Pieces of the Puzzle (March N100 Rewind)
Title: Pieces of the Puzzle (March N100 Rewind)
Pairing/Characters: Liz/Nikki
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It might have started cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
Word Count: 154, 160, 138, 118
Spoilers: N/A
Notes: A very special thanks goes out to sororcula for being my beta, <3
Disclaimer: All characters and episode references/Numb3rs in general aren’t mine.
Thaw
It started off terribly clichéd, when Nikki had managed to fall out of a speeding boat while the team was chasing a suspect over the ocean. She was alright, but falling into cold water on one of the coldest nights in LA left her freezing and trembling as she fended off the smart comments from Colby and David back on shore. They still managed to catch the suspect, but Don took one look at Nikki and made Liz take her home so she could warm up and thaw out. The ride back to Nikki’s apartment was filled with Nikki grumbling about being sent home and Liz trying to point out that Nikki was shaking in her seat. Somewhere after arriving at Nikki’s front door and Liz offering to keep Nikki company for a few hours, looks were exchanged, voices were lowered, clothing was shed, and the term “partners” took on a whole new meaning.
Spring
The morning after was filled with awkward glances, hurried dressing, and Liz running out of the apartment without any discussion of the events that had happened the night before. Work was tense for a while, but eventually Nikki was able to corner Liz and after an even more awkward talk they agreed that everything had been a mistake and they would forget it even happened. Naturally, that lasted all of two weeks before Liz was at Nikki’s doorstop again and an agreement was reached that this would be a very casual relationship. The days turned into weeks and eventually the two women fell into a routine. In the morning, Liz was usually the first to wake up, and she would use this time to turn off the alarm and play with Nikki’s curls, straightening the ones that fell in front of her face and watching them bounce and spring back into shape before shaking Nikki awake to start the day.
Nature
Months came and passed, and both Nikki and Liz found themselves truly tested on the boundaries of a casual relationship. Liz had to hold her tongue more times than she cared to think about due to the witness who couldn’t stop hitting on Nikki, and more than once Nikki had to force herself to not step in when someone tried to ask Liz out on a date. Their routine was also proving to become more of a permanent fixture when Liz all but officially moved into Nikki’s apartment two months later. Nicknames and endearments started out the third month, and by the end of that month what was once fast, rough and sexual had turned into slow, sweet and sensual. Nature seemed to be playing a game to which Nikki and Liz hadn’t yet figured out the rules.
Metamorphosis
It wasn’t until the fifth month, when Colby brought up Nikki’s fall into the water months before, that something in Nikki and Liz finally clicked into place. The touches, kisses, looks, everything had changed, and neither Nikki nor Liz could pinpoint the exact time. They supposed they should have seen the metamorphosis coming, but somehow this thing, this relationship, had caught them both by surprise and they were left dazed by the reality of it. How could they have missed everything evolving around them? How had they formed a relationship by accident? In the end, they decided it didn’t matter. Why worry about the past when they had an exciting future to discover right in front of them?
Pairing/Characters: Liz/Nikki
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It might have started cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
Word Count: 154, 160, 138, 118
Spoilers: N/A
Notes: A very special thanks goes out to sororcula for being my beta, <3
Disclaimer: All characters and episode references/Numb3rs in general aren’t mine.
Thaw
It started off terribly clichéd, when Nikki had managed to fall out of a speeding boat while the team was chasing a suspect over the ocean. She was alright, but falling into cold water on one of the coldest nights in LA left her freezing and trembling as she fended off the smart comments from Colby and David back on shore. They still managed to catch the suspect, but Don took one look at Nikki and made Liz take her home so she could warm up and thaw out. The ride back to Nikki’s apartment was filled with Nikki grumbling about being sent home and Liz trying to point out that Nikki was shaking in her seat. Somewhere after arriving at Nikki’s front door and Liz offering to keep Nikki company for a few hours, looks were exchanged, voices were lowered, clothing was shed, and the term “partners” took on a whole new meaning.
Spring
The morning after was filled with awkward glances, hurried dressing, and Liz running out of the apartment without any discussion of the events that had happened the night before. Work was tense for a while, but eventually Nikki was able to corner Liz and after an even more awkward talk they agreed that everything had been a mistake and they would forget it even happened. Naturally, that lasted all of two weeks before Liz was at Nikki’s doorstop again and an agreement was reached that this would be a very casual relationship. The days turned into weeks and eventually the two women fell into a routine. In the morning, Liz was usually the first to wake up, and she would use this time to turn off the alarm and play with Nikki’s curls, straightening the ones that fell in front of her face and watching them bounce and spring back into shape before shaking Nikki awake to start the day.
Nature
Months came and passed, and both Nikki and Liz found themselves truly tested on the boundaries of a casual relationship. Liz had to hold her tongue more times than she cared to think about due to the witness who couldn’t stop hitting on Nikki, and more than once Nikki had to force herself to not step in when someone tried to ask Liz out on a date. Their routine was also proving to become more of a permanent fixture when Liz all but officially moved into Nikki’s apartment two months later. Nicknames and endearments started out the third month, and by the end of that month what was once fast, rough and sexual had turned into slow, sweet and sensual. Nature seemed to be playing a game to which Nikki and Liz hadn’t yet figured out the rules.
Metamorphosis
It wasn’t until the fifth month, when Colby brought up Nikki’s fall into the water months before, that something in Nikki and Liz finally clicked into place. The touches, kisses, looks, everything had changed, and neither Nikki nor Liz could pinpoint the exact time. They supposed they should have seen the metamorphosis coming, but somehow this thing, this relationship, had caught them both by surprise and they were left dazed by the reality of it. How could they have missed everything evolving around them? How had they formed a relationship by accident? In the end, they decided it didn’t matter. Why worry about the past when they had an exciting future to discover right in front of them?