On their last full day in Hong Kong, Olivia woke up alone and lying in the middle of her big bed. It was much too cold without Tiago there to warm her bones. She heard humming coming from the bathroom and went to see what he was up to. When she peeked in through the door she found him shaving, dragging a cheap blade up his neck before tapping it on the sink and letting the foam slide down the rim.
"You're awake, darling." he says as he scrapes the blade against his jawline this time, "I thought you might sleep a bit longer."
"No use." she says, reaching out and running her hand down his upper arm, "I think I woke up because you weren't there to keep me warm."
He pursed his lips and blew her a kiss, "So needy." he joked, "This was just getting a little out of control." he said as he gestured at his face.
Truthfully she'd liked the way he looked with a bit of stubble, but it certainly wasn't professional and not exactly to the MI6 grooming standards. She watched him as he finished up, wincing as she saw him knick himself on his chin.
"It's nothing." he said jovially, "Are you ready for a shower?"
"Yes." she told him without hesitation. She was so used to their morning ritual now that it seemed odd to shower without him. He switched on the faucet and as they waited for the water to warm up he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I wish we could stay here forever." he murmured, kissing her temple. He smelled like shaving cream and the freshly shaved skin of his cheek was so soft against her own.
"All things must end." she said, more stoically than she anticipated, "It was good while it lasted."
He squeezed her tight then, bowing down and burying his face in her neck. They stood like that until the bathroom was so steamy that it was practically foggy, and Tiago turned the knob of the shower down a bit so as not to scald them once they stepped inside. She followed him in the shower, closing the frosted glass door behind them and running her hands down his back to grip at his arse. He moved closer to her, pulling her small body against his, running his hands down her back as well.
"I don't want to lose you." he blurts out.
She looks up at him, the spray of the shower getting in her eyes, "What do you mean?"
He swallows hard and she can see his Adam's apple bob up and down, "I – I just – once you're back in Britain, and then once I'm here – I'll miss you, is all."
"Well, you're stuck with me for your tenure, Rodriguez, how does that sound?" she tries to jest, but he looks so forlorn.
"I wish…" he shakes his head and whatever he was going to say dies in his throat. Olivia tries to ignore the sudden pain in her heart as she watches him, water streaming off his face and hair, his eyes cast down.
She kisses him, enjoying the feeling of his freshly shaved upper lip against her. When she pulls away she brings her hands up to his face, cupping both his cheeks with the palms of her hands.
"I'm only a phone call away." she says, trying to ease some of his discouragement, "I'll also be in Hong Kong at least once a year. It's not like I'll be dead." she laughs. He just stares at her. "And I'm sure you'll have found some young attractive thing to occupy all your time by that point anyway. It's not like you'll be pining for me."
She isn't sure if she says that for his benefit or hers.
He looks away and pulls the bar of soap off the soap dish, rubbing it in his hands before caressing her body with the suds it produced. She relaxes to his touch, placing her palms on his chest as he washes her.
"Promise you won't forget about me?" he asks.
"Tiago, how could I ever?" she says, moving her hands up to touch his neck, but once again there's nothing but sorrow written all over his face.
She is left wondering where such a request came from, but they bathe in relative silence, and soon the feel of his muscles under her soapy hands replaces any concern she has in her mind.
Luckily her last day in the office was a quiet one. She spent most of the day looking over resumes with Mr. Zhao and handpicked a few new candidates for the open security positions. It would be up to him which ones were hired on a permanent basis, and she trusted his judgment on the matter. Then she took Agent Hendricks aside and they officially closed 003's case file, double checking any loose ends or forgotten leads listed among his missions. They redacted as many lines of confidential information as they could and stamped a large 'Classified' in a bright red ink on the front of the envelope, stapling it up at the corners before filing it away in the archives. They would keep an eye out for any further developments on a possible breach, but since 003 was deceased the case was essentially closed. It's not like he could steal any more state secrets from the grave.
Tiago spent the day typing away on his very own computer, writing lines of code in C++ that made absolutely zero sense to her. The other employees still seemed impressed with him, marveling at how fast he was going with most of his code executed properly. Olivia was just pleased he was making a good impression.
She passed Agent Lau briefly in the halls, who was dragging a carry-on suitcase behind him and seemed weighted down by a heavy messenger bag. He was just in the office to gather some paperwork before he shipped off on his next mission. He was only supposed to be away for four weeks, but who knew how long he would actually wind up being stuck there.
"Off to Harbin?" she asked him.
"Yes, ma'am. Do you need anything else from me today?"
"No, not at all. Good luck, 005." she said and shook his hand.
He nodded and gave her a bright smile, "I'll see you when you're back in town?"
"Of course. Probably six months from now. Sooner if possible."
With that 005 was off. Olivia tried not to think about the things he would be doing in the field, even though she would read about them in great detail once his mission was over – exactly how many people were eliminated, how much blood was shed, what intel he had brought back from his travels. It was all in great contrast to the persona of a polite civil servant that he maintained in the office.
Tiago ended up leaving early since he ran out of work to do. As the hours went by the other employees started packing up one by one, until it was just the higher-ups left. Olivia said her goodbyes, assuring everyone she'd be back in six months to check up on the improvements they'd implemented. As the day came to a close, Agent Hendricks and Mr. Zhao showed her out of the office, both shaking her hand in parting.
"Six months? You promise?" Agent Hendricks jested.
"I'll do my best." she said, "And I'll call as soon as I'm back in London."
She exhaled a huge sigh of relief when she left the office for the last time. The problems at Station H were far from solved, but at least she would be away from the chaos for a bit – or perhaps she was just trading one chaos for another.
They had dinner at the noodle house one last time. It was delicious as always, and the chef laughed and called them his favorite customers. Tiago assured him that he would be back again, but that his mother was unlikely to be joining in the future. Olivia felt some sadness in the pit of her stomach as she picked at her sauteed chicken and green beans, finding it strange that she wouldn't be back at this restaurant ever again and wistful that she wouldn't be with Tiago.
When they left Tiago extended his arm so she could take the crook of his elbow, just like a gentleman. Though she felt guarded and worried someone from MI6 might see them, she couldn't help but feel cherished as he walked her back to the hotel. She knew any passersby assumed it was just a handsome young man assisting his mother – if only they knew what happened behind closed doors.
Once they were back in her room, she started packing away all her belongings and getting ready for their long flight back to Britain the next morning. Tiago just sat on the couch with a beer in hand as some mindless action flick played on the television, but he wasn't really paying attention. Instead he was watching her every move.
"Is this really so interesting?" she jokingly asked him.
He took a sip of his beer and grinned, "I just like to watch my woman in action."
"Ha!" she laughed, "I hardly call this action and just for the record, I'm not your woman."
"Ah, but you've fallen for my charms, no? You let me make love to whenever I please, it seems you are in fact my woman."
Olivia rolls her eyes, "Keep it up and you'll soon be calling me only Madam, Mr. Rodriguez."
He purses his lips together and blows another kiss at her, "Perhaps I'll just stick to calling you Mommy, since you're the one who signs my paychecks after all."
"Tiago!" she yells, "I told you to stop that!"
"Yes, mother." he says, wiggling his eyebrows, "I won't be naughty again."
Olivia couldn't hide her laugh, "Keep it up and I might just have to punish you."
"Hmm." he purred, placing his drink down, "You can punish me in any way you see fit, Mommy."
She turns and glares at him, "One last chance, young man."
He gets up and closes the space between them, lowering his head to her ear. "Are you going to give me a countdown? Tell me to sit in time out? Tell me, mother."
With that she gives him a hard smack on his arse. He's caught so off guard that he yelps, and Olivia can only double over in laughter as he goes reeling forwards from the force of it. Once the shock wears off he also starts laughing, and shakes his head, "I deserved that."
"You did, indeed."
Once they stopped laughing they found themselves just looking at one another. There was a sudden visible hunger in his dark eyes, so heavy and foreboding it stopped Olivia in her tracks. He licked his lips.
"So this is it?" he asks.
"What is?"
"Our last night here."
"Yes, Tiago, this is it. At least, this is your last night with me. Soon you'll be here all the time."
He nodded, as if trying to imagine that looming future. Olivia tried to commit this moment to memory – him with his disheveled hair and old denim jacket, taking up space in this hotel room that he was never supposed to be in. She was going to hold on to these memories they'd made for the rest of her life, buried away with all the other lascivious thoughts she couldn't allow herself to wallow in.
"Well," he said, and gave a small grin, "We should make the best of it shouldn't we?"
Before she could answer him she felt his mouth against hers, hard and fervent, and his hands in her hair. They shed their clothing and had a frenzied fuck while pressed up against the wall; both so lost in their senses, completely animalistic and wanton. Without realizing it she had raked her nails against his lower back, scratching him far deeper than she intended. When they were finished and he put her back on the floor she gasped when she saw the blood on his skin and forced him into the bathroom so she could wash it off with soap and water.
"I'm so sorry!" she said as she drew a warm washcloth against the lacerations, "I really didn't mean to do that."
He had laughed as he looked at them in the mirror, "What's a man without a few battle scars?"
"Fuck, this is going to scar badly, I can tell." she said as she stood back at looked, the bleeding was finally easing up but the flesh was still red, raw and raised.
"It's fine." he told her, "Just a reminder of our time here." and he kissed her on the forehead before getting dressed again, only to excuse himself to his room and finish packing his bags.
He was gone for the next forty-five minutes, so she brewed some tea and sat down on the sofa, unable to figure out the plot of the annoying action flick that was still playing. She changed the channel to the news, an international station broadcasting in English, but as always it just seemed there was nothing but heartache in the world. Bombings, murders, natural disasters – she was tired of bad news, so she just turned the telly off altogether.
By the time he got back he was out of breath, lugging his suitcases behind him.
"I locked up my room so I won't have to do it in the morning. I figured we can just leave as soon as we wake up."
"Good plan." she said, looking at the clock. It was only 21:00 but their flight would leave early, "Maybe we should turn in?"
Tiago looked at the clock and it seemed like he wanted to protest, but he just silently nodded and headed for the bedroom. He discarded all his clothes and hopped in bed, and Olivia followed suit. It's not like they had much need for bedclothes, now being so accustomed to seeing every inch of one another. As he pulled the sheets up over them he curled himself around her, "Goodnight, darling." he said sweetly as he kissed her shoulder.
It didn't take too long for her to fall asleep. That night she dreamt of Bert, that she walked the streets of Hong Kong with him hand in hand. It was as if not a day had passed since he died. Suddenly he turned to look at her with a puzzled look on his face.
"Olivia – what are you going to do now?" he asked her expectantly, his voice somehow louder than the traffic surrounding them.
With that she snapped awake, and there was only the sound of Tiago's breath that filled the room. She still didn't know how to answer the question posed in her dream.
It was raining when they arrived back in London. Not a pouring, soaking rain; just some drizzle, but it was enough to make the whole day seem so dreary. The heat of the summer didn't help the feeling, and as soon as they stepped off the plane she felt as if they were walking through soup.
They'd spent most of the flight in silence. Tiago had grabbed her hand and squeezed it during takeoff, but she wasn't sure if the gesture was more for her or for him. The flight home had far less turbulence than their first flight, and she had even found herself able to doze for a bit. Once their plane landed, he followed her to the baggage claim, helping her with her things and taking her towards the exit.
"You'll get home alright?" she asked him, knowing he was going to hop on the train to his flat.
"Yeah." was all he said, and before they could leave the austere halls of the airport he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
She wished he would have just kissed her full on the mouth, but people were looking, and her husband was waiting in their car somewhere outside.
As they went through the doors she spotted Matthew's car almost instantly, a dark red Audi with a long scratch on the boot. Tiago followed her, still helping her with her bags, and when Matthew got out of the car she felt her heart skip a beat.
Matthew was nothing but smiles, "You must be Tiago?" he asked, taking the suitcases from him and throwing them in the backseat, "Thank you for keeping my wife company, she told me over the phone that you two had a productive trip?"
Olivia held her breath, but Tiago didn't seem to skip a beat.
"Yes, sir. Very productive."
There wasn't even a single hint of sarcasm in his voice. He'll be a good spy, after all, Olivia thought to herself.
Once all her bags were loaded she went to get in the passenger seat, but before she could she turned back to Tiago.
"I'll see you in the office." she said and extended her hand to shake his.
He took it, squeezing her hand just as hard as he'd done on the flight, "Yes, ma'am."
As she and Matthew rolled away from the airport she looked back to see Tiago still standing there, and he raised his hand to wave in parting. She waved back at him. The dejected look on his face was obvious.
She turned back around and closed her eyes to rid herself of the image.
"Olivia?" she suddenly heard Matthew say.
"Yes?"
"Did you hear what I said? I asked you how the garden was?"
Ah yes, she'd told him about Nan Lian Garden over the phone.
"Beautiful. It was my favorite part of the trip. Even though most of it was just work-related issues anyway." she trailed off.
"Maybe I'll join you on one of these drips one day, hmm? You can show me all around Hong Kong. I'm interested to see it." he said cheerfully.
"Absolutely." she told him, but she didn't really mean it.
They spent the rest of the car ride with Matthew asking her about the trip while she tried to be as honest as possible. She was so relieved to finally pull up to their home, jump out of the car, and busy herself with unpacking rather than face the horrible feelings that lingered in her chest like a disease.
Later that night Olivia is awake. It's almost three o'clock in the morning but she's jet lagged, feeling like she needs sleep more than anything but also feeling as if she'd just drank three espressos in a row.
Matthew is sleeping peacefully. Her envy towards these men who can sleep without issue has turned into pure irritation. How is it she is the only one stuck with these thoughts, with these feelings of remorse and disgrace? She looks at Matthew, and he lightly snores every time his chest rises and falls. He smells nothing like Tiago. Matthew smells like old books and tobacco and herbs. Aside from the awful cologne he wears, Tiago smells like leather and something earthy and masculine she can't put her finger on. She finds herself missing that smell so much.
She rests her head against her raised knees and lets a few tears come. It's certainly not a flood, but she feels the saline staining the skin of her cheeks and temples. She doesn't want to be here, awake and distressed in her marital bed. She wishes she was back in her hotel on the 17th floor, but that's over now.
On Monday she's expected back in the office. She's expected to be professional and succinct as always. No one at MI6 has time for her midlife crisis, or whatever this is, and there's a hungry horde of colleagues who would jump at the chance to eat her alive if they knew what had conspired on her trip to Hong Kong.
She wiped her tears away and swallowed down her sorrow.
There was still so much work that had to be done.