Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them, but as always, coffee is on me for George and Jorja.
Author's Note: This is in response to a challenge that I issued to my fellow Snickers.
"I always knew you had a fine looking ass." The smirk on Sara's face was evident by the tone in her voice.
"Don't you know you should knock before walking in when someone's changing?" Nick's drawl was thicker than normal, but he was definitely not upset about accidentally flashing her in his boxer briefs.
"Maybe you should have closed the door then...this is the only locker room in the building." Sara cleared her throat in an attempt to keep the smirk from developing into a full fledged smile as she watched Nick zip up his pants and reach for a clean shirt. She'd often wondered if he wore boxers or briefs and now that the question to the eternal mystery was answered, her thoughts drifted to other things.
Nick glanced at her over his shoulder and smiled at her as his eyes wandered over her figure and noticed how the lace trimmed blouse she was wearing seemed to hug her in all the right places. "Let me know the next time you need to change." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and then winked.
"I'm just paying you back for walking in on me last week." Sara crossed her arms and gave him a look that would make most men fear for their manhood. "I got the results back on the tox screen and there was nothing out of the ordinary for our vic."
"Which is what we expected." Nick finished her thought and nodded as he moved towards the doorway, Sara falling into synch with him as they made their way down the hallway to check up on the rest of the test results from the evidence they'd collected at the crime scene they'd processed earlier that evening.
"Hodges said he should have something back on that sticky substance we found on her wrist." Sara couldn't help but notice that Nick's hair had gotten even shaggier and had a sudden urge to run her fingers through it, but instead she followed him into the trace lab.
"Hodges, what do you have?" Nick looked at the lab tech expectantly.
"Well I got a great deal on an iMAC on EBay, but I suppose you're talking about your sample." Hodges had a way of stating the obvious that bordered on pure annoyance.
Nick simply arched his brow.
"That would be appreciated." Sara had learned that with Hodges you got further if you stroked his ego a little bit.
Hodges unceremoniously handed over the results. "A mixture of corn syrup, sugar and a few other things."
"And?" Nick's voice was laced with impatience.
"Laffy Taffy. Peppermint to be more specific." Hodges looked purposely oblivious. "It's rather tasty if I do say so myself. Better than the apples in the break room anyway." The verbal rabbit trails Hodges blazed could make the most mundane sheep turn funky.
"What about the dusty substance?" Nick queried impatiently. They'd not found much of anything to go on at their crime scene and they were hoping the trace evidence offered up something.
"Fortune cookies." Hodges looked a bit smug. "Now you've made me hungry and I think that all that's in that community fridge is some blue pasta...although I don't think it started out blue."
Nick snarled. "Hodges."
"Thanks, David." Sara seemed to almost purr and then glanced over at Nick before threading her arm through his and leading him out of the trace lab.
"What was that about?" Nick looked at her oddly, but certainly wasn't complaining about they way they were walking, he'd had something on his mind all day and if he played his cards right, she'd be spending Valentine's Day with him.
Sara smirked at him in amusement. "You can be a little abrupt." It was just an observation and wasn't meant to be a criticism. "He does that because he knows it bothers you."
"You're right it bothers me." Nick sounded a little high strung; truth was, he was feeling high strung and just wanted to ask Sara out and get it over with before he lost his nerve that way if she said no, he could regain a little of his dignity.
Sara stifled a giggle as they neared the break room. "I don't believe it."
"Why don't you believe me?" Nick again looked at her oddly.
She smirked again. "Not you." She pointed through the window of the break room to a rather amusing sight. "That." This time there was no holding back the giggle.
Nick tilted his head as he tried to process what he was seeing. "Is that Grissom doing the Hustle?" He couldn't be too sure, the last time the dance was popular was when he was in about the third grade.
Sara shook her head and snorted out another laugh as she crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I think he's trying to learn that Irish jig that Archie's doing?"
"Did I miss something?" Nick chortled as he considered if now would be a good time to ask Sara out.
"Uh, no, I'm pretty sure no one else is dancing." Sara glanced over at Nick again and not for the first or even seventh time that night she suppressed an urge to run her fingers through Nick's shaggy hair.
Nick cleared his throat; he figured that now was as good a time as any. "Hey, Sara."
Sara's attention was still on the view through the break room window. "Yeah?"
"Uh, do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Nick thought he would just ease on into the subject.
Sara let out a groan. "Oh, you mean the holiday where everyone has an excuse to buy a box of chocolates and flowers that cost twice as much as they do the day after?" There was a bitterness to her tone that clearly indicated that she'd been burned a few time on Valentine's Day.
"Uh, yeah, that's the one." Nick wasn't sure now if his plan was a good idea. He had wanted to ask her to go out dancing so she have an excuse to put on a pair of strappy sandals and a dress to match; then after they'd had a lovely time, he'd bring her back to his place and they'd break open that bottle of South African Pinotage that he'd been saving for a special occasion.
"No, why?" Sara let out a harrumph; she hated Valentine's Day, it was just one more thing to remind her that she was alone.
"Uh, I was just wondering if maybe you might want to go out...on a date...with me." Nick sounded nervous and yet he'd known her for years. She'd either say yes or no and hopefully there would be minimal damage to their friendship.
Sara looked pleasantly surprised. "A date." She wasn't sure that she'd heard him correctly.
"Yeah." Nick took courage from the fact that she didn't immediately look repulsed by the idea. "I was just thinking that I wanted to ask you out and Valentine's Day seemed like a good time."
Sara considered his words carefully. "And this isn't a pity date because you're not seeing anyone is it?" The words didn't come out exactly right, but she had to know if he was really interested or if the holiday was what was motivating him.
"No." Nick looked a little flustered, but recovered nicely. "I really just wanted to ask you out...I have for a while actually." He smiled at her hopefully.
Sara's lips twitched into a smile. "I'll go." An idea formed in her mind. "On one condition."
Nick looked slightly crestfallen that she'd put conditions on the date and now he was wondering if she really wanted to go. "What's that?"
Sara reached over and threaded her fingers through his hair, her smile widening into a mischievous grin. "This hair of yours...needs...a new style." And with that, she leaned up and kissed him, her stomach fluttering as he returned the kiss with gusto.
Nick could definitely agree to a new style, he'd do whatever she wanted to his hair as long as she kept kissing him like that right in the middle of the lab completely oblivious that they now had an audience from the other side of the break room window.
Sara was grinning as they broke off the kiss. "Do we have a deal?" The hair wasn't bad all mussed up and she wondered to herself what a little more quality time in her fingers could do to it.
"Deal." Nick grinned back at her and then slid his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her again, mumbling against her lips. "No blond mullets though."
The End