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“I’m not soft! I care about you, you idiot!” LaSalle bit out, the frustration that Percy could hear in his voice undercut by the soft expression that flickered briefly across his face. The way he was looking at her – with a quiet, unwavering intensity – was too much. It was somehow more than the way he’d looked at her a few months ago, or last week, or even yesterday.
Or maybe that look has been there for a while and you’re only noticing it now, her brain supplied unhelpfully.
She took a shaky step towards him, trying to breathe past the tightness that suddenly invaded her chest and the slight lump in her throat. “Well…stop!! ‘Cause…I can’t take it on.” She turned away as soon as she spoke, intending to make her escape through the bullpen’s open door. Something was on the cusp of happening here – she could feel an awareness of it prickling under her skin – but she couldn’t deal with it. Not tonight – and maybe not ever. She had to get away before this conversation went any further.
She’d barely moved before a shock raced up her arm when LaSalle reached out, his hand circling her wrist as he pulled her back towards him. His fingers – rough, warm, callused – slid up her forearm as the momentum from his initial tug pulled her around and into him.
It was a sudden motion, and it caused her to stumble slightly – her free hand landing on his shoulder in an attempt to steady herself – as their lips met and clung. A long, quiet moment passed before she relaxed and sank into the kiss, nothing audible in the room aside from their shaky inhalations and exhalations, and a soft hum of pleasure that seemed to flow out of him involuntarily.
But as it stretched on – mouths opening, tongues tangling, arms winding more and more tightly around each other – she slowly came back to her senses. This – whatever it was – couldn’t go on. Their friendship, their partnership, had to come first. She couldn’t handle anything else right now – with everything they’d both gone through this year – she just couldn’t. She pulled back – slowly, and with no small amount of regret – and rested her forehead against his as she tried to get her breathing back under control.
“I’m glad you didn’t die.” Their mouths were still so close she could literally feel the warmth of his words as his breath washed over her face.
She closed her eyes and pulled back further, seeking some sort of stabilizing distance – searching for the familiarity of their banter to get back on even footing. “You’re an ass,” she said, though there was no real sting in the words as her eyes flicked up to his.
His gaze was tender, and she could feel her stomach swoop in response – she had to get that under control, and fast. He chuckled at her assertion, ducking his head with a smile. “I know.”
They simply stood together, arms still looped around each other, the shared awareness between them as palpable as a living thing. She knew if she didn’t get out of there immediately she’d do something very very stupid – like kiss him again. She stepped back, his arms falling from around her waist, and avoided his eyes as she turned and headed again for the door. “Alright, cool…I’ll see you later.”
She couldn’t see his face, but winced slightly at the resigned defeat in his tone when he responded. “Yeah, I’ll see you soon.” Slipping out the door and into the dark street, she took a deep breath. She resolved to spend her two weeks off on a vacation in the remotest spot she could afford to travel to – she needed to get out of New Orleans for a bit, and she definitely needed to get her head on straight around LaSalle before she came back.
Yeah, her unhelpful inner voice scoffed, good luck with that.