In the house everybody had their own role, and Charlie was the person that kept the family together. A true mama bear. Briggs might have been the leader and Graceland his castle, but she was the glue that kept those four walls together. It was no surprise they all turned to her when they needed advice or somebody to talk to.
Mike was out on the porch, looking out at the ocean. He was so deep in thoughts that he didn't hear the french doors behind him. Smiling, Charlie walked up to him and greeted him with a silent nod. From the moment he walked into Graceland, she knew Mike was nothing like them. He was different. At first she wasn't even sure he would make it to the end of the month without getting shot, or even worse, killed. They even made bets, on Johnny's suggestion. But then he showed his true colors, and he earned a special place in her heart little by little.
Charlie put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and breathed into the night air.
"Yo, still hot?"
Mike glanced at her and smiled tightly, going back to stare at the moon. Shrugging, he licked his lips.
"Not really. Kind of cooled down, actually."
"Yeah. I can see that." She paused, testing the waters. Now that he had his guard down, she could use this moment of peace and push him to spill the deeds. "...everybody can."
Mike watched her blankly, but she could read it in his eyes. He knew what she was talking about. She grinned, going back to stare ahead of her. He did the same.
"That obvious, uh?"
"Uh huh. About time," Charlie shrugged. "We all saw that coming. Glad to know you finally stepped up, Mikey."
Mike let out a faint chuckle, looking down at his feet, and put his hands into his pockets. He knew this day would come, but he didn't think it would be this easy to talk about it with somebody in the house. He should have known Charlie would be best to talk to first.
"I mean, man... you were completely out of control there! And all she had to do was touch you?"
Mike shrugged, biting the inside of his cheek.
"She can have that effect on me." Mike sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds.
Charlie stared at him. This time, it wasn't a brief, she actually took her time to get a good look at him. The young rookie she knew changed into a complex man, but somehow he still managed to look innocent. Maybe it was the spark of hope and goodness in his eyes, or maybe the way his feelings would show no matter how hard he tried to mask them.
"D'you tell her?"
Mike looked at her, confused. Charlie blinked at him and titled her head to the side, shrugging him off, to point out the obvious.
"You have it written on your face, Mikey."
Mike's lips pressed together into a thin line, as he breathed through his nose and nodded. His eyes fixed on the horizon, realizing just how right Charlie was. From the first time he saw her, Paige always had a special place in his heart. Knowing the rules, he tried to push aside those mixed feelings he felt for her. First by building some sort of ruinous relationship with Abby, then by getting on the first plane to go to DC. The best thing to do. The right thing to do. As she kindly reminded him before he left.
Thinking back to where they were the year before, Mike wasn't sure he would have been able to keep everything inside if he hadn't left. At least now, he had time to think thoroughly about it, and realize it wasn't just an infatuation. That somewhere on the run his crush matured into love.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Chuck."
Charlie frowned, turning around and leaning back on the railing to look at him. "Why's that?"
"I, she... It's complicated." Mike sighed. "I'm not even sure she wants this to begin with."
It took an entire moment of silence to let those words sink in and actually make sense into her mind. Charlie was about to laugh at him, but then she realised that he was away for months. That he didn't speak to any of them, except Paul, for months. That he didn't t known anything at all about what was going in their lives at Graceland, for months.
Pursuing her lips, Charlie chuckled softly and pushed herself off the railing, getting close to him.
"There's not been anybody since you left." Mike looked down at her, not seeing her point. "You know, I've never seen her crying like that before."
When Charlie took a step back, she was finally able to meet Mike's gaze and much to her delight, there was realisation into his eyes. She winked at him and moved to go back inside, patting his cheek. "Go get her, tiger."
Charlie heard him chuckle behind as she went back inside. Before she could close the French door, he called her name. Mike was looking at her with such affection, she wondered how long ago it was since somebody comforted him other than Paige.
Mike stood by the side of the door. Paige was sitting at her desk, so concentrated on what she was doing that when he decided to make himself known and knocked on the door jamb, she jumped slightly and turned around in surprise.
"Can I come in?"
Paige gave him a small smile and got up, titling her side and resting a hand on her hip. She looked so spontaneous, so captivating. So beautiful. Charlie's words opened his eyes to the point that he now saw her under a different light. All his doubts and insecurities were gone. It was now or never.
"That depends. Are you going to go all Hulk on me?" She joked, malice flashing through her eyes.
Mike lowered his head and chuckled, putting his hands into his pockets and walking up to her.
"About that..." he circled her and she followed him, turning around slightly.
They stood face to face and he took one of his hands out to slowly and gently took one of her hands in his. Looking at her hand, he rubbed his thumb in circles over her wrist and smiled to himself. When he looked up, Paige felt the air being sucked out of her lungs and her mouth went dry.
His stare was strong, full of passion, full of emotions she was starting to feel too. Emotions she never knew existed until he came into her life, like a storm.
"...thank you."
None of them seemed able to break their stare. Everything around them vanished. They were back into their bubble, where nothing else mattered but them.
"I believe I owe you a long talk. And an apology." Mike said, firmly, letting go of her hand and taking a step back.
He couldn't touch her, he couldn't be that close to her, or he wouldn't be able to talk. He would get lost into her and he couldn't. What he needed to do was make sure they both knew where they stood at this point of their relationship.
"Mike," Paige whispered.
"No." He knew what she was going to say, but he was tired of waiting. They had had enough time. "I'm sorry, Paige. I was an ass to you, when you're just so.. You had no reason to be there for me before, but you were. You were, and I- Jeeze, I..."
Mike took a deep breath and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. This was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He wanted to slap himself. His mind was always so focused and on high alert, and now he was struggling to string a bunch of words together.
"Mike..." Paige touched his arm and tried to pull him close, but he jumped back, shaking his head.
"Just, let me finish. What I'm trying to say is, I've been an idiot. Completely out of line."
Feeling confident, Mike touched her hip and pulled her against his chest. His right hand came up to fondle her cheek and he stared profoundly into the green of her eyes, before touching their noses together and letting his forehead rest on hers.
Paige closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. One hand laying on his chest, she felt the incessant beating of his heart under her palm.
"Your heart's speed racing, Mike." She murmured with a smile.
Mike nodded, swallowing nervously. "I let our job get in the way and forgot what was important."
The room felt so incredibly smaller. Trying to build up the courage to voice his feelings, his last words lingered in the air for a few seconds before he managed to say the words.
"You, Paige. It's you. It's always been you and always will be."
Mike didn't wait for her reaction, too afraid of what that would be. He grabbed her chin and pulled her face up for a kiss, trying to pour out all the feelings he kept inside for so long. He knew Paige better than anybody else in the house. Feelings and emotions weren't her thing. They were optional, mostly collateral damage to her job, which meant her entire life.
Too busy in trying to make that kiss special and unforgettable, he slowly lost control of the situation when Paige started sensually kissing him back. Deepening the kiss, he took his time, nibbling on her lips, bruising them, feeling the soft touch of her pink tongue against his, running his fingers on the side of her face and forcing back a smile.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathless, they looked at one another sheepishly.
"Sorr-", they both said at the same time.
Mike chuckled, taking a step back, and Paige looked down, hiding her smile. "I- I kinda got carried away, you kno- the... heat of the moment," he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Paige watched him stumble on his own words and bit her lip. The sudden, forcefully sexy Mike of just moments before was gone, and his adorable version was back. She smiled, pulling at his sweatpants and reaching up to kiss him softly on the lips.
"I didn't mind." She whispered against his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss.
She pushed him slowly towards her bed, when he suddenly caught her arms and detached his lips from hers.
"Wait, " Mike breathed out. She looked at him, confused. "As much as I want to do this. And oh God, believe me, I do. I so do..." He gave her body an appreciative look, before fixing his eyes into hers to avoid distractions. "After everything that's happened tonight, I don't think it would be as good as it should be now that we... well..." he trailed off, nodding slightly to make his point.
"You're just so adorable, you can't even say it!" Paige exclaimed, pinching his cheeks.
The FBI agent rolled his eyes, sneaking his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He hid his face into her neck and breathed into her scent, relaxing.
Paige circled his waist with one arm, her other hand cupping the back of his neck. He hummed against her shoulder, leaving a soft kiss there. She had to admit, this felt quite good. She always thought those vanilla, hyper sugary couple were boring, that sex wouldn't be great if you were constantly joined to the hip. Where was the excitement in that? There was no sense of adventure. Whereas, the thrill of hooking up was definitely something to go for. There was always something unexpected about that kind of sex.
But now, in Mike's arms, she knew.
It wasn't about the sex, it wasn't about the thrill of adventure.
It was all about the right person.