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Fischer had known that Gaby was up to something from the minute that he had walked into the office that morning. And not just that she was up to something, but that Ingrid was involved as well. The two of them had been exchanging conspiratorial glances whenever he and La Cour were near each other. It was bloody weird, and it was setting Fischer on edge. They weren't doing it to IP, which just made him even more suspicious. He had hoped that they would calm down as the morning progressed but, if anything, they became worse. La Cour had made an early escape, spouting some feeble excuse that had Fischer glaring at him, to which La Cour had simply shrugged with that half-smile of his as he slipped out of the door.
It actually got to the point, mid-afternoon, where Fischer had gone out to interview some people for cases that weren’t remotely urgent, but it was a damn sight better than sitting under the scrutiny of Gaby and Ingrid. He'd walked into La Cour outside, the other DI walking up to him as Fischer lit another cigarette.
“You off out?”
“I’m going mad with the whispering and the staring. Figured I’d make a break for it and go and try to do a couple of interviews for cold cases. Anything is better than being stuck in there; Gaby’s driving me crazy with all her whispering and giggling. You going to brave the mad women?”
“I don’t really have a choice; I’ll have to brave them. Wish me luck!”
(~*~)
Unfortunately for Fischer, he couldn’t stay away for the whole day so, after only a couple of hours out and more cigarettes than usual, he found himself returning to the office. One glance at Gaby and the way that she perked up told him that she hadn’t let up once in the time that he’d been gone. Pausing by La Cour’s desk, he rested a hand against his back and spoke quietly.
“How has she been?”
“Incessant. I just wish I knew what she was up to. Whatever it is, Ingrid’s in on it.”
“I know. I suppose we should admire her tenacity but I can’t quite bring myself to.”
Before La Cour could reply, Gaby clapped her hands together, startling them both. “Mistletoe! Would you look at that. And you’re both under it so you know what that means… kiss. You know you want to! Kiss, kiss, kiss!”
Gaby chanted as Ingrid looked on almost indulgently, while IP chuckled. Her actions didn’t quite have the intended response though. La Cour stood up so fast that his chair fell to the floor before he bolted from the mobile office and, as the door banged shut behind him, Fischer exploded.
"What the fuck was that, Gaby?"
"I'm sorry. We just thought ... I mean, both of you are single and it seemed as though you were dancing around each other. We were talking about it and thought that, well, that you just needed a bit of a push."
Fischer raked a hand through his hair and resisted the urge to slam his fist into the wall. “Have you not just seen what a bit of a push has done? Yes, we’ve been dancing around each other but it’s been for precisely this reason. It isn’t as simple as sticking us under a piece of mistletoe; it’s not just about La Cour and I, we have the children to think of as well as everyone else.”
“Fischer, I’m…”
“Just save it, Gaby. I get that you’re all loved up with Johnny and I’m happy for you but that doesn’t mean you get to interfere with the rest of us. And you, Ingrid, you shouldn’t have been encouraging him! Now, I’m going to try and fix this mess. Don’t expect either of us back today.”
Shrugging on his leather jacket and grabbing his cigarettes and lighter, Fischer stood and walked out of the office, raising a hand to quell any protests from both Gaby and Ingrid. He should have guessed that this was what they were up to. Mistletoe. Bloody Gaby and her bloody meddling. He hadn’t been lying to Gaby; both he and La Cour knew that they were dancing around this whole thing, their attraction to each other. They’d simply never discussed it, yet known precisely what the other was thinking, in that way they had always had. In truth, it had probably always been simmering away under the surface but, well, there had been Mille and Victor, then Ida, and then Helene and Marie; it had never seemed right.
He was fully prepared to have to go searching for La Cour but, when he made it outside, he didn’t have to. Instead of having run off as Fischer feared, La Cour was still there, leaning against his car with a tense set to his shoulders. Fischer fought the urge to light a cigarette and steeled himself for the conversation that he knew they had to have; Gaby had brought this all out into the open and there was going to be no avoiding it. If she’d fucked everything up for the two of them then, much as he loved her, he was going to kill her. Sticking his hands in his pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking, he walked over to La Cour and slumped next to him against the car.
“So…” when nothing was forthcoming from La Cour, Fischer ploughed on. “Look, it’s not my fault Gaby thought it’d be a good idea to string mistletoe up and catch us underneath it.”
“I’m not blaming you, Fischer. There’s more than an element of truth to what Gaby said; I know I want to kiss you and I’m fairly certain the feelings are reciprocated. I just didn’t want it to happen in front of the entire team under some mistletoe as a direct result of Gaby’s machinations.”
The knot in Fischer’s chest loosened and he could breathe a little easier. “And what about the kids? Our ex’s?”
“I’m not suggesting that we print wedding announcements. I’m saying we maybe give this a go and see what happens.”
“You’re trusting that I’m not going to fuck this up like I did with Mille and Ida?”
“If you do, then I’ll take you out.”
Fischer gave a bark of laughter. “If I remember rightly, I beat you nine times out of ten in the gym.”
“We’d better not fuck this up then.”
Fischer moaned quietly at hearing the expletive in La Cour’s cultured tones and suddenly realised that he’d been swaying into La Cour’s personal space during their familiar back and forth. Always the impulsive one, the next time that he swayed into La Cour, he twined his fingers into the slightly taller man’s overcoat and stretched the necessary inch to reach La Cour’s mouth. It wasn’t the most passionate first kiss that Fischer had ever had but it was the only one that had felt right. Judging by the small smile on La Cour’s face and the way his thumb brushed across Fischer’s bottom lip when they pulled apart, he felt the same way.
Lips quirking ever so slightly, Fischer flicked his eyes towards the office. “You do realise that we’ve still managed to do this in front of the entire team? There’s no way that they won’t have been peering out of the window.”
“Then I suggest we take this elsewhere. What do you think?”
“Your car or mine?”