Couldn't resist a little epilogue. Thanks for reading, and your continued support.
Cavak, Nobot4life: Thank you for your prompts! While this didn't go quite to either prompt, I don't think you'll be disappointed :)
"What if she says no?" Alex paces from wall to wall in the copy room, waiting for her file to finish so she can drop it off before she leaves for the week. With her headphones in and her phone in her pocket, she's free to fidget with her hands as she talks, never mind the fact that George can definitely not read her body language from where he is in Oklahoma. She supposes she should be grateful for it, but she's also pretty sure George can infer every little thing she's feeling just through her voice alone with complete accuracy.
"Alex, has she given you any reason to think that she'd say no?" Alex can picture him behind his desk, pretending to look occupied with his phone call when he's really just being a friend on the clock.
Alex pauses, making herself consider George's question. Four more months have breezed by, and considering they spend both day and night in each other's personal space, it's been fairly smooth sailing. Both of them still have their jobs, Uncle Bill adores Casey, and the two of them have never felt better. "Well, no."
"Have you broached the subject before?" George asks, in his usual gently prodding manner.
"No, not seriously. We'll gossip when a colleague does it, of course, but it never comes back to us."
"When was the last time you made a decision like this without having all of the information you felt necessary?"
Alex chuckles, despite herself. "When I kissed her for the first time."
"You mentioned that part of you was ready, then. You wouldn't have even let yourself think about it if you part of you wasn't ready, Alex, and it's potentially the same here. "
The copier stops. "I suppose," Alex demurs. She hears heels clicking outside, and she's eighty percent sure it's Casey. "I need to go. Thanks for the pep talk."
"Anytime," George says, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Take care."
"You too," Alex replies, hanging up just as Casey comes in.
"Hey, there you are," Casey says.
"Hey, yourself," Alex responds, pulling her headphones out before giving Casey a smile that she reserves only for her. Even though they're the only two in the office, they have a promise to be on their best behavior: no kissing and definitely no desk sex — Alex still regrets that lapse in judgement for many reasons.
"I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll have paperwork to do to tomorrow, no matter what I do, so taking tonight off isn't the worst idea in the world. Did you get my message about dinner?"
"I did, but I forgot to respond. Sorry," Alex says.
Casey shrugs. "I'm open to suggestions, except for Chinese, because we already had that this week."
"Curry?" Alex suggests. A chill has set into the very bones of New York, every corner of the city grey and icy, and something warm seems to suit.
"Indian or Japanese?" Casey counters.
"Indian, thanks."
"Perfect. I'm wrapped up, so I'll pick up and see you at your place?"
Alex nods. "See you later," she says, another piece falling into place. When Casey calls it her place, and not home, it doesn't sit quite right. It's just another piece of evidence on the long list of reasons that she needs to just ask Casey. When she leaves the office an hour later, Alex hasn't gotten much further on her paperwork, but she's resolved to not go to bed without asking Casey if she'll move in with her.
Alex comes home to Casey unpacking take-out on the kitchen counter, wearing Alex's crew sweatpants and a washed out tee. Alex is pretty sure she's not getting those sweatpants back, and she likes how Casey is obviously comfortable in her clothes, and home. A week after Alex had almost pushed Casey away for the last time, the two of them had given each other keys. They still spend most of their time at Alex's, even though Casey's closer to the office.
"Are you going to subject me to another Rangers game tonight?" Alex half-teases. She doesn't mind hockey, at least it's not football, and she knows Casey knows it.
"Funny," Casey says flatly. "No, they're out west so it's a late game. I was going to suggest we catch up on The Americans or something."
"Sounds good, let me go get changed," Alex agrees, dropping her case on a chair and then going to the bedroom. She catches a glance of herself in the mirror as she unbuttons her shirt, and it's almost astounding how much more relaxed she looks when she comes home to Casey. Another exhibit in the People's evidence, Alex thinks to herself wryly as she changes into house clothes. When she emerges, Casey's brought the food to the coffee table and the TV is set up to cast from her tablet.
It doesn't take them the whole episode to eat, so when they're done, Casey leans back against the arm of the couch and Alex slides back, making herself comfortable in the vee of Casey's legs. Alex has never felt the need to be so close to someone, physically and otherwise, before Casey, and she knows if she doesn't do it soon, she's just going to screw it up by blurting it out at the most inopportune time.
"Move in with me," Alex says, then realizes that she had done just what she didn't want to do.
"What?" Casey asks, pausing the stream.
Now that she said it once, she can't take it back now. Alex pushes herself up so she can turn around, face Casey and repeat herself. "Move in with me."
"I heard you," Casey says faintly.
She's quiet for a moment too long, and if this is when all of Alex's worst fears about their relationship coalesce, she's not sure she can handle it. Alex thought she'd judged the situation so well, besides blurting out what she wanted. "I really meant to be a little more delicate about it," Alex continues, trying to cover the silence. "I've just been thi—"
"Yes. Yes, Alex," Casey answers, cutting her off. She pulls her closer, kissing her sweetly, before letting Alex go, but not too far. "I want to. I really want to."
Alex exhales, the anxiety no longer palpable. "When is your lease up?"
"In a couple months," Casey replies, playing with the hem of Alex's shirt. "But…" It's Alex's turn to out-lawyer Casey, and it doesn't take long for her to fill in the silence. "We're already together most nights…."
"Whenever you want to move in, you can," Alex reassures her, not letting herself believe what she thinks Casey might be getting at just yet.
"I don't want to wait," Casey says.
Alex catches Casey's sheepish expression before she can disguise it. "I don't want to wait, either," she says, punctuating the statement with a light kiss. "We can figure out the details later. I apparently just couldn't wait any longer to ask."
"I'm glad you didn't," Casey murmurs, pulling Alex back in between her legs. She drops a kiss to the top of her head before restarting the show.
Alex settles back down against Casey's chest, ear to her heart. She's safe and warm, and above all, happy.
Just how home is supposed to be.