by Jae
Kade pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't think I didn't notice your clever manipulation. You're a sneaky woman, Lieutenant."
"Yep." Del grinned. All is fair in love and war.
* * *
Kade followed Del into the building, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She had never been at a shooting range before.
In contrast, Del felt very much at home. She greeted people left and right as they walked down a hallway, and more than a few knew her by name.
"Do you come here often?" Kade asked after it had happened a few times.
A mischievous smile spread over Del's face. "Is that a pick-up line?"
Kade couldn't hide her blush. She searched for an answer.
"Hey, relax." Del chuckled and quickly reached out to squeeze her forearm. "I'm only teasing."
Kade shot her a gaze. She wasn't angry with Del, though. She was annoyed with herself. What is it about Del Vasquez that makes you, the eloquent DDA, speechless on a regular basis?
"You know, apart from your job, there is only one thing in your life right now that you should take deadly seriously – the man who's stalking you. Everything else is not a life-or-death matter, so don't take me – or yourself for that matter – so seriously all the time." Del smiled at her. "You have to learn how to let go a little."
Kade stopped her fast clip down the hallway. She knew Del was right, but still, it irritated her that Del was always trying to get behind the walls she had erected. Everyone else usually knew enough to back off when she aimed a cool glance at them, but Del only answered with one of her unwavering smiles. "Who says I have to? No one's forcing you to stay if you don't like the company of my somber self."
Del stopped next to her. "I do like your company, and that cool, calm, and collected lawyer façade is sexy as hell, but frankly, it has to get rather exhausting after a while – for you, not for me," she said with that brutal honesty Kade liked and hated with equal parts. Then Del added almost wistfully, "I'd like to see you smile or hear you laugh every once in a while."
"Not much to smile or laugh about at the moment," Kade grumbled.
Del took her hand and squeezed gently, then quickly let go before Kade could pull away. "I know. Okay, then let's at least try to make you feel a little safer."
Kade followed her to one of the shooting booths.
"Put these on," Del ordered, handing her a pair of earmuffs and Plexiglas safety glasses.
Kade felt a little silly but did as Del told her. She slid the earmuffs down to rest around her neck so she could still hear Del's explanation.
Del held up the small gun she had given Kade in the car. "It's a semiautomatic," she explained. "You slap the magazine into place and chamber the first round. Never point the gun at yourself or anyone else while you load it." She demonstrated, her movements slow enough for Kade to follow them and then handed over the gun for Kade to try.
Del watched and nodded. She let Kade repeat the loading and unloading process a few times before she took over the gun again. She pressed a button, moving the black silhouette-shaped target forward to the fifteen-yard line. "Now comes the fun part. You spread your feet for balance and hold the gun like this."
Kade let her gaze wander down Del's long legs, then up to the steady hands that held the gun in the two-handed grip she had often seen with her detectives. She took the gun when Del handed it to her and tried to imitate Del's stance. "Like this?" She looked over her shoulder at Del.
"Lift your arms a little higher and straighten your firing arm." Del stepped closer until Kade could feel her body heat directly against her back. She felt Del's gentle fingers on her hands as they corrected her grip. "Don't forget to breathe, Kade," Del said directly into Kade's ear before she pulled the earmuffs up to cover Kade's ears.
Kade took a deep breath and told herself her nervousness was only due to handling a weapon for the first time in her life, not because of Del's closeness.
"Your left hand supports the other like this." Del almost had to shout for Kade to hear her with the ear protection on and above the noise from the other shooting booths. She gently moved Kade's left hand a little farther down. "Your index finger stays outside the trigger guard until it's time to shoot. Never touch the trigger before you've sighted your target, and never aim the gun without being fully prepared to fire it."
Kade quickly rested her index finger along the side of the weapon.
Del turned Kade's whole body a bit to the right. "Now you line up the sights. Focus on the front sight of the gun. When you're ready, squeeze the trigger gently and gradually."
Del's arms disappeared from around her, making Kade lose sight of her target for a moment. She quickly called herself to order and refocused her attention on the black silhouette in front of her. She fired once and stopped to critically inspect the target, noticing that the bullet had only grazed the lower left part of the target. "What am I doing wrong?" she asked and turned to look at Del.
"You're pulling the trigger, not squeezing it gently, and you flinch in anticipation of the recoil." Del stepped a little closer again, her voice gentle, not reprimanding. "Don't jerk the trigger, or it'll throw your aim off. Apply a steady pressure, and let the gun surprise you when it goes off."
She wants me to give up control even in this matter, huh? Kade turned back to the target and lifted the gun again. This time, she concentrated only on the sight and moved her finger back with a more constant pressure. She fired once, then corrected her aim a little before she emptied the rest of the magazine. When it was empty, she turned to look at Del.
"Not bad for your first time," Del said.
"Not bad?" Kade repeated incredulously. She pushed the button to bring the target to them. As far as she could see, she had hit the black paper with every single shot.
Del grinned. "Even you can't be perfect at everything, Counselor." She laughed at Kade's expression. "Relax, I'm just teasing. You're a natural. If we train regularly, you'll soon be able to outshoot your detectives."
If we train regularly? We? Kade arched her eyebrows. "Is this some clever ploy to get me to spend more time with you?" she asked skeptically.
"No ploy," Del promised, her expression now completely serious. "We're here to make sure you can defend yourself should the need arise. But if that should cause us to spend more time together, it would be a pleasant side effect, don't you think?" she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
Kade laid the gun down and looked at her. Yes, she silently admitted, Del was a good person to spend some time with. She was intelligent and had a great sense of humor. She kept Kade on her toes, but at the same time, she felt as if she could trust and relax around Del. Instead of answering, she extended her hand, palm up. "New magazine, please."
Del laughed. "I thought you'd see it my way."
* * *
Kade looked up as Del stopped the car. She knew they were somewhere in St. Johns, but she had never been in this part of the city. "This is not a restaurant," she said, lifting an aching hand to point at the row of nearly identical looking apartment buildings in front of them. Every muscle in her arms, shoulders, and her back was starting to hurt after two hours at the shooting range.
"No, it's my apartment. I thought after the day you had, it would be nicer if we ordered in and didn't have to venture out into public again," Del said, resting her hands on the steering wheel and calmly waiting for Kade's reaction.
Kade bit her lip and looked from the three-story apartment building to Del and back.
"Come on." Del laughed. "I'm not dragging you back to my cave to have my way with you!"
Her frankness shocked Kade for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. "All right. But I'm still paying for dinner."
They entered the building, with Del politely holding the door for Kade.
A small, silver-haired woman was trying to wrestle her mail from a dented mailbox without much success.
"Hi, Mrs. Rios," Del said with a smile. "Can I help you with that?" She took o
ver the small key and finally handed the mail to the elderly woman.
"Oh, thank you, Clarice!" The elderly woman beamed up at Del and patted her hand.
"Clarice?" Kade asked as they stepped into the elevator.
Del chuckled. "She thinks I'm with the FBI."
Kade still didn't understand. "What does that have to do with –"
"Mrs. Rios is a big Jodie Foster fan," Del said with an affectionate smile. "One day, after I finished helping her with a few things around the apartment, she sat me down and made me watch The Silence of the Lambs with her. She has been calling me 'Clarice' ever since."
She's helping her elderly neighbor? God, this woman is too good to be true! The women Kade usually socialized with donated to charities, went to fund-raisers, and might even be seen helping out in a soup kitchen once a year, but they always made sure to get publicity for all their good deeds. Del just helped out, without being asked and without expecting more than a thank-you.
Del opened the door to her apartment. "Come in and make yourself comfortable."
Comfortable was the last thing Kade was feeling when she stepped into Del's living room. She was curious to see how Del lived, but at the same time, it seemed strangely intimate to be here, and it made Kade uncomfortable.
"Coffee?" Del called from the kitchen. "Do you like Chinese?"
"Yes to both." At least the coffee would give her something to do with her hands until their food arrived.
"I always take egg rolls and chicken and cashew nuts with fried rice. Want to take a look at the menu to see what you'd like?" Del called.
Kade hesitated only for a moment. It was time to show a little trust in Del even if it was just ordering dinner. "No," she answered. "Egg rolls and fried rice sounds great. Go ahead and order two of everything."
She turned back around and studied Del's living room. There was a comfortable looking leather couch against one wall, but Kade was not ready to sit down without an explicit invitation. She wandered through the living room, glancing at a few photos on top of the bookshelves.
One of them showed a smiling, younger Del leaning against a squad car next to a slightly older man, both of them in uniform. Kade had never seen Del in uniform before, so she took a moment to admire the way Del looked in the Portland Police blues before she forced those thoughts from her mind.
She grinned at a picture of a pigtailed, chubby-cheeked Dawn, showing off her braces as she smiled at the camera. Del saw her grow up, she realized again. That's why she's so protective of her. Aiden, my friend, you better take care never to hurt Dawn, or you're gonna have one very pissed-off adopted aunt on your hands.
Kade put down the photo and looked at Del's vast collection of books. She turned her head sideways to read the titles on the spines but didn't recognize any of them. Curious, she pulled a random book from the shelf to look at it.
On the top half of the cover, a few glass chess pieces were depicted.
Just as Kade turned the book around to read the description on the back, Del cleared her throat behind her.
Kade hastily put the book back and took the mug Del handed her. "I didn't know you were a chess player," she said, embarrassed to have been caught snooping through Del's books.
Del smiled at her over the rim of her coffee mug. "I am, but this one," she pointed to the book that Kade had looked at, "is actually not a book about chess. It's one of my favorite lesbian romance novels."
"Oh."
"Don't look at me like that!" Del almost spilled her coffee, she was laughing so hard. "I said it's a romance, not the lesbian Kama Sutra."
Kade didn't answer. She just sent her a reprimanding glare.
"You can borrow it if you like," Del continued her teasing.
Kade already had a flippant "No, thank you" on her lips, but then she met Del's challenging gaze. If Kade had one weakness, it was her inability to back down from a dare. "I'd love to, thanks," she purred and plucked the book from the shelf.
For the first time, Del was the speechless one, and Kade enjoyed it immensely. After a few moments, Del laughed at herself. "So, wanna play with me?" She nodded down at the book in Kade's hands.
Now Kade didn't know what to say to that blatant offer. Is that how it's going to be? Us taking turns rendering each other speechless?
"Chess, Kade. I'm talking about chess." Del laughed. "I told you to relax around me. If anything should ever happen between us, it'll be because you make the first move. As long as you don't give me a clear signal, I'll be a perfect gentlewoman. I'm not into chasing straight women."
Could have fooled me, Kade thought but admitted to herself that Del's gentle insistence was flattering. "Okay, let's see if you'll put your money where your mouth is."
Del sputtered, almost choking on her coffee. "Excuse me?"
"Chess, Del. I'm talking about chess." Kade smirked at her. Turning the tables at Del was fun. "Let's play." She nodded at the chessboard she had spotted on the coffee table.
"You want to play for money? That hardly seems fair – you're stinking rich, and I'm just a lowly lieutenant," Del complained, a playful twinkle in her eyes.
Money had been an issue in a lot of Kade's relationships, but if Del's relaxed joke was any indication, it would never be an issue between them. "So what do you suggest? We just play for the honor?"
"Where would be the challenge in that? No, let's play strip chess," Del said.
"Strip chess?" Kade shook her head at her, hiding her amusement. "There's no such thing as strip chess, Delicia Vasquez!"
Del shuddered dramatically at the use of her full name. "Of course there is," she said with a grin. "Regular rules, with one addition: for every piece you lose, you lose an article of clothing. The first one who is checkmated or completely naked loses."
Kade didn't hesitate for more than a second. She sat down in front of the white pieces. "Okay."
"Okay?" Del stared at her. She clearly hadn't expected Kade to take her up on her offer.
"Yeah," Kade drawled. "Let's play."
"We could wait," Del said. "The food will be here in about thirty minutes."
Kade shook her head. "No. This won't take long."
"Uh-oh! Someone is very confident about her skills on the chessboard." Del sat down across from her.
Kade shook her head. "I haven't played in years." Not since her father had died. She moved one of her pawns to e4. "Earlier, at the shooting range, you were very good at that." Kade had emptied a few more clips, and after each one, they had stopped and gone over Kade's mistakes. Del never ran out of patience, no matter how often she had to correct Kade's stance or answer her questions. Kade doubted she would have had Del's patience.
Del laughed easily and moved her pawn to face Kade's. "Well, I'd hope so. Even lieutenants have to submit to the annual firearms requalification, so getting out of practice is a bad idea."
"No, I don't mean shooting although you're certainly good at that too. I mean you're a good teacher. You should consider a change in careers." It was not a serious suggestion, of course. Even if she tried, she couldn't picture Del as anything but a cop.
Del nodded thoughtfully. "I almost did once."
Oh. Kade looked up from the chessboard. That was a surprise. Del seemed to put her heart and soul into being a cop. "You thought about quitting the force?" Probably after her partner's death, Kade speculated. She knew that asking too many questions about Del's life was probably not a good idea because it might encourage Del's interest in her, but she couldn't help herself.
"No. I thought about applying for a job teaching at the Portland Police Academy," Del said. "I was in a long-term relationship back then, and we started to talk about having a baby. I didn't want my family to go through what Jim's family had, so I thought about applying for a position that would take me off the streets."
Kade moved one of her knights. She found herself more surprised with every word. She knew a woman of Del's age had probably been in a few long-term relationships, but she had never though
t Del would be the type to seriously think about having a baby. Maybe she was judging Del by her own standards, but she had always thought Del was putting her career over thoughts of love and family. Well, apparently she did – she's a lieutenant, but she has neither a baby nor a long-term partner, so calm down.
Del captured one of Kade's pawns with one of her own and looked up at her with an expectant grin. "Strip!" she ordered.
Kade had to laugh, finally relaxing a bit. "You wanted to say that for a while, didn't you?" she teased.
"Yes, so get on with it, woman!" Del leaned back with a satisfied grin and watched her.
"No, sorry, but I won't even take an earring off for that." Kade gestured at her captured pawn. "Strictly speaking, a pawn is not a piece. You should have clarified." She sent Del a triumphant smirk.
