Chapter Text
SUNDAY AUGUST 2, 2015
When Ilsa woke up that morning, the first thing she felt was the strong arms of Ethan wrapped around her body, keeping her close to him. She could feel his steady breath against her neck and she kept her eyes closed for a little longer, simply enjoying the peacefulness she was feeling in Ethan’s arms.
Soon enough, she felt him begin to move behind her, slowly waking up. A smile spread across her face when she felt his lips on her neck. Gradually, she turned to face him and found a smile identical to her own on Ethan's face. She looked into his gaze, flashes of the night they had just spent together passing before their eyes.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” Ethan whispered, staring lovingly at her.
“Good morning, handsome.” she whispered back, staring at him as lovingly as he did.
Of their own accord, their mouths moved closer together until they came into contact. They kissed lazily, letting their hands travel over each other's bodies. Very quickly, the kisses became more demanding, more rushed. The caresses became more thorough, venturing under the covers and on every accessible patch of skin. Their bodies were on fire, inflamed by the contact of the other's skin.
Ilsa was all too aware of the path Ethan's hand were taking, her nerves endings vibrating under his gradually descending fingers. She couldn't contain a moan when his hand came into contact with her crotch. He moaned too, feeling her getting wetter and wetter by seconds. He touched her like he never touched any woman before her and she knew she would not last long.
He delicately slipped a finger inside her, moving it in a way that made her moan even louder. Then he added a second and a third one and she was moaning his name, again and again, inviting him to keep going. He reached a spot that made her come so hard she could have sworn she was seeing stars.
Coming back from her high, she felt his gaze on her even before opening her eyes. No one had ever looked at her with so much adoration, so much love, as if she were the most desired and precious person on earth. Not wanting to let this wave of emotions overwhelm her, she leaned towards Ethan and kissed him. They had more pressing needs.
Speaking of which, she felt Ethan on top of her as his mouth moved along her jaw to place kisses on her neck. She moaned again when she felt him positioned himself at her entrance. He pushed himself inside her delicately and she welcomed him more than willingly, already wanting more.
He started moving slowly, savoring each second he was spending inside her. Fast enough though, he increased the pace, feeling Ilsa’s legs circling him, needing him as close as possible. He felt his release rising quickly, but before allowing himself to come, he wanted to make her come. He needed to make her come. He kept his steady pace, slamming into her, encouraged by her moans.
Feeling Ethan so deep inside her and his mouth doing wonderful things on her neck, Ilsa came undone once again. He followed soon after, feeling her coming around him.
It took them long minutes before coming back from their highs, not wanting to break the moment or the contact. When they finally did, it wasn’t for long. Ethan carefully withdrew from her, returning to his side of the bed. Not even a second later, he was joined by Ilsa who followed him in his movements to settle in his arms, her head resting on his chest. He kept her close, letting his fingers tracing random patterns on her naked back, loving those moments where they were just Ilsa and Ethan, not agents on mission. Not people who needed to be accountable to government authorities that did not care about their well-being. In this bed, in that moment, they were just Ilsa and Ethan. And it was enough.
After a moment, Ilsa broke the silence, knowing only too well that their bubble of love and tranquility could not last:
“What time is it?”
“Let’s check me.” Replied Ethanspeaking quietly, not wanting to break the moment.
Keeping Ilsa close to him, he threw his arm towards the bedside table where his phone rested. Grabbing it, he unlocked it, his eyes barely adjusting to the sudden blinding light of the screen so close to his face.
“Shit.” he suddenly whispered, focused on the screen.
“What is it?” muffled Ilsa, leaning up slightly from Ethan's shoulder.
“Benji tried to call 8 times but my phone was on silent.” he replied, showing her the screen.
“Call him back while we gather our things, he’ll probably tell us we have to leave.” Ilsa sighed, reluctantly leaving Ethan's arms.
She put on Ethan's shirt and started picking up her things. For a moment, he was mesmerized by the vision of Ilsa wearing his clothes. God, the things she was doing to him just by being her.
Telling himself to get a grip, he imitated Ilsa in her movements and left the bed as well, putting on his underwear while dialing Benji's number. He put it on speakerphone and barely a ring later, the latter picked up:
“It’s about damn time! I’ve been trying to reach out all morning!”
“Benji calm down, it’s only 7:45.” Ilsa tried to reason, already putting her stuff in her bag.
“What’s so urgent anyway? Did you guys find something?” Ethan added, collecting yesterday's clothes that they had scattered during their activities.
“It sure looks like you had other URGENT things to do to not pick up the phone 8 bloody times!” almost screamed Benji through the phone.
“Now we’re here Benji, so maybe you could tell us?” replied Ethan, smiling at his friend’s antics.
They indeed had other, very urgent, things to do this morning. And last night too.
“We were able to find who sent the money to Arlov.” Benji simply said, as if he didn’t know how to announce the rest of the information.
“Annnnd?” pressed Ilsa, losing her patience.
“Well I don’t really know how to say this because, Luther and I were pretty shocked by that. Even Brandt, when we told him, at first he didn’t believe us but we ran the search again and again just to be sure and it was the same name each time so we believed it in the end even if it’s really-”
“Benji, who sent the money?” Ethan cut in.
“Atlee. The person who sends the money to buy the virus is Atlee. I’m sorry Ilsa.” Benji concluded, sounding regretful.
Ilsa thought she misheard him at first. She stopped dead in her tracks and tried to analyze the news. That didn’t make any sense, why would he do that? He wouldn't, right? Because he was the only one she was supposed to trust in her job.
But then, she met Ethan's gaze and she understood that she had heard very well. Atlee had betrayed her, betrayed everyone, and tried to double-cross them. She felt like throwing up.
Feeling Ilsa’s dumbfoundedness, Ethan found it best to end the conversation.
“We’re jumping on the first plane home Benji, see you soon.”
After hanging up, everything happened quickly. Both of them had packed their bags in a hurry to leave the place as quickly as possible and in no time, they were on the plane.
Ethan could see how what they had just learned had affected Ilsa even if she did everything she could to not let it show. However, they hadn't exchanged a single word about the situation since the conversation with Benji. They hadn't needed it, their looks had been enough as in the previous days. Ilsa had let her guard down, letting Ethan see how she felt and he let her see that she wasn't alone and that they would face this together.
The flight passed in the blink of an eye and without realizing it, they had arrived at their destination and were heading towards the IMF offices. They were greeted by Benji and Luther who were waiting for them at the entrance to the building, a desolate look on both their faces. In heavy silence, the four joined Brandt who was already interrogating Atlee.
They settled into the meeting room where it had all started a few days earlier. Sitting on the same chairs, they attentively followed the conversation between Brandt and Atlee via a computer which transcribed the events in real time. Atlee had already confessed to the facts for many minutes and Brandt was now questioning him about the details that he considered important:
“What about Ilsa? Why did you accept that mission, accepting to send her in that, knowing fully well it was a suicide mission since you would be the one buying the virus?” Asked Brandt remaining calm to get as much information as possible.
“I had to make myself credible to Arlov. I had to be able to prove to him that I was really going to switch sides. So I entrusted the mission to Ilsa and at the right time, during the transaction, I would have reported her to Arlov. It wasn’t against her, let’s say it was more like…collateral damage.” replied Atlee, as calm as his interlocutor, not seeming in the least disturbed by what he was explaining.
On the other side of the screen, Ethan grabbed Ilsa's hand. The rest of the interview remained a complete blur for both of them. They were lost in thought, thinking about what could have happened if they had failed to identify the culprit at that wedding. If Atlee had gotten his way and betrayed Ilsa to get the virus. She wouldn't be in this room with them right now. Imagining this scenario is enough for Ethan to send a shiver down his spine. He held Ilsa's hand a little tighter against his after that. And he felt her do the same. An identical shiver ran through her spine, knowing that mission was a set up from the very start. Lucky for Atlee she wasn't the person conducting the interrogation.
The interview ended after almost an hour of questions. Benji and Luther stood up to join Brandt outside the room, wanting to give Ilsa some space and time to digest all the information that had just been stated. They both went out, not without one last look, one last compassionate smile towards Ilsa, leaving her alone with Ethan.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, once they were alone.
“Betrayed. Angry. Tired.” she replied in a low voice.
"I'm sorry." he said, his voice as low as hers.
“It’s not your fault. Well, except maybe for the latest.” Ilsa added, a slight smile appearing on her face.
“Are you complaining?” he teased with an equally small smile.
“Not in the slightest.” she confirmed, looking straight into his eyes.
“That’s what I thought.” Ethan concluded, maintaining eye contact.
A second passed, or maybe a minute, or an hour during which they just continued to look into each other's eyes, forgetting the outside world. The mission was over now, they were going to have to move on with their lives. But could they? After the week they spent together, acting like a married couple, would they be able to act as if nothing happened? Would they even want to? Ethan knew he certainly did not. He was just hoping she would be feeling the same.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked, sounding unsure of what he was going to say.
“I don’t know. I've done my part. I’m not going back to them, I’m done with MI6. I'll find something to do. Somewhere to go. I can be anyone, I can do anything, it’s only a matter of going.” she simply replied, not sounding worried of what the future will look like.
“Maybe you could stay with us. With me.” whispered Ethan looking at their intertwined fingers.
“Are you offering me a job Ethan?” questioned Ilsa, smirking at him.
“What if I was?” he deadpanned immediately, looking back in her eyes.
Before she could answer, someone knocked on the door. The latter was opened by Brandt who entered the room to join Ilsa and Ethan. Choosing to ignore the way they were pressed together, their hands tangled, Brandt spoke to Ilsa:
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Ilsa was surprised to be the person he wanted to talk to. She had expected him to come and talk to Ethan. She nodded, indicating her agreement as Ethan silently walked away to let them talk. He left the room, taking one last look at Ilsa who let him know, with one look, that everything was alright.
“I’ve wanted to talk to you because of what’s happening with Atlee.” Brandt began, sitting down across from Ilsa.
"I'm listening." replied the latter in a calm voice.
“Correct me if I’m wrong but since Atlee was your handler in the Mi6, you’re kinda on your own now?”
“That’s a way to put it, yeah.” drily replied Ilsa.
“Would you be open to other possibilities?” Brandt suggested.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Working for the IMF.” Brandt suggested.
“Seriously?” asked Ilsa, sounding doubtful.
“Look, I've seen the way you work. You're doing an amazing job. And you get along with the team. Especially with Ethan based on the way you were sitting when I walked into the room. I'm sure we can do a very good job. We’re not MI6, I can promise you that. So, what do you think?”
XXXXX
Ethan entered the room again the second Brandt came out. Ilsa was standing next to the long meeting table and seemed thoughtful.
“You're ok?” Ethan asked, approaching her.
Ilsa raised her head towards him and looked into his eyes. A smile spread across her face and she knew she had made the right choice when her smile was reflected on Ethan's face.
“Yes, I’m good.” She replied in a light voice.
“What did Brandt want?”
“You know, you both think pretty much alike.” Ilsa said, the smile still not leaving her face.
“What do you mean?” Ethan questioned, not understanding where she was going with this.
“He offered me a job. In your team. With you.” she said, standing right in front of him.
The surprise she saw on Ethan’s face was priceless.
“And what did you tell him?” queried Ethan, sounding really hopeful.
“Well, I hesitated for a while but I said to him that it was worth a shot.” Ilsa replied, smiling widely.
“Wait, so you’re IMF now? You're with us?” he asked in disbelief, wanting it to be real.
“I’m with you.”
Happiness was radiating from Ethan’s face. He knew it hadn't been an easy decision for Ilsa to make. After the betrayal she had just suffered, everyone would have understood that she refused Brandt's offer and left on her own. However, she decided to place her trust in them. In him. He felt honored she trusted him that way.
“You know what helped me decide?” she continued, bringing Ethan out of his thoughts.
“Do tell.” he said with a small on his face.
She approached him and placed her arms around his neck. Automatically, his arms came to wrap themselves around her waist, as if they had never done anything else. With a serious face, she said:
“This job can be awful, but it’s easier if you do it with the good people. I think I’ve met the good people this week, you know. So I know that saying yes to Brandt would be the right thing to do because it would allow me to work again with them. And I can't wait to work with them again. Benji and Luther.”
Ethan looked at her, at a lack of words for a quick second. Then, the smile reappeared and a similar smile was born on Ilsa’s face.
“Tease.” he huffed, letting his forehead rest on hers.
She laughed at that, leaning her face towards his to kiss him. He kissed back, relishing what would be the start of a new chapter in their lives, together.