"This is a bad idea."
"Of course it is, but he needs to meet Oliver sooner than later,"
"But for him to meet at one of his own safe houses, where we never been to before? That's pushing it, Andy."
"It's the only logical solution."
The night was creeping though the villas as the rest of the group were fast asleep, leaving both Andy and me to sit together and talk one on one while having a late drink of coffee. After the incident in the plaza, Oliver already felt a bit bad in who he handled the situation, and after a small scolding from Andy in needing to lay low since he was still so new to this new life, he had to be especially low to the ground. Oliver understood, and after apologizing for his actions, we knew it as all said and done. Even Andy had to give him some credit in knocking out the drunken fool in one solid punch.
After their talk and having a solid dinner thanks to Nicky and Nile teaming up together at am attempt of making Ratatouille, Andy got a call from Copley, and Copley wanted to meet with all of us with our recon equipment and weapons included. This had to be serious if he wanted us to bring everything. Andy gave him a brief mention of Oliver when we were all in New York, but she already had the notion of bringing Oliver to meet Copley was not a good died. So she shot down that thought when Copley wanted to meet him immediately.
I knew where Andy was coming from: She needed to protect Oliver in case Copley was once again going to try anything with him, let alone the rest of us. We all wanted to protect him, even when we knew he could fend for himself. But Nile and Oliver were new to this, yet Nile had more of a grasp of who Copley was and she witnessed his betrayal to the others first hand. Oliver never got a chance to see that yet, he still did not incline as to what happened when I was on my own and the others were at the mercy fo Merrick and Booker's betrayal that was involved with that as well.
Now that Copley wanted to meet face to face, we knew it had to be something serious. He didn't want to speak about it over the phone, not like last time when we were dealing with the Nazis. This time, we knew something was beyond serious, which made me feel a bit worse since we had to find a place where we could meet. The villa was out of the question, and going back to Copley's home was too close for comfort since Oliver's home was not too far away. But now, he told us of another house that we could go to, one that he had when it was in the CIA as a safe house,
"He's going to meet Oliver sooner than later," Andy explained to me as we were thinking hard about this, "We can't keep him away from Copley forever if we're gonna work with him,"
"I know that," I agreed with her, "And I know I wasn't there when Copley did what he did to you all. I only met him once, and that was a bit awkward, to say the very least,"
"You held your ground with him," Andy reasoned, "Which made us all happy to see him squirm a bit when you drilled him,"
I had to chuckle, seeing her grin as she then gave me a fond look, almost loving, but fond look none the less. I shrugged in my chair.
"I'm a tough bitch when it comes to those I love," I reminded her, "And if it means being a tougher bitch with him when it comes to Oliver than I will,"
"You and Nile will do that perfectly," She said with ease, "It'll make me look better too since I don't have to do all the work," There was a pause between the both of us, having em see how Andy was watching me and seeing how I was looking conflicted about this whole situation. A part of me was fine with Copley meeting him, he had to meet Oliver sometime soon. And maybe he was going to be fine with Andy being there being another buffer. But then again….
"Eleanor," Andy said to me, her voice was calm as assertive as leader would sound, "Copley's not going to do anything to him. Not while we're there,"
I smiled, drinking from my coffee cup. I knew it was true, nodding my head silently to show that I heard her. It had to go smoothly, at least in my mind because Oliver was getting closer to my heart without me realizing it. After what happened at the farmers market, I was replaying it over and over in my head. Oliver being there seemed perfect, because if he wasn't able to have been there in time then I would have had to deal with the both of them alone. I could have, in all honestly, I knew I could have. But something about Oliver being there, it made more sense and it felt more at peace within me.
"I know," I said to her, "And I know he'll hold his own when it comes to Copley,"
"From I heard that happened at the Market, he has a good uppercut. He defended your honor, according to what I heard," Andy commented, having em grin at her since it sounded like she was gossiping. It was not like her to gossip or be entertained in gossiping.
"Andy!" I said in a gasp, seeing her chuckle as I leaned over a bit to drill my eyes at her, "Who told you that?"
She said nothing, drinking from her cup. But I saw the gaze in her eyes and how she looked like she had remorse from what she said. I then sighed and looked over my shoulder at the door of one of the bedrooms, knowing exactly who was in there before I looked back at Andy.
"Damnit, Nile."
Berlin, Germany
This safe house was out in Berlin, right in the heart of the city. It was actually an apartment and Copley had it for years, resting in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough near Kurfürstendamn Avenue. I've been to Berlin a good handful of times, mostly in the past with the group when we were walking through to either lay low for a while or to get to another destination. One of the places I remembered most of the area was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which I did visit once or twice.
It was a busy day when we were walking through the avenue together in our street clothes, following Andy as she was leading the way. We dumped our belongings in a second safe house that Copley provided for us for this meeting, which was right outside the Berlin city limits. Once we dropped off our things, we walked over to his apartment together. The sidewalk was crowded with both waking pedestrians and those on scooters and bikes. it reminded me of Paris a bit, the world was calm and filled with colors and vivid memories as we were walking along together.
Joe was taking the rear, leaving Nile, Oliver, Nicky, and I in the middle, keeping our heads down. There was no real need to be quick or hurry, but then again we were still trying to keep a low profile. Copley gave Andy the specific instructions to find his apartment, which was perched at the very end of the avenue. We went through some iron gates that lead to the courtyard of residential apartments that were on the second and third floors, up the flight of stairs and down the hall to the apartment that was tucked in the corner.
I didn't know why I felt like we were stepping further and further into a trap somehow. I felt that way before when I first met Copley, back at his actual home when I barely had time to be back with the others in Venice. The only other times I heard from Copley was on the phone, which was why I felt a bit on edge. Because of what happened to the others in the past, there still was that small piece of resistance and push back to when it came to trusting him. Although, on the other side of that, he did come through in helping us deal with the Nazis over in Switzerland when it came to our passports, aliases, and transportation. He was a natural at it, knowing what to do with ease and without breaking a sweat.
Copley was there as he opened the door, looking right at And giving her one nod. I could tell he was glad we were all there, but there was a pressing matter to get to. We were filing in, one by one as Copley lead us over to his living room that had a sprawling room of the famous avenue below us. This safe house was filled with modern pieces and books, his aesthetic was showing clearly in his furniture and appliances around the apartment.
At this point, we knew we were going to put ourselves between us and Oliver since he never got to meet Copley properly yet. It wasn't that we thought he was going to be in danger with Copley, since we had more against him than he realized. But we also knew that since we were growing in numbers, we had to be more careful and more diligent in what we did amongst the people in the world.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Copley said to us as a group as we were all together in the living room, "And I'm glad things went well in Switzerland."
"No blowback from what happened, I take it?" Andy asked, Copley nodding his head as he was finally looking over at me now and locking eyes with me briefly.
"None at all. I made sure the mess was cleaned up effectively and no traces of any of you were left behind," He explained back at Andy. I had a feeling that I should say something to him since it was mostly my doing that we were over there. I cleared my throat, moving over to step out from the huddle that we were in, showing myself at Copley as I smiled at him.
"Thank you, for all you've done for me, and all of us in Switzerland," I thanked him, not wanting to sound cold in it, but I was still keeping an even level of a tone. He smiled warmly at me as he folded his hands in front of him.
"It was my honor to do a good deed," he replied to me smoothly, "And I hope this is a good step in the direction of gaining your trust,"
The others were watching me now, almost wanting to see my reaction to that statement. I knew what he was thinking about how our meeting went. A small part of me felt a little bit guilty in how that played out and how I spoke to him, but the others knew it was all in good intentions. They too were protecting me from Copley, which was why they never mentioned him to me before.
"It's a good start," I replied, seeing the others giving me small smiles to show that they approved and agreed with me "But I am grateful for you helping, none the less. Thank you,"
"My pleasure," he said to me calmly before he looked over at Andy again, "And your new member? How is he?"
Once again, another shift in the room as we all looked over to my left. Oliver was quiet the whole time, watching all of this unfold in front of him and was just drinking all of this in. He took a few steps forward and eyes Copley as he held out his hand to shake with Copley. Leave it to Oliver to be polite.
"Oliver," Oliver introduced himself as they shook hands. Copley was eyeing him up and down, almost int he same way he did with me when we met for the first time, "I've heard plenty of things about you,"
"Good things, I hope," Copley replied as he released his hand, looking at Oliver with some intrigue. Oliver paused, thinking about what he was going to say.
"Interesting things, more like," Oliver replied. Nile grinned from her spot next to Joe as I watched how Copley was reading what he just told him. Copley then looked over at Andy with an eyebrow raised, pointing at Oliver but focusing on Andy.
"You warned him about me?" he asked, almost sounding playful about it as Andy just silently chuckled.
"We just told him to be precautious, but you're slowly working yourself back into our good graces," She reassured him, having me sidestep a bit to be closer to Oliver. Oliver looked over at me, scanning my eyes briefly before he smiled with a nod, silently telling me he was fine. I nodded back at him as Andy kept talking to Copley.
"What was important to get us all here?" she asked. Copley's game face was back on as he gestured to the living room.
"Please sit, I'll get what I have," He explained to us, walking away over through a door near his kitchen. We all looked at each other briefly before we all decided to sit down on both of the couches that were across from each other and two smaller chairs on one side. Nicky and Joe took one couch, Oliver and I on the second, which left Andy and Nile in the chairs on one end. I was looking around the decorations and layout of the apartment, not saying anything for a few moments before I finally spoke out.
"He doesn't have a lot of color in his apartment," I said, mostly to myself but the others heard it too. They looked around, having me think that they were thinking the same thing as I was thinking. I didn't know what came over me, but I felt a bit more snarky than other days, "Probably a sociopath."
Nile snorted and hid her smile in her hand, Andy just smirked at me, Nicky and Joe were silently chuckling from the other side of the couch, and Oliver was grinning widely. He barely met the guy and he was already cracking up at the jokes that we were using against Copley.
"Be nice, Eleanor," Andy middle scolded me, but her smile never left her face.
"I always am," I said as I crossed my legs on the couch, folding my hands in my lap as Copley came back out from the room and over to us with a small laptop in his hands, unfolded and ready for use. He sat across from Nile and Andy, placing the laptop in front of us to see the screen and we all sat up a bit to see the face that was there. I didn't know who it was, nor did Oliver, but the others did. I could see it, how both Nicky and Joe were sitting up now so stiff and so alert. Nicky's face was drained from the color that was once there, and Joe looked like he was about to punch his hand through the wall. Nile and Andy looked frightened with the face, but they were so still in their spot as I looked at all four of them and then at Copley.
"Who is that?" I asked him in a low tone, seeing him watch all of our reactions unfold in front of him finally as he was about to answer my question. But Joe was the one who answered.
"She's from Merrick's lab," he said gravely, his voice was so close to being in pierced anger, "The one who tortured us and tried to take out Immortality,"
My heart was so tender and afraid at that moment as I looked from Joe over to the screen within an instant. The face on the screen looked like a middle-aged woman, a high bun on the lower part of her head and a stern look on her face. She was walking somewhere on the street, having em realize it was a street camera picture that we were looking at.
"Dr. Kozak went under the radar after what happened in London", Copley explained, "The British Police made a sweep of the entire building after you all escaped, and she was nowhere to be found. I told them about her and gave them all the information I had on her, they did a sweep all around London and in several other cities. She was gone without a trace,"
"Shit," Nile said in a grave tone. I looked over at Nicky, seeing how silent he was and he was watching the screen as if he saw a ghost. Joe laced their hands together, sensing the uneasiness on Nicky's face and in how he was sitting. He pressed a kiss to Nicky's hand to ease his fear. I felt pain for Nicky, and I wanted nothing more than to torture this doctor for what she did to him.
"How did you find her?" Andy asked in her low tone, now having all of us look at Copley.
"Face recognition," He replied, "I used her past employee ID badge as our reference. My friends back in British Intelligence and in the CIA reached out all over in Europe to the others agencies, knowing that she couldn't have gone far since there was a price on her head with her affiliation with Merrick,"
"Good riddance," Joe grumbled under his breath, Nicky's squeezing their joined hands tightly in his grip.
"But when we're within arms reach, she disappears. It's been like this for months, and we haven't reached out to you yet under either we had concrete evidence or we caught her. Which at this point is either," Copley kept going with the information. I was just looking at the face on the screen, trying to study her in that one shot of her walking down the street. Something about her walking, clutching her purse in a death grip, and in how her stance was in her walk along the sidewalk. There was something off with it, and how her face also looked..concerned.
"How is it that she's not captured yet?" Nile asked him.
"It's because she's not alone," I answered, eyes still on the screen. The others looked over at me, confused as I was pointing to the screen, and then looked at the others one by one.
"Look at how she's walking," I said to them as I got up from the couch to get a bit closer to the laptop, kneeling as I was showing them certain parts of the picture, "She's speed walking and the way she walking looks like she thinks she's either being followed…or going to meet someone. And she's holding her purse in a death grip, she's hiding something in there and yet she's out in the open,"
The others were watching and listening to every word as I then looked at Copley, seeing him watch my interest too.
"You say you can't catch her, right?" I asked, seeing him nod, "Then she has help in disappearing and going to a new place. She clearly can't be on her own with this, so whoever she's with is a master in disappearing in plain sight,"
Copley was drinking this in, having me finally look back at Andy to see if she was going to react to what I was saying. I wasn't there when all of this happened in London, I could never know how it felt being there and being tortured by this scientist for the sake of having Immortality and to expose it to the world. My own torture so many years ago, although it had the same purpose, was completely different. I was on the same page as the others, but I was still sympathetic towards it sine they were my family.
"She's right," Andy said, mostly to Copley as Copley was looked from me to Andy. Andy got up from her chair, the others watching her moves now as Andy placid her hands on her hips and took a shallow breath, "She has help,"
"We're keeping an eye on her and making sure she's not doing anything drastic," Copley explained.
"That doesn't seem likely since she's a fucking mad woman," Nile said to him, her own anger seeping through in her tone.
"She might be running for whoever she is with," Andy said to her as she took was holding in her displeasure and was watching the screen, "They might be doing something and would have her work in the background. But we don't know who she's with,"
"Not yet," Copley said to us, a small uneasiness in his tone as he cleared his throat, "We had a small lead over in Spain where she was last, someone volunteered to help do recon and undercover work for me to get some more information for me,"
"Who?" Andy asked.
"Doesn't matter," Copley replied smoothly, though the look on Andy's face was showing that he wasn't saying whoever it was for a specific reason, "And the other reason why I wanted to let you know about Dr. Kozak and what she was up to….was because the information and files she had on you while you were there….disappeared with her from Merrick's Lab,"
"What?" Nile asked, almost in shock as everyone else was just as shook.
"So…..she has all of our information with her?" Nicky asked, his voice low and almost waving in uneasiness as Joe was clutching his hand in a death grip., "All that she did to us…."
"Yes," Copley answered, "Her computers at the lab were swiped clean when the authorities came through, which means—"
"She's walking around with our DNA," Andy said in a low tone, her face was stone cold. I drew out a breath, and I felt it all int he room. We were now at risk of being exposed at any moment, as long as she was walking around with our information within her possession. It was a fear that we all had for the longest time, and it was always there in the back of our minds.
Andy tried so hard to make sure we would stay in the shadows and the dark, and we followed too since we knew it would mean certain death for us. I almost had it with the Nazis, and now Nicky and Joe almost had it with Merrick. It was one of our deepest fears as a group, and now it was in jeopardy once again with someone who thought what they were doing was right.
"Where was she seen last?" Andy asked, moving on with the conversation.
"Out in America," Copley answered immediately, "Denver, Colorado. There's a facility out there that we think they made a home base at. She was last seen there about two days ago and we're making a sweep on her financial records and the past trails that she left. She's been good in one leaving too big of a trail, but we can find something,"
"We'll head out there," Andy explained to him, already having a plan being planned out in her head.
"You all want to go out there?" Copley asked, feeling a bit uneasy about it, "It'll be a major risk to have all of you out there together in one spot if something does happen—"
"We go together or not at all," Nile said to him, almost in authoritative tone as she took was determined by this, "If she does have this stuff on me, mostly on Nicky and Joe," When their name was mentioned, both Joe and Nicky gave each other a grave look, "Then we need to get it before anyone else does,"
"And I understand that," Copley agreed with her cautiously, "I do. It's my job to make sure you are all in the shadows and understand that weight. But it's too much of a risk—"
"Can I say something?"
All of our heads were looking over to see Oliver, seeing him sit up a bit now as he was looking at Copley, almost feeling a bit uneasy for speaking out in that moment. None of us said anything, watching him as he drilled his eyes with Copley.
"I understand that I wasn't there when all of this happened" he started, going nice and slow in what he was saying, "And I know I'm new to all of this. However, if this was going to involved all of us and our well being with who we are and what we can do in this world…..I agree with Andy,"
No one said a word, but I felt the small shift there amongst all of us. Andy was looking at him almost in shock, but in a bad way, but a small hint of fascination.
"If I know one thing about this us is that we do the right thing no matter what. We try to, and trying to do the right thing is better than doing nothing at all. Being together in something like this is better for us in the end, and I trust each of them with my life. We have to protect each other, no matter the risk and whatever it takes," Oliver explained to Copley, his voice was even and sure throughout the speech he gave.
I looked at him with a hint of wonder, seeing how he was not stuttering through it or caved in. It amazed me in how he was feeling all of this within the short time we had him as an Immortal. He had depth within him, something we never really saw the whole perspective on before. It made me reached over to lace out fingers together, seeing him give me a knowing look that showed that he appreciated that I was there. I felt our laced hands together between us, how it both felt east and it felt right at the same time.
Oliver then looked at the others in the room, Joe and Nicky giving him looks of adoration in how he stood up for them. Nile gave him a smile to show that she admired him for all that he said. Lastly, Andy gave him a gaze that a leader would give to a soldier.
"it's settled then," We all looked over at Andy, seeing her look from Oliver and I over to Copley, "We're going together to America. Wanna get the paperwork ready for us?"
"Of course," Copley replied as he finally took the laptop away and placed it in his lap to start his work, "I can get you out on a plane early tomorrow morning on the red-eye since it'll be easier to slip through TSA undetected. I'll get some connections with my friends from the CIA to get you safe house, a few cars, and your aliases,"
"Good deal," Andy said, ending the plan and conversation. I wanted to sink into the couch from leaning all of this, but I looked over at Oliver and I saw that he was still holding my hand almost in urgency. I smiled at him as I saw the others talking to each other in hushed tones, already trying to figure out some kind of plan before we were going to get on the plane.
"Are you ready for your first mission with us?" I asked him, seeing in take a deep breath as he nodded his head.
"I think so," He replied, "And I'll be fine with you guys there with me," He paused, almost juggling something in his mind before he gulped and looked at me, "You think I'm ready?"
I could see the uncertainty along his face and in how he was holding my hand, not letting me go. He's only been with us for a small amount of time, and I could see the sense of doubt in how he was watching me for an answer. But I knew, deep down, in how his heart was shaped and formed with all the times we were together, and with how he was willing to be a part of our family so easily, that there was no real question with it.
"I think you are," I replied to him smoothly, seeing him give me a small smile, "We'll be there with you, but I think you'll be just fine with this," I knew that he needed to hear that, but maybe he didn't. In the end, this will be the first time he would do something like this with us, and it was even the kind of mission that we would usually do. This was different, this was personal, and for him to be willing to go along with no remorse or hesitation behind it. This showed his compassion within him, his sympathy for us, and most importantly, the love he had within himself to blossom for us.
Later that night, back in the provided safe house that we found for this small trip, we were all getting out things ready for the car that was going to come within the hour. It was a small house, almost like a cottage, which didn't leave a whole lot of space for privacy. I could tell it was a bit cramped for us, though we didn't complain about it. Andy and Nile were working together in the living room with their equipment. Nile was more prone to being mentally ready as she was packing everything precisely and carefully in her bag, being the Marine that she was. Andy, being a natural at pre-mission packing, was already off in her mind.
Nicky and Joe were in one of the bedrooms, though they were mostly talking to each other in low tones. I knew they both were shaken up to know that the doctor that tortured them was still out there, so close to exposing them at any moment. I walked by their room and I saw for a brief moment the both of them sharing a reassuring and sweet kiss, Nicky clutching Joe tightly as Joe was rubbing his neck with his fingers to soothe him. It made my heart crumble for the both of them, knowing that they were at her mercy so many times. They never told me the details of what she did to them, but I knew it was brutal.
Which left me with Oliver, who parked himself right outside the small cottage along the grass sitting Indian style and looking down at the new equipment that was provided for him. Copley, thinking that it would get Oliver on his good graces, got him some mercenary equipment and attire since he was new, almost like a welcome gift. It included a bulletproof vest, black cargo pants, black shirt, fingerless gloves, and some standard weapons.
I walked over to his right side, seeing how he was looking at each piece of equipment that was out on the grass. I could see it on his face, how he was analyzing everything within his mind and seeming collected on the surface. I cleared my throat, hoping to show that I was present there in front of him as he finally tore his eyes away to look at me.
"It looked like he spoiled you," I said, almost in a joke as I sat down next to him as he placed his hands on his lap. I paused, seeing that he needed to talk about something that was there in his mind, "How are you feeling?"
He paused, feeling hesitant in what he was going say to me as he once again looked at the equipment in front of him on the grass. I knew that had to be a bit much for him now, and I understood. Truly I did, and it made me worry that he was second-guessing himself and where he placed himself in a situation like this.
"I think I'm okay," He said, his voice sounding unsure but he tried to push it through to seem like he was fine, "I didn't think I would be doing something like this…so soon,"
"I understand," I agreed, "I know the others were thinking the same thing with you too. I know they want you to be fully ready,"
"I still want to do this though," He said with no hesitation in his voice, drilling his eyes into my own as I was watching how he was sitting up still from that statement. I gazed at him, feeling a bit out with it since he was determined in how he said it.
"You do?" I asked, not wanting to sound like I wasn't believing him. But he faced me a bit more, having me sit Indian Style and face him too as he was giving me a sincere look.
"Throughout the whole time being here with all of you, learning about being an Immortal and hearing all of your stories of what happened in the past, I feel as though I owe all of you," he started to explain, though I started to shake my head.
"That's not true—" I was about to explain to him, but he was still going with his explanation.
"I mean it," He said, looking right into my eyes and having me feel my stomach flipping in how assertive he was, "You guys have been nothing but kind to me and trying to make me feel safe and part of this group…this family. And it does feel like a family, even with me leaving my own family behind and have them grow old without me. It's been hard for me, but you all made it a bit better…especially you,"
I smiled at him, wanting to say the same thing to him just as badly. That small hesitance within me was still there, simmer right at the surface and it was about to explode at any moment at this rate. The way we held hands not once, but twice, the way we spoke to one another in conversation and with jokes. But ultimately, in how he chivalrous to me, both in the small ways and the grand ways, that made me feel those sensations within me that I knew were to be true.
"It's like what Nicky would say to me from time to time," I said to him in a slight tone, wanting him to hear that, "We're meant to find each other,"
Oliver watched as I carefully and gently reached over to cradle one of his hands between my own hands, having me take a deep breath as I looked back at him. His eyes, just as bright and pristine as they were the day we met and saw each other in our dreams.
"it's destiny," I went on, "And it took me a good while to know that maybe he's right. We're meant to find and be together, as Immortals, and just…beings here in the world. We work better together than alone, and there has to be a reason for each of us being here. That includes you, and I am grateful you came to us in our group, in our family,"
Oliver grinned from ear to ear as I said it. It felt like under the surface that I was telling him a bit more than what I just said. Maybe like a hidden message, not knowing if he really knew what I meant. To let my heart be bare for him, especially the night before we were going to hop on a plane to America, and now as I was thinking about it, it was downright insane.
Oliver kept our joined hands together in the middle of the both of us, looking at our fingers being interacted against the tall grass. I didn't know what he was thinking, but in my head, it felt right.
"Maybe," Oliver said in a soft tone, almost like he was whispering to me, "After all of this is over and we have some downtime, whenever that is…Maybe I can take you out to dinner?"
I was watching him with lightly larger eyes, seeing how he was gazing at me like I was showing him the sun for the first time, or if he heard something that sounded so divine. It made me almost lose my speech for a brief moment before he kept going.
"I know you wanted to build trust between the both of us, and I understand that it might be too bold for me to ask that since there are far more pressing matters for us to worry about," He explained to me, seeing that I was saying nothing, "But, in all honesty, I've wanted to know more about you and learn about you. Besides, since I've learned that this Immortal life is also as precious and could be as short as a normal one, I wanted to be able to let you know how I fell about you,"
"I see," I said, almost trailed off as I cleared my throat to see if this was the right time for me to say what I was feeling to him too. If he was going to say these things to me, who was I to keep my own thoughts locked away.
"But if you don't want to," He started, sensing my hesitation and in how I was saying anything at first to him, but I shook my head.
"I would love to," I said in a fluid tone, watching his eyes and seeing how a sense of color and wonder was back on his face as I grinned "More than anything, I would love to have dinner with you,"
"You would?" he asked, almost shocked since now it felt like the roles were reversed and he was now being the sheepish one.
"Absolutely. Oliver, you've been nothing a gentleman to me, beyond kind and generous in times when I needed it the most. I know I've been more sheltered with you when it came to how I felt, and my past demons have made it that way. But you never saw that with me," I confessed to him, seeing him squeeze our hands together in a sense of familiarity, "No one has ever shown me that kind of affection like you have, ever."
"You're brilliant," He explained simply, "You're brilliant to me in all you do,"
I had to grin and look down with blush hitting my cheeks. How insane this was, both of us almost confessing our true feelings to one another on the eve of us going on a mission that was a bit more personal than others. This had to be either the worst timing or maybe the best timing. But, either way, the timing was timing as I looked back at him.
"Once we come back, after we finish this all and get to a safe space," I said to him, seeing the intense stare that was both intimidating and sublime at the same time, "We'll have dinner, you and me."
It was set in stone, and it made me have one more element to hold onto when it came to finishing this mission. It could be just a simple dinner, a dinner between two people that wanted to have their friendship be deeper and more meaningful. Or, it could be something more, and the rest of the group could see it as well. Something else could evolve from this dinner we'll have, and as much as I wanted to indulge in that fantasy, I had to wait and know that we had to have one thing at a time.
"I'll look forward to it," Oliver swore to me with kindness and love in his voice.
I looked forward to it too.