Million Reasons

Chapter Twenty One: Home

Rated M for Mature

Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you

The Magnetic Zeroes - Home

The sun was just starting to raise in the sky when Antonio finally stepped onto the porch of his small, terraced house. He pulled the knot of his tie away from his Adam's apple before loosening the top two buttons of his white shirt with his fingertips. It felt like he could breathe again for the first time tonight. There were no words to describe how much he disliked the man he worked for. Asher was arrogant and he had more money than sense. Everything was a possession to him, even Antonio and he hated it, he hated every single second of being in that environment with all the 'yes sirs' and 'no sirs'. It took him back to that time when he was fourteen running dime bags for that guy that had lived above the gym he trained at.

His broad shoulders slumped in wariness as he pushed his key into the lock and twisted it in order to open his front door. He could hear the low murmur of voices, it took him a second to realise that the TV was on. His gaze came to rest on the lone figure sitting upon the couch. Maggie's hair loose around her shoulders, her socked feet resting on the coffee table. She was wearing a black tank top and grey sweats from her days at the academy. The white socks were his.

"Maggie?" he questioned, his tone low and soft. "It's four in the morning."

His hands were already removing the tie from his collar, tossing it to one side. He moved around to the comfortable chair before shrugging off his black suit jacket and folding it over the back of it. His dark eyes already taking in the papers that were spread out over the coffee table.

"I couldn't sleep." she said before nodding at the paperwork at the table as she removed her feet from it. "I wanted to check everything was in order for me moving in at the weekend."

"Nightmares?" he asked quietly, dropping down onto the couch alongside of her, his hip nudged hers lightly. Maggie pressed her hands together between her knees before nodding reluctantly.

"Too many to talk about." she dismissed, looking distantly at the thin sheets of paper spread out all over the battered coffee.

Antonio's heart went out to her, he knew what it was like to wake up in the middle of the night, your heart hammering in your chest because you didn't have a clue where you were or what was happening. He knew what it was like to deal with that alone, it was a burden that no one should carry, not by themselves. He was holding himself back, he had been since the moment she had left the operation but he felt that time had passed now. She needed to know that she didn't have to sleep alone, that he cared about her more than anyone else in the world.

"Maggie." he whispered her name as his warm fingertips brushed her chin guiding her pale face until the two of them were looking at each other, mere inches separating them. The material of their clothing brushed lightly, making a rustling sound as Antonio's warm hands encompassed Maggie's dainty features. His calloused thumbs skated across the apples of her cheeks as he pressed his finely sculptured lips to hers.

The moment they touched Antonio was lost. The two of them had been fighting against their feelings for so long, it felt as if the dam was breaking. He felt Maggie surrendering under his hands, her body pressing against him with the same urgency that he possessed. His tongue delved into her hot, seeking mouth, his fingers raking through her loose chestnut hair, dragging her down even deeper under his spell.

Kissing her was like seeing sunshine for the first time after years of being blind. Antonio needed her in every way possible. Long ago the depth of his feelings had terrified him but now he relished them. He had fallen so recklessly in love with her it drove everything else right out of his mind.