hair.
(Actually it becomes an obsession that has absolutely nothing to do with the job. The truth is she doesn't know what she'll do if she ever does finally catch her. She just knows the instinct will lean far more towards 'kiss her' than 'cuff her'. Or not. The cuffs could work too. But that's the whole problem really.)
Beckett's casually waiting in a museum's vault one night when Serena walks in - just as casually.
“I know what you're doing Kate. But you're never gonna catch me you know,” Serena tells her laughing playfully. “Of course, you could always join me. Then you could have me in cuffs whenever you wanted.”
Kate blushes and Serena just laughs even more. “I knew you'd thought about it.”
(The problem is, it's not the cuffs that Kate's embarassed to admit to. It's the fact that recently, with all the research she's been doing, she's actually found herself entertaining the idea of becoming a thief as well. And there's no other reason for it other than thinking maybe then they could make something between them work.)
They spend the next thirty minutes pressed against the wall of the vault gripping each other tightly.
And then they leave like it's nothing.
Like they always do.
(The truth is, sometimes they both feel like these brief meetings are real life, and the rest is just waiting. Not that they'd ever tell the other that. The pretence that this is just your every day game of cat and mouse is half the fun. Except sometimes it's really not and the chasing and the absence and the uncertainty of it all haunts them both and makes them want to just stop.)
Kate walks into her apartment late one night and Serena's sitting on her kitchen bench with a bunch of balloons and a birthday cake. She smiles when she sees Kate and it's different to any smile she's ever given her. It's not the cocky smirk she wears when she's gotten away with stealing something, and it's not the sexy smile she uses to entice Kate into her arms. It's far simpler. It's a quick flash of joy, innocent and pure, at seeing someone she cares about.
“Hey,” Serena says softly.
“It's not my birthday Serena,” she responds a little abruptly. (Sometimes it bothers her the way Serena just enters her life when she wants to. It bothers her now that she's sitting on her kitchen bench looking like she belongs there, like this could be some easy glimpse of their future when Kate knows it's not and Serena will just waltz out when she pleases.)
“No. It's mine,” Serena tells her, looking at the ground and Kate's sure she's never seen her look so fragile and uncertain. So she lets go of the frustration for a moment and tries to imagine that they're a normal couple, celebrating a birthday.
“Hey,” she says softly, walking over to her and sliding her hands around Serena's waist. “Happy Birthday.”
She presses a kiss to her forehead and Serena's hands wrap around her own waist, pulling her closer. They stay that like for a minute, just quietly breathing in each other's space, and then Serena whispers “thank you” and Kate feels her heart break just a little bit.
“Come on,” she says, pulling away. “Let's have that cake.”
They take a bottle of wine and their cake over to the couch and by the time the plates are on the floor and the bottle is half empty, they're tangled in each other's arms with more passion and need than any of their brief encounters so far have allowed. They find now that they don't ever want to let go.
Later, Kate's half asleep and she can feel Serena stroking her hair and thinks maybe she can just hear her heartbeat as well. The wine has made her fuzzy and there's no voice in her head to caution her for once, so she just asks the question she hasn't been able to silence all night.
“Why did you come here tonight?”
Serena doesn't even pause. Her fingers keep playing with Kate's hair and her voice is sure and honest. “I wanted to spend my birthday with someone real.”
“I'm real?” Kate murmurs sleepily.
“More real than anyone else in my life,” Serena answers and Kate can feel herself smiling.
But in the morning she wakes alone. The worst thing is, she's not even surprised.
They reach a point where their lives seem to revolve around each other and yet they fail to actually be in each other's lives. Serena runs and Kate chases; Serena disappears and Kate waits.
They steal moments of reality but never anything more.
Kate is tired.
Serena still thinks it's fun. (At least, she thinks she does.)
And then one day Serena slides into a getaway car in black leather and the tyres are squealing before she has time to process that the person driving the car is not in fact Armand, her carefully chosen, easily dispensable, accomplice on this cakewalk of a job, but is in fact Kate Beckett with a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head and a messy bun that has no right to make her look so damn sexy.
(She's almost a little proud of Kate for pulling it off to be honest. Or maybe it's just the jolt of pleasure that runs through her when she considers the lengths Kate must have gone to just to be in this car with her. She ignores the part where she's spent the past year or so travelling everywhere and anywhere, taking any job that would put in her in the same room as Kate Beckett.)
“Hi,” is all she says and it's the first meeting they've had where Kate's eyes haven't lingered on Serena's face, or breasts, or legs. (Serena resents that.) Instead Kate's eyes are focussed straight ahead, like Serena's not even there. Or worse, like she's there but she's no one important.
“Well played,” Serena acknowledges and she expects to see a smirk on Kate's face, the cocky pride of having beaten her. But there's nothing, Kate still looks straight ahead.
“So what now?” she says after a moment.
“Now we drive.”
They pull up next to a shipping yard and no sooner than the car has stopped Serena is straddling Kate's lap, with one hand in her hair and the other tracing the outline of her collarbone, occasionally drifting south, while her lips find purchase with Kate's in a way that has become intimately familiar to them both.
But then Kate pushes her aside with a terse “This isn't what I'm here for.” (It might be more effective if she weren't totally out of breath.)
“Sure it is. This is always what you're here for.”
“Oh fuck you,” Kate breathes out, and it's the quiet way she says it that makes Serena think she means it. There's no passion in it, just resignation, and that hurts more than anything. It's a sign that this game they've been playing isn't really a game any more.
“Then what are you here for Kate? We both know by now you've never going to turn me in.”
“I'm done. I just want it to stop.”
“Want what to stop?” Serena asks, pretending like she doesn't actually know. If they're going to do this she's damn well going to make Kate spell it out. And as it happens, she does.
“This stupid game. You wanna be a thief? Fine. But stay away from me. Keep out of my work. I'm done playing.”
“If I do that how am I going to see you?” she says, trying charm now because it's always worked in the past and she doesn't want to have this fight.
Kate doesn't waste words making her meaning clear. “You won't.”
Serena laughs, trying to convince herself that it's absurd and Kate will never really walk away. Except, all of a sudden Kate's sliding out her door and suddenly there's a second car rolling past them and Kate's inside it before Serena even gets her own door open. Within seconds the car is out of sight and Serena's sitting in the passenger seat alone.
She didn't see that coming. And this game definitely isn't fun anymore.
Everything goes wrong now. Serena keeps stealing things but Kate never turns up where she's supposed to, no matter how thoroughly Serena does her research. Job after job after job and she's never there.
"Fine," she tells herself. She can go back to before she met Kate Beckett. It can't be that hard.
(Oh but it is.)
A month goes by and Serena slowly shifts back into her old routines. The criteria for her jobs becomes simple again. She steals what's interesting, she steals what she's never stolen before, she steals what she wants.
But it never quite leaves her with the same satisfaction as before.
Still, “This one'll be easy,” is what Serena's thinking to herself as she hears the vault's lock click open.
But as she steps into it she senses something's not right. And then she looks up. There's nothing to see but a pair of legs quickly sliding out of view but she doesn't need anything more; she knows those legs.
She knows the safety deposit box will be empty even before she opens it. But she's wrong - it's not empty. Oh sure her bounty is gone (no surprise there) but in it's place is a note.
It simply says, Your turn to chase. x
So she does.
Only it turns out Kate Beckett is harder to find than she thought. She's quit her job and Serena thought it would be easy enough to crack the boys but it's not. Apparently they know exactly who she is and all the charm in the world isn't enough to make them turn on Beckett. (She loves them just a little bit for that.)
When she gets desperate she breaks into Kate's apartment only to find it completely empty.
And what begins to scare her now is the thought that maybe Kate doesn't really want to be found. After almost two years they know how to do this dance so very well but Serena's starting to think that maybe the problem is they just don't know how to end it.
It takes her a while but eventually she remembers a passing comment one of those nights they spent at the bar, said in the way Kate does when she's pretending something isn't important, the same way she'd say “Hi,” every time they met.
“There was this house we rented for the summer one time...”
It's nearly midnight when Serena finally pulls into the drive but Kate's sitting on the porch steps and doesn't even react as Serena steps out of her car and moves to sit beside her.
“Why'd you make it so hard?” she asks simply and she doesn't try to mask what she's feeling. Her voice is plaintive and uncertain. She barely even recognises it.
Kate sighs in the darkness. She's not entirely proud of her behaviour but she knows she has to at least be honest about it. “To test you.”
“You wanted to see how hard I'd try to find you?”
“Something like that.”
“And did I pass?”
Kate winces at the hint of bitterness she hears in Serena's voice. (No, she's not proud.)
“I don't really want to be a thief you know,” she says quietly, and it's not the answer she's supposed to give but it's what she needs to say.
“So what do you want?” Serena asks, sitting by her side in the dark, acutely aware of the distance between them.
“You,” Kate whispers.
Serena reaches for Kate's hand and grips it tightly. “You could have had me any time. I was just waiting for you to ask.”
Kate hesitates for a second and she doesn't pull her hand from Serena's but grips it tighter as she asks, “Are you gonna keep being a thief?”
Serena pauses and Kate holds her breath, almost certain that she's about to have her heart crushed.
“Not if you don't want me to,” Serena says softly. “I've got enough to retire.”
“But will you be happy?” Kate asks. This has always been the crux of the issue. People aren't art thieves by necessity. Kate knows it's a passion, it's what Serena loves and she's never wanted to take that from her.
In the darkness Serena thinks about that for a minute. She's never been able to imagine what her life would be without the thrill of stealing. But the truth is, for the past two years it hasn't really been about the theft. She hasn't cared at all what she's been stealing, only that Kate would be there to protect it. She could pretend it's about the challenge, about the game but that's not really true. If it were she'd have gotten bored by now. Because the fact was, she always won.
Except the definition of winning had somehow changed at some point. It had stopped being about the score, or how easily she'd gotten away with it. Winning had begun to be defined by the feeling she got when she saw the smile tug at Kate's face as they kissed or the way she always reached for Serena's hand and threaded their fingers together.
So now the answer to Kate's question comes much easier than she'd ever have imagined.
“Yes,” she tells her. “I'll be happy.”
“Maybe we should start our own security firm,” Kate suggests as they're falling asleep. “With your expertise we'd be the best.”
Serena pulls her closer. “Just so long as you don't fall in love with any other art thieves.”
“Deal,” Kate promises.
Years later Ryan and Esposito will affectionately call Serena 'The one that got away'. No one else in their lives will get the joke, but it always makes them smile.
author's note: so basically this is what happens when niuxita21 and I agree that there was a vibe between beckett and serena at the end of eye of the beholder. just go with it. don't look for logic or any kind of reality (i seriously did no research here. i just made crap up okay) cos there is none. this is purely for fun. and to satisfy our fantasies of pretty women making out. and being awesome. the end.
The first time Kate Beckett catches a glimpse of Serena Kaye it's as she's being pulled up a zipline into an airduct.
The thing is though - and she's embarrassed to admit it, trained as she is to be focussed at all times - she doesn't even see Serena's face. It's not that she's wearing a mask or any kind of disguise, and the art gallery is certainly well lit so she can't blame it on that, but what she is wearing is a very short black dress and all Kate Beckett seems able to focus on is her legs.
Until of course she remembers that the whole reason she's even at the art gallery is that she's part of the private security team hired to make sure nothing happens to the newly donated piece of modern sculpture that is now most definitely not where it should be.
And with that she doesn't have time to think about legs or the woman potentially belonging to the legs because someone has just managed to put the first blemish on her impeccable security record in years and she's bloody annoyed about it.
Later she's supposed to be giving her colleagues a description of the thief and she fumbles her way through it, trying to find an excuse for not getting a look at her face that won't make her look like a total and utter fool. The guys make jokes - “Blinded by the art huh, Beckett?” and she nods and laughs with them.
But in her head she's thinking, “Yeah, just not quite the kind you're imagining.”
It's months before they cross paths again and she's almost lived down the embarrassment of their first encounter when she's monitoring a gallery opening in France and as her eyes sweep the room she finds herself distracted (again) by the sight of a woman's legs, just barely covered by a very short red dress.
This time Beckett makes a point to look at her face as well and as she does the blonde women glances her way and their eyes lock for just a second. She raises her glass - and an eyebrow - to Beckett and walks away, weaving in an out of the crowd with elegance and grace.
Beckett follows with slightly less elegance and grace. (Okay, there's none. She just barges straight through the crowd.)
She's not entirely sure why she's following her mind you, but there's just something about the woman's acknowledgement of her from across the room, and maybe a little something to do with the way her legs look in that dress that makes Kate really want to meet her.
As she rounds a corner she suddenly feels someone close behind her and a woman's voice purrs “Have we met?” in her ear, making her jump slightly at the surprise.
“I don't think so,” Beckett answers turning to face her.
“Would you like to?” Serena asks, leaning in close enough for Beckett to smell the faint scent of...cherries? It smells like her own body wash and for some reason that thought sends a shiver down her spine.
“Kate Beckett,” she tells her, relaxing slightly into their close proximity. (She can't help it. There's just something about her. There's a pull between them.)
“Serena,” smiles the blonde, as she holds out her hand. “Serena Kaye. Are you sure we haven't met? You look familiar.”
“I work in private security, we cater to a lot of museums, galleries and private collections, so I guess it's possible we've moved in the same circles before.”
“Shame we haven't bumped into each other sooner,” Serena says and Kate's certain now that she's flirting with her. It feels good.
“Yes it is,” Kate smiles in return, thinking that this is suddenly shaping up to be an excellent night.
Except now the radio on her belt comes to life and the moment is broken by the sound of her colleague's voice.
“Yo, Beckett where are you? Curator wants us to do a perimeter sweep before they unveil... whatever the hell it is they're unveiling.”
Serena looks at her, amusement written all over her face and Kate can't help grinning in return. Despite a long career in professional security, Esposito still knows next to nothing about art.
“Seriously? You can't even take the time to read up on what we've been hired to keep secure?” they can both hear Ryan say in the background, and then Esposito's terse reply, “Come on bro, I don't need to know what it is to do my job.”
“Yeah but it wouldn't kill you to immerse yourself in a bit of culture for once,” Ryan grumbles.
“Hey, I am plenty cultured thank you very much -”
“Cool it boys,” Beckett interrupts, rolling her eyes at Serena. “I'm on my way.”
“Guess you gotta go huh?” Serena says and there's a quirk to her lips that Kate doesn't quite understand, but the truth is she doesn't really care because there's practically no space left between them now and damn if she doesn't want to just kiss her.
But she doesn't and instead clears her throat and says “Yeah, probably should since I'm you know, supposed to be working.” ("Not flirting with beautiful women," she thinks to herself.)
“Me too. But maybe I'll see you later?” Serena says stepping past Kate and brushing her hand against Kate's wrist as she does.
She's still smiling when she walks back into the main foyer and Ryan and Esposito are definitely giving her an odd look but she doesn't really care -
- and then suddenly the alarm sounds and the room goes into lockdown and the rest of her night is thrown into chaos.
It's nearly 2am when they're finally reviewing the security footage and Ryan gives her a sideways glance as Kate's conversation with Serena comes into view and he's not exactly subtle in his tone when he asks, “So who's that?”
But Kate doesn't answer because she's just witnessed herself walk back through the corridor and right after she turns to leave, Serena winks at the camera.
“Fuck,” she exclaims loudly, turning to the boys. “That's our thief!”
("Fuck" she silently says in her head. "She's the thief." Her disappointment has nothing at all to do with the fact she failed to do her job and everything to do with the fact she had planned on using her connection with the gallery to track down Serena's phone number.)
“Seriously?” Esposito deadpans. “You were flirting with the thief?”
“Just. Shut up. Okay?” she mutters bitterly as she starts to connect the dots and comes to the embarrassing realisation that the first time she saw Serena, she might have been too distracted by her legs to look at her face, but Serena certainly hadn't had the same problem. She'd seen Kate's face. And whether they happened to end up at the same event by chance or by design, there's no doubt Serena knew exactly who Kate was when she decided to flirt with her.
(In any other instance that would be a flattering thought to entertain. In this instance though, she has no idea what the hell it means.)
The boys seem to sense that there's something up and ease off on the jokes, while Kate tries to tell herself that there's really nothing to be upset about. It's just her professional pride that's been hurt.
That's all.
(It's really not though.)
Three weeks later Kate gets significantly more than just a glimpse of her legs or a brief flirtation.
This time she's working security for an upscale society dinner. This kind of work is much simpler than museums or galleries because there's no single item being publicly touted as 'priceless' to attract the attention of master thieves. They're usually held in private residences and attended by the same people. Still, there are always unknowns and in any private home there are valuables to be secured so it's not uncommon for anxious hostesses to buy themselves a little extra comfort.
It's all gone smoothly and dessert is being served when out of the corner of her eye she sees a flash of blonde hair whip past the dining room door and her stomach twists as she tries to surreptitiously walk out of the room with haste.
As soon as she's out she runs, weighing up the various places Serena (if it is Serena - and she's not above admitting that on this occasion she really hopes she's being paranoid) could be and quickly decides the home's private office is the most pertinent place to check first.
And she's right of course. Serena's just closing the door on the wall safe when Beckett runs in.
“Don't move,” she says.
“Wouldn't dream of it,” Serena answers in a low voice as she turns to face her. “I'm perfectly happy letting you come to me.”
Kate edges closer and her hand hovers over the radio at her waist while Serena seems far too calm for a thief who's just been caught red handed.
“You gonna call your team now?” she asks eyes locked on Kate's.
“In a second,” Kate responds coldly. “But first I want to know why you keep showing up at the events I'm working.”
“You're a smart girl Kate, you really can't figure that one out for yourself?” Serena smirks at her, stepping forward and closing that last bit of distance between them, continuing in almost a whisper, “So I'd have the chance to do this of course.”
She leans forward, brushing her lips softly against Kate's. Except then she stops being soft and Kate doesn't push her away; it's hands in hair and Kate biting at her lip and Serena's hands snaking round to the back of Kate's thighs and both are breathless when they pull apart.
But it doesn't stop Serena from saying, “Sorry Kate, gotta go,” as she turns quickly and dives out a window Kate hadn't even realised was open behind them.
Kate licks her lips. “Fuck.”
She's really never going to live this one down.
(It's a strange thing though because later, once they've alerted their host of the breach and she's done a thorough inventory of her valuables, it turns out there's nothing at all missing. Serena left empty handed.)
They meet for the fourth time in a bar.
It's a place Kate goes to after work, usually with the boys, but sometimes alone when she just wants a quiet drink. She's alone (naturally) when a woman slides onto the barstool beside her and orders a Martini.
“We meet again,” she says casually, without even turning to look at her and for a moment Kate doesn't even know what to say.
(I mean really, what do you say an art thief who's twice now interfered with your job and who you've engaged in an unexpected but passionate makeout session with sits next to you in a bar and start a casual conversation?)
“Did you follow me here?” is what she finds herself saying, and even as the words leave her mouth she wants to swallow them.
But Serena doesn't bat an eyelid and answers with a simple, “Yes.”
Kate wasn't expecting that.
“Why?”
“Because I find you interesting,” Serena tells her and it sounds so honest that Kate wants to believe it's that simple. But she doesn't because the woman's a thief and that doesn't exactly go hand in hand with honesty and Kate isn't interested in being lied to. So, despite the knot (or is it butterflies?) in her stomach she puts on false bravado and coolly says, “Yeah? Well do you find it interesting that I'm just seconds away from calling the police on you?”
Serena just laughs. “No you're not. You find me interesting too.”
Kate doesn't exactly want to admit that but she doesn't think it would really make much difference even if she did. Serena seems like the kind of person who lives solely in her own reality; she believes what she believes and nothing else. Besides, Kate has never been good at lying. So she says nothing and silently fiddles with her glass instead, waiting for Serena to pick up the conversation.
“So, you seeing someone?” Serena asks and it sounds oh so casual but somehow there's something there, the slightest catch in her voice that suggests it's not really casual at all and that catches Kate off guard.
“Sort of,” she says awkwardly.
Serena doesn't say another word, just takes a sip of her Martini and waits, so Kate continues because she really has no idea what to make of this random encounter and figures she might as well be honest.
“His name's Rick. I worked security at a party of his mother's. Broadway Diva,” she adds, as if that somehow adds clarity or something. “It's just casual,” she shrugs.
“I've never really been good at casual,” Serena muses thoughtfully, fingers playing with the hem of her dress while Kate tries to remember that a good conversationalist should always look at the other persons eyes. Not their thighs.
“Really? You don't strike me as the kind of girl who has serious longterm relationships,” Kate comments as she drags her eyes back up to Serena's face.
“And why's that?” Serena asks, turning back to her drink.
“Gee, I dunno. The fact that you're an art thief. I can't imagine that provides much stability.”
“Yeah, I don't think that's the problem,” Serena says and her face is a perfect mask of nonchalance.
Kate laughs and says, “Of course not, why would it be?” (Because honestly? She is a thief. How could that not be the problem?)
Serena doesn't respond though, just keeps sipping her drink, and suddenly Kate feels like she's crossed a line somehow and Serena's shoulders are tense and her fingers grip the stem of her glass more tightly than necessary. But more troubling to Kate is that Serena keeps her gaze fixed straight ahead, where previously she'd looked Kate straight in the eyes.
“I'm sorry,” she says and she finds herself leaning toward her and resting a hand on Serena's thigh. “I shouldn't make assumptions like that.”
“I understand why you would. It's fine,” she shrugs and her fingers brush lightly across Kate's hand before she turns on her stool and leans in to kiss her lightly.
“I should go,” she says as she pulls back and she doesn't wait for Kate to respond, just slides gracefully off her stool and walks away.
Kate doesn't stop her. But the second she's gone she wishes she had.
Over the next six months, almost half the jobs Beckett takes leads her to some kind of brush with Serena.
She's not always there as a thief. Sometimes Beckett spots her with a glass of champagne in hand, casually chatting to the other guests and by the time she's worked her way through the crowd there's usually an empty seat and a napkin with a lipstick kiss waiting for her.
Those nights everything goes smoothly and there are no alarms and no running and no feeling of failure at not having done her job well enough.
Sometimes Serena will casually follow her to the bathroom, or some secluded corner of the venue and whisper “It's good to see you,” or “Nice dress,” as she slides her hands over Kate's hips and kisses her softly.
Those nights Kate willingly forgets that Serena's a thief. She knows she shouldn't but it's so easy to just enjoy the way it feels to have Serena look at her the way she does.
Sometimes though, their meetings will happen like this:
She hears a voice across the room, a laugh, or a flirty comment and the sound of it sends a shiver down her back. She knows Serena's there. She'll scan the room quickly and find no trace of her and that's when the bloods starts to pound in her ears and she makes a move to wherever the art or valuables are supposed to be being kept safe.
(She never remembers to radio Ryan or Esposito first. As a professional, it's a mistake she always regrets. And yet it keeps happening. She refuses to ask herself why.)
And there Serena will be, diving out a window or shimmying up an air duct, leaving Kate with explanations to make to her clients.
Once or twice, they brush paths outside of work. Serena finds her again at the bar and they sit side by side pretending that there's no conflict between them, and instead talk about everything but their jobs. Well. Maybe not quite everything. Kate learns quickly that Serena doesn't like to talk about family; and when Serena asks Kate about Rick she finds that Kate would rather kiss her than talk about her 'relationship'.
But they do talk. And sometimes they even forget that they're anything but two women in a bar who like each other.
Of course, the forgetting only ever lasts until the next time they meet on a job.
The boys think it's cool.
“It's like you've got your own personal nemesis!” Esposito quips.
“We should give her a cool nickname,” says Ryan. “Like 'The Wind.' Or you know, something cooler.”
Once he actually refers to her as 'The one that got away' and Beckett snaps at him to shut it with much more venom than she means to.
That frivolous phrase stings in a way it really has no right to.
Serena's interference in Beckett's work quickly becomes a point of contention with her bosses and they make it clear that if she has any opportunity to apprehend Serena, they expect her to do just that. And then call in the appropriate authorities.
At first she simply sets about trying to outsmart Serena as far as her own work is concerned, make sure she can't even get anywhere near any job she's working. But when that doesn't work (because the truth is, Serena is good) she takes a different approach.
Kate Beckett starts trying to think like a thief. She starts trying to get ahead of Serena, predict what kind of jobs she'll go for - other than whatever it is Kate's working because they can't be the only ones Serena hits. She goes over every piece of security footage they have of Serena; she researches lock picking and safe cracking; she analyses every piece of art she knows Serena has ever stolen to find patterns or themes.
It becomes an obsession that creeps into her work and oddly enough, her bosses couldn't be happier. They have complete faith that Kate Beckett will find a way to put Serena Kaye behind bars where she'll be out of their hair.
(Actually it becomes an obsession that has absolutely nothing to do with the job. The truth is she doesn't know what she'll do if she ever does finally catch her. She just knows the instinct will lean far more towards 'kiss her' than 'cuff her'. Or not. The cuffs could work too. But that's the whole problem really.)
Beckett's casually waiting in a museum's vault one night when Serena walks in - just as casually.
“I know what you're doing Kate. But you're never gonna catch me you know,” Serena tells her laughing playfully. “Of course, you could always join me. Then you could have me in cuffs whenever you wanted.”
Kate blushes and Serena just laughs even more. “I knew you'd thought about it.”
(The problem is, it's not the cuffs that Kate's embarassed to admit to. It's the fact that recently, with all the research she's been doing, she's actually found herself entertaining the idea of becoming a thief as well. And there's no other reason for it other than thinking maybe then they could make something between them work.)
They spend the next thirty minutes pressed against the wall of the vault gripping each other tightly.
And then they leave like it's nothing.
Like they always do.
(The truth is, sometimes they both feel like these brief meetings are real life, and the rest is just waiting. Not that they'd ever tell the other that. The pretence that this is just your every day game of cat and mouse is half the fun. Except sometimes it's really not and the chasing and the absence and the uncertainty of it all haunts them both and makes them want to just stop.)
Kate walks into her apartment late one night and Serena's sitting on her kitchen bench with a bunch of balloons and a birthday cake. She smiles when she sees Kate and it's different to any smile she's ever given her. It's not the cocky smirk she wears when she's gotten away with stealing something, and it's not the sexy smile she uses to entice Kate into her arms. It's far simpler. It's a quick flash of joy, innocent and pure, at seeing someone she cares about.
“Hey,” Serena says softly.
“It's not my birthday Serena,” she responds a little abruptly. (Sometimes it bothers her the way Serena just enters her life when she wants to. It bothers her now that she's sitting on her kitchen bench looking like she belongs there, like this could be some easy glimpse of their future when Kate knows it's not and Serena will just waltz out when she pleases.)
“No. It's mine,” Serena tells her, looking at the ground and Kate's sure she's never seen her look so fragile and uncertain. So she lets go of the frustration for a moment and tries to imagine that they're a normal couple, celebrating a birthday.
“Hey,” she says softly, walking over to her and sliding her hands around Serena's waist. “Happy Birthday.”
She presses a kiss to her forehead and Serena's hands wrap around her own waist, pulling her closer. They stay that like for a minute, just quietly breathing in each other's space, and then Serena whispers “thank you” and Kate feels her heart break just a little bit.
“Come on,” she says, pulling away. “Let's have that cake.”
They take a bottle of wine and their cake over to the couch and by the time the plates are on the floor and the bottle is half empty, they're tangled in each other's arms with more passion and need than any of their brief encounters so far have allowed. They find now that they don't ever want to let go.
Later, Kate's half asleep and she can feel Serena stroking her hair and thinks maybe she can just hear her heartbeat as well. The wine has made her fuzzy and there's no voice in her head to caution her for once, so she just asks the question she hasn't been able to silence all night.
“Why did you come here tonight?”
Serena doesn't even pause. Her fingers keep playing with Kate's hair and her voice is sure and honest. “I wanted to spend my birthday with someone real.”
“I'm real?” Kate murmurs sleepily.
“More real than anyone else in my life,” Serena answers and Kate can feel herself smiling.
But in the morning she wakes alone. The worst thing is, she's not even surprised.
They reach a point where their lives seem to revolve around each other and yet they fail to actually be in each other's lives. Serena runs and Kate chases; Serena disappears and Kate waits.
They steal moments of reality but never anything more.
Kate is tired.
Serena still thinks it's fun. (At least, she thinks she does.)
And then one day Serena slides into a getaway car in black leather and the tyres are squealing before she has time to process that the person driving the car is not in fact Armand, her carefully chosen, easily dispensable, accomplice on this cakewalk of a job, but is in fact Kate Beckett with a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head and a messy bun that has no right to make her look so damn sexy.
(She's almost a little proud of Kate for pulling it off to be honest. Or maybe it's just the jolt of pleasure that runs through her when she considers the lengths Kate must have gone to just to be in this car with her. She ignores the part where she's spent the past year or so travelling everywhere and anywhere, taking any job that would put in her in the same room as Kate Beckett.)
“Hi,” is all she says and it's the first meeting they've had where Kate's eyes haven't lingered on Serena's face, or breasts, or legs. (Serena resents that.) Instead Kate's eyes are focussed straight ahead, like Serena's not even there. Or worse, like she's there but she's no one important.
“Well played,” Serena acknowledges and she expects to see a smirk on Kate's face, the cocky pride of having beaten her. But there's nothing, Kate still looks straight ahead.
“So what now?” she says after a moment.
“Now we drive.”
They pull up next to a shipping yard and no sooner than the car has stopped Serena is straddling Kate's lap, with one hand in her hair and the other tracing the outline of her collarbone, occasionally drifting south, while her lips find purchase with Kate's in a way that has become intimately familiar to them both.
But then Kate pushes her aside with a terse “This isn't what I'm here for.” (It might be more effective if she weren't totally out of breath.)
“Sure it is. This is always what you're here for.”
“Oh fuck you,” Kate breathes out, and it's the quiet way she says it that makes Serena think she means it. There's no passion in it, just resignation, and that hurts more than anything. It's a sign that this game they've been playing isn't really a game any more.
“Then what are you here for Kate? We both know by now you've never going to turn me in.”
“I'm done. I just want it to stop.”
“Want what to stop?” Serena asks, pretending like she doesn't actually know. If they're going to do this she's damn well going to make Kate spell it out. And as it happens, she does.
“This stupid game. You wanna be a thief? Fine. But stay away from me. Keep out of my work. I'm done playing.”
“If I do that how am I going to see you?” she says, trying charm now because it's always worked in the past and she doesn't want to have this fight.
Kate doesn't waste words making her meaning clear. “You won't.”
Serena laughs, trying to convince herself that it's absurd and Kate will never really walk away. Except, all of a sudden Kate's sliding out her door and suddenly there's a second car rolling past them and Kate's inside it before Serena even gets her own door open. Within seconds the car is out of sight and Serena's sitting in the passenger seat alone.
She didn't see that coming. And this game definitely isn't fun anymore.
Everything goes wrong now. Serena keeps stealing things but Kate never turns up where she's supposed to, no matter how thoroughly Serena does her research. Job after job after job and she's never there.
"Fine," she tells herself. She can go back to before she met Kate Beckett. It can't be that hard.
(Oh but it is.)
A month goes by and Serena slowly shifts back into her old routines. The criteria for her jobs becomes simple again. She steals what's interesting, she steals what she's never stolen before, she steals what she wants.
But it never quite leaves her with the same satisfaction as before.
Still, “This one'll be easy,” is what Serena's thinking to herself as she hears the vault's lock click open.
But as she steps into it she senses something's not right. And then she looks up. There's nothing to see but a pair of legs quickly sliding out of view but she doesn't need anything more; she knows those legs.
She knows the safety deposit box will be empty even before she opens it. But she's wrong - it's not empty. Oh sure her bounty is gone (no surprise there) but in it's place is a note.
It simply says, Your turn to chase. x
So she does.
Only it turns out Kate Beckett is harder to find than she thought. She's quit her job and Serena thought it would be easy enough to crack the boys but it's not. Apparently they know exactly who she is and all the charm in the world isn't enough to make them turn on Beckett. (She loves them just a little bit for that.)
When she gets desperate she breaks into Kate's apartment only to find it completely empty.
And what begins to scare her now is the thought that maybe Kate doesn't really want to be found. After almost two years they know how to do this dance so very well but Serena's starting to think that maybe the problem is they just don't know how to end it.
It takes her a while but eventually she remembers a passing comment one of those nights they spent at the bar, said in the way Kate does when she's pretending something isn't important, the same way she'd say “Hi,” every time they met.
“There was this house we rented for the summer one time...”
It's nearly midnight when Serena finally pulls into the drive but Kate's sitting on the porch steps and doesn't even react as Serena steps out of her car and moves to sit beside her.
“Why'd you make it so hard?” she asks simply and she doesn't try to mask what she's feeling. Her voice is plaintive and uncertain. She barely even recognises it.
Kate sighs in the darkness. She's not entirely proud of her behaviour but she knows she has to at least be honest about it. “To test you.”
“You wanted to see how hard I'd try to find you?”
“Something like that.”
“And did I pass?”
Kate winces at the hint of bitterness she hears in Serena's voice. (No, she's not proud.)
“I don't really want to be a thief you know,” she says quietly, and it's not the answer she's supposed to give but it's what she needs to say.
“So what do you want?” Serena asks, sitting by her side in the dark, acutely aware of the distance between them.
“You,” Kate whispers.
Serena reaches for Kate's hand and grips it tightly. “You could have had me any time. I was just waiting for you to ask.”
Kate hesitates for a second and she doesn't pull her hand from Serena's but grips it tighter as she asks, “Are you gonna keep being a thief?”
Serena pauses and Kate holds her breath, almost certain that she's about to have her heart crushed.
“Not if you don't want me to,” Serena says softly. “I've got enough to retire.”
“But will you be happy?” Kate asks. This has always been the crux of the issue. People aren't art thieves by necessity. Kate knows it's a passion, it's what Serena loves and she's never wanted to take that from her.
In the darkness Serena thinks about that for a minute. She's never been able to imagine what her life would be without the thrill of stealing. But the truth is, for the past two years it hasn't really been about the theft. She hasn't cared at all what she's been stealing, only that Kate would be there to protect it. She could pretend it's about the challenge, about the game but that's not really true. If it were she'd have gotten bored by now. Because the fact was, she always won.
Except the definition of winning had somehow changed at some point. It had stopped being about the score, or how easily she'd gotten away with it. Winning had begun to be defined by the feeling she got when she saw the smile tug at Kate's face as they kissed or the way she always reached for Serena's hand and threaded their fingers together.
So now the answer to Kate's question comes much easier than she'd ever have imagined.
“Yes,” she tells her. “I'll be happy.”
“Maybe we should start our own security firm,” Kate suggests as they're falling asleep. “With your expertise we'd be the best.”
Serena pulls her closer. “Just so long as you don't fall in love with any other art thieves.”
“Deal,” Kate promises.
Years later Ryan and Esposito will affectionately call Serena 'The one that got away'. No one else in their lives will get the joke, but it always makes them smile.