Charlie was surprised by how quickly he had settled into living with Rey spending nearly every waking moment with her then lying down to sleep beside her at night, cuddling her close to him, letting their limbs tangle together so that even their tossing and turning couldn’t extricate them from each other.
He was even more surprised that Rey was as into it as he was. She was fiercely independent and admirably strong yet, for some reason, she didn’t seem to mind him following her around like a lovestruck puppy.
Both things were entirely good surprises. Charlie couldn’t get enough of time spent with Rey. Ever since they’d slept together for the first time, just over a week before, something had palpably changed between them. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly but it had made him feel more… complete.
Even now, with his hands in rubber gloves, submerged to the wrists in soapy dish water, Rey wasn’t far away. She was perched on the kitchen counter to Charlie’s right while he scrubbed away at the dishes from that evening’s House dinner. After placing a plate in the rack to drain, he looked up from the suds and, seeing her eyes on him, gave her an easy smile.