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It's not every day that Ema Skye looks into her bag and fails to find something she needs. She always has all the necessary—and many unnecessary—tools for fingerprint, bloodstain, DNA, and toxicology analysis on her person. Even less-used instruments like a footprint detector and a portable X-ray machine are simply tucked in at the bottom of her bag in case of emergencies. She even bothers with human necessities like bottled water, sunscreen, antibacterial gel, and, of course, Snackoos.
That last category is her weakest, though, and it's the one biting her in the ass today. After spending all day in the forensics lab, where the things filling her bag to bursting are unnecessary because they come provided, Ema prepared to leave work. She said goodbye to her co-workers, told the second shifters not to mess with her samples, and then headed to the lobby to learn something unfortunate.
Monsoon season has hit California early, and a rather large storm has rolled in to make everyone aware of that fact. It's not particularly intense, sliding between a quarter inch and a third inch of rainfall per hour, but the length makes up for that. One look at the weather channel has revealed that the storm is expected to keep up until the early hours of tomorrow morning, and looking at dark clouds through the windows, Ema’s inclined to believe that.
In concept, Ema wouldn't hesitate to walk home through the below-average level of rain intensity, but there’s a fifteen-thousand dollar problem with that idea. As in, Ema has fifteen thousand dollars worth of delicate forensics equipment in her bag that could be irreparably damaged by just a bit of water getting into it, and she forgot to bring an umbrella.
Without any real recourse, Ema has been confined to the lobby of the police station for the foreseeable future. Her phone is dead, her sister has her car, and she's a tad bit too paranoid to leave her stuff here and assume no one will intentionally or unintentionally steal her personal equipment. Realistically, Ema’s only hope is for someone to come-.
“Hiya!”
“Ahh!”
There's a sudden and intense shot of pain through Ema's head. The neurons in her brain are frozen for a hazy second, but as that sensation fades, it dawns on Ema that she's half laid out on the ground after rolling off her chair in surprise. She can feel the straps of her upside-down bag wrapped around her legs and her things spread around her, but attempting to assess the damage just sends a blistering shot of pain through Ema's eyes and into her brain.
“Mmm! Fuck you. Okay.” Ema separates her clenched teeth before letting out a breath that fades into a sprint of words. “Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine-. Alright, well, I don’t think I have a concussion.”
“That’s good. Also, I’m sorry. I wasn't expecting that to happen when I said hi.”
Ema could answer that familiar voice immediately, but the need to isn't there. That woman can wait in silence while Ema takes a moment to catch her breath and clear away the stars spinning around her head. When Ema feels good enough to move her eyes again, she finds a familiar black ponytail and follows it back to its owner's face.
“Hi, Kay.”
Kay, otherwise known as Prosecutor Faraday, the Great Thief Yatagarasu, and Ema's girlfriend, is kneeling beside her. One of her hands is over her knees, while the other is extended to offer Ema help. While part of her wants to be petty and not accept it, Ema eventually places her hand in Kay's and is gently turned over and brought to rest on her knees.
“Hi.” Kay waives at Ema once she's upright, her face bouncing between a mix of positive and negative emotions she clearly isn't in charge of. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“Relatively, yeah. Probably going to have this migraine for a week, though.” When Ema sees Kay’s face settle on a frown, she weakly slaps the other girl's arm. “Hey, as far as prosecutors giving me migraines goes, that’s on the lower end of the spectrum. I mean, hell, I have to forget that the fop exists for the ones he gives me to go away.”
Kay’s snicker is stuck in a muddy place between genuine and performative. “Right. I’m just glad you didn’t hurt your head too badly. Can’t, um-. Our bed-.”
“SHHH!” Ema places a quieting finger in front of her and Kay’s lips so fast that her girlfriend seems genuinely shocked. “We. Are. In. Public.”
Kay’s confusion turns to a wry smile as her eyes dart around the empty lobby. “We are also the only people here, and even if we weren’t, no one could’ve heard me whispering to you.”
While that may be true, Ema doesn't have to respect it. If it were any other month, she would, but Ema is currently pursuing a raise and is doing her best to see it approved. No more unauthorized overtime in the forensics lab; no more behavioural marks for being rude to her co-workers; no more PDA with the prosecutor girlfriend that her police contract specifically outlaws her from having.
And, though she's aware it's insane to be worried about simply acknowledging them right now, that doesn't quiet the alarm bells in Ema's head. “I know, but you can put up with my crazy right now, can’t you, Kay?”
“Well, I mean…” Kay pops her shoulders, her head sways, and her smile becomes brighter. “…crazy is a pretty strong word, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ema nods along to Kay’s words and finds herself beginning to smile. She catches sight of chemical vials at the bottom of her vision and turns her full attention to them. “Okay, I need to get all my stuff back in my bag, and you need to help me because this is all your fault.”
“I mean, I’d help regardless, but sure, guilt trip me about it.”
Ema rolls her eyes. “Because you love me.”
“There you go.”
Ema and Kay begin to work with a disorganized familiarity. Ema’s things are collected in an odd order by odd hands; their arms double and triple cross over each other for reasons with no visual explanation—reasons only the two of them could understand. Experience, love, and unity are the words, but they don't carry the weight of a task done a thousand times with your mirrored soul.
Kay is carefully balancing vials in the open-air edges of Ema's bag as they finish, while Ema just stares at her. There's a hit of a furrowed brow and a bitten lip as she concentrates on getting this perfect, and Ema finds herself drifting towards Kay. Their lips are only inches apart, Kay looks up at her and smiles, and-.
“Ahh!”
“Oww….”
Ema can feel the stinging in her hand down to the bone, though perhaps she should be more concerned with the sting Kay is feeling. A bright, scarlet handprint marks her cheek, and a flabbergasted look defines the rest of her face.
Ema flings her hands over her mouth to suppress the embarrassed scream she makes. “Fuck. I am so sorry!”
“It’s-agh.” Kay flexes the muscles in her jaw, trying to control them enough to open her mouth and speak. “It's not nice to slap people, Ema. Especially when you’re the one trying to kiss them.”
“I know. I know. That was such a stupid, impulsive thing to do.” Ema lowers her forehead all the way to the ground as she bows and apologizes. “I’m so sorry, babe.”
“Okay, please pick yourself up. It weirds me out when you bow to me, even if seeing you turn towards your Japanese roots to show me how deeply sorry you are is cute.” Kay waits until Ema’s eyes are level with hers again to continue. “So, point one, I’m putting crazy back on the table.”
“Yeah, that’s fair.”
Kay snickers in response, dragging a small laugh from Ema along with her. “Point two, if you want to make it up to me, how about you kiss my cheek better?”
“Not at the police station. You know, not at the police station.” Assuming Kay plans on playing coy about this, Ema preemptively tilts her head toward the security camera in the corner.
“Mmm.” Kay stands up, one hand noticeably sliding behind her back. “Okay, fine. I know your job is important to you, and I don’t wanna get you in trouble. So… if I take you off sight, will you k-i-s-s me?”
As Kay finishes, a black umbrella suddenly appears behind her shoulder and folds out. A sound, half-chuckle and half-snort, comes out of Ema before her words. “Do you just carry an umbrella in your ass sack?”
“Normally, no. But some scientists invented this thing called ‘the weather forecast.’ I don’t really understand how it works, but it’s great for finding out that it's going to rain before you leave home.”
“Yeah, just make fun of me.” Ema’s voice drips sarcasm as she grabs her bag and stands up.
“You slapped me. For something that was your fault.”
“Yeah, just make fun of me.” Ema closes her eyes, gently nodding her head in approval.
“Oh my god…”
Kay’s laughing as she throws an arm over Ema’s shoulder and leads her to the door. She centres the umbrella on Ema rather than herself, ensuring Ema and her bag are thoroughly protected, even though it means a bit of water falls on Kay's far shoulder. Ema says a small 'thank you' as she wraps her arms around Kay's and leans into her side.
It's brushed off as nothing before Kay leads Ema into talking about her day. Ema spills out any case details and scientific processes that interested her today, with confidentiality slowly fading the farther they get from the police station. There's nothing in there that Kay hasn't heard at least four times from Ema over the nine years they've known each other, but she still treasures sharing Ema's passion like it's the first time.
Twenty minutes into what should only be a fifteen-minute walk home, Ema stops again. When she's done that before, it's been to pull visual aids for Kay from her bag, but this time, she just sets her hands on her hips and looks into Kay’s eyes.
“Ema.”
“Katherine.”
“That’s not-.” Kay laughs. “My name isn’t short for anything. You-oh.”
Ema threads two fingers through Kay’s belt loops to pull her against her, a smile affixed to her lips as she speaks. “Kay, I think we’re far enough from the police station for me to kiss you better.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah…”
Kay turns her cheek to show the already completely faded slap mark, and Ema leans forward. Her lips are prepared to taste Kay's skin, but then there's the sudden sensation of a rush of air and water landing on her head and shoulder. Ema freezes at the sudden cold, only to be granted a sudden spark of warmth by the finger under her chin and the lips pressed against her own.
A heavy pour of rain beats down on them, but it's impossible to feel the cold with the warmth flowing between their lips. Ema places her right hand on Kay's neck, and though she can't physically pull Kay closer, the depth of feeling becomes even more impactful. They wax and wane against one another, moved in small ways by the rain and wind and in much larger ones by a desire for air that never lines up with when her girlfriend wants to keep kissing.
Water moulds their hair and clothes to their bodies, excluding Ema’s left shoulder, where the umbrella rests to protect her bag. Ema, meanwhile, moulds her body to Kay's, legs eventually wrapping around Kay's hips and arms around her neck when she finally takes the hint and lifts Ema into her arms. Ema secures the umbrella between her and Kay’s chests before finally pulling out of the kiss.
“A kiss in the rain? Really?” Ema tries to smirk at Kay, but it keeps getting overwritten by her smile.
“What?” Kay’s lips tread across the outline of Ema’s jaw. “Do you not have a bucket list of sappy, cliché romantic activities for us to do?”
“I do. Mine is just a little more… adult than yours.” Ema moves her mouth to sensually whisper into Kay’s ear. “Say, warming up after a cold day by having sex by the fireplace.”
A very hot blush works its way through Kay’s rain-chilled cheeks. “Would you mind me carrying you the rest of the way home?”
Ema only has a few words before pressing her lips back to Kay’s. “Just don’t rush too fast. I want to savour your idea a little longer.”