A/N: I know, I know. I have another story I'm working on but this one popped into my head and I needed to get it out. It's definitely different and completely A/U. I won't give away too much so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Tick, tick, tick. The second hand on the wall clock ticked away like a time bomb, ready to blow any second. It made the silence in the room much more uncomfortable. They sat on either side of the couch, only a few feet between them but they may as well have been worlds apart. How did it come down to this? Despite how it all started, how madly in love they once were, they were vastly different people today.

"Well, who would like to start?" the woman sitting in front of the couple asked. Neither said a word. "Yor?" The woman looked up immediately, her eyes wide like saucers.

"My husband is a good man," Yor said immediately. "He has served his country for over a decade. He's kind and gentle and cooks because I'm terrible at it. We rarely argue or fight. He solves problems before they become problems. He's never raised a hand to me or talked down to me. He's always provided for me and my brother. He's perfect."

"Then why are we here?"

Yor glanced over at her husband on the other side of the couch. He didn't look at her; he just kept his eyes trained on a spot on the floor. "I…I don't know. I don't know what or when it happened."

"That's ok," the other woman smiled. "Why don't we start at the beginning?"

~7 Years Earlier~

Yor hurried down the street, dress in hand. Somehow she managed to tear her nicest dress just by taking it out of the closet. Of course she would ruin it on the day she was supposed to attend some ball with her grandfather. She hated attending them, but it was important to her grandfather that they make appearances at these things. Afterall, they came from a long line of service men. Her grandfather was a retired Brigadier General. Before he died, her father reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Her brother was only eleven, but he already had dreams of reaching high ranks. The thought scared her. Their grandfather retired because he was injured in combat. Her father died a few years ago while on tour. She couldn't imagine losing Yuri that way as well.

Still, she did as she was asked. She put on a pretty dress and danced with single, eligible officers. At the end of the night, she declined to date them and that was that.

When she walked into her favorite dress shop, she noticed that there were two men at the counter. The shorter man had a squarish face, with red brimmed glasses. His short, dark brown hair was shaved on the side, but what little was left on top was in a tight wore a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a loosened red tie around his neck. His black pants were held up by a pair of black suspenders. It was his friend that caught Yor's eye. He was much taller than the other man. His slim build was well defined under his jeans and gray t-shirt.

Yor looked away quickly when he turned his head in her direction, but caught a glimpse of his face in the corner of her. He couldn't be much older than her. Early to mid-twenties for sure. He had short unkempt blonde hair. His bright blue eyes were behind a pair of black half-frame browline glasses. She could feel his eyes on her, making no attempt to be discreet or look away. She shifted a little as she stood at the other end of the counter, waiting to be helped. She let out a sigh and turned toward the blonde.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked irritably.

He looked a little surprised at her outburst. "I'm sorry," he apologized with a half-smile. "It's just you're so beautiful." He cleared his throat and finally looked away. "Still, it's rude to stare, so I must apologize."

"Oh, it's ok I guess," Yor muttered. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She didn't have many men call her beautiful. Sure they've said she was attractive or "hot", but beautiful wasn't a word used to describe her. She actually thought she was pretty plain compared to her friends.

She watched the blonde in the corner of her eye as he leaned forward on the counter. His friend was trudging off to the back to get fitted for something.

"Behave, Frankie," he warned his friend. The shorter man flipped his middle finger up at his and the blonde just shook his head.

One of the tailors walked up to Yor and took her torn dress. She let the older woman know that she needed a quick mend in the next few hours. The women at the dress shop had known Yor for years, so they were happy to fulfill her request. They told her to wait a few minutes and they would have her dress ready for her quickly. She waited at the other end of the counter, casually glancing at the young blonde, trying not to be too obvious.

"Are you new to town?" Yor asked, trying to make conversation.

The blonde looked over at her and nodded. "I've visited before, but yea. I just moved here," he replied. "Live here long?"

"Pretty much my whole life," she laughed. "This dress shop has been making and mending my dresses since I was a baby. What brings you here? To the dress shop I mean."

He looked back toward the room his friend disappeared into. "My 5 foot 5 buddy in there seems to think he's 6 foot tall. Needless to say, his pants are a little too big." When she laughed, Yor could see the corners of his mouth move upward. "Even your laugh is pretty."

"Ok, these have to be pick up lines," Yor teased.

The blonde turned to face her, half sitting on the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "No, just pointing out facts. A pick up line would be more like, 'did it hurt when you fell?'"

"When I fell?

"Yea from heaven because you have to be an angel." They stared at each other for a second as they tried to keep straight faces, but both burst out laughing seconds later. "Ok, that one was terrible."

"How about this one?" Yor took a deep breath to try to collect herself. "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together."

"That's pretty bad too," he laughed. "I got one. Would you like to feel my shirt? It's made out of boyfriend material."

"That one sounds like something you've used before." He looked down with a smirk on his face. "Oh my God, you have used that before."

"Maybe once or twice."

"And it actually worked?"

"The first time," he shrugged.

"And the second?"

He looked up at her over his glasses. "You tell me."

She looked away as she started to blush again. He was handsome, funny and a smooth talker? He definitely was trouble. Their interaction was cut short when the woman that left with Yor's dress returned with the mended garment.

"You are all set, Yor," the elderly woman smiled. "I put it on your grandfather's account."

"Thank you." She took the dress and looked back at the blonde. He pushed himself off the counter as she slowly backed toward the door. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too," he smiled. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Maybe." She turned to walk out the door.

"I'm Loid, by the way."

She looked back at him and smiled at him shyly. "Good luck with those pick up lines, Loid." She gave him a quick wave before walking out the door.

"Hey if you're done flirting, I wanna get out of here Loid," Yor heard Loid's friend say followed by a yelp. "Ow! Why would you snap my suspenders?!"

"Because hitting you in the face would get me in trouble," Loid snapped.

Yor hurried out the door. She was tempted to glance through the window to see if he was still watching her as she walked away, but fought the urge. She pressed her lips together and tried not to smile too hard.

The contrast between the Briar siblings was obvious. Where Yor hated these balls, Yuri couldn't wait to attend them. Every so often, after a tour has ended, a high ranking officer's wife will throw a ball to welcome home the troops. Tonight was Yuri's first ball. His grandfather would always tell him he was too young, but the General finally relented. The younger Briar even got a brand new suit made for the occasion.

When Yor got home with her dress, she noticed that the tailor had made some…revealing alterations. The cut in the front of the dress plunged deeper than it had before, exposing more cleavage than Yor expected. To make the tear on the side of the dress less noticeable, the slit on the side of the red dress went further up her thigh. For the last hour, she was constantly adjusting her dress in a futile attempt to cover herself up.

"Please stop fidgeting, Yor," her grandfather sighed. "People will stare."

"Grandpa, they're going to stare because my boobs are about to fall out of this dress," Yor half-joked.

General McMahon sighed as he shook his head. Yor may have looked like his daughter, but they were vastly different people. His granddaughter never seemed to grow out of her "awkward teenager" phase. She easily got nervous, stumbled over her words and feet, and didn't seem all too social. She was a sweet girl, but her quiet and shy demeanor kept her from living a full life. Yuri, on the other hand, was loud, ambitious, and a social butterfly. He had grandeurs of being a general just like his grandfather.

"No one wants to see your boobs, Yor," Yuri stated matter of factly.

"You won't want to see mine but give it time and you'll feel differently about other women's boobs," Yor teased.

"That's quite enough out of you two," their grandfather scolded. "Yuri, this is your first event so I'll allow this indiscretion, but Yor you know better."

"Sorry grandpa," both Briar siblings apologized.

"Yor isn't that Jack Glooman?" Yuri asked.

Yor looked across the room and shuddered when she saw the pharmaceutical tycoon. He was nearly 15 years her senior, but still asked Yor's grandfather if he could take his granddaughter on a date. The General respectfully declined on behalf of his granddaughter, but Glooman still tried to gain her favor.

"Enough of that, Yuri," General McMahon scolded. "Mr. Glooman aside, tonight would be an opportune time for you to socialize. The young gentlemen in attendance come from good families and have decent values. It will do you well to familiarize yourself with names, faces, and perhaps even meet someone."

Meeting someone was the last thing on her mind tonight. She didn't understand why it was so important that she find someone to marry. It wasn't the 50s anymore. She wasn't going to be arrested for being a single woman. Besides, she had met someone. Well, sort of. She wondered if she would ever run into Loid from the dress shop again. Their interaction was brief, but definitely memorable. She couldn't get over how easily she was attracted to him.

She noticed a crowd of women her age crowding around a soldier. There were so many of them she couldn't even see the guy in the center. He must be either really cute or really famous. She had a weird feeling as she passed the crowd. It wasn't weird in a bad or unsettling sense, but more like something…familiar. She looked back into the sea of people, but whoever was causing the hysteria had seemingly gotten away.

Yor and her brother stuck close to their grandfather as they usually did at these gatherings. They were introduced to or refamiliarized with high ranking officials. Usually Yor was the subject of discussion as they mingled, but today the General was bragging about his grandson. Yuri was an extremely bright young man. There was talk at his school about allowing him to take college courses and earning at least his AA before he entered high school.

"The boy will give Sherwood's cousin a run for his money," a Colonel - Edgar Felone - laughed as he patted Yuri on the shoulder, almost knocking the boy over.

"I don't know about that, Edgar. Yuri is a bright boy, but Sherwood's man is quite impressive. I heard he scored perfectly on the ASVAB as well as his SATs."

"You heard right. Sherwood's boy is a certified genius. He just finished his third tour and already has a few degrees under his belt."

"My, my. I will definitely have to meet him."

Yor rolled her eyes. Her grandfather was always talking about the smartest and brightest person in the room. She, unfortunately, didn't get the McMahon brains. She wasn't unintelligent, but her inadequacies and shortcomings were more prominent around Yuri. She never held it against her brother. She was more useful in other ways. After her parents died and they moved in with their grandfather, she was the only woman in the house. She kept the house running when she wasn't at work. Laundry was always done, the fridge was always full, floors and kitchen were always clean. The only thing she didn't do was cook. Not after she gave her brother and grandfather food poisoning.

The General let her know she wanted her to get married and have someone take care of her for once. She deserved it for having to grow up so fast. But she was so busy taking care of them, she didn't have time to meet people. The people she did meet weren't her type or complete jerks. She didn't care if she met someone anyway. She was still young. She had plenty of time for love later on in life. She needed to be sure that Yuri and her grandfather were ok first.

"You might get your chance, Matthew," Edgar noted as he pointed off in the distance. "Sylvia is headed this way."

"General McMahon, I'm so glad to see you made it this evening," a tall, thin strawberry blonde woman in full dress blues greeted as she approached. She was accompanied by an equally tall, yet brawny man in dress blues as well.

"Ah, Captain and Major Sherwood, we were just talking about you," General McMahon smiled as he shook their hands.

"Good things I hope," the woman, Major Sylvia Sherwood, teased.

"Of course, Major. We were actually just talking about your cousin. Where is the Sergeant?"

"Hopefully behaving. Two things tend to follow my cousin: trouble and women. More so when his little friend. Well, the trouble part is when the Corporal is around."

"Little is one way to put it," her husband laughed. "Corporal Franklin is barely taller than your grandson."

"Ahem." When she cleared her throat, her husband instantly stopped laughing. "Andrew, dear, why don't you go find my cousin? You'll probably have to bat the young women off of him."

"Of course." He nodded and hurried off into the crowd.

"My God Sylvia, you even command that giant of a man," Edgar laughed.

"They don't call me the Iron Lady for no reason," she laughed.

"I assume so. It sounds like your cousin is quite the ladies man."

"He's a decent looking young man. Girls have always flocked to him, but he seems rather unphased by it. Almost uninterested. He's always liked to keep to himself. He's had his nose buried in a book since he was a child."

"Sounds like my granddaughter," General McMahon said. Yor let out a sigh at his not so subtle jab. She really wanted this day to be over.

"Oh, there he is now," Sylvia said as she waved at someone. She motioned for them to come over.

Yor's eyes widened as she spotted a familiar face making their way through the crowd. He looked different in his dress blues. His disheveled hair was now neatly parted on one side and combed over. He had no glasses to hide behind, but Yor couldn't forget those bright blue eyes. She immediately lowered her head and tried to hide behind her grandfather hoping he wouldn't see her.

"General McMahon, I'd like to introduce you to my cousin - Sergeant Loid Forger," Sylvia proudly introduced.

Loid saluted his senior officer, garnering an approving smile from the General. "At ease, soldier," the older man said as he held his hand out.

"It's an honor to meet you, General McMahon," Loid greeted gleefully as he shook the General's hand.

"The same goes for you, Sergeant Forger. I've heard a lot about you."

"Don't I know you?" the Colonel asked as he stared at Loid.

Loid shook his head. "I don't believe so, Colonel." The older man didn't seem to believe him as he continued to stare and rack his brain where he had met the young soldier.

"Your cousin here speaks highly of you. Top of your class, recruited into special forces the moment you were eligible, all while earning how many degrees?"

Loid looked over at Sylvia who gave him a nod to respond. "I've earned three. Not including the two I got prior to enlisting."

"They said you're a genius," Yuri stated.

Loid looked down at the younger Briar and smiled. "Eh. I know stuff."

"My apologies for not introducing you. This is my grandson, Yuri Briar," the General introduced as he scooted Yuri forward.

"Nice to meet you, Yuri. I'm Loid." He extended his hand to the smaller boy.

Yuri hesitantly took Loid's hand to shake it. "Whoa, your handshake is strong," he noted.

"I was taught that a flimsy handshake is a sign of a weak willed man."

"Your dad told you that?"

Loid shook his head. "Nope, she did." He pointed at Sylvia beside him. "How old are you, Mr. Briar?"

"Eleven. Why? How old are you?"

"Twenty-two." Loid looked over at Sylvia again to ask for permission, which she gave with a nod. Loud motioned with two fingers for the younger Briar to come closer. "When you're shaking someone's hand, you want to be firm but don't squeeze it like you're trying to hurt them. You're greeting them, not fighting them. You also want to look them in the eye. Give them your full attention. Last, keep the handshake to about two or three seconds."

"Why two or three seconds?"

"You don't want it to get weird. Alright, let's see what you got son." Yuri nodded and took Loid's hand again and did his best to follow the directions he gave. "Much better. "

Yuri stared at his hand in awe as he returned to his grandfather's side. Yor had never seen her brother take to someone so quickly. Ever since their dad died, Yuri was weary about getting too close to people. He had a lot of friends, but he didn't let them get too close. Male adults he always just shrugged off as if they weren't even there. He had his grandfather and that's the only male role model he needed as far as he was concerned. But something about Loid Forger seemed different.

"They said you were a ladies man," Yuri said. "What's that mean?"

Before Loid could say anything, Colonel Felone huffed, "I knew I remembered you! You dated my daughter!"

Loid slowly raised a brow. "Um, I can't say I recall…"

"Karen! Karen Felone! You dated her, dumped her, then disappeared."

"Oh," Loid chuckled to himself and rubbed the back of his neck, "Karen. Well, see, we didn't really date. More like we went out on one date, but we weren't…compatible. I also didn't disappear. I was deployed."

"Isn't she the girl that was as dumb as rocks and was a terrible kisser?" Sylvia asked flatly. Colonel Felone's face turned beet red as he pushed his way past Loid and Sylvia, grumbling something about disrespecting him.

"I never told you I kissed her," Loid said in a loud whisper to his cousin.

"It was a bluff. I hope you didn't. That woman is terrible."

"Yea, she was."

"You're not answering me about kissing her." Loid stared at her for a long moment with a blank expression. "You're disgusting," Sylvia sighed as she shook her head.

"General McMahon, may I ask you who the young lady that's been hiding behind you is?" Loud asked.

Yor's eyes widened. He knew she was there? Ok so it wasn't the best hiding place, but he also didn't point out the whole time he saw her. She was hoping she would just go unnoticed like she usually did.

"Sergeant Forger, this is my granddaughter," General McMahon said as he gently pulled her to stand in front of him, "Yor Briar."

Loid did a double take as he looked up and saw Yor. He was staring at her, looking her up and down from head to toe. He seemed to be shocked to see her or maybe see her like this. She was pretty covered up at the dress shop earlier. She was really hating the alterations made to her dress now.

"It's lovely to meet you, Ms. Briar," Loid greeted as he held his hand out to her.

When she took his hand, Yor felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her. Her whole body felt like it was tingling. She couldn't look away as he stared into her eyes. She seemed to lose all train of thought.

"It's, um, hi," she stammered.

"Hi," he greeted in return with a smile. They stood staring at each other, holding hands for a moment. Neither seemed to want to look away or let go.

"Yor, I think he likes your boobs," Yuri said, interrupting their moment.

Loid immediately dropped Yor's hand and took a step back. Yor's jaw dropped in horror. What did he just say?

"Yuri!" the General scolded as he pulled the boy back to his side.

"I am going to kill you!" Yor growled as she pushed her brother.

"Yor, that's enough!" The Briars looked down at their feet. Their grandfather was a kind and caring man, but he commanded respect when he spoke. "Sergeant, I am so sorry. Teenage boys these days think it's hilarious to say inappropriate things at inappropriate times."

"It's alright. I'll just take that as my cue to leave," Loid chuckled. "It was a pleasure meeting you all." He turned to leave, leaning over to his cousin. "One hour. I won't stay a minute longer."

Sylvia took the opportunity to excuse herself as well. The moment they were both gone, Yor turned to her brother and punched him in the arm.

"I cannot believe you said that! What's wrong with you?!" Yor yelled.

"What? He was obviously staring at them," Yuri pointed out.

"It's not something you mention aloud, Yuri," the General noted.

"Grandpa, can I please go home?" Yor begged.

"Absolutely not. It would be an insult to our host if you left this early." He sighed and turned to his granddaughter. "Our family is well known around here. I know you dislike having to be at these events, but we have an image to uphold. You're the granddaughter of a Brigadier General. Your father, God rest his soul, not only was under my command, but served with that couple you just met. We are staples in this community."

"But…"

The older man put his hand up to stop her strife before they began. "I don't want to hear it, Yor. I'm sorry you were thrusted into this life, but it is the life we live. I'm counting on you two to carry on this legacy our family has built."

She hated when he guilt tripped her. Both her parents were only children, so she had no aunts, uncles or cousins. She couldn't blame her grandfather for being concerned for their family line, but the stress and pressure was overwhelming. Yuri would carry on the name and pass it on to his children if he decided to have any. But it was up to Yor as well. The name wouldn't carry on, but the bloodline would. In all honesty, it made her doubt having children. It seemed to be all that she was good for in this family: breeding.

"I think Camilla is here. May I look for her?" She lied. She knew her friend wasn't there, but she needed to get away. The General sighed and nudged his head, indicating she was excused.

She quickly slipped away. She would have to pop into her grandfather's view every once in a while, but for the most part she was free to roam around. Not that she cared to. It was painfully clear that she was socially awkward. Toss in her revealing dress, she was down right uncomfortable. She wondered if she would ever stop being awkward. She was far too easily flustered and overthought everything. She couldn't cook. And more than once she was told she was "too strong for a woman." Mr. Glooman wasn't looking too bad of a prospective husband right about now.

Yor managed to keep to herself most of the night. She dadged several young men that she heard were searching her out. She had met most of them before and knew of all their reputations. Not a single one of them had noble intentions. She wondered if Loid's intentions were noble. It seemed to be the consensus that he was a ladies man, but what did that mean? Did he date a lot of women? Or was he just popular with them? Did he sleep around or just go around kissing girls?

Why did it matter to her anyway? He knew he wasn't sticking around for too long, so why would he want to get serious with anyone? He was a young, good looking, intelligent man. He wouldn't want plain Jane, simple minded Yor Briar. She was so consumed with her thoughts, she didn't realize she was walking into someone until it was too late.

"Oh I'm so sorry," she apologized. When she looked up, she almost cried. She had run into Jack Glooman.

"Ms. Briar! Funny to run into you," the older man smiled. "I've been looking for you all evening."

She could feel his creepy old man eyes staring at her cleavage. "Have you? Funny, I've been here," she laughed nervously. "If you'd excuse me, I…" She tried to turn to leave, but he grabbed her wrist and held her in place.

"Hold on now, what's the rush? I was hoping to talk to you."

Yor looked down at his hand on her wrist. She had been taking self-defense classes since she was seven thanks to her father, but she was sure hitting a prominent figure in the community was frowned upon - even for a General's granddaughter.

"Mr. Glooman, can you please let go of me?" she asked as calmly as possible.

"I was just wondering if you've had time to reconsider my offer," he said, ignoring her request.

Not only had he asked her grandfather if he could date her, but he had also apparently proposed a marriage arrangement as if she were something to be bought and traded. Matthew McMahon could have cared less for a stake in a pharmaceutical company. In fact, rumor was he had threatened to uncover every dirty secret Jack Glooman had if he ever tried to buy his granddaughter again. The threat didn't seem to waver the man's persistence.

"Mr. Glooman, again, I'll have to ask that you let me go, Yor insisted.

"I know you're young, but people will begin to talk sooner or later," Glooman said. "It's gotten around this circle that you've been avoiding all the young men. Never dated or even entertained the idea of dating? Not even for coffee. People will talk."

"Who I do and do not date is my business alone," Yor spat. "I'm not so desperate for a husband that I would lower my standards and date a creepy old man that is on his third wife. So I'll ask you one more time, Mr. Glooman, please let go of me."

Yor could hear people whispering around her. In the corner of her eyes, she saw people staring as well. They were causing a scene. Yet no one was stepping in to get the older man away from her.

"There you are!" she heard a familiar voice say. In an instant, Loid was at her side putting his arm around her with a big cheesy grin. "Sorry I took so long. The line at the bar was really long. I just gave up and decided I should just come find you. Everything ok here, babe?"

Babe? What was he doing? Yor looked up at him with a confused expression. He gave her a look that told her to play along. "Oh, yea, everything's ok," she replied.

Mr. Glooman let go of Yor's wrist and took a step back. "I'm sorry, are you two here together?" he asked.

Loid nodded, pulling Yor closer to him now that she was free from the other man's grasp. "We are," the younger man smiled. "I should have known better than to leave her alone in such a big crowd. It's my first time at one of these things." Loid laughed and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I didn't realize how easy it was to get separated."

"Right…"

"Well, we should get going. I wouldn't want anyone thinking something less respectable was happening in my absence."

The cheesy grin on Loid's face was gone now, replaced with an icy glare. Yor could feel the mood shift as well. It was almost hostile. Mr. Glooman seemed to notice it too. He took a few uncomfortable steps back.

"R…right. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," Glooman stuttered.

Loid guided Yor away in the opposite direction of the crowd. She was tempted to look back and see everyone's expressions.

"Don't look back," Loid instructed firmly. "They are definitely watching."

"What do we do?" Yor asked. She was sure that her grandfather wouldn't be upset that she was rebuking Mr. Glooman's advances, but he would probably disapprove of her telling him off in public.

Loid spun her into him and took her other hand in his, taking her by surprise. "Just follow my lead. Literally, we're going to dance so follow my lead."

"I don't recall you asking me to dance, Sergeant."

He looked down at her with a raised brow. "If you'd like, I can take you back to the creepy old dude trying to turn you into his third wife."

He pretended to take a step back, but she pulled him right back. "You are a jerk, you know that?" He laughed as he moved back toward her as they moved to the music. She let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. You're not a jerk. Thank you for that back there."

"You're welcome. I saw that guy grab you and I tried to get there as quickly as I could. Guys like that are fucking assholes." He scrunched his face. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Yor could tell that he was really bothered by what went down. Whatever trauma he had about it was something he felt strongly about.

"He is an asshole," she said, trying to cheer him up. He flashed a quick smile. "So, how did you find me?"

"You really wanna know?" he asked. She nodded. "I…was trying to get away from some people."

"What?"

Loid nudged his head to the right. When Yor looked, Colonel Felone and a blonde woman were staring at them with angry looks on their faces. "Is that…"

"Karen? Yea. She found out I was here. Also…" He nudged his head in the opposite direction.

"No. You're kidding me." When he lowered his head and shook it, she looked to the left to see a young woman with platinum blonde hair - nearly white - in dress blues staring daggers at them. "Did you kiss that one too?!"

"No! That's Private First Class Fiona Frost. I helped train her and she seems to have…a crush on me." Yor couldn't help but laugh. "It's not funny. I'm technically her commanding officer."

"Oh I'm sure she wants you to command her."

Loid rolled his eyes. "It's very awkward. I've told her I'm not into her but she just…tries. Then there's Karen with this imaginary relationship."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have kissed her."

"It was an accident."

"How do you accidentally kiss someone? Did she trip and you caught her with your lips?"

"I was giving her a kiss on the cheek and she turned her head. God it was terrible." Yor dropped her head into his chest and laughed. She could feel his chest moving up and down as he chuckled as well. "Oh shit."

Yor looked up Loid. His eyes were darting in several different directions. "What's wrong?"

"They're coming."

"Who?"

"All of them."

Yor looked around to see Karen, her father, Fiona, and Mr. Glooman headed toward them. "What do we do?" she asked.

Loid looked around as he considered their options. "Run," he said.

She thought he was joking for a moment, but then he dropped one of his hands and tugged on the hand he was still holding. She laughed as they made their way through the crowd and out into the hall.

"Are they still following us?" Loid asked.

Yor looked back to see the small mob trying to make their way through the sea of people. "Yes!" she responded.

"I don't think I was chased this much on enemy lines!" Loid groaned. "This way."

He took her hand again and led her out a set of doors. He pulled her behind a pillar. She was between the structure and Loid, facing him. He stood close to her with one hand above her head as he tried to stay as hidden as possible. He peeked around the corner and put a finger to his lips, indicating for her to stay quiet.

She kept her lips pressed together so as not to make a sound. He stood so close to her, she breathed in his cologne with every breath she took. He smelled like sandalwood and musk with a hint of cinnamon. It was quickly becoming her favorite scent. Maybe it was because she was so close to him, but her heart was racing. She'd never been this close to a man before and he smelled so damn good.

"Ok, I think they're gone," Loid said as he moved back a little. Yor instantly became aware of the space between them. "Are you ok? You're breathing kind of heavy. Was I too close? Did you not have room to breathe?"

He definitely wasn't too close, Yor thought to herself. "I'm ok," she squeaked out in response.

Loid looked around at their surroundings. The courtyard was an open space with large patches of grass between pathways. Some of the grass areas had small gardens with various different types of flower beds beside benches. Tall metal light posts stood on each corner of grass, a string of fairy lights connecting each post to the next. The entire area was illuminated by the soft glow of the moon. At the end of the path was a small pond, reflecting the moonlight off of its calm waters. It was simple, yet breathtaking.

"Wow," he said as he took a step toward the open space. "This place is actually…"

"Beautiful," Yor breathed as she stood next to him. "Have you ever seen anything this breathtaking?"

"No, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Yor looked over at Loid only to realize he wasn't looking at the same thing as her. He was looking at her. He looked away as soon as he saw her looking at him, but she could see the smile on his face. She looked away as well as her cheeks turned pink. She shivered a little and hugged herself as the night air bit at her skin.

"Here," Loid said as he took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders. "This should keep you warm."

"Thank you. It's so heavy from all your medals," Yor teased. She stared at him for a moment in his dress blue pants, white shirt, suspenders, and long black tie. Somehow he looked even more attractive.

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

Yor started to feel a little less nervous as they walked down the path together. When they reached the pond, they sat on a bench that looked out over the water. It was quiet except for the humming of the lights above them, but silence wasn't awkward. She enjoyed just being there in this serene place with him. The bench was just big enough to leave a few inches between them. She was worried that he would hear her heart pounding.

"You look different," she stated, breaking the silence.

"So do you," he said. "A nice different though."

"Because of my boobs?"

He laughed. "They are nice, but for the record I wasn't staring at them. You're just shorter than me so I have to look down and they're there so…"

"Oh, sure. That's why you were looking down." He made it very easy to talk to him. He kept the conversation light and playful, but she could tell he didn't care for these events either. "I heard you telling your cousin you wanted to leave."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hate coming to these things. I'm just here to be paraded around like a trophy. You joked about how heavy that jacket was earlier, but you have no idea how right you were. I'd rather just be at home. But I am glad I came tonight."

"You are? Why?"

"Because I got to see you again." Yor looked over at Loid again. He was just staring out at the water. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or if it was just another line. "If I were to ask you to join me for a cup of coffee sometime, would you say yes?"

"Yes," she whispered in response.

She put her hand on the bench next to his, the edge of her pinky finger brushing against his. He moved his hand on top of hers, holding it as they sat in silence once more. She smiled as she scooted a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She could hear the thumping of a heart beat, but she wasn't sure if it was his or her own. All she knew is that she didn't want this moment to end.

"Yor!"

As if on cue, her brother's voice filled the once silent air. She let out a sigh as she looked over her shoulder. Half-way down the path, she could see the silhouettes of her brother and grandfather. She and Loid stood as the figures got closer. Coming from another end, Loid could see his friend Franky trudging down a separate path.

"Well, I guess this is it for the evening," Loid sighed.

"I guess so," Yor said sadly as she removed his coat. She held the jacket out to him. "Thank you. For the jacket and…earlier."

Loid smiled as he took the coat and draped it over his arm. "You're welcome. You have a wonderful evening, Ms. Briar."

"You too, Sergeant Forger." She headed up the path, giving him one more wave before she joined her family and headed back inside.

A few moments later, Franky joined Loid by the pond. "Hey, wasn't that the girl we saw at the dress shop earlier?" the shorter man asked.

Loid nodded. "It is. Mark my words, Franky, I'm gonna marry that girl one day."

~Present Day~

Yor took a deep breath as she paused her story. She looked back at the man sitting on the couch with her again. He may have looked a little older, but she still saw that young Sergeant who spent a night sitting with her in front of a pond in silence just enjoying each other's company. He used to tell her cheesy pick up lines, made jokes…smiled. But the man on this couch wasn't him. The silence now was anything but peaceful. There were no pick up lines, only seriousness. He didn't smile at her and look at her with joyful eyes. He wouldn't even look at her.

"Lieutenant Forger," the therapist called. He didn't respond. "Loid." This time he looked up at the other women with displeasure and contempt. "Do you have anything to say?"