And then we came to the end woooo. I really hope you've all enjoyed this story! I loved writing it. Reviews are mucho appreciated.
"Sorry." Walter smiled. "Do you want to dance?"
He loved having her in his arms like this. Neither of them had slept much for days, but Walter didn't feel the exhaustion when he was close to Paige. He wasn't really aware of anything but her, the scent of her perfume, the warmth of her hands, the way her hair curled over her exposed shoulders.
"You look beautiful." Walter was surprised how easily it rolled off his tongue. He supposed it was just a fact, now, and facts were easy for him.
Paige's cheeks tinged pink. He hoped he wasn't making her uncomfortable, but he enjoyed knowing that he could fluster her, even if it was only a fraction of what she did to him. "You've seen this dress before."
His fingers flexed involuntarily around hers. Even without perfect recall, he knew he would never forget her reaction to his touch when she tried it on. "It looks different tonight," he murmured, not entirely sure what that meant. Everything was different since they'd started this. "You excelled. With the wedding. It was a success, despite the setbacks."
The liaison's lips curved up. "It wouldn't be a Scorpion function if things went smoothly." Walter frowned. He couldn't tell if she was poking fun at him. "Thank you, but it wasn't just me. The whole team came through. I'd say you did your fair share in making tonight happen."
"Well, you did steal some of your speech from me." A joke. She would be pleased at that. "But it wasn't Happy and Toby that made me believe love was real."
Not a joke. Paige's smile dropped instantly and the genius was fairly certain they had stopped moving, though neither of them broke away. "Walter…" Her voice was different. He'd said something wrong. He turned those last thirteen words over in his head, analyzing them, before she interrupted his thoughts. "I've been trying to talk to you for days. I know that you know. About space."
Oh.
He'd been dropping hints, of course, but if Paige had picked up on them, she did a superlative job of hiding it. Walter realized now, though, how anxiously she attempted to get his attention after the bachelorette party. This was a recent development.
Paige bit the inside of her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Walter suddenly felt itchy in his tuxedo. They stuck out far too much, standing awkwardly still like this. Someone would notice. He began to move again, grateful when Paige followed his lead. "I knew it would strain things between us," he admitted finally, blowing out a breath. "And I didn't want that. Not when I'd just gotten you back." Her brow arched and Walter cringed at his choice of expression. "A-As a friend."
"I'm sorry, Walter." She shook her head, her eyes falling closed for a second. "I'm sorry I kept it from you. I'm sorry that I…" Paige trailed off, blinking the way she did when she was holding back tears. He really hoped she wouldn't cry. He loathed seeing her cry. "I can't even imagine what you must be feeling right now."
Walter cleared his throat. He'd had months to sort out his reaction. But it didn't mean he would be any better at explaining it to her. "Uh…a-a lot of things. But I'm not…I'm not angry, Paige."
"You should be," she rebutted so quickly that he wondered if she'd known what he was going to say. "I would be angry if you told me you loved me and then dated someone else. I was angry when you dated Linda and you didn't even believe in love then."
"This was different." He pressed his lips together. "I understand why you chose Tim. He was—."
"Stop. Please don't do that." Paige's hand dropped from his shoulder and landed on his chest, pushing on it lightly, not enough to separate them but enough to add emphasis to her verbal commands. He complied and let the rest of the sentence die out. "I didn't stay with Tim because he was better, or more normal, or anything that you're thinking. I was…" Her voice cracked slightly. "I was scared, Walter. Things kept failing between us before they even started and it hurt then, even though I knew that you didn't believe in love and it was my stupid decision to fall for you anyway. Imagine how much it would hurt if you did love me and it still didn't work. I wasn't ready to take that chance again." He could feel her shaking under his hands and curled his fingers into her back, hoping it might reassure her that he wasn't going to disappear. He knew what it was like to be scared. If he'd confronted his fear earlier, perhaps they could have avoided all this. "I'm so sorry, Walter. I know I should have been honest with you. At least if you were yelling at me, I could…I would know where to start fixing this."
The genius stepped closer, listening to her uneven breathing, trying to gather his thoughts. He knew they would be forced to have this conversation eventually, but he wanted…if he was being honest, he'd just wanted time. Time to win her over, to be the person she needed. He hoped there had been enough. "Knowing that you knew a-and you kept dating him…it hurt, Paige. Of course it hurt." Walter swallowed. "But it's not nearly as bad as when I think about…about losing this. B-Being with you and Ralph all the time. Being together. I don't want that to be over." He squeezed her hand again. It was like an anchor to him. "Please tell me what I can do so this won't be over."
The first song had ended. He'd barely noticed. This one was still slow, though, and Walter was thankful because he wasn't sure he could let go of Paige even if the circumstances necessitated it.
She leaned back, studying him, even though she knew he was telling the truth. He hadn't always been honest with her, but he'd never lied about having feelings, only about not having them. "I don't want it to be over either," Paige said quietly, the words catching in her throat. "The past few months have been…I've been so happy. So has Ralph. And I hate that I'm ruining everything now."
"You're not." Walter didn't know what else he could say to make her understand that he wasn't upset. That knowing she was happy with him too, that she wanted more of whatever they had, was enough for him. "I-It's okay. I don't…I don't care what happened in space. I don't even care if you didn't mean it. I d-don't want the past to ruin the present."
"But I did mean it, Walter." Her eyes were glassy and Paige lifted the heel of her hand to clear them, careful not to smudge her mascara any more than she'd already done. "I wish I didn't. Because then I could tell you that I panicked and said what I thought you needed to hear, and you could forgive me for that. B-But I could have said something else. Anything else." Her bottom lip trembled and she exhaled unsteadily. "I said it because if I failed, and you didn't come back, I wanted that to be the last thing you heard. The truth. A fact. I told myself that it wasn't, but I loved you before that and I love you now, so it's logically impossible that I didn't love you then."
Later, Walter would question her application of logic to the situation, but that would have to wait. He couldn't be there anymore, not in that room, in front of all those people. Not for what he needed to do. "Come with me."
The liaison blinked in confusion, pulling back instinctively. "What?"
"Please, Paige." He tugged on her hand, feeling her acquiesce and fall in step behind him. Walter glanced around to check on Ralph, satisfied when he saw the young genius dancing with Cabe and Allie. He knew Paige had done the same. They edged around the crowd and through the back entrance that he and Ralph had explored earlier.
The sound of waves crashing against the rocky cliffs was loud, much louder than he remembered from only a few hours earlier. Maybe it was amplified by the pounding in his ears. Paige had remarked that the scenery was romantic, when they arrived that morning, but that wasn't why he chose to bring her there.
"Walter?" She dropped his hand and ran hers over her face. "I knew you would be upset. Go ahead. Say whatever you need to—."
He kissed her, hard, his right arm circling her waist and his left resting just below her ribcage, the contact almost chaste. If he thought he was being forward on the ladder, then this was certainly a risk, but she loved him and part of him thought he might snap if he didn't touch her.
The genius released her abruptly before she could react, searching her eyes for a reaction in the dim outdoor light. Paige knew—she always knew—that he needed confirmation, needed her to make the second move, and there was barely a pause before she pressed her body against his, a moan escaping her throat as she recaptured his lips. Her hands tangled in his hair, fingers curling, as his settled on her upper and lower back.
Her tongue, god her tongue, it was magic as it stroked his, and Walter pulled her closer, his desperation for her overwhelming. He could have done this days weeks months years ago, he chastised himself, could have felt all of this if he'd opened himself up to it the first time they kissed, but that didn't matter, because she was here now, her breath hot on his skin when they broke for air. "Oh my god," she panted as she dropped her head into the crook of his neck. "Walter."
He kept his arms around her, suddenly unsure of himself now that his moment of impulse had passed. But this felt good. He hoped it felt good for her too. "I…I didn't really have a plan beyond that."
Paige laughed breathlessly and straightened up, her arms sliding around his neck so she could meet his eyes. "How about…" Her thumb brushed over his temple as she smiled at him affectionately. Walter wondered if she was surprised that he wasn't pulling away, making excuses, or if she knew that this time was different. Knew he was ready. "We dance until everyone leaves. See our friends off and help clean up. Say goodnight to Ralph before he leaves with Sly." She pressed their foreheads together, her sigh sending a shudder through him. "And then you come home with me."
He pressed his fingers into her waist, the suggestion and the tone of her voice making him lightheaded. Fortunately, he didn't need access to his full IQ to formulate an answer. "I-I would like that."
"Walter?" He hummed in response, and Paige leaned forward, placing her lips to his ear. "If you want, you can take the dress off this time."