FIC: "Silent hunt," Part 3/? (Charlie/Amita, Alan, PG-13)
Title: "Love gone cold."
Series: Silent Hunt, Part 3/?
Characters: Charlie/Amita, Alan.
Genre: HET.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Sometimes people realize that their love has gone cold.
Feedback: I love it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it. But I do own the original ideas and my OCs.
Beta: The lovely toomuchfandom, who once again gave me the title for this chapter. Thank you!
Previous chapter: Part 2/? - "Special delivery" (Don/Robin, Charlie, Alan, OFC, PG-13)
Silent hunt
Part 3: “Love gone cold”
“Hey, how did that case go, Charlie?” Amita asked when her boyfriend entered his office at CalSci.
“It was hard, but we caught the guy eventually. How have you been?”
“Fine, I’ve been fine,” she responded. “You know, my parents called me today.”
There was a silent smile from Charlie as a response. Amita’s parents. A shiver went through his body while he pulled out some papers from his suitcase and started to look at some files he had on his desk. “Um… ok. What did they say?”
“They want to come visit us to talk about something ‘important.’ I don’t know what it is. Maybe they want to offer you some kind of job, who knows,” she said, giggling while she started typing on her computer.
Charlie couldn’t help but notice how much she was glowing. “I love it that you’re smiling so much, I love your smile.”
Now, Amita looked at him, smiling widely; for a moment, it seemed that she was going to cry. “Yeah, I am. I mean, they’re finally staying in touch with me, they’re finally showing some interest in the life I have here in L.A.”
He watched her stare at her laptop, like she was embracing the warm feeling that had reached her heart. Slowly, he went towards her and took her hand. “I’m glad you’re happy.” Amita’s head rested on his arm for a second, as she entwined their fingers together.
“Yeah…” she muttered, and she kissed his hand before going back to work on her database.
Amita smiled for the entire evening. It was overwhelmingly beautiful to see her so pleased that her parents were taking a big role in her life after avoiding meeting her for such a long time.
But Charlie wasn’t that happy. Her parents were coming to L.A. and they were going to bring some kind of news or suggestion. What if they want to arrange everything for a wedding? Alan’s words were still fresh in his head. In India, tradition seemed to be always followed. Now that Charlie had met Amita’s parents, he had probably agreed to marry her without actually saying a word.
He wasn’t an expert on the Indian marriage, mainly because he had never thought about marrying Amita. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her; the point was that his work with the FBI and his classes seemed to be more important. But the right thing is wanting to marry her. She’s the only woman I’ve been with in two years…
A while later, he hadn’t find the key to understand his own behavior. Amita was now writing on the blackboard… he wasn’t really looking at the algorithms that usually caught his attention.
“I should want to do it, but…” he mumbled, while he stared at his girlfriend.
“What did you say?” Amita asked; she turned around.
Charlie shook his head and stated, “Nothing, nothing. I’m talking to myself.” No staring anymore. You’re being stupid. This is what you said. This is nothing. He tried to focus on his equations; maybe if he worked on them, they would give him the answer he so very much wanted.
But Charlie got too desperate and his hands started to tremble as he flipped papers and tried to grab a piece of chalk.
“Charlie, you seem to be really tired… why don’t we just go home?” she suddenly asked him.
The mathematician left his chalk and rapidly went towards his laptop, to close it up. Running his hands through his hair, he muttered, “Yeah, we should probably do that… It’s been a long day.”
“Ok.” Amita started to gather her stuff, and put her coat on. “I’m going to call a cab for each one of us.”
“Hey, why don’t you stay with me tonight, at the house?”
Where the hell did that question come from? As confused as he was, Charlie knew that he felt guilty because of his own feelings. He should be happy to marry Amita no matter what, because, after all, he loved her…
He had to love her. Who would he love if it wasn’t her?
A new shiver ran through his spine when Amita went towards him and gave him a hug. Ashamed of his thoughts, Charlie didn’t responded the same way he always did.
“Hey… is there something wrong? Are you ok?” she asked, stepping aside, but still caressing his arm.
“Um… I’m… Yeah, I’m ok. I’m just a little tired, that’s all,” he managed to say, and he started putting things back into his suitcase.
Charlie still didn’t know how the hell his brain had forced him to invite Amita to spend the night with him. Why couldn’t I just swallow that stupid question? He needed time to think about what he was feeling, and now he would have to do it lying by her side in bed.
When they got to the house, they found that Alan was about to go to bed. Apparently, he was very tired because he had been working in the garden the entire afternoon.
“Hi, Amita. Hi, Charlie,” Charlie’s father said, and he stopped right before the stairs to look at his son. “Are you ok?”
“Oh, yeah… it’s nothing, Dad, I’m just tired,” the mathematician lied, waving his hand. This is nothing. This is nothing. He repeated the same sentence over and over, trying to find a meaning to it, but he just couldn’t figure out why it seemed to be a lie.
It seemed that Alan hadn’t believed him either, but he still went upstairs without saying another word. Then Charlie took a deep breath, and he and Amita went to the kitchen to grab something to eat before going to sleep.
During their little dinner, conversation was nice, sometimes full of scientific issues, sometimes plenty of little words and gestures of affection. He could smile when Amita touched his face, even when she placed a kiss on his lips. But there was something that felt fake, something that had started to tell him he was hiding something from her.
This is nothing. I can do it. I can handle this. Of course I love her. I’m just freaking out because of the simple idea of a wedding. I’d have the same reaction with any woman, so it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be specifically with Amita. With that idea going around his head, he actually had a good time letting her take him to his room by the hand, tease him when they were changing their clothes, and drag him into bed without any complains.
He knew nothing wild was going to happen there, because Alan was around and he had found them in an inappropriate situation a couple of times before. As one time was more than enough, Amita and Charlie had made a deal. No more sex with Alan in the house.
And yet, she seemed a little eager. Breathing hard, Charlie caressed her girlfriend’s thick hair while she placed little kisses on his chin and neck. “Amita, do you remember the deal?”
Now she stopped kissing him and rested her head on his chest. “Yeah… I do remember.” Then she looked him in the eyes. “I wasn’t going to do anything, don’t worry.”
Looking at the bright, honest expression she had on her face, Charlie couldn’t resist smiling. “Ok…” He tenderly kissed Amita’s forehead, and they rested on the bed, sheets tangled, staring at the dark room full of papers.
“Charlie…”
“Mhmm?”
“Have you ever thought about marriage?”
What? Charlie took such a deep breath that he felt his heart was about to explode from the shock that question had brought to him. “Oh… yeah, sure… I’ve thought about it.”
“And what was the conclusion?”
Charlie swallowed and carefully spoke the best words he could find. “I, ah… I think marriage is good. Weddings are good; I mean, people want to spend the rest of their lives with only one person…” He swallowed again, aware that Amita was paying attention to everything he was saying. “But I… I don’t know if that’s meant for me. I plan to live my life the same I do now, you know… working for the FBI, using my math to solve cases… teaching young people how useful a simple algorithm can be… The area is fascinating. It’s… it’s where I belong.”
He felt like he was about to faint while waiting for Amita’s answer. But the only thing she said was, “So you’re not into the marriage thing.”
“Um… No, not really. It’s too much pressure…”
“Charlie.” She called his name, and then she rested on her elbows, looking at him very closely. “Marriage isn’t pressure unless… you don’t really love the one that’s lying by your side.”
Her teary eyes told him what she meant. I’ve sent the message, and she got it right. Damn it, I’ve officially ruined the night. Now, he watched her take the right side of the bed, far away from him. She held a pillow and didn’t talk to him anymore.
This was Amita. Always keeping the pain to herself, not wanting to hurt others. How could I not love someone who’s so fragile, sweet and caring?
He gave his back at her, molding his body to the mattress in the left side of the bed. Silence was overwhelming now, he wanted someone to step in and make her forget about their conversation, but he also knew that it wasn’t going to happen.
She’s an intelligent, beautiful, amazing woman. How could I not love her?
Two hours were spent trying to figure out an answer to that. But when Charlie finally closed his eyes and the room started to disappear and lose its meaning, he knew that he hadn’t found any excuse for his lack of commitment to the only woman who seemed to want to marry him.
This is nothing. This is nothing.
He repeated that sentence one more time, and a possibility hit him.
This is nothing. And maybe what we have is nothing, too.
Series: Silent Hunt, Part 3/?
Characters: Charlie/Amita, Alan.
Genre: HET.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Sometimes people realize that their love has gone cold.
Feedback: I love it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it. But I do own the original ideas and my OCs.
Beta: The lovely toomuchfandom, who once again gave me the title for this chapter. Thank you!
Previous chapter: Part 2/? - "Special delivery" (Don/Robin, Charlie, Alan, OFC, PG-13)
Silent hunt
Part 3: “Love gone cold”
“Hey, how did that case go, Charlie?” Amita asked when her boyfriend entered his office at CalSci.
“It was hard, but we caught the guy eventually. How have you been?”
“Fine, I’ve been fine,” she responded. “You know, my parents called me today.”
There was a silent smile from Charlie as a response. Amita’s parents. A shiver went through his body while he pulled out some papers from his suitcase and started to look at some files he had on his desk. “Um… ok. What did they say?”
“They want to come visit us to talk about something ‘important.’ I don’t know what it is. Maybe they want to offer you some kind of job, who knows,” she said, giggling while she started typing on her computer.
Charlie couldn’t help but notice how much she was glowing. “I love it that you’re smiling so much, I love your smile.”
Now, Amita looked at him, smiling widely; for a moment, it seemed that she was going to cry. “Yeah, I am. I mean, they’re finally staying in touch with me, they’re finally showing some interest in the life I have here in L.A.”
He watched her stare at her laptop, like she was embracing the warm feeling that had reached her heart. Slowly, he went towards her and took her hand. “I’m glad you’re happy.” Amita’s head rested on his arm for a second, as she entwined their fingers together.
“Yeah…” she muttered, and she kissed his hand before going back to work on her database.
Amita smiled for the entire evening. It was overwhelmingly beautiful to see her so pleased that her parents were taking a big role in her life after avoiding meeting her for such a long time.
But Charlie wasn’t that happy. Her parents were coming to L.A. and they were going to bring some kind of news or suggestion. What if they want to arrange everything for a wedding? Alan’s words were still fresh in his head. In India, tradition seemed to be always followed. Now that Charlie had met Amita’s parents, he had probably agreed to marry her without actually saying a word.
He wasn’t an expert on the Indian marriage, mainly because he had never thought about marrying Amita. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her; the point was that his work with the FBI and his classes seemed to be more important. But the right thing is wanting to marry her. She’s the only woman I’ve been with in two years…
A while later, he hadn’t find the key to understand his own behavior. Amita was now writing on the blackboard… he wasn’t really looking at the algorithms that usually caught his attention.
“I should want to do it, but…” he mumbled, while he stared at his girlfriend.
“What did you say?” Amita asked; she turned around.
Charlie shook his head and stated, “Nothing, nothing. I’m talking to myself.” No staring anymore. You’re being stupid. This is what you said. This is nothing. He tried to focus on his equations; maybe if he worked on them, they would give him the answer he so very much wanted.
But Charlie got too desperate and his hands started to tremble as he flipped papers and tried to grab a piece of chalk.
“Charlie, you seem to be really tired… why don’t we just go home?” she suddenly asked him.
The mathematician left his chalk and rapidly went towards his laptop, to close it up. Running his hands through his hair, he muttered, “Yeah, we should probably do that… It’s been a long day.”
“Ok.” Amita started to gather her stuff, and put her coat on. “I’m going to call a cab for each one of us.”
“Hey, why don’t you stay with me tonight, at the house?”
Where the hell did that question come from? As confused as he was, Charlie knew that he felt guilty because of his own feelings. He should be happy to marry Amita no matter what, because, after all, he loved her…
He had to love her. Who would he love if it wasn’t her?
A new shiver ran through his spine when Amita went towards him and gave him a hug. Ashamed of his thoughts, Charlie didn’t responded the same way he always did.
“Hey… is there something wrong? Are you ok?” she asked, stepping aside, but still caressing his arm.
“Um… I’m… Yeah, I’m ok. I’m just a little tired, that’s all,” he managed to say, and he started putting things back into his suitcase.
Charlie still didn’t know how the hell his brain had forced him to invite Amita to spend the night with him. Why couldn’t I just swallow that stupid question? He needed time to think about what he was feeling, and now he would have to do it lying by her side in bed.
When they got to the house, they found that Alan was about to go to bed. Apparently, he was very tired because he had been working in the garden the entire afternoon.
“Hi, Amita. Hi, Charlie,” Charlie’s father said, and he stopped right before the stairs to look at his son. “Are you ok?”
“Oh, yeah… it’s nothing, Dad, I’m just tired,” the mathematician lied, waving his hand. This is nothing. This is nothing. He repeated the same sentence over and over, trying to find a meaning to it, but he just couldn’t figure out why it seemed to be a lie.
It seemed that Alan hadn’t believed him either, but he still went upstairs without saying another word. Then Charlie took a deep breath, and he and Amita went to the kitchen to grab something to eat before going to sleep.
During their little dinner, conversation was nice, sometimes full of scientific issues, sometimes plenty of little words and gestures of affection. He could smile when Amita touched his face, even when she placed a kiss on his lips. But there was something that felt fake, something that had started to tell him he was hiding something from her.
This is nothing. I can do it. I can handle this. Of course I love her. I’m just freaking out because of the simple idea of a wedding. I’d have the same reaction with any woman, so it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be specifically with Amita. With that idea going around his head, he actually had a good time letting her take him to his room by the hand, tease him when they were changing their clothes, and drag him into bed without any complains.
He knew nothing wild was going to happen there, because Alan was around and he had found them in an inappropriate situation a couple of times before. As one time was more than enough, Amita and Charlie had made a deal. No more sex with Alan in the house.
And yet, she seemed a little eager. Breathing hard, Charlie caressed her girlfriend’s thick hair while she placed little kisses on his chin and neck. “Amita, do you remember the deal?”
Now she stopped kissing him and rested her head on his chest. “Yeah… I do remember.” Then she looked him in the eyes. “I wasn’t going to do anything, don’t worry.”
Looking at the bright, honest expression she had on her face, Charlie couldn’t resist smiling. “Ok…” He tenderly kissed Amita’s forehead, and they rested on the bed, sheets tangled, staring at the dark room full of papers.
“Charlie…”
“Mhmm?”
“Have you ever thought about marriage?”
What? Charlie took such a deep breath that he felt his heart was about to explode from the shock that question had brought to him. “Oh… yeah, sure… I’ve thought about it.”
“And what was the conclusion?”
Charlie swallowed and carefully spoke the best words he could find. “I, ah… I think marriage is good. Weddings are good; I mean, people want to spend the rest of their lives with only one person…” He swallowed again, aware that Amita was paying attention to everything he was saying. “But I… I don’t know if that’s meant for me. I plan to live my life the same I do now, you know… working for the FBI, using my math to solve cases… teaching young people how useful a simple algorithm can be… The area is fascinating. It’s… it’s where I belong.”
He felt like he was about to faint while waiting for Amita’s answer. But the only thing she said was, “So you’re not into the marriage thing.”
“Um… No, not really. It’s too much pressure…”
“Charlie.” She called his name, and then she rested on her elbows, looking at him very closely. “Marriage isn’t pressure unless… you don’t really love the one that’s lying by your side.”
Her teary eyes told him what she meant. I’ve sent the message, and she got it right. Damn it, I’ve officially ruined the night. Now, he watched her take the right side of the bed, far away from him. She held a pillow and didn’t talk to him anymore.
This was Amita. Always keeping the pain to herself, not wanting to hurt others. How could I not love someone who’s so fragile, sweet and caring?
He gave his back at her, molding his body to the mattress in the left side of the bed. Silence was overwhelming now, he wanted someone to step in and make her forget about their conversation, but he also knew that it wasn’t going to happen.
She’s an intelligent, beautiful, amazing woman. How could I not love her?
Two hours were spent trying to figure out an answer to that. But when Charlie finally closed his eyes and the room started to disappear and lose its meaning, he knew that he hadn’t found any excuse for his lack of commitment to the only woman who seemed to want to marry him.
This is nothing. This is nothing.
He repeated that sentence one more time, and a possibility hit him.
This is nothing. And maybe what we have is nothing, too.