Author: Kate Anderson
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: They're not mine - I'm just borrowing them for a bit. I promise to return them when I'm done!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They hadn't planned on falling in love, it just happened.
Author's Notes: I read an X-Files fanfic that was somewhat similar to this years ago and the idea has been stuck in my mind ever since :)
It wasn't like they had planned to fall in love. Or even thought about it for that matter. It was just one of those things that happened. She didn't wake up one morning and think to herself, 'Well, I guess I'll fall in love today.' No, it had been unexpected. Something akin to discovering a great pair of boots on sale for half price. A really great pair of boots.
At first it was kind of weird, a whole new set of rules had be established. Was it okay to kiss while on duty? How about hugging, is that allowed? Holding hands?
She remembered thinking how bizarre it might look to see two New York beat cops locked in a passionate embrace on the hood of their squad car. In fact, that might get two New York beat cops suspended, if not outright fired. In the end, it was decided that all lovey-dovey crap would remain at home, separate from the job.
Sometimes that wasn't an easy task. There was one day, while on dinner break, he had parked them under the bridge and they looked out at the river. Somehow his mouth had found its way onto hers and before they could stop themselves, a marauding gang of ducks had gotten an eyeful. The ducks, for their part, enjoyed the free show. Especially when she had dropped half her sandwich as his hand worked its way up under her vest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
They'd had a lot to drink the night before. It had been their three month anniversary and to say they were smashed was probably an understatement. Both had woken up late, with a pounding headache. He had touched his face and groaned, remembering how he'd fallen into a holly bush after leaving the bar.
He staggered out of the room, pausing only briefly to check the clock and shake his girlfriend awake. The light in the bathroom hurt his eyes, so he kept them closed. Her bottle of perfume met an untimely end as he blindly groped around for a facecloth.
"Ahhh shit." he swore as he swiped the cloth over his scratched face. He opened his eyes a crack but quickly shut them again as the light assaulted his tender retinas.
With the washing complete, he staggered back to the bedroom only to find her still asleep under the covers. "Get the hell outta bed Faith! We're late for work!"
The Faith shaped lump moved slightly and groaned. A tousled blonde head of hair appeared, followed shortly by her naked body. She sniffed and scrunched up her face. "You wearing my perfume Bos?"
He tugged a shirt over his head. "Yeah Faith, I always wear ladies' perfume. I can't believe you didn't notice before. Didn't you hear me? We are late for work!"
She clutched her head as she sat up. "Oh god, how much did we drink last night?"
"I think we closed the place down."
She stood up and groaned. "I feel like shit."
"You don't look much better. Just wash your face and then we gotta go."
She staggered from the room leaving him to finish dressing. Clothes were strewn about. A lacy red bra was adorning the bedside lamp and what appeared to be a pair of boxer briefs was hanging from the blinds. His gaze fell on a black marker that was laying next to red panties. One of those smelly, permanent kind of markers.
A faint memory surfaced in his mind, Faith holding that marker and giggling. He shook it off then called down the hall, "I'll meet you outside, I'm going to start the car." And he left the apartment, without ever catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
No one at work knew about them. That would only have complicated an already very complicated relationship. There had been one time that Davis partially overheard a rather intimate conversation. Both of them had thanked their lucky stars that the lock on the bathroom stall held up. Davis, having only heard Bosco's voice, assumed he was getting lucky with the hussy from the pool table and left with a smirk.
After that, they had tried to cool it. Tried to keep their hands off one another in all public venues. She had once remarked to him that they were like two teenagers, hyped up on raging hormones. He liked that analogy.
They were comfortable with each other. Sometimes he'd send her flowers, just to see her smile when she answered the door. Three months wasn't a long time, but it was like they had already been dating for years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How the hell am I supposed to work today?" She got into the car, not bothering to do up her seatbelt before he tore off down the road. "I feel like a piece of shit that someone stepped on and then scraped off the bottom of their shoe."
He tried to ignore his own throbbing head and turned to look at her. "At least you didn't get up close and personal with a damn holly bush."
She squinted at him, noticing his face for the first time that day. "Yeah, you look terrible and you don't smell so hot either. I think you overdosed on the perfume."
A faint memory surfaced in her mind, of holding a black marker in her hand and laughing. Her vision was blurry, but it definitely looked as though Bosco was sporting some black streaks on his forehead.
"You have somethin' on your face Bos." she said.
"Yeah, it's scratched. I told you, damn holly bush!"
"No, somethin' else."
He reached up with a hand and felt his face. "Don't feel anything."
Another memory popped up. She was still laughing except this time she was throwing his boxers across the room. The marker lay on the bed beside them.
They reached the precinct and he parked the car with a loud screech. She clutched her head again and moaned. "Never again." she said. "I am never drinking again!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They hadn't planned on falling in love, never expected it, never dreamed of it. But they were in love with one another. He held her at night and never wanted to let go. She belonged with him and he belonged with her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What the hell is that smell? Phew! Yokas, you putting on the perfume with a firehose now or somethin'?"
"It's Bosco, not me."
Ty Davis turned around, looking for Bosco. "Bos? You wear ladies' perfume?"
"Shut the hell up Davis." Bosco's voice came from behind his locker door.
Davis chuckled. "Hey Sul!" he called out to his partner. "Bosco's wearing ladies' perfume! What is that Bos? Chanel Number 5?"
Sully laughed. Bosco poked his head around the locker door. Both Davis and Sully stared at him.
"Bosco, I think you have somethin' on your forehead." Sully said.
"Yeah, people keep tellin' me that."
Faith felt her heart thud in her chest. Another memory came to her, rising from the depths of her alcohol clouded mind. She was holding the marker and writing on Bosco's face.
"Let's see what that is." Sully approached Bosco. "It almost looks like writing."
Bosco's eyes widened as Sully reached over and brushed his hair back from his forehead. Sully's face fell impassive for a moment before he let out a loud guffaw. "Davis, you gotta see this one!"
Faith wanted to crawl into a deep hole and bury herself in dirt. She remembered drunkenly whispering to Bosco that she'd marked him and now no one could ever take him away from her.
Davis peered at Bosco's face before collapsing with laughter.
Bosco raised his chin defiantly. "What the hell is so funny?" he demanded. "It's just some scratches!"
Sully shook his head. "No, no, it's not just scratches. Haven't you looked in a mirror today Bosco?"
Bosco frowned and pushed past Sully and Davis. Faith had her head buried in her locker, using it as a substitute for a deep, dark hole. He shoved back his bangs and leaned close to the mirror. "Son of a bitch!" he hollered and Davis collapsed with laughter again.
Faith wondered if she could crawl into her locker and shut the door. Bosco examined his forehead closer and remembered that black, permanent marker laying on the ground next to Faith's panties. Black, like the writing on his face that proclaimed for all the world to see: 'Property of Faith'