The last week before the heist seemed to go by in a flash, and Sergio's mood constantly fluctuated between cool confidence in his plan, and barely suppressed panic that it would all blow up in his face. He tried to tell himself that he was prepared for every eventuality, but he knew that there were too many variables, too many unknowns, and even the best chess master could be surprised by a sufficiently skilled opponent. He'd had a lot of time to research Raquel when he still assumed she'd be their negotiator, but he still wasn't sure who they'd replace her with, and he hadn't had time to conduct a thorough investigation into the different possibilities. There was nothing he could do about that now, though, so he steadily went through the list of things that needed to be dealt with in the last days before the operation started.
"What else needs to be done?" she asked him one night when they were both sitting on the bed in his room.
"The car has to be destroyed."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I'll send Helsinki to a junkyard and let him pay a thousand euros so they'll destroy it immediately."
She gave him a skeptical look. "You're going to send Helsinki with a thousand euros?"
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"Look, I like Helsinki, but what's to say he won't just drop off the car and keep the money?"
He frowned. "Do you think he would do that?"
"Why not? The success of the heist isn't guaranteed, at least this way he'll have a thousand euros. Better than nothing."
"That's a good point."
"I'm not saying he would do that, I'm just asking if you want to risk it."
"No", he said. "I don't."
"Then go drop off the car yourself and stay there until it's crushed."
He nodded. "Alright, I will."
"Good."
He kissed her. "Thank you. It could have caused so much trouble if that car wasn't properly destroyed."
Then he said: "Let's go over the escape protocol again."
She rolled her eyes. "We've gone over it a thousand times already, I know it by now!"
"One more time", he said.
"Do you know how goldfish are supposed to have a very bad memory?"
"Yes?"
"How they're supposed to forget everything after a few minutes?"
"Yes", he said, frowning. "So?"
"Do you think I'm a goldfish, Sergio? Do I look particularly fishy to you today?"
He laughed. "I don't mean to insult your intelligence, I just want to be sure you know the plan."
"Sergio, a rock would know the plan by now. I'm pretty sure if you asked your slippers here they could give you a half-decent answer."
He suppressed a smile. "This is so important, Raquel. Please humor me."
She sighed. "You're such a control freak. Fine, we can go over the protocol one more time, but I want something in return."
"What?"
"A kiss", she smiled. "And I'd like payment in advance."
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He'd intended to leave it at that, but it felt so nice that he kissed her again, and again, and again. His hand snuck around her waist and the other into her hair, and she threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.
"You're trying to distract me", he murmured between kisses.
"Is it working?" she smiled.
"No", he said, but he didn't stop kissing her.
She started stroking his neck. "How about now?"
"No."
She slowly ran her hand up his thigh. "Now?"
"No", he repeated, but there wasn't much conviction left in his voice.
She kissed his throat and he groaned.
"Stop that."
"I don't think I will."
"You're playing dirty."
"I don't mind getting a little dirty every once in a while", she grinned, stroking him through his pants.
He groaned again. "Raquel, you're killing me."
She bit his earlobe and he snapped.
"Alright, that's it!"
He pushed her down into the pillows and ducked down to lift her top and kiss her stomach, tickling her with his beard. She squealed and laughed, half-heartedly trying to push him away.
"Stop!"
"Oh no", he said. "No mercy!"
He continued until she was absolutely helpless with laughter, then he came up again to take her in his arms and kiss her.
"How about we compromise?" he suggested. "We go over the plan one more time, and after that you can get as dirty as you want."
Her eyes started sparkling, and he quickly amended: "Within reasonable limits! There's other people in the house. Think of poor Nairobi in the next room."
She laughed. "Alright, let's get this revision over with."
He felt much lighter as they sat up again and he took out the relevant documents. He was so grateful for these little moments with her, to relieve, at least for a little while, the anxiety he felt. He quizzed her on the different escape plans they had for different scenarios, then went over the files with the different locations the people in the team would end up in.
"Two people to the Caribbean, three to Argentina, two to Indonesia, and Berlin comes with us to Palawan", she listed.
"Exactly."
"Have you decided yet who's going where?"
"No", he said quietly. "I haven't."
"Why not?"
He hesitated. "It feels like tempting fate."
"What do you mean?"
"Raquel... we don't know who will actually make it onto that ship out of Europe. Maybe all of us. Maybe only a few. Let's leave off pairing people until we know what people we're sending off."
"That's a good point."
"We'll see who wants to go with whom after the heist is over."
"But you're absolutely set on Berlin coming with us?"
"Yes", he said firmly. "That was decided long before you joined the team and I'm not changing it now."
"Alright", she shrugged. "I know he's your friend."
He gave her a rather guilty look, which she didn't notice because she was looking down at the files. He still hadn't told her about Andrés being his brother. If he told her that, he would also have to tell her about Andrés' disease, and that he was dying, and he just couldn't stand the thought of that conversation. He knew she would want to talk about it, and he and his brother had been dealing with the situation just fine by not mentioning it. Talking about it would make it so real, and he couldn't face that right now. So he kept putting off telling her day after day, and now, right before the heist, it just didn't feel like the right time anymore. He'd tell her after the heist, when they were all safe on some beach somewhere and there weren't so many other things going on. He knew he'd have to come to terms with his brother dying at some point, but just… not now. Not yet.
She looked up at him with a smile. "Alright. Did I pass the test?"
He pushed his sadness away and smiled back at her. "Yes, with flying colors."
"Then I want my reward."
He let her push him down into the pillows, and gladly lost himself in her embrace.
…
Between the busy moments of the last week, he often found himself sunk deep in thought – if this wasn't the time to reflect about your life, when was? Most often, his thoughts turned to Raquel. She had changed his life in every possible way, beyond recognition, beyond belief. But the most drastic change, he realized, was in the way he now looked at his life after the heist. Before he met her, he had never really thought about his life after the heist, because the heist itself had claimed all of his attention. He'd always vaguely sensed that life wouldn't be easy after it was all over, whether things worked out or not, because the completion of his plans would rob him of the main reason of his existence, the entire purpose of his life. What would he do with himself after it was done? He would take care of Andrés at first, of course, but after he was… gone… what then? He hadn't wanted to consider what came after, because all he could sense there was a vast emptiness.
And then Raquel had burst into his life and changed everything. Suddenly he wasn't just looking at his time after the heist without dread – he was actually looking forward to it. A life with her, a family… not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that could be an option for him. She had given him a purpose, given him a reason to live even after the heist and his brother were gone. She would never know how much she meant to him. She had given him a future, and he could never repay her for that.
So there was one thing he kept repeating to himself over and over again: whatever happened, he would protect her. No matter what it took, no matter the sacrifices. Her life was so much more important than his own, because without her, there was only nothingness.
…
On the last night before the heist, they gathered around the table for one last meal together. The atmosphere in the room was very peculiar – a mix of solemnity and giddy excitement. They'd all helped to prepare the food tonight, under the supervision of Raquel, the kitchen full of laughter. Everyone was dealing with their nerves in a different way: Tokyo with over-confidence, Rio by joking, Denver by singing. Nairobi was laughing at everything and Oslo became even more quiet than usual. Sergio himself felt like an arrow in a bow – the bowstring drawn and taut to the point of breaking, the arrow pointing straight at its target, ready to fly.
He looked around the table, at the people gathered there, talking and joking, and he suddenly felt a rush of affection for them all. Cheerful Rio, surprisingly gentle Helsinki, thoughtful Moscow. They were all here for him, to help him realize his life-long ambition. Tokyo, saved from a life in jail, calling him her guardian angel. Nairobi, who had proven herself over and over to be such a valuable friend and ally. His brother, who always had his back. Then his eyes were drawn to the person next to him, always next to him. Raquel.
When the food was gone but the wine wasn't, Nairobi suddenly started tapping her knife against her glass, producing a clinking sound that got everyone's attention.
"Speech!" she said, looking at Sergio, and the others took up the cry.
"Speech! Speech!"
Sergio felt himself go red. He hadn't prepared anything to say, and he wasn't great at improvising, especially when people were looking at him. He looked at Raquel, who gave him an encouraging smile and squeezed his hand. He cleared his throat.
"I… I don't know what to say. These last five months with you have been… pleasant."
"Boooo!" Nairobi said. "You can do better than that, Profe!"
Everyone laughed, and Sergio gave an embarrassed grin.
"Alright", he admitted. "They were more than pleasant, they were… very special."
As he paused and looked at them, he felt a sense of calm clarity descend on himself, and he suddenly knew what to say.
"They were… magical, almost. We all came here as separate people… individuals… unconnected. Yet throughout these months, a chemical process has occurred that has fused us into more than the sum of our parts: we are no longer a collection of individuals – we are a team."
He looked around at each of their faces, beaming at him in the low light.
"A family."
There were nods and smiles all around.
"From the start, something united us: a desire for something bigger, something better than life had offered us up to this point. Tomorrow, we'll go after it. Tomorrow, my friends, we face this challenge together and we fight, side by side, for victory. Whether things will end in glory or destruction doesn't matter. What matters is that we battle with honor, with pride, against the tyranny of an unjust system that is designed to crush people like us. Tomorrow we show that we will not be crushed. Tomorrow, we are the resistance."
He raised his glass. "To the fight."
Nairobi raised hers. "To the plan!"
Berlin followed her gesture. "And to the Professor."
They all raised their glasses and drank.
…
He ordered everyone to bed so they would have a good night's sleep, but he stayed behind with his brother, to have a last glass of wine before the fire. They were silent for a while, then Andrés said:
"So. Tomorrow it all starts. You have to promise me something, Sergio. If it all goes wrong… escape. Don't stay waiting for us in the hangar, take Raquel and run."
"It won't go wrong."
"You know as well as I do that everything can go wrong. I won't leave here until you promise me that you won't let yourself get caught if thing go to shit."
Sergio gave him a long look. "I'm not promising you that."
Berlin raised one corner of his mouth. "You're giving me your promise right now, or you won't have a captain tomorrow."
When Sergio didn't reply, his brother continued: "You owe it to Raquel, Sergio. She deserves to stay free."
He shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to Raquel, don't worry. But nothing's going to go wrong."
Sitting here with his brother, on his third glass of wine, he was having one of his moments of absolute confidence. "We're the resistance, right?"
When he saw that Andrés wasn't convinced, he softly started singing the song his grandfather had taught him.
"Una mattina… mi son alzato…"
He looked at his brother, inviting him to sing along.
"Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao."
Andrés frowned, trying to resist the temptation to join in, knowing that he wouldn't get a promise out of Sergio once he gave in.
"Una mattina… mi son alzato…"
Very softly, his brother started to sing along.
"E ho trovato l'invasor."
They quietly sang the next lines together:
"O partigiano porta mi via
Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
O partigiano porta mi via"
Sergio suddenly stopped at the next line, so Andrés sang it alone:
"Ché mi sento di morir."
It feels like I'm dying. Sergio looked down for a moment, a lump in his throat, unable to look his brother in the eye, but Andrés continued the song, a little stronger now.
"E se io muoio da partigiano
Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao"
With difficulty, Sergio pulled himself together and started singing again, in a whisper at first, but then more strongly, joining his voice with his brother's. At the next stanza, Andrés got up, and Sergio smiled and got up too so they could sing standing close together. He felt another lump in his throat when his brother lifted a hand and stroked his hair, then placed it on the side of his neck, a gesture of connection, of support, of love. They turned outwards, raising their glasses, and his brother's hand was on his shoulder as they sang the end of the song, full of conviction now on the word "liberta". That's what they were fighting for. Freedom.
Afterwards, they put down their glasses and embraced each other, and Sergio's eyes were full of tears as he gripped his brother tightly.
…
He found her out on the terrace, looking up at the stars, and as he regarded her for a while in silence, he slowly felt the confidence drain out of him. It was all very well, telling his brother that he was sure nothing would go wrong, but standing here, looking at the woman he loved, he felt like he needed to be prepared for every scenario. Things could go wrong, and though he hadn't promised his brother anything, he was determined to get a promise out of Raquel.
He drew up a chair next to her.
"Can we talk?"
"Of course", she said.
He gathered his courage, then he took a deep breath and started.
"Raquel, you have to promise me something."
"What?"
"Once the operation starts, I need you to follow every order I give you."
"Of course I will. You're in charge."
"No", he said earnestly. "I don't think you realize what I'm saying. When I say every order, I mean every order, even if you don't agree."
"Of course", she repeated, but he raised a hand.
"No, listen to me. If I tell you to do something, I need to be sure that you'll do it. If things go wrong and I tell you to run and leave me, I need you to do it. If things go very wrong and I tell you to leave the country without me, I need you to do it. Do you understand?"
She gave him a stricken look. "I can't promise you that, Sergio."
"Then you're not coming with me tomorrow", he said firmly. "You are not setting foot in that control room until I have your promise that you will follow my orders, no matter what I ask you to do."
"Let's talk about this."
He shook his head. "This isn't up for debate, Raquel. Either you promise me or you're out."
"You're being unreasonable!"
"No, I'm not."
"But…"
"No buts."
"However…"
"No howevers either. Either you promise me or you're out."
She glowered at him, but he returned her look and refused to back down. Finally she clenched her jaw and nodded.
"Fine. I promise."
"You'll follow my every order?"
"Yes."
"Even if you don't like it?"
"Yes."
"Even if I tell you to save yourself and leave me?"
She gave him a resentful look. He raised his eyebrows. She nodded curtly, but he shook his head.
"I need you to say it, Raquel."
"Fine", she snapped. "Yes, I promise."
He felt a heavy weight lift off his chest. "Good, thank you."
Then he steeled himself. "Then this is your first order: if we should get captured, you will fully cooperate with the police. You will tell them that I kidnapped you on your way to prison and that I kept you prisoner for five months. You will tell them that I forced you to participate in the heist against your will."
She gave him a look of highest indignation. "I will do no such thing!"
"Yes you will!"
"But that would make things so much worse for you!"
"But you'll get a much lighter sentence."
She was shaking her head, but he said: "Raquel, you promised me!"
"This isn't fair!" she shouted at him.
"I don't care", he said implacably. "This is an order and you'll do as I say. Now for your second instruction."
"There's more?"
"Yes. If I get captured and you don't, you are not allowed, under any circumstances, to try and rescue me."
There were tears of frustration in her eyes now.
"Don't ask me promise to that", she whispered.
He gritted his teeth and continued: "I'm not asking. You already promised that you would follow my orders and this is an order. It's not a request. It's not a suggestion. You will not put yourself at risk for my sake."
"What if I get captured and you don't? Will you try to rescue me?"
"Of course."
"You're applying a terrible double standard here!"
"It's my heist", he said stubbornly. "It's my standard."
"You're a hypocrite!" she yelled.
He nodded calmly. "I'm fine with that."
"Sergio, I'm not agreeing to this!"
"You gave me your word", he said heatedly. "Are you going to break it?"
"I didn't know what I was agreeing to! You tricked me!"
"Don't blame me for outsmarting you", he said coldly.
She gave him a disgusted look. "You're an asshole."
She got up and stormed off inside. He watched her go with just the faintest trace of regret, but he quickly shook it off. If she had to be upset with him, so be it. It was a price he was willing to pay if it meant that she would be safe. Still, he would try to make it up to her – he didn't want to start the heist fighting, and he was sure she felt the same way. He gave her a few minutes to cool off, then followed her upstairs.
He found her in their room, standing by the window, and it was immediately clear that she was much calmer.
"Alright", she said as he came in. "Let's make a compromise."
He shook his head. "This isn't a negotiation, Inspectora."
"At least hear me out. I will agree to tell the police what you told me to say in case I get captured. I will even agree…" She swallowed hard, then continued: "… I will even agree to run and hide if it looks like our location may be found out, even if you stay behind. You're right – it makes no sense for both of us to risk being captured."
He nodded. "Good."
She gave him a piercing look. "But if you get captured and I don't, I will try to rescue you. That's not up for negotiation."
"Indeed it isn't up for negotiation!" he said angrily. "Because you already promised me you wouldn't!"
"Why am I not allowed to do everything I can to get you out?" she said. "Don't you think I'm capable enough to rescue you without getting caught myself?"
"This isn't a question of capability, it's a question of risk! And I'm not letting you risk yourself for me!"
"Why not?"
"Because of Paula, Raquel! You have a child! If you're lucky enough not to get caught when I get caught, then you're going to use that precious freedom to take care of your daughter, not me!"
She raised her chin. "I can take care of both of you."
"I don't matter, don't you see?"
"You matter to me!"
"Look", he said desperately. "You have a daughter, someone who needs you. Nobody needs me."
"I need you!"
"No", he said firmly. "You don't. Not the way your daughter needs you. So I don't want you to risk your freedom. If something happens to me, you engage the escape protocol we have in place, you take Paula and start a new life somewhere. I want you to be free, with or without me."
"There is no 'without you', Sergio! It's you and me, remember? Always. Always."
He grimaced but shook his head. She came closer to him, her eyes and voice softer now.
"Sergio", she said quietly, "This thing we have, you and me? It's real love. This is it, my friend. It doesn't get any realer than this. So many people spend their entire lives looking for it, and we actually found it. And you know the thing about a love like this? A breathtakingly, heartbreakingly real love like this? It's something you hang onto for dear life, because if you lose it, that's something you can never come back from. So I'm going to fight for it, Sergio, I'll be damned if I don't! And you can't stop me. Fuck your orders, fuck my promise – if you get caught I'm coming after you, come hell or high water, do you hear me? You saved me once. If I need to, I'll do the same for you, you just watch me."
"Raquel", he said desperately. "If you get caught because of me, how could I live with that? How could I bear that responsibility?"
"I'm an adult woman, Sergio. This is my responsibility, my choice to make. And I choose you. I will never not choose you."
"I can't change your mind?" he said quietly.
"No", she said calmly.
He rubbed his eyes. "Then I suppose I have no choice but to accept it. If I get caught, you'll rescue me."
"You bet I will", she said fiercely, then rushed into his open arms and squeezed him so tight that he couldn't breathe. He didn't mind, though. She took his breath away anyway.
After several long moments, she gently disengaged from him and looked up at him with a serious expression.
"Alright, now it's my turn."
"Your turn?"
She nodded. "Sergio, if something happens to me during the heist…"
"Nothing's going to happen to you", he said sharply. In all the hours he'd spent thinking about all the possible outcomes of the heist, this was the one thing he'd always refused to think about, because it wasn't a possibility, it wasn't. Nothing was going to happen to her because he wouldn't let it. "You're not leaving the control room, unless something goes seriously wrong, and then we'll engage the escape protocol."
"Still", she said quietly, "If I die…"
"Don't even say that, Raquel!"
"Sergio", she said sternly. "If I die, you need to promise that you'll do something for me."
"What could I possibly do for you if you're dead?"
"Live", she said simply.
He suddenly felt tears burning behind his eyes. How did she know?
"I mean it, Sergio", she said softly. "If something happens to me, you can't give up."
"You… you think I'd shoot myself?"
She shook her head. "No, but I think you'd put yourself in increasingly dangerous situations without regard for your own life until something would kill you."
He shifted guiltily.
"Promise me you won't do that", she said softly. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself."
He looked away from her, but she put her hand against his cheek and turned his face back to hers.
"Promise me."
He shook his head, unable to speak.
"Promise me."
He gave her a bitter look. "You didn't promise me what I asked you to promise. Or rather, you did, but then you took it back. Why should I promise you anything?"
"Because I'm asking you", she said simply.
"What does a promise even mean?" he said evasively. "It took you all of five minutes to break yours. I believe your exact words were: 'fuck my promise'."
"I didn't know what I was promising. I know you'll keep yours", she said calmly. "You're good like that."
He tried another tack. "If you're dead, what does it matter to you if I live or die?"
"It matters to me now. I need to know you'll be okay."
"How could I possibly be okay? What about all the things you said before, about never coming back from losing a love like ours?"
"That's still true, and I still believe we should fight for it if we have the choice. But you may not have that choice, and I need to know that you'll still go on."
"Why?" he whispered. "Why would I?"
"You're not the man you were when I met you", she said. "You've changed. You're more open, you've grown, you're connecting to other people."
"You taught me", he said quietly. "You taught me to be happy."
"Yes. You've learned to be happy, and I believe that, in time, you could learn to be happy again."
"But not like this", he said, his voice strained.
She shook her head. "No, not like this. But there are other, smaller happinesses to be found. Live for those. Live for me."
He tried to look away again, but she caught his face between her hands and looked up at him.
"Please."
"I can't."
"Please, Sergio. Please."
When he still didn't reply, she clearly decided to play her trump card.
"Sergio, if I die, I need you alive to keep an eye on Paula. To make sure that… that Alberto isn't hurting her. Will you do that for me?"
He gave her a look of dismay. "I can't believe you're playing that card."
"I'll play any card I have to."
"How can I say no to that?"
"You can't. So say yes."
He frowned. "Fine, yes. Yes, of course I will. As… as long as I'm alive, I'll watch over her."
"But then you have to promise me you'll try your hardest to stay alive."
He grimaced, and she put a hand against his cheek. "Down let me down, Sergio."
He took a deep, shaking breath. For several long moments, he silently struggled with himself. Then…
"I'll try. I promise I'll try."
She seemed to realize that that was the best she would get out of him. She wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to pull her close. She leaned her head against his chest, and he leaned his cheek against the top of her head as he held her. For a long time, they simply stood holding each other, while he tried his hardest not to think of life without her.
It didn't work – he kept thinking of all the ways things could go wrong, all the possible circumstances that could take her away from him. She seemed to sense his inner turmoil, because she reached up a hand and started stroking the back of his neck, and he gradually felt himself calm down as his attention was drawn to the sensation, as she grounded him in the present with her touch. The future was uncertain, but he was here with her now, and in this very moment, that was all that mattered. He was acutely aware of every brush of her fingers against his skin, and when she lifted her face to his and pressed a tender kiss against his lips, it was like he was kissing her for the first time again. He marveled all over again at her softness, the sweet taste of her, the way she parted her lips for him. With just one kiss, she captured him completely, pulled him out of the storm of his thoughts and brought him home to her.
How did she do that? How did she keep surprising him, with these flashes of wonder, these undreamt of moments of connection, each a tiny miracle to him, each so far beyond the realm of anything he'd ever experienced before he met her. Oh, how he adored her. How he treasured her.
How he loved her.
Their kiss deepened and turned into something else, something hungrier, as they started undressing each other with a sudden deep urgency to remove every barrier between them. They didn't break apart for an instant as they moved towards the bed, and as they lay down together, skin to skin, they were both painfully aware that this might be their last time together. The thought brought a sharp edge of desperation to the way they held on to each other, and he pressed his lips to hers over and over and over again, trying to kiss a lifetime worth of kisses in one night.
As she pressed her naked body to his, he became aware that something was shifting between them. He'd never felt so close to her. They had always been in synch with each other when making love, but what he felt tonight was of a different level entirely, a connection so complete it consumed him. He felt it in his skin, his veins, his very core. There was no fumbling or clumsiness or bumping into each other tonight – they moved as one, both so finely attuned to the other that it seemed like there was no difference between her body and his, her face lifting up to his when he even just thought about kissing her, her hands exactly where he craved them. When he stroked her, his own skin started to tingle, and when he kissed her throat, a shiver ran down his spine. Their eyes met and he knew that she felt it too.
They kept very close to each other, kissing, touching, caressing. All of his senses seemed heightened tonight, and he was more aware of her than ever, of the sweet smell of her skin, her soft sighs, every stroke of her fingers sending a thrill straight through him. He sensed within her the same conflicting desires that he was experiencing: the desire to take their time, to make it last as long as possible, competing with a desperate yearning for each other, a deep, aching longing for absolute intimacy. Finally, at the same time, they both decided that they couldn't wait any longer – she opened her legs to him at the exact moment he reached down a hand, and they were both breathless with joyful anticipation as he covered her body with his and she guided him in.
When he entered her, her arms wrapped around him, his mouth on hers, the connection between them seemed to strengthen even more, her pleasure bleeding into his, their bodies fitting together perfectly. Then they started moving in easy synchronicity, until he couldn't really remember what it was like to be apart, until the idea of them ever not being together seemed ridiculous… absurd… a physical impossibility. How could they be separated when they were, in fact, one?
He wished that this feeling could last forever, that this night would never end, but all too soon he felt the tension inside him begin to build, and he sensed that she was close, too. The moment he formulated that thought, she put a hand against his cheek and he opened his eyes to meet hers, so dark and warm and beautiful.
"Together?" she whispered, and he nodded, knowing immediately what she meant.
They hadn't tried this before, but tonight it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to come together. How could it happen any other way? They changed positions without breaking contact, and he sat on the edge of the bed so she could straddle him on her knees. He immediately pulled her close again and she kissed him deeply as she sank down on him, flooding his brain with bliss once more. They set a quicker pace now, a soft moan escaping from her lips at every stroke, and she moved a hand between them to put her fingers on the right spot. He kept a tight rein on himself as he waited for her to get there, feeling the tension inside each of them build together, until it reached an almost unbearable pitch. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as he felt a fiery tingling start up inside him, and from the way she caught her breath he knew she felt it too. When the wave broke over them, they rode it together, his pleasure amplified by hers, their bodies connected in a perfect union, and for just one eternal moment he lost all sense of self and it was glorious.
Afterwards, they kept holding each other for a long time, losing themselves in slow, lingering kisses and caresses. Then they sank down into the pillows and cuddled close, unwilling to let go of each other for even a second. They didn't talk about what they'd just experienced – there was no need for words. As he lay there, holding her, he was overcome with a feeling of serene tranquility, in the unshakeable knowledge that she completed him, that they were two pieces of the same object, their broken edges fitting together perfectly. Apart, they had been fragmented, but together, they were whole.
After a while, she pushed him gently onto his back and came to lie with her head in the hollow of his shoulder, and they were quiet for a long time as he stroked her arm and gradually came back to the realization that this might be their last night together. He suddenly felt the need to express to her what he was feeling, to show her how important she was, to convey to her at least a little bit of how much she meant to him. If this was the last intimate moment they ever had together, what did he want to say to her? He struggled for the right words, and realized that he could never find them on his own. So he borrowed someone else's.
"I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry tree", he quoted softly.
"That's beautiful", she said, surprised. "Who wrote it?"
"Neruda. That's what you did with me, Raquel. What spring does with the cherry tree."
She put her hand against his cheek and gave him the softest smile.
Then she said: "Do you remember our talk after I had that panic attack when you taught us how to induce a syncope?"
"Of course."
"I don't know if you remember, but I told you that I still didn't feel fully alive again after everything that happened with Alberto. That I wondered if I'd ever really feel alive again."
He nodded. "I remember."
"You made me feel alive again, Sergio", she whispered. "More alive than I ever thought possible. So yes, my darling, yes. You have been my spring, too."
He felt close to crying as he stroked her hair. He didn't know if they'd ever see summer, he reflected, but at least they'd known spring, in all its freshness, with all its tiny miracles, in all its pink-petaled glory. Their time together had been a burst of cherry blossoms, sweet and beautiful and gone too soon. No matter what happened with the heist, that could never be taken from them again.
She looked up at him with soft eyes. "You and me?"
He bent his head to kiss her.
"You and me, my love", he whispered. "You and me."
They wrapped their arms around each other and held on so, so tight, waiting for the morning and whatever it would bring them.
