At Kalinda's request, Hank had ended up doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen before going to bed. She had explained that, much as she appreciated his offer to do it in the morning, she couldn't go to bed and sleep knowing there was a messy kitchen waiting when she woke up. Hank had decided that was fair enough, and had gone to attend to it straight away.

Nearly half an hour later, with the kitchen cleaned, dishes washed, dried and put away, mostly in the right places, he hoped, Hank went through to the bedroom where Kalinda was waiting. She was already in bed, reading something on her phone. She set it aside right away when he walked in so as to give him her full attention.

"All done," he reported.

"Thanks so much, Hank. That's greatly appreciated. Come and get into bed."

"Let me use the bathroom and wash up. I'll be right with you."

In the bathroom, going through the monotony of preparing for bed, Hank's mind was on what to do next. He decided not to try and initiate sex when he got into bed. He had a feeling that it would be best to let their next sexual encounter happen when Kalinda chose to bring it about. This particular night had been a success because he had shown love, not sexual appetite. He would continue down that road.

"That was a good night," he said when he walked back into the bedroom.

"Yes, I very much enjoyed it," Kalinda said.

Hank quickly undressed down to his boxers, then climbed into bed. Kalinda shifted to lie on her side, facing him. He did the same, putting an arm around her.

"Mmmm," she moaned softly. It was a very contented sound. "Tonight wasn't merely a good night, Hank. It was... is... the night I've enjoyed most since we've been together. I've felt happy and loved like I thought I never would be. Notice there was no 'again' at the end of that sentence. My ex never made me this happy."

And you married him, Hank thought. What a sad state of affairs. All that he had done was have his daughter and her partner come over for dinner, do the dishes, and tell Kalinda he loved her. But, he supposed, it was about the feeling behind those things that had affected her so much, not the actions themselves. What really mattered was the she was happy, right here and now.

"I'm happy I make you so happy," he said before giving her a kiss on the lips. "And of course you make me feel that way too."

"That's my aim," she said, then gave him another kiss. "Do you mind if we go straight to sleep tonight? I'm beyond tired."

"Of course I don't mind. Turn around and I'll hold you." Hank knew by now that Kalinda liked to sleep cuddled up against him, her back to him with his arm around her. Again, he realised that showed her need to feel loved.

Within minutes, he could tell that she was asleep. It always took him longer than that. Lying there listening to her gentle breathing, he considered what the future might hold for them. Living together, hopefully. Kids, no. She was unable, and he was too old. Adoption, also no. Again, he was too old, and they were both too busy for an application to succeed, even if they made one. Grandchildren were possible. He had already thought about that earlier. What about marriage? That was possible too, he thought. And at his time of life waiting years before asking her didn't feel sensible. Maybe in a few months, if things were still going so well, he might pop the question. It was something to mention to Erin and get her input.

BREAK

The next morning, Kalinda's alarm had gone off at 6am, waking them both from a very good sleep. She had needed to get up, shower, and get ready for a shift with Intelligence. There was no such rush for Hank, who was still waiting for the chance to officially open Voight Detective Services.

After Kalinda finished in the shower, Hank took his turn. By the time he got out, she was dressed and in the kitchen making breakfast. Hank took pleasure in noticing that she had a pair of leather boots on.

They were soon eating breakfast at the dining table. There was nothing remarkable about the conversation, but it felt different somehow to Hank. A new level of closeness had been reached between them. They had already expressed their love for each other, maybe a little soon, Hank now suspected. Now was the time that love truly existed between them. He could feel it.

Breakfast was soon over with, and it was time for Kalinda to get ready for work. "I've got something I want to give you, Hank," she said from the kitchen, where she had just taken their used plates and cups.

"Okay," he said, encouraging her to elaborate. He got up from the table and went to her.

Kalinda took something out of one of the kitchen drawers and offered it to him. "I want you to have this. It's a key for this place. I'd like you to properly feel at home here, so you can come and go as you please. Obviously I know you have your place and that's your home..."

"Stop," Hank said gently, putting an end to her babbling. Showing nervousness was rare for her. "I'll take the key. Thank you. It means a lot to me. I'd like you to consider my place home too. Now that Jay's in the picture, I imagine Erin will move out before too long. Living alone again will be odd."

Kalinda looked him in the eyes. Her beauty almost took his breath away. "What are you saying, Hank?"

"Last night, after you fell asleep, I was thinking about the future. Us living together was on my mind. Not now. You know, in the future."

"You'd want that?" she asked, not giving him much to go on as to what her own opinion was.

"Of course. I love you, Kalinda. Sharing a home with you feels like the next step."

"I agree," she said without hesitation. "Knowing you feel the same way makes me happy. I've got an out on this place after three months if I want to take it – perks of renting from a friend of a friend. Why don't we see how things are then?"

Hank nodded. It was a sensible idea.

"Right, I've got to get to work. You take your time and let yourself out when you're ready."

"Thank you. I think I'll have a second cup of coffee before I leave in that case," he said as she went over to the coats and jackets that were hanging near the apartment's main door.

"No problem. Maybe you'll get the keys to your new office today?"

"Hopefully," Hank said. "They're sure taking their time about it."

Kalinda put on a dark blue leather jacket that Hank had seen her in before, followed by black leather gloves. He couldn't help feeling somewhat excited by how hot she looked to him. He went to her, ostensibly to give her a kiss before she left. When he reached her, his hands went behind her back and he pulled her to him.

"Have a good day. You know, it should probably be against regulations for a cop to look so hot."

Kalinda giggled, appreciating the flattery. "Or maybe they should ban wearing leather in Intelligence?"

"That would never have happened on my watch."

Now she burst out laughing. "You're hilarious, in your own way. Sadly, I have got to get to work."

With that, Kalinda reached up and kissed him, putting her hands on his cheeks so that he could also enjoy feeling the leather against his skin. It was a move that Hank was getting used to, but that didn't make him enjoy it any less.

"I'm a sucker for that," he said after the kiss was over, knowing she would understand his meaning.

"A sucker, huh? Trying sucking this," she said assertively, and stuck her index finger in his mouth.

Hank definitely hadn't expected that. Having the gloved finger in his mouth gave him the taste of leather right away, and it turned him on. Or maybe it was Kalinda's assertiveness that did it for him? It was probably both, he figured.

"You like?" she asked innocently.

"Mmm hmm," he said, and she promptly pulled the finger out of his mouth. "Now why did that excite me as much as it did?"

"Because you've got a thing for leather. And because the mouth is erogenous."

Kalinda lending her wonderful accent to words like erogenous wasn't far off porn for Hank. He didn't want the moment to end. "That's why you put your boot in my mouth that night."

"Yes. I was seeing if you would resist or pull away. You didn't. And just now, again, you didn't. The way I see it, so long as I wear a sexy leather outfit I can do pretty much whatever I want to you in the bedroom." Now her excitement was coming through also.

"I can confirm that," he assured her. "You've got me worked up now, and you're going to walk out."

"Have to," she said with a reluctant grimace. "But, if Erin's out tonight, maybe I'll bring something sexy over to your place and we can fool around?"

"I'll 'fool around' with you any time, Kalinda. Have a good day, and stay safe. I love you." He was remembering to keep telling her that.

"I love you too. Text if you receive any news."

"Will do," he promised.

With one more kiss, Kalinda left the apartment. Hank did indeed stay for another cup of coffee before heading out himself. In the car on the way home, he wondered if he ought to give Kalinda a key to his house. No, not yet, he decided. It might look like he was only doing it because she had just done it, not because he truly wanted to.

His phone started to ring. The name of the real estate company dealing with the office space that Voight Detective Services were going to rent was on the screen. He touched the green phone icon to answer.

"Hank Voight."

"Mr Voight, good morning," a male voice said. "I'm Dom Brandt with Shires Realty. How are you today?"

"Good, thank you. You have news for me?"

"I'm pleased to say I do. The keys for your office will be available from midday today. Feel free to stop by and collect them whenever is convenient."

"I'll drop in this afternoon," Hank said.

"Great. We'll see you then. Have a good day."

"You too," Hank said. He ended the call, and immediately placed one to Erin. She answered after a few rings.

"Hey. I enjoyed last night a lot."

"Hi. Me too," Hank said in a business-like tone. "Just had a call from Shires. The keys for the office will finally be available this afternoon."

"About time. That's awesome though," Erin cried. "Voight Detective Services are finally in business."

Well, not quite, Hank thought. But it wouldn't be long now.

A/N: Kalinda took the step of giving Hank a key to her apartment, then soon afterwards he got the call to collect the keys for the office.

Do you think it's a good idea for Kalinda to move into Hank's place in a couple of months?