A/N: The fact that the title resembles a BBC Sherlock episode title (A Study In Pink) does not mean that this fic is connected to Sherlock in any way. So there's that. Other than that, I have no idea where this fic came from so... just... go with it. And as always, if you enjoyed, please leave a review! :)
"Alison, I feel ridiculous," Sarah muttered, tugging at the thin elastic strap at her chin, hissing a choice curse as it accidentally snapped back.
"Well, you were the one who wanted to surprise Cosima so-," she began, arranging trays on the table just so.
Sarah cut her off with an exaggerated eye roll, "But I didn't bloody come up with the idea to wear party hats, now did I?"
"She'll think you added a nice touch," she huffed, adjusting the tip of the cardboard hat so that it sat straighter on Sarah's head.
"That I added a nice touch? Seriously Alison?" Sarah scoffed as Alison let out a contented hum of approval. "The hats are pink," she said pointedly, tugging it sideways just to aggravate the soccer mom even further.
"You asked me to help plan this... celebration surprise for her, so you shouldn't complain about how I assist you," she stated and Sarah rolled her eyes again, dodging the other woman's attempts to fix the hat once more. She wished Cos would hurry up and come home. Alison's presence was so much easier to deal with when her girlfriend was around. "Why exactly are we surprising her again?" Alison spoke up as Sarah pulled an undecorated ice cream cake from the freezer as the final touch.
Sarah flushed, then blustered her way through an excuse, "What, I can't surprise my girlfriend just 'cause I want to?"
Alison's face fell minutely at the mention of Cosima and Sarah's relationship, like she had forgotten that they had been dating for two months, like their relationship didn't remind her of what she once had with Beth.
"Alison, shit, I-"
The other woman cleared her throat quietly and quickly interrupted Sarah's apology before she could get any further, her tone that of someone actively trying to ignore reality, "You've forgotten, haven't you Sarah?"
"What? I, no, 'course I haven't-" she fumbled indignantly before rubbing her neck in embarrassment at Alison's unimpressed silence, her next words now being mumbled at the floor, "It's.. I.. it's something about her school, her grades or something, I just... don't remember exactly."
Alison just folded her arms, her silence now punctuated by a barely restrained scoffing smirk. "Look," Sarah continued, dropping her hand, "I know that whatever it is, it's special and she's been looking forward to today for ages. So I just.. I wanted to, you know, to give her something nice alright?" she explained, then sucked in a breath, "She means a lot to me Alison. Now that she's better, I want to take every opportunity to show her that."
Alison's silence turned into something darker, heavier, as she began habitually straightening things that were already perfect to fill the space. "I never knew you had a soft side," she murmured, the jab falling flat in its goal of goading. "You remind me of... of her, sometimes."
"I...," Sarah began, completely at a loss. Comforting people was Cos's thing. "If seeing us.. uh, together, uh, hurts or um.. reminds you of your relationship with-"
"Oh no, it doesn't hurt at all!" Alison exclaimed, her voice breaking in direct contradiction to her words, "No, seeing you ad Cosima together is absolutely wonderful! You have no idea how much I love seeing the two of you because, you know, at least you two get to experience the constant fear of dating your... your cl-clone! It's so great to see that the both of you are withstanding the societal pressure without, oh, I don't know, jumping in front of a train?!"
Sarah's jaw hung open as Alison took several great heaving breaths to reign in her tears. "Shite, Alison," was all she could manage. "Uh.. I-"
"Hey Sarah, I'm home!" Cosima's voice came from around the corner, accompanied by the slam of a door. "God, you have no idea how good it feels to- uh.. what's going on?" she stopped short and took in the scene before her as Alison attempted to compose herself, plastering on a completely fake smile.
"Uh..," Sarah started feebly, dodging the kiss that Cosima attempted to place on her cheek. "Surprise?" she offered with a shrug.
Cosima finally took in the full scene, the cake, the streamers and the ridiculous party hats, and broke into an excited grin, one that never failed to make Sarah's heart melt. "This is for me? Why?" she swooped in to give Sarah another kiss, which Sarah allowed this time, watching out of the corner of her eye the way that Alison quickly looked away.
"Seriously," Sarah grumbled again as she absently held her arms out to Cosima. As she continued, Cosima naturally settled into the embrace, but not before placing a small kiss at her collarbone," I need a reason to surprise my girlfriend?"
Cosima pulled back slightly and narrowed her eyes playfully at her girlfriend before bursting into loud laughter as she fell back into Sarah's arms, "You don't actually know, do you Sar?" she ribbed, tilting her head back to watch Sarah's face.
"I mean, so I might've forgotten... but-" she stumbled on through her embarrassment when Cosima cut her off with a quick kiss.
"You're so cute Sarah," she quirked her lips up, leaning in to touch their foreheads together.
"Well this has been fun," Alison quipped suddenly, jolting the clones apart as she hurried to gather her things. "Planning a surprise for your girl.. for you and Cosima, but I should be going, goodbye you two, enjoy!" she finished in a rush, cutting the end of her own sentence off as she slammed the loft door behind herself.
"What's with her?" Cosima asked after a few seconds of stunned silence.
With Alison gone and the assurance that the loft would be empty for another couple of hours at least, Sarah allowed herself to melt back into Cosima's embrace without only a slight amount of guilt. "She's been thinking about... about Beth," she admitted quietly.
"Oh," Cosima sighed, unconsciously tugging Sarah closer to herself, weaving a hand through her hair while resting the other at the small of her back.
"Is the surprise ruined?" Sarah asked hesitantly.
At that, Cosima glanced up into her girlfriend's eyes, her gaze warm. "Not at all Sar," she murmured before tacking on smugly, "Even if you can't remember why you're surprising me-"
"Oi!" Sarah pouted, repeatedly smacking Cosima's hand away from the stupid elastic at her chin. "You kept goin' on about today this, today that.. I know enough to know that it's special, yeah?"
"The pink party hats are totally a nice touch," she teased.
"Alison helped plan."
"So I gathered," Cosima nodded mockingly, "Stick the cake back in the freezer," she spoke suddenly, getting a look in her eye.
One that Sarah knew all too well. She blushed as she peeled herself out of Cosima's hold, crossing the room and feeling Cosima's gaze on her every move. "What did you have in mind?" she called nonchalantly over her shoulder as she opened the freezer door, like she wasn't already hot under the collar.
"Alison might've came up with the party hats but-" Cosima began as she traced a suggestive finger under the band at Sarah's chin once she had returned to her side.
"Cos, bloody hell!" she exclaimed, catching Cosima's wrist as she slowly began following a path down the column of Sarah's neck.
"What? C'mon Sarah, this is my surprise party-!" she started stubbornly.
"I am not fucking you with a bloody pink party hat on my head, Cos, that is the least sexiest thing I-"
"Come on now," Cosima purred, her hot breath at Sarah's lips, "You'll do anything for me... wont you?" she breathed, kissing the corner of her lips, pulling back slightly as Sarah whined and sought out the feeling once more.
"Don't... that's... Cos! C'mon!" she sputtered as Cosima left her side, dropping her shirt on the way to the bed.
"I'm here if you want me," Cosima called back in a sing-song. "And if you take that hat off, you can forget about any of the celebratory sex that I had planned for this week!"
And that was all it took.