"You've got me, right?" Maxim asked. He was standing on the top of X-COM HQ with Aya, they were both wearing their armour, but not their weapons.

"I wont drop you" Aya reassured him. They'd decided to try flying again. He'd enjoyed the first time, when they were in the armoury, but was worried about this time, they were going to be a lot higher, hence why he was wearing his armour, so if he did drop, he could not become a red smear on the ground.

"Promise?"

"Why are you worried? Your armour will absorb the impact regardless"

"I still don't like being dropped from 10 stories up"

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to"

"No. I want to, I'm just getting the jitters"

"Well come on, we haven't got all day"

Maxim moved closer so he was almost nose to nose with her, well, nose to eyes, he was an inch or 2 taller. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he did the same to her. Aya engaged the jets, and the flew upwards, slower than last time, but still at a fast past. As they got higher she slowed the rise, eventually coming to a stop. Once they'd stopped, Maxim took his head away from her shoulder where he'd stuck it while they went up, he wasn't sure if he'd done that from nerves or the G-Force pushed his head there. He looked around. He'd never really seen the area around HQ before, they were underground, so he couldn't see through windows, there weren't windows in the Skyranger, and he'd been too worried on his flight to HQ the first time to take in the scenery, he wasn't even sure what country they were in. The area was mostly grassland ahead of them, with a forest in the distance, a mountain behind them, which was used to conceal the base. They were really high up, he began to feel nauseous. He turned from looking down, and instead just ended up looking at Aya as she looked around. Her hair was being whipped around by the wind and the jets, even though she kept it short-ish. The scar on her face was really visible, all the skin from the edge of her lip up to her forehead was covered in a burn scar, her ear had a bit of a burn on it, but not as much as the rest, the burn almost hit her eye, but just went around it, she still had both eye-brows, which was kind of impressive. Just as Maxim was noting the eyebrow, he noticed Aya wasn't looking around anymore, and he shifted his view back down to the scenery, feeling his face heat up.

"What?" Aya asked

Maxim looked back up to see her looking at him curiously. "Uh, I, uh" He couldn't think of any excuse as for why he was looking at her, even though he'd planned a few before he started looking, he was just drawing a blank.

"Do you find me attractive?"

Maxim nearly slipped from the suddenness of the question. His mind racing 'Is it a trap? Is she messing with me? But she's a psychopath, she wouldn't do that right? How does it work?' Eventually he settled on "Uhhhh". He didn't even know how to answer it. Did he? He hadn't really considered it before, he never really looked at, well, anyone, that way .

"Well?"

"What?"

"Do you find me attractive"

"It's, uh, that's, a bit, sudden don't you think"

"Is this not the right scenery for it?"

"Uh"

"You say that a lot. Answer my question"

"I, I don't, I never. I don't know. I've never thought"

"Then think now. We have about 10 minutes more before we have to go back down"

Maxim looked, he didn't know what else to do. They were too close together, so he couldn't do a 'Up and down', but he wouldn't do that anyway. So he just ended up looking into her face. She defiantly wasn't traditionally feminine, the massive scar ruined any chance of that, but then, Maxim was never a traditional guy. Without realizing it he triggered his Psionic vision, and found himself looking at her skeleton. That was rather disturbing, so he stopped it. Shaking his head to get the memory out. It's difficult to look at someone normally when you've seen their skeleton. He ended up staring into her eyes. He liked eyes. When he was bored he often ended up just staring at his own eyes in a mirror, not in a vain way, just in a, they're interesting way. Without even realizing he was speaking he said "Yes".

After a few seconds Aya said "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to ask if I find you attractive?"

"Uh" Maxim was struck by the fact that the person with a condition that makes them almost incapable of identifying emotions, was better at this conversation than he was. "Do, do you find me attractive?"

"Yes"

They floated in silence for a few minutes, Maxim feeling extremely awkward, and feeling like his face was going to melt, and trying to look at anything by Aya.

"Would you like to have sex"

This time Maxim did slip. He lost his grip on her waist immediately, and slipped down a few inches before he realized they were a few hundred feet off the ground, and he regained his grip. He face in her stomach. Could this get any more awkward. He suddenly felt a jerk, and was back face-to-face. She'd done the thing they did when he'd slipped a bit before, dropping down to be at his level. Well, it was a bit less awkward at least. "Did, did you just say"

"Would you like to have sex, with me"

"Here?"

"Of course not. We only have 4 minutes of fuel left" Not even a hint of irony in her voice.

"That's, that's, that's a bit of a sudden question don't you think?"

"Why not. We both find each other attractive. We have stressful occupations, and it is a pleasurable experience"

"You make it sound like science"

"It is a science, technically"

"Kinda kills the mood though"

"Just answer me. Would you like to have sex"

"Uh. I, I don't know how to answer that"

"Well, yes or no would be a start"

"That's not. I. Can I tell you something, personal?"

"Sure"

"I've, I've never-"

"Vampire, are you a virgin?"

"Well, uh. Yes"

"And you need to be married first?"

"No. No, it's not. I'm not religious"

"Then what is the questionable part here?"

"Well. I don't want my first time to just be some 'Hook-up'. I'd want it to actually, mean something"

"How would it not mean something?"

"What"

"Well. You're first time would be memorable anyways, and then the fact that it is with a woman you are attracted to, have known for, 8 months now, and after free-flying, would make it a memorable experience regardless of what would happen afterwards"

"But. I just don't want my first time to be a one-night stand"

"When did I say it would be a one-night thing?"

"Well, I, from the bluntness and the fact that you are, you know"

"A psychopath?"

"Well, ya. You don't form normal attachments right?"

"Not in the normal way. It is a cognitive basis in our relationships. For instance, spending time with you is an enjoyable experience, therefore I wish to spend time with you more often. Sex is an enjoyable action"

"You're making it into a science lesson"

"That is the only way I know how to explain it. We have 2 minutes of fuel. Do you want to decide now?"

"... Yes. Yes i'd like to have sex with you"

"Hey Max" Karl said as Maxim walked into the 'Lounge'. There were big arcade games along one wall, a pool table, a foosball table, an air-hockey table, and a few couches and chairs around T.V's and/or tables. He didn't spend much time in here, he had better games in his room. He would set up his games system in here. But he was worried someone would break it. Karl was currently engaged in what looked like a serious game of air-hockey with Eva. He decided not to interrupt, Karl looked pretty into it, and instead he sat down on one of the chairs to watch.

A few minutes later Karl threw his arms in the air, emitting a whoop as he won the game. Eva smiled and headed off towards one of the T.V's. Karl turned around, heading over to Maxim, then stopped as he saw him properly "You had sex didn't you?"

"What"

"You had sex. Recently"

"How. How can you tell?"

"Never mind that. Who? How? When?"

"Can we, discuss this, somewhere private"

"Oh, yeah"

Maxim lead Karl back to his room. As soon as Karl closed the door behind him he resumed bombarding Maxim with questions "C'mon man, tell me. Who. I know it wasn't Eva, she's been with me all day"

"Well. It was Aya"

Karl stopped and looked at him "Seriously?"

"Yes"

"Aya? The Psychopath of the group?"

"Yes"

"How?"

"Well, we were doing that free-flight thing we'd been talking about doing. Just flew a few hundred feet up with Aya's Archangel armour. Then she just asked me if I found her attractive"

"Just straight up?"

"Yeah"

"What'd you say?"

"I said I'd never thought about it. But she made me answer. So I said yes"

"Damn"

"That's not even the strangest bit. After that she just straight up asked me If I wanted to have sex"

"Woah. Aya be horny"

"No. She didn't seem like she'd be bothered either way"

Karl held up his hand for a high-five

"I'm not done" Maxim said, ignoring the hand

"Oh" Karl lowered his hand "Well, what else is there?"

"Well, that was. I'd never-"

"Holy crap. Max, was that your first time"

Maxim didn't answer, he could feel his face heating again

"Damn man. You're like 28, 29 right?"

"27, but, yeah"

"How were you a virgin?"

"I'd just. I'd never met the right girl"

"And Aya-"

"I don't know. I told her I didn't want my first time to end up as a one-night thing and-"

"Holy crap"

"Will you let me finish"

"Sorry"

"Well. She said it doesn't need to be a one-night thing"

"Wait so, is Aya you're, girlfriend, now"

"I don't know"

"What?"

"Well. She said we could, do it, again, but, you know, I don't think it's going to be a, relationship"

"So, friends with benefits?"

"I, I think something like that"

"Nice" he put his hand up for a high-five

"No. Not nice" Ignoring the hand again "I, I don't know what to do"

"Are you asking me for advice?"

"Maybe"

"You're asking Me, for relationship advice?"

"Uh"

"Probably not the best idea"

"Why?"

"Well. I'm not exactly a relationship guy"

"Seriously?"

"Nope. If you've ever seen Friends, the T.V show, I'm basically Joey"

"I came to Joey for relationship advice?"

"Afraid so"

"Well, that's just great"

"Hey, don't worry. You'll be fine"

"How, how am I going to be fine. I have no idea what I'm-"

"Look. You're you. You're the nice guy. It's getting the girl that's the problem, not keeping them. You'll be fine. It might not be a normal relationship, she is a psychopath after all, but it's a relationship, and, from the sounds of it, a great one"

"Thanks"

"Now come on. Tell me what happened"

"Well-"

"How you feeling?" Harold asked as Joe limped out of the operating room. His left arm and leg now a metallic silvery colour, and emitted a slight whirring sound as he moved them, he was completely bald on his head, and only had 1 eyebrow, and extreme burn and cut scars on the left side of his face, still fairly fresh as well. His left eye didn't move as he looked around, Rebecca said it would take him a few days before he could control it.

"Not great" Joe's voice was slightly more gravely now, a result of damage to his larynx. "But I'll live"

"How are your new limbs?"

"A bit stiff. But they said that'll go away in a few days" he tapped the eye "And this should start working soon"

"Good to see you in one piece"

"Well, relatively"

Harold laughed "Come on, let's get you to your room"

"Good idea"

Thank you for reading, and for sticking with it this far. We're reaching the end here, so thank you for keeping with this. I'm not good at, and not entirely comfortable with, describing a sex scene, so I decided to leave it up to your imagination, I'm sure it would be better than anything I could write up, I know I rated it M, but that was just to be safe, since I've had quite a lot of swears, and some gore, and violence, I could probably reduce the rating, but, meh, we're almost at the end, so it's kind of redundant at this point.