Work Text:
At the front of the queue in the coffee shop, she placed her hand into the small handbag which was hanging over her shoulder, “Oh, bollocks! Must have left my purse back at work. I have… £2.70.” That would cover one of her items not both. She mentally cursed city centre pricing once again.
A female voice from behind her interrupted the desperate searching, “What are you needing?”
Turning her head quickly to check if she knew the person she shook her head, “No, it’s fine, I’ll just leave the cake.” That treat had been a spur of the moment addition, she was in need of the caffeine more. It was not that she was immune to acts of kindness but this close to the police station she was more hesitant to accept them.
For Gill Murray it was a rarity to spend the lunch break out of the office so the novelty of taking a chair was palpable. The atmosphere at work was stifling after a case went to hell and she had to escape it.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Every other place is taken." That was not entirely the truth but the dark-haired woman was too interested in the document so correctly assumed she would take little notice of her surroundings.
"Go ahead." Gill answered, quickly glancing over the top of her glasses finding the woman from the queue standing there.
"This is yours," Julie commented as she pushed a small plate across the table. On it was a slice of the chocolate cake Gill had been craving.
"You shouldn’t have, regardless of anything else as if I need any more calories stuck to my stomach."
Julie cast an appreciative glance up and down, “I don’t see anything wrong with you.”
"Just because I allowed you a seat doesn’t mean you have to be nice."
"Fine, you fat-arsed bitch." Gill smirked against the edge of the mug, both pairs of eyes lighting up with amusement.
"I don’t know how you can drink that milky crap."
Gill sat back in the chair after putting her paperwork back inside her bag, hugging the latte in her hands. “Let me guess, you have espresso shot after espresso shot in there,” she said, motioning to the mug opposite.
"That would be heaven, yes."
"I am so sorry I don’t make it to your standards."
"No problem, not everyone is perfect."
Using the fork provided she stabbed at the cake, not even pretending to be delicate. As the frosting touched her lips she couldn’t help but moan a little. She realised in that second she needed to take more time and pleasure in eating, there were few things that could beat this. Surprisingly, talking to this woman was also making her feel calmer about everything else, excluding Janet she had hardly any other people to simply chat to.
Glancing down at the watch on her wrist a while later she sighed, “I should be getting back to work. Thanks again for the cake, if we ever meet again then I’ll repay you.”
"How about same time next week?" It had came out before sensible thoughts entered her head - they had never met before this afternoon, knew nothing about the other yet she wanted to see see her again.
Gill was taken aback for a moment before smirking slightly. “I can’t guarantee it - the job means I just grab the nearest energy source whenever I get a second to breathe.”
"Well, you know where to find me."
Once Gill had left they both attempted to unscramble what they had just experienced. Either of them could actually have been been a psycho stalker, waiting on a chance to slit the the other’s throat, yet they were fascinated by them. When she got back to her office - her purse helpfully waiting on the desk - the DCI flicked through the diary on her desk and made a note for ‘coffee’ the following week. She could always score it out but maybe, just maybe, she would have something to look forward to.