Bonding

by thegoodmarble

"I'm starting a new firm with David Lee."

Bonding
by: Raileht

Summary: *the writer honestly cannot come up with a summary for this crapfic.

Rating: T, just in case
Disclaimer: The ones you don't know are mine, the ones you do aren't.

Warnings: To be taken seriously-this fic is a literary narration of my insanity. This story went from a pathetic attempt of trying to be "funny" to a crazy out of the blue angst fic to...crapville. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Warning 2: a mix of things—a dumb attempt at humor (and possibly failing miserably at that) and a whole ton of OUT OF THE BLUE angst. And I should be fair and warn you all they get a little out of character too..for a bit…oops. I'm a little rusty—gimme a break!

Note 1: Diane, Will with a little of of Eli on the side. This is the product of having seen Bad Girls and that promo for On Tap. This was supposed to be a drabble and then…well, it just got insanely long.
Note 2: Yes, she's BACK and by she, I mean me and by back I mean…well, you get the picture.

"Bonding"

It was late, they were the last ones in the firm to leave, as usual. He found her standing by the elevators, waiting for the doors to open while fiddling with her phone, something he noticed she'd been doing more so than usual. He'd never pegged her to be the texting type, but apparently, she was. If anything, there was always something new to discover about the woman.

"Diane," he kept his tone light, a ghost of a smile creeping on his face as she surprised him by suddenly hiding her phone from his view.

"Will."

The iciness of her greeting surprised him and it made him wonder what now? He'd been so sure since they'd officially closed the deal on the third partner she'd be in a better mood, but of course, he was wrong again. It seemed lately, he could never do anything right by his partner.

Seeing as she wasn't one to freeze out anyone for no specific reason—there was always something—Will was sure he'd done something although he wasn't sure what. Usually, he could point out exactly when and how he'd ticked off Diane, but at the moment, he honestly had no clue. Then again, he could probably chalk that up to his recent lack of focus on certain things, seeing as there was still the matter of…

Will sighed mentally and decided not to let his mind go there. Instead, he tried to figure out what he'd done this time. He hoped he had enough time, seeing as the elevators seemed to be taking their sweet time arriving. It made the air around them feel a little awkward, but Diane had resumed to texting, fingers rhythmically tapping against the keys of her BlackBerry, turning her body slightly away from his. If she sensed the awkwardness, she didn't care enough to comment or do something about it.

He tried to list the conversations they'd had recently, most of them discussing the cases they had going, their new third partner, his recently reacquired season tickets and small chats in between. Things had been good since they really had no reason to fight anymore now that the pressure of keeping the firm afloat was no longer an issue. Will was at a loss, wondering why she was acting so cold when he really couldn't find any reason why she should be.

"You're here late," he managed to get out just as the doors of the elevator opened.

"I'm going home," she said simply, stepping in and he followed, his briefcase in hand and mentally slapping himself for such a stupid remark.

They stood at the opposite ends of the elevator, him taking the initiative to press for the designated button for the garage and leaving a wide space in between them.

He eyed the panel, watching the numbers that lit up with each floor. He had two choices—one, assume she had her own thing and let sleeping dogs lie or two, confront her and possibly start a real fight. The first choice would get him home sooner, he was sure, but then it would also leave him wondering, maybe most of the night and have that lead to an awkward following morning. The second would give him an answer maybe and who knows what else?

Glancing surreptitiously at her from the corner of his eye, and caught her grunt once and then roll her eyes, obviously annoyed as she stuffed her cell phone into her bag. Ah, he thought, no signal. Whoever she was texting must be important if she was annoyed about being cut off.

On a normal day, he would tease her about it. But tonight, with a few possible landmines waiting, he wasn't so sure if he was in the mood to brave it out. He'd had a good day, sort of.

So, with that, Will chose to let the matter wait—whatever it was—for later. If her mood persisted through the next morning, then he'd do something about it and reminded himself to try and remember to bring a cup, just in case. She wasn't violent, but Will had dealt with women enough times to just expect the unexpected. A woman had tried to go after his 'family jewels' before, he wouldn't give someone else another chance, not even Diane Lockhart.

All that would have to wait because tonight he was ready to just go to bed. God knew the last few months hadn't given him enough time to sleep.

Truth be told, he was—

The ground they stood on suddenly shook and lurched, taking both passengers by surprise. Will stumbled, Diane grabbed for the walls in vain as grinding noise began to fill the silence loudly, the car they were riding in shuddering almost worryingly.

Will regained his footing, dropping his briefcase and, by pure instinct, reached for Diane just as the ear splitting sound of the emergency breaks taking hold brought with it the sudden stop that left him clutching her body almost too tightly against him, bracing one hand against the wall to his left.

The lights flickered then inevitably shut off, plunging them in darkness for a few seconds before the emergency lights came on, giving the small box an eerily red glow.

"What the hell just happened?" she gasped, slightly out of breath as she squirmed against him slightly.

"It stopped," he said though, uncaring as to how plain and useless that answer sounded as he tried to collect himself after just a bit of momentary panic.

Diane sighed in frustration, pulling from him when he refused to let go of her, pushing his arm away from around her waist as she reached past him onto the panel, pressing the emergency button.

Will took that moment to straighten himself, adjusting his suit and his collar with a slight clearing of his throat. The annoying ringing persisted for a few moments before it ended, sending them once again into silence. Diane sighed, reaching for the phone underneath the panel and surprised him that she even knew there was one there.

"This is Diane Lockhart," she said, her voice carrying on that usual authoritative tone that seemed so natural and fitting on her. "Oh, Lou! Yes, we're, er, stranded here on the elevator between—Oh, I see…" she sighed, "Of course…thank you, yes…thank you."

She hung up, slamming the phone slightly with a grunt of frustration. She turned to Will, his face shadowed by the insufficient amount of light and simply said, "We're stuck."

-o0o-

After having explained to him that there was a city-wide blackout, Diane found herself checking her phone every few minutes, wishing to god a signal would patch through. She was annoyed, god she was, and it wasn't just because she was stuck in the not-too-comfortable elevator with midnight creeping in closer. The heat was already coming in and it was not helping at all with her mood.

"Jesus, it's getting hot…" Will groaned, sprawled in 'his' corner of the elevator and hastily pulled off his jacket and began to roll up his sleeves.

"Mhm," Diane hummed, still standing though leaning sideways on 'her' side of the elevator. She was wearing one of her favorite Armani suits, unwilling to risk damaging it until she absolutely had to. She was willing to hold on as long as possible, hoping she wouldn't have to resort to getting on the ground before the power could come back.

"Aren't you tired of standing?"

"No," she checked her phone again, bringing her phone back to life with the glowing white light from the device.

"Come on, Diane," Will began, "We've been here practically forever, get over the suit—I'll buy you another if you want, just sit down."

"We've been here for fifteen minutes," she muttered, annoyed at how he knew why she wouldn't relent. "I've stood longer in court."

"Yeah, but you got to walk," Will quipped, "We're cramped in this tiny box."

"Thank you for reminding me," she said dryly.

Will stared at her silently for a moment then shook his head. He was tempted to say something, to question why she was behaving this way towards him, but he couldn't take a chance starting a fight in there. The space was small, giving them nowhere to run or walk away from and risking both sides of doing or saying something they would later regret.

They both had tempers and they were quite adept to pushing each others to instigate a monumental fight. If anything, they were great sparring partners.

So, instead, Will balled up his jacket, uncaring how much it cost and tucked it between his head and the walls of the elevator, crossing his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. They were going to be there for a while, he might as well get some sleep. Heaven knew he needed it.

Diane remained standing and checked her phone for the time again.

Twenty minutes and counting.

-o0o-

"I'm bored."

She looked up, having finally relented when her time check told her they'd been there for forty-five minutes already and decided that sitting down was more important than keeping her suit clean. She was somewhat surprised they'd managed to stay that long without speaking, but of course, it had to be him who would break the silence.

Diane was perfectly fine at keeping quiet, but apparently, he wasn't.

Will sighed, "I'm bored."

Diane rolled her eyes, "I heard you the first time."

"Yes, I know, but I'm still bored."

"And you saying it over and over again won't change the fact."

Will groaned, "Come on, Diane."

"Didn't you bring one of those ratty old balls you like playing with?"

"Hey, those are collector's items, Babe Ruth—"

"Don't talk to me about food," she muttered, "Not unless you're hiding take out from Fabio's there."

"I was talking about the baseball player."

"And the baseball player has the same name as food so don't talk about it."

"But I'm telling you—"

"Will," she gave him a look that clearly said 'shut up or I'll bite your head off'. Even in the dim red emergency lights of the elevator, he could still see that look clearly. In fact, in the weird lights, it looked scarier. Not that he'd admit it to her.

He sighed, "Now I'm hungry."

"I liked you better when you were bored."

-o0o-

"Don't you have anything in your bag?"

"Like what?" she asked, glancing at her bag where she'd placed it opposite from her.

"Women carry things," he replied, "I'm sure you have…something in there."

"Like what?"

"Food?"

She thought for a moment, "Hm…"

"I'm hungry."

"And…?"

Will raised his eyebrows, "So do you have anything in your bag?"

"Maybe."

"Can I have some?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because," she paused, "I said so."

"Oh, come on, Diane!"

-o0o-

"I bet there's a way out, up there…"

She snorted in a very un-ladylike manner, following his eyes heavenward, both of them staring at the black square over their heads. "Someone's seen Die Hard one too many times."

"Hey, at least I'm trying," he groused, frowning slightly.

She began to chuckle, "Of course."

"Come on, if I can just reach up there," he pointed. "I can—"

"The day I give you a boost is the day I go on television and declare my love for Sarah Palin."

"Oh, kinky," he teased, only to have her give him the look again. "Okay, never mind. Come on, if you want, I'll give you a boost and—"

"Over my dead rotting body."

"Wow, that's attractive."

"Shut up."

-o0o-

"I didn't know you eat chocolate."

"What?"

Will stopped, chewing slightly before continuing, "No, wait. I mean, I didn't know you put food in your purse, let alone chocolate."

"I don't," she shrugged, waving her half of a Snickers bar at him slightly, "This was for my nephew."

"Nicky's in town?"

"Was supposed to be," she replied.

"What happened?"

"The flu happened."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged, "So am I."

He finished his half, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," she shrugged, "I did it just to shut you up."

He chuckled.

-o0o-

"Okay, here—"

"If you give me one more riddle, I swear to god I will not be held responsible for my actions."

Will stopped, "You're no fun."

"We've been here for an hour, Will, an hour," she snapped, sounding more irritated than before "I don't think that gives me any reason to be fun."

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, eyes wide as if he'd just as her for a kidney.

"Can I borrow your phone?" he said, slower this time only to have a tube of lipstick thrown at him. "Hey!"

-o0o-

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm keeping it, until we get out," he said, tucking his hands behind him as he kept his back to the wall, enjoying how she barred her teeth at him. It was fun antagonizing her and it was okay because there wasn't much else to do. "You'll get it back, I promise."

She could give him the look, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't really kill him.

"Give it."

Okay, maybe she might just kill him.

He pretended to think for a moment, "No."

Then again, the day God gave out sense of self-preservation, Will Gardner must have been passed out somewhere so, naturally, he kept poking the lion that was Diane Lockhart.

"Don't be childish," she growled, her feathers completely ruffled as she tried to kick him with her expensive shoe. He didn't budge and instead, closed his eyes again, "Will, damn it."

"Potty mouth won't get you your phone back, Diane."

"Screw you."

"Oh, wow, that's eloquent, coming from the great Diane Lockhart."

"Will."

"That's my name, yes."

"Stop it."

"Hm, no."

"Don't be stupid."

"Why do you want your phone back so bad anyway?" he asked, grinning. "No signal so it's useless and the more you count the minutes, the more irritated you'll get which means the more you'll bite my head off."

"I'm already more irritated, by you."

"Oh, thanks, I'm touched," he grinned.

"Give it back!"

"Or what?" this was getting kind of fun. Will wondered if this was how it must be to have siblings.

"I'll kick your ass."

He laughed, "What are you hiding anyway?"

She glared at him, "Nothing."

His eyes widened and a gleeful smile spread across his face, "Oh, wait. It's not a what, it's a who."

"Will, I'm serious."

He chuckled, pulling the phone from behind his back as he began to press the keys randomly, pretending to find something interesting. He wasn't really going to violate her privacy, it was just really fun to annoy her at the moment.

"Ooh," he teased, "What do we have here?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Too late," he laughed. "Ooh, Diane, what do we have he—"

She lunged.

-o0o-

"That was so unprofessional," he muttered, rubbing the side of his head where she'd pulled on his hair until he gave her phone back. He was sure she managed to rip a few strands off the roots.

"Yeah, sue me."

"I just might."

"I'll counter sue."

"On what grounds?" he sputtered, still holding the side of his head.

"You being stupid."

"Oh, that's mature."

She smirked, "Back at ya, babe."

-o0o-

Will took a deep breath before saying, "Let's play."

Diane turned her head slowly, arms crossed over her chest with one hand protecting the cell phone she'd wrestled out of his grip, "Let's not."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"That's what they say about sky diving, but you don't see me signing up for it, do you?"

"Why are you so sarcastic tonight?"

"Why are you so annoying?"

"I'm being me."

"I'm being me."

"Diane…"

"Will…"

"Truth or dare?"

"Oh, for god's sake!"

-o0o-

Diane closed her eyes, breathing in deeply then letting the air out in a soft whoosh. Will watched, curious with his head tilted to the side.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Counting," her eyes remained closed and her breathing continued.

"Counting for what?"

"Just counting."

"Why?"

"So I won't end up killing you."

-o0o-

"Diane?"

"What?"

"You okay?"

"Mhm."

She had thawed somewhat but it had taken him offering her his rolled up jacket to use as a pillow. It was a peace offering for something he had no idea for. He was uncomfortable now, but at least she wasn't biting his head off.

He mentally recounted the things he had in his briefcase, wondering what else he could offer.

-o0o-

Five minutes later, Will still hadn't found anything.

Maybe it was time to try out that Die Hard thing…

-o0o-

"Diane?"

"What?" she sounded irritated and he was pretty sure he'd messed up. She'd been sleeping, how did he not notice?

For once, he wished more women snored.

-o0o-

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Well, you did, so what do you want?" her eyes were closed, but her lips had been a thin line before she'd spoken. Not a good sign. Maybe she really was going to kill him tonight.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" she opened her eyes, raising an eyebrow at him.

He stopped then hesitantly added, "For whatever you did to make you mad at me."

Silence then, "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

She threw his jacket back at him and it hit him in the face.

-o0o-

"Diane…"

"Will, one more and I will strangle you with your own tie."

"You wouldn't. You'd go to jail."

"Trust me," she glared at him, "It'd be worth it."

-o0o-

Another hour passed and this time, the silence lasted although, because God probably decided it was a good night to pick on her, Will chose to break it again.

"Why are you so mad at me?"

She looked at him, a lock of hair falling in from her head and across her eye, "If you have to ask…"

"Come on," he said, completely serious now. "I honestly don't know, just tell me. I don't wanna play games anymore."

"What if I said I'm mad at you just because?"

"You're never mad just because," he said. "You're above that kind of behavior."

"You never know, Will," she said, sounding nonchalant though she was anything but. "I mean, after all, just how well can you really know a person?"

"You're talking in riddles," he muttered, "Just tell me, Diane. We'll probably be here all night and—"

"Watch your mouth!"

"—the least we can do is do something with our time here," he said, ignoring her insert. "Just tell me so we can fix this."

"Wow."

"…what?"

"You're being rational and reasonable," she said, feigning surprise quite well. "I wish I had a signal—I need to call hell and ask just how cold it is down there now."

"God, Diane!" he exploded.

She smirked, "Ah, and there he is."

-o0o-

"If I buy you dinner…" he paused then looked around, "Or breakfast—"

He stopped when she glared at him.

"I mean, dinner," he reiterated, "Will you forgive me?"

"No."

-o0o-

"Diane, come on. Why are you so pissed?"

She glared at him, her jaw clenching, "You really wanna know why I'm mad at you?"

"So, you admit you're mad at me."

"Gee, what was your first clue?" Diane said sarcastically. "Want a gold star for that?"

"Sarcasm and condescension," Will mused, refusing to let her get to him again. "I must've really screwed up this time."

Diane stared at him for a moment, her eyes meeting his easily even if there was minimal lighting. He met her eyes head on, refusing to let her win, clearly telling her that whatever she had to say, he could take it. He meant what he said about wanting to fix things and this was his way of convincing her of that.

"Why did you lie to me about knowing Derrick Bond?"

-o0o-

They were standing now, though this time both of them had subconsciously taken their respective battle stance. Will had long thrown and kicked his balled up jacket to the side though he'd also viciously ripped his tie off earlier, leaving him less presentable than normal. Diane, on the other hand, was still completely dressed though her suit was a little worse for wear.

Yet somehow, both of them shared the same look of anger and fury as they squared off in the tiny box.

And the space seemed smaller now that they were both ripping into each other ruthlessly, the pretense of a pleasant little environment long gone.

"It was the only way you were ever going to agree to let him in!"

"So you lied to me! That was your big solution?"

"Yes!"

"Well, brilliant job, Will! A lot of good this is doing us now!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you talked to David lately?"

"Like I could since you've been so CHUMMY with him!"

"That's me doing MY JOB, Will!"

"Oh, really? Hiding in corners, giggling together and cozying it up, YEAH RIGHT!"

"Are you—Oh, this is PRICELESS!"

"What?"

"NOW you're accusing ME of sneaking around?"

"I did not say that!"

"Well you sure implied it!"

"You're putting words in my mouth!"

"I ripped them from your mouth, Will. You didn't have the balls to say it, but you surely had no problem implying it!"

"Oh, for God's sake!"

"Oh, who's being eloquent now?"

"Stop being so sarcastic!"

"Stop lying!"

"I'm not! You're the one sneaking around with DAVID LEE!"

"HE was threatening to pull out, I was trying to make him STAY!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your buddy Derrick? Well, he sure has a GREAT way of making friends with one of our top earning partners!"

"So now it's MY fault?"

"YOU BROUGHT HIM IN HERE!"

"NO! You brought him in HERE!"

"Oh, don't YOU pin this on ME! You manipulated ME into bringing him in here!"

"Like that was ever possible!"

"Apparently it was, see? Well, thank you, Will! Great job."

"Quit being so sarcastic!"

"Quit putting this on ME when I'm the one trying to keep this place together!"

They were oblivious to the fact that they could be heard all the way down to where Lou, the night janitor, was trying to find a way to get them out sooner in the main lobby. With him was Tony, one of the night guards, was holding a flash light, staring at the closed silver doors with wonder.

"Hurry the hell up, Lou," Tony muttered.

"I ain't god, Tony, I can't just make it go."

"Well, you better do something because, shit," the older man shook his head, "This time it sounds like they're really gonna kill each other."

"With any luck, we'll be the only witnesses…" Lou muttered, trying to work even when there was still no power. The voices were getting louder.

"My money's on Lockhart."

Lou paused, listening to the voices then shook his head, "Keep your money, man. No way I'm betting against that one."

-o0o-

"Oh, PLEASE! God, Diane, sometimes you make me wanna…"

"Wanna what?"

"DERRICK WANTS TO BUY YOU OUT!"

"Oh, Derrick wants that, huh? And let me guess, you're thinking about doing the same thing, right? Admit it!"

"You know what? YES, that option is looking really good right now!"

Will stopped, waiting for her to reply, only to have her stop. Her eyes grew dark and, slowly, she started to nod, as if coming to a silent acceptance. He felt his body grow cold, realizing he hadn't meant to say those words, even the part about Derrick Bond thinking of buying her out.

"I-I…" he stopped, trying to calm his breathing, seeing her do the same. "I didn't mean that."

Diane nodded, her eyes meeting his, "I think you did, Will."

"I'm—No, I didn't…Diane, I swear I—"

She raised her hand, palm facing him, tearing her eyes away from his, "I think we've said everything we needed to say tonight."

"Diane…"

"I'm tired," she said, turning away from him, "Just…just don't talk me anymore."

-o0o-

"I've been very satisfied with your services and you'll be glad to know, my clients feel the same way."

Diane sat down, facing her new visitor, "Well, that's good to know."

"But…" he stopped then shook his head.

"What?"

He stopped, then grinned, "You know what? Never mind."

"No, really, what?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Oh, it's…nothing," Eli Gold shook his head, waving his hands in the air, "I mean, rumors around this city…well, you certainly know how ridiculous those can get here."

"Rumors?" she quirked an eyebrow, obviously having had her interest piqued.

He shrugged, "Just the usual stuff."

"Like?" she raised an eyebrow.

Eli shook his head, "It's nothing."

She didn't say anything and instead, continued to stare at him.

"Fine," he said, smiling slightly. "You helped me…and Peter. So I'll tell you what I've been hearing." He adjusted himself in his seat, "But mind you, it really isn't anything interesting. Just your usual Chicago political mind screwing."

"Humor me," she gave him a humorless smile.

He'd notice early on she wasn't in the mood to play bullshit, which was a first. She'd always been one of the few who didn't have a stick up their asses in the city and he actually liked her but with her behavior that day, all business and no play, made a part of Eli Gold wonder if perhaps there was something to those rumors.

"Well…"

And there was only one way to find out and what better time when she was actually inviting him to ask the question now?

"There've been talks, people whispering," he shrugged, "About Lockhart, Gardner & Bond breaking up."

He expected her to laugh it off, tell him it was nonsense and reassure him that it was just another pack of stinking lies other firms were cooking up to try and snatch their clients. She did none of that.

Instead, she sat back in her seat.

It was Eli's turn to raise his eyebrows, "Diane…?"

Her eyes met his, green eyes meeting brown.

"I'm starting a new firm with David Lee."