by heidi
 

//Shit, how did I get myself into this?//

It was a rhetorical question, because he knew exactly how he had gotten here. He looked at that face, those pleading eyes, and before he knew it, he was here, dressed in his tux, heading to dinner and then the symphony.

It all started two week earlier when Stephen had called.

"Hey Jim, I've got a couple of tickets to the symphony, but I can't go, and I'm not about to let 'the bitch' have them"

Jim chuckled. "Does this mean 'the' relationship is off again?"

"How could you tell? (sigh) So what is it Jim? Do you want the tickets?"

"I don't know Steve, can you really see me going to the symphony?"

"You used to go with mom when we were kids. I just thought you might like to go again."

"Yeah, I know, but now? Just a second Steve, Blair's waving at me frantically."

Blair jumped from the sofa, where he had been listening to the conversation. "Jim, is he offering you tickets to the symphony?" Jim nodded. "Do you know how hard it is to get tickets anymore?" Jim arched an eyebrow. "Yes, I've tried. Do you think Steve would let me have them?"

"Steve? Blair wants to know if he could have them."

"Sure. Have him come by in the next day or two to pick them up."

Jim hung up the phone, and turned to Blair. "The symphony Chief? That's a bit of a stretch from earth music."

"Man, you have no culture. Yeah, the symphony. It makes for a great date, if you are truly trying to impress someone."

The next day, Blair bounded into the loft.

"Hey Jim, do you know what concert these tickets are for? They are for the 50th Anniversary concert. I thought they would be just for one of the regular performances, but not this. This is like so cool. I couldn't believe it when Steve handed them to me. I mean, this is big. Do you know who's going to perform? Yo Yo Ma and Perlman. This is like so great. I offered Steve to pay for them, in yearly installments, but he told me they were a gift, that they would have gone to waste otherwise. Seems 'the' relationship is off again. Man, I'm so glad we busted the extra bucks over the stipends the department gave us to buy the nice tuxes. It's a black tie event. I can't believe I have tickets to this performance. This will be the perfect in with Anna Marie. This is way cool."

Jim began to laugh at the onslaught of commentary, as he watched Blair cross the loft to his room.

He couldn't blame the kid for being excited. The symphony was celebrating it's 50th Anniversary. The first 40 years were uneventful, barely breaking even, but 10 years ago they signed "The Maestro." With each passing year, they became more solvent and successful. "The Maestro's" name alone had drawn many of the best performers along with the best guest artists. The symphony's status now rivaled that of Boston and Chicago, making them one of the most renowned in the world. And with this status, came the honor of always being sold out, rivaling the JAGS as the highest demanded tickets in Cascade.

In addition, this particular concert had been the talk of upper society for several months, due to the guest artists involved. Yo Yo Ma is considered to be one of the foremost cellist performing, and Izhak Perlman among the most respected violinist.

All this made Jim glad that Blair would be able to go.

The next two weeks consisted of major activity from Blair, ensuring that he would be ready.

The final days before the concert found Jim constantly on stakeout, but that morning he was able to make an arrest. Simon had given him the rest of the day off, so he went home. What he found surprised him; Blair slumped on the sofa, as if his world had fallen apart.

"Hey Chief, what's up?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My car had another fit today, and is back in the shop, and I got a call about an hour ago. Anna Marie won't be able to go with me tonight. There is no way that I can just call someone else up and ask to go. This is a black tie event, and you know how women need a proper amount of time to prepare, let alone to buy a new dress. (sigh) What are you doing home anyway. I thought you would still be on stakeout."

"Yeah, well, we made our arrest, and Simon gave me the rest of the day off."

"That's nice, now we'll both be home."

"You know Chief, I'd love to go with you . . ." Jim was going to say 'but I have no desire to, sorry,' except he never got the chance.

Blair's whole demeanor had changed as he became animated once again. "You mean it Jim, that would be great."

That's when Jim looked at that face, and those pleading eyes, and suddenly he was sitting in his truck, on a date with Blair Sandburg.

He was about to make an off handed remark when he looked over at Blair. Blair was practically oozing with anticipation, sitting in the passenger seat, playing with his cuff links. Jim could only remember seeing him more excited once, and that was when they had gone to the JAGS' practice. Jim decided at that moment to try to enjoy the evening, and if he didn't, to put on one hell of a show, because he was not going to upset his friend's evening anymore than it already had been.

As Jim followed Blair's instructions, he was stunned to find that they were going to be having dinner at Chez Phillipe, probably the most expensive restaurant in town.

"Ah, Blair, I can understand you wanting to take Anna Marie here, but I'm your date now, and I'm already going to let you spend the night at my place, so you don't need to wine and dine me, at least not here."

"Jim, this is where I want to have dinner. It will probably my only chance to be allowed in the doors. Plus, Steve had originally made these reservations, and he changed them over into my name. There's like a 3 month waiting list for reservations. So, let's enjoy."

"At least let me pay half."

"Nope, you're my date for the evening, so it's my treat."

Jim became even more worried when he realized there were no prices on the menu, at least not his. Blair took Jim's menu away and informed him that he was ordering. He studied his menu for a moment, totally unfazed by the prices, and became pleased when he saw what he wanted.

When the wine waiter arrived, Blair ordered a vintage and year that Jim did not recognize, but the waiter seemed impressed.

When he returned with the wine, Blair was eager for Jim to try it. The wine was incredible. As Jim raised the glass, the scent overwhelmed him. The gentle mixture of grapes, along with lavender? Cinnamon? Currents? The blend was spectacular. As he tasted the wine, the heady scent became a rich texture of flavor.

"This is incredible Chief."

"I thought you might like it. One of the things I studied the last two weeks was wines. This particular wine had a wonderful growing season in 1985, and it is in its peak for drinking now. It's everything I was hoping it would be. I can only imagine how it is for you."

Blair then ordered dinner, which was a perfect compliment to the wine. Both wine and food adding to the enjoyment of the other.

Jim could not remember ever having a dinner as wonderful as this.

"I wish you would let me help out paying here, Blair."

"Nope. I had this all planned. Just because you're not Anna Marie, does not mean I'm going to do anything different than what I had intended. Don't worry Jim, I have it covered. I'm just doing without some of the other things I planned on, or at least postponing them."

As the two men ate, they talked about the case Jim had just finished, about Blair's classes and research, and about the concert they would be attending.

Blair explained that many times symphonies followed a theme for an evenings performance, such as a particular composer, or a period. The theme for this particular concert was favorites. The first piece was a favorite for the orchestra as a whole. The next piece was a favorite of the first guest artist, Yo Yo Ma. There would then be an intermission. The conductor would then have his favorite, followed by the other guest artist, Izhak Perlman's, favorite. Blair was pleased that they would have such a variety of composers and styles.

When they arrived at Symphony Hall, they were seated in a private box. Jim was stunned.

"These are the seats Steve gave up?" // Just how much money was Steve making anyway.//

"Yeah, great aren't they. I couldn't believe it when he gave them to me."

Soon after they arrived, the lights dimmed and the concert began.

The work to be played was "Bolero." Jim found himself caught up listening to the eerie, yet exotic tones of the lone oboe player, and then another instrument was added, and then another. As each addition was made, he would listen to the new sound, the texture and the tone of this new instrument until the whole orchestra was playing. The noise was incredible, and Jim was loving it. //Did I enjoy it this much as a kid? nah.//

When the piece came to an abrupt end, Jim turned to Blair, only to realize that the younger man had been watching him. //Probably thought I would zone out on him.//

The lights were then turned on to half strength to allow the stragglers a chance to get seated, then dimmed again.

Yo Yo Ma then joined the orchestra to perform. The piece he had chosen was a sweet sounding work. Blair had said that the cellist had chosen to perform this particular piece because he rarely got the opportunity to play it. Seems the orchestral backing is difficult, and conductors didn't like to spend the time needed to rehearse it, but the 'The Maestro' was more than willing.

As the orchestra proceeded to work through the 3 movements of the piece, Jim found his attention shifting to the young man next to him. He had the feeling that Blair was still watching him, and when he turned and smiled at Blair, he noticed that Blair's heart rate increased.

He thought back through the night, and how it had been one of seduction. The meal was designed to entice his senses of smell and taste. Then he thought about Blair himself. Jim then realized that Blair had bathed with scent free soap and shampoo, so the true essence of Blair was present. And Blair did look spectacular in his tux. He had even bought a blue cummerbund that heightened the color of his eyes, increasing the beauty of the man. //But surely it had been planned that way for Anna Marie . . . hadn't it?//

When intermission arrived, the two men joined the crowd and Jim bought them each a glass of white wine. As they were walking away, they ran into an old acquaintance of Jim's.

"Hello Detective Ellison. Didn't expect to ever see you at the symphony."

"Hello Senator. You probably would not have, except I'm here with my friend. Senator Neal, this is Blair Sandburg, my partner. Blair, Senator Neal."

"I didn't know you wee back in Vice."

"I'm not. Blair works with me in Major Crimes. Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going."

"Wow, Jim, did the temperature just drop 10 degrees, definitely cold there."

"Let's just say that I didn't vote for the guy and leave it at that."

As they stood to the side, enjoying their drinks, and each others company, two females began to approach them. Jim noticed that Blair's heart rate increased again, and that he moved closer to him, almost possessively. The women read the signals the same way, stopped, and then moved elsewhere.

When they returned to their seats, Jim turned to Blair.

"This whole evening we've been joking about this being a date, but it is a date, isn't it? This whole evening has been you seducing me. Am I wrong?"

Blair's heart rate went ballistic and he became flushed. Jim caught the slight nod of agreement as Blair lowered his head.

The lights lowered and the orchestra began to play.

Jim could not be sure if he truly hated the work of the 20th century Russian, or if he disliked it because it matched the turmoil of his emotions.

Blair had been trying to seduce him, or at the least, to be on a date with him. It was a shock, Blair was always talking about the various women in his life. Could it have been an act. Did he not want Jim to know about how he felt about him.

More importantly, how did Jim feel about Blair? Well, he cared about him. . . a lot. He wanted the kid to be happy almost more than he wanted anything else.

He was also comfortable with Blair. More comfortable than he had ever been with anyone.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how attracted to Blair he was.

He looked over to Blair, whose head was still lowered. Jim saw a streak running down Blair's cheek, indicating the path a tear had taken.

He reached over to clasp Blair's hands, which were in the process of worrying a program to pieces. Jim carefully linked their hands together and then looked back to Blair's face, which was now looking at him. Jim smiled and squeezed his hand. Blair returned the smile, then turned his attention to the stage.

The fourth and final selection began. A bright, cheerful piece that demonstrated the talent of the guest violinist. The two men spent the entire piece of 4 movements sitting, with their held hands laying in Blair's lap.

When the evening's performance was completed, and they were back in Jim's truck, Jim turned a different direction.

"Jim, this isn't the way home."

"I know. I thought we would take a scenic way home. Enjoy the evening a little longer."

Blair looked at him with questioning eyes. Jim responded with a jerk of the head. Before he knew it, Blair was sitting as close to him as possible without actually sitting on him.

As Jim drove around the mountains, he held Blair's hand, enjoying the sensation.

As they approached the loft, Jim said in his best southern belle accent, "This has been a divine evening, kind sir. Would you care to come up for something to drink?"

But once inside, Jim's attitude changed.

"Sorry chief. Simon wants me to work tomorrow, to do the paperwork on the Martin case. I really need to go to bed."

Jim headed towards his stairs, leaving a stunned Blair at the door. He stopped and returned to Blair, raised the younger man's face and gently kissed him. He then headed upstairs, bringing the evening to an end.

To be continued . . .

author's note: thanks to saraid for being sweet enough to beta this, my first attempt at fan fic. All comments are welcome.

back to TS fic page