Consulting Detective

Talulah made sure to drag out the kiss as long as she could. Purely selfish reasons of course. “I’m satisfied,” she said, biting her lip as she looked back at him. “Was it really that bad, Basil dear?”

Basil was reluctant to admit it but the kiss wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be.  Kissing Talulah wasn’t unpleasant, he rather enjoyed it actually.  She was a good kisser.  This time was also a much better experience than the last significant kiss he remembered, of course that time there was a lot of crying, fighting, and jealousy involved so really any normal sort of kiss would probably seem better.  “It was a decent kiss,” he answered shrugging.  “Nothing to be excited about, nothing really to complain about.  It wasn’t a big deal, don’t know why you made that your condition.”

Talulah nodded her head. “No catch. Just one kiss.” She bit her lip as she looked him up and down again. “Do you think you can handle it?”

“Alright fine, I’ll kiss you,” Basil responded nodding.  “Of course I can handle it.  You’d hardly be my first kiss.  It’s just a kiss there’s nothing to handle,” he said offended.  He pulled her closer to him before placing a hand on her cheek and kissing her.  “Happy now?”

It was the third day Dawson came home from work feeling more cautious than usual after his run-in with Ratigan the other day. He didn’t tell Basil about the encounter because he was too shaken up to speak when he got home. Now that feeling slowly began to dwindle down after Dawson stuck to his original route home and not take that short cut due to the possibility of seeing that rat again. Once he arrives home, he enters to the smell of pot taking over the living room making him cough from the fumes. “Hello Basil,” he greets the detective with a smile while clearing his throat from the coughing. “I will, I will. What kind of tea do you want?” he asked as he heads to the kitchen. 

He knew he probably should hide his pot from Dawson but that seemed like too much effort.  Plus he hoped the fumes would annoy Dawson too much to bother trying to take it from him.  “Anything as long as it doesn’t taste floral or like oranges,” he answered shrugging.  “Don’t forget the biscuits.  Biscuits make the tea worth it.  Do we have any chocolate?  Chocolate tea sounds interesting, is that a thing?  Can we make it a thing if it isn’t?”

 “No, you’re alright,” Olivia waved it off. She looked up at him, blinking. He was trying to be nice, and she appreciated that. “You aren’t bothering me. I’m… not really doing anything. Not really here with anyone,” she admitted. A small laugh left her. “I’ve had challenging classes before. Suppose that’s not quite the same. And you don’t have to feel like… If you have to leave you can, but if you don’t want to it’s okay. I’ve missed talking to you.” She almost dropped her glass when he mentioned the case. Her heart beat a little faster. “Oh? That’s… I won’t, but… that’s good. That’s progress.” Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. “What do you mean someone else to take charge? Like in charge of the case? Or in charge of… what? Are you… are you thinking of dropping the case?”

“Maybe not now but if a cute guy shows up or one of your college friends... you won’t want me to be around then.  I get it.  I’m older and boring,” he said shaking his head.  “You have?  Huh I would have thought the memory thing would make that very rare or impossible.  So what is it that’s hard at times?  Math?  There’s not as much memory stuff there.”  He mused out loud.  “You’ve missed talking to me?  Really?  Why?  Most of our recent talks have had a lot of drama.”  He replied looking away from his glass to her confused.  “Yeah maybe in charge of the case.  Maybe not all of it but someone having more of a say.  I could probably use some sort of oversight.  No, no I have no plans of dropping it.  I was thinking that you could be more involved if you wanted.”

James always loved the darkness, even with his back turned he knew he wasn’t alone. As his attention drew itself to his favorite nemesis. “ Well well, look at what the cat dragged in” he mused as a twisted grin took control of the mundane glare he had as he walked the streets. “ Can’t arrest me for walking, mate. However I can press charges for … mmm stalking?” He said with a twist of his eyebrow “Guess Dawson choked up after all after our little chat’

Originally posted by marcelkingofthequarter

“Yes, yes the filthy rat has come back to town,” Basil responded glaring at the other man.  “No I can’t.  However there are plenty of other things you could get arrested for.  Murder, kidnapping, theft, just to name a few.  You’d have to have proof of stalking.  Simply running into someone you dislike is not grounds for a stalking charge,” he argued shaking his head.  “You talked to Dawson?”  Why on earth was the first time he was hearing about this coming from Ratigan and not his roommate/partner.

“Oh, you can not like others on principle and still enjoy the company and whatever may come of it,” Gertrude offers, smirking. She wills herself not to add in a comment about enjoying sociability unless it’s on her terms since she can only imagine how that would go over with this man. She gives him a cheeky grin. “Oh, you flatter me,” she says with a light laugh. “I can get my way in some cases, I’m sure. I’m very persuasive at times.” How so? A mix of irritability, threats, and charm. Lovely trio that was.

He reads her well, and while her own expression reads blank for a moment, she breaks the steely facade to offer a cheerful congratulations. “Ah, I see. Well, that’s very clever of you.” She dusts at her cuff, despite the fact he had mentioned it was a stain. She was immensely performative that way. “I keep plants, yes. Lots of them in planters in windows.” Then she hums a thought. “And a biology teacher, specializing in botany and horticulture. As for the accent, you’ve got a keen ear. A mix of standard radio English and German. Family history with the war, see. And… old soul? I’d like to think it’s only my soul and not my appearance. Again, family history with the war and a very formal background. At least in terms of language. It’s a consequence of an inter-family shift,” she explains coolly. She gives him a wink. “Yes, I suppose that shall suffice. Indulgent, aren’t you as well? In others’ whims. I’m suprised you haven’t pushed past me minutes ago. Are you that much of a gentleman? Should I be impressed? I am, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Yeah I can’t say I understand that.  I’ve never really liked people in principle or their company.  There’s a few people I enjoy the company of but it’s a very selective few.”  Basil shook his head not at all understanding where she was coming from.  He rarely did understand it when people said they enjoyed spending time with others.  He had never done great in social situations especially not ones with crowds.  It was just overwhelming, too many people and things to possibly deduce, too many different overlapping conversations.  “Some cases or most cases?  I have a feeling you’re a lot more persuasive than you’re claiming to be.”

He shrugged at her comment.  It didn’t really see that impressive to him.  It didn’t seem like he had figured out anything that difficult or exciting.  He had gotten a very simple, minimal reading of her nothing that would be very useful to him if this woman ever ended up involved in one of his cases.  “It’s really nothing.  I do stuff like that all the time, lot more in depth, exciting deductions than that,” he said shaking his head.  “Ah so I was pretty close there.  Wouldn’t have guessed horticulture right away, not exactly the most common subject.  I’m pretty good with accents.  I deal with different ones in my line of work, sometimes even don a few of them myself.”  He shrugged again when discussing accents.  He didn’t think it was a big deal, he was pretty sure most people could have heard it, maybe not have gotten a detailed answer but they would have heard something there.  “I wouldn’t say you look old.  I also wouldn’t say you look very young, not like someone in their twenties.  You look like someone who has lived long enough to have quite a bit of life experience but also still has quite a bit of life ahead of them.”  He fervently shook his head at the gentleman comment.  “Oh no definitely not a gentleman.  Nowhere close to that.  I definitely do not have the manners for that.  Well thank you, I’m glad I impressed you.”

James can’t help but slither through the streets of New York. He set his eyes on a new exciting place he could enjoy for the day. He felt as a certain body was accidentally pushed next to him, he quickly observed the mystery body next to him and chuckled “ Well if you want me to hold your hand just say so, but bobbing on people is no way mate” he mused, teasingly. 

It probably didn’t say anything good about Basil that he kept bugs in his coat pockets; however, he felt it was best to always be prepared in case he needed to plant one for a case.  As he was walking down the street he was pretty sure he saw Rattigan further down the street.  He tried to draw as little attention as possible as he dropped the bug into one of the other man’s pockets when a passerby on the street jostled him.  Shit there went his cover.  “The closest I’d ever get to holding hands with you is getting to put you in handcuffs,” he responded glaring.

Talulah laughed loudly this time, a hand to her heart, because Basil was so naive. “Oh darling, I don’t want your money. I make my money in other ways.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, more so to make him sway with her now. “I want a kiss. And then you can know whatever you want. Simple as that.”

Oh no she’s laughing that can’t be a good sign.  She was gonna ask for something big, something he probably can’t give her.  “...Oh good, I could use the break,” he said nodding.  He was trying to avoid looking at her since he could feel his cheeks turning pink.  “Y-you want a kiss?  From me?  That’s it?  No catch?”

Talulah chuckled under her breath as she moved along to the beat with him. “You’re such a funny one, Basil. Which is why it’s always so fun to get a little bit of a rise out of you.” Her smirk hadn’t left her face. “I suppose I can give you what you want. Information. At least…a little bit. The details will cost you.”

Basil sighed and shook his head. Why did ever woman he talked to seem to have fun getting a rise out of him?  Maybe he needed to change something about his life to avoid this, maybe he should retire after this case.  Go be a boring professor like his mother.  “You need a new hobby.  Plenty of other people want to get a rise out of me.  It’s really not unique anymore,” he commented.  “Cost me?  What do you want?  Money?  I’m a little tight right now.”

“You won’t regret it,” she hummed before pulling him to the dance floor and wrapping her arms around his neck. The song was moving faster than she was, but she preferred to keep him on his toes like this. She swayed her hips as she looked at him, a playful grin on her face. “You know, you can try a little harder. Especially if you want to see my lips moving about you-know-who.”

“I might,” he mumbled as she dragged him onto the dance floor.  He already was unsure about the close physical contact.  Talulah made him nervous, always had.  That nervousness seemed a bit similar to how being around Olivia makes him nervous but he didn’t want to think about what that could mean.  “I’m dancing that’s trying hard enough.  You’ve gotten what you wanted: I’m out here with you.  Take what you can get.”

She felt a blush spread all the way to her shoulders when she heard Basil’s voice. Her hands immediately dropped from the bar and into her lap. “I… suppose in those circumstances, you have a point,” she swallowed quickly. She felt like she’d been caught cheating on a test or something. “Hello,” she replied. Olivia nodded along. “Yeah, the new year has been fine. My classes started back up and they aren’t too hard, so that’s good.” He mentioned a lead on her case, though and that had her attention. “You don’t have to rush out like that,” she said, maybe too quickly. “What’s the lead? If you feel like you can talk about that here?”

“Yes in those specific circumstances that you don’t fit.  Most people don’t fit it, really was a dumb comment to make.  I’ve got to work on my filter,” Basil said shaking his head.  He could tell by her body language that she was nervous around him.  “It’s okay, Olivia.  I’m not gonna yell at you or ruin your night.  Just came to get a drink and then I’ll be leaving.  You can have your night out with your college friends or whatever you’re doing.  I won’t bother you like that time with the redhead.”  He promised her.  He didn’t like breaking his word so if he told her that he had to keep control of any jealousy that might come up and that was best anyways.  She could talk to whoever she wanted to, he had no say in that.  He wasn’t her father or boyfriend and even if he was either of those he should trust her enough to choose who she wanted to talk to.  “That’s good.  Have you ever had a hard class?” he asked.  “No, no it’s fine.  There’s really no need for me to stay.  I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good evening.  I should get home to Toby and the cats in case Dawson isn’t there, I have to make sure they’re all fine.”  He didn’t really need to get home that badly, the pets would be fine on their own for a while but he didn’t trust himself around Olivia anymore.  “Oh nothing that interesting I just thought I found someone connected with Ratigan although the last two times I thought that it was a bust.  Don’t get your hopes up too much yet, I’m still far from breaking the case.   Might need someone else to take charge of it and I just help her.”

Talulah laughed lightly, taking a step closer to him before extending her hand. “Try me, detective. I happen to be a very god teacher when it comes to dance. Take the risk.”

Basil eyed the hand suspiciously.  He really didn’t like this idea.  Both dancing and Talulah made him uncomfortable so combining the two really didn’t sound like a good idea or fun to him.  However dancing with her might allow him to get more information and help him bring her in.  He thought about it for another minute before huffing and taking her hand.  “Fine but just one dance.”

This was the part of the job that Nick hated. Disrespectful pricks like this guy that thought they were above the law. “You know, I was doing you a favor by giving you a new copy of the ticket but you just fucked yourself. Your court date was on that ticket and if you don’t show up a warrant will be made for your arrest. Had you just cooperated it wouldn’t have come to this. See you in court.”

“No doing me a favor would have been fucking off and not giving me a ticket in the first place,” Basil responded rolling his eyes.  “Well I have no plans on going to court so fine by me.”  Oh MI6 was most certainly going to be pissed at him for fucking things up and making an enemy in local law enforcement, not that pissing off his bosses was anything new.  “Never thought I’d see the day where I found Scotland Yard agreeable and cooperative.  Americans truly are the worst.”

“I don’t know about you, love, but I’m getting quite tired of the same old songs playing over and over.” Talulah got up from her seat, moved towards the DJ and whispered something into his ear before the song turned to a more upbeat song and she moved back over to where she previously sat. “I think this is much better. Something to dance to. Join me?”

“There’s music playing?” Basil asked looking up from his phone and the case notes he was looking at.  When he saw it was Talulah he quickly closed his notes app hoping she hadn’t seen anything.  It would completely blow up his case if she saw notes he had on her and Rattigan.  “I’m not really much of a dancer.  I’ll probably step on your feet.”