Thank God For Buckthorn And Pool Tables
Prompt: the build up to their first kiss
==
It was all Tamsin’s fault that Lauren was walking down the streets of Toronto in her brown, worn leather jacket that matched her deliciously tight pants. The Dal was surprisingly close to her lab, which in turn was close to the Light Fae compound itself. The doctor was still property of the Fae and they kept her close. Too close.
Tamsin expected her appearance within ten minutes after barking into the phone to meet her for a case consult. That was fifteen minutes ago. Some part of Lauren took delight in minor displays of rebellion, so she smiled, a rarity these days, as she looked up at the Dal sign.
A few Fae burst out of the door and allowed the sounds within the establishment to leak out into the night.
“I hate those fucking wolf shifters. Always pissin’ on their territory,” a scruffy-looking male spat out while wincing. A few small trails of blood trickled down his forehead and meshed with the blood his split offered into the mix.
“Yeah, well you were hands-y with his lady. Not to mention you tried to do a power pull on her.” One of his friends, the blonde doctor assumed, held a small towel to his own hand.
“She’s a succubus. They usually don’t mind that in Berlin.” The scruffy guy snorted.
Lauren couldn’t help but pause her progress into the bar at the mention of a succubus. She cursed her luck internally. Of course Bo would be here. There aren’t many succubi in Toronto to warrant suspicion for anyone else.
Never one to back down from a challenge, even one she set for herself, Lauren steeled her jaw and schooled her features to remain nonchalant. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the Dal and let the smell of stale tobacco (Fae, of course) and mild sage take over her sense of smell. She was a scientist and things like mystical tobacco always exhilarated her, and its appeal never faded.
“Yo, doc! Hurry up. Your beer ain’t gonna drink itself. In a minute I will if you don’t get your bony ass over here.” Tamsin smiled smugly, never tiring of riling up the human.
Lauren rolled her eyes in annoyance, something she was doing a lot these days; she threw herself into Fae-related consults for Tamsin and had to spend her time around the Valkyrie.
“Tamsin.” Lauren greeted. She sat at the offered stool and gave Trick a small nod and smile.
“Finally,” the cop drawled as she nudged the amber liquid in front of her. “Here; this is honeysuckle mead made by the Forest Elves in Norway.”
“No, thank you. Actually, Tamsin, I’d rather we get to the case and cut the pleasantries for tonight.”
The Valkyrie shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Lauren watched Tamsin take a shot glass full of Buckthorn and gasped.
“Your knuckles. They’re bleeding.”
Tamsin ran the uninjured hand through her bangs. “Yeah, well, some twat decided to pull something with our resident succubus. There was a brawl and a few of us landed some punches.”
“And Bo?”
“Healing Dyson as we speak,” Tamsin ground out. Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought.
Lauren nodded knowingly and laughed humorlessly. Maybe the honeysuckle ale didn’t sound like a bad idea after all.
Seeing the pain in brown eyes, ones she never really cared to look through, the Scandinavian felt a twinge of shared pain by caused by the succubus.
“Dyson wasn’t hurt at all was he?” Lauren asked.
“Nope.”
Upon hearing the answer, the doctor took several long pulls of her drink and made a satisfied noise at the back of her throat. “That’s delicious. Norway, you said?”
Tamsin nodded.
“Okay, “ Lauren started and cleared her throat. “I feel it’s time for us to start the work load. I’ve compiled a list of possible causes for the rash the victims had along with possible Fae responsible for that reaction.”
“About that..I lied. We solved that case last night.”
“Pardon?”
“Just a rare Fae STD, doc. All we need are vials of cream you can whip up and we’re done.”
“You lied to me?”
“Chill, alright? Look. I didn’t want to sit here alone while succubooty sucks face with the vacuum boy.”
Lauren gaped. “You wanted my company? I find that highly unbelievable seeing as you strongly dislike me. To be honest, I’m not too fond of you either.”
Just then a loud giggle rang out from the small hallway by the bar by the spare rooms. Both blondes focused their gaze and saw Bo clutched clumsily against a disheveled Dyson. The blondes were at the opposite end of the bar and were able to avoid being noticed by the objection of their shared affection.
“It’s been three weeks, Lauren. You gotta let her go.” Tamsin said, almost pleadingly.
Lauren quirked an amused eyebrow. “You say that like you’re not going through the same thing.”
==
Several more buckthorn shots later, Lauren stood against the pool table holding tightly onto the pool stick.
“This isn’t really my expertise. Strictly speaking, I could probably win if I took long enough to run the angles through my mind. I’m afraid my hand-eye coordination may have been affect by those buckthorn shots.” The blonde doctor titled her head and tapped her chin in deep thought.
Tamsin chuckled and moved behind her. “God! Stop thinking so much. Here.” She placed her hands on the sides of Lauren and smirked when she felt the muscles on her hips tighten in response.
Lauren swallowed and cursed herself mentally for the second time that night. Her body responded to the Valkyrie’s touch, and she really didn’t want to think about why right now.
Tamsin leaned forward to bring her mouth near the shell of the doctor’s ear.
“Relax,” she purred.
The sensation of Tamsin’s hot breath on her ear caused Lauren’s breath to hitch slightly.
“Bend over slightly,” the Fae softly commanded in a husky voice that the doctor hadn’t heard from her before.
Lauren laughed nervously and complied.
“Hold the stick like this.” Long, slender fingers ghosted over the doctor’s undoubtedly deft hands. The Valkyrie moved the doctor’s fingers until she found her grip acceptable. Their bodies were now touching and the friction caused Tamsin to bite back a groan. She hadn’t been expecting that. Hell, she hadn’t been expecting being this close to anyone tonight.
“Uh..” Tamsin breathed a little faster and she shook her head in an attempt to shake her out of her sudden daze. “Alright, now you just gotta aim and shoot the pool stick at the cue ball.”
==
“That wasn’t fair, dude!”
Lauren lifted her eyebrows and smirked. “You’re just mad because I beat your running streak, officer.”
“Which is why I am convinced you fucking cheated, human.” Tamsin’s lips curved upward slightly enough to let Lauren know she was joking.
The duo made their way back to the bar where Trick shook his head at their antics.
“Two more buckthorns ladies?”
“Aye, aye, captain!” Tamsin saluted.
Trick laughed and shook his head again as she refilled their glasses. “On the house, “ he added.
“I think you’re a little drunk, Tammy.” Lauren stated sagely.
“Oh dear god. Doc, if you call me Tammy again I will have to bring you in for questioning.”
“What for?”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
They both felt her presence before they heard her speak and automatically turned their bodies toward her.
“Hey.”
There stood Bo as beautiful as ever in a red dress that clung tightly against perfect curves. She had her hands out in front of her fidgeting. She offered a wary smile and laughed nervously and forcefully.
“I didn’t know you two were friends.” The succubus peered at both of them with curious brown eyes, brown eyes the blondes longed for.
Tamsin tried to keep her face impassive but failed miserably when her nostrils flared in an unreadable expression. Lauren, however, grabbed the lapels of her jacket before smoothing down nonexistent wrinkles.
“Hello, Bo,” the doctor supplied.
“Lauren – I”
“Bo?” Dyson’s voice appeared. He approached the girls and wrapped his arm possessively around Bo.
“Good evening, Tamsin. Lauren.” He turned his face closer toward Bo. “We should go, honey.”
Bo smiled apologetically and said, “I’ll see you around.”
==
It was too fucking bright and apparently thumb sized fairies drilled their way into Tamsin’s head. Buckthorn always did that if you over-indulged.
The Valkyrie cracked open an eye and felt the brightness of the sun pierce through her eyes.
“Oh, fucking hell.” She grumbled and brought her hands to cover her eyes. “Shit.”
Her mouth was dry and she was pretty sure she’d vomit if she tried to move too much. She hissed at the thought of how Lauren must be doing. The buckthorn was meant for Fae, and its affect on human bodies would be ten times worse.
“Good morning.”
Tamsin groaned in response. “I’m fucking dying, Doc.”
“I assure you that you are not. The effects of buckthorn are still lingering in your system and-“
Tamsin waved a hand up in the air at the direction of Lauren’s voice. “How come you’re not on the floor in misery, Doc? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want you to, but it’s just that humans aren’t…you know.. the buckthorn is strong shit.”
“I developed a hangover cure after one too many nights at Kenzie’s insistence. Would you like some?”
==
“You’re a lifesaver.”
Her headache was gone.
“You’re better than a Siren!”
Lauren laughed breathily and responded with, “That’s because I added opium I genetically modified for Fae physiology.”
“You know what this means, right?”
“What would that be, Tamsin?”
“We’re going out tonight again.”
==
“Are you seriously saying Albert Einstein was Fae?”
“Half-fae,” Tamsin said before taking a sip of her drink.
Lauren had that amazed glint in her eye that she held whenever something scientific trickled through her brilliant mind. It was surprising Tamsin really never paid attention to it during their case working sessions. That was probably because she usually found the innocent curiously annoying. Tonight, though, she felt her stomach stir when she looked into those chocolate colored eyes for a few seconds. That was all she could endure: seconds. The gaze the human gave was too intense, too intimate.
They were at the pool table. Again, Lauren was in the lead.
“Are you sure you’re not Fae, Doc?”
“Hmm. I admit I did run my genetics to see if my brain capacity was the result of some mixture of Fae genes. But, uh, no. I am completely human.”
“You’ve probably had enough Fae in you to rub off something, though, eh?” Tamsin laughed at her own joke before realizing just what she said. She looked over to Lauren who’s face was turning beet red.
They had just downed three shots of buckthorn half an hour prior, so Lauren was feeling a little bit bolder than normal.
“If that had any effect I’d be more powerful than even you.”
Tamsin raised her eyebrows, surprised.
“It’s your shot, Tamsin.”
The blonde cop positioned herself and willed her hands to move properly but missed her shot when she caught a glimpse of Lauren’s cleavage when she bent over.
“I think I ought to give you a lesson on shooting techniques,” the doctor teased.
Lauren slowly walked behind the Fae and covered shoulders with her hands. “Your muscles are working too hard. You have to relax this muscle, “Lauren applied minimal pressure along one of the muscles of the Valkyrie’s shoulder blade region.
Tamsin bit her lip to hold back a groan in satisfaction. Those muscles had been sore since chasing a lunatic down the back alleys of the city. She turned around to face the human and searched her eyes in question.
“Lauren?” It wasn’t often the Fae used the human’s name. In fact, Lauren can count on one hand it had occurred.
The doctor lowered her head and smiled at her name leaving Tamsin’s mouth.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re- “
Tamsin cut herself off when she saw Vex strutting toward her from the bar.
“Lookin’ cozy over here, Tammy.” Vex teased, though the serious undertone wasn’t missed by either girls.
“I’m gonna get another drink,” Lauren stated hastily to excuse herself. She mashed her lips together before turned to head to the bar.
“Vex. To what do I owe the displeasure?” Tamsin sneered.
“Displeasure? Oh, please. You wish you could have my displeasure. You might find you’d quite like it. You seem like that type.”
“Vex, cut the shit out. What do you want?”
“You’re playing with the Light Fae’s golden pet. As much as I love deviant behavior, I’d like to keep my balls in tact. If the Morrigan gets wind I let you-“
“Let me what, Vex?”
“If I let you dabble in dangerous things.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s just a fucking human, Vex. What could possibly deem her important enough to –“
A throat cleared. A feminine sounded throat cleared just behind Vex, and it sounded a lot like Lauren.
Vex turned around. “Oh, shit. I can’t deal with this drama.” The Mesmer turned and walked off to talk to someone whom he recognized a second later.
Lauren’s eyes were no longer inviting but rather cold and angry. She laughed coldy and set two beers onto the pool table.
The doctor straightened her posture and looked at Tamsin unflinchingly. “I shouldn’t have forgotten my place.”
The Valkyrie watched her walk out the door and shrugged when Trick offered a sympathetic smile.
“Fuck,” Tamsin muttered under her breath before running out of the Dal.
She didn’t have to run far; Lauren was leaning against the bricks of the Dal while staring up at the night sky.
“Lauren,” Tamsin uttered softly.
“You know, I’m tired of the Fae running my life. They take my freedom, my girlfriend, my research..I am not any less important than you or Bo or Dyson.” The human doctor spoke forcefully yet remained still, looking up at the vast darkness of space. Maybe it was safer that way, to avoid eye contact.
“I may not have the ability to shift into an animal or manipulate people with my hands,” Lauren continued, “But I contribute to Fae society, to their medical technology than any other human on this Earth.”
“Lauren, “Tamsin tried to interject.
“The Fae have taken everything from me. I thought you’d understand that since you understand how it feels to be lonely.”
The Valkyrie felt her heart clench.
“Lauren.”
“I even thought Bo would understand. That I could offer her what she needed.”
“I’m not like Bo!” The Fae yelled.
The doctor finally lowered her eyes and looked at Tamsin. She nodded, mostly to herself.
“Goodnight, Tamsin.”
The cop wasn’t going to let her run away this time. She caught up to Lauren quickly and grabbed onto her wrist as gently as she could.
“You’re human, Lauren,” Tamsin whispered.
Lauren scoffed. “Yes, I am well aware.”
“No, you don’t get it,” Tamsin’s voice wavered. “I can’t get close to you. You belong to the Light Fae as a human.”
Of course. How could Lauren forget the rules.
“Oh,” Lauren said, deflated. “Of course.”
“But I want to.” Tamsin cursed herself for saying it out loud in fear of ruining things.
Lauren could feel each puff of breathe on her cheek now that Tamsin inched closer. A pale thumb stroke Lauren’s soft cheekbone.
“Please,” Lauren whispered almost inaudibly.
All the self-control the Valkyrie had crumbled. Hands flew into locks of blonde hair as they melded into each other. The kiss was all biting and nipping at tongue and lips with teeth clashing through their desperate attempt to feel each other. Tamsin let out a satisfying groan when she felt Lauren pull her closer in frantic motion.
It was never like this with Bo. The succubus was always surprisingly gentle in her ministrations, almost as if she were afraid to hurt Lauren. A surge of raw desire shot through the delicate nerves throughout her body at the soft sounds leaving the Valkyrie’s mouth. The human felt herself being hoisted up and pressed against the same brick wall she had been spent lamenting just minutes before. Instinctively, Lauren wrapped her legs around a slim waist, never parting her lips from the Fae.
A few hoot and hollers in their direction jolted out of their lustful haze. Tamsin flipped them off and threatened bodily harm. She lowered the doctor down from her hold.
“Maybe public indecency isn’t the proper route for this right now.”
“Oh, we were tame just then, Doc.”
“Tamsin?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have your handcuffs with you?”