Author's Note: This veers off cannon from end of season 2. Currently, I'm working on editing the chapters but it's taking a bit of time 'cause I'm working on a number of stories as well.
Thank you to all those who took time to review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot
IIII
Christopher LaSalle sat the drinks down before taking his own seat. "The first round was on me but I aint getting the next one," he warned his teammates.
Patton Plame better known as Triple P snorted as he took his drink. "Cheap skate," he muttered under his breath but loud enough that LaSalle caught it.
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm saving," LaSalle said taking a swing from his beer.
"Saving for what?" Brody asked sceptically.
"It's a secret," he replied with a shrug.
"Like top secret?" Sebastian asked and by the look in his eye LaSalle knew he was just itching to start some crazy investigation.
"Something like that," he said before glancing around the table. Loretta had excused herself from tonight's festivities and Pride was manning the bar. "Where's Percy?" he asked glancing around him as if she'd suddenly pop up.
Brody smiled like she had something juicy to share while Sebastian and Triple P looked just as lost as him.
"Brody?" he prodded.
"Well," she began still with that smile. "You didn't hear this from me but Sonja's on a date." She told them happily.
"Well good for her," Sebastian said raising his beer in a toast.
Triple P eyed LaSalle warily. "You okay, man?" he asked.
LaSalle nodded lightly thumping his chest after he nearly choked on his own drink. Percy was on a date? That was news to him. "Yeah, that just went down the wrong pipe," he said taking a gulp of beer to soothe the burn down his throat. "So Percy's on a date?" he asked as casually as he could master.
"Yup, I don't want to brag but I set the whole thing up," Brody said smugly.
"Look at you playing, Cupid," LaSalle drawled with a smile that made his cheeks hurt.
"I've known Edward for a while and he just seemed perfect for Percy so I managed to convince her to give him a shot," Brody explained. "Hopefully they'll hit it off... and who knows wedding bells might be on the horizon." She added the last bit with an even wider grin.
LaSalle bulked. "Wedding bells?" he echoed in disbelief.
"What's wrong LaSalle?" Triple P asked innocuously. "Aren't you happy for Percy?"
"I'm happy for her," Sebastian piped in.
LaSalle glared at him from the corner of his eye. There was nothing to be happy about here. "I just don't think we should be jumping into any conclusions, for all we know Percy could be having a miserable time..." he said casually.
A ping sounded and Brody checked her phone before glancing up. "Seems to me like she's having an awesome time!" she chirped, holding up her cell phone.
On the screen was a text from Percy if Brody was to be trusted. Great looking out girl! He's amaziiiiiing. And half a dozen smiley faces.
Honestly LaSalle never understood why people needed to use more than one emoticon on a text. It was overkill and he'd never have suspected Percy was one of those culprits.
"Did she spell amazing with six i's ?" he asked squinting at the screen. "Doesn't she have spell check like normal people?"
"I think that was on purpose," Sebastian intoned.
LaSalle scowled into his drink. So what if Percy was on an 'amaziiiiing' date? It's not like that bothered him or anything. He was a bachelor with the freedom of picking up any girl he wanted. So he was perfectly fine with her dating. It's not like they had a moment. Or that he chickened out from seeing things through.
"Well at least one of us is on a date," Triple P said breaking the suddenly awkward silence.
LaSalle and Percy had kept what had or could've happened between them to themselves but something had definitely changed between them. And if the looks P was giving him was anything to go by others had noticed too.
"Yeah, but Chris is right I'm probably getting ahead of myself," Brody said in an obvious attempt to smooth things over.
"I'm going to get the next round," LaSalle abruptly announced as he stood up and headed for the bar.
No one said a word even though they'd hardly touched their drinks.
/
"It was great, he's fun," Sonja said as she turned into her street.
"But?" Meredith asked on the other end of the line.
Since she was driving, Sonja had her on speaker phone.
"But there wasn't that spark and I don't know..."she admitted with a shrug as if Meredith could see it.
"Well if there's no spark then there's no point right?" Meredith diplomatically said.
"Right," Sonja agreed as her brows furrowed in confusion. She squinted at the truck parked outside her home. What's LaSalle doing here? She wondered. "Merri, I'll call you later okay?" she said easing into her driveway.
"Sure, goodnight."
"Night," she returned before she cut the engine. For a moment Sonja sat in her car undecided. The last person she wanted to talk to was LaSalle. Things were awkward enough between them, they didn't need to add late night visits into the mix.
For goodness sake Sonja! Her mind chided her. This is LaSalle not the Bogeyman! Even with that mental slap she didn't feel all together at ease, still Percy grabbed her purse before climbing out of her car.
It was much more chilly now than when she'd first set out for her date. Hugging herself she slowly made her way to her front door.
LaSalle sat on the steps, illuminated by her porch light.
"Hey," Sonja greeted with a smile even though she felt uneasy.
If someone had told her a month ago she'd be nervous around Christopher LaSalle of all people she'd have laughed in their face and probably while pointing. Only the joke was on her now and it wasn't as funny as one would think.
LaSalle slowly lifted his eyes to her face, squinting slightly under the glare of the light. "How was your date?" he asked.
Sonja frowned. "How did you know about-"
"Brody," LaSalle answered before she could even finish her sentence.
Of course. It's not like she'd sworn her into secrecy or anything. Sonja thought. "It was great," she replied with a slight shrug. Absently she rubbed at her bare arms to try and warm herself.
"Not amazing with six i's?" LaSalle asked with a raised eyebrow.
Geez, did Brody give them a play by play of her date as well? Sonja wondered. Rather than reply she decided to cut straight to the chase. "What are you doing here, LaSalle?" she asked truly curious.
He chuckled as he shook his head before dropping his eyes to his feet. "You know I've been asking myself that very same question since I found myself here," he admitted with a shrug.
Sonja was really starting to feel the chill now. She had two options remain out here and freeze to death while she waited for LaSalle to say whatever it is he wanted to say or she could invite him in, get warm and then hear him out.
Oh, what the hell!
"Do you want to come inside?" she asked cocking her head to the side, as she eyed him.
LaSalle took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Sure... you starting to sound like a radio with a bad signal with all that teeth chattering," he teased with a slight smile.
Sonja felt herself relax. She could handle this LaSalle, her goofy partner. He stood, stepping to the side so she could unlock her door.
Searching for her key, she walked up the stairs. Her porch was non-existent just some steps leading to her door which left little room for one person let alone two. Swallowing she tried not to think about how close they stood. How her elbow lightly brushed against his stomach as she inserted her key into the lock. Or how good LaSalle smelled.
Fortunately she was able to unlock and open the door without embarrassing herself. "So I'm going to change into something more comfortable, feel free to make yourself at home," she said over her shoulder as she quickly ducked into her hallway.
She didn't even wait for a response as she all but rushed into her bedroom before closing the door behind her. Sonja's heart beat erratically as she closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves. This is LaSalle remember? However that did nothing for her current state. Swallowing her unease she quickly slipped out of her dress. She'd picked a blood red number that clung to her curves and stopped somewhere mid thigh.
A complete contrast from her usual attire but she'd wanted to look sexy. It's not like she had all these dates to dress up for anyways so why not look good when she did? Sonja's bleak dating calendar wasn't from lack of interest she was just too damn picky! There was always something missing. He wasn't tall enough. Smart enough. Funny enough. The list went on and on.
The end result? Her very single status. Because if she was being honest with herself, she left the single category and landed in the very single category when she passed the two year mark without having been in a serious relationship.
Shaking herself from her depressing thoughts, Sonja grabbed the jean and shirt she'd been wearing earlier. She'd shower after LaSalle left. She decided as she pulled the items on. Satisfied with her look, she hesitantly left the sanctuary of her room.
She found LaSalle on her couch, a mug in his hand and another one on the coffee table.
"What no booze?" Sonja joked wanting to break the sombre mood he seemed to be in.
LaSalle's lips twitched into a slight smile. "I think I've drunk my fair share of alcohol tonight," he admitted with a grimace.
"That bad huh?" she asked sitting down beside him but careful to leave space between them as she picked her own mug.
"I have this terrible habit of drinking more than I should when I'm feeling down," LaSalle said.
Sonja could definitely attest to that. "Thought you and the team were having drinks tonight?" she asked as she took a sip from her mug. Her insides seemed to sigh in happiness. What did it say about their relationship that he knew how she took her tea?
"We did. No doubt you're going to hear all about it Monday... I may have made a bit of an ass of myself," he confessed with a sheepish grin.
"I want to say I'm surprised but..." Sonja let her voice trial off as she shrugged.
Her comment had the intended effect with LaSalle chuckling at the harmless jibe.
"So do I want to know what led you to my door at 2am?" she asked settling into the couch. She had a feeling this was going to be one of those conversations that crossed the thirty minute mark.
LaSalle sipped at his coffee, eyes focused on some spot on her coffee table. "You know the thing about feelings is that aint nobody got any real control over them..." he began in a soft drawl that was oddly soothing. "No matter how hard you try not to feel a certain way, the harder you feel that certain way."
"LaSalle please tell me there's a point to your words and not just the hook to a country song?" Sonja asked with apprehension. She was hoping, hell praying this conversation wasn't heading in the direction she felt it was headed.
LaSalle chuckled humourlessly. "You aren't much for sugar coating, Sonja Percy," he said and the way he said her name made her hands start to shake ever so slightly.
"No, I guess I'm not," she admitted her voice surprisingly steady.
LaSalle placed his mug on the table before turning his body towards her, his eyes intense. "I didn't ask for this... I swear on my grandmother's grave," he said earnestly.
Sonja gulped her hands now sweaty on top of shaky. She had no choice but to also put her mug down before she splashed tea all over herself. "You didn't ask for what?" she asked in a breathless whisper.
Dear God please don't.
"I didn't ask to fall in love with you Sonja but I did."
Those words knocked the air right out of her lungs. Sonja didn't know whether to bolt for the nearest exit or close her eyes and hope this was just a bad dream. It's not that she didn't care about LaSalle. Knew for a fact she might even be falling for him, but she didn't want to be that girl.
You know the one that falls in love with her partner, stupidly thinks they might even make it work only to have it blow up in her face with no choice but to ask for a transfer.
She loved New Orleans even with all her comments to the contrary. She even loved her place of work with its assortment of characters. She didn't want to transfer somewhere else.
"Percy, say something," LaSalle pleaded.
What was she supposed to say? He's the one who decided to fuck their perfectly good silent agreement to keep things professional. Now he was looking at her like she had all the answers.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." Sonja muttered under her breath.
/
It's not the response he was hoping for but at least she didn't throw him out. It's a start. Sonja Percy isn't the type of girl who looks for fairytale endings and his definitely no Prince Charming, but after weeks from running from his feelings, LaSalle is tired.
Tired enough to throw caution to the wind and hope that maybe they could figure something out.
"Where is this all coming from?" Percy asked looking a cross between perplexed and horrified.
How the hell was he supposed to know? LaSalle wondered. When had love ever been cut and dry? He definitely hadn't been planning to fall in love any time soon after Savannah. But Percy had chipped at the carefully crafted walls he'd built and because she was such an overachiever, bringing down his walls wasn't enough, she just had to go and make him fall for her. Hard.
"Is this because I went on a date with Edward?" she asked.
LaSalle scowled. "I don't want to talk about that," he said firmly.
Percy threw her hands in the air. "This is really crazy," she said with a shake of her head. "I don't even know... I mean why LaSalle?"
"You're going to have to ask my heart but I hope you're willing to wait in line 'cause I've been asking myself that same question," he said with a helpless chuckle. "I didn't plan this Percy."
"So you keep saying," she said with a sigh. "I thought we decided to keep things simple between us?"
"Aint nothing simple about the way I feel about you and the way you feel about me," he said flatly.
"Who said I feel anything for you?" Percy asked with raised eyebrows.
LaSalle smirked. "You want to play games, Percy?" he asked softly.
She shifted nervously in her seat. "I don't play games, you know that," she said.
"Yeah?" he asked before grabbing her hand and lifting it for both of them to see. "You sayin' you don't have feelings for me then why are you shaking like a leaf, Percy?" he asked as he leaned closer, cutting the distance between them.
She gulped, nervously licking her lips. "I'm cold, it's chilly," she replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"How come your skin so hot then?" he asked his face now inches from her own.
Her eyes looked like saucers as she stared back at him.
"You going to answer me, Percy?"
"You should leave," she said, voice shaky.
"Is that what you want?" he asked seriously. If she wanted him to leave then he would.
Percy closed her eyes sucking the air through her teeth. When she opened her eyes he waited with bated breath. "No."
Releasing the breath he'd been holding, he used the hand that wasn't still holding her wrist to cup her face. "Then tell me what you want?" he asked, eyes darting between her eyes and her plumb red lips.
"I don't know what I want," Percy said trying to pull away but LaSalle held firm.
He had a feeling that if he let her pull away Percy would run and it would be hell chasing after her.
"I think you do... you just scared," he said calmly.
She swallowed. "And you aren't?" she asked him.
"I'm terrified," he admitted and throwing caution to the wind, Christopher LaSalle leaned in and kissed Sonja Percy.