It's cold outside and Angie does NOT like winter. So what happens when the heat goes out at Angie's house? Fun little story inspired by the cold weather that has swept the nation this past week.
This story is dedicated to Skylarcat and Goose41. They both work sooo hard to post stories and I felt guilty because I haven't posted in a long time! You guys are the best! I'll eventually update "Paris," definitely over Christmas, life's just been, well, life.
She really hates winter.
Sure, Angie lives in Canada, but she lives in Vancouver! That's practically Washington! But this week had been cold, bitterly cold, and she was quite bitter about it. Angie stormed into the precinct wearing a big, puffy coat that reached down to her shins, snow boots, and a scarf wrapped around her head like the kid in A Christmas Story. When she caught Vega laughing at her dress and demeanor, she shot him a you-don't-know-what-I'm-capable-of glance.
"Vega, I think you know it would be a bad idea to mess with me this morning," Angie said while struggling out of her coat. Vega nodded and hopped up to help Angie out of her coat. When he pulled the coat away, his hand brushed her icy cold fingers.
"Angie, do you own gloves?"
"Well, I do, but I lost them," Angie replied, turning to face Vega. Vega took her hands into his own and attempted to warm them up, causing Angie's stomach to drop lightly, but she played it off. After he let go of her hands, they sat at their desks and dove into a day of paperwork.
At the end of the day, the partners bundled up, and headed out of the building. Before they opened the doors to walk outside, Oscar took Angie's right hand into his own, and moved their hands into his coat pocket. Angie paused and gave him a wide-eyed look, but he just looked at her and said, "Put your other hand in your pocket, frostbite sets in quick."
Oscar walked Angie to her car, told her goodnight, and after she climbed in, he began walking to his car. Angie had to shake her head at the strange situation. Was it normal for partners to hold hands on cold, winter days? Sure, she told herself. Safety first.
Angie started her car, praying that it would warm up quickly. While she was waiting, her phone began to ring. The number was one she didn't recognize, but she answered anyway.
"Angie Flynn."
"Hello Ms. Flynn, this is Vancouver Electric. As you've probably noticed, the power is out in your neighborhood, due to the excessive amount of heat that houses are trying to use. We are doing everything we can to get the power working again. Until then, we hope that you can find a way to stay warm. We apologize for the situation." As Angie listen to the woman's clearly scripted call, she thought about the people who probably were already home by 6 o'clock, wondering why the power was out. Sometimes there were perks to having to work late.
"Actually, I was just about to leave work. You'll notify me when the power returns?" Angie asked.
"Of course, ma'am, have a good night."
Angie hung up the phone and noticed her partner was just now heading out of the parking lot. Looks like the heat must be working at his house.
Oscar pulled into his driveway, got out of his car, and noticed that his partner had followed him home. He gave her a confused look as she pulled in behind him and stepped out of her car.
"The power is out in my neighborhood. And you know how much I loathe the cold," Angie told Oscar as she began walking towards his house.
"Sorry, no homeless allowed," Vega replied, jokingly.
Angie, already at his front door, turned and gave him a classic puppy dog face before saying, "You wouldn't want me to freeze would you? The next time you saw me I'd just be a big, walking icicle. And you'd feel really bad," Angie finished defiantly, yet with a little bit of pout in her tone. All Oscar could do was laugh and guide her into his home with a smile on his face.
Oscar closed the front door and the two took off their coats. Oscar's house was warm, cozy even. Angie wasn't afraid to kick off her boots and waltz into his kitchen. They had a friendship that others must have envied.
After looking through his fridge and pantry, Angie turned to Oscar and asked, "Where's all your food?! You have to have an emergency stock for days when I might come over!" Angie semi-joked.
"Angie, that fridge is filled with food."
"Well yes, but where are your leftovers and ice cream and waffles. Oh, waffles sound good."
Oscar helped Angie find the pancake mix and waffle machine and they cooked a highly nutritious meal of waffles and coffee. Angie couldn't help but notice Oscar stare at her when she licked the pancake batter off of the fork they mixed it with. Yes, she was one of those people, she admitted it. She wrote off his hungry look as hungry for the waffles they were making.
When they finished their dinner, they moved to his living room and decided to watch all the cheesy cop shows that grossly misrepresented their jobs. They sat on separate ends of the loveseat, but as luck would have it, the blanket Oscar grabbed to cover them up was rather small, forcing Angie to sit thigh to thigh with her partner.
Speaking of luck, Angie still hadn't received a call from the electric company about the power being back on. She was beginning to hope that maybe it would stay out for the night. You know, for the sake of saving electricity and what not.
As the night went on, the partners laughed and groaned at the bad acting and outlandish plots on the shows. The killer was always predictable and the motive was never really clear. And if there was one thing Oscar and Angie knew, it was that the motive had to be clear to solve a murder. Nonetheless, they had a good time.
Angie yawned and said, "I think it's about my bedtime."
Oscar nodded and replied, "I can't believe they still haven't fixed the electricity. In any case, the guest bed is made if you'd like to stay."
"Thank you, Oscar. I think I will. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Angie."
Both wished there was more to say, an excuse to sit near each other a little longer, but they had to up and get ready for bed.
And then Oscar's power went out.
"Oh geez, not you too!" Angie yelled.
Oscar sighed, shook his head, and said, "Shit. It's like 4 below outside. We're going to freeze."
"Well," Angie began, "not necessarily. I'm sure you have extra blankets. And we…" Angie stopped herself. She wasn't as brave as she used to be.
"And we what?" Oscar asked. "I mean, I don't know what you were thinking, but I was thinking that body heat is usually the best way to stay warm..."
"Would it be weird for us to sleep together?" Angie asked bluntly, finding some of the courage she once had and had since stored away.
"I don't think so," Oscar replied, "I mean, it would just be to try to keep warm." Angie nodded in agreement. Right, safety first.
They grabbed extra blankets from the guest room and set them in Oscar's room in case they might need them. Oscar pulled the covers back and settled in first, looking at Angie who gave him a smirk/skeptical look, and then crawled in next to him.
They laid on their sides, facing each other.
Oscar stared at Angie, and she looked back and gave him a reassuring smile. Neither of them said anything, they had reached their limit for blunt statements for the night. But Oscar had one more bold action left in him for the day. He leaned forward just enough to softly kiss Angie's forehead. Her smile widened and he smiled back.
"Goodnight, partner." Oscar said.
"Goodnight," Angie replied.