Chapter Text
“This isn’t going to be your first day of school. You are no longer children. For my sake, I sure hope that you lot stopped being children a long time ago because I am not accepting any duds in my class. You will state your name when pointed to.” Wright announced.
“Joanne Davidson.“ announced the first woman, her thick Scottish tone quavering slightly. Her hair was pulled tight into a bun placed meticulously on the back of her head and she held herself in a way that the second woman observed as rather protective, as if someone was about to attack her. She found herself staring at the woman who had just introduced herself as Joanne until she turned to face her as the last syllable that had left her mouth faded away into an awkward silence. Panic flooded the younger woman as she realised suddenly that she had to fill the absence of sound with her own name, just as their eyes locked.
“Kate Fleming.” Announced the second and last woman of the class. Her voice was steady despite the previous distraction of the beautiful woman beside her but her accent most definitely wasn’t Scottish. Despite Kate’s confident tone, she had long hair that draped around her, concealing her face in a way that presented her as a timid figure. She turned her head away from the other woman, watching as each person announced themselves. She repeated each name a few times in her mind, trying to get each name to stick but the temptation to turn around to sneak another peak of Jo distracted her attempts. She turned back to the front as the last man presented himself. The professor was relatively old but not in such a way that it was likely that he was a retired officer, just old enough to greet both Jo and Kate with deliberate disapproving looks every so often.
She found herself rather overstimulated in the room. She was in a place she didn’t know with people she didn’t know, all of which were men except herself and the woman that she felt herself so intrigued by. In the dominating atmosphere, she found herself distracted from the professor’s words. “Miss Fleming? Normally the duds at least wait until the second week before giving up on my class. I know all these boys around you might be a bit distracting but at least wait until you’ve dropped out my class before getting yourself knocked up.” The men around her laughed, creating a low chorus of chuckles. But she noted the ensemble lacked a female voice. She turned to Jo, finally giving in to the temptation to steal a glance, to receive a sympathetic but also reassuring smile. “Sorry, Sir.” She apologised falsely, her tone rather convincing despite the obvious lack of truth. “Well since you weren’t listening, I’ll repeat my question. What does the Criminal and Law act of 1982, section 17, sub section a, sub-sub section 2 state?” the room sniggered again. If she was smart enough to know the answer, she was definitely smart enough to know that was not what he had asked. She answered anyway, smirking at his surprised face as she responded to the question correctly. Jo raised her eyebrows at her correct answer in a way of surprised admiration, unlike the rest of the room who labelled her as either the nerdy one or the one with the police officer parents. “Attitude. Will not get you very far.” He responded simply to her smirk before continuing with his speech on the high status of the ‘greatest police academy in Scotland’. The pair exchanged another glance, smiling at each other before turning their attention back to professor.
The sun had slowly started to fall over the Scottish Highlands as Kate left the academy, a light breeze grasping at her skin with an accompanying bitter coldness. She pulled her coat tight around her as she shivered. The sound of light footsteps behind her made her turn, intrigued by the noise. Despite the dim streetlights, she recognised the woman and paused to allow her to catch up. “Hey. I don’t know if you remember me but I’m-“ She attempted to introduce herself. "Joanne Davidson.” Kate finished for her. She caught sight of the awkward smile that spread across Jo’s lips as she interrupted her. "And you- are Kate Fleming, clearly the smart one of the class.” Jo said, seeing the other woman visibly relax as she imitated her previous statement, the previous tension created from the fear she had made Jo uncomfortable now gone. “Well I’m not sure about that last bit.” Kate rebutted as she started to walk down the street, attempting to escape the coldness that was now nipping at her more harshly as she stood stationary. “I certainly don’t imagine any of those boys are going to know more than you.” She responded, following her down the street. “I guess so.” She replied, shrugging her shoulders. “So, know anywhere good to eat because I have absolutely no idea where I’m going.” She said as she felt the conversation drop. “New here then?” Jo questioned, wishing too for the conversation to continue. Kate nodded, her unrivalled features that were carved so pristinely now visible as they entered a road of a succession of illuminating shops. Jo couldn’t help but note them, along with her breathtaking eyes, as her best features. “About 3 weeks.” She answered. “Mind if I ask why you moved?” She inquired, pausing as she glanced around. “Here of all places in the world. ” She hesitated for a moment before answering, “It’s- complicated. Needed to get away from some things and I guess this is just where I ended up.” Jo nodded, slightly disappointed at the closed answer but also intrigued at the mystery she enshrouded her answer with. “Anyway, you wanted places to eat right? There’s a good pub just at the end of this road.” Kate nodded, glancing down the road to attempt to spot the place. “I was thinking of heading there myself actually.” She lied, changing her plans of pouring over some books for an hour or two for the much more favorable option of seeing her, if even for only an extra hour. Kate looked away from the building to the woman walking besides her. “Do they have good beer?” She questioned. “The best beer.” She replied grinning.
“Three. Two. One!” The pair exclaimed in unison before tipping each others glass into the others mouth. Their mouths burnt at the bitterness of the liquid, making Kate produce a nose scrunch that Jo couldn’t help but label as outrageously adorable. She couldn’t help it. She was smitten. They had both made subconscious assessments of each other over the last hours, the perfect detective trait they both shared. Their conclusion of the other was overwhelming positive, as each had been expecting from their wordless conversation of glances and smiles throughout Detective Wright’s lifetime long lecture. Kate smiled as Jo flicked her tongue out at the taste, finding the bitterness a bit too much as well. "I think we should stick to the beer. Speaking of beer, two more!” she announced to the bartender as she slid the shot glasses away from them. “I’m not sure we should.” Kate cautioned. Jo nodded, she was probably right. “Wait, never mind.” Jo said as the man behind the bar collected two fresh glasses off the shelf. He nodded and placed them back as Kate pulled out her wallet and paid.
“Sorry for making you pay, forgot me wallet.” Jo apologised, the amount of alcohol evident in her voice. As they wandered down the street, daylight still fought on for a bit longer, its failure evident from the stars that had started to become visible. “I think you mean ‘my wallet’ by the way, not ‘me wallet’.” Kate corrected. “Eh, whatever. I’m going to be a detective not an English teacher.” Kate couldn’t help but snigger, the alcohol seeping into her system too. “Besides, if we were really drunk, we would do something mad like get a tattoo or buy something really expensive like- a flashy car or something.” Jo countered. Kate let the suggestion hang in the air for a few moments as she peered round the street, the occasional shop now closed, looking for a place to suggest. “How about getting a hair cut?” Kate questioned as she pointed to the shop across the road. “Well that’s not that mad, I’m pretty sure most people get those.” She responded, slightly sarcastically as she shrugged and peered round the rest of the street. “But what if we got like really short hair.” She suggested as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she considered her own suggestion. Jo smiled. “Okay- but your paying. Since I forgot me wallet.” She joked as Kate pushed open the door to the building and they each took a seat.