inter-chameleon

[inter-chameleon]

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, peaches are one of the greatest pleasures in life. Right up there with a good beer and sex." Remi chuckled, not really stopping to think her words through, but it wasn't like she cared that much. They were alone, after all.

"You'd be surprised if the lengths Amy will go for someone she cares about. And how devious she actually is. It's scary, really, so I'm glad to have her on my side."

Closing her eyes, she nuzzled the soft mop of blonde hair on her shoulder, feeling sleepiness starting to creep on her, even when she didn't exactly want to lay down on a bed ever again. The pain meds she had to take a night were much stronger, leaving her so out of it she had little control over herself, and Remi was glad it was only A.B. there to witness it and not anybody else.

"Thank you for keeping the secret though, and for being there with me."

A little yawn, more nuzzling and blunt nails scratching the side of the blonde's thigh slowly.

"You're the best drug."

"A.B., I'm not an invalid, I'm fine. The door doesn't even stick as much anymore." Remi reminded kindly, her expression a picture of find exasperation.

After being released from the hospital earlier that day, the blonde had insisted on picking her up to drive her home. Which, okay, it was helpful since the pain meds left her a little woozy, but the tiny terror didn't even allow her to open a single door. Not in the car and most certainly not her own front door. It was charming, in its own way, but Remi had an inkling of the depth of her friend's worry and she planned to address it.

Going to the kitchen, she made quick work of preparing two cups of tea, not really favorable to the idea of filling A.B. with caffeine when she was already so tightly strung out.

She nodded for the blonde to take one of them before leading them to the living room, where she sat down with a relieved sigh. She raised the arm not in a sling in invitation.

"C'mere."

[inter-chameleon]

"You just said we did the best we could and assholes are unpredictable. That's it. That's the gist of it, A.B." Remi said as patiently and kindly as she could, mindful and respectful of her friend's fears grievances.

If the roles were reversed, she would be just as much of a mess as the blonde, that was a fact she easily accepted, but seeing the frown permanently marring the woman's beautiful features for the past few weeks didn't sit will with Briggs.

"We all know what we're signing up when joining the academy. Death is a constant threat in the corner of our eyes, but it didn't go that far this time. I'm here, A.B.," reaching out, she took one of the blonde's hands and pressed it against her neck, where her pulse could be felt.

"I'm here and I would do it all over again if it meant keeping you safe. I don't care what you say, it was worth it."

Swallowing harshly, she dropped A.B.'s hand and reached for her mug, refusing to look at her partner.

"The dot was moving upwards. He was going for your head "

"A.B., I'm not an invalid, I'm fine. The door doesn't even stick as much anymore." Remi reminded kindly, her expression a picture of find exasperation.

After being released from the hospital earlier that day, the blonde had insisted on picking her up to drive her home. Which, okay, it was helpful since the pain meds left her a little woozy, but the tiny terror didn't even allow her to open a single door. Not in the car and most certainly not her own front door. It was charming, in its own way, but Remi had an inkling of the depth of her friend's worry and she planned to address it.

Going to the kitchen, she made quick work of preparing two cups of tea, not really favorable to the idea of filling A.B. with caffeine when she was already so tightly strung out.

She nodded for the blonde to take one of them before leading them to the living room, where she sat down with a relieved sigh. She raised the arm not in a sling in invitation.

"C'mere."

[inter-chameleon]

"A.B., I'm not an invalid, I'm fine. The door doesn't even stick as much anymore." Remi reminded kindly, her expression a picture of find exasperation.

After being released from the hospital earlier that day, the blonde had insisted on picking her up to drive her home. Which, okay, it was helpful since the pain meds left her a little woozy, but the tiny terror didn't even allow her to open a single door. Not in the car and most certainly not her own front door. It was charming, in its own way, but Remi had an inkling of the depth of her friend's worry and she planned to address it.

Going to the kitchen, she made quick work of preparing two cups of tea, not really favorable to the idea of filling A.B. with caffeine when she was already so tightly strung out.

She nodded for the blonde to take one of them before leading them to the living room, where she sat down with a relieved sigh. She raised the arm not in a sling in invitation.

"C'mere."

[inter-chameleon]

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll have to go back to work and I can catch up with Amy then. Right now I just want to take advantage of whatever little time I have with you." Remi answered, eyes open and earnest.

Knowing of her partner's worrying nature, she let her poke and probe around, read her file and check on her vitals. If it brought some kind of calm to the clearly still irked blonde, then Remi would let her do as she pleased. Green eyes followed her movements with a smile that was both sad and endeared, but she didn't say anything until Barbara leaned their foreheads together and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

The fight seemed to leave the blonde and Remi lifted her hands to cup A.B.'s face in return, holding her in place.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay." She whispered, eyes closed lest she looked at the blonde's lips and did something stupid. "I've missed you too."

The smile Remi gave to Amy’s retreating form made Barbara wonder for a second, but whatever thoughts could come were shaken off for a later moment. Right then and there A.B. had a moment alone with her partner, and sadly, it wouldn’t last forever.

“I didn’t want to interrupt you two,“ Sabik said with a bit of regret. “If I’d known Patterson was coming, I’d come by later. It’s been a while since you two have had a chance to catch up without work getting in the way.“

Despite her words, the blonde got closer to the bed; checking on her partner even if the doctor had done so mere minutes ago. But the motions were more for her own peace of mind rather than Remi’s well-being. Technically, Sabik knew Briggs was okay, she was almost ready to go home after all. But a part of Barbara couldn’t help but worry, and it was better to go over a few practiced motions rather than be on edge for hours.

Lastly, she cupped Remi’s face with both hands and rested her forehead against her friend’s. The gesture intimate by nature even when nothing else came from it.

For a moment, A.B. was about to say something else, to do more, but in the end shook her head and limited herself to kiss Remi’s cheek.

[inter-chameleon]

"I've been ready to get out of here since I woke up, so I would like that very, very much." Remi was quick to reply, her eyes showing excitement at the prospect of getting out of the hospital. The doctor and staff had been nothing short of amazing, but still. At least at home she had Netflix.

At the playful jab at the blonde, she couldn't help the short bark of laughter, but the slight stab of pain in her chest made her wince.

"You should already know better than to think anyone can keep Sabik from doing whatever she wants, but I'll give it a shot. Thanks, doctor."

With the older woman gone, her attention went back to the two blondes in the room, and Remi's eyes widened at the playful threat from Sabik.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"I would say that the jello isn't much worse than these canned atrocities you like so much, but that would be a lie." Amy gave Remi the cup back with a grimace. "Here, I'm gonna go get some coffee, be back in a few."

It was obvious Amy was stepping out to give them some privacy, and Remi's gratitude showed in her smile.

[inter-chameleon]

Two pairs of eyes turned towards the door, watching as the doctor walked in, followed closely by a sheepish A.B.

The smile in Remi's face was very telling for Patterson, but before she could greet the blonde, a cup was literally shoved in her hands. Looking back at Remi, she could see the herculean effort to swallow without being too obvious about it. She wasn't mean enough to give her away.

"Doctor Grey, agent Sabik, hello!" Without thinking twice, she shoved a piece of peach into her mouth. She hated canned peaches. "Sorry, I'm starving."

Remi almost choked between trying to swallow an all to big piece of peach and wanting to laugh at Amy's panicked actions. Discreetly as possible, she coughed to cover up, then smiled at the two.

"Hey, doc." She said, cheery as usual, and then, infinitely softly as she looked at her partner: "Hi, you."

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

"Could've; but didn't." Was the succinct reply, a some stating of a fact. "Those armor piercing rounds are no joke, though."

She tried to laugh and all that came out was a wheezy sound that bothered her already irritated throat. She was tired, and fight it as hard as she could, the exhaustion still creeped at the edges of her vision, darkening the room.

With a last herculean effort, she weakly squeezed her partner's hand again, smiling through the daze.

"It's going to take more than a bullet for you to get rid of me. I promise."

***

"You didn't."

"Oh, yes, I did!" Grinning like a maniac, Patterson removed the lid from the to-go cup she was carrying, showing Remi the contents.

Peaches, and not just any peaches; canned peaches.

"You're an angel." Remi breathed out with a dreamy smile, slowly adjusting herself better against the pillows. A week had come and gone, and although she was doing so much better, she still couldn't very well walk out of the hospital. She missed her apartment and her job, but she wasn't childish enough to make a fuss about the stay.

She had almost died. Scratch that; she had died by all intents and purposes, so following the instructions of the doctors that brought her back was the least she could do.

Thankfully, heaven had answered her prayers in the form of one Amelia Patterson armed with her favorite food, something the hospital had refused to give her.

"I'm pretty amazing, I'll admit." The shorter woman replied just as playfully, before producing a plastic fork out of her pocket and spearing a piece of the sweet treat. "Now, open up."

"You are not feeding me."

"Do you want the peaches or not?"

"..." Amy's voice cracked just the tiniest bit, and that was enough of an argument for Remi to swallow her pride and allow her friend to take care of her. Amy was good at masking her emotions, but Remi was able to see the signs of recent crying as soon as the girl had come through the door. If feeding her was what would make her feel better, then Remi could give her the reassurance she sought.

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

As the offensive brightness turned to a muted, faw away glow, the pain slowly reversed to the back of her head and Remi was finally able to fully open her eyes.

Just like the time before, it took some time for her mind to catch up to reality. She looked around through bleary eyes, trying to recall what was happening and why it had happened.

Gunshots, distant screams, and sirens. Pressure and so much pain. Resignation and finally... Darkness.

Nothing made much sense, but as hooded eyes finally landed on the person next to her, a sigh of relief pushed past chapped lips. Then, a smile, tiny and sincere.

"Hey." She greeted groggily, doing her best to squeeze Barbara's hand in return. "Sorry I pushed you."

She didn't know where the words came from, the knowledge of what had happened, but amidst the thick fog in her head, Remi remembered pushing A.B. and seeing the blonde fall to her knees.

"Are you okay?"

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

She only managed a sip of water, even when the thirst was unyielding. Her throat screamed in protest at the prospect of working more than once, but at least the few drops of water were enough to help clear the fog in her head somewhat.

She was in a hospital room and definitely not as a visitor. She recalled shots and screams, flashes of light among the darkness, but little else.

She was still to disoriented, and although not coherent at all, she managed to mutter something that made sense; at least to her.

"S'rry you got stuck playin' nanny. You... You can go, I'm jus-... Jus' gon' sleep."

***

Next time she woke up, things were different.

She was a bit more coherent, but that only meant she was able to process the pain more sharply with each labored breath. Her chest felt tight, too tight, and her throat was still sore, as if a horse had karate-chopped her on the neck.

She groaned in pain, which only made it worse; intubation was definitely not on her list of things she wanted to go through ever again.

Attempting to open her eyes only served to almost sear off her retinas, and she still couldn't feel most of her body, which meant she was unable to lift her hand to shield her eyes.

"Too bright."

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

The next time Remi opened her eyes, it was to sterile white and a muted glow from somewhere above her head. Through vision blurred by drug induced sleep, she figured it was nighttime thanks to the sliver of shiny red, blue and yellow backed by darkness she could just make out through the open blinds.

She couldn't feel her body, not really, but the tightness of her chest every time she took a breath was impossible to ignore. Her throat was parched and raw, throbbing painfully every time she tried to swallow, lips dry and tight with disuse.

It took a long moment to even recall who she was and process everything around her, the fussiness in her head not clearing fast enough to understand.

God, she was so thirsty, but the more lucid she became, the more afraid she was to even take a sip of water. Why did her throat hurt so much?

She tried moving, but her body was too numb. Next, she tried speaking, but the only sound she managed was pained groan that only served to accentuate the dryness of her throat.

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

"At least try to keep the body count from hitting the double digits."

Koffler's words as they left the SUV stayed with Remi, replying in her head again and again. They were particularly loud whenever she pulled the trigger to try and keep the team alive. Most often than not, her aim was on its deafult setting; kill before being killed, but her shit's would be a little off to the side or down, where a bullet wound was less likely to be lethal.

They had not been expecting to find a small army in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, but they weren't some of the best the bureau had to offer for nothing.

Her blood ran cold as she watched Sabik go down, and she dispatched two more shooters as she ran towards the blonde and the assailant. She would live to see another day and the attacker would live to stare at prison walls for a long, long time.

The shot was unexpected, but thankfully too wide off target. She turned, pulling the trigger of her own gun and watching another criminal hit the ground for good. They were finally in the clear, and with a subject for interrogation, much to koffler's delight.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She reassured A.B., Before offering a hand to help her stand up. "Come on, we need to secure him in the car while the reinforcements arrive."

From there on, things would get a little too blurry for Briggs.

They walked out, the cuffed perp being escorted by Koffler and Wilkes. Sabik walking behind them, limping only a little and Remi bringing up the rear. She was never as thankful for her overprotective nature as she was the moment she noticed the tiny red dot on the back of her partner's vest.

"A.B., no!" She lunged the two steps separating them, her outstretched hand pushing the blonde to the side harshly just as the shot rang out in the stillness of the night and stole her breath. The only thing in her mind was to protect her tram and eliminate the threat, and with adrenaline pumping through her veins, she turned around, arm immediately angling towards the roof above the door. She kept pulling the trigger until there were no more bullets in the clip, watching in secret satisfaction as the body fell over the railing and plummeted to the ground.

"That's why I shoot to kill," she said, the words clearly intended for one person only, "so that they don't have a chance to kill us first."

Then... Nothing beyond the burning on her back, and the distant feeling of rocks digging into her knees.

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

"I will, and so will you." Remi promised, looking down at her partner with a stony expression that was betrayed by the softness of her eyes.

It was rare to see Sabik so out of sorts when it came to a mission, the last time Remi had seen her like that was when they formally met in that hospital room a handful of months ago. So, she would become the rock her partner needed, and would leave her best on the field so everyone got home safe.

The briefing was exactly that; brief. Half of the hour they had to get ready was spent like that, and the other half gearing up and paying a visit to the armory.

Decked in a bulletproof vest and with her side arm strapped to her thigh, she stole glances at the blonde as they drove to the drop off point, and noticed Wilkes do the same before exchanging worried glances. Even as they parked and retrieved their rifles from the back, Sabik was eerily silent.

The mission was starting to feel off even for Briggs.

"Locked and loaded, boss. How are we doing this?"

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

Remi had to chuckle as she found herself suddenly holding an armful of tiny blonde. Oliver's look of sheer shock went unheeded but no unnoticed, and all Remi did was wink cheekily at him over Barbara's shoulder before he walked away.

She stole a moment - small and probably all too insignificant - to bask in the feeling of the solid body against her own. She drank in the reassurance and the unadulterated happiness the contact provided, and buried her face in the blonde's shoulder a second.

A.B. smelled like summer breeze and home.

As they finally let go and A.B. had her feet back on solid ground, Remi's smile died out little by little as she looked into troubled blues. In return, her eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

To Die For

[inter-chameleon]

To Die For

It was all planned out in her head.

A small container filled with frozen mango for A.B. to enjoy throughout the day, a large, freshly brewed cup of coffee, and a still warm french crueller.

She would get to HQ, leave her humble offerings on Sabik's desk along with a little note, then she'd disappear into the labyrinth of offices and labs to wait for her partner to find her. It was a good plan; cute and sweet, if Remi said so herself.

Morning, partner. Enjoy a small assortment of sugar and caffeine to start your day off well.

Leaving the note under a tiny potted plant with the brightest orange flowers she had ever seen - which just happened to sneak into her purchases that morning, Remi left the office feeling great about herself. Perhaps the flowers were a little too much, but the vibrance and the little turtle pot had won her over.

"Morning, Briggs, got a new haircut?"

"Good morning, Wilkes. And yes, thank you for noticing." She replied with an endeared eye roll.

"Looking good, sister!"

"Flatterer."

Yes, it was definitely going to be a good day.

[inter-chameleon]

The constant switching, the never ending back and forth was bound to give her real whiplash one day, Remi was sure.

One moment, she was convinced A.B. was doing her damn hardest to get her hard, the next, she almost felt like crying due to the softness of her touch. They stayed like that for what felt like centuries, suspended in the thickness of the air around them, charged with something they wouldn't dare name.

It wasn't hard to read the hesitation coming off of her partner in waves, and Remi gave the blonde the acceptance and understanding that needn't be voiced. Letting her body relax further, she melted into the matress, feeling full in a way she couldn't understand herself with the weight of Barbara's body on her back.

The request was simple and innocent, and Remi debated with herself for a moment before lightly tapping A.B. on the hip, then moving her arms to use as a pillow. She didn't want to be tempted to keep touching the blonde.

"We can stay for as long as you want."

Coffee on Wednesdays.

[inter-chameleon]

At some point, Remi completely lost track of time, and even reality itself.

Between the strong pressure forcing her muscles to release the tension accumulated from work, and the featherlight dance of skilled fingers over her skin, she fell into a place where only they existed.

For a moment, it wasn't a massage, it was the push and pull always present between them. The subtle dance that started with a simple, seemingly innocent look. Except there were no Innocents involved, Remi knew as much, she could feel it in the subtle nuances of Barbara's words and touch. There was something deeper there, and this was no different.

Her body reacted as it always did towards her partner; pliant and eager, both challenging and submissive. Whatever A.B. wanted, Remi was ready to give, her skin and bones and flesh; her mind and very soul.

Perhaps it was that pliancy, that need for more and harder and please that turned the quiet sigh of relief into a whispered moan of pleasure as her back arched. Her hands, previously laying useless at her sides, reached for something to hold on to, to anchor herself - not to reality, but to the reality of that moment in time. There was nothing there except for the stretchy fabric covering her partner's legs giving into the pull of her fists.

She was floating and free falling all at once, the sweet taste of freedom and the tang of blood as she but her lip in order not to beg for more.

Coffee on Wednesdays.

[inter-chameleon]

Remi Briggs was a woman of logic, and logic dictated that in order to get a proper massage, there should be as little obstructions as possible. Namely clothes.

All throughout the night, she had stayed in her nicest pair of boxer briefs and a wife beater. The lack of a bra wasn't an issue for her, and given all they had gone through, she guessed it wasn't an issue for A.B. either. They were both adult women and more than a little comfortable around each other.

So, she obeyed the instructions and simply took off her top, throwing it near the pillows before laying down and waiting. It wasn't until she felt her partner's weight settle comfortably on the back of her thighs that it all hit Remi.

There she was, half naked and laid out for the blonde to do to her body what she pleased. And, lord, did Remi ever wish Barbara would just do with her as she pleased.

"What?" She asked, voice slightly muffled by the bedspread. She hadn't missed the scoff, and was curious as to what could possibly cause such a reaction from A.B. considering the position they were in.

Whatever happened after that, Remi wasn't sure.

She didn't even know it was possible to lose track of time and reality, while at the same time being hyperaware of everything going on. The feeling of the blonde's strong hands working pure magic on her sore muscles was almost a religious experience, and Remi cursed herself for not thinking of bringing up a massage way earlier.

"You're good. Actually, you can go a little harder."

Coffee on Wednesdays.