BACK TO THE GRIND [ Police Station / OPEN]

[jamesthorn]

Normal people aren't like James. He is happier when he's at work, getting things done. He likes the focus, likes his cases. He likes his co-workers, most of the time, when Grant wasn't waving Cornettos in his face, Alex kept her feet off the desk, and June didn't traipse through the station to flirt with Levi. This afternoon, though, his first day back to duty following his kidnapping, he isn't handling it all that well. He is overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork sitting on his desk; Levi really hadn't been lying about everyone just leaving it all safe and sound for him. His desk looks like it hasn't been touched in weeks, except for people just piling things in his chair. A pile he dumped on the floor next to his feet once he'd arrived, a pile that would likely still be there a month from now.

That was hours ago. He is still attempting to just make it through his e-mail inbox and his phone messages as most of them aren't practically incomprehensible. He doesn't even know where to start with this to get back into the mindset. He places his head in his hands for a few seconds, attempting to scrub away the brain fog. He removes his hands and blinks at the computer screen.

Maybe he thought he would just pick back up where he left off, but it's obvious he's going to need a short reintroduction to all of this. Though there's a tiny voice in the back of his mind shouting at him that the job isn't the reason. He is brilliant at his job; he knows what to do. No, if he was being real with himself, he would know his brain fog is due to Moira freaking Coombs and the night he'd spent with her. He shakes that thought away quickly, or tries too, and goes back to his e-mail.

Comments

[secretarialsiren]

Alex sits up a little straighter, curious now. She was a glutton for gossip and this sounded interesting. "You're dating someone now? Do tell me more," she grins.

[tarnishedbadge]

"After several long days of pursuit, I've allowed Lara Quinn the pleasure of dating me," he told Alex. Levi wasn't sure if she knew who Lara was but he figured she could find out pretty quickly if she didn't.

[secretarialsiren]

Alex's eyebrow shoots up in disbelief. She knows who Lara is. As a siren herself, even one in hiding, she's had her run ins. Not to mention the amount of time, not so much money as she prefers to have people buy her drinks for her, she's spent at her club.

"Lara Quinn. Really? Never took her for the relationship type, honestly."

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi didn't miss how high Alex's eyebrows rose when he mentioned who it was. It was exactly the sort of response he would have expected, to be honest, although mostly for the fact that he was dating way above his station in a lot of ways.

"Apparently I'm quite the catch," he said. Neither he nor Lara would admit outright that they were kind if crazy for each other in all of the annoyingly cute ways. "I am phenomenal arm candy."

[secretarialsiren]

"Ha!" she snorts, shaking her head as her voice takes on a teasing tone. "So, what witch did you bribe to charm her for you?"

[tarnishedbadge]

"All of them," he admitted with a wistful sigh and a far away look in his eyes.

"Every single witch in town spelled her so that she wouldn't be madly attracted to me but apparently she wanted me too badly to let that stop her."

[secretarialsiren]

Alex chucks a new pen at his head with a snort. "Does the SCPD attract men with big heads or do the men get big heads once they join the SCPD?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm going to have to look into this. Or... Oh god. Maybe it's me. I naturally draw in big headed losers! I'm a menace to society!"

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi bobbed to the side and let the pen fly by, probably hitting some poor soul walking behind him. That was their fault for being within pen range of Alex too.

"We had a meeting a while ago. All of us with big heads, and we picked you to hang out with. Unanimous decision, because for some mystical reason you're not attracted to any of us, so in retaliation we annoy you."

[secretarialsiren]

"Oh, please." She flicks her hair over a shoulder, an action absolutely filled to the brim with disdain. "I know you're all giant dweebs at heart. I don't do dates with dweebs. I just accept them under my wings and try to drive them all insane for my own amusement."

[tarnishedbadge]

"That doesn't stop us from hopelessly pining away for you," Levi pointed out. Accepting them under her wings and trying to drive them all insane did sound a lot like Alex. In a good way.

[secretarialsiren]

"I know, I know," she tuts. "But I feed on your hopeless devotion to me. And it's always nice to have you all around when I need a date for one of the many tiresome functions I'm invited to. Plus, watching you pine after James is like, a never ending source of amusement."

[tarnishedbadge]

"We do make fantastic arm candy, don't we?" Levi said. In Siren Cove there were a lot of different functions to get invited to and a lot of them were very tiresome.

"Well, I think I might give up on him soon. I've used all the wiles I have and he's just not getting the hint."

[secretarialsiren]

"You do! Not as fantastic as Grant but that's a lot to live up to," she shrugs as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I'll be here with ice cream and chick flicks if you need them."

[tarnishedbadge]

"You think Grant looks better than me? That cuts deep, Alex. What do I have if not my good looks? I mean, besides my charming personality?" he said with a grin. For a brief moment he wondered if there was something there with Grant but then realized she probably wouldn't have mentioned if there was.

"And be careful, I might take you up on that offer. Ice cream is delicious."

[secretarialsiren]

"Listen, I'm not saying you're not attractive, okay? It's just... have you ever seen Grant? Have you seen his ass??" She gives him a very intense look over her glasses, trying to get her point across. "His ass beats out any other dude in this town. It's just a fact."

"Take me up on it any time, dude. I will use any excuse to get ice cream, especially if I can get it for free."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Clearly I need to wear tighter pants," Levi said with a laugh, not offended at all about how much Alex seemed to really like Grant's ass. Levi would have to mention that to the other cop when he thought of it.

"Oh no, I'm the one that will need consoling, you should be paying for ice cream."

[secretarialsiren]

"Please do. Everyone around here needs to wear tighter pants. Except maybe Jerry. His pants are already way too tight," she shudders, pulling a face.

"Oh please. I get other people to pay for my ice cream. Any ice cream I feed you will be paid for by the batting of my eyelashes and a sob story that makes the man who pays feel like a hero."

[tarnishedbadge]

"I will be sure to send out a memo to the rest of the department acquiescing to your wishes," Levi told her. It would be kind of funny to actually send that out. Maybe he would.

"That is absolutely disgusting and I'm envious of you. No one ever buys me ice cream when I bat my eyelashes."

[secretarialsiren]

"Please do. It's of the utmost importance."

Alex bats her eyelashes at him with a wolfish grin. "Turn into an absolute babe and maybe someone will. But you have to have really good acting skills too. You need a sob story to go with the lashes."

[tarnishedbadge]

"I don't know, that seems terribly sexist of you. I'm pretty sure I should report you to HR."

Not that he would. No one wanted Alex to stop being Alex. That's why they liked her so much, because she was Alex.

"And I could become a babe. Also, I have a dead mother, or is that too much of a sob story?"

[secretarialsiren]

"Please. HR loves me. Now, if you reported me to James, something might actually happen. Doubtfully though," she says with a painfully smug smirk. She knows she can get away with a lot of shit others might not and, while she'd never do anything to actually cause real trouble, she enjoys exercising her lack of restraint too much to stop any time soon.

"If you're going to become a babe, do we at least get a totally sweet makeover montage? And dead mother works. You'll have to work out how it made you forget your money at home though."

[tarnishedbadge]

"I would never report you to James. James is the killer of fun."

Levi didn't actually think that, not completely, but it was fun to give him shit about it. Also, it wasn't worth the risk of having something actually done about Alex.

"Of course there's a makeover montage. And I think I'd just go with daddy issues because then the excuse doesn't matter, he'll assume he's getting lucky no matter what."

[secretarialsiren]

"Gooood, I know, right? Like, let your hair down. Go have a few drinks and bang a random stranger in the alley or something." She'd raised her voice a tiny bit, always loving a chance to rib James and to very likely make him start blushing in his office. Alex discussing his sex life was a sure way to make that happen.

"See? Now you're getting it. Just lure them in with the damsel in distress act and a little potential coitus-ing and they're buying you all the rocky road you can carry."

[tarnishedbadge]

"The first time he banged a random stranger in an alley, James would knock them up," Levi mused. It seemed like the sort of terrible luck someone who never let loose would have. Almost amusing except for the child part.

"And then when I shut them down and they get insistent, I reveal that my daddy issues are actually that he's a retired Marine and forced me to compete in underground-UFC style matches and leave the guy with a broken dick."

[secretarialsiren]

"God, he totally would. And then he'd have a heart attack trying to figure out how to go back in time to stop himself," she snorts. "I'll warn him next time I see him not to go banging strangers in alleys."

Alex leans forward at her desk, resting her chin on her hands with a happy sigh. "You learn so fast. I'm so proud. If I had the ability to cry, I would be, I promise you."