Holding On

Gorenrocks

Short bit of fluff. I haven't written in years! I started writing this after one of those episodes at the "first" end of the series, one that I didn't particularly care for. (This is an example of my writing speed. ;)

Alex sighed and shook her head.

"You're soaking wet, Goren! Where's your umbrella… or at least your jacket?"

"I left it home… well, no, the FBI has it."

"What?" Alex huffed.

"They, uh, wouldn't give it back."

Alex moved on. "Your sweater is drenched!

Goren nodded. "Yeah."

"C'mon, take it off. I'll put it in the dryer."

"Ah, this, not this one, I don't think the dryer is, uh, okay…"

"Right, Goren – dry clean only. I should have known. I'll lay it out to dry – you shouldn't be wearing it anyway."

Goren didn't move, so she helped him take off the sweater and she felt his hair was dripping wet.

"Bobby, your hair, too – ah, well duh, of course."

Terrific, now she was reduced to senseless ramblings. "Off to the bathroom to dry your hair."

"Eames, it's not necessary, I'm fine."

"It is necessary, Bobby," Alex heard her voice shaking, and cursed her attraction to her partner. She also knew she was blushing. "You know where the bathroom is, so go on. I'll take care of your sweater and be right there."

After carefully placing Goren's sweater flat on her kitchen table, Alex grabbed a towel from the closet, and then realized that Goren was not in the bathroom.

"Bobby?" she called, fearing he snuck out, and preparing to be furious about it.

"In here," Goren answered from her bedroom. Alex stopped at the door, watching him looking in her mirror and running his fingers through his wet hair like a little boy. She smiled, and as if he heard her lips curve, he stopped and glanced at her.

"Your bathroom is, uh," he gestured with his hands, "small." Goren frowned and then added, "I … I think I'm making a mess." But then he gave her a rare smile, and it took her breath away.

She pulled a small footstool from the bedroom closet and stepped up on it. Bobby turned to face her; the extra height brought her nose to his chin level and he bumped it.

"Watch it, Goren," she teased.

"I'm… I'm sorry!" he laughed a little, nervously.

Lifting her arms, she rubbed his hair with the towel, gently, rhythmically, drying his neck and face, too. Alex sensed his anxiety.

"It's okay. You shaved, didn't you."

"Yes," he cleared his throat, "yes, I did. Shave."

Bobby closed his eyes, and she heard his breathing grow uneven. Then she felt his hands curl around her waist, his thumbs resting on her tummy. Alex dropped the towel and ruffled his hair, letting her hands slide down and her fingers link behind his neck. She could not stop staring at him, and his eyes steadily held her gaze. She studied his face, smooth to the look, but she suspected she'd feel the beginnings of his five o'clock shadow if she allowed herself to touch.

"Bobby, I'd like to, can I—"

"Yes. Yes, I'd like it very much… very much if you did."

"If I did what?"

"Touch my face."

Alex barely kept from gasping; how did he know these things? But then this was Bobby, and part of what made him so irresistibly and dangerously attractive to her.

Alex gave in and let herself stroke his face. Goren reacted with a sigh and, "Feels so good."

Goren moved closer, pressing against her, and she felt his body's reaction. "And you feel good, too. But, Eames… I… you, and me," he didn't finish and lowered his head, letting his chin rest on her shoulder.

"Bobby, " her palms pressing his cheeks, she lifted his face and waited till he met her gaze. "Talk to me."

"It's too much," he grabbed her left hand and squeezed, "too much to talk about, but..." He pulled her close and then held her tightly.

She stroked his neck, sliding her fingers down his shirt collar. "But what, Bobby?"

"But right now what I feel is so strong – " and Bobby broke his gaze and buried his face into her neck.

"What I feel for you, it's killing me, Alex." Goren's lips brushed against her bare skin. "And you're so warm and I – I just want to kiss you."

So he did.

~end~