“Hey, Agent?” A nightgown-clad Alain rests on her couch, watching a tablet of light, gifted by the one she speaks to now.

It takes a few seconds, but she gets a response in the form of a question. “Yes?”

“I think I left my coat. I have early errands to run tomorrow, so is it fine if I come by to-”

“No worries, I’ll bring it to you now.”

Oh, such a quick response. Alain smiles brightly. “Thanks, Cas.” She rises from the couch, putting the tablet down after dimming it so she can fix her messy, still damp hair from a shower she had not long ago. He does think we’re meant to be, she thinks to herself. Had I known this much sooner... No, we needed the time to realize this.

Almost ten years is a long time for two to be separated, but it isn’t to say that Alain and Caspian had been oblivious to each other in that time. There certainly were times when they both were in Chassa, especially when Caspian served as a Council member. She would visit him and vice versa due to them having been friends and close classmates in the past- not to mention Aethea’s love and care for Alain- but they never quite had prolonged time spent with each other. Their time always came in spans of maybe a day, sometimes a week at most. Usually, Alain was absent performing duties as a diplomat. The thought of the two as a couple, however, never really left her mind, and apparently neither did it leave his.

Soon enough, there is a knock on her door, to which she quickly steps over to answer. After a quick adjustment of her hair, the Aether Elf opens the one barrier between her and Cas. “Quick delivery,” she chirps, giving a shy smile.

The man gives Alain a quick once over, noticing details he normally doesn’t see because of her outfit choices. Has she always looked so grown? “Of course. Here-” he hands her the coat. “Already settled in for the night?”

She nods. “Mhmm.” Her cerulean eyes sparkle in the light of the dull, white Chassan moon. The nightgown is a light purple, dress-like piece made of silk that reaches just past her thighs. It is modest, certainly, but absolutely different from her normal attire.

“Mm,” he responds, keeping eye contact for a moment before breaking it once more. “Your hair looks... different, sort of like Mother’s.”

“Are you saying I look like Aethea?”

“No- Regardless of that, what I mean is I like it.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Right...” Silence invades quickly, so he acts to shut it out. “Anyways, I’ll let you-”

Before Caspian can even finish speaking, Alain interrupts him. “Do you want to come in?”

Taken aback, he lets out, “Huh?”

“Let me repay your hospitality,” Alain says, stepping to the side. She ushers for him to enter, adding, “I don’t have all night, Agent.” He finally obeys, thanking her before stepping in. Instinctively, he moves to remove his boots at a mat next to the door like old times. “You remembered.”

“I’ve been pestered enough in the past that I’ve been conditioned to adhere by all of your rules.”

“Rules... Hm. If that is what we are calling them, my rule now is that you must go sit while I make something to drink.”

“Yes, ma’am, will do.” Cas moves over to the couch, removing his jacket. He sits, looking about the home. It is in very much the same layout as his, but it has a few more decorations strewn about its walls and shelves. There are very few pieces that are specific to Alain, which is no real surprise to him. A painting of a Chassan-bred Nightwolf rests on one wall, which is an ode to her guard when she was a diplomat. The wolf served alongside her on trips to leaders she had not met before, and its job was to simply look majestic and intimidating. Its jet black hair contrasts with its bright blue, flame-like eyes, which happened to match Alain’s pretty well. Now, however, the Nightwolf is in the service of another Chassan diplomat. I wonder if she still gets to visit him.

No less than a few minutes later, the Aether Elf comes out from the kitchen with two glasses of dark red liquid, wine. She places both down on the small coffee table in front of the couch, then turns back to the kitchen once more. This time, her guest notices she is walking barefoot, seeing just how much of her skin is so pale, it looks bleached. It matches her hair, which looks exceptionally long tonight as it is left all the way down, almost reaching the small of her back. Before she leaves his view, however, Cas snaps his eyes away and into his hand. What are you doing? he scolds himself internally. He thinks back on the conversation he had no longer than half an hour ago with the Deacon, about how Urius said Caspian is in denial. This isn’t denial; this is being a professional.

Alain returns for good moments later carrying a small tray of layered desserts. “I’ve been trying some recipes from habitants of Bea, and you get to test them. This is called baklava.” With a gentle hand, she lifts a square, holding it out for him. Not wanting to hurt any feelings, he takes the piece from her hand, thanking her before popping the small chunk into his mouth. His eyes drift as he mulls over the taste and texture, and when he looks back, he catches her staring. “Oh-” the Elf sputters, shaking her head. “Sorry, just curious to know what you think.”

After raising a hand to hover in front of his mouth, Cas says, “Interesting- very sweet. I think it tastes great, Alain.”

Her wide smile makes an appearance again today, and she drops down onto the couch as well, bending one leg to rest under herself as she sits. Her hands move to lift their glasses and hand one to him. “I’m glad you enjoy it. Here, for you...” She waits to *clink* the glasses together, then slides her eyes closed to take a prolonged drink, after which noticing a suspicious look from across the couch. “Is... something wrong?”

“Why this, Alain?”

Slowly, her grin disappears. “I told you it is to repay you for all I received earlier today.”

“Right, and I appreciate the sentiment, but, if I remember right, you wouldn’t be caught dead showing so much skin to anyone, including me.”

Her eyes fall, looking to herself in the gown. “Well... I can’t fault you for not wanting to look, but you should know that we have both grown since we graduated, Caspian.”

Through a combination of the mental link and his sixth sense, he feels it- guilt, embarrassment. Why does she feel this? Is it because-? “Alain, it isn’t that I don’t want to look. I understand you aren’t always, ah... No, that would be horrible to say.” His trailing off attracts her sight, and she simply watches him stutter through his next few sentences. “I do want to see... but it simply isn’t like you, so I thought... you felt, uh...” He sighs, failing to find the words to bring himself out of the already deep hole he’s in.

“There’s something I should tell you.”

“Wh- Uh huh?”

“The Deacon from the Below connected your band to the tablet, and I... heard everything.” She about spouted out the confession, then places a hand over her heart. Why is it beating so hard now? I can hardly think!

Silence overcomes the man, who says nothing but, “Everything?”

Alain nods, and a lock of hair falls out from behind her ear to swoop in front of the side of her face. No matter how it may conceal one part of her, the woman’s face burns red hot, her cheeks betraying her. Another elongated silence fills the room, the two just staring at each other. His thoughts and feelings are obvious to the two, though she has yet to voice her side, and she still doesn’t due to an inability to do so. My mouth refuses to speak...

“I, uh...” Cas finally begins. “Uh... wow, alright, um... Right, then. I see I can’t trust that damned Deacon after all.”

“Well, it... isn’t all bad what he did. Can I tell you something, at least?”

“Sure- It isn’t as if there are secrets between us in the first place anyways,” the defeated Cas says. I need to find out what makes those Below members squirm.

“I’m not conflicted, not anymore,” she says, cheeks reddening further. “I wouldn’t say I think exactly like you do, but I... agree.” There, it’s out there now.

Caspian’s eyes widen. Hm. “I see...” He looks to the side. “I think I’m going to need more wine. This really has to pop up just four days out, doesn’t it?” When he meets her gaze again, he spots the pain he struck within the woman. “I- I mean that... this is going to be difficult for us, Alain.”

“How, Caspian? It isn’t uncommon by any means that Controllers become close to and even fall in love with their Agents.”

“Yes, but this mission, the one I can’t screw up. The only tasking I’ve ever been given where I cannot make a single mistake, Alain.”

Her lips, long forgetting how to turn upwards, fall into a frown. “Well... maybe I should have kept it to myself, then.”

Cas’ hand moves to find his face, covering it. “You know that isn’t what I mean. Look, Allie, I appreciate you and what you feel, I do. Give me a moment, please, will you?” He doesn’t get a response, and the man lets go of himself to lean back and take a heavy drink of the wine, letting it soak in as if it will instantly relieve the stress. Why do I feel like this is going to negatively impact the smooth operation of this mission? I can’t have her thinking I don’t want to reciprocate the feelings, but I also can’t deal with this now. He thinks back on what his mother told him, how he must be kind to her. How do I juggle this, Mother? Can you hear me?

When his mind snaps back to reality, the man sees his Controller leaving the room from the corner of his eye. He follows the sight, catching Alain pushing a door behind her, though it stays open a bit still. What is she...? Cas stands after placing the glass back down, then takes a few slow steps closer to the door. “Alain?” he sounds, trying to get a response, but he doesn’t. Moments become seconds, and those seconds become a minute before he hears a faint weeping from the bedroom. What have I done?

The urge to help outweighs his fear of invading her privacy, and the man places a hand flat on the door to slowly push it open. “Allie, I’m coming in,” he speaks out loud, warning her before opening the door all the way. She is sitting on the edge of the bed, face in her hands. With just a few quiet steps over, Cas brings himself down to sit next to her. He isn’t one for comforting or anything like that, but he knows enough to put an arm around her in an embrace. Almost instantly, she turns, digging a face into his side with arms tightly around his waist.

Over the next few minutes, her subtle weeping is all that makes noise. While comforting her, Caspian’s eyes seem to drift about the room where he can see without turning. The bedroom is dim, though it doesn’t look like there is much to see anyways. It’s very neat except for an overflowing basket of clothes and some articles of clothing left strewn about on the floor. The aroma is very specific to Alain, and it smells like a mixture between vanilla and heavily subdued cinnamon. The smell fills him like a high, emanating strongly from her hair just inches from his face. Has she always been so... alluring?