Playlist: Title & Registration by Death Cab : Mushaboom by Feist

He took his bag from the Harley and strolled behind her as she climbed the steps and unlocked the door. There'd been no conversation about it, no question that he was going to stay the night. In a way, Lil was relieved. She hadn't wanted to give him a strong positive but at the same time she hadn't wanted to turn him down.

"See you've still got the girls." Ray tossed his bag on the floor near the couch and bent to greet Olivia and Tripod. Lilly stifled a yawn as the cats strolled around Ray, recognising him, coming closer to concede to an ear scratch.

"Mm." Lilly stretched her arms over her head, feeling the kinks stretching out of her neck, hearing her back crack deliciously back into place. Ray stood, turned to her, motioned for her to come closer. She didn't move and he stepped over to her, reached his arms around to gently rub her back, dissolving some of the tension. Lil relaxed into his half embrace. He wasn't like Kite, where every move she made had been interpreted, every action like this would have been a small victory for him. Ray had met her as an equal, before she'd been broken down too far, and he'd never tried to win her submission the way Kite had.

"You should go for a shower. Keep the muscles heated." Ray stopped rubbing and Lilly felt a small moan escape her. It had felt so good; a man's hands on her, doing something for her, not expecting anything in return. Lilly took off her jacket and started walking through to her bedroom. She was inexplicably tired. She knew if she'd stayed at work, if there hadn't been the interruption that was now following her through to her bedroom, she might have been able to stay and work for another few hours. But a break in concentration and she was ready for sleep.

"Trust me, I'm as tired as you are. I drove half a day to get here. I just want a comfy bed; and I know your mattress is one of those posture ones." At Lilly's look, Ray spoke. He was already throwing his jacket onto the window seat, making room so he could sit down and take off his socks. Lilly nodded, shrugged. She'd assumed as much, but had wanted him to say it. Gathering her pjs, Lil left Ray with the cats and turned the hot water up. Showered, pyjama clad and teeth minty fresh, Lilly came in to find Ray almost asleep, one cat on his lap, the other curled haphazardly over his crossed ankles. He yawned, stretched, sat up with both bundles of fluff protesting at his moves. Lil drank a glass of water while standing at the sink while she waited for the cats to eat the tinned mix she'd put out. By the time they were finished and she was crawling into bed, Ray emerged from the shower. She'd almost forgotten how good he looked with his hair wet. He wore a pair of black silk boxers, and she saw a tattoo on his arm that she hadn't seen before.

"New?" She asked as he came closer. He flexed the bicep, looked down at it. Lilly turned to him as he got into bed, made him pause as she ran her fingers over it. A perfect, single lily was inked over his left shoulder, high enough to be covered by short sleeves. Lilly smiled, looked into his eyes, receiving the confirmation. No, it wasn't an accident that her name and the flower were one and the same.

"Guess it's lucky I'm not called something that doesn't have a correlating floral object, hm?" Lilly waited until he was settled and turned off the light. She snuggled down into the blankets, her back tucked into its familiar position, spooned against him. His arm nestled around her, drawing her closer and Lilly stared into the dark as the cats readjusted themselves, not used to a male presence in the bed since last time Ray was here and, before that, Kite. Their shared body heat warmed the bed far quicker than if she was lying here with only the girls. Blinking into the dark, letting her eyes closer, Lilly asked herself if she was ready to get used to this.

The alarm made her sit bolt upright, hurling her out of a dream that had involved dark haired men with no faces, and the woods. Next to her, Ray sleepily opened one eye, reached an arm out to rest on her thigh.

"Too early." He said. Lil shook her head, looked at the time. She wanted to finish up what she'd been doing last night before the others came in. Easing herself out of bed, letting Ray's hand fall to the warm indentation in the bed where she'd been, Lilly started opening and closing drawers, looking for an outfit. She hadn't had a chance to do the laundry for a while; she'd worked through last weekend, and the one before that, and she was running out of clothes. The problem with living in such a cold place was that you had to wear more clothes to keep warm. She was down to her second last pantsuit; after this, it was a skirt and tights, something she wanted to avoid wearing. She didn't like being too butch, but she wasn't going to play up the girl aspect.

Lilly stumbled through to the shower, leaving the door ajar so the room didn't steam up too much. She didn't want to have to do much to her hair, and steam made it harder to smooth. Clad in her underwear, she walked into the bedroom to see Ray sitting up in bed, clearly enjoying the view.

"So… What are you doing today?" Lilly asked. She stepped into her pants, pulled her shirt on, leaving the buttons undone while she sat in front of the mirror. She could see his shrug in the reflection.

"I need to sort out a few things with the parts manager in this area. Talk to my store operator. Put in an appearance there so they know I'm not just a voice on the phone." Lilly watched him as he stretched his arms up, rubbed the stubble under his chin. She rubbed the last of the moisturiser in, smoothed some sheer powder over her eyelids, tinted her cheeks and darkened her lips. Leaning in, Lilly put on mascara and sat back with a look that was less than satisfied. There wasn't much you could do with her complexion, short of getting a tan. Doing up her buttons, Lilly swung around on the stool.

"What are we doing, Ray?"

"I'm trying to find an excuse to stop you doing up those buttons, but you're obviously… Well, obviously unstoppable." He finished as she did up the last one and ghosted a smile at him. She'd done deodorant, toothpaste and the barest spray of perfume in the bathroom. Grabbing a hair brush, Lil pulled it through her hair a few times and adjusted her part before swinging her jacket on.

"You wear your hair down now." Ray looked at her, eyebrows furrowed.

"Hm, and…" Lilly opened a drawer, dug around for her grey scarf.

"I think I like it." She nodded, perched on his side of the bed to put her socks and shoes on. She wasn't ready to tell him, or anyone else, the reasoning behind it. She hadn't been as completely emotionally violated before as she had been with George. She'd never killed anyone with her hair down. It was her shield, as well as her way of stepping away from the woman who had pulled the trigger.

"We're going to talk tonight. I might be home late." Lilly stood to put on her belt, adjusting the holster so it sat just out of view under her jacket. She pulled the gun out of her top drawer, checked the safety. Satisfied, she strapped it in her holster and looked down at Ray. He leant out, clasped out of her hands, pulled her closer.

"I'll wait up." He said, smiling at her. Despite herself, Lilly leant in and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, which he deepened. She pulled back, smiled at him.

"See you tonight."

"'Bye." His voice followed her out the door. Lilly paused in the kitchen to pour out some biscuits for the cats before she picked up her briefcase and gloves and left.

So, what do you think? Is she still Lilly-esque enough? Suggestions, comments, ideas for where you want this to go; all totally welcome. C'mon, people, feed the author!