"Blaine is my real name."
"My middle name is Zoe." Part lie, like 'Carol Weidler', though perhaps it was part of the few truths she'd ever told him. It was her real first name after all. "My parents wanted me to be named both after my grandmothers, so I got my paternal grandmother's name."
He reached for her hand. "Then I'm glad they went with Carol. Very musical, isn't it?"
They both chuckled.
"Blaine…"
He looked up from where he was sitting on the balcony of his apartment. He was only out to get some night air from the summer's heat that day, and here was the woman he had feelings for for the past few weeks.
How could she have snuck into his apartment? Then again, she was an agent of Cobra and a Dreadnok. In his line of work, working with the Joes had sneaky work as well.
"Car-, Zarana, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see if you were alright."
He crossed his arms. "Knowing your kind, you'd probably sell out where I live to the Dreadnoks."
She drew closer to him. "I didn't came for them, nor for Cobra. I came here for you…"
She breathed. "It was nothing personal, alright. It was just a job. Go in, reprogram the subs, get out. I never counted on getting to know you."
She inched a little closer. "Carol Weidler may not exist, but my feelings for you are real."
This was the same woman who zapped him, tricked him getting into the Joe's defences. Then again, if she saved his life rather than letting him explode with the bomb, how bad of a person could she be?
"You really did hurt me, Zarana," he began. "It hurt in a lot of ways, but the crazy thing is… I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Even if you really are with the Dreadnoks."
They held each other in an embrace. Blaine remembering her familiar frame and the flowery scent of her shampoo.
He felt her familiar lips as they kissed each other.
"Zoe." She broke the silence.
His brow furrowed.
She continued. "Zoe is my actual name, not my middle name."
He chuckled. "Zoe. Zoe…" He kissed her again. It felt beautiful to say.
At least this time, he knew her real name.