I was just a giant puddle of feels after the last scene in Dork Day Afternoon, and then ScorplinginTraining joked that Walter was getting lucky that night, so OBVIOUSLY I had to write a smut fic about it. Enjoy.
She never thought watching someone type could be so attractive.
Ralph tended to wear out quickly when he was excited, and he and Walter got about halfway through repairing the antennae—according to them, she couldn't tell the difference—before her son started yawning uncontrollably. There was no rush to head home when tomorrow was Saturday and the team wouldn't be coming in, barring an emergency call. Besides, Paige and Ralph had both built up a small mountain of belongings in the garage for nights like this.
With her baby passed out in the Airstream—it's like camping for indoor cats, he joked once—Walter dove into his billing duties while Paige was curled up in his bed, a hundred pages into her novel. But she was frequently, unbelievably preoccupied by Walter's hands flying over the keys of his laptop, stopping only to jot something down in a ledger. It was ridiculous and sentimental, the comfort and strength she'd always associated with his hands. All the times they made her feel safe when she was terrified. And now, a few months into their relationship, she could appreciate them for an entirely different reason.
Paige bent the corner of her page and set her book on the nightstand, too distracted to focus on the plot. She lifted her knees to her chest, the blanket dropping from her legs and settling over her feet. "How's it going?"
"Fine," he said without looking up. "I'm almost done."
"Good." Walter could easily complete whatever menial task he was doing while holding a conversation with her. At first, she'd doubted that he could multitask as well as he claimed, but she got tired of him smugly repeating her statements verbatim, so she gave up and accepted it. "Thank you for tonight, Walter. Making time for Ralph. It meant a lot to him."
"Mmm. Well, uh…" He typed a few more keystrokes and then closed the spreadsheet, swiveling in his chair to face her. "T-Toby mentioned earlier that he thought I was, um…a g-good dad. I didn't want to prove him wrong." Walter cleared his throat, barely detectable redness tinging his skin. "I hope you weren't disappointed about not having your movie night with him, as planned."
Paige could swear she was melting into the mattress. Walter knew he wasn't Ralph's biological father—there was no need for him to clarify that—but damn if he wasn't everything her son deserved. "It's okay. Sometimes he just wants to nerd out. I don't mind." Sure, there had been periods when she doubted whether he needed her anymore. But as he was getting older, she saw more and more of herself in him, and even if they had nothing in common, she would never stop fighting to be a part of his life. "And Toby's right. You are."
Walter swallowed. As arrogant as he was about his intelligence, he never seemed convinced that he was successful in caring for the people he loved.
"What you said earlier…" Paige trailed off, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She'd been so affected by his statement that it was difficult to put into words. Even with her EQ, expressing herself could be every bit as overwhelming sometimes as it was for Walter. "When I was raising Ralph by myself, I couldn't really imagine being a family with another person again. Or, maybe for the first time, I guess. Then we met you and it all clicked. And…" She blushed, realizing that she was rambling. That was supposed to be his specialty. "I don't know what I'm trying to say. Just, uh, that I'm glad you think of us that way. Because that's what you mean to us, too."
The heat in her face spread quickly through the rest of her body with the look Walter gave her. He didn't have to say anything. His expression betrayed so much more than he thought it did.
"Walter," she said to break the thick silence, her voice raspier than she expected. "I kinda want you right now."
Even though she was fairly confident in his response, Paige was still relieved when he snapped the laptop shut and stood up from his chair. Sometimes he was so wrapped up in his projects that she had to coax him into coming to bed, but tonight she clearly wouldn't have to ask twice. She shifted more comfortably onto her back, welcoming Walter as he hovered over her, supporting his weight on his arms. Their lips met, slow, thorough, making her tremble lightly even though they were just starting.
Her sex drive, her desire for connection, for intimacy…those things hadn't gone away in the years that she was single. But between double shifts and caring for a withdrawn son and panicking over the mess her life had become, she was too exhausted to participate even if there had been a desirable partner. It said something about how much Walter supported her, shared and eased those burdens, that she could lose herself in him without a single concern weighing on her.
Paige slid her fingers into his hair, massaging gently and smirking when he groaned and leaned into the contact. He was so easy. She was grateful that he had overcome his aversion to touch, at least when it came to her. She couldn't imagine a world in which they'd never experienced each other this way.
Walter's hand traveled under her shirt and her skin tingled under his warm palm. She deepened the kiss, parting her legs so he could kneel between them. The nerves and excitement that had accompanied their first few times were exhilarating, but she also appreciated the rhythm they had fallen into, the way things instinctively came together now. With his hands free, Walter focused on undoing the buttons on her top, tugging his own shirt above his head as Paige wiggled out of her clothes. She smiled, taking a second to trace a path down his chest with her nails.
Damn him for being so attractive. She never stood a chance.
He dropped to her neck, kissing and sucking and making her stupidly weak. She wrapped her legs around him, moaning quietly when she felt how hard he was already. "God, Walter."
"You too," he murmured against her shoulder, dipping lower to press kisses to her collarbone and the tops of her breasts. Paige sighed, twisting her fingers into his curls. She loved going slow like this. They didn't always have the time—or patience—for it, but when they did, she swore it felt like she'd found everything she could possibly want.
He slid her straps down and Paige angled to the side, waiting for him to unfasten the clasp before she shrugged off her bra. She couldn't control her reaction when his tongue swept over her nipple and she pulled her hands out his hair, concerned about how deep she'd dug in with her nails. "Sorry! Sorry."
"It's okay," the genius assured her with a small laugh. "I don't really mind it."
"Really?" Walter looked up at her, a self-satisfied expression on his face. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. As you were."
He laughed again, brushing his lips over her abdomen before he returned his attention to her breasts. Paige relaxed against the pillows, scratching softly at his scalp as he sent sparks of electricity through her body. He obviously had the restraint for foreplay, and she'd finally gotten over feeling selfish whenever he spent time building her up first. He enjoyed it, and she happily returned the favor if she was the one with more energy.
Walter closed his lips and created suction, a rush of arousal dampening her underwear—and his pants, which she couldn't believe were still on. She ground against him teasingly, feeling smug when he released her and shut his eyes. "Was that a hint?"
"Mmhmm." As good as he was making her feel, Paige wanted him inside her when she finished. That didn't always matter. But she was still emotional over what he said at dinner, over the way he'd acted all night, and she wanted to be as close to him physically as she felt in every other way. "Ditch the clothes."
Walter offered her an amused smile, sitting back to rid himself of his pants and boxers before looping his thumbs around her underwear and tugging it down her legs. She settled against the mattress, making it clear that she wanted him on top, and kissed him again, sighing as he positioned himself and pushed into her.
Her arms and legs tangled around him and god, this was good, every inch of his body pressed against hers. Paige couldn't remember a moment since they'd met that she hadn't wanted to be this close to him. Partly because her attraction to him was off the charts, yes, but partly also because he was so desperate to be accepted, to be loved, even when he didn't recognize it. And finally, after three years and a million false starts, Walter was letting her provide that for him.
Paige kissed his lips, his jaw, his neck as he moved with slow, deep thrusts. No words passed between them for a long time. She didn't need them tonight. Anything he could say was already clear in the way his tongue stroked hers, the way he buried his head in her shoulder, the way his hand rubbed her thigh as he held her leg in place. Neither of them felt particularly comfortable with the expression making love—it just seemed so wistful and euphemistic—but she didn't know what else to call it when she could feel how much he loved her in each tiny action.
Every nerve in Paige's body was on edge as she climbed to the peak, rolling her hips for more friction until he hit just the right spot and brought her over, stilling momentarily to watch her shiver through her climax. She was always a little embarrassed when he did that—afterward, of course, she sure as hell didn't care in the moment—so she understood when he kissed her shoulder and murmured how beautiful she was before moving his hips again to draw it out. He managed a dozen more thrusts before erupting inside her, his breathing harsh and heated on her skin as his body went slack on top of her. "Whoa," she said on an exhale, using her last reserves of strength to kiss Walter's temple.
He lifted up slightly, looking at her. "Yeah?"
"Definitely."
The genius captured her lips, briefly, pulling back to take another breath and grin. "Agreed."