Chapter Text
Will’s intention that afternoon was restricted to watch the view, to appreciate the city he had visited a good amount of times but never had time to enjoy properly. When he left his hotel that morning, his heart was filled with emotions he couldn’t process correctly, so he thought a walk would serve as a distraction.
After the recent events, his mind was racing, and it was hard to process all.
Ollerman was dead, Ray in a hospital bed, alive but still, Standish had a major heartbroken, and Will hadn’t a clue on how he would handle his own feelings.
His denial towards Frankie was getting stupid; at this point, pretty much everyone knew it had something going on between them. But the thin line that was still separating them, so delicate a sneeze could break it, was a safety measure they established so no one gets hurt.
In the end, they both were because the waiting, the unexpressed feelings day after day were growing in their chest, tightening it until was almost unbearable. Every time they exchanged glances, the connection was so strong they felt like drowning in each other’s gaze. It was something neither of them had experienced before and was scaring and uncertain.
Still, it was just being around Frankie, and all Will’s doubts vanished under her presence. She had that spell over him, capable of driving him crazy at the same time it calmed him to a state of total peace. She was infuriating and lovable, fire and ice in one person and could make his body ache from love and pain.
With a pastry in his hands, he made his way to the top of the street, a higher spot where he could put his mind in place. The drinks at the bar on the previous night didn’t help (as he suspected) and now he expected that his time alone would finally allow him to calm himself down and think things through.
But Frankie’s face kept invading his mind, her scent, her features, her voice.
It was impossible to shake away.
In his heart, hope was gaining more space at each passing second, hope that she would go there, follow him and be by his side because he needed her.
He needed to feel her, to have her close. To look at her beautiful green eyes and lose himself on them.
To his surprise, she showed up, the light reflecting on her face, the wind blowing her hair gently. She was perfection in every single way, and Will had to disguise his lack of breath at her sight. The smile on her lips, the dare in her stare, it was all too much, and any chance of Will suppressing his feelings again was gone.
They have been playing that game for weeks now and, after their visit to Kelly and the woman’s wise words to both of them, denial was getting weaker. Without noticing, they had become a couple.
He packing her bag, she lowering her guard enough for him to teach her things. Her care towards him and the fact that most of his hoodies and sweaters were on her wardrobe now because she was always cold and never minded to return the borrowed clothes. Their shared nights over Chinese and wine, going through files and doing reports, drinks at the Dead Drop, shared hotel rooms, the list keeps going on.
Frankie’s presence was distracting, and suddenly, the view didn’t matter anymore. He wanted to put her close, to embrace her in his arms. But the line was there, the wall separating them and Will decided maybe it wasn’t the time yet, so he just turned to return his eyes to the sight, eating his pastry to avoid speaking more than he should.
“It’s a local pastry they make here…”
“I don’t care.”
“Oh. Well…”
Her tone wasn’t harsh like when they first met and throughout shared time with her; Will got used with her not so delicate way of responding to things. It wasn’t personal, as he first thought, just a reflex, a habit she acquired over the years working on that hard and cold world their jobs lead them.
Will may be a boy scout, but he had done some things in his life he regretted, and that changed him in ways he never allowed anyone to have access to. So he couldn’t judge Frankie and her past, that once mattered so much to him, and now seemed so distant to the person she had become, the woman that he loves.
Their relationship softened Frankie, making her more trusting, especially over him and their long nights working side by side brought them closer as Frankie shared her ghosts with Will when she was sure no one else was listening. For brief moments she would put her guard down completely, so vulnerable and open that Will could see through her, see her soul. It was fragments, little pieces of shared information but enough for him. Will kept them all secured in his mind, gathering and assembling them until he had the whole story.
It was a slow process, but Will was patient.
His gaze lost itself on the horizon for an instant, and he didn’t notice Frankie analyzing him, his posture, his person, wondering what she was doing, how she had allowed herself to go there. In her heart, she had no doubt of what she wanted but what Will wanted was something she wasn’t sure yet, and the fear of rejection was beginning to grow inside her.
She observed him for that second, absorbing his presence. That coat fitted him nicely, and he was very sexy indeed (although she wouldn’t admit that again out loud). His boyish look he bragged about so much really was a thing, and Frankie hated herself a little for not being able to resist him.
But it was Will, her partner, her best friend, her something more (she wouldn’t say it was love even them both knowing it was.)
The silence was killing her, and she had to have his look on her.
“Okay, that smells amazing.”
“Right?”
“Yeah!”
She took a piece, putting in her mouth and allowing the sugar to melt in her tongue. He was right; it was delicious.
“So, they make them hot and fresh right down the street from this bar that I went to last night.”
“It’s… It’s really good.”
She smiled at him, his emeralds dragging her, pulling her towards him.
“I thought you might like that.”
A grin on his lips and she couldn’t believe he was sure she would be there.
“What, like you knew I was gonna show up here?”
His eyes darkened, his gaze more profound, his voice firm and low.
“No. But I hoped.”
Will stepped closer to her, expecting Frankie to move away, but she didn’t. He took that as a good sign and gave another step. Their gaze was never breaking, the world around them slowly fading, voices muffling until it was silence, and they were the only ones there.
He leaned in, his eyes on her lips, his warm and sweet breath hitting her face gently. At each second Will expected her to pull away but Frankie never did, she stood there firmly, her eyes never moving.
Trying to read between the lines he was approaching carefully, worried that if it were all too fast, she would vanish, disappear. Instead, Frankie grinned at him, her feet planted on the ground. With his free hand, he reached for her neck, tangling his fingers on her light brown locks.
The distance decreased to inches, and Will stopped, to make sure she wanted the same thing he did, that she was aware that once it was done, there were no lines between them, no wall, not any type of obstacle that could separate them.
Frankie closed her eyes, her body language revealing everything.
She wanted him.
Will smiled and ended the distance between them, crashing his lips on hers, his hand on her neck. Her arms fast passed around his, and the pastry on his hand fell on the ground as he embraced her waist to bring her even closer (if it was possible).
Her lips had the same taste his memory had recorded back when they were fake married, but this time the sweet from the sugar was there too. It was like her lips were meant to be on his, designed to kiss him and only him.
From all the women Will had shared his lips with no one compared to Frankie, to the feeling he had in his heart each time she was near, what her presence caused on him.
It was deep, raw, passionate, and spoke for all the non verbalized words they had stored inside.
Frankie broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Will’s. On their lips a smile they couldn’t contain, it was like a thousand fireworks exploding inside their chest, and they felt like that was the first real kiss they had ever had in their lives.
Will caressed her hair, putting a lock behind her ear. Her arms didn’t leave his neck, and her eyes were glued on him, mesmerized by what she could read in them.
They couldn’t believe it.
It actually happened.
Frankie wasn’t sure if it was the right move, but she didn’t want anything else besides kissing his lips over and over again.
What the tomorrow would bring, the conversation they would have to have after, it didn’t matter.
She could tell he was thinking the same thing. After being side by side for a while now, they had developed the ability to read each other way too well.
Will wanted her, that was all.
So he leaned in again and kissed her once more, to make sure it was true, to remember her lips, how they tasted, and the feeling in his heart. It was real, she was there, and Will wanted for Frankie never to leave.
There, on that street in Prague, they were the only ones, the world around didn’t exist, and the sun was glowing only for them.
Gently Will descended his hand, caressing her cheek. They separated a little, and he had the same goofy expression Frankie had on her face. He turned on his feet, pulling her by his side, her head already resting on his shoulder, her coconut scent invading his nose.
Will pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head, his arm still on her waist, while hers were embracing his torso. They stayed there for a long while, enjoying the view, watching life happen around. The world seemed brighter, more beautiful, and Prague was defiantly a favorite on their list.
There was a lot they had to discuss, and Frankie knew Will would never allow her to avoid it but, at that moment, after tasting his lips, and having his arms around her, she started to think that it was worth it.