Author's Notes: Finally we're getting somewhere! WOOHOO! FINALLY. Thanks for the reviews and messages!
When Mike and Paige enter her room there's an odd feeling of intimacy and tension that wasn't there before. Mike walks in to turn on some lights, suddenly feeling to shy to look at Paige.
"Crazy night huh?" She giggles nervously to fill the silence as she sits down on her bed and waits for him to join her.
"Yeah… maybe you should go see Dr. Browning tomorrow while I'm at work and tell him about it." Mike tries to sound casual about the suggestion, as he looks for a place in her room he can hang her undergarments to dry.
"I told you, I don't need a shrink. I'm fine." Even while trashed, Paige sees right through Mike and rolls her eyes. "Remember? We both agreed that therapy wasn't for us."
"Yeah, but my shrink visit was more for an evaluation rather than therapy. Paige, no one expects you to deal with what happened alone."
"Mmmm… I don't want to think about it right now, Mike." Paige sways slightly as she moves to stand dangerously close in front of Mike, playing with the buttons on his shirt and looking up at him with suggestive eyes.
"Paige, you're drunk. Let's just get you to bed." Mike stills her fingers by wrapping his hand around hers.
"You coming with me?" She asks.
"Of course. Where else would I be?" Mike leans down to tenderly kiss her forehead. This time Paige is prepared. She tilts her face up towards his, grabbing his head to pull him down into a kiss. Mike is surprised, but recovers swiftly. Her lips barely get the chance to brush his before Mike pulls away as quickly as possible without hurting her.
"No." Mike mutters more to himself than her, "We can't… that can't happen. Not tonight."
"Ouch." Paige says, looking up at him, offended by his rebuff. "And I didn't even puke."
"Look you're not even going to remember this in the morning. Come on, let's just go to sleep. You need your rest."
"Seriously Mike?" Paige pulls away from him frustrated at the way he's babying her.
"Paige, you can barely stand up without support." Mike says as he holds her up a full arms length away to try to keep her from kissing him again. "I don't want to take advantage of you."
"Look Mike. Ok, yes the room is spinning, and yes, I don't quite remember how we ended up in my room or why I thought purple walls was a good idea. I'm currently seeing three of you, but you know what's most disturbing? None of the three of you are kissing me!"
"Let's just sit down for a minute." Mike walks her carefully over to her bed and sits her down. "I'll go grab you a glass of water. It should help."
Mike sits beside her, as she sips her water. He closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, trying to convince his body that even though he's sitting on her bed, he has no need for an erection tonight. The next few minutes are silent, as both parties try to get their bodies to cooperate with their minds.
"You're right. That did help. I feel better. The room has slowed." Paige says quietly as she finished the glass and handed it back to him.
"Good. I'm glad I could help." Mike says as he takes the empty glass and puts it back on her night stand. As he moves to set the glass aside Paige notices the unmistakable lump in his pants. She bites back an amused grin, and focuses her eyes politely back on his face when he turns back to her.
"You going to be ok without me here tomorrow?"
"Mike, I'm fine. I'm going back to work next week."
"I know, I just feel strange leaving you alone all day." Mike says honestly. He's gotten used to being at her side twenty-four-seven and tomorrow will be the longest they've spent apart since before the abduction. Plus if he admits that she's healed, then he won't have an excuse to sleep beside her every night. He doesn't want to bring their current sleeping arrangements to her attention in fear that she might suggest they start sleeping separately.
"I thought you'd be thrilled to get out of this house for a bit. You must be bored."
"I'm happy about going back to work, I just don't want to leave you." Mike says honestly. She looks up at him trying to judge the meaning behind his words. Mike is confusing Paige tonight. He pushed her away from the kiss, but then he says things like that and she wonders how he expects her not to kiss him.
"You got your job back. We should celebrate." She whispers huskily, placing a hand on his thigh.
"We did celebrate. You celebrated too hard, that's why we headed back early." Mike reminds her. He looks down at her hand but doesn't make an attempt to move it.
"I took you away from your party… Let me make it up to you." She leans in close. Close enough that all Mike needs to do is lean in an inch to kiss her. She allows her hand to rub up and down his thigh, slowly creeping higher.
"I'm fine. I shouldn't be drinking too much tonight anyways. I go back to work tomorrow." Mike tries to rationalize. When her hand slides up to his cup him through his jeans he moans, "Paige, no. You're really drunk."
"You've seen me drink more. I'm fine." She assures him, fondling him through his pants and leaning in even closer to him.
"I've never seen you drink when you're on pain medication." Mike argues even as she squeezes him through his his pants. He keeps his hands firmly gripping her comforter as he resists the urges she's sending through him. "Mixing that shit is dangerous Paige. People die. You know that. Christ. You're DEA."
"Well I also know the recommended action is not to let the person sleep. You going to keep me up all night Mike?" She whispers seductively in his ear, her hand continuing to feel him hardening under her touch.
"No. I'm going to make you eat something, then I'm going to tuck you into bed and watch you sleep all night to make sure you keep breathing." Mike's voice is ragged now. It's a good plan. A plan he's going to act on. In a minute, he's going to remove her hand from his groin and tuck her into bed. Any second now...
Paige takes advantage of Mike's closed eyes as he tries to find the willpower to stop her, and she leans in and presses her lips to his. Even though he'd been fending off her advances all night, the touch of her lips to his made all thoughts flee from his head. He kisses her back, opening his mouth to let her tongue slip into his. She crawls into his lap, straddling him and kissing him deeply. His hands settled on her ass to keep her from falling off the bed.
For a moment all thoughts are gone from Mike's mind other than the taste and touch of her lips on his. He holds her body close, and even in her intoxicated state, her kisses match his pacing well. Maybe this would be ok. Some light kissing never hurt anyone. The two could just make out for a bit, and he wasn't really taking advantage of her this way. After all he was drunk too. They could just kiss until she got tired and then she'd fall asleep. She probably wouldn't even remember it in the morning. Her lips were so soft and she fit so well against his body. She tasted sweet, like peppermint, and he can't seem to keep his tongue out of her mouth. Her hips slowly gyrate in his lap, and fuck he forgot she didn't have underwear on under that skirt.
Paige pulls away to try to take his shirt off over his head, tugging at it drunkenly, and the oxygen returns to Mike's brain as he realizes what's happening.
"Woah, slow down…" Mike whispers, leaning back in to kiss her again. He doesn't think kissing her again is the best idea, but he knows clothes coming off would be a disaster.
"No. Faster. " Paige insists, her hands greedily pulling at his shirt as she kisses him. "Mike fuck me. I want you so badly. I've been waiting so long."
"Not tonight…" Mike gasps against her lips, unable to stop kissing her even as he protests.
"Now. Mike fuck me. Please?" She grinds down hard in his lap. His arms hold her tight against him to keep her from falling onto the floor, but he tries to pull back. He needs a minute to catch his breath.
"No, don't pull away Mike." She says, bringing her lips back to his. She kisses him desperately moaning into his mouth. "Come on. No one's home. I need you. Just please, please. I just want you to make me forget. Please Mike."
"I… I can't." Mike pants, though he's quickly forgetting why it is he can't.
"Yes, you can. I can feel that you can." She reaches between them to unbutton his pants to prove her point. "Sleeping next to you each night Mike, it's driving me crazy. I dream at night of you stretching me, filling me, cumming inside me."
"Fuck…" The word hisses through Mike's clenched teeth and he almost cums right there from the combination of Paige's confession and her fingers slipping under his waist band. He's losing this fight that he doesn't even want to win. His hand slips lower down her ass and under her skirt and he can feel her dripping wet. She gasps and grinds down on his hand, pressing her lips hard to his.
Paige can feel she's wearing him down, but something's still holding him back. She grinds herself against his fingers, but he doesn't move them or make any attempt to move things forward. He kisses her neck and holds himself completely still as he tries to regain enough control. She can tell he's still thinking and she hasn't quite convinced him yet.
"You're going back to work tomorrow, and then this will all be over. Just once Mike. One last night in my bed. No one will ever have to find out." She whispers in his ear, trying to push him back onto the bed. She feels his lips freeze against her neck. She sighs. He's made his decision, she can feel it, and it's not the choice she wants. He picks her up off his lap and firmly sets her down on the bed, standing up briskly and walking across the room quickly like she has a disease.
"Paige we can't do this." He says firmly, as he turns his back to her and starts to rebutton his pants.
"Bullshit! We just were! Why did you stop?" Paige yells from where she's sitting confused on the bed.
"We just can't! Christ Paige, you fucking roofied yourself." Mike growls, his frustration with the situation growing. "Look, you're really drunk. You don't really want this. It's too soon and you've already been through so much."
"You've been through it with me Mike. Let me reward you." Paige gives one last weak attempt to seduce him.
"I don't need a reward Paige. Let me just get you into bed." Mike barks. He's not doing this with her. He will not have a drunken one night stand. Not with her.
"That's what I'm trying to do! Just stop fighting it and fucking come to bed with me."
"Paige we can't. There are rules about this." Mike tries to appeal to Paige's love of Graceland and the sacredness of the house.
"You didn't care about the rules with Abby." She says darkly.
"Yeah, and see how well that worked out? I can't be careless with you Paige!" Mike yells, pissed that she would bring that up. "Besides, you were the one who threw her at me anyways, so I really don't think you have a right to complain."
"Yeah, because I wanted you to relax and get laid for a night. I never thought you'd be stupid enough to fall in love with the girl!" She yells, and suddenly it feels like they're back in that damn kitchen after Abby left him, screaming at each other.
"I was never in love with Abby, ok? I was just trying to get over you!" It's a damn good thing none of the roommates are home yet. Mike never loses his temper with anyone the way he does with Paige. The two of them have gone from kissing to just screaming at each other.
"Me?" Paige asks in a surprised voice. Mike is angry that she has the nerve to sound surprised. She had to have known. She was smarter than that. She knew he was smitten from the second he walked into that damn club. Just like every other man that ever met her.
"Paige, c'mon. You knew I had feelings for you, and you pushed me at Abby. What else could I do?" Mike yells the words he's never been brave enough to say out loud before. "I moved on."
"So what? You're over me now?" Paige demands from where she sits on the bed. Mike scoffs because she clearly has to know that he isn't over her. He doesn't think he ever will be.
"Oh my god, I am not having this conversation right now." Mike is exhausted. "Look, just go to sleep ok?"
He doesn't want to talk about this with Paige. Especially when she's this trashed. The truth is he's still hurt. His and Paige's relationship had grown so much and so much deeper than he thought possible since he arrived at Graceland, but a part of him still hadn't forgiven her for her rejection early on. She was a smart girl, she'd known he liked her and she'd pushed him away. She'd done everything she could to make sure they weren't together and now they weren't.
Even if they got together now, Mike still resented the months he'd spent without her in his arms. He's getting angry just thinking about it. These past few months, when he'd had no one to confide in, when he'd turned to Abby because she was there, it should have been Paige. Mike knows him and Paige could be great together if she would just let them be.
Part of him worries that, subconsciously, she roofied herself tonight just to keep them apart. He knows it's probably him being paranoid, but he feels like if she wanted 'them' to happen, they would have by now. Tonight had been going so well, and then she had to go and take that goddamn pain killer.
How many times was she going to keep throwing up obstacles for them? Mike doesn't want a one night stand between them. If he gives in to her now, while she's this messed up, she'll hold it against him later and say it was just the booze and pills and use it as another excuse as why they shouldn't be together. If he ever sleeps with Paige, he wants to know it's her choosing him.
"Mike. Look at me." Paige comes up behind him and begins to rub his shoulders and back, trying to massage all the tension away from him. He just stands as still of a statue and shrugs her off, trying to walk away but she holds onto him.
"Paige, just stop ok?" Mike is exhausted. He can't handle her touching him right now.
"Do you want me?" Her voice is a soft whisper as she stares up at him with big green eyes.
"No! Not like this, I don't!" Mike says echoing back her words to her from the first time he'd kissed her. He did want her. God he wanted her, but she was wasted and not thinking straight, and he couldn't do this with her.
Mike can't look at her anymore. It hurts too much. It's too close and at the same time way too far away from what he wants. He's not sure how much longer he can take this. Apparently his last words finally got through to her though because she stops fighting him and remains silent.
"Look. I would sleep in my own room tonight if I weren't so damn worried you were going to just stop breathing in the middle of the night. I have to be up early in the morning for work, and I don't have time for this. So just stop messing around and get in the damned bed." Mike grabs her by the shoulders and sets her down on the bed roughly. "I'll sleep on the floor. Just don't touch me."
Paige remains silent, and she rolls over in bed, pulling the covers up all around her like a protective shield. Mike grabs the spare pillow and throws it on the ground, lying down on the rug next to her bed. It takes an hour of him staring up at her ceiling listening to her breathing for him to fall asleep.
The next morning, Mike wakes up to find that Paige is indeed still breathing. He sneaks out of her room before she wakes up and begins to go through his morning routine. Right before it's time for him to leave for work he sneaks back into her room with a small tray holding a banana, some toast, water and aspirin. He sets it down on her night stand, and leans down out of habit to kiss her goodbye on the forehead. The touch of his lips to her forehead wakes her up, and he pulls away shyly thinking maybe he shouldn't have done it.
"You don't have to wake up." He whispers, "I was just leaving for work, but you can sleep in."
She sits up anyways, looking over at the clock and rubbing her eyes in the daylight. Her hair is a mess, and she looks adorable. Mike takes a few steps back, because he feels like he's intruding in her space.
"So about last night…" Paige says, twisting the sheets in her hands.
"Yeah, you were pretty drunk." Mike says dismissively. He didn't want to talk about the details and embarrass her right now, but he realized they needed to talk about it. A lot was said and done last night that Mike hasn't had time to process yet. They were both drunk, and emotional, and things got out of hand. He knows he was too harsh with her, and he knew that he would be tortured by it all day at work. Tonight when he got home from work, he'd pick up dinner, and then they could talk about what last night meant.
"I don't quite remember all the details." Her blush tells him she remembers enough.
"Don't worry. Nothing happened." Mike leans over and kisses her on the forehead. "I have to go to work, but there's water and aspirin on the side table for you."
"Thanks." Paige grumbles, embarrassed that he rejected her advances last night.
"Don't worry about it. I made sure there's food in the fridge, so you don't need to cook. I'll have my phone on me all day. Call if you need anything, ok?" Mike says, from the doorway. It feels strange leaving her. He wants to stay.
"Yeah, I will." She says, still unable to look at him.
"Have a nice day. Don't push yourself too hard. I'll see you when I get home tonight." Mike promises as he heads out the door. Just as his foot is about to cross the threshold into the outside world, he has a moment of panic at the thought of leaving her and considers turning around, storming back upstairs, calling in sick and spending the day with her. He shakes it off though. He has to go back to work sometime. Maybe some space is exactly what him and Paige need.