Title: An Insomniac's Coffee and Kahlua
Summary: Oneshot. Alex can't get to sleep. Neither can Bobby. What happens when they spread the sleepless wealth? Fluff, of course.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Alex and Bobby.
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Alex Eames stretched out comfortably on her couch and rubbed her eyes. The words in the book in front of her were too tiny to be read so late at night.
She took off her reading glasses and turned on the TV to channel surf. She was pretty experienced in this area – Alex was one of those people who could go to bed as late as three in the morning and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at five, as long as she had several strong cups of coffee to tide her over.
Absolutely nothing was on. She idly watched a few minutes of CSI: Miami, snorting in derision at how overdramatic the whole thing was while at the same time admiring the camera angles and effects.
She finally flipped it off and rolled over, curling up underneath the old woolen blanket she kept on the back of the couch.
She couldn't get to sleep. She groaned and rolled back over, facing her small living room.
What else was on her mind but her partner, one Robert Goren?
She sighed and flumped her head on her pillow, huffing. He'd been coming into her mind unbidden lately, late at night, before she went to bed. Damn, just 'cause she could get up after going to bed like two hours before didn't mean she wanted to. Couldn't he leave her the hell alone?
Sure, she'd been noticing strange things lately. But that meant nothing.
Like how nimble his fingers were. Alex had noticed this when they were relieving a recent corpse of his identification. His first and middle fingers had slipped deftly into the cadaver's front jacket pocket and removed his wallet without disturbing even the slightest wrinkle in the jacket.
She was reliving the moment when a knock on her door startled her. She glanced at the clock – 3:00 A.M. Who in God's name was at her apartment so late – or early, rather.
The blanket slid off her sweatshort-covered lap as she got up and walked over to the door. When she opened it, she rubbed her eyes. "Bobby? What're you doing here?"
He raised an eyebrow. "The more accurate question is, why are you still up? It's three o'clock."
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "I am well aware of this. You live on the other side of the city. Why are you at my place at three in the morning?"
He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Figured I might as well see if you were up to share in the insomniac misery."
Alex laughed. "You can't function without sleep, I forgot." She stepped back from the doorway. "Well, come on in, and I'll make some coffee or somethin'."
As soon as he went in Bobby kicked off his shoes and flumped down on her couch, gathering the wool blanket back up. "You were sleeping on the couch?" he asked, feeling its unexpected warmth.
Alex came out of the kitchen with two huge mugs of strong coffee. "Yeah, I was reading and channel surfing before, but I got tired and lazy." She handed him a mug. "Careful, there's kahlua in yours."
Bobby started. "Why?"
"It'll help, trust me." Alex blew on her own creamer-laced coffee, the scent having the desired effect on her system, waking her up.
Bobby sipped his coffee warily, surprised and thankful when the warmth spread down his throat and through his body. "This is good."
"Gives you the warm fuzzies, doesn't it?" Alex said, tucking her legs underneath herself as she sat down.
"It kinda does," he said. He grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and clicked on the TV. He flicked through some channels before settling on Monk.
"He's hysterical. I love the episode where he meets the nudists," Alex commented, grabbing the remote back and turning up the volume.
"My personal favorite is the cult episode," Bobby remarked, taking a gulp of his coffee. He pulled half of the blanket over himself and gave the other half to Alex, which she gratefully wrapped around her legs. He noticed how she made sure to cover every exposed inch of skin. "Cold?"
She nodded. "A bit. Don't worry; the coffee will perk me up."
He hesitated, then lifted his arm. "I'm pretty warm."
Alex started at the offer. "Just until the coffee kicks in…" she mumbled unconvincingly, snuggling up next to Bobby. She smiled when he wrapped his arm casually about her shoulders and took another sip of coffee.
x
A phone ring split the clear early morning air. Bobby blinked and groped blindly with his right hand to reach the cordless lying on the coffee table. "Uhm, nyeah?" he answered groggily. "Eames' place."
"Goren? Is that you?" a voice asked suspiciously.
All of a sudden Bobby was wide awake. "Yeah. Eames and I were watching a movie last night and we fell asleep about halfway through." Even with such little sleep he could still make amazing saves.
"Oh, okay." All suspicion was cleared from Deakins' voice. "Listen, there's a homicide down in the Village. You two feel like some fresh fish?"
"Let me wake Eames up and we'll be down. Give me the address."
After getting off the phone, Bobby attempted to sit up without waking the still-sleeping Alex, who was lying on his chest. He carefully pulled himself into a sitting position using the arm of the couch. Alex's head fell into his lap, her head snuggled comfortably on top of his thigh, the rest of her curled into a little ball underneath the old woolen blanket.
Bobby absentmindedly moved her hair so it wouldn't cover her face, his large hand tracing her jaw line as he flicked it over her neck.
He thought of her as a tiny sleeping cat, all curled up into a tight, warm, fuzzy ball. He wished he could give her a few more minutes of sleep, but there was a body cooling out in the city, just waiting for them to discover who killed it.
Bobby gently shook her shoulder. "Eames. Eames, wake up."
One dark-lashed eye opened first, then the other, blearily taking in her surroundings. She yawned and stretched, catlike, though when she hit Bobby's chest she paused. Her eyes widened.
She sat up quickly. "Sorry. Did we fall asleep?" She laughed nervously.
He did too. "Yeah, guess we did."
It was quiet for a few minutes. They just stared at each other before Alex realized her hands were still on Bobby's calf and she hastily removed them.
Bobby yawned. "Listen, Deakins called. There's a homicide down in the Village we have to check out."
Alex groaned and mussed her hair. "No time even for a shower. Jeez, what a pathetic pair we make, huh?"
"The best," Bobby agreed, nodding. "Got any more coffee?"
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, Goren?" Alex asked in disbelief. Getting up, she grumbled as she went into the kitchen, "He asks if I have any coffee. Who does he think I am? I have coffee coming out of my freakin' ears!"
Bobby chuckled and followed her.
-Fin-
A/N: Yay, haha. And no, Monk isn't actually on at three in the morning… last time I checked. XD