I’m finally writing again, and my plan is to write some one-shots all set around possible First Kiss Rollisi scenarios. Hope you enjoy. (Apologies for the length)
First Kiss #1 – Kidnappers
Sonny’s palms are uncharacteristically sweaty. He tries to tune into the key elements of the case: a couple, known as Trina and Miguel Hernandez, who kidnapped children from poorer families and sold them to the highest paying wealthy family. Olivia had already brought in Miguel, questioning him with Fin by her side. They were hoping for a confession, but the man was too smart to own up, and Olivia and Fin had no hard evidence to tie him to the kidnaps, that had been going on for over seven years, as far as they knew. The only alternative they had to catching them was by arranging a set-up. So, that would mean -
“Carisi. Rollins. Congratulations, you’re getting married.” Olivia announces, removing her glasses.
Glancing at Amanda, whose cheeks are a warm red colour, Sonny rises from his seat, to shift his uncomfortableness, knowing that the Hernandez’s were going to be extremely difficult to convince, given that not even Olivia’s “bad cop” routine had failed to produce even a bead of sweat from Miguel.
“We have a dummy house available. I’ll set up a meet.” Olivia says, tapping away at her phone, “Rollins, maybe look out something pink, we want the suburban housewife look to work.”
“How are you two adjusting to married life?” Fin teases, adjusting his bulletproof vest.
Rolling her eyes, Amanda says “Would be a lot better if I didn’t have to wear silk.” She fidgets with her light pink blouse, which, she actually looks pretty good in, at least that’s what Sonny thinks, for a quick second before he shoos the thought away. Amanda looks like a mother out of a 1950’s catalogue. The sort of woman who is the pretty little housewife, and happy to tend to her husband’s every need and want. Ha! Like that was ever going to be her reality. Sonny could never imagine Amanda ever allowing a man telling her what to do. She stands up to stretch her legs, the tight jeans clinging to her skin, and her white canvas shoes nipping her bare toes.
Carisi, sitting back on the luxurious sofa, gawked at the room they were sitting in. The fake life that he and Amanda have made together was pretty sweet. High ceilings, brass doorknobs, rose flowers scenting the room, his eyes fall on Amanda; everything fresh and warm and beautiful. He feels strangely comfortable, although the business-like trousers and tailored shirt are squeezing the air out of his lungs if he sits a certain way. Tinkering with the shirt, Sonny unclips one of the top buttons, sighing in relief.
Seeing his struggle with the button, Amanda watches him in amusement, but her eyes linger a second too long, and she tears her eyes away from the small area of exposed skin a moment too late.
“Are all the mics working?” She asks, trying to concern herself with anything other than her partner’s soft chest. At least she imagined it to be soft, silky. The real silk on her body sticks to her back, as her cheeks flush. She is angry at herself, for losing her concentration again, she is on a case, not on a romantic vacation.
“Good to go.” Fin nods, “Remember, we’ll be right in that room over there.” He says as he points down the hallway of the fake apartment, “If things start to go south, you know what to say.”
Amanda nods, as Sonny gets to his feet.
“Okay, so I just got the text from the lookout that the Hernandez’s car is pulling up outside.” Olivia announces, entering the room, dressed in her battle gear, her eyes hyper alert, “Remember you have to exchange the money for the child. We’re here if you need us.” Then, giving her best ‘you-got-this’ look, she and Fin leave Amanda and Sonny alone, in their happy, homely home.
“Just to warn you, Amanda. You might experience the best hand-holding of your life tonight.” Sonny grins, leaning on a coffee-stained table.
“Hm, well, there was this one guy, Joey Madison, back in ninth grade, who might be your main competition.” Amanda jokes along with it, trying to break the painful awkwardness. Ever since the bar fight and the motel, she has been too nervous to be left alone with Sonny for too long, for fear she will give into her desires. Her past fumbles in passion, with one of them resulting in the surprise pregnancy of her daughter, keep her from giving in. Jesse is her main priority, even though Amanda misses the feeling of a man holding her, as much as it pains her to admit.
Three rings of the doorbell mean it’s go-time, and Sonny taps Amanda’s shoulder so gently that every fibre in her body explodes with excitement.
They walk to the door, side by side, in perfect rhythm, fingertips inching from touching.
The couple on the opposite side of the door look less like a couple than Amanda and Sonny do. The woman, Trina, wearing a red flared jumpsuit, her hair in a tight ponytail, exposing her incredibly sharp cheekbones. The man, Miguel, hiding beneath his shabby haircut and baggy jeans. They look so ordinary, nothing about their clothes would even suggest that they go about snatching children. The thought haunts Amanda, that any person on the street could try and hurt her daughter, the nice man in the denim jacket, or the sweet woman who always gave Jesse an extra scoop in her ice cream.
Sonny is about to introduce himself, extend a hand and welcome the criminals into his and Amanda’s perfect married life, but Trina doesn’t give him the time.
“Amanda and Dominick Carfini?” Trina asks, her pace fast, like she is in a hurry.”
“Yes.” Amanda says, “I’m Amanda, and this is my husband Dominick.”
“Call me Sonny.” Sonny smiles, charismatic as always.
Sonny isn’t sure how long his smile is going to last. He has stared down the barrel of a gun, and yet he has never been more nervous than right now, pretending to be the husband of the woman who has more feelings for than any other woman, ever.
“Come on in.” Sonny gestures.
Trina and Miguel swiftly march past him and Amanda.
Amanda gives Sonny’s elbow a squeeze, sensing his nerves, it always calms Jesse down, and works wonders on Sonny too.
“Please, make yourself at home.” Sonny says, sitting down on one of the sofas.
Trina and Miguel remain standing, and Amanda is unsure whether to join Sonny or stay standing, so that she would have the upper hand.
Miguel is watching Sonny, and Trina begins to slide her hands along the mantel, her fingers poking into all the cracks, searching for recording devices. She stops at the shelves, filled with photographs of the happy pair, most of which were taken on night’s out with the squad or the odd bowling night.
“No wedding photos?” Trina asks, eyebrow arching sharply.
“That’s actually a real good story,” Sonny laughs, “We, uh-“
Amanda rests her hand on Sonny’s knee, signalling for him to shut up. “We’d only been dating about a year, and Dominick finally introduced me to his parents, and they weren’t too keen on me.” She begins, structuring her lie carefully, “Thought I was too country for their city native boy. So, that night we drove out to a bar, got drunk, got into this crazy bar fight, and he turned to me, and he just said, ‘we should get married tomorrow’ and, y’know, I was shocked, I’d been dreaming about this huge, white wedding, the kind all little girls want. And, I was gonna’ say no, my first instinct was to say no, but then, I looked at him, into those dumb, dumb eyes of his, and all that stuff I thought was important just wasn’t, and before I knew what I was sayin’, I said yes. We got married the next morning, I mean, I wasn’t even wearin’ a dress, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Amanda took Sonny’s silence as a sign of awe.
Sonny’s silence is one of worry. Worry at how quickly and well Amanda could tell a lie, a lie so complex and passionate. But, he can’t help but picture them in that scenario. It would never happen, though, since Sonny’s parents love Amanda. They haven’t met her in person yet, but Sonny has found himself telling stories of her more and more each time he is visiting.
Taking a risk, he put his arm around Amanda’s shoulder, “And now, after our years of bliss, we’re wanting to share this love with a kid, who, y’know, hasn’t had a fair start in life.” Sonny says, happy that Amanda didn’t go rigid at his touch. It’s comfortable.
“And why wouldn’t you want to adopt. A big house like this, the money this guy is making. Why go through our company?” Miguel finally speaks, stepping closer to Amanda.
Having been briefed on the answer to give, Amanda sits down beside Sonny, not enjoying the gaze of Miguel. She sits forward, cupping her hands and staring at them, “The wait for adoption is, long. There’s so many background checks and interviews and some women can pull out of the agreement in a second, and you just have to comply with it. We don’t want any of that worry.”
“We’re aware of the consequences, and rules of going through your service though. Our kid will think they came from an adoption agency, and if the cops ever come sniffing, we’ve never heard of you.” Sonny says, “We just really, really want a kid, and if God had blessed us with the natural ability to have them ourselves, we’d probably have three by now.”
“You understand that if you ever break our confidentiality agreement, we destroy this pretty little life of yours?” Miguel says, but it sounds threatening.
“One-hundred percent.” Sonny says.
“Well, I think everything is up to scratch here.” Trina says, moving to stand just in front of Sonny and Amanda, towering over where they sit.
The two smile, huge, gawky, smiles, the smiles that parents who have just been told they are going to be parents should have.
“Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to us.” Amanda says, standing up, as Sonny does the same.
“But there’s just one last thing…” Trina says.
The smiles slide from their faces.
“Another thing?” Sonny asks, hoping that Fin and Olivia were ready to burst in, given that this could turn ugly, fast.
Trina finally sits down, but her face is so much more sinister now. “You can only tell so much from the paperwork. The marriage certificate, the number of years, the photographs, the home interior. I mean, honestly, the two of you could be nothing more than friends who like to hold hands.” Trina says.
Sonny inhales, forgetting to breathe.
“I have had to turn away many applicants because they have failed the final part of the test.” Trina says.
Test. It didn’t sound good. Sonny readies himself to use to safe word.
“Show me how in love you are.” Trina says.
“Excuse me?” Amanda says, taken aback, “You come into my home and expect me to prove that I love my husband? What we do in the privacy of our home is our business.”
Trina stands up, grabs Miguel by the wrist and slaps her lips to his. They squash their faces together like two teenagers at a house party, right in front of Sonny and Amanda’s disgusted faces.
When they pull back for air, Trina grins, “See that? That was real, pure, passionate love. The kind of love this child is going to need.”
Amanda and Sonny remain still, trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. Sure they had seen dead bodies, but that was just utterly disgusting.
“Now, show me yours.” Trina demands, wiggling her eyebrows.
The detectives are awkward and still, “Look, we’re not really big on PDA- “
“It’s not like I’m asking you to have sex in front of me! Just kiss your goddamn wife, and prove to me that you love her enough to raise a child with her.”
Amanda knows that if she waits another beat, Trina will become suspicious. It will only be one kiss, it will be quick and painless and after it is over she will never think of it again.
Turning to Sonny, Amanda reached up, grabbing the back of his long neck and bringing it to her face, and gently pressing her lips on his. He’s surprised for a second, but it doesn’t take him long to enjoy it. He knows he has to sell the passion between them, so he obliges.
Heat flows through Amanda’s body, as Sonny holds her back softly, fingertips brushing her spine. She lets herself close her eyes, seeing bolts of colour under her eyelids as they forget to breathe.
Sonny doesn’t know how long it’s been, maybe a second, a minute or an hour, but he and Amanda finally pull their lips apart, and look into one another’s eyes. Both completely dumbfounded by the electricity they just experienced.
“That was just showing off.” Miguel huffs, “C’mon Trina, we haven’t got time.”
Trina rolls her eyes, pulls out her phone and says, “Bring the kid.”
Amanda is suddenly aware that Fin and Olivia are watching, and most likely seen the whole thing.
“Better get the chequebook,” She says, moving back slightly from Sonny, who himself was finally coming back to reality.
He reaches into her back pocket, and produces a chequebook as the doorbell goes. Trina takes it upon herself to answer it, and takes a baby in her arms from an unknown assailant. There will be a team downstairs, waiting to arrest whoever brought the child up.
Trina bounces the child, who can’t be any older than six months old, as she walks over to Amanda.
“What was the price we agreed on. Seven-fifty?” Sonny asks as he starts to write the cheque.
“Eight-hundred.” Miguel corrects him.
“Eight-hundred-thousand dollars? We agreed seven-fifty.” Sonny knows that he can blow his cover if he doesn’t object to a bump in price.
“This is not a negotiation. Better take the offer now before it becomes a million.” Trina suggests, holding the child close to her, “Any decent father would pay anything for his child.”
“Fine. You drive a hard bargain.” Sonny hands over the cheque.
Miguel checks it out, and, satisfied with his payment, nods at Trina.
“Congratulations,” Trina says, handing the baby to Amanda, “It’s a boy.”
Amanda takes the child in her arms, ensuring to cradle his head and cover his ears as much as she can.
The door bursts open from the hallway, and Olivia and Fin storm in, guns out.
“NYPD, get down!” Olivia shouts.
Miguel reaches behind himself, but Olivia aims her gun at him, “Don’t move!”
The baby screams in Amanda’s arms, and she whispers to him, trying to soothe him.
“You are working with the cops?” Trina growls.
So, maybe they aren’t as smart as they thought they are.
Sonny smirks, “We are the cops.”
Miguel and Trina surrendered quickly, and were taken into custody about an hour ago.
Sonny and Amanda were in the car back to the precinct. Neither Fin or Olivia had mentioned the embrace to them, but Amanda was sure Fin would be teasing them about it for the rest of her life. Olivia would probably pull her into her office and ask if there was anything she should know about.
She didn’t have a thing to worry about.
“So, about the whole, kiss. We don’t have to talk about that, ever again.” Sonny says as they drive through the blissfully unaware city.
Amanda coughed, “Yeah. But I don’t think Fin will let us live it down.”
“Just tell me something.” Sonny says. Amanda’s stomach twists in knots, please don’t ask if it was good, please don’t ask if it was good, please don’t ask if it was good. “Was my hand-holding better than Joey Madison?”
Grinning, Amanda gives Sonny a look that nearly makes Sonny forget to brake at the traffic lights, “Best I ever had.”
They are quiet, for a beat, stuck nose-to-tail in rush hour traffic, sandwiched between yellow cabs and Uber’s, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
“I liked it.” Amanda says, before her brain can filter her words.
Sonny let’s this information sink in. She liked it. She liked the kiss. She likes him?
Amanda places a hand on Sonny’s shoulder, “D’you ever wonder, if this would work?”
“Maybe.” Sonny admits, “Who knows, in a world where we’re not partners who bicker all of the time.” He laughs.
“Yeah. Like a world where you’re a city boy who ran off with your country girl lover?” Amanda grins, and Sonny is overcome with desire. He leans over, his lips meeting Amanda’s, not caring if the traffic around him is beginning to move. Amanda smiles, happy to have privacy this time around. Happy not to be trying to prove something. Just happy, to be wanted to and held and happy.
In this car, they’re not Detective Rollins and Detective Carisi: they’re Amanda and Sonny, carefree couple who aren’t too heavy on rules.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s a world that Amanda would be happy to stay in, with Sonny, for a long time.
