Chapter Text
Jack felt his confidence soar at her initiation of contact and he placed his hand atop hers, holding it gently against his arm. After several moments, he broke the new silence, leaning into her ever so slightly, but keeping his eyes forward.
“Thank you for supper,” his lips quirked up into a crooked smile. “One might suspect you think me incapable of feeding myself…”
She laughed brightly at his quip. “You’re very welcome!” She jostled his arm playfully. “We can’t very well have the best two officers in the VPC going hungry, now, can we?” She raised her head and looked at him, a twinkle in her eye. “What time did you finally get a break?”
“A little after ten.” He let the domesticity of their conversation wash over him only briefly.
“Oh, good Lord! You must have been positively ravenous by then, Jack! Dot and I stopped by just before six!”
“Yes… it was a... long evening...” he shrugged. “But everything was delicious and a very welcome surprise. I was feeling quite put out when the hour grew so late… Hugh reminded me that the pie cart had been closing at nine these past few nights, so I figured we’d be dining on biscuits and weak tea for supper.”
“Good grief, Jack! I swear, I will never understand your fascination with that pie cart! The pies are fair-to-middling, at best. If I didn’t know you better, I would suspect your disappointment in missing a late night meal there had more to do with the woman providing the pies than with the pies themselves!”
“What?” Jack’s voice cracked in shock. His brow wrinkled but his eyes danced with laughter.
Phryne scoffed and sat upright once again, her hand slipping from his arm. She extended it behind herself to lean back against and eyed him sideways — he actually had the nerve to look shocked and she rolled her eyes.
“Oh, come, now, Jack!” She let her head fall backwards so the breeze could blow through her loose bob. “I’ve seen the way she smiles at you. She gives you two pies for the price of one, for pity’s sake!”
He raised his eyebrows incredulously. “ Perhaps , Miss Fisher, Connie is simply appreciative of the superb job the Victoria Constabulary do in keeping Melbourne a little less dangerous. Maybe she is just saying ‘Thank You’ in the way she knows how!”
“ What rot ,” she raised an eyebrow at his flimsy excuse. He refers to this woman by her given name, not Miss-so-and-so?? “Well, don’t think that I didn’t notice that Connie doesn’t give any of your men that same treatment! And, she has a special smile for you, Jack Robinson,” she narrowed her eyes and pinned him with a knowing gaze. “I have exceptionally keen observational skills, and I’ve stood by your side when she’s gushed over you, pulling out the pies with the perfect golden crust just for you …”
She licked her lips and slipped into her childhood Collingwood dialect in an over-dramatic imitation of the attractive young woman, Connie, who very clearly had eyes for the Senior DI.
“Evenin,’ Inspecta’! Whad’ya say to an extra helpin’ tonight? I even got a couple-a perfectly toasted pies waitin’ right here fer’ya!” She batted her eyelids flirtatiously. “Oh, Detective Robinson, I wouldn’t dream-a lettin’ you pay fer two! Just pay fer th’one will be plenty!”
Jack’s laugh was bold — a proper belly laugh — and he fell back against the blanket, folding his arms under his head in an attempt to cushion it against the bumpy beach.
“My, my, Miss Fisher, I must say, you really do pay attention, don’t you!” The last thing he’d expected was to see a glimpse of jealousy from the one-and-only Phryne Fisher.
“Well,” she raised her chin defiantly and looked out toward the sea, unwilling to let him see the envy that always pinged in her chest when such attention was showered on her detective. Yes, Phryne Fisher knew that she had zero claim on the man at her side, and while she despised jealousy in her men, she wasn’t able to completely ignore it when the tables were turned… She was, after all, only a woman... “It’s a little hard to miss, Jack . Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed!” She turned her head and looked down at where he laid at her side, the shadows and moonlight doing wonderful things to his expression.
Jack jerked his head sideways noncommittally and bit back a grin. “Well, I don’t remember hearing you complain about the quantity, or quality, of pies on the many occasions you’ve stolen your fair share from my plate!”
“Of course I don’t complain, Jack! It would be terribly ungrateful of me to turn down the offer once you’ve extended it! Besides, sometimes those pies are dreadfully heavy with gravy, and you know how your stomach gets with too much gravy! As Bert would say, ‘ your guts would be groaning all night ’ if I permitted you to finish those pies all by yourself. So you see,” she plastered on a fake look of concern, “I'm doing it for your own good .”
It was true, Jack’s body seemed to have a certain, inconvenient aversion to too much rich gravy, much to his constant disappointment , but he catalogued her knowledge of this fact, pleased that, while her excuse was entirely unbelievable, she did, in fact, know him quite well.
“My own good, huh?”
“Absolutely,” she turned away quickly, knowing he would be able to see through her fib. After a moment, she heard a deep rumbling laugh rolling from Jack’s throat and her eyes darted back down to him. “What’s so funny?
“You are, Miss Fisher,” he rolled his head so he could count the stars overhead.
“ I am ? What is that supposed to mean?”
Jack’s smile grew despite his attempts to keep it hidden. “I wish you could see the servings I get most days when I grab a bite from her…” His eyes shifted to her face though he didn’t otherwise move, wondering how much he would have to spoon-feed her before she figured it out.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Miss Fisher, that your powers of observation, keen as they may be, are woefully skewed in this case... I only get a second pie when a certain Lady Detective is standing in line with me…”
Her brow wrinkled. “What? She is trying to make me jealous? What is wrong with that woman?!”
“Jealous?” Oh Jack was enjoying this , perhaps just a little too much... “Is that what this is?” He waved a finger in her direction. “Jealousy?”
Caught in her own game, Phryne squared her shoulders and lifted her dainty little nose into the air. “Why would I be jealous, Jack? That makes no sense…”
“Mm-hmm,” he rolled his eyes and crossed his ankles as he stretched his body and feigned indifference. “If you say so,” he quirked an eyebrow. Before she could launch another counter-attack, though, he continued.
“ If , however, you would pay closer attention, you would hear what I’m telling you… I only receive an extra pie when you are there with me…” He could see the wheels turning and decided to make it so clear that even Collins would see it. “In fact, I’ve been tempted to invite Dr. MacMillan to join me for lunch one day soon… I suspect she and Connie would get on fabulously…”
Finally catching his drift, Phryne gasped and spun around, pinning him with a hard glare. “You don’t mean…” Her eyebrows finished her question.
“ Got it in one , Miss Fisher, you get the blue ribbon!” He declared cheerfully, though she definitely hadn’t gotten it in a single guess. He narrowed his eyes and rolled in her direction just barely. “As I said, I suspect , because I, too, have exceptionally keen powers of observation…”
“Jack Robinson,” she laid down at his side, facing him, holding herself up on her elbow so she could look down into his eyes. “You’ve been keeping this from me!”
“Well,” his voice was husky as she drew near and his playful eyes softened. “I hated to jeopardize the possibility of being on the receiving end of a much better supper from time to time as my Lady Detective might see fit to swing by the station…” Yes, he knew what he said, he wondered if she’d pick up on the claim and punish him for it. “If she knew the pie cart simply was a convenient spot to score a meal, with no ulterior motives by the business-woman in charge, I may have been left to my own devices more often…”
Phryne’s cheeks flushed and a riot of butterflies erupted in her abdomen. Her gaze fell to his mouth, then back to his stormy blues. “ Your Lady Detective is always willing to share supper with you, Jack…”
He moved one arm from behind his head and brought it up to her cheek, rubbing the backs of his knuckles against her soft skin. “Your Detective Inspector is most appreciative, not only for the food, but especially for the company…”
Jack Robinson was a magnificent flirt! Where did this man hide all day, every day?
“You’ll turn my head, Jack Robinson.” Her words were breathy as she leaned into his touch.
“Good,” he answered softly, giving her a crooked smile and trailing a singer finger down the side of her neck.
If she wasn’t careful, Phryne Fisher was going to have her way with him right there on the beach. Her eyes searched his face, his sharp features softened in the moonlight and she shivered, not because she was cold, but because his simple, gentle touch warmed her deeper than she had expected. She tilted her head and looked down at him, so close, and she felt like she could drown in his eyes.
One by one, his forefinger was joined by his other fingers and he slipped his palm to the back of her neck, his thumb sweeping up to her earlobe.
“Jack,” she breathed as she succumbed to the gentle pressure, closing the distance between them.
Jack arched his neck and met her in the middle, brushing his mouth against hers tenderly. When she hummed at the contact, he parted his lips and swallowed the sound, committing it to memory forever. With a little more insistence, she fell down against him and he brought his other hand around to cradle her jaw as he let gravity do the rest, pulling them both down together.
When Phryne felt the gentle nudge from the tip of his inquisitive tongue, she opened to greet him and to finally taste him as she’d been longing to do for so long. Jack kissed with the same intensity that he applied to everything else in his life, and Phryne was thankful she wasn’t standing, because had she been upright, she was certain she’d have uncharacteristically melted into a puddle of emotions instantly. The Lady Detective was not accustomed to losing herself so quickly upon first kissing a man, but she was certainly not opposed to the sensation.
When the need for oxygen proved greater than the desire to continue their kissing explorations, they both started to pull apart, albeit barely. She dipped her head and rubbed her nose against Jack’s, relishing in the warm sensation filling her chest.
Jack looked up into her eyes, practically seeing the wheels turning in her mind. He brushed her cheek with his thumb, tilting his head as he studied her expression. Licking his lips, he could still taste her and he knew he’d instantly become addicted.
“Should I… apologize ?”
She smirked adoringly and palmed his cheek. “No, Jack.” She lowered her head down to his shoulder and snuggled alongside him, draping her arm over his chest. “ Definitely not.” She rubbed her nose along his jaw and hummed when his arm wrapped around her back and squeezed. “We should do it again,” she smiled against his skin. “Soon… ”
“Mm-hm,” Jack chuckled. “I think I can live with that…”
“But first…” she tightened her hold on his suit jacket lapel and nuzzled her nose against the air of his throat. “Can we stay like this, just for a little while longer?”
Jack tightened the arm that held her and his free hand grabbed hers, bringing it to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles. “As long as you like, Miss Fisher…”
They remained stretched out on the blanket, staring up into the darkness, counting stars. As minutes turned to hours, and Phryne’s head grew heavy on Jack’s shoulder, he smiled. The foreshore would take on a new meaning for him now.