Work Text:
Despite there being so many more productive and essential things on his first day at back, like looking over his cases and attempting to tackle the mountain of papers on desk, the first thing Will wanted to do was to see Alicia.
He had really missed her when he was away on his suspension. He missed being so comfortable with her, being able to just walk into her office and talk. Their friendship was slowly building up again after the break up and now that Will was back at work, he wanted to fully fix it. She was so smart and beautiful. Will was reminded of that beauty when he stood before her door, his first destination (his office didn't really count) on the first day back after his suspension.
Alicia was going over some paper work for a case. Her dark hair falling in waves over her face. Will just wanted to go over and brush the hair out of those wonderful eyes of hers that showed so much emotion and...Will shook his head, no more. He was getting all silly and romantic about Alicia once more. A habit of his that he couldn't seem to stop. Enough was enough, he told himself and sighed deeply and knocked on Alicia's door.
Alicia raised her head and gave him a small smile. Will smiled back automatically.
"Hey," he said once he had stepped through the doorway.
"Hey," Alicia answered as her mouth curled into that smile of hers he had come to love. One thing among many. "Welcome back. It must feel good to be back in here for real work." She walked back to her chair, which she had previously got out of to open the door for Will.
"Thanks! It is." Will sat down on Alicia's couch. "So, what have you got there?" He leaned over and picked up some of the papers off Alicia's desk. Alicia sat down in her chair and gathered together the remaining papers in a pile.
"Oh just school reports for my client. I'm trying to find evidence of good behavior."
"And?" Will asked. "Are you finding any good behavior?"
Alicia raised her eyebrows, "Not really," she said, slightly annoyed.
"Do you need help?" Will asked.
Alicia shook her head. "No thanks, I'm sure you've got your own cases to look through."
"No, it's fine, I want to help you." Will replied, utterly failing at being causal.
Alicia gave him a searching look. Will was pretty sure Alicia could see that his willingness to help Alicia is coming from his fondness (maybe weakness was a better word) of her. Well, it's not the first time he's embarrassed himself because of his 'fondness' for Alicia and it wouldn't be the last time either.
"So...ah, you're sure you don't need any help?" Will placed the papers back on Alicia's desk and pulled out his cellphone so he was 'occupied' and so he didn't have to look into Alicia's eyes So she would see the disappointment on his face.
"No." Alicia said. "But..." Will looked up at her expectantly. "Thank you Will." She said with the same caring tone she had used when she had called him, to tell him to 'do good' during his indictment.
"You're welcome." Will replied, mirroring the passion and warmth in his voice when he answered her with a 'always' back then.
Will looked up at Alicia and found himself unable to turn away. God, she was beautiful and he really did miss her, a lot. Although he couldn't see his own facial expression, Will guessed that he was looking at Alicia with both longing and adoration. Will's heart stuttered when Alicia's expression turned the same, or maybe he was just being too hopeful. Alicia's eyes flicked to something outside in the hallway, visible through the glass front of her office. Will turned around and saw Kalinda in the hallway with a knowing smirk on her face. Alicia rolled her eyes at the investigator.
"I should go." Will said awkwardly.
"Yes," Alicia said and sat down quickly in her chair and looked down at her papers, a noticeable flush of embarrassment painted on her cheeks.
Will walked out quickly, passing the smirking Kalinda on her way into Alicia's office.
"So...are you going to tell me what that was about?" Kalinda said as she strode in and shut the door.
Alicia gave Kalinda her perfected 'Alicia stare' which didn't seem to work on her. She just blinked unafraid and raised her eyebrows slightly before she told Alicia about the latest evidence she had uncovered for the case.
"Alicia?" Kalinda said as she turned, halfway out of Alicia's doorway, after their discussion on the evidence. "You should talk..."
Kalinda's voice lingered on the word 'talk,' subtly suggesting that Alicia should do more than 'talk'.
"To Will...?" Alicia said with an amused expression on her face, like I know where you are going with this.
"Yeah." Kalinda said and tapped her fingers against Alicia's doorframe in perfect casualness. "You two seemed...cozy."
Alicia laughed shortly at Kalinda's choice of words."Cozy? Really Kalinda?"
"Yeah. Just talk." Kalinda looked at Alicia piercingly and lowered her voice. "I know you want to."
Alicia sat shocked in silence for a few seconds before saying, "I'll see you around Kalinda." rather stiffly, annoyed that Kalinda had got into her head. This was getting...complicated.
A few weeks later, Will sat, thinking about what Cary had just said to him about Alicia's and his growing closeness. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand and was sitting in a quiet corner of a bar. It was the celebration of his first won case after his suspension, at the local bar. Truthfully, Will wasn't really enjoying himself, maybe because Alicia was not there. She was in her office, finishing paperwork so she could have the Thursday night free to spend with her kids to watch a movie with them before they got 'too big' (Alicia had said this, with a certain sadness in her eyes) to watch a movie with their mother.
Cary had approached Will at the bar to talk to him about Will and Alicia and their 'obvious fondness of each other'. It was always there, the close bond between them, but ever since the break-up and his returns from suspension, it had grown stronger and more obvious. Absence really did make the heart grow fonder. But enough was enough for Cary.
While Kalinda preferred to watch in sly amusement the dance between Will and Alicia, Cary wasn't just one to sit around and let things unfold. He had told Will to 'sort out his 'thing' with Alicia, because it was 'bothering everyone.' Will had laughed at that, obviously, 'everyone' just meant Cary and a couple of gossiping young junior associates. Will would have just forgotten about Cary's comments to him but there was something in Cary's speech that made Will want to take it to his heart. "Just ask her," Cary had said as his final comment. "I can see it, and so should you. She wants it too."
Cary had noticed the affection between Alicia and him, so there was obviously something between them. There was no harm in asking Alicia if she wanted to try again because according to Cary, who he wouldn't usually trust, she did. Will quietly left the bar and made his way back to work and Alicia's office, repeating the same words over and over in his head while he drove...there's no harm in trying.
"What are you doing here?" Alicia looks bemused, as Will walks into her office, 20 minutes later. "Why aren't you at the bar, celebrating?"
"Nah, it wasn't that good..." 'without you' he added in his head, and he had a feeling that Alicia knew that with the look she gave him, demanding the truth like she would do with a witness.
"You'd rather be here, with me and the paperwork?" Alicia said her voice teasing but Will could sense her nervousness. Another example in which he thought they could read each others minds.
"Maybe." Will said with a laugh but the unspoken 'of course I'd rather be with you' was hanging in the air between them and made things... more than a little uncomfortable.
"Cary said something interesting." Will whispered after a while. He stood up and motioned for Alicia to stand facing him. Alicia looked at Will with a confused expression but walked over to him and leaned against the edge of her desk.
"What did Cary say?" Alicia asked softly, "Something about us? I guess."
"Yeah." Will murmured, "He said that...'we'" Will motioned to him and Alicia, who raised an eyebrow telling him to keep going. "He said that we...'care about each other, a lot, and that we should just sort out our..." Will chuckled nervously, "he called it our 'thing' and he said, to fix it and get together already."
Alicia looked off into the distance, thinking hard.
"And you believe that?" Alicia whispered, her eyes flicking back to Will's hopeful eyes.
"Yes." Will answered firmly. "Can we just at least try, Alicia?"
Will took a step forward and cradled Alicia's face in his hands and brushing his thumbs against her cheeks like he always did like she was a china doll, so precious and beautiful.
"Will..." Alicia sighed softly. "What about my kids, I think you have forgotten them, and I'm sorry, but they will always come first."
"No, I haven't forgot them." Will replied, "I told you, I want to meet them."
"Will...I don't know..." Alicia looked down, her eyes filled with an old sorrow.
"Alicia." Will pleaded and it came out more like a prayer. "Just give me a chance."
Alicia looked at Will and saw his expression of care and love for her.
She took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. Alicia pressed her lips against Will's and kissed him... very slow, sweet and soft. Will moved his hands down to her waist and pulled her gently closer to him, as close as he could possible get. Alicia gasped at the sudden closeness between them and moved her arms around his neck and weaved one of her hands through his hair. Will hummed softly in approval and touched his tongue to Alicia's, deepening the kiss. Alicia moaned and opened her mouth for Will, who kissed her with all the passion he held for her. Alicia responded in kin, pulled him backwards so she was leaning against the desk. She broke the kiss and with some help from Will she came to sit on the desk. Will groaned as Alicia pulled him up against her, wrapping her legs tight around him, thank god she was wearing pants because a skirt would have made things pretty difficult. Will moved his lips off hers, Alicia gave a short whimper that turned into a breathy moan as Will started to place soft sucking kisses on her neck, spending a long time on the spot. Will stopped kissing her neck and looked up into Alicia's eyes.
"Do you want to do this in here?" he asked breathlessly. "We can go back to my place."
"No." Alicia mumbled once she had her breath back under control. "I want to go home."
Will looked at her confused. "But your kids, are they there?"
Alicia closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, they are."
Will brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, "You want me to meet them?" A hint of hope was in his voice.
"Yes," Alicia whispered, and Will could see how nervous she was, from the look in her eyes, this was a big step for her.
"Thank you." Will said simply and kissed Alicia softly. "You won't regret it."
"I hope not." Alicia said quietly. Alicia looked down before looking back up at him and smiling. "We should fix ourselves up." Alicia said with a teasing smile.
"Uh, yeah." Will smiled. "We should."
"How about you come over, to my place in an hour?" Alicia suggested. "That will give me time to talk to the kids."
"Uh, sure." Will replied. He was nervous, a new feeling to him. He did not get nervous often.
"Ok then." Alicia straightened her shirt. She gave him a quick kiss and Will smiled a dopey happy grin which Alicia rolled her eyes at. "I'll see you in a hour Will."
"Ok, see you then." Will replied. He left Alicia's office and smiled at her through through the glass in front of her office. Alicia rolled her eyes once more and laughed. She gathered all of her paperwork into her bag and headed out to the elevator. Her phone buzzed with a text from Kalinda. "Well...did you guys talk?" it said. Alicia quickly typed, "Yes". Kalinda replied with one simple word.
"Finally."
-(end)-