Nikita woke up to the sun streaming through her windows. Stifling a yawn, she stretched her arms out and sat up. She had no idea whether or not she was ready to face the day ahead of her yet, but she'd take it step by step. And right now the first step was probably a shower; her entire back was in knots from sparring in the past few days for more hours than normal. It was all a distraction for her, but since her opponent was Michael it made it a tiny bit hard for her not to feel anything.

She counted to ten, not ready to leave the warmth of her bed, and stood up. She reached for her sweater and pulled it on, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. Winter was one of her least favorite seasons, she enjoyed the occasional snow but the cold in the morning was unbearable. She opened the drawer and grabbed her yoga pants and sweatshirt. The bathroom was down the hall which bugged her. Why couldn't Birkhoff get a house with bathrooms in each of the rooms, he was probably the richest person in the world right now anyways. She opened the door and walked out, unaware of her surroundings because at that moment she walked right into a half naked Michael.

Michael held his arms out just in time to catch a stumbling Nikita. He couldn't stop the amused expression from seeing a clumsy Nikita. It wasn't often that he caught her completely off guard.

"Oh shoot, my bad." Nikita couldn't help the rush of blood that was creeping onto her cheeks. "Umm I was just on my way to the bathroom." Just then, she realized the protective strong arms that were wrapped around her. She dropped her pants, trying to make it look like an accident, and untangled herself from his arms, silently regretting her decision.

Michael could still feel the warmth of her body against his, and felt the urge to snake his arms around her once again. But he knew that it made her feel uncomfortable. So he just stood to the side, and watched as she grabbed her clothing. When she stood back up, he could tell that something was bothering her.

"What?" His thoughts were interrupted by her beautiful voice.

"What what?"

She couldn't help but let out a girlish giggle. "It's just the way you're looking at me right now."

"I was just thinking how beautiful you look in the morning." His smile was genuine and it made Nikita's heart melt. The cold was starting to get to her, especially since she really only had on her undergarments and a sweater.

"Well … im just going to go take a shower …." She turned and made her way to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and turned on the water, stripping down her clothing she jumped in. The warm water fell onto her back and she felt the tightness in her back slowly disappear. Her thoughts slowly drifted, to a much simpler time when Michael and her didn't have to walk away from one another and could just be tangled in each other's arms.

FLASHBACK…

Nikita woke up to the smell of pancakes drifting through the house. Turning around she felt for the warm body that she wanted to wrap her arms around. Her hands kept patting around but all she felt was the cold cotton sheets. Obviously it wasn't Birkhoff who was giving in to his hunger. Groaning she was about to get out of the bed when the door opened.

"Morning love." In his hands he carried a tray with a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice. On the side was a tiny vase with a rose.

Nikita fought the urge to smile at the loving gesture that her man was obviously trying to make. "Hmph"

Michael frowned, "what did I do now?"

"You freaking left me, alone, and I woke up next to thin air." She crossed her arms and pouted like a six year old.

The sound of his laughter made her a bit more grumpier. She got out of bed and walked towards the door, swerving around Michael. Michael set the tray on the side table and ran over just in time to catch Nikita in his arms.

"Stop.." but Nikita couldn't find the will to protest at all. Instead she was laughing as Michael tickled her and warmed her with soft feathery kisses along her neck. She turned and was going to continue her façade when his lips pressed down upon hers. She felt her will cave in, and gave in to the full power of his lips.

When they broke away, she felt herself leaning in, wanting more.

"So I'm guessing I'm forgiven then?" Nikita's questioning look gave Michael satisfaction, he obviously had the ability to make her forget things.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing." His sing song voice was music to her ears. But just then she remembered the moments before they ended up in each other's arms.

"WAIT A SECOND…" Michael knew that he was about to get a little lecture so to stop it, he crushed his lips once more against hers. But she broke away.

"I'm mad at you Michael! "

"No you're not."

"yes I am… hmph I'm going to go find Birkhoff now."

"Nikita….." his voice was serious now, and Nikita couldn't help but let out a little laugh. She turned, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Michael I'm just kidding. You know I could never be mad at you."

Michael looked into the eyes of the only woman he could ever have feelings for. The twinkling of her eyes let him know that she felt the same way for him as well. He leaned down and kissed her head, then her nose, and slowly made his way to her lips.

He was about to kiss her when all of a sudden she turned, and was out of his arms in less than a second.

"Mmmmm… chocolate chip pancakes! My favorite" She laughed at the look on Michael's face. In a really playful tone, she said "doubt you made it though…. You've never been that good a cook."

"Nikita, come on now. You know you love my pancakes." He walked over and reached for her hands. Bringing them to his lips, he kissed it lightly and smiled. "I promise I will always be there when you wake up, always and forever."

The smile on Nikita's face reminded Michael of how much she means to him.

Sighing Nikita turned off the water and grabbed the towel, drying herself she pulled on her clothing. When she stepped out of the bathroom, the smell of chocolate chip pancakes filled the air. She walked down the stairs to see Michael making more pancakes. She smiled at the knowledge that even though they weren't necessarily together at the moment, their thoughts were still on the same wave length.

Just then Michael noticed Nikita leaning against the wall, watching him. He smiled.

"I know how much you love my pancakes, and I haven't made them in a while so I thought maybe we could eat like old times. Is that okay with you?"

She smiled, secretly pleased, wanting to stay in the moment forever she walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, I would love to have breakfast with you."