Shaw sighed internally as she moved Root's hand off her leg for the tenth time in almost as many minutes. It hadn't been so bad just this morning. Why was she suddenly all over her?

In Root's defense, she wasn't literally on her. Shaw would kill her if she did that in front of John, and Root knew it. But while subtle, her signals had been running strong for over an hour. All of a sudden tonight she had lost almost all sense of decorum. Root had been eyeing her during dinner in a way that made her suspicious, but she'd had no idea what was in store. They were a mere four minutes into John's favorite Bruce Lee movie when Root decided she was cold. The blanket she threw across her lap was conveniently big enough to also cover Shaw. A minute later, she realized that the blanket was only a cover for Root to touch her.

At first, Shaw had simply rebuffed her, but Root was getting more insistent. What did she think Shaw was going to do, finger her under the blanket while John remained oblivious on her other side? She wasn't going to take the risk that he didn't, even if she'd been interested in playing Root's game. She'd considered ditching the blanket, but that presented two issues. The first one being that Root might take that the wrong way and start touching her openly; Shaw wouldn't put it past her. The second? Root could very easily just bring the blanket back, and the moment they started fighting over a blanket, it was going to draw John's attention anyway.

So she was stuck, at least until it occurred to her the right way to handle this.

Root's next pass wasn't just a touch. She slid her hand around to the inside of Shaw's thigh. Shaw caught her just as she started to move up. But when she pinched her wrist and yanked, Root dug her fingernails into her thigh, forcing her to stifle a gasp. She glared at Root, found her smirking at the TV. Bitch. She was trying to get a reaction out of her now.

This dance continued for the next half an hour, until John paused the movie to use the bathroom. Shaw instantly had her hand on Root's neck, stifling her air and pulling her in close. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Root gasped against her grasp, but her face was perfectly serene when she answered, "Oh, I don't think we have time to go down that list."

"Stop whatever you're doing! Now is not the time for your games!"

"Games?" Root managed to pout, even still caught in Shaw's grip. "I just want to touch you, Sameen."

"Not. Here."

"But I need you."

It clicked. "Fuck," she whispered. "You just got off your period, didn't you?"

Root nodded with the limited range of motion available to her.

"Fuck," Shaw muttered again. She pushed Root away, her mind reeling. Experience told her Root was going to be insatiable for the next three days. And John was here for another twenty-four hours.

She wasn't surprised when Root came right back to her, simultaneously throwing one leg over lap, diving a hand under her shirt, and trying to latch on to her neck with her mouth. Shaw grabbed a fistful of Root's hair to keep her mouth away, using her free hand to push her leg away. "I said no!" she hissed quietly.

"But I need you."

It was pointless to reason with her, Shaw knew this. She was beyond reasoning. But she couldn't let Root mount her in the middle of a movie. The toilet flushed in the bathroom. She growled and pulled Root close again. "If you cannot control yourself, you need to leave."

"Sam-"

"Go into the bedroom and take care of shit yourself. I will help you later. If you insist on staying out here and causing problems, I swear to every single...computer god that I will not touch you for a month. Understand?"

Root whimpered, edging toward Shaw's mouth, but unable to reach with Shaw's grasp on her hair. The door to the bathroom opened. "Understand?" Shaw murmured low. Root finally nodded, allowing Shaw to shove her away.

"You good?" John asked, eyes darting between them suspiciously.

Or was she paranoid? Maybe he was just noting the obvious tension in the room.

"Fine. Root isn't a big fan of Bruce Lee, though. I told her she can just call it an early night; you won't be offended."

John nodded to her. "No, not at all. I get they aren't for everyone." He smiled charmingly, in that way that made every female around him swoon.

Root just stared at him. Shaw elbowed her. "Root?" Her glazed eyes met Shaw's. "You were going to go to bed?" She stared at her intently, hoping she would just get up and do it.

She seemed dazed, bringing further tension to Shaw's shoulders, but after too long a moment she said, "Yeah. Bed." She cleared her throat. "Sorry, John."

He told her again it was no problem, watched her leave. When he turned back to Shaw, his eyes definitely read with suspicion.

"Oh, stop it. It's just weird, having another person in the house. Besides, she doesn't really know you yet."

"No, I know. But...she doesn't seem like someone easily bothered. Certainly not by meeting new people." He raised his eyebrows at her as he sat back down. "Feel more like the third wheel, myself."

Shaw sighed. "Well, in a way, you are. She and I learned to live together, we settled into a routine. Like I said, it's just weird to have a third person around."

"Okay." If John believed her, she couldn't quite tell. But he wouldn't push it. He just wasn't that kind of guy.

They finally finished the movie, and to Shaw's relief, Root stayed in the bedroom. John hadn't seemed to care that Root would so easily trade her bed for Shaw's, but he had seemed surprised when Shaw let her. When they were alone, she'd told him that it was just a pick-your-battle type of situation, and Root was not easily deterred. She also told him she was sleeping on the floor.

Shaw offered John a beer, which he accepted, and they took them out onto the porch. It was still cold out, but the icy snap that had hit was fading, and with the porch heater that Root had bought, it wasn't intolerable for short periods. They sipped in silence, the same easy rapport they'd always had falling right back into place. It was nice, not having a silence rife with expectations or unspoken assumptions. With John, things just were. Whatever she had with Root was different. Comfortable, in its own way, and they, too, could sit in perfect silence without ever feeling weird. But she'd known John for longer, so the comfort level was different. Root, for all of the ways she'd grown on Shaw, just wasn't the silent type.

John's visit had been perfectly smooth. Shaw had picked him up from the airport and brought him back to the house, where he met Root. He didn't seem to love or hate her; she was just Shaw's roommate. If they ever had the chance to get to know each other in any real way, he might form a stronger opinion, but in the last twenty-four hours, they'd merely been polite toward each other in that weird, stilted way that strangers did. It was good enough for Shaw.

It was easier knowing he was around for only a few days. As nice as it was to see him, it was also difficult hiding things from him. They had never been the type to share secrets, but they didn't actively keep things from each other, either. Shaw felt no guilt over hiding it. It had nothing to do with him, not that she was capable of feeling guilt anyway. But she figured if she did experience guilt, it wouldn't be that big of a leap to say he hadn't mentioned the military to her before joining, so this was only fair. Everyone had secrets, even best friends.

Shaw was at the end of her beer when she spoke. "You find it yet?"

John was slow to answer. "What, like the purpose of life?"

"Asshole," she muttered. "Call it whatever suits you, I don't care. Just want to know if this is working for you."

He took even longer to answer this time. "I think it's good. It's nice to know what's expected of me every single day. The direction helps. All I do is take orders. I like that."

Shaw scoffed. "I hate taking orders."

John's mouth tilted up. "Then the military isn't for you."

"No, I know what's for me."

"Started thinking about internships?"

"It's on my mind," she told him simply.

She hadn't confessed to him any of her concerns about being able to fit in with the regular humans and not draw attention to herself. She wouldn't know how to bring it up, and certainly not in a letter. What was he going to say, anyway? He couldn't help her make it work. He'd spent years trying to show her how to fit in. If it was going to take, it would've done so by now.

"Well, there's no question you'll make it."

"Past my internship? Well fuck, I won't be one of the drop-outs."

John chuckled.

"Nah. Just gotta...learn bedside manner."

"Good luck with that."

Silence fell again. Shaw finished her beer. John continued to nurse his. The cold started to get to her, despite the heater, and she debated going inside. It was getting late, anyway.

"I'm sleeping with her."

John looked over at her, eyebrows raised.

Shaw stared straight ahead. "We've been hooking up for months."

"I didn't need to know that."

"Yeah, I have no idea why I said it."

A beat passed. "Are you...good?"

Shaw nearly laughed, except nothing about this was funny. "I don't even know what that means."

Apparently, neither did he, because he didn't elaborate.

"Months, huh?" Shaw didn't answer. "You don't do...months."

"I'm aware."

"Why's she different?"

Shaw opened her mouth and then closed it again. She nearly opened it a second time but caught herself. She had no idea what to tell him. Why the fuck had her stupid mouth started spilling?

"It just...works. I dunno, man, that's all I got."

John nodded slowly. "That's all you need." Shaw looked over. "You don't owe me an explanation. And you definitely don't have to justify it to anyone. If you're good and she's good and it's all...consensual, then whatever."

Straight to the point, as always. Shaw appreciated more than ever that John was a man of few words. And even if he wasn't, he knew better than to ask her questions. Some people might probe for more, but he didn't. There was no awkward 'how did it happen' or 'do you have feelings for her'. It just was, and Shaw didn't have to explain.

But she was still annoyed with herself for having said anything at all. She'd gotten Root to agree not give any hint as to their sex life while John was here; no lingering glances, no touching. And here she'd blurted it out. Dumb ass. She wouldn't mention this slip-up to Root. There was no question it would be held over her head indefinitely.

She got to her feet, needing this day to be done. "G'nite."

"Night."

Shaw slipped into a bedroom with dimmed lights and a quiet buzzing. She wasn't all surprised to find Root naked on the bed, legs spread with a toy massaging her clit. Her hooded eyes met Shaw's, lighting up with eagerness. She licked her lips slowly, watching Shaw undress. "Hey," she said huskily. Shaw didn't respond. Root whimpered, moving the vibrator faster. Shaw knew it was taking all of her self-control not to reach for her. "I did what you said. I left, and I've been in here all by myself."

"I see that." Root whimpered again, but Shaw didn't give her anything more. Shaw glanced over to the tub open on the nightstand. Root had a rather impressive collection of toys, all organized and stored neatly in a special container for easy access. She'd moved it into Shaw's room first, before she even moved herself, reassuring Shaw that she had no intention of letting John see it. Shaw was glad now for the ready availability of what they both needed.

Shaw climbed onto the bed, kneeling between Root's spread thighs. Her hips arched up, as if seeking Shaw's touch, more sounds leaving her mouth. When she moved, Shaw could see the wet spot underneath her, telling her Root had already had multiple orgasms. She let herself enjoy the view, licking her own lips. Root's grip on the small, sleek vibrator in her hand faltered. Shaw took it from her, clicking it off. In the sudden silence of the room, Root's needy gasps were louder, her breathing heavy from arousal. Shaw put her hands on her thighs, forcing them further apart. Her swollen clit was throbbing from the sudden lack of attention, enough that Shaw could watch it visibly pulse. Her mouth watered.

"And you were so very quiet," she murmured. "I'm impressed." She didn't need to look up at Root to know that would please her. Which was all the same right now, because Shaw was entranced by her open, wet pussy. "Do you know what that gets you?"

"You?" Root answered hopefully.

"Me," Shaw confirmed, "in whatever ways you want, all night long." Root's eyes lit up. Shaw shifted far enough to reach the harness hanging from the nightstand. "Start with this?" Root nodded frantically. "Good. But you still have to be very quiet." Root bit her lip, her eyes shuttering. "Quiet, Root. Or this stops, and I go sleep on the couch."

"I can be quiet, I promise." Unable to resist any longer, her hands came up to Shaw's ribs, tracing her naked torso reverently.

"You'd better." She would really hate stopping mid-fuck and relocating to the couch, alone. But she would do it, if the point needed to be made. She rose from the bed to put the harness on, ignoring Root's look of dismay. But she adjusted quickly, moving to pick out the attachment she wanted. Shaw flipped on some music, shifting the speaker to be closer to the door, which faced toward the spare bedroom. A little sound buffer wouldn't be a bad idea. Just in case.

John might know, but he didn't need to hear it.