Work Text:
The sun was shining brightly overhead, golden rays streaming down and warming every inch of Lauren’s body as she stretched out in a beach chair. Her toes curled in the sand and just a few feet away, the ocean waves lapped gently at the shore. She had a good book in her hands and a fruity cocktail served in a coconut shell sitting next to her, complete with a little paper umbrella. It was hard to imagine life getting much better than this.
As she went to go turn the page of her book—a thrilling mystery novel that had her reading as fast as she could—a shadow loomed over her, blocking the sun.
Lauren sighed, not even looking up as she pressed down on her book to keep the pages from flapping in the breeze. “You’re in my sun, subordinate.”
“Oh, really?” Kieran drawled. “Your sun, is it?”
“Mhmm,” Lauren said, still engrossed in her novel.
“My, my, detective,” Kieran tutted. “I didn’t realize you’d claimed the entire sun as your own. Does the privilege and greed of a Sinclair know no bounds?”
“Nope,” Lauren said, popping the p. “Now, shoo, the brakes on the protagonist’s car were sabotaged and she only narrowly escaped death. And I need to know who did it.”
But rather than shoo, Kieran grabbed the book, plucking it from Lauren’s hands and snapping it shut as he looked at the cover.
“Kieran!” Lauren yelped.
“Hmm. The Mysterious Case of the Missing Pearls.” Kieran turned the book around to read the summary. “To the members of high society, Lady Aurora Ashton is the well-bred Countess of Hollyvale Manor, but to the more desperate citizens of Aldermore, she’s a highly sought-after Private Eye known only as Ash. When a young woman appears on her doorstep one rainy November night, sobbing about a stolen pearl necklace that was a gift from her late husband, Aurora thinks it will be an easy case. Find the necklace, claim the reward money, everyone goes home happy. But as she descends into the seedy underbelly of Aldermore, she soon realizes that there’s more to this case than meets the eye, and it’s going to take all her wits to make it out alive.”
Kieran frowned. “This sounds terribly cliché. Are you actually enjoying this?”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “We’re on holiday, Kieran. I’m not looking for a serious read. Now give me my book back.”
“And if she’s a Countess, what does she need the reward money for?” Kieran continued. “Isn’t she plenty rich already?”
“She rescues orphans on the side, the money is used to take care of the poor, abandoned children.”
“Wait, really?”
“No,” Lauren said, peering over the top of her sunglasses at him. “How would a secret orphanage fit into the plot? Don’t be silly, Kieran. She needs the money because her house has fallen on hard times and she’s facing bankruptcy.”
“But she’s a Countess,” Kieran said. “Surely she has plenty of jewelry and clothes that she can sell off for a good profit.”
“She has to keep up the pretense of being rich, and if she started selling off her possessions, people would know she’s in a vulnerable position. Besides, she has a large fortune waiting for her, an inheritance from her late uncle, who raised her. But she can only access it on the stipulation that she gets married, and she’s already fielding off predatory marriage proposals from men twice her age who want to control her and her estate. She wants to be self-sufficient so she can marry for love.”
“Hmm. Sounds thrilling,” Kieran said, his tone enough to tell her he was unconvinced, even without her lie detection abilities.
“It is,” Lauren said. “Now give me my book back. This is the third murder attempt Aurora has narrowly avoided and I need to know who’s behind it all.”
“Oh, come one,” Kieran scoffed. “Don’t tell me the indomitable Detective Sinclair doesn’t already know who the culprit is.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of Lauren’s mouth. “Okay, I’m pretty positive it’s the butler, but I still need to know for sure.”
“Of course,” Kieran said. “It’s always the butler. But go on, present your case.”
“Well,” Lauren started, not quite able to hide her excitement. Cheesy, cliché novel or not, she always loved unraveling a mystery. “The butler knows about Aurora’s fortune and the marriage requirement. He’s one of the few people who know, as he’s been her confidant. Now, Aurora was orphaned as a child, which is why she was raised by her uncle. But she recently learned that she had a half-sister, born to her mother out of wedlock, who was given away as a baby. And it’s been mentioned how the woman who hired Aurora for this case has the same striking gray eyes that Aurora does.”
“Ah, the eyes get you every time,” Kieran said, nodding sagely. “Are they also pensive? Or is that a quality that only goes with golden eyes?”
“Shut up,” Lauren said, playfully swatting him on the arm. “Anyways. I’m pretty sure the woman is Aurora’s long-lost half-sister, and that she’s in league with the butler. And she invented a mystery to hire Aurora for, so she can conveniently get rid of her. Make her disappear.”
“But what’s the point of that?” Kieran asked. “How does that tie into Aurora’s fortune? And the butler?”
“Because, the half-sister looks a lot like Aurora,” Lauren said, as if it should be obvious. “And I think the butler is the half-sister’s lover. If they make Aurora disappear, the half-sister can pretend to be her and take over her life. She marries the butler, her lover, and then she inherits the fortune. Honestly, Kieran, it’s obvious. This is why I’m a detective and you’re just an archivist.”
“Just an archivist? Well, now you’ve hurt my feelings.” Kieran pouted. “It’s noble work, organizing the files in the archives! You police officers need al the help you can get, your filing system was a mess before I started.”
“The way you talk about it, you’d think archive organization was your lifelong passion,” Lauren said, shaking her head. “But you weren’t even hired as a real archivist, you were planted as a mole.”
“Oi!” Kieran protested. “I’m a real, full-fledged archivist now! My humble beginnings don’t matter.”
“Ah yes, because being the Purple Hyacinth is definitely a ‘humble beginning.’”
“Alright, that’s it,” Kieran said. “I’ve had quite enough of your snark.”
“Oh yeah?” Lauren said, looking up at him with a teasing grin. “And just what are you going to do about it?”
Instead of answering, Kieran dropped her book into the sand and then scooped one arm under Lauren’s shoulders and the other under her legs, picking her up off her chair and tossing her over his shoulder.
“Kieran!” Lauren squealed in protest. “Put me down!”
“Mm no, I don’t think I will.”
Lauren could hear the smirk in his voice. She beat her fists against his back and kicked her legs in protest as Kieran started walking, Lauren still over his shoulder, but it was like trying to move a boulder. He was entirely unaffected.
“Where are you taking me?” Lauren demanded, unable to see anything except the sand of the beach as Kieran held her firmly in place.
“Come now, you’re the detective,” Kieran teased. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Kieran, I swear to god if you dump me in the ocean…” she trailed off, the implied threat hanging in the air.
“Why, I wouldn’t dream of such a thing!” Kieran said with an overly dramatic gasp. "It wounds me that you think so little of me, Detective.”
And yet, even as he said that, Lauren watched as the tides of the ocean crept into view, washing up over the sandy beach. She could hear as Kieran started wading into the water, could feel the mist on her face as the breeze picked up.
“Kieran,” she said, her voice a warning. “Put me down.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake.
“Put you down?” Kieran said. “Well, alright, if you insist.” He re-adjusted his grip on her and Lauren had one brief glimpse of the sly smirk on his face before he tossed her forward. For one terribly fleeting moment, she flailed in mid-air, and then she was crashing into the crystal-clear waters below.
The water was just deep enough for Lauren to sink entirely beneath the surface, the cool temperature a shock against her sun-warmed skin. She came up spluttering, her sunglasses askew, a few strands of red hair sticking to her face.
“I can’t believe you,” she grumbled, picking herself up off her ass and getting to her feet. The water was only waist-deep when standing up, and Lauren wrung the water out of her hair as she shot death glares at Kieran, who stood a few feet away with the biggest smug grin on his face.
With the sunlight picking up the rich undertones of his hair and his rippling muscles on display due to his lack of shirt, Lauren was forced to admit to herself that he really was terribly handsome. He’d picked up a nice tan in the week they’d been on holiday—something that Lauren tried and failed to pretend she wasn’t jealous of as she slathered herself with sunscreen to keep from turning as red as her hair—and he looked more at ease than she’d seen him in a long time. Maybe ever.
It had only been a few short months since the fall of the Phantom Scythe, and this holiday was the first time Lauren and Kieran had a chance to relax, to enjoy a moment just for themselves. All of these factors combined meant it was very difficult for Lauren to keep up a convincing glare, and judging by the way Kieran’s grin only grew, she knew he wasn’t convinced.
“I’m all soaked now,” she whined, flicking a few droplets of water towards him.
“Oh, really?” Kieran said, waggling his eyebrows at her. “I can think of a few things to do about that.”
“Kieran!” Lauren protested, her cheeks turning pink. “You’re terrible.”
“That’s not what you said last night, darling.”
“That does it,” Lauren said, her eyes narrowing even as her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink. “This means war.”
She charged forward, splashing through the water, and launched herself at Kieran, jumping up to hook her arms around his neck and then using that leverage to wrap her legs around his waist. “You’re going down, mister.”
Kieran laughed, linking his arms together under her ass to help support her. “It’s cute how you think you can take me down. But by all means, feel free to try.”
Lauren wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, squeezing as she used her arms to try and push him over, but Kieran was immovable. No matter how much she twisted and pushed, he wouldn’t fall over.
“I told you, love, it’s pointless,” Kieran said with a laugh. “More fearsome people than you have tried and failed to topple the Purple Hyacinth.”
Lauren wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smile off his face, which meant it was time to break out her secret weapon.
“Mm, is that so?” she asked, her voice soft as she moved her hands to tangle in his hair. “But I wonder, did they ever try this?”
With her hands in his hair, she had the perfect leverage to tilt his head up as she brought her lips down on his. His lips were warm and supple, just slightly chapped from the sun, and she reveled in the small noise he made as her teeth scraped against his lower lip. He tasted like sunshine, like sea salt and tropical cocktails, and she thought she could be perfectly content staying like this for the rest of her life.
But no silly little thing like kissing her boyfriend, the love of her life, would distract Lauren from her mission. She pulled back from the kiss, grinning at Kieran’s dazed expression, his eyes half-closed and his tongue absentmindedly darting out to lick his lips. While he was distracted, Lauren gave his chest a solid shove and he went tumbling backwards with a yelp, his back hitting the water with a dramatic splash.
Lauren fell forward with him, her legs still wrapped around his waist, only unhooking them as they both hit the sandy ocean floor. She surfaced first, laughing as Kieran emerged a moment later, looking like a bit like a pitiful puppy, all wide-eyed and flustered.
“Why, you sly little minx!” he said, spitting out a mouthful of seawater. “Fighting dirty like that. That’s cheating and you’ll pay for this very serious crime.”
Lauren giggled. “Oh yeah? Well, you’ll have to catch me first.”
She sprinted forward—at least as much as one could sprint in waist-deep water—towards the beach, Kieran growling behind her. She nearly made it, getting all the way to the shallows before she felt a hand wrap around her ankle and tug, pulling her down. Lauren just barely caught herself on her hands, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of sand.
“Caught you,” Kieran said, propping himself up on his elbows behind her. He tsked his tongue as Lauren tried to crawl forwards, away from him. “Uh uh, I don’t think so, darling. I’m not letting you go that easily, not after that horrendous display of cheating.”
Lauren rolled over onto her back and watched as he crawled forward until he was looming above her. One of his hands traced over her hip and up her waist, his touch delicate. For a moment, Lauren’s breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him and the tenderness pooled in his deep blue eyes. Gods, she loved this man.
But the moment didn’t last long. She didn’t even have time to react to the wicked glint that entered his eyes before the hand that had been so tenderly caressing her turned vicious, tickling without mercy.
“Kieran!” Lauren spluttered, squirming and giggling as he relentlessly attacked all her sensitive spots. She never should have told him she was ticklish.
“Not so fun when the tables are turned, is it?” he asked, still tickling her. “But just say you surrender, that I win, and I’ll show mercy.”
“Never!” Lauren managed to force out in-between breathless gasps. “I don’t negotiate with terrorists!”
“Terrorists?” Kieran echoed, raising an eyebrow. “Please, I’m an assassin, darling. There’s a difference. That’s just plain insulting.”
He kept up his onslaught, Lauren flailing and wriggling in the sand to try and avoid his attack. But she wasn’t about to give up so easily. Summoning up her full strength, Lauren managed to grab his hands, forcing them to still. She knew if Kieran really wanted to, he could easily break free, but his expression softened, the mischief fading from his features, and she released her grip on his wrists.
Kieran placed his arms on either side of her head, propping himself up on his elbows as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss once more, Lauren’s own hands instinctively moving to wrap around his neck.
The kiss was tender, languid almost, as if they had all the time in the world. And so they did, Lauren supposed. The Phantom Scythe was no more. They were both on paid holiday for another full week, where the most pressing decisions they had to make were what type of fruity cocktail they wanted to order from the bar at the resort they were staying at, or which swimsuit to wear that day.
Kieran broke the kiss only when they both needed to draw air, shifting his hands to gently cup her face. “I love you, Lauren.”
Lauren used her grip on the back of Kieran’s neck to roll them over until his back was pressed into the sand, shallow ocean waves lapping up over his legs, and she was on top of him, resting against his chest. She grinned down at him, at the warmth and affection etched into every line of his face, at the messy raven locks framing his face. She was a lucky woman indeed, to be able to call this man hers.
“I love you, too, subordinate.”