Disclaimer: If I owned King and Maxwell there would be no question as to a second season. Or a third. Or a forth….You get the idea.
A/N: I was bored yesterday and came up with this one-shot.
Friendship Set on Fire
With their latest case solved Sean and Michelle sat on the dock outside the boathouse enjoying the cooling air of what had been an extremely hot day. There was a slight breeze that ruffled the loose hair that had escaped from Michelle's ponytail and Sean's loose fitting white shirt but otherwise it was calm. The sun had almost finished setting, a pale yellow light remaining, sparkling over the expanse of lake spread out in front of them. Michelle shifted slightly, spreading her legs out in front of her, mimicking Sean's position. They sat side by side in comfortable silence, just enjoying the break and each other's company. Birds could be heard chirping in the distance but the romance was lost on the two, who were both deep in thought.
After a while Sean glanced over at Michelle and caught her eye, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Long day" he commented offhandedly.
"We've had worse" she replied, sighing and looking back over the lake.
"You OK?" he asked, seeing her distraction.
"Yeah, just tired" she said.
"What, you mean to tell me the great Olympian/ex secret service agent Michelle Maxwell gets tired?" He replied in mock-surprise.
"Would I be human if I didn't?" she said.
"And here I was thinking you were some kind of super-alien fro…Ow" He stopped talking and rubbed the spot on his arm where she had slugged him.
"That hurt"
"Suck it up, princess" she replied, a hint of mirth in her voice, bright blue eyes sparking with mischief.
"All right, that's it" he said, getting up and standing in front of her. Before what was happening fully registered in Michelle's sleep deprived brain he had picked her up, thrown her over his shoulder and tossed her into the water. She yelled out in surprise as she was quickly drenched by the cool water, going under.
When she came up for air Sean was laughing and she sent him a half-hearted glare. If it had been anyone else they would be flat on their face with her now soaking wet boot planted in the middle of their back but with Sean she felt comfortable enough to just be herself. That didn't mean she wouldn't get her revenge and she did just that when he offered a hand to help her out of the water. Going for the oldest trick in the book she took the hand and pulled him in with her.
He gave a far more unmanly like shriek than he would ever admit to as he found himself falling for a second before he broke the surface and the cool water swallowed him. He had to admit it was quite refreshing although he would prefer not to be in his clothes at the time. Michelle, seeing that he was still recovering used his moment of distraction to her advantage, ducking under the water and grabbing his ankles, dragging him beneath the surface with her before she let go, kicking up and climbing out onto the dock, laughing.
It was his turn to glare at her but the tables were quickly turned when he realised, the hard way that Michelle was fitter than him and pulling himself out of the water and onto the dock was not nearly as easy as she had made it seem. Upon seeing him struggle to get up Michelle had burst into another round of laughter.
"You just wait until I get my hands on you" he said, sending her a mock-glare. She only laughed harder in response.
"You are really mean, anyone ever tell you that?" he asked.
"Yeah" she responded in-between fits of laughter.
"Was your foot planted on their neck at the time?" he said. She laughed even harder, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. Despite his embarrassment Sean couldn't help but be glad he made her laugh and, if he was to admit it to himself he loved seeing her like this, so happy and carefree. As much as he would like to continue watching her the sun had disappeared and the cold was slowly creeping in.
"A little help here?" he mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear. She stopped laughing, holding her hand out while gripping the deck with the other. There was no way she was falling for her own trick. He slipped his hand into hers and she, rather effortlessly he had to admit pulled him out. He lay on his back for a moment before getting up and following her inside.
They stood awkwardly outside the shower, neither quite knowing what the other was thinking. After a moment Sean graciously allowed Michelle to go first.
Once they were both showered and had changed into the spare set of clothes they both kept there for emergencies Sean made coffee. He carried both cups over to the table and set one down in front of Michelle, taking a seat next to her.
"So, long day huh" he said.
"Oh no, don't you start that again" she replied.
"Me? You started it" he said incredulously.
"You called me an alien" She said, shrugging.
"Well you called me a princess" he replied.
"That's because you were acting like one"
"You punched me in the arm!"
They were now standing toe to toe, caught in a standoff. Sean was mildly disappointed that he couldn't just pick her up and toss her into the river again. She would likely hurt him if he ever did that again, he was surprised that he had gotten away with it the first time.
"It's all your fault" Michelle said, poking him none-too-gently in the chest.
"Ow" he mumbled, rubbing it. She rolled her eyes and said "Get over it, it's not that bad. You've had worse from criminals."
"That's not the point" he replied, feigning hurt.
"Drama queen" she said, sitting back down.
"See, there it is again, calling me a girl. Are you trying to tell me something Michelle?" He replied, also sitting down.
"Maybe" she sing-songed.
"Now you're just playing with me"
"Like a basketball player with a ball"
They lapsed into silence, punctured only by the occasional sip of coffee.
"I should go" Sean said but made no move to leave.
"Me too" Michelle said. Neither moved and Sean, to break the tension that had enveloped them said "Wow, we really need to get a life outside of work."
Michelle laughed, causing Sean to also smile. They got up, depositing their cups in the sink and walked out together.
"So…." Sean said, trailing off to look at Michelle. They were standing close enough to feel each other's body heat but not quite touching. His deep brown eyes stared into the depths of her sparkling blue ones as his hand instinctively rested on her cheek. She leaned into the touch, her eyelids fluttering shut for a moment before they opened again to meet his eyes. He searched her eyes, seeking permission and she swallowed and nodded slightly, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. He leaned in slowly, her eyes following the movement. When their lips met it was hesitant and light, barely a brush of lips.
A loud and obnoxious blaring sound broke whatever spell they were under. Michelle fumbled for a second, pulling out her phone and turning away from Sean to answer it. She spoke quickly, a worried expression making its way onto her face. The call only lasted a few moments before she hung up.
"Gotta go" she mumbled to Sean as she brushed passed him. At the last second she turned, gently placing a soft kiss on his cheek. He smiled and she returned it as she walked away. Sean watched her get into her car and drive away, brushing a hand against his cheek where her lips had been moments before, the smile never leaving his face.