Kalinda balanced the tray against her hip and the door before she carefully extricated one hand and turned the doorknob.
"Alicia? Are awake?" she asked, settling her hand back on the tray before walking through the door and kicking it shut behind her.
"Yeah, I'm up," the slightly muzzy voice of her lo--Alicia replied (Kalinda grinned, not for very long, she thought), and the bedside light switched on. Kalinda squinted into the light, saw Alicia still curled up under the covers, yawning, eyes still sleepy. Her bangs fell across one eye as she stretched.
They didn't usually do--this--but Alicia had literally been up all night working on the St. James case, and when she'd started falling asleep over lunch Kalinda had ordered her back home. Alicia had been pulling so many hours recently, and Diane had been being such a bear, and the kids had been a headache, and Kalinda knew Alicia just needed a break, so she'd sent Alicia home, did the extra witness interviews herself, picked Grace up.
(She ignored the fluttering in her chest that tells her they should do this more often.)
Alicia sniffed. "What's on the tray?" she asked, perking up, sitting back against the headboard. Kalinda's eyes traced the dip of her singlet's neckline before belatedly wrenching back up to Alicia's. Alicia's eyes were laughing.
"Sesame chicken and pork fried rice for you," Kalinda recovered after a beat, walked smoothly over to the bed, "sweet and sour and white rice for me." She set the tray down next to Alicia, settled on its other side.
Alicia smiled. "My favorite?" she asked, and Kalinda looked away, felt the heat in her cheeks in response. This is why she doesn't do...this.
(She knew, she knew just how Alicia will be looking at her, if she looks back up. Kalinda hasn't found the courage yet to look, to see, to know.)
"Eat before it gets cold," she ordered instead, and they made short work of the food. Kalinda filled Alicia in on the firm's afternoon--Eli and David Lee had had a spectacular fight (it's a substitute for something else she suggested slyly and Alicia almost sprayed her drink across the room)), Diane was pining for that server guy without knowing she was pining, and Kalinda had gotten into a fight with the cranky IT guy again.
"We need to fire him," she complained as Alicia chuckled, twisted to put the tray on her bedstand before turning back. She wrapped a loose hand around Kalinda's wrist, pulled.
Kalinda came, squirming closer, burying her face in the crook of Alicia's neck. The safest place in the world, she thought idly, and was immediately horrified with herself. How...ugh. God.
"And you got Grace to her sleepover okay?" Alicia asked. Kalinda made a face against the skin of Alicia's collarbone, didn't reply. The silence stretched.
"Kalinda?" Alicia asked, and there was faint alarm now. She pulled back, enough to meet Kalinda's eyes. Kalinda, deprived of her hiding spot, pouted slightly.
"Yes, I dropped her off, she was fine." She played it off like it was no big deal, but Alicia was studying her now with those big brown eyes.
"But...?" Alicia let it dangle.
Kalinda huffed, waited a few moments. "She asked questions," she finally confesses petulantly, face puckering.
Alicia's face relaxed. "Teenagers do that," she said neutrally.
Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitmightbefoundFebruary 20 2012, 05:46:35 UTC
Kalinda gave her a baleful look, one that settled into something a little more...despairing, despite all her best intentions. "Questions," she repeated, and Alicia bit her lip, amusement flooding her face.
Kalinda felt her face heat again, looked away. She hates feeling out of control, admitting to being out of her depth, being unsettled, and this....
It was so important.
"Kalinda?" It was a question now, and Alicia was smoothing the crows' feet at the corner of her eyes. "Was it okay?"
Kalinda took a deep breath (you knew this, you wanted this), and looked back at Alicia. The other woman's concern touched something inside her, and Kalinda exhaled, finding herself smiling against her will. "It was...something," she replied with a smile, and Alicia gave her an adoring look. (Kalinda knew the same silly, stupid look is on her own face.)
"Something, huh?" Alicia breathed, and Kalinda's eyes dropped to Alicia's lips. She decided they had much better things to be doing than this conversation.
"Something," she confirmed, shifting closer, and Alicia chuckled lowly, rolling onto her back, pulling Kalinda on top of her.
"Something," Alicia whispered, and then there was no more talking.
Re: Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitmightbefoundFebruary 21 2012, 00:33:32 UTC
Aw, thanks! I just have this mental image of Kalinda trying SO HARD to be all stoic, but you can totally tell she's really happy, and it's JUST SO CUTE. Gah!
Re: Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitsweetjamieleeFebruary 20 2012, 17:30:45 UTC
YOU. You WROTE!!! And I am just so excited and pleased and I am doing twirls on my couch the best I can (hint: not very well). This is the best President's Day present EVER!
So part the 1st: Okay, LOVE Kalinda with Grace, being awkward and Kalinda-ish and awesome all at the same time. I think you got into the mind of a teenager pretty damn well, and specifically got in the mind of Miss Blurts-a-Lot herself very well. Kalinda would totally, TOTALLY be the cool, bad-ass step-mom, I don't even care. LOL at her head-banging the second Grace is out of sight.
And part the 2nd: KALICIA. God, how badly do I *want* this for them? Kalinda's bring her meals in bed! They are SNUGGLING. (Bonus LOL for the Eli/David Lee OTP shout-out.) Everybody's so HAPPY (Kalinda begrudgingly so, but WHATEVER, I think it might take her awhile to really believe she can do this, and deserves it). It gives my heart *feeeeeelings*.
In conclusion, I hereby designate K/A happy family future fic the world's best genre, and want you to write ALL THE THINGS. Thank you for sharing this!!
Re: Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitmightbefoundFebruary 21 2012, 00:39:12 UTC
Aw, now you're just making me blush! I'm glad you liked it. The prompt caught my fancy and wouldn't let go until I wrote. :) Although, ew, I'm reading it in the light of day (and with some sleep under my belt), and holycrap the tense shifts are HORRENDOUS. I...usually edit much better than this. Facepalm.
And I'm glad Grace worked for you! I couldn't decide whether to have her be totally innocent of what she was doing to Kalinda or a little devil, but ultimately I decided that the former was both more in character and made for a better payoff. So I'm glad she wasn't too OOC!
Kalinda tries so hard not to be happy, but sometimes she just can't help herself. :) I REALLY WANT KALINDA TO ADOPT A DOG, OKAY. A SCRUFFY UGLY MUTT WITH ONE EAR ALL TATTERED FROM FIGHTING. ALICIA WILL TAKE ONE LOOK AT IT, LAUGH HER ASS OFF, AND THEN FALL IN LOVE. KALINDA WILL BE PLEASED...AND VAGUELY JEALOUS.
Re: Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitdemokaFebruary 26 2012, 12:26:18 UTC
*giggles hysterically* I like Grace again! Good job!
Why was Kalinda chauffeuring Grace today? That I'm a little curious about. (And then, I read part 2! Awww! *huggles Kalinda*)
But haha, I can totally relate to the just Kalinda, not Ms Sharma shenanigans. Before I'd get really annoyed when people told their kids to give me their lollies to scan and referred to me as "the lady". But then I realised, to them tiny humans, I am! XP
Server guy! Oh Bryan Brown, why I am suddenly seeing fellow Aussies in random episodes of my tv shows?! XP (Although I am torn because I shipped Diane/Mc Veigh so hard!)
HAHAHA! I kept about to post and then realised that there was more! *cheering*
But yes, I really enjoyed reading that! It was fun and cute and adorable! Great stuff, like the Eli & David Lee smarm from K! Thanks for sharing!
Re: Part 2 continued!--stupid character limitmightbefoundMarch 2 2012, 06:01:15 UTC
Ack, I'm sorry, lj didn't notify me about your comment! Thanks--I'm glad you liked it! (Kalinda perhaps secretly shipping Eli/David Lee makes me SO HAPPY.)
Stupid LJ ate my comment...threeguessesMarch 2 2012, 17:09:41 UTC
I just love the way you've written Kalinda's vulnerability here--not wanting to look at Alicia, bringing a dinner tray in and then regretting it because of FEELINGS. God, Kalinda. BE MORE OBVIOUS.
Re: Stupid LJ ate my comment...mightbefoundMarch 2 2012, 22:43:44 UTC
Thank you! Yeah, I imagine Kalinda as totally the type of gf who would be all "EW, FEELINGS, WHO NEEDS THOSE THINGS"...even as she gazes mushily at Alicia. The feelings, they sneak out, Kalinda!
"Alicia? Are awake?" she asked, settling her hand back on the tray before walking through the door and kicking it shut behind her.
"Yeah, I'm up," the slightly muzzy voice of her lo--Alicia replied (Kalinda grinned, not for very long, she thought), and the bedside light switched on. Kalinda squinted into the light, saw Alicia still curled up under the covers, yawning, eyes still sleepy. Her bangs fell across one eye as she stretched.
They didn't usually do--this--but Alicia had literally been up all night working on the St. James case, and when she'd started falling asleep over lunch Kalinda had ordered her back home. Alicia had been pulling so many hours recently, and Diane had been being such a bear, and the kids had been a headache, and Kalinda knew Alicia just needed a break, so she'd sent Alicia home, did the extra witness interviews herself, picked Grace up.
(She ignored the fluttering in her chest that tells her they should do this more often.)
Alicia sniffed. "What's on the tray?" she asked, perking up, sitting back against the headboard. Kalinda's eyes traced the dip of her singlet's neckline before belatedly wrenching back up to Alicia's. Alicia's eyes were laughing.
"Sesame chicken and pork fried rice for you," Kalinda recovered after a beat, walked smoothly over to the bed, "sweet and sour and white rice for me." She set the tray down next to Alicia, settled on its other side.
Alicia smiled. "My favorite?" she asked, and Kalinda looked away, felt the heat in her cheeks in response. This is why she doesn't do...this.
(She knew, she knew just how Alicia will be looking at her, if she looks back up. Kalinda hasn't found the courage yet to look, to see, to know.)
"Eat before it gets cold," she ordered instead, and they made short work of the food. Kalinda filled Alicia in on the firm's afternoon--Eli and David Lee had had a spectacular fight (it's a substitute for something else she suggested slyly and Alicia almost sprayed her drink across the room)), Diane was pining for that server guy without knowing she was pining, and Kalinda had gotten into a fight with the cranky IT guy again.
"We need to fire him," she complained as Alicia chuckled, twisted to put the tray on her bedstand before turning back. She wrapped a loose hand around Kalinda's wrist, pulled.
Kalinda came, squirming closer, burying her face in the crook of Alicia's neck. The safest place in the world, she thought idly, and was immediately horrified with herself. How...ugh. God.
"And you got Grace to her sleepover okay?" Alicia asked. Kalinda made a face against the skin of Alicia's collarbone, didn't reply. The silence stretched.
"Kalinda?" Alicia asked, and there was faint alarm now. She pulled back, enough to meet Kalinda's eyes. Kalinda, deprived of her hiding spot, pouted slightly.
"Yes, I dropped her off, she was fine." She played it off like it was no big deal, but Alicia was studying her now with those big brown eyes.
"But...?" Alicia let it dangle.
Kalinda huffed, waited a few moments. "She asked questions," she finally confesses petulantly, face puckering.
Alicia's face relaxed. "Teenagers do that," she said neutrally.
Kalinda eyed her, suspicious. "You're mocking me."
Alicia gave her an angelic, solemn look. "Never."
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Kalinda felt her face heat again, looked away. She hates feeling out of control, admitting to being out of her depth, being unsettled, and this....
It was so important.
"Kalinda?" It was a question now, and Alicia was smoothing the crows' feet at the corner of her eyes. "Was it okay?"
Kalinda took a deep breath (you knew this, you wanted this), and looked back at Alicia. The other woman's concern touched something inside her, and Kalinda exhaled, finding herself smiling against her will. "It was...something," she replied with a smile, and Alicia gave her an adoring look. (Kalinda knew the same silly, stupid look is on her own face.)
"Something, huh?" Alicia breathed, and Kalinda's eyes dropped to Alicia's lips. She decided they had much better things to be doing than this conversation.
"Something," she confirmed, shifting closer, and Alicia chuckled lowly, rolling onto her back, pulling Kalinda on top of her.
"Something," Alicia whispered, and then there was no more talking.
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So part the 1st: Okay, LOVE Kalinda with Grace, being awkward and Kalinda-ish and awesome all at the same time. I think you got into the mind of a teenager pretty damn well, and specifically got in the mind of Miss Blurts-a-Lot herself very well. Kalinda would totally, TOTALLY be the cool, bad-ass step-mom, I don't even care. LOL at her head-banging the second Grace is out of sight.
And part the 2nd: KALICIA. God, how badly do I *want* this for them? Kalinda's bring her meals in bed! They are SNUGGLING. (Bonus LOL for the Eli/David Lee OTP shout-out.) Everybody's so HAPPY (Kalinda begrudgingly so, but WHATEVER, I think it might take her awhile to really believe she can do this, and deserves it). It gives my heart *feeeeeelings*.
In conclusion, I hereby designate K/A happy family future fic the world's best genre, and want you to write ALL THE THINGS. Thank you for sharing this!!
Reply
And I'm glad Grace worked for you! I couldn't decide whether to have her be totally innocent of what she was doing to Kalinda or a little devil, but ultimately I decided that the former was both more in character and made for a better payoff. So I'm glad she wasn't too OOC!
Kalinda tries so hard not to be happy, but sometimes she just can't help herself. :) I REALLY WANT KALINDA TO ADOPT A DOG, OKAY. A SCRUFFY UGLY MUTT WITH ONE EAR ALL TATTERED FROM FIGHTING. ALICIA WILL TAKE ONE LOOK AT IT, LAUGH HER ASS OFF, AND THEN FALL IN LOVE. KALINDA WILL BE PLEASED...AND VAGUELY JEALOUS.
Glad you liked it all! :)
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Why was Kalinda chauffeuring Grace today? That I'm a little curious about. (And then, I read part 2! Awww! *huggles Kalinda*)
But haha, I can totally relate to the just Kalinda, not Ms Sharma shenanigans. Before I'd get really annoyed when people told their kids to give me their lollies to scan and referred to me as "the lady". But then I realised, to them tiny humans, I am! XP
Server guy! Oh Bryan Brown, why I am suddenly seeing fellow Aussies in random episodes of my tv shows?! XP (Although I am torn because I shipped Diane/Mc Veigh so hard!)
HAHAHA! I kept about to post and then realised that there was more! *cheering*
But yes, I really enjoyed reading that! It was fun and cute and adorable! Great stuff, like the Eli & David Lee smarm from K!
Thanks for sharing!
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