Author's note: (Onehsot. Caskett. Totally A/U. Set anytime after Season Two's 24th episode, A Deadly Game, and before Season Three's 1st episode, A Deadly Affair.) Hey. It's Rose again. (Ugh, that sounded like a bad rapper introducing himself, didn't it? XD) I want to say that, since I wrote this under the effects of a pounding headache plus a bellyache plus an overdose of the song Toxic by Britney Spears, I'd like to apologize in advance, just in case you find this weird/inappropriate/OOC or whatever. That being said, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Also, this goes to Dai, who is the greatest friend I could possibly ask for – she's going through kind of a rough path and I'd like this to be like a virtual, giant hug for her.
He raised his glass of wine, gesturing for her to do the same, and cleared his throat before speaking. "To the wonderful – or should I say wonderfully efficient – team we make. If we keep going like this New York City's gonna run out of criminals."
She chuckled shortly, smiled and repeated after him. "To the wonderfully efficient team we make."
They took small sips of their drinks. When she had just put hers down he spoke again.
"No, wait, actually, I'm not finished."
"How odd. You always gotta have the last word, don't you?"She sarcastically teased him until she saw the dead-serious look on his face.
He raised his glass once again. "To you."He said, looking at her directly in the eyes. The intensity that oozed from that two-word statement virtually dismantled her, and her heart immediately skipped a beat only to start speeding its pace right after. The tension grew as she just stood there, speechless, drink in hand, witnessing the spectacle of his gaze which had never felt like this, as if it could pierce right through her soul and see everything she pointlessly had been (and still kept) trying to hide. Incapable of a better reaction, she raised her glass as well and mumbled the first two words she was able to utter. "And to you."
Once again, they both sipped from their beverages, but this time, their eyes were fixed on one another's - only putting the glasses down made them look away for just a second – and for some reason, they didn't sit back in their respective spots on the opposite sides of the table. They stood there, face to face, the air between them seemed to become thicker and harder to breath by the second, and the anticipation reached unsuspected levels, injecting a high dose of adrenaline into their veins. Neither of them seemed to want to give up on the staring contest, but she finally ended it by breaking the silence.
"Why."She demanded. The word wasn't even a question, because she already knew the answer. "Don't even try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. What was that? Why did you say that?"
He knew exactly what she meant, but not a word fell from his mouth. He had been giving her hints of all kinds for song long, and she had never given him the tiniest bit of hope. She had crushed him. He didn't think she was in position to make demands at all.
Her lower lip trembled for a moment when she narrowed her eyes and tried again. "I said why."This time the tone of her voice was the professional, you-better-answer-this, the one she mostly used when interrogating a suspect.
However, he still didn't respond.
She let her irritation show through. "Jesus, could you just answer me?"
"Fine!"He replied at last, closing the short gap between them in a couple of steps.
Their lips met before she knew what hit her. Slowly at first, moving in synchrony… Next thing she knew she was kissing him back with a passion she didn't know she held inside of her. He did the same. They kissed for so long that her head started spinning due to lack of oxygen, but she couldn't care less. Dying right there and then, kissing the man she already knew was the love of her life, was better than ruining that perfect moment she had been waiting for so long to come. As the kiss grew in speed and desperation, he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso, carrying her towards the hallway. When he pulled away for a moment in order to breathe, he received from her a look of such despair that caused him to chuckle and whisper a Take it easy before resuming the kiss.
When they finally arrived to the bedroom, he gently dropped her on the bed. Settling on her knees, she grabbed him firmly by the shirt. You are not going anywhere, she couldn't help but thinking.
He caressed her skin with his thumbs while he tried to regain his breath. "Can I say something now?"He asked half-shyly, half-jokingly.
"Do it fast."She hissed, seemingly willing to punch him if he continued to get in the way of her desire.
"Okay, okay. I love you. That's all."
Her expression softened and she smiled warmly. "I love you too."She whispered, suddenly, on the verge of tears."God, you have no idea."
"Actually, I do."He grinned compassionately."Now, where were we?"
She winked at him. "Um… I don't know. Suddenly I'm blanking."
"Oh really?" He pretended to be offended. "Leave now, cruel lady. Leave me now. "
She hugged him as close as humanly possible."Never."She murmured in his ear.
He enveloped her tightly. "And I'll never leave you either."
She pulled away to look at him, her eyes already welling up. "You promise?"
"I promise."
She gave him a wide smile. "Okay. That's great."Then she paused before speaking again.
"Oh, and by the way, I think I remember where we were."
Katherine Beckett wakes up, thinks Of course, that dream again, and starts huskily wiping off the sudden, unstoppable tears which run across her cheeks. It doesn't matter how many times she's already been through this – if anything, that just makes it worse -; she just can't get used to the horror of realizing that moment she's just lived so vividly isn't real. It's the same routine every day and she hates it so much and she's just so tired of that happening to her. It doesn't help when she remembers that not so long ago she could have died and still nothing has changed, because not even after being proved how easily she could disappear from the face of the Earth she had been able to summon up the courage to stop suppressing her feelings and actually act on them.
By the time she manages to pull herself out of bed, she can't tell if the dampness of her shirt has been caused by the heat of middle July or by her tears.
She knows, however, that she's not going to stop having that dream.
Not until it becomes her reality.