title: In Which Addison is Our Matchmaker
fandom: Private Practice
pairing: Addison, Cooper/Violet
rating: PG-13?
summary: Addison and Cooper go Christmas Shopping.
this fic is for: stop_theworld
they asked for: 1. Violet/Cooper
2. Fun appearance by another major character (or more than one)
3. Rubber duck (optional)
disclaimer: I don’t own the characters or the show. If you read this, you will probably realize that rather quickly.

Author’s note: Ok, so I have been trying to write this challenge for weeks. For some reason, it has made me very nervous and I’ve written bits and pieces of things that I’ve thrown away for weeks now. I love Cooper and Violet but have never written them before. It was super hard for me!    So anyway, I hope it doesn’t show how ridiculously hard this was for me but in case it does, I love this show and this pairing and I hope I do it some justice. This was chiefly inspired by that scene between Addison and Derek in GA when he tells her why he doesn’t like Christmas anymore. Secondarily, I get extremely frustrated with how Cooper seemed to suddenly forget he had any feelings for Violet. This is my attempt at dealing with those frustrating things.

                “Remind me again exactly why it is that I am doing this.” Cooper sighed as he wandered down an aisle full of children’s books, hands stuffed into his pockets. A five year old holding a space rocket zoomed past him, screaming loudly as he twirled his toy in a circle. 

                Addison turned around and smiled vaguely at him. “You’re doing this because you are my friend and because you don’t have anything to do on Christmas Eve either.” She gave the Barbie doll one last glance before she tossed it in her cart and moved on.

                Cooper hurried to catch up. “I understand why I don’t have anything to do. I am newly single and had plans with my girlfriend for Christmas before we broke up. And I am too embarrassed to admit to my parents that another one of my relationships didn’t work out. And Violet is probably off having sex with Pete somewhere.” He cringed at the bitterness he could hear in his voice. 

                “Violet and Pete are not having sex. They had sex. Once. It doesn’t mean they are still doing it.” She said adamantly. 

                Cooper couldn’t help but smile at the hint of jealousy he detected in her own voice. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one who pined a little at Christmas time. “You’re avoiding my point.” he said.

                “Your point being…” Addison leaned forward onto the cart, pushing it forward in a half slump as she deliberately avoided his gaze.

                He rolled his eyes. “My point being that you have a boyfriend or a family, both of whom it sounded like were fighting over getting to spend the holiday with you.”

                Addison shrugged. “I guess I just don’t like Christmas very much.” 

                “You don’t like Christmas?” he said disbelievingly. “When I picked you up this morning, your entire living room was full of boxes of decorations and ornaments.”

                “Had I unpacked them?” she shot back. “See. Just don’t like Christmas.”

                “Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked, bumping her in the shoulder with his own. “I am a good listener.”

                She turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. “Do you wanna talk about why you can’t be in the same room with Pete right now?”

                Cooper paled but tried to keep his face passive. “What are you talking about?”

                “All right, fine. But if you won’t talk then neither will I.” Addison grinned, sticking her tongue out at him. “Though for the record, I do think you should settle things with Charlotte.”

                “I’m not getting back together with her. I can’t forgive her for that.” He said adamantly.

                She shook her head. “I definitely don’t think you should. But I do think you should explain to her why you are acting the way you are. And I think it’s her forgiveness you should be asking for.”

                His mouth dropped open. “What?!?” he sputtered. “I’m supposed to ask forgiveness for her going behind my back to go in competition with me?”

                Addison set her mouth in a firm line and stopped, looking him straight in the eye. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or about to cry. “No. You’re supposed to ask her to forgive you for trying to use her as a substitute for the woman you are really in love with.”

                “You don’t know what you are talking about.” He winced, his voice defensive and extra loud in the crowded toy store. 

A couple of people turned to stare, one man muttering “Merry Christmas Buddy” under his breath as he rushed his young daughter away.

“I’m sorry” Cooper said quickly, hunching his shoulders together.

 When he turned back, Addison was standing there with her hands on her hips, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She seemed to be deciding whether or not to say something. Finally, she squared her shoulders and set her jaw. “I know.” She began quietly. “My husband and I were separated and we got back together to try to work things out. It was hard but I wanted to. Then, on Christmas he tells me that he doesn’t like celebrating the holidays with me anymore because even though he has chosen to stay with me, he’s in love with someone else. And it makes it hard to spend time with me.” 

Cooper shifts awkwardly. “Addison I am so sorry-“ he began.

“He thought he was doing the valiant thing, being the better man by staying with me and giving up the woman he was really in love with. He thought the obligation was to me. Thought he was gonna get over his feelings for her. And I was very much in love with my husband. But I swear to you Cooper, I would give anything not to have gone thru that last year with him. What it did to us, what it did to me… No amount of Kevin loving me or wanting to spend Christmas with me, is ever gonna change what that did to me.”

Cooper opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to choose his words carefully.

Addison colored, realizing how uncomfortable she had made him. “Forget it.” She said, abandoning her half full cart and pushing thru the crowd to another aisle.

Cooper dutifully grabbed the cart and began to maneuver his way thru the aisles until he caught up with her in front of a display of bath toys.  She was squeezing a rubber duck thoughtfully. “This or a toy sail boat for my nephew?” she asked, obviously trying to divert the subject away from her confession.

Cooper grabbed a floating frog and dropped it into the basket, smiling as she nodded approvingly. “So when did you figure it out?” he asked. “I’ve been in love with her since basically the day I met her and she has yet to piece it together.”

Addison shrugged. “I figured something was up when I met you two and saw the time you spent together. And then the way you hated Alan, I suspected a crush but then I heard about you and Charlotte and it seemed pretty serious. But you were so adamant about the break up. I figured you would come around. But then the way you look at Pete. You’re a pretty laid back guy and you can’t even be in the same room as him. It would be harder not to piece it together at this point.”

“I do love Charlotte. Or I did, I wasn’t just using her.” Cooper asserted, not sure if he was trying to convince Addison or himself.

“I know.” She said quietly, wheeling the cart towards the long line to check out. “I just think everyone deserves to be happy. Sometimes we have to take chances to be that way. We all spend too much time being safe, dwelling in the past and what we’re afraid of.”

Cooper furrowed his brow. “Are we still talking about me?”

She grinned widely and punched him lightly in the side. “Shut up. It’s a general piece of advice.”

He nodded sagely. “I see.” 

They lapsed into a companionable silence as they waited in line, both quietly watching the families milling around. They soon reached the front of the line, paid, and walked out to his car in the early evening breeze. As he pulled into her driveway, Addison finally broke the silence. “Do you wanna come in for a drink, celebrate the suckiness of Christmas with me?”

He laughed and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “I bet that’s what Violet said to Pete.”

Addison threw her hands up in the air and growled. “Oh my God! You are completely hopeless. Will you please go talk to her? Tonight! Right now! Before I strangle you!”

Cooper made a face and scratched the back of his head. “I’m pathetic now, aren’t I?”

Addison shook her head. “No, you were pathetic when you were a guy secretly pining for his best friend who was in a relationship with someone else. Then when she broke up with him you were cowardly. When you dated someone else to get over her you were kind of an ass.   Now you’re single and you realize that you’re not totally over her and you have a very narrow window of opportunity that you are not taking. I’m not exactly sure how to describe that. Mostly it’s frustrating.”

Cooper nodded. “Fair enough.”

 “Good night. And thanks for the company.” Addison said. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.   “It is Christmas.”

“I’ll think about it.” He promised.

She nodded her head. “Call me and let me know how it goes.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll do it?” he asked, tilting his head.

She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

***

                Cooper still wasn’t sure how he ended up in front of Violet’s front door. He was even more unsure of how he actually got the courage to knock. A million things ran thru his mind as he waited. There was so much he wanted to say. 

He pictured her in his mind opening the door, looking beautiful in a long slinky black dress, her hair sleek and shining. She wore heels. She was ready to go to a party. He took a deep breath . “I am in love with you.” She shook her head, turned him away.

He began to panic, waiting there on her porch. He was about to turn when the door opened, shedding the dark porch with pale light. She stood there, dressed in a pair of oversized sweatpants with a hole to the right of her crotch. Her tshirt was four times too big and stained with something that looked like spaghetti sauce. Her hair was huge and poufy and slightly tangled, a piece of pasta draped from it. She wore her glasses. She looked beautiful.

He took a deep breath. I am in love with you. “Please don’t sleep with Pete again.” He stopped, unsure how that had come out.

Violet rolled her eyes. “Cooper, it’s late. And I can sleep with whoever I want. A sexual relationship without strings attached where the boundaries are clearly defined can be quite empowering for a woman.” She sounded as though she were reciting from a textbook. “Besides, I seem to recall you saying no when I asked you to.”

There was a hint of something in her voice, something that sounded so familiar to him. Something that made him smile. He leaned forward and kissed her, hard. It felt so good to finally do this, so right. She froze for a moment, not pushing but not pulling him in either.

“Cooper” she murmured, when he finally pulled away. 

He looked into her confused eyes. I am so in love with you. “I promise not to sleep with Charlotte anymore either.” He vowed, immediately coloring. Why was this so hard to say?

She laughed. “I’d like that.”

“But you have to not sleep with Pete And you have to sleep with me.” In case that wasn’t clear. “All the time. Or a few times a week at least. I can’t lose you again.” He said, well aware he was stumbling over the words.

“Well that’s a romantic proposition.” 

He leaned forward and kissed her again, longer this time, his hand straying down her back. When he pulled away, he shook his head. I am in love with you. “I never should have said no to you that night. You were there and you were naked and you were so beautiful and for so long I’d just wanted to.”

“You did?”

He groaned. “How can I be any clearer? You are all I want. I know I’m not being articulate right now but this is terrifying in a way that I didn’t realize it would be. You’re my best friend. And you’re incredible. And kissing you is incredible. And the fact that you haven’t kicked me out yet is incredible. And I just want to stay here and you are just the most important person in the world to me.”

Violet smiled softly. “Me too.” She leaned forward and kissed him this time, quickly.

“I’minlovewithyou.” He opened his eyes, not certain he’d actually said it this time.

She smiled widely this time, led him inside, kissed him longer, more lingeringly, before she closed the door behind them.

***

                Addison awoke in the middle of the night to a text message. She rolled away from Kevin, who was snoring beside her, and groped about  for her phone.

It was a message from Cooper. She looked at it, read it, and smiled. 

                She turned to Kevin, who mumbled in his sleep, and curled back down beside him, kissing him softly on the cheek before she went back to sleep.