Christmas Ficlet : The Fourth
For yahtzee63, who requested Alias, Jack/Nadia and red, gold and green.
Exchanging gifts had not been discussed. Nor had much of anything except where to meet and what time to be there. Their personal relationship rendered words superfluous, and they rarely spoke outside of fevered, insistent instructions and the quiet midnight murmurings of gratitude and apology while slipping out of bed to return home.
The reasons for their silence and secrecy went without saying, as did the need for complete discretion, which precluded the exchanging of Christmas gifts. Bringing a bottle of wine to the apartment for the sisters to share was one thing, but purchasing something personal, something just for Nadia -- it couldn't be justified within the boundaries of their professional relationship.
Jack reminded himself that he was content with their current arrangement. He reminded himself of this more and more often, as he found his eyes drifting across the expanse of his office, seeking her out, watching as she sat at her desk, bent over her work. Even as he admired the slope of her neck and the curve of her hips, he reminded himself that things were working out well, and that they were happy just as they were.
He found himself thinking about this every time she would leave him, slipping his hand beneath the sheets to feel the warmth she'd left behind. Her scent on his pillows lingered, and he liked it, looked forward to it when he awoke at dawn. It was this that pushed through his thoughts of contentment and satisfaction with the status quo. He missed her when she was gone, and he thought more and more about asking her to stay until morning.
This, and so much more, was on his mind when he spotted the bracelet in the window of the jewelry store and then, later that night, as he placed the beautifully wrapped box on the bedside table.
After leaving a soft kiss on her cheek, he left the hotel room well before she would awaken and slip the delicate gold chain around her wrist, the mystic topaz glimmering deep shades of green and red, its beauty far outshone by her smile.
******
Exchanging gifts had not been discussed. Nor had much of anything except where to meet and what time to be there. Their personal relationship rendered words superfluous, and they rarely spoke outside of fevered, insistent instructions and the quiet midnight murmurings of gratitude and apology while slipping out of bed to return home.
The reasons for their silence and secrecy went without saying, as did the need for complete discretion, which precluded the exchanging of Christmas gifts. Bringing a bottle of wine to the apartment for the sisters to share was one thing, but purchasing something personal, something just for Nadia -- it couldn't be justified within the boundaries of their professional relationship.
Jack reminded himself that he was content with their current arrangement. He reminded himself of this more and more often, as he found his eyes drifting across the expanse of his office, seeking her out, watching as she sat at her desk, bent over her work. Even as he admired the slope of her neck and the curve of her hips, he reminded himself that things were working out well, and that they were happy just as they were.
He found himself thinking about this every time she would leave him, slipping his hand beneath the sheets to feel the warmth she'd left behind. Her scent on his pillows lingered, and he liked it, looked forward to it when he awoke at dawn. It was this that pushed through his thoughts of contentment and satisfaction with the status quo. He missed her when she was gone, and he thought more and more about asking her to stay until morning.
This, and so much more, was on his mind when he spotted the bracelet in the window of the jewelry store and then, later that night, as he placed the beautifully wrapped box on the bedside table.
After leaving a soft kiss on her cheek, he left the hotel room well before she would awaken and slip the delicate gold chain around her wrist, the mystic topaz glimmering deep shades of green and red, its beauty far outshone by her smile.
******