It never really got quiet at the station, even in the darkest hours of the night. But for once he was alone in the bullpen, his lamp creating a pool of light around his desk in the darkened room as he bent over the endless paperwork his job seemed to create.
He heard the sharp click of her heels coming down the hallway and recognized her stride. Grateful for the distraction he glanced up as she entered the room, dropping his pen on top of the forms he was laboriously filling out.
"Hey," she greeted, walking over.
"Hey," he replied, looking her up and down as she handed him a file. She was wearing black, the silky material hugging her curves and flowing to an end just above her knees. Her arms were wonderfully bare, shoulders covered only by the thin straps of her dress.
She found a bare patch on the edge of the desk and sat on it, crossing her long bare legs. "I didn't expect to see you here," she said.
"Paperwork," he said on a shrug, finding a place for the file amid the mess.
She arched an eyebrow. "On the most romantic night of the year?" she asked.
He leaned back in his chair and looked up at her. "Well what about you Miss Bonasera? All dressed up and nowhere to go?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked.
She smiled. "Got called out to a scene and missed my reservation."
"Don't seem too upset about that."
She shrugged. "I was going out with an old friend. He called and said he'd found... someone else to keep him occupied."
He whistled softly through his teeth. "Damn."
"Well what about you Detective? I find it hard to believe you couldn't get a date tonight."
"Just couldn't be bothered." He picked up a file he had completed and stood. "I don't have a girlfriend right now, and this is the worst night of the year for a first date. Too many expectations."
He walked over to one of the filing cabinets, yanking open a draw. "What about Angell?" she asked from behind him. "I heard you guys were getting close."
He glanced over his shoulder and sent her a half smile. "Not as close as she would like." He found the right place for the file and closed the draw with a small slam, before wandering over to stand in front of her.
She cocked one eyebrow at him. "Aren't you the heartbreaker."
From this position it was almost impossible for him to not look down the front of her dress. Not that he resisted the impulse. "I see someone I like, I'm gonna go for it. If not, I can't be bothered. Jess is a good detective, but she's got no imagination."
He looked up, met her eyes. She smirked at him, and he knew she knew where his eyes had been. "So you couldn't be bothered."
"Not with her."
"And you're all alone on Valentines Day, doing paperwork."
"Hey, my night's looking pretty good from where I'm standing." He raised both eyebrows, as if asking a question.
She slid off the desk and stood but he didn't move back. There was speculation in her eyes when she looked up at him. They stood like that for a moment, their bodies mere inches apart, almost, but not quite, touching.
"Is that so?" she asked.
"Hmm," he murmured, the sound rumbling through his chest. He reached out and tugged on one of the strands of curls that were floating around her face. "You know, I can finish this paperwork tomorrow."
"Yeah?"
Satisfied he had captured her interest, he let his eyes once more trail over her face and down her curves before her looked back up to meet her eyes. "Be a shame to spend Valentines Day night alone."
He heard the footsteps in the hall and stepped back just as another detective entered the room, shattering the dark intimacy they had created. He glanced up, nodded to the man. "Hey Quan."
"Hey Flack," the other detective replied, nodding at her. "Detective Bonasera." He sat down at his own desk on the other side of the bullpen. "Dude, I thought you were off at eight."
"Paperwork, you know." He walked around his desk and tidied up the files. "How'd your wife like the flowers?"
"I think I'm back in her good books," Quan said with a quick grin. "You off now?"
"Yep." He switched off his lamp and dumped the files haphazardly in a desk draw, locking it. "I'll see you later."
Quan waved absently, his attention on the files in front of him. Satisfied the other detective wasn't paying any attention to them, he looked at her and tilted his head towards the door.
--
He dropped his hand from the small of her back as they reached his apartment door. It took him a moment to find his keys and he knew his palms were beginning to sweat as he slid the right one into the lock.
They hadn't talked much on the way. Brief snippets of conversation about their coworkers plans for the night, about recent cases they worked, separately and together. Mostly he was just finding it hard to believe that she was actually beside him, heading back to his place so they could...
He opened the door and let her proceed him in, suddenly grateful he had cleaned recently. He flipped on the lights, watched her examine the room out of the corner of his eye as he shut and locked the door behind them. His apartment wasn't much to look at, but it was comfortable, from the couch long enough that he could lie down while he watched tv, to the pictures of his nephews and nieces on the walls.
When she turned back to face him, he struggled to find something to say. "You uh, want something to drink?"
She shook her head. "No." She unbuttoned her coat, slid it off her shoulders and placed it over the back of the couch, revealing once more the silky black dress and bare skin.
Hesitating for just a moment, he appreciated the sight of her standing in his apartment.
He crossed the distance between them in two strides and placed a hand behind her head, drawing her up to meet his lips with her own. She responded keenly, her hands coming to rest on his chest as he slid his arm around her waist to bring her even closer.
His fingers tangled in her curls as he plundered her mouth, desperate to learn every inch of her while he had the chance. Her dress bunched up between them and his slid his other hand down and underneath the material, stroking the soft skin of her thighs.
It didn't take long for her hands to begin straying, tugging at buttons and fabric. When they drew apart for a moment, they both sucked in mouthfuls of air. "Bedroom," she said, a little breathlessly, pulling at his tie.
He searched her eyes. "You sure?"
She sent him a look that implied he was an idiot for even asking.
--
Afterwards as he lay beside her catching his breath, he reached out and tugged her a little closer. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"You're not going anywhere," he told her, reaching up to touch the dent that formed between her eyebrows as she frowned at his assertion. "Just yet."
He let his hand drop to rest on her waist as she lay on her side, looking at him. Smoothing his thumb over her gold dusted skin, he marveled at the feel of it under his fingers, remembering acutely the way she had responded to his touch only moments before.
"Well tonight turned out better than I had planned. How about you?"
She laughed, resting one hand against his bare chest. "Is this you fishing for compliments?"
He sent her a sideways look, tongue in cheek. "I don't need any." Watching her as she reached orgasm, the way her eyes widened, the way she gasped, was proof enough of his success as far as he was concerned.
He shivered a little and pulled the blankets up around them, secretly rejoicing when she moved just a little closer.
"Nasty outside," she observed.
"Gives everyone an excuse to stay in and cuddle." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her and making her giggle just a little.
He studied her for a few long moments, reaching up to tug gently on one of her curls. "This changes things," he said.
She smiled but he saw the unease in her eyes. "We don't have to talk about that right-"
"Yes we do," he said, stopping her. "It would be too easy for you to ignore me later."
He felt her body tense and she pulled her hand back from his chest. "Flack," she said, then stopped. "Don, we're both adults-"
"And this was more than just a quick fuck between friends, Stella, and you know it."
He saw the quick flash of temper in her eyes before she pulled away from him and sat up, taking the blankets with her. "I didn't expect for you to get all starry eyed about it," she said quietly.
He examined the graceful curve of her back as she continued to face away from him. "Here we go, I know how this one works. It was great now let's move on, right?"
That made her turn and look down at him, the expression in her eyes almost scaring him. Almost. But he knew her better than that.
She turned away again and swore. "Dammit, I knew this would fuck things up." He watched as she pulled her knees up to her chest, looking more like a lost child than the confidant sexy woman she was.
He longed to reach out, stroke the soft skin that was on display to him, but he knew it would be a bad idea. "You can't tell me this didn't mean something to you."
"I can," she replied. She rested her chin on one shoulder, looking over at him, her eyes dark in the soft light filtering in through the open doorway to the lounge. They exchanged another long look before her eyes flickered away from his.
"Stella." He waited until she looked at him again. "I'm not in love with you." But he could be. Without much effort on either of their parts, he could be.
She arched an eyebrow but he saw the flicker in her eyes. "And I'm not in love with you. So what's the problem?"
"But-" he smirked at her. "I want to do this again."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course you do."
"And I want to see you wearing that dress that made you look so goddamned sexy again. For me."
Finally he reached out to hook one of her arms, gently tugging her back down to lie with him. When they were face to face once more, he reached out and kissed her thoroughly, the way he had intended to do in the beginning before his lust for her had taken over. "Just give me a chance," he said as he pulled away for air.
After a moment, she sighed and then rolled her eyes. "I do have other dresses, you know," she said, the beginnings of a smile on her lips.
He felt himself relax, and grinned. "Of course you do, and I want to see them all." He pulled her body against his, and she didn't resist him. "Let me prove to you we can be just as... compatible out there as we are in here."
"Compatible?" she questioned with a smirk.
"Well if you need another demonstration..." he slid his hand downwards
She laughed. "Maybe I do," she said, but ended the sentence on a gasp.
He waggled his eyebrows at her again to make her smile. "Best Valentines Day night ever," he said, and then kissed her until she agreed.
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A little unconventional Valentines Day. They made me. Please leave a note on your way out!