The Mean Streets of Fandom, Sunday Afternoon

[gunslingerpose]

So, last night Katherine brought food from the restaurant downstairs up to Nick's office, knocking lightly on the door. She hadn't seen him downstairs at all, had figured he was working on her case, and had figured food would be helpful. Nick had eaten the thickest, juiciest steak he'd eaten in his whole damn life last night, served with creamy mashed potatoes and crisp, buttery green beans.

While he ate, she went through his notes. After he finished eating, they kept talking, just spent hours bumping gums about whatever came to mind. Nick was surprised to find that she had a sense of humor. He was less surprised to hear things that suggested her father was up to some shady stuff in NYC, even if she seemed pretty sheltered from it herself. She convinced him to let her try a little bit of his whiskey and it knocked her on her adorable little bottom and they wound up dancing a bit in his office until she went and fell asleep on him. Like, right there on him. Girl couldn't handle her whiskey. But he settled her down on a couch that had seen better days, the one he normally slept on, and got back to work.

A few hours later, she woke up and shocked the hell out of him. Kissed him on the cheek thinking he'd fallen asleep at his desk (he was just closing his eyes, damn it), whispered good night, and tiptoed out of the room, leaving him there to come to terms with the fact that, damn, he'd only been on the case a day, and already he was halfway dizzy over the dame.

No, he corrected himself as he walked his beat down Fandom's streets, following one of his leads. Not a dame. Katherine was a lady.

Of course, it was right about then that he came across that very same lady, crumpled in a heap, soaked through with rain and sobbing her eyes out on the side of the road.

"Katherine? Jesus, Katherine, what happened?"

[For the dame lady, who also happened to write most of this post!]

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[spin_kick_snap]

"Thanks," Katherine said, giving him another smile. "Just bring it in when you find it? No reason to get your carpet wetter than I already have."

She entered the bathroom, taking off her clothes and leaving then neatly folded on the sink, then stepped into the shower stall. The water started a second later, leading to a small yelp at the blast of cold and another shortly thereafter when the water got hot.

[gunslingerpose]

Nick winced a little, hand pausing over the towel. Riiight.

"Maybe should've warned you to let it run for a minute first," he noted. "The pipes are touchy."

That kind of happened in the sort of dive that Nick could afford, these days.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm fine!" Katherine called, sounding almost as if she were laughing. "Just a little surprised was all. Now I'm just imagining what Mother would say if our showers at home acted like this."

[gunslingerpose]

"I'm guessin' it wouldn't be something along the lines of, 'but at least it's finally a building where the water runs clear,' huh?"

Aw yeah. Nick was living in luxury.

A moment later he stepped into the bathroom, towel in hand and reaching to leave it on the counter when he stopped short and just sort of stared.

That was one hell of a silhouette he was seeing through that shower certain, there. Damn.

[spin_kick_snap]

Yeah it was, wasn't it? It got even better when, instead of bending over to wash her legs, one of them just lifted up until her heel rested on the wall in front of her face, letting her wash it that way.

Katherine was apparently very flexible.

"Nope!" she said cheerfully, as if bathtub gymnastics were a normal occurrence. "That was one of the first things Father promised Mother when they got married. That he'd always take care of her. It's probably the only romantic thing he's ever said, either."

[gunslingerpose]

"The man sounds like a real charmer," Nick replied, not quite able to tear his gaze away, lingering there in the bathroom and licking his lips.

Well, shit.

"How'd a man like that end up with a daughter like you, anyway?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, Father's all right in his own way," Katherine said immediately. "He loves us, he's just not very romantic."

Didn't you know, Nikolai? Katherine was a loyal kind of gal.

Down went one leg. Up came the other.

"And I'm nothing special. Not like those beautiful, exciting girls at the clubs and in the talkies. If Sarah hadn't run away, I'd still just be happy back in Connecticut, no idea of the big, wide world I was missing out on."

[gunslingerpose]

"And here you are, not two days in Fandom, showering in some Private Dick's fussy water after bein' knocked over for your purse," Nick mused, watching for a moment more before licking his lips and finally looking away.

Well, shit.

"You so sure you were actually missing out, Katherine?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's real life," Katherine responded. "I may have all the hot water in the world back home, but I surely didn't have anything in the way of life experiences. You can think I'm just a dopey broad who doesn't appreciate what she's got if you want, but this loads more exciting that what I'm used to."

If Nick snuck another peek at her silhouette now, he'd catch her soaping up her chest. Washcloths didn't seem to be much in attendance here, so she was using her own hands and his bar of gritty soap.

[gunslingerpose]

"Now, baby," Nick protested mildly, absolutely stealing that glance before turning his gaze up toward the ceiling, "I didn't say anything like that. You keep puttin' words in my mouth, here."

Of course she was a looker no matter what angle she stood at. Of course she was.

"At least if you're in the market for life experiences, sweetheart, you came to the right place."

Er. The right island. The right island.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I might have to take you up on that," Katherine called, voice a little louder now that her head was directly under the shower spray. Of course she had her back to it in a slight arch that made her chest that much more prominent. "It's not like I have a lot of time left to experience new things before I have to go home."

[gunslingerpose]

"That so?"

Well, shit. Now Nick had to ask.

"Was there anything you figured you absolutely had to experience before then? There's not much time to do it all, not if I crack this case quickly, anyway."

[spin_kick_snap]

There was a significant pause before Katherine answered. The kind of pause that suggested a lot of thinking going on in just a few seconds.

"Oh, nothing specific," she said, her voice a little higher-pitched than normal and her cadence faster. "Nothing at all! I'm enjoying whatever comes my way. Dancing was nice. So was the drink, even though I fell asleep right after. Just being with someone who sees me and not my father and his money is excitement all on its own."

[gunslingerpose]

"See, and that's one thing that shouldn't have to be a novelty," Nick noted, his voice dropping a little, something a little slower and more deliberate, acting in almost perfect contrast to her own quickened tone. "A lady like you? You're smart, funny... gorgeous. Somethin' special, baby."

Right, Bartamian. Don't be an idiot. She was a hundred miles out of your league, here.

[spin_kick_snap]

The shower turned off and Katherine peeked out of the curtain at him, showing off her collarbone and one smooth shoulder. "Really?" she asked, looking surprised. "I...thank you."

She ducked her head and slid her arm out, the upper swell of a breast just barely visible. "Might I get that towel please?"

[gunslingerpose]

So help him, Nick couldn't help but lick his lips as he eyed her, actually reaching for the towel again a moment later. Damn, this dame was distracting.

"Of course, baby. Feeling better, I hope? Little less cold?"

He held the towel out for her, trying desperately to get a handle on his thoughts. Difficult to do when his thoughts were informing him that she was very, very nice to look at.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Much better, thank you," Katherine said, pinking a little. Look, she was in a strange man's shower, it was hard not to blush. "Though I have another favor to ask of you, for all that I've racked up a bunch."

She blushed harder, managing to do it quite prettily. "May I borrow something to wear? Mine are still soaked."

[gunslingerpose]

Goddamn. This dame was clearly trying to kill him, here.

"I'm sure I've got something floating around that won't hang off you too badly," he replied, clearing his throat a little. "You, uh, just give me a minute, Katherine, and I'll figure something out."

[spin_kick_snap]

Her fingers brushed lightly against his as she reached for the towel. That caused another blush and she ducked back behind the curtain. "I'd be grateful," she called. "This towel is much appreciated but rather, err, short?"

There was a mental picture to help send you on your way to get that shirt, Nikolai.

[gunslingerpose]

Nick was just never going to breathe normally again, was he? He stared for a moment longer, and then turned to duck back out of the room, to rummage through his own clothes for something that she could wear without drowning in it.

"Right. Right, baby, I'll be right back in."

A button-down shirt. A pair of slacks. Suspenders, because even the smallest notches on his belts would be laughably huge on her.

He didn't grab any underwear. He was pretty sure she'd rather he not. Which just got his mind on the fact that she'd be wearing his clothing without anything underneath. Which wasn't helping the state he was in as he brought the things he'd grabbed back into the bathroom.

"I'll just set 'em down on the counter here, then."

[spin_kick_snap]

Before Nick had a chance to leave, Katherine opened the curtain to step out, the towel utterly ill-prepared for the task she'd put it to. Short enough to only brush the tops of her thighs and not able to completely close, she stood in front of him almost nude.

"Oh!" she gasped, hand going up to cover her face. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize!"

She was stumbling backwards--and then falling.

[gunslingerpose]

Nick had been stunned to see her step out of the damn tub before he even had a chance to put the clothing down. Not too stunned to practically dive in after her in an effort to catch her before she hit her head on something. And, hey, bonus points to the guy with the hitch in his step for the amazing catch. Not so many for acing the landing.

So. Hey. Now he was crouched over his client, with only a slip of a towel between him and - he wasn't going to check, he wasn't going to check, he was going to be a goddamn gentleman and not check - her left shoulder. He snapped his eyes shut before she could catch him staring and drooling like a damn dog.

"Jesus. You okay?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Sorry!" Katherine yelped. "Sorry! Yes, I'm fine. I thought you'd gone. It's all my fault. Oh my gosh, please tell me you're all right?"

She was trying to get up, but was only managing to squirm around in his arms a little bit.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" She sounded concerned for him.

[gunslingerpose]

"What, me? I'm fine. I had something soft to land on."

He was going to... grope around - not at her - for something to get a handhold on so that he could pull himself up to his feet again.

Any minute, he'd actually find something, too. It was just difficult with his eyes closed like that.

"You, doll? You're the one that took the topple, here. You could've cracked your head open."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh no," Katherine said, her voice warm. "You caught be before I could land. I'm pretty sure this is where I swoon a little and call you my hero. Again."

Her hand brushed over his cheek, whisper-soft and gone in an instant. "Thank you."