Golden Hour (Numb3rs, fixed-length ficlet, PG-13)

[browngirl]

Title: Golden Hour
Fandom: Numb3rs
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Charlie/Amita
Warnings/Spoilers: Het. Set somewhen in the first 5 episodes of Season 5, and somewhat spoilerish for Charlie's situation.
Disclaimer: None of these characters or their settings belong to me.



Though he woke from fitful sleep over an hour ago, Charlie lies alone in bed watching the light swell across the ceiling, idle bits of math spinning through his thoughts. The hue morphs from gray through blue, reaching pink by the time he hears the front door open and footsteps climbing the stairs.

They approach much too slowly; Charlie doesn't let himself count the heartbeats between them. His bedroom door creaks open and Amita steps through, drooping, even her hair limp.

Charlie doesn't ask how it went, or if they caught the suspects. "Hey."

"Hi." Amita smiles vaguely and shrugs out of her clothes, dropping them where she stands. The early sunlight further gilds her skin, but she's so wilted his admiration is merely academic. Down to her underwear, she sways, glancing around for her overnight bag. "I should find pajamas."

"Just come here." Charlie holds out his arms. Amita blinks heavily and smiles, totters over and falls as much as she sits. He pulls the blanket over her as she nestles her head on his chest, and strokes her hair as she mutters, "thanks," and dozes off almost instantaneously.

Charlie doesn't let himself think about the difference between the hours of sleep medically recommended for adult women and how much Amita hasn't had in the last three weeks. He doesn't try to estimate how much help he could be, how much more work she's doing now. He holds Amita as she sleeps and watches the light on the ceiling shift to gold.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

God I love this.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[jlm110108.livejournal.com]

Aw, that was very sweet! I loved your visual images as much as the emotion you conveyed.

Jo

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Thank you, very much. :)

[digeediva.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! Excellent imagery.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Yay! The plotbunny was all visual, so I'm really glad to be told I managed to convey that.

[melissima.livejournal.com]

Oh so pretty! This Charlie is a lovely boyfriend. Every time you write Charmita I get inspired to work on my own, so keep it up! :)

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad you like this, and I surely will keep writing them. It's a bit odd sometimes being me, both a Charlie/Amita and a Don/Charlie girl, but I like my brand of weirdness. :)

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

Just lovely. The hues really imbue with so much, make it so much more visual and enticing.

Somehow you make me like - and want to write - Charmita.

/eyes you/

Very nice, hon.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

*curtseys* Thank you. :) As I said in my comment to Melissima, I wonder sometimes at myself and my dual Charlie pairings, but I really do love them all.

[emmademarais.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're preaching to the converted here! /points to 14 Don pairings, 14 Charlie pairings and Don/Charlie listed in her Memories/
I definitely understand enjoying someone with vastly different partners for different reasons.
Now how about some Charlie/Billy, hmm? ;-)

[lark_ascends]

That's gorgeous. Loved how you described how tired Amita was.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) I imagined her just *drooping*, so I'm delighted to be told I succeeded in conveying that.

[owl]

This is adorable. I love how much he cares about her <3

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

*beam* Thank you. :) I was struck anew by his devotion to her in "First Law", so I ended up writing this in part about it.

[1trackmind.livejournal.com]

Charlie doesn't let himself think about the difference between the hours of sleep medically recommended for adult women and how much Amita hasn't had in the last three weeks. He doesn't try to estimate how much help he could be, how much more work she's doing now. He holds Amita as she sleeps and watches the light on the ceiling shift to gold.

I like that. It's the perfect thing to do, just be there for her.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Bloody Livejournal, eating my comment notifications!

I'm sorry I never replied to this before, and thank you for this comment. I'm fond of Charlie & his taste in people. *wink*

[mustangcandi.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness for remixes. I somehow missed all of this glorious fic around here.

This was absolutely lovely. You really painted a picture of how tired Amita was and how much comfort Charlie could be to her, when usually we only saw Amita keeping Charlie sane. I loved this perspective.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

*blushes delightedly* Thank you! Yeah, I jumped at the chance to reverse their usual dynamic. :)