"Hey!" Upton smiled, pulling Foster into an awkward hug as they met outside of her apartment building.
"Hey," Foster smiled back, feeling a swirl of discomfort (and excitement) upon seeing (and hugging) the detective.
Damn her stupid, nosy friends for making her wonder if this was a stupid, awkward date.
"You look well-prepared…" Upton said, assessing Foster's outfit with a smirk.
"What does that mean?!" Foster asked, insulted and embarrassed.
"You're in full winter gear," she grinned, flicking the fuzzy ball on Foster's knit-cap for affect.
"Oh…yeah. Brett told me to dress warm, that it would be cold in there," Foster shrugged, admitting more than she realised.
"You've never been to a game before, have you?" Upton offered a sideways smile as they fell into step next to each other.
"That obvious, huh?" Foster chuckled, suddenly feeling so warm that she definitely didn't need her winter layers.
"You didn't have to come," Upton shrugged, seeming smaller than usual.
"I wanted to!" Foster defended, turning to the woman suddenly to ensure her point was made. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here," she promised, catching Upton's nervous gaze and holding it.
Upton nodded and looked away, a relieved smile creeping onto her face as they continued to walk.
"Well I guarantee fun," she said, bumping Foster's shoulder. "And beer," she grinned. "The beer helps with the fun."
XXX
"I thought they were gonna fight…" Foster said, mostly to herself, regarding the players as the second period came to a close.
"Am I boring you, Emily?" Upton teased, flagging down the gentleman with the cooler.
"No! Not at all. I just thought they fought in hockey," Foster shrugged, watching as Upton handed a wad of cash to the man in exchange for two (more) beers.
"They changed the rules. Safety and all that…" Upton said disgustedly. "They still fight but they can't get away with it for too long anymore."
"That's too bad."
"Says the paramedic," Upton chuckled.
"How much to I owe you?" Foster asked, trying like hell to ignore Upton's flirtatious tone and digging into her pocket for her cash.
"You don't," Upton told her directly.
"I definitely do. This is like our fourth beer and they're acting like they're made of gold."
"You got the first ones," Upton shrugged, fighting off a shiver.
"And you got the last three!" Foster argued, noticing the way that her friend was rubbing her hands together. "Are you cold? Miss made-fun-of me-for-over-layering…" she smirked, bumping Upton's shoulder and feeling the chill emanating from her.
"Well see, I actually go to hockey games, so I'm used to it," Upton laughed.
"I have gloves," Foster piped up suddenly, remembering that they were in her pocket with her unused cash.
"So put them on," Upton said, confused.
"No, dumbass. For you," she chuckled, extending them to her friend.
"I'm fine," Upton lied, looking back to the ice.
"Hailey…" Foster warned, turning her by the shoulder and forcing her to look in her direction.
"Whatever," Upton grumbled, though she couldn't fight her smile as she slipped the fluffy gloves onto her purple hands.
They sat for a moment in silence, watching as the teams flowed across the ice as the third period was underway. Foster felt conflicted; she couldn't relax but she couldn't take the situation at face value, because she honestly had no idea what the situation WAS anymore. Hailey could've invited her here as a friend, simply getting to know each other better. Brett and Kidd had her worried, uncomfortable and awkward about the 'date', even if they meant well. Right now, it didn't matter how she felt about the situation, how she felt about Hailey. She was having fun. For the moment, she would leave it at that.
"You hate this, don't you?" Upton asked quietly, turning slightly to Foster before taking a big sip from her beer. "You're cold, you don't like sports and unfortunately, no one got into a fight…"
"I don't hate this at all, Hailey," Foster smiled, overwhelmed by the butterflies and warmth she felt simply from seeing the detective allow herself to be so vulnerable. "I love it. I'm having a great time."
"Once more, with feeling," Upton said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and leaning further away from Foster, unsure if she should believe the woman's words.
"I love it."
Foster acted before she thought, as she tended to do in life in general. She raised her left arm and wrapped it around Upton's shoulders securely, pulling her in and holding her there, close to her. Neither said a word, but the way that Upton relaxed upon the contact made Foster feel like she had finally done something right.
