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"Ok well as fun as it is to sit around and watch you do paperwork for an hour," Morgan starts, snatching her purse of the edge of Karadec's desk, "I am starving. You leavin' yet?"
Karadec glances over at the clock but it's barely even nine o'clock. "No, go ahead. I still have some work to finish up."
"Kay. Have a fantastic night doing… this." She shrugs and slips on her jacket. "See you tomorrow, partner."
Karadec hated when she referred to him as her partner. He wasn't sure exactly why, maybe it had something to do with what it insinuated. When people heard the word "partner" their was no good reason to assume they were partners in law enforcement. "See you tomorrow," he responds healfheartedly. Her shoes click all the way to the elevator and he watches her leave, something he does often. Not in a weird stalker-want-to-kidnap-you kind of way, more of an intrigued-and-anyone-would be lucky to have her kind of way. He shakes his head, still trying to figure out how she was able to wear those shoes for eight plus hours and still walk at the end of the day.
Morgan steps off the elevator a few floors later and immediately groans. It was pouring rain. It looked like it had been for awhile now and the streets were filled with puddles. Ludo had the car this weekend, he had taken the kids upstate to visit his parents, so Morgan had taken the bus and then walked the rest of the way.
Ugh. There was no way she was walking home in this. She reaches into her pocket for her phone, to call an Uber, but finds it empty. She checks her other pockets and then her purse. Nothing. "Crap," she whispers. An image flashes through her head and she remembered it was definetly on the corner of her desk. She doesn't bother waiting for the elevator this time, taking the stairs two at a time. It was only four floors, not too far. The stairwell door crashes open with a bang and she almost chuckles at the way Karadec jumps across the room.
"Gosh Morgan, what the hell?"
"Sorry!" She says with a smile. "Forgot my phone. I hope you have an umbrella for the walk to your car, I haven't seen it storm this way in months."
"So you're staying longer?" He doesn't let himself sound excited although he is secretly thrilled that he had company for the evening.
"Uh, no." She shoots that idea down too quickly. "I'm calling an Uber and I am going home to my soup."
"Woah woah- an Uber?"
Morgan furrows her brows. "Yeah? You know, that car service that takes you from place to place for only a few dollars. Pretty good deal for someone who doesn't have a car."
"I know what an Uber is," Karadec says with an eye roll, "I'm just wondering why you think that's a safe option for a woman at almost 9:30 on a Friday night?"
"Awe, you're worried about me! Can I get that in writing?" Her eyes light up as she gives him a wink. "I'll be fine, I'm a big girl."
"Yeah, in spirit maybe." That wasn't even up for discussion. Morgan was one of the most fiesty, intelligent, interesting people that Karadec had ever met. It didn't mean she wasn't an easy target if some scum decided to try and take advantage of her. "I'll drive you home."
"Karadec, seriously, I appreciate the sentiment but you have stacks of reports to finish up. I'm just gonna call a driver and I'll be out of your hair." She taps her phone screen once, two times, until the trademark dead battery signal pops up on the screen.
"Dead?" He asks.
"Dead," she confirms with a sigh. Morgan walks around Karadec's desk until she can reach into the little cup he put his keys in. "Come on, you fished your wish."
Karadec flicks off his desk lamp, taking the keys that were dangling from her fingers, her nails painted in a blue and white checkerboard pattern. Maybe t was the detective in him, but he always noticed the little things about her. Her nails, her outfits, the way within a weeks time she likely would touch up the roots of her hair that he knew were growing out a bit too much for her liking. He pretends not to notice the way their fingers brush— just ever so slightly— before she pulls her hand away, turning back towards the elevator with pep in her step. She grabs an umbrella from the stand by the elevator doors. She isn't sure who's it is but she knows that it's not Karadec's as it is bright pink with white polka ots, kind of like an off-colored ladybug.
"Is that yours?" He asks.
"Nope. No clue whose it is but clearly they're not using it and it's got the dome shape, the best one to keep you dry."
"Right."
They both reach for the down button at the same time, their fingers brushing again. "Oh sorry!" Morgan exclaims with a laugh. "You can push it, fine with me."
"No, you've got it." Karadec pulls his hand back, too.
"I'm good." Morgan shrugs, waiting for a second for him to press it. "Well it's not gonna press itself."
Karadec silently curses himself as she taps it. He could've done that, now he looks like a fool. That always happened around her. He never got nervous before but around Morgan, it was different. He tried not to be but it was difficult when she could respond to any comment with a smart quip. The doors ding open and he lets her go first.
"Awe, what a gentleman. I don't care what they say about you."
Karadec makes sure he hits the first floor button before Morgan can, standing in the awkward silence after.
"You ok?" Morgan asks. "You seem a littly.. jumpy. Something on your mind?"
"No, nothing," he answers too curtly.
"You sure? First you wanted to stay here and do your work but then you were itching at the opportunity to drive me home and now you're nervous. Why?"
Karadec sighs as they step off and onto the ground floor. "I'm not nervous, Morgan, I'm tired. It's been a long day. I wasn't going to go home but when you came back in I realized how much I need a regular sleep schedule. It's never going to happen but at least I can try." He holds the door open for her as she pops open the umbrella, holding it over both of them as they step out into the still miserable weather.
"Wait, hold on just a second." Morgan shoves the umbrella into his hand and reaches down to unstrap her shoes. Once she gets them off, she exchanges them for the umbrella, making Karadec hold them.
"Wow. Thanks. What a gift," he deadpans, taking them from her. "Why am I holding your heels?"
"'Cause I don't want to get them wet? Do you have any idea how hard it is to fix water damaged leather shoes? Really hard," she answers for him.
"That doesn't answer why I have to hold them."
Morgan shrugs. "So, that case today was an interesting one, huh?"
"Yeah, you did well. Spotting that deodorant stain on the perp's shirt where he grabbed Alexandra was a good catch." Karadec wasn't kidding. Without that they probably wouldn't have found the guy. Who knew it was so hard to get Dove out of clothes? He wondered nearly every day what his closure rate would be without her. Sure, he was a great detective, Oz and Daphne worked well with each other, too, but no one worked as well as he and Morgan did.
"Why thank you!" She interrupts his thoughts. "I pride myself on noticing things. It's kind of my forte. I guess that's a PSA to not wear dark shirts if you're going to kidnap someone by dragging them under the arms. Where are you parked?"
"Just around the corner." They turn the building and Karadec hits the unlok button on his key fob. He takes the umbrella back with tense shoulders, trying his very best not to make it awakward when their hands brush yet again. "Here." He grabs the door handle, pulling it open and holding the umbrella over her so she wouldn't get wet. In turn, his back got soaked within seconds. Karadec doesn't say anything as he hands her her shoes and closes the car door, frowning when he realized he had gotten rained on. It wasn't like it wouldn't dry but he didn't enjoy being cold.
He turns on the heat as soon as the car is on and a second later he's nearly knocked out through the windows when a rockish indie song that is not his usual choice blasts from the speakers. "Ah, what the hell!" He turns it down almost to zero and Morgan looks at him like he's crazy.
"That's my song!" She holds up her phone that was now plugged into the CarPlay. "If you're gonna make me ride home with you when you're grumpy then the least you can do is let me listen to my music."
"You call that music? And I am not grumpy."
"Yes, it's Bleachers. 'Don't Take the Money' is very applicable to our line of work. And you absolutely are grumpy and I'm determined to figure out why. It's not about me, right? Let me guess, you have a bad knee and the rain irritates it?" A grin spreads on her face as he shakes his head.
"I told you, I'm not grumpy." He turns the music back up in hopes that it would shut her up but instead it encourages her to sing rather than speak. Karadec fights the urge to bash his head into the steering wheel until he realizes Morgan's actually not a terrible singer. She probably wouldn't make it on broadway but she wasn't awful. The song changes to something that he did know and for some reason he finds himself humming along with her.
"See, maybe being happy isn't such a bad thing." Morgan punches his shoulder lightly as they come to a halt at the stoplight to turn onto her road.
"Gillory," Karadec groans.
Morgan turns to him quickly. "Ooh, you haven't called me that in awhile."
"That's because you haven't been obstinate enough to warrant it," the response is light, no malice or anger behind it whatsoever. "I am fine, really."
The song changes again as the light changes and they make the turn. Once more, the song changes. Karadec's pulse quickens as he realizes what it is. The tell-tale guitar intro plays as he pulls into the driveway, the words starting slow and unassuming. He stops the car but doesn't look over at her, hoping she'd get out before he had to say anything else.
"You want to come in?" She asks before she's even opened the car door. "I have a lot of soup and Ludo and the kids won't be back until Sunday evening. I could use some help eating it before it goes bad."
Karadec should absolutely not say yes. He should hand her the umbrella and wish her a good night and not even think about what he was thinking about right now.
"Hello?" Morgan waves her hand in front of his spaced-out face. "Soup?" She asks again.
"Ye- no." Karadec shakes his head, coming to his senses. "I shouldn't. I have food at home." He didn't, actually. Dinner for the past two days had consisted of leftover Chinese that he had unfortunately finished the night before. The song still played in the background as he says, "I'll watch you walk up." The corners of his mouth lift up in a small smile as Morgan shrugs and collects her shoes and the umbrella. Her phone is yanked from the charger and the song shuts off from the car, still echoing from her phone's speakers.
"I heard they're doing a tour this year," Morgan remarks as she opens the car door. "We should go."
"Huh?" Karadec tilts his head.
"The Goo Goo Dolls." She searches his face for any ackowledgement. "I saw your reaction when 'Iris' started playing, come on now. I'm sure I could get tickets, Ludo has a friend who works at the arena and sometimes gets him stuff. They may not be floor seats but it's better than nothing."
Karadec had hoped she hadn't seen the way he flinched when it started playing, especially at the implications of walking her up to her door, in the rain, while Iris played in the background. "We'll see," he answers, his voice soft. "Goodnight, Morgan."
Morgan rolls her eyes with a laugh. "Goodnight, Karadec. Have a good weekend."
"You too." He swallows hard as she shuts the door behind her, giving a little wave before turning and padding up to the front door. He's about to switch to his own music, classical, before he notices her house key has slipped out of her purse and onto the floor. Ugh.
The rain had let up a little, though it was still quite wet. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, his back was also still wet from when he helped her into the car earlier. He glances out the window and sees she hasn't quite made it to the door yet so he grabs the keys, swings open his door, and makes what is probably not the best decision in the world.
Morgan digs through her purse, a huff of annoyance when she realizes her keys aren't where they should be. She turns on her bare heel to go back down to Karadec's car and nearly runs straight into him.
"Sorry I—"
"Left your keys," he finishes for her, extending them and dropping them into her open palm.
"Yeah. Thanks. Holy crap!" She interjects, "you're soaking wet! I would've come back to the car to get them, you didn't have to do that."
"It's fine. I'm just going to shower at home anyways."
There's a few seconds of silence between them as they stare at each other. Without her normal heels, Morgan was much shorter than Karadec and she actually had to look up at him for once. "And thanks for driving me home, you didn't have to do that, either."
"I know." There's a little rasp in his voice that catches Morgan's attention the second she hears it. "I've seen them in concert, actually." He adds for no particular reason other than to keep the conversation going.
"Really?"
"Mhm. 2004, Buffalo."
"It was pouring during that show."
"Mhm."
"Must've been quite a set."
"It was." Karadec doesn't break eye contact as Morgan shifts on her feet. "Goodnight, again." He says lowly.
Morgan nods, turning back and clicking the lock on her door.
Something stops her, though.
"You wanna tell me why you were so uptight earlier?" She turns back to him but keeps one hand on the doorknob as she holds the umbrella steady with the other, covering both of them (not that it did Karadec any good since he was practically dripping on her front porch).
Karedec runs a hand through his hair, a sigh wracking his body. "You know, for the most brilliant woman I have ever met, it's actually surprising to me that you haven't figured this out."
Morgan smirks, a coy sparkle in her eyes. "I never said that I didn't have it figured out, I said that I wanted you to tell me." She drops her other hand from the door and gives him her full attention.
"Uh huh. So you have this all wrapped in a tight little bow? Exactly what I'm thinking right now?"
Morgan shrugs. "More or less, but I won't know for certain until you tell me. Either that or we can just stand here on my porch all night but I'm sure you're freezing by now and— have I mentioned that I am really hungry?" She's looking back up at him now, a brilliant blue in her eyes that he never saw anywhere else.
A light chuckle escapes Karadec as he relaxes a little. "Morgan, you astound me. You know that?"
She did not know that, no. At least, not put that way.
"I'm not grumpy or upset or angry, especially not at you. I'm just.. frusturated, at myself. For.. I don't know. Just in general. Because you're… well you're you and that's reason enough to be frusturated with myself because every time I look at you or work a case with you or just talk with you I am astounded and I- I don't know what to do about it." He lets out a long breath, shoving his hands by his sides so he wouldn't fidget.
Morgan nods. She knows what he's trying to say, it was enough coming from him. "Adam. Do you want to come in now?" Morgan whispers, trying to keep her tone from sounding as urgent as the words felt.
The way his first name slipped so easily off her toungue snapped something in him. The umbrella is knocked out of her hand and upside down on the ground to fill up with water, rendering it utterly useless as Karadec smoothly and quickly brings his mouth down to hers. She doesn't quite have to stand on her tiptoes but one of his hands rest gently on her back to steady her just in case. Her hands reach up to grab onto his sopping wet shirt, a shiver running through her body at the sudden cold but quickly subsidinz as she pressed her body into his.
A whimper comes out of Karadec and Morgan makes a very quick mental note to bring that up later. Now she's more interested in the way that his hands are wandering around her. Sure, Morgan imagined this moment more than she would ever admit, but in her imagination Karadec was never this good. He's so gentle but so.. she doesn't even have a word for it. Somewhere along the way, Karadec's spinning head quiets down and he realizes that the music is still playing from Morgan's phone.
There was no way that he, Adam Karadec, detective with the LAPD was kissing his consultant in the rain while Iris played in the background. And yet he was.
One of Morgan's hands releases his shirt and she turns the doorknob, pushing it in all while never breaking the contact between their bodies. Karadec shuts the door behind them with as much ease as when he pushed her up against the entryway table, supporting her as best he could. He pulls away with as little distance between them as possible to let her breathe before kissing her again, his toungue swiping against her mouth and making her nails scratch at his back. He moves down to kiss her neck and her hands find the buttons on his shirt, starting on them before he pulls away a little farther this time, leaving her fumbling.
"Morgan," he rasps, one of his hands coming up to wipe the water that was dripping from her also now soaking wet hair. "This is what you want?" He asks gently, his weight pushing into her as she still leaned against the table.
"Yes," she answers feverishly. "I was waiting for you to finally just say something. Every time I look at you, this is what I want. Not just this, though. All of it. All of you."
Karadec runs his hand down her side, chuckling when her stomach grumbled. "We should eat. If you don't now, you'll regret it later."
Morgan smiles. Not a smirk, not a grin, she smiles as she pulls him in for another chaste kiss. "You're right. And we need to get out of these clothes." She pulls her shirt away from her body as it snaps back with a wet thwack!
This time, it's Karadec's time to smirk. He steps away to let her walk out to the kitchen and she laughs at his insinuation. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Why don't you go shower while I get dinner ready? I have some of Roman's old sweatpants you can put on if you need to."
"Yeah, ok. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Karadec watches her as she pulls out two bowls and the container of homeade soup. "Morgan?"
"Yeah?"
"I really really, want this, too. All of it. All of you. I think I have since the moment we met."