The Closer (18+) ✓

| 12.4 | power play

❝I'm sure you'll tell me anything under the sun
Like how you think I'm special and the only one
'Cause normally I'll probably just get up and run
But you looking so damn good to me under the sun❞

Chapter Twelve:
Power Play
(cont'd)

"Are you okay boss?" I asked, pulling my pants up and securing the belt. Tris shook her head at the sarcasm in my voice but muttered a happy 'yes' in reply, opening the lid on the stove and stepped back at the clouds of steam.

"Sauce is finished!"

"Great. I'm famished." I pulled out a stool from under the chair and settled down at the table, grinning at the look that Tris shot me.

"We just had sex on that table."

"Yeah, so? It's not like we were completely naked."

Tris shook her head at my reasoning and carried the food past me, out the kitchen and toward the dining area she always insisted on using. Deciding better than to argue with her, I followed her out. She stood at the head of the table, serving the dinner on my plate. I couldn't lie; it smelled mouth-watering.

"We'll eat here. Somewhere clean," she emphasized as I settled down at the seat across her.

"Funny. You always struck me as a dirty girl."

"Cheap shot, Hans," she snapped at me, but I could tell she was holding back a smile by the way her lips pressed together immediately after. Without another word, I swirled my fork around the spaghetti and lifted it up to take a bite. Tris watched me without taking a bite of her own food. When I released a loud moan of joy, she smiled widely and sat back, relaxing.

"So you like it?"

"This is exquisite!"

Her grin widened.

"Why didn't you tell me you can cook like this?"

"You never let me," she said smugly, sticking her tongue out at me. She watched me eat a while longer, filling herself in with the sight of my feasting on her cooking before she started digging in too. When I helped myself to seconds, Tris was practically glowing. I finished up my meal a little faster than I normally would so I could give her all my attention. She started to tell me how her day went at work and I didn't miss how her voice faltered at the mention of Tim. A flicker of jealousy passed through but it was nothing compared to the worry I felt seeing how upset Tris still was that Tim wasn't talking to her. She didn't linger on him for long though, switching the spotlight to me.

"How did it go with your dad?"

"It went well."

She raised an eyebrow, pausing from mixing the sauce with her fork. "You've got to give me more than that."

"Alright. It went really well." When I saw that she still wasn't happy with my answer, I gave her the abridged version of this evening's heartwarming albeit embarrassing meeting. "We opened up, talked about my future, I told him I forgive him. He cried. He also said he wants to meet the miracle woman behind all this."

Tris stopped chewing midway and pointed at herself. "Me?" she said, through a mouthful of food.

I grinned. "Yes, you."

"What did you say?"

"I said you'd be happy to meet him."

Tris squeaked like a tiny mouse, finishing the last of what was left on her plate before standing up and speeding away toward the kitchen. I sighed, and followed her. She was dumping her plate into the sink when I walked in.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just..." she turned around, toweling her hand dry before tossing it aside and meeting my eyes. "What if he doesn't like me?"

I scoffed, "Why wouldn't he?"

"Because I'm...well," she gestured at herself, not quite finding the words.

"Perfect?"

Tris gave me a sour look. I crossed the length of the kitchen and grabbed her hand, shaking it like a child's to make her smile.

"My dad isn't one to judge people. He already likes you from what he's heard; not just through me," I added quickly, seeing her eyes widen at me in somewhat of a teasing look, "but from those at the office who tell him how amazing you are at what you do. So stop worrying your little head over this."

Tris' face broke out into a smile and she nodded. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Thank you."

"Thank you," I sighed, placing my arms around her in a hug. A serene silence filled the air as we embraced, and I hesitated, wondering if this was the perfect moment for me to ask. It had been hard to hold back all through out dinner but having her in my arms just made me surer that I was right in asking this.

"Tris?"

"Yes?" she perched her chin on my chest and looked up at me, a smile lighting her face.

"You spend a shit-tonne of time over at my place."

"I know."

Wow, I thought she'd look embarrassed by how badly I'd phrased that but all she did was grin. I loved this woman.

"I mean, you spend more time at my place than you do at yours."

"That's cause I love you," she mumbled, a little blush tinging her cheeks. "I mean, if you have a problem with my being here then-"

"No!" I panicked, and shook my head at her. "No, no, it's not that. I love you here. You're the last thing I see when I go to sleep and the first thing I see every day and I love that. I really do."

I felt her form relax beneath me, her hug growing tighter in relief. "I thought you were going to tell me to back off or something."

"No," I gulped. "I was actually going to ask you the exact opposite." She froze in my arms. It hit her, where I was headed and before I could even ask, Tris shot free from my hug and stared up at me with sparkling brown eyes as wide as the world.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Yes, I'd love to live with you!"

I stared at her, a little dumbfounded by her reaction. "Did I already ask?"

"I'm saving you the embarrassment of doing so, aren't I?" Tris flashed a wide grin at me. She had a point. Hell, she was definitely going to make fun of me for years on end over this conversation so far and how awkward I had been. "But, we've only been together for...a month, technically speaking. Are you sure?"

I chuckled, "I've never been more sure of anything in my life" and pulled her into another hug. Her arms tied around my form and hands clasped behind my back, not wanting to let go. Tris sighed when I pressed a kiss to her forehead, my lips lingering there for a short second before I simply held her in my arms.

"Tonight," I whispered into her ear, smiling like a fool, "is the first of many."

She smiled into my neck before snapping up, her eyes searching mine with a playful tint of curiosity.

"Wait. The dinner I made, or the kitchen sexcapade?"

I smirked, squeezing her in my arms before letting my hands wander further down her body. "What do you think?"

She heaved a deep sigh. "I worry for you, Hans. I really do."

Tris bat my hands away from her ass but didn't stop me from pulling her in for a kiss. It lasted a long time and as we stood there in my kitchen - now our kitchen, swaying side by side to the gentle music that played, I knew that the legacy my mother had promised me had come true.

You'll have the world one day, Hans. The whole, entire world.

And now, I finally did.

_____

Song: Under the Sun by Cheryl Cole

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