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Miranda had been bragging for months to Robin, her former partner, and now supervisor, that the woman she had been dating was incredibly talented and would make a perfect addition to the Sydney Police Force. At first, Robin only nodded and acknowledged the statements, but more often than not, she brushed the blonde word’s aside, knowing how she tended to over-embellish when she really liked someone.
After months of bragging and detailed descriptions of Brienne’s heroism and natural ability for police work, Robin had received the knight’s submission for completing her probationary period of constable work at the Sydney PD. Brienne’s marks at every point of her training were more than exemplary, making it easy for the brunette to add Brienne to her ranks.
Miranda couldn’t contain her excitement at it all. Not only was she dating Brienne, but now she would get to see her at work as well.
The senior constable tugged at Brienne’s hand, pulling her along behind her, “Come on, Bri! The boss is so excited to get to meet you and chat a bit. Finally, she will get to experience your amazingness.”
Brienne, who was still getting used to the new customs of modern times, didn’t really understand the thing about going out drinking with your co-workers after work, especially if you had a shift the next day. Wanting to fit in in the best way that she could, she assented when Miranda suggested they go out to drink with Robin to fraternize and become friendly with her new boss, and the senior constable’s best friend. “Isn’t this kind of unprofessional? Drinking with your superintendent?”
“No, Bri. It’s good to get out and socialize with your peers. Some parts of this job is how well you can work with others, so this is a great chance to show her that you are just as wonderful as I think you are.” Miranda slowed her pace, falling in stride with the knight and relinquishing her hold on Brienne’s hand so she could motion with both hands in front of herself, “But at the end of the day, this is just supposed to be fun, so don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself.”
The knight now turned probationary constable, didn’t understand how she was supposed to be able to have fun with her boss, and at the same time remain professional. “What if she thinks that I’m not competent enough, not serious enough, after this? I really do not want her to get the wrong idea about me… But I did agree to this event.”
As they approached the front door of the bar, Miranda paused, looking to Brienne so as to provide reassurance before they met with Robin. With one hand resting on the door handle, her other raised itself to gingerly adjust the knight’s hair, “Hon, I say this with love. No one would ever accuse you of lacking seriousness. If you want to keep it professional, just ask her about some past cases. If all else fails, you can talk about the weather.”
The Lord Commander quickly glanced through the window into the bar, seeing Robin sitting by the bar, entertaining a glass of something in her hand. She didn’t look as intimidating as Brienne had expected her to, it was mostly the fact that it was her superior that made the knight mildly scared. She wanted to leave a good first impression on her new boss and the person she was dating’s best friend. “Past cases. Weather. Okay. Got it.” The probationary constable looked back at Miranda, a determined look on her face. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
“You’re gonna be great.” Dropping her hand away from Brienne’s face, Miranda opened the door to the establishment, motioning with a tilt of her head for the knight to enter first. The Aussie admired the determination and care Brienne was placing into the coming events, knowing tonight was just as important to Miranda. She was reminded once more of how much she truly adored Brienne, an unmistakable smile spreading on Miranda’s face in response to the thought.
The constable followed behind Brienne as she passed through the door and soon took the lead in approaching Robin. The small brunette greeted Miranda with a soft smile and a nod before tilting her head to the side to get a better look at Brienne, “And this must be the famous Brienne.” Sliding from her bar stool, Robin took a step towards Brienne, stretching out a hand, “It’s good to finally meet you. I regret we haven’t been able to do this sooner.” The superintendent maintained a small smile, her own typical sense of seriousness and professionalism holding firm, even outside of the police station.
The knight’s eyes flicked down to Robin’s reached-out hand, to Miranda, and back to the brunette’s face. She was quite perplexed about why her superior would reach out a hand to greet her. So she did the only thing she knew how to do when greeting those with a higher title than her: she bowed formally. “Superintendant Griffin.” She stood straight before continuing her greeting that she thought ‘appropriate.’ “I am inclined to agree. Constable Hilmarson states that ‘it is good to get out and socialize with your peers,’ and that ‘some parts of this job are how well you can work with others,’ and I wish to do an outstanding job. I have heard many things about you from my courter. Only good things, I assure you.”
Miranda fought the urge to plant her palm against her forehead and gave Brienne a thumbs-up and a weak smile from behind Robin, not wanting to bring down Brienne’s confidence.
The superintendent furrowed her brows at the odd pattern of speech as she dropped her hand off to her side. Robin searched for her next words, a little thrown off by Brienne’s manner of speech, “It’s nice to know Hilmarson can actually find some good things to say about me.” The brunette tossed out some light humor referring to the tumultuous beginning of her own relationship with Miranda, “Miranda hasn’t been able to stop talking about you… The Great Brienne. And now you work for me. I hope you’re as righteous as the constable here says you are.”
Now it was Brienne’s turn to furrow her brows, weren’t they best friends? Some good things? From what she had gathered, friends always had good things to say about each other, in most cases, at least that’s what Miranda had said when she explained the concept of best friends to the knight. This must’ve been one of the sarcastic jokes the senior constable explained Robin liked to make. The Lord Commander stood awkwardly in front of the superintendent, not wanting to take a seat before the two other women had. “Miranda is infamously hyperbolic… Take everything she says about me with a grain of salt. I am not nearly as amazing or fantastic as she says.”
“Your records say otherwise.” Robin gave the knight a nod and a half smile, then turned her torso partially to speak with Miranda and Brienne at the same time, “You ladies care for a drink?” The superintendent didn’t wait for a response when she moved back to the bar, ready to continue nursing her drink. She was making mental notes of the little oddities about Brienne that most certainly made her quite endearing to Miranda.
“You know, Brienne, did I ever tell you about the time Robin and I worked a homicide case with a CEO and his love square of different partners?” The blonde Aussie raised her eyebrows expectantly at the Lord Commander, trying to initiate the conversation between the two women. She saddled up to the bar right of where Robin had been sitting. Desperately she wanted to sit by Brienne, but she opted to sit furthest from her so the superintendent and probationary constable could have their own conversation if needed, “It was an incredible case. That’s when I knew I truly wanted to do detective work.”
The Lord Commander took the free seat on Robin’s left side, ordering a club soda that Miranda had explained was acceptable, would be available, and wouldn’t rouse suspicion with the superintendent. “No, I do not believe you have. Definitely sounds quite intense. How did it play out?”
Robin shook her head for a brief second as she recalled the messy drama around the entire case, “Mistresses, a scorned wife, and a dead rich guy. I don’t think I could have seen more drama on a reality television program. There was so much misleading at the beginning as the women were all pointing fingers at one another.” The superintendent sat up straight in her chair, glancing between Brienne and Miranda as she recalled the case, “Particularly gory crime scene. You could tell that the killer knew the victim, but there was no physical evidence, adding another roadblock.”
Miranda was practically vibrating in her seat as she recalled her own memories from the case, but she kept her mouth shut, hoping if she could talk as little as possible the other two could build a relationship. To distract herself, she turned her attention away from the story and began to chat up the bartender instead, finding this to be a good enough outlet for her social energy.
The knight sipped on her drink as she intently listened to Robin’s regaling, incredibly impressed at both of the women’s police work. To her, it definitely sounded quite complicated with many dead-ends. Now she really needed to know how they ended up solving it, especially with everyone’s contradicting stories and the finger-pointing. “Scorned, and betrayed women are the most ruthless. Who did it end up being? I am mightily curious.”
“Well, let me give you a few more details and we will see if you can solve the case. We find bank statements at his office, his business accounts were all drained a week before his death.” Robin fed off of Brienne’s intrigue, now using her hands to gesture and emphasize her words, “None of his romantic interests had access, yet his business partner says he knows nothing. We find him dead in his home office, his own letter opener was used to seal his fate, stabbed nearly 20 times. The mistresses claimed they had alibis, the wife was apparently out of town, and the business partner was in a meeting. Now, Tarth, who do you think did it?”
Mulling over the information she had been fed, Brienne used her intuition to put all the pieces together. Eventually, she landed on a possible answer that she felt would be the most probable theory. “I think it was a team of two. The business partner and one of the women, whose idea it was, I couldn’t possibly know. Then when she had the money, she betrayed her co-conspirator by killing him as well to ensure there were no loose ends. He didn’t expect the betrayal since he trusted her. The murder was obviously not pre-meditated considering she used a weapon of convenience. Perhaps some sort of argument broke out and she realized she had to rid herself of him so he wouldn’t end up giving them both up, or end up killing her and taking the money for himself. Kill or be killed…”
“I’m impressed, Tarth. I hadn’t even supplied you with the possibility of two killers, yet you are open-minded enough to see all the possibilities. You will make a great constable. It was the wife and the business partner. They had been having a years-long affair.” Robin leaned back in her chair, looking over the knight’s face. Part of her wondered if Miranda had actually told her about the case beforehand, but conversations of Brienne’s immense integrity put that theory to rest, “Let’s quiz you on another case.”
Brienne gave a humble and grateful smile to Robin at her compliments. “It was the only theory that made sense with the information you gave me.” The knight then brought her glass up to her lips again to take a sip, ready for the new stream of facts about another case for her to work out.
Miranda’s conversation with the bartender ended as she moved on to help other patrons. Her attention settled back on Brienne as Robin regaled her with more closed cases, supplying minor details and having the Lord Commander work them out herself. At first, Miranda was more distracted by her own admiration of Brienne’s face, the way her brow creased as she thought, and the seriousness that typically settled across her features. With her chin resting in her hand, Miranda’s admiration flowed to thoughts of her knight’s dedication to her work, knowing she would make a dedicated partner as well.
“Now here is a challenge for you, Tarth. Let me set the scene, we find a corpse in a suitcase-” Robin began to only swiftly be silenced by Miranda.
The constable’s emotions were only strengthening, she was desperately in love with Brienne, and the fact they hadn’t made their relationship official yet was clawing at the constable’s insides. All of which culminated into her cutting Robin off with a nervous interjection, “Will you be my girlfriend?” Miranda’s eyes were trained on Brienne’s face, her eyes pleading with the knight to say yes.
At Miranda’s interjection, Robin turned to look at the senior constable, and Brienne lifted her eyes slightly, gazing at the blonde Aussie over the brunette’s head. She gently smiled before giving her answer. “I would love to be your girlfriend.” The knight then focused her attention back on the superintendent, as if her answer was the most obvious thing in the world.
Robin shook off her confusion when she reminded herself of the nervous excitement Miranda always used when going on her long Brienne-themed tangents. She knew she shouldn’t be shocked by the random interjection, so she continued back in on her story, wanting Brienne to see if she could crack the case that brought her and Miranda together.
The constable’s gaze fell down to the wooden surface of the bar, a blush wildly spreading across her face and creeping up to her ears. She couldn’t be happier with Brienne’s response. The best Miranda could do at that moment was to internalize her excitement, knowing as soon as she and Brienne were in private, she would ask the knight for a kiss. She couldn’t help but stare lovingly as Robin and Brienne continued their back and forth, discussing the intricacies of casework.
It wasn’t until Robin checked her watch that she realized how late it had gotten, “So sorry ladies. I didn’t mean to take up your entire night. We should wrap this up as I know Hilmarson over here works a double tomorrow.”
The knight was surprised at how fast the time had passed, not expecting to have as much fun as she did. She really could see what Miranda saw in Robin that made them so close, even if she was her superior. “No need for apologies. I had a very joyous time. And I will make sure that Hilmarson here gets home and into bed on time. She’ll be at work tomorrow spry as a, whatever the saying is.”
“I don’t doubt that whatsoever.” Robin chose to give Brienne a small bow, rather than attempting another handshake. Slipping from her barstool, she collected her belongings and pulled some cash from her pocket, leaving it on the bar for the bartender. The superintendent’s eyes fell on Miranda, speaking as her best friend, “I like your girlfriend, Hilmarson.”
“Me too,” Miranda responded, smiling, not at Robin, but at Brienne.
Brienne said her goodbyes to Robin before the superintendent left, stating that she would see her tomorrow for orientation, and to be on time. When the brunette had left, the knight approached Miranda, an amused smile on her lips. “Okay, girlfriend, let’s get you home so you can get the sleep you need. Your timing is always so interesting. I find it endearing that you really couldn’t keep it in.”
Miranda couldn’t help herself when she discreetly took one of Brienne’s hands between her own, “You were just so cute sitting there talking to Robin. I couldn’t help myself when I was reminded of how much I truly… like you. Plus I’ve been wanting to call you my girlfriend for, like, ever.” She gave the knight’s hand a final squeeze before relinquishing her grip, not wanting to make Brienne uncomfortable from any extended PDA. Jumping from her bar stool, she scrunched her nose when she looked up at the knight, speaking with a teasing tone, “Take me home, girlfriend.”
“Would be my pleasure, my Lady,” Brienne spoke gallantly as she held out a hand for Miranda to take, the other formally hidden behind her back. All in all, the night turned out to be quite a success.
The constable took the knight’s hand with immense pleasure, intertwining their fingers as a form of securing their hands together. She fell into stride with Brienne as they walked from the bar, a permanent smile fixing itself on Miranda’s lips. Mumbling to herself giddily, the constable squeezed Brienne’s hand a little tighter, “I have a girlfriend…”