Mismatched Eyes part 1

Chapter 1
Mismatched Eyes

Three years ago.

Concrete towers decorated with vibrant screens illuminated the night sky, as if to defy the darkness, soaking the Chinese streets with blinding neon signs. Underneath all of the colorful assortment of lights, was a symphony of advertisement songs, the honking of cars, and the countless conversations, which all coalesced into a senseless blur that the citizens had long learned to tune out.

Some of them walked hastily to and from work, exhausted and disheveled, regardless of age and gender. Some relaxed with their backs leaned against the walls, taking long drags from cigarettes to calm their nerves.

Hooded teenagers in dark clothing took their artistic skills to paint over the windows of a building still under construction, leaving behind a depiction of a man adorned in blue lightning dueling a large yellow serpent.

College students were dining in fast food restaurants with a logo of a lion, while high school students were playing in internet cafes.

As the city went about its regular routine, the neon hues from the large screens were washed out by a tower of light shooting from the center of the city.

Heads turned and lifted up as everyone curiously looked at what was happening.

The onlookers gazed with varying reactions. Many stood in awe at the shining spectacle, while others were more apprehensive, and there were even a few who were apathetic at first, but their curiosity immediately got the better of them.

None of them could pull away from the dazzling sight that disturbed the usual night. The golden pillar of light that dominated the sky, shimmering with crystal-like patterns that demanded their attention.

They all stood back and idly observed it from a safe distance.

Many of the younger people were quick to pull out their phones, excited to take photos and videos of and with the golden beam, only for their expressions to turn sour as their LED screens instantly turned black as they put it in the frame.

A businessman standing at the edge of the light let his curiosity get the better of him, and he reached his hand out to it. Though most people were apathetic and moved along to do their daily routines, there were a handful of those who watched intently to see what would happen to him.

He flinched as sparks flew the moment his palm made contact with its surface. But his face calmed down as he felt it. The movement. The warmth. How it flowed upwards felt similar to hot steam. Though the bright color reminded the businessman of fire, it was harmless.

He looked at his audience and gave them a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, only for him to notice that the light had slowly enveloped his entire hand. It had expanded without him even noticing, and he started to feel his hand being squeezed from every direction.

The people slowly backed away as soon as they noticed the man’s shift in expression. He tried pulling his arm back, but it was trapped inside the amorphous light. There was a tight grip that would not let him get his arm back, slowly swallowing him whole — no, it was slowly expanding all around him.

Though he tried to keep himself composed, his face gave it all away — dread.

Frightened shrieks then filled the businessman’s ears as he looked around, realizing with a sheer panic that those who copied him were experiencing the same fate.

That ear piercing voice was the signal for all of them to start running. The businessman watched as several of them started sprinting without hesitation, while he had remained stuck where he stood.

But before he could call for help, a sharp tingle coursed through his flesh, followed by a tingly numbness that coursed through his veins.

The businessman realized in horror that not only was the crushing light growing, but that he was also being electrocuted.

His heartbeat was in his mouth, pounding loudly into his ears, while the hot light swallowed his arms. No longer able to keep himself composed, he took in a deep breath, but before he could scream, the light swallowed him whole.

Shrieks of panic overtook the music, while the stampede filled up the streets, trapping the people inside their vehicles. There was no way they could push through the dozens of people standing in front of them.

Those who could not escape their homes locked their doors, hoping for safety. Parents hugged their children, and held their grandparents, praying that this would all go away.

A tidal wave of shimmering flames swept through every nook and cranny of the road, casting a yellow glow that shut down every device and machine that it came in contact with.

News helicopters recorded the pillar’s gradual transformation into a round, burning sphere. But not even they were safe from getting caught in its rapid expansion.

It quickly enveloped the people on their feet, and eventually swallowed those inside vehicles.

Only the motorcycles were able to slip past and squeeze their ways out of the city, their engines blaring deafeningly on their way out. One rider in particular, a tanned man, stopped in front of a young girl sitting next to a woman lying bloody on the ground, trampled under the stampede of scared citizens rushing to escape.

The tanned man reached out his hand for her, but she refused to budge from where she sat. She tried her best to help the woman beside her, but the older woman placed her hand on the girl’s cheek and spoke in her native language, “Go, Yu Ming.”

The young girl forced back her tears and got on the backseat of the motorcycle. The older woman looked at him, as if to entrust her to him, and the tanned man nodded, as if promising to keep her safe.

His engine blared as he zipped past everyone running in front of him, leaving behind both the expanding golden light, and the crying old woman. Without turning back, the two were fleed from the golden flames, and headed to the edge of the city.

Everything inside the golden dome came to a halt.

Not a single soul moved an inch where they stood. Not a single one could.

Even the helicopter’s blades froze, and the people inside found themselves locked in the sky.

There was little sound, and those who were trapped in the transparent yellow could only hear the thumping of their own heartbeats and the thin crackle of electricity in their ears as static ran through their veins.

The air in their lungs was trapped, gradually causing their insides to ache and burn.

Even though the haze felt hot, there were no marks, burns or blisters. Only a pervasive discomfort.

Few were able to muster just enough strength to move their fingers, while most were completely frozen in the crystalline haze.

The strings of electricity coursing through their veins made it feel impossible to move, but it did not prevent those from trying.

With desperate strength, fathers with families, mothers with children, and individuals with strong physiques were able to push through.

The businessman who first touched the pillar saw a silhouette walking in the center within it — a figure bathed in a light.

A crystalline haze poured out of the figure’s body, cloaking them, making it impossible to see their features. Only the golden pupils, whose gaze met with his own.

Under the golden figure intent stare, the businessman felt the pressure on his body loosen for a moment. Rather, it started to pull from every direction. Tugging away at every inch of him.

Golden zigzags relentlessly pulled him apart. The fabric on his clothes were pulled by the strings, and a thousand particles of light pulled his skin apart.

A numbing agony ran through his body as he was taken apart. Each layer fragmented — Flesh, muscles, veins and bones, all disassembled.

Though his mouth stretched wide, no scream escaped him.

Every fiber of who he was pulled into infinitesimal specks, until nothing remained but a man-shaped stain.

The golden being then raised their arms, heralding the slow hush of destruction.

Gradually, as if something was pressing down on them, the skyscrapers started to crumble. Breaking apart piece by piece, little by little. There was no fanfare, no deafening boom, no blood curdling noise that sent shivers. The destruction was accompanied by an overwhelming silence, it was muted, as if submerged in the deepest depths of the ocean.

The same fate awaited everything within the spiraling flames. People, animals, and inanimate objects were all subjected to the same silent destruction.

From the top of their heads to the bottom of their shoes, they were all disassembled.

Everything and everyone within started falling down and crumbling to dust.

Those who could move forced out every last ounce of their energy, some of them were even able to gain momentum. Dozens of individuals were even able to start running, gradually getting through hundreds of meters through the haze.

Even as the golden dome continued to expand, they continued to run regardless.

The tanned motorcyclist passed through many of the people running away, and saw the forest at the edge of the city. Yet the golden flames were mere meters from reaching him.

One girl in a uniform was the very edge, and the girl behind the tanned motorcyclist reached out to grab her. But as the student reached out to her, and the two grabbed each other’s hands, the golden light caught — Only and the student’s hand was the last part of her that remained.

From the outskirts, a helmeted figure clad in a black suit approached the edge of the city, cutting through the silence with the motorcycle engine’s roar. The helmet’s visor reflected the star-like structure that engulfed everything on the horizon.

As the helmeted rider made it to the edge of the city, it nearly came into a collision course with another motorcycle came racing from within the city.

The helmeted rider sharply swerved over to the side and saw the two riders panic and lose control of their vehicle. The couple who were desperately fleeing from the catastrophe behind them nearly met with another disaster ahead of them, straight towards a tree.

“Bollocks.” The helmeted figure extended their arm, and a red spear radiated with a fiery glow sprung out from the motorcycle and struck the two precisely by the back of their clothes, pulling them away at the last second before impact.

The unknown individual removed her helmet, revealing long silver-hair swaying with the eerie, silent wind of the flattened city. Her eyes radiated with the color of fire.

“You both okay?” The silver-haired woman, Luna, asked.

The tanned man answered, “Huh? Ah, yeah… yeah, thank… how did you… do that?” He asked in a disoriented manner.

Luna opened her palm, calling upon her weapon, which then flew towards her. “You both should leave.” She warned as she looked back into the golden disaster that was still expanding.

With a swift swing, she cut through the golden flames, holding it back for a few seconds.

“Ah, a-alright…” He nodded and looked at the paralyzed girl. He took the student’s severed hand off of her and lifted her up, putting her back on the motorcycle and resumed getting away, all while the silver-haired woman watched as her own ride crumbled into a flat sheet of metal and rubber.

The golden flames slowed down to a halt, and the expansion stopped right where she stood, and began to dissipate into dancing golden particles.

“Would ya look at that. My luck hasn’t run out, after all.” As the structure began to fade away, the silver-haired woman pressed into her earpiece and spoke, “Professor Tetsuya, I’ve arrived.”

“Luna…” The Professor responded, “Make sure you come home.”

“ ‘Course, I promised Felix I’d take him to his first pub when I get back.” She smirked.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate for a child. Regardless, you know what to do. Good luck, and leave nothing to chance.”

“Yes sir.”

She marched into what was left of the once bustling city, her boots stepping over the fragmented concrete.

A desolate wind blew across the landscape, the city’s dying breath.

The proud skyscrapers were no where to be seen. There were no hollow husks, nor any metal structures left to represent how tall they stood. Only fragmented mounds of concrete piled atop one another.

Window glass littered the ground, mixed with everything else.

There was no ground zero, no epicenter of the blast. Only where it began and where it ended. The catastrophe flattened everything in equal measure, which made it easy for Luna to locate her target.

Men, women and children were crushed into red stains and powdered bones mixed with the small debris. They were the only things that stood out.

In the darkness of night, through the leveled city, it did not take long for her to find who she was looking for.

Blood splattered to the ground, dripping down from the nose of a golden figure, whose body was bathed in a thick, golden glow that streamed upwards.

“Lookie what we have here.” Luna twirled her spear, “Finally found you, and luckily fer me, yer all out of energy after this little calamity.”

The golden figure looked back at the spearwoman, with bright golden irises.

*

Present day.

On the dusty flat ground lay a solitary figure with raven black hair. A young man with a bead of sweat trickling from his brow, down to his nearly opaque goggles, and to his cheek, while he adjusted his aim on the rifle.

His target, a wooden dummy, hid behind nine others that already had holes in the center of their chests, taken out with incredible accuracy.

Staring down the scope of his rifle, he fired.

An ear-splitting crack rang out of the firearm, sharp and quick — another bullseye.

The target shattered, and its wooden fragments flew over the grass fields behind it. Had this been a real person, they would have dropped dead.

Directly above him, the display on the black screen changed from a score of ninety into a score of one-hundred — it was a ten out of ten.

A small smirk formed on his face. It was clear that he was satisfied with himself. But as he looked over to the distance, he saw several trainees still fighting on the field, the closest people near him were more than a hundred meters across, and his smirk deflated.

There was nothing to celebrate. This was simply what was expected of him, something he expected out of himself.

Though he had already finished the course, the young man reloaded his rifle once more. He paid no mind to the discomfort he felt laying on the dirty ground under the scorching sun.

He was alone. So, he did what he wanted.

Rather than target the center, which he had already perfectly shot, the young man focused his attention on the target’s head instead.

One hundred meters once more. A second attempt outside of his usual routine.

His fingers brushed against the trigger, and a familiar sight flashed in his mind. A warmly lit window against a stormy blizzard. Like a candle light being devoured into a white void.

A sharp sting clawed against the back of his head, and he grit his teeth. He felt a sense of irritation, but this memory was one he was trying to call upon.

Hidden behind his goggles emanated an unnatural light from his left eye, turning the opaque glass blue.

There was a moment of hesitation as he pressed his finger on the trigger. He drew a deep breath through his teeth and mumbled under his breath, “Come on… work.”

A drop of sweat slid down his face as he focused, and as soon as it dropped to the dry ground — he fired.

The gun’s recoil pushed against him as azure particles burst from its muzzle.

A hole formed on the target, but the bullet struck on the white space inches from the target’s head.

“Tsk. Bollocks.” He clicked his tongue. Though it did not affect the score on the board, he still felt irritated by his mistake.

His perfect streak was ruined, and the blue light behind his goggles faded.

The young man returned to the bench, and picked up a cup full of coffee that had been sitting there since he first started.

He lifted his goggles, and swiped his raven black hair to the side, revealing his mismatched eyes of dark copper and sapphire blue, the latter of which appeared to be faintly glowing, but its radiance was almost unnoticeable in broad daylight.

Beneath his copper right eye was a small mole, it was the only other thing that stood out from his face.

The sun-bathed training field was full of sparring trainees, and smelled of sweat and metal, as it usually does. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was the same old routine, the same old grunts and yells that blended into one another.

His back hunched as he took a sip from his foam cup, which had cooled down as the hours passed.

Another slow day, huh?

His expression was dull and dry as he silently stared at the trainees sparring with each other.

All he could do was watch and take sips of soothing coffee in solitude as the slow day went by. Above him fluttered a red flag with an insignia of a golden lion printed on it.

A few clouds passed by before he got up from the bench and stretched his arms outwardly.

“Sir Felix!” A voice called out for the young man, snapping him out of his lonesome thoughts.

Felix stood up from his bench as a man in a black suit called to him from the shade of the building. With a pen and a clipboard in hand, the man spoke with a gentle tone, “I’m sorry for calling out to you, but the heat was rather harsh, sir.”

“Yeah, yeah... Have the car prepared for me, Murphy.” The young man replied despondently as he took the documents from the agent’s hands.

“A-actually, sir, the chief called for you directly.” The suited man, Murphy, clarified.

“Is that so?” His stomach turned a little. It was a gut feeling that told him that his quiet day would go down the slope. He handed back the clipboard to the agent before walking into the building.

“Hey, I’m a little bored so can I keep your pen?” He asked as he showed the pen still in his hand.

“S-sure.”

“Thanks.”

Felix fiddled with the pen with a look of disinterest as he made his way through the cold, chrome corridors.

What’s so important that the Chief has decided to talk to me directly?

The agents in his path silently stepped to the side as he passed through. Though he paid them no mind, as he got closer to the chief’s office, a middle-aged man approached from the opposite direction, refusing to step aside.

“If it isn’t the Child of Stars.” A raspy old voice greeted, called out towards him from the other side of the corridor, “How long has it been?”

Oh god, no.

The young man shuddered as his fear was confirmed. In front of him stood a familiar, stubby, man with aged white hair.

“Two months I hadn’t seen you… Was hoping to make it three.” Felix blurted out the tail end of his thoughts.

“As rude as ever, I see. So, how are you doing?”

“I was doing much better a minute ago. You know, before I got to see your face, Professor Tetsuya.”

“Haha, good to know you’re doing quite well.” The old man answered dryly, as if going through routine.

“‘Well’ is relative considering what I’ve become.”

The professor stroked his white beard, “What you have become is—”

“Yeah, yeah, the latest link in the evolutionary chain to bring about everlasting peace.” Felix snidely cut him off, gesturing a talking hand as he echoed words he’s heard a hundred times.

“That’s correct.” With a smile, the professor nodded and played along, “You are the first step towards the future.”

“So, when is my right eye gonna take that step?” He asked not about his glowing blue iris on the left, but the plain dark one on the right.

The professor grumbled, “It will turn blue in due time. When that happens, your gifts will finally… Oh my, I can hardly wait.” He then stopped and looked at Felix with a concerned expression, “Until then, let’s hope that you get along with the next generation.”

Felix eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean? Wasn’t the Implementation was shut down?”

“Merely postponed. But it resumed last year after receiving funding. Hence why I have been gone for so long. We have just went through another batch.”

“It resumed…?” He echoed bitterly.

The old man opened up one eye to look at him, “Does that bother you?”

He put a brave front, and with a shrug, answered, “…Not really. It won’t be fun getting to the top of the leader board without a challenge.”

“There are many monsters out there, even from projects outside our own. If you really intend to climb the ranks, your chance will start now. But I’m sure you’ll surpass them all, even David.”

There was a sudden snap that echoed across the hall. The pen in Felix’s hand was broken in half. A sweat dripped down from the professor’s face, startled by the sound. Yet Felix just smiled, saying “Right, right… I have to meet with the chief now, so.”

“The recent batch had only one survivor. She’s a rather lively girl, so I hope that you both will get along.”

“Only one, huh? Hope I meet them soon.”

“That’s right. Call me as soon as you need my assistance.” The professor smiled in amusement.

“I won’t.” He happily replied.

The two of them began to walk in opposite directions, and their steps echoed across the chrome halls.

A few minutes later, Felix stood in front of the chief’s deep black door.

Only one survivor? So she’s like me…

He reached for the knob, but his fingers shook.

I may not remember much from that day…

His mismatched eyes narrowed, and he retreated his hand, clutching his chest. A vision flashed in his head, one where his body bled, trapped underneath the rubble.

And marching towards him was the professor long ago, walking through flame and debris, holding a syringe.

But it’s not like I forgot how it felt.

He clutched his shirt, squeezing it as he took a deep breath. He then proceeded to knock on the door, with a firm voice, “Felix Aster, requesting permission to enter.”

A soft, cheerful voice answered from the other side, “Come in~ We have milk and cook— ow, ow, that hurts, stop it! Thtap it!!”

His eyebrow raised with uncertainty due to the unexpected response.

When he opened the door, he was met with a peculiar sight. Inside the office, the chief he knew to be stoic was wearing an irritated scowl while pinching the crumb-covered cheeks of a young woman on the couch.

“I can see you’re... busy.” He said as he slowly pulled back the door.

But before he could close it, the grey-haired older woman coughed, stopping him in his tracks, “Ah-hem.”

He sighed and went back to the office. He turned around and looked at the table, which actually had a platter of milk and cookies placed on top of it.

“What’s going on? Am I going on a simulation, Chief?” He asked with furrowed eyes.

“Not quite. Allow me to introduce you to Maria Readman. Codename; Venom Vanguard.” The chief pointed toward the young woman dressed in a black shirt with a pizza printed on it.

The dark-haired woman gulped down the snacks and interjected, “Or… or just V.V. for short.”

“Uh, nice to meet you… um… Venom… is she a new recruit?” Felix asked the chief in a manner that did not acknowledge the young woman’s presence in the room.

“Indeed, yet this young lady possesses field experience, as opposed to your combat simulations.” The chief uttered in a mocking tone as she pushed back her dark gray hair to the side.

“Well, maybe if you’d let me out in the field instead of long-distance assassinations, I might just improve.” His voice dripped with petulance.

The chief walked back to her desk by the wall of the room behind the window. “It was Professor Tetsuya’s call to make it so you wouldn’t be sent out to actual combat. He wanted to ‘test the waters’ long enough to see if you could handle it.”

“I’m the best agent here.”

“Then explain why you’re ranked thirteenth?” The chief shot back sharply as she pushed up her round, orange-tinted glasses. “You’re nowhere near the number one.”

He clicked his tongue, unable to respond. Maria tilted her head awkwardly as she silently watched.

“But I suppose that is why he wouldn’t allow you to be compromised until you were ready. Couldn’t afford losing billions without Doctor Tetsuya’s masterpiece never achieving anything.”

With a disingenuous grin, he asked, “And when will I be ready?”

“Now.”

“Wait, really?” He was taken aback by the Chief’s immediate reply.

“That’s right. This is why I wanted to introduce you to her. For you to get to know each other.”

Felix glanced down to see the young woman staring at him with wide and curious black eyes, “Know each other?”

Chief turned her head towards the black-haired girl, as if to give her permission to speak, “Maria.”

“Right!” The young woman gulped down the cookies stuffed in her cheeks and walked up to the young man.

“Hi there! My name is um… M-Maria Readman, codename Venom Vanguard, or V.V. But honestly, I’d just prefer that you call me Marie. Nice to meet you.” She introduced herself with multiple names, and stretched out her hand towards Felix with a carefree demeanor.

The young woman stood much shorter than he did, and had ebony black hair.

“Uh, likewise.” He awkwardly shook her hand.

“This girl, with the mouth stuffed with cookies, is an Elite Agent?”

“Her records are rather shaky, but she’s the real deal.” Chief remarked.

“Heterochromia?” Maria muttered curiously as she got a closer look at him. She stared into his blue eye, radiating with a foreign, unfamiliar, almost alien-like light.

“Yeah, I got it after the implementation.” He replied as he looked at the hand he shook with, which was now covered in cookie crumbs.

She tilted her head and asked, “Yeah, weren’t both of your pupils supposed to change?”

“… I’m still undergoing the process…”

“Strange… I-I’m sorry what was your name again? Sorry, I’m bad at names…”

“Felix Aster.”

“Felix… Aster? As in the Black Cat of Ruin?” Maria immediately turned to the chief as she pointed at him with a squeal of excitement in her voice.

“Indeed.” The chief answered.

“The Black Cat bit is… actually not official.” He mumbled out.

“Wait but then why do people call you that?”

“It probably has something to do with my eyes.” Felix scratched his cheek as he clarified.

“So… child of stars, then?” The chief cheekily added.

He looked at the older woman an annoyed smile, “Yeah, let’s not go with that.”

With both hands clasped behind her back, she leaned in close with a big smile and uttered, “Could you be fun I wonder?”

His eyebrows curled as he pushed her head back with his index finger, “Huh? Is something wrong with you?”

She giggled in a cold yet cheerful tune, “A great, many things.” Going back to the chair and taking another cookie.

“Don’t mind her, she just has some childish tendencies. She’s enhanced, just like you.”

He turned to the chief, “Wait, what?”

“A first stage, fresh from Batch Delta.”

Felix moved closer to the young woman’s face while she silently stuffed her mouth, thinking to himself;

The professor said I would meet them soon, but… already?

“Huh… Stage one, huh?”

Maria, still chewing, pouted in response, “Sorry my eyes don’t glow in the dark, Mister Masterpiece.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The chief leaned against the desk, arms crossed, “She’s also the sole survivor from her division. You have that in common.”

“... Sole survivor.” He stiffly echoed.

She gulped, nodding quietly with a wide stare.

From the chief’s desk, a holographic projection popped out.

Felix’s eyebrows curled with curiosity as he read it out loud, “The Dragon of the Little Sun… in Beijing? Why send us to some small-time mafia group?”

“We’d send operatives already stationed there, but it appears that they’ve either gone MIA, or the ravens have brought back their corpses to us.” The chief answered.

His lips parted, startled by the information.

The chief lifted her gaze with a cold stare. “Besides, if you’re serious about making it to the top of the leaderboard, then…”

“I wasn’t refusing.”

“Keep a low profile, infiltrate the facility and assist Maria to gather information.” The chief explained, handing the two agents the documents.

“Hmm, intel gath—Wait, did you say assist?”

“We can’t have you taking the wrong documents… again.”

“But—”

“Before you say anything, it’s not simply your incompetence to work with technology. Maria is a professional cracker, her skills are top notch. Your job is to protect her. Keep her alive and safe.”

“Protect her? But I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Guess it’s time for you to learn, best agent. Your main problem will be getting into the building; Maria can handle the rest once you get inside while you protect her.”

He glanced over behind him and saw the girl perch her head over her hands.

“No worries, this won’t be your usual escort mission. I won’t be the useless NPC who gets in the way.” The young woman smiled.

He responded with a puzzled look, “A what?”

“You have my permission to kill, but preferably keep the damages to a minimum. I reiterate. Keep. The Damages. Minimum. Both of you. We don’t want the tensions to rise any higher. Am I understood?” The chief emphasized with each breath.

“... Crystal.” He responded.

“If you understand, then you are dismissed. Good luck, and leave nothing to chance.” The chief said as she sat down and pulled out a cigarette.

“Yessir.” Both agents replied, but as Felix saluted, Maria glanced over and mirrored his motion with a peppy smile.

The two headed for the door. But as he was about to leave, the chief called out, “Felix.”

“Uh, yeah?”

Maria exited first, leaving him with the chief.

“There have been a number of agents going off the grid lately. Even the ones in the leaderboard. Several MIAs. Corpses are piling up.”

“I know.” He answered dismissively.

Refusing to let him leave the room immediately, she spoke with a concerned tone. “This is not a simulation. Nor is it a long-ranged assassination. You will be in danger, and she won’t be here to protect you. If you really want to make it to the top, don’t die.”

His eyebrows curled at her sincere words, and simply nodded to reassure her, “Right.”

As he exited the room, he lowered his head and sighed.

Maria, who was in front of him, lifted up the metal platter right at his face, “So, um… cookie?”

“When did you get that?” He scowled at her for a few seconds.

The young woman slowly felt uneasy by his stare, “You… don’t like cookies?”

“Sigh, thanks.” He dryly replied as he took the cookie from the platter. As he took a bite, his expression softened as he muttered, “Mhmm, this would go well with some coffee…”

“Right?” Her eyes quickly sparkled as she looked at him eating it, “I have more, oh, and this is also really good!”

His cheeks turned rosy as she leaned in closer to him, their faces just inches apart.

The conversation continued back and forth between the happy-go-lucky lady and the silent young man as they went off to prepare for the mission.