Disclaimer: The characters, and the premise upon which they are based, definitely do not belong to me. A girl can dream, though...
Author's Note: Again, this was a practice piece to work on my one-shot ability. Nothing too Christmas-y here, but it kind of revolves around that specific holiday. Please take the time to let me know your thoughts. Pardon any mistakes, I wrote this very quickly because I was under a lot of pressure (ahem, you know who you are).
"Big Christmas plans this year?" Angie sprung on her partner unexpectedly as they boarded the elevator.
Shooting a glare at his partner, Oscar deliberately stabbed the button for the ground floor with extended middle finger. Scoffing loudly, he turned around to see her looking at him expectantly. Rolling his eyes, he debated changing the subject.
"Yes?" Angie hissed through a bright smile and eager eyes.
"About as big as they are every year," Oscar replied as he settled back against the far wall by her side. Sighing heavily, he watched the numbers illuminate and fade one by one as they descended.
"Wait - are you actually going to spend Christmas Day with your father and...Tracey? Stacey? Lacey?" she asked, purposely goading him into glaring at her once more.
"Kaci - with an 'I'," Oscar groused. Hardly one to be described as grouchy, this year had been enough to try the patience of a saint.
"The point remains that I'm sure Kaci-with-an-'I' and your father would love to see you," Angie nudged her partner good-naturedly. "Besides, you could use a little eggnog," she added for good measure with a wink.
"They're spending the holiday in Hawaii," Oscar rolled his eyes as his elbow flopped at Angie's persistent push. Arm askew, he glanced across his shoulder to see Angie's jaw drop.
"Like Frank-Sinatra-Mele-Kahlua-palm-tree-white-sandy-beach-Christmas?!" Angie shrieked, tugging the wool-clad elbow of his coat back.
"It was Bing Crosby, Ang," Oscar chuckled softly at her excitement. "And it's 'Mele Kalikimaka'," as he slid his elbow from her tight grip.
"Bless you," she answered smoothly, leaving Oscar unsure if she really was messing with him. "Does that mean -," Angie began, question dying on her lips as a loud groan echoed around the small cabin. Gripping her partner's elbow once more, her bright blue eyes darted around the space before settling back on Oscar. "What the hell was that?"
Remaining calm as usual, Oscar smirked at his partner. "It's due for a maintenance check. I'm sure it's -," he replied only to be cut off by another loud groan and jolt of the elevator car as it came to a sudden stop, pitching the two partners into complete darkness.
After a moment of silence interrupted only by the sound of soft breathing, a quiet hum started in time with a soft glow being emitted from the far corner in the form of an emergency light.
"- no big deal," Oscar finished as he turned back to the control panel. None of the buttons appeared to be lit, which mildly concerned him. Pushing a couple buttons with no response, Oscar frowned lightly as he pried open the emergency telephone door. Lifting the handle from the cradle, he pulled it towards him.
Shielding her face with one hand with the other settled across her hip, Angie looked up at him hopefully. Nearly yanking the phone from his hand, Angie brought it to her ear; "Hello? Hello?!" she shouted impatiently.
Pulling the wired end out of the makeshift box, Oscar pursed his lips as loose ends of multicolored wire poked out of the end that was supposed to be connected to the device.
Pointing an accusatory finger toward the wires with the handset of the phone still held up to her ear, Angie squinted her eyes at the bright color and back at Oscar. "What. In. The. Hell. Is. That?" she asked curtly as she finally lowered the device.
"I - uh - I imagine it might have something to do with the maintenance check," Oscar supplied sheepishly, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
Letting the phone slip from her fingertips, Angie huffed loudly as she attempted to pace across the small space. A step and a half later, she spun before hitting the wall no more than three feet away.
Scooting his lower body away from the potentially dangerous object as it swung in its pendulum like state towards his waist, Oscar narrowly avoided a minor catastrophe as he repelled the device back towards his grasp. Sighing loudly, he reached into his own pocket to check his phone for signal; returning the device upon being unsuccessful. Gripping the emergency phone tightly, he stared down at it before slamming it into the cradle a handful of times in frustration; finally settling it down gently for the last time.
A soft 'ahem' drew his attention towards Angie, who stood in the corner with eyes wide. "Feel better, do ya?"
Oscar let his eyelids close in resignation, almost regretting his actions immediately. "Sorry; it's been -," he attempted to apologize as Angie interrupted.
"I was a little surprised, that's all," Angie offered quietly. "Wanna talk about it?"
Brushing a hand across his chin thoughtfully, Oscar released his bottom lip from between his teeth as he spoke, "Difficult time of year." Glancing back at her, he nodded his chin in her direction as she pulled her own phone out of her back pocket. "You picking up anything?" Oscar inquired as he flicked his hand towards Angie in askance.
Angie leaned against the wall as she smacked it with her palm a couple times. Extending her arm above her, Angie waved the device back and forth without luck. "Nope," she sighed, lips popping with a puff at her response as she brought her arm back down dejectedly.
Sliding down the far wall, Angie pulled her knees up towards her chest as she settled her chin upon her joints. "What do you suppose we do?" Angie asked, words somewhat muffled by her mouth barely moving.
Running a hand through his dark curls, Oscar stared quietly at the floor as he attempted to devise a plan. "Pretty much everyone's gone for the evening, and we can only expect a skeleton crew for Christmas Eve tomorrow depending on how long we're in here," he replied as he looked down at his watch. "Merry Christmas Eve, by the way."
"Seriously?" Angie asked, glancing at her own watch. "Shit," she muttered to her knees.
Smiling down at her, Oscar stood with his hands on his hips as he watched his partner's facial expression screw up tightly. "Ruining your big plans for the day?" Oscar questioned. Settling down onto the floor to Angie's right, Oscar extended his legs parallel to hers.
Shaking her head in response, Angie's head lolled to the side as she glanced over at him. Hugging her knees tighter to fight the chill creeping up her backside from the cold tile floor, she lifted her head once more. "Just last minute shopping, so I'm ready to shake the tree with the offspring," Angie replied.
"I thought Manny wasn't going to be home for Christmas," Oscar responded as he dropped his head back to the wood paneling behind him. Turning his head towards Angie, his eyebrows lifted in curiosity.
Angie shrugged. "The Whistler trip with friends fell through, which of course means I get to deal with him and put up -," she explained, attempting to gain sympathy from the man before he cut her off.
"The tree you neglected to put up a month ago," Oscar smirked at Angie as she stuck her tongue out in retaliation. "And you say I'm in need of cheer and eggnog," he joked about her Christmas spirit.
"I am not a Scrooge, and that's only because I want to see you liquored up and wasted," Angie threw back. "Besides, you wouldn't know a sprig of mistletoe if it smacked you in the face."
"All you've gotta do is ask," Oscar replied with a smirk; eyebrows dancing briefly as his head rolled down to look at her closely. "And who needs mistletoe anyway?"
Nudging his shoulder with her own, Angie laughed quietly at her partner as she rolled eyes in disbelief. "Careful about making promises you can't keep," she warned causing Oscar to laugh for a moment. Leaning back towards her former position, Angie fiddled with her phone for a couple more minutes before sighing in defeat as her feet stretched out and her shoulders trembled quickly.
"No luck?" Oscar asked, shrugging out of his winter coat. With a small flick of his wrist, Oscar spread the wool fabric over Angie's outstretched legs as she shook her head negatively. "Hopefully someone will find us before we need to - you know - go," he joked quietly.
"Forget that - I'm hungry," Angie moaned loudly.
Shooting his partner a concerned look, Oscar glanced at his watch once more. "Ang - we just ate, like, three hours ago," he responded. "You ate an entire combo meal of Sweet and Sour chicken, plus half of my Lo Mein noodles; how could you possibly be hungry?"
"It's called dessert - namely, chocolate," Angie replied. "God, I could use some chocolate right now," she mumbled.
"What's the deal with you women and your chocolate?" Oscar egged her on.
"Do you have a death wish, or have you just been hanging out with Lucas too long? You can't be that stupid, so what do you mean 'you women and your chocolate'?" Angie snapped her gaze to her partner.
Grinning widely at her, Oscar was amused at the strong response from her. "Don't get me wrong, I like chocolate as much as the next guy. But women seem to have some kind of strange infatuation with it," he explained as he laughed.
Twirling a small handful of blonde curls around her finger, Angie gazed at the far wall as if she were staring at her favorite treat. "It's a gift from the gods, Vega. The experience of that first taste is unrivaled, especially when you add peanut butter. Oh, I'm fairly certain I'd marry the man who shared his Reese's with me," Angie sighed.
"Wow, you're easy," Oscar remarked, and then suddenly realized what he had said. Cheeks rapidly flushing pink as his eyes widened. Fixing him with a glare that spoke volumes, Oscar stuttered through a scattered apology and reached towards her lap.
Staring wide-eyed at her partner, Angie wasn't exactly sure what to do when his hand disappeared into one of the pockets. With his hand fishing around unsuccessfully, Oscar's hand quickly switched to the other pocket; Angie's nerves tingling from where the warmth of his hand brushed across her thighs.
Suddenly, a muted crinkle could be heard from within the pocket. Flicking her gaze towards Oscar, Angie shoved her hand into the pocket with his and removed a bright orange package, each of their hands attached to one end of the wrapper. Mouth dropping open in shock, Angie looked back at her partner and tugged on her end.
Gripping the wrapper tightly, Oscar pinched his end and pulled back in response. Smiling smugly when Angie's fingers slipped from the surface, he lifted the package above his head as Angie chased his moving hand. Leaning away from his partner, Oscar soon found himself quite literally backed into a corner as his back slid down the side wall until the back of his head thudded against the back wall.
Quickly bringing up a hand to stifle her laugh, Angie's shoulders shook in quiet amusement. Seizing the opportunity as Oscar rubbed the side of his head; she stole the peanut butter treat.
"You fight dirty," Oscar mumbled around a smirk as he continued to rub his head. "What are the odds you are going to share my peanut butter Christmas tree with me?" he interrogated the offender.
"You didn't tell me that you were hoarding food. As my fellow prisoner, Vega, we're supposed to work together. Why would I share it with you now that I know I can't trust you?" Angie asked with a pout.
"Because it's my candy, an important detail that you somehow continue to overlook," Oscar supplied simply. Moving closer to his face closer to hers, Oscar's flicked down from her bright blue eyes to her pouting lips, and back up. "Or, maybe because sharing is caring," he whispered. As his gaze met hers once more, he could easily see that she was no longer paying close attention to the candy.
Noticing Angie's momentary distraction, Oscar snatched the candy from lap. Tearing into the package, Oscar carefully peeled it back from the paper tray before Angie had even realized what happened. Chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully, Oscar glanced at his partner before extending the treat in her direction. "Merry Christmas, Ang," he smiled softly at her.
Hesitantly accepting the gift from Oscar, she smiled at him shyly before taking a small bite. "Oh, God," Angie moaned as her eyes rolled back and her eyelids fluttered closed. A small humming noise arising out of the back of her throat, Angie kept her eyes closed as she finished the treat with another bite.
Swallowing thickly, Oscar stared intently as Angie licked her lips; choking lightly when she sucked the tips of her fingers. A short, muffled cough from Oscar brought Angie's concerned gaze back to him. With his eyes watering, Oscar stared up at the ceiling before letting his head drop back against the wall in embarrassment.
Before Angie could voice her concern, the elevator car hummed with the lights flickering back on as it shuddered to life. Whipping her head around to inspect the small space quickly, Angie jumped to her feet and dropped her anxious gaze down to her partner. "We're going home!" she shouted as she tugged Oscar to his feet. Draping his coat over his forearm, he slipped the remaining candy wrapper into his pocket as the doors slowly parted.
Leading him to the front entrance, Angie stopped just outside the glass doors and stared out toward the empty street and looked over to open parking lot. Turning back to face Oscar, she dropped his hand as he moved to put his coat back on; watching his expression carefully as he thumbed the large buttons through their respective eyelets. "Oscar, be honest with me...what are you really doing tomorrow?"
Finishing the last button, he peered up at her from underneath his eyebrows. "I imagine if its anything like last year, then it's probably just a dinner date with 'It's a Wonderful Life', until we get called in." Lifting his eyes to meet her gaze fully, he quirked his eyebrow in askance.
"Come over," Angie blurted suddenly. Tugging her coat sleeves over the heels of her hands, she toyed with the ends of the fabric, fidgeting in the cold as her breath mingled with his in puffs of condensation.
"Wha-," he began.
Reaching out with frozen fingers, she closed the gap between them and kissed him squarely on the lips; the pink fullness of her flesh slipping over his slightly chapped ones in the cold of the night. Withdrawing slowly, her eyelids fluttered as she attempted to refocus with her icy fingers still splayed across his cheeks. Slowly lowering her fingers, Angie whispered a soft, "Merry Christmas, Oscar," and began to walk towards her car.
Oscar's own eyelids snapped open quickly as his brain seemed to register the previous moment. Clearing his throat lightly, his eyes looked for Angie's face in a search for understanding. Noticing that she had moved away from him, he watched her retreating form as she walked away. "Wait -," he called out, jogging after her when she didn't stop. "Angie!" he tried once more, catching up as she reached her vehicle.
Staring down at the cement beneath her boots, Angie lightly kicked a small stone out from between them. When Oscar didn't break the silence between them, she finally worked up the courage to meet his gaze.
"What was that?" Oscar asked, lifting his arm to point back in the direction from which they had just come.
Shrugging uncertainly, Angie turned towards her own vehicle; stopping in surprise when Oscar stepped around her quickly and cut off her path. "I don't know, okay? Tonight was the most - the most us," she said gesturing between them, "we've been in a long time. If you can believe it, I think I had fun being stuck in some godforsaken elevator with my best friend."
Watching her curiously, Oscar smiled as she brushed her curls away from her face as she looked about in a bundle of nervous energy. Reaching up with her hand once more to go through the motion again, he quickly grasped her hand; the cold lines of her keys and fingers nearly indistinguishable from one another. "Me too, Angie; me too," Oscar whispered softly. "And I'd love to spend the day with you, with one condition."
Blue eyes bright under the street lamp, Angie looked on anxiously as she waited for Oscar's terms of agreement. Mildly worried, she realized she had no clue what he was about to say; a thought that thrilled her as much as it frightened her.
"No tacky Christmas presents this year," Oscar replied, looking at her knowingly. Angie had been known to get purposely cheesy gifts just to elicit a reaction out of him in the past, hence the warning.
Chewing her bottom lip, Angie released the pink skin to smile widely. "But I found you a great gift this year!"
Rolling his eyes, Oscar smirked as Angie bounced on the balls of her feet. "I know this is a difficult word for you to understand, but I said 'no'."
"Not even another horrendous tie to add to your collection from yours truly, huh?" she joked, laughing as his eyebrows flickered in mock frustration. "I knew it; you do need some holiday cheer!"
"No tacky presents means no tacky presents," Oscar replied as he reached out and tugged the open flap of her coat near her waist. Pulling her closer to him, he leaned back against her car as he whispered softly, "Besides, I've got all I want from my Christmas list right here," closing the gap between them once more as he kissed her softly.
And there you have it, folks. Thanks for being the fantastic community of friends that I know and love. Your support is very helpful and encouraging.
Comments/Questions/Suggestions - You know where to find me!
P.S. - Angie's line about the marrying the man with Reese's is most definitely, and totally me. I kid you not; that's a surefire way into my heart.