AN UNUSUAL SUGGESTION

< Athaire Starlight Hotel

UTC+2 0532 PM

Rooftop Garden >

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The silence dragged on.

Uncomfortably long.

Too long.

Angel was still as a statue. One Shot bent his head to peek at her expression. She was biting down on her teeth to the point the muscles tensed along her jawline.

One Shot opened his mouth, "…."

And closed it again. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten involved. She clearly wasn't alright. Was there anything he could do to make her feel better? A sudden thought crossed his mind.

"If you'd like," he hesitantly voiced in ever so soft of a tone, "you can hit me?"

She flinched but didn't respond with words. However, the quick sidewards glance she had bestowed upon him was enough to encourage One Shot to elaborate, "I'm not a masochist if that's what you are thinking. But it was my sister, who is at least in large part to blame for what happened." He began searching the sky for words, scratching his neck, "And I mean, I heard that you take martial arts classes when you are stressed, and if you'd like to release some steam, that's fine with me. It's not like you could actually hurt me; I can take care of that part; but in any case," he sighed, "well, it was just an offer."

He concluded, feeling somewhat stupid. He glimpsed over to her and was surprised to see her staring straight back into his eyes, probing him, and somewhat unsettling him. Something was on lingering on her mind, and she had yet to make a final choice about it. As if she had a strange taste on her tongue but wasn't sure yet if she liked it or not.

"You serious?" She asked.

He smiled with relief. "Of course. Do you worst -" as soon as the words left his mouth, he ducked as a fist came flying straight at him. So she was a direct fighter. Noticing the instability, she twirled around to swipe his legs. And she was faster than expected, he thought as he rolled over to land in a crouching position. He raised his head just in time, to see her leg lift over his head and come hammering down. He evaded the maneuver by the split of a second, throwing himself into a sideways hurl and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he pushed the floor away, jumping a few paces back to increase the distance. She would have none of it. She was there, closing the distance in no time, and using every opening she saw to her advantage. One Shot's initial expectation to evade her attacks with ease was long shattered. She was way better than most of the agents he knew at headquarters. Even though her strength was lacking compared to a man, she was fast and her every move was controlled, timed, and precise. Incredibly so, especially considering her inner emotional turmoil which would cloud the mind of every normal person. But such laws did not apply to her. It must have been years of practice, but her moves were perfectly executed. Rather than watching a fight, it reminded him of a beautiful but deadly dance. And instead of slowing down as he would have expected, she was getting faster and faster. As if she was just warming up. This wasn't good. If they were to continue, things could get out of hand. But he noticed also a second change: one in her expression. Before, she had been tense, cold, and silently boiling with inner rage. Now, it was like a spark had been lit and erupted in a bright and burning fire, not one that would threaten to burn down entire forests, but one that was filled with a life of its own, colorful and immersive. Playful even. And simply stunning. She was enjoying herself. He couldn't help himself but get infected with the same delight. But now was the time to settle down.

Just then, his heel hit a stone surface behind him, and before he knew it, he was losing his balance. Angel in front of him was still smiling but her hands were reaching out. But rather than a helping hand, she placed her fingers over his chest and gave him a last, slight nudge that pushed him over the edge. Gravity was winning - pulling him down. He knew what was below him and grabbed the still outstretched hand in front of him, taking her along with him, even turning them both around with a last push away from the ground before his feet lost contact. She squeezed her eyes shut; he reached around her head and softened the impact on the stone bench.

When Angel opened her eyes again, One Shot was pinning both her hands on the stone bench that was running in a quadrant around a bed of blooming flowers. He was catching his breath but smiling victoriously.

"Got cha," he exclaimed in triumph.

The slow, mocking smile of amusement on her face, however, unsettled him. "You think?" She stripped her high heels off by brushing past the stone before pulling her legs seductively to her chest, the layers of her dress rustling in the movements. He blinked. What was she doing? But once she placed her feet around his waist, he knew he had been careless. With a sudden and strong expansion of her legs, his body was lifted over her head. He let go of her hands to stem them into the ground to both sides of her face and prepare a controlled roll out along the length of the bench which he executed correctly but still took his breath away from the impact for a moment. Without words, he simply turned his head to the side, noticing her face just a few inches away, smiling brightly, like a child.

"Now what was that again you said?"

He stared into her sparkling eyes, his filled with wonder. If time could stop at any moment, this would be a nice one. His chest was still lifting with every breath he took, trying to refill the oxygen and level out his adrenaline. But at heart, he felt calm then. And without spite, he admitted, "You win."

The sentence made her crack up, her eyes closing in joy, her cheeks showing a soft blush, and as that wasn't enough to make her pure beauty perfect, the sunlight highlighted her face and lit up her hair to an extraordinary gold, so bright it was hard to look at directly. But he couldn't turn his eyes away from the sight right in front of him. A weird feeling overcame him. He didn't know where the notion suddenly came from, but a conviction crossed his mind that he couldn't deny, a realization of absolute truth, a faith: the thought was ever so simple but he didn't question the validity for a second: This and any other fight, he would lose. No matter what this woman would do, he knew from the bottom of his heart, he would always forgive her. And he didn't mind one bit. What weird thoughts to have at this moment. He chuckled and let a loose sigh escape before a smile returned in acceptance of this new reality within him.

She stopped laughing and faced him again. And that moment, their eyes crossed again. And she lost her smile in an instant. He caught the exact sudden transformation in that instant within her. He could see it in her eyes. It was clear to him what it was, but not why it was there: an all-consuming and deep-seated fear. His eyebrows drew together. She quickly sat herself up. And he followed suit. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, the door to the rooftop garden was opened once more. This time, a most surprising guest in white showed up.

"Angy!" Jenny cried out.