Chapter Text
A thick dossier drops onto the wood floor beside Nadine Ross’s cross legged form. She looks up from her box of Chinese take-out, startled.
“How in hell did you get into my flat?”
“Have you ever been to Egypt?” Chloe asks, dropping her backpack with a heavy thunk.
Nadine splutters. Chloe snatches the box from her hands. “What?” Is all she can manage. Her sleep deprived brain is staggering to catch up.
“Egypt. Ever been?” Her partner repeats, now making a grab for her chopsticks.
“No!” Nadine says, pulling the utensils out of reach and pawing after her stolen dinner. “How did you get in here?” She repeats. She’s only just moved in. There’s no furniture to speak of, save for the mattress in the corner of the master bedroom and a dresser purchased from the flea market a few blocks over. Her billing address hasn’t even been changed yet.
Chloe, nonchalantly states, “You keep your guest bedroom window open.” And simply tips a bite of food out of the container and into her open mouth. She nudges the manilla folder over to Nadine eagerly. “Aren’t you going to read it, China? I really did my research this time.”
Nadine gapes, momentarily giving up her struggle to reclaim the little white box. “I live on the twelfth floor!”
“It’s a lovely view.” Chloe says, nodding sagely as if in agreement.
Nadine finally manages to get the container of food back, but not until after two rather large bites have been pilfered from it. Eish, what was she thinking partnering up with a thief? It’s been months now, that they’ve been going on jobs together. Surprisingly, boosting artifacts from museums and selling them back to their native cultures, and photographing hard-to-reach ruins for magazines or TV shows have been the most lucrative so far. They haven’t had any honest-to-god treasure hunting jobs since the Tusk fiasco. Regardless, it’s the most fun Nadine’s ever had in her life. The adrenaline is second to none and the travel is, as Chloe had stated, definitely a bonus.
Chloe stands and stretches when she decides the meager meal isn’t worth the effort. She dusts off her arse and the backs of her legs and waltzes away through Nadine’s place, seemingly already feeling quite at home. “Hey Nadine?” She calls out from the direction of the woman’s bedroom, “Mind if I take a shower? I’m covered in airport grime.”
With a sigh, the South African pinches the bridge of her nose. A fierce ache is making its home between her eyes and suddenly she’s less tired and more terribly exhausted. She admits to herself that in the three weeks they’ve been apart she’s missed Chloe. It’s hard to sleep without knowing there’s someone to watch her back. Without the energy to be indignant any longer she simply calls back, “Towels are in the cabinet above the toilet.” before opening the file and setting to work.
Admittedly, she’s very impressed. It’s packed to the brim with maps, hastily jotted notes and coordinates in Chloe’s familiar chicken-scratch, and very old looking journal entries seemingly from a photocopier. Nadine can pick out the few key phrases, “Thinis”, “Book of the Dead” and “private collector”. By the time Chloe comes back out, her eyes ache and her head is swimming with new information.
“You look awful, Love. When’s the last time you got some sleep?”
Nadine turns to make a sharp reply but the words die in her mouth. Chloe’s toned, golden brown legs against the white towel and her inky black hair clinging to her damp neck is an image that’s going to be kicking around in her skull for a while.
She turns her face away.
“Frazer!” She borderline snarls, hoping her hot blush is hidden by the darkness both in the room and in her skin tone. Chloe snickers, seemingly unaffected.
“What? Left my bag out here.” She says, picking it up by the topmost handle and waving it back and forth as if in show.
She turns around and plods deeper into the flat. Nadine figures she must only be behind the bedroom door, not all the way in bathroom. She can hear her clothes rustling and her voice is louder when she calls out again. “What do you say, China? Are you in?”
“Ja, ja I’m in. Why couldn’t you have just sent me an email?” She’s still rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“Because Sully is set to pick us up in two days.” Chloe says. She walks back into the living room in a red camisole and black sleep shorts. It’s almost worse than just the towel, which is slung around her neck. Nadine scoffs. “What would you have done if I’d said I wasn’t in?”
“Crashed here and then left without you.” Chloe teases, wringing out her hair. She chuckles at Nadine’s disapproving glance before raising her hands in surrender and muttering out,“I would’ve let you pick the next job.”
“That’s not still an option?” Nadine whines. She never gets to pick jobs.
“It’s another control thing.” Chloe had admitted some months earlier.
The sable haired treasure hunter offers her a consolation prize. “Next time, okay?”
“Okay.” Nadine grumbles. She gives Chloe the last few bites of her food. Her partner beams at her. The beauty of it makes her heart twist. Chloe wolfs down the remainder of the rice and sauce before giving a luxurious yawn and stretch.
“Now,” she says, grinning like a cat, “what’s the sleeping arrangement?”