The following morning, Joohyun woke up in one of the- well if she was being honest- Joohyun woke up in one of the worst moods of her life which surprised even herself because just a couple of hours ago she had finally kissed the woman she has had a crush on for the past couple of weeks and wow... did that feel good. So as she lay awake in their shared bed, she wondered what had woken her up from her lovely cuddle buddy filled sleep.

Blinking away the sleep in her eyes, she glanced at the glass sliding door that led to the outdoor porch. The world outside was still dark with only the first beginnings of light starting to lighten the shades of the clouds. Deeming it too early to wake up, she went to shift herself closer to a sleeping Seungwan when she realized this was a mistake. Every muscle in her body ached and her head felt like it was being split open like an egg on a frying pan. Flopping back on to her back, Joohyun let out a louder groan than she had intended to and felt Seungwan shift closer to her subconsciously. On any occasion other than this, Joohyun would have melted at the blonde cuddling closer to her but as of right now, when she felt like the sun was trying to burst from her body, she lightly scooted herself backward away from the human bundle of heat and right off the bed. 

If Seungwan wasn't awake before, she sure as hell was now she thought to herself.

Joohyun laid face up on the ground and saw the tip of blonde hair emerge from above her on the bed.

"Joohyun what are you doing on the ground?" Seungwan asked, eyes still slightly unfocused and voice barely above a whisper. Seungwan looked like she could've fallen asleep right then and there with her head hanging down over the edge of the king-sized bed. 

Joohyun tried to pry herself off of the ground but the spike of pain that went through her body had her smacking her head back down on the rug her muscles crying out in agony as she brought her arms up to massage her sweaty temples. "I think I got sick," Joohyun gurgled out, barely recognizing her voice. The walls of  were lined with mucus from the sickness she had caught and Joohyun was 90 percent sure her lymph nodes looked like two balloons on the sides of her neck. 

Seungwan's eyes widened from the sleepy slits they were just moments ago and Joohyun saw her swing her legs over the edge of the bed before crouching down next to her body. Seungwan brought her hand to Joohyun's cheek and the cooling sensation Joohyun felt was like nothing else in this world. The blonde's hand was like ice against her fiery skin and she gently leaned in to nuzzle her whole face into it. "Hyun, baby you're burning up," Joohyun heard Seungwan say and if her blush slightly intensified from the two pet names, Joohyun would never admit it and solely would blame it on the fever she knew she had. "Baby come on let's get you back on the bed okay?" Seungwan cooed as arms wrapped firmly around Joohyun's midsection. The following moments all blurred together for Joohyun as all her muscles screamed at her for moving herself back onto the surface of the bed (not that she even did most of the lifting). She felt the other lawyer pat her down with a cold towel before Seungwan's hands came to rest on the edge of her nightshirt.

"Hyun..." Seungwan began nervously, "I have to get your shirt off of you, you sweat through it and it'll only make you feel worse if you keep it." Now, let's get one thing straight, Joohyun isn't. She's a nervous lesbian that fidgets uncontrollably when Seungwan gets within 5 meters of her so now that the blonde was asking her to take her shirt off... Joohyun's already frazzled brain was now being set into a whole other world of chaos. Knowing that Seungwan was right, Joohyun gulped lightly before nodding her head not trusting her voice right after the show that it performed while she was sprawled out on the floor. Slowly but surely Seungwan peeled off her moist shirt gently helping to raise Joohyun's arms above her head and slipping off the shirt completely before replacing it with a warm hoodie. 

Immediately after switching her top, Seungwan padded away into the bathroom likely to get more cold clothes, but Joohyun didn't care to stay awake long enough to find out. The hoodie smelled strongly of Seungwan's shampoo and the last thing she remembered was the gentle sound of Seungwan's singing voice carrying from the bathroom and then a supple pair of lips being pressed to her forehead before she slipped into sleep.

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The next time Joohyun regains consciousness, she is placed inside a cocoon of blankets on the passenger side of Seungwan's car. The soft hum of the engine and the rumble of the road beneath her would've lulled her right back to sleep if it wasn't for the sensation of a hand drawing gentle circles on her thigh and Seungwan's voice floating through the warm air of the Mercedes. 

"No, she just passed out in the hotel bed and has been out cold since," Seungwan spoke softly. "No, we didn't do anything wild and before you even ask no, we didn't do anything at all! I think she just got sick because we were out in the cold for a long time and she must have gotten ill." Joohyun felt Seungwan's hand withdraw from her thigh and she felt the car slow down and turn onto a different road. Pine trees lining the road had instead been replaced again with concrete sidewalks and buildings, a sign they were probably closer to home than the snowy heaven they had stayed at.

Another voice suddenly filled the car as a laugh erupted from the car speakers. 

"I wasn't even going to ask that," Sooyoung laughed out before she shushed someone else on her side of the call. Probably Seulgi or Yerim, Joohyun thought to herself as she slightly adjusted her head on the window, the cool glass alleviating some of the pain in her head. "Yeri and I just got to her apartment so when you get here just text one of us to pick her up." 

After a couple more minutes Seungwan bid goodbye to Sooyoung and the car disconnected the call. Deciding to fall back asleep, Joohyun snuggled deeper into the blankets and as she was about to slip into darkness, Seungwan's voice broke through the setting fog of slumber. 

"Hyun, I know you're awake."

Dammit. So much more sleeping away the rest of the ride Joohyun thought as she begrudgingly opened her eyes for the first time since waking up. The sight of tall buildings and people scurrying in every different direction surprised her as she sat in taking in the sights of the city where they lived.

"You've been asleep for a while baby," Seungwan said. "We'll be at your place in like-" she glanced at the GPS "- 5 minutes so, I need you to stay awake." A small smile played on her lips as she spoke and Joohyun couldn't help but smile too until the car hit a particularly large pothole and she banged her head on the window. 

New York City roads.

Seungwan erupted in laughter at the displeased look on Joohyuns already pretty swollen face.

Seungwan looked pretty when she laughed.

Maybe New York City roads deserve some rights.

Joohyun reached for the water in the center console and took a sip before speaking. "How'd I even sleep this long?"

"I tried waking you up, I honestly did, but I guess the sickness along with the lack of sleep we both got the night before really got to you so, I took the liberty and just carried you to the car." The image of a tiny Seungwan carrying her over the shoulder to the car invaded Joohyun's mind. Seungwan didn't look that strong but her arm muscles must be pretty toned to be able to get a sleeping girl all the way from the hotel to the car. Other thoughts began entering her mind as she imagined being thrown over the other girl's shoulder in... different... ways but, before they could stray too far, Seungwan pulled into the street where her apartment was located and glided the car to a smooth stop near the curb. 

"Sooyoung should be down in a minute to help with your things and take care of you for the weekend."

Joohyun nodded her head absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere and yet nowhere at all with the amount of aching coursing through her body, she couldn't focus that well. She felt Seungwan reach over and unbuckle her seat belt before getting out of the car and walking around to her side. The blonde lawyer looked particularly young this morning. Dawning what Joohyun guessed was an old university sweatshirt and leggings, Seungwan looked like she could be attending college and not like she was getting ready to persecute a suspected murderer in just a few days. Seungwan looked cute. Like a hamster. 

Pleased with her observations and mental analogies, Joohyun nodded happily to herself before turning towards the car door expecting to be met by warm brown eyes but instead coming face to face with the sasquatch herself, Park Sooyoung. 

"Move it or lose it granny we can't leave you out in the cold for too long otherwise you'll cease functioning." 

And just when Joohyun thought her headache couldn't get any worse, a second head appeared.

"I've never seen her look so upset while disassociating, maybe I can get new reaction memes to send to the group chat from this."

Yerim.

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After bidding goodbye to a very sheepish and apologetic looking Seungwan (who also kissed her on the cheek so she couldn't be that mad), Joohyun was booted up the stairs by dictator Park and her associate in training and was ordered to remain in bed for the rest of the weekend. With the big trial coming up on Monday, she needed to be in top shape to face the defense attorneys and the man they're trying to put behind bars. 

The remaining weekend passed by quickly minus the occasional hiccups like Yeri cooking and almost burning the kitchen down and Sooyoung inviting Seulgi over when they thought Joohyun was too out of it to notice.

She wasn't, but she wished she were by the sounds that were coming from her kitchen.

Note to self: disinfect the entire apartment.

There were also the highlights that made Joohyun forget about the capades like when Seungwan came over with a warm bowl of food and a hand-written apology for enlisting the demonic duo for nurse duty. Joohyun understood, of course, Seungwan had been finalizing their opening statement and if she didn't focus on that, they'd be underprepared for Monday. They had spent the evening cuddling in Joohyun's bed with Seungwan occasionally feeding her bites of the food she had brought. 

Around nine pm, dictator Park struck again and ordered Seungwan out of the apartment so "no funny business" would happen the night before the big event. Joohyun had half a mind to tell Sooyoung off about all the noise she heard coming from her and Seulgi, but one light kiss from Seungwan put her in such a dazed limbo that the only thing that came out of was a giggle.

That had been around two hours ago at this point and now, sitting on her couch with her passed-out secretary and another secretary falling asleep on the loveseat, Joohyun found herself stress reading their case files over and over again.

In the morning she would wake up and take the stand to bring down a wealthy man who had murdered an innocent young girl. Just the thought of it made Joohyun dread Mondays all over again.

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The drive to the courthouse was mostly uneventful. Sooyoung had been unanimously voted to drive all three of them the very short distance from Joohyun's apartment because Joohyun had to prepare her last-minute notes and letting Yerim drive was... well it was out of the question after the last time when they had almost ended up almost wrapping the car around a fire hydrant at 80 miles per hour. How or when they had accelerated to that speed Joohyun couldn't remember, nor did she want to.

"Do you think Ms. Son is nervous at all?" Yeri spoke up from the back seat, glancing at the reporters already stationed outside of the courthouse steps. The case, while relatively easy to win, was still a high profile case because of the killer's social status so it was agreed beforehand that all attending personnel would use the back exit.

"I don't think she should be, she's done a lot of background checking and editing of the points over the weekend and she had direct access to any evidence that is being used," Sooyoung said as the car eased to a stop within the parking garage.

She took the keys out of the ignition, pausing a little before continuing with a huge smirk on her face, "and she's hot so if all else fails, flirting with the defense attorney could work." 

Joohyun's face snapped up from her notes in an instance turning to face the woman that had already begun to make her escape from the car. She was already getting ready to scold her when Sooyoung popped her head back in.

"Don't worry Ms. Bae, when I said she was hot , I meant she was your hot . The hickey on your neck when you arrived on Friday was telling enough."

"I- I didn't have a hickey we didn't even, you know, get that far!" Joohyun stuttered, heat rising to her cheeks. She hadn't mentioned anything over the weekend and she was fairly sure that Seungwan hadn't left any marks but-

"I know, but that was the easiest way to get you to admit you actually got somewhere with her," Sooyoung threw her a cheeky smile.

"Sooyoung?"

"Yes, Ms. Bae?"

"Get out of my car."

"Yes, Ms. Bae!"

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"First the judge will walk in, the Judge in question is judge Miyoui and her..." Joohyun tuned out the rest of what the intern was talking about, instead choosing to focus her mind on how good Seungwan looked in the black pantsuit she had chosen for hearing. The fitting of the suit hugged Seungwan's curves perfectly, and when she first walked into the hall, Joohyun had half the thought to throw the case so that she could take her coworker home early. But, Joohyun was a professional, a well-respected professional at that, and she knew better than to act out like a puberty-driven boy seeing a girl's for the first time. So instead of dragging Seungwan to the nearest restroom for less than legal activities, she simply grabbed the blonde's hand and gave the other a quick peck on the cheek.

 "... and that should be all you need! Unless you want some good company after the case," The intern finally finished, bouncing on the balls of his feet and winking at Joohyun when she went to go shake his hand. 

A rehearsed rejection was on the tip of her tongue when she felt Seungwan's arms slip from her hand and around her waist from behind. The other lawyer's voice sounded low and sharp from right next to her ear. "I think that's all we need Mr. Kim, please think before speaking off-script next time or your internship with the Jung law firm will be rather quick." 

The intern, Mr.Kim apparently, visibly stiffened and curtly bowed before taking his leave just as quickly as he had first arrived at the door, his retreating figure parting the room like the red sea.

"I thought he'd never leave," Seungwan unwrapped her arms from Joohyun's midsection and moved to stand next to her. "I swear, you'd think they'd assume that we know what we're doing by now especially given our credentials but no, every time it's the same speech and the same offer of 'good company'."

Joohyun laughed quietly, leaning into Seungwan's side as they leaned over their desk. Papers in neat stacks lined the mahogany table each page perfectly squared up with the one that follows and all organized by size. Joohyun thought this was her own personal heaven, the nervous murmur of the courthouse and the systematic order in which everyone filed into the aisles made the lawyer feel right at home. 

The first time she had ever been in this situation, Joohyun almost fainted. The judge had been some old grey-haired man that decided he had a personal vendetta against her so she spent most of the hearing cowering behind her notes and walking big circles around the judge's desk. But that was years ago and she isn't a rookie anymore, she's an accomplished adult with multiple hard-earned wins under her belt, and for the first time in her career, she has a partner that she trusts to make any decisions and objections just as much as she trusts herself. Not to mention, she also has a stellar secretary sitting right behind her ready to fact check everything that was said by the opposing side. 

Glancing around the room, Joohyun took in the sight of Jack Levison staring in their general direction and as she followed his line of sight, she realized that he was staring at Seungwan who had bent to pick up her phone. The disgusting smirk that he had on his face was enough for Joohyun to put two and two together and subtly scoot to her right to obscure his vision of her partner. As soon as they locked eyes, Jack's smirk grew as he his lips signaling for Joohyun to move back over. When she refused to budge from her position, Jack rolled his eyes, turning back to his defense attorney but not before sending Joohyun one last lip bite and wink.

Feeling anger start to rise up her spine, Joohyun spun on her heels and huffed out the air she was subconsciously keeping in her chest to make her seem more intimidating. Seungwan had already stood back up and was highlighting the key points of the arguments with the pink highlighter she had stolen from Joohyun's office. As the blonde glanced up, she quickly perked up at Joohyun's gaze and offered her the finished copy.

"Pink for your favorite color of course," Seungwan smiled wide, giving Joohyun a thumbs up before going back to work. She felt the anger slowly disperse as she shuffled closer to her partner, muttering last-minute ideas to the shorter woman and also discretely keeping an eye on Jack through her peripheral vision. The final sparks of the pulsating anger Joohyun had felt vanished almost immediately by the comforting smell of Seungwan's perfume and warmth radiating off of where their shoulders touched. Over the past couple of weeks, she had grown more dependent on the shorter woman next to her. Perhaps a little too dependent.

She could get used to a permanent partner in crime.

Well, not exactly crime but you know what Joohyun means. 

Maybe it was time to take that up with Seungwan, making whatever they had between them, permanent. And she didn't necessarily only mean their work pairing.

Yeah, Joohyun liked the thought of that. She really liked the thought of having Seungwan by her side at the office but also in one of their apartments. Or maybe, somewhere down the line, their own shared apartment.

A couple more minutes of comfortable silence passed between them before Judge Miyoui entered the room and everyone in the hall was ordered to stand. The woman strode towards the judge's stand and Joohyun finally recognized why the name had seemed familiar. Miyoui was the leading criminal justice judge in the district. She was fair and took no backtalk from anyone in the courtroom. A perfect judge to deal with someone like the man sitting on the opposite side of the room in handcuffs. Behind the desk, judge Miyoui raised her gavel silencing the buzz of the room and initiating the court into action.

 Joohyun glanced at Seungwan locking their eyes together offering her a small smile and gently nudging the other with her elbow.  As the attendees of the meeting took their seats, Joohyun grabbed the notes to her opening statement and slipped out from behind their desk. 

The other attorney from the other side also got up and when she went to greet him, her eyes met Jack's who was once again staring in Seungwan's direction. The same bubble of anger returned and Joohyun felt her shoulder blades tighten.

This sorry excuse of a man was on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and all he had time for was making googly eyes at her not-so-girlfriend girlfriend.

(Seungwan's official label was still a work in progress)

Either way, if he wanted a hot girl, Joohyun would give him one.

Time to light his up in court.

"The accused, Jack Levison, is on trial for the murder of Jennifer Davidson on the 12th of..."

Let the case begin.

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This has been in my drafts for a while I just didn't have the confidence to post it.

Thank you for reading and see you in the next update!

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