He was already waiting when the cage arrived. How had he... but it didn't matter. He was blocking her, effectively covering the gap in the door with his body.
Close enough for her to catch whiffs of that expensive cologne he liked (he never bothered with aftershave- the mixed blessing of having such a babyface) she focused on his wardrobe. Mmm, the grey suit she liked, and he was wearing that lilac striped shirt she'd gotten him for his birthday. It looked amazing with the pink stripes in his tie, Alicia noted- even as she tried not to think about eating him up with a spoon.
"No, no, no, no."
"Cary I just need to get something." It wasn't quite Mom-licia voice, but she was hoping she could bluff him just the same.
He cocked his head and pinned her with that Really? look he could do so well, daring her to lie to him. "What?" It was a challenge: speak now or I'll know you're making something up. Fortunately, she really did need to get something.
"My scarf... and my laptop."
"Stay here." He tipped up a finger, moving just out of the gap for a second to call Kim, trusting her to stay put without him playing human door. She rolled her eyes at the gesture, but felt her mouth arrange into an actual, amused, happy smile. He didn't call her Alicia in front of certain people, she noticed; he always did when they were alone, or working. But she was still trying to suss out exactly what made him revert to her full married title- so far with little success.
When she threw in the addendum to Kim about her laptop, Cary matched her pitch and countered with a "No!"
"Cary!" she exclaimed, trying to actually be outraged at his maneuver.
"You'll just work. And you're not supposed to work." She pouted at that- pinned her eyes to the floor, slumped a bit against the wall and pulled her lips into an honest-to-goodness pout. Then she changed tactics. Her eyes flicked up and she asked about a case. His simple put-off of "it's good" was punctuated with him showing his profile as he watched Kim's progress across the office floor.
"Well, are they paying?"
Kim arrived around the corner, and Cary took Alicia's things while he replied with a maddening, "I'll tell you tomorrow." She felt her eyes roll up again, but her lips insisted on smiling anyway. He wasn't being heavy-handed, she knew- more like... protective. It was sweet, really- even if it did get on her nerves.
"Okay!" he said, once Kim had retreated out of earshot. He wrapped the scarf around her neck and closed the ends in his hand. "Now..." Exerting the slightest pressure, he tugged her forward and brushed his lips over hers. Lost in the sensation of the split second, Alicia didn't even notice until he drew back that he'd pressed the button to send the elevator back down.
Sliding her unresisting into the cage, he orders her to go have some fun and sets her world moving.
A/N: this scene was just a little too... adorable and 'let me take care of you'. couldn't help it, so I ficced it.
I'm considering another little bit about the end of the episode. any thoughts?
anyway, hope you liked it. whether you did or not, feel free to leave me comments. I like comments.
