I (unfortunately) own nothing.
The Colour of Skittles
Sara sat at the bar, shoulders hunched; hand clasped around an almost empty glass. She had lost count of how many drinks she had consumed, how many memories she had tried (so far unsuccessfully) to erase, how times she had felt like just screaming out in anger. It was as if her entire world had collapsed around her. She had needed an escape, an escape from her old life, the old Sara Sidle. So she had left Las Vegas and found herself drowning her troubles in New York. Sometimes, it felt as if she had never left. As if any moment she would turn her head to find the face of someone from her past staring back at her.
As if to prove her drunken thought wrong, Sara turned her head slightly. 'Humph' she muttered to herself, almost spilling her drink. There was no one there. Well, no familiar faces, no one that caught Sara's eye. On second thought, there was someone who caught her eye. Someone who she had never seen before.
Sara turned around once more and looked over at the brunette woman standing over by the door. She was talking to a blonde woman in a business suit. The brunette woman was laughing. It was the first truly happy scene, imagined or otherwise, that Sara had seen for weeks. A warm feeling rose inside of her. She felt a strong urge to go and talk to the woman. Sara was half way out of her seat when she realised how drunk she was and sat back down, almost sliding off the stool. She turned her back on the woman once more while she argued back and worth in her head whether or not she should introduce herself. A part of her knew that it is never a good idea to talk to someone while you were drunk- not someone that you want to impress and not while they were not drunk themselves. And not someone that beautiful. On the other hand, another part of her mind, possibly the part influenced by alcohol, told her that it was now or never. It is New York City; she would never see the woman again. The part of her mind most heavily influenced from the liquor just shouted demands for her to run over there and have her way with the woman on the pool tables but Sara quickly silences those particular thoughts and slunked away to the ladies room to clear her head.
Splashing water over her rosy face, Sara looked up into her reflection. Her usually impeccably straight chocolate brown hair looked the way it did after it had lost an argument with humidity. Her skin looked dehydrated and unappealing and her eyes were not focusing. Breathing out a heavy breath, Sara decided that the second voice was right- it was now or never. She would never see this woman again, so what did it matter if this woman rejected her on account of her overt drunkenness, at least it would not be another regret she would add to her ever-growing list.
Suddenly, Sara felt butterflies in her stomach and she had to clutch the tap once more to steady her self. She figured that a moment of hesitation was probably a good thing; it was an indicator that she was possibly sobering up. Or maybe it was just that she had not approached any one like this in a bar before. Scratch that, Sara had never approached anyone like this before, in a bar or otherwise before.
'Don't be stupid,' Sara told herself, 'You only saw this woman for a moment. You can't possibly feel anything for a complete stranger you saw for a second while drunk in a bar. Besides, she has probably already left by now.'
Then another thought occurred to Sara. The blonde woman. What if the mystery woman was already taken? That did not seem likely by their body language. Plus, the blonde woman was sending out strong hetero vibes. Then another thought came crashing down on her- what if the woman was not even gay?
'Stop it!' Sara said out loud to her reflection. She walked determinedly out of the bathroom. She was done torturing herself.
Sara scanned the bar for any hint of the beautiful, brunette woman. She had been replaced at the doorway by three men who appeared to be having an argument over the colour of Skittles.
Sara's heart gave a leap almost a second before her eyes even focused properly on the mystery woman, who had taken a seat at the bar; just four stools from where Sara had spent a good several hours. She began to make her way over, patting her hair and straightening her shirt as she went. At the last minute, Sara lost her nerve and dove back into her old seat.
'Ready for another one?' The plumb bar tender asked.
'Uh, sure, why not,' She answered. Why not? Because the most gorgeous woman in the world is sitting just a few stools away from you!
Sara turned her head slightly to get another glimpse of the woman as the bar man clunked the glass in front of her.
The woman was still talking to the blonde lady who obscured Sara's view. In between sips, Sara was able to sneak snippets of the woman. Her stylish hair. Her deep, dark eyes that appeared to hold both wisdom and untapped emotion. Her lips- Sara could not stop staring at those lips. They seemed to pull Sara in closer, like gravity. It felt right.
Sara downed the last of her beverage and was about to get to her feet but the blonde woman bet her to it. Sara quickly turned her head but continued to watch out of the corner of her eye. The blonde woman was touching the brunette woman on the arm. Sara could not hear what was being said over the general murmur of the bar and before she knew it, the blonde woman had disappeared.
Sara finally decided to make her move. Focusing on not stumbling, Sara got out of her seat once more and walked gingerly over to the woman who turned to face her.
'Hi' she said brightly.
Oh god, Sara thought, she is talking to me.
'Hey, mind if I take a seat?'
'Go right ahead.'
Sara fumbled a little before getting a grip on herself and taking a seat in the stool that was still warm from the blonde woman's bottom.
'So ah, how has your night been?' Sara asked, trying desperately to act both suave and sober. So far, she was failing miserably at both.
'My night has been okay, for once. I don't normally do this but maybe I should make time for it more often.'
Make time for what? Going out on a date with a hot blonde? Sara realised she was being ridiculous and that if she did not respond soon things would become socially awkward.
'You're not much for the bar scene then?'
'Not usually. The last time I set foot in this place was on a case… gosh, I don't even know how long ago.'
'A case?' Sara asked. Oh no. This did not sound good. Just when she thought she was getting away from all that.
'Sorry, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Olivia Benson. I'm a detective for the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. We specialise in investigating sex crimes.'
She stopped, seeing the dark look that clouded Sara's face.
'Sorry, does that-'
'Oh, no, its just that,' Sara started to explain. Then paused, searching for the words. After a moment, she gave up and started over, 'I'm Sara Sidle. I'm a forensic investigator for the Las Vegas… well, I used to be. I don't really know any more.'
She started down at her lap, embarrassed to have come off so emotionally vulnerable and unsure of herself.
'It sounds like your career isn't something you want to be thinking about right now. How about I order us both another drink?' Olivia offered.
'Oh no, thank you. I think I've had too much to drink already.'
Olivia smiled at her, making Sara's stomach melt.
'So what brings you to New York? Or is that a touchy subject, too?'
Sara felt her face burn. In less than five minutes she had already ruined any chance of a good first impression.
'We all have demons. We just need to learn how to show them whose boss,' Olivia told her, once again giving Sara her million dollar smile.
Sara smiled back. The first genuine smile she had given anyone for weeks.
'Is it too late to take you up on that drink?' Sara asked.
'Not if you're buying,' Olivia answered, giving Sara a sly wink.
Once the pair both had a glass in their hands, Sara's confidence began to grow and she asked as casually as she could, 'So that blonde woman before, is she…?'
'Someone from work,' said Olivia.
Sara was unsure whether it was a question or a statement, so she continued, 'So are you two…?'
Olivia gave a short laugh and stared down at her glass.
Finally she answered, 'It's complicated, I guess. I wish I even knew. We're not together though, if that's what you're asking.'
A warm feeling that had nothing to do with the copious amount of alcohol she had consumed flowed through Sara's body. Things finally seemed to be looking up.
This is one my first attempts at actually writing a femslash cross over and the first fan fiction I have published, so if you're going to be critical, please make it creative! Also, there are more chapters to come!
