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They’d been living together for almost three weeks when it happened.
Samira’s apartment had flooded and Ellis had offered his spare bedroom while it got fixed. For some reason, exhaustion at the end of a very long shift probably, neither had even protested at the idea. They’d just glanced at one another and shrugged in resignation.
They had thought, originally, that the arrangement would work because Samira would be on days while Jack would be on nights, so the interactions would be minimal at best. But then Shen requested a switch to days for some reason no one could remember and now they were not only cohabitating, but carpooling and enjoying each other's company way too much.
Samira had suggested watching a movie after breakfast/dinner once and so they’d gotten into the habit of watching tv everyday before they went to bed. Except more often than not they ended up falling asleep together on the couch, waking up tangled together.
And the strange part was that it felt so natural. The living together, the eating together, the sharing meals and making each other coffee before work, the joking around on the way to work, the little glances and tiny touches that could be excused as something entirely too innocent. But especially the sleeping next to each other, basking in each other’s warmth, fitting together like two puzzle pieces that were meant to be placed side by side.
They’d become so attuned to each other, more than they already had been prior to this, that when Samira got a text message in the middle of shift and her face fell he immediately knew something had happened.
They were silent the entire way home, Jack driving as per usual, but with his gaze unwavering from the road. He parked in his driveway but neither made a move to get out of the car.
“I got a text from my landlord earlier. The repairs are finished so I should be able to move back in tomorrow.”
“Oh. That’s um. That’s great, right?”
“Right.”
She sniffled which finally made him look at her and realize there were tears gathering in her eyes. Her brows were furrowed and she was staring so intently at her hands in her lap that he thought she might be summoning a spirit from the ether with such concentration.
“Hey, hey, Samira. What’s happening? Talk to me.”
“I’m going to sound insane, Jack, but I don’t wanna leave here. I don’t want to go back to the apartment. In my 4 years in Pittsburgh I never felt like I had a home until…” Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.
Jack carefully reached over and gently grabbed her face in his hands. He wiped the tears with his thumbs, and then his forehead met hers.
“So don’t. Don’t leave. Break the lease, Samira. Stay with me. Because I also have not felt at home in Pittsburgh in years, not until you. I thought after Sarah died I would never get to feel that again and I was ok with it. But I was wrong, and living with you has made me realize I was not living before. Just surviving. And the thought of coming back here tomorrow without you is killing me, Mohan. So. Maybe it is insane. But let’s be insane together, yeah?”
Her eyes opened and met his through wet lashes, and a wet chuckle left her throat.
“Yeah. Ok. Yeah.”
And Jack breathed in a sigh of relief at the knowledge that this thing between them that had just begun would have the room to grow.
“Good call, Dr. Mohan.” He finally whispered before he surged forward, the middle console still between them, and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss but one that was a long time coming, letting the yearning and the tenderness and care they had for each other flow.
Samira pressed into him further, wanting to deepen the kiss, winding her arms around his neck. Then her right elbow slipped and pressed into the steering wheel and caused the horn to blast. The sudden noise forced them to spring apart but as they took in the state they were in, teary and red eyes and swollen lips and mussed hair they both began to giggle like a pair of school kids.
“Come on sweetheart, let’s take this inside.” Jack finally said, leaning in for one more quick peck.
She nodded and they finally got out of the car. They grabbed their bags from the back and then made their way into their home. Their home. Their home.