Title: Red Threads
Author: Scribere Est Agere
Pairing: Goren/Eames
Spoilers: Everything
Rating: M
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.
Summary: We have to stop meeting like this. A few clichés, and a few more
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Chinese folklore says there is an invisible red thread connecting those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.
/
"I don't believe this," she says one cold and windy Saturday afternoon in November. Clouds low and heavy just above her head, wind whipping her hair around, nose starting to run. She has two small boys clinging to each of her gloved hands in front of the AMC Empire on Broadway when she sees him coming towards her. His head is down, shoulders hunched into his dark coat and pedestrians move out of his way without a second glance.
Her nephew tugs impatiently on one hand, his friend on the other. Their breath billows around their small heads. They are very loud and won't stop moving.
"We're ready to go in," Sam says, yanking and hanging. "Let's go, let's go!"
"Just a minute, guys," she says. He's not looking at anyone. He has two books tucked under his arm, hands shoved deep in his coat pockets.
Where are you? she wonders, watching his bent head. What's going on in there?
He's actually going to walk right by her, less than two feet away, and she almost lets him, mesmerized by his loping gait, then at the last second calls his name. He startles, looks up, gives her a slow smile.
"What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Nothing. Just Saturday errands. You?"
She tilts her head. "Movie date."
"Ah." He looks down. "And these are…"
"My dates."
"That's nice. Hi boys."
The boys stop trying to kick each other and stare at Bobby.
"Who are you?" the nephew asks loudly.
"We work together," Alex says. "This is Bobby." Sam sniffles and rubs his nose with his mitten. Bobby nods. The boys resume kicking.
"Well," Bobby shoves his hands deeper, hunches his shoulders higher. "I guess I should get going."
"Right."
He doesn't move.
"Hey," she says suddenly. "Why don't you come with us?"
"To the movie?"
"Yeah. Why not? Do you have any other plans?"
He looks up at the marquee. "What's playing?"
"I don't know. Something with a talking dog."
He considers. "I don't know if I should."
She suddenly wants him to, very badly.
"Why not?"
"Isn't it…inappropriate?"
"It's rated G."
He smiles.
"Look…" she tries again. "You'd be doing me a favour, really. I'm outnumbered here."
Sam's foot connects solidly with her ankle and Alex winces, tries not to swear. Bobby smiles. She can see he is wavering. He looks at her.
"Talking dog, huh?"
She nods.
"Lots of them, apparently."
"You buying popcorn?"
"Can't watch a movie without it."
"Drinks?"
"Only non-alcoholic, I'm afraid."
"Hold my hand if I get scared?"
She honestly doesn't know how to respond to that so she laughs instead and ushers everyone inside before she says something she'll regret or he changes his mind.
Her nephew has to sit on the aisle, his friend beside him. She settles the boys with their popcorn and drinks and sits next to Bobby.
"This better be funny," he says as she shoulders off her heavy coat, unwinds her scarf and leans back.
"Or else what?"
"Or else I get to pick next time." He's caught her off guard for the second time in half an hour and she wonders where all her witty, sarcastic retorts have disappeared to. This isn't like me, she thinks as she tightens her chilled fingers around the red-striped popcorn bag. But, she thinks as she looks around the theatre, this isn't like us either.
And then the lights dim.
She tries to remember the last time she sat in a darkened movie theatre with anyone other than her sister or a small child who used her pant legs as a napkin and needed to use the bathroom every five minutes. Joe. It must have been Joe, because they used to see movies all the time, at least once a week. Escape from reality, he used to say. Healthier than alcohol, he used to say. She tries to remember any movie they saw together and draws a blank. How can that be possible? She blinks, hard. She knows one will come to her, eventually, but she's pretty sure there were no talking animals involved.
She holds the popcorn on her lap and is acutely aware of each time Bobby reaches over to take some. She looks straight ahead and so does he, but she can still see the shape and outline of his face in the dark. She's also acutely aware that every time she reaches in, he does, too. Every time. And their fingers touch, briefly, every time. Sometimes it's just the tips, sometimes the knuckles. Sometimes he actually takes whatever she's holding right out of her hand and smiles while he does it.
When he's thirsty he takes a drink of soda and hands the cup to her without a word. She takes it without a word and wraps her lips around the straw, throat working hard, and is aware that his lips were there just before hers. Far too aware. She hands the cup back and he takes another long sip.
She waits until he's had his turn with the popcorn, then reaches in. Immediately he does, too. She's about to make a quip about theatre manners and popcorn etiquette when he's suddenly holding her hand. It isn't just a brush, or a tease this time. His fingers are actually wrapped around hers inside the bag and she frowns in the dark, biting down on her smile because it's a wholly interesting and most pleasant sensation but of course she has to say something and the only thing she can think to whisper is: "Did I miss a scary part?"
He shakes his head.
"It's good to be prepared," he whispers back.
"Aunt Alex!" Sam hisses at her from two seats over. "I have to pee!"
Of course, she thinks. Of course, of course.
She extricates herself and hustles Sam up the aisle. She feels oddly light-headed and the lobby lights are glaring and make her squint horribly.
"Are you enjoying the movie?" she asks while she waits for him.
"Uh huh," he says. "Why is that guy here?"
"Bobby?"
"Yeah. Him."
"I invited him."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"No, Sam. I just work with him. I told you that."
"Oh. When's he gonna be your boyfriend?"
"Uh…" Alex feels her face reddening. "We work together. Remember?"
"Yeah, but Mom says it's only a matter of time."
"She said what?" It comes out more sharply than she intends. Sam sticks his hands under the water faucet for two seconds and slaps them vigorously on his pants.
"Oops! That was a secret. I forgot. Come on…we're gonna miss it!"
When she sits down the bag is nowhere to be seen. She's about to ask where it is and if he ate it all while she was gone and if he did, could he please go buy some more when he reaches over and takes her hand again, just like that. This time their arms lie on the armrest between their seats and it's a full-fledged handhold, fingers entwined, palm against palm. Alex is having a hard time focusing. When Liz asks her later about the movie, she is hard-pressed to remember a single thing about it. Warm and soft and tingly are the only words that come to mind.
Afterwards, in the lobby, she winds her scarf around her neck and pulls on her gloves and helps the boys with their coats while Bobby studies the movie posters intently.
"Did you boys like it?" she asks. Sam shrugs. His friend is too busy pulling his hat down over his eyes and banging into the wall repeatedly to answer.
"It was all right," Sam says.
"I agree," Bobby says. "I see plenty others here that would be much more entertaining."
Alex rolls her eyes. Bobby stands next to her.
"We should do that again sometime," he says, leaning over.
"Well, Sam was talking about wanting to see that robot thing."
"I meant…just you and I," he smiles. "But, robots work, too."
Alex has run out of things to say.
"It's funny I ran into you," he says outside in the late afternoon cold. It's even darker and windier now. Snow clouds, she thinks. Winter is waiting, but not for long. He studies her as seriously as he did the posters. He points. "Red."
"What?"
"Your scarf. It's red."
She looks down. "Yeah…?"
He starts to say something, stops and starts again.
"I … wasn't even going to go this way today. I don't know why I did."
"You didn't look like you were paying much attention to anything when I saw you."
"I was. I knew exactly where I was going."
"Well, lucky for you, then," she teases. "Think of all the talking dogs you would have missed."
"Yeah." He smiles, but doesn't quite look at her as he turns to go. "And other things."
/