Orange Blossoms

Naked Sleep, pt 2

Rey finished his shower, not really getting what he wanted out of it even with images of her on his brain. But at least he was cleaned up and no longer smelled stale, of metal and grit and blood. He hated smelling like he’d gone out and killed someone.

This three month sequester period was long overdue. He needed a break, time to wrap his head around everything that happened and settle back into the routine of being an agent. Half the time he didn’t think it was real, any of it, and that’s usually when Oranges made an appearance. She was the only tangible thing he had that proved everything over the past year and half had happened.

Rey closed his eyes before turning off the bathroom light and opening the door. The room was back to being pitch black and he did not like that. He wasn’t afraid of the dark but you never knew what lurked there. That’s why he always put up sheer curtains but he knew Oranges slept best in the dark.

It was going to be one of those things they worked on, hopefully it wouldn’t turn into an all out brawl.

Finding his way around the room was easy but just for a moment, he stood by the bed and thought: there was a time he didn’t think this was going to happen. There were a lot of moments filled with doubt, times when he thought the case was never ending. But here he was, everything was wrapped up and the evidence was gathered. It was time to take a deep breath, relax a little, but for some reason he was still tense and tight like a piano wire.

Rey reached out while his body seemed to follow at a slower rate. Then again the next couple of seconds felt like they were stretched into hours. Finally, his hand touched her back and that knot in his stomach uncurled. He was suddenly able to breathe easy.

Seeing her, being in the same room as her, hadn’t been enough. It never was.

Touch.

His hand slid across her back, dropping off one shoulder blade to feel the slight bumps of her spine until reaching the other shoulder blade where he knew the rose tattoo was. His body moved closer to hers underneath the sheets until he was perfectly molded against her.

Now he was able to relax, at least somewhat.

His lips brushed across her shoulder where his hand had been and where the tattoo was. He wasn’t overly fond of the thing but in a roundabout way, it had brought them together. Without the Thorns and the investigation, he’d never had met her. And if he’d never had met her, it would’ve just been another case only made different by the simple fact that it was easier to get lost in the character than all the other undercover ops he’d been on.

And quite frankly, the idea of never meeting her didn’t sit well with him.

His lips moved along her shoulder, the feel of her skin making it simple to switch off the thinking and let his body move on instinct. That’s when he knew she was awake. Her chest lowered with a relieved release of breath and was followed by one word.  

“Rey.”

Her voice was soft from sleep and held complete trust. She didn’t need to say his name to know it was him, she already did. They were so fine tuned to each other at this point that he was able to ‘feel’ where she was in a room without having to look.

Once upon a time, she wasn’t as compliant about his presence as she was now. Oranges had resisted at first, fought tooth and nail to keep him away, and he remembered the way it felt to kiss her for the first time.

The tension had built for what felt like weeks when he knew it was only days. She’d proven to be so unlike he expected, mouthy, disobedient, pushy, opinionated. She was nothing like the other Roses who knew their place and didn’t push buttons by trying to give their opinion on the matter at hand.

It didn’t help that she was a crack shot and had better aim than half the men he’d graduated the academy with.

Rey slid his hand down her arm, careful of the bandage that was wrapped around it. It reminded him of all the capture-the-flag games he’d played as a kid. Only thing was the bandage wasn’t a signifier of what team she was on but a reminder that she’d indeed been hurt today. He needed to be careful with her tonight. Even though she put up a good front, she wasn’t invincible. She was flesh, blood, and bone and all three of those made her vulnerable just like it did him.

He clasped her hand and she rolled over so she’d be able to see him if there was light in the room, their clasped hands resting on her stomach. Neither of them needed light to see the other. Rey, for one, had her memorized both in and out of clothes.

“How are you feeling?”

That was a safe thing to ask, right?

“I’m fine.” She reached up and touched his face, a touch that seared in all the good ways. “Suit wasn’t too hard on you, was he?”

And here he thought all he would have to do was climb in bed and she would melt against him.

Not.

Oranges was the type that needed to get all the talking out of the way first, otherwise she’d get all finicky in the in between times just so she could talk about things. It was a habit that annoyed the shit out of him and had ruined quite a few of his plans in the past.

“Suit was the easy one to deal with. It was the guys asking me all the questions concerning what happened that you should be worried about.”

Her hand dropped off his face and rested against her chest, a place he knew was only covered by the sheet. 

“I was worried,” she whispered.

He didn’t like that. “About what?”

“That they would take it all back and I would never see you again.”

And there it was, the startings of her self-doubt Rey knew would be lingering around after what happened today.  Just because he needed it too, Rey got up after kissing her on the forehead and went over to the light switch located next to the door. He didn’t warn her before hitting it but she saw it coming since her arm was already covering her eyes when he looked back at her.

He went back over and pulled her arm down. Rey tried not to notice the bruises that had risen to the surface, the cuts, scrapes, and butterfly stitches holding the gash over her eyebrow together.

“I’m right here.”

He’d meant it seriously but there was nothing serious about the curving of her mouth when she opened her eyes and looked at him. His self control was indeed about to snap.

“You came to bed naked?”

Rey was going to give her a choice but…

Maybe it was her bringing up the naked thing but he found he couldn’t hold off anymore. Without turning the light off, he got back into bed and covered her with himself. The sheet was a little distracting as it bunched and settled around his hips but it was easy to set his focus on her and her alone when her legs wrapped around his.

“Where’s my welcome home kiss?”

She was trying really hard not to laugh. “You said to be naked, not to give you a kiss. You should be more specific next time.”

He grunted and without any more discussion, took his welcome home kiss whether she was offering or not.