Happy belated birthday Zellie!
Sorry I didn't get around to this sooner, but here you go!
Ship: R/J
Prompt: I love the way your face lights up when someone says 'It might be dangerous'.
'Verse: Etoile Rouge. Spoilers for way in the future.
Paperwork was arguably Jake Burnley's least favourite part of his job, but he dealt with it with the same calm pragmatism that he dealt with any other necessary evils. It was dealt with methodically and carefully, once, so he wouldn't have to deal with it again, with each case.
What had seemed to be a simple missing persons case was generating reams of paperwork far beyond the norm, though, as he hit one dead end after another. The biochemist whose ten-year-old daughter never come home from her pricey private school had seemed a bit unbalanced, but Dr Tomoe's distress at his daughter Holly's disappearance was genuine.
The clock was just ticking midnight as Jake pulled up another file on the computer and picked up his ice-cold coffee. He smelled her-- John Frieda shampoo and the white lilies she kept on the nightstand-- a moment before he felt her slim, manicured hands on his shoulders.
"Go back to sleep," Jake turned his head briefly to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. In the low light of the desk lamp, the diamond and ruby ring on her finger glowed. "You said something about a shipment at something perilously close to the crack of dawn at the gallery."
"I sleep better when my fiance is curled up next to me, hogging three quarters of the bed and pinning me down to the mattress with his arm," Raye quipped, leaning her cheek against his. "What's got you drinking horrible, old coffee at this hour?"
"Just a case. Lots of shady people with lots of connections," Jake murmured. On the computer screen, he pulled up an old article from the society pages of the newspaper, dated for a year ago. There was a photograph of a young girl with a bob of raven hair around a pale little face that was all dark eyes, walking alongside a white-haired man in glasses and an elegant redhead in an evening gown. "That little girl, Holly, is missing."
Raye took a look at the photograph, then raised an eyebrow. "That's Kaelyn Knight," she said, pointing to the woman. "How did she go from running a talent agency to working for that scientist?"
Jake's hand paused over the cursor, mid-scroll. "You know her?"
"Sort of. She attended the same finishing school that I did, a few years above me, back in the day," Raye said. "She was a very accomplished girl, sort of a queen bee. Her youngest sister Mimi's one of the top contenders this year for American Idol. Another one of her proteges, Villette, is the girl who does all the commercials for Apple computer." She cocked her head to the side, then smiled at Jake. "I could find some stuff out for you. I know people."
Jake shook his head adamantly. "I tend to run into bad people in my work."
"And I dragged you to the last gallery exhibit for Clemence Oriole Day," Raye's lips quirked up in a grin that was almost mischievous. "I think you were bored to tears and only stopped yourself from shedding them to keep up with your macho persona. I owe you one." Then her face sobered, and velvety purple eyes met his blue ones as she took his hands and squeezed. "There's a little girl lost. Her dad actually cares enough to find her. Let me help."
Jake let out his breath in a huff. "It may be dangerous."
"I might have been a warrior in a past life," Raye quipped, smiling at him. "Besides, all I'd be doing is listening sympathetically to a girl I'd known back in the day, making a few phone calls, greasing the wheels so to speak. I'm not afraid. And I want to help you. And her."
"I just love the way your face lights up when I say that it might be dangerous," Jake grumbled, shaking his head. "What will I do with you?"
"Continue to love me," she said in response, settling delicately in his lap and brushing her fingertips over his cheek. "Let me help you out." She pressed a light kiss to his lips. "But for now, you're going to stop drinking that horrible coffee that will cause you ulcers and go to bed."
He laughed at that and stood, scooping her up in his arms. She nestled her head against his neck and her hair streamed down, loose and silky, as he took the few steps to their bedroom. "Okay."
Ship: R/J
Prompt: I love the way your face lights up when someone says 'It might be dangerous'.
'Verse: Etoile Rouge. Spoilers for way in the future.
Paperwork was arguably Jake Burnley's least favourite part of his job, but he dealt with it with the same calm pragmatism that he dealt with any other necessary evils. It was dealt with methodically and carefully, once, so he wouldn't have to deal with it again, with each case.
What had seemed to be a simple missing persons case was generating reams of paperwork far beyond the norm, though, as he hit one dead end after another. The biochemist whose ten-year-old daughter never come home from her pricey private school had seemed a bit unbalanced, but Dr Tomoe's distress at his daughter Holly's disappearance was genuine.
The clock was just ticking midnight as Jake pulled up another file on the computer and picked up his ice-cold coffee. He smelled her-- John Frieda shampoo and the white lilies she kept on the nightstand-- a moment before he felt her slim, manicured hands on his shoulders.
"Go back to sleep," Jake turned his head briefly to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. In the low light of the desk lamp, the diamond and ruby ring on her finger glowed. "You said something about a shipment at something perilously close to the crack of dawn at the gallery."
"I sleep better when my fiance is curled up next to me, hogging three quarters of the bed and pinning me down to the mattress with his arm," Raye quipped, leaning her cheek against his. "What's got you drinking horrible, old coffee at this hour?"
"Just a case. Lots of shady people with lots of connections," Jake murmured. On the computer screen, he pulled up an old article from the society pages of the newspaper, dated for a year ago. There was a photograph of a young girl with a bob of raven hair around a pale little face that was all dark eyes, walking alongside a white-haired man in glasses and an elegant redhead in an evening gown. "That little girl, Holly, is missing."
Raye took a look at the photograph, then raised an eyebrow. "That's Kaelyn Knight," she said, pointing to the woman. "How did she go from running a talent agency to working for that scientist?"
Jake's hand paused over the cursor, mid-scroll. "You know her?"
"Sort of. She attended the same finishing school that I did, a few years above me, back in the day," Raye said. "She was a very accomplished girl, sort of a queen bee. Her youngest sister Mimi's one of the top contenders this year for American Idol. Another one of her proteges, Villette, is the girl who does all the commercials for Apple computer." She cocked her head to the side, then smiled at Jake. "I could find some stuff out for you. I know people."
Jake shook his head adamantly. "I tend to run into bad people in my work."
"And I dragged you to the last gallery exhibit for Clemence Oriole Day," Raye's lips quirked up in a grin that was almost mischievous. "I think you were bored to tears and only stopped yourself from shedding them to keep up with your macho persona. I owe you one." Then her face sobered, and velvety purple eyes met his blue ones as she took his hands and squeezed. "There's a little girl lost. Her dad actually cares enough to find her. Let me help."
Jake let out his breath in a huff. "It may be dangerous."
"I might have been a warrior in a past life," Raye quipped, smiling at him. "Besides, all I'd be doing is listening sympathetically to a girl I'd known back in the day, making a few phone calls, greasing the wheels so to speak. I'm not afraid. And I want to help you. And her."
"I just love the way your face lights up when I say that it might be dangerous," Jake grumbled, shaking his head. "What will I do with you?"
"Continue to love me," she said in response, settling delicately in his lap and brushing her fingertips over his cheek. "Let me help you out." She pressed a light kiss to his lips. "But for now, you're going to stop drinking that horrible coffee that will cause you ulcers and go to bed."
He laughed at that and stood, scooping her up in his arms. She nestled her head against his neck and her hair streamed down, loose and silky, as he took the few steps to their bedroom. "Okay."