AN.: Okay. This is my Officer Lunchbox Secret Santa gift to its-love-make-it-hurt on Tumblr. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dark Doo Wop

The phone rang at three in the morning. Gail had returned from the wedding, alone, only an hour before. She had taken a cold shower - if only the water could extinguish the fire in her mind - and had gotten into bed, already half-ready to fall asleep and drown in a world of dreams that she was certain were bound to raise the temperature again.

Dammit, Holly.

She had truly just turned off the light when the phone rang.

"You better be dying." She said to whoever was on the other side of the line. She had reached for the phone instinctively, keeping her eyes closed for, if the caller gave up - and they usually did unless it truly was an emergency -, she could then easily return to her drowsy state. No harm done.

"Gail? Is that you?"

The blonde opened her eyes as soon as she recognized the caller's voice. Was this truly happening or was she already dreaming? She moved the phone away from her ear, deciding on checking the caller's ID just to be sure.

Wait, why was she answering a phone that wasn't hers? It was familiar, but it was definitely not her phone.

"Holly? Is that you? Is everything okay?"

Damn, this was certainly reality. If this was indeed any of her dreams she would be holding her phone and Holly would be whispering s... WAIT. Focus. Why was Holly calling her to a phone that wasn't hers?

"I think you have my phone?"

Oh shit.

"Oh shit. I am so sorry. I have no idea of how this happened...?"

She truly hadn't. They had moved to the "closet" after a bit of crazy dancing and had been there, making fun of everyone's coats, for quite some time. Had the brunette put it in her coat's pocket when she tried it on?

"It's okay, really. Would you mind texting Lisa to come pick me up, though?"

By now Gail was already sitting up and the light was back on.

Who was this Lisa person and why would she be available to pick up Holly at... three in the morning? She eyed the clock on her nightstand for a minute, mentally calculating the hours she would have left to sleep if she took a detour to get Holly from the bar. She was already up on her feet when she found herself done with the math. Apparently her body had already made a decision.

"Where are you? I can pick you up. And give you your phone back before they call you for an emergency autopsy and have me show up instead."

"Mmmmh... I guess that works too."

"Good. Text me the address."

Gail looked at her reflection in the mirror that stood in the hall and where she stopped for a moment to grab her keys.

She was wearing a pair of black leggings, a white tank-top and over it a black, grey and white check-patterned cotton-flannel shirt. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had taken once she had gotten home. She put her leather jacket on and her combat boots before leaving the house.

She used her phone's GPS system and followed the directions to the address she had been given by Holly. She didn't know the place by its name and she realized why once she got there. It was a gay bar.

Truth be told, she had been to quite a few when back in school and even while in the Academy. But ever since she had joined the 15th division they spent most of their time at the Black Penny.

Not seeing Holly anywhere near the front entrance, where she said she would be, Gail decided to park the car and go look for the brunette on foot. Once closer to the establishment she noticed the huge queue. There was no way in hell she was going to the end of the line just to miss Holly coming out.

She made her way towards the security guy instead. She was ready to use her badge on him when, as his eyes met hers - after starting on her feet, of course -, he lifted the rope. Was he actually inviting her in? Her question was answered by the crowd standing in line. They erupted in jealousy cries, causing the security guard to roll his eyes.

"If only they knew the screams won't get them anywhere near the door..."

This was bound to get interesting.

She made her way directly to the bar, her eyes meeting many faces, many winks from strangers that were studying her from head to toe - and back again.

"Excuse me."

"Yes, darling, what can I get you?"

"Did a brunette borrow your phone by any chance?"

"Oh. You must be the forever plus one girl. Yes, Holly said she just had to go to bathroom or something."

"I guess I will go look for her."

"No. You better stay right where you are. It's safer."

The amount of women who approached her in such a short amount of time made Gail's head spin. She had said no to a thousand drinks already when a redhead walked by and just ordered herself one, asking Gail what she wanted. There was no you look good or are you alone or I haven't seen you here before. Just a drink.

Holly, who had just met the familiar silhouette from a distance, witnessed the whole interaction. They were now talking and Gail was actually paying attention. And laughing. At someone else's jokes.

She looked different, though. There was something different about this Gail she was watching. She looked comfortable. Almost at home, really. She wasn't trying to impress anyone... she wasn't trying to hide anything. She was just being Gail. And what a breathtaking view that was...

She came up behind the blonde and wrapped her arms around her waist, her hands resting against her flat stomach. She leaned over and placed a kiss by Gail's ear.

"Now these are clothes I would share. You look good enough to eat."

She whispered before instinctively licking her lips, coming to stand by Gail's side, one arm still wrapped possessively around the blonde who swallowed hard at Holly's comment.

Another cold shower was due.

Play it cool, Peck.

"Took you long enough."

Gail tried to sound annoyed but she couldn't keep a straight face, not when she found herself staring at a glowing brunette. And then her eyes fell upon her lips and memories resurfaced...

"Awe. Did you miss me that much?"

If only Holly hadn't dropped her famous lopsided grin after the questioning point... but it was too late. They were officially doing this and by doing this I mean they were openly flirting. And they were both very aware of it. And enjoying it. Perhaps a bit too much.

"You did say you had to get it out of your system."

"And now here you are. Did you stay in the closet for long?"

"For exactly as long as I needed."

"Good." Holly said, her eyes finally abandoning the blonde's so that she could acknowledge the other woman's presence. "Oh, how extremely rude of me. Hello, I am Holly."

"Pleasure to meet you, Holly. I'm Claire."

"Has my girlfriend been keeping you good company?"

The ease with which the brunette dropped the girlfriend thing on everyone's laps, including her own, made Gail smile.

"Oh yes. She's even better looking than from afar. And interesting too. If I were you, I wouldn't leave her alone for long."

"I really shouldn't, huh?"

"I'm still here, you know?" Gail said as she wrapped her arm around Holly's waist and pulled her closer to her side, squeezing her slightly as to reclaim the attention the redhead had stolen.

"How could I possibly forget? Let's go."

"Thank you for the drink, Claire."

"Anytime."

"Thank you for keeping her company instead of jumping her bones."

"You are just lucky you came back from wherever you were rather quickly. Next time all bets are off."

They left, hand in hand. Again the crowd in line went nuts. Again jealousy.

"So."

"So."

"You left me in the closet to come and get it out of your system. Did it work?"

The bar - or should we call it club - was already mostly out of sight and they were still walking hand in hand towards the car.

"It was working... I had almost forgotten about you in that dress but then you appeared... wearing that."

"These are my bed clothes, Holly. What's wrong with them this time?"

"Mmmhmm. Nothing, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Flannel, though. Should I expect backpacks anytime soon?"

"Just your own. Do you have your keys with you?"

"Damn. Left them with Lisa."

Who the hell was this Lisa person Holly kept talking about? And why was the thought of Holly having someone to pick her up in the early hours of the morning pissing her off? And the keys thing. It was driving her completely insane. Hence the offer that followed...

"Well, you can stay with me tonight." Gail blurted out before pulling herself together as she let go of Holly's hand to look for her car keys, regaining focus on reality. "Or I can take you to her."

"That sounds good."

Holly was now leaning back against the car, her eyes on Gail as the blonde searched her every pocket for her keys.

"Where does she live?"

With the key finally in hand, Gail's eyes met the brunette's as she asked the question. She witnessed, first hand, the birth of the crooked smile that made her heart skip a beat. Every single time.

Holly reached for her hand again and laced their fingers, her eyes never leaving the blue oceans staring back at her.

"I meant you. Staying with you."

"Right. Of course."

She pulled Holly closer and away from the car, squeezing the brunette's hand gently before opening the door for her to get in.

As soon as they walked into the apartment, and after locking the door behind them, Gail led Holly to her room and started to remove her jacket and boots almost instantly.

"What?" The blonde asked as she noticed the brunette staring. As she felt her staring.

"You know, I really like this attire of yours. It makes you look... sexy."

"Holly, are you drunk?"

There's only one word to describe the way Holly walked towards Gail: predatory. There was hunger in her every step. Longing, lust in her every breath.

"Are you?"

They were basically breathing each other's air because of how close they stood to one another. Holly's hands were already toying with the buttons of Gail's flannel shirt.

"I must confess I do feel slightly intoxicated..."

"Did you have that much to drink?"

Holly shook her head.

"Then what?"

"You."