AN: I'm so sorry, I completely forgot to put in an author's note for the first chapter. But to answer the lovely Miami Blackheart, Tigerlily02, and sokiew 's questions, this is in fact not a one-shot. I have a couple of strange ideas bouncing around in my head and I'm going to try and flush them out here. Anyways, this doesn't exactly follow the show. It contains some elements that are relevant but I'm just writing in stuff as I go. Hopefully, it'll turn out better than I'm expecting it to. But please read and review! Tell me what you think! :)
Michael awoke the next morning to the disgustingly cheerful ring of his phone. He groaned and turned his head, burying it in the mounds of black silk draped haphazardly over his pillow. The slender arms looped around his neck tightened slightly and the warm body wrapped around his own shifted even closer. They both relaxed when the phone's buzzing slowly died away, leaving the room blissfully silent.
Michael sighed contentedly into Nikita's hair; breathing in an intoxicating scent that he knew was distinctly hers. Oh, this was wrong. Michael knew it. Having his own agent wrapped around him like a bow on a Christmas present certainly was not the best situation for him to be caught in. Yet he couldn't imagine a better situation that did not involve being in Nikita's arms.
The phone chirped again and Michael groaned petulantly into the pillow. Nikita sighed softly, her breath lightly caressing his cheek.
"You should probably get that, it could be important."
"No."
She frowned, one eyebrow slightly cocked. "Why?"
"It's cold out there."
Rolling her eyes, she poked him in the ribs. "You're the golden boy of the Ice King and Queen. You should be used to icy stares and the cold shoulder. Besides, you spend half of your time in Percy's icebox of an office."
Clambering over his chest and purposely kneeing him lightly in the stomach, she reached for the phone sitting on the table. Michael moaned and rolled over, grumbling into his pillow while massaging the newly forming bruise on his abdomen.
She smirked slightly, before pressing the answer button and lightly slapping it onto Michael's ear.
"This is Michael," he grumbled sullenly into the phone.
"Mikey?" A garbled, very familiar voice came through the earpiece and Michael's lips twitched slightly in annoyance.
"What do you want, Birkhoff?"
"Sorry to interrupt your little bedroom romp with Nikki, but—" Birkhoff was interrupted by the sound of someone choking over the phone.
"Excuse me?" Michael spluttered and sat up, causing Nikita to glance over, eyebrows slightly raised. She slipped out of the bed and proceeded to slip on a pair of leggings and a blank tank top. Michael swallowed when she tugged off her shirt, exposing her toned abdomen. He was snapped out of his sudden fantasizing by Birkhoff's voice babbling happily into the phone.
"Well, your trackers indicate that you two are in the same room, in the same bed. And judging by the hormones that usually erupt the moment you guys look at each other, it can only indicate that something happened last night. Oh, and the fact that you practically fell on your knees and begged Ole Daddy to let you ditch your precious recruits for two days and go to Russia. I wonder if Amanda bugged the room, God only knows how interesting that would have been…"
"Birkhoff, shut up, 'cause I honestly don't give a damn. Just get to the point," Michael growled and received a sharp smack on the shoulder and a disapproving look from Nikita. He knew that she disliked his less-than-stellar treatment of her Nerd.
"Okay, okay. The Dragon Mistress wants you and Nikki back at the home base. Pronto. Apparently something big came up."
"Amanda? Fine, then when should we leave?"
"Yesterday."
"Birkhoff," Michael snarled. "I swear, I'll—"
"Okay, okay. It's going to be on Aerosvit Airlines," Birkhoff paused, the sound of clicking keys filled the earpiece, "Flight leaves in under two hours. First class, Michael Berkeley and Nikita Clarke."
"Fine, we'll vacate the house in under one."
"A thank you would be nice," Birkhoff sing-songed.
"Uh-huh, flying pigs and Percy handing out yearly bonuses would be nice too," Michael replied back smartly, before tossing the phone onto the bed.
He heard Nikita rummaging in the bathroom and she appeared with her bag of toiletries and lobbed them neatly into her open suitcase. She flipped the lid of the case down with her foot and bent down to zip it shut. Finally meeting Michael's steady gaze, she hopped off the carpet and slid onto the bed next to him.
"We're leaving?"
He nodded, a small grin playing around his lips. "Yeah, we're headed home."
"Home," she repeated slowly, a wistful look in her eye.
"Home."
Michael gestured through the door, waving a thoroughly flabbergasted Nikita into the apartment.
"My home?" she tentatively asked, almost too afraid to think that this amazing place could be hers.
"Yes, it's all yours."
Her bright, wandering eyes were greeted by enormous panes of glass, showcasing the glimmering lights of the Manhattan skyline. She ran to the windows, pressing a hand tenderly against the cool glass and admiring the awe-inspiring view.
"It's beautiful."
Michael leaned casually against the kitchen's marble counter and smiled at her childish excitement. The sun lit her dark hair and illuminated her face, causing her eyes to sparkle even more dazzlingly. He was definitely inclined to agree with her statement.
"It certainly is. It really pays to be an agent, though the rent on this apartment may have caused some of Percy's grey hairs to become a tad whiter."
"Oh please, the man is loaded. Every time I'm in his office, he has a different Rolex on. They're like 'days of the week' watches."
Leaving Michael chuckling to himself, she walked slowly through the apartment, lightly brushing her hand against everything, trying to convince herself that this was all real. She took her time testing out everything, flopping onto the white leather couch and running her feet delicately over the shag carpet under her glass coffee table.
Sauntering into her bedroom, she tore open the closet door, barely containing her girlish squeal of excitement. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Michael, who was now propped against the bedroom door frame, a wry grin sitting on his lips.
"I am amazed to hear that kind of a sound coming out of your mouth."
"Not really, I am a girl. Girls like clothes."
"And Amanda enjoys spoiling you a bit too much."
She nodded, still a bit mesmerized by the vastly expensive collection of clothing that Amanda had managed to stuff into a relatively small space. Michael moved next to her and pointed at three wooden drawers that had been installed inside the closet.
"Another surprise?" she asked, eyebrows slightly quirked.
"Division protocol for all our agents," he replied, a smirk forming on his lips. "You'll see."
Pulling open a drawer, she found a metal tray of tiny pistols, each sparkling in its steel casing. Another drawer contained several hunting knives, the dark black steel of each blade contrasting the warm walnut drawer it sat in. He reached forward and plucked one out of its thick foam casing.
"They're manufactured by Division and even above military standard. You could break bones with the blade and perform surgery with it. If anyone surprises you in your apartment, use this."
He waved it in front of her nose, before sliding it back into place.
She grinned. "I hope you show up unannounced one day. That would certainly be interesting."
The last drawer's contents caused Nikita to slam it shut before Michael had a proper look. Bright red had erupted onto her cheeks and she suddenly looked slightly feverish. His questioning eyes fell towards a corner of the drawer, where a tiny scrap of lace was still slightly protruding.
"Oh," he said, the tips of his ears slowly turning pink. Although he was fairly certain that Amanda had a hand in this, he also knew that the last drawer was most definitely not part of Division protocol.
Clearing his throat, he grabbed Nikita's hand and towed her away from her closet. He stopped at her front door and dropped her hand rather awkwardly, before retrieving a zipped leather case. Setting it onto the counter, he opened the cover to reveal a thick manila envelope.
"ID pack. Contains everything that you'll need. Passport, driver's license, credit cards. Monthly allowance is set at ten thousand. Anything higher than that will have to be cleared by one of Amanda's boys."
He turned to leave and pulled the door open, walking through.
After spending nearly a year under Michael's watchful and often affectionate gaze, Nikita suddenly felt a drowning loneliness and a rising urge to stop him from leaving.
"Wait!" she called after him. "That's it?"
He turned and glanced at her incredulously, eyebrows slightly raised. "What do you mean 'that's it'? Were you expecting more?"
"No," she shook her head vehemently, "I meant…what am I supposed to do?"
"You can do whatever you want. Just wait for a call from us."
With a final reassuring smile, he continued walking down the long hallway to the set of elevators waiting for him. Nikita remained rooted to the ground, shock still slightly coloring her features. She looked around the apartment and suddenly realized how huge and completely empty her home was. A surging abandoned feeling clawed up her chest and she quickly turned to gaze back out her front door at Michael's retreating back. Realizing that he was already at the elevator, she raced after him, her bare feet slapping lightly against the oak floors.
The elevator door slid open smoothly and she saw Michael turn back for one last look. His eyes widened as he saw Nikita sprinting rapidly towards him, hair flying back. She skidded to a hasty stop a foot away, nearly bowling him over. His hands automatically shot out protectively to stop her from toppling them both over.
She threw her arms around his neck, her gasping breath coming out in pants. The hands that were gripping her waist automatically slid to her back. They stood there in the elevator together, caught in a lovers' embrace.
Gradually pulling back, though his hands loathed letting her go, Michael's eyes finally met hers. He was rather startled to see the raging emotions behind her eyes. He opted for humor to dissolve the tension that erupted from their sudden proximity to each other.
"What? Find a spider in the bathroom?"
She laughed uneasily and cleared her throat, staring down awkwardly at the floor and her bare feet.
"Michael, I just wanted to say… that…uh…"
He grinned to himself, silently laughing at the fact that this was the first time Nikita had ever been at a loss for words. Leaning forward so that their noses were almost touching, he stroked her palm tenderly.
"Just what?"
She took a deep breath.
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
He looked over towards her and was startled at the sudden sadness behind her large doe eyes. She was staring out the window and absentmindedly toying with a stray lock of hair. He yearned to lean forward and tuck that strand behind her ear.
"For last night. For staying with me." She took a deep breath and began playing with her fingers uncomfortably. "I know that it's stupid and—"
He shook his head immediately and seated himself next to her. "No, I understand. The nightmares. I used to get them too."
He reached forward and gently took her hand. "It'll pass eventually. I promise."
She clasped his fingers, taking her other hand and lightly squeezing his. A genuine, sweet smile lit up her face and she leaned into him. A protective urge surged through him, and he slowly unraveled their hands and draped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her to his chest. Snuggling closer to him, she laid her head tenderly against his neck. Folding an arm around his stomach, she smiled against his collarbone.
"Thank you."
AN: They're going back 'home'! I wonder what awaits them there? Tell me what you think and give me some ideas if you have any! Thank you for reading!