*LUST FOR LIFE.

           Eyes jump from the sight of a bouquet of flowers to the man in front of her, expression of surprise slowly forming into one of delight as a timid smile finally touches at thin lips. “They—— Dexter, they are GORGEOUS, I love them,” you breathe out, timidness now gone from the quirk of your mouth. You really, truly are touched by this gesture; it’s the sweetest thing anyone has done to you in YEARS. “I didn’t expect you to do this                                                                    ———thank you.”

IT’S NOT A QUESTION THAT SHE EXPECTS TO HEAR,  hence the sudden awkwardness that takes over her.   thin lips pull into a lopsided smile, a single brow raising as she shuffles forward in her seat.    ❝  i’m not sure that’s appropriate, zelda.  ❞    though it doesn’t stop the smile from growing, reaching one ear to the next,  finger trailing along the rim of her glass.  ❝  i mean  … i mean, no i’m not seeing anybody unless you consider the bottle of wine i drink alone every night my partner. ❞    it’s a small joke,  one that is followed by a laugh of her own, eyes bright as nose scrunches.    ❝  why do you ask ?  has gene been talking to you ?  because i’ve been getting all of these  STRANGE  vibes from him lately.  do you think he wants to ask me out ?  ❞   it doesn’t occur to her that zelda could be asking for herself, that doesn’t cross her mind.   

❝    i don’t often get the CHANCE to talk to someone like you.   ❞

she’s  still  caught  a  little  off  guard ,    gene’s  words   —   his  actions,    it’s  so  uncanny.    it  makes  her  heart  ache,    to  know  that  alex  must  be  suffering.    of  course  she  was,    the  woman  wore  her  heart  on  her  sleeve      (  unlike  stella  )      the  tension  in  the  work  place,    anywhere  the  two  woman  were   —   you  could  cut  it  with  a  knife.    anyone  could  see  that  something  was  going  on,    that  something  had  happened  between  the  two  woman.      (  they  were  all  detectives  after  all .  )

she  comes  to  a  stop  at  the  door,    fingertips  hovering  above  the  knob  as  her  lids  fall  shut.    her  jaw  tightens,    pulse  pounding  hard  beneath  her  ribs.    and  it  takes  her  a few  seconds  to  recuperate,    to  swallow  the  lump  in  her  throat  and  suck  in  a  breath.    she  pulls  her  hand  back,    fingernails  curling  into  the  palm  of  her  hand  as  she  whips  round  to  face  the  other.    she  doesn’t  like  it,    the  taste  of  her  own  medicine .    it  irks  her,    but  doesn’t  have  her  stuck  on  what  to  do.          ❝    i  am  your  superior,    dci  hunt.    you  have  no  right  to  speak  to  me  this  way,    to  invade  into  my  personal  life  as  if  i  owe  you  something.    the  only  responsibility  you  have  around  here,    is  to  do  what  i  say.    ❞          it  takes  every  ounce  of  her  not  to  hiss,    to  not  let  her  voice  raise.     (  she  won’t  give  him  the  satisfaction.  )

she  turns  her  body  slightly,    tongue  dipping  out  to  run  along  her  lower  lip  before  pearly  whites  expose  themselves  to  dig  into  the  bottom  flesh.    her  arm  reaches  out,    fingertips  gripping  the  knob  and  turning  it  as she  pulls  the  door  towards  her.    her  gaze  locks  on  gene’s,    stare  lethal  as  her  lips  part  to  speak.          ❝    and  right  now,    i  want  you  to  get  the  fuck  out  of  my  office.    ❞

❝   now i don’t care that much for rug munchers like you and BOLLY,  gibby.  ❞   out come the insults,  he cannot help himself.  ❝ i think it’s unfair to us men, you’re taking our most prized possessions. ❞     he isn’t listening to her,  doesn’t care that  DSI STELLA GIBSON is his superior,  his boss  . . .  gene hunt is the man with they key around here and he doesn’t answer to a bloody woman.  never has,  never will.   thus, he continues.  silently refuses to leave her office, despite her orders for him to do so.  

❝  but drakey is a close friend of mine, a very close friend and i don’t like seeing her upset. ❞  he isn’t usually so quick to show that he CARES,  but he does.  and he cares a lot more for alex drake than he does stella gibson.   he closes the door behind himself, leaving it to be just him and stella in stella’s office.  and he rests against the door, his stare cold.   ❝  RIDDLE ME THIS,  detective superintendent gibson --- is there any part of your ICE HEART that actually cares about alex’s feelings? because from where i’m standing, you’re stringing her along like some pathetic little puppet for your own pleasure. ❞