A/N: So, to commemorate my gorgeous OTP finally making up and making love (yes, I know that was cheesy; no, I don't care) I thought I'd post a little one-shot I've had in my head. Enjoy!
It feels like forever since she has slept in one of these recruit beds, so she has almost forgotten how small they are. So small that the warm body beside her isn't really beside her - their bodies are as intertwined as ivy on the side of a centuries-old building. Their bodies, which last night were as close as is possible, almost as if they were one, are now pressed together so that you could not tell where one ends and the other begins. His arm is wrapped tightly around her waist, like he is afraid to let her go; her face is nuzzling the warm crook of his neck; and the spaces of his body are where she has tucked herself in, almost like a jigsaw puzzle.
As the new day dawns, and the walls and floors of Division open their eyes again to feel the bustle of footsteps against their surfaces, the two dark heads begin to stir. He is the first to wake, and at once his blurred vision focuses on the figure nestled in his arms, so soft and serene in sleep, such a contrast to the fire and fight of her concious self. It is so rare to see her, features uninhibited and walls peeled back by his gentle hand, that he cannot help but gaze at her, wanting to tattoo his mind with the memory of this moment.
She soon feels his gaze burning her, and so her sleepy eyes flicker, not yet open. 'Are you watching me sleep?' she inquires, voice thick with sleep.
'No,' comes the reply.
'Liar,' she says, a slow smile etching itself onto her face. She opens her eyes, and cranes her neck so her lips can greet him with a soft, lingering kiss, almost tentatively.
'Good morning,' she says.
'Good morning yourself,' he replies, and he knows now that a goofy grin is plastered onto his face. Worse still, he doesn't care. He notices her blue orbs flicker from his brown ones to the watch on the small bedside table. It reads well after 11.
'What's wrong?' he asks, concern replacing his contented look in a matter of moments at her worry.
'It's past 11,' she says. 'Everyone will be wondering where we are.'
'Alex,' he says slowly, 'if they haven't noticed by now that we're gone, they either don't care, or know exactly what we've been up to.'
'Sean!' she chides, a pink flush consuming her cheeks.
'Are you blushing?'
'No.'
'You are! You are so blushing!' he says, with a boyish glee, seeming to find a great childlike pleasure in the fact. 'Of all the times in the world, now you choose to be shy?' he teases.
She is about to open her mouth in response when he places a searing kiss on her lips, rather effectively shutting her up. She closes her eyes in pleasure, but she opens them sharply. 'Are you just going to kiss me every time you don't want me to tell you off?' she asks, doing her absolute best to sound indignant (she is failing, of course).
His eyes sparkle mischievously. 'Now, there's an idea.'
She half-rolls her eyes, half-smiles despite herself, and finally rests her head on his chest, as they seem to be running low on pillows. One of his hands finds hers, as the other traces a pattern on her forearm in blissful silence, the steady inhale and exhale of their synchronized breathing the only sound in the otherwise bare room.
Finally, she speaks. 'We probably should get back to Ops,' she says, sighing reluctantly.
He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. 'You're right,' he replies. 'It is, after all, only my second day back.'
An almost undetectable smile flashes across her features as he says this. His words imply the sense of permanence she has so needed to hear, and for a moment, she is not afraid that he will leave her, like the others that came before.
Lying on this recruit bed, waves of happiness consuming her in a way she has never quite experienced before, she knows that he will stay. That, more than anything, she is sure of.
A/N: I know I ought to be updating MB (which I shall do shortly!), but I just couldn't help myself. I know there are a couple of Salex morning-after fics up already (and they are all amazing) but let's face it: us Salex shippers have been waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently, in my case) for one-and-a-half seasons for their UST to be resolved; we can damn well enjoy it ;-)
As always, reviews are appreciated :-)