by Tasha Black
Pale stucco walls rose around her like a cloud up to the vaulted ceiling, which was beamed with wrought iron, and crafted in delicate spires. The chapel jutted out behind the rest of the monastery, most likely to capture the ethereal views. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows were set at intervals throughout the room, allowing a distracting panorama of the fields on two sides and the beginning of the boxwood labyrinth on the third. Elaborate tapestries depicting painstakingly detailed pastoral scenes hung between the big windows. The floor was made of large black and white marble tiles that never failed to make Trinity think of Alice in Wonderland. The old benches had been removed and replaced with a couple of oak tables that were covered in file boxes and computer equipment. But there was still something magical about the place.
“It’s very beautiful,” Hawkeye said softly. He had been here many times too.
“Yes, and there’s good light,” Trinity stated the obvious.
“Your job is very important,” he said.
“Sure, I guess,” she said. “Why?”
“You have the largest and most beautiful room in the whole building,” Hawkeye explained.
“That’s true,” she replied. “But I don’t actually have the most important job.”
“Oh,” he said, looking unconvinced.
“I used to wonder why Henderson gave me the chapel too,” she confided. “But I think it’s because the air conditioning doesn’t work as well out here as in the rest of the building. I don’t know if it’s all the windows or if it was too hard to get enough ductwork out here.”
“I don’t mind it being a little warmer,” Hawkeye said.
“Me neither, if it will get me this view,” she agreed. Though she shivered to think what winter would be like. She’d always preferred the cold, but the open, drafty area might be too much even for her.
She led him over to the table with the scanner. It was the best she could afford. She’d bought it with her own money when it became clear that her requests weren’t going through for a second machine. There was no way they could get anything done if they were hand feeding a page at a time. She only hoped it would hold up for the duration. It was designed for home use, and she figured it would get a lifetime’s worth of action in a month at this rate.
She was impressed when Hawkeye pulled a note pad out of his satchel. Was he really going to take notes?
“This machine scans an image of the paper copy and sends it to the place where the information is stored,” she explained.
“A hard drive?” Hawkeye asked.
“Yes,” she said, pausing to look up at him.
“I did a little research,” he explained. “I didn’t want to be completely useless.”
“Oh,” Trinity said, feeling a bit off balance. “That’s great.”
“So, we scan the images to the hard drive and then what?” he asked.
“Well, it’s more complicated than that,” she explained. “There are so many files and they have to be organized. Luckily it seems like most of the academy admins over the years knew what they were doing. Each file is color coded, that will tell us which folder to save it in. And we’ll title the file with whatever is written on the tab.”
She pulled the first folder to show him the tab with a green sticker and the words Janitorial Budget - Quarter 1.
He watched as she completed the process on that file, nodded and jotted down some notes.
She bent to pick up another and felt his eyes on her posterior. When she straightened and turned he looked quickly down at his note pad. But not before she caught his cocky little half-smile.
Trinity took a deep breath and willed herself not to notice. He was here to help.
But she didn’t retrieve the next file.
When Hawkeye bent to grab it, she couldn’t help returning the favor with a quick glance at his ass. She was secretly hoping some part of him would be less than godlike, but once again she was foiled. Every inch of him was utter perfection.
And matters were only worse when he turned back to her and she felt her cheeks burn at being caught.
He seemed to take pity on her, looking back down at the file and handing it to her.
Their fingers brushed lightly and Trinity felt as if she had touched the live power coupling inside her laptop. Her heart raced and her fingers buzzed.
She rushed to demonstrate the scanning and digital filing process one last time.
“May I try one?” he asked politely.
“Sure,” she said, looking out the window this time when he leaned over to grab a folder.
When she had watched him scan two complete files on his own without incident, she returned to the table opposite his to begin working on her own stack of files.
The chapel was quiet with only the sounds of their typing and the whirs of the scanners.
She was both disappointed and relieved that they weren’t chatting. Scanning could be lonely work. She hadn’t realized how lonely until Hawkeye had begun carrying files for her. He only went back and forth but it was a nice feeling to have him stopping in and out throughout the day.
She looked over at him.
He was concentrating fully on the task at hand, dark eyes fixed on the screen of the scanner as if he wasn’t convinced it was going to do his bidding unless he kept a sharp eye on it.
He was working efficiently and doing a good job though. He was way more tuned in than she had given him credit for.
Maybe they all were. She really didn’t know much about them - only what everyone else on the planet did.
She smiled thinking back to the day the news had broken online. She and Veronica and Brooke had huddled around her laptop to read about the men and then wig out over their pictures. Brooke had been convinced the pictures had been photoshopped.
They knew better now.
The whole idea was incredible. Alien life forms migrating into gorgeous human bodies, arriving quietly on Earth and judging its population based on whether the alien-men could mate with human women and become human themselves… It was like something out of a movie.
But the public only knew about three aliens who had been deposited on Earth, and their leader who came to intervene when they ran into some troubles.
No one knew about the guys in the lab, or about Lobo, Conan or Hawkeye, here at the academy.
And Trinity found herself wondering if their guys were the only ones out in the wild, or if there were others outside the lab.
So far, the world was in love with the men - they were polite, gorgeous, and had clearly studied human culture at length, even if that study concluded with the 1980s.
But, being who she was, and doing what she did, Trinity knew that they couldn’t enjoy this level of popularity or privacy for long.
Sooner or later some clever person or destructive group would start hacking and leaking. And no matter how awesome the boys from Aerie were, there would be something that the public wouldn’t like.
And Trinity couldn’t get involved in that.
She had a mission. And it didn’t allow her to put personal relationships ahead of the cause. That was part of the unspoken white-hats code. Hacktivists like her, who fought for good instead of evil, were too few to be sacrificed on the altar of public scrutiny.
No, if Trinity wanted to keep quietly protecting bullied kids and struggling non-profits from being hacked and blackmailed, she would have to keep her own life nice and boring.
So, she might look at the tasty alien - but she would not touch. At least not in real life.
Feeling content with her decision, she finished the file she was working on and decided to have a nice stretch before starting the next one.
“Want something to drink?” Hawkeye offered from his table. “I brought some iced tea.”
The late morning sun had suffused the room with both light and heat. The chapel was like a greenhouse on hot days.
Hawkeye reached into his satchel and pulled out two bottles.
“I’d drink anything cold ri
ght now,” she confessed.
He stood frozen for a moment with a faraway look in his eyes, like he was concentrating on something important. An involuntary shiver ran down Trinity’s spine. Then he strode over and handed her a bottle.
“Thanks,” she said, trying not to notice how easy it would be to flow into his arms, just like in her dream. Her decision was final.
But, wow, part of her wished she didn’t have to keep working with him - it was going to be so distracting.
She looked down at the tea.
Peppermint - her favorite kind. And there was a thin coating of frost on the bottle.
“My favorite - and it’s still cold,” she said wonderingly.
“I’m glad you like it,” he smiled down at her, looking very pleased with himself.
She twisted off the lid and took a sip of the sweet cold liquid.
It left a trail of brightness as it slid down her throat.
And it tasted like an epic play of the game, in beverage form.
Maybe working with Hawkeye wouldn’t be so bad after all.
4
Hawkeye
Hawkeye went back to work with a vengeance after their break. Cooling the tea had been a nice touch, but he was determined to really impress Trinity by doing a good job.
By the time he felt he had truly turned the scanning and saving into an art, the afternoon light gleamed highlights on the surface of the oak tables and threw harsh shadows on the floors. He felt almost as if he were in a different plane of existence, his body completely engaged in his task and his mind free to roam.
The light reminded him of Aerie with her harsh starlight. And he thought of Trinity’s obsidian eyes, black as the gleaming cliffs of his home planet, yet somehow warm as the fireplace back at Stargazer.
Suddenly he felt those eyes on him and he stopped.
“You’re in the zone, huh?” she asked with a little smile.
“I don’t know that phrase, but I think I understand the meaning,” he said, smiling back.
“You were lost in your work,” she suggested.
“Yes,” he agreed.
“We’re almost at the end of this set of boxes,” she told him. “We need to set up a few new folders for the next set of files. Do you want to learn how?”
“Yes, please,” he said.
She moved toward him and he tried not to stare at the way the light caressed her soft cheeks, as if it too were falling in love with her.
She needs time.
But when she brushed his hand with hers as she reached for the mouse, he nearly forgot himself.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Sure, yes,” he said. “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“I just wanted to show you… this.”
She had opened a file and he tried to pay attention, but by the three moons of Aerie, why did she have to smell like rain and honey?
He straightened and moved to grab his note pad, hoping a few more inches of distance would help.
When he leaned down again she gave him an inquisitive look.
“Sorry, I thought I’d better write everything down so I don’t have to bug you later,” he said.
She nodded, still studying him thoughtfully.
Gods, why did she have to look at him that way? As if she were taking the measure of him…
He was always so efficient on Aerie, never distracted like this.
But then he never had a physical body before.
Nor had he encountered someone who seemed designed to bring out the deepest urges from that body.
Trinity began to speak again, pointing at the screen.
He wrote down each of her words, watching her mouth move and listening to the melody of her voice as she explained the hierarchy of the file system.
He was glad for the notebook, because he couldn’t really process what she was saying. He could only think about how her lips would feel pressed to his.
When her explanation was finished, he forgot to stop staring.
She tilted her head slightly in the same inquisitive way as before.
But this time, he didn’t look away.
Something passed between them. It was akin to the electricity he’d felt when their hands touched earlier.
Her eyes widened slightly and she straightened and stepped backward.
“I need some lunch,” she blurted. “I’ll bring you back something. Go over your notes, okay?”
“Don’t you want me to come with you?” he asked.
She shook her head quickly. “I, um, need to call someone on the way.”
She was gone an instant later, fleet as that cartoon roadrunner. He only hoped he didn’t have to chase her as long as the inept coyote.
Hawkeye ran a hand through his hair and tried not to yell with frustration.
They had been so close.
Why did she keep pulling away?
5
Trinity
Trinity sat on the fire escape late that night, looking out at the stars as she sipped iced tea from her favorite mug.
The heat had dissipated and it was practically chilly outside. She’d hoped she’d be able to finally get some decent rest - maybe even a dreamless sleep where she could escape her growing feelings for Hawkeye. But it turned out luck wasn’t with her.
“Hey, Trinity,” Brooke said, stepping out onto the fire escape and interrupting Trinity’s dangerous train of thought.
“Hey,” Trinity replied. “Where’s Conan?”
“Oh, so that’s it, huh? I have a boyfriend for like three seconds and now we’re supposed to be attached at the hip every minute?” But Brooke’s tone was teasing and her cheeks were flushed with pleasure.
“Sorry,” Trinity muttered.
“It’s fine,” Brooke laughed. “He’s sleeping hard. He spent the afternoon sparring with some of the guys from the advanced class.”
“He’s all in with the martial arts, huh?” Trinity asked.
“He’s all in with everything,” Brooke said.
It was so funny to see her tough-as-nails friend looking like a dreamy-eyed Disney princess that Trinity began to laugh.
“Go ahead and laugh,” Brooke said. “It’ll be your turn soon enough.”
“Soon enough for what?” Veronica asked, as she climbed out onto the fire escape to join them, a box of ice cream sandwiches in her hand.
“Veronica,” Trinity said happily.
“Hey, love,” Veronica said. “Please tell me you aren’t out here giggling about boys.”
“Guilty,” Brooke said, waving a hand in the air. “But not for long. I wanted to let you know that I will be the official owner of this building by this time next week.”
“Nice,” Trinity said. They had been in real danger of losing their shared home and Brooke’s downstairs gym. This was good news.
“I suppose you’ll be jacking up our rent,” Veronica teased.
“Not if you play your cards right,” Brooke said, waggling her eyebrows.
“But I can’t pay the rent,” Veronica pleaded in a pretend damsel-in-distress voice.
“You must pay the rent,” Brooke said, twirling an imaginary mustache.
They both looked expectantly at Trinity.
“I’ll pay the rent,” Trinity said grudgingly.
“My hero,” Veronica declared. “Have an ice cream sandwich.”
She passed them out and the conversation went quiet as they unwrapped their snacks.
“I can’t believe I’m not having that nightmare anymore, and we’re all up in the middle of the night anyway,” Brooke said, shaking her head.
“Well these ice cream sandwiches won’t eat themselves,” Veronica said wisely.
“Besides, it’s too hot to sleep,” Brooke added.
“I guess if you’re sleeping with a six foot four alien it is,” Trinity grumbled.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Brooke suggested.
Trinity rolled her eyes.
“Why aren’
t you into Hawkeye?” Veronica asked.
“I have six little brothers,” Trinity said lightly. “I don’t need a giant man child.”
“He’s not a child,” Brooke said.
It was true. Hawkeye wasn’t a child. The world was new to him, but not because he was a baby.
“He certainly doesn’t look like a child,” Veronica added.
“God, no he doesn’t,” Brooke said. “Have you seen his arms, like really looked at them?”
“And those eyes,” Veronica said. “George Clooney eyes.”
Given that Hawkeye wasn’t her boyfriend, Trinity felt a little shocked at the pride that bubbled up in her chest, hearing his looks complimented. She had never thought of herself as the kind of shallow person who would get mileage out of a boyfriend’s appearance. But hearing anything about him seemed to give her pleasure lately.
“So you really aren’t attracted to him?” Brooke asked, turning to Trinity.
“How could I not be attracted to him?”
“He’s certainly attracted to you,” Veronica said.
Trinity felt her heart leap, even though of course she already knew he liked her. He wasn’t exactly subtle about it.
“I don’t know,” she said weakly.
“Are you kidding me?” Brooke asked. “You walk into a room and he lights up. I swear he doesn’t just turn to you, his hair starts growing in your direction.”
“Ha,” Trinity laughed.
“She’s not kidding,” Veronica said. “I know marrying an alien was not a life plan for any of us. But he’s nice, Trinity, and he likes you. Why don’t you at least give him a chance?”
Of course Trinity couldn’t answer her fully. Some secrets were too deep to share. Not even her friends knew she was a white-hat hacker.
“I like things peaceful,” she said simply. “He shakes things up. And that’s not going to change.”
It wasn’t a lie.
“Well…” Veronica mused.
“What?” Trinity asked.
“I was just thinking that maybe you could use a little shaking up,” she said.
