Fic: Eight First Times/Sparkle (Alicia/Kalinda)
Title: Eight First Times/Sparkle
Author: variousflumps
Pairing: Alicia/Kalinda
Rating: PG
Summary: The one where A and K are not remotely smooth/The one where there's a ring.
Author's note: Archiving two short fics written for sweetjamielee's excellent ficathon. New fic coming soon.
Eight First Times
The date - they choose the wrong restaurant, a tiny little Italian place with the tables all scrunched together, and Alicia feels thoroughly exposed. Kalinda’s no good at small talk, Alicia’s no good at flirting, and the waiter’s no good at subtlety. The third time he winks at them, Kalinda asks him if he has something in his eye. They don’t leave a tip.
The kiss - they’re both a little drunk. Kalinda breathes like she’s at altitude. Alicia grabs onto Kalinda’s body and inadvertently fondles a breast. She rips her hand away, apologizes for 30 seconds and practically runs to her car.
The road trip - Kalinda watches Alicia more than she watches the road and gets them utterly lost. Kalinda wants to follow the satnav and Alicia wants to ask for directions. They end up in a town with a population of three rather elderly sheep. They eventually find their way out by following a bus that says ‘Chicago’ on the front. They don’t talk on the way home.
The coming out - they’re in a meeting room with Cary discussing a case, all business, when Alicia casually leans over and zips up the final few inches of Kalinda’s tight leather jacket. Cary gapes at her, open-mouthed. “Uh,” Alicia says. “It’s cold. In this room. She might have been cold.” Kalinda shakes her head. (She does it again two weeks later, calling Kalinda ‘sweetheart’ in front of Diane. Kalinda gives her a look that says “You know, for an intelligent woman, you’re not very bright sometimes.” She can’t help but agree.)
The same-bed sleeping - Kalinda snores. In a gentle, snuffly way, but she definitely snores. Alicia stares at her, half disbelieving, half charmed. She moves to the spare bedroom and sets the alarm for 6.00am so she can sneak back in. The next day she buys a six months’ supply of ear plugs.
The bath - Alicia tries so hard to avert her eyes that she gets shampoo in Kalinda’s ear. She cleans it with a washcloth and sloshes water all down her shirt. When Kalinda stands up Alicia wraps her in a towel that she promptly realizes is only a hand towel. She backs away immediately, treads on a plastic duck, and almost breaks her ankle.
The I Love You - Alicia whispers it on their fourth date after the most intense kiss of her life, but Kalinda’s blood is pumping through her veins and she doesn’t hear her. She says it again two weeks later and then realizes that Kalinda’s already asleep. She tries again the following morning but Kalinda’s phone buzzes just as she starts, and Kalinda says “What?” and she can’t quite do it. She eventually writes it in a text message just to get the first one out there. (It takes 47 seconds for Kalinda to text it back.)
The sex - they wait too long and find that slow and tender is beyond them. They don’t make it to the bedroom. Kalinda rips two buttons off Alicia’s designer dress and breaks a fingernail in the process. Alicia bangs her head on the coffee table. Kalinda gets carpet burn on her belly. Alicia comes so hard she makes a squealing noise and hides her face in her hands for five minutes.
When she finally opens her eyes, Kalinda is smiling at her.
She smiles back.
Sparkle
As she indulges in her new favorite past-time - standing silently in the background, watching Alicia’s blissful smile as she stares at her own left hand - she thinks about her past. What she thought she wanted. Who she thought she was.
What you need, Leela, is the love of a good woman.
Leela would have punched anyone who’d said that.
And Kalinda? Kalinda’s not so sure, now. Kalinda thinks that maybe she’s been wrong about some things.
What you need, Kalinda, is a divorced, suburban, forty-something mother of two.
Three months’ salary, that’s what she’d paid. That was the correct amount; she’d looked it up. A substantial amount of money, considering what she earned now, but nothing that she couldn’t spare.
And the value of buying expensive things was that they came with expensive service. No disapproving glances, no feeble jokes. As if it was just another purchase that they’d seen a hundred times before. (Maybe it was, now.)
What you need, Kalinda, is to settle down.
So three months’ salary, and a good choice, she thought. Classic: not too showy, not too small. Alicia had seemed to agree. Although (once she’d stopped crying, once she’d released Kalinda from the longest hug in history) she’d demanded to know that Kalinda hadn’t spent all of her savings.
She hadn’t really answered, just said that it was only what was appropriate, and Alicia had still looked at her like she was the most romantic woman in the world. She liked putting that expression on her face. There were a lot of expressions that she liked putting on Alicia’s face, these days.
And she’s recently found a new favorite. A sentimental, loving, utterly happy expression as she stares at the sparkling diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.
What you need, Kalinda, is a wife.
Sometimes she wonders why she’d been so unaware of what was in her own soul. Sometimes she wonders why she’s turned out like everybody else. No different, after all.
Mostly, she doesn’t give a damn. Mostly, she just watches Alicia’s happiness, and is proud.
Author: variousflumps
Pairing: Alicia/Kalinda
Rating: PG
Summary: The one where A and K are not remotely smooth/The one where there's a ring.
Author's note: Archiving two short fics written for sweetjamielee's excellent ficathon. New fic coming soon.
Eight First Times
The date - they choose the wrong restaurant, a tiny little Italian place with the tables all scrunched together, and Alicia feels thoroughly exposed. Kalinda’s no good at small talk, Alicia’s no good at flirting, and the waiter’s no good at subtlety. The third time he winks at them, Kalinda asks him if he has something in his eye. They don’t leave a tip.
The kiss - they’re both a little drunk. Kalinda breathes like she’s at altitude. Alicia grabs onto Kalinda’s body and inadvertently fondles a breast. She rips her hand away, apologizes for 30 seconds and practically runs to her car.
The road trip - Kalinda watches Alicia more than she watches the road and gets them utterly lost. Kalinda wants to follow the satnav and Alicia wants to ask for directions. They end up in a town with a population of three rather elderly sheep. They eventually find their way out by following a bus that says ‘Chicago’ on the front. They don’t talk on the way home.
The coming out - they’re in a meeting room with Cary discussing a case, all business, when Alicia casually leans over and zips up the final few inches of Kalinda’s tight leather jacket. Cary gapes at her, open-mouthed. “Uh,” Alicia says. “It’s cold. In this room. She might have been cold.” Kalinda shakes her head. (She does it again two weeks later, calling Kalinda ‘sweetheart’ in front of Diane. Kalinda gives her a look that says “You know, for an intelligent woman, you’re not very bright sometimes.” She can’t help but agree.)
The same-bed sleeping - Kalinda snores. In a gentle, snuffly way, but she definitely snores. Alicia stares at her, half disbelieving, half charmed. She moves to the spare bedroom and sets the alarm for 6.00am so she can sneak back in. The next day she buys a six months’ supply of ear plugs.
The bath - Alicia tries so hard to avert her eyes that she gets shampoo in Kalinda’s ear. She cleans it with a washcloth and sloshes water all down her shirt. When Kalinda stands up Alicia wraps her in a towel that she promptly realizes is only a hand towel. She backs away immediately, treads on a plastic duck, and almost breaks her ankle.
The I Love You - Alicia whispers it on their fourth date after the most intense kiss of her life, but Kalinda’s blood is pumping through her veins and she doesn’t hear her. She says it again two weeks later and then realizes that Kalinda’s already asleep. She tries again the following morning but Kalinda’s phone buzzes just as she starts, and Kalinda says “What?” and she can’t quite do it. She eventually writes it in a text message just to get the first one out there. (It takes 47 seconds for Kalinda to text it back.)
The sex - they wait too long and find that slow and tender is beyond them. They don’t make it to the bedroom. Kalinda rips two buttons off Alicia’s designer dress and breaks a fingernail in the process. Alicia bangs her head on the coffee table. Kalinda gets carpet burn on her belly. Alicia comes so hard she makes a squealing noise and hides her face in her hands for five minutes.
When she finally opens her eyes, Kalinda is smiling at her.
She smiles back.
Sparkle
As she indulges in her new favorite past-time - standing silently in the background, watching Alicia’s blissful smile as she stares at her own left hand - she thinks about her past. What she thought she wanted. Who she thought she was.
What you need, Leela, is the love of a good woman.
Leela would have punched anyone who’d said that.
And Kalinda? Kalinda’s not so sure, now. Kalinda thinks that maybe she’s been wrong about some things.
What you need, Kalinda, is a divorced, suburban, forty-something mother of two.
Three months’ salary, that’s what she’d paid. That was the correct amount; she’d looked it up. A substantial amount of money, considering what she earned now, but nothing that she couldn’t spare.
And the value of buying expensive things was that they came with expensive service. No disapproving glances, no feeble jokes. As if it was just another purchase that they’d seen a hundred times before. (Maybe it was, now.)
What you need, Kalinda, is to settle down.
So three months’ salary, and a good choice, she thought. Classic: not too showy, not too small. Alicia had seemed to agree. Although (once she’d stopped crying, once she’d released Kalinda from the longest hug in history) she’d demanded to know that Kalinda hadn’t spent all of her savings.
She hadn’t really answered, just said that it was only what was appropriate, and Alicia had still looked at her like she was the most romantic woman in the world. She liked putting that expression on her face. There were a lot of expressions that she liked putting on Alicia’s face, these days.
And she’s recently found a new favorite. A sentimental, loving, utterly happy expression as she stares at the sparkling diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.
What you need, Kalinda, is a wife.
Sometimes she wonders why she’d been so unaware of what was in her own soul. Sometimes she wonders why she’s turned out like everybody else. No different, after all.
Mostly, she doesn’t give a damn. Mostly, she just watches Alicia’s happiness, and is proud.