Since he wasn't used to sharing a bed with another person, Sergio had feared that he might not be able to sleep very much, but he slept unexpectedly well. He kept half-waking in the middle of the night to reach for her, instinctively seeking out her warmth and nearness, only to fall asleep again immediately with a warm sense of contentment once she cuddled up to him. When he woke up in the morning, she wasn't touching him, and for a fleeting moment he felt with a horrible certainty that she wouldn't be there when he opened his eyes, that it had all been a dream – but then he turned around and there she was, and his heart started beating faster at the very sight of her. What an inexpressible joy it was to wake up next to her, for her face to be the first thing he saw in the morning, so beautiful and serene, the beams of the rising sun playing over her skin. He just kept looking at her and looking at her, feeling like the luckiest man alive, feeling like there couldn't possibly be a better way to start the day.

She turned onto her other side, so he shifted closer and, careful not to wake her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and fitted his body to hers. She made a small sound of contentment and pressed herself closer to him, which made him wake up in more ways than one. He was suddenly very aware of her naked body in his arms, her skin warm against his, and the most tantalizing memories of yesterday's events started crowding his mind, making his body react with embarrassing enthusiasm. In his mind's eye, he saw her again on the bed in the back-up location, gasping as he touched her, arching her back with a moan. He relived the feeling of having her sink down on him, first on the bed and later again in the car, and he felt a deep, aching longing to experience it again – that exquisite sensation, that closeness.

He was painfully hard by now, but he wasn't sure about the etiquette – would it be impolite to wake her for this? Was he allowed to make the first move, or should he wait for her to show an interest? What if she wasn't in the mood? What if she felt obligated? He decided he didn't want to risk it, so he stayed perfectly still, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths in an attempt to diffuse his desire for her. It was still so new to him, this desire for another person, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it, a little alarmed by how intense it was. He tried to force his thoughts in a different direction, but it was impossible to focus on anything except her body against his. He was just thinking that maybe he'd better get up and take a cold shower when she yawned and shifted against him, sending another stab of longing straight through him.

"Good morning", she murmured, her eyes still closed.

He nuzzled her ear. "Good morning. In fact, great morning. I can't remember a better one."

She smiled. "I think we can still improve on it."

"Really?" he said, trying not to sound too hopeful. "How?"

She responded by pressing herself even closer to him, and he groaned softly.

"Oh, Raquel. Are you sure you want to?"

"I want to", she whispered. "Just… gently. I'm not really awake yet."

"Let me help you with that", he murmured.

He started by pressing kisses to her neck and shoulder, and she hummed her approval, then she lifted her head so he could put his arm underneath it to lie even closer to her. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in deeply – the smell of her was so intoxicating, it made his head spin. His fingers were roaming over her skin, gently stroking her arm, her stomach, her hip, her thigh. She responded with soft sounds of contentment, and after a while he reached his hand up and cupped a breast, stroking her nipple with his thumb until it hardened.

"A little more", she whispered, so he squeezed it and was thrilled when he heard her sigh.

He kept kissing her neck as he alternated between stroking and squeezing her nipples until her breathing quickened and she started moving her hips against him ever so slightly, driving him half-mad with longing. Suddenly she took his hand and moved it downwards, making him smile. She opened her legs to allow him access, and he started exploring her with careful fingers, keeping a tight rein on his desire, patiently waiting to ensure that she was ready – more than ready – for him. He dipped his hand between her legs and slipped in one finger, then, feeling how wet she was, a second one. He still couldn't quite fathom that this was really happening, that her body was reacting to him with the same enthusiasm as his was to her. He wondered for a moment if she could possibly want him as much as he wanted her, but then she tilted her hips so she was pressed hard against his palm, and he tentatively allowed himself to believe that, yes, she did. It was the most amazing feeling.

"Are you ready?" he murmured in her ear.

"Yes", she whispered. "Oh, yes."

He withdrew his hand and guided himself to her, and she let out a low, drawn-out moan as he pressed into her ever so slowly, closing his eyes to really savor it: her softness, her warmth. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her tight as he started moving inside her, and she intertwined her fingers with his and sighed with pleasure at every stroke. They took their time, their bodies still a little heavy with sleep, their movements slow and languorous. Sergio was surprised all over again at how good it felt – somehow, since yesterday, he'd already partly forgotten the exact feeling of it, how amazing she felt around him, how connected it made him feel. He had a suspicion that it would keep surprising him, over and over again, for a long time until he got used to it. He hoped he'd never get used to it.

He wanted nothing more than to make it just as good for her, so he moved his hand down between her legs and let his fingers try out different things, until she gasped: "yes!" and he struck up a rhythm. She put her hand on his to indicate the pressure she wanted, and soon she was breathing fast, little whispered moans escaping her lips. He thought regretfully of the delicious sounds she'd made yesterday when they didn't need to worry about anyone overhearing them, and resolved to take her back to a private place as soon as was humanly possible. He kept up his movements, and when he felt her tense, he picked up the pace just a little – just enough. She suddenly gasped and started trembling in his arms, then turned her face into the pillow to stifle her moans, squeezing his hand between her thighs as she contracted around him. He carefully kept himself in check so he could stay focused on her as he eased off gradually, making her shiver with the aftershocks. Then he halted, giving her a moment to recover and catch her breath.

She heaved a deep sigh of contentment, then whispered "go on", and he gratefully pressed into her again, feeling about ready to burst. Sure enough, it only took a few more strokes for the pressure inside of him to reach a peak, and he buried his face against her shoulder and groaned softly as he let himself go, little lights dancing behind his closed eyelids as the absolute pleasure of it washed over him. He pushed himself deep inside her one more time, then he lay still, panting, feeling a warm glow of satisfaction spread through his entire body. He hugged her tighter and pressed soft kisses to her neck. What a way to start the day. Holy hell.

After a while, she turned around and pushed him onto his back so she could lie close against him, her arm over his chest, one leg over his, and her head in the hollow of his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed happily. What a feeling this was. What an absolutely wonderful feeling. His mind was pleasantly fuzzy, but as he gradually came back to his senses, he became aware that something extraordinary was happening to him, and as he held her, he realized what it was.

He'd never felt so close to another person. After a lifetime of self-imposed isolation and a constant, gnawing sense of loneliness he'd taken for granted, it was filling him with wonder. He hadn't thought this could happen to him, hadn't thought he was even capable of making this kind of connection. It had always felt so far removed from his lived reality – something that other people experienced as a matter of course, but that was beyond his grasp. Not that he wanted it, he'd always told himself. A life of the mind was infinitely preferable: clean, focused, unencumbered. Now she cuddled closer to him, and he kissed her hair and realized what a fool he'd been to discard an entire aspect of the human experience. He'd always realized that it was a major motivating force for most people, but he'd never understood it – until now. She was reframing the world for him, refocusing his view on life to a perfect, crystalline clarity he'd never experienced before, vividly reminding him of the first time he'd put on glasses and suddenly seen things clearly. This was important. This was what truly mattered.

A thought occurred to him, so alarming that it took his breath away.

"Raquel", he whispered.

"Mmm?" she responded, her eyes closed.

"Do you realize… we almost never met."

"What do you mean?" she said, looking up at him sleepily.

"All of this… you and me… it almost didn't happen."

This feeling, this beautiful, newly-discovered happiness had almost passed him by, and he shuddered to even consider it.

She frowned and seemed to wake up properly as she focused on him. "Why not?"

"I almost didn't recruit you. I still remember the exact moment I made that decision. I'd been following your court case, and then I heard about your conviction, that you'd been sentenced to prison. You need to know, my plan had been finalized for over a year. I wasn't sure if I wanted to make any last-minute changes to it, because I knew I wouldn't have the time to really think through all the possible consequences. I remember staring at the file I made about you, trying to make up my mind. I closed it. I closed it, Raquel. I decided against recruiting you."

She was staring at him. "What made you change your mind?"

"A picture of you had fallen out of the folder. I picked it up to put it back, but then, for some reason, I took a closer look at it. It was a picture of you, in handcuffs, being led from the courtroom to a police car. You looked tired but undefeated – you held your head high, your shoulders back. At that moment, I decided that I wanted you on my team. Life had thrown so many horrible things at you, and yet you weren't broken. I admired that. I thought you might prove valuable to the operation, so I re-opened your file and went through it again. I decided to risk the last-minute change for the possibility of significantly improving the plan."

"So you almost didn't bust me out of that prison van", she said softly.

"That's right", he said, a burning feeling in his chest at the thought. "I almost didn't."

"I didn't know you hesitated about recruiting me", she said. "Just imagine. If the circumstances had been slightly different, I would have been in prison now."

The thought of her in a prison cell made his blood pound in his ears. He tightened his arms around her and hugged her protectively.

"It's so strange to think how much depended on that exact moment", he said. "If that photograph hadn't fallen out of that folder… if I'd put it back without a second look… if any of a thousand factors had been different, influencing my decision… we wouldn't have been here."

"I don't want to think about that", she whispered.

"Yet I can't help but wonder about it", he said. "How such a small decision, a moment that seems so insignificant at the time, can impact your life in such a major way. We all make decisions like that every day. Tiny, throwaway choices, not worth thinking about too much. But any of them can end up changing your life."

He kissed her hair.

"I was right about one thing though", he continued. "I could never have foreseen the consequences of recruiting you. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think we'd end up here."

"Me neither", she said. "You know, I had a fundamentally decisive moment as well."

"Tell me."

"When those armed men you sent stopped our van and asked me to come with them. I hesitated. I almost said no. That's another decision that almost kept us apart. They said they would bring me to the Professor – I never imagined in that moment they would bring me to you."

He smiled. "Do you remember what you thought when you first saw me?"

"Who the fuck is this dude?" she laughed. "I remember thinking that you didn't look nearly intimidating enough to be a gang leader. In fact, you looked a little nervous. Were you?"

"I was", he nodded. "By then I'd decided that I wanted you on my team. I'd already started adapting the plan, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to persuade you. I had a feeling that you had a strong moral code, and I knew it wouldn't be easy to convince you to break it."

"What did you think when you first saw me?"

"You surprised me. I'd only seen pictures of you, I hadn't expected you to have such a… presence."

"A presence?" she smiled.

"Yes. You were so wary when you came in, so suspicious – and you had every right to be, of course. There was a quiet intensity to you. You looked ready for anything. I knew immediately you'd be a formidable opponent if you chose to be."

"You know", she said thoughtfully. "We almost were."

"What?"

"Opponents. What if things had gone differently for me? What if Alberto hadn't been such a bastard, and had accepted the divorce quietly? Then I would have been your negotiator during the heist."

"Yes", he smiled at the thought. "And you would have been in charge of the team fighting against us."

"You like that idea?" she asked, noticing his smile.

"I have to admit that I do. I would have loved going toe to toe with you. We're well-matched."

"You think you could have outsmarted me?"

"I think I could", he said smugly.

"Don't flatter yourself", she huffed. "I'm sure I would have caught you in the end."

"I suppose we'll never know", he smiled, and kissed her hair again. "So do you think we'll get caught during the heist?"

"No", she said drily. "Because I'll be on your side now."

He laughed. "Aren't we cocky?"

"I know my worth", she said. "My colleagues are good, but I was the best. They don't stand a chance against you and me. We make a great team."

"Yes", he said softly. "We do."

Her eyes got a faraway look. "That's another situation in which we never would have gotten together: if I'd been your negotiator."

He gave it some thought. "Are you sure about that?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "Of course. We would have been on opposite sides, communicating only through headsets."

"I still think there's a chance that we might have ended up together."

"Really?" she said. "How? How would we even have met in person?"

"It's always been my plan to try to establish contact with the leader of the case."

"What? Why would you put yourself at risk like that?"

"It's not really a risk, they wouldn't know who I am. And it could yield valuable information or insights into the investigation."

"So how would you have contacted me?"

"Your favorite café in the neighborhood of the Mint is Hanoi, right?"

"Yes", she said, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I researched you", he reminded her. "So I would have waited there for you."

"How would you have established contact at the café?"

He shrugged. "I would have found a way."

"I would have been so suspicious though", she laughed. "If a random guy in a café started asking me questions during an investigation of that magnitude, I would have assumed he was an undercover journalist."

"I would have convinced you", he said firmly. "I would have gotten you to talk to me."

"You seem very sure of that."

"I am", he said earnestly. "Raquel, if I'd seen you anywhere, under any circumstances, I know I would have fallen for you, hard. If I'd somehow managed to find you, no matter how, no matter when, don't think for a moment that I would have let you get away."

"You would still have been a criminal, and I would still have been a cop."

"I think I would have been able to persuade you to join us."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes, because I know your weak spot."

"My weak spot?"

He winked at her. "You can't resist my charms."

That made her laugh. "Very true, you are pretty irresistible. But the heist is only going to last for ten days at the most. Do you think that would have been sufficient time to get to know each other well enough to establish a real connection?"

"I don't think we would have needed much time. We're right for each other, Raquel. I think we would have recognized that no matter the circumstances."

"Yes", she said quietly. "Maybe we would have."

They were silent for a moment, each caught up in their own thoughts. Then she hugged him tighter and sighed.

"You're right though", she said. "We came so close to never meeting."

"And yet", he said softly, "I feel like my whole life has led up to this exact moment."

He reflected how everything he'd ever thought or done, every decision he'd made which seemed meaningless at the time, had served to bring him closer to her. How all the different aspects of his life and hers had been separate strands in a tapestry being woven, two different patterns that never touched each other, but that inevitably came closer and closer to finally merge and make one bigger, better, brighter pattern. He could only hope they'd never separate again.

They both jumped as the alarm on his phone suddenly went off.

"Time to get up", she said regretfully as he pushed a button. "I'm going to take a shower. Check to see if the coast is clear?"

They got out of bed and he stuck his head out the door, making sure there was nobody else in the hallway before gesturing for her to go. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then slipped out. He wished with all his might that he could shower with her, but the risk of bumping into someone on their way out of the bathroom was just too big. He let himself fall back into bed and buried his face in her pillow to see if it smelled like her. It did, and he breathed in deeply, feeling like his head and chest were filled with champagne bubbles. He would sleep next to her again tonight, and tomorrow, and the night after that… what a glorious thought. The only difficulty now, he reflected, would be to keep their relationship hidden from the others. The day suddenly seemed very long to him – an eternity in which he would have to keep his hands off of her before she would be in his arms again tonight. For a moment, he was very tempted to order the team to studying for another day so he could take her to the back-up location again… but then he shook his head. He had to be strong now. He was sure he could resist her for a day. After all, he'd be thinking about other things while he was teaching. He hummed softly as he got out of bed and started selecting his clothes for the day. Really, how hard could it be?