A/N: Apologies for the two-year delay in doing anything with this story. I am hoping to get back into more regular updates. And as a treat, this chapter is rated M.

Harry rolled them both over so he was on his back. Ruth's body stretched over his somewhat awkwardly as she tried to right herself. She managed to push the sheets away and perch herself on top of his lap.

"How'd I end up here?" she asked, teasing him.

"I wanted to look at you. It feels like an age since I got to see you like this," he told her. And realistically he knew it had only been about two weeks since he last made love to Ruth. But in the midst of that, having been on the brink of certain destruction of their romantic relationship, Harry had truly believed that he would never see her like this ever again. And what a sight it was indeed. Her lovely face was smiling, her bright blue eyes shining, her soft curves on display.

Ruth looked like she wanted to say something but she just leaned in and kissed him again. Harry's hands found her thighs. She whimpered into his mouth. He moved up her legs to her hips and gave her bum an eager squeeze before moving up over the curve of her waist to take her breasts in his hands. Ruth had to break their kiss to gasp and arch into his touch. When she leaned back in, she trailed kisses down his neck and sucked and nipped gently. It was driving him wild. His cock twitched against her thigh.

"Please, Harry," she moaned. Harry got the feeling that she had missed their closeness as much as he had. He buried his hands in her hair to pull her back to his lips for another searing kiss.

When Ruth pulled away this time, she shifted herself to take his erection in her hand. A growl of pleasure escaped from the back of his throat as she stroked him a few times to relieve the tension.

"God, Ruth, I need you," he begged.

She did not make him wait any longer. She positioned herself over him and guided him into her body. Soon enough, their hips were flush together with their arms wrapped around each other so tightly that Harry did not quite know where he ended and she began.

Harry stared into her eyes and felt something stir inside him. Ruth rested her forehead against his. They breathed together as the world fell away. All that existed was the expanse of their love, the dark hazel of his eyes locked with the ocean blue of hers.

Ruth then began to move. She shifted her hips slightly, making them both moan and groan at the sensations. She was slow and deep and purposeful. She tilted her head and caught his lips in a messy kiss.

Her hands gripped his shoulders. His own hands moved down to her hips and held her tight, perhaps leaving bruises that he would reverently trace with his lips later. Their panting breaths broke their kiss again, so he moved down to her throat, forcing Ruth to lean back to give him access. The slight change in angle made her gasp. She rolled her hips on top of him and he sucked hard on the pale skin just above her collarbone. Ruth took one of his hands off her hip and guided his fingers to the juncture between her legs.

It was rare for Ruth to take control like this, and Harry loved it. To have her show him exactly what she wanted and needed, to let him know exactly how to give it to her. He could feel his fingers and her fingers and the way his cock slid inside her body. The eroticism of it was enough to tip them both over the edge.

Ruth's body snapped and pulsated with her powerful release, and Harry grunted and his hips jerked involuntarily beneath her as he spilled inside her. The both of them were entirely wrung out of energy, sweating and breathing hard. Ruth slumped against him, barely able to hold herself up. They wrapped their arms around each other loosely, trying to catch their breath.

"How's that for a homecoming for you?" Harry asked hoarsely.

She chuckled breathily. "I love you," she answered softly.

Harry wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "I love you," he replied. He nuzzled into her hair and hummed in deep contentment.

"Alright, you'll have to let me move so I don't get cramp. Then where will we be, you playing nursemaid to your useless fiancée," she joked.

"You're supposed to be the one who's too young for me, Ruth. But for whatever it's worth, I wouldn't ever mind the opportunity to take care of you no matter what the reason."

She smiled gently. "You're a very sweet man. Now let go so I can move off you."

He shifted so they could disentangle themselves. Harry passed her some tissues to help clean herself up. They'd probably have a quick shower before they went downstairs and made some tea. "The tea," he muttered to himself in annoyance.

"What was that?"

"We left our tea down in the kitchen and I've learned that Billy has a tendency to knock things off tables and counters and such. There might be a mess waiting for us downstairs," Harry explained.

"Well, cats can be like that," Ruth replied. "I still can't believe you got a cat."

"He's our cat. That was always the intention," Harry told her. "And I know better than to tell you that you should move in so that he can live with the both of us. But whenever you are ready to move in together, both Billy and I will be happy to have you with us."

Ruth wrapped her dressing gown around her body. Harry had left all her things where she'd left them, hoping beyond hope that she'd return. And of course she had. But she had a look of consternation on her face.

"Have I said the wrong thing again?" Harry asked with concern.

"No, of course not. I was just thinking that I would like us to move in together when things are a bit more settled. Beth has settled in well, I think, but things still feel…"

"I've been monitoring Lucas. I haven't decided what to do about it yet. I know that's been on your mind along with everything else," he told her.

Ruth's head whipped around to him faster than he would have otherwise expected from her. "You what?"

"I do not approve of what you did or how you went about it, but I certainly know better than to disregard your professional efforts, Ruth."

Her brow furrowed. Harry had to stop himself from scoffing or rolling his eyes.

"You think I do disregard your professional efforts?" he prompted.

"No, it's just that you've been giving Lucas the benefit of the doubt for quite some time now," Ruth pointed out.

"He is my Section Chief," Harry reminded her.

"You're protecting him."

"And you think I shouldn't?"

She frowned. "I didn't say that. And if it's all the same, we can deal with Lucas tomorrow when we're back on the Grid. I'd like a fresh cup of tea and something to eat and I'd like to get to know our cat."

Harry couldn't help but smile at that. He watched Ruth leave the bedroom in her dressing gown. Our cat. She'd said our cat. And they'd had a slight disagreement about something work-related and it hadn't ruined their happiness. It hadn't sent her running for the hills. She had left the room, certainly, but only to go down to see their cat. What a miraculous turn of events from what Harry had expected when he got up this morning.

There was plenty to still figure out, and the possibility of Lucas's duplicity was high on that list. But as Ruth had said, they'd deal with all that tomorrow when they returned to work. For now, they were allowed to claw back some gentle joy for themselves.