Title: Be Mine

Fandom: 24

Characters: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida, Blinkandyoumissit Kate Warner/Jack Bauer

Word Count: 1,166

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Michelle and Tony celebrate Valentine's Day. Set Between Days 2 and 3.

Author's Notes: Yeah, this is a couple of days late, but I hope better late than never!

Try as he might to deny it, her boyfriend was just a big softy. After all, he was the one to get excited about it; for her it was just a regular Thursday. But he was the one who silenced the alarm at 5:15 that morning, snuggling close and rumbling a sleepy "Happy Valentine's Day" into her ear.

He brought her coffee to her when they got to work, despite his office being about as far away from the break room as possible, and the fact that he'd already drank two cups at home, so he obviously didn't need any for himself. When she got up from her desk to go help Adam Kaufman with a permissions issue in Tech 1, he snuck a rose with a handwritten note proclaiming that he loved her onto her keyboard. Of course, when she called him up to thank him, he just glanced sideways at her from his office and drawled that it wasn't him, 'cause Tony Almeida wasn't a sap.

When her shift ended, she looked up to see him leaving his office, too.

"I thought you were on until midnight."

He shrugged, helping her into her jacket and taking her laptop bag from her. "Jack's covering for me."

"He doesn't have plans?"

Tony glanced sideways at her. "He volunteered. I think Kate's out of town."

"Oh."

He took her hand when they cleared security and she smiled, sliding a step closer to him. "I'm glad you're coming home with me."

She was surprised when he shook his head. "Actually, you're coming home with me."

He opened her car door for her, waiting until she'd buckled her seatbelt and started the engine to close it. Immediately she rolled down her window.

"I need to stop at my place first to pick something up. Go on without me."

"Alright."

She colored when Tony dropped a smooth kiss on her cheek. They were still at work, after all.

As soon as she got home, she jumped in the shower. She'd been running around at work all day, and even if she was just going to be sitting on Tony's couch she wanted to at least feel like she smelled better. Thirty minutes later she was back in the car and on her way. The something she'd had to pick up was hidden in her bag, which had been tossed on the passenger seat. She'd bought it for Christmas, but then they'd spent both Christmas and New Years with their respective families and she hadn't gotten the chance to wear it for him. She didn't need to worry if he'd like it or not; Tony wasn't particularly hard to please, and she really did love him for it.

He let her in with a smile, toying with her still damp hair as she passed him and admitting that he'd jumped in the shower as well.

"Dinner's almost ready. Wine?"

"Please."

Their dinner was relatively typical, which didn't really curb her suspicions that he was up to something. He'd been too attentive and too excited all day for that to have been it, even though she would have been content if it was.

The roses he brought out just after she'd dried the last dish were beautiful. There had to be at least two dozen of them, and they were a deep, rusty red. She'd never gotten so many gorgeous flowers at one time.

He disappeared into his bedroom after helping her put the flowers in water and when he called her to the door she peeked inside to see that the room was lit by nothing but red and white candles.

"Tony, this is too much."

"Just one more thing," he promised, seating her on his bed and presenting her with a square box. "It's nothing too big."

Only if 'nothing too big' involved a gorgeous mother of pearl pendant shaped very nearly like a heart and almost matching earrings.

He'd given her jewelry. Not only that, he'd given her jewelry that she liked. Jewelry that she'd actually wear. For any other guy it would have meant he was either perfect or gay, but for Tony it just showed her how well he knew her, and how much he really did care.

"I love it, thank you," she whispered, brushing her finger over the top of the necklace.

Tony's lips found her temple. "Good. I didn't want it to be too flashy or anything, but it still seemed nice enough."

"It's beautiful," she promised, already sliding the earrings she was wearing out and replacing them with the ones Tony had given her. He helped her put the necklace on, silently clasping it in the back and smoothing his lips across the nape of her neck, making her shiver.

Tony scooted up a little, leaning against the headboard of his bed and beckoning her close. She curled up against him in the vee of his legs, cupping his cheek and drawing his head down to where she could press soft heartfelt kisses against his mouth.

"I got you something, too," she admitted finally, giving him another slow kiss before pulling away and reaching for her bag, carrying it into the bathroom with a slow, backwards glance over her shoulder. "Be wearing less when I get out, okay?"

About ten minutes later she emerged from his bathroom to find that he'd followed orders remarkably well, and was lounging on the bed in his boxers, reading the sports section of the paper while he waited. The paper was quickly forgotten as she tapped the wall beside her to get his attention. Apparently her gift was appreciated, and she couldn't help the thrill she got when he motioned for her to spin around.

Closing the short distance between them, her fingers loosened the knot of her robe, leaving it in a puddle of satin on the floor before she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, letting him gawk at the red and black lace teddy she'd donned with both his hands and his mouth.

"Have I told you I love you today?" he asked, resting his cheek against the top of one of her breasts and looking up at her.

She cocked her head, sliding her arms around his neck. Smiling teasingly she shook her head.

"You suggested that maybe Adam did, though. But I'm not sure I believe you, since the rose you didn't give me earlier seems to match the ones you did give me tonight."

"You're right, I lied."

"Really?" she pretended to be horrified. "It wasn't Adam?"

"Nope."

"It was Gael, wasn't it?"

She felt more than heard Tony's growl, and could do nothing but laugh as he moved forward, pinning her to the bed and hovering above her with that look in his eye. Three parts sultry, one part tender, it made her tingle in anticipation.

"I love you." He punctuated his affirmation with a soft kiss.

Touching his cheek and smiling, she nodded. "I love you, too, Tony."

End.