Title: Siempre Hay Algo Más
Rating: PG
Pairing: Pepa/Silvia
A/N: I know! It's been forever! I suuuuck. :-P After making y'all wait for three months, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 4
"Stop."
"Stop what?"
"Stop fiddling with the radio, coño."
"Well, I can't find a station I like," the brunette in the passenger seat explained as she changed the station once again.
In response, Silvia's hand flew off of the steering wheel to swiftly smack the power button on the radio console. Pepa dejectedly pulled her hand back to her lap with a loud sigh.
"Okay, fine...we can just spend the rest of the drive in uncomfortable silence."
"Sounds good to me."
The two women had been stuck in a bad traffic jam for the past 20 minutes and they were still quite far away from the crime scene where they were supposed to collect evidence. Don Lorenzo had assigned Silvia the task and Gonzalo asked for a volunteer to accompany her. Pepa’s hand immediately appeared, along with a mischievous smile, much to the redhead’s consternation. Silvia was about to speak up and suggest that someone else come along with her, but the comisario was in one of his usual impatient, gruff moods and called an end to the briefing before she get could get a word out. So, she was limited to shooting Pepa an angry glare, receiving a wink and an air-blown kiss in reply.
Now here they were, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic with no let-up in sight…and there was a whole job still left to do.
I swear she lives just to annoy me. There was no reason for her to volunteer for this job. I know she still has tons of paperwork to finish…I mean, is she ever on top of her paperwork? No. But once again, she avoids getting any real work done and volunteers to hold plastic evidence bags just so she can drive me insane.
As if reading her thoughts, Pepa let out another exaggeratedly loud sigh and started fiddling with the window controls.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up…
Just as Silvia was about to scream, Pepa herself finally broke the silence.
“So, how are things going with Eva?”
“So, why did you volunteer for this when you and I both know we hate working together?”
“Maybe I just wanted the pleasure of your company for the afternoon, Silvia,” the agent responded with a smirk.
Silvia scoffed and rolled her eyes in response, but Pepa wasn’t going to give up on her averted question so easily.
“Sooo, how are things with Eva?”
“Oh, just drop it. You know I’m not going to talk about her with you.”
“Why not? She’s my friend…”
“And she’s my girlfriend,” Silvia blurted out, immediately regretting the words.
“Ah! So she’s your girlfriend now?” Pepa asked in a slightly mocking tone, her hand finding the window controls again. “It’s official and everything?”
“Yes, it’s official. She’s my girlfriend…and stop playing with the damn window!”
“Pff, you’d think someone who’s finally getting laid would be a little more relaxed…”
Silvia’s head fell forward onto the steering wheel between her hands. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting back the scream that was trying to escape from her throat. A few seconds later, her forehead still on the steering wheel, she slowly began to speak, “You know what? I am relaxed. It’s only YOU who drives me this crazy.”
Pepa was quick to take advantage of Silvia’s prone position, twisting one of the redhead’s curls around her finger and giving it a tug before trailing that fingertip down her back. “’Crazy’ like you want to rip my clothes off and ravish me?” She asked, her voice dropping an octave and arching a suggestive brow.
Silvia’s head slowly swiveled to the side so she could scowl at the other woman. “’Crazy’ like I want to shoot you with your own magnum.”
“I think I’m going to have to have a talk with Eva, pelirroja,” Pepa said, shaking her head as if disappointed. “She’s obviously doing something wrong for you to still be this uptight. Oh, and you might want to…”
“Pepa, can you please just stop talking for the rest of the drive…please?”
No sooner had the agent thrown her hands up in a gesture of compliance and sat back in her seat than a loud honk blasted from the car behind them.
“I was going to tell you that the cars moved…but I’ll just shut up now.”
Silvia lifted her head, rolled her eyes, and stepped on the gas, hoping for the day to just end already. Working with Pepa might suck, but she would get through it…and then she’d have a certain gorgeous brunette waiting for her at her apartment with a home-cooked dinner that night. The thought brought a smile to her face…a smile that only lasted as long as it took for Pepa to start playing with the door locks.
~*~*~*~
13 years before
"Pepa!" The fifteen-year old redhead shouted as she walked into the precinct and spotted her friend and sister-in-law coming down the stairs.
"Silvia!"
The redhead quickly looked over to her father who had walked in with her, waiting for him to indicate if it was okay for her to go off with Pepa.
"Go, hija. Just don't get into any trouble. I shouldn't be more than 30 minutes, vale?"
"Si, Papá. I'll be back in your office in a few minutes."
Silvia hurriedly made her way over to where her friend was standing, giving her a big hug once she got to her side.
"I didn't know you were going to be here today."
"Paco let me practice shooting in the firing range today," Pepa explained, clasping her hands together in front of her with her index fingers extended, pretending to aim and shoot. Silvia had to laugh at her enthusiasm. "What are you doing here?"
"Papá and I are going to eat with Lola later. He just had to get some work done first."
The two girls began walking together, wandering down the halls to look for some private corner where they could sit and talk. They passed several officers on their walk, many of whom had already greeted Pepa when she had arrived earlier, but they stopped now to say hello to Silvia. Pepa stood a safe distance behind and started pulling faces when some of the officer's effusive greetings were obviously attempts at sucking up to the comisario's daughter. When they turned a corner and found themselves alone again, Pepa finally spoke, "You really are like a little princess around here."
Silvia rolled her eyes, almost blushing in embarrassment at the over-the-top, though not insincere, treatment she always received from the officers who worked with her father. "They're just trying to be nice."
"Yeah, because one wrong word and your father will have their cojones."
"Oye!" Silvia exclaimed with a light, back-handed smack. "Don't start."
"Don't start what? It's true, he does have an odd obsession with cojones," the taller girl said while looping her arm through her friend's. "We all have our quirks," she added with a shrug of her shoulders, "your father's just happen to involve his santísimos."
Silvia shook her head and decided now would be a good time to change the subject. "Anyway, they'll stop treating me like a princess when I become just another co-worker."
Pepa stopped in her tracks, pulling Silvia to a stop as well since their arms were still linked. "Wait, what do you mean 'co-worker'?"
"I mean, when I finish school and start working here as the forensics inspector, that's what I mean," she explained, her brown eyes gleaming in excitement at her news.
The smile grew wider on the brunette's face as Silvia's words began to sink in. Pepa had known for some time that she wanted to be a cop. She couldn't think of a better profession for herself...and to work with her brother on top of that? She couldn't wait to join the San Antonio force. But that Silvia wanted to work here, too? That was something she hadn't even considered; she just assumed that her friend would go work at a hospital or something.
"But, how....? When did you decide this?"
"I had always been considering it. I just didn't want to say anything until I was sure that it was what I wanted to do."
"So...that means we'll work together?"
"Are you having a slow day or something? Yes, we'll be working together."
Pepa frowned at Silvia's joking insult, but the smile quickly returned to her face as she finally got her brain wrapped around Silvia's announcement. Instead of saying anything, though, she just took Silvia by the hand and started to tug her back down the hallway and up the stairs before they both snuck into the lab. They weren't supposed to be in there; Inspector Orozco was a stern and rigid old grump who didn't like anyone to be in his lab, but he had already left for the day, so the coast was clear.
Pepa lead Silvia inside. "Let's take a look at your future lab," she whispered as they crossed the threshold and turned her head to wink at Silvia over her shoulder. Their nostrils were instantly assailed by the strong odor of disinfectant and formaldehyde. Pepa's nose wrinkled in disgust, but Silvia recognized that the sterile smell would someday be more familiar to her than the ones of her own home...that the scent would follow her, cling to her hair and clothes, becoming her own personal perfume. Repellant perfume, sure, but she liked the thought of smelling like science, gross as it was.
Silvia leisurely walked around the room, taking in all the supplies, letting the tips of her fingers drift over a rack of empty test tubes. Pepa hopped up onto the center counter, casually leaning back on her hands, and watched the redhead make her tour of the place, opening a few of the cabinets and taking peeks at the treasures hidden inside.
Pepa suddenly got an idea and jumped off the counter. She went and opened the small closet in the corner and pulled out a white lab coat before making her way back to the counter and hopping on top again. She held the coat out in front of her, "Try it on, Einstein."
Silvia took the coat from Pepa's hands and pulled it on, making a full turn to show it off. "What do you think?"
"Preciosa," was the honest response, and she took Silvia's hand in one of hers while her free hand played with the charms hanging off the delicate bracelet. It was only in the last year or so that Pepa realized just what a genius gift the bracelet had been - she now frequently used it as an excuse to hold the other girl's hand.
"So, we're really going to work together?" Pepa asked jokingly.
"Sííí, tonta," Silvia replied, extracting her hand from Pepa's to place both of them on the other girl's thighs.
The two of them remained still, just looking at each other and smiling. These quiet moments were starting to happen more and more often. They both thrilled at the feeling of nervous butterflies in their stomachs. But only one of the girls seemed to understand their significance. Silvia, who was more concerned with figuring out the world around her than examining the mystery of her own heart, was completely blind to the feelings burgeoning inside her.
But, Pepa...Pepa understood. And to keep herself from doing something stupid, she cleared her throat to break the silence. "We'll be the best crime-fighting duo ever," she finally said with her signature rakish grin.
"Hmm," Silvia began, giving Pepa's thighs a squeeze. "I think you just might be right."
Pepa swallowed at the feel of Silvia’s innocent gesture. "We should probably go, pelirroja, or your dad will come looking for you. And he'll be pissed if he finds us in here."
"You're right. We should go," she said, but she didn't actually move until Pepa slid forward on the counter, snapping her out of...whatever daze she was in.
Silvia took the coat off and hung it back in the closet before they both snuck back out of the lab, their thoughts racing with all the possibilities their futures would hold.
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A/N Dos: Yes, I realize this is the second update in a row where I've gotten Silvia into and out of a lab coat. I'm obsessed...can you blame me?? :-P