miss the start, miss the end.

feel free to adjust wording/pronouns/etc as needed!  —  season one

this woman is practically a walking red flag with a siren screaming danger — so why it’s an almost impossibility for kate to resist her, as undeniably attractive as she is, must say a lot about the current state of her psyche. then again, did it really matter? it’s like the other said, all she’s really seeking is excitement and fun elsewhere (or so she tells herself) to compensate for the lack of it at home, and here it is being offered up to her on a plate by a french novelist who had every reason to be cocky. money, beauty, influence. she’d be a fool not to take advantage of that.

still, the insinuation that she’s just like the many other (boasting much?) unhappily married women she’s met rubs kate the wrong way. makes her even less inclined to indulge the woman’s ego and admit how much she wants her right back. even this early on in the game, she isn’t content with the idea of being just another disposable notch on someone’s bedpost. she doesn’t have to say anything, though, does she? the fact that she’d readily followed her into this room in the first place speaks volumes.

and now, here they are, finally alone and free to give into the tension that had been steadily rising all night, from the moment their eyes met from across the room in a typically cinematic case of ‘lust at first sight’. empty glass discarded on a nearby table, kate ignores her fishing for compliments entirely, but for once, she is willing to share what’s on her mind: “i’m thinking … that you’re clearly very used to getting what you want, caroline.” all the more reason to play hard to get; she doesn’t want to make this easy for her; she wants to make a lasting impression.

“— but what about what you need? has any woman ever given you that?” a challenging brow raise accompanies her steps as she slowly draws closer, and closer until her hands are resting upon her curves, the smell of expensive perfume invading - invigorating - her senses. it’s intoxicating. she’s intoxicating. “or have they all been too intimidated by you to even try?” she asks, smugly echoing caroline’s words back to her. a few hypnotic beats later, after simply admiring her features, her voice dips lower, more intimate as she lies, “you know, you’re nowhere near as irresistible as you seem to think you are.” it’s an attempt to goad her into proving herself, if she cares enough to do so, gaze flitting between her eyes and lips as she grins.

“— but i appreciate the drink.” and with that, kate abruptly pulls away with a mocking sigh of disappointment, “i should really be getting back.”

translation: chase me, caroline. chase me.

tone changes tune when the insult is thrown her way, however. you're nowhere near as irresistible as you seem to think you are. if she was wearing pearls, she's sure she'd be grasping them. she stifles the urge to gasp - the last thing she wants is for the ego the other speaks of to be so blatant - and instead she scoffs a little harder as she lifts her hand to push back her hair - an act that, if one was to analyse close enough, would prove that she felt uncomfortable at the very notion. "i'm not an idiot. i'm sure you didn't join me in this room away from everybody else because you find me undesirable." she's grasping at any semblance of self respect that she can. "i know exactly what you're doing." and it's now that she rises from the seat that she'd found herself growing more uncomfortable in by the second, all six-feet of her stature standing tall, straight, almost a little stiff. "you want me to chase you. i'm the cat and you're the little mouse who is going to go scattering back to her ridiculous husband while secretly batting her eyelashes at me from across the room, acting like it's all this facade of innocence." christ, she wants her even more now that she's been informed that the stakes of this challenge have changed.

❛ 𝙸 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚆𝙴 𝙰𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙳 𝙸’𝙼 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙾𝚂𝚂 ? ❜

boss. still feels dead weird calling her that. even with the visual aid of them both in their respective uniforms, ann’s brain is still getting used to maintaining professional boundaries with someone she considers to be more of a friend than a sarge.

“right. sorry, boss,” ann retorts, amusement plain on her face as she dials the security code to allow them into the station; buzzer announcing their morning arrival, ann holding out one of the doors for catherine. anyone could see they were on good form today; taking the piss out of one another is their love language.

when the door is open, she nods her head in thanks to the other woman who held it open for her before walking inside the building that is, quite literally, her second home. her first home, actually. god knows she feels like she's doing a life sentence here most of the time.

"if anything, ann, i think it's more than appropriate for me to force you into telling me about my birthday surprises. i've got the authority." there's a frown that kisses the skin between her eyebrows as she walks - looking ahead, barely flashing a glance towards the younger woman. "and with my authority." she stops now - slap bang in the middle of the hallway - to finally face ann. expression is a picture of seriousness. "i don't like surprises. everybody here and their bloody dog knows that me and surprises aren't the best of friends." she's trying her hardest to remain stoic because deep down, in the very pits of her being, there might be the slightest hint of excitement in regards to ANY sort of plans for her birthday. it's affirming, to know that she's still thought about. of course, she won't let that thought crack from her hardened interior. she's good at hiding it - it's a talent.

“my goodness …” she says with a sort of flustered laugh at the other’s confession, brows raised all the higher this time, “you’re outrageous. truly.” maybe she means it as a compliment; she’d always been attracted to strong personalities, after all, for better or worse. “i wonder, would you want me half as much if i weren’t so unattainable?” such a bloody cliché — and yet she can’t deny she’s enjoying the attention.

enjoying it far too much.

she lifts her glass again, and with an amused, thoughtful hum, she answers, “you’re assuming i don’t know what it’s like.” to cheat? to be with a woman? kate purposely doesn’t clarify. instead, she lets her eyes fill in the blanks for her — her otherwise soft, innocent eyes darkening in tune with caroline’s to reveal their hidden depths.

yes, she has stepped outside of her marriage before, with both men and women, and she’s certainly not proud of it; not as open and carefree about her immoral behaviour as caroline seems to be about hers. somehow, though, no amount of shame and remorse in the aftermath stops kate from making the same old mistakes.

cognitive dissonance, her therapist calls it.

being a cowardly piece of shit, her sister, lorna, calls it.

it’s not even about betraying her husband — not when he has his own fair share of sordid little secrets. it’s the fact that she’s no better than him, really, is she? it’s the fact that she doesn’t deserve any better than him. with that horrible thought in mind, kate’s brows briefly furrow and she downs the rest of her wine in one quick swig.

“then again,” she follows up with a sly curl of her lips, unable to help herself, unable to resist that pesky little devil on her shoulder, “something tells me you’re … rather in a league of your own, ms. dubuis. who wouldn’t be just a teeny bit curious about that?”

she allows the other woman to speak and her brows do raise a little.  “i’m not assuming anything. i’ve met many women like you.  women with their ball and chain,  married out of what i can only describe as one of convenience.. women in lackluster marriages who are no stranger to dabbling in extramarital affairs. you aren’t the first and quite frankly, kate. “  she’ll leave formalities to one side for this.  “you won’t be the last. i don’t judge you for seeking excitement elsewhere. “  if anything, she encourages it.  that’s exactly why they’re here alone - just the two of them - in a room away from the rest of the party-goers.   “i respect you more for it.”  

the tension between them is thick.  she can feel it and she can only hope that kate feels it too.  if it’s not for the gaze that caroline casts her way, it’s the way their voices are just that little bit hushed in case somebody was to walk past and god forbid hear their conversation.  the lights in the room are dim, the air around them almost still.  it’s enough to make the hairs on the back of caroline’s neck prick upwards just a little.   “and what, pray tell, would that league be?”   she’s eager to know.  “what so-called curiosities do i arouse?”  her voice drops just that little bit lower,  carefully picking the words she uses to draw that tension just a little bit closer.  “i want to know what’s going on in your head right now, in this moment.  just what are you thinking? “ @towalkinvisible

PROMPT. ╱ kate & caroline.