Chapter Text
Letting himself into his sister's flat, Gordon glances around, his eyes glassy, "Frank!" He calls out, a bottle of whiskey hidden in a brown paper bag in his hand. "Frank, you here?"
It takes a moment before Frankie appears, padding down the hall in her bare feet to see her brother standing in front of Bonehilda. She doesn't know if she wants to garner his attention instead waiting for him noticing her. Her scarlet silk robe, wrapped around her slender frame. Frankie reaches a hand up, holding the robe closed a bit more at her chest. Not because it needs to be, but out of habit.
"Hello, Gordon." Bonehilda's eyes turn a shade of dim blue as her head tilts to the side with concern, "you seem unwell."
"Holy fuck," Gordy staggers back, alarmed.
The interaction causes Frankie to laugh quietly, a large smile across her face, "she lives here, you don't." Her words cause her brother to jump again in the opposite direction of her. "It's nearly three in the morning and you're pissed…and breaking into my flat." Frankie keeps her eyes on her brother, "what's wrong?"
"I have a key." Gordon defends himself, knowing it doesn't really matter to his sister. He never really drinks around his sister, not to this extent. Only ever a glass or two of something here or there. Never just to feel the effects of intoxication, not for a few years at least. Gordon stares at his sister, "are you naked under that?"
"Answer my question first and maybe I'll answer yours." Frankie takes a few steps closer to him, guiding him towards the sofa.
"I was transcribing audios and…" Gordy pauses, licking his lips to give himself time to formulate his next words, "it's my job. Well, a part of my job…to transcribe audios." He watches his sister as she gets up again, but he holds onto her wrist.
"I'm just getting you a glass of water to help you sober up a bit," Frankie reassures. "I'm listening to you though, keep talking."
Letting go of her wrist, Gordon continues to watch his sister as she moves through her apartment. "They were Mum's, but…Frankie, the dates on them…" He shakes his head, "something must be wrong with the recording equipment because the dates were recent. Only a few months ago." Gordy swallows, "but it all…it was all too much, you know? Hearing her like that. Telling stories that we never would have heard otherwise."
"You're the one that wished to work there. You had to know that this might happen." Frankie shakes her head, carrying a glass of water back to the living room. "She was in charge there, Gordy. There's going to be speeches and recordings featuring her. That's an absolute given."
"It was the date though." Gordy's face pinches, his chin dimpling with emotion. He lets his sister pull him against her in a cuddle. "If the date wasn't fucked up, it wouldn't have…" His voice is filled with tearful emotion, tears forming in the corner of his eye.
"I know, I know." Frankie leans in, removing the paper bag wrapped bottle of alcohol and setting it onto the coffee table. She strokes his hair with the tips of her fingers as he rests his head against her. The whole action is intimate between them and incredibly child-like for Gordon. This is the issue he used to have, years ago. Not long after U.N.I.T told them that their mother was deceased. He'd drink.
A lot.
Though he was saddled with taking care of Frankie through most of her teenage years, it was her who would end up taking care of him most nights after their mother died. Covering him up wherever he passed out and placing a glass of water next to him. It was a habit. A habit she shouldn't have gotten used to, but did. However, Gordy had worked through that. He'd gone to meetings to help him cope, sought the assistance of therapists. Gordy had come a long way.
This was just a blip.
Noticing movement from the hallway, Frankie sees Violet, wearing one of her cotton night shirts, standing there.
"Everything okay?" Violet asks gently, "anything I can help with?"
The other voice causes Gordon to raise his head, noticing the other person standing there. He doesn't say anything, just looking at her, trying to figure out if she is real or in his head. Has he ever hallucinated? No, not that he's aware of, but he is so drunk that he just might consider it for the excitement.
"I've already gotten him some water." Frankie promises, "he'll just need to sleep it off." She watches her lover with adoration, surprised when she steps over to her, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss.
"If you do need help, give me a shout." Violet nods a little, looking at the man again, "Gordon, we'll do introductions tomorrow."
It isn't a question, it's a command. Gordon nods a little, watching as the woman stalks her way back to the hallway. His head then slowly tuning to look at his sister, "you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend."
"Because I don't." Frankie blushes, shaking her head and doing her best to keep from looking at him, "not yet, anyway. We're seeing where things take us."
"She's cute." Gordon nods, gesturing with his hands dramatically as he speaks. "You and her? Cute together."
"Thank you. I'll let her know you think so." Frankie can't help but be amused by her brother.
"I like her face." Gordy continues, "it's a very…facey-face."
"Sometimes I wonder where you've acquired such elegance." Frankie retorts, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest, "I like everything about her."
Gordon blinks slowly, his face showing pure amazement, "and she's Irish…and you're able to understand her."
"Irish people are not difficult to understand, Gordy." Frankie watches her brother, amused with everything he's saying in his drunken stupor.
Lowering his arms, Gordy stares ahead of himself, "I could go for a curry…or a pizza." He pauses, "or a curry pizza."
"Bonehilda, what time is it?" Frankie calls out.
Bonehilda's dim blue eyes glimmer, moving her head a little as she speaks, "three: twenty-seven." She pauses, "however, it is Saturday, which means you don't have classes today and are able to have a lie in. Would you like me to play rain sounds on the bedroom speaker to help you to relax?"
"That's very kind to offer, Bonehilda, but I'm set. Thank you." Frankie smiles to herself, returning her attention to her brother, "bit too early for curry or a pizza, I'm afraid." She lets out a soft laugh when he pouts dramatically. "Drink the water, Gordy. Drink a lot of it. I'll get you some Paracetamol."
Gordon reaches forward, obtaining the glass of water, as ordered by his little sister.
Frankie stands from the sofa, making her way down the hall to the bathroom. Leaving the door open as she turns on the light, she pulls open the cabinet above the sink. Feeling the soft arms of Violet wrapping around her waist from behind, Frankie blushes as a mischievous half-smile forms in the corner of her own mouth.
"Didn't think I'd meet the family tonight." Violet tilts her head to the side, looking at Frankie's face through the reflection of the mirror on the front of the cabinet. Being shorter than her, it's the best she can do.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to-" Frankie swallows, not looking at Violet's reflection, afraid of ruining any chances she might have of a relationship with her friend."He isn't normally like this."
"I know." Violet nods a little, still watching Frankie's reflection, "I followed you when you got out of bed. I listened to your conversation." She explains gently, pressing a kiss to the back of Frankie's arm, "and I can tell that it bothers you more than you're willing to let on…especially with him."
Frankie bites her lips together, giving herself a moment. She slowly allows her eyes to return to the reflection in the mirror, looking at Violet. Frankie keeps her voice hushed at a whisper, not wanting it to carry for her brother to hear, "I know that when he does this, it means he's depressed…and I've been the…" She trails briefly, "the one that's been down lately because of Mum's anniversary, which I think I've been handling a bit better than I thought I would."
"You've been doing great." Violet reassures with a subtle nod.
"Gordy is different though. He tries to hide things, but…he forgets that I know him better than he knows himself." Frankie smiles a little to himself, "someone had to take over for Mum with him. Protect him from himself and all that."
Violet nods slowly, "well, if you're taking care of him, I suppose that means I need to take care of you." Her tone is honest, but she notices the embarrassed expression on her lover's face, "just with this, Frank. Don't overthink it."
"I just don't want to fuck this up with you…or let my brother fuck it up." Frankie turns her head to the side, able to see Violet's profile from the corner of her eye.
"I've had my eye on you since we first started at this Uni. I was just waiting for you to take the first step, but got a bit impatient." Violet reveals, a gentle smile in the corner of her lips though, "it's going to take far more than a brother off his trolley to scare me off…and I don't scare easily anyway."
Frankie turns, looking down at Violet with a slight tilt of her head and a glimmer in her eye before leaning in to capture the other woman's lips again. If you could only remember the other day.
Kate opens her eyes as the curtains to her bedroom are opened by Christofer, allowing the bright light of outside to flood their bedroom. Far too bright for the early morning hours she usually wakes. The sudden rush of sunlight causes her to cover her eyes with her arm as she slowly rolls onto her back. "You turned my alarm off again." It wasn't a question, just something she knows for certain.
"You were up until nearly four going over the information about your kids." Christofer glances over at her, having heard her crying in the early morning hours when she believed he was asleep. He knew better than to make her aware of his knowledge at the time though. "And you had nothing scheduled this morning that Shirley couldn't handle for you."
"It makes me seem unreliable to the team when you do that." Kate swallows, simply inhaling and exhaling slowly.
"No, it doesn't." Christofer continues, "it lets Shirley know that you trust her enough to handle important tasks." He clarifies for her, "because you have a habit of taking on more than you need to and running yourself ragged." He watches as she lowers her arm, "I made your coffee and I can make you something for breakfast. Would you like me to bring that to you in bed?" Christofer waves his brow a couple of times, taking a few steps closer to the foot of the bed when she doesn't answer right away, "breakfast in bed?"
Kate smiles to herself, lifting her arm ever so slightly to look at him. "Coffee sounds nice." She pauses, watching as he starts to stalk towards the door, "in a minute."
Christofer pauses in his stride, turning his head to look at her. He doesn't wait for her invitation, instead taking a few steps back over to the bed and slowly crawling closer to her. "You look beautiful this morning."
"But not the other mornings?" Kate teases her partner, finally lowering her arm as she puts all of her focus on him, glad when he lies next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer.
"Every morning." Chris continues, "it's why I wake up before you do. I like to watch you sleep for a bit." He pauses, knowing that probably sounds a bit creepy, though her face doesn't indicate that she finds the comment that way, "completely free of stress, completely at ease."
Kate wasn't expecting that. She leans her head closer against him, finding a comfortable position, "I could sleep longer."
"Then sleep longer. You're the boss, habibi." Christofer mutters near her ear, pressing a gentle kiss against her temple after, "today is about you…and I'm here to ensure that you rest and relax."
"I must go into the office at some point." Kate exhales slowly, her words mumbled slightly, feeling secure in his embrace.
He can sense something else, sense that she's holding back. "what's bothering you?"
It takes Kate a moment, not wanting to unload everything on her partner, but also glad that she's able to trust him enough to consider doing so. "I um…I don't understand why there's this sudden…re-emergence of my children into the U.N.I.T foray. I'm also not entirely certain how Gordy's application wasn't flagged for attention with the use of that other last name."
"He wasn't deemed a security threat. Do you think he should be?" Christofer is half joking, but he really doesn't know the man. So, he may need to be a bit more concerned.
"Yes, I'm sure Gordon is a hardened criminal. He should be fired immediately." Kate answers in jest, her eyes closed as she listens to Christofer's heartbeat with her ear pressed against his chest. She loves this. She loves their tender moments. Moments when she doesn't need to be in Commander mode, unless he wants her to be. It can be tiring keeping up the facade for too long though.
Kate normally just doesn't know how to turn it off.
Chris presses another kiss to her hair, "you still need to take your morning medication. I'll fetch your coffee and your pills." He doesn't let go of her yet, knowing she loves this, "though the coffee will probably offset what you take for the hypertension-"
"If you try to keep coffee from me, it will be the last thing you do." Kate mutters, not wanting him to move.
"It just means you need to take more opportunities to relax." Christofer's voice is in the lower octave, causing his chest to vibrate against Kate's ear.
Kate raises an eyebrow, "such as?" She plays innocent as Christofer's large hand begins to slide from her hip to her nude outer thigh.
Raising a mischievous eyebrow, a half-smile forms in the corner of Christofer's mouth, "I'm sure we can think of something."