A/N: An update, at last! And this time with no Arnott (for now...he'll be back so don't worry!). Fluffy pointlessness warning. Plot progression shall happen soon. Honestly. Really. Ahem. Onward with the chapter.
Chapter 21: Congratulations
When I decided to very publicly exit the proverbial closet, I can't say I thought it through too much.
It was a split second decision. I was at the neck of a forked road, and hurtling toward it at speed.
Had I chosen to give my speech, to wait until after the election to come clean, I would have won the election. I was sixty forty ahead in the preliminary opinion polls.
But people are judged by their deeds, not their words. I've said a great deal, but I've done precious little to back it up.
Had I waited, there was nothing I could have said to Casey to convince her that she truly means more to me than my career.
I had to act. I had to take action. I had to take a risk.
So I won back Casey's trust, and instead of winning the election by a ten percent margin, I won by a landslide.
In a few weeks, I'll be sworn into office. In a few months I'll be swearing a very different oath.
So I get my girl and my dream job.
Is it pessimistic to think this is all too perfect and something is bound to screw everything up?
Perhaps my glass half full attitude has been caused by my present situation, sitting in my publicists office while he rambles on ad infinitum.
"...I was genuinely wrong about the mood of the people, if I'd known it'd be such a coup I'd have told you to come out right away, hell I'd have had to reading every speech with a rainbow banner behind you! It definitely helps that you're both hot, that's the kind of thing people wanna see..."
"Thanks Charles," I mutter dryly, "good to know that I got elected, not because of my intellect and integrity, but rather that my partner and I fit neatly into the male lesbian fantasy trope."
Charles' face drops, "oh hey that's not what I was saying at all, I just mean. You know. Yay equality!"
I'll admit it. I'm glad I'll be seeing much less of him now my campaign is over.
Casey was not a morning person.
Hurried and harried as usual, she stashed her bike outside the precinct and rushed inside, just about squeezing into the elevator before it departed.
She endured painfully stilted small talk with a couple of detectives she could not recall the names of before arriving at the special victims unit squad room.
"Here she is!" Olivia announced. Casey resisted the urge to walk straight back out again.
"Hey, if you're in need of a best man, look no further," John Munch chimed in.
Dumbass smiles were painted across the faces of the entire squad.
As usual, the ground refused to open up and swallow her on command.
"You kept that quiet Casey," Elliot Stabler added, giving Casey's shoulder a quick squeeze, "congratulations."
"News travels fast," Casey said, forcing a tight smile, "how did you…"
"You made the papers Novak," Tutuola chipped in, tossing a folded broadsheet. Casey quickly unfurled the paper, her eyes immediately drawn to a photograph. A quarter of the page was taken up by a snapshot of she and Alex's on stage clinch. The story title read 'Love Wins Out', going on to recount how Alexandra Cabot, daughter of former New York senator Joseph T. Cabot had stormed to victory in the polls, but not before shocking the electorate by making a very public declaration of her love for Manhattan Senior Assistant District Attorney, Casey Novak, a dedicated prosecutor who works tirelessly to put perverts and pedophiles behind bars. The story continued, providing a brief biography of Casey, noting that 'her fiery temperament in the courtroom is matched by her fiery red hair'.
She idly wondering if it was possible to cringe so hard that your face would actually collapse on itself. She placed the paper down on a nearby desk and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Did you actually need me for something," Casey said, "or did you just call me over here for your amusement?"
"Mostly the latter," Olivia said with a smile. Casey rolled her eyes.
The Captains door swung open, and Donald Cragen popped his head out, "Casey, I heard the news, congratulations to you both. Branch called, he wants to see you in his office, ASAP."
"I guess he's read the paper. This morning is a gift that just keeps on giving," Casey sighed, "call me if you need anything work related."
Casey took a deep breath before knocking as lightly as humanly possible on her bosses door.
"Come in," a gruff voice grunted. Casey shuffled in, flashing a placating smile,
"you wanted to see me?"
"I did, please, sit," Branch said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. She reluctantly obeyed. "congratulations on your impending nuptials Casey, and please do pass on by best regards to your wife-to-be."
"I've been getting that a lot this morning," Casey squirmed. Branch's affect was flat. He clearly hadn't called her over just to offer his best wishes.
"Care to take a guess as to how I found out about your recent engagement?"
Casey gulped, "I saw article in the times, I had no idea…"
"The Times?" Branch said, "that's the least of it, you're all over the internet, my granddaughter tells me you're 'trending', and you even have your own 'hashtag', whatever that means. All I know is, I've been fielding calls all morning from reporters wanting to hear my opinion on marriage equality, and 'how far we've come in a few short years'!"
"I really had no idea that this would..."
"Please ensure you avoid making a spectacle out of this office in the future Casey," he said.
"Of course sir."
"Good. So, have you set a date?"
Casey shuffled in her chair, "uh, I can't say I thought that far ahead."
Branch furrowed his grey brows, the grooves on his forehead deepened, "well get to it, I can't stand it when couples nowadays say they're 'enjoying being engaged'. You're engaged to be married, so get married already!"
"I'll get right on that sir," Casey said.
"Great, I'll expect to see my invite soon."
"Baby, can you get us another bottle?" I call out. Casey pops her head out of the kitchen, where she has been hiding out for the last half hour.
"Sure," She says, "could you come here for a second?"
"Excuse me a moment," I tell my sisters, who arrived a few hours ago and have shown no signs of leaving anytime soon. Victoria and Catherine seem intend on planning my wedding for me. Either that or they sighted a great excuse to get away from the kids for an afternoon, drink wine, and swoon over wedding gowns.
I join Casey in the kitchen and she looks like a deer in headlights. She is usually somewhat awkward when forced to spend time with all three Cabot sisters, however, this afternoon has taken it to a whole new level.
"They've been here a while," Casey says, perking an eyebrow.
"Sorry, I know, they're just excited," I say.
"Catherine said she's going to take my measurements for the dress," Casey says, eyes widening, "She has a tape measure in her bag," She adds starkly.
"Aww, poor baby," I say. I slip my arms around her waist and pull her against me, kissing her cheek, "do my sisters scare you?"
"A little bit, yeah," She says. Her hands move to my face, "and I'd really like to be alone with you."
"Really?" I say, sneaking my fingers under her shirt just a little. I feel her press closer to me, it's it's a subtle move, instinctive, I love how my touch makes her body react, "why is that?"
"You know why," she whispers, kissing me once on the lips and then trailing soft kisses down my neck. I feel goosebumps prick at my skin. The good kind.
"What would you do if we were alone?" I ask. This is a bad idea, I'm turned on enough as is, the last thing I need to do is encourage her.
She laughs a little, "We are alone." Her tone is low, and her lips brushing my ear as she whispers sends tremors down my spine.
This is a bad idea.
She turns me around, pushing me back against the cold counter top, and she throws a half smile that she knows makes me crazy.
I whisper for her to stop in a tone she knows means the opposite, so instead she leans in for a kiss, slow, hot and my head has gone. Totally gone. I'm not hiding out in my kitchen anymore. There's nothing but feelings, nothing but Casey and I. Body heat. Her mouth, her hands.
We're in a world of our own.
I barely notice that she has unbuttoned my jeans until I feel her hand slip under my pants, she promises this won't take long as her fingers…
"Hey are you guys...oh my god, gross! Seriously? Why?!"
Of course.
My eldest sister, Victoria, has unceremoniously appeared in the kitchen, and promptly turned away as though she had inadvertently looked at the sun and permanently scarred her retinas.
Casey has quickly backed away from me and become very interested in the spice rack.
"Oh, we were just…"
"Stop!" Victoria yells, "I already cannot unsee what I just saw, so please don't make it any worse. Also, your fly is down."
I feel my face flush, and I quickly fumble with my zipper, "I'll be back in a minute, why don't you just head back into the living room and…"
Victoria shook her head, "if you're not out here in 30 seconds, I'm going to assume that you two are…"
"Thirty seconds? You must be thinking of straight sex."
"News just in on this conversation Lexie: We are not having it!"
I can't help but laugh, "oh come on, we'll call this payback for that time I accidentally stumbled into your room and caught you 'naked wrestling' with a boy when I was nine."
"And of course you immediately told our parents, jesus, I forgot about that. Maybe I should call Dad about this…"
"Hey, this is my house, and I can have sex in any part of it, at any time," I say, crossing my arms. I can see Casey glancing hopefully toward the window. I may need to restrain her from jumping out of it in a moment.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Victoria says with a shake of her head as she opens the kitchen door, "I do not want to inhabit any space where my little sister has done the dirty."
"In that case, you may want to avoid the couch!" I call after her as she hurries off.
"Why should we avoid the couch?" I hear Catherine ask.
"Trust me, you don't want to know…" Victoria replies.
"Well that was fifty shades of awkward," Casey says.
"It's a sibling thing," I explain, "the only way to deal with a situation like that is an 'awkward off'. I think I won. We better go back in there."
"Uh, I think I'm gonna go for a run," Casey says quickly.
"No way Novak," I say, "you chose to marry into this family, so you better get used to it."
"I guess it's too late to back out?" Casey says. I give her a playful slap on the backside.
"Way too late, you're stuck with me for life, get used to it."