Chapter 55

Instead of getting out her worries on a training dummy or some poor DEO recruit, Alex instead focuses intently on the crossbow. And Maggie, being the amazing girlfriend she is, has stubbornly decided to stay by her side, even when Alex told her it would probably be extremely boring to her.

Maggie's response had been. "Danvers, you're always either too sexy or too adorable to be boring. And seeing you nerd out over a weapon is both." Complete with a wink, which ended Alex's protests and worries about Maggie getting bored.

So far, it has been three hours and Maggie's been staring at Alex as she works. It's distracting in the best way. By that, Alex means that she can only hold out for so long before she walks around the table between them and kisses Maggie deeply. Pulling away from her and getting back to work on the crossbow gets harder every time.

That is, until she gets a breakthrough. Alex's eyes light up and she doesn't look up as she speaks. "Can you get me the tiny screwdriver?"

Maggie sets three different screwdrivers in front of her, all with tiny end bits. "You weren't very specific, so here's all of them."

Alex grins up at her and leans over so she can get a quick kiss for motivation to finish quickly. She turns back to her work, swiftly sketching out the crossbow, where she has been noting and labeling each part and where she pulls it out of. As Alex breaks it down even further, she draws specific larger pieces on other pieces of paper as well.

Maggie watches her fondly as Alex grins victoriously when the crossbow is all in different pieces.

"This is what it takes to make a crossbow." Alex remarks.

"Great job, babe." Maggie says, kissing Alex's cheek. "So... Now what?"

"Now I take measurements of every piece and make molds. I'll have to figure out the composition of the metal as well..." Alex muses.

"Of... Every piece?" Maggie questions, her eyes wide.

"Yeah? Why?" Alex asks, confused.

"Babe." Maggie says. She gestures to the large table completely covered in pieces of crossbow, from small screws to the hunk of wood everything was put into. "There are hundreds of pieces here! Who's all going to do this?"

"... Me?" Alex answers, sounding confused.

"Alex, honey." Maggie places a hand on her shoulder and looks into her eyes. "That'll take months! We will probably attack or be attacked by the time you finish."

"You know I'm a perfectionist," Alex says. "I don't want a team working on this, I would just check over their work constantly."

"I know. Then at least let me help." Maggie offers.

Alex purses her lips. "It's not that I don't trust you, babe but... Do you even know how to use a caliper?" She gestures to the tool in her hand.

"So that's what that's called, I always wondered. But yeah, of course I do. I was one of the only ones who knew how to in one of my platoons, let alone the entire company. So they sent me out to investigate claims about friendly fire and stuff like that." Maggie says.

"The Danvers army has unique swords and arrows." Alex nods in understanding.

"Yeah, that made it pretty easy." Maggie nods. "Sometimes I could tell just by looking at it if it was the result of another Danvers soldier or not, but the superiors always liked precise measurements to prove my findings."

"So you do know how to use a caliper." Alex concludes, making Maggie grin.

"Yes, yes I do." She confirms. "So can I help? I'll even let you go over my first couple of findings so you can make sure I know what I'm doing. That way you don't have to go behind my back to do that."

"Pfft. I wasn't going to do that anyway." Alex scoffs, and deflates at her girlfriend's knowing look. "Okay, I was. These measurements just need to be perfect. If they're not, we might make crossbows that don't work right."

Maggie nods understandingly. "Then let's get to work."

Alex grins and rifles through a nearby toolbox, pulling out another caliper and handing it to Maggie. She sits back down and start working. They agree to draw out the pieces with the labels Alex put on her previous drawings, and to indicate exactly what was measured.

***

After they finish (in other words, when Maggie physically drags Alex away until she complies), they eat a late dinner and head back to Alex's room.

Actually, Alex has been thinking about that recently. About it being called just "Alex's" room. Because now it's not, it's hers and Maggie's. She can't remember the last time Maggie slept in the room that the DEO had provided for her. So maybe... Maybe it's time to make it official. Gods, that makes Alex nervous. She's certain Maggie won't laugh in her face or anything like that, but the nerves... They make her wonder if they're ready for that.

Maggie holds the door to Alex's (their) room for her, smiling with those dimples that make Alex melt and the worries, though still present, get pushed to the dark recesses of Alex's mind.

Alex pauses in just inside, facing Maggie, who looks at her with a confused expression. Well. It's now or never. . She tells herself. Maggie closes the door and steps close to Alex.

"Um. So." Alex begins nervously. Maggie raises her eyebrows and gives Alex a comforting, encouraging smile. "Move in with me?"

Maggie's mouth goes slack with surprise, her eyes wide as she stares at her girlfriend.

Alex's nerves come back full-force, and she starts to ramble. "Um. I don't want to pressure you or anything, it's just a suggestion. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I just love you and you pretty much live here anyways and-"

Maggie cuts her off with a quick, searing kiss that makes all of Alex's mental facilities shut down briefly. She blinks at Maggie, waiting for her to speak.

"So... You love me." Maggie says slowly.

"Um. Yeah?"

Maggie's face softens and she pulls Alex closer to her. "I love you too, Alex."

Her saying that means so much more to Alex because Maggie said her name, not Danvers. Her face breaks out into a brilliant smile.

"You love me." Alex states, smiling dopily but not finding it in herself to care.

"Yes, you absolute nerd, I do." Maggie confirms, her dimples showing more than Alex had ever seen. "And yes, I'll move in with you. I practically live here anyway."

"Because you love me." Alex repeats, looking completely awestruck.

Maggie's not used to being looked at like she's a goddess but she has a feeling she could get used to it. Forever, perhaps. But that's far in the future. Isn't it? Maybe not with their lives but it's not soon.

"Yeah, Allie. I love you." Maggie repeats and it feels so good to finally be able to say that to her girlfriend after those three word have been stick in her throat for so long.

Alex melts at the nickname she has only ever allowed Maggie to use. Alex holds out her hands and Maggie reaches up to entwine their fingers, not breaking eye contact. She gently pulls Maggie close, until their breaths intermix. Or they would, if Alex wasn't a solid two and a half inches taller than her girlfriend.

Alex giggles, a beautiful sound that Maggie wants to hear again and again, when Maggie gets up on her tip-toes in order to have her lips be level with Alex's (usually it's Alex that bends down). Alex takes pity on her and leans down to capture her lips.

Maggie hums happily and lets go of Alex hands so she can reach up and cup Alex's jaw with one hand, and tangle her fingers in her hair with the other. Alex seems to get a similar idea, gently resting her hands on Maggie's waist, drawing her closer until there's practically no space between them.

When they pull back for breath, Alex's lips trail down Maggie's jawline and down to her neck. Maggie lets out a gasp and her hand that's still in Alex hair flexes automatically. She can feel Alex's moan vibrating against her neck and it takes all of Maggie's willpower to pull away, panting hard. She rests her forehead against Alex's and attempts to catch her breath.

"Did I move too fast? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Alex starts panicking until Maggie presses a sweet peck to her lips.

"I just want to make certain that you're sure. I don't want you to feel obligated to do this because we just said 'I love you' for the first time and moved in together. No obligations, babe. And I want to make sure this isn't going to be a distraction from worrying about your sister. I don't want our first time to be like that." Maggie explains.

Alex nods in understanding. "I hear you, Mags. I've been ready for about a week, I've just been waiting for the right time. And that time feels like now. As long as you consent, of course. And I would never use you as a distraction, babe. Besides, just seeing your beautiful face is distracting enough for me." Alex jokes, winking at Maggie, who shakes her head with a grin. "So I'm good. What about you, Maggie?"

"Me?" Maggie asks, surprised.

While she has always been about consent and checking in, the girls she has been with have never really done the same for her. Besides, if they were doing anything that Maggie didn't like, she knows how to assert herself. She's just... Never been given the same courtesy she's given other women.

"Yeah you, dork." Alex says with a small smile. "The same goes for you, okay? There are no obligations or pressures. Even though I'm ready, that doesn't mean you're ready."

Before Alex can ramble on or ask about her, Maggie tugs her forward and kisses her deeply, pulling back only when Alex is thoroughly dazed.

"Thank you, Allie." Maggie breathes out.

Alex looks confused as to why she's being thanked, which makes Maggie love her even more. Maggie draws her close and kisses her again.

Wow. That was... Unexpected. And I don't think Maggie and Alex have said "I love you" yet? But I'm not certain. I should really keep track of that kind of thing... Anyway! Can you believe that I didn't plan for them to move in together or say I love you for the first time but it happened? Sometimes my stories really do write themselves... Not to mention the fact this is like 200 words longer than normal. Okay, I'm done now! Next chapter, something happens! It'll be a surprise, even to me! I still haven't planned ahead too much for this book, but I will! Thank you for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!