Conflict of Interest (19/?) - (Morgana/Nikki)
Title: Conflict of Interest (19/?)
Fandom: Silent Witness/Merlin (Modern AU)
Characters & Pairings: Morgana/Nikki (with side Arthur/Gwen, unrequited/past Nikki/Harry and maybe-not-so-past Gwen/Morgana)
Rating: R
Word Count: ~ 55,000 so far, 3,000 for this part
Summary: Morgana/Nikki. Morgana and Arthur have a much needed conversation and Nikki reaps the reward of getting Morgana all hot and bothered.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or Silent Witness, this is not for profit, just for entertainment!
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 |Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17|Chapter 18
Easing on the break and off the accelerator, Harry slowed the car to a stop. He knew he was in trouble. No one had spoken since they had pulled away from the deli and the air was tense.
“Give us a moment, will you?” Morgana heard Nikki murmur.
Harry nodded, undid his belt and got out of the car. “I’ll see you in there.” The car door closed with a snap.
Morgana was leaning against the far door, eyes unfocused on something outside the window.
A click signalled that Nikki too had undone her belt. The cushioned seat below Morgana shifted as Nikki moved closer.
“I won’t ask if you’re alright,” Nikki whispered, resting her chin on Morgana’s shoulder and leaning her forehead against her cheek.
“I’m...” she wanted to tell Nikki that she was scared, scared that her brother would turn his back on her and that she would be left alone. Pride held her tongue and her frustration grew.
“I know,” Nikki breathed. Her eyes were closed and she breathed in the dark woody smell of Morgana’s skin. It was intoxicating.
Morgana’s hand found hers and twined their fingers together, needing the comfort. “I fucked up.”
“You can’t blame yourself. What Gwen did was unfair, she knew what she was doing,” Nikki said, squeezing Morgana’s hand. She was angry at Gwen for what she had done and hadn’t been able to take to her as Harry and Leo had.
“He’ll think I planned it,” Morgana choked, shaking her head to dissipate the emotion.
“Did you?” The tone of Nikki’s voice made Morgana ache. She didn’t believe that Morgana had planned it, not for a second.
“No, at least not consciously,” Morgana admitted. “I was even starting to get over her, you know. I was seeing someone casually and I thought it might get more serious but after Gwen... I just - I couldn’t. Being with Gwen again was all I had dreamed about from the day she left me. I know that sounds pathetic but - ”
“It doesn’t,” Nikki assured her, tilting her head to press a kiss to Morgana’s neck where her perfume was strongest. “It sounds like Harry and I. Only I never had him in the first place, so it was worse for you.” Morgana tensed and Nikki kissed her again. Morgana was not beyond an attack of jealousy, though she kept it well hidden. “I never thought I would be, but I’m over him. I love you, Morgana. I trust you and Arthur will too.” Relaxing Morgana tilted her head and sighed as Nikki finished a trail of kisses at her jaw.
“It hurt when she got together with Arthur,” Morgana whispered, still facing the window, though her eyes were closed from Nikki’s touch. “I felt so... inadequate... so fundamentally flawed that she could never love me like she loves him. So when she told me she needed me in the garage, that Arthur never made her feel how I used to make her feel, that only I could give her what she needed, I couldn’t help myself. I’d imagined her saying that in my mind so many times but I never thought that she would.”
“You are not inadequate,” Nikki said firmly, turning Morgana to her with an insistent finger to her chin. “I promise you.”
Morgana looked at her finally, unsure.
“Move in with me,” Nikki said before she even realised that she was going to say it. “I don’t feel safe without you there.” That too, she hadn’t realised until that moment. She hadn’t realised that the restlessness she had felt at home since Morgana had moved back into her house was fear, not loneliness. Fear, that it wasn’t over, that they hadn’t come out the other side yet. Something made the hair on the back of her neck stand up when she was alone. As much as she hated to admit it, it only stopped when Morgana’s arms were wrapped tight around her. The further Nikki fell for her, the further she realised there was yet to fall.
Morgana smiled fondly at her with shiny eyes. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I’m over her.”
Nikki’s heart sunk but she smiled anyway because she believed that Morgana had left her feelings for Gwen behind. “Let’s go inside.”
~*~
Deli bag in hand, Morgana closed the kitchen door behind her, sealing her inside with Arthur. Her hands were shaking, so she clenched them to try and hide it. She knew it was pointless, as soon as he turned to face her, he would see her nerves. Ever since they were children, he had been able to see through her as if she were made of glass. Sometimes when he looked at her, she felt as though she might shatter.
“Arthur,” she said softly, putting the bag down on the side and taking a step towards him.
“The plates are warming in the oven.” His back was still turned to her and he was up to his elbows in soapy water. “I’ve almost finished with the cutlery. Did the deli have everything we asked for? We don’t want Gwen throwing a strop because they gave her the wrong lettuce.”
“Arthur,” Morgana said again.
“You did check they didn’t give her iceberg, didn’t you?” Arthur continued. “You know that she thinks it tastes like soap. Though how she knows what soap tastes like is a mystery to me.”
“I need to talk to you, Arthur.”
“Later. The sandwiches are going to get cold. I got bacon and I haven’t had bacon for two weeks. Two weeks! I keep telling her I need it, it’s in our genes isn’t it? Mum was born on a farm for god’s sakes!”
“I know that you’ve found out about Gwen and I, about the garage.”
He stiffened.
“Please, let me explain.”
Silence.
“Arthur.” Tears stung at her eyes but she refused to shed them.
“If it happens again then we’re through, Morgana,” he said gruffly.
“It won’t,” Morgana promised fiercely, “never.”
Silence.
“Get the tea towel and dry, will you?” Arthur said tightly after a moment. “They’ll be waiting.”
Sniffling, she grabbed the tea towel off the radiator and joined him at the sink. He was still carrying tension in his arms and she knew that although the conversation was over, the issue still hung heavy between them. They had never argued before, not for longer than a few hours and never over something serious. Except that one time when Arthur smashed the glass on their mother’s photo and Morgana hadn’t spoken to him for a week.
The steel of the forks she closed her fingers around was red hot and she dropped them in surprise, gasping and jerking back her burned hand.
“Fuck,” she swore as the forks collided with the floor.
Arthur reached for her instinctively, pulling his hands from their washing up gloves and taking her hand. “You need to run it under the cold water.”
She let him tug her over to the taps and under the icy spray. It wasn’t that bad but Arthur was squinting at her pinked skin like she might die from the injury.
“I’m so sorry, the water must have been too hot,” he apologised when she took back her hand. He wrapped her in a tight hug, holding her closer than he had for months. “I’m so sorry.”
She turned her head into his neck and cried. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything.”
When they came out of the kitchen half an hour later with cold sandwiches on hot plates, nobody said a word about the wait. Arthur sat next to Gwen, Morgana next to Nikki and, from across the table, they smiled at each other.
~*~
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Morgana asked, leaning against the front door frame with her arms wrapped around her stomach. Part of her wanted Nikki to save her from the potential awkwardness of the night to come, though she knew she had to endure it.
“Of course not,” Nikki lied. She wanted Morgana to come home with her and not watch crappy telly. “They three of you haven’t spent time together alone since you came out of hospital.”
“Because I’ve been busy,” Morgana smiled, unfolding her arms and slipping them around Nikki’s waist.
“Nikki!” Harry called from outside. “Hurry up!”
“Spend some time with him,” Morgana nodded to the open door. “He’s not going to have a good day on the stand. I’ll come over tomorrow and we can go out for lunch before court.”
“Deal,” Nikki grinned.
“Nikki!”
“I’d better go,” Nikki said, grabbing her scarf.
Morgana nodded and smiled mischievously. “Kiss me.”
Nikki rolled her eyes and complied, briefly. “One day that’s going to stop being adorable.”
“Never,” Morgana said in mock seriousness. “Go on, he might drive off without you if you make him wait any longer.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Nikki murmured and kissed Morgana properly. Usually, she only had to look up ever so slightly to kiss her. Now through, Nikki was stood a step below her on the path and Morgana’s hand cupped her jaw, tilting her head right up and kissing her deep and smooth, making her giddy. Every kiss was new, different from the one before. Each time she would notice a different facet, a different sliding of their lips or caress of tongue. By that point though, she couldn’t think of anything at all, especially when Morgana would take dominance then retreat, begging her to follow. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” They broke apart and, not for the first time, Nikki was the only one breathing heavy. She was considering joining Harry on his runs. “Have a good time. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll pick you up at midday,” Morgana shouted after her girlfriend, who was making her way down the path towards an irritated looking Harry. “Bye.”
“Bye!” Nikki shouted over her shoulder.
“Bye, Morgana,” Harry yelled, as Nikki pushed him towards the car.
“Now you’re not in a rush,” Morgana heard Nikki complain. “Couldn’t you have given me five more minutes?”
Morgana smiled and ducked her head. “Bye, Harry.” She waited and waved until the car pulled away, then closed the door and went inside.
~*~
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Harry asked. It was dark and the only light in the car came in snatches from the yellow streetlights that lined the road.
“Arthur and Morgana? I think so. I hope so,” Nikki sighed, leaning her head against the cold window. She was missing Morgana already. Pathetic. “They’re too close to let this get between them.”
“And how about you?”
Nikki laughed. “What about me?”
“How is living alone again suiting you?” Harry asked, glancing at her quickly so that she could see his smirk.
“I think Morgana was going a bit insane, caged up in my tiny flat,” Nikki answered thoughtfully. “Her house is so much bigger... and nicer.”
“I asked about you, not Morgana, as much as I like her. She stayed with you for almost three months, isn’t it strange now she’s gone?”
“I asked her if she wanted to move in together today. I hadn’t planned to as her but...” Nikki said quietly, trailing off. “She thought I was just asking to make her feel better about Gwen.”
“And were you?” Harry asked.
“Probably. I just got used to having her around,” Nikki dismissed. “Home just seems quiet without her. Do you know that she draws?”
Harry shook his head and went with the change of conversation. “Is she any good?”
“Yeah,” Nikki smiled, remembering the morning she woke to find Morgana drawing her from the sofa in the bedroom, wrapped loosely in the throw from the bed, eyes squinting and hair mussed up. The drawing was far more complimentary than mirrors were and Nikki wondered whether that was how Morgana actually saw her. “She does it all the time. I think she started at university, drawing diagrams in her notes. There’s one that she’s drawn then watercoloured on the wall in Arthur and Gwen’s house of ctenophores, it’s beautiful. I keep finding little doodles all over the flat.”
Harry turned to her and laughed. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are besotted Nikki Alexander.”
Nikki made an annoyed sound and banged her head against the window. “I know.”
“It suits you. I’ve never seen you so happy,” Harry said softly.
A slow smile crept onto Nikki’s face. “Do you want to get a takeaway?” she asked, leaning forward to open the glove box and searching for the menus she knew he kept there.
“And be a poor substitute for Morgana? Why not.”
~*~
The evening, Morgana decided, would not be an awkward one. There had been a moment at the beginning when they had to divide themselves between the sofa and two chairs. Arthur seemed to be trying to prove he trusted them and had not so subtly indicated with the aid of wine glass placement that the two women were to share the sofa. Morgana was the only one drinking red and her glass had been placed next to Gwen’s non-alcoholic version of the dark liquid on the table at the end of the sofa. Gwen would have to ask when she wanted a drink, thereby ensuring interaction.
“How are things with Nikki?” Arthur asked, topping up Morgana’s barely touched glass.
“Fantastic,” Morgana smiled easily, letting her head fall back against the cushion. A realisation dawned on her and she raised her eyebrows.
~*~
Nikki jumped. She had just been about to turn out the lights and go to bed when a knock on the door shattered the silence. Familiar dread crept up her spine and she shivered. She should have asked Harry to stay instead of letting him call a taxi.
Another knock.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Nikki crept to the door and peered through the peek-hole. She exhaled deeply and opened the door.
“I should have phoned first,” Morgana said as if just realising it. “Sorry, it’s almost one. I wasn’t thinking. I just - did you mean it?”
“Mean what?” Nikki frowned.
“That you want to move in together,” Morgana said anxiously. She couldn’t stand still. The more she had thought about it, the more she was sure that Nikki had meant it.
Nikki paled. “What would you say if I said that I meant it?”
Morgana’s heart was thundering in her chest. “God yes.”
Visions of waking up to an Oscar Wilde quote on the wall and Morgana tangled naked in the sheets next to her ran through Nikki’s mind.
“Harry’s car is outside,” Morgana observed, shifting in agitation.
“He took a taxi home,” Nikki explained, unable to tear her eyes away from Morgana’s moistened bottom lip caught between her teeth. The tension between them was on the edge of breaking and it was excruciating. “We’re alone.”
Morgana mumbled something unintelligible and swept into the flat, kissing Nikki insistently and kicking the door closed with her heeled boot. It banged loudly as the catch was forced to close and lock out the outside world. The neighbours would complain in the morning, but Nikki didn’t think they would be her neighbours for much longer, so she didn’t care.
“You’ve had a shower,” Morgana murmured, tugging on Nikki’s bottom lip just hard enough to make the blonde’s knees weak.
“I didn’t want to have one in the morning.” Nikki managed to concentrate just long enough to get the sentence out. This was no small feat, as Morgana’s hands were squeezing her bum and before she knew it, her legs were wrapped around Morgana’s waist.
“You smell fucking fantastic,” Morgana growled onto the column of Nikki’s throat, her accent thick.
Nikki shivered. “It’s the - the - the shower gel you left behind. I thou- thought you might like it.” She loved when Morgana got like this. It made her tremble.
Morgana laughed, deep and rich. She sat Nikki on her antique drawers. “I definitely do.”
“Good because I’ve been trying to get you worked up all day and you were being uncharacteristically resistant,” Nikki gasped, opening Morgana’s jeans with practiced ease. She tugged Morgana between her open legs by the now loose material around her hips and trapped her there.
“I had other things on my mind,” Morgana breathed, slipping her hand under the skirt of Nikki’s nightdress. “But believe me when I say that the only thing in I’m thinking about now is making you scream.”
Nikki dropped her head forward onto Morgana’s shoulder and moaned shamelessly. She knew as she arched into Morgana’s hand that they wouldn’t make it to the bedroom and that was just fine with her.
safes and locks
Fandom: Silent Witness/Merlin (Modern AU)
Characters & Pairings: Morgana/Nikki (with side Arthur/Gwen, unrequited/past Nikki/Harry and maybe-not-so-past Gwen/Morgana)
Rating: R
Word Count: ~ 55,000 so far, 3,000 for this part
Summary: Morgana/Nikki. Morgana and Arthur have a much needed conversation and Nikki reaps the reward of getting Morgana all hot and bothered.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or Silent Witness, this is not for profit, just for entertainment!
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 |Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17|Chapter 18
Easing on the break and off the accelerator, Harry slowed the car to a stop. He knew he was in trouble. No one had spoken since they had pulled away from the deli and the air was tense.
“Give us a moment, will you?” Morgana heard Nikki murmur.
Harry nodded, undid his belt and got out of the car. “I’ll see you in there.” The car door closed with a snap.
Morgana was leaning against the far door, eyes unfocused on something outside the window.
A click signalled that Nikki too had undone her belt. The cushioned seat below Morgana shifted as Nikki moved closer.
“I won’t ask if you’re alright,” Nikki whispered, resting her chin on Morgana’s shoulder and leaning her forehead against her cheek.
“I’m...” she wanted to tell Nikki that she was scared, scared that her brother would turn his back on her and that she would be left alone. Pride held her tongue and her frustration grew.
“I know,” Nikki breathed. Her eyes were closed and she breathed in the dark woody smell of Morgana’s skin. It was intoxicating.
Morgana’s hand found hers and twined their fingers together, needing the comfort. “I fucked up.”
“You can’t blame yourself. What Gwen did was unfair, she knew what she was doing,” Nikki said, squeezing Morgana’s hand. She was angry at Gwen for what she had done and hadn’t been able to take to her as Harry and Leo had.
“He’ll think I planned it,” Morgana choked, shaking her head to dissipate the emotion.
“Did you?” The tone of Nikki’s voice made Morgana ache. She didn’t believe that Morgana had planned it, not for a second.
“No, at least not consciously,” Morgana admitted. “I was even starting to get over her, you know. I was seeing someone casually and I thought it might get more serious but after Gwen... I just - I couldn’t. Being with Gwen again was all I had dreamed about from the day she left me. I know that sounds pathetic but - ”
“It doesn’t,” Nikki assured her, tilting her head to press a kiss to Morgana’s neck where her perfume was strongest. “It sounds like Harry and I. Only I never had him in the first place, so it was worse for you.” Morgana tensed and Nikki kissed her again. Morgana was not beyond an attack of jealousy, though she kept it well hidden. “I never thought I would be, but I’m over him. I love you, Morgana. I trust you and Arthur will too.” Relaxing Morgana tilted her head and sighed as Nikki finished a trail of kisses at her jaw.
“It hurt when she got together with Arthur,” Morgana whispered, still facing the window, though her eyes were closed from Nikki’s touch. “I felt so... inadequate... so fundamentally flawed that she could never love me like she loves him. So when she told me she needed me in the garage, that Arthur never made her feel how I used to make her feel, that only I could give her what she needed, I couldn’t help myself. I’d imagined her saying that in my mind so many times but I never thought that she would.”
“You are not inadequate,” Nikki said firmly, turning Morgana to her with an insistent finger to her chin. “I promise you.”
Morgana looked at her finally, unsure.
“Move in with me,” Nikki said before she even realised that she was going to say it. “I don’t feel safe without you there.” That too, she hadn’t realised until that moment. She hadn’t realised that the restlessness she had felt at home since Morgana had moved back into her house was fear, not loneliness. Fear, that it wasn’t over, that they hadn’t come out the other side yet. Something made the hair on the back of her neck stand up when she was alone. As much as she hated to admit it, it only stopped when Morgana’s arms were wrapped tight around her. The further Nikki fell for her, the further she realised there was yet to fall.
Morgana smiled fondly at her with shiny eyes. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I’m over her.”
Nikki’s heart sunk but she smiled anyway because she believed that Morgana had left her feelings for Gwen behind. “Let’s go inside.”
~*~
Deli bag in hand, Morgana closed the kitchen door behind her, sealing her inside with Arthur. Her hands were shaking, so she clenched them to try and hide it. She knew it was pointless, as soon as he turned to face her, he would see her nerves. Ever since they were children, he had been able to see through her as if she were made of glass. Sometimes when he looked at her, she felt as though she might shatter.
“Arthur,” she said softly, putting the bag down on the side and taking a step towards him.
“The plates are warming in the oven.” His back was still turned to her and he was up to his elbows in soapy water. “I’ve almost finished with the cutlery. Did the deli have everything we asked for? We don’t want Gwen throwing a strop because they gave her the wrong lettuce.”
“Arthur,” Morgana said again.
“You did check they didn’t give her iceberg, didn’t you?” Arthur continued. “You know that she thinks it tastes like soap. Though how she knows what soap tastes like is a mystery to me.”
“I need to talk to you, Arthur.”
“Later. The sandwiches are going to get cold. I got bacon and I haven’t had bacon for two weeks. Two weeks! I keep telling her I need it, it’s in our genes isn’t it? Mum was born on a farm for god’s sakes!”
“I know that you’ve found out about Gwen and I, about the garage.”
He stiffened.
“Please, let me explain.”
Silence.
“Arthur.” Tears stung at her eyes but she refused to shed them.
“If it happens again then we’re through, Morgana,” he said gruffly.
“It won’t,” Morgana promised fiercely, “never.”
Silence.
“Get the tea towel and dry, will you?” Arthur said tightly after a moment. “They’ll be waiting.”
Sniffling, she grabbed the tea towel off the radiator and joined him at the sink. He was still carrying tension in his arms and she knew that although the conversation was over, the issue still hung heavy between them. They had never argued before, not for longer than a few hours and never over something serious. Except that one time when Arthur smashed the glass on their mother’s photo and Morgana hadn’t spoken to him for a week.
The steel of the forks she closed her fingers around was red hot and she dropped them in surprise, gasping and jerking back her burned hand.
“Fuck,” she swore as the forks collided with the floor.
Arthur reached for her instinctively, pulling his hands from their washing up gloves and taking her hand. “You need to run it under the cold water.”
She let him tug her over to the taps and under the icy spray. It wasn’t that bad but Arthur was squinting at her pinked skin like she might die from the injury.
“I’m so sorry, the water must have been too hot,” he apologised when she took back her hand. He wrapped her in a tight hug, holding her closer than he had for months. “I’m so sorry.”
She turned her head into his neck and cried. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything.”
When they came out of the kitchen half an hour later with cold sandwiches on hot plates, nobody said a word about the wait. Arthur sat next to Gwen, Morgana next to Nikki and, from across the table, they smiled at each other.
~*~
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Morgana asked, leaning against the front door frame with her arms wrapped around her stomach. Part of her wanted Nikki to save her from the potential awkwardness of the night to come, though she knew she had to endure it.
“Of course not,” Nikki lied. She wanted Morgana to come home with her and not watch crappy telly. “They three of you haven’t spent time together alone since you came out of hospital.”
“Because I’ve been busy,” Morgana smiled, unfolding her arms and slipping them around Nikki’s waist.
“Nikki!” Harry called from outside. “Hurry up!”
“Spend some time with him,” Morgana nodded to the open door. “He’s not going to have a good day on the stand. I’ll come over tomorrow and we can go out for lunch before court.”
“Deal,” Nikki grinned.
“Nikki!”
“I’d better go,” Nikki said, grabbing her scarf.
Morgana nodded and smiled mischievously. “Kiss me.”
Nikki rolled her eyes and complied, briefly. “One day that’s going to stop being adorable.”
“Never,” Morgana said in mock seriousness. “Go on, he might drive off without you if you make him wait any longer.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Nikki murmured and kissed Morgana properly. Usually, she only had to look up ever so slightly to kiss her. Now through, Nikki was stood a step below her on the path and Morgana’s hand cupped her jaw, tilting her head right up and kissing her deep and smooth, making her giddy. Every kiss was new, different from the one before. Each time she would notice a different facet, a different sliding of their lips or caress of tongue. By that point though, she couldn’t think of anything at all, especially when Morgana would take dominance then retreat, begging her to follow. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” They broke apart and, not for the first time, Nikki was the only one breathing heavy. She was considering joining Harry on his runs. “Have a good time. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll pick you up at midday,” Morgana shouted after her girlfriend, who was making her way down the path towards an irritated looking Harry. “Bye.”
“Bye!” Nikki shouted over her shoulder.
“Bye, Morgana,” Harry yelled, as Nikki pushed him towards the car.
“Now you’re not in a rush,” Morgana heard Nikki complain. “Couldn’t you have given me five more minutes?”
Morgana smiled and ducked her head. “Bye, Harry.” She waited and waved until the car pulled away, then closed the door and went inside.
~*~
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Harry asked. It was dark and the only light in the car came in snatches from the yellow streetlights that lined the road.
“Arthur and Morgana? I think so. I hope so,” Nikki sighed, leaning her head against the cold window. She was missing Morgana already. Pathetic. “They’re too close to let this get between them.”
“And how about you?”
Nikki laughed. “What about me?”
“How is living alone again suiting you?” Harry asked, glancing at her quickly so that she could see his smirk.
“I think Morgana was going a bit insane, caged up in my tiny flat,” Nikki answered thoughtfully. “Her house is so much bigger... and nicer.”
“I asked about you, not Morgana, as much as I like her. She stayed with you for almost three months, isn’t it strange now she’s gone?”
“I asked her if she wanted to move in together today. I hadn’t planned to as her but...” Nikki said quietly, trailing off. “She thought I was just asking to make her feel better about Gwen.”
“And were you?” Harry asked.
“Probably. I just got used to having her around,” Nikki dismissed. “Home just seems quiet without her. Do you know that she draws?”
Harry shook his head and went with the change of conversation. “Is she any good?”
“Yeah,” Nikki smiled, remembering the morning she woke to find Morgana drawing her from the sofa in the bedroom, wrapped loosely in the throw from the bed, eyes squinting and hair mussed up. The drawing was far more complimentary than mirrors were and Nikki wondered whether that was how Morgana actually saw her. “She does it all the time. I think she started at university, drawing diagrams in her notes. There’s one that she’s drawn then watercoloured on the wall in Arthur and Gwen’s house of ctenophores, it’s beautiful. I keep finding little doodles all over the flat.”
Harry turned to her and laughed. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are besotted Nikki Alexander.”
Nikki made an annoyed sound and banged her head against the window. “I know.”
“It suits you. I’ve never seen you so happy,” Harry said softly.
A slow smile crept onto Nikki’s face. “Do you want to get a takeaway?” she asked, leaning forward to open the glove box and searching for the menus she knew he kept there.
“And be a poor substitute for Morgana? Why not.”
~*~
The evening, Morgana decided, would not be an awkward one. There had been a moment at the beginning when they had to divide themselves between the sofa and two chairs. Arthur seemed to be trying to prove he trusted them and had not so subtly indicated with the aid of wine glass placement that the two women were to share the sofa. Morgana was the only one drinking red and her glass had been placed next to Gwen’s non-alcoholic version of the dark liquid on the table at the end of the sofa. Gwen would have to ask when she wanted a drink, thereby ensuring interaction.
“How are things with Nikki?” Arthur asked, topping up Morgana’s barely touched glass.
“Fantastic,” Morgana smiled easily, letting her head fall back against the cushion. A realisation dawned on her and she raised her eyebrows.
~*~
Nikki jumped. She had just been about to turn out the lights and go to bed when a knock on the door shattered the silence. Familiar dread crept up her spine and she shivered. She should have asked Harry to stay instead of letting him call a taxi.
Another knock.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Nikki crept to the door and peered through the peek-hole. She exhaled deeply and opened the door.
“I should have phoned first,” Morgana said as if just realising it. “Sorry, it’s almost one. I wasn’t thinking. I just - did you mean it?”
“Mean what?” Nikki frowned.
“That you want to move in together,” Morgana said anxiously. She couldn’t stand still. The more she had thought about it, the more she was sure that Nikki had meant it.
Nikki paled. “What would you say if I said that I meant it?”
Morgana’s heart was thundering in her chest. “God yes.”
Visions of waking up to an Oscar Wilde quote on the wall and Morgana tangled naked in the sheets next to her ran through Nikki’s mind.
“Harry’s car is outside,” Morgana observed, shifting in agitation.
“He took a taxi home,” Nikki explained, unable to tear her eyes away from Morgana’s moistened bottom lip caught between her teeth. The tension between them was on the edge of breaking and it was excruciating. “We’re alone.”
Morgana mumbled something unintelligible and swept into the flat, kissing Nikki insistently and kicking the door closed with her heeled boot. It banged loudly as the catch was forced to close and lock out the outside world. The neighbours would complain in the morning, but Nikki didn’t think they would be her neighbours for much longer, so she didn’t care.
“You’ve had a shower,” Morgana murmured, tugging on Nikki’s bottom lip just hard enough to make the blonde’s knees weak.
“I didn’t want to have one in the morning.” Nikki managed to concentrate just long enough to get the sentence out. This was no small feat, as Morgana’s hands were squeezing her bum and before she knew it, her legs were wrapped around Morgana’s waist.
“You smell fucking fantastic,” Morgana growled onto the column of Nikki’s throat, her accent thick.
Nikki shivered. “It’s the - the - the shower gel you left behind. I thou- thought you might like it.” She loved when Morgana got like this. It made her tremble.
Morgana laughed, deep and rich. She sat Nikki on her antique drawers. “I definitely do.”
“Good because I’ve been trying to get you worked up all day and you were being uncharacteristically resistant,” Nikki gasped, opening Morgana’s jeans with practiced ease. She tugged Morgana between her open legs by the now loose material around her hips and trapped her there.
“I had other things on my mind,” Morgana breathed, slipping her hand under the skirt of Nikki’s nightdress. “But believe me when I say that the only thing in I’m thinking about now is making you scream.”
Nikki dropped her head forward onto Morgana’s shoulder and moaned shamelessly. She knew as she arched into Morgana’s hand that they wouldn’t make it to the bedroom and that was just fine with her.
safes and locks