Work Text:
There. Down to three. Lucy huffs a breath through pursed lips and then grins at the list of rings on her notepad. She scans the room for anyone who might have seen her smiling like a lunatic over some scribbles on a paper.
The afternoon Hawaiian sun has set. Lucy and one clerk are the only ones left, plus Ernie, who’s probably still busy tinkering with his computers down in his lair. Tennant has been going home on time to avoid Sam, while Jesse chose to leave work early to appease his wife. Their investigation of the murder of a Navy pilot at a local resort has been a success. For Lucy? It is one for the books because it’s that dream undercover mission she got to do with Kate.
When the team returned to Pearl’s headquarters, Kate sought out Kai. She asked Lucy if they could go out to give that vegetarian barbeque food truck another try. Lucy turned down their lukewarm invitation this time and insisted on finishing her mission report for documentation. Kate had been graceful in yet another stressful undercover operation. Lucy is incredibly proud of her girlfriend’s profound improvement on the field. Their trips to the gym paid off as Kate was able to implement all the tips and tricks she learned from their sparring practices, and if snacking on wheat germ sandwiches is something Kate can use to de-stress, Lucy is all for it.
As soon as Kate and Kai were out of the office, Lucy revisited the official website of a known jewelry store. She’s been looking around for a ring. One she can buy out of her humble agent’s pocket but elegant enough for Kate to consider when she asks an important question later. Lucy rips the page off the pad, folds it in two, and jots down the store’s contact number. She slides the folded page under the keyboard, shuts down the computer, and lifts a dark blue velvet ring box from her drawer.
“You’re not getting rid of me that quickly, are you?” Kate says, towering over Lucy’s desk.
“Oh my…” Lucy flinches and grips the ring box. “Ogling owls! Kate! Are you trying to kill me?”
Kate bites back a laugh and pulls the ring off her left hand. “Here,” she says, dropping her shoulders as she turns in her pair of the wedding rings they used to pose as honeymooners. At a glance, no one will suspect the rings are counterfeit diamonds. “I bet Ernie’s waiting to log it back to ‘Evidence’.” There’s a quiver in Kate’s voice that didn’t go unnoticed by Lucy’s trained ears.
“His Genius shall not be disturbed. So,” Lucy picks up the ring from Kate’s open palm. “I volunteered to secure these,” she says, setting the ring on the box. She’s about to remove its pair from her hand when Kate circles Lucy’s side of the desk and perches on the table.
“Do you like that ring?” Kate says. A flush of pink crawls from her neck to her face. “Not that ring, ring. But a wedding ring? A real wedding ring.”
Lucy glances up at Kate and then at the folded paper sliding further under the keyboard. She takes in a sharp breath, feeling her heart expanding twice its size in her chest. Is Kate asking the same question that’s been prickling her head since going undercover for this mission? She rolls her head to the side and answers, “It depends.”
“On what?” Kate asks, worrying her bottom lip. She drops her eyes on her lap and pinches the side seams of her pants.
Lucy wraps Kate’s hands with hers, pulls them close to her chin and pin Kate’s gaze. “Will you consider wearing its pair?”
Kate blinks rapidly. She draws in a breath when Lucy’s question seems to sink in. “Yes. Definitely,” she says, her lips trembling as she smiles.
“Doesn’t have to be now. Or tomorrow. Maybe in the future?” Lucy adds. She can kiss Kate for all it's worth, but this is a conversation they can not put off until tomorrow. So, before Lucy loses all the courage, she clears her throat and asks, “Katherine Marie Whistler, what’s your ring size?”
---