The sweat was driving him wild. Good lord, when was the last time he had sweat like this? An operation, a training session? Those experiences paled before what he was facing at the moment. It seemed as if his collar were suffocating him, his hands turned to wood, his foot would not cease in its desperate tapping...

He checked his watch. He had been waiting for just over ten minutes, although it was hardly her fault. He came to the restaurant twenty minutes early to rehearse his lines, to make himself look crisp and clean and well put together. It was all he could do to put on something decent and try to make himself look as though he were proper enough to even speak to her.

She knew who he really was though. It didn't matter how many times he looked in the mirror and gave himself a pep talk, she had seen his true self on the battlefield countless times.

There it was again, there was that damn foot tapping away again. He'd kick himself if it helped, but it would probably just make it worse.

It had taken him quite a while to ask her out. Sure, it was easy to blame it on the constant missions, the fatigue and the stress, and sometimes being on the opposite side of the planet for months on end. But no, he had plenty of opportunities then. The courage had only come to him recently, after a sobering incident regarding a stray nitro cell being left inside of a building, nearly blowing him to bits. He had encountered many harrowing near-death experiences, but that was by far the most frightening.

So of course, at the earliest possible time, he asked her out. It was a stroke of luck too, seeing how she had just been approved for a two week break from the chaos in Berlin. It would be nice to share a night with the woman of his dreams in his home countr-

"...Elias?" Her voice softly serenaded towards him. It pierced the veil of his thought clouded mind.

He looked up and saw her, the beauty that she was. God, she looked nice in a dress. When was the last time she wore a dress? Who knows.

He stood up and pulled her chair out for her.

"Hello, Monika."

She smiled her small, pretty little smile and seated herself. It took all he had to reach his seat once again and exhale a breath he didn't realize he held. This was going to be rough if he didn't pull himself together soon.

"So uh... How was your drive?" Weak question, Elias.

"It was fine. Nothing special. Yours?"

"Oh uh, just fine."

"Good."

"Gu-..."

Nice going. Off to a smooth start Elias. He rubbed a sweaty palm against his trousers.

The silence that ensued was difficult for Elias to endure, but he hoped it didn't show. God, this was a mess. He picked up his menu and used it to shield himself subtly, pretending to look through the menu he had already decided upon.

"...Elias?"

He pushed the menu down so she could see him, and the patronizing look in her eyes scared the life out of him. Luckily, it was far from it.

"Elias, please don't be so nervous. There's no need to be. We've been friends for years now, you don't need to be afraid of me," she could see how he visibly relaxed at her statement, but he still felt the immense pressure.

"I know. It's just... I just want this to be perfect Monika. I've been thinking about this night for a long time, I just want it to go as smoothly as I'd imagined, you know?"

Her look somehow softened even more and she reached accross the table to hold his hand, her warmth comforting him.

"Elias, what do you think I've been thinking about? We're both trying to get this perfect, so why don't we just let things go naturally, hmm? If we're so dedicated to making it perfect, it should be perfect all on its own."

Now that was some sound reasoning. He perked up a bit, and a small amount of his confidence came back to him. He paused a passing waiter with a slight raise of his hand. The man came over quickly.

"Anything I can get you sir?"

"Yes, if you could bring us some red wine."

He had realized a short bit into their meal that wine wasn't quite a great idea for two people who had cars awaiting their return, but what the hell, a taxi wasn't that expensive.

She had curled up in her seat next to him, the drink having affected her a bit more than he, with her head rested against his shoulder. For a moment he seemed to be unsure of what to do, but when her hand reached out and took it in hers, he figured that letting her lead his dumb ass through the intricacies of relationships was probably his only choice.

They arrived back at Monika's living quarters, a place that Rainbow owned and gave to operators during their leaves of absence or time off. It was sparsely decorated and even less lived in, but it was cozy enough. While not necessarily drunk, Monika was definitely slowing Elias down... Not that he minded. It was good to spend a few more moments with her.

"Nice place, really gives off a Weiss vibe."

She smirked at his remark. "If a Weiss vibe is entirely boring, then yes, it does."

"I would call it tasteful boring-ness."

She kicked off her heels as she meandered down the small hall to her bedroom, Elias slowly trailing behind and unsure of whether she wanted him to enter her domain. She shut the door behind her, and that was as good of a sign as any that she did not.

He checked his watch once again. 11:49. Boy, it was late. He should probably head back to the compou-

He was interrupted in his thoughts by Monika popping back out of her room dressed in sweatpants and a loose fitting t-shirt. Good lord, did she look great in everything?

"...You need to go already?"

"I'm sorry... But you know how it is."

She sighed and looked at him longingly.

"Just... Sleep here. Spend the night. I'll wake you early so you can leave."

He smirked, "I didn't take you for one to sleep with someone on the first date."

She rolled her eyes, but was elated to see that he was back to his normal, joking self. "I mean it Elias."

He checked his watch again and contemplated. It was a very short contemplation, but he at least needed to make it look like it took him a while. His insides were fluttering in a flurry of blissful emotions, and it only increased as she brought him into her room.

Truthfully, he would have preferred not to sleep in his slacks, but he wasn't about to strip for Monika... At least not yet. So he made himself as comfortable as he could, sank back into the bed, and allowed Monika to crawl across the sheets to snuggle up in the crook of his arm.

"Goodnight Elias."

"Night Monika."

It pained him to get up that morning, having to leave her alone in that bed, to wake up colder and alone. If he weren't needed, he would spend the rest of the day with her, but they both knew what this job entailed.

He stood in her doorway for a few moments, just staring at the beauty he was leaving behind. As he turned to leave her home, he shook his head and smirked.

How in the hell did I manage to get her?