Valentines Day

This story takes place during Mutant X's third season

Beginning

"Shal, I think you've had enough."

Shalimar gave Brennan a look that he would have dared to call a pout if it had been on the face of any other woman.

"Aww, c'mon, Bren –"

He grabbed her empty shot glass and placed it out of her reach. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bartender's smirk. Playfully, Shalimar swatted at him, and he deflected her blows, laughing. "No! No more tequila for you!"

She was glassy eyed, but not slurring. Yet. He was trying hard to be serious-he did, after all, care about her well-being – but Shalimar tipsy was just too funny.

"In fact, you know what? No more alcohol for you, period." He couldn't get it out with a straight face.

She made a disgruntled sound, looking at him with big brown eyes, her lower lip stuck out in that expression that was so cute, so sexy, and so uniquely hers.

"That look isn't going to work on me," he told her with mock sternness. Oh but it was working...

Shifting gears, she took him by both hands, pulling him off of his barstool.

"C'mon. Dance with me."

Smiling, he let her pull him toward the Red Club's packed dance floor, noting the slight sway to her steps. Definitely tipsy, though he was the only person there that knew her well enough to know just how tipsy she was.

The drum and bass music the DJ was currently spinning was loud in his ears. It was an old track, but a classic one – Red Club's new DJ had very good taste. The rhythm and the mood of the song began to move through him – Shalimar let go of his hands, and he found himself wishing that she hadn't. Amid the press of bodies, she started to dance, and Brennan couldn't take his eyes off of her.

She was wearing that slinky, backless top that he secretly liked so much, the dark red one that was only held on by thin laces at her neck and back. Combined with those low-rise jeans... Shal was looking good. Real good. Hell, she always looked good, but tonight...

He watched her, observing the play of muscle beneath her soft skin as she moved, eyes closed, lost in the music. His eyes wandered along the low line of her jeans, just clinging to those delicious hips, and he got a glimpse of her amazingly firm and flat stomach. God, she was beautiful. And they were friends. He shouldn't be thinking about her this way.

"Come on, Brennan. Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna dance with me?"

Her face was flushed, as much from the drinks she'd shared with him as from dancing, and her eyes sparkled. She smiled at him, and for just one moment, it seemed like more than the warm, friendly smile that he was used to. Shalimar was a tease, he knew that; likely she was winding him up, and getting a big kick out of doing it. He knew it was her MO, but butterflies started to flutter in his stomach. He'd had a bit to drink, too – he was feeling awfully good right now, Shalimar looked awfully good to him, and before he even knew what was happening, she was there, very close, dancing with him, moving with him, against him... He didn't think he could take her teasing him like this, but it felt too good for him to try and stop her.

He caught some of the envious glances from the people around them. They thought he and Shalimar were there together...exclusively. As a couple. Let them think what they would. He was enjoying having her to himself for just this little while. He couldn't blame the others for being a little envious – he had to admit that he and Shal looked good together.

Together...

The thought flashed through his mind, but not fast enough for him to have missed it. It would be lie to say that he hadn't thought it before. There had been times when he had thought about them being more than friends. He'd almost kissed her once...

She turned around into him, pressing against his body. As she let his arms come around her waist and her arms twined around his neck, he couldn't help thinking that maybe there was something she was trying to tell him. The look in her eyes as he held her tight he couldn't decipher. It didn't matter – he felt invincible with her in his arms, even though he knew it wouldn't last, even though he knew it wasn't real.

It was just the effects of a little too much alcohol playing on both of them. That was all. In the morning, back at Sanctuary, things would be unchanged.

On the way home from the club, Shalimar fell asleep (more like passed out) in the car. It worried Brennan a little. She didn't usually drink that much. Sure, she had a thing for good tequila, but it wasn't like her to get as out of control as she had tonight. He'd been getting the feeling all evening that, underneath her kitten-cute flirting and pretending to come on to him, something was bothering her. He knew her well enough to sense it, to know that something about her fun-loving exterior was forced.

He had a hell of a time trying to wake her when they finally got back to Sanctuary later that night (actually, it was early the next morning). Putting his hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently.

"Shal?"

He shook her again, a little harder this time. She stirred. Rolling over, her arm went around him and she leaned across the gap between the seats to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Mmm, can't we just sit here for a while?" she asked him fuzzily.

It wasn't that he didn't like the feeling of her snuggled against him. He liked it. A lot. But he knew that if he didn't get her out of the car now, he wasn't going to get her out at all. He maneuvered his shoulder gently out from under her head, forcing her to sit up. Her eyes opened, looking at him groggily.

"Brennan –"

He got out of the car and went around to the passenger side. Opening the door, he held out his hand to her.

"Come on, Shal. I'll take you to bed."

Her eyes turned wicked, and a slow smirk spread across her face.

"Is that a promise?" she asked devilishly.

The look in her eyes started the butterflies fluttering all over again. Not for the first time, he got the feeling that there might be a grain of truth behind her flirting. Behind his smile, he swallowed hard.

"You know what I meant."

Her smirk widened into a smile, knowing that she'd gotten to him.

Taking her hands, he helped her to her feet. She was not, however, too steady on them. She stumbled, but Brennan caught her...losing his balance in the process. He fell back against the car, accidentally pulling Shalimar along. She in turn fell into him, laughing and burying her face against his chest. The laughter bubbled out of her, delightful and totally infectious, and Brennan found himself laughing with her.

They made it out of the garage and into Sanctuary's main room, Shalimar leaning heavily on him for support the entire way. They had entered on the upper level – Brennan got her as far as the top of the stairs, where it became clear that she wasn't going to be able to manage the stairs under her own power. She was too far gone, and laughing entirely too hard.

"I'm fine," she insisted between giggles, and took a lurching half step toward the stairs, teetering dangerously.

If Brennan hadn't been there to steady her, the result could have been disastrous. But he was there, and he caught her up in his arms, her back to him, and held her tight. Her hair was soft, like silk where it brushed against his chin – he breathed in, inhaling the sweet, clean scent, and with it Shalimar's own unique and familiar spicy-sweetness.

Whatever it was that was between them, it was sparking again. He felt it in the way that she had relaxed in his arms, and in the way that he held her that much tighter. He'd felt like this with her before, and he remembered very well what had almost happened then.

Shalimar let out a surprised shriek when he shifted his grasp and lifted her off of her feet. Holding her draped across his arms, he carried her down the single flight of stairs, her arms tightly around his neck. Between her shriek and the ringing peals of her laughter filling the room now, he was sure they had managed to wake someone. He didn't care – he loved it. He loved the way she was nuzzling her face against his shoulder even more.

He managed to get her safely to her room, and laid her gently down on the giant fur-covered lounge in the corner. He would have put her in her bed, except that he couldn't safely lift her into the high bunk. Letting go of her, he tried to straighten up – her arms tightening around his neck prevented it.

"Stay," she told him softly. Her eyes were already closed. She'd be out like a light in a few minutes.

Gently, he extricated her arms from around his neck and stood. He wanted to kiss her. He didn't know what she would want. And he didn't know whether or not it was just the alcohol talking.

To make her more comfortable he took off her boots, placing them at the end of the lounge. Walking over to her bed, he grabbed a spare blanket to cover her with. He took his time tucking it close around her.

"Please stay," she muttered, almost asleep.

Brennan kissed her brow softly. "Goodnight, Shal."