#28dateswithunitbravo

she tried to suppress her giddy smile as she bounced over to him, standing in front of him and casting a shadow over his book until he was forced to look up at her. she reached down and removed the book from his hands, carefully placing it on the seat next to him. he looked at her quizzically, the raised eyebrow dropping to meet the other as she placed her hands on his shoulders before settling her knees on either side of his thighs.

she sat down, comfortably seated on his thighs and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“how can i not stare at you?” she said with a soft smile. “you’re gorgeous.”

the corner of his lips quirked up into a smile against his will. “how could i possibly compare to you?” he said, delicately placing his hands on her hips.

regina hummed. “i guess you can’t,” she grinned cheekily, sliding slightly closer and watching a faint blush creep up his neck and color his cheeks.

she ran her thumbs along his jaw and tilted his head back, her attention squarely on his lips. her eyes flicked upward hesitantly before she tilted her head down, feeling his pulse quicken and his throat still under her hands as though he was holding his breath. she moved slowly, to give him the space to stop her, but his grip on her hips only tightened slightly. his mouth parted and regina closed the gap between them, closing her eyes at the feel of his soft lips moving against hers and soft moans vibrating between them.

his thumbs slipped under the hem of her shirt, whether consciously or not, she wasn’t sure, but it spurred a desire to be bolder than she usually was with adam in moments like this. her tongue danced with his when his mouth parted again, her hips mirroring the movements. she ground against him, hands moving toward his back and under his shirt, trying to close the nonexistent gap between them.

a low growl escaped adam’s throat and sent a thrill down regina’s spine. she could feel that he was hard even through their clothing and the sensation spurred her on, the room around them fading away as she ground harder and faster against him.

“adam,” she sighed, in-between kisses, moving her hands to slip under his shirt.

he froze at the sound of her voice and pulled away, stilling her hips and shifting her back. regina opened her eyes, stunned and confused, shifting her weight back on his lap.

“hey, it’s okay. it’s just me,” she said softly at the sight of his panicked expression. she moved closer to him again, settling herself against his hips.

he refused to meet her eye, standing abruptly instead, the sudden movement threatening to send her flying off him and onto the floor. his arms wrapped around her back and he set her on her feet before turning and walking toward the hallway.

“i’m—i’m sorry,” he said quickly, turning his face toward her without making eye contact before disappearing from the room.

what just happened? regina wondered, collapsing against the couch and wrapping her arms around her knees. maybe she had pushed him too quickly? the nature and state of their relationship was still a question mark, but she had thought they were making progress. maybe their relationship wasn’t meant to get physical.

or maybe it was just her. tears started prickling behind her eyes as she desperately tried to push away her deep-rooted insecurity trying to claw its way to the surface and drown her from the inside.

a few days later, at the police station

adam looked at the station doors from behind a nearby tree, internally warring with himself as to whether it was really the best time to talk about what happened a few nights ago. he certainly never pictured himself wanting to have a personal conversation about their relationship while regina was on duty, but the thought that she may have been left with the wrong impression about his intentions toward her didn’t sit well with him.

his shoulders tensed at the sudden sound of someone whistling near the station. he peeked around the tree, only to clench his jaw at the sight of the nosy reporter making his way into the station. no doubt to bother the detective.

regina sighed as she nudged the stack of paperwork to the edge of her desk with her forearm, pushing her keyboard as far back as it could go so she could rest her forehead on her arms. the last few days hadn’t been easy, between the impromptu agency meetings regarding new supernatural species moving to the area and mediating a territory dispute in the forest. it barely left time for sleep, let alone a chance for her and adam to talk.

if she was being honest, she knew she was avoiding the conversation and welcomed the additional work. but she also knew she couldn’t let this drag on much longer. there was still an awkward tension around them, even though she did her best to remain professional.

“your bodyguard isn’t around today,” bobby’s voice cut through her small office, his face partially obscured by the narrow glass vase in his hands encasing a few red roses.

“he’s not my bodyguard,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“is he your boyfriend?” bobby asked, jealousy clearly marking his features.

regina faltered and looked away. “not exactly, no.”

she could almost hear the smirk that appeared on bobby’s face and looked back at him to find that he had stepped closer to her. “so you’re single, and i’m single, so why don’t i take you out for a nice valentine’s day dinner, like old times? i even got you your favorite flowers.”

she shuddered at the memories of their past valentine’s celebrations together, none of which had been particularly pleasant for her. she eyed the vase as he set it down on the desk in front of her, placing his palms carefully on the wood surface and leaning toward her.

“first of all, those aren’t my favorite flowers. you would know that if you paid attention. and given our history, it’s incredibly bold of you to bring me roses and ask me out on a date,” she said, pursing her lips together to prevent her train of thought (presumptive asshole) from being spoken out loud.

bobby took a step back with a hand over his chest in mock hurt. “you wound me, angel.”

“just get out of here bobby,” she said, gritting her teeth.

“that’s not a no, so i’ll pick you up at seven, angel,” he called out as he headed out of her office.

she came to her senses at the nickname, standing up and rounding her desk quickly. “it’s always going to be a no to you!” she snapped at his retreating back, but he merely waved his hand at her without looking back.

regina let out a frustrated yell, grabbing the vase he had set on her desk and threw it as hard as she could at the far wall, the sound of it shattering and falling to the floor in pieces doing little to release the tension in her shoulders.

adam had waited patiently outside the door to regina’s office, not wanting to interrupt her conversation with the reporter, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t listening to every exchange between them, his grip on the doorknob tightening and warping the metal before he realized and tucked his hand into his pocket instead. he moved swiftly to the side as bobby walked out and glared at him, and it was all adam could to do suppress the urge to knock him unconscious.

he knocked twice and walked in, surveying the room briefly, lingering on the broken vase and scattered flowers before meeting her gaze. “i will not be paying for that,” he said, his mouth curving upward into a gentle smile.

regina couldn’t help but smile and appreciate that he was actually joking with her. “not that i’m complaining, but what are you doing here? i figured you’d be busy today,” she said, moving back to sit on the edge of her desk.

adam’s smile faded and regina noticed his eyes had turned a conflicted green, shifting from an icy green to its usual warm emerald. she wasn’t sure if she had seen him this nervous before; one of the things she appreciated about him was that he didn’t beat around the bush.

he finally looked at her and clasped his hands behind his back. “i wanted to talk about what happened the other night,” he said finally.

a weight settled in her stomach. “oh, right,” she said, swallowing nervously.

“i regret the way i reacted. and you deserve an explanation,” he said softly, stepping closer to her as if that would ease the awkwardness between them.

regina shook her head, trying not to let her disappointment show. “it’s okay, adam. i know we never talked about it, but it’s alright if you’re not interested in anything more physical. i can respect that. and it doesn’t change how i feel about you.”

his eyebrows shot up so quickly that regina thought they might fly off his face. “you are mistaken.”

at the frown on her face, he cleared his throat and followed up quickly, “i am very interested. i was just… unprepared that evening and you deserve… more.”

unprepared? she thought the word choice was odd since it wasn’t like they had planned to do anything physical; she had just gone with her instincts after all. although she vaguely remembered adam telling her once that he hadn’t been with anyone in that way since before he was turned.

understanding dawned on regina’s face. “oh adam, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, i promise. it happens.”

“still, i want to make sure you are aware of how… receptive i am to progressing our physical relationship as well. in fact, i have thought about it often,” he said warmly, but the underlying tone was suggestive.

the way he said it, as his gaze slowly trailed down the length of her body and back up, sent a shiver up her spine. her mouth parted open in surprise at his boldness as she met his gaze, icy and full of fire at the same time, the intensity of them stealing her breath and rooting her to the spot, raising her body temperature even though he was still a few feet away.

he stepped slowly, but surely, closer to her until he was hovering over her and regina had to tilt her head up to look at him from where she was perched on her desk. he leaned down and captured her lips with his, her body reacting instantly, hands moving to his waist as his tangled themselves in her hair. his lips were fire and water, each movement against hers sending sparks down her throat and drowning her at the same time.

when he finally pulled away, she felt flushed from head to toe and cleared her throat, “well, i’m probably not going to get any work done today.”

adam looked a little proud that he had flustered her so visibly. “perhaps i can help you later this evening then. we can do… paperwork at your apartment together,” he said slowly.

the deliberate way he paused before the word “paperwork” made her breath hitch and she could only nod.

he walked out of the office backwards with deliberate steps, putting his sunglasses on slowly before turning away, but not before regina noticed the smirk on his lips. she looked at the pile of paperwork on her desk and knew that the end of the day couldn’t come fast enough.

“Why is this so difficult?” she mutters as she stands over the stove, wooden spoon in hand. The pot in front of her contains milk and hot cocoa powder, but it has not yet coalesced into anything resembling hot chocolate. Something keeps sticking to the bottom of the pan. A faint—but growing—scent of something burning wafts up and makes her wrinkle her nose. 

“Shoot!” she hisses, stirring faster now in a futile effort to save the drink. 

“You don’t swear even when you’re alone?” 

Winter whips her head around at the sound of the low voice to see Mason leaning against the kitchen doorway. Despite her frazzled state, she offers him a small smile. 

“Well I’m not alone,” she says. “I’m in the home of four people with super hearing.”

The smell of something burning grows stronger and she watches his upper lip curl back. “Don’t forget about the super smell, too.” 

Her cheeks burn as the familiar feeling of embarrassment, growing more frequent around him over the past few weeks, courses through her. She curses the nightmare for making her so inconsiderate; she never would have overlooked such a detail on a good night’s sleep, and a trickle of shame joins the unease in the pit of her stomach. 

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—” 

Mason strides over to the stove and flicks off the burner. “Relax, sweetheart, no harm done.” He peers into the pot, expression shifting between amused and disgusted. “Except to whatever the hell that was supposed to be.” 

A shaky laugh escapes her mouth. “Hot chocolate. I’m...not the best at cooking,” she admits.

He studies her and it is only then, under the intensity of his gaze in the low light, that Winter realises how close they’re standing. She must have drifted closer to him—unaware, unthinking—because they’re barely six inches apart. 

“You couldn’t sleep.” Mason says it as a statement. 

“No.” She clears her throat. “I’ll be okay, though.” 

He continues watching her, silently assessing, and she realises that the longer they lock eyes, the calmer she feels. 

For the first time in two months, she feels safe.

After a weighted pause, what could have been a minute or an hour—she can no longer tell, focused solely on his proximity, on the smell of cigarette smoke and sandalwood—Mason shifts and the moment dissipates.

“Yeah,” he agrees simply. “You’re stronger than you look, detective.” He throws one last look at the ill-fated hot chocolate and says, “Make sure you put soap and water in that or Nate will lose his goddamn mind,” before stalking out of the kitchen. 

It takes her a minute to regain some semblance of composure, the surprising evaluation ringing in her head, but Winter cleans up after herself. 

Nate tries to do right by her in his responses—he always has. He always will. This time having been no different; he’d waited an appropriate beat, regarded her tone, turning it over with care. The question had been served in a pointed way that said more, without saying very much at all. It’s a tone he’s intimately familiar with.

He doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but he does have to ask when these questions between them arise. After the carnival, and the Maa-alused debacle, Dana asked that they take things slow. Nate has his own insecurities on the best of days, but he’d stamp down any doubts for the sake of preserving her comfort.

It scares him that he thinks he’d wait forever.

Swallowing past his hesitance, his lips had quirked into a warm—trying for charming—smile as he’d asked;

“Are you asking me on a date?”

It sounded juvenile and he’d wanted to wince as soon as he’d said it. But she smiled back—hitting charming with gusto—and it was fine. Better still when she’d said ‘yes’ with an assuredness that’d not been entirely expected, given their circumstances.

Nate’s own smile only grew (threatening to blind her, in radiance).

“Then I would most assuredly say that I have plans tonight, Detective Burke.”

The day, beyond her then quick—too quick—departure feels like it took place in a haze. He remembers ironing and gently pulling on a pair of fitted slacks and a fine, carefully pressed button up. He remembers showering, exfoliating, intricate skin care and careful, close shaving. He remembers pointed looks from Adam and smirking from Felix. He remembers an uncomfortable pep talk to himself in the mirror. “This is weird. It is weird, isn’t it? Remarkably weird.”

And he remembers air being forced right out of his lungs.

Dana’s wearing a sundress. The end of it floats around her ankles and there’s a high slit up her right thigh. Nate’s never seen so much of her leg before. He wants to capture it in memory. He suddenly wishes he were a painter—someone who could render an image to the page again and again. He’d commit himself to a single effigy; the slip of a single, soft expanse of skin.

Nate tries not to visibly shake himself.

It’s a second date.

Still.

Dana is authoritative and sharp and this is the softest she has ever looked to him.

Her brown eyes are wide and while he wouldn’t assume, Nate suspects she’s drinking him in, similarly.

“You look beautiful,” She says on a breath. He lets out a shocked, punched laugh.

“I was about to say just the same,” He replies softly. They’re stood in the middle of a public park. The sun began to set some time ago, and parents have taken to the usual evening method of exhausting their raucous children in the summertime; catching fireflies. There’s plenty of noise between the shouting and chatting of lower, more exasperated voices.

Still there seems to be a quiet hanging between them that neither feels inclined to break.

Eventually, with a nod, she gestures him to follow her. He does, and they walk.

There’s a less than comfortable quiet where neither of them quite know what to say. It cracks as he asks about her day and she launches into an impassioned recounting of her latest, frustratingly mundane case. Nate’s happy to respond in kind with some theories of his own. They then, of course, descend into outlandish ideas that could rival Felix’s own imagination.

It’s natural. They drift together with gravity. Dana reaches to loop her arm up through his and Nate’s smile brims over with gentle affection. He just barely wrestles his desire to kiss her temple.

She’s planned a lovely evening. A walk in the park—catching a firefly or two of their own, if they feel so moved to—making their way to the docks, where they’ll sit and watch the waves touch the shore. She’d been nervous, what with his aversion to sailing and the sea, but Nate’s just fine letting the salt water lap lazily at his ankles where they sit side by side on a low pier.

Dana pulls a bottle of the cheapest wine Nate’s ever laid eyes on out of a tote bag, along with a book of crosswords and book light. It’s delightful, and he tells her as much. She smiles and twists off the cap.

“I’ll decline, for now,” Nate chuckles. Her smile stretches into a lazy smirk as she tips the whole bottle back, long fingers clutching tight to the neck for a pull. Nate swallows.

They set to work, passing the book back and forth between them until any distance feels foolish and Dana has leaned heavily into his space so they both can see and utilize his markedly neater handwriting.

The evening is a dream. Conversation flows easily between them, banter and flirtation in equal measure. He can hear her heart stutter when he catches her with a bold compliment, and thud each time she shifts and re-registers their proximity. It doesn’t feel simple as Nate finds himself absorbed in a way that he’s terrifyingly unfamiliar with. But she cracks a joke and sips her wine and smiles at him and it feels like the easiest thing in the world.

“This is my favorite spot,” Dana speaks, quietly. She sounds cautious, and Nate tries to not to linger on her hesitance. He understands it. He lives with it, buried deep in his own chest. The fear of saying too much is a constant and clawing worry. The fear of not saying enough is an aching pit trapped behind his ribs.

He says nothing and politely, if not anxiously, waits for her to continue.

“I don’t know. Growing up here, if you were running away from anything,” She gestures vaguely with the arm she isn’t resting on. Her gaze stays fixed ahead of her. “You ran here.”

Nate attempts to wait out the pause that follows. He counts the seconds, making it to twenty-seven before breaking. “The view makes for pleasant company,” He supplies.

“I ran a lot.” Dana looks up at him. He meets her even stare. He holds his breath.

“Sometimes this feels too big not to run from,” She continues, as her eyes rake over his face, lingering for a hairs breadth of a second longer on his lips. Nate doesn’t need to ask what ‘this’ she means. All at once, he wants to trip over himself in agreement and hide his heart and the way it feels heavily rent open by and before her.

Dana sighs. Nate lets out his own sharp breath as she settles her weight fully against him.

“So, I wanted to take you with me,” She says, finitely, in that very matter-of-fact way that’s as precious and comforting to Nate as the rest of her.

He thinks she’s giving him permission to want more.

She’s wine-loose, however, so he chooses to want quietly for now.

Nate maneuvers himself to settle his arm around her, letting her back rest partially against his chest.

“Nine letter word for a steep rock face?”

Dana’s shoulders jump with a short laugh.

“Precipice.”

Adam and his team had been gone for approximately a month and a half. 54 days. 1,296 hours, 77,760 minutes. Every additional one that ticked on as the debriefing continued only extended his absence, not from her presence, but from her.

Rebecca finished up with a nod, dismissing the Unit as she gathered up the files and made her way from the room in a distracted haze Rebecca was known for entering when there was work to be done. Morgan, in a rare form, was quick to stalk out of the warehouse living space with Farah in tow. Farah normally would have resisted such manhandling, or at least had a witty remark about it… but instead she winked at Lou as they passed, giving her a knowing grin. Lou returned the smile nervously, her eyes flicking between the departing agents and Adam.

He hadn’t moved from where he leaned, arms crossed against the far wall, but Lou could see every fiber of him was poised to do so. Waiting. Patient.

Nate was the last out of the room, giving Lou a quick hug. She held on, letting him get in an actual good squeeze so he knew she was happy to have him back as well… just… differently. Nate’s smile was soft and knowing as he they parted and he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

The doorknob clicked and Lou turned towards Adam— a gasp bursting from her lips as he crossed the space of the room in a flicker and crowded her up against the door. Whatever words he might have said were cut off immediately by her kiss, turning the sound of his voice into a soft groan that reverberated and rumbled through his chest.

She ran her hands up the front of his shirt, grabbing a fistful of the material as she pulled him closer, her lips trailing across his smooth jaw. His skin was soft and he smelled so good—did he shave? He must have shaved. The thought vanished from her mind as Adam’s hands slid down her waist. On the trail back he let one slipped beneath her shirt, trailing across her lower back until his finger tips could draw down the dip of her spine. The other? Reached behind them to lock the door.

“Missed you… missed you so much.” Lou murmured into his skin, feeling his lips brush gently over her shoulder and up her neck. The sensation ticklish from the warmth of his breath.

Adam’s hand left the warm skin of her back, earning a slight sound of protest from her. He drew her arms up to wrap around his neck, and she held so tightly she lifted unto her tiptoes.

“Stay tonight, stay here…” Adam said lowly, pressing another slow gentle kiss against her lips. When they parted, he pressed his forehead against hers, “… I do not want to say goodnight.”

Lou nodded, rapid and wordlessly, parting her lips into his next kiss and moaning quietly when his tongue brushed against her own. Adam moved to set her upright again and Lou locked her arms insistently around his neck.

“Again.”

He chuckled, leaning close to press a brief kiss against her lips. He drew back and Lou followed, lips parted and her voice breathless.

“Again.”

“Louisa,” Adam said, the scolding tone nearly imperceptible beneath the sheer affection. It wasn’t about desire, or need, but of want. Lou wanted him. In her life, in her thoughts. She wanted him close, as close as two people could possibly get. 

Adam had to know her intentions. It was obvious by the way his pupils had blown open, dark and wide, engulfing the icy green of his gaze. And the look in them was enough to tell Lou he wanted that too.

The door handle rattled.

Before Lou even had a chance to give a start she felt herself being swiftly moved, placed behind Adam with the quickest of motions. His breath came sharp, his first instinct to protect her from threat. She muffled a laugh into his back, kissing a spot between his shoulder blades as Adam huffed but ultimately eased.

“Agent Bardot forgot a file.” Adam said, his voice a strained grating sound, clearly hearing the conversation outside the door that Lou could not. He seemed at a loss, desperately not wanting to unlock the door for her mother given their er— situation.

“Go on… I’ll take care of it.” Lou said, nodding towards the door on the other end of the room. She trailed around him and pressed one last kiss against his arm as she moved passed.

He caught her hand in his, the expression he wore could almost be mistaken for a pout if the commander was capable of such a thing.

“You will… are you… can I expect you?”

Nate was observing her with a soft smile on his lips, the sight both heartwarming and slightly amusing. She was snoring softly and the pages in front of her lips trembled slightly with every breath she exhaled. Her nose wrinkled every once in a while in a way she also did when she was awake - a habit he found utterly adorable - and the corners of her mouth curled upwards… the dream was pleasant, at least.

But that posture can not be good for her back and knees, Nate mused to himself, a mug of chocolate on each of his hands as he stood a few feet away from the table.

He had been patrolling and the best gift he could receive when he went back to the warehouse was the news that Berenice was in the library researching on her own. He had to refrain himself from going running to her and instead thought of bringing her some of her favorite beverage - hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Only to find her sleeping deeply over his books.

He left the mugs on the floor for a moment before gently removing a raven strand of hair from her freckled face, placing it behind her ear tenderly.

If Berenice could see how he was looking at her - she could barely be able to believe someone could hold such warmth in only a gaze. He whispered her name in the silent library, as if it was a secret which had to stay among the books for no one else to discover.

But she jolted awake with a jump and an exclamation.

"Wolpertinger!" She yelped, bright blue and brown eyes blinking unfocused, a mark on her cheek where she had been resting it against a book. Nate stifled a laugh at her alarmed expression as her eyes fell on him, cheeks quickly warming.

"Oh? Is that my new pet name?"

She groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, proceeding then to stretch her arms as far as they could go up and behind her head, and Nate watched attentively every motion, dark eyes drinking in the sight of her slightly disheveled.

"Don't tell me I drooled over the books." She spoke, voice thick with sleep sending a delicious thrill through him, as she scanned the pages of the books she had used as a pillow. "Thank God." She muttered to herself, checking there was no harm done, and turned her face to Nate, more awake now. A wide smile instantly lit up her face at the handsome features she had come to adore. "Hi."

"Hello." Nate answered, and the pair of them let the moment linger for some seconds, eyes locked and smiles firmly planted in their lips. Their relationship was still so new, so exciting, and still so little moments had been shared, this felt like a blessing. Nate was the first to snap from the trance. "I brought you something."

She perked up, curiosity all over her features as he presented her the mug of hot chocolate. The rich smell of it instantly invaded her nostrils and she all but moaned, hands enveloping the warm ceramic.

"Thank you so much. You read my mind."

"Let's move to the couch, shall we?" Nate offered her a hand and she took it, the familiar spark lighting up her nerves at his touch making her smile widen.

They settled on the couch side to side, his arm falling over her back to surround her almost absentmindedly, bringing her closer. She sighed with satisfaction and stared at her drink.

"So many marshmallows. You're my knight in shining armor." She took the first sip as Nate grinned at her, happily watching the joy this simple gesture had brought to her features.

"Anytime, beautiful." He replied, squeezing her the slightest bit.

Berenice got comfortable, throwing her legs over his lap to turn her torso towards him more easily, the look on her eyes silently asking if it was okay, the pressure of his lips against her forehead a better answer she could have ever hope for.

"What were you researching? Are there wolpertingers in the Wayhaven forest now?" He asked with a hint of amusement on his smile. She snorted softly before taking a big gulp of chocolate.

"I was investigating how many myths repeat themselves in different countries and cultures and the differences between them." He could see in her face that innate thirst for knowledge she had, something he found incredibly attractive. "I want to create a database with all of them so we can go through it faster when we need it. A software with a collection of all the names and characteristics that had been assigned to the same creature over the years. Maybe also link them to the historic period they were first discovered? And a list of the myths that are not true? Hmm." She reached out for her notebook and a pen and started writing quickly her new ideas, leaving it on the table and looking back at Nate, who was staring at her with something akin awe in his face. She started talking faster. "I know you don't like technology, so it'll be really easy to navigate and completely encrypted so it can only be accessed from a computer in particular. I have one to spare at home and I thought, maybe, I could install it here? I would only need a corner, I know the library is your favorite place and I don't want to spoil it for you but… I'm rambling, aren't I?" She let out a breath sheepishly, hurrying herself to drink some of her chocolate, hands slightly shaky due to excitement and anxiety.

His big hands engulfed her smaller ones around her mug, the heat of it warming them both.

"You're brilliant, do you know that?" He asked softly, watching how her entire demeanor relaxed at his words. "I want to share everything I have with you. And that includes this place."

She took the last sip of the chocolate and left the mug on the floor, turning to him with a small frown. "I just don't want you to feel forced to it. I thought it would be nice to do the research together, maybe? I would do all the data dump in the software, but I need to recollect the data before I do that."

"Like a side project? Only the two of us?"

His earnest smile gained him a matching one from her. "Yeah! It will be a lot of work, but I could learn so much. And you, too, if you wanted I could teach you about the software as I create it!"

Technology was still incredibly frustrating for the vampire, but for her, he would sure as hell try. The excitement in her features so intoxicating he would have agreed to practically anything she had asked.

"I would love to."

"Really?" The question was slightly breathless.

"Really."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, knocking him backwards in surprise, his back against the couch and his girlfriend practically on his lap.

"I can come here after work every day, and on the weekends we can use the mornings and then have the afternoons free." She spoke, her breath hitting his neck and making his heartbeat quicken. She pulled back slightly until they were nose to nose.

"And what would we use the afternoons for, I wonder?" His voice had dropped an octave and she swallowed, eyes falling to his lips before going back to those gentle ones of him.

"I'm open to ideas." She retorted, licking her lips and making his focus snap to her mouth. He moved softly forwards, giving her time to stop him. When she leaned in as well, he lost no time in capturing her lips with his.

Berenice groaned almost instantly, one hand taking the nape of his neck, the other tracing his jawline with a featherlight touch. His fingers grasped her hips firmly, digging into her flesh hard enough to let her know how much he wanted her, not enough to hurt her.

"Nate…" she sighed against his mouth, and he traced her bottom lip with his tongue, a growl forming deep inside his chest at the sweetness of her lips.

"Gods, Berry…" he pulled her even closer, chests pressing against each other, breaths quickening. "You taste like chocolate."

She giggled against his lips, the sound more enticing than a siren's song. He couldn't help but smile, their lips still touching.

"I'm gonna request for more chocolate kisses if we're going to spend so much time together." She pecked his lips one more time before pulling back, licking her lips with her neck and ears flushed red.

"I'll give you everything you want, Berry." Their eyes met and she could see the honesty there.

"What a dangerous thing to say."

"And still so true."

She got up from the couch and stood between his spread legs, his hands coming to rest at the sides of her knees. He looked up at her, for a change, her 5 foot 2 towering over him for a moment. Her soft hands took his face, thumbs brushing his cheekbones before she leaned down, his hands unconsciously traveling upward to the back of her thighs.

"Then, Nate…" her breath hit his mouth, her lips brushed his so softly it could have been his imagination. He could only see the uneven colors of her eyes, drowning in them, his breathing hitching. "Help me put the books back."

And she was gone, only the smell of chocolate and her apricot shampoo surrounding him. He let out a huff and she giggled, it was nice to be the one doing the teasing for a change.

"What a mean girlfriend I have." He shot her a grin, getting up and helping her collect the books.

"Let's put these in their place and I'll show you how good I can be."

He watched her march towards the shelves with a raised eyebrow.

"She wishes she was seeing me naked. That's the only thing going on here."

She blinked, once. Twice.

It shouldn't have hurt anymore, not when it was the hundreth time. But somehow, it stung worse than ever, and panic rose in her throat. She'd always been able to eventually get over her feelings before, so what was different now?

You've fallen. For him.

No.

It wasn't possible. Sure, she loved him, but not like that! She wasn't in love with him.

...Was she? It would certainly explain how his words repeated in her head like a nauseating chant, making her wish to never have hoped. Because--

He didn't love her. He didn't. Nobody ever really had, why would Mason of all people be the exception?

Because you want him to be. But hope never fixed her problems; rather, it seemed to create them. Hope that people would change to something they weren't. Be the one she saw in her dreams. They never did.

She was still staring at him, wishing for this to be a dream. Wishing to be able to dismiss it as a horrible nightmare, and not the cold truth of day. He didn't look back.

There. You've got it. The final stab wound. If you still keep on trying, that's on you.

Tears stung her eyes, threatening to fall. You really don't need that embarrassment too, today. Don't let them see.

She was stuck between not wanting him to see how much he actually affected her, and being angry that he so carelessly didn't notice what he did to people. He doesn't care about it, anyway. Don't bother.

Forcing her face into a somewhat neutral expression, she hastily stood up to pack her things, daring a single glance at Mason only to see he wouldn't even look near her. Figures. "I have to go."

Haley regarded them both with shock, but Cherie didn't notice, everything drowned out by despair and hurt. A little bit of anger that she tried to channel to cover up the other emotions. He didn't deserve to make her feel bad.

Just before she left, she heard a muffled "Shit-" that almost made her stop in her tracks.

No. He doesn't get to do that, make you hesitate about having some freaking respect for yourself, for once.

Steeling her heart, she closed the door behind her with more restraint than she felt, if only to spare Haley from being collateral damage.

She didn't get farther than a few steps, though, before stopping and just barely resisting from throwing her fist into the wall. Do not cry.

Oh, she was pathetic. It wasn't like he'd ever pretended to want anything more than what she'd rejected, anyway.

Suddenly she heard the door opening again, letting someone out that she most likely did not want to talk with. Before whoever it was could stop her, she hurried to her car and tried to leave the place and what just happened behind her.

She didn't succeed. The words repeated in her head, refusing to leave. Sighing, she redirected her course from the warehouse. Adam would throw her all too understanding looks, and her fragile heart couldn't take that right now.

She got out in the middle of the forest, tapping away a quick message to the aforementioned man, not because she particularly felt like it, but so that he couldn't complain about her being careless.

regina put her hand on farah’s and squeezed back. a knock on the door made them both turn.

tina opened the door, holding out regina’s bouquet. “we better get going or else your guy might break something,” she joked as regina took the bouquet from her.

“i better go check on him,” farah said, giving regina a wink and leaving the room.

“are you ready?” tina asked softly.

regina stood up, adjusting her dress with tina’s help. “i think so. how do i look?”

“if the battery ram doesn’t marry you, i will,” she said and regina chuckled.

they exchanged a long look of understanding, one that could only be ascribed to friends who had seen each other through the highs and lows of their twenties and secrets that no one else would know.

“it’s the end of an era,” tina said quietly, one hand on the doorknob, the other clasping regina’s. “you and me.”

regina gave tina’s hand a squeeze. “i’m still going to see you around. we’ll still hang out.”

tina gave her a bittersweet smile. “you know it’ll be different. you’re marrying the love of your life and beginning your life together. and i’m incredibly happy for you. if anyone deserves to be happy, you do.”

“you are definitely going to make me cry,” regina said, trying to delicately wipe away a tear without smudging her eyeliner.

“if you cry, i’m definitely going to cry,” tina said, chuckling. “so let’s get you married before that happens.”

* * * * * it was a small ceremony, of only those that felt like family, but regina didn’t even register anyone else besides the man at the end of the aisle that stole her senses. she didn’t register that his crisp, tailored charcoal suit matched nate and morgan to his left, nor that verda was standing in the center smiling at her encouragingly.

her eyes never left adam’s green ones, sparkling with warmth in the late morning sun as she walked down the aisle, the breeze ruffling his hair, styled no doubt at nate’s insistence. the silvery sheen of his pale blue tie matched the heels hidden underneath her dress, coordinated no doubt with farah’s help. but all of those details faded away like a vignette as she approached him.

she gave her mother a hug but didn’t register rebecca’s red rimmed eyes as she moved to sit down next to eric. nor did she register farah’s beaming smile or tina’s teary one from where they stood on verda’s left. she handed her bouquet to tina without so much as a glance in her direction, preoccupied with the feel of adam’s arm as she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

she continued to stare at him in awe even after adam turned back to face verda, but he kept glancing to the side at her once verda began the ceremony, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

“we are gathered here today, to join these two souls together,” verda began, smiling warmly at regina.

adam raised his hand up and verda fell silent. regina glanced between them both, trying to suppress the panic rising in her throat.

“if i may, i would like to say something first,” he interrupted, his tone gentle but still laced with authority.

regina tensed. why would adam want to interrupt their wedding?

“i know we agreed to do our vows in private after the ceremony, but i need to make sure you and our closest friends understand what you mean to me,” he explained. “as dr. verda has said, we are here to join our souls together spiritually, but you must know by now my soul has always been yours.”

regina’s mouth fell open slightly.

“i know now, without a single questioning thought in every fiber of my being, that you are my soulmate, in every romantic and literal sense of the word,” adam murmured.

he reached up to stroke her cheek with his thumb, brushing against her veil.

“and i love you with my entire heart and soul and i promise to love you forever,” he said, smiling gently with his fingers resting under her chin.

regina could feel tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, the lump in her throat blocking her voice. they hadn’t discussed whether she would turn, so the idea that he would still love her even after she was gone and never love again overwhelmed her completely. adam looked at her with such love and tenderness that somewhere in the distant corners of her mind, she knew she should be saying something, anything, but especially that she felt the same.

but how could she even hope to articulate the depths of her feelings for him when words failed her like this?

say something, she thought, vaguely aware that her mouth was still open in surprise when verda cleared his throat and continued with the scripted vows.

adam took both of her hands in his and smiled warmly, just as verda said, “adam du mortain, do you take regina elizabeth bishop, to be your lawfully wedded wife? do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?”

“i do,” adam’s said, his voice ringing clearly. “you have my heart, my body, my soul, for evermore and i will always say yes to every lifetime with you.”

“and do you, regina elizabeth bishop, take adam du mortain, to be your lawfully wedded husband? do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?”

regina’s mind was still in a daze, replaying adam’s words from earlier on loop. she felt tina adjust the veil at her back, subtly pinching the skin between her shoulder blades in the process, an attempt to shake her out of her stunned silence.

“i—i need a minute,” she blurted out, grabbing onto the skirts of her dress and running back down the aisle.

tina chased after her, catching her back inside the dressing room while adam looked on, brow furrowed in concern. his gaze fell to the ground, nate’s hand patting his shoulder reassuringly.

it could be feasible, although the thought hadn’t occurred to him in a very long time, that regina might not feel the same. perhaps he went too far and overwhelmed her and now she might change her mind.

“are you okay?” tina asked, quickly handing her a water bottle and encouraging her to take a sip.

regina shook her head. “i’m okay, i just got overwhelmed. i can’t believe he feels so strongly for me, and i couldn’t come up with anything that would really explain how i feel and i—oh god, he’s probably panicking, right now!”

“hey, take a deep breath,” tina said sharply. “the way that man looks at you, like you’re a dream he never wants to wake up from, and the fact that you said yes to marrying him, that already tells him how you feel. all you need to do is actually marry the man.”

regina looked at tina and they burst into laughter together. “you’re right,” she said, gathering her dress and exiting the room one last time.

she ran back down the aisle, tina frantically chasing after her and holding up the back of her dress. regina grabbed adam’s arm for balance as she stopped suddenly in front of the podium.

“i do! of course, i do! a thousand lifetimes over, and i will always say ‘i do’,” she said breathlessly, eyes shining with unshed tears.

adam’s shoulders instantly dropped in relief and she giggled, mouthing a silent “i’m sorry,” as verda asked the crowd for any objections.

“you may now kiss the bride.”

adam gently cupped her face in his hands and leaned in, his emerald green eyes drinking in every part of her before his lips covered hers. her hands instinctively reached up to either side of his neck, keeping him in place as their lips moved in sync slowly and deliberately, only pulling apart when the cheers and clapping around them had gone on for almost a minute.

“i love you, mrs. du mortain,” he whispered as he pulled back to look at her again.

“and i love you,” she said, her heart swelling with more joy than she ever thought possible.

it was days like this though that she felt bad he still insisted on walking her home, his teeth chattering as he waited for her and skin icy to the touch no matter how many layers he had on. she wasn’t sure exactly why he did it since it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the team to take turns and help alleviate mason’s exposure to extreme weather, but he insisted in his own quiet, but firm way and shut down any attempted discussion.

not that she was complaining, of course. she enjoyed spending time with him,  comforting was not a word she thought she’d ever use to describe mason, but that’s what it was. there was something oddly comforting about his presence. and she never expected to be this kind of comfortable with someone, especially after the disaster that was her relationship with bobby marks.

the walk to the square was brisk. as much as she enjoyed winter, she didn’t want to risk frostbite in the below freezing weather, and she was sure mason felt similarly, even if he refused to admit it.

“how are you doing?”

although typically a normal question to ask, it still caught ria by surprise when mason showed genuine interest in her life and wellbeing. of course, some of that was to be expected given the increase in trapper activity lately around the town. they had been frustratingly and worryingly busy because of it all.

“i’m hanging in there, all things considered,” she replied honestly. the look on mason’s face told her he didn’t quite believe her, but she didn’t want to think about it any longer.

that self-defense tactic served her very well throughout her life and she wasn’t going to stop now. she looked up for some sort of distraction and realized they were coming up on her favorite ice cream parlor.

“let’s stop here for a sec. i’m going to get some ice cream,” she said, grabbing mason’s arm and tugging him into the little corner shop.

“it’s fucking freezing and you want ice cream?” he asked, his face pinched in disgust.

ria just laughed and ordered at the counter. “it’s weird, i know. but sometimes people want a cold dessert while it’s cold out.”

“i really don’t understand humans,” he muttered under his breath as she moved to the cashier.

she shrugged and pulled out her wallet but froze when mason put his hand on hers and gave the cashier a crisp bill from his pocket instead.

“what are you doing?” she asked as she put her wallet back and grabbed her ice cream from the clerk.

“you were moving too slow, that’s all,” mason said as he turned to walk quickly towards the door, but his voice was missing its typical snark.

maybe he really was warming up to her, she mused inwardly, a smile creeping on her face as she joined him outside, the sun just starting to dip towards the tree line, softening the air around the square.

mason’s shoulders hunched forward even further, and ria could hear his teeth chattering.

“i really don’t know why you’re subjecting yourself to this. you really should have one of the other guys escort me home when it’s really cold,” she said, her voice only slightly laced with annoyance as she handed him her ice cream cone. “hold this.”

he held his arm out to the side to make sure the ice cream didn’t get on either of them as she unwrapped her scarf from her neck and looped it around his, doubling the layer so the warm fabric sat high enough on top of his existing scarf to cover his chin.

he stared at her incredulously as she placed her earmuffs around him as well, his eyes swirling with a softness she hadn’t seen before. he looked amazed as though the idea that someone might care enough about his well-being to sacrifice theirs a little had never occurred to him as a possibility. his grey eyes swirled with vulnerability and ria avoided looking right at him given the intensity she found there threatened to overwhelm her.

“how’s that?” she asked, stepping away to admire her handiwork and simultaneously grabbing her ice cream back from him.

“warm,” was all he said as he slung an arm back over her shoulders and led her toward a bench in the square.

luckily the bench was dry and clear of snow, although that didn’t help the cold from seeping through her jeans. mason kept his arm slung around her shoulders but stuffed his other hand deep in his pants pocket. ria could tell he was still shivering, but it didn’t seem as violent as it had when she first saw him outside the station.

“ria!” she looked up to see tina excitedly running towards them, her too-long scarf flapping in the wind behind her.

“hey tina,” ria said quietly, knowing that tina’s boisterous personality had a tendency to rub mason the wrong way.

“look at you two, cozying up on a date,” tina teased.

the cold ice cream caught in ria’s throat and she coughed. “this is not a date. i told you we’re not dating,” she insisted, making an effort to avoid looking at mason.

tina looked back and forth between them. “i don’t know, you’re spending time alone together, i assume he bought you the ice cream since he’s not eating anything himself. sounds like a date to me,” she said in a singsong voice that had ria cringing internally.

“what qualifies as a date to you?” mason asked before ria could respond, with genuine curiosity in his voice, something ria hadn’t really noticed from him before.

tina looked as though she was just told she won a big prize. “well, a date is when two people who like each other romantically do something together. one person usually plans an outing and pays for things like dinner or a movie. especially if the relationship is still new,” tina explained, putting too much emphasis on the word “new.”

ria rolled her eyes. “it’s kind of stupid for one person to be expected to pay for things and besides, mason and i both agree that dating is overrated.”

mason’s arm tensed around her shoulders and she looked at him quizzically. “the bobblehead is right,” he interjected quickly.

tina laughed, “what did you call me?”

“sorry, tina. mason has a nickname for everyone,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “although you’re supposed to keep those to yourself.”

he chose to ignore her and continued his original train of thought. “i’m saying she’s right. we’re spending time together and i bought you that ice cream. this counts as a date.”

now it’s her turn to stare at him incredulously. he looked away at her scrutinizing gaze even as his arm around her shoulder tightened and pulled her closer.

ria’s lips quirked up into a small smile before she schooled her features, sharing a quick, knowing glance with tina who gave her a wink before walking away.