Chase challenge: "Not That Kind Of Out" by Luzula
Title: Not That Kind Of Out
Author: luzula
Pairing: Frannie/Elaine, with background F/K/V
Rating: PG
Length: 1400 words
Summary: Elaine and Frannie, flirting in a bar.
Notes: Thanks to spuffyduds for a quick beta! This little story started its life as a stop_drop_porn contribution, but I just couldn't get them into bed quickly enough.
Elaine was already beginning to regret going along to the bar after work.
Even guys who were basically decent when you worked with them could become impossible to talk to in a group of other guy cops. Add alcohol, and the result was a testosterone contest. Elaine didn't have much patience for that.
Instead, she sipped at her beer and thought about the robbery she and Connor had stopped last night. She might be only a lowly beat cop still, but every time she saw someone's grateful face, she thought it was all worth it. And Welsh nodding and telling her it was good work hadn't exactly hurt either--it wasn't like he was one to throw praise around. Elaine felt a pleasant glow of accomplishment.
She scanned the room, looking for some decent company. The Rays were off in a corner, and she looked around for Fraser automatically, but he wasn't there. Not a surprise, really, since he didn't drink. She considered joining them, but decided against it. They had their heads together, and whatever was going on there, clearly a mere mortal like her couldn't understand it.
After that first spectacular fight when Ray-the-first had come back to the 2-7, everyone had wondered when the situation would go boom! There'd even been bets going on about who would strike the first blow. But strangely, that had never happened. Instead, the Rays had circled each other like wary cats, and then settled down. And Fraser--she'd never been able to read that beautiful face, but lately he'd been even shinier than usual, like he glowed from the inside or something. And Kowalski and Vecchio had been like cats that had both caught their mouse and got into the cream. Yeah, something was definitely going on there.
She looked further down the crowded bar, and spotted Frannie, who lit up and waved when she saw Elaine looking. Frannie mouthed something at her, like she expected Elaine to lip-read, and then made her way over.
"Hi!" she said, smiling at Elaine. She was wearing something low-cut and tight, so she'd definitely changed after work. Frannie had actually started wearing shirts that covered her belly button when she was working, and Elaine figured that made it easier for everyone involved. At least, she'd always found Frannie's belly button distracting.
Frannie put her beer down beside Elaine's. "So, I heard you disarmed two gunmen single-handed last night? Tell me about it." She looked wide-eyed and curious.
God, rumors spread at the speed of light at the 2-7. "Uh, well. It was one gunman, and Connor was there, too."
"So? I still want to hear the story. Come on." Frannie raised her eyebrows.
Elaine leaned in a little, so she wouldn't have to raise her voice to be heard over the din of the bar. "Well, there's not a lot to tell, really. We were out doing our rounds, and the guy who runs the little grocery on the corner by the park, you know the place?" Frannie nodded. "Anyway, we heard him shouting, and there's this punk kid holding him up with a gun. I mean, he was so young, I just wanted to tell him to go home to his mom. There were two of us, and he gave up pretty easily. Not a lot of drama, really."
"You're so modest, Elaine." Frannie grinned at her, then stretched over Elaine's shoulder to get at the bowl of nuts on the counter. One of her breasts brushed Elaine's arm, and glancing down into Frannie's cleavage, she reflected that at least Frannie had no modesty-related problems.
"Hey, you know what?" Frannie said, leaning in close.
"No, what?"
"I got a letter from the Academy today. And I'm in! I'm starting this spring." She almost whispered it.
"Really? Congratulations!" Frannie had talked about it a long time, but Elaine had begun to wonder if she was ever actually going to apply. Of course, it wasn't that easy for her--Elaine had seen Ma Vecchio go into rapid-fire Italian scolding just at the mention of it.
"I guess I wanted to keep it secret until I knew I was accepted. You know, in case I wasn't."
"Oh, Frannie, I'm so happy for you. And of course you got in." She reached out and squeezed Frannie's shoulder.
"Yup. I'm celebrating today." Frannie raised her glass with a radiant, somewhat drunken smile. Elaine raised her glass, too, and clinked it against Frannie's.
"Hey, girls!" a voice drawled from over their shoulders, and a beefy hand landed on the counter just beside Elaine's. "You sitting here all alone?"
Elaine and Frannie both turned and gave the guy a combined glare that made him back off a couple of steps.
"All right, all right," he grumbled. "You don't have to bite my head off. Just wondered if you wanted some company." He retreated, and Elaine tried to stifle her grin.
"All alone, huh. Doesn't he have eyes in his head?" Frannie sniffed, and then waved dismissively after the guy. "Anyway, I just had to tell someone about it. Because yeah, I've thought about it for a long time, but now it's real, you know?"
"You mean I'm the first one you told?"
"Well, yeah." Frannie smiled in a way that almost looked shy.
"Ray's going to be happy for you, though, don't you think so? I mean, your brother Ray. And the other Ray, too, of course."
"Yeah, I hope so. I think he will. It's Ma I'm worried about."
"Frannie, you're not her little girl anymore, and she's got to accept that. But yeah, I get it. My dad wasn't exactly thrilled when I decided to become a cop." And that, Elaine thought, was an understatement. At least her mom had been on her side.
"I don't even want to think about what my dad would've said," Frannie said with a grimace. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
"Frannie, you'd look awesome in a hat," Elaine said, absolutely truthfully, because Frannie almost always looked good.
"Oh, do you really think so? Thanks," Frannie said, distracted. "Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to ask you about."
Elaine waited, taking a sip of her beer.
"Did you ever...I mean, have you ever had a..." Frannie trailed off, looking intently at the label on the beer as if it held the answer to her question (if she ever managed to get it out, that is).
"A what?" Elaine prompted.
"A crush on someone you worked with?" Frannie came out with, all in a rush.
Elaine felt weirdly disappointed. Frannie's crush on Fraser could probably have been seen from space. Well, Elaine had been there, done that, and if there'd been a t-shirt, half the population of Chicago would be wearing it. So she couldn't exactly blame Frannie, but she did wish that she could move on, because Elaine had a feeling Fraser was already taken.
"Frannie, I don't think he's interested," she said, trying to sound gentle.
"Who? Oh, you thought...No, I'm over him, Elaine. I really am."
"You are?"
"Yes," she said decisively. "I mean, I tried, I really tried, but I can't spend my whole life waiting for him."
"No, you can't." So who was she talking about?
"Um, no. I can't," Frannie repeated, now really interested in fiddling with her bracelet.
"So? Who is it?" Elaine raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, go for it," Frannie muttered under her breath. Then she straightened and looked right at Elaine. "This is going to sound weird, because we're already out, aren't we?"
Then she back-pedaled, waving her hand. "I mean, not out in that way, just out in a sort of general way, out as in already at a bar, you know? Anyway. Do you want to go out some time?"
Elaine held her breath in case she'd misunderstood, although with all the accidental talk of being "out", she was hoping she'd understood just fine. Then she asked, "On a date?"
"Yes!"
And Frannie's simple answer after her long and convoluted question made Elaine smile. She loved how Frannie made her smile. "Frannie, I would love to go on a date with you."
"Really? Wow." Frannie's smile almost knocked Elaine's socks off. "See, that's what I told Ray once. You gotta dream, and if you want something, you should just go for it."
Author: luzula
Pairing: Frannie/Elaine, with background F/K/V
Rating: PG
Length: 1400 words
Summary: Elaine and Frannie, flirting in a bar.
Notes: Thanks to spuffyduds for a quick beta! This little story started its life as a stop_drop_porn contribution, but I just couldn't get them into bed quickly enough.
Elaine was already beginning to regret going along to the bar after work.
Even guys who were basically decent when you worked with them could become impossible to talk to in a group of other guy cops. Add alcohol, and the result was a testosterone contest. Elaine didn't have much patience for that.
Instead, she sipped at her beer and thought about the robbery she and Connor had stopped last night. She might be only a lowly beat cop still, but every time she saw someone's grateful face, she thought it was all worth it. And Welsh nodding and telling her it was good work hadn't exactly hurt either--it wasn't like he was one to throw praise around. Elaine felt a pleasant glow of accomplishment.
She scanned the room, looking for some decent company. The Rays were off in a corner, and she looked around for Fraser automatically, but he wasn't there. Not a surprise, really, since he didn't drink. She considered joining them, but decided against it. They had their heads together, and whatever was going on there, clearly a mere mortal like her couldn't understand it.
After that first spectacular fight when Ray-the-first had come back to the 2-7, everyone had wondered when the situation would go boom! There'd even been bets going on about who would strike the first blow. But strangely, that had never happened. Instead, the Rays had circled each other like wary cats, and then settled down. And Fraser--she'd never been able to read that beautiful face, but lately he'd been even shinier than usual, like he glowed from the inside or something. And Kowalski and Vecchio had been like cats that had both caught their mouse and got into the cream. Yeah, something was definitely going on there.
She looked further down the crowded bar, and spotted Frannie, who lit up and waved when she saw Elaine looking. Frannie mouthed something at her, like she expected Elaine to lip-read, and then made her way over.
"Hi!" she said, smiling at Elaine. She was wearing something low-cut and tight, so she'd definitely changed after work. Frannie had actually started wearing shirts that covered her belly button when she was working, and Elaine figured that made it easier for everyone involved. At least, she'd always found Frannie's belly button distracting.
Frannie put her beer down beside Elaine's. "So, I heard you disarmed two gunmen single-handed last night? Tell me about it." She looked wide-eyed and curious.
God, rumors spread at the speed of light at the 2-7. "Uh, well. It was one gunman, and Connor was there, too."
"So? I still want to hear the story. Come on." Frannie raised her eyebrows.
Elaine leaned in a little, so she wouldn't have to raise her voice to be heard over the din of the bar. "Well, there's not a lot to tell, really. We were out doing our rounds, and the guy who runs the little grocery on the corner by the park, you know the place?" Frannie nodded. "Anyway, we heard him shouting, and there's this punk kid holding him up with a gun. I mean, he was so young, I just wanted to tell him to go home to his mom. There were two of us, and he gave up pretty easily. Not a lot of drama, really."
"You're so modest, Elaine." Frannie grinned at her, then stretched over Elaine's shoulder to get at the bowl of nuts on the counter. One of her breasts brushed Elaine's arm, and glancing down into Frannie's cleavage, she reflected that at least Frannie had no modesty-related problems.
"Hey, you know what?" Frannie said, leaning in close.
"No, what?"
"I got a letter from the Academy today. And I'm in! I'm starting this spring." She almost whispered it.
"Really? Congratulations!" Frannie had talked about it a long time, but Elaine had begun to wonder if she was ever actually going to apply. Of course, it wasn't that easy for her--Elaine had seen Ma Vecchio go into rapid-fire Italian scolding just at the mention of it.
"I guess I wanted to keep it secret until I knew I was accepted. You know, in case I wasn't."
"Oh, Frannie, I'm so happy for you. And of course you got in." She reached out and squeezed Frannie's shoulder.
"Yup. I'm celebrating today." Frannie raised her glass with a radiant, somewhat drunken smile. Elaine raised her glass, too, and clinked it against Frannie's.
"Hey, girls!" a voice drawled from over their shoulders, and a beefy hand landed on the counter just beside Elaine's. "You sitting here all alone?"
Elaine and Frannie both turned and gave the guy a combined glare that made him back off a couple of steps.
"All right, all right," he grumbled. "You don't have to bite my head off. Just wondered if you wanted some company." He retreated, and Elaine tried to stifle her grin.
"All alone, huh. Doesn't he have eyes in his head?" Frannie sniffed, and then waved dismissively after the guy. "Anyway, I just had to tell someone about it. Because yeah, I've thought about it for a long time, but now it's real, you know?"
"You mean I'm the first one you told?"
"Well, yeah." Frannie smiled in a way that almost looked shy.
"Ray's going to be happy for you, though, don't you think so? I mean, your brother Ray. And the other Ray, too, of course."
"Yeah, I hope so. I think he will. It's Ma I'm worried about."
"Frannie, you're not her little girl anymore, and she's got to accept that. But yeah, I get it. My dad wasn't exactly thrilled when I decided to become a cop." And that, Elaine thought, was an understatement. At least her mom had been on her side.
"I don't even want to think about what my dad would've said," Frannie said with a grimace. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
"Frannie, you'd look awesome in a hat," Elaine said, absolutely truthfully, because Frannie almost always looked good.
"Oh, do you really think so? Thanks," Frannie said, distracted. "Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to ask you about."
Elaine waited, taking a sip of her beer.
"Did you ever...I mean, have you ever had a..." Frannie trailed off, looking intently at the label on the beer as if it held the answer to her question (if she ever managed to get it out, that is).
"A what?" Elaine prompted.
"A crush on someone you worked with?" Frannie came out with, all in a rush.
Elaine felt weirdly disappointed. Frannie's crush on Fraser could probably have been seen from space. Well, Elaine had been there, done that, and if there'd been a t-shirt, half the population of Chicago would be wearing it. So she couldn't exactly blame Frannie, but she did wish that she could move on, because Elaine had a feeling Fraser was already taken.
"Frannie, I don't think he's interested," she said, trying to sound gentle.
"Who? Oh, you thought...No, I'm over him, Elaine. I really am."
"You are?"
"Yes," she said decisively. "I mean, I tried, I really tried, but I can't spend my whole life waiting for him."
"No, you can't." So who was she talking about?
"Um, no. I can't," Frannie repeated, now really interested in fiddling with her bracelet.
"So? Who is it?" Elaine raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, go for it," Frannie muttered under her breath. Then she straightened and looked right at Elaine. "This is going to sound weird, because we're already out, aren't we?"
Then she back-pedaled, waving her hand. "I mean, not out in that way, just out in a sort of general way, out as in already at a bar, you know? Anyway. Do you want to go out some time?"
Elaine held her breath in case she'd misunderstood, although with all the accidental talk of being "out", she was hoping she'd understood just fine. Then she asked, "On a date?"
"Yes!"
And Frannie's simple answer after her long and convoluted question made Elaine smile. She loved how Frannie made her smile. "Frannie, I would love to go on a date with you."
"Really? Wow." Frannie's smile almost knocked Elaine's socks off. "See, that's what I told Ray once. You gotta dream, and if you want something, you should just go for it."