A/N: hey people!
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Louise just had enough time to enter her home and quickly put the kettle on the stove when the doorbell rang. Almost running to the door she threw it open to reveal Francis.
"Hey." she said with a small smile as she moved to the side. "Come in."
Francis entered her home and revealed a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.
"Tradition, when coming to a woman's house to give her flowers." he said answering her questioning look.
Louise gently touched the petals of the flowers. Blue cornflowers, he had remembered that they were her favorites.
"Sit." she said gesturing to the chair. Francis obeyed as he looked around.
"Nice little place you have here." he said. It was a small apartment with the kitchen merging with both the living room and the bathroom. Truthfully only the bathroom was its own room and then it was barely big enough for her. There were no pictures hanging on the walls or anywhere and no signs of any decorations. In the kitchen there was a small table with two chairs, a couch stood in the living room which when pulled out became her bed, and strangely enough there was only a radio sitting in the corner on a small table.
Louise shrugged. "I just needed a place to stay safely."
Francis nodded. "And you never were one for any decorations or little gadgets sitting on the side to make the place look more like a home. I on the other hand…"
"Had practically every surface covered in something." Louise finished.
The kettle whistled then. Louise jumped up and got two cups out before she opened the cupboard and saw her next problem.
She never drank coffee or tea. The most she ever drank was water or if anything coffee at the diner.
"Fuck." she breathed.
"Something wrong?" Francis asked turning his head to face her.
"No coffee. Or tea." she said. Come to think of it, she didn't even remember purchasing or even getting a kettle. Either it was a present from a neighbor or it had been here since she moved in.
"Water is fine." Francis said amusement almost clear in his voice.
Ignoring the way her cheeks were starting to redden she poured the water into the cups and added a handful of ice in each cup, which she thankfully did have.
"Not to mention I don't have snacks that I can offer either." she said scanning her kitchen. It was odd, she looked at this apartment for an entire year and yet now it was almost like she was looking at it as a different person.
"It's alright." Francis said. He accepted the cup and curled his hand over it. "Tell me, what have you been doing here?"
Louise shrugged. "Just…living I guess. Living here. Away from everyone I knew."
Francis took in her appearance. "I wouldn't say living, but I understand the getting away from everyone."
Louise touched under her eye. She was skinny she knew, occasionally when she looked at herself in the mirror after taking a shower she was able to see and count all her ribs.
"I guess…I don't look too good." she finally said quietly.
Francis reached over to take her hand in his. "Not good at all." he agreed.
Louise shook her head. "Enough about me, tell me about you. What happened with you since I left?"
Francis grinned. "Remember the girl from the record room? Jeanne?"
Louise nodded.
"I asked her to marry me a month ago." Francis said. "She said yes."
Louise blinked in surprise as her mouth stretched into a familiar smile, she wasn't used to smiling anymore and the muscles felt wrong slightly. "Congratulations. When did you two start dating?"
"About a month after you left." Francis answered as he sipped from the glass. "She is…wonderful Louise. Wonderful and caring and just plain amazing. I love her."
"I'm happy for you." she said gripping Francis' hand in hers tightly.
He was watching her carefully. "Are you…okay with this?"
She started in surprise. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well…" he seemed to struggle for the right words for a moment. "We did have a history." he finally settled on.
Louise raised an eyebrow. "We did, do, have a history together but Francis if I remember right we weren't dating. And it happened only once."
"I know, I was just worried that for some reason you would be jealous." Francis said shrugging, relief obvious as the tension left his body.
"I'm happy for you." Louise repeated. "What we had is in the past and it only happened once. I didn't want, then or now, want a relationship with you. Just friendship and kinship."
Francis smiled at her. "That I can give."
"Good." Louise said nodding. "That then, as much as I would love to catch up with you all night that's not why you or Arthur are here. What brought you here to me?"
Francis looked pained for a moment before he finally said "We need you to come back."
"Why?"
He closed his eyes and sighed. Taking his free hand he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Approximately one week ago missions were coming in with nearly impossible numbers." he started. "We had all of our agents working endlessly, regardless of their injuries or how much sleep they had gotten. We lost…quite a few of our numbers do to actions we could not control."
He opened his eyes and glanced towards the window now. "We should have seen a pattern of who was falling and who wasn't regardless of the missions they were sent on. However we didn't. Every mission of course had its own dangers."
He closed his eyes once more. "The entire class is dead. Your class."
"I…I don't understand." Louise said confused. "Francis. I came from a class of fifty students, each one graduated to the higher ranks. You can't be serious."
"Forty nine students are dead." Francis said. "You were the last class to go through the program and practically everyone from there is dead. It started with your Matthew, dear, dear Matthew, and ended two days ago with Charles. You are the last one left."
Louise shagged in her chair. Dead. Forty nine of her former friends dead. Charles who was always able to make her and anyone laugh. Abraham who was the most serious student there. Jessica who had always been ready to help anyone in their class who needed it. Sara who had always been available to study with complete with extra notes and cards for the last minute studying.
And Matthew. Just thinking his name sent a course of pain, fresh and old, through her that she hadn't felt in practically two years.
Matthew, her partner.
Matthew, who knew her better than anyone in the world, besides of course maybe Francis and even then Matthew knew a few things Francis didn't.
Matthew, who she had loved and been loved in return.
Matthew, her partner.
Matthew, her partner who had died in front of her.
Matthew, who she had been helpless to save.
Matthew, who everyday she blamed herself for his death.
Matthew, whom she had never gotten over.
Matthew, who was dead.
"Louise." Francis said gently. "You are shaking."
The cup that she was holding was shaking. No, not true. Her hand was the one shaking causing the cup to shake.
"Sorry." she muttered as she pressed her hands against the table in an effort to stop their shaking.
"So what does this have to do with me?" she asked.
"Well one of two things." Francis said. "Either they are targeting your class to get rid of all of you, which means you and everyone in this town is in trouble, and we need to protect you. Or, and this is what I truly think Arthurs motives are, we need you to come back in and work for us because we now have a shortage of agents."
"They can go fuck themselves." Louise said.
"Normally I would agree with you." Francis said. "However I am also looking at things from another point of view. We had about one hundred agents going through the missions this entire week. Out of those hundred agents we only lost forty eight. The forty eight each being from your class. Matthew died two years ago, the forty eight over the last week, and now you are the last one left."
"And what do you think I should do?" Louise asked him.
"Although it pains me to say this I do think that you should come back in." Francis said slowly. "If not to come back and fight and get revenge like Arthur wants then just to make sure that you are safe. I don't like to say this but you are vulnerable here by yourself."
"I can fight." Louise said. "You know I can."
"But you haven't for a year. More actually when I think about it." Francis said. "And if they are targeting your class and in the end you then they won't care about the town and who gets in their way to get to you. The entire town here is in danger and we can't protect them. Our main priority would be you and no one else."
"I thought you said that this is my choice and you wouldn't make me choose." Louise said.
"There is a third option that Arthur doesn't know about because it's just me and Jeanne in it." Francis said. "You leave this town, go somewhere else for a certain period of time and keep moving. Don't stay in one place more than a year at most and keep moving. Jeanne and I will fund you to make sure you always have plenty of money."
"Running away." Louise said. "You want me to run away and keep running."
"I know." Francis said. "I'm just outlining all of your options and all its possibilities. And…you deserve to know all the aspects."
Louise looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Arthur and the others want you to have a partner once more, they no longer allow solo missions." Francis said. "And the person they picked…well I didn't have a say in it."
"Who is it? Hercules? Ivan? Natalia?" Louise asked remembering some agents.
Francis shook his head and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "He's only seventeen years old. He wasn't in any class, as said yours was the last one, however he was the exemption because of his family history."
"What do you mean?" Louise asked.
Francis sighed. "Matthew…had a younger brother. Younger by two years named Alfred. Two years ago after Matthew died they took Alfred in basically a crash course of everything you learned in an attempt to make him a new partner for you right after you recovered from the attack. No one had even thought that you would leave right after you recovered so we weren't sure what to do with him."
Louise shook her head. "No."
"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice in this matter." Francis said. "Should you return with us, regardless of the reason, you and Alfred will become partners as they wish."
"Alfred…Williams?" Louise asked.
"Alfred Jones." Francis corrected. "He choose their mothers last name instead of their fathers."
"He…he knew his mother's last name?" Louise asked.
"He was being raised by his mother and father until two years ago when we took him, fifteen." Francis said. "No one thought that it was fair but Antonio didn't really care."
"And they expect what?" Louise demanded. "That I would return and become his partner and everything would be la de da?"
"I don't know about that." Francis said. "I'm just telling you everything, I wasn't even supposed to tell you that the other students were dead let alone about Alfred."
Louise buried her head in her hands. "What…what does he look like?"
Francis was quiet when he said "He and Matthew could be mistaken for twins. I had thought that Matthew had come back to life when I first saw him."
Louise shook her head. "I can't." she whispered. "I can't do that."
"I know." Francis said taking her hand once more. "I know. No one is making you do anything. If you need a distraction so you can get out of this town just let me know and I will get you one as well as anything else that you need. I love you Louise and I care about you."
"I know." Louise echoed. "What now?"
"Now you decide. Arthur isn't going to wait anymore after tomorrow so I would suggest letting him know your choice tomorrow morning." Francis said. "Do you want me to leave?"
Wordlessly Louise shook her head. Francis stood from his chair and went to her side as he placed his arms around her. She leaned into him and closed her eyes as she inhaled his scent.
"You'll stay by me?" she asked quietly. "You'll be by my side?"
"Always." Francis promised her.
She realized that she was shaking again.
"I'm coming back in." she whispered.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Questions? Comments? Leave them in a review.
Until next time.
This is Phoenix-Fire Power over and out.
