PLEASE READ. This is a thread from a roleplay I've joined, Great Big Apartment. You should join to xD Cuz its fun and awsome and I love it. Email/message/IM me for the link. Or you could ask Operatic too. Which brings me to another thing, the ever lovely Operatic played Cha-Cha, and I Ed Green. Much love to her:) Send her fan mail xD

Sorry if this is a tad jumpy. It flows a lot easier if you read it in sections on a message board. Whatever says "he" assume its referring to Ed, "she" for Cha-Cha. I could put lines between each of our parts if that would help. Let me know. :) This is our first thread. Story will be updated as we finish :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Flawless or Law and Order. Heck I don't even own half this story. Whatever involves Ed is mine. I got permission from Operatic to post this.

Waiting for Somebody

Cha-Cha had no plans for the day, which seemed to be a growing trend lately. Sometimes she wondered why she moved. She didn't have many connections around her new place. And she missed her friends. Not that Ivana and Grace were that far away, but they barely saw one another anymore. Cha-Cha knew she couldn't figure out the subway alone, and she doubted Ivana and Grace could together either. Rusty might be able to, but Cha-Cha knew she was busy, with Mr. My Left Foot and all. Who she also missed, though she really doubted that was mutual.

That's it. Next person who walks through that door, I'm buying their lunch. Or splitting the cost, or something, she thought to herself, resting her chin in her hand. Why not? She'd met people in stranger places, in stranger ways before. It didn't matter who they were, where they were from, how they were dressed...well, okay, maybe that last one. But really, what was she gonna lose?

Ed checked his watch, and with just over half an hour of his sixty minute lunch break left, he headed for the Life Cafe. He'd spent the first part trying to convince Lennie he could take a break from their case, pausing for lunch wouldn't hurt. Opening the cafe's door, he was surprised by the lack of people inside. It was normally bursting around noon. Aw well, he never did like crowds.

There. Cha-Cha uncrossed her legs and got up as soon as the door swung open. She's already said, it didn't matter what quality the person was, as long as he or she was breathing and clothed. But she couldn't help but think as she approached the man that this was not a bad choice at all.

"Hi," she approached the man, Miss Flawless Pageant smile intact immediately. "My name is Cha-Cha and I thought I'd by you lunch." She paused. "Well, not you specifically, but really just the next person who walked in, which happened to be you. I'm in a giving mood," she finished, the smile not leaving her face despite how awkward the situation might have been.

Ed blinked. He wasn't prepared for this. Who would be? His ability to speak failed. "I, uh, thank you?" He was so confused. But although surprised, this person's smile was contagious, and he couldn't help but let a small grin shine through. He couldn't tell if he was glad he chose to walk in when he did, or if he would have preferred just eating solo. He supposed he'd find out soon enough.

"You're welcome," Cha-Cha replied, doing her best not to come on too strong. Which wasn't easy, considering she was inviting herself to lunch with a stranger. Normally she wouldn't care so much. But she had a bad feeling she'd driven some of the their tenants away...of course, some of them were snooty anyway. Bit still... "What's your name?" she asked the man, hoping to get off on the right foot.

"Ed," he said, standing there still for a moment before offering a hand. Where were his manners? "And your name?" He hadn't caught it when she stopped him.

"Cha-Cha de los Santos Perez Cueva," Cha-Cha replied, unable to stop her whole name from popping out. It was habit now. Though she knew that may have been a big reason she scared so many people off. "But just call me Cha-Cha," she added, shaking Ed's hand.

Ed grinned at the long name. Beautiful, in a fun tongue tying kind of way. He stared at her just a little too long before asking, "Did you have a table already?"

"I was sitting over there. But I've got no emotional attachment to it or anything," Cha-Cha shrugged, motioning to the table she'd sat at before. She hadn't ordered, and her purse was safely over her shoulder. "Is that okay? Or do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Here's good, actually. Lunch break's almost up..." He suddenly felt irrationally angry at his partner for being so stubborn and not leaving the station. If Lennie had left when Ed wanted to he could have been here much earlier. But then, if Lennie was working through the lunch hour...there was no need for Ed to rush back, right? "Here," he repeated, moving toward the table. "Close to the precinct if they call and harass me."

"The precinct?" Cha-Cha raised her eyebrows as she sat down. She wasn't the hugest fan of crime movies, so she didn't hear that word awfully often. But she knew what it meant. "So you're a policeman? Or...?" she asked. She'd never met a policeman before. Aside from Mr. My Left Foot, but he was retired so it didn't count. Not in her book anyway.

"Detective," he said a little too proudly. He kicked himself. There goes that ego, he though, bigger than ever since he'd been promoted. He didn't know why the urge to impress his guest with his position had popped up, and he didn't really know if it would. "But," he added, automatically starting to fix a few misconceptions that always followed his title. "I'm not a private detective like in some movies, who follow cheating husbands around."

"Oh..." Cha-Cha nodded her head. That was only a little disappointing. "What do you do then?" she knew little of detectives outside the movie ones. She supposed it was probably something like in Sherlock Holmes...follow the clues and find the culprit.

"I'm a homicide detective," he said. "Get a call, visit the scene, take down statements, hunt around and track down the killer. It's a very rewarding-and dangerous-line of work, and I enjoy it. Well," he paused a moment. "As much as...well, d'you know what I mean?" He didn't like the fact someone died, but catching the murderer helped him feel like he made a dent in the amount of crime in New York, however little.

Cha-Cha nodded. "Yeah...kind of," she added softly on the end. She though she did anyway. Though she wasn't sure what to say about it being dangerous. Be careful? They just met. And besides, he probably heard that all the time. Thinking before she spoke? It was true. She was spending way too little time with her girls. She was almost acting sensibly. The fact she'd approached a random stranger kept her at almost, but still. "Have you been doing that for long? I mean..." she trailed off, shrugging. She could never tell how old people were. He looked a little old, but she didn't want to insult him either. There she went again!

"I started at the bottom in the Gang Unit awhile back, but I worked my way up over the years." As he counted silently in his head, he surprised himself. Time flies. "Eight years as a detective," he said, not offering the Gang Unit time, suddenly feeling very much older than his pretty young lunch partner.

"Eight years?" Cha-Cha asked in surprise. That was...almost older than she was. Well...not quite. But it was a long time to be doing the same thing over and over again. She wasn't even sure she could do it...it would probably drive her crazy. Er. "That's just...a long time. I mean, I guess if you like it and everything, but...eight years!" Cha-Cha repeated.

Ed chuckled. "My partner's been doing it even longer. Probably longer than both of us have been alive," he added with a grin. He let that sink in, hoping to make himself appear just a pup in comparison, before asking, "How about you, Cha-Cha?" Ed said, testing out her name tentatively. "What do you do?"

"How's that possible?" Cha-Cha asked with wide eyes, clearly confused. She could sort of see for herself, as she'd only been alive for twenty...for...well...an early twenty number of years. No need for specifics. But Ed had to be at least thirty-five. "How could you stay in a job that long? I mean, even if you enjoy it...how do you do the same thing every day, for all that time, without going crazy?" she asked, generally confused. Of course, the longest lasting job she'd ever had was at a fast food restaurant when she was seventeen. But it was bad for her complexion, and besides...she was a little too interested in a co-worker than was probably considered decent. "Well...I don't exactly keep a steady job," she admitted, and for the first time in her life wondered what Ed would think of that. He'd been working in a pretty respectable position for eight years. he probably had a nice place and a car. She competed in pageants, performed, and...well, mooched. Most of what she wore was from Salvation Army or made by Rusty, she rode the bus (or roller-skated), and sometimes felt like she lived off cereal. "Different things..." she answered after a second.

"Well, Lennie's been more than just a detective. You have to work your way up through different things, and he seemed to hop around more than I did. I went as fast as I could up the ladder, he took his time." He pondered what she'd just said. She thought it was odd that he kept a job so long. He thought it was strange not to. He'd always been set on establishing a career in this field, and had never wavered. But now...he wondered if he'd missed out on something by not trying out...well, anything other than police work. "Different things..." he absently repeated, trying not to stare at her as he attempted to imagine what a girl, er...yes, girl like her would be doing.

Cha-Cha nodded her head, though she wasn't sure how you could do either. Then again, she'd never considered herself really...a career person. Which wasn't a good way to be when you wanted to actually live. She always seemed to scrape by though. She'd never considered the process of getting one before.

"I perform," she clarified. It might not have been as helpful as being a detective or a doctor or something, but she enjoyed it. And she was good at it. "Which doesn't really pay too much. But I do pageants too, including the big one...Miss Flawless. Which I've won three times," she made sure to add. Nobody ever accused her of being modest.

Ed grinned. Of course she won. He'd only known her for an afternoon, and she already had his vote. He wanted to say he knew which pageant she meant, although he had never actually been in the building, but he was on the clock, and even without a partner around, the fact he'd been eyeing that place had to stay silent.

"Where do you perform?" he asked automatically. Whoa, what'd we just go over, he thought. Keep it on the down low. "I mean, are there enough places to keep you busy, or do you just go to one, or..." How could he make this look like interest in the business and not her...? Gah.

"Just one mostly. My best friend, she plays the piano and kind of...emcees it," Cha-Cha replied. Well...this was a change. The last time a man was interested in her was...it had to have been before she moved. Most of the men in the apartment were either straight or taken though. She had no idea what Ed's status was, of course. She saw no ring, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. And she got a 'straight' vibe, but she'd been wrong before. "The Busty Rusty show," Cha-Cha named it, and hoped that wouldn't scare him away.

His eyes light up. "Oh I've-" Down low. Down low. "...no, I don't think I've heard about that one." In order to prevent her seeing his frustrated expression, he focused on slowly sipping the coffee he hadn't noticed before. When enough time seemed to have passed to change subjects, he racked his brain for something distracting to say.

But he really wanted to know more.

"What kind of performing is it?"

"It's really not one set act...everybody kind of does their thing. A lot of people sing, me included. Every year you get a couple girls who either want to be original or are tone deaf, and they do something different. A lot of people do impersonations with their song, you know?" Cha-Cha asked him. She couldn't help but notice how...uncomfortable he seemed. Well...that was his problem, not hers. Though, if he really had a problem, he'd leave, right? "You should see, one of my best friends does an amazing Marilyn Monroe."

He didn't follow the impersonations part until she mentioned Marilyn Monroe, and then it clicked. He felt silly. Nodding in agreement, he said he would have to check it out. Ed hoped she could read more into what he was saying, since he wouldn't allow himself to come right out with it. Not on the clock.

And speaking of that, he feared he'd be missed soon.

"You should..." Cha-Cha agreed, raising her eyebrow a bit. He was definitely hiding something that was for sure. She wasn't always the best at reading people, but she wasn't blind. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Just, I think my lunch hour ended..." Ed checked his watch, "...about twenty minutes ago." He chuckled slightly, not really too worried about being late. He moved to get up, but then settled back on his chair, almost cautiously. "I should be fine though." Lennie probably hadn't noticed yet. "Do you have to be anywhere?" He hoped he wasn't making her late for anything.

"Oh," Cha-Cha replied, trying not to feel disappointed. She enjoyed his company, even more than she thought she would. But of course he couldn't spend all day talking to her. But just a little longer would've been nice... "Nowhere for me, no. Though if you have to go I understand, I don't mind," she lied.

"Well..." Ed tapped his fingers against the tabletop, both frustrated that he had to leave, and nervous about finishing his sentence. "What about later?"

Almost instantly, Cha-Cha felt better about him leaving. As long as it was a later and not a never, she was happy. "I'd like that," she replied, and it was obvious she meant it. "When later? Tonight, tomorrow...?"

Ed smiled widely at her reaction and downed the rest of his coffee. His cell phone chirped from his coat pocket, and after eying the caller ID flashing 'Briscoe', he hit END. He needed a few more minutes, Lennie'd understand.

He laughed slightly, but wasn't very surprised, that her first suggestion had been for this evening. Well, why not? "I'm off around eight tonight," Ed started. "So, eight thirty...nine?"

"Eight thirty nine. Okay," Cha-Cha nodded her head, mentally going over what she had to do before then. Somehow she needed to get across town and consult Rusty. Somehow, she'd have to brave the subway. Even she wasn't so sure why she was so excited, she'd been asked out plenty of times. In a friendship setting or otherwise. Maybe it'd just been so long since a man had shown any attention at all, the fact Ed was made it all the more special. "Where? Here?"

Ed laughed. Too adorable. "Well, I meant eight thirty or nine." He wondered if he ought to offer to pick her up, or if they should meet somewhere. His car wasn't exactly the type to stand out, so there was no real worry about being seen at her place. Of course, if he were in any other position than an officer, he wouldn't give a second thought to strolling down the street beside her. Similar to his college days with Starr, a brief period of his life he'd kept quiet. But the cop in him knew better than to be that obvious. Who knew who they'd run into.

She hadn't mentioned anything about being a drag queen, and he didn't see any rational reason to point out that he knew. It was, in his opinion, something anyone would realize. Although she was so beautiful and convincing, he assumed gentlemen with a little too much to drink during her performances were fooled. Still, he felt like he ought to verbalize that he wasn't an idiot, and it hadn't gone over his head. But he couldn't think of a tactful way to put it.

"Let's meet here," Ed decided. "At eight thirty nine," he added with a grin.

"Eight thirty nine works though. It's a good in the middle number. Eight forty five would probably be better in that case but...well who cares about fractions," Cha-Cha replied, and tried not to seem too eager. Even though she was, very. It'd just been so long since she'd been out with...anyone, date or otherwise. She couldn't help it. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah," he said, standing. Now what? He didn't know her well enough to give a hug goodbye, and a handshake seemed...too blah. His fingers flexed, hands hanging at his side awkwardly. He grabbed his coat and began to put it on to stall. "See you later." He gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Bye," Cha-Cha replied, smiling up at him. She felt...she just felt different. It was unusual for her to get embarrassed, but there she was, grinning at him like an idiot. It just...it'd been so long since she'd met anyone like him. Since she'd been out with someone and just had a good time. Maybe what she was feeling for Ed was magnified because of that but...she didn't want to think that way. She felt too good.

Ed ignored the vibrating phone in his pocket. He knew it was Lennie, who apparently had looked up from his work for once, and Ed was on his way back now anyway. Aside from that, he wanted a moment to really soak in what had just happened. He was very, very glad he had been the man to walk in and find her waiting.

The only issue was what to tell his partner. He'd been single for years, or at least that's what the precinct thought. He kept his private life private. But Ed knew he wasn't going to be able to hide his expression, he wanted to tell someone of this chance meeting, and Lennie didn't have to be told everything about her.