Game Day
by Cowgirl

chapter 11 - An Ancient Art

Sonny awoke early on this particular Sunday. He had slept well the night before, but when his eyes opened at seven a.m., he was wide-awake. He knew the reason too, Alexis. He had not seen very much of her this week, and that left him thinking about her more than if they had spent every minute together.

Sonny sat up and threw his legs over the edge of his bed, running a hand through his tousled hair. He and Alexis had both been so incredibly busy this week, that they had only seen one another a couple of times. Once in the hallway as he got off of the elevator and she was waiting to get on to it, and once when she came by to drop off some documents, and even then she was on her way to court. He shook his head and grinned as he realized that he was missing her. An idea crept into his head and he picked up the phone, dialing the Port Charles Grille. After much cajoling he finally got the manager to send over an elaborate breakfast to Alexis' penthouse. He took a quick shower, dressed and went downstairs to continue with his off the cuff plan.

Using his spare key to Alexis' place, he quietly entered the room after giving Johnny a few brief instructions. He crept up the stairs slowly and went about his work. His first stop was Kristina's room. One quick glance told him that she had either spent the night at Ned's as she did most weekends, or they were off together on a weekend holiday. He smiled as he slowly crept into Alexis' room. He stopped just inside the door to find her sleeping peacefully, curled up on her side, hugging a pillow to her chest. He wondered if she did that all the time or if she was subconsciously hugging him in her sleep. He turned silently and made his way back downstairs. Hearing a slight commotion outside in the hallway, he opened the door to find Johnny paying the waiter from the Grille. He smiled and took the cart they had left. He nodded at Johnny and took the cart inside.

After struggling to get the rather large cart up the stairs without waking Alexis or spilling the contents of the cart, Sonny wheeled it slowly into her room, leaving it at the foot of the bed. He smiled as he watched Alexis sleep for a few minutes, the steady rhythm of her breathing, entrancing him. He closed his eyes for a second trying to make sense of how these two people who were supposed to be so opposite had found what they did in one another. He silently stripped down to his silk boxers and peeled back the covers of her bed, sliding in next to her. He bent down and kissed her cheek. "Lex," he said softly.

She murmured in her sleep and slowly rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. "Alexis," he said again as he nuzzled her neck. She raised her head slightly and took a deep breath. After a minute of trying to get her bearings, she turned her head to him. "Hey," she said groggily.

He kissed her lips gently. "Hey yourself. Good morning."

She gave him a sleepy smile. "I don't remember you being here when I went to sleep last night."

"I brought you a surprise," he said as he nodded to the cart at the end of the bed.

She shifted her eyes to the cart for a minute and then sat up. "Breakfast in bed?" she asked.

Sonny rose and went to the cart, rolling around to her side of the bed. He reached down under the skirt that covered the cart and came up with a dozen red roses. Sitting down next to her, he handed them to her. "For you," he smiled.

Alexis took the flowers. "For me?" she said gazing at the beautiful arrangement. She cut her eyes cautiously to Sonny. "What's the occasion?"

Sonny grinned. He hadn't thought about it really. He had just wanted to give them to her. "I want you to know how special you are."

Alexis blushed and lowered her eyes, her bangs falling across them. "Thank you," she replied sheepishly.

Sonny took the flowers from her hand, sensing her apprehension and laid them on her nightstand next to the bed. He crawled up next to her and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Hey," he said softly. Alexis lifted her eyes to peer at him. "Lex, I just felt like doing something special for my best friend today. No ulterior motives...you know...I just...you are special to me Alexis. You know...I just want you to know that I don't...I don't think of you as my weekly roll in the hay."

Alexis' head snapped up. "I didn't think that. I know..." she lowered her eyes once more. "I know that we both mean a great deal to one another," she shook her head and sighed. "Let's eat," she smiled.

"That's your answer to everything...let's eat." Sonny flashed the dimples as he got up and uncovered the food.

They ate their meal in almost total silence, occasionally Sonny would catch Alexis glancing at him and he'd smile and she'd shake her head and dig back in to her food.

When they were done, Alexis put the dishes on the cart and gave it a gentle push so that it rolled away from the bed. She turned to Sonny. "So.... Does this mean that I mercifully don't have to view a sporting event today?" she smiled.

Sonny reached his arm across Alexis and snapped up the remote control for her television. "Not a chance."

Alexis nodded in defeat. "Great. So what sport are we watching today?"

Sonny shrugged. "Don't know yet." He flipped on the television, scanning the channels. His face brightened. "Ah, here we go."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "More fighting?"

Sonny looked at her. "It's not just fighting. Karate is an ancient art, dating back thousands of years."

Alexis held up her hands. "So men have been fighting for thousands of years. It still doesn't negate the fact that it's fighting."

Sonny shook his head. "You don't get it do you? Karate as a whole is largely based on many different principles. Students are taught first and foremost courtesy, perseverance, integrity and self control."

Alexis chuckled. "Apparently you've never taken any Karate classes."

Sonny leaned in and nibbled her ear. "I'm thinking you could use a lesson or too in self control missy."

Alexis stared at him wide-eyed. "I beg your pardon? Who started this whole..." she waved a hand. "Thing that we're not over analyzing?"

Sonny laughed. "I'm just sayin...sometimes you can get quite..."

"All right, enough oh mighty Zen master," Alexis scolded.

Sonny held up a finger. "Ah, see, Zen is something completely different. Tae Kwon Do is an Korean art form."

"Isn't it all the same? I mean people chopping at each other, kicking and shouting hi ya?" Alexis pantomimed a karate chop with her hand.

Sonny caught her hand and interlaced it with his own. "No. See, different styles have different ways of fighting. Tae Kwon Do is mainly hand and foot use. Tae is foot and Kwon is fist or punch in Korean. Tae Kwon Do literally means 'the art of hand and foot fighting."

"I'm impressed master...please continue," Alexis teased.

"You better stop calling me master," Sonny flashed the dimples. "I might make you start using it all the time."

Alexis yanked her hand from his. "As if..."

Sonny smiled again and recaptured her hand, placing a gentle kiss on it. "Why don't we just watch the match."

They watched as the two men on the screen performed a series of kicks, punches and blocks on one another.

"This is certainly an acrobatic sport," Alexis commented.

Sonny nodded. "Oh yeah. You have to be in pretty good shape to be in this sport." He pointed at the screen. "See that? He just did an ax kick. See how he kicked his leg up and struck his opponent on the down sweep?"

Alexis watched intently. "Just like and ax coming down...I get it," she leaned forward. "What was that one?"

"That was a roundhouse kick. He kicked his leg kinda out to the side and brought it around, catching his opponent on the side of the head."

Alexis flinched. "Ouch, that looked like it hurt."

"That was an palm heel strike. He used the heel of his hand to his face."

"I like the outfits. They look comfortable."

Sonny laughed. "Those are called dobaks, and the belts that they wear indicate what skill level they are. A white belt is a beginner and these guys are wearing black belts which mean that they are the most skilled of all the belts."

Sonny turned when he noticed Alexis studying him and smiling. "What?"

She bit her lip and let it go. "I know guys are supposed to know about sports, but you seem to know more than the average guy."

Sonny smiled. "I admit..." he smiled as he leaned in close to Alexis. "I do research a sport if I don't know about it." He nibbled her earlobe. "Especially if knowing about sports gets me in bed with my lawyer."

Alexis did a double take to him. "So it comes out. This whole sports thing is just a cover for your real intentions of getting me into bed?" she asked feigning innocence.

Sonny dropped his head in mock shame. "Counselor, I'm so ashamed. You got me red handed."

"Well I never Mr. Corinthos," Alexis smiled back at him.

Sonny pulled her on top of him and kissed her passionately. "Yeah right...you never." He placed his hands on either side of her waist and tickled her.

Alexis squirmed beneath his grasp, squealing with delight. "Okay...okay...we're getting off track here. I want to know who wins the match." She placed her hands over his. "Remember the self control you told me I lacked?" she said emphasizing the word I.

Sonny relented and pulled her down next to him. "Okay, they score based on a points system. The points are awarded for punches and kicks landed, the difficulty of them, ecetera." His hands roamed around Alexis' mid section.

"You know all you want to know now?" he asked as he licked his lips.

She gazed into his eyes for a minute. "Nope...you've covered it."

"Good." he smiled.

Alexis nodded. "So...how long do I have to honor this self control thing?"

Sonny leveled a conniving grin at her. He rubbed his chin. "I don't know...let's see..."

Alexis licked her lips and climbed back onto his lap, slowly undoing the buttons on her pajama top. She sighed. "I guess I can maintain my control as long as you can," she smirked.

Sonny groaned. "That's not fair fighting counselor...but...you win," he said as he reached for her with both hands, stopping suddenly.

Alexis furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?" she asked as she finished the last button and pushed the material of her shirt off of her shoulders.

Sonny looked at her. "I was just thinking about Kristina."

"My sister?" Alexis asked confused. "This is a hell of a time to be thinking about my sister."

Sonny shrugged his head from side to side. "Yeah...well...she is standing in the doorway," he said casually.

Alexis gasped and grabbed her pajama top, clutching it to her chest as she spun her head towards the doorway of her room to find open-mouthed Kristina gaping at them. She dropped her head. "Oh boy."

chapter 12