Middle Meet 1/1
Title: Middle Meet
Author: samirant
Pairing: George/Lexie
Words: 1400ish
Spoilers: After 4x12
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Grey's Anatomy - I just have a fanciful imagination that translates into words.
Summary: When Lexie's tendencies don't fit the situation at hand... well, she's never been one for a back up plan so she's pretty much stuck.
Middle Meet
If there were a day when it actually started, a moment allowed for that inevitable shift, it would have to be when George brought home the lamp.
Because that was how it always happened for her. There came a day when Lexie glanced over and suddenly, he looked different. The 'he' in the situation was always being changed out, from Scott in Junior High who she convinced to go to the movies 'as friends', never mind that she spent two hours carefully curling her hair beforehand, to Phil in senior year who took her to prom as 'best buds' and there went her virginity. They weren't bad guys; in fact they were great guys. There was always a reason to like them, to daydream in slowly increasing increments until she couldn't help herself and made something happen.
There were a lot of reasons not to follow this age-old route with George. A lot.
But then he brought home that stupid lamp.
It was the first really nice thing in their apartment. Their squalid, roach-infested apartment. It was a continuing battle, one Lexie was sure she would eventually win because George was pretty tidy with the right amount of help and they set out enough traps to cover the entire complex. Things were starting to look brighter, never mind the scuffed floors and leaky sink. But that day - it had been hard for both of them, still at the bottom of the ladder as interns and forced to do scut and run errands and generally look like idiots whenever the residents or attendings felt like putting them on the spot. Not even George's previous experience could help him, especially with Sloane still having it out for him and the Chief's high expectations.
Lexie had quietly braced herself when she heard the key in the lock. George had promised not to complain as much and he'd held to it pretty well, but a day like today called for some venting and she knew that as a friend, she had to let him get it out. So she put her book down and took a deep breath and then he walked in with his bag in one arm and a box in the other.
He smiled and presented it with a hello. Lexie could only stare back bemusedly as he tore open the box and pulled out a wad of styrofoam. Then came a dome shade and a brass post that flowed upwards like a champagne glass.
As she opened her mouth to speak, he asked, "We have light bulbs, right?"
"Yeah…"
She got one as he shoved the couch away from the wall and found the outlet. He was still setting it up on the small card table in the corner, the one with uneven legs so that it tipped slightly to the left. Or the right, depending on how you looked at it.
"Sixty watt okay?"
"I guess so," he replied with a shrug. He screwed it in and then tapped the base and gave her a great big smile when it lit. "It's a one-touch. I thought of getting one of those clicky tabbed kind, but this was too cool. What do you think?"
"It's beautiful," Lexie said honestly.
"Yeah." He looked so pleased. Maybe a little with himself, but mostly with the way Lexie tapped it with her fingers, too, and it brightened.
"George-"
"Today sucked," he cut in. "So I figured, you know, maybe it wouldn't suck so much if I got something to counteract it. To be honest, I was planning on getting a cake."
Lexie grinned. "Cake would have been good, but this is better."
"That's what I thought, too." George reached down and picked up her book from her usual perch under the overhead light. He handed it over and added, "Don't stay up too late, okay?"
She didn't answer right away, though George was already walking to his room and yawning. But Lexie should have known from the moment she sat on the couch and stared at his closed door for just a moment too long that she was about to get herself into some trouble.
********************
It's how they started to accumulate the nicer things. A patient of hers died on the table, so that night they got a really nice coffee maker. Stupid Del, the suck-up intern to end all suck-up interns stole his case, so that's how they ended up with shelves not made of particleboard.
But it was also how Lexie started to think things she really shouldn't have been thinking. Because, really, no matter how awkward things were, Izzie still had dibs. Which was ridiculous, because they'd been broken up for months and there was that whole business of bad timing that didn't even seem real anymore…
Seriously, though, the woman could fit Lexie under one heel if she felt like it. Those were some huge feet.
And, you know, they were roommates, blah blah blah, but in Lexie's head, that worked for them. He was one room over and if by some far chance, you know, they kind of, accidentally, by way of circumstance endupsleepingtogetheranditworkedoutforthebest, they wouldn't have to worry about the weird morning after because he'd already seen her without make-up and she'd washed his rattiest pair of sweatpants with some of her towels.
There were just some things a girl couldn't ignore about George. Like how after a long day, he put on some Bob Dylan and plopped down on the couch and zoned out. If Lexie happened to be sitting there, he'd grab her feet, set them on his lap and start rubbing the soles because he knew her shift had been just as tiring. Or his way leaning against the kitchen counter as they made dinner and walking her through a procedure he'd done a couple of times and then turned around to ask for an explanation on something else. And then there was the game night that she insisted on having, to which George had insisted just as much that they would need a lot of liquor. Because he knew even then that no one would come for Monopoly, but they would for tequila and a group converging for any reason would make her happy.
That night, though, she'd watched with a sinking feeling in her stomach as Izzie pulled George into his bedroom and Lexie realized how deep she'd let herself get. No explanation could ever describe her delight when Izzie stomped out only minutes later, her hair still in place and cheeks reddened with anger. George followed after a few seconds and Lexie hoped he didn't know how she'd watched for a sign, any sign, or the relief she felt when she saw only annoyance on his face.
From beside her, though, Meredith blearily watched the entire scene unfold, pointed at her with a shot glass and said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Her face grew hot and Lexie could only mumble, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh." Meredith tossed the dice in her hand and snickered as they rolled far off the board. "She'd squash you like a bug."
Lexie sighed. "Don't I know it."
********************
A set of coffee mugs. Two end tables. Potted plants.
One evening they were so exhausted not even Bob could keep them awake. Somewhere in the deep dark, Lexie stretched out her hand and caused the lamp to glow at its lowest setting. It was George, though, that warmed her from where he'd collapsed over on his side. With the excuse that he couldn't possibly be that comfortable, and he was too sound asleep to wake, she shimmied out from beside him so he stretched lengthwise. And because it was too much to resist, she pulled the sheet that covered the couch to cover them instead and she tucked herself in against him.
She fell asleep instantly, but woke up alone.
********************
Her date with Stupid Del was not the dumbest thing she could have ever done, but George certainly wasn't happy about it either way.
"He calls you Sexie Lexie, he actually spelled it out," George groaned. Lexie grimaced from behind sunglasses, cursing that of course on this day the rain would secede and the emerging sunlight would torture her hung over brain. George had taken the keys first thing, but Lexie didn't expect a miracle cure on the way to work and if this was the way the day was already starting out - "He has absolutely no respect for women. I'd call him this year's version of Alex, but at least Alex has standards. Somewhere. Deep down."
"It was just a date, George." Her head was pounding too much to search for notes of jealousy. If anything he sounded like a disappointed older brother to her fuzzy ears and that did nothing for her ego. "Believe me, it won't be repeated."
"Well… that's good. He doesn't deserve someone like you."
"Yeah, since I'm all about the standards. High-brow, stick-in-the-mud, uptight-"
"Because you're a lady," George said shortly. She could feel him looking over at her, but all she could do was rub at her eyes under the glasses and wish that at least once she'd get a chance to show him how wrong he was about that.
********************
"Seriously, worst date ever."
"No way."
"It's true."
"You were thirteen!"
"One does not forget how a boy gets sick at a horror movie and vomits all over your hair," Lexie said emphatically. "Did I mention my hair was curled? Do you know how long it takes for me to curl this?"
George looked over as she tugged on her ponytail. "You've said it a few times."
"I'm just saying." She rolled over on her stomach and stretched out. The area rug beneath them was soft and clean, new and pretty. "I think this was the right choice."
"Me too." George laced his fingers behind his head. "I still think we should get a TV next."
"When would we have time to watch anything?"
"It'd be nice to at least have the option."
Lexie laughed and clapped her hand down on his chest. It was warm and solid, but she didn't let it linger because lingering meant waking up alone and feeling like an idiot when he never mentioned what happened.
This was the longest she'd lasted, with those rush of feelings moving through her whenever he laughed or talked to her like she was the only one in the room. By this time, Scott had yakked in her hair, Phil had gotten her dress off, Elliot had felt her mouth on his in the library stacks. But every time she thought of reaching out, just once more, she thought of those guys and how they were nowhere to be found. And she wanted George there, even if he was with Izzie or Callie or whomever he fell in love with next time. In the meanwhile, they could still be Lexie and George, roommates extraordinaire, who threw the best liquor-soaked Clue night, with the fastest blender and shiniest cutlery.
Lexie smiled with carefully restrained contentment and rolled over on her back.
But then George leaned over, kissed her and the only real option she had was to break in the rug in exactly the fashion she'd imagined when they'd picked it out at the furniture store.
********************
He wore his rattiest sweatpants and she hadn't touched her lip-gloss in hours. Lexie knew she had to look like a mess, but that didn't stop him from dancing around her to get to the toaster and then kissing her deeply before buttering the bread. His waistband was frayed and she ran her fingers along the edge and smiled when he scooted back from the tickling sensation.
When her smile faded, though, he moved closer and asked her why.
"This… this has been really great, George," she began. An understatement if she'd ever heard one, but if they were ever going to be okay after-
"Can't we just say it's great and keep going with it?" He asked carefully.
"Y-you want to?"
"Don't you?"
Lexie swallowed hard. "I do. Of course I do, but I don't have the best track record when it comes to stuff like this."
"I hate to break it to you, but neither do I," George said back. "But it's either this or one of us moves out and I have no idea how we'll split up all the stuff we've bought."
She laughed out loud. "So we'll give it a try for the lamp and the ficus and the rug? Those are our deciding factors?"
"Well, I really like that rug right now, so I'd fight you pretty hard for it," George replied with a grin. He moved closer to her and looped his arms around her waist. His face grew more serious, even with the smile. "How about this? It clicked for me last night, everything at once. I like to make you smile. And how I make you laugh. And how you get really funny during Catchphrase if we've given you enough vodka."
"Yeah?" Embarrassed by his forthright study, she glanced down at his chest and then back up. "I thought, you know, after that night on the couch-"
"It was a little weird," George consented, "but mostly weird in how it felt good, so, I don't know, so I figured if I left it alone..."
"And then it clicked?" Lexie asked with a smile.
He answered her with another kiss, and her last thought before completely giving in was that they might have to skip the TV- next on the list was a bigger bed.
********************
A/N: It's been a while, huh? I like the thought of G/L, so there you go. Can't say when I'll write another fic because for the forseeable future (now that I'm on break), I'll simply wait for ideas as they come along. Hope you enjoyed it - thanks for reading.
Author: samirant
Pairing: George/Lexie
Words: 1400ish
Spoilers: After 4x12
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Grey's Anatomy - I just have a fanciful imagination that translates into words.
Summary: When Lexie's tendencies don't fit the situation at hand... well, she's never been one for a back up plan so she's pretty much stuck.
Middle Meet
If there were a day when it actually started, a moment allowed for that inevitable shift, it would have to be when George brought home the lamp.
Because that was how it always happened for her. There came a day when Lexie glanced over and suddenly, he looked different. The 'he' in the situation was always being changed out, from Scott in Junior High who she convinced to go to the movies 'as friends', never mind that she spent two hours carefully curling her hair beforehand, to Phil in senior year who took her to prom as 'best buds' and there went her virginity. They weren't bad guys; in fact they were great guys. There was always a reason to like them, to daydream in slowly increasing increments until she couldn't help herself and made something happen.
There were a lot of reasons not to follow this age-old route with George. A lot.
But then he brought home that stupid lamp.
It was the first really nice thing in their apartment. Their squalid, roach-infested apartment. It was a continuing battle, one Lexie was sure she would eventually win because George was pretty tidy with the right amount of help and they set out enough traps to cover the entire complex. Things were starting to look brighter, never mind the scuffed floors and leaky sink. But that day - it had been hard for both of them, still at the bottom of the ladder as interns and forced to do scut and run errands and generally look like idiots whenever the residents or attendings felt like putting them on the spot. Not even George's previous experience could help him, especially with Sloane still having it out for him and the Chief's high expectations.
Lexie had quietly braced herself when she heard the key in the lock. George had promised not to complain as much and he'd held to it pretty well, but a day like today called for some venting and she knew that as a friend, she had to let him get it out. So she put her book down and took a deep breath and then he walked in with his bag in one arm and a box in the other.
He smiled and presented it with a hello. Lexie could only stare back bemusedly as he tore open the box and pulled out a wad of styrofoam. Then came a dome shade and a brass post that flowed upwards like a champagne glass.
As she opened her mouth to speak, he asked, "We have light bulbs, right?"
"Yeah…"
She got one as he shoved the couch away from the wall and found the outlet. He was still setting it up on the small card table in the corner, the one with uneven legs so that it tipped slightly to the left. Or the right, depending on how you looked at it.
"Sixty watt okay?"
"I guess so," he replied with a shrug. He screwed it in and then tapped the base and gave her a great big smile when it lit. "It's a one-touch. I thought of getting one of those clicky tabbed kind, but this was too cool. What do you think?"
"It's beautiful," Lexie said honestly.
"Yeah." He looked so pleased. Maybe a little with himself, but mostly with the way Lexie tapped it with her fingers, too, and it brightened.
"George-"
"Today sucked," he cut in. "So I figured, you know, maybe it wouldn't suck so much if I got something to counteract it. To be honest, I was planning on getting a cake."
Lexie grinned. "Cake would have been good, but this is better."
"That's what I thought, too." George reached down and picked up her book from her usual perch under the overhead light. He handed it over and added, "Don't stay up too late, okay?"
She didn't answer right away, though George was already walking to his room and yawning. But Lexie should have known from the moment she sat on the couch and stared at his closed door for just a moment too long that she was about to get herself into some trouble.
********************
It's how they started to accumulate the nicer things. A patient of hers died on the table, so that night they got a really nice coffee maker. Stupid Del, the suck-up intern to end all suck-up interns stole his case, so that's how they ended up with shelves not made of particleboard.
But it was also how Lexie started to think things she really shouldn't have been thinking. Because, really, no matter how awkward things were, Izzie still had dibs. Which was ridiculous, because they'd been broken up for months and there was that whole business of bad timing that didn't even seem real anymore…
Seriously, though, the woman could fit Lexie under one heel if she felt like it. Those were some huge feet.
And, you know, they were roommates, blah blah blah, but in Lexie's head, that worked for them. He was one room over and if by some far chance, you know, they kind of, accidentally, by way of circumstance endupsleepingtogetheranditworkedoutforthebest, they wouldn't have to worry about the weird morning after because he'd already seen her without make-up and she'd washed his rattiest pair of sweatpants with some of her towels.
There were just some things a girl couldn't ignore about George. Like how after a long day, he put on some Bob Dylan and plopped down on the couch and zoned out. If Lexie happened to be sitting there, he'd grab her feet, set them on his lap and start rubbing the soles because he knew her shift had been just as tiring. Or his way leaning against the kitchen counter as they made dinner and walking her through a procedure he'd done a couple of times and then turned around to ask for an explanation on something else. And then there was the game night that she insisted on having, to which George had insisted just as much that they would need a lot of liquor. Because he knew even then that no one would come for Monopoly, but they would for tequila and a group converging for any reason would make her happy.
That night, though, she'd watched with a sinking feeling in her stomach as Izzie pulled George into his bedroom and Lexie realized how deep she'd let herself get. No explanation could ever describe her delight when Izzie stomped out only minutes later, her hair still in place and cheeks reddened with anger. George followed after a few seconds and Lexie hoped he didn't know how she'd watched for a sign, any sign, or the relief she felt when she saw only annoyance on his face.
From beside her, though, Meredith blearily watched the entire scene unfold, pointed at her with a shot glass and said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Her face grew hot and Lexie could only mumble, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh." Meredith tossed the dice in her hand and snickered as they rolled far off the board. "She'd squash you like a bug."
Lexie sighed. "Don't I know it."
********************
A set of coffee mugs. Two end tables. Potted plants.
One evening they were so exhausted not even Bob could keep them awake. Somewhere in the deep dark, Lexie stretched out her hand and caused the lamp to glow at its lowest setting. It was George, though, that warmed her from where he'd collapsed over on his side. With the excuse that he couldn't possibly be that comfortable, and he was too sound asleep to wake, she shimmied out from beside him so he stretched lengthwise. And because it was too much to resist, she pulled the sheet that covered the couch to cover them instead and she tucked herself in against him.
She fell asleep instantly, but woke up alone.
********************
Her date with Stupid Del was not the dumbest thing she could have ever done, but George certainly wasn't happy about it either way.
"He calls you Sexie Lexie, he actually spelled it out," George groaned. Lexie grimaced from behind sunglasses, cursing that of course on this day the rain would secede and the emerging sunlight would torture her hung over brain. George had taken the keys first thing, but Lexie didn't expect a miracle cure on the way to work and if this was the way the day was already starting out - "He has absolutely no respect for women. I'd call him this year's version of Alex, but at least Alex has standards. Somewhere. Deep down."
"It was just a date, George." Her head was pounding too much to search for notes of jealousy. If anything he sounded like a disappointed older brother to her fuzzy ears and that did nothing for her ego. "Believe me, it won't be repeated."
"Well… that's good. He doesn't deserve someone like you."
"Yeah, since I'm all about the standards. High-brow, stick-in-the-mud, uptight-"
"Because you're a lady," George said shortly. She could feel him looking over at her, but all she could do was rub at her eyes under the glasses and wish that at least once she'd get a chance to show him how wrong he was about that.
********************
"Seriously, worst date ever."
"No way."
"It's true."
"You were thirteen!"
"One does not forget how a boy gets sick at a horror movie and vomits all over your hair," Lexie said emphatically. "Did I mention my hair was curled? Do you know how long it takes for me to curl this?"
George looked over as she tugged on her ponytail. "You've said it a few times."
"I'm just saying." She rolled over on her stomach and stretched out. The area rug beneath them was soft and clean, new and pretty. "I think this was the right choice."
"Me too." George laced his fingers behind his head. "I still think we should get a TV next."
"When would we have time to watch anything?"
"It'd be nice to at least have the option."
Lexie laughed and clapped her hand down on his chest. It was warm and solid, but she didn't let it linger because lingering meant waking up alone and feeling like an idiot when he never mentioned what happened.
This was the longest she'd lasted, with those rush of feelings moving through her whenever he laughed or talked to her like she was the only one in the room. By this time, Scott had yakked in her hair, Phil had gotten her dress off, Elliot had felt her mouth on his in the library stacks. But every time she thought of reaching out, just once more, she thought of those guys and how they were nowhere to be found. And she wanted George there, even if he was with Izzie or Callie or whomever he fell in love with next time. In the meanwhile, they could still be Lexie and George, roommates extraordinaire, who threw the best liquor-soaked Clue night, with the fastest blender and shiniest cutlery.
Lexie smiled with carefully restrained contentment and rolled over on her back.
But then George leaned over, kissed her and the only real option she had was to break in the rug in exactly the fashion she'd imagined when they'd picked it out at the furniture store.
********************
He wore his rattiest sweatpants and she hadn't touched her lip-gloss in hours. Lexie knew she had to look like a mess, but that didn't stop him from dancing around her to get to the toaster and then kissing her deeply before buttering the bread. His waistband was frayed and she ran her fingers along the edge and smiled when he scooted back from the tickling sensation.
When her smile faded, though, he moved closer and asked her why.
"This… this has been really great, George," she began. An understatement if she'd ever heard one, but if they were ever going to be okay after-
"Can't we just say it's great and keep going with it?" He asked carefully.
"Y-you want to?"
"Don't you?"
Lexie swallowed hard. "I do. Of course I do, but I don't have the best track record when it comes to stuff like this."
"I hate to break it to you, but neither do I," George said back. "But it's either this or one of us moves out and I have no idea how we'll split up all the stuff we've bought."
She laughed out loud. "So we'll give it a try for the lamp and the ficus and the rug? Those are our deciding factors?"
"Well, I really like that rug right now, so I'd fight you pretty hard for it," George replied with a grin. He moved closer to her and looped his arms around her waist. His face grew more serious, even with the smile. "How about this? It clicked for me last night, everything at once. I like to make you smile. And how I make you laugh. And how you get really funny during Catchphrase if we've given you enough vodka."
"Yeah?" Embarrassed by his forthright study, she glanced down at his chest and then back up. "I thought, you know, after that night on the couch-"
"It was a little weird," George consented, "but mostly weird in how it felt good, so, I don't know, so I figured if I left it alone..."
"And then it clicked?" Lexie asked with a smile.
He answered her with another kiss, and her last thought before completely giving in was that they might have to skip the TV- next on the list was a bigger bed.
********************
A/N: It's been a while, huh? I like the thought of G/L, so there you go. Can't say when I'll write another fic because for the forseeable future (now that I'm on break), I'll simply wait for ideas as they come along. Hope you enjoyed it - thanks for reading.