A/N: Oh lord it's been a month and I am so sorry, but I've been to Naples and Cumbria and renovated my house and honestly I am exhausted. But here we go.
Enjoy!
"Maverick?" His soft call echoed around his flat. "Here boy." There was a sleepy meow in response and Doug smiled into the darkness. It was late, and his body ached from being hunched over a desk. Bloody Crown Corps wanting a report had left him all but chained to his desk for an extra four hours after work, and right now he wanted nothing more than a cup of tea and bed.
Switching on his hallway lamp, he was startled to see a mass of blue hair asleep on his sofa. Another meow told him that Maverick, his tabby cat, was buried somewhere in that mass of blue hair.
This was a moment for Doug; he had come home from work late, and he hadn't expected to see Evie at his tonight. They were a casual thing, too afraid of committing to one another but more than satisfied with one another in the physical sense. They met up after their respective work days, spent dirty weekends with one another, and were often found in the back of her car in the middle of nowhere. Hey, they both had flats, but she had a roommate and well his family members were prone to turning up at any given time, with no warning. After last time when she spent three hours hiding in his bedroom, and a rush to hide in his wardrobe when a cousin came in to see the new design scheme, they had mutually agreed to use his place less.
What was Evie doing at his? Why was she asleep on his sofa? Did she have an argument with Carlos, but Doug found it hard to believe that a) she would have a row with Carlos, and b) that she would choose his as her hideaway.
Padding closer to his friend, he saw she made a little nest out of the blankets that had sat on the back of the couch, he spied her standard knee length coat resting over the back instead. Her head was propped up on sofa cushions, and her neck looked cricked, and right in the middle of her arms was Maverick, purring happily at the sight of his primary feeding minion, and to be wrapped up in the warm embrace of his secondary feeding minion.
Debating what to do, Doug quickly decided that Evie could not spend the night on his sofa. Steeling himself, he shook her gently by the shoulder and smiled softly when she jumped awake.
"Wazzgoinon." She grunted, wiping hair away from her face, soothing Maverick when he mewed grumpily, and she looked surprised as she focused on Doug's face. "Ohhh… you came home later than I expected." She chewed her bottom lip and Doug laughed. The awkward tension was palpable and neither could look at one another in the face.
"Yeah, I had a project that needed finishing, I put in a few extra hours…"
"Yeah, I was expecting you to be home when I rocked up."
"How did you get in?"
"The spare key, you always tell me you tie it up in the rosebush out the front, I was freezing my ass off outside."
"Why?"
"Yeah see that's the funny part." She gave an awkward laugh and Doug's curiosity grew. "I was planning to surprise you. I thought the project deadline was last night… So I thought I would treat you tonight." She stood up, tugged the blanket away and Doug coughed back his surprise. No wonder she was cold, she had been wearing very little; a green body suit of lace and fine mesh, finished with stockings. It was amazing the power that Evie's body had over his, because despite his exhausting day at work, and the fact that he had been so mentally fatigued he had been ready to fall into bed, the sight of a semi-naked Evie had sent his blood rocketing south.
"Oh."
"Mmm yup." She wrapped herself back up again. "But now, it's much later than I realised, I didn't think my week had been so exhausting and you're as tired as I am…"
"Mmm I'm sure I can change that."
"Don't lie to me." She laughed, pulling the blanket closer. "I can see the tiredness written across your face, and the bags under your eyes are bigger than mine."
"But… you went to so much effort." He pouted, pulling her closer.
"I can make the same effort another time Dougal." She laughed, allowing herself to be wrapped in his embrace.
"Are you sure I can't change your mind tonight?" He said, despite stifling back another yawn.
"I am definitely sure Doug." She laughed, and yawned as well. She kissed him lightly on the lips and stepped out of his arms. "Grab my coat for me, and I will be out of your hair." Evie smiled and Doug hesitated. "Oh hey are you going to Jay's party this weekend?" She slipped back into the friendship side of their relationship but Doug was still hesitating.
It was late and it was cold, and she was wearing very little, and he didn't necessarily want her to make that journey on her own.
"How did you get here?"
"Bus, car's in the shop at the moment." She finished zipping up her boots and smiled again. "It'll be fine, Carlos told me it was easily fixable and I know that the Merry Men won't rip me off."
"Stay the night." The words surprised them both and they stared at one another for a heartbeat too long. "I mean it E, it's bloody freezing outside, it's meant to snow any day now and I have enough space here for the pair of us to sleep, we can cab it back to yours tomorrow, but they'll charge too much now." He was gabbling, he knew he was gabbling but he was worried about her.
"You don't mind?" She was chewing her lip again and Doug smiled.
"I don't mind."
"Like are you really sure?"
"E, it's basically snowing outside, the absolute madness that you came round my place in a corset and a coat dazzles me. Please stay here, we can both sleep and I can get a good night of sleep, safe in the knowledge that you haven't died in the snow like some poor little match girl." Doug laughed as she giggled and then he snorted. "Now come on, let's find something for you to sleep in."
Evie spent the night on Doug's sofa, (who knew it was a pull-out?), wrapped up in blankets, with spare pillows from his bed, instead of awkward couch cushions, and in one of his t-shirts. She'd never felt so warm and safe, and just to make her even happier, Maverick had chosen to spend the night with her instead of Doug. Something Doug grumbled about and cast dirty glares at his impervious cat.
She had slumbered on when Doug woke early, had slept through him padding into the kitchen to make himself tea and toast. She had stayed in the arms of Morpheus when Maverick jumped out of the makeshift nest, demanding to be fed and she was still asleep when Doug leant against the doorframe, smiling at her.
He had spent a small part of the night thinking about Evie and what this evening had changed, if anything. He had settled on the contentment welling up inside of him; he couldn't help but feel pleased that Evie had remembered his deadline and had wanted to treat him for it as well. In fact, he was feeling pretty smug and more than a little aroused by her actions. Scritching Maverick behind the ear, he sat himself down in his armchair with a book, waiting for Evie to wake up.
