A/N: My first dive into Strike fic. I originally intended only to be an encouraging consumer, but this idea got stuck in my head so I got it all out. Hope you enjoy at least a bit :)
Her eyes widened with recognition and understanding. But she quickly broke eye contact with him to stare at the floor.
When she spoke, it was barely above a whisper.
"How long?"
He didn't answer right away, also staring at the floor and shuffling his feet (or foot, rather) nervously. He longed for a smoke, if for no other reason than to have somewhere to funnel all the anxious energy bubbling inside of him, not to mention something to quash the craving and longing he had tried so desperately to bury deep within himself.
"Too long," he finally admitted.
She waited just a beat, then he heard her slowly began to make her way toward him. His eyes remained glued to the floor.
She stopped a foot in front of him.
"Cormoran?"
He finally lifted his head to meet her gaze, her expression unreadable.
Once their eyes locked, she took one more step closer and brought her hand to his chest. Now it was his eyes widening with recognition and understanding.
"Too right," she said, her voice low. "Too bloody damn long."
He cracked a smile. He loved it when she swore; it brought out the accent he held so dear.
They stood motionless, only a hairsbreadth apart; mere centimeters from taking a gargantuan leap from what was to what could be, their past and future hanging almost precariously in the balance.
She smirked at him. "Well get on with it then. We've waited quite long enough, don't you think?"
His small smile transformed into a full-blown giddy grin. "Right in one."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers.
"This is…" he trailed off, unable to find the right words.
She placed a hand on his cheek. "I know. I know."
They hesitated for a moment longer before their lips met and they jumped into their new future together.
At last.