Her expression is wiped clean of the smugness when he answers. Home? [break][break]

It's something she's never imagined herself earning. In fact, she's never described an inch of Hoenn as home. Hers was in Galar, in the patch of grass she last shared a moment with her mum, before everything changed, before she knew that was the last she'd ever see of her. [break][break]

She feels like a ghost as she gets out of the car and comes with him. She feels like this is actually a dream itself, though it is far too creative to be one of her own. Still, she pinches herself. 'I can trust you here, right?' Could he? Had she earned it? What if she was being tracked right now or watched by one of Nomi's Unown or by her own Unown or if the Petalburg Rocket forces were actually running a perimeter check or [break][break]

He unlocks his front door, and she fears the worst. More honest than she's ever been with him, she says, "I think so." I hope so. Every privilege she has, she has earned. To be given this one... leaves her more speechless than she's been in a long time.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Her heart breaks just a little as he reassures her to their safety. She's never felt unsafe in his presence. She believes him whole-heartedly. [break][break]

But she has to make sure he's safe. She needs to ensure that nothing in Petalburg, nothing from Rocket, ever touches him. Not like the knife that had kissed his throat. She needed it. So she squeezes his hand back and smiles reassuringly. She'll construct a plan to keep his home safe, but it will wait until morning. [break][break]

The night belongs to him. "I missed you." She brings her hands to cup his face gently and brings herself to him this time, kissing him and leaning into his solid frame.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She chased him, but it wasn't necessary. He pushed her against the wall and, with nowhere to go, it was easy to surrender. She roped an arm around his neck and kept him close, until he was trailing his mouth down her and she found herself preoccupied with getting his clothes off. She laughed breathlessly as he tried to direct them to his room. [break][break]

"Might not make it there," she confessed, but she stepped that way slowly, mindful of his mouth latched onto her. Without the worries of the public eye and of war machines, it was only the two of them. How odd to finally have him without limits. [break][break]

She tugged him into his bedroom, shedding her coat. He'd said they didn't have much time. She felt like time stopped when she stepped inside his room. For what it's worth, she rushed through further undressing, uncaring of wrinkles. She forced him to walk backwards to the bed, demanding. "You want me to put up a fight, or are you needing a little tender love and care?" She traced a finger from his collarbone to his waist; for as teasing as the question was, she was willing to let him pick the playbook just this once. There would be more time for handcuffs if he wanted to savor this night, and more time for patience if he wanted to work things out the fun way.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Truthfully, she'd wanted to spoil him since their first meeting. The warehouse had only heightened that need, and even their fight in Sootopolis had failed to fully extinguish it. He'd make such a wonderful kept man, a trophy, a wild thing tamed only for her. [break][break]

It felt only natural, then, to drape herself over him and lavish every inch, sure to follow her lips with a bit of teeth when he seemed impatient. "So good for me," she cooed against his hip bone. "Just relax. I have you." And she meant it. Every muscle that relaxed under her touch was a testament to trust - which she still had not earned, might never earn so long as there would be a price on his head from the higher ups in Rocket. [break][break]

Her kisses were apologies, though he wouldn't interpret them as such. She drew out each movement, tasting slowly and committing it all to memory. She wouldn't stop until his mind was reduced to only her.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She's never felt reality could live up to a dream, that the soft edges of the dream realm gave everything a divine energy. Time and all things felt fluid in a dream. The ones she had were not abstract nor snapshots of phobias or memories like others had; her dreams were like movies where she revisited experiences in a new light, with a new angle, with a new twist. Slightly different, as if from an alternate reality. [break][break]

This? This transcended dreams. Exceeded that that they had shared in Mossdeep. It was heavenly. [break][break]

She hadn't realized just how many emotions she had invested in this man - and how many she had suppressed for well over a decade in order to maintain focus on her sole objective - until her release. In the immediate aftermath, she tucked against him like a puzzle piece finally joining the whole. Her exhale against his skin felt like it came from the depths of her ribs, and oddly, felt like a surrender. A deep satisfaction rested over her like a heavy blanket, and she found herself betrayed by the sense of safety he had crafted here as the urge to sleep crept up. [break][break]

She traced designs on his chest with her fingers, blissfully thoughtless. In a word, she was freed... from the forces that kept her constantly moving and constantly upright and constantly walking the tightrope of Rocket work.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She hadn't intended to actually fall asleep, but she'd been lulled by his heart rate, by his breathing. [break][break]

For the first time in thirty years, her sleep is dreamless. [break][break]

She had closed her eyes and entered an abyss without fear or worry or burden. It was a floating feeling, except she was simultaneously grounded, and she felt neither that it was too short nor too long. Simple unconsciousness. It was a negative space, an absence of creative constructions from her subconscious, but she felt like she was looking at something. It was not truly a lack of something but a gift of it, a gift of dreamless sleep. [break][break]

She wakes to Montgomery wrapped around her. She has a million questions and a need to examine herself in her lab to explore the dreamlessness, but the importance of it melts away instantly. She presses a hand to his neck and jaw, feeling his pulse. He's real. This is real. She moves in to leave him a syrupy sweet kiss, slow and unhurried. When she finds the strength to pull back from him, she offers him an easy smile. [break][break]

Then, a bit cheeky, she asks, "Sleep well?"

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]