Title: Because staring is never rude, not really.
Author: Piatot
Fandom: The Good Wife
Pairing: (Of course) Alicia/Kalinda
Word Count: 1,900++
Genres: Romance (and a little bit of humor)
Summary: The night of the Chicago Shamrock dinner – one pair of eyes have always looked at her in a special way. Oh gosh, let this be an oracular fic.
Disclaimer: Yes, yes, I do not own The Good Wife etc etc.
A/N: I took a break from writing my other fic to write this. I wanted to get this out before my dreams are shattered. If only this would happen… (Yes, I based it on some of the requests/prompts in SSJL's Breakfast Club – I hope this satisfies, somehow) So this is for all who are shipping Kalicia, albeit weary and wounded.
And a special mention to Jamie who provides all of us an avenue to vent, and to ll10e6 – thank you for your review (with the other fic)
Here and Now – an earlier account
Alicia Florrick does not believe in ghosts.
If she were the least bit superstitious, she would easily attribute the way the hair from her nape stood to a spirit hovering nearby.
But because neither is she superstitious, nor is she a believer, she understands that there is only one plausible reason for such sensation.
And there it was again. The hair stands and dances like a thousand snakes being charmed by an unknown master. It has been going on long enough. She isn't bothered by it. Quite the contrary, there were times that it was surprisingly pleasurable. Her curiosity is just being gnawed at by the seemingly incessant voyeur toying with her senses.
She looks around carefully, her eyes combing through a sea of tuxedos and rented ball gowns.
Yet nobody is watching her.
As she turns around to chase and pluck a glass of champagne from a tray carried by some uniformed waiter, she spots a familiar face in the crowd. She approaches the person, gown sweeping through the lies and flattery that littered the ballroom.
"Hey!"
Kalinda is surprisingly underdressed for the occasion. Clad in her usual leather boots and jacket, the smaller woman stood out; a libertine among the flock of conservatives.
"Hey," she nods towards Alicia and takes a sip from her champagne. "Hace you seen Will? I need to talk to him… the case…"
Alicia raises her eyebrows and lightly snatches the half-consumed glass of sparkling beverage away from Kalinda.
"He's somewhere…" A beat. She clears her throat to catch the investigator's attention. "So… your dress…"
"I am not attending this party, Alicia." She looks at the lawyer for a second. "You look fine though."
Alicia nearly chokes on the champagne.
She looks at her own reflection from the ballroom mirror, face registering confusion and a hint of disappointment.
Fine like "ooh you're so fine"? Or maybe fine like, yeah, you're fine?
She puts her hand on her hip and scrutinizes the wine red gown that drapes her body and emphasizes her shoulders gracefully. She brings the champagne glass to her lips and continues watching how her arms, covered in black evening gloves formed lines under the dim lights. She extends her neck a bit, under the guise of stretching, and observes how it slices light, her skin glowing from its scattered particles.
"Oh there he is." A startled Alicia turns her attention to the woman next to her. "Don't worry. You look just fine."
Kalinda smiles softly. Alicia's face falls.
"I'll come back later. Duty calls."
Alicia finishes the sparkling liquor not noticing the two shades of red that overlapped on the glass – a deep crimson under a dainty, muted vermillion.
-TGW—
Cook County Criminal Court, a month ago (plus – possibly – a half?)
ASA Hellinger cross-examined the witness with the ferocity of a baby shark.
"So you lied, Mr. Curtis."
"Objection!" Alicia stood up and felt lightheaded immediately.
"Sustained."
The young ASA cleared her throat, the coarse sound grating Alicia's hearing. Her ears started pricking as she started feeling eyes boring a hole through her skull, her consciousness spilling over as the sensation heightened. There was less looking and more ogling.
"Mr. Curtis, since you admitted to falling asleep early on, would it be possible for the accused to have left your home and return before you woke up?" Alicia's thoughts fell into cracks as whispers of hot breath caressed her neck.
"I suppose so. But I don't think so."
"Yes or no, Mr Curtis."
"Erm… Yes."
Alicia stood up, her whole body tingling.
"Your honor, the defense asks for a recess to corroborate the witness' narrative."
"Granted. The court is in recess. We will reconvene tomorrow at ten hundred hours." The judge pounded his gavel loudly, causing Alicia to refocus, albeit sluggishly.
She had been having that sensation of being watched for months. The intensity had varied so much, as well as the frequency – she had yet to see the pattern. Admittedly though, the unpredictability was strangely sexy. It almost felt like being ambushed by a lover in some hidden corner and be made love to.
She turned around to leave the near-empty courtroom and immediately saw Kalinda scribbling on her orange notebook.
"Kalinda! Have you been here long?"
"Long enough. So we need to check Mr. Curtis' account, and we need to check someone else who will support our client's alibi."
"Yes." Alicia inhales forcefully. "Kalinda…"
"You wanna go grab some lunch?"
Alicia nodded her agreement, strangely comforted by the shift in conversation. They walked out of the courtroom side-by-side, and reached the elevator banks without uttering a single word – Alicia still wondering who had been observing her so intimately.
The elevator door opened and Kalinda pressed her arms against the small of the older woman's back. The hand stayed on its place –
- until they had to take their own seats at a restaurant across the building.
-TGW—
Lockhart-Gardner offices, (most definitely) 2 months ago
The night after Will surprised her with a kiss (and she had surprised her own self by responding – so inappropriately) she rushed into her office, trying her hardest to be oblivious of everything else. She heard Cary saying something about leaving in a hurry, remembered that she almost bumped into someone on the way in. She felt it then, the tiniest whoosh of air that made her shudder.
She continued with work, pushing memories and sensations aside. She stopped writing midsentence.
"Oh, where's Kalinda?"
"Didn't you just see her on your way in?"
"Ah. Well… Maybe I'll just find her later."
Outside the building, the woman sips her coffee, the steam curving into the memory of Alicia's hips swaying.
-TGW—
Lockhart-Gardner offices, 2 months ago (conclusively), or the night in question
The night was just like any other night – Alicia burned the midnight oil (as per usual). A select few employees were engaged in activities that all pointed to going home. She, on the other hand, had miles left on her tank as she continued to write her arguments.
With barely a sentence left to write, the air in her office started to shift. The stacks of paper giggled and moved as though being tickled by the wind.
And then she started feeling it. It was no longer just a whoosh. It formed a hand that softly touched her arms, her neck and her face. Heat began in her midsection, suffusing and concentrating on (quite distractingly) at her core. Her groin pulsated deliciously, her limbs losing circulation so that holding a pen became a mission.
The pen fell to the ground.
She looked outside her office to see a few more random heads sprouting from behind desks.
Kalinda stood up and stretched. She saw Alicia looking at her and she smiled.
The lawyer started gathering her things, no longer able to get the last sentence out and into writing.
"Cary said you were looking for me earlier?"
"Oh, that. Well… I'm sure I'll remember tomorrow." Alicia smiled embarrassedly.
"Ah." Kalinda stared at her, "is there something wrong?"
"I'm good."
"You look flushed. Flustered."
"Hmmmnnn… I guess I'm a little tired."
Kalinda nodded. She licked her lips slowly. "Well, you'd better get some rest. I know you need it."
-TGW—
Lockhart-Gardner lobby, by the elevators, around 2 weeks ago
It was one of those days. Days that came by very rarely. A case had just been won. There were no calls from Eli – about anything. Will treated her with exceptional professionalism. Her children were to stay at Peter's. Life, that day, was good.
Alicia stood by the elevator banks at 7pm, ready to enjoy her night. By then, the sudden assault to her senses had been happening at intervals that no longer alarmed her. Of course there were few encounters that have left her breathless and inexplicably horny. By the second month, she surrendered to the thought that there was something so indescribably sexy about being watched. She felt more beautiful, more wanted. Besides, the energy behind the look had the softness of a lover's touch. There was never so much as an intrusion.
Until then.
Goosebumps grabbed her breasts that she almost lost her balance. She dropped her briefcase as forces of the wind crashed onto her thighs, caressed insistently, and dragged their talons against the hem of her skirt.
She clutched onto the threshold of the elevators as she began breathing raggedly. The enchantment was masterful, working on her for what seemed like hours.
Heat started building around her core and the heaviness of the sensation was climbing up to meet the fire that was licking and lapping at her juices.
"Are you okay?
It was the boots that she saw first. She nodded –weakly.
"You look like you need a drink."
Alicia smiled. "You read minds." The elevator doors opened as Kalinda grabbed the lawyer's briefcase.
Inside, Alicia leans her head (heavily) onto Kalinda's shoulder.
The doors closed with the widening of Kalinda's smile.
-TGW-
Here and Now – the later account, maybe some minutes (or hours) after
She is dancing with Peter. The waltz. He cannot dance anything else. It goes without saying she needs to tame her otherwise adventurous feet into moving at a predictable pace – ONE, two, three; ONE, two, three, ONE, two…
The air grows warmer, and this time, Alicia is ready. It was the softest caress against her bare shoulders. Featherlight. Like sun rays coaxing droplets of water to slide off curves. She shivers involuntarily.
"Cold?" he asks, concern in both eyes and voice.
"No." Once again, goosebumps surfaces from exposed flesh – Peter doesn't feel it against his calloused hands. Her nipples stand erect, sensing the presence of the one who summons them.
Alicia continues to dance, the voyeur's touch against her skin moves to the same rhythm of the waltz. She senses the origin, her eyes scanning surreptitiously, against bodies and clothing.
And she sees it. From the mirror of the ballroom floor, she sees Kalinda, watching her, almost unblinkingly, hand suspended in midair, holding onto a glass of champagne that has long ago become flat and warm.
The lawyer smiles and she remembers. She remembers and knows.
The music stops; the touch continues to dance on her skin, Kalinda's eyes still onto her.
"Good night, Peter."
"The kids are with mom for tonight…"
"I'm tired." She smiles apologetically. He doesn't push it.
Alicia grabs her purse from her table and once more scans the tide of colors slowly dispersing from the center of the dance floor. She spots Kalinda – more like her back – leaving the ballroom and she knows that there is only one thing to do – to follow without question.
She is a few steps behind when she sees Kalinda's SUV pulling over, valet perfectly parking the vehicle to permit ease in entering.
Alicia slides in as Kalinda buckles her seatbelt.
"Alicia! You scared me,"
"So I look just fine, huh?"
Kalinda swallows the sand in her throat. "Yeah…"
"U-huh…" Alicia smiles knowingly and looks pointedly at the road. "Take me home."
Kalinda switches her gear to drive and sighs. "Doesn't Peter have a car?"
Alicia laughs. "You want me to go home with Peter?"
She breaks.
Alicia looks at her, leans in and smiles. The kiss was sweet, slow, sensual.
The roles reverse as Kalinda starts feeling what she has been doing to Alicia.
The kiss is long enough to warrant someone to knock at their window (thank goodness nobody does. Or perhaps, it isn't really that long.)
A final peck. "Take me home," Alicia repeats. "Not the one I live in."