Author's Note: I mucked around on tumblr and found a *ton* of Halloween prompts that I wanted to play around with in fic. Ironically, I intended to start with a non-OUAT ship, but the most recent episode gave me Golden Queen feelings, and this resulted. Weaver and Roni are fun personas to write, and I have every intention of continuing with them later down the line. The prompt that inspired this was "decorating", and I hope my fellow shippers find this festive, fun and romantic.

Explorations

"Well….this is a problem," Roni muttered to the empty air as she eyed the ancient ladder in front of her skeptically. Every bit of common sense that the bartender possessed was screaming that she shouldn't touch the damnable thing, let alone use it to try to hang decorative cobwebs from the light fixture that dangled in the middle of the room.

Unfortunately: said cobwebs were the last bit to be checked off of her Halloween display. The bar was already dressed to the nines with pumpkins, bats, ghosts, and other festive décor.

Equally unfortunate: she didn't have assistance at this late hour.

She contemplated taking a shot of Jack Daniels to steel her nerves, but then backtracked when she realized that the last thing she needed in question was her own balance.

Kneeling down, Roni removed her heeled boots, then straightened and squared her shoulders before grabbing the ladder.

Propping it up in place was the easy part, and she tested it's steadiness before deciding it was worth the risk and climbed her way up, cobwebs securely stashed under one arm.

She was about to begin the trickier part: reaching out to pull the chandelier towards her so she could start placing the webs, when she heard an astonished, accented voice exclaim: "What the hell are you trying to do woman? Break your neck?!"

Roni let out a loud shriek as she nearly lost her footing, grasping the ladder just in time before she toppled backwards. "Christ, Weaver!" She looked down to find the detective standing at the base. "No, I wasn't trying to break my neck but you almost gave me a heart attack!"

He crossed his arms over his chest, amber eyes gazing at her in concern. "Why don't you come down and let me do that?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm already up here. You can hold this horrible old thing steady though."

He arched an eyebrow, but immediately took hold of the ladder.

Feeling safe, though not about to admit it to her companion, Roni focused on stringing fake cobwebs. "How did you get in here anyway?"

"Back door. I found your hide-a-key." He replied.

"Well that's one lock I'll have to replace," she grumbled, well-aware that he could hear her, and craned her head to debate if it was just the right amount of web she'd used. "And, I'm guessing you didn't come in here to help me carve pumpkins."

"Looks like you already took care of that. Actually, I came by to pay you for earlier…for the drink," there was a hint of regret in his voice.

Satisfied with how the chandelier looked, Roni carefully began her descent. "Rogers took care of that. "

"Even so, I owe you an apology."

She smirked, even though he couldn't see it. "You can make it up to me in other ways."

He fell silent, and she mentally rejoiced in winning this particular round of whatever it was they had going between them. Then: she felt his hands on her waist, and froze. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Turn around. I've got 'ya."

His tone had changed, turning markedly seductive, and Roni swallowed sharply before slowly twisting towards him.

She let out a startled yelp when he suddenly scooped her up and lifted her so he could carry her over to the bar.

She looped her arms about his neck. "So is this you making up for earlier then?"

"You could say that. Or I could just be using the opportunity to be alone with you for once," he chuckled from low in his throat and his grip on her tightened. "I love what you've done with the place, by the way. Very spooky."

"That better not be sarcastic," she rolled her eyes but snuggled a little closer. Truth was: she was enjoying every second of their encounter.

"Not at all. In fact: I've always liked Halloween."

"Huh. Wouldn't have guessed that." She caught his eyes with hers.

"You'll find that there's a lot of things that are surprising about me, my lovely barkeep." He grinned, prompting her heart to skip wildly in her chest.

"Okay now I can tell that you're being ridiculous…and you can put me down any time."

"Nope," he shook his head – that all-too-attractive grin still in place. "I'm not letting you go for anything."

Her heart raced further as his eyes bore into hers. The spark between them had started as a slow ember upon meeting for the first time, but now it was definitely fanning into a proper flame. "Even if someone walked in right now and tried to rob the place?"

He merely leaned closer. "Not even then. I'd fight them off while still holding you."

"I'd call bullshit on that, but you're a lot stronger than you look," she admitted, well aware of the muscle he possessed due to their proximity.

"Have to be in shape in my line of work," he teased.

His mouth was only inches away by that point, and the temptation was becoming impossible to resist.

As if he'd read her mind (and with Weaver, you never knew): he bridged the remaining space between them and kissed her.

Roni's eyes widened significantly before she let them flutter closed, sighing into the embrace as she gave in to it.

She'd expected his kiss to be something different: more demanding, perhaps. Instead it was sweet, gentle and cautious – an exploration of what they could become.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it ended; he pulled back, his eyes searching hers patiently as he gauged her reaction.

"Will you put me down now?" She whispered.

Nodding, he did as she asked, and then in a blur of motion: found himself trapped between the bar and her body – her mouth claiming his in a far more passionate kiss.

Moaning softly, he responded with equal ardor: spinning her around so she was the one pressed against the flat wooden surface.

She shoved his leather jacket hurriedly down his arms, locking her legs around his waist as the embrace deepened and his hands wandered under the thin material of her tank top.

"Perhaps…we should take this somewhere more comfortable," he mumbled between kisses.

A wave of deja-vu washed over her. The words seemed oddly familiar.

She didn't have time to dwell on it when his mouth gained purchase on her neck and he nibbled at the tender skin there. Arching against him instinctively, she growled: "Storage room."

They knocked over a few plastic pumpkins in their quest for privacy, but paid the damage little mind as they were far more focused on each other.

She peeled his tee-shirt over his head, her tank top meeting it on the floor while she ran her hands avidly over his chest and he focused on unhooking her bra.

They struggled a bit to get out of the rest of their clothes fast enough: but then it was finally skin upon skin and all that mattered was the way that they fit together.

"Be honest…how long have you been waiting to do this?" Roni curled up against Weaver, tracing invisible figures over his bare skin while they recuperated from the unexpected onslaught of their passion.

"Right after we first met, really," he laughed, nuzzling her tousled hair. "You made quite a first impression."

She smiled. "So did you."

They were resting upon a nest of blankets that she had found in the storage room, a few haphazardly tangled around their still entwined bodies.

She peered up at him, noting that the grin she found so attractive had not left his face the entire evening. That, combined with his equally mussed up hair and the bite marks she had left on his shoulder only added to the alluring image that he currently made.

Pleasant warmth ran up her spine, and she turned, propping herself up on one elbow to talk face-to-face. "Listen: whatever this is between us, detective….I want to continue exploring it if that's all right with you?

"It's more than all right," his expression softened and he leaned forward to kiss her gently. "I personally want to make this a regular occurrence. Though a bed would be nice next time."

"Tell you what; help me fix that mess we made outside and next time will involve a bed and dinner."

"You have yourself a deal, love." He winked at her.

Laughing, she drew him back into her arms for another enthusiastic kiss, which promised that there would be plenty of exploration in their future.

The End