Chapter Text
One random Monday, Gina begins to notice how there aren’t any discreet places to hook up in a police precinct.
For the life of her, there isn’t one place where some cop, witness or perp wouldn’t hear. Plus there are little tiny cameras glued to every corner of every room. It’s a hopeless case.
The women’s bathroom on the third floor is, maybe, the closest thing to the desired space (she makes a mental note when she goes to pee). However, Scully has a habit of doing number two in there, so it cuts the romance of the thing very quickly.
All these thoughts and worries don’t come about for nothing. Sex is the last thing from her mind at work… but something is changing.
It all comes about Friday night at Shaw’s. Jake drinks too many beers and starts debating yet again who’s the coolest Die Hard bad guy.
He talks her ear off and she lets him. That is until Rosa enters the bar, in a tight dark blue dress, gold hoops and hair in looser waves than normal. She’s sporting black strappy stilettos and her leather jacket hang from her hand, grazing the floor as she walks.
Gina swallows the rest of her drink promptly and watches Rosa sit down. She crosses her legs to the side and orders a double scotch on the rocks.
“Rosa, you look amazing!” Jake’s eyes widen.
Gina’s staring. Her neck, her legs,… she also smells amazing.
“I broke up with Anthony.” Rosa blurts out. Her drink arrives and she downs it in one go.
“Told you she was dating him!” Gina whispers to Jake, maybe a bit too loud. Rosa rolls her eyes, the hint of a smile tugging the corner of her lips up.
“I’m sorry you are hurting.” Jake puts a hand on her shoulder. “Why did you break up?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it. Let’s change the subject.” She takes a few peanuts from the tiny white bowl on the table, crushing them all in her grip and digging a few to eat from the broken shells in her palm. “What were you talking about?”
“How Jake sometimes still pees the bed.” Gina answers just to try to get a smile from Rosa. She get a small choked laugh instead. It’s good enough.
Jake spend the next hour trying to convince Rosa it has only happened once in his adulthood and then, defeated, he says his goodbyes to go home, to which Rosa replies “Pee before you fall asleep, so it won’t happen again.” while patting his back.
Jake leaves with an exasperated sigh.
Gina orders another round for them, her eyes still stealing glances at Rosa’s legs as the waiter set down their drinks.
Rose leans in after a long sip to say, “Take a picture, it will last longer.” Her dark eyes travel down Gina’s face in that intimidating manner of hers.
Gina smiles. “Alright, lemme take out my phone.” She muses, reaching for her back pocket, waiting for Rosa to call her bluff.
She aims her flip phone camera at Rosa’s legs then she threatened, “Do not take a photo, or else.”
“Or else what?” Gina shimmies, waving the phone in her face until the other looks away amused, takes another sip, casually checks on the thin strap keeping her heel on before resting her back on the chair again.
Gina gulps, watching Rosa’s curls brush her bare shoulders, all smooth looking skin. Her fingers itch to reach out and touch.
Rosa’s foot slips forward, stops in the middle of Gina’s feet and they both keep drinking like it isn’t there. Like Rosa doesn’t have her leg right between Gina’s, knees casually touching. Like Gina’s stomach isn’t getting a stirring flutter every time Rosa’s eyes catch hers.
“You were the one suggesting the photo by the way.” Gina edges on.
This cat and mouse game isn’t a completely unfamiliar choreograph for them.
Their friendship has always been confusing and… blurred. Gina prides herself in understanding Rosa better than everyone in the squad. They text a lot, which for Gina is normal, for Rosa… not so much. They even share Scully’s lunch in the break room sometimes. Jake’s mentioned how close they got, half a dozen months after Gina gets her job at the precinct (Jake barely notices if the muffin he left out is growing mold, so him noticing anything at all is remarkably worthy of mention).
What is unfamiliar is Rosa’s next question. “This place is getting loud. Do you wanna get out of here?”
“Oh?” Gina blinks, her heart pounds against her ribcage. It sounds very much like…
“You can come over to mine? I’ve got booze.” Rosa finishes.
Gina’s brows climb her forehead. “Hum… yeah, sure.” Oh, damn, Rosa’s apartment. She tries her hardest not to let any of her excitement show. No one in the squad had ever been to Rosa’s place or even been invited.
She’s a very private person, maybe to a fault.
Rosa pays for both their tabs for some reason that makes Gina hum a song under her breath.
Afterwards they take a cab to a sketchy part of Brooklyn (because of course Rosa lives somewhere like this). Rosa pays for the cab fare and they get up to the third floor of a large gray building. With the twist of a key, Rosa lets her into apartment 3B.
“You live like this?” Gina says as a big lamp turns on to light a cozy but spacious living room. It cast low orange light over the oak wood furniture.
Rosa rolls her eyes yet again (she loves doing that), tossing her keys on a small brown bowl set on a chest drawer next to the closed door. “You can put your jacket wherever.” She says, throwing hers onto a grey armchair on the corner.
Her heels clacks on the hard wood floor as she retrieves from the fridge on the adjoining kitchen a half full bottle of scotch and sets it down on the living room table with two unmatched glasses from the tall cupboard.
She takes off her heels and pops down on the couch, patting the seat next to her for Gina to take.
“How much of this bottle will you have to drink before I can get you talking about the breakup?” Gina dares to ask her, seating right by Rosa as she pours scotch.
“There’s not enough here.” Rosa replies, screwing the cap back on the bottle.
“Can I persuade you to tell me then?” Gina leans back on the dark velvet couch, drink in hand and a small bribing pout on her lips, curling a strand of hair between her fingers.
Rosa sighs. “He’s a soup eating loser who’s always late for dates. The end.” She leaned back with her glass as well.
“If it helps, Mcginley told me he’s transferring to the eight-four.” Gina offers. She’d been dying to tell Rosa. She just wants to watch her reaction, because she’s been sure it had something to do with their relationship. Rosa’s been more than tight lipped about this guy and neither Jake or Charles believed her when Gina mentioned they were (for sure, hundred per cent, on all the graves of all the founding fathers and mothers, certainly) sleeping together.
“Good, now I won’t have to share desks with anyone.” She smiles, takes a sip, then stretches her arms on the back of the couch like a fourteen year old boy at the movies trying to get his arm around his date’s shoulders.
Gina looks down between. They’re kinda close on this couch. Heat climbs up her neck. “Yeah, now I won’t have to see the back of his head every time I glance at your table.”
“How many times a day were you seeing the back of his head?” Rosa quirks an eyebrow up in curiosity, puts the glass down. Her arm inches closer to Gina’s shoulders. Oh, oh.
“I could pick it out of a line up.” Gina shrugs her shoulders like it’s nothing. Another sip. This is good scotch.
“That’s a couple of times a day at least then, uh?” Rosa smirks, staring Gina down expertly. This place must have amazing heating. It’s hot in here, should she have more scotch? It’s probably just the burn of the scotch. God, who knows and who cares?
Is Rosa coming onto with her?
Gina shrugs. “Couple of times, yeah.” She sets her glass down next to Rosa’s. They had both barely drank any of it. She reclines back to her place. Rosa’s closer. She smells so good, Gina wants to bury her nose in Rose’s hair, ask what shampoo she uses, Rosa showering… She didn’t drink that much but she hasn’t drank even enough. Rosa showering.
“What was so interesting on my desk?” Can a smirk grow bigger? Rosa’s smirk grows bigger.
“I-…I think I drank too much tonight.” Gina blurts out.
It’s like throwing a bucket of water over Rosa’s head. Her mellow attitude, her lack of space awareness, gone. Rosa sobers up on the spot.
“You feelin’ okay?” She asks, brow knitted together in worry.
“Yeah, just… loopy. Can you call me a cab?” Gina sobers up too. She feels it, at least.
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Rosa get up. Gina avoids looking as she walked away. She may feel sober but her cheeks are burning.
“Cab will be here in five.” Rosa hang up the phone call. “Do you want some water before you go?”
“I’m okay.” Gina could use water. She’ll have some at home.
She’s ready and out of Rosa’s door before the five minutes are up. She’s rushing really. Her rapid heartbeat ushers her to quicken her pace out of there before she does something stupid that none of then can return from.
“Have some water either way.” Rosa hands her a water bottle before saying goodnight and letting Gina make her pathetic way home.
“Thank you.” Gina smiles at the gesture, holding the cold plastic bottle up to her chest. Rosa still looks way too nice in that dress, Gina thinks resolutely.
“Alright… See you Monday then?” Rosa ask, leaning on the frame of the door with her arms crossed.
“Monday, yeah.” Gina nods.
Rosa closes the door.
Gina get home to a text from Rosa.
Tonight was nice.
And when Monday arrives, Anthony is gone for good and Gina can look straight at Rosa, no back of anybody’s head blocking her view.
She remembers Friday night vividly. The leering looks, the closeness, the mindless flirting… Rosa doesn’t talk to her all day. Gina swears she sees her blush when they lock eyes right before lunch, except Rosa never blushes.
All of this combined leads to Gina taking notice. Notice how enticing Rosa looks filling out paperwork, brow quirked down in concentration.
Notices how her thighs wrap tightly around her motorcycle seat when she leaves for a crime scene after lunch.
Notices how there are no good spots in her workplace for her to be pinned against a wall by someone if she ever feels like it.