A/N: There is no point in writing if it's not for your own enjoyment, right? Well, this is extremely self-indulgent and written with a dual purpose, firstly as an escape from a really rough time, and secondly to fulfil shippy cravings that I've been desperate to write again.

Guys honestly, this can be as canon as you want. If it's not your thing, if you don't like the idea of it, just ignore it. Pretend it doesn't exist, it's not a problem, I don't mind, I promise! I thought I was committing fic suicide writing this subject before and it was surprisingly well received so I'm putting this out there for anyone who is happy to read it.

OK, disclaimers afoot – Obviously A2A isn't mine. Warning that this is lesbian smut featuring Alex and an OC (oh my goodness, I wonder whoever that could be :P) – if you don't like it then don't read it, the next chapter of my main fic will be up on saturday and you will be missing nothing by ignoring this, I promise :)

Huge thanks to Jess for helping me with titles AGAIN! and making me ship this even harder than I already did, and dedicated to Steph for all the love, care and patience she gives me, I love you sweetheart x x x

~xXx~

Something Borrowed

It would have been an understatement to say that Alex had butterflies in her tummy.

She couldn't believe how nervous she felt as she stood outside of the studio, waiting for Kim to open the door and let her in. She closed her eyes and took in a slow, long, deep breath to try to calm down the nervous churning inside of her.

"You know what to expect, you've had tattoos before," she whispered to herself but she realised she was only trying to cover up. The tattoo wasn't the reason for her nervousness. Why was she even covering up anyway? No one else even knew she was nervous, let alone why. What was she doing, standing outside of the tattoos studio, lying to herself? It's not like the general public walking past could read her mind.

Why wasn't Kim answering the door? Wasn't she there yet? She bit on her lip and looked around nervously, then realised it might help if she'd remembered to knock on the door first. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she reached out and gave a firm, fast knock, then stepped back and waited.

The five seconds it took for Kim to get to the door were filled with anxiety. Did she look OK? Was her hair alright? Did she have garlic on her breath? What about her outfit? Was her top low enough? Was it too low? Was she being too obvious? What about her perfume? Was it too pungent? Oh god, she was almost killing herself with the questions.

"Stop it, Alex," she admonished herself before her heart gave a jolt at the sight of Kim as she appeared at the door, opening it wide to welcome her in with the kind of smile that Kim only used on extremely special occasions. In fact, Alex felt sure that Kim only saved them for Robin. Well, maybe Robin and herself.

"Ma'am, come in," Kim smiled, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand to push her fringe to one side. She stepped back to allow Alex past.

"I'm not late, am I?" Alex asked a little nervously, unsure how long she was standing outside after forgetting to knock on the door but Kim shook her head.

"Nope, right on time," she said as she walked swiftly along to the back of the studio, "I hope you don't mind waiting a moment, I just need to finish getting ready." She grasped an apron and threw it over her head as she led Alex into the cooler, air conditioned studio, "I wasn't expecting to do this until tomorrow."

Alex bit her lip with a slightly guilty smile.

"I'm so sorry I brought things forward without warning," she apologised, "I just thought after Gene decided to twist the knife it was a good time to teach him a lesson."

"You won't have any complaints from me, Kim smiled, settling herself down and lining up a few little pots for ink. She nodded to the table. "Take off your shoes and climb up, Ma'am," she said.

"This is the last place you should be calling me 'Ma'am'," Alex commented warmly and saw a beautiful smile light up Kim's face. God, she was beautiful when she smiled. She smiled with her eyes and showed it so rarely that those who were treated to a smile were blessed indeed.

It was refreshing to see Kim in her natural habitat. She loved her work at Fenchurch East of course, but seeing her in the studio - inspired and creative - Kim seemed to really come to life.

"Right," she reached for a sheet of paper with the design she'd drawn out on Alex's request, "here's the finished tattoo. Is this all OK with you?"

Alex smiled and nodded.

"It's beautiful, Kim, just beautiful," she said. The design had been on her mind for some time. She knew what she wanted but wasn't quite sure how to make it look the way she saw in her mind: myriad forget-me-nots trailing up her side, one for each of the souls that she and Gene had seen pass on their way from the day they'd met.

"OK, I'm about ready," Kim told her, "I've got the transfer here so if you'd just like to..." she froze momentarily, her cheeks turning pink as she continued, "take your shirt off."

Kim wasn't the only one who found her face flushing. Alex found herself biting her lip as she unfastened the buttons of her silk blouse and let it fall from her shoulders.

"OK," she said.

Kim was busily looking at the transfer so as not to creep Alex out by staring.

"OK, lay back and - Jesus Christ!" Kim gasped as she finally looked up. She blinked a few times, her heart racing and her face turning a shade darker. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, ma'am, I," Kim coughed and tried not to stare, "I was expecting you to wear a bra, that's all..."

Alex cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, I just thought it would get in the way," she said innocently.

Kim made a valiant attempt at calming herself down, ignoring Alex's breasts and staying professional. After all it wasn't the first time she'd seen them. Although that in itself didn't exactly help matters. Her mind wandered to one illicit night, all those months ago, back in a different world. Her mind went back to that place a lot, if she was honesty. In fact, it was difficult to think of anything else whenever she caught a glimpse of Alex from across the car park or passed her by in the corridor. In fact, sometimes it was hard to think of anything else, full-stop. She bit her lip and smiled a little coyly. Alex always brought that out in Kim, much to her chagrin. It was not a very Kim-like thing to do. She still felt like a silly school girl with a crush every time she was in Alex's presence.

"Your, um, piercings," Kim coughed slightly, "they look like they've healed well."

"Never had problem with them," Alex said with a smile but there was something about the look on Kim's face that left her suddenly shy. She wasn't sure why at first and then she realised; the glint in her eye reminded her very much of the look upon her face one night, a world away.

For a moment their eyes met and a dangerous tingle passed down Kim's spine. Ohhh, what was going on that evening? There was a look in Alex's eye that she'd rarely seen before. In fact, she only remembered seeing it once. One night. She knew she was blushing again and had to look away abruptly.

"Let's get started," she said quickly, picking up a spray, "this might be slightly cold, OK?"

"That's fine," Alex told her, lying back and bracing herself for the chill of the liquid. Kim sprayed it liberally over her lower ribcage and pressed the transfer against her skin. A tingle travelled through Alex's body from the touch of Kim's fingertips. It made her smile involuntarily and give a tiny gasp that Kim mistook as a response to the cold spray.

"Sorry about that," she said, "at least it's a warm evening."

As the blood rose to Alex's face and she began to feel hot all over. She felt as though she could barely breath as she whispered,

"it's certainly that."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Kim began, peeling back the transfer and examining the pattern on Alex's skin, "you're an old pro at this now." her eyes were drawn to the tiny pink circle with the single letter 'G' inside of it. She had to smile as she remembered that night, the strange night spent with stowaways in her house. Not that stowaways was the right term, exactly, but she wasn't sure what else to call them. They weren't exactly wanted fugitives but they were certainly hiding for all they were worth.

That was the first night of the rest of her life, she'd come to realise. Everything that happened to her came as a result of the day that Alex and Robin arrived in the middle of a regular day of work and delivered the police dog line.

Kim's line of vision settled on some more ink, an unfamiliar piece that Alex had mentioned but Kim had yet to see. There is was, justabove her right hip; two dragons to symbolise the two daughters she loved and missed with every beat of her heart. Robin had been the one to design it for her. While his talent wasn't as raw and spontaneous as Kim's he certainly had a hidden artistic side.

"This is really beautiful," Kim whispered, unaware of how the brushing of her finger tips over the tattoo sent exquisite shockwaves thorough Alex's body that ended with a wild pulsing between her legs. She squirmed a little as she tried to focus on Kim's statement.

"I know," she said, smiling nervously, "you should really encourage Robin more with his art."

"Oh, I've tried, Ma'am," believe me," Kim sighed, "but there was a 'trauma'."

"Oh," Alex nodded knowingly, "there always is."

"Something to do with phthalo blue and being lucky to regain his sight," Kim went on to explain, "but at least he seems willing to brave his fear when it comes to tattoos."

"I love it," Alex said, peering down at her dragons, "I only wish you'd been here to do the ink."

Kim looked at Alex, a tinge of sadness in her eye.

"Me too," she whispered.

She closed her eyes momentarily as a lump rose to her throat. Great, this was a wonderful time for tears, wasn't it? She took a deep breath and worked hard at fighting the sadness that washed over her when she thought about those dark months after Alex and Robin had both died and Kim was left alone in an unforgiving world, slowly rotting away in despair. She had to focus on the task ahead. "Alright,"she whispered, getting ready to begin, "just lie back and relax as much as you can, ma'am, OK?" she watched Alex nodding. "If you need to take a break just tell me."

"OK," Alex nodded. She drew in her breath, closed her eyes and waited for the feeling of the needle against her skin. She had to admit there were some slight nerves there. She might have had two tattoos already but there was still a moment of anxiety as Kim prepared to start. But as soon as the sound of the needle began and she felt that unique sensation of the ink burying itself below her skin she relaxed. It was familiar now. She knew what to expect.

So why, she questioned, were the butterflies growing stronger rather than fading away? As her eyes turned to the side and she focused on Kim's face, the concentration splashed across her features as she worked, she finally admitted to herself what the nerves were actually about. Oh goodness, those butterflies were getting lively. In fact when was the last time she'd felt this nervous? When was the last time anyone had put butterflies like this in her belly? The vibration of the needle against her ribs just seemed to stir them up more. No, wait, it wasn't the feeling of the needle, it was the feeling of Kim's hand. Shit, she hadn't expected to feel this way, not at all. It wasn't as though she hadn't been getting those strange flutters in her tummy and double-speed heartbeats when she looked at Kim before, but in the past she'd never had something she had this time. The one thing that made all the difference.

Permission.

~xXx~

An Hour Earlier

"This something blue..."

Alex glanced up from her make up bag and saw a slightly grumpy Gene staring at her over his latte

"Yes?" she asked.

Gene slurped from his cup.

"How blue is it, exactly?"

Alex smirked a little and tried to hide it away.

"Oh, very blue," she told him, glancing back to see him looking increasingly red-faced, "and a little bit yellow." she paused, "and maybe a little bit green as well." She saw his brain half-melting at the thought of processing the riddle and decided to put him out of his misery. "You can rest easy, Gene," she said, "I'm getting a tattoo. That's all."

Gene stared at her.

"A tattoo?" he repeated.

"It's a surprise," she told him, "you're not allowed to see it until after the wedding. So if you want a quickie before then we'll have to do it with the lights off, OK?"

Gene continued to stare at Alex and for a moment she thought he might be broken. Maybe his batteries had run out? No, that was only applicable to his Buzz Lightyear. She was on the verge of waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention when he suddenly said,

"I thought you were going to sow some wild oats before you sign yer life away."

Alex turned back to the mirror and began to apply some mascara.

"Well, to be honest, Gene," she began, "I don't exactly have any oats to sow."

"Sunflowers to pollinate then," Gene suggested, "snowdrops to syphon. Whatever the bird-on-bird version is of sowing oats."

"Classy as ever, Gene," Alex told him as she laid down her make-up and reached for the perfume.

Gene set down his latte and took a seat on the bed, directly behind her, looking her in the eye through her reflection. He was twitching nervously and shuffling uncomfortably. For god's sake, he told hiself, spit it out before Bolly thinks you've got a rash on yer arse.

"Did you ever sow many wild oats in yer life, Bolls?" he asked eventually and she glanced over her shoulder.

"My illustrious sexual career, you mean?" she raised an eyebrow, "You, Peter and a gentleman who could only reach arousal at the sound of a tornado siren." she gave a very deep sigh. "And then there was a yuppie who may have been wearing red braces but -"

"You seem to have missed someone off yer list," Gene pointed out and Alex hesitated a little guiltily.

"Kim," she said awkwardly, "as you are well aware. I didn't know whether you required me to compile a separate list for bird on bird shenanigans."

"Why, has there been more?" Gene asked, not sure whether to be hopeful or distressed at the thought.

Alex bit her lip.

"Well, no," she said quietly.

"And," Gene asked uncomfortably, "would you have liked a longer list?"

"If you're asking me if I want to go round propositioning the female members of Fenchurch East then no," Alex told him, spraying herself liberally with perfume for a second time. Too much? she wondered. Oh well, too late now. She noticed a surprisingly thoughtful look on Gene's face. It was unfair to imagine that time wouldn't change him. Seventeen years they'd been together. While Gene still had a sharp tongue and a way with words that would make a sailor blush he was a lot more contemplative than he once was a long time ago. "Uh oh," Alex began, "I don't like that look."

Gene didn't comment.

"A wise young woman once told me I was on a bloody learning curve," he said eventually.

Alex wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to that.

"A what? Sorry?" She felt like she'd missed something.

"You know me, Bols. I'm the old fashioned sort. Once upon a time every copper in the place was as straight as a bloody Roman road. Now they're as straight as an eight."

"To be fair I don't think every copper was ever as straight as a Roman road," Alex pointed out, checking her lipstick for smudges one last time.

"Like who?"

"Well Shaz," Alex pointed out, "she's bisexual, Gene. It was just your good luck that the Shaz we knew... she somehow..." Alex pulled a face, unsure quite how it happened, "found herself falling for Chris's charms."

"- Such as they were," Gene interjected.

"She's attracted to both genders," Alex sighed, "in this world, she met Kim, and then Marci." she stood up and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it was just right. "and then there was Ray."

"Say what you like about Ray but I've heard things about him and the colander woman with the fat arse that would make yer eyeballs spin," Gene barked.

"Do you not think he was overcompensating just a little?" Alex asked wearily but the look on Gene's face told her to drop it. "Never mind. Have it your way. Straight as a packet of straws." she picked up her handbag and walked past Gene, whispering as she went, "bendy straws."

Gene found himself chewing his lip. Oh god, had the Batman curse really affected him as well? He leaned against the door as he asked suddenly,

"Is that including you?" He watched as Alex stopped and glanced back at him. "You one of me bendy straws an' all?" he saw Alex looking a little uncomfortable. "Or is it all that metal that makes Stringer so magnetic she just attracts random odds and sods?"

Alex's face grew serious and straight. No jokes, no sarcasm, just honesty.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

Gene hesitated. He hadn't even been sure if she was going to reply.

"You do a good job of avoiding answering that question every time," he pointed out.

"That's because I don't know what to tell you," Alex said quietly, "If I could tell you, I would."

"Would you?" Gene asked. He didn't seem convinced. "See, I've had a few words to say about..." he tried to think of a politically correct term and failed, "members of the dungaree brigade." he watched Alex cringing, "that's where Stringer's words of wisdom came in. I asked if it was me punishment." He felt for his flask just in case he needed it, "for some of me prior views. Having a team full o' rainbows. She asked me if it felt like a punishment."

Alex waited for him to carry on.

"And did it?"

Gene looked down at his foot for a moment.

"Nope," he said, "Few years ago it might have done."

"You've grown up. Gene," Alex nodded, "I'm proud of you."

"Now it turns out I've always had a team of bloody rainbows," Gene decided this was a good time for scotch and took a swig, "Are you part of those stats or not, Lady B?"

Alex looked down for a moment. Somehow this was something she still felt uncomfortable discussing.

"Well," she said, a little anxiously, "I suppose we all question our sexuality at some point, don't we?" She saw his face cloud over and, rolling her eyes, she added, "obviously everyone apart from you..." she sighed and shook her head, "I suppose there were a few harmless crushes in the past..."

"I've seen you cross and uncross yer legs a few times when Scully comes on the bloody X-Files for a start," Gene commented and Alex felt herself blushing.

"Yes, thank you," she said quickly. She gave a sigh. "I met Peter when I was young and I suppose I never really had the chance to..." she shrugged, "experiment. After Peter left me I was a single mum trying to bring up a young child and develop my career, and I didn't have a lot of time for romance, then when I finally tried to go on a date or two I'd been used to having a man as a partner so I didn't think to question it. It didn't occur to me there was another option, and anyway I hadn't met a woman who -" she trailed away as quite suddenly she realised she was actually talking about this with Gene. Gene, of all people! What had possessed her to open up to him at last? She felt uncomfortable suddenly and clammed up but Gene was determined to make her carry on. It had taken long enough for her to get that far.

"Who what?" he asked as he saw he look down.

"Who," she swallowed, unsure of herself, "who made me feel..." she coughed, "things."

Gene sipped more of his scotch.

"Things?"

Alex looked down.

"Don't make me spell it out," she said uncomfortably.

"Things like you might see in a quality top-shelf offering such as Intergalactic Space Lesbians from Mars?" Gene asked and noticed a slightly unhappy look on Alex's face.

"Yes," she said crossly, "if your idea of arousal is watching your partner's nipples turn green." She shook her head and sighed, "if you're asking whether a woman has the ability to turn me on then -" she almost exploded, tired of tiptoeing around it, "then yes, Gene. Yes, they do. I suppose I'm nowhere near as split down the middle as, say, someone like Shaz or Marci. But perhaps I'm also not to the extent where an attraction to someone of a different gender than my... usual preference... is something of a complete shock like it was to Robin and Kim. Perhaps I'm a two on the Kinsey scale."

Gene blinked a few times, unable to take in so much information and also slightly trying to hide the rather physical reaction to Alex announcing that she found women attractive. He also didn't have the faintest idea what the Kinsey scale was.

"Blimey, I didn't realise earthquakes were caused by bloody poofs an' all," he mumbled to a withering glance.

"Not the Richter scale, as you well know." Alex sighed and shook her head. "There. I suppose that's your answer." she sighed, "my answer. I suppose I have admitted that I sometimes find myself attracted to women as well as men." She spotted Gene reaching for a cushion. "Oh, subtle, Gene!" she commented.

Gene tried not to pull a face. He adjusted his cushion, thought for a moment, looked her in the eye and began.

"Alright, Drake," his official tone surprised Alex somewhat, "let's get the ground rules straight."

"What ground rules?" Alex frowned.

"Number one, I want a two-thousand word essay on yer favourite spice girl and reasons why on my desk by tomorrow morning. Six pages. With illustrations." He swigged from his flask again. "And diagrams where appropriate."

Alex stared at him, unsure what to say.

"I -"

Gene hadn't finished.

"Number two," he continued, counting the points off on his fingers, "full descriptions, whispered in me heavenly lug-holes at appropriate moments, with the name of the offending half-robot hybrid changed to Ginger Spice if you are so willing."

Alex stared at Gene.

"What?"

"Number three," Gene continued, "I retain me right to bonk any and all alternative versions of yor good self if I should ever trip the light fantastic into two thousand and bollocks again without complaints or comebacks."

"I don;t -"

"And rule number four," Gene continued, "I've heard about what she's got under her bed and I know where it's been. I'm not getting anywhere near Batman's backdoor, even if it's by proxy. Stick a bloody johnny on it."

Alex had no idea what was going on. She tried all manner of combinations of words but none of them seemed to come out right.

"Gene, I -" she blinked and tried again, "Are you... I mean, it's... I..."

Gene realised he probably needed to help her out.

"And point number five," he continued, "remind Metal Mickey that this might be yer something blue but you're only something borrowed," he prepared his flask for another sip. "back here by midnight. I'm not marrying a bloody pumpkin."

"What pumpkin?" Alex blinked in bewilderment.

Gene rolled his eyes,.

"Bloody hell, and you say I'm slow on the pissing uptake!" he discarded his cushion, put down his flask and pushed Alex towards the stairs. "Go on. Bugger off. Enjoy yer trip to the Isle of Lesbos."

Alex stared at Gene, her mouth open and eyes wide. She couldn't work out whether Gene was being serious or whether this was some sort of gayness test that he was about to start inflicting on his staff but the look on Gene's face of slight curiosity mixed with annoyance at the fact that of all people it was Kim who'd caught Alex's eye showed her his statement had been genuine. Feeling the blood rushing to her face, she did the only thing she could do. Without words to express it, she lunged towards him, threw her arms around his neck and launched her tongue halfway down his throat before he had a chance to respond. Leaving him with a kiss that saw him reaching for a bigger cushion she departed with the widest smile upon her face and a heartbeat that was going almost criminally fast.

She didn't question it. She didn't dare. She couldn't imagine how long it had taken Gene to come to terms with the fact that there was another side to her that she was only just beginning to understand herself. And there had been many moments on the run-up to their conversation. Neither of them would deny that. She remembered Gene's gesture of mistletoe at christmas to sneak a quick kiss with Kim, and of course the date bet, even though he'd attempted to sabotage it – but that was more to do with his pride at losing a bet than about Kim. They all knew that. She knew that tomorrow she was going to have to start working out how to word her Spice Girl essay to fulfil point one of Gene's golden rules. But for tonight she was going to live for the moment. What was going to happen the other side of the tattoo needle, she couldn't say for certain, but her hopes were high. The red glow upon her cheeks showed there was something more than ink on her mind that night.