Work Text:
Tensions are high at the meat packaging warehouse after Rose reveals that the Bala family is behind Foxglove and that fifteen canisters of KX are already in transport to the UN to be used in a chemical attack tomorrow.
Catherine and Peter are restless on their feet, unable to stay still as they try to formulate a plan. Catherine brushes her palm against her smooth tied-back hair and exhales loudly. “You two need some rest. Rose, you have been a big help tonight. I will give you guys a ride back.” She sighs again, clearly showing signs of stress mixed with exhaustion. “Just… wait in the car while I make a few calls.” She doesn’t wait for a response and points the key fob at the car to unlock it.
Peter nods appreciatively to Catherine and glances at Rose to see if she is ready to leave. The pair watch Catherine disappear into the sea of cops with her phone against her ear. Peter walks ahead making sure to get the door for Rose.
The gesture is hardwired deeply within him, especially after seeing so many sniper attacks on people getting into cars. That and double-checking there’s no attacker hiding in the car. He’s learned that the hard way since becoming a night agent. Although the chances of either of those things happening tonight are pretty much zero, given that they are surrounded by cops, he does it anyway—simply because he enjoys being a gentleman even when there are no safety concerns.
Rose slides across the seats to the other side, giving Peter room to climb in beside her. The silence feels heavy once the door is shut and locked. Rose’s eyes are glued to her hands as she twiddles her thumbs anxiously. Peter senses her nervousness—he’s seen her like this before.
Shyly Rose whispers, “Thanks for getting us out.”
Peter can hear the subtle shakiness in her voice and knows that Rose is still shaken up. He wants to pull her into his arms and show her she’s safe now. He can’t, not when Catherine could show up any minute.
“Of course. Couldn’t give up on my partner,” he replies playfully, hoping his choice of words will help lighten the mood even if it's just a little bit.
Rose laughs through her nose. Her stomach does a little flip at the word partner. They really do make great partners and an amazing team.
She takes out her ponytail and lays her head against the headrest releasing an uneven breath. She tries to take a few deep breaths—an exercise that her therapist taught her to help reset after panic attacks. I’m safe here, she reminds herself. Peter’s here now. She squeezes her eyes shut. It’s safe now.
The car beeps as Catherine approaches and enters the navy blue SUV. “I called the chief of the NYPD, they are sending out their entire SWAT team and bomb squad to the UN for 8 am tomorrow. I’ll pick you two up in the morning, 7:15 am.”
Peter replies, “Sounds good, boss.”
When Catherine starts driving, darkness quickly envelops the car as they drive through the pitch-black streets on the outskirts of Brooklyn.
Knowing Catherine won’t be able to see into the backseat Rose reaches out her hand to Peter. Subconsciously she holds her breath hoping Peter will notice. Within a few seconds, she feels the warmth of his hand wrap around hers and squeezing lightly. She takes a small breath of relief. His rough calloused hands always have been comforting, especially the way he holds her hand so gently.
Exhaustion waves over her and she’s fallen asleep. Peter lets himself relax a little more when he sees that Rose is finally resting. He keeps her hand in his, determined to do whatever it takes to make her feel safe.
______
As they enter the apartment Rose is quick to spot the broken door handle. Peter silently curses to himself. Rose never fails to be extremely detail-oriented despite being fast asleep a few minutes ago.
Rose’s eyes flicker between the broken door handle and Peter, “What happened to the door handle?”
“The door handle and I had a ugh… a disagreement,” Peter replies, scratching his head awkwardly with hopes that there will be no further questions.
Rose gives Peter a weird look. “As long as you’re not hiding any hostages in here, I won’t ask.”
Peter smiles, “Don’t you worry.” He replies and walks ahead to double-check each room just to be extra cautious. As he expected, there’s no sign of anything or anyone entering since he last left.
“I could really use a shower,” Rose groans while combing her fingers through her dishevelled hair.
“Go ahead, I’ll go after you,” Peter says as he takes off his black hoodie and places it on the chair.
“It’s pretty late… It would be quicker if we both just showered now,” She states casually while tucking her fingers in her pockets.
Peter raises a questioning eyebrow and tries to hide the forming curve on his lips by ducking his head and laughing nervously. “Only if you insist.”
Rose grins. There’s no more discussion as she strides into the bathroom and turns the water on in the shower.
She's quick to peel off her clothes and discard them on the bathroom floor. Rose doesn’t bother to wait to see if Peter joins her and immediately gets in the shower. She smirks when she hears rustling behind the curtain followed by the sound of Peter slowly opening the shower curtain.
Rose lets the hot water run down her body, closing her eyes and letting herself unwind under the heat of water after a terrifying 24 hours.
After a quick scan, Peter is relieved to see Rose is unharmed with no visible wounds or developing bruises. He’s not sure how he’d cope if he had found Rose in any other way. He can’t think about that right now. Be present he reminds himself.
Peter slides in behind her, reaching his hand to the small of her back so he doesn’t startle her.
“Ow, ow,” he winces. “I forgot how hot you like your showers,” he teases while turning down the temperature.
She turns around to face him, “It’s the middle of winter, Peter. I’m cold, okay.”
He slides both his arms around Rose's waist and urges her to come closer to him. Her chest is flush against him and she lays her head against his chest. She mumbles, “I forgot how warm you are.”
He smiles and rests his head on her wet hair. He finally feels the vice on his heart loosen. He missed her so much this entire year. Having her here now in the safety of his arms is more important than anything else. There have been countless times when all he wanted was to come home to her.
They stand for a minute, enjoying each other's closeness after more than a day of being separated. Rose closes her eyes and lets herself melt in his arms. She would spend the rest of eternity like this if she could.
Stroking her back he whispers in her ear, “Let me wash your hair, we can’t have you falling asleep in the shower.”
He turns and reaches for the bottle and squirts a large blob of two-in-one shampoo conditioner into his hand. Rose turns around and allows Peter to massage it into her hair. She always loved the way he washed her hair. Slow and steady hands massaging her scalp—always careful never to get it in her eyes.
They swap places and Rose begins to rinse her hair as Peter runs the remaining soap through his short hair.
Rose lathers the rest of her body using the lone bar of soap in the shower. After handing the soap to Peter he washes her backside for her and then washes his own body.
She loves how everything about this shower feels normal—like they are back to their usual routine, even if that was nearly a year ago and so far from what their lives look like now.
Rose looks at him with adoring eyes, closing the space between them. She places her hands on his chest and rubs the remaining soap into his chest hair. Peter puts the bar of soap down.
He stares deeply into her eyes, she looks at him with so much passion and care. She looks happy despite everything that’s been going on.
He moves her hair behind her ear and over her shoulder. His hand lingers as he traces his fingertip along the back of her ear. His palm grazes the length of her jaw.
Her heart races with anticipation and her eyes flicker between his eyes and lips. She knows he wants this just as much as she does. He tilts her chin up and closes the gap between them.
The kiss is slow and passionate, their lips exchanging all the unspoken words between them these last few days. All the intense emotions come to a head—a mix of longing, desire, comfort and their unspoken love for one another.
They don’t kiss for nearly long enough, Rose thinks as the water starts to run cold.
“Sorry for your water bill,” she teases.
Peter hands her a towel, “Don’t be.”
_____
Rose raids Peter's nearly empty closet and settles for a decently smelling shirt that was tossed on the shelf and Peter’s plaid pyjama pants she’s been wearing all week. She peers outside the bedroom to find Peter sitting on the couch shirtless in his zip-up hoodie. He looks like he would have fallen asleep right then if she hadn’t peeped her head out.
“Can you sleep in here tonight? I’d feel a lot safer, especially after everything that’s happened.” For some reason, she feels shy about asking, but she knows Peter won’t say no.
As Rose anticipated, he doesn’t argue, “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
As he enters the bedroom he sees Rose curled on her side up practically hugging the edge of the bed, he carefully lifts the covers and slides into the other side. Despite it being only a double bed there's still so much space between them. He carefully snakes his arm around her waist and pulls her to him.
Rose can’t help but blush, that's what he always did during their short month of living together. He would hold her the entire night. It’s difficult for her to admit but she hasn’t slept soundly without him there these past ten months.
Sleepily Rose whispers, “I’m really happy you found me, I was starting to worry that no one would be able to find us.”
“You know I’ll always come looking for you right? If you’re in danger I’ll always come for you. No matter what.” He says kissing her damp hair.
Rose’s eyes water, “I know.”
He holds her a little tighter and she moves her hands on top of his. They fall asleep instantly, finally in the safety of each other's arms. It’s the first time Peter feels like he’s home. He’s not sure what tomorrow will bring but all he knows is together, they are home.