Set during 2x19 "Wrath" before the very end of the episode. Inspired by comments about the assless chaps and Sean.
Despite the blinding flash of warning outside her window, Alex jumped at the crack of thunder. It seemed to shake the house with its booming vibrations. She breathed deep to settle her racing heart. The raging storm pelted the house with rain, and caused the waves to beat the shore. Even before the lightning and thunder started, Alex had been forced awake. She had never been a huge fan of storms, especially when lightning struck so closely to the house. Her dislike had only seemed to grow over the past couple of years. Every light in her bedroom was turned on as a result, and she sat cross legged on the floor facing the door.
Scraps of jean fabric were in her lap, needle and thread in her hand. Since Alex was the only one awake in the middle of the night, she figured she could get some crafting done. It was a lame hobby she had picked up to settle her wandering mind. She wasn't any good at it; she hadn't finished a single craft. But it was something to do with her hands. The needle pricked Alex's finger for the upteenth time, causing her to sigh in frustration. Stitching flesh was substantially easier than sewing jeans. Alex paused at that thought. Never in a million years should she have ever thought that. Yet there she was. It was disturbing.
Footsteps creaking outside her door saved Alex from figuring that out. She unfurled her cramped legs and rushed to see who else was awake. It had to have been Nikita. The woman hated storms as much as Alex did. And after recent events, she probably wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. But when Alex opened the door, Sean Pierce on the other side of it.
He was walking down the hall, going back to his room with a glass of water from the kitchen. He appeared exhausted. Dark purple smudges were under his puffy eyes, his dark hair was unkempt, and his clothes were askew. It was as though he had fought with sleep and tragically lost. Sean didn't notice Alex studying him in concern. He was focused on returning to his room, hopelessly lost in thought.
Before he got too far, Alex called to him, "Hey, Sean. Are you okay?"
Her voice startled him. He paused the shuffling of his feet, and glanced at her mournfully. He opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. Dropping his head, Sean continued his slow trek back to bed. Alex couldn't leave him like that. Her heart broke at the sight of him so dejected. Quickly, she caught up to him and gently tugged on his strong bicep, "Come on. You shouldn't be alone."
Sean didn't have any fight in him. He willingly let Alex drag him to her room. She closed the door behind them, and softly pushed him to sit on the bed. He drank his water, avoiding her worried blue eyes. She gave him empathetic peace for the moment, hoping that when he was ready to talk he would. Alex focused on cleaning up the sewing on the floor, giving up once again on crafting. There were more important matters to attend to.
"I'm going to her grave in the morning," Strained, Sean eventually whispered.
Alex turned her attention back to him, smiling understandably. He didn't exactly say whose grave, but she knew. He had tried to work past the pain of losing his mother, revenge solely on his mind. Once that was complete, he allowed himself to feel the unmeasurable grief. It seemed to have hit him hard, echoing the violent storm still tormenting the beach outside. Alex placed a comforting hand on his knee. She ran her fingers over the fabric of his pajama pants soothingly.
"I'll go with you," After a moment, Alex replied. She didn't leave it up to debate. She was going to be there to support him, and he just had to accept it. Sean drank the rest of his water, nodding.
Giving his knee one more squeeze, Alex moved to hide away her crafts. She had picked up the bad habit of shoving things under her bed from living on her own for the first time in that Division apartment. It seemed to be a safe place to hoard things. It was out of the way, and easily accessible. Under the bed was not a great hiding spot, so no valuables were there. But for things she didn't particularly care for, she could throw it under there and move on.
The Seal curiously watched the young woman. He cleared the shed tears from his throat, and wondered, "What were you doing awake?"
"I can't sleep during storms, so I decided to finish my craft," Alex explained simply.
"You craft?" Some of the light in Sean's eyes returned at the thought. A tiny grin pulled at the corners of his full lips, making Alex grin in return.
She showed him the mess of thread and fabric left in her hand, shrugging, "It seemed like a good hobby. I saw a video of someone turning the back pockets of old jeans into a pouch. And I thought I could make a little ammo pouch or something."
Saying her idea outloud, Alex realized how foolish it sounded. A blush crept up on her cheeks, and she went to throw the offending object away. Sean stopped her, placing down his glass and hopping off the bed. He grabbed the thing from her hands, "Your stitches are better than your sewing, but it's not bad. I'm just surprised you ripped up your clothes for this, Princess."
He was smirking, which was the closest to a smile he had given since the explosion. Alex relaxed at the sight of it, smirking as well. She grabbed the rest of the fabric from under the bed. The pocketless jeans that Nikita lovingly called 'assless chaps' when she had found them, were definitely not Alex's. They were too big and dingy to have been, "I would never. These are Birkhoff's."
"You stole from the nerd?" Sean was impressed. Being with Alex was helping him cope far better than isolating himself from the world. In the past he would have his Seal team to rely on. But he couldn't exactly go to them with the particulars of what happened. His mother heading a black ops unit of the government that had gone rogue and he had to help burn down, wasn't a fact to share with just anyone. But he had a new team, well the beginnings of a new team. Sean was starting to come to the conclusion that they would support him just the same, if not more so.
"He was gonna toss them anyway," Alex downplayed the action with a shrug. She was glad she was easing some of Sean's emotions. She knew what it was like to lose a parent tragically. It was harrowing, and easy to get lost in the darkness of it. Being around others who cared for you and loved you helped to process your feelings. After years of going it alone, Alex eventually found Nikita to rely on. She hoped Sean didn't wait that long to know that she was there for him.
"Can I see them?" Sean reached for the destroyed jeans. She gave them to him, as he handed back the sewing project. With a twinkle in his eyes, he looked the pants over, "You know I always wanted to be a cowboy?"
"You, Boy Scout?" In disbelief, Alex scoffed.
Sean rolled his eyes, "The catching bad guys part. Not the stealing horses part."
That made more sense. Alex breathed out a laugh, "Well now you have your own pair of assless chaps."
"You think they'd fit?" His tone was light and teasing. He looked over Alex more than he did the jeans. She was smiling at him, her blue eyes shining.
"There's only one way to find out," Alex threw aside the scraps, placing her hands on her hips as she looked daringly at Sean. He accepted the challenge, and wiggled into the jeans. It was awkwardly placed over his pajamas, and the pants weren't quite his size. But he made the best of it. He gave Alex a little twirl to show off his new threads. She burst out into laughter. He couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"So, what do you think?" He turned to inspect the assless part of the chaps for himself.
Alex found herself staring at his ass that stuck out, not able to pull away, "You'd make a great honeytrap."
The words were meant to be teasing, yet they came out thick. Sean noticed the desire in her voice, and brought his eyes to connect to hers. He was drawn by the look she gave him, and he returned the gaze. Everything else seemed to melt away as they stared at one another. They moved closer together without thought, and the air grew heavy. There was a reason they were both awake and sharing comforting company. That was forgotten when their eyes drifted down to their lips. Alex and Sean were usually experts at pulling away while they were swept up in that certain moment. However, in the middle of the night with emotions already ragged, it was impossible.
They kissed sweetly at first. The affection was tender and hesitant. Neither was sure if that was what the other really wanted. Soon they came to the realization that it was, and the kiss deepened. Just as it was getting good, though, there was a knock on the door. Alex and Sean separated quickly. The young woman cleared her breathless throat, and addressed their intruder, "Uhh, yeah?"
As the door was opening, Sean remembered the jeans around his hips. He was taking them off when Michael's head popped through the crack in the doorway. Although he noticed the two panting, wearing odd clothing, and trying to avoid eye contact, Michael wisely decided to ignore it. He quietly explained his sudden presence, "I saw your light on, and wanted to see if Nikita left her blanket in here."
It took Alex a couple seconds to catch up to his words. Nikita liked to curl up in the heavy, fluffy blanket whenever she was upset. She had brought it over to Alex's room during their movie night the other day. She grabbed the warm blanket off of her bed, and handed it to Michael, "How is she?"
Michael only gave her a look, closing the door as he left. Nikita hadn't said a word since they brought her home from Brant's. She seemed to have crawled into a deep, dark corner of her mind, and remained there. After the torture she went through, Alex couldn't blame her. She returned her attention to Sean, who had removed the assless chaps. They stood in awkward silence, unsure of how to proceed after their interrupted kiss.
Sean made to leave, but Alex couldn't have that. She didn't want him to go just yet. She stopped him with a quiet suggestion, "Do you want to watch a movie?"
"Yeah. I'd love that," Relaxing at her offer, Sean smiled. The two settled on her bed together, watching a distracting movie on her laptop. Alex and Sean were cuddled close to each other, but for once they weren't shy at the contact. They settled into it; the feelings and thoughts that had kept them awake disappeared.