Title: After All

Author: fbi_woman

Rating: M

Type: 9-1-1, Abby/Buck

Spoilers: Some general season 2, and specifically 2x07

Disclaimer: Not associated with 9-1-1 or Fox, and make no such claim. Just a broken-hearted fangirl who wishes they would make things right.

Summary: She was the last thing he was expecting to see when he walked through the door, but there she was. Abby/Buck. This might be completely AU by the time tonight's episode airs, but for now, it's not lol.

A/N: I'm sleep deprived and probably should have re-read this before posting, but I've been working on this fic for a couple weeks now and editing as I go to try and keep it possibly canon, so in an effort to avoid further re-writes, I need to get this thing out before the next episode airs lol.

I'm just gonna go ahead and stop saying I'm quitting 911 fic, cuz while I still am planning to, it appears I won't be leaving as abruptly as anticipated. I have two modes atm: depressed fangirl who sees no point in continuing to write this ship, and angry fangirl who wants to write revenge fic for how poorly they're handling the slow death of the ship on the show (I'm still not watching, but twitter and fandom friends have everything I need to know).

Title is from a song by Cher and Peter Cetera.

Side note: I am including Maddie in this story, but as I haven't actually seen her on the show aside from a couple clips, I don't how to voice her accurately. Thanks to Silently Hoping for talking me through that part lol.

Buck spent the drive home from work debating if he should call his girlfriend tonight. He supposed that's what she was now: his girlfriend. It still felt strange to him to consider someone other than Abby being his girlfriend, but they had been casually seeing each other for a month now, so he supposed it was time he started to try and wrap his head around the idea. It was late, but he felt like he should ask her to meet him for a drink or something. He hadn't seen her in a few days. They had talked, but he felt like he was letting it go a little too long without seeing her in person, and he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Not that he was entirely sure what the right idea was, but having her think he was just using her for sex wasn't it. Or was that exactly what he was doing? He wasn't really sure, to be honest. The sex wasn't mind-blowing by any means; it was good, but nothing to write home about. He had always thought it was bullshit when people said that sex with love was way better than meaningless sex, but now he knew it to be true. That was the problem with this new girl. He liked her well enough; she was nice and pretty and fun, but he didn't really feel an emotional connection with her. He kept telling himself that going for the instant physical chemistry was where he went wrong before he met Abby, and that he didn't want to make the same mistakes again, but here he was. He missed that feeling of really wanting to see someone, like you just couldn't wait to be around them again. He thought that after a while, he might start to feel that for her, but he didn't. Not yet, anyways. Maybe that would come with time. He just needed to be a little more patient, he supposed, and let the relationship develop.

He still hadn't come to a decision as he entered the building and walked towards his apartment. His new apartment, since he regrettably moved out of Abby's. It wasn't something he was particularly pleased to have done, but he hadn't heard from her in over a month and she wasn't answering his calls, so it seemed pretty clear that she didn't want to be in a relationship anymore. In all honesty, it hurt like hell, but he tried not to think about it too much. It was much easier to think of it as him moving on than it was to accept that he had lost her. It felt weird living alone though. He had always had roommates, and he had expected to be living with Abby by now, but obviously that hadn't panned out. Everything just felt so complicated now. He wished Abby had come home. That was all he really wanted this whole time: to have her back. But he had to admit, his friends and his sister had a pretty persuasive argument, and so he was trying to want something else and find his footing. Some days he thought he was making progress on that front; other days – like today – not so much. He unlocked the door, thinking that asking his girlfriend to come over for a drink was probably a good idea, even if he wasn't overly enthused about it. Moving on wasn't easy, but avoiding it wouldn't make it any easier.

His phone buzzed on his way to the bedroom and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the ID on the text message.

[Text from Abby]: Hey, I need some info off a document in the apartment. Can you grab it for me when you have a minute?

Shit. He hadn't exactly told her that he moved out, but he thought she would have caught the drift. That was also not quite the kind of message he had been hoping for.

[Text from Buck]: Sure, not there atm but I can be there in 20.

[Text from Abby]: Ok

He decided to put the drink idea on hold until after he helped Abby, and hopped in his car. Traffic was still bad so it was closer to half an hour before he arrived at her building. Hopefully she was still available to text, he didn't want to stay longer than he had to. It was still hard being there without her. He sent her a text as he entered the apartment, letting her know he had arrived, and was stunned to hear a 'ding' sound in the next room. It can't be.

She was the last thing he was expecting to see when he walked through the door, but there she was. He was pretty sure he stopped breathing; afraid that the smallest movement would somehow result in him waking up in bed, disappointed to find it was just a dream. But then she smiled and offered him a shy little wave, and he spotted a suitcase in the bedroom out of the corner of his eye. It's real; she's really here. He had imagined this moment a hundred times, but as the months went by, he was no longer sure how he would feel when the time came. For a moment he felt nothing; he was just numb with shock. But then he felt… happy. The ridiculously over-the-moon kind of joyful that he hadn't felt since before she left.

"You're home?" he asked hopefully, still afraid it was too good to be true.

"I'm home."

She stood as he approached, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He had never been so relieved to see someone, and to hold her was a luxury he thought he would never have again.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have met you at the airport."

"I thought it would be a nice surprise."

"It's the best surprise," he confirmed, pressing his lips to hers.

They kissed softly for a while before she pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes. Hers were dark and swirling with emotions when she whispered to him: "I missed you."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I missed you too. So much."

He claimed her lips again and slowly eased them apart, letting his tongue brush against hers. She moaned softly and leaned into him, kissing him harder, and her fingers tentatively began to lift the hem of his shirt. She let them trail over his abdomen as she went and he grabbed her hips, pulling her flush against him so she could feel how she was affecting him. With a soft gasp, her hesitation vanished and his shirt landed on the floor. He knew they needed to talk, but right now it sure seemed like they were on the same page about getting back together. They broke apart for a second and he was about to suggest they get caught up first when she abruptly stripped off her own shirt. His gaze landed on her tantalizing breasts and all thoughts were wiped from his mind… except for how badly he wanted her. He'd had more than a few dreams about this moment, but the reality was even better. She gave him a coy smile and took his hand, leading him to her room, and he eagerly followed.

Once inside, he went straight for the button on her jeans and peeled them off of her. She chuckled quietly when he promptly disposed of his immediately afterwards. He kissed her again, walking her backwards to the bed and encouraging her to lie down. He stood back up for a moment and looked down at her; her cheeks flushed, hair fanned out on the pillow, biting her lip as she regarded him with desire. Damn, he was one lucky man. Carefully he removed her glasses and placed them on the nightstand before climbing onto the bed. He leaned over her and slid one hand along her back to pop the clasp on her bra, quickly tossing it aside once it was undone. He kissed her hard, biting back a groan when he felt her soft breasts pressed against his chest. He then began a trail of scorching kisses along her neck, to her shoulder, across her collarbone, and down, until he finally took one of her hardened nipples in his mouth. She moaned and intuitively rocked her hips against his. He ground into her as he switched sides, tugging on the other nipple with his teeth, and she moaned again, louder, her back arching off the bed. It took most of his willpower to resist the urge to just tear off their underwear and take her right then, but he was aiming to get more thoroughly reacquainted with her body tonight.

He continued the path downward with his mouth until he reached the top of her panties, which he slowly dragged down her legs. He placed kisses along her inner thighs, working his way closer and closer to her core. She tugged at his hair and from her heavy breathing he knew she was already close, but he chose to ignore her subtle suggestion that they skip to the main event. He leisurely swept his tongue along the length of her, groaning against her as he tasted her for the first time in so long, and she exhaled sharply as the vibrations from his voice rippled through her tender flesh. He gripped her hips while he let his tongue delve inside her, holding them down on the bed while she instinctively fought to get closer. Her hands flew out to the sides, fisting the sheets as she swore breathlessly. He would have chuckled, but his mouth was occupied.

When she started to pant, he brought one hand down to her core and replaced his tongue with two fingers, bringing his lips to her clit instead. He teased the little nub, swirling his tongue around it a few times, before he started to suck on it. She moaned at the sensation, and he felt her start to tighten around his fingers. He curled them slightly inside her and she cried out wordlessly, crashing over the edge. Slowing his fingers, he started to kiss his way back up her body, grinning a little whenever he hit a sensitive spot that made her shiver. She all but devoured his mouth when he brought his lips back to hers, and he grunted when she reached down to take him in her hand. He was almost painfully hard and aching to be inside her. As if she read his thoughts, she reached over and grabbed a condom from the drawer of the nightstand. He flung his boxers off and grit his teeth as she expertly rolled the condom on in record time, and then she wrapped her hand around him and guided him to the place he most wanted to be.

He groaned as he slowly pressed inside her, savouring the sensation of her tight walls around him and her heat enveloping him. God she felt good – even better than he remembered. Heart pounding wildly, he watched her eyes widen and then darken as he plunged into her depths, a ragged sigh falling from her lips when he was fully sheathed inside her. He teased her with a couple shallow strokes before sliding nearly all the way out and delving back in to the hilt. Her head tipped back and her eyes closed, her body arching off the mattress and her nails digging into his shoulders as he repeated the pattern. His control was rapidly evaporating, so he settled on a quick rhythm of firm, deep thrusts while he nipped at her neck and used one hand to tweak a taut nipple. He desperately wanted to wait for her but he could feel his release sneaking up on him. Then her legs tightened around his hips, and he knew she was almost there.

"You gonna come for me, Abby?" he panted in her ear.

"Yeah," she breathed, "Yeah, I'm… I…"

She never finished her sentence, instead crying out as she climaxed, lost in the shockwaves of pleasure rushing through her. The feel of her pulsing around his cock was too much to resist, and he moaned her name as he gave in to his release.

He kissed her gently while they both caught their breath, and then he reluctantly left to clean up. As soon as he was back at her side, he took her in his arms and she rested her head against his chest. It still felt a bit like he was dreaming, and it made his heart ache a little every time he thought about just how much he had missed holding her like this.

"I can't believe you're really here," he murmured, looking down at her. "I thought I might never see you again."

She looked up at him then, frowning a little. "Is that why you moved out?"

"Yeah. I mean, we weren't really talking anymore and I was starting to feel like maybe it was time for me to find my own place. It didn't feel right to stay here if we weren't going to be together anymore."

She seemed taken aback by that. "I would never just leave you hanging like that. I know I wasn't really answering or returning your calls for the last little while, and I'm really sorry about that. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life anymore. I needed to be objective about it, and to that I needed a little bit of emotional distance, that's all. I came back as soon as I figured things out." She paused briefly. "Why didn't you tell me you were moving out? I would have explained myself, if I'd known how much it was bothering you. I never meant to make you feel like I didn't care about you anymore."

"I don't know, I mean, like I said, we weren't really talking. And then I wrote that letter… I guess I just thought you would have figured it out from that."

"What letter?"

"The letter I sent you."

"I never got a letter from you. What did it say?"

Ohhh shit. This was bad. This was really bad. "You… you didn't get it?"

"No, when did you send it?"

"Just over a month ago."

"Where did you send it?"

"The hotel you were staying in at the time."

"I must have left before it got there."

"Oh." He was reeling now. She has no idea.

"What did it say?"

"That I loved you… but that I needed to figure out how to be without you."

Her face fell. "Oh."

"When I didn't hear anything back I thought… we were definitely over."

"Then… what was this," she gestured at the bed, "if we're over? Just… goodbye?"

"No! No. I don't want us to be over. I never did. I just felt like I was losing you and it was getting harder and harder to stay optimistic about us. But it probably wouldn't have gone so far if I hadn't let everyone else get in my head."

"What do you mean?"

"Just Maddie and everyone at the station, they kept saying that you weren't coming back and that I should move on. After a while, I started to believe that maybe they were right…" he let the sentence trail off when he noticed the sudden trepidation in her gaze. "Abby?"

"So you… moved on?"

He froze, silently panicking inside. He knew he should tell her everything, but it would make the situation so much worse, and he was terrified to lose her all over again. But if she ever found out that he lied to her about it, he would definitely lose her. He now wished vehemently that he had been more persistent and confronted her about their relationship status before accepting advice from other people. That would have been the right thing to do. He let himself off the hook by rationalizing that she would have called if she still wanted to talk to him, never considering that maybe she didn't get the letter. If he could do it all again differently, he would. But what was done was done, and he couldn't take it back. All he could do now is what he should have done all along: be honest and upfront with her.

"I, uh, sort of started seeing someone."

Her eyes widened and she immediately recoiled from their embrace, putting space between them and pulling the blanket up higher.

"I've only seen her a few times," he continued, talking faster now, "it was never anything serious, I swear. I love you, Abby. I never would have gone out with her at all if I hadn't thought we were over."

"Have you slept with her?"

He looked down, not wanting to see the disappointment in her eyes when he said yes. He heard her gasp softly, and retreat further towards the edge of the bed. When he summoned the nerve to meet her gaze, it was devastating. The colour had drained from her face, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and she looked horrified.

"Abby…" he reached for her hand but she yanked it away.

"Don't touch me."

"I'm sorry."

"You seriously didn't think you should have told me any of this before you got me in bed?"

"Yes, I should have. I wasn't thinking; I was just so happy to see you. All I've wanted the whole time you were gone was to have you back –"

She cut him off. "Get out."

"No, don't, please –"

"Get out."

"Abby –"

"GET. OUT."

Angry tears were starting to spill onto her cheeks now, and it broke his heart. Why hadn't he been more patient? Why hadn't he pushed her to have a real conversation about how they felt? She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he'd ruined it. Resigned, he climbed out of bed and pulled his pants back on. He paused in the bedroom doorway before he left, taking a last look at her. She had turned onto her side, her back to him, fists tucked under her chin and tightly clutching the blanket.

"I still love you, Abby. That never changed."

Then, he did the hardest thing he had ever done: he walked away. It was agony to know she was lying there, crying, and not only could he not be there to support her; he was the reason for it.

He had been standing at the door for at least 10 minutes now, and still there was no answer from inside. He called her cell, but she must have put it on do not disturb. He banged on the door a third time.

"Maddie! Wake up and open the door, it's me!"

Finally, after another minute or two, he heard soft shuffling footsteps, and a bleary-eyed Maddie opened the door.

"Jesus, Buck. It's the middle of the night, what the hell?"

He brushed past her without waiting for an invitation. "Can I crash on your couch tonight?"

"Sure, I guess, why?"

"I just don't want to be alone."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I think Abby and I broke up."

"What? I thought you already broke up with her."

"I did… but she didn't know that."

"You lost me. Did she call or something?"

"No, she's here."

"Oh… wow… did you know she was coming home?"

"Don't you think I would have told you if I did?"

"Yeah, I guess you would have. You probably would have told everyone," she answered with a laugh.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Right, sorry, not helpful. So what happened?"

"Long story short: she didn't get the letter I sent. So as far as she knew, we weren't broken up, but then I told her I'd started seeing someone, and now I think we are."

"Shit."

"No kidding."

"Well, on the plus side, I guess it's not really a loss if you already thought it was over. I can't believe she thought you'd still be sitting around waiting for her after all this time though."

He gaped at her. "That's your takeaway from this? That she shouldn't have expected me to do exactly what I said I would do?"

"It just sounds selfish, is all. And it sure didn't seem like she was worried you might move on."

"Yeah, and you know why? Because as she pointed out, I never told her anything was bothering me. I acted like everything was fine, so she probably thought I was fine with the waiting. And I was, until all of you started in on me."

"Bullshit. You were not fine with it."

"Okay fine, I missed her like hell and I hated being apart from her for so long. But I didn't doubt her until you guys put the idea in my head. Then I started reading too much into everything and thinking that I was the only one who thought we still had something. But I wasn't; she thought so too. It was complicated, sure, but there was still something there. And I should have gone straight to her instead of letting those doubts grow."

"You tried; she didn't answer."

"I could have tried harder," he argued, flopping down on the couch. "Could she have called? Sure she could have. Would she have called and been more open with me if she knew I was having a hard time dealing with it all? Yeah, she probably would have. But I kept that to myself. I let myself be persuaded into believing I was wrong about us, and I made a stupid decision to try and move on without actually confirming it was over, and that's on me. I did absolutely none of the things that I could have done to prevent this from happening. I didn't even follow up or get a tracking number on that stupid letter so I would know if she got it." He sighed. "I'm just pissed off that I blew the best relationship I ever had because I gave up too soon. If I had just waited another month…"

"I'm really sorry, Buck," Maddie said quietly, sitting down beside him. "I know how much she meant to you. And maybe I shouldn't have interfered; I just didn't want to see you get your heart broken even worse. But I guess that happened anyways."

"It's okay. I know you were just looking out for me. I made my own choices and now I have to deal with the result."

"Just give her a little time to cool down, maybe once she's had some time to think about it, she'll see where you were coming from."

It had been almost 3 full days since he last spoke to Abby. He had left a voicemail yesterday asking if they could meet and talk things out, but she hadn't replied. He also sent a text to his new girlfriend… other girlfriend? He wasn't sure what to call her anymore. She had invited him over for dinner, but he told her he was dealing with some personal stuff and needed a bit of time. He wasn't sure what to do about their relationship. If Abby was willing to give them another chance, then the decision was made: he knew he still wanted to be with her. The problem was what to do if things didn't work out that way. On one hand, he felt like it was wrong to continue this new relationship after realizing that he definitely wasn't over Abby. On the other hand, maybe she could help him get over Abby. But would that be fair to her, to try and build a relationship on that? Probably not. Hopefully he was worrying for nothing, and he and Abby would be together again.

He just couldn't believe his luck at the poor timing of it all; he had hung on for so long, and then when he finally decided to move on with someone new, she came home. Just a month sooner, and he was confident they would have been able to salvage the relationship. But sleeping with someone else? He wasn't sure if she would forgive him that. He wanted to be indignant about it; wanted to feel justified in believing their relationship was over. But deep down he knew he had left the door open: they hadn't had that conversation, he hadn't asked her if that's what she wanted, and he hadn't followed up on the letter to make sure she received it. What was that saying? 'When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me'? That sounded about right. They had both made some assumptions that led them to this, and he hoped in time she would see it that way. It was a failure of communication, but it didn't have to mean the failure of their relationship… did it?

When she finally sent him a text, it was all he could do to keep from dancing around the station.

[Text from Abby]: Can you come by tonight?

She wanted to see him. That could be good or bad; he wasn't sure which.

[Text from Buck]: Sure but it'll be late

[Text from Abby]: That's fine, just let yourself in. See you then.

As his shift drew to a close, however, he started to get worried. If she didn't mind it being late, did that mean she wasn't planning on having him stay very long? What if he got there and she just wanted to say goodbye? He didn't have much time to consider that thought though: the alarm went and they were out the door. It turned out to be a massive pileup on the highway; there was a transport truck on fire, a fuel spill, and several people trapped in cars and by the time he got away, it was nearly 2am. She had probably given up on him by now and gone to bed, but he didn't want to break his word, so he headed to Abby's apartment anyways. He would just sleep on the couch and hope she still wanted to talk in the morning.

The apartment was dark when he entered, but he could hear the TV and see the light flickering from it as he moved towards the living room. He found her asleep on the couch, an empty wine glass on the table, and felt a spark of hope that she had clearly tried to wait up for him. Without a second thought, he carefully removed her glasses and scooped her up in his arm, carrying her to the bed. He set her down gently but she stirred when he draped the blanket over her.

"What time is it?" she mumbled sleepily, not even opening her eyes.

"Really late, go back to sleep."

"Are you staying?"

He hesitated. "Do you want me to?"

"Get in."

He took that as a yes, and was a little stunned that he wasn't sent to the couch. Hopefully it wasn't just an oversight because she was barely awake. He climbed in beside her but made sure to stay on his side of the bed, not wanting to push his luck too far. And he was so exhausted that he was asleep almost immediately.

Surprisingly he woke before her, and was pleased to find her curled up against him. Quiet, simple moments like this were some of the things he missed the most while she was gone. He just watched her for a couple minutes, narrowly resisting the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear, before he finally got out of bed, trying not to jostle her too much. He took a quick shower, got redressed, and was just sitting down to a cup of coffee in the kitchen when she walked in.

"Hey," she greeted him shyly.

"Hey. Sorry about last night, I got held up."

"It's okay." She fixed herself a cup and sat down across from him, staring down into the mug for a minute before she spoke again. "So I think I owe you an apology."

He was literally speechless: that couldn't have been further from what he was expecting to hear.

"I did a lot of thinking over the past couple days and I feel like I haven't been entirely fair to you, in more ways than one. My trip ended up being quite a bit longer than what we talked about before I left, and I was keeping busy and having a good time, and I didn't really stop to consider what it must be like for you to sit here day after day, hearing nothing from me and having no idea what my plans were. I didn't really have a plan, and while that was working out fine for me, I'm sure it wasn't easy for you. I probably should have let you go; maybe it was selfish and unrealistic to try and put a relationship on hold for that long."

He opened his mouth to protest but she held up a hand, silencing him.

"On top of that, I haven't been a very good girlfriend. You were right; we hadn't really been talking, and I can see why you would think I wasn't interested anymore. I should have been asking how you were and what was going on in your life. I needed to take that trip for myself, and I needed to put myself first for a change, but I think I took that too far and ended up taking you for granted. I shut you out for too long. I should have texted. I should have told you that I needed some quiet time to think about things. I should have done a lot of things differently. I'm still hurt that you started seeing someone without talking to me first, but I know you thought you did with the letter, and I believe you that you wouldn't have done it if you hadn't thought we were through. And if you can forgive me for my part in all this, I can forgive you. If that's what you want. You said you wanted to figure out who you were without me, and I'll understand if you feel like you still need to pursue that right now."

"I only said that because I didn't know how much longer you would be gone, or if you would ever come back to me. I didn't want to rely on something I wasn't sure I still had. But I like who I am when I'm with you; that's the guy I want to be. You make me better and you make me want to be better. I want to be with you."

"We have to make sure something like this never happens again though; I need you to be honest with me and tell me what you're feeling, no matter where I am or what I'm doing, and I promise I'll do the same."

"I will."

"And I also promise I won't disappear again for months on end with no itinerary."

"Thank God," he said with a laugh, standing up and pulling her up out of her chair, holding her close while he kissed her.

He nipped at her lower lip and she opened her mouth to him, looping her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He slid one hand down to grab her ass but she lightly slapped his hand away, taking a step back.

"Nope, you are not getting back in my pants until you talk to this other girl."

He sighed, raising his hands in defeat. "Okay, fair enough. Give me a minute."

"Tell me you're not going to do this over text."

"Okay… more than a minute then."

Buck pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, asking to meet, and was pleased to get an almost immediate response: she was home, café by her place, 10 minutes.

"Good news," he said, bending down to kiss her, "I'm going to meet her right now; I'll be back in 30. And you know, if you happened to be naked when I got back, I'd be okay with that."

"Oh is that right?"

He shrugged, giving her a sly smile. "Just a suggestion."

"I'll take it into consideration."

The meeting was mercifully brief and actually went pretty well. She had suspected something was up from his text and wasn't surprised. She wished him the best, and they went their separate ways. In all honesty, it was probably the cleanest "breakup" he had ever had. And then he was pushing the speed limit to get back to Abby. But when he arrived at the apartment and walked through the kitchen, Abby was nowhere to be seen.

"Abbs?"

"Bedroom," she called out in response.

Holy shit. Was she actually naked and waiting like he asked? Truthfully he was only half joking when he said it, but he hadn't really expected her to follow through with the request. He opened the bedroom door and while she was not, in fact, naked, he certainly didn't mind the view: she was laid out on the bed in a dark blue, sheer lace babydoll and matching panties.

"I don't believe I've seen this little number before," he observed.

"No. I decided I wanted to bring back something special for you, and I thought you might like this more than a shot glass or a snow globe."

"I do like a good snow globe, but this is definitely much better."

He whipped his shirt over his head on the way to the bed and she rose to her knees, going right for his belt buckle as he bent down to kiss her.

"How'd it go?" she mumbled against his lips, pushing his pants and boxers down.

"Good." He climbed up to sit beside her on the bed.

"You mean she didn't throw a drink in your face?" she asked with a smirk, standing up and dropping her panties to the floor.

He chuckled. "Nope, I got lucky this time."

"You want to get lucky again?" she asked suggestively as she tossed him a condom.

"With you? Always."

Once he had it on, she was back on the bed and straddling his lap. She was about to lower herself onto him but he grabbed her hips and held her still, noting that her breasts were level with his face. She looked down at him in confusion but he just smiled, tilted his head forward, and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He sucked on her through the fabric of her top, biting down gently on the stiffened peak and then soothing it with his tongue. Her eyes slammed shut and she let out a low moan, her fingers raking through his short hair. He switched sides and let one hand trail down between her legs to see if she was ready for him. Wetness coated his fingers as he dragged them along her folds, and he released his remaining grasp on her hip. With a knowing smile, she shoved his hand away and sank down onto him.

She pushed on his chest and he took the hint, lying back on the bed. Leaning forward, she braced her hands on his shoulders and started to move. She kept her movements small at first, swirling her hips in a circular motion, and then shifting them forward to grind herself against him. He loved watching her; seeing the flush start to colour her chest and cheeks, and a fine sheen of sweat start to form as she worked herself on his cock. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she began to slide up and down his length.

"Fuck, you feel good," he groaned, letting his hands glide up her body to roughly knead her breasts.

She threw her head back, pushing herself into his hands and gasping his name. The pace quickened as her urgency grew, and he started to thrust up into her along to her rhythm. He could feel the tension building to the point of no return, so he brought one hand down to where they were joined and rubbed his thumb over her clit. She cried out, her muscles starting to clench around him, and he couldn't hold back any longer. They rode out their highs together, the sounds of their euphoric moans mingling in the air. Breathless, she collapsed onto his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back lightly while their heart rates slowed. As they lay entwined, the sweat cooling on their skin, all he could think was that he never wanted to let her go. But he would have to, wouldn't he? He didn't live here anymore. At some point he would have to kiss her goodbye and go back to his apartment. And he really didn't want to.

She rolled off of him and he grudgingly got up to clean himself off. As he made his way back to the bed, the thought of lying alone in his that night was unbelievably unappealing. In that moment he decided to bite the bullet and ask her about it; he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and avoid asking her the scary questions. "So… since we're back together, does that mean I should move back in? Or do you want to go back to living separately for now?"

She thought for a minute before replying. "I think we're spent enough time apart."

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Me too. Good thing I never got around to pitching my moving boxes."

"Actually, I was thinking maybe I'd move in with you."

"Really?" He had to admit he was surprised, he had always expected she would want to keep her apartment.

"Yeah. I mean, I'll always love this place, but I think I could use a clean slate."

"If that's what you want, it's fine with me. I'll even share my boxes with you."

"Aw, my knight in shining cardboard."

"Got to make myself useful somehow."

"You can carry the heavy ones too."

"Of course. I'm a full service knight, you know."

She laughed. "You're a dorky knight."

"But you love it."

"Yeah, I do." Her expression became serious suddenly. "I really am sorry for… well, everything, I guess."

"Me too." He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too."