Title: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Summary: Paige is dealing with a new neighbor with a nightly habit.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own /scorpion. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit and no infringement of copyrights is intended.
Author's Note: Just a reminder, this was written before Season 3 started. It takes place in a universe where Civil War never was.
Chapter 3 – Let's Spend the Night Together
"Are you sure this is okay? I mean with Ralph?"
Paige sat down next to Walter and patted his knee affectionately before leaning against him and pulling his arm around her. He was nervous and she thought it was adorable. "I'm sure. I spoke with him last week about you staying overnight sometimes and he's perfectly fine about it. You heard him, he's excited for you to try my pecan waffles. Which translates to those are his favorite and he's hoping that you being here is a special occasion so I'll make pecan waffles."
"But… does he know… I mean is he old enough…"
"If you're worried that I told him you're planning to have your wicked way with his mother, no, I haven't. And as far as I know he hasn't made the connection. He's old enough to know something about sex; we've had a few talks and I'm pretty sure he's read some things in Toby's textbooks. But right now I think it's all sort of academic to him. Like something other people do – but not his mom… or you. And I'm not going to tell him we do unless he asks."
"It just… it seems… strange. It's not as though we've hidden our relationship from Ralph but…"
"But you avoid public displays of affection, so you're pretty much hands off when Ralph… or anybody else… is around. You don't have to worry, Walter. We'll have the door closed and whenever we're out here and Ralph is with us we can still be hands off – if that's what you want." She snuggled closer. "But this will give us so much more time to be alone together and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to spending the entire night with you… and waking up with you..."
"And feeding me your famous pecan waffles?" He grinned.
She patted his knee again. "And feeding you my famous pecan waffles," she agreed. Paige stretched up and lightly kissed Walter's chin. He bent his head down slightly to meet her lips with his. They kissed gently for a few minutes. Paige didn't want to rush anything this time and she knew Walter felt the same. All of the previous times they'd been intimate had been with some sort of deadline – usually involving picking up Ralph. Walter never seemed to resent it, but Paige knew she often wished they could take their time.
When it came to making love, Walter was all about taking his time. When they made their relationship official and began dating, for several weeks Walter's only form of physical affection involved kissing her good night and the occasional hug. He would also put his arm around her when they watched a movie or hold her hand when they walked to and from the car. One evening, before starting the car to drive them home from a concert, he leaned over, took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. They'd spent the next twenty minutes or so making out like teenagers. After which he drove her home, walked her to her door and gave her the usual kiss goodnight.
About a month after that, Walter invited Paige to spend the evening with him in the loft. He'd ordered dinner from one of their favorite restaurants, then politely asked her if she was ready to begin a sexual relationship.
"As you know, Paige," he began, almost as if he was giving a business presentation, "we have been um… involved… for some months now. I've told you that I love you and you have indicated that those feelings are um… reciprocated." He was pacing in front of her, raking one hand through his hair and gesticulating with the other. He paused and looked at her, then suddenly sat down and took her hands in his. For a moment, Paige thought he was going to propose. She wasn't sure she was quite ready for that, but in the second before he continued, she determined that if he did ask her to marry him, she would say yes and just push for a long engagement.
"I um… I've had lately… a desire to um… to extend the nature of our physical relationship and I wanted to know… How would you feel about that?"
"Walter, are you saying you want to go to bed with me?"
He looked at her quizzically for a moment, and Paige thought she might have misunderstood.
"I'm saying I want to make love with you, Paige. The bed is optional, but probably the most appropriate location."
Sometimes, it was all she could do not to laugh at Walter O'Brien's odd ways. It was particularly difficult when he said something incredibly romantic, only to follow it with a typical Walterism. She'd taken a moment to compose herself, looking down at where he was holding her hands in his, hoping he would think she was simply considering his suggestion.
She looked up at him and smiled, unconsciously adopting his slightly formal tone. "I'm… very glad you asked, Walter. I would very much like to make love with you, too."
What happened then was much less awkward than Paige would have imagined. Walter put one arm around her waist and the other behind her head and drew her to him, kissing her lightly on the lips, then on the tip of her nose, each eyelid and her forehead, making her giggle before returning to kiss her lips again. When he deepened the kiss, she responded, delving her tongue into his mouth and allowing his to intertwine with hers. Before long, his hands were exploring her flesh, easing her blouse out of her skirt so that he could stroke her skin. She popped the buttons and shimmied out of the garment, while he undid the buttons of his own shirt, pulling one arm at a time out of the sleeves and allowing the shirt to fall to the couch behind him.
She let out a small cry of protest when he removed his hands and arms entirely in order to draw his undershirt over his head, but she forgave him when she realized she could now do a bit of exploring of her own. At some point, her bra was removed. She wasn't entirely sure if she did it herself or if he did. Then he was laying back and pulling her on top of him.
"I think you're right about the bed being more appropriate, Walter," she suggested when she realized they were in serious danger of falling off the narrow couch. They were grown adults, alone in his home with a perfectly fine bed nearby. They didn't need to grapple like adolescents in their parents' basement.
They got up from the couch, laughing as they stumbled, still kissing, across the floor. Once they were beside the bed, Walter released her again to remove his belt and his slacks. She followed suit, removing her skirt and thigh-top stockings.
Walter pulled back the covers, and Paige realized he was still rather nervous when he spent some moments plumping the pillows and smoothing the sheets. She stopped him by putting a hand on each of his arms and kissing his back, just between his shoulder blades.
"It's fine, Walter. Let's just get in and try it on for size, hmm?"
He turned, smiling sheepishly. "I just… I just want it to be perfect," he stammered.
"Oh, Walter. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just so long as it's us."
Thinking back, Paige couldn't believe she'd said that. It sounded like something from the romantic novels she sometimes indulged in. But she didn't regret it, because the words rekindled the mood and seemed to relax them both. Walter stepped back from the bed, inviting her in. She sat down, her silk panties making a slight shushing sound as she scooted across the bed and made room for Walter. When he joined her there was a sudden rush of lips and tongues and hands, touching and being touched, squeezing and licking and kissing. Several weeks later Walter revealed to her that he'd looked up kissing techniques on the Internet. Not because he'd never kissed anyone before – but because he was now very invested in making sure he got it right. He told her he'd practiced for hours on his hand. She couldn't help it that time; she'd laughed until her sides hurt, but she assured him that the hours spent in practice were more than worth it.
Later that first evening, when they lay curled together, Paige regretfully reminded Walter that she had to pick up Ralph from Toby's place in a half hour. He suggested they could call, but she reminded him of exactly what conclusions Toby would draw were they to do that. It would be all the worse for them if his conclusions were correct. When he began to kiss her and urge a quick encore, she reminded him that she needed time to dress so she wouldn't appear at Toby's door looking like she'd just rolled out of Walter's bed. It was just a few weeks later that they began to discuss the possibility that Walter might spend the night at Paige's condo.
They spent a delightful half hour just kissing, enjoying the novelty of not needing to proceed so quickly to the main event. Then Paige led Walter back to her bedroom, where they slowly undressed each other. With no time issues to restrain them, Walter was able to demonstrate some things he knew quite well. He cuddled and held her afterwards, allowing her to recover. Feeling impish, she asked him if that was something he'd practiced on his hand, too.
"No, but I did come across an app for that purpose."
"You're kidding! An app – you mean like for your phone?"
"Exactly. Apparently, you're supposed to lick your phone screen and the app tells you if you are hitting the right places or um… stroking too hard."
"Oh my god! Did you…?"
"No, I didn't," he assured her. "While I don't dispute the possible value of the app, I really didn't like the idea of licking my phone."
Paige turned over and buried her face in a pillow. It took her a few minutes to regain her composure.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I seem to laugh a lot at the worst times."
"I don't mind when you laugh," Walter told her, turning over and kissing the area between her breasts. "I worry that I've changed your life so much, that I've brought so much fear and pain and danger into your life. When I realize I can still make you laugh, it makes me feel that, maybe being with me isn't all bad for you."
They talked for a while, interspersing the conversation with lazy kisses. Paige realized that was another thing they could do now that they didn't have to worry about time. She was going to enjoy pillow talk with Walter O'Brien.
Before long talk was abandoned. Paige gave herself into the sensations, experiencing every kiss, every caress, every thrust. Sometimes she would close her eyes and concentrate on the internal experience. Other times, like tonight, she would focus on Walter. He usually kept his eyes open until he was very close to the end. Then, she knew, he would give himself up to it. There was a time, she knew, when Walter feared the intensity of his feelings. In the few months they'd been together, he'd come to revel in them. She wasn't surprised that he was particularly fascinated by the feelings he experienced in these last few moments before climax.
Knock knock knock… knock knock knock.
Walter froze. His eyes popped open.
"Uh… Ralph?" Paige called. "What is it?"
"Mom," came the answer from just outside the bedroom door. "Can you and Walter stop hanging pictures? It's keeping me awake."
Walter rolled over and lay on his back, one fist firmly planted over his mouth. Paige thought for a moment that he was going to be sick, but then she realized his shoulders were shaking. He was laughing, but trying not to make a sound all the while gasping for breath.
"Sure, Sweetie," Paige answered her son. "Go back to bad, okay, baby? I can promise you Walter and I won't be hanging any more pictures tonight"
October 15, 2016
