Behind Social Graces

[Samantha Vaccari]

It wasn't uncommon for Sam to visit Bellefonte. Especially lately. The department had decided it was best to do random stops at the academy, and because she was on duty, the Boston woman chose to stop by.

As she walked the halls of her old school, Sam tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, the rest was pulled up into a neat bun. It was standard dress code, as was the navy uniform she wore. Her dark eyes took in the details surrounding her; making sure nothing was out of the ordinary.

Officer Samantha Frye actually looked professional.

Until she had passed that one particular room.

In all honesty, Sam had chose that exact time to swing into the school because she knew she would be there. The brunette refused to go down the familiar hallway until she had checked the rest of the school. As much as she wanted to go straight to the technical department, she had to finish her walk through. She understood that, and so did she.

Still, the moment Sam caught sight of the blonde, a grin spread across her lips. She was working away, as expected. Her focused expression drew the officer's attention, and the way those glasses framed her dark eyes always pulled a reaction from her, an involuntary exhale.

She took the necessary steps into the department, keeping her distance enough to allow her counterpart to finish what she was doing without interruption, even if her fingers twitched with the urge to reach out to her. “Hey, love.”

[Ellis Vaccari]

It was often the most mundane things that dragged Ellis from the comfort of her home into the school. One single computer. Completely unusable. It wasn't until she got there that she realised why. And then she asked how. How it got so literally burnt out. The answer shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. And it wasn't necessary to look so intently into that, but now she was just curious. How did a surge from a single electrokinetic fry one single computer and not anything else? An incident like that likely could have travelled the power lines and burnt out a fair portion of a power grid. A town in momentary darkness; she briefly wondered what that would be like.

Not ideal, she quickly realised. Partly because she'd be on her own.

Resting her elbow against the desk, Ellis idly drummed her finger against her cheek as she stared at the screens in front of her. One working, one not. Pondering the weight between salvaging and procuring a new one took a little more thought than she would have liked. The answer was obvious, but she did so enjoy the challenge.

So she was caught amidst the mental volley when she heard an incredibly familiar voice. The corner of her mouth twitched as she threatened a smile, and her head nearly turned. But no.

She didn't look. She couldn't let herself look.

"You didn't tell me you would be here."

[Samantha Vaccari]

“I didn't.” Sam nodded, her grin only growing at Ellis's statement. The way she seemingly refused to turn her head. Even with her face turned, Sam caught the hint of a smile beginning play about the blonde's lips. Even as she spoke, Ellis didn't look at her.

And best of all, Sam knew why.

Sam's gaze traveled back up to her dark eyes. She understood. The glasses Ellis wore did more than just account for her slightly off eyesight. It was unfair, but there wasn't a chance that the Boston woman would utter a complaint about it.

Instead, she'd simply visit. Like now.

She stepped closer, stopping at the desk Ellis worked at and leaned against the side. “I felt like surprising you.” She raised her eyebrows, lips pulling downwards as she feigned concern. “I don't have to be here if you don't want me to."

[Ellis Vaccari]

Ellis opted not to answer Sam's confirmation. Simply put, it was easier not to.

She registered the way she stepped closer out of the corner of her eye, her gaze still not quite grazing the familiar form as she steadied it on the screen in front of her instead. A requisition form. That might be the easiest answer. A quick alternative method.

Involuntarily she glanced over when she felt her lean into the desk, her dark eyes focusing on her hip as she idly tapped her nails across her cheek still.

She took a breath, and looked away.

"I do want you here." The blonde stated, because truth be told, every inch of that statement was a fact.

[Samantha Vaccari]

Sam was acutely aware of the way her counterpart's eyes focused on the screen in front of her, and how they shifted slightly in her direction as she leaned against the desk. She leaned forward slightly, running her fingers along the edge, slowing inching closer to Ellis.

As she looked away, Sam tried her best not to grin more. But she did; she always did. She couldn't help it, not when the technician was reacting in such a way.

Any remaining look of false worry cleared from her features, and a more genuine smile spread over her lips. Although she knew Ellis didn't mind when she showed up unannounced, hearing her say that she wanted the Boston woman there was different. Because it was a fact.

Unable to withstand the little distance between them any more, Sam pushed herself away from the desk, taking the necessary steps towards the blonde. She extended her hand, fingers brushing along Ellis's shoulders lightly. “You look good.”

[Ellis Vaccari]

It was fine. Really, it was. It was even manageable. Until she breached the distance and touched her.

When she felt the slightest ounce of contact - her fingertips across her shoulder - she straightened in her chair almost instantly. It was the kind of involuntary reaction she wished she hadn't made, but she knew she couldn't help.

This time, she exhaled a light sigh.

"No different than this morning." The blonde reasoned. Another fact, she was sure.

[Samantha Vaccari]

It really was fine. More than fine. Especially as Ellis straightened her back. Sam gave the shoulder a light squeeze, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she tried – and failed – to stop herself from letting out an amused breath. She could just kiss this woman.

And so she did.

The brunette leaned downward, pressing the tip of her nose to Ellis's temple before lightly kissing her cheek. Professional? Not quite. But that seemed to slip the officer's mind. She exhaled against the blonde's ear. “Yes different from this morning.”

[Ellis Vaccari]

Sam's inevitable laughter was just that. Inevitable. So much so that it drew little from the blonde beyond the upturned twitch of the corner of her mouth. But from Ellis to the Boston woman, that was likely more than enough.

What she didn't expect was the way she leaned in. The feeling of her lips across her skin. Light. Precise. And incredibly distracting.

Her breath against her ear was impossible to ignore.

"Sam," Ellis breathed lightly, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she inhaled slowly. It was nothing. Barely a touch. Hardly a kiss. "What do you want?"

[Samantha Vaccari]

A fair amount of the responses Ellis gave were minimal; barely noticeable to those that not just couldn't see them, but didn't look. Sam, however, always looked. The visual cues that Ellis offered certainly were more than enough for the brunette.

Sam raised her eyebrows upon hearing her name, the way her voice wrapped around it always grabbed her attention. It was effective.

But at the question posed, Sam again pressed her lips to the blonde's cheek, grinning against her skin. “You.” How could she not?

“But if you're busy...” Sam trailed off, even going as far as standing up straight and taking half a step back; only half because she couldn't bring herself to stray much farther from Ellis. “I guess I could let you work.”

[Ellis Vaccari]

You. The single word breezed across her skin and she felt her hand tighten instinctively around the edge of the desk.

And then it seemed as if she tried to pull away just as quickly as she'd leaned in. It was difficult. So was the way she spoke.

"I am busy." Ellis replied. Because in truth, she was to an extent. It was a fact. "But-" She cut herself off quickly, turning in her seat and reaching out towards her with a hand. Her eyes took in the sight of her beloved, uniform and all, as her fingers brushed along her side. "That doesn't matter."

Curling her fingers around the navy material she wore, Ellis moved to draw her back in with a pull.

[Samantha Vaccari]

She was busy. Sam knew the fact, but her grin still faltered slightly at the statement. It was a fact, and, in theory, the brunette knew she should let Ellis work. However, she had trouble finding the means to pull completely away.

Especially when Ellis continued.

Sam felt the air escape her lungs. The hand that was on her counterpart's shoulder trailed to her cheek as she caught the way her eyes trailed down the line of Sam's form. The grin that had faltered spread out into a more genuine smile. She knew that it did matter – to an extent. Just as she loved putting on her uniform every day, Sam knew that Ellis was passionate about her work.

So to say it didn't matter was huge. Weighted. Still, the brunette continued her act, even if she felt caught up in the words Ellis offered.

“I don't know. That computer isn't going to fix itself.” Despite what she was saying, Sam allowed herself to be pulled closer.

[Ellis Vaccari]

It didn't surprise Ellis to hear Sam continue. She knew her counterpart never knew how to stop when she had what she ideally wanted. Ellis couldn't readily forget the way she leaned in as she was drawn in. It was, if nothing else, the clearest indication that her body would betray her mouth. A concept they both easily suffered from.

She moved out of her seat, her hand still holding the neatly tucked uniform shirt. Now that she'd seen her, whatever it was she was doing seemed irrelevant. Unimportant. A mundane job for another time.

And that so rarely happened. Ellis never really let things go, but Sam could so easily derail her.

So she leaned in, taking a half step towards her to breach whatever distance Sam was trying to hold. It was pointless. "Please," She reasoned, her voice at a whisper, "Don't ignore me."

[Samantha Vaccari]

It was a habit that Sam simply couldn't drop; she had trouble stopping when it came to such things. Even then, she had every intention of continuing. It was too hard to let go of, and although her free hand moved to the blonde's back, she dropped her jaw to speak.

Yet it was Ellis's turn to derail Sam.

Whatever the brunette had planned to say completely slipped her mind when Ellis chose to speak. She felt the breath of her counterpart as the singular word passed her lips. It always worked, and Ellis knew that.

“I-” she faltered, breath wavering as she inhaled slowly. It was pointless, and Sam felt very aware of that now. “You know I can't.” She breathed, her own voice dropping. She pressed herself closer against her counterpart, lightly kissing her. It was impossible to ignore her.

[Ellis Vaccari]

It was hypocritical - and possibly even ironic - that Ellis had asked Sam not to ignore her. Moments ago it was the very thing she was doing, in her own way, to try and combat the situation at hand. She didn't completely ignore her, no. She spoke to her. But she'd fought to ignore her presence, and she knew that was impossible. It really was pointless.

And really, she did know Sam couldn't ignore her. She knew this woman struggled to look past the way in which she asked. But knowing and hearing it was so incredibly different.

Ellis reached out with her free hand, her fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt at either side as she'd leaned in. Because in the same moment, the blonde willingly pulled her in. If she hadn't kissed her first, she easily would have. And she made the move to draw away slightly. Almost insignificantly. 

"I missed you." She admitted. And while it would have been easy to point out that she knew how simple that sounded given that she'd just seen her this morning, she didn't. She didn't need to.

[Samantha Vaccari]

Sam hadn’t caught on to the light hypocrisy – the singular word that Ellis dropped was enough to completely pull her attention. Sam herself was hypocritical, so the fact that her counterpart was doing so hardly fazed her.

As she felt Ellis pull away, Sam dropped her jaw, but the very words she was about to speak passed her lips first. Involuntarily, the brunette exhaled, her lips pulling upward.

Despite the fact that she had just seen this woman hours ago, Sam truly did miss the blonde. Her fingers trailed downward down the form of her counterpart’s back before pressing her palms into the material of her shirt.

While in uniform, Sam often tried her best to maintain something of a professional composure, but she found herself slipping in the blonde’s presence. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Ellis’s shoulder. “I missed you.” She repeated.