The operation in Reading went fine. The HS was happy. Section D had been well-prepared, thanks in particular to the reports that Ruth had culled from the various parts of the Foreign Office in order to assist. Incredible how she managed to come back and be the most useful person to Harry's work when she wasn't even working for him anymore. She had that way about her, of course. She was quite miraculous.

And since the operation went as planned, there was nothing for Harry to do except wait for his team to submit their reports for him to review. Nothing that needed to be done on a Sunday, thankfully. And since it was Sunday, Harry could just enjoy the end of his weekend. His plan was to head home, unpack his suitcase and then go right over to see Ruth. After all, he had to pick up his dog. And perhaps Ruth might be keen to let him stay a while with her.

Their interaction in his office just before he left had been running in his head for three days. As he lay awake in that hotel in Reading, he wondered if he'd imagined the whole thing, if he'd go collect Ruthie and find Ruth just as cold towards him as before. But she had promised she would not change her mind. Though Harry might have imagined that, too. Could that happen? Could a person really want something so badly that delusion convinced them it was true? In this particular case, Harry hoped very much not.

It had been in his mind to perhaps call her or text her, just to have some kind of contact to make sure he wasn't losing his mind. But he couldn't let himself. He was on an operation and that was where his focus had to be. No matter how much his mind might wander in the quiet of the night, he needed to remain vigilant. And so he'd had to wait.

Harry drove back to his house and noticed how pleasant the weather was. Bright and sunny. Unusual for London, particularly this time of year. He wondered if that was a good omen or if perhaps it was the opposite, that the weather would mock him for his hubristic optimism where Ruth was concerned. He parked in the drive as always and walked up the front steps.

Curiously, the security system was disabled. Harry would have been put on heightened alert at that if he hadn't heard the tap of familiar paws on the hardwood floors and the tell-tale jingle of a collar.

Ruthie trotted down the hall to see what was going on, and when she saw Harry, she began leaping and spinning and wagging her stubby tail like mad. Really, she wiggled her entire body as she panted happily. Harry chuckled and gave her some affectionate pets. "Yes, sweet girl, I'm home, I'm home," he cooed.

He was about to ask her what she was doing there but it suddenly became quite clear. Behind the excitable dog was a beautiful big Himalayan cat, his blue eyes watching Harry as his tail flicked back and forth.

"Hello, Smock," Harry greeted politely. He moved Ruthie aside to go see the cat. He bent down to offer his hand for Smock to sniff. The cat immediately bumped his head against Harry's hand. Harry gave him a couple scratches behind the ears for that. "Does that mean Ruth's here?" he asked quietly. "Where is she, hmm?"

Harry stood up, embarrassed by how much effort those little actions cost him. Ruth tried to claim sixty wasn't over the hill, but Christ did Harry feel otherwise.

He wandered into the living room. Ruthie's bed was there with a smaller one for Smock beside it and a scratching post. The idea that Ruth had brought things for her cat to his house warmed him. Seemed a very good sign. But still no Ruth. So Harry went upstairs to see if she might be there. Come to think of it, he'd not seen her car in front of his house when he drove up. Though he did not know what car she drove. She may have parked up the road a bit and he wouldn't have known. Or maybe she wasn't here at all.

But he needn't have worried. Harry's bedroom door was closed, and he opened it curiously. "Ruth?" he called softly.

"Welcome home, Harry," she replied.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Ruth was in his room, alright. She was there, in his bed, sitting up with the sheet covering her loosely. And despite being covered, it was quite obvious that she was entirely naked beneath that sheet. "R-Ruth?" he sputtered.

She smiled brilliantly. "I hope you don't mind I made myself at home. I wanted to welcome you back properly. Ruthie had a nice time with Smock and me over at mine, and we all packed up to come over this morning after her walk. I wasn't sure what time you'd be in. I'm glad I timed it properly."

"How long have you been like this?" he asked. The idea that she'd been naked in his bed for a while was quite amusing.

"Oh only about twenty minutes. I only just got everything set up."

"Set up?"

"Well I wanted to be sure Smock was alright and would scratch at his post and not your furniture. I had to put all Ruthie's things away. And I put a note on the door of mine telling you I wasn't in. Did you go there first?"

"No, actually, I was going to unpack here first and then go see you. But this is much better."

"If you'd like to unpack, I can wait."

Harry laughed at that. It was incredible, this confident, playful Ruth. Only glimpses of this marvelous person had come through before. Neither of them had ever had much opportunity for this lightness before. But as they'd said on Thursday before he left, things were certainly different now.

Ruth sat where she was, watching Harry, seeing how happy he looked, reveling in the knowledge that he was here and so was she and, if she could be brave and trust him like she knew she wanted to, they had a very good chance of being like this always. Or very nearly always. She had a penchant for depression, Harry was apt to get grumpy. But surely they could cling together and be all the better for it, couldn't they? She certainly wanted to. She knew that without a doubt now. "Harry," she called to him softly.

"Yes, Ruth?"

She smiled, feeling herself blush slightly. After all, she was sitting naked in his bed. "Would you like to join me or should I find some clothes to put on and go home?"

"No, don't go anywhere," he said quickly.

Ruth laughed at the way his eyes went wide at the very thought of it. "Then please get undressed and join me," she said.

He stared at her, seeing her smile and look so happy. Her eyes were shining as she looked at him. It almost didn't seem real. Harry was quite stunned by all this. But he wanted it so very much. More than anything. And so he kicked off his shoes and threw off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt as quick as he could. Ruth just sat there and watched with a smile on her face.

Before Ruth knew it, Harry was stripped down to his trunks and climbing over the bed to her. He moved much quicker than she realized he could, and she laughed again in surprise. But she stopped laughing as he started to kiss her. He kissed her deeply, passionately. Ruth could hardly breathe.

Harry pulled back slightly to readjust and throw the covers off them. He stared in awe at her body revealed to him this way. From what he could recall, she'd not changed much at all in four years. "Lie back," he told her, his voice muffled as his kisses went back down her neck and swirled over her breasts and across her belly. He settled himself down between her legs, spread eagerly before him.

Ruth had no opportunity to say or do anything and before she even fully knew what was going on, she felt his mouth on her. His lips and tongue caressing her folds, lapping up the dripping wetness of her arousal, sucking hard on her. She was making noises over which she had absolutely no control. In the few times long ago that Harry had done this for her, she had never gotten quite used to how unhinged he left her with those skilled lips of his. Her hands flailed out, reaching onto whatever she could. One hand buried in Harry's sparse hair, guiding his mouth where she needed him. The other hand fisted in the fitted sheet over the mattress. She came apart against his mouth, shuddering and gasping and moaning for him.

He allowed her some reprieve when he kissed back up her body to her lips. She could taste herself on his tongue, something she found more erotic than she cared to admit. Ruth held him in her arms as tight as she could, wanting nothing more than to feel close to him.

Once she'd recovered sufficiently, Ruth reached down to push Harry's trunks off his hips. He shifted to pull them off as Ruth got her hand around his erection. She knew how impressive he was, and the years apart had obviously not changed that. It was familiar and made her shiver with arousal to feel him in her hand, hard and hot and heavy, and stroke the velvet soft skin of his cock.

It was Harry's turn to whimper uncontrollably now. He had to pull away from her before he came too soon. Being with her again after all this time was overwhelming in and of itself. He shifted to climb on top of her and rest in the cradle of her open thighs.

She liked the feel of him like this, the heat of his skin, the weight of his body and the hard muscles hiding beneath softer flesh of his age. "Harry," she begged, arching herself up to him.

He did not leave her waiting. He took himself in hand and slowly pushed inside her. She had to readjust her hips more than once to accommodate him, but she wanted very much to take him all in, to feel him stretch and fill her as much as possible. It had been quite a long time for her, but she knew what she was doing. She knew he knew what he was doing. By the time he was buried to the hilt inside of her, she could already feel her body fluttering around him, so close to the edge. Harry kissed her and began to move.

His pace was slow and steady, ensuring she felt every inch of him and he could reach as deep inside of her as possible. She had to pull away from his kiss so she could breathe. His pace began to quicken, and she rocked her body against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. His face was buried in her hair, and she could feel him moaning her name against her neck. When her orgasm crashed over her, her body twitched and pulsed with pleasure. Harry moved faster and chased her completion with his own with a bone-deep groan of satisfaction.

"God, I've missed you," she said, holding him tight against her still as their sweat-slick skin started to cool.

Harry pushed himself up, slipping out of her and looking down at her flushed and happy face. "I love you," he told her. "More than anything in this world, Ruth."

She reached up to trace the lines of that face she loved so well. "I love you, Harry."

It was music to his ears. More beautiful than anything he'd ever heard. But unfortunately, he was a man of sixty years old and quite worn out from having sex as an expression of deeply felt emotion rather than a mindless pleasure-seeking activity. He very much preferred it this way. But it meant he could keep himself suspended above her this way.

He rolled off her and Ruth shifted to give him space. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, pressing lazy kisses to her bare shoulder and the side of her neck. "Ruth…" Harry began, a note of seriousness in his voice.

Ruth recognized that tone. "Harry, if you ask me to marry you, I'm going to strangle you while you're naked in bed," she snapped, interrupting him.

He was too happy to be bothered by her words, though she was right, he had been about to propose to her again. He just pressed another kiss to her shoulder. "Alright," he murmured.

She sighed, rolling over to pull him into her arms. "Two months," she reasoned. "If we can figure out how to make it work and you're not completely sick of me in two months, ask me then."

Harry chuckled, pleased with her concession and wildly hopeful. "I shall mark my calendar."

"Oh don't do that!" she whined. "That is wholly unromantic. And I shall say no if I see any reminder set for you."

"But you'll say yes if I do it without a reminder?"

A small smirk appeared on her lips. "Ask me in two months and see," she said. And then she leaned in and kissed him again.

As they lay in bed, tangled up together as they were meant to be, the both of them knew already what Ruth's answer would be in two months' time. After all, they'd gotten this far. They'd find a way to work out all the rest.

THE END