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[roleplay] deviating from normal
Jul. 25th, 2025 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deniabilitiesThis shouldn't be an occasion—but it kind of is. Janet Ford and Michael Davis have a routine that's lasted them over fourteen years; they always go to lunch together, unless Janet is having lunch with her boyfriend Holden Ford. So when Janet has plans to meet up with Ava while the other woman is in Washington, it has to prompt a gently teasing joke or two about her making new friends.
"Are you excited?" Michael quips, unable to keep a playful smile off his face as he leans on his desk while they're clearing up before lunch. "Maybe taking a side bet on which of you gets hit on first?"
"Oh, shut up." Janet laughs in response, but she's also blushing a little. It's also in their nature that Michael compliments her looks when he can; he knows how ever since she was shot the first time, almost a decade ago now, she's struggled with seeing herself as attractive. It's gotten better with time, yet her partner still finds those moments to remind her that he thinks she's beautiful. "If anyone's going to get any attention, it's not going to be me. And if you were going, it'd definitely be you."
As he looks particularly sharp today in a grey three-piece suit that will turn heads when they go out for drinks after work. But that's later, and while she helps Michael stack the rest of the paperwork, Janet is reminded how little she actually knows about Ava. She knows the other woman has experience in human trafficking cases, which is how she ended up crossing paths with Brad Lancaster and his team in Miami. Brad had given Janet's number to Ava as a resource, and the two had kept in touch after the investigation, because it was just in Janet's nature to maintain her professional relationships. She is building a network of contacts that could rival Michael's—not that it would ever be a competition. They are a team in everything they do. And she knows that's why he's teasing, because her best friend wants more people to appreciate her.
"We'll agree to disagree," Michael quips, picking up the file off his desk to take it back to the file room. Janet can't resist tapping him on the ass as he exits for that comment. It's more flirty than she'd usually be, but he started it by bringing up the topic.
The truth is that things have been going pretty well for the financial crimes unit as a whole in the last few months, which has made everyone more relaxed. Janet has avoided any more near-death situations. Unit chief Anthony Brennan hasn't gotten into any more arguments with FBI management (or anyone else). Michael has stopped being quite so neurotic about replacing Brennan, now that the whole management dry run they went through is well behind them. He can ignore that promotion for a while longer. Add in the fact that the BSU schedule is allowing Holden to be home more often, and Janet is as happy as she can remember being in four and a half years. She's looking forward to lunch with a potential new friend and not even waiting for something to go wrong.
She finishes up at her desk and grabs her bag, stopping only in the middle of the bullpen to say goodbye to Michael and accept his encouraging hug. "I hope you have a great time," he says, and that's why she gives him a kiss on the cheek. She could just leave and he could just go back to work, but he stops to take one more moment to push her in the right direction. Janet already knows Michael will be having lunch with their colleagues Adam Lydon and Tayshia Grant; Adam had made some joke about "taking care of him" once he'd heard about the plans, and then the three of them can sit and guess at how awkward Janet might be with anyone who isn't them or Holden.
She's always been someone who keeps her walls up until someone can break them down. For all the commentary, everyone is genuinely happy whenever she has any chance at changing that and not getting hurt again.
Janet had let Ava pick the restaurant being the guest, and also because she didn't know the other woman's taste in food. She arrives a full ten minutes early, and it'll be easy to spot her. Being dressed in a black suit isn't necessarily a giveaway amongst the political and government scene in Washington, even if the suit is tailored Veronica Beard. But the way Janet moves absolutely is. She enters the restaurant and reads the room like a career FBI agent; her work is ingrained in her. She's escorted to a quiet table in the back of the restaurant, orders a ginger ale and waits for Ava to arrive. They ought to have a lot to talk about. Hopefully it's not more human trafficking or Ava asking Janet about Brad. Or Michael.
"Are you excited?" Michael quips, unable to keep a playful smile off his face as he leans on his desk while they're clearing up before lunch. "Maybe taking a side bet on which of you gets hit on first?"
"Oh, shut up." Janet laughs in response, but she's also blushing a little. It's also in their nature that Michael compliments her looks when he can; he knows how ever since she was shot the first time, almost a decade ago now, she's struggled with seeing herself as attractive. It's gotten better with time, yet her partner still finds those moments to remind her that he thinks she's beautiful. "If anyone's going to get any attention, it's not going to be me. And if you were going, it'd definitely be you."
As he looks particularly sharp today in a grey three-piece suit that will turn heads when they go out for drinks after work. But that's later, and while she helps Michael stack the rest of the paperwork, Janet is reminded how little she actually knows about Ava. She knows the other woman has experience in human trafficking cases, which is how she ended up crossing paths with Brad Lancaster and his team in Miami. Brad had given Janet's number to Ava as a resource, and the two had kept in touch after the investigation, because it was just in Janet's nature to maintain her professional relationships. She is building a network of contacts that could rival Michael's—not that it would ever be a competition. They are a team in everything they do. And she knows that's why he's teasing, because her best friend wants more people to appreciate her.
"We'll agree to disagree," Michael quips, picking up the file off his desk to take it back to the file room. Janet can't resist tapping him on the ass as he exits for that comment. It's more flirty than she'd usually be, but he started it by bringing up the topic.
The truth is that things have been going pretty well for the financial crimes unit as a whole in the last few months, which has made everyone more relaxed. Janet has avoided any more near-death situations. Unit chief Anthony Brennan hasn't gotten into any more arguments with FBI management (or anyone else). Michael has stopped being quite so neurotic about replacing Brennan, now that the whole management dry run they went through is well behind them. He can ignore that promotion for a while longer. Add in the fact that the BSU schedule is allowing Holden to be home more often, and Janet is as happy as she can remember being in four and a half years. She's looking forward to lunch with a potential new friend and not even waiting for something to go wrong.
She finishes up at her desk and grabs her bag, stopping only in the middle of the bullpen to say goodbye to Michael and accept his encouraging hug. "I hope you have a great time," he says, and that's why she gives him a kiss on the cheek. She could just leave and he could just go back to work, but he stops to take one more moment to push her in the right direction. Janet already knows Michael will be having lunch with their colleagues Adam Lydon and Tayshia Grant; Adam had made some joke about "taking care of him" once he'd heard about the plans, and then the three of them can sit and guess at how awkward Janet might be with anyone who isn't them or Holden.
She's always been someone who keeps her walls up until someone can break them down. For all the commentary, everyone is genuinely happy whenever she has any chance at changing that and not getting hurt again.
Janet had let Ava pick the restaurant being the guest, and also because she didn't know the other woman's taste in food. She arrives a full ten minutes early, and it'll be easy to spot her. Being dressed in a black suit isn't necessarily a giveaway amongst the political and government scene in Washington, even if the suit is tailored Veronica Beard. But the way Janet moves absolutely is. She enters the restaurant and reads the room like a career FBI agent; her work is ingrained in her. She's escorted to a quiet table in the back of the restaurant, orders a ginger ale and waits for Ava to arrive. They ought to have a lot to talk about. Hopefully it's not more human trafficking or Ava asking Janet about Brad. Or Michael.
