a smile curls around his lips , tender and yet somehow lightly amused , pressed into the crook of holmes’ neck where he reaches it , nose against jawline and eyes closed in brief delight at the proximity granted ( oh , there is nothing sweeter on this earth! ) arms around holmes’ middle , holding him close against the special agent’s chest in an open access to cooper’s heart and soul , a visible claim made despite the confines of a room now more shared than being lived in alone - the way it should be! the way it feels so utterly right that cooper could never imagine to inhabit four walls without the other man next to him . and he places a kiss under holmes’ jawline , right into the soft-warm lightness of his skin , right along with words that are as humble as they are honest . “ coming from the man who’s solved countless of crimes and saved countless of people himself - whole cities , if not the entire metropolitan area of london! scotland yard should count themselves lucky to have you every day you work for them - i do what the bureau needs me to do ; some of it may be valorous , but it doesn’t hit the headlines like your work does , sweetheart .” a pause , head tilts , one hand around holmes’ ribs pressing lightly , light eyes drawing out the combination of pride and delight as they look at the other man - his whole world rendered into another person , dale thought this to not be possible again , and yet here they are , living proof to a second chance at something considerable close to a happy ending . “ you are a marvel , completely . it amazes me every time . ”
