A/N: During Arrow's crime spree in Grandview and Ned's on the case and super tense. Enjoy xx Mariah
Ned had been staring at the evidence for what seemed like hours. It was all there, neatly packed and displayed in the evidence room. Every little thing tagged and put into the system before it was backed way into labeled boxes.
There were eleven of them so far. One for each Arrow's victims. At least the ones who had come forward or they found. Some were corpses in the ground. Others were alive, and well, dealing with the aftermath.
Ned knew everything that was in those boxes. Mostly because he stared at the files every day, and was at every crime scene before the items were even put in evidence.
He hoped that coming down to the evidence room in the basement of the precinct would give him some insight. Some new ideas. He was missing something that would tie everything together and crack Arrow's alibi of going camping with his brother.
It wasn't there.
Ned groaned, tipping his head back and running his hands through his hair. "Fuck. I need a cigarette." He sighed.
"Smoking is bad for your health, Ned."
He cursed loudly and turned around at the source of the voice. His father-in-law.
"Does Katie know you started smoking again?" Jim asked.
"Damnit, Jim." He muttered, running his hand across his jaw. "The only thing that is bad for my health is you nearly giving me a heart attack. How'd you know I was even down here?"
"Josh told me you were down here," Jim shrugged, stepping down the last few steps and toward him by the evidence window. "I dropped by to see if you wanted to get something to eat. I'm working late and Katie happened to pick up the phone when I called the house and told me you were too."
"Yeah. This Arrow case is killing me. Eleven vics and counting," he eventually said, glancing over at Jim.
Jim Clancy looked at Ned, hands clasped behind his back. He's wearing his usual ensemble of charcoal gray slacks and a black button-up shirt that clung to the man's strong and lean stature, even for his age.
It looked good on him.
Ned enjoyed not being in full uniform after nearly five years on the force every once and awhile. Usually only on Fridays. He favored his handgun on his hip, where people could see it, along with his badge.
"So," his father-in-law clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Wanna go get a burger?"
"Why not?" He pressed a few buttons on the terminal to lock the evidence in front of him away again and started to walk with Jim up the steps to the main level. "Maybe I'll get some fresh ideas from the food."
It was nearly eleven when Ned finally punched out and left work. He could feel his eyes straining as he drove home on autopilot. It wasn't just his eyes. There was an aching tension in his shoulders, the small of his back, and even the joints of his knees.
He tapped his hand on the steering wheel to the beat of a random song on the radio. He pulled up into the driveway beside his wife's mini SUV and his ears were ringing from the complaints of his bitterly discontented coworkers about the Arrow case still not being closed.
Ned wished he could just block it out. Block them all out, and not have to think about work for once.
His house was dark, as the hour was late and he knew Katie had to work in the morning. He unlocked and locked the door, climbed the stairs and walked into their master bedroom.
He could see the figure of his wife in bed, snuggled under the blankets and fast asleep. The pull to just lay down next to her and wrap his arms around her was immense, but he knew he needed to shower try to clear his mind and clean himself up after a long day.
He blinked to stay away as he brushed his teeth after his shower, only wearing a towel.
Footsteps echoed quietly along the floor before the bathroom door opened. Katie stood there with her hair sticking up in some places and eyes narrowly opened, dressed in shorts and a tee as she smiled at him.
"Hey sweetheart," her voice cooed, tinged with concern. "You've been in here for a while. I heard you come in. Aren't you coming to bed?"
He turned around to face where she was gazing at him from the doorway.
"Sorry, I needed to shower after work." He said, spitting into the sink and tossing his toothbrush into the holder.
"I know," Katie moved through the room, light on her feet as always, before standing behind him. Her hands reached out and laid on his shoulders, massaging away the tension. "My dad said you got dinner with him.
Ned gave a deep, relieved sigh as he nodded. She always knew how to handle him. Always.
"It was nice to take a break from the craziness at work," he sighed.
"Yeah, you are so overworked because of this case that you can't even concentrate," she said firmly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
He leaned back into her, inhaling her soft scent of honey vanilla. "I just can't get it all out of my head," he groaned. "I don't want to think about it at home, but I can't get it out."
Katie gazed up at him, her dark eyes soft and warm. "Do you want me to make you some tea? Sometimes that helps me sleep." She laid her hand on his cheek, lightly tracing a rhythm with her fingertips.
He glanced into the mirror, meeting her eyes. "I think I need something stronger than that."
Katie licked her lips. "I know exactly what you mean. C'mon," she pulled on his hand. "Let's go to bed."
She pulled the windows down, and then quickly peeked out at the rest of the neighborhood before she closed the curtains. And they were alone together.
In the sanctity of their bedroom, it felt… comforting. Safe. Warm. No one could harm them or interrupt them, not usually. The limits in here were theirs, and theirs alone.
Tonight, Ned was tired. He crawled up on the bed, the mattress sinking comfortably beneath his limbs. He rolled onto his back with a sigh of gratitude and waited for her.
Katie not long after, climbing up on the mattress, sitting beside him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
"I'm happy you're home," she whispered against his lips.
Ned pressed his lower half into her, emphasizing what she did to him. "Me too," he chuckled as his hand was riding up her thighs. "I missed you."
She moaned and leaned back into her pillow. Katie was completely prone now, and she let him open her legs and position her.
"Mmm, I want you…" she said coyly.
"Oh, I'll give it to you." He gasped as he dipped his hand between her thighs, letting his fingertips frost over her, every once in a while pressing gently to hear her gasp. He took his other finger and teasingly rubbed all the way down her entrance.
Katie could barely contain her excitement. "Are you ready yet?"
"Mmm, yes, and almost too pretty to eat. Almost…" He groaned into her ear.
He went at her, gently at first, licking his tongue against her as her shoulders were pulled down. She loved looking down and seeing his head between her legs; the visual made her blush, then it made her hot. She started moaning.
"The juices from you… so perfect…" Ned went back at her, harder.
She felt that he had licked her clean, and now he was staring at her, only for a moment. He kissed and sucked, nibbled and swallowed and never had she felt so good in her life.
He took his time, gentle and hard, teasing endlessly. Oh, his tongue was a probe, knowing just how to get her off after years of practice. She let go, moaning and gushing...
He moved up on her, holding her. "Darling…. your pleasure is music to my ears. I'll never forget the first time I made you cry out like that." He stroked her face tenderly.
"Uh-huh… my parent's basement." She replied.
They giggled at the memory, of falling in love with each other. They kissed, and she tasted herself through his tongue. It was so sensual… she was getting excited again, and she knew he was hard.
He laid on his side of the bed. "Come here," he murmured, once he was under the covers too.
She slid toward him, reaching for him, and stroked her fingers down his cheek before claiming a slow kiss. Ned responded slowly, sliding his arm around her, drawing her closer until his body was pressed against hers. She ignored his erection. For now, for a little while, she just wanted to be close to him.
They kissed until they were both breathless, and he grasped her hips and pulled her on top of him. She straddled him, nuzzling against him, kissing his neck, stroking his shoulders and his sides.
"I love you so much," she whispered against his skin.
"I love you too, baby." She could hear the quiet strain in his voice, from not responding as he wanted.
She was too close to him, and he was very aroused. His large, warm palms rested against the small of her back. She brushed her lips against his, and then his tongue was in her mouth and his hand was sliding up her back and his fingers were combing through her hair.
He tensed under her again and relaxed after what had to be a massive act of will. He wanted her, but he would never rush her. She could say the word and all this would stop.
The temptation was too strong. She cupped his cheek, her tongue sliding against his, for a while longer. It was perfect.
She broke the kiss and nuzzled against him, planting soft kisses against his jaw. Her tongue traced the edge of his earlobe, "Ned." she breathed and felt him shiver.
She was playing with fire. Slowly she moved off him, onto her back beside him, and waited. The entire time, they hadn't undressed any further besides her shorts. Ned wore his boxers and Katie still wore her shirt, warmed by her skin, and panties that he'd pulled back on after giving her oral.
Ned rolled on top of her, one knee landing between her legs and pushing them apart. His hand slid under her shirt and she hummed as his palm moved against bare skin, then higher, until he was covering her breast.
He plucked at her nipple, his breath warm against her neck, and she screwed her eyes tight shut, her lips parted. He had worn her favorite cologne tonight, and she could still smell it, a spice musk she associated with only him. Even a hint of it when she was alone would make her think of him and smile.
He whispered her name as he was drawing her panties down her legs, and she gazed up at him, a shiver passed over her. Her husband was incredibly masculine and beyond handsome. He was athletic and muscular, and the smoldering desire in his gorgeous eyes sparked an answering warmth in her.
She was the only woman he wanted this way anymore. He could have crooked his finger at any straight woman in the whole world and had her; and yet he only wanted her. He only had eyes for her.
He moved over her again, and Katie slid her arms around his shoulders. He took a breath and paused, and she could feel it again, the tension in him, the way he held himself back.
"I love you," she murmured.
He kissed her earlobe. "And I will always be totally in love with you," he whispered directly into her ear, and a shudder went down her spine as she gazed up into his face.
"So beautiful," he whispered, and once he was barely inside her, teasing her as he locked his gaze to hers.
Her heart skipped a beat when his lashes fluttered, and she reached for him. His thrust was slow and deep, and she kept her breaths slow and even too. His joy gave her joy, and when he moaned, she smiled at him.
"Is it all right?" Ned met her gaze as he slid inside her again.
"God, yes," she panted, stroking her fingertips against the nape of his neck and his shoulder blades as he kept moving in that same steady rhythm.
He reached down and grasped her hips, "Can I turn you over?"
"Mmm, yes," she agreed and whimpered softly as they stopped. His own breathing was hard and hot on her back as he turned her over.
She let out a disappointed whine, but she knew she'd been prepared for better things. She scootched up on her knees, waiting.
Ned could hardly stand it - her beautiful body exposed completely to him by the rearview; more completely, even than from the front.
Oh, this was good. A dream to him after a long day.
He leaned over to reach in front, playing with her swinging breasts, while she pressed into him. They found their rhythm so easily after all these years, almost too easily; he wanted to stay in her longer. So he moved into her jerkily, just enough to throw the timing skew.
Katie laughed with surprise and pleasure, thrusting faster against him, racing to catch up. The inevitable came - they quivered together, crying out – then collapsed in a satisfied heap. She wrapped him in her arms, feeling his chest heave as he fought to catch his breath.
With a sigh, he moved away from her to go to the bathroom, and she watched him the entire time, cold and waiting. Then he returned to her, and the warmth she felt when she was in his arms again made her purr quietly in satisfaction.
Ned chuckled, his palm stroking down her back. "You alright?"
She nodded, still burrowed against him. He kissed the crown of her head and his fingertips slid down her hair. She felt him breathe and was delirious with love for him.
"You're perfect," he told her softly, his lips against her cheek, almost brushing her ear. "You're everything to me. And when you're ready again, if we have a baby, our baby will be perfect too. I love you, sweetheart."
Katie closed her eyes, feeling the sting of tears behind them. "You're everything to me, too," she whispered.
He moved down, his lips finding her earlobe. "Do you love me?"
She pulled back quickly to look into his eyes, indignant and almost desperate, to see him grinning at her. "I love you to the moon and back," she said. "More than all the stars." She scrunched her nose at him, then relaxed her expression to a genuine smile. "More than anyone else in the world," she said more quietly. "Never ask me that… okay?"
He pulled her close again, and she rested her palm over his heart, her thumb stroking back and forth. "I wouldn't trade what we have for anything," he whispered. "I hope you know that. We fought for this. And I will always fight for this. It's too precious not to."
She smiled, her lips moving against his skin, even though she was trembling faintly. "Thank you," she whispered. "I know."
She felt him slowly relax under her as he let exhaustion claim him, and moved to rest her head in the hollow of his shoulder.
"I love you." He whispered. "I love you for waking up when I got home."
"Always," she whispered, feeling his arm warm around her waist. "We're married, Ned. We take care of each other."