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They had been paired together on assignments fairly often. She was second in command of security, Lt Abbie Mills. He was often in charge of projects that required him to be escorted. Sometimes the delivery of a project would take a day or two, so they often found themselves in situations where they socialized together. Ichabod would dare say they were friends if it wouldn't be too presumptuous to think Abbie thought of him as one.
Occasionally she would invite him to tag along with herself and her co-workers at Mabie's Bar on Friday nights. She was a lovely singer. But he often found himself sitting at the table alone, unless she came over to ask if he was having a good time--which he would always insist he was.
Fate always seemed to bring them to each other at work functions. Such as this year's company Christmas party, which was taking place at Mabie's but had been lavishly catered.
They had bumped into each other at the punchbowl and mosied over to a couple of seats to talk, until one of her fellow security officers insisted she come see the video her sister Jenny showed them. She smiled apologetically and was swept away again.
While Ichabod would wholeheartedly accept the friendship of the lovely Abbie Mills, he was constantly trying to garner the courage to ask if she would possibly like to have him treat her to a nice dinner one day. Unfortunately, when he finally did get the nerve to ask, self doubt would sneak in and he would decide against it. What if his request made her uncomfortable? What if she asked to not be assigned on deliveries with him anymore? What if their budding friendship was ruined by his asking?
He reasoned that it was better to maintain their friendliness than to risk irreparably damaging it.
"Hey."
Ichabod looked over as Joe plopped down next to him. Joe was not only a member of their HR department, he was also Abbie's sister's boyfriend. "Good evening, Mister Joseph," Ichabod greeted.
Joe chuckled slightly and took a drink from the bottled beer in his hand. "No need to be so formal," Joe teased, nudging Ichabod with his elbow. He nodded across the room. "Looks like Abbie's standing under the mistletoe."
When Ichabod looked, certainly enough, Abbie was poised beneath the mistletoe, staring at Jenny's phone, laughing. It just so happened that Abbie looked up and caught his eye. Ichabod struggled for words to say, his eyes straying up to the mistletoe.
Abbie followed his gaze then gave him a shy smile.
"It'd be rude to just leave her standing there, without a kiss," Joe hummed.
Ichabod looked at him. "You're in HR, Joseph. Should you be encouraging interoffice relationships?"
"Who said anything about a relationship, I was just mentioning her standing there," Joe retorted smoothly. "Also, you work in two completely different departments."
"You said I should go kiss her," Ichabod said.
"You never heard of a friendly kiss on the cheek," Joe asked. "Besides it's not like nobody knows you like her. Everybody knows."
Ichabod gawked a moment. "Everybody?"
"Everybody," Joe said quietly. "Obviously, she's just waiting for you to make the first move."
Could it be the truth?
When Ichabod looked back over at Abbie, she was still standing there, underneath the mistletoe. Although this time she was laughing and talking with one of her fellow security guards. They hugged and the guard gave her a kiss on the cheek, Abbie's eyes were dancing with glee when she looked his way again. His heart skipped a beat.
He could do it. He was going to do it. Just a friendly hug and a kiss on her cheek.
Swallowing hard, Ichabod slowly stood. Abbie visibly straightened and tucked her hair behind her ear as he approached. As he grew closer, her face turned upward and she smiled softly…
And Ichabod's feet chose that precise moment to get in each other's way. He tripped and stumbled, right into Abbie. He made a mad grab for a nearby support beam, hooking his arm around it while also securing Abbie's petite frame against his body with his other arm. He was pretty sure he blocked out the startled gasps and yelps from anyone nearby.
In the end, his quick thinking kept them from crashing to the floor. However, it made them look like they had executed the worst dip in the history of dancing.
Abbie's dark eyes were wide with surprise, her lips parted in a soft "o," her arms wrapped around his neck. After a moment, her smile slowly returned and she laughed softly. "If you wanted to dance, you could have at least asked first," she teased.
"My apologies, Lieutenant," Ichabod said softly. "How very rude of me."
Ichabod pulled himself back upright, hauling Abbie with him. Only once he was certain of her footing did he relent his hold of her waist. Abbie smoothed the material of his coat, one brow quirking as her fingers skimmed down his chest. Ichabod was still trying to gather his bearings when she pushed onto her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Crane," she said sweetly, patting his chest.
"Would you be interested in having dinner with me one night," he rushed out, before the euphoria of her lips on his cheek subsided.
"I would, actually," she replied, grinning.
"Really?" Came out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Abbie laughed and nodded. "Really." She looked around. "Actually… this party is starting to wind down, we could always go to my place for coffee and to… make plans."
"That would be delightful," he agreed.