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Emmy Altava had been many things in her life. The hunter and the hunted. The seeker, the finder, the photographer, the detective.
What Emmy never imagined was being loved. She knew the false relationships built upon sand were there for posterity, nothing more than a show to keep her complacent to the rules of her superiors.
Love was not something she so easily fell into. Water, perhaps; trouble, well, that was almost certain. Love? Hah, Emmy thought, how pathetic.
That was until she stood outside the Infinite Vault, her eyes locked against Swift's without any chance of being able to tear them away.
He was handsome. Emmy hadn't considered it before. Her interests skewed more towards women. Though, when she looked at Swift, she felt that same tightness in her chest. That unmistakable feeling of butterflies flitting in the pit of her stomach.
He was tall, having to glance down his nose just to look at her. He was imposing. His expression was neutral and devoid of even a hint of a smile. The way he spoke was concise and cold, with no warmth in his tone. Yet, Emmy felt like a teenager again, giggling about a stupid crush she had.
When she told Magpie, the two of them laughed helplessly for a moment before the raven haired boy calmed himself enough to ask if she was serious.
She had to admit that she was. Every time she passed him, she wanted to stop and ask him about his day, complain about the weather, and comment on the simple things.
That made Magpie laugh a little louder, but Emmy joined in. It was silly, after all, to think that such a man would love her back.
Despite this, Emmy still made the ballsy move of asking her second in command - her senior officer! - if he was single. The answer shattered Emmy. It was a yes, but so reluctant and distant that Emmy wished she hadn't asked at all.
She wanted the ground to open up a huge sinkhole and drag her to the pits of Hell. She would have been much more at home drowning in the sulphur stench and lava than standing at the top of the obsidian tower with her face as red as a beet.
The silence was deafening. Her regret began to shroud her like smog, even more choking than the streets of London. Emmy held her breath as though it would save her from herself.
“Canary. I gave you an answer,” Swift said. She hadn't even realised he'd been talking. She cleared her throat with a short cough.
“Sorry. You seemed uninterested, is all. I'll leave you alone,” she replied. As she turned to go back, Swift grabbed her by the wrist.
“My lack of emotion doesn't signify my disinterest, Canary. On the contrary,” he said, a small smile gracing his face. That made Emmy's heart pound even faster. The best that most agents got from him was a sneer or a frown. Never a smile. Emmy felt graced, truthfully, like she'd been the one destined to see such an expression. She bit her tongue.
“Oh… in that case, coffee?” she asked. The answer was another flat, bored ‘yes’, but at least it was a positive.
The Nest never had the best food to offer, nor the best coffee. The machine was on its last legs, groaning every time it had to chug out an espresso shot to someone on the night shift. Emmy felt frightfully understanding of it, like she related to it in a sense. Still, she took what she could get.
Her preferences were more aligned to the taste of tea than the bitter tang of coffee, but she wasn't picky. Not when the tea they made here tasted like it'd been sitting in the pot for a week at best.
She held her cup to her chest and warmed her hands.
“You know, I don't think I've ever seen you smile. Smirk, maybe, but a smile? Unheard of,” Emmy joked. Swift leaned an elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand. As he tilted his head, Emmy could see how far back the scar on his face went. It made her cringe, to tell the truth. She did sometimes sit and speculate how he may have acquired such a nasty gash. Apparently, it'd been done on purpose.
“Are you suggesting I'm incapable of smiling, Canary?” he asked. It pulled Emmy from her speculations.
“No, of course not! Just that it's unusual. You're always so distant, that's all.”
Swift gave a heavy sigh. He took a cigarette from the case he kept tucked in his pocket and lit it in all manner of his epithet.
“I suppose that's because you believe in casual conversation. I believe in efficiency. I'm here to work, not make friends,” he replied. Emmy now started to understand why he'd been given such a nickname. After all, a swift - by her knowledge - was not a frightening bird. They were tiny, sweet little things. She remembers holding one once. It had such lovely, large black eyes. Emmy shook the memory from her mind.
“Yet you accepted my offer,” she noted. She poked her finger into Swift's chest against the tip of his orange neckerchief. He huffed at her.
“Perhaps because a romantic relationship is fundamentally different. Just don't expect me to answer your every beck and call,” he said. His expression was cold, again. Emmy expected that much. Once their coffee had gone cold, ignored in favour of an intelligence conversation, both of them parted ways. Emmy couldn't breathe. Her chest felt so tight. Was this really what love felt like?
A week passed, and as Emmy gathered up her disguise to go and meet Professor Layton again, Swift caught her at the door.
“Canary. I'm sure you understand that this mission could see you sent around the world. Just don't be surprised if you see any of our lot. Act as usual,” he said. His hand against her shoulder was relaxing. She wished he'd move it to rest on her hip.
“I understand. I gather you're going along on this quest, then?”
“Hardly. I don't need to. We're luring him into a well placed trap, after all. Now, before you go,” he cut himself off as he leant forward to give her a kiss. Sure, it'd only been on her cheek, but she felt like she was going to explode. She could barely hold herself together as she waved goodbye to head out.
Damn it, Emmy thought as she sat in the helicopter. She'd get him back.
But she had a mission to focus on. So, as she waited to touch down in London once more, she planned the perfect revenge.
And boy, it would be sweet.