The office fern was still alive. That had to be a good thing, right? If the office fern was still alive and work was getting done, it meant that Quin was doing a good job.

Things had been slow in the beginning and Quin had spent most of her days working on her existing case and getting things set up in her office. There had been a few hiccups with her PI license, but not even the begrudging NYPD could hold up paperwork forever and Quin had found herself the proud owner of a PI's license. Not that it had kept her from working in the meantime...but it was nice to have that little scrap of plastic to prove everything was on the up and up. SHe was limited...but could still do something.

Things had picked up though. There were now mulitple folders on the redhead's desk where there had only been one in previous weeks. The office ficus was thriving, but there were post-its stuck to its pot to remind Quin about some of the things she needed to do. It was a necessary sacrifice for a dwelling so close to the computer. The ficus didn't seem to mind, Quin appreciated its compliance. Teamwork was important, after all.

The new cases were good ones, ones she'd been able to make progress with. People needed help and the work Quin was doing was going to help them.

A knock on the door made her look up, "Come on in!"

It was crazy how one person could affect Nate’s life on multiple levels. Natalie was gone, transferred to Chicago for a new opportunity. It was good for her and he supported her, but it felt like a lot shifted in her wake. They had been slowly working through issues and getting closer to the point where their relationship might have become something real, but they were both realists. What they had was promising, but not enough to dismiss a great career opportunity.

Beyond the many professional implications losing a member of the Inner Echelon had on his life, Nat's departure changed Nate's personal life in major ways. After a very long discussion, they decided it made sense to let Nora finish up the rest of the school year in New York before they decided on how to proceed. Natalie was not incredibly keen on the decision, but Norah would stay primarily with Nate, visiting Chicago on long weekends and school breaks. Being a full-time parent changed up the entire dynamic of Nate's life, and it was an adjustment he was still learning to handle. It was enlightening to realize how much Natalie handled on her side of the parenting.

Parenting aside, without Natalie around, Nate realized his sex life was unexpectedly narrowed down. Natalie was one of his ongoing "casual" partners, (if you ignore their struggles with the word casual,) and with Norah in his life full time, Nate was not exactly filling his nights with one-off affairs. Really, that just left Quin. Somehow, the only person Nate was currently sleeping with was his ex-girlfriend and, technically, his subordinate in the Haven structure. I was a dangerous line to tread and Nate should have honestly known better. Instead of learning lessons, he would just make some effort to balance friendship, sex, and work appropriately.

His visit to Quin's office was a work trip that day. Nothing crazy; he would get a status report on her current projects and provide her any leads or new projects Haven wanted her to work on. Having a talented Detective-turned-Private-Investigator on retainer was very useful when your organization wanted a hand in everything coming and going in New York.

Nate knocked and awaited permission before stepping into the office. Since he was on business, he wore a buttoned shirt and a tie, along with a coat he was pulling off his body. After so many years, New York still got too damn cold in the winter. "Hey there, Quin. Just your friendly neighborhood overlord. I was hoping to drop in for a report on ongoing investigations." He hung his coat near the door and turned to her, grinning because he could not resist. "And to see that face again. I've been so busy, it feels like I haven't seen you in too damn long." If his workload with Haven continued to grow, he would eventually have to consider resigning at the Mansion. He did not need the money, necessarily, and likely would have left already if he had not loved his work so much. Now that he had Norah full-time, his hand would probably be forced eventually. Parenthood came with tough decisions, after all.

Quin involuntarily smiled as Nate made his way into her office. It was hard not to grin when he was dressed all professional-like. The man knew how to wear business casual...he also knew how to wear casual casual casual...he also knew how to wear anything else...or nothing else. The thought almost made her laugh.

Of all people, Quin should have known better than to dip her quill into the proverbial office ink pot, but she'd checked the HR code for the company. There was nothing in there against fraternization. Not a word. Not even if the fraternization was occurring between a superior and a subordinate. It was odd in this day in age, but the people at the top of the company seemed to hire mostly on a recruiting basis. When you went seeking someone out for employment you tended to know them better than if they walked in off the street with a resume that could be half made-up.
Things had been hectic lately for Nate. Norah’s Mom had gotten a job opportunity that required her to move. Quin had stayed out of the whole thing, it had all seemed like dangerous territory. This hadn’t just involved a potential romantic interest...it had involved Nate’s daughter. That complicated things significantly, but Quin hadn’t felt like it was her place to comment. Things with her and Nate had been too easy for too long to start making things hard. It was much too easy to simply go with the flow.

A bright smile welcomed the visit from the overlord. He wanted progress reports on her current cases? Well that was easy enough to do since the multiple folders were already laid out and organized on her desk.

”It does feel like it’s been a long time.” she said, [color-buttercup]”But we’ve both been busy. Maybe we can clear some scheduled time later this week, but business first.” [/color] Yes, business first. Quin stayed behind her desk, the better to keep things business-like.

Grabbing the closest folder, the redhead held it out towards Nate so he could look. ”I kept some things from the NYPD, old habits die hard. “ she said, ”I’ve got paper copies of all the case notes in folders like these, but I’m also making electronic copies of everything case related that I’ve set up on a secure company server.”

That said, Quin sank down in her chair and leaned back, smiling, ”So, would you rather I run you through everything or do you want to read for yourself.”

Suits were an element of Nate’s old life as Stephen, which very notably did not overlap with his time in Quin’s life. For that reason, when he approached her for business reasons, he always felt himself to be overdressed. And not in the “I want to tear off my clothes” way; rather, in the “I got very used to being around you in a t-shirt and jeans” way. He could feel casual with Quin in private, which meant professional in public still felt new and unfamiliar.

Knowing the dynamic they now shared, Nate did some very casual probing of company dating policies. He and Natalie had done their due diligence, but she was a member of the Inner Echelon. Nate needed to discreetly get information out of their HR rep about dating between ranks. The key was not offering preferential treatment. If they had other PIs on payroll, Nate had to distribute cases, and more specifically, good cases evenly. It was something he was pretty sure he could manage, which meant he was less concerned about what could plainly be called fraternization.

They would learn how to make their professional relationship as easy as their personal one in time, Nate was sure. Quin was not exactly a problem case, especially when compared to some of the Havenites they had in their ranks. She worked her ass off, she knew what she was doing, and she got results; really, he just had to make sure he was not a terrible superior, because she had her s**t on lock, jumping right into business.

Entering business mode himself, Nate took the seat across from Quin. ”Of course. Niceties later,” he agreed, watching Quin grab a folder. He was used to seeing her fill her workspace with papers, assuming she just preferred to work with tactile documents rather than digital text. There were benefits to going digital and he was glad she would archive her copies on a company server, but sometimes, things were just easier to work with on paper and ink.

Nate relaxed in his seat, mulling over the options. ”I’ll look over the files, but I’d like you to give me a rundown of what you’ve been working on. Hearing it directly from your perspective might give me a more accurate understanding of what I’m seeing in the files.” Not every thought made it onto a page, after all.

”No problem.” Quin said, settling down into her office chair with a smile.


The cases on the redhead’s desk followed a somewhat alarming pattern. The NYPD had been lots of things, including misogynistic and full of nepotism...but as an organization, they hadn’t had a problem with mutants on the force. In fact, MRC had become a model for the rest of the country for how to integrate mutants into law enforcement.

Not everyone was so lucky.

”The folder in your hand is the case of Mrs. Santos. She’s lived in the same apartment with her husband and two children for more than a decade. Mrs. Santos is a mutant, and one of her children just had their powers manifest.” Quin paused for a moment so Nate could locate the info in the folder if he desired.

’The power manifestation was somewhat loud but didn’t cause any property damage and nobody was hurt. The Santos family has never had a late rent payment and as far as anyone, including me, can find they’re model tenants.” This is where things got...distasteful.

”The landlord stopped by after receiving some calls about the noise and discovered the genetic status of Mrs. Santos and her son. The man was uncomfortable, to say the least, and issued a heavy warning on the spot. Three days later, an eviction notice was posted. Legal is asserting that the family is being removed based solely on their mutant status. I’m digging into the super and establishing a history of good behavior from the family.”

That was how it worked, she gathered the evidence, and Legal took it from there. It was crazy how similar to detective work it all was.

Quin nodded towards the other folders, ”These others are all similar,” she said, ”The green folder is a man who was fired for being a minute late a week after his mutant status was discovered. The red folder is a valedictorian who was offered a full ride scholarship to a local private university who then pulled the offer once her status was discovered. They aren’t even bothering to hide the fact that it was because she’s a mutant, they maintain that since they’re a private institution it’s their prerogative.”

Quin shook her head as she looked, there were more folders, but those were the ones she’d really made progress on...well besides the human trafficking case.

’Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky growing up. All my friends and family thought I was some kind of novelty, probably because they didn’t think what I could do was any kind of threat.”

There were things Nate felt like he could coast through in life, but Haven and the work he did with the organization would not follow that pattern. He took his work seriously because he saw the vision Havenwas trying to pursue and he actually fely connected to it.

He wondered how much of his reformation and less selfish outlook came from Quin. He made his choices for himself, but it was undeniable that meeting her played a huge role in changing him. She was a detective because she was born to help people, and when she lost her job, she joined Haven because she would not know how to stop. She was a good person, and Nate wondered if that was just something that rubbed off when you got close to someone.

Nate flipped through the folder, listening as she explained the challenging position of a family with recently manifested mutant children. His brow notably furrowed at the news of their upcoming eviction. It was tragic, but it was only made worse by the knowledge that it was still upsettingly common. People always had biases and bigotry, but the "threat" of mutants made them even harder to protect than some other oppressed minorities because people could justify their hate and fear.

It was fortunate there were people like Quin out in the world, looking to provide the protection and assistance no one else would. So many situations that could slip through the cracks if not for someone who gave enough of a damn to pick them up. "Buncha bastards," Nate grumbled, his eyes still finishing up some reading in the folder.

Quin mused on her own upbringing and how lucky she was to be accepted by the people around her. "You're not wrong; that was lucky. But it's good. There needs to be the hope out there that the world still has good and tolerant humans. I'm glad you got that, even if some of us didn't." Nate did not stick around the children's home when he turned, but he was bullied long before he was a mutant, and knew it would only be worse. That was not to say the streets were any easier; there was a reason Nate grew up so fast.

"Those folks might not have been lucky to end up in their situations, but they're lucky to have someone like you fighting for them Quin," he assured her, finally closing the folder and placing it down on the table.

They really were bastards, weren’t they? Quin simply nodded her head at that observation, reading through her notes on the file. Nate’s next comment made Quin frown for more than one reason.

Nate’s childhood hadn’t been a good one, Quin knew that because Nate had told her about that. Quin also knew about that because one strange day Nate had woken up as a child, a child that Quin had helped. In doing so she’d found out about his long con. It all seemed like a distant bad dream now. Perspective did that to bad memories. All the painful colors were muted by later experiences and knowledge. It hadn’t really been a con. Well..maybe at first it had been, but it had become a transformation.

Quin was digressing inside her own head. The fact of the matter was that Nate had had a terrible childhood, made worse by the fact that he was a mutant. There was something so wrong about that...and it was even worse that they were still having those problems.

Quin winced at Nate’s last statement and shook her head, tossing the folder in her hand back on the table.

”Someone has to start.” she said simply, ”If people can’t do the right thing on their own, then someone has to make them do the right thing.”

The stack of folders wasn’t really all that big...Quin decided. Either people hadn’t heard about the things Haven could do, or things were getting better in general despite the few bad eggs.

”Once people start seeing that someone cares enough to litigate, they’ll inevitably become more tolerant.” The redhead said with a slightly wry smile.

”Besides, I can kick ass and take names now instead of just taking names. If litigation doesn’t work…” Quin stopped there, she was starting to sound like a certain group of spandex wearing vigilantes. She hadn’t gone that far into the deep end yet.

It was still odd sometimes for Nate to realize how far he came with opening up to people. Quin knew a lot about him; he worked hard to open up and be honest with her after the age reversion incident because he genuinely wanted to make them work again. He ended things because he was starting to believe they never would because of what Quin finally knew. In hindsight, part of Nate wondered if he should have stuck it out; they seemed to have an easier time together now. Then again, perhaps that was just the benefit of time, distance, and perspective.

Nate returned to the present, where he was playing the role of boss to a woman who constantly amazed him with her capacity for caring. If anyone had the right attitude to make change and be there for those who needed support, it was Quin.

The ex-cop was acclimating well, and Nate smirked when she started talking about the liberties she could take with her new role and stumbled into dangerously vigilante-esque territory. ”Oh, I know you could strike fear into the hearts of slumlords.” He held up his index fingers and thumbs into L-shapes to make a frame around her face from his perspective, before panning down. ”When the police ask, they’ll claim in fright that it was a woman with fiery red hair, a sleek black domino mask, and an unforgettable body.”

Well, perhaps he got himself a little off-point there. It was hard when he was around Quin, and he had done so well staying on topic up to that point. ”Okay, sorry, please tell me that was all the business you had for me.” Nate walked over to her side of the desk, planted his hands on either arm of Quin’s chair, and leaned into her. ”I’m suddenly in a less-than-businessy mood.” Oh, if only HR could see him now.

Quin couldn’t help it, she rolled her eyes at Nate’s version of a vigilante costume for her. It was utterly ridiculous and just the sort of thing a man would come up with for a female crime fighter. Coming from Nate, it wasn’t insulting, but he knew how she felt about the whole idea. Fairly certain she was being teased, the redhead chuckled, ”That sounds a little light on the kevlar and a little heavy on the sex-kitten for my taste…” she said, ”And I hope they’d remember my incredible martial prowess as well as the body…” One could hope.

If she was completely honest with herself, the idea held some appeal. As she’d seen too many times to count, the legal system had its flaws and really couldn’t be counted on to handle everything itself. There was too much bureaucracy and nepotism holding things back for her to deny the truth any longer. Quin was about to admit as much to Nate, but he expressed a desire to be finished with business and made his way to her side of the desk. Oh well, her evolving views on vigilantism would have to wait.

A swivel chair had been a must when she’d moved into her new office, and Quin once again congratulated herself on her good sense in that decision as Nate leaned down. Smirking slightly and still leaning back in her chair, Quin put her hands on his arms and looked right up into his eyes.

”That’s up to you...boss. You’re the one who wanted to make sure I wasn’t freeloading off of payroll.” She smiled more broadly,”Satisfied?”

Nate shook his head, knowing where Quin would take things, and being all to ready for it. ”Anyone who saw your martial prowess wouldn’t be able to remember it; they’d be down and out cold too fast for that.” Quin was an impressive and well-trained fighter; she didn’t need the benefit of a shadowform to hold her own. He never truly expected to see her doling out vigilante justice, but he was confident that she could take care of herself when investigations might go sideways.

In some ways, Nate could compare certain Haven missions to vigilante activity, but it never felt that small. Vigilantes were responding to some immediate problem, like some kind of superpowered damage control team. Haven planned operations with long-term implications for the good of New York and mutantkind. They were working out a long game and a world-changing impact, and plans like that were bigger than case-by-case do-gooding.

Still, those thoughts were for another time. Nate had swiveled Quin in his direction, and she was looking up with that gorgeous, broad smile he adored. One hand left the chair’s arm so it could loosen the tie around his neck, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt along the way. He grinned, leaning down toward Quin, officially signifying the end of business time. ”I am. As your boss, at least.” He lifted her chin with his hand as he descended, kissing her soft lips deeply, ignoring the complex balance they were somehow learning to make work. At least figuring all that out could be quite enjoyable along the way.

Had she been fishing for that kiss, or had she and Nate simply been on the same page? Did it matter? Probably not, the redhead decided as she gave herself over to the kiss.

Far too soon a little voice in the back of Quin’s head interrupted to remind her that there was no way that this was work-appropriate activity. So what?! Hadn’t the little voice seen Nate loosen his tie? Hadn’t it seen her put that folder down? That meant they were on a break.

Still…Quin unwrapped her arms from around Nate’s neck (When had that happened anyway?) and smiled at him sheepishly, cheeks just a bit pink. ”You’re bad for productivity.” she chided, glancing quickly at the to-do list she’d written up for the day.

Though...she glanced at the clock, ”I haven’t gotten lunch yet, do you have any plans?”