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Months had already gone by since Yuri and Chloe started going out together to keep their fake relationship convincing for Yor.
Well, that was what Yuri wanted to believe.
About four months earlier, Yuri and Chloe had gone to the Forgers' home to impress Yor by pretending to be a couple. That same day, Yuri and Chloe made an agreement between themselves: their fake relationship would only be maintained in front of the Forgers, but it would be good for Yuri to keep going out with Chloe so he could improve his interactions with people other than Yor.
But they both saw a mutual benefit in that arrangement. They would be spending time with someone they had feelings for, even though they kept denying it to themselves.
They had gone to many places together, such as dinners and jazz performances, just like in the beginning. But they also went to stadiums and arenas to watch soccer matches or track and field competitions, went out drinking with coworkers, ate street food, and went to the movies. Sometimes they went out every weekend of the month, as long as they were free. Other times, they only went out twice a month. But they always went out together.
Their dynamic at work hadn't changed much, which was good for both of them. No one asked questions because there was nothing suspicious. But every time a free weekend approached, they were both overcome with anticipation at the thought of being together once again.
After about three months of this arrangement, they started leaving work together. Sometimes they walked home. Sometimes Chloe gave Yuri a ride. Other times, they took the subway.
They didn't realize it had become a habit until Captain Curtis brought it up.
"So, Yuri, what's going on between you and Chloe?" he asked, leaning against the wall in the break room, holding his coffee cup.
Yuri choked on his coffee, coughing and spraying it everywhere. He deliberately took his time answering, cleaning his clothes and face with a napkin his superior handed him.
"W-why do you ask, Captain?"
"You two are always leaving together. I thought you'd finally become friends."
"Oh... we've just gotten used to leaving together, that's all," Yuri replied, taking another sip of coffee to hide his embarrassment.
The captain narrowed his eyes slightly, making the two scars above his left eye seem larger, as though he doubted Yuri's answer.
At that moment, Chloe entered the room and greeted both superior officers out of respect. Chadwick couldn't stop observing how carefully they treated each other. Chloe went to get some water, and Yuri couldn't take his eyes off her. He offered her a glass. She stopped beside him, looked at him, and smiled as she accepted it. He smiled back. It seemed they had completely forgotten the older man's presence.
"I hope I'm not interrupting the lovebirds," he said, making Yuri stiffen while Chloe gave a little jump and turned toward him.
"N-not at all, s-sir."
"I'm seeing Chloe," Yuri blurted out at the same time, leaving the young woman completely dumbfounded. He spoke in a robotic tone, standing perfectly still and staring blankly ahead. "I figured I might as well say it."
"Are you two actually dating?"
"It's not exactly dating," Chloe answered, squinting slightly and tilting her head. "It all started to fool his sister."
"Not fool. Reassure," Yuri corrected, raising his index finger.
"Wait, now I'm completely lost," captain Curtis replied.
"Four months ago I asked Chloe to pretend to be my girlfriend so Yor wouldn't think I'm lonely. Since then, we've gone out from time to time. So we're just two friends spending time together."
Chloe was completely embarrassed, her face bright red, wishing she could hide behind her glass of water. Hearing it said out loud was incredibly awkward.
"I see. If you keep smiling at each other and sharing those looks, anyone would think you're dating. So disguise it better to avoid rumors, since I assume there isn't actually a romantic relationship between you."
"Understood, sir," they both answered, saluting as he left the break room.
Chloe glared at Yuri with eyes full of anger, making him feel threatened, even though he knew she wouldn't hit him. She didn't do that anymore. And he no longer threatened to execute or arrest her.
"Why did you do that, Second Lieutenant? I'm dying of embarrassment," she said, resting her forehead against his arm. Her voice was filled with embarrassment despite her anger.
"I thought he should know. We've always worked with him. Sooner or later he'd notice. We don't fight like we used to. We're friends now, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are," she said, lowering her head to look at the glass in her hand.
When Yuri left the room, she couldn't help smiling as she realized Yuri no longer hesitated to make it clear that they were friends, something he never would have done months earlier. Still, he only saw her as a friend, despite behaving like a boyfriend.
*"That brat is making progress, slowly,"* she thought.
At the end of the day, Yuri was waiting for her outside the secret police building.
"Second Lieutenant, waiting for me? We didn't plan to leave together today."
"I know. I thought we could go have a drink, eat something, talk."
"Look, Second Lieutenant..." Yuri interrupted her.
"You can call me Yuri. We're not on duty anymore," he said with a gentle smile. Chloe noticed how frequent those smiles had become.
"Yuri. I don't think it's right for us to keep going out like this."
Hearing that made Yuri's smile disappear, replaced by a worried expression.
"Why, Chloe?"
"It's like the captain said earlier. If we keep going out together, people might start spreading rumors."
"And do you care about rumors?"
"No. But I don't think it's right. You have captain Curtis and Dominic. You could spend more time with them. Yuri, we're just friends, and we go out together way too often. What if I want to find a boyfriend? Going out with you this much could put me at a disadvantage."
"Why a disadvantage?"
"No guy is going to approach me if every time I go somewhere, you're right beside me. Everyone will think we're a couple."
"But are you looking for a boyfriend?"
"No. But what if someone becomes interested in me, and I like them back? I'd end up missing that opportunity. Besides, it's not good for you either. What if some woman falls in love with you? I don't want to stand in anyone's way."
Yuri felt a wave of sadness as he listened to Chloe's words. He had never considered that she might want to date again after the disastrous relationship she'd had in college. And he still couldn't define what he himself was feeling.
"Okay... I understand," he replied sadly.
"But if you want, today can be the end of our arrangement. That doesn't mean we'll never go out together again, but I'd rather we go out in groups, with other people."
"All right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the report we have to hand in on Friday."
"That's a good idea. Let's go, partner," Chloe replied, giving Yuri a light pat on the back.
The evening went well at the bar. They sat at a table in a quieter corner. Each of them showed their recent notes and pointed out things to include in the report.
When Yuri got home, he felt utterly defeated. He had spent the entire evening trying to act normally, but the moment he got home, he collapsed onto the couch.
Chloe's words kept echoing in his mind.
*"If I want to find a boyfriend."*
It unsettled him. Chloe had never shown romantic interest in anyone. Only back in college, when she dated a guy from another department, older than her, who had failed two semesters because of poor grades and was more of a parasite than a boyfriend. Yuri had always thought the man was pathetic.
Back then, he and Chloe weren't close, so it hadn't mattered to him that she had a boyfriend. But now, he found himself wondering why the thought of Chloe wanting to date someone bothered him so much. He couldn't even understand why imagining her with a boyfriend made him feel so sad.
Was it the same feeling of betrayal he had experienced when Yor got married and kept it from him for an entire year? Would he end up pushed aside in Chloe's life too?
He only resisted drinking himself to sleep because he had work the next day and didn't want a hangover. Instead, he spent the entire night awake.
In the following days, Yuri was in a terrible mood at work.
"Is everything okay with you, Yuri?" Chadwick Curtis asked. Yuri startled at the question. Instead of typing the report, he had been sitting motionless, staring at the sheet of paper in the typewriter.
"Oh... yeah."
"Is your brother-in-law bothering you? Or are you worried about your sister?"
"No. I already said I'm fine. I'll finish this part of the report."
"Don't forget to show it to Chloe. You gathered the information together, so you need to write the report together for the team."
"Understood."
Just hearing Chloe's name made Yuri shrink into himself. He still couldn't understand why he was so irritated with her.
The office door where he and the lieutenant worked was open, and he couldn't help noticing Chloe chatting with one of their coworkers, one of his subordinates just like her. She was smiling, and seeing her smile at another man while she was supposedly "looking for a boyfriend" unsettled him deeply.
"Hansel, come here."
"Yes, Second Lieutenant Briar."
"I need... um... some coffee. And bring me some water too. After that, I want two copies of this document."
"Understood, Second Lieutenant Briar."
Yuri didn't actually need any of those things. He just wanted to keep Hansel away from Chloe for as long as possible.
And he still had no idea why.
Curtis watched the whole thing with a discreet smile. Yuri was so distracted he didn't even notice. A few minutes after bringing a cup of coffee and a glass of water, Hansel returned with the draft of the report and two copies, then left. After that, the captain called Chloe into the room. Yuri, who had started typing again, stopped as soon as he heard her name and seemed to freeze.
"Yes, Captain" she said as she entered the room.
"I'm comparing your report with the second lieutenant's, and I noticed that some information is different."
"We combined our information and saw what we could add. I believe some details are described more thoroughly and others less so, depending on what each of us observed."
"I see. Yuri, this report needs to be consolidated."
Yuri stood still, staring at the sheet of paper in the typewriter.
"Yuri?" Curtis called, snapping him out of his trance.
"Ah, right, Captain."
The captain waited for him to get up and take the two reports, but Yuri began typing in a robotic manner. So he decided to hand them to Chloe and ask her to take them to his subordinate's desk. She stopped in front of the desk and held out the two reports, waiting for him to take them. He didn't. So she asked:
"Second Lieutenant, who's going to consolidate the reports?"
Yuri thought about doing it himself, to spare Chloe from having to type four pages. But he remembered that he needed to keep her busy so no other man would bother her. So, without looking up, he continued typing and said:
"You can do it yourself. I trust your ability."
"Understood, Second Lieutenant."
Chloe left the room, stopped at the doorway, and looked back at Yuri. That Thursday, Yuri was being very cold toward her. And she knew it was because of what she had said to him the previous night. But she no longer wanted to deceive her own heart, since she believed Yuri still didn't understand romantic love.
At the end of the day, Chloe left the completed report on Yuri's desk while he had gone to the restroom. She stood there in front of his desk, staring at his empty chair, her eyes filled with sadness. At that moment, captain Curtis entered the room.
“Chloe.”
“Captain. I'll leave the report here for the second lieutenant to review.”
“All right.”
He didn't want to interfere in the lives of his young subordinates, but he could also see how sad Chloe looked.
“Is everything all right with you, Chloe?” The question caught her by surprise.
“Ah, yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired.”
“I see. You're dismissed for today. The second lieutenant will speak with you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, sir,” Chloe replied, leaving the room shortly afterward.
The captain had just returned from the restroom when he found Chloe in the room. He had also overheard a few female officers leaving the women's restroom saying they had seen Chloe crying inside.
A short while later, Yuri returned to the room. Chadwick watched the serious expression on the young man's face.
“Is everything all right between you and Chloe?”
“Why do you ask? Of course it is.”
“You were quite cold toward her today, unlike on other days.”
“I treated her normally, the way colleagues should treat each other.”
“Hmm, I see. She left the report on your desk for you to review. And I dismissed her for today. Her eyes were a little swollen, and she said she was tired.”
Yuri swallowed hard when he heard the captain mention the look of Chloe's eyes. He had also heard the rumor that she had been crying in the restroom, but he wanted to believe it was only a rumor. Chloe would never cry because of him—not the Chloe he knew. Right?
“Understood.”
“I'm heading home as well.”
“Yes, captain. I'll review the report before going home.”
“Good night, son.”
Yuri looked up at the older man and saw his expression, like that of a worried father.
“Good night sir.”
Yuri spent the night revising the report and adding a few things. By the time he went home, it was already late at night. He wanted not to think about Chloe, especially smiling the way she had been at another man who wasn't him.
Friday arrived, and the report had to be submitted. He called Chloe and told her to redo the report.
“But why is there so much more information, Second Lieutenant? I had already finished it yesterday.”
“I remembered some things that needed to be included.”
“But that's almost two extra pages of information.”
“It is two pages. The report will be six pages now instead of four. That'll be your task today, Chloe.”
Chloe looked at Yuri with obvious anger.
“Chloe, I'm your superior. Are you going to question my orders?”
“No, Second Lieutenant. I'll redo it right away.”
She left the room as though she never wanted to see Yuri again for the rest of her life. He was being so childish, punishing her for a decision she had made for her own good. *If I'd known he'd react like this, I never would have started this madness,* she thought.
Yuri was determined to keep Chloe busy so that none of their colleagues—especially someone named Hansel—would bother her. But Chloe seemed far more bothered by him than by Hansel, and he realized how childish he was being.
He watched Chloe stretch her arms, rotate her wrists, stretch her neck, and blink more often to ease the feeling of blurred eyes. He felt bad for overloading her. He couldn't punish her for something she had decided to do, even if it meant spending less time with her. But now it was too late. The report was already being rewritten.
So he went to the break room and asked Officer Robinson to bring Chloe a glass of water, then watched her accept it with a smile. A little while later, he asked Officer Helena to bring her a warm compress so she could place it on her neck and relax her muscles. His excuse was that it would help her maintain good performance while typing up the report. The officer brought the warm compress wrapped in a towel, and Chloe thanked her cheerfully.
He even went so far as to ask Hansel to bring Chloe some coffee to help keep her awake, while reminding him not to interrupt her work. The young man did so. Chloe felt happy seeing her colleagues taking care of her, and that left Yuri feeling satisfied.
Even so, he still felt guilty, and he would apologize to her later.
Chloe finished the report and took it to Yuri.
“Second Lieutenant, I’ve finished the report. Would you like me to do anything else?”
“No, thank you very much, Chloe,” he replied, flipping through the report. He felt too ashamed to look directly at her because of his childish and selfish behavior. But his thoughts were interrupted by Chloe.
“I’d like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I questioned your order, and that is inexcusable, considering I am your subordinate. It is my duty to follow your orders. It won’t happen again.”
She wore a very serious and rigid expression. Yuri realized he had been caught completely off guard by her words and looked her in the eyes. He felt even more ashamed. As she was about to leave the room, he called out to her.
“Chloe,” he said, reaching out his hand as if he wanted to grab her by the wrist.
“Yes, Second Lieutenant,” she replied, walking back toward him.
“I... I’d like to ask for your forgiveness for the way I treated you over the last two days. I was far too harsh and selfish. It was completely childish. I never wanted to hurt you or overburden you—not intentionally. It’s just that... please forgive me.” He lowered his eyes as he spoke the last sentence.
Chloe could see how deeply saddened Yuri was for having treated her that way. The only reason he didn’t drop to his knees begging for forgiveness was because the captain was also in the room, and he wanted to be discreet, at least while at work. But she could tell he wanted to from the dramatic way he apologized.
“I forgive you. I think we shouldn’t mix our personal lives with work. It’ll be better that way.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said, staring at the floor.
“It’s okay. At least I got to see how much my coworkers care about me.” After a brief silence, she continued, “Wouldn’t you like me to make a few copies of the report?”
“No, no. Thank you. I’ll take care of that. You’re dismissed.”
She left the room.
The Captain had watched every moment of that conversation while pretending to read the other reports on his desk. He knew Chloe had been looked after by her coworkers under Yuri’s orders. He knew how much Yuri cared about Chloe.
By the end of the day, Yuri still felt sad, but lighter after admitting how badly he had behaved, and he was determined never to act that way again. But when he overheard a conversation in the locker room, despair overtook him.
“Hey, Hansel. I’ve noticed you’ve been getting closer to Chloe.”
“She’s really interesting. If she keeps encouraging me, I’m going to make a move.”
“You don’t waste any time, huh?”
“Maybe I’ll ask her out today. Who knows? She might say yes.”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Do you have any suggestions for somewhere I could take her? You’re always going on dates—you must know some really nice places, Kevin.”
The conversation gradually faded away, not only because the two men were leaving the locker room, but because Yuri had begun to feel sick. He was standing in a dimly lit corner of the locker room, behind the lockers where Hansel and Kevin had been.
His heart began to race, and his vision blurred. It wasn’t because he was about to faint, but because tears had begun to well up in his eyes. He ran to a shower stall that, fortunately, hadn’t been used that day and whose floor was still dry. He began to hyperventilate as tears streamed down his face. Slowly, he slid down the wall, thinking that, in that moment, he had lost Chloe. He was willing to accept that as his punishment.
The captain Curtis was looking for him when he found him sitting there, his face soaked with tears.
"Yuri?! What happened?"
"Sir!"
Yuri was sitting on the floor, leaning against the side wall of the shower, with one leg stretched out on the floor and the other bent, his foot planted on the ground. The captain crouched beside him when he saw the deplorable state his subordinate was in and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What happened, Yuri?"
"Chloe... I lost her."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I heard Hansel say he's going to ask her out" he said, covering his eyes with one hand.
"That doesn't mean she'll say yes."
"How could she not? He's so nice to her, he makes her smile, and he's handsome too."
"You check all those boxes too."
"But I'm not him. He's never treated her badly the way I have. And today I practically pushed her toward him. I should have seen the problem I was causing. If I hadn't... if I hadn't." He began to sob as he spoke.
"You need to calm down, young man. It's not the end of the world. Think clearly..." Yuri interrupted him.
"I like Chloe... it took me so long to realize it, to accept it. I ended up hurting her. If I hadn't taken so long" he said, his voice breaking.
"It's not the end of the world, Yuri. I've seen how much you care about her."
Yuri looked into his superior's eyes and said:
"What's the point if she likes Hansel?"
Fresh tears streamed from his eyes, and his voice rose to a higher pitch.
The lieutenant looked down and laughed at his words.
"Chloe has always liked you. You never noticed because you were obsessed with your sister's wedding."
"What? Chloe? No, she doesn't see me that way. I'm just the kid who went to college with her."
"Can't you see it? She was always finding an excuse to be by your side. And I saw it in you too. These past few months, you were always following her around like a puppy following its owner. And I have to admit, you've improved a lot. Being around her does you good. These last two days have been torture for me. Tell her how you feel."
Yuri's face lit up when he heard those words. But he also felt a stab of fear.
"But what if she rejects me?"
The lieutenant smiled again. To him, the answer was obvious.
"She won't. Trust me."
"She hasn't left yet?"
"No. Actually, she was just going into the women's locker room when I got here. Wash your face and go talk to her."
Yuri jumped to his feet and hurried to wash his face.
"Thank you very much, sir", he said as he left the locker room.
He knew that on that day, Chloe had gone to work by car. So he waited for her in the parking lot, near her car.
Yuri was extremely nervous, pacing back and forth, tapping his fingers against his leg. When he saw Chloe approaching, he stopped beside her car door. Chloe was distracted, checking the time on her watch, and when she looked up and saw Yuri standing there, she stopped too.
“Second Lieutenant?! Is something wrong?” she asked, sounding concerned.
“Wrong? Nothing!” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. They stood there in awkward silence. Chloe stared at him, while Yuri looked anywhere but at her.
“I need to get into my car, Second Lieutenant.”
“Yuri. I already told you that you can call me by my name outside of work hours, please.”
“Okay.” She tightened her grip on the strap of the bag resting on her shoulder.
“Oh, right. You need to open the car door first. Sorry,” he said with an embarrassed smile, stepping aside so she could pass. Just as she was about to open the car door, he spoke again, almost in a whisper.
“Are you going out with Hansel?”
Chloe froze in shock and slowly turned toward him.
“No. Actually, he asked me out, but... I'm too tired, so I turned him down. How did you know?”
“I overheard him talking in the locker room.”
“I see.”
She turned back to open the car door when Yuri's voice made her turn around instantly.
“Don't get yourself a boyfriend, Chloe.”
She was even more surprised by his words. Her heart started racing so hard she wished she could tell it to calm down.
“Why are you asking me that, Yuri?”
“Because I won't be able to stand losing you.”
“Losing me?”
“Please, don't look for a boyfriend. Because I... I like you.”
“Yuri,” she whispered.
“Let me be your boyfriend, Chloe, please. I really want that.”
Chloe tried to hide her smile by pressing her lips between her teeth and covering her mouth with her fingers. His eyes showed that he was silently begging her to return his feelings. He continued:
“These last four months made me see you differently. I thought we'd just grown closer as friends, but it wasn't only that. I only realized it when I saw that you might end up liking someone else, and...”
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him over his arms while he was speaking, interrupting him.
“I want you to be my boyfriend too, Yuri. Because I like you.”
He gently held her by the arms, pulling her back just enough to look at her, and said in surprise,
“You like me? Really? Even after I acted like such an idiot so many times?”
“So now you admit you acted like an idiot?”
“I'm sorry, Chloe.”
“It's okay, Yuri. That's in the past now. Besides, I never took your threats seriously. You only built that shell to hide what was really in your heart.”
“Am I really that transparent to you?”
She smiled and nodded in confirmation. He embraced her again, and they stayed that way for a few quiet minutes. The feeling was warm and comforting, filled with relief and something they still didn't fully understand. But they both knew that being in each other's arms was still the best place to be.
“I think we'd better go before someone catches us together,” Chloe said.
“True,” Yuri replied with a smile.
“Want me to drive you home?”
“I think the boyfriend is supposed to drive his girlfriend home, don't you?” he said, blushing as he cleared his throat, one hand behind his back and the other closed over his mouth. Chloe couldn't hold back a wide smile when she heard his words.
“Then you drive,” she said.
“But then you'll be leaving your car with me.”
“You can bring it back tomorrow, Yuri.”
It was the perfect excuse for them to see each other again the next day.
At last, Yuri drove Chloe home. When they arrived in front of the building where she lived, she climbed the stairs while he followed behind her. When she reached the top of the staircase, he took her hand. She looked at their hands and smiled. She stopped and turned to face him, as he stood one step below her.
“Chloe, before you go inside, tell me—when did you start liking me?”
“I think it's been a long time. I don't know exactly when it started. But it began with admiration. I admired your determination, your effort, your strength. I saw that the boy who used to be the annoying baby of our college class had become a dedicated man.”
“So that day at dinner, when you said that made you feel attracted to me... you were telling the truth?”
“Yes.” The smile on her face made him want to hug her again. But she interrupted him.
“And you? When did you start liking me?”
“Well, that day, at dinner at my sister's house, I already knew something had changed in the way I felt about you. I just didn't realize I liked you until you told me you didn't want to go out with me anymore. Thinking that the only woman besides Yor who truly cared about me, and the one I had feelings for, didn't want to spend time with me anymore made me fall apart. I didn't know what to do because I still didn't understand what I was feeling, until I heard there was someone who wanted to be by your side just as much as I did. I had to fight for you. You're incredibly precious, Chloe.”
Chloe couldn't hold back a silly smile as she heard Yuri's words.
“Thank you for fighting for me.”
Yuri was overwhelmed by the moment, and because of that, he couldn't help but gently pull her closer, sliding his hands from hers up to her wrists. Since he was standing one step below her, they were almost the same height. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. It was brief, soft, yet tender.
Chloe was surprised by his boldness. Then she took two steps back so he could climb to the top of the stairs. And when he did, she cupped his face with both hands and kissed him again.
He wrapped his arms around her as they kissed, and she moved her hands to the back of his neck. When they finally pulled away, they both smiled while holding each other's hands. They said goodbye, Chloe went inside the building, and Yuri drove home, thinking about everything that had happened just a few hours earlier.
This would certainly be something new for Yuri, but he felt ready for where he had arrived. And from that day forward, he would fight to have Chloe by his side every single day.