(no subject)

[wgraham]

Will wasn't sure if he'd ever felt this way before in his life. He'd felt attraction toward people before, obviously, and he'd had girlfriends, though nothing serious, but he hadn't ever been so interested in being around someone as he was about being with Molly.

When they'd made this date, three days ago, the time and space had felt appropriate. It gave them both ample opportunity to sort out their feelings, make sure that they hadn't just gotten caught up in the moment. Will was sure that wasn't the case, but it felt right, practical, to be sure.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Molly. Every waking moment of the last three days she'd been on his mind. He'd dreamed about her every night, and two nights ago he'd woken up in the middle of one of those dreams, so riled up by what had been in his head that all he'd had to do was press his palm over himself to finish the job. That hadn't happened to him in a very long time.

Two hours before he was meant to meet her, he'd showered, cleaned up his beard, gotten dressed. He tried to not feel anxious but he couldn't help it, pacing his apartment, checking his watch over and over. He knew it would only take ninety seconds to get to her place, and he waited as patiently as he could, finally giving up with five minutes to spare and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

He stared at his watch on her doorstep, watching the second hand go around three times until it read exactly seven PM. Then he tugged down his jacket, took a deep breath, and knocked on her door.

Comments

[wgraham]

It was an extremely difficult question, and Will floundered a bit, even just processing it. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt that happy in his life. Meeting Molly had made him feel amazing, content and longing for more, but he imagines what she's asking, a moment of pure joy, and he can't come up with anything at all.

And then he thought about his dogs. It sounded stupid even in his own head, but all he could picture was coming home from a long day, opening the door of his farmhouse, and being greeted by his dogs, each of them happy to see him.

"Coming home to my dogs," he said, knowing he wasn't going to find anything that better answered her question. "I had six of them, before I came here. All strays. They were my family." He looked up into her eyes, smiling a little, hoping he didn't sound ridiculous. "You make me happy now, Molly," he said. "And imagine some day I'll get to come home to you, and I'll feel that way again."

[thewinterlady]

Molly closed her eyes when he started talking and opened her senses, searching for the feeling he described. It was a quiet happiness, but a genuine one, pure and unadulterated. She could imagine him like that, animals he loved and that loved him in return just being content together in a shared space. No pressure from social expectations. Just pure and genuine happiness to be around eachother.

She let it wash over her and saw him smiling when she opened her eyes again. He had a beautiful smile and Molly returned it, adding a blush to it as he talked about coming home to her. Molly could see it too. A bunch of animals in a shared space, their shared space, a family space, full of life.

"I've never had a pet." Molly said. "Too many Jawas in the house as it was. But I always wanted one. Something that was just mine and wanted to be just mine, you know?"

[wgraham]

Molly's comment jogged a memory in Will, and his smile turned sheepish. "I forgot to mention, I have a dog here," he said, feeling bad for forgetting. "He was living behind my building, and I took him in. About a week ago, before I met you."

He met her eyes. "I hope you're okay with that. He'll stay at my place, but I..." He stopped himself, looking away. "I'm thinking too far ahead," he said, taking a breath.

[thewinterlady]

Molly smiled and lifted a hand, gently drawing his face back to look at her. "I'd love to meet him. Maybe not tonight because I want you to myself, but soon." She said and smiled. "And I don't mind you thinking those things. Not at all." Molly knew it was too soon for things like that, but the thought warmed her anyway. "Maybe don't give up the lease on your apartment just yet." She added, tone teasing as she nudged him lightly.

[wgraham]

Will smiled, feeling relieved that Molly didn't mind the track his mind kept going on, and also glad that she was as interested as he was to be alone together later that night. "I'm not in a hurry," he told her, honestly. "I promise, I'm not trying to rush. But if you want to go slower, we can. If you want to be open and see other people..." He let that thought trail off, because he knew full well there weren't any other prospects for him.

"I'll do my best to pretend I don't mind, at least," he told her with a soft smile. He took a breath.

"Would you answer that question, the one you asked me a minute ago?" he asked after a beat. "About your happiest moment?"

[thewinterlady]

"Okay - for the record; this is plenty slow for me." Molly said to reassure him. "I'm not in a rush but I don't need to see anyone else. You're what I want." She added with a little heat in her voice. She let the tension drag out between them for a minute, just enjoying the way it curled through her and through the air between them.

Smiling, Molly looked away and back to her food, thinking about her happiest moment. "When my brother Daniel was born." Molly said. "I was only a few years old myself, but I was so excited. We went to the hospital and I was in the waiting room with our family priest and I just couldn't sit still. I just wanted to see him, meet him and show him how great a big sister I was going to be. And then when I was taken in to see him he was so serious. All frowny and wrinkly the way babies are. Mom insisted that I hold him and I was so scared I was going to hurt him because he was so tiny, but I did it anyway. Then he smiled at me." She looked at Will and shrugged a shoulder. "Mom said later it was probably gas, but in that moment I was so, so happy. I'd made him smile his first smile." She smiled cheekily. "Of course he was a pain in my ass every day after that, but that's how little brothers work."

[wgraham]

Will didn't like that he had to admit it, but hearing Molly say she didn't want to see anyone else caused a sense of relief to rise in him. He wasn't possessive as a general rule, but this thing between them was still so new and intense, he didn't think he could back off now, not easily. He watched her as she turned back to her dinner, and he felt a little guilty staring, but his own appetite had vanished (like it often did), and it was difficult for him to keep his undistracted eyes off her.

Molly's memory was beautiful, and Will had expected no less. When she'd first asked for his happiest memory the first thing he'd considered was a birth, but he hadn't been a part of any, an only child and a single man most of his life. He smiled at the way Molly spoke of her brother, of holding him, falling in love instantly. He'd never even had the thought of wanting a sibling, not really, because he'd known, even as a small child, it was asking too much.

"It's really nice, how close you were with your family," he said softly. "I'm sorry that you've been separated from them. It must be really difficult."

[thewinterlady]

Molly nodded a little. "It's hard being away from them." She said and that was true. She missed them like a constant ache in her bones. But they were safe. She'd made them as safe as she could and Harry would never let anything happen to them, not as long he lived. "They're safe though. Harry is taking care of them along with some other beings that they don't know about. And I wouldn't want them here for anything in the world."

She popped a last fry into her mouth and balled up the wrappers, tucking them away into the bag. "I think..." She paused and smiled at him. "I think we should take a slow walk back to Bramford." Molly said. "I'm good with the cold but I think I'd like to get warm with you now."

[wgraham]

Will watched her as she spoke, could feel the longing she had for her family, and also the relief that they were safe, even if she wasn't there to watch over them. Will wished he had the same assurances about Abigail, though with Hannibal here with him, maybe she was safer there than she would have been otherwise.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," he said when Molly suggested walking back to their apartment building. He was a little cold himself, though he hadn't noticed it until Molly mentioned getting warm with him. He felt color rise to his face, though it wasn't a blush, something more visceral causing his blood to start pumping again. He stood first, reaching out to take the garbage from Molly and throw it away in a nearby trashcan before he offered her his hand to help her stand.

[thewinterlady]

Molly took his hand and stood, twining their fingers together as they walked back along the boardwalk towards the city.

It was a comfortable silence and Molly used it to look Will over. He seemed relaxed and there was a buzzing warmth running through him that Molly felt a little proud for putting there. She felt it too, bouncing back to her through the chill night air. That was one of the stranger things about the way they'd connected, the feedback loop. Harry would have said it was something to be wary of, and he'd have been right too. They could do a lot of damage with that kind of connection, or be made very vulnerable with it. It was something she was going to have to learn to control, if not for her sake, then for Will. She wouldn't run the risk that he could be made to suffer through her.

But for now she was going to enjoy it for it's positives.

"So...it's Christmas soon." She said, giving him a speculative look. "Do you do anything for it?" She had no idea what she was going to do but now that she thought about it, she couldn't imagine anything she wanted to do more than spend it with Will.

[wgraham]

Walking back toward their home, Will felt less anxious than he had all night. Molly was such a calming force, and even though he'd bared a part of himself that he hadn't told anyone about (at least beyond Hannibal), he didn't feel as raw or terrified as he'd expected. He felt relieved, honestly, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he was ready for Molly to see everything, for someone to know him entirely. He felt like she would understand him, wouldn't persecute him for feelings he couldn't control, might even help him out of some of that darkness.

He didn't know if that would happen tonight, but it had to happen soon. Because even if they managed to avoid having sex tonight (and Will wasn't sure they'd be able to, though he did have ideas of what they could do and not risk prolonged eye contact), they weren't going to be able to hold off for long, not with the way heat and desire were flowing through them. It was like the kiss they'd shared at Kagura had closed a circuit, and now the power between them was only amping up. There would be no disconnecting it now, and Will absolutely didn't want to stop.

He squeezed Molly's fingers, sure she could feel the way his heart was starting to beat faster, the change in the tone of his vibrations. Then she asked him about Christmas, looked over at him, and he was caught off guard, not expecting the question.

"I'm agnostic," Will said by rote, then he shook his head. "I'm atheistic," he amended, because it was the truth. He'd learned years ago people didn't react well to hearing someone was an atheist (many assumed it meant he worshipped Satan, and with his mannerisms, he couldn't exactly blame them), so he'd taken to calling himself agnostic to save himself trouble. But there was no reason to do that with Molly. "I haven't celebrated Christmas in a long time," he told her, looking over at her. "But if you do..." He smiled at her softly. "I don't dislike it as a holiday. And I'd like to spend it with you, if you don't have plans already."

[thewinterlady]

A surge of happiness went through Molly. The idea of him being around, in her space on a day where she would be missing her family the most was overwhelmingly comforting.

"Yes." Molly answered hurriedly and then flushed at her eagerness but didn't take it back. She wasn't afraid of admitting her wants to Will. "Please spend it with me. I'd like that a lot." She said. "And I'm...We're Catholic as a family but that's just a label. I have faith in my own way." She also had proof, but she doubted Will would believe her which was fine. The fact that he was an atheist didn't surprise her. He saw far too much horror in his world to allow much room for a benevolent God. She'd explain if he asked but she wouldn't expect him to understand completely. "Magic and religion aren't mutually exclusive. In fact they're pretty well intertwined when you really look at it."

[wgraham]

Will held Molly's hand tightly, keeping her close to him as uncertainty twisted around his guts again. He swallowed down around it, knowing it was unnecessary. "It's not a problem for you, my being a nonbeliever, is it?" he asked, because he had no problem with religion as a concept (though he had many problems with how people used it for their own nefarious purposes), and he actually thought a lot of the ceremony of it was beautiful and interesting. He'd even started to give up on the concept of good and evil, focusing more on behaviorism.

It was a little strange, though, how easily he'd accepted the idea of Molly's magic but couldn't do the same in relation to god. Part of that was that he could feel Molly's magic, would probably experience it soon, even more than he had at Kagura, but it just felt so much more real. And he couldn't abide a god that would make him the way he was, could make Hannibal the way he was. It didn't make sense to plant that sort of darkness in an innocent and expect them to be able to fight against it, against all the temptations and horribleness the world had to offer.

[thewinterlady]

Molly could understand his uncertainty. Faith was hard for anyone, but for a man that lived in a world of science and evidence it must be doubly so. Her faith was different to a lot of peoples. She'd met beings that had powers that could have been called godlike and she'd fought some that were close. None of that took away from her belief in something bigger than all of it. If anything it reinforced it. That and her family being guarded by literal archangels.

She shook her head. "It really isn't. It makes no difference to me one way or the other." She cast a look at him. "Is my faith a problem for you?" Molly asked though she sincerely doubted it would be.

[wgraham]

"It isn't," Will replied honestly. He was at a point now where she could have told him she believed Santa Claus was real and it wouldn't have made a difference in how he felt about her. They were supposed to be walking slowly, but Will found he was rushing a little and had to force himself to slow down.

"There's nothing about you that's a problem for me," he told her, squeezing her hand. "Nothing."

Even though they were walking now, and Will was consciously making an effort to go slowly, he found himself miles ahead. Not just to where they were going tonight, but beyond that. It was irrational and against his nature, but he couldn't help himself. He was ready to commit to this, to her, body, mind, and soul.

[thewinterlady]

"Glad to hear it." Molly said, smiling at him and letting them walk on in quiet comfort. There was a tugging energy coming from Will, pulling them together as they walked, pulling them forward. Molly felt it rising in her and it was making her breath come faster.

The boardwalk had given over to the city proper as they'd been walking and they arrived at Bramford, ducking inside quickly and heading up to Molly's apartment. She opened the door and led them inside, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it up. She'd tidied to pass the time the day before and thankfully the place was neat and homely looking as she turned to face Will.

"Just so you know, I'm not normally this neat. I had some time that was passing way too slowly yesterday." She said with a rueful smile as she kicked off her shoes and stepped towards him. "I was waiting for tonight and I was not patient."

[wgraham]

Will wasn't usually bothered by the cleanliness of a person's space. He was a minimalist himself, tending toward only having things that served a purpose, and a few sentimental items he'd been given. Of course he had none of that here, just the furniture his apartment had come with and the few things he'd bought out of necessity (clothing, books, weapons).

Molly's apartment was clean and well organized, and it smelled amazing. It smelled like her, which made Will shiver.

He smiled when she mentioned her impatience, remembering well his own. He'd coped by reading case files for work, doing research, and pacing.

"I hope I haven't disappointed," he said as he took of his coat, holding it in his hands. "I know dinner was a bit of a fiasco. I didn't know that restaurant had such rude patrons."

[thewinterlady]

He was in her home, real and solid, standing and talking to her a step away. He looked like he belonged there and she knew she should be paying attention but all she could think about was how close he was.

Molly took a quick step forward and kissed Will. She knew it was rude to just interrupt him, but she couldn't help herself. She'd been itching to get his lips under hers since they'd left the alley next to the restaurant. He tasted cold, an ozone tang to his lips as she moved hers over them and Molly shivered. She kept the pressure even, kissing his lower lip, a soft noise escaping her as she felt them warming up. It wasn't a hard kiss, but she meant it from the bottom of her heart, throwing as much of her passion behind it as she could, hoping he could feel how much she needed this.

[wgraham]

Will had made a plan in his head to be casual and restrained at first, not wanting to think all he wanted from Molly was sexual. But he felt the pull toward it as much as she did, and when she interrupted his attempt at small talk by kissing him, he threw all constraint to the wind, cupping her face in both hands and kissing her back. He opened his mouth to her immediately, sinking the kiss deep, pressing his tongue past her lips to find hers and twine with it. The time for patience was over.

The energy between them spiked, burning hotter, and he held her against him, one hand pushing into her hair and the other sliding down the side of her neck and onto her shoulder, gripping her arm beneath her lacy sleeve. He remembered the room in Kagura, getting her up against the door and touching her, grinding into her, and he groaned into her mouth at the memory, the reminder in the way she tasted, the way she felt, how she smelled. He swore he could smell her arousal, that he could taste it in the air around them, and maybe he could, her feelings feeding into his, and his into her, a never ending loop of pure desire.

[thewinterlady]

She'd thought maybe she'd been too aggressive, but Will met her intensity head on with his own and she knew this was right. Every pass of her lips on his just drove this thing between more firmly into her marrow, ratcheted the lust bouncing between them higher. They were in sync in the best way.

She couldn't get enough of the taste of him, the feel of him inside her mind. He groaned and Molly shuddered as it wound down inside her and pulled an answering noise from her, deep and heartfelt as she chased his tongue with hers.

Molly's hand moved over his shirt, fingers catching in the spaces between the buttons, greedy for the feel of his skin but too lost in the kiss to do anything but steal tiny snatches of sensation. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, fingers in the soft hair there as she arched against him, nipping at his bottom lip when they parted for breath, mouths sliding against eachother, hot and desperate.

"Will..." She breathed, licking her lips before she dove back in for more of a taste of him.

[wgraham]

Will could feel Molly's mounting desperation like it was his own, though it was getting difficult to tell which emotions were his and which were hers, all of them tangled between them, identical and blending. Her fingers pressed in between the buttons of his shirt to touch his skin, and he wanted to take it off for her, but he didn't want to let her go either, his hands moving over her back, slipping into the hollow at the base and down over her ass, then back up again, touching her everywhere. He wanted to ask her if he could take her to the bedroom, but he didn't want to stop kissing her, their mouths coming together again and again, hot and wet.

Her clothes were so tight, and they looked amazing on her gorgeous body, but right now he just wanted to get beneath them. There was no room to slip his hand up the back of her shirt and he growled into her mouth, a predatory sound of frustration. He pulled his mouth away from her, aching already at the loss of contact, pressing his lips against her jaw, both arms wrapped low around her waist.

"God, Molly," he moaned, his kisses trailing up to her ear. "Can I take you to bed?" he asked, his teeth finding her earlobe and biting softly.

[thewinterlady]

Will pulled away and Molly chased his mouth for a second before it found her jaw, making Molly moan at the feel of his stubble on her skin, dragging there softly as he moved up towards her ear. Molly was almost too caught up in the feeling of his teeth at her ear to hear the words he breathed into it. Every one of them was like a punctuation to the sensations coursing through her and it was all Molly could do to nod.

"Yes. God, yes." She managed to say, turning her head to catch him in a kiss, all fire. It was a sheer effort of will to break away again but Molly did, leaving the warmth of his body to turn and lead the way into her bedroom, hand wrapped tightly around his.

[wgraham]

Will nearly stumbled as Molly pulled him into the bedroom, his legs feeling numb and his head buzzing with desire so intense that he could barely think, his inner monologue nothing but wordless throbbing. When they were inside he thought about closing the door, but there was no reason to, and he turned to reach for Molly again, his hands catching her jaw as he dragged her back in for a heated, desperate kiss.

His hands dropped away from her face and slid down the sides of her neck, flattening at her shoulders, and moving down her chest, the heels of his hands grazing her breasts as he wrapped his arms around her. His palms followed her spine and the stopped at the hem of her shirt, pulling the clinging fabric up as much as he could, feeling the sliver of skin at the small of her back and groaning at the contact, needing more.

[thewinterlady]

Molly wasn't sure she'd ever heard such amazing noises as the ones Will was making. They cut through her, straight to her core and she had to close her eyes to fight down the urge to just tear his shirt open, settling for unbuttoning it instead. Her hands were shaking and he didn't help when slid his down the side of her chest, palms grazing her breasts.

She gasped when he got his hands on her skin under her shirt. It was a shock of sensation that made Molly roll her hips into him, the friction peaking her nipples. His frustration was like a sharp zigzag through his arousal and hers, aimed directly at her tight clothes and it made her hiss.

She pulled out of the kiss, her turn to moan in his ear.

"Take them off." She said, fingers tugging at his clothes, desperate for them to be skin on skin again. "I want you to undress me."

[wgraham]

Will was so focused on touching Molly, on feeling her, that he didn't notice that she'd been to work at the buttons on his shirt until she'd gotten it completely open, baring his chest to the cool air of the room. But Molly was close, the heat of her warming him immediately, even before her body moved into contact with his, the warmth between her legs like a brand against him, making him moan.

He shook as he moved to comply with her entreaty, his hands skimming up the back of her shirt, searching for the closure. He found the minuscule tab of the zipper and mentally cursed women's clothing as he struggled to draw it down, everything so infinitesimal and delicate. This shirt was pretty and it looked so good on her, but part of Will's brain imagined tearing it to pieces, needing it gone. He had to calm his shaking hands as he moved to strip it off her, pulling it carefully over her head, but once he had it off her he cast it unceremoniously to the floor, admiring the way Molly's hair had fallen back down around her shoulders, a lock of it following the curve of a breast as it fell between them.

He exhaled hotly and reached for it, drawing his fingertips across the flat plain of her chest to move it away, watching as the strands brushed the exposed swell of her bosom. The soft, pale skin enticed him to touch with his fingers, his palm fitting over the swell, cupping and squeezing, groaning at the feeling of her nipple against the center of his hand, rock hard with arousal.

He swore under his breath, his eyes moving to Molly's face, meeting her eyes as he forced himself to breathe. He had planned to remove her pants next, but instead he reached behind her with both hands, finding the clasp of her bra and pulling it open with only a little fumbling, his fingertips skimming her shoulder blades as he followed the straps back to the front, then, very slowly, pushed them over the caps of her shoulders, gravity pulling the undergarment down her arms and exposing her breasts to his eyes for the first time. He swallowed hard as he stared at her, dark nipples drawn up tight, the flesh pale and beautiful and perfect. It made him ache, made him want to get his mouth on her, kissing her, biting carefully, sucking, tasting, and he made a broken sound, like an aborted gasp, his eyes raising to her face again, completely shaken with lust.