Work Text:
Ainsley's been there two weeks, just long enough for her to get sick of the blank cement walls of the office. (The heat down there isn't stifling yet; that comes later.) Slowly, things are making their way into the office to make it her own.
She's preparing a position paper for Leo late one night when CJ knocks on the door, concentrating on it so intently that CJ has to knock again while calling her name before Ainsley even looks up.
"Oh, good evening, CJ. I didn't hear you come in."
CJ waves away the unspoken apology, and sits down in the chair Ainsley gestures to. "I understand; it happens to me all the time. Carol keeps telling me that she's just going to start shooting Nerf darts at my head to get my attention. She just keeps forgetting to bring the thing into work."
Ainsley laughs, and then her attention is pulled to the bag CJ's holding in her left hand. Mostly because there's curly silver and shiny-blue ribbons tied to the top, and she can't be sure, but she doesn't think that CJ's really the 'fancy ribbons on a gift' kind of woman.
"What's in the bag?"
CJ passes it across the desk. "It's for you."
Ainsley can't help but laugh as she pulls a 6-pack of Fresca out from the tissue wrappings. "Aw, CJ, thank you so much. Y'all really got this for me?"
"I did. It's probably a pretty lame 'welcome to the White House' gift...actually, I'm pretty sure it's one of the lamest gifts ever...but it's really the only thing I know for sure that you like, so..."
"No, CJ, I love it. It was very thoughtful of you to get me anything, really."
"Well, if my older brother taught me anything, it's that it's always a good idea to be nice to new co-workers; otherwise, they pull nasty pranks on you, and you end up drinking coffee with dish soap in it instead of cream."
Ainsley laughs. "My brother pulled that prank on a guy once. He always does crazy things like that; drove our mama crazy."
CJ's smile falters, just for a second, and Ainsley realizes she's said something wrong. She doesn't know what it is, and she doesn't know CJ well enough to know if she can ask about it. "CJ?"
CJ shakes her head and keeps her eyes on a box in the corner that Ainsley hasn't had time to unpack yet. "Sorry. Long story. So, how's your first couple of weeks been? I love what you've done with your office. These pipes look great."
Ainsley glances up at her for a fraction of a second, just enough to realize she's teasing. A moment later, they're both laughing like teenaged girls at a slumber party. When it passes, CJ stands up.
"It's late, and I should let you get back to whatever you were doing. I just wanted to, you know, say hi."
"CJ?"
CJ turns, one hand on the doorframe. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
CJ pauses, and Ainsley thinks for a moment that CJ's angry with her. Instead, CJ just shakes her head slightly. "It's okay. Really."
The next night, Ainsley finds herself in CJ's doorway, and they end up drinking coffee and talking until well past midnight. CJ doesn't tell her everything about her mother, not then, but Ainsley thinks that one day, she might.