Title: Getting Re-Aquainted.
Author: Cath
Rating: M (15+).
Spoilers: Series 5, 6 & 7.
Word Count: 1171
Pairing: Di/Karen.
A/N: Truly an unusual pairing yes? I just wanted to know if I could slash Di?

****

"Bastards!"

The feisty redhead slammed her empty glass onto the bar. "All men are bastards!" she sneered in the direction of the barman, who took no notice of what she said. Countless women came in and complained about men every day, and after a while he had learned to just switch off and concentrate on his job - serving drinks.

"Another?" he gestured toward her glass.

"Well, it is empty!" she spat back, then realised her tone and rebuked herself. "I'm sorry." she sighed heavily. "I didn't mean to take my anger out on you."

The barman nodded in acceptance of her apology and poured her another scotch, straight up.

"Can I join you in your man-hating quest?" A voice from behind her spoke, startling her.

A few seconds passed and the person came into full view. Tall, blonde, a body of which any woman would be jealous of, (herself included) and, legs that went on for days. Di couldn't help but look her up and down, she always was an attractive woman. "I bet she could get any man she wanted?" she thought.

"Di?"

Snapping out of her daze and fixating back on the woman in front of her (and not just her features), Di stuttered and pulled out the chair next to her. "Oh, of...of course! Karen. Here," she patted the seat. "Sit."

A few uncomfortable moments of silence passed before Di decided to break it. "I would have thought I'd be one of the last people you'd want to speak to, especially after I sided with Jim?"

Karen shrugged. "You're not the only one who got sucked into the world of that evil prick, Di. I know how he can manipulate you into believing everything he says."

"Bastard." Di slammed her glass on the bar again, this time the contents splashed out, wetting the area in front of her. She buried her face in her hands. "At least you didn't marry the shitting prick Karen!"

Karen reached out and softly touched Di's arm. "At least you're still alive Di," she answered. "We all know what Jim's capable of?"

Di half smiled. Yes, she knew. She knew all too well. Jim had admitted to her that he had played a part in Yvonne Atkins death. That he had in fact locked her in the hanging cell with no way out and left her there to die. He was a murderer and he had not killed just the once. He stole Karen's car in the hopes of getting revenge on her and had hit and killed a pedestrian in the process and then framed Karen for murder. Yes, Di knew she was lucky to have escaped his clutches, alive.

"Last drinks!" the barman yelled.

Di looked at her watch. "Is it that time already?" she said, not to anyone in particular. The hands on her watch clearly indicated it was getting close to midnight. "Shit, I'm not nearly ready enough to go back to my flat," she muttered.

Karen spoke up, even surprising herself with what she was about to suggest. "Fancy a few more drinks at mine then?"

"You sure?" Di eyed her, thinking she was having her on.

"Definitely!" Karen smiled. "I could do with a few more drinks and some company."

Di got up out of her chair. "Ok, sure then. You lead the way."

Karen's flat was small but it was well enough to suit her lifestyle, she thought. It's not like she'd been entertaining guests lately. Her friends were few and far between. She'd realised that more recently when she'd had her 'brush with the law', something she'd much rather forget, and tonight her plan was to drink it into a distant memory. Karen ushered Di over to the sofa, gathering a couple of glass tumblers on the way and setting them down on the bare table in front of them.

"So, Di. What's your poison?"

Di shrugged. "Whatever the strongest thing you've got is?"

Karen walked over to the liquor cabinet and searched it. Finding what she was looking for she held up a bottle. "Looks like vodka it is then."

Di gave a weary smile. "Sounds perfect."

Karen poured generous amounts of the clear liquid into the tumblers and sat down next to Di. "How about we make a toast?" Karen suggested. Both ladies raised their glasses. Karen cleared her throat. "To all the bastards in the world. May you get the bollocking you truly deserve!" Clinking their glasses, both ladies threw the liquid down their throats, the burning sensation in their bodies numbed by the pain of the many bad men and bad relationships they'd had in their lives.

Karen lifted the bottle to Di. "Another one?"

Di held her glass out in front of her. "You keep pouring and I'll keep drinking," she grinned.

The toasts and drinking continued on well into the early hours of the morning. Both women had a lot they wanted to wipe from their minds. Di touched Karen on the shoulder. "You know, with our luck with men we should just give up completely."

Karen laughed. "You're not wrong. We're the poster girls for bad relationships. If ever there was a shitting asshole in a town we've probably dated him, and his brother."

There was a moment of silence and then both ladies simultaneously burst into fits of laughter.

Maybe it was the copious amount of alcohol she had ingested but Di suddenly felt brave. Moving in closer to Karen, Di reached up and brushed Karen's cheek softly with her hand, at the same time taking in her beautiful features.

Karen stiffened.

"I'm sorry," Di blushed, and quickly pulled her hand away from Karen's face. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, it's okay," Karen said softy and covered Di's hand with her own. "You just took me aback for a minute."

Di reached up to Karen's face again and her fingertips gently traced the contours, etching them into her memory. Her eyes, her perfect nose, her beautiful soft lips. Oh, how Di wanted to taste them.

Karen's eyes were closed. She could feel Di's fingers touching her, then she felt Di's soft lips upon hers prompting her to give into the exploration both women desired. Di's tongue found Karen's, both caressing and guiding the other into further moments of pleasure. Karen gave an involuntary moan. She'd never been with a woman before. Her body was pulsating. She suddenly became aware of how much she had missed the closeness of another person. Di was stirring up new emotions inside of her, things she had never felt before and she wasn't sure if she would be able to restrain herself. She wanted this woman.

Karen pulled back and opened her eyes. Di was looking at her, smiling. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I'm better than okay," Karen answered back. This one night of passion with the woman opposite her would erase the many nights, the many bastards she had forever longed to put behind her.

/fin