Title: An Exclusive Thing
Category: CSI: NY
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Humor
Pairing: Lindsay/Don
Prompt: #1 - Love
Word Count: 1,637
Summary: Don Flack Jr. comes to a startling conclusion in the middle of the night.
An Exclusive Thing
-1/1-
Her brow furrowed as she watched him, mumbling under his breath as he knelt searching through his fridge for something. "What are you doing?" she asked, startling him.
His nearly fell over, turning around quickly to see her standing next to the counter, dressed in one of his sports t-shirts that hung long enough to reach her knees. "Must be losin' my edge if I'm lettin' you sneak up on me, Monroe." He grinned at her.
Smiling back, she lifted a brow. "Don't try and distract me, Detective." She nodded toward the fridge. "What are you doing?"
"Lookin' for something to drink. Figured after that work out you might be thirsty..." He shrugged, a slight flush to his cheeks that had nothing to do with what they'd just been doing.
She walked closer, eyeing the content of his fridge with a small, amused smile. "Looks like you have beer and lunch meat that is long past it's due date."
"Hey, I might get hungry later, you never know." He shrugged, clearing his throat and turning back. "Guess I been spendin' more time at your place, huh?"
She chuckled lightly, moving up behind him and kneeling down so she was leaned against his back, her chin on his shoulder. "I don't know. I like beer." She reached past, grabbed a chilled bottle and cracked it open before taking a long sip and then handing it to him. The cool air of the refrigerator made gooseflesh fan out over her skin but she stayed where she was, using his body as a cover. He couldn't be too warm himself since he was only dressed in the boxers he'd grabbed off his floor before he slipped out of the room while she had drowsily laid next to him.
He stared at the vast emptiness of his fridge and despite how he continued to lift his hand off and on to take a sip of his beer, she could see he was deep in thought. She left him to it, if he wanted to tell her what was going on in his head, he would. Still, she decided not to simply go back to bed and instead use his distraction to her benefit. Turning her head, she bit his earlobe lightly, watching as his mouth twitched with a smile. Kissing his neck just below his ear, she nuzzled him with her nose and continued a slow path down his neck and across his shoulder. Her hands fell down his chest, fingers fanned out over the naked flesh that she could feel cooling against the air coming out of the fridge. "If you're done searching for non existent beverages," she teased lowly. "Why don't we go back to your room?" She kissed the side of his mouth lingeringly until he turned and caught her lips, the bitter taste of beer mingling with the natural flavor of his tongue as it tangled with hers.
He groaned, turning around and wrapping a long arm around her. As he stood up, he managed to pick her up without pause and kicked the fridge door shut. As his other hand fell to cup her butt and lift her so her legs wrapped around his waist, she hissed, the cold touch of his beer bottle pressing against her bare thigh. With a half-grin, he dropped the bottle on the counter and walked them back to his room. She could tell he was still distracted even as he dropped her down on the bed and covered her with his body, shedding his t-shirt from her with quick fingers.
"What's up?" she asked him, slightly breathless as his fingers slid up and down the front of her body.
He smirked at her, rocking his hips into her. "What do you think is up?"
She laughed, petering out on a moan. She rolled her eyes, trying to focus. "Now that I can never ignore, but..."
He sighed, resting his elbows on either side of her shoulders, pressing down heavily on the mattress. "You're thinkin' again, aren't you?"
"Yes, but only because you are and it's..." She stared up at him, brow furrowed. "Let's face it, very rarely do you get distracted when I'm naked."
He laughed, nodding agreeably.
"So...? What's up?"
He sighed, shaking his head, lips thinning firmly. "How long have we been doing this?"
She licked her lips, eyes turning up thoughtfully. "Four months, I think."
"Right..." He nodded. "I dunno what I was expecting out of this, but... But it's changed for me and I don't... I don't know if it has for you too or if you wanted it to or what. I just..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down." She shook her head. "Changed how, exactly? A good change or...?"
His brows lifted. "That's the confusing part. 'Cause for me, I think it's good... Sorta. I mean I'm not the kinda guy that does this thing often."
"This thing?" She frowned. "What is this thing?"
He sighed, burying his forehead against her chest and groaning in frustration. "That's the confusing part."
She laughed, running her hand down the back of his hair and rubbing his neck. "All right... Since we're apparently having one of those awkward relationship talks, why don't you tell me what you want us to be?"
He didn't reply right away, running his hands up and down her sides, stroking her hips and the underside of her breasts in soothing motions. "I didn't expect us to really go anywhere, which is why I didn't think it was the smartest thing to do for us to be hookin' up, but... Now... I kinda like what we have and what we are and maybe I'd like to try the exclusive thing a little more... publicly."
"You want to tell the team?" she asked slowly, her eyes widening.
"It has been four months," he said, lifting his head and staring at her rather uncertainly.
"Four months that we've just decided tonight was more than a work fling..." She bit her lip. "What made you bring this up, anyway? First you're looking for something to drink in your sorely wanting fridge and suddenly you want to go public with us... I just don't get the connection."
He frowned, eyes turning off. "I've been thinking."
"Yeah. Noticed."
He glared at her lightly. "And... I'm thinkin' I might love you."
Her lips twitched. "How terribly romantic."
He rolled his eyes. "Hey, you pushed." He shrugged. "It might'a come out differently if you'd just let it be."
She stared at him, letting out an abrupt chuckle. "Me? You're the one who just took the giant U-turn in our relationship!"
He sighed, rolling off of her until he was sprawled out next to her on the bed, staring at the ceiling darkly.
With a small smile, she slid up next to him, resting her hand on his chest and stroking back and forth absently. "I get it, Don. Things have changed. A lot. And you want balance."
"I think we could be good together, Linds. And not just in bed." He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes warily.
She grinned. "We are great together, in and out of bed." She nodded, lifting up on one arm and cradling her head with her hand. "Frankly, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out." Her lips quirked sarcastically. "Not the greatest detective work, Flack."
He rolled his eyes, his expression softening. "All right, all right... So I dropped the ball on this one."
She laughed, grinning.
"This mean you might love me too, Monroe?"
"Maybe a little..." She lifted her hand, showing with him with her forefinger and thumb the tiny amount.
"Yeah?"
She shrugged.
He rolled over on top of her and gripped her hips. "And what do I have to do to up that for ya?"
She stared up at him breathlessly, lifting her knees to cradle him between her thighs. "I think you can figure this one out on your own."
He ducked his head, lips slanting over hers, theirs noses brushing lightly. Her hands rose, fingers sliding through his short hair before finding purchase on his shoulders, tightening and urging him closer to her. His tongue trailed across her lips slowly before flicking against her own and then teasing the roof of her mouth. "We gonna tell the others?" he asked her, drawing away each time she tried to deepen the kiss.
With a sigh, she stared up at him. "If I say yes, will you stop teasing?"
He laughed. "Teasing's half the fun."
Rocking her hips up, she tightened her legs around him. "Don't encourage me, Don. I can hold out a lot longer."
He caught her lower lip between his teeth and nipped playfully. "Give in, already Linds... You know you want to."
Gripping his hair, she stared into his eyes for a long moment. "All right... We'll tell them."
She could see the relief cross his features and then he was really kissing her, leaving little room for air as he proved that he was finally ready for more than just a work fling, that he was ready for all that she could offer. And she couldn't be happier; she'd been waiting awhile for him to catch on to the fact that they were meant for a lot more than sweaty afternoons and nights spent wasted away in his or her bedroom, though she'd never deny that the fun had there had no competition. And now that they were giving it a real go, maybe she'd have some say in what went in that fridge. Because that beer was flat and he needed more than bad lunchmeat to keep him going. Especially if she'd be spending more time around his apartment, exhausting him in their newfound relationship. She couldn't wait.