 | ShatterStorm Productions
|
| ShatterStorm Productions
|
princessklutz04 for the beta, and Happy Birthday scullyseviltwin, I hope you have an awesome day, even if I give you something a little angsty for your birthday!
I'm pretty sure she's going to hate me in the morning. And even if she doesn't, I'll probably hate myself enough for the both of us.
The thought echoes through my head even as I lean forward and press my lips to hers, again. I suck her bottom lip between my own, worrying it a little between my teeth before soothing it with my tongue. I can feel her hands snaking up my back, pressing me closer and closer into her. Even as we crash into each other, she clings to me, pulling me in until I wonder if I'll be absorbed into her skin.
Just when I feel like I might actually become her, she pulls back, her blue eyes searching mine. Her breath rushes over my face as her chest heaves. I watch her head fall back, thumping against the door as her eyes roam over my face with a hint of apprehension. As I begin to think our interlude is over she pulls me back to her, one of her legs slipping between my own. I move against her, enjoying the delicious pressure and friction at my center, surprised to feel myself moaning into her mouth. I'm not quite clear on how we got here, considering when this started it was supposed to be about Greg.
~*~*~
A couple nights after finding the two boys from the Malton case I asked Greg if he wanted to go out for drinks after our shift, probably more for myself than for him. I was hoping I could silence the demons the case had managed to reawaken with a little friendly company. However, when the cab pulled up in front of what looked a hole in the wall instead of a bar I began to have second thoughts. The feelings of uncertainty only increased when I walked in and found him sitting across from Sofia and I had to stifle a small groan as I recalled her lounging against Grissom's desk.
"Hey Sara," Greg said, barely managing to peel his hand off from the glass in front of him to give me a slight wave.
"Sara," Sofia said.
Before I could shove Greg over, Sofia made room for me on her side of the booth. I shot Greg a questioning look as I slipped in beside to her, only to receive a small shrug in response.
I watched him down the remnants of his drink, surprised to see Sofia doing the same.
"Looks like I have a little catching up to do," I said.
A small whisper of alarm sounded in the back of my mind, a reminder me of the last time I'd spoken those words. It was silenced by the knowledge that the only way I'd be getting home tonight would be in a cab, considering that's how I'd gotten there in the first place. Not to mention a decent amount of time had passed since my indiscretion.
Sofia raised her hand, catching the attention of a waitress, and soon we were allowing a light buzz to silence the memories that seemed to be haunting us, just for a little while.
After a couple hours of surprisingly easy conversation Greg threw down a few bills to cover his drinks and said his goodbyes.
"Ladies, it's been a pleasure," he said, pushing himself out of the booth.
Greg swayed a little upon standing, and I had to stifle a chuckle as I watched him blink at us. I glanced sideways at Sofia, noticing that she was also fighting to maintain a semblance of stoicism. Greg gave us a slow wink and waved as he turned to walk off.
"Greg?” I called.
"Yeah?" he paused, turning back to me.
"Take it easy, okay?"
"I always do," he said. "Thanks again, this was good."
"Poor guy," Sofia muttered, looking down at her now-empty glass.
I brought my bottle of Heineken to my lips for a long pull on what was quickly becoming lukewarm beer. After setting the bottle down, I slumped back in the booth, feeling relaxed and a little drained.
"This is the hardest part about having him leave the lab," I said.
"He's still a good guy," Sofia remarked, sounding a little defensive.
"Yeah, it's just... Greg was always a good distraction from so many of the bad things we see in the field."
Sofia glanced over at me, her eyebrows raised in a questioning stare.
"Like, walking into the lab and seeing him listening to his awful music, or trying to keep the location of his coffee a secret," I explained.
Sofia chuckled a little, and I felt her shoulders shaking next to me.
"You should have seen his hair," I said, shaking my head as I recalled some of the more eccentric styles he had worn over the years.
"As opposed to now?” Sofia asked in disbelief.
"Now? It's tame in comparison," I said as I recalled Greg smoothing his normally haphazard 'do' before his first appearance in court.
As our laughter died off an awkward silence settled over the table. Then, I felt a pressing need to study my empty bottle, slowly turning it and then peeling off the label. I began to entertain thoughts of leaving only to hear Sofia draw in a deep breath before she quietly cleared her throat.
"Look, I'm sorry I horned in on your time with Greg," she said, glancing over at me before looking back to her own empty glass. "It's just, Greg offered, and-"
"Hey, no problem," I interrupted, feeling a little guilty. "I've been there."
She turned back to me, raising her eyebrows in a questioning stare. "Really?" she asked, surprised. "When was that?"
"Four- Five years ago," I said, surprised at the time that had passed. "It sucked though, you know? I got here and right away Catherine had her hackles up, I had to hunt Warrick down in a casino... I don't think Grissom realized what he was getting me into."
"Grissom?" Sofia asked.
"Yeah, he asked me to investigate Warrick, twice actually," I said.
"So we're both on graveyard because of Grissom," Sofia stated, a rueful smile on her lips.
"I guess so," I muttered.
I thought back to how it had felt when I first came to Vegas, how screwed up things were with Warrick, and how confused I was about Grissom's motives. Adjusting to so many changes and problems had been difficult and Sofia had as much as said so a few nights ago.
"I'm sorry," I blurted, immediately feeling like an idiot.
"What?" Sofia asked.
"I-I'm sorry, for being such a bitch about this whole thing," I continued, watching Sofia grow more confused.
"I wouldn't say it was that bad," Sofia replied.
"Well, I've been there, and I should have remembered that, how it felt before I-"
"No one can blame you for being a little protective," Sofia interrupted.
"Still-"
"Just- let it go, I have," she said, shaking her head again.
"I suppose Greg and Grissom have made up for my shortcomings,” I mumbled.
"They've helped," she said. "But I was really hoping we'd be able to develop some kind of rapport."
I looked up at her, more than a little surprised. I watched her head drop a little in a gesture of embarrassment and I could hear a small laugh pass through her lips.
The buzz from my beer was beginning to fade and I considered ordering another, just to maintain the numbness. Instead, I pulled out enough money to cover both our tabs and slid out of the booth.
"This was... good," I said, repeating Greg's earlier statement.
"Sara-" Sofia started, looking down at the money.
"Don't worry about it," I called as I headed for the door. "You can get the next one."
~*~*~
After that Greg, Sofia and I managed to get together outside of the lab at least once every couple weeks, just to blow off a little steam. Somehow, they were both there for me after my suspension and we met up a couple days after dealing with the Eiger case.
Greg decided to take off early that night, considering it had been a struggle to engage Sofia in any kind of conversation. She had silently worked her way through several beers, and I was planning on making a hasty retreat soon after Greg left, since she seemed to want some solitude. As I was searching for some extra change for the tip Sofia decided to scale the wall she had built for the night.
"Maybe I should just leave," she said, her gaze downcast.
"Look-" I started, thinking she meant the bar. "If you want to be alone..."
I moved to slide out of the booth, only to have her look up at me, shaking her head.
"The lab, maybe I should just leave the lab," she explained.
"Why?" I asked, mystified.
I watched her slump back in the booth, defeat almost coming off from her in waves.
"I'm no CSI," she said. "I'm supposed to be a detective, or at least a supervisor."
"What happened?" I asked, concerned.
"Grissom convinced me to stick it out until my task force leave, but after today..." she trailed off.
"Again, what happened?" I pressed, growing more worried. "Did Ecklie...?"
"No, Catherine," she said. "She certainly has a way of making people feel unwanted."
I waited for her to continue, remembering that Catherine had a tough time with the case, since Ecklie had chosen to involve our shift.
"Grissom and I had just gotten done with Robbins when she showed up, thinking we were just going in," Sofia explained. "When she found out we hadn't waited she started in on Grissom, and when I stepped in -letting her know it wasn't personal- she told me to stay out of it."
"That sounds like Catherine," I said with a sigh.
"Yeah, it certainly made me question my decision to stay on the shift," Sofia said, her voice tinged with regret.
"You were thinking about leaving?" I asked, surprised and confused.
"Yeah," Sofia sighed before she looked up at me, a small and somewhat mysterious smile tugging at her lips.
I watched Sofia look down at her hands as she clasped them together, then pulled them apart and pressed them to the table, shoving herself out of the booth.
"Speaking of which," she said, "I should probably be going now." Sofia reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet before tossing some money onto the table.
"No, hey, why don't we go get something to eat?" I suggested hoping to cheer her up a little.
"Is that the first recourse on the night shift?" she asked.
"What?" I looked up at her, confused.
"Grissom. He offered me dinner when I first mentioned I was thinking about leaving," she explained.
"Lucky," I muttered. "All I got was a lousy plant."
The surprised and puzzled expression my remark left on Sofia's face was priceless, and a laugh bubbled out before I could stop it. "That's a story for another time and place."
We engaged in a small staring contest before Sofia finally nodded. We walked out to the deserted street, surprised by how bright it was outside when compared to the dim light of the bar.
It wasn't until we climbed into Sofia's Escape that I started trying to recall how much she had to drink. I glanced over at her, trying to make sure that she was okay to drive. I must have been obvious, because when my gaze moved back to her face her eyes were focused on me.
"I'm in complete control of my faculties, thank you," she said, jamming the key into the ignition. "Or were you checking me out?"
I sat back in the seat, a little stunned at her perception. "Uhm, uh, just making sure, you know..." I stammered, blinking a little at the question.
"What if I was... checking you out?" I asked, a little surprised the words had slipped out.
"I'd feel pretty damn good," she replied, grinning back at me.
I'm almost certain my eyes bugged out of my head at her response, but on some level, it felt good to hear. A happy warmth moved into my heart, and I relished the small sensation.
"Where are we heading?"
"Just back to my place," she murmured. "I figure we order some delivery, drink some beer and try to forget about everything that came with that twisted case.
"Wow, Catherine must have really gotten to you," I said, glancing at her from the corner of my eye.
All I received in response was a 'hum' of acknowledgment. After switching on the radio, she was completely focused on driving.
It was actually a pretty long drive to get to Sofia's place from the bar. Considering Greg's apartment, and mine, were also pretty far from the bar I had to wonder why we had chosen to come back to the same place week after week, especially when I stopped to think about how seedy the place looked.
Once we were inside Sofia pulled a couple menus from a drawer in her kitchen and pushed them towards me. "Here, you choose."
I watched her walk to the fridge and fish out a couple beers. She offered one to me before prying the cap off and taking a long drink from her own.
"Pizza?" I asked, grabbing my beer.
Half an hour later we were lounging on her couch eating an incredible veggie pizza and laughing off the more bizarre remnants of the past few days. It reminded me of all the times Grissom had warned me I needed to find a diversion. But I didn't want to think about work or Grissom (which was a first), because this diversion was better than anything I'd found in the past.
We talked and laughed, and then decided to flip through channels on the television, finally settling on a marathon of Mythbusters just so I could tear apart their theories and call upon everything I'd learned in college. Most of the time we were pleasantly surprised, but there were a couple times when and "I told you" slipped from my lips, and Sofia seemed impressed. We passed out on the couch at some point, waking up to the fading light of the sunset, slowly being obscured by the lights of the city.
With a little reluctance I called a cab and went home to catch up on some sleep and spend a little time in my apartment, something I'd been avoiding since my discussion with Grissom.
~*~*~
A couple weeks managed to fly by, and somehow I found myself back at the bar with Greg and Sofia. We'd barely managed to convince him to come with us, and he was still a very subdued version of himself. We'd both heard about his burn victim, and it was heartbreaking to the reality of the situation crashing down on top of him. He nursed a bizarre looking concoction for about an hour before offering a half-hearted excuse and leaving for the evening.
Sofia and I had been sitting across from him, but when he left I made no move to sit on the other side of the table. We sat in a comfortable silence before ordering a couple more rounds and making small talk when the alcohol seemed to loosen our tongues a little bit more.
"I feel bad for him," I murmured.
"It comes with the territory though," Sofia offered.
"Yeah," I sighed.
I felt the alcohol settle heavily in my stomach, its calming warmth was a brief reminder that I'd barely stopped for a break during my shift, and what I'd managed to consume from the vending machines was history. I could feel a soothing song running through my veins, and it grew louder as Sofia slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to her for a moment. I relaxed into her soft warmth, relishing it and soaking it in to sing through me with everything else. We stayed like that for a while, and I felt her relax into me as well, making her even more soft and welcoming. So many things weren't right or fair, but for the moment it felt good to be where I was, her arms embracing me and mine embracing her.
We must have looked like two drunken fools, but I couldn't bring myself to care, even as she pulled back and looked into my eyes. She was posing a question and I couldn't say the words she needed to hear. Instead, I leaned forward, pressing my lips to her own, just to feel a little more of her soft warmth against me. There was a moment of resistance, or maybe reluctance, but then her mouth was inviting me in. Her lips opened beneath my own, and I felt her tongue tease against me before she pulled away.
Then we were standing, and I was dragging her towards the door with one hand and trying to dig out my cell with the other. A minute later a cab was on its way, and we were standing outside waiting for it to arrive.
Sofia's hand was still in mine, and a brief shock of awareness shot through me as I considered dropping it and walking away, but then she was pressing me up against the wall, her lips strong and insistent against my own. There was no more time for questions, questions meant too many problems to fix and answers that would never be found. Instead we would just exist, even if it might be for the wrong reasons or at the wrong time.
The cab pulled up, and I managed to blurt out the address to Sofia's condo, turning to give her a quick smile and sit back in the seat. The space between us seemed infinite, but it was necessary, just in case she changed her mind, or if I changed mine; it would be there as a barrier. When the cab stopped the space disappeared as I threw money at the driver and then pressed against her, urging her out of the cab.
We staggered up to her door, managing to slink inside and close it behind us, kicking off our shoes as we enter. But then I turned, pressing her back against it and capturing her lips with my own, enjoying the familiar pressure and the way her hands started whispering over my back and sides, not quite pulling me closer.
She pulled away, just for a second, and I felt my heart clench with the worry that this might be over before it even started. Our eyes met again, and I could feel her searching, for what I didn't know. The odds were she wouldn't find what she was looking for with me, but I could hope -I wanted to hope- that she would.
After an eternity she moved forward again, slipping a leg between my own as her hands moved up my back and tangled into my hair. My own hands stalled at her hips, holding her against me as I dueled for breath and the pleasure of her lips against my own. I ground down against her, surprised when she turned to press me back against the door. Her lips moved to tickle at a soft spot behind my ear, and my head fell back against the door, as the coils of arousal began to tighten within me.
The soft moans that sounded from her throat served to spur me forward and I began to work on the buttons of her blouse, slowly moving downward until I could ease it over her shoulders and feast my eyes and the soft skin hidden beneath it. My hands skirted over her skin, surprised at the glowing warmth I felt, and how she sighed against me as I began to memorize every inch of it.
I managed to slip my hands behind her and undo the clasp of her bra, removing it and dropping it with her shirt. I felt a warm blush cover my cheeks as I gazed down at her breasts and ached to touch them. As I stared, her hands slipped beneath my shirt, slowly drawing it upward, somehow managing to snag my bra along the way, until she could toss the clothing away in a tangled mess. Then she pulled me in, and I could feel her breath slide over my lips in a sigh similar to my own, each of us enjoying the shocking pleasure of skin on skin.
The moment began to escalate as she pulled me away from the door, leading me towards her bedroom in a slow and sensual motion. Somehow we managed to make it through the door, and then she was pulling off her slacks and kicking them aside before working on my own, barely giving me a moment to take in the beauty of the body before me.
She pressed me back into bed, as her hands continued to move over my skin. Her lips began to slide down my throat and then whispered over my shoulders, moving downwards in a maddening exploration. I felt myself arch up when her mouth finally closed over a nipple, the delicious tug only serving to heighten the tension of arousal.
I slid my hands into her hair, enjoying the smooth texture and the soft caress as strands of it fell against my skin. She continued moving downward, her lips covering every inch of my skin, and dragging me closer and closer to the brink. Before I could begin to cry out in frustration her lips fell to my center, brushing over my clit before her tongue slid out to tease against it.
"Pl-please," I sighed, arching towards her and begging for more.
She teased a moment longer before sucking the aching nub between her lips, her fingers coming up to slide against my opening and then inward to brush against that special spot. Sofia teased and tormented, dragging me towards the edge and then pulling me back, again and again until I wasn't sure I could take anymore.
My hands grasped the bedspread with a sense of urgency as I continued to move against her mouth and hand, "God... please So-Sofia... yeeeeah."
The sensation surged outward, leaving me feeling completely broken beneath her as I struggled for air, struggled to feel anything.
Sofia slowly kissed up my body, leaving me shuddering with each touch of her lips until I reached for her, pulling her to me and tasting myself on her mouth. She sighed against me, and I enjoyed the comforting pressure of her body over mine, warm and strong.
Slowly, my hands slid over her skin, teasing down her back and playing with her hair before I pressed her back into the bed. I started kissing over her skin, teasing her breasts as my hand continued towards the slick heat I had felt pressed against my thigh.
My fingers skirted inside, teasing against her clit. I fought a satisfied smirk when she arched towards me, glad to know she wanted this as much as I did. It was so familiar and foreign at the same moment, as I discovered her secret places and how she sounded when she was close. It was too easy, doing this, after everything else we had been through. Her hands grasped at my shoulders, sliding down my back and upward again, her nails dragging against my skin in a painful shock of pleasure. She was close, too close to wait any longer and I pressed against that swollen bud and sighed at the soft cry she released beneath me.
As Sofia collapsed I fell away from her, lying beside her as I watched her recovery, and slowly brought my fingers to my lips, wondering if we tasted the same, if that might be why this was such a simple thing. Before I could answer my question her mouth was teasing over mine in a light pressure, and I lifted my mouth to hers, enjoying the mingling of our breath and the allowing myself the guilty pleasure of tasting the mingling remnants of our pleasure.
Sofia pulled me close, resting my head on her breast and releasing a satisfied sigh. It was right and wrong at the same time, the satisfaction of the moment melting into everything else that had happened tonight. As she drifted off to sleep I listened to her heart beat slow into a less erratic beat, and her breaths sounding soft and even.
I slip out of bed, collect my scattered clothing, and put it on in the living room. I try to exit quietly, hoping I haven't left something behind just to avoid the awkward reminder later. As the door closes behind me I wonder if we'll do this again some time, when things get to be too much. But maybe she'll hate me too much for that, God knows I do.
