drabble; kinda a first date
pairing: dominick "sonny" carisi jr./amanda rollins
word count: 672 words

begin

Carisi fiddles with the cuffs of his shirt as he stands in front of Amanda's apartment, letting his breath out in a huff. He thought about getting flowers, but he then decided that it was too cliché (and nerdy).

He's feeling kind of nervous, and it's ridiculous, really.

He knocks on the door, three sharp raps, and she opens the door immediately, almost as if she's been waiting for him all this while. She's all dressed up, in a light blue dress, her hair pinned up in a chignon, her make up only slightly heavier than what she usually wears for work.

"Hey," she says, smiling at him. "I'd ask you to come in and say good night to Jesse, but she's already asleep. Let me shoot off a few things to my sitter, and then we can go."

He nods and walks into the apartment, waiting by the door as Amanda reappears a few minutes later with her purse and a coat, and they head out of the door together.

Carisi chooses an Italian restaurant for dinner (of course he would), that's homey in its food but elegant in its décor.

They pick two starters to share, and he decides on the night's special for himself, whilst she opts for the vegetarian lasagne.

The wine arrives and he feels himself relaxing a little. Amanda, meanwhile, looks totally at ease, but then again, he didn't think she'd be feeling like how he's feeling. Amanda takes things as they come, she doesn't tend to over think things, like he does, all the time.

The conversation between them is comfortable, light and easy. It isn't too different from the way it usually is, when they sit in front of her television eating whatever Carisi has whip up for dinner. She touches his hand intermittently as she talks, and spears his pasta with her fork without asking. She also finishes half of his dessert in addition to her own, and all of that just seems like the most natural thing in the world.

Carisi checks on Jesse as Amanda pays the sitter and sees her off. Jesse is comfortably asleep, looking adorable in her slumber, and he can't help but peck her on the cheek, smoothing back her downy hair.

He wanders out to the living room to see that Amanda settling herself on the couch, her shoes off and her hair loose of its chignon. He notices that she has poured him a glass of wine and it's sitting on the kitchen counter, so he picks it up and joins her on the couch, loosening his tie.

She reclines against him almost automatically, resting her head on his shoulder.

"That was nice," she murmurs. "We should do it more often."

"You know, Amanda...that was kinda like our first date, wasn't it?"

She raises her head and looks him, her nose wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about? That's hardly our first date – we've had dinner together heaps of times."

"Well, yeah, but this was the first time I took you out properly, just the two of us, and you're all dressed up, and..." his voice trails off at the bemused expression on her face.

"If it means that much to you, I can dress up more around here," she teases.

"That's...not what I meant...I mean, oh never mind. Forget it," he says, waving his left hand dismissively. He's starting to feel a little silly; obviously Amanda doesn't see the significance.

She grins and rests her palm on his face. "You're such a dork sometimes, Dominick," she says, and then she tilts her head upwards and kisses him.

"So, is the obligatory post-date make out session?" she asks him, when they parted.

"You can call it whatever you want, as long as we get to make out," he smirks.

She laughs, her thumb stroking the back of his neck. "I'm looking forward to our second date, then."

"Well, the first one isn't quite over yet," he says, and he kisses her again.

end