A/N All mistakes are mine.
Perfection. That's what they were. That's what she was. That's what this moment was. One simple word could describe so many things. Funny how those things worked.
He could barely see them in the small opening her long body yielded. But they were there, curled tightly inward towards the sole of her foot. They looked so tiny from so far away and he wondered how they would feel. Now, he was imaging their luxurious softness between his fingers, on his lips. The urge was nearly unbearable. But he was forced to settle for simply admiring them, for now.
At that moment, her body moved. She was adjusting her position and turned toward him. He accommodated her movements gracefully. After it seemed she was comfortably settled, his arm swept back around her. He wanted to capture her closeness for as long as possible. The breaths emitted from her nostrils hit his chest where her head was buried. Soft hairs licked his chin and neck. They tickled. He could feel those dainty little protrusions on her feet wiggling against his rough leg ever so slightly. Does she always do that? he wondered.
He waited, watching the time trickle away and dreading the awful beeping noise the alarm would soon be issuing. Too soon. Much too soon.
When it happened, he was ready, palm poised over the Snooze button to shut the damned thing up. A warm breath issued from her mouth and she groaned into his chest. "Too early."
"Early?" he asked. "It's 5 PM."
"Early," she mumbled, moving closer to him.
"A few more minutes, honey," he assured and continued to hold her.
When the clock produced the horrible squawk again, he flipped the alarm off completely. Gently, he moved her away from him. She resisted but he was firm.
"Have to," he told her softly, sitting up and pulling her with him. She sagged back into his embrace, head on his shoulder, and he held her.
"What do we tell the others?" she asked into his neck. Silence hung over them until he broke it.
"What do you want to tell them?" he finally asked. A mischievous smile formed over her lips. "It's no secret to them, that you and I have but have not, so let's continue to play along, okay?" He chuckled, his quick breaths stirring her hair.
"Whatever you want, honey," he said, letting his lips linger over her hair. Her fingers played lightly over his bare chest. "Shower time," he announced, lifting her up in one swooping motion and carrying her to the bathroom.
Afterward, dressed and smelling like Dove soap, she sat at his round kitchen table, feet propped up delicately on the adjacent chair and nose in his newspaper. The bare toes wiggled relentlessly as she read.
"Do you always do that with your toes?" he asked, pouring the fresh coffee into two mugs.
"Hmm?" she asked, looking up and noticing his rapt attention to her feet. "Maybe," she replied with a shrug. "Why?" The two steaming mugs were in his hands now, and he sat one in front of her before taking his own to the seat across the table.
"It's very cute," he answered, putting the cup down.
"Cute?" she asked. She had never heard Grissom describe something as "cute." He rose and moved to the chair upon which her feet were resting and took them into his lap. The quizzical expression on her face turned to one of amusement as she watched him examine them with his fingers.
"They aren't evidence," she pointed out. He didn't seem to hear her though and she went back to her paper. Granted, it was rather adorable, but she also believed he had gone a bit off the deep end. She decided to be playful and raised a foot, wiggling a toe against his chin. Snatching the foot from the air, he began kissing each toe and she waited for "and this little piggy…" His beard brushed up against the very sensitive sole of her foot and it tickled. Coffee was suddenly ejected from her mouth and she pulled her foot away, laughing but being unable to help it.
"Ticklish," he observed, smiling smugly.
"Don't do that again," she warned, though couldn't help but smile. His hands were in the air now, surrendering. "I promise."
She moved her feet back into his lap, shaking her head and going back to her newspaper. Toes, she thought.
"I love you," he said suddenly. "Ticklish toes included."