She caught the slight pause of his mannerism, and watched as his expression shifted into a mild look of surprise at the sudden proposal. It was late and maybe not the best time nor situation to offer, but... it was worth a shot. After all, at this point, what could a little company hurt? She had to admit that she was feeling more like herself around him, at least not so strung up anymore, and she wasn't quite ready to let that feeling go. Call it being selfish.

Besides, it wasn't like this was the first time she had made such an offer- it was just that they were few and far between.

And the same went for him.

They were both always so busy, and caught up in other matters that... making time wasn't easy. And trying to get some privacy was even harder- especially if they were both still on base; although that wasn't to say that their respective houses were any better. It would be great if they could have a more stable, consistent schedule, so to say, but... she didn't see that happening any time in their near future.

Still, it didn't take him long to settle with the offer.

He slowly set her tablet back down on her desk- although he still kept it well out of her reach, which didn't surprise her.

"Only if you insist."

A light smile came to her lips at having caught his attention so easily- not that it was all that difficult to do, especially for her. "I insist," Sonya assured, as she reached forward and caught the wrinkles of his shirt with her fingers, before she gave them a light tug. "But only if you have nothing else planned for the night."

"Well, I was only planning on going back to sleep- which is what normal people do during the night," Kenshi answered, as he slowly closed the space between them by following her touch.

She brought her hands up to cup his broad jaw, and briefly ran her fingers through his beard before she pulled him down to her; her lips only brushed against his for a short moment however. "You think you're normal, that's pretty cute," she whispered, before she felt the way he gently grabbed her by the chin and pulled her in against him- sealing the space that separated them.

The lingering embrace was warm, but lasted only a mere second before it was fractured by the quiet laugh that escaped him.

"It's pretty sad when, between the two of us, I am the more normal one," he replied.

"Asshole."

He kissed her again- longer and uninterrupted this time.

And she felt the subtle hint of warmth rush through her body.

She felt the lingering presence of his energy radiating around them as he slowly pulled her in and wrapped her up in his arms. His fingers curled in against her back, as though he needed the extra leverage to keep her against him. She let herself focus on the slow output of his energy- feeling the way it slowly seeped into her body, and nestled itself against knotted muscles and stretched out nerves; it worked out the aching of her bones, allowing her to feel relaxed for the first time in months it seemed.

She focused on the way it continued to wrap itself around her, almost encasing the two of them as one.

Her hands dropped down to his shoulders as she tangled her fingers in his shirt once more and pulled him down closer to her. He used to complain about the back pain she gave him by making him bend down to kiss her so often; she told him he was just exaggerating, but now she was thinking he might've had a point.

He moved to settle his hands against the edge of the desk just behind her, somewhat pinning her between it and him. And while she could feel the desk partly pressing against her aching lower back, she would choose to ignore it for now.

"Come on," Kenshi whispered, as their embrace dissolved for air, "it's almost three now and the convoy leaves in five hours."

Sonya gave a mental groan and pressed her hands against his collarbones, circling her palms against them. "Who scheduled for the convoy to leave at eight anyways?"

"You did."

Fuck.

She did.

Only because if they left at eight, then they would arrive at the Smithsonian base at eleven- given that there were no hold ups, or accidents along the way. They could unload the cargo at the bay, and then hopefully depart by one, which should give her enough time to go over plans and scheduling with General Valentine. It should also give her enough time to make it back to home base for her six o'clock video conference with General Arseni.

And then afterwards, she still needed to check off with maintenance and the armory to see what new supplies they needed- and then she needed to push that information off to budgeting...

It was already looking like another full shift for her tomorrow.

"You should've stopped me," Sonya insisted otherwise.

"As if I am going to correct the Special Forces General on her scheduling issues," he replied, before he leaned down once again and brushed his lips against her forehead. "Get some sleep, alright?"

Always the worried one- at this point, even he couldn't deny it.

"You still staying the night?" she asked.

"You insisted that I did," Kenshi reminded. "Not to mention, me staying here is the only way to make sure you don't make the convoy leave right now."

Sonya humored him with a brief laugh, before she pulled him down into one more kiss. "You're probably right," she whispered, as she lingered on the warmth of his body against hers, before she gently pushed him back. "Why don't you go make yourself comfortable, and I'll join you in a minute or two."

"Alright, but if you take too long, I will not hesitate to drag you across your office," he spoke.

"You're supposed to be helping me, not tempting me," she teased, feeling him kiss her again, before she watched as he started towards the small bed she had in the corner of her office. She had put it in a few years back when the SF was going through a rough patch; it was just easier for her to stay on base at all hours, resting when she could, to keep going whenever someone needed her. And while work had yet to reach that kind of intensity again... the habit just stuck with her. She rarely left the base much anymore- hell, she was beginning to wonder why she even bothered keeping her house.

Pushing herself from her desk, she walked over to her office door and locked it in place; the last thing she wanted was someone barging in here to ask her something and interrupting them. Hence the whole privacy issue. Sure, everyone knew to call ahead, or to be careful with their approach, but sometimes they got last-minute visitors who weren't aware of the rules. And sometimes, it was just Cassie barging in- and that would be the worst-case scenario for her.

She switched off the main lights in the room, before she pulled off her semi-long sleeve undershirt and tossed it over with her jacket; she still had her white, sleeveless shirt underneath that that was her usual sleeping attire. Rolling her neck, she pulled herself into a short stretch, before she reached down and discarded her boots next. It was another habit of hers to sleep with them on, just in case of any nighttime emergencies, but... she would let herself cut some corners for this one night.

Her body was still tensed up and it still ached when she moved, but overall it was mostly okay- it was back to where it usually stood on a daily basis. At her age, and with her past health records, she had just gotten used to most of the aches and pains at this point. They were both rewards and curses for having survived this long in this kind of fucked up place.

Slowly working her way over to the bed, Sonya gave a subtle groan as she leaned down and slid in next to him; the sudden change to not having to support her own weight made her body ache just slightly more for a short moment. She felt him drape his arm around her, before he pulled her in against him- holding her close against his chest, and allowing her to take in his body heat once more.

She wasn't exactly the biggest fan of... close comforts, but she wouldn't go out of her way to deny them either. After so many years, she had just gotten so used to sleeping alone that she didn't like the idea of sharing a bed with someone else again. It felt like too much of a commitment- and she was used to having things her way now.

And while he somewhat shared that same kind of mindset... he never hesitated to join her when she asked him to.

Neither of them really hesitated to give up a staple comfort for just a few hours of shared personal space. She always imagined that with some time and patience... they would both eventually warm up to the idea of being together like this. At least... more than they already had, and more than they were both willing to admit to.

...

She felt the slow, subtle ways his fingers traced the curve of her spine again and again. At this point, it felt like it was a subconscious act for him- mostly because she was pretty certain that he had already fallen back to sleep now. The man could sleep anywhere it seemed, no matter how strange or out of place it was; she swore he could go into his own head and flip off a switch or something.

It was funny to think that where creating sizable damages to their practice field had failed her... the slow rise and fall of his chest gave her the opportunity to shift ongoing matters out of focus. Right now, all she wanted to do was focus on him.

Focus on how the subtle warmth of his body against hers had begun to ease her into a sense comfort.

How it felt like she could almost melt in his arms at this point.

...

She didn't like to be depended on people, it was just who she was; she didn't like not being able to solve something on her own.

But this... this she could manage.

This she could allow him to do for her.

She woke up to the weight of his arm still draped over her waist.

She could feel the heat of his breath against the back of her neck, and felt how he had his face partly buried in her messy braid. Blindly moving one hand, she brushed it against his forearm before she lightly squeezed it- reassuring herself that he was in fact still there, and that she wasn't imagining him beside her instead. But she could feel his body pressed against hers; she felt the brief lock of their legs, which were tangled together beneath the thin covers.

It was hard to admit, but... she could get used to this again.

...

She tried not to let herself get too comfortable though as she forced her eyes open and focused them on the alarm clock nearby.

The neon numbers said that it was a little after seven now, which meant she had just barely gotten over four hours of sleep. That didn't really surprise her though- four hours was pretty normal for her now and days.

Groaning softly, Sonya worked her legs free and lifted herself up enough to roll over, before she laid back down to face him. She felt the slight pull of his arm around her, and felt the light press of his hand against her back- which told her that he was semi-awake just the same. She smiled lightly at his relaxed features, focusing on his more notable facial structures, like his cut cheekbones and broken nose.

Her hand moved to brush against his chest, before she slowly slid it over the curve of his ribcage- taking in the subtle movement of every breath beneath her palm.

"Give me one damn good reason why I should skip my morning run today," Sonya whispered.

"Because it's very quiet on the base for once, and you could use the extra hour of sleep," he replied, without so much as giving another indication that he was awake. He didn't even open his eyes, which... she supposed wasn't necessary to do anyways.

"Good enough."

Kenshi gave a tired laugh, before he pulled her in closer to him and moved in to kiss her- brushing his tired lips against hers. "Or you could stay here with me," he continued, gently kissing her between every other word, "and we could make the most of the hour."

"Is that so?" she questioned, grinning lightly as her fingertips pressed circles against his ribs. "And what exactly do you propose?"

His hand moved to cup her cheek as he kissed her once more- longer and deeper this time.

Any remaining sense of sleep dissipated at the warmth of his tongue against hers, and the brush of his hands as they slowly moved around her body. His fingers tangled in her remaining shirt, before he slowly pushed it up along her torso- exposing her skin to the cool air of her office. She felt his lips pull away from hers as he moved to her jaw and then to the curve of her neck; it was hard to ignore how every warm embrace he left on her skin sent small shudders down her spine.

Slowly, he pulled her out of her shirt and tossed it aside as his lips moved down to her collarbones.

...

This was how she liked him best.

When he only used his hands, lips and body to see her- using only his 'normal' senses to find his way around her.

She loved the brushing motions of his hands as they moved around her, as they followed the shape of her ribs, the curve of her spine and settled into the dip of her lower back. His fingers searched through the multitude of scars that stretched out across her skin, searching and finding the landmark ones that told him where he was. There was the shrapnel of her ribs, the gutted mark of her belly, the puncture of her lower spine...

His lips had already found the scraped burns of her shoulder, as his fingers pressed into the fractured taps of her mid-vertebrea.

Her hands cupped the back of his neck as she felt him roll her onto her back; and she countered his action by pulling him on top of her. She tucked her head in against his as she felt him move back into the curve of her neck, before she tangled her fingers in his loose shirt. Slowly pulling it up along his back, she coaxed him out of it just as he had with her.

Clothing always seemed to come off the easiest at this hour.

It took very little effort for them to strip one another down to just skin, although that wasn't to say they didn't take their time in enjoying it. She loved the way he carefully tugged her pants off of her waist and waited for her to lift her hips first, before he pulled them down along her thighs. He had the ability to remove them in one go, but... he liked to tease her by making her wait. He liked to enjoy the way her body moved underneath his hands, the way she rolled her hips back down as she carefully kicked the discarded pants aside.

She heard herself give out a low breath at the way his hands slowly roamed over her bare thighs and waist- at the way he briefly teased her with several, slow strokes of his fingers between her legs.

But she interrupted him when she pressed her hands against his firm stomach, and gently rubbed his thick scars with her palms. When his attention had been drawn back to her, she moved her hands to his hips and then teased him by slowly running them along the length of his thighs; she felt the subtle tremors underneath her touch as her hands pressed close against his groin, before she slowly moved her palm against him.

Fingers eventually worked his jeans loose as they seemed too tight on him now, and she enjoyed the soft groans that left him when she pulled them free from his hips- and off of him completely. His mouth was on hers, and she grinned at the continuous vibrations from his throat as she traced his bare skin with her warm fingertips.

She grabbed at his jaw with one hand, while the other wrapped around and began to stroke him.

And the noises that left him... Christ, she could get off on those alone.

...

Honestly, it was a perk that their uniforms had already been partly dismantled beforehand- otherwise it would've taken her half an hour alone to get rid of his complex suit.

"You're a lot easier this way, you know," Sonya remarked, as she moved both of her hands to his jaw and brushed her lips against his exposed throat; she could feel the soft tremor of the every heavy breath that escaped him. "Almost no work from my end."

He spared her with a brief laugh, before he brought his body down on hers- sliding his hands underneath her shoulders as he settled his weight on his forearms instead. "I figured the last thing you needed was more work," Kenshi replied, as he turned his head and managed to catch her by the wrist with his lips; he brushed several fleeting kisses against it, before he moved to kiss her.

She grinned at the remark and well into the embrace as she slipped her arms underneath his. Pressing her hands against his back, she could feel the way his muscles rolled underneath her palms with every little movement.

He kissed her slow.

And it gave her time to linger on the shared heat between their bodies.

It gave her time to linger on their shared breaths and on every movement that only brought more contact between them. She could feel his skin on hers, his hips on hers... the rough contact of his scars rubbing against hers.

With his hands beneath her, he partly lifted her shoulders from the bed as he shifted his weight to his elbows- his lips dipping down to the nape of her neck. She tilted her head back as she felt him slowly work his way down to the flat of her sternum, and then lower still. Fingers curled against his skin as the warmth of his breath pooled between her breasts.

Sonya gently arched her back at the sensation- feeling her skin pull at the subtle gesture that was soon combined with the touch of his lips against her too. "You were right; I'm already enjoying this more," she whispered, as her fingers curled against his shoulders and traced the thinly veiled scars that littered them.

"I would hope so," Kenshi started; his lips moving down to the curve of her ribcage. "Otherwise, I'm doing something wrong."

"Well, when the other option is running an endurance mile, the bar is set pretty low as it is."

He laughed against her skin, before he moved to kiss at her throat. "Are you always this cruel in the mornings?"

"Not typically," she replied, as she grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him back into another kiss- feeling the subtle press of his chest against hers. "I usually get meaner throughout the day."

One hand moved to tangle in her loose, blonde strands as he kissed her back, before he shifted his weight and rolled the both of them across the bed- pulling her on top of him now. "If that's the case, then I'm glad I'm leaving when the convoy gets back."

"That won't save you," Sonya assured, as she set her hands above his shoulders and pushed herself up to rest on her palms. Looking down at him, she admired the deep carve of his collarbones, and the thick scars that littered the skin stretched over them; she admired the broad shape of his shoulders, the smoothness of his biceps and the riddled skin of his forearms and wrists. Defensive injuries, no doubt.

It was a rarity to get him to show some skin; he had been like that from the moment they met. It used to be that the only time she saw skin asides from his face, and his hands on some occasions, was when he was getting patched up by field doctors.

So, she always made sure to take the opportunity to enjoy the sight of it when she could.

Just like he always took the opportunity to touch hers.

She felt the way his hands brushed against her waist, before he slowly drug his fingertips up along her body- eventually cupping her ribcage once again.

"Of course not," Kenshi started, as one hand moved to cup her jaw, before he slowly graced his fingers against her cheek- tracing and outlining the soft contour."Believe me, if there was something that could save me from you, I would've been gone years ago."

"You're such a liar," she insisted, as she leaned down and kissed him. "You love it here- and you love me."

"Hmm, you got me."

She felt the way he pulled her down to him- his hands circling to her back as he curled them against her spine once more. She tucked her knees forward and slowly lifted her hips with them as she scooted closer and eventually situated herself over him. His hands squeezed at her ribs before they trailed down to her hips, and followed them as she slowly guided herself down onto him.

She heard the low groan that started in his throat, and felt it come out as it vibrated across his lips and onto hers.

Her body gave a hard shudder as she settled herself onto his waist; her hands moved to his shoulders as she curled her fingers in against his skin- feeling how his warm presence settled inside of her.

Pulling away, she pushed herself onto her knees and leaned back on them as she set her focus on the slow roll of her hips over his.

His hands held onto her hips and moved with them before he slowly slid them down to her thighs; she felt his palms move to caress every inch of them- moving in careful, circular motions, before she overlapped his hands with hers. Almost immediately, he curled his fingers between hers and she watched as his blue energy lit up and glowed against her skin- bringing in the only light to the otherwise dark office.

"Think you can handle a few hours without me?"

Sonya snorted lightly at his loaded question, before she leaned down and brought his hands to her lips as she brushed them against the backs of his fingers. "As if you're that important to me," she teased.

He gave a quiet laugh and pulled her hands to him now as he kissed the backs of them. "Again, I'm either doing something right, or something wrong if you still insist on keeping me around."

"I just don't want you to fall into someone else's hands, that's all," she insisted.

"Is that from a personal, or professional standpoint?"

He managed to lure a quiet laugh out of her this time, before she leaned forward and pinned his hands against the bed beneath them- exposing more of the defensive scars that collected along his triceps and under arms. She watched as the blue hue of his eyes glowed brighter for just a few seconds, and felt his body shudder underneath hers at the action. Picking up on his subtle hint of weakness, she shifted her balance against his hands and kept her weight on her hips as she kept them moving against him. "You would like the answer to that, wouldn't you?" she replied, as she caught the way his energy fluctuated this time- feeling the subtle push it made against her palms.

He gave a hard breath as his body briefly withered underneath the force of her hips, and the brief squeeze of her thighs around his waist. Take away his ability to touch her freely, to distract himself with his hands reading her body, and... he only had the rocking of her hips to focus on. The slow focus of her body moving against his, rocking in steady, consistent thrusts that played well into the early morning hour.

"I already know the answer to it," he breathed, as he squeezed his fingers between hers.

She couldn't stop the second laugh from escaping her, before she leaned down and kissed him- allowing him to find a distraction in her lips. Releasing his hands, she felt him almost immediately wrap his arms around her, before he pressed his palms loosely against her lower back; she felt the way they followed the rolling of her hips, and felt the way his fingers pressed into her skin.

He pulled her in tight against him, pressing their bodies together as they rolled against one another with every thrust. She kept her arms tucked on either sides of his head as she tucked hers into the curve of his neck; she could hear every heavy breath and subtle groan that escaped from his throat. Her fingers clung to the pillow underneath him, wrinkling it underneath her heavy grasp as she felt his hips pressing against hers in counteraction.

And she felt that energy once more as it warmed the base of her spine and traveled up along her back- spreading like wildfire through every limb until she could feel the heat of it in her fingertips.

She could feel him all over her.

She could practically feel the hands that were now tightly pressed to her lower back roaming all over her- brushing, stroking and caressing every inch of skin they could find. It left her flooded with his presence, drawing her focus on to him and solely him.

A perfect reply to her previous action.

She heard the sharp gasp that escaped her as her body gave in and used the curve of his neck to muffle the rest.

His hands slid up her back before they crossed over her ribs as his arms braced themselves against her, holding her steadily against him as they both found release. She could barely hear him over the sound of her heart pounding in her chest, and the heaviness of her breathing.

...

It felt like they laid there, breathing and panting against one another for several long minutes.

She found her skin hot and sweaty against his body, but... she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to forgo the loose weight of his arms against her now, on their combined heat, or the sheer feeling of solace she found in him at this moment.

Lifting her head from his neck, she noted that he had his tilted back against her pillow- heavy breaths all too easy to see and hear coming from his lips. What she wouldn't give to spend all morning admiring the sight. Still... she turned her attention to the clock once more.

"We've got twenty minutes before the convoy leaves," Sonya started, as she barely moved enough to find a more comfortable resting place on his chest. Her fingers moved to brush his dark, damp hair from his face, before she pulled herself forward and loosely kissed him- immediately feeling the heat of his breath on her lips.

"We can afford to waste ten of them," he replied, as he lifted his hand and pushed his fingers through her loose hair- pulling it away from her face. "You're the General, you could always... stretch the departure time."

She snorted lightly and kissed him again as she carefully pulled herself free from him. "Oh, now you want to correct me on my scheduling issues," she playfully retorted, pulling her body into a brief stretch, before she pushed herself back onto her knees and settled against his waist. Her body surprisingly didn't ache quite as much as she thought it would- instead, it moved fluidly as she rolled her neck and shoulders. "Where was this two days ago?"

Kenshi laughed as he moved his hands to her thighs once more, loosely running them against her now flushed skin. "I work better under pressure," he replied, before he briefly gestured to her.

"Do you want me to field that statement, or do you want to?" Sonya offered, as she set her hands against his chest. "I should remind you that you will be stuck with me in the back of the convoy for the next three hours, so choose your answer carefully."

He gently squeezed her thighs, before he moved his hands to cover her own. "Depends. Are you bringing your garrote wire with you?"

"I never leave the base without it."

"Then I take back what I said."