Disclaimer: The characters belong to Person of Interest. I'm using the solely for entertainment purposes.
Pre A/N: Happy Halloween everyone and with the holidays around once again, that mean holiday fics for our favorite couple are sure to be plentiful. Want to apologize in advance if this is rough on the eyes as this is unbeta'd. Stay safe no matter what you're doing and enjoy :)
Halloween
The last thing Joss expected to hear was the loud banging on her door. She had just gotten home after refusing a round of drinks with John and Lionel. There was nothing more she would have liked to have done than spending time with John, who was able to exist in the eyes of everyone thanks to his Riley persona but she just couldn't bring herself to say yes.
Getting off her couch, Joss made her way to the front door. When she looked through the peephole, she was surprised because it wasn't who she expected. Undoing the locks, she pulled the door open to be greeted by Shaw, who was carrying a large black clothing bag. "Hi Shaw" Joss greeted warmly before stepping aside to let the younger woman in.
"Yeah yeah, hey to you too. Look, we gotta hurry up." Shaw threw the bag over the back of the couch. Her mood was extremely fidgety and agitated.
Joss just raised her eyebrow in confusion, waiting for her to explain further. "Ready for what?" Her eyes glanced over to a nearby clock, seeing that it was just past eight. Joss then pointed towards the bag. "And what's that?"
"Our costumes" Shaw answered bluntly, as if Joss was just suppose to understand right away what they would be doing. "We're going to meet the guys and get dressed up to boot. With this, John won't be able to keep his hands off you and I can finally be spared the constant eye sex I suffer at the hands of you two."
"Whoa, whoa what?" Joss chuckled at the atrocious accusation. Yeah, she and John were close but they were just friends. She went around the couch to sit back down and let out a hardy laugh. "Shaw, not that I don't appreciate the gesture of you wanting to take me out but don't you think that this is going a little overboard?" She motioned towards the couch and invited Shaw to sit down, which she did. "I can get ready in a few minutes."
Shaw held out her hand to stop her. "Nope, we're going to be in the spirit of Halloween. I found the perfect thing for you to wear after remembering how much John was looking at you in that leather when we worked the Murphy case."
Joss threw her head back and groaned. "Will you stop? He wasn't looking at me."
Shaw snorted her disbelief and continued. "C'mon Carter, it's only for a little while. Just because John wants to be a stick in the mud doesn't mean you have to be."
Lifting her head up, Joss look Shaw right in the eye. "Why are you doing it? Don't you hate this kind of stuff?"
"I'm going for the free booze and hopefully get laid. Duh Carter." Joss rolled her eyes before Shaw quickly stood up. "Now c'mon, I'm not going to suffer another stakeout with you two ogling each other."
Chuckling at the comment, Joss soon smiled sadly at her friend. "Just go on without me Shaw. I'll just be a drag."
The younger woman threw her hands in the air and let out a frustrated breath before standing up. "Are you kidding me Carter? Why don't you just go after him? I keep seeing the looks between the two of you. For crying out loud, you survived getting shot by that asshole Simmons." She noticed Joss shutter at the memory. "Look, I consider you and John friends which is a rarity in itself. Now I'm trying to play cupid so that the two of you can stop pretending and jump in the sack together. You own me big."
"Shaw…" Joss felt the wind knocked out of her when the bag was tossed towards her.
"No buts."
Joss decided to have a little fun with her. "What about Root?"
Shaw gave her a deadly glare as she sat back down. "What about her?"
"She seems to like you, a lot." Joss held back the laugh as Shaw's face twisted into one of disgust and horror. Looks like her and John weren't the only ones hiding from their feelings. "You should invited her too."
Shaw snorted before crossing her arms over her chest. "I'd rather have a root canal. Besides, we're not talking about me and Root, we're talking about getting your ass changed and knocking Reese's socks off."
"Shaw, not that I don't appreciate you caring…"
"I'm doing this for my sanity." She clarified.
"Like, I said, I appreciate it but things between me and John are complicated."
This piqued Shaw's interest as she leaned forward, her ears burning to hear Joss's explanation. "Complicated how? Thanks to our friend, John is right there working with you. Tell me that isn't something that you've always wanted." Seeing Joss's face fall, Shaw let out a huge sigh. "Look, I get it. I'm dead on paper too. This is your chance though Carter. Besides, Reese seemed really excited to be in the same precinct as you."
Now it was Joss's turn to be interested as she adjusted in her chair. "Really?" Shaw just nodded and she felt her heart skip a beat at the idea of John excited to be around her more. "I would have thought that he'd grow tired of me nagging by now."
"Ha, please. He looks forward to that. Even if John knows he screwed up, he always takes his lumps. He's strange you know, taking a beating on a daily basis but when he thinks I'm not looking, I catch him smiling while on the phone and figure it's because he's chatting with you.
Joss found herself surprised at this wealth of information because they didn't spend every second together. She never thought that he'd be happy just to hear from her, even if they only saw each other hours earlier. It felt nice to know that John enjoyed her presence as much as Joss enjoyed his. Her reluctance over heading out soon vanished and she undid the zipper to take a look at what Shaw brought her. Eyes widened at the flash of red as she eased the costume out before laughing. "Okay, what is this?" She asked Shaw, who was staring intently at her.
"I thought Reese would get a kick out of it. So hurry your butt up. They're not gonna be there forever."
Finally, the last of Joss's resolved relented and stood up from the couch. "Alright, give a few minutes." The smile that met her was one of a Cheshire cat.
"Good. I'll get dressed up too and we'll head out." The two women went about getting into the holiday spirit.
"C'mon Wonderboy, enjoy yourself. Your moping is killing the mood." Lionel quipped before taking a drag of his second beer. Dressed as a mob gangster with a fedora and pinstriped suit, he watched as John's eyes scoured the dance floor across the bar. He knew the man was disappointed that Carter had decided to go home rather than have drinks. It sucked seeing his friend brooding and it just reaffirmed that there was something more going on between the two. Personally, the idea of a relationship between them made his stomach turn at first because Lionel was working for John and didn't have any interest in entertaining those thoughts. However, as time went on and his association with John continued, Lionel found that there was something about these two that was just right. Joss was a woman that just was a good person. She had saved not only John but himself as well. Lionel could see why the man would be fond of her. It was made all the more obvious when somehow Wonderboy went from being a crazy vigilante to narcotics detective and he was around them more often. Lionel would watch from a distance as they conversed over things and saw the smiles that they sent to each other. He knew that John was love struck but he couldn't believe how much. He was almost tempted to call Joss and see if she's reconsider their offer. It was a little past nine so there was still time.
John took his own drink, wishing that Joss had come. Not that he didn't mind sharing some friendly time with Lionel but he hope that he could talk to her about something. Now that he had a clean persona, it presented a grand opportunity. To everyone else, it just looked like two people that were getting to know each other. He and Lionel went and got a booth near the windows of the bar, looking to just have some time to themselves. John distracted himself by looking outside as the people walked by. Finally he turned to address Lionel. "I'm sorry that I'm spoiling the mood." He knew that he meant well when he invited him and Joss for drinks. It wasn't Lionel's fault that Joss had other things to do rather than spend any more time with him than she had to.
Lionel waved it off as he fixed up his suit and pointed the beer bottle in John's direction. "A shame you didn't get dress up. I'm sure many of the female officers were disappointed. You should call yourself John Riley, the heartbreaker…" His eyes widen at the sight through the window. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here." He then began waving towards the window. When John followed his gaze, he almost swallowed his tongue. There on the outside sidewalk, were a smiling Joss and scowling Shaw. Shaw was wearing some kind of black hood and Joss a red shawl, the high window hiding their lower halves.
Neither man hesitated to invite their female counterparts inside, which they accepted graciously and made their way to the front door. When the glass door pushed open, Joss and Shaw caught the attention of the men in the room with their costumes but ignored all the glances to head to John and Lionel's booth. John was speechless as he admired Joss in full view. The red shawl covering her head was removed to reveal her hair done in soft curls. The makeup softened Joss's eyes and had her lips pop with the shade of ruby red to match the tight corset that hugged her slim waist and pushed her cleavage up, grabbing his attention. The red skirt was short with a black leather belt hugging her hips, coming just above her knees while her legs were enveloped in sheer white stockings. The ensemble was complete with six inch high red stiletto heels. To say Joss looked amazing was an understatement and John's mind was tempted to run into the gutter and beyond as he felt himself reacting below his waist.
"And who are you two suppose to be?" Lionel asked after he and John moved over to give Joss and Shaw a seat. They ordered their own drinks when the waitress went over to them and received them soon after.
"Well I'm playing Catwoman or at least trying to. Don't know how it will do in my mission to get laid." Shaw elaborated in her usual bluntness as she wore a skin tight black catsuit.
It was Joss's turn to explain. "Well this was Shaw's gift. It's suppose to be Little Red Riding Hood although I don't remember her looking like this when I read the fairy tales as a kid." They all laughed at her comment, well all except John. She could feel him so close to her and the way he was trying so hard to avoid looking or touching her was adorable along with being a confidence booster that she was attractive enough to render the great John Reese speechless. Joss thought that Shaw had been exaggerating things but it looked like she was right. "You are looking pretty good though Lionel" Joss complimented to keep the conversation going. In response, he stylishly took off and replaced the fedora with a flick of his wrist which was met by a round of laughs. Joss then directed her attention back to John, leaning a little closer than necessary. "So how come you aren't enjoying things?"
John shrugged his shoulders before finally looking at her. The sight of her so close was taxing on his willpower but he tried to find comfort in the familiar banter they shared so often. "I doubt that I need to celebrate since I played the man in a suit all year round. Maybe this is my day to dress down."
Joss shook her head in disbelief as the four friends chatted the night away. When asked about Harold, John explained that he stayed behind to help Root with something. Joss bit her lip to keep from laughing at the cringed look on Shaw's face at the mere mention of Root's name.
After an hour, their waitress came back and set two beers in front of Joss and Shaw. "Oh, we didn't order this" Joss tried to explain.
The young woman stepped to the side and pointed towards the bar where two men were sitting and tipping their own beers in their direction. "Well, I guess I'm not going to be without fun tonight" Shaw announced as she slid from the booth, ready to engage her potential bed mate.
"Uh Shaw, can you give this back to them and tell them thanks but I'm not interested." Joss appreciated the gesture and didn't want to be rude but the only guy whose attention she was looking for was sitting next to her.
"Yeah no problem" Shaw assured before walking towards the two men. John, Joss, and Lionel watched as they were just out of earshot to hear anything. Shaw sauntered up and gave Joss's message which was met by a look of disappointment one of them sent her way. Swiftly though, Shaw grabbed his attention and the three of them talked. Before long, she was waving back to them as they were walking out the door.
"Who knew that little Rambo can be so frisky" Lionel commented before looking at his watch. "I should head out; Rhonda wants me to spend time with her while giving out candy to kids."
After bidding him goodbye, Joss shifted in her seat, finally alone with John. "So how is it going with the persona?" She asked casually. Even though there was plenty of room, she refused to move from her spot.
John shrugged his shoulders. He made the mistake of giving Joss a quick glance, once again reminding himself of the attraction he secretly harbored for her before taking another drink. "It's different to say the least. Can't be mad though. It's nice to be out and about once in a while without having to worry about someone wanting me dead."
"Like tonight?" Joss eyed him while waiting for his answer.
"Mmmhmm." Without thinking, John lifted an arm and put it on the back of the booth behind Joss, adding to their intimate surroundings just a little more.
Joss wanted to ask him something else but in private. Because he has a persona that let him walk amongst people rather than hide in the shadows, she harbored this idea about possibly dating openly since it would appear to everyone else, that they were just colleagues, not a vigilante and his sidekick. Joss also didn't want to read into things wrong and lose John all together.
They continued talking for another hour, mostly her about Taylor or him on a case he's working on. The bar slowly emptied as the night grew late and last call was announced. John covered for the drinks and they went outside with Joss shivering in the brisk October air. The red shawl offering laughable, inferior protection and Joss wondered how she let Shaw talk her into walking the distance rather than driving.
John noticed and took off his coat to wrap it around her small frame in a gentlemanly gesture, engulfing her in its warmth. "So did you get here by foot Joss?" She nodded. "I'll walk you home then." He gave Joss a warm smile before they walked towards her apartment.
They traveled down the now deserted street, throwing quick glance at each other as uncertainty filled them but otherwise remained silent. Joss felt her opportunity slipping away and sadly, they were at her place in what felt like an instant. "Well here we are" she announced lamely, wanting to kick herself for how stupid she sounded. "Thanks for walking me back here John. I'm sure Shaw is having a good time."
John chuckled. "Maybe. Still, I might need to thank her for convincing you to come." He extended his hand. "I'll follow you upstairs, make sure you get home safely."
Joss tilted her head. "Uh, we're already here John."
"Can't be too careful." He wasn't ready to see her go just yet.
Joss nodded in agreement. Maybe there was still a chance. "Okay." She then began walking up the stairs; unaware of the show she was rewarding John thanks to the embarrassingly small skirt. He had to collect himself by grabbing the railing. Someone was punishing him, tempting him with a glimpse of her voluptuous backside.
Entering the safety of the building, the couple walked over to her door just behind the stairs. Joss's hands fiddle with her key ring that was in the skirt pocket as she felt John's overpowering presence so close to her. What she wouldn't give to cuddle up to that strong body every night, discussing whatever before slowly lulling to sleep.
Just as she moved to opened the door, John put his hand over hers, stopping her. "Joss wait." She turned around to give him her full attention, hope filling her. "I have to say this now but it's not easy."
"Okay, whatever it is John, you can tell me" Joss reassured him, wanting him to open up.
John let out a nervous chuckle as he stared into those large, doe eyes. "I'm still not sure about this whole Riley persona." Before Joss could say anything, he stopped her. "It's been quite the experience since I'm so use to being able to do what I want…"
"Like breaking the law" she added with a bit of sass as she remembered how he started out.
"It does allow me to make my own hours. Anyways, I can say for certain that there is one thing I'm glad for." John reached over and took her hands in his, his fingers caressing her knuckles. "It feels like a dream each and every day that I get to see you."
A smile broke out on Joss's face at hearing that he had enjoyed their time together as much as she did. "I guess it does help to have someone as a partner that I've known for almost four years now. That's also the reason why I decided to go through with Shaw's plan to go drinking with you and Lionel wearing this." Joss glanced down at herself briefly.
John took an appreciative glance himself. "I'll admit that I was disappointed when you refused the offer."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I know that you were tired and yet you came anyway."
"For you. I wanted to sit and talk with you about us but that didn't exactly happen. Maybe you can come inside and we can do that" Joss asked coyly.
John was taken back by the offer but more than that, was his yearning to have the ability to spend time with Joss outside of public eyes. He squeezed her hands just a little tighter. "I think that's a good idea but Joss…"
"Yeah?"
"I want to have you by my side. In everyone's eyes, I'm just a narcotics detective. I've been a coward because after we were attack by Simmons and recovering, I made a promise to tell you exactly what I wanted but I couldn't."
Joss moved closer, drawing John's arms around her body before wrapping her own around his waist. "It's okay John. I know it's been hard for you. That's why I didn't push, at least until tonight thanks to Shaw giving me a swift boot in my ass."
John did his best to calm his body down as Joss pressed herself tightly to him in the scantily clad costume that left little to the imagination. "I need to thank her for that then."
When Joss pulled away, John watched her face grow into a soft smile as she looked him over. Then she pushed right back into him, reaching up to grab his face between her hands and bring his lips down to hers.
Self control was at a breaking point as John did his best to not push too much. However, as the angle of the kiss changed and his tongued slipped into her mouth, his hands began roaming. He felt the zipper at the back of the corset taunt him. It was all to tempting to undress Joss here and now but he wanted to continue tasting her lips so he moved lower.
Joss groaned as she felt the effects of what their make out session was doing. She wanted to open the door and pull John inside all the way to the bedroom where they could have plenty of fun but she didn't want to stop just yet. Her hands went from grabbing at John's short, salt and pepper hair to gripping his strong shoulders for better leverage.
John's hand slipped lowered, following the curve of Joss's back, before reaching that fulsome backside and squeezing it softly, hearing a whimper and traces of a moan that wanted to escape but couldn't.
Finally, their lungs burned with need for oxygen and they separated. Joss slowly licked her swollen lips, happy for what just happened. "Still want to come inside?"
John's famous smirk was back. "Do you even have to ask Joss?"
She shook her head before turning around to finish unlocking the door. "Just so you know, Taylor won't be home tonight so we'll have the place to ourselves." Crossing the threshold, Joss turned to face John once again. "So are you in or out?" She asked, leaning provocatively against the door.
Both had wide smiles on their faces as John quickly came inside and Joss locked the door securely behind him.