Set after 4x04 "Pay-Off". Mikita make-up, reunion, and holy shit we survived sex. The lyrics belong to Digital Daggers' Still Here.

Every night I dream you're still here

With all I hold dear

Nikita woke up, afraid. She wasn't sure where she was. She wasn't sure if the team was safe and secure. She was on a couch, however. And Ryan and Birkhoff were watching her with concern. Before she could spiral, they helped her sit up and breathe. Yet it wasn't what she needed. All she could remember was capturing Jones and leaving Amanda to die in the building. If her scrapes and bruises were anything to go by, then the latter really was true. Amanda died in that missile strike. They had ended shop and had saved all those people. The war was over, right. It had to have been all over. Please, God, let it be all over, "Is it over?"

Reaching for her, Michael clung tightly to her waist. His green eyes appeared strained and full of tears. Nikita thought for half a second that he had been crying. But then he responded to her question with a smile- a real, genuine smile she hadn't seen in so long. It was over. The war was over. They won. Overwhelmed with relief and joy, she wrapped him in a powerful embrace. She didn't care for their injuries; they had sustained worse after all. All she wanted was to hold onto him and never let go. He hugged her back, his grip even stronger than before. Nothing could break them apart.

Though, there was a thought in the back of her mind that made her pause. After everything the team had been through, the ending of the war seemed simple. Of course it wasn't easy. But it just didn't seem right. Nikita immediately shoved those thoughts away. It was probably just her anxiety not willing to settle down. But it was okay. Everything was alright. It had to have been. With Michael in her arms and her team all safe, how could things be terrible. They were finally going to get their happily ever after. She could live free.

The awkward position on the couch made Nikita pull away from the embrace. Yet she didn't pull away from Michael. Her arms remained locked around his neck, and his hands stayed glued to her waist. Resting her forehead against his, she simply breathed him in. That was the closest they had been since she departed from the team. They hadn't touched one another or breathed the same air since he had pulled her out of the air duct. That was all her fault. She had made so many mistakes, and she was dying to atone for them. Fortunately, she had all the time in the world from that point forward.

He nudged her nose with his and her heart nearly stopped beating. Whether he was conscious of it or not, Michael always did that before he kissed her. Nikita couldn't breathe when his lips finally touched hers. She had to take a moment before she was kissing him back. She never forgot how it felt to kiss him. But after so many months apart, she sorely missed the sensation. Kissing him again sent her heart soaring in an entirely different matter. Yes the war was over, yet that didn't seem as important anymore. She was in his arms and they were kissing. The universe felt right once more. She wasn't scrambling around, lost and confused. She was finally home.

Fighting to hold on

Clinging to just one more day

Ryan and Birkhoff disappeared while they kissed. They probably should've been a bit more aware of their teammates' presence, especially since Ryan was on the couch with them. But Michael and Nikita were consumed by each other. They were so close and so overcome with emotion that the world faded away. The two were trying to make up for lost time as well as celebrate their victory. Finality filled their embrace and affection. They could cling to each other without the fear of separation. What was there to even keep them apart anymore. All their enemies were dead and gone. It was just them.

Eventually, they had to break their kiss. They could claim it was to catch their breath. However, Birkhoff's cough caught their attention. He told the two (well, mostly Nikita because she had been unconscious until then) about the Marine base they were held in. The team would be debriefed over everything in the morning. For the meantime, they could rest- in their own house. Michael chuckled at the nerd's emphasis on the last point. After overcrowded safehouses and never any real privacy for years, it was a relief to have a place to call their own. Even if they were being held on a military base, they at least didn't have to share a space again. Their freedom already had a significant perk.

Birkhoff and Ryan soon left the couple alone. Nikita remained on the couch, however, unsure of what to do next. She was still fairly confused about the course of events, her mind still trying to catch up to consciousness. Michael gladly filled in the blanks, helping her to her feet and leading her upstairs. Before they could do anything else, they had to scrub off the filth from the missile and clean their wounds. She didn't want to leave him, though. It was only a shower, yet she couldn't bear to be out of his arms. Although he had planned to wash up after her- give her time to adjust and heal- he couldn't leave her side either. They had made their way back to one another. Why would they let a little thing like a shower ruin that.

They worked together to remove grime and clean wounds. The two would've been lying to themselves if they said it wasn't awkward at first. Nikita and Michael hadn't been on the same page in months. To immediately jump back into how things were between them caused them to stumble. Who were they to even kid themselves that they claimed they were back to normal, though. Things had changed. Yet it didn't have to be for the worst. They could adjust and move forward as one. The couple had done so before. And if they had already kissed and were able to stand naked in front of the other, then they could do so once more.

A slight gasp had escaped both of them at the sight of each other bare, but they shook it off. Focused on only getting clean, they fought the blush that crept along their cheeks. They were grown adults, who had seen each other naked before; they shouldn't have felt so flustered. Yet their hearts were beating hard, and their breath was short. If it weren't for the need to scrub the dirt from their open wounds, there was no doubt the hot spray of the water wouldn't be the only steamy thing in the shower. Ensuring they didn't get an infection took precedent, however. As did the burning need to talk.

I'd die to be where you are

I tried to be where you are

Just because they had won the war didn't mean things were automatically fixed. The debrief with the Marines was proof enough of that. The team also had to bring Alex and Sam back into the fold; the two were off still trying to shake the CIA and the Shop. But the threat was over. They could all come home, free. Free from their enemies, at least. Who knew what was going to happen with the Marines. And who knew what would happen between them all. There was hope for the latter, though. They were all a team no matter what. They had experienced happiness and heartache together; they had survived everything with each other. They could live the rest of their lives with the family they had built around them.

That didn't stop at Michael and Nikita. The couple simply had to talk- really talk. Missions or their team couldn't disrupt them. They could say what they were thinking and feeling without hesitation. Once out of the shower, the two only dressed in their underwear. Their clothes had been destroyed by dirt, debris, and blood. No doubt the Marines had given them new clothes, but they'd rather save that for the morning. They could rest for the night in what they had. It wasn't that important, anyway. As long as they could hold each other and talk, they were alright.

Tears bit her brown eyes before a single word could escape, however. Her chin trembled, and a wall she hadn't even noticed she had built came tumbling down. Nikita was so sorry. She was so sorry for everything she had done- everything she had put him through. Instantly, Michael wrapped her in another embrace. He whispered forgiveness against her temple, emphasizing his words with gentle kisses. She only held onto him tighter. At some point, she thought she heard him crying and muttering his own apologies. Yet all she did was shake her head. The couple burrowed into one another, squeezing as tightly as their tired arms would allow.

All of those emotions from the past few months fried their senses. There was so much hurt, joy, pain, and relief, they weren't certain what to do. The two could cry over what had happened- what they had lost and gained. They could also run soothing hands over their war-battered bodies. Watery whispered words were expressed between them, pressed into temples and necks. Michael's hand came up to cradle Nikita's head, and she cinched her arms around his waist. The couple was a mess. But wasn't that how they were going to pull themselves back together.

She wanted to look him in the eyes. She wanted her sincerity to be known. They weren't going to be able to talk with their emotions raging the way they were. They had to calm down. Yet their holds and their gazes were enough for the moment. He returned her intense eye contact, pulling her ever so closer to him. Nikita and Michael were going to work towards better things together. It wasn't all lost between them. They just had to push past their stubbornness and actually sit down long enough to discuss things. And in that moment, the couple just had to be. They could let it all overcome them, and not be so afraid of their feelings.

Make me a promise that

Time won't erase us

Somehow, they both initiated the kiss. The affection was the same as before- a mixture of desperation and total adoration- but their hands were much greedier. There was no one else in the room with them. Michael and Nikita were completely alone. Their hands could caress and roam, while trying to tug the other in even closer. Their hearts didn't care that their bodies couldn't be any closer than they were. The two simply had to feel like they once had. Months of hurt and avoidance had to have been erased. Besides, the past couldn't have control over them anymore. They had a brilliant present and future. They were going to enjoy every second of it.

Walking back towards the bed, she yanked him after her. Their kiss never broke. In fact, it grew in intensity. Passion enveloped them, moans and gasps filling their breaths. Although their tears hadn't dried and their injuries hadn't healed, they were kissing each other like an uncontrolled flame. Desperation and adoration had been replaced by longing and need. The cycle of losing one another, then finding them, then almost losing forever, then saving each other had eaten away at Nikita and Michael. It was time for all of that to end. They had to just have each other. No more death or torture could tear them apart. It had to be them forever. They had to know that above all else.

Whether he shoved her onto the mattress or she yanked him fiercely down, wasn't their concern. Their underwear had to be removed so their hands and lips could explore every inch of their skin. As her hands were digging into his muscled back, his lips traveled along her neck and collarbone. She grabbed at his ass, and frantically tore at his boxers. Losing balance, Michael fell against her. Nikita used that to her advantage by wrapping a leg around his hip and flipping them. She ground down, both moaning and gasping. Her bra was quickly removed. Their hips moved feverishly against one another; their wet hair plastered to their heated skin. Thorough kisses wiped everything else away. The two only cared about each other.

Urgency and need slowed for a moment as they rocked to their sides. Kisses were gentler while the couple removed the rest of their underwear and entwined their limbs. Tender hands caressed breasts and between legs. Their breaths were hot and panted, soft moans escaping through kisses. Michael and Nikita could blame their time apart for how quickly they had riled each other up. Yet they knew that was just the effect they had on one another. They were powerless to resist the pull to kiss and touch. It could've simply been their attraction and want. But they knew it was more than that. Love filled the couple's every ounce of being. They had to be together in every sense of the word.

It soon became too much for the two. The heated touches and kisses, and their burning need to connect after all they had been through, overwhelmed them. Slowly, he slid inside her. She set a gentle rhythm, hips rolling sensually against him. Michael brushed her wild hair out of her face, and kissed her tenderly. Playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck, Nikita echoed the intense tenderness. Their hips managed to keep the steady, slow thrusts despite their growing moans. Hearts were racing and soaring and flying, but they were grounding each other with soft lips and hands. Their love needed to be expressed over everything else. Passionate rolling on the mattress, a discussion about the last few months, and their plans of what to do next could all come later. They just needed each other's hearts. And as they reached their pleasurable high, those three holy words were passed between parted lips, "I love you."

We were not lost from the start