"Rush." On his call she paused, took a moment to turn. He wasn't close enough to gauge the initial reaction, before she replaced it with an impenetrable look; the same look she'd worn on the several, awkward occasions they'd seen each other after the break up. Even with a neutral expression, she was almost beautiful enough to make him turn away. Her hair was out; longer than he'd ever seen it, and an impossibly light blonde. She was wearing that coat, with a grey scarf that made her eyes look the same colour. The cold air had brought out a pink blush on her cheekbones, and most of her lipstick had worn off during the day, giving her lips only the barest tinge of red. She crossed her arms in front of her, but didn't look away from his eyes.
"Hey." Kite didn't even offer a glance to her partner, but he noted that the guy had stopped as well, probably ready to step in as his role as protector, tell Kite to beat it. He knew, too, that Lil would hate that.
"You didn't tell me you were in Philly." Her voice held the barest chill under the overly polite tone, and Kite wondered how much time it would take to re-thaw her.
"You wouldn't answer your phone." There was a flicker of amusement in her eyes before she looked at the ground. Blonde hair readjusted itself, swinging into her eyes, Impatiently, she tucked it back before turning to look at her partner.
"I'll meet you at Jones, Scotty." Kite could almost feel the waves of resentment coming from the guy as he gave Kite a brief glower, eyes hidden under deep brows.
"If you're late, you'll miss out on Stillman's shout." Kite could read between the lines, and he almost rolled his eyes at the direct dig; don't spend too long with him.
"Okay. I'll be there soon." Lilly waited, looking over her shoulder, until she thought he'd be out of earshot. Obviously they were still only partners, then. Kite felt relief, attached a grin to his face as she looked back at him warily. There was a silence between them, and Kite realised she wasn't going to continue the conversation easily, lost the smile a little.
"I got called back to pick up the slack here for a while. Just flew in this afternoon." Lily nodded noncommittally, shuffled her feet on the icy pavement.
"I've been trying to call you." Kite left the statement open, decided to wait it out. Then again, she was always better at holding the silence than he was. On their brief few walks to her home together, he'd chattered incessantly while she'd offered an amusing comment here, a vague statement there.
"I know. I was going to call you tonight if it wasn't too late when I got in." She shrugged a little, tucked her hair back again.
"Hot squad meeting again? Is that still what you guys are calling yourselves?" He felt rewarded when she offered him a slight smile, nodded.
"Among other weird names that lawyers just don't seem to understand." The smile widened as she made fun of him, and Kite took the jibe. Anything to get her smiling at him again.
"So, I guess lawyers still aren't welcome." He'd tried to invite himself there once, but she'd been against it; had told him it was only for cops.
"No." The answer was short, but was softened by the faint smile that still lingered on her lips.
"Any rule against lawyers walking you to the bar?"
"I guess that could be acceptable." Lilly let him take the curb side and they walked together in another silence, this one less stilted than the last few. He could almost imagine that they were still together, on their way to her house. He caught a brief strain of her perfume on the night air, tried to inhale it silently. She always smelt like white flowers; like jasmine and lilies. He'd always tried to surreptitiously look for a bottle when he was there; he'd never smelt that scent on a woman before. He'd never been successful, though, and before he knew it, he hadn't had the chance to look anymore.
"So how's work?" He decided to hover on a safe subject, keep her talking just so he could hear her voice. It was smooth tonight, silken, with no hint of the blurred emotion that his answering machine had reported to him.
"You know, the same. We got an arrest today, so it's probably going to be more… Cheerful at the tavern than usual." He could hear the smile in her voice, though her face was pointed down, watching where she stepped.
"You wear your hair down now?" Kite phrased it like a question, but he knew she'd pick up that it was a statement; a voice to his surprise to see her with longer hair left to caress her shoulders.
"Everyone needs a change once in a while." Her answer was light, the flippancy of her statement betrayed only by the underlying emotion in her voice as she spoke the words.
"I like it." Lil snuck a quick look up at him, a coy smile playing around her lips. He'd found that one of the most endearing things about her; she was always gorgeously bashful about accepting compliments.
"Here we are." Lilly paused outside an unassuming pub. Laughter burst through the glass doors from inside, and Lil looked towards the lit space within. Before she could walk off, feeling a rare surge of courage, Kite snagged her sleeve.
"Look, I know we broke up. I broke up with you. But it was a mistake. I… I was wrong, okay? Two years, and I still can't stop thinking about you. Then your phonecall-."
"That was…" Lilly shook her head, her eyes searching the brick wall behind Kite for an answer.
"I wasn't thinking clearly." Then her eyes were on him once more, the fathomless depths of them inviting him to sink into them.
"Rush, I still love you, damnit." He hadn't wanted to just come out and say it; had wanted to assess her first, the danger he'd be putting his heart in if he invested himself in her again. But he had to find the Lil she was, the Lilly he wanted to share the rest of his life with. The one with the reluctant emotions, the overabundance of dedication to her job, the laughter that was slow to come but impossible not to laugh with, the tendency to mother animals who were already damaged. Polite chit chat wasn't going to bring her back to him; last time he'd needed persistence, and a perfect first kiss. This time, there wasn't enough time for persistence, and their first kiss had been and gone. As perfect as it was, it was history between them; a memory that wouldn't leave him alone.
"Say something." She'd remained, mute, motionless, while he'd turned back towards the brick wall, mentally berating himself. Ready to mentally celebrate if his gamble paid off.
"Lil…" Kite reached a tentative hand out, brushed the hair back from her face. Her eyes flicked from his jacket, up to meet his and he almost held his breath, poised for a response. It was more than likely he'd just get her to flip out again, run with her heart intact, leaving his once again alone.
"I wondered. Why you kept calling me. Why you didn't just give up, like you did last time." Kite looked at the ground; he'd deserved that. Then again, she'd stayed outside talking to the guy for longer than the time allowed for politeness.
"You're not the easiest person to love, you know." Lilly looked away from him, bit her lip. He sensed her withdrawing, raced to keep her with him.
"But I do anyway." He reached a hand out, slowly, tentatively. It brushed her cheek, softly twisted a strand of hair.
"I have to go in." Lilly motioned to the door, moved back from his hand. He sighed, nodded, watched as she entered the raucous room. As she crossed the floor, she glanced back once, her eyes catching his briefly before she was swallowed up by the crowd.
Kite smiled, winding his scarf in his hands. It wasn't their first kiss, but the look she'd given him when she'd turned before walking to the bar… All was not lost.
I have no idea where Kite took his new job. And I have basically not a clue about American geography, so just use your imagination. And make suggestions about possible places he could be according to the few sketchy details I've put in, because then we'll all know!
As to Lilly's reaction… She doesn't seem like an 'oh my god' type girl. More like a low-key player, trying to hold it together. Let me know what you think.