Author: SoThatHappened

When Root woke up the first thing she felt was pain, shooting through her body, her ribs ached, her arm felt stiff. A groan left her lips as she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, light flooded the room. She stared at the peeled paint above her and realised she was at Shaw's. She felt her heart beat quicken, Shaw wasn't in bed, Root propped herself up on her good elbow and looked around, immediately seeing Shaw sitting on the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee reading the newspaper. Root was almost shocked at the sight. It looked so...normal. It was a sight that she could easily get used to, and for a brief moment she wondered what it would be like waking up to this everyday. She immediately shook the thought from her head, letting her elbow give out underneath her and she fell back onto the bed with a light thud. Shaw looked up from the paper.

"Oh you are alive" Shaw said sarcastically and Root just smirked at the ceiling because she knew Shaw couldn't see it.

"Surprise," Root said "You disappointed?"

Shaw took another sip of her coffee and slid off the counter, folding the paper up and then walking over to Root with her mug, standing at the end of her bed and staring at Root.

"Opposite actually" Shaw said without showing any kind of emotion. "I was worried for a second I might actually miss you."

Root's heart skipped a beat. She tried not to smile but failed. She could feel Shaw's eyes on her, as if she were waiting for a reaction. Root didn't know how to react, she felt frozen, except for her heart which she could feel thumping crazily in her chest, blood running warm around her body.

"Well I don't think a bullet scraping my arm is enough to get rid of me" Root said with a small smile and Shaw arched an eyebrow.

"Maybe," she said "But your ribs are pretty fucked up."

"They're not that bad" Root protested and tried to sit up immediately wincing as a sharp pain shot up her side. Shaw just stared at her.

"Not that bad huh?" she said almost rolling her eyes and Root just glared at her. "I'll rewrap you" Shaw said and gestured for Root to get out of the bed. Root moved slowly, finally getting to her feet and letting out an annoyed sigh. Shaw moved closer to her, balancing her mug on the bedpost, suddenly Root felt Shaw's hands on her sides. Warm. Even through the cling wrap. Shaw's fingers searched around Root's waist trying to find where she had stuck the wrap down, Root kept acting like it didn't phase her at all. But suddenly it wasn't working. Shaw looked at her as her fingers found the edge of the wrap and started peeling it off.

"Your heart is racing" Shaw said matter of factly and Root just stared at her. Shaw unravelled the wrap from around Root's waist and ribs, dropping it on the floor and then dragging her fingers lightly over the bruising to see if it had gotten any worse.

"I'm just..." Root couldn't think of a logical reason.

Shaw quirked her eyebrow waiting for a response. Her hand stayed on Root's side, they were standing close together, barely any space between them. It was almost torturous.

"It's just you" Root admitted.

"Just?" Shaw echoed smirking a little, her hand lightly squeezing Root's side.

"Shut up" Root said looking away trying not to smile.

"Put yourself on the pain scale" Shaw said changing the subject.

"Three" Root said and Shaw just rolled her eyes.

"So like five" Shaw said and Root just looked at her.

"You know what helps pain?" Shaw asked.

"Morphine?" Root said immediately and Shaw smiled a little.

"Sex."

Root's lips parted. They didn't dare look away from each other. What are you doing to me? Root thought.

"Come closer" Root whispered, the words sticking to her lips as she said them. Shaw slid her other arm around Root's waist too, closing the gap between them. Their bodies pressed together. She could still feel Root's heart. She looked into those melting brown eyes. Root leaned in, closing the only gap left, and kissed her. Physically, they fit together perfectly there was no denying. Root loved the taste of Shaw's lips, tinged with coffee, it was still perfect.

Then Shaw pulled back a little, looking at Root.

"What?" Root asked.

"Are you gonna get weird again?" Shaw asked and Root just arched an eyebrow.

"What kind of weird are we talking about?" she asked playfully. Shaw smirked a little.

"I was talking about...you pushing me away yesterday" Shaw said and Root's face fell a little.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Shaw said, "and there it is."

Root frowned a little and Shaw just watched her.

"No" Root said her fingers tangling in a strand of Shaw's hair. Shaw just looked at her.

"Did you want to...talk," Shaw said "about it?"

Root just looked at her for a moment, before a small smile stretched across her lips.

"I wouldn't put you through that" Root said seeing the slight awkwardness in Shaw's body language cause her to tense.

"Every time I ask you deflect" Shaw said.

"Maybe that's for a reason" Root said her voice quiet, twisting her finger around a strand of Shaw's hair. Their bodies were still close, still touching, their arms still around each other. It was a strange moment. Uncomfortable yet, totally comfortable at the same time. Shaw wasn't pulling away, and Root certainly didn't want her to.

"If you're gonna pull my hand out of your pants every time I touch you-" Shaw started, her eyes searching Root's face for a sign, anything.

"I won't" Root interrupted.

Shaw just let out a small sigh. "You can tell me, I won't...freak out"

"Of course you wouldn't" Root said and Shaw let go of her, throwing herself back onto the bed and laying flat on her back.

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Shaw asked and Root just raised an eyebrow. Was Shaw pouting? Root bit down on her lip and climbed on top of Shaw, straddling her hips and looking down at her, trying not to wince at the sharp pain in her side.

"It's not a problem you can fix" Root said.

"Are you sure?" Shaw asked, her hands appearing on Root's thighs. Root felt her breath catch in her chest.

"Positive" Root said and looked at Shaw's hands. It was everything about Sameen Shaw that made her heart race, the look on her face in moments like this - where she didn't know how to react but she wanted to help, the way she would reach out and touch Root mindlessly, without thousands of thoughts, overthinking, even her fucking hands, the way she ran them up Root's thighs, squeezing lightly as she did. Root didn't know what to do with all of this. It's like she was standing in so much light that she couldn't see what she was doing, she couldn't find her way out.

Her hand found Shaw's and she traced Shaw's fingers.

"So," Shaw said she was staring at their hands too.

"So." Root said, her eyes lifting and she looked at Shaw.

"What do you want?" Shaw asked simply. They looked at each other.

You. Root thought. You. The word was on the tip of her tongue and she was scared it would just fall off if she didn't catch it in time. You. She tried to swallow it.

"I wanna fuck you" Shaw said when Root was silent. Root felt her heart swell. Goddamn it.

"That might be hard if I tie you up first" Root said and Shaw smirked.

"Maybe I should tie you up" Shaw suggested "So you don't hurt yourself, more"

"I dare you" Root whispered her face close to Shaw's. Shaw could practically smell the cherry chapstick on Root's lips. She started to sit up, nose grazing against Root's lips. She slipped her arms around Root and then pushed her back down onto the bed gently, well aware of her bruising, reversing their positions. She was on top of Root. She looked at Root's shirt, there was a splatter of blood on the sleeve. She grabbed it in the middle and ripped it off her.

Root's eyes widened, her breath quickening as suddenly she was looking down at her bare chest. Shaw just smirked, using a piece of the ripped fabric to catch both Root's wrists and tie her to the head board of the bed.

"Mad?" Shaw asked noticing the contemplative look on Root's face.

"Not yet" Root said.

"What about now?" Shaw asked sliding her hands down Root's side near her hips and squeezing them lightly a couple of times, before Root had a chance to reply. Root squealed loudly, and jolted underneath Shaw.

"Don't fucking tickle me" Root said balling up her tied up hands into fists. Shaw smirked in amusement.

"Okay" she said with a slight smile and Root glared at her.

"I don't trust you" Root said and Shaw just rolled her eyes, she placed her hands on Root's stomach and Root flinched in preparation.

"I'm gonna make you trust me" Shaw said looking straight into Root's eyes. It was at about that moment when Root suddenly felt her heart. Shaw had done that on purpose. Or even if she hadn't, it was a damn good trick, making Root trust her.

Root looked at Shaw's hands that were still sitting on Root's stomach, warm, unmoving. She wasn't going to do it again. Tickle her...or the other thing.

"Do you trust me yet?" Shaw asked, slipping her hands down to Root's sides again, she felt Root's body tense underneath her, but she did nothing, and after a couple of brief seconds she moved her hands off her altogether.

"You haven't left me much choice" Root said and Shaw looked at her for a few moments before reaching up and pulling the fabric loose that was bounding Root's hands.

Root watched her closely, trying her hardest to keep her lips to herself as Shaw's chest practically grazed over her face as she reached to untie Root's hands.

Root moved her wrists in a circular motion, her eyes locked on Shaw.

"You can stop me if you want to" Shaw said with a slight smirk and ran her hands up and down Root's sides, grazing with barely the tips of her fingers over the bruise on her ribs.

Root watched Shaw's hands and then suddenly reached out to grab both her wrists. Shaw looked up almost startled.

"I believe you" Root said. "But you have to pinky swear you won't do it again?"

"Pinky swear?" Shaw asked and shook her head. "No, that's bullshit."

"You don't mean it if you don't pinky swear" Root said and Shaw rolled her eyes.

"I think my word holds better than a pinky swear" Shaw said.

"Well I don't think you were raised right then" Root said and Shaw stared at her.

"Says the orphan" Shaw said and Root almost looked hurt, before she stuck her pinky out in front of Shaw's face.

"Promise you won't do it again. Ever" Root insisted and Shaw leaned forward, staring at Root's pinky, then suddenly snapped her teeth and bit down on it lightly.

Root yanked her hand back fast and frowned.

"Sameen" she said and examined her little finger. "No wonder you have no friends."

"You're a brat" Shaw frowned. "Just because I won't link fingers with you doesn't mean I'm not gonna keep my word"

"You can't break a pinky promise though Sam, that's the whole point" Root said.

"Yes you can look at this" Shaw said and linked her pinky with Root's. "I pinky swear I won't purposefully flick the end of your nose, even though it's super pointy and kinda cute and flickable" Shaw said then pulled her hand away. Root still looked confused and missed her opportunity to turn her head away as Shaw immediately used the same hand she pinky swore with to flick the end of Root's nose with her thumb and index finger.

"Ouch!" Root gasped and reached for her nose with one hand and Shaw's hand with the other. Root scowled at Shaw like a pissed off toddler and Shaw smirked.

"See." Shaw said with a satisfied smirk. Root rubbed her nose and rolled her eyes.

"You're being an asshole." Root said and Shaw raised an eyebrow.

"No, I just want you to believe me when I say I won't do something, instead of making me make stupid pinky promises" Shaw said and Root looked at her. They weren't talking about tickling. That much was obvious.

"Fine" Root said with a sigh. "I thought I was getting an orgasm not a lecture."

Shaw smirked. "Who says you can't have both?"