Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Thirty Seven: Scandalous Gossip ~

Jim turned the metal knobs in the shower, shutting off the steaming water as he stepped out and got dressed. With Barbara still out, doing God knows what, he felt awkward returning to the apartment every night. So, in the meantime, he spent his nights alternating, sleeping at the precinct one night and coming home to see Holly the other. It was weird, but Jim quickly got accustomed to it.

As he threw on a white shirt and shorts, he walked back into the locker room and was surprised to see Lee looking around, seemingly waiting for him. "Hi," she smiled when she saw him standing in the doorway. "Dr. Thompkins," Jim nodded in acknowledgment as he tossed his towel onto a bed. "Lee," She corrected him with a smile. "The desk sergeant said it was okay to come back here. I didn't mean to disturb you," "No, no. It's okay," Jim assured. "Something wrong?"

"No. Uh, I was in the area, and my sorceress wants her doll back," Lee explained, a nervous smile forming on her lips. "Right, yeah. Is that why you're here?" Jim inquired. "Yes," Lee shook her head as she corrected herself. "No, she does want her doll back, but, not entirely, no," Looking over Jim's shoulder, Lee saw Jim's things resting on the bed. "You live here?" "Sort of between places right now," Jim answered. As he walked closer to her, Lee's cheeks turned pink with nervousness as she tried to maintain eye contact. "I don't know why I'm here. Sorry. A whim,"

As she turned on her heels and reached for the door, Jim realized this may be his last chance to act upon his developing feelings for her. "Wait," he called out as he caught up with her. And the second Lee turned around, he couldn't hold it back any longer as he placed his hands on the sides of her face and leaned in until their lips met. For a fraction of a moment, Lee was stunned, but as Jim's lips moved in sync with hers, her body melted against his, and her hands went to the back of his neck as his hands traveled up into her hair.

The whole world melted away the longer they were in that passionate embrace. Footsteps approached the locker room, and they didn't notice someone was coming until the desk sergeant called Gordon's name, interrupting this moment of passion. "Hey, Gordon, did you hear? There's been a big shootout at Fish Mooney's place," Jim and Lee pulled away, and just like that, Jim was pulled back into the job he so desperately fought hard to get back. And while it was a bit of a surprise that Fish's club had been attacked, Jim's professionalism outweighed the situation as he nodded to the desk sergeant, who shut the door behind him.

"You should get back to work," Lee smiled, pressing a kiss to his shaven cheek. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Jim was called into another investigation across town. From the brief description and the address he received, he found himself outside a dilapidated clothing warehouse. And he walked underneath the line of yellow crime scene tape and into the building, he met with Harvey, who looked as if he hadn't slept in decades. Underneath his hat, his hair was strung out and messy, and Jim briefly caught the whiff of alcohol from his breath. "You're up early," Jim spoke as Harvey wiped the tiredness out of his eyes.

"I haven't made it to bed yet," Harvey grumbled before he couldn't hold back his smirk after hearing what happened earlier. "Word is you got caught with Doc Thompkins in the locker room," Jim fought back a smile. Of course gossip spread around the GCPD quickly. It always did, whether it be info on the latest case or the juiciest and sometimes scandalous gossip on their officers. "Strictly business," Jim clarified.