Hey guys!
This little ficlet popped into my head at random while at school. Ben Bass is weirdly sexy with his glasses on, so that in part inspired this too. And it's very fluffy and cotton-candy sweet towards the end, but who doesn't need a little fluff in their lives now and then? Especially after the end of the season finale... =)
On a different note, I'm going to ramble a bit on how brilliant and wonderful you guys are. Seriously, with all the amazing reviews and story/author alerts and author favorites. I love getting home and seeing I have more reviews and favorites and alerts! You guys definitely inspire me to continue writing these stories, and I'm just so happy you're not bored with my writing yet.
Anyways, hope you all enjoy! xx
Sam had started to notice the physical malfunction about three months after he had been partnered with Andy McNally. He knew he was getting older, and while he wasn't too bothered by that particular fact, he had found himself vastly irritated at the odd fuzziness that sometimes penetrated his line of sight.
He refused to go to the doctor's - too many ugly experiences in hospitals had made him wary of any place that housed people with medical degrees. He knew he should get glasses, or contacts even, but wanted to hold off getting them until he absolutely needed them. Maybe it was because he was too stubborn for his own good, but he had an inkling that it had to do with a certain incident that had happened a couple of months ago.
"Here's Redding's rap sheet. It's a loooong one," Andy said, drawing out the sound through her puckered lips as she handed the paper to him. He looked down at it, and the fuzziness reappeared, some of the words too vague and faraway for him to make out what they spelled. He squinted his eyes and brought the paper closer to his face. He heard a laugh in front of him, and looked up to see his rookie grinning like a lunatic.
"Need glasses, grandpa?" she teased, her voice lilting with her laughter. He scowled, the good-natured barb irritating him more than it should have.
"I'm barely six years older than you McNally. I'm not a grandpa." He hated the fact that she thought he was old. Like maybe that was part of why she didn't love him the way he loved her.
"Okay, don't get your diaper in a twist," she said. "And it's more like nine years, by the way."
"I just took you out for drinks because it was your twenty-sixth birthday. I'm thirty-one, for your information. That's barely six years."
"Wait...is that a gray hair?" she said, her face contorted in a faux-innocent expression. She reached her hand out towards his head, but he swatted it away.
"I'm going to stick you on desk duty if you don't cut it out," he said, his tone gruff, but his eyes betraying him. Watching her laugh and smile that amazing, heart-stopping smile that knocked him off his feet every time was making it hard for him to stay mad at her.
"Yeah, well, I've always had a thing for older men, anyways," she said lightly, her eyes darting to his and away again.
Thinking back, it was a wonder he had been able to formulate a sentence after that. How was it that she managed to blow him away with a single word?
But it had irked him that his eyesight was failing. Both his father and mother had always had bad eyesight, so maybe it was a genetic thing as he got older...
Although, maybe it was just love that made his eyesight fuzzy, because sometimes, in a crowded room, the faces seemed to blur together, their features fuzzy and indistinct. And then he would turn his head, and catch a glimpse of the only face that seemed crystal clear. His rookie's face. Andy McNally's.
Yes, it was an absurd thought, and yes, he probably had become more sentimental and whatnot during the past year that they had been partnered together. He enjoyed a good pity party now and again, and had certainly wallowed in his fair share of alcohol for the past year because of a certain relationship, (former, he kept reminding himself, former, past relationship) that made him cringe every time he looked at the happy couple, but he knew that his current situation had such a strong silver lining in it that he couldn't help but look at the positive side of his failing eyesight.
As things became gradually fuzzier, it seemed that Andy only got sharper, more focused. And he was completely happy with that particular side effect of growing old.
But he wasn't old yet - not by a long shot. Looking down at the woman nestled in his arms, he couldn't help but smile. He dipped his head down and kissed her bare shoulder.
"Hello, gorgeous," he said softly, her eyes fluttering open.
"Hello," she answered, her voice quiet and slightly low from sleep. "Why am I so tired?" she asked, letting out a loud sigh as she turned her head into his chest.
He lowered his lips to her ear. "Do you want me to remind you of...last night...candles...I think there was also a definite lack of clothing," he said, his fingers trailing under the covers over her body. She let out a low moan into his skin as he started to kiss down her jawline.
"I think I need to be shown. I'm a very visual learner," she answered with a smile, letting out a surprised laugh as he flipped them over on the bed.
Growing old, and all that came with it, could wait. And right now, his eyesight wasn't failing at all. In fact, it was perfect...better than perfect.
But when he did grow old, and when his eyes failed completely, there was no other person he would rather be with than her.
