Crossover ficlet #5: How it Started (Asher/Catherine Willows)
TITLE: How it Started
PAIRING: Asher (AB)/Catherine Willows (CSI)
RATING: pea.gee
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone!
SPOILERS: None, really.
NOTES: I really need to shorten these. Ficlets should be little!
When she and Lindsey moved, she knew it would be for the best. Her family had gone---died, moved, changed---and clinging to the debris wasn't doing her heart any favours. Lindsey needed a fresh start away from the shadows of her grandfather and of her mother; Catherine could give her that and in doing so, she found a fresh start for herself.
It was dangerous, working in the preternatural crime division but she knew how dangerous it could be already. She liked investigating the crimes, trying to determine what happened, speaking for the victims---even as much as she hated the grief it gave her.
Blake didn't trust her, but Blake had a problem with women in general. Catherine didn't mind. She got along with the others well enough. She met friends outside of the police force. She grew more involved in Lindsey’s life.
But, she still felt like something was missing. It was as if the dearly departed had taken something from her---pieces of her soul that they retained as cost or punishment. She went through the motions, she knew some aspects of her life were improving... but there was still something just beyond her grasp.
When Asher dropped into her life---literally, since he had flown to the crime scene to relay an important message to Blake---she hadn't thought much of him. He rarely spoke to anyone but the vampire executioner and when he did he was incredibly rude. Catherine particularly thought he was studying her as if he was wondering how she would taste. She didn't have superpowers but she hated when vampires treated her as if she were some sort of subspecies, lower than the scum on their shoes. She had been fully prepared to ignore Asher and move on with the crime scene.
She never planned on seeing him again.
He had, apparently, other plans.
The blond had made his move slowly. He had started by meeting Blake at the end of interrogations---and always coming inside if the rest of the team was still inside. He hadn't said anything at first; he would look at Catherine with the one eye that wasn't hidden by his beautiful hair until one of them would look away. Then, the visits stopped, but every Friday, she would receive a bouquet of flowers with an unsigned card.
Zerbrowski had entirely too much fun teasing her. He still enjoyed it when Asher sent flowers with his name on the card.
She hadn't realised what was happening when Blake stopped working cases with her. Or when she would give her the cold shoulder.
She put it together after she caught Zerbrowski asking the necromancer if she was still pissed one of her boyfriends broke up with her---and after Asher called her desk and asked her out on a date.
Once she got past his cool exterior, she found that any problems Blake was giving her didn't matter so much. Asher seemed to warm her from the inside out---without vampiric powers---and he also unknowingly gave her back something she thought was lost forever.
With each moment he spent with her, she felt more complete. It wasn't so much that he completed her in a cheesy, goofball, romantic movie way. She felt more like the self she used to be. She felt more like herself, instead of someone that was imitating her life. Every touch and every word between them rebuilt her somehow.
She thought about their coming together often since she became his.
Even years later, she thought about it. She listened to her daughter and lover having a conversation and she thought about how different their lives would be if Asher hadn't pursued her. She sipped her wine, allowing him to taste it through her and the marks they shared, and after they shared a secret smile, they both returned their attentions to Lindsey, who was telling them about her day.
She couldn't imagine a world without him, so she didn't.
PAIRING: Asher (AB)/Catherine Willows (CSI)
RATING: pea.gee
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone!
SPOILERS: None, really.
NOTES: I really need to shorten these. Ficlets should be little!
When she and Lindsey moved, she knew it would be for the best. Her family had gone---died, moved, changed---and clinging to the debris wasn't doing her heart any favours. Lindsey needed a fresh start away from the shadows of her grandfather and of her mother; Catherine could give her that and in doing so, she found a fresh start for herself.
It was dangerous, working in the preternatural crime division but she knew how dangerous it could be already. She liked investigating the crimes, trying to determine what happened, speaking for the victims---even as much as she hated the grief it gave her.
Blake didn't trust her, but Blake had a problem with women in general. Catherine didn't mind. She got along with the others well enough. She met friends outside of the police force. She grew more involved in Lindsey’s life.
But, she still felt like something was missing. It was as if the dearly departed had taken something from her---pieces of her soul that they retained as cost or punishment. She went through the motions, she knew some aspects of her life were improving... but there was still something just beyond her grasp.
When Asher dropped into her life---literally, since he had flown to the crime scene to relay an important message to Blake---she hadn't thought much of him. He rarely spoke to anyone but the vampire executioner and when he did he was incredibly rude. Catherine particularly thought he was studying her as if he was wondering how she would taste. She didn't have superpowers but she hated when vampires treated her as if she were some sort of subspecies, lower than the scum on their shoes. She had been fully prepared to ignore Asher and move on with the crime scene.
She never planned on seeing him again.
He had, apparently, other plans.
The blond had made his move slowly. He had started by meeting Blake at the end of interrogations---and always coming inside if the rest of the team was still inside. He hadn't said anything at first; he would look at Catherine with the one eye that wasn't hidden by his beautiful hair until one of them would look away. Then, the visits stopped, but every Friday, she would receive a bouquet of flowers with an unsigned card.
Zerbrowski had entirely too much fun teasing her. He still enjoyed it when Asher sent flowers with his name on the card.
She hadn't realised what was happening when Blake stopped working cases with her. Or when she would give her the cold shoulder.
She put it together after she caught Zerbrowski asking the necromancer if she was still pissed one of her boyfriends broke up with her---and after Asher called her desk and asked her out on a date.
Once she got past his cool exterior, she found that any problems Blake was giving her didn't matter so much. Asher seemed to warm her from the inside out---without vampiric powers---and he also unknowingly gave her back something she thought was lost forever.
With each moment he spent with her, she felt more complete. It wasn't so much that he completed her in a cheesy, goofball, romantic movie way. She felt more like the self she used to be. She felt more like herself, instead of someone that was imitating her life. Every touch and every word between them rebuilt her somehow.
She thought about their coming together often since she became his.
Even years later, she thought about it. She listened to her daughter and lover having a conversation and she thought about how different their lives would be if Asher hadn't pursued her. She sipped her wine, allowing him to taste it through her and the marks they shared, and after they shared a secret smile, they both returned their attentions to Lindsey, who was telling them about her day.
She couldn't imagine a world without him, so she didn't.