Subtly in Love
[Including: Just Tjme and Pearce for this one.]
[Warnings: Like, none?]
[AN: None of you asked for it but I don't care. call this self healing.]
The relationship they have is very soft, not so subtle to literally everyone else and the definition of slow burn itself.
Pearce if an MTF agent from Alpha 1, Red Right Hand, Detachment Zero that specializes in breaking international law, and directly interfering with politics. He's always out and about in the world, and answers directly to the 05s.
So, for him to be at any of the sites Tjme frequents at the same time she's there are incredibly, astronomically slim.
But one night, he and his team come back from the middle of no where Europe, fly all the way to Site 19 for debriefing. It's boring, dull, and there's still like two more hours left of talking before he can go call it a night in one of the site's dorms.
He excuses himself and goes to one of the break rooms, heading to floor 5 for some coffee. He hasn't even been allowed to change out of his work clothes.
Somewhere on floor 5, Tjme is attempting to dry her hair while waiting for her tea to steep. The foundation is still very much awake at this hour, but the energy is low due to it being the night shift. She's waiting to bring it back to the observation room she's tasked with, mostly SCP 137 this time.
Pearce comes into the break room, sees Tjme trying to dry her hair and pauses. "Eventful night?"
Tjme stops, looks over her shoulder and her ear fins perk up. "Pool."
Pearce blinks. What? He's no stranger to anomalous doctors, but this is the first one to make him stop. He's only seen a few other merfolk walking around.
A long silence followed through between the two before he shifts in the doorway. "Is it alright if I-"
"You don't need to ask," Tjme says with a small smile, but her voice is wavering and she's a tad embarrassed.
He finally comes into the break room, starts making some coffee. He's almost nervous to be in the same room with her. This has never happened before? He's assassinated high ranking politicians, been in prisons overseas, proxy wars and this is the thing that makes him nervous?
They talk for a while. Pearce knows he has to go back to the 05s on the upper floor but like, the minutes slip away and he's enjoying every bit of the conversation. He gets so caught in the conversation, Tjme up on the counter chatting with him, her laughter, all of it, that he doesn't even realize Fox is in the doorway.
"You do know we're waiting for you, right?" He says as he clears his throat, making himself a cup of coffee once he nears the two.
Pearce flushes for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he replies. "Just uh-"
Fox rolls his eyes and nods politely to Tjme, greeting her as "doctor." He knows which 05's card she stole because that specific 05 is still mad at her to this day.
Pearce bids a good night to Tjme, and Tjme feels butterflies in her stomach. And so starts this weird slow burning thing they have going on.
As someone with level 5 access, answers directly to 05s, Pearce has far too much knowledge on everyone and everything. And he unfairly uses some of that to find out more about Tjme? He knows it's not the southern gentlemanly thing to do, but he's out so often.
Eventually, they start to meet coincidentally often. Time and time again, Tjme finds herself in Pearce's presence.
Tjme talks about him every now and then, slipping him into conversation when she can. She seems to light up whenever he's around her, or she knows he's coming back.
The amount of things she knows about him far surpass the things that friends would know. He can't always have a phone to tie him to anything, so he sends her lots of letters. The amount of letters they have and keep from each other... It's sweet.
Pearce's team teases him about it, because well, Pearce has always talked big game and he can't actually say anything THIS time. This one time he actually knows. Lance makes the most fun of him.
It's not like Tjme is saying anything either, trying to get her to admit is hell. She's shy. I feel the squad, if they found out, would give her hell for it too.
Everyone around them can see they're in love to some degree. The 05s know it too.
Pearce hasn't had any emotional ties other than his teammates/the men he considers his brothers to use as collateral but during a re-vetting process, and they're grilling him on loyalty. They tell him time and time again they already have a reason to be angry with this one person over her theft, taking her out due to his disloyalty would be done in a heartbeat. He figures out they're referring to Tjme.
It kinda makes his heart stop. They're not dating, not even CLOSE to it, and the Foundation is using her to tell him not to fuck up. He's never once dreamed about betraying the Foundation, but this one makes him even more determined to stay loyal and within their good graces.
And even after all that, they're still not actually dating despite everyone and their anomaly knowing just how deeply they feel for each other.
