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March 18, 11:43 PM - Elgin Hall Residence, Chicago, IL Azura's POV

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"I feel like I'm starting to understand why some information is classified."

Noble was lying on the bed, with a laptop nestled on his chest as he typed away. Amir, who was on the line, agreed with him. "You were better off, not knowing."

"I know," Azura groaned. "It's just a big fucking mess. I'm starting to crave the simplicity from when I first got the mission."

She stood by her mirror as she combed through her wet hair, tugging at the knots that had formed. "I can't believe I didn't see the resemblance sooner. Come to think of it; he doesn't share any features with his adoptive father."

The fact that Preston was the son of the very criminal her parent agency was after made the entire mission a little more complicated. Especially with the request, his biological mother had just dropped on her.

"It doesn't have to be complicated. Just do your job, and it'll be simple," Amir reminded her.

She bit her lip as she stared at the phone on the vanity, not trusting herself to voice her disagreement. In reality, nothing had technically changed. She still had to protect Preston, and Rosa still had to turn in Dano. But with the backstory and feeling a little more attached to each victim, Azura felt like she had to do more.

"You're not going actually to try and get Preston to meet her, right?" Noble asked, his tone doubtful.

He stared at him through the mirror, quick to deny it, "No, that would be reckless."

But I'd be lying if I hadn't been thinking about it.

Giving up with her hair, she tossed the brush into its drawer before making her way to her bed with the phone in hand.

"We can only hope things don't go south," Amir prompted gently. "And that's out of your control, Azura." It was Amir's way of telling her to stand down because her best friend knew the doubts that were swarming in her head.

But it was that possibility that had been gnawing at Azura's conscience. She disagreed with Rosa's actions, but at the same time, she didn't have the heart to deprive her of the chance to see the child she clearly loved.

I blame the orphan in me for this, she angrily thought, unpleased with herself for being swayed by her informant's sob story.

"I'm headed to bed. No more reckless visits Azura," Amir warned.

"Yeah, I know. I'll keep a low profile."

Before Amir could end the call, Noble quickly added his request. "Come pick me up tomorrow, okay?" Having accompanied her to the club and acted as her lookout, Noble decided to spend the night at her condo. He had yet to meet Preston, who had been tucked away in his room when they had arrived.

"No."

"Come on, please," Noble whined as he begged for his friend's help.

Azura silently counted down before her friend's signature remark was heard. "It's not my problem," she mouthed at the exact time before silently guffawing.

"I have your laptop and credit card."

It was Noble now you had to slap a hand over his mouth to smother the laughs that threatened to come out.

The line went silent, and Azura had to bury her face into her mattress to contain herself.

The childish prank done by Noble was somewhat of a traditional ritual that happened whenever he needed Amir's assistance for spontaneous favours, which were not mission-related.

"Fuck you. Be ready at 9 AM."

After the line hung up, the pair laughed uncontrollably at their best friend, who most likely would be fuming at their antics. "God, I love him. He really hates going out of his way for trivial things," she said with a grin.

"Right, but if it were a life or death situation, he'd be there in a heartbeat. Such an oddball."

She crawled onto the bed to lay side by side with Noble, each occupied with their thoughts.

"So, have you told him you like him yet?" her best friend, the first to break the silence.

"Like whom," she asked, but her voice had risen in pitch, which was enough of a giveaway for Noble to know she was lying.

"The boy who you are going above and beyond for by making presentations for his interview and acting as a family counsellor to his estranged mother," he drawled.

Azura sat up, staring down at her friend, who gave her a knowing look. "Azu, you can't hide shit from me."

She groaned, falling back down onto the bed, staring at her plain popcorn ceiling. "Okay fine. So, I have a little crush. But it's very one-sided. So, I will not be sharing how I feel ever. Oh, and did I mention he's my mission objective."

"Okay, let's unpack this. Forget about the mission for a second."

Oh no, here we go.

When either Azura or Amir showed a sliver of romantic interest, Noble was the first to sniff it out like a bloodhound. And when he got the confirmation he needed, he would be relentless, trying to offer advice.

"No, Noble, you are not playing love guru for me."

Ignored by him, he continued with his lecture. "I don't think this kid hates you like you think he does. In fact, I think you're starting to grow on him."

She felt rustling beside her and glanced up to see Noble leaning against the headboard of her bed. He gave her a sad smile, which she made her want to smack it off his face. "Don't. Do not try and find the positive."

Her remark made the frown on his face deepen. Noble, at the end of the day, was the cupid, the hopeless romantic, the lover, who often ended up falling for his targets during missions. He was notorious for this, given his kind and charming nature. 

He exhaled a deep breath, knowing fully well that she would not budge on this. "Okay, so what if he's the target? Just tell him how you feel, keep playing the game but enjoy your time together until you have to go. You would have no regrets."

She scoffed, shielding her eyes with her still bandaged arm. "I don't know how you do that without feeling emotionally drained afterwards. I would regret it if I told him because if there was something special, then I would end up wanting something I couldn't have. Ignorance is bliss, remember," citing the ideology they had vowed to follow after learning of they messy ties their mission was entangled in.

When he didn't argue further, she added hotly, "And Preston's currently going out with another classmate of his. She is a nice girl, and they fit well together. He even came to me for advice, and I've been helping him out. So, these feelings will blow over when I leave, which will be very soon."

"How many times did you recite that to yourself to make you feel better?"

She chucked a pillow in his direction, hitting him square in the face, but Noble simply laughed.

"I'm not some lovesick teen, okay? I am a grown-ass woman, and yes, I acknowledge that I am attracted to him. But there is no way in hell I will go after him or confess. There are many fish in the sea, and I don't have any plans on catching this one."

They sat there silently, but Azura could sense that Noble still wasn't ready to let this go. 

"There's nothing wrong with liking him, Azura."

She finally opened her eyes and looked at him with a deadpanned expression. There were so, so many things wrong. Had they met outside of her work, she would have been open to give it a shot. But life just doesn't work out the way you had hoped. 

"But there is. Our relationship is based on lies. I'm not really a business undergrad. I'm not some acquaintance of his father's.  He thinks I have a mother with an amputated hand, and that's just the start! He already has trust issues; could you imagine what would happen when I tell him everything he knew about me was a lie? It would destroy him, Noble." The heavyweight of her lies felt like a heavy burden. Having voiced them out loud, for the first time in a long while, she felt guilty for doing her job.  

She usually wasn't one to discuss her love interests in such depth, mainly because most of them happened to be flings she found during different jobs. So the vulnerability she felt as this moment was new to both her and Noble. 

"You've really thought about this, huh?" he asked softly.

Taking a gulp of air, she pushed down the nauseous feeling.  "Yeah. I like him. I would be stupid to deny that. But all the more reason why I don't want to hurt him. That's the last thing I want to do." 

The friends had a staring contest with Noble eventually resigning with a tired sigh. "That's the Azura I love and hate," he mumbled as he got ready for bed. "Just, don't be surprised when he ends up reciprocating your feelings and accepts all of your, the good, bad and ugly."

She snorted as she turned to switch off her light. "Yeah, that'll happen when hell freezes over." 

Word Count: 1563 

So she has confessed my dudes. Damn, let's give her round of applause for being mature and considerate. Who here thought she would be stubborn and not admit that she liked him? Or who was impressed with her answer as too why she couldn't pursue? Do you think she should?

Or maybe you don't care XD 

Either way, drop that comment and thanks for reading. 

See ya on the flip side folks, 

Johnny