Chapter Text
Lockwood-
Wafts of bergamot scented the air as I strode into the kitchen. It was precisely the welcome a top tier agent might expect after a challenging case. I joined George at the dining table while he handed me a fine cuppa of good, strong tea. Today’s brew was an Earl Grey which I had received as a gift from a grateful client. Such things were becoming more and more common, almost expected, given the way George went on about it when clients neglected to reward us for our talents. Could not blame him really, after all; we are the best psychical investigation agency in London and we’re finally receiving the appreciation we deserve.
The Problem was not quite yet in decline. DEPRAC had its work cut out for them in figuring out how to aid the ghosts on the Other Side to whatever laid beyond. That meant that London was still plagued by all manner of ghouls that terrorised its populace.
It was no wonder we were still kept busy, more so than ever given the agency’s sky-rocketing fame. Lockwood and Co has the best researcher, fencer, manager, and, of course, Listener. Lucy Carlyle was the greatest Talent in the world and she was mine. I mean, ours, of course. Ours. I looked over the newspaper as she entered the kitchen, the fresh scent of soap following her as she stifled a yawn. She had a habit of covering her yawns with the back of her hand. A feminine gesture that juxtaposed exquisitely with the callouses her hands had formed after years of rapier training. This morning, she wore a pale blue sweatshirt that was cropped at her waist, paired with high waisted jeans. It suited her curves well.
“Good morning,” she greeted sleepily and I echoed it back to her as she went about helping George with breakfast. Or, actually took over, more like. The next thing I knew, George had sat down right in front of where Lucy was preparing her breakfast plate from the pan of sausage and eggs that he had cooked up. As much as I had nothing but respect and friendship for the chap, his deadpan stare that interrupted my train of thought left me bristled.
“What?” I asked, mild annoyance knitting my brows together.
But my researcher did not falter in his scrutinising stare. “Sorry, mate, am I in the way of your perusal?” I took issue with his pointed tone and kicked him under the table. He kicked me back and sipped from his cuppa while beginning an unflattering doodle of me on the thinking cloth. The cheek! I have half a mind to dock his pay for that! Not that I would, an upstanding gent such as myself could never.
“Play nice, you two.” Lucy’s half-awake voice created an armistice of sorts between George and me. She soon joined us at the table at her usual spot and picked at her food while stifling yawns. Did she not sleep enough? “Holly still not here yet?”
“It's her day off, Luce,” I replied with a smile and lifted my tea. Avoiding George’s continued judgemental glances, I returned to reading the latest article praising my flawless leadership. Vaguely, I could feel Lucy’s gaze looking at the newspaper and I adjusted it so she could glance at the headlines if curious. A squeak sounded through the room as Lucy pressed her knife roughly onto her plate.
“Sorry, still asleep.” Lucy’s face was soon adorned with a flush. I chuckled at the thought of such a capable agent having a moment of bashful clumsiness. It is what I lo- liked about her. I meant liked.
Once again, I felt a pair of eyes watching me. I looked up, intending to flash a proper smile at Lucy, only to notice it was George staring. His deadpan stare oozed with a distinct lack of amusement. It was far too knowing for my liking. He had hinted before in the past that he knew about me and Lucy, but had kept out of it for the most part. Now, however, I caught him rolling his eyes and getting up with the excuse that he was finished with breakfast and had work to do.
Lucy and I exchanged glances before she broke the silence. “What’s up with him?”
“Stressed, I imagine. We have been rather overworked. Maybe it's time for all of us to have a holiday. I’ll give Barnes a call after breakfast, I’m sure we can direct some cases to DEPRAC to reassign for us. Holly can sort all that tomorrow.”
“A break sounds nice,” she remarked with a warm smile, one of the slight ones that tugged at the corner of her lips. “Wouldn’t mind catching up on sleep, maybe even going to that new pizza place George is always raving on about.”
“Then it's settled.” It was so easy to feel comfortable around her, especially when she looked at me like she was now; eyes lit up and a softened flush.
She had this warmth to her presence that made the team feel like they were her family. Little by little, she had thawed out the icy prison I had built myself into. Sometimes, I stopped to wonder exactly how that had happened. It was gradual, and before I knew it, I began to look forward to seeing her and missed her more than I thought possible when she left us.
Of course, things haven't always been easy for us. After we dealt with Marissa Fittes, I thought we were going to be together. After all, I had made it exceedingly obvious and doted on her endlessly. I even gave her a symbol of my affection in the form of my mother’s necklace. Ah, but she was shy and reserved when it came to such things. The last thing I wanted was to push her or pressure her into anything. When she joined me for that walk after putting the necklace on, she stumbled her words and fidgeted with her hands. In other words, she had acted in a very un-Lucy way. Had I made a real move, she might have run away again. Who knows?
No, for now, this was fine. Having her around brightened up 35 Portland Row and I could tell the others were happy to have her around. Holly was chattier, George felt more comfortable, and even Kipps smiled from time to time. She was the glue that held us all together, so the most important thing to do was to make sure she was comfortable. The last thing anyone wanted was for me to push her away again. I vaguely recalled George threatening me with a cast iron pan once… I refused to let it happen, even if it meant I had to pretend there was nothing aside from platonic affection between us.
—
George-
I had enough. After years of these two absolutely salivating over one another, it was becoming unbearable to witness the unending tension. Some days, I had half a mind to lock them in a room until they snogged it out of their systems. Perhaps ,if they admitted their feelings towards one another, then they could stop ogling each other and pretending they weren’t. Really, it was just annoying at this point. I thought they would have sorted themselves out after Lucy came back and made up with Holly. Apparently, they had a moment on the Other Side. Then the whole Fittes debacle slowed down any progress.
I had hoped all this mooning was over after I saw them go take a ‘walk’ together and they’d get on with it. No such luck. Flo finds it amusing, of course. “Oh, just leave them, Georgie. Locky will get there eventually. She just needs to make it more obvious that she feels the same.”
“More obvious? Yesterday, she was eyeing him so blatantly that she scratched her plate from pushing the knife too hard on her breakfast sausage… all because he smiled at her. It doesn’t bother you because you don’t have to live with them,” I insisted as we took in the afternoon breeze on Flo’s barge. We often liked to come here on the water. It was nice and peaceful. Today, I brought along a pizza for us to nibble on and Flo brought along glazed buns. Not to brag or anything, but this is what a healthy relationship looks like. Flo and I didn’t dance around one another for literal years. We got on with it, unlike
Locky and Luce
, the absolute muppets they are.
My internal monologue was interrupted by Flo’s pristine mischievous grin. “You know, maybe we could give them a little ‘nudge’. Bet that hoity toity Holly would help. Best not tell Kipps though, got a feeling he’d give us away or worse: get in the way.” And that was why Flo and I got on. Just love how her mind works. Her scheme was met with a grin of my own and we spent the rest of our outing ironing out the details.
—
As it turns out, Holly did want to help. In fact, I had never seen her beam that brightly. Had to wonder if she reserved that maniacal grin specifically for matchmaking hijinks. Almost felt badly for her ‘flatmate’, but then again, she was with Holly on purpose so… that one was on her really.
“That is brilliant! You are a genius, George!” Holly exclaimed across the cafe table, resulting in Flo flashing me a blatant ‘see? I told you so’ look before chomping down on a chip. I had to admit that their energy was contagious. Soon, I found myself snorting in amusement.
“Right so… orchestrating this plan will take finesse and a delicate touch.” Holly went on, giving her own input after we gave her the basic run down on Flo’s scheme.
“I’m plenty delicate,” I offered before stealing one of Flo’s chips.
Holly did not respond, instead she was deep in thought. “We need them both to think the other one planned it.”
Flo soon interjected. “It's all well and good to get them alone together with the right atmosphere. But guaranteeing they actually get on with it is another issue. One of us will have to be there in case one of them becomes stubborn.”
At this, both of them turned to stare at me. I glanced between them and rolled my eyes, “Stubborn? That would be ol’ Luce,” I sighed. “Yeah yeah, I’ll go and lock them in a room together or something if they drag their feet. Now, I can chat with Lockwood, but one of you has to get Lucy on board too. By which I mean, plant the seed of thinking about it. We play this right, and we’ll have a tension-free work environment by Christmas.”
“Don’t look at me.” Flo raised her hands in playful surrender and gave the poshest of the trio a pointed look.
Thankfully, Holly was nothing short of delighted to take on the role. “Florence, it would be my genuine pleasure.”
“Good. Now… call me Florence again and we’ll be having words, you and I. Seems we’re sorted plan-wise so I’ll be off, got a tip I’d like to get on top of. But I expect a full report later, Georgie.” She gave me an affectionate wink, which I responded to with a smile. Holly did not seem to notice as she was too busy rubbing her hands together, no doubt thinking about how best to corner Lucy.
—
Lucy-
It was my first full day off in ages. Now that the house was back in order, we could finally spend a free day doing anything we wanted! But now that I had free reign over how to spend my day, I had no idea what to do with myself. The sun poured into my attic bedroom as I glanced over to the burnt skull. Still no word from the Type Three who had saved us. It made me feel a little sad, especially on days like this. A part of me hoped he had found peace and moved on. Maybe his selfless act of saving us helped him get a ‘good word’ in or something. I sometimes discussed this with George, who at least was always happy to listen to my theories.
I got up off my bed and set aside a sketchbook I had just started. It was already full of doodles of some of the ghosts we had dealt with. The more memorable ones anyway. I guess I needed a hobby to get myself out of my own head.
Just as I was about to descend the steps, a very chipper Holly greeted me at the door. She had two cups of tea in each of her dainty hands. “Hi Lucy! Um, I was thinking maybe we could hang out?”
The offer was unexpected but not unwelcome. Next thing I knew, I was smiling too and allowing her in. We sat on my bed sipping tea and chatting. Holly was admiring my doodles and we spent a good hour reminiscing about the cases we had together. It was actually nice and I suddenly felt so silly for having disliked her for so long.
However, things took an awkward turn when she leafed to a page where I had sketched the hollow boy. It was, of course, done with Lockwood’s likeness and it made Holly’s smile falter. To her credit, she didn’t press me on it, but instead closed the sketchbook and looked up at me as if she had something on her mind.
“I know, I know… it's silly,” I began with a sigh. “I suppose you deserve an explanation though, given how things played out that night.” So I opened up to her about what really happened at Aickmere’s. Holly said nothing once I finished and instead gave me a sisterly hug, which made me think of my sisters back home. Maybe I should visit them eventually?
“It's not silly at all. We all know how much you care about Lockwood. I would have done the same as you if I had seen a ghost take my girlfriend’s form and predict her death.” How understanding she sounded, but something about what she said stuck out to me.
“What do you mean by ‘we all know’?” I asked carefully, confused by what she meant. After all that, he saw me as a sister. It was bloody typical for my first love to be unrequited, but I had just about made my peace with it and accepted that having him in my life was enough. Even if it was only platonic.
Holly only replied with a raise of her finely arched brows. For a brief moment, I was annoyed by her perfect looks. “Come on, Lucy. Everyone knows you’re both in love with each other. Everyone, that is, save the two of you.”
Heat spread from my cheeks down to my neck. Bloody hell, had I been that obvious? “I-its one-sided, Hols. He told me once he thought of me as a sister!” As much as I hated being called out, the recent weeks following our fated walk together had resulted in nothing between me and Lockwood. The walk had been lovely and I remember my heart racing so fast in my chest I thought it was going to implode. All that only for Lockwood to be a perfect gentleman and keep his distance. He loved me, sure, but not in a
romantic
way.
“I guarantee that you are the only one who thinks that. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes how he feels about you,” insisted Holly as she glanced into her now empty tea mug, as if debating on whether she fancied a refill. “It is most definitely not as a sister.”
I wasn’t having it. “Bonkers, the lot of you. I mean, there was a time I thought he felt it too, but nothing happened when I thought it would.” On some level, it felt good to talk to someone about this. As annoyed as I sometimes got with Holly, she was a good listener and seemed genuine in her desire to befriend me.
Her hand reached out to pat my arm. “What happened then? Maybe there is something there you didn’t notice. I may not have your talent, Lucy, but I’m pretty good at reading people.”
A long exhale escaped me and I figured what was the harm? Maybe it would help me process how things turned out anyway. So I showed her the beautiful sapphire necklace that had belonged to his mother. Even telling her what he said about it before our showdown with Fittes. Then what happened on our walk. “... I don’t know, Holls, at first he was looking at me with this affectionate smile as we walked. We spoke about our lives before I joined Lockwood and Co and ended up by the Tate ,overlooking the Thames. The sun was ready to set and it was the perfect moment for him to… to… well you know…”
“Snog you?” Holly finished unhelpfully, making me flustered with frustration.
“Well… yeah!” That earned me a chuckle and I raised my hands up in defeat as I fell back onto my pillow with a groan.
“Hmm.” She tapped her chin in thought, as if trying to deduce precisely why Lockwood did not take advantage of such a perfect moment. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but were you nervous, maybe fidgeting?”
“Of course I was bloody nervous! Maybe you’re a kissing expert, but I never had time for that sort of thing before!” I protested with exasperation.
Somehow that only had Holly plop down next to me with a giggle. “Seems Lockwood really cares about you. Maybe he thought he was pressuring you into something that you either weren’t ready for or weren’t sure you wanted. He could have kept his distance so as not to put you off. It might help if you made the first move, you know. Let him know you’re keen.”
Utterly annoying how logical she was being about the whole thing. “What if you’re wrong, then? What if he sees me as family? Then I try something and make things awkward. We
live
together! Think about working together after being rejected.”
“Maybe he thinks the same as you, ever thought of that?”
I shrugged.
“Ok, what if you knew for a fact he likes you romantically?”
The suggestion in her question made me give her a wide-eyed warning, “Holly, don’t you dare tell him anything I told you! Please promise me you won’t!”
At this, she put her hand up in an effort to calm me. “Yeah yeah, don’t worry Lucy. I would never betray your trust like that. That said, there are other ways to find these things out.”
Pacified by her sincere promise, I humoured her. “Such as?”
“George.” Triumph graced Holly’s lips.
“No way. He’d be absolutely unbearable if he knew!”
“Lucy, I hate to break it to you but… he already knows.”
"Oh God..." Mortified, I rolled over to bury my face into my pillow and soon felt Holly consoling me with a pat. Thoughts ran across my mind as I thought over my options. If everyone knew, then there was nothing for it. I had to be proactive or risk further embarrassment. "... what was your plan?"
"Simple, really, we eavesdrop while George asks him about it."
"Eavesdrop? That's your plan!?" Incredulous, I had unburied my face long enough to give her a withering stare, only to be met with a shrug.
"It's that, or you keep doubting what everyone else knows. Your choice."
It was not a perfect solution. Far from it. In fact, the whole scheme made me feel wrong. As if I was betraying Lockwood's trust. But the part of me that wondered 'what if' had to be sated so I nodded numbly. For the record, Holly was far too chuffed about the whole thing. I made a mental note to find a way to embarrass her in front of her 'flatmate'.
-----