Title: Appreciation

Author: SneetchesToo

Pairing: Owen/Michelle

Rating: Teen(ish)

Summary: "What are you wearing?!" – Michelle's costume for the annual Halloween party has Owen staring a little more than usual.

Author's Note: #911HalloweenFest. This was a suggestion from ana122892 and I went with it, let's hope it doesn't suck too much.

Owen wasn't much of a Halloween person, in fact, he never had been.

Maybe a little bit so when TK was a kid and he still dressed up and went trick-or-treating.

But he had always wound up working so he never really got to take him out.

And once he outgrew it, Owen had outgrown it too.

So when TK and Carlos had convinced him to go to Judd and Grace's for the annual Halloween party he had been reluctant.

But TK had done the puppy dog face and Carlos had just stared at him blankly and he hadn't been able to say 'no'.

However, now, he was regretting it.

He was the only person over 40 in the entire house and he was feeling his age after consuming only two beers and several handfuls of the trail mix concoction that Paul had whipped up.

There was entirely too much candy and too many sweets for his liking right now.

"Sooo…" He heard TK's voice from behind him and he sighed as he turned around. "Having fun yet?"

"No." He hated to be a party pooper, but he wasn't exactly in his element.

Rather, he'd prefer to be at home watching a scary movie.

Or better yet, he'd much prefer to be asleep.

"Really?" His son looked bummed and he felt bad.

He knew the kid was just trying to help him break out of his shell some.

"I guess parties just aren't my thing anymore." He shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip from his beer.

"Oh. Sorry." TK looked kind of guilty and Owen felt bad.

It wasn't his fault that he was old and somewhat grumpy.

He got ready to reply when he saw the front door open out of the corner of his eye.

And the entire world around him stopped as his eyes landed on the person who was just now entering the party.

Michelle.

And she was wearing far less clothing than he normally saw her in.

"Damn girl." He heard Grace let out a chuckle as she greeted her at the door, and then they were disappearing into the crowd arm in arm and Owen just stood there staring after her.

"Earth to dad…" Suddenly TK's hand was waving in front of his face and he snapped out of it. "You still with me?"

"Yeah. Sorry." He had no idea what the kid had just said to him though.

"I said that Michelle looks good in her costume," His eyes went wide as he stared the kid down, "but it appears that you already realized that."

Owen just huffed as he walked away from him.

He was determined to find her and let her know that while he thought she looked downright sexy, he didn't appreciate her showing everything off to everyone else.

—

It took him another thirty minutes to finally get her alone and once he realized that this was his chance he didn't hesitate.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Okay, so maybe his question was a little bit harsh.

"What, you don't like it?" She fiddled with the hem of her dress as she batted her eyelashes at him.

She was good.

Really damn good.

"No." He stepped as close to her as he could get without making a scene. "I really fucking like it."

She beamed back at him as she reached up and pushed her hair back off her shoulder, revealing a patch of skin that was nothing if not kissable.

"The problem is…" God he needed to get her out of here now. "That I'm pretty sure every other guy here is also liking it."

She rolled her eyes as she dropped her hand and gave him a look.

"Are you jealous Owen Strand?" He felt his cheeks flush as she called him out like that.

"No." He was so full of shit and they both knew it. "Yes. Maybe."

"Well you have no reason to be." That was easy for her to say.

She was the one getting all the attention.

"You're showing more off at this party than you let me see on any given day." And he was really starting to not like that. "And I'm your boyfriend."

He hissed out the last line and Michelle just chuckled as she reached out and patted his cheek.

"You're so cute when you're jealous." He was not cute!

"I don't like everyone else staring at you." He knew he sounded crazy and pathetic and so very, very jealous.

But something about her in a tiny black dress and heels and the makeup, God the makeup, it was making him feel a little… possessive.

"Let 'em stare Owen." She dropped her hand as she huffed. "You're the only one who matters and you should know that by now."

She then turned on her heel and stormed off, making her way back inside.

He sighed as he slapped himself on the forehead.

This was not what he had wanted to happen.

—

Michelle had successfully avoided him the rest of the night, but he noticed that as everyone else started to head out, she stayed.

And by the time midnight had come around, she had kicked off her heels and pulled her hair into a bun and started helping Grace clean up.

She was quite possibly an actual angel.

Owen sighed as he made his way into the backyard once again, following her lead as he started clearing the small tables and tossing stuff into the garbage bins.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He said softly as he stopped beside her at a table. "I know I sounded like a total dick."

"It's okay." She whispered her reply as she tossed a beer bottle behind her.

"It's not okay Michelle." He reached out and took her hands in his as he silently pleaded with her to stop for a minute and listen to him. "I shouldn't have said those things. People can stare at you all they want. If you're confident and you feel good then that's all that matters."

"Well thank you for the life lesson Dr. Phil." She rolled her eyes as she pulled her hands free and returned to cleaning.

"I mean it." He returned to the task at hand as well, waiting for her to respond in some way that actually made sense to him.

"I know." She stopped what she was doing and so did he, their eyes meeting as she let out a sigh. "I only dressed this way because I knew you'd be here."

Oh did she now?

"Really?" That was so unlike her.

"Yes Owen, really." She chuckled as she sat down on top of the table. "I was just trying to show off for you."

"You don't have to show off for me." He whispered. "You already have me."

"I know that." He sensed a 'but' coming and he didn't like it. "But I wanted you to see… another side of me I guess. I thought you'd like it. That you'd think it was sexy."

"It was sexy!" Okay so maybe that wasn't the reaction she was expecting but that's what she was getting.

He didn't want her to think that he didn't like it.

"Could you say it any louder?" She reached out and dragged him closer, her fingers hooking through his belt loops as she held him in place.

"Sorry." He whispered his apology as he dropped his forehead down to hers. "I thought it was very sexy. In fact, you left me speechless for a good two minutes. On more than one occasion."

"Well see, you probably should have said that earlier." Admittedly, yes, he should have.

"Yeah. Sorry." She smirked up at him as she ran one hand up his chest to cup his cheek. "I'd like to show you just how much I appreciate the outfit if you'd let me."

He hoped that she didn't take that the wrong way.

Although, he definitely meant that in the sexiest and most scandalous way possible.

"Go for it." She whispered before crashing her lips against his.

He couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips as he stepped forward, her legs wrapping around his waist as he got as close as he could possibly could.

She nipped at his lip when he ran a hand up her leg and under her dress, dragging his fingers over the tender skin of her inner thigh.

"We have an audience." She said quietly when she pulled back a few minutes later.

"Good for them." He didn't care if they were watching though.

Because right now he had some appreciation to show his girlfriend and her amazing costume picking skills.