Thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited and read this. I was planning to finish it by New Year's Eve, but due to my trip and many other things, I couldn't. Honestly, i'm thinking of cutting out a lot of stuff since I've given it a few second reads and it just doesn't feel right nor good enough to me.
Thank you again! Enjoy :)
- xo Mel
X
"So… Paige. How did you two meet?"
Mike eyed the blonde agent sitting next to him carefully, trying to guess her next answer. They hadn't talked about what they were going to say and now, he was regretting it.
They had only been there for a few hours, but his family had already welcomed her with open arms; which kind of scared him. Knowing his mom and, most importantly, his sister, they were going to try and extort as many things as they could from her. The perks of being away for too long.
Paige, on the other hand, hadn't been bothered by it; they were actually really nice people, easy to talk to and very respectful of her spaces. Of course, they were throwing some questions here and there about Mike's new life on the west coast, but as for now nothing major had come up and she had found out many things about his life in Virginia.
Eric, the eldest, could easily pass for his twin brother, even with their 13 year age gap: same dirty blonde hair, same defined jaw and same skin tone. The only thing that made them look different were the eyes: Eric's were dark green, something that he evidently took after their father - as Mike had previously predicted, the man hadn't said more than a 'hello' to her and kept on reading his newspaper.
He had been very respectful towards her, standing up to shake her hand firmly, almost in a professional kind of way. 'It must be a Warren thing,' she had thought, remembering how kind of stuck up Mike had been when he had come to Graceland.
His wife, Vanessa, was a beautiful brown haired woman, with caramel eyes and the sweetest smile: although seeming to be very shy, she had shaken her hand kindly and even let Paige touch her growing belly. It had been kind of awkward for her at first, seeing as she had just met the woman, but it turned out to be a very delightful experience: a little foot had stuck out as soon as she had touched it. However, she had yet to see their other two children, sleeping upstairs. 'It's a rare event, actually. The ride must have worn them out.' Eric had playfully assured her.
On the other hand, Mike's sister -10 years older than him- was everything but shy: she had grabbed Paige by the shoulders and pulled her into one of the biggest, bone crushing hugs she had ever received, taking her by surprise. It had had something to do with Mike not being used to bring girlfriends over very often or something like that.
Bright blue eyes, long chestnut hair and slim figure. She wasn't as tall as her brothers and slightly shorter than her, but she had a rather toned body, a sign that she liked to work out and go for runs just as much as Mike did. She was the most talkative out of the three, asking her every sort of question and also, sharing details about her life: she had just broken up with her boyfriend, which apparently had been a good thing; in Eric's surprisingly not so gentle words, 'the guy was a prick'.
Paige, sitting on the left end of the couch, smiled at Mary on the other end, and squeezed Mike's knee; he nuzzled her hair, his arm stretched out behind her.
"It's not really that big of a story, actually. We met at his work." She explained, crossing her legs: the furry boots she had put on earlier brushing against his calf. Mike nodded, twirling a strand of her hair around his index finger.
"Oh, you're a federal agent too?" Mike's mother asked, sipping hot tea from her cup.
Paige faked a giggle, much to Mike's amusement; he snorted, earning a playful punch on his thigh from her.
His dad lowered the newspaper, suddenly interested in the conversation. Oddly enough, she felt like his father didn't approve of his job. Maybe that's why Mike had been so reluctant to go.
"No, I'm actually an interpreter. I was there just for a case." She replied, glaring at him. "Apparently, it'd be impossible for me to be a fed."
Mike laughed, playing along, and kissed her temple. "C'mon, look at you. You wouldn't survive, not even for a day."
"Oh shut up Mikey, she's as much of a badass as you are!" Eric interjected from his brother's side, ruffling his hair; he pushed his hand away.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or…" She bit her lip, teasing him. He turned to her, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't push your luck, baby. I can still make you sleep on the couch." Mike threatened her, a dazzling, challenging look in his eyes.
Paige patted his cheek, staring back at him. "Sure thing, baby."
He nuzzled her hand with his nose, proceeding to bite her palm jokingly; Paige saw his mother looking at the two with a loving expression on her face, as she giggled, trying to push his face away.
Mike was her special one, she could feel it. Not that she didn't love his brothers and sister, but she could clearly see the look she reserved to him; after all, he was her baby, being the last to be born.
He had been a 'surprise', she had told Paige before: they hadn't planned more than three children, but one day she had got back her monthly blood tests and found out that he was coming. That's why he had so many years apart from his siblings.
But he wasn't a mistake: if anything, he had been a blessing, as he had given her many satisfactions and reasons to be proud of him. 'Dating a nice girl like her' being the last one.
Chuckling, Mike looked at the clock: they had been talking for hours and it was almost time to set the table and enjoy their Christmas eve dinner. His face turned into a hard expression, as he looked over at his mom and held Paige's hand away from his mouth; for a brief moment, he went back to be that serious and sad Mike she had been with during their ride from the airport.
"Isn't Greg coming?"
Paige saw his mother release a resigned sigh, putting her cup down; Mike didn't move his eyes from her.
"Yes, sweetie, he is. But I'm sure he won't mind if we start without him." She stood up to collect their abandoned cups and moved towards the kitchen. "So, you were saying that you met at work?"
Paige felt Mike go stiff, his jaw clenched tight. Something was definitely wrong; she started rubbing his thigh soothingly, sending him a questioningly glance to which he replied with a dismissive squint of his eyes.
"Yes. They needed me there for an Ukrainian case. I was running late for the meeting and next thing I know, I'm literally splattered on him." She quickly made the story up, earning a genuine chuckle from Mike: it was unbelievable how easily she could change his mood; his crush had definitely not gone away and he knew that it most likely never would.
Mary mimicked him, giggling. "Seriously?"
Paige nodded. "I ran by the vending machines just in time for him to turn around and bam, the rest is history. I should be thanking my clumsiness if I'm here with you right now, guys."
As they all laughed, she shared a knowing smile with Mike, whose hand came up to stroke her hair and push her head on his shoulder, where she leant patting his chest.
"And my white blouse, even though I had to throw it away. It was my favorite." She pouted.
Mike nodded, squeezing her side and kissing her crown. "I literally spilled my coffee all over her front."
His words came out absentmindedly and apparently, Paige wasn't the only one who had noticed that his eyes were fully set on his mother, following her movements as she disappeared into the kitchen: the room had went silent, even though both Mary and Eric had politely put on sweet smiles when she had looked at them quizzically. The only one who seemed to be as unaware of what was going on between them was Vanessa, who gave her a puzzled nod.
Mike's father hid behind his newspaper, going back to his readings.
X
Paige was having a hard time recognizing Mike.
Of course he had his weird times, but she had never seen this side of him. Even when he had been investigating Briggs and almost burnt Graceland.
She thought he'd been at ease at his childhood home, with his family, the safest place you could ever dream of being, but the way he was acting right now made her rethink a lot of things.
The dinner had been perfect, his mother's cooking was beyond paradisiac: Paige congratulated her own mind for coming up with the idea of being Mike's fake companion, because she had tasted some of the best food she had ever eaten in her whole life.
Mike had given her small smiles, when she had made appreciative comments about it while they ate, nodding and spending a few words to agree with her, but by the way he had kept playing with his food on the plate, she knew his mind had been somewhere else.
She was pretty sure it had something to do with Greg, his brother that hadn't showed up yet; he hadn't properly smiled since he had mentioned his name.
Well, until now.
As a family tradition, they were all going to see the annual Christmas play, which happened to be "A Christmas Carol". Since it wasn't very far from their house, they had decided to have a little walk, to breath into the fresh night air and relax after the huge dinner. However, 'fresh' was way too reductive: it was freezing.
Paige was walking side by side with his sister, talking about everything and nothing, but her eyes were glued on Mike, who was a few steps ahead of them, playing with his two nephews: Autumn, a beautiful 6 year old child that was the exact replica of her mother, and Josh, 4 years old, blonde hair and blue eyes, as hyperactive as his young uncle.
Mike reached down to throw his nephew up in the air, making spaceship sounds as he sped up his walking, his niece trying to catch up with him and cling to his leg. She smiled at the sight.
She was so into it that she didn't even pay attention to what Mary had been saying until she heard a question directed at her. She tried to pull herself together and smiled, rubbing her hands to warm them up; she sent Mary an apologetic smile, as a puff escaped her mouth.
"Sorry… what did you say?"
Mary followed her eyes, falling on her brother; a knowing smile plastered on her face.
"Doesn't matter. I guess my brother's way more entertaining, isn't he? You've been staring at him all night." She nudged her side. "Don't worry. It'd be weird if you didn't." Holding her hands up, she cut Paige off before she could try to defend herself.
"I guess you caught me." Paige gave up, sliding her hands in her pockets and looking down.
She had to admit that going under as Mike's girly girlfriend was turning out to be easier than she had initially thought: after that kiss he had stolen from her months before, she had started looking at him under a different light. He wasn't the clumsy and awkward rookie she had been messing with from the start. He was just… Mike. And she liked it. Maybe a little too much than she should.
"He really likes you, you know?" As if she had been reading her thoughts, Mary's words startled her. 'She is so Mike's sister'.
The woman nodded, looking back at her brother. "I can see it in his eyes. When he was a kid, he had this amazing sparkle in his eyes that could cheer anybody up. I remember when I broke up with my first boyfriend, I was a mess - like an utterly, over depressed mess."
As she chuckled at the memory, Paige's eyes stared at her face: maybe she wasn't the only one thinking about how Mike had changed. She might not know Mike the undercover agent, but she certainly knew his old self and could compare it to the man he was now.
"He was 5 at the time, barely knew what a boyfriend was… but he was the only one able to cheer me up. All I had to do was look at him and his goofy smile and I was suddenly healed. He lost that sparkle little by little during his teenage…" Mary trailed off, her face and eyes turning stormy. Paige was about to ask why, when she turned to her, a serious and gentle tone in her voice. "But when he looks at you, it lights up again."
Paige's stomach fluttered; she saw the same determined look she had seen many times in Mike's eyes before. It pained her to lie to her like that, seeing as she really cared for her brother's well being, but the feeling she had felt when Mary had heard those words made her reconsider everything all over again. Was she really lying?
"Hey!" Mike's once again happy voice rang into her ears, as he approached them and stood between the two, jokingly pushing his sister away. "Enough with the interrogation. I'm kidnapping my girlfriend now, if you don't mind."
Mary stuck her tongue out, punching his arm. "Whatever, lovebirds!"
As Mike reached out to poke her side, she ducked away, skipping to catch up with their older brother.
He chuckled to himself, as Paige hooked her arm with his and leant her head on his shoulder. He kicked a piece of ice, walking silently next to her.
"What were you two talking about?" He asked, a worried tone in his voice she couldn't quite understand where it came from.
"Sparkles,"
"Sparkles?"
Paige nodded, smiling to herself as a certain episode Mary had told her before came up into her mind. She slowly pulled her arm away from his, trying not to let him notice, as his eyes scanned the two kids running around in front of them; a genuine laugh escaping from his lips as the little one fell flat on his butt and got up as quickly as he had fell to chase his older sister.
"Huggies." Paige whispered into his ear, making him stop dead in his tracks at the sound of his very much old nickname. He looked at his sister down on the road and then back at her, stuttering.
"H-huggies? She-"
As she nodded, biting her lip to hide her not so unnoticeable smile, a flashback from his childhood involving wet sheets and pajamas came up into his mind. His face went red, as Paige started walking backwards in front of him.
"I- I was potty training!" He tried to defend himself, feeling even more embarrassed as his pathetic excuse made her burst out in a fit of giggles; he closed his eyes, faking irritation, when actually all he wanted to do was laugh along with her.
"I'll have so much blackmailing material by the end of this trip, huggies." Paige winked at him.
He threw his head back in exasperation.
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"What can I say? I have a thing for adorable, bed wetting cuties…"
Mike stopped in the middle of the street, looking back straight at her: her stomach fluttered again as the electricity in his blue orbs made her skin shiver. It was so cold outside, but Mike's looks were even more efficient when it came to give her goosebumps.
'It's those damn gorgeous eyes' She had always used that as an explanation, but Mary's last words to her had decidedly influenced her thoughts about it and she was now subconsciously letting them affect the way she responded to his teasing stares. 'It must be that, what else could it be?'
He smiled evilly, as he took a step closer.
"Don't - Michael Warren, don't you dare!" She screamed, as he launched himself in her direction, ready to tackle her onto the snow covered ground. She made a sprint run down the hill, Mike close on her trail.
"Run, Paigie! RUN!"
As they passed his family, he pointed at his sister, trying to sound as pissed as possible - but it really came out as a distorted laugh.
"You're next!"