He waited for her in the dimly lit corridor, barely a shadow against the dark wall. She was always the last to return to her unit, always taking her time to enjoy the hot shower, one of the few luxuries left for recruits. Her hair was still damp, leaking water onto the gray towel thrown over one shoulder. A thin tanktop and loose Section-issue sweatpants covered her slender frame.

She saw him immediately and stopped. Her eyes grew wider as if caught in the headlights and she hurried to look away. Michael approached her slowly but with clear determination.

'Why?' he whispered standing just inches away.

Simone gave out a little sigh and finally found some courage to lift her head.

'I am not ungrateful for what you did…' she stumbled. 'I would never have gotten through Combat without you.'

'But?' Michael's hot breath grazed her cheek.

She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. For a moment there she seemed to be gathering her thoughts but then just shook her head and moved to leave. He caught her forearm and — before she had time to do anything else — joined his mouth to hers. He knew he only had one chance. It was not as much a kiss as a demand for an answer, quick, hungry, persistent. When their lips finally parted, Simone was trembling as a leaf and Michael could hear her frantic heartbeat echoing his own.

'Why fight it?' he asked giving her a bit of space.

Simone breathed out hard and tilted her head to the ceiling. Her eyes were glistening with emotion.

'I've lived without it my whole life,' her voice was strained and edgy. 'Section is not the best place to start.'

'What?' Michael's knees suddenly buckled under him. 'Are you saying you have never?..'

'No, Michael!' Simone almost shrieked. 'I have never been in a relationship. I have never had sex. If you must know, before now I had only been kissed once and that was in second grade!'

His jaw dropped as he tried to comprehend what she was telling him. He had no idea how it was humanly possible — she was so beautiful, after all — and still, it made perfect sense now. It made sense why she had never ogled him the way other girls did, how she was able to sleep in one bed with him and act as if he was a piece of wood. Something truly terrible must have happened to her in the past to have denied herself the most natural thing in the world…

His heart swelled with pain and tenderness.

'Simone…' he whispered.

She looked at him out the corner of her eye, a wounded animal caught in the snare. It was the most vulnerable he had seen her.

'I will never hurt you,' his voice rippled with emotion. 'But I don't think I can survive without you.'

A single tear drew a line across her cheek.

'None of us will survive it, one way or the other.'

The next day, after she returned from training, Simone found a single red rose lying on her pillow. She had no idea how he had managed to get this into Section — and into her room, for that matter — without being noticed. It seemed totally ridiculous, still she picked the flower up and brought it to her face. The tender petals caressed her cheek and the smell sent warm shivers down her spine. A tentative smile pulled at her lips as she stood there, dripping after the shower, lost in a tumult of thoughts.

The following nine months were a blur punctuated by simple moments they were able to snatch from the world. They kept sparring together even though Simone was assigned to another trainer now, shared meals in the cafeteria and exchanged small talks in the halls. Michael made no move to seduce her. His primary focus was her trust. As weeks flew by, she became more relaxed about him and more open with her smiles. She stopped flinching every time his fingers accidentally brushed against hers and lingered in his presence, sometimes standing so close he had a hard time controlling himself.

As Michael's responsibilities grew more complex and urgent and Simone's training was drawing to an end, he realized there was only one way forward. She might view it as 'too soon' but the more he thought about it the more certain he became: it was the simplest and surest answer to overcome all possible odds.

Simone sat down on her bed and looked at her hands. Despite the fact that she had killed two men just an hour ago, her hands were as steady as ever. They were her partners in crime since she was ten years old. These small fingers and porcelain-white palms knew how to deal Death as well as Second Chances. Not once had they betrayed her before and tonight was no exception.

Her final evaluation went as smooth as could be. They didn't tell her yet but she knew it was probably her last night in Section. She looked around at the bare walls and the cold lights streaming from the ceiling. The room was totally devoid of personality but it kind of suited her. She would miss it outside: the heavy metal door protecting her sleep, the predictable stark lines and surfaces. She would miss something else too: a certainty that a few floors up a certain Frenchman paced up and down the halls, planning their next encounter.

The door to her unit creaked loudly and Simone gave a jolt. No one had ever visited her here, especially not Michael. His eyes burned with determination as he swooped to his knees at her feet and put both his arms on the bed right next to her locking the possible escape routes. They weren't exactly touching but she could clearly feel the heat of his body.

'They're letting you out in the morning,' he whispered.

She gave him a tentative smile and shrugged.

'I figured.'

They looked at each other for a long moment savoring the warmth that surrounded them like a bubble.

'There's something I'd like to ask,' Michael finally broke the silence.

Simone nodded and leaned in closer, curious and worried at the same time. Michael's breath was ragged and he licked his lips nervously.

'Marry me,' he said.

Simone's face flushed and she had a sudden impulse to run and hide but Michael's gaze pinned her to the spot.

'What?..' she finally managed.

'I can't lose you,' his breath burned her cheek. 'Marry me.'

'H-how?..' she stumbled. 'They're not gonna let us…'

'I'm not asking them.'

Michael's fingers produced a simple gold ring out of his inside pocket.

'Marry me,' he repeated for the third time.

His whole body shook with tension as he waited for her answer. He didn't think he could stand it for one more second, reading the apprehensions on her face, seeing how she squirmed on the bed and bit her lips… Was it a mistake, after all? She didn't feel the same way?..

'Yes…' she said weakly, almost inaudibly.

Tears gushed from her eyes and she hurried ho hide her face in her palms. Michael pressed her to himself, a tiny frame shuddering with feelings he did not understand. He stroked her hair tenderly and let her breathe through whatever inner struggle she was going through.

'What is it?' he whispered in her ear as she was starting to calm down. 'You can tell me.'

'I never thought…' she mumbled staring into space. 'It could never happen for me… It always happened to others… And you, of all people… You can have anyone here, anyone in the whole world…'

'Shh,' he put a finger across her lips. 'I don't want anyone else.'

'Why me?' she flung up her arms in a helpless gesture. 'I'm nothing… I'm a wreck… A killer.'

Michael cupped her face and made her look at him.

'I love you,' he said.

He caressed her cheek and leaned in so close their lips almost touched. He knew no other way to show her the truth of his feelings still he wanted her to make this tiny step herself. She had to find the courage and admit it: she needed him just as much as he needed her.

Simone's breath burned his skin and then she finally joined her mouth to his and they dived into their first real kiss, head over heels, limbs trembling, balloons of hot air expanding in their chest. He didn't know how long it lasted. It seemed like a lifetime — and all too soon to end.

When they finally moved apart, there were no more tears in her eyes. Michael slipped the ring around her finger and gave her a final brush on the lips.

'I'll pick you up tomorrow.'

When the door closed behind him, Simone fell on the bed and let the tingling warmth course through her veins for as long as it lasted. A wide smile stretched her lips and she didn't bother suppressing it.