C31: What If It’s Not Professional Anymore?
Two months later... [I'll add the bar situation after the time skip later]
Kate and Travis were sparring in the gym.
What began as occasional training sessions had slowly settled into something permanent between them. Every week, usually before sunrise or after exhausting shifts at the precinct, Kate and Travis somehow ended up back inside the same gym with bruised knuckles, stubborn competitive streaks, and enough unresolved tension to make the air between them feel heavier than it should have.
And Kate had improved.
The difference showed in nearly everything she did now. Her stance stayed looser, cleaner, and far more controlled than before. She no longer chased every feint or committed to the first opening she spotted. Travis had spent weeks drilling patience into her until instinct finally stopped overpowering judgment every time a fight started moving too quickly.
The gym echoed softly with the distant sound of weights clanking somewhere near the far wall while rain tapped steadily against the high windows overlooking the street outside. Sweat drenched Travis's gray shirt while Kate brushed damp strands of hair away from her face without taking her eyes off him for even a second.
They circled each other carefully across the mat.
Travis shifted his weight slightly before lowering one shoulder just enough to bait a reaction.
Two months ago, Kate would have lunged instantly.
This time, she stayed exactly where she was.
A slow grin spread across Travis's face.
"Nice," he said with an approving nod. "You didn't fall for it."
Kate adjusted her footing while keeping her breathing steady and controlled. "I'm a fast learner."
"I noticed." Travis bounced lightly on the balls of his feet before motioning toward her again. "If you keep improving like this, then in a year or two you might actually be somewhat ready."
Kate narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Somewhat ready?" she repeated.
Then she moved.
She rushed forward and fired a fast combination toward his head and ribs. Travis blocked the first jab with his forearm, redirected the second strike outward, and absorbed the third against his shoulder while stepping sideways to ruin her angle before she could build momentum.
"You keep saying that," Kate said while slipping away from a quick counterpunch aimed toward her jaw. She stepped backward across the mat, breathing harder now. "Ready for what?"
Travis stayed calm while closing the distance between them again.
"If I tell you now," he replied evenly, "you might do something reckless, and that could put everyone around us in danger."
Kate frowned while circling left, eyes fixed carefully on him.
"So there actually is some giant insane secret."
"There's always an insane secret."
"Is it related to your undercover work?"
"Who knows? It might be related to both of us or everyone around us."
The moment the words left his mouth, Travis stepped forward sharply.
Kate reacted much faster than she would have a few weeks earlier. She caught the movement immediately and tried pivoting away before he could fully close the gap between them.
Travis hooked one arm around her waist and drove forward with enough force to carry both of them onto the mat. Kate hit the ground with a sharp breath escaping her lungs while immediately trying to frame against his shoulder and neck to create space.
It didn't work.
Travis pinned one of her wrists against the mat while using his weight and leverage to shut down her hips before she could transition into anything dangerous.
"Till then," he said between controlled breaths, "get better and try putting me on the ground."
Kate glared up at him while breathing hard from the struggle. Sweat clung lightly against her skin while loose strands of hair stuck near her forehead. Her chest rose and fell quickly beneath him while his grip stayed firm and controlled. At this point, both of them looked exhausted, overheated, and completely unwilling to admit either of those things out loud.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
The noise of the gym faded slightly into the background.
Kate looked directly into his eyes, trying to read whatever secrets he kept burying behind jokes and half-answers. Travis looked back at her with that same calm expression that somehow always made her feel like he was carrying something heavier than he should.
He released her wrist and pushed himself off the mat first. Kate stayed there for a second, breathing hard while staring at the ceiling, before finally sitting up with an annoyed exhale.
"That's it for today," he said while offering his hand.
Kate stared at him for another second before finally taking it.
Travis pulled her back to her feet easily.
The moment she stood upright again, Kate walked over, grabbed a towel from the nearby bench, and threw it directly at his face.
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Am I?" Travis said as he wiped his face on the towel. "I get the feeling that you're the one who's enjoying this way too much."
Kate took out a bottle from her gym bag. "Getting pinned down by you at every single session? It's more of a frustration than enjoyment."
Travis lowered the towel from his face and looked at her with exaggerated concern. "Wow. That almost sounded like a complaint."
Kate unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and took a long drink before answering. "Maybe because getting thrown around a mat three times a week loses its charm eventually."
He tossed the towel back onto the bench beside her gym bag. "Funny. You keep showing up anyway."
"That's because I'm waiting for the day I finally knock you flat on your back."
A grin spread slowly across his face. "There it is. The obsession to get on the top."
Kate nearly choked on her water.
She lowered the bottle slowly and stared at him across the small stretch of mat between them. "You really do enjoy making things worse for yourself, don't you?"
Travis leaned one shoulder against the padded wall, arms folding loosely across his chest while that grin stayed exactly where it was. "I'm just making an observation. You said you wanted me flat on my back. I respect ambition."
Kate's eyes narrowed, though the corner of her mouth betrayed her before she could stop it. "Careful, Wilson. That mouth is going to get you into trouble one day."
"Only one day?" he asked, sounding almost disappointed. "I was hoping for a stronger track record."
She tossed the bottle into her gym bag and stepped closer, still breathing hard from the session. "You know, for someone who keeps talking about discipline and patience, you really like pushing buttons."
Travis tilted his head slightly as he looked down at her. "Only when the buttons are interesting."
Kate held his gaze, close enough now that the space between them felt less like distance and more like a dare.
"And what exactly makes my buttons so interesting?" she asked.
His grin softened into something slower. "They come with consequences."
Kate let out a quiet laugh and shook her head, though she did not step back. "You have no sense of self-preservation."
"I have plenty," Travis replied. "I just don't always use it around you."
That answer caught her for half a second.
The joking edge stayed in his voice, but something underneath it landed differently. Kate looked at him a little longer, trying to decide whether he meant it as another tease or something closer to the truth. With Travis, the problem was that both usually lived in the same sentence.
She folded her arms, matching his posture like a challenge. "You're getting very comfortable for a man who still hasn't told me what I'm supposedly training for."
Travis glanced toward the mat, then back at her. "You're training because one day somebody faster, stronger, or meaner than the average suspect is going to come after you."
Kate's expression shifted, turning sharper. "That happens already."
"Then one day it'll be worse," he said quietly.
The playfulness dimmed for a moment.
Kate studied him again, searching for the thing he kept locked behind the easy smile and the reckless confidence. "You do that a lot," she said.
"Do what?"
"Say just enough to worry me, then act like I'm supposed to let it go."
Travis gave a small shrug, though his eyes stayed on hers. "You're not great at letting things go."
"Occupational hazard," she replied.
He smiled faintly. "That's my line."
"Consider it an evidence seizure."
Travis laughed under his breath, and the tension loosened just enough for the air to warm again. Kate turned toward the bench and picked up her towel, wiping the back of her neck while pretending she did not notice his eyes following the movement.
"You know," she said, glancing back at him, "for all your mysterious warnings, you're a terrible teacher."
His brows lifted. "Excuse me?"
"A good teacher builds confidence."
"I do build confidence."
"You throw me onto the mat and tell me I died six different ways."
"That's called realism."
"That's called being annoying."
"It worked, though," he said, pushing off the wall and stepping closer. "You're better."
Kate's answer came softer than she expected. "Because you don't let me quit."
Travis stopped beside her, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. "You wouldn't quit even if I tried to make you."
She looked at him sideways, and that small smile returned again. "You sound pretty sure about that."
"I pay attention."
"You keep saying that too."
"Because it keeps being true."
Kate held his gaze for a few seconds, then looked away first, mostly because staying there too long felt like letting him win something she had not agreed to play. She busied herself with stuffing the towel into her bag, though the smile still tugged at her mouth. She loved these little banters between them every now and then, and not to mention the way he always looks at her.
Travis noticed, because of course he did.
"You're smiling," he said.
"I'm stretching my face."
"That's a terrible lie, Detective."
"Then stop observing me professionally."
He leaned a little closer, voice lowering just enough to stay between them. "What if it's not professional anymore?"
Kate's hands paused on the zipper of her bag.
For a moment, the rain against the windows seemed louder.
She looked back at him slowly. Travis stood there with the same calm confidence he carried into fights and crime scenes, but there was something quieter in his expression now. Something that did not belong to banter or competition.
Kate drew in a slow breath, then zipped her bag closed with more care than necessary. "Then you should probably be careful."
His eyes flicked briefly to her mouth before returning to her eyes. "You already said that."
"I'm saying it again because you don't listen."
"I listen," Travis replied. "I just make selective choices afterward."
Kate shook her head, amused despite herself. "You're impossible."
"I've been called worse."
"I'm sure you earned every version."
He gave a small nod, accepting that like a medal. "Probably."
She slung the gym bag over her shoulder, then stepped toward him until he had to look down slightly to keep her gaze. "You know what your problem is, Wilson?"
"I only get one?"
Kate smiled. "You think you can read everyone."
Travis's expression warmed with interest. "Can't I?"
"Maybe." She lifted one hand and tapped two fingers lightly against his chest. "But you don't always know what people are going to do next."
He smirked. "Are you planning to surprise me?"
Kate let her hand fall away, though she did not move back immediately. "Maybe I'm waiting for the right opening."
He looked genuinely pleased by that. "That sounds like something I taught you."
"It sounds like something I improved."
Travis laughed softly, shaking his head.
For a moment, they just stood there before...
"Alright then," he said, voice calm and low. "Detective Beckett, may I ask you out to dinner tonight?"
Kate blinked once.
Not because she hadn't seen this coming eventually. Honestly, part of her had been waiting for him to cross that line for weeks now. Maybe a bit longer. Still, hearing him say it out loud shifted something between them all at once.
Then her eyes narrowed just a little. "You rehearsed that line before saying it, didn't you?"
"Absolutely not," Travis replied immediately. "I panicked halfway through and accidentally sounded polite."
A little laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
"So this is officially a date now?"
"That depends," he said. "Are you planning to interrogate me through the entire meal?"
Kate shrugged. "Very likely."
"Then yeah," Travis replied with a nod. "Definitely a date."
She shook her head. "You know most people ask someone out before repeatedly throwing them onto gym mats."
"Most people don't train homicide detectives."
Kate stepped closer, still holding his gaze. "And what exactly made you decide now was the right time?"
Travis looked at her for a second before answering honestly.
"Because lately every time I leave this gym, I keep thinking about seeing you again."
That caught her quieter than the teasing had.
Kate folded her arms loosely. "You always say things like that so casually?"
"No," he admitted. "Usually I avoid saying them at all."
Her expression softened slightly after that.
Then she tilted her head. "Alright."
Travis raised an eyebrow. "Alright?"
"Dinner," she clarified, though the small smile on her lips kept growing. "Seven o'clock."
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