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“You don’t look like a PubSec officer,” Seth grumbled, letting his head drop down onto his hand that was propped up against the table. “Or act like one. How was I supposed to know?!” His ears twitched in barely-disguised embarrassment, as if they were attempting to lay flat against his head.
Jane giggled. “You weren’t, Seth. That’s the point of deep cover, isn’t it?” She flicked out her tail and lifted one hand to blow on her freshly painted nails; she’d chipped them while fighting Razor, and so had decided that repainting them would be her gift to herself for a job well done. “Really, I don’t think you have anything to be ashamed of. You did a wonderful job, for being left in the dark, and I was deeply impressed with your show of character.”
“I— uh—” Seth’s cheeks were burning bright red, and his ears shot straight up in surprise. “Um— thank you? But, really, it was all thanks to you—”
“Public Security is commending both of you,” Qingyi interrupted, suddenly breaking her silence from the other end of the table. “There’s no need to dwell on the details. And you’re being unprofessional, Officer Seth.”
Seth ducked his head, sheepishly. “Ah— of course, Officer Qingyi, I’m sorry.” But he still looked back over at Jane, his tail rippling underneath the table. “I just really can’t imagine you in a PubSec uniform—”
Jane laughed again. “In all honesty, neither can I. That’s why I picked a job where I don’t have to wear one.” And she stood up, briefly straightening her tie and blowing on her other set of nails before extending a hand to Seth. “How about I make it up to you by taking you for some milk tea, and you can be as unprofessional as you’d like?” She shot a smile in Qingyi’s direction. “Unless Officer Qingyi has any objections.”
In her usual even, measured tones, Qingyi responded, “Fraternization between Public Security officers is strictly prohibited,” and tilted her head slightly, as if she were studying the two of them.
“Well, I’m not an officer, and I don’t intend to ‘fraternize’.” Jane gestured for Seth to get up, watching him continue to stare at her outstretched hand. “Oh, come on, Officer Seth. Don’t tell me they’ve scheduled you for duty today, after your experience with the Mountain Lions?”
“...no, I have the week off,” Seth half-mumbled, before gingerly taking Jane’s hand and letting her yank him to his feet. “Woah—! Shoot, Jane, I knew you were strong, but I didn’t realize— how does a criminal behaviour specialist get so fit—?”
Jane shrugged, letting Seth’s hand drop from her grip as she turned around, gave a nod to Qingyi, and strolled towards the door of the conference room. “Give Captain Zhu Yuan my regards,” she told Qingyi, ignoring Seth’s question, “and make sure that nobody thinks this little kitty has gotten himself kidnapped again, hm?”
Qingyi nodded. “Of course, Ms Jane,” she replied, as Seth began to splutter, sounding affronted, but neither of them acknowledged him. “Enjoy your outing.”
Jane smiled, and dipped her head to the officer. “Thank you, Officer Qingyi. Have a good afternoon.” Then, she turned back to Seth, whose face was as red as tomato, and beckoned him again, making use of her tail. “Well? Are you just going to stand there, Officer?”
Seth shot Qingyi a desperate look, which she seemed oblivious to. “Uh— no, ma’am,” he conceded, hurriedly, and he bolted after her with the expression of an anxious kitten.
With a smirk, Jane told him, “Please, just call me Jane,” and escorted him out of the room with a firm hand on the small of his back.
“Okay,” Seth squeaked, visibly jumping as she touched him, to Jane’s amusement. She paused for a moment to close the door behind them, and when she looked back, Seth was staring at her. “Qingyi is right,” he said, hesitantly. “PubSec officers aren’t supposed to… uh—”
Jane lifted an eyebrow. “We’re only getting some milk tea after a shared experience,” she pointed out, calmly pretending that she didn’t find Seth’s embarrassment as entertaining as she did. “I wouldn’t classify that as fraternizing, would you?” She stepped closer, letting her tail unwind behind her to accentuate her body. “I fear you’ve misunderstood my intentions, Seth.”
“I— oh, god, I’m sorry, Jane, I didn’t mean—” By some feat of biology, Seth’s face managed to get redder, and Jane couldn’t stop herself from bursting out laughing the moment he began attempting to rectify the situation he believed himself to be in. “Wait, why— what’s so funny?!”
“I’m only messing with you, kitty,” Jane purred, patting Seth on the shoulder as his eyes grew imperceptibly larger. “It’s not my fault that you’re just so fun to tease.” And she began walking down the hallway, only momentarily glancing back over her shoulder to watch Seth regain control of his body.
“H—hey!” Seth exclaimed, finally finding his voice again as he raced after her. “I was really a hostage, you know! I had to get a psychiatric evaluation and a physical exam for Ether corruption! It’s not funny to tease someone that just went through a traumatic experience!”
“Really? I thought such a tough PubSec officer as yourself would see it differently.” Jane grinned, sidling up against the front door and wrapping her hand around the bar in preparation to push it open. “Qingyi would call it a learning opportunity. Zhu Yuan would call it valuable field experience. I would call it… just another day on the job.” She shrugged nonchalantly, letting her expression drop back to neutral. “But I suppose you’re just not as tough as I thought you were.”
“Why, you— Jane, you— now, who’s being unprofessional?!” Seth demanded, halting in the middle of the atrium to glare at her, the fur on his tail puffed up in a show of hostility. “I’m just as tough as anybody else in PubSec! Tougher, even! I offered myself up as a hostage, didn’t I?!”
Jane raised her free hand, palm up, and flexed her fingers twice in a ‘bring it’ motion. “Go ahead and prove it, then. I won’t tell. You can simply report some… routine combat training.”
“You’re on!” In a flash, Seth crossed the atrium with several long strides, before leaping into a feline pounce, hands outstretched. Jane could have easily stepped out of the way, but that wasn’t what she wanted; instead, she let Seth crash into her with a furious yowl, and the door gave way behind her, causing both of them to tumble down the front steps of the Public Security HQ, one on top of the other.
Jane groaned, shaking her head to clear it and wishing she’d thought out her landing a little bit more thoroughly. But, Seth seemed even more dazed, as he struggled to plant his hands on the ground without Jane getting in the way, and so Jane rested her head on the concrete to watch him flounder.
And then, Jane heard footsteps.
“Officer Seth,” said Zhu Yuan, her voice stern. "Miss Jane. Would either of you like to explain what's going on here?" She was standing over both of them with her hands on her hips, clearly trying to mask some embarrassment with her firmness—Jane could tell by the dusting of pink on her cheeks.
Seth hastily scrambled to get off of Jane, planting his hand directly on her chest as he did so, and Jane held back a pained noise. "I'm sorry, Captain Zhu Yuan!" Seth practically yelped, jumping to attention and giving her a salute. "We were just— um—"
Jane decided to rescue him, and swiftly stood up and dusted herself off. "We were going out for some fresh air," she told Zhu Yuan, "and milk tea, and I'm afraid excitement got the better of us… I apologize, Captain, it won't happen again." Jane lifted her lips in a suggestive, sly smile.
It had the intended effect; Zhu Yuan immediately flushed bright red and attempted to hide her shock behind an improvised coughing fit. "M—hm, ah— hm, yes, of course, I see," she stammered, glancing at Seth before averting her eyes. "Just— um, make sure that you're keeping your, uh— excitement off of PubSec property, in the future, okay?"
"Of course, Captain," Jane purred.
Zhu Yuan gave her a curt nod, hesitated, and nodded to Seth as well. Then, she hurried away, and Jane grinned, immensely pleased with herself.
"Jane!" Seth exclaimed, the moment that Zhu Yuan had gone inside, and she curiously turned to look at him. "Now everybody's going to think we're— we're— we're fraternizing!"
Jane gasped in mock offence, putting a hand over her chest. "Seth, I'm hurt. I thought that you would be happy to have people thinking you've managed to land yourself a gorgeous woman—unless you don't think I'm gorgeous, in which case, I'm even more hurt! How could you think such a thing?!"
Flustered, Seth verbally fumbled for something to say. "I— uh, no, I— hang on, you— wait— it's not— I just—"
Jane let him flounder for a moment, before she giggled, and flicked him with her tail. "I'm only kidding, again, Officer… really, you shouldn't be so gullible! Now, come on, or else we won't get any milk tea before the rush."
And she turned and began walking away, leaving Seth adorably speechless behind her.