"Feyre, are you ready?"

She looked away from her image in the mirror to turn to the door, where Rhys was calling her. She should say yes, but she wasn't feeling at ease in what she was wearing.

"Not yet. Can you come in?"

She watched in the mirror as he opened the door and slid inside. He was wearing similar clothes to what he'd been wearing the night of Nesta's wedding. With his dark chino pants and his light blue shirt, she found him so different from what she was used to, it was a little hard to not stare at him.

"What?" he asked her with a smile, "You don't like the new look?"

"No, I just…" She felt herself blushing, "I kind of liked the leather jacket on you."

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Really?"

She just shrugged in answer. The silence stretched a little between them, before he spoke again.

"Anyway, you look ready to me. Aren't you?"

She glanced down at the beige blouse with long sleeves, and light blue pencil skirt, keenly aware that they probably looked a little ill-fitted on her.

"Those are some of Nesta's clothes. I just… don't feel very at ease in them. They're not at all what I normally wear." She sat down on the edge of the bed, and he sat down beside her.

"Yeah, from what I saw, you prefer light colorful dresses."

She gave herself a second to appreciate how much he already knew about her, and nodded. "I'm grateful for her for even giving me clothes, I just don't feel like myself. It's not the best feeling."

"Tell me about it!"

They laughed at his remark, before falling silent again. In any other circumstances, she might have said nothing else and moved on, but she wanted to tell Rhys about how she truly felt, she didn't want to hold back. So she didn't.

"I know it's stupid, and it's just clothes, and it doesn't mean anything, and she didn't chose things I don't like on purpose. But even that feels like a painful reminder that Nesta and I are so out of touch with each other. And it's not about the clothes, really. But it's always been that way between Nesta and I, we've never been close at all. I guess it just… makes me a little sad."

"I'm sorry."

She chuckled. "It's fine. It's always been that way, it's not like it's going to change overnight. It's just that while I was with Tamlin, I cut ties with so many people, and I just wish I hadn't lost touch with my sisters, at least."

"I'm sure things will get better between you eventually. That's what family is for."

She sensed the hint of sadness in his words, and suddenly remembered the photo album she'd looked through a few days earlier.

"Rhys, I have to tell you something. The night after I got here, I was looking through your library and…" she hesitated, "I looked at one of the album photos there. I didn't mean to pry, really! I just… got a little curious."

She could feel her breath starting to quicken, but when she looked back at Rhysand, he was smiling at her.

"Which album was it?"

"The one from your highschool years."

"Oh, that's a good one! Did you see the pictures of Cass at prom? His outfit was ridiculous!"

She laughed a little, but shook her head.

"I didn't get through the entire album."

"Why not?"

"There were pictures of, I guess your parents, and your sister. They weren't at Nesta and Cassian's wedding, so…" she trailed off, not really sure what to say.

"You assumed the worst." She nodded. "You were right." His smile fell as he talked. "They passed away right after we all graduated high school, in a car accident. My sister was five at the time."

"Rhys, I'm so sorry." Feyre took his hand, and he squeezed her fingers gently.

"Thank you. And… Thank you for telling me about looking at the photos. I don't mind that you did, but I appreciate you telling me."

"Of course." She had no idea how long they stayed like that, how long she got lost in his eyes, a little overwhelmed by the storm of emotions inside her. She wanted to say more, do more. She wanted to take him in her arms and hold him like she had on the terrace a few nights ago. She wanted to support him in every way possible. "I'm…" she started, with no idea what she wanted to say, "I'm here for you, if you need to talk."

He smiled and lifted their linked hands, bringing them to him until his lips were brushing against her fingers.

"I know."

An alarm went off from his pocket, startling the both of them. Rhys let go of her hand to check it, and got up from the bed.

"We should go or we're going to be late. Do you still want to change?"

Feyre looked down at the unfamiliar style she was wearing, much more strict and sophisticated than her usual clothes. She didn't really feel like herself in them, but they didn't look so bad, either. So she shook her head and got up. "No, it's fine. Let's go"

Feyre was feeling more and more anxious as they got closer to the fifth floor of the precinct. The elevator was slowly going up, bringing her closer to having to talk about everything that had happened in her life over the past few months. And she didn't feel ready, but there was not much she could do. She felt the urge to step closer to Rhys, to tell him how she felt and maybe… maybe she would have wanted him to hug her or take her hand. But that was an unreasonable thing to want, and she knew it. So she just waited.

The elevator doors opened, and she saw Rhys take a deep breath before getting out. She followed him along a corridor, and then they were entering a large room, and everybody was cheering. Feyre took in the room, all the people standing to greet Rhys, as he stood dumbfounded beside her. In seconds, he was being pulled into the little crowd, disappearing in the sea of hugs and laughter.

Feyre couldn't help but smile at the view. She'd never stopped to imagine what sort of life Rhys might have had before his time undercover. They had talked about their hobbies, a little about their families, too. But seeing him in the middle of all those people he knew so well was still strange. In a good way, as if she was once again discovering something about him that helped her understand him better.

"Feyre?" A voice called from beside her, and she turned to find Amren looking at her. "I figured you had arrived when I heard the noise," she said with a glance towards the crowd. "What do you say we get started together, and Rhys will join us in a moment."

Feyre nodded, even if the sentence felt more like an obligation than a question. She looked at Rhys one last time, getting pats on the back as he said something with a smile, and followed Amren down the corridor.

They entered Amren's office, and Feyre took a seat on a chair at the desk. She could indeed still hear the noise from the other room, and it reassured her a little. In the meantime, Amren was standing at the water fountain, pouring water into a cup. She handed it to Feyre and took a seat across from her.

"So, Feyre. Rhysand kept me updated on your… situation, with your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend," Feyre corrected.

"Right, ex-boyfriend. You left him about a week ago after an incident at your house?" Feyre simply nodded, hoping she wouldn't have to go into details. "How have you been since then?"

She was a little surprised at the question. Her previous meeting with Amren hadn't left her with the impression that Amren was the kind of woman who would care about this kind of stuff. But she appreciated the concern.

"I've been alright, mostly. It's a big change, so it's not always easy, but I feel better than I did when I was there. And Rhys has been great at helping me feel safe.."

Amren frowned a little at that last comment.

"Rhys has been helping you?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, he was away a lot the first few days but now that he's done with his assignment, it's been nice to not be alone. And his house is really beautiful," she added with a smile, "so that helps too." She had answered without really thinking about it, but she could see in the woman's face that it might not have been the answer she'd been hoping for.

"So, you're staying at his house, then." Amren scribbled something on the paper in front of her.

"Yes. Is that… not allowed?"

The idea that maybe she wasn't supposed to be staying with him hadn't crossed her mind before now. She'd needed a place to stay, he had offered his. But maybe it wasn't as simple as that.

Amren pursed her lips a little, then shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, I'll just clarify the situation with him later. Let's move on. First, we're going to go over all the evidence that you helped bring in, to make sure we're on the same page, then -" there was a knock on the door before Rhys entered, taking a seat beside Feyre. She saw Amren glance back and forth between the two of them before she went back to her notes. "As I was saying, then we'll talk about what's coming next for you, how we handle ends of contract with our informants, and that'll be all, I think. Is that alright?"

She didn't leave Feyre much time to approve before she started.

Almost two hours later, after having combed through everything Feyre had done to help Rhys over the last month, she signed the last few papers, and received her check, for an amount much larger than what she had expected. With that, she could easily reimburse Rhys for the clothes, and even buy her own clothes, things that she liked for herself. If Rhys agreed for her to stay at his house for a few more weeks, she could probably even wait for a month or two before having to find a new job. She was still staring at the check when Amren cleared her throat.

"Feyre, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Rhys, if you don't mind waiting outside."

"Of course." She was gathering her paperwork when she thought of something. "Actually, I have a question. What comes next, for the case? Is there going to be a trial? Will you need me to testify about something?"

"It's a little more complicated," Amren answered. "The investigation is coming to a close, but it will still be a long time until things reach their conclusion. So I can't give you a sure answer for now. But I will absolutely keep you informed if I need anything more."

Her sentence definitely sounded like a dismissal this time, so Feyre smiled and grabbed her paperwork and her check, before walking out of the room. She took a seat on the bench next to the door, and took out her phone to stay busy as she waited.

But the corridor was too quiet, and she could hear almost every word of what was being said inside the office, even without trying.

"She's living at your house, Rhys? Really? You certainly failed to mention that detail when we talked."

"Because it's not important."

"I'm sorry, you sharing a house with an informant on your undercover job is not important? Are you out of your mind?"

"And what was I supposed to do? Turn her away when she arrived at my door in the middle of the night with bruises on her wrists and no place to go?"

"And the only thing you could think of was to put your entire case at risk? Not… Oh I don't know, book her a hotel room?"

"She wouldn't have been safe in a hotel. Atwell, her ex, was looking for her everywhere, you know that. How do you think I got that split lip, huh?"

There was a long pause, and Feyre considered moving away from the door, because she knew she wasn't supposed to hear all this. But just as she was about to get up, Amren talked again.

"Rhys, I want you to understand where I'm coming from. I understand that you've built a bond with her, and that you think you're doing what's best for her, but I need you to see the bigger picture, here. The fact of the matter is that it's obvious that you two have grown very close, and you of all people can imagine how a defense attorney would try to spin this to discredit her."

"There's nothing to spin, Amren. Her helping us as an informant, and her leaving him are two very different things that have nothing to do with one another. She left him because he's an abusive asshole and she was thankfully smart enough to realize it. She came to me because I offered to help her, and I don't go back on my word. Nor am I planning to."

"So you don't think you and her have grown closer than you would have with another informant?"

"Of course we have. With everything that happened to her, how could you expect otherwise. But I still don't see where you're going with this."

"Well, let me be clearer, Rhysand. I believe that I know you well enough after all these years working together. I see the way you look at her, and i'm not stupid. I can't have you fall for her and get so close that you compromise all the work we've done."

"All the work I've done," Rhys' voice sounded angrier now. "I sacrificed everything for this job, so don't act as if I don't understand what's at stake here. You don't know me, Amren, not anymore. You know the man who left for prison two years ago, but you have no idea what I've become, and I don't really like your insinuation that I would jeopardize all that I've given up by making stupid decisions. Feyre is the first person in years to see me for who I really am, and I'm not planning on leaving her to fend for herself when she needs me. Now if you'll excuse me I think we're done, here."

She heard chairs scraping on the ground, and quickly scrambled to put on her headphones, hoping it wouldn't seem as if she'd been eavesdropping. Seconds later, Rhys opened the door of the office, Amren following closely behind him. She pulled her headphones out again, shoving them in her pocket and getting up.

"Well, I'm guessing the two of you probably want to go to the breakroom and enjoy that cake I saw Ericksen bring in earlier. Feyre, thank you for your time today. Rhysand, feel free to stay on leave for a while, it's the least you deserve after your mission."

She went back inside her office after shaking their hands and then they were standing in the corridor alone. Rhys seemed a little distraught, and she thought about telling him that she'd heard the conversation. But she had no idea where to start, so she filed the idea away for now. She needed to try and process everything she'd heard before she said anything.

So she followed him down the hall, trying to focus on the present for now.