The fresh sunlight peeking over the clouds burst through the loft. The thick, humid air turned a pale pink. It had rained all night and no one had thought to close the window the night before. Sweat crept down the crease of a man's back as his slow, steady breaths moved his chest up and down. He lay there on the bed, face down, asleep. His back was all that was really visible to her, the woman standing a few feet from the side of the bed. She stood there, her expression unfathomable, watching his back move up and down. She followed the bead of sweat as it crept down his back until it met the sheet at his waist covering the rest of his naked body. In all reality he was sprawled over most of the bed, looking rather ridiculous, she thought. She stood there, wrapped in a sheet, her arms crossed. She noticed quite a bit about him from this vantage point; his low snore, his wild hair, how he drooled a little on the pillow beneath him. She could stare at this man for hours and never grow tired of it, never get enough.
Finally, the reason for her early rise caught her attention again and she made her way to the bathroom. Quickly, she flipped on the light and closed the door. As she made her way to the other side of the overly large space, her reflection in the mirror caused her to pause. I look like hell, she thought to herself. Her makeup was more than slightly smeared, there seemed to be an array of small, faint hickeys covering her neck and shoulder blades and her hair was simply a disaster.
I guess it's a good thing I don't have a job to get to.
Back in the bedroom, she stopped short just before the bed. The last remnants of her clothes caught the corner of her eye. She paused. Looking from her clothes, to the sleeping man before her, and back again, she considered her other option. It would be easy, it would be simple. She could just walk over, collect her clothes, get dressed and slip out. Alexis and Martha weren't home. Rick wouldn't be up for hours, most likely. She could do it.
Just as the train of those thoughts entered her mind, she knew she didn't want to. She wanted to stay. Slowly, Kate dropped the sheet protecting her from the humid air and climbed back into bed as gingerly as possible, so as not to wake him. The shift caused Rick to roll over and his right arm reached over her stomach and hugged the back of her to his bare chest. She smiled to herself. Gently, she turned, kissed his lips and went back to sleep.
An unknowable amount of time passed before the man next her opened his eyes. Quite startled at first, he realized in a moment that what was obstructing his vision was the majority of Kate Beckett's hair. Lifting his head up, he scanned the room. What a scene, he thought. Clothes everywhere, lamps knocked over, picture frames strewn on the floor; it was a sight. With a satisfied sigh he kissed the side of her face and got up from the bed.
In nothing but boxers, he went to the kitchen and got right to work, as much for himself as for the girl back in his bed; he was starving. The humid air in the space around him became even warmer as he cooked, though he hardly noticed. After a long while the, in his opinion, masterpiece of a meal was ready and he was just about to pick it all up and take it back to his room when suddenly he looked up from the counter. There stood a woman in only a half buttoned dark shirt that had been only the floor of bedroom only moments before. He paused. Not knowing what to say, he could only gape at the sight before him. Equally unsure, she raised her eyebrows and smirked, rather involuntarily. She closed most of the space between them and came to the other side of the counter.
Just as she playfully rested her hands on the counter and leaned in to kiss him, they heard a noise. Before they could make any kind of evasive movement, the door swung open and in walked a person to witness two half naked, disheveled looking people in the midst of an embrace; Alexis Castle.
