05-20-2014, 10:35 AM
Ayden grinned as she corrected herself, "This kitchen."
She gave Connor a mock defended look then laughed. It felt glorious to laugh.
A man from the south-west, he had definitely not been Russian, but then there were a lot more non-Russians in Moscow now than ever before, as the CCD grew, the intermingling greatly increased here in it's capital. Of course a grill was not something the Moscovian rental apartments would have particularly in December.
December, the year was almost up. The depressing seasons were almost over. Ayden disliked behind alone on the holidays, maybe this one would be different. She smiled at Connor as he reached over to grab the steaks. Maybe this one would be different. Ayden liked the warmth from his arm and wished for more, but she pushed back that urge, it would be easy to take what she wanted, but taking was far from what she wanted if she wanted company for the holidays.
Ayden leaned back against the counter and watched Connor prep the steaks. He seemed competent enough and she smiled. He had been raised right!
But the fateful moment happened and Ayden was ill prepared. Her smile vanished. She'd let too much of herself show through the carefully calculated facade. The paranoia had been correct, she'd not thought of what to do in this situation. Flirting with a man whom she barely knew. Wanting to spend time with someone for more than business. Ayden fought down the bile that rose in her stomach. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Maybe."
She didn't want to say yes or no. She wanted to be normal, but normal was not the life of an assassin. Thinking on her feet, that was a skill she had to master this time, but remembering those lies was going to be the hard part. "I've been many places.
Natalia had been carefully planned, every ounce of her personality, her clothing, her story, it was planned down to the minute detail, if anything came up Ayden could handle it. But Ayden? Who was she? She didn't exist, she was a ghost, she didn't have a story, and now, she had to plan one, to think of who she was, on what was real and what was false. This was going to end badly. But Ayden put on the friendly smile. She would be normal, if only for one day. She promised herself she'd do better next time.
Ayden stood next to Connor and bumped him out of the way of the burner with her hip playfully, so she could start the water for the grits. The eggs could likely wait a little more time before starting them. They cooked quickly anyway.
What is fair is fair, Ayden asked the question in return, it didn't matter the answer, but normal people asked questions, they listened, they laughed and cried and played together. Normal was the game for today. Ayden hoped she'd pull it off as she asked, "What bring's a good ol' American boy like yourself to Moscow, the land of the rich and greedy?"
She gave Connor a mock defended look then laughed. It felt glorious to laugh.
A man from the south-west, he had definitely not been Russian, but then there were a lot more non-Russians in Moscow now than ever before, as the CCD grew, the intermingling greatly increased here in it's capital. Of course a grill was not something the Moscovian rental apartments would have particularly in December.
December, the year was almost up. The depressing seasons were almost over. Ayden disliked behind alone on the holidays, maybe this one would be different. She smiled at Connor as he reached over to grab the steaks. Maybe this one would be different. Ayden liked the warmth from his arm and wished for more, but she pushed back that urge, it would be easy to take what she wanted, but taking was far from what she wanted if she wanted company for the holidays.
Ayden leaned back against the counter and watched Connor prep the steaks. He seemed competent enough and she smiled. He had been raised right!
But the fateful moment happened and Ayden was ill prepared. Her smile vanished. She'd let too much of herself show through the carefully calculated facade. The paranoia had been correct, she'd not thought of what to do in this situation. Flirting with a man whom she barely knew. Wanting to spend time with someone for more than business. Ayden fought down the bile that rose in her stomach. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Maybe."
She didn't want to say yes or no. She wanted to be normal, but normal was not the life of an assassin. Thinking on her feet, that was a skill she had to master this time, but remembering those lies was going to be the hard part. "I've been many places.
Natalia had been carefully planned, every ounce of her personality, her clothing, her story, it was planned down to the minute detail, if anything came up Ayden could handle it. But Ayden? Who was she? She didn't exist, she was a ghost, she didn't have a story, and now, she had to plan one, to think of who she was, on what was real and what was false. This was going to end badly. But Ayden put on the friendly smile. She would be normal, if only for one day. She promised herself she'd do better next time.
Ayden stood next to Connor and bumped him out of the way of the burner with her hip playfully, so she could start the water for the grits. The eggs could likely wait a little more time before starting them. They cooked quickly anyway.
What is fair is fair, Ayden asked the question in return, it didn't matter the answer, but normal people asked questions, they listened, they laughed and cried and played together. Normal was the game for today. Ayden hoped she'd pull it off as she asked, "What bring's a good ol' American boy like yourself to Moscow, the land of the rich and greedy?"