Perfect School

With Marie I was used to staying in the fanciest of hotels when I went out. This one wasn’t the best on the island, but it certainly wasn’t close to being bad. The view drew me first, my bags tossed on the bed while I went over. Sighing through my nose I turned to regard the sleeping situation.

“It could be worse. This will fit us both at least.” I wasn’t pleased with the situation. I’d shared a bed with Kyra and learned that I was a cuddler in my sleep. The last thing o wanted was for him to make fun of me for such things...and I didn’t know if I was comfortable with being that close with him yet.

Jonah:

I watched her. It was clear she didn’t like the situation, but she wouldn’t complain. I was not opposed to sharing a bed with her, though I would have preferred it under different circumstances. Not because we had to. “I am going to take a shower,” said. I still had the paper back tucked in my jacket.

"Alright. I'll take one after you." I went to my bags, picking them up and bringing them over to the closet. Setting my bags down inside I crouched down and began pawing through them, pulling out something to change into for tonight. I'd have done a tanktop and shorts for the heat and comfort, but I went for a bigger t-shirt instead.

With the outfit tucked under my arm I returned to the window, pulling up a seat beside it. I took in the view but my mind wandered between the mission and Jonah. A little doubt was creeping into my head. This had been too easy for him. He was getting what he wanted, and I knew that he'd do something during the mission to come ahead of Marie. So long as Marie got what she wanted I didn't care, but that still left a nagging doubt in the back of my mind.

Jonah:

I turned the water on and let it run for a few minutes while I inspected the contents of the bag. Satisfied, I tucked it into the bundle of dirty clothes. I didn’t linger in the shower. I stepped out of the bathroom wearing a white t-shirt and grey pants. “Your turn,” I said to her. I put my dirty clothes in a bag and packed it into my suitcase.

Getting up with a lazy stretch I passed him on the way. He'd been quick enough that my thoughts were still elsewhere when I stepped into the bathroom. Much like he hadn't I didn't linger though my shower was longer than his.

I dressed in the bathroom, leaving my hair up in a towel when I stepped out. Much like he'd done, I tossed my clothes into a bag then tossed it into the closet. "Any last minute plans you think we need to discuss?" I asked, settling down on the bed with my legs tucked up under me."

Jonah:

I was laying on top of the covers on my back. I turned my face to her when she sat down. “Not now. I think we have a good plan for tomorrow. We can discuss details again in the morning if we need to,” I said. Tomorrow would go according to plan as far as I was concerned. I didn’t need to deviate until we went to get our mark.

"That's fine." I closed my eyes a moment, rolling my neck to loosen a small kink before it had time to settle in. When I opened my eyes I flopped sideways onto my side of the bed. "Do we need to establish rules for the bed?"

Jonah:

“Do you think we need to establish rules?” I asked with a tired tone. “This isn’t exactly a romantic getaway.” I looked up at the ceiling, not bothering to look at her now that she was facing me.

"I suppose not. But history tells me that I still should tell you to behave yourself." Pulling the towel off my hair I shook my head and then climbed under the covers. I laid with my back towards him, near the edge of the bed. "Good night Jonah."

Jonah:

“Goodnight Kira,” I replied, getting under the covers myself.  I stayed on my side.  Despite her suspicions, I didn’t want to be with someone unwilling.  If something were to happen, it would come from her.  Now I might encourage such things with words, but I wouldn’t make a move on her without her asking for it.

I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep. I hoped that I'd be fine tonight, that I wouldn't do the same thing I'd done with Kyra. I tried to reason it away as Kyra being warm and soft, and Jonah wasn't any of those things. But as I started drifting off I wondered if it would be such a bad thing to try.

Jonah:

I stayed on my back, unmoving. I had trained myself to go into a deep meditation instead of sleep for occasions such as this where I needed rest, but I also needed to be ready in case something went wrong. It wouldn’t sustain me over a long period of time, I still needed actual sleep, but I could keep it up for a few days before it would start to affect me.

I had trained myself to fall asleep quickly. Little short naps that would give me the rest I needed without dragging on. Usually they were light things, the small sounds waking me up. It was only when I felt comfortable and content that I truly delved deeper.

Tonight was one of those nights. I was out within minutes and only curled up in a ball for the first half of the night. It was during the second half that I rolled over, scooted closer, and unconsciously sought comfort within his warmth.

Jonah:

At first when she moved up against me I thought she had woken up. I lifted my head to look at her but she made no movement. My mind raced for a moment trying to come up with her motive for faking sleep right now. What did she think it would get her to act this way? After a couple minutes of monitoring her I decided she was genuinely reaching out to me in her sleep. Unaware.

I moved only slightly to adjust the angle of my arm. I didn’t touch her, rather I laid my arm a couple inches away from her. For a time I laid there completely awake, but after an hour I moved my hand over hers on my chest and went back to my meditative state. Once I slipped into real sleep for an hour before another movement of hers woke me.

There were no dreams, I didn't often have them. I could count on one hand the number of people I'd slept next to my entire life. Jonah was certainly not the most comfortable partner, Kyra had that spot, but that didn't stop me from settling in more under the covers beside him.

I stirred with the sun, shifting slightly as my body instinctively roused itself with the sunrise. I didn't open my eyes, instead I parted my lips and breathed out slowly. I could feel the passage of time as I laid there, slowly waking up. It wasn't until my brain started shaking off the tendrils of sleep that I realized the passage of time I was feeling was the beating of a heart under my hand. A beat that wasn't my own.

Jonah:

Watching her as the room lightened, I almost tried to rethink my plans.  In order to get what I wanted here, I would need to mess up the mission.  There was no way to get what I wanted and still fulfill it to Marie’s liking.  That meant Kira would fail too.  She would know I had a part in it.  This, her head on my chest, would not happen again for a long time if at all.  

Was there a way to keep Kira and still get what I wanted?  I couldn’t choose her over the power this mission could grant me.  She would never come first.  But I couldn’t deny that having her like this on me made me feel something I didn’t want to give up.  

But Kira was Marie’s.  The only way to get Kira was to remove Maire.  And I was closer to that now than I had ever been before.  If I got what I wanted from this than I could be in Maire’s place within a year or two.  I let go of Kira's hand.

I had to give her up for a time if I was to succeed.  I had to sacrifice all the work I had put into her.  She would come back eventually.  When Maire was gone.  My heart beat faster at the thought.

The heartbeat confused me and my eyes fluttered open a moment before shutting again. A soft sound escaped out of my throat and it was only after cool air slid over my hand that I started putting things together. Raising my head I blinked at my hand and the chest underneath.

Following it up I blinked up at Jonah's face, seeing his raised eyebrows and the question his face held I only yawned at him and then rolled away from him. Moving over to the edge of the bed I moved into a sitting position, placing my feet on the floor as I gripped the edge of the bed. "G'morning."

Jonah:

“Good morning Kira,” I said as I sat up myself. I moved over to my luggage and started getting dressed, not bothering to go to the bathroom to change. Today we were doing recon. We only had a few days to find the weaknesses and find a way to get out target out.

Flopping sideways on the bed I gave a slow stretch across my entire body, "Breakfast first? Or skipping to lunch later?" I didn't wait for his reply, pausing only long enough by my suitcase to snag an outfit before going into the bathroom. I didn't bother closing the door fully, letting the door itself be my privacy between him and I.

Jonah:

“Breakfast. We don’t need to be skipping meals. We can’t have any mishaps with this assignment,” I said glancing the crack in the door where her figure was just barely visible in the mirror. I looked back down to the floor. She was already looking to me for decision making without realizing it. How did Marie think she could be a leader when all she was ever taught to do was follow orders?

"Mishaps like being poisoned perhaps?" I stepped out of the bathroom and started running a brush through my hair, taming the sleepy mess it had become. "This isn't a friendly city, caution isn't out of the question either."

Jonah:

“I meant mishaps in terms of your health. I don’t need you falling off a building because you skipped breakfast. I’m not sure even I could pull this mission off alone,” I said. I could do it alone if I had to, but it would have a far higher risk without her covering me.

"Mmm. Meals make it easier to stomach the medicine. I've taken it without before. I'd compare it to something but...well you wouldn't understand it. Breakfast it is however." Finished with my brushing I knelt by my suitcase and pulled out my medicine bag. Taking a dose out I downed it then replaced it all within the bag. I did a few more things, including a silvery necklace with a small pendant, a few stashed knives, and finally a belt. "Right. I'm ready."

Jonah:

“Me too,” I said, glancing over her. The closeness I felt with her when she had her head on my chest was gone now. I could give her up. I wouldn’t hesitate.

Our breakfast was prepackaged sandwiches from a corner store. We grabbed it and made our way to the center of the city in a taxi. We did some shopping to distract anyone who might notice us. During the shopping trip, we circled the skyscraper that was our target’s home base. It was larger even than Marie’s home building. It would be more difficult to navigate too.

The breakfast was simple, but enough. Better to have a light meal just in case anything happened. The shopping was rather nice, and I enjoyed some of the minor purchases we'd acquired. Everything felt like it was going well so far. It was as we were passing by an alleyway that I knew just how wrong I was.

"Kira? The hell?" The deep voice was both confused and accusatory.

A chill ran down my spine, and my eyes locked with an older looking gentleman, already starting to pull out his phone.

"Shit..." I murmured, fingers inching towards a knife.