Sweet Punishment

Disclaimer: Maybe one day.

:: Today was holiday and I thought to myself that I deserved to take a break; to play hooky. Hence the story. 5 more months. School will be over in more or less 5 months. Gosh. At least Flashpoint season 4 will (probably) start in June. But I may get too busy to watch and that will be a disaster. No!

"So, Jules," Sam began carefully, tempting faith. "Are you hungry? I think I saw a hot dog stand back-"

"No, Sam, I'm not hungry." Jules answered tightly, not giving him the chance to finish. She pushed her hands deep into her jeans pocket to prevent them from clenching and unclenching, leaving half-moon marks on her skin than calming her down.

"Okay." Sam licked his lips, the venom in her voice making him retreat a bit. This was getting ridiculous, he mused as he followed her walking aimlessly around her neighborhood. For someone with a short pair of legs, Jules was fast.

Around them everybody seemed to be having a nice evening. Except for them.

Okay, so it was probably his fault. But she hadn't even said anything. Well, fine, she had told him to get out, but obviously, she hadn't meant a single word she'd said. Jules had enjoyed it as much as he had. Like she'd told him once upon a time, 'I like it when someone's being spontaneous.' What was that if not an open invitation? A challenge of some kind? Then again, it's not like there had been enough time for anything serious to happen...

And in spite of her deadly threat to rake him with a lawn-mower, he was here. Alive albeit mildly miserable and hungry. More importantly, she hadn't sent him home yet and he took that as a good sign. He knew Jules wasn't really all that upset.

Sam tried to not seethe in envy at a young couple walking arm in arm past them, sharing a cotton candy. The guy who looked like he just hit puberty last week was carrying a huge pink teddy bear on his back. Shouldn't they be at home, procrastinating their geometry homework by doing the darned biology paper?

When they walked passed Timmy's for the second time, the last of his patience finally drained. Sam grabbed her arm and spun her around. He tried to ignore the burning accusation in her doe brown eyes. "Can you be civil and talk to me like adult instead of skirting around the issue?"

That was what he'd wanted to say originally, but what came out was, "Are you still mad at me?"

Jules simply stared up at him like he had asked her something stupid. Which he probably had, all things considered.

"How many times have I told you not to come into my locker room?" she started. "Remember what I said before? No eye-sexing, no flirting, no pet names, no nookie, no touchy-feely. HQ is a forbidden place. What do you think would have happened if you didn't get to hide right that second?"

Sam sighed. The answer was easy: Ed would have ruined a what would have been a really great sex.

Of course, Sam said none of that.

Jules yanked her arm out of his grasp. "If only Winnie didn't call out for Ed when he was perhaps already two steps inside, halting him, we'd have been toast. Utterly, totally, completely dead."

"I'm sorry," Sam mumbled. Jules had told him over and over and over, even before they started seeing each other that the job was something she valued more than any relationships. More than him. As unpleasant as the idea might seem, he had to respect that.

But sometimes it was just so easy to pretend that they were no older than the teeny-boppers passing by before. When their only responsible was to finish homework on time and being caught making out in the janitor closet would end up with their parents being called in.

Not that he wanted to imagine how his father would react if that was the case here.

"I'm sorry. That won't happen again, I promise." Sam said, squeezing her shoulder.

Her full lips stuck out in a pout and for a brief moment she looked even more beautiful, so unlike the tough Jules Callaghan he saw everyday, that he was caught off guard.

"I'll accept my punishment," Sam offered modestly. "I'll willingly do it."

"What kind of punishment?" Jules raised one eyebrow, eyes flashing dangerously. Breakfast in bed, getting some more Santorini Sky, painting the study room, getting rid of the old tarps… he could almost see the wheels inside Jules' pretty little head rolling.

Alas, that's not even remotely close with what he had in mind.

Choosing to show rather than tell her, he leaned down and gave her a quick peck.

Her eyes widened considerably when he pulled back half a second later. She was so stunned by the gesture that she stood still for a moment, mouth gaping.

Then Mt. Callaghan erupted.

"You called that punishment?"

"You have something else in mind?" Sam shrugged, feeling too giddy to be casual. "Fine, I'll take it back."

Another peck. Slightly longer this time.

"Sam!"

The blond sniper smiled, then chuckled before breaking into peals of laughter. He didn't even care that Jules was burning holes through him or people passing by were looking at him funny.

"Seriously, you-"

"I thought you liked when I was being spontaneous?" Sam cut her mid-sentence and took her hand, grasping it tighter when she tried to pull free. Her brow knitted together but the corner of her lips twitched a little. He knew it.

"That was different!"

"Let's get something to eat," he waved her reasoning away and started walking, pulling her along. "I'm hungry and I need food for whatever it is you have in mind."

"Just so you know, you won't get away with thi-"

"Yes, Jules, I won't even dream of trying to get away from you." Sam assured her.

As Jules went on rambling away about how he had taken what she'd said out of context and beginning to recite the No Dating Rules at HQ like he hadn't remembered it by heart already, Sam grinned.

Being punished had never tasted sweeter.

NOOO! The story's over so the time to play hooky is also over.

:(