Ugh, I know I've been gone forever and all but it was Christmas break and now finals are coming up soooo... yeah. Fun. This chapter is for Epic F. Awesomesauce who wanted some Ireco! X3

Song: Strangers Like Me

"Itzel? Brendan? Time for bed. Itzel, did you brush your-"

"Already did."

"Brendan, don't forget to-"

"I am, I am."

"Is everything going okay at school, Itzel?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"...Okay. Light's out."

"Bedtime story first!"

"What story do you want to hear first?"

"The Two Spies Who Fell In Love."

"Wow… I haven't told that one in a while. You probably remember it better than I do. Okay, once upon a time, there was a man and a woman."

"And they were both spies!"

"Yes. She from one country, he from another. She had a very important mission assigned to her. He was her mission, and she had to take him out."

"On a date?"

"N-no, she had to…"

"Ohhhh…"

"I shouldn't be telling you this."

"No! Go on, go on!"

"You have to understand these were dark and confusing times and there was lots of turmoil between countries. Out of fear new kinds of soldiers were created. Brilliant, brave soldiers whose greatest weapons were their minds. Those men and women were spies…"

Maria Marez, AKA Agent M, sat on the bench in one of the airports, chewing bubble gum and reading a magazine. Her hair was wavy and blonde, despite her tanned skin and dark sunglasses concealed her eyes. She wore a bright red coat over her black dress. When a certain man passed by her bench she watched him for a second before standing up and following. She adjusted her glasses closer to their face and immediately the lens zoomed in on her target. He was tall man with bright orange hair and green eyes. The micro computer in her glasses confirmed that he was indeed Eoin Kirkland.

Spitting out the gum in her hand, she threw it in Eoin's direction. He stepped on it and the gum stuck to his shoe, seemingly without his notice. Through her glasses Maria could see the trail it left and grinned. Now she could follow him at a safe distance. She immersed herself in a large crowd and whipped off her blonde wig. Now her hair looked to be auburn and stopped at her shoulders. Even if Agent Kirkland was as good as he was rumored to be, there was no way he would get out of this alive. Agent M was a master of disguise and could smell danger a mile away. Her work had stopped wars before they'd even started. The only thing she feared were other spies, enemy spies. She tried to remind herself of this when her conscious pricked her for preparing to kill Agent Kirkland.

Little did she know that it would be the assignment that changed her life.

She followed the man as he walked out of the airport and into a nearby hotel, standing silently at the door while he checked in and headed towards the elevator. Maria carefully noted which floor his room was on and entered the elevator. As it zoomed up she quickly removed her last wig, her real long black hair falling in a curtain down her back. She also took off her red coat and reversed it so that it now looked black. Maria took a deep breath. There was a gun in her purse. It was now or never.

The elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened… Eoin was waiting for her just outside the doors. Maria barely had time to gasp in shock before he reached out and grabbed a photograph that was hidden just inside the collar of her jacket. It was a picture of himself, given to Maria when she had been briefed for her mission. He reached into his own jacket and Maria tensed, expecting a gun or a knife. Instead he pulled out another picture. It was a picture of her! Now she understood. She had been sent to kill him, and he had been sent to kill her! Two tense seconds passed, though they seemed like hours, or even days.

Eoin reached her around and pressed the ground floor. Maria gaped in amazement while he smiled winningly and waved as the doors closed. She leaned against the wall as she traveled down, her head spinning. He was as charming and intelligent as reports said… and surprisingly honorable. Maria would have had no time, quick as she was, to get to her weapon if he had decided to attack her.

Before she went home she did two things; she told her superiors that the mission had failed, and she swapped phone numbers with Eoin Kirkland.

Lunch dates followed, discreetly of course. They were still technically on different sides and could not be seen together. Maria would sit on one side of a restaurant at an empty table and Eoin would sit at the opposite end. They became closer, even though physically they were apart. Dinner dates followed, when their mutual travels allowed and somehow in all the flurry and craziness that accompanied the life a spy they fell in love.

They accepted their most dangerous mission in Paris. They were both leaning against the railing of the Eiffel Tower (a safe ten feet apart) at night. Quietly, Eoin pulled something small out of his pocket and set it on the rail. Using his thumb and forefinger, he flicked it across and it slid into Maria's hand. She finally glanced down at the object. It was a heart-shaped box and covered in red velvet. Holding her breath she snapped it open. Inside was a thin gold ring inset with a single diamond. Maria pulled out the ring and slipped it on her left ring finger. Only then did she look at Eoin and smile. They were getting married.

On her wedding day she paced back and forth nervously, her white gown hindering her too much for her liking. She was about to get married to the enemy! It was riskier than a hundred deadly missions put together. Not to mention she hadn't gotten her parents' blessing. Her mother hadn't taken a liking to Eoin…

Unable to control herself, she punched the neck of an ice sculpture shaped like a swan. The head fell off and crashed to the floor. Maria guiltily swept the broken ice bits under a table and clumsily set the head back on the neck as best she could.

When the time came she considered escaping at the last minute, she was that afraid. The challenges that came with keeping a marriage alive, not to mention a family, along with their lives as spies scared even a hardened secret agent such as herself. In the end she did walk down the aisle and when she saw him waiting there, looking as if he had no doubt whatsoever, so assured in his decision and so enamored with what they were about to do… Well, it gave her the courage to take his hand, look deep into his eyes, and say the two most dangerous, most trusting words anyone can say.

"I do."

...Then all the problems that she'd been worrying about started. Helicopters from different factions swept up around the church, all aimed for the spies. It was no secret that many people wanted at least one of them gone (they were that good) and now they were both out in the open on their wedding day. To say they were tempting targets was an understatement. Luckily, Eoin and Maria had a plan. Maria's bridesmaids and Eoin's brothers pulled them to one side and helped them put on parachutes. Meanwhile, the other guests panicked and scattered. One man even ran into the wedding cake.

It just so happened that the church they were married in lay near a cliff by the sea. The couple ran towards this cliff, all the helicopters gunning after them. They exchanged a glance and smiled openly. They held hands and together they jumped off the cliff. The helicopters flew wide off the mark and they were able to let out their parachutes (red and shaped like two hearts) in peace. They landed in a boat that was waiting for them and waited long enough for the priest to finish the ceremony. Then the newlyweds kissed as they rode off into the sunset, away from espionage and spies. They fled far, far away until they were able to leave their former danger behind and begin a normal, peaceful life.

For them, the real adventure began when their first child, a daughter, was born a year later.

"...And they were better off. The end!"

"No 'happily ever after'?"

"I said they were better off."

"Great story, mama, but it needs a new ending."

"It needs monsters!"

"Is that right? Good night, niño."

Star: SDLAOPFWLSKF THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL! I actually really like this movie (I don't care much about the third, but the second's pretty good). Also, you will have to make this it's own story. Just saying, Viva. ;)

But you say that about every chapter, Star! =A=;

Also, like I said, finals are coming up so don't expect any chapters this week unless I feel really motivated. Wish me luck!