I think I like having you near…

Maija had nothing to do with the corner office, but it was something that he took some sort of odd joy in none the less.

But there they were, in sheets tangled and hair a mess and the air feeling so thick that he could practically taste it. It was electric. There was something almost inspired in the room, creative and chaotic and primal and needful all at once. And something tasted like a need satisfied, albeit briefly.

He seemed almost shocked every time Maija came back, as though he had been given a gift. As though this was something special. As though-

Well, now.

“You don’t have to go,” he said.

And it was the first thing that he had said in a long while, after a shuddering breath, after gasps and moans of ecstasy and thoughts the defied all words. There were no words, not until now.

He was shocked every time she returned, she was shocked every time he welcomed her with open arms. The secrets they hold close – some of them – have been revealed and neither has gone running into the night. It’s a small triumph that they shared again, tangling the sheets and scaring the cat into the other room, where he has taken refuge in a pile of clothing in the laundry room.

There had been no words in the aftermath of sound, sighs and seduction. There has only been the fight for breath, and a soft moan or two in the aftermath. Until he speaks, until he murmurs the words that cause her fingers to stop their lazy trail, briefly, before spreading across his skin once more.

Lips spread into a lazy grin – real and as naked as she is. Here is where she allows him to see all of her, where there are no more walls to be broken down. Here she strips away everything, to let him into the very core of her… and the effect lingers.

“I ain’t had no intention of goin jus’ yet.” She says, all lazy and teasing, as if he expected her to untangle and go right now. She knows that’s not what he meant, however – at least she thinks she does. But she will wait until he says it, until he’s clear in his head and mind and the words that escape his lips are exactly what he means…

And for his part, he gave to her more than he had anyone else in a long, long time. Maija was alive and breathing- not just photos anymore. She was more than a voice and a sound and a thought; she was living, breathing, personified something in front of him. She was real.

Her tone was teasing, and he grinned a little. Pale green eyes regarded her briefly. She was something amazing still. “I meant,” he started.

Then, quieter. “I meant that you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to, ever. Not just tonight. Or tomorrow, or the day after that…”

Through this, she doesn’t answer, she lets his words drift between them, hanging in anticipation of her reply in the space between them. It’s not as if the offer is unwelcome, it’s not as if part of her has already lept up and grabbed those words, the implications, the possibilities and run with them – dinners next week, a shopping list, a warm bed, shared with a warm body, and all the books she can get her hands on…

Her smile lingers, lopsided and soft when she finally answers. “It was the stroganof, wasn’t it…” she pauses, and then softer still. “I think I’d like that.” a beat, and the stubborn streetrat makes a brief appearance.. “I need a job so’s I ain’t taken advantage of ya..”

She didn’t answer for awhile, and there was quiet anticipation. Wondering if she would say yes. Wondering if she’d stick around, and yet simultaneously worried about the implications… if he really knew what he was asking her. William was a man who had proposed, and proposed quite suddenly. Why would he not have the same quick-to-react ways with other matters as well.

“You’re not taking advantage… if you want to pay rent, you can pay rent… but… I think…”

A lag, a pause, something he was unsure of.

“I think I like having you near.”

He liked having her near. he liked having her safe, being able to hold her and listen. He loved that, but… William just didn’t know it yet.

The smile softens, as he pushes back her hair, memorizes her feel, scent, texture, just as she does his, finding something new in each encounter.

“ain’t that somethin…” she murmurs, after a while, as she captures his hand, and presses her lips against his palm, before slowly lacing her fingers with his. There’s such a contrast between them, even in their hands. His are strong, bigger than hers, where hers are so thin they seem weak, even though they are not. There are still things that he does not know as of yet, though she has mentioned them in passing (should see the OTHER guy…) – her small frame is actually rather adept at fighting. The quest for survival has made it necessary.

But here, her touch is soft, tender, and warm, with very little hesitation. She likes it here, with him, like this. The rest of the world does not exist in this room – the past, the future, none of it matters. It’s all about this moment, right here, right now.

“… cause I think I like being here.”