Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage nor am I associated with Dean Devlin, Timothy Hutton or Gina Bellman. No copyright infringement is intended.
Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
"Well," Sophie murmured between heavy gasps, "I missed you too, Nate." Rolling over next to him, she curled up at his side, one hand on his bare chest. Nate leaned down, kissing the top of her head, one hand stroking her soft hair.
"Do you like it?" she asked when she had caught her breath before swatting his chest and amending, "My hair!"
Nate chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Of course I like it. You're beautiful no matter what you do."
Rolling her eyes, Sophie pushed herself up so she could see him. "You always say that," she complained. "Come on. Be honest. Do you like it?"
"Yes. Looks great," Nate assured her, his hand sliding down her back.
"You're lying. You hate it," Sophie said with no room for argument, lying back down across him.
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are."
Nate heaved a sigh. "I don't hate it. I just can't run my fingers through it anymore. It's too short and it's not curly enough. Happy?"
Sophie slowly sat up again, meeting his eyes as she brushed a damp, stray curl out of them. "Well, Nate, you weren't here to run your fingers through my hair." Even as she said it, she cringed. "I'm sorry; I can't seem to help it. I know we agreed to leave it be but-"
"Shh." Nate rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, quieting her. "Don't apologize. I wasn't here and I'm sorry. I should have been. I shouldn't have let everybody go in the first place. We wouldn't have so many problems to fix now."
"Do we need fixing?" Sophie asked softly, looking away.
"Maybe a little. But it's nothing time won't patch," he promised, taking her face in his hands. He kissed her, dragging his fingers back through her hair, a smile tugging at his lips as he pulled away. "Maybe it's not so bad after all."