It's not the first time they've gone this far - her first time with her special agent had been months before when she graduated college and he flew out to see her. He'd been older and somehow more distinguished than she remembered and amongst too much champagne and bubbles on her tongue they'd escaped to an empty room during her graduation party at The Great Northern. They'd discussed their relationship then, holding each other underneath the scratchy sheets and somewhere in the back of her mind Audrey thought that would be it.

But now she's a student at the FBI academy, and Dale is in her bed on the other side of the wall, lightly snoring, and she is looking at herself in the mirror thanking God for waterproof eyeliner.

Audrey can hear him still and she can only smile at the memories that fill her mind.

The way he had called her out of the blue and invited her to dinner. The way she had hurried around her shitty apartment trying to get dressed and not be late. The way she had been late anyway and walked into the restaurant only to have her breath taken away when she saw him there at the table in the middle of the room.

Dale Cooper. Her special agent.

Their night had melted away from dinner and drinks into heavy touching in the back of a cab despite Audrey only living a few minutes away from the restaurant. They'd barely made it upstairs before she was out of her dress and Dale was slipping a condom on. Her apartment was so small that it was hard to land anywhere but her bed and before she knew it Audrey was reliving the night from so many months ago.

Except it was… different.

He was still reverent.

He was still careful.

He was still oh so gentle.

But his confidence had grown. He was no longer timid. And Audrey realized just how worried he had been during their first encounter before - just like she had been. It only made her fall harder for him in that instance.

She brushes her teeth and runs fingers through her hair - even goes as far as to pinch a bit of color back into her cheeks and apply some gloss to her lips. It's funny, she thinks, given that this is the second time he's seen her as naked as the day she was born, but in the morning light Audrey retains a bit of her self-consciousness and wraps her robe around her body.

She leaves the bathroom then, just as quiet as she'd been when she slipped out of her bed moments before. Dale is snoring lightly still and his arm is thrown across his face, blocking out the light that filters in through the sheets that cover her window. There's not much space in her apartment so she steps around the boxes that still litter the floor and makes her way to the kitchen. It's more of a space she has dedicated to the minimal amount of cooking she does though - with an old fridge and an unsafe stove and enough counter space for a hot plate.

And a coffee maker.

Audrey is busy measuring out the grounds into a filter when arms wrap around her middle and she is taken by surprise by a warm body flush against hers.

"I didn't hear you get up," she says cooly, carefully securing the top of the coffee maker.

"It's something you'll learn in training," Dale replies, lips brushing her neck and Audrey isn't sure if she smiles because of his dumb joke or the way his lips still feel so new against her skin. She's just sure that in the past twelve hours she's smiled more than she has in months. At least since she saw him last.

She turns the machine on and it whirs to life, the water heating up. In that moment it's silent except for that noise and Dale's shallow breath against her neck. She could get used to this. She could revel in this feeling of completeness that she has always yearned for.

Audrey thinks it's odd that she craves for him again despite the soreness between her legs that lasts from the night before, but she knows what she wants. And like everything else in her life, she goes for what she wants. Dale hasn't moved away yet, so she grabs his hand from her waist and guides it down her body. He seems to take the hint, because he pushes past her robe and his hand finds its way between her legs. Audrey's breath catches in her throat and Dale pauses as if he's done the wrong thing. But she arches her body against his and turns her head in order to catch his eyes.

She places one chaste kiss against his cheek and Dale presses forward.

He immediately rubs his thumb against her clit and Audrey's body reacts gently, a bit of a jerk that his arm around her waist calms. Audrey breathes out and Dale presses harder. She grips the counter tightly, her mind hazy as his fingers work against that sensitive spot inside her. When he pulls his hand away, she feels at a loss, as if she will never recover, but his cock is hard against her bottom and Audrey knows what he wants now. And it's exactly in line with her needs. He lifts her robe up and Audrey reaches behind her to wrap her fingers around his hard length. She almost blushes then as she thinks about all the times she'd dreamed of doing this sort of thing with him when she'd been a young girl.

But Audrey Horne always got what she wanted.

She's wet enough that Dale slips into her easily when he bends her over the counter. Audrey gasps aloud at how full she feels now and it's something she wants to last forever. But he pulls away, leaving her empty for only a moment - but God it's a moment too long. She cries out when he pushes back into her, faster than before. Instinctively, Audrey rolls her hips back against him, easing Dale even deeper inside of her. His fingers have returned to massaging her clit, pushing her closer and closer to an edge she barely knew existed before him.

"Don't stop," she pleads, hand searching for some sort of purchase to ground her and ending up on his hip. He's gained speed now, pushing in and out of her in an almost erratic way that she's come to appreciate from Dale Cooper. Dale simply laughs, a deep groan from the bottom of his chest and leans forward to brush his lips against her ear.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he says.

It doesn't take much more than another thrust deep inside of her, and Audrey feels her body tense and release. There's a white crack of lightening behind her eyes and she calls his name as she comes. She wants more, so much more, but her body shakes and for now she feels satisfied. Dale continues to move against her but thanks to her tightening cunt around his cock, it's only shortly after that he pulls out of her as he comes, saving himself from emptying inside of her.

Sex with Dale isn't some grand romantic gesture she had imagined as a young girl. It isn't slow and drawn out with candles and music. It's rough and dirty and completely different - he's fucked her against the counter where she makes pancakes in the morning. And yet she likes what they are. Her dreams have expanded into something realistic, something built by what they've been through.

She isn't porcelain. She isn't breakable. She's Audrey Horne and she's in love with this man who she is sure feels the same way about her. But that's something she'll deal with later because right now, the coffee is done and she hopes her gloss isn't smudged.

Audrey straightens, taking a breath in order to steady herself. And when Dale pulls her against him all over again and kisses her softly, she can feel her knees going weak. She flattens her palms against his chest, so invested in their kiss than when Dale finally breaks it she only craves more. But Audrey licks her lips and opens her eyes, meeting his and returning the smile that lingers on his face. Conversation seems too forced at this point and honestly, for the first time in a long time she enjoys the silence. So instead she reaches up to push some hair from his eyes and asks -

"Do you still take your coffee black?"