18610/Move Night

Move Night
Date of Scene:	18 July 2024
Location:	Carol Ferris's Apartment
Synopsis:	For the first time in a long time, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris get to enjoy a quiet night at home watching Top Gun (1986)... for about 11 minutes.
Cast of Characters:	Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan

---

Carol Ferris has posed:
Neither of them have a tremendous amount of free time, but one of the benefits of living together is that, when those fleeting moments do crop up -- and on the rare blue moon when they happen at the same time -- they both have the same place to call home.

How many nights prior have they both stared up at the sky at the exact same time, wondering what the other was doing? How much time have they wasted because of a reluctance to commit and stick with it?

Well, there was no more reluctance. And while Carol has never -- during any of their prior 'on' periods -- even broached the subject of marriage, living together is already a bigger step than they've ever taken before. It's not without it's troubles and adjustments, from late night arrivals that disturb sleep (sometimes in the best possible ways) to differences in dirty laundry and dishes and making the bed and... all of those things that couples have to figure out a routine for.

But nights like tonight?

Nights like tonight (and, to a large extent, nights like the other night, when they just couldn't keep their hands or mouths or anything else off of each other) make all of those trivial little things to figure out well worth it.

Because _tonight_ is movie night.

Carol's wearing pajamas that do all the right things to her figure despite the fact that they're obviously not meant to be as enticing as that outfit from the other night. But the shorts are short and soft, and the tank top is low cut and clingy, and the whole set just looks stretchy and comfortable.

She's also made popcorn, which she has sitting on the coffee table in a big bowl in front of her. She's on the couch, legs criss-crossed in front of her, and she's got the remote in her hand, scrolling through movies as she fists a handful of popcorn into her mouth.. one popped kernel at a time.

"You _do_ know if you leave this up to me we're going to end up watching Leap Year or Love Actually... God, you know, if I had more time, I would absolutely have a subscription to the Hallmark channel..."

Click. Click. Click. Just scrolling through, trying to find something.

"...They made another movie about Spider-Man. Do you think they pay him royalties for that? It's Hollywood... somehow I doubt it."

Click. Click.

"Any thoughts? There's always Top Gun again..."

She rolls her head back so she can look over at Hal and sing, "Take my breath away...."

Hal Jordan has posed:
It has been a good, long time since Hal has had any place that he could truly consider his home.

Any place that wasn't just a small, leased apartment for a few months at a time. Anywhere that wasn't the next best thing to living out of a suitcase at the Hall of Justice or Watchtower, or the spartan quarters on Oa.

That alone would make the fact that he actually has somewhere to look forward to coming back to when he is not off in the distant reaches of space both something of a welcome relief.

That said home comes complete with Carol's presence as well -- at least on those occasions when the stars align properly -- is the icing on top. It is pretty good incentive to make that extra effort to make it back for nights like this.

While there might be something of an adjustment period, it is undeniably true, it has been a little easier then he might have expected.

It is safe to say that he is not quite as orderly as she is. That much probably comes through even in their flying. She is all perfect precision, he a little more wild and reckless. But perhaps that what makes them so effective, both in the air together and when they push through all the noise, all the distractions to find little moments like these.

She makes him better. And maybe, just maybe, he brings out a little of that irresponsibility in her that they are both entitled to from time to time.

It also helps that he is a whole heck of a lot more willing to compromise then he was a decade ago, to do what he has to if that will help make this work.

For a change his bomber jacket is nowhere in sight -- hanging in the closet even instead of draped over the back of the couch or one of the dining chairs. See, he can be taught. Given a shred of civilization.

Like her, he is more cozy then anything else -- a pair of worn, grey gym shorts and a green -- because it is practically required -- tank top, settled on the couch with her as he reaches for his own handful of popcorn.

"I actually like Love Actually," Hal counters. And who would have ever thought those words would come out of his mouth? Arching a brow her way, he flashes that slow grin before tossing one of those kernals up in the air, manuevering his mouth beneath to snap it up before settling back into the cushions of the couch with her once more, the rest of that popcorn consumed in a slightly more conventional fashion.

"But you can never go wrong with Top Gun," he points out slyly. Again that slow grin crawls over his features as she begins to sing, tapping a finger against his knee. "Mmmm, you definitely take my breath away," he agrees with a wink.

"I could serenade you too. Though I suspect that it would be hard for you to lose that loving feeling..."

Carol Ferris has posed:
He does. He brings out that irresponsibility in her without even trying.

And even more so when he's _actively_ trying.

Like when she's trying to be a _boss_ and yell at him for something he's done... even when she's _actually_ mad at him... there's still his voice whispering in the back of her mind to loosen up.

There's still that way that he just seems to know when she's yelled herself out and he prowls towards her, and all of her defenses are up and it looks like she might claw his eyes out, but his arms come around her and she just... she just lets it all go and sinks into him.

Sometimes.

Sometimes she screams more because she has 15 more meetings that day and she doesn't have time to get lost in him just because making her weak-kneed is one of his super powers.

But sometimes... sometimes she should loosen up. Sometimes she's wound too tightly. Sometimes she takes on too much.

'I actually like Love Actually.'

Carol stares.

"Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" she asks, grinning, while she watches him toss up and catch that kernel.

His response to her song, however, has her laughing and blushing.

With just a few more clicks of the remote, she toggles it over to Top Gun (the original, of course) and hits play.

"As long as you're here it is."

Her eyes twinkle with playfulness, and she scoots a little farther away from him on the couch so she can turn and face him comfortably, taking one kernel of corn between her fingers and positioning herself like a basketball player at the 3 point line.

"Think fast, Highball."

And then she shoots.

Hal Jordan has posed:
More often the not -- more often then he would probably care to admit -- Hal probably deserves some of those yelling sessions that he tends to be on the wrong side of.

Some of that is just inherent in the fact that he feels the need to push just about everything he does to the very edge, to come up right against that redline. And then blow right on through it to the other side.

It is something that makes him such a great test pilot.

And a phenomenal pain in the ass at times too. There are definitely times when it would probably be better if he could ease up just a little. Play it just a little bit safe. Do the smart thing instead of seeing just how far he can push things, see just how much he can get away with.

It would be better. Probably.

But it wouldn't be quite as much fun. And it wouldn't really be him either.

Yes, he has tempered some of the extremes of that recklessness that is so a part of him. Learned to channel it better.

And maybe, just occasionally, hardly even enough worth mentioning, he provokes her just for the sake of provoking her.

If the other night proved anything it is that he definitely has a little bit of a thing for when Carol is in full on boss mode.

If only so he can see if he can coax her into a very different sort of mode with a very different sort of priorities.

He's grown some sure, but he is still very much Hal Jordan.

"What? It's pretty sweet for the most part. Not nearly so cringe as some of the rom-coms out there," he asserts. He might even be serious, though that grin doesn't slacken in the least.

As she starts to scoot away across those cushions, he starts to raise a protest, one hand reaching out for her. Though once her intent becomes clear, that protest dies in his throat and instead eyes twinkle as he half turns as well, waiting for her to toss that kernal of popcorn, positioning himself beneath it and snapping it out of the air again, flashing that smile her way as he crunches it deliberately.

"You know, you're a pretty good shot. If this whole CEO thing doesn't work out, you should consider going pro."

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol laughs, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Going pro, huh? Maybe I'll start my own popcorn tossing league."

She settles back into the couch, letting the warmth of the moment seep into her bones. Her fingers find another kernel, and this time she slides closer, guiding it on its long trajectory to his mouth as her gaze locks onto Hal's. There's something magnetic about the way he looks at her, as if she's the only person in the world.

"But only if you'll be my partner," she teases, feeding it to him gently, her voice dropping to a playful murmur. Then she's snuggling closer, resting her head on his shoulder, feeling the comforting rise and fall of his breath beneath her cheek.

The familiar opening chords of Top Gun fill the room, and she feels a sense of peace wash over her. It's in these stolen moments, away from the chaos of their lives, that she finds solace.

Being with Hal like this, sharing these simple pleasures, reminds her of why they fight through the tough times. The battles, the distance, the endless responsibilities -- they all fade away in the glow of the TV and the warmth of his presence. For all the chaos and danger they face, it's these quiet nights that make it all worthwhile.

She steals glances at him, the soft glow of the screen casting shadows that highlight his strong features. His jawline, the way his eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles -- every detail etched into her heart. She reaches for the popcorn bowl, pulling it off the table and holding it between them so he won't have to reach.

"Here's to more nights like this," she murmurs, her voice soft but heavy with meaning. She takes a deep breath, letting herself fully relax into the moment. Sinking into Hal always makes her feel like she can face anything. And tonight, she's content to just be right here.

She feels the steady beat of his heart, a rhythm that grounds her, and even as the movie plays on, her focus is on him -- on the way his skin electrifies her, on his warmth.

"I love you," she whispers, the words slipping out before she can stop them. They're not new, but tonight, they feel different -- deeper, more profound.

"Let's make a habit of this."

Hal Jordan has posed:
They don't get to do this very often. Not nearly often enough.

Really, Hal can barely remember the last time that they could manage a quiet night in, just the two of them with no other responsibilities or obligations to worry about. No Ferris Aircraft business. No Green Lantern or Star Sapphire potential problems waiting in the wings, ready to rear its ugly head and force them to part once more. To run off and attend to some pressing emergency.

It's been long enough that he almost forgot just how nice it really was. How much he missed it.

For someone who can seem like a bit of a thrill junky, pushing aircrafts to the very limit and then trying to push a little further, Hal might not seem the best test subject for something a little more cozy. A little more familiar.

But the sheer ease in which they can find themselves back in old patterns, the comfort of having her close once more, it really does leave him wondering just what took them so long to reach this point.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he murmurs in agreement, taking that proffered kernal between his teeth playfully before it disappears, arm slipping around her comfortably to draw her in closer.

Even the familiar refrain of those opening chords are somehow comforting. He can't even begin to count just how many times they've watched this movie together. Because of course they would. It's possible, maybe even probable that they could recite it, line for line to one another. Just one more thing they have to share. Something simple, something not out of the ordinary. Something that is theirs, Hal and Carol.

He watches that opening, sneaking the occasional peek at her, eyes continually drawn back to the waoman who's head rests on his shoulder. "I would definitely second that," he murmurs in agreement. "This was a really good idea," he adds lowly, turning his head just long enough to brush lips over the ridge of her ear.

"Living together, I mean. I should have probably asked you, sooner. Though given that I haven't really had a place of my own in awhile..." he says drily before smiling once more, that arm about her back curling a little, drawing her in closer.

"Love you too," he murmurs in return, those eyes filling with warmth as they turn her way once again. "And we should definitely make a habit of this kinda thing," he agrees before flashing that roguish grin. "I do kinda like it when I get you all to myself."

Carol Ferris has posed:
Opening Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZfM2VMs_vI
o/~ Headin' into twilight... o/~
o/~ Spreadin' out her wings tonight... o/~

Those little affections warm her just as much as any grand gesture. The way he pulls her into him, the way he brushes his cheek against her hair and his lips against her ear sends a pleased shiver down the length of her body that has her curling closer against him.

If he wasn't careful, she was going to try to crawl into him like a Tauntaun. Cuddling was an Olympic-level sport for Carol. She took it very seriously, nestling every curve into the _perfect_ spot to maximize the combination of contact an comfort -- or adjusting closer until she could find it. And by that point, she invariably might as well have crawled up into his lap.

It was a side of herself she showed only to Hal -- a vulnerability that only he was permitted to witness. To some, she was a hard-ass CEO that spent most of her time angry. To others, she was a Violet Lantern -- a Star Sapphire -- who served as a Champion of Love. And yet, even under that guise, she was not 'vulnerable.' It's not love that makes a person vulnerable.

It's trust.

She tilts her head to look up at his face and raises one finger to touch his lips when he mentions asking sooner, giving him just a little shake of her head and a warm, affectionate smile.

"We're exactly where we need to be, exactly when we need to be there," she says, dipping her forehead closer to his neck. "You know I have a lot of things to regret, but I have to tell myself that we wouldn't be where we are without them. Otherwise, it all happened for nothing... I was _awful_ to you... for nothing."

== An F-14A Tomcat launches from the deck of the USS Enterprise.. ==

That finger slips around to his cheek, and she looks up again, guiding him down to her lips for a soft, lingering kiss.

== "Indian Ocean, Present Day." == (well.. present day 1986).

"Yeah, I like having you all to _myself_, too," she says, taking another piece of popcorn out of the bowl to feed to him. "But I get it, and we're going to make it work this time. We're both old enough, now, and _I_ have learned to accept that just because you're across the galaxy doesn't mean you're never coming home."

She cringes a little, wrinkling her nose. "Of course, having to go across the galaxy myself _might_ have given me more perspective on that."

== (Radar Operator, Inside the CIC of the USS Enterprise) "Ghost Rider, this is Strike. We have unknown aircraft inbound Mustang. Your bearing 0-9-0 for bogey." ==

Still cradling that bowl of popcorn loosely against her, she settles her other hand on his arm, fingers splayed across the bare skin of his bicep with a slow, stroking motion of her thumb.

Her eyes drift back towards the TV the camera pans down the length of an F-5 that's been painted black and was being passed off as a MiG-29 (because movie magic).

"You know, it's no MiG-29, but we do have a new drone prototype that's going to be ready for live combat testing, soon. They just finished the preliminary checks two weeks ago. You finished your re-cert, didn't you? We could always go up and put them through their paces together..."

Once more, her eyes lift to his face, her smile vaguely mischievous. She didn't really go up for testing, anymore. She had her own plane (or two or three), but it was purely recreational. Being a test pilot was a dangerous job, and a responsible CEO wouldn't put herself in that position.

But Tony Stark tested all of his own gear, right? And she wouldn't even be getting into the experimental aircraft! They had military contracts for F-22s and F-35s for that.

"For old time's sake..."

== (Focus on Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian) "Who's up there?" ==
== (Radar Operator) "Cougar and Merlin, and Maverick and Goose" ==
== (Stinger) "Great, Maverick and Goose." ==

Hal Jordan has posed:
While moving in together might not exactly solve every single problem that they are likely to encounter in the day and weeks and months ahead, it is a pretty good start in so many different ways.

For one thing it means that when they do happen to find themselves together, here on Earth at the same time, that none of their time has to be wasted, finding reasons to be together. Working out the right times.

Nor does it all have to be focused on the big moments. The night's out. The events. The celebrations. There is finally time for the little things.

Even if that just means cuddling up together on the couch, sharing a bowl of popcorn and watching a pretty classic movie.

It might not seem like a whole heck of a lotm but the other parts of their lives are already an adventure. They travel to the distant corners of the world in a blink of an eye. Heck, they travel to the far corners of just about every world in the galaxy depending upon what calls their duties place upon them.

Adventure, excitement, that isn't really their problem. Anymore then pure, raw attraction is. And Hal wouldn't change any of that. Not even for a heartbeat.

He never thought he would be the kind of person that would just flat out savor moments like this. Moments when things are quiet. When they can just enjoy one another's company. It's hard to imagine things getting much better then this.

Well, the naked times are pretty good too, he would conceed.

But they know each other, know one another like few others could hope to. Get to see those sides in each other that the rest of the world just don't. That he would settle in and happily watch some rom-com of varying quality just to spend that time with her, curled on the couch. That the badass CEO of Ferris Aircraft who has saved her family business from disaster on more then one occasion would set that aisde to all but crawl onto his lap to watch some forty-year old movie.

"I'd certainly like to think so," Hal agrees, a brief smile flickering over his expression at that, expresison lightening as she feeds him another of those popcorn kernals, sneaking one out of the bowl to do the same for her. It's silly, but with her it somehow just feels right. "Things did kind of find a way to just work out," he murmurs in agreement.

That she now has duties similar to, if not entirely the same, as his in the Green Lantern Corps, in some ways even greater being the near undisputed foremost of the Star Sapphires likely does change her perspective, a little.

But he is just as happy to change the subject, to lean over for a moment, to press soft kisses to her lips as fingers lightly slide up the back of her neck, tracing lightly there before sinking into that dark hair that always did enchant him -- still enchants him.

Then, with a grin, he is indeed scooping her up, settling her on his lap. It would seem that she is not the only one to take a major in the cuddling arts.

== "Talk to me Goose."

The mention of the new drone prototypes, of the possibility of doing some early testing -- better yet, taking a couple of jets out together, just like old times -- brings a grin over Hal's features, arching a brow her way. "As it just so happens I did. And it would seem a shame to not get up there and make sure that I haven't lost a step yet," he agrees lightly.

== "Uh, Cougar, I'm going to go head to head with him"
== "Take it easy Maverick. I don't like this shit."

"And you're even volunteering to come up with me. I don't have to try and convince you that it is okay to do something that the Board wouldn't approve of now and then," he teases lightly, kissing the side of her neck. "Looks like it's my lucky night."

== "Oh shit, there's two of them!"

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol opens her mouth happily -- almost expectantly -- for him to set that kernel on her tongue, and she curls it in deliberately, grinning as she crunches it between her molars.

Her eyes half-lid when he slips his hand into her hair. A soft groan of satisfaction purrs from her throat, and she tilts her chin up, lengthening her neck to tug the strands a little more insistently through his fingers -- like a cat rubbing against a scratching post. Or in heat.

She'd never be able to decide where she enjoyed Hal's hands the most, but her hair was up there on the list.

Then she's being shifted so easily that she can't help but squeal. Even without their rings, Hal still never had an issue hefting her where he wanted her, and in that moment, it's exactly where she wants to be, too. The bowl of popcorn ended up getting set aside for safety reasons, and she curled happily against his chest.

Even she had to admit, it was a much better fit, this way.

== "MiG-28s! No one's been this close before!"

A soft, throaty laugh slips out as she tilts her head to give him better access to her neck, one arm reaching up across his shoulder and slipping her own fingers up into his hair.

"You know..." Her voice is a little breathier and a lot more distracted. "It's not all suits and meetings. I... have been known to be irresponsible." A little, satisfied noise slips out, completely unbidden. "Nngh.. Usually around you..."

== "Cougar, you've got MiG one. I'm going after MiG two."

"...There's a case to be made that you're a..." Her heart's starting to pound, and her breath is coming faster, deeper. She has to force herself to lean and twist, to pull far enough away to claim his lips with her own, just to give herself a few seconds to catch her breath.

"...a bad influence," she finally finishes once she's reluctantly drawn her lips back, too, her eyes full of danger as she smiles at him. "Like now, when we're _supposed_ to be watching a movie... but if you keep that up, I make no promises about your lucky night stopping there."

== "God damnit this bogey's all over me."

Yeah, Cougar. I feel you.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Seven minutes.

They managed to make it almost exactly seven minutes into the movie before that impulse to crawl all over one another like teenagers sort of took over. For them that's really not so bad, all things considered.

That probably plays a pretty good role in why they are able to make things work despite everything they have been through, why they always seem to find their way back to one another no matter how many -- literal -- light years seperate them.

More then a decade and a half of being together in one form or another and that spark is still very much alive in the both of them. That certainly says a whole lot.

Even if it sometimes makes it hard to get through an entire movie together.

But that's okay, right? That's what the pause button is for? Or hell, it's not like this is either of their first time watching this movie. It's probably not even their fiftieth. It could well be the soundtrack to their lives.

Albeit with something of an 80's twist.

== "I'm going for missile lock."

Should he feel bad, that he is in danger of sidetracking them from their nice, quiet evening in together. Of one hand, perhaps. This, in some ways, is much more of the rare treat for them. Finding the time to just sit down together. To watch a movie. To cuddle on the couch. No meetings. No emergencies. That's treasure indeed.

== "Mustang, this is Maverick. MiG two is headed home."

All that said, it is hard to feel *too* bad about making the very most of their time. Sure, Top Gun is an absolute classic. Sure they can probably both relate to it better then most given their 'day' jobs. But that doesn't really mean that it is ever going to hold a candle to one another.

Sorry Maverick, go be the big damn hero. But there's really only one pilot that Hal Jordan is interested in flying with.

Among many, many other things.

== "Cougar, he's got missile lock on us! Get away from this guy!"

Oh, if only it were that easy. The lock that they have on each other is far, far stronger, far, far more personal then anything that could be managed by some targetting computer. No matter how cutting edge or state of the art. Good for them. Bad for their attention spans when it comes to anything outside of themselves -- at least when there isn't some emergency, some sort of disaster that triggers that innate sense of responsibility long enough to draw them from each other's orbit.

But there's no emergency tonight.

== "Do not fire until fired upon."

That little confession draws a husky laugh from Hal, his gaze distinctly no longer on the television any longer. It is pleasant, familiar background noise. Not quite as comfortable as the feel of her on his lap, mind you, but still just a familair little distraction in the background as he plants a string of hisses against the side of her neck.

"Is that right?" Hal murmurs, not exactly sounding like he is going to be doing every much to de-escalate the situation any time soon. But then they both might be disappointed if he did.

== "No way Goose. He'd have fired by now. He's just trying to piss us off."

"I don't mind being your bad influence," he murmurs when her lips finally slip from his again, when that kiss breaks, though his arm instinctively tightens around her, that hand on her far side roaming lower and lower along her side.

"Confession of my own?" he murmurs, leaning back for a moment, meeting her gaze, his own glinting with the sort of mischief that he just hasn't lost, even into his thirties. "You now how much I appreciate your commanding boss presence," he points out.

Then he is sliding forward once more, breath warm against her ear. "But I like it even more when I can make you forget yourself completely."

== "I can't shoot this son of a bitch. Lets see if we can't have a little fun with him."

"I'll always be your bad influence, Carol," he murmurs before lips and teeth capture the lobe of her ear.

Carol Ferris has posed:
'You know how much I appreciate your commanding boss presence...'

As soon as those words are out of his mouth, Carol's eyebrows are climbing and her smile is flattening into that 'serious' look she gets, proving that she can not only slip into 'boss presence' on command, she can flip that switch nearly instantaneously -- even in the middle of a Netflix and Chill session with the hottest man she's ever known.

That look, however, was _all_ for him. He was already very aware, by this point, just how quickly Carol could slip into the role of either company CEO or Star Sapphire when the need arose -- sometimes even when he didn't really want her to, even if it tickled a certain part of him just the right way.

== "Is this your idea of fun, Mav?"

A bubble of nervous laughter breaks the 'boss' facade, though, when he's leaning back into her neck again and all of her muscles clench in anticipation.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Carol let's slip out in a moan as the tug of her ear sends a ripple of pleasure through her. Not only is it an absolutely true statement about her desire for his bad influence, it's a deliberate harkening back to the same phrase he'd said only minutes ago, just as they were starting the movie.

== "This is a great shot, Mav. I should be a photographer."

Eyes closed, heart pounding, the movie is lost to her. Background noise. Less than background noise. The sound of her own pulse in her ears is louder than Maverick telling Cougar he'll see him on deck. It's louder than the sound of the jet engines or Cougar's panicking as he rips off his mask to get air.

The need for air... panting... those feelings are increasingly familiar...

== "Cougar, we're running low on gas. We've gotta get out of here."

Full, rich, throaty laughter bubbles up from somewhere deep inside her. It's a lush, dangerous sound that Hal is all too familiar with. It's the sound she makes when he's pushed her towards that threshold where she finally has to decide if she's going to try to regain her focus or just give in to the heat that's creeping up her chest, up her neck, and beginning to color her cheeks.

== "Cougar, we've gotta land this thing. We are way low on gas. You understand me?"

She 'loses' the battle (if such a thing can even be said) to the beckoning of his lips and the exploration of his hands, twisting just enough in his lap so that she can tilt her head and capture his mouth again, her kiss more immediately insistent than before. It's a give and take -- a demanding as much as a pleading for more. Her breath is heavy through her nose, warm against his skin, hands sliding over his chest and shoulders greedily.

== "Roger, Maverick has the ball."

"Highball," she breathes huskily against his mouth, curling her arms around his neck as her smile broadens, "you big stud... take me to bed or lose me forever."

Hal Jordan has posed:
Almost eleven minutes.

They have had shorter date nights to be sure. Movies that they have barely made it through the opening scrawl. Planned nights out where he made it as far as the front foyer. So this isn't exactly a record.

But it is pretty much right up there.

Anyone who might have thought, might have claimed that living together would somehow ruin the romance clearly don't know Carol and Hal very well. Their relationship, their attachment, their passion has survived light years of distance, an assortment of trials. His reckless behavior. Her responsibilities to Ferris Aircraft, to it's employees, her family legacy.

Stacked up against all of that, what is a little co-habitation?

As she slips into 'boss mode' as easily as she might slip on any other article of clothing, a small grin slides over Hal's features and he greets it the way that he would on just about any other occasion.

Sure, in front of an audience he will -- usually -- play the part of the contrite employee who knows that he has screwed up. At least when he has actually screwed up. Otherwise there might be that tendancy to argue.

That passion doesn't always lead to sex. From time to time it has manifested in anger, though as the years pass they seem to be able to get past that more and more.

But no, in more private moments, when it is just the two of them, 'boss mode' brings out a certain irrevernce. A certain tendancy to see just how far he can push that demeanor how long it will take to make it crack, to break that facade and reveal her other side.

The one that few others but him truly get to see.

The movie is pretty much forgotten by this point, rendered pretty irrelevant by the woman perched on his lap, by that low laugh and hte moan that follows it. His mouth lingers there against her ear for a moment longer and any last chance that they might put this little game aside. To setle in and enjoy the movie is quickly banished.

The trials and tribulations of Maverick and Goose, of Cougar and Merlin will just have to wait. Maybe they'll make it back to them a little later.

But it's a pretty big maybe, at least for the rest of the night at any rate. Tomorrow. Tomorrow's another day. Maybe then.

Sometimes losing the battle still means winning the war, and ask him now, ask him later, there's no doubt that the sometimes cocky test pilot will very much assert that they are both going to be winners here. That they both win each time they find each other like this.

His lips find hers again, a lot of that playfulness bleeding away, that kiss far more intent, far more serious now, and his fingers curl where they rest on her far hip, a hungry little growl sound in the depths of his throat.

He's ready to concede the fight too, a fact that he demonstrates by fumbling blindly for the remote, managing to pause the movie -- eventually.

Then he is flashing that grin her way, lifting her from the couch in his arms. "Show me the way home, Sapphire," he counters, eyes glinting once more, carrying her towards the bedroom.

Maybe not exactly the night they planned. But as far as night's in go, still very much a winner.