Sleeping With The Enemy/Post FLYF

my tea's gone cold, i'm wondering why i got out of bed at all
the morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all
and even if i could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall
it reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad
i drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain
i missed the bus and there'll be hell today, i'm late for work again
and even if i'm there, they'll all imply that i might not last the day
and then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad and
i want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
push the door, i'm home at last and i'm soaking through and through
then you handed me a towel and all i see is you
and even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue
because you're near me and
i want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life

Dido
"Thankyou"
No Angel

***

i won't go, i won't sleep, i can't breathe, until you're resting here with me
i won't leave, i can't hide, i cannot be, until you're resting here with me

The sorrowful, desperate music poured out through speakers across the threshold and into the night air. A soft breeze wound through the surrounding trees playfully messing with her fine, blonde strands while the heady scent of a nearby fire penetrated her sense of smell. As the last glimmers of an incredibly beautiful sunset faded below the horizon, she rested comfortably on the small stoop in front of the cabin's entrance mesmerized by the world around her. Appreciative of the fact that life, for the moment, was peaceful.

Emotionally tuning into the crescendo of the haunting melody the beautiful Irish vocalist sung out, she thought to herself how she understood the words of the other woman only too well. This trip to the cabin was the first time in months she had slept peacefully and that reason sat quietly inside reading. Not until the events of those last few weeks in Section did she realize just how desperately in love she was with him. A bone-deep, soul-connecting, life-affirming love that was as necessary to her as air, food and shelter. A maddening love that damned consequences because it would let neither of them be free, no matter how much pain this same soul-connecting, life-affirming love caused. For like any addiction the sweet, heady rush was always followed by some form of a jarring, nauseating crash, necessitating that they find some sort of balance amidst the madness.

Hearing the creak of wooden planks behind her and then feeling the warmth of his heat pressed against her back as he sat down, wrapping his arms and legs around her, she realized they had finally met that challenge and found equilibrium in their ever evolving relationship. Years of constant tests, deceptions and manipulations, in the end, had only made their connection that much stronger, a strength they used to their advantage.

Her train of thought was distracted as her lover tucked her hair back and placed gentle kisses along her neck and hairline. His warm, wet breath sent shivers down her spine, causing her to lean farther into his embrace in a sigh of pleasure. As his kisses moved up her neck to the side of her face, she unconsciously tilted her head and whispered his name.

"Michael...."

"Hmmmm...," he murmured between kisses.

"How much time do we have left again?"

Threading his fingers through hers and clenching her body even tighter, Michael softly answered, "Two weeks, one day, ten hours and thirteen minutes."

Nikita nodded in acceptance as Michael teasingly smiled into her neck. This was the fourth time in the last hour she had asked him that same question. Despite reassurances from both Mr. Jones and Michael, she still had a hard time believing that the next two weeks belonged completely to Michael and herself with no interruptions from Center. An actual vacation, the first for either of them since the eleven days Michael had cashed in after rescuing her from the deranged civilian who held her prisoner all those months ago.

Content to rest in Michael's caressing embrace, Nikita's mind drifted back over the events since that rescue. Her mission with Center had escalated quickly as Section began cracking down on the top-level tiers of Red Cell operatives while its own personnel situation started to unravel rapidly. The most startling event had been Operations' willingness to sacrifice Madeline to Red Cell. The fact that she escaped by her own wits was not surprising, but it had put everyone on edge at Center because the relationship between the first and second command of Section had suddenly become an unknown variable. Of course the greatest shock for both Michael and Nikita had been when Mr. Jones revealed that each of them was a double agent for Center. It had been at that meeting that the head of Center also informed the two operatives of the final phase of their mission, which included a counterfeit escape from Section followed by Nikita's subsequent betrayal of Michael. However, in spite of the chaos, when the debris cleared the situation at Section appeared to be improving and Mr. Jones seemed satisfied for the moment.

"Don't you have better things to think about?"

Startled by Michael's question, Nikita hesitated a moment, collecting her thoughts first before replying. "What?"

"It has been three months since the changes at Section. Walter and Jason are fine. Mr. Jones is happy. And Operations is behaving for now. I would think that you could find something better to do on our vacation than think about work," he commented, the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.

Nikita merely smiled in response to Michael's reprimand, still adjusting to this teasing, humorous side of his personality. For so long their lives had been filled with only moments of drama, anger or pain so that the addition of humor seemed a tad surreal to her. Nonetheless, it was a situation to which she could happily adjust.

Shifting slightly on the step, she turned to face her lover her body now positioned perpendicular to his. A peaceful smile still gracing her countenance, she reached up with her right hand and gently began to caress the side of his face. Closing his eyes in pleasure, Michael pressed his check closer to her hand. Content to just be in the moment, the two lovers remained on the stoop of the cabin, caressing and touching each other in gentle exploration. The inky sky safely enveloped them in her protective embrace while the bright stars and pale sliver of the moon provided all the necessary light.

Sometime later, when the wind picked up and the temperature slowly slipped lower, Michael and Nikita wordlessly stood up and returned inside their warm, inviting cabin. As she followed him up the stairs to their bedroom, Nikita glanced back out the downstairs windows into the clear night and smiled one last time, secure in the knowledge of her and Michael's love for the first time ever.

***

i want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life

The lyrics of the song invaded Nikita's unconsciousness as she slowly drifted out of a deep sleep. Opening her eyes to a bright sun, she blinked rapidly in confusion, irritated by the streaming sunlight and disturbing music until she realized that the music was from her radio alarm clock. Slamming down on the snooze button, she immediately killed the music and then pulled the blankets back over her head to block out the light. Suddenly her eyes popped open under her cover of darkness and she jerked her arm across the bed, feeling for a body. Finding none, Nikita sat up and furiously looked around the room for Michael. However, instead of being in the cabin in Belgium, she found herself in the bedroom of her new apartment, assigned to her by Center.

Gradually, the remnants of the dream she had had shifted through her sleepy mind and she melted back into the mattress, resigning herself to reality once again. Ever since the day she had forced Michael out of her life with the greatest lie she had ever told, her nights were plagued with reoccurring dreams of her and Michael together...happy...safe...a complete fairytale. Her guilt ate away at her soul and she wondered if the pain would ever dissipate. Curling into a fetal position, Nikita closed her eyes tightly and conjured up a mental picture of Michael. This was a ritual she repeated every morning after waking up from one of her 'wishful thinking' dreams as she referred to them, fearful that if she did not complete the ritual, his image would fade from her memory. Still, Nikita did have a small, consoling thought to keep her hope from burning out completely. While she might not have been able to change the events that led to the fateful day when she told Michael that she had never loved him, Nikita knew that her and Michael's story was far from over. She was just waiting for the next chapter to begin.

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