Pleasure of a Dress
By Dimgwrthien
Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series or affiliates.
"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half."
-Sir Winston Churchill
Mac sat between the tight confines of the room, staring down the empty brown chair across the table from him. The room seemed too empty, what with his presence being the only one, and the blankness of both the walls and plastic board he sat at.
Ray, one of the tall, muscular cops he had worked with on one homicide case, appeared, dragging a man who seemed to have aged ten years since Mac last spoke to him, which had been only a day before.
Once Ray backed away, out the door, where he would stand guard, Sonny whispered to Mac, "You can't keep me in here forever."
"Exactly," Mac answered, picking up one of the yellow files from his bag. "We can keep you a day without your lawyer. Now, I'm giving you the choice." He stared Sonny in the eye. "You deserve to be put away, but we're giving you the choice of a lawyer."
"I don't need no lawyer." Sonny's mouth moved, and Mac found himself sitting in front of a wad of Sonny's spit. "I just need to hunt you down and get back at you."
Mac didn't make a move, but only continued to stare at Sonny. It had been such a long time to deal with the crazed criminal, and when Mac finally had him, he had no clue how to deal with it. Part of him wanted to just grab the man by the throat and throw him into a prison cell personally, just for what he had put Danny through. However, he tried to remain calm.
"I'm afraid that would be harassment to an officer, Sassone," he told him, taking out a tissue from his bag and wiping the table.
"I wouldn't even have to go near you," Sonny continued, snarling out the words. "Go with that woman you always follow me with." He made a kissing noise to the air, his lips puffed out obscenely. "Just get to her, right? That would bring you down, eh?"
Mac didn't move or answer. He could, however, feel his neck go cold as he watched.
"Once I get out of here, maybe grab her. Take her for myself, maybe." Sonny smiled mockingly. "Though, I'm not sure if I'd want anything you've touched, if you know what I mean." The man started to make a gesture from under the table when Ray entered the room.
"Mac? Want me to take him back to the cell?"
Mac blinked and looked over at Ray, feeling his arms start to go cold with his neck. "Alright. I needed to grab some more papers, anyway." It was a lie, but unnerved feeling Sonny gave him made him want to leave. He waited as patiently as possible as Ray took the handcuffed man out of the room, ignored Sonny's last few words, then left the building.
Sonny's repeating voice made him feel like he was the one behind those bars, watching the outside world and the cop that put him there walk free.
He sat in his car for a while, staring at the steering wheel before putting the keys in the ignition. The heater came on, blasting him with warm air.
He had known Stella for years, but never looked at her sexually, as he knew Sonny was speaking about. Even thinking about thinking about her in that way made him feel warmer than just the heater alone. He had known her for too long as a friend of his and Claire's that he couldn't even imagine going along those lines. It would be like a sister, or a friend from preschool.
Sure, most of the men who saw Stella saw a strong woman with a nice body, nice curls, a nice personality. Mac saw it, too. Maybe, he considered, it was just too early to start looking at women again. Maybe his timing when meeting Stella was just bad.
Mac remembered a few times in the lab when Stella was amazingly close to him. He could tell, even without ever asking or looking, that she used a fruity shampoo, but a conditioner (or was it just a natural smell?) of a flower. He knew that she liked to wear cotton clothes in the winter because of the way small cotton balls would rub off of her clothing onto his if he stood too close to her. And she had kissed him on the cheek that one time, he thought. Just a friendly kiss. Nothing else.
But I still wouldn't touch her.
But when he agreed to meet with Rose, and she took off his tie and touched his cheek, there had been that approving look she gave him. But it still had a slight frown to them. Disapproval? Envy?
Mac rubbed his forehead, thinking. Finally, he did the only thing he could think of. He took his cell phone, hit one of the speed dial numbers (which must be a sign, he thought with an inner smile), and waited for the phone to ring.
"Stella? I'm alright. You? That's good." He paused a moment, hoping Stella wouldn't (or would?) recognize his hesitation. "Are you busy? Good. Would you like to meet me at the Oriental Garden? No, no one else…. Just us." He listened to her astonished voice. "'Why?'" Mac considered how to put it into words. "You look very nice in that black dress of yours, and it's always a pleasure to have it around."