DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not getting paid for this, just for fun et cetera.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for the International Day of Femslash's 2013 Revive a Fandom Challenge.
FEEDBACK: To details.of.your.incompetence[at]gmail.com
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
An Air of Secrecy
By kats_blues
"So this is where you spend your free time instead of sleeping in."
"Says the over-achieving insomniac." C.J. doesn't turn around at Kate's voice; she has learned her lesson with treadmills. Instead she pushes the button to slow the machine down, almost reluctant to meet the day that is waiting for her. "Yes, this is my precious hour of me-time, where I can run and… do stuff. Until I get interrupted by an emergency." The treadmill comes to a stop, and trying to maintain some dignity while her hair is sticking to her face in all the wrong places, C.J. grabs her towel and steps off the treadmill. "So what is it? Another crisis is Kazakhstan or its neighbors? I do have a beeper, you know."
"No emergency." Kate shakes her head at that, grins slyly up at the taller woman. "But Toby mentioned you and a treadmill yesterday, and I just had to see it for myself. You know, evidence and all that." She actually has the audacity to look C.J. over from head to toe.
The taller woman only hopes the heat she can feel rising in her cheeks is hidden by her post-workout glow. "Right. I bet there's a whole newspaper issue devoted to my morning routine, so there's no need for further proof I'd say." She almost rolls her eyes to make a point, but the past has told her that she is a lot more intimidating when she keeps her face straight, so she tries that approach now. It doesn't work though, she realizes; Kate follows her to the locker room nonetheless.
"Yes, but there's an article about your alleged homosexual agenda, too, and you told everyone and their great-grandmother not to believe that, either."
Kate almost bumps into her back when C.J. stops dead in her tracks at that. "I beg your pardon?" Her whispered response is just this side of a hysterical shriek. She turns around slowly, only to find Kate still grinning at her. "This, no, really, you cannot…"
"It was a joke, C.J.," and it is Kate's turn to roll her eyes this time. The half-heartedly concealed hunger that is lurking beneath, though, is making C.J.'s skin tingle in all the right places, and it takes all her willpower not to lean just the slightest bit forward and wipe that grin off the other woman's face.
"Please tell me you're not trying to kiss me right in front the locker room in your favorite fitness center," Kate whispers, her right index finger pointing in the general direction of the security camera she is sure C.J. hasn't noticed before. "You know, C.J.? Part of what keeps me coming back for more is this air of secrecy that surrounds us," Kate admits before pulling her into the locker room.
This time, C.J. is sure, there is nothing to hide the deep blush on her cheeks.
The End