They had started a sort of ritual while they were working on projects together. Claudia needed noise around her while she was working, but she quickly found out Parrish needed silence to work when he pulled her IPod from its docking station and glared at her. So after another hour and a half of silence she started asking him questions.

"What's your take on abortion?" He looked up at her. She was still fiddling with a new tesla device.

"What are you talking about Donovan?" She looked at him expectantly and smiled.

"I can't take silence and talking isn't music, plus we both like arguing so this seems like a good compromise." He sighed and then went back to work. Claudia's posture deflated as she went back to work.

"Pro-Choice." Her eyes lit up.

"Same." She sat and thought for a moment. "Gay Marriage?" She stared at him until he looked up.

"If we're going to be doing this you can't just stare at me. Work." She smiled and grabbed the copper wire sitting next to her. "It doesn't affect me, so who am I to tell people who they can marry."

"Yeah, ok Stem Cell research." He took his eyes off of his work and gave her a look.

"I'm a scientist Donovan, I think you can guess my stance on that." She smirked.

"Dammit, why are you not being you?" Parrish looked up confused.

"Are you yelling at me for agreeing with you?" She set down the mechanism she was working on.

"Yes, the point of this is to argue and pass the time, but we have the same opinion on every controversial issue. I mean without going into politics. So you pick something you'd think we'd have differing opinions on." He moved over to start tampering with the unidirectional plasma field he was modifying for blocking off sections in the warehouse. They did not need any more enemies breaking into dangerous zones, they had just gotten the Dark Vault back to everything in its place.

"Ok, how about Fargo?" He said casually, hoping he'd get a rise out of her. She looks up and glares at him.

"No." Parrish smirked. "Why not Donovan?"

"You aren't going to debate him you are going to rant and it's not like I have much to say about that. Or that I want to say about him ok? Pick a new topic." She hunched her shoulders over her work. Parrish saw that and decided to back off.

"Ok spooning. Spooning is terrible." She looked up at him, not sure if he was joking. He was bent over looking for some tool.

"Spooning as in cuddling?" He nodded at her. "Why would you even have an opinion on that?" Parrish glared at her.

"You know I have had sex. Quite a lot actually" Claudia blushed before stuttering out a retort.

"I…I know it's just why do you hate it? Are you against cuddling after sex?" He smiled at how uncomfortable he made the woman.

"It's terrible for guys. While the girls get to curl up and be comfortable, the guys get a face full of hair, an arm that falls asleep, and then they get neck or back aches because they have to position themselves around the girl if they're close in height. Which is why I like cuddling but I would rather have the girl sleep on my chest." Claudia snorted.

"Ok A. all those problems kind of suck but you just had sex so suck it up, and B. sleeping on the guy's chest isn't comfortable for us. If the guy has a hairy chest you're getting a mouthful of hair, and that's just gross." Parrish rolled his eyes.

"That's all you've got? Come on my complaints are worse than your one." Both had abandoned their work by now and were slowly moving closer to each other.

"And your head is right by their heart so if they have a heart arrhythmia, then I would not get any sleep." Parrish actually bursts out laughing at that.

"So would you ask for their medical records or if they have any pre-existing conditions before you have sex with them. Face it Donovan your reasons are bullshit." She rolled her eyes before standing up and flourishingly bows to Parrish. He nods in response.

"Ok you win. What next?" He smiles at her, while he grabs a pair of pliers.

"Beards."

Five Months later

The sun shone through the blinds making a pattern on the wood floor. Clothes strewn across the floor, a leather vest here, khakis covering up a pair of doc martens, while a sweater lays against a bra, all of these leading up to the events the night before. Claudia opens her eyes to find Parrish's arm wrapped around her waist and his beard scratching her neck where he had buried his face, and his arm lying above her head. Her eyes still widened but, she didn't run away this time, she did however notice Parrish's arm around her, and pushed herself up while also waking up Parrish.

"HYPOCRITE" He looked at the woman, who had just unintentionally, butted his face with her shoulder.

"Claudia, what are you talking about? Go back to sleep its 7 and you know who is up at 7? Not me." He moved to wrap his arm around her again, however she just pushed it off and stared at him like her point was obvious.

"You were spooning me." He stared at her.

"Yes, it's what usually happens after sex, that's what we did last night, heads up." Claudia glared at him.

"You hate spooning, you made a ridiculous list and you were just doing it." Parrish rolled his eyes.

"I never said I hated spooning, I just pointed out the faults in it. Plus none of the rules apply to you." She stares at him incredulously.

"How doesn't it." He pushed himself up on his arms.

"Well you're kind of a midget, I tower over you so the hair being in the face doesn't really apply, plus you have short hair so it's not in the way that much and I made sure my other arm wasn't under you, also I like you enough to put up with it." He lies back down on his bed and pats the spot next to him. She follows his lead and lays her head on his chest. Parrish stares down at her. She laid very still before making herself comfortable. "What are you doing?" Claudia looked up at him.

"Well you don't have hair on your chest." He raises his eyebrow and nods. "And you don't have a messed up heartbeat. So this is kind of nice." He wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders.

"Well, this'll show those guys in high school, who mocked me, who needs hairy chests." Claudia giggled at that.

"And obviously you can grow hair look at your face. " She made a face "I'm still getting used to the beard." He smirked down at her.

"Seriously after last night that's the only example you have?" Her eyes widened as he kissed her head.

"Go back to sleep."