He was sweeping when she walked into the flat.

Riyaadh had to wake up earlier that morning just to clean up. He wouldn't dare tell her that he had been living like a slob and hadn't even bothered to make the bed for those 3 weeks. And if Saudah had known... he wasn't very sure how well she would take it.

"I like your manager." She gestured to Tommy perched on the overhang, watching Riyaadh's every move.

Riyaadh looked up and shook his head, "Half of this is his hair anyway."

"It smells nice in here. Were you polishing the tables?" she swept her finger across their dining room table, surprised to feel its smoothness. "I like that smell."

"My sinuses disagree..."

"You're cute like that," Saudah flicked his nose as she walked past, making a bee-line for Tommo. He got into such a tizz seeing her, he almost jumped miss when he aimed for her arms. "Hey, kitty-kat. I missed you." She nuzzled her nose into his fur before she took to rubbing him between his ears.

"So, your parents are all settled in?" Riyaadh swept the dirt into a dustpan before depositing it all into a plastic bag.

"I guess." She dropped herself onto the couch, watching him clean up the last few bits as she rested her head on her arms. "But I couldn't stay there anymore. They just wouldn't stop arguing about everything."

"Where's you bag?"

"It's still in that car. I'll fetch it later."

"Nah, give me your keys. I'll fetch it for you." He caught the bunch and walked out.

 He was almost to the elevator when he felt her body collide with his back. "There's the hug you wanted," she kissed the back of his neck before sprinting back to their flat.

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking behind him...

And he smiled and walked into the elevator.

"I missed this." Saudah was next to him as they leaned over the balcony to watch the world below them. "I could never do this at our house. All I saw from my balcony was the dustbins."

"Not much of a view..." he wrapped his arm around her when the breeze picked up around them.

"Not at all." she snuggled into him. "I..." she sighed, and leaned further over the railing, "We need to talk though. We can't brush it off."

"I suppose so." He took out a cigarette, already preparing himself for what was to come.

"First things first," she looked at him, waiting for him to let out the puff he'd been holding in, "Are we doing this? Here and now. This is your chance for an out and it's the only one I'm giving you. Are we going to try?"

He understood the implications of her words. She was throwing her heart at him and he knew she didn't do it lightly. She showed him all her cards and the very notion of it completely shattered him.

He thought of the three weeks without her. He had missed her. He had missed her laugh and smiles and her giggles. He had missed her dry humour and scary bluntness. But he appreciated the solitude too. He appreciated being on his own without having to live up to her expectations. He liked not worrying about being rational or not. He didn't have to wonder why he was angry or upset. He didn't feel stressed out praying that he was doing the right thing.

But did the columns weigh up?

Was giving his peaceful loneliness up for her worth it?

And he had been wondering what she had brought to him too.

She allowed him to feel what he wanted to feel. She had never pushed him for more than he was ready to give, and she had never forced him to be someone he was not. But what did she really give him?

Friendship.

She gave him friendship.

In the weeks she had been gone, he realised what was different about her. When she spoke to him, it wasn't as anything other than a friend and he valued that more than anything else she could have to offer.

Would he risk losing that friendship?

Hell no.

"I don't want an out."

She let out a breath and held a hand to her heart. "God, you don't know how scared I was." She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "I was so terrified you were going to tell me you wanted this to be over."

He nudged her, chuckling when she almost lost her footing. "You have balls, Saudah. I'll give you that."

"Apparently... who knew."

Riyaadh knew. Anyone who could say the things she said had balls.

"So, how are we going to do this?" he asked, cautious about how much she wanted from him just yet.

"I was thinking about that." She snuggled back into his side.

"And? What did you decide?"

She breathed out slowly, watching her breath turn into a grey mist beneath the cold, night sky. "We can take it slow. But it needs to go somewhere. We can't just be..." she shrugged.

"Still?"

"Ya, still." She smiled gratefully. "Can we do that?"

He tightened his hold around her, feeling ease after the longest time. It was strange. He knew it would be fleeting but he treasured the rarity.

"I guess that's my answer." She curled her hand around his arm, pressing it close to her chest. "I just have one request though."

"Yes?"

"I want you to be in bed with me."

He quirked his eyebrow, looking oddly down at her.

"Not-" her eyes widened, "You haven't even kissed me yet!"

His lips tilted in sheer amusement, enjoying her unusual embarrassment. It wasn't often that he'd witnessed her flustered.

"I mean I just hate the idea of you being outside alone with your thoughts when you could be with me... just at least till I fall asleep"

His amused grin turned into something far more genuine.

"Ya?"

She smiled beatifically up at him. "Yes, Riyaadh. I genuinely hate the thought of you being here alone. I don't know much but I know that you aren't here just to smoke."

He brushed his lips over the crown of her head. "Okay, I'll be there when you're sleeping."

"Thank you." She blew into her hands as another icy wind blew through them. "I'm going to go inside though. It's really cold now."

"Okay, I'll just finish this one." He picked up his cigarette and took a deep drag and let it all out almost at once. "For real."

"Okay..." she patted his hand before she turned to walk away.

"Hey, Saudah."

She turned back. "Ya?"

He pulled her gently towards him and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. It was nothing more than a quick, sweet kiss but for them it was the beginning of something.

She pulled back, licking her lips. "Wow, you do smoke a lot, hey."

He poked her in her side before kissing her once more. "Don't say I didn't kiss you."

She rubbed her nose, loss for words. "I'm going inside now..."

He stumped out his smoke, "I guess I am too." And he followed her in, enjoying the slow red tint that spread down the back of her neck.

The room was dark and only a sliver of light from beneath the door peeped in.

"Hey, Riyaadh?" Saudah turned to him, shuffling closer to his warmth.

"Hmm?"

"I'm really happy to be back home. I was missing you."

She shivered when his hand found his way to her back, tracing his finger up and down her spine.

"Me too."

"And one more thing?"

"Ya?"

"I really, really like this." She leaned forward and brushed her lips quickly over his chest.

"So do I." He pulled her just a little closer, and ran his finger up and down her smooth back until her deep, even breaths could be heard through the darkness. He waited, enjoying the way she felt against him, until she had drifted into a deep sleep.

Only then, did he brush a quick kiss to her forehead before he got out of bed and made his way back to the balcony...