"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Beth looks up at the voice to see a woman (a shockingly, eye-stingingly pink woman) standing over the empty seat next to her.

Beth shakes her head. "Go for it." The woman sits down.

"Thank you," she says as she adjusts the headband on her head.

Beth, who has already focused her attention back onto the case file on her lap, just lifts a hand. "No worries."

They don't exchange anymore words, and the woman gets off the bus one stop before Beth.

The next morning, Beth happens to look up just as the pink woman steps onto the bus. They exchange a quick look of recognition, and Beth gives a nod at the woman's small smile just before she takes a seat in the seat across the aisle from Beth.

Beth watches as she rummages through her bag for a hair tie, and then pulls her hair back into a ponytail, simultaneously adjusting the way her bangs fell on her forehead. The woman glances over at Beth and catches her eye, immediately turning a bright shade of red and looking away quickly. Beth's mouth quirks up in a small smile and she tears her gaze away and back to her case file.

Beth looks up again as the woman gathers up her bag and quickly makes her way off the bus, smiling again as the woman lets out a huff when her bag snags on the back of a seat in her hurry.

Beth is still smiling as she walks into the precinct, to which her partner remarks, "How many happy pills you pop this morning, Childs?"

Beth laughs. "Shut up, dipshit."

The next day is a relatively warm one, so Beth forgoes her usual coat and dresses in just a dark blue blouse and slacks.

As if by some stroke of fate, there are only two empty seats when the pink, blush-y woman gets on the bus, and one of them happens to be next to Beth.

"Do you mind…?" the woman asks, strangely hesitant.

Beth smiles widely. "Be my guest," she says with a gesture to the seat. She notices that her headband is grey today and wonders briefly what happened to the pink one.

As the woman sits down and adjusts her bag on her lap, her bare arm brushes lightly against Beth's, and Beth hears her quick intake of breath at the contact. The woman jerks her arm away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Beth cuts her off. "It's fine, don't worry about it," she says with a grin. The woman looks over at her, cheeks slightly pink.

"Are you sure?" She blinks, and Beth thinks she looks a bit like a puppy. Or a deer. Or any kind of cute baby animal, really.

Beth lets out a small laugh. "Really, it's fine."

The woman nods and smiles a tiny smile. "What's your name?" Beth asks.

"Alison," she answers, glancing down at her lap.

"Alison," Beth repeats, still grinning. "I'm Beth. Lovely to meet you."

Alison looks up at her and really smiles this time. "It's lovely to meet you too, Beth."

The bus starts to roll to a stop, and Alison looks at the display of the stop information.

"Well," she says. "This is my stop." She stands up with an apologetic smile.

"See you tomorrow, Alison," Beth says.

Alison nods and makes her way down the bus aisle, waving over her shoulder as she disappears down the stairs and off the bus.

There are plenty of empty seats the next morning, but Alison asks if she can sit next to Beth anyway.

"Morning, Alison."

Alison reaches up and pulls on her ponytail a bit. "Good morning, Beth."

"I like your track suit," Beth says.

"Are you making fun of me?" Alison asks, her voice suddenly icy.

Beth looks at her, confused. "Of course not," she says, and Alison noticeably relaxes. "I'm a runner, so your track suit was one of the first things I noticed about you."

"Oh," Alison says in a small voice. "You're a runner?"

Beth nods. "Not professionally or anything, just recreationally. Or religiously, if you ask my partner," she says with a laugh.

"Your… partner?" Alison questions, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, his name's Art. I'm a detective, professionally."

"Oh! A detective!" Alison smiles.

"Yeah." Beth grins. "Still a rookie, though."

"I'm sure you're wonderful at it, though." Alison says reassuringly.

"Who said I wasn't?" Beth says mischievously, and a look of horror crosses Alison's face.

"Oh my gosh, that's not at all what I meant, I was just-" Alison stutters out frantically.

"Calm down, calm down, I'm just kidding." Beth cuts her off with a loud laugh.

"Beth," Alison huffs exasperatedly but smiles shyly all the same. "That wasn't very nice."

"But you still laughed," Beth says, poking her in the shoulder.

Alison just shakes her head with a smile. "This is my stop. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Beth."

"You bet," Beths says with a wink, and the responding blush in Alison's cheeks stays with Beth long after she gets to work.

The next morning is a Friday, and Beth learns that Alison has a degree in kinesthesiology, and currently works as an assistant to a massage therapist (but is "soon to be getting my own office and promotion, don't you worry"), and that she does community theater with her best friend, Felix. She also learns that (surprise!) her favorite color is pink.

"I don't work on weekends, so… I guess I'll see you on Monday morning?" Alison says hesitantly as she stands up at her stop.

"I'll be here," Beth says with a grin that stays on her face until she gets to work.

"Jesus, Childs, that's the fourth day in a row you've come in here smilin' like a creep, so spill. What's her name?" Art says.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Beth says.

"Yeah, right, Beth. Come on."

Beth sits down at her desk and swivels in her chair, grin still stretched across her face.

"I haven't got a clue what you could possibly mean by that," Beth says cheekily.

"Alright, fine. I'll get it out of you eventually, though."

Beth laughs. "You can certainly try."

Art finally gets her to tell him, as they split Chinese takeout that night over a case file.

"Fine! Her name is Alison!" Beth explodes after he asks for what feels like the millionth time. He fists pumps the air.

"Yes! Is she cute?"

Beth scoffs. "Duh," she says as she rolls her eyes at him.

"What's she like?"

"Adorable. Lots of pink." Beth thinks for a minute. "Dude, she's a massage therapist."

Art groans. "I hate you so much right now." Then he grins evilly.

"Oh no," Beth says, seeing his grin.

"Bet you won't ask her out next time you see her," he says.

"Aw, come on, man, she's probably not even gay-"

"Are you backing down?"

Beth narrows her eyes. "Did I say I was, dipshit?"

Art raises his hands in defense. "Alright, alright. I'm just saying. Twenty bucks says you won't."

"Oh, you are so on."

And so Beth spent her entire weekend formulating the perfect way to ask Alison on a date, but of course as soon as soon Alison got on the bus Monday morning, all the words and plans flew out of Beth's brain.

"Good morning, Beth," Alison says as she down next to her.

"Morning, Alison. How was your weekend?" Beth says as she situates herself with her back against the window so her body faces Alison.

"It was wonderful. I got a lot done, and dress rehearsal last night went incredibly well," Alison says with a small smile. "How was yours, Beth?"

Beth shrugs. "Uneventful. A couple of stolen cars, a break in or two. Nothing really all that exciting."

Alison looks slightly scandalized. "A break in is what you consider 'uneventful'?"

Beth laughs. "Compared to a murder? You're damn right, it's uneventful."

Alison looks even more scandalized at the mention of- "Murder?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about murder. Us big, tough detectives have it covered." Beth says with a wink. Alison narrows her eyes and sticks out her tongue.

"Hey, Ali." The nickname slides out of Beth's mouth easily, and Alison's cheeks turn slightly pink.

"Yes?" Alison reaches up to tug on her ponytail.

"Do you wanna go out for coffee or something, sometime?" Beth says it all in a bit of a rush, nerves getting the best of her for a moment.

Alison silently stares at Beth for a long moment, cheeks slowly turning more and more red.

"Like a… like a date?" She doesn't sound opposed to the idea, and a smile slowly spreads across Beth's face.

"Yeah, like a date," she says, and Alison smiles brightly, tugging on her ponytail again.

"Yeah, that… that would be really nice." Alison says, and Beth lets out a relieved laugh.

"Awesome," she says a little breathlessly. "Oh, hey, this is your stop, right?" She points as a few other people are getting off the bus.

Alison whips her head around. "Oh!" she exclaims, and jumps up from the seat. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?"

Beth grins. "Wouldn't miss it for anything, Alison."

Alison lets out of tiny laugh and then she's rushing off the bus.

As Beth walks into work, Art is waiting for her.

"Well?" he says.

"Looks like you owe me twenty bucks," Beth says with a cocky smile.

Art groans. "God dammit. She said yes?"

"You're damn right."