•*•Astra's POV•*•

I woke with a start to my alarm ringing and a pounding headache. What a great way to start your first day, I thought to myself. I silenced my alarm and checked the time. 12pm. Just enough time to eat and get ready before heading to the station.

I stumbled to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water, then walked to the bathroom and flipped on the shower. I examined myself in the mirror as the water warmed up.

I had dark circles under my eyes and my hair was a mess. Better brush it before the shower, I thought. So hard to shampoo otherwise.

I took off my shirt and looked back in the mirror. Something small and purple on my collarbone caught my eye.

"What the fuck?!" I said, leaning closer to the mirror.

My eyes adjusted as I rubbed at the mark, hoping it was makeup, or a bruise. But it wasn't.

"That bastard Gavin gave me a hickey and I didn't even notice until now!" I exclaimed as I hopped into the shower.

I closed my eyes and let the water wash over my body. My head was pounding. I shouldn't have had so much to drink last night at the bar. I started to shampoo my hair. Wait, I paused. I only had one glass of whiskey. I know I haven't gone drinking in a while, but one glass wouldn't give me this bad of a hangover. What did I do last night?

As I finished my shower routine, I thought about what I did last night. I realized I couldn't remember much of anything past getting Connor home. Maybe Connor would know. Or maybe he wouldn't. He was pretty drunk when we left the bar.

I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. My phone dinged and the screen lit up with a text from Gavin.

Gavin: Can't stop thinking about the other night. I get off at 8pm, can I take you out for drinks?

I smirked and dried myself off before responding. I wanted to punish him for that hickey, so I decided to make him wait.

Astra: I work till 10pm tonight, another time maybe?

Gavin: Damn, when are you free?

Astra: Tomorrow night? I still work till 10pm, but it's my first day today. Not sure how tired I'll be.

Gavin: Ah, that's right. Good luck with the job!

Astra: Thanks!

I finished getting ready, grabbed a power bar, and walked up to Connor's apartment.

•*•Connor's POV•*•

I just stood in my bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror. I can't believe I let last night happen. Where was my control?

"She's your goddamn coworker!" I yelled at myself, hitting my reflection with my fist.

I turned on the faucet and splashed water on my face. These emotions were too much. They scrambled my brain and made me behave uncharacteristically.

I heard a knock at my door and turned off the water. It was probably Astra, here for her ride to work. I was a fool. Not even one shift together and I couldn't keep it in my pants. Now I was going to have to face the consequences.

I walked to the door and opened it. There she was, alluring as ever.

"Hey Connor!" she said.

"Hey." This was going to be a long day. I locked my door and started down the stairs to the car.

"Do you remember what I did after dropping you off here last night? I must've drank too much, because I can't remember for shit," she asked.

I stopped in my tracks. This was my chance. I was getting a second chance to stay in line. I didn't want to lie, but the truth was more uncomfortable in the long run. I turned to face her.

"No, I don't. Sorry. You dropped me off then went home. Must've had more to drink at home." I continued to the car, unlocked it, and got inside.

"Well, I'm glad I at least went home. I hate blacking out. I try to avoid it. I don't like not knowing what I did, makes me anxious," Astra said, getting in the car.

We sat in silence until we got to the station. I didn't enjoy lying, but it was better this way. If she didn't know, it'd be easier to maintain a professional relationship. Every move she made caught me in a trance, and I was beside myself trying to resist. I gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Are you alright, Connor?"

I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking through the things we need to get done today," I replied.

•*•Astra's POV•*•

It was a quarter past eight and I'd been helping Hank and Connor organize the hundreds of deviant case files we needed to go through.

"I gotta get some coffee, sorry, I'm falling asleep," I said, getting up.

"I know. This is the boring part of police work. Can you grab me a cup too?" Hank asked.

"Sure."

I walked over to the break room and started making two cups of coffee. I heard someone walk in behind me, but I didn't bother to look. The station had almost a hundred employees, given we were in downtown Detroit. It was probably just someone getting a snack from the vending machine.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned to see.

"Gavin?!" I looked around to make sure no one was looking and dragged him down the hall into an observation room. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he said, crossing his arms.

"I work here!" I explained.

Gavin chuckled and shook his head. "Y'know, when you told me you were a psychological consultant, I didn't think you meant at my precinct."

I covered my face with my hands. "What are the odds my first Tinder hookup in Detroit is a coworker. This is just great."

I leaned against the wall. Of course this would happen. If I kept seeing Gavin, what was stopping me from just going after Connor? I mean, they were both my coworkers now.

"I hope this doesn't throw too much of a wrench in our plans," Gavin said with a smirk, stepping closer.

"I don't fuck coworkers," I said matter-of-factly.

"Hate to break it to ya, but you already did."

I groaned and leaned my head back. "I know, but that's my rule."

"Rules were made to be broken, Astra," he said as he took another step closer. He ran a finger along my jaw.

"Funny to hear coming from you, Detective Reed."

"Hey, I'm only law enforcement." Gavin closed the distance between us and kissed my neck. "There's nothing in the rules saying coworkers can't screw around."

I stifled a moan. "I'm, um, not working directly with you, so I guess it's not so bad."

Gavin nipped lightly at my skin and grabbed my hips. "Plus we could always sneak off whenever we feel like it."

"Don't tempt me," I said, trying to break away. Damn, he made me feel so good. "I have to get back to my desk. I promised Hank I would grab him coffee."

Gavin took a step back. "Well, fuck, of course you'd be working with The Wash-Up."

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean? Hank and Connor have been nothing but great to me."

"Yeah, I'm sure they have, but they're losers, Astra. Hank was about to blow his brains out before that tin can showed up. They couldn't even solve the one case they were assigned, but because all these the robots think they're human now, Fowler treats them they're the next Sherlock and Watson. It's bullshit."

"I guess it's up to me to help them reach their potential then. I'll form my own opinions along the way, but thank you for the information." I headed towards the door.

Even though I hated hearing him bad mouth Hank and Connor, I couldn't help but be turned on. I like aggression, what can I say.

"Astra, wait," Gavin said as he grabbed my wrist.

I turned to face him. Goddamn was he sexy. "Yes?"

"So... are we still on for tomorrow night?"

I gently grabbed the bulge of his jeans and licked up his neck. "Absolutely," I whispered before opening the door and heading back to the break room.

"That's not fair at all, I'm gonna have to stay in here for a couple minutes now," he called after me.

I grabbed the two cups of coffee from the break room and headed back to my desk.

"What took you so long?" Hank asked.

"Sorry, had to use the restroom and struck up a conversation with a girl in there. You know how we women are," I laughed.

Hank shook his head and sipped his cup of joe. "Say no more. Now back to work. This shit's not gonna sort itself!"