Work Text:
It was just another mission, another task that needed to be accomplished. Rachel was a professional, few could tell that not every task was to her liking, like this one. In fact, she hated it. Maybe this time she agreed out of spite. Maybe there was something more to it.
She had been flirting with a handsome young man for less than two hours now, at the bar of the hotel restaurant, who was willingly buying her drinks. She wore a tight black dress, bold red lipstick and high-heeled pumps of the same color. She was smiling the whole time, looking like she was having a good time, but it couldn't have been further from the truth. After paying for the last drink, the man suggested they move to a room in the hotel. Rachel agreed.
As soon as they stepped into the elevator, the man began kissing her as if it were a matter of course that he could touch her and kiss her as he pleased in exchange for the drinks he had bought. His hands slid from her waist to her ass. Rachel returned his kisses, but it wasn't real for her. It wasn't even comfortable for her. She figured just a little while longer and this charade would take its toll.
When he took her to his room, she didn't even really register what he was saying, he was already considerably drunk and laughing at something in every sentence. He kissed her again and began to unroll her dress and push her towards the bed. Rachel let him, though her stomach clenched with discomfort, she made no sign of it. She counted down in her mind. The man pushed her down on the bed and began to undress, he was a little out of it and had trouble undoing the buttons on his shirt. His pants were pulled halfway down. He was starting to look a little weak.
Rachel kept counting down in her mind: Ten... nine... eight... The man began to see her blurrily. Seven... six... he staggered. Five... four... He mumbled something unintelligible. Three... two... one. He slumped to the floor.
The man was dazed from the powerful sleeping pills she'd slipped into his drink at the bar when the time was right. Just enough to get him into the room with her. Not that she couldn't get in without him, but she needed his fresh blood to open the biometric lock on his suitcase, which was conveniently hidden in the safe. All as discreetly and quickly as possible.
"Oh, finally!" Rachel breathed as she got out of bed, adjusted her clothes and went into the closet where the safe was hidden. A voice came on the earpiece she'd had in her ear the whole time, with the code for the safe dictated by Aidan. Good, she thought, he was still here. He was here all along. The rest of the action was quick, a drop of blood from the man's finger, opening the case, taking pictures of the documents. Everything put back in its original state. She'd gotten the man into bed and arranged it so that in the morning he'd think something had passed between them, which included having to undress him. Still, it was a smaller toll than if she actually had to have sex with him. She didn't like the idea, definitely not. Still, he was quite handsome, a lot of women would have gone with him without much objection.
As she rode the elevator down to the lobby, she glanced into the elevator's camera. She knew Aidan was watching her. She hadn't said anything, and even he was unusually quiet today. Their current state of mind outside of work was - complicated. At work, they were both trying to do their tasks without much emotion.
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When she came out in front of the hotel, the car she had gotten into pulled up right on time and drove away. As soon as she had the chance, she took off her pumps and threw them in the back of the car. She didn't even look at Aidan. She couldn't see him clutching the steering wheel spasmodically. Twenty minutes later they arrived at an unassuming motel where they were staying for the second night. It was dead silent the whole way, Aidan didn't even have the music on as was his wont.
No sooner had they entered the room than Rachel stripped off her clothes as they walked and padded to the bathroom in only her black underwear. She didn't even close the door behind her. Aidan took a deep breath and let it out. This wasn't going to work anymore.
Rachel had just wiped the red lipstick off her lips in a napkin when she noticed Aidan and his intense gaze in the reflection of the mirror. She broke eye contact and removed the rest of her makeup as well, Aidan still watching her.
"Are you trying to provoke me?" Aidan asked after another two minutes when Rachel didn't say a word and continued with her routine.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She uttered in a neutral voice.
"Really?"
"Really."
"You're mad at me and you're giving me a hard time. You never wanted to do these types of missions. You said yourself you didn't go through the rigorous training to have to be a coquette somewhere."
Rachel shrugged. "It was part of a job like any other. What specifically do you object to? Did I do something wrong? Aren't the documents in order?" She turned to him.
"Fuck the documents." He approached her, the fact that she was only in her underwear didn't make the whole thing any easier. She was so distracting just by her presence. But he tried to just look at her face. They watched each other. Aidan stopped just a short distance from her and they stared into each other's eyes.
Rachel smiled, "Purely in theory... what do you think I was trying to accomplish?"
"You know very well."
"I don't know, fill me in."
"You want me to lose my mind!"
"Oh, really?" She cocked her head to the side. "How could that happen?" She patted his chest. It was an intimate gesture. Real. "I could almost tell you were jealous... but I distinctly remember you telling me it was best if we kept things between us the way they were. Colleagues... partners in our work... friends. Or something like that..." She bit her bottom lip, unable to resist the memory of the way they'd made love, how they'd tried to tell themselves it meant nothing and soon after it happened again. How they'd argued, knowing it couldn't happen again, and it had happened again and again. And each time it was more intense. After having oragsmus with him in several positions, on his fingers or what he'd satisfied her with his mouth, knowing what he looked like naked, it was hard enough to pretend it hadn't happened. Only this wasn't just about sex. It was never just about sex. But spies lie and pretend now and then when they need to.
"So I really don't know what you're talking about. You have no reason to be jealous of your partner... besides, Aidan Wilde is never jealous of anyone, huh?" She spoke in a calm voice, though her insides burned with desire for him, and turned to the mirror again. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes any longer and resist the urge to kiss him.
Aidan was fighting with himself. Rachel was the only woman who could absolutely throw him off. In every way. They spent so much time together, they got along great, both professionally and as friends. He was intrigued by her from the first day he met her. But he didn't realize he was in love with her until much later. And the more he fought it, the more he wanted her. He knew her so well, and in the last few weeks he'd gotten to know her in very intimate ways. It was just that in their line of work, love was complicated, relationships were complicated, and he didn't want to lose her if things went wrong. Only even that situation wasn't right.
"So what, would it make you happy if I was jealous? Like some teenager in high school?"
Did he mean he was being childish? Rachel thought and snorted. "No, I don't care."
"And why do I get the feeling you're lying?“
"I don't really know your feelings, so I'm sorry, I'm not going to be helpful." Irritation began to seep into her voice. She turned to leave the bathroom, but Aidan grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.
"Time to be honest, kid. What do you want me to say, huh? I'm really tired of this stuffiness between us!" His voice had gone a little soft.
"Fine, I'll ask you one question and then… I'll let it all go. Okay?"
"Fine, go ahead."
"When you watched me flirt with that guy..." she leaned closer to him, lowering her voice, "when he flattered me... when he kissed me... when he groped me... when he took me to bed and wanted to fuck me... you really were okay with that? Was it just another day at work, with your partner?" She whispered in a teasing voice and looked into his eyes. "And I want to hear the truth!"
Aidan looked angry just hearing her describe it like that. He always looked so much older when he looked this serious. Not like when he was relaxed and in a good mood. He didn't answer. The truth was, he hated every second someone else touched her.
"Fine, I'll take that as a yes!" She scoffed at him and walked out of the bathroom. "And anyway... why am I going out? I want to take a shower, so get out!" Her mask of confidence taking over, all she wanted to do now was crawl under the hot shower and cry. It wasn't her style, but she could feel the pressure in her chest destroying her.
Aidan came out and as he walked past Rachel, they looked at each other again. He saw the hurt in her eyes, the sadness that had turned to anger and irritation. For a moment, he wasn't sure if she wasn't going to jump him and start a fight. Maybe that would help her to blow off steam. When she grabbed his shirt and started kissing him instead, it was the last thing he'd expected. Almost immediately, he matched her passionate kisses and grabbed her around the waist, and after a moment, they bumped into a nightstand nearby and the lamp on it wobbled and almost fell to the floor.
Aidan leaned Rachel against the wall a short distance from the bed and pressed himself against her, he could feel himself starting to get hard, he couldn't stop it when she was so close and kissing him so passionately. Through the thin fabric of her panties, Rachel could feel quite clearly what her presence was doing to him. When they ended the kiss, they both looked at each other breathlessly.
"You're such an idiot!"
"What?"
"You really piss me off!"
"You're the one pissing me off!"
"I don't know if I want to beat you up or fuck you!"
"I don't know why I find both options interesting..." he huffed.
They both looked at each other and started kissing again when after a moment Rachel pushed him away. He wanted to approach her again, but she held up her hand in a gesture to stop him. "Aidan..."
"What?"
"You owe me an answer..."
"Why is it so important?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm really losing my mind!"
"I already lost it with you a long time ago!"
"Good, then you have nothing to lose!"
"I do!"
They both raised their voices with each sentence that they were downright shouting at each other.
"Yes, and what is so important to you that you are afraid of losing it because of one stupid truth?"
"You! You are important! You're the most important thing to me, dammit! You want to hear the truth? That I felt like ripping that guy's balls off just for looking at you? But that's not right! I can't think of you that way when we are what we are and do what we do!"
Rachel gasped in surprise, "so you just want to let it go?"
"I'd rather have you by my side as my partner and closest friend than not at all."
"What kind of nonsense is that? And please don't start with the idea that we have to be professional at work, that our feelings will affect us, or that there's a bigger age gap between us. I don't want to hear that shit, and you know why? Because it's late! I'm so fucking affected by you, I can't take it anymore!"
"Ah, I'm really losing my mind! Can't you see that? If someone knows how much I care about you, someone will hurt you if they come after me. I won't risk it!"
Rachel shook her head, "can't you see that? I mean, even without sex, we're almost always together! We already care about each other, yeah... maybe it's a weakness we can't afford... but screw it... if you like me in any way other than as a replaceable work colleague, I'm already your weakness. And you know what? You're mine! But if you tell me that's not true, that you don't like me, that it wasn't real, fine, I'll just be your partner and nothing more from now and we'll never talk about this again. Nothing will ever happen between us again. I swear." And she meant it.
Aidan looked at her, at the blazing fire in her eyes. She'd always fascinated him. "How could I not like you, kid?" He figured it was true, she was his weakness, but she was also his greatest strength. He loved her more than anything. There was no going back, with or without him, anything that ever happened to her would hit him right in the heart. He moved closer to her and caressed her cheek, "you're the best thing that ever happened to me!" He uttered just before he kissed her and the kiss was very intense and it had everything in it.
Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and ran one hand into his hair. This time, on their way to bed, they had actually knocked the lamp off the nightstand, just as quickly as their clothes had gradually disappeared.
As they indulged in passionate lovemaking in bed, gazing into each other's eyes, panting excitedly, touching each other or stealing kisses, they both knew that the intensity of their feelings was stronger than any fear of possible danger. The last thing these two were looking for in the spy business was love. No, they didn't say words like I love you that night, but it didn't change the fact that they loved each other, madly and intensely. And no matter how much they fought it, there was no stopping it.