This is just a little – and I do mean little – something, inspired by the snowstorm currently going on outside my window. It's posted without a beta reader, so any mistakes are, as usual, mine and all mine! I just thought it is way too quiet around here, so this is my contribution!
"I like the snow," Bobby said, as he and Alex were walking home from the bar nearest his home. The latest case had been a bitch, and he had invited Alex out to celebrate its wrap up. After their captain, Joe Hannah, thanked them both in helping to ensure his not having to deal with an irate commissioner and mayor. Both Bobby and Alex had invited Hannah along, but he begged off with a rain check, wanting to be fresh for his meeting early in the morning.
No snow had been forecast, so the sight of the feathery flakes drifting from the sky was a bit of a surprise. Bobby and Alex had considered hailing a cab but then figured it was a waste, being so close to Bobby's house. And Bobby, always observant, seemed content to walk with Alex in the resulting Winter Wonderland.
"You like the snow but hate the beach?" Alex scoffed. "Sometimes, I really don't get your thought process, Bobby."
With a smile, Bobby looked over at his partner, who pulled her winter coat tighter around herself. Bobby had an urge to wrap his arm around her, but something still held him back. But he relished a chance to take Alex's hand as he helped her maneuver a particularly icy patch on the sidewalk. He was both surprised and pleased that, once that crisis was averted, that Alex left her hand in his, anyway.
"The flakes look like a million little diamonds," he said. "It's like Mother Nature's wiping away all the ugliness with a big white blanket."
Alex conceded his remark with a short nod. "I guess it's pretty. When we don't have to be out in it," she finished pointedly, a slight smirk softening her features. She couldn't be too upset. A happy Bobby was a too-rare sight, so Alex would enjoy it while she had it.
Bobby looked at the flakes, down at their joined hands, and then looked at Alex. "Sometimes I wish we had reset buttons, too. Wipe away all of the bullshit and start again, you know?"
He was surprised to see Alex shake her head. "Surviving the bullshit only makes the good stuff that much better. Then we appreciate it more, having made it out the other side." Their eyes held a beat, remembering the good – and the bad – of their many years on the job.
"Resets are for wimps. I'll take the battle scars any day." Alex grinned.
Bobby gave a short laugh and shrugged. "Helps to have someone worth weathering the battles." He grew timid suddenly and murmured, "Thanks for sticking out…everything…with me, Eames. Alex."
Alex nodded. There was so much else she wanted to do or say, but she wasn't bold enough. Yet. So she simply settled for another smile and squeezed Bobby's hand, grateful for its warmth, as she responded lightly, "Anytime, partner." Then with a glint of devilry, she added, "You can repay me by taking me to the beach when it's warmer."
"If you insist…" Bobby sighed.
They walked home, their spirits as light as the snowflakes that continued to flutter from above.
THE END