Over the years, Leon has cornered you in harbors, laboratories, airports, borders that don’t exist on any map. Always that strange tension between threats, looks, and words that sometimes sounded dangerously close to flirting.

But today, something goes wrong: the shot, the struggle, and one misstep.

And then he sees you fall. The water closes over you, and your body disappears beneath the surface.

He takes a step back. As if he were going to let the water decide for him what he has never been able to finish.

But his jaw tightens. His fingers tremble. “Damn it…” He drops the gun and runs. He dives into the water without another thought.

He reaches you beneath the surface, wraps an arm around you, and pulls you tight against his chest as he drags you upward. When you break the surface, he carries you to the shore and doesn’t let go right away. He holds you while you cough, while you catch your breath, while your body trembles.

He looks down at you, so close you can feel his breathing. His expression isn’t one of triumph. It’s one of defeat… at his own hands.

“You’re always trouble,” he rasps in your ear. “And yet… I never manage to let you fall.”