Title: Bad Habits
Author: Sorsha_711
Fandom/Pairing: CSI; Brass/Willows
Rating: T, some adult situations implied
Disclaimer: A quick check of my bank account should prove I'm not making anything off of writing my stories. Sigh! Anything you recognize belongs to the good people that bring us CSI.
Summary: Spoiler warnings for Internal Combustion (10x13). No matter how much you love someone, even the best are sure to have a few bad habits… or in Jim Brass's case, more than a few. A third, very short installment in the Heaven Is and Trained Observer series.
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Glancing to his right, Jim noted the slight frown on Catherine's face. A frown by itself might not have worried him, but the fact it was turned in his direction did. Racking his brain for clues of what he had done to earn her ire, he drew a blank. /I volunteered to take out the trash before we left… put my glass in the sink, even rinsed it out first. I haven't been 'playing' on my iPhone… Did I forget to put the seat back down…/
After running through the list of bad habits that seemed to irritate Catherine the most, the universal sense of confusion that men across the planet shared when confronted with 'the glare' of the women that shared their lives… especially when he had no idea of what he had done to earn it, took over. Shifting slightly in his seat, his grip tightened fractionally on the steering wheel as his spine stiffened. /Damn! This is the first night we've both been off in weeks, so I was hoping… what the hell have I done? It takes a lot to piss her off…/
A steadying breath preceded, "OK… what?"
A finely shaped brow arched slightly as Catherine tilted her head to study him. "What… what?"
His next breath held a hint of exasperation. "What have I done to make you mad… and don't bother denying it? I know you too well, so… what?"
"Ah…"
"So???"
He felt his muscles begin to relax as a devilish sparkle began to dance in her blue eyes. If her mood was improving so quickly, Jim knew he hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble… maybe even had a shot at her staying the night at his place. /Lindsey's on a sleep-over, so…/
"Just because it was the key to solving a murder doesn't make your habit of putting half-chewed gum on the dash any less disgusting," she observed, a shiver of pleasure coursing through her system as she enjoyed the sight of the boyish smirk that took up residence on his face in response to her teasing. That smirk never failed to make her heart race. If she was being honest with herself, it had for a long as she'd known Brass. Some days that fact made the years they had spent in waiting seem all the more poignant. Both knew the time hadn't been right for them before now, but that knowledge didn't make the 'what-ifs' ache less.
His chuckle broke her silent musing. "Hey… if it was good enough for Chuck…"
Falling into the familiar comfort of their banter… now made deeper and more satisfying by their intimacy, she retorted, "I don't care if your hero did do it… its still gross."
"You didn't seem to find it so gross when you were grilling Gus Davis…" He'd seen the shiver; his smirk deepened. /Yeah… I won't be sleeping alone tonight!/
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