Mai's breathing was even and soft, blowing warm air against the bare skin of his arm. The window to the room was open and, with the glow from the streetlamp pushing away the darkness, he was able to clearly see the look of serene content on her sleeping face. Oliver lingered longer than he would ever admit to, watching the steady rise and fall of her body as she breathed, still holding her in his arms.

Slowly, he withdrew his arm from where it lay over her shoulders. He allowed himself to keep contact with her skin, his fingers dragging gently over her bare skin, following the length of her back. By the time his fingers naturally fell off of her shoulder, he had sat up and was gazing at her. The sheets had fallen lower when he had sat up, showing more of the milky skin of her back to the light filtering in from the street.

Satisfied that Mai was sleeping, Oliver slid from under the sheet and stood by the edge of the bed. He watched her breathing again. His rational mind weakly explained that she was a light sleeper and he did not want to wake her. And while this was true, he also knew it was a special sight only he got to see: her, naked, sleeping happily on her stomach, body wrapped with his bedsheets. He had learned to appreciate special sights of her he only got to see.

Finally tearing his eyes from her, he pulled on his boxers from where they had laid abandoned on the floor beside the bed. He surveyed the room in the dim light from the window, eyes locking onto the various locations of their clothing. For a moment, he debated if he should pick them up, then dismissed the idea as a waste of time; their locations did not create a walking hazard and he had work to do.

His eyes unconsciously found her body laying on the bed again. The sheets were resting at her hips, her entire back bare, the milky skin exposed for him to stare at. Thoroughly distracting, he decided, completely inconvenient. Then again, everything about her was distracting and inconvenient. He reached out and tugged the sheets up until it rested at her shoulders.

Once more satisfied with the condition she was in, he turned to leave the room. "Naru…?" The soft call of her voice stopped him in his tracks. A smile tugged at his lips at the childish nickname she had christened him with all those years ago. She had started calling him by his English name a couple years ago and the nickname was saved for special circumstances. So very inconvenient. His eyes swung to her figure on the bed. She had turned her head so she was looking at him; her caramel colored eyes gleamed sleepily in the wavering light. A customary sigh fell from his lips as he moved back to the bed.

"Mai," he acknowledged softly, reaching out to touch the skin of her shoulders, which had been exposed once more with her movement. She hummed appreciatively at his touch and blinked sleepily. Her eyes watched him, half-lidded as he let his fingers skim along the length of her shoulders. Before he knew it, he found himself sitting on the edge of the bed, his one hand still touching her shoulders, the other brushing away some of her hair that had fallen into her face. So completely distracting.

One of her small hands snatched his wrist before it could pull away from her face. Her face and eyes still riddled with sleep, she threaded their fingers together and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Where are you going?" Her voice was quiet and laced with tiredness. A part of him found this quiet form of her very endearing. It was very different from her usual loud, bubbly personality that dominated the day. It was one of those special sides of her only he got to see-her so unusually tame; it often only happened when she lay in the quiet after they had sex. It took a few moments for him to realize he had been staring at her and had yet to answer. Always distracting.

"I have a case file I must review for my father," he answered, tone naturally unaffected and cool. A pretty, sleepy smile graced her lips as she looked up at him with her warm brown eyes.

"You're just going to leave your defenseless, naked girlfriend alone in your bed?" Her tone was soaked in her amusement, the tired smile still on her face.

Oliver was silent for a beat. "Yes."

Her eyes connected with his and she laughed, her eyes, still heavy with exhaustion, sparkling; her body shook as delight still fell from her lips. When it died away, her smile grew more content and she closed her eyes. "I love you so much." Mai tugged their hands closer to her face and her lips skimmed across the skin of his fingers in a light kiss. He could feel his heart palpitate in his chest and his breath caught in his throat for a moment. She is so inconvenient.

His fingers slid up the back of her neck and threaded through her hair. He leaned down and tilted her head up, brushing his lips against hers. A soft sigh fell from her lips against his and she dropped her mouth open, nudging her open lips against his. She is such a distraction. His tongue pushed into her mouth and they kissed in sluggish laziness. Her tongue was warm, soft, pressing intimately against his. By the time he pulled back, she had leaned up on one elbow and had her hand resting on his shoulder.

He looked down at her, seeing her brown eyes had darkened; her lips were still swollen from their activities earlier that night. His eyes followed the trail of her neck and saw the gentle curvature of her breasts. "You're a distraction," Oliver admitted, voice low and dark. Her eyes sparkled in humor again, and her lips curved into a sly smile. They sat in silence, watching each other, comforted by each other's presence. He slowly untangled his hand from her hair before moving his fingers to tug the sheet up around her shoulders again. Then he stood to leave.

As he made to remove his hand from hers, she tightened her fingers around his and pulled him back. "I don't want you to leave," Mai said quietly, her mouth falling into a small frown. His body froze and he stared down at her. She shifted her eyes down to their hands, which still laid entwined on the pillow. Her hand squeezed his hand softly. His gaze followed hers and he enjoyed the sight of her delicate fingers between his. Silence rang between them once more, however much less comfortable.

He almost gave in, slid under the covers to hold her naked body against his until they both drifted to sleep; he would never admit it to anyone but himself how close he was to abandoning his work for her. She turned to look at him and had a bright smile on her lips. "But you'll go," she said, voice quiet, yet content, "So I will wait for you." The words struck him and he tightened his grip on her hand; it would be the only indication she would receive that her words had affected him.

Ignoring the emotions it stirred in him, he rose one hand to run his fingers through her hair, which she enjoyed. Her eyes fluttered shut and she sighed happily. "You'll fall asleep before I return," he said, voice still low, fingers playing lazily with the ends of her hair.

Amusement bubbled up inside of his chest as he watched her huff in annoyance before looking at him with determined eyes. "I'll wait for you," she said again, voice firmer than before. "I'm not that tired." He couldn't even stop the smile that pulled at his mouth when she colored prettily at the yawn that followed her statement.

"Idiot," he admonished affectionately, tugging at the ends of her hair gently. "Just sleep."

Mai finally released his hand, using it to sleepily bat away his other. Her eyes slowly fell shut again and she grumbled something, voice too thick with exhaustion for him to understand. He leaned down, pressing his lips against her forehead for a moment before pulling back.

His eyes stayed fixed on her once more sleeping body in his bed as he made for the door. He paused, watching her back rise and fall steadily. He didn't even know he said anything before he heard his own voice echo in the silence.

"I love you."

Oliver shut the door behind him as he left.

She wasn't even in the room and he was still so thoroughly distracted. Perhaps it was because, though not in the room, he knew she lay naked, waiting for him, just two doors down from his study. He clenched his hand tightly around the file that he had been failing to read for the past few minutes.

"I will wait for you." Oliver knew she didn't know exactly what those words did to him. He suspected she didn't even realize he had a reaction every time she said them. Mai probably didn't even remember that she had said those words to him all those years ago. "If you're not ready to accept my love for you, then I will wait for you. I will wait until you're ready."

He hadn't responded to her when she said it, only weeks after he had returned from England. She had left warm tea on his desk and left his office. And wait she did, smiling as he ignored her feelings, her two confessions, filing and making tea, for almost six months. Her waiting for him reminded him how much he didn't deserve her.

It took him six months to admit to his pride that he was in love with her-terrified of her because of it too. He had been a coward for so long. And she had waited through it all-so distractingly inconvenient the entire time. It was exactly what he wanted, however: Mai to be an inconvenient distraction, just as she always was.

Glancing at the clock on his desk, he realized it had already almost been a half hour. He hadn't even truly read a word of the report in his hands. Love is so inconvenient, Oliver thought, though there was no conviction behind this. Years together, years loving her, has worn down some of his cold exterior and the walls he had built around his emotions. Not that anyone could ever really notice, unless they watched his interactions with her; it didn't bother him as much as it once had.

There was one point in time where he thought he hated her-she had gotten under his skin so effortlessly, upending years he had spent training to keep a tight leash on his emotions. He thought he hated her for that; he had quickly realized it wasn't hate, but it took him years to understand that it was one of the many reasons why he had fallen in love with her.

A growl of frustration bubbled up in his chest as he ran his hand through his hair. He stared up at the ceiling and breathed out of his mouth slowly. She had changed so much in him. He never used to get distracted while working before. It was a daily occurrence now. He glanced at the clock and sighed, forcing himself to focus on the file in his hand.

"The faster I work, the faster I can be with her again." Oliver had said that once to their resident monk during a case. Mai had ended up being sent home because the astral projections had been so violent. Though she had tried to fool everyone into thinking she was okay, he had been able to see the residual fear left in her eyes throughout the day. The foolish monk had more than insinuated that Oliver did not care about his girlfriend, ignoring her suffering to work on the case. His statement had quickly shut him up-no one ever questioned him about his affections for her again.

For that, he was glad. Though he was in love with her, he still disliked voicing it to other people. She said she knew, even if he didn't say it. That was more than enough for him.

It was nearly an hour later before he returned to the bedroom, having finally finished the file and emailed his father. Oliver stood at the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. She had moved in her slumber, lying on her back now, the sheets wrapped tightly around her waist, leaving her chest bare for his eyes. So distracting. Her words still echoed in his mind. "I will wait for you." His jaw clenched tightly and he shed himself of what little clothing he was wearing.

"Mai," he said firmly, starting to pull back the sheets. She squirmed when the cool air started touching her body. He climbed onto the bed and hovered above her, pressing his lips against her neck. "Mai, wake up." A soft sigh fell from her lips her body naturally curved to accommodate his.

Her eyes fluttered open as his lips started trailing further down her neck. Her eyebrows knitted together as she gripped onto his shoulder tightly. "N-Naru…?" He knew she was confused. He never wanted to have sex more than once in a 24 hour period. A waste of time, he had often explained to her. Sometimes, he gave in to please her, because he did love her. But this was all him; something in him tonight found her undeniably desirable. Such an inconvenience.

Not responding to her questioning voice, his mouth sought hers and he kissed her deeply, keeping eye contact with her before her eyes fluttered shut with an airy moan in the back of her throat. One of his hands stayed cupped around the back of her neck as his lips trailed down to her chest. His other hand pried her legs open and slid gently to their juncture, fingers touching, pressing gently against her sensitive body. "O-Oliver…" His mouth and teeth left little marks along her skins; distracting noises poured from her mouth and she moved her body with his, so perfectly.

Sometimes it struck him-hard-that she was his. Tonight was one of those times. His mind was suddenly plagued with thoughts about how much he didn't deserve her; he didn't deserve her waiting for him, every day of her life for the rest of their lives. He was selfish, though his pride would never let him admit it to anyone but himself; he wouldn't let her go for as long as she wanted to stay with him.

He could feel her warmth, her moisture; he sought her eyes and found them closed in her pleasure. "Mai," he said, voice much deeper and huskier than he intended. "Mai, look at me." Her eyes snapped open and found his. His own pleasure stirred in his stomach as he watched her face color prettily. Their eye contact stayed, even as he entered her. Somehow, he could tell, she knew he needed her to keep looking at him. Despite her embarrassment, she did, even as their bodies moved together, him moving inside of her.

His steady fingers insured she reached her height before he did. He always marveled at the way her body writhed under him, her hands clenching onto his arms, his shoulders, his sides, any part of him that was closest. Watching it happen with her eyes open this time was something he quickly filed under the special moments with her he only got to see. She hadn't even finished riding through her pleasure when he reached his own peak. His hand around the back of her neck made sure to tilt her face just right for him to stare into her eyes. He could practically see her file the image away as well.

When they both slowly faded from their peak, he let himself slip out of her. Their bodies were slick with sweat, but he still kept her body close to his, lightly resting on top of her. Her delicate fingers found their way into his hair and she tugged his face close, kissing him lazily. When he pulled back, he moved so he lay on his back, and she quickly scrambled to curl against his side, resting her head on his chest.

She was breathing steadily, the warm air of her breath brushing against the bare skin of his chest. His fingers slowly ran through her hair. He felt his own eyes slowly closing as exhaustion quickly spread through his body. "I love you," he said softly, hoping not to wake her. "I love you." He couldn't bring himself to say just how much; he couldn't even find the words to describe it.

Mai stirred against him and she pressed her lips against his chest. "I love you too, Oliver."

His heart palpitated once more against his chest and he smiled. She is so inconvenient.